Michael's Blahg

Migration, redo, updo

2008-09-10T19:52:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty much committed to migrating from Blogger to WordPress. However it's taking a while since I'm having issues importing my posts from one format to the other. I'm also working on a redesign, which changes almost on a weekly basis as I get everything figured out. WordPress is also based on PHP (instead of the standard HTML, such as Blogger uses) so it's a learning curve for me as well. Anyway, if you want to check out the progress that I'm making (or lack there of), you're more than welcome to take a peek.

Bolt!

2008-08-13T20:51:00.004-05:00

At least once a week I stumble across the website of some designer, typographer, or illustrator (or combination of any of those three) that makes me realize that I am clearly not doing enough with my craft.

Take for example, Martijn Rijven's BOLTgraphics. His style tends to get a bit cartoony sometimes, but hot damn he knows how to work those illustrations with typography. I mean, check out that header graphic on his blog. Sweet.

Oh, the irony

2008-08-07T14:51:00.000-05:00

Um... Of course it's in stock if you've got it. Duh.

Mobile Blahgging

2008-08-06T11:55:00.001-05:00

Checking out the mobile blogging feature of Blogger. How does it look?

FontShop's Top Ten

2008-01-20T16:52:00.000-06:00

FontShop has finally released their Top Ten Typefaces for 2007 list. They've got a good list going, and I'm not really surprised (nor disappointed) to see Meta Serif in the list even though it was just recently released in November. They also have a few distressed typefaces from Rian Hughes' Device studio, of whom I'm a fan despite my reluctance to use any typeface designed as distressed (similar to handwriting fonts, a distressed letter will always look the same when it shouldn't - I prefer to use regular typefaces and distress the design using Machine Wash filters from Mister Retro).

Stefan Hattenbach's Anziano (of MAC Rhino Fonts) got a spot on the list even though it comes in as number eleven (so does it count?). Anziano is a great lookin' typeface (you can download small caps for free) but I prefer his Oxtail set:

I had a brief encounter with Stefan from the Typophile forums a few months ago. He's a nice guy and fairly considerate, which goes a long way. He also has four typefaces available for free at his website. Go wild.

Michael Bierut talks about type

2008-01-09T08:14:00.000-06:00

I found this little gem on Quips yesterday, (via Typographica). This is my preferred method for receiving information from someone else, if engaging in a conversation with them is not an option. Printed articles and interviews are fine fodder when that's all one can have, however live action videos are most fantastical.

This is a good time to also look at the Hillman Curtis videos. Great discussions with several notable designers.

I love the internet.

Hubba Hubba, Meta Serif

2008-01-07T21:30:00.000-06:00

This is one post that I've been itching to make. I became a very large fan of the FF Meta typeface when doing some extensive research for a recent project. For a sans serif, Meta offers impressive readability for body/text copy. So when I heard that there was work on a serif version, I drooled.

And now, just recently, it's here: FF Meta Serif. The FontFeed is keeping track of some of the reactions across the inter-web regarding the release.

On Slant Six Creative, Armin provides a guest post with his prediction for the trends of 2008. He focuses on sans serif typography and even cites Meta as a popular choice for the coming year. While I enthusiastically agree with him, I think Meta Serif is going to surprise everyone with its surging popularity.

A great '08!

2008-01-06T14:12:00.000-06:00

I really need to hang out with some new friends, because conversations with my current friends don't go like this:

"Last night, after the clock struck pumpkin time, conversation turned, as it often does, to handwriting and type design. Who's a continuous stroke 8 writer? Any snowman-style two circle drawers? Should the bottom and top circles be the same size, or should the bottom orb be bigger? What shape should the counter be: perfect circle? Tall oval or fat oval? Tear-drop? And thus, the search began."

Head over to the Chicagoist and let them know what your favorite 8 is.

Oh yeah: Happy New Year y'all!

i love typography

2008-01-01T10:41:00.001-06:00

One of the fantastic things to come out in 2007 for designers (or anyone really) who love type is a blog called i love typography. For one, it's beautifully designed. Second, it's a phenomenal unbiased resource for typography developments around the world. Sure one can go to Veer's Ideas, the FontFeed, and Show & Tell but since they all sell fonts, it's a good guess they'll mostly focus on stories about the fonts they sell. There's nothing really wrong with that as it's expected and I know I'll get good info on their respective fonts at their respective sites, however an unbiased resource is a great thing to have.

This already impressive site by John D. Boardley contains book reviews, tutorials, font reviews, interviews... many things that a type lover would want to have in one place, and now we do.

Thanks for the site John.

Saul Bass & Associates

2007-12-30T13:20:00.000-06:00

Lookee at what Santa brought me. I've had my eye on this book for a while now thanks to the recommendation of my friend DM. To date, this is possibly the most comprehensive Bass book around. It's found a spot on my book shelf between Paul Rand and Tibor Kalman, which is next to Paula Scher.

Rob Liefeld sucks

2007-12-30T12:16:00.000-06:00

A friend sent me a link a few weeks ago pointing to this entry at Progressive Boink that provides a scathing yet very accurate critique of comic book illustrator Rob Liefeld's work. My friend sent this link to me because he knows that I think Liefeld is the worst popularized illustrator in the comic book industry. The worst. I can't emphasize that enough. The. Worst.

In the early 90's Liefeld began in moderate obscurity until Levi's was running their campaign "What do you do in your Levi's" or something like that in which Liefeld appears in a commercial directed by Spike Lee. There he is in his Levi's with a white t-shirt and a backwards baseball cap sitting at his drawing table talking about drawing comics in his Levi's. During the commercial he proudly states that he's never had a drawing lesson in his life. The irony is, it shows. Even now, nearly two decades later the only real improvements in the comics he touches is what the colorist can do with Photoshop.

I will say that I laughed myself silly reading the critique. Nearly all the bases are coverd except the X-Men #245 cover in which Longshot is drawn with five fingers. Longshot is an alien who has only four fingers. It didn't take a die-hard fanboy to know this, just a decently skilled and talented illustrator who knew how to do his research. That cover was the early tale-tale sign for the legacy of illustrative style that is Rob Liefeld.

There are many more that can be found on this Google results page. As you can see, it's no secret that he sucks. His continued popularity (diminished as it is) is still a mystery to me, but I suppose there's no accounting for bad taste.

