Saturday, December 27, 2014

Image of the Day: Tin Cigarette Case


A gift from my son this year, an old cigarette tin. 
Very cool fonts, colors, and graphics!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Monday, December 15, 2014

Earworm of the Day: When Winter Comes a-Callin'


During my 8-mile run yesterday, my earworm When Winter Comes a-Callin' is from this album by The Ray Charles Singers.

Not the easiest song to find online, but with a bit of online navigating, you can listen to most of it at this link on Amoeba.com  It is number 10 in the listing; just click on the red triangle beside the number 10 to hear 1:12 minutes of the entire 3:12 minute recording.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

HVBC's Ampersand Cocktail


My wife recently surprised me with this typographic cocktail crafted by Liz at Happy Valley Brewing Company. You can learn about this drink, as well as others like the Interrobang Manhattan, the Asterisk, and a Pilcrow Fashioned, at this Shady Characters link. 

As always, please use non-standard punctuation marks and other typographic curiosities responsibly.

Monday, September 1, 2014

September 5: Freddie For a Day

Freddie For A Day is an annual initiative celebrated on September 5, Freddie Mercury's birthday, to raise funds to support the work of the Mercury Phoenix Trust. You can find out more about Freddie for a Day here, and even download a two-page PDF of the Tashe Template here.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Image of the Day: Pantone Purple-M Marker

Purchased over thirty years ago for an assignment at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, this marker is still going strong!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Image of the Day: Run Its Course

I found the battery resting in a parking lot's paint line. This image is has not been retouched or edited.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Book Traces


First seen on the Green Chair Press blog, Book Traces is a project to track down and  digitize the human markings in 19th-century books.

"Thousands of old library books bear fascinating traces of the past. Readers wrote in their books, and left notes, pictures, letters, flowers, locks of hair, and other things between their pages. We need your help identifying them because many are in danger of being discarded as libraries go digital. Books printed between 1820 and 1923 are at particular risk.  Help us prove the value of maintaining rich print collections in our libraries."


Thursday, June 5, 2014

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Image of the Day: Peonies and Ants


Photo by Terri Lukens-Gable

You can read about the beneficial relationship between ants and peonies at this link.


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Friday, May 30, 2014

Welcome to My Desktop, Mac Pro

We'll be phasing out the Mac Pro Towers at work for the newly designed versions over the next several weeks. Of special note, the Apple decals are in matte black! I'll post an updated images of my desktop when we get the dual monitors set-up. 

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Image of the Day: Oldest and Newest Business Cards

My oldest business card, most likely circa 1880s that I discovered with other S. Cooke Ingraham ephemera,  and the newest addition picked up by my son in NYC.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Friday, May 16, 2014

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Friday, May 9, 2014

Images of the Day: Snow Pack

On the Penn State University Park campus, remnants of our brutal winter. Photos taken this morning at 6:20 a.m. 
At their peak, the piles were over one-story tall,  and were created from plowing and dumping snow off of the upper levels of the parking deck. They are on the northern side of the deck.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Mooch

“My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today.” 

Mooch, me, Molly, and Henry





Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Jensen's “Crystal” Pepsin

Letter from J. C Perry & Co., Sole Travelling and Advertising Agents of Carl L. Jensen’s  Preparations, recently found by me stuck between pages in an old book. 

Ads for the Crystal Pepsin can be found here in the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette, Volume 6, Issue 8, October 1890 and here in the The National Druggist, Volume 12, Issue 8, April 15, 1888. Many other great ads can be found by scrolling through these two links.