Chess Letters, Book Letters, [Bachelor of] Legal Letters. November 9, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Blogging, Design, Etcetera, School, Typography.Tags: Letters, Study, University, Bookshelves, Law School, Chess, Exams, Stress
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No time to blog.
Too busy studying.
Would rather be playing
{ Type Chess Set by Wary Meyers via The Jailbreak }
Or maybe choosing a Book That I Actually Want To Read, from
{ Letters Bookshelf by Pieter de Leeuw via Design Milk }
Instead, there are only four letters on my mind right now:
B. LLB.*
*…Okay, technically it’s B. Comms/LLB. But in the final 5 days of 5 years’ study — having secured the “Comms” bit last semester, and now with only 2 exams to go — those 2 Ls and Bs are my only (very significant) academic concern right now.**
** If I had more free time I’d throw something in here about blubbing, study lbs, and curious palindromes. But I haven’t, so I shan’t.
Through The Looking Glass: Where Coffee = Sleep October 10, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Blogging, Etcetera, Laughing, Words.Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Caffeine, Coffee, Douglas Adams, Macchiato, Sleep, Starbucks
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Comparing coffee preferences to sleeping habits is probably the most ironic analogy ever made. But outside the asylum, through the looking glass, only the nonsensical truly makes sense. And so, I propose the following theory:
If coffee = sleep, then…
A) A macchiato (a shot of espresso with a mere dash of foam) is the coffee equivalent of “a short but intense nap between 12:30am and 6:30am, as popularised by yogis, yoginis, truck drivers and insomniacs”.
B) A Starbucks Venti Mocha Frappuccino (20 ounces of cream, caffeine & chocolate) is the “persistent vegetative state” of the coffee world.
Somewhere in between lies CATATONIA, which is what happens when you have an incurable weakness for both A) and B) (as regards both the coffee and the sleep).
“Patients with catatonia may experience an extreme loss of motor skills or even constant hyperactive motor activity. Catatonic patients will sometimes hold rigid poses for hours and will ignore any external stimuli. Patients with catatonic excitement can die of exhaustion if not treated. Patients may also show stereotyped, repetitive movements.
They may show specific types of movement such as waxy flexibility, in which they maintain positions after being placed in them by someone else, or gegenhalten (lit. “counterhold”), in which they resist movement in proportion to the force applied by the examiner. They may repeat meaningless phrases or speak only to repeat what the examiner says….
Catatonic excitement is a state of constant purposeless agitation and excitation. Individuals in this state are extremely hyperactive, although the activity seems to lack purpose.
…The only way to cure it is to keep the patient constantly active and the activities must have an end goal or they will not work. Stress must be reduced by not pressurising, keeping life predictable and by limiting choice as making choices is very stressful for catatonics.”
— Wikipedia (of course)
And on that note, I REALLY have to get back to writing this thesis. 13 days and counting…
{images via smh.com.au and wikimedia commons }
Elvis + Helvetica? Hellsvetica yes! October 4, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Blogging, Cinema, Earworms, Etcetera, FFFFOUND!, Helvetica, Pretty!, The Ether, Typography, Videorama.Tags: Typography, Helvetica, FFFFOUND!, youtube, Music, Elvis, Helvistica, Rockabilly
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Firstly: Elvis + Helvetica = brilliant.
{by Hulk4598 on flickr, via FFFFOUND!}
This girl approves.
Now, for a bit of waffle. (Err… waffle).
Note Exhibit A, above. Young Elvis* all dolled up for the film Roustabout, in too-neat leathers with too-tidy hair . Movie tagline: “Elvis Presley as a Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT”. [Insert sceptical looks here].
But also note Exhibit B:
{also by Hulk4598 on flickr, via FFFFOUND!}
Young Elvis in a rather naff suit, with an acoustic guitar that he never really played much, and a messed-up coiff that looks like he’s just come off stage after this:
(Skip to 1:00 and press play. Watch to the end. DO IT. Honestly. Just trust me on this, okay? You won’t regret it.)
Now isn’t it ironic that despite the extra “L” in Exhibit A ["Hell for leather[s]“, anyone?] Elvis was actually at the peak of his corrupting deviance not as a “Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT”, but as a cheeky, messy-haired rockabilly boy?
Clearly, the 1950s were hella good for the Rebellious Youth, in music and typography.
*[as opposed to Old Elvis: let's just not go there, okay?]
PS. Much as I appreciate the sentiment, I’m not such a fan of Helvekitty.
