Message In A Bottle Update

Joe mentioned this in the comments...

Meet Artist Andy Hughes Saturday May 30, and Sunday, May 31. Meet artist Andy Hughes during opening events and special programs on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31. All free with Museum admission.

Presentation and guided gallery tour with Andy Hughes Saturday, May 30 at 11 A.M. and Sunday, May 31
1 P.M. Roper Theater

Join us as Andy Hughes discusses his work and the importance of cleaning the beaches, as well as his book Dominant Wave Theory, which features over 150 photographs taken on beaches around the world. Then join him for a guided tour of the exhibition Message in a Bottle.

Mad Men Season 3

Production begins in August on the third season of Mad Men. Stoked! For those who haven't seen Mad Men, get seasons one and two on DVD and catch up. 

Nice Desk

I like our existing desk, which is actually just a table, but I'd love to have some drawers. While looking at Grain Edit's studio visit with Chris Bettig, his desk really caught my eye. 

Message in a Bottle

The Mariners' Museum in Newport News has a good photo show coming featuring the works of Andy Hughes and a personal favorite of mine Chris Jordan. I hear on the radio this morning that Andy Hughes is speaking there some time, but i haven't found any info on that lately. Both photographers explore consumerism and the environment and where those two worlds meet. The show opens May 30th and goes until January. I have a fantasy photo exhibit in my head and Chris Jordan would definitely be a part of that. 

Credit Card Update

If your not into listening tot he podcast I linked to yesterday, you can read the article that the Planet Money guest, Charles Duhigg, wrote here. It's six pages, so be ready for a long read. You can also hear an interview with Charles on the Leonard Lopate show if you can't get enough of this. Also, big ups tot he New York Times Magazine for the nice simple yet illustrative graphics. Here are a few quotes to give you the idea, but you should read the whole thing. It's real interesting.

"The other solution was learning to predict how different types of customers would behave. Card companies began running tens of thousands of experiments each year, testing the emotions elicited by various card colors and the appeal of different envelope sizes, for instance, or whether new immigrants were more responsible than cardholders born in this country. By understanding customers’ psyches, the companies hoped, they could tell who was a bad risk and either deny their application or, for those who were already cardholders, start shrinking their available credit and increasing minimum payments to squeeze out as much cash as possible before they defaulted."

"data indicated, for instance, that people who bought cheap, generic automotive oil were much more likely to miss a credit-card payment than someone who got the expensive, name-brand stuff. People who bought carbon-monoxide monitors for their homes or those little felt pads that stop chair legs from scratching the floor almost never missed payments. Anyone who purchased a chrome-skull car accessory or a “Mega Thruster Exhaust System” was pretty likely to miss paying his bill eventually."

Most of the major credit-card companies have set up systems to comb through cardholders’ data for signs that someone is going to stop making payments. Are cardholders suddenly logging in at 1 in the morning? It might signal sleeplessness due to anxiety. Are they using their cards for groceries? It might mean they are trying to conserve their cash. Have they started using their cards for therapy sessions? Do they call the card company in the middle of the day, when they should be at work? What do they say when a customer-service representative asks how they’re feeling? Are their sighs long or short? Do they respond better to a comforting or bullying tone?

What Your Credit Card Company Knows About You

Planet Money's latest podcast deals with credit cards and what they know about us and what they do with that knowledge. They have determined that customers of pool hall in Canada called Sharx are more likely to default on their credit cards and those who buy premium bird seed are most likely to pay always. Pretty interesting stuff, some psychology meets economics stuff. Psych meets Econ is one of my favorite subjects. 

I'm pretty sure no one is going to listen to this, but I'd be stoked if someone did and we could talk about it next time i see you. Planet Money are the guys who have worked with This American Life on their financial shows, so you know this is quality radio.

Chairs

Sorry for all the furniture posts, but that's what I'm thinking about these days. I've been thinking about the dining room lately and been liking the idea of the Emeco Navy Chair, but not liking their $415 price tag. Target famously made a knock off that sold for $259 a pair. that's still kinda spendy for a knock off. While searching for other knock offs, I found the Oceanic Chair which goes for $99 each but looks a bit off compared to the real Navy Chair. Then while searchign ebay I came across a set of four Remington Rand chairs that look damn close to the real Navy Chair only with upholstery which I kinda wanted anyway. They are of that time period so they've lasted quite a long time and should last a long time still. There are a lot of options with these chairs. you could get a dark wood table which matches the existing vinyl or maybe reupholster them with a bright red and paint a table bright high gloss red. Another great thing is that bar height versions of these chairs are made so we could buy new versions for our bar for a nice cohesive look.

With all this furniture thought I've been tempted to throw up my hands and get whatever. I doubt many people would notice or appreciate totally awesome furniture over less awesome furniture. But then getting existing vintage pieces like these Remington Rand chairs just fits into my value system much better. They already exist so they aren't going to create any more environmental impact other than shipping. They will last just about forever. They hold their value. Try selling your Ikea furniture and see how much you can get for it, that is if it lasts long enough to sell it. With reupholstering they can grow and change with our style. They could even be used outside since they are alumanium and won't rust.

Below is an idea of what the chairs look like with a table. These came from the Emeco website.

Chris Ware/Robert Krulwich/This American Life

I was listening to Radio Lab today and was reminded of the above animation by Chris Ware form This American Life. Watch and enjoy...

Couches

With the upcoming move we've been thinking a lot about furniture. I've got pretty specific ideas about what I want (but probably can't afford). While searching I came across this awesome George Nelson couch that looks just about perfect. You have to write in to see the price which means "if you have to ask you can't afford it. One can dream...

New Camera bag

As Kellie and I where looking at Thrift Stores yesterday I found a nearly brand new Lowe Pro Photo Trekker camera bag. I had been in need of a new camera bag for a while after my Mini Trekker's zipper pull had come off it's zipper for the second time. Both times where when I had loaned my camera to someone else. Anyway. I now have a new camera bag that's a lot bigger than my old one. It's also a lot heavier. Not the perfect bag for my purposes, but I'm stoked anyway. A lot of the dividers where missing, so I pulled the dividers from my old bag and put them in the new one.