100 Things Every Designer Should Know About People

My co-worker let me borrow this book and I really freakin dug it. It's essentially a book on psychology and how you can apply it to your designs. More often than not it's discussing UI/UX principles.

It focuses on web / digital deliverables. Testing. Focus groups. UI/UX. Data analysis. Metrics. blah blah blah.

Each entry is only between 1 to 3 pages long. It's easy to chunk up. You can pick it up for a bit, put it down, and come back to it a week later and it doesn't make any difference.

Psychology is very important to every designer, but it's especially important when you're dealing with HMI design. Whether you do print or mobile or whatever, this book is worth a read. Fo' sho.

As you'd expect, the author puts forth theories that she's culled from various people's research and spits it back to you in a simplified and easy to digest manor. Sources are cited and main points are reiterated. It's good shit.

Scratch

I was talking to a co-worker about turntablism and the 4 elements of hip-hop. I mentioned I loved the b-boy doc, Planet B-Boy. He told me if I liked that then I needed to watch Scratch.

So I streamed it on YouTube at lunch. It's dope. You should watch it.

It's a pretty comprehensive overview of where turntablism came from and where it's going. It breaks down the art into various aspects and facets and gives you a great overview of the sub-culture.

I was blown away with DJ's ever since I got the Return of the DJ double LP when I was 18 or so. This doc happens to interview the man behind Bomb Records and most of the cats featured on that LP. So that's kinda cool.

Anyway, check this doc out. You'll be impressed.

Senna (audio commentary)

So, I think this is my fourth time watching Senna. Marie bought me the Blu-Ray for my birthday so I popped it in and watched it with the audio commentary on.

The Director, Editor and Producer are all talking if I recall. But it's mostly the Director and Editor. Anyway, I don't have anything new to add that I haven't mentioned any of the other times I've watched the film. The commentary is obviously only for die-hards. If you've seen it three times then maybe you'll wanna watch the commentary. I learned a few interesting tidbits. I'd love to see a longer cut of the film because their first cut was five hours long. Then they got it down to three. Then two. And finally 100 minutes for theatrical release.

This was the first time that I didn't cry like a baby while watching it. But that's only because there were two or three other people talking over the whole film. You couldn't get emotionally involved while the Director was going on about access to Bernie Eckelstone's archives...

It got me stoked to watch it again, though. So I'm pretty sure I'll be watching it for a fifth time by year's end...best. documentary. ever.

I Vitelloni

Fellini's third film, I Vitelloni. I hadn't seen it in years so I bust out the DVD and watched it last night. It's good stuff, man. It's just about some dudes hanging out. Being dudes. And dealing with shit.

The main characters are all in their late 20s and early 30s. But in small town Italy in the 50's...well, things are different. Most of them live with their parents and are unemployed. I don't know how the hell they have any money to live...but I don't know mid century provincial Italian culture. They're not terribly mature for their age. Anyway, it's a film about friends, romance, responsibility, and intrinsic passion. Each cat has a different motivation. Each cat comes from a different angle. But they support each other like friends do.

They all come to turning points in their lives. And this movie is about those people and those events.

It's quintessential Fellini. The editing, the cinematography, the story...it's really good stuff. It's not as "wacky" as some later Fellini stuff is, though. It's a somewhat autobiographical tale that's told beautifully.

I wouldn't casually recommend this, though. You either like Fellini and 50's Italian cinema or you don't.

the Exorcist

Picked this up at a garage sale last summer, I believe. Just read it for the first time. It's fucking brilliant.

Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist are two of my favorite horror films. Two of my favorite films, period. And their respective novels are top class.

There was a lot more cut from the Exorcist than Rosemary's Baby. There are quite a few additional subplots in the original novel that never make it to the screen. That's fine. The film is amazing as-is. But when you read the novel you certainly get introduced to a much deeper world than the portion that's portrayed on the silver screen. It's definitely worth a read.

This is a quick, easy read. It's very compelling.

Read it.

Shut Up and Play the Hits

Just watched Shut Up and Play the Hits. It's a documentary about LCD Soundsystem's final show at Madison Sq. Gardens.

It's mostly a multi-camera live show, but it's interspersed with interviews and fly-on-the-wall footage of the week leading up to the show. I was hoping for more documentary-type stuff than it actually contains. It's more of a live show / pseudo-doc.

Anyway, if you like LCD Soundsystem then watch it. You won't be disappointed. If you don't care about them then it's not going to enthrall you. Go do something else.

Nancy Whang is pretty hot at this show. For reals.

Le Trou

I picked up a bootleg copy of Le Trou in Bangkok for $2. They had all these Criterion boots on the street. It was awesome! I bought at least 15. The quality of the transfer was really good. Le Trou was one of those boots. I would be happy paying $40 for this today. I don't care, it's fucking awesome.

John Pierre Melville hailed Le Trou as the greatest French film ever made. I wouldn't go THAT far, we may reserve that title for Breathless...but anyway, Le Trou rules. It's a genuine masterpiece.

