Skateland was the place to be when I was growing up. The local roller rink was where all the cool kids had their birthday parties, where a shy girl could use bad skating skills to justify clinging to her crush’s hand, where florescent orange cheese adorned the best worst nachos that babysitting money could buy. It was also the place where you could play Pac-Man, cheer on your friends as they played Pac-Man, or if you were me, hold the unofficial title of “Worst Pac-Man Player in Town.”

It’s the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man, and Google is celebrating with their first ever interactive logo that lets you play the iconic game.

If you haven’t played it yet, go now. Pretend you can smell those nachos as you evade ghosts atop tightly laced skates, and “Insert Coin” for added fun.

Update: I WON! (Yes, it did take me a bazillion tries. No, I am not ashamed to admit that.)

Thanks to Kristen, who let me know that Google Pac-Man will live on forever at www.google.com/pacman.

Put the words down, don’t obsess over them, just effusively spill them down onto the page. Then step away—for an hour, a day, a week, whatever you need. And then edit. Edit like crazy. Be hard on words and yourself and make it better. And when you think you’re finished, edit it one more time.”

— Larry Smith, The Happiness Project interview

This periodic table of super powers from ComicsAlliance is amazing.

I am the kind of person who likes to make detailed lists. The kind of person who likes to organize via coordinated calendars, Excel files, and hard copies. The kind of person who likes to ponder elaborate “what if” scenarios as if I can prepare for the unknown. I am a planner. But while I tend towards stress when I don’t have a plan, I am getting better at being okay without one. And for that, I am thankful.

from thxthxthx, a daily exercise in gratitude by Leah Dieterich

We can try to put a protective layer of glass on the words, or we can embrace the idea that we are all better off when words are allowed to network with each other. What’s the point of going to all this trouble to build machines capable of displaying digital text if we can’t exploit the basic interactivity of that text?”

— Steven Johnson, The Glass Box and the Commonplace Book, a Hearst New Media lecture given at Columbia University

The Hyperactivitypography from A to Z activity book has just landed at the top of my wish list. I love the combination of typographical knowledge with grade-school elements like cut-outs and ruled paper. Flip through the book to see all the type nerdiness for yourself.

via @overheardatmoo

#2 on the Twenty-five To-dos (Year 28) list: Walk on the Great Wall of China.

March 23, 2010