Catching Up With…
February 6th, 2007Isn’t winter supposed to be the slow season for agencies? When clients take a few weeks to ramp up after the holidays and figure out their budgets for the new year? Years ago I can remember using the first month of the year to catch up on books and tutorials I had been meaning to read but hadn’t.
Not this year. We’ve been going full tilt at work since Halloween and things don’t look like they’re slowing up any time soon. But it’s by far the preferable situation to be in, so I have no complaints. So what else is new?
Gerard Performance Review
I had my performance review at Gerard Design a few weeks ago and things went really well. It’s nice to work at a small agency where folks take a personal interest in your role at the company. They have a few new twists on my compensation that are pretty exciting. More details to follow soon.
Getting Really into iCal + Treo
Something I want to do this year is get much more organized. I’ve started using iCal to create daily to-do lists that I can sync between my home and work machines as well as my Treo.
New Music
The new Shins album is a pleasure to listen to. The new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is more than a little disappointing. The new Decemberists is more than a little prog rocky for my taste. Nine Inch Nails has a new one coming out soon. So does Bjork. But most of all, I’m looking forward to the new Arcade Fire album. Does anyone still call them albums?
Brian Eno is Producing Coldplay
Coldplay is a guilty pleasure of mine. They’re far to radio-friendly to share a playlist with my usual fare, but I can’t help it. I particularly like their first album Parachutes, which has more than a passing similarity to James’ album “Laid” (produced by Eno). Here’s hoping that Eno can take them in a whole new direction.
James Has Reunited
James is one of the few bands I didn’t see before they broke up. Seeing Tim Booth a few years ago was great, but it was far too short a set. He did play a few songs from Laid though. Here’s hoping they tour the US in time for my bachelor party or Faith and my honeymoon.
David Lynch’s INLAND EMPIRE @ The Music Box
Lynch has really outdone himself with this one. INLAND EMPIRE is far more abstract than anything he has done since Eraserhead, which at times made for a tough (but rewarding) three hours. I might need to see it a second time to see if I can glean any more meaning from another viewing.
Going to Cooper Training in San Francisco Soon
I’ve registered for a four day interaction design course at Cooper U in San Francisco to further my skills outside of purely visual design. I’m looking forward to learning more about performing user research, developing requirements, using design patterns and more in a small class environment.