Eegah!

Happy Halloween!

Do yourself a favor, if you've never seen Eegah!, stop and drop what ever it is you're doing and check out one of my favorite and most bitchinest monster movies ever, the awesome Eagah!

Thanks to B Movies.com!

That's Right,

HMK

Ten Habits of Incompetent Managers

How do you identify the members of your team that could sink it?

Thanks to Margaret Heffernan and Fast Company here's an expert's tips on some of the signs you should look for.

One of my favorite warning signs, which seems like a no-brianer but makes perfect sense, is also something one should seriously consider whether you're looking to work for or hiring an agency.

Inability to hire former employees: I hired a head of sales once with (apparently) a luminous reputation. But, as we staffed up, he never attracted any candidates from his old company. He’d worked in sales for twenty years -- hadn’t he mentored anyone who’d want to work with him again? Every good manager has alumni, eager to join the team again; if they don’t, smell a rat.

To me, it's really all about relationships. One of the things I'm most proud of is the fact that I'm still working on various projects with folks I've known and trusted for over twenty years.

Check out the whole article over at
Fast Company.

That's Right,

HMK

Compared To What?

Whenever I hear "That's great!" or "Very nice." whether in regard to a band, glass of wine, a movie, song, grilled cheese sandwich or a logo, my initial thought is this:

Compared to what?

In order to truly appreciate the result, value or execution of almost any endeavor, effort, task or product, one must have an understanding of it's origin and all things preceeding.

Think about it.

Let's say your only experience with coffee was from Denny's or random gas stations. (Poor you!) Then, by chance, someone with an elevated palet treats you to a Starbucks at the airport before your first plane ride.

Now we've got something to talk about!

ReBrand™ is a forum for case studies and programs focused on effective rebrands and showcases a nice Before and After addressing all of the above.

(Not the best example but hey, I'm still working on my first cup this morning - HEB's Taste of San Antonio spiked with some freshly ground dark Columbian beans.)

Anyway...

Along with the Center for Design & Business at Rhode Island School of Design and partners, they organized ReBrand 100®, the first and only global awards to recognize the world’s most effective rebrands: the repositioning, revitalizing, or redesign of existing brand assets to meet strategic goals.

Grab yourself a fresh cup of your favorite, get comfortable and check out the showcased rebrands from around the world at ReBrand™ - it'll jump start your crit skills!

That's Right,

HMK

Lying with (Advertising) Statistics

The smart folks over at Graphpaper conducted a study on the subway this Monday morning. They examined 50 people’s faces to see if they looked happy or sad. 15 looked happy, and 35 looked sad.

Can they say, then, that 30% of the commuters in the study were happy? Sure. But only if you trust their judgement in reading people’s faces. The numbers are a smokescreen — the real insight, the real magic, is occurring in their personal examinations of people’s faces.

Graphpaper's opinion is the linchpin of the whole “study”. If that one part of the process is unreliable — and you have no way of trusting that it isn’t — then the final numbers are also worthless.

Awesome lunchtime read: Lying With Statistics.

That's Right,

HMK

A Message From George Carlin

A Message from George Carlin, who's wife recently passed away:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?

George Carlin

That's Right.

thanks George.

HMK

Go Trinity! Go Sox!

The Rockies are going to need their own Rocky Mountain miracle tonight to pull off something as miraculous as this unbelievable last play of SCAC title game between Trinity University and Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday, October 27, 2007.

Play began with 0:02 remaining in the game ... Trinity players used a total of 14 laterals to take the ball 61 yards for the game-winning TD.

Amazing.

That's Right,

HMK

Judith Mountain Cabin

Dig architect Jeff Sheldon's tiny off-grid two-story cabin located somewhere in Montana. I totally love the tower look and feel of this sweet little place.

To find out exactly where in Montana, go here: More Cabin Info.

That's Right,

HMK

Let's Go Red Sox!

SOX VS ROX ON FOX! Saturday, October 27th, 2007

That's Right!

HMK

Muji: Brandless Quality Goods

This blackboard globe is just one of the super cool and affordable items from Muji, which finally makes it's US debut in New York this November.

New Yorkers, used to the egocentric Japanese personalities like Nobu and Masa, may assume that there is a man named Muji behind the Japanese brand that has already seduced design-conscious crowds at MoMA and is scheduled to arrive in New York City on Nov. 16 with its first American store, at 455 Broadway in SoHo. (And a 5,000-square-foot space in the new New York Times Building in January.)

