Government Services
Proprietary data, global reach and complete accountability for federal, state & global government agencies.
Learn More
Author Archive
Video Profile: Braydon Holtzinger
Jeff Pickett | September 7th, 2010
There’s a bit of a learning curve to this whole “post-production” thing. Besides, we also have our real jobs to do! It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here: our first installment in the employee profile series! We figured we ought to come out with a bang, so we went to the most interesting interview subject we could find – Braydon! I’d like to say that you can expect these more regularly in the future, but who knows? We’re working on it, so just sit back and enjoy! Save this Post!
Return of the Video Blog: The WprOlympics!
Jeff Pickett | July 23rd, 2010
Over a year in exile – but now WE’RE BACK! I’d like to thank my partner, Jeff Collins, for always having the camera rolling when it counts, and for doing a bang-up job in the editing bay. He single-handedly turned hours of boring interviews into this spicy little 8 minute treasure that now awaits you… Enjoy! Next week you’ll have to endure some nonsense from Team Mars (aka Mars Attacks), but we’ll be back in 2 with more cinematic gold. Save this Post!
Tags: balloon toss, the village people, tug o war, wprolympics, Wpromote
Posted in Random!, Video Blog, Wpromote | 2 Comments
I Have Interests Volume 5: Mid Century Modern
Jeff Pickett | June 12th, 2009
I don’t recall where I originally stumbled upon this photo, but I immediately saved a copy to my hard drive: L to R we have: George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom. In case you didn’t know (and I’ll presume you don’t), all six of those names would probably land in the top ten designers of the 20th century. Look them up. They are each responsible for some of the most iconic home and office furnishings in existence, not to mention their architecture… The fact that they are all featured in a single photograph, I find almost astonishing. If only Arne Jacobsen could have been there! I don’t know if it’s my fascination with spy movies, old rock n roll, or my general appreciation of good design, but I have long held an interest in “modern design” of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s; commonly referred to as “Mid-Century Modern.” Everything from the Case Study Homes to chairs with fun names like: Egg, Swan, Womb, Diamond, Drop, Tulip and so forth. This stuff will cost you an arm and a leg, but the designs are inspirational. Last fall I was upset to miss a tour of the Sheats/Goldstein House designed by John Lautner while traveling in Scandinavia. I made up for it by geeking out in various design museums in Stockholm and Copenhagen. To this day, collectors hunt down pieces of “Danish Modern” and “Swedish Modern” furniture. It’s a little out of my price range… Continue reading…
Tags: arne jacobsen, case study homes, case study houses, charles eames, coast modern, coast modern film, coast modern movie, danish design, danish modern, diamond chair, drop chair, edward wormley, eero saarinen, egg chair, george nelson, goldstein home, goldstein house, grain edit, harry bertoia, jens risom, john lautner, mid century modern, modern classics, sheats goldstein, swan chair, swedish design, swedish modern, tulip chair, womb chair
Posted in Blogging, Editorial, Random! | 3 Comments
I Have Interests Volume 4: Photo Blogs
Jeff Pickett | May 1st, 2009
I’m feeling a little braindead this week. Let’s just chalk it up to a little too much time spent on the internet, OK? I know you were really looking forward to reading another in depth analysis of the decline of western civilization or some other such luddite rant, but I haven’t read any articles to spark such an entry in some time. Instead, I’ve been spending my free internet time enjoying some of my favorite photo blogs. To fill the void left where my lengthy ramblings often reside, I might recommend a few (click images to visit site): Logcabineer – wherein a Swedish man takes photos of his everyday hobbies, chores, scenery, etc. in and around his remote cabin 5 hours outside Stockholm. Stunning. Shorpy – The tagline says it all: “Always something interesting.” This blog is full of spectacular scans of old photographs from all corners of the US. All eras from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries are represented here. Sometimes the submissions are from personal archives and they don’t always offer some greater cultural insight (like the above, where a beach police officer measures a young lady’s leg to see if her swimsuit is “legal”) but they are “always something interesting.” It’s fascinating to see how people used to live. 2 or 3 Things I Know – Perhaps my favorite blog on the entire internet, and the most difficult to categorize. I don’t know if this is necessarily a “photo” blog, as much as an appreciation-of-all-things-beautiful blog. People, Continue reading…
Tags: 2 or 3 Things I Know, Log Cabineer, Scott Schuman, Shorpy, The Sartorialist
Posted in Blogging, Editorial, Random! | 5 Comments
I Have Opinions Volume 5: Another Google Conspiracy
Jeff Pickett | April 3rd, 2009
Imagine tomorrow morning you go to the library to find some information you need for a report you’re writing. In a bizarre turn of events, the library catalog has been burnt and all the books have been de-alphabetized. Apparently, one of the librarians went off the deep end and arranged everything in a way that only they could decipher. Maybe this librarian has a political agenda, maybe a religious agenda, maybe a personal agenda, maybe no agenda at all – maybe they were just looking for greater job security in a down economy. Whatever the case, if you want to get to the information you need, you have no choice but to go through this librarian. You know that contained under that library roof, there is an overwhelming amount of knowledge and information. You also know that there is only ONE way to cut through all the irrelevant information to find those few ripe nuggets of data you need to finish your report. Now imagine this is the ONLY library in the world. Now imagine there are no books or shelves, only IP addresses. Now imagine the librarian is not a person at all – it is a search engine. Back in November, our resident blog specialist, Amanda Moshier, discussed Google’s $125 million settlement with the Authors Guild and AAP. Apparently, the internet’s favorite search engine librarian was able to convince their accusers and a US District Court that it’s a good idea to let them publish snippets and, in Continue reading…
Tags: aap, antitrust, authors guild, library
Posted in Blogging, Daily Non-News Stories of Interest, Editorial, Google, Random! | 4 Comments
I Have Opinions Volume 4: Audiophilia
Jeff Pickett | March 13th, 2009
Shaking one’s head in disbelief at what “the kids are listening to these days” is no new concept, but we look back and laugh trying to imagine who was offended by the Beatles singing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” A lack of understanding across broad generational gaps is to be expected, but at the current rate of technological advancement I found myself shaking my head at “the kids” when I was only fresh out of college myself. It wasn’t about the music they were listening to, but how they were listening to it… When I was just a young pup, my parents gave me a Fisher-Price record player and some children’s sing-along and story telling records. My ears starting bending heavily toward music by 6th grade, and in 7th grade I was enthralled by Punk Rock, a genre which has always been a proponent of vinyl records, largely due to its affiliation with rabid vinyl collectors. Those Fisher-Price speakers bore a lot of abuse over the next couple years in my bedroom. Downstairs in our living room, locked up safe and sound beside my parents’ old vinyl collection was their top-of-the-line Sony record player. As I became more responsible and my parents came to accept that they weren’t going back to their records as much anymore, I was able to convince them to let me move the Sony up to my bedroom. I spent countless afternoons listening to their records and my own, hearing many nuances for the first time Continue reading…
Tags: audio, audiophile, audiophilia, auto tune, bit rate, britney, britney spears, ipod, kanye, kanye west, mp3
Posted in Editorial, Random! | 3 Comments
