my fish tank

when there's nothing to do, film your fish.

The economic situation defined via alcohol consumption

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Norfolk.
In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar.
Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases…massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager of the bank, (subsequently of course fired due his negativity), decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's
bar.

However they cannot pay back the debts and Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.
DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.
The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation.

Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties.
The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.
Finally an explanation you can understand...

The Pack Pockets

Here's my newest journal creation:) I call it 'The Back Pockets'. When i started construction on this particular one, i had the idea of it representing things crammed in a back pocket, but the title wouldn't come until I saw a tag that had been ripped from the inside of a pair of blue jeans. Written in a sharpie marker, it said, "The Back Pockets".

THE STORY
I went to a place in Atlanta called WonderRoot. I've only been once, and it was because a friend of mine was in a band called "The Back Pockets" that had formed 1 month prior to their show, and they were performing their 'avant-garde' in the cramped basement of this small art center for the lead singers birthday. After their show, everyone congregated outside for the big turn-taking event, "Bust the Piñata". (I did not get a turn) However, when the final blow was given to the piñata, which was in the shape of a Narwhal, it spewed forth plastic Easter eggs!! Inside the eggs were candy and other trinkets that the band had made, (mainly the hyper-active lead singer/birthday girl, who just did that kind of thing, but in a crazier way than how you might think, for the lack of a better way to describe her, or rather, and most probable, the lack of time i'm willing to spend describing her:) Anyway, I grabbed some eggs from the carnage of papier-mâché , and when i got home discovered my new "The Back Pockets" tag, "that had been ripped from the inside of a pair of blue jeans" :) And that same tag was the finishing touch of this journal.

The journal rests in it's own pocket made from a pair of casual lounge slacks with denim accents. The front denim flap that rests on the cover houses paper clips holding my personal business card, but upon removing the paperclips, you could attach any kind of pin and display your own works of art. Or add some Velcro to both bottom sides and create a pocket to carry your pen around!

An oversized safety pin tucks neatly into the front pocket where the journal rests, but can be taken out and clip to a book bag or hung from any anchor at your desk or on your wall. Inside the pocket I've also included a double sided eraser pencil (part of the FBI Atlanta Division 'Drug Demand Reduction Program' who's motto is "USING DRUGS IS POINTLESS") a refillable glue stick, and a Micro Vision Uni-Ball pen (my favorite!!). On the back of the cover you'll find a tiny pocket in the top left with a functional button. Inside that pocket??? Who knows what I've hidden???

I do. I put several glow in the dark stars in there. There's a belt loop as well for hanging or attaching!

Once you take the journal out, you'll find it's fairly basic. On the inside front cover, i glued a piece of album art; a representation of crooked piano keys. The picture extends the front cover so it folds back onto the outside front cover. I left it unglued on the outside for the owner to decide what happens to it. It can be made functional or glued down on top of more cover art that extends from behind it!!

The back inside cover pocket contains a large cut out of a vibrant gree tree frog (perfect for a back pocket) and the outside back cover displays a mini-green note card. I glued the envelope to the cover and the notecard to the front of the envelope; also upside down. The notecard opens downward, allowing the envelope to be used as another pocket. This notecard is a from TheHollister25. Check her shop out for more cool cards and stationary

And that's it! I had fun building this one, but now i'm totally over it. I have an idea for another traveling journal that is to be shared with friends.

so peace out!
And PEACE to my buddy RYAN who's in training camp right now
check out the music he made before he left!!

Her Keyper

The design for this journal itself kind of slowly morphed into what it is now, which is a series of magnets, velcro, folding flaps, and a clasp-able string with an attached key....for symbolism:) The case in which the journal is concealed, on the other hand, came to me in one sitting.

I used a Highland Park 12 year aged malt whiskey box, glue, magnets, keys, and a bit of engineering to create a sturdy folding journal case with four flaps. The keys come form a collection that my grandmother gave me when i was younger. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the box transformed into its new shape so easily.

The cover of the journal features a stencil spray design i did of a character named Sidney DeBeaumarche. Her hair hangs down and attaches to a sort of spindle where a string is wound and hangs with a key tied to it's end. On the lower right side of the journal is a magnetic flap that keeps the book latched.

