Apple’s iPhone useless in Vermont — for now

Apple’s iPhone useless in Vermont — for now: Rutland Herald Online

The iPhone is an Apple Inc. product that combines a cell phone, a
computer and an iPod. Large portions of other states are without the
service as well, including Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York,
as well as Alaska, the Dakotas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.Vermont is the only state totally without AT&T coverage.

I live in Virginia but I have lots of family in Vermont (nearly all of them are Mac users), but if the phone is useless in Vermont (or has expensive roaming charges) I won’t buy it. This just underscores the problem with limiting the iPhone to a single carrier.

I find it moronic that AT&T plugs itself for having the fewest “dropped calls”. If you can’t make the call to begin with, what does that statement really mean?

technorati tags:Vermont, iPhone, Apple, AT&T, Cingular, cellphone, gadget, stupid

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At Locker 50B, A Little Gallery Goes a Long Way – washingtonpost.com

Samsel, 24, says she has always “worked small.” She grew up in an artistic home — mom was a graphics designer, dad was a cartographer — and young Samsel liked to draw, crochet and sculpt tiny animals out of clay. When she was a VCU sophomore, a whole semester’s worth of paintings and sculptures fitted into her supply locker. Friends joked that it was like a mini-art gallery, so Samsel decided to convert it into one.

Samsel graduated from VCU in 2004 and handed the gallery off to other students. It fell into disrepair, so last August VCU adopted Locker 50B as an official project of the university’s art department and hired Samsel part time to run the space.

The dozen or so exhibitions a year get their own promotional cards and opening receptions. But forget vegetable crudites and wine: Samsel assigns each show a color and serves only food and drinks that fit the theme. “Palpability’s” reception was purple-themed, so she served grape Kool-Aid, Nerds candy and purple Welch’s Fruit Snacks.

Who ever said bigger is better got it all wrong – sometimes small packs a big punch.

technorati tags:miniature, small, gallery, VCU

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Liz Claiborne, Designer, Dies at 78 – New York Times

I wore a lot of Liz Claiborne clothes when I first started my professional career. More sepcifically, I wore the Elisabeth line since it was one of the best women’s (large size) lines available at that time. The clothes were classically tailored with fresh colors – no muumuu’s or tent dresses. I wore them until they wore out but they rarely went out of style. She respected the working woman.

Reading the obit, I didn’t realize that her company also owns Dana Buchman, Juicy Couture, Ellen Tracy and Lucky Brand jeans. Good for her.

technorati tags:fashion, designer, obit, groundbreaker

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The D.C. administrative law judge who sued his neighborhood dry
cleaners for $54 million over a pair of lost pants found out yesterday
what he’s going to get.Nothing.

Court Rules for Cleaners In $54 Million Pants Suit – washingtonpost.com

“Bartnoff ordered Pearson to pay the Chungs’ court costs — likely to be a few thousand dollars — to cover fees for filings, transcripts and similar expenses. But even bigger troubles loom. She said she will consider making Pearson also pay the couple’s attorneys’ fees arising from the two-year legal battle. With the legal costs likely to exceed$100,000, however, the Chungs aren’t counting on Pearson being able to pay, Manning said.”

“And with good reason. Up for reappointment this year, Pearson could have a hard time keeping his $96,000-a-year job if Bartnoff finds himat fault for his pursuit of the case. While awaiting a decision on his reappointment, Pearson is not hearing cases. He did not respond to e-mails seeking comment yesterday.”

How is that a judge can be so stupid? Oh yeah – he’s a lawyer, too.

technorati tags:stupidity, judge, cleaners, $54million, lawyer, moron, lawsuit

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Leslie London

washingtonpost.com: Death Notices

I haven’t posted in a week due to the untimely death of my friend, Leslie. She was my mentor and colleague as well as being a very good friend. I know I will miss her more than I realize at this moment. My heart aches with loss.

technorati tags:death, friend

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Amid the Chaos of War, Gifts of Music

Amid the Chaos of War, Gifts of Music – washingtonpost.com

This is a great story I stumbled across while reading the paper earlier this week. I truly can’t imagine what it’s like to be a soldier in Iraq but I know what a solace music can be. Kudos to Steve and Barb Baker from Fergus Music, in Fergus Falls, Minn!

http://www.operationhappynote.com/index.html

technorati tags:music, Iraq, soldiers, instruments, guitar, mandolin

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Loving Decision: 40 Years of Legal Interracial Unions

NPR : Loving Decision: 40 Years of Legal Interracial Unions

I subscribe to the NPR Story of the Day podcast and today’s entry was about the Loving Decision when the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws across the country. The podcast covers not only the details around the Loving’s and their struggle but also interviews a young woman from Caroline County in Virginia (where the Lovings hailed from) and her comments about her own “mixed marriage”. This 13-minute piece is well worth the listen.

technorati tags:anti-miscegenation, SupremeCourt, Loving, race

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I finished reading the book on Friday. I tried to read it slowly to really savor it but once I hit Part 2 (about 1/3 of the way into the book) I couldn’t put it down and finished it that day. I highly recommend the book to anyone but I think that women who grew up about the same time (born 1959-1966) will truly appreciate it. Lindeen deals with so many issues (personal confusion, parental divorce, chronic illness, love and music) in a wonderfully truthful and humorous manner. She alternates between self-deprecation and self-appreciation very well and seems like a person who would be great to know over the years. The book is very personal (sometimes in a truly graphic manner) but there is a sense of privacy – you know that a line has been drawn and she’s only going to tell so much. I like that. She completely de-glamorizes the music industry (writing, practicing, touring and publishing) and yet still loves music.

I hope she has another book inside her. I suspect that since she’s so great with her memoir, she would be great at fiction. I can just imagine the stories she could tell.

technorati tags:books, Lindeen, Westerberg, Replacements, Zuzu’s, Petals

Portraiture That Paints Engaging Images – washingtonpost.com

Here is the third exhibition to open at the National Portrait Gallery in recent months.

This one is the second installment of the Portraiture Now exhibition space that focuses on contemporary portraiture and loaned art. To quote from the article:

Known primarily as a history museum — where the selection of pictures on the wall is based more on the sitter’s accomplishments than on the artist’s message or merits — the National Portrait Gallery has, since its reopening last summer, devoted a small corner of the building to just the opposite. “Framing Memory,” the second installment in its long-overdue “Portraiture Now” series, presents five contemporary artists, each given a small room (and in one case, a hallway) devoted to work whose engagement with portraiture is less didactic and more lively than we have come to expect from the museum.

It’s an interesting show. I had my doubts while prepping for it but you really have to see the pieces in person to truly appreciate them. I really love the quilts of Faith Ringgold but I’ve been familiar with her work for years. I think what initially put me off was the color of the rooms – very intense, almost fluorescent, greens and oranges. It’s hard to work in rooms painted entirely in these colors, especially on the eyes. However, once the artwork was hung, I understood the choice. The color does draw in the visitors, too.

technorati tags:Smithsonian, museum, portrait, contemporary, art, tourism, DC

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London 2012 – New brand launches

I don’t think I’m being overly critical just because I’m a graphic designer. It’s just not good. Until I read the Washington Post article on the controversy and it’s description of the logo, I couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be. That’s a tell-tale sign it’s not a good logo. It doesn’t convey it’s message: “the new logo represents “the Olympic spirit and the ability of the Games to inspire people to take part.” Yeah, right.

technorati tags:Olympics, 2012, London, logos, design, sports

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