I knew she was the one as soon as I saw her.

A classic beauty with strong lines and soft curves, who still has all her teeth.

I spotted her with the pre-owned pianos at Music City Spokane: a pristine 1975 Yamaha upright with French provincial styling and a dark cherry wood finish. And she sounds as lovely as she looks.

I really, really wanted to take her home.

But nice pianos – even used ones – aren’t cheap or easy. They need to be tuned regularly, they take up space, and they’re heavy and hard to move. Getting rid of an old one is like trying to sell a time-share.

Nobody wants it.

Which is why my practical side has always kept me safely sans piano.

My folks had one, though, and I played it almost every day as a kid. After nearly a dozen years of lessons – some enjoyed with more enthusiasm than others – I was proficient enough that my older brothers stopped teasing me, and I could manage quite a few classical pieces. But my playing tapered off after college, and my mom passed along the family piano to one of my brothers.

Years later, when my own daughter started lessons, I picked up a used Roland digital piano with a full keyboard and weighted keys. My daughter played it for a few years and then stopped taking lessons. Now, she’s gone to college, and the Roland is collecting dust in the guest room.

I don’t have the heart to play it, anyway. It just doesn’t have the sound or responsiveness of an acoustic piano.

The truth is, through all these practical years, I’ve missed playing the real thing. Even with my rusty fingers, I love to play the piano. It’s challenging and complex, fun and relaxing.

A few months ago, my husband and I moved to a new home, one with a living room large enough to fit a piano. So, when he suggested stopping by a local piano store “just to look around,” I agreed.

That’s when I saw her and – practical side be darned – bought her on the spot. I haven’t been able to keep my hands off her ever since.

I only wish I’d found her sooner.

Don’t wait 30 years to pursue what brings you joy.

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Did you know that AI is writing obituaries now?

It makes sense, given how ubiquitous artificial intelligence has become in our modern world. But somehow, I’d missed this fact until a few months back, when I stumbled onto an obituary that was very clearly AI-generated.

The telltale signs were there: lofty yet generic descriptions; repetitive language; and a lack of real human emotion. Sure, the obituary was polished and grammatically clean. But it felt more plastic than organic, more trite than meaningful.

More machine learning than lived experience.

What do I mean? Here’s a sample obituary generated by an AI obituary writer:

Jenny will be remembered for her kind and gentle nature, her love of life, and her generous heart. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.

While seemingly heartfelt, this description is vague and superficial. It could apply to literally millions of people around the world. Many are kind and generous and love life. Nearly everyone will be missed in some way by those who loved them.

Compare that to an excerpt from this obituary, written by a person:

Her love of cooking was a gift she shared. It was her way of saying, “I love you”. During the holidays, she and her family made tamales together, and it wasn’t long before her tamales became well-known. Her husband willingly became her “tamale partner”, taking orders and delivering to family, friends and neighbors.

Though not as elegant, perhaps, it feels authentic. When you read it, you get a clearer picture of who this person was and what made her unique. It includes the kinds of details that wouldn’t be elicited from the generic forms of an AI service.

It’s wonderfully human.

Here’s the funny thing about the obituaries people write – they mirror real life. They’ve got quirks and errors and entertaining tidbits. They express joy and sorrow and humor. Yes, they can be awkward and formulaic, but hey, life can be that way too.

The obituaries we write should be unique because our lives are unique. No person on Earth has ever lived the exact same experience, from start to finish.

To be fair, I understand why people would use an AI service, and I don’t blame anyone who does. It’s tough to write a thoughtful account of your loved one’s life when you’re deep in grief and taking care of all the details that surround death.

Trust me, I know. I’ve been there.

I’m not opposed to AI. When used fairly and responsibly, it can make our lives better. But I believe the written account of a person’s one and only life is a place to honor our humanity rather than outsource it to technology.

For most people, an obituary is the only published record of their lives.

Shouldn’t we make those words count?

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: the writing life  |  make a comment

This year, Ebay almost ruined Father’s Day for our family.

It all started in late April. We were watching a Seattle Mariners game on MLB.com, when the team advertised a cool giveaway for an upcoming game.

The Cal Raleigh Funko Pop.

(Cue the cheering, please.)

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll explain. A Funko Pop is a pint-sized collectible with a disproportionately large head and oversized eyes. There are thousands of unique Funko Pops based on characters from popular shows and video games, as well as sports and entertainment figures. They’re pure cuteness and nostalgia.

This particular Funko Pop is based on Cal Raleigh, the catcher for the Mariners and my husband’s all-time favorite player. Cal is beloved by the Mariner faithful for his hard work, toughness, and calm demeanor, as well as his memorable nickname. “Big Dumper,” according to the New York Times, was affectionately coined by a former teammate to describe the size of Raleigh’s backside.

When we saw a promotional video with that adorable Funko Pop beside Big Dumper for a day of baseball – in the dugout, on the field, at a press conference – we had to be among the first 20,000 fans at the giveaway game.

We’re talking about Lil Dumper, for crying out loud!

But T-Mobile Park isn’t exactly in Spokane, and we already had plans that day. So, the kids and I settled for tracking down the collectible online after the game and ordering it as a surprise gift for their dad.

