josie

Well, . You got me. But seriously, the Beyonce obsession is kind of scary. I've had people get actively angry with me for admitting I am not a fan. I mean, she's fine, I like some of her stuff, but I don't uphold her as the standard of all present and future female singers. If you need me, I'll be curled up in a corner at starbucks connected to my smartphone sending emojis to snapchatting tinder baes who are on fleek.

I guess it means "perfect, on point" and I have no idea where it came from. I just know I cringe a little every time I see it used. I also judge those who use bae un-ironically. Negative judging. Got my sassy judging pants on over here.

I. Hate. This. Word. Ok, most hip buzz words. "on fleek" whatever the heck that means. but bae. At first I thought it was a Beyonce thing, queen bey or whatever (not a beyonce fan, either, yes I'm a millennial who dislikes Beyonce, statistically I don't exist). Nope, just... awful. I think there's more to it, guys. BAE= Barack's Annexing Europe BAE- Barack's All Ears BAE= Barfing Automatically Everyday BAE= Breeding Alpacas Eternally BAE= Backing Aryan Extremists BAE- Broken American Economy

Making maple syrup coffee cake because nothing goes with neverending work like sugar and regret. Grading projects- maybe I should add some liquor in there.

haha nope but I kiiiinda want one. Because silly. Congrats! One boy and one girl would be ideal in my mind- that way the opposite sex isn't a scary mystery to either one when they're older. I still don't understand boys... Congrats Dennis!!! :)

Honestly man, I don't get art either. The reason I went into illustration instead of general art or fine art was because it was more technical- you can actually break it up into points easier than most kinds of art. I originally wanted to do medical illustration, even more scientific/quantitative. It's still tough, you have to accept that everyone works in their own unique style/goals. I try to grade everyone individually at their own pace and only compare them to each other technically when I'm having trouble picking a number for a grade. The class I'm teaching is still very early in the college program, and one of those "if you just aren't feeling this kind of work, you're in the wrong major" canary in a coal mine courses. My problem student I ranted about- I think she belongs more in fine art, where you can paint with no reference, say every color you choose has deep deep symbolism, have wildly terrible proportions and crappy composition and write it off as "stylistic choices" and get pretentious about "how my soul feels". It's like the GOLD STAR FOR TRYING! of art. Barf. Unless you have some edgy concept or paint with bodily fluids, good luck gettin a job/gallery show with that. Sorry those who love it... Some fine art is great, but I prefer my art to look like something. That's an argument for another day... :P oh, and you're all doody heads. <3

I'm staying positive that an answer/way in will make itself apparent eventually. I don't believe in failing kids unless they're just totally blowing me off and not trying. She tries but... oof. We'll see. But yeah, you nicely summed up my wordy ranted dilemma there.

I thought problem kid was capable at first. I actually think she's not on the same level as a lot of the other students now. That being said, I have some of the most talented artists I have ever encountered in this class, and quite a few of them- she's got some stiff competition. She has talent, but she's very average for her year. That's not a bad thing, she's right about where I expect most students to be, but half the class is just blowing it out of the water. She has great crits/comments for everyone else and participates in class, but has no eye for her own work. I've been pretty blunt with her about the process. Explaining has given way to "them's the rules, kid, it gets worse when you graduate". She just gets all despondent and makes me feel like Hitler. Sullen. It sucks. I equal parts want to smack her and hug her.

I have a student giving me some trouble. The class and I are really starting to connect- illustration crits have a way of relaxing everyone and going off on tangents that get the whole room laughing (for some reason last night, Tremors and Demolition Man kept coming up). The kids work harder on their projects after and have more fun. It's really a beautiful thing. I love it. But this one... She refuses to work in any process, she shuts down and gets depressed when critted etc. I wanna help this kid- I just don't know how. Not yet, anyways. Someone really needs to set her straight about some things but I don't have the authority/experience yet. She has a style that is incredibly high school but the rest of the class keeps encouraging her because she gets so upset. Enabling. Then when I give her honest crit/lower grades, she acts like I've somehow sentenced her to death. Makes me feel terrible. Argh. I wonder if I'll give this many shits about students like this in a few years... or if they'll all just kind of blend together and I'll write them off. Ugh. I worry too much. I don't want to fail anybody, as in grading OR in life.

I just got spammed by Clint Malarchuk on twitter. Maybe not awesome, but certainly amusing.

