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?

The bus is a (fun/annoying/exasperating/infuriating) place

You have to love commuting by bus, especially when it makes you two hours late for school (Monday), or gets in an accident with a guy who speaks no English (Wednesday). Yes, I am having a bad bus week.

But there are still interesting parts. I am conducting an unofficial cultural study on "bus people". And, though I take the bus nearly every day to school, I'd rather not consider myself one of them. Today's discussion topic of choice:

"them darned gangsters"

The lady with the neon-pink lipstick says, "They oughtta just lock them up in BC Place for a night, and let them have it out right there."

The guy who takes up two seats replies, "Ha ha, let 'em clean up after themselves for once."

Huh? I'm pretty sure I read a similar proposition on NowPublic.com, but that scenario gave them full run of the PNE grounds for a night. Anyways, the topic got the whole bus excited. It is universally intriguing to walk around everyday knowing that you may by hit by a stray bullet, because, you know, the odds are so likely that that will ever happen to a random citizen.

Note: the excitement only extended to conscious persons. This does not include the Asian guy who was falling asleep on my shoulder. Why do people always fall asleep on my shoulder? Is it because I'm too polite to rudely awaken them with an elbow to the ribs? (I've seen someone do that before...the victim is usually too disoriented to realize what happened, so I could maybe get away with it...)

I tell myself, it's all part of the journey. It makes civilised company that much more enjoyable.

One more thing--I try really, really hard not to giggle when I'm eavesdropping on the bus, or when I peak over at the old lady next to me and notice she's reading a Harlequin Romance. I kind of hiccoughed today a little while attempting to stifle a laugh.

"...as the perspiration dripped off her delicate brow..." OMG! Funny!

Maintaining composure is difficult. Very difficult.

And the Oscar goes to:

I don't care that people think the Oscars are shallow, I enjoy them--for the clothes, the show, and the people. It's so amusing to see how human these people are...not just the big names, but more the behind the scenes people, and the actors new to the scene. Most of them look genuinely shocked (though some certainly fake it...), like they really had no idea how well their work would be recieved. I guess it's difficult to gage public reception to any artistic endeavor, especially your own work.

As limiting as the Oscars might be as a display of talent, they are still a worthy show. The Academy is a purveyor of mainstream film phenomenon, and that is all that really need be expected of it.

I always especially enjoy the short animated films, but these two are my favourites from this year’s picks—-Lavatory Lovestory, and La Maison en Petits Cubes (the winner). Lavatory Lovestory is just cute because of its subtle references to humanity, while La Maison en Petites Cubes is touching because of the way the character is esblished--his story and his memories are played in reverse, showing both how his life was built up piece by piece, and how it slowly fell apart. Sad, but beautiful :'(



Уборная история - любовная история (Lavatory-Lovestory)
Uploaded by alexeych

Tulip Studies

I'm supposed to be starting a painting right now, but it's not coming to me, so instead I'm randomly taking pictures of things around the house. Last year for IB art, I did a study on tulips. To quote myself: "I love the way the colours bleed into each other, the warm way in which the whites and yellows blend with the reds or purples, depending on the flower." Completely meaningless gibber-jabber. Looking back, I can't believe how much BS went into my sketchbook--we were supposed to reflect on everything we did, which is great (I suppose) in developing a critical and reflective eye, but what if I don't have a reason for everything? Maybe I just appreciate tulips, and that appreciation is really more of an emotional reaction, something that can hardly be put into words? Some things aren't meant to be articulated, but rather felt. That's how I prefer to appreciate some things--like art and nature (although the two are pretty much interchangeable)--as an abstract stream of emotions. So here are a few tulip pictures. I like them for their colour, for the way the light reflects off the petals, for the minute details you can hardly catch with a naked eye. Sorry, no deeper meaning...

What did you do on Valentine's Day?

So what did you do this Valentine's day? I had a sleepover/baking party with my friends. I was just going to stay home, but then we realized that none of us had anything to do, so we joined up and made our own party. We made this lovely ricotta mousse, which was absolutely scrumptious:

Then we made chocolate cupcakes, with extra chocolate chips, because that seems like the right thing to do on a holiday so obsessed with sweet things:

And then I amused myself by playing with the editing features of my new camera. Lots of fun, I must tell you :) Until the battery died...

After which we watched a marathon stream of Friends re-runs all night.

I would have taken a picture of breakfast, which was really nice too (goat cheese, prosciutto, salami, mmmmmmm), but my camera was dead.

So that, my people, was exactly how my Valentine's day played out. Very exciting :P Seems it centred around food consumption and photography...good thing my metabolism is still fast, because otherwise I'd get massively fat from all the tasty things I consume.

It's a beautiful day today, anyways. Hopefully the sun sticks around a little longer...

Just a thought...

I've been thinking about how we interact with different technological mediums, with concern for audience and self-representation. So, while I was on the bus after class today, reflecting on how inarticulate and uncomposed I was,and trying to decide what to change my Facebook status to (I went for a neutral homework-complaint-type comment in the end), I thought of how I might express my annoyance at being "inarticlate and uncomposed" on Facebook, in contrast with in a blog entry.

