The ZehnKatzen Times The ZehnKatzen Times The journey of an underemployed graphic designer looking for his big day. Accents on interesting things found in the PDX design world, type, living in Portland, and my own life and times...the occasional distraction as well Articles
[pdx] Channel 2 News 95 Brings you Windows 95
2007-12-29 18:24:00 1014. Reported by Ed Teachout 95, Introduced by JeffJulie 95, fronted with a teaser for ABC World News Tonight by Steve Dunn 95.Goodness 95 courtesy YouTube and user DelimitR (who happens to be the first nerd interviewed).Stumbled on it and just couldn't resist, FWIW.Tags: pdx, pdx_news, Windows 95, KATU, KATU Channel 2Powered by Qumana
[logo_design] Some More KOMO
2007-12-29 04:51:00 1013. One of the more hard-to-get logos was the one for Seattle's 1st-magnitude star in the Flag net, KOMO, Channel 4.The web page is one which completely elides the channel number, preferring to identify as simply "KOMOTV.COM" in the current graphic style. I was, however able to catch a few minutes of the live webcast tonight, and they've got some pretty good graphics going on. Here's a screen grab of the two anchors at work:I enjoy the way the lower third merges into the logo.The KOMO logo is incorporated into a video bumper that makes it part of a ribbon that rotates toward the viewer during the transition:It's clever. Motion, but not too much, a flash of the station logo quickly supplanted by the point of the transition.Here's a wider view of the news set, which we thought well done: all arcs and lines converge on the stars – the two news anchors – but it doesn't keep the weather and sports anchors in the shadows:The real treat was to watch the close, though. A rotatin...
[us_politik] Best Headline of the Day
2007-12-29 04:47:00 1212. Good Tidings with the following gem:Republican Candidates vs. EvolutionMan, it sure seems that way sometimes. I would advise caution, however; if they really want to declare war on Evolution, they might want to stand that one down; judging on how various Wars (Poverty, et. al.) have worked out, they may find they'll wind up with more Evolution than they starte out with.Just throwin' that one out there.Oh, yeah, the post at Good Tidings is pretty good too.Tags: liff, us_politik, sarcasmPowered by Qumana More About: Headline
[liff] All We Have To Say About The TurboTax Thing
2007-12-29 04:33:00 1211. The Wife™ never quite trusted TurboTax. I didn't think it was that bad.The kicker check we actually recieved stands as unchallengeable vindication of her view.QED, baby, QED. Tags: TurboTax, Oregon Taxes, The KickerPowered by Qumana More About: Thing
[logo_design] Some Older Station Reviews With Logos
2007-12-29 04:25:00 1210. This is something just stumbled on, and bears mention in passing because it has a little history and a very sassy POV.This page by a user at Geocities who likes to review stations has a good selection of logos which have changed. Particularly interesting is the KOMO 4 logo which was probably the last version of the "Square 4" that they used (If anyone can remember when the old UPN logo changed from the "Circle-Square-Triangle" to the lower-case upn in a circle, that would date it ... I don't have the date to hand right now)The page is obviously by an opinionated watcher who pulls few, if any punches. Of WESH-2 Orlando's Newscast (then, okay, guessing 2002-2004ish) they bluntly opine: A pretty cheeset (sic) NBC affiliate. The News has some poor talent, including a weekend Sports Anchor with a strong southern accent! The Anchors desk is covered with papers that the anchors appear to look at often. Are they trying to petend that there is no teleprompter? The constant paper shu... More About: Reviews , Station , Logos
[pdx] Portland Downtown Street Mnemonic Users' Guide
2007-12-28 18:28:00 1209. After turning the Portland Downtown Street s Mnemonic (PDSM) around in my head (provided thanks to commenter JD, as per the last posting, I wanted to analyze it a little more. The mnemonic, provided to us, was as follows:All Across Portland Our Streets Wind Around Mossy Yards. Traffic Snarls May Mean Jammed Cars, Cranky Motorists Making Minimal Headway. Harried Commuters Just Love Going Slow.This maps to the following street sequence (from north to south, not including Burnside):Ankeny, Ash, Pine, Oak, Stark, Washington, Alder, Morrison, Yamhill, Taylor, Salmon, Main, Madison, Jefferson, Columbia, Clay, Market, Mill, Montgomery, Harrison, Hall, College, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, and Sheridan.JD had actually extended our sequence to just south of the I-405 in the 4th/5th/6th Avenues area (though there is a slight error; after Grant comes Sherman, and Caruthers and then Sheridan. But someone can tack on the extra C and S; JD did a fantastic job and has given us all a toy to play w... More About: Guide , Users
