Someone has made a single-serving site called No Hello explaining how you should not say Hello when texting.

As someone who runs a business relies on text messages, Please, just ask your question!

I found this story rather interesting. In the 80s, gangs of vandals were paid by an upholstery company to slash the seats on BART (San Francisco's rapid transit). The vandals had signature slashes so the company knew who to pay. This went on for years, with the contract price growing every year.

The little-told story about the BART seat-slashing gang that was part of an upholstery racket

Here’s the outlandish story of how a BART contractor was arrested on felony vandalism and…

SFGATEDianne de Guzman

I love random facts. For instance:

Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, and Gene Hackman were roommates while trying to make it as actors.

Martin Scorsese and Robbie Robertson were also roommates — after they'd found success. They just liked each other.

The Nike Swoosh logo was created by a student. She was paid $35 for her work.

John Cazale was only in five feature films: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Conversation. Every one of them was nominated for best picture.

In some tropical countries, people put coasters on top of their drinks to prevent wall-climbing lizards from pooping in them from ceiling.

The shark in Jaws was named Bruce. It was named after Spielberg's lawyer.

There is no such thing as a Gin Martini. There is a Martini, which is made with gin, and a Vodka Martini, which isn't.

Those random facts are all off the top of my head. Many more random facts can be found with The Amazing Fact Generator.

"Over almost a decade, Guillaume Simoneau has documented high school students from Lévis, Quebec, on graduation night, resulting in a series of formally posed portraits that belie the emotional and alcohol-fuelled chaos of the actual “bush party” event."

More on Simoneau's site.

I first saw Guillaume Simoneau's work yesterday: Untitled (Kanazawa 02), Ishikawa prefecture, Japan at the Bulger Gallery in Toronto. Stunning piece, which you can see below.

Yesterday, after injuring my toe yet again, I hobbled over to the exhibit, People, Places, Things — Part II at the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto. It was recommended to me by David Liss and it was great. There's a wonderful variety of work. Well worth a visit.

Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has a company called Telepathic Instruments and they've just announced The Orchid, a chord generator, synth, and looper.

Signup at that link to get info on pricing and when it drops. More information at *Wallpaper and Patreon.

Volume is crowdfunding a book about Type Archive: Type Archived: "The definitive account of the legendary Type Archive provides a stunning visual tour of traditional typefounding, tracing the origins of typography and the printed word."

Looks grand.

As usual, two-time Pulitzer winner Nicholas Kristof's Annual Gift Guide (NYT gift link) has fantastic advice for how you could be spending your money this holiday season.

The segment on the Fistula Foundation was particularly heartbreaking and is where my own donation went.

2024 Holiday Impact Prize Homepage - Kristof Holiday Impact Prize

Nicholas Kristof’s 2024 Holiday Impact Prize Supporting little-known organizations working to make the world a better place. Since 2009, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has written an annual “holiday gift guide” column to bridge a philanthropic gap: readers who want to help but don’t know how, and heroic individuals…

Kristof Holiday Impact Prize

Dear Photograph is a site where people can submit photos held over their original locations and address the picture with thanks for the memories it holds. Lovely idea well executed.

Many, many more at the Dear Photograph website.

Via Naive Weekly.

I cannot vouch for this cheeky service, but the pitch is chef's kiss.

Again, my linking to it is not an endorsement... but if you do give it a shot, let me know and I'll link to the results.