ultra

Right. We all know a few stinkers who get surly during the holidays because they don’t want to be required to appreciate friend and loved one on a prescribed schedule, resent having to gift when everyone else is doing it, &c.

But guess what? We think we could all use additional reasons to appreciate, more days to celebrate. So we say, take all the standard holidays, throw in a few recently-minted card-sending days, and make up your own Days On Which Something Extraordinary Might Just Happen.

At PDX based Egg Press, you could get a jump on Valentine’s Day (why wait?) and send this card today. Imagine a month of appreciating her and him and her too. Their “Love, Yours Truly Collection” would give you enough paper ammunition for a carload of lovers (and very dear friends).

updated Monday January 08 2007 19:42

Shhhhhhh. Smart+smartypants artist Jonathon Keats, (the kind we love and “love to hate” –there quoting Sir Mix-a-lot…see how regional we are?) has ripped off, in the most respectfully postmodern way, John Cage’s famous piece 4′33″ in a project for START Mobile. 4′33″ you’ll recall, is four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, originally performed in concert by pianist David Tudor, who sat down a the piano bench for exactly four minutes and 33 seconds, playing nary a note.

Keats’ “My Cage (Silence for Cellphone)” (we have to quote the press release here, because it’s really good) “dispenses with performer and piano and auditorium, instead utilizing a continuous stream of silence produced on a computer, and compressed to standard ringtone format. This silence can be heard whenever a call comes through, whether out on the street, at a noisy concert, or in the quiet of home.” Get it? A silent ringtone for your mobile phone. And that’s “digitally-generated” silence, ladies and gentlemen. Sexy enough for the kids, quiet enough for the seniors. You can start beautifying the sonic landscape of Portland (we’re not casting aspersions on your ringtone choice, but…) by downloading your free silent ringtone here.