I Voted Today!

I voted today!

Did you?

If you don't vote - don't bitch!

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HMK

Mac-O-Lantern

This Halloween season, bring an old computer back from the dead. Here's all you need to turn that dusty old Mac Classic into a glowing, Halloween treat. Besides a working computer and a little technical know-how (very little), all you need is three cans of spray paint and a bit of epoxy. And here's the best part...no slimy guts to clean out!

Make your own thanks to the folks over at Indestructables: Mac-O-Lantern!

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HMK

Vintage Type Showcase

Smashing Magazine's latest showcase of vintage typography and the modern work it inspires is proof positive that retro is back (as if it ever really went away!) and is in fact here to stay.

Bookmark this one! Vintage Type Showcase

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HMK

Goodwill Halloween Poster

Really digging the execution and concept of this Goodwill Halloween poster from The Miller Group, Los Angeles. Illustrations by Andy Mueller

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HMK

Thanks again Freddy.

Beyond Starbucks

Man, I really, really love coffee, really good coffee...

Here's a nice relaxing and insightful read from Ted Botha about one of life's greatest pleasures... Beyond Starbucks.

And what's good java without a chilled-out, mellow background soundtrack to enhance your already fabulous lifestyle? Well, it's still pretty damn good, but I believe the right audio can make it even more of an experience.

So, with that in mind... Tune in, all of the above goes perfect as you listen to me and my buddy Brian Parrish spinning fresh and jazzy art school coffee vibes, every other Saturday morning from 7-9am on KSYM 90.1.

Dig it live or grab the podcast version somewhere over here: Hammond Eggs.

Mmmmm. Coffee...

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HMK

The Girl Effect

Go Girl!

Dig: The Girl Effect

Learn. Change. Share.

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HMK

Gracias to William Drenttel at: Design Observer.

Pa-Pi! Pa-Pi!

Sweet! Down 7-0 in seventh, my Sox stunned the Rays late last night forcing Game 6 in Tampa on Saturday night!

The Red Sox scored four runs in the seventh inning, three on a home run by David Ortiz!

Pa-Pi! Pa-Pi!

Go Sox!

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HMK

Photo: John Wilcox

Dots Right!

Genius.

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HMK

Gracias: NotCot.

A Journey Across the Dial

Con men, crooners, controversialists. Nope, this is not just another post about Bail Out greed...

Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome to the story of American radio - Anthony Rudel's "Hello, Everybody!"

I got mine - go get yours! "Hello, Everybody!".

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HMK

Link Between Creativity, Mood Disorders?

According to experts like Terence Ketter, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University, sensitivity to one's surroundings is associated with both creativity and depression.

Creative people in the arts must develop a deep sensitivity to their surroundings -- colors, sounds, and emotions, says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

Such hypersensitivity can lead people to worry about things that other people don't worry about as much, he said, and can lead to depression.

"The arts are more dangerous [than other professions] because they require sensitivity to a large extent," he said. "If you go too far you can pay a price -- you can be too sensitive to live in this world."

Hmmm... I knew there was some logical reason I always cry watching old beer commercials.... But what about us folks with such hypersensitivity that truly couldn't care less about things that other people don't worry about as much? Sure, I believe that yes, perhaps one can be too sensitive to live in this world, but once you understand that this whole scene we call life is just a blip on the life of your soul, it's so much easier to simply aknowledge that yes indeed - life's a freakin' tragic comedy, learn to live with it, try not to bitch too much and move on as you enjoy the ride as you do your best to be appreciative, thankful and nice and try not to be a miserable jerk along the way.

Read the entire piece: Experts Ponder Link Between Creativity, Mood Disorders.

And hey, don't miss my big Soul Doubt Show at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Complex!

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HMK

Experts ponder link between creativity, mood disorders

My Birthday Hawaiiabera Rocks!

Pssst....

Hey....

Dig this - Go to www.hawaiiabera.com and use the code: thatsright and you'll score an amazing brother-in-law deal on your very own Hawaiibera...

Dude, you'll be so glad you did!

www.hawaiiabera.com

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HMK

Thanks to everyone that came to my Soul Doubt Show last night and to my bud and Grande Kahuna, Reagan Wiliamson for the sweet new Hawaiiabera!

