Sunday Ads Up.

Ever since sophomore year of college, my favorite part of the Sunday newspaper were the ads. More specifically, my favorite part was that 20 page booklet of blue newsprint with yellow price tags labeling the sales for the week. Ah, when I think of those blue and yellow tags, I think of DVD's 3 for $20, $9.99 new release CD's, and I think of spending the afternoon at Best Buy. In fact, while I was working in Houston, Best Buy was 8 minutes from my apartment and 2 minutes from my workplace. That's why I have 2 large binders filled to the brim with some of my favorite movies. Working at Borders, I take a moment on Sundays to peruse the Best Buy ad from an AJC (don't worry, I put it back so someone else can buy the paper) and this week found a great deal. The new album from Dashboard Confessional, "Dusk and Summer", will be on sale for $9.99; AND, if you show a student ID you'll get an extra 3 bucks knocked off. What a steal! Sale starts Tuesday and goes through Sunday.

The month of June is a great time for new music. It's like someone knew I was going to have a baby and therefore not purchasing much music in the near future and decided to release albums from some of my favorite bands at the same time. How dare they! So I'll be missing out on the new albums from LIVE, Guster, Keane, and the aforementioned Dashboard. Feel free to donate any {purchasesd} copies to the Poor Puckett Foundation for Missed Music.

Looking for Robyn.

Hey Robyn, hopefully you still read this. Send Lyndsey or myself an email, we don't have your contact information. Thanks.

Please, No More Chips.

I need a new snack. Chips and salsa are just not doing it for me anymore. Oatmeal Creme Pies are good for like a day before I get tired of them. And the animal crackers Lyndsey's mom got from Sam's are just lacking the flavor I need in a good afternoon snack. What kinds of things do you like? I know some of you are going to say an apple, or a banana, or something healthy; and that's ok, but it's something I already know. I'm looking for something new or something that's slipped my mind for the past few years. I love a snack with some good flavor, something that works with water, lemonade, or a coke. Something I can eat with my hands, from a bag or poured into a bowl, and definitely not something that takes an hour to make and is only good for one sitting. I don't mind spending time to make it if it will last a week or two. Any snack ideas?

Talent on Television.

So I was watching Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" tonight when something host Dave Foley said caught my ear. He mentioned they had to go to commercial break to pay the bills especially since cable TV only had three years left. Now that's funny and quite an interesting note. Then I turned to NBC where I was horrified at the premiere of "America's Most Talented." Another reality show that humiliates people that think they have talent while raising the hopes of those with it. This thing is just ridiculous. Andy Warhol is laughing in his grave. I just don't know what to think anymore. At this rate, primetime may have less time left on the clock.

Entertaining is a craft that few in the world can do. I watch television to be entertained and I'm not entertained by the joe schmucks in the world that profit off humiliating people that don't realize they're being humiliated. I love to be entertained by those that know what they're doing. Writers, actors, directors, musicians, performers that have honed their craft to make people laugh, cry, or sit at the edge of their seat. Sitcoms, courtroom and hospital dramas, home makeover shows, even game shows are ok. But when businessmen sit around and say "let's find the most talentless, ridiculous people around and put them on television and let them think they're talented becuase people will watch it and we'll make millions", that just drives me over the edge. That's one of the reasons why I love "Celebrity Poker Showdown." It's celebrities on a reality show, so they know how to make it fun, and they're playing for charity. Plus, I get to learn how to play Texas Hold 'Em.

So I'm not dogging reality television as a whole. I happen to enjoy it on most occasions. I think "Last Comic Standing" is a stroke of genius. If Chris Porter or Josh Blue release a comedy album or come to Atlanta, I'll be there. But when it means to degrade individuals around the country, count me out. If someone thinks they're the greatest knife juggler in the world, let them go about it on their own, and not humiliate them on national tv. I'm still waiting for the day when we can subscribe to television networks on a per channel basis.

Ian Montage

Ian Montage
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

The little guy is getting big. He is now four weeks old and starting to get bigger than his britches. The other day he wore his first non-newborn sized clothes, how cool is that? The nights are still kind of random. He does great one night and not-so-great the next. Last night was not-so-great. He loves to eat like the rest of us, but doesn't want to sleep as much as the rest of us. I'll tell you what he loves to do. He loves to fill those britches with a recycled milky substance similar to rice pudding.

Karaoke Baby.

Singing Together
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

If there's one thing I like to do when I dance, it's to sing. Here I tried to teach Ian the ABC song, the one by the Jackson 5.

Let's Dance.

