Byrdhouse

Towels and Cans of La Croix

“Towels and Cans of La Croix” For sale, by artist. Alternate view here. This is from the installation series self-indulgently entitled, "Things I gather in the floorboard of my car"

Note to Self

Anusol® is not the same thing as Anbesol®

Guest Editor at Coudal

I'm spending the month of February rummaging through the medicine cabinet, eating cereal that's not mine and claiming the comfier sofa. Call me a house guest. Im posting on Coudal under Fresh Signals. It's a link stream of art, design and culture.

Black Slabbath at Octane

What you see is a type installation by Stefan Kjartansson at Octane in Atlanta. It's set in the soon to be released Black Slabbath typeface also designed by Stefan. Take note next time you're in for a latte. And check out some more images here.

Chirp Winter Mix

Grab the new CHIRP mix. Video cover art by Aaron Byrd.

Happy Holidays

Here's some video fun for the holiday season. Have your holiday checklist handy?

Phonebook Phone Table

Click To Play

Jewelboxing Cops on Bikes

This is the dvd case for Cops on Bikes. It's made with Coudal's Jewelboxing.
Find out more about the making-of at the Jewelboxing blog.

Atlanta 1690 AM

I've recently abandoned the crammed FM dial for Atlanta's 1690 AM. Eclectic, musically educational and broadcasted in the refreshing world of mono, WMLB streams a wonderful plethora of unknown, known, legendary and peculiar songs from digital to dusty. Most endearing are the stations top-of-the-hour id's, a random bird call.

Sorry WRAS and WREK, Im just tired of the college music scene. I have mp3 blogs for that now.

Thanks to Nate and Wade for converting me.

McCormick Tribune Campus Center

This is by Rem Koolhaas OMA at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The school is Mies van der Rohe's old stomping grounds. See the Full Gallery here.

CHIRP in the summer

Justin Van Hoy did the cover art for this month's CHIRP. Get the summer mix here.

Geoduck is Not a Duck

The geoduck is a large clam (pictured here, center). The oldest on record is 160 years. That makes it one of the longest living organisms in the animal kingdom. It is the official mascot of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

Schooner Names

Possible names for the sailboat you will likely never own:
1. Bloody Murder
2. Flash 2018
3. Mayonaise
4. Flamethrower
5. Vlad The Impaler

The sailing race competitors:
Osiris, Perseus, Gliss, Lady Goodgirl, Savvy, Parlay, Klosters, Georgia, Kaori, Maltese Falcon, Captain Earl, Moon Glow, Lone Ranger, Limitless, Gotcha (Too), Hyperion, Sojan, Highland Breeze, Whisper, Rebecca, Parsifal, Atlanta, Kokamo

Octopus Hands

In high school you branched off from your buddy's band and started your own solo act. You swore on 1700's French court attire (think Amadeus). Octopus tentacles instead of hands peeked from your coat's sleeves, as you tapped your Casio with such a focused intensity, completely oblivious to the mostly inaccurate notes the tentacled fingers produced. Your music was very hard to listen to, but your live shows were amazing to witness.

Organic Honey Macadamia Grainfest

Welcome Trader Joe's to Atlanta. I have two suggestions for you:
1. Widen your isles. I was nearly speared by a french-bread wielding lady making a hard left. If I'm going down that way, believe me, I will be taking out the closest end-cap of stacked something with me. That's a promise.
2. Increase the amount of macadamia nuts in the Organic Honey Macadamia Grainfest cereal. (Yeah, believe it. That's a real name you read as the post title.) My gawd, it's not just a grainfest after all, sheesh. I mean, the packaging photography doesn't lie. The EXACT same count of nuts in the bowl image can be found in the entire box, so technically it is correct. But when I go in thinking every spoonful will have a morsel of macadamia, and it doesn't, well step on a frog, you're gonna have a good ol' blog rant on your hands.

Other than these two minor issues, I very much enjoyed the 2.99-everything shopping experience of Trader Joe's. It's like the IKEA of organic groceries. The cereal was actually quite good despite its short comings in the nut arena.

The Poetics of Structure

I think great objects get more beautiful as they age. I have this lamp that looks like a crane. It's a Tolomeo lamp and it sits on the floor in my living room. I myself think it has the lanky, mechanical qualities of a crane. Pictures Here.

I use it for everything it seems. It just scoots around the room becoming a reading, dining, and desk light, whenever. It's ever more beautiful now than when it first arrived. I've learned through use how much its form and aesthetics relate to how it works. The weight and resistance, angles and positions, just how it feels, beautiful. (Thank you Florrie!)

..

