Fangirl Adventures

Most Attractive Female 2011 Nominees

2012-01-22T22:05:00.000-08:00

Since I posted up the gentleman, it is only fair that I post up the ladies. Hello Magazine (A Brit magazine) is having a most attractive woman contest for 2011. There are 12 choices of most attractive and I didn't agree with any of them. So here are my suggestions instead:

In case you don't recognize her, she played "The Woman" in Season 2 of BBC's Sherlock

If you don't recognize her, she's the Tardis in Doctor Who.

(Yes, American, but still....)

I hope this satisfies all my readers with both posts. I realize it is only three, but I'm picky. I have to think you are awesome as a whole and not just a pinup. These ladies rock their roles plus of course, they all have serious geek cred just like the boys.

Most Attractive Male 2011 Nominees

2012-01-22T21:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Magazine (A Brit magazine) is had a contest for Most Attractive Male back in 2008 which I blogged once before. Of the nominees for 2011, I agree with 3 of the 12. The ones I agree with:

I feel they should have also included the below since all of these choices are from somewhere under the reign of her majesty not to mention in the same league as the above:

(bit of a cheat here since he is only half Irish and born in Germany, but lives in London)

Now clearly this isn't of all time, but just in 2011, but I think my picks to choose from are better and the old standards. I thought I would share.

And yes, I clearly have a type.

Resolution Follow Up - Week #3

2012-01-22T20:51:00.000-08:00

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after three weeks.

**Valid Excuse: Seattle got hit with a massive snow storm. I've been stuck in the house from Wednesday to Saturday. **

Health Category:

Take a yoga class - once a week

I wasn't able to make it to yoga or the gym at all this week. I did use my flash cards and tried to stretch a little.

Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)

When I stocked up on food, I found some pre-cooked chicken tenders in the freezer section. I made a honey mustard sauce and severed it over spinach with some fresh mushrooms. It will be added to the regular rotation. I also went to a sushi place I have been wanting to try in Northgate.

Reading Category:

25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books
Running total: 4/25 Books (1/6 of the BBC books)

I actually read two books this week. I finished "The Nerdist Way" by Chris Hardwick. It is kind of a self help book for geeks/nerds. I started it a while ago, but finished the last half of the book while imprisoned in my snugly warm apartment. The second was a collection of David Sedaris essays called "Barrel Fever and other stories." It was relatively short, but solid writing as is always the case the his writing.

I have a few books reserved at the library for next week. It all depends on which one gets transferred first.

Photography Category:

Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera

I actually found the pattern for the bag from a place here in Seattle that makes sporting gear. I'll be able to get all the material there as well. Time got cut short on Monday due to the threat of snow so I haven't gone to the store yet, but it is all scouted out. It is actually an inflight diaper bag that has all the compartments and is the right size I am looking for.

Misc. Category:

Have a mani/pedi once a month

When to a place here in Green Lake. I got the mani/pedi, but only got nail polish for my fingers. A nice clear so when they chip it won't be as noticeable. They did a good job, but they only took cash so I had to leave my Kindle Fire while I ran off to get cash two blocks away.

Thus concludes my third week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Doctor Who Recap

2012-01-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

As a fan, I decided to log my personal favorite episodes of Doctor Who since it relaunched. This is upon reviewing each episode multiple times. I'll mark the season and episode number so you know where to find it.

Episodes:

The Doctor's Wife (S6, E4)
Blink (S3, E11)
The Girl in the Fireplace (S2, E5)
Midnight (S4, E11)
Vincent and the Doctor (S5, E10)
The Fires of Pompeii (S4, E3)
Family of Blood (S3, E10)
Dalek (S1, E6)
Journey's End (S4,E14)
The Stolen Earth (S4, E13)
Turn Left (S4, E12)
Doomsday (S2, E14)
Army of Ghosts (S2, E13)
The Eleventh Hour (S5, E1)
Tooth & Claw (S2, E3)
School Reunion (S2, E4)
Closing Time (S6, E12)
Silence in the Library (S4, E9)
Forest of the Dead (S4, E10)
A Good Man Goes to War (S6, E7)
Let's Kill Hitler (S6, E8)
Planet of the Ood (S4, E4)
Voyage of the Damned (S4, E1)
Utopia (S3, E12)
Bad Wolf (S1, E12)
Parting of the Ways (S1, E13)
Human Nature (S3, E9)
The End of Time (Special 4)
Time of the Angels (S5, E4)
Flesh and Stone (S5, E5)
The Shakespeare Code (S3, E3)
The Sound of Drums (S3, E13)
The Unquiet Dead (S1, E3)
The Impossible Astronaut (S6, E1)
Day of the Moon (S6, E2)
The Wedding of River Song (S6, E13)
The Unicorn and the Wasp (S4, E8)
The Vampires of Venice (S5, E6)
The Doctor's Daughter (S4,E7)
Smith and Jones (S3, E2)
The Pandorica Opens (S5, E12)
The Big Bang (S5, E13)
A Christmas Carol (Special 5)
The Lodger (S5, E11)
The Sontaran Stratagem (S4,E5)
The Poison Sky (S4, E6)
The Christmas Invasion (s2, E1)
The Runaway Bride (S3, E1)
The Beast Below (S5, E2)
The End of the World (S1, E2)
The Doctor Dances (S1, E10)
The Curse of the Black Spot (S5, E3)
Victory of the Daleks (S5, E3)
New Earth (S2, E2)
The Long Game (S1, E7)
Last of the Time Lords (S3, E14)
The Empty Child (S1, E9)
Waters of Mars (Special 3)
The God Complex (S6, E11)
Rise of the Cybermen (S2, E6)
Age of Steel (S2, E7)
Love and Monsters (S2, E11)
The Girl Who Waited (S6, E10)
Rose (S1, E1)
Gridlock (S3, E4)
Amy's Choice (S5, E7)
The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (Special 6)
Father's Day (S1, E8)
Fear Her (S2, E12)
Night Terrors (S6, E9)
The Idiot's Lantern (S2, E8)
Boom Town (S1, E11)
Aliens of London (S1, E4)
World War Three (S1, E5)
The Rebel Flesh (S6, E5)
The Almost People (S6, E6)
42 (S3, E8)
Lazarus Experiment (S3, E7)
The Impossible Planet (S2, E9)
The Satan Pit (S2, E10)
Daleks in Manhattan (S3, E5)
Evolution of the Daleks (S3, E6)
The Next Doctor (Special 1)
Planet of the Dead (Special 2)
The Hungry Earth (S5, E8)
Cold Blood (S5, E9)

And further preferences...Doctors:
1. 10th Doctor (David Tennant)
2. 11th Doctor (Matt Smith)
3. 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)

Companions:
1. Donna Noble (S4)
2. Rose Tyler (S1, S2)
3. Amy Pond & Rory Williams (S5-S6)
4. Martha Jones (S3)

Re-Occurring Characters:

1. TARDIS aka "Sexy" (S1-6)
2. River Song (S4-S6)
3. Captain Jack Hartness (S1-S4)
4. Sarah Jane Smith (S2-S4)
5. Harriet Jones (S1-S4)
6. Wilfred Noble (S4)
7. K-9 (S2 & S4)
8. Mickey Smith (S1-4)
9. Jackie Tyler (S1-S2)
10. Pete Tyler (S1-S2)
11. Martha Jones' Family (S3)
12. Donna's Mother (S4)

Resolution Follow Up - Week #2

2012-01-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after two weeks.

Health Category:

Take a yoga class - once a week

Second class went much better. I hid in the back of the class this time. I also talked with the teacher afterward. I asked for some exercises to help unclench my back. I also told her that I have a hard time putting too much weight on my wrists. She said that over time they will get stronger and I will get lighter so just do as best I can. Additionally, while cleaning, I found some yoga flash cards that I bought sometime during 2004.

Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)

I took the leftover onions, green & red peppers and mushrooms and stir-fried them with some chicken marinated in Italian dressing. It was quite tasty.

Reading Category:

25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books

My second book of the year (and first off the BBC list) was "Little Women" by Louisa M Alcott. Extremely girly, but good. Not enough to make me read the sequels, though. It made me look up the episode of "Friends" where Joey reads it. "Beth's sick. Jo's there, but I don't think she can do anything."

Thus concludes my second week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Beginner's Guide to Doctor Who

2012-01-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

So you have heard the hype and want to begin watching Doctor Who. Great!

Things that you need to know before going in:

The series has been on for nearly 50 years. You DO NOT NEED to start at the very beginning.
You can start at what they call Season 1 which began airing in 2005.
As of right at this moment, there are 6 seasons.
A season is 13 episodes.
Season 1-5 are streaming on Netflix Instant.
Season 6 is on DVD.
You need to watch them in order. Skipping around will confuse the hell out of you.
There are some episodes that are not that great. Suffering through them will be worth it in the long run.
The series is meant to be watched by the whole family so some stuff may seem a bit dumb and goofy.
The Doctor is NOT Sherlock Holmes. He is more like a mixture of Batman and Captain Picard.
Torchwood is a spin-off of Doctor Who and it is meant just for adults. There are two seasons of that and two mini-series movies. They don't interlock well with Doctor Who like Angel and Buffy did.
The Sarah Jane Adventures is also a spin-off of Doctor Who and it is meant for tweens. Sarah Jane traveled with the Doctor back in the 60s and has appeared in Season 2 & 4 since.
The Doctor doesn't die. He regenerates. There have been 11 actors who have played him. 3 since 2005. You will be upset when the Doctor goes and you will be leery of the new one. This is normal. It takes a few episodes, but you will come to realize that he is still the Doctor.
The show will make you cry. Some episodes more than others. If you can make it through "Vincent and the Doctor" without being a weepy mess, you have no soul.
The show will make you laugh. Some episodes more than others.

The show was aptly summed up by Craig Ferguson in this cold open sketch:

(In case the embedding doesn't work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9P4SxtphJ4)

These are all the things you really need to know to get going. Enjoy!

BBC List of Top 100 Must-Read Books

2012-01-09T01:37:00.000-08:00

I made mention in my wanting to read all of the books on the BBC List. I thought I would put which books I have already read and then I'll also have a list of the ones I need to read yet.

The ones in RED have been read. The ones in BLUE have not been read, but I have seen the movie so that should count for something.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – J. K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I went to Catholic school so it counts)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

So the count is 17 down and 83 to go.

Resolution Follow Up - Week #1

2012-01-08T01:03:00.000-08:00

Some of the resolutions were weekly so here is how I am doing so far after one week.

Health Category:

Take a yoga class - once a week

I took my first yoga class at 24 hour fitness where I now have a membership. I was way more stressed out leaving the class than I was going in. The problem with classes like this is there is no beginning, middle or end. So, yelling out poises when I have no idea what she is talking about was a bit stressful. Add to that I am as limber as Frankenstein and you get tighter and tighter muscles instead of looser. Yet, I promised to go so I will continue, but am not expecting much.

Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant)

I did one of each. I made shrimp skewers over brown rice with onions, green and red peppers, and mushrooms. I also went with friends to a wood-fried pizza place and had a chicken and garlic pizza and smores with peanut butter for dessert. It was a cheat day.

Reading Category:

25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books

I finished one book so far. "The Eyre Affair" by Jasper Fforde which was awesome, but not on the BBC book list. I have "Little Women" on reserve for next week which is on the list.

Misc. Category:

Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist

Haircut number one is done. I went to Habitude in Ballard. I told Candace the purpose of my visit and gave her free reign. The below is the result. The pics were taken by my friend Martha (who also recommended Candace) and I probably need to do a few more, but these are within a half hour of getting it done.

It may not look that different to you, but she lopped off 3 inches and my hair hasn't had layers in 5 years. It's been just a straight cut all the way across with no shape.

So this is as straight as my hair gets (Thanks, Grandma!) She recommended two hair products which I did purchase. The first was Aveda's Phomollient styling foam to help do something. Still not sure on this stuff. The second was Aveda's Be Curly to control frizz and give the curl some control.

Thus concludes my first week's update on my Resolutions for 2012. See you again next week!

Resolutions for 2012: A follow up

2012-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

So here are the 10 resolutions that my family and friends came up for me (in no particular order):

Photography Category:

Start setting up a portfolio website and professional presence (Overdue, really)
Make/Customize a photo bag for my camera (I need to have something that is practical and me)

Health Category:

Take a yoga class - once a week (I will try, but my back is a wrought iron fence)
Eat a prepared meal - once a week - that I have not eaten before (counts if it is at a sit down restaurant) (I tend to eat the same things and they tend to be frozen and then microwaved)

Travel Category:

Three trips - one needs to be someone I have never been and one needs to be out of state. It can be day trips, but needs to be over 60 miles one way. (This can be my excuse to finally visit Portland and/or Vancouver)

Reading Category:

25 Books (50 for the year) and 25% of books on the BBC list of Must Read Books (I read 40 books last year and 75% of it was between June and Sept.)

Misc. Category:

Have a mani/pedi once a month (This requires me to stop chomping on my nails)
Go to the make-up counter at a department store and get a make-over (I am not big on make-up unless the occasions calls for it and even then it is pretty minimal)
Get 2 haircuts from an actual hairstylist (I usually go to Super Cuts/Fantastic Sams type place)
Buy & wear two dress casual outfits that I wear outside of work (I usually live in jeans and t-shirt outside of work)

Some of the other recommendations didn't meet the SMART criteria, but were well intentioned. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds. Once this is posted, I am committed to doing them.

Television I Watched on Netflix in 2011

2012-01-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

The Awesome:

Walking Dead - Season 1
Breaking Bad - Season 1
Breaking Bad - Season 2
Breaking Bad - Season 3
Dexter - Season 5
Sons of Anarchy - Season 1
Sons of Anarchy - Season 2
Sons of Anarchy - Season 3*
Sherlock - BBC - Season 1*

The Good:

Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Season 2
In Treatment - Season 1
Mad Men - Season 4*
Dexter - Season 4
Sports Night - Season 1
Sports Night - Season 2

The Guilty Pleasures:

Community - Season 1
Community - Season 2
Chuck - Season 4*

The Just Okay:

Dexter - Season 3
Big Bang Theory - Season 1
Wives & Daughters (Mini-series)

*(DVD) = bought DVD

Movies I Watched on Netflix in 2011

2012-01-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Awesome:

Buried
A Single Man

The Good:

The Town
Shutter Island

The Guilty Pleasures:

Despicable Me
A-Team
Shrek Forever After*

The Just Okay:

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Love and Other Drugs
Paul
Hanna
Limitless
Attack the Block
Eat Pray Love
I Am Comic
The Crazies

The Bad:

The Switch
Date Night
An Education
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Pt 1
Sucker Punch
Lincoln Lawyer
Alice in Wonderland

The God Awful:

The Conspirator
Battle: Los Angeles
Jane Eyre
Hot Tub Time Machine

*(DVD) = bought DVD

Books I Read 2011

2012-01-02T00:19:00.000-08:00

Wasn't sure how to break these into categories, but figured this works well enough.

Fiction Awesome:

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal - Christopher Moore
A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore
The Strain - Guillermo del Toro
Naked Heat - Richard Castle
Peter and the Starcatchers - Dave Barry
Peter and the Shadow Thieves - Dave Barry
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon - Dave Barry
Peter and the Sword of Mercy - Dave Barry

Non-Fiction Awesome:

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life - Steve Martin
Committed - Elizabeth Gilbert
The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero - William Kalush

Fiction Recommended:

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connelly
Heat Wave - Richard Castle
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
The End of the Whole Mess and Other Stories - Stephen King
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Non-Fiction Recommended:

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflections - Carol Burnett
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City - Nelson Johnson
7 Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin - James Sullivan
I Drink For a Reason - David Cross

Fiction NOT Recommended:

Stoneheart - Charles Fletcher
A Visit from the Good Squad - Jennifer Egan
Blasphemy - Douglas Preston
Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp - C.D. Payne
Pygmy - Chuck Palahniuk
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls - Steve Hockensmith
2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America - Albert Brooks

Non-Fiction NOT Recommended:

An Education - Lynn Barber
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich - Tim Ferriss

Movies of 2011 Updated

2011-12-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

In order of when they came out…

The Award Season Awesome:

Being Elmo: the Puppeteer’s Journey

The Awesome:

Super 8
Captain America: The First Avenger
Tucker & Dale vs Evil
The Muppets
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

The Award Season Good:

Moneyball
Margin Call
Like Crazy
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Good:

Super
Hanna
Thor
Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Guilty Pleasures:

Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides
X-Men: First Class (DVD)

The Just Okay:

Limitless
Paul
Water For Elephants
Attack the Block
The Ides of March
In Time
Hugo
The Adventures of Tin Tin

The Bad:

Jane Eyre
The Lincoln Lawyer
Sucker Punch
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows pt. 2

The God Awful:

Battle: Los Angeles
The Conspirator

Still Want to See, but Haven't yet:
Beginners, Green Lantern (just to see how bad), Cars 2, Crazy Stupid Love, The Help, Fright Night, Contagion, Red State, Drive, 50/50, The Three Musketeers, The Descendants, A Dangerous Method, Arthur Christmas, My Week With Marilyn, The Artist, We Bought a Zoo, War Horse, The Iron Lady

*Saw on DVD

*(DVD) = bought DVD

Resolutions for 2012

2011-12-27T01:26:00.000-08:00

Back-story: Every year I try to do resolutions for the New Year and every year, I don't get where I want to be. Reasons for past failures: not specific enough, not measurable, unrealistic, no real hard deadlines, no accountability, etc. I have tried: publishing them on a blog, making them baby steps to a bigger goal, setting deadlines, etc. I need to try a new tactic. Tim Ferriss (author of 4 Hour Week, 4 Hour Body) has his best friend make his resolutions for him and vice versa. Couple that with Chris Hardwick's ideas in The Nerdist Way about treating your life like a D&D game and this is how I came to the below idea.

