Thursday, June 19, 2008

Final Thoughts

I'm very glad I finally got around to taking this class, it was well worth it. Hopefully it'll stay around for awhile because even though its very 'unstructured', it's also a breath of fresh air. Primarily if a students been going 'full speed', they may be a little burnt out and have lost some of their drive because everythings been a non stop constant. This class however, really lets you reconnect with what originally motivated you to go into this field in the first place.

Structure is good but it isn't everything, if we stayed in this mindset how would we ever have evolved? It's hard sometimes because habit and the 'box' are very comforting and easy to fall back on so you almost have to really push yourself to think of non conventional ways to approach things otherwise your work/effort is just another mindless clone.

I almost dare say that this type of class should be required after a few semesters time just so ones drive can be rekindled. VIVA LA SEEING SIDEWAYS!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Ideas for Impact

1. Stand on a corner and ask random people what weighs them down in life. Have them write it down on a weight and respond: "Here, let me hold that for you for awhile." (No idea where this came from, must have been loopy from lack of sleep)

2. Find a way to convert the smoke that comes from burning trash into fresh and reusable air again. We could eliminate the worlds landfills, etc.

3. Offer a cremation site for people who need to get rid of old things but necessarily don't want anyone else to have/use them. Sort of a selfish burial for inanimate objects. A toast to the time that was spent.

4. Take a homeless person in for at least a day. Show them kindness, wash their clothes, feed them, etc.

5. Take anytime from 1hr to a full day and be free of anything/everything that is wasteful.

6. Volunteer your time, whether it be through an organization or to friends/family.

7. Pick a spot that has been used as a 'dump' and walk around picking up litter. (streets, alleys, medians, etc.)

8. Don't use water for a whole day.

9. Go through your closet, house, and donate that which you do not need. You get rid of clutter and it makes you feel good for providing use to others.

10. Set up a booth (downtown) just like Lucy from Peanuts does. 'The Doctor is in' 5 cents. Some may come up some may not but at least it may brighten someones day.

11. Take some colored chalk and start drawing on things. (Sayings, portraits, etc.)

Monday, June 9, 2008

Calm before the storm

On the way home last Wednesday I took some pictures while driving. I purposely shook the camera to get a 'trace like' effect. One of the things I love is the calm before a storm. It's eerie and the quietness of your surroundings is indescribable in my opinion.

Impending doom


Now here's some mashups I made in Photoshop from the 'trace like' pictures I took from my car.





Sunday, June 8, 2008

Themes are no match for an angry storm

The 7th, Saturday, was my birthday and being that it was my 30th I wanted to do something a little special. So I started brainstorming ideas on what to do back in May and what I had come up with was an entire weekend celebration with a huge kegger at my parents farm house in Pendleton, IN. I was going to have everybody that I knew up and they were going to invite their friends, I was going to project the Wii on the side of the barn, there was going to be a cookout, etc. Also on Friday I was going to kick it off with everybody meeting up and watching an Indians game then maybe afterwards going out for drinks. I had the entire thing planned out in my head, started spreading the word around, and had about 20+ people that were all excited and on board.

Then the weather hits....

The barn at the farm house was completely destroyed by the storm the weekend before plus the power was taken out. My Dad couldn't clean any of it up because the insurance people had to come out and document the damage or whatever but to this day they haven't been out. It's probably because of everybody else calling them up, etc. So then Friday comes, the weather still isn't cooperating and because of this only 4 of the 20+ people show up. I ended up calling off going to the game at the last minute and the 4 of us just went to eat at the RAM brewery. Apparently most of the people had the same idea because when I called them about the change in plans, they politely declined. Anyways, dinner ended up being really fun because there were a few instances of hilarity.

1. When I went to the bathroom, this guy rushed by me on the way and by the time I got in, he was already kneeling to the porcelain goddess. I must say it was both humorous and a bit disturbing to be standing there with the 'vomit soundtrack' playing right next to you.

2. There was a private party going on in the back room and apparently this grandma was drinking, dancing, and at one point dancing on top of a table! After dinner while we were all just bullshitting outside the entire party stumbled out and nearly crushed my friend Martha behind the door in the process. Grandma had to be wheeled out, bonnet and all. One of the guys kept dropping his food and repeatedly informing us that he wasn't as drunk as the rest of them. And as they were fumbling away they kept yelling that 'the parties in room 318!'

Saturday instead of going up to the farm I had everyone come over to my house and just eat, drink, socialize, and play Wii. And even though only 8 people showed, it was really a blast. Everybody got along, there was plenty of laughter, and it ended up being really memorable. Also in retrospect I'm kind of glad only 8 people showed because my place couldn't have held anymore (bonus: found out the max capacity!)

The point of all this is that sure plans are great and they're awesome if they go off without a hitch but sometimes the unplanned is just as (if not more) exciting and eventful. Yeah I was a bit disappointed with the weekend because of the plans I had made crashed and burned but honestly the stuff that happened because of it ended up being a lot better.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Awesome campaign poster.

Cool Mural

Hey everyone, there's this really cool mural on the side of this building at 62th and Allisonville. Wanted to share it with you all.

Left Side & Right Side


Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The 'What Its' have it.

1. What if I didn't go back to college.
2. What if I wasn't adopted.
3. What if this is all a dream.
4. What if there was a zombie apacolypse.
5. What if my Aunt Ruth was alive.
6. What if my Grandpa Johnson was alive.
7. What if I had never met you.
8. What if you never met me.
9. What if the world was 75% land and only 25% water.
10. What if we could change the past.
11. What if we're the aliens.
12. What if Childrens Palace was still around.
13. What if seconds were hours.
14. What if I were famous.
15. What if I just gave up.
16. What if the dinosaurs still roamed the earth.
17. What if the bible was discovered to be fiction.
18. What if we started old and grew young.
19. What if you knew the roadmap to your life.
20. What if farts were a form of greeting someone.
21. What if technology never existed.
22. What if flying cars were a reality.
23. What if we all were the same.
24. What if some books were never written.
25. What if we never aged.
26. What if we communicated without our mouths.
27. What if Jeff Goldblum starred in Caddyshack.
28. What if I grew up somewhere else.
29. What if I was black.
30. What if you knew when you were going to die.
31. What if gods lived among us.
32. What if Star Wars 1-3 was made first with Harrison, Mark, Carrie, etc. and 4-6 was made with Ewan, Hayden, and Natalie second.
33. What if we could fly.
34. What if I was a superhero.
35. What if World War 3 started today.
36. What if the carpet was pulled out from under you.
37. What if you really were the way you perceived yourself.
38. What if you could tap into the other 90% of your brain power.
39. What if weeks were 8 days.
40. What if night was considered daytime.
41. What if we knew where the Jetsons house was originally attached.
42. What if there were no names.
43. What if being sober was considered doing drugs.
44. What if being colorblind was normal.
45. What if I had gone into teaching.
46. What if our minds were like Johnny Numonics.
47. What if we lived underwater and they lived on land.
48. What if imagination was illegal.
49. What if I became a monk.
50. What if money was still sea shells.