What is this?

This isn't a chair. Well, can you sit on it?

This isn't a pipe; of course it isn't. It is merely a painting of a container that people use to smoke tobacco in; and that container is called a pipe.

Semiotics for Beginners

More notes on Semiotics

On the sidelines: Plato, a great Greek philosopher, used to believe that arts were dangerous, because they simply imitated physical things. He thought that arts take us away from reality, towards illusion; that they might cloud the truth rather than clarifying it.

Geninne's Art Blog and Rashmi

Geninne's Art Blog. Is. Super. Amazing. She's soo talented! Definitely my favourite new artist/blog.

I can't help but stare at her beautiful artwork for hours! She hasn't been tutored on how to paint. She just ... paints! She says that this has helped develop her own unique, independent style. I believe that, too. For example, if I were to design a brochure, I try not to look at what other people have designed already, because that would stunt my creativity, and I'd just try to design something that lots of other people have done. Yep, just my two cents for today!

Geninne also inspired me to paint some today ... :) Also, watch her paint.

Edit: Can you guys find a Follow button on Geninne's blog? I do so want to follow her, but I can't find the button!!

Aaaaaaand introducing ...

Rashmi's new blog! I'm contributing! We don't have anything up yet, but we will, very very soon! It's a different type of a blog than the Graphic Bee, for sure!

Just a random rant, but ...

Everything is a competition, isn't it? For example, there was this competition where you were supposed to send in your entry to win a great prize. And, if you didn't win, no matter, you were still in the competition to win another great prize, if only you voted for the best entry in the original competition! I mean, that's just great, isn't it?!

It kind of relates to what I read on Wiki about a year ago, on Generation Y [my generation!]:

The Millennials are sometimes called the "Trophy Generation", or "Trophy Kids," a term that reflects the trend in competitive sports, as well as many other aspects of life, where "no one loses" and everyone gets a "Thanks for Participating" trophy and symbolizing a perceived sense of entitlement. It has been reported that this is an issue in corporate environments. Some employers are concerned that Millennials have too great expectations from the workplace and desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace.

Don't get me wrong, though, I love my competitions, and I love how if you win, you get that much of an industry exposure; and, of course, it looks good on your CV!

Possibly the most funniest joke I have ever heard

And possibly my longest blog post title to date ... Anyway, here's the joke:

An English lady, while visiting Switzerland, was looking for a room for a more extended stay, and she asked the schoolmaster if he could recommend any to her. He took her to see several rooms, and when everything was settled, the lady returned to her home to make the final preparations to move.

When she arrived home, the thought suddenly occurred to her that she had not seen a "W.C." around the place. So she immediately wrote a note to the schoolmaster asking him if there were a "W.C." near the room.

The schoolmaster was a very poor student of English, so he asked the parish priest if he could help in the matter. Together they tried to discover the meaning of the letters "W.C.," and the only solution they could come up with for the letters was for a Wayside Chapel. The schoolmaster then wrote the following note to the English lady:

Dear Madam: 

I take great pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated nine miles from the room that you will occupy, in the center of a beautiful grove of pine trees surrounded by lovely grounds. It is capable of holding about 229 people and it is only open on Sunday and Thursday.

As there are a great number of people who are expected during the summer months, I would suggest that you come early; although, as a rule, there is plenty of standing room. You will no doubt be glad to hear that a good number of people bring their lunch and make a day of it. While others who can afford to go by car arrive just in time.

I would especially recommend that your ladyship go on Thursday when there is a musical accompaniment. It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C. and it was there that she met her husband.

I can remember the rush there was for seats. There were ten people to a seat ordinarily occupied by one. It was wonderful to see the expression on their faces. The newest attraction is a bell donated by a wealthy resident of the district. It rings every time a person enters.

A bazaar is to be held to provide plush seats for all the people, since they feel it is a long felt need. My wife is rather delicate, so she can't attend regularly. I shall be delighted to reserve the best seat for you, if you wish, where you will be seen by everyone.

For the children, there is a special time and place so they will not disturb the elders.

Hoping to have been of service to you, I remain,

Sincerely,

The Schoolmaster.

----

I had first read it in a newspaper, when I was about 12. I've tried to find this copy for so long! And then it struck me - it'll be on the Internet! D'oh! And here it was! And for those who didn't get it, the W.C. that the English lady was asking about, stands for Water Closet, or in Indian lingo, a Western Commode.

