Certain sites, most notably LJ and Facebook, have started appearing very wrong for me lately. At first I thought it was just a browser issue, since I'm mostly using Chrome these days, but I've tried Firefox and Safari and it seems to be happening some with them as well.  It looks like maybe some sort of CSS issue to me, but I can't imagine what or why or how to fix it.  Anyone have any ideas?  Thanks!

ETA: I cleared the cache in Chrome and that seems to have fixed some of the problems... and I think some of the problem might be one particular facebook app I was trying to use, since that still seems to be broken on all browsers, and most other things are ok.
( screenshots here )

I happened to be on Mass Ave around Porter yesterday, and stumbled across Capone Foods, a fresh pasta etc store, not unlike Dave's Fresh Pasta. They had some different options from Dave's, though, so I bought a container of the Plum Tomato with Porcini sauce to try.

I licked the pot after I was done. Not just the plate... the pot.

So, yeah, consider this a recommendation. They've got lots of pasta (including shaped pastas, as well as flat and ravioli) and sauces, a bunch of frozen entrées that sound good (I obviously can't try the duck and squash lasagna, but I hope someone does!), useful charts and signage that suggest good pasta/sauce pairing, and very friendly and helpful staff. In addition to the Mass Ave location, they have another store in Union Square, where the production is done, so the Mass Ave one only has pre-packaged amounts whereas Union Sq is more flexible.

muffyjo suggested I write something for The Margaret Ghost blog about the process of updating the art for the new production -- I'm posting it here as well for your convenience.

When I first designed the art for Theatre@First’s 2006 production of The Margaret Ghost, we were still a very young theatre company, and all of our materials were photocopied at someone’s office. All of our promotional art at the time had to be in black and white, to copy clearly. We’ve since graduated to printing in color, so I welcomed the chance to revisit the design and expand on it for this new production.

For the 2006 materials, the director and I had long talks about the play. We decided that the important things to emphasize were the humanity of the piece, including the fact that Margaret was a real woman, and her writing, which was such an important facet of her self-expression. We went through a number of rounds of possible fonts and quills, as you can see in the image on the side, before settling on the font Archive Petite Script, which brings to mind weathered writing from a quill pen, and a simple and less literal calligraphic flourish of a quill, positioned as if writing the title.


When it came time to update the art, I wanted to keep some consistency with the original, but add more depth and texture. To add to the sense of history, I decided to keep to literal physical objects. I looked through dozens of stock art photos of pens before finding a pen and ink set that grabbed me -- something utilitarian but with a sense of personality, and even a dash of femininity. We wanted to show a picure of the real-life Margaret, so I found an antique frame image to put it in, as if it were a miniature sitting on a desk.

For the background, I had hoped to find a sample of Margaret’s own writing to scan and use as a texture. When that failed, I took an excerpt from one of her books and typeset it in a vintage handwriting font, blurred it enough to not be distracting, and added some vintage paper behind it.

I decided to use a dark sepia brown for the type, and toned the pen set and frame to a dark bronze to match and create a more unified whole.


And there you have it! Same play, same message, but a very different look.

--Gilly Rosenthol, RosentholDesign.com

Yesterday, I was pleased to see that the bruises on my legs from banging into the centerboard as I switched sides were finally fading (and that I seem to be learning to get over without acquiring any more), especially since I have a friend's wedding coming up this weekend and I'd like to look good for it.

This morning, I notice that after my sailing class last night, the inside of my upper arms (which show much more than my legs do in the dress for the wedding) are covered in dozens of small bruises.

Ah well. Badges of honor.

So, after you get your solo rating at CBI, you're allowed to take out a Mercury alone on light-wind days. The next big step is to pass the Helmsman test, showing that you can handle the boat competently in higher wind, after which you are allowed out under most conditions, and can bring a passenger and even give instruction. To that end, they have an on-the-water Mainsail class, which basically mimics the Helmsman test -- a class of ten people go out on the water and sail a path around 2 or 3 buoys, tacking and jibing on the way. The instructor is out in a motorboat following you, yelling corrections, and rescuing you if you capsize (as a number seem to do in each class.)

The first time I tried the class, I failing to even get out to the course; I tried to tack on my way out there, stalled out, and got blown onto a little island that's between the docks and the main river body. I remembered my lessons and pulled up my centerboard, took off my rudder, took my mainsail halfway down, and waited to be rescued. They towed me back in, upon which I gamely set out again. This time I got out into the river but discovered that one of my main sheet (the rope that controls the lateral motion of the sail) had gotten messed up somehow. I tried to get into a position that would let me stay still enough to mess with it, but ended up getting blown onto the shore. I decided that running aground twice was probably a sign, and went out for a sail with someone else instead.

