Creative Commons to the Rescue!

I'm organizing an "Iron Webmaster"-style competition, based on a competition I read about sponsored by the World Organization of Webmasters. I'll give students a CD containing content, and the students will have four hours to create a website.

My largest role is content creation and assembly. I decided to use _______ as a subject (the blank is in case students are reading!). It's a great subject, huh? The problem is finding photos of ___________.

I looked at a few of the cheap stock sites (iStockPhoto, BigStockPhoto) but they were for the most part too restrictive. The school doesn't do business by credit card, so I have to purchase the images myself and get reimbursed later. I'm willing to do that, but most of the sites say I can't transfer the license, so that's a dead option.

I knew about Creative Commons -- heck, I'm not dead! -- but the only CC-site I knew about was MorgueFile. So I started exploring. Google lead me to stock.xchng, and then (best of all) Flickr's Creative Commons search page.

I've managed to pull together twenty-eight images of ___________, which I think is more than enough for our purposes. Now I'm writing (OK, cribbing) source documents like press releases and brochure text.

The contest is SATURDAY, so once again I'm behind schedule. I hoped to have everything finished by 3:00 PM, but it's, oh, 2:45 right now. And I need rules, and a scoring rubric, and gift certificates for the winning entries.

And did I mention I also need to work through a chapter for the video game class this evening?

Too much to do, and too little time.

It Figures.

I had it all figured out. I was going to cut back on my class load, get off my time-eating committee, and FINALLY go back to school.

I should have known something would screw it all up. Something always freaking does.

Our VP of Instruction has asked me to remain on the time-eating committee. I'm happy she recognizes my contribution. It's nice to know *someone* appreciates what I'm doing, when my own dean doesn't seem to care.

But now everything is awry again. I wrote an email saying I couldn't serve unless I knew how this would affect my load well in advance of Fall, and that this information needed to be communicated to my dean. I don't need another load argument.

Was so upset by all this upheaval that I sought comfort in retail therapy. Blew my weekly budget by going to Ross. I bought bedroom accessories, including a pink lampshade on clearance for $10.00.

Nothing in my life is going right, but damn it all -- my bedroom looks sensational.

Still Lost

I've spent all day cleaning, and my spare keys still haven't turned up. That means they're in the Room of Dread, the one room I've been avoiding because of the sheer number of small containers and drawers and boxes it contains -- the studio.

At least I've done a lot of laundry. I've also eaten a lot of pizza. My phone is in the car, too, and I can order pizza online without a telephone.

You wouldn't think there would be that much to clean in my house. I mean, I just had a party. But the sad truth is I kept all the closets firmly shut, along with the spare room and the studio. Plus the file cabinets were filled with piles and piles of junk, as was my Lane console table and the desk in the hallway.

So now I have a cleaner home, even if I still need to re-organize one closet. That closet will have to wait until Sunday, when I have a little bit of cash to spend on closet organizers. I'm $10 over this week's budget, but I honestly didn't plan for two days of pizza.

Tomorrow I have to take Dart to school for a high-school fair, and then come home and deal with the studio. Sunday I'll call a locksmith, I suppose.

Lost . . . And Cleaning

Lost in so many ways right now.

Lost my credit cards today -- panicked, and then realized they must be at home in my hallway bookcase, so I left campus to get them so I could eat lunch. Opened my front door, grabbed them, and then discovered I had lost my car keys.

Well, not lost precisely. I could see them -- sitting on the passenger seat of my locked car.

Took the bus back to school, twisted my ankle something awful walking the mile from the school's entrance to campus proper, and lost my temper.

I've also lost 1) a bet, 2) self-respect, 3) my temper again, and 4) my appetite.

Also think I'm loosing my mind. I cancelled a date because the guy wouldn't agree a video game conference made the perfect first-date experience. A *real* date, with a *real* guy who has actually called me twice times this week, and who offered to leave work this afternoon and come all the way from Plano to SlimJim my car.

I just can't go through with it.

