This is an interesting website featuring bad grammar and distasteful images, it's amazing what people will permanently ink onto their bodies. Imagine explaining some of these trashy tattoos to your grandchildren..!
http://ugliesttattoos.failblog.org/page/13/
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Sunday 27 March 2011
Assignment 4
For Assignment 4 we have been asked to conduct some 'interviews' on a topic of our own choice. I chose to use the topic 'What object do people treasure most? Why?' as my basis for these interviews. I chose this because it was the one I found most interesting - why do we treasure certain things? It is strange how something could be crap to one person but mean the world to another. So, I started off making a mind map to see what possible answers I could get from this question.
I thought of the obvious answers; family heirlooms, gifts etc, but then when I properly thought about it I realised that a lot of people probably treasure things that they have bought with their own (hard earned!) money more than things which were bought for them. This is most likely because it gives you a sense of achievement - it feels good to be able to afford something yourself.
Anyway, to conduct my interviews I thought I'd take advantage of my flatmate having some of her friends from her course over (psychology) since it would be an easy way to interview people in a comfortable environment that I didn't know personally. I managed to catch them before they had drank too much and got some valuable answers to my questions.
Apart from one minor mishap (a clumsy interviewee spilling a drink on my notes) all went well.
The first girl that I spoke to took a while to take it seriously, but she got there in the end. At first she was stumped by the question, not knowing how to reply. Then I noticed that she had been fingering a necklace the whole time she thought. When asked about the necklace she lit up - it had been her mothers. She claimed to have received the necklace on her 18th birthday from her mother and been delighted with it as she had admired it on her mother before. She said that she always had it on and could never part with it for any amount of money. She then went on to say she'd swap it for a bottle of vodka but I assumed that was a joke..!
Interview number two was with Becky. She immediately stated that her most treasured item was a blanket which she made with her mother and sister when she was young. She still had the blanket and used it as a throw on her bed. Although it may not be worth anything she said that she could never part with it - it held too many happy memories for her.
Craig said that his most treasured item was his car. I immediately thought 'typical boy answer' but then he said that he had bought it himself. Most guys that I know have had their cars bought for them, so I was pleasantly surprised. Craig went on to say that he worked very hard until he was 19 and saved up £2000 to buy his car. Despite the fact that his friends were driving about in brand new cars and he was in a second hand one, he still felt proud because it was something that he had achieved by himself, he hadn't just accepted money from his parents like most others.
Leanne showed me a beautiful ring - white gold with a big fat diamond in the middle - and then said firmly;
'It is NOT an engagement ring! It's not even on that finger!', to which I hastily nodded and continued with the interview. She had received the ring from her boyfriend on their second anniversary (terrified that it was an engagement ring!) and hadn't taken it off since. When I asked her if she would ever be tempted to sell it she immediately declined, saying that it meant too much to her. Unless she got the right price on Ebay.
I then started to think I was losing their attention in favour of the bottles of wine, so I interviewed one last person and left them to it. Liam's favourite item was his Xbox. He had received it as a gift from his parents on Christmas and played it all the time. He said he would only sell it if a better console came out. I couldn't get anything more in depth from him so left it at that.
Although some of the answers could have been more helpful, I found the results interesting. It seemed that the girls were more sentimental than the boys, choosing objects which reminded them of someone special, whereas the boys were more interested in 'boys toys' but I suppose men don't often pass down jewellery or make quilts with their sons...
It made me think properly about my most treasured objects. At first I thought of a necklace which was given to me by my mother. It is a simple silver necklace with a little elephant pendant on it. Doesn't sound like much but it means the world to me and I barely take it off. I think knowing that my mother wore this necklace as a child makes it more valuable to me, and I think of my mum whenever I look at it. I also thought of a stuffed toy lamb I still have and have owned since I was a baby, imaginatively called 'Lamby'. I think most girls had a Lamby actually. Anyway I love this toy, it still has pride of place on my bed. Considering the fact that I am 20 this might seem a tad childish, but it means something to me.
Taking this into consideration I realised how difficult a question it is to answer, 'What is your most treasured possession?'. Most people will have more than one favourite object so it is hard to choose just one.
I thought of the obvious answers; family heirlooms, gifts etc, but then when I properly thought about it I realised that a lot of people probably treasure things that they have bought with their own (hard earned!) money more than things which were bought for them. This is most likely because it gives you a sense of achievement - it feels good to be able to afford something yourself.
Anyway, to conduct my interviews I thought I'd take advantage of my flatmate having some of her friends from her course over (psychology) since it would be an easy way to interview people in a comfortable environment that I didn't know personally. I managed to catch them before they had drank too much and got some valuable answers to my questions.
