Thoughts on the Situation in Iran

Recent events around the world have and continue to challenge all people to reflect better on who they are and how they define themselves.  Probably the largest matter today are the domestic conflicts within Iran, where the Islamic regime and the people of Iran have become combatants, both physically and ideologically.  It is is about much more than the outcome of one election that most angers protesters.  It is that the already powerful Iranian government has covertly undermined one freedom, out of the few that the Iranian people believed they had, to elect the Iranian president.

So people are taking to the streets and speaking out against a system that has never faced such an outcry since 1979.  At that time, actually was when today’s Iranian government took power after ousting the then-Shah of Iran.  All over the world, disapproval opposes the governmental violence agaisnt peaceful protesters and general Iranian public.  The current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that foreigners, specifically President Obama of the United States, does not have the right to pass judgement or influence the government of Iranians.  However, it is important to note that President Obama was not as forward in denouncing the Iranian government’s decisions as the the United States has been in the past towards what is perceived as world crises.  This caused many leaders in the United States, from senators to local people, to question Obama’s tactics and political strength.  A representative of the Iranian government claims that the militia was not allowed to have firearms against the people but video shown in news media of Tehran show guns being used to shoot people runnign in the streets, away from police.  Even I was troubled that people half a world away were being slaughtered by their own government, before which all protesters killed were mandatorily denied the right to a funeral of choice.

Does the world have the right to demand that a foreign government changes its policy(ies)?  At which point does a domestic conflict become an issue of global interest?  How will the Iran of today influence the world of tomorrow?

The role of government is essentially and most importantly to protect the people of its land.  When the internal body cannot protect that which belongs to themselves, the people will and must look elsewhere for support.  Because the people of Iran are strong in themselves, they have stood this long alone.  But now, Iranians are looking to the outside world, alongside marches with their own countrymen.  They create Twitter messages explaining the horrors going on and cellphone videos capturing the violence in the streets.  They seem to know what the government of Iran is not bearing witness to:  the world is watching.  The actions of the Iranian government, documented as a mountain of evidence, show a merciless lack of regard for human life.

In killing their own people, the Iranian government is only allowing distrust and hatred against themselves by the Iranian people.  Those who opposed the current government before the elctions now see how large their numbers truly are in the country.  Perhaps they were afraid to speak out before, thinking they were a only counted in the handfuls.  Now the whole world has seen how many people are protesting and how many people are willing to risk their lives for their ideals.  It is no longer simply a protest for governmental rule but one of humanitarian proportions.  University students are being killed and Iran’s future is being endangered.  Parents are outraged that their children are dying in the street.  The people are gorwing louder for a country that places the best interests and safety of the people, rather than the interests and safety of an unpopular and waning government.

Phatbrush.com

I have a few hugh school friends who are into graphic design and needless to say, visual arts has changed a lot since even then!  It’s not enough to be able to draw well; an artist must have the ability to understand and manipulate the concept of an idea.  In a lot of ways, the strength of art is what makes it so difficult to create:  it’s about creating beauty by creating meaning.  So is it easier than it used to be to create art, with the help of a computer?  In one way, you don’t necessarily have to be the most coordinated illustrator.  However, you can’t hide any flaws in the conception of your design behind an empty, but aesthetically pretty design.

Adobe software is probably the most essential line of programs used by graphic design artists today.  Phatbrush is a huge online inventory of Adobe Photoshop brushes.  The site was created by Rohin Sharma, who was previously featured on this blog for SherifAbdou.com, a graphic design and computer arts website he co-created.

PHATBRUSH.COM "Mecca of Photoshop Brushes"

The Girls’ Guide to Guys: PUA Zen

I’ve been supporting responsible Pick Up as a method for guys to increase their confidence, understand the female psyche, and most obviously, to pick up girls.  This is based on the idea that men who use the systems devised by the many master pick up artists are using them in a way that benefits both themselevs and the target.  But people ask me, “How can you be so sure that that’s what’s really happening?”  “Can that kind of manipulation ever really be done with good intentions?”

There is certainly a place for those kinds of questions.  Because let’s face it, for every group of AFCs who gain a greater knowledge through PU, there will be a number of AFCs who do not understand that the game is not just play.  So what do girls do about this problem?  How do we deal with the fact that the player you’re talking to might not only be an illusionist, but also an illusionist who will let the magic fall at your expense? 

