Things you find and think about over French Toast

Friday night my friends and I decided to eat at Dennys for dinner. They ordered their usual, Boca Burger and Fries while I deviated and ordered the French Toast Slam. While we were eating I saw Stephanie look down with a perplexed look in her eye. After a few minutes of both mine and her husbands curiosity, she picked it up and read it out loud. Here is what she found.


It was a little accompanying card but for what and for whom or even under what circumstances was the message inside relevant? My mind immediately starting racing at all the possible reasons for the message inside.

Then I got to thinking about fortune cookies and the sad, sorry state of the fortunes these days. Is it just me or do none of the 'lucky' numbers match up with what you consider lucky. And where are the profound messages, now they just state things of common sense and obvious observations about life. Was there some huge strike in the cookie factories or something?

So inspired by the discovery of this card, I decided to cut my piece of paper into equally sized versions. Then for each of them I either wrote a funny limerick or a line from one of my favorite graphic novels.


Some of the them read:
To: Jane From John; Jane, we are not lost. -John
Do not worry; Just hold on, the worst is behind us.
Time (shown by just hour and minute hands); is running out.
etc.

After all of that, I left each one at various places in hopes that a passerby like myself would one day find them and maybe take a moment to ponder about where it came from and the message behind it.

Places I left them:
Inside a library book
At a bus stop
Underneath a booth at Perkins
Dropped while walking through Castleton Mall
On a free booth at a movie theater
Various mailbox

the instruction book for an infant me

Last week at work I had some down time so I decided to Google my name and see what would come up. Originally Beth Haggenjos had suggested this to us in Directed Study 1 as a way to see how you're portrayed in the virtual world but I've found it to be a fun exercise ever since. So anyways, I had stumbled upon something that made me think of my birth parents and the fact that I still don't know who they are or were. When I got home I pulled out the little manila folder and just stared at it for awhile.

Awhile back I had requested information on them and the forms to begin the process but thats as far as I've gone to this day. Occasionally from time to time the idea would pop up but I was always too conflicted. I always either thought; let me get me straight first or why should I care. But honestly, how CAN you prepare for something like that?! I never gave it much thought or urgency up until a friend of mine said (and I'll never forget this), 'by the time you're ready you could be talking to a gravestone.' Granted who's to say that they'll want to meet me but then again what if they do?

Then I stumbled upon a stapled 6 page document titled 'Infant Dictation' and I remember my Dad gave it to me after I first expressed a desire to search out my birth parents. I call it the instruction book for an infant me. There was also a report that stated I have a brother and sister out there and that they're twins. If anything that last bit of information, aside from medical records, is one of the main reasons I remain curious.

There's very little I have to do to start the process and I feel as prepared as I ever will be so I plan on starting the 'search' soon. And of course the new media side of me wants to document the thing, LOL.

Something fun...

The general consensus where I work is that we're all getting fatter from the abundant amount of food surrounding us on a daily basis so back in January we started an 'IT Biggest Loser' contest. Everyone chipped in $20, we have weekly weigh ins, and the contest ends at the end of June. I started out strong but I'm basically out of the race even though I still try. I usually try to eat at home for breakfast, get a heart healthy lunch and then have a normal dinner. Well, not today. This morning I had a powerade and a brownie from the cafeteria because I had been craving one for the last week. Then for lunch I organized a luncheon with everyone at ICEHOUSE on West Street. Unfortunately not everyone made it but out of the 4 that did, we had a good time eating whatever we wanted.

When we got back to the office my mind started racing at what I wanted to do when I got home and then it came to me, Fastimes Indoor Karting. So I called to check on availability but unfortunately they were only open until 5:30pm then they had a private reservation for the rest of the evening. Then I thought it would be a cool thing to do with my dad for Fathers Day so I decided to go put it off until then.

When I got home, I decided to go out on our back porch and read. A few years ago I had discovered that I read better there and since I haven't had time recently, I thought I'd try to catch up on some reading. Unfortunately it was a bit too windy today for me to get more than a few chapters in. The good thing about the balcony is that it's almost always 'in the shade' so on really hot days its still 'cool' but the wind was just too much to take and it really wasn't fun or relaxing anymore.

Ultimately I ended up passing out, which I know isn't very much in the spirit of this assignment but I've been completely exhausted as of late and just stopping everything to rest was very, VERY enjoyable/fun for me.

Once a douche, always a douche, but still...

Along the lines of what we talked about Monday night (5-19), I'd like to share a revelation that up until then had not dawned on me.

In March of 2001, I attended A PERFECT CIRCLE concert at the Pepsi Coliseum along with my friend with whom both us combined have attended at least 200 concerts in our teenage years. Anyways, halfway through the show a person in front of the 'pit' took a picture and Maynard (the lead singer, also of TOOL) had something to say about it. I forget what his exact words were but they were along the lines of 'not ruining the moment by capturing it.' Afterwards my friend and I immediately went on the defensive and coined him as a douche bag.

So when Beth told us that story about how someone in her family tried to document everything and by doing so ruined the moment, it immediately clicked and I finally understood what this guy was trying to convey. I still consider him a douche but now I understand what he was trying to say.

