Speaking of Photoshopped Things...

You know, according to Google Analytics, my currently most frequently visited post 9even more-so than the V8 Incident) is my Valentine's Eve Special. This has been due to a surge of new visitors in the last couple weeks. No real surprise there, seeing as V-Day is again upon us.

But what's interesting is that the most common entrance pathway is through Google Images. I'm pretty sure that means that everyone who is visiting is doing so because they saw this picture:
(I'm pretty sure I'm going to use this as my 2008 Valentine's Day card for my co-workers/secret admirees, by the way.)

Now, for the life of me, I don't know what people could be searching for to have this picture show up. The only things I could think of that got a result on the first page (and led to TLD) were the following:
Valentine's Eve
Jim's a jerk

Now, one really interesting I saw was when I typed in "Valentine's Day Gone Wrong". Now, this image was the very first thing to pop up. But it wasn't associated with TLD. It was on MySpace, of all things.

So, I checked it out, and saw that it was actually posted on a forum thread about things that people love by some guy named "Jim." Now, I don't care that there was no attribution; I'm happier that it's getting around, and that people like it. What I did care about was where Jim found my picture. So, I sent him a message to find out. I'm excited to see what the answer may be. As I say, seeing my creations make their way on the Internet is a true mark of pride. I'll update as soon as I learn something.

Bunnies and Sunshine!!! <3 <3 <3

I haven't posted a creepy-style photoshopped picture in a while, have I?

Not since October, to be specific.

Well, let's close that gap now!

Here's something I was working on just to test what little skill I have with ImageReady (the Photoshop sister program which makes animated GIFs). I videotaped myself a couple times, and there are different effects I wanna try, so there may be more comign up.

But for the moment, enjoy!



Add your own sound effects, if you don't mind.

--UPDATE--
If you'd like some thoroughly creepy music to accompany this image, TLD friend Christopher created this lovely piece.

Ahses to Ashes, Part Deux

Ash Wednesday kinda snuck up on me this year.

And by "kinda," I mean "completely and totally."

Yes, I know this happened to me last year. However, this year there are a few things I credit for this lack of preparedness. The first is the fact that it was sooo dang early this year. According to the Wikipedia article, Ash Wednesday can occur no earlier than February 4th (the last time that has happened was in 1818). The 6th ain't too far after that, if you ask me. And the fact that its arranged based on the patterns of the moon...they're really not making any attempt to hide the pagan roots, are they?

Second reason: Being at a state-run school, they don't give much credence to things like Ash Wednesday. It was a lot more visible when we had school Mass for the day. It was even easier to remember because I was usually the one planning the Masses.

Third reason: I've been pretty preoccupied the last week or so, and so I've barely given any thought to what day it is, much less what holiday.

So, imagine the following conversation:
Me: "Hey, why are you wearing Mardi Gras beads?"
Co-Worker: "Because it's Mardi Gras."
Me: ".....Huh."

And that's how it was brought to the forefront of my mind (until the next morning, when I barely caught myself before eating an orange). The only meal I ended up having that day was a bottle of soy milk and a "tuna" sandwich. (I put it in parentheses because the tuna they used [it was a pre-made sandwich] was a weird consistency. A paste, almost; more fit for astronauts than for the average college student.

What I really wanted to make mention of, though, was the Ash Wednesday service that I went to. Due to a schedule that kept me busy from the time I woke up (which was, admittedly, 2.5 hours after I was supposed to) until 8 o'clock (I'll talk about some of these things later), I was forced to attend the service at 10pm at the ugliest church around, Newman Hall.

Now, one thing was pretty interesting. The lights were off in the church. I don't know if this was to save the environment or because they wanted to create a special mood of sorts, but at first I found it to be a little annoying. After all, I was planning on scoping out the place to see if there was someone I recognized, as the place was jam-packed with students. Alas, I couldn't, so I contented to find an open seat.

The place has its pros and cons. One example of a pro, for example, would be the music. For example, at this service they had some guy plucking away at a nice Spanish guitar. Cons would include the homily. The priest was just a little...well, he wasn't very riveting, I can tell you that.

In then end, though, there was one moment which really stood out to me about the whole Mass. And that was at the sign of peace. I was turning to shake my neighbor's hand, and when I looked at her face, all I could see was a smile. A warm and (from what I could tell) genuine smile. And she took my hand and said "Peace be with you." And at that moment, I had a "huh" moment. If you think about it, the whole ritual is pretty, for lack of a better word, nice. Think about it, you turn to someone you've never met before, a complete stranger, and you wish them peace in their life. You don't know what they've done or what they plan to do, and yet you tell them that you want them to be at peace. That's really nice.

