StumbleUpon | RickWolff's comments & reviews

arial or helvetica? | a quiz from iliveonyourvisits.com

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:40:42 -0700

Here's a test to the web-trained eye (that can see typographic subtleties through the pixelation). They suggest it's easy to cheat, but I didn't find out how one does that. Arial is an example of a phenomenon I've seen: while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the closer the imitation, the more vehement the criticism of the attempt. Now that both Arial and Helvetica are equally available on nearly all computers and Web browsers, can't we jettison Arial, like training wheels from a bike?

David Bergman - ALL ACCESS - music, sports, and concert photography & Blog Archive & How I Made a 1,474-Megapixel Photo During President Obama's Inaugural Address

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:35:08 -0800

Here's an incredible, zoomable, 1.7-billion-pixel photo of Obama's inauguration. It's in a sort of fish-eye view, so on the left are the dignitaries, and on the left, receding faaaaar into the distance, were the millions of spectators. The photographer says he picked out Yo Yo Ma taking pictures on his iPhone; I picked out Aretha Franklin with that hat of hers. (Her chin didn't survive the multiple-exposure stitching process. Oh well.)

Fred and Sharon Spencer Are My Heroes & Rick Wolff

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:19:27 -0700

My most popular post so far. These folks have a fan base, in the modern sense of the word -- consisting of not only admirers but people who, let's say, can't believe their eyes when they see Fred Spencer's work. Hey, a hit's a hit, right? I join the cheering section.

The Declaration of Independence: And You Are There & Rick Wolff

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:04:57 -0700

[My first self-Stumble.] This is a breakdown of that important document, something I've been thinking about for a long time and had to wait for the right forum. It shows the careful explanation of a perilous time in history, an untenable situation, and the alternatives tried and found failing. Could you have done better under the circumstances?

Liz Strauss: The Secret of Being a Successful and Outstanding Writer

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:33:21 -0700

Liz Strauss knows blogging. When she offers her view, she rolls out this huge map, like that of Middle Earth. You see the tiny dot that is your blog's origin, with the "you are here" sticker. Over there is a prominent yet circumnavigable island called Monetization. But it's not the mainland. There are broad avenues going to every corner. And, she assures us in that humanistic tone of hers, no place is off limits, either for us or for our forays into blogging.

Pigi-Poo: The Pigeon-Poodle on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:08:36 -0700

Have you ever run your fingers through the curly fur of some species of dog? Rich, a little oily, your fingers snag between strands? Well, pull your hand away, and discover what you've actually been petting. Genetic engineering, or the end of days?

99 words for boobs from amcc - Video

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:18:48 -0700

Time to keep it light, folks! Drag out your smutty thesaurus and see if you can think of any they missed.

PhillyCoR: Greater Philadelphia Coalition of Reason

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:46:12 -0700

Good to see that in such a classically American city there's enough momentum and cash to provide such a comforting message.

House Dems Plan to Regulate Congresspeople's Twitter Posts | George Donnelly

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:27:59 -0700

Here's the threat, folks. This is the foot in the door. A representative in Congress performing his duty of informing his constituents of the goings-on of the House of Representatives. Something TV has been able to do for about 25 years. Something print has been doing since there was a Congress. Something the representative has been able to do verbally behind a podium, up on a soap box or on the edge of a rock, since the species first learned communication. The difference? The difference lies in the difficulty in explaining what Twitter is. But this time, it's not to your aunt, or your milkman. It's to the government we've been saddled with as a holdover from last century, one that assumes that a new technology does not contain rights until and unless those rights can be pointed out and sold to whichever committee has the keys to the gate. The exact opposite of the way it's supposed to be. If passed, this congressman, John Culberson of Texas, has a duty to defy it and use whatever means at his disposal, including Twitter, to report the goings on of Congress. Isn't that just obvious?

ad to the bone - The Executive Coloring Book

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:27:43 -0700

If you enjoy "Mad Men", you'll love this take on Corporation Man, when souls were sapped on a much grander scale than today. Yet, echoes of this ethos can still be heard in the halls of some corporations which shall for the purposes of this post remain nameless. It says "1961", but it's suspiciously hip. I wonder...