[pdx] We Have A Mnemonic For Portland's Downtown Streets
2007-12-28 00:47:00 1208. Well, rough draft – but this is as good as done. Credit commenter "JD" for this bit of genius.Back in September, I'd posted about how fortunate Seattle was, given that they had a nifty, rather irreverent mnemonic (that's memory aid to those of you who don't read books) to keep the order of downtown streets in mind easily: Jesus Christ Made Kurt Cobain Seattle Under Protest, and that this was a problem for Portland – where our alphabet soup of downtown street initials made composing a simple mnemonic a true feat of daring and strength.For review, from Burnside south, the downtown streets run as such:Ankeny, Ash, Pine, Oak, Stark, Washington, Alder, Morrison, Yamhill, Taylor, Salmon, Main, Madison, Jefferson, Columbia, Clay, Market, Mill, Montgomery, Harrison, Hall, College, Jackson.Which generates an initial string as:AAPOSWAMYTSMMJCCMMMHHCJThis has been an intractable problem since at least sometimes in the 1980's, when over at The Big O the inimitable Jonathan Nichola... More About: Downtown , Streets
[geopolitik] Bullies Still Run Certain Areas Of The Planet
2007-12-28 00:26:00 1207. And here's your proof.I've been following Metroblogs in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad since the state of emergency was declared some time ago (thanks to a recommendation from Betsy Richter on Portland Metblogs. I love Metblogs). It's an unnerving thing to do, but necessary, and it's amazing how blunt and fearless the writers are, and that despite being more messed-up than I can remember, the USA is still a fairly fortunate place to be.The discourses speak for themselves. Karachite Tee Emm, approximately 0815, our time; Gathering from numerous sources, mobile calls and text messages from friends, it appears that a huge number of people are stuck right on the main roads all engulfed in panic, chaos and disorder. The situation is not only bad, there is no way the stream of vehicles that left their shops and offices for home can do a mass reversal. Even turning off the cars engine and parking them on the road - like we Karachites do during heavy rains - is not possible as ev... More About: Planet , Bullies , The Planet , Cert
[logo_design] Calling Tubers Everywhere – Here Comes IYP
2007-12-27 22:24:00 1206. I don't know how we missed this one ... 2008 has been deemed, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., the International Year of the Potato, or IYP.It's no IGY, but you can't have it all, I suppose.The impulse, when such a mundane staple is celebrated in such a universal fashion, is to wonder if it's a goof; such is our sophisticated drive-by, pick-up media-saturated culture (you know, the one that treats La Britney's next trailer park moment as news even when more serious things are happening). No, it's not a goof; this is a serious, year-long, international promotional effort to elevate awareness of the Solanum tuberosum, the world's fourth-largest fresh produce crop (after wheat, rice, and corn).We aren't that unhappy about it; after all, we likey the tuber in a muchly way. And it gives us a chance to analyze some logo talk. Refer, if you all would be so very kind, to the provided illustration (including the IYP's tagline, Hidden Treasure, an apt tagli... More About: Calling , Tubers
[Address Nerd] How They Do It In Silverton
2007-12-26 11:18:00 1205. One of the more compelling and frustrating things in being an Address Nerd is finding the source documents that control and define address numbering and street naming, because the mark of a true Address Nerd is not only being able to intuit what decisions were made, but finding out for oneself why they were made.As Winston Smith once wondered: "I know how. I do not know why". Not that it's sinister, of course, but you just never satisfied until you know why. For instance, it's obvious, looking at the map of Salem, that State Street is the main divider on the east side of the Willamette halving the city in northerly and southerly sections. But why did they settle on State Street.We'll never know that. Salem's online city information is silent on the matter. For that matter, few jurisdictions bother to mount documents detailing the why of their street naming/house numbering. Even where it's obvious, the true Address Nerd has the burning desire to find out why, and what the ...
