vintage sincerity

Murder for Breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:11:00 +0000

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My morning routine is just like anybody else’s, but with a sinister slant: I like to read about serial killers over breakfast.

The day starts innocently enough. After hitting snooze a few times, I put on running clothes and force myself out the door. While I run I listen to podcasts: advice, book reviews, news (sometimes). But my favorites are the mysteries. Like the episode of This American Life where two boys find an abandoned house that hints at some devastating crime.

I feed on mysteries, solved and unsolved. Which is why whatever I’m reading for breakfast is always more appetizing than what I’m eating.

When I tell my fiancé I’m reading about serial killers again he gets a worried look on his face. During these obsessive jaunts I tend to get paranoid:

“Is the door locked?”

“I don’t like the look of that guy.”

“Where were you earlier?”

At night I fall asleep watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on my laptop. Hear me out: I believe these episodes make perfect bedtime stories because the crimes are almost always solved and justice is almost always served. Much healthier than last year’s bedtime routine, when I would browse abuse forums and go to sleep outraged and terrified.

I know my habits are strange. And I was confronted with not a small amount of shame when, in one episode of my favorite show, the heroes apprehend a homeless man obsessed with sex crimes. They find newspaper clippings of rape and murder taped onto the walls of his cardboard box—enough to make him a suspect in their case. “You get off on this stuff?” the detectives ask as they wrestle him into the interrogation room.

My face turned red.

The homeless guy turns out to be innocent. He’s just seeking resolution, and maybe I am too. I think of an article that a friend shared with me years back* about the enduring appeal of Nancy Drew. I was obsessed with Nancy Drew for much of my childhood. I can remember spending Saturdays under a blanket on my parents’ La-Z-Boy, devouring one mystery after another. The art projects my mom saved from that time are all variations on the heroine’s likeness: a Nancy Drew mask; a paper mache bust of Nancy; a biography of Nancy Drew, written by me.

The article suggested that children are fascinated by Nancy Drew because of the stories' perfect mix of suspense and formula. Each book begins with a fresh case of things gone wrong—a stolen heirloom or a missing loved one. The world is off-kilter. But what follows is the same in every book: a series of clues, car crashes, and kidnapping by chloroform, through which Nancy pieces together the crime and, with the help of her lawyer dad, sends the perp to jail. The case is always closed, and the world is always set right again. In fact, the last chapter of every Nancy Drew mystery delivers a dessert-like denoument: the good guys laughing with relief as they reflect on catching the criminal. Such sweet closure.

This kind of order swallowing chaos satisfies me just as much today as it did then. But why?

As a human, I am in the business of making meaning whether I like it or not. From optical illusions to everyday reality, my brain can’t help but fill in the gaps. But that seems at odds with this world of random violence. I think mystery stories are a way for me (us?) to experience sense and security, acknowledging evil while also solving it.

If I believe mystery stories, I can believe that horrible events are little more than tough physics problems. If I figure out what formula to apply I can turn the world right again. Yet this thought fills me with the kind of anxiety that only a false sense of control can: It’s up to me to fix all the wrong things and I won’t sleep until I do.

Which is why I only read about real killers in the full light of morning.

*I can't seem to track down this article online. It may be this one from the Boston Globe, but I can't get past the pay wall to say for sure.

back to the drawing board

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 18:42:00 +0000

"I sometimes see students and practitioners lost searching for answers in software, and I still find the best way to reach the soul of a piece is in quick sketches and simply becoming lost in the possibilities."

designboom interview with Erik Brandt

the anthropologie experience

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:18:00 +0000

I love how Anthropologie makes every purchase seem like a gift.

snap it. cook it. film it.

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:35:00 +0000

New fusionbrands videos are live!

today at work I talked about clothes

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Natalie on Nashville vintage style, bad tattoos, and why she doesn't wear deoderant.

Photo by J Trav.

today at work I scooped peas

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:59:00 +0000

fusionbrands video shoot. photo by kevin byrd.

Resting Will Make You Better at Your Job

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 14:32:00 +0000

I have a new article on TNGG about the importance of scheduling downtime into your routine. Check it out.

North Carolina's "Axis of Cool"

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 01:12:00 +0000

In the recent New York Times write-up on Raleigh-Durham, the first spread is on Sarah and Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Denim.

I interviewed Sarah & Victor last year for New Raleigh. They're cool as hell, and now they're selling $300 jeans to bourgeois Barney's shoppers. Each pair is still made my hand with vintage sewing machines in their Bloodworth St. studio.

"We're doing it our way.... We don’t feel like we have to go to New York to be fashionable; being here is special and different."

