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Progressive Stages of Certainty: Jason Permenter, Designer

The ninth post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, David McCreath, Nila Salinas, Paula Chang, Stewart McCoy, Katie Gillum, and Mike Monteiro.

What did you study in school? How did that lead to or influence you in your current role?

I was one of those kids who couldn’t get enough of robots and planets and aliens and spaceships. I’m told that, on Christmas mornings, I would read every single word of my toys’ instruction manuals before playing with them. My guess is that my interests in science and technology stem a little from all that. I ended up as a geology major during my first semester of college. I studied volcanoes on Venus using NASA satellites for my first research project—that’s where the whole “volcanologist” stuff started. Design came out of a desire for the freedom to craft something entirely new, straight from my imagination. I switched gears into design a bit later in life, but the robots and planets and aliens and spaceships and instruction manuals still seem to apply.

Continue reading "Progressive Stages of Certainty: Jason Permenter, Designer" »

Written by Tina Lee on June 21, 2011 with 0 comments |

His Heart is the Same Size as His Fist: Mike Monteiro, Design Director

Photo via Rod Begbie.

The eighth post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, David McCreath, Nila Salinas, Paula Chang, Stewart McCoy, and Katie Gillum.

What did you study in school? How did that lead to or influence you in your current role?

I went to art school and was even stupid enough to get a master’s in it. Art and client services are worlds apart. Idiotically, some people lump them together as “creative things.” Design is a business skill. Sure, there’s creativity involved, but that’s true of ANY field. Try keeping your wife from finding out about the 10 year old son you had with the maid; that’s some creativity right there.

But the skill I picked up in school that turned out to be the most valuable was learning how to take a punch. We had these insane critiques where we’d trash each other viciously. We took pride in how brutal we could be to one another. I think it went way beyond constructive. It was an art form in itself. We were basically trying to see if we could get each other to drop out of school. And professors were the worst—we had one guy who’d slash paintings, which is completely devastating, right? I mean you work your ass off on something and your teacher just walks up to it and literally rips it to shreds. It’s kind of magnificent. And afterwards, we’d all go off and drink and have sex with another. But those critiques taught me how to not take criticism personally. It was always about the work. And if the work quality wasn’t there you were marked for demolition.

Continue reading "His Heart is the Same Size as His Fist: Mike Monteiro, Design Director" »

Written by Tina Lee on May 20, 2011 with 2 comments |

Our Stories, Ourselves: Katie Gillum, Research Lead and Graduate of Wayside School

The seventh post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, David McCreath, Nila Salinas, Paula Chang, and Stewart McCoy.

You’re a filmmaker and the associate director for the Disposable Film Festival. How has your idea of storytelling changed since you started at Mule?

I don’t think my idea of what a good story is and how to tell it has changed at all. There’s something very logical about putting together a story arc for narrative or testing a story arc after you’ve filmed for a documentary. Once you have the pieces of a story, you need to steep yourself in them, understand all the different ways they could be used. That determines the story line. When applied to films or educational materials, the story line steps people through the argument or narrative and encourages them to see what someone else sees or understand information in a new way. And when used in application to interaction design, it’s actually pretty similar.

I view my job as listening to how people talk about how and what they do and make sure that the processes that shape their behavior (through navigation or through brand language) work for and with those users. I want an application, site, interaction to work for the users and do the most efficient and complete job that it can in moving people through.

Continue reading "Our Stories, Ourselves: Katie Gillum, Research Lead and Graduate of Wayside School" »

Written by Tina Lee on May 11, 2011 with 0 comments |

Likes Listening, Enjoys Bike Rides: Stewart McCoy, Information Designer

The sixth post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, David McCreath, Nila Salinas, and Paula Chang.

You applied to only one job (Mule, of course) and got it. Okay, hotshot, what’s your top tip for those in the job hunt slog?

Twitter. Almost all professional studios and designers use Twitter. I was offered my first full-time web design job (with Mule) back in October, but I’d been job hunting since Spring 2009 when I first signed up for Twitter. I started by following authors of New Riders books and then went through each of their Following and Followers lists. I followed designers that did work I wanted to do. Designers like Oliver Reichenstein, Khoi Vinh, Trent Walton, Meagan Fisher, Russ Unger, and Dan Saffer. I figured out who was who and how they were connected by reading their tweets and blogs and studying their portfolios. I then made a Twitter List of studios that I might want to work for. Mule had been on my radar for a while, because I’d followed Nicole Jones’s sassy writing about content strategy. I liked the thoughts on the Mule Blog and read it regularly, so when I interviewed for the job, I already knew what Mule was about and why I wanted to be a part of the stable.

