Amsterdam - bicycle city

I dream of the day towns and cities in New Zealand are like this!

Black jack flag by Mike Davison

It's an unfinished debate: do we change the New Zealand flag? I'm pro... I came across this flag design from a kiwi called Mike. It combines the current design with both English and Māori heritage, as well as paying homage to our location through the Southern Cross. It seems to encapsulate the heritage and peoples of New Zealand although I'm on the fence about using black, which is strange as it's unofficially the 'colour' that unites us. At least it means more to me than the blue of the existing version.

Some more flag designs can be found here - I like ideas 8, 17, 18, 30 & 37.

Choose your words carefully

The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words – Hippocrates

Spotted this on a wall near rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter, Paris.

(via swissmiss)

Yep, good web typography is here

I've noticed recently that the web is getting more beautiful. Well, what I mean to say is that website designers are starting to pay attention to how the choice of font on their website influences the people who use it, when traditionally it was whatever default the Internet browser set for the web page.

It takes a lot to beat a well-typeset page. It seems that during the last couple of years the improvements in this area of web design has snowballed – admittedly a lot of that has to do with the increasing capability of web browsers. I hadn't really noticed how much it was affecting my attitude towards reading online until I came across an iLT (iLoveTypography) article, 15 Excellent Examples of Web Typography*. Since then, I've been more aware of how the choice of font, size, leading and the length of a typed line used on websites I visit. It has changed reading on the computer from being a bit of a chore to a much more enjoyable experience.

Here's an example of a site that is typographically easy-to-read (and with a relevant interview as well). There is a lot more consideration for choice of font, font size, column width and overall visual layout of the written word on-screen.

Meanwhile, I really must finish reading The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst, the definitive guide for typophiles and anyone working with text-design.

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*John Boardley, the man behind iLoveTypography.com, is the best source out there for web typography. I was signed up to his newsletter but he posts so frequently that I couldn't keep up, so now I satisfy myself with occasional visits to his site. He recently wrote an article on the current status of fonts on the web (found here) which goes into the technical whys and wherefores for ways to make fonts accessible to websites. Worth a read if you're interested.

Awrighty...

After my last post, I realised that I hadn't even properly tried Twitter for myself! It really bugs me when other people criticise new things without checking them out first, so I feel a little shame-faced. So you'll notice I set up an account which is now feeding through to this page.

Verdict still to come, obviously, as I'll need to give it time.

@Twitter tw..people who tweet

I really don't get Twitter. It seems to me that it's for Americans and celebrities and not too many others. I've got a theory that it's caught on so quickly with Americans because they have missed out on the texting phenomenon - I think I read somewhere that some US networks charge for receiving texts as well as sending them, which would have held the wannabe serial SMS senders back from their full potential. Of course, I could have that wrong which would completely undermine my argument.

In conversations with friends we'll all been puzzled as to why sign up to a new service when Facebook offers exactly the same concept - and your friend lists are already in place. With Twitter I guess you've got more access to celebrity 'twits' (is that what a post is called? Or is it a 'tweet'?) and a far more amusing and accidently offensive way to describe 'status updating'. Teehee. I guess that as a highly focused application its development has been remarkably fast, which gives it one up on the social networking giant Facebook.

I noticed that LinkedIn has since jumped on the bandwagon and added tweet-like status updates. I've yet to see anyone use it actively but it's early days yet.

As for the celebrity side to Twitter, I read a post called 'Twitter, Tweeter, Twatter, Celebrity Fodder' from GlossLip that puts an amusing take on it. It's an obsession with instant ego-boosting and self-gratification, apparently. Read it here.

Mostly though, I spend enough time managing my emails and Facebook, reading blogs and updating my photos, that I'm quite happy to ignore twittering for a little while at least. It's hard enough keeping this blog active!

Pretty Sketchy

Great inspiration! I guess I'll dig out a sketchbook. I think it applies to my blog too - the writing doesn't have to be perfect, I just need to write.

Thanks to swissmiss for the discovery of this article.

