This writer stuck it out through a long, hot summer without a vacation, always keeping an eye on this very day, October 26th, for it finally meant the delivery of some much needed R&R. That said, we’ll be headed to Italy later today, away until November 5th (and presumably back on the 6th, depending on the jet lag and/or wine consumption). In the interim, and as always, you will be well taken care of by the extremely remarkable writing talents, impeccable wit, and general brain goo power of your beloved co-editor, Stephanie Murg. Be very nice to her or we won’t bring you back any pizza or saint medallions.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

What can you say about the signature of Richard Meier? Completely illegible (does it say “Texas” at the end??) which is a clear indication of assumed stardom and self-importance … but the squiggly line embellishment at the bottom (closely resembling a sad clown smile) is an attempt after the fact of a strong desire for our love and acceptance. Meier has built a career based on the theories of others – particularly Le Corbusier – and the casual self-importance and self-loathing present in the beginning, middle and end of this signature speak volumes … and a love of the color white.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

If you’re a member of the mafia who is currently imprisoned in Sicily, let us first say a) thank you very, very much for reading our site and b) we’re tight-lipped and not here to cause any trouble. Let us just consider this a friendly note, shall we? In an interesting/fun story, the Telegraph reports that the new head of a jail in Palermo wants to put in place a rule that will not allow the prisoners to wear clothing or accessories from designer labels. Apparently, because prisoners are allowed to wear their own clothes, members of the mafia imprisoned there have been “showing off their status with Louis Vuitton jackets, Valentino silk shirts and Adidas and Nike trainers,” which the new head of the jail is tired of. Here’s a bit:

“Why should the authorities be allowed to dictate what my husband wears?” one woman told La Stampa newspaper.

Another complained: “My husband will have to walk around naked because he only has designer clothes, not to show off but because they’re of better quality and they last longer. Why humiliate him in this way and make me go and buy all his clothes in street markets?”

Our questions is: how do you stop it? Couldn’t the prisoners simply transition into less flashy, but still designer-made clothing, with the logos a bit more subdued? And if that happens, will their be regular fashion checks and a registry of brands that are deemed less showy? And if that list gets out, will it ruin the fashion industry?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

For a more immediate summer activity, and in particular for soccer fans, if you’re planning to watch the final World Cup games this Saturday and Sunday, we refer you back to our pal Michael Surtees‘ post from near the start of the games about his extra-focused method of watching. Using a combination of a large flat screen TV, two laptops, an iPad and his phone, it’s an insanely impressive control center that allows him to be aware of every possible thing going on on the field (that’s “pitch” for you purists). Granted, for most of us it might be a touch overkill, not to mention the costs associated if you want to watch the game as closely as Michael and don’t happen to own a couple of those items, but if you do have the want and the means, you’ll likely appreciate the precise setup information he provides. Though as he warns: “A command center like this is pretty cool, though if I was having a party I’m not sure how much fun I would be,” so use at your own discretion.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We know it’s cold and soggy outside and you depend on the double-threat we provide of wholesome, warming design news, but sometimes we need a break. So this writer is heading out on vacation for the next week, off to soak in the cold and soggy portions of central Europe. Your beloved Stephanie, of course, will be here to guide you through everything you need to know about design happenings and has promised to keep your brains full, active, and appropriately dressed for the season. We shall return in full force on March 1st and this writer will try to remember to make sure he brings back enough German chocolate and Belgian beer for everyone.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

There are a million contests centered around design out there, but among the good ones, many are either residing in murky spec territory, extremely crowded, or just seem slightly blah. We will share none of those with you, because we only delivery posts of the finest quality. That said, here’s the greatest design contest ever: name David Stark‘s new puppy. Okay, maybe it’s not exactly a “design” contest and maybe more of the “sort of kinda branding” variety, but Stark is a designer, so that seems to fit. What’s more, he isn’t any old designer, he’s the guy we recently crowned “King of Event Design.” He’s put together gigantic, amazing spaces for events like numerous National Design Awards, the New Yorkers for Children Gala, West Elm openings, etc. So you wouldn’t just be naming an adorable puppy (which should be prize enough, you louts) but should you win, you’ll also receive bragging rights, so the next time you find yourself at one of his events, you can tell your slackjawed friends, “Know the guy who did all this? Yeah, I named his puppy. No big deal.” You’re welcome, America.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

While we may have been running far too many stories these past couple of weeks about the thrilling world of license plate design, let’s remember that we already officially claimed that 2009 is “The Year of Dinosaur Sales.” And despite our faith getting wobbly back in early October, worried that maybe the dinosaurs weren’t actually selling all that well after all, we have now been reassured. It’s being reported that that very belief-shaking T. Rex skeleton that hadn’t sold at a high-profile Las Vegas auction early last month, has now found someone to buy it. And to the tune of somewhere above $5 million. To an unnamed buyer no less, according to the AP. Here’s more:

An auctioneer says a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex that failed to sell at auction in Las Vegas last month has been bought by a private buyer who intends to have it displayed in a museum.

