From The Desk Of ...
Full disclosure: I haven't heard of the cartoonists, illustrators, photographers and authors whose desks have been photographed for this blog. Yet getting a peek at the private workspaces of these creative types is still fascinating. Amid Vanessa Davis's inky clutter is a mirror to help with drawing facial expressions and "it just helps to see myself working every once in a while. Maybe like how they have mirrors at the gym?" Elsewhere, designer Timothy Goodman reveals why a portrait of Chuck Norris helps him work faster.
The Greggs Adventure
With 1,408 stores, and plans for 80 more in the next few months, Greggs' success story seems borne from two things (neither of which has much to do with the quality of the savoury satisfaction it provides): value and our national addiction to pastry. Here, Jim Groome is on a mission to review every single pastry, sandwich and cake that they sell. He has sampled the Chicken Caesar Wrap ("oddly enjoyable"), the heavenly Sausage Bean And Cheese Melt ("SBCM for those in the know") and the Lemon Drizzle Doughnut ("no matter how much I wash my hands they STILL feel sticky", while pondering the merits of lattice versus bake.
Blog roll: Ads
How to sell ear plugs, the strange new US Skittles campaign (pictured) and Calvin Klein's subliminal messages.
The marketing of superior ginger beer, Cheggers-gate rumbles on, and on set with some men in lederhosen.
Incredible archive of New Zealand TV commercials from 60s ads for Haines underwear to classics from the past decade.
Cultural jamming, mental environmentalism and galleries of great spoof ads.
A project to catalogue and photograph fading advertising wall art from across Britain and beyond.
Championing Hugh Jackman's tea dance and the big ideas of the fizzy brown stuff company.
What we learned on the web this week
How to survive a bear attack
16 excellent Dad lies
The ultimate kids bedroom
Dan Aykroyd has webbed toes
The daily schedule of Benjamin Franklin
The history of the Bristol Tattoo Club
Celebrities look cooler with old-school colour
The world's most exotic flavours of Pringles
The best of sexual harassment stock photography
Who the most famous woman on the internet is
2011 is a great year for explosions in movies
