Adventures of Sister-man

Give Away @ Paper Platypus

2010-05-19T22:20:00.003-04:00

http://www.diecutflowers.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperplatypus

Check out this give away from Paper Platypus on etsy.com, links above.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T07:40:00.000-04:00

She's at it again. And this time, she's going to take over the world!

Why do things not exist?

2010-01-06T15:26:00.002-05:00

I am always having great ideas for at home projects and then finding out my ideas don't exist yet. That sounds strange. What I mean is, no one else seems to have made them yet. Why not? For example, a small watermill built into a fountain pump and the watermill produces just enough electricity to power the pump that powers it. Just a little decorative thing that serves only to power itself. Well, I guess I'll have to get to making if I want one.
P.S. Don't steal my ideas.

New Year's Resolution?

2009-12-29T08:49:00.003-05:00

NO THANKS!!! Why should I put off until Thursday at midnight what I can begin right now? I've never really understood the reason for New Year's Resolutions. If you have something you want to change about your life, yourself, etc., why wait? What is the significance of a new year? Time is purely relative. If this "New Year" is such a turning point for everyone, why not have a Jewish New Year Resolution? The Jewish traditions/holidays move on a Lunar calendar, as opposed to our Solar calendar. Let's make resolutions then too. Or how about Chinese New year? We could have three different rounds of New Year's resolutions. Or, if you mess up the first time wait for the NEW "New Year" and just start over when another one rolls around. Oh, you didn't exercise every day last week, like you were supposed to? Oh, no big deal, just start over on the Chinese New Year! Why not have a New Month resolution? New Week?

My point is, why wait? START NOW! If you have identified what you don't like about the way you are living your life, why not begin to change it this minute? This second! New Year Resoluters are just procrastinators! My New DAY resolution is to not be that way.

P.S. Time means nothing . . .

Merry Christmas

2009-12-17T10:24:00.002-05:00

Comic from HarkAVagrant.com

Where the Radishes are

2009-12-14T15:20:00.004-05:00

Vacation almost over

2009-12-09T17:53:00.002-05:00

Well, the end of my vacation draws near and not much has been completed yet. But have no fear, you will still receive Christmas presents . . . at some point. The garden isn't yet planted, but the ground is being tilled and prepared. My progress is slowed by the massive amount of bricks I found buried in my yard. My best guess is it was some sort of experimental home made brick kiln. The size of the bricks are about right for that, and in another section I found a buried lump of clay. (Mind you all of this is more than a foot below the ground) So, it goes slow as I dig out bricks. I hope to use them to make a walk way in the large part of the garden, so really it is a blessing in disguise. But now for the good news, finals are over! I think I did well. I would be surprised to not have an A in both my classes. So the largest part of the stress is gone. Not that I really felt stressed about it.

Vacation

2009-12-02T11:53:00.003-05:00

I start a nice long week and a half vacation tomorrow. It won't be work free however, because I have so much stuff to do. It is finals week, and I have a lot of work and studying to do before my exams. I have about a million Christmas presents to finish making, a garden to plan and plant, and lots of stuff to make for Etsy. My apartment needs a severe cleaning and reordering. I am trying to make room for a roommate, although I haven't found one yet. I really don't think a week and a half is going to be enough time. I'll have to try to limit myself to one or two hours of television a day. Can you guess what that will be?

Etsy

2009-12-01T10:10:00.002-05:00

Well, two necklaces sold and only four left on Etsy. I need to make more. Also, a special project coming soon. I don't know if its ever been done before, or if I should get it patented. I do know that I can't find anything like it anywere else at all. Perhaps I invented it? I dunno, but I gotta get on it. So, did you notice my link above to my Etsy shop? Also, on the right is an updating list of my favorite items on Etsy that other people make. Remember, its free to use Etsy, so take a look at it and check out all the amazing stuff.

My Etsy Shop

2009-11-23T09:38:00.005-05:00

So I now have a shop on Etsy. There are a few listings there, please take a look. So far it is only jewelry, but later it will get much more eclectic, like my style. There are a lot of other ideas in the works, but they probably will not happen until after the holidays due to time constraint and the fact that I am making most of the Christmas presents I am giving. And I am severly running out of time on that front.

http://www.ChimeraArtworks.etsy.com

Greenhouse

2009-11-16T19:33:00.000-05:00

More Garden

2009-11-16T13:35:00.004-05:00

I would have more pictures, but I'm having trouble with my computer at work, so I can't put them up.

Garden update

2009-11-12T15:03:00.001-05:00

This picture is from Monday. There are a lot more plants now. More pictures soon.

Garden

2009-11-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

Starting a garden. More pictures to come REAL soon . . . .

Blind Pilot at my birthday party

2009-11-04T10:21:00.002-05:00

Today is my Birthday

2009-11-03T09:10:00.001-05:00

and I made a shirt

So Many Studies, So Little Time

2009-10-08T09:57:00.003-04:00

Are you wondering what I'm thinking about? Everyday it seems I'm researching something new. Yesterday was about Heavenly manna, today is Copernicus. The other day it was the legend of the Minotaur. I've been meaning to write about that one for a while, but there is not enough time.

Also, for those of you who have never noticed, my twitter feed is on the right hand side of this blog. It only shows the most recent tweet there, but you can follow me on twitter. The reason I mention this is if you really want to know what's going on with me between posts, I have my twitter connected to my twine. I post interesting articles I'm reading almost daily to my twine account which automatically posts to my twitter. I usually post a few things every day. Sometimes they are funny comics, sometimes they are news articles or just things I think might interest YOU.

Also, I try to update pictures every so often. The most recent pictures are from a concert of Gogol Bordello with Deleon. I keep adding to these pictures as Google lets me retrieve my photos. (I think I mentioned this in a recent blog) And on the right hand side are other picture feeds.

