rasco a go-go

Taking the guy out of MacGyver

I'm thinking that there should be Lady Scouts. Girl Scouts are lame, or at least they were when I was one. We made a lot of hideous crafts and did things that even in first grade struck me as being really not very...scout-like. Boys tied knots and did survival things, we practiced pet and child care, music appreciation, and dancing in poodle skirts at the annual father-daughter sock hop.

Lady Scouts will make up for Girl Scouts--real survival skills for the real world, McGyver-style. I thought this up this morning, as I arrived late to work. We were leaving in half an hour for an AMA luncheon I hadn't know we had, and I was wearing no makeup and had dirty hair in a headband. So hot, so not the ideal costume for the day. What's a girl to do? Invent makeup from office supplies on her desk, that's what.

I have subtle gray eyeshadow and natural-looking cheek stain, courtesy of Crayola markers and water. I have ballpoint pen eyeliner. I have on real lipstick. Blending marker over my eyelids, my mind wandered to the other things you wind up doing to look presentable in a pinch. Merit badges for things like dry-shaving with a disposable razor an airplane bathroom. Or inventing new day-to-night looks by taping your skirt hem up. Or outsmarting the people who dismiss you because you're not a guy. And surprise attack house guest hostessing! That should definitely be one.

Me As A Teenager

Hello! *waves at the people here from me getting linked*

This is from a meme here that I saw on Laughing Squid. I'm late to the party, but this was really fun to do. I love all the ones from artists who were angry young goths and have grown up to be pretty normal and a lot less grumpy. You should probably send the link to your favorite parent of an angst-ridden artistic high schooler. Here's teenager me and me now, which you can see bigger on Flickr if you click the pictures. I sketched them pretty quickly during a meeting yesterday...
 

If you haven't done something like this, I would highly encourage you to do it. Loads of fun. This is cross-posted at the Doodle, which probably means I'm not going to illustrate the IF theme o' the week, which is Seed.

Thinking Points

Three quotes tacked up on my wall at work right now...

 

Where do you get that thing that holds your eyes open from A Clockwork Orange? I need one.

I have a wicked case of insomnia and haven't fallen asleep before 3.00 am in over a month now. Wheee! That's a big part of why I can't throw together helpful tips about onions or knife sharpening or plant killing in a brief video for our mutual enjoyment. I should learn to not open my mouth about great ideas I come up with, because once they're out? It's like a guarantee that I'm not going to get them done. Maybe I'll be able to sleep and my brain will work again in the next couple of days. That would be neat.

When I can't sleep for this long, I can't focus enough to read or do anything really useful. Instead, I sit in Photoshop and correct things that are barely visible or smooth pixels. It's soothing, monotonous, and does something nice for the tiny streak of OCD I like to keep in my rainbow of crazy. It'll be nice when it's over, but for now, I'll take the quiet time and Zen-like focus. But seriously, I managed to listen to eight albums of The Smiths straight through without noticing how many hours I'd been sitting there. Yes, I know how clichéd it is that I'm making self-indulgent non-art while listening to 80's indie rock, but come on... how can you not like this song?

There's a new post up at the Doodles. This week's theme was Wrinkles, and I'm proud of getting an entry done and up before Thursday. Go me! In no way does this have anything to do with Photoshop, other than that I used it to crop the image out of a big sheet of paper and drop it on top of the index card. I'm really happy with the way it came out and the vintage feel of it. It reminds me of the recipes we have from the last four generations of women.

P.S. I love you, but please don't email me to tell me what I should try for sleep. Unless it's a new prescription, I've probably tried it already. This is just something that happens every few years, then it's over. I'll be fine.

In Living Color

Hey, internet! What's new with you? Cool...

I've been immersed in the wonderful world of video blogging (or vlogging, if you're hip to the jive) for the past week or so. This is evidenced by the working corner of my room, which has been decorated with the contents of two pads of post-its, each one an idea or thing I need to remember or hot application to check out. This morning, I had an appointment with our guru at his studio for a guerrilla-style training session, which left my brain very full. I'm really excited about it, and nervous, of course.

My new computer for creative stuff has a built-in camera. I've been up late late late practicing recording and editing myself. It's hard, but I'm not as heinously awful as I'd been afraid of. The two problems are 1. that I look up and tilt my head a lot, which is cute if you're Abraham or a little girl, but weird on me, and 2. that when I am nervous, my accent gets worse, and I sound much more Southern than I am. I'd noticed this a leeetle bit on voice chat before, and I've heard myself do it in unfamiliar situations. This must be overcome. Meh.

But! I was thinking of experimenting on you before I experiment on the company's live site and scare off all the potential clients with the crazy eyes and accent. I think it might be tutorial time... that or I can show you Cash's neutering scar. You guys would probably rather see me mince an onion or write my name or have an exciting dance break. I'm going to think of something and write it down on my new batch of post-its. They're stars...like me. *covers ears to block out the groans*