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The Constants

I have (finally, shamefully) uncovered the lyrical wizardry of Bob Dylan for myself.

When I began exploring Nina Simone’s impressive repertoire, looking up the background of  most of her songs simply became a habit. Her performances simply have a way of communicating to parts of me which remain otherwise uninterested in communication to begin with. Whether that is the immediate result of some deliberate steps taken some time ago, or ones which I am taking even today is irrelevant to me to think about at this moment.  In any case, it quickly became apparent to me that some of her best performances were actually Bob Dylan covers, or were songs written by the man. While his voice is not particularly impressive to me, his lyrics are on a plain unreached by any musician that I have ever known of. I cannot help but feel like I am uncovering something spectacular for myself.

Mornings, and Why You Should Like Them

I have not missed the prickly references to mornings being the worst time for some people; usually, it is because morning is when the day’s work begins, and that some people would prefer to sleep in, seeing no urgency in utilizing the sunlight [whine about the sun and heat all you want, it is not as if evening shifts are all the rage, evenings are when the fun (see: your time to yourself) begins, allegedly, right?] which is slightly difficult for me to wrap my mind around. And so, I have compiled a list of why mornings are the best time in the world:

Sun Propaganda

  1. You can eat more, the earlier you wake up, that is, assuming you go for foods with higher nutritional and less caloric value. Where exactly is the fun in waking up late and  having breakfast for lunch, and not having a single meal within the vicinity (or awareness) of the sun?
  2. It’s the sun. Whine about the heat all you want, but I do not think anyone spends over an hour (and a half?) in their car (collectively) per day while commuting to/from their appropriate, unique work per the day. Unless your air conditioner is broken (Continued)

Productivity For This INTP

Let us stick with the theme of productivity. When work is slow and the mind is only stimulated largely thanks to sleep and glorious caffeine, I tend to browse YouTube while I wait for my MW’s WotD email to arrive. As is proven by the posts here this week, Photoshop becomes a toy and game news become a fun thing to look at again, if only to look at while behind the bars of a needlessly packed schedule which I oddly enough do not completely mind being set up in this manner.

I also tend to look up my Myers-Briggs type, the INTP. For those of you who do not know what the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality assessment is, well, that: It is a personality assessment which measures, based on specifically tailored questions, the four specific areas of inclination of one’s personality:

  1. Extroversion vs Introversion (attitudes)
  2. Sensing vs Intuition (function)
  3. Thinking vs Feeling (function)
  4. Judging vs Perception (lifestyle)

I have taken most of the tests available (for free, do not fall for scams, or ones that ask for your e-mail address) online and according to their results (and excessive research to satiate a legitimate overlapping in claims of my being this specific personality type) it turns out that I am an INTP, and for the first time in a long while (since I figured this out), I makes sense to me, as per the descriptions of what the INTP does, acts like, and the alleged persuasions which said INTP tends to circle.

And for the record, this is a far more valuable, credible assessment to go by, flawed as it may be, in comparison to more mainstream dribble like astrology, in which case, I like my astrology extremely insane, and am a wood rat, my ying yangs.

Read more on the MBTI here, and here, and here.

Want to know what your type is? Take all of these tests, answer as truthfully as possible, and the most redundant result is probably your type. Though if I were you, I would read up on all of the results and see what sounds the most like me.

Needlessly long preface aside, I have begun reading up on what the INTP needs for personal growth, and yes, my skepticism is alive and well while having skimmed through this page.

Onwards to productivity!

Playing With Symmetry

I may as well knock down two accomplishments in one day, right? Graphic design and writing? This is what thrill is all about, I have arrived.

I want to articulate my feelings on the concept of symmetry instead of fleetingly thinking about them and having that be it.

I fired up Photoshop a little over an hour ago and decided to sit down and at least explore the fundamentals of symmetry, I mean really understand them. In short, my conclusion, technically at least, goes as followed: ctrl+’, line tool, the perfect brush size, anchor tool, duplicate, ctrl+t, shift+drag about one-or-two. In my mind, I was not really worried about the end result being passable, symmetry is beautiful, after all. It is sturdy, safe, it is trustworthy because it makes clear what focal point it drifts away from only to rush back into. Symmetry is content in its self-sufficient perfection. …And I cannot stand the thought of it.

What is the point, I find myself wondering, of writing a story that has already ending, or creating a doodle which is perfectly executed in every sense of the word? I never quite liked the concept of redundancy, though to be fair, I guess I also need to note that symmetry is not redundant in impression, just creation. I don’t know, see, it’s got me going in circles just trying to explain it.

Here’s what I came up with: (Continued)

Dragon’s Dogma (SO EXCITED!)

Information
Name:
Dragon’s Dogma
Developer: Capcom
Genre: JRPG
Platforms: PS3, XBOX 360
Release Date: May 22, 2012 (Just over two weeks left!)

