I NEED SUGAR

Boy that new iOS 4 is pretty snazzy. But it has those super complex textured backgrounds that make reading your icons more difficult than reading anything should be. So without further ado, here's a lock screen I Need Sugar wallpaper for your iPhone (4, 3G, 3Gs or whatever, it works on'em all) and a matching home screen desktop for your iOS 4 phone that'll help your icons pop. Enjoy!

Just right click to download.

And here's how it looks in action!

And don't forget, you can still get the 3G/3GS skin from Stick Stick Bang Bang.

via Say Yeah!

BBDO Israel gets all shaky shaky.

via Brandflakes for Breakfast/Alison Koh

This is a public service announcement because, well, we care. You'll notice a distinct lack of posts on Jos Louis and Coca-Cola from I Need Sugar. That's no mistake.

Our North American diet is an abomination born of the marriage of mass manufacturing and political agendas. We consume a limited variety of foodstuffs largely derived from corn and sugar and the joyous frankenstein high fructose corn syrup (or glucose-fructose on your whole wheat bag of Dempster's bread).

Having watched a lecture from Dr Robert Lustig earlier this year on the joys of sugar consumption and the correlation between increased consumption and the obesity epidemic in the United States of America and Canada, the issue of diet has been become more and more of a priority at I Need Sugar HQ. This has been particularly weighing on the conscience after seeing how much my sugar fiend of a niece enjoyed her I Need Sugar t-shirt gift this Christmas. Sugar is no toy, but it's being treated as such. If Dr Lustig's statements ring true, fructose itself is akin to alcohol in how it damages our bodies. The damage just happens to be happening sans the rather obvious side effects. So, screw you Willy!

Fructose itself is prevalent and naturally occurring in many foods which are healthy to consume, but that doesn't mean fructose itself is healthy, particularly on its own. The trouble is, fructose must be metabolized by the liver, which can lead to all sorts of trouble, such as diabetes, liver disease and more.

None of this is helped by food manufacturers effectively overdosing their foods with combinations of high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and fructose. From McDonald's to Coca-Cola, tex-mex spice to whole wheat bread, sugar sugar everywhere. And in record quantities.

The whole point of high fructose corn syrup was to provide a more easily manufactured, locally produced, and less expensive alternative to sugar with a higher degree of sweetness so you could use less of it. Yet we see sugar content in products increasing over the years while servings are super-sized, particularly those with high fructose corn syrup.

Most importantly, fructose has two saving graces in its natural form:
1. In fruit, sugar is typically comprised of 50% glucose and 50% fructose.
2. Fruit comes with your friend fibre, helping to slow the absorption of the sugar.

In liquids, such as orange juice (freshly squeezed or otherwise), you'll find the fibre content to be, well, nil (pulp doesn't count, people!). On top of that, with your high fructose corn syrup products such as soft drinks, the ratio is about 80% fructose to 20% glucose. This means you're putting more work on your liver, faster. In other words: drink water. And, if not, you might as well enjoy a drink.

So here's a handy food chart and a sweetener/syrup chart to help you consume less fructose. And, of course, keep an eye out on product labels for all these sugars.

But this is no downer man, it's the whole reason we supply sugar the way it's meant to be consumed: for your eyes and your ears. So dig in, like or subscribe and enjoy obesity free sugar.

Finally, here's the full lecture from Dr Robert Lustig for your viewing pleasure. Riveting stuff. Really. Sugar history, biology and recommendations. Good times.

Thanks to Joey DeVilla for the heads up on Dr Lustig.

"Twenty may not be the start of maturity but, in all conscience, it's the end of youth."

"I was really sincerely keeping lust out of my mind by main force and gritting of my teeth. And the best way was to keep my eyes closed."

Kudos to Harper Collins for taking a subject not typically associated with design and ratcheting up the quality level for the covers of their philosophy books. Found in their Modern Thought series, each one of these stands on its own; together, they're like a history lesson in modern design, beginning in 1927 with Heidegger's Being and Time. The Kant and Wittgenstein covers are particularly daring. Enjoy!

So I started writing this post back in July and for some reason didn't post it. Probably because I forgot to fund the project I was writing about back then. Well, now there's more for me to share, so here goes.

The fantastic Kickstarter is all about funding great projects by great people, including musicians, artists, photographers, designers, and more. From individuals to record labels to organizations, there are a wealth of grassroots projects you can have a direct hand in supporting. 

An offshoot of peer to peer lending, you have the ability to specify a dollar amount you wish to provide, which goes towards supporting a percentage of a project. And, in most cases, thanks for your support is in the form of some benefit, from access to supporters only project updates to limited edition goodies.

The project I was looking at in July was to fund production of a 7" from Toronto's Rural Alberta Advantage. Details here, highlighting the success of the project funding and all the benefits, including playing "an exclusive show for you anywhere in North America."

I missed out on that one but have since shown my support for a variety of projects, including a couple of photography projects and book publications.

Here's your chance. Dig in at Kickstarter and help support some awesome.

"He rolled (using a brown paper bag) what amounted to a tremendous Corona cigar if tea. It was huge. To drag on this thing was like leaning over a chimney and inhaling."

"I slithered lithely from my stool. This deed somehow necessitated a second maneuver, that of picking myself up off the floor."

"I kissed him passionately, I even wanted to bruise him, so that he would not be able to forget me for a single moment all evening, and would dream of me all night long."

"Wonderful music like this was the worst hurt there could be. The whole world was this symphony, and there was not enough of her to listen."

"I would never say this to her face, but she's a wonderful person and a gifted artist."