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Packaging: Design Overkill?

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Now that anyone can basically steal any bit of music they want, how does the record industry make up for falling sales. Among other things, the answer is to make outlandish, super deluxe versions. You could probably find all this music online but you wouldn’t get the extras, like books, t-shirts, a working amp or turntable. Some of these are beautifully designed, some are just plain crazy and all are expensive.

Alice Cooper Old School_800Alice Cooper – School’s Out/Retrospective   6 CDs in a wooden desk, 2 books, a couple of 7′ singles, various prints and photos – $800.00

whitestripes-vinyl-500The White Stripes – Working portable record player, headphones, box of red vinyl singles, slip mat. $500

burton-elfman-box-set-13-500Tim Burton & Danny Elfman Box – Every soundtrack plus music written for the box (17 discs) all in a working zoetrope with book and photos. $500

acdc_200AC/DC – European Tour 1977 – 5 discs, 1 vinyl, photos, badges, ticket repro, tour poster and a working amplifier – $200

costes_10_250Hotel Costes – The Collection. 10 Discs housed in a beautiful faux suede case – $250

motorhead-box-set750Motohead – Every Motorhead disc (15) in a sweet plastic skull-thing w/ various extras. $750

yo-yo-ma-90-900Yo-Yo Ma – The Box. Career spanning collection of 90 CDs in a beautifully designed wood box with a coffee table hard bound book. $900

pixies-minotaur-600The Pixies – Minotaur. All the studio LPs w/ 3 hardcover books, prints autographed by the band, vinyl versions of each LP in a 3 foot 10lb box. $500

queen-live-at-wembley-super-deluxe-300Queen Live at Wembley – 2 CDs, 2 DVDs in a touring case. Comes w/ soccer scarf, Hawaiin Tour shirt, blow up Freddy doll, back stage laminates and posters. $300

rammstein_300Rammstein – Liebe ist Fur Alle. 1 CD in metal tour case w/ 6 dildos, modeled from each member of the band, handcuffs and lube. $300

cat_screamadelica_150Primal Scream – Screamidelica. 5 CDs 2 vinyl LPs, T-shirt, slip mat, prints and a hard bound book. $150

And the biggest money waster is….

u2_13_500U2 – Achtung Baby. 6 CDs of outtakes and original LP, 4 DVDs, badges, vinyl version of LP, Bono’s sunglasses, a couple of singles, prints and posters. Remember this is for 1 LP that really isn’t that great. $500

And the most expensive

karajan_240_3300Herbert von Karajan. 240 discs (no T-shirts or posters) $3,300



Design: The Best Cover in Years – David Bowie’s ‘The Next Day’

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David Bowie turned 66 on January 8th and released his first LP in 10 years on March 13th – a cause for celebration. One of the things that make it so special is the cover – a simple rework of his 1977 LP, Heroes - or so it would seem. This type of artwork might suggest a greatest hits or a remastered version of the earlier album. Not the case at all. This is a totally new work and is fantastic. No need for a review, it’s the cover were talking about. This is so simple and so potentially misguided, it’s amazing that it works, and it does.

Artist Jonathon Barnbrook explains – “The Heroes cover obscured by the white square is about the spirit of great pop or rock music which is ‘of the moment’, forgetting or obliterating the past.”

“However, we all know that this is never quite the case, no matter how much we try, we cannot break free from the past. When you are creative, it manifests itself in every way – it seeps out in every new mark you make (particularly in the case of an artist like Bowie).”

“We worked on hundreds of designs using the concept of obscuring this cover but the strongest ones were the simplest – it had to be something that was in direct contrast to the image underneath but that wasn’t too contrived (we know all design is contrived, that is the essence of the word ‘design’).”

“It would have been clearer to many people if we had scribbled all over the cover but that didn’t have the detachment of intent necessary to express the melancholy of the songs on the album. Yes, having said all this, we know it is only an album cover with a white square on it but… often the most simple ideas can be the most radical.”

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Bowie at 66

Bowie at 66

In the Studio (with a banjo?)