After several years with Liefeld at Image Comics, Todd McFarlane even came out and said (paraphrasing here) that he'd "never work with that kid again." Lovely.

Blowing off the dust

2007-12-28T17:18:00.000-06:00

So... it has been a long time since I last posted here. Things have kept me busy and I've put this little thing on the back burner — until now. I just finished a major project at work and now I should have a little more breathing room to blow off the dust and spend some time here with more frequent posts.

One noticeable thing I've made a change to is adding the Google AdSense space. I'm not doing this because I'm money-hungry (because that whopping 14 cent check will comfortably pad my checking account), but rather it's upon the recommendation of my friend Vincent and I figured "why not." I don't like the idea of advertising on my own blog (the irony is noted) but since it's not obtrusive or obnoxious I'll see how it goes. Whatever revenue I get from it will go to my daughter's savings account, so at least there's a positive spin to this.

I'll also begin the new year by recapsulating some of the more notable things that occured in the design industry in 2007. Really just things that I wanted to post anyway and make comments on.

Logo vs. Clip Art

2007-05-24T07:41:00.000-05:00

On the topic of being published, I discovered that there is an online article at Designorati where I am quoted several times.

Every now and then I Google my name for kicks, just to see what comes up. This time the Designorati article popped up about a third of the way down the results page. My quotes were taken from some posts that I made for a topic on using clip art for logos in a Yahoo graphic design mailing list. Obviously, I was strongly against using clip art for logos, as illustrated by my comments.

Word It

2007-05-09T23:31:00.000-05:00

Well this is a little exciting for me. I'm published. In print. My name and work is out there. Yay me.

The book is called "The Word It Book" which is a collection of monthly Word It submissions to the Speak Up website. Speak Up is a design blog and Word It is a monthly excercise of taking a word (in this case the word was "blah") and providing a visual interpretation of it.

What's actually the neat part about this is, unlike other trade magazines that run annual design competitions where an entry fee is required (essentially paying your way in), all the entries in this book were hand selected by the authors.

And yes, I took the name for this blog from my own Word It entry of nearly two years ago.

The book:

The best page in the book:

The index to the best page in the book:

The 300

2007-03-30T08:25:00.000-05:00

"It's a great freakin' movie."

I don't know how else to begin this post. There's no way for me to really ease into it. Everyone has heard about it, most everyone has seen the trailers. What else is there to cover except that it's a great freakin' movie?

Well, there is the historical significance. When I talk to people who have also seen it, they say words like "great visuals" and "full of testosterone" and "wonderful colors" but then there's nearly always "not much of a plot". And no, there won't seem to be much of a plot unless you understand what the movie really means.

The last stand of the 300 Spartans is actually much bigger than 300 soldiers fighting against a million other soldiers in waves of 10,000 to 20,000 (and incredibly defeating each wave). This Persian invasion takes place just before Alexander the Great conquers all of Asia and then the birth of Roman Empire. This is incredibly important to keep in mind.

300 Spartans held a million Persians for 3 days. Their sacrifice inspired and bought time for the rest of Greece to build and prepare the rest of their armies to face Xerxes (and then stop his invasion). If Greece didn't have that, then it's highly likely that they would not have been ready to face Xerxes and therefore would have been defeated. Which means... Alexander would never be known as Great. The Roman Empire might not have ever been born (or be as empirical as it was). America as we know Her, and Western civilization and philosophies, most likely would not be what they are today.

So as you can see, there is actually a very very large plot in the movie, it's just not covered in the dialogue or narration. That last stand of 300 Spartans is momentous. I'm going to see it again, this time at the IMAX. I already have the graphic novel, but I'm going to buy the DVD when it's released. And then... I don't know, but I'm sure that I'll still be quoting lines from the movie.

Top 10 Things

2007-03-21T00:02:00.000-05:00

This is a great top 10 list posted by Michael McDonough over at the adzilla blog:

The Top 10 Things They Never Taught Me in Design School
by Michael McDonough

1. Talent is one-third of the success equation.
Talent is important in any profession, but it is no guarantee of success.
Hard work and luck are equally important. Hard work means self-discipline
and sacrifice. Luck means, among other things, access to power, whether it
is social contacts or money or timing. In fact, if you are not very
talented, you can still succeed by emphasizing the other two. If you think I
am wrong, just look around.

2. 95 percent of any creative profession is shit work.
Only 5 percent is actually, in some simplistic way, fun. In school that is
what you focus on; it is 100 percent fun. Tick-tock. In real life, most of
the time there is paper work, drafting boring stuff, fact-checking,
negotiating, selling, collecting money, paying taxes, and so forth. If you
don’t learn to love the boring, aggravating, and stupid parts of your
profession and perform them with diligence and care, you will never succeed.

3. If everything is equally important, then nothing is very important.
You hear a lot about details, from “Don’t sweat the details” to “God is in
the details.” Both are true, but with a very important explanation:
hierarchy. You must decide what is important, and then attend to it first
and foremost. Everything is important, yes. But not everything is equally
important. A very successful real estate person taught me this. He told me,
“Watch King Rat. You’ll get it.”

4. Don’t over-think a problem.
One time when I was in graduate school, the late, great Steven Izenour said
to me, after only a week or so into a ten-week problem, “OK, you solved it.
Now draw it up.” Every other critic I ever had always tried to complicate
and prolong a problem when, in fact, it had already been solved. Designers
are obsessive by nature. This was a revelation. Sometimes you just hit it.
The thing is done. Move on.

5. Start with what you know; then remove the unknowns.
In design this means “draw what you know.” Start by putting down what you
already know and already understand. If you are designing a chair, for
example, you know that humans are of predictable height. The seat height,
the angle of repose, and the loading requirements can at least be
approximated. So draw them. Most students panic when faced with something
they do not know and cannot control. Forget about it. Begin at the
beginning. Then work on each unknown, solving and removing them one at a
time. It is the most important rule of design. In Zen it is expressed as “Be
where you are.” It works.

6. Don’t forget your goal.
Definition of a fanatic: Someone who redoubles his effort after forgetting
his goal. Students and young designers often approach a problem with insight
and brilliance, and subsequently let it slip away in confusion, fear and
wasted effort. They forget their goals, and make up new ones as they go
along. Original thought is a kind of gift from the gods. Artists know this.
“Hold the moment,” they say. “Honor it.” Get your idea down on a slip of
paper and tape it up in front of you.