But there is no Muji the man. New York shoppers who can read the characters in the Japanese label (無印良品) immediately get the inside joke. The first character, 無 (mu), means “without.” The second character, 印 (jirushi), means “brand.” “Muji” is simply short for “Mujirushi Ryōhin” or “brandless quality goods.” Muji started out in the early 1980s as a generic supermarket brand for Seiyu but has grown to encompass a huge array of goods including housewares, lighting and clothing.

Read More.

That's Right,

HMK

Wurstfest 2007!

Remember: WURSTFEST always starts on the Friday before the first Monday in November.

That's Right!

HMK

Beware Of Western Digital Hard Drives!

Long story short.

I bought a Western Digital My Book Pro 500GB drive 6 months ago as a backup drive. It worked great.

Two days ago I bought another Western Digital My Book Premium 320GB to backup the most crucial data on the WD 500GB.

As per Western Digital's web site, I downloaded the latest firmware upgrade from the WD site for both drives in an effort to daisy-chain the 2 NEW drives.

The 320 worked but when I plugged in the 500GB for only the second time since I bought it, the firmware upgrade failed and the drive is now dead!

Spent 3-4 hours trouble shooting and on the phone with Westen Digital and all they offer is a refurb replacement drive.

Data recovery for the 500GB drive starts at $400 just to look at it and up to $1,900!

I know that any and every drive has the potential to fail - my main beef is that Western Digital's firmware upgrade was aborted and made my 500GB drive unusable!

And here's 233 more comments about the fact that Western Digital is aware of this and other issues but really does not care: Western Digital Sucks!

That's Wrong!

HMK

Happy Birthday iPod!

Six years ago today, on October 23, 2001, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPod, a $399 hard drive-based MP3 player with a unique Scroll Wheel and bright white LCD interface, an amazingly pocketable size, and high-speed FireWire for synchronization and charging. The first-generation iPod actually shipped in mid-November, eventually selling 125,000 units by the end of 2001.

One hundred and twenty million units later, that iPod has evolved into the sixth iteration, the iPod classic, spawned other iPod models such as the mini, shuffle, nano, and touch, and seen its capacity increase 32 times, even while falling in price. It has also played a major part in Apple’s remarkable growth from a struggling computer company to a major consumer electronics manufacturer, inspiring the iPhone and helping boost sales of iMac and MacBook computers.

Check out this Steve Jobs Keynote introducing the first iPod.

That's Right,

HMK

Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

If you believe that we are all born artists as Picasso once said, and enjoy thinking while you laugh, you'll dig this.

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it.

With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.

The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. A typical review: "If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, please stop whatever you're doing and watch it now."

This runs almost 20 minutes and makes a perfect quick lunch companion.

That's Right,

HMK

Big thanks to TED

Nine More Days...

That's Right,

HMK

Look! Up In The Sky! It's The Airbus A380!

Now that's first class seating...

The presence in premium class of double beds, strewn for the debut with rose petals, prompted The New York Times to say that the Singapore Airlines A380 "sometimes resembles a luxury hotel rather than an airliner."

The A380 departs for Singapore on Tuesday and will enter service on a Singapore-Sydney route at the end of October.

Dig the slide show over at: CNET News.


That's Right,

HMK


Thanks to Pascal Parrot/Abacapress.com

Really Simplified Health Care

Dr. Wilson's Blue Pills for Blue People, 1901.

Dr. Coderre's Red Pills for Pale Women & Weak Women, 1897

Dr. Williams Pink Pills for Pale People, 1887.

It's just that simple.

that's Righth,

HMK

Thanks to Hal Morgan's Symbols of America.

Dracula!

Check out this nice little collection of foreign Dracula movie posters over at: Deadlious.

That's Right,

HMK

Bit O'Honey Rules!

Bit O' Honey. Bar none, is at the top of my list of The Best Candy on the planet. Next is Big Hunk, Red Hots, Peanut M&M's (straight out of the freezer) and dude, you really can't watch anything on the Big Screen at The Tiki Bijou without Milk Duds, Raisinettes or Goobers.

Bit-O-Honey first appeared in 1924 and was made by the Schutter-Johnson Company of Chicago. Bit-O-Honey was a new kind of candy bar consisting of six pieces of candy wrapped in wax paper and then packaged in a wrapper. Almond bits embedded in a honey-flavored taffy made for a long-chewing candy. Today, Bit-O-Honey is made by the Nestle Company.

That's Right Bit O'Honey!

Bit O'Honey Nutritional lowdown

HMK

No, you're not dreaming, this is a repost from October 2005.

More Weirdness

This is from Halloween 2005, we caught this guy on video running down Broadway after skipping his tab at Liberty Bar.

Weird night.

Check out some more Trippy Weird Things happening right here on the third planet from the sun...