If you are subscribed to this blog, you will not receive emails on updates to picture feeds or twitter feeds. It just doesn't work that way :( So while I may be updated several times a day, you do not realize it.

It Has Become Necessary

2009-10-02T13:01:00.004-04:00

I find it necessary to continue the topic of my last two posts. It is only through honest communication with others do we learn more about ourselves and through several conversations recently, I realized I have been making assumptions about other people's knowledge of Judaism. To "be Jewish" certainly does imply a religion, as most people are aware, but it also implies a race. This is not a theory, but is a fact. Here is what Wikipedia says about this, and it sums up everything pretty nicely:

"The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים‎, Yehudim), also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.[3][4][5] Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.

In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The Jews have enjoyed three periods of political autonomy in their national homeland, the Land of Israel, twice during ancient history, and currently once again, since 1948, with the establishment of the modern State of Israel. The first of the two ancient eras spanned from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second era was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, the diaspora has been the home of most of the world's Jews.[6] Except in the modern State of Israel, Jews are a minority in every country in which they live, and they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries."

Further Clarification

2009-09-25T10:37:00.016-04:00

Since maybe my last post was a little off topic and rambling at the end, I thought I'd go into more detail. Pictures always help me . . .

This is Shem, Ham and Japeth, the sons of Noah:

According to the Bible (Genesis 10) and Wikipedia, Shem is the father of the Semites(the middle peoples), Ham is the father of the Hamitic Africa(the southern peoples), and Japeth is the father of the Japhetic Eurasia (the northern peoples).

Here's a breakdown of Shem and Ham's territories:

So each of their family lines produced a lot of people. For Ham, this includes Nimrod (a mighty hunter before God) and Canaanites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Ninevites and Akkadians, among many others. For Shem this includes the line of descendants that stretch all the way to Abram (whose name later became Abraham). Here he is, looking at the stars, the amount of which his descendants would number.

So, Abraham and Sarah had Isaac after they were realy old. Isaac had Jacob, whose name later became Isreal. Jacob had 12 sons, who would eventually become all the tribes of Isreal.

Jacob liked his son Joseph the best, and gave him the coat of many colors. Some of his brothers got jealous and beat him up and and sold him into slavery.

Joseph went through a lot, and even ended up in jail in Egypt, falsely accused. The Pharoah heard about him and how good he was at interpreting dreams. Joseph interpreted the Pharoahs dreams, warning of a great famine coming in 7 years. The Pharoah was really impressed and put him in charge of storing food to prepare for the famine. Eventually Joseph's brothers traveled to Egypt for food, not knowing their brother was the man in charge. After some tom-foolery and deception, he forgave them for all they did to him. He told them that it was because of them he was now in this position of power and able to save his family from starvation. So he invited the whole bunch of them to come live in Egypt with them on land the Pharoah donated. There were 70 of them in all. These were the Isrealites. Genesis ends with Joseph dying at a very old age.

The Bible then picks up again in Exodus, more than 200 years later, when all the Isrealites are slaves to the Egyptians. Archealogists have said that the Pharoah mentioned in this part of the Bible was probably Ramses II. This is his ginormous rock cut temple to himself, carved into a mountain.

During the beginning of Ramses II reign, his focus was on building huge building and monuments . . . . then suddenly his focus shifts to campaign battles to other lands . . . hmmmm, let's see . . . This is the Pharoah associated with the enslavement of many many Isrealites. The slaves of the Egyptians were used in many purposes of their lives and they would have been really upset to let them go. Then the slaves leave (according to the Bible) and suddenly, (according to archealogy) this Pharoah is venturing out and attempting to defeat new lands? Why? Well, it just so happens according to Wikipedia, his immediate successor is Merneptah. He also loved to go out attempting to defeat other lands. It is his reign associated with the Victory Stele of Merneptah, commonly referred to as the Isreal Stele:

This is currently the first Egyptian artwork or document found that mentions Isreal, as a group of peoples.

The next archealogical mention of Isreal in art isn't for a long time (9th Century BC according to archealogists): the Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite stone. King Mesha of the Moabites is mentioned in 2 Kings.

Long time

2009-09-24T20:54:00.003-04:00

Wow, its been a while. I keep starting posts and not finishing them. Lets catch you up: school started! i love to learn! Also, I went to the gogol bordello concert this summer and it was awesome. I havent been able to put up all the pictures from that night because they were on my phone and i emailed them to myself and google wont let me download them from my email and keeps kicking me out due to suspicious activity, because apparently its not suspicious to have emails with lots of pictures, its just suspicious to try to save them to your computer. go figure. well, at the gogol bordello concert, i also met the band Deleon. They are a lot of fun and sing in Hebrew and english (and a form of Hebrew mixed with Spanish, but I dont remember what its called now) Well, im going to go see them again in a couple of weeks, which should be awesome. They are opening for Os Mutantes, a brazilian band from the 70's.
Here is a video for a really fun Deleon song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYFrpLckWf0&feature=video_response

Also, Victor and I went to Deleon springs (a coincidence, I assure you) the mythical fountain of youth, found by Ponce de leon! We dipped our feet in the fountain of youth and then had pancakes. When I have my vacation next month, I am going to take my dad there so we can boat in the river. Maybe we'll see manatees!

So, I'm in an art history class right now and learning a lot about art from the ancient middle east, egypt and greece. It is a lot of fun, especially when mixed in with my Biblical studies. For example, my teacher told us about the "Victory stele of Naram-Sin".

