My Collection - Calendars

I'm not much of a collector, if I buy one of something I don't feel the need to get the whole set. I do tend to collect wayward abandoned cats, and that's why I have three of them- but that's it I swear! Because I like cats, people tend to give me things with cats on it, but that's more of an unintentional collection of things!


Looking around my house, and trying to figure out what I did collect was a bit of a challenge. However I saw a stack of calendars from as far back as 2002 and realize that I apparently collect those!

The collection starts when I go to the store to buy a calendar. There are so many awesome calendars that I can't decide which one to buy. I often buy ones with beautiful landscape pictures that nearly transport me to the tropical places on the pages, just by looking to see what day it is. I also like to buy ones with animals on them, but not those cute puppy and kitten calendars- those sort of make me gag. There has to be some good photography involved or interesting shots at least.

Once I've used the calendar for the year, it becomes a collection because I often can't throw them away. I like to save them 1)because I imagine that I will rip out some pages and frame them and put them on my wall somewhere or 2) because the appointments and things to do that I've written on them chronicle my life like a diary. It's a nice way to remember my life and the things I've done, by the appointments I kept or people I meant to meet. It shows what was important to me at the time, whether it was job interviews, or college exams, friends birthdays.

My favorite current calendars are my Lonely Planet Exotic Cities Calendar, and my Busy Family Animal Calender (it has sections for each of each member of the family to write their to-do things for that day). My favorite from the past is my 2003 Auuobon Society Exotic Song Bird Calendar- it's really colorful and the shots are beautiful!

Something That Caught My Eye-Tupac Shakur, Legacy

For my 'something that caught your eye' show and tell last week I brought in my Tupac book- Tupac Shakur- Legacy.

I got this book because it features all much of Tupac's lyrics, and poetry, and also because of it's cool interactive nature. I love the way it features his writing in an authentic manner. For example they've included a composition book full of his writing and notes, but instead having regular pages full of writing they've added actual copies of his work in the same format that Tupac created it. For a copy of his actual composition book, where he wrote poems, lyric, and notes, that looked like an actual composition book, and it's actually in the format of a composition book. Other fun pieces are flyers from shows, notes from other artists, like Quincy Adam, and even his mug shot photo, included like an ID card. There's also a reproduction of a school report, written by a friend in high school (who would later become his assistant). The report is in typewritten school report format, as an actual reproduction, with the teacher's comments included on the front. It's titled, Conquering All Obstacles With Tupac Amuru Sakur. The teacher wrote: 9 (circled) Excellent Choice of Subject.

It's a really fun book and they way they've laid it out and included reproductions on the appropriate paper type is really fun. Even if you aren't a fan of his music, I think you could appreciate this book and the interactive way it tells Tupac's history.

Great News for Chimps!

You guys probably remember that I chose to do my cause campaign on End Chimpanzee Research/Retire Chimpanzees from Research. Well there has been some good news on this front! The Great Ape Protection Bill was introduced into Congress on April last month, that would end invasive testing and research on the chimpanzees currently in U.S. laboratories.
While the introduction of a bill does not mean it will pass, it at least means that many organizations, like The HSUS and Project R&R are working hard to get legislation like this and that enough people cared in Congress to actually sponsor the bill. With continued hard work- and maybe a few awesome posters, maybe public support of this campaign can sway Congress to support the bill.

If you want to help, tell your Congress person that you want to end government research on Chimps.

Also you can take this really fun quiz to find out which sanctuary chimpazee you are most like: Chimpanality Quiz

Artomatic-Opening May 9, 2008

This is a really interesting showcase of multimedia from local artists. Installations feature music, paintings, photos, sculptures, and bizarre concepts. You never know what you'll find there. Over a thousand artists participate, presenting all kinds of work. The exhibits often fill, and even incorporate the room they are in, which makes them like an experience rather than just something to look at.

The venue changes every year I believe. Last time I went it was held in the former Children's Museum in Northeast DC. The basement level seemed like a creepy old hospital to me though, which lent itself to some interesting exhibits on that level! Last year it was in VA and drew over 40,000 visitor according to its website.

