hawk(t).

Inspiration

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:09:23 -0500

Check out artist Lisa Cogdon’s new project The Reconstructionists.

eminently follow-worthy.

Songs learned from others

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:07:00 -0500

Much like human infants, songbirds learn to communicate by imitating other members of their species. In a way, the songs these birds learn to sing are positive externalities. Imagine if their predecessors expected royalties….

Poems for Her

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 08:32:00 -0500

tierradelpedro:

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

-Mary Oliver

Photo

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:16:02 -0500

Arm yourself with books

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 13:27:56 -0400

Yesterday Tim Kreider beautifully summed up what Ray Bradbury taught us all about surviving the dystopian future he was prescient enough to foresee:

Arm yourself with books. Assassinate your television. Go for walks, and talk with your neighbors. Cherish beauty; defend it with your life.

While being an avid Bradbury reader didn’t make it any easier to figure out Fahrenheit 451 back in the day (seriously, that shit was hard), his books helped me understand human nature. I’ll always be grateful for that. Rest in peace, Ray.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Cured by the theraputic power of blending

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:07:21 -0400

No, this story isn’t about coping with a mid-life crisis — it’s about savoring the daily grind. It’s also an intoxicating blend of art and copy. All of which makes for a peculiar tale that celebrates the creativity of one of the finest design shops in the land. So happy fortieth, Pentagram. Here’s to many more. *clink*

(via Malbonnington)

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

All we want is the chaos and the fun

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:24:41 -0400

Stan from Mad Men was right: there’s always a million bands who sound like that. Hence DDB London, as if inspired by Lady Lazarus herself, goes elsewhere to score Beach House-y music for its VW Polo “Dad” ad when they can’t get the real thing. Ah, the adolescent joy of this industry.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Lions and foxes and brands

Thu, 03 May 2012 08:55:08 -0400

https://vimeo.com/29166192

Oh my. Cannes Lions has added a Branded Content & Entertainment Lions category. Long overdue, but better late than never. Hope WINTR submits the rad video it created for Niki & The Dove….

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

It's only right and natural

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:52:45 -0400

Once upon a time in the nineties, I found a Folk Implosion guitar pick in my Doritos. The pick itself wasn’t just bright orange and Dorito-shaped: it was splattered with the same kaleidoscopic mix of psychedelic purples and greens found in the Natural One video (way to be on-brand, dudes).

This alt-crackerjack prize stood for everything I hated about Lou Barlow’s Kids-fueled success in particular (damn you, Larry Clark) and the mainstreaming of indie rock in general. while I’d already begun ignoring Sebadoh long before opening that fateful bag of chips, it vacuum-packed my hate for sellouts.

It’s true: I was once an old-school music snob. Every time then-obscure bands like Sebadoh or even the Frogs got signed, my interest in them (especially in their post-hype output) began to wane. As a struggling writer-painter-musician-bartender-waiter-dabbler-jackass, I was convinced the value of art was born of struggle. No struggle, no value. Cut and dried.

Then I decided to make a career out of selling things for a living. Now, looking back, I tip my hat to Lou, Larry and Frito-Lay for their admirable co-branding efforts. Pretty much nothing about art is clear cut, and the struggle to create it — regardless of what inspires it — doesn’t end with a taste of success.

To that end, I see that old attitude of mine as a selfish one. Yes “authenticity” is important, but obsessing over it obscures the fact that artists without salaries or insurance need our support in order to succeed over the course of their (hopefully) long lives. It also gets in the way of discovering and enjoying good stuff. Plus, it’s no fun.

We all buy and sell things for a living. And if we enjoy the fruits of other people’s creative labor, we are their patrons. As such, we should invest in them — and we should do it over the long haul. It’s easier than ever for us to give the artists we believe in the support they deserve. Which, to paraphrase one of the best bands ever, is only what we should have done in the first place.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

No island is a man

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:49:04 -0400

https://vimeo.com/29686395

First Sweden became a country curated by its inhabitants. Now Iceland has anthropomorphed intoan island who just wants to be your friend.

To me, people are people. Places are not (neither are companies). But as far as contrived social media campaigns go, Iceland as the weird-friend-you-never-see-but-can’t-get-out-of-your-mind is actually a pretty spot-on personification of the place.