PPS. Whatever happened to Elvis movies on Sunday afternoon TV? Oh well, at least we’ve still got:
Spot the Dustpocalypse: Life on Mars/Earth September 26, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Art, Cinema, Earworms, Etcetera, Pretty!, The News, Videorama.Tags: David Bowie, Dust, Dust Storm, Dustpocalypse, Earth, Life on Mars, Mars, Meteorology, Sydney, Total Recall, Weather
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Spot the difference:
{ Sunrise on Mars, via NASA }
{ View from my ferry (7.20am, Saturday 24.09.09), Circular Quay, Sydney, Earth }
Sydney saw the Dustpocalypse twice this week: two epic dust storms sweeping eastward from the inland deserts. The first on Wednesday morning, came with full-force opaque orange skies, visibility nil, and undertones of other-worldly terror.
Tom Coates’ Red Dust photo gallery says it best:
{ I adore the deathly reflection }
The second — this fine Saturday morning — resulted in a greyer shade of haze, and that uncannily Martian ice-blue sunrise.
Both eventually cleared to reveal clearer-than-clear bright Springtime afternoons.
Now how on Earth (or Mars) can anyone who lives on this planet honestly say that the weather is just a topic for idle small talk?
Playing in my Head
Movies: Total Recall
{ via giflix }
Music: Life on Mars, David Bowie.
Venn Redux September 14, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Art, Blogging, Design, Etcetera, FFFFOUND!, Laughing, Pantone, Pretty!, Technobabble, The Ether.Tags: FFFFOUND!, Pantone, Design, Art, Behance, Venn diagram, Cool, Nerd, Narwhal, Unicorn, Whale shark, CMYK, Cake
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Okay, remember when the internet started leaking a steady supply of hilariously reworked periodic tables and I developed a tiny obsession (then revisited it) despite a distinct lack of real scientific knowledge?
Well, it’s happened again, this time with Venn diagrams. Usually, I try to avoid anything remotely mathematical (unless of course it’s Craig Damrauer’s New Math).
But there are Venn diagrams, and then there are Venn diagrams. These are the latter:
{ Douglas Adams loved giant, spotty, placid whale sharks, and so do I. via Behance }
{ I love both unicorns and narwhals, and this is genius. My original favourite, by ArgyleWhale via horkulated }
{ I’m also a fan of colour standards, so CMYcake is my new favourite, via FFFFOUND! }
There’s also something rather nice about memes that are gradually exuded throughout the ether like this. As opposed to those high GI memes that burn twice as bright but half as long, before hitting maximum saturation and maximum irritation at almost precisely the same moment (see also: Rickrolling, Squirrel Crashes, and — as much as I hate to say it — Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat).
PS. For a permanent source of often puerile, seldom unfunny, and not at all mathematical diagrams and graphs, you might like to bookmark GraphJam:
…but only if you can afford to fritter away vast swathes of time on a regular basis)
PPS. This one is conclusively prescient:
{ Enough said! via BuzzFeed }
Our eclipsing star: The Big Picture July 26, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Etcetera, Pretty!, Technobabble, The Ether, The News.Tags: Boston Big Picture, India, Lunar, Moon, Sol, Solar Eclipse, Space
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I just knew that the The Big Picture would do a remarkable job covering last week’s solar eclipse! And I hate to say “I told you so”, but I was right in predicting that India would have an incredible view, wasn’t I?
(All amazing photography courtesy of that aforementioned Font Of Great Photography; click each image to link)
{ Eclipsing the Taj Mahal: Agra }
{ A golden eclipse, and the Sikh Golden Temple: Amritsar }
{ Sol, and a statue of Ghandi: Chennai }
{ The peeking “limb”: Varanasi }
{ The other Red Crescent: Varanasi }
{ The Full Corona: Varanasi }
Simply stunning! (The photographs, and our universe).
DEFINITELY RELATED POSTS:
More On The Moon July 22, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Blogging, Etcetera, Pretty!, Technobabble, The News, Words.Tags: Apana, Ashtanga, Lunar, Moon, Moon Day, New Moon, Solar Eclipse, Twilight, Yoga
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More on the topic of lunar loveliness…
Ardha chandrasana: Half-moon pose { via lenayoga.com }
For Earthlings, today is New Moon (the lunar phase, not the teen vampire popfic phenom). For Ashtanga yogis, today is therefore Moon Day. Traditionally, this is a day of rest, or at least, non-practice, associated with apana: a grounding force that renders us settled, but also less inclined to physical exertion. Personally, as an Earthling and an Ashtangi, I feel out of kilter if I don’t rise with the sun and meander to the mat. So my Moon Day began with lots of beautiful, earthing asanas — parighasana, krounchasana, gomukhasana and supta padangusthasana — woven into my practice, followed by a long, deep savasana, pulled downward by the firm hand of gravity.