The exhibits range from beautiful and serene, to funny and/or bizarre. There's alot of interesting stuff there and I 'd definitely recommend checking it out!

The website is www.artomatic.org

Artomatic
Opening Friday, May 9 - Closing June 15
1200 First St NE
Capital Plaza I - corner of First & M streets NE - NY Ave Metro
Wed-Thu: 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat: noon-2am; Sun: noon-10pm; closed Mon-Tue

Bembo's Zoo-Animal Typography

This image is from Bembos' Zoo. A cool site that combines typography and one of my favorite things-animals!

Bembo's Zoo is a flash site that presents the letters of the alphabet. When you choose one of the letters, you see the name of an animal spelled across the screen. Then the letters fly around and move together to create the shape of the animal. When the animal is created, it jumps, hops, walks, or crawls across the page.

Interestingly enough, the animal for X is X-ray Wolf (I guess since wolf is the W animal preceding it. I can't think of any other animals starting with X so I guess this makes sense.

Comment on Unnecessary Process

One quick thought I had on the unnecessary processes that everyone brought in- including myself. I realized that alot of them were bathroom related, about this we do and use in the bathroom. I guess these are more likely to be seen as unnecessary because that is one place that we figure needs no instruction! We go there daily right?!
Really it depends where you are though, as far as bathroom culture and knowing what to do. I was a bit thrown off when I was in China and some bathrooms were nothing more than a trough that you squat over. And it was BYOTP in many parts. It took some getting used to, especially in a few places where there were no doors on the stalls. Not all bathrooms there were like that though and there were plenty of places that had modern plumbing. I never thought I'd be so happy to see a modern toilet!

One Sentence Stories

I read one of my one-sentence stories in class but I had written several others. Here they are:

In the last 24 hours I bought a car, told off my boss, and moved to Arkansas.

In the dark it was hard to tell if the person underfoot was friend or foe.

When I finally stopped running, I had no idea where I was going or even who was chasing me.

The oncoming headlights forced me to make a decision.

Unnecessary Process - College Perk Coffee House Bathroom

College Perk is a sweet coffee house in College Park, MD. They have live music and also serve actual good beer.

Since I've been so busy with my projects, I've only had time for the large pots of coffee or tea, by the way-no beer. So don't think I'm out enjoying myself or anything! LOL. You can actually study there, they have free wifi.

My apologies to College Perk for exposing their toilet for all to see.

I just love these signs!

Soy Crunch Story

This one's much better than the Caffe Verona.

I found this on the back of the Soy Crunch bag:

"I originally developed soy crunch for my children, who love sweets. as a health conscious parent, I wanted to give them a nutritious snack with out empty calories.
After making Soycrunch I stared sending it to school wit them as a snack. each day they would ask me to pack more because their friends were eating it all! Soon my friends and family were tasking for it too. Everyone fell in love with Soy Crunch!

From that wonderful response, a business was born. Soycrunch has the soy so many modern consumers are looking for , and it tastes great!

I know you'll love it too!"

It is really good by the way:)

Starbucks Caffe Verona Story

Starbucks' Caffe Verona was the best story I found so far. Hopefully there'll be more stories to come!
The caffe verona story:

They met by chance
at a masquerade ball. He was bewitched
by her beauty and grace.
She, entranced by his kindness and demeanor. They fell in love
on that moonlit night. He gave her his vow of undying devotion.
She in return, gave him her heart.
Alas, their love was not meant
to be. They were separated in life by
a feud between their families, but united once more in eternity.

Two Tales of the Lost Generation

This YouTube video portrays two tales of the Lost Generation depending on whether you listen to the forward or backward version. Check out the video for both versions.

Gift Bear to the King

Gift Bear to the King was about a little bear who was asked to give the King a birthday message. When he set off on his journey he was happy and determined. However along the way, he keeps encountering people who need his help. He is hesitant to stop because he knows he needs to make it to the King in time for his birthday.