My Plan: I would like my family and friends to help me come up with 10 resolutions. I will take suggestions and do the top 10 best goals (assuming they give me that many) in return, if I pick theirs, they get to harass, torture and pester me to keep on track...or encourage, if that is their thing. If there are some really great ones I can't narrow down, I will have a vote. I have my own goals I'll be doing as well, but I'm hoping they can keep me on a track with these.

Rules:

They must be S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely).
I would like these to be accomplished by July 1st and then I will do mid-year resolutions if this works out.
I am not jumping out of an airplane or doing anything I normally would never do. However, I am willing to leave my comfort zone.
They can be positive or negative goals (i.e. read 5 books or don't eat out more than once a week).
They can submit more than one goal.

Categories for you to use in coming up with ideas:

Finance (saving/being more frugal)
Health (weight loss goals are the part of the main adventure. These are for side quests)
Brain (reading/learning/etc)
Writing (Non-fic only. I am not a Fiction Writer)
Photography (non-homework related)
Social (doing more with friends, writing letters, thank you cards, etc)
Exploring Seattle
Travel or Misc (Being Girlier, expanding music knowledge, using etc less, etc.)

Things to keep in mind:

I work 3:30p to midnight.
Starting in Feb. I will be taking 2 MFA classes in Photography while still working full time.
I do need to sleep.
I can listen to stuff while I work.
I will keep you all updated on the goals as well as the people who came up for that specific goal.

My family and friends are awesome and very creative. I look forward to seeing what they come up with and I am totally willing to do the same if they want to do this style as well.

Meanwhile Back at the Internet...

2011-01-28T00:07:00.000-08:00

In case you missed any links I posted on either Facebook or Twitter, here they are:

9 Famous Movie Villains Who Were Right All Along

How Mad Men and Firefly are the SAME

Harry Potter Insults

FPS Bulletin - Homeland Security Directions about Photography

This is sooo disturbing...

A Little Girl Reacts to the Bears Not Going to the Superbowl

A Weird Mash-Up

A Cover of a Popular Song

2010 Movies

2011-01-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

The Award Season Awesome:

Winter's Bone
Get Low
Inception (x2)
Social Network (x2) (DVD)
The King's Speech

The Awesome:

How to Train Your Dragon

Kick Ass

Red (DVD)

Tangled

The Award Season Good:

True Grit

The Fighter

The Good:

Iron Man 2

Toy Story 3

Secretariat

Wonderful World

The Guilty Pleasures:

Grease: Sing-A-Long

Valentine's Day

The Just Okay:

Salt

When In Rome

The Bad:

Cop Out
Bounty Hunter

I was pretty bad last year with how many movies I saw. I was more in a TV show mood on Netflix last year.

Open House

2011-01-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

Academy of Art University is having an open house in Seattle on March 19th.

It's for prospective students, but I'm going to pop by and see their presentation and see if they have anything set up for those students taking classes here to find each other.

Unfortunately, it's right smack in the middle of midterms so I might not be able to break away, but thought I'd at least try. Should be fun.

Emerald City Comicon 2011

2011-01-25T01:21:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, last year I was the main photographer for Seattle's comic book convention called "Emerald City Comicon." It was over a weekend and a lot of fun. A bit exhausting, but fun.

They asked me back for this year and picked a handful of my photos to use in their press room so that anyone writing about the convention could have photos with their articles. You can find those photos HERE.

This year should be fun ask guests include William Shatner (Capt. Kirk), James Marsters (Spike from Buffy/Angel), Jonathan Frakes (Lt. Riker), Brent Spiner (Data) and the rest you can see HERE.

Last year, I managed not to buy anything except two t-shirts for my favorite geek girls (Shelby & Sarah), but I did start reading two new webcomics that I have been following ever since. I started and read the backlog of: Hijinks Ensue and Little Vampires. They are nothing like each other, but both are great and I highly recommend checking them out. Hijinks Ensue is filled with a lot of pop culture references that are hysterical. Little Vampires is an adorable weekly webcomic following these cute little vampires who happen to be obsessed with blood oranges.

Lessons I learned from last year:

I do not need to go to the costume contest. They have a photographer covering it and it made for too long of a day.
I need a better flash. There are too many lighting issues and I need a flash that recycles power faster.
Eat something and drink more water. I had been away from San Diego Comicon too long and completely forgot the basics.
I don't need to go in more than an hour before they let people in. It makes for a long day and there weren't enough photo ops.
I need two lens. My basic all-purpose lens and my telephoto.

This will be happening in March right before midterms so it should be interesting. I'll update you on everything once it is done.

Telemarketers and Me

2011-01-24T02:32:00.000-08:00

An actual call....

Me: Hello?

Telemarketer (TM): Good morning! Can I speak to Kathy Boogejersky?

Me: *irritated* Speaking.

TM: Hello, I am calling from (some random weight loss place) and wanted to let you know that you or someone in your household have been selected for (some random weight loss promotion of pills and quick fixes to long term problems).

Me: *polite* No, thank you. I'm not interested.

[This is where they should give up. Just politely let me go on my merry way, but no. Therefore, they completely deserve the following.]

TM: *fake surprise* Oh, really? Can I ask why?

Me: *polite, but irritated tone* I find it a little offensive that you think that you can randomly call people and just assume that they or someone in their household have a weight issue.

TM: *happily* Oh, this isn't a random call.

Me: *deadpan* So you are saying that I need to lose weight?

TM: *studdering all over the place* Well, no, um...That is not what I meant.

Me: *irritated* Either way, I find this whole conversation insulting and as I said before, I am not interested. Thank you.

I then hung up. She should have just let me go when I said no the first time. I walked her right into that wall and I'm pretty sure they didn't train her for that response.

Meanwhile Back at the Internet...

2011-01-21T02:04:00.000-08:00

In case you missed any links I posted on either Facebook or Twitter, here they are:

Interesting article on learning: Why You Learn More Effectively Writing Than Typing

Infuriating article about cursive: Cursive Disappearing from Student's Writing Skills

This is both wrong and funny cartoon about naming the new soccer team the Chicago Fire
(click on it to make it bigger to read)

Adorable Doctor Who Themed Stuffed Alien: Adipose Stress Doll

Flow chart to help you decide to have a cookie: Shelton Comic

The "Alien" description is my favorite: An Experiment in Accurate, but Misleading Movie Descriptions

For the Twelve O'clock Flashers out there: Teach Parents Tech

For those of you who laugh at people afraid of spiders

Comedy sketch from BBC: My Blackberry is Not Working

Colbert discusses "Palin Fatigue"

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Mika Brzezinski Experiences Palin Fatigue

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Chicago Sings Bear Down

Dear God What Is That Thing?

2011-01-20T01:40:00.000-08:00

Many years ago (Many being 11 years ago before the war), when I bought my computer, I bought a webcam. It cost like $50, but it was practically new tech back then. It had a half a megapixel and the audio was a string attached to a can (not included).

I decided with doing online classes and all, I probably should upgrade.

Oh my god. What a difference. I just got the basic level Logitech Webcam C260. It was on sale at Best Buy for $24 (normally $39).

Just in case you don't believe me about the difference in quality. I didn't change the lighting or anything. I took one picture with each. Please see the below:

Can you spot the difference?

Under New Ownership

2011-01-19T01:32:00.000-08:00

I moved into my apartment in August of 2008. I love it here and don't want to move unless I absolutely need to or could comfortably afford a two bedroom place so I could have a proper office.

My building was sold to new owners at the end of December. I was a little worried as you never really know what kind of management you are going to get, but they have been awesome. Unfortunately, they are being too awesome and I fear for how much rent is going to sky rocket when my lease is up at the end of July.

The great things they have done to the building so far is give everyone access to free WiFi, re-carpet the stairwell (the old carpets were torn and frankensteined in places, lit up the garage and common areas and put in energy saving washer and dryers. The laundry upgrade is good and bad. On the one hand, it went from $1 wash and $1 dry to $1.75 wash and $1.50 dry. On the other hand, half the building stopped using them so there is no wait and I got the energy saving detergent from Costco so one bottle will last me until after the world ends in 2012.

To my apartment, they came in and asked me all the things I would like fixed. I had no major concerns really. Minor little inconveniences that I just learned to live with. I didn't like rocking the boat with stuff because they hadn't raised my rent in two years.

I had them snake the drains. It's weird. I just got used to showering in ankle deep of water. It kept my feet warm. I have a light switch that was backwards and they flipped it for me. They flattened out the track on my bedroom closet so the doors actually roll on the rollers.

About two weeks after I moved in, my water heater broke and they replaced it with a new one. Unfortunately, they left it on all the factory settings. I had about 6-8 minutes tops of hot water and then about 2-3 minutes of luke warm water until it went ice cold. I mentioned it to the old landlords and they always said it was on their list, but never did anything about it. So, the new maintenance guy looks at it and fixed the settings. WOW. The water actually gets HOT and I can take a long shower in hot water the whole time. AMAZING. However, I find myself keeping it on the mid-warm levels because after over two years of having it that way, I'm still getting over my Stockholm syndrome about it.

I made some suggestions to the new owners for other improvements. I got shot down on having a trash can in the garage, but they are looking into adding a recycle bin near the mailboxes for dumping junk mail. They are also looking into a better place to keep UPS & FedEx packages. We don't have a manager on-site so if the driver gets in the building, they leave the package resting in the basket of the fake tree in our tiny lobby. I suggested losing the tree and getting a table with a cork board so they could leave packages, but also notes to others in the building like garage sales, passive aggressive notes about noise levels and lost mittens. We'll see if anything happens with that.

Pack Mentality

2011-01-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

When new technology comes out, there are people who embrace it quickly and willingly. Most commonly know as "Early Adopters." The opposite of this are people who resist change and don't know nor care about technology. These people are known as "Twelve O'clock Flashers." Meaning that most of the appliances in their house are flashing 12:00.

I like to think that I'm in the middle. I'm not overly thrilled about running into an open field where there could be landmines or cow pies. I consider myself an "adopter." I have friends and family on both ends of the spectrum.

My resistance to iPads is fading. I'm not getting one just yet because the announcements for iPad2 and all the other competitors are being announced. I'm thinking by the end of summer, I'll end up getting one.

I'm still resisting on the smart phones. I know. Why, right? I just don't like the idea of being dependent on one device to do everything. It feels wrong, but I'm slowly getting over it. It's like (and I'm about to make an extremely geek filled comparison and I apologize in advance for geeking all over you) when I played Dungeons & Dragons. The character I played was a fighter, who absolutely detested magic of any kind, and made fun of all the characters that used it. However, the moment she was wounded, grabbed one of them by the throat and insist that they use magic to heal her. (end of geeking)

There is a Tripod song that sums up my thoughts called "Always Getting Into Stuff." The line is "I'm not ahead of the pack. I'm just with the pack. Toward the back." The whole song is below if you want to listen.

Orientation Begins

2011-01-17T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of my week long orientation class. I sat through two videos - one on the masters program and one on online classes in general. After that, you log in and do a practice class.

The practice class has you download some articles to read : "How Students Develop Online Learning Skills" and "What Makes a Successful Online Student." There was also a video on how to better organize your time using an excel spreadsheet which was cool. I did the same thing in undergrad, but with graph paper and colored pencils.

You read through two modules, take some quizzes and then log on to the discussion board for homework assignments.

One of the homework assignments was to take a picture of your work space and discuss if it works or what improvements you can make. Below if the photo I posted:

I'm pretty happy with it and it is ergonomic. In addition to posting it, we had to comment on other people's pictures as well.

And let's just get it out of the way..yes, that is a picture of Nathan Fillion as Capt. Hammer and an action figure of him as Capt. Mal Reynolds below my monitor. The calendar is from "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies."

The other thing we had to write about is what we think our pitfalls might be. I said time management since I haven't had to have structured time outside of work in a long time. However, I'm not really worried about that. I just needed to put something.

Meanwhile Back at the Internet....

2011-01-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

I share a lot of videos and links throughout the week on Facebook and Twitter. I thought I might just have a weekly recap here of things I've found in case you missed them. If this works, it might be a regular Friday thing.

Awesome Protest: Library emptied in bid to fight closure

A Good Airline Delay: Southwest Airlines pilot holds plane for murder victim’s family

Funny Chart: HERE

Zodiac Chart Changes: Your Zodiac Sign May Have Changed

Visualizing Websites as Countries: Sharenator.com

Brilliant: If Ad Agencies Planned Kids Birthday Parties

BBC America Commercial for UK Law & Order

Awesome Allstate Commercial

Funny European Commercial with Adam & Eve. The look on Eve's face is priceless.

Battle: Los Angeles Trailer

Colin Firth on Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart's Reaction to the Arizona Shootings over last weekend

My Wacky Brain

2011-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, my brain likes to do random things.

Wait, before I get to that, I should explain how I imagine my brain works. A long time ago, in a magical kingdom in Florida, I went to the Wonders of Life Pavillion.There I saw something called, "Cranium Command." I posted the videos below so you know what I'm talking about. However, they are long and um...dated.

"Cranium Command" was kind of like Herman's Head meets Innerspace. All the major body parts were played by actors/characters. The stomach was George Wendt (Norm from "Cheers"), the heart muscles were Hanz & Franz (Dana Carvey and Keven Nelon, respectively, playing characters from Saturday night live), the adrenal gland was Bobcat Goldthwait, etc. The left brain was played by Charles Grodin and the right brain by Jon Lovitz. This is how I view my brain.

I picture Charles Grodin in a suit behind a desk whenever I do left brain things like bills, math, organizing, etc. I picture Jon Loviz in his flannel PJS in an art room whenever I do creative stuff. If I do anything too left brain, my right brain will amuse itself my torturing my left brain. I am convinced the reason I am bad at math is because when my left brain is crunching the numbers, my right brain is just yelling out random numbers. It also likes doing things like singing random songs on a loop. This is why I listen to music or watch movies when I'm trying to get stuff done.

Now, that you have a visual of the inside of my brain. I can tell you the following story.

Even though I have a queen size bed, I always sleep on the same side. On the other side, I have a full length pillow I either sleep on or next to. I sleep with a sheet, then a blanket and a comforter on top. Tuesday night, I randomly decided to switch sides. I moved the pillow to the other side and went to sleep. In the morning, I woke up and noticed that not only is the pillow back to where it normally is and I on my side of the bed, but my covers are flipped with the sheet on top.

Here is what I think happened. Once I drifted off to sleep (which my left brain undoubtly handled), it suddenly realized that everything was backwards. It immediately draws the conclusion that this was a right brain idea. My right brain was busy filling my head with dreams to defend itself. My left brain managed to coordinated all my limbs and flipped everything so that the status quo would be preserved. Since it has no imagination, it just flips everything not realizing the covers didn't need to be flipped. I completely visualize Charles Grodin freaking out doing all of this.

Yes, I realize I am strange, but if you had Charles Grodin and Jon Lovitz arguing all the time in your brain, you'd be strange too.

Here are the "Cranium Command" videos if you want a better visual on what I was describing:

And the Midnight Run trailer because it is filled with Charles Grodin goodness:

To Resolve Project

2011-01-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

I came across this on Facebook when Javier Grillo-Marxuach posted it. Javi is the creator of "Middleman" which I've mentioned more than a few times here. He also wrote for "Lost" and is just all around awesome.

"To Resolve Project" was created by designer/illustrator, Chris Streger. He decided that the problem with resolutions is you put them on a list and hide the list away. Streger asked designers to design something for iPhone wallpaper that illustrates their resolution. HERE is the original link to project description.

While I don't have an iPhone or iPhone related place to put it, I still really like the designs and wanted to show them off.

Here are my favorites:

Don't ask for directions by Matt Stevens

Designed by Jay Rogers

Designed by Alex Westgate

You can find the rest HERE. I actually like a lot of them, but it's just easier to have you go check them all out. Enjoy!

Recommendation: Girl Gets Action

2011-01-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

"Girl Gets Action: When you're looking for some chick on flick action."

This brand new blog is written by a girl who describes herself in her about me section this way:

One of my favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer quotes (and there are many) comes from Xander in S3. “Men like sports. Men watch the action movie. They eat of the beef, and they enjoy to look at the bosoms.” Pretty good key takeaways about men, but it’s a favorite quote because it also applies to me. Football, sci-fi, action flicks, comic books, tater tots, strip clubs, scotch (neat) and a good steak rubbed with blue cheese would all be on the agenda for my perfect day. Trust me… I’m all girl where and when it counts, but why should guys get to have all the fun?

