Category: Events & Culture

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Typography

So yesterday I was trying to set up this project wherein a client could print out a customised menu for visitors to their restaurant. But it had to match their printed menus as closely as possible. So I thought, well, if I simply install the right fonts on their machine, and play with the CSS enough, I should be able to match that Quark layout pretty exactly…heh. I was dreaming.

BUT! on that same subject, A List Apart has something to say about Typography on the web. I haven’t yet read the articles, but I’m sure they’ll be quality like all the other ALA issues… so go read and learn why type matters!

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Happy Birthday me.

So today I turn 24. Yay!

I have the best girlfriend ever, as she’s making this day so great for me! I love you Leah!

Here are some other people of note that share my birthday (from Scopesys.com):

1711 Jupiter Hammon 1st American black to publish poetry (Complete Works)

1817 Samuel Ringgold Ward Maryland, minister/abolitionist/author

1835 Alexandrine-Pieternella-Fran‡oise Tinn‚ explored the White Nile

1848 William “Candy” Cummings created the curve ball

1859 William “Buck” Ewing hall of fame catcher (NY Giants, Cin Reds)

1864 Elinor Glyn British novelist (3 Weeks)

1886 Spring Byington Colo Springs, actress (Lily Ruskin-December Bride)

19– Zulu [Gilbert Kauhi], Hilo Hawaii, actor (Det Kono-Hawaii 5-0)

1903 Irene Ryan El Paso Texas, actress (Granny-Beverly Hillbillies)

1903 Jerry Colonna Boston Mass, comedian (Jerry Colonna Show)

1903 Nathanael West American novelist (Day of the Locusts)

1905 Jean Arthur NYC, actress (Shane, Mr Smith Goes to Washington)

1912 John Paul I 263rd Roman Catholic pope (1978)

1915 Arthur Miller playwright (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible)

1917 Marsha Hunt Chicago Ill, actress (Jennifer-Peck’s Bad Girl, Jigsaw)

1919 Rita Hayworth NY (Alzheimer victim), actress (Gilda, Pal Joey)

1920 Montgomery Clift actor (From Here to Eternity)

1921 Maria Gorokhovskaya USSR, gymnast (Olympic-gold-1952)

1921 Tom Poston Columbus Ohio, actor (Steve Allen Show, Newhart)

1926 Beverly Garland Santa Cruz Calif, actress (My 3 Sons)

1926 Julie Adams Waterloo Iowa, actress (Yancy Derringer, Code Red)

1926 Karl G Henize Cincinnati Ohio, astronaut (STS 51F)

1928 James “Junior” Gilliam Dodgers (NL rookie of year 1953)

1928 Julie Adams Iowa, actress (Away All Boats, Black Rose)

1930 Jimmy Breslin Queens NYC, columnist (NY Post, News, Newsday)

1932 Paul Anderson US, light super heavyweight lifter (Olympic-gold-1956)

1933 William A Anders Hong Kong, Maj Gen, USAF/astronaut (Apollo 8)

1938 Robert “Evel” Knievel motorcycle daredevil

1941 James Seals Sidney Tx, singer (Seals & Crofts-Summer Breeze)

1942 Gary Puckett vocalist (& the Union Gap-Woman Woman, Young Girl)

1943 Susan Davenny Wyner New Haven Ct, soprano (Walter Naumberg Prize)

1944 Carol Cole West Medford Mass, actress (Ellie-Grady)

1945 Dave Cutler CFL place kicker (Edmonton Eskimos)

1946 Bob Seagren Pomona Calif, actor (Soap)/pole vaulter (Olympic-gold-68)

1947 Charles A Ingene macromarketing researcher

1947 Michael McKean NYC, actor (Lenny-Laverne & Shirley, Grand)

1948 George Wendt Chicago Ill, actor (Norm-Cheers)

1948 Margot Kidder Yellowknife, actress (Lois Lane, Amityville Horror)

1949 Bill Hudson Portland Ore, comedians (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show)

1949 Timothy Bottoms Santa Barbara Calif, actor (Adam-East of Eden)

1952 Howard E Rollins Jr Balt Md, actor (Bannister-Wildside)

1955 Sam Bottoms actor (Prime Risk, Savages)

1956 Mae C Jemison Decatur Alabama, MD/astronaut (Sked:STS 47)

1957 Vincent Van Patten Belrose NY, actor (Apple’s Way, 3 for the Road)

1958 Alan Jackson rocker (Don’t Rock the Jukebox, Here in the Real World)

1959 Dolph Lundgren actor (Rocky 4, Masters of the Universe)

1965 Connie Ann Hearn Anchorage Alaska, actress (New Kind of Family)

And some events on this day:

