Brain Bank 11/30

I think my favorite brain bank was from October 9th. It was about a vase I saw in Chinatown on my last trip there. I created a story from looking at this vase, it wasn’t very long and I don’t really think it was that good but the reason I liked it so much was because it was a good example of how this class made me think more creatively. Usually if I saw something interesting like that, I’d probably just think it was pretty and move on, but I actually paid attention to it and all it’s details and I created a story right on the spot. I seem to be able to do that a lot more than I used to. Looking at something odd or different, it doesn’t really matter what, but I can create a story about it just from what I see and think about it. 

Brain Bank 11/21

Today I created a character called the White Witch. The name isn’t all that creative but it fits the backstory I gave her pretty well.

The White Witch lived in a land of darkness, the light could never quite reach her palace. But just outside the border of her land, a small town existed. The people of this town were the only ones that knew of the White Witch and her powers. The White Witch was neither good nor evil, neither cruel nor kind. The people of the town would come to her for help every so often and she would oblige. If she could accomplish their task she would, but if she could not she would turn them away politely. No one in the town knew anything of the White Witch other than that, even her name was a mystery. The only reason she was called the White Witch was because of her pale skin and flowing silver hair.

The White Witch herself could no longer remember her name. She spent her life in solitude, only speaking to whoever came to ask for her aid. That wasn’t to say that she was alone in her palace. The darkness itself kept her company. The shadows were her allies. As she sat in her library late into the night and read, the shadows kept the fire going, they turned the pages of her novels, and placed a blanket on her when she fell asleep in her chair. They could not speak but they still cared for her, as no one else could. But she was fine with her silent existence, or at least she pretended to be.

Vanity Plate – Week 6

I think my vanity plate would be OFZELDA but only if I got an Acura Legend because right above the vanity plate it would say Legend. Therefore I’d be a super nerd and have my car say Legend of Zelda like the game.

Brain Bank 11/02

Today I saw India’s equivalent of a superhero movie while I was at home. I watched a lot of Indian movies as a kid so it’s not as weird as it sounds, but there’s one thing about Indian cinema that everyone should know. It’s not that good. You can argue that it’s horrible but there are a few gems that kind of save it. That’s not what this is about though. I’d like to think that in my time in college I’ve learned a few things about CGI and visual effects. In my very little wisdom however, I could tell you everything that was wrong with that movie and how it could be fixed to make it a lot better than it was. Anyone can go around saying that, but I actually know how to actually implement it as I am now. Basically, I’m petty sure I could be a VFX artist in India as I am now and do better than most of the people that have been doing it there.

Brain Bank 10/31

Happy Halloween! Today I dressed like the Tardis from Doctor Who. Walking around in costume is probably a weird thing to do for a college student but I honestly didn’t care. I was out shined by my roommate anyway. She went from looking like a rejected member of KISS to a feminine Darth Maul in the course of about an hour and scared a lot of people with the latter. It’s kind of funny, the things that some people do for Halloween while others just completely ignore the fact that Halloween exists. I realized that you can really get a sense for who’s comfortable enough with themselves to dress up and look a little silly and get weird looks from people, and really not care about it. I let my roommate dye the ends of my hair blue because well, why not? I’ve always wanted to try it and even if it didn’t work I could wash it out. Experimenting is fun, you won’t learn anything unless you do it. So I let her dye my hair blue, My hair still has traces of pink because of it but I actually don’t mind it. I honestly don’t know where I was going with this but basically, I had a fun Halloween and I learned some things about the people around me.

Brain Bank 10/26

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays simply for the sheer insanity that occurs if your friends are cool enough. In the span of about 20 minutes tonight we were greeted by a court jester, a unicorn named Peaches, and Jesus. Jesus needed to borrow a hair band… But I got to thinking about what makes Halloween so great as a holiday. If you enjoy Halloween then it’s a time to let your creativity go wild and not be bothered by what “normal” people think. I’ve seen some really cool, weird, funny, and just downright horrifying costumes over the years and I’m always really happy when people can get into making their costumes awesome. This year I’m being the Tardis from Doctor Who because I found a Tardis dress in a store by my house. So now I’m coming up with ways to make a headband that looks like a light and how to make myself look more like a large blue police box.

