Straight Shambles: April 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

YES!

If you have seen Yes Man with Jim Carrey, you know the word. Yes! The strategy is, for those of you feeling trapped, for you to say "yes" to every opportunity that presents itself. Personally, I adopted this way of life early on, however, over the last year, like my socks, I lost it. I have felt confined for quite some time, so recently, this movie inspired me to get back to my old way of life. I have been saying "yes!" to everything. Since, I have gone to a private, rooftop party on Greenville Avenue's hottest club, had to buy everyone a round of drinks, been to three concerts, stolen a street sign, played on a playground sober, met tons of new people, and started to teach myself Arabic. I feel like I am getting back to me again, like I can conquer anything in the world. So, to anyone who reads this blog, say YES today and start changing your life. You won't regret it. Some of the things may seem trivial, but if you really do get "stuck," this is a great way to get out and keep moving.

P.S. Over the summer I will be using a different blog address for all of my travel updates. It is kellycaldwellsas.blogspot.com. I hope you will follow me around the world!

Lines

Demitri Martin did a bit on this once. He talked about lines and how they can change objects. For instance, take these cups of coffee I drew:

A regular cup of coffee.

With these squiggly lines it becomes a hot cup of coffee.

Now it is a loud cup of coffee.

Now it is a fast cup of coffee.

This is where you get out of the way when you hear a loud, hot cup of coffee flying fast toward your face.

Lines change everything.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Head's Up

Hey everyone! I hope you will follow me throughout my summer abroad on Semester at Sea. This seems like the easiest outlet to share pictures, videos and experiences with everyone. I leave on June 16th from Halifax, Canada. My itinerary includes:

* Cadiz, Spain
* Naples, Italy
* Dubrovnik, Croatia
* Piraeus (Athens), Greece
* Istanbul, Turkey
* Varna, Bulgaria
* Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt
* Casablanca, Morocco
* Norfolk, VA, USA

Thanks!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Skydiving

One of the most influential moments in my life was in November of 2008 when I went skydiving! Here is my personal video of the trip and please watch the sheer fear that takes over my face at the beginning of the video (^_^)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Window Attack

Have you ever noticed that when someone looks at you from another car, you will feel their stares and look back. In this video, my friend Caroline and I tried to harness that and channel it into scaring the shit out of people. The idea is that she will duck down, I will do the staring, and then as soon as the look she throws herself onto the car window. Enjoy, and DO try this!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hydroponic Farming

Hydroponic farming is my personal business idea that I think will not only make me a fortune, but it will also cure world hunger. Hydroponic farming is a method to grow planets using a mineral, nutrient rich solution. It can be completely organic, pesticide free, and largely yields more produce than regular farming. For instance, an acre of potato farms may produce 2 tons of potatoes, while an acre of hydroponic potato farming yields 70 tons of potatoes! My idea, is to harness this technology and bring it straight to the grocery store. If we made stackable, tractor-trailer size pods of hydroponic farms, grocery stores could have fresh produce all of the time. Mini pods could be used in coffee houses and the coffee shops could have super fresh coffee beans. This would reduce costs of shipping and increase the amount of organic, fresh produce in the market. The pods wouldn't need much more than water and electricity to run after the initial set up. Furthermore, not only would our society benefit, for every 10 that are purchased, 1 will be sent to a country in need.

Top 10 Favorite Album Covers

Many may not know that I am a collector of vinyl records. More than the music itself, I am really interested in the photography and graphics the album covers display. I tend to like things that are colorful, simple, and look antique. Here are my top 10:

