Since Halloween is coming up

I figure this would be appropriate. This is another one of the pictures I made in my intro to photoshop class. Again, all self-taught. I’ve obviously turned myself into a zombie. I distorted my physical features in order to achieve the rotting look. And as for the expression on my face, I flared my nostrils, gave a vacant stare and, my mouth was actually closed when I took the picture. So, I took another close up picture of my teeth and place them there to make it look as if I had no lips. I’ve actually overlayed a picture of a skull above my actual face as well. I made the environment around me look grime covered and added random bits of blood. That bathroom is actually immaculate, so this took quite a bit of work. Also, on the right side of the picture my hand was holding a camera to take the picture, so I edited this out. and extended the door farther down where my hand once was.

Part of a story I’m writing.

It was morning and the sunlight was thin in the air and carried in the mist across the street to a vacant lot where shopping carts lie in various states of disarray. They had seemingly been drug there from the supermarket 150 yards across the lot and left there to mingle amongst each other. A man on the other side of the street sat on a bench reading the paper while in the street cars lined up at the light waiting for it to turn green. As the light changed freeing the cars to move along on their unknown and predetermined route a woman nearby walked her dog on the sidewalk.  Further down the street a group of children stood and waited diligently for the bus to arrive, except for one child who displaced himself a ways away from the rest of the children. He fumbled with his jacket and stared at the ground as if the weight of the world were forcing his gaze. He was so intent in this that he barely realized when the bus had arrived despite the loud stopping hiss of the bus and the loud opening of its doors.

second part of bio

When I left for college, I studied clinical psychology for two years, and then after the second year I moved to Dallas and changed my major to Arts and Technology because those were always my honest inclinations. It’s just those were the inclinations I had always been criticized for, but I was fed up with the opinions and ideas of others running rampant in my own life. Two years and a few troubles and now I’m here. Still  an oddly shaped clump of clay that is searching for its shape. But maybe this is my shape, and maybe I’m stronger for it. Regardless of whether it is or not, there is a determination in my heart too achieve what I want out of life and to make myself something more than I am, a better person. In the end, I’m probably much like anyone who would have bothered reading through this blog because reading something like this has got to take a fair amount of determination. What an odd place I find myself, from there to here. I hate writing about myself. I’m a different person from day to day, but at least you have a general idea how I got to be where I am now.

More in depth bio of who I am split in to two parts

Two parts because I want to kill a few posts.

So, I’m going to define myself in the clearest detail possible via this medium of text. I came from what I would consider spoiled and over privileged circumstances, although my mother and father insist they are the middle men when they make enough money to live where they do. They don’t simply live there at no expense, I realize. They work hard for what they have and freak at the slightest sign of a tax, so you can imagine that the McCain campaign is appealing to, depending where you stand, their better or lesser angels. Maybe this sense of being given too much says a lot about how much my parents cared, or even just about myself. In high school I was the invisible kid, I didn’t fit in anywhere, and it was hard to assign worth to myself when I was surrounded by 7,000 other students who for the most part had been deemed superior to me. I wasted away there. No progress was made. No identity for myself was formed. I wasn’t a nerd, I wasn’t a monstrosity created from an over abundance of testosterone, and I didn’t even belong to the outside group of kids. I liked art, I was quiet, a bit awkward, and I disliked any labels that were assigned to me. So I guess I actively avoided being assigned a label. Most of the feelings I had for my friends were greatly repressed. I don’t know why these feelings were repressed, but they were. Most likely because I was too busy in my own mind wanting to run away than to be clinging to people from the same place I was trying to run away from. The quiet, good, respectable, mildly awkward, and mostly transparent kid. That was me, but it wasn’t who I was or wanted to be.

thursday discussion oct 16

http://hambricscurve.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/the-consumers-need-for-an-equity-infusion-or/

Although most of what is said in this article goes right over my head, I must admit, I am no economist; it seems to be focussing more on the issue of the current state of affairs and where we’re headed because of them. He makes his main concerns clear, we’re headed for a major recession, we’re going to have to save our money for necessities of live or at least buy the lesser brand. He also points out fears that we may end up in a depression are seemingly unwarranted. He blames neither political party for the state of affairs, but points out it was the flaws in our economic system left overlooked that got us here. His blog, although informative (If my instincts are right; still not an economist.) seems to have no comments. Most of what he discussed is not often talked about in the traditional media. He also has a propensity for expletives, which leads me to believe he is an independent blogger

http://tntalk.wordpress.com/2008/10/19/dollar-darkness-of-devaluation/
This article focuses on the devaluation of the American currency, and how in effect, the value of other currencies has also fallen due to a global recession, which they also attribute as the reason gas prices have gown down as far as they have. In one instance he refers to the Bush administration’s bailout plan to create temporary confidence. He warns that the decrease in prices that we may be seeing is the first sign that there is less demand and eventually we will be seeing inventory shortages because of this. This will all result in the cutting of jobs and a global economic decline. This blog also seems to have no comments, but I do believe it offers a accurate insight into our current situation. Much of what is discussed in this blog is most definitely not mentioned by the national media. He seems to be an independent political blogger.

http://magnasententia.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/the-presidential-election-economic-bailout-wont-rescue-a-nation-without-character/
This blogger describes the bailout as a band aid to stop the bleeding. She does not blame either political party for tha failing economy and the collapsing banks, but ourselves. She states th we have put ourselves in this position thriugh out lack of character and values as a nation. She believes in order for this to turn around we need to become better people snd s better nation. This is an independent blog and has no comments. I’m not entirely sure it’s the best place to be looking for advice on the economy. but I do believe values, character, and mutual respect are important for this country right about now. I haven’t seen this point of view discussed in traditional media.