Worst Toy Ever

Little Miss Chainsaw
Better than scissors!

Why should boys get all the fun power tools and sharp objects? Girls deserve a fun, potentially lethal toy too. Introducing Little Miss Chainsaw, a chainsaw with a pink handle, eyes and a cute little bow on the hand grip. For that feminine approach when helping daddy with the chores, cutting down trees, or playing Civil War doctor with siblings. Little Miss Chainsaw, more dangerous fun than scissors

Creativity Exercises – Perfect World

Part 1

I already know this for a fact, my perfect world doesn’t exist and can never exist without some pretty advanced tech. Even still it wouldn’t actually be real, but with that being said, my perfect world could probably be created with a lot of creativity and a bunch of time I don’t have. Or simply just as a place in my head.

In my perfect world it is always night, not because I’m creepy or dark mind you. My light sensitivity is pretty bad so sunlight generally hurts my eyes. Light would come from floating balls of soft light, maybe like giant fireflies whose lights never go out but I don’t like bugs so much so maybe they’re just glowing orbsIt would be a quiet place like a forest with a stream or an island. The sound of water is peaceful and it’s easier for me to think when I’m listening to waves crashing on a shore or a stream gently flowing. The only things that inhabit my perfect world are animals, real and fictional. Animals aren’t judgmental and they’re really good to have as stress relief, I can literally sit with a dog for hours, stroking its fur and just going on about whatever is on my mind. I actually get a lot of ideas doing that. I also want a dragon. There’s no reason in particular, but if I’m creating my perfect world then why not have a dragon?

Brain Bank 10/24

Today was boring… I usually have something interesting in my head but today I just didn’t. I couldn’t think of anything. The funny thing about that is that because I couldn’t think of anything I actually did think of something. When artists get bored weird things happen. As far as I know anyway, I live with a bunch of crazy artists so boredom is kind of dangerous for us. When I get bored I doodle but my roommate acts crazy to compensate for her lack of creativity. Watching her usually entertains me and I come up with lots of things based off of how psycho she is. So I created a character based off of her. Her name is Luna, or Looney to her friends. She has long dark brown hair that she doesn’t bother to comb, it’s always a mess but she doesn’t care. She spends too much time working, it stresses her out and she likes to run around in circles when it gets to be too much. 

Brain Bank 10/23

Today I was doing my Japanese writing homework, much to my lament (just saying). And after about 3 hours of staring at odd sequences of lines and random scribbles that I had written everything started to blend together in a random mess of black ink and blue lines. When it gets late my mind goes to weird places and my eyes get a bit blurry because albino vision is a thing (Don’t question it). But anyway, I started imagining that each paragraph was an army and that they were pitted against each other to conquer the page and bring their families and homelands honor like stereotypical asians (someone, somewhere, is going to get me for making that comment someday). The simple characters like “shi” and “tsu” were just foot soldiers because they didn’t have many lines to them and somehow that translates to not having great weapons. But more complex characters like “ke” and “mi” were generals or other high ranking officials because they had more lines and therefore more advanced weapons. “Mi” always looked like a cannon to me, just saying… No side really won because I had to keep adding soldiers and the battles went on for 4 pages but because it’s late and my hand is cramping, this is how it’s going to end…

“General Ha, the men can’t take much more, they’re at their limit,” Private Mo’s right arm was broken, he was barely holding his few lines together at this point. “Major Ke and his batalion have been scribbled out, we’re all that’s left.”

General Ha lowered his swirl, he looked Private Mo straight in the hook and sighed. “It’s time then…”

The General revealed a button he had kept hidden. Upon pushing the button, the thousands of letters on the battlefield stopped their fighting and stared. A giant looming “tsu” hung in the sky. It stood there menacingly for a moment before dropping down on them. In mere moments the battlefield was filled with scribbles. The characters didn’t even have time to scream. The battle had ended with the spilling of ink.