Jacques Becker based his movie on a real life Parisian prison break in 1947. One of the guys involved penned a novel about it, and Becker actually cast him in the film. Becker used non-actors to heighten the realism of the film. It's pretty much done in documentary style. No music. Nothing fancy. Many scenes that don't further the plot whatsoever, but add to the viewer's perception of prison life. The mundane ritual. The monotony. The grim reality.

Talk about TENSION. This is edge-of-your-seat viewing for two hours. It's awesome, man. And the ending?! Fuckin a. It's as powerful as THX1138.

Prison movies rule. Especially older ones. You're just in awe at the real life ingenuity of prisoners. The shit they have to go through on a day to day basis. The creativity. It's just incredible. You take a fascinating subject like that and then put it in the hands of a skilled Director...it's gold! There's a certain romanticism to 60's prison, too (in a bizarre way).

Anyway, track down a copy of Le Trou. It's awesome.

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

My boy Jason loaned me Hunter S. Thompson's book on the Hells Angels. I swapped him with my copy of Sonny Barger's bio. Both sides of the coin.

This is a pretty fucking sweet book, man. I really don't know much about Hunter S. Thompson. Most people's introduction is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There's a doc on Netflix about him. I'll have to peep it.

This book is probably the defining example of gonzo journalism. Thompson is embedded with the Angels for a year. Rolls with them, parties with them, gets high with them, and eventually gets stomped by them. And he recalls it all here. It's pretty far out.

I dig Thompson's style. It's very down to Earth. He's clearly a good writer, a learned individual. But his diction and syntax is very approachable. The only thing better than reading this book would have been if Thompson had an 8mm camera with him the whole time to capture some of this crazy shit. At the time he just had his notebook, though.

Anyway, I've read quite a few books on bikers and/or for bikers. This ranks right up there, man. It's a trip. It starts a touch slow but really takes off. Thompson gives his own insight, his own opinion, but gives you social context, too. It's great from a journalistic point of view. He's clearly among the Angels, but nowhere close to being an Angel. 

The book gets exciting when he's documenting the Angels' weekend trips. It's craziness. Real class. 

If you've ever seen a 60's biker flick then you  know what you're getting yourself into. This is the literary equivalent. But real life is far crazier than the movies. That's for sure. If you ride a motorcycle; read this book.

Hell's Belles

We closed out this season of Motorcycle Movie Night with AIP's "Hell's Belles."

If you watch the above trailer or look at the poster you'll come away with a skewed perspective. The film isn't about a gang of biker chicks. It's not even really about one biker chick. The main protagonist is a dude, who's got beef with the Prez of a shitty ass excuse for an M/C. And in the midst of having beef, stealing cycles and whatnot, there's a hot momma who gets passed around from pillar to post.

I gotta say, Jocelyn Lane (the aforementioned hot momma) is one of the hottest chicks I've ever seen. She had all of us enraptured. Her skirt, boots, tight shirt. Good god. Hair, face. She's fucking gorgeous. And for some faggy-ass reason "the Cowboy" in this film doesn't want anything to do with her. He's given her. And he won't take her. Fucking MORON!

I'll do whatever you say, Jocelyn.

Anyway, the soundtrack is pretty good. Fuzzy guitar stuff of the era. Coincidentally, Marie went to LA last week and came home with a copy of the Hell's Belles soundtrack on vinyl for me. Kick ass!

There are no boobs, no swazis, no rape, no pillage, no "real" biker gang unless you count these fruitcakes on scramblers wearing turtlenecks. It doesn't really hit all the bases. But it's still a legit biker film. Adam Rourke from Hells Angels on Wheels is in it. He's fucking great, man. But everyone else pretty much sucks.

This movie is well worth seeing just to be mesmerized by Jocelyn Lane. If she wasn't in it, it'd be a dud.

Blue is the Warmest Color

Marie's out of town for the weekend so I just got done watching a three hour French film about a gorgeous young lesbian.

Blue is the Warmest Color received a standing ovation and the Palm d'Or at Cannes last year. Both Director and Lead Actress won. So needless to say, it's a pretty fucking big deal.

Its content has been highly divisive amongst viewers. Some countries have banned it due to its graphic and gratuitous lesbian scenes, while other countries have suggested it be shown in high schools due to its realistic coming-of-age content.

I thought it was fucking great. It's incredibly French. There's plenty of wine, art, smoking and philosophical discussion. If it were any older you know they'd be going on about Indo-Chine and Dizzy Gillespie.

There's a clear lineage from the Nouvelle Vague. It has a documentary feel to it. Like 400 Blows meets Breathless meets Jules et Jim, but directed by Bertolucci (for the intense sexuality).

The soundtrack is mostly world music. Afro-Cuban stuff. But there's some dance music thrown in, too, when appropriate.

Good cinematography. Good framing and tight shots. Well edited. But the real star was Adèle Exarchoupoulos. She was brilliant.

I could look at her lips all day long.

The only chick who makes smoking look sexy.

This was the first photo I saw of her. Good god.