Daddy & Ian
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

Ian and I take some time out of the day to dance. He told me he wished his feet could touch the ground.

The Last PC Critique.

Audrey and Mary (both are Texans at Portfolio Center) posted about their critiques yesterday and inspired me to post comments on their respective blogs (see sidebar for links). As I was leaving a rather lengthy comment on Mary's, I figured maybe I should write about it on mine as well.

It was my 7th and final critique at PC wednesday night, but it was the first one that was strangely different than the previous six. Maybe it was because 3 of the 4 panelists knew Lyndsey and I had a baby three weeks ago, maybe it was because I was the first presentation of the night, or maybe it was because of the work.

I have always completed all assigned work and only twice not finished a day early, the other time was when I had Hank's class 5th quarter. The biggest compliment they had was that it was amazing how I could complete the projects from 5 classes after such a demanding event in my life. First time I had heard that. The other thing was that they could tell I was passionate about my work and that I clearly stated the objectives, goals, concepts, and solutions for my pieces. That's the one thing I had heard everytime since first quarter, great presentation and communication of ideas. The thing that surprised me the most, which was my goal for the quarter, was that some of the projects actually worked! That I had good ideas AND good execution, craft included. I couldn't have been happier and this couldn't have come at a better time.

Then came all the bits and pieces about unreadable type on a dark background, and type cut across a spread, and maybe change this part of the poster or refocus some of these things. Ok, ok, fine, whatever, I understand, if I had another week I would have changed that. But the ideas actually worked? That's amazing.

With the 8th and final quarter looming, my previous projects quivering in the basement hoping to get revamped for my portfolio, I finally get the feeling I'm ready. That I've actually learned something and can put it to good use. Finally, after seven quarters, I have the critique I always wanted. It's constantly being said that Design is about the process, the plan for creating something. My entire experience at Portfolio Center has about the process. And they've created a monster.

Of course today I realize, my Phaidon Online Strategy Brief was just a presentation of my idea and not a fully functional website. The Coca-Cola/Beijing Systems book was researched and worked on by all 8 people in our class, the book itself laid out by Mr. Typography himself Brice Beasley. My Choice book wasn't even read by the panelists, just looked at, which is kind of good because I messed up the page numbers in the text bigtime! And I had some illustrations that a panel of designers really didn't care much for, only Michael Goodman, the bookmaker, mentioned an appreciation for my New Yorker cover. Really, it was my Typeface Design that was a good idea and a great execution. Which is fine because I spent 10 hours a week on that one...but, I digress. Onwards to 8th Quarter!

Seven Hours Till Critique.

Finished.
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

I mounted my last illustration this morning and now all is complete. Here's the place where I usually work, granted it's not always this messy. Printer/scanner in the back, my iBook, sketch paper, drawers of materials, wire racks for books and such. Note the tall 5 shelf stand in the foreground. Always had that upstairs in my bedroom until Ian moved in. Realized it would work great at my desk. I had one shelf for each class, making my notes, printouts, and handouts easy to separate.

There's a "New Yorker" cover I did for class taped to the wall, 3 books and some display boards piled underneath the stack of books on the top shelf. This keeps them tight and flat. Also, there's my promotional poster for the Typeface I designed. It's a 5' tall Doric Column, looks great from across the room. And just like any Portfolio Center student during studio/critique week, I've got my list posted of projects to finish and things to do. Thankfully, all tasks have been marked complete. Now if I can just figure out what to say...

To Write or Not to Write.

Choice
Originally uploaded by jtpuck.

I've written my first book. At 10,000 words, it's more of a quarter-life memoir. In preparation for having a child, and then actually having the child, the book is about how choice builds character. I've taken five of the most character-building events in my life and written them out in the form of a choose your own adventure book. The intriguing aspect is that I only know the outcome of one of those choices. By going in the other direction, you end up reaching a blank page, allowing you the freedom to write in your own story to share with others.

Writing it was one challenge, designing the book was something else. The craziest bit about it was actually coming up with a title. When I thought of the idea last quarter, I was toying with a title of "Mathematical Birthdaycakes", hoping the story would be about the formula-led life I've lived. The story I wrote turned out much different. In fact, you've probably experienced the same stories I did, perhaps with different results. For a day, I had used "I Can't Decide on a Title, But I Can Setup A Projector." The title kind of made sense when you got to the last chapter of the book, but it just seemed like a cop out.

In the end, I really like the simplicity and power that comes with the main idea of my story, choice. I'm still working on the cover, but here is the right page of my Title Spread in the book. I'm sure the type treatment has been used before, but I'm happy to use it because in my case it actually means something.