But he's so nice he can't bear to see someone in need, so each time he stops to helps and then leaves, singing "I'm the Gift Bear to the King and I won't stop for anything!" (That's the part my grandmother used to sing, so it's really stuck in my head!)
Finally he makes it to the castle, but the guard is so angry with him for being late, he throws him in the dungeon. In the dungeon, he sings his song, sad and low. Finally the King hears him singing and pops into the dungeon. He says kindly, "Gift Bear, I've been waiting for you, what are you doing here?" The bear explains his story. So impressed by his kindness, the King declares him free and invites him into the castle for tea.

The Moral of the Story
There could be several morals to this story:
Don't be too nice or you'll get screwed in the end.
Nice people are misunderstood.
Keep your priorities straight, even if you have good intentions.
Put yourself first, not other people, unless you can count on a kindly king to come along and save you. : ) : )

Maybe it doesn't even have a moral. Maybe it just reflects the difficulty in balancing your own goals versus the needs of others. Work vs. Home. When to say no.
I can relate. It's hard when you're a giving person and everyone wants something from you. It's easy to help other people but forget about yourself, and your goals and missions.

Cannonball Simp

My grandmother used to read me alot of stories. The two that stuck out in my head were Cannonball Simp and Gift Bear for the King. They were both first published in 1966, but that is 10 years before I was born so she was probably hanging on to them for a while.

Cannonball Simp is about a dog who was rejected by his owner because he was so ugly. He wanders around, lonely and rejected, until this circus* clown finds him. Simp is a natural at being shot out of a cannon. Suddenly Simp finds his purpose in life and the clown finds the perfect cannonball for his act!

*note that I do not condone the use of animals in circuses but thought it was funny when i was 5.

Elephant Paints Himself?

Story goes, an elephant has learned to paint himself. Is it real or a hoax? I think the elephant was trained, but not necessarily painting himself. They do recognize themselves in the mirror though supposedly.

See the video. Decide for yourself.

The Flying Pickle Says Print is Not Dead

Like design,* print is supposedly dead too, but not according to the Flying Pickle.

*Sean mentioned in class that Philippe Starck has declared that design is dead. Such a shame considering I'm just learning something about it. Ironcially there is a design company named Design is Dead and they are hiring designers.

Rohsska Design Museum in Gothenburg

As I mentioned in my earlier post, design is big in Sweden. Ok, it's big everywhere, but it's highly regarded there. I took the opportunity to visit the Rosska Design Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden. The museum has several temporary collections and also a permanent collection titled History of Design exhibit that displayed different types of design from all over the world. I was actually saved 40 SEK, about 10 bucks or so, and got in for free for being a design student. Luckily my UB id and good word worked well enough for a free ticket. Ok, I'm cheap, but it was expensive to get there!

We spent most of our time in the History of Design Exhibit. It featured furniture, clothing, dishes, and technology throughout the years that contributed to the design of the times and of the future. One section asked the question, What is Design, with a few examples that challenged the idea of what could be considered design, including a working and playable Mario Kart game on a 90s model tv. I’m not sure if I was supposed to but I took a bunch of pictures-for blog purposes of course.


I also enjoyed a couple of the temporary collections, as well. GERT WINGÅRDH, 30 YEARS OF WORK, ARetrospective showed the fiction, poetry, and various writing of Wingardh, which were displayed along with paintings, photos, or illustrations that accompanied each piece. Some writings and images paired up in obvious ways, in the examples of the photos. And other times the connections were more loose and abstract. It was a great exercise in exploring words and images and how they compliment each other. I couldn't take any pictures because it wasn't permitted in this section, but I got alot out of the exhibit. I researched more about Wingardh after returning home and he's one of Sweden's most renowned architects. Wikipedia has alot to say about him, if you believe in that sort of thing.

Some plaques that posed design questions and commentaries.

Design Process








What is Design














Ironically, this post is not designed very well because I am very tired. Guess I'm just exploring the process.

Spring Break in Denmark and Sweden

So for spring break I got to go to Denmark and then took a ferry Sweden for two days. It was the most interesting trip I've taken in a while and also my first time in Europe. So it was pretty sweet. Even though I was out gallivanting around, I actually found some things that applied to class (along with the Design Basics book I dutifully carried around for reading during downtime).