In the Studio (with a banjo?)

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The cast of video "The Stars are Out Tonight". Tilda Swinton 2nd left

The cast of video “The Stars are Out Tonight”. Tilda Swinton 2nd left

David and Tilda - separated at birth

David and Tilda – separated at birth

Promo with photo of William S. Burroughs & Bowie

Promo with photo of William S. Burroughs & Bowie

Heroes - 1977

Heroes – 1977

With wife, Iman

With wife, Iman

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2013

2013


Photographers: George Brassai

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George Brassaï  (nee Gyula Halász) (9 September 1899 — 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian (Transylvanian) photographer sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the early 20th century. It would seem that Brassai shot everything and was allowed everywhere in 1920′s Paris. His work depicts streetwalkers, artists (Dali, Picasso, Matisse), Folies Bergere girls, the underground gay clubs, the segregated jazz clubs and high society. Some his work is very voyeuristic (the lovers stealing kisses in alleys), some extremely posed (his portraits) and some extremely modern (his nudes). Brassi would continue to work in Paris the rest of his life, sometime shooting for fashion magazines like Harper’s Bazaar. His one-man exhibitions throughout the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s would bring him more worldwide fame and wealth. He would work up until his death at 85 in 1989.

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Bijou de Montmarte

Bijou de Montmarte

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Anais Nin

Anais Nin

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Painters: Kirk Damarais

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Kirk Damarais is an artist, graphic designers, and apparently all around good egg working out of LA. Even his web site doesn’t say much about him other than he loves to create and likes to have fun (well who doesn’t). His pencil drawings of famous families are hilarious – a little skewed, a bit like a bad junk store painting. Check out his other stuff at http://www.kirkdemarais.com

The Torrences (The Shining)

The Torrences (The Shining)

The McClaines (Die Hard)

The McClaines (Die Hard)

The McDunnoughs (Raising Arizona)

The McDunnoughs (Raising Arizona)

The Johnsons ( The Jerk)

The Johnsons ( The Jerk)

The Lundegards (Fargo)

The Lundegards (Fargo)

The Beullers (Faris Beuller)

The Beullers (Faris Beuller)

The Emersons (Lost Boys)

The Emersons (Lost Boys)

Corky. St Claire (Waiting for Guffman)

Corky. St Claire (Waiting for Guffman)

The Bluths (Arrested Development)

The Bluths (Arrested Development)

The Whites (Breaking BAd)

The Whites (Breaking BAd)

The Fischers (Rushmore)

The Fischers (Rushmore)

The Mitchells (King of Knog)

The Mitchells (King of Knog)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Happy St. Pats – From Ireland’s Favorite Son

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Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan

NPG x30443; Shane MacGowan by Steve Pykeshane2shane111

Shane & the Missus - Victoria

Shane & the Missus – Victoria

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Design: National Safety Council Posters

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The National Safety Council was founded in 1913 and still exists today. The organization is dedicated to promoting health and safety in the US of A. Throughout the years they’ve created these beautiful posters to make folks aware of the dangers of everyday life. Every place you go there is a potential hazard and the NSC is there to point it out. So wear your glasses, watch out for toys on the stairs, careful of those frayed cords, keep your fingers out of machinery and always, always make sure you have a hot work permit (?).

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Painters: Guy Peellaert’s Rock Dreams

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Guy Peellaert – (6 April 1934 – 17 November 2008)  Guy was a Belgian artist, painter, illustrator, comic artist and photographer, most famous for the book Rock Dreams and for his album covers for David Bowie* and The Rolling Stones. He also designed movie posters, most notably Paris Texas, Taxi Driver, Wings of Desire and Short Cuts. The band Frankie Goes to Hollywood named themselves after the title of Peellaert’s portrait of Frank Sinatra.