After reading all these blogs I am led to believe they are more informative and considerably less biased and prone to the blame game compared to the traditional news networks found on TV. Whether or not the information is accurate or not is somone you should seek and economist’s advice on, but it does seem to hold plenty elements of truth, especially in the case of the first two articles. The traditional news does offer valuable information, but it is often biased and prone to the political blame game; failing to look directly at the issue.

That judgement thing we all do.

The other things people think of you should, in the most ideal situation, not matter. They either think you’re too meek, too overbearing, unsociable, over sociable, and so on. Just do your best to be yourself and let whatever happens happen. Things may work out and they may not.  At least at the end of it all, you can say you were true to yourself and who you are and there’s a lot of peace of mind to be found in that. I don’t like judging people, and I don’t like being judged, so why do we do it? I guess this may be that answer: the benefit of the doubt is something we usually revoke at the slightest sign of danger, but it seems that I only revoke it until the big flashing sign with the neon lights and gaudy looks slams right into my face. Hopefully I’ll find my middle ground, and hopefully those who are quick to judge will learn to see past the pretenses of the surface. There are a lot of people in this world worth knowing, and a lot of people that, unfortunately, we’d be better off having never known.

Another thing done in photoshop

This is something I made recently out of boredom. It’s just a desktop for my laptop. The source material should be obvious. I think more than a few pwoplw have seen or at least heard about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Anyways, most of this was made from material found on the web. One of ther character images I ripped from the DVD; it’s the one farthest to the right. The wood wall texture I found on some webpage and used as the base, then I found a beat up parchment texture and placed that over it in the center. The parchment texture was vey low quality. I think I will upload the inital elements to show where every thing came from. I layered a crumpled paper texture over the parchment to give it a 3D look. The nails where ripped out of another image and given a rusted looking quality. Finally I flattened the whole image and reduced it to 256 colors and saved it as a png. I don’t really like the way it looks, but I don’t often like the things I do.

Light tunnel

I made this for my 3D design class. The subject was repitition of an object to create a pattern or design. I built the frame from a single piece of wood which I then cut into four different pieces.  And then I created a backing for it. I made the backing by going to hobby lobby and butchering the back of a cheap picture frame piece that I bought. I also made sure the frame had the hangers required to hang it from the wall. I bought a string of alternating color lights from target. I then halfed that by bending it in the middle and taping the lights together, I then installed them into the frame using a hot glue gun. I had to loop them around twice. The wire which led to the 6 volt battery box that it came with I cut. I then soldered the wire to a 6 voldt DC wall outet plug hot glued the soldering points so it wouldn’t short and taped it with electrical tape. the wire was run through a hole I created at the bottom. I took it to the glass shop and they installed the mirror onto the front of the backing and the one way mirror onto the front of the frame. After all that I was done.

On a more light hearted note

This is a lolcat. Theses images, for whatever reason seem to make everything better when a day has gone down the tubes. It is these images that inspired me to have the unfortunate bright idea of me owning a cat. Maybe it’s just bad luck, but my cat is the spazziest cat I have ever seen. Picture a four legged tornado causing disaster wherever it travels, that is my cat. It seems readily apparent that my cat has a strange obsession with gravity and its inner workings of which Einstein could not fully understand. I’m fairly convinced that until my cat solves the mystery of gravity, she will continue to paw things off tables to see the end result. It never ceases to amaze me to see her astonishment at the resulting consequences of her actions. Often I will be in another room only to hear a clang or crash of something she has pawed down from its resting place, then a scamper and loud shrill as my cat runs from the wreckage of her uncertain machinations. Regardless, I love her to death. She is a cool cat, but without a doubt she is also a close cousin of Satan.

This dire situation

All this talk of the failing economy isn’t helping my demeanor. The war was bad enough on the economy, and now due to corporate recklessness and a bill that passed in congress in the late 90s the economy is even further in the hole. Jobs outsourced to other countries, massive debt collected by banks, and a war this country can’t afford. I’d be lying if I said none of this has gotten me down. I’m all too aware of what this could mean for my future and how this house of cards could come crashing down on us all. This all seems like a lesson in blatant disregard and self-destruction. I have no problem with a bailout as long as the CEOs of those companies don’t see a dime in pay raises and tax exemptions. I don’t want to go down with them in all of this.