mrossana

My first video creation! Is it “viral” yet?

There’s not much else to say except that I’m really really really excited! Honestly, this is the second-best show on television (besides Lost).

According to a press release just received at ML HQ, the fourth season of Mad Men is set to debut in July. When in July, of course, remains a mystery. Though since the series debuted on July 17, 2007, you probably couldn’t go too wrong keeping Sunday, July 18 open on your calendar.

Link: Movie|Line

After nailing down the scope and requirements of a project, I always start my designs with a wireframe of the homepage. In the past, this usually started with some dry erase markers on a whiteboard and then I would recreate those drawings using Photoshop. This is not always the fastest and most efficient way to work. My friend @schusterbauer, however, recently introduced me to Mockingbird, an online wireframing application, and it has completely changed the way I work.

Mockingbird’s simple UI and library of web elements makes it easy to rapidly mock up your designs and outline the basic functionality of the site or application. The user’s ability to quickly update the mock ups make it an ideal tool for brainstorming and “sharing” your projects is a great way to collaborate and get feedback from clients. I would highly recommend using this tool to anyone!

Other wireframing tools worth checking out are Hot Gloo and Balsamiq. Are there any others worth checking out?

I have to admit that I don’t really get into the winter Olympics, but this year I find myself incredibly dedicated to the sport of curling. And it’s not just me! Anytime I’ve been out to a restaurant or bar in the past week, there are always people with their eyes glued to the tv if curling is on. Last Friday we had a huge group of people cheering on the women of Denmark as they battled the Canadians. Denmark lost. Here are some of the reasons I’ve come to love the beautiful sport of curling: Read more…

The first class I took as a freshman at Kalamazoo College was a writing seminar that focused on art and art history. I’m not entirely sure how I ended up in it, but I immediately fell in love with looking at art. Even though I went on to be a Studio Art major, I took a ton of art history classes, which pretty much involved sitting in the dark looking at hundreds and hundreds of slides. While this experience truly started me on my creative career path, there is nothing that compares to seeing certain pieces of art in person. Below are the five most inspiring artworks that I have had the pleasure of seeing in the flesh:

1. The Old Guitarist, 1903, Pablo Picasso, Art Institute of Chicago

This has always been one of my favorites and I’ve probably seen it over a dozen times in person. It must be the Elliott Smith vibe that draws me to it. See the rest after the jump. Read more…

Today is the day! Check out what EW.com’s Doc Jensen thinks about the final season of Lost.

It was Doppelgänger Week this past week on Facebook and people really got into it. Little known fact: I have always been a big proponent of doppelgängers. I guess it’s because people have always seemed to think that I had so many. Or, maybe it’s because I look kinda weird. Either way… it’s a fun game. I actually offered my Google-image-search services over the weekend for people who were having a hard time finding their own (this occasionally backfired on me). Here are my five doppelgängers:

1. Sean Lennon

This one has always been my favorite and was the one I used as my Facebook profile pic. Sean’s a stylish dude.

See the rest after the jump. Read more…

I found out about The Room a couple years ago. It is considered one of the worst movies ever made (and it really is), but it is incredibly entertaining to watch. The plot is lame, the acting is terrible, and Tommy Wiseau, the star, director, writer, and producer is creeeeeeeeeeepy! You need to see this movie.

Before this movie was readily available, there was a bit of an underground cult following for this movie, which included late-night showings, plastic spoons, and live skits. I am honored to be attending my first big screen viewing of the film tonight at The Burton Theater in Detroit. I don’t know what their policy on throwing cutlery is, but you should be there too. Check out my favorite scene after the jump. Read more…

Levi’s “Go Forth” campaign launched in the summer of 2009 and I can still watch the spots and be as moved as I was the first time I saw them. The imagery is beautiful and using what is believed to be actual audio of  Walt Whitman reading his poem “America” is both eerie and exciting. For a more in-depth look at the spot, check out Slate’s review.

Read more…