HMK: Soul Doubt Show

So psyched!

Thanks to curator Chuck Ramirez, I’m excited to announce a dream come true - my first official show at Blue Star Contemporary Art Center! Each piece comes complete with it's own soundtrack, Click Hear: HMK: Mystery Streams.



HMK: Soul Doubt Show
Opens First Friday October 3, 2008

Gallery 4
Blue Star Contemporary Art Center
Members Opening Reception 10.02.08 6-9pm
First Friday General Public Opening 10.03.08 6-10pm

Gallery Hours:
Wednesday-Sunday
12pm-6pm

Address:
116 Blue Star
San Antonio, TX 78204
210.227.6960

The show runs throughout October – if you're in San Antonio I hope you can make it!

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HMK

Who's To Blame?

We are being hypocritical. We are all to blame.

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HMK

Thinkubation

Above: Alberto Frias' Sleep Pod.

I've always found that after any long period of intense study or problem solving that it's best to just stop and move on to something else while I let the smart part of my brain figure it out. I like to think of this as part of my thinkubation period. Taking a quick 15 minute nap when I'm stuck or need to quietly gel for a few moments almost always seems to help reboot my thinking and approach, thus improving the final result, which is the other part of my thinkubation period. When a quick nap doesn't do the trick and if time allows, I simply forget about it, give it a few days and let my smarter and much more intuitive subconscious find the most effective and creative solution.

Mowing the lawn, walking the dogs or a taking a spin around the neighborhood on my bike seems to work wonders as well, but there's something special about giving your body something it needs to truly function properly - rest.

Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, once defined creativity as “just connecting things.” Sleep assists the brain in flagging unrelated ideas and memories, forging connections among them that increase the odds that a creative idea or insight will surface.

While traditional stories about sleep and creativity emphasize vivid dreams hastily transcribed upon waking, recent research highlights the importance of letting ideas marinate and percolate.

“Sleep makes a unique contribution,” explains Mark Jung-Beeman, a psychologist at Northwestern University who studies the neural bases of insight and creative cognition.

Some sort of incubation period, in which a person leaves an idea for a while, is crucial to creativity. During the incubation period, sleep may help the brain process a problem.

“When you think you’re not thinking about something, you probably are,” says Dr. Jung-Beeman, who has a doctorate in experimental psychology.

Check out the rest of Leslie Berlin's insightful piece: We’ll Fill This Space, But First A Nap.

Thinkubation!

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HMK

Bummer News

Paul Newman Dies at 83.

I remember going on a "date' with my mom to see The Sting back in 1973 when I was 12. Being the oldest of six boys it was pretty rare to get some quality one on one time with mom. And oh how she loved Paul Newman and Robert Redford...

Bummer news... Rest In Peace Paul!

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HMK

Sound Wave

The Museum of Arts and Design, formerly the American Craft Museum, moved to its new home at 2 Columbus Circle in Manhattan in September 2008.

The Museum of Arts and Design’s first exhibitions opens tomorrow and one of the exhibitions, “Second Lives”, includes Jean Shin’s awesome piece entitled “Sound Wave”.

Brilliant.

Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary features work by 50 international established and emerging artists from all five continents who create objects and installations comprised of ordinary and everyday manufactured articles, most originally made for another functional purpose. For a complete artist list, Click Here.

Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary Opens September 27, 2008 - February 15, 2009

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HMK

Thanks to Roberta Smith's New Your Times article Using Old Materials to Put a New Face on a Museum.

You Are What You Touch

For a campaign with a lot of fingers, this one looks like it's Absolutely got legs.

Nice stuff for Purell from Agency JWT in Sydney, Australia.

Creative Directors: Jay Benjamin, Andy DiLallo
Art Director: Michaela Brown
Copywriter: Allie Buckle
Designer: Jeffrey Oley

Looking forward to more!

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HMK

Thanks to AdMad!

Sweet! iPhone Cupcakes

Congrats to Nick and Danielle Bilton! They're the new Grand Champions of the NYC Cupcake Decorating Championships.

I wouldn't mind downloading a couple of these.