Friday, April 24, 2009

Tattoos

I have never understood why people want tattoos until I went with a good friend of mine, Kassi, to get a tattoo on her foot. Firstly, a series of weird things happened at this particular tattoo parlor. Starting off our visit, as I was waiting for Kassi to fill out all of her paper work, a woman who many would classify as "white trash" had her three kids with her in the tattoo parlor. She then told the oldest to take his brother and sister and get in the car. A few minutes later, she walked out to the car, backed up and drove away... what is wierd about this? Her car was a HURSE! No lie, the kids actually were sitting in the back of the hurse. Then the second event was during the actual tattooing of Kassi. She was sitting in an area just outside of the main room. Just around the corner was a middle age woman, her husband/boyfriend (not sure), and a good friend. She was sitting in a chair, legs spread, and completely uncovered from the waist down. As I couldn't bring myself to look at what she was getting done, when her husband/boyfriend walked over to get a drink out of the machine next to us, we asked him what she was getting done. He responded "its like a beach with a sunset and palm trees." The tattoo artist working on Kassi then chimed in, "so, its a landscape..." The guy was excited and said "YEAH!" He then turned to Kassi, as she was clearly in pain, and exclaimed "did you not get drunk or stoned before you came in?!" We found this very amusing.

But back to my newly found understanding... Kassi's tattoo was awesome! It is on the right side of her right foot and is a sunflower with a blue center, yellow/red pedals, and brown and orange details.

It really adds flavor. I am not sure if I will ever get one, but I no longer have a bad mental association with tattoos. The problem I find is that they last forever (if that wasn't already obvious). I just don't know how attractive a flower will be when it is shriveled and wrinkled. As for the right now, while our skin is young, I think they look really cool.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Emoticons

Emotion Icons have taken over our technological life. Through instant messages, texts, or email, we are able to express ourselves with these little symbols. Emotion icons have been highly developed since their start. I personally like to use the original emoticons because you don't quite see the face when you first look at it:

(^_^) smile

(^o^) laughing out loud

(z_z) sleeping person

(^_~) winking

v(^_^)v peace

(o_0) surprised

\(^_^)/ cheers!

t(o_ot) giving someone the bird

of course, these didn't stick around long, they evolved into:

= ) happy

= ( sad

: ) smile

: o surprise

: < defeated

Now we have actual faces:

Stream of Consciousness

Ugh... It is so cold. I don't want to get out of bed. What do I actually HAVE to get done today? I guess I can sleep for a little longer. If it wasn't so cold I could get out of bed, but I am just too comfortable. Why do I need to get up anyways? Maybe I can just lie here all day long and no one will notice. I need to go to the bookstore and get paper. I really need to have a pen and paper next to my bed so I can write stuff down. But then I would probably have things like "sniffing walrus" or "tasty snozberry." What is a snozberry anyways? I bet it is like strawberries and grows its seeds on the outside. I think they would be delicious, and always ripe. Snozberries probably taste somewhere between a banana and ham. I don't really know what it would be like, but I know it would be delicious. Back to this whole getting out of bed thing. I don't wanna. I need to shower at some point, but right now?! I think I'll just lie here and ignore all of my emails and school work for a couple more hours. Man, I need to clean, but that can wait too. Maybe I can do laundry since I can be productive, yet still do nothing while the machines are going. Doing laundry isn't so bad, but I don't want to have to put all of the clothes away afterward. I'll put that off until Wednesday. Wednesday I have a final, maybe I should study for that. No, I can't concentrate right now. Maybe later. I could go to the gym, but yet again, that would require getting out of bed. Maybe I will just blog instead. Blogging is easy, it frees my mind. Ok, here we go....

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Opposite Sex

Nine things I know about men:
1. No skills for multi-tasking (especially when the SEC is playing)
2. They are much more complicated than women
3. They sometimes burp with their mouths closed and then blow it out like they are smoking
4. Never understand woman code... (example: if a woman asks you to pick up some extra food from the store, she is really asking you to get flowers while you are there)
5. Most between the ages of 16-22 are tool bags
6. They can be incredibly sensitive
7. Most do not care to be in fashion, as long as they are comfortable (this is a positive)
8. Men don't understand that women will fall for them if they just seem interested and partially listen when we talk
9. They do a better job at staying young

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Minority Report in Real Life

Who knew a simple wii remote could allow you to create your own Minority Report technology?! This technology opens up so many options, especially in the photography world. Being able to rotate, zoom, move, and edit photographs with your hands makes things so much easier. I also would like to use the wii remote to create my own smartboard or tablet computer seen in the following video. I think this would help young graphic designers and artists who do not have the money for an expensive smartboard.

