Should Magic Be More Like Sight or Math?

Jeremy and I were talking about magic the other day.
Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series are arguably the first "modern" fantasy stories. In them individuals are either magic users or they are not. It is almost more a racial trait than anything you can learn or develop.
In a lot of popular fantasy series today, like Harry Potter, Star Wars, or Avatar: The Last Airbender, magic is still very much a gift that you have or you don't. It's like the ability to see, speak, or smell. You have it or you don't. Except that learning that magic tends to take a central stage in the plotline. Which is weird... because you don't really have to learn how to see or speak... and that isn't something you can really improve on per se. No matter how keen (or not) your eyes are no one goes about taking classes and learning how to see better (maybe observe more but not how to physically enhance their sight).
So then if magic is now treated more as something to be learned why is it still only some people that magically have the gift? The way magic has to be studied in most common series today it seems like magic should be more like a skill rather than a sense. Anyone can learn math, painting, programming, dance, soccer, writing.... some people are just naturally better at it then others. However, the diligence, desire and persistence someone puts into learning a certain skill often seems to outweigh the actual natural ability, at least in the long run. I think magic should be more of a skill. Anyone can learn it, even if for some people it comes more naturally than others...
So why is magic being dolled out like a sense so common? Perhaps it comes from history... from the idea that things like wealth, privilege, and opportunities for education were for a long time very much a "you have it or you don't" experience. So magic was envisioned the same way.
Then education became more prevalent and learning magic became a way to connect to readers.
But maybe our stories are still out of date and aren't "American Dream"/"Capitalist" enough... Could the next step be the magic can be learned by anyone? Down with the Muggle hierarchy!

I think it is interesting how fiction tends to mimic certain aspects of the real world but just so everyone is clear I actually have nothing against magic systems that are "you have it or you don't" I just think it might be interesting to explore it in the American Dream style.
And also it makes me curious about cultures of Eastern magic.... historical China with their intense government examinations being more important that money or heritage (granted sometimes it goes together) seems like it had at least a broader view of upward mobility than medieval Europe.... so does their stories of magic reflect that?

Manipulation, Cliff Hangers, and Resumes

Yesterday Jeremy and I were talking about cliff hangers. As a rule I hate cliff hangers. I like chapters because they provide a natural stopping place that makes it easier to stop reading and also makes it easier to find your spot when you pick up again. Cliff hangers, in general, are designed to make you keep reading. When I set a book down in the middle I almost always pick it up again. My putting the book down isn't an insult to the book's excitement or pacing it just means I have a life and things I need to do, other than read (which is sometimes a pity). I decided I hate cliff hangers so much because I feel like the author is manipulating me into challenging my own will power. And too often works. Perhaps if I wasn't so easily swayed by cliff hangers I would hate them less....
Anyway, the overall point to this is I feel like cliff hangers are manipulative (in general) where other writing tactics such as having well developed and engrossing characters or a compelling plot are more about influencing you to keep reading. Influencing isn't nearly so repugnant as manipulating! It's a good thing. I mean what would any form of art be, without the motive of influencing the viewer?
I realized that my hatred of talking myself up and resumes, etc along with being a form of defense might also go back to my hatred of manipulation. I feel like people talk about resumes as a form of manipulation. I don't like that.
But why do I hate manipulation so much anyway. I mean sure it isn't great but why does it offend me? Sometimes I wish I could think of a single childhood experience that would explain the way I am...

Children in Literature

I have read several books lately with prominent children characters and they have all felt a little unrealistic, which seems to be fairly common in literature. The children are either too oblivious and/or dumb (Boy in the Striped Pajamas) or to perfect (Little Men). It seems weird that writing accurate children is such a common problem considering all authors were children at some point. So here are a couple of suppositions admit why I think children might be difficult to write.
There seems to be something about the human mind that has a hard time remembering what it was like to not remember or understand certain things. It's one thing to remember when you learned something but quite another to remember what it felt like. I remember staying up late pondering and pondering how my parents could be named Mommy and Daddy as well as have other real names. Thank goodness for my brother's friend who had the same name as my father, that was my break through. Despite remembering this though I have no idea how I would portray this realization in a first point of view of a child and not make myself sound really dumb.
Plus children develop so quickly that unless you are frequently around them it is difficult to gauge whether a child character is acting age appropriately. Once I wrote about a 4 year old "tottering" around. I was quickly advised that 2 year olds totter, 4 year olds run.
It impresses me all the more when you come across an author who accurately portrays children, and even more impressed when the children grow up accurately.