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm sure you want to check out the link now just based on that so here you go: GIRL GETS ACTION

This began in November and so far past blogs include: a chronicle of her watching all the Rocky movies, her views on Mickey Rourke, football (fair warning - she is a Patriots fan) and boobs in movies (the girly parts not the idiots). Her writing is intelligent, funny and has oodles of style.

She is a phenomenally good friend of mine. I have witnessed her three TV Sunday football watching, I was there for her rant when "Angel" ended and lent her my "Danger Girls" trade paperback which has boobies, action, comedy and more boobies.

I look forward to her future posts and hope you do too. Enjoy!

Oh and if you want to follow her on Twitter, you can do that here: twitter.com/girlgetsaction

Workflow

2011-01-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

I've been listening to a bunch of podcasts and one thing that keeps popping up is workflow. I thought I would document the steps I go through at this moment with my photos. This way I have a record and I can point and laugh at it later when it changes.

Take pictures of an event.
Transfer all images from memory card into the computer on my external drive (1TB). Name documents as they import: Date_My Name_Name of Event_computer generated number
Create a folder with the name of the event.
Create a sub-folder in that event called "Originals"
Copy all the photos into "Originals. "
Go back to the first set and look at all the photos. Delete the crap and change the direction to vertical as needed.
Cut and paste the surviving photos to My Photos on my desktop.
Open Picasa and watch the photos upload automatically.
Create an online album with event name on my Picasa web album site.
Go through each photo and crop, color correct, fix red eye, sharpen, contrast correct, change to b&w, etc. as needed.
Export each photo once it is done to the external hard drive in the event folder.
Upload each photo into the web album when it is done.
If working for a specific event, upload images on their FTP server. Name photos if event needs titles before uploading.
Email organizer that photos are done and uploaded on their FTP server.
Once all photos are complete, delete all the photos out of My Pictures on my desktop.
Empty trash.
Go to web albums and put photos in order.
Open facebook and upload the photos into an album.
Organize them in the album and tag anyone who needs to be tagged.
Email anyone from the event who requested a photo or wanted to know when the photos would be up.
Put memory card back in camera and format the card.
Then later at a random interval, back up the photos on a CD.

Depending on how many photos and how much work each photo needs, this process can take various amounts of time.

I have a feeling this will be vastly different as I learn more programs and figure out better ways to spend less time on the back end of this process. I just thought this might be a nice record of events before starting school.

I did leave a few things out like "Marvel at how much better the photos came out then I thought," "get depressed that all the photos are crap and want to go back and re-shoot the whole thing," "wait desperately for people to comment or like photos on facebook," "marvel at what photos seem to be liked," "wait for event organizer to tell me photos are crap," "be surprised with any comment or email that doesn't rip my photos to shreds," "go back a month later and think about how much crap all my photos are" and "regret deleting the photos on the memory card even though there is no earthly reason why I should worry about that."

Fun Fact: Ruby Shooting Oswald Photo

2011-01-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

This famous photograph was taken by Bob Jackson. It was a complete accident. He had gotten the shot all set up and was waiting for Oswald to walk past so he could get a good angle. He had his finger on the trigger button and was waiting. The gun shot went off which startled him and his finger pressed the button.

I heard this on one of my photography podcasts and thought it was a neat story.

This Month In Netflix

2011-01-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

Veronica Mars: Season 3

I completely understand why the show got canceled now. The season suffers from "Hero-itis." It is a terminal condition that results in listening to it own fans. This season differs from the previous seasons by not having one overall case/story arc, they make her more fallible and made the mysteries more solvable for the fans to figure out. All of those things make that completely unbearable to watch. It took away all the things that made the show fun. The only redeeming thing about the whole season is the character of Logan. He makes all the wrong choices in some awesome ways. Pretty much beats everyone who hurts Veronica into a bloody pulp. Aside from Logan, all the other characters are thrown to the wayside and used as plot devices. The previous seasons at least had given them some personality.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl: Season 1
A Showtime series based on a book/blog of a high priced London call girl. There are just 8 half hour episodes and they contain the usual amounts of cable channel sex. It's pretty funny and shows inside to a world people imagine to be very different. The main actress was a Doctor Who companion for two seasons and she is a former Brit pop singer. She does sleep with the current Doctor, Matt Smith, in one of the episodes which is just funny solely for that reason. There are two more seasons and I believe it is currently still being made. I'm enjoying it and want to pick up the book at some point.

New Twitter Account

2011-01-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

As promised with my resolutions, I have begun separating me from myself. I had a previous personal twitter account which I hardly ever use. I probably won't use it again anyway.

My new photography based twitter is: http://twitter.com/KathyAnnPhotos

I'm a little miffed that PhotosbyKathyAnn was one letter too long. I've been trying to stay consistent with that as it is my gmail address as well.

I'll use this to let people know when new blogs and photos are up or any photography news. I'm sure I'll retweet other people's stuff too. Feel free to follow me there.

Resolutions for 2011

2011-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

They say that publishing your resolutions makes you more likely to be pressured into keeping them. They also say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In the spirit of both of those sentiments, I bring you my resolutions for 2011. I have decided to break them up into personal and professional. A new rule I have added is that no resolution can be a repeat from a previous year. Thus, embracing the insanity sentiment.

Personal:

Travel. I need to get out of the house/immediate area more. A trip constitutes a minimum of 65 miles (less if a ferry is involved to get there). Last year, I did that maybe three times. I would like to make it a minimum of 8 times. 8 out of 52 weekends is not unreasonable.
Wardrobe. As anyone who knows me knows, I don't have a wardrobe. I have clothes I wear regularly. Mainly, I keep putting it off convinced I'll lose weight and it will be a waste of money. As my weight has remained unchanged in two years, I need to get over this and actually start building more than just a few pieces I wear until they are in tatters. Money is a factor, but I can slowly add items for work and play. Personally, if money wasn't an issue, my wardrobe would be all Eddie Bauer, Burberry and argyle. I do loves me some argyle. However, I reserve the right to immediately change into my yoga pants and t-shirt when I come home. The t-shirt I am currently living in says "It's all fun until Skynet goes active." It was a birthday gift from my friend Martha.
Communication. I am pretty good about sending thank you cards and, up until this year, Christmas cards, but I am god awful at sending physical birthday cards and taking the time to write an actual letter or email to someone I haven't talked to in a while. Facebook has taken over that, but for those not on facebook, I have been neglectful.
Personal Photos. I have become very lax at printing out my photos. I also have none of them hanging in my own apartment. My bedroom is filled with geek artwork. Mainly, THESE, THISish (It's the same artist, but a better print of the crew. I couldn't find a link to the one I have) and THIS. The main room just has an autographed Clerks poster and an autographed Middleman poster. I do have THIS framed and hanging in the kitchen.
Balance school and photography with my interests. One of the things that I did in college was get immersed in what I was learning and everything else just sort of froze. This is why almost all film students want to make movies about making movies. I want to make sure my influences come from all aspects of life and not just other photos and photographers.

Professional:

Separation of church and state (so to speak). I need to have separate internet lives as myself and my photographer self. This means having a place to send people to look at my photos, blog, tweets, etc. that is more about my photos and less about me. With my photos, I try to use the by-line "Kathy Ann Bugajsky" which just makes it more google-able when searching for my stuff.
Read manuals. Not necessarily as a book, but actually looking at the actual manual or multiple sources on the internet to learn more about what I am doing. I'm sure with certain programs there are short cuts I am missing solely because I never took the time to research them properly.
Listen to photography podcasts to stay in touch with current issues and gear. Specifically, This Week in Photography and Photofocus.
Keep accurate and clear records of spending for tax purposes. This means keeping a good calendar, receipts and using a program like Quicken or Mint.com.
Return and send emails to people requesting photos in a prompt manner. Do not let them sit and have to apologize for the delay.

Wow. You read all that? I stopped listening to myself ages ago. Hopefully, this is different enough from my other resolutions to work.

**If any of you actually read my previous resolutions, how hard did you laugh? I kept 6 of the 36 I listed (16%). Let's see if I can do better.**

The CEO of Me

2011-01-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all are enjoying 2011 so far. Before I list my resolutions, as is customary in the new year, I wanted to explain a bit what the motivation is behind a chunk of them.

The Seattle Times has this article called "A to-do list for the CEO of your career" which I found through Facebook from my friend, Tamara Sellman. There wasn't much to the article, but it's one of those seeds that took root for me.

This year and decade are really about taking my photography from hobbyist to professional. Starting an MFA program at the end of the month certainly will help that a long. I need to think of myself as a photographer and a business which means marketing, PR and other things I don't enjoy doing. I prefer showing and doing to talking about it. I'm rubbish about talking myself up. I heard a great way to describe some artists. They are egomaniacs with low self esteem. For example, "Look at the awesome picture. Isn't it great? Yea. Here's what I would do to change it to make it better. Sorry. Nevermind. Come back for my next super awesome photo."

For the record, the last idea like this was when I adopted James Gunn's "Yes" Binge. It was the say "yes" to everything you normally would either waiver on or say "no" too. You can still say "no" to things that were always a "no" like skydiving, but it's more for things like do you want to go to a demolition derby? This lead to me saying "yes" to a demolition derby where I took pictures and fell back in love with photography as well as met Linda Webster who introduced me to Seattle. So basically, I am a photographer living in Seattle because of this idea. So, let's see where this CEO idea can take me.

My next post will have my resolutions which will flush some of these ideas out more (I hope).

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T22:20:00.000-08:00

Ups & Downs of the End of the Year

2010-12-30T22:35:00.000-08:00

The end of this year has brought some good and bad news in the lives of my friends.

The best news came from my friend and former co-worker at Disney. I called to check in with her and found her in Phoenix. She was in Phoenix because after a two year long wait, her husband finally got the kidney and pancreas he desperately needed. He had been doing dialysis three times a week for what seemed like eons. Everything has been going well and it looks like he will no longer be diabetic. So very happy for them.

In a very modern method, another friend announced her engagement via changing her Facebook status. I look forward to getting all the details. An email came from another friend confirming my address so I can get her invitation to her wedding. It appears that next year will be a year of weddings and engagements.

With the good, there is also bad. A friend's mom had her cancer come back and go from stage four to terminal. I've met her a couple of times and she is a very nice lady. My friend lost her dad to cancer around ten years ago so this is extra hard especially being an only child.

I started working my temp assignment in mid-October and have made a few friends that make the job more than bearable. One of them, Kayt, was a fellow geek. She recognized the code on my bag as being from Donnie Darko and we were trading DVDs. We were both big Aaron Sorkin fans so I lent her my Studio 60 series and she was lending me her West Wings. Then one day without warning, she didn't show up for work. I called and left her a message and sent an email and got no response. The next day, my boss pulled myself and my friend, Les, aside to let us know that Kayt had passed away over the weekend. Kayt's friend, Kathi, wanted to make sure we were aware since Kayt had talked about us the most and considered us friends. No one was really sure what had happened, but Kathi asked them to give her number to me. I spoke with her and found out they had found a note. It was very sad. Kathi is organizing a memorial for some time in January. We were talking about bowling so I'm going to try and organize a bowling outing for those of us who had worked with her. Kayt was good people and is missed.

The saddest for me was the passing of Scott Reside. I knew Scott and his partner, John, through my friends, Ted and Larry, in Los Angeles. Scott and John were my buddies at Ted and Larry's parties and on trips to Disneyland. They came to my going away party and were always high on my Christmas card list. Scott was diagnosed with cancer in July 2009. He was fighting and winning for a bit. However, an aneurysm took his life in mid-November. I didn't know about it until I noticed some odd references on Facebook. I was and am pretty saddened by it. There was a loving article written about him HERE if you want to read more about him and his awesomeness. Here are my two favorite photos of him (and John) from my going away party and from one of Ted & Larry's Halloween parties, respectively.

John, Me and Scott

Scott and John

There are two sets of people when it comes to declaring a decade over. Those that believe it begins on the zero and those on the one. I'm leaning toward the later at the moment so I can believe that 2011 is the beginning of a new decade and therefore a new era.

As the often re-written sentiment goes, "May the best of last year, be the worst of this year."

More on My Doctor Who Theory

2010-12-29T23:40:00.000-08:00

If you have not read my Doctor Who Theory, please read it HERE.

I have been re-watching the whole series in order from when it restarted. I had been looking for clues in Season 4 and 5 to support my theory for obvious reasons, but I found more back up in Season 2 of all places.

In episode 13 "Army of Ghosts," Jackie Tyler (Rose's mum) talks to Rose while in the TARDIS.

Jackie: You even look like him.
Rose: How do you mean? *pause* Suppose I do, yea.
Jackie: You've changed so much.
Rose: For the better.
Jackie: 'Suppose.

They go back and forth and then...

Jackie: What happens when I'm gone?
Rose: Don't talk like that.
Jackie: No, but really. When I'm dead and buried you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?
Rose: I don't know.
Jackie: You think you'll ever settle down?
Rose: The Doctor never does, so I can't. I'll just keep on traveling.
Jackie: And you'll keep on changing. In 40 years time, in 50, there will be this woman. This strange woman walking through the market place on some planet a million miles from Earth. She's not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She's not even human.

BAM! Right there. Jackie is describing Amy/River. Amy Pond continues traveling with the Doctor. Her parents are gone. She has no reason to go back to Earth especially with Rory traveling with them. She changes as only a human can seeing what the Doctor sees and doing what the Doctor does. She'll seem more like a Time Lord than a human because all of her adult life was spent with a Time Lord. River is all over the place and clearly hasn't settled down. By the thickness of her diary, we know that River spends a lot of time with him - maybe 40 years. Amy Pond would be unrecognizable as herself, but maybe only recognized as River Song.

Again, I could be totally wrong and they could be going in a completely different direction, but there sure seems to be a lot of evidence pointing in this direction.

I'm hoping to take a class on Science Fiction as one of my electives this summer. I'm really hoping an assignment or major paper will give me a reason to write about Doctor Who. This is the completely arbitrary reason I have given myself to re-watch the entire series again.

Movie Marketing

2010-12-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

A few different people who have too much time on their hands have re-cut movie trailers to make them seem like different movies. Here are my three favorites:

Shining:

Mary Poppins:

Ghostbusters:

Podcast Catch Up

2010-12-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

I have been very neglectful in listening to podcasts last year. For those of you who are not aware, a podcast is like a radio show that is available for free to download. You can get them off a website, but I use iTunes as it is infinitely easier.

There are three podcasts that I decided to get caught up on.

NPR's All Songs Considered: LINK HERE
This hosted by Bob Boylin and Robin Hilton. They put together shows that last anywhere from 20-90 minutes. Some shows have themes and some are just music they want to share. If they can get permission to play the whole song, they will. There is a blog that links to a lot of who they talk about and other news. I've discovered a bunch of bands/musicians through them including: Florence and the Machine, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend, Sam Phillips, Artic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Decemberists, etc. They do round tables with two other people (Carrie Brownstein and Stephen Thompson) for end of the year shows and shows about South by Southwest. I don't agree with them on a lot of things, but it's good to hear music I normally wouldn't even notice.

This Week In Photography (aka: TWiP): LINK HERE
This is hosted by Frederick van Johnson and he brings various people on depending on the show. Sometimes the shows are a round table and sometimes just an interview. They talk about photography news, gear and answer listener questions. It's a good show for the most part. Sometimes they are on the snobby side about their love of their Cannon or Nikon camera gear. I do like their discussions on photographer rights which they seem to talk about a lot. They have sponsors that they reference throughout. Their seemly constant references to the iPad are slowly working on me. I get how they would be very useful to a photographer.

Photofocus: LINK HERE
This is hosted by Scott Bourne. Scott brings on a guest and they both answer listener questions. It's very techy at times and 90% doesn't apply to me so far, but I always walk away from an episode either learning something or thinking about something in a new way. They too have sponsors, but their sponsors are all services I would actually use. Scott photographs birds and wildlife so he answers a lot of questions about that.

I listened to all the episodes of Photofocus and cherry picked episodes of TWiP and All Songs from the year. It was a little over 40 hours of listening all told. Thankfully, I have a job where I could listen to all of them while I worked. I was caught up in about a week and a half.

One of my many goals for the New Year is staying on top of at least these three and adding more as needed.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T22:17:00.000-08:00

Cleaning Out the Tubes

2010-12-23T23:29:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when you start cleaning and starting the year anew.

One of the more fun organizing activities is the cleaning of the internet links and bookmarks. If you will direct your attention to the right of your screen, you will notice that the links have been updated. I removed bad/old links and added new fun links. I'm hoping to do a proper write up on some of them so you know why I recommend them. If you want me to add yours (and I know you), drop me a line and consider it done.

The other set of links I updated were all my bookmarked websites. I'm sure you are all shocked to know I organize them into folders. I would color code them if I could. StubleUpon adds a lot of links automatically and I just cleaned all the non-useful ones out.

I also removed myself from websites that I no longer go to like Friendster, MySpace, ComicSpace, etc.

I do marvel at the amount of dead links lurking about. I tried to get them all. If you ever hit a bad link on this site, let me know.

