Happy birthday to me happy birthday to me. I don’t like getting older, but I do like getting presents, and while I don’t expect to get these presents, I can always dream. (Like my magazine-style image? Ohlala!)

1. iPod Touch. So, of course we’d all rather have an iPhone, but how many monthly bills can you add to your repertoire? I have an old-school ipod nano, so I’ve been visiting the Apple Store online and in my dreams. Sigh.
2. Headphones. Even without the new iPod Touch, I’d love some big-old, colorful, new headphones so that I can drown-out the world. Ear buds aren’t cutting it. (There were some even more colorful ones, once, but I can’t find them anywhere! They were made for me!)
3. Cupcake! They aren’t just cupcakes, they’re beautiful, elegant cupcakes. Making me hungry right now.
4. McSweeney’s Subscription. Beautiful books. Directly in your mailbox. (At least two of these mags were featured in PRINT’S Regional Design Issue this year!)
5. Duffel. Not a crappy-gym-bag duffel! It’s practically a PURSE.
6. Dress. You can do anything with this dress, so it’s really like getting a dozen dresses.

Sigh. Another year older!

As you can see from my recent (semi-recent) Currently Obsessed, I’ve been reading (slash looking at with love and devotion) my nine recently-acquired back-issues of McSweeney’s. The beautifully designed literary magazine is edited by Dave Eggers himself (the whole shebang was created by him, in fact).

Dave Eggers also wrote a ton of books. And edited tons of other things. And runs fabulously funny writing centers for kids (that are adjacent to fabulously funny stores, which I plan to post about more in-depth), and — apparently this is old news — Eggers is now working in the film industry!

After a little wikipediaing and googling, I found some interesting connections between Dave Eggers and other awesome people:

1. Eggers is the co-screenwriter for the upcoming (2009) movie Where the Wild Things Are (based on the children’s book). (Wikipedia says Eggers is also writing a novel based on the children’s book?!)
2. He also wrote a screenplay with his wife, This Must Be The Place, which is currently in production with director Sam Mendes (American Beauty). (This is super-exciting because I love American Beauty!)
3. Sufjan Stevens, a singer-songwriter I love, wrote the introduction for the 2007 Best American Non-Required Reading, which was edited by Eggers. Stevens also appeared in the Revenge of the Book–Eaters tour to help raise money for the student writing centers.
4. Eggers wrote the autobiography (is it still called that when someone else writes it for you? it’s in the first-person), What is the What, of the Sudanese Valentino Achak Deng. The money from the sales of this book go to help Sudan.
5. Dave Eggers apparently whistled in the background of Aimee Mann’s song “Little Tornado”.
6. Eggers’ wikipedia page offers a few more examples of star-connections: Nick Hornby, Joyce Carol Oates, Zadie Smith, Beck, and more!

I don’t know how the man does it! He writes novels, edits books, runs his literary magazine, and works on movies all at the same time? Then he raises money for tons of causes and throws in some whistling to-boot?! Sigh. Love.

This week’s issue of currently obsessed features more fabulous things that I can’t get enough of this week… but will possibly be tired of next week (or not).

• Simple Harvest Oatmeal. I like the “maple brown sugar with pecans” flavor. This oatmeal is healthier, more filling, and tastier than their other stuff, or at least I think so!
• Since I’m really obsessed with graphs this week (see post about annual reports coming today or tomorrow), I am also really obsessed with list-making. This isn’t really new. But I re-discovered Listography, a super-fabulous list-prompt book with hysterical watercolor doodles.
• Perhaps I love my new Stovetop Espresso maker simply because it’s better than my French Press, the only other coffee maker I have, but I do love it. I got mine for $10 at The Christmas Tree Shop, but you can order a whole variety from here.
• Matilda! I recently re-watched the movie starring Mara Wilson, but the book is also super-fabulous (like my doodle? It’s a Roald Dahl rip-off!).
• Wacom tablets make writing over my “currently obsessed” posts so much easier!
• Yes, when there was a brief McSweeney’s sale ($5 PER ISSUE!!!) I bought nine issues. Now, they sleep in a box next to my bed and I take them out and look at them and read the copyright section (which is really the editor’s note, kind of, but hysterical). I love them. I wish I had purchased more. (By the way, that fabulous image featuring McSweeney’s books in all of their openable glory is from The Sydney Morning Herald.)

Major sales in the design world this week, some of them super-amazing and ending today (McSweeney’s!!!).

1. Life of Mystery poster: “Life holds plenty of mystery, but it often seems like the wrong kind of mystery. Life’s mysteries are either depressing — why am I never satisfied, or what did I do to deserve this — or they’re bland — will I stain this shirt by accident?” But this poster is full of neither of those mysteries, instead it expounds upon the mysteries of ornamental keys, ghosts, & darting eyes! It’s the coolest Tiny Showcase print to hit the streets! And, it’s not even tiny (22×28 plus border for framing), AND it’s cheaper than the usual $20 prints, at only $12 (shipping is about $3)! It’s well designed & very funny, so checkout the poster details (upclose pictures! yay!) on the Tiny Showcase page.
2. Old issues of McSweeney’s are only FIVE DOLLARS until the end of the day today! If you do not buy Issue 13 & 19 (the comic book issue and the issue that comes in a cigar box with little war pamphlets), at the least, you are making a huge life mistake! These literary “magazines” have fold-out covers (Issues 13 & 23), mini-books (Issues 19 & more), come as a stack of mail (Issue 17), or have, for no reason in particular, a little comb tucked inside its cover (Issue 16). I may or may not have ordered nine of these (shipping was $10 for 9).
3. Okay, so maybe I’ve mentioned this threadless poster (Spoilt) several times before, but I just thought you should know all threadless prints are $25 this week rather $35 (shipping is $10, sad, but the sale certainly helps!). Shirts are $12 right now, too!

Have a WONDERFUL three day weekend and make sure to visit Tricia’s amazing school supply posts before you do your Labor Day shopping!