Vernacular: It's Always Sunny at Emerson College

[This is really late, but I'm posting it anyway. Next year, I'll be more on top of things...Anyway, from Emerson's Grad Blog, Vernacular, November 9th, 2009]

I’m a devout fan of all things It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (it’s only because of the show that I want to go to Philly, having never actually visited). So, imagine my elation at a recent episode, in which Mac (played by show creator Rob McElhenney) enters wearing that familiar purple-and-yellow Emerson football shirt (you know, “undefeated since 1880,” haw haw).

Did he go to Emerson? Because that would be a damn cool alum to have mad connections with, and that would mean he’d have to visit, no?

Unfortunately, that dream didn’t come true. My hopes were dashed with a quick Google search. According to the message board at Television Without Pity, someone found out that “last spring in our ‘Writing for TV’ class, we had a conference call with [McElhenney]. As a thank you our class sent him a t-shirt that reads ‘Emerson College Football - Undefeated Since 1880.’”

(Emerson has never had a football team, what irony!)

There’s good news, though. On the season’s hi-larious third season finale, Rob reprised his choice of garment, sporting very same t-shirt. Much to my dismay, he did not cut the sleeves off. To give credit, there’s also a brief write-up about the shirt on Emerson’s VMA page.

And unfortunately, the blog I mentioned earlier with the Emerson-McElhenney connection post isn’t up anymore. But in the meantime, there is a cool write-up about one Emerson student interning on the show. Now there’s an idea…

Vernacular: Revealing the ongoing blight on Boston decency (Emerson students, apparently)

The dangerous streets of the North End...

[A blog entry I wrote for Vernacular, Emerson's Writing, Literature and Publishing Graduate blog.]

Emerson needs to live up to our newfound title of Boston’s Most Dangerous (if you ignore all the fine print). Downtown Boston’s so claustrophobic, tacky and, let’s be honest, a bit touristy, no? It ain’t enough for us Emersonians. We’re not the Warriors; we’re the Turnbull ACs in this Boston version of The Warriors.

We need bigger and better drags to claim. And what’s fair game for the bored riffraff of a small communications and arts college, where the city’s supposed to be our grand campus? That’s right: the unsuspecting cobblestoned paths of the North End.

Last week the Boston Globe took a look at the burgeoning battle in the changing face of the North End: you’ve got your late night bar and restaurant crowds and the newly transplanted twenty-somethings who move into the neighborhood as their first time in an off-campus apartment, and then you’ve got your families that want to settle down in one of Boston’s quaint historic areas. So, for the families’ part, there’s there’s plenty to complain about: all that noise and booze and just livin’ it up, jeez, what do those lushes think they’re doing?

Now, Boston’s a big college town, there’s no doubt about that. But who gets singled out?

Oh yeah, US, the badasses of downtown Boston.

From the Globe:

“Boston Police Captain Bernie O’Rourke confirmed that students, mostly from Suffolk and Emerson College, cause most of the problems reported, not patrons at bars.”

Oops.

So, okay, it’s not the bars that are causing the problems: it’s the house parties. Specifically, our house parties. These shindigs must be really hoppin’ cause, c’mon, they’re competing with bars.

Listen up, people. We don’t have a campus. This is our way of living out that famed college dream: wild college parties run amok, Emerson-style, of course, with illegal clove cigarettes, flannel shirts and skinny jeans.

So a toast to Emerson once again. We’re so very look-at-these-fuckin’-hipsters, we desecrate neighborhoods. What else can’t we do?

Loose Change

I had to design a book cover for a group project in my Book Publishing class. I took the photograph, original is found here.

I Love You, Helvetica

In my Magazine Design class, we watched Helvetica, a documentary on said-font, and typography in the world today. In it, Massimo Vignelli, a typographer and designer who was behind the 1970s original New York City subway map and the American Airlines logo, said the following:

"You can say, 'I love you,' in Helvetica. And you can say it with Helvetica Extra Light if you want to be really fancy. Or you could say it with the Extra Bold if it's really intensive and passionate, you know, and it might work."

which made me smile a lot.

Vinyl Vs. Books

At the Writing, Literature & Publishing Orientation today (which was mostly boring, and which I mostly cut), during the faculty introductions, Gian Lombardo asked, "Who here still listens to vinyl records?" A couple students raised their hands.

Lombardo then asked, "Who here still reads books in paper form?" Everyone raised their hands.

"Think about that," he said, and walked away from the podium.