Author Archives: caitlinburke

Sherwin-Williams: Cover the Earth

Ah what a difference a visual makes. They developed it toward the end of the 19th Century, and Sherwin-Williams still uses this horrific logo:

SWP Logo

It actually leaves me breathless, it’s so horrible. On the same building where the above sign appears is this mural (or at least was – I haven’t been back there for a while):

What Are They Thinking?

Seriously. What the hell? This time it’s personal!

Well, someone is at least making an effort to be true to SWP’s horrific tagline—”Cover the Earth” (I almost wish I had made that up)—and still make something aesthetically pleasing and that, you know, doesn’t invoke the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster.

See an animated ad on this theme – worth going just for the cardinal depiction. The frog is also awesome. Dear SWP, notice how, in the animation, your logo only appears at a distance where it—and its apocalyptic tagline—cannot be readily discerned. Smart!

48 Hour Magazine Available Now

48-Hour-Magazine-Issue-Zero-cover

I know some wonderfully creative people who really know how to get stuff done. Over the weekend, I volunteered some time to help them produce 48 Hour Magazine, and it’s already available at MagCloud. It was a crazy idea and a wonderful thing to be involved with – and I can’t wait til the next one!

Update: CBS has issued a cease-and-desist letter claiming infringement on “48 Hours.” Mat Honan is collecting information about the process and the coverage.

Update June 15: State of the case, with links to other recent coverage

Eating Apple’s Lunch?

This one feels inevitable, doesn’t it? Apple has one heck of a phone in the iPhone. But that’s all it is — one phone.

Android software is being sprayed across so many handsets that eventually one of the handsets will deliver an experience better than the iPhone. — Apple vs Google: The Next 10 Battles To Watch

When was the last time that “sprayed across so many” devices “eventually” yielded an experience (for regular users) that was substantially better than a carefully controlled and designed UI limited to a few, thoughtfully specified hardware configurations?

Another Day in BP History

This wonderful skit followed the the Kirki oil spill, off the coast of Australia, in 1991. You can see more Clarke and Dawe (including the last 20 seconds of this skit) at the Mr John Clarke website.

But let’s get back to the story. The ship, operated by a Greek crew of 37, was on charter to BP Australia Ltd and was carrying a full cargo of 82,650 tonnes of Murban light crude from Jebel Dhanna to BP’s refinery at Kwinana, Western Australia.

Heckuva glob, BP.

Just Want to Get This Out Front

I thought you were worldly

Look at this awesome text message. It is from How Hipsters Date, and it was discussed in a blog entry at the Village Voice. Go read it. It has other, equally rewarding links.

Reminds me of the tempest in a teapot when a Twitter user reported receiving a text after a blind date reading, “I was told you were pretty, and you’re not. I feel badly misled.” (The result was a totally appropriate, immediate, and sustained outpouring of support.)

Memo to would-be brilliant parting-shotters who write this crap: you sound like an ass, and now everyone on the Internet is hearing about it.

Bonus link: the fantastic and wonderful “You Can’t Text-Message Break Up!”

(Also watch the intro scene showing the receipt of the message at dinner with the family.)

Animal-a-Day Month

My commitment to take a picture of an animal every day during the month of April was a huge success. So much so that yesterday, when I posted this:

Steller Jay

I tagged it “animaladay” automatically even though it wasn’t April anymore. Part of me wants to stop using the tag, because the original commitment is complete, but I will probably keep using something — dailyanimal, maybe. Because what I learned in April was that those minutes, sometimes hours, spent wandering around, making eye contact with animals, and watching them go about their day made every day noticeably better.