I do still think it is okay to be a PUA.  In fact, it could be deserving of applause.  It takes a lot of skill to learn the psychology of people; it is further very difficult for men to understand the psychology of the typical woman.  The fact that a guy would try to better his behaviours to win me over is flattering.  That a guy uses his brain in an analytical sense to understand makes him interesting.  However, PUAs who have succeeded in catching a target’s attention may fail to deliver his true self as “good”.  This is a common problem among even non-PUAs. 

PUAs are a special case of guy-girl interactions in that a PUA may not be all that interested in a girl for a non-shady relationship.  I think, though, PU would best serve the PUA as a means to initiate dialogue with a girl of interest for a relationship.  After a while, who needs PU?  The PUA has a person who he understands in multiple facets and the girl (target) has become invested in the PUA.  The principles of PU in understanding the other person are still useful, but the action of PU itself is no longer needed.

But what does a girl do when the PUA finally reveals his true self and he is not someone she could even be friends with?  This happens!  The PUA can declare inattention or neglect of the girl but is this a valid argument?  Maybe if the girl was kind of evil in that way that only other girls fully understand!  I think upon “getting” a girl, some guys forget when other girls rejected them.  The way in which girls reject girls and girls reject guys aren’t really all that different.  Phone calls aren’t returned, phone calls themselves stop.  You don’t look back at the other person, you find ways to avoid them in regular places.  You stop talking about them and try to disappear from their lives too.

Guys have a pretty standard way of dealing with this sort of nonverbal dumping.  They usually confront the girl or just let things be.  Confronting the girl means they get to figure out if she’s really not interested anymore.  Letting things be means they accept that things have fallen apart and don’t have much to say either.

Girls, on the other hand, make this situation so much more complicated.  We fret, we wait, we call, we pretend not to notice, and we wait some more.  There are those girls who simply accept the failure of any association with the guy, promptly forgetting him until they die.  But most girls aren’t like that.  We don’t like being rejected as much as, if not more than, guys.  This is only complicated by the fact that most guys will not actually tell a girl they are over her, they would rather let her figure it out (perhaps as he is also figuring it out).

//digression

Guys fear rejection at the very beginning, before anything real develops.  Girls fear rejection in the middle and end, when something very real has come about.

//digression

So instead of facing that the end is near, we deny that it is occurring.  Why?  Because as girls blame themselves.  No matter how much the guy did to mess things up and no matter how little the girl did to mess things up, girls who go out with a guy choose to go out with a guy.  A thousand thoughts run though our minds:  Maybe if I had asked you for less of your time?  Maybe if we spent more time together?  Maybe if I was less intelligent?  Maybe if I was more intelligent?  Maybe if I was funnier?  Maybe if I wore skirts more often? 

But none of these answer the question of why a girl is left hanging.  Probable categories of cause:

I.  One possibility is that both people aren’t that awesome.  If one less-than-average person meets another less-than-average person, one or both people will still tire of the other.  It doesn’t matter if both people are equally as sickeningly boring/ annoying/ evil.

II.  A second possibility is that the guy and girl are polar opposites that do not attract (anymore).  It happens and moving on is usually the best path in this case.

III.  A third possibility is that the girl is a massive *****.  Some girls are definitely like that.  Amen. 

IV.  The fourth possibility is that the guy is just an assclown (of some sort).  In situations where the girl is not mediocre and the guy is more…unpredictable, this is your best bet.

For girls whose circumstances do not meet criteria I – III, but lean towards criteria IV, there is a logical method to stop the drama.  The answer to PUA (and general guy) gone wrong, is in a book/ movie!  But more the book:

He’s Just Not that Into You (film, left and book by Greg Behrendt, right)

The book is more explanatory than the movie but the movie was hilarious.  It was also a click flick by all accounts but you know what?  It’s true.

Yeah, he might lose his phone a few times.  But really, if he wanted to call you he would call you.  Maybe he does need to spend more time with his brother/ mother/ father for the next few weeks.  But if he wanted to spend time with you, he’d force in an hour somewhere once a week.  He might not have dated before or think he’s too young to be married.  If you’ve been seeing him for months on end, he’d be dating you IF he wants to.  If you’ve been dating him for years, he’d marry you WHEN and IF he’s ready.

