I do my best to keep this section up to date but keeping
descriptions up to date is something I let fall behind
sometimes. Still though, if you have an hour to kill and
are looking for some new quality sites to dig around in,
check these out!
Friends and Favorites:
Pixelgirl Presents
a wonderful and seemingly
never ending collection of amazing desktops, icons, and now
crafts and art! I have to give credit to this site for
helping me out early on as i was beginning to push
twistedsun.net as a site that had desktops available for
download. She added an image or two for me as well as a
link on her links page which both helped my confidence a
good bit as well as helped generate some traffic to my
site. On top of all of this i believe i have three
different featured 'sexy desktops' among the gallery on the
site. thanks pixelgirl!
Gridface
this is one of my secret
favorite sites that i check from time to time for
electronic music reviews and desktops. i feel as though it
was part of the inspiration for adding a music section to
this site.
David's World
here we have a site that focuses on
the blog of dave jansen, a 20 year old web developer
form the netherlands that lends a regular commentary
on life, tech news, pop culture in japan, and plenty
more.
foreverlost
the new place to find dave talking about this and that. he
has recently taken an interest in korea and you can expect
all kinds of interesting things from him in the future so
keep an eye on this one!
MacHome Magazine
this mac magazine has
featured my desktops two different times in their magazine!
although they never did get my permission to do so which is
kind of frustrating when i think about it to much but in
the end i don't mind simply because its always nice to be
published in a nationally distributed magazine! i really do
appreciate their support. they have also featured quite a
few of my desktops on the machome hottips email newsletter
as well so thanks for the ongoing support from this great
mac magazine!
Mandolux
over the past few years i
have been tracking this site and i've always been amazed at
the work that has been released as desktops. i have always
felt that we have a similar approach to composing images
and i've felt inspired quite a few different times by
images i've seen there. i have a huge amount of respect for
the work on this site and i would suggest you head on over
and check it out for yourself. whenever i browse my sites
stats i find that people who link to my page are also
linking to mandolux.com. i've noticed this more so than any
other sites similar to mine. so anyways, if you like the
type of desktops i post here on my little corner of the web
then be sure to check out mandolux!
The Icon Factory
these guys are also based out
of greensboro, nc and they are all about some icons. i
followed them for a good year or so and even submitted news
to them when i updated twistedsun.net before i realized
they were greensboro locals. i love that they have an area
on there home page that allows for other similar sites to
have news updates. for instance, as i mentioned a moment
ago, i can mail them a little blurb saying that i have new
desktop images up and they will oh so kindly add this news
to their home home page. i think that this shows really
great support for the community of like minded sites
online. they have helped my site grow simply from these
little updates and i cant thank them enough for that even
if they don't even realize how much they help out! so head
over and check 'em out. they have some great little
applications for the mac as well!
David lanham
i discovered davids artwork
through pixelgirlpresents.com and have been a big fan of
his work ever since. he dips into a seemingly bottomless
well of ideas and never ceases to amaze me with his work! i
cant seem to come up with the right words to describe his
desktops, icons, and style in general so please head over
and check him out!
Zappa Studios
i got some mail from these
guys a while back and found that they are running a very
cool site that is getting a fresh start in the online
community. they will be featuring artists each month as
well as hosting all sorts of other original artwork and
imagery form there little corner of the web. check them
out!
Boing Boing
this is a blog that features
some really random yet amazing things. im always finding
something interesting over there. anyone who likes really
obscure things floating about the internet should look no
further than boing boing.
The Post S.E.A
Experience
A site from one of my long time readers that has also
submitted plenty of great photos for the friends desktop
section.
A few other sites I've
designed/coordnated:
careysound
This is the audio production
company that I work for. It is a family buisness run by my
father. Iv'e been around the audio buisness all my life and
at this point I think I learned everything I know
subconciously by watching from the baby carrier on my dads
back as he worked shows back in the day.
Flap Bags
home made bags and
more.
WUAG 103.1 FM
local college radio station
that I DJ at from time to time. check the website to get
access to an online stream!.
wallywest.com
a local jazz musician that
wanted a new website. when he approached me to design the
site he was looking to create two different sites within
the space of one domain, one for his personal needs and one
for his business needs. it gave me the chance to do a bit
of problem solving and i ended up creating his website so
you could seamlessly switch between his personal site and
his business site without having to go back to a central
home page or cluttering the main navigation with to many
page links.
jspeetjens.com
this was one of my first
websites that i was really proud of making. at this point
it's in need of an update but that will come soon i hope. i
was trying to make it very self contained in a way that you
could get to everything within the site easily.
Design:
The Designers Republic
this has been my favorite
design firm for years and years, hands down some of the
most gorgeous work i've ever seen.