7. When you throw your weight around, you usually fall off balance.
Overconfidence is as bad as no confidence. Be humble in approaching
problems. Realize and accept your ignorance, then work diligently to educate
yourself out of it. Ask questions. Power – the power to create things and
impose them on the world – is a privilege. Do not abuse it, do not
underestimate its difficulty, or it will come around and bite you on the
ass. The great Karmic wheel, however slowly, turns.

8. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; or, no good deed goes
unpunished.
The world is not set up to facilitate the best any more than it is set up to
facilitate the worst. It doesn’t depend on brilliance or innovation because
if it did, the system would be unpredictable. It requires averages and
predictables. So, good deeds and brilliant ideas go against the grain of the
social contract almost by definition. They will be challenged and will
require enormous effort to succeed. Most fail. Expect to work hard, expect
to fail a few times, and expect to be rejected. Our work is like martial
arts or military strategy: Never underestimate your opponent. If you believe
in excellence, your opponent will pretty much be everything.

9. It all comes down to output.
No matter how cool your computer rendering is, no matter how brilliant your
essay is, no matter how fabulous your whatever is, if you can’t output it,
distribute it, and make it known, it basically doesn’t exist. Orient
yourself to output. Schedule output. Output, output, output. Show Me The
Output.

10. The rest of the world counts.
If you hope to accomplish anything, you will inevitably need all of the
people you hated in high school. I once attended a very prestigious design
school where the idea was “If you are here, you are so important, the rest
of the world doesn’t count.” Not a single person from that school that I
know of has ever been really successful outside of school. In fact, most are
the kind of mid-level management drones and hacks they so despised as
students. A suit does not make you a genius. No matter how good your design
is, somebody has to construct or manufacture it. Somebody has to insure it.
Somebody has to buy it. Respect those people. You need them. Big time.

Pulp Typography

2007-03-19T07:31:00.000-05:00

A very large—and very menacing—catalog is in production that is taking up a monstrous portion of my time currently. Once that book is out, I'll be making better efforts to update this "blahg" more frequently.

In the meantime, check out this video of the infamous scene of "What does Marsellus Wallace Look Like?" from Pulp Fiction. I don't know if it's my affinity for the scene, the wonderful use of a slab-serif typeface, the harmony of the colors, the rhythm of the living text, or if it's just that everything was put together very well, but I love this.

Credit goes to Jarratt Moody for the Pulp Fiction Typography, but it's spread all over YouTube by at least a dozen folks.

Design Ranch 2007

2007-01-23T00:37:00.000-06:00

Even if I weren't on the board for the AIGA Austin chapter, I'd still be pimping out this event. By reputation, Design Ranch 2007 is by far one of the best design conferences in the country. Only a few other AIGA chapters put on the Design Ranch, and proudly Austin is one of them.

It's not cheap, but it's good and it really is one of the better priced conferences that you'll find. Sell your liver or a lung (you've got two, right?) if you have to, but find a way to make it there. You can find registration info here. AIGA members can register before March 17th and save forty bucks!

Kudos to Mr. Carnegie for always successfully getting this off the ground.

And the award goes to...

2007-01-22T23:53:00.000-06:00

I've decied to begin a new tradition with my blog. Each January I will award a particular font as the Most Overused Font of the (previous) Year. The candidates will mostly comprise of stylized fonts and not target certain san-serif fonts (otherwise Helvetica Neue or Gill Sans will always win). Even certain text serif fonts will be excluded (such as any Garammond family, Bodoni family, and yes even Mrs. Eaves). And most definitely all system fonts will be excluded.

So without much further ado, I will announce the winner.

It's Adobe's Rosewood.

"There were many typeface designs based on Clarendon letterforms seen in type catalogs from 1866 to 1875. Adobe’s Rosewood, released in 1994, is modeled after a chromatic design from William Page in 1874. (“Chromatic” or multicolored typefaces were first created by carefully registering and overprinting two or sometimes three versions of each letter in different colors to produce a flamboyant appearance). Rosewood’s Regular version is designed to overlay the Fill version for two-color printing."

If you watch fonts in publications like Donald Trump watches his hairline, you'd have noticed the proliferated use of this slab-sarif typeface in both it's styles throughout the year. (Yes, it's a shame I don't have any examples of the dozen or so examples that I'm referring to but if you paid attention like I said you should, then you know what I'm talking about.)

Have I mentioned how much I love Linotype's FontExplorer X? It's what is used to display Rosewood in my screenshot (in case you were curious).

*Incidentally, if I were doing this award for 2005, Rosewood would have won for that year also.

Color sounds like...

2006-11-26T21:16:00.000-06:00

Showing that having a monopoly on the graphic design industry's tools doesn't make them lazy, Adobe's Adobe Labs is continuing it's innovative prowess by unvieling kuler. For those (of us) that are colorically challenged, this is a great new tool to add to one's arsenal:

Discover a "kuler" way to create color palettes with this web application from Adobe Labs. Quickly explore and get inspired to create and share your own harmonious color themes.

Brand New!

2006-11-06T23:19:00.000-06:00

Leave it to Armin and Bryony to always keep an eye on the expanding horizon. With the continuous growth of Under Consideration, they've launched yet another blog: Brand New.

"It is our pleasure to announce the first official Speak Up spin-off: Brand New. A blog devoted solely to the monitoring, discussion and critique of brand and corporate identity work in all its manifestations and across all categories. With new work being created consistently – and Speak Up not being able, or willing, to accomodate every single new logo that comes out – we wanted to offer a space that would showcase this work and allow the design community to stay plugged in to the ever-evolving saga of identity work."

Now all of us brand-conscious designers have another resource for feeding our addiction.

Heller of a website

2006-10-29T21:49:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Veer for pointing this out earlier in the week (gotta love The Skinny). Steven Heller now has his own (and long overdue) website.

Happy Birthday to you...

2006-10-24T07:42:00.000-05:00

Here are several birthdays for the month of October:

Zuzana Licko - October 2nd
Paula Scher - October 6th
Peter Saville - October 9th
Rudy Vanderlans - October 10th
Joe Pemberton - October 26th
Ed Benguiat - October 27th

And for November:

Hermann Zapf - November 8th
Rick Valicenti - November 20th

Fantagraphic!

