Raves: old journal, Tufte stuff-te

Ranting comes easy to me, so I have to remember to talk about things I like too. Here are some things that get a thumbs-up lately:

• Thrift store ledgers. I wrote the first drafts of these posts in a little book from Unique thrift (pictured below). The cover and spine say “Journal,” as in accounting – it's lined for bookkeeping in blue and red.

  

  This type of ruling is very helpful for list-making and sketching web designs. You've got a central column with a few columns of built-in checkboxes. The big margin at the top affords itself to headers and dates. Plus, people give envious looks when I pull this green-edged wonder out at meetings. All for a buck!

  

  I've got a few others, one of which is full of the debits and credits of a local property company from the twenties. I haven't yet convinced myself that I don't need to preserve that one for posterity.

• Graphics Press's invoices. Ashley said, “It's so old.” You wouldn't expect less from Edward Tufte. The invoice is simple, set in Gill Sans with gobs of whitespace. The dynamic parts of the form (addresses, quantities, dollar amounts) are in Courier, the international sign for “typewritten.” They're fresh but unmistakeably invoicey. I got mine when I bought
• Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte, Edward Tufte's mother. The book design is very easy to look at, and from the first few chapters, her clean, elegant writing is a perfect match. An absolute steal at $16 (shipping included)!

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Comments

[the.green.man]

The cover makes it clear that this is published through Edward's elegant, private publishing efforts. All of his books are gorgeous and graceful. He came to speak at our company last year, and was every bit as engaging as his books. I'll probably have to buy his Mom's book, now, too.

[raej]

did you buy it? if not, i will. i guess i could ask you that at home....er, hi drew! thnx for the book tip.

[the.green.man]

Coming soon to a desk near you. (Well, maybe not soon. I didn't pay extra for speedy delivery.)

[droob]

See? There's the power of the Internet: spouses brought together from across the country without having to talk to each other.

[raej]

which leads me to wonder: of the many people who've met and romanced over Mr.Interweb, has anyone yet gotten married via IM/webcam? and conducted the entire marriage over the 'net? Hmm.