On Ice

I wonder how they weigh the "nearly two million tons of [missing] ice"

On Gross

Groos thing of the week

Thank you Wired Blog Network...

On House Buying

Well guys,
HERE IT IS!!!

Complete with a lovely back yard for Luda!!!
oh oh, and a shed. Yep, there's a shed.
And Lilac bushes behind this,
compost boxes, even!

We also have

a living room!
and and

a loverly kitchen
featuring a dishwasher that says
"washing HO" whilst washing
and and a new gas stove!!!

I must say, it has been hell.
Mostly, because of this douche bag

of

Furman Realty.
Yeah, that's all the banner they could afford, because they use a dick as a realtor who probably drives most of the customers away.
Then again, they do live out here:

so maybe they just spend all of their money on their Office building.

Either way... the process is coming together nicely...
we went through Brick Kickers

for our inspection, and the dude

shared our sense of humor and was...just a really great guy.

And our realtor has been AMAZING, too!

Karen is really really great.
**sorry karen that you slipped on the ice while trying to get us our papers to sign...hope you are doing well...**


Anywho... that is the run-down of what the past week has been filled wtih. Yaaaay!

On Helvetica

I know I've blogged about Helvetica before. But..you guys seem to be fans, mostly, of my graphic design posts. Possibly because its fascinating stuff, and possibly its because its stuff you don't know much about - but realize after reading that you Should know...



This is Mike Parker (in the movie, Helvetica)
He talks about the figure/ground relationship that happens in the typeface (and in type in general) ...and he has sooo much passion!!! Maybe that is why you guys like reading about it - because...g.d.ers are just NERDS about something that seems So...simple.
But it isn't simple. Helvetica, is rather neutral. But whether you're trying to say "Keep Going!" ...you aren't going to write it in ...an "ultra light" Helvetica, no no, you put it in at least a Regular, if not Bold.
Beyond Helvetica, there is a time and place for ...hand done type. A place for type with perfectly rounded "o"s
I loved watching Helvetica with Jared, because...as a Graphic Designer, I'm aware of how Neat and prevalent in our capitalist society typefaces are... so many logos/corporations...swarming with Helvetica. ...But the average person, has No idea. I think that THAT is the importance of the movie. The simple fact that an entire documentary could be made on ONE typeface... that in itself speaks volumes.

mmmm tastey. tastey. type.

In other, related news... I would just like to say that my most recent, favorite typeface has been Akzidenz


which, before the movie, Helvetica, I had no idea that ...it is what Helvetica was derived from.... I'm just...happy to know that I used an alternative to the default, ...that inspired possibly one of hte greatest typefaces.... and picked it, just....Because. heh.


------
Time to go....carve out a ring, eat spaghettio's and watch mythbusters.

On Thanksgiving

well, not sure what your thanksgiving's look like, but the first half of mine looks like this:



I stayed home with mom and helped prepare the house and such, but...
it is a yearly tradition to go out and shoot the clay.

Other happenings included my uncle Joe being... special:

and my mom explaining deep important things to the youngsters

while the service oriented youngster gives grandpa a massage


back to homework land!!
peace...

On keys. and music...

I think my keys should take up a career in... hmmm in...
hide and seek.

well, the bad part would be that they wouldn't take their actual turn...at the seeking. And that's no good...but... otherwise, they... hide a lot. AND they do it whenever i'm trying to get somewhere on time. Unbelievable.


ALSO

...maybe it is a sign of the times.... and my subconscious
but...the order of my iTunes by "Date Added" looks something like:

Ludacris "GET BACK"!!!!
"get back motha' fucker, you don't KNOW me like that!"

Ludacris "Move Bitch"!!!
"Moooove bitch get out the way..."

Pink "So What"

This one is my new favorite song for now
*shrugs*
Luda and I were actually just dancing around
upstairs to it really loud..... he likes the song, i think.