Advice from VP of Graduate Admissions‏

2010-12-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

I got this nice email (*cough* form letter *cough*) from the VP of Graduate Admissions. It had some nice words of advice and I thought I would post it (with my own comments added of course).

Art and design is hard work: I don't mean hard as in astrophysics, but it is the most time consuming thing I've ever done. Most students, who do not come from a studio intensive program, underestimate the time commitment factor because they crammed for their midterms and finals and got A's and B's in their undergraduate degree. In art school, you cannot complete projects last minute. This is something instructors recognize right away and there's no hiding it. If you only spend 5 hours on an assignment, it will not compare favorably next to your fellow student's work, which took 10 hours.

I did come from a studio program, but it has been years. Thankfully, I'm not one to procrastinate on homework. Just everything else. You know like sitting in my PJs typing this an hour before I go to work which is three weeks after it should have been posted.

Art and design takes commitment: Don't get frustrated if you are not at a level you want to be after the first semester. Remember that you are just at the beginning stage of the program! Getting great at your craft takes practice and patience. One of our directors compares it to training for the Olympics. If you do not practice often, you cannot win, regardless of how talented you are. Those who persevere will succeed. "I am doubtful of any talent, so whatever I choose to be, will be accomplished only by long study and work..." (Jackson Pollock)

That reminds me of the one and only time I took a tap class. The instructor said, "You realize you are getting mad at the floor, right?" It was true. Id be an amazing tap dancer if the floor was not involved.

Don't consider a "C" a passing grade: The art and design world is completely different from anything else. When you go apply for a job as an accountant, you will not be asked to show your transcript. When you apply for a job as a designer, your portfolio is a direct reflection of your transcript. Remember your classmates are your peers and your competition. If you are producing "C" level work, then you are likely competing for the same job as "B" and "A" level students. Don't go into each class with the goal to just pass the class. Your goal should be to produce portfolio pieces.

I never understood people who thought of a "C" as passing. Aside, of course, from math and science classes.

Don't overload on classes: You have a finite number of hours in your week. If you overload on classes, just by pure mathematics, you will have fewer hours to complete each assignment. Don't set yourself up to produce mediocre work that cannot be in your portfolio. Your goal for graduate school should be to build a strong portfolio, not to race through a program.

I was told that at Columbia too, but the only time I made Dean's List was when I took 22 credit hours on top of a part time job and an internship. However, I'm taking it slow my first few semesters since this is a whole new level and it has been a while since I was in school.

Come in with an open mind: Remember why you decided to attend graduate school in the first place. You are looking for help in pushing your art and design in a new direction. If you want to produce the same level of work in graduate school that you are producing now, you don't need us. Your instructors are here to push you out of your comfort zone so you can grow. To share my own experience, my Anatomy instructor drove me to tears of frustration because he was breaking me out of some of my bad drawing habits. While painful at the time, in retrospect, I needed someone to tell me what I was doing wrong.

I try to have an open mind, but it depends on the teacher. If I'm told I'm doing it wrong, but they can't tell me why it is wrong or how to make it right, then I tend to not listen to them. I ran into this with a few of my instructors at Columbia.

Network: The best jobs are those that you hear about from your fellow students and your instructors. If you want to be tapped on the shoulder for an internship, demonstrate that you work well with others and that you're reliable. Network from day one!

This is the key. Who you meet can be as important as the classes you take. I'm interested to see how well that is going to work on an online program.

It takes courage to be an artist! It would have been easy to tell friends and family that you are going to law school or to medical school, but it was probably a struggle to tell loved ones that you are going to art school.

Actually, I think it would be the reverse. I think I'd get less encouragement if it were law school or medical school. Plus this way people can enjoy my photos as opposed to "Look at the cadaver I dissected."

Class: The Language of Photography

2010-12-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

My second class:

The Language of Photography

In this course, students will engage in an in-depth study of the fundamental language of photography comprised of the aesthetical, technical, and practical aspects of the medium. Artistic interpretation and technique will be examined through study of image capture, processing, and printing relevant to fine art, commercial, and documentary applications.

Will be able to:
- Create technically proficient images using manual controls on their dSLR or SLR cameras.
- Demonstrate proficient skills related to fundamentals of light, exposure, and composition.
- Apply technical skills to the creation of artistic photographs.
- Define and apply an art aesthetic to their photographs.
- Assess and critique images based on aesthetics, content, and technical quality.
- Demonstrate knowledge about the technical, aesthetical, and conceptual connection between image capture, processing, and printing.
- Differentiate between Fine Art Photography, Art for Commerce Photography, and Documentary Photography.
Will be familiar with:
- Fundamental photographic terminology
- Total workflow of the professional photographer
- A broad range of photographic equipment and materials
- A broad range of photographic styles and techniques
- Current industry trends and standards
- Academy of Art University photography program philosophy
Will display the following attitudes/ professional behaviors
- Meet assigned deadlines.
- Professional presentation of work.
- Accept and apply feedback.
- Discuss, analyze, and evaluate work using industry terminology and standards.
- Interact professionally with their instructor and peers.
- Prepare for and contribute to class discussions and critiques.

Books Required:

Photo:Box by Koch, Roberto
ISBN 9780810984356

Books Recommended:

Photography (10th Edition)
Author(s):Barbara London, John Upton, Jim Stone
ISBN9780205711499

Grading Policy

10%	Quizzes
30%	Discussion
20%	Assignments
15%	Midterm Project
25%	Final Project

Class Discussions

Every online class includes a web-based Discussion where you interact with your instructor and classmates. The Discussion simulates traditional classroom discussions, except that participation is asynchronous. This means that you can visit or contribute to the discussion at any time.

Class: History of Photography

2010-12-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a bit on my classes. The first one is:

History of Photography

This course explores the history of photography and the impact of photography on the visual arts. The major photographic movements and genres throughout the history of photography will be defined and studied in theoretical and applied terms.As a result of successfully completing this course, students...

Will be able to:
- Identify major movements in photography: Pictorialism, Photo-Secession, Modernism, and Post-Modernism based on their visual and conceptual elements.
- Recognize select representatives of these movements based on the visual and aesthetic elements of individual photographs.
- Describe and discuss the work of select photographers using specific vocabulary and key concepts.
- Analyze the relationship among evolving technologies, aesthetic developments, and social/ cultural events for each of the major movements of photography.
Will be familiar with:
- Application of photography for fine art, art for commerce, and documentary purposes
- Cultural context for photography
Will display the following attitudes/ professional behaviors:
- Prepare for and contribute to class discussions and critiques
- Meet assigned deadlines
- Uphold the AAU Academic Honesty Policy
- Interact professionally with peers and the instructor
- Analyze and discuss course topics using discipline specific terminology

Books Required:

A World History of Photography
Author:Naomi Rosenblum
ISBN:0789209373
3rd edition OR 4th edition (Recommended)

Your performance will be evaluated through a series of quizzes/tests, assignments class participation and projects. The quizzes will be multiple choice and True/False questions relating to key concepts covered each week. We will focus the class around a series of small exercises and one on-going "final" project. Students are required to view and critique each others work in the discussion area.

10%	Quizzes
30%	Participation (Online Discussion)
15%	Assignments
15%	Midterm Project
30%	Final Project

Class Discussions

Internet Connections

2010-12-17T23:56:00.000-08:00

Qwest is my internet provider and bundled with my home phone. I've noticed my internet getting slower and slower over the last week. Hulu was the first place I noticed it. The audio was coming through fine, but the pictures were like watching a bad slide show. I tried YouTube and it was the same thing. Next, I did all the things that could be my computer's fault for the slowness, but it all pointed to Qwest.

Then my friend Mike told me to run a speed test. I had not heard of this before, but it'll tell you what your download and upload rate is to see if it is your internet connection. Mine was 1/24th of what an average user's is so I called Qwest.

A Qwest representative went through all the diagnostic stuff with me and thought it might be that my filter went bad which happens a lot. She said that is why they send four of them. Thankfully, I don't believe in throwing anything electronic away and dug into " The Drawer of Cables" (say it in your head with a loud echoy voice to make it seem important). I first found a filter from my cable system in LA which didn't work. I then found the right filter. Lo and behold, it made no difference. My speed was still in the tank.

The rep is sending someone out on Monday between 8a and Noon (nice and specific) to take a look. Hopefully, it will be back to normal or faster even. She did warn me that if I did anything to cause the slow down that they would charge me $85 to come out and fix it. I can't think of anything I could have possibly done, but we will see on Monday. I'll add an update to this post once it is done.

So if you don't see me online anywhere on Monday or Tuesday, you know they broke it more by fixing it.

Monday Update: They bumped me and they should come on Tuesday. Not happy.
Tuesday Update: I've gone from a .4 to a 1.5. Wheee! And it could have all been fixed over the phone if Tech Support knew what they were talking about. I didn't need a filter and my moment just needed a flick of a switch.

Cityville

2010-12-16T22:58:00.000-08:00

Zynga created a Facebook game called "Farmville" a few years ago and addicted millions. From there, there created a seemingly endless amount of games including "Mafia Wars," "Frontierville, " "Treasure Isle," "Cafe World" and "Vampire Wars."

I played Farmville until it got too big for its own good. I played Treasure Isle until I got bored. Currently, I'm playing Frontierville which I still enjoy.

Their latest game is called Cityville. This is the closest any of their games have come to the Sims. Enough that I'm sure if they aren't working with them, then they have an awesome lawsuit on their hands.

Why is this game worth mentioning? Because I'm allowed to name the town and all the businesses. I decided to have some fun with it. The default was "Kathy's Town." Weak sauce. I can do better. I thought for a second and then named it "Soylent Green" since the city is made of people.

From here all my businesses had a theme, which started with Mrs. Lovett's Bakery (Sweeney Todd reference), Oregon Trail Bike Shop (Donner Party/video game reference), Alfred Packer's Coffee Shop (Cannibal: The musical! reference), Nightmare Cafeteria Burger Joint (Simpson reference) and Overlord Game Shop (Jonathan Coulton song reference**).

I have to wait to expand to the other side of the train tracks so I can open a restaurant next to the station - Whistle Stop Cafe (Fried Green Tomatoes reference). I don't think they let me name the schools otherwise it would be Rod Serling Elementary and Alfred Hitchcock High School. I really wish they would let me give the police a motto because it would be "To Serve Man." If there is a book store, it will be "It's a...It's a Bookstore!" (Twilight Zone reference)

I am open to any other suggestions that follow the theme of yummy humans.

The game play itself it just kind of okay. At this point, I'm just playing to amuse myself with all references.

** The Jonathan Coulton song is actually called "Chiron Beta Prime." In the song, it mentions soylent green and "Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime, where we're working in a mine for our robot overlords. Did I say overlords? I meant protectors. Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime." **

This Month in Netflix

2010-12-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Veronica Mars: Season 1
I never watched this when it was on, but everyone loved it. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's a mix of Dawson's Creek (teens acting like adults), Buffy (one girl to save them all), Gilmore Girls (pop culture high speed banter) and Psych (crime solving with pop culture banter). The first season is about her trying to figure out her murdered her best friend. As she investigates, her classmates all seem to need her P.I. Detective skills she has from helping her dad. They do a lot of flashbacks to explain back story and fill the season with red herrings so until it is revealed just about everyone could have been the one who killed her. Despite its at time highly ridiculous story lines, it was addictive and I found myself watching episodes on Netflix instant instead of waiting for the next disc to arrive.

Veronica Mars: Season 2
More of the same with a few things wrapped up from Season 1. This season revolves around a school bus crash that Veronica almost was on. She spends have the season thinking that she was the intended target. Like the first season, it is filled with red herrings so much so you rule everyone she thinks it is out. This season did have some fun with cameos. Joss Whedon and Kevin Smith were both huge fans of the show and played a rental car clerk and a gas station clerk, respectively. Steve Guttenberg plays the newly elected mayor and was great at being both friendly and creepy at the same time.

There is only one season left which is on its way to me now. I have no idea what the main mystery is, but she has graduated from high school so onto college as a backdrop. I'll be curious to see which minor characters follow her to college.

Books: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

2010-12-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

I have been terrible at making the time to read. This book was one of the ways I started reading again. Admittedly, it did take me an incredibly long time to finally finish it.

Jane Austen joined the ranks of Shakespeare this year in that her works are now in the public domain. This is why you may have noticed a sudden influx of Austen titles popping up as movies and tv min-series more than usual.

Quirk Books got it in its head that taking a classic and making it more in tune with modern trends would be a good idea. They were wrong. It was A GREAT idea.

This first of these was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. They keep 85% of the original text. The main changes are instead of being renowned for their beauty, its their zombie fighting skills. When Mr. Darcy proposes for the first time, Elizabeth is not only offended, but she actually kicks him into the fireplace. Lady Cathereine de Bourgh is not only wealthy, but also well known for her zombie killing skills in her youth. A few scenes got added that add a bit to the zombie backdrop. They do an excellent job blending the language that it seems like it was there the whole time. The refer to zombies as "the dreadfuls" and "the sorry stricken" in that very British Victorian way they have when they don't want to just call them zombies.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and thanks to my good friend, Rachel, I have a 2011 calender of it to keep it around all year. I recommend it to anyone. It is a fairly quick read and only $12.95 retail. Because of its success, there are more titles to come:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben Winters
Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben Winters

I've heard rumor of "Emma and the Wolves," but haven't seen anything confirmed.

Additionally, there are in the process of making it a movie and Natalie Portman has signed on. No one else has been confirmed yet. I would like to make the below suggestions for the two most important characters in this adaptation:

Mr. Darcy - Karl Urban . You would know him from such films as: Star Trek, Lord of the Rings and Reds. He is from New Zealand and can do the accent. He's proved he can do action. Plus, he is the right age to match with Natalie Portman.

Lady Cathereine de Bourgh - Helen Mirren. She really needs no introduction. I like her because she can do the awesome action sequence when she confronts Elizabeth about her relationship with Mr. Darcy. She has a great sense of humor and would be perfect.

Random Pre-MFA Freakout #2

2010-12-13T02:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a bibliography since 1997.

In 1997, there was no reason to reference web pages. So if I can reference them, I have no idea how to do that. Also, I've never needed to do foot notes or end notes which seem like a very MFA thing I would need to know.

Quick! To the internets!

Pandora Radio

2010-12-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

One of the benefits of my current temp job is that I get to listen to music while I work. Since my own music would get tiresome after listening to it eight hours a day every single day, I mostly listen to Pandora Radio.

If you are unfamiliar with Pandora, you can read the wikipedia description HERE. The actual link to Pandora HERE.

When you use Pandora, you get 40 hours of free music a month with commercials. If you pay $36 for the year, it turns into Pandora one where you get unlimited music without commercials. Not to mention customizing it and a version for your desktop so you don't have to opening a web browser to listen to it.

How it basically works is that you create a station based on a song or artist and Pandora recommends other songs it thinks you will like based on that. You tell Pandora if you like the song or not with a thumbs up or thumbs down. You can rename the station, put songs on the shelf if you think Pandora is playing it too much, bookmark songs or artists you want to remember and there is even a way to buy the song through iTunes or Amazon. It's a great way to discover new music.

Here are some songs I discovered through Pandora that you might enjoy:

And if you can handle him....he is not PC at all.

My Doctor Who Theory

2010-12-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

This post is only for Doctor Who fans that have watched through the end of Season 5 of Doctor Who. It's my theory and I could be completely wrong. If you are not caught up or don't watch the show, you can just skip this post entirely because it won't make any sense at all.

My Theory: River Song and Amy Pond are the same person. They have been trying to mislead us that River is actually a Time Lord, but I think that is just a red herring.

I have a few reasons for believing this. In no particular order....

River and Pond are both aquatic names
Amy's job before traveling with the doctor was doing kissograms. River uses hallucinogenic lipstick to get out of trouble (or in, depending on how you look at it).
River asks Donna who she is, but doesn't ask Amy when they first meet.
River gives Amy the blank journal to trigger her memories of the Doctor. When she remembers him, he returns. They didn't show the pages filling in and why would River's journal trigger Amy's memories. Amy now has a blank journal that is later owned by River.
River's history is often out of order. She is imprisoned in the 54th century when she leaves for the Pandorica. However, later when she meets them earlier for the battle with the Weeping Angels, she was imprisoned centuries before. This clearly shows that she doesn't have a set time that she resides in.
River tells the Doctor that he will soon know who she is and it will change everything. Amy being River would fall into that category.
River is imprisoned for killing "A very good man. Best man I've ever known". Possibly Rory?
Amy and River are both feisty, outspoken and speak to the Doctor in the same tone.
Amy and River both work together to destroy the Fez happily
Last, but not least, my fellow Doctor Who fan, Shelby, noticed they both wear the same watch (as seen below).

This is my theory and I'll be curious to see how it all plays out. However, if I am wrong, I trust that the show will continue to be awesome.

Allons-y!

Television & Me

2010-12-08T01:42:00.000-08:00

In preparations for going back to school, I need to re-prioritize my time spent on watching television. I still need some amusements to be sure or else I could go more insane than usual.