A Field Journal of Danger and Destitution: Or Grocery Shopping During the Covid-19 Pandemic*

March 14
Disaster has struck. The shelves that once held bread, ketchup, cereal, mac&cheese, noodles, frozen food and cans of soup, vegetables, and tomato products can only be identified by a lonely dented box, or a forlorn can. The "bath tissue" aisle is a barren wasteland. Shower scrubbies hanging from empty shelves are the forgotten banners of an abandoned battlefield.
Glory be! The fresh vegetables are untouched, and a few bags of tortillas remain.

March 24
Possibly, but unlikely infected, are we in danger? or are we the danger?
Don't over shop! But where are the people?
Signs posted everywhere warn of rationing. Only two boxes of eggs, containers of hand soap, and packages of toilet paper are allowed per person. Too bad those items have already been hunted to extinction.
Other signs proclaim a curfew to protect us? or them? from the ravenous hoards.

March 31
Fourteen days, and the danger has been neutralized.
War paint dispensers stand at the doors. Workers wipe down each cart touched by a human finger.
Cereal, and noodles have returned to the shelves.

April 3
Fellow combatants shield their faces. Lines are drawn in the sand.... on the floor, with tape.
Over the loud speaker they announce "Stay two carts away from each other or the world will die!"
Do we fear the enemy? or each other?

April 11
The war paint and the wipes have disappeared. A thin layer of plastic in the form of a loose plastic glove is all that stands between me and infection. I'll take infection.
Aisles have returned to normal except for that of the toilet paper. It remains a scar on the otherwise restocked shelves.
Mounds of water bottles sit untouched and ignored. Unless of course, they are gone by tomorrow.






*Sometimes fake drama is entertaining :)

More Experience, Less Planning?

It has been a long time since I've done an actual sewing project and not just a small something with needle and thread. And I don't think I've ever done a sewing project without someone with significantly more experience handy to give me advice and help.
That's why I'm out of practice.
But I tried my hand at sewing again and I made these covers for some hassocks that I'm recyling/making. The first one I cut out on one day and then spent 2 or 3 other days sewing it haphazardly, with a lot of unpicking. As a child I had a fierce aversion to pins, and I refused to use them in my sewing projects.... when I finally succeeded in some satisfactory corners this time around it was only because I finally sunk to such depths as to actually use pins. They were very helpful, and I think I only stuck myself once!
I realized a lot of things I go into a little haphazardly. As in I'll just chuck some shapes together in inkscape and they play around with them a bit and I just expect them to work out and look good enough.
Or I sketch something halfway and then play around with paint on top of it until I think it looks decent. But I don't generally plan out my projects in detail before I just kind of go for it. That is probably why I will never become a truly skilled artist. I don't want to put in the work.
But I'm usually fairly satisfied with the outcome, so it works.
However, sewing doesn't seem to work quite as well with this approach. I'm assuming that has more to do with my lack of experience and expertise then with sewing, because I'm pretty sure that is how my sister sews...
My second hassock I cut out, and pinned and sewed all in the same day without any unpicking... crazy what a little experience, and a little bit of slowing down can accomplish!

Winter War

Storm swoops in

Snow's ally

Troops cover the ground

Lay siege to the world

Conquest

Snowmen rally

The honor guard

Sun's Herald charges

Clouds retreat

Snowdrifts fade

Honor guard stands alone

Storm's return their only hope

Unrelenting Sun

Water drips to ground

Snow's Defeat

​

The day of a big storm I was waiting at my bus stop, right in front of a carwash. Between customers (because people were washing clean cars while it was snowing????) one of the car wash attendants made this snowman. The next couple of days I watched as the snowman melted, and I wrote the poem above. I think it is really cool when creativity inspires creativity.

