Scientific Illustration / Behold The Bonnacon

The bonnacon is a beast with a head like a bull, but with horns that curl in towards each other. Because these horns are useless for defense, the bonnacon has another weapon. When pursued, the beast expels its dung which travels a great distance (as much as two acres), and burns anything it touches.

 

This is according to this great tumblr I just found called Scientific Illustration – it has tons of great illustrations of animals, bones, and stuff for your enjoyment.

Cool NPR Infographic / A Campaign Map, Morphed By Money

Really clever infographic on NPR about various states if resized by their political campaign spending – and their importance in the presidential election. Not to undermine the value of your vote in a solid blue state like California or a red state like  Texas, but the focus of these campaigns is on battleground states like Ohio and Nevada where the vote could go either way and money matters.

So what’s my point? My point is that if modern, educated, sensible, globally-connected people don’t vote, it’s the old, tunnel-visioned people in the tiny towns of the midwest who will be deciding who your leaders are, and what laws you live under. I have nothing against the midwest – that was just a lazy generalization – but I do think that education and a broader world view help you make more well-rounded decisions.

It’s not just about one dude being president over another, it’s about local, state, national, global laws that affect your life every single day. It’s about freedom on the internet. It’s about acknowledging that manmade climate change is real and changing our habits to slow that down. It’s about not allowing corporations to legitimately rape you and your family. Young people, sign up to vote and get educated!

The XX Homepage is Minimalist, But Curious

 

The homepage for the band The XX is super minimal, just like their music, but it has just one beautiful interactive element over the X logo. I didn’t notice it at first until the oily rainbow coloring shifted slightly while I was reading the navigation options. Then when I hovered my mouse cursor over the X, it looked like I was disturbing a puddle of oily water and seeing the rainbow colored light refractions change. Well done to the designers of thexx.info. The album’s not so bad either. ;)

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

 

So this Taylor Swift track is Number 1 in the pop charts right now. But more interestingly (or maybe less), producer Max Martin creates another rubber stamp hit! And it’s a good song, but it’s just amazing how we keep buying the exact same song over and over.

I’m tempted to make a snarky comment about Taylor Swift jumping into the homogenized pool of Pop sameness, but I think she was already knee-deep in it anyway. It’s all good, baby, you still spicy as a Memphis rub. Hubba hoo!

I just love this quote by Ann Powers from NPR, “These songs are to punk rock what Jolly Rancher green apple flavored candies are to actual apples.”

Ann’s article, which talks about the song, is actually a fun listen because it plays some of Max Martin’s hits back to back, so that you can just hear the formula play out. Supposedly this track is pop-punk, rebellious babe material. I kinda want them to rebel from uniformity but I’m more fascinated by the fact that we can keep producing the same exact product and people continue to buy it. So many reasons to love!

By the way, Max Martin and Maratone, let us build you a better website.

New York Times Infographic / One Race, Every Medalist Ever

Just saw this brilliantly executed infographic on the New York Times website comparing the speed of every Olympic medalist since 1896 for the 100-meter sprint. It’s not only a great concept to begin with, it’s also such a well thought-out way to present a ton of information, essentially with one model. Check out the animated infographic “One Race, Every Medalist Ever” on NYTimes.com and congratulations to Usain Bolt on the 9.63 second record. Lastly, the website design is pretty cool too, in the way that it auto-scrolls you down to the rest of the content once you finish watching the video. Nice work, NY Times!

Damien 5

Just got this funny gothy thing for the studio. It has black pearl bat-shaped fret markers. Haha! Matte black. 5 Strings. Goes looooow. Get ready for some crushing Joy Division style baselines. Just kidding, we’re gonna makes silly pop songs with it. :)