Tom Lindgren of auction house Bonhams & Butterfields told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the buyer is talking with several museums in North America.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Just a quick note, dear readers, that this writer is headed back out of town for a couple of weeks to finish off the documentary project that took him to China back in May. This time around, we’re headed somewhere far more foreign and exotic: Iowa City, Iowa. This writer will return, corn-fed and tender, just like any steak you’ve ever had in Iowa, ’round about October 23rd. Until then, we leave you in the capable, friendly hands of Ms. Stephanie Murg.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

When we told you that 2009 had officially become “the year of dinosaur sales,” following the announcement that there was to be yet another skeleton put on the market, we should have added a footnote saying that just because they hit an auction doesn’t mean anyone will actually buy them. Such is the case with the aforementioned “Samson” Tyrannasaurus rex, which was attempting to be sold at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas this weekend. Despite lots of press and some wealthy person buzz, the skeleton only wound up getting a bid of $3.6 million, which didn’t manage to hit the seller’s reserve and thus, won’t be going anywhere. This, according to the auction company handling the sale, is an indicator of how rough things have gotten for the industry:

On Friday, Thomas Lindgren, the curator in charge, and auctioneer Patrick Meade had talked about just that between meetings with prospective buyers. People from across the world had expressed interest in Samson, but nobody was committed to bidding.

“If I’d have had this T. rex two years ago, we would have set world records,” Lindgren said wistfully. But, he said, the recession had caused everyone — museums, schools and even eccentric collectors with deep pockets — to scale back.

We feel badly for them, that it didn’t sell, but we like the idea of a Dinosaur Index as an economic indicator. That’s a lot more interesting than how many houses or cars are being sold.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Let’s no kid ourselves. We know why you continue to read UnBeige: to get the latest word on dinosaur sales. You were giddy when we told you about Vanderbilt Museum contemplating the sale of its prized Jurassic Park fiberglass dinosaurs. And you just should have seen the look on your face when we reported back in March on the I.M. Chait Gallery‘s massive dinosaur skeleton auction to help raise money for the Western Paleontological Laboratories. So it is with great pleasure that we tell you “Samson,” the full Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton and cousin to the Field Museum‘s “Sue,” will be hitting the auction block on October 3rd at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. The auction is being handled by the firm Bonhams & Butterfields and is expected to fetch somewhere around $6 million by either a natural history museum or a billionaire mad scientist (perhaps for his Billionaire Mad Scientist Natural History Museum, which is a must-visit the next time you’ve visiting his underground lair). Here’s a bit:

“Most of the major museums in the world have casts of T. rexes,” as opposed to the real thing, [Bonhams & Butterfields' Tom Lindgren] said. “Bidding on this T. rex is not going to be a gamble, it’s going to be the opportunity of a lifetime to whoever gets it.”

The female dinosaur’s lower jaw was found by the son of a rancher in 1987 and the rest of its bones were excavated in 1992, Lindgren said. It was sold twice to private owners, and is now owned by an American whom Lindgren wouldn’t name.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Dear Copy Editors,

A quick rant and then we promise to leave you alone. We understand that you have a difficult job in the newspaper business these days, what with layoffs and cutbacks and all that, and we feel for you, we really do. But just because famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright has a surname that sounds like “Right” is no excuse to get out of hand and go completely nuts. We bring to your attention this letter to the editor of the Augusta Chronicle entitled “Architecture, Art, Come Alive [the] Wright Way” which we learn is a response to a piece in the paper entitled “The Wright Touch.” This is inexcusable. One we’d be okay with, sure, because we’re all proud of ourselves when we can make a quick pun. But two? Two Wright/Right jokes?! That’s too much and has forced us to demand you to choose one of two options: 1) stop all zany Wright headlines entirely, or 2) if you can’t resist, we must insist that you do this for all famous architects — so we’ll be expecting things like “Don’t Get Gehry’d Away This Summer!”, “The Silver of Stirling”, and “What a Nouvel Idea” (you’re on your own with Libeskind, Calatrava, and Le Corbusier). We don’t mean to be a pain, really we don’t, we just want to nip all of this in the Hadid before it gets any more ridiculous.

Sincerely,
UnBeige

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This writer is headed out of town this morning and will be gone for the next couple of weeks, traveling to Dunhuang and all over the rest of China to shoot a documentary about the University of Iowa‘s Life of Discovery artist exchange program. While he’s gone, Stephanie will be taking good care of the lot of you, as is her usual custom. So if you have tips, hot scoops, or forwarded email jokes your parents send you all the time, make sure you send it all her way or it’s apt to get lost in a sea of unanswered mail. And with that, this writer takes his leave of you and promises to talk again soon, at the end of the month.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Two pieces of information we’d like to share with you now that might not affect your life in any major meaningful way, but will perhaps shed some light on this economic crisis we’re all in the middle of at the moment. First up, years later when we look back at “Great Depression 2: Electric Depresionloo” perhaps the one thing we’ll remember is how many dinosaurs were sold at museums and galleries in New York to help make ends meet. First there were the fiberglass ones at Long Island’s Vanderbilt Museum and then, most recently, this weekend found the auctioning of a complete (real) dinosaur skeleton, as well as several other ancient skeletons, at the I.M. Chait Gallery, with the hopes of raising some money for the Western Paleontological Laboratories. So while 2008 might have been the year that siphoned underground dinosaur remains became too expensive and limited cross-country road trips, 2009 is quickly turning into the year that dinosaur bones become the dominant form of currency. Second, we share with you this story about the decline of the architecture industry where we see an architect and his partner were forced to kidnap their landlord’s real estate agent and threaten to kill him over rent disputes concerning a restaurant the pair were trying to open. Though, to be fair, that’s a fairly standard practice in the industry, we’re guessing. You just don’t hear about it at the Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry levels, because they probably employ a secret army of strong-arms and the news just doesn’t get out because they’re really, really good at their strong-arming jobs.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.