EEDA Newsletter Vol 5, Res 7: Atkinson Hyperlegible, Google Fact Check, & the Best Gelato in SF
This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!
Hi friends! We never made it to a breakfast sandwich spot on my birthday so we will save that adventure for another time; however, I had perhaps the best gelato I have eaten outside of Italy in San Francisco at Hila Gelato on Valencia. It was smooth and creamy and light with strong flavors. The shop also has pints of gelato to-go and single serving desserts ready-to-eat like panna cotta and tiramisu. There were also some full-size desserts in the refrigerators that one could purchase. By far the stars of the show were the gelato-makers (pictured below). The counter had at least a dozen gelato machines in the counters where the gelato is both made in and served from. The ingredients are put together then poured directly into the mixers in the counters. You can see them in action in this Instagram reel. This is my new favorite place.
This week on the EEDA Pod, we nerd out about the library so much that we have needed to turn this episode into a two-part series. You can find our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.
It’s resource week! Let’s get to it.
Resource 1: Atkinson Hyperlegible Font via Braille Institute
From the Braille Institute: “Atkinson Hyperlegible font is named after Braille Institute founder, J. Robert Atkinson. What makes it different from traditional typography design is that it focuses on letterform distinction to increase character recognition, ultimately improving readability. We are making it free for anyone to use!”
This link tells you more about the font, gives examples, and allows you to download the font for free. I’ll be reaching out to the person who runs the hosting site for this newsletter to see if they can integrate it. It’s already in Google Docs and I’ll be looking into updating the podcast website using the Atkinson Hyperlegible Font.
Resource 2: Google Fact Check Tools
From the About page: “The Fact Check Tools consist of two tools: Fact Check Explorer and Fact Check Markup Tool. Both tools aim to facilitate the work of fact checkers, journalists and researchers. Google does not endorse or create any of these fact checks.”
From my understanding, Google Fact Check Tools (specifically, Fact Check Explorer), is a focused search engine that will return articles from sites that label themselves on the developer side of things as sites that fact-check and review certain news and claims made online. While I don’t think enough people even use a single fact-checker much less multiple, Google Fact Check Tools can be an incredibly helpful place to start.
Yes, the goal of this site is to help fact checkers, journalists, and researchers but honestly, if you are consuming anything on the internet at this point then it would benefit you to know about Google Fact Check Tools, April Fool’s Day notwithstanding.
Bonus Fun Thing: Hyper-specific Japanese Stationery Items via JetPens
I do my best to shop small when I can as well as buy things from BIPOC-owned shops. For stationery, I frequently turn to JetPens. They recently posted an incredibly satisfying video about stationery items that address very specific problems and I am completely mesmerized and I wanted to share it here. I’m super interested in the reflecting journals in particular as well as the page-finder punchers. I do not receive any sort of money from sharing this, I just think it's neat.
Recent & Current Reads
Inclusion of a book in this section is not necessarily a recommendation and these books won’t necessarily be added to my Bookshop.
Recently Read:
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
The Marble Queen by Anna Kopp, illustrated by Gabrielle Kari
Punk Rock Karaoke by Bianca Xunise (out 4/23)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
James by Percival Everett
Monster Crush by Erin Ellie Franey
Currently Reading:
How to Live Free in a Dangerous World: A Decolonial Memoir by Shayla Lawson
Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho (out 4/23)
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams (Yes, I am still working on this. I got through one particular story and it thoroughly creeped me out so I’ve set it aside)
That’s it for this week! You can shop many books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. In fact, any Bookshop, Amazon, or Etsy links in this newsletter are affiliate links so if you shop through those, it helps support my work. Or you can leave me a tip on Ko-fi, Paypal, or Venmo.
If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
You can find our podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and wherever else you get your podcasts.