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Welcome to my home for rants and raves about graphic design, politics, the news and pretty much anything else I feel like ranting about...

  • 07
    Nov

    Listening to…November 2009

     

    Song

    Artist

    Album

    1 Your Decision Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
    2 Storm To Pass Atreyu Congregation Of The Damned
    3 Back Against The Wall Cage The Elephant Cage The Elephant
    4 Overcome Creed Full Circle
    5 Invincible Adelitas Way Adelitas Way
    6 Break Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    7 Crawl Back In Dead By Sunrise Out of Ashes
    8 Check My Brain Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
    9 I Will Not Bow Breaking Benjamin Dear Agony
    10 Wheels Foo Fighters Greatest Hits
    11 If You Only Knew Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    12 Had Enough Papa Roach Metamorphosis
    13 Use Somebody Kings of Leon Only By the Night
    14 Rain Creed Full Circle
    15 Last To Know Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    16 Before The Lobotomy Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    17 You Were The King, Now You’re Unconscious Atreyu Congregation Of The Damned
    18 Cry for Help Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    19 Last Of My Kind Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
    20 You’re Going Down Sick Puppies Tri-Polar
    21 New Divide Linkin Park Transformers 2 Soundtrack
    22 Jars Chevelle Jars
    23 She’s A Genius Jet Shaka Rock
    24 The Fixer Pearl Jam Backspacer
    25 Half-Truism The Offspring Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
    26 Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked Cage The Elephant Cage the Elephant
    27 East Jesus Nowhere Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    28 The Night Disturbed Indestructible
    29 Acid Bubble Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
    30 On My Sleeve Creed Full Circle
    31 Dear Agony Breaking Benjamin Dear Agony
    32 Wait For You Atreyu Congregation Of The Damned
    33 Lost In You Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    34 How Could You? Saliva Cinco Diablo
    35 Sound of Madness Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    36 I Get Off Halestorm Halestorm (Bonus Track Version)
    37 Seasons The Veer Union Against the Grain
    38 Left 4 Dead Papercut Massacre If These Scars Could Talk
    39 In One Ear Cage The Elephant Cage the Elephant
    40 Lesson Learned Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue
    41 Death of Me Red Innocence & Instinct
    42 We Did Nothing Wrong Royal Bliss Life In-Between
    43 100 in a 55 Pop Evil Lipstick On the Mirror
    44 Feel Good Drag Anberlin New Surrender
    45 Scream Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold
    46 Guilty Since October This Is My Heart
    47 Crawl Breaking Benjamin Dear Agony
    48 37 Stitches Drowning Pool Full Circle
    49 Actions & Motives 10 Years Division
    50 Private Hell Alice In Chains Black Gives Way To Blue

    Posted by Dustin in Music

  • 01
    Nov

    Truly Pointless, New Fangled Technology

    High-paid newspaper and magazine “Critics” always like to think they know best.  Here is an excellent example of why I never pay much attention to them:

    The nature of the personal computer is simply not fully understood by companies like Apple (or anyone else for that matter). Apple makes the arrogant assumption of thinking that it knows what you want and need. It, unfortunately, leaves the “why” out of the equation — as in “why would I want this?” The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a ‘mouse’. There is no evidence that people want to use these things. I dont want one of these new fangled devices.
    –San Francisco Examiner, John C. Dvorak, 19 Feb. 1984

    There are two schools of thought, I suppose.  On one hand, you have folks like Dvorak; yet, on the other hand you have innovators like this:

    “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses.”
    -Henry Ford

    Where is John C. Dvorak now?  He’s still writing about computer technology for PC Magazine as well as some other places – on a typewriter, I assume.  I particularly enjoyed reading this story about his son buying a MacBook Pro.  Clearly, he’s still not an Apple guy.  However, it’s encouraging to read in the article that after 25 years, he’s finally able to admit that all these whiz-bang features make me realize that I have fallen behind.”

