September 23, 2004

Ryan McGinness

"I struggle to produce work with an honest language that is uniquely my own but that resonates a universal truth while coming to terms with the fact that I'm just like everybody else."
—Ryan McGinness, inspiration=ideas: A Creativity Sourcebook for Graphic Designers

McGinness is talking about graphic design, but I think this statement rings true for myself, both in writing and in graphic design. In the one realm (writing), I feel like I'm on the road to developing my own voice. In the other (graphic design), I feel like I'm just starting out.

I interpret his mention of "universal truths" with something along the lines of "universal acceptance." McGinness's designs have a very personal feel to them, yet are also easily accessible. I'd like my own stories to hold this same quality: not art for art's sake, but also not art for the mass's sake. I think there's an attainable balance there, and I think it has something to do with the last part of his statement: coming to terms with the fact that I'm just another reader as well as writer. He writes earlier in the book that he is "a producer and a consumer." It's an important self-awareness to acknowledge because by understanding what things interest me in the stories of others, I can gleam some truth about what should go into my own stories. And yet, being self-aware that this process is going on helps me forge my own voice, rather than simply writing to sell books or be popular.

Posted by kenji at 12:52 PM

September 22, 2004

Solo pic of SoHo


Gabe's SoHo Apartment, originally uploaded by kenjisan.

Jon was kind enough to lend me his new digital camera for my trip to New York. My plan was to take lots of great pictures. I took one. Here's Gabe's nice studio just at the border between Soho and Greenwich Villiage.

Notes: The chair he's sitting in has been his salvation, allowing him to move about the room without having to crawl/slide across the floor. The cat's most likely under the bed. The picture frames to the right will one day be red. Gabe has both an air mattress and a futon for guests to sleep on. He's very accommodating, despite his shattered leg and has instructed me to spread the word that his apartment is always open.

Thanks Gabe for having us, it was a lot of fun.

Posted by kenji at 12:15 PM | Comments (1)

September 20, 2004

Autumn at last

This is my favorite time of the year. It's 55 degrees outside and I can once again wear a jacket or a sweater without sweating. It's more than just fashion options, though. There's something about the cripsness in the air that brings to mind renewal.

Talking with my boss last week about certain memory-related smells, she told me that there was a particular smell around this time that always made her sad. For me, I think this smell brings to mind a mix of emotions, some of which are said, most of which are exciting. For me, Fall has always been a time for new things: the beginning of school, the return to Charlottesville, leaving for London, starting my job here, starting a relationship with Cyndi. This past weekend in New York (thanks Gabe!), I kept getting that feeling, like I'm ready for something new. Like maybe I'm done with this whole working thing. It takes up too much precious time.

Maybe it's time to move? Maybe it's time to quit my job and live on the streets? Or maybe I should just keep on doing what I've been doing, enjoy the sensation in the air, and stop thinking so much about it.

Posted by kenji at 08:48 AM | Comments (6)

September 19, 2004

1-11

Boston, how could you?

Posted by kenji at 08:46 AM | Comments (2)

September 17, 2004

Truly misc.

Some Friday thoughts I had on the way in:


  • Hot coffee is good. Iced coffee is good. Why is everything in between so disgusting?
  • The Rushmore soundtrack makes me think of Autumn, specifically Autumn in San Francisco. I need to watch that movie again.
  • Fable is an incredible game. Last night, I got the barmaid drunk, seduced her, and married her. We have had sex three times.
  • While getting run over by an SUV would be bad, I think it would be worse to get run over by a normal sedan.
  • In an amazingly "Jon" moment, I'm suddenly completely overwhelmed with things I want to do and I know that I can't do them all. I need to start sacrificing things, like eating and sleeping.
  • I'm starting to become a folk music fan. Wow.

Posted by kenji at 08:56 AM | Comments (1)

September 16, 2004

Fable made me do it

Yes, I did keep playing this game, even after poker. Shame on me? *Shrugs*

First impressions:
Wow. Yesterday, I ran around kicking chickens. This earned me the nickname "Chicken Chaser." I think that everyone starts with this name, but then again, everyone I know who's played it also was kicking chickens. I also learned to use magic, my bow, and my sword, humiliating that brat Whisper in front of her big brother. When I was released as a hero into the world (at a ceremony that I attended shirtless), I quickly starting doing good deeds in the name of myself.

I really haven't played it all that much—just a few hours—but it really does seem as open as they all said it was. In the world, you can do any number of things, but the great thing about it is that there are consequences to all of those things. Punch that stupid kid and the guards come after you. Rifle through your neighbors things and you could get busted.

More on this later.

Posted by kenji at 08:47 AM | Comments (3)

September 15, 2004

Cross-platform rosetta stone?