Flowers

I love flowers. Who doesn't? This week in particular, I was reminded of the silly antics my friends and I used to perform with flowers (when we were really little), as I typed up about 20 pages from a botany book on ... you guessed it, flowers, for an assignment.

First up is the crazy beautiful Gulmohar flower. It grows in India, and I haven't yet seen one Gulmohar tree in New Zealand. Four of its fan-shaped petals are bright red, and one of them pale yellow, spotted and specked with red. How purdy is that?! It has five [no more, no less] calyxes {ooh, trying to sound flashier by using botanical terms ;) }, as seen in the picture:

Now, the trick is to remove the calyxes, peel the red bit off them - it comes off quite easy - so that the green shows through, and stick them on your fingernails. Voila, you're the Onida devil:

Alternatively, you could also pull the anthers off the flower, and use each one as a sword to pull off your opponent's spore-thingy on their anther. Yes, silly, I know. I guess I didn't realise back then that flowers were meant to be looked at, not picked at. Oh well ...

Second was the Conch flower [I just found out it was called that!]. We halved the outer conch, but didn't separate it from the flower. And it made the flower look like a bird (with the two halves its wings). 

Oh yeah, I also remember getting some water, some clear shampoo, and mixing it with random petals. Then I let my "flowery shampoo" stand for about a week. Then I realised that I had to throw it away. It just wasn't working. :P

That's a teensy bit of my childhood right there. Do you remember any of the silly things you did as a child, with flowers? Do share! :)

Edit: Have you used the Flowers application on Orisinal? I did. One day last year, I just sent a bunch of flowers to a bunch of lovely friends. I also downloaded some tracks from Orisinal, they're just so so lovely to hear! Let me know if you want me to post the link to where I got them from!

PETA

Hi peoples ... I was just watching the PETA campaign videos [links at the end of the post] ... they are so cruel, and so disturbing.  It shouldn't be this way ... harmless, innocent animals are killed without a reason ... don't they get a chance to live? Ok, granted there are people in the world who need/like eating meat. Shouldn't these animals then be killed the fastest way possible, and painlessly? It sure isn't happening at McDonalds, or KFC ... just check out the videos.

I have never before been so interested in animal rights, well, because never before have I seen the cruelty that is inflicted upon so many innocent lives ... and to see them chirping, panting, trying to get away, and knowing that they're going to die ... well, it affected me greatly. My friend Rashmi has her own new blog, and has mentioned on it that she is turning vegetarian. I am happy for her, because I know that she loves [used to love!?] chicken, and this has been a big decision for her.

I hope these videos will make you just as conscious of the horrifying underbelly of the meat producing department of our favourite fast food restaurants as it did me ...

McCruelty

Kentucky Fried Cruelty

Plus, if you go on to the PETA website, they have more links and videos. Check out their campaigns, too. 

White

I especially love the peaceful white Dove,

the majestic white Tiger,

and last and my most favourite, the magnificent white Peacock.

We know that doves, tigers, and peacocks are found in their coloured-in versions too, but don't these look absolutely stunning and ethereal?! And speaking of colours ...

How would you like it if your chocolate was teal in colour? Would you still eat it? I asked a couple of my friends, and they said they wouldn't. Isn't it interesting that if colours were moved around, we probably wouldn't approach something in the same way. For example, a teal chocolate [or that green mint ice cream that no one I know likes]!

p.s.: Errr ... no. We weren't given teal chocolate for Easter. The photo's just been tampered with, in Photoshop ;)

p.p.s.: I absolutely love mint ice cream. It's pretty mint! Ok, enough with the bad puns!

Dove, Tiger, and Peacock photos from Google Images.

My last ever post.

Yes, I think that today's the day I get to think a lot: on how my past teenage life went, what I learnt, what I regret, etc.

I'm writing all my thoughts down. [On a piece of paper, not on this blog!]. I'm sealing them shut. I'm putting it in a safe container, along with things such as: my phone that doesn't work anymore [after I accidentally spilt orange juice on it]. A book that I made. A lei that I received for leavers dinner at school. Some photos. Some letters addressed to me. My broken iPod earphones. Maybe a newspaper and a magazine. Maybe a t-shirt. Other things that I think of during the day.

I'll open the time capsule when I turn 50. Because as I said before, 50, like 20, is a cool milestone. The hardest part is resisting to open anything before that! A friend says that this is an unrealistic mission. Anyhow, I'm being optimistic, and hoping I can do this!