    Signing off now, from my mouseless iPhone …

    Posted by Dustin in Technology

  • 23
    Oct

    It’s Damn-Near 2010 Already

    I’ve just not felt like writing this past year, at all. As my daily work duties involve sitting, writing and doodling, coming home from work and sitting, writing or even doodling are usually not desired activities.  But here I am, it’s damn-near 2010, and I’ve got a few things to say, I guess.

    Still working at the same joint, except we moved to a different building a couple miles further away.  It’s still close enough that I can avoid the freeways and just cruise up the less-crowded streets.  It’s no hour commute like the old days.   The exciting world of corporate marketing is about all that’s been going on for me in terms of work.  But hey, it’s work and we all know plenty of people out of work right now.

    In other personal news, Liz and I are frantically preparing for the birth of our first child.  We’re having a baby boy this coming December (2009), and we’re naming him Maxwell Charles Marson, Max for short.  I think I might call him Maxwell even if everyone else calls him Max.  I suppose if he tells me off and tells me to stop calling him Maxwell, then maybe I’ll switch over to Max.  Or maybe I’ll get into the habit of calling him Max anyway, we’ll see what happens.  He decides, really.  Whatever he likes best.  I’ll understand, a long time ago I decided I hated the name Dusty which is a long story for another day.  I insisted to the world that I am Dustin and Dustin only. My track coach got away with calling me Dusty somehow, I guess I just never told him I didn’t like it.

    I like the name Maxwell.  It was selected carefully, and with much thought.  It doesn’t seem to have some deep, profound meaning like some names and we didn’t really care about that sort of thing.  You know what I mean, you’ll go on some website or look in some book and see that Joshua means “rescued by God” or Andrew means “Warrior” and that sort of thing.  Nope, Maxwell is just a name.  This could be completely made up but some websites say that some guy named Mack had a well, so obviously people called it Mackswell, or something like that.  I guess it must have been a beautiful and inspiring well, as people started giving the name to their children.  And like all names, letters get removed and substituted.  Eventually that turns into Maxwell and Max, somehow.

    Liz is concerned that he might not come out looking like a Max, or a Maxwell.  But what does a Maxwell look like?  What does a Maxwell look like as a baby?  I’m thinking that Maxwell will give the name his own identity.  His name isn’t the only word that describes him, after all.  I already know that his name is Maxwell, what I really want to know is what are all the other adjectives that will define him?

    Some people don’t even find out the gender before the baby is born, and here I am going on and on about a name.  Some would say we’re counting our chickens before they hatch, I guess.  A lady who lives in our building had 8 kids, never knew the gender of any of them before they were born.  Now that’s patience.

    I think naming your child before they are born it has it’s benefits.  Plus, just calling them “Baby” is so impersonal.  Anyway, I think that telling other people your baby’s name in advance gets out all the good and bad opinions and gives you time to argue it out without already having a birth certificate filled out.  I’ve found that family and friends enjoy pointing out you’ve picked the name that rhymes with something unfortunate, is already taken by a second cousin, or made the top 10 most often incarcerated men list for the last twenty years. Family will enjoy the opportunity to speculate about your future children – their future family members – and if they have a name it’s just so much more interesting.

    It’s certainly been interesting – and getting more and more interesting every day.

    Posted by Dustin in Personal Stuff

  • 04
    Oct

    Listening to…October 2009

    Here’s an export from iTunes of my New Releases playlist.  This is basically the new stuff I’m digging from the last couple of  months.  Favorite new albums right now are probably Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown, Shinedown – Sound of Madness and Three Days Grace – Life Starts Now.