Apart from one minor mishap (a clumsy interviewee spilling a drink on my notes) all went well.
The first girl that I spoke to took a while to take it seriously, but she got there in the end. At first she was stumped by the question, not knowing how to reply. Then I noticed that she had been fingering a necklace the whole time she thought. When asked about the necklace she lit up - it had been her mothers. She claimed to have received the necklace on her 18th birthday from her mother and been delighted with it as she had admired it on her mother before. She said that she always had it on and could never part with it for any amount of money. She then went on to say she'd swap it for a bottle of vodka but I assumed that was a joke..!
Interview number two was with Becky. She immediately stated that her most treasured item was a blanket which she made with her mother and sister when she was young. She still had the blanket and used it as a throw on her bed. Although it may not be worth anything she said that she could never part with it - it held too many happy memories for her.
Craig said that his most treasured item was his car. I immediately thought 'typical boy answer' but then he said that he had bought it himself. Most guys that I know have had their cars bought for them, so I was pleasantly surprised. Craig went on to say that he worked very hard until he was 19 and saved up £2000 to buy his car. Despite the fact that his friends were driving about in brand new cars and he was in a second hand one, he still felt proud because it was something that he had achieved by himself, he hadn't just accepted money from his parents like most others.
Leanne showed me a beautiful ring - white gold with a big fat diamond in the middle - and then said firmly;
'It is NOT an engagement ring! It's not even on that finger!', to which I hastily nodded and continued with the interview. She had received the ring from her boyfriend on their second anniversary (terrified that it was an engagement ring!) and hadn't taken it off since. When I asked her if she would ever be tempted to sell it she immediately declined, saying that it meant too much to her. Unless she got the right price on Ebay.
I then started to think I was losing their attention in favour of the bottles of wine, so I interviewed one last person and left them to it. Liam's favourite item was his Xbox. He had received it as a gift from his parents on Christmas and played it all the time. He said he would only sell it if a better console came out. I couldn't get anything more in depth from him so left it at that.
Although some of the answers could have been more helpful, I found the results interesting. It seemed that the girls were more sentimental than the boys, choosing objects which reminded them of someone special, whereas the boys were more interested in 'boys toys' but I suppose men don't often pass down jewellery or make quilts with their sons...
It made me think properly about my most treasured objects. At first I thought of a necklace which was given to me by my mother. It is a simple silver necklace with a little elephant pendant on it. Doesn't sound like much but it means the world to me and I barely take it off. I think knowing that my mother wore this necklace as a child makes it more valuable to me, and I think of my mum whenever I look at it. I also thought of a stuffed toy lamb I still have and have owned since I was a baby, imaginatively called 'Lamby'. I think most girls had a Lamby actually. Anyway I love this toy, it still has pride of place on my bed. Considering the fact that I am 20 this might seem a tad childish, but it means something to me.
Taking this into consideration I realised how difficult a question it is to answer, 'What is your most treasured possession?'. Most people will have more than one favourite object so it is hard to choose just one.
A Personal Achievement
I managed to make it up to the Glenashdale Falls on the Isle of Arran! No big feat you say? Well considering how upsettingly unfit I have become since starting University (too much... work) I think it's pretty impressive, backed up by the comment 'how the hell did you manage that', made by my lovely, supporting brother. Here's some proof.
Knit Samples for Fashion Forecasting
I have finally finished my sampling for my main project of this semester. After lots of swearing and throwing of yarns I think I've produced some successful pieces, hopefully my tutor will agree...
More books n' stuff part 2
It's my birthday tomorrow! Leaving your teens is a daunting prospect for everyone I'm sure, so that means my brother (if he reads this) can forgive me for opening my present, sent all the way from Australia, early. Stephen always spoils the family on their birthdays, but this year he has outdone himself. He sent me a book called 'Hi-Fructose Collected 2', a collectors edition of the acclaimed magazine. I immediately made a mental note to get a subscription to this mag. The artwork featured is incredible, from cartoon style computer animation to ridiculously intricate portraits. Most of the artists featured are interviewed as well which provides a great depth to the book. Definitely worth a look!
Saturday 12 March 2011
Assignment 3
For Assignment 3 we were told to go out with our 'comfort zones'. This involved going somewhere you wouldn't usually go, such as a football match or the casino, and observing the people who are there and possibly attend these places regularly. I decided to go to the casino. I have been there before but only at night time after maybe having a few too many drinks, so going during the day would be completely different (and much more sober!). During the day I would expect the casino to be full of middle aged men in suits drinking martinis, in fact I'll admit that I actually imagined it to be straight out of a James Bond movie. Believe me, I was thoroughly made fun of by some fellow Textiles students for that! This was a point that Johnathan has made before, about misled preconceptions. People always have their idea of the clientèle who would attend these places and more often than not they are wrong. I highly doubt that the Dundee casino would, by day, resemble a glamorous James Bond movie with women in designer dresses and men with more money that they know what to do with, but there you go.
