Travis Daub's blog

Pakistani bystanders and rescue workers are seen beside a huge crater outside the burning facade of The Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on September 20, 2008, following a powerful bomb blast. At least 27 bodies could be seen at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad following a large bomb blast.

My favorite part of The Economist magazine might just be the advertisements. Where else can you find jobs with titles like "Project Manager: Violent Extremism"? But you can also learn a lot about the current state of the world by looking at the ads. For the last year, oil companies from Chevron to BP have filled pages rattling off their green credentials. But last night, I found a whole new breed of Economist ad in the Sept. 6 issue:

Has it really come to this? Are there so many firms out there seeking shelter from the watchful eye of the SEC that it makes economic sense for a law firm to run a two-page spread in The Economist? According to the rate card, a 4-color, full-bleed, two-page spread can run more than $300,000 for worldwide circulation, and nearly $200,000 for North America only.

A bad economy usually doesn't bode well for magazine advertising sales, but apparently white-collar crime is a goldmine.

U.S. artist Jeff Koons opened a controversial show in Paris this week at the Hercules salon in the Château de Versailles. From a gargantuan balloon dog to his famous porcelain statue of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, Koons "redecorated" Louis XIV's former hunting lodge inside and out. He even filled Marie Antoinette's room with vacuum cleaners. Of course, as NPR reports, some in France were not amused:

Koons' sculpted rabbits and dogs "don't belong at the palace of Versailles, they belong at Disneyland," said journalist and radio host Anne Brassie.

Arnaud-Aaron Upinsky, the president of a writers' union, agreed. "This exhibit is sacrilegious and insulting to the symbols of the Republic and its art," he said, wearing a velvet-and-gold-colored crown at the protest.

Here are some more unbelievable shots from the show:

There's nothing scientific about word clouds, but they're still fun to pick apart. Here's a handy look at word clouds made from each of the four candidate's acceptance speeches. The clouds were generated with the help of Wordle.net.

Hmm, what words are missing from these speeches? Afghanistan? Diplomacy? Surge?

Ok, I can't contain myself. The logo for the Democratic National Convention is a train wreck. The Democrats should be eager to cast off the negative stereotypes that they've accumulated since since Gore lost to Bush in 2000 -- weak on defense issues, wishy-washy, too touchy-feely, disorganized, and unfocused. But this logo does exactly the opposite. The soft gradients and jumbled type only serve to reinforce those negatives.

1. The colors are washed out. Red, white, and blue in a political context should never fade to pink and baby powder. It looks weak. Red is always a dangerous color to run to a gradient in a logo for that very reason.
2. And while I'm talking about color, why is the sky a burning red? Has a nuclear bomb just gone off somewhere over the horizon? Has global warming gotten that bad already?
3. The stars overweight the logo on the left side, making the whole thing feel too asymmetrical. They also remind me of the stars a cartoonist might draw over a character's head to indicate that he's had too much to drink.
4. The tightly kerned sans-serif type is completely out of phase with all of Obama's materials, which provide for much more air between each character.
5. The right side of the logo reminds me of Enron's Logo. I don't understand why those large chunks have been taken out of the mountains. Is it supposed to look like a plug or a puzzle piece?
6. Why is the "0" so much bigger than the "8"? Yes, I'm sure that's the nature of the type they chose, but it looks terrible. This election is about the "8," not the "0"
7. Why are there mountains anyway? I know they're there to tip the hat to Denver, the convention's host city -- but why? Is this convention being held for Denver or for the country as a whole?

What would a successful logo contain?

1. Strong, solid colors. Similar to the deep blue on Obama's materials.
2. Clean, simple type. Go serif to make it different, but not too different.
3. A horizon that looks like a sunrise, or some other imagery that points us to the future, not a nuclear holocaust. Hell, even some clichéd "21st century digital" bric-a-brack in the background would be better.

This Sunday on Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw interviewed Caroline Kennedy, one of Obama's vetting team members, on the process of selecting Joe Biden for vice president. Brokaw was probably a bit surprised to learn that his name was on the list as well:

MR. BROKAW: Did you hear from a lot of people, including your own family members, about recommendations that they had or ideas that they might have had?

MS. KENNEDY: My family is so shy, you know?

MR. BROKAW: Yes, I can imagine.

MS. KENNEDY: Of--yeah, I did, and we really...

MR. BROKAW: There were no cousins who said, "Put my name out there."

MS. KENNEDY: Yeah, put my name on, yeah. No, "I know you're doing this to put your name on," that kind of thing. Yeah. No, there was a--you know, we reached out, obviously, I heard from my family, and I trust their judgment a lot. And then, you know, we went around and talked to a number of colleagues, groups, people who care, women, lots of different kinds of people, and then, you know, I did get a lot of unsolicited suggestions, a lot of people nominated themselves. Not you, but others, so, you know, your name came up.

MR. BROKAW: My name came up? In a dismissive and derisive fashion, of course.

MS. KENNEDY: Yeah, right.

Maybe mighty China doesn't have as much control over the Internet as it would like to believe. A South Korean TV station aired video of the top-secret rehearsals for the opening ceremonies, which aren't scheduled until later this week. Apparently someone snuck a video camera into the "Bird's Nest" stadium during the event. Don't miss the comments on the video's YouTube page from angry Olympics fans.

<<<<<<<WARNING>>>>>>>>>
If you'd like your Olympics experience to be spoiler-free, don't watch this video. <<<<<<<WARNING>>>>>>>>>

This video has been yanked. More here.

Be sure to check out the National Aquatics Center and more of China's Olympic architecture rendered in Lego at the Hong Kong Lego blog.

(Hat tip: Gizmodo)