…is what I am currently reading. Over the weekend my cousin and I were talking about being single (as we both currently are), boys (naturally), and this book (witty essays by a Sex and the City writer). I would read aloud an excerpt and we would talk about it, laugh, draw a conclusion, and read the author’s solution.

An excerpt of note dealing with juggling a few guys at once: “Use nicknames for easy reference. If you’re having trouble keeping your love life straight, imagine how your friends feel.”

What amazes me is that my friends have been doing this for a long time now because, well, it IS hard to keep other people’s love lives straight. I’ve found the easiest to remember are those referenced by a country, personality trait, or person of fame. My favorite nicknames to date include: Jesus, Columbia, Princess, Diva, Israel, and Matt 1 (of 2 or 3, I can never remember). And, yes, these were all references to men.

Lesson of the day? Boys, we will pick you apart and pare you down better than the best of apple corers. Beware.

*Update* I forgot Tinkerbell. That is by far the best nickname. (Thanks for reminding me, Sarah.)

Taking away the pretentiousness and ambiguity of most exhibitions, this German exhibit allows the user to rehydrate whilst appreciating the aesthetic appeal of the pretty colors.  My kind of show.

This just about sums up my night last night. Can be purchased here.

The worst part of a hangover? It’s self-inflicted.

One Burger King with a great sense of humor (Best Buy could learn from them) decided to discontinue the signature whopper for a day and document customers’ reactions on video.

At the time that I watched this, I didn’t even know what a whopper is. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that it is “hamburger, consisting of a grilled quarter-pound (113.4 g) beef patty, sesame seed bun, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and raw, sliced onion.”

And, thanks to the video, I also know that it is flame-broiled rather than fried. Way to make a healthier America, Burger King. Now if we could just get rid of the rat poo at Taco Bell…

Pranksters pulled a stunt at the Best Buy on 23rd Street in Manhattan in which around 80 “agents” dressed like employees from the store, infiltrated the store, let customers and employees alike assume what they wanted, and waited to see what would happen. Seems like a good way to say, “Lighten up, New York!” Read all about the hysterical venture. Trust me, it’s worth it. It involves cops with guns and a large, female, power hungry manager.

Then, after a successful mission, they made sweet T-shirts that were being sold at the most awesomest store ever, and this poor guy got a Cease & Desist notice from Best Buy just for writing about the T-shirts in his blog, which they ended up apologizing for. I think Best Buy needs to remove the stick from its sphincter and learn how to laugh.

I can’t stop listening to this song. Even better is that Chris Brown is super sexy, has an amazingly smooth voice, and can MOVE. I like to pretend that he’s singing to me.

Bonus points because of his sparkly, color-changing shirt. I thought only the horse of a different color did things like that.

I just ordered these sweet headphones made by Skullcandy. I’m so sick of shitty little earbuds that fall apart and get all nasty. And when I’m sitting at a computer for 8+ hours a day, those little suckers start to hurt. Plus, these bad boys are PINK!! What’s not to love?

Oh, and apparently they have awesome sound quality. I guess that matters, too.

This is a sweet website I found via Coudal today.  If I were a few years older - or he were a few years younger - Mike Mills would need to watch out for a little 5 foot nothing stalker.  Fortunately for both of us, I can just appreciate his viewpoint on simplicity in art.

On another note, there’s also an interview with Miranda July, the creator of the very interesting online art assignment community, Learning To Love You More.  She seriously lights up when speaking about her work.

I kind of forgot about her website for a while, but I’m going to start doing the assignments again.  There are a few of my submissions on there, though it’s mainly the easy ones that you can email since I’m too lazy to actually send anything through regular snail mail.  I mean, you have to, like, buy stamps for that!

Two years ago for Christmas, my brother and I both got our dad barbecue sets for his cherished grill (cooking out is not a summertime thing at the Rollo household, the garage will suffice as a place to grill AND stay warm when it’s 20 below with 5 feet of snow outside). I got him this gorgeous rosewood set from Brookstone, whilst my brother got him a humorous golf club set that looked something like this. We both thought we were giving ingenious gifts only to realize that we should’ve maybe possibly could’ve discussed with each other beforehand.

I don’t recall what I got for my dad last year, but my brother got him expensive golf balls, only to have my father’s best friend give him the same exact ones. Now to me, I don’t know one golf ball from the next. When I was forced into golf lessons at too young an age to protest, but knowing if I stuck it out I just might be allowed to drive one of those carts into a tree, my dad gave me pretty purple golf balls to make up for the grueling hours spent attempting to hit the thing and make it go anywhere. But other than that, I know nothing about golf balls. To me, they equate boredom and long hours spent walking around a green rather than by the pool on hot summer days.

The point is, is that my brother is giving my father something that not only will he appreciate and find useful, but that he would normally not buy for himself because of the price tag. Nice job, Matt. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but seeing as I am not a golfer, nor a wrestler, and don’t always know what to get my dad, I went for humor this year and bought him this after he said he couldn’t believe he was going to vote for Hilary Clinton.

Dad: If you somehow happen to stumble upon my blog before Christmas, I apologize for ruining the surprise.

A thoughtful gift for me? Oh how thoughtful of you! This will do.

“Don’t worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.”

As Jethro put in the comments, “Theft is a gradient. Sometimes it’s incorrigible, sometimes it’s an homage, sometimes it’s just research.”

If I couldn’t learn from the big boys, my designs would be hopeless. I’m 22 and fresh out of school. Give me a break, please.

At any rate, it’s a good warm up for this afternoon’s match of Layer Tennis. In which they are now using video. Yes, video. Obviously Photoshop and Illustrator were far too easy for those creative types out there. I mean, how hard is it really to come up with a concept and execute it in 15 minutes? And then another and another and another. Last week they used Flash animation. Now we’re onto video. In 15 minutes. Did you get that yet? The fact that you only get 15 MINUTES???

Please, I could do it in my sleep.