Calligraphy Then... and Now

Another art form that I'm interested in, but just don't spend enough time working to develop any real skill. Case in point: on the left hand side in red ink is some gothic lettering I did way back when I was a teenager taking some calligraphy class at the local art centre. On the right hand side is some cursive lettering I did for an assignment in typography class, about three or four years ago. Which one looks better? Hard to judge because they are two totally different styles of calligraphy, but I'm putting my money on the Gothic myself (and no, it's not because of any weakness for Tennyson, trust me). The cursive looks pretty lame, I think. But personally, I think cursive is a hell of a lot harder to do than gothic. Just basic up and down strokes in gothic. Ain't that one of the reasons why good ol' Gutenberg chose the blackletter style for his bible? Maybe another reason I didn't create a very good cursive style was because I wasn't very happy in my typography class. We wanted to learn about type in the here and now, not spend time doing calligraphy. In retrospect, I think combining both elements in a class would be beneficial. Unfortunately back then, we didn't care much for what our instructor was trying to teach us. Sorry, Nick. But I think you've faired pretty well since that wretched teaching experience, designing that Richler font and all. And I promise I'll pick up the calligraphy again real soon. At least the gothic, anyway.