A bit on Magic

" 'Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world,' he said wisely one day, 'but people don't know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen. I am going to try and experiment.' "
~ The Secret Garden

Now, those are some words to live by. 

Especially the words "I am going to try and experiment." 

Because seriously, sometimes it's ok if the rest of the world calls you crazy for believing in Magic - you have to trust in the findings of your own life experiments. And if you don't trust them... well then I guess you'd have to do more of them! This quote really put some things back into perspective for me, I thought it might be nice to share. 

Pop-up delight!

Late post, but there are pictures!

Here's a little show and tell. 

Earlier, I posted about a project I was doing for Luba Lukova's class: creating a pop-up book. Clearly, the first step in getting this project done right is learning how to make pop-up books.  I scooted on over to Strand Bookstore and picked up this pop-up book to divide and conquer. After much ripping, tearing, tracing, cutting and taping, I'm quite pleased with the result. So far I have a few of the animals done, remade out of magazine pages and covers (the covers work much better). I can't wait to have the whole book done and then paint all over it until it's a mess of crazy pop-up collage.

aaaaaw...

too cute right? too cute...

ok, this is no longer a true moose head. I used floppy magazine pages for this one, so his antlers are more like... flaps.

Like I said, magazine covers work better. Please note the squid. Because what's a whale scene without its squid?

I saved the best for last. Not just because I liked this penguin... but because of this penguin's buddy to the left. It wasn't until I had created this whole pop-up that I noticed this little man... and his little egg. Now I know, I know! That's how these guys do it. I've seen March of the Penguin, thankyouverymuch. But in this illustration somehow the majesty of the sacrifice, the nobility of the act is... well... lost. And instead I'm giggling. Maybe it's the big beaky grin. 

I hope this picture has inspired at least one kid to ask his parents about that egg. 

Do you know about BookCrossing.com?

I finally found one! A book from bookcrossing.com. Specifically: Lincoln: A Novel by Gore Vidal, which I am totally looking forward to reading. 

Bookcrossing.com is a fun program that lets you assign your books an identifican number and then "release" these books to share with the world "into the wild." By assigning it the number you can then track it though the website whenever someone picks it up. The book I found was "released" in Alexandria in the African American Heritage Park, which Atul and I happened to be walking through the other day. I am the first person to pick it up since it's been released. The person who released it said they did it in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday.

I can't wait to release my own book when I get home, while I keep this one to read for a while (it's a big book). And I am writing this entry to encourage all my book-loving peeps to do the same and keep their eyes peeled, or at least check out the site. 

This is how I can help... so here goes.

I know... I know... another video. 

And not really a fun one. 

So basically it's this scene in It's a Wonderful Life. A real live bank run. Except. Electronic. Where none of us can really see it happening except the people who track the records. And who knows how many people can make a run on the bank at once. I can barely conceptualize the amount of people who use Facebook. Who live on my street! No wonder this whole situation feels surreal.

So, I'm just wondering, if any of you have a moment, maybe this is something we could be thinking good thoughts at. It would seem that the economy, as a representation of our current concept of 'abundance', is suffering on all different levels. I'm thinking it might help to actively enact a stronger working model for 'abundance' in my life. To start, I'm going to take a look around and be grateful for one symbol of abundance. Right now it's these pillows. They are so bright and cozy. Both our pets look so happy, and warm... just good.

And I really think, somehow, that helped. Just thinking that. At least for me. I know my day is going to be a little better. Not to mention the fact that now, whenever someone mentions the economy, I'm going to be thinking of cute pets and pillows. I'm going to be a little less worried. 

p.s. Potter reminds me of Cheney 

Quick Share

movies that are too awesome:

Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

I'm watching Obama's first press conference

I'm really very impressed with whitehouse.gov. I can't believe I'm actually looking at a government website that seems to give me actual news. I actually feel educated after reading the blog, listening to the addresses, etc - instead of feeling unsure. 

Particularly interesting to me was this post. Both because the word "sunlight" next to the word "lawmaking" confused the hell out of me (I spent minutes thinking Obama really cared about his lawn), and also because I can't wait to try my hand at reading the laws-in-the-making and having comments to make about them.

