Early Renaissance North...or South? Or is it Baroque? Or Late Renaissance???????

Just had my Art History Midterm....oooof. I studied so dang hard for that thing (uh...yesterday), that I was almost disappointed we didn't have to do any identifying. We only had 5 "unknowns" and 2 essays. I know every single painting, building, statue, sneeze completed between the years of 1452 and 1700 (that we covered in class...). I lost SLEEP over those dang Bernini/Bellini/Fabrinis! At least I was able to cite PLENTY of examples when justifying my period choices for the Unknowns. Sample answer:

"This piece has a strong resemblence to Parmigianino's 'Madonna of the Long Neck.' It is also similar to Titian's 'Pieta,' Giorgione's 'Tempest,' Pontormo's 'Entombment' and Tintoretto's 'Last Supper.'"

Of course I described why it so resembled those pieces and why those are all Italian Mannerist painitngs, I didn't just name names. The essays were a tough part though, we had 40 minutes for two, and 20 minutes has never gone so quickly. When she said "You should be moving along to your next essay" I was only 3 paragraphs into my first one. This was because of my anal need for outlining. At about that same time I began to seriously regret my purchase and consumption of a 20 ounce Iced Tea. On the second essay I moved a LOT faster, so fast in fact that my PEN RAN OUT with only 5 minutes left!!!! I emitted a squeek of terror and Sigrid immediately sensed my distress and offered me a pencil. So the second half of my essay was in very soft lead and extremely sloppy. I hope she can read it, or rather I hope she can't read it, guesses at the content and gives me an A based on my previous superior work. I also wish that I were the Queen of Luxembourg and owned a Bugati.

The Phone Song

Just heard this hilarious song on the radio (that I'm streaming at school, love it). It seems to describe so perfectly those cell phone abusers. Each verse is to the tune of respectively: William Tell, Fur Elise, William tell again and Ode to Joy. Ha. funny.
And I'm really studying for Art History. Really.

It's the phone, get the phone, there's a phone call
Fish it out, press the talk button right now
Anytime, anywhere there's a phone call
We will answer and start talking real loud
In their odes to Joy and Jesus, do you think they once foresaw
their pieces in our wireless devices
All across the planet? Blah blah, blah blah, blah…

Ah the strains of music all around
Short little beeps cut through the din
I've come to love that Motorola sound
Not harpsichord or violin
I know Ludwig would be so proud
That "Fur Elise" could beep so loud
Rossini too and Brahms and Bach
And Mozart and Rachmaninoff inoff, enough

Hold the fries- keep your eyes on the road somehow
Pretty awkward to talk on the phone right now
To the whims if the Cell Tower Gods I bow
And I hope the local laws allow

It's so crowded, you're so loud it's some deaf guy you're talking to
All of us on this Hertz bus attempt to turn our backs to you
You're impinging, see us cringing, dirty looks aimed at your head
Not proud of it but I admit I wish your battery was dead

Bluestocking

So, it's been a crazy few days over here. The dang blasted 3D exhibit "Ubiquitype" finally went up yesterday. This was the thing I was doing that amazon test for. I ended up with 9 of those logo quiz things, for each I had to construct this foam-core/matt board/rubber cement creation in order to reveal the answer. Last wednesday I stayed until 10 (class ends at 5) and only got TWO pieces built. I went home for the weekend (finally!) and managed to forget about the fact that I had to have all 9 up by monday (yesterday) at midnight. I think I broke my thumb from all the cutting, but I managed to finish and mount them by 8, I was home and in bed by 10! So exciting!

This morning I arrived at school 7:40 (later than usual, I accidently got on the 37, which goes to all the apartments near campus. I thought it was the 7:05 #50, but 4 minutes late and I ran to catch it not bothering to look at the number). It was also the morning of the Chicago trip that the art department puts together every year, so everyone had gathered in the atrium where our exhibit was up. Sigh. My pieces are destroyed. Several of the stopper pieces that were supposed to keep the answer board from sliding ALL the way out, were on the floor. Pins were falling out. It was pretty demoralizing. But on the up side, there were people standing there guessing away and getting things wrong. Having fun! So I suppose it was worth 13 hours of intense thumb torture.