ALSO…
The longest solar eclipse of the 21st Century happened today:
{ via The Age }
In parts of India, the sun even rose in partial eclipse, the moon edging further and further in between Earth and Sol with every passing dawntime minute…* I can only imagine that saluting to a partially eclipsed surya must be a truly wondrous experience. Can you think of a better way to feel like an infinitesimal animated visitor in an incomprehensibly mysterious, miraculous universe? I can’t!
* The Beeb has some nice photos here.
DEFINITELY RELATED POSTS:
Lunar loveliness July 22, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Etcetera, Pretty!, Technobabble, The News, Words.Tags: Apollo 11, Armstrong, Boston Big Picture, Earthrise, Late heavy Bombardment, Lunar, Lunar Landing, Mare tranquillitatus, Moon, NASA, Sabine Crater, Science, Sea fo Tranquility, Space, Translunar Coast
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It was 40 years ago today… that a handful of Really Brave Menfolk* did something unfathomably unfathomable, and jetted off to the moon for a bit of a stroll on the lunar surface.
As usual, Boston.com’s The Big Picture has put together Remembering Apollo 11 for the occasion: a remarkable photographic retrospective. My favourites are the ever-famous ‘Earthrise’ image (see below for more on the wording):
And this beautiful portrait of a beautiful young Neil Armstrong:
Beautiful!
But, as usual, it’s the highly-specialised, sometimes elegant, often eccentric extra-terrestrial lexicon (with cutely self-explanatory acronyms) that tugs at my heartstrings.
- Mare Tranquillitatus / Sea of Tranquility: A large, relatively blank basaltic plain, onto which the Apollo 8 lander set its foily feet.
.
- Sabine Crater: Found in the Sea of Tranquility (see above). Named after astronomer, ornithologist and explorer Edward Sabine.
.
- Pre-Nectarian: A lunar geologic period (not that bit of summer just before the stone fruit glut)
. - Translunar Coast: the trip from Earth to Moon (“coast” as in “coasting”, not seashore). A whimsical name for what is no doubt an incredible journey.
And the cutely obvious:
- ALOTS: Airborne Lightweight Optical Tracking System
.
- Earthrise: Only On The Moon. From Earth, we can watch the moon rise above the horizon. On the Moon, it’s t’other way around. Simple.
.
“The Earthrise photograph was not on the mission schedule and was taken in a moment of pure serendipity [cute phrase]…As Apollo 8 emerged from the far side of its fourth orbit, crew commander Frank Borman rolled the spacecraft so as to position its antennas [sic. I know: I'd use "antennae" too...] for radio contact with mission control. Looking to the lunar horizon for reference he exclaimed: “Oh my God, look at that picture over there! Here’s the Earth coming up!”…The image shows our entire world as a small and blue and very finite globe, without our nearest celestial neighbour a desolate presence in the foreground.”– ‘Genesis: The Story of Apollo’, The Sciences 1998, via abc.net.au
. - Late Heavy Bombardment: The era during which frequent meteor impacts left the moon with its pock-marked complexion.
And, to finish, an iota of luminous trivia for us all: the reason the moon glows so is because almost half of all moondust is made of tiny spherical glass particles, which reflect dazzling sunlight in our general direction (much like those reflective glass bead road markings… but, er, prettier).
And on that note, Goodnight Moon!
* I have no feminist or post-feminist qualms referring to Armstrong, Aldrin & co as such: I can’t think of anything more terrifying than space travel, let alone pioneering space travel.
DEFINITELY RELATED POSTS: The language of deep space
All photos: Remembering Apollo 11, Boston.com The Big Picture
Everything Will Be [Techn(olog)ically] Okay June 28, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Blogging, Etcetera, Ire, Laughing, Technobabble, The Ether, Words.Tags: Blogging, Dell, Everything Will Be Okay, Hitchhiker's Guide, Marvin, Tech Support, technology, XPS m1330
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I have been a very bad blogger. But with good reason, of course. Here begins the story of a Miraculous Laptop Resurrection.
On the first day, at the first sign of computer malfunction, I made one emergency backup.
{ via hannahbeth }
On the second day, I witnessed increasingly psychedelic bouts of computer death. RIP Graphics Card (and therefore, motherboard, into which said graphic card was unfortunately integrated).
{ via Gizmodo }
On the third day, I put Marvin away and started what would become several weeks of Using Someone Else’s Laptop (Mother, Work, Friends…).