*The album cover of David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs (1974) met with controversy. The cover art features Bowie as a striking half-man, half-dog grotesque. It was controversial as the full painting clearly showed the hybrid’s genitalia. Very few copies of this original cover made their way into circulation at the time of the album’s release. According to the record-collector publication Goldmine price guides, these albums have been among the most expensive record collectibles of all time, as high as thousands of US dollars for a single copy. The genitalia was quickly airbrushed out for the 1974 LP’s gatefold sleeve, although the original artwork (and another rejected cover featuring Bowie in a cordobes hat holding onto a ravenous dog) was included in subsequent Rykodisc/EMI re-issues.

Elvis, John, Bob, Mick & David

Elvis, John, Bob, Mick & David

The Stones

The Stones

Superstar Bob

Superstar Bob

Cass Elliot & Michelle Phillips

Cass Elliot & Michelle Phillips

David Bowie's Diamond Dogs (un-neutered)

David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs (un-neutered)

Jim Morrison & Roy Orbison

Jim Morrison & Roy Orbison

Elvis

Elvis

The Beatles

The Beatles

Mick Jagger - Gentleman

Mick Jagger – Gentleman

Phil Spector

Phil Spector

Frankie & Annette

Frankie & Annette

Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Stones - Only Rock-n-Roll Cover

Stones – Only Rock-n-Roll Cover

The Supremes

The Supremes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Film: The Birds – 50 Years On

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Alfred Hitchcock’s next film after Psycho, The Birds (1963) was very loosely based on a short story by British author Daphne Du Maurier and also a strange occurrence in Monterray CA in 1961 where thousands of birds inexplicably slammed into houses and people (which years later was put down to birds eating tainted squid and anchovies). Starring another typical Hitchcock icy (and beautiful) blond – Tippi Hedren, with Rod Taylor and and the yummy Suzanne Pleshette. The story goes that Hitchcock completely controlled every move Miss Hedren made, from her wardrobe to the color of her lipstick. For whatever reason he even tied live birds to her clothing for the climatic final attack causing the birds to scratch her face and basically drive her crazy. Most of the birds were puppets or animated but some were real trained crows and seagulls. When the filming was over most were set free only to pester the occupants of Bodega Bay Ca. for years to come,  by landing on their heads and giving them light pecks.

The Birds

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the birds B2

the birds B5

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Painters: Frank R. Paul (not the monkey guy)

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Frank Rudolph Paul (April 18, 1884 – June 29, 1963) Frank R. Paul was influential in defining what both cover art and interior illustrations in the nascent science fiction pulps of the 1920s looked like. Paul painted for a number of pulps, most notably Amazing Stories, Air Wonder Stories, Science Wonder Stories, and the first issue (October–November, 1939) of Marvel Comics.

Frank R. Paul can be credited with the first color painting of a space station (August 1929, Science Wonder Stories) published in the U.S.  His cover for the November 1929 Science Wonder Stories was an early, if not the earliest, depiction of a flying saucer. This painting appeared almost two decades before the sightings of mysterious flying object – all before most people in the US even had telephones.

He was very innovative in the depiction of spaceships. Several of his illustrations were disc shaped and it has been speculated that he may have, accidentally, created the UFO craze when the first sighting of lights in the sky were described as disc shaped.

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FRANK R. PAUL (American, 1884-1963). Science Fiction, pulp cover, June 1939

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Easter Sunday March 31 – Happy 70th Birthday Christopher Walken

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Ronald Walken (born March 31, 1943) aka Christopher Walken. Happy Birthday to one cool son of a bitch.

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walken as max zorin

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Christopher-Walken

 


Photography: Bowie’s ‘Station to Station’ tour

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The Station to Station Tour began in Feb. 1976 in support of the album of the same name, and lasted until May of the same year. Bowie had been living on ‘cocaine, peppers and milk’  for the making of the album but seemed a bit more fit, and less insane, for the tour. All black and white clothes and white neon light stage design, Bowie said  “I wanted to go back to a kind of German Expressionist movement look … and the lighting of, say, Fritz Lang or Pabst. A black-and-white movies look, but with an intensity that was sort of aggressive. I think for me, personally, theatrically, that was the most successful tour I’ve ever done.”

david bowie as the thin white duke the archer station to station tour by john robert rowlands 1976