If you unwind the key on a string, it leads you to the back of the journal. Here there is a plastic window that uses Velcro to clasp and is perfect for displaying small pictures of business cards. Behind this is a larger flap that opens, also latched by Velcro. There is a card flap that can help hold notes or money.

I especially like how simple and elegant this entire journal came out. It looks professional and deserves a fine resting place in just the right creative hands.

You have find this item at The Artists' Sandbox

March 1st 2009 is a SNOW DAY!!

that's right, it snowed it atlanta for the better part of the day. i was lucky enough to get to enjoy it from the comfort of my semi-warm 1920's home....besides the part where i went outside to film THIS!!

The music is from "Songs From a Piano A"


Perfect for this winter weather...
my Treasury:)

Cabin in the Woods

'Oh Christmas (lights in a) Tree'

My day job involves working with christmas lights for about 8 months out of the year. We start as soon as June stringing up lights in trees to make sure that we can get all the jobs done before the month of December. It takes a while. People get mad when they see us. People yell things at us. But we have to start early or it won't get done. We're not magical elves. Those guys don't do shit as far as decorating Atlanta for Christmas, so yeah, you'll have to look at unlit lights for several months. Don't worry, we won't turn them on!

People that walk by us while we're working seem compelled to have to say something. The only problem is that they all say the same thing! Maybe not in the same words, but it's always along the lines of, "Christmas lights already? Psh!" or "Ya'll can't wait til after Thanksgiving for godsakes?" Um, no we can't. It's a catch 22 here. We don't want to hear you complaining that Christmas sucks this year because the lights aren't up, but we also have to put them up early while dodging kids hunting for Easter eggs, so what are would you propose we do?

It's really not that bad. I tend to sing when i'm up in the trees anyway so i'm off in my own world. But i do take notice of people's behaviors from time to time. It's a great place to watch people from:)

So i took a picture of a tree with lights on it and darkened it up a bit, and then created this stencil to be used on a shirt:)

Something good from something else good:)

I've been 28 for 6 days...

...and i can't get the taste of adolescence out of my mouth. and that's all i have to say about that:)

I've started working on a new song. I'm in love with it. I do believe my roommate is growing quite tired of it, but what people don't understand is that turning a song into perfection takes a lot of repetition and scrutiny. that just pretty much means it wears the song out. way out. like "holes in the ass of your jeans" out. it takes a very special person (aka musicians) to sit through it all and piece it together so that it's actually listenable to the audience.

And after typing that last sentence, i just learned that "listenable" is actually a word. I was certain the word must have been added recently, because i've never heard it, albeit an obvious choice. i'm so sure i can find a word out there that is blatant and common that we've just not thought about putting in the dictionary yet. I searched online to see when the word was formed and was surprised to find that it's been around since 1915-1920. Whatever. they didn't know what they were talking about back then. we should've just recently added that word, i swear.

I did however come upon this story once again. Let's all take a look back...

_____________________________________________________
Bling Bling' Added To Oxford English Dictionary

The next time you and your pals coin a slang term to describe your latest bejeweled accessories, don't bet on keeping it exclusive. The linguistics "gangstas" over at the Oxford English Dictionary aren't "new jacks" to the latest "def" lingo.

The venerable definitions resource has already added other hip-hop-turned-mainstream terms like "jiggy," "breakbeat," "dope" and "phat" to the online updates of the 20-volume dictionary, and now it has started drafting an entry for the latest OED-approved term, "bling bling."

The term, which is used to describe diamonds, jewelry and all forms of showy style, was coined by New Orleans rap family Cash Money Millionaires back in the late '90s and started gaining national awareness with a song titled "Bling Bling" by Cash Money artist BG.

The rapper, who is currently promoting his new album, Living Legend, told MTV News, "I'm so surprised that that word has spread like it has. But I knew it was serious when I saw that the NBA championship ring for the Los Angeles Lakers had the word 'bling bling' written in diamonds on it."

And while BG once felt territorial about his much-loved term, he's since opened his arms to the slang's universal appeal.

" 'Bling bling' will never be forgotten," he said. "So it's like I will never be forgotten. I just wish that I'd trademarked it, so I'd never have to work again."