To that effect, I'm not picking up any new shows. To be honest, I don't think I am really missing anything. Should something be the next new awesome thing, I can always catch it when it comes out on DVD. Plus I've had my heart broken by too many shows that only lasted a season (Firefly, Studio 60, Kings, Flash Forward, etc.). I do want to watch Broadwalk, but it automatically defaults to Netflix since I don't have cable.

So let's go through my shows and see what's what:

Burn Notice - I'll keep that on Hulu since it only airs a handful episodes at at time.
Castle - Non-negotiable. Must watch as it airs. Any Nathan Fillion show automatically has priority.
Chuck - I watched the first 5 episodes of this season on Hulu, but I am going to bump it to Netflix.
Dexter - Has and will continue to be watched only on Netflix.
Doctor Who - already just on Netflix due to lack of streaming.
Entourage - already just on Netflix due to lack of streaming.
Grey's Anatomy - Guilty Pleasure. I'm keeping it on Hulu.
House - Too good to miss. Every season has been awesome and this one is no different. Stays on Hulu.
Justified - I really like this show. Timothy Olyphant is awesome, but if something has to go...to Netflix it is.
Lie To Me - No way. Must keep on Hulu. Show is bloody brilliant.
Mad Men - Has been moved to the Netflix list.
The Office - I dropped that last season. It jumped the shark.
Psych - Sadly, an easy one to give up entirely. Nothing compelling to keep me watching any more.
South Park - All episodes are available at anytime on their website so I can watch whenever.
V - I'm only going to watch the episodes my friend Cat worked on. Then it's gone.
Warehouse 13 - I still like it, but it will go to Netflix.

That's actually pretty weeded out already with Battlestar Gallactica, Lost, Dollhouse, Sarah Conner Chronicles and Flash Forward ending. So down to 5 and change hours of television weekly and the rest will be when I can get to them on Netflix.

Plus there are some shows I never picked up like any of the Law & Orders, CSIs, anything on CBS, no reality shows or 30 Rock.

It seems like a lot, but I actually have dropped a lot over the last year. Daily Show and Colbert Report came down off of Hulu and that freed up an hour. I haven't seen Top Chef since I left LA. Without having regular television, I don't accidentally get sucked into new shows. I really have to seek them out on Hulu and commit to watching it.

I can take another look at the list once school starts and see how much time it is going to suck up. Grey's and Lie to Me will most likely be the first causalities.

This Past Year in Netflix (Television)

2010-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Here are the television shows and mini-series that I've watched in the past year

Doctor Who: The Next Doctor, Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars & Doctor Who: The End of Time
After Season 4, there were a few single episodes that were the Doctor traveling on his own without a companion. The End of Time was the last thing that David Tennant did before handing the series over the new Doctor, Matt Smith. All three were good and it was an appropriate send off for Tennant. However, none of them were as good as Season 4.

The Catherine Tate Show: Series 1
BBC sketch comedy show of Catherine Tate who played Donna Noble on Season 4 of Doctor Who. She is quite funny, but one season of this was enough for me.

The Venture Brothers: Season 3
Animated series on Cartoon Network. Funny as always.

Entourage: Season 3-5
HBO original series. Maintaining the same quality. Show is good. I'll keep watching, but in no hurry to rush out to see the next season right away.

Middlemarch (BBC mini-series)
Meh. Not Jane Austen.

Empire Falls (HBO mini-series)
Great cast including: Ed Harris, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Aidan Quinn, Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Based on a book, but just okay. Nothing special at all.

Extras: Season 1, 2 & Finale (Complete Series)
HBO series by Ricky Gervais. Has great cameos and a lot of funny moments, but overall just okay. It does have my favorite line by Clive Owen ever. Here is the whole scene:

Rome: Season 1 & 2 (Complete Series)
Awesome HBO series. Did a great job spanning historic moments of the Roman Empire through the eyes of two Roman soldiers. The only two ordinary soldiers the Julius Caesar mentioned by name in his journals.

Hamish MacBeth: Series 1-3 (Complete Series)
BBC series from the late '90s following a local policeman in a small Scottish town. Very funny.

The Wire: Seasons 1-5 (Complete Series)
If there ever was a series that should be required viewing for every American, this would be it. Written by a former Baltimore homicide detective and former writer for the Baltimore Sun. Each season was about a different aspect of the inner-city. Well written and great actors/characters.

Flight of the Concords: Season 1-2 (Complete Series)
HBO series. I tried to like this. I really did. I like the music, but the comedy in between was just meh. This was my favorite song:

My Name is Earl: Season 1
It was a cute show, but after one season, I didn't feel the need to keep watching. Jason Lee was great as always.

Fortunes of War (BBC Mini-Series)
Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson did this when they were first married. It was good, but nothing special. Breaks the heart to know they aren't together anymore.

Eureka: Season 1
Good series. No need to rush out and get caught up, but would go back to it at a later day.

MI-5: Series 6-7
BBC series about the British version of the FBI. Every episode is action packed. Highly recommend.

Doctor Who: Season 5
Another new Doctor starts with new companions. I was leery, but the new Doctor is worthy. I have a theory about River Song, but I'll put that in another post. River was introduced in season 4 and highly suggested that in the Doctor's future, he marries her. She is a great character.

So we're now all caught up. I've been watching more TV shows than movies so "This Week In Netflix" will more likely become "This Month In Netflix" especially once school starts.

This Past Year in Netflix (Movies)

2010-12-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

Back by popular demand (popular demand being Nate mentioned he missed it). I will resurrect my "This Week In Netflix" posts. To catch up from where I left off (Sept. '09), I'll do the same categories I do with my end of year movie reviews. I'll do television shows separately.

The Award Season Awesome/Very Good:
The Brothers Bloom (own DVD)
Brick (DVD)
Paper Heart
Cold Souls (DVD)
The African Queen (They recently re-released it)

The Awesome/Very Good:
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens (Documentary)

The Award Season Good:
Not Quite Hollywood (Documentary)
The Answer Man
The Merry Gentleman (Michael Keaton directed)
Sliding Doors
The Notorious Bettie Page
The Burning Plain
We Live In Public (Documentary)
Five Minutes of Heaven
Art & Copy (Documentary)

The Good:
City of Ember
Ghost Town
Bottle Rocket
Extract (Mike Judge wrote/direct)
My Brilliant Career
My Bodyguard
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wall Street
My Sister's Keeper
It's All True (Documentary)
Tron (to remind me for the sequel comes out)

The Guilty Pleasures:
Zombie Strippers (Jenna Jameson quoting Nietzsche)
My Life in Ruins (DVD)
A Perfect Getaway (DVD)
All About Steve

The Just Okay:
Broadway's Lost Treasures (1-3) (Documentary)
Easy Virtue
Requiem for a Dream
Monsters vs. Aliens
Management
Away We Go
Sid & Nancy
Bound
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
L.A. Without A Map
Alvin & the Chipmunks
Munich
The Whole Nine Yards
Sexy Beast
Adam
The Rookie
The Other Man
Reality Bites
Night At The Museum 2
G-Force
The Accidental Husband
Up in the Air
Wonderful World
Circque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Serious Moonlight
The Blind Side
Couples Retreat
Crazy Heart

Not My Cup of Tea (Not necessarily bad, but not good for me):
Horton Hears A Who
Jackie Brown
Drag Me To Hell
Magnolia
World's Greatest Dad (Bobcat Goldwaite directs)
Descent
District 9
Halloween (2007)
Young Victoria
Astro Boy

The Bad:
Shrink
Spring Breakdown
The Proposal
The Assassination of Jesse James
Coco Chanel (not as good as Coco Before Chanel)
Spread
Student Bodies
It Might Get Loud (Documentary)
Planet 51

The God Awful:
Observe & Report
Year One (so disappointing)
Land of the Lost
Miss Austen Regrets (UGH. Jane Austen and Elizabeth Bennett are not the same thing)
Post Grad
I Hate Valentine's Day
Brothers
Lagerfeld Confidential (Documentary)

Returned the DVD before Finishing it because it was THAT Bad:
Legally Blond 2: Red, White & Blonde
Humpday
Downloading Nancy
I Sell The Day
Ready to Wear
Black Dynamite (one note joke doesn't work more than 10 minutes)

Tomorrow will be all the TV shows I've been watching.

And the results are in...

2010-12-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

After I submitted all the necessary forms, I awaited the results to see if I was officially accepted into the program.

The first response I got was from Abby in Admissions:

"I have received your portfolio documents, thank you! I liked what you put together! I have sent them to the Director for review.Once I receive your portfolio evaluation, I will call you to discuss registration and which classes the Director is recommending."

Well, Abby liked it so step in the right direction. So I waited 6 days and finally got this from the photography department:

Kathy Bugajsky presented a diverse portfolio of portraits, events, abstractions, and nature photographs. She exhibits sensitivity in using conceptual and compositional elements in her work. This will be a benefit as she enters the MFA Photography program at AAU. As she begins classes, I encourage her to enter with a fresh perspective, to further explore the creative and conceptual aspect of photography, and to be conscious of her use of compositional elements in order to add strength to her imagery. Recommended classes for Spring 2011: PH 603, GS 625, and PH 616. So congratulations again and welcome aboard!

The comments are from Tammara Hubbard who is the associate director of the online photography department. She got her MFA through the same school and is a fine art photographer.

So, I'm officially in!

Next few weeks will be a little bit of everything from me getting ready for school and just randomness in general. Thanks for reading!

Portfolio

2010-12-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

Your Portfolio must include the following:

Photographs: 15-20 photographs, compiled into a single aggregate file (such as a pdf).

Submitted work must show a general direction and focus. Awareness of concept, design, print quality, (where applicable) darkroom and/or PhotoShop skills should also be demonstrated to the best of your ability.

Please include samples that best represent the breadth of your technical and conceptual skills. Your portfolio should reflect the potential, knowledge, understanding, and mastery of your design skills.

If you are applying from an unrelated discipline, your portfolio should be representative of your best existing skills. The overall presentation of your portfolio will be a consideration as well.

Description List: Include the following for each photograph submitted:

Title (specify “untitled” if there is no title)

Date

Camera Used

Print size (intended print size)

Print medium (digital print, silver gelatin, alternative process, etc.)

I submitted it as a powerpoint presentation which I can't upload onto a blog, but I did find a way to convert it to something I could embed through a free website called SlideShare. This worked out well and I highly recommend using them if you want to share a powerpoint presentation with or without music. I also submitted a separate word document with all the above info on the photos, but I won't bore you with that.

Photography portfolio by Kathy Ann Bugajsky 2010

View more presentations from fangirl.

Pre-MFA Freakout #1 - Resolved!

2010-12-01T01:40:00.000-08:00

I got my transcripts. My cumulative GPA was 3.466. Phew.

It was a nice reminder of what classes I took.

I went to community college during the summers to get my basic classes done cheaper and faster. I also did some stuff in high school to help that along. This is how I did my BA in 3 years.

I transferred over:

U.S. History to 1865 (Awful teacher. Just read from the textbook)
Social Science I (Awesome teacher. Learned tons)
Social Science II (Awesome teacher. Learned tons)
Intro Microcomputer (So insanely easy. I should have tested out of it.)
Humanities I (Nothing noteworthy)
Creating a TV program (Summer HS program at the school)
Fiction Writing Workshop (Summer HS program at the school)
A.P. History - Got a 4 out of 5 so I got 1 credit of history transferred over.

Basic Classes I took (in order):

English Composition I (B) - I still have the textbook as a reference book
Science Film Seminar (B) - we watched science films and this counted as a science credit
English Composition II (A) - Unmemorable
The Science of Acoustics I (C) - closest I got to a math class - hence the "C"
Tai Chi Chuan: Beginning (B) - A general elective class. Seriously.
Space Exploration (C) - a science/math class...again with the "C"
Biology: Coffee, Chocolate, Sugar & Spice (C) - a science/math class...again with the "C," but I learned tons in this class. It was an awesome class.
The 1960s (A) - History class. Teacher was cool. Anti-hippy.
Leadership I (B) - General Elective class. Really cool class taught through the marketing department.
Basic Public Speaking (A) - General Elective class
Introduction to Sociology (A) - Unmemorable
Humanity Topics: Creative People (B) - General Elective class. Interesting class. Still have the text book.
Biology of Human Sexuality (A) - Yes, yes, a science math class I aced. Feel free to snicker.

Film Classes I took (in order):
Film Tech I (B) - Terrible teacher and learned I didn't want to be a director very quickly.
History of Cinema (B) - Got lots of sleep in class during the movies I had already seen
Film Tech II (A) - Great teacher and learned a lot about "The Graduate"
Aesthetics of Film & Video (A) - Fun teacher
Special Effects & Post Production Sound (A) - Basically lived in the sound dept. after that
Assistant Director Workshop (A) - teacher became my mentor. Most influential class ever.
Video Production I (B) - Just okay class.
Music, Sound Effects & the Mix (A) - another awesome class
Screenwriting I (B) - I adapted the Catbird Seat for my final. A year later my teacher saw me in the hall and said she finally read the original story and she should have given me an "A."
Production Manager/Film Producing (A) - with my mentor.
Editing for Film/Video (A) - Learned to hate Adobe Premiere and tried to throw computer out 9th story window (true story)
Short Films in Film/Video (A) - Got called a capitalist stuffed shirt in the class.
Video Production II (A) - Learned Avid and accidentally set Erin on fire. Haven't directed since.
American Cinema: Road Movies and the American Dream (B) - Favorite teacher. Awesome class.
American Cinema: Censorship & Movies (A) - Another class with favorite teacher. Awesome class.
Two Visions: Scorsese & Powell (B) - I have a story about this class that would take up a whole blog post (maybe later)
Independent Project (A) - Did pre-production work on a friend's short film
Internship (Pass) - Worked at the Illinois Film Office

My best semester GPA was: 3.812
My worst semester GPA was: 3.0

Not bad considering I was also working part time and working on other people's films as much as possible. I also think I had a bit of a life too. I remember spending a lot of time in bars drinking cherry cokes and eating onion rings with lots of different people. I graduated college before I turned 21 so didn't do much drinking.

Summary of Photography Skills & Experience

2010-11-30T02:28:00.000-08:00

This statement should include:
• Skills and Interests: Describe your photographic experience, skills and interests.
• Academic Experience: List any photography classes or workshops you have attended (digital and/or traditional film photography), including what the classes were and where these classes were taken. Professional Experience: Detail any professional experience you have had as a photographer.
• Exhibition List: List any exhibitions you have participated in, including the date and place of exhibition and if it was a group exhibition or solo exhibition.
• Publications: List any publications of your work, including dates and where your work was published.
• Equipment: What camera(s) do you currently use?
• Hardware/Software: What computer and operating system do you use? What version of Photoshop do you use?
• Website: If you have a website, please include the URL address.
• Other: Include any other relevant information you feel may be important for the Photography department to know about your photographic skill and experience.
• Please Note: The purpose of this summary statement is to determine where you would optimally be placed in the program. If you have advanced skill and experience, you will be placed in different classes than if your skills are of an intermediate level. It is very important that you are honest about your current skill level in order to assure that you are appropriately placed in the right classes in the program.

Professional Experience: I have been a volunteer staff photographer for: Seattle International Film Festival (2009 & 2010), Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (2009 & 2010), Cut! Film Festival (2008), Freemont Solstice Parade and Naked Bike Ride (2009 & 2010), Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon & Masquerade Ball (2010), Emerald City Comicon (2010), Freemont Outdoor Cinema Zombie Walk (2009), World Naked Bike Ride (2009) and Amazon Fresh Company Picnic (2009).

Exhibition List: The Photo Center Northwest (PCNW) does a yearly 24 hour photography marathon called “Long Shot.” I had one photo from each year displayed as part of a group and then sold as part of a fundraiser in both the 2009 & 2010 event. The 2009 event took place at Ouch My Eye Studios and 2010 took place at PCNW’s own gallery.

Publications: In the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) Guide, four out of the eleven photos used were taken by me during the 2009 festival (the most from just one photographer). One of my photos was used in SIFF’s Programming Book. Additionally, my photos from SIFF 2009 & 2010 have been picked up by several websites at least 14 pictures that I am aware of (the publicists didn’t always track usage since we were volunteers). The Historical Marker Database website has published several photos documenting various historical markers around Seattle. Dave Kellet (creator of “Sheldon”) asked for permission to use a photo I took of him as his Wikipedia photo. Chris Ryall (Editor in Chief of IDW Comics) uses a photo I took as his LinkedIn Photo and both James Gunn (writer/director) and Nathan Fillion (actor) have previously used my photos for MySpace and Facebook as their profile pics. While it doesn’t seem like much, these people have had professional pictures taken of themselves and used mine as their main avatar on public websites.

Academic Experience: I have not taken any specific photography classes. I have taken film/video classes while getting my Bachelor of Arts degree in film/video from Columbia College in Chicago. I am familiar with lighting set ups, light meters, F-stops, ASAs, composition, etc. I have attended some photography group outings to a studio where I got experience using speedlights. Previously, I have only worked with hot lights.

