Recent Toots

Thanks to those jokers at @Syracuse_First, I’m feeling the need to put something new in this space, rather than having it be the neglected area that it is. I decided to take some inspiration from Anna at Door Sixteen and do a little review of some recent tweets.

- Popeye butt.

- I wondered what kind of dough recipe would be closest to that used in Harrison’s poppyseed rolls. I received no response. Do you know? I would be eternally grateful.

- I learned a new word: MOULAGE. Moulage is the application of fake wounds and injuries for emergency response, trauma, and combat training drills. Now you know!

- I finished watching the final season of Friday Night Lights. Feeling sad and bereft without my dramatized depictions of small-town Texas football.

- This is one of the sillier things I’ve ever had lodged in my head.

- I want people to make their own Strange TV Perspective Head photos!

- “Nothing finer than warm little buttock-like buns.”

Happy Birthday to Me!

Noblework Media is one!

I had been doing freelance work off and on for many years, but it was one year ago today that I registered a domain name and formalized things so that Noblework Media was an actual business entity.

I had some big plans about creating a little “party favor” for everyone who has supported me over the past year, but guess what? I’ve been way too busy for that. I think that’s a good thing though.

So, instead, I just want to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who has helped out! If you’ve tweeted, friended, shared, liked, talked about, referred, or HIRED Noblework Media, THANK YOU!

Year #2 is looking promising, indeed.

For the love of pie…

I recently designed a logo for Sunny Hernandez and her pie venture, For Your Pies Only. Now, I know Sunny is a nice person, having met her previously and reading her on Twitter all the time. But, there is always that lingering thought in a designer’s mind: “what if I don’t like the product I’m designing for???” I decided that I needed to be true to my morals and the code of decency that I run my business by. I needed to test Sunny’s product to make sure it met my high standards. That is my duty to you, the consumer public.

Sunny dropped off two pies at my house. I shot her a tough, discerning look and said “Listen lady, these pies had better be good. And I might need about four or five more to truly feel that I am testing a fair sample. GET ON IT!” She ran trembling from the house. I looked at what she had left for me and found a chicken pot pie and a rhubarb custard pie. They LOOKED good, but one can never tell these days…

We invited some friends over to have a pie dinner to test Sunny’s wares. Brian (aka CNY’s own Ron Swanson) and Stephanie and their son Charlie joined us for a full inspection of each pie. First up was the chicken pot pie. Well, ok. So, this was pretty much everything we ever wanted in chicken pot pie. Full of meat and vegetables, not at all soupy like some can be. The crust was buttery and flaky and light and it was perfectly seasoned. Below, you can see Joe and Brian demolishing the last piece in the pan and Brian basking in the glow of the golden crust. We each had multiple slices. The toddlers didn’t particularly care for it, but that should have no bearing on the verdict as we are firmly in the “if it isn’t coated in peanut butter and ice cream and topped with apple slices, I don’t like it” phase. We told them it was PIE, but they were suspicious of “pie” featuring non-sweet ingredients.

Cecilia was pleased enough with our dessert pie, rhubarb custard, to have a few forkfuls though. The crumb topping and tart rhubarb were a big hit with the adult members of our testing crew. Rhubarb is one of my favorite pies and this was an excellent version. And it’s not only a dessert, but a divine breakfast option!

The verdict from our testing panel? Sunny makes AMAZING pies and should be selling them up and down the East Coast. I feel confident that I contributed design to a worthy cause.

Two Faces of Macaroni

Two examples of pasta boxes, the first designed by Erik Johansson, a student of Sweden: “The assignment was to design a low-price pasta brand. I chose to keep it one color only and printed on unbleached cardboard, to keep costs down.”

The other? A recent design that has been appearing in Wegmans, which judging by Mr. Johansson’s comments and the number of typefaces and colors used, must be more expensive. Seriously Wegmans? PARTY?