    # Song Title Artist Album
    1. Had Enough Papa Roach Metamorphosis
    2. If You Only Knew Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    3. Break Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    4. I Will Not Bow Breaking Benjamin Dear Agony
    5. Crawl Back In Dead By Sunrise Out of Ashes
    6. Check My Brain Alice In Chains Black Gives Way to Blue
    7. Use Somebody Kings of Leon Only By the Night
    8. You’re Going Down Sick Puppies Tri-Polar
    9. New Divide Linkin Park Transformers 2 Soundtrack
    10. Cry for Help Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    11. Lost In You Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    12. Jars Chevelle Jars
    13. She’s A Genius Jet Shaka Rock
    14. The Fixer Pearl Jam Backspacer
    15. Half-Truism The Offspring Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
    16. Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked Cage The Elephant Cage the Elephant
    17. The Night Disturbed Indestructible
    18. East Jesus Nowhere Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    19. Someone Who Cares Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    20. Sound of Madness Shinedown The Sound of Madness
    21. How Could You? Saliva Cinco Diablo
    22. I Get Off Halestorm Halestorm (Bonus Track Version)
    23. Seasons The Veer Union Against the Grain
    24. Left 4 Dead Papercut Massacre Left 4 Dead – Single
    25. Before The Lobotomy Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    26. In One Ear Cage The Elephant Cage the Elephant
    27. Death of Me Red Innocence & Instinct (Bonus Track Version)
    28. We Did Nothing Wrong Royal Bliss Life In-Between
    29. 100 in a 55 Pop Evil Lipstick On the Mirror
    30. Champagne Cavo Champagne – Single
    31. Feel Good Drag Anberlin New Surrender
    32. Scream Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold
    33. Guilty Since October This Is My Heart
    34. Know Your Enemy Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    35. Long Gone Chris Cornell Scream
    36. Last To Know Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
    37. 37 Stitches Drowning Pool Full Circle
    38. Ten Years Rev Theory Light It Up
    39. Please Come In Black Stone Cherry Folklore and Superstition
    40. Actions & Motives 10 Years Division
    41. Favorite Disease Rev Theory Light It Up
    42. Careless Whisper Seether Careless Whisper – Single
    43. 21 Guns Green Day 21st Century Breakdown
    44. The Past Sevendust Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow
    45. Troublemaker Weezer Weezer (Red Album) [Deluxe Edition]
    46. So Close, So Far Hoobastank For(n)ever
    47. Rescue Me Buckcherry Black Butterfly (Deluxe Version)
    48. Light It Up Rev Theory Light It Up
    49. Sex On Fire Kings of Leon Only By the Night
    50. Horseshoes And Handgrenades Green Day 21st Century Breakdown

    Posted by Dustin in Music

  • 27
    Apr

    So long, Pontiac: A Look at Pontiac Advertising Through the Decades

    Pontiac

    Pontiac through the decades

    You may have heard that GM is phasing out the Pontiac brand by the end of 2010. As my favorite car brand since I was a teenager, it’s sad to see it go. It’s hard to imagine the yearly Twin Cities Auto Show without checking out the new Pontiac models. I’m a former Pontiac driver, and “admirer” of the 60’s GTO’s and 70’s Trans Ams. I remember when I was 16, all I wanted was a new black Grand Am GTP.

    Pontiac has been around since 1927. If a car company abandoning a brand with that much history isn’t enough of a sign that the American auto industry needs help, then I don’t know what is.

    Here’s a stroll down memory lane featuring memorable Pontiac advertising campaigns from every decade dating back to the 50s. I’m sure at least one of these campaigns was memorable to you, I know all of them from the 80’s to today are for me. Who could forget the “driving excitement” jingles from the 80’s?

    2000’s:

    1990’s:

    1980’s:

    1970’s:

    1960’s:

    1950’s:

    Posted by Dustin in Cars

intoduction

History: Born in rural North Dakota in the early 80s, Graduated art college in Minneapolis in 2004, married Liz in 2008. Presently: I work in Graphic Design in the Minneapolis area. Some of my obsessions are cooking, movies, rock music, running, politics, news, auto racing, video games, poker, etc.
Visit my portfolio site at www.dustinmarson.com

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