Skills and Interests: For the past two years (since I got my digital SLR), I have covered a lot of events (see professional experience) where I was responsible for photographing various Q&A screenings, red carpet events, parties including the opening, closing and centerpiece galas. I documented the celebrities, sponsors and festival guests including getting stock photos, posed and candid photos as well as chronicling the preparation and execution of the event. On my own, I have taken photos of Seattle as I learn my way around the city (I moved there in 2008 from Los Angeles). My interests are all over the place from pop culture things like movies, television, comic books, etc. to history, literature, cooking. I don’t have many causes that I’m interested in like the environment, specific diseases or politics, but I am very much an advocate against censorship in any form.

Equipment: Pentax K2000 with an 18-55mm lens

Hardware/Software: I have a PC running Windows XP (with 2 GB of RAM) and an external drive with a 1 TB of space. At the moment, I do not have Photoshop, but will be getting a copy shortly. I have been happy using Picasa as my photo editor.

Website: http://picasaweb.google.com/photosbykathyann

Other: It is my belief that the art comes from the artist and not the technical equipment used to make the art. The reason I use Picasa instead of Photoshop is because I think that photo editing programs should only be used as digital dark rooms. I think manipulating the photograph any more than you could in an ordinary film dark room turns the photograph into a digital painting. I know I have a lot to learn and I look forward to using it.

Statement of Intent

2010-11-29T02:21:00.000-08:00

1. Please be concise and to the point.

2. Do your research: Does your statement demonstrate that you know about the specific industry you are pursuing and how the Academy of Art University will be a good partner for your purposes?

3. Show your focus and passion: Refrain from writing a personal biography. What about the subject inspires and motivates you? Be personal and passionate.

4. Tell us your goals: Be specific. What would you like to accomplish while in graduate school? Where would you like to be after you complete your degree?
************************************************************

I like the way the world looks through a camera. In the movie “Brothers Bloom,” a character named Penelope explains that with pinhole photography, “you can look at the most menial everyday thing, and depending on how your pinhole camera eats the light, it's warped and peculiar and imperfect. It's not reproduction, its storytelling.” It’s not just limited to pinholes either. How a photographer approaches the subject is just as important as what the subject is. I find that fascinating.

Photography has come in and out of my life for as long as I can remember. I started when I was eight years old by taking a class at the zoo. I came in 1^st place and had it displayed. It was of a goat in the foreground looking unamused with kids playing in the background at the petting zoo. It wasn’t a staged photo and no one was making everyone smile so we could remember the day. It was just a mini-moment frozen in time. I eventually stopped taking photos that were interesting and fell into the habit of just documenting moments and forcing people to smile and say “cheese.” Flash forward a couple of decades, I find myself in the pit of a demolition derby with a point and shoot camera having fun taking different pictures and getting these amazing shots. I started carrying my camera with me and shooting everything from architecture to a capful of ketchup at a fast food joint.

Eventually, I out grew my point and shoot and got myself a digital(Pentax K2000) which I named “Gertie.” I take her on walks, show her the town, introduce her to people and generally use her as a companion when I’m alone somewhere. When I get bored at my day job, I pick a celebrity or a friend and decide how I would photograph them if I were doing a layout in a magazine.

While film school trained me on basic lighting, composition and structuring shots, it also taught me to tell stories with images. This sense of storytelling provides me with a way to extend my personality into my artistic work. Therefore, in this program, I am interested in getting comfortable with my camera and the photo editing programs to better express myself better through single photographs. While commercial work tends to be very cookie-cutter at times, I hope to learn how to add sprinkles.

I started volunteering as a photographer at various film festivals and events. I’ve experimented with various styles and learned a few things such as taking pictures of plants and flowers bores me to death and trying to be abstract nearly burned down my apartment. I thought back lighting colored tissue paper with a candle would look different and interesting. Not realizing that the chemicals they are treated with might as well be soaked in gasoline or lighter fluid. Non-flammable subjects, people and places seem to be more my speed.

I feel I have done as much as I can without proper training and this why I am interested in this program. In other programs, the is in Visual or Studio Arts with a focus on photography whereas this program is in photography so I can focus on the specific types. My goals are to learn more so I can focus my craft and eventually bring my work to a wider audience than my facebook friends and those that attend the events I photograph. I would like to have a portfolio that will lead me to be an asset to any art director or editor who will have me and still satisfy my inner artist.

In conclusion, I hope this statement of intent not only gives you the information you need about what brought me here, but a glimpse at my approach to pictures and a glimpse of my personality. I look forward to the next stage.

Pre-MFA Freakout #1

2010-11-26T00:43:00.000-08:00

The school needs a copy of my college transcripts. I was a good student. I vaguely remember making Dean's List once, but I also remember toward the end thinking my grades didn't matter so much since I wasn't going to grad school. Whoops.

So I am going to request unofficial transcripts sent to myself before I get the official one sent to the school. Not that I am worried or anything...just...well concerned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T02:13:00.000-08:00

Gobbles!

Requirements for the Application

2010-11-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

Applicants to the MFA Program must submit the following:

Completed Application Form clearly indicating chosen discipline.
Application Fee of $100
Statement of Intent
Summary of Photography Skills and Experience
Official College Transcript(s) – Transcripts can be sent directly from the college(s) or can be submitted by the applicant if in a sealed envelope.
Resume - Should describe your education background, work experience, and relevant skill set.
A portfolio – A professionally presented indication of the applicant’s skills.

I filled out the application form online and submitted my $100. I'll post my statement of intent and my photography skills in another blog post.

I found out that you can order transcripts online and it is a fairly painless process. It's free for unofficial and $5 for official transcripts. Not bad. I'm glad I don't have to pick them up in person or anything silly like that. Otherwise, my sister would have to be impersonating me and traveling to downtown Chicago.

My portfolio will be over several blog posts since I can only so many photos at a time. I'm not going to post my resume to protect the innocent and the guilty.

So, as I'm sure you have noticed. I'm posting more and more. I'm trying to get back in the habit of doing things on a deadline to prepare going back to school. I'm not saying this will be continuing because every time I do, I end up not posting for months. So no guarantees.

Academy of Art University

2010-11-23T01:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some details and links if you want to know more about my school:

"The Master of Fine Arts degree program imparts a high level of digital and traditional photography skill and graduate-level aesthetic theory, and it substantially educates and supports students in their investigation of the applied and fine arts specializations. This is accomplished through the mastery of specific skills according to the student's needs, strong education in relation to relevant theory, emphasis on the student's personal vision, a professional faculty that provides depth as well as breadth of experience, and facilities that provide a professional context for study.

Students have the opportunity to concentrate in the area of photography of specific interest to them learning about core principles related to photography as a medium. Our school supports graduate students in becoming leaders rather than followers in their area of specialization.

Photography courses include a mix of studio courses, individual advisement, and seminars. Strong conceptual and technical knowledge is the underpinning of the curriculum, with a powerful and cohesive final thesis project being the tangible result."

Photography Dept. - Basic Description
Photography School
Photography MFA Details
Graduate Thesis Gallery (A future place for my work)
Grad Students Main Page
General Student Main Page
F.A.Q. about the online classes

I hope that fills in a little more of the general stuff about the school. I'm sure I'll be filling you in on the little stuff about the process as I continue blogging. This will be my new home for 2-3 years at least so feel free to take a look around and enjoy the virtual campus.

Peer Pressured

2010-11-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

My friend, James, kept trying to get me to go back to school when I complained about my job. I dismissed it. My other friend, Mike, agreed with James, but didn't do much to convince me. When James said school, I kept picturing re-living my undergrad days and it just didn't interest me.

Then another friend, Andy, says I should go back and get my master's degree for photography. Huh. Masters. Hadn't crossed my mind. He continues and says with an MFA I could also teach. Huh. Interesting. I could start applying and looking into schools and if I don't see anything I like or don't get in, there is no real loss. It doesn't cost anything to apply. Huh. All valid points. There are a ton of online programs so I'm not limited to Seattle if there aren't any good programs here. His wife, Theresa, gets on the phone and hits all this same points and tell me about her masters that she just started working on through an online program. It all sounds great. Then the two of them start sending me "Do it! Do it!" texts. They both add all this super supportive gushy stuff too. Evily awesome friends that they are.

The next day at work someone asks me how it is going and I say, "I'm being peer pressured into get a master's degree." To which they respond by just shaking their head and walking away. I'm sure that was not how that sentence usually ends. I threw it out there to a few other people. Friends and co-workers all agreed that it sounded like a solid plan. Not a single nay sayer among them which is unusual, but 5 out of 5 dentists agree that this was the way to go. (Referencing the gum commercials and not actual dentists, in case you were confused.)

I looked into a bunch of programs and learned that there are two kinds of MFA Photography programs. One is a visual arts/studio arts MFA with a concentration in Photography and the other is a photography MFA that you can concentrate in a specific type of photography. I think you can easily guess which one sounded more appealing.

I narrowed my focus and one school kept popping up as being the top choice. Funny enough. It also happens to be the very same school that Theresa is attending. It seems to be written in the stars. It reminds me a lot of where I did my undergrad and one giant plus is they don't require the GRE I did my undergrad at Columbia College in Chicago and they didn't require the ACT or SAT. Bless art schools for realizing we suck at math.

I filled out the online application and sent it off. I got some promotional materials in the mail a few days later. The day before I quit my job (see previous post for that story if you missed it), I got a call from the school. Abigail from admissions said that they were very interested in getting me started in application process. She answered a bunch of my random questions about the school, the program and financial aid. An hour after the conversation I got an email with all the things I needed to do.

The next post will be all about the school and the program.

**Spoiler** It's the Academy of Art University in San Fransisco (But I'll be doing the online program here in Seattle).

(Side note - I put links to all the tests and initials I referenced since I have some international friends who might not know what I am talking about.)

My 34th Year

2010-11-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

My birthday was Sept. 28th and I turned 34. A generally unimportant birthday all things considered, but happened to coincide with two massive events in my life.

After two years as an in-house temp at a staffing agency, I quit my job in what can only be described as a blaze of glory. It was a build up of stress and poor treatment by supervisors and by corporate. The straw that broke my back was the other in-house temp who has only been there for 6 months was hired on perm at $8 more an hour. When I asked my boss about it, she dismissed me as being irrationally upset.

I haven't been able to take a vacation in two years, I didn't have medical insurance, I haven't had a raise in 2 years, I had been promised for a year and a half that I would be perm and when I was off sick, I had to work that weekend to make up the hours. I had been working 60 hours a week and was exhausted. I couldn't take it anymore. It was stressful work conditions and I was being treated like a second class citizen. They didn't even think that I needed to be told. I found out like schmuck. This was the final insult and I was forced into a position where I had to quit. I would have given two week's notice, but it was mutually agreed with my emotions being as high as they were that allowing me to interact with the client would not have been good.

I quit with nothing to go to. I had enough money saved up for a month's worth of unemployment. I signed up with a bunch of temp agencies and applied to all jobs I could on craigslist. I've had a bunch of phone and in-person interviews, but keep getting told I am the second choice only because someone has just a little bit more experience than myself. It is frustrating, but not surprising in this economy. Right now, I have a long term temp assignment that is crap pay, but plenty of OT that allows me to make more money than before. I have to work 7 days a week, but I can pay my bills without raking up more debt.

I am still in search of a stable steady position with better pay. I keep getting told it is right around the corner and I'm sure it is, but there are a lot of corners to look around for it.

This was a pretty cataclysmic event and kind of dwarfed the news I had that happened the day before.

I got accepted into a master's program for photography. More to come in the next post.

Updated some links to your left

2010-10-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

I added "Five Million Can Project" which is brought to you by my cousin-in-law, Kim. I'll let her first post explain what her blog is about and click on the link to read more:

I'm an out of work mom. When I had this idea, I was still working. Even then, with the cost of daycare, the cost of our mortgage, the cost of health insurance, the cost of day to day life, I didn't know how we were going to save for our kids' college fund.

This idea began that everywhere I went, if I saw a plastic or glass bottle or aluminum can-- a recyclable, that I'd pick it up and take it home and recycle it. I looked at it as a nickel. If I saw a nickel on the ground, I'd pick it up. Wouldn't you? So, these are my nickels.

After looking at the estimated cost of college in 2024 and 2027, respectively, my kids will probably need anywhere from 125,000 to 400,000 to go to college. EACH. If I can raise that minimum amount of money, then put it in a CD for the kids over the years, I should be able to have enough to pay for college for both of them.

How many of those "nickels" or cans would I have to find in order to pay for my kids' college?

Five Million Cans.

So this is the Five Million Can Project. My goals is to get Five Million Cans for my kids by the time my daughter turns 5. She is 3 1/2 now. I and my husband have currently found 416 cans and bottles. (Some bottles are worth more than a nickel according to California Recycling Value-- CRV). This is currently equivalent to 22.45. Obviously, I cannot do this alone, especially since my husband and I rarely drink soda-- Okay, I'm the soda drinker in the house-- and we have made it a rule that we don't buy bottled water unless absolutely necessary. We used to use a Brita filtered pitcher and now we have a filter built into our refrigerator. So, between our offices, where people are pitching their recyclables without a second thought and finding bottles and cans on the street, we're finding those nickels wherever and whenever we can. Even still, we need help. So, will you donate your cans and bottles to our little project?

Hopefully this will lead not only to my kids having a college fund, but also to a larger realization that empty cans and bottles have value. That wasting them by throwing them into the trash where they will just poison the Earth isn't just bad for the environment, but that you can really DO something positive when you don't waste.

Thanks!
The Can Mom.

And yes, I am pretending like it hasn't been 6 months since I posted last. We both know that anything I say about posting more will most likely be a well intentioned lie.

Made the Finals!

2010-04-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

I thought you'd like an update in case you hadn't heard elsewhere:

"You made to the final 50 most voted photographers for the Naomi Campbell Photography Search Creative Invite. Your submission has been sent to Naomi to review and decide who will participate in a photo shoot for Glamour Magazine.

We will announce the winning model Tuesday, April 30, 2010."

Thanks to everyone who voted!

I received 54 votes putting me in at 45th place. Plus 8,596 page views. I can say that a great deal of people have seen my photos. Thanks again for all the help.

I'll let you know the final outcome when it gets announced.

THANKS AGAIN for voting!

Please help by voting!

2010-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone I've ever met or been related to!

I have entered into a photography contest and need your help. I have made the semi-finals and this is for the finals!

Here is what I need you to do to vote for my photo between now and April 9, 2010 at 10a Pacific:

Text: TVOTE JJBMQB
to: 21001

It will cost you 99 cents and you can only vote once from that cell phone.

Here is the link see the photos: http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/photosbykathyann/81

The winner will be announce April 20, 2010. Voting from the cell phones and the charges help keep the contest fair and from spambots rigging the contests.

The contest is sponsored by Supermodel Naomi Campbell to find the next fashion photographer. She is going to pick the winner out of the top photographers that get the most votes. Popularity helps get you noticed and then those will be judged on their merit.

The winner gets an all-expenses paid trip to London to participate in a photo shoot with Naomi Campbell for Glamour UK magazine and Glamour.com. Even if I don't win, having my photos seen and judged by professionals such as professional photographers and supermodels, will definitely help.

Please pass this along to anyone and everyone you have ever met or been related to. I am deeply appreciative of any and all votes.

If you want to check out all of my photos, here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/photosbykathyann

Hope this finds you all well and if you are unable to vote, fingers crossed and well wishes will work too!

Thanking you all in advance!

All cleaned up!

2010-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I changed the curtains, rugs and added some new throw pillows. The place is now as good as new.

If you notice at the very bottom of this blog, it shuffles through some of the most recent photos I have posted in my picasa web albums.

I may tweak the colors every now and then to get them just right, but I think this will work. If you have any suggestions, I am open to them!

Hello? Is Anyone in Here?

2010-04-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

The door creaks open and a splinter of light shines in. Everything is completely covered in dust, the plants are all dead and the my god what is that smell?

Yes, I have abandoned this blog for quite some time. October is when my day job got super busy and didn't let up until mid-January. Then my photography projects started picking up. I'm actually kind of busy right now, but I thought I would do some posting to let you know I was alive at least.

I think I was too ambitious before trying to blog five days a week. I think I need to just write when I have something to tell you or when I'm in the mood to write. At this moment, that's actually quite a bit of stuff. So I can't guarantee a schedule, but I will try to let you know all the stuff that's been going on.

I think I'm going to tweak this layout a bit as well and update a few things. Stay tuned. I promise I'll be back in less than 6 months. I hope.