I can only speak from my own experience in Bjork’s homeland. My father, my brother and I spent ten strange and unforgettable days there in 2004. Every time we get together, we reminisce fondly and talk about returning someday. Request pending.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Find the author who can lead you through the dark

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:35:13 -0400

Among the many pearls of wisdom Ray Bradbury shares in this excellent interview, this has got to be one of my favorites:

The things that you do should be things that you love, and things that you love should be things that you do.

S/O to Maria Popova for her curatorial skills, which are always on display at Brain Pickings. Her panel with Noah Brier, Max Linsky, Mia Quagliarello and David Carr served as a solid reminder of why a SXSWi badge is still worth every penny.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Saturday rain at SXSWi

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:17:12 -0500

Sure, you could stay home and listen to the Clientele until it stops raining. Or you could just attend Everything Is a Remix, so Steal Like an Artist, then call it a day and still get your money’s worth.

But then you’d miss the Razorfish Happy Hour at Roial and all the other cool shit going on at SXSWi. And you don’t want to do that. So lace up your galoshes, grab your slicker and go splash around in some puddles.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Message in the margins

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 10:59:40 -0500

On my way down yet another Saturday morning internet wormhole, I came across Casa Fernando Pessoa. Being the word nerd that I am, I immediately began reading about Pessoa’s annotations. One note in particular stood out to me:

One buys glory with misfortune.

If you asked me to describe saudade (or, to a certain extent, Portuguese culture) in five words or less, I might point you to this sentence. It reminded me of Bobulate’s great post about the social life of marginalia.

Sometimes our notes reveal more about who we are and what we think than our polished thoughts ever could. Which is exactly why they’re worth sharing — and contemplating as part of a body of work as well as on their own merits.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Life with Amalia

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:44:03 -0500

Life isn’t fair. Nothing lasts forever. Time heals all wounds.

These clichés sound vapid and trite to anyone who suffered a devastating loss. And yet, they endure. Maybe because they contain a degree of truth.

Of course, bromides like these aren’t always true. Once we become parents, for example, we are parents forever. Nothing can change that.

Three hundred eighty-two days ago, our daughter Amalia joined us. Seventeen days later, she died. Which makes today an anniversary (one of many for us).

Time has taken on new meaning since Ama entered our lives. Every day brings a new milestone, each connected to Ama and what her life has revealed to us about the world.

Of all these revelations, the things we’ve discovered about Down Syndrome loom large. But while a diagnosis of DS is a sign of challenges to come, it’s also the beginning of something incredible. And thanks to the support of people who care, it’s becoming more and more possible for children with DS and their families to enjoy life to the fullest.

Amalia was a beautiful and serene child. She exuded a sense of calm, and brought joy into the lives of everyone around her.

We have no choice but to accept and embrace our loss. We will always love Ama. She will always be our daughter and our first child. We will never forget her, and she will continue to teach us new things for the rest of our lives.

If you’d like to help children like Amalia and parents like us face the challenges of DS, please donate to the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Au revoir mademoiselle

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:30:00 -0500

France has bid the word “mademoiselle” adieu. As Fillon points out, the honorific marries a woman’s identity to her “matrimonial situation” while her male counterpart suffers no such burden. And really, where’s the honor in that situation?

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Learn to draw

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:59:46 -0500

Sound advice for from Saul Bass:

Learn to draw. If you don’t, you’re gonna live your life getting around that and trying to compensate for that.”

As true for writers, architects and anyone else who makes things as it is for designers.

Posted via email from hawkt.com | Comment »

Some of my favorite albums of 2011

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:42:46 -0500

Some of my favorite albums of 2011:

2011 was such a solid year for music that it was damn near impossible to whittle everything down to one gorgeously hand-crafted list. And yet, here it is. Feel free to grab it (the…

Some of my favorite albums of 2011

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:39:48 -0500

Welp, that’s the list. Feel free to take it with you (hint: the names are clickable). Also made a playlist for yer listening pleasure. Enjoy.

hawk(t).

Inspiration

Songs learned from others

Poems for Her

Photo

Arm yourself with books

Cured by the theraputic power of blending

All we want is the chaos and the fun

Lions and foxes and brands

It's only right and natural

No island is a man

Find the author who can lead you through the dark

Saturday rain at SXSWi

Message in the margins

Life with Amalia

Au revoir mademoiselle

Learn to draw

Some of my favorite albums of 2011

Some of my favorite albums of 2011

My best albums of 2011

The New Idea