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David Bowie On Stage At Wembley

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station

Thin White Duke

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Staglieno Cemetery – Genoa Italy

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The Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno is an extensive cemetery located on a hillside in the district of Staglieno of Genoa, Italy, famous for its monumental tombs. Covering an area of more than a square kilometre, it is one of the largest and most beautiful cemeteries in Europe. Work began in 1844 and was opened 7 years later on January 2nd, 1851. Over time there were several extensions and the cemetery now includes sections for an English cemetery, as well as Protestant and a Jewish sections. For 70-80′s music scholars, the opening shot is of the The Appiani family tomb, used for the cover of Joy Division’s LP Closer - shot 3 is the tomb used for the Love Will Tear Us Apart single. Thanks to all the photographers of these beautiful shots.

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Gesti di Pietra

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Women & Motorcycles

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Not a lot to say really – these are pictures of women on motorcycles. Always a bit of a male dominated activity, there were always those few brave woman who just wouldn’t sit still – and thank the lord for that.

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Vintage-Motorcycle-Girls-Wallpaper-Bikers-Picture-Dekstop-Background

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San Francisco Womens Motorcycle Unit - 1940


San Francisco Womens Motorcycle Unit – 1940

Dispatch Riders

Dispatch Riders

The Fabulous Bessie Stringfield - Rode solo coast to coast through the deep south in the 1940's

The Fabulous Bessie Stringfield – Rode solo coast to coast through the deep south in the 1940′s

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Girl-on-a-motorcycle-020

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Vintage-INDIAN-MOTORCYCLE-Photo-1920s-women-little-girl-in-SIDECAR

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Anne Margaret loved motorcycles

Anne Margaret loved motorcycles

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Design: Controversial Magazine Covers – through the years

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The following major magazine covers were deemed extremely controversial for their time. Some now just seem silly, Ellen Degeneres’ coming out on the cover of Time, some extremely WTF – Time Magazines’ Man of the Year for 1938 – Adolph Hitler, and some downright screwed up – Time’s (wait I see a pattern developing here) photo-shopping of O.J. Simpson’s mug shot to make him darker and thus more menacing. So try to see these through older eyes because how else could the up-roar over the first black woman on Playboy make sense any other way.

In no particular order:

1. Hitler is Time’s Man of the Year – 1938 From the Time article “Greatest single news event of 1938 took place on September 29, when four statesmen met at the Führerhaus, in Munich, to redraw the map of Europe. The three visiting statesmen at that historic conference were Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain, Premier Edouard Daladier of France, and Dictator Benito Mussolini of Italy. But by all odds the dominating figure at Munich was the German host, Adolf Hitler.” Ed. Note: JESUS H. CHRIST!

time-man-of-the-year-hitler-1938

2. Time Magazines OJ Simpson – In 1994 OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The case has been described as one of the most publicized criminal trials in American history. The controversial TIME cover was heavily criticized for making OJ look darker and more menacing than the original mug shot, which can be seen unaltered and used by Newsweek magazine.

oj-simpson-time-magazine-cover-controversial-darkened1994

3. Time – Ellen Comes Out. When TIME received the exclusive on Ellen Degeneres’ coming out as a lesbian it was controversial at the time (1997). Upon the news many TV outlets had decided to pull her show from the air. At the time she was the only openly gay star on television. Ellen Gay? Really?

ellen-comes-out-yep-im-gay-time-magazine-cover-1997

4. Playboy 1971 – The beautiful Darine Stern was the first African-American woman to ever appear on the cover of Playboy magazine. The photograph was taken by Richard Fegley and at the time of publication the choice to feature an African-American on the cover of a major American magazine was extremely rare. Men across America collectively sigh – “It’s about fuckin time”.

playboy-1971-first-african-american-on-cover

5. Vanity Fair – A Pregnant Demi Moore. Shot by famous celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, this 1991 Vanity Fair cover featured Demi Moore, who was the first celebrity to appear naked and pregnant on the cover of a magazine. The now famous pose would later be copied by other celebrities such as Cindy Crawford, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson, (and the last time anyone gave a shit about Demi Moore).

