Three alpha tiles

So I'm working on Design Brief #1 and found some great designs I'd love to attempt. The pictures were found from http://www.pophamdesign.com/gallery.php and I think these patterns will be easily morphed into an alphabetical feature.
I may be doing this wrong, but these are the three tiles I'd like to achieve for this brief.





Tile 1 is beautiful in itself but I'd love to recreate it in W's. Since it'll be in black and white, I think it'll be great if I made larger W's, maybe in a different design or different shaping, to give the tile the same affect as the floor on the wall. I feel like this would be really neat as a tiled bench in a zoo, in a new part where displays of non-fiction about the animals help visitors think about the animals in different ways. It could be placed near Zebras, since that's the affect I feel it'll give.



Tile 2, while in color, I think it could be great in black and white in O's on the kitchen wall of a poet’s house. I would love to create the chain-affect but make it on a smaller scale. Different shades of gray would also give it more character. This would show off the kitchen, as well as give the affect that the person living there is artistic in all aspects of their lives.



Finally Tile 3 would be great in black and white in use of the walls of a new Milwaukee light transit station, meant to make the large blank wall appealing to quickly passing commuters. I think it'll be slightly trippy when made with L's. I get a Tetris feel from this design and I think, even though it'll be rectangular in L's, it'll be super neat while put together with blacks, whites and shades of gray. This would look cool in a transit station. It would let people have something to look at while waiting for their commute, and it would allow those sitting for a short time to try to find designs in the shapes.

Repurposing a sweater and what to do with a leechy nalgene

So I spent two days taking a sweater apart so I can wear it again. It was a lot of hard work and I was covered in red schnibbles of yarn but I'm officially done with getting it all taken apart and whatnot.

So what do you get when you take a long sleeved Mossimo sweater apart?



6 balls of varying sizes of red machine-washable yarn.
Now I have no idea what to make out of it.

Also, here's what I did with my old Nalgenes because I got an amazing Sigg bottle:



Along with all my other fun effects on my landing-pad upon entering my bedroom, I re-purposed my green nalgene into a needle holder. I put all my knitting needles (I just started my own collection... I'd been using my mom's before so I decided to start buying my own) and my crochet hooks (again... I'm starting my collection) as well as my chopsticks (for my hair).

It finally dawned on me last night that I can use them for that purpose because I've always thought I'd been losing a pair of needles and I don't have a bag for them because I like displaying them and/or they're always in use so... yeah... That's one way to repurpose your old Nalgenes!

I digress

So... I'm working on some novel ideas for a publishing class and we had to come up with two novel ideas and I'm looking for some feedback on the ideas I came up with. We only needed to come up with two so... yeah.
They're very rudimentary and choppy... and probably not meant to be read right now but I needed to get them out there...

"27 to Life"
I get almost a sick sense of hilarity when I tell people 'My father killed a woman 6 years ago' but it's how I deals with the every day.

At 12, my parents separated because my father found someone 'new' whom he decided he loved more than my mother.

The day was July 3, 2002. my mom and I had come home from a good day when the phone rang. My mother got to the phone first.

"Colleen's dead!"

...I sunk into the chair behind me and immediately sobbed out "my daddy's a murderer."

The phone rang that night. I was in mom's room. Dad was on the other line and he wanted to talk to me. I cried harder than I ever have in my life. He said nothing more than 'I'm sorry' while I held so tight onto a teddy bear that I thought it would rip in half.

When I found out that my father was a man who killed the woman whom he loved at one point, but then 'wanted to make her feel the pain she had made him feel' I knew that I was no longer 'daddies little girl' but the daughter of a man who I didn't want to be associated with for the rest of my life.

What kept me together was therapy and my horse, Reno. Until Dad sold Reno to pay the government, because it costs the government money to keep an inmate in jail while they wait for sentencing.

it took 9 months for David Throm to reach a sentence. The trial was postponed twice.

Life.
Am I a horrible person to say I was glad?



And....

"Jesus Fakes"

My father was one of those people who was either too stingy to give money to the Church or he truly did believe that God was intended to be free and one shouldn't be forced to go to church to believe in God. In either case, I never went to Church, never had 'the word' instilled in me, and never really cared either way until the day I had to actually think about the things I wasn't caring about and had to start faking my way into the world which some people were completely brainwashed.
I became one of the self-proclaimed "Jesus-Fakes," a brand of people who faked religion while working around a group of people who believed so deeply in Christ that every day was an amazing feat of fallacy. From an owner/boss who spoke in tongues to many fellow Jesus Fakes who couldn't quite fake it as well as I could, the quaint Christian coffee shop where Switchfoot could frequently be found blaring from the speakers because I couldn't stand any other kind of "God is Great" music was full of antics that any kind of God-faker could be made a believer.

soon to come updates

Now that life has finally stopped flying at 8 thousand miles an hour, I have some time to breathe.