This is an example of Akkadian art. (And in fact, the only example our teacher is having us study, though there are really intricate statues and other types of art from the Akkadian culture) This culture dominated the Mesopotamian region at one point in time. Our teacher explained that their language seemed to be a form of Hebrew, a Semitic like language. This really interested me and I figured that if this culture really used a Hebrew-like language, they must be in the Bible somewhere. In addition to this question, I often found myself confused at the definition of Hebrew, Semite, and Isrealite. I know that "Isrealites" are the descendants of "Isreal" (or Jacob) who had 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Isreal. But I also knew that in the story of one of those sons, Joseph (coat of many colors Joseph)when he lives in Egypt, it says in the Bible that the Hebrews were detestable to the Egyptians and would not eat in the same room with them. So my question was then, if the term "Isrealite" had not come about then, but the word Hebrew was used, what was the difference? I had always heard "Hebrew" and "Isrealite" used almost interchangeable when studying about the Bible. So, in my search for a Biblical Akkadian culture, I also wanted to find the answer to this. In Genesis 10, it explains that Noah had three sons, Ham, Japeth and Shem. The descendants of Shem are Semites. (In case you didnt know, Abraham is a descendant of Shem, and he himself is the ancester of Isreal) It also explains that some of the descendants of Ham occupied Akkad! So I found Akkadians in the bible! I was super excited! Although, they are not technically Semites, they are related. So that is my lesson for you today! I hope it is not too rambling, but I love to make these kind of connections. Even when you spend your whole life learning bible stories, sometimes they don't make sense if you don't understand how they are connected.

I am a HERO

2009-07-27T10:27:00.009-04:00

I just found out that I am someone's hero and it made me smile! For those of you who do care, I have not forgotten about this blog, there have just been a lot of goings on. After the MANMAN show, I lost my Chang Wang button and I was really upset, but we finally found it about a week later in Victor's car. So, they no longer rest on my purse, but now in my jewelry case, so as not to have another mishap.
This Wednesday is the GOGOL BORDELLO concert that I have been awaiting for months. I am still disappointed I never got to see them when they were touring with MANMAN, but I am excited to see them in two days. I am kind of nervous about the show because I have a feeling there will be a lot of crazy people there.
In the realm of my personal life, I have been working on a lot of projects over the summer, trying to finish them before school starts again in the Fall. We built a doghouse for Duncan, complete with shingles. We are working on a rain barrel system right now, to use rain water for the garden. The barrels are done, but we need to house them and build something to hold them up, so they don't fall and to cover them up, because they are ugly. I've also been working on painting my new apartment, which isn't so new after 5 months. I'm still getting my Nightmare Before Christmas display all put together so that it can be up all year.

So here are some pictures from my Summer activities. Here is my Pappy's 90th birthday. It was a western theme because he is from Texas and the picture in the back ground is him at age 4.

Then we had a Luau at work:

Then it was Father's Day. Here is a card I made for my brother Chris. I forgot to take pictures of the card I made for Sam. Perhaps he will send some to me . . . .

I planted a lot of plants this summer in my new yard:

I built a composter, that's it in the corner by the fence:

Here are pictures of the rain barrel:

I had a dream that MANMAN came over to help me move my furniture

2009-05-01T13:51:00.005-04:00

Yeah. That says it all. They came over to help me move my furniture. Some other people were there to. It was an apartment I had never seen and furniture I do not currently own. It was in a big city. Also, I could not get my ipod to work right, the volume wouldn't turn down at all. I should have known it was a dream because apparently in a dream, you cannot control light or sound levels. When they finished moving whatever it was I had asked them to move, they began to suggest other things like "Do you want us to move this chair over there?" and I was like "Sure, that would be a great place for it." So anyways, I'm thinking MANMAN should start a moving business.

Also, it made me very sad to learn that Sergei has moved on and is no longer in MANMAN. If you read my previous blogs about the concert I attended last October, you'd know that he was the nicest and friendliest guy, at least for those few minutes. I am upset that I did not purchase the MANMAN button set before the Sergei button was removed from the set. In it, I remember he had his purple hoodie on, the same purple hoodie in the slideshow. If anyone has one of those buttons, I would love to have it. As for now, I will just have to get used to this new guy, don't know his name yet, but he is sure to never live up to the legend of Sergei Sogay.

MANMAN TONIGHT

2009-04-30T15:46:00.003-04:00

More Babies?!?!

2009-04-27T17:26:00.003-04:00

Yes.

More babies.

Baby Zeke arrived at 4:26 on 4/26. When I saw the first picture, I was like, who gave Chris his hair back? Oh, it must have come from off his chin . . .

This semester

2009-04-17T11:52:00.003-04:00

This semester, I've been taking a lot of classes, including ceramics and drawing. Here is something I made last night. It is a bowl I made using a form that looks like a taco salad shell. Then, I covered the clay in slip, which is just a form of really fluid clay with coloring in it. This slip will be white once it is fired. Underneath the white slip is normal red clay. When the slip dried, I etched this image into the slip, exposing the clay underneath. Some of the subtlety will be lost when it is fired, but I will probably use a bisque stain to bring out the etching. Enjoy.

Did you ever think it could happen?

2009-04-05T10:32:00.003-04:00

Oh.
My.
I never thought it would happen, but it is, its happening. MANMAN is going to tour with Gogol Bordello. After MANMAN finishes with Cursive, which I will see on April 30th, MANMAN is hooking up with Gogol Bordello. But they are not coming to Florida!!! Woe is me. So I was sitting here, trying to figure out how I was going to get to Chicago or maybe Boston, when I saw that after Gogol finishes with MANMAN, they are continuing to tour in the States and they will be coming to Orlando in July! But, the tickets aren't on sale yet and I don't know what to do! I think either way I will be seeing Gogol Bordello in Orlando, but I have only dreamt of the day I would see MANMAN and Gogol together. I HAVE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!!!