It’s also important to keep an up-to-date and neatly manicured portfolio. Your portfolio should show only your best work that is relevant to the job(s) you are applying to. And part of your portfolio should include a blog or examples of your professional writing. Writing is arguably the most important communication skill for any professional, no matter what discipline you work in; even if you only think of yourself as a “designer”, consider writing as part of your portfolio.

Be sure to read my post about choosing your ideal design job for my thoughts on the importance of work culture and mentorship.

Continue reading "Likes Listening, Enjoys Bike Rides: Stewart McCoy, Information Designer" »

Written by Tina Lee on May 3, 2011 with 0 comments |

Paula Chang: Senior Designer and Unicorn Hair Vendor

The fifth post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, David McCreath, and Nila Salinas.

Are you self-taught? Or did you study design/development?

Both. I went to design school, which taught me the fundamentals of graphic design—typography, space, that kind of stuff. But what it really taught me was that you need to be passionate about design to do well in this field AND at the same time be able to emotionally detach yourself from your work. If you can’t do that, you may as well head towards a career in art—designers are hired to solve problems for other people, not make pieces for themselves.

As for the self-taught part, I’m a firm believer that the best way to learn things is by doing things. My school curriculum, as great as it was, was stuck in the world of Swiss print design. I was fascinated with interactive design, so I pushed myself to learn enough CSS to code up the sites that I’d designed. It was always a bit hacked together, but the horror of watching your hard work break in front of you forces you to learn how to put things together in the first place.

Continue reading "Paula Chang: Senior Designer and Unicorn Hair Vendor" »

Written by Tina Lee on April 21, 2011 with 1 comment |

Stump Full of Secrets: Nila Salinas, Crowd Control

The fourth post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char, Shawna Seth, and David McCreath.

What did you study in school? How did that lead to or influence you in your current role?

I was an uber dork and Japan-o-phile in my teenage years (surprise, surprise), which led to my decision to major in Japanese Studies. A major that proved for the most part useless in the real world, save for my ability to point out “historical inaccuracies” in The Last Samurai. Prior to and during those lost college years I dabbled in “web design,” making a site on Powweb to display my personal hobby, collecting comics, on the interwebs!

Then, my family caught wind that I could operate a computer, and they wanted a website for themselves. I designed a site for my mom’s now defunct bed and breakfast in Louisiana, MO (think 1999 and Angelfire). So I suppose those early experiences planted the seed of interest that later took hold when I finished school and wanted to work for a web company. I’m coming on a year with Mule, and it’s been a really great learning experience.

Continue reading "Stump Full of Secrets: Nila Salinas, Crowd Control" »

Written by Tina Lee on April 14, 2011 with 0 comments |

Develop Mental: David McCreath, Lead Developer

Here’s the third post in our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. Read past interviews with Jessie Char and Shawna Seth.

What are the tools/programming languages every aspiring developer should know?

A front end developer should of course know HTML and CSS forwards and backwards. Now is the time to start learning the new HTML5 elements and getting comfortable with CSS3. Now that Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 4 have been released, we’re in a very good position to see these technologies spread very quickly.

JavaScript is also essential for someone who wants to be a front end developer, and I don’t mean jQuery or Dojo. Of course you’re going to use libraries like these, but a developer who knows how to find his or her way around JavaScript without a library will always be more valuable than someone who can’t.

Third, a front end developer that understands design—both as a problem solving practice and an aesthetic practice—is going to be far more valuable than one who just thinks designers make the pretty and thus can be ignored. Front end development involves making constant design decisions. That three pixel negative margin that the designer specified that means you have to figure out a hack for IE7? It’s there for a reason, and your job is to either make it work or come up with a compelling design reason—one that solves the problem—to do it differently.

Continue reading "Develop Mental: David McCreath, Lead Developer" »

Written by Tina Lee on April 7, 2011 with 0 comments |

Shawna Seth: Project Manager, Enchanted by Pirouetting Penguins

Post two of our series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. If you missed the first, catch up with Jessie Char: Client Relations, Doesn’t Have Lupus.

How does what you do shape the project/client/Mule story?