Ben Folds "Bitch Went Nuts"

Ben Folds "You Don't Know Me"

On Teaching

Student:

Hello,
I am in Art History 280 and I am a little confused on the differences among
basilica-plan, central-plan, and cross-plan buildings. If you could explain
the difference that would be so helpful.
Thank you,

My Response:

That is a great question to maybe ask at review day, today.
:)

I think maybe I have a future in this...
If your would come to class, That would be so helpful...

On Apples

aight,
I just bought a bag of apples yesterday, and they're gone.
wtf. ...haha... who ate all of the apples/hid them?
This is just uncalled for.
Speak up!

On Nematodes

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans


ages the equivalent of 5 human years for every day they live, usually expiring after 14 days. However, when stressed, the worm goes into a state of suspended animation that can last for 2 months or more. The human equivalent would be to sleep for about 200 years.

So, it may be.... only 1mm long, but... its a roundworm... and that's cool.

On Rian Hughes

For over 20 years, Rian Hughes has been fusing visual design with pop aesthetics. His distinctive panel art revolutionized the British comic industry, and his modernist graphic design and illustration style have been widely copied. Since 1996, Rian has released an astoundingly diverse range of display and text typefaces under the Device Fonts moniker.

its some pretty neat shit.

on Totally Cute!

thanks Anand for this one!!
haha, tooo cute. :)

On Paul's Blog

I grabbed this first one from Paul's blog,
makes me...really ...see the Good that politics Can bring out in people...... Good quotes, good intentions, good spirits?



This one, another friend sent to me:


I think my favorite part of that last one is
"John McCain represents the Best of America's past. And Barack Obama, the hope of the future, the hope of a country that can make big changes and live out one of its greatest promises of equal opportunities for all American's; of every cast, creed and color. And America has always been a country that looks forward."

Cool.

On Hockey Mama for Obama

On White Void

Check this site out: White VOID
neeat

On Gold Digga's

dadadadadadadadadadaDADADAADADADADA
(that's the drum intro.....)

*dances*

get down girl go 'ahead get down
we want prenup
WE WANT PRENUP!!!

And to appease my bubbling rage:


I should submit a
"This I believe" to npr
on how...how I believe in
the power hip hop
to improve a person's day.
OR at least when its mixed
with cycling...
even if it is indoor...

....its that time of year again...
indoor training
bust out the rollers

turn up the beats
and roll........

HOLLA!

On the Life of Brian

What can i say?
It is a genius classic.
genius...
And I felt that....
it should be shared
and you should laugh.
if you don't laugh at it...
you're... probably... weird.

On Wet Bike Seats

Tip for the day:

Don't ride bikes when the seat is wet...

Latest and Greatest THING

*clears throat*
my mom sent me a
....
defurminator.



But let me tell you!
Luda likes the defurminator!
And I like it too because...
it seems to work!!!

I am pretty sure, though...
that it works Best
when you use it with the Arnold accent


So, Thanks Mom!

On Blogging

I apologize,
i suck at this blogging thing these days.
busy busy busy.
hmmmmmmmm.

On retired athletes

dear...out-of-retirement athletes
get the fuck over yourselves.

Remember back in the 90s
when Michael played for the Bulls??

Who could honestly forget???
This trio who could.not.be.stopped!
WHo didn't have an MJ jersey, numero 23.
I want to be like Mike!

But the guy retires
tries out baseball (wtf)
goes and manages the Wizards
and then goes back to bball...
Sure he set some records and stuff but...
but...

but then there's Favre...

The man can PLAY some football, now!
He's cute, too!
Sells Wranglers....unstoppable...
And yet, after a few
retirement games
he STILL returns
...allbeit this time to a different team,
That isn't retirement, son.

And who oh who would be next
except for ...
Lance Armstrong.
this twat.
I tell ya...
Just when I was starting to like him again...
all he has been doing for cancer and all



but... but...
but you retired!

Maybe they should change the name of it, then...
say
"hey, i'm too damn good for my own good in this sport, so I'm going to take a break while the youngin's dope enough to catch up to me."