Here are video links to the actual MANMAN show I was in attendance at last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJCfiPLHK7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPAJDMZLnY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtzBricovOs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sb2QaUDpk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ghv4iJUBvM&feature=related

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T09:26:00.002-04:00

Ahh, the day where we all wear green and pretend to be Irish to celebrate a man who did not hail from Ireland. According to Wikipedia, he was from Britain and was captured by the Irish to become a slave. After escaping Ireland and joining the church, he returned to Ireland to drive out all those "snakes". So to celebrate this, we wear green and use MS Paint to dress up our babies and pets as leprechauns. Some people also drink a lot.
The pic above is my neice Hannah, and she makes a dandy leprechaun, as I'm sure her parents will agree after seeing this. The outfit she is modeling is a custom made design by Victor and me. She can be seen wearing more of these creations on www.teamskeene.blogspot.com and the new "Zeke" line will be available for viewing in May of this year!

So you would think . . .

2009-03-16T08:18:00.002-04:00

So you would think that the news that MANMAN coming back to Orlando in April would be the most exciting thing I have to tell you, but NO!!! In fact, the most exciting news is the story of the birth of my niece! Her name is Hannah Emily Skeene and she is beautiful. And now you should leave comments telling me how much you agree with me!

Moving!!!!

2009-02-05T17:51:00.002-05:00

So . . . why have I not written in a while? Well, that is because I have been extremely busy with my new school schedule which barely leaves me time to sleep, let alone do any internetting. It also leaves me with no time to do anything interesting to write about!
Also! I am moving tomorrow! If you think you know where I live, guess what, you won't know for much longer! Ha!

Photos to come

2008-12-26T08:32:00.002-05:00

Christmas has come and passed, but not everyone has received their presents yet, so no pictures will be posted right now. But I will say that the handmade Christmas was a success! I had a very good time and received many wonderful things. I got to see my pregnant sister-in-law Kendra, which was great because I think this is the first time I've seen her since she found out she was pregnant. I will see more family on Saturday (tomorrow) and I don't know what part of the country you're in but it is very hot in Florida this Christmas. I am wearing cropped pants and a tank top right now!

Merry Merry

Handmade Christmas

2008-12-15T09:19:00.002-05:00

I am keeping myself so busy now that school is out making Christmas gifts. If you expect a gift from me, go ahead and expect it to be handmade! I will sign my great works of art upon request. I really wish I could post photos of the stuff I am making, but that would . . . you know . . .RUIN CHRISTMAS! You ruiner you . . .

More Awesomes to Come

2008-12-10T08:50:00.006-05:00

This was my final project for my two-dimensional design class in school. Let me explain the project:
We had to purchase two identical paint by number sets. We painted one of them according to the instructions and had to add something to the second one. What we changed was completely up to us. To see examples, google "Charity by Numbers", which is an art show were people did this. The below link will take you to the gallery it was in.

http://www.coreyhelfordgallery.com/#/show/

Since paint by number sets are limited pickings, some of the people in my class ended up with the same one to work with. However, I got mine when I was on vacation in Texas and it just so happened to be on clearance when I got it, so I knew that the chances of any one else having the same one was small. But the real reason I chose mine, was because I knew right away I wanted a cityscape. I also knew this would be hard to find since paint by numbers always seems to be horses, dolphins and flowers. I really didn't feel like painting a kitty and a ball of yarn. I knew I wanted to make it 3-dimensional and I knew I wanted lights in the windows. My original ideas included monsters destroying the city, but since I knew time was limited, I edited myself down quite a bit from the original embellishment ideas. This is something I have to work on, as I never seem to finish any project because I make the project so big and overwhelming for myself.

So I found this picture of Venice:

And I knew it would be as close as I would find to a cityscape. So I built layers out of chipboard and built the whole thing into a shadow box with petite Christmas lights. I'm really proud of it. It is one of the coolest things I have created all semester and the best part it, I feel it is really true to my style. I didn't intend on it being so "pinky" in the beginning, but I was working with paint I already had that seemed more like coral in past projects. So I took it and darkened it and added red to make it more coral-y for contrast to its original pinky-ness. I also wanted to retain some of the original paint by number lines, so I drew them over the paint, which I think added an almost comic graphicness, which I really like. I think the combination of the colors and the lines almost gave it an old fashioned postcard effect. I almost want to do one of the Eiffel tower and the Empire state building with the same color scheme. Here is a side shot to show some of the layers better.

Here is a shot under a sweater, with the lights turned on. It is not a very good picture since they are all with my cell phone. When I get it back from the teacher, I will take better pictures and post them. I like how the little lights have a directional force as opposed to rope lights or LED light panels. I wanted the lights in the windows to look like lamps in a room. Notice the sconce light on the left on the front building. That was supposed to be the only visible bulb, but some of the others peeked around by the time I was done.

I not only want to take better pictures of this, but I think maybe one day, I will re-create it at my own pace and really give it a better execution, not that anyone else would notice. There were just a lot of snafoos that got in my way, like when I ran out of E-6000 glue halfway through (thought I had two tubes, but one of them had gone bad) and when some of the light bulbs went out after they got handled too roughly. However, I still did a lot of detail in this one. The bridge piece alone took about 4 hours to cut out the scroll work. I made the chairs out of black metal wire and the rope that stretches from pole to pole is actual string. When I take better pictures, you will see that the name of the restaurant "Bar Ducale" is actually cut out behind the paper so that the light shines through like a neon sign. I would have done more with the water if I had more time, like adding highlights and shadows and I would have brought the front of it forward so that it had a slight slope towards the back in the center.

Getting Christmas Ready

2008-12-02T11:41:00.002-05:00

Decorated my Pappy's Christmas Tree. Now back to Finals!

Ahh!! No Time!!

