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Tis the season to be jolly. It's Christmas time everybody. I'll tell you what. Thanksgiving is forgotten. HOWEVER, what is Thanksgiving? Is it an excuse to recognize what you're thankful for? In my opinion, we shouldn't have to be reminded to be thankful. Hmm. Thanksgiving all year round!

But isn't Thanksgiving celebrating the Pilgrim and Natives to North America's union and feast that we remember through the feast? Who knows anymore. The stores and malls and restaurants and public walkways sure don't know. I would say all, maybe with a few exceptions (EDIT: end of post=EXCEPTION), put up Christmas decorations well before Thanksgiving, completely disregarding one of the least selfish holidays. It is saddening to see this. Nevertheless, Christmas music is definitely acceptable all year round. Bing Crosby is the man.


Today I am at home. I arrived yesterday and will be leaving today. I will be getting a haircut. Yes, just one hair. I'm not wearing a collared-shirt (technically, I am wearing a collared-shirt; even t-shirts have a collar) and I look like an old pizza box that is still in the bottom of the dumpster after the dumpster truck empties it. I'm not sure why [tennis] is written in the photo. I can't even make up a story. Scratch that. I was thinking of tennis because last night I threw a tennis ball at my brother and it got lodged in the foosball table, but my brother, not seeing where it went, could not find it as he clearly intended to huck it back at me. That is why it says [tennis].


I have a few things to present, as I am at a loss for much else to write about. First, a few days ago, the Twenty-First of November to be exact, a few buddies from my floor and I went to see Ashley Tisdale, FREE in concert at the 90-foot Christmas tree lighting at the Citadel Outlets. It was an experience:



In the flesh.




Here is something that I have enjoyed. I heard of this deal over a year ago, then I did my first (and only) one a month or two ago, and now, today, I am posting it here. I was going to do another one today, but I started and lost my motivation instantly. It was a like a wisp of vapor, it disappeared just as fast, if not faster, than it arrived.

For your enjoyment:


Steps:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Advertise to other people, spread the word.

Just a little activity for you and your web-surfing capabilities.



Lastly, in Simi Valley, there used to be (he might still be there, I wouldn't know) a profesh sign-twirler on the corner going to the Simi Valley Town Center. There were sign-twirlers all over Simi, but this particular sign-twirler was easily the most talented. I saw this video the other day and it reminded me greatly of the sign-twirler on the corner going to the Simi Valley Town Center.



For your enjoyment.



I hope you enjoyed this blog post. There really wasn't much to enjoy, at least of my writing. There was a decent amount of multimedia, however, and I hope you found some joy in the material.


Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and you should be thankful. However, I challenge you to be thankful all year round.

Christmas is right around the corner.





EDIT: I was just on Twitter and look what the fellas of Underoath (http://twitter.com/UnderoathBand) posted:




Nordstrom knows what's up. Thanks UØ!

Diff-erent

Today can be said to be different. Number 1, there is not a complex meaning behind my clothing like there has been in the near recent. Number 2, why in the world am I dressed like that? I don't have a clue. I think it was somewhat inspired by this:



Other than that, I have no explanation.

In other news, we are in the process of developing the concept for our Visual Aesthetics final project. This is the first real film I will be working on this year. It has been a rough time, mostly because nobody in our four person group had a concrete idea before we met, so we had to come up with a brilliant idea out of nothing=hours of development. I believe we have an idea. This, after all, is irrelevant. The fact is I am very much reminded of last year and video production at the classic Royal High School. The first project was as follows:



This project, although not the best in many areas, still ranks as my favorite film I have worked on. I think it is because it was the first. I think it is because we were just out having a good time. I think it is because we honestly didn't care how it turned out. I think it is because we simply had a good time with each other working on a quirky idea. Good times.




In other news, I have a few items to discuss: humility and "bless you," two subjects that are randomly on my mind at this time, imagine that.

Humility is interesting because you can not know you are humble. If somebody says they are humble, they are focusing on themselves, contradicting their claim to humility. True humility focuses on other people, never focusing on the self. So a true humble person cannot know they are humble. Hmm...interesting. Maybe I'm wrong. Correct me please.
Now, does this also work with creativity? If you are creative, there is no way of knowing you are creative unless somebody else tells you that you are in fact creative. According to the Microsoft Word dictionary (a great dictionary by the way) defines creativity as "the ability to use the imagination to develop new and original ideas or things, especially in an artistic context." If you are alone, how do you create an original idea without the comparison to another person's work? Maybe I'm wrong. Correct me.


"Bless you:" the common response to a sneeze. I personally do not say this phrase. I don't think it is necessary. If anything, I might say "Tissue?" I have noticed recently that most everybody says "bless you" after a sneeze. Why? I've discussed this with a few people, most of which don't have a clue why they say it. This doesn't really strike me as bad. Saying "bless you" can't hurt, can it? The problem I have run into recently is this: Are people expecting "bless you" after they sneeze and then believe you don't care if you don't say it? There has been a few instances where I have been with a person who sneezes and they look at me awkwardly because I don't acknowledge it. Is this weird? I think it's kind of funny. Either way, I'm not going to start saying "bless you" after somebody sneezes.

