Broken Barn Industries, Ink

Beneath the Surface of Google Wave

2009-12-01T20:28:00.011-05:00

Google Wave. It seems a bit stupid and obvious right now. I can already do all this.

But taking a closer look, I can see that this is going to get more and more useful. Let's start with the logo.
It's a wave in the shape of a W. But there's more to it than that. The logo actually reflects the structure of the application.

Google Wave will succeed because it fulfills a need we're already feeding. And because its basic structure is self referential. These kind of structures are strong and adaptable.

Fractal structures succeed at every level of reality, and there is reason to believe they are reality.

The Garden in November

2009-11-28T19:54:00.001-05:00

Most people think the typical gardener slows down and takes it easy during the winter months. Not true! There are still many tasks to complete, and spring planning is already underway.

Tim

2009-11-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

Refresh, Refresh

2009-10-30T18:32:00.001-04:00

I want to see it again.

Google changed.

2009-10-30T18:27:00.002-04:00

Holy motherfarking flying monkeys on a stick, Batman. Google fades in now.

A secret win for birds

2009-10-28T21:24:00.004-04:00

This man just got chicken rolled. His bird sanctuary is about to get some extra attention, and hopefully some extra donations for the busy holiday season. I mean, who doesn't want one of these in their stocking on Xmas morning?

Click either picture to see the free publicity that Broken Barn Industries obtained for the Berkshire Bird Paradise Sanctuary.

I don't know if they'll figure out where all the extra web traffic came from. And we don't know anyone there, so we have no way of knowing how many extra checks they might get in the mail. But let's just assume that BBI's secret charity plan is a complete success.

He's gonna be in a movie.

2009-10-13T08:45:00.000-04:00

Gnarly and Me.

I Need Help

2009-10-10T19:18:00.002-04:00

I'm not kidding. Like the writer of this article, I am looking for a way to preserve bananas. Intact. Ideas, please! I will post experiments. And eventually I'll explain.

Why?

2009-10-10T19:03:00.002-04:00

Does this happen in California and not here in MY hometown?! Man, I love banana museum site.

They are playing Stems and Stumps. I want IN, man.

No discussion of bananas would be complete without...

2009-10-10T18:59:00.003-04:00

Also

2009-10-10T18:54:00.004-04:00

Omg I wanna shop here. I freakin' love bananas!

This is not mine.

2009-10-10T18:50:00.001-04:00

I was innocently researching petrified bananas and found this pic here. How does that qualify as petrified? Wtf? Anyway, I have my reasons for researching petrified bananas. I do not have to explain, justify or defend.

Speaking of birds...

2009-10-10T17:45:00.003-04:00

I've been to Berkshire Bird Paradise. That's Peter Dubacher (the owner) on the left and our state wildlife pathologist, Ward Stone on the right. What Peter does is awesome- awesome enough for the New York Times (see here). If you really like birds, send him money! If you don't like birds a whole lot, at least thumbs up him on stumble or something- he needs more exposure. Kthx!

Today's Field Trip

2009-10-10T17:23:00.004-04:00

Today we went to Muddyduck Waterfowl Breeding Center. That sounds fancy, yes? It wasn't and I've been to other bird places that aren't either. It probably started with one broken duck. The guy fixed it, thought, "Hey! I'm good at ducks!" and next thing you know, his acreage is filled with netting, kiddie pools, fences and various ducks. We forgot to bring the camera so I can't show you the two most important things we saw. One was a dead fox right outside of a duck's pen. I dunno if he got shot or if the duck killed him, but I do know that I came within inches of stepping on it before I saw it. Skeevy! The other thing is that since this is a non-profit Duck World, the guy has to use whatever he can get his hands on to keep his ducks happy. That included a hot tub, sans heat. He must have scored a free one from craigslist or something. He buried it to the rim and turned it into a little duck pond. Left the faucets and tap on. Surreal Duck World. You can give them money. The have a wood duck house. You put money in the hole. It says your contribution is tax de-duck-tible!

PS: There are ticks at Duck World. I found out cuz we had to pull over so I could fling one off my shirt.

PSS: We also almost got rear-ended pulling into Duck World. Fuck you, tailgating jerk in your stupid pickup truck.

PSSS: This spring, two St. Bernards invaded and killed 170 waterfowl. I did not make that up. Article here. We got the updated story while we were there. Those two dogs got loose again. Animal Control caught them and the owner surrendered them. No more dead ducks- yay!

Yay, internets!

2009-10-09T06:50:00.005-04:00

We just got power back last night after about 24 hours. I was so excited to get back online only to find that it's actually pretty boring. We're all so used to boring now that we don't even realize it's boring. But having no electricity is even more boring. We had to do things like play cards by candlelight and go to bed early.

Not boring: having an excuse to use my Primus one burner to make coffee outside. That stove is Swedish AND, "The original Primus stove was celebrated on a Swedish stamp in 1984." That's how bad ass my stove is. It has its own stamp.

