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> > more....blogs > make blogs for core! be famous! >> JenTrip archives
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JenTrip The Journeys of a Brooklyn Designer |
....who is Jen anyway? |
Sunday, August 26, 2001 I am permanently driven to distraction. I have to finish my thesis (wince). I chuckle a bit to myself thinking of how my Dad said to my Mom this week that he thinks he's lazy. My Mom exclaimed, "What?!? You work ten hours a day every day!!" To which he replied, "Yeah, but I only do the things I want to do." I can relate. I would make an excellent rich housewife. This week my projects include: putting my vintage clothes on e-bay, recovering my couch, finding Deco door knobs on e-bay, finishing my kitchen cabinets, re-painting our floors, and a certain group of friends of mine who have a surf band reiterated their want to have me do some swanky Peggy Lee/Julie London vocal work for them. The list gets bigger the more I think about it. And-I-want-to and-I-want-to and-I-want-to syndrome. I went to a Target for the first time this week. I was largely unimpressed. Are you surprised that I'd never been? Yeah, but I have been to a Piggly Wiggly, where they looked at us funny when we asked whether or not thay had any cheese that wasn't orange. The best thing about Target is the ads. Maybe that isn't fair - because I managed to drop $100... but I love all of those stores in general (K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Ames, Caldor) and have for years. Men's pajamas, Wet'n'Wild nail polish, the ubiquitous "wife beaters", and wine glasses all sit in wait and dust for the next thrifty traveller (like me!). At any rate it was an easy procastination from other pressing projects that I really must finish. Wednesday, August 15, 2001 This week I made shelves for all of our CD's. I did it in a day. I had some 1/2"X5" pine cut to my specs at the lumberyard, I came home and screwed them together and slopped some paint on. We had CD's on it by Seinfeld. I am told that we designers are obsessed with modular things -- but if you saw the collection of crappy CD holders we had, perhaps my point would be better made. There were ones that were towers, ones that spun, ones that flipped through selections horizontally, totally decorative ones.... the list goes on! How many people actually get rid of CD's? Isn't this one of those things where we should be designing (and buying) units which can always expand? Pardon my cynicism - but isn't this also one of those things that should be so simple and recede into the background so much that no one would really crave them? And why now with DVD's and the possibility of getting rid of all of the clunky VHS tapes do we package them in a taller box? Doesn't anyone remember the big wasteful packaging that CD's originally came in? And why does this remind me of the hot dogs in a package to buns in a package ratio? CD cases suck. They have many times been the source of product rage (when you throw them they shatter all over and make a big satisfying noise). I still can't decide what to do once a CD has shed it's skin and made a home in my Case Logic.... does the CD case need a separate home or does it go back to a semi-alphabetized shelf? I am glad designers are paying attention to the problem, but sometimes I think we get really carried away with the pretty I.D. Magazine photo opportunity. Take for example the TDK Stackable CD Cases in this month's I.D. They are really pretty. Yup. And Cool. Would I find them useful? Nope. What about the information on the artist/s? The song list and lyrics? That stuff comes square which these cases are not - and how easy is it to get one CD out from the middle of a stack? My Dad refuses to get a DVD player because he thinks it is one big conspiracy to get us all to invest in DVD's and then they'll switch it on us again once we've made a substantial investment. I don't blame him: laser discs, VHS, Beta, reel to reel, tapes, albums, 4-tracks. All we really want to do is collect music and movies. I don't want to buy any new CD cases unless it can blend in with the existing format while at the same time being better. Then maybe record companies would use this product for the CD to come in at the source. My solution? Lovely 6" modular shelves and cardboard CD booklets (with a flat label on the end) and an album-like sleeve for the cd to slip on out from the top. Maybe. Monday, August 13, 2001 I would like to say something about Napster. Perhaps I spend too much time thinking about the motives of huge corporations (and isn't any time too much time?), but these law suits which on surface seem to be motivated by greed - are proving to only be motivated by power. I heard on the news right after file sharing stopped that record sales are down!! Then I read that when Napster was in full swing that sales were up 8% from the previous quarter. What are they, stupid?? At the Napster web site there are not only links to articles discussing this information, but a list of artists and their own opinions on what the record labels are doing. Apparently they don't even listen to the people making them the money. Now, I admit - I am a Napster addict. I covet my copy of The Kingston Trio's "Scotch and Soda" and my Bizmarkie "Oh Baby You" and these are certainly examples of songs where I will not be going out and buying the album. But: I am a bartender, and I take great pride in the mixed CD's I make to play while I work. I am quietly thrilled when someone comes up to me and asks what the last song was and especially proud when someone exclaims from their table "I love this song!" Bars are the only other forum where I hear new (and old) music. This is where I will be reminded of that Stevie Wonder album I wanted, or where I might finally put together (and remember the name of) that band that my friend told me about with how it sounds. I don't know anyone who listens to the radio any more. The DJ's don't even pick out the music they play. This grand purveyor of the sounds of music is divided from the on-air personality and replaced by yet another corporate schlop. No wonder the popularity of DJ's (for clubs and parties) - and no wonder their inherent hipness. They have choice, flexibility and independence from these corporations and Napster gave all of this this back to the listener. If I hear about new music I have on several occasions downloaded songs from the album and liked it so much that I ran out the next day and bought the album. Of course, this has also prevented me from some big mistakes. The record companies only stand to lose money on bad albums. They might actually have to hire some music scouts who have some discriminating taste and (God forbid) ethics. After all, it's about good music, isn't it? The whole intellectual property thing really gets my goat. The internet is the perfect vehicle for trading information. What a shame it would be if the only information you could get was the same as what you see when the Knicks take a time-out: more inane advertising (don't get me started). We're going to trade music whether they like it or not. It's the nature of the beast. When Napster closed down I burned all of my 850 songs in file format onto five discs and started swapping those with friends. How about that? They're going to have to build a bigger mouse trap. Just for the record - I hate my die cut visor idea. Isn't that always the way it is? Especially after the Napster Blogg I'd rather have the paper plate. Tuesday, August 07, 2001 Last night I saw a guy wearing a sun visor made out of a paper plate and duct tape. I guess necessity is the mother if invention. Either that or this heat just does things to you. I wanted to take a picture, but nobody had a camera. I started to fantasize about cheap "pop-up" visors that would be die cut and sold at hot summer street fairs and events. No wait, companies would jump at the chance to plaster logos all over them and give them away for free. Do they have those already? Wednesday, August 01, 2001 Hurrah! We have a new favorite band. I will try to describe them without sounding like a gushing 14 year old... because that is how we feel: wanting to know all about them, their inspirations, what they eat for lunch. Their name is White Stripes and they are a brother and sister duo from Detroit. If you go to the site, be certain to read the interview with Jack White by Lucas the 5 year old. It really is the best interview I've read in quite some time. As far as the band - not only are they a fabulous combination of garage rock, blues, Zeppelin, and The Beatles - they are also obsessive about the color red (a good red, too). They wear red, sing about red, all their albums are red and white. I always admire anyone who is so thorough with their personal concepts that they effect every aspect of their lives. Music aside, check out The Peppermint Triple Tremelo pictured on the inside the DeStijl album:  Need I say more? I love it! |
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