Gypsy Design :: The Stew

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Tenth Muse had an interesting way of describing herself this week. So i'm ripping off the idea...because it frankly beats writing a huge ass paragraph where I over explain way too much...*sigh*

So here goes:

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. art supply clerk (Michaels...never had much of a paycheck)
2. video store clerk  
   
3. CAD monkey for architecture firm
4. web/designer for pretty much anything                                                                                                     

1. Monty Python's Holy Grail
2. Memoirs of a Geisha
3. Green Mile
4. And even though it makes me a total geek: Star Wars Trilogy 

 Four places I have lived:

1. Fort Worth, Texas
2. Houston , Texas
3. Bryan/College Station, Texas
4. San Diego, California
   

 Four things I did this weekend:

1. Worked on Coach Fran's website
2. Worked on Randy's super-secret project
3. Gave 2 very dirty schnauzers baths
4. Managed to avoid any housework and house is a huge mess now because of it
   

 
Four places I have been on vacation:

1. St Louis (it counts!) 
   
2. New Orleans
3. Orlando
4. Los Angeles
   

Four of my favorite foods:

1. chicken marsala
2. mom's mashed potatoes
3. apple crisp
4. peanut butter anything
   

Four places I would rather be or go:

1. Scotland
2. Cabo San Lucas
3. Oregon
4. Connecticut
   

1. bookstore!
   
2. movies at home with good food and wine (someone to cuddle with too)
3. taking the girls to the park
   
4. reading for fun

Your favorite non-alcoholic drinks?

1. diet dr. pepper
2. diet dr. pepper
3. did i mention diet dr. pepper ?
4. iced tea
   

Your favorite alcoholic beverages?

1. Sweet white wine
2. really good port
3. amaretto sours (yes it's an old lady drink...shut up)
4. Margaritas

 Favorite scent/smells?

1. Eucalyptus
2. Good Lavender
3. Rosemary
4. Victoria Secret's Heavenly
   

Favorite colors?

1. Purple
2. Blue
3. Green
4. slate
   

Favorite Flower?

1. Oriental Lilies
2. Tulips
3. Gerbera Daisies
4. Iris
   

Favorite TV shows? 

1. Frasier (only in reruns *sniff*)
   
2. Paula Deen
   
3. Spongebob Squarepants
   
4. Nick at Nite anything to rest my brain
   

Hopes for the future?

1. To be ubercreative at whatever I do and not let icky people get me down
2. To fix up my house to the point of booteeful
3. Design a new house from scratch and get it built (it's a dream)
4. Video editing
   

bad habits?

1. Way too hard on myself
2. Using my kitchen table as a store-all of paper things and mail
3. Tend to overthink things..trying hard to balance that as it can be a good trait
4. Giving my dogs too many treats when i'm the phone to shut them up.
   

Hottest profession of opposite sex? (What? What the hell kind of question is this?)

1. anyone who does their job with passion.
2. uhm....this is a really odd question
   
3. actually having a job is always a good thing
   

Posted by artjynx at 03:31 PM | Permalink

You think they would have known the sign had a misspelling before they made it...*sigh* I'm a bit "pfffft" today. Obviously other day...feeling good...today...eh not so good...but could be in my head. could be people is just busy. I'm busy too but twas hoping for something, i dunno what tho. and then the wonderful realization..."it's not always about me"...what the hell? hehehe I ended up watching some bunny movies which always crack me up the latest is Napolean Dynamite re-inacted by bunnies a must see for anyone who is feeling insecure like me right now...

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 Hallmark wouldn't have the guts to put out real cards like this...hehehe. There's a lot more risque ones as well but most likely inappropriate for work...although it didn't stop me from forwarding the URL to some of my co-workers....

I have quite a bit to look forward to and I'm trying to get an attitude adjustment and just freakin' stop obsessing for cryin out loud. I swear some days I get very tired of being me. I'm starting to see the upside in multiple personalities. But then what if they're all anxiety ridden and depressed? ew. who'd want that? so let's see new harry potter book..(yes I read it...shut up) Steve Carrell's new movie "Evan Almighty" (definitely going opening weekend) uhmmmm...Ratatouille. I don't get to go to the movies that often but I'm going to try to make myself take more smaller breaks as I feel kind of like I'm working my life away in an effort to escape, but it's not working. I'm going to start learning Plone which seems quite cool and should help with everything all around. oh yeah divx seems to be on the up again hopefully ...it still seems like it's trying to steady itself, but hoping christmas time will make it go to the mid 20's...fingers crossed...

Posted by artjynx at 04:08 PM | Permalink

uhmmmm...no.
 

Now granted this is just my opinion, but If I tried this in Cheryl Beckett's class or Fiona's for that matter, I would have gotten a big a fat 'F'. There's trapped negative space, and the color scheme is a bad flash back to the eighties and reminds me of those neon shirts that changed color with heat. Yeah the armpits of most middle schoolers during that time was an interesting sight. It also took me awhile to figure out that the shapes were supposed to be numbers of the year - 2012. so not very memorable, but a tangram experiment gone awry. 