2009 Movies

2009-12-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Award Season Awesome:
The Hurt Locker
Me and Orson Wells (Own on DVD)

Avatar

(500) Days of Summer (3x) (DVD)

Inglourious Basterds

Nine (DVD)

The Awesome:
Star Trek (2x)(DVD)
Up (2x)
Time Traveler's Wife (DVD)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Pirate Radio(DVD)

Sherlock Holmes

The Brothers Bloom (DVD)

Paper Heart

Perfect Getaway (DVD)

Cold Souls (DVD)

The Award Season Good:
Food, Inc.
Moon
Easy Virtue
A Serious Man

It's Complicated

State of Play

The Merry Gentleman

We Live In Public

The September Issue

The Good:
Corraline
Watchmen
Little Joe
Surrogates
Whip It! (DVD)

Law Abiding Citizen

Everybody's Fine
Inkheart
The Answer Man

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation

Extract

Up in the Air

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Cirque du Freak: Vampire's Assistant

The Guilty Pleasures:
Zombieland (DVD)

The Great Buck Howard (DVD)
I Love You, Man
Alien Trespass (DVD)
My Life In Ruins (DVD)

Night At the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian

G-Force

All About Steve

The Just Okay:
Sunshine Cleaners
Terminator: Salvation (DVD)
The Ugly Truth
Julie & Julia
Whiteout (DVD)
The Informant!
Love Happens
Men Who Stare At Goats

2012

Amelia

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

The Lovely Bones

Taken
New In Town
Confessions of a Shopaholic
He's Just Not That Into You
The Mutant Chronicles
Fanboys
Away We Go
Management

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Adam

The Other Man

Post Grad

Brothers

Not My Cup of Tea (Not necessarily Bad, but not Good for me):
Public Enemies
The Hangover
Funny People
Gamer
Where The Wild Things Are
Notorious
Duplicity
Management
Drag Me To Hell

District 9

It Might Get Loud

The Bad:
7 Pounds
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Finding Woodstock
Shrink
Bride Wars
Dead Like Me: Movie
The International
Two Lovers
Adventureland
The Soloist
The Proposal
The Shrink

Spread

The Burning Plain

The Accidental Husband

The God Awful:
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Icons Among Us
Year One
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Land of the Lost

Observe and Report

Humpday

Downloading Nancy

I Sell the Dead

I Hate Valentine's Day

The There Are No Words:
Knowing

Taking Woodstock

2009-09-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: A thirtysomething man (Demetri Martin) finds his life forever changed in the summer of 1969 when he offers up his parents' motel in the Catskills as a home base for Woodstock organizers and helps the show go on by donating an all-important music festival permit. Ang Lee directs this fresh take on 1960s counterculture based on Elliot Tiber's memoir by the same name. Eugene Levy, Imelda Staunton, Emile Hirsch and Jeffrey Dean Morgan co-star.

Another disappointment. Ang Lee was a little too accurate in his movie skills and paced it like a movie from the 1960s. This movie dragged a lot and felt twice as long as it actually was.

There were weird character developments and no music from that era. You never see the concert except from way up on the hill. Everyone did a great job acting wise especially Demetri who is great on Jon Stewart's Daily Show.

I can't say I recommend seeing it in the theater. It's a rental at best.

This Week In Netflix

2009-09-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

Inkheart (2008) Description from Netflix: Unbeknownst to his 12-year-old daughter, Meggie (Eliza Bennett), bookbinder Mo "Silvertongue" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) has a secret ability to bring characters to life by reading their stories out loud. But when the wicked Capricorn (Andy Serkis) comes after her father, Meggie must rescue him. Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren co-star in this enchanting fantasy based on the best-selling children's novel by Cornelia Funke.

I liked this a lot. More adult friendly than Journey to the Center of the Earth, but not as good as Stardust. I recommend checking it out.

People Like Us: The Complete Series (2-Disc Series) (1999) Description from Netflix: In this BBC mockumentary series, filmmaker Roy Mallard (a fictional character played to the letter by Chris Langham) traipses around England to interview a variety of everyday people, from pilots to doctors to vicars. The result is a hilariously deadpan meditation on the "skilled" professionals who make the world go 'round, with appearances from well-known actors such as Bill Nighy, David Tennant and Jessica Hynes.

Bloody BRILLIANT! I could not stop giggling through all the episodes. You seriously need to check it out. The dry sense of humor is just perfectly delivered. Bill Nighly and David Tennant were great as the photographer and the actor, respectively. The best part is the documentarian keeps getting in the way.

State of Play (2009) Description from Netflix: When his mistress is found dead, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) tries desperately to protect his name and career. As journalists Cal (Russell Crowe) and Della (Rachel McAdams) investigate further, they uncover an intricate web of lies that stretches to the highest levels of power. Based on the critically acclaimed BBC miniseries, this intriguing political thriller co-stars Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman.

A nice little intertwined thriller. All kinds of twists and turns with such a great cast. I need to add the BBC version to my queue now.

This Week In Netflix

2009-09-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Duplicity (2009) Description from Netflix: Julia Roberts and Clive Owen co-star in this curveball-throwing thriller as a pair of romantically involved corporate operatives who are entangled in a bitter rivalry between two mammoth pharmaceutical companies. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson convincingly round out the heavyweight cast as warring big pharma CEOs in this intriguing espionage effort from writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton).

Meh. It was just okay. The ending made the movie at least not a total waste of time. I think for some reason the combo of Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti make for a bad movie for some reason. Not sure why, but this is the second movie they have done together and it's just not good.

Adventureland (2008) Description from Netflix: Unable to afford the European vacation he'd dreamed of, recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) reluctantly takes a gig at a local amusement park, only to learn that the dead-end job is, in fact, excellent preparation for the real world. Writer-director Greg Mottola's semi-autobiographical comedy-drama, filmed in Pittsburgh's Kennywood Park, also stars Ryan Reynolds and Kristen Stewart.

Ugh. I didn't enjoy this. I have this thing. I may have mentioned it before. If I cannot identify or understand a character, I can't get into the movie. A movie is like a party. The party could totally rock, but if I can't find a door to get into it, then I'm not going to enjoy it from the front lawn. It seems like Jesse Eisenberg is always at these parties with the hard to find doors. Seeing him just brings back all the hatred I had for "The Squid and the Whale."

The Foot Fist Way (2006) Description from Netflix: A pompous control freak, small-town tae kwon do instructor Mr. Simmons (Danny McBride) finally loses his cool when he gets wind of his wife's infidelities. Facing meltdown, he sets out on a pilgrimage to see his hero, martial arts master Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Ben Best), in action. But is the world ready for a meeting between these two black-belt egos? Expertly drawn characters and furious action make this a comedy that really packs a punch.

If you like Danny McBride, you will love this movie. It feels like they made it up as they go. I think if I had taken tae kwon do, I might have gotten a few more jokes. If you don't like Danny McBride, do not go near this movie. You will hate it.

Finished the F's

2009-08-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Face/Off (Some really great bad dialogue and unbelievable action sequences)
Fallen (An often forgotten about film that is a great thriller)
The Family Stone (Usually in my Christmas rotation, but good year round)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Need I say more?)
A Few Good Men (This movie still has great dialogue and performances. Alan Sorkiny goodness)
The Fifth Element (Leloo Dallas Multipass)
Fight Club (Still one of my all time favorite films)
Final Destination (This first one is still a fun horror film. I ignore the rest)
Finding Nemo (Pixary goodness. Remember: Fish are friends. Not food.)
Forget Paris (Still one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time)
Four Brothers (In my Thanksgiving rotation usually)
Four Wedding and A Funeral (A bit dated, but still good)
Fraility (A great horror/thriller everyone should see)
Free Enterprise (Cult classic that I identify with)
French Kiss (Kevin Kliney goodness)
The Frighteners (Peter Jacksony goodness)
Funny Face (Audrey Hepburn singing for herself. Personally, I think Marti does a better job being her)

This Week In Netflix

2009-08-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Submitted for Your Approval: Rod Serling (1998) Description from Netflix: This documentary about Rod Serling derives its name from the weekly introduction that the "Twilight Zone" host delivered with his signature clenched diction. These fantasy playlets linger because of their twist endings and science-fiction trappings, which shrewdly disguise the taut morality plays the prolific screenwriter Serling (Seven Days in May, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Planet of the Apes) hid within.

Great information done as a bad documentary. It sounded good on paper, but they used footage from the Twlight Zone episodes as B-roll footage. They also got a bad impersonator to do all the Rod Serling quotes. I recommend reading the book instead.

The Mutant Chronicles (2008) Description from Netflix: In a futuristic world where Earth is divided into four warring "Corporations," a frightening new breed of NecroMutant threatens to destroy the global population. But is Brother Samuel, the leader of an age-old monastic order, the prophesized Deliverer who's destined to destroy the undying beasts and save the planet? Seizing the chance to realize his destiny, Samuel rounds up an army of recruits who can help him do the job.

A little too scifi even for me. Anything that takes more than 10 minutes to explain the backstory is too much. However, great performances by everyone. Tom Jane is really a great actor.

He's Just Not That Into You (2009) Description from Netflix: Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore and Scarlett Johansson lead an all-star ensemble cast of characters dealing with the pitfalls of love and human interaction in this big-screen adaptation of Greg Behrendt's best-selling book. Set in Baltimore, director Ken Kwapis's film moves swiftly between a host of storylines brought to life by a stellar lineup of actors that also includes Jennifer Connelly, Ben Affleck, Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long.

Better than I thought it would be. Watchable and even entertaining at times. Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long are the only reasons to watch this.

Julie & Julia

2009-08-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Amy Adams stars in this truth-inspired tale as Julie Powell, a disenchanted government secretary who decides to enliven her uneventful life by cooking all 524 recipes outlined in Julia Child's culinary classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Based on Powell's book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, director Nora Ephron's heartwarming dramedy also stars Meryl Streep as legendary chef Child.

Disappointing. They didn't make the food a character so you don't walk out of the movie hungry. They didn't tie up a few loose ends either. Left me with a bunch of questions. I guess I will have to read the book.

Meryl Streep was perfect and they could have just done the whole movie of just her storyline. She and Stanley Tucci had great chemistry.

They did show the Dan Ackroyd skit in the movie which is what I think of when I hear Julia Child's name.

Inglourious Basterds

2009-08-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: A Jewish cinema owner (Mélanie Laurent) in occupied Paris is forced to host a Nazi movie premiere, where a radical group of American Jewish soldiers called the Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), plans to roll out a score-settling scheme. The face-off is about to go down -- that's if Col. Hans Landa aka "The Jew Hunter" (Christoph Waltz) doesn't get in the way. Quentin Tarantino directs this World War II-set spaghetti Western.

The commercials for this movie do not do it justice. First off, 75% of the movie is subtitled because the dialogue is in either French or German. Brad Pitt has maybe 20 minutes of screen time max. There are maybe 4-5 violent scenes and they last under a minute each.

With the exception of the final scene, the whole movie could have been done on stage. I walked out of the movie feeling like I watched a really great play. The dialogue and acting was just perfect.

Also, I should mention that there is no historical accuracy to the movie at all.

It's awesome and I highly recommend.

This Week In Netflix

2009-08-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Alien Trespass (2009) Description from Netflix: This homage to 1950s-era alien invasion flicks stars Eric McCormack as Ted Lewis, an astronomer whose body plays host to an intergalactic bounty hunter named Urp after a spacecraft crashes into a mountain. But Urp isn't the only survivor: A ravenous monster is now roaming the California countryside. With the help of a local waitress (Jenni Baird), it's up to Ted -- or rather, his alien alter ego, Urp -- to save the planet from total annihilation.

This was brilliant! It was a B movie script done with today's technology. It had all the key elements and was just a lot of fun and a great guilty pleasure. I highly recommend.

Will Shakespeare (2-Disc Series) (1978) Description from Netflix: The tragedies, histories and comedies of playwright William Shakespeare are some of the finest in the English language. But in this made-for-television miniseries from the 1970s, the Bard of Avon's own life offers a plot that's just as riveting. Emmy Award winner Tim Curry stars as Shakespeare, with Golden Globe winner Ian McShane co-starring as Shakespeare's fellow playwright and rival, Christopher Marlowe.

Right - Tim Curry and Ian McShane in their prime on a BBC produced show. I thought this was going to be awesome, but I forgot that the BBC sucked until the early 90s. Oh god this was horrible. I tried so hard. It was cool to see Ian McShane so young, but my god was that boring.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009) Description from Netflix: While making a routine commute on a London double-decker, Doctor Who (David Tennant) and his fellow passengers are mysteriously transported through a wormhole to a planet inhabited by an endangered anthropomorphic species known as the Tritovore. Aided by the daring cat burglar Lady Christina de Souza (Michelle Ryan), the Doctor sets out to defend the Tritovore from a race of menacing aliens that are plotting to take over their planet.

Disappointing Easter episode. I expected more, but the Doctor really needs a good companion and Michelle Ryan wasn't it. This was especially weak compared to how much Torchwood's "Children of Earth" totally rocked.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-08-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams). Also starring Ron Livingston as Gomez, the soul-stirring romantic drama was adapted from the best-selling Audrey Niffenegger novel by Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter behind the beloved weepy Ghost.

There are few movies on this planet that will make me cry. This is one of them.

This was a great romantic film and total chick flick. I haven't read the book, but I now want to. Rachel McAdams was just perfect as was Eric Bana. I highly recommend checking out.

Finished the E's

2009-08-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Elf (A Christmas movie with Bob Newhart. 'Nuff said)
Elizabeth (Historical accurate as Star Wars, but still enjoyable)
Elizabethtown (I may be the only person who likes this movie)
Empire Records (It's Rex Manning Day!)
Enchanted (I love this movie)
Enemy of the State (Bruckheimer goodness)
Escape from New York (Classic)
Evening with Kevin Smith (Love the Superman and Prince stories)
Ever After (Fun re-telling of Cinderella)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Well made movie)
Explorers (Classic. Still awesome)

Mashups

2009-08-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people like to take the audio from one movie trailer and match it up visuals from another movie. Here are three of my favorites:

The audio from "Quantum of Solace" with the visuals from "The Incredibles":

The audio from "Watchman" with the visuals from "Wall-E":

The audio from "Hot Fuzz" and the visuals from "Toy Story 1&2":

This Week In Netflix

2009-08-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Soloist (2008) Description from Netflix: This true-life drama tells the poignant tale of Los Angeles newspaper reporter Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), who discovers brilliant street musician Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), and the unique friendship that transforms both their lives. In helping his new friend deal with his demons, Steve ends up battling with his own. Joe Wright directs this inspiring drama based on the bestselling book by the real Lopez.

Meh. You could almost hear the studio giving notes. This was not a good movie and I think part of the problem is the main character is the same person who wrote the script since this is based on a true story. It reads like a newspaper article and is told very factually with all the emotion drained out of it. Not worth checking out.

Night at the Museum (2006) Description from Netflix: Chaos reigns at the natural history museum when night watchman Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) accidentally stirs up an ancient curse, awakening Attila the Hun, an army of gladiators, a T. rex and other exhibits. Larry tries desperately to keep marauding Neanderthals and Mayans in check, fighting a losing battle until President Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) comes to the rescue. Owen Wilson and Dick Van Dyke co-star in this family-friendly fantasy.

I liked this. I thought it was a cute kids movie. I'm looking forward to renting the sequel even though it looks like more of the same. I thought the comedy was just right and not too over the top.

I Love You, Man (2009) Description from Netflix: In this bromance, the cinematic equivalent of a rom-com buddy flick, Paul Rudd plays a recently engaged guy who's got the bride-to-be of his dreams but lacks an all-important significant other when it comes to their pending nuptials: a best man. On a determined hunt for a stranger who will stand up for him, he eventually meets a candidate (Jason Segel) with wedding-party potential. Jaime Pressly, Rashida Jones and Jon Favreau co-star.

The commercial made this out to be a very different movie than it was. I liked it. I thought it was decent. Although Paul Rudd was just a little too dorky at times. However, the out takes of him playing with a squeaky chair were pretty funny.

Farmville on Facebook

2009-08-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to this application game on Facebook.

Here is a video that quickly explains:

RIP John Hughes

2009-08-07T17:59:00.000-07:00

New York Times:

August 7, 2009

John Hughes, Who Captured the Lives of Teenagers in the 1980s, Dies at 59

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

LOS ANGELES — John Hughes, the once-prolific filmmaker whose sweet and sassy comedies like “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club” plumbed the lives of teenagers in the 1980s, died Thursday on a morning walk while visiting Manhattan. He was 59.

The cause was a heart attack, according to a statement from the publicists Paul Bloch and Michelle Bega.

Mr. Hughes turned out a series of hits that captured audiences and touched popular culture — and then flummoxed both Hollywood and his fans by suddenly fading from the scene in the early 1990s. He surfaced sometimes as a writer, occasionally under his pen name, Edmond Dantès, the real name of the Dumas hero in “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

His seeming disappearance inspired a 2009 documentary, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” by four young filmmakers who went in search of a man who was by then being compared to J. D. Salinger because of his reclusiveness. It became a tribute to Mr. Hughes’s influence on youth culture.

Mr. Hughes, who began his career as an advertising copywriter in Chicago, had been living quietly on a farm in northern Illinois. He is survived by his wife, the former Nancy Ludwig, whom he met in high school; two sons, John and James; and four grandchildren.

John Wilden Hughes Jr. was born on Feb. 18, 1950, in Lansing, Mich. His family moved when he was 13, to the Chicago area. His father worked in sales, and he lived in a middle-class, all-American reality that became the mainstay of his films.

“I didn’t have this tortured childhood,” he told The New York Times in a 1991 interview. “I liked it.”

While visiting New York during his advertising days, Mr. Hughes hung around the offices of National Lampoon magazine and was published when he showed a gift for comedy. Once having begun work as a screenwriter, he pursued the craft relentlessly.

