Some Redesigning

So here I am, stuck in my 5 hour intermediate computers class. This clearly calls for some blog redesign to match the website I'm working on. Nothing's live on the site yet, but I'll be sure to share when it is.

Personas!

For those Firefox users out there, you should know what personas are. Regardless, you should see my custom personas. And if you're also a designer, or do computer artwork stuff, you should make your own and let me see!

Someone Tells me to Shoot Things. And I Listen.

I have a new old hobby- Photography!

Thanks to that flickr account, and The Daily Shoot. I have an endless supply of inspiration for my photography needs.

But this is not a big ad for my Daily Shoot photos.

(They can be found here.)

Now Showing Indefinitely on Delkab Street

I have made it to the local scene of design.

I know this because I am now the proud father of a sign outside of O'Neill Graphics in Bridgeport.

I could go into how I designed it to look unique and easily readable, extending the second "l" and duplicating the dot of the "i" to create the '.

But I won't.

Here's the pictures to see for yourself.


And of course, should you ever want a shirt, you now know who to ask.

Flickr It!

Hello there, bloggy. You've been in neglect ever since I left Rome, and my life no longer seemed noteworthy. But, alas, my life carries on.
And here's what's new!

Flickr!
Thanks to the fun and amazing World Wide Photo Walk I attended last Saturday, I made a Flickr account. It can be viewed here. Right now, it has only 5 photos from the walk. At some point, out of sheer boredom, I will transfer all of my Digital Imaging photos from Rome on Shutterfly over in neat and organized piles on Flickr. (This may also mean that I remove them from Facebook, but I haven't decided fully yet.) I would like to keep Facebook for candid pics, and use Flickr, now, for more "artistic" shots.

Comics?
Don't hold your breath, but I do have BIG plans for the dormant M-Comics. I am writing out the premise, so I can get my "script" straight. This should make it easier for me to draw enough comics in the coming month to last the fall semester.

New and fun stuff!
This will help me get back on track with taking pictures. I highly reccomend it to nyone with a camera who just doesn't know how to get motivated.

And Then It All Came to an End

I've been home for a few days now, and have finally gotten around to doing a post for my last week in the Eternal City. All I can say is that I could not have wished for a better last week. I guess it all started when I went running on the Ancient Appian Way- 43:30. It was one of the most liberating experiences I've had. The weather was perfect, the trail was beautiful- there were ruins just kinda strewn about along the trail- it was AMAZING. The following day I went to the Colosseum and Roman Forums (the link to the pictures are at the bottom of the page), and made sure everything was packed.

The last day I was able to get to the Vatican Museums, the Capuccian Crypt, and Campo dei Fiori, where some fire jugglers were performing. Here's some video:



And here's some pics!

Now that I'm back home, this blog will most likely shift towards more design topics and photography. Hopefully I can stay up with it. So until next time...

Venice & Padua

So the last full weekend abroad I was fortunate enough to go to Venice and Padua with Sara. We saw all that there is to see in Venice, including St. Marco's Square at 5:30 AM. In Padua, I dragged Sara along until we found St. Anthony's Basilica. it was nice to see the final resting place of my namesake. In this last week in Rome I hope to do some last-minute tourism. Until then, you'll have to settle for the photos from Venice and Padua, which can be found here. I didn't take many photos throughout the week, so I'll add them to last week's photos when I get the chance.

EDIT: I got the chance. Here you go.

A Sorta Witty Title

Yeah, so I was in Sorrento and Capri the past weekend and enjoyed it. Here's the highlights:

1) Getting awesome pictures of cliffs, water and the Arco Naturale on Capri
2) Sitting on a small beach in Capri
3) Going to the same restaurant I went to in 2007 and being served by the same waiter
4) Running along the cliffs of Sorrento at 6AM
5) Eating and orange picked fresh from the tree outside our bungalow.

As for the rest, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
And here, they talk about the rest of last week.

I Can Relate to Australians Now

I went to an Italian zoo today. They had the usual menagerie; giraffes, monkeys, kangaroos and your typical assortment of birds.

But one animal struck me as exceptionally unusual: the North American Deer. Yes, this rare and exotic beauty comes from the far-away, almost mythical land of North America, where it roams freely today to become tomorrow's roadkill.

That's when it hit me. This must be how Australians feel when they go to ANY zoo anywhere. "Oh, you have kangaroos? We have special guardrails on our cars so they can survive impacts with those things. Crocodiles? Ha. That's not a croc..."

"Deer? Ha. That's not a deer."

