First Weblog

It is my pleasure to announce our latest Speak Up author, Randy J. Hunt. Profile and mug shot forthcoming.

Opening titles for Thank you for Smoking in all its Quicktime glory. And Stephen Coles, in all his typographic geekness, attempts to identify all the fonts in use.

Good idea, not so good execution: Drop Shadows Not Bombs [Thanks to Mark Notermann for the link]

USB — yes, the USB that connect stuff to other stuff — as art: dialog05 presents Universal Connections. [Thanks to Jolo for the link]

"Presented by the American Preschool Resource Information League and the Fontographer Organization Of Lithuania": Typochild. [Via] *

Type foundry P22 announces the sale of LTC Spacing Sorts, for all your digital typespacing needs. *

McDonalds arranged a design competition in Sweden where people could send in designs for paper coffee mugs that will be launched this summer. They later selected a few of them and let people vote on their webpage; 3 winners have now recieved 20,000 SEK as a scholarship, their designs will be printed this summer and one of them will also have their mug/design made in porcelain by the Swedish manufacturer Gustavsberg.

Japanese manholes (previously linked) vs. NY manholes

You can see this as a helpful tool, an animation accomplishment or the intro to your next nightmare. (NSFW)

Bored of your apple? or your thin blackish box? get a removable schtick and cause stares at your local coffee shop.

Amazing street art from around the world. [Thanks to Carmen Garcia]

Express yourself, with a customized toilet seat.

Caps For Watertowers?

It's been over a year since the supposed "Apple" phone hit the news, but nothing's been spotted since then besides the Motorola products with iTunes. The folks at ThinkSecret say that a true Apple phone is not likely in the near future.

The online promotions for Coke BlaK (pronounced like the absence of color; not pronounced like you're clearing your throat) tout a brand new soft drink. Appearing to be Coke's version of the famed Manhattan Special, it fuses soda and coffee together for what sounds like one heKuva kick. Don't be surprised if Coke BlaK's 'a' looks familiar, as the company's also been busy resurecting Tab.

For some web design nostalgia, check out the 35 Sexiest Designed Websites You've Forgotten

Cool, man. [Via]

David Apatoff lauds the great Saul Steinberg in part three of his "One Lovely Drawing" series.

Brazil... Delta... Get it?

The Evolution of the American Front Porch [Via]

How to make moss graffiti.

You might want to visit this
this new blog about optical illusions.

The great (concrete) poet, (conceptual) artist, gardener and pacifist (with a fascination for fascism) Ian Hamilton Finlay passed away on March 27 at the age of 80.

Ever wonder why comics avoid the name "CLINT"?

Andy Warhol: proto-blogger. [Via]

Speaking of which... yadda, yadda, yadda... something about an Andy Warhol wig. (umm... thanks, to Tom Recchion)

After 9/11 author, cultural critic and ex-SDS president (and many other adjectives) Todd Gitlin hung an American flag outside his apartment — to the great disconcertion of his friends and fellow liberals. His new collection of essays, The Intellectuals and the Flag, addresses the American traditions represented by the flag and accuses Bush and his followers of being "patriots of symbol rather than patriots of duty."

Ever since Kevin Spacey as Jim Williams uttered the phrase "nouveau riche" in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil I've found such guilty pleasure to adoring the word. Lauren Greenfield, captures peculiarities of the new opulence in China.

Please, don't pronounce it as "new"; how to say "neue" at Typophile.

"A unique new subscription service" providing critical views with a narrow focus each issue on a single emerging trend. We're talking future-new here, from the hands of Andrew Zolli.

The New Press publishes fine texts on a world of topics. Recommended: The Vatican to Vegas: A History of Special Effects.

No need to frame it: The Top Ten New Web Design Mistakes of 1999

What would we do if we didn't know the difference between Times Roman and Times New Roman?

* Even though April Fool's fell on a Saturday some people still cared about it.