even further afield....

I have been frittering away hours at work at the Wonderglen website. It's pure time-wasting entertainment... the obvious comparison is an internet version of the TV show The Office. It kind of sucks you in, like a comedy vortex-- there's a lot to see at the Wonderglen site, and they appear to update it every day. If you're me, or you share my sense of humor, it's really a rich trove of hilarity.

To give you a sense of what you're in for, here's a video from the website starring Famous Actor James Franco:

Off topic, but...

I can't help it... I know this doesn't have anything to do with the industry, but I found this to be so... appropriate these days. Now, I've never been a fan of bumper stickers-- whatever they happen to be saying. It seems like a shallow and self-congratulatory way to express any kind of important idea. Anyway, someone else apparently felt the same way, and created a bumper sticker that says, "and also, I'm a jackass." The idea is, you attach it to someone else's car, so that now their car says "Free Tibet!...and also, I'm a jackass." Or: "America: Love it or Leave it...and also, I'm a jackass." It definitely sends a message (maybe too strong a message?) that people ought to knock off the bumper-sticker-proselytizing.

Here's the links to the "jackass bumper sticker:"

http://www.cafepress.com/editorializor
http://www.cafepress.com/editorializor2

Here is an example of how NOT to make a promotional video, unless you're trying to satirize yourself.



Overlong, cheesy, and boring. It's like those Drivers Ed videos they made you watch in high school. Once again, I'd point you to the promo video for the Mexican metal stamping company, Border Metal Stamping, to see an example of how to do it right (click here to view). It gets across the same information in half the time, and doesn't make you feel embarrassed for the metal stamping industry.

Book on Metal Stamping

Check out The Metal Stamping Process by Jim Szumera. It's not the most thorough book out there, but it does give a decent overview of metal stamping industry practices, and gets you thinking about some basic and essential things.

What is Tool and Die?

Here is a pretty good (but cheesy) video explaining what it is we do:





More later!

Crazy Working Conditions in China

I love unfettered capitalism as much as the next person, but isn't there some point where you go, Wait, hold on just a minute? Maybe we should think about some fettering?

I'd say that point is reached in the following video:

LA Tool and Die

This site has nothing to do with tool and die-- it's really a band-- but it does have a neat splash page and good art work:

LA Tool & Die