I'm a walking disaster...

I've been feeling like I got hit by a truck for the past couple days and I'm not sure why. My everything hurts, but I don't really know why. I started working out on Saturday, maybe that's got something to do with it - but I'm told that is supposed to make me have more energy, not less. I even went to bed at 2am (pretty typical) and managed to sleep til 4pm this afternoon. I never do that. There's something very depressing about not seeing the daylight of an entire day. On top of that, I got all these nasty scabs on my face from my stupid pillow and I look like a leper. It's getting better though, it's not leprosy, promise. I've been feeling kinda lonely, too. I mean, lots of people are around and I'm being social, but it's kind of a nagging feeling inside me. Frustrating..but it should go away. Along with the tiredness. And leprosy. And.....thank the baby Jesus it's at least the weekend....

ArtEd 252 Post 1

I wasn't sure where to start doing this post; I wanted to do something with the designing of modern cars, but I have to be honest and say that modern cars are somewhat of a bore to me. And the cars of 40 years ago, the ones I would want to talk about, aren't exactly a product of computer design. So I started elsewhere, using the references supplied in the blog prompt. After some random clicking I stumbled on the website of Eric Owen Moss Architects. Architecture isn't normally my thing, but some of the photos on the website caught my attention. At first glance, the structures seemed either incomplete or to be falling over; yet they were simply designed that way. I thought it was an interesting and unique style of design, so I looked on.

Samitaur Tower

Culver City, California

This building was the one that made me want to read further. According to the architects website, the tower is an information center in Culver City, California that was designed to only allow people inside it to see specific parts of the surrounding areas to bring attention to those areas. The "walls" are actually screens meant for displaying artwork and advertisements for local events. Each story has walls at different angles, giving the appearance that each is sliding off the next despite all the floors being level. The building appears to be on the verge of toppling over.

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Vienna, Austria

This building continues the trend of seemingly unstable structures. In fact, the design is meant to do just the opposite; the layout creates a triangular pattern within the structure that allows for using less material with the same structural strength. And yet, the outward appearance makes the building look weaker than a normal building. 

3585 Hayden

Culver City, CA

And finally, this unique office building, also in Culver City. The building was designed by starting with a simple cube-shaped structure, then altering it by twisting the cube to make the building looked warped and wobbly. The building looks almost like a cube of Jell-O, wiggling back and forth.

All of the above buildings are not special on paper; they use typical steel, concrete, and glass just like any other building. They are mostly grey and industrial looking. Yet the use of angles and odd shapes give these buildings character; some people might not even be comfortable going in these buildings because they appear unstable. They are almost oxymoronic in that, as buildings, they are made to be strong and long-lasting, but appear just the opposite. Plus, and maybe most importantly, they look really cool.

Pictures taken from http://www.ericowenmoss.com/index.php?/content/projects/

"I'm off to grab some lunch at the fine dining establishment known as Fresh Express; wish me a happy food poisoning!"


That's how I ended my first blog post. Ironically, I spent about an hour that night next to a toilet disposing of the very food I referred to in this post. I guess I asked for it...


I saw Black Swan this afternoon. Holy. Crap. That was the first time I can remember ever being legitimately speechless after a movie. I saw through the credits (all of them), mouth open, trying to collect myself and process what I'd just seen. It was pretty incredible, I recommend it highly. I want to say more, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I'll restrain myself :)

Because deviance can be fun!

So I had my first big day of classes today (starting at 7:30am and going through to 3:18), and the only thing I'm noticing about this schedule is how long the day feels; my inner clock thinks it's about 10pm right now. The best part of the day was definitely my Sociology of Deviant Behaviours class (spelled that way because I'm, you know, worldly). First of all, the professor seems super cool - child of the 60s, hair straight out of the 80s, and definitely excited about what she's teaching. She started the class by asking, "How many of you guys have bought your books?"

A handful of students raise their hands. 

"Okay, and how many of you ladies took Sociology last quarter?"

Four or five girls raise their hands. 

"Interesting...and how many of you guys bought your books? Raise your hands high now."

The same handful of kids raise their hands.

"And which of you ladies took a Soc. class last quarter?"

Again, the four or five girls raise their hands. And by now, the entire class is thoroughly confused. The prof pauses - then poses a question: "Why is it that when I asked 'which of you guys' had bought your books, a group of guys and girls raised their hands, but when I asked 'how many ladies' had taken a Sociology course before, only girls raised their hands?"

That was probably the coolest intro to a class I'd ever seen - and that was just the start. We talked about sadomasochists, rapists, murderers, witches, and all kinds of other fun and exciting things. I'm definitely stoked for this class. 

This blogging thing is kinda fun, I'm going to try to do an update every day. And in my special little world inside my head, people will be reading it, too.

She told me to name it something about this class...

...so I did. Hello internet. My English and ArtEd classes require that I make blog entries this quarter, so I decided that maybe I'd make mine a little more than just what the class asks for. I'm not totally sure how to start it off, so I'll just introduce myself. I'm Tom, aimless Ohio State student, music lover, and racing fanatic. That's about all I know to say without rambling, so we'll leave it at that.

I'm off to grab some lunch at the fine dining establishment known as Fresh Express; wish me a happy food poisoning!