It’s over, so it’s over.

Open thread today. Feel free to discuss the Pope, this story about yet another legal back door into a woman’s uterus, or maybe this fantastic headline:

yogi

I got a Thursday coming up.

Posted at 8:17 am in Media |
 

44 responses to “It’s over, so it’s over.”

  1. beb said on September 24, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Stuff like this Alabama story makes one rethink the whole idea of having children. You can never be a good enough parent and the chances of becoming enmeshed to the Law seems overwhelming.

    If ever there was a time to admit to criminal activities it would be during the Pope’s visit since no one is reporting anything but the Pope.

    450 (and counting) dead in Saudi Arabia following a stampede about Muslins making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Thank God I’m an atheist.

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  2. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 24, 2015 at 8:49 am

    http://www.instantrimshot.com

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  3. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 8:51 am

    One of my friends linked to this on Facebook https://www.guernicamag.com/daily/rebecca-solnit-men-explain-things-to-me/. It’s not new but I hadn’t seen it before. I found it so true, and can think of a lot of times it has happened to me.

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  4. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 8:56 am

    Barry, Shelly and Frankie http://s.mlkshk-cdn.com/r/15XB2

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  5. Heather said on September 24, 2015 at 9:01 am

    Deborah, that piece inspired so many others, including some hilarious (although sad) tumblrs and blogs. This seems to be dormant now, but it was a goodie while it lasted: http://mansplained.tumblr.com/

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  6. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 9:38 am

    Death toll in Saudi Arabia now over 700. Can you imagine the scene? Just awful.

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  7. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 9:44 am

    Heather a long time ago I designed a bumper sticker for the Green Party, when I showed my designs a guy who was a bigwig in the party told me that a green background with white lettering was the least legible combination there was. I couldn’t believe my ears, because I had read a lot of research about it and the US highway system ended up with green background signs with white lettering because it had been found to be the MOST legible combo. I didn’t say a word to the guy though, even though by that time I had done a lot of architectural signage and knew what I was doing. It soured me on the Green Party, I must say.

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  8. Dave said on September 24, 2015 at 9:54 am

    Surely, this was done by some young person who had no idea what it means:

    http://tinyurl.com/qak2tzw

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  9. jcburns said on September 24, 2015 at 10:21 am

    Well, exactly, Dave. This is what happens when you raise up a generation of graphic designers refreshingly free of cultural history and context. And, often, the ability to spell. But they know the Photoshop keystroke shortcuts by heart.

    Me, I think understanding the meaning(s) of what you’re designing is vital. And that means a clear vision of what you’re trying to communicate as well as what the audience for your work MIGHT see from their perspective.

    Oh, and Deborah, you’re right…white text on green can be VERY readable. But, ahem, it has to be the right green. Don’t get me started.

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  10. Bob (not Greene) said on September 24, 2015 at 10:29 am

    Dave and JC, here’s a link showing the actual image they used, which is a head slapper. The full-on yellow patch with “Jude” in the middle and the blue-striped prison uniform as a background. Did they fire all the editors or producers or whoever is responsible for that shit in TV, too?

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  11. Bob (not Greene) said on September 24, 2015 at 10:29 am

    The link: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/wgn-tv-uses-holocaust-juden-image-for-yom-kippur-report/

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  12. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 24, 2015 at 11:17 am

    Just now, before Congress, from Pope Francis:

    “Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and – one step at a time – to build a better life for their families. These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need.”

    Precisely THAT.

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  13. alex said on September 24, 2015 at 11:36 am

    Deborah, I was always taught that reverse type (white or light-colored on a dark background) is tiring to the eye when used in long blocks of text. This was a rule of thumb when I worked in publishing and advertising, and it’s probably where that guy got his inflexible notions.

    The explanation, as I recall, is that we’re all taught to read black type on a white background, so when we see it in reverse, the brain is working overtime to close negative space. Makes sense with long text. It also makes sense that in short bursts, such as signage, it would be more eye-catching and engaging.

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  14. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    Alex, yes that and there are different guidelines for signage, especially signs that you read when you’re hurtling down the highway, which a bumper sticker has to address, at least some of the time.

    And yes JC, it definitely depends on the tone and saturation of the colored background.

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  15. Joe K said on September 24, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    Good old Yogi, when you come to a fork in the road, take it.
    The man has 10 World Series rings, caught the only no hitter in Series history, was at Normandy on June 6th, and was rumored to swing one of the biggest bats in the major leagues, so to speak, and lived till 90.
    All in all, a pretty good life.
    Hanging in Delaware Ohio today, something about a brown jug race?
    Pilot Joe

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  16. beb said on September 24, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    Jeff (TMMO) Thanks for the rimshot. Your quote from the Pope @12 is really moving. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t consider himself fluent in English. It;s sad that some members of Congress were threatening to boycott his speech because they feel he is wussifying the Catholic Church. Francis has not changed Church policy on Abortion, Birth Control, Divorce or LGTB so I don’t know what they’re upset about? But he talks a very liberal view of caring for the poor, the disadvantaged and sick. He is contagiously likeable.