It was also at that moment that I saw the (probably unintentional) beauty of the lights being as dim as they were. I still don't know what that person looked like. Her face was only a shadow. In a way, that was a good thing. No matter what we say to the contrary, we judge others, especially by looks. Often when you see someone, you are preoccupied with their looks (either their fashion virtues or faults) and forget about who's really there. The fact that I couldn't see any faces changed that. In a sense, everyone was equal in the shadows.

But what is really interesting (and symbolic, in a way) is that the only thing that can stand out in the darkness is a smile. That was the only part of that person's face I saw. Had her mouth been closed, I probably wouldn't have seen anything at all. But with a true sense of happiness and good will, I was able to see something; in a sense, the only thing that mattered.

Anyway, that made my day, even though it happened towards the end of it.

So, that was my day, and I...

...

What's that? What did I decide to do for Lent?

Well, um...I'm not sure yet.

That's not to say I'm not doing anything! It's just that I'm currently giving up things already as part of my diet change of lifestyle diet. For example, I'm currently abstaining from sweets, wheats, and mammal meats (that is, I still eat fish and bird). Now, this isn't hard and firm, and can get fudged around depending on the situation. If you'll notice, I ate a tuna sandwich (with wheat bread) on Ash Wednesday, but it seems to be a good system.

So what does this leave me with? Well, until I can think of something more specific, I guess I'll have to just say that I'll try to be a better person. And smile more in the dark. :)

They're Not as Roly-Poly as the Song Would Like You to Believe

The Time: February 6, 2008, 12:15pm

The Place: A normal sidewalk in Berkeley

The Sight:Sometimes, this city is weird.

I Think, as a Marketer, I'm Obligated to Write on Ads From Time to Time

I almost never, ever click on the ads that appear on MySpace. Mainly because they fall into one of three categories.

1. The Activity Ads - These are flash-based ads that make you accomplish some sort of ridiculous task (often against some computer opponent) in order to win a prize. Examples include "Eat the hot dogs to win a ringtone," and "Swat the flies to win an iPod!" Of course, the wide selection of activities is tempered somewhat by the fact that it all involves clicking a button again and again as fast as you can.

2. The Personal Ad - Mostly by the tasteless dating service True. These have gotten a lot more sophisticated in recent years. They began as simple pictures of, I dunno, naked chicks holding teddy bears in front of their not-safe-for-work areas, with cliché phrases like "It's nice to be naughty." Apparently, a lot of other online dating services hate True, because it completely destroys the good image they tried to build. Anyway, nowadays True tries to "trick" you into believing that there is a live female right now(!) ready to have a steamy conversation with you. They accomplish this (again, with flash) with a fake instant messaging window in which "kcblondie" (who enjoys improv cooking and jewelry) types in:
"hi. wanna chat sometime" "hello?" "are you there? lol." "come on, you can ask me anything ..."
Complementing this witty banter is a clip of some chick typing, laughing, waving, and adjusting her blouse, all set on a continuous loop, ala Speed. Personally, I think it may have been more realistic if the video actually synced with the instant messages, seeing as half the messages were sent while she was adjusting her blouse, not even looking at the keyboard. But I digress.

3. The Cell Phone Magician - These are lovely ads that say "Find out your horoscope!" and "LEARN WHO HAS A CRUSH ON YOU!" "Good Lord!" you say, "I may finally learn if Sandra fancies me as I her." So, you click on it. You're sent to a website that has a cartoon crystal ball or something. You have to enter in your gender, then your age, then your...phone number? Ah, you see, because they'll text you with your crush's name. "Well, that seems painless," you say. Sure does, until you read the fine print and see that you're paying $6.99 or $9.99 for these tidbits. And Lord help you if you use AT&T. Those bastards will tear a full $19.99 off your wallet's corpse each month on these plans. The kicker is, I'm pretty sure that they just send out the same thing to everyone who applies: "Your crush's name is: Doris."


Now, to be fair, there's more than just those three types. But you'd be amazed exactly how much of MySpace they fund. And even when there is a (relatively) normal ad on MySpace, I still usually don't care. hence, I generally click on about 0.02% of the ads I see there.

