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Environmental Me
tues 1 April 2008 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2008/080401.html |
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It's overwhelming because there are so many facets. And I care deeply about many of those facets. It's overwhelming because there is no way to change governments or corporations, and they are doing most of the evil. It's overwhelming because humans don't want to hear about our own overpopulation, but it's fine to cull others. It's overwhelming because going vegan is the single most important thing a single human can do to help the environment. And humans vehemently do not want to hear that. So, it's all to hell in a handbasket from here on out. The Earth is dying. Species are going extinct. Civilization will collapse within my lifetime. And there is nothing I can do about it, even if I'm living as "environmentally" as I can. Which is why I don't want to think about it, let alone type about it. You see how depressing the above paragraphs are?!
So. I am not going to save the world, and I'm probably going to die in the crash. Which means what I do right now is very very important! I want to enjoy civilization while I've got it. And I want to do everything I possibly can to help the Earth and the non-human people who live here. I'm vegan, in order to show my solidarity with and respect for non-human people. I do vermicomposting and recycling, in order to help the Earth. I consciously try keep my fossil fuels consumption to a minimum. I try to remember that even the little things I do to help the environment or to help non-human people, are important. Because the way I live my life is important TO ME!
The last Saturday in March, the 29th, was Earth Hour, and I totally missed it. Bummer! People turned off their lights and electronics between 8 and 9pm to make a statement against climate change. Today is Fossil Fools Day, a day of direct action against evil corporations. People are getting arrested! And, of course, Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22. |
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Projects
tuesday 15 Apr 2008 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2008/080415.html | |
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I've been reading like crazy, mostly trying to get to the end of the six book Wess'har series ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). It's scifi, the aliens are vegan and they're coming to Earth to set our environment right... probably killing most of the humans in the process. Well, that's not how it turned out, so I was very disappointed with the last book. I'm now taking a "break" from reading fiction. I've got plenty of nonfic on hand tho. :) And I really need to get back to my projects. Yeah, I've been avoiding working on anything. I would think "oh, I should work on such and such," but then I would think "but what about this other project?..." This is classic Scanner procrastinating!
Last weekend, I wrote down all the projects currently in my head. There were only five! What? Just five? I could work on one project each day of the week, and do whatever on the weekend! Monday was calligraphy day. And at some point, I realized that practicing calligraphy one day a week was not going to get me very far! And all five of my projects are like that... ongoing and needing practice. Sighs! But at least I'm working on stuff again!
Fortunately, I've got a really good book, The Art and Craft of Hand Lettering. And I'll be reading it from the beginning, even tho I had gotten almost halfway through it last time.
Yep, I need some practice. HA! :) Those stair step things at the beginning of my lines are the only thing I remember... The letter height is supposed to be proportional to the width of the calligraphy pen. So, you draw in three or four steps with the flat of your pen, and that's how high the letters are. I remembered I liked the roundness of three "stair steps," so that's what I was aiming for on my practice sheet. The graph paper is a really good idea. Last time I was drawing in all my guide lines with a ruler... I could put my lines precisely where I needed them, but it was so stupidly tedious! With the graph paper, I don't have a precise upper line, but it's easy to guestimate. Plus it shows how very crooked my letters are. So. We'll see how my new system goes, working on a different project every day. Hopefully, I will get back into the habit of typing again, too! :) |
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Earth Day
tues 22 Apr 2008 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2008/080422.html |
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Vegan for the Earthlings! Recommended Earth Day Reading:
As the World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial Recommended Earth Day Website:
The Fall of Civilization Recommended Earth Day Action: Please Go Vegan! |
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Random
fri 25 Apr 2008 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2008/080425.html |
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So, yeah, it's been doing this for a week. And then yesterday the poor computer starts crashing. shakes head. I remind myself that if I wanted a computer that worked, I would have bought a Mac. Yes, it's true: I love to cuss and gesticulate at the computer! laughs. Finally, yesterday evening the computer tells me it's done downloading. and then it tells me we've "recovered from a serious error," which greatly amused SO who happened to be witness.
Instead of practicing my calligraphy, I've been practicing my drawing. I got a (out of print) book called The Complete Guide to Drawing and Illustration, it looked interesting and long enough to keep me occupied for a while if I did all the exercises. Plus the price was right. (yep, it was free. heh.) I have been doing little practice drawings, but then I got stuck on page 30. One of the exercises was to draw a coffee mug. Nice and simple, right? Except I noticed I can't draw ovals. Which I found annoying because I can draw circles quite well. [If you're looking straight down at a coffee mug, the opening is a nice circle... but that does not make a very artsy picture! So, you're looking down at the coffee mug at an angle, and the opening at the top looks like an oval. An oval I just can't draw!]
So I thought the oval could be framed by a squished square, aka a rectangle...
But my coffee mugs still looked funny. So I paged ahead in my book, and check this out:
He's drawing a bowl of fruit, and he's drawn a frame for the oval that makes the rim of the bowl, to keep it "straight." Except the frame isn't a rectangle, it's a trapezoid! ah ha! I didn't realize I needed some perspective! So, I'm proud of myself for figuring out this drawing trick... but why didn't any of my art teachers say anything about this? I took all the art classes in high school, and I distinctly remember the painful perspective drawings we made of cubes and spheres and pyramids and tubes and vanishing points. Painful, I tell you! And no one came up to me to say, "here's how to fix your ovals..." eh. oh well. |
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You Are Here: |
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And speaking of calligraphy... good lord, I suck! It's been so
long that I can't even remember all the strokes to make some
of the letters!
It took me a while to figure out how to fix my little problem.
The trick for drawing circles is to draw a square and then fit
the circle inside, like that -->
