Floccinaucinihilipilification (noun) The action or practice of estimating something as worthless.
When asked to provide the client with a ballpark number for Aaron’s writing and editing services, Morgan rolled her eyes and sighed. “Another exercise in floccinaucinihilipilification,” she said to herself.
From Clear and Simple as the Truth, by Francis-Noël Thomas and Mark Turner:
The teaching of writing in America is almost entirely controlled by the view that teaching writing is teaching verbal skills—from the placing of commas to the ordering of paragraphs. This has generated a tremendous industry, but the effect of this teaching is dubious. Why is American prose as bad as it is, even though we have more writing programs than ever?
Our answer is that writing is an intellectual activity, not a bundle of skills. Writing proceeds from thinking. To achieve good prose styles, writers must work through intellectual issues, not merely acquire mechanical techniques.…
It’s a great reminder. Good grammar is about learning and mastering rules; good writing, on the other hand, is a whole nother thing altogether.
From the diary of Virginia Woolf, November 11, 1918:
Twenty-five minutes ago the guns went off, announcing peace. A siren hooted on the river. They are hooting still. A few people ran to look out of windows. The rooks wheeled round, and wore for a moment the symbolic look of creatures performing some ceremony, partly of thanksgiving, partly of valediction over the grave. A very cloudy still day, the smoke toppling over heavily towards the east; and that too wearing for a moment a look of something floating, waving, drooping. So far neither bells nor flags, but the wailing of sirens and intermittent guns.
There’s something exciting about working inside a big, industrial manufacturing facility like Metals Fab. Huge I-beams moving about, lots of welding masks with sparks flying nearby, the sounds of steel being punched and bent, cranes moving overhead, and radios blaring everywhere—each tuned to a different station—while the smell of spent welding rods hangs in the air. You’ve gotta love the rich patina, textures, and sheer scale of this place. A visual delight everywhere you turn.
Teaming up with the production house ILF Media, we recently completed shooting for Metals Fab’s upcoming 50th anniversary video. Founded in 1966, the company has grown from one man working in his garage to 145 talented employees operating inside 122,000 square feet of production space on 23 acres. That’s some serious growth, man.
So last week was kind of a big deal for us. Monday was our 1,000th blog post—a feat that took five years of hard work and determination. Well…it took five years, anyway.
To celebrate, we commissioned five original works from David Rowles, pharmaceutical company production supervisor, Spokane Chess Club Champion, and professional cartoonist for the Journal of Business. And we paid him handsomely, too: $51 per cartoon.
Why $51? Because the Journal pays him $50—and that’s just how we roll. Problem is, the giant check (great idea, Courtney) didn’t quite fit in Dave’s wallet.
So the joke’s on him, I guess.
What do you do for a living? It’s a pretty simple question—unless you work in the creative field. Trust me, even our closest friends and family members furrow their brows when we try to explain it. For his final contribution to our week-long celebration (we hit 1,000 blog posts on Monday, in case you’re late to the party), cartoonist David Rowles takes that idea a step further. Too far? Nah.
In his penultimate contribution to our week-long blog Bacchanalia, professional cartoonist and 1990 Spokane Chess Club champion David Rowles reveals one of the pitfalls awaiting every graphic designer.
Cartoonist David Rowles has provided us with five original works to help celebrate our 1,000th blog post this week. Today’s cartoon touches on the sometimes-delicate relationship between designer and client.
In his second installment as guest blogger—and post number 1,001, in case you missed last week’s nail-biting lead-up—professional cartoonist David Rowles exposes the gap between perception and reality. Or something.
I’d like to thank my parents, who believed in me before I had the courage to believe in myself. And, of course, to our readers, whose support has never waned—even when Shirlee “contributed.” Finally, I’d like to thank our guest blogger, professional cartoonist David Rowles, who has kindly agreed to mark this momentous occasion by making fun of our profession for the rest of the week.
You’re reading our 999th published blog post. Which means the next one will be, well…kind of a big deal.
Although I’m personally responsible for 83% of the posts—and, let’s be honest, 100% of the awesomeness—I won’t be penning number 1,000. Nor will it be any of the other regular contributors. This is way too big for any of us.
So, starting on Monday and continuing throughout the week, a guest blogger will usher in tyblography’s quadruple-digit era. (For his safety and yours, we cannot reveal his name at this time. Suffice it to say, though, that he’s famous. Sort of. Or at least well-known. To a certain subset of individuals. In the Spokane area.)
My advice? Get some rest and drink plenty of fluids—’cause it’s gonna be sick, yo.
Each week we begin our grind with a staff meeting. I know, you’re probably thinking, “Boooooringggg.” But in all reality, it’s a great time. Starting the week off strong with some bonding time and laughter seems to get everyone in the right mindset to transition from weekend to weekday without an abrupt jolt (aside from that damn alarm clock). On Monday of this week, Morgan and I doodled all over our project lists and effectively killed two birds with one stone: Monday Meeting and #inktober. Attached are this week’s meeting drawings as well as one of our favorites from the past few weeks – enjoy!
I began my career at helveticka as an intern while finishing my graphic design degree. I was excited to join the team because I had so much to learn from everyone. And I did learn. A lot. I learned about comma splices, preparing files for letterpress, and how to write an email like an adult. And I continue to learn. Every day, my graphic design toolbox gets filled up with more useful tools. Then today, CK, Linda, and Aaron all educated me about the mermaid swimming skills of Miss Esther Williams. Not sure how this will contribute to my toolbox but, hey, you never know. Welcome to helveticka, I guess.
THE BEAUTIFUL CHANGES
Richard Wilbur
One wading a Fall meadow finds on all sides
The Queen Anne’s Lace lying like lilies
On water; it glides
So from the walker, it turns
Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you
Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes.
The beautiful changes as a forest is changed
By a chameleon’s tuning his skin to it;
As a mantis, arranged
On a green leaf, grows
Into it, makes the leaf leafier, and proves
Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows.
Your hands hold roses always in a way that says
They are not only yours; the beautiful changes
In such kind ways,
Wishing ever to sunder
Things and things’ selves for a second finding, to lose
For a moment all that it touches back to wonder.
(1947)
NOTE: This, folks, is our 996th blog post. Which means that number 1,000 is right around the corner. I’d pay attention if I were you.
“Everybody kills Hitler on their first trip. I did.” An oldie but goodie.
Sexy Halloween costumes that shouldn’t exist. This is a twofer: it’s both disturbing and NSFW.
And here are 20 decidedly unsexy Halloween costumes.
This! (No need for a pithy explanation.)