At Mule, we believe strongly in ethical design, something I’ll write a whole post on soon. In brief, the core of ethical design is understanding that you are responsible for what you put into the world. I make sure I’m not that stereotypical project manager who pushes the designers, content strategists, developers, and architects on my team to “just make the client happy” (referenced in Give the Client What They Want by Dennis Kardys for Ethics & Web Design). That’s a short term gain. As project manager, my most important role in the Mule story is to make sure that we work with the client to help them understand why we’re making the decisions that we are and, if it comes to that, why one compromise is better than another. As a bonus, I’ve found that clearly explaining the why upfront also helps clients evaluate and approve work faster and understand the implications of their decisions so there isn’t confusion later.

Continue reading "Shawna Seth: Project Manager, Enchanted by Pirouetting Penguins" »

Written by Tina Lee on March 31, 2011 with 0 comments |

Jessie Char: Client Relations, Doesn't Have Lupus

Introducing our newest series, Brief Interviews with Assiduous Mules. See how we approach the design process, spend time outside work, and self-diagnose ailments via the terrors of Google.

What did you study in school? How did that lead to or influence you in your current role?

I studied music (cellist here!), so like many other attendees of university, my major had nothing to do with my current job. Plus, I didn’t actually finish. But I am glad I went—you know, something something growing up, expanding horizons, rites of passage, expensive text books, etc.

Playing cello doesn’t have much to do with working at a small design firm outright, but the discipline translates. Classical music is all about deep emotional expression within incredibly technical restraints. It’s about consistency and making your craft look effortless and natural, even though it’s really freakin’ hard. It’s about working in exact sync with a group of others who all rely on each other to succeed. (I could go on but I don’t want to start comparing my bosses to [in]famous musicians. Hi, bosses!)

Continue reading "Jessie Char: Client Relations, Doesn't Have Lupus" »

Written by Tina Lee on March 24, 2011 with 3 comments |

A Peek Inside The Stable

One of the best things about coming into the studio every morning is walking into a place where the last thing it feels like is a workplace. The walls are covered in vibrant artwork, and every inch of surface area is taken up by a quirky, plastic action figure. The first time I stepped into the office, I thought, “With all of these toys, how does anyone get work done around here?”

As a newcomer at Mule, I learned that despite all of the colorful distractions, great work gets done by the hardworking, passionate mules that call this place home. Our small but colorful studio is an inspiring place to be, and a warm welcome to people who haven’t been here before. The studio never gets old either; there’s always a new story to tell, an interesting toy that comes in the mail, or another odd knickknack I haven’t noticed before. Oh, and there’s usually a hungry office puppy following you around, waiting for that slight chance that you might drop a morsel from your morning bagel.

Ever wonder what our offline world looks like? Here’s your chance.

Our main conference room.

We have a cardboard table.

Eating lunch.

Continue reading "A Peek Inside The Stable" »

Written by Paula Chang on July 14, 2010 with 4 comments |

Happy Holidays!

Rebecca Bortman, one of the rising stars here at Mule, is not only a great designer, she’s a total rock star. We were lucky enough to have her band, My First Earthquake, play at our holiday party.

They’re awesome. They’re fun. If their new video doesn’t cheer you up I’m not sure what will. Happy Holidays, everybody.

Written by Mike Monteiro on December 21, 2008 with 1 comment |

The Disposable Film Festival

In a city with more film festivals in a year than weekends, I’ve found an extra special one. The Disposable Film Festival premiered in San Francisco last January and celebrates films made on non-professional filming devices that showcase the potential of this portable medium. The growing device list includes webcams, digital still cameras, and cellphones. Over the last two years, the festival’s received submissions from 30 countries including hair-raising camera stunts, heart-stirring moving snapshots and jaw-dropping unscripted moments captured by professional and amateur filmmakers alike.

I’m lucky enough to do the design and artistic direction for the festival. Like many dream projects, the festival’s team of four San Franciscans and one Vancouverite puts in time after our full time jobs and in exchange for smiles and beers. I get a big dose of my favorite things about design: I learn so much about the subject matter. Among other things, I can now answer questions like, “How do I make a film for $20?” and “What’s it take to put on a multi-city film festival?” with confidence and personal experience.

This exciting Thursday, I’ll be in New York City with the festival co-founders, Eric Slatkin and Carlton Evans. We’re presenting selections from the 2008 program along with a feature-length disposable film at Anthology Film Archive. For more details, I proudly refer you to The New York Times! If you are in town, I hope to see you there. If you are in San Francisco, ready yourself for the 2009 festival. It’s coming in January.

PS: I’m not only the president of Hair Club for Men, I’m also a client.

