brown paper & grey linen

all things imperfect, quirky, and authentic

a heartbreaking work....

i love the mcsweeney's website. love it. i spend a few minutes every week reading their hilarious satirical articles and pondering the future of (quirky) american literature. i also pat my foot impatiently while waiting for each new quarterly and for every new believer magazine. i don't only revere them for their prowess with words.... they also have a great eye for quirky and clever graphic design as shown in every publication and all of their merch. today I wanted to highlight some of the things found in the mcsweeney's store (esp. since their t-shirts are 10% off this week!) enjoy.

this first one is my personal favorite...the nerd bird. but also check out their circus and helpful mountain lion tees!


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another shirt that references the cutest deepsea creature ever photographed....


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if their graphic prowess isn't enough for you, then you may want to see what kinds of words they string together.  here's an excerpt taken from their website which is one of the one-hundred and forty-five short stories in the "One Hundred and Forty-Five short stories in a Small Box" read it and weep...

The Anger of the Horses.

BY DAVE EGGERS


Last week we let all the horses go. It seemed the right thing to do. We tore down the fences, burned the bridles and the saddles, and told the horses they were free. At first they hesitated. "Go, go," we said. "Go." And so they went, up over the hill, across the plain and into the mountains. Two days later they returned. "We're bored," they said. So we sat with the horses for a while, trying to think of something for them to do. Before we could think of anything, the horses had an idea of their own. "Let's kill all the rabbits!" they said, their black eyes alight. "Let's kill all those goddamned rabbits!" they added. The horses became more and more inflamed as they talked about the details of the plan. "We'll run and find them, help flush them out," they said, "and then you can shoot them since you have the guns." They were pacing and snorting, shaking their manes and tails, ready to get started. It turns out the horses had hated the rabbits for a long, long time.

if you like it, there's more where this comes from on amazon or the mcsweeney's store