Genius.

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HMK

Thanks to Bre Pettis

This Coat Hanger Is For The Birds...

Perhaps it's because we just recently watched Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds the other night, regardless, I'm really digging this coatrack designed by David Potts.

Check out more from the creative folks over at Workshopped.
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HMK

Thanks once again to Design Milk!

Backyard Prefabs

Photo by Michael Falco for The New York Times
Cheyenne and Greg Morris, (with Jimmy), installed a Kithaus K4 aluminum shed in their Brooklyn backyard.

Three years after renovating their 1903 brownstone in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, Greg and Cheyenne Morris turned their attention to their backyard, which contained an odd assortment of disused items — sinks, toilets, Virgin Mary statuettes, wheels from street vendor carts and a moldering stucco garden shed. They cleaned up the yard, made preparations to demolish the shed and asked an architect to draft plans for a free-standing studio to be used as a bedroom and office.

The plans were drafted, but faced with the prospect of more construction, they chose to buy a Kithaus K4, an 11-by-17-foot prefabricated room designed by Tom Sandonato and Martin Wehmann. It arrived within three weeks of their mailing a deposit check, and took a week to assemble, without the hassle of permit applications or unexpected construction costs.

By late July, it sat handsomely beneath maple and pine trees at the end of the yard, a miniature modern pavilion. They celebrated on the evening of its completion by stepping inside to eat popcorn and watch “Freaks,” the 1930s cult classic.

Read the entire Heidi Schumann The New York Times' piece: Instead of Trading Up, Adding a High-Style Shed.

And if you dig the above you'll love: The Tiny House Blog and The Green House.

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HMK

Backstory Cafe

The lucky folks in Chicago have a brand spankingly fresh community-based initiative in the form of a new cafe within the walls of Experimental Station thanks to spearhead Sara Black of the artist group Material Exchange and others.

Backstory's mission is to be a small coffee/tea house and cafe and neighborhood meeting place, a site for social engagement.

"Backstory is an infoshop and used bookshop (offering titles suggested by local artists, activists, environmentalists, educators and religious leaders) all supported by a small cafe serving in the spirit of slow food in Chicago. We are dedicated to conscientious consumerism, transparency, and ethical alternative business practices. We aim to provide a judgment-free zone that will encourage, produce, and facilitate a thoughtful exchange of ideas, respectful discussion, and productive social activity. We are a community-based initiative that aims to provide a convivial space for meeting and function as a resource center for local non-profit initiatives, and neighborhood-based projects. We facilitate the archiving and presentation of promotional materials that will allow a broader audience to access local, social service, cultural, and educational initiatives thereby promoting more actively involved citizenship. In addition to being your neighborhood cafe, we hope be a source for independent media, live music, literary readings, film screenings, round-table discussions, interviews, self-education initiatives, and more. We believe the act of engagement is an end as well as a means to achieve our purpose of growing a more critical consciousness within our community."

Oh how we need a few of these down here in San Antonio. I'd love to be involved with something as smart and cool as Experimental Station and Backstory Cafe.

Hmmmm....

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HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at Eyebeam.

Intrastate Commerce

This one's for my good buddy, Dr. Jazz, Sir Bobby J. Another visual study of classic retro signage, neon cocktails and roadside temptations. Grab yourself a cold one and enjoy the Society In Decline Project: Intrastate Commerce.

Cheers!

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HMK

500 XL Speakers

Now these are pretty dang cool looking. Imagine your iPod earbuds 500 times the actual size and you've got the 500 XL Speakers.

Nice.

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HMK

Ponder This

Persistence

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

– Calvin Coolidge

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HMK

The Art & Sound of Vintage Travel

Here are just a few of my favorites from Tom Schifanella's amazing collection of vintage hotel, luggage and travel labels.

No extra baggage fees, no delays, just grab yourself a big glass of your favorite, sit back, relax and enjoy The Art of the Luggage Label!

And if you really want to escape and get into the traveling mode, checkout my HMK Mystery Stream Special Edition: Ambient Passport: 001. An exclusive, hour long soundscape and journey to a place that never really existed, until now - the perfect audio companion to The Art of the Luggage Label.

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HMK