For one I saw some beautiful old building and churches that dated back to the 1600s and earlier. I was most surprised at how beautiful the churches were. I have to admit when I saw 'visit church' on my friend's itinerary and I was doubtful that I would have much interest. Once step inside an old Swedish church and immediately I understood why we had to make this visit. It was nothing like any church I'd been in in the U.S., complete with stained glass windows of Saints, elaborate chandeliers and gold statues.

It was clear that design was important to Scandinavian architects everywhere went. The doors on the buildings were so beautifully crafted they were design monuments themselves. I could’ve bought a poster featuring The Doors of Sweden, but I opted to take pictures myself since the dollar didn’t go very far.

But not all was old design of course. In the more modern buildings I enjoyed the simple modern designs any college student can find in Ikea. Not a big surprise since Sweden is the birthplace of Ikea (not to mention H&M and Pippi Longstocking).




In Denmark the buildings were just as old and fabulous. One of my favorite nights ther was a snowy, freezing night (supposedly the coldest night my friends had witnessed since they'd been there!) when we had drinks in an old Danish pub that was this enourmous building once belonging to the wealthiest man in town.

Later I learned that the original owner of the building in the 1600s, Jen Bangs, despite his wealth could not ever be accepted as a town official so he had figures constructed on the front of his building that were sticking their tonuges out at the Town Hall across the street.

It was a great night too because I met some very friendly Danish students who gave me some insight into Danish life.

Visuwords-learn a new word and meet its cousin

This is a really cool way to find new words and learn more about the ones you knew. It's an online thesaurus and dictionary but what I like about it is that it's visual and interactive. Give it a try it makes words even more fun than they already are! http://www.visuwords.com/

Chinese New Year Party - Categories

Here's one example of categories I found in Cookie magazine. The topic was a Chinese New Year party : how to coordinate a birthday party for kids on Chinese New Year. The topic broke down into two categories: food and fun. Underneath each category was 3 subtopics with examples.
The fun:Puppet Show; New Year's Parade; Crafting The food: Do at the Party, Make Before the Party, Buy Before the Party.

You get the idea- if not then click the image for a larger version and see for yourself!

Category Example- Dog Breeds

I thought that dog types would be a good example of categories. Probably not one we can use for our project though because it already spelled out for us. But it is a simple example of categories that I could get my head around. From there hopefully I can come with something more creative.

The following text and information came from Breeders.net:
http://www.breeders.net/article_detail.php?id=16



Hound Group
This group may be broken down into two distinct categories. The long-legged, fast running sight hounds have been bred to use their stamina and exceptional eye sight to run down their quarry. Breeds in this category include the Greyhound, Afghan, and Salukis. The scent hounds, although varying in size and often slower, are great athletes and use their acute sense of smell and strong legs to follow the trail of prey. This category includes Bloodhounds, Beagles, and Bassets





Sporting Group
Retriever, spaniel, setter, and pointer breeds make up sporting group. Using different techniques and skill sets, each of these dogs make use of air scent to hunt, converse to hound dogs, which hunt by following ground scent. The pointing or setting breeds are the locators of game, and will freeze and point to game, which directs the hunter to the location. The movers of game are the spaniels, which flush out the quarry, allowing the hunter to shoot it. Retrievers are the collectors of fallen game, spotting and remembering the location of fallen game, and carrying it over land and through water, back to the hunter.



Toy Group
The Toy group contains most of the smallest canines, and is simply described by the size of the dog. Though many in this group are quite ancient breeds, like the Pekingese and Pug, most are smaller versions of dogs belonging to other groups, created by man over generations of selective breeding. Examples include the English Toy Spaniel and Toy Fox Terrier. There are 21 different toy breeds in this poplar group.




Herding Group
These highly social working breeds have been an important part of livestock industries for centuries. Herding, (or stock dogs), have the ability to control the movement of other animals using physical characteristics such us speed, agility, and endurance. There are approximately 60 recognized breeds of herding dogs, including Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, Old English Sheep Dog, Koolie, and Corgie breeds.

