An easy way out

This is the easy way out.
Capitalism via environmentalism.
Two companies are researching plankton as a way of offsetting carbon. I have two problems with this idea. First, shouldn't companies be looking for ways to reduce emissions, rather than just even it out. It just seems they're hiding their emissions behind their offsets. My second problem has to do with the plankton companies. They're working on something that could be potentially great, but they're concerned about the profit. Uh, how bout the possibility of adding to measures to save the effing world. I just hate that money outweighs doing the right thing.

It's all the effing same

I'm working on a playlist in iTunes: Songs that sound alike. I thought it would just be pairs of songs, but as it turns out, Death Cab sounds like Decemberists sound like REM sound like ELO.
The List goes:
Living Thing by ELO
We Both Go Down Together by the Decemberists
Losing my Religion by REM
Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie

I'm no music person, but I can tell these songs all sound pretty much the same. We Both Go Down Together blends ELO and REM pretty well, but Soul Meets Body is such a rip off of Losing my Religion. LMR was probably my first ever favorite song, so I'm a little pleased to see it repeated, but it seems a little cheap.

Hobby Lobby

I have a new place of worship--Hobby Lobby. Why did I think Michael's was so great?

Headway

It's too easy to write stuff down when I'm already working on the computer. I have my informational sign for the zoo done. Just have to finish the directional sign. I might be able to go to bed without feeling worthless tonight. I've also printed, but not assembled, my book about the letter "e." It's adorable and clever.

Music to work by...Music to live by.

Normally, I don't think I work well with music. I usually like to put on a fluffy DVD I've seen a million times (Sex and the City, When Harry Met Sally). I don't really work well with that either, but I don't usually care. But right now, I'm so time crunched that I can't risk it. But I put the Beatles on this morning and they're perfect. I'm in a light mood. Very efficient too. So, the Beatles...POP!

Green Alley

Sometime last week, Ashley and I were seeing if this alley would cut through from Saluda to Harden. It didn't, and in fact ended in a very dingy intersection of about 5 back doors. But this wall was so green, and her hair so perfectly red against it, that I dragged her back on Friday so I could take a picture. It's the alley between Pecknel Music, and uh whatever store is beside it. The Gourmet Shop?

I finished Rapunzel.
That's it.
It's been so long since I've done laundry that I have only one pair of jeans that I can wear with good conscience. They're almost 8 years old. I bought them my junior year of high school at Old Navy. They're from a time before stretch. Also, they have a stain from clay screen filler, which looks like blood.

And true to form, I'm not saying anything about something that happened this week. Except to say that I'm not saying anything. And to mention a discussion I had with a friend. He's very annoyed at the outcry from the nation over 32 people. He feels that we identify with them, so we can mourn them more easily. That their lives are worth more...than the 100-500 Iraqi lives lost each day. His point is valid and I agree. I don't want to discount people's reactions to VT, but there is a much bigger picture. Then, in my most sensitive snark, I told my friend that the reason VT is so popular is because it's easy to find maroon and orange ribbons. And even if you did find red, green, black, and white ribbons, people would probably just think you were Rastafarian. We then lamented the marketability of tragedies in the US. I guess I said something. Sorry.

Last thing: I'm not a nihilist. That's a completely random and independent comment.

Monotype's not due til May 2nd. So here's what I have to finish for next Thursday:
3 books
1 accordion fold Rapunzel (to be completed tomorrow night)
1 stitch bound book about the letter "e" (to be worked on tomorrow, finished Saturday)
1 collaged book about global warming (to be worked on tomorrow, finished Sunday)
1 collection of signage for the zoo
Supplies purchased tomorrow-finished Monday
3 silkscreen projects
I printed my stencils for 2 tonight
Screens for 2 exposed tomorrow
Supplies for 3rd, bought tomorrow with supplies for signage
Stencils for 3rd to be worked on tomorrow
First two printed Sunday?

I need to stop. This is overwhelming. In the mean time, I'm hoping to do a little snap-shot series of things I love about Columbia. Coming soon....

Is feeling "on the ball" enough to get me through the next week and a half?

It seems there's a proper way to do things when it comes to grad schools. It involves exploring their website. But you may want to pack two weeks worth of food and water. University web pages are impossible to figure out. But I suppose they can't anticipate every person's specific questions. So, this is me apologizing to the air for the way I handled my visits. I should have contacted the graduate coordinator, but I went straight to the professors. I know, I know...BIIIIG faux pas. But kiddos, you need to know what you're looking for when arranging visits to grad schools. Questions to ask, people to contact. Each website is different, but start there and find the department you're interested in. Contact the graduate advisor. He/she can arrange a meeting with a professor or current student. That's the step I skipped. Once you're there, you'll need to know the questions. One: Money? What's tuition? What kind of fellowships and assistantships are unavailable and what are their terms? Then you need to explore the facilities. Do they have all the equipment you want/need? Can you live without what they may lack? There are a million more questions, but they really come spur of the moment. Also, if you're an art student, I recommend bringing along a selection of pieces to give as Thank yous.

It's official. Indiana, here I come. Bloomington to be more specific. Not West Lafayette. Though that would've been dandy too.

Oh, I also found $8 in the pocket of my jacket this morning.

This isn't funny anymore.

Let's move back in time. Two hours ago, I was asleep. Before that I was almost asleep in Latin American History. Before that, I was in graphic design presenting my CD package to Mark James. I had been up until 4 am finishing it. But that's my own fault. He didn't like my idea. And frankly, I thought it was the most clever way of using his stupid fucking shitty ass, craptastic pile of (what curses do I have left?) goddamn, asstastic, spooge saturated kitsch. That's right, spooge. Not splooge. In the actual execution of this project, someone would paint his image onto the belly of a pregnant woman. To me, that sums up his entire philosophy. To him, that says Planned Parenthood. My idea was about life and future and for me, it was kind of spiritual. Planned Parenthood is a straightforward way of avoiding, or getting to pregnancy. It's an institution (albeit one I can get behind). My idea was about a stage of life that has unbridled potential. He just has uterus envy. Haha, I can hypothetically reproduce (hopefully) and he can't. He must be able to tell I think he's a fucking tool who's full of shit.