Thing Celebration: Catcher in the Rye Covers

See more here.

Thing Celebration: The Work of Michael Johansson

Michael Johansson is my favorite artist of the month. I think his work is great but the thing that really sold me on him was reading this:

"I am intrigued by irregularities in daily life. Not those that appear when something extraordinary occurs, but those that are created by an exaggerated form of regularity. Colours or patterns from two separate objects or environments concur, like when two people pass each other dressed in the exact same outfit. Or when you are switching channels on your TV and realize that the same actor is playing two different roles on two different channels at the same time. Or that one day the parking lot contained only red cars."

via but does it float

Resource: Brook Farm General Store

I would like to own every single item sold at Brook Farm General Store (75 South 6th b/n Berry & Wythe Brooklyn, NY). However, the item I want most of all, a necklace made from a real vintage tiger claw, is not available online!

The Presentation of Things: Charting the Beatles

Michael Deal's graceful Charting the Beatles project presents the viewer with a captivating set of charts (and further proves that Ringo Starr is in fact the luckiest man in the history of music).

Industry Standard: The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond

Any slide show that contains the phrases: "Order of the Golden Fleece," "Bavarian crown jewels," and "billionaire diamond dealer" is worth reading/watching.

100th post!

Product Appreciation: Folding Stool

I love this folding stool from ThreePotatoFour because it looks like what Katherine Hepburn would sit on to put on her riding boots.

Methods/Systems: Collection A Day

I'm quite excited about Lisa Congdon's Collection a Day project. Her plan is to take a photo or draw a picture of a one of her collections every day in 2010.

Pez Executive Dies at 87

Image from the Museum of Pez in Burlingame, CA

Curtis Allina, "who helped bring the world the modern Pez dispenser" died at 87. Read his obituary here.

How To: Make Betty Rolls

My family has been ordering our Thanksgiving dinner from a restaurant ever since I can remember. However, we do make one thing from scratch; Betty Rolls. The recipe for these yeasty rolls was developed by my grandmother, Betty, and produces rolls that are transcendent and a true tradition in my family. Here's the recipe:

1. Combine the following at a low speed: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 2 packages yeast, 1/2 cup softened butter

2. Add: 2 cups hot water (120-130 degrees) and 1 egg, mix at medium speed for 2 minutes

3. Add: 3/4 c. flour until it forms a thick batter

4. Stir in: Flour until it the mixture is a soft dough (approx. 2 1/2 cups)

5. Knead for 10 mins.

6. Let the dough rise for about 90 mins. and punch it down and shape into rolls

7. Let dough rise again for another 90 mins.

8. Bake at 425 for 15-20 mins. (My dad likes the ones that get really brown on the top and develop a crust, my mom and I like when the rolls are really doughy and chewy, almost raw)

9. Brush rolls with melted butter immediately after taking the rolls out of the oven

Watch this video my cousin made of us making Betty Rolls this year.

The Things of "Wild America" by Wells Tower

Not only is Wells Tower's short story "Wild America" (included in his collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned) a great work of fiction, it also mentions lots of things and proper nouns...

Clockwise from top left:

Vantage Cigarettes, Hacky Sack, Wild America, Puch Moped, Cat Collar with bell, "Strawberry Wine" Track 8 from Deana Carter's Did I Shave My Legs for This?, Guatemalan Bag, Stirrup Pants, Cheer Wine, Little Kings Cream Ale, Mitsubishi Lancer, Rudolf Nureyev

How To: Solve a Rubik's Cube

Find out how to solve a Rubik's cube here, or if you're more math-ey and prefer algorithms try this version.

Methods/Systems: "Blogggingheads: Against Top 10 Lists"

"One of the pernicious things about the rise of the internet is that everyone gets to publish their own lists." -Matthew Yglesias, "Bloggingheads: Against Top 10 Lists"

To which the internet responded, "My dear sir, how lucky you are to live in a world where you believe that something as harmless as lists are among my most pernicious content."

Watch it here.