Page 030 : Yes, here were a set of sea-dogs, many of whom without the slightest bashfulness had boarded great whales on the high seas — entire strangers to them — and dueled them dead without winking…

Self-declared non-artist Matt Kish decided to take on an ambitious, interesting, yet daunting task - create an illustration for every page of Moby Dick. that's 552 pages. Every work is created with "found" paper as the background. His goal is to create one drawing per page every day. While starting on August 5th of this year, he has 104 pages complete so far. Check out his blog to follow his progress and his website for more illustrations.

An Aside - Wilco

Grammy Award winning Wilco's secret studo loft in Chicago is every independent musician's dream. The construction of the space allows for interesting acoustics, picking up Andrew Bird's violin as well as the sound of the amps across the room. "The sixty-plus guitars sitting around the room all hummed along, as the vibrations from everything else shook and resonated the steel strings, adding even more texture to the sound. The Loft is, essentially, an instrument of its own."

Check out the entry on the Loft Blog for more photos.

The loft's "brick box" layout has also been utilized in multiple sound recordings. "The stairwell, elevator, and bathroom have all been utilized for specific sounds while recording,” says Tobias. Grocery-carrying neighbors have been known to take the stairs when Wilco is recording in the elevator.

An Aside - Brilliant? Unnecessary? Beatles?

Do you have $300? Do you want to conserve space? Do you love the Beatles? Want to have a fun party trick?

Introducing The Beatles USB flash drive. The drive contains 14 albums, 13 mini-documentaries, liner art, and rare photographs and will be available in December thanks to Apple and EMI. Only 30,000 will be made for all those Beatles fans out there. You can order yours at the Beatles Store.

This is going on the wishful-thinking Xmas wish list.

An Aside - The Wild Things

Dave Eggers has self-published his own novelization of "Where the Wild Things Are", adapting it as a "contemporary problem novel or 8-12 year olds" 'The Wild Things'. There has obviously been marketing for the nostalgic adults - due to it's presence at Barnes & Noble and Urban Outfitters as witnessed by yours truly. Despite any misgivings to the reasoning behind this adaptation of the treasured children's picture book, let's take a look at the design of the book cover itself...

Bringing us back to the books of our youth inviting us to touch and feel and un-zipping the zipper (to teach the function of the five senses you perverts), the book is begging for you to pick it up and hug it - except it comes shrink-wrapped.

An Aside - iPhone app of the day

The ancient Greeks were skeptical of the practice of writing because it meant that humans had no need for memorization of epic tales and speeches. Today, New Yorkers can now be skeptical of this new iPhone app Exit Strategy NYC. It takes skill to take the subway efficiently - the most effective lesson is learning which car on the train would be less crowded and leave you closest to the best exit for your destination. There is now an iPhone app for telling you which subway car to get on. Yet again, technology has allowed humans to think a little less.

1999: "Wow, there's a website for everything!"

2004: "Jeez, there's a blog for everything!"

2009: "Criminy, there's an iPhone app for everything!"

An Aside - Beautiful Trash

Can design and a splash of pink make something disgusting into a thing of beauty?

TRASH:anycoloryoulike is "a vivid art intervention for urban beautification and environmental awareness. " In the summer of 2008, various artists (led by Adrian Kondratowicz) created biodegradable trash bags in order to transform piles of trash into beautiful street sculptures.

Does it transform waste into a thing of beauty? Does it lift the spirits of all those who roam the streets? Or does it call attention how much trash we actually use?

If interested, you can order your own biodegradable trash bags in various colors. Or you can try to recycle more. Or be functional like the rest of us and use old Target bags.

An Aside - Angry Lil' Ghost

Inhabitots is a site dedicated to "sustainable design for the next generation". What you get is brilliant ideas that will ensure that children will understand what it means to be eco-friendly. As for the products featured, the child at heart can't help but covet them.

Take for example the "Tio" light switch by Tim Holley that teaches kids about conserving household energy. The light system is mounted to any generic household light switch. Due to the length of time that the light is on, "Tio" will change colors. At his happiest, "Tio" will be green when the light has been on for less than an hour. When the light has been switched on for over four hours, "Tio" turns orange - and he is starting to get mad. At over eight hours, "Tio" turns red and is obviously full of rage. To turn off the light, simple give "Tio" a loving pat.

An Aside - Weird but Glorious

Did you know that Japan has some of the most talented hands in fashion? This video was shown during Japan's Fashion Week in order to demonstrate the visual concept the runway show for a fashion line. Innovative - creative - and downright cute.