I am filled with a tiny amount of dread at knowing that I will not be playing this game in as many extensively long sittings as I was once able to. Needless to say, I do not mind staying up late and pulling a few all-nighters and then going to work just to experience this game in as immersed a manner as possible. If there is caffeine, I can manage.

I have not downloaded the demo for this game yet, but the game play videos that I have looked at have only excited me at the thought that this game not only coming out, but coming out very soon. In a little over two weeks, I will have either bought (or ordered) this game and  will be playing it and going after the biggest enemies I can find. There is a flexible class/job system which players can switch to/from, as well as a pawn system which essentially means that I not only get to be a flexible fighter, but hire my own posse.

I have picked out three videos after the link below, and the one that truly captured my heart is the last one depicting an epic battle between a ninja class player, their posse, versus two cyclops and a few stray mobs. You will note that the AI is not only intelligent, but formidable.

Seemingly an unexpectedly great game, from the looks of it. It has Japanese-style gaming elements (see: class system, character stylization) and Western-styled gaming elements as well, (see: expansive, open world, Eurocentric renaissance theme, and dragons) it seems like Elder Scrolls with wings made in Japan. The emboldened, almost frenzied sense of JRPGs in a Westernized gaming setting.

(Continued)

Productivity or Soul Bust

No one really mentioned to me how when one becomes employed, gaming takes a back seat, and not even a transitional back seat in what gets done in a day, but a blunt, shove back into the back seat with the gentleness of a hungry cave man who simply does not have his basic needs met enough to feign etiquette.

Needless to say, I have set productivity levels to be met, per work week, both on personal and slightly professional levels. Sort of. I keep saying that I am a freelance writer but cannot be bothered to approach any businesses. I am working on being proactive, though one of the hurdles standing in the way of pursuing freelance writing is my desire to play around with graphic design again. I do not have the degree for it and the course I took at university covered basics which I already comprehended.

One of the graphic design projects that I want to work on this week. The theme is a potentially new logo for Particles of Awesome, my podcast.

(Continued)

Work Ethic Series: The Attitude

Introduction:
The Work Ethic Series is most likely going to become a gradually growing number of articles based on the attitudes which I have sensed, suspected, or plainly noticed in the work place. Yes, I finally got a  job, and it is in the public sector, and it needs rescuing.

Work Ethic Series: The Attitude

Perhaps the most jarring thing about the public sector, more so than the stagnant level of productivity, is the downright rotten attitude which some employees carry. It is absolutely destructively clear in its lack of spirit, and creative only in how it is expressed.

Seemingly, the entire point of having a job is not to show up and work, it is to be as loudly entitled to as little work and much pay as possible and vocally so, at least within the constraints of social etiquette: some people seem to be enraged at the notion of working at work. (Continued)

Book Review: The Lover by Marguerite Duras

Disclaimer:
Forgive my many grammatical mistakes. Once again I find myself publishing something prematurely for the sake of not giving up the review all together.

My final thoughts upon reading this novel are scribbled on the inside of the back cover: Tragic, third-person camouflaged testimony.

The Lover, by Marguerite Duras is overwhelming in its tragedy, though the alleged focal point being an unacceptable joining of two equally helpless, albeit, in their minds, rebelling couple pales in comparison to their own recurring faults; these faults are not entirely the result of external manipulation within their family paradigms upon the couple’s exclusive bond, but their own conscious acts of irresponsibility for themselves, dulled only by the self-dictated pity that they feel for each other and selves. (Continued)

Who Knows?

She was almost as tall as I was, just about my age and with twice as much stubbornness that I ever had (I am told that I have plenty of it, enough to fill industrial warehouses and then some) but the look in her eyes was one that I prefer to think is jaded, and can only come with age.

I would have loved to feign whimsy and wonder just where someone so youthful would have so much conviction, but let me be harsh enough to admit conviction does not come at the stipulation of age. Indeed, feelings, despite our greatest efforts to surround in a fortress of flagrantly established emotional law to exemplify as things that are only developed, even honed with harvested years, rarely need to be developed, but only noted. (Continued)

Concerning “The Art”

For the past few months, I have begun to take a more thoughtful approach to my artistic efforts. I am certainly thinking about it a lot more and seem to want to become better at this hobby that is not just one that I have always had, but had been one constant in my life experience. I finished working on about seven  or (I hope) more pieces, all with uniquely varying degrees of contentedness in terms of having a finished product. I am happy with the style, more or less also happy with the strokes, and more pleased with anything in how I work with the lines. Unfortunately, that also means that my Wacom tablet is in the drawer while my flash program has not been launched in a long time too. I do not mind that very much either.

I will most likely be posting pictures (and completely reworking the content) of my workbook directory in the near future as well.

As for how exciting I am, I am toying with the idea of working on a joint game-related blog; or any topic really, I want to be able to write about anything. Mostly because the new WordPress makes co-authoring easier now. So says the update bubble.