[pdx] The First White Christmas In Portland In ...
2007-12-25 22:34:00 1204. Anyone who's lived here more than a few years knows how often that white Christmas es happen in Oregon; near enough to never as to make no difference. The safe money bets on a gray, wet Christmas:So, here you go, PDX metro area; slushy Cascade Concrete, 25 Dec 2007, with snow on the ground. We're off to Salem to see The Fam™ (perhaps against better counsel, but Mom's cooking ... ) Tags: PDX, Portland Metro, Portland Snow, Oregon White Chistmas More About: White Christmas
[liff] New Word: Wiiot
2007-12-25 09:49:00 1202. What you get when you run out of Wii's and the people waiting for them get upset about it, or are upset with you because they think you lied about how many you had. Portmanteau of Wii and riot. Coined by this esteemable fellow here.Tags: Wii, neologism, portmanteauPowered by Qumana More About: Word
[liff, design] Why Andy & Bax Is Cool
2007-12-25 04:21:00 1201. Found by a certain The Wife™ at Andy & Bax a couple of days back:Apollo XVII was, of course, the last time mankind visited the moon.The Apollo program ended with XVII, three missions early, which to me is one of the saddest facts in American history. But the patch really takes our editorial staff (consisting of Yours Truly, a cup of Buttered Rum-flavored coffee, and a couple of Christmas cookies) back to that signal time when America could – and did – send a man to the moon ... about once every year or so.So, with that, Merry Christmas, Joyous Samhain, or what ever way your pendulum swings, good peoples. Your dogma, as such, threatens me not, or mine yours; we all need to get along ... remember, axial tilt is the reason for the season, the X in Xmas isn't just an X, and Santa was annexed from several European traditions. Subvert the dominant paradigm! Tags: liff, logo design, NASA, Space Program, Apollo, Apollo XVII More About: Design , Cool
[bloggage] Critical Content Link Love
2007-12-23 18:33:00 1200. As someone who blogs regularly I like to think that maybe, sometimes, people come here because of something in particular that appeals to them. It's incredibly flattering, since I'm still climbing up off the Long Tail, when someone does so.Today I discovered that someone linked over here specifically because of a series of posts; germanely, the Channel Surfing series I've been doing. For those just joining us here, that is the series of posts I'm doing that are examining the many ways the TV station logo can go, number by number. We're currently on the 8's. We're taking a very brief breather, then going into the 9's, headed for 13, the end of the VHF dial, and will rejoin the series very soon now. We haz the rhythm, you see.Anyway, the post that referenced that is here, at the ironically-named telescreen.org (we adore 1984). But I am not afraid of Big Brother; at least he will link to me (seriously, sir, thanks for the hat tip. More TV Channely-goodness to come!).In ot... More About: Love , Link , Content , Critical
[design] About Jeff Fisher's Identity Crisis! @ Designorati
2007-12-22 03:19:00 1199. Yeah, I reviewed Jeff 's book @ Design orati ... and I'd do it again, see?The review has been noted at Jeff's Identity Crisis ! book blog, and I also shout out to Jeff (since I was unable to attend Portland Graphic Designers Kaffeeklatsch today – I'm planning on doing next month, promise!). I adopted a more catholic tone over there, but this is my personal space, and I can be a bit more unreserved about it; seriously, this book kicks it major ways.It is a terribly good book, and it will be of especial interest to graphic designers in general and the logo-enabled in particular. But what really impressed me about it was the way it appealed to the 'non-designers' I know (of which there are, of necessity, several). Maybe it's the book's design, and maybe it's Jeff's personable style, or maybe it's both. But they really enjoyed reading it and I did have to do a bit of inveigling to get my review copy back.My favorite design books are the ones that you read then, in slack ... More About: Fisher
[design] The Contest Is Closed; The Judging Begins
2007-12-21 19:47:00 1198. I have been advised that my Snow Patrol cover submission has been received. There's a slideshow including it at this link. The incriminating evidence:Quite frankly, I think it stands up quite well amongst the throng.Tags: Snow Patrol, Shut Your Eyes, 94/7fm More About: Contest , Design , Judging , Closed , The Con
[design] Seek=yes; Find=?
