Random Thoughts: January 31st, 2010

I removed the coyote ruff, because it made shoulder-checking while driving very difficult. I'll re-attach it for walking. Not only for warmth, though...it also looks pretty dope.

• This jacket rules. The Canada Goose jacket I'm rocking in the photo above is a gift from my mom, who rules. Initially, we went to Cabela's looking to settle with a cheaper coat, and got talked into the Resolute Parka. Any misgivings I had about the price tag disappeared on the first day I wore it outside. It was -18ºC or something and I felt nothing. Nothing but warmth, that is. All I need is for this thing to be bullet and stab proof.
  
  
• My Favorite 2009 Albums. I was going to elaborate on my choices, but I'm not feeling like it anymore. The last thing I want to be is boring. Here they are:
  
  Neko Case's Middle Cyclone
  Tanya Morgan's Brooklynati
  Nestor Wynrush's Trinnipeg!78
  Marco Polo and Torae's Double Barrel
  Grand Analog's Metropolis Is Burning
  Mayer Hawthorne's A Strange Engagement
  Mos Def's The Ecstatic
  DOOM's Born Like This
  The Foreign Exchange's Leave It All Behind
  
  I will speak on this last choice, however. I bought Leave It All Behind (FE's second album) on a whim, originally looking for FE member Nicolay's City Lights 2: Shibuya project at my nearest HMV. Wanting to leave with something, I picked it up and haven't regretted it for a second. It's a compelling hybrid of soul, hip hop, and shimmering washes of keyboard-y/electronic goodness that's less rap heavy than their debut, from all accounts. I really need to buy Connected when it's back in print. Now, I know this was released in 2008 – I picked this up two days short of its first anniversary – but I can't say there's another album I listened to more in 2009. Also, they got a Grammy nomination!
  
  
• Haiti poster on podcast. This was totally unexpected, really. On their second Twitter-based episode, The Reflex Blue Show mentioned my Haiti poster. Listen for yourself! Thanks for the nod, fellas.
  While I've often disagreed with Nate Voss' views on gigposters, I haven't let that get in the way of listening to The Reflex Blue Show, or reading Nate and Donovan's blog, 36 Point. I don't know of anyone else that handles design news and opinions with the same amount of joviality and sarcasm, so they're worth checking out.