STUFFE

I'M STILL NOT BUYING AN IPAD


But this is really cool. Lines and Colors features Brooklyn artist David John Kassan painting from life using an iPad. £600 is a lot to pay for a sketchpad, but people assure me that Apple's pricey rectangle does other stuff too.

FOCUS BOOKS
I really like this little productivity idea for cartoonists & artists from Kevin M at New Construction. To get over that "good book", or "first sketch" feeling (the hesitation before sketching in a really nice book, or before doing the first sketch in a new one). As he points out, it's also an inexpensive way to get into a particular thematic vein before starting work properly.

CYCLING INQUISITION AND RAPHA
In which Lucho articulates something many of us less stylish cyclists feel in the rarefied atmosphere of the big R. He also notes some disturbing trends in new "colorways";

If this is what cycling fashion is descending into, will someone please come over to my house and simply piss on my eyeballs?

Also on the subject of Rapha is this BSNYC piece, about Rouleur.

If you thrive on the history, imagery, and lore of the sport you will certainy enjoy it. However, I can't even take the Bible seriously, much less bike racing, so when I read Rouleur I generally feel like a child sitting in a religious service and trying not to laugh.

He has a point about the reverence of some of Rouleur's contributors, but it's often a fascinating read; the issue illustrated has a great piece about the Gendarmes who escort the tour that you'd probably not see anywhere else, and Tom Southam's piece about riding in the Tour of Britain is really good. Still, at least he takes the mickey out of Assos, so it's all good.