So, I went along to the casino at around 2 o'clock on a Wednesday with a friend so I didn't look too awkward. When I went in I immediately regretted what I was wearing. Not that everyone was very dressed up, but you could tell that people had made an effort to look nice, whereas I had bunged on a jumper and old trousers. However, no one seemed to care so my discomfort soon disappeared. We sat at the bar and I pulled out my camera ready to take some photos until the barman told me off - apparently it's illegal to take photos in a casino. When I thought about it I felt pretty stupid because I always knew that was the case and I hastily stuffed my camera back in my bag.
I began to 'stealthily observe' the people who were in the casino. I immediately noticed one massive difference between the day time casino and night time casino - during the day no one was drunk. My previous experiences in the casino are of dodging drunken people who are stumbling about, and mostly around my age. During the day however I was pretty certain I was the youngest person there. Most people seemed to be maybe in their thirties or older and they were certainly more sophisticated. There were a lot more men than there were women so I guessed that the casino is a popular spot for men to meet up for a drink. There were also a few couples eating their lunch and drinking coffee's.
There were also less people gambling than I expected. One table seemed to have more people at it than the others, predictably the poker. It was all middle aged men who were playing, all of them taking it very seriously. There were plenty of chips on the table, not that this meant much to me because I can't play poker, but my friend pointed out that there was an awful lot of money in play. We were not close enough to hear what was being said but now and again there would be a groan and someone would leave the table. I have to say that the idea of gambling has never appealed to me as I would probably be the one to lose all their money, but the people who I saw gambling that day were so absorbed in their game that they wouldn't even look up if spoken to.
There were bank machines dotted about the place, obviously because people need easy access to their money, but it also made me painfully aware of how dangerous a place like this could be. I'm sure plenty of people get themselves into real problems spending too much in the casino. I have been told stories before by friends of how they won money in the casino and got the 'bug' - they couldn't stop gambling because they wanted to win again. I remembered how my boyfriend had drunkenly phoned me from the casino once before, slurring about how he had won about £4000 after putting on a £200 bet with his friend. I was naturally over the moon (think how many pairs of shoes that would buy!) and told him to get straight back to his house instead of gambling more. He then sheepishly produced £500 the next day, admitting that he kept on gambling and lost the rest of it. Now £500 is still pretty good going considering that he was blind drunk and could hardly string a sentence together, but he still lost £3500. All because he got too confident and messed it up. Idiot! This may not have been a serious situation as he did not get himself into any financial difficulty and actually managed (somehow) to still make a profit, but it highlights the danger involved in gambling.
The people gambling at the casino looked to me like people who could afford to play about with their money, a lot more comfortably off than the likes of me! Although I did notice that there were tables where you could bet as little as 50p. That would be the table I'd stick to anyway! I guess though that the whole point in the casino is to spend money so I am not the sort of person that they aim to attract. Also, the odds of winning a decent amount of money aren't very high (the casino would be skint otherwise) so you're more likely to lose money rather than win it. I think what attracts people to the casino is the glamour associated with it - the idea of being able to throw money away without blinking has always been perceived as 'sexy' - and people like to give themselves an ego boost by being seen in these places. Look at all of the James Bond films (yes, James Bond again) they all seem to show James Bond in the casino at some point, playing poker and holding the winning cards, then flouncing off with the beautiful woman who was sitting at the table with him. Winning money is sexy! This also links back to the people who were in the casino as I mentioned before - mostly men. Maybe men think they will attract gorgeous women and become secret agents if they gamble, you never
know.
I can't say that I would be attending the casino during the day again as I felt that it was a completely different clientèle that it was aimed at. Not that I felt too uncomfortable, just I think to be there on a quiet day you're expected to either have a meal or gamble and since I did neither I felt slightly stupid.
http://www.gcasino.co.uk/dundee - website for the casino that I visited.
So, I went along to the casino at around 2 o'clock on a Wednesday with a friend so I didn't look too awkward. When I went in I immediately regretted what I was wearing. Not that everyone was very dressed up, but you could tell that people had made an effort to look nice, whereas I had bunged on a jumper and old trousers. However, no one seemed to care so my discomfort soon disappeared. We sat at the bar and I pulled out my camera ready to take some photos until the barman told me off - apparently it's illegal to take photos in a casino. When I thought about it I felt pretty stupid because I always knew that was the case and I hastily stuffed my camera back in my bag.
