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Hitched

Published by Eric July 5th, 2006 in General and Home. 1 Comment

It’s official. Erin and I are celebrating our relationship by getting married.

Okay, so it’s sort of anti-climactic seeing as how I should have popped the question years ago, but I’m really excited about it. I am a lucky man indeed.

The planning stage is still in it’s infancy, so no details have been ironed out yet. Tentatively, the plan is to wed sometime next year in the late summer or early fall. We’re gonna need that year to save up the cash. We’re thiking of keeping the actual wedding super private and for immediate family only, then throwing a huge bash of a reception immediately following for all of our extended family and friends. It’s gonna be a hoot.

We’re also starting to think about the honeymoon already (is that selfish?), and we’ve got a few ideas. The ultimate trip would be to Japan, although I think we need to realize that trip would break the bank. We also gave some thought to something remote and tropical like Costa Rica, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Do wish us luck.

Flickr Critique idiots ousted

Published by Eric June 29th, 2006 in General. 0 Comments

So, the online messageboard, or “forums” as they are referred to today are one of the most popular uses of the internet today. Often times very niche oriented, they can be a great place for like minded individuals all over the world to congregate and discuss the minutae of their particular interest. I browse a quite a few myself, a Honda Prelude owners group, a couple of aquarium groups and tons of photography groups. There’s no better way to learn about what other prelude owners are doing with their cars, or learning the quirks of maintenace. On the photography front, it’s great to see which films people are using with which scenes and how they are lighting studio shots, etc. It’s great to get this info from real people as opposed to the manufacturers websites.

Unfortunately, all of this comes at a price, and anyone who has ever spent a couple of minutes at a web forum will know that there are people we like to call trolls. The idiots that post constant drivel about how their opinions are the best and nothing else matters. You have to wade through all the buffoons to get to the people who actually know what they are talking about and generally want to help.

Jason Kottke posted a link on his site today to a flickr discussion in the “deleteme” group. A group where users can submit photos for critique. Members critique the photo and then vote for deletion, or acceptace. With the popularity of Flickr, the group has gotten wildly popular and often inflammatory, with many users offering absolutely assinine and downright offending critiques.

One user got smart, and submitted a very famous Henri Cartier-Bresson photo as one of his own, just to see what sort of comments it would receive and the results are absolutely hilarious. Within minutes, the first commenters left notes like, “this is too blurry, you should have used a tripod,” or my personal favorite, “This looks contrived, which is not a bad thing. If this is a planned shot, it just didn’t come out right.” I can’t believe someone actually said this in any sort of confidance about the man that f***ing invented the idea of the decisive moment. These people must feel like the biggest dumbasses in the universe.

Check the Flickr page here for all the comments

Celebrity Status

Published by Eric June 12th, 2006 in General. 4 Comments

It is with great hesitation I mention this, since I feel like a goofball.

The July issue of Esquire Magazine has a photo-essay featuring a profile from one 25 year old guy from each of the 50 states… guess who represents the state of Indiana. I never thought I’d find my name, let alone my picture, printed in the pages of one the most well-known, and well-respected publications for gentlemen. It’s truly a twisted world we live in.

Aside from looking at my ugly mug and goofy quote, the article is actually really good.

If you’ve happened to find this site via the Esquire article, hello. Don’t be such a stranger in the future.

New Optics

Published by Eric June 4th, 2006 in General and Home. 1 Comment

As I mentioned in a previous post, my interest in photography is growing greater and greater everyday. It’s something that’s been a part of my life since my sophomore year in highschool. Over the past six months or so, I found myself returning to where I started in photography, and that is with analog cameras and films. In a previous post, I showed off some of the 35mm work I had been doing, some of it even shot on the old Nikon EM that I learned on back in highschool. Well, last weekend, I plunged even further into the analog relm with the purchase of a classic, a Rolleiflex Automat MX.

Rolleiflex

This old guy takes 120 film and shoots a 6×6 cm negative. Needless to say, it’s a LOT larger than a 35 mm negative, thus giving you a lot more latitude for image. Couple this with a true Carl Zeiss Tessar lens, and you’ve got the makings of a camera that can print a 20″x20″ traditional image with no distortion.

