Sort of, Don't Ask - Don't Tell. I suppose.
Sometimes I break that rule though.
Wednesday
Web Log Rules
I guess my biggest art-post rule is to not over-interpret for the audience; either technique or intent. I want others to have their own experiences.
An Oil & Politics Rant - UPDATE
So I've been meaning to write about gas prices and politics but the subjects are lame and annoying. Both topics together are lame and annoying. Combined: they're the lamest and the most annoying things ever.
Luckily, in today's Times Tommy Friedman writes pretty much what I was going to write; "Dumb as We Wanna Be." But, don't be fooled about per gallon prices or how much it takes to fill your car, there's something important to consider:
Luckily, in today's Times Tommy Friedman writes pretty much what I was going to write; "Dumb as We Wanna Be." But, don't be fooled about per gallon prices or how much it takes to fill your car, there's something important to consider:
"When the summer is over, we will have increased our debt to China, increased our transfer of wealth to Saudi Arabia and increased our contribution to global warming for our kids to inherit." [clicky]Uh did I write that in my sleep? Exactly! Oh, thank god someone's finally cluing in to the heart of the problem. And speaking of god, get a load of these mopes:
Pray-in at Gas Station Asks God to Lower Prices
So, the United States of America has no energy policy ('cept the one Rickey Cheney and his oilfriends wrote in secret that results in $40+ billion annual profits for Exxon/Mobil) and is in the midst of a fairly serious recession. Instead of doing something, these mopes are praying to "god" to lower the price of a gallon of gasoline.
Oil and politics: lame and annoying as hell!
So, the United States of America has no energy policy ('cept the one Rickey Cheney and his oilfriends wrote in secret that results in $40+ billion annual profits for Exxon/Mobil) and is in the midst of a fairly serious recession. Instead of doing something, these mopes are praying to "god" to lower the price of a gallon of gasoline.
"To solve the problem, Rocky Twyman isn't begging the Lord for any specific act of intervention. He is not asking God to make OPEC pump more oil. Nor is he praying for all the speculative investors to be purged from the New York Mercantile Exchange, where crude oil is traded." [clicky]Where could I even start here? I won't lower myself. All I have to say is, "do what?!"
Oil and politics: lame and annoying as hell!
------------------------ UPDATE ------------------------
ExxonMobil Profits Up 17 PercentMay 1, 2008
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:15 a.m. ET
HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, says record crude prices helped its net income grow 17 percent in the first quarter.
Exxon Mobil said Thursday its earnings for the first three months of the year rose to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 per share, up from $9.3 billion, or $1.62 per share, a year ago.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for a slightly larger profit of $2.13 per share.
Revenue rose to $116.8 billion from $87.2 billion a year earlier.
Given record oil prices, some had speculated Exxon Mobil would top its own record for the biggest quarter profit for a U.S. company. But the latest results fell short of the record $11.7 billion profit Exxon Mobil earned in the final quarter of 2007.
Archival Retrieval
I was going through the archives and for some reason this stuck out. It may be one of my very favorite portraits. It's several years old. If only I could shoot like that again...maybe it's the subject, perhaps an accident.
Tuesday
FYI: Yeah, I'm Still Doin' The Ads
Hi
I am Ty
And I get high
on the sensual flavor
of Tazo's Organic Chai®
Bye
[But I do the ads w/little joy]
I am Ty
And I get high
on the sensual flavor
of Tazo's Organic Chai®
Bye
[But I do the ads w/little joy]
What It Is All About: I Am The Knot
I’ve always believed that a time would come in life when things would begin to make some sense. Not that late teen, early twenties brand of omnipotent morality that is less knowledge than simple brain development; a naturally occurring re-setting of parameters. What may feel like discovery may merely be the unconscious acknowledgment of a new baseline that is significantly different from that in the eight year-old brain. That’s why twenty-somethings are so goddamned annoying; all knowing everything without knowing anything.
But surely many of us enter our mid-to-late twenties and realize that we really don’t know shit yet. This particular revelation can be as relieving to some as it is frightening to others. “Oh, there’s actually so much more” vs. “This is it?!” This may be the first significant turning point individuals face in our modern, western existence. A turning point that may shape lives productive or destructive.
