I am in awe of font people and type people (there is a difference, although you can be an expert in both). They are artists, designers, writers, and bibliophiles who are passionate about letters and words, and how they look. They know what they are talking about and they have plenty of opinions about it. Me, I can’t tell you the name of the fonts I use, much less recognize them elsewhere. In researching the subject, I found tons of great sites and discussions about fonts, way more than I can jam into one post. So I whittled it down to a few that the average person with about as much font knowledge as I have would find amusing or interesting. Experts, please be gentle.

EXTRA: I have a special request for my regulars (and anyone else) here.



Vanna’s Favorite Fonts (via YesButNoButYes)

The Internet Phenomena Phonetic Alphabet. From All Your Base to ZOMG. Not in order, though.

Ban Comic Sans!

Helvetica vs. Arial. You are Helvetica in this game, and your mission is to stomp Arial.

Fifteen excellent examples of web typography.

Young children will get a kick out of seeing themselves in an ABC Adventure! Upload a photo, enter a name, and watch your video. See mine here. (via the Presurfer)

What’s your favorite font?

More favorite fonts.

My Favorite Font. What some writers prefer.

Spanish designer and illustrator Alex Trochut loves to make art from type.

Did you know quote marks can be smart or dumb? I didn’t know. I just vaguely knew that curly quotes can get you into trouble in html.

Fonts make great movie posters!

Sing along the alphabet song! Here are the lyrics. (via Bits and Pieces)

SCHOOL

Teacher: Susie, make a sentence starting with the letter 'I'.

Susie: "I is ..."

Teacher: "No, no, no, don't say 'I is', you say 'I am'".

Susie: "OK, I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

The leader's rise to power in San Serriffe

Mark Arnold-Forster
Friday April 1, 1977
The Guardian

For the last six years San Serriffe has enjoyed stable government, rising prosperity and freedom from strikes of any kind. This happy state of affairs is justly and widely attributed to the personality of the President, Maria-Jesu Pica.

Born 37 years ago of poor but honest sisal grinders, he is now generally regarded - despite his relative youth - as the father of the San Serriffian people. From an early age he took a keen interest in politics.

Conscripted into the army at the age of 16, Maria-Jesu Pica was an apt pupil at the Bodoni machine-gun academy and quickly rose through the ranks to become, by exceptional promotion, a general by the time he was 29.

He has eight children. Maria-Jesu Pica is a family man, a quality reflected in his choice of Ministers. The Government of General Pica, elected for life in 1971, consists of Prime Minister Angelico Pica; Minister of the Interior Rudolfo Pica; Foreign Secretary Martin Pica; Minister for Oil Phosphates and Foreign Trade, Arnoldo Pica; and Minister of Education, Public Enlightenment, Woman's Affairs, Minorities and Culture, Esmeralda Pica. There is no Minister of Finance. Martin and Arnoldo Pica are the President's two eldest sons. Rudolfo is his first cousin. Esmeralda Pica is his aunt. Three other members of the family - Giuseppe, Adolf, and Luigi -are serving life for treason.

The Government was formed following a coup in May, 1971, when seven regiments of dismounted cavalry, loyal to General Pica, overthrew the Government led by General Minion, of part Malaysian extraction. Although reports vary, the casualty list was considerable, with many Malaysian immigrants reported dead while resisting arrest.

For 17 days Radio San Serriffe broadcast nothing but martial music interspersed with appeals for calm. In his subsequent presidential address President Pica promised his people stability, two chickens in every pot, rigorous prosecution of General Minion and other enemies of the State, the abolition of Minionite newspapers, the establishment of a government-controlled press and broadcasting service which would tell nothing but the truth, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly subject to licences to be issued by the Ministry of the Interior.

No restrictions are placed on foreign visitors except that their mail is censored.

For more information, consult the San Serriffe Travel Guide.

Letterpress

This documentary made me appreciate the art form more than ever. (via Metafilter)

Previously at Miss Cellania: Letters and Words

Thought for today: The tendency of the best typography has been and still should be in the path of simplicity, legibility, and orderly arrangement. -Theo L. DeVinne

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