Bodonation

On Merdeka day, I’m being reminded that I’m not particularly patriotic, and yet I can’t see myself being a citizen of another country.

Maybe I have grown accustomed to this nation.

Malaysia is not perfect but is still a nice place to be if everything can be seen as "it’s not that bad after all".

(Just like humans)

Relaks lah.

Wanted to write about my thoughts on Helvetica and found Geoff’s views in Emigre 65 which best reflects what I think. (Geoff Cook, basedesign).

Helvetica turns 50 next year.
Gary Hustwit is making a feature film on Helvetica, with a cast full of stars of typography such as Erik Spiekermann,
Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Michael Bierut, Wim Crouwel, Hermann
Zapf, Stefan Sagmeister, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones,
Experimental Jetset.

Originally known as Neue
Haas Grotesk, Helvetica was designed by Max Miedinger as a typeface to compete with Akzidenz Grotesk. It gained popularity through Swiss style - finding its way into signage systems, corporate identites and editorial works. It is now impossible to go anywhere without seeing Helvetica in action - whether it is on the streets or turning on the PC.

When I first started designing, I remember my art director saying "of all the fonts available, why do you have to use Helvetica"? That was the era where Emigre came out with peculiar types, and pilferaging from Adobe’s Font Folio, using relatively unknown sans serif such as Spartan, Vectora etc was perceived to be way better than the old boring Helvetica.

Then came the post-modern movement (also known as the era after David Carson). Almost like a total rejection of Carson gimmicks, designers went back to the slick, clean, methodical utilitarian swiss modernists style.

Helvetica became the hot thing, again. Art directors started saying: "Of all the typefaces, why can’t you just use Helvetica? Keep it simple, minimal and clean!"

Oh well, it’s just a typeface that is better than Arial.

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Sales plug:
The well-acclaimed 256-page book on
Helvetica is back in stock, finally.
Here are some reviews on this book:
Andy Crewdson, Amazon, Linotype.

Some Chinese went to Neil French’s website, ripped off every single piece of work, produced and printed a book.

All done without Neil’s permission.

Neil’s damn pissed that "the book is now on sale in ‘law-abiding’ Singapore!"
(No prize for guessing which bookseller brought that into Singapore)

Read this here.

Questions from an impromptu test conducted.

* Comment on two designers covered in lecture 7:

Answers:

TOMATO: His works are brilliant and he has the special food name "tomato" that can attract public’s attention.

PIET ZWART: Piet Zwart did a good job redefining David Carson.

From wikipedia, Piet Zwart died at the age of 92 in 1977. David Carson started designing in 1991.

What have I done wrong?

Saturday will be my last day in The One Academy.

Many reasons helped me come to that decision.

For the past three years, I have had my share of satisfactions and disappointments with lecturing. It is rewarding to see FF Meta, Bello, Dolly, Monotype Grotesk, Akzidenz Grotesk and Avenir making their way into students’ magazine and corporate identity works, replacing the standard mix of myriad, helvetica and garamond. It excites me whenever students show me complex and unusual grid systems. It thrills me (secretly) when students start rebelling against thoughtless briefs and work outside the norms. All these made teaching meaningful.

I shall not vent my frustrations - that would be taking aimless shots at the whole education and cultural systems that shaped the psyche of so-called creative students. I may have to start cursing all the spoons that fed the souls.

What matters most to me: I’m glad I have got to know many students well enough to consider them personal friends. Gaining new friendship - this alone - made the whole experience memorable. As much as they are learning from my obsessions about grids, kernings and bodoni, I am learning to see things from their life, and in the process, enables me to rethink and reshape who I am.

I am not sure whether I will ever return to teaching.

Maybe someday.

Meanwhile if Piet Zwart has redefined Carson, I am led to think that I might have failed.

Unless I can see dead people.

Attended a talk by renowned apologist Ravi Zacharias on 16 Aug 2006.

This is what his mom told him:

"Once you cut off a person’s nose
there’s no point giving him a rose to smell."

Once you have humiliated someone, the spirit is fractured.

Point to ponder upon.

(AFP)

As per captioned on BBC’s website: "Tensions remain high in Israel as Palestinians, prevented from reaching Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, pray on the street."

I have been reading about the war.

Lebanon + Israel + Palestine + Syria + Jordan + Iran + Egypt.
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) + South Lebanon Army + Hizbullah.
US + UK + United Nations.

Watchdogs have termed this a proxy war. Hizbullah’s attack on Israel was Iran’s way to divert attention from its nuclear controversy. The real war is not of Israel vs Lebanon, but Iran and Syria versus Bush Administration.

The religious minded again see this as the clash of beliefs. Hizbullah sees this as another zionist intrusion into Muslim land. Bin Laden’s Al-Qaida expectedly took the opportunity to rally support from Muslims around the world. In a recorded statement by its deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, "O Muslims everywhere, I call on you to fight and become martyrs in the war against the Zionists and the crusaders." 

Israel believes it is a war against terrorism. Many Christians, fiercely guarding the belief of Israel being God’s promised land to Abram, use that to justify the reasons for the agression against Lebanon - that is has been prophesized, that it is God’s will, that it is inevitable. Many church leaders, though generally acknowledging the need for Israel to protect itself, criticize her for "using a disproportionate force that is totally destructive."

To the many displaced Shia Muslims from southern Lebanon Israel/USA are the terrorists. To the famous son-in-law of Pak Lah, it became another media circus with plenty of photo-op. The UMNO Youth Deputy Chief, supposingly "representing the youth of Malaysia" said "The United States is abetting the violence by Israel
against Lebanon and is part and parcel of what is happening to the
Lebanese and Palestinian people". (When did I allow that joker to represent me?)

I wanted to understand the reasons behind the war.

What would one do to uphold his freedom of religion?
To preserve the sovereignty of his nation?
To legitimize the prevention of terror?
To leave behind a legacy of power?
To live strictly as according to religious beliefs without pausing to think about its relevance?

What prices freedom? Leaving aside all the ideologies and justifications for war, maybe we forgot that we are dealing with real humans. Lives are lost. Homes are destructed. Families are destroyed. Soldiers are being held captives. Children are killed.

Real humans, real souls.

The politics of war is appalling and disgusting.

If you want to bark, bark with a reason. I doubt how many of the 2000 anti-USA anti-Israel Umno youths actually understood what they were protesting about. It will only take a minute to understand the roots of Israel-Arabian conflicts by viewing this.

Other useful links:
Wikipedia entry
BBC
The Guardian
The Daily Star Lebanon