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Once again, the holiday of peeps has arrived...I used to like peeps but they are too sweet now, but I still like the idea of them. Easter always reminds me to visit the Peeps Research Site and remember that there is still humor in the world...

 so anyway...part of Easter is about renewal....so look within and find your inner peep.

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This is just too cute. No wonder I can spend more time with animals than people...they're just more human

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the marketing geniuses working on the simpsons have outdone themselves....turning 7-elevens into temporary kwik-e-marts complete with squishee machines and krusty-o's in an effort to promote a movie that really doesn't need much...i know I'd go.

I really think i'll be taking a break this weekend even if it's for just a moment to go see Blades of Glory...I need a mindless 2 hours. my attempt at contact has yet again fallen on a clueless wonder/possible total jerk. did i say possible? uhm whatever...that was a waste of time. anyhoo...lots of work to be done taxes to pay, air conditioners to get installed...*soon* it's getting warm out....seeds are growing though!

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they smell so much better than roses. they're prettier and just an all around better flower...close second, tulips. Tulips rock too. 

I most likely, check that definitely be in a leave me the hell alone mood tomorrow. Valentine's SUCKS when you don't have one and you have to go to work and be around those who do. Although, I think I'll treat myself to a facial and a massage when I get my fun money for a belated "you survived" reward. All part of this taking care of me thing is turning out to be rather nice. but right now...I gotta work for the moolah. 

Posted by artjynx at 01:18 PM | Permalink

Is that a telemeter in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Nasa's Image of the Day. Sometimes you have to wonder about design and it's imitation of nature. You know these guys were forced to pose for this...hehe. I used to work in the General Atomics Building while in San Diego. It's a very cool campus actually nestled in the Genesee valley in La Jolla. It's quite reminiscent of the 50 nuclear design (Jetson style) They design nuclear weapons and such...perhaps still do....I was only allowed in the basement of one of the buildings....yeah DivX. DivX has since moved on to a nicer place. I've returned back to Texas because I like owning my home. Odd that you never really think about that when you look for a job when you're young and out of school. My environment matters a lot when it comes to my home. Although you wouldn't know it looking at right now....it's pretty messy and I desperately need to get the carpet professionally cleaned...thanks, Mia. She's going through some behavioral issues which I think I caused by leaving them alone too much and they need to be walked more....I'm so mean. poor little dogs.

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I found myself looking for poems on guardian angels last night. I wouldn't say I'm a highly religious individual in that I don't get the whole robes and fancy rituals, but I do understand ritual. I'm just not fancy and over the top. To me talking to God is how you live your life in the little things and how you treat others. I found this great poem that is prolly the closest thing on how I feel about God and religion in general. I sent it to someone who I thought might get a laugh out of it but right now I wish I could just drop him on his butt. He needs to stop being a snot.

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord," What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat.
"But Lord, they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up.
And there I dropped you on your butt."
"Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.

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Happy Halloween people and for those of you who are superstitious garlic wearing, salt throwing types I did have an eerie thing happen this morning of all days...A bird flew into the house. It wasn't a raven or the bluebird of happiness or even the chicken of depression. Just a normal run of the mill brown bird who got lost. I've been researching the meaning of this especially on Halloween and so far it hasn't been a positive out come. So far I've discovered that this means an omen of death. but truly could this mean the death of something bad? or just the end of something? One of the more positive ones meant that important news is coming but if the bird can't get out, it means death. Lovely. My particular bird flew back and forth from the ceiling fan to the kitchen cabinets a couple of times and then out the door again. I guess I should be relieved. I'll keep you posted of anything happening.  Personally, I think the bied was drawn to the light since it was still dark out.

Posted by artjynx at 08:16 AM | Permalink

not too much i can say on the internet today. I've had a very rough week and it's really taken it's toll on me. I'm really going to try to just figure it out this weekend though. wish me luck.

Posted by artjynx at 01:46 PM | Permalink

Ok, this is just a little too much. This company in California Bay Area of course, is providing a school lunch service for kids.  That's right they can even include a love note from mom lovingly written by a stranger who prepared the food. That's bonding for you. I can see parents not trusting the state to feed their kids with a healthy meal...as they drive by Mickey D's on the way home and after all isn't educating them difficult enough? This has to be aimed at posh private schools but then they wouldn't send their kids to public school anyway. so many things are just wrong about this. 

Posted by artjynx at 03:54 PM | Permalink

Oh lord today's Dilbert rocked. However the consultant should have been called a marketing manager since all they possess is a variable barrage of meaningless buzzwords.

 UPDATE: Due to the numerous complaints (one. Hey, one's a number...) I must clarify that in no way was I referring to the exemplary body of work that is created by Tradeshow managers.  It is an honor to be in their presence and they would NEVER use words like "leverage" or "bandwidth". To those I have offended (Jeri) I am truly apologetic....(snark)

Posted by artjynx at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I discovered this site today. I don't really remember how though, but that's the beauty of the internet now isn't it. Life accelerated. I remember as a kid trying to get lost in the winding streets of suburbia looking/hoping for something different. (there is none in suburbia) but I think the internet gives me the same feeling of the hunt so to speak. you never know what you'll see next. Today I found my alter ego: 

a total space cadet right out of 1958. Seriously, it's a site specializing in the 50's called Plan59 . Their art is available for viewing purchasing prints and even for use in publications. Very cool.