The second time I signed up for the class was for the last day of my 30-day membership. I thought about going out earlier that afternoon, but decided to wait and save my energy for the class. At the last minute, it got cancelled (and all sailing shut down) on account of thunderstorms.

(Luckily, their mission is "Committed to the advancement of Sailing for All by minimizing economic and physical obstacles to the sport of sailing", so they were really great about making financial arrangements so that I could afford a full year membership. Yay!)

The third time I tried the class, I made it out on the water before they had laid the course out, and spent a chunk of time wandering up and down river trying to find it. Once I eventually did find it, I had trouble trying to figure out which direction I was supposed to go around it, and then more trouble trying to find a course that would let me get to the buoys instead of just sailing to the wind, the way I usually do. So I spent pretty much the entire class confused and frustrated and just trying to get anywhere near the right place or on the right path (although at least sailing competently while I did so.)

(By the way, I know I'm not explaining a whole lot of the sailing terms in these posts. I'm not sure how much the details matter, whether it's confusing to non-sailors without explanation or if you get enough of the gist for it to be ok. So if you have particular questions, or want more explanation overall, let me know and I'll try to accomodate.)

That was Sunday May 16. I've gone out solo twice since then, and gotten some more practice in setting a course and trying to follow it, and I felt really ready for the class last night.

Ha.

I did manage to find the course this time, but the wind was much higher than I've gone out in solo before, and it was a *lot* harder to manage the boat. It was heeling dangerously while close-hauled, so I had to keep heading up and easing the sails to try to get it flatter, but then I'd veer off course, or the sail would get too far out, or I'd try to tack and end up in irons. And sometimes, especially going downwind, the tiller was stiff enough that I just could not get it to turn, no matter how I tried to muscle it around (hence the bruises). I was very glad that I had finally decided to invest in a pair of sailing gloves before I went out this time; I suspect my hands would be pretty torn up without them. I ended up in accidental jibes once or twice, and was pretty sure I was going to go over more than once, but managed to get across the boat and straighten it out quickly enough to stay afloat.

In the end, at least I was more on the course than I've been before, and I definitely understood how to tack back and forth to get to the buoy better than the last time, even if I had a hard time actually doing it sometimes. And given that at least two people capsized and one ran into a duck boat -- and that it was really crowded out there, so I was also dodging other novice sailors at any given point -- I have to say, I did ok over all. (And hey, once the instructor said "Nice tack!" after a particularly smooth move. So I'm getting something right, at least now and then.)

Clearly I'm not as ready for the Helmsman test as I had hoped, but that's ok. I'm planning to go out on some lighter-wind days and ask the dock staff if they'll lay out a practice course for me, so I can get more experience sailing around the course without having to fight as much wind (and other boats); breaking things down like that always helps me a lot. (And is part of why I've had trouble learning to drive, really -- there's only so much you can learn in a parking lot, and it's hard for me to deal with both learning to operate a vehicle at speed, and also dealing with other traffic, and navigation, and all that.)

And if you see my arms some time soon -- no, I haven't suddenly taken up heroin. It's another addiction entirely.

In addition to the loud thumpy construction in the apartment above me that's been going on for a month now, they've just started doing construction work on the sidewalks just outside. I feel like the peasant who just brought the pig inside. Mental note: add earplugs to shopping list.

FYI, I've registered RosentholDesign.com and put up a web page with some samples of my work and testimonials from satisfied customers. So if you know of anyone who's looking to have some design work done, please feel free to point them there, or tell them to email gilly@RosentholDesign.com. Thanks!

(OK, link now fixed. Also, I had temporarily broken the lightbox feature; if you click on any of the images, a larger or expanded version should pop up. You can scroll through all the pictures on a page by either hitting "p" and "n" for "previous" and "next", or else just clicking on the right and left sides of the image. You can hit escape or click on the "close" link to get out of that.)

If you like Groupon, BuyWithMe, Coupme, etc, etc... there's a new one coming to Boston, called Adealio.

It's not actually open yet -- as of a few minutes ago they had 737 of the 2,000 sign-ups needed, but I'm sure they'll get them. But if you sign up now, you get $5 in your account. And if you sign upthrough me (and eventually buy something), I get $10 in mine.

