With the switch to the card system they also increased the price of the dryer by fifty cents. Not so bad on the single scale but now I only get four loads from $10 instead of five. Well, I don't do a lot of laundry. Still I'd prefer the extra load.
A machine malfunctioned and the person who was using it just left their laundry in the broken machine. It was filled to the top with stinky water and decent enough looking clothes.
Started watching the next season of The Wire. Probably will finish it before the weekend is up. I have a lot of drawing to do so the show should provide most excellent company.
Tonight's TBA was Philippe Quesne / Vivarium Studio: L'Effet de Serge. I had to cross Burnside to get to the theatre. I don't like Burnside. Too crowded and traffic laden. There was plenty of bike parking and the tucked away venue didn't have too much of a line. It wasn't even a full audience. I wasn't in the front row but I was glad of it. I liked being able to see the full stage. The set up was a basement studio of sorts; very long and shallow. There was a sliding glass door, a ping pong table and various things set on and around it.
The play opened with Gaetan Vourc'h walking around in a astronaut suit and explaining that all of their plays begin with the ending of the last play. He walked around the stage and introduced all of the objects and the layout of the house and what Serge's neighborhood was like. He explained that Serge likes to put on sort, three minute performances for his friends on Sunday and is experimenting with voice over. He switched to voice over and left the stage to return in character. The rest of the play was centered around his Sundays and his friends coming over and seeing his quaint little performances. He milled around and it was generally quiet through most of the play but still enjoyable. Each occurrence of time passing had a voice over, "time is passing time is passing it is Sunday...". Sort of like that, but not quite. For his first friend, a lady who arrived by bike, he controlled a remote control car under a box with a sparkler attached to the top of it. His second show, to a couple who arrive by car, he controlled the lights of their Porsche in rhythm to Ride of the Valkyries. All of his performances were in tune to a song, but that is the only one I remember. The third show was to a female who came on foot. Before she arrived he was playing with a light rope and some glow stick eye glasses. It was an adorable moment of him swinging about the ropes. And then he ran into the door. When his lady friend showed up he was still wearing the glasses and was tending to his busted nose. It was one of the more awkward moments of the play (there were many, it was very awkward and quiet all together). For her, he did a laser show against the wall. All of his company tried to give a little critique of what he did before leaving.
The big finale were fireworks. He hooked up the trigger to his feet and ignited each one slowly, bringing the wires together in a paced motion. His audience was made up of the four friends who had arrived earlier in the play and another one. The third lady gave him a tee shirt. They awkwardly looked at each other. Another friend arrived late for his little show. Pizza interrupted his first attempt. I found myself identifying a great deal with Serge. I know all too well those awkward moments with company where you are unsure what to say and you are just standing there looking around. I think Lindsay would have liked this performance.
I went down 7th and crossed the Hawthorne bridge on my way back.
Tomorrow I hope to hang with Jen and do a little cafe drawing.
hi
Saturday, September 13, 2008
bald friday
I didn't say much in lit class. Trevor talked for the majority of it. Lots of deep concepts and things to talk about concerning the chapter I didn't get to. But I did get a reading response of sorts in. A significant portion of the class left for the Thursday one instead. We watched a couple clips from various Frankenstein movies and discussed the changes. We also watched a bit of Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. It was almost as bad as Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter.
Illustration Class was divided into three parts. First we put out samples of our work to get an idea of who we were dealing with. Marilyn's inking skills are insane. If only she could finish a piece. There was a nice variety in both skill and where people were going with their images. I am, for the most part, really happy with my class. I'll be seeing, hopefully, a lot of these people during the next three years. The portfolio review took us right up to lunch. Robin and I went to Whole Foods together where I misjudged how heavy my lunch was. It was good, just not $8 good. I need to get into lunch packing shape. Try as hard as I may, I just can't get Robin to take more of an interest in comics! Boooo!!
We lounged in the lounge and ate our lunch with Liz and a girl from class who I feel bad that I have forgotten her name. Jim joined us for a little bit. There was a Cosmo Girl on the table. According to Cosmo Girl: pot is really, really addictive!!
The second part of class was spent studying the composition in certain slides by redrawing them. We used ink and our new fancy Sable hair brushes. I wasn't sure what size to get so I got both a 0 and a 6(they were on sale) but I needed a 2. Dang!! Well I have a certain love now for brush and ink. Looks so nice. I hauled in my ink box today, which turned out to be entirely unnecessary. The third part was a little illustration history lesson. Homework was assigned for next week and we were let out a little early. Robin and I walked home together. It was a nice meandering path back under a toasty Portland September sun.
A Popsicle was had and before I knew it, it was time for tonight's TBA. I saw Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait. I loved it for how the music by Mogwai added to the tension during many moments of the movie. I hated how it was 90 minutes of Zinedine Zidane playing soccer/football. Well not hated but it was seriously 90 minutes of intense focus on him through an entire single game. There were some subtitled quotes about 45 minutes in and some footage of events that happened elsewhere on that day but most of the movie was the tense close ups of the game. Still, I would watch it again over a Sophia Coppola movie. I sat next to a guy who is in my History of Design class. We chatted about books we like. Modou was right behind me. He was wearing sunglasses indoors. Eh? But yeah, the movie was long and quiet and there were many kids in the audience.
No one messed with my bike this time around. I needed to unwind and undo some of what this TBA Festival has done to my mind, so I went to see a normal, regular movie. All though not quite an everyday movie because it was the new Coen brother's film Burn After Reading. The 9:30 was sold out so I loitered around for the 10:15. I should have seen the sign that it wasn't what I expected it to be when people left the theatre very serious like. I thought it would be to No Country for Old Men what The Big Lebowski was to Fargo (haven't seen it, but I am sure it isn't a light hearted Coen romp). Instead it was a tragedy with many smiles contained. A decently crafted yarn but the Red Band trailer gave away a lot of surprises and overall plot points so it ended up being a little expected to me. It wasn't as complex as I would have hoped but all the actors were on their A-game and created real, believable characters. I was surprised by it, but I did enjoy the film.
Now I really need to begin the three night process of sleep reclamation.
Illustration Class was divided into three parts. First we put out samples of our work to get an idea of who we were dealing with. Marilyn's inking skills are insane. If only she could finish a piece. There was a nice variety in both skill and where people were going with their images. I am, for the most part, really happy with my class. I'll be seeing, hopefully, a lot of these people during the next three years. The portfolio review took us right up to lunch. Robin and I went to Whole Foods together where I misjudged how heavy my lunch was. It was good, just not $8 good. I need to get into lunch packing shape. Try as hard as I may, I just can't get Robin to take more of an interest in comics! Boooo!!
We lounged in the lounge and ate our lunch with Liz and a girl from class who I feel bad that I have forgotten her name. Jim joined us for a little bit. There was a Cosmo Girl on the table. According to Cosmo Girl: pot is really, really addictive!!
The second part of class was spent studying the composition in certain slides by redrawing them. We used ink and our new fancy Sable hair brushes. I wasn't sure what size to get so I got both a 0 and a 6(they were on sale) but I needed a 2. Dang!! Well I have a certain love now for brush and ink. Looks so nice. I hauled in my ink box today, which turned out to be entirely unnecessary. The third part was a little illustration history lesson. Homework was assigned for next week and we were let out a little early. Robin and I walked home together. It was a nice meandering path back under a toasty Portland September sun.
A Popsicle was had and before I knew it, it was time for tonight's TBA. I saw Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait. I loved it for how the music by Mogwai added to the tension during many moments of the movie. I hated how it was 90 minutes of Zinedine Zidane playing soccer/football. Well not hated but it was seriously 90 minutes of intense focus on him through an entire single game. There were some subtitled quotes about 45 minutes in and some footage of events that happened elsewhere on that day but most of the movie was the tense close ups of the game. Still, I would watch it again over a Sophia Coppola movie. I sat next to a guy who is in my History of Design class. We chatted about books we like. Modou was right behind me. He was wearing sunglasses indoors. Eh? But yeah, the movie was long and quiet and there were many kids in the audience.
No one messed with my bike this time around. I needed to unwind and undo some of what this TBA Festival has done to my mind, so I went to see a normal, regular movie. All though not quite an everyday movie because it was the new Coen brother's film Burn After Reading. The 9:30 was sold out so I loitered around for the 10:15. I should have seen the sign that it wasn't what I expected it to be when people left the theatre very serious like. I thought it would be to No Country for Old Men what The Big Lebowski was to Fargo (haven't seen it, but I am sure it isn't a light hearted Coen romp). Instead it was a tragedy with many smiles contained. A decently crafted yarn but the Red Band trailer gave away a lot of surprises and overall plot points so it ended up being a little expected to me. It wasn't as complex as I would have hoped but all the actors were on their A-game and created real, believable characters. I was surprised by it, but I did enjoy the film.
Now I really need to begin the three night process of sleep reclamation.
Friday, September 12, 2008
I believe it
It is highly believable how I tired I am. The fire alarm went off at 4am and didn't stop until 4:30am. 4am is the worst time for an evacuation. Even the night owls are in bed and you go back to bed with only a couple hours left to enjoy sleep. I was still awake when it went off. I don't know what kept me up but the alarm just aggravated it. I was the first one outside. It was mostly art students in the courtyard. Didn't seem to be an accurate representation of the amount of people living there. Anywhoo, it sucked and I am right now running on an what is probably less than two total hours of sleep.
We had a different model in figure drawing today. She had great tattoos. We practiced drawing the frame work of the model and the measurements of limbs. Morgan had story time where he showed us a book on reclining nudes. Karen, Diana and I sank into the student lounge couch during break. I did my best sloth impersonation for the girls. Class was fun, I am really liking that class. I learn a little more each class and apply it towards the next drawing I do. Really spectacular.
Lindsay and I walked together after class. I had to get some art supplies for my studio class tomorrow. Utrecht didn't have bond paper but they had a good price on sable hair brushes. I staggered back to school and picked up the bond paper at Art Media.
I joined Jen in the library and laid out my stuff to start drawing my painting project. I had a hard time focused and wandered around talking to people. I thoroughly enjoyed a beef dip sandwich and tea for lunch. Thank you Quizno's, you are a Godsend to a tired and starving Trillian. I was so tired that I knew I couldn't do two TBA shows tonight. I did find someone who really wanted to see the show I was unable to attend so I have a little joy knowing that my ticket was used by someone who really wanted it. My drawing went through many renditions but I am happy with what I started painting. Lee remarked that it was amazing that no one had thought of that concept before. They probably have but shhhhh lets pretend I'm original here.
Painting class was a joy. Everyone is in such good spirits there. I love the level of camaraderie. I felt a little bad about how much we raved about James Jean, who is a friend of Farel. Jean is awesome, Jean is great, is there a possibility of him coming here? And so on. Wonder what it's like to be around people who rave about your friend as this phenomenal artist. But it is also an undisputed fact that Jean is spectacular and I don't anyone can be bitter towards him. He apparently has a phenomenal work ethic. Anyhoo, I think Farel is a great artist and he should get the school to pimp him out a little. The hardcover of Omega the Unknown just came out. I said I would swing by Floating World and get it...when it came out in paper back. It's a wonderful edition...oh oh for Christmas! Someone get me it for Christmas! I got some good base washes and colors down in my painting today. Really good progress. And the homework sounds fun. I love both the Tuesday assignments. I can't wait to get started.
