Meanwhile #064

This is an old edition of Meanwhile from an inferior, more simian newsletter platform that has unhelpfully severed all the hyperlinks. It’s included here in the archive simply for sake of completeness.

"Whatever happened to that newsletter thing you used to do?” … Okay, yes, it’s been a while. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time away from my desk these last few months (in summary: I heart the NHS), and Meanwhile has repeatedly been pushed to the bottom of my to do list. Anyway, enough with the vague apologies – here’s some hyperlinks!

• Russell Davies argues that we still need an internet of unmonetisable enthusiasms – i.e. more weird blogs please.
• Queen of the booktubers Holly Dunn looks at Art of the Film books. 
• How the design of dice evolved over time – I haven't Warhammered, Blood Bowled or indeed Dark Futured for many a year, but I still find myself getting a weird hankering for a weighty bag of D20s every now and then.
• Phantom Thread is the best food movie in ages. 
• Merriam-Webster’s backward index is wonderful, assuming you have a thing for fusty old card catalogues and rhyming dictionaries. Of course you do. 
• How Michael Bierut picks a typeface (doesn't he just flick through a copy of 79 Short Essays like everybody else?). 
• Christoph Niemann's minimal LEGO New York – might try an old York version with the boy, as long as I can convince him it's a First Order spaceship of some kind. 
• Tate have been digitising artists' sketchbooks, letters and photos. Would love to see an exhibition of this stuff in the flesh.
• George Mayerle’s Eye Test Chart (circa 1907). 
• Historical generals pointing out the toilets is much funnier than it should be. 
• A short film about a one-of-a-kind collection of letterpress plates for printing film advertisements and yes I'm heading to eBay for some of these too get out of my way dammit.
• And a few things I've been up to: designing books; reading Deyan Sudjic's excellent B Is For Bauhaus; art directing Monotype's Wolpe Collection launch; watching films; getting distracted by collagist John Stezaker; and designing more books.