Musings on Life and Living

I recently read an opinion column in which the author, seeking to play devil's advocate, asked if what Governor Rod Blagojevich did in regards to trying to sell Senator Barack Obama's Senate seat was actually illegal. I don't know all the ins and outs of the legality of such a move. If Blago can be busted for anything, I suppose it is for conspiring to sell a Senate seat, since he didn't actually make any transactions. But the author in this column said that politicians are always offering deals in exchange for campaign funds. I suppose that if all Blago had asked for was money for his next campaign, then what he was attempting may have fallen within the realm of legality, shady as it was and is. But he wasn't just hustling for campaign funds. He was also hustling for money in his own pocket, or money in his wife's pocket via an appointment to a board directorship. So that was definitely illegal. However, for the sake of argument, let us assume that G-Rod was ...

First I'd like to say for the record, I haven't dropped any hints this year about what I want for Christmas, because really, all I need is a Mac computer, now whether or not I get that is entirely up to someone higher up in the totem pole than me. But, of course there are other things I want, I just usually forget half the time that I want them, but if there are some of you out there wondering what I WANT for Christmas and what I NEED then here is the list: Portfolio supplies (my portfolio is growing quickly so I've grown out of my old ones) Clothes (I go through pants like crazy so back-up pairs are always needed along with nice shirts to help me break the t-shirt phase) Snoopy (anything authentically Snoopy, Charlie Brown, or Peanuts will be appreciated. And the more antique-ish, the cooler) A Mac Computer (now I don't expect someone to buy me a Mac because the one I need is 2 grand, but money towards it would be nice. Why a Mac? Because Macs are awesome! And my Adobe...

It is late and nine minutes past my bedtime, but I just stumbled upon something, and I thought I'd make this quick post. Frequently, I am asked by family members, "What do you want for Christmas?" Typically, my response is one of the following: a) I don't know. 2) Children's books. d) Tools are always cool. Now, occasionally I may throw into the mix something like "socks" or "another hoodie from [insert college/university name here]" but those are rare. Most frequently, I'd say that (a) and (2) are the most frequently given answers. Nowadays I am also asked what Gretchen wants for Christmas, and that is even tougher. My wife has a lovely habit of dropping hints all the time. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare moments in which I play the role of the stereotypical male. That is to say, I am completely oblivious to said hints. I much prefer someone to hit me over the head with a board (preferably of the 2x4 variety) than simply dropping ...

The following is an example of the type of non-design work that I am doing as a Graphic Design student at Parkland. Alex assisted as my editor (the conclusion is largely his, though). Experience in the Making Communication Arts is a periodical magazine that focuses on design, specifically graphic design, which is really a broad area. In each issue Communication Arts starts out with a few editorials on things like design issues or design culture. And in between there's always a few ads, mostly ads for paper companies or stock photo sites, which really aren't common in any other magazine outside the relm of design. Then you get into some articles that feature a project of some featured designer or design firm. These articles tend to be around ten pages long and display more than a few images of the project. Occasionally there will be an article not specifically geared towards a designer or design firm, but geared towards a common theme. The editorial pages are geared towards al...