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Friday, 07 August 2009
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Blogspot
I've moved to Blogspot.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
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Currently
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
By Metric
Calculation Theme
see relatedStill shopping. Need new hobby. Lomo?
I'm supposed to be on a shopping ban... but I broke it...
Placed an order on UO with the 25% off coupon code for these two items:iPod Skin by Infectious
SuperHeadz Golden Half Frame 35mm Camera
I'm unreasonably excited for this camera! It takes half-frame shots with regular 35mm film, so you get 72 shots out of a 36 exposure roll, etc. Plus, this tiny 3.5 × 2.8 x 1.25 inch toy cam comes with a hot shoe to which you can attach a flash, and thus take pictures in any lighting.
I found the flash on eBay for $15 and promptly purchased it. I am so ghey.
There's a group for Golden Half uploads on Flickr.
I love how their pictures all turned out. Simple and artful. Looking at the world through the lens of lomography makes it seem more beautiful, more enjoyable than it actually is. And that's pretty okay.
So I'm thinking: I wish I had this camera with me years ago when I still lived in New York! Or even one year ago when I still had some semblance of a social life. Or even one year later when I'll be gone from this small small town.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
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Moth!
I go to the bathroom this morning and spot what appears to be a brown leaf stuck to the far wall directly above the tub. Wait a sec... it's a fucking moth!
Holy shit!! Look at the malicious glint in it's eye!!!!
Obviously I couldn't let the little bastard just chill there. I wouldn't want to come back later and find it gnawing on my bath puff or whatnot. So I grab a spray bottle full of water and proceed to spray the bejesus out of him until he tumbles down into the bathtub! HA!
UR CAMOUFLAGE IS FAIL.The water also rendered its papery, powdery wings useless, so I was then able to grab my Pledge 360 Duster, finagle him into crawling on, then carry him outside and into the bushes. HA!
I know I zapped that last fly in my apartment with an electric tennis racket, but moths have powdery crap on their wings so I wasn't sure if it would explode and cover me in disease or something.
Nothing more exciting than this to blog about really.
Monday, 02 February 2009
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An Experiment in Beauty?
I got this from someone else's Xanga and wanted to share:
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.
Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
My thoughts: Are you serious? Is this the kind of "profound" bullshit people will buy into these days? What kind of narrow-minded morons at the Washington Post came up with this idea?
To state matter-of-factly that it was "the best music ever" is ridiculous. That the sheet music was enigmatically intricate and the musician talented does not automatically grant it some definitive universal value. The people who shelled out $100 for a seat at that Boston theater were people with very specific taste, who obviously felt the experience was worth the money. Good for them.
There is no reflex ingrained in us that would cause our spidey senses to tingle and our ears to perk up at the first notes of Bach. People have priorities. How are you going to tell them where a violinist at the metro station should rank - especially in lieu of practical responsibilities such as pursuing a career, supporting a family, or simply going about daily business?
What's the insinuation behind the "several children" who stopped to listen? That children are pure and carefree? That they are more likely to smell the roses? Uh, duh. I bet they would have stopped all the same for a guy with a bubble machine and an accordion. Not only are children easily entertained, but thanks to child labor laws, they usually don't hold jobs; nor do they have things on their schedule more pressing than nap time or public education (which I'm sure they enjoy immensely and can't bear to delay).
Shut up Washington Post. Put away your pretentious "social experiment" and use your time and money to do something that might actually be useful. The idea that violin music placed in a random setting deserves special acknowledgment is not only pompous and unreasonable, but also just annoying.
Friday, 09 January 2009
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Character
"The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves."
-- Leonardo da Vinci
amissong
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- Name: Ami
- Country: United States
- State: Florida
- Birthday: 6/7/1988
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 5/13/2002
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