Los Angeles, Alcatraz, Toronto

Banksy’s been busy of late… more here.

Toulouse, Paris, Rome…

Some lovely work in the public sphere by Zilda; found here.

(all over the world, tonight)

I’ve been hearing from folks around the globe about their promotion of and preparations re: contributing to Mother Tongue, INDIGO’s cross-cultural platform for exchange regarding original languages and the significant role these play in how we understand ourselves and others.

Two days ago, I was happy to be able to give a half-hour introduction regarding Mother Tongue (via a Skype Q&A) to a group of 80 or so graphic design students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, ARTESIS Hogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium. Thanks to longtime friend and design colleague Frank Andries for this opportunity… I very much look forward to what these students will submit (participating in Mother Tongue forms a part of their coursework this semester).

I’d encourage anyone reading this post to consider making your own contribution to the Mother Tongue exchange. Submission deadline is 1 December 2010…

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equinox late 14c., from O.Fr. equinoce (12c.) or directly from M.L. equinoxium “equality of night (and day),” from L. aequinoctium “the equinoxes,” from aequus “equal” (see equal) + nox (gen. noctis) “night.” The O.E. translation was efnniht. Related: Equinoctial.

Seasonal change is definitely in the air (together with tens and tens of thousands of Canada geese massing for migration—as I noted this morning en route to work), on this special twice-a-year day on which the day’s minutes of daylight equal the minutes of darkness everywhere on our wee planet.

Autumnal up here in the North, Vernal down under… regardless, best equinoctial wishes to dear friends and colleagues far and near!

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Correctly English in Hundred Days by Min Hou and Lin Youtong (eds.), Shanghai: English Translation Advancement Society, Correctly English Society, 1934… ‘This book is prepared for the Chinese young man who wishes to served for the foreign firms. It divided nealy hundred and ninety pages. It contains full of ordinary speak and write language. This book is clearly, easily, to the Chinese young man or scholar. If it is quite understood, that will be satisfaction.”

(Thanks to Ada Nordkvist for the card featuring this book cover that arrived in the mail today… with a thoughtful followup note re: an interview I had with her last week).

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Many folks (myself included) have been remembering Jimi Hendrix over the past days—rock’s all-time greatest electric guitarist passed on 40 years ago at the tender age of 27. I vividly recall the first Hendrix song I ever heard (in 1968, outside a record store in Basel, Switzerland while waiting to change streetcars en route to school)… All Along the Watchtower from the Electric Ladyland album.

Only the young die good.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congratulations are in order for my friend Ronald Shakespear, who makes not infrequent appearances here on this blog—he’s just hit 69! (Not to worry, old man… soixante-neuf is a fine number indeed).

Painting by Andrew Lewis… with some help from Michelangelo.

Milan, Italy

The results of this year’s Good50x70 “Social Communication Project” have been posted; 210 posters (including the samples shown above) can now be viewed in online galleries (sorry, link broken), and will go on exhibit in mid-October in downtown Milano, followed by a tour to Istanbul.

I’ve posted about Good50x70 outcomes several times in previous years…

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Cartoon by Bruce Mckinnon for the Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, Canada); thanks to friend Keith Leinweber for the link.

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As a child, I was raised and imbued with fundamental Christianity (which I’m more than a little ashamed to admit at times like this—though thankfully my parents’ and their community’s focus was primarily on love, compassion, tolerance, and nonviolence). The fanatical antics of Floridian pastor Terry Jones are right up there with the “crusade(r) mentality” of Christendom that has long since driven me to discard all but the most basic tenets of faith.