I rushed home and rushed to the theatre to grab a seat for today's TBA: Mike Daisey: If You See Something Say Something. It was a brilliant monologue about the creation of the nuclear bomb, the patriot act, visiting Trinity, the terror alert colors, Homeland Security and so many many things. It ran for over two hours and in my state it was difficult to retain many things. He was funny but not as hilarious to be as the rest of the audience seemed to think. I found some of his delivery a bit obvious but who am I to judge jokes? He will be doing the show in New York soon so Kirie, check it out ya? It was a good day to see such a show. I was on the top balcony overlooking him from a corner. It wasn't really that important to have a good view. Actually the farther the better because I could see him sweating from my seat, I can't imagine what he looked like from the front row. He had what he was to say down wonderfully.
Maybe tomorrow I can relate more details. Right now I need to finish writing about Frankenstein and crawl into my dear sweet bed.
We had a different model in figure drawing today. She had great tattoos. We practiced drawing the frame work of the model and the measurements of limbs. Morgan had story time where he showed us a book on reclining nudes. Karen, Diana and I sank into the student lounge couch during break. I did my best sloth impersonation for the girls. Class was fun, I am really liking that class. I learn a little more each class and apply it towards the next drawing I do. Really spectacular.
Lindsay and I walked together after class. I had to get some art supplies for my studio class tomorrow. Utrecht didn't have bond paper but they had a good price on sable hair brushes. I staggered back to school and picked up the bond paper at Art Media.
I joined Jen in the library and laid out my stuff to start drawing my painting project. I had a hard time focused and wandered around talking to people. I thoroughly enjoyed a beef dip sandwich and tea for lunch. Thank you Quizno's, you are a Godsend to a tired and starving Trillian. I was so tired that I knew I couldn't do two TBA shows tonight. I did find someone who really wanted to see the show I was unable to attend so I have a little joy knowing that my ticket was used by someone who really wanted it. My drawing went through many renditions but I am happy with what I started painting. Lee remarked that it was amazing that no one had thought of that concept before. They probably have but shhhhh lets pretend I'm original here.
Painting class was a joy. Everyone is in such good spirits there. I love the level of camaraderie. I felt a little bad about how much we raved about James Jean, who is a friend of Farel. Jean is awesome, Jean is great, is there a possibility of him coming here? And so on. Wonder what it's like to be around people who rave about your friend as this phenomenal artist. But it is also an undisputed fact that Jean is spectacular and I don't anyone can be bitter towards him. He apparently has a phenomenal work ethic. Anyhoo, I think Farel is a great artist and he should get the school to pimp him out a little. The hardcover of Omega the Unknown just came out. I said I would swing by Floating World and get it...when it came out in paper back. It's a wonderful edition...oh oh for Christmas! Someone get me it for Christmas! I got some good base washes and colors down in my painting today. Really good progress. And the homework sounds fun. I love both the Tuesday assignments. I can't wait to get started.
I rushed home and rushed to the theatre to grab a seat for today's TBA: Mike Daisey: If You See Something Say Something. It was a brilliant monologue about the creation of the nuclear bomb, the patriot act, visiting Trinity, the terror alert colors, Homeland Security and so many many things. It ran for over two hours and in my state it was difficult to retain many things. He was funny but not as hilarious to be as the rest of the audience seemed to think. I found some of his delivery a bit obvious but who am I to judge jokes? He will be doing the show in New York soon so Kirie, check it out ya? It was a good day to see such a show. I was on the top balcony overlooking him from a corner. It wasn't really that important to have a good view. Actually the farther the better because I could see him sweating from my seat, I can't imagine what he looked like from the front row. He had what he was to say down wonderfully.
Maybe tomorrow I can relate more details. Right now I need to finish writing about Frankenstein and crawl into my dear sweet bed.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
trashy
I hope every Tuesday isn't a, "I'm so tired from Monday I must sleep in past noon" day. It is nice but it doesn't do me very well for the next two 8am days.
I went to the Multnomah County Library and got a library card. I was serviced by a trainee. A little girl was crying when her mother took her to check out books. Guess she wanted more books? I was there to get puppet making books for my figure drawing final. Yes it is a bit early to do finals work but I want to get a handle on what the options are early on. Maybe make more than one if I have the time. Plus I've always had an interest in puppet making so this is my chance to do it. Puppets rock. I already have eight things checked out from the PNCA library, I don't know how their puppet section is but I wanted to get a stack of books so I figured it was time to get a library card. The stacks proved most helpful. I ended up with Anatomy of a Doll, A World of Dolls That You Can Make, Doll's, Puppedolls, and Teddy Bears, Making Original Dolls of Composition, Bisque, and Porcelain, Puppets and Puppet Theatre, and And Introduction to Puppets and Puppet-Making. I am so set. To check out you set your card down and enter your pin number and the slowest scanner reads your bar code. Then you set the books down one by one and it slooooooooooowly charges them to your account. Having a person do it would take less time than the machine. Diana was coming in as I was leaving and I showed off my books to her.
Karen stopped by for half and hour and browsed the books. I want to do one of those large puppets that is connected to a back pack and you move the hands with large poles. I can't find the name for them, anybody know it? Something large with a simple draping fabric and I'd be wearing a cool outfit to go with it. And some smaller marionettes. Have to start planning!!
Another part of the homework for the year is to watch Bad Santa. I'm about halfway through it now.
Some people just knocked on my door selling DVD's for $3 a pop for 5 for $10. I wish I had some cash. They said they needed rent money but I highly doubt that is what it was for.
Tonight's TBA was Tiago Guedes. I sat next to Carlos and Colleen. Carlos and I chatted about that-show-which-I-shall-not-name.
Guedes' show started by him moving around the stage enacting very specific but general movements. He did a little twirl. He blew on his thumb. He took off his shirt. He put his shirt back on. He trod in tiny little steps. It was for a purpose I knew, but watching it wasn't very exciting. Some music came on and he left the stage. Then he came back and did all the motions again, this time with the props. He started by picking at the floor and pulled up five strands of tape creating a pyramid. He tugged on these chairs attached to fishing line and pulled the props off the chair. The motions with the props led to a spectacular set up. First he strung a line of tape between two poles. Then he laid out some newspapers and taped them together. He cut them free from the floor and put the huge taped together sheet of paper on the line of tape. Then the lights when dim and he lit small sections of the paper on fire and blew them out. He spritzed the sheet with water in two placed and cut a whole in another spot and stuck a roll of blue trash bags through it. He came around to the front with a can of green spray paint and drew two clouds over the water spritzed areas and a mountain below them. The burn marks became tree trunks. The trash bag bundle that was coming down from the mountain was rolled across the stage to form an expansive river. In the front of the stage were more trash bags taped together which he pulled out and created a lake. In the first half he did the bridge pose where you bend your stomach upwards and you are arched on your feet and hands. He did it again creating a bridge over the river. He lay down like he did in the first part and took a little, probably much deserved rest while we admired his handiwork.
Guedes tore down his work too soon and crumpled it and put it in the corner. The trash bag strand he wrapped around his waist and stuffed the loose ones under his shirt making him look like a muscle man. He pulled out the taped together bags fully and ruffled them, filling the stage with blue plastic ripples. He clambered under the waves and wrapped himself into a thick, trash cocoon. He stumbled into one of the chairs and scootched over to the other one and and got into that one and pulled the other chair into his lap. He fell over and ripped free from the cocoon as the music started to play again. He ripped up the left over pieces of tape off the floor and put them on the wall behind him, slowly spelling out "TIAGO". He left and we applauded. He came back twice to revel in the applause. I really enjoyed the performance. It was delightful. I probably destroyed the fun of it with my description though...
Now to look at puppets and pictures of suits.
I went to the Multnomah County Library and got a library card. I was serviced by a trainee. A little girl was crying when her mother took her to check out books. Guess she wanted more books? I was there to get puppet making books for my figure drawing final. Yes it is a bit early to do finals work but I want to get a handle on what the options are early on. Maybe make more than one if I have the time. Plus I've always had an interest in puppet making so this is my chance to do it. Puppets rock. I already have eight things checked out from the PNCA library, I don't know how their puppet section is but I wanted to get a stack of books so I figured it was time to get a library card. The stacks proved most helpful. I ended up with Anatomy of a Doll, A World of Dolls That You Can Make, Doll's, Puppedolls, and Teddy Bears, Making Original Dolls of Composition, Bisque, and Porcelain, Puppets and Puppet Theatre, and And Introduction to Puppets and Puppet-Making. I am so set. To check out you set your card down and enter your pin number and the slowest scanner reads your bar code. Then you set the books down one by one and it slooooooooooowly charges them to your account. Having a person do it would take less time than the machine. Diana was coming in as I was leaving and I showed off my books to her.
Karen stopped by for half and hour and browsed the books. I want to do one of those large puppets that is connected to a back pack and you move the hands with large poles. I can't find the name for them, anybody know it? Something large with a simple draping fabric and I'd be wearing a cool outfit to go with it. And some smaller marionettes. Have to start planning!!
Another part of the homework for the year is to watch Bad Santa. I'm about halfway through it now.
Some people just knocked on my door selling DVD's for $3 a pop for 5 for $10. I wish I had some cash. They said they needed rent money but I highly doubt that is what it was for.
Tonight's TBA was Tiago Guedes. I sat next to Carlos and Colleen. Carlos and I chatted about that-show-which-I-shall-not-name.
Guedes' show started by him moving around the stage enacting very specific but general movements. He did a little twirl. He blew on his thumb. He took off his shirt. He put his shirt back on. He trod in tiny little steps. It was for a purpose I knew, but watching it wasn't very exciting. Some music came on and he left the stage. Then he came back and did all the motions again, this time with the props. He started by picking at the floor and pulled up five strands of tape creating a pyramid. He tugged on these chairs attached to fishing line and pulled the props off the chair. The motions with the props led to a spectacular set up. First he strung a line of tape between two poles. Then he laid out some newspapers and taped them together. He cut them free from the floor and put the huge taped together sheet of paper on the line of tape. Then the lights when dim and he lit small sections of the paper on fire and blew them out. He spritzed the sheet with water in two placed and cut a whole in another spot and stuck a roll of blue trash bags through it. He came around to the front with a can of green spray paint and drew two clouds over the water spritzed areas and a mountain below them. The burn marks became tree trunks. The trash bag bundle that was coming down from the mountain was rolled across the stage to form an expansive river. In the front of the stage were more trash bags taped together which he pulled out and created a lake. In the first half he did the bridge pose where you bend your stomach upwards and you are arched on your feet and hands. He did it again creating a bridge over the river. He lay down like he did in the first part and took a little, probably much deserved rest while we admired his handiwork.
Guedes tore down his work too soon and crumpled it and put it in the corner. The trash bag strand he wrapped around his waist and stuffed the loose ones under his shirt making him look like a muscle man. He pulled out the taped together bags fully and ruffled them, filling the stage with blue plastic ripples. He clambered under the waves and wrapped himself into a thick, trash cocoon. He stumbled into one of the chairs and scootched over to the other one and and got into that one and pulled the other chair into his lap. He fell over and ripped free from the cocoon as the music started to play again. He ripped up the left over pieces of tape off the floor and put them on the wall behind him, slowly spelling out "TIAGO". He left and we applauded. He came back twice to revel in the applause. I really enjoyed the performance. It was delightful. I probably destroyed the fun of it with my description though...