The great shame here, of course, is the “untimely death.” No that the “they died so young” means anything more than they hadn’t even had the opportunity to figure anything out yet. Shameful, huh? To basically die without context makes us all so sad.
I’m guessing that our cognitive re-booting occurs every decade or so beginning at age eight or 10. I’d argue on the eights (like the traffic and weather) since there is a keen reality on the cusp of events that creates a predictable letdown when said event arrives. We tend to over-hype, over-think, and over-prepare for things to death anymore. That's why I’d bet more people get face lifts at 48 years of age than at 50. So now they can never, ever look 50. Right?
So what does this have to do with me, you ask? Right, this is a web log or some dumb self-serving, mode-of-zero crap; so I have to make a connection. The awareness. How we reveal our histories along our developmental lifespan. What?
So, me: First thing you could know is I’ve always had a drive to—a knack for tweaking a certain clarity out of situations even if it means changing the paradigm to make the clarity happen. Generally this “context jacking” is for personal gain or pleasure (for good or bad). Nothing malicious usually, but ease (leisure) and chaos (intellectual stimulation) hold some interest. Plus I’ve been able to reinvent as necessary and with little difficulty, for the most part. This usually results in the granting of some sort of power or decision-making authority that expands opportunity (kingdom). A chameleon’s adaptability is, after all, a survival characteristic. And advanced intelligence is an endearing and beneficial evolutionary trait.
So here I am. And I’m thinking again. I’m just over the hump making me 42 and one-half years old. I now realize that I possess some knowledge and I have some experience. I have some talents and I know talented people. But, I now clearly realize that I have nowhere near the talent, knowledge, or cognitive facility that I want. Not “need,” but “want.” I have plenty of tricks to keep me alive and well, but there’s something more I desire. No silly-ass “enlightenment” or “spirituality” or "revitalized youth" or "discovery" crap or anything, but simply access to more information that leads to an even better understanding of self, of others and of situations. We all want to see through the knots. I want to feel as if I am the knot.
I’ve never been comfortable being described as "musician" or "artist" because terms are limiting. Think about it. I’ve never been satisfied with the ease of the (directed and wholly intentional) “weird charisma.” I don’t want nor need a cult following. People should never ask What Would Ty Do? One, they’d only be fools to believe that they could answer that question for me and, two, the somethings I do do are quickly and now automatically processed to result in outcomes that may only mean something (perhaps very little) to very few. Output honed into instinct, perhaps reflex to perplex. The suggested “panel discussions” to “figure me out” would be a waste of my time and you'd discover (maybe post hoc) that your time was not wisely utilized as well.
So? How long can my modus operandi continue? Ha! Hells if I know. It’s what I do; it’s how I do it. No questions taken, no comments solicited. I don't know any better. For as long as I've been aware, this is the way it works. Yet, I fear it will not work that way forever. There's a lot of fear in fearlessness, friends.
Creator? Producer? Prophet? Just words. Kind words, but just words nonetheless. But if you follow closely enough, you just might gain insight. Insight into what I'm thinking about and insight into yourself (since you think too). Perhaps you'll gain access to more information that leads to an even better understanding of self, of others and of situations. That's all.
Is there joy? There are times when my products provide some short-lived self-satisfaction, but for the most part outcomes are like the wind, and goals are like our globally warmed weather; logical and sensible transitions elude. But, what is joy?
So what’s the point? Something to do before we I die I suppose (like getting you read to the end of this post). Which, I might argue, is the ultimate point.
Chapter 5ive is around the corner.
The end.
But surely many of us enter our mid-to-late twenties and realize that we really don’t know shit yet. This particular revelation can be as relieving to some as it is frightening to others. “Oh, there’s actually so much more” vs. “This is it?!” This may be the first significant turning point individuals face in our modern, western existence. A turning point that may shape lives productive or destructive.
The great shame here, of course, is the “untimely death.” No that the “they died so young” means anything more than they hadn’t even had the opportunity to figure anything out yet. Shameful, huh? To basically die without context makes us all so sad.
I’m guessing that our cognitive re-booting occurs every decade or so beginning at age eight or 10. I’d argue on the eights (like the traffic and weather) since there is a keen reality on the cusp of events that creates a predictable letdown when said event arrives. We tend to over-hype, over-think, and over-prepare for things to death anymore. That's why I’d bet more people get face lifts at 48 years of age than at 50. So now they can never, ever look 50. Right?
