Official warning: abused font alert

This post goes out to every magazine, band, church, or business that has decided over the past year that the above font (in its four or five variations) is basically the best thing to ever happen. Yes, it’s true that this is, in fact, a fairly clever, thought-out font design. I can look at it and immediately contextualize the exact audience to which it’s meant to speak. When used sparingly, it’s a font worth having in the folder. 

But you wouldn’t let it fulfill its destiny as a font of occasion, would you, Mr. Overzealous Font User? No, you were so excited about this thing that you decided to use it for every website, ad, article heading, branding and signage that you could get your hands on.

In doing so, you ruined it for the rest of us. You turned “augment” into “novelty.” It was going to happen sooner or later, but gosh did you expedite the shelf-life of hip on this one.

Football picks for Week Six

Last week’s picks were pretty much awful. Let’s see if we can pick up the slack this week.

(Home team in CAPS.)

FALCONS over Bears, 17-16   It’s the Atlanta defense that becomes the stifling unit in this one. Matt Forte will get his, but Mike Smith’s club keeps the Bears passing game in check well enough to squeak out a win at home and move to 4-2.

COLTS over Ravens, 20-16   Look for the Colts offense to struggle again, save for a couple of long passes (they’ll really need to extend the field to keep the Baltimore secondary out of the box). Whichever team minimizes their mistakes on offense will win in Indy.

VIKINGS over Lions, 31-17   It’s really simple: I’m picking Detroit to lose until further notice. Further notice being the Lions winning and proving me wrong. Minnesota, on the other hand, realizes that they stole a win against the Saints last week (or maybe they received stolen goods, thanks to Ed Hochuli’s crew) and now they’re playing on borrowed time. Considered a busted season by some after two games, they’re back in hunt for a division title.

SAINTS over Raiders, 41-17   See the above comment on Ed Hochuli and his crew of zebras helping the Saints to blow the Monday night game against the Vikes. They’re playing for their season in New Orleans this week, and it looks like Marques Colston is going to play while Jeremy Shockey is a maybe. 

JETS over Bengals, 34-18   Quatro! The NFL’s top-rated quarterback continues to lead this offense into a statistical echelon never achieved during the Chad Pennington/Kellen Clemens years. I think Thomas Jones is going to come back into the fold of the game-plan – maybe 80-110 yards and a TD. 

Panthers over BUCS, 24-17   Tampa Bay seems to be the popular pick in this game, but I see the Panthers’ strong running attack aiding them to an early lead. Jeff Garcia’s fragile psyche and lack of playing time this season will lead to some mistakes on forced plays down the stretch.

REDSKINS over Rams, 30-24   St. Louis shows signs of life here, but not enough to get by the suddenly mighty Redskins. Should be a big day for both QBs, but Washington will separate themselves by dominating the running game.

Dolphins over TEXANS, 24-21   It feels cruel to pick against the Houston in these days of hurricane recovery and unrecovered fumbles, but I can’t see Chad Pennington losing this game. He’s going to manage the clock and slowly move the chains. It’s what he does, and it’s why he’s a perfect fit for Miami. As for the Wildcat offense, we’ll see it 10-12 plays, with two or three new wrinkles in the system. But Sporano’s crew is likely saving the all-out presentation of the offense for its AFC East battles.

BRONCOS over Jaguars, 30-27   I’m thinking this one is won on a 47-yard Matt Prater field goal in overtime. I know Jacksonville is the better team, but I think that Denver will play beyond the sum of their parts for this week, and the fans at Invesco Field will really get behind them in what should be an incredible, must-watch game.

CARDINALS over Cowboys, 38-27   Surprise of the week. The off-field distractions begin to rattle the Cowboys, and Arizona has its way with Dallas’ secondary. Larry Fitzgerald is going to take the Cowboys’ corners out to the woodshed in this one.

49ers over EAGLES, 34-24   Surprise number two. Philly gets caught looking past this game. JT O’Sullivan lets the passes fly, Frank Gore gains 150 total yards, and the Fox camera crew shows three times as many clips of a grinning Mike Martz than of the Niners’ actual head coach, Mike Nolan. 

SEAHAWKS over Packers, 21-20   Tough game to call. A rematch of last year’s divisional playoff game where Ryan Grant obliterated Seattle’s defense. You know Mike McCarthy gawked at the film from Seattle’s game last week, when the Giants basically wrote the manual on how to throttle the Seahawks. Still, in all of my naivety, I have confidence in Matt Hasselbeck to get everyone involved in the offense and reduce turnovers. Green Bay’s secondary is a bit banged-up; if Seattle can get away from their eternal commitment to seven-yard passing routes, they have a chance to win on a few big plays.

CHARGERS over Patriots, 24-10   I think this game will be closer than the score, whatever that means. Here’s an interesting prediction for you: I think that San Diego is going to run the Wildcat offense that Miami ran on both of these teams. LT and Darren Sproles in the backfield, running an option. And we know that LT can throw the ball well for a running back. There’s no love lost between these teams. Expect San Diego to absolutely throw the house at Matt Cassel.

Giants over BROWNS, 24-20   This game will be a shocker simply in that it’s close. Brandon Jacobs will have another massive day as Cleveland will opt to get beaten by the run while attending most of their energy to containing the pass. Cleveland makes a few big plays on offense and special teams – just enough to keep the national television audience tuned in, but they’ll fall a play short of turning the season around.

BYOS

For the second straight year, my craving for maple lattes, in combination with the failure of most coffeehouses to carry maple syrup, has led me to purchase a big ol’ bottle of maple syrup and bring it with me when I go for coffee in the mornings.

I go through the line, buy my drink, and then scurry out to the car to “spike” my drink with autumnal bliss, which I’ve been keeping in a cup-holder in the car. If anyone is watching me from the window, this has to look ornery if not suspicious. 

I mention this because some of you work in coffeehouses. Some of you own coffeehouses. If nothing else, you know a guy who works in a coffeehouse. Consider maple. Think about bringing it into your stock of syrups – at least from September through November. Help to build a world where maple-loving people like me don’t have to stoop to BYOS.

Damien Jurado’s new listens

I’m posting these just because I so enjoy Damien Jurado’s music, and the new songs are right in line with the good work he’s been doing for some time now.

If you’re someone who has listened to Jurado for awhile, then this first track might bring you back to the days of I Break Chairs. The guitar tone in this one is great – a real warm crunch on the chorus. “Go First” (there’s no video to it, just the album cover):

This other video is of “Last Rights,” and it was taken at a show Jurado played last month in Portland.