//digression

I find that girls choose a guy when it’s the right guy.  Guys choose a girl when it’s the right time.

//digression

If he’s not calling you, if he says he doesn’t have time for you, if he won’t date/ marry you, then guess what?  He doesn’t want to.  It’s plain and simple, which is why it can be so hard to accept.  How can guys who seem so interesting be so easy to understand?  Guys do play the Game and they probably can lie better than you, but the reasons they have for doing anything won’t have to be mapped into a casacding flow chart. 

From this logic, women can understand that no excuses are necessary and no persistence or pleading with the guy to “return” will work.  You simply cannot persuade someone to want to be with you or be with you in your time frame. 

This is the ”No Shit” kind of logic used by PUAs.  You respect yourself and you respect your partner.  If he doesn’t respect what you both usually see as the limit of responsbility towards each other, you need to change the only variable you can control –yourself.  Don’t change who you are if it doesn’t make you a better person.  Don’t do things that only prolong the inevitable if it must, in fact, end.  As the PUA would understand, useless one-itis never helped anybody.

My (Publicized) Demographics

I know I haven’t written in a very, very (very) long time!  I’m sorry.  School is the boss of me.

I will still try to write when I am able to do so and probably when you least expect it.  Anyways, I am interested to see what occupations my visitors have.  If you don’t have a job, you can tell me that too.  Of course, you could always lie too.  Please complete the poll below so I can satisfy my curiosity…

To quote Apu, “Thank you and please come again.”

Obama and Religion

During the democratic primaries, Obama was fighting rumors that he was both Muslim and that he sympathized with muslim terrorists.  Now that President Obama has taken office with the outstanding support of the world, Al Qaeda and other terrorists are finding it very difficult to make Obama a believable enemy of muslims and Arabs around the world. 

I didn’t get a chance to write on the blog during inaugural week but I would have said that this is a wonderful opportunity for Americans and all citizens of the world to realize a more peaceful future.  It is not a future without doubts or problems but it is certainly one that can be about the universality of humanity no matter where we live, what faith we follow, what we look like, or what we do.  The chance to do better  must come before something great can be done; the future is within ourselves.

On a lighter note, I made a comic!  Enjoy!

click image to enlarge

Writing for Tommy|Zor.com

I’ve been talking about Tommy|Zor for quite a while now but now you can consider me a writer for the site and not just a reader!  Go read the interview at http://www.tommyzor.com/articles/welcome-paperdreamer/ if you aren’t squeamish.  If you like it, please comment!

I’ll still be separately adding to my blog as well.  And hopefully soon…

The articles I write here versus there will depend on a  variety of factors, exclusive of bad time management and being beinbg forced to publish on one site over the other (as opposed to choosing so).

Guest Post on Sherif Abdou Design Blog

I wrote a guest post for the computer graphics and design blog, Sherif Abdou. I’ve recently gotten into vector design, using Adobe Illustrator. In the process of making a vectorized image, I read a lot of information from various sources. In my guest post, I outline the purpose of vector images vs pixel-based jpegs. Additionally, I direct readers to some of the best vector tutorials (step by step and examples), which show you how to create better vectors and what is possible given practice.

On my own, I tried to create a vector based on the image of Afgan Girl by Steve McCurry. This was an image on the July 1985 cover of National Geographic; it was a simple image that was incredibly effective in drawing attention to the horror of war in Afghanistan during the 1980’s. The girl herself became renowned globally for the power of her eyes in the photograph, despite no one knew her identity or location. In January 2002, Steve McCurry and a team from National Geographic found Sharbat Gula, the very likely subject of the 1985 photograph, in Afghanistan.

"Afghan Girl" (original) by Steve McCurry

Current Vector Image of "Afghan Girl"

Sherif Abdou is a blog that primarily presents topics like Adobe design software, web hosting, and general methods of improving your internet browsing. The site and its writing are a production of Rohin Sharma and Sherif Abdou. Some projects they have done in the past include the basic differences between different web browsers, understanding your sense of style as a graphic designer, and how to make your website better (by seeing how it could be flawed).