demi-moore-pregnant-magazine-cover-vanity-fair1991

6. Rolling Stone 1981 – John & Yoko. Even more iconic than the Demi Moore photo is Annie Leibovtiz’s Rolling Stone cover featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1980. Apparently Leibovitz originally wanted to shoot (photograph) Lennon alone but he insisted his wife be included. The famous photograph was taken just hours before Lennon was shot and killed outside of his apartment building, The Dakota, on December 8, 1980.

rolling-stone-january-22-1981-john-lennon-and-yoko-ono

7. OK Weekly – 2009 Michael Jackson’s Death photo. OK! Weekly was heavily criticized for publishing what it claimed was the last ever photograph of the late pop superstar Michael Jackson. The controversial image was purchased for approximately $500,000 and appeared on the magazine’s “Official Tribute Issue”. A fine tribute indeed.

ok-weekly-magazine-cover-michael-jackson-death-2009

8. National Lampoon – 1973. While not as controversial as many of the other entries, the cover did create a stir with its violent overtones of animal cruelty. Especially since the cover was run decades before desktop publishing and photo manipulation were the norm, such an image was unsettling to many. However the look on the dog’s face is hilarious.

if-you-dont-buy-this-magazine-well-kill-this-dog-1973

9. Newsweek 2011 – What if Princess Dianna was 50?  This  magazine cover from last year featured a computer-generated image of Princess Diana with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Diana, who died in a car accident in 1997, would have been 50 in 2011. In April of 2011, Catherine Middleton married Prince William, the oldest son of Diana and Prince Charles. This really doesn’t seem all that controversial – just dumb.

newsweek-princess-diana-and-kate-middleton-2011

10. Esquire 1968 – The Passion of Mohammad Ali. This was meant to represent how Ali was martyred for his convictions, – that being to become a conscientious objector and not go to Viet Nam. This was a stand that not too many people agreed with back in ’66. Ali was stripped of his title and jailed. The cover is a reference to the famous painting “The Martyrdom of St. Sebastion”.

aliesquire68

11. Newsweek 2012 – The 1st Gay President. This Newsweek cover of President Obama featuring a glowing, rainbow halo and the words “The first gay president” came in the wake of Obama’s announcement that he supports same-sex marriage. The cover’s headline was perceived by some as an implication that the President himself was gay. It was more cheeky than controversial but it stands out nonetheless.

the-first-gay-president-obama-newsweek-2012

12. The New Yorker – The Twin Towers Sept. 24 2001. The cover created by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly for the September 24, 2001 issue of The New Yorker received wide acclaim and was voted in the top ten of magazine covers of the past 40 years by the American Society of Magazine Editors, which commented:

“New Yorker Covers Editor Francoise Mouly repositioned Art Spiegelman’s silhouettes, inspired by Ad Reinhardt’s black-on-black paintings, so that the North Tower’s antenna breaks the “W” of the magazine’s logo. Spiegelman wanted to see the emptiness, and find the awful/awe-filled image of all that disappeared on 9/11. The silhouetted Twin Towers were printed in a fifth, black ink, on a field of black made up of the standard four-color printing inks. An overprinted clear varnish helps create the ghost images that linger, insisting on their presence through the blackness.”

At first glance, the cover appears to be totally black, but upon close examination it reveals the silhouettes of the World Trade Center towers in a slightly darker shade of black. In some situations, the ghost images only become visible when the magazine is tilted toward a light source.

the-new-yorker-9-11-magazine-cover-september-24-2001-silhouette

Thanks to http://www.Twistedsifter.com


Design Overkill Part 2 – Blu-Ray & DVD

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As it’s so easy to download your favorite movie for free (and illegally) on the internet, designers of  DVDs and Blu-Ray packaging  are going way, way out of their way to sweeten the deal with extras, bonuses, toys and insane geegaws. It’s all about the packaging baby- (something you still can’t download, yet.) How else do you make people buy a stinker of a movie like Terminator Salvation.

