Landon Howell | landonhowell.com

How to argue about college football.
posted on Jul 30 2010

[Click for larger image.]






Happy Friday
posted on Jul 30 2010

Actually, this is a bad summer weekend of weather.

Enjoy your weekend, and good luck finding any new movies of worth.

0 comments            happy friday





Is it just me or does the Editor of Wikileaks look like a grown-up Dennis the Menace?
posted on Jul 29 2010

[Click for larger image.]

0 comments            business, movies





The ongoing LeBron saga
posted on Jul 29 2010

Ahhhh, Public Relations 101. Start reading at #1, if you haven’t read these already:

  1. Read ESPN’s Spiked Story About LeBron
  2. Maverick Carter Rules The Universe, And Other LeBron James Vegas Story Conspiracy Theories
  3. ESPN’s Statement On The LeBron Story
0 comments            business, celebrities, sports





Hello World
posted on Jul 29 2010

Seattle took on the World last night. We won. Alright… so maybe we won 1-0 over in the first of two preliminary games against a team that I could have beaten 10-0, playing with one leg tied behind my back. But it’s international soccer in Seattle, and the US team won.






The random links
posted on Jul 28 2010
  • The 10 Most Gang-Affiliated Hats in Sports
  • Startup Culture Lessons From Mad Men
  • Super Southeast football 120 list
  • ZIPskinny - demographics by ZIP Code
  • Seymour vs Big Al, Mascot Fight. Southern Miss vs Alabama 2002
  • SproudRobot - tells your when to plant those seeds.
  • 0 comments            the random links





    2 things I hated, and 5 things I loved about the Mad Men season premiere
    posted on Jul 26 2010

    It’s almost impossible to use the “hated” and “Mad Men” in the same article. However, Sunday evening brought with it two ongoing pain points for me while viewing episode 1, season 3 of Mad Men.

    2 Things I Hated

    1. Roger Sterling makes a joke every 3 seconds. Don’t get me wrong… when not cheating on his wife or sulking about Joan, Roger is the most hilarious person on the show, hands down. However, his lines are a lot like the 4-year-old who who realizes they’re doing something cute… they keeps doing it over and over, playing to the crowd until it’s downright annoying. The writers haven’t made Roger downright annoying, but they might well be on their way.
    2. Joey the art guy. Not only is he annoying (“Mahhhthuhhh”) and unless, he’s distracting. Slapping a sweater vest on someone doesn’t make them appear 1964. His look and haircut imply “season 7 contestant on The Bachelorette.”

    5 Things I Loved

    1. Sally Draper. She’s growing up, a better actress, and important as ever in revealing just how messed up Betty’s anger toward her children is.
    2. The unspoken. As always the case, the show picks up somewhere in the future, though we have to piece together what’s happened since the last time we saw our pals.
    3. Don is becoming Don. He’s more vulnerable yet more successful. Less cocky yet cocky as ever.
    4. The last scene. My goodness, the last scene. In the words of 50 Cent: “if they hate then let them hate and watch the money pile up”.
    5. Pete Campbell. Hate on Pete all you like, but he’s a go-getter and smarter than his stupid antics imply. It appears hat the ill will between himself and Don is either A) long gone with the success they’ve both achieved at SCDP, or B) still the elephant in the room ready to run amok.
    0 comments            mad men, tv





    Happy Monday
    posted on Jul 26 2010

    The line outside Paseo, who serves the most amazing sandwich I’ve ever consumed.

  • Friday night dinner on Lake Union at Ivar’s Salmon House.
  • Les Hommes Fous
  • Day trip to Mount St. Helens. Incredible and eerie all at the same time.
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is streaming on Netflix. A couple of scenes with too much detail, but a solid story nonetheless.
  • A gas station sold me a box of Mike & Ike’s that was 1-year old. On a side note, why is Mike & Ike’s Wikipedia page so short?





  • Some favorites from I’m Remembering
    posted on Jul 22 2010

    I featured this tumblr account a few weeks back.

