The Killers that were Killed

Some unused designs we did for effervescent rockstars The Killers. Yes, we stole from Kandinsky heavily on that last one.

Steaming Hot Reels Straight From The Oven

“Our reel is best enjoyed with a steaming cup of raw milk from the teat of a two month old lamb raised in the verdant hills north of champagne in the country of Belgium while you’re wondering what the hell happened in last night’s episode of Lost. Alternatively you can enjoy it at your computer while you’re feeling extra lonely after being denied another Facebook friend request and then noticing your Twitter stream is only being followed by hundreds of spambots trying to sell you something.”

We went DIY style and did most everything ourselves. So instead of printing up a run of 1000 reels that get outdated really quick we’re printing batches of 250 and changing the reels as we go along. We printed the sleeves on a 3M transparency paper on a Canon Pro9000 and used clear slimline DVD cases from DiscMakers. Overall it looks pretty slick. The shittiest thing about it is cutting the letter-sized transparencies to fit into the DVD size inserts. Gotham Black was used for the typeface and since it’s Obama’s typeface for his winning campaign we figured his magic might rub off on us a little.

If you want one of these fancy new things fill out this easy-to-use form or email us at info@motherland.us.

The Dick Covers – Radio Free Albemuth

Arbor House, 1986, Book Club Edition

This book was terrifying the first time I read it. Why? It was in 2004 I read it and it’s pretty much a glimpse into the Bush administration and what was happening and what it could have lead to. One of my favorite Dick books of all time.

The cover is from sci-fi artist Ron Walotsky and it’s actually pretty weak compared to a lot of his other work. Here are some other images:

The Dick Covers – Eye in the Sky

1975, Ace Books, First Printing

Eight people get trapped in a something-tron accident and they wind up in each other’s heads where that owner’s is essentially a god. Best I can remember. No word on the cover artist besides the initials “JB”.

Here’s another copy I own :

1979, Arrow Books,

I don’t know who did this one either but this one I can figure out with some research.

The Dick Covers – The Transmigration of Timothy Archer

Timescape, 1982 First Edition Hardcover

This book took me a couple tries to make it through as I found it a bit dull at the beginning and even after finishing it wasn’t all that excited but the strange thing is the story is one that I vividly remember more than some of Dick’s other works. Must be my love of depressing stories of suicide and adultery.

Cover painting is by Richard Powers who was a superb science fiction surrealist artist. His work is definitely worth searching for. There’s a book of his work that might be out of print but thanks to the tubes you should be able to find it somewhere. Here’s another one of his paintings :

The Dick Covers – Ubik

Doubleday, 1969, First Edition

A time-traveling absurd novel with a lovely Peter Rauch cover. Don’t know who Peter Rauch is? I don’t either and you may think the cover is pretty hideous but let it simmer for awhile and see if that stretched Cooper Black doesn’t get your blood moving. Actually the greatest thing about this very plain cover is the profile of a man’s face in the spray. Hard to see thanks to my damaged copy but it’s there and it’s beautiful.

The Dick Covers – We Can Build You

Daw Books, 1972, Printed from magazines in 1969 and 1970
A tale set in the far future world of 1981 dealing with simulacra gone wild. Anything with the words “Man Factory” on the cover has me interested from the get go. Art by the prolific illustrator John Schoenherr. Others in the studio disagree with me but I think it’s a poor cover and you’ll find he’s done much better work over the course of his career.

Foreign Policy

OK, we’ve been trying to stay out of the campaign mess and focus on art, animation and design but this is getting too good this week. This clip from the Katie Couric and Sarah Palin interview, in which the GOP’s own lipstick sporting bulldog attempts to defend her foreign policy experience. I must say the McCain Campaign has rather successfully kept her in teleprompter only public speaking scenarios since she became the surprise VP pick, and now we get a glimpse as to why. Anyone else feeling really uncomfortable?

The Dick Covers – The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

Daw Books, 1983, First Printing 1964
Yes. The great Bob Pepper illustrates this one. Check out this “great collection of Bob Pepper images from Flickr user LarsPowderdry. You’ll see many Dick covers in there. It’s really beautiful and strong design. On another note, even though I’ve had this well over a year I’ve yet to read to read it but looking at the cover again it’s next in line.

The Dick Covers – The Penultimate Truth

Dell Publishing, 1980, First Printing in 1964
A lovely Richard Corben accompanies this horribly designed cover. The typefaces for “Philip K. Dick” and the title are cringe-worthy and to make it even worse the type is covering up and bordering the artwork just ruining the image.

The Dick Covers – Martian Time-Slip

Ballantine Books, 1964, First Printing
Great Cover. I love the building in the background. That’s true sci-fi style there even though in this future ergonomics may have never been discovered. I blame Marty McFly.

Four Steps To Go Green In Your Disdain For The Red

We here at Motherland are an environmentally conscious lot and we’re always thinking of new ways to save this planet from mankind. Here’s one way to be green while sticking it to the Red.
 

Step 1. Find your leftover “NO W” signs, posters & post cards that you’ve used to no avail for the last 8 years of your life.
 

Step 2. Pick up said leftover with thumb and forefinger. Either hand is fine.
 

Step 3. Rotate leftist propaganda 90 degrees.
 

Step 4. To complete the task use your thief-like dexterity to rotate your previously “NO W” sheet ANOTHER 90 degrees into a perfectly usable and environmentally friendly “NO M” sign.
 
There you have it. Green loves Blue hates Red.
 
Also, if you really want to go all out dig around for your “No d” signage and rotate those as well.

The Dick Covers – Now Wait For Last Year

Daw SF Books, 1981, First Published in 1966

This story features drugs, time travel, more drugs, aliens, drugs and parallel timelines. All of which are some of my favorite things. That sentence reminds me of something my old Professor Fantana once told me. He would say “Sixty percent of the time, it works every time”.

And he was right.

It does.

Buckminster Fuller

I finally got to see ‘Starting With the Universe’, the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the Whitney Museum last weekend. It’s only up for a couple more weeks, so if you haven’t been, I highly reccommend going. They have the only remaining Dymaxion car (picture above) on display amongst many other gems. Rumor has it that as a frequent world traveler, Fuller wore three watches; one for the current zone, one for the zone he had departed, and one for the zone he was going to. Genius.

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