 In other news....yes about DivX again....they seem to be quite the busy bees lately...(did I really say that? what am I 80?) They just launched an alpha site called stage 6. It looks very promising. Again, methinks I need a video camera. my dogs could have their very own channel! :)

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It's a small world after all...I'm starting to see the weaving of the world and how we all interact. My former employer whom I will still plug as me gots stock and I actually think the product is very cool. That many Europeans can't be wrong. Americans can be slow to adopt sometimes. Anyhoo, Lately, DivX is attempting to be a better YouTube/mySpace by creating a community of vloggers. The cool thing is though is they're creating content too and getting involved with the REAL community of San Diego and things in California. I find this admirable and thinking of getting me an inexpensive camera to play with.... as they have an embedded web codec too...me thinks I will be posting boring videos of my dogs soon. (oh boy) jk

 Part of their coverage of ComicCon included YES an alumni of the Viz Lab Rueben DeLuna who is a wonderful artist trying to get paid to do what he does best. I'm thinking the 3D aspect of visual effects didn't do it for him either. It's interesting though that all of his comrades at his online comics company Lunar Comics all have intentions or are in the VizLab too. I wonder if this comes from A&M lacking any real art programs that people feel they have to go into this grad program to get any kind of art help. Sad...but part of me thinks they would do fine without spending the 50k or more as they're already very talented.

More power to you guys.

Posted by artjynx at 09:11 AM | Permalink

This is a marketing team I would LOVE to be on. How cool to throw the world's largest water balloon fight. I'm glad companies are starting to see the lighter side of things and how important it is to play and get in touch with your creative side. it can and is so easily dismissed.

Posted by artjynx at 10:22 AM | Permalink

This is too cool...

Designed by a young UK designer, Pei Kang Ng, Google3D is meant as a viable business proposal for Google, five to ten years from now. With Google3D, the idea is literally, to bring the conveniences of the search engine to your fingertips.  Now, you can find out things on the move - wherever and whenever you want to - just by taking a picture. You don’t even have to type! Considering the technological advances in search, wireless technology and flexible screens, it should be a matter of time before the concept becomes feasible in technical terms. This handy partner brings the Google search bar into your world of real, tangible objects - you do not have to sit in front of your computer anymore. Armed with a camera, it allows you to search live! with a simple snapshot.
 
Scenario 1) Looking for a bargain? Take a picture of the product and Google will tell you where to buy it cheaper.
Scenario 2) Lost? Take a picture of the nearest road sign or any landmarks, and Google tells you where you are.
Scenario 3) Looking for a good restaurant? Simply take a picture of the restaurant’s signage and Google will tell you its customers’ ratings.

Posted by artjynx at 09:33 PM | Permalink

wow...so talented 

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I found some interesting sites today from a really good CSS blog. The site is meant to be an online exhibit to facial reconstruction of soldiers in the early 1900's and following the history of plastic surgery. Called Project Facade. It's very interesting. I would love to work on sites that are similar to learning environments. 

I'm really enjoying experiencing what the internet has to offer and even contributing to it's evolution.More and more companies are understanding how the medioum can be a win-win situation for them and their customers. But to also archive history in such a way is absolutely priceless and I hope more and more museums offer such gems of education.

I saw a commercial for Cosmeo which all I have to say is..."It's about damn time". Those encyclopedia Brittanicas are getting kind of old. 

Posted by artjynx at 09:07 AM | Permalink

well it seems that the huge massive icky part of my real job in web design is somewhat over for now...until the next project. But really the new site is goint to give me freedom in certain areas to play and be really design-y. I'm glad I'm getting the urge to get creative again. Now I just need to get the urge to finish painting my place..I think I need to just break down and pay someone since a) I suck at it and b)My hands cramp up after about 3 hours. and the ceilings need to get done too.

anyway, in otherwords, I've had time to think this morning and usually my best pondering comes while allowing myself to wander around the internet. Since blogging is becoming mainstream it's getting to be alot of fun seeing what other people do. Like this very interesting challenge I came across:

the 99 cent challenge: where a meal and all of it's accessories had to be created from things bought from the dollar store. How cool is that?  Truly, the Food Network must be notified. "The dollar store Gourmet" would be a total hit amongst college students. 101 ways to make ramen noodles. you think i'm kidding, but I bet they get Rachel Ray to host. Does that woman ever sleep?

about the creative wave that's passing over me: I gave myself restrictions as I think that's the best way i get my creativity going since it's about solving a problem which I love. It was either designer or lawyer. I chose the lesser of two evils here people. The project needed to be small enough fo rme to finish in a weekend so I could do several. and needed to involve things I love. retro stuff. I think I found it. I won't say much until I get the things going but I think Hobby Lobby trips will be in order. 

Posted by artjynx at 09:37 AM | Permalink