If you want to write anything to my 50-year-old [haha!] self, please do so in the comments, and I'll print a copy out and put it in my capsule!

Goodbye.

You will never hear [I mean read!] from me ever again.

Gandhali the Teen.

I thunk

I have a

right now. And yes, that image just makes it worse. [And yes, that image is supposed to do that]. Even thinking about the word "thunk" makes my head split. Mmm. But I had promised myself that I'd post today, mainly because I've been taking lots of little gaps in between.

Anyway, my blog and I are getting older. My bloggle will turn one on the 24th of this month, and I shall turn 20 on the 16th. Exciting, yes? [I think it's also Stephanie's birthday on the 24th, but I could be wrong!]

There's a sweet smell at my table where I'm sitting, but I don't know where it's coming from, and it's annoying me now.

[Still not rich enough to host giveaways ... sorry ... but I will be linking to some freebies soon]

Edit: Aha! I knew it! [No, I really didn't]. That sickeningly sweet smell is of marshmallows!! Yes, I'm a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, but I still eat marshmallows ... they're too good to resist! Plus, I didn't know they contained gelatin until this year, so meh ... might as well keep eating!

p.s.: Hmmm. Too many marshmallows, blueberries and soap [for the newbees here: "soap" links to the May archive, where I'd posted lots on soap] on my blog this year, don't you think?

p.p.s.: My headache's slightly better now, can you tell?!

p.p.p.s.: Ooooh, "newbees", get it?! Ah, I make myself laugh.

p.p.p.p.s.: I could go on like this forever.

p.p.p.p.p.s.: Really!

Could Of.

Have you ever read the phrase 'could of/would of/should of' and gotten just as puzzled as me? Is it grammatically correct? Or no?

Today's Word of the Day:

Harry (verb): Persistently carry out attacks on an enemy/an enemy's territory.

p.s.: No wonder Voldy is so intent on harrying Harry.

Ploughing through ...

Hola, amiga! How's it? As my title suggests, I am indeed still ploughing through assignments ... and so still can't blog as much as I'd like to ...

Having said that, I'll take leave for today with some randomoes:

Link - 

This is Kandee Johnson's blog, and I'm going to follow it soon-ish. She's so cheerful. She has the most amazing style/make-up tips. Ever. She's also a freelance makeup artist working in the US of A. If you're wondering, this is her youtube channel.

Thought - 

I met the nicest stranger today ...

Poem - 

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

Song - 

"The Call" by Regina Spektor from Prince Caspian [love that movie!]. I only got it about a week ago, and I've listened to it 81 times according to my iTunes.

Hmmm -

I'm thinking of joining Twitter. Hmmm.

Movie -

Bridge to Terabithia. Seriously. AnnaSophia Robb is the awesomest. [Cannot believe that the whole movie was shot in Auckland, and I still missed it :( ... oh well. Ooh, and the museum that Miss Edmunds takes Jess to? That's the Auckland War Memorial museum! It's beautiful, it's the most photographed building in Auckland (I thought it'd've been the Sky Tower!), and I've been there a couple of times ...]

Bleh -

Thou shalt not label this post as bleh. Come onnnn this is the best I can do when I have three portraits to finish, three rationales to write, and one illustration book to do. :D

Edit: Whoopsies, forgot the disclaimer! Yup, the poem is copyright J. R. R. Tolkien, not me. 

And, of course, Today's Word of the Day:

Bleh (not in the dictionary): This is a word Gandhali made up, and it pretty much means "Blah", but she's sure that you figured that much. :D [Edit 2: So, I just found out that 'bleh' is in the urban dictionary. Oh well, I had made it up for my use, so ... meh.]

Half Blood Prince

::SPOILERS AHEAD::

And so it did. Release, I mean. And let me tell you: this was the best Harry Potter movie. Ever. According to me, of course. It was hilarious. It was dark. It was scary at times. It was fast. It had some bits added, but these bits were still good [e.g. the scene where Hermione asks Harry, "Is this what it feels like? When you look at Ginny?" and the waitress scene at the beginning]. 

Bad points? There were some ... It lacked action. No Hogwarts fight. Added in the Burrow burning [why?!]. Did not show Tom Riddle looking for places/things to hide the Horcruxes in. Ron and Hermione were simply there to be comic relief.

