Nancy Elizabeth Townsend BLOGalicious - CART 254

Personal Travel

2006-10-31T10:53:00.000-05:00

Because I live downtown, I rarely have the need to take advantage of our lovely public transport system. I do however, always enjoy deciphering the maps of other cities public transit systmes, seeing as I have been lucky enough in my life to travel. This map is a 'metro map' of all the cities I have visited in my life so far, each colored line being a continent and every junction point being a major airport I went through to get those other continents. Pretty :D.

With Love,

2006-10-24T23:09:00.000-04:00

I was having a severe case of mental block with this assignment for some reason. It morphed from a threatening letter about Paris' Tinkerbell, to Mr.Patotoe head missing his eyebrows, to this little speck of randomness. The letter is to myself, inspired by my lack of any original idea. The simple explaination? My creativity was stolen of course. By the penguins. Duh.

"There is nothing that cannot be achieved by firm imagination."
-Japanese Proverb

"One by one, the penguins steal my sanity."
-California Bumper Sticker

Phone vs. Phone'

2006-10-15T15:41:00.000-04:00

Made for a class assignment, this low-budget independant 'commercial' is a parody of the famous 'Mac vs. Pc'. However instead of two personified competing platforms, these two characters compete as to whose phone is the most technologically advanced. In an age where the most basic function of a cellular is actually making calls, I foresee a battle of which most pint-sized blogject can fit the most crap. This is my vision.

Fast Streaming Low-Quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYjPTTe7V4

High Quality Server Version: http://www.hybrid.concordia.ca/~Mayonaka/CART251/phonevsfone.avi

Running Man

2006-10-13T09:50:00.000-04:00

We all know him. He's everywhere. The symbol stick man presents himself in the most intimate of places. The bathroom, the hospital, the instruction manual for condoms and tampons. I imagine that the stick man has a life just like us, going through similar malfunctions, mistakes, stress and immature amusement. My 5 symbols are a representation of how I think the stick man, or any man for that matter, would spend his Friday evenings. I struggled to keep my symbols as close to those we see everyday, using familiar shapes and colors to support my theme.

1. MEN AT WORK: I took the regulation shapes and colors for a construction site warning in this symbol, making this a more modern day men at work sign.

BAR CRAWL: The Martini glass symbol is found often in airports to direct passengers to the closest alcohol-selling establishment. Dear little stick man has entered the realm of direction sign posts and has drained it.

3. PARTY, YES: The silly cone hat is also a symbol, representing usually a party. This sign clearly stated that partying is all good to go.

4. DANGER. MAY LOSE SKIRT: I always hated how women are depicted in the stick man sign world. Nowadays with more men coming out wearing skirts and heels and women picking up sledghammers, the 'women' symbol is terribly outdated. The stick man thought so. Thus, the skirt was removed.

5. OOPS: And to finish off the series, accidents happen. Even to the stick man.

Semiotics

2006-10-10T20:47:00.000-04:00

Symbol 1: A symbol we all know and love, the Canadian flag is something we see daily around the city and feel an emotional, patriotic connection to. Flags are symbols of devotion and respect.
Symbol 2: Many of you can read kanji characters, but for those who don't this one means 'Willow' and it is tattoed on my upper left shoulder. It is a religious symbol.
Symbol 3: Obvious, yes. We depend on this little white man everyday to guide us safely across busy intersections.
Symbol 4: This one can mean many different things in different cultures. To those who live in Montreal, this is the distinct logo of the public transportation system. To the rest of the world, it is only an arrow used for direction.
Symbol 5: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." I follow that advice closely. Such a simple symbol is also a logo for power for my cherished iPod which is listen to daily.

Tiny Bubbles

2006-10-10T20:39:00.000-04:00

Using only black shapes as our only tools, the class was told to create patterns and designs relevant to emotions. This is what I came up with.

DEATH OF A SOFTWARE

2006-10-03T23:18:00.000-04:00

Another Assignment for CART251. I promise all these will be moved to their proper location once I sort of my website files that I accidentally deleted :S.

Till then, here's my Flash project. "DEATH OF A SOFTWARE".

http://www.hybrid.concordia.ca/~Mayonaka/CART251/playing.swf

Of Men and Motors

2006-10-03T18:07:00.000-04:00

My blobject can make every lonely woman’s fantasy to life, it can make their dreams all come true AND even do their boring home chores at the same time. All this and more is available at the click of a button. Impressive, no?