Now to look at puppets and pictures of suits.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
the one week mark
Five TBA Festival shows down, six to go. During painting class we received more vouchers and Karen and Jen couldn't use theirs so I ended up with four total that needed to be redeemed. Also James couldn't go to a show tonight so I took that ticket as well. I'll relax next week. And tomorrow.
So today I pretty much went class to class to lunch lecture to class to class to TBA to home. 8am to 9pm. No coffee. I know I keep bringing up how I'm doing this all without coffee. With enough bragging I may be able to graduate without any of the dark stuff in my veins.
Figure Drawing had a lot of focus on the perspective of the model stand. We all drew it and he went around critiquing what was wrong with it. Mine was along the lines that it was getting wider in the back, which is a fine error. Not the worst looking one and he said my mark making was nice. At least I have the general size of it down and I'm not suffering from a case of covering up sloppy measuring with intricate detail. We couldn't decide if we wanted to do a puppet show or a fashion show so we are doing a puppet fashion show. Yeah. I think I'll have to start working on it now, eh.
Ran into Lindsay twice at school today. Once by the lockers and again in the line for muffins from Yo. She is looking well and apparently Ibanez is loosing the weight he gained in my care. Her name was dropped by two students during the puppet fashion show idea. They want her to do the lights and backdrop for it. "Toon! We want Toon!" they cried.
I'm having trouble locating my final print portfolio from last semester. Yoshi isn't really around at the school so I sent him an email. I really hope they have not been trashed as that was an incredible amount of work in that portfolio.
History of Design delayed discussion because some people couldn't round up the textbooks. What the hell! They never did that at Olympic College. If you didn't have it you didn't have it and class continued on without you. That was really weak. She skimmed through the textbook and talked to us some more about the work. We also had first grabs on the artist we wanted to present. I choose Aubrey Beardsley. She showed us some websites and talked about Queen Victoria. I was rather bored, I hope that once we get into the texts it will pick up. I was up late reading, why can't I expect other people to do the same and come to class prepared?
At least she let us out a little early to grab food (we were expected to go to a lunch lecture). Jen, Karen and I hit up Urban Grind. I had a soda and a disappointing overly chewey grilled cheese panini. It was really not...good.
The chat was supposed to be about gender identity but there was a language barrier between some of the panel members so it wasn't a truly insightful discussion. Their performance art is much more expressive than their words alone (Neal Medley was on the panel).
In painting we went over our self portraits. It is a very small class so it becomes readily more obvious the differences in effort (two didn't have a portrait to present). Bryan's and mine both dealt with the consumption of food. Karen's looked like Karen and have pretty soft supple shades. Jen's looked not really like Jen. It was amazing but a little gaunt (but that girl sure knows how to use lettering in her work). Alaska Erin isn't pulling any colorful punches. The CD cover designs showed a greater rift between the did and the did not. It is far more difficult an assignment than one would originally think. A person has all these ideas and then you have to grab one that would make for an interesting cover...and then POOF where did the ideas go? The one I think I'll work with is a cover for something by Janove Ottesen in which he is in a suit but his head is a tie and his tie is Janove dangling from the shirt collar.
Vouchers were handed out and like I said, more than one came my way. I'm too tired to list them off, but you will be hearing about them as I see them. I rushed to PICA to redeem my vouchers. I should have ridden my bike. I was a bit late returning to class but Farel seemed laid back about it and I fit into the flow of what was going on. We were doing quick drawings of our surroundings and filling them in with whatever color seemed fit. It was a delightful exercise and a good chance to practice washes. I raced home once class got out. I had supplies and an armload of Beardsley books to haul. I stuffed them into my baskets (thank you dad so much for them, I couldn't manage without my side baskets) and rode towards the setting sun.
I drank a large quantity of juice when I got home and got right back on my bike and went to Documenting Dance: Three Films. Mel was there so I sat next to her. The first two movies were documentaries about Anna Halprin. I was nodding off and fell asleep during the first one. Not because it was boring but because I was, and still am, very exhausted. She looked great and I was surprised she was 80 during the time of filming. Well, a life time of postmodern dance will do that to you. The way she talked about connecting with nature really touched me. And the clips of her interacting with the surf and the woods made me miss the nature of Seabeck. I did stay awake through the second film which was mostly about her movements that involved the earth, the first film was more of a history with some great archival footage. It is hard to explain my feelings that came from the movies.
Jerome Bel was the choreographer for the piece in the final film. It centered around a French ballet dancer who was a week and a day away from retiring. She talked about her favorite dances, what she wished she had the chance to dance, and showed how in the Swan Lake many of the background dancers stay still for large portions of time while the "stars" get to do the fancy footwork. From hearing Jerome Bel speak a few days ago, I felt that I understood this piece more. Here was this talented dancer who devoted her life to her craft. She had previously hurt herself and wasn't even supposed to be able to dance again after that. Still she rose to dance in a highly respected theatre for a long, respectful career. She admitted that she thought that she wasn't a star because possibly she was not good enough. Just this one dancer speaking her final words before leaving the stage. A dancer that no one would really think twice about because she is in the back. A dancer was allowed the stage all to herself. It was intimate and beautiful.
When I got back to my bike someone had separated the seat and the rod it is attached to from my bike. It was laying on the ground next to my otherwise untouched bike. Someone put a lot of effort into stealing the flashing reflector from the back of my bike. A flash reflector with a dead battery. I'm just glad they didn't take the seat.
So today I pretty much went class to class to lunch lecture to class to class to TBA to home. 8am to 9pm. No coffee. I know I keep bringing up how I'm doing this all without coffee. With enough bragging I may be able to graduate without any of the dark stuff in my veins.
Figure Drawing had a lot of focus on the perspective of the model stand. We all drew it and he went around critiquing what was wrong with it. Mine was along the lines that it was getting wider in the back, which is a fine error. Not the worst looking one and he said my mark making was nice. At least I have the general size of it down and I'm not suffering from a case of covering up sloppy measuring with intricate detail. We couldn't decide if we wanted to do a puppet show or a fashion show so we are doing a puppet fashion show. Yeah. I think I'll have to start working on it now, eh.
Ran into Lindsay twice at school today. Once by the lockers and again in the line for muffins from Yo. She is looking well and apparently Ibanez is loosing the weight he gained in my care. Her name was dropped by two students during the puppet fashion show idea. They want her to do the lights and backdrop for it. "Toon! We want Toon!" they cried.
I'm having trouble locating my final print portfolio from last semester. Yoshi isn't really around at the school so I sent him an email. I really hope they have not been trashed as that was an incredible amount of work in that portfolio.
History of Design delayed discussion because some people couldn't round up the textbooks. What the hell! They never did that at Olympic College. If you didn't have it you didn't have it and class continued on without you. That was really weak. She skimmed through the textbook and talked to us some more about the work. We also had first grabs on the artist we wanted to present. I choose Aubrey Beardsley. She showed us some websites and talked about Queen Victoria. I was rather bored, I hope that once we get into the texts it will pick up. I was up late reading, why can't I expect other people to do the same and come to class prepared?
At least she let us out a little early to grab food (we were expected to go to a lunch lecture). Jen, Karen and I hit up Urban Grind. I had a soda and a disappointing overly chewey grilled cheese panini. It was really not...good.
The chat was supposed to be about gender identity but there was a language barrier between some of the panel members so it wasn't a truly insightful discussion. Their performance art is much more expressive than their words alone (Neal Medley was on the panel).
In painting we went over our self portraits. It is a very small class so it becomes readily more obvious the differences in effort (two didn't have a portrait to present). Bryan's and mine both dealt with the consumption of food. Karen's looked like Karen and have pretty soft supple shades. Jen's looked not really like Jen. It was amazing but a little gaunt (but that girl sure knows how to use lettering in her work). Alaska Erin isn't pulling any colorful punches. The CD cover designs showed a greater rift between the did and the did not. It is far more difficult an assignment than one would originally think. A person has all these ideas and then you have to grab one that would make for an interesting cover...and then POOF where did the ideas go? The one I think I'll work with is a cover for something by Janove Ottesen in which he is in a suit but his head is a tie and his tie is Janove dangling from the shirt collar.
Vouchers were handed out and like I said, more than one came my way. I'm too tired to list them off, but you will be hearing about them as I see them. I rushed to PICA to redeem my vouchers. I should have ridden my bike. I was a bit late returning to class but Farel seemed laid back about it and I fit into the flow of what was going on. We were doing quick drawings of our surroundings and filling them in with whatever color seemed fit. It was a delightful exercise and a good chance to practice washes. I raced home once class got out. I had supplies and an armload of Beardsley books to haul. I stuffed them into my baskets (thank you dad so much for them, I couldn't manage without my side baskets) and rode towards the setting sun.
I drank a large quantity of juice when I got home and got right back on my bike and went to Documenting Dance: Three Films. Mel was there so I sat next to her. The first two movies were documentaries about Anna Halprin. I was nodding off and fell asleep during the first one. Not because it was boring but because I was, and still am, very exhausted. She looked great and I was surprised she was 80 during the time of filming. Well, a life time of postmodern dance will do that to you. The way she talked about connecting with nature really touched me. And the clips of her interacting with the surf and the woods made me miss the nature of Seabeck. I did stay awake through the second film which was mostly about her movements that involved the earth, the first film was more of a history with some great archival footage. It is hard to explain my feelings that came from the movies.
Jerome Bel was the choreographer for the piece in the final film. It centered around a French ballet dancer who was a week and a day away from retiring. She talked about her favorite dances, what she wished she had the chance to dance, and showed how in the Swan Lake many of the background dancers stay still for large portions of time while the "stars" get to do the fancy footwork. From hearing Jerome Bel speak a few days ago, I felt that I understood this piece more. Here was this talented dancer who devoted her life to her craft. She had previously hurt herself and wasn't even supposed to be able to dance again after that. Still she rose to dance in a highly respected theatre for a long, respectful career. She admitted that she thought that she wasn't a star because possibly she was not good enough. Just this one dancer speaking her final words before leaving the stage. A dancer that no one would really think twice about because she is in the back. A dancer was allowed the stage all to herself. It was intimate and beautiful.
When I got back to my bike someone had separated the seat and the rod it is attached to from my bike. It was laying on the ground next to my otherwise untouched bike. Someone put a lot of effort into stealing the flashing reflector from the back of my bike. A flash reflector with a dead battery. I'm just glad they didn't take the seat.
Monday, September 8, 2008
gouda
Today was very, very productive. I finished my self portrait for painting. It is a view of myself as seen from the point of view of my supper. It is from a photo though, still I like it! My lips look luscious. My skin looks pale.
Read some more of my text, going to do more of that soon. Finished my perspective drawings. Also got some better ideas for my CD project. All in all, I'm quite pleased with my Monday. I watched Never Mind the Buzzcocks while working.
I wanted to go to Ed Wood but couldn't round up anyone. Talked a little bit with Robin and Diana. Diana's part of the conversation didn't go so well.
Hung out with Karen for a little bit. Adam showed some of his new glass sculpture that he has been working on. I may commission a sea slug from him (more so since he said what he was doing was really easy so I can bargain him down with my knowledge).