2006-10-19T00:46:00.000-05:00

Yet another reason that the Seattle, WA, area is a cool place for designers to be. Fantagraphic Books is opening their own bookstore in the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown on October 21st:

We've been keeping this under our hat for awhile; you Flog! readers are the first to hear this news: this weekend in the happenin' Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown, we are doing something we've wanted to do for years. We're opening our own Fantagraphics storefront. The store unofficially opens Saturday. I say "unofficially," because although it will be open to the public effective this weekend,it will be a "soft" opening as we continue to fine tune, add signage, fixtures, etc. But the books will be there and the doors will be open this weekend.

We will really pull out all the stops beginning in November, with a grand opening in early December. What I can tell you now: The store will contain everything Fantagraphics has in print, including our soon-to-be-legendary damaged room, featuring discounted and often out-of-print books unavailable anywhere else. The space also has room for exhibitions, which we'll have more news about very soon.

We'll post some pictures at the end of the week along with more details. But the store has an exhibition space as well, and look for a lot of great shows and events to come in 2007. Start making your Seattle vacation plans NOW, and if you have friends in Seattle that might be interested, please pass on the news.

Here's the 411:

FANTAGRAPHIC BOOKS
1201 South Vale Street
Seattle, WA 98108
Mon. - Sat 11:30 - 8
Sun 11:30 - 5
206-658-0110

If you're a designer and a fan of illustrated literature, then you'll love what Fantagraphic Books does. Check 'em out!

Pantone on the walls

2006-09-30T00:03:00.000-05:00

Finally. I mean it: finally! Designers of all pedigrees can finally paint the walls of their homes with PANTONE-color interior wall paint:

Through a relationship with Fine Paints of Europe, designers, architects and discerning homeowners can now confidently specify and match Pantone's color standards in paint.

Quick drying, easy-to-apply and eco-friendly, PANTONE-matched paints from Fine Paints of Europe represent the pinnacle of the Dutch art of paint making. These real Dutch paints are formulated to the highest quality standards using expensive resins combined with high concentrations of finely ground pigments. Tinted by a unique proprietary tinting system and product-specific colorants, PANTONE-matched paint provides superior color accuracy, enhanced color depth, and excellent coverage for long-lasting value.

With over 3,000 designer colors to choose from, the new PANTONE matched paints yield the depth and vibrancy of color to dramatically enhance any environment.

Art vs. Design

2006-09-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

I know there's a lot of confusion between artists and designers amongst the general public, as well as some designers themselves. The way I've always tried to sum it up is this: artists create works for themselves as a form of expression, whereas designers create solutions for their clients using a form of communication.

Veer is doing something new by doing "portraits" of designers. Armin Vit is the first to be exposed in such a way, and Corey Holms is the second. So far, they are the only two, however I would keep my eye on their site to see who else they use in the near future.

In Armin's interview, he discusses his view on the separation of art vs. design.

I love it.

Veer: What differentiates art and design?

Armin: They’re completely different things. I hate when designers say, ‘I’m an artist.’ No you’re not. If you were an artist you would have your stuff hanging at a gallery and you would make a lot of money selling it. Instead you’re at a computer, you take requests from a client, and you make things on their behalf. And we’re not even commercial artists because it’s not art, it’s communication. It’s type and images put together, and eventually you do something - a brochure, a logo, a web site, a report. None of that shit hangs in a gallery.

Birthday Boys

2006-08-23T00:55:00.000-05:00

There are some famous birthdays this month:

Paul Renner - August 9th
Paul Rand - August 14th
Jonathan Hoefler - August 22nd

All in the family

2006-08-09T12:10:00.001-05:00

So it appears that Monotype Imaging has just purchased Linotype GmbH.

Monotype is probably best known to designers as resellers of typefaces. Also, according to their website:

"We supply font and imaging solutions to OEMs of printers and MFPs, manufacturers and developers of consumer electronics devices such as mobile phones and set-top boxes, developers of system software and application software, and to creative professionals worldwide."

Linotype is also well known for reselling typefaces, as well as probably the least-known yet best-performing free font management application for OS X, FontExplorer X.

You can read the press release here.

Didot

2006-07-10T14:53:00.000-05:00

So the whole month of June has gone by and not a single post from me. I'll tell ya, it went by fast. There were so many things going on with my sister's wedding in Dallas, two weeks worth of evening classes for newborns, an AIGA National Retreat in San Francisco, and finally a ruptured appendix that landed me a full-week stay in the hospital. It's like time that I can't get back. It's been "fun" trying to get caught up and back to full speed.

I found this little gem at a Half-Price Books store just before my sister's wedding, but had hoped to post about it when I returned from San Francisco. The hospital stay side-tracked that effort, so now here I am finally able to talk about it.

This is a little booklet of which only 200 copies were printed back in 1922. Mr. McMurtrie goes over the history of the Didot typeface and how perhaps the Bodoni typeface was a copy of it. It's pretty interesting and a great piece of history. I think the thing that I like about it so much is how old it is and being able to view first-hand the method of typesetting for the early '20's. Below are some shots of the booklet.

Art of Imagination

2006-05-31T23:57:00.000-05:00

I'm a sucker for a good visual reference book. When I saw Art of Imagination on the shelf at the store the other week, I couldn't help but put it in my hands. Of course as soon as I lifted the 10 pound(!) book, I figured it had to be good. So I set it on the ground and sifted through the 768 pages containing the 1300 posters and covers and realized that I simply had to have it. I was extremely pleased (giddy is more like it) when I saw the $20 price tag (marked-down from $40). Really, this book should be going for $60.

From the book description:

"Since the beginning of his existence, man has used imagination to create magical worlds that would transport him beyond the borders of reality. Art of Imagination is a trilogy consisting of the award winning Illustrated History series: Science Fiction of the 20th Century (Year 2000 Hugo Award Winner), Horror of the 20th Century (Bram Stoker Award nominee), and Fantasy of the 20th Century creating the ultimate collection. It was in the twentieth century that book, magazine, and poster artists reached new pinnacles of creativity in depicting the unknown. This collection of works by artists and designers of movie posters, books, and magazines provides a hearty feast for the eyes of the enchanted reader. These artisans and their works are the subject of this new must-have book for not only collectors of memorabilia, but for every person who has longed to step into his or her imaginary world, be it one of fantasy, flight, or fear -- if only for a moment."

