Virulent quasar
I'm having a very good night, so I figured now was a good time to catch up on a few things. Firstly, Thanksgiving was splendid. Splendiforous, even. Got to visit my awesometastic nephew. And, y'know, the rest of the family. Plus, my grandmother came out from Kansas, so it was nice seeing her. Though, getting her on her way back to Kansas was something of an adventure. Let me tell you, our bus system-- sucks. We had to drive her up to the Denver terminal just so she wouldn't miss that connection and have to stay the night waiting for the next bus.
I read a book from the campus library while on break. Which was a little crazy, because the weekend before, I'd read Slaughterhouse- 5 (by Kurt Vonnegut) as an e-book. This is the first "for fun" reading I've done all semester and suddenly I read two novels within a week? What's with that? Anyhow, the book I read was Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palaniuk (sp?). Chuck's the fellow that brough us Fight Club and Choke and Lullaby (and a few others), though I'd only read Fight Club before now. Rant was a bit of a different reading experience. As an oral biography, the entire novel is comprised of short personal accounts by different people concerning the titular character, who's dead before the book starts (the first sentence points this out, so I'm not ruining anything, I promise). Of course, each of these contributors had different relationships with the main protagonist, and you can't really catch up on how that affects their views until a good ways into the novel. Furthermore, about halfway through, it turns into a science fiction story. Which is okay with me, it was just a little abrupt. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I do want to emphasize the success with which the author communicates the society he introduces. The various character perspectives really allow for a multi-faceted understanding of the culture he's portraying in an unique way. The only downside is that the narrative was a little... flat? It's difficult to connect emotionally with any one character considering the narrative format. The abstractions near the end of the novel probably don't help any, especially in connecting with the protagonist. So, despite reallly appreciating the story and the narrative format, it left me a little unfulfilled. Still, I'd definitely recommend it. Interesting read.
To wrap up, here's why I'm in a good mood tonight: In Life Drawing today, we graded homework. I got a 98%. I love 98%. It's nice. Especially because this is the figure I had to copy. (I put him in a box with arrows to help you out. Also, God is pointing right at 'im). Can you say "awkward pose"? Try it. Go ahead. ... Yeah. Awkward. Michelangelo is a genius with the human figure. This is true. But while he's working on the Sistine Chapel, he's also getting more and more into Mannerism. Which is funky. So. Next will be the skeleton. That's daunting. But! My point is: 98%.
The next reason is that I talked to Connie after class tonight and she okay'd my idea for the final project/paper. I'm going to explore the internet as a medium for our visual culture. Mostly, I'm examining web comics as the pop art of today. Ergo, I can submit Critical Miss #3 as the project. Not only does this fact make me like the project that much more, but it's serious incentive for finally getting the comic done. Fun! :D
The final reason is that I'm having a blast working on my final engraving. It's large (6 x 8) on copper, and I've only made a few slips so far. Yeah, the worst one happens to be through St. George's face, but, uh, that's just how it goes sometimes, y'know? >__>; Maybe I'll take a scan of the plate before I polish the spray paint off. I guess that'll depend on how much of a rush I'm in in the morning.
I read a book from the campus library while on break. Which was a little crazy, because the weekend before, I'd read Slaughterhouse- 5 (by Kurt Vonnegut) as an e-book. This is the first "for fun" reading I've done all semester and suddenly I read two novels within a week? What's with that? Anyhow, the book I read was Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palaniuk (sp?). Chuck's the fellow that brough us Fight Club and Choke and Lullaby (and a few others), though I'd only read Fight Club before now. Rant was a bit of a different reading experience. As an oral biography, the entire novel is comprised of short personal accounts by different people concerning the titular character, who's dead before the book starts (the first sentence points this out, so I'm not ruining anything, I promise). Of course, each of these contributors had different relationships with the main protagonist, and you can't really catch up on how that affects their views until a good ways into the novel. Furthermore, about halfway through, it turns into a science fiction story. Which is okay with me, it was just a little abrupt. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I do want to emphasize the success with which the author communicates the society he introduces. The various character perspectives really allow for a multi-faceted understanding of the culture he's portraying in an unique way. The only downside is that the narrative was a little... flat? It's difficult to connect emotionally with any one character considering the narrative format. The abstractions near the end of the novel probably don't help any, especially in connecting with the protagonist. So, despite reallly appreciating the story and the narrative format, it left me a little unfulfilled. Still, I'd definitely recommend it. Interesting read.
To wrap up, here's why I'm in a good mood tonight: In Life Drawing today, we graded homework. I got a 98%. I love 98%. It's nice. Especially because this is the figure I had to copy. (I put him in a box with arrows to help you out. Also, God is pointing right at 'im). Can you say "awkward pose"? Try it. Go ahead. ... Yeah. Awkward. Michelangelo is a genius with the human figure. This is true. But while he's working on the Sistine Chapel, he's also getting more and more into Mannerism. Which is funky. So. Next will be the skeleton. That's daunting. But! My point is: 98%.
The next reason is that I talked to Connie after class tonight and she okay'd my idea for the final project/paper. I'm going to explore the internet as a medium for our visual culture. Mostly, I'm examining web comics as the pop art of today. Ergo, I can submit Critical Miss #3 as the project. Not only does this fact make me like the project that much more, but it's serious incentive for finally getting the comic done. Fun! :D
The final reason is that I'm having a blast working on my final engraving. It's large (6 x 8) on copper, and I've only made a few slips so far. Yeah, the worst one happens to be through St. George's face, but, uh, that's just how it goes sometimes, y'know? >__>; Maybe I'll take a scan of the plate before I polish the spray paint off. I guess that'll depend on how much of a rush I'm in in the morning.