My Boy Workin' It

2009-10-06T08:21:00.001-04:00

Rant + Good Glove Rave

2009-10-05T11:11:00.004-04:00

These are the absolute best garden gloves in existence, bar none. They're really thin so you can get a good feel for stuff but also super tough. I need new ones. Did my old ones break? No. A Girl Scout stole them. I volunteered to host Girl Scouts in the garden. Only one showed up and she was squeamish about dirt, so I let her use my good gloves. Now, I don't think she stole them on purpose. I think she forgot to take them off when she was leaving. What elevates it to stealing is the fact that her mom was with her, knows how to contact me and knows where I live. She has not returned my gloves. I thought Girl Scouts were supposed to have some fucking values. Seriously. Grrr.

Today on Petfinder.

2009-10-05T09:54:00.001-04:00

Holy mother of God. If I'd seen this picture when I was looking for a dog, I might have given up on the species. More pix of him here.

More Art. Or IS it? Dadaism Meets Doodooism

2009-10-05T09:21:00.008-04:00

Movement Around the Movement (2009)
Olive Labrador, Shit on Kentucky Bluegrass with Leaves

Ms. Labrador, once known for her smaller works, is now exploring slightly larger pieces as part of her current exploration of the way humans use space. This piece is meant to call attention to the lack of mindfulness endemic to human culture. Her use of irony here is apparent in the placement of the disparate pieces coming together in a way reminiscent of human DNA.

The artist: Active since 2004, Olive Labrador is a Toronto native known locally for her public pieces. Her favorite mediums include carpet, grass and linoleum. Her inspirations come from the mundane as well as the sacred- frisbees, corn cobs and the smell of human butt. Her work has been exhibited in various public venues. One of her better known pieces is Notes On Imported Wool Rug.

This piece is on loan thanks to the generous support of anonymous Canadian patrons.

PS: I'm tempted to send the museum a link to this post as explanation for why we didn't give them their "suggested" donation.

Upon further reflection...

2009-10-05T09:03:00.004-04:00

"Arlene Shechet’s recent glazed ceramic objects float, twist, and puff up atop stacks of unadorned concrete, plaster, wood, and steel. While Shechet has worked in sculpture for over two decades, these new works shift away from her earlier explorations of iconographic Buddhist imagery toward more abstract forms and combinations. Confounding any single reading, they hover in the fertile space between East and West, secular and sacred, and modern and ancient." source here

The top piece is from the museum we went to. This one is from here. I'll take the garbage can any day. The write up is more believable. (Click to make it big enough to read).

Field Trip

2009-10-05T07:26:00.004-04:00

We went to this museum yesterday. Most of the stuff was pretty boring. I guess that's a rule at museums- there has to be a lot of boring filler. The stuff by an artist named Nicole Eisenman (see pic) was pretty cool though. But really the best thing was outside of the museum. We got out of the car just in time to see a giant snapping turtle taking a walk on the sidewalk, no pond in sight. My mister got a shot of it on his iPhone. Mebbe he'll upload it today.

PS: Isn't the guy in the lower left creepy?

Why we will not be renewing our subscription

2009-10-04T11:33:00.008-04:00

I just sent this to the editors of the magazine. This has been bothering me for a long time. It's good to finally know I've done my part. The rest is up to them.

To the Editor:
I've always known that Architectural Digest was not a magazine about architecture. But your recent "Architecture Issue" was just too much to bear. I apologize for pointing out what must be an obvious white elephant in the A.D. offices, but it's time for everyone to man-up and face facts.

1) I am sure there is no magazine called "Interior Design Monthly" which features articles and photographs about architecture.

2) If a magazine called "Pizza Making Digest" was to put out a "Special Pizza Making Issue", it would be a little odd, don't you think?

It's time to change the name of the publication and admit to yourselves that you all work for a fashion magazine.

Sincerely,
[Inkman], Advocate for Clarity.

Also

2009-10-04T07:56:00.001-04:00

I really did get the classic TV stamps. Monster called dibs on the Lassie one. He loves that show.

The October Fish Tank

2009-10-03T10:30:00.005-04:00

There are two fish, one bubbler, and lots of algae to scrub the water. These are the same fish that were inadvertantly encased in a liquid prison last year when the tank froze from the outside in, and had to be smashed with a hammer to rescue my orange friends from permanent cryogenic slumber.

Overheard in Rural New York

2009-10-02T10:14:00.008-04:00

Woman at the counter: I thought stamps were going up (sounding disappointed that they hadn't/ she didn't have something to bitch about).

Postmistress (loudly): Not here, where you're standing. IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. You gotta stop watching Fox news!

A lot of upstate, rural New York is blood red. You might not realize that if you don't live here and see us portrayed in every election as blue. That's because the blues in NYC outnumber the upstaters.