2008-12-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

Finals Week

Busy Week(s)

2008-11-17T19:06:00.002-05:00

So, I've been in Texas for a week and need to catch up on a lot of things. Vacations are always fun, but now it's time to get back to work. I drew a lot of pictures while I was there, but am undecided about whether or not to post them. I also took a lot of video footage while I was there, but it will probably be a while before I have time to edit it into neat little packages. Also, thanks to my older and cooler brother Chris, I might have a new favorite band. They are called Gogol Bordello. I like them much. You should go listen to them as soon as possible. In the mean time, start wearing purple!

Painting - Last week

2008-11-11T19:57:00.002-05:00

Family Time

2008-11-09T09:48:00.000-05:00

Texin' it Up

2008-11-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

Big State Drugs for Break-lunch.

Getting Schooled

2008-11-06T12:25:00.002-05:00

School is going well. I will miss classes next week to be in Tejas. I am super excited, flying out tomorrow. I am very frustrated with my current project, and it doesn't help that I have to turn it in an entire week early (today) due to my vacation. Oil well. I am still taking every opportunity to learn, which is another way of saying I make a lot of mistakes. Mistakes or not, I am enjoying it. And I am enjoying the people I've met at school maybe most of all. It is encouraging to meet people you can really talk to and who are supportive of such a dream. Next semester there is a 98% chance I will be moving closer to the school because my office is moving to Orlando. Perhaps I can be one of those people who bike everywhere! I am excited for all the possibilities that next semster brings ;)

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-11-03T08:21:00.001-05:00

I have posted many pictures by Andrew Bell of creaturesinmyhead.com. This is today's post. How did he know it was my birthday? The stars must be aligned.

H-A-Double L- O-Double U-Double E-N Spells HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-31T10:11:00.004-04:00

Excited for Halloween

2008-10-30T18:37:00.000-04:00

I am excited for Halloween. This is what I will look like.

Adventures with MAN MAN

2008-10-27T08:37:00.060-04:00

So, I've put on my make up and painted my short tomboy nails black. I've made sure that I've styled my new haircut in just the right way. I already decided to wear a white men's undershirt and my jeans. I will not dress up tonight. Tonight is not the night to look sexy; tonight is about having fun watching an amazing band perform. Tonight is about MAN MAN.

As I exit I4, onto Colonial, I notice the heavy traffic and large construction sign arrows that tell me I can't turn where I would like. Orange Ave is closed. This makes me nervous, as I'm not sure how to get to where I'd like to park. I try a few different streets and can't figure out how to get close, so I find spot near an easily identifiable street. I notice that the sign on the parking meter has a time limit during which one must pay, and the time has passed. I gather my things, hide my purse, etc, and prepare for a long walk to the venue.

When I get close to Orange Ave, I realize why it is closed. There was some sort of festival or parade today. There are still vendor tents and stages being packed up. The street is littered with trash. I have never walked down the middle of Orange Ave at night before. It looked like some sort of post-apocolyptic city, where scavengers scrape together any thing they might be able to use to further their survival.

There is a girl walking with two guys far ahead of me. I somehow know they are headed to the same place. We all walk with determination and excitement. However, I don't catch up to them and arrive in line a few people behind them. This area of the street is open and looks like a living city again. It is now 9:00, doors should be opening soon . . . . hopefully.

It is no surprise that at 9:30 the doors are still not opened. I have stood in line for thirty minutes listening to other people's conversations and reading street signs. I keep reading the parking sign on the side of the road.

"2 Hour Parking
8pm - 2am"

I suddenly get paranoid. What did the sign by my car say again? I can't remember. I thought it said "8am - 6pm", but what if it said "8pm - 6am"! I continued to read the sign I could see: "Violators will be ticketed . . . " oh, good, just ticketed, I can pay a ticket, " . . . and towed." Oh crap. I don't have my cell phone in this tiny little clutch that barely fit the two automatic cameras I brought. If I get towed . . . well, I don't know what I would do.

As the seconds tick by, I get more paranoid. So I try to calm myself down. Ok, Emily, the doors haven't even opened yet. Even if they open in five seconds, it's ok, the show will not start right away. You will not miss anything; go check on your car.

By this time, I am 100% sure I read the sign wrong. I am positive there will be a ticket, and I am hoping against hope that my car has not been towed. I walk back through the trash and litter, and walk the six blocks back to my car. Finally, the end is in sight. I see my car. It is not towed. A sigh of relief.

I begin crossing a side street, where one of the festival vendors is exiting past the road closed sign. My eyes are on my car. I'm not sure if I thought it would drive away as I approached, but my eyes do not leave the car.

I trip on the base of the road closed sign.

Ow.

I land on the palms of my hands and my side. My legs are protected by the thick calve-high leather boots I am wearing underneath my jeans, but my hands are shredded. Also, my clutch has come apart. Passersby ask if I'm all right. "Yeah" I say, and struggle to get up.

I retrieve my purse and get in my car. My right hand is bleeding and the skin is hanging off. My left hand hurts but doesn't look too bad. (It would not be until the next day that I would notice my knuckles are a bruised-purple. I would tell my co-workers I got in a fight, and they would not believe me. I am not the fighting type.)

I look at the parking sign. "8am-6pm" There was no reason to return to my car at all. The time to pay has passed. This is now free parking until 8am tomorrow. Oh well, I say and brush it off. I find a bandaid in my car, but it will not stay attached to my sweaty, bloody hand. I look at my purse and realize that the loop that is still on my wrist has the zipper piece attached. The zipper is sure to come apart on my clutch. I find a small emergency bag of safety pins and begin the work of putting my dollar-store purse back together. Satisfied with my work, I leave my car once again. 9:45

Back through the apocolypse, which is looking less and less apocolyptic as the time goes by. It no longer has the same feeling now that I know that ahead only a few blocks life lives on.

I see the line to the Social. It is wrapped around the block. No one has gone in yet. Almost 10. I've missed nothing. The line begins to move, but incredibly slowly. One of the employees is checking ID's and applying wrist bands to those over 21, black X's for those under. I have difficulty removing my license from my back pocket because of bloody wound. (I put it there when walking back to the car. If I were mugged, I could eaily hand my purse over with nothing but two disposable cameras in it, and still have my valuables.)

