Many life lessons can be learned from Episode 5 of the Star Wars movies. The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the series, primarily because of Darth Vader. I’m not a dark person, but Vader’s power is overwhelming, and his character is at his best in The Empire Strikes Back. I like Vader because I can see the good in him and even if you don’t like him you must respect him. Much like the New York Yankees.

Last night in Game 2 of the World Series, the Evil Empire (as Paul refers to the New York Yankees) struck back. Once again, an Arkansan took the mound and stole the show. This time instead of the Phillies it was the Yankees who threw the ball better.

The Phillies’ rogue pitcher, Pedro Martinez (former pitcher for the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox – arch rivals of the Phillies and Yankees) set the stage for failure to the Republic, uh I mean Phillies. Martinez is the Star Wars equivalent of Lando Calrissian. He talks way too much, has passed his prime, needs to work on his hair, relies on trickery, is concerned only with himself, and sold out a long time ago. In most cases one can only handle small doses of Pedro Martinez without wanting to use the force to shut him up. The Yankees found the best way to silence him was with their bats and that’s exactly what they did. If for some reason that didn’t work, the Yankees’ fans were ready with their light sabers. Just like Luke Skywalker learning that Darth Vader was his father, Martinez learned who his daddy is.

I have to be careful since I know that hate leads to the dark side.

The series it tied (1-1) with the advantage to the Yankees. Perhaps my next post will compare the Phillie’s Matt Stairs to Jabba the Hutt.

I’m sure Shea and his fellow Yankee fans in the heart of Yankee country (Arkansas) are devastated that their army of expensive robot baseball machines malfunctioned and were completely baffled by Phillies pitcher, Arkansas-native Cliff Lee, in Game 1 of the World Series. Game 1 goes to the lovable underdog Phillies. Members of the national sports media cried in their beers as the Yankees, pre-ordained as World Champs since Spring Training, lost homefield advantage.

Meanwhile, Yankees fans were left with the sour taste of another defeat before the game even started. The always-classy New York Post looked sillier than usual, not just because of the content of this senseless cover featuring Shane Victorino in a cheerleader’s skirt, but because the Photoshop work was so poor that it was subject to national ridicule.

Shea may not be familiar with the New York Post, as it is primarily distributed in New York, where, I remind you, he is not from.

Paul and I became friends in 2003. The idea of IBD was conceived (a word I don’t usually used in describing my relationship with Paul) not long after we first presented a concurrent session together at an NAI National Workshop in Reno, Nevada. It wasn’t long after becoming friends that we discovered our shared passion for baseball, along with other common emotional issues: the need for hot wings, obsessive compulsive disorders, and great taste in women.

As anyone who knows us or who has ever visited this site knows, Paul is a fair-weather Philadelphia Phillies fan and I am a die-hard New York Yankees fan. Up until this point there have been few issues between us (besides one embarrassing water-spewing incident in a restaurant, which I still maintain was more Russ Dickerson’s fault than mine), especially in relation to sports. For the non-baseball types (approximately 99.9999% of our readers) who are still actually reading this post, the Phillies are in the National League and the Yankees are in the American League. The only way these two teams can meet is in interleague play during the regular season (which happens every year) or in the World Series (which last happened in 1950).

This season was different. From the very beginning the collision course of our teams seemed possible but not probable. But due to the progressive management of the Phillies and the king-sized checkbook of the Yankees, the two best teams in MLB (Major League Baseball) made it to the World Series. At some point you have to know where to draw the line. Last night, with the start of the 105th World Series, this all changed. (Phillies lead 1-0.)

I give you this background information to tell you that over the next week to ten days life as you know it on IBD may not be normal (not that many would describe it as normal in the first place). Posts that were scheduled to be posted have been preempted. You can expect random posts, snarky comments, and overly superstitious pieces of writing as to not jinx our teams. As a Yankee fan I have become accustomed to a winning tradition and feel that I can handle the ups and downs of the series. Phillies fans have faced years of frustration (despite a current respite and stint as the current World Champions) and fulfilled themselves with bread, steak, and cheese wiz. Since the long-term effects of cheese wiz is still not known, I’m not sure how Paul will respond.

So how does this affect you? Not greatly, really. Just hang in there as one of our obsessions extends into this forum and be pleased that it is not pictures of us eating hot wings at some sort of chicken convention.

For those who came here today hoping for something more than baseball banter, here’s a throwback to an earlier post, Mini Me: Web-based Photo Manipulation Software (mildly baseball related) that may be of interest to you. If you haven’t played with TiltShiftMaker.com check it out. If this post has left you for a hankering for a real throwback, here is a video with some clips from the last time the Phils and Yanks met in the World Series (1950, Yankees win 4-0).

Go Yankees!

Yes, we’re hard on Comic Sans here at IBD. In fact, a month or two ago, I wrote that using it makes a designer look like a hack. So rather than kick a typeface when it’s down, I thought we’d give it its due. The above video, called “Font Conference,” presents Comic Sans in a new light.

Regarding my own interest in this video, there are two possibilities (perhaps not mutually exclusive):

1. It’s a funny way to anthropomorphize some of the common typefaces we’ve all come to know and recognize.

2. I am a bigger nerd than I thought I was. I am aware as I watch it that I am laughing out loud at jokes about typefaces, but I can’t help myself.

