Water droplets are just the most perfectly perfect thing in nature

I have a horrible fondness for water droplets, especially when they are on a plant and you can see sunlight reflecting through... Ahhh! Just lovely! And because of this, I have a horrendous number of pictures of water droplets. But that's okay, because I like them. And I think I've already mentioned that.

And I think that I should go back to studying now, because I know I shouldn't be blogging when there are more pressing matters to attend to.

But still...this is just so much more fun.

Except that stupid Blogger won't let me upload this picture right way up. Argh.

GO STUDY!

GET BACK TO WORK ALREADY!

Beware: Prone to Random Painting Outbursts

Do you ever feel the need to just make something? I do. On occasion, at least.

I get all restless, and I can't decide what to do with myself, and then I decide that the best way to expend the extra energy is by making something. Because, for some reason, having a physical product seems to be a very satisfying type of work.

A couple of days ago, I spat this landscape out. It doesn't matter that it's not especially good, it's just fun to make.

I must say, oil paints are very pleasant to work with. Hopelessly messy and impossible to keep off of your clothes (don't tell my mother, though... I'll never be allowed to paint at the dining room table again), and the table, and the tablecloth... But it's worth the danger. I love smushing the colours together--it's just...nice.

Today, I had another attack, and I made this:

Fun, no? I think so. Now I just have to wait for them to dry. For like three weeks. Probably the biggest downside to oils, but I guess the pleasure of working with them is enough to counteract the wait time.

My Music

"...what the ****
is you gonna do
about it..."

(followed by amazingly heavenly moment of electronic magic...bzt bzt bzt bzt bzt! It's Simian Mobile Disco's Hustler, by the way...)

Pause a moment! Whoa Angelina, quit singing! Someone might be listening. You're sitting on the bus surrounded by people. Singing out loud is going to break just about every bus-social-norm there is. Not to mention the fact that your friends are going to make fun of you again...hmmmmmm...

>............................................................................<

Today's playlist of choice: "Argh, you're being a social retard again?"

Songs:

Hustler (Simian Mobile Disco, Armand van Helden Remix)

What Else Is There (Royksopp, Trentemoller Remix)

Panic Attacks (Rogue Element, Benassi Remix)

The Repetition Kills You (The Black Ghosts)

Must be played quite loudly, to get the desired effect of drowning out my thoughts.

Why is this particularly necessary? Most of my music is categorized by mood. This one is reserved for days when I'm mad at myself for being a social retard.

Maybe social retard isn't specific enough--how about "situationally socially retarded"?

I'm quite socially adept under most circumstances, it's just the presence of certain people (or, at the moment, a certain person) that I forget how to act like a normal, intelligible, friendly human being.

It's a terrible weakness, which will continue to make me miserable until I find a way to remedy it (other than resulting to my music as therapy...). Unfortunately, talking to him seems to be out of the question. Unfortunately again, talking is a major part of human interaction.

Argh, you're being a [situationally] social retard again?

Yeah, great, I know.

Ahhhhh...E-Portfolio

Well, I've been Google-ing examples of E-Portfolios, and I feel thoroughly unaccomplished now. Maybe I should make myself a website after all...there are so many really amazing ones out there. And I can see its value as a resumé...just in a more interactive format.

Oh, Angelina likes ... [insert interests here] ...? Let's check out her
favourite websites!

But back to the point--E-Portfolio, and how I've been using new media lately.

Over the past year, I've enjoyed delving into the practices and consequences of new media.

To tell the truth, I really had no idea what our courses would turn out like. I honestly didn't think we'd spend so much time going over fun stuff. But now that I think about it, it hardly feels like I've accomplished anything this year, because I generally associate accomplishment with completing unenjoyable projects... Perhaps now is the time to change my mindset, on that account.

I certainly feel that I've learned a lot. I mean, yes, I thought I had a pretty decent understanding of the workings of new media before I came here. But I think the true depth of my understanding has changed. My comprehension of the extent of new media's effect on our world has been broadened, and with that I can reflect on how much more there is beyond the scope of our course. It's unpleasant being aware of how limited your knowledge is.

But enough of this, I can feel a rant coming on. That's what this blog has done to me, it's making me want to spill my heart out on the screen. Because I'm lazy, the following is a summary of my online exploits this year:

The group video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8wEfW0ESBc

(also embedded in the post below)

The Hyperlink Project:

http://ataglia.blogspot.com/2009/02/hyperlink-assignment.html

Ummm...What else?

I guess I've been playing with Twitter a bit. But it seems kind of silly to spend much time with it when you only have 8 followers...

http://twitter.com/ataglia

And...? This blog, I guess? Probably one of my favourite projects. It's like a giant, extended version of my Facebook status for me. (I'm ashamed to say that I'm one of those people who updates their status religiously)

Beyond these things, I don't know. Lots of random websites that I've either lost interest in already, or I haven't contributed enough to warrant sharing...

And now, it's almost time for class. So I should post this and run.

Oh Lovely Video Project

Well, here it is! It has been driving me completely and utterly bonkers for the last few days. Can I mention how much I dislike Windows Movie Maker now? It isn't letting me be as precise as I'd like to be, with the timing of the music and other audio stuff. So, therefore, the video disgusts me ever time I see it. But I guess it doesn't really matter...it's just a school project... BUT STILL!

And now that I'm looking back on it, I see that I've kind of messed up the volume levels between the scenes, and that they don't flow nicely together.



Bah Humbug.

Old Times

When I have important homework to do, I am the expert at finding other, less pressing uses of my time. Like looking through old pictures, for example...

Anyways...last summer, I went through my Oma's black and white collection and scanned everything, because in my opinion, old photos are lovely, and I wanted to preserve them. (By the way, Oma=Dutch grandmother, if you didn't know. It's the same in German too...and probably other languages too.)

There are so many awesome pictures, but here is a sampling of what I have on my laptop right now. Some of the really good ones seem to be missing, so I'll have to go search them out...

The boy on the far left is my Opa...I love his face there! It's funny though--he looks so young in contrast with his friends. I'm pretty sure there wasn't that much of an age difference...

The woman second from the right is my Great Grandmother Johanna, my Opa's mother. This is one of my favourite pictures--vintage beach-wear at its best :)

The girl on the far right is my Oma. See any resemblance? Apart from the platinum blondness? :P

It's Spring! Like, actually, sort of Spring!

It's brilliantly sunny today. I've been sitting on the couch in the living room, editing our video for ASTU almost all morning. The sun was so intense, I was almost sweating. And maybe I didn't have to share that with the world...but anyways...

It's nice--I'd like this weather to stick around for a bit, so I can take my spring wardrobe out of hibernation, and put my boots to sleep for the summer. I'm tired of having cold feet and a wet jacket, and having to lug an umbrella with me everywhere I go. And bus people smell bad when they're wet...blah...

But it's time for happy thoughts! White Rock beach is a 15 minute walk from my house, and I hardly ever go there. But what about gelato at the beach! Scrumptious late night dinners at the beach! Picnics at the beach! Sounds like I'm longing for some beach time, maybe I should plan an outing for next weekend...anyone care to join me?