Written by Rebecca Bortman on November 5, 2008 with 0 comments |

RIP George Carlin

Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.

Written by Mike Monteiro on June 23, 2008 with 4 comments |

The Graduate

My son Henry graduated from elementary school today. I’m ridiculously proud. He’ll be joining us as a summer intern. (Photo by Tracey. Click on it to tell her how handsome her boy is.)

Written by Mike Monteiro on June 12, 2008 with 2 comments |

RIP Robert Rauchenberg

Rober Rauschenberg died last night. He was 82.

“I really feel sorry for people who think things like soap dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly, because they’re surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them miserable.”

As an awkward immigrant kid growing up in the 80’s I was obsessed with “American-ness” and the ultimately stupid idea that discovering this American-ness would lead to “belonging.”

Discovering the work of Robert Rauschenberg, among others, made me understand that difference and not belonging, or even better—rejection!—were the most American traits of all. And that attempting, and failing, on a larger scale was far more exciting than succeeding on a small one.

Thanks for that, and rest in peace.

Written by Mike Monteiro on May 13, 2008 with 4 comments |

I swear this is the last Battledecks recap

… but rocketboom put together an awesome highlight reel:

Written by Mike Monteiro on March 13, 2008 with 2 comments |

Choices Are Handcuffs

…a post in which I pretend to talk about design as an excuse to get you to look at some drawings.

Back in the pre-Cambrian 90s I decided it would be a good idea to get a Master’s in Fine Art. Mostly it was a good idea because it kept me from having to get a job, and kept student loans at bay for a few more years. As anyone who’s ever gotten an MFA degree can tell you, there’s really not much classroom learning that happens. You’re basically paying someone to let you sit in a studio and do whatever it is you do.

My problem was that I wanted to try everything, and ended up mastering nothing.

Continue reading "Choices Are Handcuffs" »

Written by Mike Monteiro on February 13, 2008 with 4 comments |

We'd never tell you how to vote...

The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old.
 And it is not about black vs. white.  This election is about the past vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for
the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of commo
n sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.  There are those who will continue to tell
 us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddli
ng false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence i
n Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order
 for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woma
n knows change is possible.  When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can't join together and wor
k together, I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side
 for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen.  When I hear that we'll never ove
rcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is
 now devoted to educating inner city-children and who went out into the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors f
or this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change.  Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can.  Yes, we can heal this n
ation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this jour
ney across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New
Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were
down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.  And where we are met with cynicism and doubt a
nd fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the Ame
rican people in three simple words -- yes, we can.The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or gen
ders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about black vs. white.  This election is about the past
 vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics
 today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared pros
perity.  There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for,
that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say w
e can't overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution
 the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope.
 So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible.  When I hear the cynical talk that blacks
and whites and Latinos can't join together and work together, I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organize
d with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us chan
ge can't happen.  When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican
 woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educating inner city-children and who went out into th
e streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change.  Yes, we can. Yes, we
 can change. Yes, we can.  Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state
with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we
carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the sam
e message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hop
e.  And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that
 timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.The choice in this e
lection is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about
 black vs. white.  This election is about the past vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for the same divisions a
nd distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovati
on, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.  There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do
 this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But
here is what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I thin
k of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along wit
h a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is po
ssible.  When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can't join together and work together, I'm remi
nded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justic
e on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen.  When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial div
ide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educ
ating inner city-children and who went out into the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Do
n't tell me we can't change.  Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can.  Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can s
eize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this grea
t country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the
Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of ma
ny, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.  And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those wh
o tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in thre
e simple words -- yes, we can.The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about
 rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about black vs. white.  This election is about the past vs. the future. It'
s about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we
 reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.  There are t
hose who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have w
hat we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all
 the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an e
nvelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us ch
ange isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible.  When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latin
os can't join together and work together, I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood wit
h and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen.  Wh
en I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to w
ork for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educating inner city-children and who went out into the streets of South C
arolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change.  Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we
 can.  Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at o
ur backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plain
s of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had whe
n we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.  And where we are
 met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that
 sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.The choice in this election is not betwe
en regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about black vs. white.  T
his election is about the past vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and
drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of sh
ared sacrifice and shared prosperity.  There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't
 have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here is what I know.
 I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly wo
man who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scriptu
re tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible.  When I hear
 the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can't join together and work together, I'm reminded of the Latino b
rothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of
Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen.  When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics,
 I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educating inner city-chi

(Psst. Highlight the text.)

