autumn

Is it odd that my entire personality, mood, and outlook on life can be so completely altered by something as simple as a season?

Because I assure you, it can.

In the presence of fall and all that it brings I just generally feel better.

The sights, smells, sounds (and deadlines) of fall are finally upon us. 

I do not dare try to make a list of all the things I love about this time of year, for although it would be lovely- it would also be terribly long. 

So my goals for this autumn will be splendidly simple:

-Don't let it pass-

Okay fine, I know I cannot literally keep it from passing. But what I mean is that I'll try to not get caught up in my day to day duties, and I WILL make time to enjoy this season instead of just expecting the time to present itself- for that is one thing that time never seems to do. 

-Document it-

When caught up in the joys of fall, it is easy to forget that they will be gone before long. So I shall take pictures, pictures, and more pictures. Perhaps I shall even keep a journal. Or at least try... I honestly know myself to well to assume I could successfully keep one for an extended period of time.

-Just do-

I'm sorry that this one resembles a cliche Nike motto. But it fits. 

For all that I love and would love to do durring this time of year- there is always a wave of regret when it ends, composed of all that I wish I had done. So I refuse to be held back this time by the little things that keep me from doing what I please. I shall put my perfectionism on pause and live in the now. Bring what it may, I will stand calm and tall.

So here's to a magnificent autumn like none before

{cheers}

Warmest of Regards,

Lauren 

iceberg not ahead

UGH.

Well played DMA, well played.
I'll admit, you did have me freaked out and ready to complain with a vengeance for a second there.
But thankfully, the disaster was averted.

Contrary to the title of an article they wrote- "Bon Voyage to The Icebergs"
The iceberg painting is not actually disappearing for good.
It is however being loaned to the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an exhibit they are doing, and as a result it won't be back in the big D until this time next year.

Now does this mean that I'm not ticked off that they are loaning their most precious painting to someone else for an entire year?
Of course not.
But I will be making a point to try and stop by before mid-October when they ship it off.
Partly because I want to see it again while I have the chance (and partially because I want to glare at them)

If you've never seen it before, I highly recommend dropping by.
Not only is it a fantastic painting, its also 7ft tall and 11ft wide.
That's just awesome.

Warmest of regards,
Lauren

worth a thousand words

After looking through some other blogs, and glancing at what I have put on my own so far, it has come to my attention that I might have let you all down.

 The recurring trend in blogs seems to just be pictures, pictures, and more pictures.

And good lord, I of all people do not need to be told that all things visual are grand.

So I find it hilarious that about every one of my posts so far has been predominantly text. 

Especially since my original intent for blogging was to avoid words like the plague and merely post pictures. I even said something like that to a lesser extent in an older entry if you want to look. 

Yet now as I shake my head and scroll through my posts so far, I realize that this all 

resembles a horrendously poor journal more than a fun blog for a creative class. 

oops. 

 SO I shall now start blogging for redemption!

Thats right, I shall attempt from now on to model my blog after a children's book, with an abundance of visual material, and a minimum of wording. 

After all, if you wanted to read a book you could be browsing the pages of Twain right now instead of straining your eyes over an illuminated screen. And if you must be online, let's be honest- there are far more interesting sites than this. However if you ever find yourself stuck you could always try something off my random list from the last post- even if you don't find it interesting, you can sit and amuse yourself by wondering how in the heck I found it interesting. After all, the list of things I find interesting and others do not is probably a very long and entertaining one. 

Don't think you're off the hook entirely though, I will of course continue to electronically spout all of my opinions and ideas into each of my posts, but I'll make more of an effort to reign it all in.

Maybe. Sort of. Occasionally.

I guess I cannot promise anything since even this post about trying to write shorter posts just keeps growing and growing. 

Let's just not count this one and say that after this I will keep it short.

Yeah, that'll work.

Anyway, to start off my future 'picture' posts I figure some of my own artwork might 

be easy filler.

Yes, it is lazy on my part considering that these are all just pictures of things already done,

and no actual searching or philosophical thought went into their being picked as something to post.

But its my blog and I shall do as I please.

That's right, feel the power rush

I'm also going to be posting my work because I guess that is what artists are supposed to do.

Who would have thought, right?

Apparently I should already have my own site or something, but since that is a lot of trouble, and I already have this little thing- I shall put it to a second use.

So if you want to ignore my work, than feel free to do so, and I will make sure to provide plenty of other pictures and posts to offset any 'art gallery' like vibes this blog might start to give off. 

I would hate for any of you to accidentally be exposed to culture or anything. 

God forbid

Mmm well this did end up longer (yet again) than I initially intended, so I shall leave you at this with my first official picture. I apologize for not posting more, this is just the only one I have on my computer right now, and quite frankly I don't want to get up to grab a flash drive and provide more.

Yay for laziness! 

This is a piece I did with colored pencils, entitled "The Ripest Lie." 

Warmest of regards,

Lauren

internet excursions (two)

I had some free time so I dug back into my history a little farther and found a few more examples:

--------------------------------------------------------

(September 7)

Newspaper blackout horoscopes

(September 6)

What style of glasses are for you?

Google street view out-takes: The victor of the Tour de France

Weird Dallas zoo bus advertisements

Swanson's hand carved flutes tee-shirt

Frozen fruit skewers

(September 5)

Morph ebay treasure island Mcdonalds toy

What's in your backpack?

Half price books official blog

(September 4) 

Is laughing gas a mixture or a compound?

The laziness of Disney

No Boo in Monsters Inc. 2?

(September 3)

Winter hand muffs

The little mermaid

The Aristocats... continued?

