Enjoying your work day? Me neither, but here we all are. Welcome to Great Recession America. Since it’s unlikely any of us are going to get to sneak out early, and the spouse would be pissed if we did happy hour this early in the week, here’s a tribute to your hard-working ass.
Have a great day.
College dropout and Race to the Bottom cheerleader Scotty Walker is soon to have a brother in arms. In Ohio, former Fox News host and former Lehman Brothers executive-turned-governor John Kasich and the GOP majority are on track to pass a distinctly similar bill to the one on the table in Wisconsin.
Much like Walker’s bill, the Ohio proposal would strip public employees in Ohio of the right to collectively bargain for pay and benefits. This would be on top of the concessions that have already been requested (and mostly agreed to), and further, limit the effects of binding arbitration.
And, much like Wisconsin, public sector employees in Ohio are filling buses and making their way to Columbus in volumes generally reserved for Ohio State-Michigan football games.
Within the state, the familiar battle lines are being drawn, while eyes focus on Wisconsin. The assumption is that if Wisconsin caves to the demands of Koch-driven politics, that Ohio will be the next domino to fall, right on the backs of what remains of the middle class.
It seems almost sure to happen, eventually, though. Kasich isn’t the type to let up. He has his mandate, (and no, I’m not talking about the glorious 49% of the vote he received last November) and seems determined to deliver it to us: You will fight for scraps, and be grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Sadly, there is support for this, which, if you listen to a lot of the folks online and in the papers, seems counterintuitive. The argument I witness most frequently is that if the private sector isn’t ‘able’ to give employees benefits like those currently enjoyed in segments of the public sector, then the public sector employees shouldn’t be entitled to the benefits that they’ve currently bargained for. This, I have a problem understanding. The fact that the private sector has slowly and steadily taken things away from the middle class means that we should screw what’s left of it over? Seems like we’re picking the wrong scapegoat.
So, we’ll likely see a repeat of what’s happening in Wisconsin here in Ohio. Thousands of public sector employees, with organizational help from the unions, will make their way to the state capitol to voice their discontent. Some Koch brothers’ funded group with a happy-sounding name will bus in a few hundred Medicare recipients (some from out of state, I’m sure) who are too stupid to realize that they’re spitting in the wind, and have them counter protest.
In the end, the Republicans will have the votes they need to pass these bills, and we can get to partying like it’s 1929.
I will start with a caveat: If it is true anywhere that rules are meant to be broken it is in the creative fields. However it is also true that it is always good to know some rules are as ignorance is embarrassing and gets you nowhere.
Don’t be afraid. If you don’t think you’re creative treat it like a math problem. Things like basic geometry, perspective and color theory are all math/art crossovers. Many of the same principles apply.
So with these guidelines I hope that you too can make beautiful um, party invitations?
Fonts
• 3 fonts maximum in any given design. A decorative or header font, a sub-header font, if you want/need, which should be bolder or larger than the…body font, which should be plain the smallest & most importantly, easy to read. Please keep legibility in mind especially if you have any older readers.
• The 3 fonts rule excludes the use of italics as an additional font but includes weight changes (bold, other than for emphasis in paragraph, light, roman, demi) of the same font as additional. I swear that sentence made sense. Really.
• Only one crazy font per layout. Less is always more!
• No large amount of body text should be in a decorative font. Who wants to read paragraphs of curly, distressed hanwriting-y craziness? People on acid, that’s who.
• No all caps in a script/handwriting font! It will likely be hard to read. Also, I’ll murder you.
Color
Two colors, not counting neutrals (black, white, greys, tans, nudes) is a good rule however variants of the 2 should be used freely. Variants include:
Tints – Base plus White. Lighter. Pink is a tint of Red
Shades – Base plus Black. Darker. Maroon is a shade of Red
Tones – Base plus Grey. Hue shift. Brick is a tone of Red
Temperature – Base plus warm or cool compliment. Usually yellow or blue. Be careful with temperature as if you move to far in one direction or another you’ll reach a new color. Too much yellow in red makes a proper orange whereas a nice orangy red might be fine. It is all very arbitrary, isn’t it?
General Layout
• There should be a central image, phrase or word. You are trying to communicate something I assume. This is about design, not pure art.
• Having said that that design is all about communication. It needs to look good but that is the vehicle for the idea rather than the main objective.
• People hate reading. How the hell did you make it this far? Do make it interesting to look at.
• Don’t be afraid of white/empty space. Be afraid of clutter. Less is always more.
• Don’t be afraid to overlap things so long as you can still tell what’s going on and/or can read it.
• Do not have tangent (Math! Friggin math! Look it up.) items. Barely touching items looks like a mistake. Either space or overlap them.
• Do line up things. If one item is only slightly off from another it will look sloppy. Line them up or make the difference bigger.
• Borders and rules (lines) can make things pop and help to prioritize.