The Holiest of Holy Weeks

If you're going to be in Rome for Easter Week, you might as well go to as many churches as you can.
That's what I did on Good Friday. My self-guided "Church Blitz" lead me all over Rome. I started out at noon at the closest church, Santa Maria d. Grazie and ventured eastward from there, saying at least a decade of the Rosary in each. Here's the full itinerary:
1. Santa Maria d. Grazie
2. San Giovanni d. Fiorentini
3. Santa Maria degli Angeli a di Martiri
4. Santa Maria Maggiore
5. San Passede
-qick stop of at the American Seminary for Confession-
6. Ss. Ambroggio e Carlo
-quick stop for the main meal of the day (pizza)-
7. Chiesa Gesu e Maria al Corso (for Veneration of the Cross)
8. Basilica San Giacomo
9. Santa Maria d. Montesanto

When evening came, I went to the Colosseum for the Pope's Stations of the Cross. They announced each station in several languages (as seen in the video below). The candle-lit ceremoy was a nice end to the day.



While Good Friday was sunny and warm, Easter Sunday was rainy and cold. But Mass in Piazza di San Pietro (St. Peter's Square), was still on. So at 7AM Lauren (a fellow Tyler artist) and I went to wait in line to get into the Square at 8:15. We got to our seats around 9, ready for Mass at 10:15 between a sea of umbrellas and make-shift cardboard umbrellas. It was a wonderful celebration, mostly in Latin and Italian, but represented several languages through the readings (Second reading was in English) and intercessions. It was quite cold and wet, so Lauren and I left right after the Mass was done. By the time we remembered that the Pope gives his Pascal Statement we had alrady left or seats with no way back. But according to my roomates, who managed to stay report that nothing notable happened (Just the usual call to help less fortunate Nations). Below is a video of a beginning bit of Mass, with the revelation of the Icon of Christ as Savior.




Here's Pictures! Week 12 | Holy Week

There's Nothing Quite Like a Two Hour Long Mass

For Palm Sunday, I decided I would save the Vatican crowd of the big show on Easter. So it was off to Basilica San Paolo (St. Paul Outside the Walls). There are two things about Palm Sunday you should know.

The first thing is about the palm branches. They are actual branches from what seems like the lesser-known palm bush.

Not a single strand of Palm leaf to be crafted into an origami cross. Just palm twigs; to be carried around and nothing else.

The second thing, at least at San Paolo, was that they like to sing. And by sing I mean Gregorian chant style.

And what do they sing?, you might ask. They sang the entire Passion of Christ according to Luke. In Italian. In monotone. For an hour.

With no palm leaves to fold into origami crosses.

Week 11 photos can be found here.

A Quickie in Haiku

Bought my camera
It's portable and it's good
Here's last weeks photos

Frank in Florence

It's official: Art History Professor is the best job I will never have. With that in mind, I present to you the top ten things I learned in Florence from Frank Dabell, our British Art History professor.

10. Frank was born in Paris.

9. Frank almost saw The Beatles perform live. He also almost had JRR Tolkien as a professor at Oxford, but Tolkien died 2 semesters before he could.

8. Frank can get you into the Uffitzi Gallery, for free.

7. Frank knows EVERYONE even remotely related to the art history profession, and they all seemingly owe him a favor.

6. Frank lived in Florence in his teen years, and would jump off bridges to the support beam just out of view to frighten tourists.

5. When you and the rest of the table offer to pay for his 12 Euro meal, he will insist on leaving the tip; of 10 Euro.

4. According to Frank, the Medici crest once killed an Australian man.

3. Frank was on the scaffolding for some of the restoration of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling.

2. In some Florentine restaurant, Frank is now known as "Mr. French" because he mocked their translated French menu.

1. Frank is the only man able to speak fluent Italian in a British accent.

Ultimately, the experience was great, not just because we were studying in Florence, but because we were studying in Florence with someone who knows everything there needs to be known about Florence. And that someone was Frank Dabell.

Of course I have pictures from my trip, as well as pictures from Week 9.

Make Friends Not Photos

I have discovered that I can make friends simply by sitting in a park and drawing. This is a good thing since I don't drink. In fact, it brought abut a revelation: Making art in public spaces makes you cool.

At the beach, when you make a really neat and complex drip castle, people walking by notice enough to comment. In the park, when you're sketching with an ink brush, people walking by notice enough to comment... in Italian.

Then they offer you food, and invite you to partake in their picnic birthday celebration. Then you get to draw ink sketches of them, and pretend your on a photo shoot as they model for you.

