Interesting design links

I should separate this into two posts, so as to watch my blog grow, but whatever.

Business card calendar design challenge.  – An interesting challenge to fit a year’s calendar on a business card in a legible way.  Lot of the designs have overlapping features, but all pretty good.

Pentagram 2008 Typography Calendar. – Just going to copy/paste the description.

Kit Hinrichs has designed Pentagram’s 2008 Classic Typographic Calendar using twelve typefaces designed by typographer Matthew Carter including Walker (originally designed in 1995 for the Walker Art Center), Snell Roundhand (a 1966 revival of 17th century English writing master Charles Snell) and Galliard (a 1978 anthology of Roman and Italian styles of French punch-cutter Robert Granjon). “I wanted to bring a new awareness of typographic design through this calendar,” said Hinrichs. “Typefaces are pervasive in our daily lives in everything we read and see around us and yet most people are oblivious of them or the circumstances in which they were created. We can gain a new perspective on our world by studying the origin of typefaces. I hope the calendar will encourage a new sensitivity to the importance of typeface usage and the work of Matthew Carter.”

I’d consider it

Engagement ring shapes.

While the classic round brilliant cut is still the most popular, apparently square cuts are en vogue.  I’m aways away from considering any of this, and I’m a classic style kind of guy, so round brilliant still my preferred choice, but asscher cut very nice as well.

edit: After a little looking, it’s round, cushion, Asscher.  If the Tiffany Novo (below) wasn’t so expensive it might cut in before the Asscher.

Tiffany Novo

Less about community, more about conformity

Serious About Style – NY Sun

I’m unabashedly a member (participating in varying degrees) of many of the forums listed in this article.  I don’t know if it’s a function of a certain kind of person looking for what they want joining or a group mentality thing, but many of these forums are a lot about conforming to their particular look.  I suppose that brings a sense of community.  And like any long time community, harder for new people to break into them.  They are an invaluable resource.  It’s just important to keep yourself yourself, rather than just fall lockstep into the aesthetic of the forum.

Girl Scout cookies

Here’s the Girl Scout cookies in order of healthiest to least.

  1. Cafe Cookies (five er serving) contain little saturated fat.

  2. Trefolis have 150 calories per serving (five cookies).

  3. Little Brownies (four per serving) are sugar-free.

  4. Thin Mints (four per serving) have the same amount of sugar and fat as two-cookie serving of Samoas.

  5. Do-Si-Dos (two per serving) are low in saturated fat.

  6. Tagalongs (two per serving) are high in fat, but it’s mostly the good, unsaturated kind.

  7. All Abouts (two per serving) are also low in saturated fat.

  8. Thanks-A-Lot (two per serving) have the same number of calories as twice as many Thin Mints.

  9. Lemonades (two per serving) have four grams of saturated fat.

  10. Samoas (two per serving) have high amounts of fat and sugar.

Via Real Simple via That’s Fit. 

Thin Mints and Tagalogs are my cookies of choice.  Not too bad on this scale.  I can do the Samoas to a degree, but not too much.  Not because they are apparently unhealthy, but more because I’m not a coconut guy.

In case you forgot what’s what in the world of Girl Scout cookies, here’s a handy dandy guide.

Easy as 1-2-3

J5 is back!

Not Jurassic 5, the Jackson 5.

The group, which included Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, and later younger brother Randy, stopped touring in the ’80s when Michael and little sister Janet became superstars in their own right. The Jackson Five officially disbanded in 1990.

The Jackson 5 didn’t officially disband until 1990!??!?!

Sideshow Bob’s an idiot

Varejao wants out of Cleveland – SI.com

First of all, it’s the BEST basketball situation he’ll likely EVER be in, playing with Lebron.  Second, no matter how important the Cavs told him he was, there’s not a single person on the planet, except himself, who thinks Anderson Varejao is worth anything in the vicinity of $10-11M/year.  Hell with what he brings to the table, he’s not worth half of that.  I’m all for paying guys who are glue guys.  Who do the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet, but are important.  But unless you bring something else to the table as well, forget getting anything like what Varejao wants.

Home wars

So Oprah announced she’s going to back Barak Obama.  Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Guiliani.  Time to make sweeping generalizations about their core demographics!  Yay.  So it sets up the war in the homes of middle Americans everywhere!  Yes everyone has their own vote (ooh, who has more pull?  Oprah to get her fans to go vote for Barak [heck do they trust her political candidate choices as much as her friggin’ book club choices?] or Pat to get his “parishioners” to go vote for Rudy?), but it has to bring up some tension in the home once the race ramps up.  Of course this also presumes that the fans of these two are mindless lemmings that do whatever their leader says to do.  And I don’t think that (for the most part).