I slept way in again. Now a new week starts.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Read some more of my text, going to do more of that soon. Finished my perspective drawings. Also got some better ideas for my CD project. All in all, I'm quite pleased with my Monday. I watched Never Mind the Buzzcocks while working.
I wanted to go to Ed Wood but couldn't round up anyone. Talked a little bit with Robin and Diana. Diana's part of the conversation didn't go so well.
Hung out with Karen for a little bit. Adam showed some of his new glass sculpture that he has been working on. I may commission a sea slug from him (more so since he said what he was doing was really easy so I can bargain him down with my knowledge).
I slept way in again. Now a new week starts.
Happy Birthday Dad!
French and Thai Movements
I went to see Jerome Bel's Pichet Kluchun and Myself tonight. It was Cecine's ticket but she wasn't feeling up to it so I went in her place. Matthew S was there as well and we sat and chatted together. We ended up with great seats: third row center. Despite having a great sound system, it was a very intimate performance.
The show was set up as an interview between the famous choreographer, Jerome Bel, and a Thai Khon dancer Pichet Kluchun. As the interview went on it became more and more intimate and exploratory of what performance lends to society. At the start it was a simple instruction of what Khon was and then it brought up all the little meanings and how over time it is lost because so much of Thai culture has been altered for the tourists. The dancing is slow and boring to those who do no understand what all the symbolic movement are. Performances that went for days now go for under an hour or however long the foreigners patience lasts. Pichet stated that he does not perform for tourists because of this change and instead teaches. Bel's choreography was more intended to bring in the audience. Pichet asked Jerome to perform for him. For one part he stood and considered everything, including us. Another time he just danced along with the music like any ordinary person would and lastly he lip synced to "Killing Me Softly" and for one third of the song he lay dead on the stage. He explained that the still time allows the audience to consider their own relation to death and his ordinary dancing keep the equality among the performers and audiences. I loved that, the part about equality. I like how he said out right that art is not meant as a form of elitism.
Bel mentioned that he never gives people their money back because they didn't like a performance. Mostly because their disappointment would have come out of expectations being let down and you can't have any preconceived notions concerning contemporary art. I wish I had taken more notes of what they were saying. It moved me and I was in such a state of joy when the performance ended. I'm so happy I got a chance to see it.
The rest of the day was spent on homework (and non-homework). I'm 2/3's done with my figure drawing homework and have half of my history of design assignments read. Part of the homework is also to say what TBA events we are attending. I have already seen four and a half (Neal Medley, Ice Rod, Ten Tiny Dances, Jerome Bel and a part of Yes Men), and have at least three more to go (Mike Daisy's If You See Something Say Something, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and whatever show(s) I use my remaining voucher(s) for). I'm seeing so much more than I did last year and I am loving it!
The show was set up as an interview between the famous choreographer, Jerome Bel, and a Thai Khon dancer Pichet Kluchun. As the interview went on it became more and more intimate and exploratory of what performance lends to society. At the start it was a simple instruction of what Khon was and then it brought up all the little meanings and how over time it is lost because so much of Thai culture has been altered for the tourists. The dancing is slow and boring to those who do no understand what all the symbolic movement are. Performances that went for days now go for under an hour or however long the foreigners patience lasts. Pichet stated that he does not perform for tourists because of this change and instead teaches. Bel's choreography was more intended to bring in the audience. Pichet asked Jerome to perform for him. For one part he stood and considered everything, including us. Another time he just danced along with the music like any ordinary person would and lastly he lip synced to "Killing Me Softly" and for one third of the song he lay dead on the stage. He explained that the still time allows the audience to consider their own relation to death and his ordinary dancing keep the equality among the performers and audiences. I loved that, the part about equality. I like how he said out right that art is not meant as a form of elitism.
Bel mentioned that he never gives people their money back because they didn't like a performance. Mostly because their disappointment would have come out of expectations being let down and you can't have any preconceived notions concerning contemporary art. I wish I had taken more notes of what they were saying. It moved me and I was in such a state of joy when the performance ended. I'm so happy I got a chance to see it.
The rest of the day was spent on homework (and non-homework). I'm 2/3's done with my figure drawing homework and have half of my history of design assignments read. Part of the homework is also to say what TBA events we are attending. I have already seen four and a half (Neal Medley, Ice Rod, Ten Tiny Dances, Jerome Bel and a part of Yes Men), and have at least three more to go (Mike Daisy's If You See Something Say Something, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, Third Angle New Music Ensemble, and whatever show(s) I use my remaining voucher(s) for). I'm seeing so much more than I did last year and I am loving it!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
aflong aflongkong
Ten Tiny Dances tonight was only eight because of a few people who couldn't do it. It was at the same venue as last nights performance. The stage was in the middle with some chairs surrounding it. We got there fifteen minutes before the show and it was fairly crowded. We did get a good some just behind a row of chairs. The ladies surrounding us were quite awesome and friendly so we were able to scooch in close together. I was wearing a sparkly loose top and jeans. I was sweating within minutes.
The performance lasted an hour and a half in total but it felt like fifteen minutes. The thing that united all the dances was that they had to be done within a sixteen square foot stage area and four of those feet was a raised stage. First up was Anne Furfey and Margretta Hansen in Shake the Cushions. The two ladies were in red and white swimsuits that were under white button downs. During a part of it they buttoned themselves together and danced. They started slow and shook a lot. Having the space prevents some of the larger and more graceful movements. It lent itself more to contemporary and modern movements. Part of the next dance, with Achana Kumar, was obscured by the stage. The woman had a veil which she pulled away from her face to completely obscure it. Her dance had a lot of Indian movements. I found it surreal until Meshi Chavez took the stage. He blew my mind. Just a guy moving, writhing, twisting, contorting, laughing... He pulled me in and in a blink he was over. He had an amazing amount of control over his body. Even in only his undies, he was still sweating all over the place. A guy had to clean the stage after him.
A lady that looked like she was a Pedersen gal was in the next number. Rinda Chambers and Keely McIntyre came out in nighties and engaged in slow movements. Meshi was a hard act to follow. Vuelto From a Future Dance (what's a vuelto?) was nice when I saw it but I can't remember much about the three women beyond their nice clothes and hair. Didactic Identity was my second favorite, next to Meshi. All the performers had box heads on and each was drawn with slightly different hair and expression. They moved in tight little circles, in unison, or in a chain reaction way. Hard to explain but I could really feel their energy as they moved. Most of the performers seemed to be from 30 to 50, only Meshi and these girls seemed to be 25 and under. Nice to see dancers continuing for so long.
Next up with Taiko Drumming! Slipping Through my Fingers was the title. For the first half the drummers sat and moved handheld drums about as a woman played them as they came into her reach. Then it was her and a man on stage moving fluidly about and drumming the handhelds as the rest played the huge Taiko drums. The beat vibrated my teeth. All of it was accompanied by a violin. Winding down for the night was a short and sweet performance called Hobnobblins: The Elder Alliance. It had Jessica Hinkle, Beth Hoyt, Tommy Smith, Lathrop Walker, and Reggie Watts. It started with Reggie getting a simple beat going. He stood in the center and did a small little hand jive. A woman joined him and stood in the corner of the stage doing a little running dance. A man in a ski mask came and did a different dance in rhythm. The man who introduced the performance stood in the other corner and waved his arms in the air like he just didn't care. Lastly a woman done up like a starlet occupied the final corner and swished her hair about. All their dances were in sync to the music. And one by one they walked off and that was that.
Cecine and I made our escape to the sweet sweet night air. I made myself some late night Gnocchi and now I am ready for another nice sleep.
Even though I got up at 1pm, I still felt like I did a great deal today. I went to PNCA to share some workable fixative with Jen. We talked about last First Thursday, how crazy busy she has been, we got some ice cream and sat by the fountain and enjoyed it. This time it didn't melt across my hand in a hilarious mess. She had to leave for work so I returned to school and caught the end of the Yes Men lecture. These guys go into conferences posing as representatives of large companies and promote joke products and give fake presentations. People take them seriously as well. I wish I had seen the start but I can spend more time in the exhibit they have at school.
Swung by Trader Joe's to get some food stuffs. Mostly frozen vegetables. Robin and Diana came in as I was checking out. Cecine ran into them as well. She must have gotten there right as I was leaving. Heh. Cecine made spaghetti and sauce for the both of us. It was delicious. I did my part of the cooking as well. The "getting the top off the jar" part.
The performance lasted an hour and a half in total but it felt like fifteen minutes. The thing that united all the dances was that they had to be done within a sixteen square foot stage area and four of those feet was a raised stage. First up was Anne Furfey and Margretta Hansen in Shake the Cushions. The two ladies were in red and white swimsuits that were under white button downs. During a part of it they buttoned themselves together and danced. They started slow and shook a lot. Having the space prevents some of the larger and more graceful movements. It lent itself more to contemporary and modern movements. Part of the next dance, with Achana Kumar, was obscured by the stage. The woman had a veil which she pulled away from her face to completely obscure it. Her dance had a lot of Indian movements. I found it surreal until Meshi Chavez took the stage. He blew my mind. Just a guy moving, writhing, twisting, contorting, laughing... He pulled me in and in a blink he was over. He had an amazing amount of control over his body. Even in only his undies, he was still sweating all over the place. A guy had to clean the stage after him.
A lady that looked like she was a Pedersen gal was in the next number. Rinda Chambers and Keely McIntyre came out in nighties and engaged in slow movements. Meshi was a hard act to follow. Vuelto From a Future Dance (what's a vuelto?) was nice when I saw it but I can't remember much about the three women beyond their nice clothes and hair. Didactic Identity was my second favorite, next to Meshi. All the performers had box heads on and each was drawn with slightly different hair and expression. They moved in tight little circles, in unison, or in a chain reaction way. Hard to explain but I could really feel their energy as they moved. Most of the performers seemed to be from 30 to 50, only Meshi and these girls seemed to be 25 and under. Nice to see dancers continuing for so long.
Next up with Taiko Drumming! Slipping Through my Fingers was the title. For the first half the drummers sat and moved handheld drums about as a woman played them as they came into her reach. Then it was her and a man on stage moving fluidly about and drumming the handhelds as the rest played the huge Taiko drums. The beat vibrated my teeth. All of it was accompanied by a violin. Winding down for the night was a short and sweet performance called Hobnobblins: The Elder Alliance. It had Jessica Hinkle, Beth Hoyt, Tommy Smith, Lathrop Walker, and Reggie Watts. It started with Reggie getting a simple beat going. He stood in the center and did a small little hand jive. A woman joined him and stood in the corner of the stage doing a little running dance. A man in a ski mask came and did a different dance in rhythm. The man who introduced the performance stood in the other corner and waved his arms in the air like he just didn't care. Lastly a woman done up like a starlet occupied the final corner and swished her hair about. All their dances were in sync to the music. And one by one they walked off and that was that.
Cecine and I made our escape to the sweet sweet night air. I made myself some late night Gnocchi and now I am ready for another nice sleep.
Even though I got up at 1pm, I still felt like I did a great deal today. I went to PNCA to share some workable fixative with Jen. We talked about last First Thursday, how crazy busy she has been, we got some ice cream and sat by the fountain and enjoyed it. This time it didn't melt across my hand in a hilarious mess. She had to leave for work so I returned to school and caught the end of the Yes Men lecture. These guys go into conferences posing as representatives of large companies and promote joke products and give fake presentations. People take them seriously as well. I wish I had seen the start but I can spend more time in the exhibit they have at school.
