A Week of Dreams in (Almost) 3 Words or Less

SUN – Talking decapitated head.

MON – Ants. Guilt.

TUES – Hotel. Vintage beer.

WED – Lifesize dolphin photographs. "Hibachi Squirrell."

THUR – Dog (pack). Morels. Cafeteria.

FRI – Can't remember.

SAT – Southwest tourist trap.

Candy WTF of the Month

Studio Project, New Years Cards

Happy New Year! Here are my New Year's cards for 2012. I made them in the style of a cookie fortune but with a Dorothy Parker quote. And, I carved my own number set in order to number the edition. I randomly selected each person's so that they would also function as their lucky number.

Sushi Themed Halloween Candy

Found at Walgreen's.

Dirt Track Date

Here's what the folks at the dirt track have figured out. Instead of making 6 trips back and forth to the concession stand for beer, these folks fix you up with a sort of temporary cooler – plastic sack, ice and as many beers as you want. And, yes, Mr. Loaf went to the gun show and dirt track in the same day.

Snap Dragon

From MISC FOR BLOG

Just back from an estate sale where I picked up a 1944 edition of "New Orleans Recipes" by Mary Moore Bremer who was from Waveland, MS. Lots of creole recipes that sound pretty good in there along with some obscure sounding things like "Crab Chops," "Dimples," a recipe for tomato ketchup purported to be "over 100 years old," and lastly, why not, "Chop Suey." But in the drinks section, something odd caught my eye – Snap Dragon.

From MISC FOR BLOG

But apparently this was a longstanding Christmas tradition from the 16th - 19th centuries. It died out because, well, you could get burned and safety and all that crap. So, here's a more useful drink recipe from the book:

ROCK AND RYE (Old Recipe) Pour into whiskey glass one teaspoon pure rock-candy syrup; add a small bar spoon and allow guest to help himself to the whiskey – if you think it advisable.

Vintage Photograph Tuesday

From Vintage Photographs

Here's a photograph that I've always doubted the authenticity of. The model appears to be wearing an Egyptian style wig and "snakes" of some sort. I think her necklace is made out of lace bobbins. It would seem to be within the genre of art/nude carte de visite. Given the style of the paper mount, with its hard corners and two simple gold lines, that dates it to about 1860-1868. On the back is written: W. Ward Photographer, Richmond, Virginia, Also Army of Northern Virginia, In The Field, which would seem to date this more specifically during the Civil War. Here's my problem, for being almost 150 years old, the paper mount is in immaculate shape. Also, the paper the image is printed on feels a little thick for this era and is shiny almost like a satin or pearl RC paper. I believe it's an old image, but somehow a modern print married to an old backing? Any thoughts out there?

Who thought this was a good idea?

Canning has a wonderful long tradition, we've mentioned the canned hamburger here a while back. Now, may we present: the CANNED WHOLE CHICKEN.

Ok, it's not really news - this stuff has been around since I was a kid. Never had it, though. However, over at ihatemymessageboard there is a whole walkthrough of opening, cooking/warming and eating the darn thing.

You can buy a case of 6 at Amazon for 50 clams. They are in 50oz cans and (according to Amazon) are "Great to have on-hand in your pantry for emergency dinners."

Small Bites #11

I've been saving up some nuggets for a while so here goes:

Here's a cool resource for Graphic Design from the 20s and 30s. It's mostly travel ephemera, but you can search by country and there are sections for advertising and design journals.

Most people use food processors and multitudes of kitchen gadgets these days. But occasionally you have a tedious and lengthy food prep like peeling and chopping apples or snapping the ends off beans where technology fails. And you'd like to watch TV or sit outside while you do it. The solution here from Tomas Kral.

Lots of interesting projects here from Nancy Wu, but if you click on "Humor" you can see her 100% Beef Jerky purse.

I don't often see headwear I like, but the hats and headbands from Muehlbauer are awesome.

If you asked me what Swedish cooking was all about, I wouldn't have a good answer. I'd maybe be embarrassed to say Swedish meatballs. But I recently saw an episode of New Scandinavian Cooking and Tina Nordstrom made some pretty great looking food. Haven't tried it yet, but the Sauteed Cabbage, homemade Mustard, and Apple cocktail with Absolut Vanilla are on my to do list.

Lastly, pictured above is a collage from Carl Kleiner's Everyday Geometry. They're deceptively simple and with beautiful color.

Car Keys Bigger Than $9 Quiche

And those car keys are in the background, my friends. We've had a couple exceptionally poor food experiences over the past year, so I'd like to get them off my chest and start fresh. Food doesn't have to be expensive to be good, but it has got to be good to be expensive. This is just insult to injury. Especially because there are tons of restaurants out there who would give you delicious food, and more of it, made with love. Go eat there.
This just happened. We're still pissed. There's this neighborhood Greek wrap joint who had really great food when they first opened. I don't know what happened, and Mr. Loaf had ordered the veggie wrap before and it was fairly normal. In other words, it contained veggies. But someone there tonight decided that french fries and a couple bits of tomato and lettuce left over from making salads constituted a VEGGIE WRAP! I still can't get over it. They are so off our list.

Small Bites #10

Art Finally, I'm posting my pics from visiting Prospect 1 New Orleans. There is a ton of great art by international and local artists all over the city. And there are lots of satellite and unofficial exhibitions going on as well. It runs through January 18 and all the venues are completely free. Download the official pdf map here.

George Carlin Rolls In Grave Here's a euphemism for you. A friend's husband is facing a potential layoff from a major pharmaceutical company. He has to sit by the phone on a particular day to find out if he is "retained" or "discharged." True story.

Typo Really nice calligraphy from Betsy Dunlap. And type on sandblasted barrels from Ministry of Type. And embroidered words/images from Kyo-To-To on Ping Mag.

