Deserted Streets of Lexington Market

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Okay, I didn’t have hot chocolate. Instead I went right back to MICA at 7pm to have dinner with a friend. On the way, I had intended to pick up some food at Lexington Market, but it had already closed an hour earlier, so I had to get Kentucky Fried Chicken instead (Original Recipe with mean greens).

The Market area sure is a scary place to be after dark. The streets — even Howard Street, the main thoroughfare — were almost completely deserted, barely a soul to be seen beneath the amber streetlights; none save a few derelicts roaming the area, and the homeys hanging at the subway. Occasionally, a light crash would signal another store closing up, the metal gratings crashing to the pavement so that Asian storeowners could lock and secure the gates.

It was almost surreal, to be in that ghost town environment at just 7pm in the evening. The arrival of the light rail was a welcome escape.

Ah, Bawlmer.

Cold and Snow

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I used to think as a child that the moment the mercury dropped below 32°F, it would automatically start snowing. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that precipitation is not a direct function of temperature.

Anyway, after three days of lab work, I arrived home this afternoon to a 50°F room. Outside, it’s half that. Hot chocolate time.

The Universal Page

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Oh, you accursed Dadaists, with your anti-utopian visions! You led us on, you killed the dream. And only now do I understand: there is no algorithm. Oh, you accursed Dadaists.

(Note that the hubris of the Universal Page’s grandiose vision is deliberate satire, and that Randall Packer’s Eulogy to the Dream is part of the joke. The work is meant to poke fun at starry-eyed new media utopianists who believe that the internet — or any medium — could possibly bring about world peace and universal accord. The message: it just doesn’t happen. All you’ll get is gibberish.)

That’s a Huge Breast!

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It’s a few days late, but better late than never: things you can only say at Thanksgiving.

1. Talk about a huge breast!

2. Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.

3. It’s Cool Whip time!

4. If I don’t undo my pants, I’ll burst!

5. Whew, that’s one terrific spread!

6. I’m in the mood for a little dark meat.

7. Are you ready for seconds yet?

8. It’s a little dry, do you still want to eat it?

9. Just wait your turn, you’ll get some!

10. Don’t play with your meat.

11. Just spread the legs open and stuff it in.

12. Do you think you’ll be able to handle all these people at once?

13. I didn’t expect everyone to come at once!

14. You still have a little bit on your chin.

15. How long will it take after you stick it in?

16. You’ll know it’s ready when it pops up.

17. Wow, I didn’t think I could handle all of that!

18. That’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen!

19. How long do I beat it before it’s ready?

20. I’ve never felt so stuffed!

Zzzz.

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I’m a very eloquent sleeptalker. My classmates say I even used my Sean Connery accent.

Deadpan Paeans

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Though I’m still up at 7am and still writing, the writing is turning out to be sort of fun. I really love being able to use phrases like “reinterpretation of meaning from subject through the use of an external intermediary” or “serious concepts of new media represented as deadpan paeans to a stereotypical utopianism” — and really mean it. Suddenly, 6-8 pages just feels like too little space. I might not even have to use 12.5pt double-spaced Courier New after all.

Knight Rider Intro text

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“A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade, to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless. In a world of criminals who operate above the law…”

The Knight Rider intro blurb would have the phrase “In a world,” wouldn’t it?

Update: The video itself:

Bzzt!

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The lab door is metal, the microwave handle is metal, even my iBook’s trackpad gives me a sizzle when I touch it. Stupid static charges.

Sunday Ctrl-R

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Saturday night to Sunday morning was spent in the MA Digital lab, finishing the Laudomia Director piece for Interaction Design class. Compiling the projector was not the end of it, though; I had to conduct user testing sessions with five strangers — a task I accomplished the same night, by lurking about the building and ambushing other all-nighters like myself. Feedback was good, and I was able to apply the necessary revisions immediately afterward.

The hour being too late — too early? — for the light rail or subway, it seemed most prudent to plonk down on the couch to rest till dawn. I had originally intended to meet up with the MICA Koinonia group at 8am to try out worship at Central Presbyterian, but fatigue and urgency led me to the easier, gentler course of going home to freshen up, followed by worship at Old Otterbein Methodist. I did not regret it: the service was beautifully uplifting, a traditional liturgy with hymns and responsories, a heartfelt reading of Isaiah by the pastor, and an open communion which touched me to my heart with its poetically simple majesty.

Heading back to school, I stopped at Starbucks in Harborplace for a quick mocha. From upstairs, the view of the Inner Harbor was so breathtaking that I had to pause and pull out my pencam for a panoramic photo.

I believe in God. I believe that He knows how weary I am in the midst of these trials, and I believe that He gives Sundays like this so I may know that His hand does not always rest so heavily on His children. For that, I’m grateful to Him.

Refreshed in spirit, I’m back in the lab, working on my Natalie Bookchin research paper, due on Tuesday. I’m not quite sure how I could possibly survive the next three days, but I know He will carry me through. My part is to keep my eyes fixed on Him, always.