David Steinlicht

Android logo in physical space

2012-01-08T02:05:00.007-06:00

[Updated with the idea drawings on the bottom]

I like collectible figures. I like the Android logo. So I purchased an Android logo collectible figure.

I was a little disappointed.

The figure itself is rather large. It's roughly three inches tall (76 mm) .It looks good with my Pee-wee Herman doll, but completely overwhelms figures from Kubrick, Qee, Lego and Homie. I think a smaller size figure would have been nicer. It would play better with the rest of my toys.

When you translate a flat piece of artwork into the real world, you have to make some choices. The strangest choice the designers made was to make the Android's legs very deep. I understand that it was to allow the figure to stand on its own, but it really makes the thing look kinda stupid from any angle other than straight on.

The proportions of the logo and the figure are pretty close. Only the legs are a little different -- shorter on the figure.

Possible improvements? At the very least, the white sections -- between the arms and the body, and between the head and the body -- could be painted black.

More radical improvements could be putting the head on a much smaller neck -- so it would disappear in many views and be in shadow in all views.

The legs should be the same in form as the arms. Cylindrical. The feet could be made flatter to allow the character to stand on its own.

Or the feet could fit onto a clear base -- allowing the bottom of the feet to stay in the rounded form of the logo. Either solution would look "right" from all sides.

Still, it's a fun little guy and I'm glad I got it.

[By the way, when I say I like the Android logo, I mean the little guy. I don't particularly like the Android type treatment, but that's probably the subject for a different post.]

Whoo-hoo!

2012-01-07T19:38:00.003-06:00

Is is something about having a name that has two "o"s?

Skyway timeline

2011-12-13T10:42:00.002-06:00

This skyway has been built, rebuilt and built again. Currently, St. Paul's new light rail line is being assembled underneath. Click for larger.

Out with the old

2011-09-25T10:57:00.003-05:00

The Twin Cities Marathon footrace was represented by an M.C. Escher-inspired Charles S. Anderson-designed logo for 25 years.

But since 2006, the race has been called the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, so this year Medtronic decided the race needed new branding. Hence the new split leaf design.

But the old logo is so beloved it's still used by the people who -- I'm guessing -- actually put on the event and get some money from Medtronic to do that.

What's interesting to me is: the old logo couldn't just be jettisoned. Sure, it's on its way out, but it's still hanging in there on this year's street banners.

Wishful thinking about Apple

2011-08-11T19:50:00.003-05:00

(Advising other people how to spend their money is just silly. But here I go.)

Apple is now the largest corporation in the world. Bigger than oil companies. Bigger than Microsoft or Google. As of Tuesday, Aug. 9, they had $347 billion in the bank.

With their Apple stores, they are already employing quite a few people. Good for them.

What could Apple do with all that money?

I have a suggestion:

Apple should build manufacturing plants in the United States.

In the '90s they actually made quite a few of their computers in the U.S. They could do it again.

You can tell Apple is a little embarrassed that they make everything in China. On all their products, instead of just printing "Made in China" they put "Designed by Apple in California. Made in China." Sure, the design is important, but so is manufacturing.

Stand tall, Apple. Bring those jobs back. You could print on your computers and iPhones . . .

"Designed and made by Apple in California."

That would be nice, wouldn't it?

"Cars 2" movie review

2011-06-24T11:13:00.003-05:00

Haven't seen it yet, but here's my movie review.

"Cars." Music by Randy Newman.

"Cars 2." Music by Michael Giacchino.

I like Michael Giacchino just fine. He does good stuff. He did a great John Barry impersonation for "The Incredibles." His "Lost" music is excellent. But he is a step down from Randy Newman.

Solar power

2011-06-15T09:59:00.003-05:00

That sun will power its way through red and yellow inks faster than blue and black inks. "Go S Lar!"

Reasonable prediction

2011-05-13T13:18:00.006-05:00

With each more-counterfeit-resistant redesign, American money is getting more colorful. (And one could argue, uglier.) I think it's reasonable to predict our bills will soon feature full-color renditions of our presidents.

(Thanks to Sandra Fj-B for the inspiration for this post.)

Guy in a dress

2011-05-13T13:05:00.002-05:00

Note: This is my second try at this post. Not sure where the first one went. Anyway, I've decided to leave out the words this time around. I think it still works.

