sam

this post is dedicated to my beautiful "little sister" sam. 


2011 has come a gone and in those 12 months i read... a lot! 


here's a list of the books that i read. some i enjoyed a lot, while others were more of a challenge. 


the titles that are bolded were my favorites.

1. The Shallows - Nicholas Carr

2. Mandela: A Biography - Martin Meredith

3. The Search for God & Guinness - Stephen Mansfield

4. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years -  Donald Miller

5. Freakonomics  - Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

6. The Dawkins Delusion - Allistair McGrath 

7. The Blue Parakeet - Scot McKnight

8. How to be a Graphic Designer - Ana Labudovic & Nenad Vukusic

9. The Coke Machine - Michael Blanding

10. Poor Story - Giles Bolton

11. Child Soldiers - Romeo Dallaire 

12. Poker Face - Maureen Callahan

13. Logo Design Love - David Airey

14. Panic Virus - Seth Mnookin

15. What Makes Flamingos Pink - Bill Mclain

16. The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning 

17. Hitler - Ian Kershaw

18. Proper Confidence - Lesslie Newbiggen

19. The Forgotten Ways - Allan Hirsch

20. Super Mario - Jeff Ryan

21. Evil & the Justice of God - N.T Wright

22. Proofiness - Charles Siefe

23. The Know It All - A.J Jacobs

24. One Life - Scot McKnight

25. The Litigators - John Grisham

26. Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson 

"lover of"

As an amateur (lover of) & aspiring graphic designer I often visit other designers sites to get inspired, encouraged & also to admire his or her work.

Today I would like to share some of what I've found.

The artist has dubbed this collection: "Minimalist Movie Posters".

And just because he's the best superhero of all time...

tried it...

Every once in a while I either get introduced to something new or remember something from my past that I wanted to try. So over the past few weeks I've been trying some new & old things.

Here's are a few of the things that I've tried...

When Blue Like Jazz was first released in early 2003 it quickly became very popular in Christian circles. Donald Miller was an unknown in the "Christian-literary" world. Seven years after Donald Miller wrote his first book the Blue Like Jazz craze has died down, and I have just finished reading it. Overall it's a well written, and Miller is an easy author to read.

So...

Did I like it? No, not really. 

Why? It didn't change/challenge my thinking about faith. It seemed all too much autobiographical. In the end, it seemed my expectations were high & I was let down.  

Starbucks. It tastes good, smells great, infinitely customizable, & most of all it's an experience. The corporate executives at Starbucks are well aware of this, and they have come up with a way for it's die-hard customers to bring this experience anywhere! It's called Starbucks VIA. Essentially it's their version of instant coffee... but better.

So...

Did I like it? Yes. 

Why? While it's nowhere close to homemade-freshly-ground-drip-brewed-coffee, in a pinch it did just fine. 

I'm a geek & a nerd. My wife knows this. She thought because I was a geek and a nerd that I would find this somewhat new comedy funny.
Essentially this show is about two roommate super-geniuses who have multiple PhD's. They live across the hall from an unattainable blonde bombshell in which one genius quickly develops a crush. It is currently about to begin it's fourth season which airs on CBS on Thursday nights.

So...

Did I like it? Yes & no. But more so no. 

Why? The reason why I both liked it & disliked it was because while it is humorous, the character "Sheldon" can easily border on frustrating and annoying in his idiosyncrasies. Also because the two main characters are written as geniuses they say at least 20-30 scripted words that I don't understand. This quickly becomes tiring & boring.  

Or...?

Tastes change, right? Well recently I've taken to drinking more Coke than Pepsi. Which for those of you who know me is odd. In the past I would've sworn by Pepsi, it was always my first choice when it came to pop. But now... I'm not so sure. 

So, if you had choose, which would it be?

And, which do you think I should choose as my new (or old) favorite?

russell jared designs