The Energy Crisis: Oil, Suburbia, and the American Dream

There’s a lot of buzz these days about the energy crisis and oil. In fact, this discussion is one with of mutual dependence and effect.  The impending shortage of oil and natural gas IS the energy crisis, especially in countries of the Western and developed world. The United States is possibly the best case of an increasing cultural addiction to natural gas. But why should we care?  We’re distracted enough from iPods and BMWs, television and music; where does the energy crisis fit into our lives? Petroleum and natural gas power our cars and our electricity; it makes our agricultural crops stronger and allows export of cheap foreign products.  The energy crisis is the reason for all our luxuries; the enetrgy crisis presents an inevitable end to a common affluence America has known for decades.

Without natural gas, Americans would live either in the industrial city or in the raw country, instead of the developments and suburbs that are the hallmarks of American living. Cars make this living arrangement possible:

In the early 1900’s the Industrial Revolution had resulted in these unhealthy, packed cities where thousands of people would live and work. There became a movement to want to live far away from the dirt and smoke, near the country without actually being exposed to the hardships of country living. The first people who could afford to live in developments were the well-to-do. Trolleys and rail cars were paid for by the developers of the communities to take the residents to and from the city. The land was largely still rural in character; the housing itself was beautiful and spacious. The suburbs in the beginning were not like the suburbs of today, which are only a pale imitation of life in the country.

From that time until the 1930’s great Depression, a housing boom that resulted in more people leaving the city. After WWII, the GI bill for returning soldiers held a provision for “no down payment to acquire a house in the new suburban subdivisions” (Keene). 13 million suburban houses were built in the 1950’s, of which 11 million were paid for by GI bill loans (The G). From that point, the suburbs weren’t just for the wealthy, they were for the middle class as well. In these communities, plans included a complete system of schools, stores, and homes. However, the decline of railcars gave way to the popularity of cars; people were able to live even further away from the city than ever before while maintaining a workplace there.

Suburbia

(Photo Link)

It is in the relevance of the suburban life to the use of cars that connects it to the looming energy and oil crisis. Individual transport is the main method of transport for those that live the suburban lifestyle; buses and trains are not a monetarily prudent choice in these relatively sparsely populated areas compared to the city. Every year, more and more cars are on the highways. You can get to Maine from Florida without ever leaving the highway! The Interstate Highway System was a major construction project, beginning from its conceptualization in 1939 by GM, that attests to America’s love affair with the car.

But can the Earth support this constant demand for oil? The biggest exporter of oil to the US is usually Canada at 14% (Oil industry Statistics), which might not seem like a lot. The problem is that “almost all of Canada’s energy exports go[es] to the United States” (Canada Energy Data, Statistics, and Analysis ) so we are effectively draining most of Canada’s oil resources. Most Americans know that one of the greatest amounts of recoverable oil on the planet is in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is “the world’s largest producer and exporter of total petroleum liquids” and has 20% of all proven oil reserves (Saudi Arabia Energy Data, Statistics, and Analysis). But how much oil is that? Many sources estimate the number of barrels or oil and natural gas that are still available in the reserves but is this really reliable? “[American] domestic oil reserves would be exhausted [by 2010] at the current rate of consumption” (The Coming Oil Crisis). According to experts, we have anywhere from 20 to 50 years before all oil has been depleted depending on the rate of consumption. Consumption, though, has only increased. As America went from small suburbs with identical home plans to opulent “McMansions”, complete with a pool and al the modern amenities and technology, so has our need for the natural gas and oil to support the functioning of such a lifestyle. To understand the oil dilemma, it is necessary to understand the dilemma of oil extraction:

Oil production occurs in a bell curve correlation (K Deffeyes). At a certain point, production will peak and after that point, the production will decrease, no matter what technologies are invented to refine extraction methods. Also, later oil that is extracted will be of lower quality and more difficult to extract (it is deeper in the ground). This means that oil will become increasingly less efficient to refine, yet more and more expensive to buy. According to M King Hubbert, the geologist who first predicted the Oil Peak in 1956, oil production peaked in the 1970’s. Due to the gas scarcity in the 1970’s it is likely that the peak was delayed until the 1990’s.

