The Way To Playful from JamesB on Vimeo.

Kettles seem to be (becoming) a standard measure for power consumption don’t they? It’s like anthropomorphism only instead of objects taking on human traits we have intangible stuff like electricity taking on the form and activity of objects. Objectifimorphism?

Does anyone fancy meeting for a coffee in Cape Town?  Don’t come especially, but if you happen to be in the area then email me (james dot boardwell at gmail dot com) and let’s meet… I’m here until the evening of the 13th…

image by DanieVDM

knitting moleskines, originally uploaded by erinscissorhands.

Nice range of recycled notebooks from erinscissorhands. The idea of notebooks as embodying greater permanence in a digital age is at odds with the tech discourse which is about indelible zero’s and one’s. But it’s definitely emerging as a practice evidenced by demand for moleskin type notebooks. As information gets cheaper, our own handcrafted books and knitted words gain greater value perhaps because of their limited transferability?

QR-ed hash brown, originally uploaded by superlocal.

Superlocal finds another piece of Asian goodness, this time in the unlikely [Western] setting of McDonald’s. A QR badge to show fat content!

But surely it’s a post rational design thought, an indulgence which would perhaps get people talking rather than something to inform decision making…?

GO WAY THE MAN WHO HAS NOT TURN TABLE, originally uploaded by superlocal.

“GO AWAY THE MAN WHO HAS NOT TURN TABLE”

Know your audience. Speak to them clearly and directly. And patronise your non-audience as this will make your core audience feel good about themselves. Don’t worry about grammar.

… like bands they’d be a lot better.  Most businesses are just inherently dull, a product of inertia, risk aversion, process, beaurocracy and politics.  Most business books are rubbish, one thought extended to death.  If businesses were more like bands the world would be better.  And if business books were more like comics they’d be way better. Trust me. There’d be no end to world poverty or social inequality but they’d be better, more dynamic, more interesting, more fluid and .. just better places to work and to work with.  This rant was sparked by seeing LOVE the other day who are , to me, like a band and how fresh and exciting that was.  Made me think about how I came up with Rattle, which was a compromise from some quirkier names [angry hippy being one] and how I settled on Rattle because people said it was more grown up, serious etc. and that that was good.  When actually I’m not sure clients / people want grown up and serious and self-conciously businesslike.  They want something more distinctive and honest and fun and raw.   

As a start I think I’m changing names to The Rattles. It’s pretty dumb but I like it.

Saw Andrew today in our communal office in Borders off the M62.   If  he were in a band he’d be the  keyboard player in a post-new wave act in spangly leotard.   What would they be called…?

–> Cassette courtesy of  says-it