How much is Smaug worth? Michael Noer does the math—so you don’t have to.
The biggest egos I’ve ever seen were in the advertising business—both on the client and the creative side. (We writers, who’d much rather snipe at other writers rather than actually, you know…write, are particularly prone to puffery.) Runner up? Gotta be college professors, whose self-regard seemingly knows no bounds.
Which is why it’s particularly fun to witness one take down another. And when the target is a Harvard professor who just published a book of “half-chewed digressions and butt ends of academic cliché,” why, the bloodlust is almost palpable.
Between 2003 and 2008, shark attacks in the United States resulted in the deaths of four people. During the same time period, 108 people were killed by…COWS.
Popular Mechanics has published a handy list of precautions you can take that might just save your life—like “Trust them and get used to how they work, but don’t trust them so much that you turn your back on them,” and “If you have a cow or bull that you know to be prone to violent outbursts, get rid of it.”
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher has it all: a creepy Victorian family, an English country manor, a brutal murder, and a brilliant London inspector—one of the eight original officers from Scotland Yard’s new detective force—called in to solve the mystery. And it’s all true. I couldn’t put it down.
People sometimes ask me what it’s like to write for a living. This chart of the writing process pretty much sums it up.
Finally, Wright Thompson makes a pretty compelling case for why we should care about cricket.
SPOKANE, WASH., April 1, 2011 – In a stunning move announced late Thursday evening, Anderson Mraz Design revealed that it has merged with leading agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland, finally bringing to a close a bitter legal fight over the rights to the letters A, D, and M.
Representatives from the Dallas Museum of Art and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, along with proponents of the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction, hadn’t returned phone inquiries as of press time.
Patricia A. Woertz, president of ADM, will assume the role of senior creative director of the new company, as yet unnamed. “How hard can it be?” she asked. “I scrapbook on the weekends, so…”
AMD principal CK Anderson, who, according to witnesses, was last seen boarding a plane to South America with “a very large briefcase,” was unavailable for comment.
ADM shares opened at $36.68 Friday with news of the merger—up nearly 2 percent over Thursday’s close.
Veteran Hollywood writer Rob Long wonders whether 24/7 connectedness—online gaming, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, et al.—is really such a bad thing after all:
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sit-and-Watch.mp3|titles=Sit and Watch]Even though it’s a bit, well…jarring to see Dostoevsky and Chaucer on the same list as Stephenie Meyer, it’s worth the discomfort just to witness Iain Hollingshead poke a finger in the eye of gasbags like James Joyce and Margaret Mitchell.
Best line? On Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time: “No, you haven’t read it either.”
Among many, many questionable entries just added to the online edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is the graphic heart symbol. As in “I ♥ NY.”
Sigh. Graphic designers—like guitar players and quarterbacks—already get the girls. Do they really need more validation?
On a recent photo shoot for one of our clients, I came across this message from a fourth grader. He was kind enough to pause for a brief moment so I could share it with all of you.
Prediction: this will fail, if only because the manufacturer makes some pretty big assumptions.
AdFreak asks the important question: “Can you really expect someone to like the flavor of something based on whether they’re straight or gay?”
For the most part, I remain indifferent about the mashup genre. But this—The Big Lebowski meets Quincy Jones—is, I have to admit, pretty sweet.
http://vimeo.com/21073409
From the always-worthwhile-but-too-infrequently-updated Bright Cloudy Day.
Our writer, the very man in charge of this blog, recently discovered that the Lone Canary wine label has changed. Unfortunately, not for the better. Now I don’t want to question a man’s intent without fully understanding, well…his intent. But whatever it was, the new owners of this label make me wonder. And by “wonder” I mean “what the hell just happened?”
Since our firm worked on the original label design—including the logo and label copy—I can come to only one conclusion: the owners’ taste really is just in their mouths. Your thoughts?
One wine, two labels—new (left) and original (right).
It’s official: as of 4:21 p.m. PDT yesterday, spring is here. Which means it’s time for a little Stravinsky.
From Esa-Pekka Salonen’s debut live recording at the Walt Disney Concert Hall—and his first recording as principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic—here’s the final movement from The Rite of Spring:
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Danse-sacrale-LElue.mp3|titles=Danse sacrale (L’Elue)]This, my friends, is what’s called a “truism”: a self-evident, obvious truth. It could even be considered somewhat tautological. But then, that’s what makes it brilliant.
Turns out yesterday’s post about the sublime Low Country Blues is the last word‘s 200th. And we forgot to celebrate.
Think about that for a sec: 200 bits of wisdom from the finely tuned minds at AMD World Headquarters, regularly squirted into the ether for your edification and enjoyment. Seems to me we deserve an award or something.
But no—it’s all about you, the reader. (Seriously, there’s only one of you.) Which is why we remain committed to bringing you the latest in breaking news, vigorously defending sound writing practices, and offering insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of graphic design.
Here’s to another 200 posts!
