memetic tees

From July 30th thru August 1st, 2010 – FREE standard shipping  (Canadian orders will receive a shipping discount up to $9.50) Simply enter the coupon code FREEWEEKEND (for the U.S.) or CADFREEWEEKEND (for Canada) in the check-out area of your basket and save!

When I created the Neuromancer T-Shirt (very simple but elegant) I was thinking of something to wear at night even when going to a club. I could see the shirt glowing around.
A wintermute design had been for a long time on my mind. I was playing with typography and trying to create some kind of logo based on a snow flake…well, many different things.

The other day I was thinking about it while walking and I had a spark of inspiration: Wintermute was programmed by the Tessier-Ashpool dynasty with a need to merge with its other half: Neuromancer. Finally, Wintermute unites with Neuromancer, fusing into a greater entity.
Suddenly I realized that they didn’t need to have different designs. Now I can picture myself with a partner hanging around with both t-shirts.
Neuromancer and Wintermute have the same essence, they are two complementary AIs destinated to be a goodlike AI when they merge.

The shirt is already in the shop.

This is a video of neuromancer T-shirt whith the lights off. I’ll try to make another as in this one it doesn’t look as bright as it is.

Frank has reported a problem with the coupon: From July 12th to July 30th, you get a FREE Messenger bag with a purchase of $40 or more. He’s receiving: “Sorry, this coupon is not valid for the chosen product(s).”

I’m trying to discover what happened. Meanwhile, here’s how it works:

The coupon is valid for US and Canada.

Simply pick a number of tees or other product to reach $40,  that can be just 2 t-shirts, at least one regular fit ($18) and one AA ($22.95) , then add the Messenger bag to the basket and enter the coupon code when going through checkout.

I’m very sorry, maybe it wasn’t clear enough. By now I have put the explanation in the banner. If anybody did a $40 order but didn’t add the bag,  just cancel the order.

Do not hesitate to contact me for whatever.

UPDATE: The problem was with trying to apply the coupon without adding the bag first.

This is the book I’m going to read this summer. Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Windup Girl” was announced winner of the  Nebula Award on May 15. The book is a biopunk science fiction novel about Biotechbology, Bioterrorism, Global warming, Seedbanks and Megacorporations.

It was named by Time Magazine as one of the ten best novels of 2009.

“Bacigalupi is a worthy successor to William Gibson: This is cyberpunk without computers.”
–Time Magazine, Best Books of 2009

“It’s ridiculous how good this book is… Bacigalupi’s vision is almost as rich and shocking as William Gibson’s vision was in 1984… I hope he writes 10 sequels.”
–Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

An excerpt from Night Shade Books:

Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen’s Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok’s street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history’s lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko…

Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe.

What Happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism’s genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution? Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction novels of the twenty-first century.

I’m already waiting for it to arrive!

With the coupon codes ADDONFREE(US) and CADADDONFREE(CAD) you can add a Messenger bag for FREE with a minimum basket size of $40. This promotion starts on Monday, July 12th and runs through Friday, July 30th, 2010.

During this time the regular price of $24 for the messenger bag alone will drop to $19.99 ($4 off).

Just created a flickr account to upload some pictures.

Franklyn poster

Franklyn is an upcoming British film written and directed by Gerald McMorrow. Is expected to be released on january 30 in UK, but has already been reviewed at Variety.

Franklyn follows four intertwining stories, three of which takes place in contemporary London and the fourth takes place in Meanwhile City, a parallel fantasy environment. In Meanwhile City, atheist vigilante Jonathan Preest (Phillippe) fights against the various religious presences. Ultimately, his path crosses with three others (Eva Green, Sam Riley, Bernard Hill) from London.

Sadly, although the mix between these two movies sounds too good, it seems that the film doesn’t meet expectations.

A clever idea that could have worked as a novella, the urban-fantasy-cum-sci-fier “Franklyn” doesn’t cut it by the bigscreen rulebook. Shuttling between present-day London and a totalitarian, retro-futuristic city, this first feature by Brit writer-director Gerald McMorrow leaves viewers dangling for so long that most will have checked out emotionally before the big revelation an hour in. Visually striking head-scratcher — somewhere between “Blade Runner” and “V for Vendetta” in its noirish bits — looks to have more of a future as an ambitious but failed cult item than as a contempo earner.

Ryan Phillippe as Jonathan Preest, spends 80% of time in a mask

Well, sometimes I have enjoyed films with bad reviews. For what I see, visually could be nice but let’s wait.

You car read the entire review on Franklyn over at Variety.

Book cover

Many years have passed since I read Neuromancer by William Gibson. I always liked the Chatsubo bar. For those who haven’t read the novel, here is the introduction in the first chapter:

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. “It’s not like I’m using,” Case heard someone say, as he shouldered his way through the crowd around the door of the Chat. “It’s like my body’s developed this massive drug deficiency.” It was a Sprawl voice and a Sprawl joke. The Chatsubo was a bar for professional expatriates; you could drink there for a week and never hear two words in Japanese.

I really wanted to wear something about this. I wanted a strong design based on contrasts, something to be seen from far and good looking even if you don’t read the text or don’t know what it’s all about. The idea is like having been in the future having a few drinks  at the Chatsubo and coming back with a t-shirt. Well, I know the Chatsubo wouldn’t be exactly like the Hard Rock Cafe but… what the hell…

Bold strong typography and the beauty of squared Kanji. Yes, those are the Kanji symbols for chatsubo, “cha” means “tea” and “tsubo” means “pot”. I drew the kanji with bezier curves to fit the rectangle. The most difficult part was to make the curves suitable for cutting the design with the plotter as space between lines was too narrow.

The design is printed by Spreadhirt in Flex, that is an extremely durable vinyl heat pressed onto the garment so it doesn’t fade over time. It will last more than your t-shirt.

Do you like neuromancer, or sci-fi, or cyberpunk or simply japan? Well, if so, I hope you like this design.

Until October 31st you can get 20% off for any purchase over $30. International buyers use code “FALL28″.

After many months of hesitation I have decided to work on my shop. By now I am setting the layout of the shop and this blog. Having so few designs made me postpone everything, specially promotion of my designs but with so little time I would never take off. So here I go.

Disclaimer: English is not my mother tongue, so my apologies for any mistake and thank you for any correction that you may want to point.