So what does this have to do with me, you ask? Right, this is a web log or some dumb self-serving, mode-of-zero crap; so I have to make a connection. The awareness. How we reveal our histories along our developmental lifespan. What?
So, me: First thing you could know is I’ve always had a drive to—a knack for tweaking a certain clarity out of situations even if it means changing the paradigm to make the clarity happen. Generally this “context jacking” is for personal gain or pleasure (for good or bad). Nothing malicious usually, but ease (leisure) and chaos (intellectual stimulation) hold some interest. Plus I’ve been able to reinvent as necessary and with little difficulty, for the most part. This usually results in the granting of some sort of power or decision-making authority that expands opportunity (kingdom). A chameleon’s adaptability is, after all, a survival characteristic. And advanced intelligence is an endearing and beneficial evolutionary trait.
So here I am. And I’m thinking again. I’m just over the hump making me 42 and one-half years old. I now realize that I possess some knowledge and I have some experience. I have some talents and I know talented people. But, I now clearly realize that I have nowhere near the talent, knowledge, or cognitive facility that I want. Not “need,” but “want.” I have plenty of tricks to keep me alive and well, but there’s something more I desire. No silly-ass “enlightenment” or “spirituality” or "revitalized youth" or "discovery" crap or anything, but simply access to more information that leads to an even better understanding of self, of others and of situations. We all want to see through the knots. I want to feel as if I am the knot.
I’ve never been comfortable being described as "musician" or "artist" because terms are limiting. Think about it. I’ve never been satisfied with the ease of the (directed and wholly intentional) “weird charisma.” I don’t want nor need a cult following. People should never ask What Would Ty Do? One, they’d only be fools to believe that they could answer that question for me and, two, the somethings I do do are quickly and now automatically processed to result in outcomes that may only mean something (perhaps very little) to very few. Output honed into instinct, perhaps reflex to perplex. The suggested “panel discussions” to “figure me out” would be a waste of my time and you'd discover (maybe post hoc) that your time was not wisely utilized as well.
So? How long can my modus operandi continue? Ha! Hells if I know. It’s what I do; it’s how I do it. No questions taken, no comments solicited. I don't know any better. For as long as I've been aware, this is the way it works. Yet, I fear it will not work that way forever. There's a lot of fear in fearlessness, friends.
Creator? Producer? Prophet? Just words. Kind words, but just words nonetheless. But if you follow closely enough, you just might gain insight. Insight into what I'm thinking about and insight into yourself (since you think too). Perhaps you'll gain access to more information that leads to an even better understanding of self, of others and of situations. That's all.
Is there joy? There are times when my products provide some short-lived self-satisfaction, but for the most part outcomes are like the wind, and goals are like our globally warmed weather; logical and sensible transitions elude. But, what is joy?
So what’s the point? Something to do before we I die I suppose (like getting you read to the end of this post). Which, I might argue, is the ultimate point.
Chapter 5ive is around the corner.
The end.
Oookie
The three objects I have most wanted to find in my life:1. Critical thinking disguised as irony and sarcasm.
2. A fist full of cocoa.
3. A decent WiFi signal.
Nature has fun with me from time to time. Once I threw a baked potato three feet in the wrong direction. This weekend it was so much pollen up my nose I thought I was gonna snot an oak tree.
On Earned Beauty
"I think there are two types of beauty.
The easier kind is inherited beauty. Youth and its accessories. Flawless skin, toned muscles, bright eyes, silken hair. Also, the ageless genetic gifts of symmetry, grace, and form.
While I cannot help but appreciate inherited beauty, I do not respect it as much as the other type of beauty.
Earned beauty. Laugh lines, scars, stretch marks, tattoos, the folding wrinkles of age. These are marks life leaves on the body. A roadmap of a body's temporal path. Each crease tells a story, each scar a mark of honor.
I'm perplexed by people who buy jeans, or boots, and scuff and distress them right away. Better they should enjoy the inherited beauty of them new, and as life works on them, the earned beauty will shine through. Be patient. Appreciate it. the process is as important as the destination.