Swung by Trader Joe's to get some food stuffs. Mostly frozen vegetables. Robin and Diana came in as I was checking out. Cecine ran into them as well. She must have gotten there right as I was leaving. Heh. Cecine made spaghetti and sauce for the both of us. It was delicious. I did my part of the cooking as well. The "getting the top off the jar" part.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
best eight bucks I have ever spent
Just got back from seeing Neal Medlyn and Ice Rod with Averie. Great great show. I want my TBA to have this energy and not be a quiet contemplation about meaning. Feeeh.
Averie drove because the shows were at the Works, which is on North Broadway. The traffic was minimal and we got across the bridge okay. We missed the turn for the parking so there was a little looping action but be got a spot no problem. Tabitha and a friend were outside the venue. We loitered with them. I saw so many familiar people: Aidan, Craig, Matt W and Matt G, Israel, Joey, Seamus, Savannah, Nikolaii (I think), and others. They didn't see me as they all vanished into the beer garden. Portland establishments are CRAZY about their booze. There were two velvet ropes keeping the under 21's on their side, big buff guards watching both age checking stations about about 6-8 staff between the two places making sure everyone kept in order and had ID's. They made this girl (who must have been 10) ditch the drink her dad got her because it MIGHT HAVE HAD ALCOHOL IN IT. It was juice, what kind of day gets booze for his preteen? They kept an insane eye and did everything but pat us down for flasks.
The venue was fairly empty but around five minutes to show it became packed. I can understand why. A show described as, "The Neal Medlyn Experience Live! is a faithful re-creation of Beyonce's 2007 hit concert dvd...". It was the full deal, there were backup dancers and costumes changes and glitter. Did I mention that Neal Medlyn is a skinny white guy in his mid to late twenties? He was in spandex shortie shorts and other tight things and belted his heart out. He danced and grooved and clapped. He never broke character for a second (as Averie noted). Flawless in his execution. He only had two backup dancers: a tall muscled black man who did back flips on stage and small Asian man who booty shaked with the best of them. All the songs, all the motions, all the attitude and life. I wish it lasted longer than 45 minutes.
This old and rotund couple got in front of us and the little girl. They were oblivious to being in any ones way. They should have squished in with the 21+ crowd. Come on. My view wasn't the best but what I saw was more than enough.
We had a 30 minute breath of fresh air between the shows. It was perfect. I had brought a coat but it ended up being very much not needed.
The next show was Ice Rod and his crew. Ice Rod is also white and his rapping was very crude to say THE VERY LEAST. Seriously, that stuff was nasty but hilarious. His crew were three very Portland guys hopping about and doing background vocals and playing with inflatable balls of various sizes. He was also fun but more in the, "what am I hearing?" sort of way versus Medlyn's "what am I seeing?" Since this was for "mature" audiences, our side was very vacant and thus not as stuffy. Both guys were serious about what they were doing. It was very subtle but it was in the feelings they emanated that separated them as performance artists.
It was a cinch getting home and now I am winding down and ready to sleep the sleep of the very weary.
Earlier today:
Science Friction is off to an interesting start. Daniel is loaning my Frankenstein so now I only need to buy one book. There is a midterm multimedia project that seems a bit complex. It has to be on some concept within a scifi show or game. Digging meaning out of something that may or may not have intended for that meaning. We spent about 10 minutes discussing Space Invaders and the Jetson's opening. I ate cocoa krispies. Craig and Nicole are in my class. Tomorrow I am setting aside for text reading. I don't have much but I shouldn't be slack with it.
Illustration Studio I: Word + Image has a large, strong group. I'm a little confused about the projects and when they are due but that should be sorted out by next class. Right off the bat we were drawing. We had 20 minutes to do an "autobiographical animal". Mine was this feathered thing with long arms and webbed feet and wings. It had some symbolism that was sort of intentional, sort of made up to go along with what I felt like drawing. Marilyn is in my class as well as Robin and Bekka. Most of the people are completely new faces so that is very exciting for me. We had little interview sheets and we introduced each other based on the questions. Marilyn's last meal would be sloppy joe's and onion rings with Alpine Rose chocolate milk. Mine is Ikea meatballs and gravy, Pocari Sweat, pot stickers, and cheesecake. After lunch we had to play illustration balderdash where we had to say who did the pieces, what medium, etc. Marilyn and I ended up with the Ralph Steadman. We bluffed the dates and what the piece was for. Robin had Lautrec and even though she was telling the truth about why his legs were shortened and that his parents were related...no one believed her! It was a fun game.
During lunch I hobbled over to Tea Zone and met Auntie Brynne and Cousin Averie for lunch. I had my standard panini and iced tea. We gabbed and caught up. Gave examples of the crazy goings on around town and school. Devoured my sandwich. This was the first of our three meetings of the day. I squeezed in a lot of face time with my dear relatives. I showed them PNCA quickly. There was a lot of hustle as the students migrated to class. Brynne later said that they look very much like "starving artists" and I said, "It is because they are all vegans."
After class got out I swung by PICA to redeem one of my TBA vouchers. I now have a ticket to see Mike Daisey on September 11th. One voucher left to use. I plan to go to some more shows at the Works this weekend. They have fun stuff there, even though I will have to pay.
Brynne and Averie are staying at Hotel Lucia. It has a very artsy interior with a large number of high quality Pulitzer photo prints and sculptures around. As well as piles of delicious green apples. We went to Powell's real quick and wandered down towards Skidmore Fountain in quest of a poster shop so Brynne can get some to decorate her class room. The poster shop was in a building that is now half gone. She did get the Make Art Not War Shepard Fairy poster, which is always a good choice.
The few hours to relax at home were what kept me going all night. I had almost gone to a show at 6:30. I think I would have been TBAed out had I done so. I was really happy that Averie shared a part of the Time Based Arts experience with me. Celia came down last year for the Some Cats from Japan show. That was a wonderful experience. A week ago I was doing nothing. Now it feels like I am doing everything. Except sleeping.
Averie drove because the shows were at the Works, which is on North Broadway. The traffic was minimal and we got across the bridge okay. We missed the turn for the parking so there was a little looping action but be got a spot no problem. Tabitha and a friend were outside the venue. We loitered with them. I saw so many familiar people: Aidan, Craig, Matt W and Matt G, Israel, Joey, Seamus, Savannah, Nikolaii (I think), and others. They didn't see me as they all vanished into the beer garden. Portland establishments are CRAZY about their booze. There were two velvet ropes keeping the under 21's on their side, big buff guards watching both age checking stations about about 6-8 staff between the two places making sure everyone kept in order and had ID's. They made this girl (who must have been 10) ditch the drink her dad got her because it MIGHT HAVE HAD ALCOHOL IN IT. It was juice, what kind of day gets booze for his preteen? They kept an insane eye and did everything but pat us down for flasks.
The venue was fairly empty but around five minutes to show it became packed. I can understand why. A show described as, "The Neal Medlyn Experience Live! is a faithful re-creation of Beyonce's 2007 hit concert dvd...". It was the full deal, there were backup dancers and costumes changes and glitter. Did I mention that Neal Medlyn is a skinny white guy in his mid to late twenties? He was in spandex shortie shorts and other tight things and belted his heart out. He danced and grooved and clapped. He never broke character for a second (as Averie noted). Flawless in his execution. He only had two backup dancers: a tall muscled black man who did back flips on stage and small Asian man who booty shaked with the best of them. All the songs, all the motions, all the attitude and life. I wish it lasted longer than 45 minutes.
This old and rotund couple got in front of us and the little girl. They were oblivious to being in any ones way. They should have squished in with the 21+ crowd. Come on. My view wasn't the best but what I saw was more than enough.
We had a 30 minute breath of fresh air between the shows. It was perfect. I had brought a coat but it ended up being very much not needed.
The next show was Ice Rod and his crew. Ice Rod is also white and his rapping was very crude to say THE VERY LEAST. Seriously, that stuff was nasty but hilarious. His crew were three very Portland guys hopping about and doing background vocals and playing with inflatable balls of various sizes. He was also fun but more in the, "what am I hearing?" sort of way versus Medlyn's "what am I seeing?" Since this was for "mature" audiences, our side was very vacant and thus not as stuffy. Both guys were serious about what they were doing. It was very subtle but it was in the feelings they emanated that separated them as performance artists.
It was a cinch getting home and now I am winding down and ready to sleep the sleep of the very weary.
Earlier today:
Science Friction is off to an interesting start. Daniel is loaning my Frankenstein so now I only need to buy one book. There is a midterm multimedia project that seems a bit complex. It has to be on some concept within a scifi show or game. Digging meaning out of something that may or may not have intended for that meaning. We spent about 10 minutes discussing Space Invaders and the Jetson's opening. I ate cocoa krispies. Craig and Nicole are in my class. Tomorrow I am setting aside for text reading. I don't have much but I shouldn't be slack with it.
Illustration Studio I: Word + Image has a large, strong group. I'm a little confused about the projects and when they are due but that should be sorted out by next class. Right off the bat we were drawing. We had 20 minutes to do an "autobiographical animal". Mine was this feathered thing with long arms and webbed feet and wings. It had some symbolism that was sort of intentional, sort of made up to go along with what I felt like drawing. Marilyn is in my class as well as Robin and Bekka. Most of the people are completely new faces so that is very exciting for me. We had little interview sheets and we introduced each other based on the questions. Marilyn's last meal would be sloppy joe's and onion rings with Alpine Rose chocolate milk. Mine is Ikea meatballs and gravy, Pocari Sweat, pot stickers, and cheesecake. After lunch we had to play illustration balderdash where we had to say who did the pieces, what medium, etc. Marilyn and I ended up with the Ralph Steadman. We bluffed the dates and what the piece was for. Robin had Lautrec and even though she was telling the truth about why his legs were shortened and that his parents were related...no one believed her! It was a fun game.
During lunch I hobbled over to Tea Zone and met Auntie Brynne and Cousin Averie for lunch. I had my standard panini and iced tea. We gabbed and caught up. Gave examples of the crazy goings on around town and school. Devoured my sandwich. This was the first of our three meetings of the day. I squeezed in a lot of face time with my dear relatives. I showed them PNCA quickly. There was a lot of hustle as the students migrated to class. Brynne later said that they look very much like "starving artists" and I said, "It is because they are all vegans."
After class got out I swung by PICA to redeem one of my TBA vouchers. I now have a ticket to see Mike Daisey on September 11th. One voucher left to use. I plan to go to some more shows at the Works this weekend. They have fun stuff there, even though I will have to pay.
Brynne and Averie are staying at Hotel Lucia. It has a very artsy interior with a large number of high quality Pulitzer photo prints and sculptures around. As well as piles of delicious green apples. We went to Powell's real quick and wandered down towards Skidmore Fountain in quest of a poster shop so Brynne can get some to decorate her class room. The poster shop was in a building that is now half gone. She did get the Make Art Not War Shepard Fairy poster, which is always a good choice.
The few hours to relax at home were what kept me going all night. I had almost gone to a show at 6:30. I think I would have been TBAed out had I done so. I was really happy that Averie shared a part of the Time Based Arts experience with me. Celia came down last year for the Some Cats from Japan show. That was a wonderful experience. A week ago I was doing nothing. Now it feels like I am doing everything. Except sleeping.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
such a powerful noise
No naps today. Midday green tea is a huge help for that.
