Shout out to Kendall College of Art and Design!

All you Kendallites? Kendallonians? Kendalleers? What are you called?

Anyhow. . .

You, (fill in your name if you were at Career Day) (1) have now met me, Richard Zeid (2); My good friend Alison (3) was in a play, "Just Say No," with Greg Louganis (4); Greg Louganis was in the movie D2: The Mighty Ducks with Kathryn Erbe (5); finally, Kathryn Erbe was in the movie Stir of Echos with. . .Kevin Bacon (6).

Grand Rapids, MI

Poster design: Brandon Satterlee

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

C'mon! You knew I was gone! I haven't posted the past three days!

Bad news first. I still do not have my S Clyde Weaver strawberry jam. You see, jam, considered a security risk by the TSA, if in a container larger than 3.4 oz, cannot be brought on the plane. It would have to be checked in the event that someone went JAM CRAZY while on board the plane. I have been assured it will be sent!

Good News! Had an amazing time speaking at Kendall College of Art and Design, hence the poster. Lots of talent, great teachers and damn good dining! But it was all about the students and their work. And like I said, there was great work to be seen. It was especiial nice for me to see other student work and other projects, as I often see the same projects over and over at Columbia, completely understandable, but gets kind of tired nonetheless.

My presentation was better received than I had thought it would. It was loosely titled, "The Non-Linear Inspiration of a Designer." And loose it was! It was kind of a wild ride through what I see and how I look at things differently and how it somehow infect the work I do as a designer, and inspire those I teach and INTERdependently share myself with. To briefly explain the presentation, I showed images from my right wrist x-ray to one of the worst gifts I ever received, my cat's tail, and my 5 degrees of connection to Kevin Bacon!

Will be posting some Grand Rapids highlights over the next few days!

Best Jam EVER!

And I have maybe one sandwich left!

Fortunately I have a hook up back in Lancaster, PA and I am gettin' me some more tomorrow!

And no, they do not sell it online.

Cirque Du New York!

Cirque du Soleil will present a new creation, A Winter Tale, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The show will run for ten weeks, each winter, beginning in 2007 for the next four years.

A Winter Tale is about a young boy who lives in a city where the arrival of winter has brought long shadows and intense cold – but no snow!

He interacts with an extraordinary cast of high-energy urban street characters, including in-line skaters, dancers and talking marionettes. But when the snow doesn't arrive, he embarks on a quest with three companions - a female shaman who's lost in the city, a shy man destined to discover his courage and the shadow of a young girl - to find the snow and bring it back where it belongs.

The adventurers journey to an imaginary Arctic - a world without sunlight - where they encounter the rich culture of the People of the North and extraordinary giant characters made of ice. When at last the sun returns, they fly home on the wings of a giant crane and unleash an epic snowstorm.

The show is playful, musical, bursting with the energy of the city and the broad sweep of nature. A cast of 50 performers weaves thrilling circus arts, breathtaking theatrical effects and memorable songs into a meaningful seasonal story that resonates with the whole family.

I'm getting my tickets!

Chip - Manic Monday

When I hear the word "chip" I think right away of the lil' teacup from Beauty and the Beast, Chip!

Lisa says, participating in this Manic Monday thing will get more visitors to my blog. . .let's see!

Yankee Doodle Halstead!

142 people were sworn in this afternoon in Chicago and are now Naturalized American Citizens!

My dear friend Alison Halstead was one of them, and actually the last person to receive her certificate.

To celebrate we had lunch at an American Diner. Sadly, they did not have American Apple Pie for dessert!

Happy American Birthday Ms Halstead!

Need to rant!

It seems I have developed a new pet peeve. People asking a question but not accepting the answer NO.

Then I say do not ask me the question! If you give me the option to say what you do not want to hear, then do not run the risk of asking.

Also. . .

Why is it the burden to drive people home because I have a car. I do not offer the ride, I want to get home. They assume because we spent time together that I will just drive them home. They follow me to my car and then ask if I can drive them home. And I do not mean it is "on the way" drive me home, I do not mind that. I mean it is actually out of the way. I am going north and they live west, about 20 minutes west with traffic lights and all! So I have to go 20 minutes out of my way to drop them off and then another 20 minutes to get back on track for me. And then on the way to dropping them off they tell me how great it will be to get home, they have had a long day and are tired?! Hello? Me too!

Or you are at a bar with a friend and you ask them if they want a drink and they say yes, so you get the first round (they never reached for their money). Then they never make the same offer back to you! What the hell is that? I buy, you buy. I buy, you buy. Does it look like I own the frickin' bar. Did they win a drink free ticket? I actually paid for that beer you sucked down!

I feel a little better.

When in Rome. . .

Here is the situation.

You run in to someone on the street you have not seen for a while. It is clear they have changed quite a bit. Let's say they gained 30 pounds, dyed their hair and pierced their nose.