ET-Exploded-Blu-ray-BoxsetE.T. The Extra Terrestrial – Comes in a battery operated space ship that opens to reveal the disc. Also hours of behind the scenes and a hardbound book.

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Lost – The Series – 36 Discs, comes w/ board game, prop replicas and book all in a weird box

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Transformers – Ultimate – 7 discs (why, why why) in a metal box w/ a framed film strip signed by the fabulous Mr. Michael Bay. I believe this is just the first movie, though it may be all 3.

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Twilight – Eclipse – From Japan (of course). One film on 4 discs, extras galore, cards, still, jewel box, charms, etc. For the seriously troubled collector.

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Twilight – Breaking Dawn – Again from Japan

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Scarface – Packaged in a working humidor. “The World is Yours”. Your friends will be impressed.

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Blade Runner Ultimate – 5 discs. The movie in 4 different versions. With toys, stills and books. All in a sweet metal attache case.

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Harry Potter – The Wizards Collection  All the films on 4 discs each, totaling 32. Tons of extras, books, toys, etc all in a wooden chest of drawers.

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Watchmen – The Owls’ light up space ship with 2 discs.

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The Matrix  – 5 discs in a sweet cheap plastic space ship.

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Walking Dead Season 3 – Nice lenticular plastic box.

Toy Story_DVD_Blu-ray_Ultimate_Toy_Box_Collection

Toy Story 1 – 3 10 discs in a nice tin play chest

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Dark Shadows TV Show – Pretty cool packaging. 131 discs (!!!???)  in a hard paper coffin.

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Terminator Salvation – Nice metal blinky terminator head

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Biohazard 4 (Resident Evil) – Book, film and a really big toy.



Design: Good Logos, Very Very Bad Logos

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When it comes to logo design, there’s purely great, occasionally clever and more often then not absolutely horrendous. A talented designer can work a  reference into a logo that suggests what the company does or what they stand for. For example, the hidden arrow in the FedEx logo (#4) suggests forward motion (perfect), the 31 in the Baskin Robbins Ice Cream logo (#7) calls back to the day when the 31 flavors was part of their promotion. The hidden meaning of the  VAIO logo, below, is obscure but cool once you know about it.

The second part of this post is about logos that failed miserably. They were meant to be thoughtful and professional but for the most part just turned out to be obscene and creepy. How else can you look at the Catholic Archdiocese Youth Program logo (bad #2) without being thoroughly creeped-out. My thought is that some of these might be fake or that I may have a serious problem, but I’ll leave it up to you.

THE GOOD

vaio-logoVAIO Computers – The Vaio logo also represents the integration of analog and digital technology with the ‘VA’ representing an analog wave and the ‘IO’ representing a digita lbinary code.

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NASA – Nice use of negative space to suggest the moon

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Spartan Golf Club – Easy to see, great use of type and imagery

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FedEx – I never noticed the arrow formed by the E and the X. Now it’s all I can see in this logo.

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Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club – Note the M and the B to form a catchers mitt

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Pittsburgh Zoo

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Baskin Robbins – ’31′ Flavors

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Eighty 20 – This logo was complicated to figure out; the blue squares represent 1′s and the gray squares represent 0′s. This makes a 1010000 sequence on the top line, represent eighty in binary, and the bottom line reads 0010100, which represents 20 in binary. For the nerds.

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Atlanta Falcons Football Club – doubles as an actual Falcon, and an ‘F’ for Falcons.

THE VERY, VERY, VERY BAD

sunrisesushiSunrise Sushi

catholic archdiocese

Catholic Archdiocese Youth Program

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Clinica Dental

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A-Style – This one took me a few minutes to see

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Arlington Pediatric Center

BadLogo-Kids

Kids Exchange

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State of Vermont Pure Maple Syrup

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Mont Sat – TV Dish Company

safe place

Safe Place

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Islamic Understanding Institute

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The Computer Doctors

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Doughboys

22obscene_02Kudawara – Pharmacy


Illustration: Robert McGinnis

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Robert McGinnis (born 1926) – Robert McGinnis is an American illustrator and painter who has designed over 1200 covers for a variety of paperback novels. He has designed over 40 movie posters such as ‘Breakfast at Tiffanys’ (his first) and many of the Bond series posters. His female models all have impossibly long legs, incredibly beautiful, a touch of danger – and for some odd reason, many are missing one shoe(?). The men are all tough and ‘Bond-like’ – mostly private eye types. Robert continues to work mostly for the “Hard Case” detective series of books.