    According to Philly blogger Atrois, all food vendors inside the Papal visitation are has been kicked out so Aramark can be the only vendor there. This is the same Aramark that got kicked out of Michigan prisons for serving rotten food and smuggling drugs. There’s something wrong about a papal visit having an official food vendor.

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  17. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 24, 2015 at 2:58 pm

    Joe, give me a waggle if you fly 30 miles east of Delaware OH! Sorry I can’t cut over there today.

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  18. Joe K said on September 24, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Didn’t know you were that close.
    Next time maybe, I’ll buy lunch.
    Pilot Joe

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  19. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    beb, the right-wingers are mad at the Pope because they think he is insufficiently devoted to capitalism and overly concerned with the preservation of the planet. Shocking, isn’t it, that a faith leader would worry that our economic system is not producing good results for everyone or that our actions on the earth may undermine its survival.

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  20. Suzanne said on September 24, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    JC-“Me, I think understanding the meaning(s) of what you’re designing is vital. And that means a clear vision of what you’re trying to communicate as well as what the audience for your work MIGHT see from their perspective.” I think carries over into so many professions, not only with audiences but users of a product or a service. I see so little of that kind of coordination between form & purpose, if you will, anymore. It’s as though in the workplace, nobody can stand to pay anyone to think about how everything fits together. Just get to work & get it done.

    I remember a conversation I had with a relative who is a computer coder. He told me that sociology was the stupidest class he took in college. My thought was, yep, and this is why thousands of computer users spend hours every year screaming at their computers while trying to use programs that make no logical sense in the real world because the people like you that write the code believe that understanding how people think is stupid. Or maybe I’m just crabby today…

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  21. Sherri said on September 24, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Suzanne-

    How many software engineers does it take to change a light bulb?

    “Works fine in my office.”

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  22. LAMary said on September 24, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    On NPR they noted that Scalia, Alito and Thomas did not attend the Pope’s speech. The rest of the Supreme Court did.

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  23. Sherri said on September 24, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    What is it conservative Catholics call liberal Catholics when they want to accuse them of picking and choosing? Looks like we got us a trio of Cafeteria Catholics here.

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  24. Charlotte said on September 24, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    Wow LAMary — you should have seen my eyebrows shoot up at that news. I was sort of hoping the Pope would request their presence at a private audience, and read them the riot act. But “good Catholics” as they claim to be refusing like that? I’m lapsed and *I’m* shocked.

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  25. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    There is a whole industry out there dedicated to user experience, in both the virtual and the real world. The company I worked for before I retired employed a lot of people who thought long and hard about how people use space, and some of those people had degrees in sociology as well as design. And many do it for websites and other digital experiences. Obviously JC does this. Granted as Suzanne said, there will be people who are creating experiences that don’t get it, that they should be thoughtful and do plenty of research.

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  26. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    I was typing and submitting when LA Mary’s comment #22 showed up, but wow, I’m shocked too. What is wrong with people? For those who call themselves Catholic and Christian, how can they be so hypocritical and not see that they are?

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  27. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    Actually, Kagan was missing from the Pope’s speech too. Only Roberts, Sotomayor, Ginsberg, and Kennedy attended.

    I heard on TV that three of the justices attended the mass yesterday afternoon. I didn’t find anything that said which three, but this article, published before the event, suggests that it was the same group minus Ginsburg.

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  28. alex said on September 24, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    Some people have no use for religion except for the authority they think it gives them to be judges and scolds. I’m not at all surprised that three of our nation’s shallowest jurists shied away from that meeting.

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  29. Sherri said on September 24, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    The things they say when they think no one else is listening: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-gop-caught-on-tape-discussing-how-to-defeat-black-politician-by-filling-district-with-prisoners-7928514

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  30. Dexter said on September 24, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    Four days ago Jimmy Olsen, cub reporter for The Daily Planet, passed on. I had no idea Jack Larson was a gay man, had been in a long-time relationship with Montgomery Clift, nor did I know he regretted playing Olsen, as the typecasting curtailed his career. He was 87.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrQCro68sRU

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  31. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 6:21 pm

    Very bad accident in your part of the world today, Sherri. Hope the doctors will be able to reassemble those who survived the crash.

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  32. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    OK, I feel better knowing that Kagan wasn’t present, it makes me think that there could have been other reasons for SCOTUS members not showing up other than protest.

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  33. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 6:34 pm

    It should, really, have been relatively easy for the justices to attend. The fall session of the court doesn’t begin until first Monday in October, and, presumably, their summer vacations should be over.

