Here’s a great slideshow of some of the grossest Halloween candy out there this season. Above you’ll see three of my favorites, I have to say that the bloody bandage has to be the absolute worst. Perhaps that one jumps out at me because there is nothing worse to me than seeing a used bandage stuck somewhere on the subway, a real life terror. Candy has really stepped up it’s gross-out game since I was a kid. Candy corn and wax lips have given way to gummy creations that have no boundaries. I’m not quite sure what the connection is with the body part sushi but Halloween doesn’t always have to make sense, it just needs to be creepy. Mission accomplished!

January 2012 will mark French Bull’s tenth anniversary and we have some surprises planned along with some exciting new items for spring. Sit back and enjoy the evolution from Multidot to Raj. Gary Panter was kind enough provide us with a soundtrack to ten years of color and pattern. Make sure to stop by his site.

Here’s a fabulous read that was brought to my attention today regarding legendary designer Paul Rand and his work on the NeXT logo. NeXT was founded by Steve Jobs in 1985 when he initially left Apple. Looking at Rand’s evolution of the type is fascinating and a true window into his creativity. A part of the interview that struck me was Rand’s comments on Jobs choosing the name Apple simply based on his love of the actual fruit. I dug around a bit deeper to see if this was the case and found several explanations. Ultimately I learned that there was no official story  but several rumors still circulate :

Apple has no official story, which means that you can take your pick of the following rumors:

Steve Jobs used to work at a California or Oregon apple farm during the summer. He grew to really appreciate apples.

Steve Jobs really liked the Beatles.

Steve Jobs was three months late filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if his colleagues didn’t suggest a better name by 5 p.m.

Steve Jobs wanted to distance the company from the cold, unapproachable, complicated imagery created by other computer companies at the time.

Like Apple, there’s no official story behind our name, just rumors which just adds to the whimsical nature of French Bull.

We were recently talking about the amount of obsolete technology hiding in all of our junk drawers and closets. It’s only a matter of time before digital cameras and mp3 players completely fade out as smartphones continue to progress. Thankfully a brilliant site has popped up on YouTube devoted to paying homage to the objects of days past that now collect dust in our basements. I can’t tell if I’m obsolete for using many of these technologies to this day but that’s for you to decide. In the meantime take a look at these clever videos.