That's Right,

HMK

The Watchmen, Weird Shit

Ok, so by now we all know that Jackie Earle Haley has been cast to star as Rorschach in Zack Snyder's big screen version of the epic graphic novel The Watchmen from writer Alan Moore with artist Dave Gibbons.

In regard to how the talented Mr. Haley landed the roll of Walter Kovacs, AKA: Rorschach, a role that, as I understand it, Tom Cruise really wanted... - I think David Thomas puts it best in his overview from his site:

"...Here’s where Zack Snyder maintains and increases his 300 cred. No one would think of Jackie Earle Haley for Rorschach off the top of their heads, but when you hear it, it just clicks somehow. There’s a tortured intensity to Rorschach that Haley can play the shit out of. An unbelievably difficult casting choice, and Snyder nails it."

Exactly.

Especially considering that Jackie's first "comeback" role before his Oscar nomination was playing Sugar Boy, the badass, almost silent bodyguard in Steve Zaillian's All the King's Men.

Throughout the movie, when he's not cleaning his gun or driving like Steve McQueen, Mr. Haley can be seen eating sugarcubes, hence, Sugar Boy.

I'm thinking the Sugar Boy role had more to do with Zack's selection decision than anything else as Jackie was practically the only actor in All The King's Men to not get trashed by the critics.

Or was it something else?

Check this out - I'm almost finished reading Watchmen for the first time (Fantastic by the way...) and I just had to smile at the cool premonition of this panel:



Trippy... just in time for Halloween.

That's Right, weird shit indeed.

HMK

Pixel It

The ultimate in customization.

Dig the poster with an alterable structure to display messages - a visually professional and attention grabbing alternative to the static poster. “Pixel It” consists of two layers of paper. Cuts on the white outer layer allow the user to fold parts out and therefore create a "Pixel-Structure" by showing the coloured layer underneath.

That's Right,

HMK

Crazy Cool!

Behold! A Diagram of US Flight Paths.

Amazing.

That's Right,

HMK

From the wicked smaht folks over at The Design Conspiracy.

Flashback: The Prequel!

Have you ever been so busy that you crank out so many projects is a super short amount of time that you don't even remember working on them when you see them 12 years later?

They say I did this. And I believe them. I just can't remember actually working on it...

Remember The Alamo!

That's Right,

HMK

Highlighting The Good Bits

Digging these right on target Stabilo Highlighter Pen ads by Grey Advertising, Hong Kong. Executive Creative Director: Keith Ho, Creative Director: Paul Chan / Sonic Choy, Art Director: Sonic Choy, Copywriter: Paul Chan, Photographer: Jeffrey Leung, Retoucher: Simon Kwan.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Cipher and the smart folks over at Twenty Four.

Thank You Dot.Tunes!

That's Right! It's finally here!

I've been wishing for this since the first iPod.

Thanks to Dot.Tunes I can now access and stream media from my iTunes libraries to both my iPhone and my iPodTouch over the internet, through a customized interface.

The totally bitchin' part is that Dot.Tunes v4 is almost a free download; the iPhone and iPod touch plug-ins are 20US each.

And for a limited time, Dot.Tunes is offering a 25% discount to all you smart iLounge visitors. Check out Dot Tunes for a software demo.

Now all I need to get is an iTouch or an iPhone...

That's Right!

HMK

You Can't Handle A Bigger Logo!

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Design Observer

Giant Magnetoresistance Wins Nobel

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Two European scientists won the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for a discovery that lets computers, iPods and other digital devices store reams of data on ever-shrinking hard disks.

France's Albert Fert and German Peter Gruenberg independently discovered a physical effect in 1988 that has led to sensitive tools for reading the information stored on hard disks. That sensitivity lets the electronics industry use smaller and smaller disks.

''The MP3 and iPod industry would not have existed without this discovery,'' Borje Johansson, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences told The Associated Press. ''You would not have an iPod without this effect.''

The two scientists discovered a phenomenon called giant magnetoresistance. In this effect, very weak changes in magnetism generate larger changes in electrical resistance. This is how information stored magnetically on a hard disk can be converted to electrical signals that the computer reads.

More over at: Nobel Prize in Physics 2007 Press Release or The New York Times.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the New York Times

Smart Fix

Now this is a cool solution to a problem I've seen in just about every neighborhood I've ever lived in.

This is a replacement sidewalk for the old one that cracked as a result of a growing tree.

The coolest part is that the number of leaves in the new sidewalk diminish the farther they get from the tree.

That's Right,

HMK

Dear Thieves

I found this message from the folks at Blo walking through Yaletown, Vancouver this morning...

That's Right,

HMK