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  34. David C. said on September 24, 2015 at 6:57 pm

    Since we seem to be touching of graphic design, I was wondering how much thought is given to what the colorblind, like me, can and can’t see. It seem like road signs are the absolute worst. Red and Green on traffic signals anyone?

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  35. Deborah said on September 24, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    I believe there have been studies about the color blind. It’s been awhile and I can’t exactly point to any of them right now, but give me some time and I’ll show you what they found.

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  36. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 7:15 pm

    Vespers service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral beginning on MSNBC right now. Likely to be some gorgeous music.

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  37. Sherri said on September 24, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    It was a bad accident, Jolene. That’s a bad stretch of road, narrow and lots of traffic, the main north-south alternative to I-5. There have been a number of questions about the safety of the Ducks tour in Seattle, since the Ducks have been involved in several accidents, but nothing like this. Four international students on a charter bus from North Seattle Community College are dead, a couple more in critical condition, all on a new student orientation outing. From witness accounts, it looks like something went wrong on the Duck, and it suddenly veered into the bus. Horrible.

    One amazing thing, though. Canlis, a high-end restaurant in Seattle, is very close to the scene, and several employees came out to help. When they realized the severity of the accident, Canlis canceled dinner service, and opened up to first responders, providing coffee and sandwiches. They’re a Seattle institution, probably had plenty of reservations for tonight.

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  38. Jolene said on September 24, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    I’m familiar with Canlis. A great gesture on their part. Very sad about the students. Always feel especially bad when someone from another country is killed here. Seems like we should have taken better care of them since they’re so far from home.

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  39. Dexter said on September 25, 2015 at 1:20 am

    You know how you always hear how when one part of life shuts down, like vision, people can adapt to the new path of life and be OK? It sounds silly, but one can sense how touch and feel can sort of substitute for sight, as an example.
    Color blindness runs deep in my family…all three brothers have it, my daughter has it, my grandfather had it. I have trouble differentiating grays, browns, light greens, and all the the other colors similar. Much depends on the lighting. The last van I bought is a distinct light green, which I could easily identify in the dusk, but in bright sunlight I had no idea what color it is.
    A real trouble area are telling the difference between yellow and red traffic lights. I have been driving over fifty years and only once did I ever run a red thinking it was a yellow caution. I remember it clearly; in Archbold , Ohio there is one major intersection, and there was no stop sign, no road-paint, nothing but a dangling flashing light, which was red but I took it for yellow. I entered the intersection but slammed the brakes ten feet in…no traffic anywhere, no problem, but after that I studied the surroundings carefully at every flashing light. After all these years I can instinctively tell what color the light is by position or just all the other factors. It’s a sense I have built into my road-awareness, and I never miss or mess up. It helps that newer traffic lights are much easier to ID than older ones were. I don’t even worry about it…I have adapted.
    I tried to get exempted from military service for color-blindness when I was drafted. The recruiting staff (who also worked with draftees like me) laughed in my face. They had no test, and they called me a liar.

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  40. Sherri said on September 25, 2015 at 3:01 am

    Forget about emails. Here’s the real question about Hilary: how tall is she??

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/is-hillary-clinton-getting-taller-or-is-the-internet-getting-dumber/2015/09/24/58af4dfa-5e33-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html

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  41. Sue said on September 25, 2015 at 7:48 am

    I don’t know what’s funnier to me, that he said something so ridiculous with absolutely no understanding that he had just insulted the targeted demographic – I mean who says this knowing everyone will hear it? -, or that he said it at something called the “East Cooper Republican Women’s Club annual Shrimp Dinner”:
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jeb-bush-black-voters-free-stuff

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  42. beb said on September 25, 2015 at 8:05 am

    Mike the Mad Biologist had a link to an article, I think it was from NPR about an elephant who was attacked by poachers, wounded with poison arrows and trekked across the savanna to a wildlife center that he had never been to before for help. He had mated in the past with orphan elephants raised there but it’s still a mystery how this bull had learned that he could get help there. He and two other bulls with him are recovering from their injuries. Elephants are damned smart.

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  43. coozledad said on September 25, 2015 at 8:20 am

    Sue: Funny how Republicans use “waiting in line for free stuff” as racist code when Jeb’s brother gave the store away to his cronies. And who’s this here standing in the welfare line? Why it’s lyin’ ass bitch Carly Fiorina:

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/23/carly-fiorina-s-4-billion-job-scam.html

    And here’s a campaign song for old stitchy:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxIq_gj8fjg

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  44. Wim said on September 25, 2015 at 9:16 am

    Well, a kleptocrat’s cronies don’t have to stand in line, so of course it’s going to be a descriptor of the sort of people to be held in contempt.

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