2007-12-21 19:41:00 1197. In the last missive, I mentioned the questionnaire that W+K had that I responded to. It said Robin would be in touch.Robin has touched. Mission: fill a generally-defined space (max pages, layout size, file throwweight) with whatever. The only parameters I'm given are those.Such an open remit is exciting. And terrifying. And exciting. And time limited.I have about 1 month's time from two days ago.Tags: Weiden+Kennedy, W+K More About: Design , Find , Seek
[liff, design] Weiden+Kennedy=Ineffably Intriguing Recruiting
2007-12-19 20:49:00 1196. One of the channels I'm tuned in to, as a designer trying to find employment, is Craigslist's art/media/design jobs postings. You never know what you'll find there.Today there was a post simply saying "Wieden+Kennedy Seeking Design ers, Writers, Thinkers, Makers" (sounds kind of like stalking, no?). Suppressing the urge to scream, in my bad Chuck Heston, "W+K is made of peoplllle, it's PEOPLLLLLLE!!!!!!!1!, I sallied forth down the URL.I mean, what the hell, right? I may only have junior designer skills, but I'm not afraid to bite the big one, as my personal history might amply illustrate. We shall not explore that territory here, however. What I will say is that I think I filled in an employment app. I think so. It was a polished but adventurous sortie about what I think of myself.I was given a list of qualities, and checked off the ones I think applied to me. I found out I was checking off quite a lot. I'm sure I wasn't Lake Wobegonning myself, but I do see a whole lot... More About: Recruiting
[liff] Charities We Wouldn't Give To
2007-12-18 16:43:00 1196. Now that the season of giving and getting is in full swing, a lot of people are taking a second look at their giving and getting.And we here at The Zehnkatzen Times approve. We tend to agree that, on the whole, this is more of a "what's in it for me" society and that maybe it should change just a little bit. So, the trend in giving to charity in other's names is a bit of welcome cheer (even if it's kind of a buzzkill for anyone younger than, say 12).But you just can't give without checking out the charities. Due diligence is required. Here are few charities we've heard rumors about that we don't suggest giving to: Doctors Without Licenses My Next Door Neighbor's House's Foundation The Foundation Garment Foundation The Banana Appeal Foundation for a Silly Life Association for Building Strong Bodies 12 Ways The Disorganized Way The Just Give Me Money Foundation Drunks Against Mad Mothers Jerry's Squids The Center for Not Being On The Edge The I.M... More About: Charities
[liff] Charities We Wouldn't Give To
2007-12-18 16:43:00 1196. Now that the season of giving and getting is in full swing, a lot of people are taking a second look at their giving and getting.And we here at The Zehnkatzen Times approve. We tend to agree that, on the whole, this is more of a "what's in it for me" society and that maybe it should change just a little bit. So, the trend in giving to charity in other's names is a bit of welcome cheer (even if it's kind of a buzzkill for anyone younger than, say 12).But you just can't give without checking out the charities. Due diligence is required. Here are few charities we've heard rumors about that we don't suggest giving to: Doctors Without Licenses My Next Door Neighbor's House's Foundation The Foundation Garment Foundation The Banana Appeal Foundation for a Silly Life Association for Building Strong Bodies 12 Ways The Disorganized Way The Just Give Me Money Foundation Drunks Against Mad Mothers Jerry's Squids The Center for Not Being On The Edge The I.M... More About: Charities
