"Pat Downs don’t want anything to do with your junk."

For anyone traveling in the near future, I hope your name isn't Pat Downs.

Hello, my name is Pat Downs.

Wishes for Winter Break

If there is ONE thing that I am truly looking forward to after this semester is over, it has to be sitting down and reading a good book. Or twenty. I don't care if it's not a literary classic, anything that is interesting and amounts to a page turner will work for me. I will just be so glad to think about well, nothing for a few weeks. I also want to read a lot of good fiction because I am taking a fiction workshop next semester (my first fiction class ever) and would like to get some ideas on topics, things, characters to write about. So, in that case, if you have any suggestions for me--feel free to post!

Christian Woman Faces Death for Blasphemy

This article was kind of scary and a lot disturbing. I hope this works out for the good in the end and isn't another story pitting Christianity versus Islam. It also makes me very thankful that I have the right to say what I want in my country and that I don't have to worry about being tried for blasphemy... because you know, that's so 19th century.

Christian Woman Faces Death for Blasphemy

Greyhounds Needing Homes

Hey all. I wanted to post this about the Greyhound Pets of American Maryland Chapter if you're thinking about getting a dog or if you're even willing to foster a dog until a home can be found. I adopted my own greyhound, Molly, last year from this same organization. Sadly, with the economy being the way that it is, greyhound owners are finding that they have to give up their dogs because they cannot afford to keep them due to lack of funds. Of course this is not limited to greyhounds, dog owners are having trouble in general. I just thought it would be worth mentioning to anyone thinking about opening their homes to a doggy in need or even just fostering one.

GPA MD

More Westernized Please!

I read this and couldn't help but say out loud? What the hell??? Surgery to look more westernized. Surgery as a gift for getting into college. Well whether your in the east or west, it looks as though materialism and being good looking is as popular in South Korea as it is in the good ole' United States. What a shame. And don't forget to click on the link about the new bride show where the women are competing to win plastic surgery! Barf.

South Korean Plastic Surgery

Lego My Fun

When I was a kid Legos were just little blocks that you built "stuff" with. I say that because I wasn't too ingenius when it came to playing with Legos, in fact, I didn't really play with them too much. Now it's all I hear about! But, that is because I have a six year old nephew who is a Lego fanatic. However, Legos from my day have come a long way. No longer are they just the little blocks to piece together, now there are Lego Wii games (Indian Jones, Batman, etc) which even I can get into. I even find myself sitting down with him to build Spongebob Square Pants hamburger mobiles. For Christmas this year the list is long (as it usually is for six year old little boys), and I've been instructed by my sister to buy him the newest Lego craze: Creationary. Of course I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was, but I've been surfing through ToysRUs's website and find that Creationay is actually a Lego boardgame (kind of sort of but not really). Basically what you have is a lot of Legos and a dice which you roll and piece together what you get when you roll. Apparently you should be able to show off 1) your creativity and 2) you masterful building skills. Either way, I thought it looked cool so Aunt Sam is being suckered into buying it of course. Little does he know he's also getting a shirt and pants too. Maybe Lego has a cool Lego box to hide those in to make them more appealing? You never know...

Lego Toy

And Yet Again... Another Project Update

Blaaaaah. Another snag in my project. Last Monday I learned that all that I had been working on in terms of splicing together my film footage was, to my great horror, lost! So I am back to square one. But not at the same square I first started from. I am scrapping my film idea completely because it just hasn't gone right since I began. So, instead of using moving pictures I am opting to use photos instead and am moving from YouTube to Flickr. That also means I have a little more  flexibility in being creative when it comes to designing and editing my photos as well as trying to find innovative ways to get my writing out there within each photo. I am sticking with my "on the road" theme as far as pictures and text go. So far I see my photos as being something similar to postcards where each card (or photo in this case) is telling a story and since my form is the repeating of a single phrase throughout, I think relating my project to moving postcards is accurate. I also have to admit that since changing my format I have become a lot more motivated to create in general which is great because I am really coming down to the wire in terms of having enough time. Hopefully my project will convey a part of me as both a visual artist and as a writer. I think at the end of this that that is my true goal, expressing myself in a way that will motivate me to continue with these sorts of projects and getting my work out there.