UPDATE: Just to clarify: This was NOT made by us. It was made by Erik Kastner. The link above goes to his image genarator. We think it’s hot and look forward to people using it to hide goatse and other lovable birthday messages.

Written by Mike Monteiro on February 4, 2008 with 3 comments |

R.I.P. Evel Knievel

They are lining up Greyhound buses from America to Heaven. May you jump them all.

Written by Mike Monteiro on November 30, 2007 with 1 comment |

The Phightin' Phils

As any true Philadelphia sports “Phan” can tell you; it’s not so much about us getting into the playoffs as it is about keeping a damn New York team out of them.

Written by Mike Monteiro on October 1, 2007 with 0 comments |

What To Do With 756

Barry Bonds on Marc Ecko (who recently paid $750,000 for the record-breaking 756th home run ball):

“He’s stupid. He’s an idiot,” Bonds said, according to the newspaper. “He spent $750,000 on the ball and that’s what he’s doing with it? What he’s doing is stupid.”

Ecko on Bonds:

Ecko did not directly respond to Bonds’ comments Wednesday, but said in a statement he would make Bonds a custom T-shirt that says, “Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for my ball, and all I got was this ‘stupid’ T-shirt.’”

This, by the way, is what Ecko is doing with the ball: vote756.com

I voted to send it to the Hall. It’s history; and not all history is pretty. The asterisk is superfluous.

Written by Mike Monteiro on September 19, 2007 with 3 comments |

The Record and The Bet

Six years ago Jeff Veen and I made a bet on whether Barry Bonds would break Hank Aaron’s home run record. The loser of the bet had to attend a Giants’ game in a dress. Jeff lost.

To his utmost credit; he is a man of his word! And for this we applaud and honor him. We also want him to look his best that evening. I know NOTHING about dresses so please help me out and suggest something nice for him to wear.

Feel free to add your helpful suggestions to this group.

Oh hey! I made a paper doll to be EXTRA helpful! You’re welcome, Jeff.

Written by Mike Monteiro on August 8, 2007 with 3 comments |

Home Run Kings

What struck me most watching the video of Barry Bonds 756th home run tonight was the distance his teammates kept as he crossed the plate. When Aaron crossed the plate after his record-breaking 715th he was MOBBED by his teammates.

Written by Mike Monteiro on August 7, 2007 with 0 comments |

Let's Send Scooter to Gitmo

Yesterday at our Monday morning check-in, Erika mentioned that Anil had set his IM status to “Let’s send Scooter to Gitmo” at some point over the weekend and how she thought that would make a good hardcore song. Okay. Here it is.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Download your own copy!

Continue reading "Let's Send Scooter to Gitmo" »

Written by David McCreath on July 10, 2007 with 6 comments |

How To Visit San Francisco

In response to my good friend, and ex-San Franciscan, Anil Dash’s post on How To Visit New York, and because we are currently in the midst of All-Star Fever (Catch It!), I present to you a guide to visiting San Francisco.

But first off, I must ask you to bear in mind that I, like many of our citizens, am not native to this place but immigrated here not too long ago. So I can vouch that, yes, many of us are weird, although not as much as we think; and no, you should not be comfortable with most, if any, of it.

Hopefully by following these short and helpful guidelines you will show up prepared and enjoy your time here. Because it really is a nice place, once you get past most of the people.

I know it’s hot where you live, but it’s cold here right now. It doesn’t matter what time of year you might be reading this; it is ALWAYS cold here. Except in October. In October it is warm for about a week. Pack a sweater, a hooded sweatshirt (known to the locals as a ‘hoodie’), some long pants, mittens and a coat. This will save you from purchasing a Blue and Yellow Fleet fleece jacket at Pier 39 and getting your wallet or purse stolen on that very cute F-line.

Oh, and since we’re talking about what to wear: please stop with the hiking boots. Yes, we have hills, but they were paved a long time ago.

What to call it. Before you get here you should realize what ‘here’ is called. Your safest bet is just referring to it as ‘San Francisco.’ White collar tech workers who moved here during the dot com boom like to pass off as locals by cringing when you refer to it as ‘Frisco’, but honestly, that’s what the oldest of the locals call it. If you consider yourself an ultra hip individual you can refer to it as ‘The City’, but please never ‘San Fran.’