This lady in Morgan's class had her easel partially in my way the whole time. Well she was in the way. I couldn't move because it was crowded. She needed to move back more. It pays to get there really early (except I was there early and she was just being a cad!). We learned about how to set up our easels so that we saw both paper and model at the same time, how to stand, how to hold our implement, and how to realize 3D space. Morgan has a great way of dividing lecture and practice. Gestures were drawn as were longer poses. He says that practice makes habit, it doesn't make perfect. So you have to practice GOOD habits to get better. My figure drawings are not too shabby; I am falling into the work really well after the long break. My shading looks very soft.
Karen and I loitered about after class. I am loaning her some space in my locker till she finds her own (she has one, she just doesn't know where it is). I put the third season of The Wire on hold. I called Brynne to make sure we are still on for the Tea Zone tomorrow at 12:30. Saw Jim. Ate lots of free red vines. MMmm red vines. I stopped eating them for a while after I vomited up a large quantity of them after a boat ride. Now I like them again. Karen and I walked to Utrecht. Their watercolor blocks seem cheaper there but the people are still such jerks that I don't want to support them.
Eventually it was time for free lunch at PNCA. And by that I mean pizza at some meeting. This one was for the Global Studios programs.
I am officially stating that I will not be going to Hogeschool Sint-Lukas in Brussels, Belgium as part of my education at PNCA. I would have to find my own place to live (and pay for it), the city is nice but it didn't really strike my fancy, the school seemed great and while I think I could manage to self motivate, I like the class environment and don't know how I would feel in a foreign studio, not just yet anyway, and the language barrier is an extreme challenge. I will, however, ask about the programs where you go somewhere in the USA or Canada for a semester. Same deal (pay PNCA tuition) just somewhere else. Yeah!
After being fed on pizza I went home and indulged in my secret shame for an hour (I won't say what it is, but it is bad).
Then it was time for fun fun painting techniques. On the way there I rode along side Karen when I saw her migrating to school. I left her at Burnside. Farel gave a lecture on scanning. He showed us some beautiful children's books illustrated by Lizbeth Zwerger. We painted some still life's for a start and after break we were allowed to work on whatever so I added a little to that diptych I've been working on. I treated myself to an ice cream during break. Our first assignment is to design a CD cover. The band can be made up. We are to do 10 thumbnails and 3 larger sketches by Tuesday. Also we are doing a self portrait.
Farel asked if we are seeing anything during First Thursday and I said, "Yes, there is a great show at Tender Loving Empire, I'm going to see that." Or something, that isn't quite right. He asked who was the artist and we giggled and indicated Miss Jen Lee. She is so bashful, except not. Karen also has a show in the library. Everyone is having shows!
After class was over there was the First Thursday hullabaloo to experience. There were doughnuts in the Yes Men exhibit so I went to see that. Ran into Matt and Jason. Chatted with Jen while she waited for Noel (who is all mohawked now). Then I chatted with Karen while she waited for Adam. When there was no one else to wait with I headed up to Tender Loving Empire to see Jen's show. The sun was right in my eyes as I strolled up Lovejoy. Ran into Jason and Craig and chatted about good movies and the summer. While Jason's hair has gotten longer, Craig's has lost considerable length. When Jen showed up I gave her a big hug. Her pieces look nice. They play well off of Aidan's which play well off of the other woman in the show. Jen's work is line heavy, Aidan's is line and color swatches, and the other lady is mostly swatches. It is a great show.
When I went to PNCA to retrieve my bike, this guy giving out free compliments was in front of it. He said, "Oh am I blocking your bike?" and scooted about five inches forward. It was a great struggle to free my bike without injuring him. He couldn't be bothered to stand? The crowd was thick but I did break free and get home safely.
I started in with my initial ideas in terms of thumbnails. I'll flip through some art books and see if any more things pop into my head. I think right now I am being heavily influenced by the crap women's mags and pulpy men's mag illustrations.
In the morning I wore clunky shoes but I changed into the sharp leather shoes that I got from Celia so I could rock the First Thursday scene. I love those shoes and the noise they make when I walk.
This lady in Morgan's class had her easel partially in my way the whole time. Well she was in the way. I couldn't move because it was crowded. She needed to move back more. It pays to get there really early (except I was there early and she was just being a cad!). We learned about how to set up our easels so that we saw both paper and model at the same time, how to stand, how to hold our implement, and how to realize 3D space. Morgan has a great way of dividing lecture and practice. Gestures were drawn as were longer poses. He says that practice makes habit, it doesn't make perfect. So you have to practice GOOD habits to get better. My figure drawings are not too shabby; I am falling into the work really well after the long break. My shading looks very soft.
Karen and I loitered about after class. I am loaning her some space in my locker till she finds her own (she has one, she just doesn't know where it is). I put the third season of The Wire on hold. I called Brynne to make sure we are still on for the Tea Zone tomorrow at 12:30. Saw Jim. Ate lots of free red vines. MMmm red vines. I stopped eating them for a while after I vomited up a large quantity of them after a boat ride. Now I like them again. Karen and I walked to Utrecht. Their watercolor blocks seem cheaper there but the people are still such jerks that I don't want to support them.
Eventually it was time for free lunch at PNCA. And by that I mean pizza at some meeting. This one was for the Global Studios programs.
I am officially stating that I will not be going to Hogeschool Sint-Lukas in Brussels, Belgium as part of my education at PNCA. I would have to find my own place to live (and pay for it), the city is nice but it didn't really strike my fancy, the school seemed great and while I think I could manage to self motivate, I like the class environment and don't know how I would feel in a foreign studio, not just yet anyway, and the language barrier is an extreme challenge. I will, however, ask about the programs where you go somewhere in the USA or Canada for a semester. Same deal (pay PNCA tuition) just somewhere else. Yeah!
After being fed on pizza I went home and indulged in my secret shame for an hour (I won't say what it is, but it is bad).
Then it was time for fun fun painting techniques. On the way there I rode along side Karen when I saw her migrating to school. I left her at Burnside. Farel gave a lecture on scanning. He showed us some beautiful children's books illustrated by Lizbeth Zwerger. We painted some still life's for a start and after break we were allowed to work on whatever so I added a little to that diptych I've been working on. I treated myself to an ice cream during break. Our first assignment is to design a CD cover. The band can be made up. We are to do 10 thumbnails and 3 larger sketches by Tuesday. Also we are doing a self portrait.
Farel asked if we are seeing anything during First Thursday and I said, "Yes, there is a great show at Tender Loving Empire, I'm going to see that." Or something, that isn't quite right. He asked who was the artist and we giggled and indicated Miss Jen Lee. She is so bashful, except not. Karen also has a show in the library. Everyone is having shows!
After class was over there was the First Thursday hullabaloo to experience. There were doughnuts in the Yes Men exhibit so I went to see that. Ran into Matt and Jason. Chatted with Jen while she waited for Noel (who is all mohawked now). Then I chatted with Karen while she waited for Adam. When there was no one else to wait with I headed up to Tender Loving Empire to see Jen's show. The sun was right in my eyes as I strolled up Lovejoy. Ran into Jason and Craig and chatted about good movies and the summer. While Jason's hair has gotten longer, Craig's has lost considerable length. When Jen showed up I gave her a big hug. Her pieces look nice. They play well off of Aidan's which play well off of the other woman in the show. Jen's work is line heavy, Aidan's is line and color swatches, and the other lady is mostly swatches. It is a great show.
When I went to PNCA to retrieve my bike, this guy giving out free compliments was in front of it. He said, "Oh am I blocking your bike?" and scooted about five inches forward. It was a great struggle to free my bike without injuring him. He couldn't be bothered to stand? The crowd was thick but I did break free and get home safely.
I started in with my initial ideas in terms of thumbnails. I'll flip through some art books and see if any more things pop into my head. I think right now I am being heavily influenced by the crap women's mags and pulpy men's mag illustrations.
In the morning I wore clunky shoes but I changed into the sharp leather shoes that I got from Celia so I could rock the First Thursday scene. I love those shoes and the noise they make when I walk.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
some people knocked on our door and borrowed our ketchup
Whew am I glad that I had the day off. I was completely passed out till noon. Need some time to adjust.
Cecine and I walked to Art Media to pick up art supplies. I just needed a newsprint pad, some brushes and charcoal for now. I am loaning her my cloth portfolio so she didn't have to get the foundation kit. I overshot the store so we ended up doing a loop to find it. It was a good day for walking. With all our supplies we took the Max back. Bellagio's was gained for dinner.
I watched Silence of the Lambs for the first time today. The night vision part scared the hell out of me.
Karen stopped by briefly to collect the syllabus for the Figure class.
Cecine and I walked to Art Media to pick up art supplies. I just needed a newsprint pad, some brushes and charcoal for now. I am loaning her my cloth portfolio so she didn't have to get the foundation kit. I overshot the store so we ended up doing a loop to find it. It was a good day for walking. With all our supplies we took the Max back. Bellagio's was gained for dinner.
I watched Silence of the Lambs for the first time today. The night vision part scared the hell out of me.
Karen stopped by briefly to collect the syllabus for the Figure class.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
...and he's my teacher!
So I came home at about 6:15, ate some soup and then took a great nap. I am wiped out. You can tell I am tired because I am blogging at 9:00pm instead of midnight. Blimey. Well, let's start at the start.
The Figure with Morgan Walker:
Diana is in my class even though she hasn't taken any of the 200 level drawing classes. What? She is talented sure but still, eh? Silly me, I brought drawing supplies but no big paper. We had two models today and drew. He found a pad of paper to share between us. I have not been with the figure in a while so I was out of shape. I just tried to have fun. Lindsay, Daniel's girl, is in my class. Terry, Natalie, and Lacey are there as well. It is half and half people that are familiar and people that are not. He gave us a lecture on isotropic perspective (or something), assigned some homework, gave us a little lesson on figures, and we talked about the final project a little. Karen is in my class but she called me sounding all sick like so I collected an extra syllabus for her. We used up all the time and I am looking forward to more. I just have to lug my drawing board to school.
History of Graphic Design with Margaret Richardson:
Jen, Charley, and Daniel are in my class. The legendary Chevelle Supersport is in it as well and a few others I am familiar with. The professor gave us her life story for the first hour and let us out to lunch early. I waited a long long time in the locker line. I like Meaghan but she was going super slow. The pizza line was quick. After lunch we listened to some people that are a part of TBA speak. This guy was talking about his movie that he made. It is playing but as he talked it became more and more complicated and all over the place. The people were not that exciting to listen to though, too many artistic buzzwords like "process" "reconfiguring unfound objects" and the like. It is a bit much to listen to.
Between classes I ran into Bekka, who I went to the pre-college program at PNCA with back in 2006. We hugged and exchanged numbers. We are in the studio together. We are so going to rock that! Karen showed up when I was talking to her. She looked sick but healthy enough to get to school. I had to swing by my locker and she joined me. Mel is in a design class with 4 people, but one of them is Jim so that should be cool.
Illustration Painting Techniques II with Farel Dalrymple.