In the 1991 interview, he said: “If I’m on a roll, and I finish a script at 3:00, I’ll start another at 3:02.”

Mr. Hughes’ biggest success, in box-office terms, was the “Home Alone” series, of which he was the writer and a producer. The first film, released by 20th Century Fox in 1990, turned the simple tale of a young boy, played by Macaulay Culkin, who was forgotten by his vacationing family, into a monster hit. The film took in more than $285 million at the domestic box office and spawned two sequels.

He had a reputation for discovering and bringing out the best in young actors. In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Culkin said: “I was a fan of both his work and a fan of him as a person. The world has lost not only a quintessential filmmaker whose influence will be felt for generations, but a great and decent man.”

Mr. Hughes’s greatest professional effect came from a series of teen-oriented films he directed in the 1980s, beginning with “Sixteen Candles” in 1984. It was a whip-smart but tender look at coming of age, with Molly Ringwald as a girl whose 16th birthday is forgotten in the whirlwind of her sister’s wedding; it featured emerging actors like Anthony Michael Hall, John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Jami Gertz, among others.

“The Breakfast Club” followed in 1985, with “Weird Science,” immediately behind, in the same year. By then, the troupe of young actors who showed up in films by Mr. Hughes and others who worked in the same vein had expanded to include Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy; they were tagged “The Brat Pack.”

Probably no film so completely captured the arch and almost noxious, yet somehow loveable, quality of Mr. Hughes’s characters as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” The movie, released by Paramount Pictures in 1986, starred Matthew Broderick as a ne’er-do-well high-schooler who spends more energy avoiding the classroom than he might have used inside.

“He can lie, manipulate and con people with inspired genius, especially in the service of a noble cause such as playing hooky,” Nina Darnton wrote of the Bueller character in a less-than-admiring New York Times review.

But the movie took in $70 million at the box office, and wound up 20 years later on an Entertainment Weekly list of the 50 best high school movies of all time, alongside others from Mr. Hughes.

If the magic seemed to fade — Mr. Hughes’s last movie as a director, “Curly Sue,” fell flat in 1991 — he continued to write for the screen. As recently as last year, working as Edmond Dantès, he shared a story credit with Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown on “Drillbit Taylor,” in which Owen Wilson played a low-budget bodyguard hired to keep a couple of kids from getting pushed around.

Some in Hollywood surmised that he had stepped away simply because, for all his successes, he did not particularly like the film business and its ways. He was known as a stickler for control who often tangled with executives even as he made their companies a fortune.

Yet Mr. Hughes ultimately marked the business so indelibly that his name has become identified with an entire genre: comedies about disaffected youth.

My Life According to Queen

2009-08-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

This is one of those note/game things on Facebook:

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to as many people as you like and include me (presuming I'm someone you like). You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think...

Pick your Artist:
Queen

Are you a male or female:
Sweet Lady

Describe yourself:
Stone Cold Crazy

How do you feel:
I'm Going Slightly Mad

Describe where you currently live:
Rain Must Fall

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Seven Seas of Rhye

Your favorite form of transportation:
I'm In Love With My Car

Your best friend:
You're My Best Friend

You and your best friends are:
Fat Bottom Girls

What's the weather like:
Cool Cat

Favorite time of day:
The Night Comes Down

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Let Me Entertain You

What is life to you:
Forever

A past relationship:
Good Company

Your current relationship:
Some Day, One Day

Your fear:
See What A Fool I've Been

What is the best advice you have to give:
Play the Game

Thought for the Day:
Don't Try So Hard

How I would like to die:
Sleeping on the Sidewalk

My soul's present condition:
My Melancholy Blues

My motto:
Friends will be Friends

This Week In Netflix

2009-08-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

Fanboys (2008) Description from Netflix: They've waited patiently for years for the release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. But when one of their own discovers he's terminally ill, a group of pals embarks on a road trip to Skywalker Ranch to steal the long-anticipated film. Sam Huntington, Chris Marquette, Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel and Kristin Bell star in director Kyle Newman's labor of geek love. Star Wars alums Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher and Ray Park make cameos.

This is a movie that is easy to show how bad direction can ruin a movie. You had a great cast, a decent enough plot and tons of money to do this. It took 2 years to get out to the theater. It was just incredibly bland and made me want to watch "Free Enterprise" a few times.

The Air I Breathe (2008) Description from Netflix: Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser and Sarah Michelle Gellar co-star in this Jieho Lee-directed drama that mines four basic human emotions -- love, pleasure, sadness and joy -- for cinematic inspiration. A banker discovers true happiness, a mobster finds hope, a celebrity sees life lose its luster and a doctor wrestles with matters of the heart that can't be addressed within the confines of an operating room.

This movie was the suck. I made it 20 minutes and gave up. I read the description and still don't know what this movie is about.

One Year in Seattle

2009-08-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have now lived here a full year. I still love it here and my apartment. Not really much else to say really. Happy anniversary to me!

*not one of my shots

Funny People

2009-08-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons (Adam Sandler) doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor (Torsten Voges) delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira (Seth Rogen). Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) writes and directs this moving comedy that also stars Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman and Aubrey Plaza.

I was looking for to this since I like Judd Apatow other movies he directed, but this was more of an Adam Sandler movie than a Judd Apatow movie. I was disappointed. It had its moments, but it was more "Spanglish" than "Knocked Up." It had some great cameos like Paul Reiser (who looks a lot older). and other stand up comedians.

Finished the D's

2009-07-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

Dan In Real Life (I like this movie)
Daredevil (I only own this for the special feature. I tried re-watching and it just hurt)
Dave (Classic)
Dawn of the Dead (The opening sequence of this movie is still pure awesome)
Days of Thunder (Guilty Pleasure)
De-Lovely (Movie has its flaws, but the music is awesome)
Dead Again (I still love this movie despite its slight campiness)
Dead Poet's Society (Carpe Diem!)
Dear God (Another Christmas movie in July)
Death At A Funeral (Not as good as Frank Oz's other movies, but still good)
The Departed (Scorsese still has it after all these years)
The Devil Wears Prada (I love this movie)
The Devil's Advocate (Another guilty pleasure)
Die Hard (Yet another Christmas movie)
The Directors: James Cameron (Nice documentary on Cameron I got for $1)
Dogma (Catholicism Wow!)
Donnie Darko (Cult Classic)
Dragnet (Guilty Pleasure from 1980s)

The Hangover

2009-07-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: When three friends (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper) finally come to after a raucous night of bachelor-party revelry, they find a baby in the closet and a tiger in the bathroom. But they can't seem to locate their best friend, Doug (Justin Bartha) -- who's supposed to be tying the knot. Launching a frantic search for Doug, the trio perseveres through a nasty hangover to try to make it to the church on time.

I didn't think this was as good as everyone else did. It's not my sense of humor. They try to make this based in reality, but stuff that happens is completely unrealistic. Which is why (and I can't believe I am saying this) I think "Dude, Where's My Car?" did this storyline better.

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

2009-07-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today is my sister's birthday.

This Week In Netflix

2009-07-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

[REC] (2007) Description from Netflix: Trapped in a quarantined Barcelona apartment building with residents, firefighters and a growing horde of ravenous zombies, television reporter Angela (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman, Pablo, record brutal deaths and terrifying events while trying to stay alive. Filmed entirely from unseen Pablo's point of view, this tension-filled Spanish horror film thrills viewers with its aggressive action. Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró direct.

This may be one of my favorite horror movies of all time and it's in Spanish with subtitles. The movie "Quarantine" is a remake of it. I recommend this version HIGHLY.

The Great Buck Howard (2008) Description from Netflix: Colin Hanks stars in this offbeat comedy as a law student who quits school against his father's wishes to become the apprentice of cantankerous illusionist the Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich). Looking to regain the magic of his once-successful career, Howard takes his show on the road, where he and his new assistant endure a series of hilarious misadventures. Hanks's real-life dad, two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks, co-stars.

This is a completely wholesome movie much like "That Thing You Do." John Malkovich and Colin Hanks are great. This is a nice little rental when you want something just nice and sweet.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) Description from Netflix: A hunch and the defunding of his lab prompt geology professor Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) -- whose outrageous theories have made him a laughingstock in academia -- to set off for Iceland in search of a portal to Earth's core. With his sullen teenage nephew (Josh Hutcherson) in tow and a fetching mountaineer (Anita Briem) as a guide, Anderson finds a passageway leading to a vast primordial world at the center of the planet.

I was surprised how much I liked this. It's completely a family film marketed toward kids, but still it's enjoyable because they aren't talking down to kids or going for the fart joke humor. Not to mention they sneak literature and history into it so kids might actually learn something too.

It is HOT here

2009-07-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

As you may have notice, I've been going to the movies a lot. This is mainly because it is HOT here and my apartment doesn't have air conditioning. Seattle only gets hot for a couple of weeks so most homes don't have air conditioning. Every movie I've been going to after work has been packed since everyone is also sucking up as much air conditioning as they can.

I would like to make a recommendation for those going to the theater and wanting snacks. I am all about the kid pack. You get a small drink (a real small not a movie size small), popcorn (about a microwave bag size) and a treat (AMC movie theaters will let you upgrade the candy to $1). It's the perfect amount and its only about $5-6.

The Ugly Truth

2009-07-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: In his segment called "The Ugly Truth," chauvinistic morning show commentator Mike Alexander (Gerard Butler) makes his perpetually single producer (Katherine Heigl) the subject of a series of romantic tests in order to prove his theories on relationships. But will his experiments help her find love, or is she just a hopeless case? Cheryl Hines co-stars as Mike's unflappable co-anchor in this rom-com from the team behind Legally Blonde.

Meh. It was better than "PS I Love You," but not as good as "27 Dresses." It seemed like they were trying to make a boy friendly girl movie.

Katherine Heigl seems to be taking Meg Ryan's career. She has the neurotic blond rom-com thing going for her.

Finished the C's

2009-07-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Cannibal!: The Musical (Movie is terrible, but the music and commentary track is awesome)
Can't Buy Me Love (Patrick Dempsey at his high school finest)
Can't Hardly Wait (Guilty Pleasure and closest thing to a John Hughes movie in years)
Casino Royale (I like the new Bond)
Chaplin (This movie still rocks and shows Robert Downey, Jr. has always been able to act)
Charlie's Angels (Total guilty pleasure)
Chasing Amy (Still my favorite Kevin Smith film)
Chicago (Hate the characters, love the music)
A Christmas Story (Classic even in July)
Clerks (still quotable)
Clerks 2 (I liked it more after watching it back to back with the original)
Clue (I miss Madeline Khan)
Clueless (Great adaptation of Jane Austen)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (A forgotten gem everyone should see)
Constantine (Jason Stratham would have been a better choice, but still a good movie)
Crazy People (Hello, Hello, Hello, what a wonderful word Hello)
Crimson Tide (Great movie)
Cruel Intentions (Guilty Pleasure)
The Cutting Edge (Toe Pick!)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2009-07-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Description from Netflix: The sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry kicks off with a bang for young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) when he inadvertently discovers a mysterious book that sheds light on the sordid life of the evil Lord Voldemort. Preparing for inevitable battle, Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) turn to professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) for help in pinpointing the weakness in Voldemort's forces.

Comparing it to just to the other Harry Potter movies, it's pretty bad. Not as bad as the Prisoner of Azkban, but bad nonetheless. They changed things that didn't need changing. They skipped over stuff that should haven't have been and put stuff in that could have been cut.

Regardless of all that, the movie itself is just boring. It wasn't into it at all. Sadly, this same writing/directing team is in charge of the last two movies. I think they dug themselves into a hole for the next two movies. I can't say I am inspired to ever watch it again.

My ranking of the books from best to worst: Prisoner of Azkban (3rd), Half Blood Prince (6th), Deathly Hallows (7th), Sorcerer's Stone (1st), Goblet of Fire (4th), Chamber of Secrets (2nd) and Order of the Phoenix (5th).

My ranking of the movies from best to worst: Goblet of Fire (4th), Sorcerer's Stone (1st), Chamber of Secrets (2nd), Order of the Phoenix (5th), Half Blood Prince (6th) and Prisoner of Azkban (3rd).

This Week In Netflix

2009-07-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) Description from Netflix: Renowned director John Landis offers up a portrait of legendary comedian Don Rickles (in an Emmy-winning role) by blending clips of Rickles's appearances at the Dean Martin celebrity roasts and on "The Tonight Show" with footage from his stand-up routine and interviews. A slew of celebrities -- including Martin Scorsese, Christopher Guest, Robin Williams, Sarah Silverman, Sidney Poitier and Clint Eastwood -- offer their insights on the man known as "Mr. Warmth."

This was a great documentary on him. Had some great bits and hearing all the stories from friends was great. He and Bob Newhart are great friends so he had some great stuff to say as well.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) Description from Netflix: Hosted by Ben Stein, this controversial documentary examines how pro-intelligent design scholars and scientists are often chastised, fired or denied tenured positions by those who believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. Nathan Frankowski's film explores how scientists who believe in God are oppressed and how the acceptance of Darwinism might have played a role in the formation of the Nazi regime.

I gave up after 10 minutes. He wasn't interested in looking at Darwinism. He was interested in making fun of people who are not creationists. I love Ben Stein and I couldn't take this at all.

The Producers (2005) Description from Netflix: Washed-up Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Nathan Lane) schemes with neurotic accountant Leo Bloom (Matthew Broderick) in Mel Brooks's musical. The men plan to raise a ton of money for a play that's sure to be a flop and then keep the extra dough. They pick "Springtime for Hitler," written by a Nazi (Will Ferrell), and hire an offbeat star (Uma Thurman) and a freakish director. But no one can predict the audience's reaction on opening night. …

Oh Dear God this was awful. I only tried it to see John Barrowman (who was awesome) and aside from the actual play "Springtime for Hitler" play, it was unwatchable. Such a shame because the original is such a great movie.

Amazon Fresh Picnic Celebrating 2 years!

2009-07-20T22:35:00.000-07:00

Mad Men

2009-07-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Season One description from Netflix: It's 1960, and ad executive Don Draper rules the roost at New York's Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency amid a glamorous climate of never-ending cocktail hours, worry-free smoking and ego-stroking power in this critically acclaimed series. Draper has the good fortune of being a man's man --and a ladies' man to boot. But with the world beginning to change, he'll have to use all his smarts to stay one step ahead.

Season Two description from Netflix: As changes mount within New York advertising agency Sterling Cooper, brilliant executive Don Draper (Jon Hamm) finds that he must work harder at staying ahead of the competition -- which includes the young execs within his own firm who are eyeing his job. Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser and January Jones also star in this Emmy winner for Best Drama Series, which centers on Draper's dealings both inside and outside the agency.

Season Three starts on August 16th. For those that don't have cable (like myself), it is available on iTunes.

As mentioned in an earlier post, my friend, Cat Humphris, is a writer for this season. She wrote the second show for this season and is co-writing episode 11 with Marti Noxon. You can read an article from the Wall Street Journal about the women writers and see a picture of Cat: HERE

In addition to that, there is a website where you can create a Mad Men animation of yourself at www.madmenyourself.com. Here is mine below:

Fangirl Adventures

Most Attractive Female 2011 Nominees

Most Attractive Male 2011 Nominees

Resolution Follow Up - Week #3

Doctor Who Recap

Resolution Follow Up - Week #2

Beginner's Guide to Doctor Who

BBC List of Top 100 Must-Read Books

Resolution Follow Up - Week #1

Resolutions for 2012: A follow up

Television I Watched on Netflix in 2011

Movies I Watched on Netflix in 2011

Books I Read 2011

Movies of 2011 *Updated*

Resolutions for 2012

Meanwhile Back at the Internet...

2010 Movies

Open House

Emerald City Comicon 2011

Telemarketers and Me

Meanwhile Back at the Internet...

Dear God What Is That Thing?

Under New Ownership

Pack Mentality

Orientation Begins

Meanwhile Back at the Internet....

My Wacky Brain

To Resolve Project

Recommendation: Girl Gets Action

Workflow

Fun Fact: Ruby Shooting Oswald Photo

This Month In Netflix

New Twitter Account

Resolutions for 2011

The CEO of Me

Happy New Year!

Ups & Downs of the End of the Year

More on My Doctor Who Theory

Movie Marketing

Podcast Catch Up

Merry Christmas!

Cleaning Out the Tubes

Advice from VP of Graduate Admissions‏

Class: The Language of Photography

Will be able to:

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Grading Policy

Class Discussions

Class: History of Photography

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Recommended

Class Discussions

Internet Connections

Cityville

This Month in Netflix

Books: Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Random Pre-MFA Freakout #2

Pandora Radio

My Doctor Who Theory

Television & Me

This Past Year in Netflix (Television)

This Past Year in Netflix (Movies)

And the results are in...

Portfolio

Pre-MFA Freakout #1 - Resolved!

Summary of Photography Skills & Experience

Statement of Intent

Pre-MFA Freakout #1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Requirements for the Application

Academy of Art University

Peer Pressured

My 34th Year

Updated some links to your left

Made the Finals!

Please help by voting!

All cleaned up!

Movies of 2011 Updated