Umm…yeah…so I “adopted” a bat ala Sally Struthers. It’s not like I’m actually taking possession of Mini-Me (although Rumble would probably love that) so much as receiving photos of her and details on her life. I wonder if that’ll keep up as she grows. How long do bats live, anyway? Obviously, my donation helps to feed her, etc etc. And why not, right?

So our first assignment for photography class was to shoot flowers. Boring, right? So in lieu of traipsing down to the crowded Botanical Gardens — remember, I hate people — I decided to shoot some at home. But to make it interesting (and a bit evil), I subjected my flowers to freezing, cutting and fire. The whole affair actually turned out pretty well. Below is the final set.
Click to View the Gallery

There’s an odd affinity I have for taking a consistent form and applying all sorts of different designs to it. Maybe that’s why I buy so many Mighty Muggs. The Vader Project, currently taking place in Pittsburgh through May 3, is some seriously cool shit in this vein. Doubtful I’ll make it north in time, but maybe someone will transform these into printed forms or otherwise. Would love to get my hands on a couple.

A few photos from the party Woolly Mammoth theater hosted at the Mandarin Hotel this past weekend. Most of the pics are of Dale and Hugh getting harassed by a strange drunk man on the dance floor. That creepiness aside, the event was INCREDIBLY fun. Read more »

Nothing like some good ole evil to brighten one’s office. Thanks to Blik, I now have this nifty-as-hell wall graphic watching over me. This design originally appeared as a Threadless t-shirt, but was thankfully picked up by the “surface graphics” shop. While applying the giant sticker wasn’t the easiest task — those hair-line doodles suck! — the finished product is quite cool. I feel so much more comfortable now.

Well this is certainly a new take on a lightbulb’s passing. I wonder how it died. Great work by Flickr user Kevin O’Mara. This is the type of thing I’d love to practice in the new photography class I’m taking this coming Monday with Matt.

Kidding. My gig as a Delivery Director — a title that has elicited some quizzical looks from friends — at Grafik isn’t anywhere near (or approaching) unpleasant. Challenging with a promise of tougher things to come, sure, but it’s been a great first week. My role, essentially, is to formalize internal & external processes and generally help build Grafik’s burgeoning interactive practice. Lots of cool things to come.

All told, I was unemployed for just under three months. Considering how long it normally takes to get a job and this economy, I’d have to say that’s not a bad timeframe. While this statement is yet to be proven, I have a feeling this lay-off just might prove a positive. I really dig my new role and the opportunity, and the time off allowed me to redesign my site, build my portfolio, establish a ton of new contacts and generally investigate new ideas. I got to go to SXSW and visit the set of the Zombieland film currently underway, too.

The nifty entryway art

My three monitors and windows. Oh-so-pleasant

The new bad habits

Who’d've thought zombie had a complex neuropsychology? Dr. Steven Schlozman of Harvard’s medical school postulates as much during a recent screening of Night of the Living Dead. Check out the full article at Boston.com, but here’s a quick excerpt of this thoughts on the subject:

The story changes as the situation grows grimmer. Here, the professor draws on “mirror neuron” theory, which holds that humans are hard-wired to reflect the psychological states of the people around them. (Show a test subject a short film of a face displaying disgust, or pleasure, and regions of the brain associated with those feelings activate in the subject.)