{ by breadandbuttershop on etsy }
On the fourth day I began procrastinating about repairs. 1 expired warranty + 3 University end-of-semester essays (+ subsequent holidays) = 3 weeks of procrastination. Anticipated interminably long phone queues, futile complaints, ending inevitably in a very expensive motherboard replacement. Not to mention the idea of a Restore-From-Backup, which never quite returns things to normal.
{ via fromkeetra }
… [Insert here: Several weeks of frustration. Using a netbook (I advise against them, unless your preferred work speed is "glacial") loaded with Internet Explorer (not recommended, unless you love a good crash... every 5 minutes). Enduring the mundanity of Open Office, and "This is a public computer: please don't remember my password" on the work computers. Missing my pedantic email filing system in Thunderbird, and all my delicious, delicious cookies (NO, not that kind, THIS kind). ]
{ via Lolita }
The Call to Dell was made on the Thursday, at 4pm. By 4.05pm (including 1 minute of synthesised glockenspiel muzak) I was saying thankyou to the phone operator who had just promised FREE delivery and installation of a FREE replacement motherboard (which will be covered by a 1-year warranty, FREE), hopefully next-day, but by Monday at the latest. Almost. Fell. Off. My. Chair. In. Shock! (I like to think that it was because I mentioned my awareness of the Dell forums showing more than 150 people with the same problem, many out of warranty,who were still able to claim a free replacement.)
And so, on the Friday, Marvin* rose again. Dell Man appeared at my office at midday, as arranged, and with power drill in hand, disassembled my poor machine into a pile of bits and pieces. And lo, by 12.25pm the lappy resurrection was complete! Free of charge, and less than 24 hours after I finally made the rescue call? A miracle! It’s like nothing ever happened. Marvin even set about launching my last-running instance of Firefox and downloading new emails from the server.
{ via FFFFOUND! }
Anyway, if this saga has taught me anything, it’s that Everything Will Be [Techn(olog)ically] Okay. Also, that I have a lot of haphazardly-gathered but accidentally-themed-alike bookmarks stored away on my harddrive…
{ via myguerilla }
{ via cardboardlove }
{ via FFFFOUND! }
{ via FFFFOUND! }
{ via FFFFOUND! }
{ via FFFFOUND! }
* Named after Marvin The Paranoid Android in Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: a computer with a brain the size of a planet, but very poor interpersonal skills.
Ampersand another thing… May 28, 2009
Posted by Olivia McDowell in Art, Design, Etcetera, FFFFOUND!, Pretty!, The Ether, Typography, Words.Tags: Alphabet, Ampersand, Behance, Etymology, FFFFOUND!, Obscure words, Typography, Veer
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I was asked last night how often I update my blog. I couldn’t think of a word that meant “seldom, but only while I’m stupidly busy: when I’m less busy… more often”. In retrospect, maybe “erratically” would have been a good response. & so, to atone for my neglect, in the words of Blue Peter, here’s one I made earlier…
I really think that the ampersand is underused, underrated, undervalued, underappreciated, &, well, underloved.
{Bark chip ampersand, by Sarah France, via the blog The Ampersand, via Behance, via FFFFOUND! }
Once upon a time, & was deemed such a natural part of the alphabet than when children recited their ABCs, they concluded with “et per se and“. As in, ‘X, Y, Z… and, for that matter “and”, because it too is a letter’. After time, this was garbled into “ampersand”, in much the way that L, M, N, O, P becomes elemenopee in the mouth of a 5-year-old. Now I know all this to be true not only because of the eternal font of unvalidated wisdom that is Wikipedia, but also because I was told the same story by the other most authoritative of unauthoritative sources, My Father, years before the internet was around to sully our ‘Did You Knows’ with false folklore.
& so… here are some ampersands… &c.
MUST HAVE! A deluxe carrying case for an ampersand! { more adorableness by Marc Johns }
Ampersand cushion at loremandipsum’s etsy store (sold out, but they still have CHOUETTE ampersand tees for sale!) { via FFFFOUND! }
Handmade clay ampersand by Lestaret { via NOTCOT }
Ampersand cookies (“They exist.”) { via The Ampersand again }
Veer did have these rockin’ ampersand cufflinks, once upon a time. Blogger’s remorse: I should have posted these when I first saw them on NOTCOT (a long time ago), but instead filed it away under “For When There Is More To Say On The Topic Of Ampersands”. So now (and for a long time) the Veer merch shop has ceased to exist, and by necessary deduction, also ceased to have the cufflinks. It’s probably for the best. I was always tempted to the verge of covetousness by unshippable Veer merchandise. [ EDIT: Veer store most certainly does exist at the above link. Ampersand cufflinks for all! (er, if you live in North America) ]
& on that note, it’s back to work.