Although,
that picture sort of makes me want to ride my bike
naked
underwater.
*shrugs*

On School

I'm currently taking a few classes
WHO KNEW!??! haha

One is on Human Computer interaction,
I'm currently creating a usability test for
the OLPC laptop

this thing Sucks.
But its intentions are good,
uuugh, but,
but the icons are confusing
and not universal
the interface is slow and...
far from instinctive

I'm glad to be working on it
and improving it, though.

My other class is a micro-humanics class
We're reading a book called Sensory Design

its a good book, so far.
Well, the first chapter was a little ...dragging,
but ahhh! So much in terms of...
humans interacting with space
and how important our senses are
in how we interact in our environment.
How we think form follows function...
but really the form ends up being
how the function is expressed!
Its cool stuff, guys. Trust me.
I'll share more about it in time.
in time.

On Last Weekend

Sorry I"m slow:


Jared and my dad's boyfriend deep fried turkey

My sister is neat


my mom would smack me for posting this picture...good thing she's ....almost four hours away, bwahahaha!!!

SHE got a little crazy at the party


Jared is super cute


HOLLA!

on iReport

I am skeptical of a source that
well, that is unedited AND unfiltered.

On Doom

Guitar Idol
our world... will crumble yet.

On Grad School

oooooh
i like grad school already
ooooh me oh my.
in a really nervous/anxious sort of way.
it is going to be a LOT more reading/writing than
i have been used to.
but i will use that to set me apart from
those who i just graduated wtih.
Right?

I can't wait to share more!
You guys are going to end up
SO edumacated.

One prof even hung out with me after class
and ended up sending me home
with three more books...

i love that i have class with people i've
never had class with before.
That is ... relieving.

On recovery

One thing I learned on this weekend's MS ride...

women recover quicker than men.

mmmmhm.

Maybe I just ... gather that from that me and some other lady finished first together on the second day, but... it is just a testament to the fact.
Paul, you best have pictures up soon!

on cheese

Of all cheese customs, one of the more unusual was that of the "groaning cheese." Years ago in Europe, a prospective father would nibble on a huge chunk of cheese while awaiting the home birth of his child. Instead of pacing outside the bedroom door, the father would eat from the center of the cheese until a large hole had been gnawed out. Later, his newborn infant was ceremoniously passed through the hole.

ON my comedic thoughts...

i like to go to the beach. I like to go there really early and throw in like.... thirty bottles... bottles containing messages. Then wait around and when someone picks up a bottle, I'd like to go stand behind them.... the note would say "I am standing right behind you."

Whenever I see an Autobiography in the book store... i just flip to the "aboutu the author" section.... done.

I got some new pajama's ...with pockets in them. which is great because before, i had to hold onto things when i slept...

i am in a tough situtaion because i like rainbows, but i'm not gay.But I ...support it... So like... if I have a rainbow, i have to put under it "not gay" ...but under that in parenthesis it has to say "but supportive" but... its just frustrating that that group took refractive light, you know? Take a couple colors... not all of them. My favorite color is...rainbow. and... yeah.

I once read a book cover to cover.... it only took like two minutes, because ... i went around the outside.
I think i would like to write a book... some are done in first person, some in third... mine will be in fifth. ...i heard from this guy who told somebody ____. Could be a very gossipy book.
----

maybe i will leave graphic design for standup

cnn.com

funny thing about TV...
...CNN has this news section
called "reliable sources"

...because all other news sections
of theirs have...
unreliable sources.

---here's your sign---

It isn't that I have given up blogging, it is that... my life has been... so bland as far as positive inspiration... that I just have nothing much to say, to give, to share.

but I did ride tonight with my buddy Paul
That was fuuuun.

We are getting ready for the MS Ride that is looooming around the corner

yeah

it is going to be Great.

And Joshhhhh is coming over tonight for some leftover pizza
and Hamms

bet you forgot they even still made this crap.

:)

Hey.
whoever reads this.
Spread the word that we're still in need of a futon....
Holla' Back!

...hell...a full sized or double mattress would work too.

On Pandora

The songs that play on my Pandora John Prine station...
These are the songs, and in this order, that they played today...

