Amusing YouTube Video

John Savard
John Savard Posts: 1,251
edited September 9 in Miscellaneous News
An amusing YouTube video, with the title "I am the Very Model of a Modern-day Typographer", just went up.


It is Elle Cordova who granted us this video, 7 scant hours ago; and in addition to Gilbert and Sullivan, she rightly credits Tom Lehrer for additional inspiration.
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Comments

  • Christian Thalmann
    Christian Thalmann Posts: 2,083
    She has a number of type-related sketches; I like «fonts hanging out»  :#
  • Joshua Langman
    Joshua Langman Posts: 137
    Dear God, Elle Cordova strikes again! Ten points, as always.

    It almost makes me want to forgo pointing out her misspelling of "minuscule."
  • John Savard
    John Savard Posts: 1,251
    Joshua Langman said:
    It almost makes me want to forgo pointing out her misspelling of "minuscule."
    Oh, dear. Miniscule means very small, while minuscule means lower-case. I could see a spell-checker mangling that.
  • Christian Thalmann
    Christian Thalmann Posts: 2,083
    Miniscule is a legalized misspelling of minuscule, though
  • Joshua Langman
    Joshua Langman Posts: 137
    It's a common misspelling, but "minuscule" is still considered correct for both senses.
  • John Hudson
    John Hudson Posts: 3,790
    edited September 10
    ‘Miniscule’ is an accepted spelling of the adjective meaning small or very small in English, but I would say ‘minuscule’ remains the correct spelling of the noun meaning lowercase letter. I grew up writing ‘miniscule’ as the adjective, but still always use ‘minuscule’ when writing about letters (as a pair with ‘majuscule’). The use of the term in the general adjectival sense dates to roughly the same time in the 19th Century as the misspelling arose, so I wonder if the distinction was being made by some people even then?

    Hmm. Just realised that I also pronounce them differently.
  • John Savard
    John Savard Posts: 1,251
    Joshua Langman said:
    It's a common misspelling, but "minuscule" is still considered correct for both senses.
    Are we then, perhaps, encountering the difference between American and British spelling of the same word used for both senses, rather than two different words, as I had thought?
  • Christian Thalmann
    Christian Thalmann Posts: 2,083
    In any case, the Latin source word is spelled minusculus.
  • Joshua Langman
    Joshua Langman Posts: 137
    edited September 10
    Scroll down to "Did you know?":

    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minuscule

    Benjamin Dreyer, the well-known copy editor, tackled this very issue in his newsletter today.
  • Christian Thalmann
    Christian Thalmann Posts: 2,083
    I don't mind. It's still good stuff.
  • John Savard
    John Savard Posts: 1,251
    edited September 13
    Kris Sowersby said:
    FWIW, it’s a paid promotion from Monotype. It’s clearer on her IG post

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdCU8uLPO4F/?stkn=bjQycmp4dDZuY3A3

    I followed that link, and then went to @bymonotype. I followed another link there... to something called Kittl Design. Is this an attempt to compete with Canva - while curing (or perhaps even copying) its issue of using a limited font selection as its method of monetization?
    Also, I have to admit I still wonder if perhaps only the clarification, and not the video itself, is the paid advertisement. The video does encourage the use of more fonts, which is certainly beneficial to Monotype, but it doesn't mention Monotype by name - although I suppose it's entirely possible that all the typefaces she listed in order alphabetical were ones available from Monotype, and Monotype alone, or more principally in their true and original versions - I did not check.
    EDIT: Upon giving myself the pleasure of watching it once more, I did see that she did once mention a "subscription Monotypical", but I had not realized it was there other than to rhyme.
  • michele casanova
    michele casanova Posts: 88
    Special thanks to Monotype for supplying all these fonts
    From the text below the video.
  • michele casanova
    michele casanova Posts: 88
    @Mark Simonson
    That’s interesting since I’m pretty sure they don’t carry Proxima Nova anymore.
    In the video it is called "New Proxima" (translating from "Nova") :smile:
  • Kent Lew
    Kent Lew Posts: 1,053
    For those who might not be aware (or maybe weren’t even born yet!): the “Nova” in Proxima Nova was in reference to an earlier Proxima Sans. Which some of us actually licensed in the ’90s; and which I probably have a set of old Postscript Type 1 fonts for lying around here somewhere. 
  • Mark Simonson
    Mark Simonson Posts: 1,807
    edited September 14
    I did think “New Proxima” was a clever way to get a rhyme. It’s never occurred to me to call it that.
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 3,183
    michele casanova said:
    @Mark Simonson
    That’s interesting since I’m pretty sure they don’t carry Proxima Nova anymore.
    In the video it is called "New Proxima" (translating from "Nova") :smile:
    It occurs to me we don’t know what your middle name is.
    I bet it’s Proxima… Michele Proxima Casanova.
  • michele casanova
    michele casanova Posts: 88
    edited September 15
    @Thomas Phinney I'm sorry, but I don't have a middle name.
    I'm not sure that Proximus or Proxima ("nearest" in Latin) would make a good middle name for a person in Italy :smile:
  • Stephen Coles
    Stephen Coles Posts: 1,049
    Mark Simonson said:
    That’s disappointing.
    I’m also disappointed that she did not identify the sponsor on Bluesky.

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