Nothing else much to report. In preschool yesterday we made Pepperoni Pizzas for the letter P. It was a lot of fun, and very yummy. Plus I got to take the two extras home for lunch. The morning was also brightened by the visit of my friend Shannon, the previous preschool aide. The kids were very impressed by the fact that we were friends. I think somehow my authority/coolness was verified by my actually proving that I was friends with their old pal. Cute. Also, Babe Ruth (aka, the Boy Who Hits) was home sick. I felt kinda bad for not feeling too bad that he was feeling so bad. It made the day oh so much quieter.

I watched the last episode of the first season of Battlestar Galactica......all I will say is HOLY FRACK! I wanted to go to the library yesterday to pick up a bunch of books and cds I had requested, but they were closed! President's Day? What? How come GVSU wasn't cancelled? So disappointed in my educational institute's lack of respect for such greats as Lincoln, Washington and Howard Taft. Sigh.

And now I shall really get busy scanning these photos. Eagerly await the grand opening of my website, bluestockingdesign.com. Yes that's the name, and yes that's final. I already purchased the domain so I ain't changing it. Even if some people think it sounds faintly connected to the ahem..."ladies of the night."

...of the Day!

Quote of the Day:
"That Q is so sexy!"

Term of Endearment of the Day:
"Oh my forest cabbage" (apparently a Kaluli term)

National _______ of the Month of the Day:
"National Wild Bird-Feeding Month"


Gotta love it. Anyhoo, not getting much done here on my website, so I think I'll try to sneak out of class early.


naughty naughty.

Curses! Foiled Again!

Speaking of leftovers...I love community Potlucks! Everyone pitied the poor starving college student and I went home with pork and rice and five pieces of cake (um, to share with the other housemates of course...)

And the results are in!!! Can I just take a moment to sob uncontrollably and pat myself on the back and thank my agent? I have successfully fooled everyone! it's the FIRST ONE!!! The original logo uses Officina Sans, and the second one (that everyone guessed) is Meta-Bold!! Woohoo! Good guessing though everyone, they were very similar. I have a really good Meijer one that maybe I'll put up soon.

Today in preschool we had our Valentine's party! Something I remembered at 10 last night, and quickly made up some valentines in Illustrator.

Nothing much to report from the weekend. I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics and just about died laughing at the cows and the trees on skates. What was that? The flag tossing was awesome though, and I'm afraid I was too tired to watch the torch get lit, I mean, I lasted through the ENTIRE parade of nations (England had the coolest coats), and plenty of strange dance numbers and it was already 11:30. I watched an awful movie called Oscar and Lucinda, which in the end involved the main character drowning in a glass church (long story). I made up for that movie by watching an episode of Battlestar Galactica and some pairs skating (those two things sound very funny in the same sentence). On sunday night I went to UCO and...PLAYED the guitar! My first public appearance went smoothly and I didn't make too many ghastly mistakes. In case you are thinking that I didn't get any homework done this weekend...you're right! All of my projects are in process so I don't have anything really due for a few weeks yet. I did work a little on redesigning my awful AWFUL cd design from last semester. Here are the results for the cover. I scanned in some of my library books, gotta love those old library bindings eh? That's the blue pattern, it comes from the book "Amorelle" by Grace Livingston Hill, my newly discovered Author of the Month. She has 2 shelves worth of old books at the downtown library. Hmm, class is "starting" in five minutes.

And that concludes our broadcast hour.

You gotta help me out

Ok, so for my piece of the "UbiquiType" exhibit in my 3D class, I'm doing a Logo Quiz. The idea is that some logos have become so commonplace that they're recognized more as a symbol than a "font." So, pick out which amazon.com logo you think is right, I've only changed the font, not the arrow symbol. You'll help me figure out if I'm making it way too hard. You should see my Meijer one...heh heh heh....

I think my eyeballs are bleeding

So, I've been sitting here for an hour and have accomplished the following:

1. Opened Flash.
2. Opened Photoshop.
3. Opened website in Flash
4. Opened one version of "about" page in Photoshop

....sadly the list ends there. Can you tell I'm being unproductive? At the same time, I have also accomplished reading several blogs, emailing, watching movie trailers on iTunes, listening to my new favorite band "Over the Rhine" http://www.overtherhine.com/music/mp3attic/index.html and ordering their cds from the library.