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AT THE MOVIES

James Bond - Thunderball

James Bond – Thunderball

James Bond - You Only Live Twice

James Bond – You Only Live Twice

Unused Thunderball Art

Unused Thunderball Art

Breakfast at Tiffanys

Breakfast at Tiffanys

How to Steal a Million

How to Steal a Million

 

Barbarella

Barbarella

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cotton Comes to Harlem


His Name Was Liberace

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Wladziu (or Vładziu) Valentino Liberace – (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) I remember thinking the first time I saw the Austin Powers movie, that the funniest line was when Mike Myers character wakes up after 40 years, and while reading a history book to catch up he says; “Wow, Liberace gay? I never saw that coming.” Nor did my mom or all the other women (and men) who loved ‘Lee’ Liberace in the 50s, 60′s and into the 80′s.
Liberace was not just the flashy boob he would become in later life, he was a classically trained and well respected classical pianist, forging a pretty good career for a number of years. It’s told that at one point in his young career he wore a white tuxedo on stage, something classical pianists would never do – ever. Along with changing his concerts to a touch of classical music w/ lighter fare, Chopin right next to Home on the Range, his career sky rocketed and he never stopped mixing things up. This guy was huge, HUGE. One of the first performers to actually turn a concert into a SHOW. (* Elton John was not the first gay piano player to dress up). As is often the case, he went to far and became a parody of himself. He would eventually be sued for palimony  by his gay chauffeur, Scott Thorsen, and eventually died of AIDS in 1987. As an aside Steven Soderburg just released his Liberace biopic starring Michael Douglas as Lee and Matt Damon as Scott Thorsen called Behind the Candelabra.

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Liberace

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A Young Vładziu Valentino Liberace

A Young Vładziu Valentino Liberace

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Lee & Elvis

Lee & Elvis

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Liberace at the Las Vegas Hilton. 2-25-74.

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Lee and Muppet Dog Ralph

Lee and Muppet Dog Rowlph

 

 


Happy 67th Birthday John Waters

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John Samuel Waters, Jr. (born April 22, 1946) Not the greatest director alive, granted,  he sure has made a mark on the face of cinema though. The first time I saw Pink Flamingos, I remember thinking that this guy must be out of his mind, poop-eating 300lb transvestites, not with-standing. He gone on to direct some pretty great movies, the first Hairspray, Cry Baby and Cereal Mom and some pretty awful movies – A Dirty Shame for example. But no matter what there’s always something there to love. he funny as hell and sports the coolest mustache anyone’s seen since 1942. So Happy Birthday.

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With Divine

With Divine

With Divine

With Divine

And.... With Divine

And…. With Divine

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John with David Lockary

John with David Lockary

Bride of Chucky - 2004

Seed of Chucky – 2004

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'See You in Hell' - John Waters

‘See You in Hell’ – John Waters

 

 

 

 

 


The Chimeras and Gargoyles of Notre Dame

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Notre Dame de Paris (French for “Our Lady of Paris“) Notre Dame began construction in 1163 and continued in different stages until about 1345 – just shy of 200 years. The gargoyles that act as drain pipes have always been there, the original chimiras – (a mythical or grotesque figure), were destroyed in the 1700′s due to their horrific and probably unchrist-like appearance. What you see now is the restoration completed in the early 1800′s and created with the original Gothic beasts in mind. The majority of the figures appear in whats know as The Gallery of the Chimara in an area that link the two main towers above the Gallery.

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Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris: Gargoyles

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Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France4

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Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France15

Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France

Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France8

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris: Gargoyles

Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France2

Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France14


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