thinglets: Evolution of Logos

via best-ad.blogspot.com

We all take logos and design for granted and, quite frankly, I think we should. What I mean is that a logo should be like a referee in a hockey game, you know their doing their best when you don't even notice they're around.

By clicking the link under the picture above you'll be able to see the evolution of some 40 different corporate logos. I find SONY one of the most interesting merely because of their decided lack of major change over the past century. Almost all of the change in the SONY logo revolves around either slight squashing or elongation of the standard font. The great thing is that you know there's probably months of debate going into every proportional change to that font. The intense considerations that often go into the most miniscule tweaks to a logo makes them one of the ultimate forms of craft.

Know your audience and represent your entire brand in a scalable symbol that can be reproduced from one inch wide to a billboard.

Impromptu Podcast 41: What Are You Willing To Do?

Continuing a past topic from lovehatethings concerning the impact of social media on activism. What would it take these days for you to get off your ass and hit the streets over an issue or cause. Is clicking a mouse to join a Facebook page enough? Would friends, family, religion, or country move you to action? Lovehatethings wonders, ponders, blunders and flounders.

Tamil Toronto

thinglets: Phasors On Stun... Canadian Sci-Fi Prog 1976

via youtube.com

Okay, maybe if you're Canadian, you remember this song and the band who performed it. Maybe you only knew the electric mandolin player, Nash the Slash. I only post this up because of the obvious Star Trek reference and the fact that you didn't, and still don't, see a great many progressive rock DUOS.

Eventually FM would make its way to being a three piece for most of their career. "Phasors on Stun" was a well-known Canadian classic and still holds some huge nostalgia for me today. One of the great things I love about Youtube and the web in general is the ability to haul out old clips like this that would probably never otherwise see the light of day.

Total Geek Rock 76 Style!

thinglets: Snack Foods Personified at the Drive-In

via youtube.com

Remember the humanizing of food in the Drive In intermission spots? They often say the "toyifying" of animals in mass media has turned young children into unaware pieces of bait as they cease to be fearless of their favorite "Teddy Bears". On a barely related tertiary topic, did anyone every NOT want to eat the food after seeing it personified on the big screen?

You'd get to see Greedy Mr. Popcorn Bag withhold every kernel from the small Hot Butter Cup and then steal all the butter for himself. Watch the militaristic Ice Cream Cups follow blindly behind Major-General Ice Cream Bar. The Red and Blue Soda Cups stuck in lock step for fear of their Ringmaster's wrath.

All I know is that I could not help but enthusiastically blast the car horn when the excited wiener finally dove into the open, inviting hot dog bun. Hey, when you were a kid, you'd take a sexual analogy any way you could... maybe I've said too much.

thinglets: The Fast and the Foodiness

And now... a word association exercise with fast food restaurants.

A&W... Root Beer
Arby's... Cheap Beef
Big Boy... Porn Star
Blimpie... Should be a Popeye character
Boston Pizza... Made in Canada
Burger King... Taste his Jewels
Chick-fil-A... Ben Folds
Church's Chicken... Holy Poultry
Dairy Queen... Soft Dip
Del Taco... Shortstop for the Dodgers
Domino's Pizza... Greazza
Dunkin' Donuts... Hamlet's Stepfather's Snack Choice
Carl's Jr.... Who's Carl?
Fast Eddie's... Who's Eddie?
Harvey's... Oh! THAT Harvey!
IHOP... Syrupy
In-N-Out Burger... Porn Movie
Jack in the Box... Porn Movie
Kentucky Fried Chicken... Now with 99% REAL Kentucky!
Krispy Kreme... One K word away from a Human Rights lawsuit, or Porn Name
L'il Caesar's... Side salad
Long John Silver's... Porn Star
McDonald's...................................... Sorry. My heart stopped.
Mighty Taco... Refried for your protection.
New York Fries.....................................................................
Panda Express... Porn Movie
Pizza Hut... Kentucky Fried Crust
Pizza Pizza... Stutterers Delight
Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits... Spinach be damned.
Quiznos... Toasty.
Red Rooster... Porn Star
Starbucks... Frak You
Subway... Scrape gum off before you eat.
Taco Bell... 100 Ways to enjoy beef, torillas and cheese.
TCBY... Takin' Care of Business Yo!
Tim Hortons... Hears a Who
Wendy's... Frosty
White Castle... My hands look HUGE!
Wimpy... NOT a Porn Name

fast food logos

Impromptu Podcast 39: Without Me, My Domain is Nothing. Without My Domain, I am Nothing.

Ever been declared dead and had to prove yourself still alive? That's kinda what I felt like this past week after having my domain redirect go wonky and then having some well-meaning, but ineffective, people try to fix it, followed by my ultimate decision to transfer... six days of HELL.
 
And on the seventh day, I realized my domain was more than my address, it was my home. Funny I discovered the problem while staying out of town at a hotel. That's what my online life has felt like all week.
 
Included in this Impromptu Podcast is a short pre-recorded piece based on the Marine Creed called My Rifle. I have adapted it to suit my feelings toward my domain.

lovehate: This is MY domain name

full metal jacket

After a recent glitch at my registrar, I had to transfer my lovehatethings.com domain. I can honestly say that the process of just waiting six days while nothing happened to expedite the transfer was painful... I never longed for my analytics stats so much. The email sent by my original registrar said my domain would be transferred in five days, and to only respond if I want to cancel the transfer. Now I know they are really only trying to serve my best interests by giving me such protection, but certainly there has to be a loophole, or at least a phone number, whereby I could have hastened the process.

There will be a podcast soon about how my domain has now become my new confirmation name (any other lapsed Catholics out there?), but, until then, I leave you with my version of the US Marine Creed as re-written for the newfound attachment I have with my domains. Put your best Full Metal Jacket filters on while reading.

My Domain

This is my domain
There are many like it, but this one is MINE.
My domain is my best friend. It is my life.
I must master it as I must master my life.

My domain without me is useless. Without my domain, I am useless.
I must update my content true.
I must post more intelligently than the commenter who is trying to quell me.
I must bury him before he buries me. I will...

My domain and myself know that what counts on Web is not the words we fire,
the noise of our backgrounds, nor the flash interfaces we make.
We know it is the hits that count. We will hit...
My domain is human, even as I, because it is my life.

Thus, I will learn it as a brother.
I will learn its CNAME, its redirects, its scripts, its subdomains, its sites, and its analytics.
I will ever guard it against the ravages of Denial of Service attacks and expiry.
I will keep my domain unique and steady, even as I am unique and steady.
We will become part of each other. We will...

Before WEB I swear this creed.

My domain and myself are the defenders of free thought.
We are the masters of our spammers.
We are the saviors of pop culture.
So be it, until there is no enemy, but NET NEUTRALITY.

thinglets: C-61: A Speculative Documentary

via michaelgeist.ca

As with all dystopian stories, the video clip gives an alternate future of Canada if Bill C-61 had been passed by our previous Conservative government. Much like the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Bill C-61 threatened to send Canada down the path of lawsuits and lobbyist scare tactics. For those of you reading from the US, check out a cynical perspective on our version of DMCA. You know, us top-of-the-list international pirates.