The Flavor of Deodorant

I tasted a deodorant stick. It tastes just as bad as it sounds, although it had an interesting and unique aftertaste.

That's pretty much all I have to say about that. The question now is, what will I make for class tomorrow? I guess we'll find out.

Fear: 3 of 2

Michael Daniells' fear of the unknown was faced when he rode out to a place he had never been before, and decided to do something (mostly) unplanned and uncoordinated. I thought that was a rather impressive way to beat one's own fear; it's not really something I would do. Being who I am I would never have left without a strategy in mind.
   


My project didn't actually have me combat the "unknown", instead using an introspective approach. Daniells' method was much more effective however, based upon the results I got for my assignment (were I given this assignment again, I would've gone about it much differently). I think that being loose and experimental in my artwork like Daniells' assignment would improve how I learn from it.

Fear, Part 2: "Results"

I started to realize after conducting this experiment that nobody was going to post anything on their blogs about my experiment; nobody was going to read the late email I sent out over Oncourse, and that's perfectly fine. I didn't take into account how I was going to gather the information, and as a result I have nothing of evidence to show how well it went over.

What could I have done differently?

Firstly, post an email ahead of time instead of (essentially) at the last minute. Maybe design an experiment with a little more resonance in general, since the experiment was rather vague. I was having problems coming up with material to work with, but I have since come up with some more powerful, relatable fear topics with which to discuss and experiment with.

Fear, Part 1 - "Potential Reactions"

I expect people to react to this "experiment" away from class. Our reactions should not be immediately evident, but rather, should surface at a later point.

This test might not actually evoke fear. It may evoke other things.

I'd prefer not to give anything away, so I'll just leave it at that.

Take Away 10 - Did I take anything away?

I guess I learned that taking crazy-looking animals - or any animals at all, for that matter - is not a good idea. Though I kinda figured this already.

I don't think I really learned much from this class that I didn't already know to begin with. Which I guess is good, if it means anything in regards to my wisdom (humble, am I right?). I liked looking at the project turn-ins, and I appreciated the discussion, but I didn't learn anything particularly profound from class this week, which I think is okay, seeing how not much happened this week compared to the others recently.

I guess what I took away was that - sometimes - life just isn't always profound. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose.

What is Fear?

Fear is a thing of the mind. Fear my also be of the heart. Fear is a mental construction of some occurrence or symbol that has significance as a warning of some sort. At least, that's the basics of it, scientifically speaking. It's a complicated subject which I'm not fit to fully describe, but what it does to us is a little more graspable. It makes us quiver, makes us sweat. It makes us stand still and choke our own voices, or causes us to react violently, and loudly. Fear is always lurking, like a predator. Even in your sleep, it hunts. Are we ever safe?

Believe it or not, fear is actually a good thing. Though it preys on us, it never deals a killing blow. It keeps us on our toes, however, cautious, and hopefully, ready, for whatever dangers may truly exist from without. Fear exists, I believe, to keep all animals safe from their dangers. It is a warning, and without these essential warnings, we would have no reason to preserve ourselves and wouldn't be here today. But fear must be controlled. It does restrain us, but it limits us to what we are already familiar with, which culls personal advancement and advancement of the species. Fear and cowardice are two different things.

I have created two drawings using the purple crayon, and I will be presenting them is class this Monday. I will explain what I feel about these two questions in person on that day.

Adios.

Take Away 9

Watching Burning Man's version of Dr. Seuss' famous Oh, The Places You'll Go reminded me of how active I need to be in achieving my goals, even if my goals seem initially small.

I've been thinking about writing, sketching and inking a webcomic for a while now, and I just came up with a great idea for a story; I'm thinking it's about time I got off my ass and created this thing by now. It'll be a lot of work, but I won't get anything done if I don't try at all.

Maybe something will come from all of this.