M is for Murder

So let me just say I'm über excited. The Belcourt has been playing old Alfred Hitchcock movies. This has me simply tickled! I am able to see old 1950-some Hitchcock films.. in the theater!?? How awesome! At first I was bummed out because I thought it was only during June, but saw today it's going to continue through July! Last night I went to see Vertigo (which I must say, has one of the best kiss scenes ever. Not to mention a fantastically twisted plot!). This week is Psycho. I am also going to catch a French film Sunday night. "Le Vie en Rose," the story of Edith Piaf, a famous French singer who went from the streets of Paris to NYC. The synopsis actually sounds quite intriguing. Google it if you're curious.

Anywho. Back to Hitchcock. His films are by far some of my all-time favorites. Just so well done and the plot lines are excellent, not to mention the casts. Superb! July's lineup is as follows:
July 7-8: STAGE FRIGHT
July 14-15: SUSPICION
July 21-22: THE 39 STEPS
July 28-29: REAR WINDOW
I will be missing Stage Fright, but am REALLY looking forward to Rear Window. It's a personal favorite. Sadly, The Birds was not chosen, but I'm OK with that. There's more than enough vintage horror film fun to keep me busy! I'm thinking the Belcourt may be my new home for the next few weekends!

P.S. I am also excited for the Second Saturday Summer Sci-Fi Series at Sundown! Cheesy Sci-Fi films on original 16mm film? I am SO there!

Tea anyone?

She beats having a robot any day.

What weekends are made for..

Sigh. I love hiking. There is just nothing better... well, few things anyway. I got up early yesterday to drive out to Fall Creek Falls. Nothing beats a 95 degree Tennessee afternoon like a 3 hour hike in woods that are about 10 degrees cooler with a nice breeze. Simply lovely. I didn't go on the trails I originally wanted to go on. The one I had meant to take would have taken me across the top of the falls and to that lovely overlook pictured above. I didn't realize I was not where I wanted to be until about an hour and a half into the hike. Oh well. Next time. Next time I WILL be one of those idiots out on the ledge, or looking out over the falls. I always feel so great after a hike. I love how my body just feels so good. Feels worked and tired, but in a happy way. I worked up a good sweat, downed three Nalgene bottles of water, and had an overall spectacular time. I'll put up a few more pictures at the end of the post. I have more pictures, but these are some of my favorites.

The rest of the weekend has been pretty relaxing. Went to a "Passions" sex toy/bachelorette party. It was... interesting. But fun. Today I was inducted as a new member into the Lutheran Church downtown. An elderly woman gave me a HUGE hug. It was great. Feels like family and that's such a great feeling. It really is. Everyone is SUPER nice and next week is a "New Member" BBQ. I also plan on joining a Sunday School group and maybe get on a committee. I'm very excited about this church. Lots of good things going on.

The rest of today was spent doing domestic necessities. Washed two weeks of laundry, sheets, pillowcases, and my comforter. Clipped some coupons and hit up the Green Hills Kroger. I dusted, yesterday I vaccumed, today I washed the floors, made some tasty hamburgers and got some clutter under control. Found a roach in my office. A tiny one this time. He wasn't looking in too good of shape. He wasn't really moving and kept going on his back. He's not dead yet, but I think he's on his way. I know the exterminator sprayed last week, but I put out some bait just in case. Roaches just scare the crap out of me. I don't know what it is.. but they just give me the willies.

Anywho, on a more positive note.. here are more pics from yesterday's hike. Enjoy!

BarCamp Nashville

What & Why
BarCamp Nashville is a 'future' festival. Expect a mashup of unexpected presentations with a great lineup of internationally recognized keynote speakers and live music. Nashville is ready for a celebration of our interactive, music, design and marketing communities. Space is limited, register today.

Where & When
August 18th at the Exit/In from 12pm – 12am. BarCamp is free to the public.

Who will attend
Anyone interested in learning about the future of new media, design, online marketing,technology and creative control. It’s the perfect environment for hobbyists to exchange ideas and network with industry luminaries. Future entrepreneurs, technology visionaries, digital creators, music revolutionaries and marketing whiz kids will find themselves in stylish company at this premiere community focused event.

Check out BarCamp Nashville info here. Check out the Wiki or Register now.

I'm going to see Erik tomorrow!!!

I'm stopping tomorrow morning in Mechanicsburg off 81 on my way back to Nashville. One of my bestest best buddies, Erik Preston, lives there and I will be stopping to visit and have some diner breakfast (which will involve heavy amounts of coffee). I am SOOOOOOOO excited to see Erik!!! :-D I can't think of a better way to kick off a 13 hour car-ride.