John Prine - Back Street Affair
Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain
Tom Petty; written by John Prine, featuring J.P. - Picture Show
Slaid Cleaves - Broke Down
John Prine - Some Humans Aint Human
Todd Snider - Statistician's Blues
Dan Reeder - I Don't Really Want to Talk to You
Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Don't Think Twice its Alright
Steve Goodman - Blue Umbrella (song written by J.P.
John Prine - The Great Compromise
.
.
.
yeah, you know you would play this station if you had it.
*siigh*
i sure play it a lot.
but hey, don't think twice...its alright.

On Luda

You know what I LOVE about my dog?
No matter how long I step out,
5 minutes to run to my car
30 minutes for a run
3 hour bike ride
5 hours at work
A weekend trip...

The minute I come in the door and he sees me
he shakes his tail and it goes all the way down through his hips and makes his little hind end wiggle
His tongue hangs down to the side of his mouth and eyes GLOW!!

Every time.

That's pretty cool.
Also, he's hilarious to try and nap with. I recommend trying it sometime, he's really a decent nap buddy...he even spoons. He rolled over the other day and slept on his back with my arms wrapped around his two front legs that were basically up in the air. His head tilted back so he could see the world upside down. heh.
I would have tried taking a picture, but it would have ruined the moment.
:)

I would have to confess
that Todd Snider
is one of my new favorite musicians.
Lyrically, instrumentally, everythingally.

This song is called the Ballad of the Kingsmen...
You don't have to think too hard to figure out why I love it...

"The Kingsmen came together in a garage,
They could hardly even play
But they practiced night
And day pretty soon they got to where they could really play that song Louie,
Louie
So, they saved up all the money from the shows,
Went in to one of them studios and gave their version of the song a try

Now, I don't know the words to that song Louie,
Louie and I'm pretty sure the singer for the
Kingsmen didn't know ‘em either,
If he did know ‘em he didn't get ‘em right on the record
Cause on the record they sound jumbled in his jaw? It says,
Me think of me girl oh so constantly
Ahmayaaah makaaaah aahh ooohoooh aaaaah
Well, that last part scared everybody from the PTA to the FBI
You see, the kids had been going kind of crazy lately
And it seemed like nobody could figure out why,
So they decided to form a coalition,
Launch an investigation, you know for the children, they at least had to try
To figure out the words to Louie, Louie


Chorus
It's the feel good hit of this endless summer
It gets these kids out of control
Singin along to that star spangled bummer,
Hail, hail rock and roll

Marilyn Manson’s real name isn't even Marilyn Manson,
He's a skinny public high school Kid from Florida,
Not some monster from out of this world and like of a lot other skinny long hair public
High school kids he was sick of getting
Beaten up by the pulling guard all week only to go out on the weekend,
And watch the Quarterback get all the girls so,
He formed a band man
Now' he gets all the girls,
A few years later a couple of latchkey kids go tragically
Mad and everybody's standing around the television store at the mall trying to figure out what went wrong,
This guy says,
You think the life of a kid going to high school could've gotten so bad this other guy says nah,
It's just the words to one of them goddamn Marilyn Manson songs,
You know the one

Chorus

You know, every ten years or so our country and some other little country,
We start firing all of our newest weapons
At each other for some reason or another, right or wrong,
Like it or not, it happens, and when it happens
People get shot and when people get shot,
They show it on tv a lot every night at six o clock
And you don't even have to be eighteen to see it you don't even have to be in first grade,
First grade where they teach the kid pride
They tell him he'll need to thrive,
In a world where only the strong will survive,
So he's taught the art of more
To compare to and to keep score Monday thru Friday while
He stares at the floor til' Sunday they make him go to
School once more only this time they make him wear a suit and a tie
And listen to some guy who claims to know Where people go
When they die tell him that only the meek are gonna inherit the earth Well shit,
By this time the kid doesn't know what anything
Is worth, now brothers and sisters I am only one guy
And I don't even know the words to that song Louie,
Louie but I can tell you right now without batting an eye
That the next time some latchkey kid goes wrong
It aint gonna be cause that Eminem gets to say the word Fag in his song
And I'm not trying to preach to ya either,
I'm just trying to sing to ya too, you know string a few words together

Hey kids...
Lets get it on,
Lets get it on"



Its a funny thing that he mentions Marilyn Manson...
I've never been a fan of the music, but I saw in an interview with him once
where he was being questioned about ...stuff
and the interviewer asked "if you could tell the kids one thing, what would it be?"
(this was in response to school shootings)
and Marilyn's answer was "That's exactly the problem, we need to stop telling them what to do, and start listening."
...I may never listen to or enjoy the music,
but that statement is enough for me.
Fair Enough Manson, I hear ya.


