feeling very inspired after a long chat with Freddie and Daniel and everyone else. hmm….

Some things to ponder:

Daniel wanted to start “a brand” … selling the lifestyle, and all that sort of rot. Get some manufacturing going in China, blah blah. I like the idea. But I have a feeling it’s logistically more difficult than just “send them your drawings, and they’ll do it”…? Daniel wanted to manufacture odd skin belts (alligator, lizard, yak, ‘coon skin, whatever) ; my twist on it was to have buckles picturing enameled cartoony animals (the animal whose skin is wrapped around your waist) in bright colors. There’s an (ironic?) contrast here: I think of cartoons as indestructable, but the skin is clear evidence of destruction/reappropriation.

Anyway, it’s always fun to think of having a “brand” and building an image, an office/retail space, a philosophy, and maybe even a product (!) from it over time. I was picturing an office that looks like what one might call “homey”.. which really means it has real character to it, it isn’t just a sterile working space. In fact, if I started an office, I’d even like to do it in a rezoned house. And sort of “move in.” Hell, we spend more time at work than we do (awake) at home, so why not make it comfy?

This leads me on to one of the ideas Freddie seemed most excited about: The Architect’s House. It’s a TV show, perhaps on H&G or PBS, covering the homes of working architects. The architect is the host for each episode— similar to MTV Cribs, but instead of simply adding attitude and entertainment (sometimes the Cribs host IS the show)— The Architect’s House would have enlightening tips for dwellers everywhere.

Why architects? A good architect can speak intelligently about space and design and probably has a smart, simple, and elegant home. And since most architects don’t live in the monstrocities you see on MTV Cribs, the whole show is more accessible, not just a vanity project.

Why not have a narrator? A producer could nudge the architect and provide a little outside interest.. but I think it’s best to let the architect explain (and, in a sense, be held accountable for) his work. And he’ll know things about the place that might typically escape notice.

Some other ideas we talked about were:

- Novels that change typeface as you go along. Why not? Who decided that we’re limited to bold and italics? I understand that dynamic type can be distracting, but it all depends on how you use it. The argument here is that anything on paper will be visual by nature, so why not make the most of the medium by introducing some well-chosen type modifications? Also, better attention could be paid to the points at which page breaks occur in a novel. For example, you end a page when the suspense peaks, and on the next page, in big letters, the punch line of the book:

THE BUTLER DID IT

or whatever.

- We talked about doing an NPR-style radio show, and found that we both wanted to be the chooser of interstitial music during All Things Considered. How many others share this dream? Were it just me putting a radio show together, I’d probably end up with great interstitial music separated by trite, lackluster commentary similar to what you’ll find in this blog. But maybe I could rely on Freddie to bring insightful ideas and good drama to the table.

- Freddie’s working on an Enterprise Perl book while I do Boston Secrets. I like the Enterprise Perl idea a lot. Of course, the obvious question is: What, exactly, is an “enterprise”?

- We also went over Market of Niche stuff; new methods of categorization for online products. The idea is to pick up on new ways to group items. This could be anything from Booker Prize-winning books to “DVDs for showing your friends how cool you and your Dolby 5.1 system are.” I’m starting to wonder about the latter part even more— how does this tie into the “brand” above. Why not construct an Internet-based boutique that sells products from various online retailers, under one roof, with a nice look and consistent style? A meta-store that filters out all the bullshit and gives you what’s “cool” — yeah.