Sadly, I have very little to report to you, my small following of readers. My life is amazingly boring when taking a full course load and working most of my free time.

We The Living released their newest album, "Depths of the Earth" on December 9. I'll be making an update on their album, which I've listened to a few times and love.

Fall Out Boy's "Follie A Deux" was released (or leaked, I'm not sure...I found a stream of it) and I'm sorry, but you're not going to like what I have to say.

Mae has been quietly attempting to rebuild what they lost about a year ago by starting a grassroots following via e-mail. January 1 signifies a new release of music. I'll periodically be updating you.

I'm seeing "Wicked" in Chicago on January 8, just two weeks before its finale night. It'll be the first time I see this Tony-winning show so I expect it to be nothing but amazing.

I've also made some new discoveries, though they're old: Audrye Sessions' "Braille," The Format very quietly released "B-Sides and Rarities" and Valencia's freshman album "This Could Be a Possibility."

All in due time.

Keane- Perfect Symmetry

Keane, a piano-rock band from Battle, East Sussex, UK have finally come out with their third album, “Perfect Symmetry” and, as much as I really want to like every song on the album, some of them leave me wishing there was more effort put into it. The first four songs lack the amazing quality that I know Keane has, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it.

The album starts with their first single, “Spiralling” which I’m told sounds like “Electric Feel” by MGMT. Not a big fan of MGMT, I beg to differ. Keane have clearly branched into a new era, using more computer songs to add to their piano and drum sound. The songs have more oomph than previous albums, “Under the Iron Sea” and “Hopes and Fears” but when Tom Chaplin goes off on a tangent asking…
Did you wanna be a winner?
Did you wanna be an icon?
Did you wanna be famous?
Did you wanna be the president?
Did you wanna start a war?
Did you wanna have a family?
Did you wanna be in love?
Did you wanna be in love?
…I got a little irked at the uselessness of the part of the song. The questions don’t even really make much sense to begin with. He seems to have just thrown them in because there was open space to sing it.

The second single, “Lovers are Losing” is up next. The song has a bit of an 80s feel, which can be said about a majority of the album but the lyrics are so good that it makes up for the annoying ABBA quality the song has.

“Better Than This” make me want me to applaud Tom for his vocals but “Better Than This” seems so out of place in the album. The Moog usage is very hard to get over and it detracts from the music.

“You Haven’t Told Me Anything” reminds me so much of “Under the Iron Sea.” I’m very glad they decided to add it to the album. It definitely compliments it and allows long-time fans to remember the way they were.

“Perfect Symmetry” is quite possibly the most amazingly heart-wrenching song I’ve heard in a long time, and that includes “Bedshaped” from “Hopes and Fears.” “Who are you, what are you fighting for/ Holy truth, brother I chose this mortal life/lived in perfect symmetry” and “I dream in emails, worn out phrases/ mile after mile of empty pages” resonate through the perfectly chosen vocals and piano and can make anyone fall in love with the song.

“You Don’t See Me” reminds me of something one would hear on a Disney movie, “Again & Again” takes us back to the 80s but then takes previous fans back to Hopes and Fears. “Playing Along” takes the album for a dive and “Pretend that You’re Alone” and “Black Burning Heart” don’t really help to save it. If they dropped the 80s techno licks, the songs would have much more power. All the extra noise detracts from Tom’s voice, Tim Rice-Oxley’s piano and Richard Hughes’ drums. “Black Burning Heart” makes up for it with amazing lyrics but Keane are known for amazingly pithy and deep lyrics.

The album ends with “Love is the End,” a slow song with just the three guys, no extra stuff added. It’s simple and ends the album with a sweet note.

Yes, lets stay out until 1 a.m. and then work at 8 that morning!

The Involuntary Movement tour came to the Midwest and it seemed that no one in Chicago was going to miss it. So we paid the $2.50 for tolls and finally got to see the show my friend and I had been awaiting for months. Regardless of the fact that the tour didn’t make it to Milwaukee, the money and time I spent getting to see The Matches, The Status and Valencia opening for Bayside was well worth it (and that includes the sore throat from all the screaming).

The show started with The Status, which I only got to see a few of their songs, but I was pleasantly surprised since there’s been some bad luck with tour-mates for the bands I go to see. The Status has a Mae-like feel and sound. The lead singer was very clear and, other than feeling the bass throughout my entire body, I could hear each part individually. The guys weren’t over the top but they had just enough to keep the crowd interested and alive.

