Nathaniel Salzman

In a place as urban as Minneapolis, it’s difficult to find fun, twisty places to ride. Recently, thanks to the Rattle My Bones scooter rally, I discovered a fantastic little 2.2 mile loop of road only a few minutes from my house. The speed limit is relatively low, but it’s very windy with lots of elevation changes, so speed isn’t really an issue. It’s a one-way road system that connects a group of office complexes. Traffic is minimal. Lots of fun. It’s now my official scooter test road. My favorite part is how if you look for your turn-off, you can restart the loop without having to pull any U-turns. Two stop signs and one flashing red light interrupt your progress, but I just think of it as a great way to get in touch with the fantastic brakes on the Blur. Now it just needs a good name.  

Scooters

Scooters

A) The stock seat. B) Saddle moved rearward and up. C) Flat, higher seat

I’m leaning toward option C.
I’m just a bit too tall for the Blur. As much as I love it, something has got to give. The original plan was for a quick sale to capitalize on an Aprilia SportCity 250 that was available on Craigslist. But no luck. It’s not really much of a disappointment, as the Blur is otherwise simply brilliant. So now I think the best solution is to just get the Blur seat redone to better match my height. Tonight I folded up a small blanket and used it to raise my arse about 3″. After a test ride, the difference was amazing. Sold. Now I just have to find somebody to do the job.

Scooters

Today is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s immaculate “I have a Dream” speech. Much will surely be said about how momentous it is that on this very day, nearly a half century later, our country has nominated an african american man for president of the United States of America. And what’s more, it’s his contest to lose by most accounts. In the context of this speech, and of what Dr. King stood for, I am so immensely proud of our nation. I am proud because I believe that Barak Obama’s meteoric rise is due in largest part, just as Dr. King would have wanted it to be, because of “the content of his character.” 

This will easily be the best 17:28 of my day. 

America

A quick note to those who would like to participate in the comments section of this blog. 

Firstly, everyone is welcome to leave constructive comments on any post they like. I’ll be posting more formal posting guidelines here in the next few days. I’m really still just getting this blog put together, so the comments and traffic are a welcomed surprise. But that also means that I’m still setting up the ground rules.

Secondly, understand that I’ll be moderating and responding to comments and reserve the right to omit, edit, and delete submitted comments. I’m hoping that comments can remain open, and that we won’t have to move to a registration-based platform. We’ll have to work together toward open, respectful discourse. 

Lastly, please keep in mind that I’m posting from my own unique point of view. This is not a journalistic endeavor, but rather an editorializing venue. What I write here is simply my opinion, but every bit in the hopes of stirring up great discussion. 

So here are the basic posting rules
1. Be nice.
2. Be yourself.
3. Allow others to do the same.  

Thanks for reading, and many thanks for participating. 

-Nathaniel

The site itself

People keep asking me about scooters. I’m hoping that they’re drawn to the practicality and fun of it as well as the economics, but I know better. Gas has been expensive this summer. But that’s a perfectly great reason to get into scooting. 

So I thought a primer was in order. My obsessive researching tendencies and ongoing work to be a wealth of all semi-useless knowledge can now benefit YOU! So let’s get into the meat of it and answer the basic question of what is a scooter?
Read more…

Scooters Aprilia, Genuine Scooter Company, honda, Kymco, PGO, Piaggio, Scooters, suzuki, SYM, Vespa, yamaha

Just a suggestion, but you might think a little more carefully about what you include in your Halloween window display. Ponder that A) it’s still August, and B) your choice of decoration looks like a zombie blow-up doll. Probably not the best choice for your suburban mall storefront.

Advertising, WTF? halloween, retail, window shopping

Nerds unite! Solve this ancient puzzle!

Okay, maybe not so ancient, and really not so nerdy. I was, ironically, Twitter-linked and all-too-late infected by this viral marketing promotion for the Hellboy sequel, which premiered earlier this summer.

The question from my Interactive Art Director friend Steve on Twitter: “Is it a good thing to have users hunt for your site’s content?” In the case of The Secret Device, I have to answer a semi-enthusiastic “yes.” The experience turned out not to be so much about content but about sheer immersion and community involvement. I’m pretty sure no single person could have solved this on their own. That sets up a risky proposition. Can you rely on web users to work together to solve your elaborate online puzzle? I never would have thought it, but yes you can. Read more…

Advertising, Best of the web, Design Hellboy, mystery, puzzles, viral marketing

Rarely does a car company do something interesting in advertising, let alone something so subtly and profoundly conceptual. Regardless of what you may think of Audi (not really a fan myself), the direct Mercedes jab at the end gets me every time. It’s a rare gem of ad where the sales pitch truly is the story being told.

Advertising, Cars Advertising, audi, automotive, Cars

Let this be a cautionary tale to all creatives and production artists, and especially to those who approve their work. 

[ Photoshop Disasters ]

Best of the web, Design, Humor, WTF? Design, Humor, mistakes, photoshop