Resolutions

Another year gone, and I managed to keep my 2008 New Year resolution: no chocolate bars. Not 'no chocolate' - a blanket ban like that would have been impossible to achieve for a chocoholic like me! So it was anything that comes in a bar-shaped form, and no cheating by melting it down. My range of choice was limited to Creme Eggs, Aero Bubbles, Freddos, Buttons and Maltesers.


There were exceptions – a day at Cadbury World, and a couple of pieces from a block of NZ Cadbury Dairy Milk. Otherwise I managed fine, and it's cured me of having too much chocolate, although it's still a favourite.

On to this year's resolution, which is slightly harder to measure: wear more colour. I recently rearranging my drawers and placed all my white and black tops in one drawer and all my coloured tops in the other. The black and white drawer was stuffed so full that the drawer nearly broke under the weight! I've kickstarted the year by wearing a hot pink top and I've painted my toenails hot blue and pink to celebrate. My aim is for a more cheerful, invigorating wardrobe. It's a very subjective resolution this time around so I guess I'll have to run through my photos throughout the year to see how I perform. Here's to a colourful 2009!

From York to London

Well, I've done it. I packed up my things in York and drove down to London on Monday. I forgot how much I've got used to living in a small town - from Scarborough at 50,000 people and York with 200,000 - walking and cycling everywhere in less than 20 minutes, and crossing town on foot.

It's such a contrast to London with millions of people and from so many different countries. My first task after I unloaded the car was to return it to the hire company in King's Cross and had the dubious pleasure of tackling London traffic in rush hour. Cycling is going to be quite a challenge but I bought a helmet so I have no excuse for not giving it a go although I'll probably leave it until next week.

Funnily enough even though it's such a big place I just discovered that one of the guys in the house I'm staying at is good mates with my old next door neighbour from NZ! More small-world randomness.

Nothing...

Nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say. - Will Durant, US historian, philosopher and writer.

Freeze! Hold it right there

Thanks to the blog Karizmatic, I just found a wicked Improv art group that perform to "cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places". It's like flash-mobbing but way cooler! Check out this one where 207 people freeze mid-action in the middle of the busy central New York train station.



They just did one last this past weekend in Trafalgar Square, London, I wish I'd found out beforehand and I would have gone to see it. 1000 people froze in spot (and it was a very cold day). The group is called Improv Everywhere, and they've been doing chaotic missions since 2001.

From the York Massive

Congrats Julie on the permanent spot on bfm - Tuesdays 3 - 6am! I'm tuning in from work, and the time is perfect for me, late Monday afternoons. Luckily everyone in the office wears headphones so I blend right in.

It's not just the headphones that give away that I'm in with the IT department: the other day I asked a developer who was the best person to find out some information I was looking for. He pointed across the small office and told me to email him to find out. I replied, "Er, I could just walk over and ask him." I got an email later on from the developer, "That's right, you marketing folk can deal with people face to face :)". It makes me smile whenever I think of it.

Easing into 2008

What a slacker, so much for regular posts! I was going to post about the flooding and show my before & after pics of the Ouse River in York, but the moment has passed. It was fun cycling through foot-deep (like 12 inches, not shoe-height) water to cross the Millennium Bridge for a couple of days.

I'm listening to 95bfm, my fave radio station. I don't always like the music, I don't always like the DJs - not you Julie! I mean Havoc, I still don't know if I love him or hate him - yet it's genuine, different and still close to its capping-stunt "let's give people some quality music" roots. Where else can you listen to the Prime Minister every week, keepin it real for da yoofs?

3 sleeps till Christmas!

The countdown is on, only 3ish or 4 sleeps till Christmas! Here's a couple of pics from the Christmas shopping crowds in York last week, one in the little Shambles part of town, the other in the main parade.

Street music

There was a local orchestra playing outside in my street last night. In the middle of watching Ratatouille, a festive tune crept into the soundtrack. It wasn't until we paused the film and Silent Night continued to play that we realised that Remy the Rat wasn't wandering through the streets of Paris during Christmas time, it was actually coming from two doors down the street. Kudos to them, it was very cold out. They have a very clever system though - the road is so narrow and the houses so close together that they can go doorknocking and collect from every house after just a couple of songs, because everyone could hear them.