Hubbert Peak Oil

(Image Link)

Has the amount of oil in Saudi Arabia peaked? At this point, it is uncertain but it is very probable that it is true. If so, then it can be said that the world oil production, due to the importance of Saudi Arabia’s role in oil production and discovery, is also at a peak (Johnson, Crawford and Burger).

The oil we have today is not found in abundance; it is the remaining well of whatever we have devoured in the past. From a political standpoint, powerful countries realize that with oil comes power. Thus, the enduring military and political presence in the Middle East and influence in other countries of resource availability. The purpose of war in Iraq, as many people are aware of, is the need for oil to sustain the status quo in world powers and in national quality of life. There is the theory of WMD’s or of George W Bush’s personal grudge against Saddam Hussein; however, the magnetic hunger for oil alone is enough reason for the importance of Iraq to American interests.

So how can we make the future more reliably certain, instead of depending on a resource that is decreasing to sustain a quality of life that is only increasing in its demand? What is the reality behind these facts about the energy crisis?

A) American suburban culture does not allow us to walk as much as we drive. To drive less means to expend oil less. To do this, new developments must be made with the idea of self sufficiency and spatial efficiency in mind. Where there are strip malls, there should be multi purpose, multi level facilities for a given community.

B) We must be willing to walk places and use less individual transport. Cars are a defining American cultural artifact, originating and ubiquitous in the US.

C) We must find a better source of renewable energy. While it would be desirable to decrease petroleum and natural gas usage, it would be very important in the near future to totally stop all need for these resources at all. By 2030 (more optimistically, 2060), we will be faced with this reality whether we are prepared or not. If we look at the current alternative energy (ethanol, hydrogen, etc) today, they are all not as feasible as oil because they either (a) use oil/ natural gas as a prerequisite ingredient and/ or (b) are more energetically taxing to produce than their output offsets. These technologies only prolong the inevitable, they do not actually solve the energy crisis. To save the future, the world must find a new energy source or understand that the earth’s capacity to provide for our lifestyles will disappear within our lifetimes.

Oil powers our economy and it is the world economy. From pesticides to shipping fuels and electricity to cars, oil ensures that American life remain on a consistently increasing affluence that was not available to our parents. Unfortunately, the present irreplacability of this natural resource means that the same everyday luxuries we enjoy today may not exist for the next generation.

References:

Canada Energy Data, Statistics, and Analysis. United States Department of Energy. May 2008. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Canada/Background.html>

The Coming Oil Crisis. Ecosystems. << http://www.oilcrisis.com/>>

Johnson, Crawford, and Burger. Stategic Significance of America’s Oil Shale Resource: Vol I. US Dept of Energy: March 2004.

K Deffeyes. “Hubbert’s Peak”. 2008. << http://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/the-peak.html>>

Keene, Jennifer. Doughboys, the Great War and the Remaking of America. Johns Hopkins University: 2001.

Saudi Arabia Energy Data, Statistics, and Analysis. United States Department of Energy. August 2008. << http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Saudi_Arabia/Background.html>>

“The G”. The Brunswick School. <<http://www.wicknet.org/history/jbooth/CulturalStudies/ACS%20readings/The%20GI%20Bill%20Reading%202.doc>>

More Tetris!

I’m still not dead yet…for those of you who have been looked over in favour of my textbooks.  I promise I will resuscitate this blog (soon).  That will follow with an attempt at a social life.  Until then, I have tetris for good 10 minute breaks every 6 hours:

If you get a better score&level than me on freetetris.org, I will write a poem about you and glorify your genius.  Send in image verified (jpeg prnt scrn’s) to impulseout@gmail.com

This contest ends on 1 AM Friday, November 28, 2008.  Please don’t let the only eligible competitor be that weird kid who writes me about his blackhead pimples every week.

Musical Musings

In a return to music, which started with the VMA’s many weeks ago I’m surprisingly more into music than I was before.  Usually I have that excuse where school takes over my life and no more music can exist within the black hole.  And more blahblahblah stuff about being all fake-emo…

But yeah, besides the fact that I think Russel Brand is a little psychotic looking, music these days seems alright. I don;t even have an issue with his blatantly carefree talk about sex and politics at the event.  It can be sort of liberating among polished yet restrained humour.  aka Billy Crystal.

