Somnambulist

February 7th, 2010 § 0

Somni: sleep (eg. insomnia). Ambul: walk (eg. amble, perambulator). Somnambulist: sleep walker.

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…” I never did understand the “gang aft agley” bit on a semantic level, but I certainly understand how true it is. Ideas and plans are easily formulated, but transferring them to real life can be a long and tedious journey.

I’m not entirely sure where I’m going with this, so I’ll drop it. Oh, and if anybody knows of a visual directory for websites, that allows me to see all my uploaded files in a pretty layout, please let me know!

La Valse D’Amélie

January 18th, 2010 § 0

I am in love with this song. Seriously. News from life: back from Cowes, had an amazing time! Deleted all pirated downloads. Got a very attractive offer from the University of Queensland – only problem is the university is in Queensland. One more hour until I find out about the more local offer. Wrote poetry.

Still on the thought of things that go backwards and forwards to produce different stories, the “two” poems I wrote today are word-by-word inversions of each other (with liberties). They both sound oddly stilted due to the restraints, although reading them out with the right amount of passion may fix the problems.

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6 Days

January 9th, 2010 § 0

I’m going to be at Cowes for the next 6 days. I only decided this yesterday, so it was rather last minute (much like most of my life). I bought an art journal too, because lined paper is restrictive. I say this even though I can’t write properly without the lines. Also exciting is my new phone number, which might be used for a project in the future: 0450123780

Also, if you’re looking for my Flash games (Emily, how on earth did you find that other link through Google?), they can be found on this page (click). Keep in mind that most of them don’t work, because I’m rather fail at programming.

Forgress

January 6th, 2010 § 0

One Hundred Things. That’s the theme this month for the Experimental Gameplay Project. A couple of my friends (where “a couple” means “two”, just like in the movies) are joining me in learning how to develop Flash games, and what better way to do this than rapid prototyping?

That’s a screenshot of the game I’m making. The other project I’m halfway through is the Mundane City Map – a psychogeographical project. Other than that, not much progress. Instead, I watched a Miyazaki film. Brilliant.

Nadia and the Forest

December 31st, 2009 § 0

I just completed a readable version of my first short picture book, created as a part of the January 2010 Project. Click the right side of the image to turn the page… and keep reading for the darker twist.

I had a lot of fun writing this, although the cobbled Google Images aren’t quite what I was imagining. They’ll have to do though, as I’m moving on to the next item in this project, whatever that might be.

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January 2010

December 28th, 2009 § 0

In a few days, we say farewell to ‘09 and usher in ‘10, the year of less syllables. Masses will celebrate by becoming hopelessly inebriated and swapping saliva with strangers while staring at a blurry mess of colorful lights explode in the sky. (Note that this is still less inexplicable than the whole Christmas fad. There is a house on my street which would have won any “Gaudiest Christmas Decor” award hands down, what with the twenty foot inflatable Santa wrapped in tinsel and the fit-inducing reindeer-and-elf-populated merry-go-round.)

More importantly though, Jaunary 2010 will be the time period of my first project, ingeniously called January 2010, because I have about as much imagination as whoever named the blackbird. The project will be a curious amalgam of urban art installations, public play schemes, real world praxis, and skill acquisitions – all produced in just one month with a budget of $201.0 (ah, see what I did there?). While the actual content of the project is completely unrestricted, the central aims are clear:

  1. To provide strangers with captivating, unusual experiences.
  2. To equip myself with useful skills I did not previously own.
  3. To learn more about my strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

Really, the key focus of this project is the act of active creation – forming ideas and turning them into realities using willpower and a MacBook. There needs to be more “doing stuff” in the world, because it often leads to very interesting things. Click here for an ongoing to do list.

I hope that January will lead to some very interesting things!

Suggestions Box

September 7th, 2008 § 0

The box was there, waiting to be used. It cried out, “Use me! Oh, use me! Fill me up! YES!” Perhaps I was the only one that could hear the talking box since nobody else in the library minded these slightly inappropriate suggestions. But I couldn’t resist. The box told me to do it! So I cut out a hole at the top and did what it commanded.

Thus, the Suggestion Box was born. This social-experiment-type project is a praxis for SFZero. Click here to see how other people completed the same task with much more creativity and aplomb, or read on for my completion.

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Train of Thought

August 11th, 2008 § 0

I now take the train to school (moved house) which has afforded me a better glimpse into the microcosm of public transport. The social interactions on trains are particularly interesting – something I’m hoping to explore. Without getting stabbed, hopefully. But just recently, this happened:

A man was singing an opera, holding the score and his coffee in either hand. The effect this had on people around him was interesting; a couple stifled giggles and looked at me with the “look at that nut!” expression, an elderly gentleman surruptitiously took out his camera phone and started recording him, and a young girl tried to hum along in harmony. After he finished the piece I asked him what he was singing – apparently he is an opera tenor visiting Melbourne who was on his way home from practice. He was singing something from The Magic Flute.

The crowd reactions to a single man singing softly were amusing. What response would a full choir garner, suddenly bursting forth out of the blue? Imagine the scene: a normal train ride, and then, an unexpected explosion of brilliant dulcet tones coming from everywhere (hey, that kid in full metal regalia is singing too!), only to stop suddenly with no indication it ever happened.

Now if only such a thing could be orchestrated. Hmm…

Garden Path

August 9th, 2008 § 0

Grugh. I fell sick and then my internet capped. My health and sanity gone in one fell swoop. Well, I’m back, if only to mention the Beijing Olympics and how amazing the opening ceremony was. Except the lighting of the torch was a bit disappointing to me. I waited for 204 countries to pass to see a man run around in the air? Boring. I want an epic Rube Goldberg machine that ends in performers burning up in flames as they jump from the top of the stadium, landing on the torch and lighting it up.

Things that have happened since the last post:

  • 150th Anniversary of the first footy match ever played. Ever. Which is quite monumental, but I still somehow managed to miss it.
  • I finally fixed my mechanical pencil that was broken for two years! Finally, I can stop using pens.
  • My desk got invaded by ants.

On yet another unrelated note, look at this sentence: “Fat people like to eat can cause heart disease.” It’s an example of a garden path sentence, which show that humans read one word at a time sequentially, rather than conceptually.

Water in Your Hands

August 1st, 2008 § 0

Scientists at NASA are ballistic thanks to a little water found on Mars. The Phoenix mission is being extended, and they get more money. Anyway, the short news segment about it this morning was quite interesting:

NASA Spokeswoman: Yes, we have found the water, seen the water, tasted the water, touched the water. It’s amazing.
Interviewer: Er, who tasted it?
NASA Spokeswoman: [pause] A little oven.

Quick unrelated thought: the United States is pouring lots of money into the war in Iraq – five thousand dollars every second. That’s about $13 billion every month. Meanwhile, some people live (barely) on less than $1 a day.

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