http://clubhaus.tumblr.com/

My new favorite website!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:00:51 -0400

I just stumbled upon Coffitivity and I’m hooked. This site plays ambient coffee house noises through a browser while you work. Brilliant!

Sometimes I find it difficult to concentrate in silence and I find myself heading to Caffe Aroma, Sweetness 7 or Spot Coffee to work on my work but then I’ll get distracted by loud conversations, friends also escaping the office, and the general commotion of the cafe.

I’m loving this!

-Patrick Finan

If you were one of the lucky ones who got a ticket to “The...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:10:00 -0400

If you were one of the lucky ones who got a ticket to “The Book of Mormon” last week at Shea’s, you experienced one of the more excitable nights of theater in a long while. The show has won every award under the sun, brought young (cynical, sarcastic, John Stewart types) to the theater, and also raised a few eyebrows.

The show skewers/pays homage to/mocks the Mormon church with a big, mascara-doused wink. It uses classical musical theater tropes to delight, charm and swoon the pants off of its audiences, which in Buffalo means those youngins, their reasonably funny parents, and their churchgoing grandparents. It’s not a show for the faint at heart; language this coarse has never before been tap-danced across this stage.

But beyond the curtain, what I find fascinating about this show is how precisely it makes its points about the Mormon church without being specifically nasty. It walks the hairline between absurdist spoof and bullying ridicule—it’s called satire, and it’s delicious.

The real Mormon church has had a field day with this show. If you looked in your program (or drooled over your friend’s), you’d have noticed three ads in the first 13 pages—before the cast list—from the church that appear to swoop in and address the show that mocks it.

“The Book is always better,” says one.

“I’ve read The Book,” says another.

“You’ve seen the play…Now read The Book,” you get it.

In the bottom-right corner is a photo of the real Book of Mormon, and a website, thebookofmormon.org. Also, a QR code, a general giveaway of someone who doesn’t know better.

You might not have noticed the “.org” in the URL. You might have thought this was an ad from the producers of the show, or maybe that the show was a production of the church.

Either scenario is laughable. Consider the actual Mormons handing out pamphlets outside the theater, whom bemused, enthralled patrons were overheard congratulating on a great show, and it all starts to click: marketing frames not only what’s being pitched, but those who are selling, and our expectations of both.

There’s a contradiction here, that a religion so keen on purity is self-aware enough to feed off of a mocking audience. But then again, cleverness isn’t new to the church; recruitment is their middle name.

The marketing of religious groups—institutions and ideals more than church organizations or programming—isn’t as visible in our regular consumer channels. Or maybe it’s just not discussed.

Glad both “The Book of Mormon,” and its elder Book of Mormon, rang our doorbell this week and gave us the good word.

-Ben

Proofs. #bcm32 #stop

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:29:48 -0400

Proofs. #bcm32 #stop

Last week, I spent a blissful four days in a restored...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:01:17 -0400

Last week, I spent a blissful four days in a restored homesteader cabin outside of Joshua Tree, CA. The 1938 “Baby Homesteader Act” granted five-acres of non-agricultural land to anyone with the grit to make a life in this harsh corner of the Southwest.

Very few stuck it out. Dotting the otherwise completely barren desert landscape are the remains of hundreds of abandoned cabins. Many occupants left in some haste it seems with beds or refrigerators left behind. I was fascinated with the shells of these homes, so still across the endless nothingness, and spent an evening shooting them with my dad’s old Minolta.

- Julie

As part of the 2013 BALLE Conference, City Dining Cards will be...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:08:00 -0400

As part of the 2013 BALLE Conference, City Dining Cards will be participating in a Cash Mob

The point is to encourage a large amount of people (in this case, BALLE Conference attendees, as well as Buffalo residents) to visit local businesses and spend $10-$20 each. The point is to generate some economic stimulus, give customers the chance to meet independent shop owners, and hopefully attract new patrons, all while having a great time and picking up some fun new stuff.

CDC will have a table inside of the Neighborhood Collective building at 810 Elmwood Ave., right across from the Lexington Co-op. The Cash Mob will take place from 5 until 7 p.m., followed by a party in the parking lot of the Co-op. An afterparty will be held a couple blocks south, at Blue Monk.

Be a localist, y’all!

- PS

I’ve already met some wonderful folks from around the...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:33:22 -0400

I’ve already met some wonderful folks from around the country. Excited to hear from great speakers and leaders this week! #balle2013 #buffalo (at Campbell Student Union)

Block Club & City Dining Cards registration tabling today....

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:19:28 -0400

Block Club & City Dining Cards registration tabling today. Campbell Student Union, Buff State. #balle2013 #buffalo

Back in 2006, Campaign Against Landmines (CALM) used ketchup...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:00:45 -0400

Back in 2006, Campaign Against Landmines (CALM) used ketchup packaging to appeal to New Zealanders encouraging them to donate money to help clear landmines in Southern Lebanon. Twenty Thousand ketchup packages were distributed in restaurants throughout New Zealand.

Although the message is disturbingly blunt, the graphic nature of the package successfully communicates the atrocities caused by these terrible explosions. This package is effective because it is interactive. When an individual tears open the package, the foot is severed and the ketchup (blood) spills out.

If I were to sit down at a restaurant and find this ketchup package on the table, it would make me very uncomfortable. As designer I realize that this campaign is meant to educate and raise awareness, not give me a warm feeling inside. Although I might not enjoy interacting with the package, it catches my attention and brings me out of my comfort zone. As a result, I feel a sense of compassion and conviction. The design of this package encourages me to make a difference.

