January 2009
19 posts
“There is a technical term for this kind of writing – parataxis, defined by the...”
– Stanley Fish, on Barack Obama’s inaugural speech (which he characterizes as paratactic); elaborating on that definition, he writes:
One kind of prose is additive – here’s this and now here’s that; the other asks the reader or hearer to hold in suspension the components of an argument that will not...
“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari.”
– White House spokesman Bill Burton, describing the transition from a modern, web-driven campaign to a technologically antiquated White House. (via langer)
Oh man, such an awesome quote.
(via marcstandley)
Largest crowds in American History
squashed:
1965 - Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration drew 1.2 million people. This was the largest inauguration crowd in history.
1969 - Our largest war protest drew 250,000 to 500,000 people.
1995 - The Million man march drew 837,214, plus or minus 20 percent. Here’s a picture of the event—which should give a sense of what Tuesday’s inauguration should look like.
2002 - The largest U.S. rally...
Watchpterodactyls:
N.A.S.A. (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip) - Money
Video directed by Syd Garon & Paul Griswold, featuring the artwork of Shepard Fairey.
Sweet song, and I love these graphics.
Question for the Font Freaks
aaronwhite:
We’re on the same page 51/52 times.
Is there a reasonable excuse for why capital “I” and lower-case “l” look indentical in Helvetica?
Discuss.
These are my guesses. Each excuse is insufficient on its own: they’re mutually excusive :-).
Reasonable Excuse: It’s intended to be used for whole words/phrases/sentences, where context clues are enough do distinguish...
awkward:
Walking in to class and having my students ask, “Did you get that [item of clothing] at [store]?”, about every visible piece of apparel I’m wearing… and getting every single one right.
Traffic and the Economy
squashed:
Watch Obama explain his economic recovery plan:
01/03/09: President-elect Obama’s Weekly Address
Now, all of this sounds expensive. How does Obama plan to pay for it (other than selling unicorn rides)? We’re in a recession—which intuitively suggests we should spend less rather than more.
Step back a bit. What changed to put us in a recession? Sure, a bunch of home prices fell...
