moving

blogging isn't working for me. i have too short of an attention span when i'm on the internet. that is why i'm taking up micro-blogging, which is just little short posts, usually not containing a lot of text. find me here:

www.wallacecarter.tumblr.com

Some Work

I'm going to try to put up some work I did this past semester. However, trying to put it all in one post seems impossible in this blog format, what with confusing HTML codes that never seem to work an what not. 

CONTINUANCEOne of the first assignments that we had was to illustrate continuance in three different ways. Continuance describes a device for directing the viewer's attention when looking at a composition. These were doing using black lines of the same width on Adobe Illustrator. 

In a landscape:

How-Not-To: Make a t-shirt soft

About two months ago I got a t-shirt from Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn. It is an XL regular-fitting black short sleeve t, with Ziggy Stardust plastered across the front in neon ink. I loved the idea of the shirt, but didn't necessarily love the shirt, because I could tell it was going to be boxy and stiff. I bought it, nonetheless, and I think it was an OK deal for $9. I've worn it a couple times, but really didn't feel comfortable with the fit of it. So, I decided a would make use of my time at home, and brought it back with me. I googled everything from "making t-shirts soft" to "which chemicals can I use to break down fabric." I found a couple of suggestions online. Most sources told me to go to town to it with a cheese grater, rub it with sandpaper, etc. However, I was looking for an easier option, such as soaking the shirt in some magic solution to make it look like it had weathered ages of wear and tear. The only option like this that I read was to soak the shirt in vinegar and salt. So, soaking the shirt in vinegar and salt is what I did. For two days. Fail. Doing this only made my house smell like rotten eggs. Luckily, the smell didn't stay with it when I washed it, so I'm back at the beginning.

1. Vinegar is not the miracle solution that most home magazines make it seem. At least to me.                                                                      

2. An industrial-strength, XL, sander, with unlimited amounts of sandpaper, would be appreciated.

I will continue my search for the perfect, DIY, solution to make the softest, thinnest, most comfortable fabric.

Note: I just found out that there was a Buffalo Exchange in Manhattan. Right near me. Not sure if this is good or bad.

How-to: allow facebook to hold too much of an importance in your life.

I have, over the past two years, gotten in the habit of tirelessly recording all of my interests, movies, and music in their respective categories on my facebook page. Seriously, if something isn't there then I don't like it. Call me pathetic. Or, call me victim to social networking. I tend to only fill in music, interests, and movies. Here are my entries as they were at the end of 2008. 

Interests: masking tape, cloth(ing), theatre, lomography, boxes, basket weaves, deer, the gharial crocodile, scotch tape, gumball prizes+military pins, chair caning, stairs, google sculpting, cut paper, lapels

Favorite Music: josh ritter, matt costa, regina spektor, lykke li, girltalk, patrick wolf, carole king, matt duke, simon and garfunkel, katie costello, neko case, emiliana torrini, rilo kiley, the temptations, jose vanders, edith piaf, ben kweller, joni mitchell, lily allen,sufjan stevens, tally hall, the mamas and the papas, the rosebuds, elton john,alison krauss, the avett brothers, the peanuts soundtrack.

Favorite Movies: stand by me, billy elliot, grey gardens, the dreamers, mysterious skin, the sum of us, me and you and everyone we know, pleasantville, freaks, beetlejuice, big fish, being john malcovich, newsies, deliverance, my own private idaho, half nelson, cider house rules, misery, heathers, the witches, before sunset, in america, little children, WZBCTT, vicky cristina barcelona, happy-go-lucky

I constantly change these throughout the year. I'm going to delete my music and interests and see what they turn out like next year. I can't believe I just did a post about facebook interests.

Pick it Up.

At the beginning of this post, I was attempting to list my favorite things of 2008. I had a list of about five things and realized that I was having no fun doing it. So instead of doing that, I will stop harping on what happened last year, and focus on the next 365 days.

Here are some of my thoughts and hopes for this year. I want to avoid the word resolution because I have permanently placed a negative connotation on that word, due to my inability to ever keep “resolutions.” And further, I’m not quite sure I ever believe in the whole idea of a resolution.

1. Stop harping on the past and focusing on the future. I understand that thinking about the past and the future are necessary. But I have a tendency think so far into the future and back into the past that I forget that it doesn’t really matter. In other words, what I did ten years ago doesn’t really matter. What I do now won’t really matter in ten years. (With some exceptions.) What I will do, in the future, can’t exactly be decided now. So I’m not ruling out thinking about what I have done and what I will do. However, what onesie I wore as a kid and what nursing home I will be in when I’m older are not exactly of the most importance right now.

2. Finish one project before I start another one. I have innumerable projects lodged in my closet and room.  The only problem with these projects is the fact that they are only half-done. Actually, most of them are either just started or almost finished. I just found a black sweatshirt with a weave pattern on the front that I started this past summer. I was so excited about it, and HAD to start it at 2 in the morning. I actually got pretty far into the project until I lost interest and started doing something else. Maybe this means less visits to thrift shops in between projects, but I don’t know if that’s at all possible. This is one thing that I am determined to keep up with in 2009.

3. Keep up with general health, blah blah blah. I know, this is probably the most cliché and popular goal for every New Year, but it is for a reason. I have lost a bunch of weight in a healthy manner over the past year and a half, and know how easily it can all come back. The McBurney is one of my most favorite places (my gym in the city), but I know how easily I can convince myself not to go after class. This is not only limited to weight, but also drinking enough water and just eating right in general. A lack of water is probably the cause for 99% of my illnesses.

4. Be more thoughtful with my money. The city has an ability to make me spend all of my money without knowing where it all went. I think I did pretty well this past semester, but I was still dumbfounded as to where all my money went. I have a couple of scholarships that I plan on living on for the remainder of the school year, and really want to keep a good hold on it, and not spend “stupid money.” In other words, I am trying to stay away from cheap plastic MJ key chains and gourmet bottled water.

5. Remember that I live in New York City. Yeah. I forget all the time.

6. Make better use of my time. I value facebook creepin’ and looking at pointless things on the internet, but looking at it for hours at time makes me feel pathetic. As it should.

7. Use this blog. My goal it is to be somewhat of a virtual scrapbook, of sorts.

This is a pretty hefty list, I realize. But it’s not like I’m doing all of this stuff from scratch. Mostly, I just want to keep everything up and improve where I need to improve. 

See a Penny

In an effort to consolidate all the blogs I have amassed over the years, I'll be putting all meaningful posts in this one from now on. This is not an action dictated entirely by the fact that it is the first day of the new year, but that is part of it. I have actually been pretty angry at myself for constantly going in and out of phases of updating. (Bear in mind the last such phase happened in July.) I shalln't make excuses, or act as though anyone reads this blog except myself, or refer to myself as "we," as many other blogs do. Consider this an outlet for my interest in design, adventures, and art, and a place to voice my cyclopean plans that will hopefully happen. I will not focus entirely on fashion or design, but since much of my life focuses around those things, it will make up a bulk of the blog. Also, I really miss just writing, without knowing that I will be graded or analyzed on what I write. So I shall write and write and write. I have some New Years Resolutions that I am looking forward to forever cementing in the Internet for everyone to see,but I'll do that a little bit later. I'll consolidate all my thoughts about 2008, and plans for 2009 in one giant post soon. :)