I put out my left hand to receive the wrist band. "No, your right one" says the man. I extend my bleeding hand, and he attaches the wrist band saying "Try not to bleed on me". We laugh. The blood is pooling up in my palm as I try to keep my hand elevated until I can get inside and clean it.

There is a girl behind me with white face paint on, and Honus-style facial hair drawn in. I want to tell her she looks awesome and that I wish I had done the same, but my shyness takes over. I continue moving with the line wishing I was the type of person who could talk to strangers. (My mother recently told me it amazes her how I've grown out of my shyness as I've become an adult. She said this because I had co-workers over for a game night. I wanted to explain to her that just because I no longer hide behind her skirt, does not mean I've outgrown my shyness. I worked with those people for two years before inviting them into my home. My shyness may not always be as obvious as it once was on the outside, but on the inside, I know the truth.)

By the time I approach the ticket taker, someone comments on her face paint, and I take the opportunity to tell her she looks awesome. "I look like a dude," she replies. "No," I say, "You look like a man . . . man." The last man we say in unison. "Ba-zing!" she onomatopoeias. I smile to myself as I walk inside, proud.

I take a quick look around, for my friend from class. I needed someone else here that I knew in case I felt panicked about being in such a crowded place. I figure she's not here yet. It's still early. I go to the bathroom to wash my wounds and hope that when I return that bar stool in the corner will still be available.

It is.

I rest on my perch and watch the people pour in. I see Elysse, but she walks quickly to the bar, friends in tow. At least I know she's here. I know someone else here, I repeat to myself like a mantra. A few minutes later, she walks by again, I call her and she has been wondering where I was. We all step outside to talk before the show starts, mostly about school.

When we go back inside, we find a nice spot next to the bar to lean, just as the opening act goes on. "Have you ever heard of him?" I ask. "My friend says he's really out there," she replies. There is a projector on the stage. Two men stand in front, one is some sort of DJ in front of some sort of machine (can't see much from this position at the back). Tim Fite has a mostly shaved head and dressed rather nicely, yet still looks somehow odd. Its in his eyes.

The projection begins to play videos. Some videos have the words of the songs with animation. Some videos have Tim Fite himself playing other instruments and singing, and appears on stage as a whole band of Tim Fites. I am not going to talk much about the actual music, as I am no music-reviewer. I am just telling the story of an adventure. If you want to hear Tim Fite, you should look him up or watch these videos. Every song has an introduction told by the gentleman with itchy legs (Tim Fite).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjR7e8YOoeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ApqLm_7IYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiM0ajQ6--Q

I quickly realized this was not the type of music to be listened to passively while I leaned against a bar. I needed to be closer. I let my friend know, and I made my way towards the right side of the venue, near the stage. Tim Fite really hooks you in. You must listen to the music, watch the videos, buy the albums. You must.

I look around for a moment, and notice a familiar face sitting to the side. That's Pow Pow. What should I do? Should I say hi? Brotherman would say hi. Brotherman is brave. Oh, gosh, I feel like I would be bothering him.

I walk to the merch table to see if Little Torments is available yet. It is. I also see the t-shirt my brother wanted. Merry Christmas Brotherman. Pow Pow walks to the table. I have nerve.

"Hey, are you who I think you are?"
"That depends, who do you think I am?"
"I think you're in MAN MAN.
I think you're Pow Pow"
"Yeah"
"Would you mind signing my shirt?"
(I had already pulled the sharpie out of my purse when I noticed him earlier.)
He signs on the bottom right.
I ask him what his real name is, "Chris". It occurs to me then that I knew that already but in the excitement of the adventure had forgotten it. It also occurs to me that I had never realized he had my brother's name. I ask him if he'll take a picture with me, so that I can make Brotherman jealous. (Yes, I actually said that part.) He obliges.

I go back to my friend still leaning against the bar to tell her of my adventure so far. She seems excited for me, but not excited enough to return to the spot with me. I return alone, and find a seat this time, just as Tim Fite is finishing.

I notice a man standing next to Pow Pow (Chris). I'm pretty sure that's Sergei Sogay, but I never have been absolutely positive that is his pseudonym. However, there is one huge difference. In every picture I've seen of him, he has a long beard. This man is clean shaven, and because of this looks much younger. I think Pow Pow notices I'm staring; not sure what he thinks about that though. I'm still trying to decide if that is really Sergei when I see Chang Wang. Yes, I decide, that is Chang Wang. I approach.

"Hey, will you sign my shirt?"
"Sure"
He motions for me to turn around and begins to write in large letters on my back. While he is doing this I ask "You're Chang Wang, right?" "Yeah" "What's youre real name?" I couldn't hear what he said. I realize later that he lost his voice. (During the show, he is able only to sing the really high parts, and uses a bullhorn much of the time)

I point at who I believe to be Sergei and ask "Doesn't he usually have a beard?" "Yes," he says and I understand, but I can't understand more than that. I ask "What's his name?" "Sergei" he replies. I ask Sergei to sign my shirt. He goes above the right sleeve and he dots the I with a heart. I ask him his real name. "Chris" he says. "Oh, like him" and I point to Pow Pow. I don't mention this is my brother's name.

I ask if he will take a picture with me, and I ask Chang Wang to join us.

"Thanks" I say.
"Thanks for blinding me" Sergei (Chris) says.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"No, I'm kidding. I kid cause I love."
"What are you guys gonna play tonight?"
"All of them"
"I wish. That would take hours."
"You don't want me to ruin the surprise do you?"
Reluctantly I agree.