It's taking me a little time to really feel like my government can actually be "transparent," but I can't tell you how much I look forward to the day transparency feels normal.

wow. wtf.

must... share... 

Saw this on cakewrecks. It's a show from Iceland called "LazyTown." I know so many people who would become obsessed with this show if given a chance. A minute ago I didn't know this existed, yet now I have watched three or four youtube songs of this girl. I think I'm still a little in shock. 

I just might like it though... kinda makes me think of LeeLoo from Fifth Element... this is what she did when she was little. She sang sickenly cute songs.

...no. not really. god forbid.

Great, sincere, thanks.

oh my god. My life has totally changed.

All thanks to gmail.

First, to all those who still use an email client other than gmail...

WHY? stop. now. of all the free email clients you can use, gmail is the best. So use it.

You deserve the best free can buy you.

Ok, so a while ago, I was looking through the "labs" section of gmail and I saw this interesting lab called "tasks." I enabled it and then... I think I forgot all about it. Two days ago I happened across this lovely lab section again and I decided to take another look at the tasks option I now had. 

WHOA. amazing. It's the easy access, regularly seen, simple to use "task" list application I have been waiting for all of my life.

Now I'm not sure if it would feel like this for everyone. I just so happen to have a sad history of failed task list experiences:

Paper lists: fail. 

I always lose them. Or put them somewhere I never see again (just like my class notes). 

Outlook: fail. 

I actually don't like to open Microsoft programs on my Mac. 

iCal/iLife applications: fail. 

I'm never running the programs, I never look, and most of the time when I really want to see what I have to do, I'm not at my own computer. 

Various list&email sites: fail. 

I never know when I should specifically send a reminder. I don't want to have to go to some new site I've never really worked on before. And even if I do get reminders I never remember to keep looking at the e-mail. 

Also, how many of these options are actually all that pretty?

So now look at me. I'm so happy! Not only do I have an easy to use, perfectly placed task list (email really is the central hub of my online life), but there is this one small little feature of it that is already changing my life. 

When I get an email... I can add it to tasks. 

*gasp* 

Guys, really. I never have to worry about losing track of an email ever again (unless I mess up and it ends up in spam). All of the energy I used to have to put to keeping track of my tasks (let alone keeping track of the lists my tasks were on) I can now put towards DOING TASKS.

So thank you, gmail. For your perfectly placed task list. 

I really appreciate it.

Completely unrelated:

Here's a great youtube video, please watch and be amused.

Questions sparked in class

The internet is a surprisingly organic collection of thoughts.

Does that mean the internet could be viewed as a working brain?

An electronic version of the "brain" of the entire human species? 

If we could really step back, would we be able to see what this human brain is trying to figure out?

Would it go through the same processes as our little individual brains working things out?

Isn't that what the Bible is all about? Showing us what steps humanity has already taken so we can learn from them now, individually?

Could the internet eventually become the ultimate self-reflective tool for all of humanity at any current moment?

Tweeted questions

This is awesome:

Tweets during the SuperBowl

Seriously. Social media tells us so much about people. For example: I quickly glanced through that graphic and I noticed that people tend to talk way more about the team losing rather than winning. I even noticed myself, as I was dragging the curser through the game, I started routing for the Cardinals to win. I don't know a thing about either team. And I doubt I will at any point, but I do know that for about the 30 seconds that I was following this graphic I wanted them to win. 

Two questions:

Why do we like to talk so much about the losing team?

Why, when I had nothing else to consider, did I want the losing team to win?

I'm thinking it's just more interesting to be in the middle of a problem.  

some people spend their days...

Just spent the last three hours of my life watching heroine addicts and listening to Jazz.
In a play called "The Connection" at The Living Theater.
My class went to go see it, our task is to create a promotional poster.

It was wildly unsettling.
I left it feeling rather dizzy.
And mostly sad.
I'm glad I don't hang out with real heroine addicts.
Watching people pretend was enough to feel fuzzy.
The Jazz was beautiful but it didn't help.

It's hard to underestimate the power of suggestion after watching something like that.