Keeping up perceptions.

      In high school, I hung out in the band hallway. I was by no means one of the "cool" kids. My friends were the geeks, the gamers, the band and drama nerds, and the occasional choir member as well. I loved them for their quirky ideals and willingness to let the things they were passionate about overcome the need to be 'cool.' I will admit, there was a certain amount of similarity in styles of dress- after all, there was only one place for people who liked to wear all black to get clothing back then- but for the most part, they weren't concerned with the latest style, or who was more popular, or who said what to whom, etc. All-in-all, I found it a fairly decent place to be.

     One thing that constantly blew my mind, however, was that my friends could not grasp the fact that appearances affect people's opinions about you. I'm not sure why this is, since I'm sure they were aiming for the "don't mess with me" look, but there you have it. So while they teased me about wearing "normal"

Random sketch day

   Two random sketches for you, since I can't seem to get my head around drawing for the post I had prepared. That'll teach me to write 'em early!

     The first one is one I did on Thursday, when I was having an attack of the abnormals. As per usual, I followed the instructions given by my teacher for a particular assignment, and submitted it online. Once I'd finished it, I checked out what other people had done, just to be sure I was on the right track (oh come on, you know you've done that too!). Of the submissions I could see, almost all of them were these cheery, bright

Pickup Line 5

     So I've been on a bit of a rampage lately; been writing about things that have gotten me fired up or on edge. I think it's about time to raise a glass to a new week with a bit of a chuckle. I've had this one bouncing around in my head for a while, and I'm sure you can see why a word nerd like me would appreciate it.

Who studies Russian?!

     Recently, a couple classmates and I were bemoaning our obviously insane idea to study Russian, and one of my friends came up with this opinion:

     I won't deny it, I laughed for a good long time after hearing that, but the next day I got to thinking... is it really true? Keep in mind I've studied my share of languages, whether on my own or through schooling,

Realists and unrealists

    In light of my previous post, I'd like to continue taking a look at "-ists" and "-isms" in regards to world views. Specifically, for the purpose of this post, realists. More specifically, how I think that real realists are far less prevalent than they seem to be at first glance. Now, I admit that before I solidified the opinions presented in the optimism post, I, too, considered myself a realist. I tried to take life as it came to me, good and bad, and keep my expectations in the realm of the probable. However, I noticed a disturbing trend that ultimately goaded me into reconsidering my stance on life.

     More and more, when I talk to someone about -isms, the conversation goes something like this:

Thought patterns and optimism.

     They (the infamous they) say that humans are linear thinkers. And for the most part, I agree. We do tend to start with a specific thought and follow it through to the end. Of course, there is always the possibility of a couple tangents in the middle, but for the most part, thoughts and communication follow a single line.

     However, you also get those days when it seems like there is so much stuff crammed into your head, that it's impossible to find a single starting point. Everything is so interconnected that, it seems, if you open your mouth, it will get stuck, like a crowd of people trying to jam through a single door. Everything tries to get out at once, so nothing gets anywhere. What's even worse is that this chaotic tangle is usually backed by some pretty strong emotions, be they happiness, depression, anger or what have you, and this just adds to the pressure and inability to get anything out.

 

Well drat (and pickup line 4-ish)

     As usual, I have done things absolutely backwards and managed to produce absolutely nothing for several hours' worth of work. Starting last week, I brainstormed on what to rename this blog, since I'd like it to be slightly easier to remember and access. I came up with an idea I liked, I sketched a few rough drafts of the tittle page, conferred with a (real artist) friend of mine, took an idea of hers and ran with it. I spent three hours tonight playing with settings on my primitive tools that I use to get my drawings online, frustrated at how poorly they were working, but I finally made it work.

     Celebrating my triumph over minimalism and technology, I went to do the last step- that of changing the web address of said blog- only to find that every, single, possible, logical, remotely intelligent, legible, coherent iteration of the name I was thinking about... had already been taken. And most of the blogs that had claimed it have been either defunct for literally a decade, or else are empty profiles with no content. Sigh.

Pickup Lines 3

    Thankfully, I haven't heard this one just yet. It was a little difficult to draw, and probably more difficult to do but... enjoy!