Christian: Though the National Novel Writing Month (November) has come and gone this article is great for those of you wishing to get your creativity out on paper (or screen) and to Harness the Mental, Creative, and Emotional Benefits of Regular Writing.

Rachel: For all those creative folks who appreciate Apple’s incredible product packaging, watch this video about how closely Apple considers every detail:

Willem: BIGGEST TEAHUPOO EVER!
The great surfer Kelly Slater said “witnessing this was a draining feeling being terrified for other people’s lives all day long, it’s life or death. Letting go of that rope one time can change your life and not many people will ever experience that in their life.”

BIGGEST TEAHUPOO EVER from UnFuzzy on Vimeo.

Gary G: Spike likes The Royal Room in Columbia City, especially when the Polyrhythmics are rockin’ the house. Check ‘em out on YouTube:

Kristen: Get your DNA as art!

Natasha: Adding some color to your house makes it beautiful and more unique . Check out these “Amazingly Colorful Homes“! These are my favorite ones located in Riomaggiore, Italy:

Gary G: Spike likes the fact that the NFL team he followed when he was still learning to fly is in the playoffs. Go Niners! Make noise and get noticed!

Willem: The Creators Project
A global network dedicated to the celebration of creativity, culture and technology. At a time in the history of the arts where digital technology has revolutionized distribution, democratized access, and re-imagined the scope and scale with which an artist can create a vision and reach an audience, The Creators Project is a new kind of arts and culture channel for a new kind of world.

Rachel: This is a great, clever use of video to show the amazing slender style of LG’s newest TV.

Christian: This is a really cool video on the surprising truth about what motivates us. Very creative in how to make a normal presentation really engaging!

Natasha: The finalists are in for the Doritos commercial that will air during the Super Bowl this year! Check out the five hilarious videos. This one was not a finalist but it was still funny!

John:

Gary M: My favorite food during Thanksgiving is fresh cranberry sauce!

Tiffany:
My Spike Like this week is …….HAND TURKEYS!!!! ‘Nough said!

Kristen: This year, I’ll be sparing a turkey and eating Turk’y instead!

Rachel: Are you looking for a change from that same old pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving? Try this delicious Apple Spice Cake instead!

Natasha: Side dishes are my favorite foods at Thanksgiving, and my favorite one to make has always been yams with marshmallows on top! I remember making designs with the marshmallows on top of the casserole dish as a little kid, it was my favorite part (and of course being allowed to eat marshmallows during dinner time was also a plus)!

Sharan: My favorite part about Thanksgiving is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!

Chris: There are many things to be thankful for this holiday season…one of which is the fact that I get to work with an amazing group of extremely talented people at Hodgson/Meyers! Happy Thanksgiving spikesters!

Lea: “Smokin’ Joe Frazier, sharp as a razor.” RIP to the champ, who I thought was just as, if not more, fascinating than Muhammed Ali. Here’s a great tribute from Tom Goldman, NPR correspondent.

Natasha: Excited to go to the Seahawks vs. Ravens game this weekend! Thanks UW for the discounted tickets!!

Willem: Murmuration: No one knows why they do it. The birds gather in magical shape-shifting flocks called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter’s bite. Scientists aren’t sure how they do it, either. Even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ acrobatics, which rely on the tiny bird’s quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock.

Chris: Some of Spike’s closest friends put on quite a show in this amazing video…

Kristen: A little inspiration for your next mani/pedi!

Tiffany: Amazing concept and beautiful design. I want one!

Gary: Spike likes Dine around Seattle, Sunday – Thursday in November at many of the area’s most wonderful restaurants. 3 courses for $30. Visit dinearoundseattle.org

Gary Meyers: With all the great harvest foods out there during Halloween time, my favorite food that I enjoy is pumpkin soup.

Gary: I can still picture my kids in their various costumes over the years: My daughter as a red crayon, a lady bug, a dalmatian puppy, a present, Snow White, a ballerina; my son as a construction worker, baseball player, Spider man, a character from the Tin Tin comics, a mummy. But my most favorite memory is, after making the rounds with the kids, getting home out of the inevitable wind, rain and fog that seems to haunt Seattle Halloween nights.