There are more breeds of course but these are four categories. Each has several examples within each division, afghan hound, border collie, etc.

More Fur Posters

On the same topic as Erica's last post, I was checking out some anti-fur posters. This one was kind of funny.

Here's a slideshow of some others- good but not so humorous. http://multimedia.hsus.org/slideshows/daf/2007/

Light-hearted ideas for cause poster

Some fun ideas for cause poster/ad/etc.

Support local bands
Spend more time w/ kids
Exercise your dog
Enjoy life
Take a Cab
Go to a Show
Learn a language

Everyone came up with good ones in class too!

Possible Cause for Poster

There are tons of causes possible for our poster assignments but here is one close to my heart as it is a campaign I worked on for several years at HSUS. I wonder though if I should pick something less close to me or something more fun. Chimps can be fun- but not behind cages!

What Really Inspires Me

So when we were asked to bring in something inspiring to us, I thought that we'd be bringing in something inspiring every week, not that this was my only shot at showing off my inspiration (though I'm somehow sure it's not).


I have to say if I'd realized that I'd have brought in something more inspiring than an illustration I'd found online. It was cool and I did like it, but it hadn't been inspiring to me for years or anything.



What does inspire me most is nature.

I live for my time at the beach. I love the way the hot sand gets cooler as you dig your toes deeper into the sand. I love to just lie on a towel on the beach after squirming and fidgeting and arranging the sand beneath to conform to my shape in just the perfect way. I love the rhythmical sounds of the waves crashing and children screaming as they try to escape from edges of the surf. The seagulls overhead cry out, screaming and hungry or wistful and lonely. The dusk takes over and the night life begins.


At night, the playful nature of the ocean is taken over by darker side, a dark bottomles sea, eternal and deep. I know there is something on the other side, but it's difficult to fathom.

Similarly, when I was in Arizona, I saw of the more sky than I ever realized there was, being from tree-filled Maryland. As giant clouds and never-ending blue hung over my world, it reminded me how small I was, and how big the universe is. I had heard that the skies out west go on forever and when I saw them for myself, I knew why.

That's the stuff that really inspires me.

Choosing the right magazine

For project 1, Make Your Friend a Star, I've chosen to interview Shalaya J. Henson, communications mangager at Share our Strength, a national nonprofit that inspires and organizes individuals and businesses to share their strengths to help end hunger.

One issue I'm considering for this profile is which magazine it would best fits in from our list of magazines. Originally I considered Good magazine as the best choice. However since SOS a non-profit that deals with hunger relief, I realized it would also fit well with Saveur magazine. In researching more about Saveur online I saw that the magazine had recently done a feature on Share our Strength so it certainly would be appropriate for this magazine as well. The fact that Saveur had several mentions of SOS on their Web site, caused me to start leaning towards Saveur rather than Good magazine. I think I could add a list of hunger relief non-profits or list of SOS events as my another item.

Another plus for me was also that the design in Saveur seems much more simple. One odd thing I noticed about Saveur magazine was its non-commitment to font. I examined the font to see which to model my design after, however I found several different fonts on different pages. One seemed to me arial, one times, one bookman antiqua or baskerville oldface, and maybe even more. I thought that it was usually standard to use just one or two fonts for the copy, but I guess I was wrong in this case. Does this sound normal? Maybe I just never noticed before!

Even if I use Saveur, I think I could find my other elements to pull in from Good magazine or something similar- hope this works!

My inspiration today

I think alot of things are inspiring but nothing inspires me more than my talented friends. They help me stay creative and not get too held down by the norms of someone's expectionations. When I have a chance I'd like to post some of their work but I don't have anything available to me at the moment.

For now I'd like to share a cool Web site, curiousartist.com. After checking it out, I found myself very drawn to this image. Apparently this guy has created alot of album covers. It makes me think lush, lucious, lucid.

I found this at www.curiousartist.com

Posted in: The Artists

Creativity, Type & Illustration.

Check Out : Alex Trochut