A book is an inherently satisfying object to hold in your hands, at least to me.  But to be holding a book that I actually designed myself -- well, believe it or not, it's actually even more exciting than holding one that I was published in.  (Of course, they misspelled my name that time; at least this time, I can make sure it's right!)

This is my first book, and it's a bound copy of the script for The Margaret Ghost, so the fact that it's a T@F project makes it even more special.  The ever-patient lillibet and I have spent a more hours than I care to count going over and over and over it, eleven rounds of revisions at last count, but I think it's really paid off -- it looks, well, professional!  I wish I could do more books, but sadly, breaking into publishing is really tough.  Still, having a sample to show off is a good start.

This is just the sample copy, the test pancake so to speak, so I have a few tweaks to make, but by the time the show rolls around, if not before, we should have copies for sale.  I can't wait for everyone to see them!  And the contents are pretty great, too; in addition to the script, the book contains an introduction and postscript by lillibet , and a paper by the playwright.  I think we're planning to sell them for $15, so bring money to the show! :)  And we'll probably also be selling them directly through lulu.com, although that will add some shipping costs.

I'm working on building up a freelance design business, and I'm starting to think it would be a Good Thing to have my own domain for it.  The nice thing about having an unusual name (or at least an unusually spelled one) is the most of the variations I might want are available; I'm thinking I'll probably go with rosenthol-design.com.  (Although if you have strong opinions against the hyphen or have another brilliant idea, now's the time to let me know.)

What I want:
my own domain name
an email address at that domain
a place to put up a small web site on that domain

Of course, I'm not making a ton of money at this yet, so I really want to keep it cheap.  Any opinions on the cheapest place to register a domain and/or get web hosting?  Or warnings against places I should stay away from?  Thanks!

Also, if you know anyone who needs print design done -- wedding invites or programs, birth announcements, business cards, logos, you name it -- point them my way!  My portfolio is currently at rosenthol.carbonmade.com.  Thanks!

Since my first solo sail last Monday, I went out a few more times with more experienced people (mostly on a slightly larger boat, but once on a Mercury), and got to take the tiller for a while on all of them.  I learned that a lot of the things I had been feeling badly about doing wrong my first time out were probably not wrong at all.  Like when I thought I couldn't find the wind... there probably just wasn't really any at that moment.  So I'm learning how to look at the water and see what the wind is doing, and see what's coming my way, and just wait and be prepared for it.  It's amazing how much information is there that I've never seen before -- slightly darker shadows to ripples, the patterns to the scatter of light on the surface, subtle lines of lighter and darker water, all with something to tell me.

(Also, I ran into miss_chance last Thursday and was chatting with her about my sailing experiences, and how hard I was being on myself about that first sail, when I realized that it had been only a week and a day from my first time there, learning to rig a boat and going out for the first time on a Mercury, to my first solo sail.  And I had only gone out twice more with other people first.  Geez, and I couldn't do it all myself perfectly?  What a slacker!)

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I checked the web site and saw that the green flag was up, meaning the wind was light enough for beginners, so I thought I'd give it another shot.  And it was *way* better than my first time!  I found a way of sitting and handling the tiller extension and sheet that was a lot more natural and comfortable, and I made some nice clean tacks and caught some nice wind and had some great moments of skimming along on a close haul.  Fun!  After about 20 minutes the wind started picking up and getting gustier, and I looked over at the dock house and saw the red flag had come up, so I went back in.  Had one scary jibe coming back where I forgot to change sides first and almost capsized, but I managed to get it back under control.

I put in my card for an instructional sail and got to go out again with two other people in a keel Mercury (as opposed to the centerboard ones I'm sailing on my own), and we were out for almost two hours, so I got a bunch more time at the tiller.  The woman who took us out said I did really well, and she didn't have to correct me very much, and I got to practice jibing more with her, so that was good.

I'm signed up for a mainsail class Sunday morning, where they'll take a small group of us out on the water and run us through drills, so I'll get more practice time with feedback.  When I signed up for it going in yesterday I was unsure if I was ready, but by the end of my time on the water, I was feeling a lot more confident about it.  After all, it's a class -- if I were doing everything perfectly already, I wouldn't need it, right?  So as long as I have the basics more or less, it should be a great opportunity to learn. 

Sadly, my cheap-o 30-day membership expires May 4, and I can't really afford the full membership.  I'm planning to go talk to them and see if there's any way I can barter design services (although I thought I'd wait a little so they can see how often I go and how serious I am about this), but we'll see.  Meanwhile, if you're looking for me anywhere between 1pm and sunset, I'm probably out on the water.