Cast in concrete

2011-05-09T14:39:00.001-05:00

The lettering on the side of a Selby Avenue bridge. The letter "A" is -- unfortunately -- flipped.

Next to Norma

2011-04-05T23:32:00.002-05:00

Sun and shadows and design conspired to change the name of this event at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. (As always, click for bigger.)

Last of the snow

2011-04-04T10:40:00.002-05:00

At the Rosedale Mall in Roseville, Minnesota, they've leveled some snow piles to speed melting.

Mystery on Summit Avenue

2011-03-14T12:40:00.001-05:00

I don't know what to think about this little still life on Summit Avenue. But it's interesting.

World Reserve Monetary Exchange $2 bills

2011-03-08T13:42:00.004-06:00

"48-hour distribution: These seldom seen full uncut sheets of never-circulated $2 bills are being moved from the private vaults of the World Reserve Monetary Exchange for immediate distribution to St. Paul area residents."

Quote above and image below from a Universal Media Syndicate full-page ad in Sunday's paper (Sorry, the 48-hour distribution time for this offer has already expired!). This image of a vault could be completely realistic for all I know. But it looks completely fake to me. I've noted why in the second picture.

Click for bigger.

Big Futura Bold Condensed

2011-02-12T00:29:00.004-06:00

I like this building.

And I like the big, hand-painted, weather-worn Futura Bold Condensed on the sign. And I like the snowman in the window. And I like the rabbit.

(Click for closer view.)

A couple more Ducks

2011-02-04T13:17:00.003-06:00

Found a few more Wisconsin Dells Ride the Ducks postcards. Click for a closer view.

An earlier post on Ride the Ducks postcards.

When coaster brakes were sexy

2011-02-03T12:56:00.004-06:00

Movie star Rita Hayworth sells the New Departure Coaster Brake. The ad is also promoting Hayworth's appearance in the 1940 movie, "Music In My Heart."

I took these pictures while visiting the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bicycle Museum in Sparta, Wisconsin. NASA astronaut Slayton was born in Sparta and there's a wonderful bike trail built on a railroad bed in Sparta. 2 + 2 = Space and Bicycle Museum.

A broken clock is not always right twice a day*

2011-01-23T18:24:00.004-06:00

This clock on the corner of 6th and Cedar is valuable to bus riders. "Am I late?" "Is the bus early?" The clock will tell you. It also told you the temperature. Less directly useful, but still -- nice. But for month or so in December and January, it was broken and bus riders were left to their own devices.

But the clock was broken in an interesting way. Not just dark. It would be dark for the count of five and then quickly flash a -- usually -- non-number. Interesting! For a couple nights, I tried to count along and then snap a photo at just the right moment. The results were not great. Eventually I remembered (again) the camera can take video. So, over a couple nights, I took video to capture the different things flashing. There are actually more than I thought there would be.

Click the image for larger.

*You could argue that this clock was right once a day if you're using a 24-hour clock. But this clock -- when working -- is a 12-hour clock.

Snow Light Heat

2010-12-26T10:40:00.001-06:00

This video can also be seen at YouTube, but I like Vimeo better.

Levi's tag, now on Roku

2010-12-25T01:33:00.009-06:00

Levi's jeans have a little cloth tag on the back right pocket. They've had this tag for . . . well, forever, as far as I know.

It's a cool visual thing. Distinctive.

That little tag has now been adopted by Roku -- the Netflix-streaming, media box thingy! There's a Levi's-style tag on the Roku's remote control and on the unit itself! I find that to be mind-boggling. Sure, it's accepted that a piece of electronic equipment would have its name embossed into the surface or raised out of the surface or printed on the surface or stamped out of something that looks like chrome and stuck on the surface. But to have the name on a cloth-like tag sticking out of the surface? Boggling.

The little tag -- which is some kind of plastic-cloth with the name on it (unfortunately, I think, printed on rather than woven into the cloth) -- makes the remote stick out on the coffee table. Also, the little tag hits the hand holding the remote and reminds the user that, indeed, this is the Roku remote.

Unrelated, but also cool -- the remote opens to access the batteries through a solid-feeling end cap, not a flimsy little door. The remote opens and closes with a satisfying snap. Good job, Roku!

Grand Theft Garage Logic

2010-12-24T18:51:00.008-06:00

Joe Soucheray, the Twin Cities newspaper columnist and radio personality, has written a book based on his radio musings. I'm certain his book has nothing to do with the video game Grand Theft Auto, but the choice of typeface suggests it is so.