I need to admit something. I have at random times say phrases such as "God bless your soul" or "Oh my goodness, God bless you!" It is definitely not an automatic response though. Just had to clear that up. Didn't want to be deceiving.







In other news, the other night (can't remember which night=lame) I got a text from my roommate Mr. Joel Limbauan that read "Dude There's a possum in here!" I immediately rushed to the room...





Mr. Ben Jacuk saved the day. I would probably never would have thought to grab a towel and grab the little booger and take him outside. I honestly don't know what I would have done. Mr. Oklahoma is the man.


In last news, today is my father's birthday. If you see him, tell him happy birthday. Happy birthday pop!





I hope enjoyed this episode of "It's Wednesday."

Blue and White

I went into today not realizing it was Veteran's Day. Otherwise, I would have dressed patriotically. If you take a look on the bright side, however, today's clothing choice did have a reason, a meaning behind the colors and selection, to the day was not all waste. If you take a look at the picture, you will notice I am wearing blue, white, and some black. Today I had a psychology test, a test I was not prepared for because it snuk (is that a word? The past tense of "sneak"="snuk" isn't it? Yes, I'm in college.) up on me. So, naturally, I dressed appropriately. You've heard the analogy about "black and white," stark contrast. If you have to make a decision, it is best when the options are black and white, the right decision stands out to you with incredible ease. This is how the answers on the psychology test technically should be, except, because I was not prepared, I believe I am "blue and white," yes, bad play on words, with maybe a little bit of black. I feel like this makes no sense at all and it's okay. It kind of helps the situation.


Be back in a bit.


Alright I'm back. Sorry if this post is short, today is mad. Mad as in busy. Busy as in no time. No time as in exaggeration. You know what I mean. So, sorry, I just have a couple interesting videos for you to watch, that way you can use your time a little better than just reading me ramble on insiginificant events that are mean't solely for space consumption. Enjoy. Maybe let me know what you think of them?


The first video reworks a popular "The Sound of Music" tune into an intense jam with a crazy time-signature twist. You may disagree. See if you do.



This next video is a recollection of childhood. Sesame Street is brilliant; it was then, it is now. Cookie Monster was always my fav, (Oscar the Grouch- a close second) and this is his jam. The best.





Have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, night.

For Emma (Who is Emma?)

EXPLANATION: is necessary for this "outfit" if you will. There is an explanation believe it or not.

First matter of business, today is November 4th. Let me repeat that, today is November 4th. Yes, it is November already. Time is flying folks. Speaking of flying, October 31st has come and gone (pretty decent by the way, relatively surprising change of events. Hung out with a decent amount of at Dana Point at Ms. Paige Echarte's beautiful beach house. We experienced Emily Rose. We trick 'r treated one house. The next day's weather perhaps the most gorgeous weather I have experienced in at least a few years. I mentioned the weather at least 10 times that day.) and the Christmas "stuff " will be arriving, if it already hasn't, in stores in a very minimal amount of days.

The tie symbolizes this. The tie, if the photo doesn't do it justice, has miniature Santa Claus' all over it. Santa Claus is a common symbol in our society of Christmas. The tie is abnormally short on my shirt by being a good three inches from my waistline. The time it takes stores to change holidays and complete change the feel of there store is abnormally short as well.

From there, my shorts, socks, and shoes are all tanish, off-whiteish or a combination of both. This is because as winter approaches, the color of nature is starting to desaturate. The color is no where near as bright and saturated as it was, say, in the middle of July.

That said, life is good. The semester is winding down and two big obstacles were conquered today as a Foundations of Christian Thought Midterm II and a 10 page psychology paper were on the plate labeled at November 4th, 2009. (What? what kind of imagery is that). I still have some big decisions to make concerning my major. I need to talk to people about it, sort out what I like and don't like, honing in on "the one." We'll see what happens, yes?

For all you graphic design, photography, artsy, other stuffy people out there, are there any good magazine subscriptions that are straight up solid? I think I may be interesting in getting monthy reading material...

And for you, I appreciate your patience by the way, a video:




I like this video for a few reasons. Number 1: Bon Iver is revolutionary, they are pulling out musical ideas like nothing and it sounds rad. I'm diggin' it. Number 2: they just jam in a hallway. Accapellaly (definitely wasn't a word; it is now), Bon Iver sings their song "For Emma," replacing musical instrument with voice and changing the key. They they simply go out in the street and jam. SO inspiring. Just do what you love to do, whether you are in a tiny hallway, in the middle of the street, or in front of 100,000 fans at the Rose Bowl (props U2). Number 3: "For Emma," specifically the three note repetition sequence, has been stuck in my head for the last day and half. I'm sorry for anybody I have annoyed.


Like always, I feel I have forgotten to talk about something. This is the case most Wednesdays. I hope you enjoyed this. I don't reread it, I don't edit it. I honestly don't know how it sounds. It might be incredibly confusing, maybe somewhat abstract, for this, I apologize. I hope you have a wonderful day today. I have a suggestion: go outside and look at stuff. Look at trees, look at grass, look at street signs. Incredible.



Mmm. I remembered something. I ran across an artist named Glenn Jones-http://www.glennz.co.nz/- who is THE MAN when it comes to clever illustrations. Here are a few of my favorites:














Fares.