Font-focused feature film

After seeing the Hot Docs film Helvetica, I now notice how frequently this font is used around the city, like subway signs. It's so common, it's like air, says one of the graphic aesigners interviewed in the documentary. Throughout the film, city montages of street signs illustrate how so many companies use Helvetica.



In this 90-minute documentary, the film traces the origin (birthplace, if you will) and development the font Helvetica. Graphic designers who have designed other fonts are featured in this film, with their take on the featured font and the impact of Helvetica in the graphic design world and their explanation of why this font is so popular. The documentary was a delight to watch. It was definitely worth standing in line for more than an hour in the rush lineup. Ironically, a person was handing out flyers about a book that was "anti-Helvetica" or "pro-indie" fonts about to be released to people in the line for this film.



After the film was completed, the filmmaker made an appearance to answer questions. He also said the movie will be in Toronto theatres sometime in the future (before fall) for about a week. Also, there will be a DVD available of the film possibly in the fall.



Note: Ironically, I don't have Helvetica font on my computer at all! So I've used arial, which is a copycat font.

Fabulous Friday

Today was awesome.

First, it was my day off. Plus, I got to eat sushi with my friends and go see Bare Naked Ladies in concert. To top it off, David Suzuki made an appearance (as he was plugging his website and environmental campaign) during intermission. How amazing is that?

The photo above is my recent cooking inspiration result. I was inspired to whip up some strawberry shortcake after talking with my sister whom is taking cooking lessons. Actually, I had a bunch of really ripe strawberries and didn't know what to do with them and thought strawberry shortcake would be fun to try (thanks to allrecipies.com) It ended up a tad sweeter than I would have liked, but it still turned out well considering it was my first try.

More on the concert another day. Must go to sleep now.

oscar-crazed

Nominations were announced for oscars this morning. It seems Canadians are up for big categories, such as Deepa Mehta for her film Water in the Best Foreign Film, Paul Haggis for his original screenplay Letters from Iwo Jima, and Ryan Gosling for his performance in the independent film Half Nelson. Did you know Gosling was the first Canadian mouseketeer? (which I found in our library for one of our researchers!)

Co-creator of Flinstones dies

Joe Barbera, the co-creator of cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died today. Bill Hanna, the other co-creator, died in 2001. CBC reported Barbera died at age 95 due to natural causes. Seems like this marks an end of an era that greatly influenced American pop culture. Look at the spinoffs, such as the Simpsons, the Family Guy, American Dad and so on ...

Even though these cartoons were created before my time, I recall rushing home from school to watch the Flinstones during the lunch hour on the local CTV station affiliate CKCK. It didn't matter if it was I had seen the episode already. It was the oh-so-clever banter between Fred and Barney, the mischevious antics of the alien Gazoo. Apparently he was exiled from his home planet Zetox for inventing a weapon capable of vapourizing the universe. He apparently had to help "dumb-dumbs" like Fred and Barney as part of his punshiment. The best part was that only Fred and Barney saw Gazoo (interesting that Gazoo only was helping these pair of "dumb-dumbs). By the way, if you want to learn more useless trivia about the Flinstones, there's a site dedicated to them.

Never was a fan of Yogi Bear. He seemed to be a bit too dense. Fred, however, had an ounce of smarts ... just enough to get him in trouble with Wilma, usually. This cartoon, though, really had quite a strong statement about female and male relationships. Wilma was the fiery and independent red-head who wants to do something more with her life (remember her entering that baking contest ... yea, it is a domestic affair, but still, her drive to win ...) and her attempts to use the nest egg for that new appliance without Fred's knowledge (while Fred tried to sneak that same money to buy a new bowling ball). Of course, Wilma is often frustrated by the patronistic and machoistic attitude of her brute of a husband. Fred was smart enough to keep his marriage together, which you gotta give him some credit.

Bollywood meets Corner Gas

Hmmm ... the CBC announced it is producing a new comedy sitcom called, Little Mosque on the Prairie on its official blog. Does this sound familiar at all?

