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Spokane Scene no. 4

July 4, 2012: Hard to imagine a more perfect setting for the Fourth of July than a baseball game. Indians 2, Bears 0.

On the Creepiness of E-Books

We’ve discussed the perils of electronic books before (here, here, and here, for instance); that they’re a little creepy is something I hadn’t even considered.

Of course, when something like this gets committed to hardback, one shouldn’t be at all surprised that the publishing industry has a seamy underbelly.

Spokane Scene no. 3

Sunday, July 1, Bear Lake Regional Park. Taken with my trusty iPhone.

More Talent than Ever

We’re pleased to announce the addition of Lorri Johnston to our team. A senior designer with small-town roots, deep design experience, and a desire to challenge the status quo, Lorri shares our passion for all things creative. We look forward to introducing her to our clients.

Years ago we dropped singing “Happy Birthday” to our staff. (It was painful.) But given that Lorri’s considerable talents include a beautiful voice, we might have to bring back this tradition.

Welcome aboard, Lorri!

Toaster to Table in 90 Seconds

What could possibly go wrong?

Redemption through Reading

It’s official: reading makes you a better person. “Without doubt,” even. And since any revolutionary will tell you that that which doesn’t progress will regress, it stands to reason that not reading makes you a bad person. Q.E.D.

Docklands

The fun workstation… just slightly better than the intern’s desk.

Introducing the Newbie

Since our intern now has her first AMD blog post under her belt (see yesterday’s entry), I figured I should attempt to provide our readers with at least a semi-formal introduction.

A 2010 graduate of Mount Spokane High School, Haley Anderson is currently a student in the University of Washington’s Visual Communications Program (yes, that’s a west-of-the-Cascades way of saying “graphic design”). Take a look at the class of 2012’s graduate show—it’s fantastic work.

Haley will begin her junior year this fall. Until then, she’ll be involved with several of our design projects. We’re excited to have her on board and delighted to have someone else answer the phones for a change.

This internship will no doubt be one of her first, and most formidable, career tests. No, I’m not talking about working alongside her parents, I’m referring to our copywriter and associate senior designer.

Newbie

My first blog as an intern for AMD! I am excited to be a part of the AMD staff.

This is a blog that I particularly enjoy, called Things Organized Neatly. Fun, witty, and pretty organized.

Beauty in Intricacy

You don’t have to be a graphic designer to appreciate Japanese letterpress movable type.

Friday Miscellany

Your body contains as much as five pounds of “good” bacteria.

The most dangerous vegetables revealed! (Note: near as I can tell, a “swede”—note the lowercase ‘s’—is a rutabaga).

Mmm…seven-cow kebab.

And finally, a Swiss newspaper goes digital. It’s not what you think.

IE7 Tax

Heck of an idea, really.

Now, if only there were companies willing to pay the rest of us for having to endure their website’s crappy design, hack writing, and amateur photography.

Me, Myself, and I

You hear a lot of folks say things like, “For the best back wax ever, just give Betty or myself a call.”

What’s with the myself?

It probably comes from uncertainty around the whole I/me thing. Most people can’t remember which to use, so they mistakenly think that saying myself fixes the problem.

It doesn’t.

Remember the test from, oh, seventh-grade English? Using the above example, remove the part about Betty: “If you need a good back wax, just give I/me a call.” It’s me, right? I mean, you wouldn’t say, “Just give I a call,” would you?

Nor would you say, “Just give myself a call.” (If you would, stop reading this post, grab a hammer, and strike yourself firmly between the eyes. I’ll wait.)

Now then. Use myself only after I in sentences like, “I’m more of a laser hair removal kind of guy myself.” In other situations, train yourself to hear the difference between I and me, and speak accordingly.

“I may have found a way outta here…”

It was 50 years ago today that Frank Morris, along with John and Clarence Anglin, escaped from Alcatraz. Did they make it? We’ll likely never know—but either way, it’s one of my all-time favorite movies.

Hear, hear!

Over at spiked, Brendan O’Neill offers up a spirited defense of the Queen’s English:

“…in order to engage with society, with its public life and politics, you need to fully understand its language. You need to know that the sentence you just read contained a split infinitive, and that some people frown upon those while others think they are okay. You need to know how words are spelt and how they should be arranged in order to achieve both clarity and clout; you need to know what punctuation is for; you need to know what is the best way to write things down in order for them to be understood by the maximum number (not amount) of people. When it comes to language, the rule is that the more you know the rules, the more you can play around with them and twist them for effect, if you like. But you need to know the rules. And it is this knowing of the rules that is called into question these days, by people who think we should stop telling 19-year-old muppets at university that they have spelt things wrong…”

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