[bloggage] Strange Gray Blocks
2007-12-18 16:20:00 1195. In preparing that last entry for publishing, I found something very strange–when viewing in Firefox, there's big gray boxes, about the size of a YouTube embed. obscuring parts of the article. Two of them, in fact.I have no idea why they're there or what they're doing there. I've looked at the HTML and can't find anything odd. I'm off to find out why that is but in case I can't, you can see the whole thing in Opera, Safari, or IE 5 (they didn't make IE6 for the Mac).Tags: bloggage, Opera, Firefox, IE, Safari More About: Strange , Gray , Blocks
[bloggage] Strange Gray Blocks
2007-12-18 16:20:00 1195. In preparing that last entry for publishing, I found something very strange–when viewing in Firefox, there's big gray boxes, about the size of a YouTube embed. obscuring parts of the article. Two of them, in fact.I have no idea why they're there or what they're doing there. I've looked at the HTML and can't find anything odd. I'm off to find out why that is but in case I can't, you can see the whole thing in Opera, Safari, or IE 5 (they didn't make IE6 for the Mac).Tags: bloggage, Opera, Firefox, IE, Safari More About: Strange , Gray , Blocks
[logo_design] Channel Surfing: On The 8's
2007-12-18 12:59:00 1194. Continuing up the VHF dial we now have news and information, headlines and station logos ... on the 8's. Let's get started.One of the things we'll be seeing as we run the 8's is that stations with a channel number of eight seem just a little more willing to play sound games with the call sign and the depiction of the number. The number 8, being similar to a minuscule 'g', makes it kind of easy, as the logo for KAET, Phoenix (also pronouncable as "K-Eight" (I was hooked on phonics at an early age)) shows–as well as just being a cool use of color and shadow, and the way the PBS logo is designed into it:KAIT, Channel 8, Jonesboro Arkansas, also plays the "K-Eight" game, but has a clever inspiration in recapitulating the call sign in the numeric part of the logo. Whenever you talk of this station, you'll be saying "K-Eight":KCCI, Des Moines IA, goes with a "Classy" obliqued 8, understated teal rectangle, and a familiar majuscule typ... More About: Surfing
[pdx_politik] "Sho" Me, Mr Dozono ...
2007-12-18 01:06:00 1193. Sorry about that title, it's the best teh funnay I could come up with on short notice.Our regular RSS read Hot Fresh Now just broke (via PTrib) that Sho Dozono, Azumano supremo, is getting ready to take the plunge to challenge Our Man Sam.As usual, me, being distracted as I am, know less than I ought. Time to bone up. But from what I've seen, he could also be good for Portland; at least his social justice heart is in the right place, as this report The Big O did back in aught-four. Putting it succinctly and bluntly, my favorite quote is thus: Today we seem to be a divided nation arguing the pros and cons of same-sex marriage. A question in my mind is: What part of the Declaration of Independence don't we understand? Does it not state that all of us are created equal? What part of equal don't we understand?Well said.Downside: Supported "Curiously-Strong Mayor". Still not crazy about that idea.Finally, the Mayoral contest may be an actual horse race! Let the campagining b...
