mental lint from my brain doing laundry

Marrella Jiong's personal blog

[keepthisholykiss]

yesterday we went to see San Francisco Ballet's Manon (which is apparently the first time the company has ever done it??) and it was my first time seeing an SF Ballet in person and holy. shit. here are my thoughts featuring a bunch of press photos I could find

the costuming and sets for this production were literally from the 1974 ballet at the royal opera house so I spent a large portion of the show using my lil opera glasses to just stare at the designs on the fabrics which felt so delightful! some of them are very worse for wear but the production utilized them in a cool aesthetic of like the rot underneath the glamour kind of way???

the principal dancers at SF ballet are insanely talented and I was very familiar with their level of quality before but nothing prepares you for what it is like to be in the room with that much talent. I was SO overwhelmed by how fabulously the Lescaut and des Grieux were specifically. Each of them are phenomenal dancers obviously but their acting is just... AAAAAAAA. I kept watching the des Grieux in the scenes where Manon is hanging around but the light/focus is not on him and he just told such a story with the way he looked at and reacted to her and the world around him.

The orchestra at SF Ballet is also like.... out of this world amazing. Hearing the Massenet with such a large orchestra was electrifying, I really did not want intermissions to happen I just wanted to sit there listening to them forever!!

And finally, the Manon in this production was everything I could have wanted and more. Her skill is obviously incredible but her ability to convey the entire story SO well throughout just.... AAAA! I loved watching her tackle some of the more acrobactic-esque choreography and her transformation between acts II and III was unreal? It had me thinking that was a completely different dancer but no, she's just that talented!

If you ever have a chance to see ANY Manon ballet in person I obviously think you should. And if you ever have a chance to see an SF Ballet in person absolutely jump on it. The War Memorial Opera House is so lavish I really felt like a fish out of water but at the same time it felt like such a fun experience. This was my first time ever going to a show in the super high balcony seats (because SF Ballet is quite pricey) and my fear of heights was uhhh VERY MUCH THERE but I completely forgot about it the moment the orchestra started playing, they were that good at making me feel like I was right there by the stage watching!!

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

(As an adult now) I kind of marvel at Lana del Rey. Lots of her songs are about being promiscuous/being fucked up/being in relationships with terrible men. She makes it sound all so glamorous and poetic, and like, for sure I have experienced moments in my life where a terrible situation felt like it could become poetry, but 5 mins later I snap out of it and I'm like nah that was fucking stupid, imma try to bleach it out of my mind now. Like damn... those kind of negative experiences involving physical intimacy are just not where I draw inspiration... and I also don't go out deliberately looking to get fucked up, but sometimes I wish I would (but I won't). I just don't have it in me to romanticize these things, but I admire artists who do.

[littlechien]

littlechien posted this

EVAWA 

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

hell on earth is small differences in communication and personality that one has to tolerate and cope with in a social setting.

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

Leaf blowers are the devil's anti-vacuum-cleaner

[nevver]

She’s not there, Ruth Thorne-Thomsen

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

///The most nonsensical and random impulses that burst out of nowhere every morning that I have to wrangle and wrestle to the ground.

"Your time and energy are limited", I hear myself say with exasperation. "Don't waste it on frivolous pursuits."

[professorerudite]

Grumpy bird

Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264, f. 112r

[catchymemes]

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

Frustrated at my inability to self-regulate my emotions and motivational structure. Basic life administration and maintenance. Everyday I wake up knowing my time and energy is limited and yet I find myself squandering the day away more often than not. Most times sometimes it's because I just fuck around and busy myself for as long as possible with non-essential tasks like cleaning out my closet or making cassava pancakes or checking my email inbox for the 5th time (I'd do anything to avoid the task at hand!). But other times it's simply because the nature of the creative process is just excruciatingly re-iterative and circuitous. Even when I am being productive, the ennui is ever-so present, the feeling of approaching the point where I can finally come close to articulating an idea, but never quite so. Oh! Save as draft, delete, and start over. Then before I know it I have exhausted my daily non-renewable supply of mental acuity and focus and I am no longer productively generating output. My butt has grown roots into the chair and I need to get the fuck up and do something else.

[argumate]

might just need a good thrashing sometimes, giving or receiving either way

[tanadrin]

Niche antidepressants:

eschatonopram, for when you feel like the world's ending

sartreline, for existential crises

citralopram, for when life hands you lemons

flummoxetine, for when life's confusing

loafepramine: for when you just can't get up off the couch

clamipremine: if you are distressed by shellfish

bucolprion, for when you are stuck in the countryside

[sleepnoises]

Spent today taking photos & testing a new photoediting workflow & experiencing photoediting woes soothed only by how charming all of these fellows are

Described in alt

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

Account management scrap notes

What makes one design preferred over another? How do competing products speak in completely different languages to the same audience?

Gather information->Explore->Test->Build->Reflect

"I told him...timing was impossible and rather than telling what he wanted to hear then disappointing him by missing the deadline and delivering poor quality work, what is the reality to get it done right doing everything we can to make it happen as quickly as possible."

Call clients out on impossible unreasonable requests, do not compromise yours or the clients' standards

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

Market research re: graphic design

-Focus on testing communication effectiveness vs design appeal. Focus on perception, not preferences. Ask about what they like, and what the design is communicating, avoid asking consumers to explain why they like what they like in specific design terms

-When testing, make allowances for familiarity (people will react more agreeably with something they've seen before over something completely unprecedented)

-Focus on what consumers like about the brand or product

-Always show designs alongside competitors (easier to compare and contrast)

-Never ask consumers how they would improve a design

-Never ask if a piece of design will influence a purchase decision

-M. Gladwell: humans cannot rationalize initial impressions, both misleading and dangerous to ask people to explain what they like and why they like it

[vashtibruna]

Jill Barklem

[slightly-nibbled-orange-e]

Principles of the creative process

-Every successful brand has a design program strategy

-Strong, purpose-driven strategy can take away much of the subjectivity in evaluating graphic design

-Compelling graphic design solutions + clear, meaningful strategy = creating effective, memorable communications

-Why have visual strategy? Exposed to hundreds, thousands of ads daily from mobile, print, billboards, all kinds of media

-Constant, fast, sometimes debilitating info stream, we edit out most info that comes our way. The info that penetrates these filters and is retained are relevant to our lives, meaningful int. emo. engage heart mind

-If... written position statement, that is how the marketer wishes the brand to be perceived by consumers vs. the competition. This has too many disputes, not clear as directions

-Foundations for an effective visual strategy: clear understanding of consumer, lifestyle, needs or desires met by the brand in order to create a compelling visual presence

-What are the emotional benefits people derive from using, interacting with product -> quintessential qualities for which the consumer believes there is no substitute ->connect the consumer to higher order brand messages is the creation of a visual vocabulary that expresses the core essence/fundamental personality of brand

-Develop visual vocabulary that expresses the core essence, fundamental personality of the brand

-Color, textual elements, movement, consumer-relevant visual cues that create distinction in category

-Visual territories form the basis of an overall strategy that creates agreement internally

-Ensure focused consensus, everyone working form a common framework and agree on basic principles

-Written and visual positioning, complete with sensory guidelines