The Art of

The end of the semester has come and gone, how great it feels to be without homework for the next three weeks. Since I have so much time to browse the interweb I have been enjoying more and more remixes, especially 'mash-ups' with Lady GaGa's "Just Dance". My current favorite is "Don't Stop/Just Dance"--a 'mash-up' between Lady GaGa and Journey.

The past week was very stressful and after a series of very frightening driving on ice adventures I almost had a nervous breakdown (thanks for clearing the roads and using large quantities of salt Michigan). Luckily all my projects were finished and turned in/presented, so much weight now lifted from my shoulders.

In another week Christmas will be over, but in the meantime I will attempt to enjoy as much as possible of what remains of the holiday season. At this point I will avoid any tie-ins with consumerism and how much we don't need yet more stuff in our lives. Christmas remains and exception in my book. Besides, we need to get our fix at some point during the year, right?

For all two people who actually know me and read my blog, thank you. It is nice to know that you are wasting 5 minutes of your day on me, rather than Facebook. For your reading I am eternally grateful.

Since it will be after Christmas when i post next I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday and please remember to buy lots on sale come December 26th! Enjoy!

The First Snow/The Verge of....

I was ready to throw my phone right out the window of my 11th floor apartment. Would I have cared if my iPhone's screen had shattered into 500 pieces as it hit the pavement below? Probably not. You know it is bad when caring goes right out the window with your phone, breaking as it hits the street.

Today is Detroit's first real snowfall and I could care less. I used to get all excited to see white flakes accumulating into a world that became clean with with whiteness. This year I am cramming for finals, trying to order Christmas gifts and think about when I will have time to pack before I leave for Pennsylvania in six days. The first snow is lost on my, better luck next year I guess.

All the art and design in the world has no meaning when you are on the verge of a breakdown. Have you ever seen one of those films where the characters live in Architectural Digest houses, drive beautiful cars and wear only the finest clothing--yet their lives are not any more spectacular than yours and mine? No matter how many times I see these kinds of movies I still cannot grasp why if everything surrounding them is so perfect, can they still face the same problems a mere mortal does? Shouldn't having a Eames lounge chair in your living room protect you from all things bad in the world?

I haven't begun this post with intention of relating back to last week, but I think maybe it does simply because it seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. Things of the world as just that... things. They bare no impact on our interaction with our families and friends; we can all experience the same feeling whether we live in a run-down apartment or a loft in SoHo. So do we buy things in hope of improving our interactions with others (fixing broken relationships and such)? The material world as I see it conflicts greatly with the world of interaction and intellect, why is this?

The snow is continuing to accumulate and I am continuing to ponder how to repair the un-repairable. Maybe if I only... well, that would just be silly, wouldn't it?

Every Day A Little Death

"I am over things. I will not buy one more thing." These are the thoughts that go through my head every time I walk out of Target with something new. La Roux's latest album to blenders (I have bought two in the course of 6 months). Why do I keep buying?

Being the decedent of a long line of materialists I think I have a genetic problem with buying things. Whether it is yet another black sweater or accessories for my BMW I just buy things when they strike me. Over the past year I have identified this little habit of mine, in fact I think it was right after I bought those Bang & Olufsen headphones. So... Why do I buy? Is it to fill some emptiness in my life?

For some people I know it is all about 'buying happiness', though I am not foolish enough to try to do that. Whether it is power tools, German cars or cashmere scarves everyone has their consumerist vice. My vice got back and forth from clothing and accessories to parts for my car. I think I may have just about the entire BMW accessories catalog, roof rack to canvas seat covers. I buy new things because I start to feel stale when I live with the same things day in and day out. As consumers we are programed to have this urge to constantly acquire the latest and greatest. What if my iPhone could last 5, or even 10 (gasp!) years. Would I keep it for all that time? Absolutely not. There is a new one so I must have it because it is faster and has a built in Swiss army knife.

We are never satisfied and the consumer always hungers for the newest and fastest. Although some might tell you this is bad, I disagree. Yes, there are certainly negative side affects, like debt, but without it we would be our ancestors. Sitting new to a camp fire with our buffalo hide blanket drinking hot water out of a tin mug.

Fight it or make piece with it, but we are all stuck here together so we had might as well start buying.

The lady at Target smiled as I swiped my car to buy a new blender today. Then again, she is only a cog in the machine.