My blobject is an every day controller as you can see by previous sketches. However, what makes this controller unique is its 735 programmable capabilities and, of course, the model man itself which is the basis. There is a narrative shown in the following collage/drawings. The words in the first image and the color choices in the second list all the extravagant personality features and aesthetic details a woman looks for in her ideal mate. The third image denotes how, once having chosen the correct settings, these details can be applied to any drab male unit with radio frequencies that connect directly with his heart and brain, making him genuinely WANT to change and improve for your sake.

In the end any woman, even you, can obtain a happily ever after.

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony

2006-10-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

Saturday, September 30, 2006
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony: A Report.

Having bought tickets for this concert months ago, I was regrettably unable to attend the Concordia Fine Arts Art Crawl. In substitution, I choose to write a report instead on my experience at the symphony. Fellow classmate Samuel Bellemare also attended the show. See his Blog report for more information.

It was a cold and rainy night in Toronto, making the six city block walk down to the Hummingbird center in high heels quite the feat. However, it was all worth it in the end as the lights dimmed down and the concert began, beginning with an introduction to the special guests of the evening. Composer from all over the world (mainly Japan and the United States) gathered to watch the fruits of their labor performed by a sixty piece orchestra and choir all conducted by the Grammy-Award winning artist Arnie Roth.
The guests included Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (composer of the Shenmue series from Nintendo) who also delighted the audience with a surprise performance of ‘Daytona, USA’ on piano, Jason Hyes (composer of the World of Warcraft main themes), Jeremy Soule (the winner of the newly instated MTV Video Music award for Best Video Game Score for his work in the Elder Scrolls series), and, finally, one of my favorite and most famous composers of video game music for his work with in the FINAL FANTASY series, Nobuo Uematsu.
For those who are interested, the play list was as follows:

1. :: PLAY! A VIDEO GAME SYMPHONY :: Fanfare :: Nobuo Uematsu
2. :: FINAL FANTASY VIII :: Liberi Fatali :: Nobuo Uematsu
3. :: SUPER MARIO BROTHERS :: Suite :: Koji Kondo
4. :: SHENMUE AND SHENMUE II :: Sedge Tree :: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
5. :: BLACK :: Suite :: Various
6. :: FINAL FANTASY VII :: Aerith’s Theme :: Nobuo Uematsu
7. :: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG :: Suite :: Masato Nakamura
8. :: METAL GEAR SOLID :: Main Theme :: Various
9. :: KINGDOM HEARTS :: Suite :: Hikaru Utada

Intermission

10. :: ELDER SCROLLS III: MORROWIND :: Suite :: Jeremy Soule
11. :: FINAL FANTASY SERIES :: Swing de Chocobo :: Nobuo Uematsu
12. :: CHRONO TRIGGER AND CHRONO CROSS :: Suite :: Yasunori Mitsuda
13. :: WORLD OF WARCRAFT :: Suite :: Jason Hayes
14. :: SILENT HILL 2 :: Theme of Laura :: Akira Yamaoka
15. :: HALO :: Suite :: Michael Salvatori
16. :: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA :: Suite :: Koji Kondo
17. :: FINAL FANTASY VII :: One-Winged Angel :: Nobuo Uematsu

Each piece was accompanied, usually, by in-game footage from each series. However, one discrepancy I noted that was speculated as a problem with acquiring legal rights, was that no supplemental video was shown during the many pieces from the Final Fantasy series. Though disappointing, this did not take away from the power of the music itself. Two pieces were especially powerful, the one from the opening ‘Liberi Fatali’ and the closing ‘One-Winged Angel’ due to their strong, distinct, Latin lyrics, allowing the choir to finally showcase their abilities.
Another extraordinary addition was the performances by guest percussionist Rony Barrack in those pieces that included an original Latin-American beat such as in the “Chrono Cross” Suite and the jungle war-themes from “Black”.
The selection of compositions was, of course, exquisite, the audience enthusiastic and aside from the lack of Final Fantasy supplemental video and a few technical difficulties, the orchestra performed flawlessly and the music I’ve grown to love was stimulating in a way only a live performance can deliver.
I will most definitely be going to another of these shows if I am lucky enough to have them performed again in Canada, and I encourage others to keep an eye open for tickets as well.

Plastic Power

2006-09-26T23:27:00.000-04:00

The following are my three sketches of my cable controller. I use this item relatively often, not because I'm a TV-holic like the majoirty of our continent, but because it also controls the speakers to my sound systems. This one, tiny, piece of plastic can bend the will of the DVD player, the TV, the amplifyer, the cable box AND the radio all with the click of a button. Its power astounds me.

MONTAGE

2006-09-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

Due to the fact that I temporarily have no other place to put this assignment, I'll stick it here for the moment. This is the still version of my "Montage" assignment for CART251.