Dear Me...

Hey there!

Ten years has gone by fast. I hope you have seen the world by now. Hopefully you have found someone special to spend the rest of your life with. If not, I hope your values haven't changed and you have become a better person. Make sure you are still spontaneous and not boxed into work like everyone else in the world. Maybe you have finally had the chance to take a mini-retirement or two. Do you even remember what that is? Its where you save up some money, quit your job (or go on sabbatical) and travel for a while, experiencing the new cultures that you love. Don't forget your love for exercise, I hope you aren't morbidly obese. If you are, do something about it now. Are you still a christian? If not, I hope you have a good reason. Of course, there would have to be a good reason... Did you ever apologize for all the mistakes you made in college? If you haven't, maybe its time to make some phone calls. I wish I could here from me now, and know what I know in 2019.

Until 2019,

Me

Monday, April 20, 2009

4/20 at 4:20

Pot smokers around the world unite on this holy day of April. As I walked through my friend's apartment complex today, I smelt more marijuana than at a Dave Matthew's Band concert. It is now 4:20 p.m. exactly, central time, and I just received a call from my friend Brad, who has been smoking since 4:20 a.m. I have never heard someone sound more high in my life. He hardly ever smokes, but, I guess he decided to be completely cliche today.

I have never understood the desire to smoke, because A. it is illegal, B. it inhibits productivity, and C. I think I would like it if I tried it and that could be potentially bad. Anyways, I have always wondered why 4/20 was the selected date for this activity. I did some research... according to a very reliable source known as wikipedia, 4/20's origins stem off of a group of high school students from San Rafael, California who would meet at 4:20 p.m. everyday to smoke together. The celebration of 4/20 is huge at University of Colorado at Boulder, pulling in over 10,000 people in 2008 as seen in the following picture.

Police have tried to stop the event, but have had no luck as the attendance grows each year.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Advertisement for Mac: My idea

I had this idea for an ad for Mac. I was hesitant to put it on my blog in fear of someone stealing it, but I will just hope for the best... envision, if you will:

a clean, white background with only an old tattered, used, spiral notebook sitting on a white table. as a hand comes into the screen, it starts to open the book, releasing pages as if to show you the contents. But, as it gets closer and closer to having it open at a 90 degree angle, it will turn into a Mac Book, evolving from the last generation to the newest generation.

Then, on the same white background, an old telephone with the spinning dial will sit. As the hand enters on this frame, it will start to move the dial, as it moves it from one side to the other, it will turn into an iPod with a touch screen wheel, evolving from the last generation to the new generation.

The campaign slogan would be "innovating the old, reinventing the new. " If it is not already inferred, it is about apple's ability to not only make old products relevant, but apple constantly making their own products better.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Creative Application

As I am a student at SMU and majoring in advertising, I have the option to apply to the creative program within the advertising school. We just received our question "what's good for you?" As I have come up with a slew of options, one stuck out to me. "Becoming a Global Citizen." I made a passport and had an idea to attach a luggage tag and inserting the explanation of what I meant by it. I wanted to explain that while many think of food or exercise as being "good for you," they often forget that experiencing culture is a huge part of a person's well being. The overall intention was that, "Global Citizens" don't belong to any particular country or culture, they are a part of the world. They constantly travel and submerse themselves in new cultures, growing in every way they possibly can. This is the passport I created using photoshop:

As I got more and more excited about the idea, I decided to ask a friend of mine, who is in the creative program, for her advice. She immediately said, "O my gosh, did you not know about Alvey's project?!" Professor Alvey is the head of Temerlin Advertising Institute at SMU and has apparently had the current creative students working on a pamphlet about "World Citizenship." What an incredible coincidence! Then, it appeared on the SMU front page, "[Student Name]... Global Citizen." While I thought I was being original, apparently everyone has already had this idea. At least I know I had a great idea with it since it is popping up everywhere now.