And given the size of the book, it's a long moment. It's on Amazon right now for $13, but I think after S&H the price will end up closer to what I paid for it locally. If you're into sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genre references, this is a book you'll want to have. Here is only a small sample of the spreads:

Freaky Friday 02

2006-05-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

The black and white issue... almost

It's been a busy week so there weren't any updates in the last few days, however I have been making small notes over the week so that this issue of Freaky Friday would have some content.

-- | Font fetish | --

Incognito and Requiem have some new competition for being some of my favorite fonts. Affair has just been released by Veer and hot-diggity it looks mighty tempting.

-- | DRAWing on the range | --

Mac56 of Ranger Bastards (site currently down) from Indonesia has posted a few sweet-looking illustrations on the Graphics.com forums. He uses CorelDRAW of all things. You can view his first posting here, and his follow-up posting here. Lots of good stuff.

-- | Gelukkige Verjaardag! | --

Today is Peter Bruhn's birthday. Peter is the man in the one-man swedish type foundry known as Fountain. Fountain produces some top-notch quality fonts for a very economical price, and you can tell that he loves what he does whether it's owning (and showing off) an original signed type speciman book from Frederic Goudy or creating a funky font after returning from a concert, it's great stuff. (Fountain is another foundry that is distributing one of those typefaces I lust over, Incognito, designed by Gábor Kóthay.)

-- | Calendar niceties | --

In case you're tired of your current calendar already, FontShop has a great little thing that they do. Each month they put out a calendar that you can print out yourself (at 11x17), as well as a desktop, featuring some of their more popular typefaces.

-- | Caps & No Caps | --

For those who are familiar with Upper & Lowercase Magazine, you may be interested in hearing that U&lc is not only not being printed anymore (their last issue was published in the summer of 1999), but U&lc Online also no longer has its own domain. If you've been looking for it, you can now find U&lc Online on International Typeface Corporation's (ITC) website.

The nature of the type world keeps changing. And any online publication is, by definition, about change. U&lc Online began life as an online companion to U&lc, ITC’s award-winning magazine; from here on in, it will begin a new life, in a new format, as ITC’s online voice. Expect the unexpected.

Incidentally, if you're looking for an archive of the printed issues, you can purchase a hardcover book of selected covers, stories, and illustrations called U&lc: Influencing Design & Typography from Veer's Merch store.

-- | Design is Business | --

I love it when graphic design gets exposure in the "civilian" world, and even more so when it gets recognized in the business world. BusinessWeek Online as a neat little write up on the influence of Milton Glaser's work in the world of New York, as well as a little background history on the man himself.

My only complaint regarding the article:

At a recent book signing, says Elizabeth Lupton, a curator at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, young people crowded around Glaser, wanting "to touch genius." Yet Glaser can't claim to truly speak their language. He loves computers but worries that they narrow creativity, which thrives on ambiguity, fuzziness, and the borders between ideas. Computers, he explains, are all about clarity and defined boundaries. Even now, boundaries beckon to Glaser to come and break them down.

Okay, it's Ellen Lupton, not Elizabeth Lupton.

Freaky Friday 01

2006-05-12T12:03:00.000-05:00

Design Observer has Observed, Speak Up has their editions of Quipsologies, and Be A Design Group has their Be Aware installments. So I figured it was a great format to take inspiration from and catch all the random things that pop up during the week but don't necessarily warrant a full post by themselves.

-- | Cultivating signage | --

Cultivator Advertising in Denver has done a really nifty thing here using various sign typography for an ad campaign for Ink Coffee. There were five done, and the one pictured above is my favorite. This reminds of the Ed Fella book Letters on America.

-- | Zag that way | --

Marty Neumeier has a new book following his Brand Gap book (which is really good, by the way), called Zag. It looks like Zag is done in the same "whiteboard format" as Brand Gap, which breaks down most all of his points in an easy-to-follow and extremely easy to understand succinct format. (Link from Mr. Surtees.)

-- | Debbie matters | --
Who doesn't love Ms. Millman? I've been following her for a few years now, and have to say I'm more than flattered that she's added me to her "Things I Like" side-list on her blog. Don't forget to catch her "Design Matters" broadcast today at 2 p.m. Central. Today her guest is Gael Towey, Creative Director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

-- | Sweet swag | --
Yesterday my second deck of playing cards that I ordered from GigPosters finally came in. Nice merch!

-- | Friendly fire | --

Richard Friend has been doing some very impressive experiments with his illustrations lately. He's been posting some on Jim Lee's blog, but you can find most of them on his own artshake blog. (Warning: not all his sketches would be considered "work safe.")

Is it real, or is it a model?

2006-05-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

The answer is yes, that's a photo of real people on a real campground (thanks to my wife, my sister and her fiancé). This is a technique called "tilt-shifting" that's normally done with the lens of a camera. This came about as a way to solve the problem of having converging lines of buildings and objects in photos (much like the one, two, or three-point perspective often used for illustrations). However, as a by-product, using this technique also makes any birds-eye perspective of a landscape appear as a highly detailed model.

There's a Swiss photgrapher in California by the name of Gérard Pétremand who has some phenomenal examples of this technique. There's also Olivo Barbieri who has made a name for himself in doing the same thing.

One can purchase a lens from Canon for about $1,000. Their lenses will render this technique for any camera that it will fit. I picked up on Nori Ravi's review of the Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Lens that allowed her to take some exceptional pictures of flowers. However, if you're on a budget there's a $100 option from Lensbabies that would probably work pretty well too. Yet you can do it much less expensively if you're a do-it-yourselfer and feel like doing some hardware hacking.

The last and probably cheapest option (if you already own Photoshop) is, well, using Photoshop. At the beginning of this year, a growing community on boingboing and flickr showcase their own experiments. Some of them are down-right good.

The Photoshop tutorial is surprisingly easy. I had it figured out pretty quickly. As someone who dabbles in photography on the side (way on the side), I feel that this presents a new perspective (pardon the pun) and injects a new sense of creativity in my hobby.

Happy Birthday Saul

2006-05-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of Saul Bass, born in 1920 in New York City.

He was a prolific designer whose work spanned movie titles and movie posters, to identity design and a corporate identification system for the largest company in the world (at the time, and now bastardizing his design). His work has influenced countless designers and the debate continues (read the comments) whether or not he is the best designer of the 20th century. It's possible that seldom know that he also directed a movie in 1974. In 1981 he was awarded as an AIGA medalist.

He passed away in 1996.

