Have you seen Melanie Griffith’s web page? I’ll leave the comments to you on this one.
Care about the world we live in? Check out oneworld.net. Their mission is: “OneWorld is dedicated to harnessing the democratic potential of the internet to promote human rights and sustainable development.” Here’s some press about them.
For some online activism, try out VoxCap. They have everything from Economy to Education.
Wanna read about psychology instead? Try out PsycPort or brain.com.
Hate it all? Just like to take tests, you say? Have fun with Kingdomality or use this iVillage allHealth test to figure out what career is for you. Still not satified? Here’s another one that measures your charisma. Know some fun tests? Mail me.
Right now, we’re watching The Big Lebowski for the second time and, I must tell you, this move is awesome. My favorite line is: “Lebowski? Dude, that’s your name!” You really must see it.
Is clutter a problem for you? Take this test to find out. Me? That would be a ‘Yes!’ 🙂
Checkout this Shot Glass Chess Set and the Slam Man both proudly brought to you by Firebox’s Bachelor Pad.
This week’s Work article of Word is by a Kinko’s employee and it’s quite neat. This woman, Natasha Werther, talks about how she used to be a teacher and how she likes this job better. There are two things she mentions that I found particularly interesting.
One is how, even when we grow up, we’re put through tests and situation that make us fell like children. Like, in their case, they had to take this psychological exam as part of their application and then they had to take classes and exams while employed there. Also, she mentions the mystery shoppers and how the managers praise people in public and how no one wants to not have done well cause everyone will know about it. It’s funny how we always want people to think well of us and how desperate we are to please.
While it’s possible that Kinko’s does more of this than other firms, most large companies do treat their employees like children. They make you take tests or go through training about the company’s culture. I find it quite interesting that when you’re a kid, you look forward to a time when your words will not be overridden by adults and then you grow up and, in some ways, act even more childish than you ever did before. For example, the reason we have subjects like ‘Is he approachable?’ in our yearly feedback forms is because as they grow up, people become more judgmental and start segregating people. Whereas a kid who’s never been told that someone is less important than he is would never know to make such a differentiation. Which then becomes the reason to treat these so-called adults like children. Therein lies the irony of the entire thing.
Another interesting point she makes is about how her job has resolutions as opposed to everything else in life. She mentions teaching and marriage as examples. I think this is one of the reasons I like programming so much. When my code works, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. The same goes for the 3-D graphics I do. Immediate feedback and a sense of completion. (Tho both in art and programming, you can always tweak things to be more perfect.) I get the same feeling when I finish a book. While I’m sad it’s over, I feel fulfilled. In a world where we have no way of fixing or changing many things, it feels good to have something completed.
Go read the word article, I think you might find it interesting, too. Let me know what you thought of it.
Btw, I remember when word had that three-eyed smiley and I used to love it. I wish they brought it back. Even though they have some really neat layouts and effects, I miss the little smiley dude.
Here’s another article on someone who’s making changes in people’s lives. It’s long like most Fast Company articles are, but it’s worth the read.
You should read this article in the New York Times. It’s about a new Charter School that opened up in the Bronx. I think it’s amazing how some people sit and complain while others decide to take charge. The world would never improve if we all did nothing more than whining and thanks to the boom in the Economy, fewer and fewer young people choose their life according to their ideals. Most people go where the money is and stay there until more money shows up somewhere else.
When I switched from a full-time job to a part-time one, giving up quite a sum of money, to spend a bit more time volunteering and learning, people looked at me like I was insane. There are two kinds of people in the world, it seems; those who want to help the world and those who wish to climb the corporate ladder. These two don’t mix. Except in my case, where they do. I wish more people did both because sometimes the connections in the corporate world have the monetary power to make things happen.
When was the last time you volunteered?
Watching the Fox Choice Teen Awards last night, I realized that I can’t tell the difference between the members and songs of In Sync, 98degrees and Backstreet Boys. I wonder if that’s a sign that I’m not a teenage anymore. That’s what I get for watching Television when I should be reading I suppose. The thing is, I can differentiate between Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, so maybe it’s not me. Oh well.
I’ve seen the Monster ad about kids telling they want loser jobs many times before but each time I smile and enjoy it over again. That, to me, is the real power of an ad. Most quirky ads are interesting the first time around but as repeated they get annoying. If it has lasting power, then the company did a good job.
