Courrier

A friend of mine here in Austin directed a pretty cool music video for the band Courrier.  Check it out.

- Joel

 

Surprise

I have the best sister. Awhile back I posted about this map I loved (see above). I come home today and guess what the mailman brought? The map! It was a complete surprise.

Thanks Abby! I love you.

- Joel

Thomason Tees

© Cory Thomason

Fresh off his high school graduation, it looks like my brother Cory is starting his own t-shirt business. Not a bad way to make a few extra bucks. He's off to a good start, as you can see by the design above.

- Joel

Photographer of the Day

Ginger Ale on Ice. May 25, 2011. © Allison V. Smith

Allison V. Smith. How does she make plastic Southwest cup look so good?

- Joel

Valentine's Day

I've never been an exuberant celebrator of Valentine's Day. I will, however, give a shout out to Cassie who makes wonderful Valentine's Day cards. The one above was created especially for my brother Kyle who will be giving it to his valentine. If you'd like to see more, check out her blog. I'm sure she'd make you one or make one for your valentine for a very small fee.

- Joel

Scarves

Shout out to Cassie, a wizard with some knitting needles. She made me an oversized navy cowl (she's wearing it above), which will become a part of my daily wardrobe this winter. Check out her stuff here.

- Joel

American Royal BBQ

© Trey Kazee

I have a tendency to brag about Kansas City. Nothing like hometown pride to inspire bold proclamations - both true and embellished. However, if there's one thing about Kansas City that cannot be overstated it is barbeque. Texas, Memphis, and the Carolinas may lay claim to award winning barbeque, but only one place owns (yes, we literally own it) the blue ribbon: Kansas City. Both in quantity (the the metro area is home to more than 200 bbq joints) and in quality (food critics declare KC the Mecca of BBQ) Kansas City stands above the rest. This weekend, barbeque connoisseurs from across the globe descend on the city for what has become known as the "World Series of Barbeque", the cook-off to end all cook-offs, the American Royal Barbeque competition. For competitive barbequers, this event marks the season finale of the barbeque circuit. If I wasn't heading to Dallas for the Texas State Fair this weekend, you would find me in the West Bottoms, reeking of smoke and covered in sauce. For those seeking the zenith of smoked meats and spicy sauces, look no further than the American Royal.

By the way, I must admit a bit of hypocrisy here. The photos I'm featuring on this post were actually shot in Texas. A friend from Dallas, Trey Kazee, embarked on a barbeque odyssey of his own around the great state, taking these finger-lickin' good photographs. It's much more fun posting pictures shot by a friend than Google searching for stock photography. Plus, Trey possesses spectacular abilities in the craft (let's declare him Photographer of the Day). So, if these pictures look good, just imagine how amazing the American Royal must be to consistently out do all the barbeque Texas brings to the table.

- Joel

© Trey Kazee

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

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Cassie. She makes all sorts of cool things (see above and below). I'm jealous of her creative talents. I hope she gets the fancy postcard I sent her all the way from Denver.

- Joel

Happy Birthday AVS

Silly Pond. Rockport, Maine © Allison V. Smith

Happy birthday to my friend Allison, the greatest photographer around.

- Joel

You probably didn't notice, but I added a new script in the blog header. Brian Jaramillo improved his already kickin' font. Check out the fish and hook woven into the script. Nice work. If you're looking for custom letters and/or design, check him out. Thanks again to Cory for laying the script on top of the vintage Abe Lincoln flag.

- Joel

Get Off My Lawn

Thanks to AVS and Trey Kazee for the heads up on this photo zine. Get Off My Lawn features photographers 34 years of age or older. As the Sad Kids blog points out, too often photographers must be younger than 34 to be considered emerging artists. But sometimes people are late bloomers, or their greatness just isn't recognized until a later age. So why not have a zine devoted to the older and wiser photographers? This is the very first zine in this collection, so I made sure to snag it. Now I can collect the whole set if more are to come. I'm still frustrated that I didn't know Allison when her first zine came out. I've got 3 of 4 but wasn't around in time to purchase the first one. I won't let that happen again.

- Joel

Ben Chlapek

© Ben Chlapek

I've posted about Ben before. We went to elementary school (Alexander Doniphan), high school (Liberty High School), and college (University of Missouri) together, though I don't think we ever really talked. I noticed a few new pieces on his website and wanted to give a shout out. I'm not a big fan of Japandroids but the poster with the prison tower is great. Plus, the show took place on my 27th birthday.

- Joel

New Banner

I finally have a blog banner I can be proud of thanks to the talents of my brother Cory and Brian Jaramillo of Agency26 (and maybe an ounce of creativity on my part). The banner combines a public domain political ad for Abraham Lincoln from the 1800's, which I found in the Library of Congress, with custom lettering created on the fly by Brian Jaramillo. Cory put it all together this morning. Thanks for the help guys.

If you'd like to purchase their services, click on the links above for more information on how to contact them.

- Joel

Postcards

My friend Allison sends the greatest postcards. Beyond the superb photographs on the front of each one, her handwriting is second to none. I received one from her this week with the photograph by William Eggleston above.

- Joel

Roll Out Cowboy

I met Chris Sand last year at a house party in Marfa, Texas. I must say that of all the rapping cowboys I know, The Sandman is by far my favorite. In all seriousness though, it took only one conversation for me to call him a friend. His itinerant lifestyle takes this truck driver/folk artist/rapper across the country from truck cab, to stage, to living room and back again. And like many who have lived their life on the road, Sand can talk to pretty much anyone about pretty much anything. I can only imagine the sights and sounds and stories that surface in a life on the road - a Jack Kerouac novel in the flesh. Now we can get a glimpse of this one-of-a-kind life on the big screen. Roll Out Cowboy documents Sandman The Rappin' Cowboy as he criss-crosses the country on a 2008 whirlwind tour. Too bad it wasn't a year later, I might have made a cameo appearance in the film!

- Joel

Vote For AVS

Champion © Allison V. Smith

The Hipstamatic app transforms your iPhone into a super hip pocket camera. The folks at Hipstamatic also like to hold photo competitions. My good friend Allison Smith currently has a photo in one of their Twitter/Flickr competitions (see the photo above). If you have Twitter, you should vote for her. It's as simple as putting http://hpstm.tc/4n7 and #hipstamatic in one tweet. That's all it takes to vote. Currently she stands at #55. Let's send her to the top.

- Joel

Baked Goods

If you want to purchase premium baked good with a homemade flair, talk to my sister Abby. She's an expert baker and she is in the midst of starting up her own business. Email her at abbyjthomason@gmail.com. Check out her blog for a look at some of her tasty treats. She made a chocolate/peanut butter cheesecake this weekend, which was probably the best cheesecake I've ever eaten...and I'm not exaggerating.

- Joel

Valentine

I don't have a Valentine this year, but I got a Valentine anyway. Cassie, who has been killing it with her creativity lately, sent me this lovely little Valentine. I will frame it because it is a legitimate work of art. Go to her blog and prepare to be inspired. Above is this year's Valentine and below is what she sent me last year.

- Joel

V-Day Creativity

My friend Cassie is killing it with her Valentine's Day cards. I've already given her one shout out but she deserves another. Check out her blog for creative inspiration.

- Joel