Carb counting the uniform of nonconformity

Throughout life the act of nonconformity is always secretly conforming to a subculture.
Exactitudes shows the many different kinds of subcultures and uniforms associated with them. Call them stereotypes, but the art direction really does show the irony behind the quest of individuality.

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Carb counting within a nice walk

We are becoming a society without patience. As new technology surfaces we are continually held captive through instant gratification. Eventually wherever we reside will be similar to living in New York City, where anything you want is attainable anytime. While Internet speeds become faster, and social networking sites become more accessible from our cellular phones, we are moving faster and faster throughout our daily routine. We have become so impatient we skip voice mail messages because ten seconds wasted is ten seconds of annoyance. Yet, 15 years ago leaving a message meant recording your voice on a cassette answer machine. How fast will we be going in the next 15 years?

Today’s trend is instant self-gratification. How fast can I lose twenty pounds? How fast can I download the latest Brittany Spears album? How fast can I make a fortune? How fast can I locate the pizza delivery number? How fast can I look up the movie times on a Thursday night? It all comes back to technology, from benchmarking your jogging stats with Nike Plus, to getting directions to the airport on MapQuest, technology is taking away the search and effort out of our lives.

We seem to run more, especially now since we wear high performance running shoes. We seem to multitask more while watching Entourage on HBO, looking up information about the show on IMDB, and talking on the phone all simultaneously. There are numerous benefits of our technological advances as a global society. However, we are all becoming more of a conqueror and less of an explorer. We have declared war on obtaining our goals the fastest way possible, and forgotten about the struggle of self-identity and reflection.

Moving from one place to another has become strictly about transportation or exercise. Life passes us faster than even these days. What does it mean to slow down this sprint to the finish line? When we bring down the rapid tempo, we allow ourselves to capture the moment entirely. We allow ourselves to go in a state of mediation and reflect upon life. There is the old cliché, “stop and smell and the roses,” which is the thesis of slowing down life. This feat is our own personal therapy session.

Putting the brakes on living is as simple as going for a walk. Your mind cannot process clearly unless you give it the time to. Running is beneficial for your health, while it keeps your heart strong, strengthens your legs, and burns calories. Walking is beneficial for your mind. It clears your head, allows you to appreciate your environment through all five senses, and relaxes your psyche. Going for a walk is a gift to you, as everybody needs a timeout to reflect about his or her actions. Just as the timeout chair you feared so much in kindergarten you deserve a timeout today because patience is a virtue, and that virtue is under attack.

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Carb counting the inevitable darkness

Yesterday around 7pm I started staring at a computer.
At 5am I stopped to take a brief slumber.
At 9am I started to gaze at the bright pixelated screen again.
At 6pm I stopped.
STARING AT THE SCREEN: 19 out of 24 hours

Repeat on average once a week.

MY DESTINY
Squinting while staring at the computer causes painfuly dry eye

While you squint you blink less frequently. The less you blink the dryer your eyes become, and over a period of time can lead to a painful eye problem called dryed eyes.

Staring at a Computer Monitor Too Long Can Ruin Your Vision

Glaucoma is an eye disease the generates slowly over time. It is prominent in those people who focus on the computer screen for excessive amounts of time. And there also appeared to be a significant link between these and heavy computer use among workers who were near-sighted.

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Carb counting the nightmares of the record industry

Lets face it. CDs are being phased out. There was a time when obtaining new music meant going to Harmony House or Best Buy and purchasing a CD for $11.99. A reasonable price, considering it usually averaged out to be a dollar a song. We are living in a post AOL, MIRC, Napster, Kazaa, Morpheus, Soulseek, Limewire, Poison, Aquisition, My Tunes, Our Tunes, Torrent...world. My point is obtaining new music is a daily felony for myself and millions of other Americans. Music is free, and when it isn't I'm only buying it for $2 on Allofmp3.com which is legal now. There are many loopholes when you open up the law to entail an international community.

The record industry just doesn't get the situation. They raise the prices while in a crude panic. They raise the prices and we turn to cyberspace. They shut down a torrent site and another one comes up. It has even evolved into the search for music being obsolete. Visit a blog like deb4ser and just download the latest hipster music trend all packaged into one convenient location.

But don't forget to log into the iTunes music store and buy an album or two after.

What's the next step? What formula of change will finally phase out the record industry one angry band at a time?

