Back to Basics: Clear CD Cases

Aleph by Gesaffelstein  + Yeezus by Kanye West 

Oh Apple, What Happened to Your Commercials

Goldfrapp? That's so 2006. I love Goldfrapp's "Ooh La La" track and it still feels hip and relevant, but I expect more from you Apple. By this, I mean I expect Apple to surprise and delight me with a song I haven't heard of (remember that Feist nano spot?) or a classic that brings back pleasant feelings. Apple's latest spot for the 5s took the former route of using a classic, Goldfrapp's "Ooh La La" and the only feeling I had was disappointment. Watching the first few seconds of the 5s spot, I distinctly recalled hearing the same song for a Motorola Chocolate or RAZR phone ad--those ads had such high frequency that I remembered the brand--and so the 5s commercial just felt underwhelmingly familiar.

Check out these Motorola ads back from 2006 that defined the Goldfrapp track + cellphone model:


Seven years later, Apple releases this to introduce their 5s:


Not so ooh la la original right?

Dave Eggers' New Novel The Circle Will Give Us All Some Perspective

This Tuesday, Dave Eggers' new novel The Circle comes out. Without going into detail, I think anyone who actively uses social media or a smartphone (which is likely everyone) or works in the tech and digital industry should read the book. It's a story about a 24 year-old girl Mae who begins a job at a large tech company--one that closely resembles Facebook and Google (if those two companies merged). I found the book particularly relevant because the digital industry and work environment is one I'm familiar with--the subject of tracking user data, the free lunches and open bar company events. The Circle, like most of Eggers' novels, is a reflective piece and a page-turner that touches upon a lot of timely, controversial topics like NSA's Prism and the effects of social over-sharing on human behavior. I'd love to hear what you all think about the book, so leave me a comment if you read it!