Brand looked way better before (right) he went insane (left).  But thats usually the case.

If anything, it just continuously gets more streamlined as time passes.  Whatever happened to grunge?

When I was leaving high school, I loved Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone.  Otherwise known as the Nu Ma Nu Ma song made even more famous by Gary Brolsma (Numa Numa Guy on youtube).

The official music video was basically three sketchy looking Euro guys — think manga!– trying not to fall off the wing of a plane.

I loved it so much it was my ringtone all through freshman year.  It was back when you could record stuff on your cell phone and make those your ring tones.  Many years ago…It was so awesome!  It used to always go off in calc class as I would always forget to silence it.  Luckily my calc teacher was Romanian (”Where is that coming from?  I like that song!”  *little dance*)

It’s kind of odd but even though it’s in Romanian, I can sing the whole song verbatim.

So there was a new song by TI and Rihanna , “Live Your Life” which started with the ma ya hi ma ya hoo sequence.  I was totally blown away.  Could it be?  More awesome randomness from the eastern front?

(2:06 begins the “Live Your Life” performance.  Beginning is a separate song by TI)

Well it wasn’t what I thought.  My wtf moment started when I say Rihanna with a hair spray solidified blonde curl reminiscent of John Travolta in Grease.

If anyone else had tried this, it would have failed worse than the Hindenburg. She's just too lovely to look sort-of-kind-of-a-little not very good.

abercrombie, anyone?

I mean I know Arsenium is a pretty boy, but why does he look like a bootylicious woman?  Oh…it’s Rihanna.

Anyways, yay! for music.  Besides all this, I’ve realized I really like Pink.  The only great song of hers I wasn’t horribly into was “Who Knew.”  In fact, I’ve always liked Pink.  Kind of like how I like Pearls Before Swine.  I don’t actively love her music, like those people who keep obsessing about Linkin Park (see comments on the Linkin Park page).  I just know I like Rat and Pig; I don’t think about it.  I quietly rejoice in their sadistic misadventures.  Ah Zebra, will you never let your stupid crocodile neighbours eat you?

I sing songs by Pink when no one can hear me.  Preferably soundproof.  But alas I lack the amazingly cool rasp in her voice.  I used to think that she looked like she was on drugs most of the time?  It was probably just an image thing.  But still, she tends to look way more sober and happy now.

reminds me of Fergie sometimes. Sometimes..

Those music people…

I Am Alive!

It’s a poll.  Take it.

Please.

It’s been a long time since my last post (again) but before you swing that hate mail at me, I have the immunity of schoolwork.  Somehow that excuse seems to get me out of everything.  And this time was basically spent at the library, where my eyes start to glaze over in a manner rivalling the most freshly baked Krispy Kreme doughnut.  The worst is the time between extreme drowsiness and actually givign in, when my eyes get these red veins wrapping my eyeballs.  Other people would just have said “blood shot eyes” but I’ve been writing and readign so much, everything has to be elaborated upon.

I’m not a crazy library resident by any means, though.  I eat lunch.  With other people.  And sometimes I even just sit on the lawn for no reason.  Because school and my effort are very important for my future but I think…one day, this won’t be here anymore.  And in those times, I just like to sit with the wind and watch the clouds pass by.  Every year seems to get more and more hectic.  I have no time to waste in analyzing whether I should do one thing or the other, so I just do them all.  But it just makes me think, what happens when I leave this university?  What will be my burden then?  I think while in some ways, things get easier when you are out in the Real World, things also get much more difficult.  There’s just a different dynamics of what is important; university is just a practice of learning how to manage life and work.

I remember when I was a kid, the world was only as big as my family and my friends.  Nothing existed outside of this circle.  The government, other countries, growing up:  they were all an illusion and had no significance for me.  But now that I’m older, all these things are very real for me.  In one way, I’ve lost the simplicity that comes with beign a child.  There are now worries about my world and the world at large.  I understand the weight of my responsibility for everything I have and do not have.  At the same time, I have gained a great thing.  I have earned the complexity of living, not just of life.  All the awareness I have found is like a sort of poison that we all swallow.  We gain a certain immunity from taking in this intoxicating experience, which is proportional to our strength.  I can be sad that I have realized the need to worry about soemthing, but I can also be happy in that I am finding there is more to life and not less.