Why is this so cool? I’ll tell you why. According to the serial number on my particular unit, it was made somewhere between 1950 and 1954. This thing is over 60 years old and can (arguably) create an image with higher fidelity than your typical 13 megapixel pro DSLR. The rollei doesn’t have batterys. It doesn’t have a light meter. It’s similar in size and weight to a brick. I wonder if people will still be shooting with their D70’s in 60 years… Needless to say, I’m giddy as a school girl every time I get my film back from the lab with this thing. Speaking of getting film back, here’s a scan from the first roll I ran through the camera.

Erin with the Rollei

And speaking of film, as if I haven’t gone off the deepend already, I’ve actually started to process my own black and white film at home. There’s nothing more magical than seeing your own film process at home. They say that your sense of smell is closest tied to memory, and if there is anything that takes me back to the days of hiding out in the art department back in highschool, it’s the smell of fixer.

I hope to have more images up in the next day or so from my home processing efforts. Keep an eye out on flickr.

I don’t know how much of a lunatic or geek I am for going through all of this in this age of instant gratification. All I know is that I am having a ton of fun.

Prelude to Surgery

Published by Eric May 26th, 2006 in General. 0 Comments

My car is in the body shop currently getting all of the little dents sucked out by a master dent remover. Hopefully the scars from the great Indiana Hail Storm of 2006 will be nothing but a memory and my ride will be reverted back to her old, spiffy self.

I’ve been in a Ford Focus rental for the past two weeks, and it looks likely to be at least another week. I can’t wait to get out of this lifeless, anemic excuse for an automobile and get back into my chariot of choice.

Wish her luck.

Prelude Surgery

Giddy for Games

Published by Eric May 9th, 2006 in Nerd. 2 Comments

nintendo

On the contrary to yesterday’s post lauding the benefits of outdoor treehuggin’ zen, this one is all about videogames.

With E3 officially kicking off, and Nintendo’s latest press conference introducing a lot about their new Wii (most rediculous name ever), the internets are abuzz with hype and excitement regarding the possibilities of next generation of gaming.

I am really excited about the Wii, and the fact that it’s so unique… something that I think that gaming needs. I really like the motion sensitive controller and the seemingly intuitive UI. I really like what they’re doing with the online benefits, and I especially like the idea of the “virtual console,” allowing us to go back in time and revisit all of those great gaming relics of the past… no longer will I need to fire up a half-assed emulator or dig the nintendo out of the closet the next time I get an excitebike craving.

Although, all these new feature, the motion sensitive controller especially, leaves me a bit skeptical. Does anyone remember how rediculous the powerglove was? I mean, swinging my arms in front of the telly in an attempt to slash up the bad guys sounds like a lot of fun, but come on, Erin is going to think I’m going schizophrenic when she walks in the room to see me flailing around like an idiot in front of the boob tube.

Anyway, I know I’ve got some gamers in the audience. What do you guys think about this whole Nintendo Wii thing? You guys gonna get one, or are you going to spring for an xbox 360 or PS3 instead?

Camp

Published by Eric May 8th, 2006 in Home. 0 Comments

Over the weekend, Erin and I dusted off all the gear headed south to Brown County State Park for a little overnight getaway. After paying the entrance and camp fees to the ranger (20 bucks! I don’t remember it ever being that expensive!) we headed for our site and set up camp. Erin got me a really cool high tech North Face tent for my birthday a couple of years ago and we had it up in a couple of minutes. We managed to get in a bit of hiking, and ate some really good camp grub as well.

camp

The best part about the trip was without a doubt, the time away from urban life. Even though we were only gone 24 hrs, it was nice to sleep outside in a tent with the crickets, and go without the computer or the television. Lately I have been realizing how tethered to the computer I have become, and I’d like to try and do something about it, and camping was the perfect prescription.

p.s. I won’t lie. I actually did think about bringing along the laptop for watching dvd’s in the tent at night, and maybe seeing if I could pick up a wi-fi signal. That thought lasted about 2 seconds before I realized how rediculous that was.

Indiana Postcards

Published by Eric May 1st, 2006 in Work and Design. 1 Comment

Photobooks on Flickr

I recently designed a couple of simple little postcard books for the Indiana Historical Society. The interesting thing though, is that if you search for either one on Amazon, it shows up with me as the author, which is guess is kinda true, seeing as how they are merely picture books of archived, public domain photos. Anyway, I just thought that it is kind of neat that I show up as a published author on Amazon.com.

It was also brought to my attention that if you google “eric murray,” this very site pops in at the number 2 spot. The first hit reads: “State: Eric Murray: ‘I’ll rip your head off’ .” Now that is brilliant.

