I have approached this blog with the intention of writing and posting on specific topics as determined by the day of the week. So far I have been able to come up with Punk Rock Monday, Design Tuesday, On Paper Wednesday, and Nostalgia Friday. For the life of me I have been unable to come up with a topic for Thursday. This is where you come in. I will be holding a contest for the best topic (to see if anyone is paying attention) for Thursday. This will be open ended and no deadline set. The contest will conclude when I feel the best idea has been submitted. There will be fabulous prizes and maybe a parting gift or two. Now, I haven’t decided on the prizaes exactly, but they will probably be related to the press in some way shape or form. So get cracking!

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Short one for today…Mark Hoppus, of Blink-182 fame, is currently reading Wouldn’t it be Nice, which was put out by our good friends at Chicago Review Press. Read about it in his blog here. This ia a great! book and I would totally recommend it to anyone interested in the genius of 1960s era Brian Wilson and, of course, Pet Sounds.

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Ok, so I’ll admit it - I like watching the Apprentice. I’ve been watching the show since the first season, and it is probably the only “Reality” television program that I enjoy (ok, there’s America’s Next Top Model too, but who’s counting). The task of last night’s episode was to design new uniforms for the Embassy Suites employees. Simple right? Not really. The winning team followed the advice and recommendations of the Embassy Suites employees, while the losing team created uniforms that appeared more “high fashion” in form and were functionally not versitle. The winning uniforms were more traditional in style and took into account the how the pieces work as an item that will be worn while preforming tasks associated with that particular job.

This got me thinking about the old architectural and design adage “Form Follows Function” (and another here). Did the winning uniform design allow for functionality? Did that functionality, in turn, dictate the form? Or were form and function in cahoots from the get go, thus bypassing the parent/child relationship? Are there variables associated with the form that have no bearing on function?

I thought I had a handle on what Form Follows Function really means. Further investigation shows that this theory is certainly open to interpretation. How does the idea of aesthetics enter into the design equation?

At this point, my head hurts…One last thing: In relation to Trump’s Toupee, is it “Form Follows Function” or “Ornament is Crime?”

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This post is for the Birds! AF has kindly given me yet another shout out in reference to the work I did for her 2005 Year End Comp. It seems that the theme of our Fine Feathered Friends has come back around, not unlike the migratory return brought on by the changing of the seasons. Wow, how’s that for a sentence? Anyway, here is our email discussion, regarding birds on book covers, in its full blown glory:

To: ‘AF’
Subject: In keeping with the bird theme…

Check this out:

Chris

(Read the article)

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So, Mary and I are buying our first place. A condo in Albany Park to be exact. Because we are spending way too much money on a new home, I have decided to spend way too much money of new stuff for the home. A collection, if you will. Namely I will be collecting Unique Mugs in white (the new Black, dummy). I had come across this awesome example in the Sale section of the Jonathan Adler site:

Sadly this sexy beast is no longer available. Although they have some in crappy brown, which would go with our cabinets, but it’s just not the same. So if you eager readers come across one or two in white, pick ‘em up (if they are not too expensive) and I’ll repay you.

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