Hi-Res!
a nice web design firm that
has done some really really impressive websites that pushes
the envelope when it comes to innovation in web design.
iso50.com
this guy makes some great music but just happens to be an
incredible graphic designer as well.
Mac / Tech Related:
Mac Rabbit
a really great software
developer for the mac platform. they make one of my very
favorite pieces of software for osx called deskshade,
everyone who loves there desktops and uses a mac should
check this great app out! they also make the softare that
helped me make this website, CSSEdit.
Real Mac Software
makers of the software i use
to keep this site updated. its made it all to easy to keep
content organized, up to date and operational.
TUAW
the best mac oriented weblog
i have ever come across, generally my only stop on the mac
web community these days.
The Apple Blog
although it is not updated as
regularly as TUAW this is a great mac blog for any fan of
the platform.
Engadget
one stop tech news for anyone
that loves to keep up with the latest in the world of
gadgets.
Music/ labels:
a drop in silence
an electronic music group
here in NC that i am a menber of.
etcetera podcast
a podcast featuring
unreleased bits of music from a drop in silence.
Bleep.com
some of the best electronic
music out there is available on this site, makes the
electronic music section on the itunes music store look
pretty weak.
Ghostly International
this is a primarily
electronic label that is putting out some of the best music
available today.
Warp Records
one of the best elecronic
music labels out there. many of my favorite releases are
available here.
Hush Records
ive been a fan of hush
records for quite some time now. they have put out some
really beautiful music.
Warm Records
these guys have released some
really amazing records.
Tigerbeat6
some truly original
electronic music from over in california. you cant go wrong
with any of there releases.
Skam
one of the most well
respected indie electronic labels out there.
Planet-Mu
this label hosts some amazing electronic artists, a lot of
talent can be found in there catalog.
Secretly Canadian
a nice label out of
bloomington indiana that has put out quite a few
favorites.
K Records
these guys seem like one big
family and are always contributing to each others music in
ways that are always unique and beautiful.
Japan Things: (mostly podcasts)
Of Rice and Zen
another podcast coming out of
japan from an english speaking foreigner this podcast is
all about someone who has recently moved to japan to teach
english at a chain school and since day one he has been
keeping up in his weblog as well as a weekly podcast which
i always find funny, enlightening, and entertaining. his
dry british humor is always a welcome addition to his
stories of his adventures in japan.
Josh in Japan Podcast
i came across a few new
podcasts from japan that are in english and are all really
good listens if you are at all interested in japan. this
show is a wonderfully simple and honest look at a lot of
the things people think of when they think of japan such as
vending machines, food, and lodging. each episode features
a different topic and covers them really well. the guy that
does the podcast is positioned in japan via the u.s. navy
and fell in love with the place as he spent more time
there. at least thats what i gather listening.
Herro From Japan
i love this podcast, it is
probably the best sounding podcast that i have heard which
contrasts to the fact that there is no fancy production in
site. its a simple approach to podcasting that i really
like and it ends up being really entertaining because you
have the chance to really get submerged into the life of
the host. it is also probably the most personal podcast i
have heard, i cant figure out why podcasters are so afraid
to give out there true identity. this is not one to
miss!
Tokyo Calling Podcast
this is another new one to me
and im really enjoying it. so far it seems very loose and a
lot of the time the host is talking from various places out
and about in tokyo which is kind of interesting to me
because you can hear the environment around him. i think
hes an english teacher over there and has lived in tokyo
for 7 years. the show is just a little look into his
experiences in tokyo and seems to be a good listen.
Planet Japan Podcast
this podcast features two
different hosts that talk about all kinds of various news
about japan in general and i really dont know to much as
far as specifics go but its a pretty good listen
overall.
Japan Lite
this nice little site is a
great place to hang out and read some great humorous
articles about life in japan. the site centers around the
writings of amy chavez, a columnist that writes for the
japan times as well as a host of the planet japan podcast
which i mentioned above. She has a great newsletter that
you can subscribe to that gives you articles in your email.
I should also note her $1 bookstore that has a lot of
e-books on japan which I have yet to check out but seem
very cool.
Gaijin Pot
this is currently my favorite
resource on the practical side of living in japan. here you
will find job listings, apartment listings, info on living
in japan and forums to chat away with other people with
similar interests.
YongFook
often a bit vulgar for some
but nine times out of ten he has me laughing out loud. this
british guy moved to japan as a JET teacher but is now
living there as a graphic designer/ web developer and keeps
a website full of seemingly endless amounts of crude humor
and sarcasm that will make you weak in the knees.
Kyoto Podcast
one of the first japan
related podcasts.