But sometimes - just sometimes - there is something that catches my attention for some reason.

Like the other day, I saw an ad for something called Fathead. Remember those life-size cardboard stand-up figures? Well, these are like them, except they're some sort of sticker-like object, you stick them on your wall, and they're ridiculously expensive for what you get.

Well, this ad that I saw had a picture of the WWE star the Undertaker. Now, I'll make a small confession. When I was in my early teens, I was a fan of the WWF (back when it was still called the WWF) and the 'Taker was one of my favorites (which actually goes back to an old WWF arcade game from the early 90s). So, I decided to click on this picture to see what it was about.

And that's when it showed this as an example of what you can do with their products:Parents, quick note: if this is in your child's room, you are a bad parent! I mean, good gravy. It's bad enough that this 11-year-old's room has this life-size image of a guy with a trench coat and an angry face. But the fact that it looks like he's levitating is really what would give me nightmares if I were in that kid's shoes. Extra covers over my head, thank you.

Now, to be fair, that background picture is a stock one they use for all their different designs, so you could just as easily have Tiki Barber on there 9whoever the hell that's supposed to be).

However, I'm torn between whether I find the kid's bedroom to be the most ridiculous, or this one right here.
Ah, yes, nothing adds a touch of casual professionalism like a tattooed monster on your office wall. Imagine what being interviewed by this guy must be like.

So, anyway, if I've taught you nothing else (and I think that may be the case), it's to not bother clicking on MySpace ads. Not only is it taxing on your computer (what with spyware and the like), but it's taxing on your eternal soul.

What The...?

What's this weird button-like thing on the left here, underneath my profile picture?

Maybe I should click it...

See what it does...

Or where it leads to...



(It's too late tonight. I'll have something real tomorrow.)

All About the Super Bowl!!!

Just kidding. ^_^

I didn't even know who was playing in the Superbowl until the New York Times emailed me a "breaking news bulletin" announcing the winner.

So, rest assured, this will not be about the Superbowl.

Maybe, after I watch some collection of all the commercials, I'll write something about that. But as for the sport, I had absolutely no interest in it. Sorry, Patriots and Giants fans (if any).

However, seeing as I'm about to start my third week of school, it may seem logical to talk about what classes I'm taking this semester. So that's exactly what I'm going to do!

I'll start off by saying that I tried to give myself a less intense semester this time around, mainly because I'm going to be looking for summer internships this semester (soon this semester) and I'd also like to take part in a business case competition or two. Don't worry, I'm not in any danger of falling behind in my unit count. In order to have enough units to graduate, I need to take 27 total units over the next three semesters. However, in order to remain a full-time student, I need to take 39 anyway. So, I'll be A-OK.

I also tried to schedule my classes to begin relatively later in the day (that is to say, not at 8am and 9:30 everyday). And I think I was relatively successful in doing so. My "First-Class-Time" schedule throughout the week is
12:30-11:00-12:30-11:00-10:00

Now, while you may think this makes me look like the laziest bum alive, I think I can redeem myself my noting that my wake-up time throughout the week looks like this:
8:00-8:00-8:00-8:00-8:00

One of the reasons for this is because I'm currently on a new (and, so far, successful) diet and exercise regime.

(Quick aside: It irks me when people say, "Oh, you shouldn't do diet and exercise. You should do a change of lifestyle." What the hell does that mean? Seriously, the only difference between a diet and a "change of lifestyle" is how long you can keep it up. Plus, "change of lifestyle" sounds so new-age and pretentious. That is why I refuse to call it that.)

Anyhoo, I'm waking up at 8am every day so that I can go to our exercise room for 30 minutes of a high-intensity elliptical workout. No, it's not as satisfying as being able to type on my laptop when I was back at home, but the handlebars aren't positioned correctly, and I don't have as much time (especially when there are other people waiting). What I end up doing is downloading movies (nature documentaries, to be exact) to my iPod and watch them on a tiny little screen. Not very satisfying, but it gets the job done.

The rest of my morning time is spent taking a shower, checking out the Internet, and getting anything that needs to get done, done. Then off to class. And what are my classes? Well, let's take a look!

UGBA 101B - Macroeconomics
A required class. A lot of people in the economics department like to say "Macro makes up about 20% of economics, but it takes up 50% of economics lessons." That's seems so true. And it often seems as though it's less relevant and interesting to what I'm going to be doing than Microeconomics. However, the professor is very enthusiatic, so I appreciate that. It should keep me awake.

