Wednesday, January 31, 2007

12 Years

Today is my anniversary. I've been working at my current company for 12 years. I'm a consultant. Yes, a consultant for all those years. I joined the company for just that reason and the traveling.

I'm in a slump right now and hopefully the slump will be over in the next month and half. That's what my boss says. Being in the slump for nearly a year is no fun -- sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring to solve a problem that takes me only 15 minutes or given busy work that you don't enjoy while waiting for a client to sign on the dotted line so you can start *argggghhhhhh*. Hopefully, the company comes through with a good project because it was about this time that I left my prior company after spending 12 years with them.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Julian Beever, His Art

I was introduced to Julian Beever's special kind of art through email. You may have also. Julian Beever is an English artist famous for his pavement (street) art in England, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, U.S.A. and Australia.

The most eye catching artwork is the 3-D illusion ones. The 3-D illusion ones are fine examples of an art form known as anamorphism. The picture is distorted so that it assumes a normal appearance when viewed from a specific viewpoint. This is a well-known technique, often employed in film and theatre production to create the illusion of depth.

The shame about pavement art is that it does not last. People will walk on it or the rain will wash it away.

Here's some of his pavement artwork...
Coke Bottle on its side
Girl in Pool
Both of Julian's feet are flat on the sidewalk.
Girl in Pool Different Perspective
What the above picture looks like from a different perspective.
The Dig 1 The Dig 2
The Dig 3
The Dig 4
Cleaning the Street
Only the guy (Julian) is real.
Re-Pavement
Notice the people walking around the pavement construction.
Seal
Another Dig
World Poverty
Notice Julian on top of the world
World Poverty Different Perspective
Looking at the World from a different view point. It's 40 feet long.

Yes, the picture is upside down. An inversion mirror may have been placed here so it can be seen properly by the pedestrians.
Powerful Bug Spray
Lobster Food
The Rescue - Spiderman
The Rescue - Cape Crusaders
Sony VAIO
Notice the brick work on the screen
The Dive
Look closely and you can still see the sidewalk cracks.

Read the BBC Article about this piece. You can see the creation process.


Larger images of his artwork can be found at his site plus other work. Just click on his name at the top of this blog.

In looking for more information about Julian Beever, I came across Kurt Wenner. He is a Michigan-born artist who now lives in Italy. He has some outstanding work, too. Check out his home page -- www.kurtwenner.com

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Potpourri

First... the title of this blog. When I first saw potpourri, I expected it be pronounced "pot pour ree". Wouldn't you if you never heard the word spoken. Nope, it's another foreign word that we've adapted into the English language. We can thank the French for this addition, like lingerie (ling ker ee, no I know how this is pronounced). The true meaning of this word -- potpourii -- is "a mixture of dried, naturally fragant plant material, used to provide a gentle natural scent in houses"*. Of course, Americans take words and give it new meaning. No, this will not be a fragrant blog but a mix of Judy's ramblings.

I just did a quick review of the above paragraph. I'm always amazed with my fingers and brain. I'm a touched typist. So my brain tells my fingers what words it wants to see on the page. I think the fingers have a hearing problem because it comes up with the strangest words (i.e. instead of word, it wants worlds).

My sis insists I write this one. One night I told my sis that I'll fend for myself when it comes to dinner. She decided to make herself a sandwich with sliced pickles on the side. Well, I was heading to the kitchen to hunt for my food and stopped by her to see what she had. I wanted one of her pickle slices. She did not want to give up one. To ensure I did not nab one -- you know the deal, she moves the plate away from your hand -- she licked each and every one of them :D

Persona..."in the word's everyday usage, is a social role, or a character played by an actor. The word derives from the Latin for "mask" or "character", derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning"*. This has been going in and out of my head for the last several weeks. I don't know if I've ever met anyone who shows the same personality to everyone he/she interacts with. The person I'm with my family is different from my work life different from various groups of friends. In a non-family environment, you are more constraint in your behavior, more circumspect. You show what you think are the good parts first. Then the more closer you get with an individual you wind up opening up more and are freer with yourself. Safety. You trust the person understands you better and does not judge you or no longer wants to be near you. The internet has enable us to make some great friends. But what's to stop an individual from having multiple internet personalities, multiple user ids. Imagine... you make great friends with two people on the internet and they happen to be the same person. Whoa!!!

Avenue Q... I had the pleasure to see this Broadway show last night. Wow, I do miss attending Broadway shows. The last one I think was 6 years ago. I guess it was a case of I'll get to it, but I can see time sure flew by. Avenue Q is a R-rated musical puppet show. It was hilarious and poked fun on current topics -- racism, gay, purpose, finding a guy, internet, Gary Coleman. I'm definitely adding this cast album to my Broadway Show CD collection. And, I have no problem seeing it again.

* Definitions courtesy of WikipediA

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Guinea Pig Thinks Green

The why for this blog was me going to my checkbook and finding out I have no more checks. Now, I have to remember where I keep the refills. Found it!!! Left it right where it was suppose to be -- only to discover it's time to order more checks. *Grrrrrr* if only my management company accepted credit card payment without an additional fee or accepted me sending them online banking check instead of them taking money from my account, I would not have to bother with ordering more checks. *Grrrrr* if only the county did not keep raising the taxes so I don't get a notice from my mortgager that there's shortage in escrow for taxes. I'm down to writing one check a month with an odd one thrown in here and there. If I can go by the form dates on the reorder check forms, the last check order was placed in 1996.

No, I'm like lots of you out there that are being choked by vendors who want money for their services. But, I'm a trailblazer, risk taker or guinea pig. I'm an on-line internet banking person. I signed up immediately when my bank first introduced it -- mid 1990s. I think my bank was the first to offer online and phone bill payments. You give them the information and they print and mail checks out or transfer money electronically if the vendor accepts that, too. Once I figure out how my sister can electronically send me money once a month (her rent), I would not have to step foot in a bank cause that's the only reason I have to go. Oh, okay. I also go to the ATM to get spending cash for those establishments who insist on cash transactions.

I've been an ebayer since 1998. When PayPal started its business, I was not too far behind to sign up for their services especially since I like paying with my credit card and it was the only way ebay sellers could accept this type of payment. That was 2000.

Vendors are starting to permit payment via credit card. I signed up for that, too. The vendors that send me a monthly bill or annual renewal. Gotta take advantage of the benefits you get from your credit card company. You get "free" money. I got "free" money to buy books and even "play" money for my trips to Disneyland. No worries on the credit card front -- I don't carry a balance. They get paid off each month. Only one debt to my name -- my mortgage.

By using the computer for many paper cumbersome transactions, *bright light bulb* I've been thinking green . Using the computer definitely has cut down on the paper that I've needed to send out or file and then need to shred before disposing of it. When any of my vendors offer electronic statements, guess who signed up pronto. MEEEEE!!!! Let me tell you. I love it. I download and periodically save onto CD. I think the shredder is feeling lonely as I don't spend much time with it anymore.

Oh one more thing... my sister gave me a check and I just noticed that it's not the frou frou checks. You know the ones that have a character or emblem or favorite hobby on it. She's using blue lined checks now. I asked her why. She said it was time she grew up. Well, I grew up on checks, too, back in the mid 1990's. Just for the checks. The inner child is still strong in both of us.