1. The Kung Pao Principal of Design: Always Start with Novelty The Principles of Beautiful Typography (Page 7) Novelty Fonts Novelty fonts, which are also known as display or decorative fonts, represent the vast majority of the fonts that are available for free online. Some of the fonts in this category, such as those in Figure 4.21, are modified versions of popular serif or sans-serif fonts, and some are completely off-the-wall ideas that would be better described as conceptual art than a font face. By their very nature, these fonts are less legible than their traditional counterparts, but when used sparingly, they can add a wealth of personality and flair to a design. [illustrative image above] Novelty fonts often make good starting blocks for logo design and decorative type elements. It’s nice to see Gruber’s doing more freelance writing these days. He really gets this stuff.

    The Kung Pao Principal of Design: Always Start with Novelty

    The Principles of Beautiful Typography (Page 7)

    Novelty Fonts

    Novelty fonts, which are also known as display or decorative fonts, represent the vast majority of the fonts that are available for free online. Some of the fonts in this category, such as those in Figure 4.21, are modified versions of popular serif or sans-serif fonts, and some are completely off-the-wall ideas that would be better described as conceptual art than a font face. By their very nature, these fonts are less legible than their traditional counterparts, but when used sparingly, they can add a wealth of personality and flair to a design.

    [illustrative image above]

    Novelty fonts often make good starting blocks for logo design and decorative type elements.

    It’s nice to see Gruber’s doing more freelance writing these days. He really gets this stuff.

  2. Batgirl Compilation - Traps

    I’ll need to…uh…go ahead and take the rest of the afternoon off.

    Because my bathing suit area suddenly feels all tingly.

  3. Weezer - “Pink Triangle” (1996)

    Shot and edited by Karl for their 2004 DVD.

  4. New Rider

    New Rider

  5. A stranger’s just a ““friend”” you haven’t ““met”” yet. Right? Wow. I sure am a dick about social media.1 Can’t believe how many potential connections this blind cynicism of mine has denied me. It’s like I’m dead inside. Man. Now, kindly excuse me while I leverage my new friend to get a great price on some fucking towels.       .footnotes{font-size:9px;color:#666;} Yes. This is a screen grab of the most recent checkins on Brightkite. Because, in addition to being a dick, I’m also the Mayor of Remember Someday You’re Going to Die Alone With Poop in Your Pants and Your Relatives Will Drop All Your Shit off at the Goodwill and Sell Your Car and Barely-Used Guitar and They’ll Give Your Cat to a Stranger and Everyone Will Probably Mostly Remember How You Spent All That Time Dicking Around and Acting Like Anyone Could Conceivably Be Friends With a Rails Application So Holy Daddy Jesus and the Spook Please Try to Do Something Useful With Yourself While You Have the Goddamned Chance. ↩

    A stranger’s just a ““friend”” you haven’t ““met”” yet. Right?

    Wow. I sure am a dick about social media.1

    Can’t believe how many potential connections this blind cynicism of mine has denied me. It’s like I’m dead inside.

    Man.

    Now, kindly excuse me while I leverage my new friend to get a great price on some fucking towels.

     

     

     

    1. Yes. This is a screen grab of the most recent checkins on Brightkite. Because, in addition to being a dick, I’m also the Mayor of Remember Someday You’re Going to Die Alone With Poop in Your Pants and Your Relatives Will Drop All Your Shit off at the Goodwill and Sell Your Car and Barely-Used Guitar and They’ll Give Your Cat to a Stranger and Everyone Will Probably Mostly Remember How You Spent All That Time Dicking Around and Acting Like Anyone Could Conceivably Be Friends With a Rails Application So Holy Daddy Jesus and the Spook Please Try to Do Something Useful With Yourself While You Have the Goddamned Chance. ↩

  6. The Great Geek Manual » Motivational Poster: Mac Users Boom.

    The Great Geek Manual » Motivational Poster: Mac Users

    Boom.

  7. Gee, thanks…Adam.

    Gee, thanks…Adam.

  8. From a couple months ago at Tiny Idols:

    Bacon Ray

    Diane Court (1999)

    Bacon Ray was a part of Tallahassee, Florida’s incredibly rich indie scene in the late ’90s that also included Nel Aspinal, Frankenfinger, Flanders, the New You and bazillions more. The band’s origins start with Merlin Mann, a huge fan of Mike Coleman’s prior bands the Singing Spoons and Ultraboy. When the latter broke up in 1994, Mann persuaded him to form Bacon Ray.

    According to Mann, “Mike’s old band, Ultraboy, was being interviewed on V89 (the FSU college radio station), and drummer Kelly Shane made reference to a notional “bacon ray.” I thought it was hilarious and lobbied that it become the name of Mike’s next band. (My other idea, “Kung Fu Grippe,” became the title of a weblog I did for a couple years).”

    Along with bassist Chris Gleasman from Gruel, the trio started crafting a set of original songs. According to Mann, their sound “borrowed equal parts of Kiss, Big Star, Frank Zappa, and Jonathan Richman.”

    The lineup changed over the years, but Bacon Ray had a fairly long career for a college band, releasing three cassettes, two singles, two CD’s, and numerous compilation tracks before breaking up in 1999. Their final release was “Diane Court” on The Nervous System, a compilation of mostly Florida bands on AAJ Records. The song is a fairly explanatory, and extremely catchy, ode to the movie Say Anything.

    Well, obviously this made my day.

    Thanks, Tiny Idols. You made an old man very happy.

    Ah, Canard…

    flyer, March 1998

    Couple reasons why Mike was (and always will be) one of my idols: