Screwed Over?

I was feeling quite screwed over by life last week, so I was pretty delighted when I found these Screwed Up earrings from Pickle Dog Design. 

They arrived adorably packaged and did succeed in cheering my up a bit. I get a kick every time I see them in the mirror.

So if you too have been screwed over by fate, try a basic consumeristic pick me up, with something unique and handmade on Etsy! 

To Easter and the Birds

In honor of the holiday, here's some excellent Angry Bird Easter Eggs. I love the idea of a bird painted on an egg. I woke up early this morning and heard the sound of birds chirping—the official sound of spring.

For more easter egg fun, check out these other clever egg designs. They're raising the bar for next year! Happy Easter... and more importantly, Happy Spring!

Rad to the Max

As a child of the '80s, I'm quite familiar with the amazing styling of The Max* on  Saved by the Bell, but I wasn't aware until today, who was responsible for this style movement. 


Italian designer Ettore Sottsass started the Memphis Group in 1981. The group took inspiration from Pop Art, Art deco, Kitsch, and futuristic items and throughout the '80s they designed Post-Modern furniture, fabrics, ceramics and sculpture. The Memphis Art Movement is known as a  colorful, eccentric and vibrant style of furniture design 

'

The group designed radical one-off designs with unconventional shapes, brightly-colored and patterned surfaces with an apparent disregard for function. They shook up ‘modern’ design of the time and what they created became a ‘Post-Modernism’ movement.

Addition: Check out this Slovanian-based Kitsch-Nitsch salon. Doesn't get much more Saved by the Bell than that!

*The Max is a restaurant and local hangout for the students at Bayside High School. It remains their hangout through the second series, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, though it burns down in one episode and is rebuilt with a new look. 

Burger of the Week #102

Love a good burger. Love pin-up art. Sexy. 

Burger of the Week #101

An impressively intricate burger from lets-brick.

Doodle your [Best] Day

When I was in NYC last summer, the NY Public Library (that I so much fell in love with) had a display of Google Doodles that had been done by grade school students across the country. The art was a showcase of the finalists for the last year's Doodle 4 Google program.  

Doodle 4 Google is an annual contest that invites K-12 students in the US to create an original Google Doodle based on the theme “My Best Day Ever…”. The winning student appears on the Google homepage, and receives a college scholarship and  technology grant for their school.

The artwork I saw from last year was both impressive and imaginative. Some may have excelled in technical skill but others excelled in pure spirit. I particularly enjoyed the drawings that showcased an ideal, not (yet) touched by cynicism. It leads me to wonder... would would my Best Day have been like at 9? What would it be like now?
Have a K-12 grader? You have 8 days left to enter the 2013 Doodle 4 Google contest. Get more information here! North Dakota is currently leading the country in submissions. Let's go Michigan!! 

Super Wonders

So if you're a loyal reader, you'll recall my December obsession with Wonder Woman, so I was pretty pumped when I saw that the UICA was doing a showing of Wonder Women! The untold story of American Superheroines as part of their Community Cinema series. 

Wonder Women! encapsulates the evolution of Wonder Woman— from the comic book superheroine of the 1940s to the 1970s television series starring Linda Carter to the blockbusters of today, it evaluates how representations of powerful women in pop culture reflect society's anxieties about women's liberation. 

The film recognizes the influence of Cat Woman, Xena: Warrior Princess, Sarah Conner, Jaime Sommers and Sunnydale High's Buffy Summers (and if you've been anywhere near me the last 3 months you'll know I've recently started and finished the complete Buffy series with great enthusiasm).

The documentary will be aired as part of the Independent Lens series. You'll be able to see the film online starting April 15. 

UICA does Community Cinema every month, on the second Tuesday. The free showing is followed by a public discussion on the topic. Join them next month—April 2nd!

Burger of the Week #100

So seeing as I was at my 100th Burger of the Week.... I did something a bit EXTREME. 

I celebrated my love of burgers, by actually eating a burger. Beef and all. It was a grass-fed burger from Graydon's Crossing, on a locally-sourced organic bun.

It had been quite awhile since I'd been to Graydon's, which in the past has been one of my favorite pubs. They've changed their menu quite a bit, adding many vegan and veggie options, and emphasizing healthy, locally produced ingredients. But veggie is not where I was headed this evening.

And since I was breaking 3 years of vegetarianism, I figured might as well break Lent too (apparently people keep telling me there's a Sunday Lent loophole anyway) and I also enjoyed some delicious Michigan hand cut fries. 

Now this isn't a sign that I'm back on the meat. One time experiment. I feel fine, it tasty good. (I believe my first words, "oh that's good.")  But no real urge to BBQ a steak or anything like that!!

Walart of America's Favorite Superstore

Brendan O'Connell explores über consumption in his very captivating Walmart series.

O'Connell recognizes shopping as one of the of the only times you can see large numbers of people interacting with their environment. Within this, Walmart is this global icon of mass consumption. He sees it as the most visited interior architecture on the planet.

The series started following a single model, but has evolved to include the muchness of products, and the typical American shopping experience.

See more on O'Connell's process here or listen to him on the Colbert Report (towards the end of the show—very entertaining interaction).

Martha Martha Martha

Let's be honest, Martha looks pretty fabulous for 71. Especially considering she's done time....

But she recently released images of herself modeling in the '60s as a teenager. All I gotta say is... Damn Martha!

Martha released the images as part of the PBS documentary MAKERS: Women who Made America, which  describes how Ms Stewart became one of the first woman in America to be a self-made billionaire.

Martha used modeling photoshoots, getting paid $50/hour, along with her college scholarship to pay her way through school. After which, she turned to the stock market as a broker on Wall Street, until she married Andrew Stewart and her cooking was discovered by Alan Mirken at a party she catered. 

Check out these glamorous shots of the woman who made homemaking glamourous!

See more via Dailymail and watch the MAKERS documentary here.

Burger of the Week #99

Another one from Thomas and Quentin. It may 30 degrees outside, but Spring is in the air (I NEED to believe this!). I'm craving sunshine and ice cream!

Personal Data

This weekend we finally checked out Graphic Design: Now in Production. The collaborative exhibit with the Grand Rapids Art Museum and  Kendall College Art and Design explores the ways in which words and images are used together to produce the visual messages that surround us. Here are two of my stand-out favorites...

Christopher Doyle Identity Guidelines

This is such a delightful concept—Doyle writes up identity guidelines for himself, including approved wardrobe color combinations, appropriate space needed around himself, maximum/minim body size, etc. But along with the clever idea, the copyrighting is spot-on, and it's a smart, tight, well-designed and relavent piece. 

Feltron Annual Reports

Nichiolas Feltron is an influential infographic designer known for his Personal Annual Reports. Shown in the reports is data for the year such as books read, miles walked, and beers drank. His use of charts and statistics is admirable, and the data collected is quite original. Such a great idea, it may deserve to be stolen ;) 

The dual exhibition runs through April 21st and the $8 admission gets you into both locations. In addition to infographics, you'll see animated openings for movies and tv, modern poster designs, and the changing face of magazines.