Valencia came next to the stage and I, again, was very happy to hear that there was another good band on this tour. Let me tell you though, when you’re on the outskirts, you tend to get pushed around and not in a good way. Bruised pride and shins aside, Valencia did a lot to get the audience into the music and bassist George Ciukurescu even began crowd surfing during one of their final songs. I got a great deal on their latest album, recently released called “We All Need a Reason to Believe.” Those 11 tracks are definitely as great as what I heard from the stage and I’m interested to see what they can do in the future.

This was the first time I was able to see the new Matches; with bassist Dylan Rowe taking the place of Justin San Souci who left the band earlier this season. Dylan fit perfectly with the guys and I was very pleased at how great of a bassist he is.
Guitarist Jon Devoto broke one of the fingers on his left hand about a a month and a half ago, forcing him to learn how to play the guitar on one hand and he did it flawlessly. I was amazed at how well he played the pieces during their set and during the acoustic set which occurred after the concert was over which included "Scratched Out" from their first album "E.Von Dahl Killed The Locals" and "Salty Eyes" from "Decomposer."

There were two parts of this set that I enjoyed so much. We saw the set list earlier than the show when guitar tech Ben Young was sitting by the Merch table and had it just lying on the table. It didn't have one of my favorite songs, "What Katie Said" on it so we assumed they wouldn't be playing it. Little did we realize that after singing "Point Me Toward the Morning" off their third album, "A Band In Hope," we were excited when they started singing the song. It got the crowd riled up and Shawn even broke into Spanish, saying "muchacha" in his attempt to sing the song in spanish. I've heard him sing it before and it was just as much of a thrill this time around.

Another surprise to the set list was during the last song, "Papercut Skin," near the end, they slipped into "Between Halloweens" mixing their second and third albums. It was fantastic and I'd never heard something like that done before at all the concerts I've been to.

Bayside came next and, it may have been where I was in the venue or that I didn't know their music, but I couldn't hear anything of this band I'd never heard before. The foursome, from Bayside, Queens, New York, which is where their name originates, recently released their newest album "Shudder" at the end of September and it seemed that they played every song from that album and then some. The set lasted for what seemed like more than an hour yet the fans never wavered and it wasn't until after the band finally finished did I see even the smallest crowd of people outside the staged area.

I would highly suggest that you check out these bands and keep track of when they'll be visiting the area again. Most definitely they are great bands to be watched over the next seasons to see if they can come up with something equally as great as they've already done.

Plain White T's- Big Bad World

I became a fan of Plain White T’s two years ago, when Every Second Counts just came out. I instantly fell in love with the melodic sounds of frontman Tom Higgenson and the angry break-up songs which always had a way of making you feel better, as if you had gone through that pain, and I even liked Hey There Delilah, before it blew up over the radio. I was a fan of the band before all the youngin's learned who they were and I enjoyed the low-key feel they had. I’m still a closet fan (I guess not so closet anymore…) but when Big Bad World came out, I was just so disappointed while listening to the album that I’ve all but lost my faith in them. It’s Infinity on High all over again.

I didn’t want to make this a mean review of Plain White T’s fifth album but I felt like I was watching a kids show while listening to Big Bad World. If they had done something more like what they’d previously done, it would have been much better and they would have received a much better response from their long time fans.

The album opens with "Big Bad World" which makes me want to watch High School Musical or something one would find on early Saturday morning kids television.

"Natural Disaster" and "Serious Mistake" are a couple of those songs that are just so bad that they never leaves your head. I kept hoping without payoff that it would get better.

"Rainy Day" gives the listener a relief of bad music by reverting to their previously tried and true options. I almost left the album on repeat so I wouldn't have to bear any further pain. It's too bad I didn't.

"1,2,3,4" sounds like a bad Beatles' cover and it's just not that well-done of a song. The backup vocals are nice but the song is just so cheezy and over-done that I felt like I've heard it from 10 other pop artists before.

"That Girl" and "Sunlight" are just badly composed and finished. "That Girl" says nothing of substance and it's a song that not even kids shows would put into their repertoire. "Sunlight" starts off with a flat thud and stays sad and nonplus.

"I Really Want You" takes us back to another attempt at becoming The Beatles again and again, fails to make the grade. "Meet Me In California" has its moments where it's good but it's not when anyone is singing. The guitar parts are well done but it could have been put to a different song. Something with more power would make it a much better song, quite possibly a hit.

"Someday" is the other good song of the album, making the "good song count" finish at two. It's a good song and it reminds me of their previous albums but with 80 percent of the songs not being good enough to want to listen to again, "Big Bad World" bites the big one.