#rootlessrhetoric

to do this. excited.

Rule #1: always post the rules Rule #2: answer all the questions and make 11 new ones Rule #3: tag 11 people Rule #4: tell them you tagged them Rule #5: tell the person that tagged you that you answered their questions

thank u, literalactualgarbage

1: favorite game and why

Ok this could be so many things but ill just do favorite video game because it's one i can think of pretty immediately. PAPER MARIO AND THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR. it's a gorgeous mario rpg, and it is positively fantastic. the dialogue is hilarious, the characters immediately lovable, the art mindbending, the story surprisingly engaging, the game mechanics unique, and the music is perfection. something i really love about it is that even though the style of the game is almost cutesy, there are points where it gets genuinely creepy, even to the point where i don't like to stay in certain places for too long. I highly recommend it, even if you don't like older games (it's aged exceedingly well).

2: worst book you’ve ever read go

it isn't really a bad book, but i HATED reading Cry the Beloved Country in freshman year. the style of the writing was downright onerous to get through, and though it had interesting themes, i felt little to no attachment to the characters. I couldn't finish it, and I almost always finish books assigned at school.

3: favorite shirt

atm it's this one i just got, it's super super super dark brown with little rhombus/triangle starblasts all over it. it's ultra tubular.

4: celebrity you’d most like to have lunch with

I would say chris pratt, but it would be so intimidating omg

5: worst subject in school?

chEMISTRY (mostly bc of the teacher)

6: what was your first date like?

never had one

7: most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

<SYSTEM OVERLOAD[toomanyoptions]>

8: something that scared the crap out of you as a kid

Beetlejuice (michael keaton)

9: something that still scares the crap out of you

when im in the car with someone and they suddenly accelerate to for no apparent reason

10: #1 favorite character ever

<SYSTEM OVERLOAD[toomanygoddangoptions]>

11: worst injury/illness you’ve ever had?

after i had my root canal in seventh grade, the nerve in the tooth got inflamed. it felt like there was some tiny red-hot demon pulsing inside the tooth, trying to burst its way out into the non-dental world to cause excruciating pain to everyone in sight. 

NOW: questions for the tagged (I know some of you have already been done for this but i don't know too many peeps so sry)

1. Most prized possession?

2. A person who you admire?

3. A place where you feel safe?

4. Favorite play/musical/show of any kind?

5. Something you've grown out of?

6. Favorite album?

7. A trait you value above all else?

8. Best school year?

9. A word you like, but not your favorite?

10. A place you most want to visit?

There's a dumb infographic going around that boils the serif vs. sans-serif typeface choice down to whether your text will be on paper or on a screen. bamhelps posted it on Tumblr with this comment:

The most common ding I give to RPG admins looking for a critique or review from me is the use of serif fonts in their themes. I hope this clears up any confusion as to why serif fonts are obnoxious as hell to read and will make me (and other potential applicants) want to click away from your blog without even attempting to read a thing.

Nonsense.

First of all, don't take typography advice from someone whose theme uses gray-on-gray 9px text. Look at how it renders its links (click for full size):

Seriously. That's the actual size and color, and it's ridiculous. You want to avoid having text that's "obnoxious as hell to read"? Try worrying less about the font and more about how you use it.

Moving on, an infographic that doesn't even bother to cite references can hardly be "the final battle" on serif vs. sans. The conclusions that this infographic trumpets are wholly unsupported by any meaningful scientific consensus. They even contradict themselves: it says on one page that both "serifs ... improve identification" and "the simplicity of [sans] letter shapes makes them more recognizable." Well, which one is it? It's neither, actually, because you are trying to create a rule based on unsubstantiated claims.

Plus, even if there were facts to back up this infographic's assertions, the "serif for print, sans for web" distinction would still be a gross oversimplification. Optimizations like font hinting are much more important to legibility than choosing sans over serif or serif over sans, and even those don't matter so much anymore.

One of the few things that this infographic does do right is its final sentiment: "The best font choices are ones where readers do not notice the font, but the message." Chill out about the stupid serifs and concentrate more on making your text look good in context. (Among other things, that means don't decrease the font size any more than the browser's default in your stupid Tumblr themes.)