On Facebook, I would explain myself like this:

Angelina is bothered by the fact that she is inarticluate and uncomposed today, not to mention many other days... 2 minutes ago - clear

But now I'm here trying to decide how I might convey this in a more blog-appropriate format, and I don't know where to begin without writing a full-out essay. It feels like a blog warrants a little explanation, while on a status update it's the vagueness and mystery that give it its charm. Overall I'd have to say the status update is much easier, both because of its concise nature and because it doesn't reveal too much.

And now, I'm going to go join Twitter, because I've been trying to avoid it knowing it will swallow up yet more of my life, but I'm procrastinating starting that book report for Journalism...

Hyperlink Assignment

Okay, for our ASTU hyperlink assignment. Since I don’t have Convergences with me at the moment, I’ll have to simply make an “informative” paragraph, based on a Wikipedia format. But what topic to cover? I have to admit, rather than thinking up something clever myself, I just went to Academic Search Complete and randomly searched words until something interesting emerged. So here it is, something we’ve been discussing in Journalism recently (credit to Prof. Alfred Hermida’s lecture notes):

***Note*** You probably have to be logged on to UBC VPN to view the academic sources in the article.


The Challenge with New Media: Old practices, New Format


The media world is very set in its ways, and many of its current practices have remained unchanged since the advent of newspapers after the development of the Gutenberg Press in the mid-1400s. The role of journalists as singularly responsible for setting the standards for newsworthy topics is no longer entirely acceptable, as new media liberates the distribution of information. With this being said, anyone can be a “journalist”, in the sense that they are distributers information.


With the bulk of media in transition from old to new (that is, from the television and print media format it has followed for the last half-century, to new digital forms like websites, forums, and blogs), traditional media outlets, and the media business in general, are facing issues of audience loss, revenue loss, atomization of information, loss of diversity, and deterioration of quality. People are getting accustomed to free, fast, and quantitative information on the web, demands that are only enhancing the problems faced by traditional media.


While there are many positive aspects to the proliferation of information through new media, such as abundance, interactivity, and the collapse of geographical limitations, the potential extinction of traditional media due to audience and revenue loss could be catastrophic to the quality of information available on the net. Already, it is noticeable that less original information is out there—rather, many “amateur” sources are interpretations, or even copies, of traditional sources—leading to loss of research and information diversity. Add to this the speed with which modern journalists are expected to produce articles, and the lack of regulation with which amateur articles are produced, and a potential deterioration of quality ensues.


If the old media moguls are to survive this digital shift in the media, they will have to adapt new methods of production and distribution, and manipulate the prospectively limitless options of technology.

Wake me up, when summer comes.

I'm sitting in Irving K. Barber right now, wolfing down granola bars and cookies. UBC food is very pitiful, and if it was any good I might actually consider buying a lunch, but I have yet to find something decent to eat here. It' s awfully busy, and I had to scavenge for almost 10 minutes just to find somewhere to sit. And there isn't even an electrical outlet nearby...those things are a hot commodity...so my laptop is bound to die soon.


And speaking of hot things (time for a random change of topic, forgive me), all of this **lovely** weather we've had recently is making me think of summer--like the mmmmm, sun on your cheeks, warmth soaking through your clothes to your skin kind of summer. It's been so long since it's been here...it's scarcely a distant memory now. There is absolutely no way that artificial heating can even try to replicate the summer sun, but there are only 58 days or so until spring, and then ummm...a few more until summer. I'll try not to think about that. Until then, all this fog isn't so bad--it's pretty, and mystical, apart from the inescapable bone-chilling coldness.


I've been meaning to take a picture, of one of those typical trees-fading-into-the fog scenes, but I keep forgetting, or I don't have my camera with me when I need it. So, instead, an image of summer-ness, since that is the primary topic of this post. I took this in Venice, a year and a half ago. I must say, I admire the Italian way of life--they never seem to do anything. The typical Italian day: wake up at 6:30 am, laze about until lunch time, eat lots, nap time, go out and eat and socialize late into the night, sleep, and repeat. Not bad...a very relaxed existence. At this moment, that is what I'm longing for--a nice Italian summer holiday. So, if you ever see me staring off into dead space, my brain is probably on another continent.

Okay, it's time for another update. I've been ignoring responsibility for too long...

Well, seeing as it's nearly been a month since my last first-term exam (even longer since my last post...), and being the first of January and all, it's probably a good time to reflect on the past few weeks. I've scarcely had time to think since exams ended (I was done on December 5, but please don't hate me for my luck...), between work (as Santa's helper--taking photographs of wailing children) and a barrage of friend and family functions, it's been very busy. I'll just have to look forward to the next holiday to accomplish all the hobby-type things I had planned for December, like making a painting for my grandparents and uncle, and sewing the perfect tweed cape for myself (because you can never find the perfectly perfect pre-made-piece for the perfect price). And with writing like that, I think I may have a future in childrens' literature (not my preferred occupation, though). While I haven't bought a new camera yet, I still have intentions to, but I'm waiting to combine my Christmas cash hoard with whatever I might find on my birthday (January 7, which people generally forget in the hustle-bustle of back to school--not a bad deal though :) ).

I'm starting to lose steam here, so perhaps I should stop writing before I start droning on about nothingness just to fill space (I'm good at that, especially in essays...but yah...).

To close, an explanation about the photo--I took this on boxing day at my aunt's farm in Lumby, B.C.. They had some awe-inspiring icicles on their house, nearly as tall as me and looking like they might just pull the gutters off the roof under the weight...