Rachel: In my search for some Spooky recipes, I came across these Chocolate Mice, Ghostly Lemon Cake Pops and, my favorite, Mini Spiced Pumpkins.

Willem: A chaotic look at the carving of a pumpkin.

The Carved Pumpkin from Paul Whittington on Vimeo.

Kristen: Saturday night I’ll be at The Oxford Saloon in Snohomish, famous for being haunted with 18 ghosts! Let’s hope I make it back to work on Monday

Tiffany: One thing I look forward to every year is a new Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror episode!
This year will make the 22nd episode in the Treehouse of Horror series, and for once it is airing BEFORE Halloween.

Natasha: It doesn’t have to be all scary treats for your waistline this Halloween. Try these Skinny Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting!! YUMM! Happy Halloween!

Erin: I love Halloween because its the time of the year that I can get my favorite candy: candy corn!

Jason: My favorite thing about Halloween is that it’s the only time of the year that people generally forget who they are and what they do for a living and try to recapture the honesty and fun of being a kid in a costume.

Gary Meyers: Big. Hungry. Trout.

Tiffany: It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brow
A classic! Watching this with a hot cup of cider (or hot buttered rum) always reminds me of fall.

Natasha: The fall season is one of my favorites because of the delicious local produce available. Pumpkin lasagna is a delicious twist on this classic dinner recipe! And don’t forget to add caramel apples for dessert with these creative toppings!

Kristen: Picking pumpkins and going through the amazing corn maze at Stocker Farms!

Rachel: There is nothing like a little pumpkin butter and some spiked apple cider on a chilly fall day!

Gary: One word: Vermont!

Sharan: Not your ordinary pumpkin patch.

Lea: The smell of woodsmoke, my tree-lined street, kids in halloween costumes, corn mazes, cinnamon, nutmeg and spices, fresh local apples, and pumpkin pie.

Jason: When the sun begins to fade earlier each day and the leaves make a rapid descent from the trees, the early signs of Fall have fallen. The cool, crisp weather signals the time of year when everyone bundles up and tends to retreat indoors. Spike, on the other hand, takes a different approach. What better way to deal with the cold than avoiding it all together. October is the perfect time to plan a tropical vacation… preferably one scheduled to hit in January, when the weather is ugly and the Holiday cheer is all but forgotten. And what better way to plan a much needed sunny escape than taking advantage of a great on-line service like jetsetter. Spike likes!

John: This fall we have the Rugby World Cup playing out in New Zealand. Its great to see Ireland kicking-butt, and playing in the Quarter Finals on Saturday (10/8) against Wales. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the US team.

It’s interesting to note that those who lived during the Industrial Revolution didn’t stop and say to themselves, “gee, we’re living in the Industrial Revolution.” I think it’s a “can’t see the forest for the trees” sort of thing. So, it wasn’t until later that people looked back on this era and the full impact of what really occurred during those times hit them. With the passage of time and historical juxtaposition, it was clear that there truly was an Industrial Revolution.

Fast forward to today. As opposed to those of a hundred plus years ago, we realize we’re living in a Technological Revolution. What we don’t realize perhaps, is how one person could so profoundly affect how billions of people work, communicate, socialize, and get entertainment as part of that revolution. It’s truly mind-boggling to think how things might have been, had not that person pursued his vision and passion.

I sit here typing on my Mac Pro desktop computer, a MacBook Pro laptop in the computer bag under my desk, my iPhone a few inches away, and my iPad open to the Wall Street Journal app, where six of the top seven most read stories today are about Steve Jobs and Apple.

Thanks Steve. We will miss you.

Rachel: Ever wonder how clean a restaurant actually is? Now you can check food inspection data online. The website, Dinegerous , lists inspection scores, and what violations were found at each restaurant.

Willem: A business card is somewhat neglected but can be an important and crucial element of establishing a strong business identity no matter in what business you are into.

Natasha: Season 8 of Grey’s Anatomy started yesterday!!! Yessss!!!

