new on the internet!

so, maybe i hate animals, but this onion story is pretty priceless either way...

i'm claiming 8 out of 10 on this impossible fonts quiz. want to throw down? [one of my coworkers responded, "well, i got 83% on the ben and jerry's flavor or pottery barn paint color quiz!" apparently there are a lot of awesome quizzes on this here site.]

and, timely - do i have swine flu? thanks, kris, for advocating for public health. [that site reminds me of things i did last night, which i also love - which in turn reminds me of sorry mom, i bang the worst dudes, which always makes me a little uncomfortable. but i'm slightly more comfortable now that i know it's not just, you know, one girl's reeeeally crappy love life.]

things that happened on the internet while i was on retreat with my students.

well, the main thing that happened was that kirsten sent me a lot of emails about important things i missed on the internet.

:)

kelly kapour has a blog [and a real name and personality] and it is awesome. it's what i wish this blog sounded like, only without the fashion and coolness. also, there's something about the format that i don't like. but i'm going to go ahead and say it's THE BEST BLOG I'VE EVER READ. there, i said it. like kelly kapour, i am edgy. ["today you read some really edgy stuff here on my blog."]

gawker wants to tell us about a self-proclaimed blogworthy product and then ironicalize about it. the word "ironicalize" is totally necessary, and that's totally what they're doing. count it!

my [nerdy and font-loving] friends all want to find out what fonts we are. so far, no one is satisfied with the results. i was all excited about it because it's all PBS and has nice graphics, but NO. i am not uglyfont party itc, and your descriptions are mean, font quiz.

this just in: teachers like to drink, but you need to find the right bar.

heard about this blog, that's now dead, but has a nicely poignant last post.

i dunno, you could put a beard on a picture of yourself for a good cause.

slog has a list of blogfriends and a list of blogenemies. nicely done. do i have enough enemies for that? they also have a nice "let's blog 5,000 times a day" policy.

i need to get this out - i'm annoyed by web addresses that make no sense. especially ones that have a lot of question marks and random numbers in them. youtube is just okay, because at least it's short. nytimes and gawker and jezebel and those guys have posts that have the name in them, which is nice. but i'm really oddly attracted by bartleby's number/number thing.

http://www.bartleby.com/142/180.html

see, wasn't that nice?

FONTS. again.

here's the article about obama and fonts i mentioned earlier. you don't think fonts are important? READ THIS ARTICLE. and note how "change" looks in the different fonts. it'll blow your mind.

"so you agree? you think you're really pretty?"

really liked this jezebel post about how to respond to a compliment. i, personally, prefer the enthusiastic thank you with unnecessary details. por ejemplo, in a recent conversation about my new earrings - "THANKS! they were a dollar. at the target dollar spot! you know, right when you walk in the door? i bet they're still there. you should TOTALLY GET THEM."

i once had a conversation with a guy about sports. i mean, about talking about sports. i don't remember what the conversation was about initially, but i suspect that i was worried about guys who don't like sports. especially in the particular corner of middle america where i was living at the time - how must that feel when someone mentions a sports statistic or piece of news that you're totally supposed to know, and you can't respond? girls tend to be able to laugh it off. you know. double standard.

but anyway, the guy i was talking to said that talking about sports is a polite way to guys to make conversation. like talking about the weather. [as my brother would say,] oh yeah? and women talk about their respective appearances?

i bring up the gender issue because it's in the article - and in several very interesting comments. i recommend.

--

have you ever noticed how much "bullish" looks like "bullshit"? as in, "The titans of corporate America were glorified on the covers of Forbes, “trickle down” economics justified obscene wealth, and a bullshit Wall Street gave even working stiffs a piece of the action." i was like, whoa, catholics in alliance for the common good blog. wild.

i got two amaaaaazing voicemails in the past two days.
1. "i'm just calling because right now... i'm watching a movie about the font, helvetica?"
2. "i think of you whenever i hear this band... hang on, i don't know the words... YOU CAN'T COUNT ON ME."
it's almost like my interests are predictable. fonts and counting crows, guys. that's what i like.

twice, writing this post, i've tried to link to previous posts that don't exist. one's about the movie helvetica and the nytimes article about obama's "change" font. [well, here's part of it, actually.] the other is about the time a stranger asked to kiss my shoe. stay tuned.