Month: <span>November 2008</span>

Published November 11, 2008 by

The wormhole of the end of semester

tea-time_2sml_It is the end of semester. People are panicking around me and for once I have my homework under control. I have however just had the mandatory horrible day that comes near the end of each semester.

Defining this day would be the glorious mistake (which I’ve made before) to drive into the city instead of catching public transport. The driving is okay, it’s just the lack of parking and the lying GPS that got to me. I never found the place… I found Kinkos near uni instead and they turned out cheaper.

So then there’s the $103 on printing. And apparently I got a good price.

Plus the freaking huge small mistake of gluing the wrong edge of my book when I was binding. With $103 of printing, you don’t want to make that mistake. Mercifully it was fixable, not entirely 100% happiness but lets go with 80% happiness (inclusive of stress).

This binding video is good.

Now the book is bound, my group proposal is bound and the presentation is early tomorrow. My animation is complete if not a little corny, and my Visual Language posters are done – all I have to do it bulk out the VL research journal and it’s happy land and handing it all in for me.

Lets see, it’s taken me approximately 2 hours to wind down from being on edge for 4 hours + an extra 1 hour. That’s not too bad at all…

Friday I love you so much, you should come sooner.

image source, please check it out, it’s good.

Books Create Design Life Uni

binding city driving communication design end of semester homework stress Uni

Published November 10, 2008 by

Sucessful pitching, happy branding day!

I mentioned a while back that I was doing an assignment on branding and my focus was on branding my old school.

After spouting out many ideas, going through the process of refining and pitching, and pitching against other designs (which I haven’t seen btw) MECS have chose my design to rebrand with!!!

This is quite a big deal.

I’m not showing the logo yet as there is some finnessing to do at their discretion, but pleased to say I just landed my first big gig that is fairly high profile for the area and I’m rather estatic about it!!!!

Branding Design Life Uni Work

branding Design designer job resume happiness school Work

Published November 7, 2008 by

Keeping the quality coffee dream alive

It appears the Melbourne Coffee review is stalking my favourite coffee joints. After the review of Piccolo Esspresso, my uni spot, I didn’t really expect to see something so familiar so soon. But the Home Barista Institute is my work spot, which they reviewed today and it’s probably in my top three. I don’t get there too often as it’s a bit of a walk, but they make great pumpkin boccocini and spinach foccacias and their coffee is grand, plus, they play the Amelie soundtrack, have a pleasant outlook and decent magazines. Now all the Review must do, is hike out to Croydon mainstreet and visit the Kofi Bean… or perhaps all the way up the mountain to Belgrave for Earthly Pleasures.

Coffee

home barista institute I heart coffee melbourne coffee review

Published November 6, 2008 by

Pumpkin latte

pumpkin_paintingAs the end of the year draws near I am beginning to lament the disappearance of Starbucks in my semi-local shopping centre. I’ll take real coffee over the Star anyday, but I was truly looking forward to Christmas gingerbread lattes… however I am now hearing about an offering that I haven’t yet seen in Australia. The pumpkin latte.

And so I will, when I have time, make my own. Because the concept of the pumpkin latte is entirely and I mean ENTIRELY convincing.

image source

*An update on the above, I made a rushed version yesterday. It really wasn’t all that good. Over sweet for one, and in that way quite a good Starbucks rip off, and it was very stringy although did improve after I strained it. I think a Jap pumpkin is in order rather than a Kent pumpkin and less sweetness. Also probably didn’t help that all my stomach really wanted just then was food rather than yet another hot drink… it’s a pitty that hot drinks aren’t more nutrious really, because I could probably resemble super woman about now.

Cooking Life

Coffee drink pumpkin

Published November 4, 2008 by

My first allegiance is not to democracy

heart-illustrationI’ve never been very in to politics, I grapple every election to really ‘get it’ and so although interesting, I probably cannot talk very informatively on how to vote. Keep this is mind as you read. Thankfully I’m married to a man who enjoys explaining such things. The United States election should be of even less interest me. Oddly enough since I started watching the West Wing (of which I am unashamedly a huge fan) and demanding small explanations, and as the media across the world hones in on these two very different candidates it’s become increasingly intriguing.

At uni we’ve talked about how their branding strategies differ, about how they’ve chosen to represent themselves and there is of course the ridiculous amount of money that could be spent on fixing real problems rather than campaigning. Sometimes it feels a bit of a sham.

I do think the following:

It should be compulsory to vote and I’m really glad I live in a country that demands it.

The world is not black and white.

At least locally if Barack Obama doesn’t manage to hold the spot, a ton of America’s credibility will fly right out the window. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps the opportunity to make such a clear statement about the past, or perhaps it’s just that from here one candidate seems to outweigh the other so much, that the other might as well not be running. But then where would be democracy?

As I peruse the countryless internet, I’ve come across a few things related to the election that I think are interesting:

20-somethings and Obama

Why I’m a Democrat

and best still, you can go and download Derek Webb’s album Mockingbird for free, which has a very interesting spoken bonus track about voting (not endorsing either candidate). Decent CD too (I got it the first time around), interesting lyrics. If nothing else, listen to, A New Law.

Please vote.

image source

Culture News

barack obama derek webb election john mccain voting west wing