FreeRice

So here's a great site that one of my teachers passed on to me.

http://www.freerice.com/

It's a vocab quiz with every word you get correct, 20 grains of rice is donated. Sounds easy (or maybe kinda lame) but what a good way to help people. I would also like to promote cheating - have the widget dictionary handy - there's some tough ones. (It doesn's count as cheating .. lets call it greater good!)

FAVORITE!! (a little more Brian Regan)

Couldn't find this one without the animation -- but here's a heavily quoted skit from this weekend. GRAPE!

Brian Regan

My current obsession.

A lifelong commitment

So, I finally did it. It was time to commit.

And by that, I mean my first tattoo. The tattoo has been in the planning for a couple years now, with design and location picked for a long time.

I filmed it partly because I am a huge dork (and how fun is that to have a video of my first tattoo!) but also for a video storytelling class that I am taking. This is the first edit, so I will probably revise it through the quarter.

So, why a bird? (Again, bring on the dork) I did do a lot of research and the bird was absolutely perfect. Moving down to Miami for this school was the first thing that I ever did 100% for myself, so I knew I wanted a tattoo to commemorate this. The swallow has a history as a nautical tattoo. Sailors would get one on their left chest after logging their first 5000 nautical miles - a significant first step. When they returned home, or after logging 10000 nautical miles, they would get one on their right chest.

I'm not much of a chest-tattoo sorta girl, but the symbolism behind the bird definitely works. Moving down here was a significant step, and after the next year moving around for school, I just might deserve that matching one on the right.

Why "I support the art of play?"

As far as blog titles go, they all seem a little silly. Perhaps this should have been my first post, but here's the explanation of the title ..

First of all, a special thanks to Carren [you maintain your status as #1 copywriter].

I was looking for a title that, of course, said something about me. But, beyond that I wanted to relate it to my advertising portfolio and resume. Everyone tells us that we need to set ourselves apart and show ourselves in a way that no one else is doing. So, I chose to bring out my playful side. I basically am a kid from eating habits to favorite things, I have it all covered. I drew these illustrations for my resume (again, anything goes in advertising) and my bio is completely about being a kid. Coming soon, I will be creating a flash portfolio site that is a playground, featuring some of my illustrations like the one above.

What all this "Christy being a kid" really means ..
I think that as people get older they don't lose their creativity, but they just choose to stop showing it. Sometimes creativity means acting or thinking in a silly way - things that "grown-ups" might not want to be a part of. I think that kids can think up and imagine anything. They don't believe in the limitations that adults do. Think about how kids play - when they get bored, they go do something else. Why do something if you can't make it fun? -- what a perfect theory to live by.

However, don't misinterpret this as immaturity. It's simply being able to think, create, and have fun like a child - what shouldn't be lost as we get older.

Foam City

A perfect example that basically anything goes for advertising.

Wait, where do I draw the picture?

Ok, here I am.

Although usually I reach for a box of Crayolas or a fresh Sharpie to express my ideas, well, it's time to give something else a try. Maybe Crayolas can only take me so far ..

Usually I can't even express in words what's going on in my head, so that's what this is for. Re-teaching me to think in words, but mostly as another outlet of pent-up creativity. (or frustrations, or just everything)

I am an advertising student at Miami Ad School, and they continue to push the fact that you need to get yourself out there and be creative in all the ways that you can. That it will be good for us to clear our head. Then again, for me this might just be one more thing that I put on that priority list ahead of my Flash homework... (sorry Nat)