handwritten, not typed

I enjoy wandering through stores like Paper Source, looking at stationary, cards, etc. So “Putting Your Stamp on the Mail” in today’s Washington Post caught my attention. It is a short article about note writing in the age of IM-ing and e-mail, they also have several examples of colorful stationary.

I’m dating myself, but I remember a time when writing letters was the best option. My dad was in the military so whenever he was away we would write each other several times a week. It was always fun to check the mailbox, rip open the letter and read Dad’s response. My Dad’s handwriting is immaculate, something I always aspired to, but never achieved. I’m somewhere between his writing and my Mom’s chicken scratch. Now we e-mail, but I have the letters for when I want a trip down memory lane.

 I challenge one and all! Back away from the computer, pick up some quality stationary, your favorite pen and take the time to hand write a note. Let Mom know you are thinking of her or surprise the kids with mail of their own. Add an illustration or doodle if you like, when you are done address it and send through the mail. It is fun to receive letters through snail mail, as opposed to bills and sales flyers. Who knows, maybe you will get a letter in return.

crossing words

This week I’m back to working on the newspaper crossword puzzles. I'm plugging along, although I do have to use reference materials at some point. Is that cheating? Who am I kidding, I don’t know that I care, as long as I’m learning something in the process it is all good. For example, a clue from Tuesday read, “8 on the Beaufort scale,” looking for a 4-letter word. Have you heard of the Beaufort Scale? If I had, I didn't remember.

Sir Francis Beaufort developed the Beaufort Wind Scale in 1805. Here is a link to the Storm Prediction Center and Sir Beaufort’s scale. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html  

Ever heard your weather forecaster speak of gale force winds? Well, this is where they got that term. By the way “gale” is number 8 of the scale.

interesting typography

Thumbing through Domino magazine when this ad for the Domino Bazaar caught my eye. Type forms the shape of a female shopper and recounts her elation upon finding a lamp at the bazaar, “Joy, victory, and long lasting inspiration…” This is an interesting way to present event information. The ad grabs your attention, it was a little awkward to read at first, but it can be done. What fun is it if you don’t have to work a little?

How did they know? Just what I wanted!

Junk mail strikes again. I just received my Heifer International Holiday catalog! (Every girl’s dream.) I’ve never heard of this organization so at first glance I was stumped. Of course the cover was decked out with Christmas ornaments and a nice picture of sheep (not heifers, sheep) against a photoshopped Christmasy background. The randomness of junk mail, never a dull moment!

All jokes aside this is a charitable organization working to end world hunger.

words, words, words

Here is a list of words that I find interesting. The words made this list because I liked either the meaning or sound. (this list could go on and on, I’ll add more as they come to me)

future, hope, discount, strive, travel, heinous, existence, existential, inconspicuous

Words that really aren’t words, but find a way to creep into speech always crack me up, like strategery. Maybe I should make up a word and if I can get enough people to use it I’ll be on my way.

Category

REI’s adventure guide is always fun to peruse, so I decided to share this for the category section of Show & Tell. The trips are categorized by region, and activity level. A description is provided along with cost, maximum group size and trip dates.

Bookmarks revisited Part 2

Not Coming to a Theatre Near You has a list of movie title sequences designed by Saul Bass, you can click on the title name and click to forward through the sequence. Amazing what can be done with typography and creative thinking.

 

Bookmarks revisited

I decided to look through my bookmark folders, do a little cleaning and revisit some websites. Came across the Color In Motion site, RIT grad Maria C. Cortes’ thesis project from several years ago that was featured in CommArts and a few other places. This is old news, but it is a fun site on color. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. If you saw it before, don’t you think it is time for another look?

in the Details

I have always enjoyed puzzles, riddles, tongue twisters and finding Waldo. As a child, the search for Waldo was endless, but now I enjoy the “second glance” pictures where search for differences in two or more images, requiring that you pay attention to detail. As a sat patiently staring at the Washington Post’s latest Second Glance: Scoping It Out, I realized that I was unconsciously training all these years for the ultimate challenge of typesetting that awaits me this semester and in the future. Reviewing text and making it flow correctly is no small task. I usually just view it as a puzzle, takes time to arrange all of the pieces and be sure to avoid rivers and widows and orphans, oh my! Once done, I may be a little cross-eyed, but I’d do it again.

 If you would like to try your hand at Second Glance: Scoping It Out, click on the name for link.

To Blog or Not to Blog

While looking through Communication Arts I came across an interesting article on blogging, “Blog as a Marketing Tool” by Maria Piscopo. The article addresses the upside and downside of blogging, mostly up though. The most important pieces I took from this article are respecting blogs as marketing tools, edit carefully to put your best foot forward and keep the blog current. (Click on the article title for link)

 I’m slowly adjusting to updating my blog regularly. There are blogs I like to check on occasion, but I had not taken the time to blog myself in the past. Hopefully, by the end of the semester this will be a part of my regular schedule and I will continue on. Blogging is a great way to share information and maintain a web presence.

Call to Action

September was National Preparedness Month. Are you prepared?

I received Target’s safety guide and checklist along with the weekend sales flyers a few weeks ago. This call to action flyer is a fun take on a tiresome task (necessary, but tiresome). The guide includes helpful ideas for putting together your safety kit, along with anecdotes and word finds to entertain along the way.

Posting a small picture would not do the flyer justice, so I decided to set up a link instead. Make A Plan. Save The Day.

Since I’m on the subject I’ll include Ready Kids, from the US Dept of Homeland Security, check it out if you are interested.