Extreme = Good, Day Twelve : Connecting The Dots
I have a slight fascination for items from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Furniture. Clothing. Housewares. Primarily items with a mid-century modern flavor.
Today, I was out finishing the holiday shopping marathon. I decided to take a break and stop by a thrift store. This turned out to be a good idea.
I came across a Pyrex mixing bowl with a unique dot pattern and seems to be extremely sought after. The bowl caught my eye immediately. It just screamed mid-century modern.
It is the orange bowl from the “New Dot” set, #401, 1 1/2 pint. There are a total of four bowls in the set (orange, yellow, blue, green). The “New Dot” set was manufactured in 1967. Now, forty years later my mission is to collect the entire set.
(Image by Rian Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Eleven : GOOD Magazine
I currently subscribe to quite a few magazines. Possibly too many. But there is only one that I sit and read from cover-to-cover when I receive it in my mailbox. GOOD Magazine.
Basically, GOOD is “media for people who give a damn”. Now in it’s second year, GOOD magazine provides a platform for the ideas, people, and businesses that are driving change in the world.
GOOD magazine is printed on 30% recycled post-consumer fibre, is EcoLogo certified and manufactured using Biogas Energy. In addition, GOOD offsets 100% of the carbon emissions from publishing with clean energy from renewable energy projects with NativeEnergy. What this means is that GOOD saved the equivalent of 150 trees and lowered air emissions by over 20,000 pounds.
Subscribe for one year and 100% of your money goes to help the organization of your choice. So, to help support their effort you can visit www.goodmagazine.com/subscribe.
(Image by Aeioux via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)
Extreme = Good, Day Ten : Get Me Back Online
The internet is a very good thing. Personally, I use the internet in almost every aspect of my life. News & Information. Entertainment. Social Networking. Business & Marketing.
I do enjoy the internet. However I often wonder if we are better off now that our lives are “connected”.
Which leads to my excuse for the tardiness of this Day Ten post. Day ten was actually a day of travel. Without access to the internet.
So I was unable to post this for the world to read. I know, I know… I need to get an iPhone! I am actually waiting for the second generation to be released… hopefully sooner than later.
It was nice to have a day without the internet. However I must admit that it is nice to be back online.
What do you rely on the internet for? Do you think that you/we rely too heavily on the internet?
(Image by Rian Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Nine : Sign Up To Volunteer
There are a lot of really good reasons to live here in Los Angeles. There are also a lot of really good reasons to leave. If you have been in this city for any length of time you know what I am talking about.
One of the really good things about Los Angeles is KCRW. In fact, if you truly enjoy quality programming it is the ONLY radio station in Los Angeles. In the car at 89.9 or at home via the Panasonic RE-7371 (see above) or iTunes I receive an endless stream of eclectic music, news, information and cultural programming.
As a member/subscriber I do my part to help keep KCRW on the air. But let’s be honest. Anyone with a pulse and a credit card can give money. So last night Alyssa and I decided to sign up as volunteers for the pledge drive in February. I am totally excited to volunteer for a great cause. And for more selfish reasons, I can’t wait to see KCRW behind the scenes.
So be sure to call in and pledge on February 2, 2008 between 5:00 PM - 8:15 PM. Maybe one of us will take your call!
(Image by Rian Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Eight : Go G**gle Yourself!
All of the cool kids are self-Googling these days! Americans under 50 are most likely to self-Google. Most are also more educated and earn a higher income. This is thought to be due to the fact that their jobs demand a certain online persona. This is also due in part to the increase of social networking.
Nearly 50% of Americans have searched their name using Google and other search engines. This is twice as many as in 2002.
As a business owner I certainly see the benefits of being well connected. And the internet is a great place to build and expand on a network of relationships.
When I Google “Rian Heim” (thanks mom and dad for the unique name) and I must say that I am extremely happy with the results. With one exception. On the first two pages (20 search results), I am listed all 20 times. Great, right? Yes, except number 18 reads “[PDF] Wanted: Murderers and thieves”. Not exactly the title that I want my name associated with! It turns out that I submitted the Rian Design DBA in the Santa Monica Daily Press (PDF). The cover story on that day was “Wanted: Murderers and thieves”.
Just to clarify, I am NOT wanted as a murderer or a thief.
The age of the internet and the sharing of information if certainly a good thing.
Aren’t you curious how you rank on Google?
(Image by Rian Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Seven : Die Neue Haas Grotesk
Helvetica (originally Die Neue Haas Grotesk) was designed in the Haas Type Foundry in Switzerland in 1957. It is a font. The movie is an hour and twenty minutes about a font. This might sound completely boring to a lot of people. But I found it to be absolutely fascinating. Probably because I am a designer. But also because of the role that it plays in the world.
Helvetica is a beautifully designed font. It is also widely used throughout the world. These make a very nice combination. Maybe this is the part that is of interest to me.