It’s been awhile

Published by Eric April 25th, 2006 in General. 2 Comments

It’s been some time since the last post, so without further ado, here’s a quick recap of what’s been cookin’ at camp Murray.

Final Four

Final Four

The Final Four just graced us with it’s presence here in Indianapolis, and as many of you know, the brilliant design staff here at Dean Johnson really pulled through with some great stuff. It was quite amazing to stroll through the city and see our beautiful work all over the place. It was a whole other wild experience to see our stuff plastered all over national television. While I can’t claim much of the praise for this one, as I simply filled a support role for this particular project, I’m still really proud that we branded one of the world’s largest sporting events.

My Car

Back in October of last year, I fulfilled a small bit of automobile lust. The purchase: A 1999 Honda Prelude.

I had been looking for a new car since getting hired on at Dean Johnson nearly two years ago and had always loved the 5th generation Prelude. The only problem in acquiring one is that they are fairly rare and hard to come by, and are typically very overpriced in the used market due to old fashioned supply and demand. However, 6 months ago while trolling the internets, I came across a 1999 in championship white at a local dealer priced well below what I usually saw them going for, and with fairly low miles to boot. Upon arrival, I noticed it was in near mint condition, with a few rare Japanese domestic market factory upgrades to the body. I quickly popped the hood and noticed even more upgrades there. Apparently the dealership wasn’t aware of this and hadn’t added this to the price. Needless to say, I snatched it up in a heartbeat.

Fast forward 6 months…

Okay, now let me preface this by saying that I do, in fact, consider myself to be a pretty good driver. However, since this car has been in my possession, I’ve managed to run the front under spoiler over a curb, get backed into, and most recently, had the car get obliterated by the great hailstorm of 2006 while I was out of town. I swear this car hates me.

AIGA Student Portfolio Day

For the second year now, I participated as a reviewer for the Indianapolis chapter AIGA portfolio day. I was looking forward to this event to see all the cool work students are doing these days, offer guidance to those looking for a job, and feel proud about being seeing my alma matter show the best work. I had a great time, offered what I thought was great advice, and saw some truly inspiring work. Unfortunately, for reasons I cannot even begin to understand, the Herron students, long regarded as the elite in the state, were easily the worst of the bunch. I don’t know what’s going on over at campus, I know they had better get their act together!

That about does it for the updates. Other than the above, I enjoyed a weekend in Chicago with my parents and have been on my bike a lot soaking up the spring sun. Take care.

Say Cheese

Published by Eric March 17th, 2006 in General and Design. 0 Comments

Blue

Over the past few months I’ve been rekindling my love for photography. I’ve dug out the old film cameras in an attempt to get more immersed in the medium, and I am discovering that I actually like it over digital quite a bit.

Continue reading ‘Say Cheese’

I’m back

Published by Eric March 14th, 2006 in General. 3 Comments

I had some issues with my web host starting yesterday, but it should be all taken care of now. Sorry if you tried to stop by the site and found a 404.

Aside from that, I have been pretty busy lately and looking forward to a quick vacation to Chicago with my folks in a couple of weeks. I’ll come back with a bit more proper post shortly.

Dear readers, what are some of your favorite Chicago spots?

Hatch Show Print Visit

Published by Eric March 2nd, 2006 in Design. 6 Comments

Hatch Show Print

On Monday, a co-worker and I stormed the fortress that is Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee. After the show here at Dean Johnson, they had a couple of pieces left (nearly everything sold) that we volunteered to drive back to Nashville in exchange for a day with the presses, type, and history.

Continue reading ‘Hatch Show Print Visit’

Run Devil Run

Published by Eric March 1st, 2006 in Music. 0 Comments

Rabbit Fur Coat by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins is my current favorite album, having taken top honors on the office stereo, the ipod, and the car stereo. If you are hip to Ms. Lewis’ other, more well known project, Rilo Kiley (whom Elvis Costello claims is his favorite band), then you no doubt know what I mean when I say she has voice that isn’t just heard, but felt.

The album is a large departure from Lewis’ indie-pop work with Rilo Kiley, favoring the “White Soul” sounds 7o’s Memphis (think Van Morrison) and the currently growing genre of alt-country. The album also gets a lot of help from guest musicians, producers, and engineers, including: M. Ward, Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes), and fellow Postal Service collaborator, Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie). However, don’t let the starred guest list fool you, the magic is Ms. Lewis herself. A quote from the official site:

Jenny Lewis is a singer and a songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She’s got hair the color of a Pacific sunset, a voice as sweet as an ice cream cone, and a wit sharper than a razorblade.

