search for zen

Search stats are so interesting. Really. I like discovering what people are looking for - and what led them to me.

The stats feature on flickr is particularly fun (be sure to turn it on if you have a Pro account); they're like little stories about people out in weblandia.

Today I thought the referral search terms were being particularly poetic. It's almost a little haiku, minus all that 5/7/5 hoopla.

little gymnast
giant fan
wardrobe
foot tattoo

best songs to listen to on headphones while walking to work

1. "By Night into Paradise" by Chet
[download]

Horns: Yes
Tambourine: Yes
Falsetto: Yes

"In the spring, it's a drive; in the fall there is a mist that will just cover you in awe."

. . .

2. "Inside the Cinema" by Culture Reject
[download]

Horns: Yes
Hand claps: Yes
Xylophone: Yes

"I love that Bill Murray, man."

. . .

3. "Olive Hearts" by Bowerbirds
[download]

Hand claps: Yes
Tambourine: Yes
Accordion: Yes

"Our glasses clink, and our plastic swords stab our olive hearts."

. . .

4. "Forks And Knives (La Fête)" by Beirut
[video]

Horns: Yes
Violins: Yes
Accordion: Yes

"And of course my childhood, forks and knives and a hospital bed, where I turned my life over and over again."

. . .

P.S. The drawing's of one of the guys in Beirut, holding up his trumpet above his head and belting out the chorus to "Forks And Knives". Such a good show.

scannerlove

I finally have a scanner that works. Works! Although I love the colour purple, it's not always ideal to have bruise-like blotches across every picture. This is much better.



Getting this scanner fits in well with my horoscope this week, which says... oh wait, I can scan that, too.



Sounds good to me.

surrounded by things i love

hello, springtime

There's this indentation in the sidewalk that I pass by every day on the way home from work.



When I see it, I think about my secret wish to fill it with white resin and black shiny letters that spell out HELLO. It would make the perfect speech bubble.

I'll probably (definitely) never do that, so I'm glad that mother nature is stepping in to create some beautiful street art all her own.

and and the ampersand

Hoefler & Frere-Jones type foundry have a nice write-up on the ampersand, possibly the most popular typographic kid on the block.

Two amazing things I did not know about the ampersand:

1. The ampersand was around for at least 600 years before the letter W.

2. Some credit the ampersand's invention to Cicero’s secretary. (I sure hope Cicero gave his secretary a raise for that.)

Also worth a read are H&FJ's takes on the pilcrow, aka the paragraph mark, and the eszett, which is usually referred to as that-wavy-B-shaped-thing.

i’ll side with you if you side with me

Dear Jeff Tweedy,

You have helped me through many a stressful day. Today was no exception.

Thanks again,
me.