    It features stuff from our childhood. It’s updated daily. It’s amazing and you cannot make it two clicks without smiling.

  • The Real Ghostbusters
  • Crossfire
  • Fisher Price Barn
  • Laser Tag
  • Fisher Price Little People House
  • NES poster
  • 0 comments            old school





    Happy Friday
    posted on Jul 22 2010

    Blog reader and Jasperian Jody Gambrell met Anderson Cooper last night in New Orleans. Props, Jody. Props.






    Recently at Uncrate
    posted on Jul 22 2010

    A few things of want from a fantastic site of sometimes unnecessary and sometimes overpriced goods.

  • Flipboard (Flipboard is free. The iPad is not free.)
  • Adidas Net 80 Table Tennis Shoe
  • Ebbets Field Flannel Baseball Jerseys
  • IF Mode Bicycle
  • Tuch Leather Sleeves
  • Viking C4 Outdoor Cooker
  • Produzione Privata Acquatinta Pendant Lamp
  • Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon LAPV 6.X
  • 0 comments            shopping, wish list





    The random links
    posted on Jul 22 2010
  • The Evolution of the Hipster 2000-2009
  • September 11 Television Archive
  • 10 Beautiful Social Media Infographics
  • 0 comments            the random links





    Clippings from Rework
    posted on Jul 20 2010

    I purchased Rework over the weekend and can’t put my Kindle down. Below I pulled a few of the chapter titles and quotes that struck a cord.

    If you’re in a fast-paced, growing company, you’ll love this book. Those in the tech sector will find the book quite appealing due to the background of the authors. The work is the product of the brains behind the business, and the incredible blog at 37signals.

  • When you build what you need, you can also assess the quality of what you make quickly and directly, instead of by proxy.
  • Ideas are cheap and plentiful. The original pitch idea is such a small part of a business that it’s almost negligible. The real question is how well you execute.
  • When you want something bad enough, you make the time—regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don’t want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time. Don’t let yourself off the hook with excuses. It’s entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come true.
  • A strong stand is how you attract superfans. They point to you and defend you. And they spread the word further, wider, and more passionately than any advertising could.
  • If no one’s upset by what you’re saying, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. (And you’re probably boring, too.)
  • A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.
  • Building to flip is building to flop
  • You need a commitment strategy, not an exit strategy.
  • Embrace the idea of having less mass. Right now, you’re the smallest, the leanest, and the fastest you’ll ever be. From here on out, you’ll start accumulating mass. And the more massive an object, the more energy required to change its direction.
  • You’re better off with a kick-ass half than a half-assed whole.
  • Getting to great starts by cutting out stuff that’s merely good.
  • Whenever you can, swap “Let’s think about it” for “Let’s decide on it.” Commit to making decisions. Don’t wait for the perfect solution. Decide and move forward.
  • Decisions are progress. Each one you make is a brick in your foundation. You can’t build on top of “We’ll decide later,” but you can build on top of “Done.”
  • Decisions are progress. Each one you make is a brick in your foundation. You can’t build on top of “We’ll decide later,” but you can build on top of “Done.” The problem comes when you postpone decisions in the hope that a perfect answer will come to you later. It won’t. You’re as likely to make a great call today as you are tomorrow.
  • 0 comments            books, quotes





    The questions from Inception, and the similiarities to Lost.
    posted on Jul 20 2010

    It’s true, Inception has “basically supplanted ‘Lost’ for all your theorizing needs.” You don’t need anyone to tell you that. What you do need is to enjoy this wonderful movie as much or as little as you like.

    The problem with Lost was that everyone wanted everyone else to care about the same things. In my mind the Island and the rules attached to it (time/space travel, religious analogies, etc) were, and will always be the most important character of Lost. Jack had daddy issues… so what? Tell me why the Island cares about Jack’s daddy issues. Don’t bring Jack to the island simply so that he can reconcile with his father. That’s what therapy is for.

    You know who agrees with me? A lot of people. And you know who disagrees with me? A lot of people. You know how much I used to care about that fact? A lot. Now? Not so much. Lost was a TV show… Just a TV show. Kids in Africa are dying of starvation, people in North Korea are oppressed, and I have a wife to take care of, and a life to live, and someone’s geeky concept about a magical island that moves at the tug of a ship’s helm can’t and shouldn’t become anyone’s obsession. Period.

    As I was leaving the theater, convinced I’d just watched one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies (maybe of the best movies) ever, I overheard a snotty 20-something female say: “I thought it was completely stupid. It made absolutely no sense. I didn’t enjoy it one bit.” Now, let’s assume for argument sake that she’s right (even though she’s not). Why should I care? Better yet, if she loved the movie and hated the final scene (I love the movie and LOVED the final scene), again, why should I care?

    Enjoy Inception in the way you want to enjoy it. Don’t try to hard to put as much effort into caring about a 2 1/2 hour movie as you did for Lost, which ran 120+ hours. Heck, try to find other movies with Inception may have opened the door to. Ever seen Momento? What? No? You were too busy crafting Lost theories? Watch it. I won’t spoil anything, but what i will say is this: if you even so much as kinda liked Inception, Momento will not disappoint.

    Anyhow, if you need answers to Inception like we all needed them to Lost, New York Magazine has a great, aptly titled Inception’s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception article which answers and helps to clarify many of the questions we’ve had since watching the movie. Yeah, that’s right, the people behind Inception are actually answering the questions that their creation prompted people to ask… something the people behind Lost quite never seemed to grasp.

    0 comments            entertainment, lost, movies





    Quote
    posted on Jul 19 2010

    “I bought a doughnut, and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut. I don’t need a receipt for the doughnut. I’ll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut… end of transaction. We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this. I just can’t imagine a scenario where I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend: “Don’t even act like I didn’t get that doughnut! I got the doc-u-men-tation right here… oh, wait it’s at home… in the file… under ‘D’… for doughnut.”

    - Mitch Hedberg

    0 comments            quotes





    The movie is sure to disappoint, but the Facebook trailer is brilliant.
    posted on Jul 19 2010

    0 comments            facebook, movies, videos





    Happy Monday
    posted on Jul 19 2010

  • Inception was one of the most creative films I’ve ever seen. If you didn’t like it, you probably didn’t like Lost either, which means I still loe you, but can’t understand you’re thought process.
  • Dinner at Citizen. A place I’ve passed 100 times and never set foot in. Shame on me.
  • Chelsea’s family was in town from Tupelo, and we blitzed them with Seattle in 5 hours: Pike Place Market, Kerry Park, Ballard Locks, and Snoqualmie Falls.
  • Scream 4 is a joke, right?
  • Hallmark’s Christmas display is a joke, right?





  • 1960
    posted on Jul 17 2010

    The mighty city of Jasper and the lowly redneck-filled crevasse of Cordova are a mere 15 minute drive from one another. But you mean to tell me that they haven’t played a regular season high school football game against one another in almost 50 years?

    (I’m just kidding, by the way. Cordova isn’t “filled” with rednecks… it’s populated by them.)

    0 comments            alabama, football, jasper





    Who Dat say dem Saint can’t spell?
    posted on Jul 17 2010

    [via Deadspin]

    0 comments            football, humor, stupidity





    Study links warm offices to fewer typing errors and higher productivity
    posted on Jul 16 2010

    Via HBR and Cornell (ever heard of it) Chilly Offices Limit Productivity:

    Raising the temperature of an insurance company’s offices from 68 degrees to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 25 C) reduced typing errors by 44% and boosted typing output by 150%, according to a monthlong study by Alan Hedge of Cornell. The higher, more comfortable temperature resulted in a savings for the employer of about $2 per worker per hour, Hedge says.

    0 comments            work