Kristen: Cats + Cell phones = Cute

Tiffany: Love, love, love the marketing folks and Ben & Jerry’s! Looking forward to Ben and Jerry’s new flavor.

Charlie: Very cool animated alphabet.

Check it out in this classy little video.

Gary G: Spike likes the Metolius and Umpqua Rivers in Central Oregon, where every vista seems like a scene from the movie, “A River Runs Through It.”

As Summer is coming to an end, Spikesters share their likes of the week!

Kristen: Test your eye for color with this game. It’s harder than it looks!

Tim: Love this video. A beautiful blend of content and artistry. Not to mention jaw-dropping stunts.

Rachel: Excited to go to the Puyallup Fair this weekend!

Natasha: Next time you think about hitting your snooze button…

Willem: RETAIL RENAISSANCE | Smart retailers are defying doom and gloom scenarios, as they realize that shopping in the real world will forever satisfy consumers’ deep rooted needs for human contact, for instant gratification, for the promise of (shared) experiences, for telling stories. Hence the flurry of new formats, technologies, capabilities, and products that now are delighting retail customers around the world.

Tiffany: I’m not sure it’s science, but its definitely art!

Jason: 10th Anniversary 9-11 Memorial Stairclimb Seattle Firefighter

Charlie: Amazing, powerful and incredibly moving.

John: Football is back! I’m looking forward to a great season from the NY Jets.

Kristen: Prepare for the VMA’s by watching recaps of the most classic VMA moments- as reenacted by some special actors.

Gary G.: Having spent a week on the road surviving east coast earthquakes, avoiding oncoming hurricanes and (shudder) focus groups, Spike likes being back on terra firma among family and friends in the Great Pacific Northwest. His heart goes out to those about to feel the brunt of Irene.

Tiffany: So, I’m a big NASA nerd and I have been following the Mars rover’s for years. RIP Spirit

Willem: After testing their highlining skills up in the Mont Blanc massif, crazy french dudes highlined the highest twin towers in Paris.

Rachel: This bridesmaid was unable to make it to her friend’s wedding, but with an iPad and FaceTime, she was able to attend, digitally.

Natasha: Excited for my camping adventure at Blue Lake in Eastern Washington this weekend!

Erin: Nothing could make me more excited about heading into the weekend than seeing this:

Gina: Sad, but touching story that shows just how powerful the bond between people and animals can be.

Tim: Tim likes Steve Jobs. Or more accurately, he likes his contribution to technology.

As Steve Jobs steps down from Apple this week, it really does mark the end of an era. I was in Pioneer Square in the mid-eighties when a designer friend showed me his Apple computer, either an SE or a Plus, don’t remember. It was incredibly crude by today’s standards of course. But it allowed one to do graphics on a computer. Not very well at that time, but it was a beginning. I remember poking fun at it, but that changed soon. Then just around the corner, literally, a company called Aldus introduced PageMaker, and desktop publishing was born. Almost overnight, typesetters started to disappear — an industry that has been around since Gutenberg (over 500 years!). Within a year I had my first Mac. It was a IICX, and it was the most amazing thing I could imagine. Having just got out of art school and learned the traditional way of creating art, the timing couldn’t have been better for me. Adobe entered the picture  with Illustrator and Photoshop, and gave unbelievable creative life to the Mac.

We’ve stuck with Macs through thick and thin, even when the company was supposed to die in the late 90′s. It was Steve Jobs who came back, after being unceremoniously shoved out in 1984, and literally saved the company. One of the first signs of his resuscitating the company was the introduction of the cute and colorful iMacs. The iPod then revolutionized the music industry in spite of aggressive attempts to dethrone it (remember Microsoft’s Zune, the “iPod Killer”?). The iPhone reinvented the smartphone industry, and the latest smashing success is the iPad, which I absolutely love. (My wife thinks I love my iPad more than her. I don’t.)

This is of course a super-abbreviated version of the story. And even accounting for all the attention and adulation Steve Jobs has gotten in the business and entertainment communities, I don’t think history has even begun to really register the profound impact this visionary has had on the world. And for me, it’s been exhilarating and rewarding to personally experience it.