When I first moved to Reno, I was amazed by this place called Trader Joes, a place where you could buy fancy food snobby food for half the price you’d pay for it in a really food snobby grocery. Anyway, TJs is always packed, but they never advertise except for monthly direct mail printed on newsprint full of old-timey clip art. But here is a very funny (though about a minute too long) spot made by a TJs customer with a Blackberry. Hilarious and dead on.

It seems to me, that lately their has been a lot of talk about Shepard Fairey. Either you love him or you hate him OR you don’t know who he is. Most recently, Shepard Fairey was arrrested in Boston for producing street art on public property. Also, Fairey’s now “Iconic Image” (this phrased used almost as repetitively as “Honeymoon” to describe the first 100 days of Obama’s presidency) depicting then senator Obama closely resembling an AP photo (seen above) is now on it’s way to the Smithsonian. Now Milton Glaser has added his comments on this whole Shepard Fairey situation. The interview is from the most recent edition of Print Magazine and it makes some decent arguments about what is right and what is wrong about design.

So what do you think? Are there enough differences in the above comparison to show that Fairey added his own design aesthetics to the composition? Did Fairey plaigarize this likeness from the AP Photo? Is Fairey a thief?

I just read a story over on Good. This made me think of our very own inter-office carpool that I see the girls up-stairs using. The good folks down in the east Bay are using a similar practice called casual carpool however it is done with one driver and 4 complete strangers all commuting into the city. Now, now, I know you are saying, “4 complete strangers! Isn’t that hitchhiking?  What about personal safety?” All of those questions are answered and more in the article over at good. The post is very informational and even mentions peoples primary reasons for participating in this grand experiment. So feel good about what we are doing here in our offices because on a smaller level, we are doing something that is just plain good for everybody.

By the way, if you don’t read good currently, you should. Their blog is beautiful and full of ideas…that are big AND good.