The series creator, Zarqa Nawaz, hopes that "... by using comedy to disarm people of all races, it will invite them to think outside of their fixed cultural perceptions." Perhaps the CBC is trying to ride the popular CTV sitcom Corner Gas, a truly homegrown show staring series concept creator Brent Butt, who grew up in a prairie small-town. Also, there's Little House on the Prairie which was a very popular series about life on the Western American frontier. I guess Little House on the Prairie was a hit. They have released the series on home video for everyone to re-live the pioneer life.

Does the creation of this new series suggest that Saskatchewan's popularity is still on the rise? Or is that the Canadian television viewing public are looking for more grassroots entertinament?

Looking back, Saskatchewan has produced many talented artists, such as songwriter and painter Joni Mitchell, bands like Northern Pikes and the Waltons, the Regina Five (artists), to name a few. Now Zarqa Nawaz, who has produced more serious films about how Muslims are perceived.

Corner Gas may have put Saskatchewan on the map for humour. People actually want to see the set of Corner Gas, which is set in Rouleau, Saskatchewan - a typical southern Saskatchewan town that has a row of buildings and is located just outside of Regina. Rouleau is a blip on the flat prairie land. Really, not much to see. Most people who say they've been to Saskatchewan say they've flown over it or driven through it or by it. It's not usually a place people choose to spend their hard-earned vacation days. I'm quite mystified how such a show has garnered such keen interest from the Canadian public. (Just a note: apparently there's a person who is hired to be stationed by the set so fans don't go too close to the set.)

Several years ago, Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert spent a few million dollars on an advertising campaign to promote how great it is to live and do business in Saskatchewan. This campaign caused quite the stir. Taxpayers did not want their hard-earned cash going towards what they considered a pointless cause. Who is going to come to a new province, start a new life based on one television ad they saw? It's hard to say (and tangibly measure) if these ads really had any impact on the Saskatchewan economy.

Maybe if enough people can laugh and relate with Saskatchewan folk, they might want to become their neighbours.

Tickled by Elmo

I can't believe elmo's already a decade old ... TMX Elmo is a funny, but it's a riot when elmo talks with Robert DiNero.

If anyone (adult) talked in third person, it would be creepy, but for some reason, a red, furry monster who does this is considered cute. Who would have thunk he would have such a hit with adults and kids?

just goofing around

just goofing around
Originally uploaded by shutter_grl.

Rachel, Alana and I have a little too much fun after a Sunday dinner in Guelph. Perhaps the delirium has set in. Seriously, we had a blast making funny faces and poses while Alana's sister Lisa documented our silliness.

"Somebody help!!"

"Somebody help!!"
Originally uploaded by Homo olympus.

This picture makes me smile. Describes what I feel like these days.

You've Got Mail

Last night, I happened to catch the opening of "You've Got Mail" - a 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Watching the film eight years later, it's interesting to see how things have changed in the world of technology.

The movie begins with quick construction of a virtual model of New York City. It's filmed as if a person was on the computer working on an electronic file. Click. Zoom into a street of New York where Tom Hanks is walking. Click. Zoom into the home of Meg Ryan's home. You get the picture.

Then, this next part ... is quite interesting ... from two perspectives: the technology part and the human behaviour part.

Technology: Meg Ryan's character sits down at her desk and gets her computer connected to the internet through dial-up. Yes, I realize many people in the world still use dial-up, but most households have some form of cable or high-speed internet. I haven't heard the screeching sounds of a modem for quite a while.

Human Behaviour: Actually, both Meg and Tom's characters behave similarily before checking their e-mail. They wait for their respective partners to leave the home and then check the "coast is clear" before they engage in their virtual "affair". The two have never met, but they seem to be skulking around. Also, Meg Ryan's character writes to Tom Hanks about her anticipation to receive his e-mail.

