Through Lines 142

João Gonzalez’s illustrated animated short film Ice Merchants is endless captivating both in its story and soundtrack. So much warmth and subtlety comes through in the textural detail of each frame.

• “Sliding a $40 pie into a pizza box is the packaging equivalent of packing a Lamborghini in a wooden shed before a hurricane.” Today I learned a thing or three about the problems and history of the ubiquitous pizza box.
• Revisiting these 25 Pieces of Life Advice from Werner Herzog is a good thing at the start of a new year. Number 12, “Take your fate into your own hands” is esp. good.
• The James Webb Space Telescope this week confirmed its discovery of a new exoplanet dubbed LHS 475 b, a planet that orbits another star. Cool.
• You Are Here by letterpress artist Jen Farrell, which I was lucky enough to see in person while at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum is heartwarming and a true delight.
• I can’t help but wonder if the world needs Mister Rogers now more than ever to get past the collective trauma that’s been weighing on the world for many years — beyond just the global pandemic we’ve all endured.
• In the Stacks, a new story with interactive musical accompaniment by Robin Sloan.
• Belinda Says by Alvvays on the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. Nice.
• The Book Cover Review, brief reviews of, ahem, book covers. Right up my alley.
• I’m ready for whatever Jonathan Majors is up to as the new big bad in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Also, M.O.D.O.K!
• Written in Stone, a collection of sidewalk stamps.
• RIP guitar legend Jeff Beck.

Notable Type Releases

• My old pal Dan officially launched Simple Type Co. this past week along with a collection of nice typographic gear to sit alongside his fun, and maybe a little eccentric typefaces.
• Loretta Display from Nova Type Foundry is sumptuous elegance all wrapped up in a beautiful package of 12 weights and styles for display uses. A perfect pairing for the editorially focused text family.
• Based on the Florentine typeface known as No.32/MP 375, Manic Type’s Palmetto is distinctly Italian and perfect for branding, signage, and big headlines.
• Baustraße brings together various Bauhaus designs from the 60s to the 90s into something of a hybrid. The lowercase “a” and “e” are especially great.