• In that same vein, breaking up boxes and lines can add visual interest.
• Keep very squared-up boxy layouts for more conservative designs.
• Do look for a geometric flow in your layout. Is it a circular or triangular arrangement? It could be just a diagonal sweep from one corner to another.
Life, the Universe & Everything
• As with everything, be consistent.
• If at first you don’t succeed, blah blah, however…
• If you keep picking at it, it will never heal. Therefore…
• Don’t be afraid to start over.
• Try something you think will look bad. You might be wrong.
• Ask for help.
• Oh yeah, break the rules.
Greetings Crasstalk Comrades! We are now into out third full week of our glorious battle to win the Internet. Your courage and loyalty warms the heart of The Beloved Leader and the generals on the front. Yet, the war is far from over, and we must ask you for your assistance. Please help the effort by taking the following actions:
Please help us spread the word. If we wish to vanquish the counter-revolutionary enemies of snark, we must all work together to spread the word to the masses. Please take a few minutes to advance the Crasstalk cause.
In the early days Crasstalk was a backwater with few visits but so many great things to share. To help bring some of those early posts to light we present Crasstalk Classic. Our first classic post goes all the way back to December 2010 when Coffee and Cigarettes brought us the amazing Gentlemen of Bacongo about the exquisitely dressed gentlemen in the book from Daniele Tamagni. Now go relive the magic.
Everyone who knows me is aware of my severe weakness for well dressed men, and African accents. Pair those with my fondness for great photography, and you’ll understand why I’m currently lusting over this book by Daniele Tamagni. Full of amazing photos featuring members of the Congolese cultural movement called Le Sape, this book is a must have.
I was doing a disservice to Europe with my last post. Here it is with old names. I don’t think I’ll be doing the rest of the world because it just gets more and more confusing. Sorry, non-caucasians. Once again, click to enlarge.
There was a murder last night at the Boddy Mansion and we’ve been hired to find out whodunit. Happy Tuesday, little birds! Let’s talk about things that are gruesome, gross and sticky. Now you, get your mind out of the gutter, we’re not talking about that bodily fluid, we’re talking about the other gooey one: Blood.
Today on Life, Death and Violence: Victims and Survivors. Sit down and relax. This is going to hurt us a lot more than it’s going to hurt you. Are you nervous? You shouldn’t be as long as you have nothing to hide.
LIFE! (LeZig in the Open Thread, with Mark Ruffalo’s Espresso Eyes?)
1969: Clarence 13X: Colonel Mustard, in Harlem, with the Revolver. Clarence 13x was a member of the Nation of Islam, until, of course, he made the rookie mistake of criticizing the teachings of Dear Leader. He was named 13x because he was the 13th Clarence to join Temple Number 7 where yesterday’s death Malcolm X: Ray-Ban® Clubmaster™ Spokesman was a minister.
DEATH! (92BuickLeSabre, in Photo Phriday with the axe he stores in his trunk?)
The following people may or may not have been murderers, but we have reason to suspect that they were, at the very least, party to an untimely death. The suspects:
VIOLENCE! (Your intrepid reporter, at the Jackie O. Reservoir, with the sleeping pills?)
OTHER NEAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY (Wait, wait, the clues are finally coming together, we’ve almost figured it out)
That’s it, friends. We’ve examined the clues and unlocked the puzzle box. You’re all innocent. Mr. Boddy’s murderer was, in fact, without a doubt, Joseph Gordon Levitt, in the boudoir, with the blindfold. He strangled Mr. Boddy and then he strangled Claudia Schiffer. Still hot, though. Until next time!
*We don’t really believe this.
So I got excited this morning when a friend texted a headline from Entertainment Weekly that said, “Firefly Returning to Cable.” Seriously my heart started to flutter, and I couldn’t log on fast enough to see what the deal was. I’m not saying that this is my most fervent entertainment wish, but it would come damn close to the most exciting television news I’ve heard in nearly a decade.
So imagine my disappointment upon reading that Entertainment Weekly‘s breaking news was that the original fourteen episode series is slated to air on the Science Channel. The science channel? Of course there’s a science channel. But what is their interest in Firefly? Well, the channel has acquired the rights and will show the episodes interspersed with segments from renowned physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku, who will talk about the “theoretical science behind the show’s concepts.” Right. What, just what? Now, I’m all for discussing this great, ground-breaking series in almost any means, but to lure us dedicated fans in with a misleading headline that caused a collective gasp across all of nerddom, and not deliver news of some sort of revived series…well, that’s just harsh EW.
Or is it?
Well, if you think about it, any PR for the show is still fantastic! And the fact that the show is still in the hearts and minds of fans, television networks, and even the science community, speaks volumes for its appeal and relevancy. And a kudos from the scientific community isn’t a bad way to keep the dialogue going.