Essay -- Better

I took my own crazy advice, consulted an online tarot program, and made the reading the base for my essay. I really enjoyed this!

---

I have struggled and struggled and struggled with this essay. Words are usually very easy -- I can complete perfect, dull, buzzword-filled essays inside of two hours. This is different. Since I need help I’ve turned to my favorite electronic/metaphysic/crap resource, the free online Tarot Card readings at facade.com. Tarot is wonderful because it always means exactly what you want it to mean, even if you don't know exactly what you mean yourself, which makes it perfect for this kind of endeavor. (Parse that ten times fast!) And I love all the symbolism.

I have asked facade.com "Why should I get an MFA in Art and Technology from UTD?" using the following deck and spread. (Italics represent text from facade.com.)

The Creative Process spread is designed specifically to peer into the nature of a project or creative undertaking, and shine a spotlight on the evolution of its parts. The International Icon Tarot renders traditional occult symbolism in Swiss iconography. It is a humorous and direct approach to divination, and one of our favorite new decks.

The center card will get us started:

The card in the middle represents the creative force behind the project, be it a person, organization, or other entity. Judgment: A swift and conclusive decision. The resolution of a matter long unanswered. A change in point of view, most frequently towards greater enlightenment. Final balancing of karma.

Attending UTD will be a "resolution to a matter long unanswered" – I have an MS in Educational Technology, but my heart's desire is to earn an MFA. When I started grad school in 1995 I couldn’t find any local multimedia programs that met my budget and needs, so I enrolled in the "next closest thing," and while I haven't exactly regretted my choice I haven't always bragged about it either. Attending UTD will naturally make me more enlightened, and hopefully help me to begin to reconcile the artist/technologist schism I’m faced with on a regular basis.

The card on the top represents imagination - the prophetic image that stems from the creative force of the previous card to initiate the project. This is the poetry or voice of the undertaking. Knight of Wands, when reversed: The dark essence of fire, such as a great conflagration: One filled with vitality and limitless appetite. A sexy and exciting person, obsessed with style and outward appearance, overconfident in their abilities, and foolhardy in their actions. . . . Anxiety over remaining in one place or with one person for too long. . . . Often suggests travel as the result of discord, or cruel indifference.

Wow, I wish I believed this stuff. “Anxiety over remaining in one place . . .” leaps out at me. I’ve been at NLC for ten years, starting our web design program in 1996 and expanding it over the past decade. It’s a well-rounded program, including twelve courses in areas such as Page Design, Web Multimedia, Animation, Project Management, Programming, and Web Graphics. I developed the initial curriculum for most of the classes, and have taught all of them at some point. But now I’m a little bored. While class materials always needs tweaking and occasional re-designing, the subject material itself isn’t a challenge any longer. I’ve tried to alleviate boredom by developing new, innovative classes (three introductory video game classes and a learning community) but these new courses haven’t been as successful as I want to be, mostly because I need to re-educate myself. I’d like to continue my studies in video games, specifically in 3D graphics, and also experiment more with video- and time-based media.

The card on the left represents emotion - the feelings aroused by or surrounding the ideation of the project that takes place in the previous card. This is the music or scent of the undertaking. The Fool: Fearlessness, imagination, open-mindedness, and an adventurous spirit. Freedom from cares and worries. Ideas, thoughts, and impulses coming from a completely unexpected place. Nonchalance at the threshold of gaining all or losing all. Extravagance and intoxication with life. The pure and undifferentiated power of creation itself, where ultimate knowledge and oblivion are unified.

This card seems naive for someone entering a graduate program, but I’m going to stick with it because it accurately captures my emotional state. I’m dying to do things that are free from my bread-and-butter work. I want to play with software to see what strange, wonderful things it can do, free of subject mastery concerns. I need to experiment with color and line for their own sake, instead of trying to match a client’s logo or image. I want to build flowers that have never existed. Make virtual rooms, populate them with Eames furniture, and paper them with pop-art murals. Build interfaces for computer programs that make recipes from randomly-chosen ingredients.

