FAUX-BEAU » Pop Culture

Verdana Vs. Modified Futura

Kathryn Proulx — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:03:56 +0000

So the internet has been a-buzz with the news that IKEA has switched from their modified version of Futura to Verdana—citing a need for a typeface they can use globe-wide, even in Asian countries, and on the web.

A lot of designers are getting heated over the whole thing, but my opinions on the matter can be summed up by Connecticut-based designer Matt Hunsberger’s post on the subject.

“Verdana actually makes sense. Aside from IKEA’s probably-bullshit reasoning about wanting one font for both web and print, Verdana is an accurate reflection of their brand. Think about it, Verdana is a utilitarian typeface that is kind of crappy but everyone has it on their websites. IKEA is utilitarian furniture that is kind of crappy but everyone has it in their houses. See, it makes perfect sense.”

No related posts.

Cast of Characters

Kathryn Proulx — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:40:51 +0000

Chrissy

Chrissy and Justin

Chino and Me

Yesterday was great; I hung out at Justin’s parents house and jumped on their new trampoline then walked around an orchard with Justin and Chrissy. The apple trees were blooming and when we were totally quiet we could hear a faint buzzing coming from the Langstroth beehives they had set up to pollinate the newly planted apple trees. We sat on the top of a hill where we could see out beyond the orchard to Long Island Sound. After, 5 of us went back to my parent’s house and sat in beach chairs in the driveway while our dogs played in the front yard. Later on in the night we had a BBQ in my best friend’s back yard. Eventually sourced some decent light and took pictures. Some of the pictures were blown out, some were blurry… but I still love them! Yesterday was such a great spring day.

Daily Guilty Pleasure: Wild Things

Kathryn Proulx — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:24:25 +0000

All this talk of Spike Jonze’s film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are is getting me so psyched! This was one of my favorite books as a child. The film is slated to drop the day before my 21st birthday, I couldn’t be more excited. Furthermore, now that I’m studying for a BFA I’ve really began to admire that Sendak wrote and illustrated the book himself.

In all of us is a WILD THING!

LOVE: The First Cover

Kathryn Proulx — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:55:35 +0000

So there you have it, the first cover of LOVE — the magazine the blogosphere has been abuzz about since October. My thoughts?

The thought of boobs without nipples is weird!
Doesn’t the L seem really far away from OVE?
I’m digging the hand-drawn headlines but not the lack of breathing space.
I love her manicure.
Love the color.
I can’t wait to read what other people say!
I can’t wait to see the inside!

Hey LOVE, will you send me a copy, please?

Make Do and Mend “Bodies Of Water”

Kathryn Proulx — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:00:33 +0000

“But those times were fleeting like the summer days.
We were bodies of water, destined to flow our separate ways”

I don’t write much about music but friends of friends, Make Do and Mend’s new album “Bodies of Water” is now available for free via download from their website. With musical influences such as Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker, and Lucero it’s easily one of the best albums to come out of Connecticut in a long while. Brimming with heartfelt lyrics about nostalgia, friendship, and feeling uninspired by what confines us; Bodies of Water has been a great backdrop to my feelings of restlessness while at home for another New England winter break.

Photo: Luc Rioual of Hot Air Press

Daily Guilty Pleasure: Hot Air Press

Multiscreen Mad Men

Kathryn Proulx — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:59:59 +0000

“I think there’s a bigger issue here. The problem with these established news shows is that they’re trying to be everything for everybody. And in a situation where we all specialize and go into silos and seek out what we’re interested in, that superbroad thing is going to have a really hard time working.“

—LARS BASTHOLM, chief creative officer at AKQA
from Multiscreen Mad Men in NYTimes Magazine

Amazing article.

Rescuing Pitbulls, Sustainability, and Job for A Cowboy

Kathryn Proulx — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:29:24 +0000

“…and i hate when things that actually matter get too ‘IN’ with scene kids…like global warming and the presidential election.” -Jill Sandrey, Friend Related posts:It’s Monday. While you wake up you can lurk these.A Slave to the MTA Related posts:

Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin

Kathryn Proulx — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:20:44 +0000

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country choose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover.