But when you're just walking around with a camera, legitimately "making art"; you're labeled as a creeper. People don't gather to see your photos. In fact they usually ask you to delete the picture. Nobody asks you to erase a pencil sketch.

Anyway, here's photos from week 8, and Spring Break part one.

EDIT: Spring Break part two.

Holy Translation Batman!

When one sees a sign indicating that the Villa Adriana has "Vigilance Divisions", one can only picture an eclectic group of individuals running around in prismacolored (or black) spandex, defeating criminals for the sake of justice. Sadly, Batman nor Robin were to be found on the premise.

Oh, and here's last week's photos.

Cinematic Adventures

I went and saw "Alice in Wonderland" at Cinema Metropolitan last night. This is one of the movie theaters in Rome that show films in their original language with Italian subtitles. It also means that Italians have to read the entire movie while I get to just watch.

There's something about theaters in Rome: they have assigned seats. I, an American used to obnoxious American movie theaters with their sticky floors and overpriced popcorn, did not know this.

About 5 minutes in, I had to move after being told that the I was in the wrong seat by the person with the right ticket. Then I had to move again, since I was now sitting in one of his friend's seats.

But I didn't mind.
I didn't have to read the entire movie.

Hey Photos!

I managed to get the Week 6 Album up on facebook. Here's the link.
And the other one.

Temple Has Influence over the Italian Government

Rome has a law about soccer games. Only Roman residents can purchase tickets. This way hideous riots can be avoided. In order to allow students to attend the game, Temple petitioned to have the law changed. Now only Roman residents and foreigners can go to soccer games and buy their 4 Euro hot dogs, as the Roma fans constantly wave their big obnoxious flags and sing their long obnoxious Roma Roma song all game long.
Those Cantania fans sure missed out.

(Side Note: Facebook is being stupid and making it impossible for me to upload new photos. At some point int the future I will have weeks 6-7 up.)

Mass at the Pantheon and Tourists

This Sunday, I attended 10:30 Mass at St. Mary and all the Martyrs (aka the Pantheon). It was interesting to see the ushers shooing all the tourists away so Mass could start, which followed with the placing of the barricades in front of the entrance, enforcing the one hour the Pantheon is closed for Mass. Mass went as usual, except for the rather confused pigeon that was flying from one fake window to the next in the large circular building. On the way out, there was a moderate crowd of people waiting to go in, inspiring the following list of "how to not act like a tourist".

1. Travel light. Nothing says "tourist" like a person with 50 different bags, a map and a camera around their neck- maybe even holding a water bottle.

2. Dress in dark colors. For whatever reason, the city of Rome doesn't like dressing vibrantly. Black, shiny, down coats are all the rage.

3. Do more than, show up, take a picture, then leave. Try getting different angles of whatever you're looking at. I try to keep a rule of never putting myself in the picture because I know I was there, hence the picture's existence.

4. Don't go to restaurants near any place that might even be remotely a tourist attraction. Unless you speak Italian fluently, and look Italian, you'll be shoved in a the corner tourist section. This is the section of crappy food and high prices.

5. Don't buy crappy souvenirs. Honestly- do you really need that pope bottle opener for twenty Euros? Again, for me the souvenirs are the pictures I take. The ones without me.

6. Don't speak. Ever.

7. And lastly, don't feed the birds, pay the gypsies, and don't look like you enjoy being there. You'll find that you'll start blending in with the rest of the Romans.

Bonus: Don't try to not act like a tourist. You are what you are. But do try to avoid the traps.

Here's the latest from my collection of souvenirs.

The Pope Made Me Late for Mass

It's true. Because he adresses crowds of people at 12 noon on Sundays, I had to wait in a long line to pass through the security checkpoint to get into the Basillica to get to 12:15 Mass. I didn't have my camera on me, but he was awfully small-looking from his window.

In other news, I succeeded in making the best home-made dinner for myself as of yet in Rome. It started with some Romanesco Broccoli, which tastes like a cross between cauliflower and broccoli, and looks like a 3D Sierpinski Triangle. Then I had pan seared steak, fresh from the local open-air market. Of course, i had to sear it in olive oil, because that's really the only option I had. And garlic. After the pan was cleared from the steak, I put on my home fries (also fried in olive oil), which came out very crispy and very good. And while that would've been plenty, I ended the meal with nutella covered strawberries, also fresh from the market. This culinary contraption only further supports the research that nutella can make any dessert 100x better.

So, I'll go ahead and say that nutella will definitely be on my list of "Things I Miss from Rome". That and walking a good 5 minutes in the Basillica to get to the front portion that's celebrating Mass.