I warned him not to open any emails from Ebay because we’d ordered something for him. He didn’t open anything, of course, but he did get an email with this excessively specific subject line:

“Your 2024 Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh Funko Pop SGA 5/3/24 just shipped.”

Thank you, Ebay.

We were busted, and the kids were disappointed. Lucky for us, there was still time to shop for another surprise before Father’s Day, and my middle school son was the one who found it.

A T-shirt with the words “Big Dumper” printed across the chest.

My husband was genuinely surprised when he opened that gift, and in the end, his day wasn’t ruined at all. He got something from the kids that he can wear proudly (if selectively), and his co-workers and friends have something to give him a hard time about.

Best of all, we got Lil Dumper.

Which may just be the Mariners’ biggest win all season.

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: random thoughts  |  comments(1)

I don’t know which offends more: the graffiti or the poor writing mechanics.

It’s painted over now, but for weeks, this graffiti along I-90 practically begged the question:

What’s with the quotation marks?

We can safely assume that the “author” didn’t consult the Associate Press Stylebook, which lists the following reasons to use quotation marks:

• direct quotations
• dialogue or conversation
• composition titles
• irony or sarcasm
• unfamiliar terms

None applies here. But I suppose that, as long as you’re vandalizing public property, you might as well vandalize the basic mechanics of writing as well.

Why do I bring this up? Do I think vandals give a spray can’s nozzle about punctuation?

No.

The problem is that they aren’t the only ones committing the crime. Businesses do it too, especially with advertising slogans and taglines, like this one:

helveticka
“Design that’s great since ‘88!”

This is a hypothetical example. Obviously. We don’t have a company tagline, and if we did, this wouldn’t be it. (Although, technically, it is true.)

It’s the type of tagline you’ll see plastered everywhere, from billboards to company vehicles. And it makes the business look amateurish. We’re all savvy enough to recognize that the short phrase following a company’s name is its tagline – sans quotation marks. Which makes them every bit as tired and useless as another punctuation offense.

The excessive use of exclamation points!!!

But that’s a post for another day.

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: the writing life  |  make a comment

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: the design life  |  comments(1)

posted by: Shirlee Roberts-Downey  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, dad jokes serve a higher porpoise. Er, purpose.

If you find that hard to believe – and you probably do, unless you’re a dad – then trust me, I get it. My husband deals dad jokes regularly and without apology. Here’s one he shared recently:

Q: How do strawberries party?
A: They pump up the jam.

Sadly, our kids missed this one. But I guarantee that if they’d been around, the joke would’ve evolved into a full-blown performance of the famous Technotronic song, with dance moves.

Which would’ve elicited a look of disdain from our 17-year-old daughter and a comment about being “so cringy” from our 12-year-old son. (This comes from a kid who wears orange Crocs with knee-high socks and shorts every day.)

Their responses only encourage my husband. In his eyes, any reaction is a win – from a giggle to an eye roll to a full-on groan. He gets plenty of each at our house. Just don’t ask him to dish out dad jokes on demand. Apparently, they are as spontaneous as their source is mysterious:

“I don’t bring the puns, Denise. The puns come to me.”

Here’s the thing. Contrary to what most kids (and many adults) believe, dad jokes aren’t necessarily lame and uncool. Puns especially can be quite smart and witty.

“They can be a demonstration of wit, of cleverness,” says Peter McGraw, director of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “You’re relying on a person’s ability to parse language, to understand the nuances and complexities of words.”

And, more importantly, the lowly dad joke plays a surprisingly positive role in parenting. According to humor researcher Mark Hye-Knudsen, dad jokes teach kids to be more resilient.

“It is worth considering dad jokes as a pedagogical tool that may serve a beneficial function for the very children who roll their eyes at them. By continually telling their children jokes that are so bad that they’re embarrassing, fathers may push their children’s limits for how much embarrassment they can handle. They show their children that embarrassment isn’t fatal.”

So, we should probably give dads a break. After all, they’re sharing their best material.

For the kids’ sake, of course.

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

We’ve all seen them.

Design mistakes so embarrassing that they make us laugh.

They’re everywhere – from the logo that resembles a body part to the typeface that makes it look like the local bakery sells “farts” instead of “tarts.”

Then, there’s the copy that’s oddly uncomfortable. Like the old Yellow Pages tagline to “let your fingers do the walking.” Oof. This one practically begs an awkward innuendo.

It’s the stuff memes are made of.

Let’s face it. When it comes to design, pitfalls abound. Especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Take the basic restroom sign, for example. Of any design project, this one seems the most straightforward. Heck, we’ve already got universal symbols for restrooms. So, all you need to do is stick them on a door, right?

Au contraire.

Even the humble restroom sign requires a surprising amount of thinking, planning, and intention – not to mention a keen eye for visual details.

Now, take our design solution for the restrooms at the downtown Spokane Public Library, shown below. These vinyl graphics are clean, modern, and simple. They even allow the natural beauty of the wood to show through.

And, best of all, their placement won’t make you feel like a middle schooler whose voice just cracked in front of the entire class.

Hey, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

Some things are just better left to the professionals.

posted by: Denise Wilson  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment