Giveaways, book reviews and the latest Ikea scandal

Oh my, but I’ve got a lot on my bloggy plate this week. I have lots to talk about, and some fun giveaways for you, my pretties.

But first, because this silly old blog was on the cutting edge of the whole Ikea-dog penis scandal of 2006 (it helps to have friends in the know!), I bring you this latest breaking Ikea-catalogue scandal: apparently the Interwebs are in an uproar because the Swedish furniture giant (with whom I have a well-documented love-hate relationship) has changed the font in its venerable catalogue which, if you believe the hype, is the most-printed tome on planet Earth, with more annual imprints than the Bible. After using Futura for 50 years they have, rashly and without consulting the masses, switched to Verdana. Capricious rogues!

Confused? This is what Futura looks like. And this is Verdana. Ah, I can see the lightbulb over your head. Yes, even the font-illiterate among us now see the root of the problem, right? Erm, not so much? Apparently, Verdana was developed by Microsoft and intended only as a digital font for online use. Ikea’s choosing Verdana over Futura is like using Atomic Tangerine when you should have used Burnt Sienna. No, seriously, there’s at least 10 pages of Google search returns from people with their knickers in a twist over this. If you want a fascinating peek into the head of a font-geek, take a look at this discussion. I tell you, the universe is a large and inscrutable place!

But, that’s not even the tip of the excitement iceberg around here this week! Stay tuned, we’ve got not one but TWO giveaways, a book review (I know, two in as many weeks. I can barely get over myself.) and maybe if the stars align just right, some big news for me. Right now, though, I have a (sniff) Grade Two (gasp!) who needs an escort to the first day of school.

Happy Monday, all!

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