"Objects that improve with use" is addressed differently in the graduate work of Bethan Laura Wood. With Stain, teacups reveal interior patterns as the cup stains from use.

Trophy Display

It's little suction-cupped animal heads for your bathroom.

See more here.

Smoking Policy

Are you a retailer who sells clothing of that distressed, dirty variety? Smoking Lounge™ is a new scented aerosol that smells just like your chain-smoking uncle. A single spray and any seemingly well-worn pair of jeans transforms into a round olfactory experience. Your customers will come to clammer after that 20th-century smoker aesthetic.

For the outdoor retailer we have Campfire Story™, a scent much as if you sat by a campfire last night, eating ramen noodles. Let those racks of hi-tech flannel-replacement shirts absorb it, like, well flannel. Buyers will be camping outside your store.

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The Spectrum Diet*

We are talking about a seven-day eating regime like no other that has marched across America, passed from mother to daughter, and is currently being tested by a large group of mildly overweight people. We are talking about the spectrum diet.

On Monday, we eat in red. Tomatoes, apples, tuna tartar, red peppers, pepperoni and raspberries. Tuesday is orange like cantaloupe and salmon. And well, oranges. Wednesday is yellow. Thursday, green. Friday is nothing but blueberries! Eggplant, plums and grapes are for Saturday. Sunday you fast. But maybe you do pink. (Florrie interjected and said to put in pink.) The real spectrum diet purest fasts though. I mean, come on, pink grapefruit and shrimp? Sheez.

*Working title, results may vary.

Cops on Bikes

We made a music video for Thriller 2's "Cops on Bikes." See it here

Briefbox / Boomcase

Larry Luk at Epidemik Coalition helped me create this briefbox. He screen printed me's illustration of an eighties blaster on an old briefcase I likes to carry rounds. Photos by John.

Happy Holidays

I do declare nothing says "Happy Holidays" quite like a puppy.

Check out the Armchair Media's 2006 Holiday Card.

Smittens

Now here's something particularly cute for those upcoming winter months: Smittens, mittens built for two. It's a brilliantly cute idea, the Smitten. One mitten keeps two holding hands warm.

I remember back when we lads didn't even have gloves during cold winter days outside. All we had were socks; striped tube-socks on our frigid little hands. Very difficult to even hold hands back then. Now, Smittens!

Concrete for Miles

Montreal

Demolition of the Wachovia Building

See the timelapse video.

On September 30, 2006 at 8:25 am, the Wachovia Building at Peachtree St and North Ave. was demolished. It's the first high-rise in 13 years to be flattened in Atlanta. Find more about the Wachovia Building, including its history, at DOCOMOCO.

What I'm Listening To Right Now

Here's a quick rundown of albums that are on my heavy rotation playlist:

Ratatat - "Classics"
Guitar-driven, sonic-infused instrumentals. Really great stuff. I get giddy when the wildcat roars.

Casey Dienel - "Wind Up Canary"
She's just adorable. All-American piano-driven songwrting. My fav track is Doctor Monroe.

Jim Noir - "Tower Of Love"
Beach boy inspired pop songs. Fun videos.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Broom"
Light sing-along melodies from the mid-west? I really love their name.

Quintron & Miss Pussycat - "Swamp Tech/Electric Swamp"
Electroclash. Jon Spencer with an organ and back-up singers. I stumbled onto them after seeing this video.

The Black Angels - "Passover"
Austin rock band, has the coolest CD packaging I've seen in years.

Professor Murder - "Professor Murder Rides The Subway"
Mindless jump-around-the-bedroom pop production. Party, baby. I love it.

TV on the Radio - "Return to Cookie Mountain"
Poetic anthems. The 3rd release from this brooklyn based band will likely go down in history as one of the best albums of the 00's. New ideas a'plenty. Honest and sad. Very unlike Professor Murder.

The Gray Kid - "...5,6,7,8"
The male falsetto is not forgotten. Some backyard rhymes over big beats too. Some great influences. Grab the free Lonely Love on his site, or Download it from iTunes.

Lily Allen - "Alright, Still"
Young british pop singer. She made a splash earlier this year (wait for it) in the UK. Great songs, filthy mouth.

Girl Talk - "Night Ripper"
A summertime fav. More samples per beat than any other mash-up in history, from Verve to Annie to 2 Live Crew. Something from the ADD generation, it's like an hour spent playing name that tune.

Alligator Farms Are For Sissies

From a visit to St. Augustine's Alligator Farm View the gallery

Commander Chameleon

We just got a new site up for the Athens band Commander Chameleon. The band is made up of a handful of good friends from our formative years. They have a new album out, free mp3's you can grab from the site. Be sure to turn on the sound when you visit the new Commander Chameleon website.