I began to 'stealthily observe' the people who were in the casino. I immediately noticed one massive difference between the day time casino and night time casino - during the day no one was drunk. My previous experiences in the casino are of dodging drunken people who are stumbling about, and mostly around my age. During the day however I was pretty certain I was the youngest person there. Most people seemed to be maybe in their thirties or older and they were certainly more sophisticated. There were a lot more men than there were women so I guessed that the casino is a popular spot for men to meet up for a drink. There were also a few couples eating their lunch and drinking coffee's.
There were also less people gambling than I expected. One table seemed to have more people at it than the others, predictably the poker. It was all middle aged men who were playing, all of them taking it very seriously. There were plenty of chips on the table, not that this meant much to me because I can't play poker, but my friend pointed out that there was an awful lot of money in play. We were not close enough to hear what was being said but now and again there would be a groan and someone would leave the table. I have to say that the idea of gambling has never appealed to me as I would probably be the one to lose all their money, but the people who I saw gambling that day were so absorbed in their game that they wouldn't even look up if spoken to.
There were bank machines dotted about the place, obviously because people need easy access to their money, but it also made me painfully aware of how dangerous a place like this could be. I'm sure plenty of people get themselves into real problems spending too much in the casino. I have been told stories before by friends of how they won money in the casino and got the 'bug' - they couldn't stop gambling because they wanted to win again. I remembered how my boyfriend had drunkenly phoned me from the casino once before, slurring about how he had won about £4000 after putting on a £200 bet with his friend. I was naturally over the moon (think how many pairs of shoes that would buy!) and told him to get straight back to his house instead of gambling more. He then sheepishly produced £500 the next day, admitting that he kept on gambling and lost the rest of it. Now £500 is still pretty good going considering that he was blind drunk and could hardly string a sentence together, but he still lost £3500. All because he got too confident and messed it up. Idiot! This may not have been a serious situation as he did not get himself into any financial difficulty and actually managed (somehow) to still make a profit, but it highlights the danger involved in gambling.
The people gambling at the casino looked to me like people who could afford to play about with their money, a lot more comfortably off than the likes of me! Although I did notice that there were tables where you could bet as little as 50p. That would be the table I'd stick to anyway! I guess though that the whole point in the casino is to spend money so I am not the sort of person that they aim to attract. Also, the odds of winning a decent amount of money aren't very high (the casino would be skint otherwise) so you're more likely to lose money rather than win it. I think what attracts people to the casino is the glamour associated with it - the idea of being able to throw money away without blinking has always been perceived as 'sexy' - and people like to give themselves an ego boost by being seen in these places. Look at all of the James Bond films (yes, James Bond again) they all seem to show James Bond in the casino at some point, playing poker and holding the winning cards, then flouncing off with the beautiful woman who was sitting at the table with him. Winning money is sexy! This also links back to the people who were in the casino as I mentioned before - mostly men. Maybe men think they will attract gorgeous women and become secret agents if they gamble, you never
know.
I can't say that I would be attending the casino during the day again as I felt that it was a completely different clientèle that it was aimed at. Not that I felt too uncomfortable, just I think to be there on a quiet day you're expected to either have a meal or gamble and since I did neither I felt slightly stupid.
http://www.gcasino.co.uk/dundee - website for the casino that I visited.
Thursday 10 March 2011
Disney
This post was actually written out about two weeks ago but I managed to just save it to my drafts instead of posting it, whoops...
I'll be honest - this lecture didn't do it for me. Not because of its delivery (Hamid, don't take offence!) but because of what I have to admit seemed to be a certain irrelevance to absolutely anything we do in Design studies. I assumed that the lecture would be about the art of Disney, its darker side and all that rubbish, but instead it was mostly about the actual company, how it was created and how it runs today. I have to admit that all the way through the lecture I was thinking 'Why would I care?'. Now I'm sure someone will have some sort of clever response to this, it was relevant on 'another level' or something, but I'm sorry, I'm studying Textile Design, not Business.
Anyway, the lecture wasn't all bad, Hamid did have some interesting facts to tell us about the Disney franchise. For example, Disney actually created a town called 'Celebration' in Florida. This town is straight out of a Disney film. There are certain rules that its inhabitants have to abide by, such as not painting their house or parking their car in their drive way. Why? Because that's not 'Disney' enough. Everything has to be perfect. Perfect houses, perfect gardens, perfect streets, perfect people. Sounds terrifying if you ask me. However, if this sounds like your kind of place, here's a site which you can visit to rent a property in Celebration. Crazy.
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