Today is a very important day in History! Yes, August 15th, 2012, is the 100th Birthday of Julia Child! Of course everyone at Alfred A. Knopf ( Random House ) is totally proud of this event because they’re the ones who published her Cookbook, ”Mastering The Art of French Cooking”, almost 51 years ago. The book has now become a total classic and is still a bestseller to this day. It became iconic for it’s use of very detailed illustrations that helped many people learn how to cook. One interesting side note is that Google posted a wonderful image of her today for their logo ( see pic down below ). In closing, Thank You for everything you taught us Julia Child. You are deeply missed by millions of people and will always be a true Icon and a National Treasure, “Bon Appetit!”

Here’s a quick post to share a website we recently discovered that’s pretty interesting. Well, it’s very interesting if you totally love fonts! What they do is present some images where TYPE has been used in Magazine Ads, Product Packaging, Building Signage, etc… and then tell you what FONT it is. OK, it sounds kinda dumb ( ha ha ) but it’s actually very interesting and also inspiring. Like, did you know the font used for the “Google” logo is named “Catull”? Hey, here’s a LINK so you can check it out for yourself. Also, please let us know what you think.

It’s with a heavy heart that we remember our Good Friend, the Author, David Rakoff. He recently passed away and over at the BIOGRAPHILE Website a Writer named Rose Nagle-Yndigoyen wrote a wonderful tribute to him that we wanted to share. She talks about his work and the books he created but, more importantly, she touches on what he was truly like as a person. The piece is well thought out & very touching. So, Thank You Rose. I’m sure his Family would love this. Plus, we know many of our Readers here will enjoy reading it. Thanks again.

We recently discovered a very interesting article on the web the other day and we instantly knew we just HAD to totally share it! You can read it over at the THINK PROGRESS Website. There, they have a page for one of their Bloggers named ALYSSA and while she was on vacation she allowed a Guest Blogger, named Andrea Peterson, to write for her. Well, for Andrea’s topic she chose the subject & title, “Chip Kidd Keeps Book Covers Relevant in the Digital Age”. In it she wrote a short bio on Chip Kidd & shared his TED Speech Video but, more importantly, she also shares her personal story of how Chip touched her life through the creation of his novel, “The Cheese Monkeys”, and it’s very heart-warming. Thank you Andrea!

This post is a shout out to all the Fans of Dr. Seuss ( a.k.a. Theodore Seuss Geisel ). Before finding fame and fortune as a major Children’s Book Author Mr. Geisel supported himself and his family with commercial art work. Yes, during the Depression he was an Illustrator and did a lot of Advertising Graphics for Magazines. He quickly developed a large list of Clients like General Electric, FLIT Bug Killer, Holly Sugar, NBC and many more.

Well, One great source to view his advertising artwork is at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. The library has scanned a selection of these advertisements for greater access, which they call “The Dr. Seuss Collection”, and they can be viewed by clicking right HERE. Please be sure to check it out sometime because it’s not only important historically, but is also very inspiring.

YES! We’re really proud to announce that over at the super-excellent COMIC BOOK RESOURCES website they just did a Book Review for Chip Kidd & Dave Taylor’s new Graphic Novel, BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN! The article was written by Greg Burgas for their COMICS SHOULD BE GOOD! page and we think he did a very nice job on it. Well done, Sir! So, we want to thank both Greg Burgas and CBR for giving the book some attention & also invite our readers to check it out. Just click HERE!

With the release of the recent movie trailer for the film adaptation of ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac ( 1922 - 1969 ) I thought it would be fun to share a LINK to a website where they have collected a ton of different covers for this famous book. Down below are just a few examples but if you visit the SITE you’ll be shocked by how many there are & it’s also sort of an interesting study on Graphic Design. Speaking of which, the drawing you see up above was actually done by Jack Kerouac has his idea of what the book jacket should look like. Strangely, the Publisher never considered it and even after all the covers that have been made over the years this version has never popped-up. It’s also interesting to note, about the website, that the Book Covers & Dust Jackets shown there are in English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, French, etc…

ON THE ROAD was written in 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. The book is mostly autobiographical in nature. It portrays the story of a fierce personal quest for meaning and belonging. This comes at an interesting point in American history when conformity was praised and outsiders were suspect. This was during the start of the Cold War. The book instantly became a major hit and it is considered a defining work of America’s “Beat Generation”. One thing that is pretty interesting about the creation of this book was the fact that Jack Kerouac wrote it on one solid piece of paper that he called “The Scroll”. He taped many pieces of teletype paper together to achieve this. The “Scroll” still exists & can be seen in the photo down below.