Don’t rent a car. You’ll spend your entire visit trying to park it. Take BART from the airport. It’s carpeted! And if you wanna go to the Mission, or Downtown, or the East Bay BART will do you right. If you’re going elsewhere, though, you’ll have to take MUNI. MUNI is awesome if only because it manages to unite the entire city in our hatred towards it.

We have gay people. Don’t be afraid; they’re not the weird ones. The nice Police Officer you asked for directions last night? Yeah. His name is Bob, he has a cute wife named Cindy, who also has a girlfriend named Pam, and they both share a transgendered robot lover named Chris, but only on Wednesdays and depending on Cindy’s cycle because she’s trying to get pregnant so the Chinese girl they adopted last year and named Satchell will have a friend to play with. They all met because they’re part of a Spiritual Raver society. No, not THAT Spiritual Raver society, the one that splintered off from that one.

All the good food comes in tubes. Get yourself to The Mission for a good burrito. Make it ‘super’ and don’t pay more than $7. Please don’t pick and choose what goes in it, just let them make it. And please don’t ask them how spicy it will be, they’ll know from your Blue and Gold Fleet fleece jacket to make it mild.

And speaking of eating; remember the vegetarian hippie you made friends with that first year in college because he always seemed to have a big sticky ball of hash to share? And remember how you took him home for Thanksgiving and your Mom spent the entire meal trying to convince him that turkey wasn’t meat because it isn’t beef? Well, most of us are vegetarians. We’re happy to invite vegans into our home because, hey, more ice cream for us! And we’re curious about the raw food eaters and like to tease them about whether sun tea is actually cooked or not, but we’re a little afraid of the freegans if only because we don’t want people going through our garbage and finding our copious amounts of porn.

We have no homeless people. Thanks to our lovely mayor’s Care Not Cash program homeless people are now obsolete.

It’s expensive here. If a local tells you how much their rent is they do NOT mean yearly. This will shock everyone except New Yorkers who pay even higher rents for the privilege of showering in their kitchen.

And most importantly; people here greet each other differently than in other places. Growing up in Philadelphia, when you were walking by someone and you happened to make contact you were both expected to nod towards each other. It wasn’t exactly friendly as much it was an ‘acknowledgment’ that neither was going to hurt the other one. When I moved to Austin I was completely thrown when I nodded at someone and they replied with a hearty and friendly “Hello there!!” I’m guessing that wherever you’re from the typical greeting might be somewhere in between those two.

In San Francisco, should you make eye contact with someone and either nod or say hello, you should expect them to turn their head slightly away from you, turn their nose up a bit and pucker their mouth as if you’ve just inserted a small lemon into it. Try to remember that they don’t mean to be rude, they’re just thinking of the excellent gas mileage they’re getting on their Toyota Prius.

(Photo by the great Scott Beale.)

Written by Mike Monteiro on July 9, 2007 with 29 comments |

10,000 Losses

I have a strange fascination with failure. I figure that people who are failing are at least TRYING. And by that count no one has tried harder than the Philadelphia Phillies, who are (as of this post) 14 losses away from losing their 10,000 game. And the Phillies being who they are they might figure out a way to do that in the next 5 games.

I was a kid growing up in Philadelphia when the Phillies beat the Royals in 1980 to win the World Series. I was naive enough to think this would be a semi-regular event. And when the Sisters of St. Joseph were kind enough to let us make our own signs and parade around the block singing “We Are The Champions” I felt a sense of pride in being associated with a winner.

I was incredibly disappointed when they didn’t win the World Series in 1981. Or 1982. They made it back there in 1983, but lost. So close. And what was once hope and pride was slowly turned, by a series of heart-breaking summers, into a feeling of impeding doom and failure that can only be categorized as “being from Philadelphia.”

Here, victory is fleeting and ephemeral, not an encouraging sign that further success is ahead but a taunting hint that disaster is just around the corner in a city where defeat has become the natural order.

Godspeed to 10,000 you magnificent bastards.

Written by Mike Monteiro on June 13, 2007 with 0 comments |

Why Tony Soprano Doesn't Die

Over the years David Chase has masterfully lulled us into thinking Tony was a lovable shlub only to have him viciously curb-stomp someone. We’re left feeling guilty for having fallen for Tony’s broken-soul act. That says as much about our own gullability as it does Tony’s viciousness.

Killing Tony is just way to convenient. It’s an easy way out for all of us. All of that guilt relieved…

Not gonna happen.

Written by Mike Monteiro on June 7, 2007 with 3 comments |

Free Comic Book Day

Get yourself to your local comic book store tomorrow. Among tomorrow’s free comics is Unseen Peanuts, the first Peanuts comic book in 40 years.