-Eve Ensler, the American feminist and activist best known for “The Vagina Monologues“

How I Spent My Sunday Afternoon

The Pros and Cons of a Vegan Straight-Edge Oprah Winfrey

Kathryn Proulx — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:44:46 +0000

I personally am not a Vegan, but I know what it’s like to live with/cook for one and I back anyone who decides to make the lifestyle switch to veganism. Here are my pros and cons on Oprah Winfrey’s 21-Day Cleanse, or as I like to call it 21-Day Vegan Straight-Edge Experiment.

Pros:

If even 100 people from Oprah’s audience become vegan due to her 21-day vegan experiment, those 100 people will “save” 10,000 animals a year. (I say ’save’ because there is always the argument that ‘For every animal you don’t eat, I will eat X more.’)
“I actually think about how my food got to my plate.” says Oprah on her 21-Day Cleanse blog. If only everyone could adopt this way of thinking in both food and consumer products, our world would become much more environmentally-aware.
Oprah mentions on her blog multiple times how she still feels satisfied eating vegan. I feel like the thought of leaving cheese and ‘creamy’ dishes in the dust deters many people from becoming, or at least trying a vegan-lifestyle.
Oprah is introducing her audience to a vegan lifestyle, if nothing else, maybe being vegan will become more wildly accepted rather than a choice that provokes an “Oh I could never do that!” or “What the hell is a vegan?!” response.
A lot of the vegan dishes Oprah blogs about sound pretty simple to concoct on your own, without help from Tal Ronnen. Kathy Freston, along with providing spiritual cockamamie, has tips underneath each of Oprah’s blog entries, like adding fruit nectar to bland meals like oatmeal to make them more satisfying. I almost like this better than Oprah teaching her viewers delicious vegan recipes.
Switching to a plant-based diet is much healthier, and in a country where obesity rates are rising I back anything trying to encourage a positive, healthy lifestyle.

Cons:

Oprah is selling her 21-day vegan lifestyle as a spiritual experience, often relating experiences back to Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Oprah is near-ignoring the entire topic of animal rights, most likely because her audience would not want to hear it (which is a problem in itself).
Oprah is not committed to veganism, I’m sure she has at least two leather couches in her home or on her chartered jets.
Oprah has a team of personal Chefs (although her chef, Tal Ronnen only was with her for 2/3rds of her 21-day cleanse). I feel like this could deter people from trying veganism because it makes it seem like it is hard to prepare a great-tasting vegan dish on your own. It makes veganism seem complicated and out of reach for the average person.

All in all I back Oprah raising veganism’s profile in the media, anything to bring it to a larger audience and become a more accepted way of life is awesome. I hope that Oprah publicly debunks the myth about vegans not being able to get enough protein into their diet, I don’t watch the show regularly enough to report back on that. If even a few people switch to a plant-based diet by being inspired by Oprahs 21-day cleanse, that’s great. It benefits not only your health and animals, but also the environment and learning to live a sustainable lifestyle.

Memorial Day Weekend

Kathryn Proulx — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:13:25 +0000

I spent Memorial Day weekend with my family and my boyfriend. On Friday Chino came with me to the mall in exchange for China Pan (vegan sesame chicken!), I finally caved and bought a black leather bag like I had mentioned in this post. After China Pan we went back to Ashley’s for cookies and cream vegan cupcakes, so good. Someone needs to give Ashley the money to open her own vegan bakery. On Saturday I cleaned out my closet and donated three huge garbage bags of clothes while Chino watched the Yankee game with my dad and grandpa. Yesterday we woke up and I made crepes for everyone and spent the morning being lazy in my bed. Geegee (my grandma) and my Mom spent the afternoon playing cards:

This picture doesn’t quite show just how much candy GeeGee surrounded herself with. So cute!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Darien to have a memorial day barbeque with Chino’s mom, sister, and brother. It was delicious! For dessert, Mrs. Ward made strawberry shortcake using pillsbury biscuits which was so good. Usually my mom serves it with pound cake, I’m not sure which is better to be honest.

We came home last night and watched Lars and the Real Girl, it was so boring and awful! The whole movie can be summed up in 2 and half minutes by watching the trailer on youtube. My friend Luc loved it, not really sure what he was thinking… although I can relate Ryan Gosling’s character to him.

P.S: I got the internship!