Some lunchtime news chum, for your digesting enjoyment:
- From the “I’d Like a San-Serif on Rye” Department: Michael Doret has written a fascinating article about the evolution of a type font: in this case, a font that echos the typography of the Canter’s Deli sign in West Los Angeles. In this case, Mr. Doret made the font… and then the deli found him and asked him to design a food truck using the font. I was first drawn to this article because of the mention of Canters Deli, but then found the evolution story really compelling, with the design of the Canter’s Truck an added bonus.
- From the “What’s In A Name?” Department: There’s a long history of people, places, and things changing names to become more acceptable. Prunes became Dried Plums. Rapeseed Oil became Canola Oil. Blackwater became XE. Sepulveda became North Hills. The latest to attempt to do this is High Fructose Corn Syrup, which has become the whipping boy of the sweetner industry. The $25,000 question: Will people buy it if they call it “Corn Sugar”?
- From the “Old Things Going Away” Department: Two articles related to old things disappearing. The first is down San Diego way, where the former Laguna Mountain Air Force Base is about to be razed to return to natural parkland. Now, this is admittedly not an active base: it is a bunch of rotting buildings on a mountain that used to be home for a number of lookout posts. Still, it is interesting how something like this fades away. It peaked my interest because of another disappeared military facility in the San Diego area: Camp Elliott, which is where my father trained for WWII. In the mid-1960s, portions were sold, portions went to SDUSD, and portions were reabsorbed into MCAS Miramar.
Another thing fading away is the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas NV. I’m pretty sure that most of the younger readers of this journal have no idea who Liberace was. To put it succinctly, Wladziu Valentino Liberace was the original showman: that is, he put the “show” in showman, and was the ultimate inspiration for the gilt and glamour and over-the-top nature that characterized later performers such as Elton John or Lady Gaga. Known for his music as well as his sequins and candelabras, he became an icon for Las Vegas. But memories fade, especially poorly maintained memories, and the traffic at the Liberace Museum has fallen, and the closing notice is up.
- From the “Everything You Know is Wrong” Department: A few articles demonstrating that conventional wisdom is wrong. The first concerns those hand sanitizers you see everywhere. Guess what? They may kill viruses, but viruses don’t spread by hand-to-hand contact, and thus hand sanitizers are ultimately ineffective. Next up: you know how you’ve been told to keep your car alive by changing the oil every 3,000 miles. Guess what? For newer cars, changing oil every 3K is far too frequent, and serves only to waste oil and your money. Lastly, use a dishwasher or washing machine? Fill up the detergent cup? Guess what? You’re likely using too much detergent, and thus your clothes/dishes aren’t getting as clean as they should.
There. Wasn’t that an interesting lunchtime read?
