July14
helvetimail
I love gmail. I loved it even before they offered themes. When they started offering themes, I loved it even more. Still, I never got really excited about any of them. I picked the minimalist one and called it good.
My sister was visiting last weekend, and while she was using her gmail account I saw that hers was more minimal STILL. It was lovely. I was EXCITED about it. And I was jealous she found it first.
It’s called Helvetimail. It’s a userscript that works with your browser to change the look of your gmail. I love it. To death.
I even donated some money to the dude who keeps it up, because you know what? I appreciate that people work hard to provide good design for free. All you have to do is NOT charge me, and I will pay you. Ha.
July10
art part II
Travis did his own little “art we like” compilation because I got the impression he thought my art compilation sucked a little ass.
I do like his choices, though.
I can’t wait to see what Paul comes up with.
July06
the book you don’t read won’t help
I have my head in books lately. Right now I’m reading “The Abstinence Teacher” by Tom Perotta. It’s making me squirm (in a good way).
I was going through an old blog I kept from 2002-2005 and found a post about listening to “The Professor and the Madman” by Simon Winchester on CD while on a road trip.
I think I had my head in books then, too.
I found it interesting, so I’ll just repost it here. [Warning: this is from the "I type only in lowercase" era. You have my permission to be annoyed.]
last week i rented an audio book called ‘the professor and the madman’, by simon winchester, to listen to while driving down to grand rapids.
usually, as is the case with most people, i think (i hope!), i listen to about 20 minutes of whatever audio book it is i happened to choose before my mind starts to wander and an unspecified amount of time passes before i realize that i am NOT listening and i have no idea what’s going on in this book. remarkably, this didn’t happen during ‘the professor and the madman’, in fact, i listened attentively to the whole thing.
as a result, i have become completely obsessed with the making of the oxford english dictionary, lexicography, and the fact that, according to mr. winchester, lexicography seems to attract some very odd people.
it is important to note, i think, that i once lived just down the road on walton st. from the oxford university press, in oxford, UK, where the dictionary was printed. and, also, that james murray, the first editor, lived with his wife and 11 children on banbury road, which was also not far from where i lived in oxford. ok, i’m bragging, but i can’t help it.
here are a few facts that i find FASCINATING about the making of the OED and i would be VERY surprised if you, too, didn’t find these things interesting:
1.0) the OED is unique in that it doesn’t only list words that are correct, or only in use. the OED lists EVERY WORD EVER USED in the english language.
2.0) in order to accomplish the weighty task of listing every word ever used, the editors decided that everything ever WRITTEN needed to be read. they enlisted the help of thousands of volunteers….asking them to read anything and write down words they found interesting, with a quotation using that specific word and send it in to the ‘scriptorium’ in oxford. j.r.r. tolkien was a contributor, if that impresses all you hobbit-lovers out there.
3.0) it took 70 years to complete the first edition of the OED. sadly, james murray, the OED’s editor, wasn’t alive to see it completed. james wrote many of the definitions himself, trying to complete 33 words per day. it took them five years to go from a-ant. when it was finished in 1928, the work contained over 400,000 words and phrases in ten volumes.
sure. i’m a nerd. but god, it’s good stuff.
Have you read anything lately that blew your mind?
July01
new art
We have had the same large piece of art hanging on the main wall in our living room since we moved into our house 4 years ago. It’s a large Roy Lichtenstein print (see left). I like it ok – but I didn’t choose it. When we moved in, we were in absolutely no position to spend money on art and it was the only thing we had that was big enough to fit the space. Kicker: it was a gift to Travis from his ex-wife. It’s the main piece of art in our living room. AWKWARD.
We’ve been talking about buying something new for about year, but we’ve been really unsure about what we’d get to replace it.
Enter my friend Paul, who is a cartoonist and illustrator. We have decided to commission him to do something for us but WHAT?!? I would guess I’m not alone in knowing art I like when I see it, but suck royally when I have to come up with ideas. (suck royally? who is writing this blog, a 14 year old boy?)
I called Paul the other day and confessed that I am an idea-less wonder. Luckily, he said I could just send him some examples of art I like and he’d do the rest. “Ideas are not a problem,” he said (cue angels singing).
My sister is a graphic/web designer and suggested I register at Image Spark to see if I could find some inspiration. The idea is that you search through millions of images and pick out ones you like and add them to a gallery.
It’s pretty interesting to look at the images I chose and try to see what kind of pattern/theme shows up. Animals, cityscapes, goofballs? Skyscrapers, bicyclists, gum?
If you’re ever in need of any visual inspiration (or are trying to kill time), I suggest you check it out.
June29
sleeping beauty
There is really nothing more precious than watching your child sleep.
And yes, she is wearing her bathing suit. That is how we roll.