Earlier I mentioned the “new movie” coming out and you can see that trailer at the bottom of this post. But first, I think it would be best to view another video where Jack Kerouac made an early appearance on TV’s “The Steve Allen Show” in 1959. He reads from the book and it’s pretty interesting to not only hear his original voice but it also gives you an idea of “the rhythm in which he wrote it”. Many Literary Critics have labeled the style of this book as a “Jazz Piece” because of it’s continuous flow.

A statement from David Rakoff’s longtime hardcover editor, Bill Thomas:

“It is with a deeply heavy heart that I tell you our dear friend and beloved author David Rakoff passed away today at the age of 47. As many of you know David had battled cancer over the last few years; quite recently it became apparent that the cancer had returned in a form that could not be treated.

David wrote three bestselling books for Doubleday - FRAUD, DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE and HALF EMPTY. Because David's writing was so goddamn funny, he was often mischaracterized as a satirist, but a satirist employs exaggeration to drive home social criticism, and David saw and portrayed the world clearly. Underneath the indelible wit and perfect turns of phrase lay a sadness that people can be so cruel and selfish, and a belief that the only weapon against the world's brutality was kindness and beauty. And so he lived - he was the most gracious and considerate of men. Civility mattered a great deal to David, but for him manners were not merely a social lubricant; he believed deeply that every person was due true and meaningful attention.

It is one of the reasons hundreds of people loved David. Of course he was incredibly charming, witty and learned, a brilliant raconteur with the quickest mind imaginable. And though his life was cut infuriatingly short, it was rich beyond measure. In addition to his writing, David was a stage and screen actor, a playwright, a screenwriter (the short film for which he adapted the screenplay and starred in, "The New Tenants," won an Academy Award), a brilliant radio essayist for "This American Life," and an accomplished visual artist. He was also one of us - David spent nine years working at HarperCollins, and I urge everyone, especially assistants, to read his essays "Lush Life" (from FRAUD) and "The Satisfying Crunch of Dreams Underfoot" (from HALF EMPTY) for excruciating but uproarious portrayals of this our publishing culture. For publicists, go to YouTube and view "David Rakoff and Dave Hill Go On a Book Tour." He really did understand.

David called me five weeks ago and told me had finished his new book, which was not due until the Fall. He also told me we would be publishing it posthumously. (Characteristically, he apologized for giving me this news on the phone. Canadian to the end.) The book is a novel, in verse, called LOVE, DISHONOR, MARRY, DIE; CHERISH, PERISH. I had my doubts about the project when he proposed it, but I was wrong. It is written with humor and sympathy and tenderness, and proves him to be the master of an altogether different art form. The story leaps cities and decades as David sings the song of an America whose freedoms can be intoxicating, or devastating. It is the clearest expression of David's insistence on beauty and the necessity of kindness in a selfish world. I can think of no more fitting tribute to David than publishing the hell out of it.”

Here is a personal statement that Chip Kidd would like to express:

“It is with infinite sadness that I note the death this week of writers David Rakoff and Mark O’Donnell, two dear friends I had the privilege of knowing and working with for many years. They were also mutual friends, and that they would die within a few days of each other in the prime of their lives is a gut-punch to say the least. I had been trying to prepare myself for David because I knew for some time he was quite ill, but then for Mark to go so suddenly, well, there just aren’t words for it. Here is how I’ll remember them, in a photo booth together in 2004, at my 40th birthday. Their lives and work were proof that there is some good in the world. Now less so. Xxoo CK”

Here are 2 videos that showcase the new features found in Adobe Photoshop CS6. The 1st one is “Official” and the 2nd one is fan-made, both are worth watching. Let us know what YOU think, thanks.