—Sarah Lytvinenko, Raleigh Denim

I love seeing hometown heroes get good press. Happy Thanksgiving.

Photo by David Millsaps.

Penning Propaganda for Cartoon Network

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:15:00 +0000

Cartoon Network just launched their digital campaign for Firebreather, an original movie premiering next Wednesday.

All of Armchair has been working on this project for months, so we're excited to get it off the ground. We created the banner ads, YouTube takeover, website and Facebook campaign, including games and "MEGTAF" propaganda posters you can download as desktop backgrounds.

I recommend revisiting your old YM days with the "Take Your Temp" quiz on Firebreather's website.

how to be more productive

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:49:00 +0000

Being self-employed has forced me to make the most of my time. Productivity has become a kind of game: Let's see how fast I can get my work done so that I can go outside and play!

I share some of what I've learned in this article for TNGG: 9 Tips for a More Productive Workday.

I robbed the image from The 99%.

Zoinkify Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Become a Scooby Villain! Armchair created the "Zoinkify Yourself" minisite for Warner Bros., and I love it.

Watch my video, then create your own.

interview with the Avett Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Ladye Jane interviews Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers for New Raleigh. I help out with a few edits.

party chromatic

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:41:00 +0000

Congratulations to everyone who showed work at the Chromatic show Friday. I loved seeing graphic design treated like the fine art it is.

Chirp

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:48:00 +0000

Download for free the Fall 2010 edition of Chirp from Byrdhouse, and enjoy 24 songs for autumn, including an elegant cover of "D.A.N.C.E.," Arcade Fire's "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" (possibly the perfect song), as well as lots of stuff you haven't heard of but that will soon be your favorites.

I can testify that this compilation is great music to work to, since Byrdhouse's Kevin played it for us at Armchair every day leading up to the release.

Do it.

"Drop a dime, see!"

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Armchair just launched the Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan's Choice site for Phillips-Van Heusen. I got to help by writing the script for Blockhead Malone, a 1950s mafia linebacker who talks smack to you when you phone in your opinions about the nominees.

Try it out.

I like Delta's new website

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:57:00 +0000

I like the big menu items on the left that make Delta's new site much simpler to navigate than before. Using a single, large image and minimal copy focuses the site and makes it easier on the eyes. I no longer want to gouge them out when trying to check my Sky Miles.

Update: As often happens with redesigns, the usability still sucks beyond the homepage.

sometimes I design stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:33:00 +0000

(with help from Armchairs Farbod & Anna)

hopscotch

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:49:00 +0000

Photo by Ladye Jane Vickers.

I just returned from Raleigh's Hopscotch Festival—130 bands in 3 days, all over downtown Raleigh. And after 36 hours of rest I can maybe patch together a few sentences about the experience.

My main thoughts right now are 1) I hope I don't have liver disease, and 2) I hope the festival stays just like it is. Because, besides doing some irreparable health damage—my already mediocre hearing will likely never be the same after standing in front of the speakers at Panda Bear's performance—Hopscotch is the perfect festival.

Laid-back crowds, cheap beer, temperate weather, on-schedule performances and downtown venues within walking distance of one another meant Hopscotch avoided all the pitfalls of mainstream festivals. Of course, thanks to my badass Raleigh friends, I enjoyed all-access VIP status. But anybody could have bought that wristband for $120.

And for Broken Social Scene, Public Enemy, and a laundry list of lesser-known yet equally awesome local and national acts, including the Pitchfork-hailed Cults—whom I'd never heard of until I talked to one of the band members, the Rosebuds, Megafaun, Best Coast, Washed Out, and my favorites of the weekend, Akron Family and First Rate People, $120 would have been worth it.

My biggest fear is that in a year or two beers will cost $10 and Dave Matthews will be one of the headliners. But as long as Hopscotch is run by real Raleigh people, I can't see that happening. Right now the festival represents exactly what I love and miss about my hometown: the cohesive, grassroots, and accessible downtown scene. Where else would have I had the chance to party with Flavor Flav?*

*Public Enemy attended the afterparty on Saturday night, which I failed to attend despite knowing they were there. The fact that sleep was more valuable to me at that point than having a beer with Chuck D I think indicates the awesomeness of the weekend.

Check out the national attention from Rolling Stone.

update: wardrobe recycling

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:49:00 +0000

It's been over a month since I resolved not to buy any new clothes, and it hasn't been difficult to keep the promise.

After I got tired of wearing the same stuff all the time, I dug into my closet and found clothes I'd forgotten about. I received a lot of compliments on the outfits I sort of cobbled together.

Then last week I attended a clothing swap, where everyone brought old clothes we didn't wear anymore (I filled two trash bags full), emptied them out onto my friend's living room floor, and went shopping.

I walked away with a new pair of pants, some shorts, a skirt, three dresses, two tops, two belts, a t-shirt and a pair of Angela Chase-style shoes I've been wanting for a year. The straps keep falling off, but I have super glue.

Two more months to go.

in which I moonlight for New Raleigh

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:59:00 +0000

I love that Ladye Jane called me a "special contributor" in this feature about Hopscotch. Excited to be listed among Kelly Crisp of the Rosebuds and Pitchfork writer Grayson Currin. Headed to Raleigh this weekend to experience the festival and reunite with old friends.

Sorry that I called Max Indian alt-country. That's not really true.

armchair work

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:36:00 +0000

A couple of the things I wrote for Armchair have just gone live: a blog post about copywriting and a case study for the Samuel Mockbee website, about the late architect who started a design-build program in rural Alabama and changed the course of architecture.

If you go on a walk with a question, you'll return with an answer.

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:16:00 +0000

I robbed this photo from Emily Dryden.

"If you go on a walk with a question, you'll return with an answer."

If I remember correctly, I got this piece of wisdom from a New Raleigh commenter. And for much of my adult life, it has rung true.

It was on a long walk one Sunday in February 2009 that I decided to move to Atlanta.

And it wasn't until the iPod connector for my car stereo was stolen and I was forced to drive the 1.5-hour daily round-trip commute in silence that I decided to quit my job.

From fall 2008 to spring 2009 I drove the 400 miles between Raleigh and Atlanta about a dozen times, meaning I was alone, with very little entertainment, for a total of over 72 hours. During those drives, more than during any other event, I grieved for my father.

Whether it's a long walk or a long drive, I tend to arrive at great conclusions during times of silence and solitude. And I don't think the New Raleigh commenter and I are the only ones. Legend even has it that Archimedes claimed "Eureka!" while enjoying a nice bath.

This spring, the MoMA held an exhibit where visitors waited their turn in order to sit down at a table in front of performance artist Marina Abramovic and simply stare, in complete silence, for however long they wanted.

Many reported that they lost track of time, and even cried.

What is happening in our brains during these quiet moments?

Last week the New York Times informed us that we need this kind of "downtime" to process our experiences:

“Almost certainly, downtime lets the brain go over experiences it’s had, solidify them and turn them into permanent long-term memories,” said Loren Frank, assistant professor in the department of physiology at the university, where he specializes in learning and memory. He said he believed that when the brain was constantly stimulated, “you prevent this learning process.”
At the University of Michigan, a study found that people learned significantly better after a walk in nature than after a walk in a dense urban environment, suggesting that processing a barrage of information leaves people fatigued.

Science confirms the aphorism: Giving ourselves periods of silence and solitude can lead to revelations, or at least help us remember better.

I am trying to say "no" more often—to avoiding the hard, pressing questions about where I'm going and what impact I'm having. Although it's difficult to close my computer, to leave my cell phone in the other room, to turn down the invitation to go out with friends or even just watch a movie alone, I am realizing that I need that quiet space to let the wheels spin, and eventually slow down, before moving on to the next thing.

one twelve opening & weekend work

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:18:00 +0000

After working on deadline for Son & Sons much of the weekend, I took a bit of a break today. But I need to start writing a Purge article about Friday's opening at One Twelve Gallery, which Ryan James attended with me and shot. (Photo from the show above, by Joe Martinez.)

And Wednesday I'll be interviewing someone from Splatter Cinema, also for Purge. Wonder if they remember my seminal blog post about them...

reward: new old watch.

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Hey! I just remembered that months ago I promised myself a new old watch as a reward for landing my first real copywriting gig. Something like... this.

I may also finally get that laptop sleeve while I'm at it. Woo consumerism!

I did pretty well on this week's resolutions:

Goal: Run 5 mornings; Actual: Ran 4 mornings
Goal: Take MARTA Thurs. & Fri.; Actual: Took MARTA Thurs.
Goal: Read (The Plague) while on MARTA; Actual: Read while on MARTA and before bed, during lunch

Congrats, Max!

noreply@blogger.com (Acree) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:40:00 +0000

Way to go, Max, for getting featured on Scoutmob! Sometimes I think maybe *I* am Scoutmob, just using it as a platform to make my friends famous. I would totally choose that photo too.

Wish me luck tonight as I plow through pages and pages of corporate copy. 10:45 and I still have a long way to go.