The latest to drop in is artist extraordinaire Joe Infurnari, who correctly pointed out the odd and probably jarring collision of Cat Stevens and Dillinger Escape Plan. That's why we do it.

click for large version, scroll down to see the rest***You know by now how much I appreciate and respect the work of Debbie Millman. She is one of the best thinkers about design, branding, and marketing you're likely to encounter.

While participating in brand movements may indeed give us an illusion of inclusion, they will never be able to substitute for the prehistoric mammalian instinct to meaningfully connect with other humans through what I believe is our most profound need: the need to love.

The text is lifted from this post, which I encourage you to read in its entirety.

The broader point to draw, while not necessarily directly addressed there, is that alll creative activity is tied up in notions of marketing and brand, whether you choose that path directly or not. And that's OK because there is nothing inherently evil about the idea of marketing and selling creative work - the only issue is intent and approach. If you keep those things pure then there is quite literally nothing to worry about.

I'm more sensitive to this issue than many, I think, because I grew up around Dischord and the DIY ethos, and that experience informs most everything I do. I've also seen the negative effects of retrograde thinking and misplaced notions of "integrity". What it comes down to is this: real integrity needs to be considered and maintained at all costs. Cosmetic integrity is damn near poisonous.

Wade Harpootlian, one of Tomorrow's Brightest Minds:

Dig the Brainiac.***I've been seeing a lot of Evel Knievel lately, and I couldn't be happier about it. First I saw him during the coverage of Mike Metzger's jump a few weeks back, and again during the coverage of David Blaine's water stunt. Then tonight I caught the last twenty minutes or so of his "True Grit" documentary on CMT (check it if you get the chance - it's good).

Why is Evel suddenly part of the zeitgeist again? No idea, but I'm damn happy about it.

Knievel is a true original, an American great along the lines of Houdini or P.T. Barnum or Robert Ripley. Folks like these are rare, indeed - wholly unique individuals who not only make history but define it on their own terms.

Sadly, Knievel is in failing health and likely only has a few years left at best. It's good to see that he's enjoying a renaissance of sorts while he's still around to enjoy it.

And now, Russ Lichter:


I don't know if I have enough daily readers to really get this rolling, but I find it fascinating. Send 'em along, folks - I'll post them as soon as I can.

And just for the hell of it, here's another one from me:


Both of those, and Chip's below, can be clicked for larger versions.

Whilst cranking away on the script for Borrowed Time volume two, an idea struck. Not a terribly original one, admittedly, but potentially interesting and fun nonetheless.


click for large version
I've been using the built-in shuffle feature in iTunes a lot lately and it has led to some intriguing collisions. Some sublime, some grating as hell - in that transition from track to track there is the potential to hear things that weren't there before. Even more than that, though, it's just an interesting snapshot of taste.

So I thought I'd share. I opened up iTunes, hit party shuffle, and took a screencap of what it had to offer. I'm inviting you all to do the same, if you're so inclined.

This particular batch represents a pretty fair cross-section for me, Christmas tunes notwithstanding.

I think it's pretty rare to take a camera phone pic that's worth a damn, but I took this one today and I think it's worth sharing:


Click it for a larger version and see if you agree.