Crosby by Adams in STEP

2006-05-06T01:02:00.000-05:00

I have no idea how I missed this on the newsstands earlier this year, but I got incredibly lucky that Hasting's keeps their old issues out. The January/February 2006 issue of STEP magazine has a pretty good interview on Bart Crosby by Sean Adams.

"I think designers should pursue the breadth of their own interests and talents. While I specialize in identification and branding, I’ve also designed interiors, packaging, videos, tennis racquets, clothing, sports and television venues, paper stocks, and furniture. Some people specialize because it gives them the ability to concentrate on and refine a single discipline, or so that they can capitalize on a single, repeatable process. A lot of design thinking and design processes are transferable from discipline to discipline. I happen to be cursed with a mind that’s in constant motion and I’m personally interested in doing a variety of things."

-Bart Crosby

If you missed the printed issue, you can always read the online version of the interview.

There's also a fantastic informational background on Crosby as an AIGA medalist.

Inequality Matters

2006-05-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

The AIGA has made available the poster gallery for the Inequality Matters campaign.

"Halving extreme poverty by 2015 is doable but will not happen unless government and civil society act to close the ever-widening disparity—between countries and within countries. Spread the word by distributing the posters."

Such a great cause yet only about 70 AIGA members across the U.S. created posters for it. There were a ton more posters submitted for the Get Out the Vote campaign. I don't know if it's simply because of the difference in the level of exposure for each of the campaigns, or if the majority of us are only concerned in making things better in our own homes and not for the family across the street as well.

Download the posters, print them, and hang them up all over town. Get the word out.

World Graphics Day

2006-04-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

Today is World Graphics Day. It's also the 43rd anniversary for the day Icograda was formed in back in 1963. Oddly enough I can't find too much information on Icograda's own website, however I was able to find some older posts spread out over the last few years on design*notes (2006), Speak Up (2005), and even Microsoft's typography page (2002) mentioning the anniversary.

All AIGA members became Icograda members last year.

Illustrating the letterform

2006-04-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

This is a real exciting event. I love the work that these guys do. I sure wish I were in the L.A. area within the next few weeks though to catch it.

"A focus on new ways of seeing the 26 characters of the alphabet and how to use them as expressive tools in a contemporary vocabulary of design is what binds these six letterform artists together in a kind of shared vision."

From April 6th through May 19th the works of Michael Doret, Daniel Pelavin, Tom White, Peter Greco, Tom Nikosey, and Gerard Huerta will be on display at Harolds Gallery at Insync Media. 150 pieces of work will be on display. One hunderd and fifty! Plus concept sketches which will give some insight to the creative process of some of the pieces. You can find links for interviews with each of them here.

There's a PDF available for download that promotes the event.

A name that should be included in this event? Tom Kennedy.

POTUS Typographicus

2006-04-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

I don't follow architecture or interior design intimately like some other designers do, but I certainly have an appreciation for it. I've read The Fountainhead, and the Interior Decorators of Texas is actually one of my clients. I also subscribe to Metropolis.

In the current May 2006 issue there's a great article by Steven Heller adressing the issue of the typographical graphics that adorn the background of the President's public addresses. Steven calls it POTUS Typographicus, and makes a great point that due to President Bush's "less-than-commanding oratorical style" the current administration must feel a need to use these visual aids as if they were cue cards to summarize and drive the point home.

Heller does mention that no other president before Bush has done this, yet Reagan had done something similar. Anytime President Reagan was on T.V. or on a stage or somewhere that could be staged, there was always an American flag (or five) in the background. This was a planned strategy by the Reagan administration to use the flag as a branding tool to instill a sense of patriotism for American viewers everywhere, thus heightening Reagan's popularity and removing any doubt as to what came out of his mouth as anything less than American. Frank Miller, in his Dark Knight Returns graphic novel (good luck trying to find any of the four original issues for under $35 apiece), has a futuristic Reagan continuing as President and addressing the nation with (you guessed it) stars and stripes and American flags in just about every frame Reagan is in. I would venture a guess that Miller also understood Reagan's American branding technique, therefore incorporating it into his illustrations.

Heller also touches on the aspect that communication happens even when you're trying not to communicate, such as the use of an "expressionless serif font for the slogan 'Compassion in Action' which actually removes any hint of ingenuousness from the word compassion." I do wish he drilled down a little further and really dissected what the typographics actually communicate (in his words). It's a good article though, so go pick up your copy today.

Inspirational

2006-04-19T00:17:00.000-05:00

One of my earliest childhood memories also happens to be a visual one. My father used to hang out at a local gas station to shoot the breeze with some of the mechanics that worked there, and on occasion he'd take me with him. I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old, but I distinctly remember seeing a giant sign on an outside wall with a red flying horse in a circle. I assumed it was a sign for the gas station itself, and not a nationally recognized logo for the Mobil gas brand.

Obviously, I thought this was the coolest gas station ever. I loved visiting the station if only to gaze upon that wonderfully fantastic sign. Staring at it definitely sparked my interest for recognizing objects in a visually intricate way (as much as I could at that young age). My fascination with the logo is probably one of the many reasons I enjoyed working at Pegasus Design so much.

The logo that I'm referring to is the 1965 version that was revitalized by Chermayeff & Geismar (and from what I can understand, Eliot Noyes actually had the commission). Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar were both students of Paul Rand at Yale, and it's possible that Paul Rand had a lot to do with Chermayeff & Geismar getting the commission to revitalize Mobil. Eliot Noyes was the Principal Industrial Designer for IBM and the Principal Designer for Westinghouse. Eliot Noyes hand-picked Paul Rand to handle the identity for both IBM and Westinghouse.

I attribute my early single memory of this vision as the first of many that set me on the path to drawing and reading comics as a kid, and then (re)discovering the graphic design world as my profession. The gas station, which was downtown Austin near the Capitol building, has been replaced by some other local business. The Mobile brand has been replaced by a merged EXXONMobil. The same EXXON logo that many think Saul Bass designed, yet he takes no credit for it. Raymond Loewy designed the EXXON logo in the 1960's (identity rebrand from Standard Oil's ESSO Petrol Stations) and in 1981 Saul Bass actually revitalizes every other aspect of EXXON which includes architecture design, packaging, lighting, and traffic flow. Although Bass streamlined the EXXON signage commencing work on the lettering and/or logotype, he never took credit for it. He could have easliy changed Raymond Loewy's EXXON identity, but in having the ultimate respect for another designer's milestone work, he instead had the stones to tell his client that the communication problem that existed for the company was not in the identiy itself but rather it was everything else that supported the identity. Finding this kind of character trait in a designer is hardly heard of these days.