Mesa Verde

​About a week ago we went to mesa Verde. I had never been there but I had learned about it in my anthropology classes.
It is a national park that has multiple archaeological sites. Some are houses and other buildings on the mesa tops where they farmed. But the impressive sites, the ones people really go to see are the cliff dwellings. Giant multi level pueblos nestled in natural caves and alcoves high above the canyon floor and nearly inaccessible from the mesa tops.
I don't think I have ever gone to a place that has sparked my imagination like this place. It was awe inspiring and just filled me with curiosity. How would life be like to live on the side of a cliff but be part of an otherwise normal agricultural society. What was the violence like that would force you into living like that. If the best source of water was 9 miles away at a bottom of a canyon what was water gathering like?
I already wrote a book about a hunter gatherer society, in large part because I was fascinated by what life would be like as a hunter gatherer. I kind of want to write one about a complex cave palace dwelling society to explore the possibilities....

Masks

I like a series of books by Sarah M Eden. Each book is about a different brother. In one of the books the mother of all these boys says to one of them "You all keep yourselves tucked safely behind various masks and walls, whether it be isolation or playing the fool or clinging to the appearance of impeccable respectability."
One of the reasons I like the series is because each book is about one of the brothers being brave enough to reveal themselves, to come out from behind the mask or wall they hide behind. And they each do it in a slightly different way because their mask was different to begin with.
This week I submitted my book Legend Speaker for possible publication (again). I wrote a cover letter for it that Jeremy kindly told me was boring... he was right and it forced me to confront my own mask.
When introducing myself I immediately want to say something to portray myself as boring as possible. Like telling people an interesting fact about me is that I have brown hair or I like to dig holes. When writing emails or cover letters or resumes I hide behind stiff formality. At first I told Jeremy it was because I hate talking myself up, which is true, to an extent.... but why do I hate talking myself up? Is it really because I hate bragging... or is it more about revealing myself, being vulnerable, showing excitement...
I was able to rewrite it in a way that wasn't boastful but it did show my excitement about what I've done, and yes it was a lot less formal.
I have been surprised at how much marriage reveals masks.... its been good but a bit uncomfortable.

Halloween Creativity

I've decided that I really like Halloween! I like it because I love seeing the creativity it brings out in people. I feel like the two main activities associated with Halloween are carving pumpkins and dressing up and both of those are very creative activities, both in coming up with ideas and also in the execution of it (either the carving of the pumpkin or the creating of the costume). I think it's fun to do it myself (ok, I haven't gotten into the creating of costumes) but I also just really enjoy looking at other people's creativity on display. I feel like Halloween might be the most overall creative of the holidays and that's fun.

So I hope that even if you didn't dress up or carve a pumpkin you were able to appreciate someone else's creativity.
(Also I apologize that I don't have any pictures.... I didn't take a picture of my protoceratops pumpkin...)

Figurines

All the figurines I painted for my brother.

Sorry, I'm not very profound today, but I've been working on the material for this post for a LONG time. After I painted some little figurines for a friend (pictured here) then my brother asked if I would paint some little metal figurines he had cast as a scout (I think). They weren't the best quality but I figured why not. I have to admit I think the paint really did help too.

The "bad" guys.

The best of the figurines. It helped that the castings were a lot more detailed.

The Kitten's Crew

In a blog post a few years ago I mentioned how lies can be true. In other words, fiction is surprisingly accurate. A few months ago my friends and I decided to write a story where all of us and our larger group of friends were animals doing something together. We ended up writing it and here is a single scene from it. As I was typing it up so everyone could enjoy it I was struck by how extremely accurate it is. I think we somehow captured the essence of each other. The whole thing is chuckyjam full of inside jokes, ridiculousness and geology references, which is why I didn't post the whole thing. For reference my name is Phalanx, (which is a finger or toe bone) and I'm a chipmunk. My friend (Perlite) did the drawings.