DioRama-thon!

My good friend Jenna has initiated a DioRama contest, paste and crayola style (you know, that project in elementary school where you make a world inside a shoebox). The theme is 70s sitcoms (I've got dibs on All in the Family). All entries due July 6th and a prize is yet to be determined. Rules are listed below as per Jenna's blog...

Rules are as follows! ( surely they will be appended )

1. All entries are due July 6th 2007. You can email me a picture (if you have no blog) but to be fun, lets all post for judging on our own sites on the 6th. Kevin is getting a TV blogger to judge for us.

2. Theme is "Favorite 70's sitcoms." Must be a half hour long show and Happy Days, M*A*S*H, Mary T.M, All in the Family, Maude, Threes Company, And the Bob Newhart Show - are Taken. There are many, many, more left.

3. You must do a scene or event that aired in the 70's. (Example, I can't do the series finale of M*A*S*H, even though I want too)

4. You must use materials that were available to you in 3rd grade. No flat screen laptop monitors, or fancy design work. Think elementary school, son.

5. Must be contained in a standard sized shoebox. (If you work at Reebok, you have no excuses. If you work in Tennessee, you have a couple)

6. Winner gets something. Not sure what yet. I think we should all throw in 10 bucks and get them an ipod shuffle or ebay gift card.

7. PLease post your show here so no one else can take it. Note which are already taken.

8. You're co-workers and friends may enter as well. People in my office are already excited.

Let's get creative!

NEW DOODLE! (oh, you are SO excited)

Well kids, the pen is FINALLY back in hand. And by pen I mean Wacom stylus. I've been out of the doodle loop for far too long. Hopefully this is the first of many!

Enjoy!

A font. A mere twenty-six letters, a handful of numbers, a few fancy characters. There are thousands of typefaces in existence, but none have really made as large an impact as Helvetica.

The Nashville Chapter of AIGA had the pleasure of showing the documentary celebrating Helvetica's 50 year run. I must say, it was better than I expected. I liked that the whole film did not fully glorify Helvetica, but rather illustrated both positive AND negative viewpoints on this ever-popular (or unpopular) typeface.

This post is not a 'yay' or 'nay' post in regards to Helvetica. I just wanted to take a few paragraphs to give some due respect to an influential font. You have to admit, whether you like Helvetica or loathe its existence, it does commandeer a hefty level of respect.

Helvetica is quite the universal font. Granted, it is NOT the best choice for every situation, but it works. It just works. You can take practically any brand, any design situation be it web or print, and solve it with Helvetica. Now, I'm not saying ANY problem or EVERY situation can be solved or should be solved using Helvetica, but in a vast majority of cases, it CAN be solved and the solution will work. Very few typefaces can say that.

Take a moment to consider all the ways in which Helvetica is in use. You've got American Apparel, GAP, Target, JEEP, Sears, Staples, and hundreds more. SO many instantly recognizable brands use Helvetica. You can use a light version to convey elegance, rough-up a heavy version and you've got a grungy dirty feel, you can use a condensed version to make it feel more modern, or just use it how it is in its regular format. Sure, there are probably (and more than likely) other fonts out there that can do the job better, but Helvetica can do the job as well.. just not always AS well.

Why does Helvetica work so well? At least in branding, it's comfortable. It's clean, uniform, sterile. It lends itself well to that corporate, everyone-wants-to-fit-in feel. Is that a good thing? I'm not really sure. But you have to give it some props.. every character is like a minion in a little typeface army. It is there to do a job and it's there to perform. Each letter is uniform and square. It's well balanced and is easy on the eye. How many other sans-serif fonts can accomplish this? Futura can't. Avant Garde, Gill Sans, Frutiger, Univers.. none of them can perform to that level. Yes, all of these fonts can solve a design dilemma under various circumstances much better than Helvetica. They all lend their own flavor and personality to each situation which makes them superior in some ways. But when you get right down to it, in most situations, Helvetica can be interchanged with any of these fonts and the solution will work.

I respect you, Helvetica. You're famous and obtrusive but in a comfortable kind of way. The brands you represent are ones we all trust. As far as fonts go, I do believe you've achieved far more than ANY other font in the industry.

So I guess what I'm saying, is that whether you love Helvetica or hate it, it's earned a good bit of respect. It's had a strong run over the last 50 years and I can't see it going anywhere anytime soon. This font is here to say and I must add, that I can live with a world full of Helvetica far easier than a world full of Papyrus or Comic Sans.

If Helvetica had a back I'd give it a good pat.