* Much of this post wouldn't be possible without the aid of DesignMaven's input. Keep the names alive man!

A precious commodity

2006-04-17T04:18:00.000-05:00

Some habits are just hard to break, and I have one that I find myself repeating every few months or so.

I stay up late.

I don't mean until two in the morning, I mean I'm winding down around seven in the morning and then I sleep for a few hours and start my day again between 10 and 11 a.m. I do this for two main reasons:

- I feel like I'm stealing extra time in the day to accomplish things

- I'm stealing uninterrupted time

A big challenge with freelance is you do everything yourself. Everything. There's no one to answer your phone for you, no one to prepare proposals or invoices, no one to meet with clients, no one to help with production work, and no one to bounce ideas off of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a hands-on kinda guy so I love doing everything, but some days there's just not enough time to do it all. So what I end up doing is mostly administrative stuff during the day, and then I spend some time with my wife in the evening, then at night I throw on a pot of coffee and plant myself in my chair and work on the design and production stuff that I love.

But I can only handle this for so long. I've been in this routine for about a month now and I'm going to have to break out of it this week. My energy and cohesive thought process have both diminished a bit. But over the years of doing this, I've learned something:

Time, not love or money or anything else, is humankind's most precious commodity and everything we do costs us time.

I say this because really, all we can do is spend it. You can't earn it, you can't save it, and you can't reclaim it. We've devised all kinds of ways to try to manage it, be frugal with it, and even delude ourselves into thinking we're saving it. We also devise a way to measure its passing by tracking the sun and the moon and keeping watches and calendars. And so it passes us by at a constant rate and there's nothing much we can do about it except stay up late at night and try to get more done in a given day.

Finally complete... almost

2006-04-14T04:01:00.000-05:00

I owe cookiecrook far more than anyone could guess. Without his urging, I wouldn't be on the AIGA Austin board right now. I also wouldn't even be aware of accessibility and how important it truly is for web design.

I also wouldn't have learned about the Lightbox script. It's a nifty lightweight javascript for popping up an image within your current browser window. Say you have a thumbnail image that you want to be clickable to show the image full-size? Opening the image in a new window is counter-intuitive for getting back to the original window. Lightbox script solves that.

Even as James clued me into the script, the author of said script had just produced version two. After evaluating it for a few days, I decided to stick with version one. I felt that the newer script in, all its animated spiffiness, was detracting from the image itself (which to me is the antithesis of its purpose).

So the build-up to all of this is that I've finally completed the last leg of my site redesign: having larger previews of my portfolio samples. The only ones that are link-dead are old websites from the pre-dot.com-bust days and print samples that I no longer have originals of (a hard drive crash and misplacing a box of portfolio samples from moving six times within three years will do that). It's something I still have difficulty discussing.

So now the very last thing I'm contemplating for my site is the gray-to-gray that I have going on with the background and the sidebar. It looks okay on a PC but my eyes get lost in the sea of gray that Safari displays. I've thought about placing a pattern in the background, but who isn't doing that these days? But I like it, so I may still end up trying it out.

Widget

2006-04-14T03:58:00.000-05:00

I use an older Mac G4 as my workhorse, which normally does just fine for me. Running Panther was a bit of a strain but it practically sings under Tiger... until I try to use Dashboard.

It's a little slow the first time I launch it (per reboot) and I don't know who would want to use the widgets that support drag and drop (such as Transmit's FTP widget - I just use their nifty desktop script for quick uploads) because switching in and out of Dashboard is such a strain on my system.

Anyway, I'm posting this entry using Blogger's Widget. I can see how this is useful for quick posts. It's many less clicks to jump into Dashboard and just start typing, rather than open a new tab in Safari and navigate through Blogger's home page to get to the "new post" section.

I'll still need to go online to create new posts that are larger and contain images and links. Such as the next one I'm about to start...

Not really

2006-04-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

Back in the mid 90's I rode a 1982 Yamaha Virago. It's one of those motorcycles that look like a Harley but doesn't have a Harley price tag. At the time I primarily used Diamond Shamrock gasoline. I never had a problem with it until I starting using it in my bike.

Every time I filled up at Diamond Shamrock, there was always a pinging sound and the occasional hiccup in horsepower. I realized that my bike was in bad enough shape to give indication that the gasoline was bad too. And this was only with Diamond Shamrock and no other brand of gasoline. So ever since then I've avoided using Diamond Shamrock like the plague. I've sworn them off.

And now they've made a final step to ensure that I never use them again. Ever.

Anyone can see this billboard heading west on 183 approaching the Mopac exit. I haven't seen any of the Diamond Shamrock locations switching over yet, but it doesn't matter because they will eventually. They say they plan on retiring the 30-year old Diamond Shamrock brand and using the Valero brand at 2,900 retail locations (which I assume is all of them).

It's not prettier. It's not even good. There's nothing clever to it, not even a trace amount of ambiguity or metaphorical character to give it life. At least the Diamond Shamrock logo had a semblance of that. I think it's the yellow squiggly line that's throwing me off. I could live with the white "V" in the green circle (it would show structure and balance indicating reliability for the company) but I think it'd have to be tweaked for better symmetrical balance (and they would have to lose the gradient on the green circle). Details.

Fibbery

2006-04-07T11:19:00.000-05:00

Well this is pretty neat: It seems that April is not only National Poetry Month, but also Math Awareness Month. So a mister Gregory K. has decided to try to get folks to write poems on his blog based on the Fibonacci sequence, and he's calling them "Fibs." I've never been one to be real big on poetry, but a lot of the poems are fun to read. Plus he seems to be getting a pretty good response by posting on Slashdot as well (scroll down for additional comments).

Museum of Printing History

2006-04-04T23:18:00.000-05:00

If you're ever down in the way of Houston, and you have a fascination (or even a mere appreciation) for typography and "old-school" printing, I highly recommend stopping by the Museum of Printing History.

I visited the museum a few years ago and gained a whole new perspective and respect for the printing process and how far we've come today. Visiting the museum again is one of those things that I've put on my list for things to do this year.