Back at the vines, a debacle was ensuing. Arkose was tugging on Eclogite’s tail while he was tenaciously clinging to the vines with his little claws.
Garnet and Perlite followed Flurry to the scene.
Perlite, not seeing anything amiss said, “Hey guys.”
“Uh …” said Garnet.
“Figures,” said Flurry, just as Eclogite released the vines and slashed Arkose across the nose.
“Ow!” she exclaimed.
Flurry flicked her tail. “Eclogite, are you joining us for our fabulous fun?”
Eclogite rolled his eyes, and sighed. “Fine.”
Just then, Epidote arrived with Phalanx riding on his carapace. Phalanx thanked Epidote for the ride. He chortled and said “No problem!”
The kitten’s crew raced up the mountainside, leaving Epidote in the dust. As they scrambled along, a loud squawking sounded from above.
“Wolf-pack mentality is a very interesting psycho-social phenomena,” said the magpie, I O.
Before anyone could respond, he flew off. The crew shrugged as one and continued their journey.
“Halt!” Arkose exclaimed, her feet spread wide. “I can sense--” At that moment, the earth shook beneath them, causing them all to stumble to the ground, except Flurry, who floundered.
“What was that?” asked Phalanx.
“That was a volcanic tremor, ding dong,” said an exasperated Eclogite.
“Do you think we should turn around?” asked a concerned Perlite.
“We’re probably okay,” Epidote said, out of breath after hurrying to catch up with them. “Don’t you remember when Rapikivi told us about his hike up here? There were lots of tremors and he was okay.”
“I feel like we’re fine to forge ahead, then,” Flurry said.
“All right--let’s go then!” Garnet shouted and slithered onwards and upwards.
As the crew trudged along they outpaced Epidote the turtle once more.
“Hey, maybe we should wait for Epidote,” suggested Perlite.
Everyone agreed, though some were more reluctant than others. Just as Epidote arrived Arkose said, “finally, we can--”
“Look! Spunks and Porph are here!” shouted Perlite, before dashing off to say hello.
Eclogite rolled his eyes and began stretching, arching his back in disapproval.
“Hey, gneiss to see you all!” Porph said as they all exchanged greetings, “What brings you to the slopes of Ember Hot Cone?”
“We’re going to see Rapikivi at the top of the volcano,” Garnet joyously said.
“Do you want to come with us?” Perlite asked.
“Well,” Porph said, looking over his shoulder, “Spunks is chasing down that butterfly. We’ll meet you up there.”
“Good,” Eclogite said, “the less the merrier.”
Once again the kitten’s crew started up the mountain.
Flurry froze. “Friends! Where’s Phalanx?”
Arkose chirped and ran around searching for her friend while Eclogite ignored them all and continued up the mountain.
The other’s joined Arkose in the search for the little chipmunk. Finally, Flurry’s fantastic nose led her to a rib cage, where Phalanx stood amongst the bones looking upwards in awe.
“Really Phalanx? You’re looking at bones?” Arkose said.
“What?” Phalanx said coming out of her daze. “Wait! These are awesome. Epidote needs to see this,” she said as she scurried across vertebrae and around ribs.
Perlite scrambled up a rib, “I can see him coming from here.”
Annoyed at how long this would take, Arkose decided to leave. With a twitch of her nose, she ran off to join Eclogite. “Wait for me!” she shouted, “Eclogite!”
Without a backward glance, he trotted faster.
“Wait, is that the skeleton of a hodag?” Epidote asked.
“No,” exclaimed Phalanx, “it’s a wyvern, silly turtle.”
“Friends, perhaps we should flutter away and catch up with Eclogite and Arkose,” Flurry said.
“Agreed,” Garnet said.

Starting Over

This is my high school attempt at an impressionistic painting. I really struggled with the style but after getting in some of the colors my teacher finally said that in one tree I was finally getting it and I should use it as an example and redo all of my other trees. I did so and when I finished I showed it to her. The first tree looked oddly out of place. "Redo that tree" my teacher said, "but that is the one you told me was good, the one you told me to base my others on." I protested. "Yeah" she said, "but note you really have it, and that one looks bad." So I started over on that tree, and I'm glad I did. It was a lot better. 


This week I started working on a new database. I thought about adapting the tables that were already there but quickly decided it would be far easier just to start over, which I did. I now have a new database but without any data... I'm working on that.
Awhile ago I was working on a digital drawing and I asked my roommate for her opinion. She said that the cloak, which I had thought I'd finished, was off. So I avoided working on the whole project for a week or two and then finally went back to it, and started over on the cloak. It's much better.
Starting over is obnoxious, and something that is easy to put off or avoid but I've had great success when I do start over because sometimes it just needs to be done, even though it might seem like more work, but it is probably less work then patching up the old. Maybe the secret is knowing when you need to restart.