532 Boniface II ends his reign as Catholic Pope

1492 Columbus sights isle of San Salvador (Watling Island, Bahamas)

1691 New royal charter for Massachusetts, now including Maine, Plymouth

1777 British General John Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga, NY

1781 Cornwallis defeated at Yorktown

1787 Boston blacks, petition legislature for equal school facilities

1829 Delaware River & Chesapeake Bay Canal formally opened

1850 Knickerbocker Engine Co Number 5 organized

1855 Bessemer steelmaking process patented

1860 1st pro golf tournament held (Scotland) (Willie Park wins)

1868 Constitution of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg comes into effect

1871 President Grant suspends writ of habeas corpus

1894 Ohio national guard kills 3 lynchers while rescuing a black man

1899 Sutro railroad sold to Robert F Morrow for $215,000

1904 Bank of Italy (Bank of America) opens its doors

1918 Yugoslavia proclaims itself a republic

1919 Radio Corporation of America (RCA) created

1920 Chicago Bears (as Decatur Staleys) play 1st NFL game, win 7-0

1931 Al Capone convicted of tax evasion, sentenced to 11 years in prison

1933 Albert Einstein arrives in the US, a refugee from Nazi Germany

1934 “The Aldrich Family” premieres on radio

1935 Pacific Assoc of AAU votes not to participate in Berlin Olympics

1941 1st US destroyer (Kearney) torpedoed in WW II, off Iceland

1945 Juan Per¢n becomes dictator of Argentina

1954 Phila Eagle Adrian Burk passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash (49-21)

1955 Lee Merriwether joins the Today Show panel

1956 England’s 1st large scale nuclear power station opens

1957 Britain’s Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip visit White House

1957 French author Albert Camus awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

1959 Queen Elizabeth is fined $140 for withdrawing her race horse

1961 NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 33,100 m

1961 NY Museum of Modern Art hung Henri Matisse’s “Le Bateau” upside-down, It wasn’t corrected until December 3rd

1962 Yanks beat Giants for 20th world championship

1964 Yanks fire Manager Yogi Berra

1967 Barbra Streisand stars on “Belle of 14th Street” special on CBS

1967 Memorial service for Brian Epstein at New London Synagogue

1967 Pete Knight in X-15 reaches 85 km

1967 The play “Hair” is 1st performed

1969 NY Nets move from Comack to Island Garden, Hempstead NY

1969 Plastic Ono Band’s “Cold Turkey” is released in UK

1969 Soyuz 7 returns to Earth

1971 Pitts Pirates beat Balt Orioles, 4 games to 3 in 68th World Series

1972 1st time Islanders shut-out-5-0 vs Penguins

1973 5-mo oil embargo by Arab states against US & Netherlands begins

1974 NBA New Orleans Jazz begin a 28 game road losing streak

1974 Washington Capitals 1st NHL home victory, beating Chicago 4-3

1974 Oakland A’s beat LA Dodgers, 4 games to 1 in 71st World Series, makes A’s the only team other than Yanks to win 3 straight series

1975 1st Space Shuttle main engine test at Natl Space Tech Labs, Miss

1977 Canada begins regular live TV coverage of Parliament

1977 West German commandos storm hijacked Lufthansa in Mogadishu, Somalia freeing all 86 hostages & killing 3 of the 4 hijackers

1978 NY Islanders start a streak of 23 undefeated games at home (15-0-8)

1978 NY Yankees beat Dodgers, 4 games to 2 in 75th World Series

1978 Pres Carter signs bill restoring Jefferson Davis citizenship

1978 Yanks win 22nd World Championship capping their great comeback year

1979 D Bautista of Mexico completes 20,000 m walk in record 1:20:06.8

1979 Mother Teresa of India, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

1979 Pitts Pirates beat Balt Orioles, 4 games to 3 in 76th World Series

1983 STS-9 vehicle moves to Vandenberg AFB due to SRB nozzle problem

1985 Lou Pinella named Yankee manager

1986 US Senate approved immigration bill prohibiting hiring of illegal aliens & offered amnesty to illegals who entered prior to 1982

1987 1st lady Nancy Reagan undergoes a modified radical mastectomy

1987 1st World Series game in a covered stadium (Minnesota Metrodome) (World Series #84)

1988 31 reported dead as Ugandan jetliner crashes in fog near Rome

1988 Dallas Green replaces Lou Pinella as manager of the NY Yankees

1988 Lyndon LaRouche pleads innocent to fraud, conspiracy indictment

1988 Phillip Morris announces $11 Billion tender offer for Kraft

1988 Rockin Robin beats “Sensational” Sherri Martel for WWF women’s title

1988 Traveling Wilbury’s 1st release “Handle With Care”

1989 Earthquake in SF (6.9) cancels 3rd game of 86th World Series – kills 67

1991 News anchor Bree Walker Lampley files an FCC complaint that LA radio KFI-AM personally attacked her by discuss her having a disformed baby

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Anthrax!

Day, Nicole, Noah, Craig, Richard and I were out on Sunday to see Iron Monkey (which rawks! go see it!), and we wondered whether the band Anthrax should make a comeback now. Whether or not they do, I hope it won’t be as ‘Basketful of puppies’.

From their news release concerning the anthrax attacks:

PS – If an Anthrax member gets Anthrax, call Alanis Morrisette. That would be ironic. Don’t you think?
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Swiss Massacre

The Column of headlines at globeandmail.com for today, at 9:30 am (PST) are as follows:

‘U.S., British Special forces in Afghanistan’

‘Air Canada flight diverted with F-16 escort’

‘One million Afghans at risk’

 

‘Mother wins in Edwards custody case’

‘Violence continues in Belfast district’

‘Commonwealth meeting postponed’

‘Arabs mark year of Palestinian uprising’

‘Canadian Forces underfunded, lobby group says’

‘Klein slashes Alberta budget by $500 million’

‘Third, Fourth quarters to be ‘tough,’ Martin says’

‘Cargo plane detained in Moscow with explosives’

‘Ontario Tories thwart call for federal Ipperwash inquiry’

‘Swiss fear for open democracy after killings’

‘Charges against teen auther dropped’

Continue reading “Swiss Massacre”

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A good Apple?

Apple is donating $1 000 000 to the relief fund for NYFD, NYPD and families of the victims of this attack in New York. In addition, they are pledging to give an iBook to every family with children this christmas. And they did all this without a major announcement, which suggests to me that this is do-gooderness more than a publicity stunt. Which is nice. There are so many orphaned kids, or kids that have lost a parent in this, that christmas will probably not be the best time. But for some, it will ensure that something nice happens to them. I don’t normally gush about Corporate donations, as they are always inherently self-serving, but this really does seem great to me. And a classy way to do it, without the media coverage of it.

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Jerry FUCKING Falwell

This is one of the most upsetting things I have ever read. I can’t believe at this bastard would use this incident as an opportunity to spread this reactionary, neanderthalic crap around. It’s bad enough that the dominant political rhetoric is one of revenge and not healing, but now we add the Religious Right holding feminists, homosexuals and the ACLU partially repsonsible?

Does no one realise that this commentary by Falwell is just as bad, if not worse than the worst psycopathic non-christian religious fanatic? I can’t even begin to voice how incensed this makes me. There are simply not words to express it.

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Terrorist Attacks

So, like everyone else (except for the perpetrators) I’m horrified by what’s been happening in the US today. I’ve been amazed at some reactions. Those who can’t fathom the attack have been reacting (almost) with amusement (“It’s like in one of those end-of-the-world movies”), others speechless. I’ve spent some time discussing who could have done this, calmly assessing the planning capabilities of organizations around the world. The press has jumped on the Osama Bin Laden bandwagon, virtually having already blamed them. I’m not so sure. Assuredly, this is not an attack by any one State in the world – no one state would be foolish enough to make this sort of attack on the states – they would have to know the US would simply bomb them to oblivion. I, for one, am willing to believe that this was a domestic attack. Why? Who else has as much free access to domestic flights as US citizens? And the Oklahoma City bombing has already proven that there are many militia groups in the US with similar views about the US as some international groups.

Continue reading “Terrorist Attacks”

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