Give the album a try, I bet you’ll like it. It made Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print stop in mid conversation to ask who it was when he was in town. That man has heard more country music than anyone I can think of, and if it made him take notice, I think that’s saying something. The album also gives you a surprise Roy Orbison cover towards the end.

Nearly the entire album is available for download from her site.

Trivia:
Does Jenny look familiar to any of the geeks in the audience? She’s also an accomplished actress, who just happened to star in “The Wizard” alongside Fred Savage and a Nintendo Power Glove.

Sigur Ros

Published by Eric February 21st, 2006 in Music. 1 Comment

Sigur Ros

Last night Erin and I went to the Sigur Ros show at the Murat theatre, and well, we were impressed to say the least.

The dynamics were fantastic. I commented to Erin after the show that it may have been the loudest concert that I have ever attended, but in a good way. Sigur Ros’ speciality lies in their dynamic capabilities… whisper quiet one minute, and then ear piercingly loud the next. Their compositions are generally considered to be a bit closer to the classical genre than popular rock and roll, although that line is often blurred, which makes them all the better.

Opening act Amina, was also phenomenal. Some of the instruments they used include a cigar box banjo, a saw, wine glasses, a laptop, and a glockenspiel. Need I say more? They also stuck around and supported sigur ros during their set as a string section.

Overall, it was a great show, and I’ll definitely see them again if I have the chance.

Linotype Catalog

Published by Eric February 13th, 2006 in Nerd and Design. 1 Comment

linotype book This is normally something I would post over in the asides section, but I felt this link needed some prime real-estate. Linotype, makers of the fabulous Font Explorer X that I wrote about a few weeks ago, is offering their type-specimen book for, get this, 16 bucks.

From Linotype’s site:

Linotype’s “Complete Typeface Catalog, A–Z” represents a new approach to specimen books for Linotype, taking a decidedly different form from its predecessors over the past two decades. The specimen book offers the user an easy-to-reference overview of Linotype’s entire portfolio. Individual fonts are presented as parts of typeface families; font format information is clearly depicted next to each weight.

This one is just too good to pass up. Any self-repecting designer or typophile needs to own this book, and at that paltry sum, you have no reason not to.

The Dust of Retreat

Published by Eric February 9th, 2006 in Music. 0 Comments

Margot and the Nuclear So & So's As a lot of you know, music plays a very important role in my life. I’ve been a music fan for as long as I can remember, and I probably owe a lot of that to my parents, who were cool enough to take me to my first concert when I was 10 (we saw Steely Dan at Deer Creek). So I thought I would start a new feature here on the blog and share with you what’s currently spinning on my turntable, or streaming through my ipod.

I thought I would start with a little known local Hoosier band, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. I’m really excited about these guys, largely because it’s pretty cool to have band of this caliber in the Hoosier state generating the kind of national buzz they are. I won’t go into detail praising the minutae of each song, because it’s not necessary. It’s just one of those albums that works… solid, yet inventive songwriting, quality musicianship, and great dynamics.

As I continue with this new category of post, feel free to add your thoughts if you’ve heard the featured album. Also, it would be great to hear about what everyone else’s auditory muse is.

You’re my (super)Hero

Published by Eric February 1st, 2006 in Nerd. 4 Comments

JLA vs. Avengers

In the midst of invariable sea of homogenous, big-box retail outlets, there are still a few oddities to keep a consumer interested. You’ve got indie record shops as opposed to the Virgin Megastores, local coffeehouses vs. Starbucks, etc…

One of these establishments that I don’t visit nearly enough though are comic shops. Here in Indianapolis, we are lucky enough to have a plethora of stores to choose from. I am by no means a Connisseur of the comic world, but I do have a passing interest. I mean, how can you resist the fantastical, exaggerated art, or the tales of super-heroes? And what is it about these stores that offer such a unique escape from reality?

I don’t know what got me on this recent comic lust… maybe it was discovering the website of other Herron refugees, Rogue Robot, through Mr. Higg’s blog or Erin’s increasing obsession with the WB’s Smallville.

My problem, however, has always been in knowing which books to pick up. As a casual browser, stepping into a comic shop and seeing the ENORMOUS selection is at the same time exciting and daunting. And we all know that simply walking up to the register and asking the clerk what he thinks is a BIG no-no at comic shops, as one of two things will likely happen:

You’ll be there another 3-4 hours listening to the guy explain the merits of his favorite books from the last ten years.