Do you see who is teaching my class? DO YOU SEE? When I came in and same him, he was instantly familiar and when he brought out samples of his work I was beyond ecstatic. I've seen his show at Floating World Comics! I own one of his comics! He is amazing and he is going to be my teacher! And it looks like the class will have a lot of honing what you want to hone and applying it towards are you want to do. Which seems perfect for me. He will also show us how to scan and alter our work with the computer. He hasn't taught before but I think he knows enough about variety and skill that he will be able to help us (all nine of us: Bryan, Karen, Alaska Erin, Bartender Erin, Jen, Amina, Lee, James, and myself). It will be a great class I suspect. Very tight knit and focused. He gave a little demonstration of how he paints and let us off early if we wanted to. I hung back and chatted with him. I didn't mention I'm a fan but by the huge stars in my eyes he probably figured it out.
During lunch there was a performance by Reggie Watts.
He gave us a little speech about how awesome we are and some advice. He sang and answered questions. His hair is huge. His music is pretty much all his own vocals recorded in looped. He improvises a large number of it and I was stunned by how easily he got it to flow together. It was a wonderful thing to have on the first day of school. Jumping right in.
Afterward school I went to PSU to pick up my textbooks for History of Design. Together they came in at under $30!! And they look reasonable as well. And for Science Friction I only need to buy two books as I already have Watchmen, Sandman, The Man in the High Castle, and The Handmaid's Tale.
On the way up the hill my feet slid off my bike pedals when I was pedaling standing up. I didn't fall off the bike but I did fall on it. I feel bruised and sore in a place I don't want to be bruised and sore.
The Figure with Morgan Walker:
Diana is in my class even though she hasn't taken any of the 200 level drawing classes. What? She is talented sure but still, eh? Silly me, I brought drawing supplies but no big paper. We had two models today and drew. He found a pad of paper to share between us. I have not been with the figure in a while so I was out of shape. I just tried to have fun. Lindsay, Daniel's girl, is in my class. Terry, Natalie, and Lacey are there as well. It is half and half people that are familiar and people that are not. He gave us a lecture on isotropic perspective (or something), assigned some homework, gave us a little lesson on figures, and we talked about the final project a little. Karen is in my class but she called me sounding all sick like so I collected an extra syllabus for her. We used up all the time and I am looking forward to more. I just have to lug my drawing board to school.
History of Graphic Design with Margaret Richardson:
Jen, Charley, and Daniel are in my class. The legendary Chevelle Supersport is in it as well and a few others I am familiar with. The professor gave us her life story for the first hour and let us out to lunch early. I waited a long long time in the locker line. I like Meaghan but she was going super slow. The pizza line was quick. After lunch we listened to some people that are a part of TBA speak. This guy was talking about his movie that he made. It is playing but as he talked it became more and more complicated and all over the place. The people were not that exciting to listen to though, too many artistic buzzwords like "process" "reconfiguring unfound objects" and the like. It is a bit much to listen to.
Between classes I ran into Bekka, who I went to the pre-college program at PNCA with back in 2006. We hugged and exchanged numbers. We are in the studio together. We are so going to rock that! Karen showed up when I was talking to her. She looked sick but healthy enough to get to school. I had to swing by my locker and she joined me. Mel is in a design class with 4 people, but one of them is Jim so that should be cool.
Illustration Painting Techniques II with Farel Dalrymple.
Do you see who is teaching my class? DO YOU SEE? When I came in and same him, he was instantly familiar and when he brought out samples of his work I was beyond ecstatic. I've seen his show at Floating World Comics! I own one of his comics! He is amazing and he is going to be my teacher! And it looks like the class will have a lot of honing what you want to hone and applying it towards are you want to do. Which seems perfect for me. He will also show us how to scan and alter our work with the computer. He hasn't taught before but I think he knows enough about variety and skill that he will be able to help us (all nine of us: Bryan, Karen, Alaska Erin, Bartender Erin, Jen, Amina, Lee, James, and myself). It will be a great class I suspect. Very tight knit and focused. He gave a little demonstration of how he paints and let us off early if we wanted to. I hung back and chatted with him. I didn't mention I'm a fan but by the huge stars in my eyes he probably figured it out.
During lunch there was a performance by Reggie Watts.
He gave us a little speech about how awesome we are and some advice. He sang and answered questions. His hair is huge. His music is pretty much all his own vocals recorded in looped. He improvises a large number of it and I was stunned by how easily he got it to flow together. It was a wonderful thing to have on the first day of school. Jumping right in.
Afterward school I went to PSU to pick up my textbooks for History of Design. Together they came in at under $30!! And they look reasonable as well. And for Science Friction I only need to buy two books as I already have Watchmen, Sandman, The Man in the High Castle, and The Handmaid's Tale.
On the way up the hill my feet slid off my bike pedals when I was pedaling standing up. I didn't fall off the bike but I did fall on it. I feel bruised and sore in a place I don't want to be bruised and sore.
a new year starts
Tomorrow tomorrow! The first day of a new year of school! And Auntie Brynne is going to buy me lunch on Friday so that will rock.
Also the Time Based Arts festival begins next week. That will be interesting.
Slept in further than I normally do. It is my last day to sleep in till Wednesday. Have to get used to my three days of 6:45am alarm clocks.
Finished the second season of The Wire. Watched Jesus Camp, which is the scariest movie I have ever seen. It is about this Evangelical summer camp. The kids praise Bush, weep while begging for forgiveness, speaking in tongues, the whole nine yards. It greatly disturbed me. But after the movie I think the camp was shut down, it was far too radical.
Jim came over in the evening. We looked through that Men's Adventure book and did our usual chatting. He met Cecine. I made tuna melt sandwiches.
Finally got around to getting one of those newfangled laundry cards. No I no longer need quarters but fives, tens, and twenties. Why the machine doesn't take change or ones is beyond me.
Monday, September 1, 2008
everyone and my hairdresser knows for sure
I went to Bishop's to redeem the free haircut card that Cecine was kind enough to give me. It was pretty vacant when I got there; only one man was getting a cut and there were four people on duty. I looked through some magazines but I couldn't decide on how to explain what I wanted. A pretty punk lady was going to cut my hair but this other woman, Amberleigh, took over instead. Which was for the better as she had more of a style for what I was looking for versus the huge Mohawk punk (who was probably a good hairdresser as well). We talked about what I sort of wanted and what I preferred and how I was about my hair and she listened. And she cut my hair superbly. I love the new style. It is airy and flowy and easy. She cut out most of the volume that was going on at the bottom and layered it. The front is still long enough to tuck behind my ears (which is good for me). I was amazed how she listened and understood how to give me just what I wanted but couldn't express accurately. No wonder she has been on a haircutting reality show! She also told me about some way cool shampoo that doubles as a styling product. I think I'll get it when I run out of shampoo. I tipped her well but that doesn't count. I still haven't actually paid for a hair cut in well over a year. And the place, Bishop's, I think I'll return because it would have just cost me $25 for the cut which is a lovely price for such a good job. I think I may have found my Portland hairdresser. When I got back, I spent time prancing about and making noises like the wind was flowing through my hair.Rainy rainy day. My seat got a little wet. the sky was a beautiful purple than a dark velvet blue.
Karen, Diana, Robin and I took a brief excursion to Powell's. I was mostly just there for company (and left my wallet at home to insure this). Diana is looking for a dress but she shot down my idea, which I still think was a good idea. Karen splurged on the Shepard Fairy "Make Art Not War" poster. It wasn't a big or bag splurge as it is a great poster.
I watched Lars and the Real Girl. It really touched me. I thought it would move slowly but it had a good pace. I'm not sure if I would have liked a little more explanation about the characters but as is, it was ok. I would have liked to have seen more of the things that happened after the ending but my imagination can fill in the blanks. Ryan Gosling is an amazing actor. He will still be getting great roles decades from now.
Tomorrow is my last day of summer.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
bleach and ink
So Psychology Today has an article about the "Cult of Clean". I haven't got to it yet but I breezed through it last night and woke up with a hankering to do some sanitizing. I whipped up some bleach and cold water and did the counters and handles and bathroom. Mmm everything smelt really clean.
I need to start forcing myself out of bed earlier. I managed, with some nice asking, to get the free haircut card for Bishop's. They gave all the Freshmen a freebie but Cecine probably wouldn't get her hair cut before it expires so score! Going in bright and early tomorrow.
Psychology Today is fascinating. The article about style is summed up by saying how to have style is to go against consumerism because you are buying things that you actually want versus what people tell you that you need. I like that idea. Style is to be aware of yourself. Also I am a "taste hunter" and go after an eclectic variety of things and prefer to surround myself diversity. I'm open and creative. Yeah!
The new people in the Goose just LOVE being loud. And they sure enjoy doing it right outside my door.
Cecine and I watched Wristcutters today. It is about this land where you go when you commit suicide. It is a place where no can smile and there are no stars. I wasn't expecting that at all. Tom Waits is in it, but mostly as a background character. I really liked the format of it, I think more slightly supernatural movies need to exist. Looked like it was filmed around Joshua Tree. It ended up being really sweet and it didn't try to force a message (it was there but subtle). I maybe recommend it for mom.
For lunch we shared a Bellagio's pizza. I was stunned when we finished the whole thing. Even when I get it with Jim, I've never been able to finish a small with breadsticks before. Ohh but it was good pizza, my favorite (feta and chicken).
And then we were off to get Cecine all inked up something fierce! We caught the streetcar but a ticket checked boarded on Johnson so we dashed off. I can't afford to be caught. It was a quick trek from Johnson & 10th to Lovejoy & 17th. We had to buzz the lady to let us in. The tattoo place, Above the Pearl, is a part of a large building reserved exclusively for art, business and craft. Her studio was very white and sterile looking with lots of nice art. The tattooist's tattoos were classy looking. Some forms were filled out, Cece's shoulder was shaved, the stencil was put on her shoulder, and in just over an hour of buzzing she was permanently inked! It went super fast but the line quality remained nice and neat. She didn't even whimper! Very brave. I've never seen someone get a tattoo before. A great experience. Not that I suddenly want to jump in and get one...
I need to start forcing myself out of bed earlier. I managed, with some nice asking, to get the free haircut card for Bishop's. They gave all the Freshmen a freebie but Cecine probably wouldn't get her hair cut before it expires so score! Going in bright and early tomorrow.
Psychology Today is fascinating. The article about style is summed up by saying how to have style is to go against consumerism because you are buying things that you actually want versus what people tell you that you need. I like that idea. Style is to be aware of yourself. Also I am a "taste hunter" and go after an eclectic variety of things and prefer to surround myself diversity. I'm open and creative. Yeah!
The new people in the Goose just LOVE being loud. And they sure enjoy doing it right outside my door.
Cecine and I watched Wristcutters today. It is about this land where you go when you commit suicide. It is a place where no can smile and there are no stars. I wasn't expecting that at all. Tom Waits is in it, but mostly as a background character. I really liked the format of it, I think more slightly supernatural movies need to exist. Looked like it was filmed around Joshua Tree. It ended up being really sweet and it didn't try to force a message (it was there but subtle). I maybe recommend it for mom.
For lunch we shared a Bellagio's pizza. I was stunned when we finished the whole thing. Even when I get it with Jim, I've never been able to finish a small with breadsticks before. Ohh but it was good pizza, my favorite (feta and chicken).
