Across the Country

© Joel Thomason

I started the week in Boston and ended it on the plains of southwest Kansas in Sublette. My cousin Dana and her husband are treating me too well out here. I may not make it back to Kansas City.

- Joel

© Joel Thomason

Photographer of the Day

© Kim Holtermand

Kim Holtermand. These pictures make me feel like the Loch Ness Monster is lurking just below the surface.

- Joel

© Kim Holtermand

© Kim Holtermand

Frontier Paper

An old friend of mine, Libby Smith, has started her own paper company in Dallas. Don't get visions of Dunder Mifflin; Libby's paper company actually makes custom invitations, stationery, and other paper goods. Check out her work here on the blog or go to the Frontier Paper Company website.

- Joel

Job Wouters

I'm digging Job Wouters custom lettering/design. The examples here are just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me, if you float in his waters, Job will sink you like the Titanic. (Bad cliche, even worse joke, but you should still check out his site)

- Joel

Wise Blood

Not sure what to think of this guy Chris Laufman, aka Wise Blood. He does a lot of looping/layering, similar to Panda Bear, and then sings over his new creations. You can listen to his EP below or download it for free at his Bandcamp page. If you are interested, "STRT SRNS" might be my favorite track from the EP.

- Joel

Beach House

Traveling this week gave me an opportunity to catch up on some new tunes (only the hippest tunes for me of course...I mean what is cooler than a dude who reads books about the subprime mortgage crisis and incessantly watches Western films). One that I have particularly enjoyed is a new track from Beach House which surfaced in their recent live session for iTunes. Check it out below.

- Joel

Beach House - "White Moon"

Photographer of the Day

© Edward S. Curtis

Edward S. Curtis. Yesterday and today I was in Boston on a work trip. The hotel where I stayed (the Millennium Bostonian Hotel for those who are interested) had a newly designed lobby with an array of photography books scattered on shelves. Of course I couldn't help but browse through a few of them; the book on Edward S. Curtis especially caught my eye. Curtis spent much of his career traversing the American West photographing Native American Indians. I found his photography to be a rare and powerful window into our nation's past.

By the way, if you ever have a chance to travel to Boston, don't let it slip by. What an incredible city.

- Joel

© Edward S. Curtis

© Edward S. Curtis

Your Brain On Computers

Over the past year and a half, I have noticed the steady retardation of my attention span. It has become progressively obvious that I have a difficult time passing the day without a constant barrage of digital stimulation. Today, as I was driving to my parents house, I heard a fascinating interview with Matt Richtel, technology reporter for the New York Times, on NPR's Fresh Air. Richtel recently won a Pulitzer Prize for his series "Driven to Distraction", a discussion of the perils of media consumption while driving. In fact, Richtel's writing provided the impetus for many cities and states to enact texting-while-driving legislation. However, today Richtel discussed his current journalistic series, "Your Brain on Computers". In the interview, Richtel explored the scientific research examining technology's effect on the brain. It seems that I am not the only one losing my attention span. Though technology has profoundly improved our daily lives, it has also deteriorated our mental capacity. We in the digital age have a more difficult time focusing, a shorter attention span, an impaired memory, and an increasingly unhealthy addiction to technology's buzz.

This interview and Richtel's articles, which you can read at the links below, left me with tough questions to ask myself about my own digital consumption. In fact, I may be taking a 30 day fast from Twitter as a result. The articles are not lengthy and are well worth your time. I have inserted a quote from each article below the link to give you a quick and dirty summary of what each article details. Furthermore, I realize the irony of posting articles about the dangers of digital media consumption here on a blog. I guess I'll just have to take the risk.

- Joel

"Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying A Mental Price" (June 7, 2010)
"Throughout evolutionary history, a big surprise would get everyone's brain thinking," said Clifford Nass, a communications professor at Stanford. "But we've got a large and growing group of people who think the slightest hint that something interesting might be going on is like catnip. They can't ignore it."

"Studying the Brain Off the Grid, Professors Find Clarity" (August 16, 2010)
It is a debate that has become increasingly common as technology has redefined the notion of what is “urgent.” How soon do people need to get information and respond to it? The believers in the group say the drumbeat of incoming data has created a false sense of urgency that can affect people’s ability to focus.

"Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Much Needed Down Time" (August 24, 2010)

The technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.

Song of the Day

Navajo Bixby hail from New Jersey - cue derogatory comments from Fred Armisen dressed as New York Governor David Patterson.

- Joel

Navajo Bixby - "Down Under"

Photographer of the Day

© Scott Pommier

Scott Pommier - straight out of California counter culture.

- Joel

© Scott Pommier

© Scott Pommier

© Scott Pommier

Even More Sufan

For five years we didn't get much news out of Sufjan Stevens. I guess that's not entirely true; we did get an album full of B-sides, some repackaged Christmas tunes, and a symphony. Maybe the curse of being so incredibly talented is that we view such a diverse set of material as uneventful. However, he has more than made up for his absence, whether real or perceived, over the past seven days. Last Friday he dropped a new EP. Then yesterday he announced a new album. Now today we get a sneak peak of what that album will sound like. I'll admit that Asthmatic Kitty's description of Sufjan's new sound had me thinking, "I'm not going to like it." But now that I hear it, I think it may become my favorite album of the year. We'll see. Listen to and/or download the new track below.

- Joel

The Walkmen on Etsy

The Walkmen are doing some cool things surrounding the release of their album Lisbon, which drops on September 14. They're teaming with artists on Etsy to release posters (seen above), t-shirts, and album inserts. Not a bad way for the band to promote/support developing artists. Check out their etsy store here if you're interested. And by the way, Lisbon is going to be a great album. You should listen to it.

- Joel

Matt Lehman

Check out this great design work by Matt Lehman. Lehman does illustrations, logos, branding and so much more. He's even done quite a bit of design work for fellow Liberty High School graduate Matt Wertz.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

© Stefano Unterthiner

Stefano Unterthiner. Animals face to face. I love this.

- Joel

© Stefano Unterthiner

© Stefano Unterthiner

© Stefano Unterthiner

Sketchbook Project

This is something that Cassie should do (or you if you're creative). Enter into The Sketchbook Project (for $25) and they'll send you a sketchbook to design/illustrate/collage/create as you see fit. All completed sketchbooks will become a part of the Brooklyn Art Library's permanent collection, but first they will tour the country and be put on display. This is something I wish I was talented enough to try. Check out some examples above and below.

- Joel

Dead Man's Bones

If you didn't already love Ryan Gosling, you will after watching his band perform at an old folks home. If you watch all the way to the end (even past the weird interlude in the middle) you'll get to see the children's choir and the old folks break into a dance party. It's kind of ironic that Dead Man's Bones is performing for nearly-dead men's bones. Get it?

- Joel

What I wouldn't give to spend a month roadtripping across America. It might look something like this.

- Joel

Song of the Day

Here is some grimy new hip hop from Kid Cudi. This track will be on his album which drops in the fall.

- Joel

Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West - "Wylin' Cause I'm Young"

Soft Cat

Some new folk for those of you that enjoy music that sounds like it was crafted behind the railroad tracks. In the case of Soft Cat, their album Wildspace was actually named after the area behind the tracks in their part of Baltimore. If you like what you hear below, download the tracks for free at their Bandcamp site.

- Joel

The Wild One

With no cable in my new place (that changes Friday), Netflix has been my best friend lately. For me, the greatest thing about Netflix is the chance to watch old movies that are hard to find. I'm not sure how hard The Wild One is to find, however, released in 1953, it is certainly old. A timeless tale of the biker rebel turned straight by the beautiful girl, this is my favorite Marlon Brando film. When you consider that it was filmed in a time of incredible prosperity for our country and one in which traditional values were paramount, this film seems to tap into an undercurrent of rebellion that wouldn't surface for another ten years. Yet you don't have to appreciate the historical significance to enjoy this classic.

My favorite quote from the film comes when one of the local girls asks Johnny (Marlon Brando) what he's rebelling against. "Whaddya got?!" Johnny snarls. Culture yourself a bit and snag this from Netflix.

- Joel