And, yes, there is a lot of talk about the current state of affairs in the country and the world. So it's relevant in that sense. So it's got that going for it. Overall, it seems like it's going to be okay.

UGBA 102B - Managerial Accounting
Another required class. As a recap, I hated financial accounting last semester. I did fine in it, but gah! is it boring and tedious and...blah. Well, managerial accounting seems like its more relevant to my purposes than financial accounting. You see, what financial accounting boils down to is the annual report for a company; the balance sheet, the income statement, etc. Lots of journal entries, lots of tedium, lots of ech. Managerial accounting, on the other hand, is about the internal accounting aspects; that is, seeing if certain practices are cost effective. And it has a lot less in the way of journal entries. So far, it's looking much better than financial accounting.

But still: Accounting. -_-

UGBA 160 - Consumer Behavior
Not a required class. This is, of course, related to my marketing focus, and I can tell you already, it's fascinating. The professor has some sort of experiment each session, where we learn about some new aspect about consumer behavior.

For example, did you know that in a blind taste test, the majority of people preferred the taste of tap water to bottled? Yet when people knew what they were drinking, the results skewed heavily toward the bottled water. It's all perception, doncha know.

A funnier thing is that my professor said in class, "Before this water experiment was carried out, many of the test subjects said that they could tell the difference between tap and bottled water, and preferred the bottled, yet when they took part in the blind test, they preferred the tap." What's funny is that when I was describing this experiment to one of my co-workers (also at Haas) he told me, "Oh, I can tell the difference between bottled and tap water." And when I tried to tell him that he likely couldn't he insisted he could. It's weird; we've been trained to "know" the difference when there isn't any real difference to be known!

UGBA 96 - Personal Finance
Another non-required class. Hell, I'm not even getting any credit for it one way or another. Why am I taking it, then? Simple: life skills. I've been told that classes such as a personal finance class are ones which many people which they had been able to take in college. And the opportunity is now presenting itself. So, I think it will be useful for me in the long run to take this class. Plus, of the three different lecturers, I've already had two of them, and I have a good relationship with them both. So it shouldn't be bad.

Classics 198 - The Star Wars Galaxy
"What the hell?"

I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that this was your first thought when you read that title. Here I have four different business classes and then one on Star Wars? Well, I think I needed to balance out all that serious stuff with something fun. So, I decided to take a DeCal. A DeCal, for those not in the know, stands for "Democratic Education at Cal". It's basically a class in which a student facilitator teaches other students. If you think that's a stupid idea...well, you're wrong. After all, this blog was the product of a DeCal. Show some respect, whippersnapper!

Anyway, I did a lot of preparation in choosing which DeCal I would take. There were 80 or so of them, but I weeded them down according to my own availability in the early evening (when the majority take place) and general interest. In the end, I narrowed the selection down to the Star Wars one and one about Lewis Carroll. I do have a genuine interest in reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, because the wordplay in them is very intriguing. However, a class about Star Wars, regardless of how academically useless it was, just seemed fun!

I did have some reservations, though. I was worried - honestly worried - that the class was going to be filled with socially awkward nerds who could finish a sentence without stuttering.
Nerd Voice: "N,no...that's...that's not what Darth...Plagueis would have said. He...he would have been...he would have been more patient."
And so on and so forth. And before you try to tell me I'm generalizing, I know at least two guys just like this. You know, the kind of acquaintance you feel awkward around. And I was seriously concerned that one or both would be in the class.

However, everyone seemed to be fairly normal. Well, there were some eccentric ones, but they were actually quite sociable, so that's a good balance, I think.

And, as an interesting note, I found out two days later that my facilitator is actually a resident in my building. I've probably seen him before, but just never paid him any mind. However, this puts us in a very interesting position. I don't plan on being in a situation where I don't pass the class, but even if I was, I could just tell him, "Fail me, eh? That sounds to me like a case of failure to comply with hall staff. ID, please."

(Oh, funny story: Notice that the class is Classics 198. Well, in order to get the class approved, the facilitator had to make a proposal to the department chair as to how the class was related to the subject. He admitted that his reasoning was a bit of a stretch: "Well, Rome used to be a republic and then became an empire, just like the Galactic Republic." Apparently, it worked.)


So anyway, that's my Superbowl school year primer. Any questions?