But many of you, particularly my girl friends, have never heard of “Will It Blend” or Blendtec. And when I say “Oh! It’s so cool! They have these super tough blenders that blend stuff, like magnets and silly putty and iPhones!” you look at me like I’m from another planet.

So here are a few links to fill you in.

Blendtec on Modern Marvels: Super awesome behind-the scenes stuff, and a great overview, too.

Total Blender on Time Warp: Blending stuff is even cooler when it’s filmed at 10,000 frames per second and then played back in high definition slow mo! On this one they blend strawberries, gum balls, a video camera, and butane lighters. Parental discretion advised if your kid is a pyro. Otherwise, be sure to watch it in HD!

Bad guys, good guy, and a blender: A notoriously tough guy gets in the blender with the bad guys. Who will win? Blendtec had to remove this after the tough guy (whose name I dare not mention since I work for BT now, but you can find one of his many fan sites here) sent a cease and desist. But several youtube users had re-posted the original video, including this one. Too funny.

And of course we have Will It Blend? — a huge video collection of Tom Dickson blending stuff. And last but not least, blendtec.com — which is going to look awesome before the summer’s through.

And the best part of all of it? They Gave Me A Blender! Anyone up for smoothies?

Sure, there’s a fine line between flattery and validation, but real validation does feel nice, doesn’t it?

The political arguments that ensue at every family get together are fantastic. Sometimes I wonder if Dad could wean himself off blood pressure medication if it weren’t for MSNBC. But he’d also have to deal with the fact that his namesake is a serious Anti-Fox News evangelist. And their choice of news media is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their political differences… or is it?

They’re both very smart people, and generally I’d say they both have valid points. What’s more, after they’ve argued for an hour or two, they eventually calm down, and occasionally even agree on a few things. So why the mental brawl?

I believe most sources of news media out there teach us to marginalize others’ viewpoints. They seem less concerned with honesty and problem solving than they are with ad-space and ratings. Ratings they collect by creating an addictive sense of animosity toward anyone who happens to have another point of view. And nothing glues an audience to its chairs like a good fight. Just ask the pro wrestlers. But I’ll just keep cheering for people like poligazette.com.

Some time ago, I’d noticed a post asking for a new header graphic. I thought to myself, “What they need is a logo, but much as I like this site I just don’t have time.” Then one evening when I did have time and was particularly appreciating their site, I decided to play with a few ideas, and came up with this:

New poligazette.com logo uses a compass instead of a star

Here’s what it used to look like. They’re quite happy with the difference.

Old poligazette.com header image

And here are some other ideas for edible origami, as well as a ton of ideas for origami and kirigami in general.

And in case you didn’t think Origami had any practical applications, just check out this awesome article about Dr. Robert Lang, from the crew at (darn) interesting.

Business of Design Online (aka BoDo) is THE site to visit if you’re just starting out a design business. In fact they have great information for many new ventures, but it’s geared toward artists who want to learn how to make a business with their design.

When I learned from these people (especially from Cat whether she realizes it or not – she’s a super mentor!), they were in the about.com forums. They’re likely still there. Later they collarborated with some other fabulous designers to form Creative Lattitude. But soon they realized there was an audience of new designers out there that needed attention, and if you found this article, perhaps you’re among them.

Or if you’re a new business needing the inside scoop on what to look for in a designer you hire, have a look! Actually while you’re at it, you should really check out nospec.com.

This site is brand new, but already full of fabulous information. So go check em out, already!

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

I have such great memories of Techserv, not so much for the work we did (although we did have some great customers) but for the people around me. DamnInteresting.com was created by another friend, Jason’s brother Alan, who also worked there. Jason apologized for the coarse language in the title, but argued that it’s hardly a swear word in the modern vernacular.  And he said it just like that, because that’s Jason.  I sure miss working with such characters.  Thank goodness for Facebook

My personal favorite article?  Color Photos from the World War 1 Era. They have a color photo of a magistrate that looks like it could have been taken this year!