Update: Type aficionado and type designer Mark Simonson mentions in the comments that the font in question is "Pricedown" and it's designed by Ray Larabie. The font is based on a font named "Pinto Flair" that was probably used in the design of the logo for "The Price Is Right" game show. If you want your product or event visually associated with "The Price is Right" or "Grand Theft Auto" or both -- you're in luck. "Pricedown" is available for purchase at Myfonts.com.

And your point is . . . ?

2010-12-17T13:47:00.002-06:00

I'm familiar with people writing phone numbers on bills and putting mustaches or lipstick on George, and there's the bill tracking website wheresgeorge.com that follows bills around the country.

But what is the reason for this stamp on the dollar bill?

There's a gun owner out there with a rubber stamp? Okay, not really a surprise.

"Let them take arms." My response would be, "Hey, knock yourself out."

Hand-lettered yard signs

2010-11-01T13:17:00.002-05:00

Happy to see a local sign painter is getting some business. Usually this kinda stuff is just scrawled in marker on posterboard or laserprinted and stuck to posterboard. This way an actual artisan is getting some money. Good for the economy -- good for small businesses.

(Notes: The signs are referencing the following people, all, coincidentally, are Democrats. Betty McCollum -- the current U.S. Rep in this neighborhood -- is up for reelection. Her lawn signs read "Vote Betty!" The exclamation point seems to lather people up. Mark Dayton is running for governor of Minnesota. He's wealthy -- and he wants to raise taxes on the wealthy (and apparently kill jobs, too). The last sign is about Mark Richie, who is running for reelection as Minnesota's Secretary of State. Richie presided over the Coleman/Franken recount from the 2008 election. And because Coleman lost, the Coleman backers believe the recount was rigged by Richie.)

Charty charts

2010-10-22T12:57:00.004-05:00

Charts -- like photos -- can lie. Not that this chart is lying -- but I think the secondary point it's making is a little misleading.

To me, this chart is saying the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending a lot of money for Republicans in this year's election. But the secondary point is: But look how much money the Democrats are spending on their side -- more than the Chamber by far!

I think the secondary point of the chart is Republican party supporters are spending more than Democratic party supporters. And that is obscured by the NY Times' chart.

So, I spent some time with Adobe Illustrator to remake the charts.

First, remaking the original chart, but using a straight bar chart. I occured to me that the Times was doing some kind of area chart/ bar chart combo where the bars are different widths. So the height of the bar is not representative of the amount. Odd.

Next, I grouped the bars by party, giving you something of a sense of the different amounts being spent by each side.

Next, the classic pie chart.

And finally, a stacked bar chart which puts an emphasis on the amount spent by both. Just under 110 million for the Republicans and just under 60 million for the Democrats.

The same data. A fairer chart? Maybe. A different secondary point? Absolutely.

Lawn signs -- stars

2010-10-18T20:32:00.005-05:00

It's lawn sign season. Stars are a theme. Here the signs I've found in my neighborhood -- in the order of star count.

One star.

(I haven't found any two star signs.) Three stars.

Four stars. (Kinda like two thumbs up.)

Five stars.

Machete Machete

2010-09-18T22:10:00.004-05:00

In the late 1970s, type wizard Mark Simonson designed a monthly broadside newspaper named Machete. Machete's slogan was "Never dull." It was black and white and fantastic all over. And the logo was unlike anything I had seen. Sharp, dangerous and very cool. After all these years it still looks great.

Anyway, I saw the movie "Machete" on Thursday and I just had to do this. As always, click for bigger.

Bike safety tips

2010-09-18T13:21:00.005-05:00

Some instructional pictures from a bicycle safety brochure posted online at floridabicycle.org

I wish bike riding wasn't like this. I wish there were separate bike paths -- away from cars.

Anyway, these instructional drawings are taken completely out of context and are posted here strictly for amusement value. To see what they are really about, please refer to the original brochure.

Nice bumper sticker

2010-09-17T15:08:00.003-05:00

Saw a great sticker on the back of a truck. I like the sentiment (Bikes have responsibilities). And I like the graphic.

But the average bike is a lot smaller than the average car. As I was thinking about that, I happened by this parked car. I parked my bike and took a picture.

Like watching paint dry. But it's glue.

2010-08-17T11:21:00.003-05:00

Working on my crop art. The deadline is next Monday, Aug. 23. Coming up quick! Anyway, if you wonder what making crop art is really like, I'm blogging my very slow progress at another Blogspot site.

Lance Ward video

2010-08-15T11:34:00.005-05:00

South St. Paul painter and cartoonist Lance Ward talks about his near-death experience and the effect it has had on his artwork. The video is illustrated with Lance's drawings and paintings.

[Please note: Lance uses strong language near the end of this video.]

My pal Ken Avidor had the idea to videotape Lance telling this story. I tagged along to run the camera -- and I then edited the final piece. Incidentally, the Wrapped Watertower video was recorded on the way home from Lance's house, so it was a very productive trip. Thanks for inviting me along, Ken!

All I wanted

2010-08-08T14:30:00.001-05:00

Nice to know that you will get "all you wanted" when you sign up at a particular hospital group or insurance company. Bring on the higher expectations.

Another watertower

2010-08-07T19:15:00.002-05:00

This one wasn't moving.

Video: Watertower vertical waves

2010-07-26T10:45:00.003-05:00

Driving around on Saturday, this wrapped watertower caught my eye. To me it looked like waves in a vertical pool. Big, scary, weird. The wrap is on the tower for sandblasting -- to keep the sand from flying all over the place.

(And I guess the covering can be raised and lowered like a theater curtain. That may be the subject for some other another video.)

Wrapped Watertower from David Steinlicht on Vimeo.

Nice sign

2010-06-29T10:45:00.003-05:00

I like this sign. The typeface used (mostly Franklin Gothic, I think), the colors, the slightly worn look, the three-over-three name, the design of the sign. It's just nice.

The corner of my eye

2010-06-27T14:45:00.004-05:00

Out of the corner of my eye I read this sign "2 Dogs & Snake."

Using the magic of Photoshop, I move a few pixels around and here it is.

Guess I'd better go re-watch "Escape From New York."

Big plans

2010-06-20T00:14:00.000-05:00

Something is going to happen on this corner.

C.J.! I've got just the guy for that "Animal House" remake!

2010-05-27T14:38:00.002-05:00

Bluto and Hurley.

La Crosse sign

2010-05-08T14:32:00.004-05:00

I'm puzzled by this sign. I spotted it in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It can be read three ways. "Olympic," "Oly-Mpic" or "Ly-O-Mpic." Okay, I know it's just supposed to be Olympic, and it hints at the Olympic games' five-ring logo. I guess the designer felt a need to fill in the "O."

How's the Olympic Builders logo stack up against some other Olympic logos? Not too bad. [Click for bigger.]

This nifty post by Daughter Number Three inspired me to post my own La Crosse signage photo. Thanks for shaming me into action, D#3!

Cancellations

2010-04-20T21:09:00.004-05:00

The Postal Service has been changing its cancellation marks. As you might expect, I'm a fan of the old way. This cancellation is much like letterpress printing. The printed image is raised and it actually touches the surface it prints on. The cancellation looks good, and the date and city information is easy to read.

The new inkjet cancellation keeps the wavy line of the original, but doesn't retain the circle with the date/city info. The dot pattern isn't tight enough to make small, readable lettering. So the letters are quite large. I'm guessing it's faster to run mail through the inkjet cancel machine because the printer doesn't actually have to touch the piece of mail -- it just sprays the surface as it goes by.

Probably the major advantage of the inkjet cancellation is it that it's programmable. Someone decides to promote Arbor Day or something? It's just an easy computer change. Still looks bad with the sloppy dot pattern, but it's quicker and easier than making a new, physical, cancel marker.

The biggest disadvantage of the inkjet cancellation is keeping the thing in focus. Yikes!

Zoom in on "Foot In The Door 4"

2010-04-18T00:14:00.014-05:00

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts' Foot In The Door 4 exhibit is all about quantity. And context.

Delores's piece is on display as you enter the exhibit. We were worried it would be on the sculpture area, but fortunately it was hung on the wall.

As with all these pictures, click for a closer view.

Sandra's piece also has a pretty good position -- you can get a good look if you bend over a little bit.

Roz got the very bottom of the display. Actually, it's kinda nice -- she has one side completely to herself.

Linda wasn't real lucky with her placement -- she's in a corner. And the glass on her frame adds sharp reflections of her neighbors art to her piece.

Kirk snared a very good spot in the sculpture forest. I think his display here on the table is equally as good as if he had been on the wall -- except he got an extremely rare and valuable corner spot! Two sides free from other art! Excellent work, Kirk!

Jil also snared a window seat for her entry. Very nice!

Steve was not so lucky with his 3-dimensional piece. It's positively buried in a thicket of other sculptural pieces. Bummer!

The photo below and at the left is of a regular Minneapolis Institute of Arts gallery sign -- jumbled in with the "Foot In The Door" artwork. Amusing.

And finally, I have a complaint about the "Foot's" artist catalog, available online and in kiosks and on computers in the exhibit itself. For some reason, the art is displayed in groups that are nine rows across. A normal computer screen will only display four or five rows at a time.

This nine-row configuration means in order to see everything on each screen, you have to scroll up and down AND scroll left and right. A major pain -- and a major usability blunder.

Why didn't they just put four rows per screen? Then you would be able to click and scroll your way through a large amount of entries without undue mouse futzing. (I've Photoshopped together a nine-rows-wide screen below.)

The "Artworks" viewer is labeled "beta," so I hold out hope that something will eventually be done to make it easier to view the artist information.

Complaining aside -- what an amazing show! Five thousand pieces! Overwhelming!

Note: And here is some crop art that made it into the "Foot" show.

Ride the Ducks postcards

2010-04-15T12:19:00.003-05:00

My friend Doug sent me some Wisconsin Dells postcards. I never knew there were so many variations on the Ride-the-Ducks theme!

Click to enlarge.

Update: A few more Ducks postcards.

"Foot In The Door 4" submission process

2010-02-06T19:06:00.010-06:00

Today about 3:30 p.m., we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to take part in the "Foot In The Door" free-for-all. Any Minnesota artist can participate -- your piece of art just has to be one cubic foot or less. It took 45 minutes from the end of the line to the sign-in. (Click picture for bigger view.)

Signage along the way to keep Foot-In-The-Door art from socializing with the real art.

The Curator (center) was harsh -- but fair.

Checking in. It's the "We Love Katamari Clock" I did for the 2007 State Fair Crop Art exhibit/competition.

Got a ribbon that says "artist" on it, a refrigerator magnet and a receipt for the art -- to be picked up in June.

The show starts February 19. We overheard that close to 4,000 submissions had been taken by Saturday afternoon.

Last day for submissions is Sunday, February 7, from 11 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.

Update: I was checked in by Andy Sturdevant. I know that only because the guy checking me in asked me if I knew a guy named Dane Steinlicht. I said, "Sure! That's my nephew!" I didn't ask his name, but I saw he signed the return receipt "Andy St." So I asked Dane about some guy named "Andy St.-something" and showed Dane the picture and Dane said "Oh yeah, I know him. He has a great blog." So I went to the blog and there's the guy's name. Cool. And the blog is fun, too. Here's a link to Andy's blog. Thanks, Andy! Thanks, Dane!

"Cornered!" tour bus pulls into St. Paul

2010-01-27T11:37:00.002-06:00

The on-going promotional tour for "Cornered! A slightly askew look at our pop-culture landscape" comes to downtown St. Paul. There's a book signing tomorrow -- Thursday, Jan. 28, 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Pioneer Press Gallery, 345 Cedar Street.

Okay, so the bus is a Photoshop creation -- and since the signage covers part of the driver's side window, it's in violation of some kind of rule. Still. A bus! With an ad for the book on it! (This approach seemed to work pretty well for Sarah Palin.)

Wings

2010-01-23T15:32:00.003-06:00

Two movies with characters who have wings. Opened yesterday. The way I understand it one character is a tooth fairy the other is an angel.

Makes being sick look like fun

2010-01-21T13:14:00.004-06:00

These drawings of ailments almost make being sick look like fun. Broken arm? Yeah! Hip replacement? Whee!

And it's a pretty nice use of Region's Hospital's dumb logo mark to tilt it and make a background pattern of it.

Click for bigger.

Packaging mood swing

2010-01-18T11:06:00.004-06:00

Sad . . . that Snapple is available in plastic bottles.

Happy . . . that the improvements in this pepper tin are not bad. Not that it needed improving, but still, it retains the original design while adding those (I guess) necessary highlights and shadows.

(Click photos for enlargement.)

I keep forgetting

2010-01-17T20:06:00.005-06:00

When I see ads for Buick cars I immediately think, "I thought they were out of business! Why are they still advertising?"

Then I remember it is Pontiac that is out of business.

Welcome to Rice Park

2009-12-06T11:58:00.003-06:00

One of a few signs taped up around Rice Park a couple weeks ago. I missed the event, but the signs were still there at midnight. The park was empty, put apparently still under copyright protection.

The problem with street signs

2009-11-26T12:06:00.004-06:00

The problem with street signs is they are on the street. They are always getting bumped by vehicles. This sign for Lexington Parkway is a little worse for wear, but it's at least still readable.

A publisher for "Cornered!"

2009-11-13T11:38:00.012-06:00

(Click image for a really close view.)

Big news! In December, Nodin Press of Minneapolis is going to publish my anthology of In This Corner comics. I self-published the book this summer and sent it around to a couple real publishers. And Norton Stillman at Nodin decided to go ahead with a new edition!

Having a new print run was an opportunity to critique my original design and make it better.

There are just a few tweaks inside -- I've added some new comics, an additional introduction page and a few more entries in the index. But the biggest change is the cover.

I felt that, while I liked the original design, it didn't address the origins of the comics. The comics were first published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper. On newsprint the pristine computer-drawn lines make a nice contrast with the textured paper. And and a nice contrast with the visible halftone dots. When the cover drawing is perfectly printed on glossy paper using very tiny halftone dots, the final result looks a little too perfect. So I decided to try to bring some of the newspaper roughness back.

I scanned some blank areas of the Pioneer Press -- hooray for white space! -- and used those as a basis for the front and the back covers. I took the color tint areas of the original drawing out of Illustrator and plopped them into Photoshop. I applied the Pixelate > Color halftone filter. (The document is 250 dpi and the dots are 15 pixels in diameter) I put the dots on top of the newsprint scan and set the layer to Multiply -- so the newsprint texture would soak through.

Then I brought that picture back into Illustrator to be used as the background for the black line drawings and the type.

Linda Koutsky also consulted on the design. Linda, among many other things, designs books for a living at Coffeehouse Press. She had a few suggestions. She said the book needed a subtitle. So I did one. She also said that it needed an author photo and short bio for the back of the book.

I did what she suggested and, doggone it, now it looks like a real book. (Pioneer Press co-worker Ben Garvin took the author photo.)

Look for "Cornered!" soon at your local bookstore!

I go Ross Thomas

2009-10-28T14:15:00.004-05:00

It's election time and one of the striking lawn signs is for Pat Igo.

Igo's name makes me think of one of my favorite authors, the late Ross Thomas. One of Thomas's books, "The Seersucker Whipsaw," is about political campaigns. Specifically about an American advertising/public relations firm running a political campaign in a small African nation. The cynicism of the characters -- and of Ross Thomas -- is breathtaking. Anyway, a slogan for one of the candidates, Sunday Akomolo, is "I GO AKO." The cover of my copy of the book highlights the phrase.

Which brings me back to Pat Igo's lawn sign and Igo's Web site address: igo4education.org. Whatever disagreements I may have with Pat Igo's positions on education, his signs and Web site address always bring a smile to my face.

Those awful, spendthrift educators!

2009-10-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

A sign attached to the fence of a pretty nice house on Summit Avenue in St. Paul.

I don't understand the animosity toward public education. Training future adults the ins and outs of useful employment and citizenship seems to me to be a good thing. Worth paying for.

I like the drawing of the pig, though.

Teasing ad

2009-10-22T11:01:00.005-05:00

There's a teaser ad out now for a new Android-operating-system-based-phone. The new phone is the Verizon Droid. The ad's slogan "Droid does" features a mix of upper- and lowercase letters that is difficult to parse. The lowercase "r" in particular doesn't make sense in this context. But the lowercase "r" is the star letter, so that has to stay.

So, I fixed the "d" letters. Left the "e."

But that's maybe a little too much, so I just fixed one "d" and left the rest. I think this is a huge legibility improvement. And the cute little eyes or fangs or whatever under the "r" are left intact.

Stuart M. Kaminsky

2009-10-19T13:06:00.003-05:00

Stuart M. Kaminsky, an author I admire, died last week. Age 75.

Although I'm sad there will not be any new books by him, he wrote a heck of a lot of books. His obituaries mention "more than 70" books. And I haven't read them all yet. So I have to thank him for his astonishing productivity.

He wrote mysteries. Four different series, basically.

Toby Peters mysteries set in 1930s-40s Hollywood. The detective does work for movie stars. For a fan of old movies these are wonderful. Kaminsky was an expert on movies -- he taught university classes about film in Chicago and Miami -- and his love of movies is obvious in the Peters books.

Abe Leiberman mysteries set in Chicago. An old cop. I don't remember much about these books, but they are enjoyable.

Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mysteries set in Russia. These are my favorites. So foreign and yet still recognizable murder mysteries. Full of insights into repression and bureaucracy.

Lew Fonesca mysteries set in Sarasota, Florida. A process-server who sleepwalks through his life. He's depressed. But it's not depressing to read because through his ability to solve problems he keeps acquiring friends.

One thing I have to mention here is how funny Kaminsky's books are. Even the ones set in depressing Russia and the ones about the old cop and the ones about the depressed guy in Florida. Funny!

For me, picking up one of Kaminsky's books is the start of a visit with cherished friends.

Thank you, Stuart M. Kaminsky.

Missreading

2009-10-08T20:13:00.004-05:00

I was trying to come up with an insult for the new logo for the Sci-Fi Channel. Couldn't think of anything.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I started misreading it -- as if there's a kerning error and the "r" is just too close to the "F." Here, I've "corrected" the kerning with a bad Photoshop job.

"Bicyclists Stop On [arrow, bike] For Green"

2009-09-27T14:24:00.003-05:00

What does this mean? I'm assuming it means "Bicyclists should stop here on red," but that's not what it says. The pictures aren't helping. Spotted at a stop light on Hewitt where it crosses Snelling.

I think it works better at night

2009-09-26T12:56:00.002-05:00

This guy is great

2009-09-26T10:43:00.005-05:00

This guy -- Lunchbreath -- does the kind of stuff I try to do. But he does it really well. He posts his stuff not on a blog, not on a Web site but on Flickr.com. That's a cool way to go. People can comment. It's low maintenance. It makes for easy browsing. Good for images, not yack. Where was I? Oh yeah, go see this guy's stuff. Thanks to the always-inspirational Daughter Number Three for the link.

Adobe Illustrator error

2009-09-01T13:19:00.004-05:00

Not that this is necessarily an Illustrator error, but it's the kind of thing I've done plenty of times while using Illustrator and FreeHand. You grab what you think are all the pieces of something and move them. And then you realize you didn't grab all the pieces. Sometimes you don't notice until the piece is printed. That is a bad feeling.

This error -- on the side of a beverage cup -- was made in 2001, according to the copyright notice. I've been to every Fair between then and now and this is the first time I've noticed it.

Unrelated note: The Minnesota State Fair has been trying out a new logo in the last couple years. More of a retro logo. I like it.

Bar code variation

2009-08-24T18:13:00.006-05:00

This was on a green pepper. Note the double bar code! A regular sized one and in the middle one of those digital things -- but really tiny. The sticker is a half inch tall or so (around 12mm). Kinda relates to this earlier post about data matrix codes. Click on the image for a much larger view.

Pretty picture

2009-07-30T11:02:00.004-05:00

Got a flat tire on my bike. Took the bike home on a bus that is not my usual bus. As I was walking my bike home from the bus stop, over a bridge, I saw this scene. Ooh! Had my camera so I took the picture. Would not have been on the bridge at all if my tire hadn't flattened.

Moment of silence

2009-07-07T15:24:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to note that it was about a week ago that a bunch of my pals and co-workers at the Pioneer Press were tossed overboard. I miss them. And I'm not as good at their jobs as they were.

Dana

Trish

Sara

Emily

Andrew

Jennifer

Amanda

My best wishes to you all. You will do great, but I'm sorry to see you go. Thanks for your years of excellent work.

Swing set

2009-07-01T13:15:00.003-05:00

There have been some innovations in swing sets since the last time I paid attention. There's the basic strap swing. Uncomfortable, but it does adjust to any size of bottom. The baby swing looks like a diaper in shape and a bit like a used diaper in color. And finally, the bucket-seat style -- so you are able to swing in back-supporting comfort.
The baby swing comes with a handy Warning/Disclaimer for you to read to Baby -- perhaps as a lullaby.

A face

2009-06-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-06-14T14:06:00.002-05:00

Face a day, but, you know, daily

2009-06-02T09:36:00.006-05:00

You want a face a day? Scott Cohen directed me to this site: Send Me Your Head. You send in a picture of yourself (via e-mail or Flicker or some such, the info is here) and maybe Karen Schmidt will paint you. And in color.

She's been doing this since January. No telling how long she'll continue.

Nice work! Go, Karen!

Hmm

2009-06-01T11:12:00.001-05:00

"What's good for General Motors is good for the country."

A face

2009-05-31T21:42:00.001-05:00

Nice logos

2009-05-25T22:01:00.007-05:00

I love the old Mysterious Press logo. It's got it all -- nice lettering, good shape, complex meaning (I mean it looks like an open book and a vintage sign hanging outside a creepy old print-shop or publishing house or book store or something). The newer Mysterious Press logo looks like, uh, the two words end in the same letter? Or maybe the point is that, uh, the letters "M" and "P" can be pushed together to share one vertical line? What the heck is it beyond an "M" and "P" pushed together? Is there something I'm missing? Ugh.

But I feel better after looking at this logo for Hard Case Crime books. Great lettering. Great symbols. Great drawings. Gun. Crown. Banner. ("Where crime is king"? Maybe.) Nice all the way around. Thank you, Hard Case.

A face

2009-05-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-05-25T16:25:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-05-15T17:17:00.002-05:00

A face

2009-05-11T23:51:00.003-05:00

A face

2009-05-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-05-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Ta-da! So I used a computer and traced. So?

A face

2009-05-09T23:00:00.001-05:00

A face

2009-05-08T22:00:00.003-05:00

A face

2009-05-03T23:43:00.001-05:00

I'm thinking of renaming this blog, "Another Failed Attempt to Get a Likeness of Julia Roberts."

A face

2009-05-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-04-29T23:48:00.001-05:00

A face

2009-04-27T23:18:00.001-05:00

Defeated by Julia Roberts.

A face

2009-04-26T23:43:00.002-05:00

Not close. Oh, well.

A face

2009-04-25T22:37:00.001-05:00

A face

2009-04-24T23:58:00.003-05:00

A face

2009-04-23T23:17:00.002-05:00

A face

2009-04-22T23:53:00.003-05:00

A face

2009-04-21T23:46:00.002-05:00

A face

2009-04-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Makes me think of . . .

2009-04-19T15:26:00.005-05:00

When I saw this week's New York Times Magazine cover I was struck by two things.

The first was that the drawing was made out of bodies. Credited to Moses Pendleton's Momix dance troupe it reminds me of the contortions the dance troupe Pilobus used to do. Not that interesting, in my opinion -- but I like the white space.

The second thought was I haven't seen the typeface Windsor used for a long, long time. And it, to me, really brings back the feeling of ecology urges and Earth Day. A real early 1970's feeling. Windsor -- though in upper and lower case -- was used for the cover type on the "Last Whole Earth Catalog."

So, good choice for this "Green" issue!

A face

2009-04-19T15:12:00.000-05:00

A face

2009-04-17T23:42:00.003-05:00

A face

2009-04-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

Puzzle fan? Type fan? Buy this issue!

2009-04-16T12:06:00.004-05:00

The May 2009 issue of Wired is great. The logo has been re-drawn by House Industries -- and there's many more instances of House type and hand-lettering throughout. The issue also uses lots and lots of nicely-spaced Futura. Good ol' Futura has been around since the 1930s, and it just keeps coming back in style again and again.

The issue is "guest edited" by J.J. Abrams of "Lost" fame. He has a movie coming out this summer and this issue is certainly part of the hype for that. But, even if you don't care about J.J. Abrams, you can find things to like about this issue.

The type and many of the illustrations work hard to look old-fashioned. The department pages have been redesigned for this issue to fit into the 1940s-1950s trash-design look. The magazine's chock-full of "puzzles" and I'm sure there are "clues" sprinkled here and there as well. Very fun.

A face

2009-04-15T11:23:00.001-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-10T22:06:00.002-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-09T23:42:00.002-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-08T23:44:00.003-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-08T10:08:00.001-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-07T10:19:00.002-05:00

Face-a-day

2009-04-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

Got her!