Al Jaffee Fold-ins from MAD Magazine

NYT put together a nifty little interaction that allows you to 'fold' the illustrations over into their hidden state.

via Martin Klasch

Cosmic Melancholy

I read this post at Everyone Forever back in September, but couldn't watch the video due to a dying computer. It was worth the wait. Here's a loving reproduction of the post:

The pagan Arabs of the pre-Islamic period were a proud and boastful people who were characterized by epic tales, heart-rending poetry, and eloquent prose. Indeed, their literary excellence before the Prophet Muhammad, is still reputed to be of the highest calibre, the quintessence of poetry, chivalry and a most intoxicating ambiance, even at times glaringly arrogant and self-worshipping.

However, in the year 610AD, the fortieth year of a certain Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the Arabs had found a contest to their genius. This 'man from a mountain' claimed to be in receipt of a magnanimous recital, a message that he was not even willing to take any credit for.

The Arabs found their pride, their literary genius to be in serious question. The sheer experience of the recital, its ontology, style, experience, cosmic melancholy, odd structure, meaning and message, shattered them into willing submission.

The ontological encounter with the recital to the Arabs surely confirmed to them, by them, that surely no man could be the author of such an experience.

The odd structure, the melancholy, the penetrative acoustics remain to the present day and have been reverberating Worldwide, around houses and mosques during this current month of fasting and patience; Ramadan.

04:10 / 27.09.2008
Arfan Rai Chiswick

Publishers' Bindings Online

The other day I picked out some Library donations to bring home just because I liked some of the simple drawings on the covers.

The cover of this classroom edition of Alphonse Daudet's Selected Stories including La Belle-Nivernaise has a couple of nifty border patterns. I like the steely blue ink on the light charcoal coloring. [click images for bigger]

And the back cover has the publisher, American Book Company's stamp:


A clearer shot from the title page:


A couple other simple designs:


The Show of Violence by Fredric Wertham, M.D.


Escape by Ethel Vance

Of course, these are nothing compared to the collection of binding art at Publishers' Bindings Online, 1815-1930: The Art of Books.
via cosias do arco da velha

Compliments of Surreality

You are as frightful as an engine developed solely for the countenance of sexual innuendo by country music.

Yay!

A singing crocodile dressed as a cowboy teaches you to meditate

Story
via MetaFilter

A Map of the Various Paths of Life

[click!]