30.8.07

my weird habits : number one


Number One : Playing with words or small phrases in my head.

I've had this habit for nearly as long as I can remember. I don't know exactly when or why it started but I have a vague memory of the period in my life. Basically, I might take a short sentence (it could be anything) and count the number of leters in it. Even numbers or numbers besides prime numbers are good. Then I'll chop it up into smaller and smaller bits, repeat parts backwards and try saying the word (or part of word) as though it can still be said and understood but with fewer letters (usually omitting vowels first and leaving the strongest consonant til the end). I'm so 'skilled' at it that the process is pretty quick for me but to include it all here will take ages so the following example is only a fraction of the entire event.

Example Word (but could be a sentence): 'I saw the elephant' (15 letters)
Thus: I saw t (5) - he ele (5) - phant (5)
Then: I saw t
»is, si, s, s
» isa, asi, sa, as, s, s
» wt, tw, t, t,
»awt, twa, wt, tw, t, t,
And so on...

It will even go a step further than this to the point that there's no letters left, just a mere grunt in my head (a sound that is supposed to mimic the absence of sound), and this is usually repeated backwards as well. ie. er, er. Am I CRAZY or WHAT!?

crazy, yzarc, crzy,yzrc, crz, zrc, cz, zc, z, z...

person of colour


I think my eyesight is undergoing some sort of visual morphogenesis.

I've been staring at and comparing photos on a number of stock websites for the last few days and in the process, I think my vision has become more refined somehow. Colours seem to have taken on a different life. I seem to be able to differentiate between variations in colours more and able to pick up the different hues.

For example. I might have looked at the colour blue and thought '-that's the colour blue. It's a dark blue, like the sky at night. But it's blue anyway.' But now, that colour blue is more like '-yeah, it's blue but it's also got a shade of purple in it. Perhaps it's one part red, 999 parts blue'.

Ok, perhaps not that specific but definitely more refined. Another example - my USB is red. It's always been red. But then I picked it up and thought '-hang on - that's not really the red I remember. It's more of an orange.'

Or am I kiddng myself? maybe the world is actually fading.

20.8.07

this day today

Today I began what's going to be a few weeks of design work by heading into the city and doing some research for imagery and font treatments. It's nice to be able to do things in my own time (and be paid for it) though a little isolated which is why I don't want to be freelancing full time.

I spent some time in Gloria Jeans in Borders flicking through How Magazine with my grubby fingers, and then upstairs in one of the lounges looking through A Smile In The Mind - a classic design book on the use of 'wit' in design (Note to self: must purchase). However, this guy came and sat next to me and he either flatulated (often) or that was his natural musk. And he had the nerve to hold his nose despite no one else being in the vicinity who it could have been other than he (and not I). I had to move.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it but I'm addicted to some of the applications in Facebook, especially Graffiti. I spend more time on Graffiti drawing computer generated crap than I should. If only doing some 'real' art on a 'real' canvas was so easy. And I'm also stuck on the Travel IQ Challenge - I even bought a massive National Geographic map from the Map Shop today. Maybe I'm reconnnecting with (or perhaps feeding the already existent) geek in me.

I'm also looking to buy a portfolio from Zetta Florence for Lifewise Client Testimonials. It's probably up there with THE best shop in Melbourne.

Thanks to CB I now know how to add links so I'll get to that and jazz things up a bit. It might take me some time coz I'd like to go over my past posts to link from them too. And I'm also trying to work out how to get my text shortcuts working on here - not sure Safari (on my mac) supports this (((((((( CB )))))))) echo....echo....cho...o.

18.8.07

body mysteria or down the rabbit hole.


Having worked in health I've come across some rare diagnoses and I've always been interested in the odd, the macabre and the mystery of our biology. My list of weird disorders that fascinate me (reasons vary):

1. Cotard's Syndrome (The "walking corpse" disorder)
In this, deluded persons think they have lost body parts or their souls, and often believe they have died.

2. Kleinfelter's Syndrome
I like pronouncing the name. Males have an extra X sex chromosome. The principal effect is abnormal testicular/penal development and reduced fertility. A variety of other physical and behavioral differences and problems are common, including a feminine appearance and gynocomastia (man boobs).

3. PKU (Phenylketonuria)
A genetic disorder that is characterized by an inability of the body to utilize the essential amino acid, phenylalanine. Characteristics include failure to attain early developmental milestones, microcephaly (small head), progressive impairment of cerebral function, hyperactivity, EEG abnormalities and seizures, severe mental retardation. A "musty" odour of skin, hair, sweat and urine (due to phenylacetate accumulation); and a tendency to hypopigmentation (loos of skin colour) and eczema are also observed.

