Jared's Place

"I’ve got a few questions for those who supported Proposition 8. My question is a very profound one...."

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:18:18 -0500

“I’ve got a few questions for those who supported Proposition 8. My question is a very profound one. What the fuck is it to you?…Why are people in this state, when we have so many things on our plate, we have a fiscal disaster going on, why does anyone even waste their time with this issue? Why does anyone even care if gay people get married?…You would never in a million years go up to a person of color and say ‘well, you know I hear that Black people want to get married now. I mean, it’s fine if they live together.” You would cringe, would you not? ‘I hear that Mexicans want to vote! There goes the neighborhood!’ Right? It would sound absolutely silly. And yet, across the state, people are having dinner conversations saying, ‘well, do gay people really have the right to get married?’ Yes! Domestic union, domestic partnership is not the same.”

- Kathy Griffin (via jcup)

Every so often, I get a little moment of happy when I get...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:03:19 -0500

Every so often, I get a little moment of happy when I get brought into a project that allows me to experiment visually. Luckily, my strengths are basically the exact opposite of everyone else in the studio. They’re all awesome at long documents, really structured grid stuff, etc. whereas I totally struggle with that sort of thing and absolutely *love* to fiddle around in Photoshop and Illustrator to come up with really illustrative graphic elements.

Today, my co-workers were struggling with a project where they needed graphic elements that were very abstract in appearance but still retained connotations of ‘change’ ‘fluidity’ and ‘motion.’ Since the document is dealing with water, someone suggested we set up a photoshoot, drop globs of oil in a tank, and photograph the result. The client wouldn’t approve the photography budget so they were going to abandon the idea. I spoke up and said that I could probably mimic the effect if they gave me 45 minutes.

Tada. :) So clearly the effect isn’t as refined as it will be in the end, but so far I’m liking it. I took it one step further by trying to suggest the shape of a fish (appropriate for the subject matter while still retaining the abstractness the client was going for) My co-workers are stoked because now they can go back to the oil in water idea, yet have a lot more control over the final image. We’re brainstorming ways to utilize the negative space and it looks like the project will be really rewarding in the end.

So yay. I like that I’m becoming known as the go-to guy around here for building graphic elements. It was driving me nuts seeing them all buy stock imagery for things when I could recreate in just as much time as it takes to search for the stock.

GPOYW… a little early, but I’ll be too busy tomorrow...

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:15:30 -0500

GPOYW… a little early, but I’ll be too busy tomorrow and can’t be bothered putting it in the queue. :)

Bullet-post

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:18:05 -0500

(Obligatory intro paragraph regarding my lengthy absence from blogging…)

• I’m writing a bullet-point post. Rejoice.
• I’ve been in the new studio for two weeks and things have been ridiculously busy and stressful. Things typically slow down a bit in April/May so I’m really hoping I’ll return from my vacation to a calmer workplace.
• Speaking of vacation, I’m leaving in less than three weeks. Holy. Crap. Time has been zooming by lately. It’s true that time moves quicker as you get older.
• I’ve lost over twenty pounds since January and have finally bought new pants after constant ridicule from my boss. No more saggy-bottom jeans. Now I just need to replace my paint-splattered shoes and I might pass for respectable.
• I’m currently cat-sitting an eldery cat I fear will drop dead at any moment. I get to stay in a beautiful two-storey condo though which is a welcome break from my cramped apartment and moody roommate.
• I dyed my hair this weekend because I was getting sick of the mousy brown. It’s only a shade or two darker, but makes a big difference. I also decided to dye my eyebrows because I was feeling crazy and had a moment of panic when I saw the result. Luckily, with some frantic scrubbing a lot of the colour washed out and I no longer look like a muppet.
• I’ve decided that I want to learn another language. Probably not right away, but in my lifetime I would love to be bilingual. Something to work toward I guess. (I know I’m bad with follow-through…)
• I’m going to see Beyonce in concert next week. I agreed to go with a friend and don’t really have an opinon about it either way, but I hope it will be a good time.
• I’m currently watching Religulous and having a good laugh. :)

I’ve accepted that I need to get a bigger desk ASAP…

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:12:52 -0600

I’ve accepted that I need to get a bigger desk ASAP…

In an effort to update more frequently, I’m trying out ping.fm to see if it makes...

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:29:30 -0600

In an effort to update more frequently, I’m trying out ping.fm to see if it makes microblogging simpler.

GPOYW Following my theme of ‘turn myself into kick-ass...

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:05:31 -0600

GPOYW

Following my theme of ‘turn myself into kick-ass beasties,’ here’s Vampire Jared.

I needed to do something mindless after work, just to chill...

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:10:25 -0600

I needed to do something mindless after work, just to chill out… so I took an hour to zombify myself.

Heh.

via www.byroglyphics.com Russ Mills is AMAZING! I love this so...

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:58:17 -0600

via www.byroglyphics.com

Russ Mills is AMAZING! I love this so much.

I complain about him daily, bitch about having to pick up his...

