evan: lets get her beggin’ strips.
ben: alli’s dont know it’s not bacon!
alli: OH MAH GAWD BACON!!!

The chicagraphers came up with something called the PHOTO March Madness! Its just like basketball, only nothing like it at all! Hilarious! Who will be your Final Four? Mine are Andreas Gursky, Nan Goldin (I know, I know, but I have a thing for her right now), Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Diane Arbus (a staple). Now I know a lot of you out there in Shambi-Land aren’t familiar with a lot of photographer historic and contemporary, but I though it was such a cool thing that I had to show you guys. Alec posted it on his blog months ago, but I just got around to deciding recently. ITS HARD TO CHOOSE THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHERS EVER. If any of you all are bored at any time, I would encourage you to take a look on good ol’ Google Image Search for these guys and familiarize yourself… maybe even choose a Final Four!

It’s called “what random images are in emma’s random files folder?!?!?! OMG YES!!” let’s go!

1. This is my favoritest picture from the internet! Nothing is funnier than a squished otter! NOTHING.
2. A bubble wrap bra! Perfect for.. um… well… nothing. (Evan says “shipping boobs”) I just like how extremely happy she looks to be popping the bubble wrap.
3. Cute japanese haircuts! Inspiration!
4. That rabbit from that one episode of Lost! Totally the best episode. Any episode from television in which there is a rabbit (see: the OC) is the best episode from that series.
5. Froggy!
6. I GOT 850 ON INKLINK. BEAT THAT, PUPPIESANDDRAGONS.

That’s it for “what random images are in emma’s random files folder?!?!?! OMG YES!!” part 1. Stay tuned for part 2!!

I define blind hatred as a perpetual, and consciously sustained rage towards something. If you say “I will always love you” to someone you love unconditionally, then you say “I will always hate you” to someone who you hate blindly.

If love is the greatest and most noble human emotion, then blind hatred has to be the lowest and most base, because it is love’s polar opposite.

I make this statement because love allows understanding, philanthropy, inclusiveness, creativity and happiness to flourish.

Blind hatred fosters ignorance, misanthropy, exclusion, the urge to destroy, and ultimately, misery.

If everything I have said so far sounds god-awfully cliched, then it’s because it is. We hear this kind of statement ALL the time. We heard it in kindergarten, and we heard it in college. Everyone says it. A LOT. It’s a mantra.

But the reason we say it is because we are naturally hard-wired to hate. Evolution has hard-wired us to hate, to kill, to rape, to steal, to eat flesh, to form clans, to protect territories, and to despise the other. It’s only by denying these impulses that human civilization has been capable of anything other than destruction (although we are awesome at that, too.)

Naturally, the point I am trying to get at is that we should avoid blind hatred at all costs. But it’s tough when you or someone you know wakes up one day and finds out that, sure as shootin’, there is someone out there that hates them. All you can do is focus on the (hopefully) larger number of people who love you, and do what you can to not to make the hate any worse. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do usually to be hated less. If a group wants to stay closed off, and to hide their motivations and beliefs from those they have turned into the “other”, then there is not a lot the other can do. Live life, be happy, have fun.

Sorry if I have broken the usually good vibe on shambot with this relatively somber post. Also, I am, of course, discussing a specific set of events; so I apologize to anyone who has no idea what this is about.

Happy Bday Ben, Deedee, and Maggie. The 3 of you can now go drinking together!

ART ATTACK!!

First: we grilled out! It was warm, and we were hungry, thus meat was grilled and eaten. Allison, our resident grilling extraordinaire, did most of the grilling. That is until we found out that the bratwurst were still very red inside, then evan and I took them back out for grilling round 2. Is it bad that this is the first time we’ve used this grill since we got it last summer? Survey says: yes.

Second: Hey, look, I drew something. It’s kind of like a pikmin. A really big pikmin.

Third: This might be my DVD cover for my demo reel that I’m working on. Is it too much? I think so. I’m still working on it.

p.s. it’s my birthday! no more important ages after this one, now I’ll just get regular old.