This is a good place to go if you've read the book, and want to know what you'll love + hate in the movie.

Today I am also thinking ...

Where was I when Wrigleys invented Blueberry flavour for their Extra brand? When I saw it, of course I had to buy it!

And so far, I have been impressed. Its packaging is purple, which is my favourite colour. It says that it helps to keep teeth and gums healthy. It is a 14-piece pack, and the pieces are individually wrapped, kept neatly in the envelope, just waiting to be eaten. The wrapping paper on each stick has cute cartoons on it [Kawaii!]. The gum is lilac in colour. The envelope is a thick card, and is easily re-sealable. It smells exactly like the Blueberry Pie I baked, no kidding.

Going to try it now ...

Quite a strong flavour there, but it's easily noticeable as blueberries. I like. But I recommend it only if you like blueberries. This is a I'll-eat-it-once-in-a-while kinda gum for me. Like the Green Apple. The dairy owner said it's really fast selling. Well, I suppose she'd say it, as she was selling it to me. But I bought it [pun intended].

Today I am thinking ...

Bus drivers are crazy beings. Honestly. Today, as I was getting home from uni, this bus [not mine] pulled up in front of me. All was going good, till a girl who was about to get on had the doors shut in her face. The bus driver stared the other way and pulled the bus out of the bus lane. She was left standing there, feebly waving at him to open the door. I mean, what is that all about?! And this is a bus that comes at an interval of every half an hour.

Has something like this ever happened to you?

Today I am Thinking ...

Isn't it funny ... that whenever someone mentions the word joker [and by this they may mean a jester, a clown, the card ... the wise fool from King Lear, even], the first thing that comes to my mind is The Joker from The Dark Knight [one of my most favourite movies!]? This happens to quite a few people that I know as well ... I think that our perception of the joker is changed forever [well, I think mine is, anyways].

Do you think so, too?

The Dark Knight poster copyright imdb, I'm not going to be using it for personal gain.

Today I am thinking ...

No, scratch thinking. I learnt something new today. That in blogger, you can change the colour of your font ["typeface" for Graphic Designers]. That is so very exciting. Though I certainly don't mean to change any colours; the colours I chose represent my blog well [...brown and gold ... bees ...].

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Okay, I know I'm being digressive these days [don't let that fool you; I've got heaps of cool things that I haven't been uploading due to .. er, laziness?]; but hey, I changed the secondary title thingy, so it's about everything ["the big picture"] AND Graphic Design.

So I watched Mumbai Meri Jaan the other day. Good movie, nicely shot, if a little slow sometimes. I generally cry while watching movies, but I didn't cry during this one. Then I saw the original song Mumbai Meri Jaan. Now that was something that definitely brought tears to my eyes. Originally from Mumbai, I saw just how much Mumbai ['Bombay' in those days] had changed. The roads were so clean, people-less to some extent, and people were so carefree. And then this movie, which shows how the train blasts back in 2006 had rocked Mumbai. Of course Mumbai, being Mumbai, steadied on in a day and people jumped on trains the next day [this is all from what I've heard; I was (unfortunately) not in Mumbai at the time] to go to work and college and to all those places Mumbaikars go to. All this made me realise how much I really love Mumbai, and that Mumbai is, indeed, my jaan.

This is what I thunk today. I'd love to hear your viewpoints.

Today I am thinking ....

These colours have these 'smell' associations [I think so, anyways. They're from my glitter pen collection]:

Violet: Grape
Dark Blue: Blueberry
Blue: Soap/freshly washed clothes drying on a line [mmm ...]
Dark Green: Melon
Light Green: Lime? I'm not too sure ...
Yellow: Banana
Orange: Orange. Duh!
Red: Strawberry
Brown: Chocolate [I was pleasantly surprised to find this out]
Pink: Candy Floss!
Black: Liquorice [and it honestly smelled like it too!]

So ...

Why does Silver smell of Watermelon? I really don't see the connection. Probably the makers couldn't come up with a silvery smell. Can you think of any?!

Today I am Thinking ...

Okay, so it's not really today, I've been thinking about this for a long time ...

What I don't get, is why are some products labelled "New and Improved"? I mean, if it's new, then it can't be improved, because, well, it's new! And if it's improved, then it's an existing product already, and can't be new.

What do you think?

P.S.: And why is the past tense of 'think' not 'thunk'? 'I Thunk' is going to be my label for my thinkings from now on. LOL.