Fonts

This is kinda not exactly television-related. BUT, let me stress that I love looking at the logos of show titles, since they're often done in a special font, or at least in a steady color scheme. Simpsons and Brady Bunch come to mind for starters. Plus, Frasier had a different colored title every season, which is how to tell them apart really quickly in reruns. But let's look at a list of fonts today...

I am kinda a font freak. In the late nineties I would scour the 'net for the most accurate font to express my personality. Then I'd have my closest friends get it too, so they could read it in AIM (well, technically AOL IM back then, LoL). In college, I couldn't stand the look of the standard, Times New Roman font that I had been required to use on science fair projects (which was pretty much the only thing we had to type in high school, aside from Extended Essays and World Lit papers). So I used Arial. For everything. It's generally accepted by professors, although I did have a classmate in graduate school question my choice.

Honestly, serifs bother me. Those are the little tags on the tops and bottoms of letters in a TNR-esque font. And I hate them. I think they're annoying and ugly. Verdana is my font of choice in a non-professional setting, although I do use comic sans in IMs. (and yes, most of my blogs have serifs because I have been using the default forever, LoL.)

Anyway, the "periodic table of fonts" has recently been brought to my attention several times, and I decided to make some comments about it. At first I was appalled at the focus on popularity as opposed to order. But, the author of the short article does mention that he tried, but it really wouldn't suit his purpose.

Now, let's review his ordering (which was based on several lists)...
#1 is Helvetica. um, what?
#6 is Garamond. If I have to use a serif, I try to get away with this one. ;)
#7 is Times. ::eye roll::
#12 is Lucida. ridiculously useless font.
#17 is some awful thing called Trinite. way too much serif.
#18 is Syntax. Remember that awful font? from back when you still had a printer that spit out accordion paper?
#26 is Thesis. no lie. and it's only been around since 1994. how much do you want to bet someone found a way to create a font that takes up slightly more space per line without anyone noticing... resulting in a few extra pages over the course of three chapters... I'll have to look into this...
#29 is Clarendon. It's a nice font in general, but it's difficult to find the right occasion to use it.
#33 is the oldest font in the book. Gutenberg B-42. it looks just how you'd imagine it might.
#50 is Century. fairly common, but still ehhhh.
#63 is Courier. Yes, it's butt-ugly, but how did it end up so low on the list??
#96 is the newest font of the bunch... 2002's Neutraface, a sans-serif. Tied with #71 Prokyon, another sans-serif. AND #62 - Fedra, another winner (aka sans-serif).

Thinking Back, it was a LOUSY year for Music!

With film and television down, you probably thought that I'd do a segment on music as well. And yeah, you're right. However, there weren't a lot of good songs this year, particularly last summer, which is usually a season known for three months of great jams. I didn't do much commentary this time around, but links to all of the songs are included, so take a listen if you're not in the know about how they sound and what they represent. Once again, not in any particular order.

1. Bust it Baby - Pt. 2 (Plies) - a hot song in the clubs this year, it's got a good beat to it, and a fun message if you stop to listen.
2. Love in This Club (Usher) - I just can't help but get my groove on when this song starts playing. It's a bit of a mood-setter, and definitely a good song to dance to with someone.
3. Addicted (Saving Abel) - surely not the purist song of the year, but I love the music, and it's great live. fun to sing in the car with a group.
4. Viva la Vida (Coldplay) - who would I be if I didn't mention this one for the undertones of an orchestra in this song? The music is calming and relaxing, and the lyrics are intriguing.
5. It's not my Time (3 Doors Down) - this one has definitely been on my gym playlist this year. It has a certain quality which motivates me to just keep going, for one reason or another.
6. Whatever it Takes (Lifehouse) - this song is about faith. and hope. and doing everything humanly possible to right a wrong. It gives advice at the same time it just speaks the plain truth.
7. East to West (Casting Crowns) - now, for some reason, after fifteen years I still can't keep "Counting Crows" and "Casting Crowns" straight, but this song is one I can't mix-up with any other. I find it to be a very fulfilling song, and one that makes me just close my eyes and use it as a medium to speak with God.
8. I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry) - I love this song for two reasons. First, although many people detest it because of their homophobia, it has helped a little in broadening the minds of the ignorant. And second, because it's a very flirty song that gets people crazy on the dance floor. ;)
9. Gotta Be Somebody (Nickelback) - It's true. Just listen. And believe.
10. Handlebars (Flobots) - what a goofy song. And that's why I'll remember it. And it's pretty good live.