The same as our bodies age. Enjoy the beauty and blush of youth, but also the patina and mystery of age. Be young and beautiful. Be old and beautiful.
You were given a body. But have you earned it?"
- Siege
Remote Montana Cabin
Woman cut me off at the Metro to take the handicapped entrance and elevator. For and instant, I considered that if she could walk fast enough to cut me off I'm thinking her disability isn't with walking. Then on the train she proceeded to read the bible out loud to herself (at least I wasn't her seat-mate). Oh, there's her disability.
Monday
The Coming of Chapter 5ive
If you're asking what's in store for Chapter 5ive.
Then you're asking too many damn questions.
Then you're asking too many damn questions.
Bump!
End of Chapter Four
Stop.
div style="text-align: center">md
The Text Align Center of Maryland/Division of Style
Stop.
The Text Align Center of Maryland/Division of Style
Sunday
The Sorriest Line in "Business"
"Since you are a person I trust, I wanted to invite you to join my network on LinkedIn."
Saturday
Friday
Dear Senator McCain
Dear Honorable Senator John "No Change" McCain -
Last I checked, Hurricane Katrina was two and a half years ago. It's very bold of you to come out swinging two and a half years late on the most obvious and colossal blunder of the Bush Administration. What's next, a pronouncement that you are against cancer? That you disapprove of child molesting? You think we should make the Louisiana Purchase?
You're making me consider voting for Clinton.
- Rickey Powell
Thursday
Ask Ty...April 24
Q: Ty, two questions:
1) How come the blind woman walking down the street didn't run into me but her daughter did?
2) How come the Starbucks sign says: "Our promise. Your drink should be perfect, every time, if not, let us know and we'll make it right" but they can't figure out the 80 year-old man asking for a "regular" coffee, "not venti" size?
-Kpup/DC
Ty: Good questions and even better observations.
The blind woman didn't run into you because she's blind and is utilizing the spectrum of other senses to compensate for lacking vision. She's accustomed to what she hears, smells, tastes, feels to get around and live an otherwise ordinary life. As for the kid? Kids are retarded.
Ah, once a very long time ago when the world had this shit called "film" I went into a Ritz "One Hour Photo" Photo Center and asked for them to process said film. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon and I said, "So I should come back around two?" And they said, "No. How 'bout 5:30." Confused I asked about the one hour jive. I was instructed, "Sir. One Hour Photo is a slogan, not necessarily a service." Oh. As for Starbucks? Starbucks is retarded.
Just guesses.
-ty
1) How come the blind woman walking down the street didn't run into me but her daughter did?
2) How come the Starbucks sign says: "Our promise. Your drink should be perfect, every time, if not, let us know and we'll make it right" but they can't figure out the 80 year-old man asking for a "regular" coffee, "not venti" size?
-Kpup/DC
Ty: Good questions and even better observations.
The blind woman didn't run into you because she's blind and is utilizing the spectrum of other senses to compensate for lacking vision. She's accustomed to what she hears, smells, tastes, feels to get around and live an otherwise ordinary life. As for the kid? Kids are retarded.
Ah, once a very long time ago when the world had this shit called "film" I went into a Ritz "One Hour Photo" Photo Center and asked for them to process said film. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon and I said, "So I should come back around two?" And they said, "No. How 'bout 5:30." Confused I asked about the one hour jive. I was instructed, "Sir. One Hour Photo is a slogan, not necessarily a service." Oh. As for Starbucks? Starbucks is retarded.
Just guesses.
-ty
Wednesday
Art > Eliasson
"“Art” has become the promiscuous catchall for anything artificial that meets no practical need but which we like, or are presumed or supposed to like."
- Peter Schjeldahl [clicky]
Note: I saw the Olafur Eliasson exhibit at the SFMoMA in February.
[clicky]
[clicky]
[clicky]
AKD Technical Notes and Fighting Hints
Yes, Abnormally Keen Despair has just received a long overdue makeover; light as it is. Mostly what it means to you is bigger pictures. Duh, right?
So remember:
So remember:
"We regularly ignore the fact that the thirst for vengeance is among the strongest of human emotions."Enjoy!
So when you fight be aware of the "inevedible tension between the anger that drives one to fight and the clear mind necessary for fighting well." People, always fight while thinking. [clicky]
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