As the Mothership descends, viewers will be amused by the incongruent decoration of the aircraft with the inane imagery of their childhood–specifically the descending black and white cow. (Black and white, we are told by animal evolutionists, are the colors that wild animals evolve as they become increasingly domesticated and docile with each generation). Like a dream foretold by Disney, a vision of our liberation majestically descends as the presumably benevolent, yet no less ominous, corporate supership tranquilly confers narcotic bliss upon us–a bliss which softens the sight of the slick metallic shell emblazoned with the signage of some inbred child of American Airlines, American Apparel and Fed Ex. The ingenious ambient soundtrack by Evan Samek closes the sale in the fashion that we can expect from only the most sophisticated and slick advertising–composed to support pictures that ensure we are as captivated as we are captive. In this, Monaghan delivers his product as if we are some mesmerized, isolated island tribe gratefully receiving the descent of wishfully benevolent gods.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-roger-denson/postpictures-new-models-f_b_4437381.html

I call it out here and there, but I am not only a tech dude, but an artist. Recently I have been collaborating with Jonathan Monaghan, animation artist, composing the score to his animations. Check out these excerpts:

Preview of ‘Mothership” 2013:

Excerpt from “Mothership”, Jonathan Monaghan, Curator’s Office from Jonathan Monaghan on Vimeo.

From last year’s ‘Rainbow Narcosis’:

Typographer Erik Spiekermann on #iOS7

Another year, another design trend commeth.

Consider the Following

The U.S. denomination of one–quarter of one dollar. In the U.S., we just refer to it simply as a “Quarter”.

Here are the designed attributes of a quarter…

• A quarter is a coin, made of 91.67% percent copper and 8.33% percent nickel
• A quarter has a edge with 119 ridges.
• A quarter is 24.26 mm in diameter and is 1.75 mm thick

Now this does not make the quarter a piece of art, but there is a reason a quarter was designed with these attributes in mind.

Let’s Apply Flat UI to a Quarter

You designers go ahead and apply your flat-flat-flat obsession to a quarter. Take away its thickness. Take away its grooved sides. Take away its embossed features on the front and back.

You’d be left with an impossible to pick up, useless piece of currency. Indistinguishable from our other coins.

And no one would find it very useful.

More quarter stuff:

The ugly (if not only inconsistent) streak of copper in the middle of the quarter is there because of a necessary compromise. The quarter used to be 100% made of silver before 1965, but the U.S. Government needed to be a bit more frugal. Back in the 1960′s, prices of ordinary every-day expenditures were commonly under $1 USD. Which would make the 25¢ quarter a pretty common form of exchanged cash. The high usage would mean the U.S. Mint needed to supply more quarters than they do now.

So they decided to use a small amount of nickel (way cheaper, but still not cheap enough) and fill the innards of the new quarter with the very inexpensive element copper.

The U.S. mint knew people would be able to see the center, but the choice was made in order to satisfy a commonly used element of the currency.

Sometimes design is acknowledging what isn’t good design intentionally

If you look at the quarter with your naked eye, you can see the sides are lined with ridges. You can also see a layer of a bronze-ish color (the copper) wedged between the silver-colored nickel outer part of the quarter.

From an outsiders perspetive, I have to imagine that Washington D.C. is held in low light. When you hear the phrase “DeeCee” or “Washington” you see aging ideas sitting in row formation in a grand building near the east side of the National Mall. White walls and pilars match their white heads…and you can’t help but wish the place our country makes it’s most important decisions exercised more efficacy.

From where I sleep, eat, work and play; none of this is affects my casual day.

These senators, congressman don’t represent me. Maybe a few of them do. Or maybe if you were able to take select pieces of their ideologies, a mutually inclusive mash-up of congressmen A, B and C would come close.

The point: I am a D.C. resident and a free thinker without a true representation in our government. I am so close to where the representation happens, but at the same time so unfathomably far away.

True Washington leadership has become routine and business as usual. “Running through the motions” as they say. Yet, this kind of leadership has zero to do with getting into a routine. Unconventional methods to governance is something I long for ( and I have a feeling I’m not the only one). I know not what that kind of governance manifests itself as. But I do know a common theme these days is the word “change”.

Yet it when the idea of “change” is uttered, it doesn’t feel like its about changing the way we go about governing. It is more along the lines of changing the way we work within the limits of our governing routine.

I’m thinking drastic change. I’m thinking disruptive change. I’m thinking lets review the constitution and fix it up to align it with all of the social, cultural and technological changes that have happened since its inception. How long will we adhere to a document written long ago? In 300 years, will we be using a 500 year old manifesto as it is today? If we do, it would not surprise me if the constitution is renamed to “The Newest Testament”.

I live in Washington D.C. , but I am not part of the US Governent. I am not a Democrat or Republican or Independent or Tea Partier. I am labelless. I am not alone. I am not disenchanted. I am discouraged. I am not worried. I am biased. I am uninformed. I am lied to. I am not taken seriously. I did not choose where I am, I chose everything else.