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--> The Metapoll. Take it.
Things That Look Like Other Things.
Counterfunctionality (A Gallery).
MLK BLVD: Open-source photography project: Contribute to the Flickr pool; browse the blog.
"Where Were You?" Annual.
Titans of Finance: True Tales of Money & Business
. With Josh Neufeld. Now available for the iPad! Go here.
Longtime readers know that I’ve long had an interest in watches that really aren’t very useful as tools to tell you what time it is. What’s the point of such things? Well I used them in a Consumed column as an example of the identity power of counterfucntionality — drawing on the research of Wharton’s […]
Here — maybe — is another example of the counterfunctional value discussed in yesterday’s Consumed. It’s a bookshelf that rocks back and forth. Core77 says: Julian Appelius‘ Topple bookshelf leans ever so slightly on its rocking base–5° to be exact–when books are stacked on, creating the perfect amount of tilt to add some extra stability. […]
This isn’t really an update, and it isn’t quite an example of counterfunctionality, but since the subject of watches vs. tech has come up in an update, and because I’m always blathering about counterfunctionality, this is something I feel compelled to note: Fancy watch maker Hublot now has an app that, among other things, allows […]
Selectism on “MUJI” Book from Rizzoli. (Updates January 9, 2005 Date Consumed). [Thanks J.J.] Time says Mexican Coke “may be a myth.” For reasons that are not clear the article is sort of addressed to “hipsters.” For reasons that also aren’t clear, my column is described as “a trend piece.” Listen, Time Magazine, whatever it […]
I love this. If you’re into Tumblr at all, you basically just enter the Tumblr name into the box and voila, as they say. Here’s the Tumbler mosaic for Things That Look Like Other Things. And one for Counterfunctionality: A Gallery. And for MKTG. Imagine what you’ll see when you enter the names of Tumblrs […]
I can’t claim to be thoroughly versed in the Olympics, but having weighed in on what I think is the most compelling uniform development of the games, I may as well say this. From what I’ve (https://www.pawsgistclinic.org.uk/priligy-dapoxetine/) seen, the absolute worst and dumbest uniform, hands down, is this: This is what members of the U.S. […]
Artists plan to encase vacant Detroit home in ice: “To draw attention to foreclosures that have battered the region.” Yeah? is there a big problem with people not knowing about foreclosures and vacant housing in Michigan? I think that info is kind of, you know, out there. Why not do this in Westchester County or […]
I mentioned a while back that I was cataloging all my collected images of counterfunctional watches in one place. That’s just about done. See: Counterfunctionality: A Gallery. I’ll add new ones as they come along, but I’m pretty sure this is everything I’d stockpiled. It’s pretty impressive if you ask me. (But if you ask […]
Poppytalk loves Mimi Zeiger’s ‘Tiny Houses’ book: “When I first got my hands on Zeiger’s book, I was entranced. Tiny Houses is also a tiny book with large content. At just 7×7 inches, it profiles 36 small homes from all over the world.” Slate on YouTube success: “It’s tough to argue that hitting it big […]
… and happened to attend my talk there. These are links are follow-ups to various things mentioned, if you want more information or context: Here’s my column on counterfunctionality, describing Jonah Berger’s work. Here is the spinoff counterfunctionality Tumblr where I’ve lately been compiling watch examples. Here is Jennifer Perkins’ DIY counterfunctional watch project. Here’s […]
Diesel’s new watch: Style trumps functionality: Yes, another example of counterfunctionality in the watch world, a favorite topic of mine, as you know. “The watch face is perplexingly blank; but two micro-clocks on each side of the casing provide a total of four timetelling indicators.” $365. Product Displacement, continued: Follow-up on Eyecube contains other interesting […]
Here’s the latest chapter in my ongoing coverage of counterfunctional watches — meaning watches that do a bad job telling you what time it is, or no job at all, but have some kind of other aesthetic and/or identity payoff (see related Consumed; related Murketing posts; related links): It took me a minute to figure […]
The big news on the front page of the local paper here yesterday was that Savannah is the latest city/town to ponder a ban on “below-the-rear” baggy pants. This absurdity aside, what’s interesting about the story is the section in which young baggy-pants-wearers defend their style. Or rather, they say style isn’t really the issue […]
The WSJ’s Wealth Report blog notes the Day&Night watch — “an exceptional timepiece that does not indicate the time!” It costs $300,000. “An avant-garde approach, that is different and even disturbing.” Robert Frank writes: The company’s chief executive, Yvan Arpa, cited statistical studies to explain how the watch better reflects the time-philosophy of today’s […]
Because I simply cannot get enough of counterfunctional watches (explained in Consumed 10/28/07; reiterated with these various examples) I am obliged to pass along the Naughty Secretary Club’s explanation of how to make a faux No Time watch yourself. Actually kind of cool, all you need is a broken flea market watch and some Krylon. […]
The Consumed Facebook Page. I started this in connection with my NYT Magazine column, and intend to maintain it until further notice. 
Imagining implausible uses for unpopular places. A project in collaboration with Ellen Susan and G.K. Darby.
Great creative writers invent stories about thrift-store objects. A project in collaboration with Joshua Glenn.
Letters From New Orleans, by Rob Walker. 
Foreward to Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits
Introduction to Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture
Essay for OBEY: Supply & Demand - The Art of Shepard Fairey - 20th Anniversary Edition
Consumed column about Obama as muse is included in Obama: The Historic Journey.
A piece I wrote way back when for Slate is included in Sponsorship: The Fine Art Of Corporate Sponsorship/the Corporate Sponsorship Of Fine Art
Gary Hustwit's industrial design documentary Objectified.
Anne Elizabeth Moore's book, Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity.
Kaya Oakes' book, Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture
Elizabeth Currid's book, The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City
Kim Fellner's book Wrestling with Starbucks: Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino
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