Window Seats

My sister asked me to make her a window seat in her kitchen nook. When I told my roommate that I was planning on making it she said "You aren't a carpenter." What has that got to do with anything? :)
I did some online research about how to make window seats and found a blog about someone making one. I took that general plan and created a basic pattern. Then my Dad and I set out to make it. With my Dad's expertise and tools and with two heads and four hands (well plus some additional ones from friends and family) we made a window seat. I think it looks really nice, but it was a bigger project then I thought it would be. My nephew you helped us work on the frame work and then saw it finished said it was really nice to see the fruits of his labor.

An Aesthetic Break (Our cut 2 by 4s)

The frame

Frame with top and bead board leaning up against the base

The complete (more or less) with the kitchen table in position

Apparently I didn't take any with the curtains up.

It was cool to see it come to fruition especially when it just started as some boring 2 by 4s. To watch a bare frame, the smidgen of an idea, become a reality.

A Beast Named ...

Three years back I heard rumors about a mysterious monster hidden in the depths of the mountains. Vague descriptions told of a mottled brown beast, entirely unappealing. It was no majestic dragon, enigmatic sphinx, or noble griffin. However, according to the castle armorer the beast was thought to guard a sizable treasure and it needed to be vanquished for the sake of the poor mountain dwellers. I reluctantly agreed and he placed in my hands a long spear. It glowed with a faint blue light.

"What is this?" I asked.

"A magic spear, of course," the armorer said. He also spoke of an old knight who knew more of the beast than anyone. Then he shooed me away. And thus I went forth to combat the beast.

The old knight found me as I left the city. "Beware the great head, with it's fierce teeth," he said. I gulped and set out.

It was a long trek into the mountains and the beast was elusive. The occasional track on the rocky ground and far off glimpses revealed only the motley brown I had been told to expect but despite myself I was intrigued. One foggy day, as I made my way down a ravine I found myself unexpectedly at the very maw of the beast's lair. It leapt from its' cave, mouth gaping, long neck darting out towards me. I jumped back, and clumsily threatened him with my spear. One fateful blow bounced off the creatures teeth. The head darted back into the hole and I heard a great scraping and a thump as of a great footstep. I turned and fled. Luckily it did not pursue. I knew now that my clumsy attempts with the spear would not be sufficient, but at least I knew now where the beast lay. As I made my way back toward the castle my  shoulders in shame how had I thought I was prepared for this? A passing woodsman saw me and joined me for a stretch along the rocky trail. He asked what I was doing and I explained my mission. He looked on me with compassion. "Didn't the armorer show you how to use the spear?"

"Um, no" I said, feeling sheepish. "I thought I would just learn on the way." As I said the words I realized just how ignorant I was, using a magic spear as a walking stick was no way to prepare to fight a beast!

"There is a hermit high in the Canyon of Mirrors," he said, "go to him and he will train you."

"Thank you," I cried, and shook his hand vigorously before I turned from my castle-ward trail and headed to the Canyon of Mirrors.

For months I studied with the hermit. At first all I learned was what I was doing wrong, but slowly I began to understand the spear, and how to wield it effectively. The only thing that kept me from my training was an attack of hippogriffs that kept me busy with some of the other knights in training for a few weeks and when I travelled home to help my parents with the harvest.

After such a long time I decided it was time once more to confront the beast. Leaving the hermit and the Canyon of Mirrors I approached the beast's lair for the second time. Again the beast, sprung from its lair, not one but two heads threatening me with fierce teeth, but this time I met it with a steady spear. With the magically lengthened spear I swept out and cut through bone and sinew. The beast's head lay at my feet. I thrust my spear upward in triumph only to see two heads spring fully-formed from the severed neck. I staggered back for a moment, but then stepped back into the fray. Thrice more I cut out with my spear and thrice more heads fell at my feet, and yet each time new heads sprang out of the creatures neck to take the fallen's places. For the second time I fled the lair and for the second time the beast failed to follow.