[qumana test post for saving then posting]
2007-12-18 00:25:00 1192. What it says it is.What we're now going to do, with the help of our friend Ampelmann here, is to edit a post that already has pictures in it.At this time, no blog posting client of which I'm aware allows you to upload pix through them into Blogger. As near as I can tell, this is a Blogger thing, not necessarily a client thing; Blogger just does not allow it at this time.This led to problems when using Bleezer to edit the post on the Channel 6 logos (that's why the pix are hard-left justified rather than centered). And ever since I made that edit, the little "envelope" icon for mailing posts has gone freejack (though around here, that shouldn't make much of a difference). So, here it goes. After applying tags, I update. Illo loaded separately, then post re-edited and updated. Tags: qumana, test posting More About: Post , Test , Saving , Then
[bloggage] Tools: Qumana Blog Post Editor
2007-12-18 00:23:00 1191. One of the things I've been in search of was a dependable blog editor that did two things: Made styling text quick and simple, as it is when I use a word processor, and Was dependable many ways, especially in keeping the leading and space-afters absolutely consistent.For a long time my needs were served by Adobe Contribute CS3, which always did feel a little not-ready-for-prime time. Recently and suddenly, it started hanging again–freezing on loading the blog, and not coming back. The Blog ger editor under Firefox was okay, but was inconsistent on the leading, looking good before a list or a blockquote, and nearly set-solid after. Yick.Bleezer–good concept, problematical execution under OS X.Now, I'm trying Qumana. I'm not recommending yet, but I am going to give this babe a run for its money. More news to come.Thanks to Fred Fabro for being responsive to complaints and requests. I've got some feedback for him already. And it's not WYSIAlmostWYG, like Contribut... More About: Tools , Post , Editor
[liff] More Proof of the Universe's Perversity
2007-12-17 05:40:00 1190. On the same weekend that Shawn Eckhardt (s'cuse us, Brian Sean Griffith) died, so also did Dan Fogelberg.You just can't see 'em coming, can you? Tags: Shawn Eckhardt, Dan Fogelberg, Not Tim Weisberg, fnord, celebrity deaths, semi-celebrity deaths More About: Proof , Univers
[pdx, liff] This'll Meier Your Frank
2007-12-17 04:32:00 1189. So that hotel called "The Nines" that's going into the upper part of the old Meier & Frank building is going over budget, and that picture that Big O photog Michael Lloyd had published in last Tuesday's number just got under our skin.Preventing me from dwelling too much on the way knowing that people building a facility that I'm simply too poor to enjoy can expect more tax money to fix their mistakes with a straight face (isn't it strange that we despise the poor for begging from the government but when it's business, it's just jake? Meditate on that irony, good peoples) was the fact that while the picture was well done, there was just one thing missing ... now what could that be ...I know! A dose of LOLspeak is needed here ...Picture by Michael Lloyd of The Oregonian.LOL commentary by Yours Truly.Much better!(PS to The O: I make funny joak, friendlies! Please don't sue me! Also, I still need a layout job! I'm available! Call me! You have my resume!) Tags: Starwoo...
[liff] 21 December 2012: The Truth Revealed
2007-12-16 19:10:00 1188. We recently found ourselves cogitating on the fixation amongst some people with the date 21.12.2007 (remember, we write our dates in the Commonwealth style around here) and have to admit that we still Just Don't Get It a bit. I mean, sure, the Long Count wraps around on that day, but we don't think that's anything really more than coincidence–after all, it's based on cycles, and cycles have this way of wrapping around. It's what they do.Of course, we've always been impressed the way the years always end on schedule 31 December , and moreover, the calendars always get the day right! We mean, what are the odds, neh?Others aren't happy until they learn the deeper meanings. Here at the Times we are lucky people indeed, because we have our local philosopher king, general insurgent and occasional sixth columnist Episkopos "Half'a'buck" Dharma KSC to deliver us what we take to the the Official Deeper Meanings, which we read, consider, and forget as we return to teaching our... More About: Truth , Ruth , The Truth
[logo_design] Channel Surfing: Welcome to The Circle 7 Dude Ranch
More articles from this author:2007-12-15 18:35:00 1187. Now, I hope that you took the advice in the last chapter of Channel Surfing , pard'ner; got your chaps and spurs on? Good. We're going to take a little vacation out to a little place they call the Circle 7 Dude Ranch. Seems it's got branches all over...From LA on the west coast (KABC)....To Bangor, all the way over in Maine (WVII):Even them city slickers in Detroit like to get away to the ranch every now'n'then:With a fancy name like "WXYZ", I don't imagine they'd be forgettin the name terrible much.We got a lot of Circle 7's around. Just look at what we found:KATV, Little Rock:KETV, Omaha, has a variation on the theme, with a familiar angled line separatin' the call from the city:Then theres' San Fran:... Seattle ...... Tyler, TX ...KMGH, Denver, has a prettied-up version:And, if ya want to, you can put on your KOAT and head on into Albuquerque.There's a branch of the Ranch in Redding, CA ...... and Lawton, OK (they have a station in Lawton? Yep, they do) ...It's n... More About: The Circle 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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