You've made it through another one. Welcome to the Weekender

Date
17 October 2014

If you’ve just started uni and you’ve spent an entire week in student unions drinking vibrant blue booze from a questionably-shaped vessel (a goldfish bowl, say, or a shoe) then this Weekender is for you. If you’ve bought more IKEA textiles than your measly student loan will allow but you still can’t get used to the breeze-block walls of your dorms, and you think the mature student next door might have eaten cat food for breakfast this morning, or you accidentally squeegee’d paint onto every last remaining clean item of clothing you own in your first printmaking class (embarrassing) we’re here for you. Welcome to the Weekender.

– CANADA’s new film is an ode to overblown romantic gestures, executed with all of their habitual pizzazz.

– Comics artist and author Matilda Tristram shared five of her favourite books, including the excellent Persepolis and some very famous (if impenetrable) stories from Estonia.

– When it comes to advertising, should we call a spade a spade? And other musings from our very own Rob Alderson in this week’s Opinion piece.

– This week London is awash with art, it being Frieze Art Fair and all, so we made an art-themed mixtape to celebrate. It’s a masterpiece. (Ahem.)

– San Francisco-based studio created some wonderfully tackle design work to play out across Google’s platforms, and you all went made for it. As did we.

Above

Mr Bingo, aged 11

This month we’re running a whole load of features all based around the theme of Back to School! Here are some gems from this week…

Mirko Borsche, The Stone Twins, Conor Nolan and Ana Varela talked to us about the state of design education in the rest of Europe.

Very talented master of pens Mr Bingo showed us some drawings he was penning as a young lad with a penchant for the gory.

Guardian writer Stuart Heritage reflected on his time as a fresher, with photographic evidence to boot…

– We asked some of our most experienced creative friends, namely Maggie Li, Scott King, Craig Ward and Bart Hess, for some nuggets of advice.

– “Designer of ruses” Ilona Gaynor revealed the very best and worst projects she made while at art school.

– And we tallied up some of our favourite films to feature art school and art lessons. Because why the bloody hell not?

To read more Back to School-themed articles, head over here.

Maisie Skidmore

Bad joke generator Nice One Dad was sent round the studio this week, and I felt obliged to share it, and it’s both incredibly simple and almost harrowingly hard to click away from. It’s also weirdly true to its word in recreating the universal bad jokes unique to dads, relentlessly coming up with new bad gags and inciting groans of boredom. Just see how many you can watch before you close the window in a fit of pique, though.

Rob Alderson

The football team photo is a ritual that has endured down the ages, but Derry City’s best-laid plans didn’t quite pan out as expected. During their shoot this week the bench which part of the squad were sat on collapsed, leading to what might be the best football team photo ever. The composition is oddly perfect.

Liv Siddall

I’ve finally found something on the internet that is hilarious and addictive but also 100% pure – old Sesame Street clips from the 1980s/90s. Check out the below: watch Paul Simon sing Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard to a bunch of dancing kids on a fake stoop, see Johnny Cash serenading Oscar the Grouch, and then watch Elmo trying to scare a terrifyingly endearing Julia Roberts. The YouTube sidebar will provide you with everything else you need.

James Cartwright

Pitchfork have had a blinder this week and I’ve been engrossed reading their articles on more than a couple of occasions. Here’s two of my favourites from the week: an interview with Vashti Bunyan and an essay on the loneliness in George Harrison’s music. Pop on a brew and get reading!

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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