Good Sunday morning friends and neighbors. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing 36 years ago today? Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation from the presidency on August 8, 1974, proving once again, the most amazing things happen in August. In this week’s issue of Five Cool Things, 10 cool writing tips, a trip to Coney Island, top ten resources to help the designer in you, the government takes to the Interwebs to talk healthcare, and finally, some tasty art collides with a wedding cake/cupcake shop in Portland. Love this: “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.” – Emily Dickinson. As always, if you dig Five Cool Things, forward it on. Be happy out there, okay?
Writers are Made | Ten Writing Tips To Help Almost Anyon
1. The information age has made writers of us all. Whether it’s a course description for a workshop, a newsletter like this one, content for our website and blog, that grant application — you see where I’m going. These ten writing tips by noted author Janet Fitch, (White Oleander) are mostly geared to writers of fiction. Before you decide, “not for me”, take a look. These are thoughtful tips that can, as the title implies, help almost anyone. There’s a bonus here for readers. Learn the specifics of why some writers and some books really sing where others don’t. Tip No.1 Write the sentence, not just the story.
Double Your Pleasure | Coney Island Diptychs
2. I love it when two seemingly disparate photographic personalities get hitched. A whole new landscape of meaning emerges. Photographers Johnny Miller and Baptiste Lignel have put together a book of paired photographs from Coney Island. Miller sought out found objects – detritus and trash – and photographed it all against a stark white background. Baptiste Lignel photographed the found “human” subject matter of Coney Island and together they’ve created something very fresh and lively: Coney Island, Trans Photographic Press, 2009, which won a prize at the New York Photo Festival.
Seek Inspiration Daily | Top Ten Resources for Design Inspiration
3. Last week’s mention of Before & After Magazine was a big hit. So, in my tireless efforts to further please my subscribers who love and live for design ideas, here’s a list of the top ten resources for design inspiration. Brought to you by Mashable Magazine. All you non-designers out there –this is a very interesting list. Here’s a taste of the first three: 1. FFFFound! (Find, share and bookmark your favorite images.) 2. Behance Network (Powerful online creative professional platform. WORTH LOOKING AT SERIOUSLY FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVES) 3. Smashing Magazine (Premier site for web design and development.)
We’re From the Government and Here to Help | HealthCare.Gov
4. Somebody pinch me. Beautifully designed, highly functional, well organized, government website explains health care. The look, feel, attitude and approach are inspired by Silicon Valley. The geeks in the White House are calling it Expedia for healthcare. Healthcare.gov has everything you want and need to know about the Affordable Care Act and more. Brought to you by your government. They’ve had well north of 1 million visitors at the time of this writing. Was unable to locate Death Panel section.
Artist Meets Baker | The Art of the Cupcake at Pastry Girl
5. Such a sweet pastry shop kind of story. Cool Portland pastry shop, Pastry Girl, (specializing in distinctive cakes and pastries) suggests to local artist James Hager, “Hey, James, maybe we could do a show of your work in our pastry shop? That would be cool, yes? What do you think?” Great idea thinks James, only my art is kind of dark, and there’s just two weeks to do it! So rather than making you know, ART, James makes cake and cupcake art – art fit for a pastry shop. See the wedding cake image to the left. There are four pieces on the wall, each about 48 inches high by 24 inches wide. James used only the materials he had on hand. DO go to Pastry Girl. It’s fabulous!
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