BellGab.com Archive

Art posted this link  http://artbell.com/message-from-time-traveler-david/ on his Facebook page. He said:

QuoteI am going to post a long email from what I consider to be very possibly a REAL Time Traveler, it will be up this Weekend at artbell.com please take your time and read it in full,

So far, it's a dud.  What do you think?

looking forward to the new show!

I've noticed you guys ah wicked smaht (says the Boston Girl)

I'm struggling with a SLOGAN for my on-line business.  I suck at slogans, at least for myself.  They all come out cliché- and if not forgetable, you'd wish they were.


What I do is information design, mostly for education but not exclusively. My work includes both print and electronic delivery formats.

I want something catchy, but maybe a little edgy without being rude. It needs to be short. 10 words is max for any slogan and 10 is a lot.  Three is ideal (good luck with that) 6 or 7 is great.

I've thought of stuff like "Where medium and message meet" - but - um - yeah . . .  A bit on the cute side and defiantly stogy. Worse, it's unclear.  Is this the psychic hotline?! 

The name of my company is ELBarney Information Design

Here is the site under construction

Here is the (mostly) student portfolio

As is typical of designer portfolios - it's not up to date and I am going to need to work on that. Meanwhile  - anyone willing to take a shot at a slogan? It does not have to be great, this is a brainstorm session.

I don't know anyone who isn't moved by some random story or event sometimes.  Even when we know there are:

   Bigger Issues
More Complex Issues
Complexities to the issue or event itself we don't want to consider.

Well, I thought I'd invite you to post yours -

One of mine is Patrick the Miracle Dog - a puppy so badly abused and neglected - then stuffed in a trash bag and thrown down a garbage shoot - that no one thought he'd live. Images of him have sparked international response.  This dog will never want for a thing again in his life so many people have sent money for his medical expenses, bedding, toys, clothing (he was so thin he NEEDED clothing to stay warm, it wasn't just for cute) money for food, treats; you name it, if a dog could use it, Patrick's got it. he's not yet ready for a new home, but he's also got plenty of people ready to give him one and treat him like a king for the rest of his life.

Now for the really cool part (because while saving one dog is awesome, it's still just saving one dog): The stories and images of him horrified so many, there is now a strong national movement (which, of course, must be resolved state by state) to broaden the definition of animal abuse and stiffen the penalties. It's gotten, and continues to get, a lot of traction.

Even if you don't give a rat's ass about critters - remember that the correlation between animal abuse and subsequent abuse of other humans is very high.


The Patrick Movement

It hasn't even been two months yet - but look how far this dog, who had been on death's door, has come:


PATRICK IS WALKING ON SUNSHINE.. HE'S OUR SHINING LIGHT!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.  The kids, critters and i are having a Paganesque bacchanal starting mid-afternoon.  I'm Christan myself (yes friends, not all of us are narrow-minded fundamentalist bigots  ) - but Easter is about CELEBRATION - and celebrate we do!


This year the table includes lamb chops, asparagus, a huge salad of spring greens, sweet pepper strips of every color available, roasted baby potatoes, carrot cake and GOOSE EGGS I found at the farmers market, dyed bright colors and then painted with gel food coloring. Oh yes - and let's not forget the chocolate stout and alcoholic ginger-beer from a local brewery.


The critters get freeze-dried lamb liver.


Hope you all find a reason to celebrate today.

I get a kick out off random "facts,"  We all have a few stored in our heads, and stumble on more as time goes on.  I thought it would be fun to share some here.

My first contribution:

During the Middle Ages, murdering a traveling musician was not considered a serious crime.

Western Spaghetti by PES


BTW - in case you didn't notice, this is STOP MOTION animation.  Impressive.

   Cooking Kit for Hotel Rooms Travel Tip Part 1




   Cooking Kit for Hotel Rooms Travel Tip Part 2

What goes "clip-clop, clip-clop,     clip-clop, *BANG*, clip,-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop"?

No more Jesus in the Library

There are (at least) two bills being bandied about on the hill that are nucking FUTS!



ONE relates to Internet censorship


The other would make it ILLEGAL to glean and grow our own seeds for food?

So, to hell with free speech and grandpas rhubarb patch?  My heirloom-tomato pots on the balcony? And, maybe, even sites like this one?

Please tell me this is some bizarre fantasy.  Tell me, truthfully, that what I'm reading are absurd over-reactions.

Dunno if any of you guys are Dads - but if so - have a great day!

to not share




OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version - Official

As any of you who listen to the award winning Michael Vandeven's Radio Trainwreck  know - Michael CLAIMS to hate felines - and now that he is a fancy college boy, he needs his rest.  Therefore - he will not allow his wife's cats into their bedroom. He says they get too rowdy.

I hereby present photographic evidence that MV LIES.  He is a softie - and adores the cats.  In fact, they imitate his scholarly habits as a way of demonstrating their bond with him.

Really Michael - you don't need to try to sound so tough.  We all know what a sweetheart you truly are.

Okay -- my occasionally romantic DIL decided she simply MUST have Turkish Delight.  (You all recall The Lion, The Witch and the Nasty Candy -- right?) 

