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  • Non-letter typography

    Wonderful post on the terminology of numeral and punctuation typography:

    In “Emoticons During Wartime,” a recent article in The New Yorker (December 10, 2007), Tom McNichol documents the usefulness of emoticons in communicating by visual innuendo. Emoticons can mean whatever the writer and reader want them to mean, until, of course the meaning is explicitly defined for all by The New Yorker. Two striking examples are:

    “=|:-)= This e‑mail is being monitored by Uncle Sam for your protection,” and “:-x I’d rather not say in an e‑mail that’s being monitored for my protection.”

  • Freedom and covenant

    From a minister-blogger I’m reading more of these days, CAUTE: On cottages, decay, barns, fire, Mt. Olympus and the moon – or the future of the liberal church . . .:

    So we are left with what feels to many the inconvenient truth that to be truly free as an individual to pursue truth we must ensure the freedom to do the same of an ever larger community and, to do that properly, we have to limit our personal freedom through the continuous process of covenanting. (It’s like marriage of course.)

  • Indescribable

    The Most Unwanted Song has it all: bagpipes, accordions, and organ; operatic soprano and children’s choir; rap and elevator muzak; holidays, cowboys, and politics. I couldn’t stop laughing.

    Via Andrew Sullivan.
    See also:
    Yo, Yo, I’m a Cowboy Now — Quick Study
    Dial “M” for Musicology: You want postmodern? I’ll give you postmodern.
    Design Observer: writings about design & culture

  • Fun web game

    Magic Pen by Alejandro Guillen

  • Steampunk

    This looks like a fun, very stylish, free online game: Dirk Valentine — Nitrome

    (Tip of the hat to Brass Goggles.)

  • Totally cool time-wasters

    And they’re educational, too! Can you name Elements of the Periodic Table?

    Via Kottke

  • “Let’s just saddle up and have an argument”?

    I just saw footage of former president Bill Clinton saying that politics is a body sport and you have to be willing to get beat up. OK, you fucking adulterer, I want to see your income tax returns, now. And I want to see evidence that your wife, the one who is the putative candidate, can actually keep you on a leash. And why she says she “misspoke” when in fact she told several whopping, flat-out lies. And how on earth she can justify the race-baiting tactics of her campaign. And why she voted to send to Iraq 4,000 American men and women who would be alive now had she not wanted to show she has big balls—not to mention the much larger number of injuries of American servicemen and ‑women and the untold numbers of Iraqi lives lost or damaged beyond repair.

    And while we’re at it, can you explain how you or she can ask for gay and lesbian support when you sold us down the river as president?

    And when Hillary claims she has thirty years of experience, could she be more specific? Thirty years of experience as what, exactly? A political wife?  A failed, unelected policy wonk? A dirty street fighter? Please.

    All I can say is, I am no longer willing to vote for just any Democratic candidate. If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, I will not vote for her. How’s that for an argument, Bill?

  • Anza-Borrego State Park

    We had a nice visit of the whole family to the Anza-Borrego State Park this morning. It’s past the peak for desert wildflowers, but we still saw some colorful plants. I took some photos, and managed to crop a few on my as-yet ill-equiped Dell laptop.

    paddlecactus.JPG

    (more…)

  • Mommyblogs

    My first experiences with friends having babies is now in the teens years ago. But a new crop of friends (and my sister!) have been having babies, and this time there’s the joy of mommyblogs. My favorite entries are often the self-confessedly sappy ones like this: Nice work if you can get it.

    Whether she ever sleeps through the night or not (I pray the former) the real truth of it is this: the moments I am lucky enough to spend with my sleeping child in my arms will be among the sweetest of my life.

    I have such fond memories of when my friend Sam (he of the now teen years) was a baby and Barbara watched him on the mornings she and I had our weekly breakfast, and sometimes on an after-breakfast walk he would fall asleep in my arms as I carried him.

  • New England Flower Show

    I had the good fortune to accompany the Boston.about.com guide to the New England Flower show for the press preview. The show is similar to other years. I do believe the competitive horticulture section is improving (although they still allow plastic pots!). Here’s a shot from the bonsai exhibit that I rather like.

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