The card on the bottom represents thought - the analytical process of organizing the project and capturing the emotional content of the previous card. This is the science or vision of the undertaking. The Magician: Mastery over word, mind, and matter. The ability to turn ideas into actions, handle problems, and control one's life. The initiation of new projects, great works, or a new way of life. Eloquent and moving communication. Arcane and eldritch technologies.

“Mastery over word, mind, and matter” . . . I want to create art that will let me exercise my technical skills, my design skills, and my verbal skills. I feel one of my best strengths is integration, but I live in a world of increasing specialization and separation. “The initiation of . . . a new way of life.” Unlike many essay-writers I don’t have a grand, over-reaching plan. Instead I do what is immediate and interesting, then later find some canny way to shoehorn it into my vita. It’s worked so far. (Insert wood-knocking sound.)

The card on the right represents manifestation - the real work involved in completing the project, and the form it will take upon culmination. This is the painting or touch of the undertaking. Six of Swords (Science): Trusting in intelligence and intuition and setting off into the unknown. Leaving an untenable situation and charting a new course. Passage from difficulty and progress towards a solution. The road to recovery. Travel and exploration.

What a nice summation. It’s almost like I drew this card deliberately. An education from UTD will give me more confidence, allowing me to trust my “intelligence and intuition.” The MFA degree will possibly help me “chart a new course” by transitioning from a technology instructor into art faculty. And (most importantly) my new education will open new doors. It will be the dawn of a new, more satisfying journey.

My PhD Essay -- It Sucks!

Struggling with my PhD entrance essay. It has to be a 650-word reflective essay outlining my professional and academic goals.

I don't think I've ever written so many words with so little impact.

Gods. I can't tell them the truth -- I want to play!! Just let me in the door so I can play with color and line, so I can dance with shadows and light. I want to mess with software without worrying about learning objectives or customer needs. I don't want to be particularly innovative, I don't want to make a difference or an impact or do new research. All I want to do is make their classrooms into my personal sandbox.

And I can't communicate that. I can't talk about the things that are really important to me -- creativity, personal intuition, and the intersections between our personal and professional lives; all those wonderful serendipitous moments when what we do all damn day suddenly reflects who we are, at the deepest and most personal levels. When the solution to a problem materializes while working on a different problem, when we see connections that don't exist for other people. When a joke becomes a turning point, when a "required class" becomes a new visual and virtual touchstone in your existence.

It just doesn't work. How can you write an essay outlining your professional goals when your entire career has been based on chance happenings and random jokes? How do you tell people you're just doing what feels right, that they have to accept you on faith?

It's like they say in Shakespeare in Love -- it's a mystery. And I don't want to pin it down with too many words, or mire it in polite goal-meeting white lies.

Maybe I should just send them a computerized tarot reading instead of an essay?

Party Wrap

The party is over!!!! I slept all day Sunday, excepting one brief trip to buy a new black shirt. (Mine had an unfortunate bleaching accident.)

Everyone seemed to enjoy the quesidillas. I'm happy I bought the extra electric griddle -- it made all the difference in the world. Everyone was also very complimentary about my home. The rice-paper lamps were a big hit, along with my bedroom floor and the origami scattered throughout the living room.

I think it went really well. Everyone left by midnight, which was a little disappointing, but I have to remind myself we're in our thirties now. (Damn.) And the $145 in games I bought went mostly unplayed, except for a few hands of Pit people probably played (say THAT ten times fast!) just to make me happy.

Story of my life, there. I don't have anyone to play with.

Anyway, now it's time for payback. I'm on a $100-a-week budget. That's after bills, gas, and groceries. I have to do all my eating out, decorating, books, and fun on this tiny budget so I can start paying off my credit card bills. The party thankfully didn't cost as much as I expected, but the bills are still there, hanging heinously over my head.

I've a list of small things to do around the house, things which don't require any money. Dull things, like "clean closet." Maybe in August I'll be out from all this debt, and can have a little fun. Maybe buy a new sofa or something.