That sounds about right. If i come in early, I sit around waiting until the rest of the office rolls in around 10 and later. We've had more than one person get fired for sticking to a 9-5 schedule. If you come in at 9, you leave at 7 like most of the rest of us. I leave at 5 to go teach twice a week and feel like I'm doing something wrong. Oh, the glaring...

I don't know how they do it. When d4rk's not around, I tend to be up till 2 and up at 730/8 to try to handle my ever complicating to-do list and then can barely drag through the day. Only my second week of this and I am really cracking around the edges. I keep telling my stupid brain and body it'll adapt but it's not listening. It likes its 8-9 hours.

He would single handedly defeat them all with a potato gun. If you say his name 3 times really fast he'll appear.

Bump Hoping to celebrate d4rk's bday this weekend by beating him (again) at go-karts. Can't break my racing lines, baby. Excited to try out the new 40mph or whatever karts at that new place in Rochester. It would only be better if there was a laser tag place there too. Because our idea of fun is apparently that of an 8 year old boy.

Nice try, Nogoalov!

So this means the giant Burt face will be back in Blue Cross Arena, right? Definitely hope his time as a Dman has taught him the whole team aspect. Army of One Cam Burt was frustrating.

Definitely sounds like a fun in flight talk/interesting one. I like to talk to my seatmates on my short hop from Roc to Detroit if they initiate. Sure have had some interesting ones. The retired gent who specialized in antique motorcycles was a great one- he was really excited to be talking 1930s Harleys with someone :) You just never know.... Professional predator hunter caller dude is probably about the last profession you'd expect to discover...

That's pretty fascinating. Good thing he wasn't doing bird calls while you're on the plane...

My company is beginning to implode, as I've predicted for months. Long story. Something's going to have to change soon. You can't have lots of success, publicize it, and then still not offer vacations, decent healthcare, and decent salary, and then have the CEO taking multiple lavish vacations/indulging in very expensive lifestyles. You can't continue to use the local university for cheap labor and expect the best quality result. I know all companies have this. But we're a fast growing company that's just not taking care of its people- and the experienced people we need are leaving for better paid positions elsewhere. You'd think after a couple of our best people left in the last month that someone'd get a hint... Growing pains are one thing. But people are planning to quit left and right. I've spoken to a good third of the company who are in the process of leaving and another third is disgruntled. The other third are interns/co-ops. Most of them are planning to not come back. No idea where this is going. Not much I can do. Guess I'll sit tight and work on my portfolio in case the ship really sinks.

my 2c- I personally wouldn't mind a gift like that as long as we'd talked about it/it became common knowledge. It's sort of an "old married person" gift- where you just know the person well enough to know practicality outweighs being offended. d4rk doing something like that wouldn't shock me because he's heard me rant and kvetch about lady razors for a long time. Hell, I recently started using his for men's moisturizing lotion because i'm sick of breaking out with all the "luxurious" paste they provide for gals. Something useful/consumable? awesome. I don't need any more sparkly stuff/trinkets. But I know some girls who'd think something like that is pretty lame. "What does he think I am, a hairy wildebeest?" Everyone is different!

I use one that basically creates its own lather. It's pricey, but i did some number crunching and I actually save some bucks annually by not buying shaving cream. I was sick of the price and went down to a slightly cheaper version that had decent reviews and some shaving cream and could never get anything as smooth. Unfortunately, it is pink. It's the only pink product I own. I hate pink. Those disposable Bic razors? Worthless, unless you want to bleed yourself dry.

well... some parts.... are definitely a little more difficult to get to. :ph34r:

I wish they'd make a lady's version. Yes yes, I know, technically they're unisex razors, but let me tell you as a lady who can't stand prickly legs- cheap razors turn your skin into a bloody battlefield, no matter what shaving cream you use. We have a lot more area to cover, too, so even if you're careful with the cheapos, it takes forever. I spend an obscene amount of money each month on razor cartridges. And waxing is hell. That's a story for another day. They've got a monopoly on us ladies, insert social stigmas/hair arguments whatever here, and there's just got to be a better way. I'd be interested to know if any of your wives/lady friends/lady relatives use DSC and their opinions. I'm sick of paying 16 bucks for 4 cartridges.

Whenever I make a bum decision, I go out and make another one. ;) But, as they said, to err is Truman.

Please sir, may I 'ave some more? Bakin' up sweet potatoes. One yam makes a dinner for me. Cut a yam in half, two lunches! Super tasty.