Fact-checkers once again save american political system

Spherical ice maker 

--------------------------------------------------------

Warmest of Regards,

Lauren

internet excursions

Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like without the internet.

Deep right? (kidding...) 

I would like to say that what I contemplate are things like how literacy rates, political power, or  information transfer would be effected. But my thoughts are usually more along the lines of "What would I do if I still had to remember how to spell stuff?" or "So THAT'S what vegemite is, thanks Google!" However my most common contemplation by far is:

How much more productive would I be if I wasn't engulfed in this black hole of information?

Sadly, the answer is probably: "WAY more productive."

But thankfully the rest of the world is just as addicted as I am, so at least we're all in this together.

I even feel closer to you all already, it's as though we're one big happy family.

psyke

I don't know you people, why would I want to be related to you? 

Heck, I already have relatives I wish I didn't know.

Now I'm getting way off topic.

Sorry about that...

So anyway,
I can never seem to get online to do just 'one thing.'

I mean I try. I really do. 

I always start out innocently- 'oh I'll just check my email before starting my homework.'

But one click leads to another, leads to another, leads to another,

and before I know it I'm reading an article on Swedish oatmeal. 

(yes it exists, and sounds quite lovely I must say)

I'm sure it is something we all do. After all, someone has to be putting all those random things out there in the first place. We do it almost all the time, online and offline. 

 BUT wait. a. minute-

stop the presses 

I'm actually about to reference something from the class for which this very blog was created.

Mind maps! 

(100pts to Ravenclaw for actually applying learned material in other areas!)

Yes, when I say 'mind map' I am referring to the idea sparking tool your fifth grade teacher made you use. But if you drop the elementary school context, mind maps can actually be incredibly useful tools to help get ideas going for whatever you're working on.
They also perfectly describe the online habits I am talking about. 

And as with mind maps, half the fun of getting online is looking back later and following your random trail of thought that led you so far away. 

That is actually why I wrote this post. (took me a while to get here though didn't it... sorry)

Earlier today I paused mid-Google, and thought "How in the heck did I end up here?"

Which led me to my browser history, which led to the realization of all that I said above-

and amusement at some of the places I had been all day. 

So I thought I would take to the blogosphere and try to make a habit of every now and then sharing a few of the odd items that make their way onto my screen each day. 

Hopefully you'll find them interesting, or even slightly amusing. Hopefully not alarming, but then again who knows. 

Seeing as this is my first entry I went back a few days for even more examples. And for proof that I didn't just go to random sites so that I could put them on this list. 

I won't bore you with explanations (thats a first huh?) of how I ended up at each destination- Instead I'll just list the best ones of the day. 

Now, without further delay, I present to you: internet excursions. 

---------------------------------------------------------------

(September 15th)

What your salad dressing says about you!

Stained glass windows for sale

YouTube-1998 Furby Commercial 

Swiss oatmeal

(September 14th)

Precautions bicyclists should take for dove season

Red Bull durby racing

(September 13th) 

Debate on traditional vs. simplified Chinese characters

White board coating paint

Britney Spears learns 'Gangnam Style' from Psy

(September 12)  

Lukoil franchises publicize $9.00 gas in protest

(September 11)

Martha Stewart's microwave baked apples 

'How to' information on vending machines  

(September 10)

The history of gothic type fonts

(September 9)

Google images 'HD picture of Walmart'

Old Neopets electronic toys

10+ uses for  dry erase markers

(September 8)

Home depot suspension rods

Lay's flavor creation contest

Morgan Freeman is alive

Flaws in organic food studies

---------------------------------------------------------------

It's really a shame that I have such a horrible memory.
I could have been excellent at answering random game show questions.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire!?
Pshh. Child's play.

Warmest of Regards,
Lauren 

a shade of crazy

Greetings!

I'm afraid this post is kind of random, but I am not yet accustomed to whatever "blog protocol" would be, so I'll just do what I want and you may read if you like. Got it? Good. 

..I didn't mean for that to sound so somber, bossy, and cranky though..

Maybe I need a nap...

ANYWAY:

My current obsession (well one of them anyway) is kuler.

Oh my gosh its like Christmas, Easter, The 4th of July, Thanksgiving and the paint sample section from Home Depot all rolled up into one! 

It's one of those things that you're super obsessed with, then you forget about, then you re-discover and freak out about all over again! I'm not the only one that does that right?

Basically its about colors. Really, thats the gist of it.

The site is a collection of fantastic color pallets, with five colors to each swatch. 

You can make your own via a color wheel, or by uploading a photograph, from which the site will automatically try to pick five colors that represent it well and go nicely together. 

Or you can just enjoy browsing through the vast collection of pallets made by others!

Sound exciting?! No?

WELL IT IS! Or at least I think so...

I suppose for me colors are just incredibly emotional and engaging. After all, would a cloud speckled sunset still be spectacular if it was in black and white? (and don't think professional grade greyscale photography- just imagine the dull and flat kind that ancient TVs used to produce) 

Colors can dictate anything, and do dictate everything.

Colors not only evoke all sorts of feelings and sensations, but they create them.

Personally I find flipping through the snapshots of hue, tint, shade, and tone, immensely satisfying. 

Its true, not all of the combinations appeal to everyone, but when you find the ones that appeal to you-the ones that really grab you and steal your attention- its magic.

You can easily be swept away somewhere else, which comes in handy when life gets into one of its habits of stringing you out and making you feel deflated.

Its a visual pick-me-up per say

but with a burst of revival,

a splash of sensation,

and a spark of pure satisfaction.

well. GO ON then. get your kuler on

Warmest of regards,

Lauren

~i'm rather fond of this one at the moment~ shall we call it my self portrait of colors?