Need to find your local shop?

Written by Mike Monteiro on May 4, 2007 |

RIP Wally Shirra

Wally Shirra, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, and the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, has passed away. He was 84.

Written by Mike Monteiro on May 3, 2007 with 1 comment |

Jackie Robinson

More than 200 major-league baseball players will be wearing number 42 today in honor of the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

Try to catch a game.

Written by Mike Monteiro on April 15, 2007 |

Opening Day

The Mule office is two blocks away from what is arguably the greatest place in the world to watch a baseball game. Two blocks. Opening Day is April 3rd, exhibition games start a few weeks from now. They annual rite of changing the ballpark sign to a different telephone company name is underway. (I believe this year it’s SBCAT&TPacMaBell Park.) Baseball Grannies, the greatest of all sports fans, are getting their flair caps ready, and my son is asking me when we’re playing baseball hookie. (He gets one a year.)

The other folks in the office are worried about the parking, and the crowds and the noise. I’m getting excited that my favorite ticket scalper will be back on his favorite corner soon with his “tickets needed” sign. Scalpers have developed a fun little hack to get around the “law”. While it’s illegal to sell tickets, it’s not illegal to need them. So all the scalper signs are about need, not supply. It’s one of the intricacies you need to know to score a last-minute ticket for a sunny afternoon day game.

Saving the date: The Phillies (my childhood team) are in town May 3 through the 6th for a weekend series, bringing with them Ryan Howard, the greatest player in the game.

Written by Mike Monteiro on March 2, 2007 with 2 comments |

Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon

5195 pieces, $499.00, 33” long, 22” wide and 8” tall, ships October 1, 2007.

I suddenly don’t care about the iPhone.

Written by Mike Monteiro on February 12, 2007 with 2 comments |

Our office glows with warmth

Recently, Mule Design went through a transition: we moved offices! Same building, new floor, more windows...and space!

But there was something missing and we determined that that something was celebration. So to break in our new space, last Friday we invited some of our friends over for a party.

Our people plus a fountain full of Moscow Mules and some delicious cakes from Cinderella Bakery made for one excellent shindig. Lucky for us, Scott Beale of Laughing Squid was kind enough to document our antics. It was he who took the beautiful shot of our Kick Ass Award seen at the top of this very post.

Thanks Scott, and thanks to everyone who came by last week! We're looking forward to having you over to our sweeet digs again soon!

Written by David McCreath on January 29, 2007 with 3 comments |

Thank you, Leslie Harpold.

I met Leslie Harpold six years ago when a large cardboard box showed up unexpectedly at my door. Inside was a large 32 gallon stainless steel trash can that I'd added to my Amazon wish list a few weeks before on a whim.

The gift note inside said (...and I'm paraphrasing) "I wanted to meet the sort of freak who'd put a 32 gallon stainless steel trash can on his wish list. —Leslie Harpold"

Today I got a phone call that Leslie had passed away.

In between those two events we spent a couple of great Thanksgivings together; we got to live in the same city for a few years; we got angry at each other a couple of times, as friends are prone to do; we gave each other design advice, and life advice; drank and ate together; went whale watching together; mourned the passing of Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash together; and she was a great friend to my son Henry.

Her annual Advent Calendar, the last one which she leaves unfinished, was a testament to her optimism for a better world, and a reminder that such a world was and IS within our reach.

As a designer I admired and respected her; as a friend I loved her and as a force of nature I feared her.

During her short amount of time with us she touched an incredible amount of lives and inspired others to live their lives as honestly and decently as she did. We're all better for having know her, and I'd like to thank her family for having shared her with us.

Written by Mike Monteiro on December 11, 2006 with 2 comments |

Not To Bragg, but…

Billy Bragg, a lifelong hero of mine, played at this weekend's Hardly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco. Sadly I was unable to go, but my friend Leslie sent me this:

You won't believe what Billy Bragg said in between songs today. He was chatting about how he really likes the interesting T-shirts that we have around here. And he mentioned as a fine example of that one that he saw that said: US out of California.

Billy, call me. We have much to talk about. I've got a gift basket the size of Lenin's Tomb for you.

Written by Mike Monteiro on October 9, 2006 with 1 comment |

(Maybe) Welcome Ceres, Charon and Xena

The International Astronomical Union, which is meeting this week in Prague (lock up the liquor!) has redefined what it means to be a planet. You need to be round (check), you need to orbit around a star (check), and well, that's it.

