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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Amusing stuff’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

today: ‘If you really hate someone… ‘

Randall Munroe of the web comic xkcd today covers the bane of existence for all type geeks: Randall was all over the death of Steve Jobs and the great East Coast earthquake, as well. xkcd updates three times a week. Find the strip’s home page here.

Feb. 8: World’s largest punctuation? (3)

Did you see the front of today’s Cincinnati Enquirer? I can’t say for certain. But I’m pretty sure this is supposed to be a single open-quote mark. Click for a larger view: The topic is the somewhat odd State of the State address by Ohio governor John Kasich Tuesday. The top of the story by staffer Paul E. Kostyu: Non-bluetongue [...]

Feb. 8: Cartoon characters invade page one in Hartford, Conn.

It’s rather low on the page. But there is an amazing assortment of cartoon characters on page one of today’s Hartford Courant. The story, of course, is a new advertising campaign by MetLife Insurance — the first commercial of which you may have seen during the Super Bowl. Here’s a closer look at the illustration, which is presumably a handout [...]

Feb. 7: New use for Twitter: Pleading for mercy from Bostonians (1)

You just have to feel sorry for Nestlé tonight. Earlier today, the Associated Press reports, thousands of Butterfinger candy bars — 900 lbs. of them — were dumped in Copley Square in Boston. With a giant note: Photo: Pawngo.com — Wes Welker is a receiver for the New England Patriots. He led the league in receptions this year. But he [...]

Feb. 5: Roman numerals are all Greek to them (1)

Check out the top of the “special souvenir edition” inside today’s Republican of Springfield, Mass. Yeah, that’s wrong. The correct title of today’s game is Super Bowl XLVI. Which means 46. Now, don’t misunderstand me. I think the use of Roman numerals for these games is pretty stupid. I’m ready to push for dropping that convention. But until the NFL [...]

Feb. 4: Save yourself some time Sunday

Don’t bother to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow night. The New York Giants’ official web site has already announced the Giants won. Or, at least, it did. Until someone apparently realized they had hit a wrong button and they took the page down. Read the whole story at Mashable. Thanks to David Sheets for tweeting about this tonight. — Back [...]

Feb. 4: All you need to know about Sunday’s Super Bowl game (2)

Here’s all you need to know about Sunday’s Super Bowl game, courtesy of Next Media Animation, that Hong Kong-based outlet that produces those outrageous 3D-animation videos of news events. They’ve outdone themselves this time. My favorite part: The way Eli Manning‘s ambulance bumps as he drives over the Packers, Falcons and 49ers. While you’re at it, check out NMA’s take [...]

Feb. 3: Doonesbury takes on QR codes

Doonesbury took on QR codes Thursday: Doonesbury of course, is by Garry Trudeau. Find the strip’s online home here. Previous mentions of Doonesbury here in the blog: Sept. 17, 2008: “You’re being offered a buyout. You’re one of the lucky ones.” March 2, 2009: “About to scratch myself, stand by.” June 29, 2009: “No, thanks. I hear they’re dying.” Jan. [...]

Feb. 3: Why Adidas needs a copy editor

Sporting goods manufacturer Adidas is now selling licensed T-shirts featuring Muppet characters. Including Fozzie the stand-up comedian bear. One little problem, though: They misspelled “Fozzie”: Somebody could have used a copy editor. Thanks to Chris Olds of Beckett media for retweeting this last weekend. — You know who else needs a copy editor? Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in [...]

Feb. 3: Cool idea alert: Printable Valentine’s Day cards

Chris Morris of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells us about his latest project: I figured my kids didn’t want to hand out Spongebob and Buzz Lightyear store-bought cards. So I drew up 30 quirky little cards and we’re making them available online as PDFs. Kids can download and print and cut out to their heart’s content. Chris drew six cards [...]

Feb. 2: USA Today offers do-it-yourself paper figures of Tom Brady and Eli Manning

USA Today this week offered up do-it-yourself paper action figures of Super Bowl quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning. The figures are posted on USA Today‘s web site. Readers click to download PDF files of each player. There are instructions and even a video that shows how to assemble each player. The faces are drawn by USA Today‘s Sam Ward. [...]

Feb. 2: That premature Donald Trump + Newt Gingrich story? The NY Post has been there and done that. (2)

By now, you’ve probably seen this: A number of outlets today posted a story about inside sources telling them that Donald Trump planned to endorse Newt Gingrich as the Republican candidate for president. A little later, however, the story took a 180-degree turn. It’s Mitt Romney Trump intends to endorse, the story said. As of this afternoon, the Fox News [...]

Feb. 2: For your consideration… (3)

How does one illustrate the merger between United and Continental air lines? By showing them join the “Mile-High Club,” of course. I’m not sure I would have had the guts to pitch that concept. Kudos to Bloomberg Businessweek. I think.

Feb. 1: Why ‘American Idol’ needs a copy editor (3)

The TV show American Idol needs a copy editor to check over the spelling in its opening titles. It’s a simple typo of the word “audition.” But if you’re going to put that screen in front of 22 million viewers, you can probably afford to hire someone to proofread it first. Thanks to Chris Morris of the Cleveland Plain Dealer [...]

Jan. 31: Why CNN needs a copy editor. Or, perhaps, a graphics editor. (3)

CNN needs a copy editor. Or, perhaps, a graphics editor. Or, hell, just someone who knows how to read a Rand McNally atlas… That ain’t it. London is a good 100 miles to the southwest of that dot. That map was shown on the international edition of CNN Sunday night, according to the Daily Mirror. The Mirror‘s Frances Leate reports: [...]

Jan. 30: Why Costa Cruises needs a copy editor… and a new marketing agency

Will Alford — product design chief of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — tells us today: I received a brochure in the mail last week from American Express about cruise deals. Oh, and what a brochure it is… First of all, there’s a misspelled word in the headline. That should be “yourself.” Secondly — and more importantly — one of the three [...]

Jan. 29: Why video gamemaker Capcom needs a copy editor

Capcom — makers of the popular Resident Evil line of computer games — needs a copy editor to check the title of its products before printing up its boxes. The word they were looking for, of course, is Revelations. That’s was posted Thursday via Twitter by Dan Ackerman, senior editor at CNET. Thanks to Luke Morris of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette [...]

Jan. 28: Your weekend belly laugh

The San Francisco Chronicle‘s Don Asmussen just keeps getting funnier and funnier. Brilliant stuff. Find Don’s online comic archive here. Previous times I’ve blogged about Don’s work: Various headlines Katy Perry and Sesame Street Chilean miners and a new logo for al-Qaeda The Tucson shootings Bankruptcy of Borders bookstores Charlie Sheen‘s nutty behavior The Osama bin Laden story Fake pictures [...]

Jan. 28: Why the West Palm Beach police department needs a copy editor (1)

The police department of West Palm Beach, Fla. — or, at least, the folks who make their signs — needs a copy editor who knows how to spell the word “official.” That picture was posted Friday morning by the Palm Beach Post. The sign is located in front of the department on Rosemary Ave in West Palm, the Post reports: [...]

Jan. 27: Geekazoid Friday: Watch this cute teacher build her own Tardis

It’s been a while since I put up a Geekazoid Friday post. So I thought I’d reward myself by showing you this one. This is a British — obviously — German teacher who posts videos on YouTube under the name Sillysparrowness. Like a lot of folks from the U.K., she’s a fan of the longrunning science fiction TV show Doctor [...]

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