And speaking of printing history, for the last two years running there is a booth at the Texas Renaissance Festival called "The Gutenberg Press" which also features (you guessed it) a working Gutenberg press. While I have my doubts to its authenticity, it's still fascinating to see something like that in action. If you make it a habit to attend the festival, I recommend finding the booth and casing the joint*. (The booth is usually to the "left" of the jousting arena.)

* Yes I know this terminology is usually reserved for 1920's gangster-speak, but sometimes I give in to the desires to make a play on words even if no else will get it. To "case" the joint... you know, cases in old type shops where capital letters an non-capital letters were stored, hence the name "upper-case" and "lower-case" letters? Okay ahh... nevermind then.

Two for one special!

2006-04-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

It looks like I'm not the only one updating my site today. Cameron Moll has updated the online portfolio section of his site. I gotta say, it looks pretty spiffy. Who doesn't like the "worn" look nowadays? Vintage is so in.

I should warn you, it seems like he's getting a ton of hits today because of this. His site is loading unusually slow.

It's alive!

2006-04-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

So my new site redesign (v2) is live now. I've been playing with the Blogger feature for a few weeks in March to test it and get familiar with it, so you'll probably see some different layouts in the archives. Someday I'll eventually switch over to Moveable Type.

For a designer who used to dabble in HTML back in the dot-com boom and then somewhat walked away after the dot-com bust (to focus on my original passion: the print design discipline), I'm amazed how easy it really is to learn CSS. Everything in my new site is CSS except the tables and forms. (I'm not a big fan of how CSS handles tables and I didn't have the energy to learn CSS forms.)

In my portfolio section (Graphic Design/Illustration), pretty much all of the thumbnail images won't open into a window with a larger view... yet. That's the next step I'll be working on in the next few weeks.

Other than that, I'm still making some very minor tweaks to the site, odds are you'll never notice. Just some last minute spit and polish. Feel free to kick the tires, check the lights, and take it for a spin.

The cage match!

2006-03-05T18:40:00.000-06:00

I know there are some graphic designers that don't really care to follow the trend of graphic design books. I'm not one of them. I love my graphic design books. I have a pretty nice library so far, and it just keeps growing.

For the longest time I've made the Barnes & Noble in the Arboretum my bookstore of choice because of it's selection and convenince. But I've noticed that it's availability of graphic design-related books has diminished lately. Even the Barnes & Noble in Round Rock (where I live) has a smaller selection these days.

However, the Borders location "across the street" (other side of 183 for the B&N Arboretum locale) continues to keep their stock filled and up-to-date. Kudos to them for giving B&N some good competition.

And of course how can we forget about BookPeople? Their graphic design section is nearly equal to that of Borders, with a slightly more diverse selection. Whenever I'm downtown, I love to find an excuse to hop in and browse their books.

You can't go wrong hitting either Borders or BookPeople when you're looking for that certain graphic design book.

(Okay, I know this wasn't so much a "cage-match" review as much as it was really just a little bit of lovin' slathered on each contender. I love my books and I love my book stores. You gotta hit each store and make up your own mind for what you like.)

"In the form of... water!"

2006-03-04T23:59:00.000-06:00

While the Super Friends certainly had its campiness (remember the Wonder Twins and Gleep?), the newest incarnation managed to avoid that pitfall. And we can all thank Bruce Timm for that.

Bruce Timm is the creative genius behind the Batman Animated series, the Superman animated series, the Justice League and the Justice League Unlimited animated series. For 15 years Bruce Timm has been pouring himself into these series for the WB network (and currently the Cartoon Network), and it looks like he's ready to move on. The last episode will air the second week of April.

Just when the series started to round out into what we (the fans) always wanted to see: the Justice League going head to head with the Legion of Doom, but then the ride is over. It seems that Bruce Timm is physically exhausted (who wouldn't be) and is ready to take his path into a different direction.

My wife and I just became hooked on the TV show "Lost". My mother watches it and wanted the first season DVD set for Christmas. So we got it for her and a few weeks ago we borrowed it so we could see what all the hoopla was about. We finished the whole set within a week, and now are trying to get caught up on the second season. Consider us hooked.

So here's the thing: in the credits for the first season, on some episodes, I noticed a familiar name for the story editor credit: Paul Dini. After a little asking around, it was confirmed for me that this is indeed the same Paul Dini that teamed with Bruce Timm for the Batman, Superman, and Justice League series. (Make note that Time-Warner owns Warner Bothers which own DC Comics. "Lost" airs on ABC which is owned by Disney.)

Anyway, while watching an episode where Locke's bad-assedness was taking center stage, it occured to me that his character has the no-nonsense and always-prepared mentality that Batman does. And then the lightbulb clicked on above my head! Most of the main characters for Lost seem to have the same dynamics of the main characters of the Justice League! Okay, stay with me... here's the breakdown:

Superman - Jack
Batman - Locke
Wonder Woman (or Hawkgirl) - Kate
Green Lantern - Sayid
Flash - Hurley (or Charlie on some episodes)

I can't really line up the Martian Manhunter nor Sawyer because, well, it's not an exact line up. Regardless, those key characters are very similar in the group dynamic of their respective shows. The way they interact with each other, the way they disagree with each other, and the way the other characters approach them. It's a successful dynamic, and it makes the fanboy inside me giddy.

Oh yeah, and I think the Others are pirates.

Incognito, how I love thee...

2006-03-01T01:53:00.000-06:00

Is it bad when I yearn to own a typeface? Of course not. I've had my eye on this little puppy since it came out last year. Oh Incognito, someday you will be mine.

Art School Confidential

2006-02-28T12:37:00.000-06:00

Hahaha... this looks like a great movie! I love it when there's a spotlight placed on the comedic funkiness in the world of art. You can view the movie trailer here and also follow the link to the movies' homepage.

iPod package redesign

2006-02-27T14:33:00.000-06:00

This is fantastic! If Microsoft were to redesign the packaging for Apple's iPod, it would probably go very much like this.

Brand-spankin' newness!

2006-02-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

So I'm up and running now. Being the kind of guy who is constantly on the cusp of new technology*, I'm giving this "blogging" thing a spin. I think it's going to be big.

* I say this in jest because I'm usually up to speed on any kind of technological newness... I simply procrastinated on getting into blogging because I didn't want to just jump on the bandwagon like everyone else. It's at this juncture though, that I have a purpose for blogging, and I have some things to say from time to time.