Tchotchkes & Other Strangers

Streetlamp: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13.

Sun, 19 May 2013 10:00:37 -0700

Streetlamp: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13.

Streetlamp in B&W: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13.

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:00:31 -0700

Streetlamp in B&W: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13.

Maybe the great community I belong to will not change for the...

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:57:50 -0700

Maybe the great community I belong to will not change for the worst (change is inevitable, after all), and there are already plenty of casual users who just want “followers” or are trolling, but this is something to think about and share.

idlnmclean:

lost-somewhere:

universe-juice:

chocobo-strider:

the-disney-words:

SHARE TO SAVE TUMBLR!

- Let’s try and get 100k notes

True shit

A review by one of the folks sums it up perfectly:

“What worries me about Yahoo! buying Tumblr is how it would choose to incorporate the website into its email and homepage features. One of the reasons why Tumblr is so unique is because it’s a niche market. By adding more users who don’t fit into this niche, it would make it more difficult for communities to develop within Tumblr, and Tumblr would have to change to accommodate these new users. Tumblr as a website is not the kind that you can sign up for in a day and be on your way. It is a website crafted so that you can immediately post but must spend several weeks, sometimes even months, to build a community. With new users who would not be willing to spend time growing a community, Tumblr would have to be changed, which would alienate its current users. Those users have spent time and effort to make Tumblr what it is today, and they are the ones who spend time on the website daily. A user who is checking onto Tumblr because it’s attached to their homepage is not going to be as strong of a user nor as dedicated. By changing the website to suit this new user, you would lose the strong users while building an undedicated usership.

To any website that would think of buying Tumblr, they must understand that it is a website that cannot be changed to make it more user friendly to a casual blogger. I think that many Tumblr users would be less worried about a buy-out if they were promised that their communities and ways of using Tumblr would not be changed. No one is going to mind Yahoo! buying the website and gaining a few extra million dollars per year from the minimal advertising; what we will be upset with is if a company like Yahoo! then changes the website to increase casual users and decrease dedicated users. Yahoo! would gain nothing by losing this “cool” group of bloggers in an age group they so desperately want to reach, so they must cater to these individuals by leaving the website exactly as is.” - houseoftombombadil

As much as is does sound like a load of bullshit for someone to buy Tumblr, it’s a possibility. I Personally think it should stay independent and I hope David Karp keeps a hold of it like his own child. Or we make enough noise to where such major changes (if bought) will not happen. I would hate to see Tumblr turned into an advertising dump.

We’re not a ‘hip fad group’ to be marketed to. I hate the fact that’s all we look like to businesses in the end.

reblogging again for this ^

Looked this up, and apparently Facebook has also shown interest in buying Tumblr.
Shit.

When the indigenous group is colonized.

Seen on Powell Street: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13. A...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:49 -0700

Seen on Powell Street: Downtown. San Francisco, 05-12-13.

A quick, humble nod to christian-paul-kusch-berlin, whose B&W work is awe inspiring.

graficzny: Brilliant, as usual nevver: Secrets of the...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:12:36 -0700

graficzny:

Brilliant, as usual

nevver:

Secrets of the Creative

Reblogged from an old friend. After reading the post, you may...

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:31:50 -0700

Reblogged from an old friend. After reading the post, you may want to watch the “The world is a business” speech from the classic 1976 film, Network. Still is true today, if not more so.

youmightfindyourself:

FUCK COMMITTEES
(I believe in lunatics)

It’s about the struggle between individuals with jagged passion in their work and today’s faceless corporate committees, which claim to understand the needs of the mass audience, and are removing the idiosyncrasies, polishing the jags, creating a thought-free, passion-free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone. By now, virtually all media, architecture, product and graphic design have been freed from ideas, individual passion, and have been relegated to a role of corporate servitude, carrying out corporate strategies and increasing stock prices. Creative people are now working for the bottom line.

Magazine editors have lost their editorial independence, and work for committees of publishers (who work for committees of advertisers). TV scripts are vetted by producers, advertisers, lawyers, research specialists, layers and layers of paid executives who determine whether the scripts are dumb enough to amuse what they call the ‘lowest common denominator’. Film studios out films in front of focus groups to determine whether an ending will please target audiences. All cars look the same. Architectural decisions are made by accountants. Ads are stupid. Theater is dead.

Corporations have become the sole arbiters of cultural ideas and taste in America. Our culture is corporate culture.

Culture used to be the opposite of commerce, not a fast track to ‘content’- derived riches. Not so long ago captains of industry (no angels in the way they acquired wealth) thought that part of their responsibility was to use their millions to support culture. Carnegie built libraries, Rockefeller built art museums, Ford created his global foundation. What do we now get from our billionaires? Gates? Or Eisner? Or Redstone? Sales pitches. Junk mail. Meanwhile, creative people have their work reduced to ‘content’ or ‘intellectual property’. Magazines and films become ‘delivery systems’ for product messages.

But to be fair, the above is only 99 percent true.

I offer a modest solution: Find the cracks in the wall. There are a very few lunatic entrepreneurs who will understand that culture and design are not about fatter wallets, but about creating a future. They will understand that wealth is means, not an end. Under other circumstances they may have turned out to be like you, creative lunatics. Believe me, they’re there and when you find them, treat them well and use their money to change the world.

Tibor Kalman
New York, June 1998

Please vote for paddym01's beautiful picture

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:18:43 -0700

I already voted, so I cannot reblog, since it will count as two votes by me and cancel my initial...

Moving on to San Francisco

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:15:31 -0700

Howdy y’all. Welcome to my new followers. Thank you to my steadies. Your comments, <3s,...

Cactus waves & spirals II in B&W: Botanical...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:00:53 -0700

Cactus waves & spirals II in B&W: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Cactus waves & spirals I in B&W: Botanical Conservatory....

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:00:34 -0700

Cactus waves & spirals I in B&W: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Almost caught up!

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:02:45 -0700

I am now about two days behind in looking at y’all’s posts. I have been posting stuff to...

Fay Freshwater: Tumblr community, I need your help!

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:29:34 -0700

Fay Freshwater: Tumblr community, I need your help! : fayfreshwater: Here’s the deal: Booklrs is a...

Sarracenia cascade in B&W: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis,...

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:39 -0700

Sarracenia cascade in B&W: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Sarracenias: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:55 -0700

Sarracenias: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Sarracenia flower: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:21:39 -0700

Sarracenia flower: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Yes, savantml.

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:19:18 -0700

The Nepenthe is a carnivorous plant. The little critters are lured into the pitcher, where the...

Nepenthes pitcher full, no waiting: Botanical Conservatory. UC...

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:45 -0700

Nepenthes pitcher full, no waiting: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Sarracenia Ying/Yang: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:00:57 -0700

Sarracenia Ying/Yang: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, o5-07-13.

Pretty orange flowers: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:59 -0700

Pretty orange flowers: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Cactus flowers: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:24 -0700

Cactus flowers: Botanical Conservatory. UC Davis, 05-07-13.