E-mail is still prevelant eight years after the movie was released. However, I think while there is still the anticipation of "Did s/he e-mail?" there's another dimension ... "Is s/he online?" In the mid-1990s (that I'm aware of), there was IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Now, there are more user-friendly programs ... such as MSN, Yahoo Messanger ... and now online dating sites have caught on and put that idea to use.

What happened to the days of "snail mail" (regular letters through an institution called Canada Post)? I remember having penpals as a kid. If I got a piece of mail, it would just make my day! (Note: I think that was the appeal of being part of "The Mailbox Club" - a Sunday-school-like correspondence course for kids.) As an adult, getting any piece of snail mail that isn't a flyer or bill is rare these days, especially in this world that is so heavily reliant on e-mail, faxes and Instant Messaging. Who has the time to pen an old-fashioned letter?

I guess it means that much more when someone does take the time, thought and effort to write something by hand and then walk/drive to the nearest postal outlet (oh yes, and spend the 50-some cents to purchase a stamp).

Summer full of festivals

Summer is supposed to be the season that's more carefree. And it's the season of festivals. Since this will be the first summer I've ever spent in London, Ontario, I decided to investigate what the community had to offer in terms of festivals. I was very impressed.

There is the Street Painting Performance that features artists who draw in chalk on sidewalks. This first-time event is free! It runs during the first weekend of August.

I've heard great things about the London Balloon Festival It'd be cool to ride a balloon, but I don't have $250 plus PST to do that! This festival is also in early August.

And there is the London Community Players that has a couple of plays this summer, too.

Mythbusters

"Please turn off all electronic devices including cell phones, walkmans and laptops during take-off and landing."

This is a typical announcement made while a plane is preparing for take-off or landing. But do electronic devices, especially cell phones, really interfere with airplane instrumentation and communication systems?

While travelling back from Vancouver to Ottawa on WestJet, I happened to come across the show Mythbusters on The Learning Channel. The mythbusters team was addressing this question. They built a box to test out this theory. They used various bandwiths. They found that a cell phone that was turned on didn't interfere with the instrumentation readings. However, if the cell phone was used (i.e. received or transmitted a call), this did interfere with the airplane instrumentation. That means the pilot wouldn't have accurate information and readings to know where he was flying (think Die Hard 3, I think).

However, the Mythbusters crew then wanted to test it in an actual aircraft in flight, but to do this was against federal law. The team were fortunate to have one pilot agree to let them test their theory (but while they were on the ground, of course). This airplane used was very high-tech and had protection to shield the plane's instruments from other electronics' frequencies and influences. So, this experiment showed that cell phones of varying bandwiths did NOT affect the plane's instrument readings at all.

So, in conclusion, the team thought this myth was busted. They were frustrated that they really couldn't test this myth in the air. However, they did wonder why airlines still asked people to turn off all electronic devices even though it seems this myth isn't true. Conclusion? Well, it's better to be safe than sorry (especially with all those new models of cell phones coming out ... you never know which one could cause problems).

High School Drama

No, I'm not having a nightmare about waking up as a high school student (although that would be pretty scary!) I went to see my cousin's play tonight called "Lucky Stiff". My cousin wasn't in the play ... she helped with make-up. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining and well-done performance.

The quality and calibre of the students' performance was quite good. Tonight was the last performance ... so my cousin went to the cast party to celebrate their success. Here's just one shot of the night. :) (see above)

The behind the scenes people are just as important as those who perform onstage. It's easy to forget about these "invisible", but without them, the show wouldn't go on. In a way, librarians tend to be unsung heroes since no one really knows what they do!

Casting back to an assignment (interview) I had to do in first term, I remember learning how ignorant people were of what librarians and information specialists really do. And there's a belief out there that librarians know everything ... which we apparently are supposed to work to keep up that belief ;) I don't know everything, but I am willing to learn ways to track down information. Maybe librarians are just detectives in disguise as mild-mannered folks.