4. Body Dysmorphia (extreme cases)
In the extreme case, people believe that certain parts of their body are not their's (more than just self denial the part actually feels foreign). People with this disorder may go to bizarre lengths to remove the part including self amputation.

5. Alice-in-Wonderland Syndrome
A persons sense of time, space and body image are distorted. People may appear tiny or patients may feel that part of their body shape or size has been altered.

6. Factitious Disorder (Munchausen Syndrome)
People deliberately exaggerate and/or fabricate and/or induce physical and/or psychological-behavioral-mental health problems in themselves. The primary purpose of this behavior is to gain some form of internal gratification, such as attention, for themselves.

7. Munchausen By Proxy
Following on, this is where caretakers (mothers and others) deliberately exaggerate and/or fabricate and/or induce physical and/or psychological-behavioral-mental health problems in others (again for their own needs to seek attention)

8. Hydrocephalus (Water on the Brain)
Marked by a build up of CSF in the brain, it is characterized by a large head. I like the word as well as the word 'shunt' (which are used to relieve fluid inside the head).

9. Synesthesia
The strange mixing of senses such that spoken words might taste like food or letters have colours.

There's so many more but this'll do for now...

16.8.07

o.f.

my rules for blogging

1. I will not mention family, friends, acquaintances or the associations of others by name, only by initial.
2. I will not knowingly offend others (but, I can offend myself).
3. I will be as honest about myself as I can be.
4. I will maintain this blog as a way of recording thoughts, images, favourite sites and to network with others. And whilst this
blog will always remain in view of the public, that is not what will drive the content.
5. I will make this blog available to anyone who wishes to link to it (but why they would want to is anyone's guess).
6. I will write freely, when and as I wish.

it's decided!

I've decided to settle on sticking to plain old caps where applicable. There is a reason we use caps after all. Looking through my past few blogs I've noticed how 'flat' the text becomes when there's no real punctuation. Plus its kind of weird when you refer to yourself with a no-capped 'i' - feels a tad disempowering. One thing though - just for fun, I'm going to keep titles all in no caps.

I went and saw 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry' today. I give it two sticky dates out of five. It was pretty lamo. It had its moments, but overall, the humour seemed early 80's. However, I've always been a big fan of Jessica Biel. Seeing her in this movie was worth the fifteen bucks! (as well as the abuse I took from an old Italian guy on marion road as he stepped out in front of my car).

15.8.07

one door closes...

I've got some good design work coming up in the next few weeks which should keep me busy and improve the cash flow. Thanks to BW I'll be working on the Syntony CD as well as more forms, website, testimonials book, newsletter and promo material for Lifewise Network Care, Adelaide. I can't wait to get immersed in it.

Notice I've gone back to caps - I'm just gonna see how this one turns out. I'm not sure why this has become such an issue. Maybe it's my OCD. I'll talk more about that later. I mean Later. Later. Show me all the blueprints!

'g'

i love g. it's a friendly critter and it looks good. it's particularly handsome in serif and depending on the font, often has a quirky little 'ear.' it's better left undressed and sits well on its own. it's in god, it's in good, it's in g-string. twice! g.

i'll be capped!

i dont know whether to start my sentences with caps or no caps. i kind of like the simplicity of typing without using shift but is that just lazy? it looks ok without any caps on here but could become a bit confusing for the layman. better sort this one out quick cos i'm beginning to like being on here (despite the fact that nobody's listening)

moving again

after living in a unit for the last two months i've decided to move again. actually, it's about fifty percent my decision and fifty percent the decision of my bank account.

things have been a bit uneasy of late on the employment front. my contract has finished in one of my government jobs and in my other design job, the work is pretty thin and i've been geeting paid (very) infrequently. so that, along with the barrage of trucks outside my door and the posse of possums rooting on the roof has forced my hand. honestly though, living on a main road felt like i was camping out in a truckies brothel. so today i thought sod it - i'm getting out of here! back to the folks house and move number twenty or there abouts - that's about once every one and a half years!

how do i stop my mum from washing my underwear though? do i let her continue with the chore thinking maybe she needs to do it to feel like she's still fulfilling a motherly role. thus, am i doing her a service every time i fling my undies around the bathroom floor?

