Time for some media updates. I've uploaded two of my music video projects from 2005: Only Got One by Frou Frou and Life by Brightmoor. Both represent awesome collaborative efforts with my friends from the Haven... although the later definitely outranks the former in terms of production time. The Brightmoor project was planned over two months (more about this in the new case study); the other was finished in three days. Each was a joy to work on, and I hope the outcome reflects that. In other news, the Haven Nation podcast is back: Ken sits down with his new co-host Kristen to talk about criticism. Definitely worth a listen... and clocking in at just under a half hour, it's commute friendly!

In 1996, the typography master Matthew Carter designed a new font on commission for Microsoft, specifically engineered to be a clear and open layout. The Georgia typeface (along with Carter's other projects for Microsoft and Apple, including Tahoma and Verdana) was heralded as the elegant heir to the digital era, one of the first fonts specifically designed for use on a computer screen.

But as the internet boom spread like wildfire, it was Verdana who took the world by storm with its stylish readability (aka the "soft modernist successor" to Helvetica), leaving Georgia in the shadows. Yes, the san-serif font was all the rage and remains one of the best fonts to read on the screen at any size.

Meanwhile Georgia was quietly getting noticed in the early 2000s by the independent graphics world, just as fashion houses and fringe media were rummaging through vintage styles for their next big look. Unfortunately fonts created for the print world of the 19th and 20th centuries didn't transition to the screen as cleanly as Georgia. So being a standard and free font distributed by Microsoft (and Apple's eventual adoption), its popularity spread like wildfire.

In a recent article about Georgia's short history in the International Herald Tribune, Matthew Carter commented: "A few designers have mentioned that there seems to be a 'Georgia revival' going on. It seems a bit young to have died and been revived already."

Nevertheless, Georgia is finding its solid (yet quirky) place onto sites from the New York Times, The Week, and New York Magazine to Magnolia, A List Apart, Photojojo, and an endless supply of the bloggerati. The IHT article suggests: "Georgia's popularity also reflects our growing ease with computers. Improvements in screen quality have made it easier to read more sophisticated fonts online... That is why we felt ready to forsake Verdana's clarity for Georgia's quirky serifs - at least until the next newly fashionable typeface comes along."

This morning, astronaut Eileen Collins exclaimed a "perfect-ten" landing for the space shuttle Discovery as the craft touched down at Cape Canaveral in Florida. NASA and the nation drew a collective sigh of relief. The silence and static from Columbia's radios in 2003 still lingers in my memory, and I couldn't help getting choked up watching the broadcast today.

David Brown, one of the mission specialists on board the ill-fated Columbia STS-107, was an alumnus of the College of William and Mary. So it was only natural for me to want to keep my eyes glued to my alma mater's first astronaut taking on such a bold adventure. An adventure that unfortunately ended an hour too soon on a quiet morning over the Texas sky. It struck me hard, just as I remember seeing my dad, a close friend of the McAuliffe family, after the Challenger disaster back when I was in elementary school.

In 2002, David Brown shared his thoughts at William and Mary's opening ceremony for the freshman class: "As a boy I had dreamed about going into space, [but] I had completely forgotten about that until one day... Never underestimate yourself. Go after those dreams." David always knew going into space was a risky endeavor. He spoke of it often. But he reminded those starry-eyed college students four years ago that these are the risks that allow us to progress to new heights, just as pioneers have done for centuries.

Discovery and its crew brought fresh supplies and some welcomed cheer to the nearly completed International Space Station, one important step that leads us onward in our quest to the Moon, Mars and beyond. And equally important, the crew returned safely home with a graceful glide across a stretch of the Florida coast. With the spirits of heroes from Columbia and Challenger at their side, David's dream lives on in our next generation of pioneers.

You got to leave me now, you got to go alone; you got to chase a dream, one that's all your own before it slips away. When you're flying high, take my heart along; I'll be the harmony to every lonely song that you learn to play. When you're soaring through the air, I'll be your solid ground. Take every chance you dare: I'll still be there when you come back down.

I'll keep looking up, awaiting your return. My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn and I won't feel your fire. I'll be the other hand that always holds the line, connecting in between your sweet heart and mine. I'm strung out on that wire. And I'll be on the other end, to hear you when you call. Angel, you were born to fly, if you get too high, I'll catch you when you fall.

-Nickel Creek, "When You Come Back Down"

For almost six years, I have blogged on an unbelievably wide range of topics: from journal entries in Camden and the popular series on vector illustrations to my more recent music reviews and reports from around NYC. Over this time, posts have lived in several disparate blogs and on at least four different servers. And for the first time ever, I'm excited to share all 140 entries in one complete package (including an updated RSS feed, comments, and permalinks). It's taken awhile to bring my habits and discipline into alignment with my vision for the Refresh site, and I still have a few rough edges in my older posts to smooth out. But I think this new format will allow me to make even more quality posts!

Earlier this year, I started a secondary blog with remaindered links in the tradition of Airbag, Coudal and Kottke. Now I'm also pleased to share the full archives of Cool Kids Table, complete with individual posts and an RSS feed.

Many thanks to Biz Stone and the knowledge team at Blogger, SimplePie (the best RSS parser in the universe), and Kball for moral support. Next step: re-curate all the Refresh archives in what has become an ongoing renovation and realignment process.

And this is the point in the story where I panic and realize it's nearly mid-July and the summer blockbusters are zooming out the door faster than I can keep up with them. (To which Jack Sparrow dead-pans a reply: "I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.") OK wait. Let me back up.

Last weekend, several of us spent the day on the high seas... of the NY Harbor. And if a picnic isn't good enough for you, then an impromptu Michael Jackson music video will do the trick. So I'd like to offer more swashbuckling adventures for another great weekend in the city. It's opening night at Pirates of the Caribbean with our good friends Keira, Orlando and Johnny. A swaggering crowd of me mates will be downtown to take in the action. And I will be only too delighted to plunder through the evening with you. I seem to be a bit seasick lately. Need to cut back on my nautical diet... but only after this weekend.

I'm delighted to share that the widely-acclaimed email newsletter service, Campaign Monitor, has featured my design for The Frequency on their site. This top-notch company (Switch I.T., based in Sydney) hosts my newsletters and noticed mine when they delivered it. David Greiner, the founder of Campaign Monitor emailed me: "We're in the process of putting together a Design Gallery for some of the best looking email newsletters that have been sent through our software to date... I'm a big fan of an email you sent out."

It's quite an honor to be placed in their email newsletter design gallery among greats in the industry like R.Bird, Firewheel, skinnyCorp, and Coudal Partners. These are the design firms I look up to, so I'm humbled to be featured like this!

As Josh Williams from Firewheel Design said, "if you're looking for the best solution for email campaign and list management, look no further." Campaign Monitor makes sending beautiful emails for your clients a real joy. It takes the emphasis off the technical task of managing subscribers and delivery schedules and allows you to focus on the content and design of your campaign. And with stunning and detailed reports about who opened and clicked on the email for both you and your clients, what's not to love? But you don't have to take my word for it...