For Typography & Language Lovers

*Warning, if you are not a word|typography nerd, you might not make it through this post! But you should definitely try!*

I do however, know a few people that will appreciate this like I do. I am a word and typography lover, through and through. When I was younger and had time to ready my life away, I kept a word journal. I would write down any words I didn't know, get their definition and commit to using them in my everyday vocabulary. It was a great time in my life and I'm glad I did it. A fancy word will still sometimes catch my eye and I'll jot it down for later remembering. It's funny though because these crazy words, discovered in my youth will pop up in my brain in casual conversation and I can't think of a 'normal' more casual word to use. For instance, I was talking to my friends the other night, I can't remember the topic, but all of a sudden the word exacerbate came to mind and I had no choice but to use it. This may not seem like such an intense word, but for a normally simple word user and casual speaker, it seemed out of place. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good vocab word, so I say "keep the randomly awesome words coming to mind, Brain!".

My friend Meesh is preparing for grad school and the GRE. From what she tells me her list of vocab words that she apparently should have mastered at this time in her life, is intense to say the least. Did you know that phantasmagoria is a word? I love the sound of it for some reason. Definitions: A constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined. A bizarre or fantastic combination, collection, or assemblage. Example: He saw a phantasmagoria of shadowy creatures through the fog. FUN FACT: antidisestablishmentarianism is the longest word in the english language! Cool huh! When I was little my grandpa would always ask me if I could spell that word. For the longest time I thought it was a made up word. But now that I know it's real and the longest word, I'm actually quite impressed with my grandpappy! What else is he keeping from me!? If you're curious, the definition is: a noun meaning, an opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, especially the Anglican Church in 19th-century England. The definition is even hard to wrap your brain around.

As me and my friend Meesh (and abby) were discussing these crazy words, we also were talking about how much the english language has changed! This summer I read The Scarlet Letter. Gratefully I knew the basic story line, had I not I would have been a bit lost. The way the author expressed the story, the words he used and sentences he created were so different from the way we now communicate! It's a short book, but I had to re-read sentences, paragraphs, even whole pages over again to try and grasp what he was saying! It is kind of sad how much of the english language we've lost. People back in the day were able to express themselves so much better, more beautifully and with far deeper meaning than we do now in our current day. I guess that's the cost of all of the streamlining that has happened in the last decade. Things are faster and more convenient. Don't get me wrong I'm all about convenience, but we've definitely lost a lot of the niceties of a slower paced life.

Okay, that's enough of my rambling for now. :) But before you go, enjoy some more lovely typography. Here's my favorite typographical animation. It's short and so funny. Enjoy!