Obama's logo, part deux

Well, its been a few months and I thought I'd revisit the presidential candidates logos. Now, I didn't review McCain at the time because at the time he was considered an also-ran... so much for that. Things are still more interesting on the Democratic side. Hillary has kept the same logo I liked so much at the time of my last writing. Barack Obama, however...


If I didn't know better I'd say someone from the Obama campaign was reading my blog, as they seem to have fixed every single thing I complained about! To compare:
When I last reviewed Obama's logo I had three main complaints: the font and lowercase letters made it look weak, the "BarackObama.com" was extraneous, and the sun logo was somewhat muddy and not very well integrated. First, they've changed the font to a bolder, all-caps font (look at how much stronger the top and bottom of the O are now) Also, they've done really nicely with balancing the Obama'08 by making both the O and the 8 slightly larger. I do like that they're still using a serif font - gives it a nice touch of class. The "BarackObama.com" has disappeared, and rightly so. My favorite thing is what they've done with the "O sunrise" element - by adding a white border, drop shadow, and shine and making it the central element of the logo they've added emphasis to the "newbeginning" message and at the same time made it feel modern and nicely designed.

So... we have a new winner in the logo contest, and it is Mr. Barack Obama. Congratulations, I imagine it will serve you well!

BEST. NAIL POLISH. EVER.

Seriously, this is the best nail polish I've ever used. OK, yes, I've only managed to grow fingernails for the first time in my life in the last month, but not having fingernails never kept me from trying and failing to use nail polish. It always smelled bad going on, was all gunky and hard to control the brush, and nail polish remover is one of the most horrible substances ever invented.

But hey, if I was gonna have nails, I wanted 'em polished, darn it! Its fun to color on yourself, as any 5 year old or Harley Rider will tell you. But I really, really, really didn't want to use regular, stinky, chemical-y nail polish. I have enough hormone problems, thank you very much. So I started doing research: was there anything like a water-based nail polish?

Enter Acquarella. One of the few water-based nail polishes around, I was desperately hoping just for a healthier alternative to acetone and formaldehyde (really, unless I'm dead I don't need those particular chemicals around me) but what I got was much much more.

There's a bit of a process involved in putting on the polish, depending on how often you've worn polish in the past. Myself, I had only worn it occasionally and therefore skipped the conditioning step and went straight to the buffing. You gotta buff first - not a big deal, but it takes off impurities that would prevent adhesion. Then swab off the nails with the Acquarella remover to take off any remaining stuff, rinse with water and let dry.

Now for the really beautiful part - just apply two thin coats. Thats it. The polish goes on smoother than any traditional polish I've ever used, doesn't get gunky, and is extremely easy to control. Acquarella says it takes about three minutes to dry, but for me it took about the same amount of drying time as a traditional 60 second polish. It covered the entire nail evenly and without streaking. And the SHINE, we're talking super-hi-gloss ... I've never gotten results like this with traditional polish.

So... non-toxic, quick-drying, ultra-shiny, and easy to apply? Call me a convert. Best. Nail polish. Ever.

Inspire in the news

The company I work for and love, Inspire, was featured in a Washington Post article today, "Log On For Support" It highlights online medical and health support communities and talk specifically about Inspire's moderation and great privacy policy.