Not a single yo mamma joke in this edition of Quipsologies.

Save some balls.

I found some origami.

A Design Law is proposed in Romania, and Bucharest-based brand designer Christian Paul has some strong thoughts about it. Essentially, do everything within your power to lobby against this communist…err…bureaucratic centralization of the design profession.

2.0ers unite. Birds of a feather Flock together. The latest Mozilla-based browser integrates Flicker, RSS reading, blog posting, Firefox extensions, del.icio.us, and more. Like everything else it’s beta.

A panel discussion with teens on using technology is moderated by Guy Kawasaki. Listen to the unscientific, yet revealing panel describe Family iPods, crappy camera phones, why MySpace is a waste of time, and how they buy online without their own credit cards. So, how old were you when you got your first mobile phone?

American Express introduces the butterfly. (View and interact with the little animation on the home page for the full effect).

Now that Microsoft looks poised to enter the robotics race, we can expect to see Microbots in the near future.

From Journo to Big Book: How 5 Journalists Became Authors is a panel discussion held at the Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. Chip Kidd won’t be there, but it may help bloggers and journalists learn how to move into larger publishing domains.

Expect to see ads on the front of the New York Times business section. During a moment when print media struggles to stay afloat, the Times is looking for new ways to build their income and cut costs, including shrinking the paper’s width.

If you, or your teen’s tired of seeing loads of “racy” material in MySpace, the media portal is making a move to tone things down with what they call “safer” content. The social network now showcases films, comedy, and other content in the way of friendvertisements (you saw that word here first) where profiles have Quicktime movies and audio clips.

Nick Jr. plans to target teens through nearly any media: internet, television, and even telephone. A company spokeswoman stated, “This gives us a lot more tools to reach parents and preschoolers wherever they are, and it gives kids an exciting way to meet our characters.”

The latest Opera browser proves that innovation can still happen with internet browers. Also, read reviews of Firefox 2.0 and IE7.

Virtual worlds, such as those in video and online games, look like a blank slate to advertisers, who have already targeted users with endorsements. What will the next wave of games offer in the way of persuasive and promotional communications?

The latest VW campaign showcases their Rabbit as a taxi cab in NYC.

Further proof that the government may not be as secure as you think: U.S. sailors and their family’s personal data were found on a civilian website. A criminal investigation has begun. If data breaches bring you to tears, the ever popular “How to Foil Identity Thieves” deserves a read.

Find out how an app similar to Sim City will teach city planners a thing or two, letting them forecast how cityscapes will evolve (or devolve).

Last week was Jim Flora week at Today’s Inspiration. Here be part one, two, three, four, five, jiving six, and seven (really, one).

The story of Maxfield Parrish and his model, Sue Lewin.

Deconstructing Bugs: The Bugs Bunny Cartoons of 1955.

Speaking of Bugs Bunny… on the left, a still from Baby Buggy Bunny (1954), directed by Chuck Jones. [available here] On the right, a still from the upcoming film Little Man.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, Peter Saville…

“… not only might a large chunk of the American public wonder where the President managed to find funds to increase the budget of the DOJ’s adult-obscenity prosecution efforts while the federal coffers are depleted by an ongoing war, steady hand-outs to the wealthy, and austerity regarding apparently more trivial areas such as education, but also there’s no need to publicize obscenity endeavors; conservative watchdog groups miss nothing, and so the message goes out to the base without ever needing to raise the eyebrows of those Americans for whom sexuality extends beyond maritally-sanctioned procreation.” — Let Them Eat Porn

“When I see a home makeover show, I don’t see a lucky person winning a new house, I see an unlucky person living in a society which has up until then ignored their needs and now considers them potential entertainment, a person who must rely on the media gods to favor them, the NBC peacock and the CBS eye.” — On Deal or No Deal

From the Department of It’s What You Say AND How You Say It: “The adjective ‘Shakespearean’ is often applied to Deadwood for innumerable reasons: the reliance on fools and imps and conspirators swindling and undermining one another, often in high comic fashion; the regular embrace of operatic tragedy, and of course, the iambic pentameter-influenced dialogue, its beauty made ironic by Milch’s penchant for wrapping poetry as beautiful as any ever written for American television around such words as ‘fuck,’ ‘cunt,’ ‘cocksucker,’ ‘whore’ and ‘chink.’” — On the poetics of David Milch

Edith Head “was more recognizable than her designs… and that’s exactly how she wanted it.”

Michael Blowhard notes the 50th anniversary of the US Interstate Highway System. As someone who regularly travels the length of New York Route 17, I also bemoan its upgrade to Interstate 86.

Students: some things to think about the next time a prominent designer comes to visit your class.

Wondering about the value of a design consultation? Consider what one could have done for Britney Spears.

For some unknown reason, I’m considering a return to figure drawing. Hmmm…

“Sceptics here say Japan’s pursuit of cute is a sign of an infantile mentality and worry that Japanese culture — historically praised for exquisite understatement as sparse rock gardens and woodblock prints — may be headed toward doom.”

It’s so cool your dad lets us practice in here…

File this under “packaging innovations”: How a wet T-shirt can shoot up movie sales.

Frank Gehry? I got yer Frank Gehry right here!

“Artlike art holds that art is separate from life and everything else, while lifelike art holds that art is connected to life and everything else. In other words, there is an art at the service of art, and art at the service of life. The maker of artlike art tends to be a specialist; the maker of lifelike art, a generalist.” — Allan Kaprow, The Real Experiment, 1983.

In college, my contemporary art history professor, Robert Morgan would often include slides of Allan Kaprow’s happenings — lessons which I still cherish to this day. His heartfelt appreciation of this important artist can be found here.