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:19:15 -0600

I complain about him daily, bitch about having to pick up his dirty clothes, argue with him about the stupidest things, wish he would just be quiet when I’m trying to focus…. but when he’s gone, I miss him every second and fall in love with him all over again.

Five and a half years, so clearly we’re doing something right.

(I still wish he would pick up his damn clothes though. :P )

Facebook 25 Things Meme

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:42:26 -0600

I don’t post enough, so I’ll share this here too.

1. two or three years ago, I probably would have said I’d been in love three times in my life, but I’ve since made the distinction between love and infatuation. I’ve been in love once, and I am happy.

2. I never struggled with my sexuality. In fact, I have always liked that I’m gay. it made me ‘special’ and interesting. :)

3. In fact, I think being gay has actually made my life better. If I were straight, I sincerely doubt I would be anywhere near as motivated as I am now.

4. I think I would make a good drag queen, but will never actually do it. I find drag fascinating/thrilling though.

5. I often feel like the black sheep in my family, but it doesn’t really bother me.

6. I really like my feet. They have high arches and are purdy.

7. I have always wanted to live in a house with a furnished basement I can claim as a movie room/library. I love watching movies in cool, dark basements.

8. Getting to know myself over the last two years has made me realize I like who I am. Haters to the left.

9. I believe in ghosts and am absolutely terrified at the thought of waking up to see someone standing at the end of my bed.

10. My mother used to think I was psychic because I could tell her times and dates of phone calls she would receive, knew my uncle was going to die before it happened, and had creepy dreams about things I shouldn’t have known about. Oooooo.

11. I have a recurring dream where I’m still in high school, it’s the end of semester, and I’ve suddenly realized I’m supposed to be in my math exam. Dream-Jared is freaking out because he realized he meant to withdraw from the class, never did, and is now going to fail the class. I always wake up really confused, stressed, and disoriented. All the time.

12. I’m currently loving Korean pop music. I don’t know what any of the songs are about, but whatever.

13. The idea of quitting my job, selling my possessions, and moving to a different country to be a drifter seems frighteningly appealing to me sometimes. And I LIKE my job…

14. If I had to choose between saving a stranger, or a stranger’s dog from a burning house, I might just pick the dog. And I realize this makes me look horribly fucked up.

15. I’ve become increasingly interested in non-fiction literature in the last two years. Recent favorites all deal with the Cultural Revolution and Tiananmen Square Massacre in China. Used to hate history class, but am loving it now.

16. I’ve always kinda assumed I was going to die tragically. That sounds more dramatic then it should.

17. I’m incredibly bad at keeping friendships alive. It’s not because I don’t care, (because I really do) but I naturally tend to keep to myself and enjoy my own company. Maintaining friendships takes effort for me sometimes. The fact I still have several close friends really does surprise me.

18. My dad remarried without telling me or inviting me to the wedding. He’s called me once in the past six years and I’ve never actually been introduced to his wife or two new kids. But I’m not mad at him. I actually feel kinda bad for him to be honest.

19. I will always have a strong attachment to ‘Jurassic Park’ for reasons I can’t really explain to anyone else. To simplify, the movie means a lot to me for a bunch of emotional reasons.

20. I have only been able to hold one grudge in my life and I think I’m getting over it finally. I just can’t stay mad at people. Too much wasted energy.

21. There are only two things I’ve ever wanted in my life but haven’t acted on yet. I’ve been very fortunate to have acted on almost all of my desires and have been fairly successful with them. There’s still time for those final two.

22. I’ve moved nine times since graduating high school six(?) years ago.

23. I’ve eaten more ketchup then most people will eat in their entire lives. I eat a disgusting amount of condiments.

24. I like to think I have decent fashion sense, but absolutely refuse to give up my birkenstocks.

25. I sometimes worry I’m sociopathic because I get really uncomfortable when people are upset and I never know how to respond correctly.

Chiang Mai, Thailand 56 Days. :D

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:19:45 -0600

Chiang Mai, Thailand

56 Days. :D

Saving Jane - Ordinary In love with this song today.

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:10:10 -0600

Saving Jane - Ordinary

In love with this song today.

Smile Friday. Figured I should join in the fun for once…...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:00:19 -0600

Smile Friday. Figured I should join in the fun for once… yay?

mojaam: (via magiclysslyss)

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:47:29 -0600

mojaam:

(via magiclysslyss)

T-Mobile commercial. I love stuff like this. :)

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:34:24 -0600

T-Mobile commercial. I love stuff like this. :)

via static.guim.co.uk 70 days and counting until...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:05:45 -0600

via static.guim.co.uk

70 days and counting until paradise…

via www.geekologie.com I wish someone would make me awesome...

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:36:10 -0600

via www.geekologie.com

I wish someone would make me awesome geeky bentos boxes!

jamesraymond: i love these. I always laugh at these too. :)...

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:19:10 -0600

jamesraymond:

i love these.

I always laugh at these too. :) This one, though hilarious, is a little bit sad at the same time.

via i43.tinypic.com I’m really excited for an old-school...

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:36:29 -0600

via i43.tinypic.com

I’m really excited for an old-school Disney animated movie.