I recently watched a documentary that discussed the making of Star Wars and the lofty ideas of a young George Lucas who was looking to bring something to the screen that had never been seen before scientifically. Many thought that this odd space odyssey would never amount to much, that it would be a box office failure, and Lucas’ audience “just wouldn’t get it.” Well, we know how that turned out. Firefly has often proven itself to be the little show that could do amazing things post-screen. Despite a less than stellar turnout in ratings, and at the box office, there has always been something about Firefly that has drawn more and more fans year after year. It’s the elaborate world in which it exists. It’s yes, the nostalgic essence of Star Wars and Star Trek, but it is also the original and complex characters and all their complicated, misfit-like, family ties and morals. To say nothing of the inventive dialogue and fun, unpredictable banter. It transcends simple cult classic, it’s more of a cult movement. It’s great that the show is still recognized on such a large scale, and each new iteration on the small screen breathes new life into a once expected to be walking dead series. And in the highest endorsement, after nearly a decade, the main star still feels the same way, and that will always lend itself to never saying never about a revisit to a live action production.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was the part about playing the character?
NATHAN FILLION: It was my favorite job ever. What wasn’t great about it? I got to wear a low-slung holster. I got to ride horses. I got to have a spaceship. I got to act mean and curmudgeonly. [Creator Joss Whedon] is really good at kicking characters in the nuts so the other characters would have laughs at my expense and that was great too.If Castle had its series finale tomorrow and Fox said to you and Joss: “We screwed up, let’s try doing Firefly again.” Would you do it?
Yes. Yes. I would examine very closely Fox’s reasoning — I’m a little gun-shy. If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.
And, yeah, just because Fillion would strap on the thigh-guns once again if a network came calling doesn’t mean that he has no interest in the business side of things, if we’re to give credence to his off-the-cuff remarks here. The series could do a lot worse than to be captained by, well, the captain. There’s an online effort going on to secure him the rights, right now! As sci-fi site io9 has reported, fans have gathered to try and make sure those rights land in captain Mal’s capable hands website, facebook.
Conversely, some feel that the show is perfect as is, and that a short-lived beloved series and movie is the best way to go out in a blaze of glory, and that actually tinkering with a sequel or new series could sully the original and somehow reduce the goodwill the show has stored. I believe there is a very real fear out there that the show has reached such iconic status that anything following would not do it justice. But since this is Joss Whedon’s world, I think there’s not much in the universe that would make him sell this series short, and if given the chance, he could create an undeniable testament to the original and possibly surpass it in an opus not seen since the release of The Empire Strikes Back, which many believe is the trilogy’s crowning jewel. And what do the networks and movie studios have to lose? It’s not as if there has been a deluge of great sci-fi, especially not on the small screen. Need anyone remind them of what ABC and NBC have offered to the genre? And Hollywood is indeed suffering from “original idea” anemia. (Right now, if Firefly was a successful series in the UK and on the BBC network, the U.S. powers-that-be probably couldn’t wait to adapt it here.)
I’d place my bets on Whedon.
Given the momentum of the series on the small screen, I hope some studio feels the same, because there’s more story to tell, and I am anxiously awaiting its return to the ‘verse.
Update: Commenter BankerHardcore has found out that some very cool Browncoats who work for the California Lottery have sent Nathan Fillion a complimentary $1 free play Mega Millions ticket which he posted on his Twitter account. Awesome! Browncoats unite! Thanks for the tip!
Good morning, and welcome back if you had a long weekend. Here is a beautiful sand art demonstration from Ukrainian TV. Even of you have seen it before, it is a great video.
Even tragedy can be beautiful in skilled hands. Have a wonderful day.
Crazy Russian scientist, Kirill Eskov posted up a free English translation of his LOTR re-work, this time from the perspective of Orcs living in Mordor. This retelling casts Gandalf as an overly-spiritualist war-monger, intent on destroying the scientific and industrial innovations Mordor and Sauron have established.
This isn’t some flash-in-the-pan slashfiction, this is serious stuff. Eskov is a HUGE fantasy author in Russian language fantasy circles. I’ve been hearing about this guy for the last couple of years, one of my ex-girlfriends tried to get me to read a fan translation but it had the prose and subtlety of, well, a Russian language fan translation of a Russian trying to write in the prose of Tolkien. (It takes balls of a distinct Soviet/Russian variety to re-tell LOTR with an emphasis on technology as opposed to magic.)
This is an authorized translation, and its pretty interesting (at least to LOTR fans.) Tolkien had a huge mythology made for the Middle-Earth series, one of which is the map of Middle-Earth. Its basically Europe, turned 90 degrees, with the Shire being England and the Soviet/Balkan states representing Mordor. I can’t help but think that Eskov is trying to turn the tables at this perceived slight.
You can find it here: http://ymarkov.livejournal.com/270570.html
Note: You’ll probably need to update to the latest version of Adobe reader to view it.