Tuesday, May 29, 2007

ban comic sans

okay, you all must read this article about fonts.

now, i don't pretend to be a design expert. but i can tell you the fonts that all my friends have used on AIM for the last seven years. so there's that. do you think that these people hate many of my friends on spec? [if nothing else, click on the "photos" link. there's a whole collection of grassroots propaganda, with pictures and literature stuck to instances of comic sans all over the world.]

things that worry me: where i'll find free internet next, the baby who threw up on the flight here who is also on the return flight, going to the bathroom from the window seat, whether or not i can sleep my computer instead of turning it off for takeoff, and whether "on spec" is trite.





[later edit: i just re-read this post and got mad that i used the phrase "on spec" before i noticed that i already questioned it the first time. please note both my obsession with writing style and the enjoyment i get from reading my own blog.]

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

reds and volunteers

now that's support - this one's from paul. thanks, ken griffey, for being weird and apparently also appealing. the weirdest thing about this article is how thrilled the guy was. like, spend the whole game insulting him, and then think he's awesome when he notices you? awesome. i also think it's weird that making fun of the guy for being fat was apparently fine.



the picture's from this nytimes article, courtesy of the miz - i guess they tore down the glove factory? where are we going to unload our boats? :) for those of you who don't know, that's tennessee's boathouse on the water on the far right. first floor boats, second floor ergs and offices, third floor restaurant. totally sweet setup.

i've said it before and i'll say it again - tennessee has the nicest fans and the best food. talk about southern hospitality. that sweet tea and red velvet cake almost made up for being in tennessee for spring break. the food, and also being with teammates. remember the wireless internet at krystal? yessss.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

adam brody = siiiigh

saw the movie "in the land of women" tonight. it was free. among the few other people in the theater were four high school students. the two boys ended up sitting in the front row, with the two girls three rows behind. at the end of the movie, the boys stood up and said, "nice pick, girls," with a pppphhhhbbb and a thumbs down. the girls said "shut uppppp" and started texting as they followed the boys out. classic.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

art and science

“The artist, since the beginning of time, has always expressed the aspirations and dreams of his people,” she said. “Silence the artist and you have silenced the most articulate voice the people have.”
- katharine hepburn, speaking against the house committee on un-american activities in 1947.

also, this, on the a scientific study of the five-second rule:
"What do these numbers tell us about the five-second rule? Quick retrieval does mean fewer bacteria, but it’s no guarantee of safety."

Sunday, May 06, 2007

"yayyy! i love puns!"

has everyone seen the sex and the city skit on SNL with christina aguilera hosting? christina does a really, really good samantha. i was freaking out. "speaking of BIG secrets... i'm a dude!" nice. i don't know how she does the samantha voice, but YEAH. also, obviously they make fun of the puns. "samantha was lying about having a penis, but weren't we all lying about having... hap-penis?"

the actress who plays charlotte also does an awesome job sitting up straight and being overly supportive.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

middle middle middle america

this was the lead local news story on the ten o'clock news tonight. "an animal lover's worst nightmare - their pet being brutally killed. it happened to a morton man's dog thursday afternoon and now an entire neighborhood is on edge..." okay. this is the LEAD STORY. a freaking puppy was killed. they interviewed several people and read the story [the transcript linked above is pretty word-for-word] with extreme gravity. this is middle america, folks.

on the other hand, in the nati, it's always like "there is a threat to your family that you don't even know about. we'll give you the key to avoiding it - story at eleven." and you're like, i'd like to go to bed - but what about my family's safety? how could i be so irresponsible?

also, note that the late news is on at ten in central time, and there's also early news at nine. has everyone realized that the entire central time zone must be really well rested? i'm watching conan and it's midnight. what IS that.

"it would nod toward both sets of core values..."

this is from commonweal by the awesome cathleen kaveny, on the court upholding the partial-birth abortion ban:
Life versus choice. Personhood versus bodily health and integrity. Women versus
unborn children. Are we in for another thirty years of abortion wars? I think
the Court was right in upholding the act’s constitutionality. At the same time,
I think the law itself will exacerbate conflict over core values rather than
ameliorate that conflict. But maybe there’s another way. Is it possible, for
example, to design a law that prohibits a range of late-term abortions, while at
the same time including a clear and defined health exception? Would such a law
be upheld by the Roberts Court? Perhaps. Such a law would not satisfy activists
on either side. But it would nod toward both sets of core values: it would
highlight the humanity of unborn life while recognizing that secular law should
not require a woman to sacrifice her fundamental physical integrity to carry her
baby to term. Maybe that’s a step toward a workable compromise. But I’m not
holding my breath.
i appreciate her distinction on values. i understand that opposition to abortion is seen as a priority value for many people [what's that word? when it's the most important thing?], but i think we'd do well to remember that pro-choice advocates are also using legitimate values. professor kaveny is good about this. watch the movie citizen ruth and you'll see...

but yes. planned parenthood is not the devil. i'm convinced that they're really trying to do something good. so where's the "workable compromise" of values?

as always, i have no answers...