Wired News: Step Toward Universal Computing

Reading this article, I got the surreal feeling I usually associate with dreaming. You know the one: someone has just told you that not only have you inherited $77 million, but you've also been granted the ability to fly. It's cool, right, but then you wake up and it's not cool. Well, I feel I'm having one of those dreams right now.

Transitive Corp. claims they have developed a universal emulator and the ability for any program to be used on any platform. Not impressed? Not only does QuickTransit fully utilize your computer's graphics card (something SoftPC has stumbled with), but it also supports "about 80 percent computational performance on the main processor." They claim there is no noticeable loss of performance. Still not impressed? They claim the "hardware virtualizor" works seamlessly. Analyst Jim Turley reports, "It's remarkable because it's unremarkable (to see it in action): It just works."

Will this spell "the end" for Mac/PC fisticuffs? Will I really get to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 on my Mac? And all you PC users, Marathon could finally be yours.

I don't really know. I'm not even sure if this is a dream or not. I could be waking up here momentarily, shaking my head over all the wonderful things that could have been...

Posted by kenji at 02:22 PM | Comments (1)

September 13, 2004

Short, boring dream entry

Last night I dreamt that I was a paranoid schizophrenic and I kept hearing voices and seeing things out of the corner of my eye. When I woke up, I spent a long time pondering how much bigger my room would look if I replaced my bed with a sofa, which I slept on.

I'm not sure what it means, but it stirred an interesting conversation with Jon about the meaning of dreams. It's funny how we need to put order into the unordered. A dream could be nothing more than a kaleidescope of the previous day's impressions, and yet they must mean something more. It reminds me of that article about how people think their iPods are smarter than they really are (via kwc.org).

And yet, I think there's something to be said about my opening paragraph. Of all those random images that were speeding through my sleeping brain, I clung to that one image/idea of me being a schizophrenic. Surely there's something to be said for that.

Posted by kenji at 09:30 PM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2004

Camping Notes

This weekend, I set aside my city ways and went into the woods in search of spiritual enlightenment. Well, sort of. Big Meadows wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I mentioned camping, but it was still a lot of fun. I'd never been "drive-up" camping before, and while we weren't pitching our tent right next to the trusty Protege5, it wasn't like we were cursing ourselves when we forgot something either. It also didn't help that the people to the left and right of us had those propane lanterns that burned with the intensity of a thousand suns (the people to our left had two of them... two thousand suns?), and that another group somewhere in the distance had a not-so-talented folk soloist in their midst.

My boss asked me last week why people feel the need to forego a comfortable bed, running water, and all the conveniences of home and hearth. What draw is there to sleep on the ground in the woods?

Interestingly, without any media devices/input, it's really difficult to tell time. I literally have no idea what time I went to bed. I know it was dark. I know that it had been dark for some time. But was it an hour? Three hours? Six hours? I'll never know. Same goes for the time I woke up, and the only reason I know the answer to that one was because I checked. I thought it was 10. It was 8. Sounds kind of disheartening, but it was actually wonderfully freeing. I went to bed when I was tired, I woke up when I was not. Simple as that.

I'm not sure how to answer my boss's pragmatic questions. I don't know what compels me to camp, or hike, or do anything that has no obvious purpose. Even now, after doing it, all I can do is shrug and say, "It was fun." But I think there are intangibles to be taken into account here. Inspiration, for example. Wonder. And in the end, what's wrong with "It was fun." I enjoyed it. What better reason is there than that?

Posted by kenji at 09:03 PM

September 07, 2004

Turning 25

I don't know if it's the whole quarter-century thing, or the gray weather, or the long weekend without Cyndi, but my thoughts have been winding their way back into my past. It occurs to me that in the course of our lives, we touch so many others. Co-workers, classmates, friends, lovers. How is it that we can be so close to someone at one point in our lives, and then be so far away the next?

I've been wondering where many of my close friends of years gone by are now, and what they're doing, and (with a touch of selfishness) whether they're wondering what I'm doing. The internet's a weird place. It allows us to keep in close contact with some of our friends, but not all. Does this mean my childhood friends who e-mail me regularly were/are better friends than those who don't? I don't think so.

Looking at my life now, I can't even imagine drifting away from you guys. What would life be like without you? How can I forget about you? It bums me out. Or it did. I decided that whatever happens will happen, and there's not a whole lot I can do about any of it but enjoy the time now. There's certainly something to be said for ruminating on the past and future, but then again, we're not living in those times.

Posted by kenji at 04:00 PM

September 02, 2004

Supporting baseball

I just spent nearly $300 on Orioles baseball tickets this afternoon, and all those tickets (18) only cover two days of games! Sorry Din, I hate to support that douche-bag Angelos as well, but this is what it's like to be part of the Red Sox Nation. I'm an addict, and it only gets worse going into October.

Posted by kenji at 02:14 PM | Comments (1)