Noam Chomsky!

I have spent entirely too much time at Harvard failing to take advantage of the opportunities practically thrown at students here. This semester alone and lecturers alone, I've missed the opportunity to see the President of Mexico, the President of Greenland, Jeff Koons, and the makers of XKCD and Dino Comics. This doesn't even touch on orchestras, plays, bands, films, filmmakers, art exhibitions, and actors. I usually decide that I'm "too busy" to go and inevitably end up regretting that decision.

Well, I'm happy to say that today was an exception to that norm.

Noam Chomsky rules.

Nothing to Write Foam About

...but it's not too shabby. I made this video, in collaboration with one Derek J, for Mather's annual foam party. Eight feet of bubbles, pumping music mixed by the the #1 DJ in the world, lights low, inebriated/half-naked Harvard students covered in slippery foam... It's a pretty crazy time. You can imagine.

Yeahhh, Mather Lather.

Wait, What?

The grant money came through.

I'm going to India next semester.

Wigging Out

Cheer up, mannequins! You're wearing ridiculous wigs!

Sometimes subtlety isn't my strong suit.

What I like about this photograph is that I can't tell if I'm about to be run over or if I've just been saved.

The House That Jack Built

Waiting for the Tipping Point

I like to let problems get to a tipping point, and then deal with them all at once. I would rather clean my room once I can't see the floor anymore, wait until I have a dozen text messages before touching my cell phone, or write a ten page paper in one sitting the night before it's due. People like time management and organization and planning ahead; I can only stand it in small amounts.

The only other person I've known to operate this way was my high school roommate. Sometime during the month we moved into school, we were doing homework on our respective bunk beds. I leaned over to sharpen my pencil off the top bunk, and at the same time, she unwrapped a granola bar and tossed the wrapper off the bottom bunk. We laughed about it, and I think maybe that was the moment I realized that we had this weird mutual understanding. We would spend all week letting the mess in our tiny double accumulate, and then we'd spend hours cleaning up our ankle-deep clutter for weekly room inspections. It wasn't that we were too lazy to move an extra few feet to the trash can or laundry basket... it just made sense to us to do it that way.

It drives everyone else crazy. People think I'm disorganized and cluttered and a bit chaotic. I agree that it might not be the best life philosophy, but to me, it's organized chaos. It's the way I function.

Kandinsky v. Tygielski

Red, Green, Yellow, Tygielski


Yellow, Red, Blue, Kandinsky

Undercover Harmonizer

Confession: When the boys next door play the acoustic guitar or violin, their music seeps through the concrete walls, and I sometimes listen in. When it's a song I know, I even break out into the harmony. I love when they play.

David Hockney

Ian Swimming, Hockney

This man is my hero. Besides using a Polaroid camera for a lot of his photography (major bonus points right there), he's created totally unprecedented photo collages inspired by Cubist paintings. By arranging smaller, individually photographed pictures to create one composite image, he transformed scale, perspective, and angle in ways no other photographer had before him (or has since, really). Check out the simultaneity of time and space in Ian Washing His Hair below--it reminds me so strongly of Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2:


Ian Washing His Hair, Hockney


Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Duchamp

Perpindicular Universe

Crash and Burn

Through the Fire Door

Yesterday was the perfect day. The sun was shining, I finished my problem set a full day early, they passed out free ice cream at comp sci office hours... It was one of those ideal moments. I even started humming that terrible song from the opening of "Legally Blonde" while I was walking through Harvard Yard.

Everything went smoothly with room-picking. I somehow didn't screw anything up, and we ended up with the big corner suite through our fire door. I'm ridiculously excited... I've burst through the fire door at least a dozen times to admire our new room. We're open to suggestions for a sweet suite name if you have any ideas.

No Man Left Behind

...But one man sent alone. I'm the only one available in my rooming group to take our appointment today to choose our future suite, and I'm nervous I'm going to screw it up. Yes, it should be straightforward. Yes, we've worked out every example and counterexample, and I know which room to pick in any situation. I know it should be a piece of cake, but... Well, let me put it this way: if my rooming group were to take a poll on the most scatterbrained roommate, the result would be unanimous. It's a risky business putting me in charge of anything so important.

Our new roommate, Cathy, drew a great number for us in the housing lottery. (She's a lucky duck!) The only big group ahead of us is choosing the one corner suite we don't want, so we basically have our pick of party rooms. We're thinking of sticking close to home and taking the big six-man currently through our fire door. If we play our cards right, we'll end up living next door to this good-looking fellow and his roommates (Cathy's blockmates and good friends of our whole rooming group). Even if we don't play our cards right, we'll end up next to Jim, Dick, and friends, and that would be pretty awesome, too.

Grounded

I got rid of my bed frame yesterday. I'm not sure why I did it, but it was definitely a good decision.

Pay Attention

Links of Interest:
[ x ] Joshua Bell Plays in Subway Station
[ x ] C215 Goes Unnoticed Stenciling London
(courtesy of Voodoo Knickers)

If We Are the Body

Jump for Joy

Awesome Happening #1: Robert found an affordable apartment in NYC for me, him, and Thomas this summer. Robert is amazing. Good morning, Upper East Siders!

Awesome Happening #2: I think I got the internship with In Motion Productions! It was the only internship I really wanted, but I gave up on it when the filmmaker didn't reply to my application e-mail or follow-up e-mail. I was just about to send out a whirlwind of resumes when I got an e-mail that said something along the lines of, "I'm in Senegal. Let me know if you want to confirm definitely working with me this summer." That sounds like an offer... right? If it is, I'll be working:

1.) in a small indie film production company (like I want to work in for a living)
2.) with a really chill experimental and documentary filmmaker (like I want to be for a living)
3.) where I'll be given hands-on production and post-production assignments and a project of my own to head up (like I'll eventually be DOING for a living)

The best part is (insert drumroll here) that the production company is responsible for making the "Elmo's World" segments on Sesame Street, and I'll be helping to make about six of them over the course of the summer. Rock out!

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out