In order to see the better quality, LARGER and animated version of the project, feel free to click here -- http://www.hybrid.concordia.ca/~Mayonaka/CART251/velvet.mov

PART II - Paper Emotions

2006-09-19T15:37:00.000-04:00

HAPPY: Just because.

HUNGRY: A toast to our health.

MELANCHOLY: Emptiness. Never ending nothing.

ANGRY. Save yourself, be happy, be free. The answer to all the world's problems: Romance (by Ralph Lauren).

Cut. Paste. Rip. Cry. Sigh. Giggle. Glue.

2006-09-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

1. "Self Portrait"

Shrouded in desert mystery, I am more than two-faced. I am four-faced in this case. Different eyes, hair, lips and accessories depending on my mood. Happy, pensive, angry and childish. This is me, all at once for a change. Intimidating, I know.

2. "34 > 12"

The world is full of inequalities. First world in comparison to third world. The single man holding the gun is more powerful than the crowd of poor mourners stationed below. A person's weight, their status, their mathematical grandeur in the world depends on such small, seemingly insignificant details as weaponry, country of birth, and money. Statistics; the loss of ideals.

3. "Monkey"

Made with non representational images, an animal is created. Shapes cut out of fashion magazine photographs turn into the recognizable features of a cartoon monkey. And where else would you find the head of a monkey, but in a fashion magazine. The body is added as a tribute to the creations roots.

4. "I Want to Fly"

To fly is my target. But, regrettably, that is not humanely possible. I am stuck here, at the bottom, on the dirty edge, held down in a death grip by cherish possessions.

Unique...Just Like Everybody Else.

2006-09-09T18:44:00.000-04:00

Photo 1. Me/Urban Jungle

The whole point of this photo exercise is to make us recognizable in future classes, right? Something unique has to be found about each face, each stance, each style in order to individualize us, to tell us apart from the thousands of other students roaming these halls daily. "That girl with brown eyes and brown hair" is no longer an acceptable description. However, "that girl who wears the funny hats" would be enough to pinpoint me in the class crowd. Perhaps. Preferably not.

What makes us unique?

My name is Nancy-Elizabeth, though just 'Nancy' is more than enough. Sometimes, however (on special occasions), they call me: 'Half-Caf, Grande, Mocha, raspberry, Soy, with whip Latte'.

This is my alternate self, my representative in liquid form, my strange attribute that no other boring coffee drinkers can even fathom. This is my interpretive self.

Photo 2. Me/Myself/ and my beverage

I've been a patron of that same Starbucks on the corner of Parc and Laurier for almost two years now, and every employee smiles when I walk in the door. Automatically, they scribble my order on a grande cup while giving me a nod, as if we share a secret, before placing the cup on the bar and serving the customer ahead of me in line.

The employees of that Starbucks and I have an interesting relationship. We have never been introduced. We have never met outside of those heavily decorated cement walls. We have never stood side-by-side without a fake cedar plank separating us. But still we have a meaningful relationship, a mutual understanding which satisfies both our needs upon every meeting. They need patrons with addictive personalities, while I simply need a shot of caffeine. Just by knowing the title of my personalized beverage, they know more about me than any other strangers could ever possibly discover with one, innocent drink.

My standards are as follows:

Half-caf: I'm a student and thus often in need of a pick-me-up coffee, but too much obviously makes me jittery.

Marble Mocha and raspberry syrup: I find the dark chocolate to be too rich while the white chocolate is too sweet. I am a balanced person, always preferring to take a little of both instead of a large helping of only one. This may explain why I am so fickle...

Soy: I am lactose intolerant. Few people but family know that.

With whipped cream: I am indulgent, despite the pain it may cause me later.

Latte: My beverage is plain in simple in theory, except with a lot of decoration.

My name is Nancy-Elizabeth or, to special friends, 'half-caf, grande, soy, marble-mocha raspberry, with whip, latte'. Different names, same person, both dependent on coffee.

To Blog, or Not to Blog?

2006-09-07T20:50:00.000-04:00

Week 1 (September 6,2006)

Twenty -four hours after our first class of 'Design Fundamentals', and I am working hard at getting my old site www.mayonakaproductions.com up and running. But with my software being expired, forgetting my adminstrator passwords, and considering that the site is over two years old and in dire need of remodeling, I've decided to use blogger temporarily for my first few assignment posts.

I later intend to move everything I write here to my improved website. However, in the mean time, I am looking forward to completing assignment no. 1. Pictures on the way.

As for the Gummi Bears? They're sticky and in love. Let em' be. No matter how delicious.

(Yes. I have too much time on my hands.)

-Nancy