Thursday, August 20, 2009

In Memoriam: Kodachrome and Polaroid


2009 marks the end of two photographic wonders and the amazing colors they produced. Digital photography has rendered them obsolete.

In June, Eastman Kodak company announced that its Kodachrome film would be no more. This was the slide film that gave us such beautiful bright colors and it's the film Paul Simon idolized in the classic line of a song, "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

In February, Polaroid announced the end of its instant film. The images were magical - and sometimes accidental - masterpieces. Do you remember eagerly waiting for the picture to materialize from the murky coating? Some say that the Polaroid camera was the iPod or Blackberry of another generation.

Mourn no more! Go to Poladroid.net and get the easiest and funniest Polaroid image maker. Download the app, launch it, and turn up your volume. Drag and drop your photo. Wait... wait.... wait again... or shake the picture. Yes, shake the picture. Then look at or print your POLADROID picture :)

Nostalgia buffs rejoice! (Note: Justin Timberlake loves it too.)

Go get it at Poladroid.
Do thank them with a donation.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Wet Dog



When I was in art school, a professor commented that my painting looked like a soggy dog. That was a compliment! I was struggling to find my artistic center and had poured turpentine on an oil painting (still wet and workable) and saved the results.

Even though the words “wet dog” evoke this memory for me, I bet you have memory. At the very least, I would be willing to bet that your olfactory sense tuned into this. Does anyone like a wet dog smell?

So why would anyone label the color of a product “Wet Dog?” I might like it for a crazy beige nail polish but I’d never buy a laptop or a pair of slinky harem pants in a color labeled “wet dog” and would gladly settle for “taupe”- as unimaginative as it may be.

Ahhhhh, the magic and mystery of words used to describe colors. Congratulations to Glassybaby and their 183 rich colors for candles - from wet dog (taupe) to pollen (faintest of green) to prom dress (bright purple). They even have devil dog and tom cat. I wonder what they smell like.

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