And then we were off to get Cecine all inked up something fierce! We caught the streetcar but a ticket checked boarded on Johnson so we dashed off. I can't afford to be caught. It was a quick trek from Johnson & 10th to Lovejoy & 17th. We had to buzz the lady to let us in. The tattoo place, Above the Pearl, is a part of a large building reserved exclusively for art, business and craft. Her studio was very white and sterile looking with lots of nice art. The tattooist's tattoos were classy looking. Some forms were filled out, Cece's shoulder was shaved, the stencil was put on her shoulder, and in just over an hour of buzzing she was permanently inked! It went super fast but the line quality remained nice and neat. She didn't even whimper! Very brave. I've never seen someone get a tattoo before. A great experience. Not that I suddenly want to jump in and get one...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
in company of pasta
A few days ago was my one year date of blogging, and this is my 400th post. Pretty rad, I just need to post more videos of things that I think are cool and beef up that number.
Cecine and I ventured out of the apartment today. We checked out Red Light and Ray's Ragtime in search of these lacy veil things that she has her eye on. No such luck. For dinner we went to Noodles & Company. The service was good but the food was just decent. Not some special magical noodles that would be the best ever like I expected them to be. Still, we tried something new. Afterwards we wandered around in Powell's for about an hour. I bought the new Psychology Today and a cheap, beat up copy of Palahniuk's Lullaby. Won't read it for a while but I figured I would get it while it was at a nice price. They had a buy 2, get the 3rd free sale on books but it only applied to new ones. Tempting but I held back. The Pearl room yielded no special art books. We caught the streetcar back, Cecine got a pint of Haagen Dazs from Safeway, and we were home to chill.
Been flowing through the Wire. Didn't read anything today but maybe when I retire to my bed I will. Tomorrow Cecine is getting her tattoo and I am going with her. Take some photos, maybe inquire about how much something I've been thinking of would cost (though any Trilltoo is years away from happening).
Last few days and then I'll be wondering where summer went.
Cecine and I ventured out of the apartment today. We checked out Red Light and Ray's Ragtime in search of these lacy veil things that she has her eye on. No such luck. For dinner we went to Noodles & Company. The service was good but the food was just decent. Not some special magical noodles that would be the best ever like I expected them to be. Still, we tried something new. Afterwards we wandered around in Powell's for about an hour. I bought the new Psychology Today and a cheap, beat up copy of Palahniuk's Lullaby. Won't read it for a while but I figured I would get it while it was at a nice price. They had a buy 2, get the 3rd free sale on books but it only applied to new ones. Tempting but I held back. The Pearl room yielded no special art books. We caught the streetcar back, Cecine got a pint of Haagen Dazs from Safeway, and we were home to chill.
Been flowing through the Wire. Didn't read anything today but maybe when I retire to my bed I will. Tomorrow Cecine is getting her tattoo and I am going with her. Take some photos, maybe inquire about how much something I've been thinking of would cost (though any Trilltoo is years away from happening).
Last few days and then I'll be wondering where summer went.
Friday, August 29, 2008
a post without dancing cats
The Goose people are really good about slipping notices under our door in regards to things that only concern PSU students. However when it came to the laundry machine switch over, they only saw fit to tape up a single flier by the mail boxes to alert us. Couldn't be bothered to put something up in the laundry room itself, or on the bulletin boards on each level. Nooo, one little piece of paper was enough. So it wasn't until I had loaded up the machine with clothes and suds and went to slip quarters in did I notice it was a card only system. I saw the notice for the change when I went down to get a card so I could have clean undies. The machine only took dollars. I had to take out all the dry clothes and wash the soapy clothes in the bathtub. Grrr. The Goose staff are lame.
Brynne and Averie are going to be in Portland next weekend. The time they have to hang out is when I am scheduled to have class but maybe I will get out early. I hope so. I love visitors (mom, you haven't visited me yet. Dad has, Nathan and Rubie have, Llyw has, Brynne and Dan have, Jon from Japan has although he wasn't visiting me initially).
Read more from Time Traveler's Wife. Watched more of the second season of The Wire. Tomorrow I'll find an excuse to leave the apartment.
Brynne and Averie are going to be in Portland next weekend. The time they have to hang out is when I am scheduled to have class but maybe I will get out early. I hope so. I love visitors (mom, you haven't visited me yet. Dad has, Nathan and Rubie have, Llyw has, Brynne and Dan have, Jon from Japan has although he wasn't visiting me initially).
Read more from Time Traveler's Wife. Watched more of the second season of The Wire. Tomorrow I'll find an excuse to leave the apartment.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
guffaws and goons
Cecine and I went to see Pineapple Express. It was cookie cutter Apatow. Nothing really broke the mold except for the fact that it had more action. And the action was really good. The fights were well choreographed and seemed real and not that some slob suddenly got karate skills. The people around us were really into it and that was a little distracting. It was cute but forgettable.
Before we stopped by Art Media to view their wares. I am loaning Cece my cloth portfolio so that she doesn't have to buy the big kit. She doesn't have her ID yet so she didn't get anything. I bought some Iridescent Medium for watercolors (going to make everything all shiny now) and a new block of paper because I am almost out.
I took Cecine on the max for the first time. Nothing really eventful happened. It was the Max.
My dreams have been troublesome of lately. In a half awake state I was clawing at my bed looking for some action figures and yanked the plug from the socket for my clock, effectively turning it off. Well, I didn't need to wake up early today. I started The Wire but the disc is screwy. Errg.
Rode into PNCA to pick up the DVD's I loaned to Matt a few weeks ago. The Freshman orientation was in full swing. Lots of fresh faces that look really similar to the ones from last year. I talked to Gordon about what TBA events he suggests and which one (Paintallica) he was in.
I had to return Holly's collar to Chelsey so I stopped by her place for a visit. I took the collar off because it scared Ibanez and forgot to put it in her bag of things. She is much larger now. She did run up and charge my face when I was sitting. I also received a very snazzy quilt in thank you for my labors. I didn't stay long but her place really is coming together.
Trader Joe's was the destination of choice after. I crossed some lanes of traffic when we were all stopped and a car honked at me. He wasn't close to me, I didn't cut him off. He was about fifteen feet behind me and just decided to honk at me because I made him consider slowing down at a red light. He shouted something that I didn't catch. Oh well. I was starving so I treated myself to some Gnocchi with Gorgonzola. It was frozen and it seemed easy enough to prepare without a microwave. I found it very delicious and filling. The little gooey bits of Gnocchi were wonderful. Mmm, I will consider buying it again for future preparations. Bought some bread and mini tacos. A nice little trip. No one honked at me on the way back.
I cuddled the snakey Ganesh and watched Pushing Daisies.
Before we stopped by Art Media to view their wares. I am loaning Cece my cloth portfolio so that she doesn't have to buy the big kit. She doesn't have her ID yet so she didn't get anything. I bought some Iridescent Medium for watercolors (going to make everything all shiny now) and a new block of paper because I am almost out.
I took Cecine on the max for the first time. Nothing really eventful happened. It was the Max.
My dreams have been troublesome of lately. In a half awake state I was clawing at my bed looking for some action figures and yanked the plug from the socket for my clock, effectively turning it off. Well, I didn't need to wake up early today. I started The Wire but the disc is screwy. Errg.
Rode into PNCA to pick up the DVD's I loaned to Matt a few weeks ago. The Freshman orientation was in full swing. Lots of fresh faces that look really similar to the ones from last year. I talked to Gordon about what TBA events he suggests and which one (Paintallica) he was in.
I had to return Holly's collar to Chelsey so I stopped by her place for a visit. I took the collar off because it scared Ibanez and forgot to put it in her bag of things. She is much larger now. She did run up and charge my face when I was sitting. I also received a very snazzy quilt in thank you for my labors. I didn't stay long but her place really is coming together.
Trader Joe's was the destination of choice after. I crossed some lanes of traffic when we were all stopped and a car honked at me. He wasn't close to me, I didn't cut him off. He was about fifteen feet behind me and just decided to honk at me because I made him consider slowing down at a red light. He shouted something that I didn't catch. Oh well. I was starving so I treated myself to some Gnocchi with Gorgonzola. It was frozen and it seemed easy enough to prepare without a microwave. I found it very delicious and filling. The little gooey bits of Gnocchi were wonderful. Mmm, I will consider buying it again for future preparations. Bought some bread and mini tacos. A nice little trip. No one honked at me on the way back.
I cuddled the snakey Ganesh and watched Pushing Daisies.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
we are too young to be polite
I kept relatively busy today. Doing something all day long.
I did a quick little picture and slipped it under Karen's door. Then it was time for our pod meeting. It seems a small pod. Izzy, Drew, Dylan, Michael, Jeff, Hill, Ionie, Cecine, a girl whose name I have forgotten, and myself make up the pod with Robin as our leader. It was just general rules and cookies. Ideas for what we wanted to do were brought up. It went quick.
Karen and Robin knocked on my door to say hi. Robin was busy but Karen was not so we went out for a brief walk. We rode the steetcar to PNCA. Karen bought lunch at Hot Lips where Brianna is working. She looks so Hot Lips, it seems a great fit. I checked out two AWESOME books from the library. One was Wall and Peace, which is a collection of Banksy's work with some of his words and ideas. The other is Obey, which is a seventeen year history of Shepard Fairey's work. I love his style. Karen and I oooed over it while waiting for the streetcar to arrive.
We chilled at Robin and Diana's for a while. Of course we chitted and chatted. I returned to my place briefly before going back to watch The Incredibles. That movie has so many great little elements and touches. Brad Bird is a genius. They played the movie a little quieter than I am used to. Some reason about setting a good example. It was like, 7:30pm. They could have turned it up a little.
I brought the rest of my cupcakes up to Karen's for a little rendezvous. Adam and Tony stopped by and the cupcakes were devoured. I did a drawing of the girl with the horrid pants whose clothing the Buffalo Exchange people loved. They went to see a movie at a beer theatre and I left. I think I'll read some more.
I did a quick little picture and slipped it under Karen's door. Then it was time for our pod meeting. It seems a small pod. Izzy, Drew, Dylan, Michael, Jeff, Hill, Ionie, Cecine, a girl whose name I have forgotten, and myself make up the pod with Robin as our leader. It was just general rules and cookies. Ideas for what we wanted to do were brought up. It went quick.
Karen and Robin knocked on my door to say hi. Robin was busy but Karen was not so we went out for a brief walk. We rode the steetcar to PNCA. Karen bought lunch at Hot Lips where Brianna is working. She looks so Hot Lips, it seems a great fit. I checked out two AWESOME books from the library. One was Wall and Peace, which is a collection of Banksy's work with some of his words and ideas. The other is Obey, which is a seventeen year history of Shepard Fairey's work. I love his style. Karen and I oooed over it while waiting for the streetcar to arrive.
We chilled at Robin and Diana's for a while. Of course we chitted and chatted. I returned to my place briefly before going back to watch The Incredibles. That movie has so many great little elements and touches. Brad Bird is a genius. They played the movie a little quieter than I am used to. Some reason about setting a good example. It was like, 7:30pm. They could have turned it up a little.
I brought the rest of my cupcakes up to Karen's for a little rendezvous. Adam and Tony stopped by and the cupcakes were devoured. I did a drawing of the girl with the horrid pants whose clothing the Buffalo Exchange people loved. They went to see a movie at a beer theatre and I left. I think I'll read some more.
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