Dudes.
Anyone who knows me, even a little bit, is aware of a certain ridiculous obsession that occasionally overcomes me. It has probably made a few movies and television experiences that we’ve had together hellish. Here what this little tick looks like:
Me: Don’t you recognize that person on the screen from somewhere?
You: Eh. I guess they look familiar. Don’t know.
Me: I think I recognize them. WHO IS THAT GUY?
You: What?
Me: I can’t hear you. I am obsessively Googling various traits of this particular person so I can figure out who they are, because if I don’t, I will not sleep.
Remember that one?
Well, NYC has been more than a little difficult, because I see people often who look vaguely familiar. And since it is New York, they probably are familiar for a reason.
Exhibit A:
This afternoon, I was rushing down the stairs to the subway to catch the F train at Broadway-Lafayette to get from work to a babysitting job. A bunch of people were getting off the V train (runs on the same track) and there was a mildly cute guy I noticed. We looked at each other for a second, and I thought I recognized him. And, just now, as I was eating some quality frozen yogurt and watching The Office, it hit me.
Yes, I definitely saw Chili this afternoon. As in, Chili who was Johnny’s friend at the Newport public high school on the third season of the OC. (Rest in peace OC. You were an amazing prime time soap of the gods.)
If you recall, Johnny was the guy who was a really good surfer, wanted Marissa’s ass, and eventually got drunk and jumped off a cliff, killing himself. Chili was his lame surf buddy and maybe had two lines in his few appearances. The (amazingly talented) actor who played him is named Johnny Lewis, and he is currently filming a show called “Eight Days a Week.”
And yes, I am feeling like the biggest nerd-o on the planet.

Holy freaking cow. I am so ready for this year to be over. I need to be doing summer-things now, like wearing adorable new swimsuits and giant sunglasses on lake calhoun, eating noras food everyday (SES I love and hate you), and taking pictures willy-nilly in thief river falls. I want to be working at every high school musical performance and converse with all of the little actor-lings. I want to visit Katie in the NYC with my newly-purchased rip-off Loius Vuitton Luggage set. I want to be getting sloshed at Charlie and Alisha’s Wedding in southern minnesota. And I NEED to be taking evening walks with Alex, looking at birdies at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. WHOS WITH ME?!?

But no, I have a whole list of menial little duties to do. Not big projects and final presentations, mind you. I got all of that shit out of the way already. And I should be happy. I should be proud that Im basically done. I am always jealous of that person every semester. That person thats got their ass in gear, and is pretty much way ahead. But I actually feel kind of annoyed. Actually LOTS annoyed. I have lots of photo submissions that I am keeping myself busy with and I keep pestering Tom to put me to work every night, whether Im scheduled or not. I have to archive all of my work for classes on CD (Oh, MCAD. I love that you archive my work, but maybe you could update the online galleries once in awhile so it was all worth it). AND, I am so stressed out about little personal things like moving (our sweet apartment), getting my apartment subleased, and sticking my nose in all of my friends’ businesses when I should just leave it alone.

Science help me. I am ready for summer.

ps: can you tell how busy I am from my not even posting an image this time? I am so cool.

As per request of Patrick, and also because I want to show them off, here are the shoes I designed and “made” for class.

I would like to wear them, but since I dyed them with ink (they were originally all white) and drew on them with marker, I think the sweat from my feet would make the color bleed, and then I would be sad. Is there anything I could treat them with so that won’t happen?

This may not be my most conceptually challenging or intelligent or even best work… but it was pretty fun to do. Well, most of it. I kind of got stuck on the whole “guilty pleasure for homework” thing…but seriously, who can deny themselves of drawing pretty ladies in lingerie? Seriously!! SRSLY!

The little “sexytime” bit is my fake brand of underwears that I developed for product illustration. Yes, I could have done something for our final project that I could actually make and sell, but who is sensible like that? Certainly not Bill, with his amazing shoes.

Anyhow. Today was a good day. My Books and Broadsides class went to the Minnesota Historical Center and I got to touch/look through an Atlas from the 1500s! There were whales in it with two blow-holes!! Also the snack-cart thing was in. Also I got a new bag at Target. Also a bunch of people apparently got tours of our apartment. A good day indeed! I may not have gotten an Xbox 360 or a Wii, but soon I’ll have a new swimsuit, and that’s EVEN BETTER.

Okay, maybe not. But really, can an X-Box 360 look like this?!?! I think not.

But hey, it was a character builder.

However, it was very satisfying to be there at 9:55 when all these other people showed up. Very satisfying.

So, Joel, share your ID number or whatever with us. Then we can… send messages?

WIISPLOSION. Next up I’ll probably get some Wiimote chargers and Monkey Ball. Allyson will even play this with me. Wooh.