Meanwhile #126

Hello all! This week, I’m reverting back to a good old fashioned numbered link dump format for Meanwhile, because why the heck not? There be gold in them thar hyperlinks. So here you go, seven things I found on the internet this week:

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1 — Posteritati in conversation with Akiko Stehrenberger, discussing some of her favourite designs and designers – including this wonderful Cuban poster for Truffaut’s Stolen Kisses by René Azcuy.

2 — Mel Birnkrant has amassed an impressive and frequently terrifying collection of early twentieth century cartoon toys, advertising and art; everything from Mickey Mouse to Michelin’s Bibendum. Warning: as fascinating as this tour through the collection is, many items are wildly offensive and reflect the shamefully commercially-viable crappy attitudes of the time.

3 — Exceedingly on-the-nose post from the wonderful Creative Boom: ten decorative accessories that we always see in every graphic design agency. I scored six out of ten. Really must get myself a swiss cheese plant …

4 — As A Clockwork Orange turns 60, and its movie adaptation turns 50, I examine the complex relationship between the book and the film for Creative Review. It’s mostly about indelible bowler hats.

5 — It takes an extra tap every time you open it, but there’s finally a way to revert to a purely chronological feed in instagram! In short: tap the logo, select “following”, and just like that, instagram is good again. Would be nice if you could set this as your default feed, but you can’t have everything.

6 — Love this old Jeff Tweedy quote found by fellow list-numberer and Wilcodad™ Austin Kleon:

To say I’ve never been inhibited by expectations would be a lie. It’s more daunting to contend with yourself. It’s like saying I don’t even need to write songs because the greatest songwriter in the world has already done this—Bob Dylan. But he’s dealing with himself, too. The internal stuff is the stuff that kills you. I want to write the greatest song in the world sometimes. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in wanting to do that, but I think you’re better off when you realize you have no control over it. You just gotta keep making s–t up, scribbling—like sitting down and drawing with my kids. It reminds me to do that in my songs. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. I think it looks great. Let’s hang it on the refrigerator.

7 — Vintage, classic and retro bowling alleys of North America shot by photographer Kevin Hong. Makes me want to revisit There Will Be Blood, which I’m sure was his intention.