The feeling of regret, after the clerk attempts to step on your ego with his knowledge of the comic.

So, my question dear readers, is what do you read?

Routine Influence

Published by Eric January 30th, 2006 in Work and Design. 5 Comments

As a designer, you’ve got to stay on top of it, and by “it” I mean everything. To be an effective communicator and compelling visual artist, you’ve got to have a base of information… a way to stay on top of popular culture and trends. I’m sure that a lot of people would argue that all good things are independent of time, “timeless classics,” if you will. I’d say that I agree with that, but you’ve still got to have grounding. A wise man once said, ” you’ve got to know the rules before you break them.”

Continue reading ‘Routine Influence’

Six Feet Under

Published by Eric January 27th, 2006 in General, Home and Design. 3 Comments

As most of you know, I’m not much of a televison watcher. I discovered HBO’s Six Feet Under at the end of last year and that all changed. I became completely OBSESSED with the show. Erin and I managed to watch the first 4 seasons (about 48 hours total) in a couple of weeks.

As a designer, I’ve come to appreciate the little things in media like this. Character development, story progression, plot twists… all of these contribute to a great show, and SFU delivers. The attention to detail and writing are simply impeccable. I have no idea how people watched this show on the air, it’s one of the most complicated plots I have ever seen, it plays more like a 100 hour movie, than a weekly television series. Never before has a movie or television show lingered on my thoughts for days following the viewing. This is powerful stuff.

Like I said, Erin and I rented the DVD’s (and subsequently got seasons 1-4 for christmas!) and watched the first four seasons in a couple of weeks. Season 5, the final season, has aired on HBO, but is not out on DVD yet, so I haven’t seen it. Be sure not to leave any spoilers in the comments! I’ve heard many people claim that the final episode is one of the most brilliant moments in all of cinema. Needless to say, I can’t wait till it comes out at the end of March.

Anyway that’s enough babbling. I just wanted to recommend this often overlooked show. Especially to the other designers reading this.

Hatch Show Print @ Dean Johnson

Published by Eric January 27th, 2006 in Work and Design. 2 Comments

The famous poster shop from Tennesse, Hatch Show Print is going to be paying a special visit to the Dean Johnson Gallery in a couple of weeks. We haven’t got all the details ironed out yet, but when we do, I’ll be sure to let you know. We do know that they will only be here for a day or two, then they are moving on to another gallery. The owner, Jim Sherridan will also be here, so you’ll get to pick his brain and maybe purchase a couple of cheap posters. I’m guessing that most of my readers are familiar with Hatch Show Print, but for those who aren’t, they are an old-school letterpress poster company. Basically, they design everything with hand placed, wooden type. No Computers. Mr. Dean claims that they don’t even have a fax machine, and if you need to fax them some copy for a poster, you have to send it to the pizza joint next door. This one will probably be SUPER crowded, so be sure to come early on the opening day. Check back here for updates on the show time.

Asides

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The Land of 10,000 Plastic Marios - Next time someone makes fun of you for being a geek, send them to this page.

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BrazilName - Generate your own Brazil football shirt! - This site will tell you what your name would be if you played for Brazil. Mine is “Erildo,” which is a bummer because it’s a little too close to “dildo.”

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PDF: Nintendo Power #1 - Jul-Aug 1988 : via Retro GamingMan, I’m on a roll today with the asides links… this one is a PDF of the complete first issue of Nintendo Power. I got a subscription to this for christmas one year and I distinctly remember the day when this innaugural issue showed up at home. It came with a binder to keep the issues in pristing condition.

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Create Digital Music » 8-bit Nintendo Sounds. - Create 8-bit nintendo-esque sounds with a free garageband plug-in

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YouTube - Pole Position Commercial! (Atari) - This is brilliant. A Pole Position commercial from the 80’s. Must be seen to be believed.

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Beloit Daily News - One of my favorite pieces of art, Georges Seurat’s painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” has been remade as a photograph.

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The Zidane headbutt (kottke.org)- Jason Kottke has compiled some more info on the imfamous Zidane headbutt from Sunday’s World Cup final. If someone called me the “son of a terrorist whore,” I might knock them on their ass too.

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One Page Folios - Portal for one page designer portfolios. I need to make one of these.

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soccerTV.com Site featuring all the tv times for the world cup.

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