L'Esprit de l'Escalier L'esprit de l'escalier or l'esprit d'escalier ("staircase wit") is a French term used in English that describes the predicament of thinking of the perfect retort too late. Origin[edit] This name for the phenomenon comes from French encyclopedist and philosopher Denis Diderot's description of such a situation in his Paradoxe sur le comédien.[1] During a dinner at the home of statesman Jacques Necker, a remark was made to Diderot which left him speechless at the time, because, he explains, "l’homme sensible, comme moi, tout entier à ce qu’on lui objecte, perd la tête et ne se retrouve qu’au bas de l’escalier" ("a sensitive man, such as myself, overwhelmed by the argument levelled against him, becomes confused and can only think clearly again [when he reaches] the bottom of the stairs"). In this case, “the bottom of the stairs” refers to the architecture of the kind of hôtel particulier or mansion to which Diderot had been invited. Similar English terms[edit] In other languages[edit]
Scissor Writing In the boom of digital tools for designers, the humble scissors have been forgotten. Our poor scissors sit in our desk drawers, waiting for the next non-creative task we require them for. It wasn’t always like this. Scissors used to be used as a primary means to capture likenesses, create art, and even make movies. One could perceive cutting paper for a creative task as a juvenile activity, but some of the finest creative specimens have been created with no more than a modest sheet of paper and sheers. Scissors illustration from Craphound, issue 6. Silhouette Portrait of Jane Austen, Date and Artist Unknown Fall of Icarus,Henri Matisse, 1943 Ad for Dupont CorporationPaul Rand Blue Nude II,Henri Matisse, 1952 Stills from The Adventures of Prince Achmed,Lotte Reiniger, 1926 Snowflake, Madison, Age 7, 2009
Badass Alphabet Sometimes I find things on the internet that leave me speechless with their awesomeness. And considering it’s my job to find crazy stuff all day long, that’s actually saying something. But today I am bowing down to “The A-Z of Awesomeness,” a series of illustrations by Neill Cameron, where he takes each letter of the alphabet, crafts an absurd sentence around it, then brings it to life with an excellent drawing as you can see above. There are 25 more epic letters to go, and you must check them all out below: Tagxedo - Tag Cloud with Styles Please Don’t Promise Me Forever | Rotating Corpse Imagine this: It’s 1976 and you’re dating a man named Rick. He has a mustache and owns at least one reindeer sweater. High off of reading The Easter Parade and The Great Santini, he’s all pumped up to write the next great American novel but, to make ends meet, he’s currently working for Hallmark. He’s been really cagey about his latest project, only revealing that this will be the first time Hermann Zapf‘s Crown font is used in a publication. The fact is, things could be better between the two of you; he forgot your birthday… then your anniversary. Now, imagine it’s Valentine’s Day and you’re not expecting much – but Rick surprises you. And this: “Please don’t expect me to always be good and kind and loving. And there’s even a photo depicting couples board game night paired with this text: “Please don’t… make me look foolish in front of other people.” I spotted this amazing treasure at Spoonbill and Sugartown and, of course, I had to buy it right away.