Other Todd Snider songs of greatness:

On a Photo Vaca

Here it is foolks!
The photo run-down!

Those up above there are from when Jared and I couldn't find a campsite.
We settled for that Motel 8 with mr. Luda pants.
We ate bagels out of the back of my car...

Then up in MN
we...had some beers


I'm happy to point out that I have larger arms than Jared
;)
don't mess w/ me BOY!

There was AMAZING people-watching
Example 1: this cute cute girl and her tongue sticking out



-------------------------------

Then, Just as I said, I headed home!
Amie moved into her house!!
My mom and I helped her paint her room (blue)


She really likes bright things.
Plus her new bedroom furniture and bedding and such is a neat brown. So it all looks great
and the blue really helps everything come to life.

Her gutters and such ...well decomposing is...the best word for it.
So Cousin Bob came over and cleaned that Out.
Uncle Joe came and edged her sidewalk and such. Such good family.
My grandpa gave her a cherry tree as a gift - he helped her plant it, too.


Its a really really cute and awesome house!
I'm super proud and happy for her!
Yaaaay Amie!
Luda already pooped in her bathroom while she watched him...and I went to Michigan.
bwahahaha. ...he ate the roundup she sprayed on her weeds.




-------------------------------


The Off to michigan I went!
First:
my room:

Jared, Kris, Mickey... I love to cuddle with you guys...
but oooooh a nice big bed all to myself...maaaagical.

I had a blast taking pictures



One of the evenings, down at camp,
there was a kids carnival thinger where they ...play games and get tokens
and turn the tokens in for ...prizes (sugar and such...)
These are my cousins Keenan and Sierra,

Watching their brother do some rock stacking.
Trevor came Really close (by 2 rocks!) to getting the record in the Rock Stacking competition...
he won free ice cream, anyway.


After the events, we had Ice Cream in the wig-wam.
Yum!!!


And I took pictures


The next day, we went sight seeing!!!

This is the view from the scenic lookout down to our beach area

We went and saw a lighthouse, too
we even got to take a tour of the inside!


I took more pictures


But being me,
I liked the outside area of the lighthouse MUCH better:



From there we headed up to Sleeping Bear Dunes!!!
First we did the big dune that you can run up
Hence...my cousins taking off together to go tackle the climb

The fam:


We made it to the top!

We also made it safely down
and I apparently felt the need to ...show my musCles.
I am a freakin' Tigress.


We drove through the National Park part, too and ...I took more pictures
;)
I think that I am going to frame this one ...something about it:


This was the sunset.... From the bench at our beach area...
magic:

And...just another view of the beach
*mmmhm, bet you're wishing you were there...I wish I was there again...already...*


These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip
Thanks mom for posing!!!






Soon enough, I took off for a bike ride!!!! I did on Thursday, the day we drove up,
but Saturday rolled around and....I needed a REAL ride...
like...sickening long and REAL...

So that's what I did
108 miles later
a few NICE climbs
(okay, I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd make those last two home...
they hurt. Hurt like a mo' fo')
But in the end, my tan lines are Great
and ...I even felt great the next day! It wasn't too bad, at all!
It was ...amazing. That riding is...damn hard to beat.

The parts that were along lakes or the coast line were just...
mind blowing. You have GOT to try it sometime...



And this was my sundown.
It was some AMAZING alone time watching it.
I couldn't help but sing Jimmy Eat World's "My Sundown" in my head...






Yeah,
My Sundown.