iTunes vs. Lala.com

Several months ago, via a blog I read religiously (pun fully intended) I stumbled upon Lala.com. It proudly declares itself as "All the music you could ever want, playable in a web browser." And indeed it is.

Lala allows users to legally listen to almost any conceivable song for free. Not a 30-second sample. The whole song. And if you like that particular song, you can purchase a web-only version of it for a dime.

Web-only means you don't technically "own" the music. You are essentially buying the right to listen to a streamed version of it. For graphic designers, and anyone else who has a job that necessitates using a computer all day, this is a goldmine.

C.S. Lewis once wrote "We do not disparage silver by distinguishing it from gold." iTunes has earned its reputation as the premiere music provider. And I'm certain that, at some point in the ever-evolving world of online music, iTunes will add tools to its arsenal that do essentially what Lala does today. But for now I am thrilled to have this option, and I think you may enjoy it as well.

Sowing the seeds of Minnesota folk art

If you’ve been to the Minnesota State Fair, chances are you’ve been exposed to a design phenomenon known as “crop art” or “seed art”. For the uninitiated, this is an art form consisting of seeds pasted on a board to make a picture. From the sacred to the political (and sometimes a little of both), there are few subject matters that haven’t been sown and subsequently shown in the halls of the Agriculture Horticulture Building.

Anyone with the childhood memory of running out of Lite Bright templates, and “going freestyle” with a blank piece of black construction paper, will certainly respect the seed artist’s technical ability.

Were there a Wikipedia entry for Minnesota Nice, seed art would be Exhibit A. (Update: I just looked, and yes, there is.) It’s a folksy, unpretentious, welcoming art form that says “hey der, how ‘er ya?” as you come near it. But hang around a bit and you will most certainly detect the passive-aggressive “oh...well that’s different” tone that makes up so many of the crop compositions. It’s the Minnesota way: conflict can seldom be clear and upfront. It must be buried deep in a burlap sack, only to see the light of day through the painfully premeditated irony that is political seed art.

But we are Minnesotans, and most of us will laugh this year when we view a striking resemblance of Norm Coleman, holding a brown lentil “will work for beans” sign, regardless of who we voted for.

Welcome to My Clearing Place

What’s in a name? According to the Dictionary of American Family Names, environmental design is in my name:

RUSTAD

Norwegian: from Old Norse Ruðstaðr, a compound of ruð ‘clearing’ + staðr ‘place’.

My ancestors were known for clearing away the clutter, making room for space to live, work, think through problems and come up with solutions. Artists call it white space--that area on the canvas where the eye is allowed to take a break. It provides a pleasant contrast to the colors and forms that make up the rest of the artwork, and is equally important.

The mission of Clearing Place is to accentuate the good, call out the bad, and admonish the ugly. I’ll be taking a look at the design around me and sharing my thoughts.

Clearing place. It’s in my name. It’s in my design. And now it’s in my website. I hope you enjoy this blog.