You or I would make conversation and most likely avoid the obvious. We may comment on the nose piercing. However, the Deaf person would come right out and say, "Wow! Have not seen you in a while. You have giained weight. Are you pregnant? What's with the hair color? Did you really need another hole in your nose?"

That's right, the Deaf believe that if it is noticeable, you can comment on it.

Now granted, our avoiding of the obvious can be as uncomfortable as an elephant in a phone booth with you, but the other side of the coin can be as awkward for a whole other set of reasonos.

But when in Rome. . .

The Wonderful World of Color

Can you imagine a world without color? I can't and thankfully I don't have to! Today is all about color. Forrest may have said "Life is like a box of chocolates." I say it is more like a box of crayons!

Here is a fun color site too! Colorstrology

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet

I had my midterm exam in my ASL class today. Oh the horror of history! I was never good with dates and historic figures. Remembering names and the like. I am a little more big picture in history. One of the major figures in ASL is Thomas Gallaudet. I remember him, but who he went to visit in France, who he brought back to America, where he started his first school, what place turned him away at first, all a blur! Just like my first round of college days!

Birthplace
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was born in 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

One day in Hartford
One day he noticed a young Deaf neighbor, Alice Cogswell. He wanted to see her and wondered how to communicate with her since she did not hear. He tried to write notes to her. After successful attempts to teach the young deaf how to name a hat by writing H-A-T on notes and she understood the sense, Cogswell's parents wanted to take Gallaudet as their representative.And that's when Galladaut found his life-long dream.

Gallaudet's trip to Europe
Gallaudet's mission was to find a method for teaching the deaf people established earlier in Europe and with such knowledge he would return to the US to establish a school for the deaf. So he went to England to see if he found something there. There was a school for the deaf in London. After fruitless talk with the director of the school, he was fortunate as he met the French person, Abbe Sicard, who worked as principal of the school for the deaf mutes in Paris, France and who influenced Gallaudet and the teaching of the deaf in America. Upon Sicard's invitation, Gallaudet went to Paris.

In Paris
Gallaudet was in Paris to learn the sign method of cummunication. There he met Laurent Clerc, who was deaf, and Gallaudet was interested in his teaching method. After several months, Gallaudet asked Clerc to come with him to the US. Clerc was more than happy and brought a system sign language coming from his native sign language which would serve for the deaf in the US. Such a language is not familiar as American sign language.

With Clerc Gallaudet returned to the US
Gallaudet was excited as he was home again and had what to show around. The school for the deaf was founded thanks to Gallaudet and Clerc in 1817 in Hartford. Alice Cogswell was one of the first students being happy to see Gallaudet principal of the school. Clerc was teacher. So the first school for the deaf was born in Hartford and because of that American sign language also was born there.

After Gallaudet's death, Gallaudet University was founded
His son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, made efforts to convince Congress to respect Gallaudet's efforts in teaching the deaf in the US. As a result, Gallaudet College was established and was the first college of its kind.

Curious Little Case

I received this case today. A most curious little case.

It arrived from Ohio, quite unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!

What do you think is in it?

Here are some clues to help you.

- it measures approximately 8x6x3;
- it weighs just over 12 oz.;
- there are four things inside, all related;
- it took over five years to get this!

Transmission

Thursday evening I drove home about 2 miles at 20 miles per hour because my car would not go over that speed. It would not move up in gear. I aint no mechanic, but it seemed like a transmission thing to me! Transmission, an 11 year old car, looked lke a new car is in my immediate future!

I go home and start searching for new cars online. How much I can get for my trade in, $1600 says edmunds.com. Why the hell are sedans cheaper than coupes? They have two more doors and are typically longer! They have two more doors worht of things like handles, swithces and buttons?! That just seems crazy! Aint like I am looking for a Lamborghini!

Friday: Towed the car to the mechanic. Told them the problem and they got that look on their face that said "transmission!" He even said the words "Sounds like the transmission." Take a look and let me know. I rented a car for the day. I rented a Pontiac G5 (replaced the Sunfire), a car on my radar and figured why not give it a test drive, and a bit less than the G6 (replaced the Grand Am). It drives nice but is a little light.

Then the bargaining starts with me. Am I willing to spend $500 on an 11 year old car? $700? $1000? A thousand it is. I will spend up to $1000. After all it beats the hell out of 5 years of car payments. What if they say it is $1100? And if I say yes to $1100, $1200 is only another $100. I am certain $1500 is out of the question.

Finally in the afternoon they called to say they have driven the car several times and even put 21 miles on it. There does not seem to be a problem. OF COURSE! I said nothing? They said nothing. They adjusted the throttle, but he said that would not have caused the problem. I paid my $100, for the estimate/diagnosis which he said he would credit if it happened again and actually needed repair.

Saturday: Drove today, and nothing. Just like it always was.

Comfort Food

Some foods just make you feel like a kid, safe, or happy.

For me it is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (crunchy and strawberry jam), meatloaf (mom's recipe of course), and J-E-L-L-O (red).

And you?