The Champagne of Beers

I opened my fridge yesterday to discover Miller High Life in special edition camo cans. Just in time for hunting season. I wondered if this is a regional thing, but they show them on their main Web site. I believe they're available through the end of 2008. Just to make the lawyers happy, it says in script type on the bottom to, "Enjoy After the Adventure."

Thoughts on Typography and Chicken McNuggets

Starting with a TED talk by Stephen Sagmeister on his "Things I have learned in my life so far." His use of 3-dimensional typography using objects is probably one of the most copied things I see in graphic design these days. And he's been doing it for quite awhile. Although I also have to give props to Ed Ruscha who was doing it even before that.

Next up, via Wooster Collective, Evan Roth's "TSA Communication." A simple and fun idea, but one that will not speed up the security line.

Lastly, also on Wooster Collective, Banksy is in NY and his "Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill" is the most fun thing I've seen in a while. The baby Chicken McNuggets are the best.

Dolla, Dolla Beer Ya'll

So, I'm not a sports enthusiast, but every once in a while going to the ballpark is worthwhile. Especially on dollar beer night. There's a promotional gimmick between every inning, and this one was the brainchild of a local eye doctor. Actually, two eyeballs were racing each other. And this followed some kids getting into human-sized versions of those clear hamster balls and "bowling" over some squishy five foot tall pins.

The Scientific Taxonomy of Cosmetics

Cosmetic product names have gotten entirely out of hand. Case in point: Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector. What's that? Let's use science and a little advertising know-how to dissect this string of words. Kingdom – Maybelline This is the brand name. OK, I get that. Phylum – New York Companies use a descriptor like this to give their brand extra cache and perceived credibility. Of course, this only works if you're company is associated with a city like New York or Paris. If you're in Springfield, your product taxonomy skips straight to Class. Class – Instant They want to tell you that this product works fast. But it's only as fast as you are. Order – Age Rewind Hey, everyone likes anti-aging, so let's tack that on. This also tells us the age group this product is targeted toward. If it were for a younger audience (and from Cover Girl), the Order would be something like Fruit Spritzer, Lash Blast, or Cheekers. Family – Double In case you didn't notice, it has product on two ends. Did I mention that both ends have product? I mean, you're really getting two products. So fork over a few extra bucks. Genus – Face Finally we get some clue as to where to put this stuff. Species – Perfector They should have used the word "concealer," since that's what it is (I discovered this thanks to the caption in the magazine, and no thanks to the name of the product). Companies don't like to use the same words that their competitors use in their marketing materials. Even if that means making up words that are no longer communicative.

I can't imagine the focus group in which Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector was deemed to be good. But it likely started with the moderator saying something like this, "Do you like the phrase age rewind?" Why, yes, of course. "Do you like things instantly?" Yes, again. "How about a product that would perfect your face?" Hallelujah!

Second Hand

Here are two recommendations from co-conspirators of mine. One is Arigato sushi in Santa Barbara. Apparently, it was a wild night, and many bottles of sake were consumed. Someone ended up with a towel on his head. But reviews seem to shore up JR's review.

Out of St. Louis there's the City Museum. Which seems to not really be a museum. But when I asked if he tooks pics, he responded that he was having too much fun. Home to the "World's Largest Underpants," "World's Largest Pencil," and a working shoelace factory, who wouldn't want to see that. Wear your sneaks, there's lots of climbing and sliding sometimes involving aircraft fuselages. And on the top floor, there even an art exhibit. Thanks JS.

Twister

Here are a couple pics from our neighborhood after the tornadoes went through on Friday. We really lucked out. The tree that came down in our yard just landed on our back fence.

Gadgetry

Recently, we discovered Calphalon cookie sheets at Target. They have a nice offset "handle" you can easily grip. We tend to have difficulty finding cookie sheets that fit well into our Chambers stove because the racks are a bit narrow. The small size is great for making a few biscuits and fits in either orientation. But, the best part is the large size either fits on a rack perpendicular or essentially becomes its own rack if placed in the oven parallel.

We've changed our tune about the cookie sheets. See the revised post here.

Edible is a new online shop where you can buy everything from Mopani Worms to Reindeer Pate and lots in between including that coffee that civets have pooped. I'm filing it under gadgetry, because it's the kind of thing you'd buy as a novelty. I mean, I'm all for tasty exotic delicacies, it just all feels a bit trendy.

And this just in! A cozy perfectly sized for your 40-oz at Urban Outfitters. Just in time for summer.

More Burger Monkey Business

French artist Mike BOUCHET has a show in Paris at Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois. It's a show whose central piece is a sculpture created from 9847 CANNED HAMBURGERS.
some pics:






I'm sorry, is this the new zeitgeist? The burgers were commisioned and had nothnig to do witht the swiss fiasco.
Using BabelFish I translated the artist statement here are some choice cuts:

"Cock my buns, swallow my meat.
Taste the fire in the cellar."

"my bread Crunches, eats my meat,
Put fire at your palate!"

"The "CANBURGER" is the starting point D’a more total research around the important questions relating to the consumption of hamburger. In a style "Internationalist says", Bouchet carried out sculptures and great paintings which raise some major interrogations on the production and the consumption of food in the current world, of the fast-food to the military rations out of box, while passing by the movements American survivalists."

That's hard to swallow:

link here

The Swiss stumble

Whoa, we like the swiss for their neutrality, knives, chairs and efficiency. They make some keen products and are known for being great watchmakers and problem solvers, but from KATADYN, maker of some amazing water filter systems and camping gear, comes a solution to a problem that never existed.... how to have a fresh cheeseburger on the trail. 

I give you, CHEESEBURGER IN  A CAN:

Seriously, WTF? here's a link to the swedish site (not available in the USA)