In other news today I have a headache and my eyeballs hurt. I attribute this to my ever increasing dependence on the substance Caffeine. Perhaps a lot of pain would be cast out of my life if I started to taper down my consumption of caffeinated beverages (primarily in the form of Tea, secondarily in Diet Pepsi because it was on sale). But at the same time, I would go through a severely painful period of pounding headaches and popping eyeballs and various other cold-turkey-esque syptoms to gain...what? Less headaches? Seems a little too circular for me. Seriously, I have often said that my addiction to caffeine has brought me to the level that it no longer keeps me awake, it keeps me alive. Does that scare you? I'm sure there are many out there in the same boat.

So, now I shall proceed to accomplish item 5 on my list, which is completing a background for my "About" page and perhaps I'll even move on to item 6 which is either creating a site map or beginning the selection process for the work to show in my portfolio section. Probably I won't get far enough to make that decision. Not in so many words. At the rate I'm going.

Here are several semi-formed ideas for my about background:

Fonts aren't toys.

Okay, so it's everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! I saw the font "Copperplate" (which I hate) on 25 different items ranging from pizza boxes to Ford Field stadium. In only one instance did I approve of its use, and that was on the album covers for the band Cake. That's it. I don't want to see it on tea boxes, on cookie packages, in movie previews, in newspapers, on book jackets....

That said, in terms of design, it's not that bad a font. But just because you want something that looks "classic" or "roman" or "elegant" that doesn't mean you can just slap any old font onto your box/flyer/package/football stadium. These things must be carefully considered! What's wrong with, say...Mrs.Eaves Small Caps?? Or Futura Bold Condensed?

In other news, I had a great weekend (despite the font). Donal came for a visit and got me completely hooked on a sci-fi series called "Battlestar Galactica." Seriously, it rivals Firefly for coolness. The bad news is that it's going to afford me very little time to do actual schoolwork. Eh. That's what work days are for right? And I'll just read my Art History during my break before class. Yep. That'll work. The superbowl was fun, YEAH STEELERS!!! Some darn good football (at least in the second half) and some darn good Pigs in Blankets, though I say it. I had a little help, but I'm sure that I could pull it off now on my own. I could go solo. The downside to a weekend of fun and "partying" is that I'm excruciatingly tired. And when I say excruciating, I mean I fell asleep while trying to match the Pepsi font, a task I generally find exhilarating. You sound shocked. Well I do, I think fonts are fun (when used correctly). Fonts aren't toys.

FABRIC PRINTING!!!!

So this morning we learned how to print on fabric!!! I'm working on quilting this right now.

ps. it's the Pieta by Mike, with japanese pattern in the background.

Why I really blog...

Hmmm, how ironic is it that I'm posting this comic about a blog on my blog...

Nothing really to report. Except that I'm still tired. And I want to go to bed right now. And if I didn't have to eat, I would. Things are pretty slow right now, school-wise. No huge projects looming, no papers, not panicking about review (as much). The museum exhibit is moving along, my section is now a matching game, match the symbol of the logo to the correct font. So there'll be a nike swoosh, and you have to pick the correct "NIKE." Pretty cool, I hope. My website...eh, moving right along...if only I could decide whether or not I want to be "Lindsey Blank" (is it dangerous to put your full name on your blog?) or some sort of other really cool name (as yet to be discovered, since And How seems to be giving people headaches). But I have some cool graphics for my backgrounds and such. And my sewing is progressing quite well, you'll all be glad to know that St. Peter's no longer looks like a toilet.

And on sunday I think I'm going to make Pigs in Blankets for the superbowl party. Yes. I will make them. They will be good. and people WILL enjoy them. Honestly, I've helped wrap weenies before. Oh. Strike that last sentence, rephrase: I have helped to put the pigs in their blankets before. Plus, Donal will be here to help me.

Right, and now I shall sally forth in search of sustenance. I'm so hungry I could tip this keyboard over and eat all the crumbs and fluffies that shake out. Oh, how revolting that sounds...Adieu!!