Kodachrome Nights

Moved This Blog

2005-09-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

This blog has moved to: http://www.chattablogs.com/kodachromenights/

Please come visit. I wanted both of my readers to know the new blog is up and running.

Magazines Exist Only to Hawk Crap

2005-09-06T23:32:00.000-04:00

Just read this in MediaPost's "Magazine Rack" online column:

I realize that the magazine business exists for no other reason than to hawk as much crap as humanly possible - and if there happens to be a readable story or two between the advertisements, all the better - but InStyle beats readers over the head with commerce. The main challenge in navigating the mag, in fact, is locating editorial content among the super-posh ads, which becomes a "Where's Waldo?"-type exercise after a while. In the September issue, it takes 19 page turns before one even reaches the table of contents. Just out of curiosity, how does a marketer distinguish itself in an environment featuring somewhere north of 300 ad pages?

Great question. I'm a big fan of the truism/cliche that you get what you pay for, which holds true in some cases, but in the media is unreliable. For example, I love the NYTimes. I read the print edition daily, and leave half-read portions of it strewn about the house for days at a time. But I tried to cancel it the other day, mostly because I felt that I wasn't reading it enough, but also because I'm trying to trim the budget so I can make a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland next month somewhat less traumatic financially. I already pay a ridiculously low rate, but when I tried to cancel the woman gave me a deal now where I'm paying less than I pay for my morning cup of java for the Grey Lady. And I love the ads! They're half the reason why I enjoy the paper so much. Network television is free. Network television is the devil. The New York Times is nearly free. The New York Times is super liberal, but quite a good read, especially for the culture-starved denizen of middle Tennessee.

Katrina Photograph

2005-09-03T16:08:00.000-04:00

Here's what Katrina looked like as she rolled through Chattanooga last week. I took this as a 30 second exposure at about midnight from my front porch in North Chatt.

Top Ten Spam Subject Lines

2005-09-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've been keeping a list of funny e-mail subject lines for some time, and now I've culled them down to the top ten, Letterman-style. These are all real subject lines from actual spam I have received. By the way, they're all sexual, and you have to respect the creativity of the copywriters trying to dodge all the spam filters.

Here goes, the Number Ten Best Spam Subject Line is "Your thing on call instantly"

Number Nine: "Shagging more frequently. Oh Yeah!"

Number Eight: "Are you a 2 pump chump? Go all night and drive her crazy!"

Number Seven: "RE: the size of your manhood"

Number Six: "Your thing on call instantly"

Number Five: "Be her hero in bed!" happens to be tied with "enhance your anatomy"

Number Four: "Like an afterburner for your schlong."

Number Three: "The mighty cucumber lives again!"

Number Two: "24 x 7 dangle readiness"

And the Number One Best Real Spam Subject Line is "Makes you great in bed. Now all you have to do is get laid."

Thank you, ladies and gentleman, and spammers.

Help Katrina Victims Now

2005-09-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

If you've been watching the devastation of New Orleans it seems to only be getting worse as the levees continue to spill water into the city and lawlessness reigns. Pray for this city and the surrounding area, and please either give blood or money to the Red Cross.

Rock/Creek Outfitters has set up a blood drive in Chattanooga and is seeking donations for local refugees: http://www.rockcreek.com/events/nola_blooddrive.asp

This page also has a link to the Red Cross where you can donate by credit card on the Web.

I've heard from Jack McCown in Mobile and he said their yard didn't look good but the house wasn't hurt. I still haven't heard from Jeff Wheeler from Mandeville across the lake but I pray his family is okay. I'm sure they fled to Chicago. My friends the Plummer family on Audubon Avenue in the Garden District probably need our prayers the most as their house is completely under water and they will almost certainly be unable to return for months. This is a city I love very much and I hope we all can help in some way during the reconstruction.

Breaking Amerca's Dependence on Oil

2005-08-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

I just have to pass this Onion article on... It's too good.
http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=4132

Sorry to not have updated recently...been super busy. We'll get there.

Hometapers of the world, unite!

2005-08-10T18:13:00.000-04:00

I'm psyched on Charles Allison's new site design. It's clean and simple and very blog-like. As always, you can download the entire Kil Howlie Day catalogue (pretentious English spelling alert!). Go get 'em, they're free, and good. Do it now.

Baby Book for Hipsters

2005-08-07T17:47:00.000-04:00

So a couple of my best friends are pregnant, or at least one of the couple is, and I immediately knew what I had to get them... this is a really funny book:

That Show Totally Post-Rocked

2005-08-07T17:15:00.000-04:00

Well, Lamar's came through again with really strong drinks and a fun show on Friday night. In fact when my neighbors wanted me to go to the Local to watch Melelee Roots on Saturday I almost thought about it but realized that it would be so ridiculously awful in comparison to Friday's show that my head might explode, so I didn't go. Anyways, Keith John Adams opened, then Casper and the Cookies played and then Elekibass. They were all really fun to see, starting with me walking in on the middle of KJA's set and him following me with a guitar and asking my name and then later dedicating a song to me while threatening me if I left because, as he said, "it's really embarrasing when you dedicate a song to someone and then they leave."