Tetris

Now that midterms have started, I have been getting way too into tetris.  Help me….

Freshman Year: A Second Puberty

It’s fall season again!  School is starting again and of course, I increase my sense of disdain towards the freshman.  For them, university life has barely started; right now is just an extension of high school.

The girls come to class in their neon coloured sleeveless shirts and light wash mini skirts holding together their little girl legs.  The guys are into the loud voices and the pretense of being all badass about finally being able to attend frat parties.  These kids are haven’t let go of the need for lunchroom cliques and they might even mistakenly believe that you also don’t need to study to get good marks in university.

They don’t see the ugly until maybe mid October.  Around the 15th of every October (maybe Halloween if the incoming class is especially aesthetically gifted), the adolescent facade of the fresahman class starts to fall away.  It’s less common for the Asian students but even they become significantly less “together”.  Somewhere between the freshman 15 and the lack of time to put together cutesy outfits of the matchy-matchy variety, the freshman undergo a major change in their perception of school and how to go through it.

They stop being perky and optimistic to become fatalistic and bitter.  Maybe it’s just the prevalence of Adderall use at JHU?  Or is it the overindulgence in the vente-mocha-caramelato-death-by-chocolate-with-mint-and-fudge-flavoured-shots?  Followed by the triple chocoalet cheesecake on phyllo bread? These aren’t really necessary; I think the constant workload is enough to kill the spirit of all but the least weakly constituted.  When you’ve been doing calculus for three days until the dump trucks arrive at dawn the next day, when you can no longer differentiate when one day ends and the next ends, you do 2 things:

(a) start wearing pajamas everywhere.  They might not always be fresh.  They might not even be your pajamas.

(b) caffeine pills?  Who needs a drug dealer when you can buy it from the bookstore!

(c) actually carry your books everywhere.  No more of that tote bag crap.  Maybe if you are in a sorority, where old exams are passed around.  Among other things.  (This is totally a joke.  If you are in a sorority, don’t kill me.  Except for those Delta girls, which isn’t even a real sorority.  This joke also does not apply to the Kappa girls, who I hear are the nerdiest ones.  I hear one sorority has those pink tote bags — no matter what sorority you’re in, those greek letters stamped on your body are like a giant billboard –> Lick here

That part was not a joke.)

Sometimes, you can watch the evolution of a freshman if you live near them and it just makes you smile.  Sometimes the coverup doesn’t work and you end up laughing very unattractively.  In any case, the key/ card lanyard weighting down their neck is usually a dead giveway.

I know it’s evil but I’m slightly amused how so little time away from parental control results in a mass behavaioral and physical change in people.

A List of Three

I was tagged by Dee

3 Joys

1. people who are important to me
2. arting
3. sudoku

3 Fears

1. not succeeding
2. drowning
3. debilitating fall from a great height

3 Goals

1. do well in school–> blah blah and then towards big picture goal
2. get over taste aversion to bananas
3. design and code a valid website with php, mysql, and css

3 Current Obsessions

1. oil paint
2. web design
3. finding jeans where the hip area does not gape open

3 Random/Surprising Facts

1. normal people actually read my blog.  I used to be afraid the stats would just be me checking my site without signing in.
2. I am still alive.  I’ve made it past childhood, adolescence, and that weird phase when college starts.  Statistic anomaly?  In more ways than one.
3. I love plane rides.  Except for the first time because I threw up an orange, which I take to be a sign.

I tag these people.  I’m not sorry, either.

Amber

Compose-Analysis

Fredison

Herding Scapegoats

Tatum

Halftone Inspired Header in Photoshop

Tommy|Zor is an awesome humour website so I am using it as the subject of my tutorial.

(original site header)

We’ll take this header and create a new one with our creativity like this:

1. Create a new document

2. Use the Text Tool to create a text box that spans the width of the document. Type in some text with the following font settings:

Font: Beware

Font Style: Regular

Font Size: 72 (or whatever fits)

Colour: Black

You can get the Beware font by Dale Thorpe on http://simplythebest.net/fonts/fonts/beware.html