-Laura

THE BALLE CONFERENCE IS IN TOWN, BUFFALO! One of the coolest...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:39:59 -0400

THE BALLE CONFERENCE IS IN TOWN, BUFFALO!

One of the coolest conferences ever is coming to Buffalo, starting tonight! BALLE (Business Alliance for Living Local Economies) is the national movement for all things local. Buffalo FIrst!, the local affiliate of this esteemed network communities, hosts this year’s event, which is expected to bring in many hundreds of visitors from around the country. Like most events like this, there will be lots of speaking engagements, readings, performances, tours, group sessions, and lots of socializing.

Block Club is proud to be a sponsor of this year’s event. We will be visible throughout the conference, so come on down and say hi! The event schedule can be found here.

The conference does require registration, and a fee, but events are still open and it’s promised to be something you won’t want to miss.

Welcome to Buffalo, local America! Have a great visit!

-Ben

While on vacation in the southwest, @juleeclip sent us a sweet...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:26:30 -0400

While on vacation in the southwest, @juleeclip sent us a sweet wooden postcard. Addresses to Blood Clot Magazine. Thanks Julie and @mancouscous!

Spotted at a client visit this morning. #blockclub

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:51:02 -0400

Spotted at a client visit this morning. #blockclub

A Font Designer's Growth Curve

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:57:22 -0400

A Font Designer's Growth Curve:

Buffalo’s own Richard Kegler, of p22 Type Foundry, featured in The Wall Street Journal.

Richard Kegler started out with a typeface inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s handwriting.

-Ben

Twitter recently released some amazing photos that simply show...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 17:17:29 -0400

Twitter recently released some amazing photos that simply show the locations of geotagged tweets from around the world. Shown here (clockwise, from top) are images from Moscow, Europe, Tokyo, New York City and Seoul.

These images include every geolocated tweet going back to 2009. Every dot represents a post and the intensity of the color comes from the total tweet count in that area. In the end, we are looking at data from billions of tweets.

For more images check out the official Twitter Flickr page.

- Steve

While editing the fiction story by Chastity West for the July...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:15:00 -0400

While editing the fiction story by Chastity West for the July issue of the magazine, I came across this beautiful Thoreau quote:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.”

Look for Chastity’s story in the Stop issue, out at the end of the month.

The image above, by the way, comes from here, and is of a reproduction of Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond, west of Boston. The original was located near this site.

-Ben

Smart Ideas for Smarter Cities is a…smart campaign. I...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:23:33 -0400

Smart Ideas for Smarter Cities is a…smart campaign. I appreciate its simplicity, its innovation in billboard advertising, and its clean, pleasing color palette.

Beyond the design, the message is as simple as it gets: What do you want for your city? What does improvement look like to you? How can things be better, smarter, and so on?

Projects like this—thank you, IBM—are taking advertising design into new territory, both physically and civically.

-Ben

Courtesy Hello You Creatives.

Too proud. Down for a nap.

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 13:32:00 -0400

Too proud. Down for a nap.

Summer is here Buffalo (phew!) and it’s time for grilling,...

Fri, 31 May 2013 12:57:53 -0400

Summer is here Buffalo (phew!) and it’s time for grilling, picnics, bike rides to Canalside, water balloon fights and the Trattoria Aroma Farm Dinners! We channeled peaceful memories of a late summer evening alongside Marilyn’s beautiful vineyard for this organic illustration of a grapevine. There are few things as nice as a grape fresh from the vine, warmed by sunshine.

Tickets available for the 2013 Aroma Farm Dinners here. Incredible food and wine guaranteed!

- Julie

It's all for you

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:37:00 -0400

It’s my birthday in two days, and though I’m not typically freaked about the onslaught of age (it’s just 31—I’ll live), I still can’t detach this day from the bigger picture of mortality.

Lighten up, Ben. Jeez.

I know, it’s a lot to take in on your birth-, or anyday. But if we stop to celebrate one’s birth, we should be able to stomach the other side of that coin. Consider an avenue to the discussion that’s not morose. Contemplate the finiteness of life by filling up its basket (or bucket, what have you), with your hopes and ideas and wishes for where you live, what you do, and those in your life. Think of all the life possible before your death.

Candy Chang, the artist and activist with a penchant for this very topic, discusses the nature of mortality in progressive work in the next issue of Block Club. Chang embraces the inevitable, which—when you read those words back—makes perfect sense. Stay tuned for that interview in our Stop issue, out at the end of June.

Until then, happy birthday to all and many wonderful, idea-filled days to follow. :)

-Ben

Photo courtesy CandyChang.com

One of our new products just got some new social media...

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:27:01 -0400

One of our new products just got some new social media pages!

Check out Fridge Phrases on Twitter and Instagram! Search for the user name @FridgePhrases.

Tweet us your best sentences and tag photos of your most creative phrases with the hashtag #fridgephrases.

Be on the lookout for contests and giveaways on both platforms. We give points for originality, folks.

Make your fridge more freaking fun!

- PS

citydiningcards: Waiter, I’ll take the László Moholy-Nagy with...

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:42:29 -0400

citydiningcards:

Waiter, I’ll take the László Moholy-Nagy with a side of Gropius, hold the Mies.

Photographer Nicky Walsh moved to Berlin and was struck by the immeasurable awesomeness at the Bauhaus Archive Museum, specifically the Constructivist techniques of professor László Moholy-Nagy. She enlisted her food stylist partner, Max Faber, and formed the experimental food photography wunderkind known as Nicky&Max. Oh the glory of cocoa powder!

Dig in.

- Mike