They begin setting up now. I find a spot closer to the stage, which was difficult as not many of the people there went outside during the break. It takes a long time for them to set up. The entire time "Don't worry, be happy" is playing. I realized at one point that it is now midnight and they have not yet begun to play. I have to work in the morning. I remind myself to stop worrying about such things, and enjoy myself. I also notice they are not wearing all white. I have a mild feeling of disappointment about this. They all leave the stage. The song plays about five more times. Don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy. By this time, every time the song starts again the crowd gets restless. I wonder how people smart enough to like MAN MAN are dumb enough to get upset over the "Don't worry, be happy" song. The must have read my mind and now they start to cheer everytime it starts again. Some of us sing along.

MAN MAN re-emerges.

In white.

From this point on, it is an indescribable mush of excitement. I am not the only one who knows all the words, and am a little ashamed to say that others may have known them better. There is no break between songs. One song leads into another. The challenge is to figure out from the first the five seconds which song it might be so that your brain can download the lyrics in time to sing along. Things are thrown into the crowd. The band members are constantly moving, up down, left right, switching places, jumping on top of their seats, pulling props out of hidden places and throwing things into the crowd again. Coins! Water! Firecrackers!

Excitment and adrenaline aside, it was nice to be able to attach faces and objects to noises.
So that's who makes that noise there, I always wondered.
Oh, that sound is from keys? That's awesome, I wish I had mine.

At some point, MAN MAN runs off stage. I'm not sure if they planned to come back on or if the chanting from the crown drew them back, but they returned.

When they finish this time, it is for real.

Lights go off.

My heart drops a little.

People head out the door or to the merch table. I still have to get Little Torments and that t-shirt. While waiting in line I notice Critter Crat. He played the whole show with a broken hand. I walk over to him and ask him to sign my shirt. I have to help hold my left sleeve while he draws muscles on my arm. He signs "Critter Crat" and draws a heart with an arrow through it. (all with a broken hand) He says his name is Russell and he broke his hand punching a wall. (not sure if that's true) I take a picture with him and say "Now the only one left is Honus." "He'll be out soon" Critter (Russell) says. I stand back in line at the merch table next to the white face paint and facial hair girl. I lend her a couple bucks so she can get a copy of Little Torments since I already didn't have enough to get everything I wanted.

Once I have my goodies, I notice that Honus is out here talking to people. Lots of people want to talk to Honus. The girl in front of me asks to take a picture with him. They begin to walk away together and I say determinedly "Real quick, yours is the only signature I'm missing from my shirt." He finds a blank spot on my stomach and begins to right. (People boo that he chose this spot as opposed to another.) I didn't even look at what he wrote before asking him If I could also take a picture with him when he was done with the other girl. I wouldn't notice til the next night that he wrote "Stay Foxy Honus".

While waiting, I notice Tim Fite standing right next to me. I introduced myself and began talking.

"I've never seen you before, I really enjoyed what you do."
"Thanks"
"Where are you from?"
"New York, where are you from?"
"Here basically, grew up in florida, born in Texas." (This is always my answer by the way, I never don't mention Texas no matter if it is the cashier in the grocery store or Tim Fite)

We talk Texas for a while. He keeps getting interrupted by text messages; he says he doesn't know who they're from. He looks up from his phone and says "I can't find my friends."
"What are you talking about? I'm your friend! I'm right here."
"Oh, that's right, you are! It's been a long time."
"Yeah, how long has it been? Years?"
"Yeah, it's been since Texas."
"Yeah, and I was only like 3 then."
"Yeah, I was 3 too!"
"Can I get a picture with you?"

He comments on my disposable camera, and agrees with me it is the best thing for a concert when you don't want a good camera to get damaged.

Honus comes back and Tim Fite disappears. Honus suggests the man at the merch table takes our picture. Everyone seems duly impressed with my real film camera, disposable though it may be. This would be the only picture of the night where I would come out looking like poopoo. It wasn't till the next night, when I read the shirt that I would be encouraged to think maybe I didn't look like poopoo in person at that moment. I thank him and begin to leave.

I have to pause by the stairs and undo the safety pins on my purse to replace the camera. I am having a hard time with this because the wound on my hand has really begun to hurt. I look up and notice Sergei. Not sure what he was thinking at that moment. I wish now that I had said something "Great job." "You were awesome." "I loved it." But my shyness kicks back in and I feel I have overstayed my welcome. The place is almost empty. I leave the building and put on the t-shirt I bought Brotherman over my signed shirt. I wouldn't want some crazed MAN MAN fan to try to take it. I walk the six blocks back to my car, knowing it will be there.

I spend the ride home, singing to myself. But not singing MAN MAN. I am surprised that I still have a voice. I am surprised at the notes I am hitting. And I fall into my usual rut of daydream-driving while singing the songs I grew up on. I wish I had a band.

1

2008-10-25T13:04:00.004-04:00

The show is tomorrow. I am super stoked. I hope I can bring a camera into the venue. Not sure. I plan on having fun no matter what. Gonna drink coffee, which will ensure liveliness on my part. Now it's all up to MANMAN, and I have faith in MANMAN.

2

2008-10-24T11:28:00.000-04:00

3

2008-10-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

4

2008-10-22T12:49:00.003-04:00

Its getting close guys.

By the way, I got a hair cut. Actually I got several of them cut. Check it out.

5

2008-10-21T12:02:00.000-04:00

6

2008-10-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

7

2008-10-19T11:21:00.002-04:00

8

2008-10-18T09:10:00.000-04:00

9

2008-10-17T08:37:00.000-04:00

And the count down begins . . .

2008-10-16T14:23:00.003-04:00

The day approaches

2008-10-14T14:28:00.002-04:00

and i dont know what to do with myself

Can't Wait for MANMAN

2008-10-12T20:09:00.002-04:00

It is now October 12th, exactly 2 weeks till the MANMAN concert. I am so excited, I can barely contain myself. Just wanted to mention it. Have a good day.

