1.20.09

I hope we all live up to the promise of this day.

crafty

I finally finished my "animal" collage project which is due today.  It has kept me very busy for the last two weeks.  This project is a 3D collage.  I decided to create a giraffe using all wooden elements -- a take on the whittled giraffes that are available at markets throughout the Caribbean and (I'm sure) in other destinations.  We had one in my household growing up that I loved.  My elements were pencils, cork, whittling wood and lots and lots of wood glue.  I'm glad to be done with it, though I'm not 100% satisfied with the results.  It looks a bit like a cross between a giraffe and one of those Star Wars ships that walked on giant legs.  Maybe I'll put a picture up shortly.

Also, I'm starting on a 2009 calendar project.  I decided that I want to put up a wall calendar that shows all the months on my little magnetic board in my office area.  Instead of buying one that I like, I've decided to make it.  I started out messing around on Ilustrator, but I'm considering drawing it by hand instead (actually I started a colored pencil drawing today).

Oh, yeah, also it is election day.  I voted late morning and now I'm counting down until East Coast results start coming in -- hoping that at least a few early states will come in before I have to head to class at 7.  And, yeah, I'm really hoping that my night class lets out early so that I can glue myself to a tv somewhere to watch the full results.  Not sure I'll be able to get to bed before hearing Prop 8 results.  I sure hope it isn't even close to passing.

anticlimactic

I can't believe that election day is finally here.  I've been ready to have the election over already for the last couple of weeks.  Not in small part because of the constant barrage of California proposition ads that have dominated the airwaves on all fronts for the last two months.  I think I'm clear on how I'm planning to vote on all propositions and I have my LA Times guide handy just in case (not that I'm voting completely in line with the Times, but if there is one I don't feel strongly about, I'm willing to go with the Times, I think).

I'm unhappy that I have class tomorrow night and we are handing a big project in, so I can't really skip to watch election coverage.  I'm generally that dork who sits in front of the tv all night on election night, waiting to hear the constant stream of updates and projections.  Tomorrow I'd sort of like to go out to watch results in my neighborhood, but I'm not sure whether I'll feel up to it after class.  We shall see.

Yes on Obama! 

No on 8, no on 4!

no no no no NO

Today I found some great No On Prop 8 PSA's that spoof the Mac vs. PC ads at afterellen.com (Logo channel's website).  It is really disheartening to think that Californians might change the State Constitution next month to ban gay marriage.  How have we come to this in one of the most accepting states in the country?  I can only hope that at some point in the future people will be able to look at this period in our history the same way that they look at the discrimination against interracial marriage prior to Loving.  With shock and disgust.

conflicted

On the one hand, I think that the California Supreme Court decision today (PDF copy here) that struck down as unconstitutional California's law that required marriages be between a man and a woman is amazing, wonderful, incredible news. On the other hand, I worry that given human nature and the raw numbers of bigoted, homophobic people in our country, the end result will be some sort of constitutional ban on gay marriage that will put gay couples in California in a worse position than they are currently in under the domestic partnership scheme. I hope I'm wrong.

Here are a couple of great quotes from the opinion:

"In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry — and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society — the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation."

"...we now similarly recognize that an individual’s homosexual orientation is not a constitutionally legitimate basis for withholding or restricting the individual’s legal rights.
In light of this recognition, sections 1 and 7 of article I of the California Constitution cannot properly be interpreted to withhold from gay individuals the same basic civil right of personal autonomy and liberty (including the right to establish, with the person of one’s choice, an officially recognized and sanctioned family) that the California Constitution affords to heterosexual individuals."

turn and face the strange

Like everyone else on the internet today, I'm posting a link to the text of the amazing speech given by Senator Obama today in Philadelphia. I'm dying to get home this afternoon and watch the video for myself. The text alone is moving, but I'm sure his delivery will be well worth the wait.

three five zero zero

When I was driving to class last night I saw a bumpersticker that said: "Regime change begins at home." This reminded me that there have been some pretty clever bumper stickers during the W era. So today I've been seeking out some of my favorites (and of course I found some that I have never actually seen on a car). Here are a few that I like:

designing hope, progress and change

Last month, The Boston Globe printed an article that got a lot of attention in the design world. It was about the use of fonts, typefaces and design elements by the various presidential campaigns. The author of the article gave clear wins to the Obama and McCain camps, respectively. So well done to the design firms that developed those materials.

However Obama seems to be winning on an entirely different design front as well. If you take a look and the viral videos and artwork that has not been commissioned by the candidates, it probably would not surprise you to learn that Obama is getting more (and better) free press from creative types than any other candidate. Or at least that is what this blog tells me. I'll admit it: I forwarded Will.I.Am's video on to my facebook friends when it hit a few weeks ago.