Radiohead reached a milestone in bringing music to the people. Their new album "In Rainbows" completely changes the music production scene. A popular, talented, innovative band like Radiohead decided to drop all record labels and produce their album on their own. They are asking their fans how much they are willing to pay for their new album. Then on release date it will be available to download. All they need is a domain name on the web and a dyer need for change.

Radiohead isn't the first to conquer the hold the record label has on them. Harvey Danger released their most recent album as a free Torrent download. Their Reason. After you’ve downloaded the album, you can choose to buy the CD online or make a contribution via PayPal or snail mail. Why wouldn't a band with the funds to produce their own album adopt this business model? By cutting out the label their earnings are theirs and not the suits that manage them. Are we witnessing the origin of a creative management revolution?

Here's the thing, with Radiohead's experiement, their fans are generously rewarding their actions by paying more than a record label would ask for.

THE RECORD LABEL'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED

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Carb counting in the Blogsphere

When I think of the original user blogspace I think of classic Livejournal. When it was you and a computer with a very primitive website interface. When it meant knowing the html code to change the font or post a picture. When it meant referring to the FAQ section of Livejournal to remember how to put an LJ cut in your post. It is interesting the first part of the blogsphere was positioned as nothing more than a personal journal. The origin of blogging simply started with a more organized medium than Doug Funny's midnight journaling. There was a time Doug Funnie made writing in a journal cool for little kids. It was no longer only your sister writing in her Diary.

That is what the blog has become. We are slowly making pen and paper obsolete. Think about how many people turn to their computer to vent, or communicate in their own webspace. Eight years ago their mood would have been decoded in their handwriting and not a smiley face next to the exact time they posted. We are impersonalizing our society. It only gets worse from here with iPhones and the iPod touch. It only gets worse when we don't make ads anymore and it becomes superficial branded conversations with a jaded public.

Is what BBH doing with the World's Dirtiest Film for Axe Body Gel promoting creativity or frat boy pornography? Is branded content going to become another impersonal venue for communication? Is social networking the next step after text messaging in making us even more socially awkward? It is true our parents did grow up in more simpler times?

None the less, the story of the blog is an interesting one. A culture that simply has a voice. 50 different random current voices on a page at a time. This is the greatest thing since live feeds on facebook.
The Latest 50 Images posted to Live Journal compliments of my friend Zach.

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CHILDREN TELEVISION: rock on

I was getting worried. I thought Steve Burns was a one album kind of guy. In case you don't remember him, Steve Burns is this the guy in the dorky sweater. That's right, he was the original host in the beloved Nick Jr show called Blues Clues. Rumor had it he died of a drug overdose and his cousin took over the show, but that is completely wrong.

The real story is Steve Burns left the glamorous life of being a childrens television star to hang out with the members from the flaming lips and rock out. His first album, Song's for Dust Mites, came out in August of 2003. It was focused around the idea of space lobsters coming down from outerspace. Now when you go to Steve's Web Page he has an extensive research report on children listening to his last album.

His wit and crazy sci-fi logic continues to astound me. His new topics of interest include:

Learn the awful truth about steve burns and the imminent attack by naked hot-headed arctic ice borers

Find out how to plan for the revenge of the mean-spirited monkeys

See how steve single-handedly replaces the president of the galactic confederacy with a log of thinking cheese

Learn about how television will be watched in pill form



This album is no doubt going to be imaginative, weird, and influenced greatly by the great Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.
I already like what I hear: Steve Burns is back

It makes me wonder what the life inside the children show industry is like. No one imagined Blues Clues was connected to the Flaming Lips when it began. Now the Aquabats have left their traditional pop punk roots and landed a Nick Jr show that premiered this month called YO GABBA GABBA! I can only explain this new show as Sesame Street on organic hallucigenics created for the ex-punks and current hipsters embracing the strollers with their preschool children. This show must be the hottest topic in Park Slope right now.

Matt Prior, originally the singer from the Get Up Kids is now singing to children with his act, The Terrible Twos.
And They Might Be Giants did an album in the past to entertain children.

Basically these talented musicians start a family and when their children become their life they change their style so it is part of them.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WATCH ALL OF THESE ON YO GABBA GABBA: Elijah Woods, Tony Hawk, The Aqua Bats



behind the scenes

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brilliant

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