The new definition was meant to end years of wrangling about Pluto, whose planethood was called into question in recent years. However, the new definition also fits a few other objects: Ceres; an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, Charon; Pluto's twin sister what shares an orbit with it, and Xena a recently discovered other thing way out beyond Pluto, and possibly more.

Astronomists are, to be sure, in a spherical pickle about the definition. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, who originally demoted Pluto and is hated by schoolchildren everywhere, doesn't feel that roundness is a very interesting attribute to use in classifying astronimical bodies:

“A Plutophile is well served by this definition,” he said. “It is one of the few that allow you to utter Pluto and Jupiter in the same breath.”

Michael E. Brown of the California Institute of Technology is particularly taken aback by the inclusion of Charon, “That one doesn’t pass the smell test.”

I love that there are people who go to work in the morning to argue about the existance of planets by definition. And I love that they're snippy about it.

UPDATE: Show your love for Pluto by proudly displaying the "Pluto: It's a planet!" badge. Link it to the Pluto page on Wikipedia for now.

Written by Mike Monteiro on August 16, 2006 with 3 comments |

Al's well that ends well…

Last year Al's Comics was about to get evicted from his little shop at 17th and Guerrero, he'd just about thrown in the towel and was preparing his going-out-of-business sale when his customers stepped in.
Dropcash campaigns were started, references were written, loans were made by those that could and a year later Al's story makes the Bay Guardian's Best of The Bay issue.

(The anchor link's not working right now. Here's the section you're looking for:

BEST KISS MY COMICS ASS, I'M MOVING It's a familiar Mission District tale: Ratty, rundown, beloved vestige of the old hood gets its rent jacked. Pissed-off patrons sigh and gripe wistfully about the days before the bubble. Beloved vestige has a going-out-of-business sale. But in the case of Al's Comics — until recently a hole-in-the-wall on Guerrero, tucked away between the whine of the tattoo needle (Sacred Rose) and the hiss of the espresso machine (Cafe Petra) — things may have worked out all right. After a rental-market roller-coaster ride, proprietor Al Kizziah has settled into a nice, roomy spot on the newly hopping stretch of Upper Market across from the Octavia Boulevard crawl, in good company alongside hipster spots like National Product and Grooves. More square footage means more elbow room to peruse Al's expansive inventory of comics, graphic novels, posters, T-shirts, and collectible goodies, and there’s even enough room to hold the occasional author event. Voilà: a Mission tale with a happy ending. 1803 Market, SF. (415) 861-1220, www.alscomicssf.com

Now go buy some comics!

Written by Mike Monteiro on July 26, 2006 |

More Than Chasing a Ball Around

In 1575 the Portuguese landed in Luanda, Angola and proceeded to decimate the entire country, using it as a slave pool benefiting its far more profitable colony in Brazil. For 400 years Portugal claimed the country as a colony, mining it for metal and cheap labor, and lacking the resources to actually develop the colony they basically just kept it under foot. The Portuguese had colonies in Africa because they were in Europe and, well, if you were in Europe it was expected of you.

In 1974, Portugal had its own revolution and realizing that things were just too messed up in their own house at the moment, "granted" Angola their independence, leaving a power void that spun the nation into over 20 years of bloody civil war.

The two countries have met twice on the soccer field, and the last time they did the game was brutal and both teams walked off the field with twenty minutes to play on the clock.

They meet again on Sunday at the World Cup, which Angola has qualified for the first time.

For those of you who don't understand the power of sports, those of you who've forgotten what Jesse Owens did in Berlin, or what Tommie Smith and John Carlos did in Mexico City, I encourage you to watch.

Written by Mike Monteiro on June 6, 2006 with 9 comments |

AIDS/LifeCycle

Over the next week, our friend Micki is riding from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for the HIV/AIDS services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. She’s just a few bucks shy of her fundraising goal, so if you got a little to spare, donate now.

Written by David McCreath on June 2, 2006 |

Barry ties the Babe

Today Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for third place on the all-time home run list at 714. While Hank Aaron's total of 755 seems arguably (very arguably) within reach, I think Josh Gibson's total of 962 is well out of reach.

Written by Mike Monteiro on May 20, 2006 with 4 comments |

Henry Hip-Hops

That's my son Henry in the back wearing the pointy hat. Good dancer.

Written by Mike Monteiro on April 15, 2006 with 2 comments |