Master photographer

The first photographer to truly open my eyes to the power of the medium was Ralph Gibson. I admire his use of 'chiaroscuro' to create mood and emotion, and his unique cropping and framing technique to completely transform the subject of the shot.

Counting to ten

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10...
It's hard not to read these in English when I see them written as roman numbers. I'm trying to learn numbers in other languages too. So far I know them in these languages:

• one two three four five six seven eight nine ten (my mother tongue)
• tahi rua toru wha rimu ono whitu waru iwa tekau (te reo maori)
• un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf dix (français)
• ichi 一 ni 二 san 三 shi (or yon) 四 go 五 roku 六 shichi (or nana) 七 hachi 八 kyu 九 ju 十 (I can recite the Japanese numbers fine, but I only remembered half of the kanji - thanks to my computer for filling in the gaps there. I found this cool learning tune too)
• uno dos tres cuatro cinco seis siete ocho nueve diez (espanol)
• eins zwei drei fier fünf sechs sieben acht nein zehn (Deutsch)

After that my knowledge is a little bit rough. Just give me a bit of warning first before you ask me to recite them:

• jeden twa trzy cztery piec szesc siedem osiem dziewiec dziesiec (Polish. My pronunciation of these is still a long way off. I also only have the spelling because my friend was showing me I'd be better off learning them phonetically than reading them)
• tasi lua tolu fa lima ono fitu valu iva sefulu (Samoan ...okay I admit I didn't know number 10, but the rest are easy because I know it's like counting in Maori, but with a different phonetic alphabet)
• jedan dwa tri... deset = 1, 2, 3, 10 (Croatian. Thankfully not too different from Polish, which helps)
  

And the coolest thing is, aside from Poland, I've been to all of the countries where these numbers are used, and it has definitely come in handy to know them... and then I only have to resort to the international language of hand gestures when I 'parle comme une vache espagnole'!

I Heart Cycling

Cycling is the best invention ever.

Effortless exercise. This is mostly thanks to the lack of hills in York. I can cycle at a leisurely pace, without worrying about a shower and a change of clothes.
Free transport to work. No petrol bills. No queues in traffic. First in line at the traffic lights. No parking problems.
Better than caffeine to wake me up in the morning. I no longer need a strong coffee to function when I get to work. My bladder is thanking me.
Guilt-free about skipping the gym again. I'm getting my exercise without the stress and procrastination of a gym visit.
Immediate mood booster. I get a smile on my face simply getting my blood pumping and feeling the wind in my hair.
Get to see the most beautiful parts of town. My current cycle route to work gives me a trip across the river and through a field full of cows (often blocking the path). The landscapes are beautiful and picture perfect, and these car-free zones are 100% fresh air despite being in the middle of town.

Cycling has got its own cult following. I've discovered a few blogs and websites made by and for others who Heart their bikes. I particularly like reading Oil is for Sissies (cycling is part of this guy's general blog) and Mellow Velo, but there are heaps out there, even a Kiwi crusading for more cyclists in Christchurch. The best cycling map site I came across is MapMyRide.com which creates maps that can be seen in Google Maps or Google Earth, it's worldwide, and has plenty of ideas. There's also a fun time-wasting game on the Tredz blog.

There are a few downsides to cycling (combined with no car alternative), but I'll attempt to put them in to positives:
Get wet in the rain. I really must invest in mudguards and wet weather trousers. It makes it fun dodging the puddles and cow pats though!
Food shopping. My nearest decent supermarket is a couple of miles away, and it makes the weekly shop a real chore. At least I'm learning to only buy the essentials, which is doing my bank account a huge favour!
Carrying far too much on my back. I often cycle along with an overloaded laptop bag and a stuffed backpack, and I'm sure it's putting an unhealthy strain on my back. I must invest in a carrier tray.
Ripped trousers. That dodgy bent spoke that's completely ruined one of my three gears has managed to tear holes in four of my favourite trousers. Luckily I've given it a rough fix-it job so it doesn't stick out quite so much, and I've bought a pair of trouser clips and a couple of high-calf boots to tuck my trousers into. Problem solved, 90% of the time.

But, honestly, I love it.