• Collecting some of the best typefaces released in 2009, Print Magazine awards its Oscars of Type. Mr. Eaves looks great and League Gothic (from the always-free League of Movable Type) is an admirable re-creation of Alternate Gothic.
• Science! Straight from the hypertext-age of the internet, this Physics FAQ is fascinating even if it isn’t pretty.
• A gallery of century-old mugshots shows working-class Britons arrested for public intoxication. Some are fascinating, some are funny, some are sad.

David Byrne discusses his recent work with St. Vincent, Brian Eno and his collaborative habits in general:

I was sent stereo mixes of his musical ideas, which I sometimes left alone, but just as often I slightly restructured them to bring them closer to a song form. However, I never even thought about requesting musical changes in the tracks — key changes, changes in groove or instrumentation. The unwritten game rules in these remote collaborations seem to be to leave the other person’s stuff alone as much as you can. Work with what you’re given; don’t try to imagine it as something other than what it is.

This presents some musical challenges, of course, but the benefits generally outweigh them. The fact that half the musical decision-making has already been done bypasses a lot of waffling and worrying. I didn’t have to think about what to do and what direction to take musically — the train had already left the station and my job was to see where it wanted to go. This restriction on one’s freedom — that some creative decisions have already been made — turns out to be a great blessing. Complete creative freedom is as much a curse as a boon.

Read the whole thing for some photos from his (messy) home studio and an explanation of how he writes lyrics.

• How do you get stereo sound out of a vinyl record’s single groove?
• NPR runs down a list of obsolete occupations (that’s 20th-century-obsolete, not medieval-obsolete).
• For a giant corporate event there’s some amazing architecture at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

Harrison Krix makes props out of wood, pvc, and foam. Really nice props. Taking commissions, he’s made a Hylian shield, a portal gun, and a full Bioshock suit, but my favorite is undoubtedly his Daft Punk helmet (part 2).

The detailed step-by-step photos in the blog make it a fascinating read; that, and the fact that he’s always experimenting with new materials and improving his processes.

With digital technology, hearing aids have come a long way in the past 10 years, but there is still a long way to go. Wired published a brief overview of “why they suck.” But it’s not all bad:

Increased demand from aging technophilic boomers is expected to spur both innovation and acceptance: Researchers are looking to consumer electronics to sex up what has been a medical-device backwater. And now that everyone walks around wearing a Bluetooth headset, the stigma of having a device clamped to your ear is receding. This should drive more adoption, innovation, and (maybe) lower prices.

• Google’s interests extend into the energy industry. Google Energy, a new subsidiary, is registered as a power utility company in Delaware. At this point, they plan to be a reseller to wholesale customers.
• The Times created a neat interactive graphic to demonstrate how incredibly close the Olympic finish times are. Click the play button on the left and imagine them all racing at the same time.
• I would love to stand in front of this 3D, perspective-bending painting from the British Library, but this Flickr clip does a good job of showing it off.