14.8.07

the whole 9

i've gone blog crazy. i just joined this new blog site as well www.thewhole9.com . i found it through another favourite, www.zaadz.com . the whole 9 is a site for creatives who want to meet up and share art or something a little more exotic... i couldn't see any aussies on there though.

the top 107 things to do before i die

not an exhaustive list by any means:

Travel
1. Visit South America including Inca and Aztec ruins (South America)
2. Drink Saki under Cherry Blossoms in Japan (Japan)
3. Eat a baguette with cheese and wine by the Eiffel Tower (France)
4. Make love in a yert (Mongolia)
5. Get hammered in a Spanish Village (Spain)
6. See the Pyramids (Egypt)
7. Go on a week (minimum) bike tour (TBA)
8. Honour the Anzacs in Turkey (Turkey)
9. Climb to Everest Base Camp (Nepal)
10. Listen to local music and smoke a Cuban in a club in Cuba (Cuba)
11. Soak up art and culture in Italy (Italy)
12. Build a snowman in Canada (Canada)
13. Learn more about Gross National Happiness in Bhutan (Bhutan)
14. Traverse Scandinavia (Fin, Den, Swed, Nor & Iceland)
15. Snowboard in Japan (Japan)
16. See Panda Bears in the wild in China (China)
17. Spend a night on the ocean
18. Ride on the roof of a train
19. Climb Uluru
20. Take a houseboat trip on the Murray
21. Trek through Tasmania
22. Spend a week in a monastery
23. Visit the Blue Mountains
24. Drink Vodka in Russia
25. Travel First Class somewhere
26. Fly in a blimp
27. Take a morning flight in a hot air balloon
28. Fly in a helicopter
29. Stay in a 6 star resort

Health & Fitness
1. Stand up on a surfboard
2. Ride a bike in a pellaton
3. Weigh 68kgs at <12% bodyfat
4. Be comfortable walking around in the nude/in my own skin
5. Experience an all day pampering and not feel guilty
6. Be able to run comfortably for an hour
7. Have an acupuncture session

Extreme
1. Skydive
2. Get a tattoo
3. Go out all night and then go direct to work
4. Go to a forest ‘rave’ party
5. Go upside down in an aeroplane
6. Ride in an Army Tank
7. Camp alone in the wild
8. Get a BS&C Wax
9. Skinny dip in the ocean
10. Learn to ride a motorbike
11. Bungi Jump
12. Try bobsledding

Spirituality
1. Feel accomplished at Yoga
2. Write / publish my views into a book
3. Take part in a sweat lodge
4. Have a personal mission statement - stand by it/revise if necessary

Knowledge
1. Have 1000 books in my collection that I’ve read
2. Speak a foreign language and use it in its country of origin
3. Learn the basics of motor mechanics
4. Know 50 fonts
5. Know and locate all of the countries of the world
6. Build a noteworthy collection

The Environment
1. Plant 10’000 trees
2. Swim with a dolphin
3. Be carbon neutral
4. Hug a tree
5. Go bird watching
6. Take part in a protest

People and Community
1. Write a fan letter
2. Give blood
3. Give a gift to a stranger
4. Give a homeless guy a meal
5. Prepare a three-course dinner for friends
6. Shout a group of friends to dinner and not care about the costs
7. Provide a bed to a stranger
8. Support and work with a foreign agency to build shelter
9. Pay an excessively large tip to someone
10. Join a special interest group
11. Have a family and be a good father
12. Study and use an energetic healing technique on others
13. Start a charitable group with friends
14. Understand my family origins
15. Take part in a progressive dinner
16. Design an elaborate santa hoax for my kids
17. Send a dozen red roses to my beloved

Home
1. Design my own house/buy a house and do it up how I want it

Creativity
1. Host my own exhibition
2. Have design work published in a magazine
3. Write and record my own song
4. Write and direct my own short movie
5. Post up a stencil in a public place
6. Build a small room from stone, wood and mud
7. Throw a pot on a wheel
8. Write a short novel
9. Publish a self-made magazine
10. See a ballet performance
11. See a cirque du soleil act
12. Sing solo in frint of a group of people (karaoke?)
13. Build something beautiful out of wood
14. Build an axe from raw materials
15. Be proficient at a musical instrument
16. Learn to make espresso
17. Have an illustrated character published online/in print
18. Re-learn the piano
19. Bake a cake

Miscellaneous
1. Sit on a jury
2. Keep a pet goldfish
3. Have a party trick

Experiences you don’t ask for but would love to have:
1. Save a life
2. Deliver a baby
3. Have an NDE

13.8.07

how long will this last?

first entry and i have to wonder how long will this last?
i've started a blog here before - i'm sure its still idling in cyberspace somewhere.
and i've done zaadz and i've done myspace and i've done facebook.
all too many to maintain!
so how long will this one last?
check back in a week.