Clarity
Urban Poetry
Posted 24 Jan 2008
MILK*SODA
FROZEN FOOD*ORGANIC FOOD
PET FOOD*FRESH FRUITS
LOTTO AND ATM
INSIDE
I was out on the streets of Chicago and saw the poem (above) posted on the awning over a convenience store.
Perhaps the poetry in this sign is not obvious, but it seemed a great expression to capture the meaning of that particular store in that particular place. Think about this, of all the products which the store carried, eight items were selected for the sign. Was that selection done at random or did the proprietor have a design in selecting the product names to list?
chickenmonkey dog or chicken monkey dog?
Posted 21 Jan 2008
So you’re wondering, it is chickenmonkeydog or chicken monkey dog? Does it matter? If you’re one of those people for whom it does matter, then here is your answer: We haven’t decided.
Conall was leaning towards the three word versions, whilst Liam thought a single run-on word looked better. We talked about it. We chatted over IM. We emailed back and forth. We even spoke about it on the phone. One word. Three words. Hyphens. No hyphens. Definitely no hyphens, we agreed. Chicken monkey dog? Chicken Monkey Dog? chickenmonkeydog? chickenmonkeydog? We could go on and on, but you are probably getting the point here.
In the end, we decided to leave it for now. No preference. All are acceptable. Over time we’ll likely find ourselves using one style or another most regularly, and stick with it, but for now anything is game. If we feel differently in the future, we’ll keep you posted.
I’ve been turned Blue!
Posted 18 Jan 2008
Football/Soccer | Leave a Comment
Back in November of last year, I had the opportunity to travel back to Rwanda. I travelled with Survivors Fund, a UK-charity which aids survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Also on the trip was a friend of mine, Drew, who happens to be a Chelsea FC supporter.
During the trip, I had a wonderful opportunity to visit the Don Bosco College in Kabaronda Rwanda (towards the east end of the country.) Whilst there, Drew and I played a match of football (soccer) with the local students. We took our photos with the kids there – Drew is a photographer after all. (Match report: whilst I didn’t score in the match, I did manage to get in a couple of assists.)
Then this morning, Drew sent me a page from the most recent Chelsea supporter magazine. There on the page, sure enough, the magazine editors had identified me (me!) as a true-blue Chelsea supporter! They must have cropped the wrong end of the photo (where Drew was standing) and added the line pointing me out. Oh no, how can I ever go to an Arsenal match again?
“Freshly baked”?
Posted 15 Jan 2008
Returning from a long trip to America, I arrived at Heathrow one recent Saturday morning with my family. As we made the drive from London to Oxford, we decided that we were hungry and wanted to stop for a bite to eat. Pulling up along the kerbside in Maidenhead, I was trying to decide whether I wanted a sandwich from Subway or a burger and fries from Burger King. Then I saw this sign in the Subway window:
Quite concerned by the “freshly baked” in quotes — Why in quotes? Is that Subway code for ‘not too old’? — I went for a burger.
