Winter Term. Wow. Where to begin? Perhaps with the monstrous work-load I've taken on over the past two weeks. Perhaps with my ever waining desire to work while it's 20 degrees outside. Or perhaps with my inability to keep in touch with my out-of-state friends due to my monstrous work-load.
That being said, my class is fantastic. I'm learning more than I could have ever hoped about Flash and interactive media. I find our class discussions so fascinating, and I'm really starting to feel like I can use my creativity to create something both functionally and aesthetically interesting and innovative. I'll have to figure out a way to post my projects for viewing. I'm not sure if I can do it here, but I'll figure it out.
In my class we've been viewing a lot of online interactive content. There's this Web site, which is essentially the Web site for an annual Flash convention, that has lists of award-winning Flash animated Web pages. It's mind-boggling and totally worth a visit. Look at the Ikea Dream Kitchen in the 2006 winners. It's amazing. I love the 3D elements and the musical accompaniment - the integration is so seamless and so perfect for their product. I love it! I've been "dorking out" pretty hard core the last week and a half or so, going through tons of YouTube videos and awesome Web sites for class.
My professor is big on breaking up monotony with fun YouTube videos, many of which I've been passing on to my friends. Please go watch David Blaine Street Magic. It's a bit vulgar, but oh so hilarious if you understand the context. We've been seriously discussing YouTube as well as this sort of new wave, or Web 2.0, of how people use the internet.
YouTube has become my savior. Sad, I know. But true. Mindless entertainment has become my vice. And to some extent, I'm really okay with that. There's a ton of stuff, good and bad out there, that can be used educationally and to just break up the day.
That said, I'm going to leave you with an embed of something I found quite amusing, albeit a bit odd...
cheers!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
breathe out
The holiday season is always hectic for everyone. I don't think I'd ever experienced, or truly understood that until this year. I was home in Maryland for about 10 days total; the whole time rushing around running errands, seeing friends or just being occupied by something.
My family spent about a week in Arizona, like we do every year. This was the first year without my grandmother. It's funny how when someone leaves us, everyone else sort of scoots in to fill the space they left behind. It's like when you have birds on a wire, and one flies off, all the rest shove down. But we can only fill so much, there will always be a void, I think. My aunts, my mother, my cousins and I can make the cookies, the salad dressing, the mashed potatoes and do the wrapping, the cleaning and the laundry. But Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas this year.
New traditions must be forged, though in the company of ones still in tact. We did our annual cousins movie trip and our big family party. But they were held at my aunt Suzy's house instead of Grandma's. Oh that's another thing, it will always be Grandma's house. I mean no disrespect to Grandpa, but that's just how it's always been.
She's everywhere in that house on 44th Lane in Glendale. Her scent is still on her clothes, and her touch still lingers on the pots and pans and the candy dish that sits on top of the clothes dryer.
It was a very bittersweet Christmas, but I'm glad to be back at school. It's not that I'm an escapist, I am perfectly happy to face sadness and grief, but there are moments when you're ready to just breathe out and let the sadness disappear, surrounded by friends and family.
I'm excited about winter term this year. I'm taking a class about interactive and new media. Essentially, it's a class about Internet publishing and digital imaging. We had our first class yesterday (they started school on a Friday, I know, I'm taking it up with the proper authorities) and I think the class shows a lot of promise to be something both informative and engaging in terms of artistic growth and thought development.
I'm going to try to blog more this month. I've fallen off the wagon a bit. I'm going to be heavily engrossed in my search for an internship. So, if anyone knows anyone in the art publishing industry who's looking for an eager student to fill an internship position. Call me.
My family spent about a week in Arizona, like we do every year. This was the first year without my grandmother. It's funny how when someone leaves us, everyone else sort of scoots in to fill the space they left behind. It's like when you have birds on a wire, and one flies off, all the rest shove down. But we can only fill so much, there will always be a void, I think. My aunts, my mother, my cousins and I can make the cookies, the salad dressing, the mashed potatoes and do the wrapping, the cleaning and the laundry. But Christmas just didn't feel like Christmas this year.
New traditions must be forged, though in the company of ones still in tact. We did our annual cousins movie trip and our big family party. But they were held at my aunt Suzy's house instead of Grandma's. Oh that's another thing, it will always be Grandma's house. I mean no disrespect to Grandpa, but that's just how it's always been.
She's everywhere in that house on 44th Lane in Glendale. Her scent is still on her clothes, and her touch still lingers on the pots and pans and the candy dish that sits on top of the clothes dryer.
It was a very bittersweet Christmas, but I'm glad to be back at school. It's not that I'm an escapist, I am perfectly happy to face sadness and grief, but there are moments when you're ready to just breathe out and let the sadness disappear, surrounded by friends and family.
I'm excited about winter term this year. I'm taking a class about interactive and new media. Essentially, it's a class about Internet publishing and digital imaging. We had our first class yesterday (they started school on a Friday, I know, I'm taking it up with the proper authorities) and I think the class shows a lot of promise to be something both informative and engaging in terms of artistic growth and thought development.
I'm going to try to blog more this month. I've fallen off the wagon a bit. I'm going to be heavily engrossed in my search for an internship. So, if anyone knows anyone in the art publishing industry who's looking for an eager student to fill an internship position. Call me.
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