Well, I didn't leave, I stayed and loved both bands after him. Elekibass came out dressed in three-piece suits, something you sort of expect from Japanese alt-punk-post-whatever musicians, but with carnival masks as well, something I didn't expect at all. I ended up blowing a huge amount of money at the merch booth, but that gave me an excuse to stay home Saturday night and relive the night before with the assistance of my new stereo.

Here are some links:

Toothpaste for Dinner Comics

Keith John Adams

Casper & the Cookies

Elekibass' "Elekipage"

Religion in the South Article

2005-07-26T18:03:00.000-04:00

"Signs of Religion in the American South" from Design Observer just popped up on my RSS feed today. I haven't actually read it to be honest but I can't wait to read it so I'm going to save it here and offer it up to you.

2005-07-22T08:08:00.000-04:00

A friend just sent a Web site with photos from Ronchamp, but I found the chapel's own Web site to have much better photographs, plus the site itself designed according to Corbu's own idiosyncratic vision for the place.

Does anyone remember the name of the bar in Raleigh, NC that has a photograph of the chapel on a wall upstairs? I noticed this one evening and thought it quite bizzare, but for me one of those unexpected moments of grace where a pinpoint of light pierces a rather dark situation.

Visit La chapelle de Ronchamp ou La chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut

Current Noguchi State: Energy Void

2005-07-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

I just thought of a cool idea that I probably won't do, but here goes: You have all these Isamu Noguchi sculptures and designs on your computer or whatever and somewhere (your blog, I guess) you put up a Noguchi photo to explain your current mood/state or whatever- I guess like those stupid smiley faces for sophisticates.

My current Noguchi state? Energy Void. Yes, the vaginal symbolism is apropos.

Energy Void, 1971, granite. Collection of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation, Inc.

2005-07-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

I just found out that you can have Get Fuzzy comics put on merchandise. I love the merch booth. Here's today's comic. Satchel could be the funniest character ever. Just look at his face. I don't even have a dog...

Here's the Get Fuzzy merch booth: http://www.cafepress.com/cp/sotd.aspx?storeid=getfuzzy

And speaking of funny photos, this is one I found recently that I wanted to get into the blog so I'll always have it... By the way, went to look at a new condo on the Southside of Chattanooga and felt like a gentrifier sort of, but decided that this is more like pioneering since there are no citizens to displace. This place was a no-man's land. And now there's Hiroshi's!

This photo is from a lefty mag, Stay Free Magazine:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/23/index.html

Architecture of Density Exhibit

2005-07-01T17:49:00.000-04:00

I really wanted to buy one of these Michael Wolf prints, but since I can't I'm going to pass this link on to you: http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/intro/index.html.

Wolf's large color photographs show the subtle variations within the repetitions of modernist housing in Hong Kong. Are these super-blocs dehumanizing? The large scale presents enough detail to show effects of human life and weather on these buildings, perhaps arguing something else entirely. Is this the future of humanity?

All of it- the color, the repetition, the density itself- comes from the structure of the human mind. Perhaps this is the real Garden of Eden. Well, okay, I'm not ready to go that far. But damn one of these prints would look good hanging in on the wall of a loft, perhaps with a couple Barcelona chairs for viewing... Anybody have a spare $5k?

Online Photographs and Historical Images

2005-06-27T11:29:00.000-04:00

Just found this great online resource for historical maps, photographs, and art. The New York Public Library has a great online collection. Visit: http://www.nypl.org/digital/

Another resource that's somewhat more frustrating to use but has great classic photographs in file sizes large enough for print: The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Collection

How much of a mermaid is a woman?

2005-06-22T07:28:00.000-04:00

Well, for those of you who often find yourself contemplating exactly how far the tail of a mermaid extends up into the "woman" part, here's the beginning of an answer... This guy at Deadprogrammer's Cafe has published a history of the Starbucks logo and guess what? That witchy woman on the ubiquitous coffee company's logo comes from a 15th Century mermaid-ish thing. Check it out here.

Thanks to Adpulp for the story.

Our Hymns Don't Suck!

2005-06-14T18:33:00.000-04:00

Found a great thing online: The Church Sign Generator. Simply type your message in to see it on a church sign photograph that you can then save and put on your own blog. Here are mine:

Church Sign Generator

Half-Empty Comics

2005-06-13T20:31:00.000-04:00

Just found this great comics site online: www.halfemptycomics.com.

Here's one of my favorites, called "Stupid-Ass Hipster Haircuts" and is from 11.03. Click the comic to see full-size:

Concrete Jungle Goes Metal

2005-06-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

Check out Veer's new metal fold-up sculpture card things. Great idea and looks like a lot of fun to play with.

Veer Mikro-Man Jungle

Action Adventure Dream

2005-06-11T01:58:00.000-04:00

If anyone hasn't experienced Andrew Bird's music, go buy the new album,
Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs NOW. It's
incredible. I recently had the chance to catch Andrew's show in
Chattanooga and he has cemented his place in my pantheon of admirable
musicians.

If you can't make it immediately to a record store, check out his Web
site where you can download "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the
Left," one of my favorite songs from the new album.

www.andrewbird.net

22 June 2005: Just found more info. on Bird, at Righteous Babe's site. Check it here.

welcome to Kodachrome Nights

2005-06-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

Hello cyberspace, this is Mark McKnight's blog. I'll try to update every day if you're nice to me and keep me interested. To begin I am adding a photo from the docks in Charleston, SC: