Have you ever had your vacation ruined because the font on a sign was poorly chosen? Or upset by a movie because the font (on a pressure gage, no less) was anachronistic? If you are, then you are likely a font nerd! Font nerds are obsessive about…well, fonts. If you are one or you know one (and I know several), then you will know exactly what I am talking about. If you don’t, read this, Design – Mistakes in Typography Grate the Purists – NYTimes.com, and be glad you wouldn’t be able to identify Helvetica if someone put a gun to your head. 🙂

Short answer from NASA: No. The world will not end in 2012. At least, not according to the reasons found in the film 2012.

The detailed answer is here: NASA – 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End?

As an aside, I came across this because of a comment from someone who thought this was sad: that NASA had to debunk the movie. But to me, I think it is a great idea that NASA did this. If films like 2012 encourage people to learn more about science and be more science-literate, then that is a good thing. In fact, in answering these questions, they touch on astronomy, geophysics, and science history. Perhaps some kid reading this will be interested in learning more about these things. I remember watching “Chariots of the Gods” when I was a kid, and I was determined to know more about these things. Dubious science fiction can lead to better knowledge.

Very interesting: The Atlantic has an interactive map showing the The Nine Nations of China. While it’s debatable to call them the nine nations or the nine regions of China,  it is without a doubt a great look at how China differs in as you go from one part to another.

The Dirty Projectors were in town this weekend. In case you haven’t heard them before, here there are doing Knotty Pine with David Bryne. As a big fan of Byrne, I can see the affinity he has with this band. (Although one of the You Tube comments was: “This song would be better if it was just the chick singing. The guys’ voices who sing the second half totally pale in comparison to the awesome voice of chicky.” Kids today. :)) Not everyone cup of tea, but old fans of David Byrne should check this out. (And young fans of Dirty Projectors should check out David Byrne!)

Hear:

YouTube – Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors & David Byrne

If you want a great inexpensive gift idea for someone this Christmas and you are in the Toronto area, I suggest you check out the 16th Annual Festival of Smalls. Art Interiors is a wonderful gallery in Toronto that annually features smaller works by fine artists at  low prices. There’s a wide array of art works that would appeal to anyone. And at those prices, you can afford it.

One of my favourite artists, Emily Bickell, is featured again. I love her abstract water paintings, like this one:

As well, a friend of mine, Jay Hodgins, has a number of his pieces featured in the Festival, including this one, which I really like:

If you are wondering: are they all abstract, then I give you this great work of Canadiana by Elizabeth Lennie, called Shinny 20 (appropriately enough):

Go check out the site, here: Art Interiors.

Better yet, go to the gallery and buy something for someone. Oh, and sure, get something for yourself, too. 🙂

When I speak to people about directions, they usually refer to Google Maps. However, I have been burned twice by Google Maps giving me the wrong directions. For example, yesterday, I was going to 165 University Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada and I entered this in maps.google.com and was giving the wrong information and ended up almost being late for my interview. The previous time I was late for a funeral when I ended up miles away from my destination.

Yahoo! Maps has the correct information (as it did the last time). At a minimum I recommend you check both of them, especially if you have an important appointment. Or just use Yahoo! Maps.

…is that what the designers themselves wear is (more or less) like what everyone else in the world wears. As this article — Fashion Duds | What Designers Wear – The Moment Blog – NYTimes.com  — points out, there are exceptions, like Karl Lagerfeld. (I’d add Gianfranco Ferre.) But lots of designers, be they Alexander McQueen, Dries Van Noten, or Georgio Armani, tend to dress pretty casually.

But don’t believe me: go the the Moment Blog and see the slide show.

A rougher, richer version of it

YouTube – Imogen Heap – “Let Go”

Seriously. If you are fascinated by the preparation of food and especially meat like I am, you will be interested in the blog Road To…, which is

…something that chefs including (the author) could use and share techniques that are currently not in books or an interpretation of classic preparations.

For example, how often do you see how to prepare pig’s face?

The author gives a great step by step breakdown of how to prepare this and much more.

Let’s face it: if you saw this:

Especially if it was served with a sauce, you might not think twice about it. 🙂 But that’s what the pig’s face looks like served up.

It’s a great blog/site. Highly recommended for serious food people.

What I love about the site  Calorie Count is not only does it tell you the nutritional facts of many popular fast foods, like the Calories in Starbucks Coffee – Cappuccino, but it also gives you nicely printed nutritional labels. (Essentially, they are the same labels you get on most food you buy from the grocery store.)

I think it would be great if all large chains printed such labels with their food.  Of course they won’t, unless they have to. But if most people saw on a regular basis how many calories were in a blueberry scone or some of those coffee flavoured drinks, for instance,  they might have alot less of them, and one would hope they would switch over to something more reasonable.

Regardless, I recommend you check out Calorie Count, especially if you frequent fast food places. Print off some labels of the foods you regularly eat. You might find yourself making better choices.

Kodak and other camera makers should note this photo:

 

I see people taking photos with five iPhones in this picture: not a camera amongst the lot. Indeed, it is a misnomer to call the iPhone a “Phone”, for it really is a computer. It can make phone calls, take photos, run games…you name it, it will be able to do most of it.

 

I think there will still be specialty devices, but they will be for niches, not the mainstream. Right now the mainstream is looking like this photo here (from TPM Photo Galleries)

Gallup found that over 16% of adults in the world would emigrate if they could, which means 700 Million Worldwide Desire to Migrate Permanently to some country. Where do they want to move?

Interestingly, 45 million people would move to Canada if they could. Not as big as the 165 million who would move to the U.S., but pretty signifigant.

And where do they want to move from?

Largely from sub-Saharan Africa. While I think that in any region, there is always a percentage of the population that has the desire to move regardless of the conditions, conditions in any region has a great deal to do with whether or not someone wants to move.

In the near future, there will be alot more movement of people. With technology and knowledge, moving is easier than ever before. The thing standing in the way is nationalism. I suspect in the 21st century, the will of people to move is going to give nationalism a pounding.

(Found through Matt Yglesias)

Night Music, first known as Sunday Night, was a short lived show that lasted for 2 seasons — 1988-1990 — but had some great musicians on it. If you go here on YouTube, you can see great videos from the show of Marcus Roberts, Youssou N’Dour, Sting, Curtis Mayfield, the Pixies, Sonny Rollins…the list goes on. Much of it rarely seen.

For example, I think this bit by Debbie Harry is great, yet it has less than 20,000 views. It deserves more. See:

The NYTimes.com has them here: 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 1) – You’re the Boss Blog – NYTimes.com.

One of my faves is #38.Do not call a guy a “dude.”

This is the park I walk through to and from work. It’s a great park, I think, with lots of great trees, plenty of space for many different activities, and a wonderful place to toboggan in the winter. In the front of it is a community center that has won awards for the excellence of the architecture.  I don’t have a big yard, but with such a great park 2 minutes away, I don’t need one.

Fashion week is held in various parts of the world, and it is often (big) business as usual. But it is a big deal when it comes to other places, like Pakistan. After many challenges, the first Fashion week has comes to Pakistan, despite the difficulty of mounting such a show there. This Yahoo! News/AP news story nicely illustrates the difficulty of mounting such a show in Karachi. The story also highlights the multifaceted nature of fashion, which can represent freedom, beauty, shallowness, wealth, style, and so much more.

For my part, I thought the clothes and the models look great. I’m not sure the Taliban would agree. Then again, that’s partially the point.

(Model unknown. Clothes by Pakistani designer Feeha Noor Jamshed. Photo by Athar Hussain (PAKISTAN FASHION)/REUTERS))

There is a fascinating article here, Cheap mobile calls help more young couples elope from Yahoo! News/Reuters, on how mobile phone technology is rapidly changing life for people in Somalia. This is not to underestimate the overall situation there. That in itself is a large factor in the rapid change in society in this Horn of Africa country. But certainly mobile phones are accelerating the change.

Like many cultures, marriage and courtship is changing rapidly. But what is happening in Somalia is dramatic to me. Where once,

you gave the girl’s parents 11 camels and an AK-47 assault rifle as bride price and then waited respectfully…
Today, even reasonable boys pay just $50 bride price and a copy of the holy Koran after making the girl pregnant or seeing her secretly for months.

 

And as a parent in Canada, I would agree with this:

Many older residents say the prevalence of handsets and such cheap tariffs — among the lowest in the world — is making the lives of youngsters unrecognizable.

 

If anything, I would argue this is a universal refrain among parents and other adults, regardless of the part of the world they live in.

Like I said, it’s a fascinating story (and fantastic material for a novel). Check it out.

(Found on Matthew Ygelsias’s blog. Photo of women from Somalia from ctsnow’s photostream on flickr.com)

The term “bug”, used to describe a computer or software problem, had its origins in an actual bug (a moth) causing failure in an old Mark II computer from the 1940s.

It appears we need to come up with a new term: a bagette. For it seems that the Large Hadron Collider stalled again… thanks to chunk of baguette, according to the Times Online. Perhaps “bug” can be used for small problems and “bagette” can be used for larger, more expensive problems.

So, kids, no miniature black holes being created this time. But given that the LHC can be shut down over a piece of bread, I am less assured when scientists say that such a device can’t create a black hole.

I have often read about the dreaded “pre-existing conditions” that prevent people in the U.S. from being able to optain health insurance. I assumed these were serious medical conditions, like cancer or some other chronic or life threatening problems. But according to this, Healthburn | Dustin Curtis , the author was denied insurance because he reported having had heartburn. Yes, that’s right.

You should read the whole thing.

The more I learn about health insurance in America, the more I think it is the biggest  bamboozlement pulled on the American public since cigarettes.

Taken from the Centre for Disaease Control’s web site. Here’s what’s on the page, CDC H1N1 Flu | H1N1 Flu and You ( Iadded the bold):

How does 2009 H1N1 flu compare to seasonal flu in terms of its severity and infection rates?
With seasonal flu, we know that seasons vary in terms of timing, duration and severity. Seasonal influenza can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65.

When the 2009 H1N1 outbreak was first detected in mid-April 2009, CDC began working with states to collect, compile and analyze information regarding the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak, including the numbers of confirmed and probable cases and the ages of these people. The information analyzed by CDC supports the conclusion that 2009 H1N1 flu has caused greater disease burden in people younger than 25 years of age than older people. At this time, there are relatively fewer cases and deaths reported in people 65 years and older, which is unusual when compared with seasonal flu. However, pregnancy and other previously recognized high risk medical conditions from seasonal influenza appear to be associated with increased risk of complications from this 2009 H1N1. These underlying conditions include asthma, diabetes, suppressed immune systems, heart disease, kidney disease, neurocognitive and neuromuscular disorders and pregnancy.

I realize this is very specific, but better more (good) information than less. I received this from my councillor:

This is to advise you that the City’s Public Health Department will be holding H1N1 vaccination clinics for 6 weeks, starting Monday November 2nd.  Public Health has designated the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre, 200 Eglinton Avenue West , as one of the clinic locations.

Toronto Public Health has just announced that the H1N1 vaccination clinics to be held next week will be open to members of priority groups only. This restriction of the vaccine has been mandated by the provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.  This measure ensures that those people most at risk of serious illness will get their vaccine.  Public Health is asking healthy people who are not in the priority groups to be patient and to not attend these clinics.

The priority groups include:

pregnant women;
children 6 months to 5 years;
people under 65 with chronic conditions;
people who live with or care for infants under 6 months old and immuno-compromised people; and
health care workers.

For the first two weeks, the vaccine clinic hours will be:

Monday, November 2nd – Friday, November 6th, from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. AND Saturday, November 7th, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. <For Priority Groups Only>

Tuesday, November 10th – Friday, November 13th, from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. AND Saturday, November 14th, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. <For the General Public>

Please note, for the first few weeks Public Health is anticipating that a large volume of people will be visiting the clinic so please expect delays.  There are vending machines (drinks only) at the Community Centre but no food is available in close proximity.

We are doing what we can to manage the situation but please keep in mind that parking is limited at the Community Centre.  Therefore, we are asking people to use public transit or carpool.  Your patience would be appreciated as there will be increased traffic and a higher volume of cars parked on nearby side streets for the next 6 weeks.

For more information on other clinic locations or the H1N1 flu virus, please visit the City’s website at http://www.toronto.ca/health/cdc/h1n1/index.htm

I would highly recommend that anyone wanting more information on this go to a more authoritative source, such as your doctor. Or visit the City of Toronto’s web site on H1N1

The park near my house is beautiful, with a wide variety of great looking trees. However, sometimes scenes of beauty can be at your feet. Like here:

The sun was bright white this morning, and the leaves were scattered nicely across the dirt. I love Fall: it’s a season so nice, they had to name it twice. 🙂

I was very impressed by this story and this student shown above. Apparently this student recently challenged the supreme leader in Iran by asking him, Why Can’t Anyone Criticize You? According to a number of blogs, including “Persian2English”,

Supreme leader Khamenei usually holds conferences with top students who are pre-selected to speak. These students usually go on stage and praise Khamenei. Then Khamenei usually speaks and talks about how much he values their ideas.

But this Wednesday October 28th, the conference was different. After the students spoke, Khamenei asked if anybody had any questions. Mahmoud Vahidnia, a math student from Sharif university who is also winner of the International Math Olympics, stood up and said courageously:

“Yes, I have some words with you.”

Here is a summary translation of what the students said to Khamenei:

“Why can’t anyone criticize you in this country, isn’t that ignorant? Do you think that you make no mistakes? Why have they made an idol out of you that is so unreachable and that nobody can challenge? I have never read an article about your performance in any newspaper because you have shut down all the media that is against you in the country. Why does national TV show all the events untruthfully? For example all the events after the election. Why do you support them [national TV shows], when everyone knows they are lying? Since the president of national TV is directly selected by you, then you are responsible for all this.”

Khamenei evades answering the student and calls his words not truthful. He claims that people criticize him everyday and he listens to them and then fixes his errors.

Everybody knows that this is just another lie. Rumors say that the student has been arrested.

I hope he is ok, though I am not optimistic.

(Found via Andrew Sullivan).

Kevin DeMaria has created a wonderful/sad photoessay blog illustrating the Last Days of Gourmet magazine. It is a story that has played out at many offices recently, though Gourmet magazine’s offices were ones that created many a great publication that influenced and inspired many people. Regardless how you feel about Gourmet, it is a really good photoessay. Go see.

There’s two arguments — at least two — that sum up the arguments why one should not get the H1N1 flu shot. 1) The vaccine is worthless or worse than the flu itself. 2) It is a racket set up by the drug companies to make money.  This article, Fighting the anti-vaccine brigade – with science – Short Sharp Science in New Scientist, is well written, well reasoned, and very clear.  Anyone who argues #1 should read this. As for #2, I think it is questionable. And even if it is true, it should not convince you to not get the shot. Especially if you are in the high risk group.

I can understand people’s skepticism about the flu vaccine. People should be skeptical. But to me, the price of being skeptical is that you should be aware of the arguments against you and you should have your own good arguments. Anything else is simply ignorant, superstitious and lazy. So read the New Scientist article.

Likewise, scientists need to get their heads out of the clouds, be less arrogant, and be more accountable to people’s concerns. This is as much about politics as it is about science. They need to approach this politically, not just: trust us, we know what we are doing.

Stay well.

Erykah Badu – Orange Moon (Live)

Though both Letter to Jane and Time’s Looking Around, I’ve learned that a great American photographer died this week: Roy DeCarava. These three sites can give you a better appreciation of why he is a great photographer. Looking at his work, I love his mastery of shadow as in this photo:

Indeed, a lack of light is a major element of this work, be it from the darkness of the room or the opaqueness of the window. I find my eye working harder to draw what little light there is in this photograph. The lack of light is one of the things that engages me when I see this image. (It’s a great composition, generally, with the parallel angles formed by the clothes lines and pot handle, the parallels again of the water tower and the pot, the way the stove “connects” on an angle with the middle line of the window, giving the photo depth, and the tryptch quality that comes from the three “panels” formed by the window on the left and middle and the wall on the right.)

One of the things I love about Manet’s paintings is how well he is able to use the colour black in his work. Not just as one more colour, but as a major element of the composition that changes the way you look at the work. DeCarava does that well too. And so much more.

Great works of photography. Go (re)visit.

Seriously. This is meatloaf:

Not only that, but there are detailed instructions on how you can make it! Ugh. See not martha – Meat Hand for more details. Honestly, I never got the entire let’s-make-food-look-disgusting idea. But if you want to make something gross for Hallowe’en, this could be it.

The great Canadian photographer, Ed Burtynsky, has a new exhibit showing at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. It’s called “Oil”, and it looks at the effects of oil in our lives. Just that alone got me excited about it.
 
Anyone fortunate enought to be in the vicinity of that gallery in the next while should visit. 

Here’s a video the gallery has:

If you’re like me, when you think of stout, you think…well, Guinness. I love Guinness, and I enjoy the rich darkness of stout generally. What was surprising to me, though, was after reading this article, Beers of The Times – Call It Stout, Though It Isn’t – Review – NYTimes.com, I learned that a) stout generally isn’t as heavy as I thought, and b) there are alot more good stouts out there other than the grand stout from Ireland.

So, what are the best stouts? According to the review:

“…our No. 1 beer, Black Hawk Stout from Mendocino Brewing, which has breweries on both coasts, evoked visions of classic Irish stouts. It was light and dry, yes, but graceful and deliciously refreshing, too. I could see it easily becoming my new midday or ballgame tipple. Would somebody please get Yankee Stadium on the phone?

… the St. Ambroise oatmeal stout, from McAuslan Brewing in Montreal, was No. 2 on our list of North American stouts. It was bigger and richer than the Black Hawk, with the smoothness and slight sweetness that come from adding oatmeal to the malted barley.”

See the article, then get yourself some stout. It’s practically a health food! 🙂

(Photo of a Japanese stout from mdid’s photostream on flickr.com)

Anyone looking to live in a small studio apartment like this place featured in Apartment Therapy Los Angeles could steal some tips from how this place is set up:

The apartment nicely takes the space and divides it in two with a floor to ceiling curtain that can be drawn back if need be. This curtain is more to accentuate the divide than to provide privacy or to hide the other room. Although with a darker curtain, you do that if you wanted. Here, the purpose is more to designate the bedroom space as opposed to the living space.  (As well, the bedroom space is painted in a darker tone than the living space, which also emphasizes the division of the rooms. )

The colours in the room are well coordinated. There are blue and green tones throughput, from the walls to the tables to the pillows to the lamps. There is also a nice mixture of bold colors and neutral colours, with the bigger pieces being neutral and the furniture being darker. Overall, though, the room is light, and the mirrors help bring that out.

There are few arms on the furniture, and the bed has no footboard. This helps in a limited space. As well, the coffee tables are stackable, which is also versatile.

A nice little package of an apartment.

Listen to Nneka now. Everyone else will later.

YouTube – Nneka – Heartbeat

It’s the opposite of digital cameras with the increasing megapixel ranges. It’s not even 35 mm film. It’s 120. It comes on a spool. After every picture, you have to manually set it to the next picture. I love that!
Almost the entire camera is plastic. Even the lens. That low quality makes for more interesting photos.
There are still lots of places in Toronto to get 120 film developed. Likely for other cities as well. There was a long discussion forum on flickr talking about all the places that develop it in the city. I was afraid it would be hard to get it done, but in fact it’s very easy.
There are a number of flickr groups dedicated to photos taken by Diana owners. Even the most basic picture taken by a Diana camera has a nice look to it.
You can do multiple exposures easily. You can use it as a pinhole camera. It can either be automatic or manual shutter speed.
When people see it, they want to ask you about it and they start talking about photography.
It’s still fun waiting and seeing your photos developed.
It has just enough controls on it to make it interesting and give you things to play with,  but not too many.
It has a great vintage feel to it. This camera is new, but it is based on cameras of the 1960s.
It just looks cool, doesn’t it?
You can find more about it here: Diana F+ camera, but there are lots of sites that talk about the camera.
Thanks to the the Tech Style blog for pointing it out, and for Urban Outfitters for carrying it. You can get them cheaper on eBay, but I liked the package it came in at Urban Outfitters.
If anyone is interested in the camera, let me know. I am also bookmarking interesting links on delicious.com.
Now…say cheese! 🙂

…because I think she’s the best.

YouTube – Mary J. Blige – Come To Me (PEACE)

Ok. This is kinda weird. But very funny. And one of the more novel ways to recycle!

 

For more of such zaniness, see Greenwala – Green Art. It would likely even be better if you knew German!