Polish design awesome? I have to admit, I doubted you there but one look at the link convinced me-- wow!

Haha, I cracked up when I read your Sony logo. I have to admit, I would definitely go Sony if they did that.

Yup, Lem covers are pretty cool -- as is the stuff between the covers of his books. The Cyberiad is one of my favorite books.

It's because they're Polish, duh.

Polish awesomeness doesn't need explanation, fool.

Amida: It sounds like a joke, but I'm totally serious. It's like psychedelic hippie art, but good.

Nathan: It might even earn them forgiveness for the spyware DRM!

Mark: That was the first book of his I ever read! Recommended to me by an English teacher in high school after he learned that I liked Douglas Adams. It was like discovering Lou Reed after being all into the Beatles or something. I still love that book but I think my favorite one of his is the Star Diaries, now.

Justin: Oh yeah, I forgot, they sent like 12 guys and a crate of baseball bats to help with that war in Iraq you guys had. (I'm a political-commentary dynamo!)

America does have a healthy electronics industry---it's just in the aerospace, automotive, and medical fields. We're good at those things, along with movies, music, high-speed pizza delivery, and developing the best country name to chant.

("The United States: not so much a nation as a 200-year-old PR campaign.")

--BGA

Not to get too off track, but one of the cover designs for "Solaris" is totally a ripped-off frame from Star Wars.

Polish Design: maybe it's the Constructivist/propaganda art influence (single idea distilled and abstracted) mixed with a healthy dose of newfound artistic freedom, new methods of artistic abstraction ("modern" movement, Rothko-esque color fields). I heart it.

Did that make sense? Two kinds of abstraction meet on an operating table...

Eastern European design is always good. You did see the Solaris poster, right?This one has been one of my favorites since art school. Ah, whiskeyhat.