The traditional flavor for Lokum (Turkish Delight) is rose. The request for a batch of this stuff came from a young woman who dislikes gin because it "tastes like perfume" (juniper berries) Why do I get the feeling that I turned my kitchen into a sticky mess for something that is going to disappoint? 

This is the first time I've made this.  It doesn't seem QUITE as challenging as fudge (or popovers - but that is another topic . . .) but it's not easy as toast. The agrivating thing is that I found a dozen recipes - and there seem to be four camps. And, their dissagreements are not jsut look or flavor based - they have to do with the chemistry of the process.

Cook the corn starch mixture separately and add to the sugar mixture after it reaches soft ball stage.

Cook the sugar mixture and then add the corn starch mixture raw  -- and bring to the soft ball stage after blending (okay -- that's jsut 180 degrees DIFFERENT!)

Eat it right away.

Cook it in advance and cure it for 12 hours.

Before cutting, let the candy set up in the fridge.

Never, ever put Turkish Delight in the fridge.

Sprinkle the jellies with just a little powdered sugar.

The jellies sweat - so store them is lots of corn starch with powdered sugar.

Oh well - I pretty much used the system in the vid below. EXCEPT the mess is cooling on the top of my stove in a cool kitchen with the fan on -- couple layers of cheesecloth over the pan to allow moisture evaporation.  I plan to use lots of cornstarch and powder.

Any of you ever play with this mess?

About.com Video Library-External

http://www.youtube.com/user/dutytocareforothers#p/f/3/6qs9TLTvYFs

 to protect Shane now that he killed Pilar?


===

Okay - so I'm waaay fuckin' behind - sue me.

One more midwinter holiday.


10.  O Holiday Tree
9.  Have Yourself a Merry Little Day of Winter
8.  Frosty the Snowperson
7.  Chestnuts Roasting on a Safely Contained, Continuously Monitored, Eco-Friendly, Nontoxic Outdoor Fire (For Which I Do Have a Permit)
6.  Higher Power Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
5.  Grandma Allegedly Got Run Over By an Unidentified Non-Human Perpetrator
4.  Deck the Halls with Boughs of Unendangered Foliage (If Office Policy Permits)
3.  Hark!  The Herald Mythical Winged Creature Sings
2.  I Saw Mommy Greeting Santa Claus with a Purely Platonic Expression of Inoffensive Mutual Affection
1.  I'll Be Home for a Short Period of Time in December

... .. -. -.-. .   .- .-. -   -... . .-.. .-..   .. ...   .- -.   --- .-.. -..   .... .- --   -....-   .- -. -..   -.- -. --- .-- ...   -- --- .-. ... .   -.-. --- -.. . --..--   ..   - .... --- ..- --. .... -   .. -   .-- .- ...   --- -. .-.. -.--   .-. .. --. .... -   - .... .- -   .-- .   .... .- ...- .   .-   -- --- .-. ... .   -.-. --- -.. .   - .... .-. . .- -..   .. -.   .... .. ...   .... --- -. --- .-. .-.-.-   

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Hey - if we can't be obscenely over-the-top at the darkest time of year - when CAN we?  (Forgive me Curtis, but for most of us - it's dark as the pit and cold as a witches tit)


Carol of the Bells - 2008 Holdman Christmas Display from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Go on!  You know you want to!

I really hope to NEVER have anther semester like this one.  I don't understand it, but it seems that once you get beyond a bachelor's degree - no one speak English anymore.  Worse - it's deliberate; it's a way of circling the wagons around your discipline so that not just ANYONE can get it and run with it.   And, it's fucking obnoxious.

QuoteEtienne Wenger describes "reification" as the act of turning something
(ideas, thoughts, etc.) into physical form (language, text documents,
etc.).  Reification has two distinct consequences. First, it organizes
abstract ideas and directs our attention in ways that allow us to share and
adapt ideas between people, time, and space. Second, it restricts the
interpretation of ideas because it is an inherently limiting process that
inadequately conveys the nuances of lived experience.  Do learning theories
and empirical research seeking to explain cognitive processes follow the
same benefits and drawbacks of Wenger's notion of "reification?" How can
teachers use academically reified theory to improve their students' learning
experience in the classroom?

This is one of the more simple and straight forward pieces of CRAP writing I have to deal with.  And now i haveto go say something intelligent about it. It's not that I don't get it.  It's that the language makes me wanna say "Yeah?  So what's your point?"

Yes friends, I know this is just one of those flukes - and not a sign of global warming - but DANG!

I'm in MASSACHUSETTS.  It's DECEMBER.  And, I went outside in jeans, a short sleeved blouse, and a sweatshirt.  Had to take the sweat shirt off!  It's WARM here.

Of course, this is New England.  It may snow tonight - and people will bitch but no one will be surprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsbHofz5fC0

A gift for you, Eugene.

I channeled this to represent your courage under fire and your ability to move forward in the face of adversity.

Using it will bring you only the best juju.

Ferlin Husky is ill - and not a young man.  But then - I got the news from Noory -- and he ALWAYS makes things sound like doom and gloom.

I have a fondness for older country music - because we used to sing it in the car on road trips when I was a kid. 

We were not a religious family - but this was one of our "car songs"

(Yes, it's Ferlin Husky)

Wings Of A Snow White Dove ~ Ferlin Husky