HeadOn: Apply Directly To The Forehead

This commercial for Head On is, well, absolutely mesmerizing. Head On is an ointment you evidently apply directly to your forehead. For what, I can't exactly say. Do listen with sound. I guarantee you won't forget how to apply it.

UPDATE:
Read more info on Slate

The Game

I pause and rewind the game.

"You see that, 'Hon? That's how it's played right there. If I could learn that kind of foot work, I'd really be on top of my game."

"But you don't play soccer, Kevin."

I replay it in slo-mo for closer inspection.

"You don't even own a soccer-ball."

Train Ride In Tokyo

For your viewing pleasure, a movie clip of riding the train in Tokyo.

Tokyo International Forum

by Rafeal Vinoly.

BAPE Cafe!?

In Transit

We're in Japan

Furniture Design

This is a dresser I designed and built while in school. The cubby holes have a back light that makes for a nice illumination on the floor. I put it on casters to make it easy to move. The whole thing is made from baltic birch, a blonde mediterranean wood that comes in 5x5 sheets (something to do with the metric system). I gave it to Florrie for her birthday.

Body Language

Bodies... the Exhibition is now in Atlanta through September at the Civic Center. From the skeleton to the respiratory system, the exhibition peels back layers of the human anatomy for a phenomenal look at our marvelous selves. Real cadavers are preserved through a polymer process that allows for a new way of seeing; quite incredible. If you are by chance squeamish during medical procedure shows on tv, you might want to sit this one out. Science people will be quite at home.

The Bar

Left On The Dial

Short of a fully-integrated connection to the car stereo, my favorite device for listening to my ipod while cruising is the iCarPlay from Monster. It produces a radio signal so you can tune in on any clear FM station. iCarPlay's strong signal keeps the static and interference at bay most of the time. That is, until this morning at a stoplight when my playlist was hijacked by Patsy Cline from the F-250 in the neighboring lane who, coincidentally, had the same FM device tuned to the exact same station.

I followed closely for five additional blocks just to hear "Walkin' After Midnight."

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When Photography Went Digital

Mid-story, he made a gesture of a photo being taken. Natural enough, the gesture was merely to illustrate a moment in an entertaining anecdote. Of note here was the motion he made. Rather than two cradled hands snapping the shutter of an invisible camera against his face, he extended one-hand from his body and viewed his subject from a distance. Snap. Digital photography! I immediately picked up on this new sign and interjected with a comment. The storyteller was unamused and returned a look of irritation (I interrupted the pacing of the fine performance). But ah, to think that digital photography has now breached the semiosphere. You've come so far!

Murder Beach

Put It Together

We at Lightroom recently had an idea about designing our new business cards so that they require the recipient's interaction to activate the card's information. The idea was that at first it appears blank, then, by holding to the light, the info that is printed on the interior of the card is revealed.

In order to achieve the desired effect, we duplexed 2 sheets of paper together into one. The card's information was printed in reverse on a piece of 70lb text. This was glued to a thicker cover stock paper so that the ink was sandwhiched in between the two. The combined sheets together created a paper thickness close to a 130 lb. cover; a nice heavy weight for a business card. As illustrated,

The logo on the exterior was printed only in a spot varnish. It gives a reflective sheen in direct light. The small instructional diagram was added for panache.

2006

Happy New Year!

As I Shiver

On our way through Kansas, we stop for a potty break.

Say It Is So

Nate Steiner from Twinsparc invited me to participate in Say-So, a fantastic way to get feedback from friends and total strangers. Cruise on over and vote, will ya?

Which makes a better band name: The Forgotten Ponies OR Muff?

Hair Models

This image comes from a hair school in Stone Mountain.

5

Take Home Gifts

A stack of jewelry boxes we designed as a take home gift for Mark Edge's website launch party.

Form.01

The image above is from the poster we worked on for Form.01, an event being held at Function in Decatur November 12th. Find more info here.

The Spirit of the Impala

A Pork Pickin'

A pork pit, constructed from concrete block and re-bar, is a thing of beauty. And its bounty, even more lovely still. This past Saturday we attended a favorite southern tradition, the backyard barbecue. A 140 pounds of pig takes the better part of a day to cook. The horseshoe clanks, keg pumps, and backyard chatter all ceased at the pig's spectacular unveiling, replaced with low primal pork chants. Slow-cooked, and coupled with baked beans and potato salad, barbecue taps solid grins all around. (Well, except for the vegans.) What a night. Well done Scott and Dave.