I printed Dave Eggers interview with The Harvard Advocate after seeing it on Jason’s page. It sat in my printer for a couple of days. The reason I even bothered to print it is mostly cause my boyfriend is a huge fan of McSweeney’s. Anyhow, it sat in my printer for several days until, in an effort to find something to read during lunch, I grabbed the printouts on my way out. Since I am quite unfamiliar with Dave Eggers in general, a lot of the specific questions asked by Saadi went right over my head, but the answers Dave gave not only didn’t require any historical knowledge but they were timeless. I am now officially a huge fan of this man.
I strongly urge everyone to read this amazing response. Specifically the butterfly analogy of criticism. While Jason talks about how he feels he won’t be able to understand how beauty is created unless he analyzes and dissects it, I feel that you can’t learn that way. Art, in my opinion, is not something that’s constructed, therefore it’s impossible for someone else to break it into parts that can then be rebuilt by someone else to produce the same piece. I think you absorb and relate to art. It’s an emotional process and not a scientific one. As a huge hater of critics in general, I found Dave’s words inspirational.
I love the way he chooses to construct his readings. It shows what a full-of-life person he is and finding an artist who is not full-of-himself is refreshing.
His words relating to how you cannot judge other people and what they do is well put. Here’s the part that best sums up that subject-matter: “What kind of small-hearted person wants an artist to adhere to a set of rules, to stay forever within a narrow envelope which we’ve created for them?” Think about that one for a while.
He addresses the issue I find so fascinating about some people I’ve met who consider themselves a good judge of art. Just because something is popular doesn’t automatically make it ‘unreal.’ What a twisted way to think!
I love that he talks about not saying no and how he mentions that he doesn’t get along with people who say no. I’ve met many people who think refusal is a form of coolness. Real people are never too busy or too important. They don’t worry about the messages they send and the way people might judge what they do or say.
“What matters is that you want to see and make and do, on as grand a scale as you want, regardless of what the tiny voices of tiny people say.” If we could all live with this frame of mind, not only would we all be happier, but the world would be such a better place.
Thanks to Jason for pointing me towards this amazing article and I am glad people like Dave exist in this world.
I finally registered for all my classes. Yeay!
Saturday night Jake and I went to a restaurant by our house to have dinner. The weather was so wonderful that we looked for a place with outside seating. As we sat on the bench outside the restaurant, waiting to get a table, a small, brown mouse scurried by us towards the tables. These tables were outside the restaurant but within a low barricade the restaurant had put to separate itself from the sidewalk. Jake and I looked at each other and waited for the shrieks to come. Ten minutes later, we were seated and forgot all about the mouse, until the woman in the table behind ours cried out a few unintelligible words as we saw the poor mouse run for his life squeezing below the tent barricade. The owner of the restaurant simply shook his head as the animal tried to find freedom. I truly think it’s impossible to live in New York City if you’re afraid of mice or bugs of any sort. You wouldn’t be able to walk down the street or use the subway. As this little mouse made its way across the road, two women walked by and one shrieked while the other said, “Why are you so scared? It’s Mickey Mouse.” No joke.
Last night a mosquito bit me which, normally, wouldn’t be anything more than annoying. Thanks to the recent breakout of disease carrying ones, the small bite might prove to be a huge problem. Isn’t it amazing that amongst all this freedom and technology, I have to keep my windows closed in case a small creature decides to infect me in the process of sucking my blood?
If you ever wondered what PEZ means or why Rolling Rock bottles have the number 33 on them, you must check out The Straight Dope. I’ve sat in the bookstore and spent hours reading random questions from his books and now, most of them are on the Web.
At noon, I go back to New York Society for the Deaf. It’s really interesting being there and working with deaf people. I’m always amazed at how flexible their fingers are and how quickly they sign. It also fascinates me how they make up signs for certain words. For example, last week, I helped a few women fill out a form for housing aide. One of the items on the form asked if they currently live in substandard housing. Another item asked if their rent is subsidized. I kept wondering if there is a sign for subsidized. The only way I managed to explain it to her was to ask if anyone helped pay her rent, but I bet there is a sign that would have conveyed it better. Sign Language is really amazing. It’s the only language where you can say two totally different words at the same exact moment.
I just started using blogger. I’m still not sure how well they work, but so many people are using it that I think it’s worth a shot. We’ll see….
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projects for twenty twenty-six
projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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