Friday, April 17, 2009

High and Low Self Monitors

My cousin and I were recently discussing High vs. Low Self Monitors and how they deal with each other. Firstly, a high self monitor is someone who cares a lot about how they present themselves, how they interact with others, and keep in mind other peoples' feelings. Low self monitors, on the other hand, are more concerned with self-expression, their own feelings, and do not care as much what other people think. This isn't to say that low self monitors are self-absorbed, it just means that they don't care what others think of them.

Often, a major difference is buying habits. For example, lets say we have a couple who have been dating for about a year, Lisa and Tom. Lisa, as a low self monitor, loves simplicity and does not see a reason for buying superfluous or luxurious items. Tom, as a high self monitor, likes to buy nice things, however, he sometimes overindulges. Tom loves that Lisa keeps him grounded and likes hearing "do you really NEED that?"

On another note, low self monitors may unintentionally offend people. As another example: Tom invited Lisa over for dinner. He spent hours preparing and cooking their meal. When Lisa got there, they sat down to eat. Lisa took one bite and could not control the look of disgust she was displaying. She immediately reacted, saying "that is awful!" This really hurt Tom, and Lisa didn't realize she was being perceived as rude. See, high self monitors take the self expression to be impolite in many cases, where the low self monitor believes it is "insincere" to not say what they are thinking, or to tell a white lie to save someone's feelings.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Plagiarism

Let me just say this:

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
to use (another's production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft
to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

But can words and ideas really be stolen?

According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

turning in someone else's work as your own
copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)

Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.

Please do not google any of the above material...

Thursday, April 2, 2009

No Talking to Strangers

I have never understood why every mom in the world tells their children "never talk to strangers." I mean, yeah, don't talk to strangers if you never want to meet anyone ever! I know they are just trying to keep their kids safe, but maybe try "don't ever talk to creepy old men in vans" or "never talk to strangers who are old." I mean, I get it, don't talk to strangers because they may do something bad, but I think the real problem is that everyone grows up with this mentality and feels like they can never just walk up and introduce themselves to someone. We become so boxed in by this rule that we stop looking up while we walk because we are scared that if we make eye contact someone might actually talk to us.

Accents: Your Ability to Rule or Drool in the Boardroom

It occurred to me yesterday that an accent can change everything. Whether you are southern, british, australian, or african, accents have personality characteristics associated. For example, a southern accent causes a presumption of stupidity. Because of movies like Forest Gump, T.V. shows like Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and President George W. Bush, anyone with a southern accent tends to be automatically cast as dumb. Although this mentality has been around longer than the past examples have existed, they don't help the situation. As a southerner myself, I hate this connotation. People tend to think southerners are slow, lacking worldliness, and of below average intelligence. On a side note, on a trip to Charleston, I discovered the origin of the southern accent is actually a mixture of british, "dry american," and african. About 70% of the slaves brought to America were brought through the port of Charleston, SC. Because of this, the wealthy slave owners' children were raised by their nannies, who were african slaves. As the children spent more and more time with the nannies, they started to pick up little licks of the african accent. Also, their parents probably still had a bit of a british "twang" that they picked up as well, thus resulting in the southern accent.

Back to stereotypes... have you ever noticed that british accents make everything more dramatic? For instance, a child who is cute becomes a million times cuter with a little british accent. People may even become creepier with a british accent, like the line "hello, puppet." from Pirates of the Caribbean. If that had been said in a straight american accent, it would have been goofy sounding. Also, if a presentation is being given, a british accent tends to up our perception of a person's IQ. What I mean to say is that, the british accent can make a pretty person prettier, a creepy person creepier, and a smart person smarter.

An australian accent, at least in my mind, makes people instantaneously hotter, and I don't mean the temperature.

So, when it comes to a successful trip to the the boardroom, who wins? Well, everyone can. It is the southerner's advantage to have the element of surprise. If a southerner is judged for their accent straight off the bat, they can surprise the room with a presentation of great intelligence, causing everyone to put you in a pristine, positive light. The englishman needs to be suave and intelligent, his/her intelligence will be boosted positively with the use of the accent. They just need to be careful not to seem sly or deceitful. And the Australian is just bound for greatness. As pretty people tend to be more successful, an Australian is in!