I suppose my opinion on taking pictures, notes, etc. to capture parts of life are still a bit divided. However, I do believe now that it shouldn't be 'forced' otherwise the spontaneity is lost as well as the magic of the moment.

Reflections in TIme

Hey Everyone,

I'm currently trying to transfer my video into a polished After Effects piece but so far it's not looking too good because the last time I played with this application was for my first class with Beth (and yes I know, shame on me for not keeping up with it, I'm definitely kicking myself as I write this.) So if I can't produce a polished product between now and tomorrows class, I'll just bring in an MPEG to show.

Regardless of the outcome, I'd like to preface my approach to the assignment.

I decided to video tape myself talking about one of the buildings in Broad Ripple I used to frequent when I was a teenager. I also purposely chose to video tape the recollection away from the building so the viewer is able to focus on my facial expressions which will hopefully lure them in. The reason I chose Broad Ripple is because most are familiar with the area or at least the name. So hopefully my ramblings will invite them to remember what it meant for their youth.

It isn't pretty and I fumble a bit but hopefully the feeling comes through.

Stop Motion Wall Animation

Hey everybody, check this out! This is soo cool!

http://www.geekologie.com/2008/05/stop_motion_wall_painting_is_p.php

Time ideas

1. Make some sort of road map that consists of Past, Present, & Future. Somehow show how someones Present could be an other's Past and/or any other variation along those lines. Sort of thinking along the lines of ying & yang, etc.

2. Go around Indianapolis and document, in some way, various places/buildings/etc that are no longer in operation. One idea is gas stations.
3. Play on the word 'nerve' Think: it's the very thing that distinguishes one moment from the next. Find a way to showcase that.
4. Create a picture of a person walking away from a vanishing point as it fades away.
5. Create a video in After Effects consisting of a scene that gives you the illusion of walking backwards from a vanishing point. Either make it repeated or have the vanishing point fade to black continuously.
6. Make one of those pictures that you see something different on the left and the right side. From the top it looks like a bunch of triangles next to each other. Picture Ideas: Left side =Sunrise, Right Side= Moon, etc.
7. New sort of clock that rather than moves in a circle to tell time, moves from the center out.

I miss Mister Wizard...

I found it interesting that we discussed of how time is/would be affected and/or perceived if someone/something wasn’t present. The mere thought of an entirely different reality that could have existed is very intriguing. Then I started thinking about the other conundrums that I’m sure we’ve all heard at one point in our lives.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Or to make it a bit more personal, all the ‘what if’s’ that if taken, could’ve affected our lives for better or worse.

Then the video segment of ‘Art: 21’ where elements were removed got me to thinking about the experience of TIME as a whole. What it’s made up of and how it is defined. The first thing that popped into my head was that of a scientific formula of sorts:

One part elemental,
One part sound,
One part feeling,
etc.

Would an exact moment in ‘TIME’ have been the same without these things? Would they have been that memorable?

Eggsicles and Candles

Once I had received a reply back from my question about what we did Wednesday night, I immediately opened my notebook and started scribbling down ideas, anything and everything that came to mind.

So Friday after work I had decided to either do a ‘Where’s Eggo’ pictorial search ala shades of Waldo or an Eggshell light strand. The Where’s Eggo was going to consist of a googly eyed egg hidden in 12 different collage pictures I would have took. The final presentation would have been in the shape of an egg or something like that. The Eggshell light strand was just going to be empty egg shells secured over the light sockets somehow and I was also going to spray paint the wire bright yellow.

Then I decided to get some last minute thoughts at the DOLLAR TREE that’s near my house. They of course had Easter products out already but I immediately ignored them and kept going. I came upon this cool neon orange lamp shade looking square bowl that I pondered for a second about cracking a bunch of eggs in there and putting light on it somehow to make a sort of Egg Yolk (Lava) Lamp. But that thought left as quick as it came because it would’ve been far too messy and I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to do it. So I continued wandering up and down each aisle looking at anything that would spark my interest.

I came to the candle aisle and picked up one of their mini cherry scented ones because I also was thinking of making a egg candle. Then I found a pan to put/melt the wax in. On the back wall they had those old school popsicle trays that you pour the liquid you want, place the handle in, freeze, and then you have a popsicle so I snagged it up because I had the idea of making eggsicles. And I had to get a ‘100 Grand’ candy bar because those are awesome and you don’t really see them anymore. Needless to say, it didn’t make the journey home.

So I used a knife to stab an opening at the top of 3 eggs and poured its insides into the trays of the popsicle cart. Then I put the handles back on and placed them in the freezer. Next I used the same knight to carve the wax out of the candle into the saucer pan. I let the wax melt on the stovetop and proceeded to pour the wax into one of the eggs a portion at a time. I didn’t know if this would work or if the shell could withstand the heat without cracking so I went from pouring to standing to putting it in the ice tray of our freezer.

I had wanted to place a wick in the middle but the wick that came in the candle wasn’t very cooperative. So I had to be content with a cherry smelling egg shell. Oh yeah, hot wax hurts! The Eggsicles were going to be tried out later but I couldn’t get the damn things out of the trays. So, there’s a lesson. There’s a reason it was a dollar. Not entirely sure what or where I was going with all of this either but whatever, I just went with it.