Street signs. Public transportation. Corporate identity. Every where you look, you see the use of Helvetica. Why? Because it is both readable and accessible. Urban and corporate. Timeless.
Could you imagine if Comic Sans was the font of choice? That would not be a world I would want to live in. Luckily we have Helvetica!
(Image by splorp via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)
Extreme = Good, Day Six : Inbox Zero
I thought the day would never come. I have finally cleaned out my entire email inbox. Or in the words of Merlin Mann, “Inbox Zero”. Which is based on David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.
Simply put, I have processed my entire mailbox. Which is a very good thing! I actually feel a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. There aren’t any important emails hidden down at the bottom of my inbox. I have taken care of all of the quick response emails that have been just sitting there.
Processing your mailbox is simply deciding what to do with your emails:
- Delete it
- Archive it
- Defer it for later response
- Generate an action from it
- Respond to it immediately
Now that my inbox is at zero, which is a huge first step. I need to keep it that way.
Here are Merlin’s top 5 tips to email productivity:
1) Shut off auto-check - Either turn off automatic checking completely, or set it to something reasonable, like every 20 minutes or so.
2) Pick off easy ones - If you can retire an email with a 1-2 line response, do it now.
3) Write less - Stop imagining that all your emails need to be epic literature; get better at just keeping the conversation moving by responding quickly and with short actions in the reply.
4) Cheat - Use something like MailTemplate to help manage answers to frequent email subjects.
5) Be honest - If you know in your heart that you’re never going to respond to an email, get it out of sight, archive it, or just delete it.
Now I am ready to take on any email that decides to enter my inbox.
(Image by Rian Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Five : Rewriting The Hollywood Script
“Oh, hell, I’ll write a novel about writing the screenplay and making the movie.” - Charles Bukowski, Hollywood (an excellent take on the Hollywood scene, from the perspective of a writer)
The writers strike began on November 5 and the end is no where in sight. This is a big deal. For the writers, producers, viewers, and the city of Los Angeles. There are 12,000 writers on strike. The producers are losing viewers which means advertising dollars. Viewers are stuck watching reruns. And the city is losing 80 million each day.
The writers are currently out of work. This is not an ideal situation for them. But, they clearly believe that they have good reason to strike. And I have to say that I agree with them. Since I work in the creative industry, I see first hand the low level of respect/pay this industry receives. This is not always the case. But it is not rare either.
The writers and producers could come to an agreement. Which would not be terrible. We would just be back to watching the same bad television as before.
Or, there could be one of two positive outcomes.
1) The writers could head out on their own. Start independent studios. And ultimately provide more interesting viewing for us all.
2) Viewers will finally get fed up with the whole situation. Support independent television and film. And ultimately provide more interesting viewing for us all.
More access to independent and alternative media for us all!
I have my fingers crossed that this will turn into an extremely good thing.
(Image by Kevin Steele via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)
Extreme = Good, Day Four : Papadakis Taverna
Last night I attended a 90th birthday party. Alyssa’s grandmother turned 90. Yes, 90!
Happy 90th Tessie!
The company was good as always. Her whole family was there.
The food was good as well. We ate at Papadakis Taverna in San Pedro.
But what was excellent was the service. From the restaurant owners down to the staff. Maybe it was the fact that it was a Greek restaurant. Maybe it was because it a family owned business. Or maybe it was a combination of both. The owners are two Greek brothers after all.
I mean, where else do the owners personally greet you at the door? And not just a half ass “welcome”. An actual sincere “hello” along with a handshake.
This is probably a “Greek” thing. It is definitely a “good” thing. An extremely good thing. Especially given the rare occasion that truly good service is given these days.
You can get a decent meal almost anywhere. But how often is the service top notch?
And, just in case that wasn’t enough. The owners performed an enthusiastic song and dance. For the entire restaurant.
(Image by Alyssa Heim)
Extreme = Good, Day Three : Record Breaking*
As a kid I was absolutely fascinated by baseball. You know, back when players made a lot of money. But not ridiculous money. When players started and ended their careers with the same ball club. Before the sizes of players heads literally doubled. When you could truly be a fan of the game. And the history of the game. An the statistics and the records.
Today, after at least a decade of players doping up and setting record breaking* numbers. Just about everyone involved in baseball is being named in a report by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. This includes officials in the commissioner’s office, the players’ union, players and club owners. Talk about extreme, in a good way of course. An investigation by Congress might be the only way to clean up baseball.
As a kid I watched countless games. Collected thousands of cards. And could even name just about every player, who they played for, and what position they played. Now, it is nothing more than a bad reality show mixed with a soap opera. I hope that baseball will do the right thing for their fans. You know, the little ones that look up to these professional cheaters.
(Image by Scott Ableman via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.)
