WordInk » Oddities & Such

(Middle)march Madness

Katie — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:57:47 +0000

Get your library cards out, kids! The Morning News has announced the shortlist for it’s annual Tournament of Books. The ToB is March Madness for book nerds, and is has been uncanny in its ability to predict the year’s Pulitzer Prize winner. Judges provide a thorough analysis of two books and declare a winner, moving them on to the next round. Commentators offer up, well, commentary. Then of course, there’s the grand prize:

“Finally, one book wins The Rooster, the Champion Book of the Year, and we award/threaten its author with the presentation of a live rooster, the official Tournament of Books mascot, named after our favorite character in contemporary literature, David Sedaris’s brother.”

This year’s smart money is on The Art of Fielding. Having read exactly two books on the list thus far, I’m rooting for The Sisters Brothers although up against The Art of Fielding and Jeffrey Eugenides, I doubt it stands a chance. Here’s the list, and of course, a printable pdf of the bracket:

Blogception: Occpy North Pole

Katie — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:13:12 +0000

After waiting until the last possible minute to think of an idea for the company’s holiday site, we decided to go with the option that was the most involved and time consuming…at least for the designers. Suckers! Turns out that the most difficult part about writing fun, made up blog posts is trying not to get distracted and read the entire wikipedia article on polar bears. In related news, polar bears don’t show up on infrared cameras. The more you know.

Studiobanks Selected as Digital Agency of Record for Occupy North Pole

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte-based digital agency, Studiobanks, has been selected to serve as the digital agency of record for the newly formed Occupy North Pole movement. Occupy North Pole (ONP) is a leaderless protest movement aimed at bringing awareness and reform to the arctic’s widespread inequality of cookie distribution.

The new website www.occupy-northpole.com will feature daily updates from the ONP movement and allow ONP to provide information, tips and news to its followers. In addition to designing the ONP website, Studiobanks will provide social media integration to allow ONP to expand its reach. “When ONP approached us, we were more than happy to donate our services to the cause,” said Banks Wilson, president and creative director of Studiobanks. “Studiobanks has long been pro-cookie and we’re honored to have been chosen to bring awareness to the paucity of cookies in the elf community.”

Chandler Wobble, de facto spokes-elf for the ONP movement, commended Studiobanks’ steadfast commitment to the cause. Said Wobble, “From the very beginning, Studiobanks showed a level of interest we didn’t expect from a non-arctic agency. They wanted to know more about what kinds of cookies were involved, how many featured frosting, and the overall sprinkle situation. They were really hungry for this account.”

Known for producing memorable, high quality work that creates buzz and delivers exceptional results for its clients, Studiobanks is an award-winning digital agency with a steadfast appreciation for all things cookie. For more information, please visit www.studiobanks.com.

Insane Diego

Katie — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:51:13 +0000

Best typo ever or potential new band name?

Dandy Warhols

Katie — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:24:34 +0000

This is such a bummer because I’ve been looking for an opportunity to unload a few of my Warhols, but I had my heart set on bartering.

Easter Eggs!

Katie — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:25:11 +0000

Google’s new interactive doodles are beyond fun. Their recent Earth Day doodle was cute and all, but man did it have some awesome Easter eggs.

Behold the full doodle:

Mouse over the pandas and they reenact this classic bit of internet revelry:

And then, like the Lion King and every National Geographic special ever, a poor little fish is rewarded for his valiant climb up the waterfall with a trip to the afterlife.

Clearly, I spent way too much time playing with this doodle. Nice work for a company who’s goal is to take you from their homepage to the website you really want to visit as quickly as possible.

Fixed that for you!

Katie — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:47:29 +0000

Oh happy day! Someone has finally stepped up to do the job that apparently book editors are no longer willing (or able) to do: edit books. I’m all for leniency with the gray areas of grammar (comma and hyphens, I’m looking at you) and respect for different writing styles. But there are basic rules that must be followed! It’s what separates us from the animals! Literally. Look it up.

The subject of choice for this blog couldn’t be better: The Twilight series. I think there should be a whole classes in high school based on this blog. Caution: occasional NSFW language. And I mean that with all seriousness. Don’t just tell kids how to write well; show them what bad grammar looks like and why it’s so completely, horribly wrong. Abuse of this kind should not be tolerated. We must warn the children so that they are not doomed to repeat our mistakes.

So sad. So true.

I’m almost positive this particular lesson was covered in high school, if not middle school.

There’s a reason some sentences sound awkward: because they are awkward.

This unnecessary pause reminds me of the Seinfeld where Pendant Publishing book editor, Elaine Benes ends every sentence with an exclamation mark.

This critique is dead on. Find a trusty online thesaurus, kids. Then bookmark it so you’ll have it forever and ever.

This many commas in a single sentence is a sign you either need to reevaluate your comma usage or rewrite the sentence.

Oh. Dear.

This American Condiment

Katie — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:47:41 +0000

Heh.

I’ll be here all night! Try the veal!

Katie — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:32:20 +0000

I knew that Art History major would come in handy some time! Countless hours of slide memorization have made me fully able to appreciate a dada-themed CAPTCHA art comic. The highs and lows of artistic expression captured forever in MS Paint. YES! It was all worth it!!

East side. West side. Best side.

Katie — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:49:39 +0000

If Best Coast has not already made the Best American Non-Required Reading ‘s list of top band names of the year it soon will.

Americans love America almost as much as they love a long weekend.

Katie — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:49:36 +0000

1. I think it’s completely awesome how the muppets have embraced the interwebs.

2. The Swedish chef for a patriotic sing-a-long celebrating AMERICA? I know we’re a melting pot and that fits nicely with the whole cooking thing, but really?