For Sam

2008-09-18T10:11:00.000-04:00

who never lets the beat drop

And Now, by Popular Demand . . .

2008-09-13T09:59:00.001-04:00

Thumbs up and sunglasses means you're cool

2008-09-09T19:05:00.001-04:00

Why does life keep getting in the way of living?

2008-09-06T20:34:00.003-04:00

This is what my breakfast did in the microwave. . . . but it tasted pretty good.

Bubbles

2008-09-04T11:39:00.002-04:00

It may be hard to see what this picture is, as it is from my cell phone, and there is a reflection in the window of my car's sun shade. This is a prominent fountain in the city where I live that is over flowing with bubbles. I wish I had been closer; this picture does not do the incident justice. There were large masses of bubbles floating in the wind for several blocks, and there were bubbles overflowing into the surrounding bushes. It was pretty cool, and it made me want to go swimming.

Letters from Loas (The First)

2008-09-03T16:44:00.011-04:00

Things that remind me of Sam

2008-09-02T09:17:00.005-04:00

This fire-juggling creature reminds me of my brother Sam. This is by Andrew Bell of "creaturesinmyhead.com". If you have never seen this website, you should check it out. He puts a new creature up almost every day.

This also reminds me of Sam though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Attention: Dangerous Virus Spreading Quickly

2008-08-25T20:06:00.003-04:00

Attention America: There is a dangerous infection that is spreading throughout the country, and possibly the world. Its symptoms include the desire to listen to MAN MAN constantly, feeling feverish at the mention of MAN MAN, and uncontrollable hand gestures as if you were playing instruments while listening to MAN MAN. It is not uncommon to sing loudly until you lose your voice, or drive all your friends away. This infection travels through the air into the ear canals, directly affecting your BRAIN. If you have been exposed to MAN MAN and have not experienced these symptoms, visit the doctor IMMEDIATELY as you are probably dead. There is no known cure, and some individuals have noticed more pronounced symptoms after seeing MAN MAN play live. In one case study, after seeing MAN MAN live in Atlanta, one man returned home and infected his sibling. She now feels compelled to see MAN MAN live in Orlando, October 26th, and is attempting to spread this illness to everyone she comes into contact with. The effects of prolonged infection are unknown and still under investigation. If you have been infected, please contact Sister-man immediately. If you are not infected, please contact Sister-man immediately or go to http://www.wearemanman.com/

Is flooding a good excuse?

2008-08-24T20:18:00.003-04:00

So I have been working on a new comic post for a while, but I am such a procrastinator, and now school starts tomorrow, and I can't believe how lazy I've been! I was really sick for about a week and a half, which was sort of an excuse. It seems like there's always something going on. Tropical storm Fay came through this past week. We got 4 casual days in a row to . . . celebrate? I'm not really sure why they gave us extra casual days just because it was raining, but I enjoyed wearing jeans. Here is a picture of some mild flooding here where I live. The water in that picture is about a foot high, but it was really cause of poor drainage, as this was the only thing I saw like that in the whole town.

Horn

2008-08-15T07:50:00.002-04:00

So, I was leaving my apartment this morning, and there were two vehicles stopped at the exit. One was a big white van, with a lot of construction workers and the other was a nice SUV. Apparently the SUV had hit the van. As I pulled up, I realized this and gave myself a couple of car lengths in between me and the SUV. Just as I am about to pull around the guy (they were blocking most of the exit) the SUV begins to back up . . . towards me. The guys from the van are pointing, and trying to tell the guy that my car is in the way. But, he continues to back up. I throw my car in reverse in time to not get hit. He continues to back up. And still, he backs up. So I honk the horn. He slams on his brake, gets out and begins to yell at me! He throws his hands in the air and screams "I didn't see you!". So I calmly roll down my window and say "I know, that's why I honked, so that you would see me." He angrily walks away, back to his car. I still can't figure out why he was mad at ME. I understand that he was distraught, but I helped him avoid a second wreck. I also spoke calmly. I mean, honking a horn is not the same as screaming an expletive. A horn honk is a warning. I was letting him know I was there, and that if he continued backing up, he would hit me. I'm sure he's calmed down now, but I can't help but wonder if he feels sorry for yelling at me. This man is obviously my neighbor or he wouldn't have been pulling out of my complex. Most likely, I'll see this man again. But odds are he won't even remember the entire confrontation.

Contest Winner

2008-08-11T20:50:00.005-04:00

After much waiting, the winner of the caption contest is . . . Chris!

And the second place winner was Sam, with this somewhat unconventional entry . . .

Hga Hga!

Don't Forget

2008-07-21T21:03:00.002-04:00

Hey! Don't forget about the caption contest. Chris is getting cocky and thinks that because he is the only one who responded that he will be the winner. Who's gonna prove him wrong? If you don't know how to get the older posts, scroll down on the screen and click on "older posts" until you get to the one labeled "contest" or look to the right, and select the link under Blog Archive titled "contest".

UFO? Continued

2008-07-19T15:40:00.006-04:00

You just can't beat a Sag.

UFO?

2008-07-17T22:38:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody! Dont forget to check out the caption contest below. Also, check out the videos to the right. They are mostly stuff from my cousin's wedding, but it will update with my most recently added videos.

Check out the videos

2008-07-15T19:48:00.000-04:00

Check out the videos on the right. Those are videos that I post on youtube. Now everyone can enjoy them from here.

Contest

2008-07-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

Please help me add captions to this photo! I will have my assistant impartially choose a winner based on creativity and wit. The winner will get . . . . . their name listed in the comments section. Woo-hoo! Now don't all comment at once.

Sister-Man!

2008-07-11T11:03:00.000-04:00

This is a comic book page that my brother Sam made for me.