Sign up for free Emigre type catalogs of love letters
The next two volumes of type catalogs from Emigre feature 17 love letters inspired by 17 of their typefaces. Each love letter is 250 words, and each one is a work of fiction, from the lovelorn monologue to the raging wail of the betrayed. Honestly, having written these love letters, I feel like I’m having a book of fiction published. By the way, they’re free. Just sign up on their website.
First Review of George Saunders’s Next Book
In Persuasion Nation is the next fiction collection from George Saunders. It’s due out in May. Read the first review of it at Word Riot.
“George Saunders writes social-protest fiction from the future. Sort of. Maybe it’s more accurate to say he writes corporate-protest fiction from the future. Like successful satirists from Voltaire to Vonnegut, Saunders identifies present trends and pushes them to their extremes. He imports the value systems of corporations, advertising, consumerism, and government (all American-style) into daily life, into social relationships, crossing every border until even a character’s mind, memory and identity are defined by these imposed value systems.”
I.D. Religion Issue
I.D. just published a nice religion and design issue. I have two articles in it, but don’t let that dissuade you. Here’s an excerpt from my article on the evolution of the ape-to-man graphic:
“The image is a troublemaker. Intended to simplify the difficult concept of evolution, the pictorial sequence of ape to hominid to Homo sapiens has come to stand for evolution itself. The graphic is more powerful than the concept, more moving than the caption, more seductive as a narrative myth of our beginnings than any 300-page book by Richard Leakey or Stephen Jay Gould. It is also inaccurate, misunderstood, and misleading.”
Yes, an evolution story in a religion issue. Amen.
Bush Scraps Address for Oprah
Tonight Bush scraps State of Union Address to appear on Oprah. Fresh from a public shaming of author James Frey for his memoir of lies, Oprah agreed to interview President George W. Bush about his feelings on the State of his Union.
Oprah is expected to Frey him where he sits, in a big comfortable beige chair/sofa thing on the Oprah set. If all goes as planned, Oprah will publicly shame the President for his lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, about the beneficiaries of his tax cuts, about the disasters of the recent year, and about his past alcoholism.
In front of a news media stunned by this development, White House Press Secretary Scott McLellan assured them that “the President is fully on board with this. He never liked big-government elitist stunts like Union addresses anyway. He’s a Texan. He’s the people. And Oprah knows the people. And he’s going to talk to the people through Oprah. Bush to Oprah to People. It’s gonna work.”
[Continued here.]
Quick, Make a Gift!
If it’s too late to click, then make a gift. If you’re running into shipping deadlines for your online-shopping errands, then here are a few ideas.
My kids and I often make collages. We cut up magazines and catalogs, newspapers and old books we pick up at second-hand sales or library giveaways, and we arrange the clippings on notebook pages, on large sketchpad pages, or even on posterboard, which the kids then tack onto their walls or corkboards. Instant creative and personal gift that you can forever humiliate people for even thinking about throwing away. I like to collect collage material that has to do with the receiver’s interests, from motorcycles to skydiving, from Batman to jazz.
Indie Gift Guide #1
I know it’s the holidays because I received two dozen catalogs in the last two days. Ditch that sludge. I try to make stuff or buy from all the crazy indie places I run across online. Taste the tees at Threadless; I bought ‘em last year for the college kids on my list, and right now they’re only $10. Try the prints at Nucleus; I bought the Red Trolley for myself. There’s always vinyl robots at the Giant Robot Store, artist books at Printed Matter, and knight-knight pillows at The Drama Store. There’s comics at Fantagraphics, design books at You Work for Them, and Praise Seitan hoodies at Herbivore Clothing. I really wish Gauri Nanda’s smart bags were in production already. Meanwhile, you can wrap up your Little Bits in Emigre’s holiday Puzzler paper. Good luck getting the Vortex Fruit Bowl through airport security. Just Kick It. Clothe a Geek. Buy what Japanese people like. And don’t forget Small Cards, JPG 3, and 134 Squirrels. Stay tuned for IGG #2.