Regardless, there are a number of funny, quotable lines (“Pencil, telephone, hourglass! Diamonds, candle, candle, flag!”), but the top honor, in my opinion, goes to when the font Ransom, holding Courier and Curlz MT hostage, demands placement in a variety of media, including Microsoft Works. Times New Roman responds, “You’re insane. Nobody uses Microsoft Works!”

I own too many t-shirts. Recently I have been introduced to a few favorite t-shirts that are produced by American Apparel. One is a Phish concert shirt, one is from Hatch Show Print and the third is a custom 17 shirt that my wife had made for me (long story, Star Wars related, and by me typing that I just realized how lame I am). As with many of my posts, you may already be wondering where I am going with this, but hang in there. American Apparel shirts are great, and in the interest of not boring you with details of the quality of craftsmanship, softness, and fit, I will move on. If you are geek like me, they make one of the coolest t-shirts around but more on this in a minute.

American Apparel had defined itself by its products and its image. A huge part of the American Apparel image is conveyed through the typeface Helvetica. As with many of our posts, you may be thinking here we go again (Shea + Paul heart Helvetica). American Apparel’s use of Helvetica may be more tongue-in-cheek than steeped in typographic tradition.

I recently came across one of their retail stores, and due to my compulsive need for another t-shirt, I took the opportunity to check out the store. I learned two things, that I am detached from mainstream fashion community that shops at American Apparel (no surprise) and why they use Helvetica. First things first, the majority of the clothing that they sell in the store is either really cool or makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. It is a strange juxtaposition, I know. T-shirts are great, tricot men’s swim brief, awkward; Seersucker Robert Kennedy Shorts are awesome, Shiny Suspender Swimsuit, bizarre; Calf-high Memphis Socks are sweet, Acid Wash Cotton Spandex Leggings, downright freaky.

With such an eclectic collection of clothing, featuring wild colors, styles and fabrics, Helvetica is the perfect typeface to use for their image. When you want the focus to be on the product and want something that is simple and easy to read, Helvetica is a great choice. I’m not sure that’s why they chose it, though. Helvetica, along with the suggestive images that they use in advertising, is another cross of the classic and contemporary that creates an interesting interaction.

This rebellious combination could reveal the reason behind their choice of Helvetica. This is remarkably similar to my rebellious combination of Lipitor and gravy. Much like many pieces of their clothing collection, I find their advertisements beautifully strange. So beautifully strange that I hope my daughters never shop there unless it is, of course, for a t-shirt. The consentient use of Helvetica throughout the store and catalog is well thought out and purposeful. Regardless of their reason for choosing the typeface they are using it well.

Okay, back to the “one of the coolest t-shirts around” that I alluded to earlier. It is the best of both worlds—an American Apparel t-shirt featuring the all of the letterforms of the typeface Helvetica. They can be viewed here. I told you it was cool. Check it out, you can order a shirt with any letter for which you have an affinity. “G” for me (again Star Wars related, still lame). It is advertised as “the softest, smoothest, best-looking T-shirt available anywhere with Helvetica writing.” Who can argue with that?

I have another t-shirt post coming soon featuring “designer-type” (pun intended) t-shirts just in time for Christmas.

Okay, so we rarely use this site to plug things like the NAI National Workshop (register online at www.interpnet.com/workshop!) or our book (available at www.naimembers.com/store!). So to keep the appearance of serious bloggers rather than shameless shills, we plug the NAI National Workshop in the guise of this wacky list of 10 reasons to go to Hartford! (Note: Ranked 1-10 to avoid infringing on David Letterman’s intellectual property.)

The NAI National Workshop is always a great time. This year’s event, November 17-21, in Hartford, Connecticut, promises to be no exception. Join Shea and me there because:

1. You will be amazed by Shea’s collection of sweater vests. Come to the awards banquet and he’ll blow your mind with a bow-tie tying demonstration.
2. Hartford is home to at least one instance of cool graphic design. As noted by Friend of IBD Chris Trebon, the logo for the now-defunct Hartford Whalers hockey team is among the coolest in sports history. The Whalers also featured one of the best team songs ever, Brass Bonanza.
3. Shea and I will speak in fake New England accents for the entire week, including during our concurrent session and all other official functions. It won’t get old at all. We promise.
4. Hartford is the birthplace of Benedict Arnold, P.T. Barnum, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader, Meg Ryan, and Noah Webster. Maybe we can get some living history interpreters to portray all of those people having dinner together. (Meg Ryan’s not been busy recently; maybe she can come as herself.)
5. Our wives and children will not be joining us this year, so we’ll stay up and party as late as 10:30 some nights. We encourage you to join us.
6. Sam Ham will be a keynote speaker, and Sam is hilarious. See our post on Sam from back in May.
7. Since only one of our teams (the Phillies or the Yankees) can win the World Series this year, only one of us will be completely insufferable. Possibly neither of us, depending on how it works out.
8. Shea and I will present a one-hour “Interpretation By Design” concurrent session Wednesday, November 18, at 10:45 a.m. We guarantee* total satisfaction** with the session or NAI will refund your workshop fee*** and all of your travel expenses****. (See disclaimers below.)
9. Hartford’s Bulkeley Bridge, built in 1905, is the largest stone arch bridge in the world, according to Wilson H. Faude and Joan W. Friedland, authors of Connecticut Firsts.
10. We’ll be posting articles to this site daily during the workshop, so if we write something you don’t like, you can find us and yell, “Hey nerds, you stink!” in person.

See you in Hartford!

* In the sense of “hope for”
** In a manner of speaking
*** Not really
****Definitely not.