I returned to the Canyon of the mirrors but alas, the hermit knew how to wield the magical spear, but not how to defeat such a creature. Then, I sought out the armorer. He offered belief in my ability but his advice was based on the rumored beast, not the beast I had come to know. For days and weeks I wandered, not knowing what course to take. Soon, I realized I had returned to tracking the beast. Watching it from clifftops and from caverns. But as I watched I began to learn its patterns, and count its heads. Additional heads kept popping up, and I decided it was time to hunt down the old knight once more. He welcomed me into his hut and told me once again to beware of the beast’s heads.

“Heads?” I asked.

“Aye,” he said.

That was when I noticed his sword, leaning in the corner of his hut, a bloody rag on the ground next to it.

“You keep chopping heads,” I accused.

“Aye, if I don’t find them you surely would. He will run out of new ones eventually and then you can pare him back to one.”

The advice was strange but something rang true and so once more I returned to the lair and I fought. At dawn I began, fighting until piles of heads lay scattered on the field, and exhaustion spread through my very soul. As the sun set, turning the rocks red, the beast looked at me with a single set of eyes that spoke of loss but also relief. We sank together to the ground, and I patted the head of my foe. No longer was he the fierce beast set on destruction he had been at our first meeting.

The next several weeks I worked with the brown creature and we became friends or companions of sorts. I even brought him home to plow my parent’s fields.

When we returned, I left him in his lair and went to see the armorer. He complained of the beast and told me again that I must conquer him. I told him I had, but not in the way he had envisioned. I brought him and a few nobles to see the beast. They were not immediately convinced but I pled with them, defended him. He did not deserve death. I even showed them how I had trained him to the plow. Finally, they agreed that if I brought back glowstone dust,  spider’s blood, and a griffin’s feather and used them to anoint the creature, I could save him. I nearly sank to the ground in despair. Did not they understand the months and years of training, and tracking, the great battle, and the weeks of working with the creature. I was tired, but they were adamant. And so, I left the lair once more and hunted down the strange ingredients. Three times I brought back spider’s blood, only for them to shun my offering. It is not the right type of spider they claimed, but finally it was deemed acceptable. I anointed the creature, and he was accepted as harmless. I patted his head once more, and whispered goodbye to him. It was time for me to move on. I led him to the old knight’s door. “He is yours now,” I said.

The old knight smiled, “you have done a great feat, thank you. He will be of great value to me, and the villages he tormented will now benefit from his labor.”

“Yes.” I smiled a sad smile.

“And what is his name?” he asked.

“I call him, Thesis.”

Well that was a lot longer than I was intending.... I hope you didn't get too bored. This is a fantasized retelling of my Master's thesis experience. The armorer is my thesis advisor, the old knight is a paleontologist from my field area who I worked with extensively. The hermit was a book about databases that I read in the early stages of the project. Notice that I defend the beast near the end. The strange ingredients represent the annoying nit-picky hoops, deadlines and miscellaneous signatures I had to gather after my thesis defense. The ending is a little less detailed and a little more imaginative then the first part (because I got tired of writing and because I got into the story more). I started writing this as stress relief because it tickled my sense of humor to think of signatures from people I've never met as weird potion ingredients instead of dumb hoops to jump through. After my defense the paleontologist (old knight) I referenced earlier sent me the following as a text "I'm glad you were foolish. (er .... wise0 enough to undertake this. You,... [the armorer], me and others have created an amazing thing. No one else would have done it.... You should be very proud of this. It is like fighting the 7 headed hydra of Greek mythology ... chop off one head and two appear!...."  But I just couldn't bare to actually kill the beast... I kind of like him.

Ubiquitous Art

Recently I have been doing some creative/artsy things... but I can't think of anything to really say about them as a whole... sorry. But I still wanted to show them off.... Plus, I haven't had pictures in my blog for a while so this way you get them all at once.
These are two figurines (about 2 in high) that one of my friends got with a game (based on Brandon Sanderson's . He said he wished they were painted so I volunteered. He has very high expectations and is pretty particular so I was a little worried he wouldn't approve but he liked them so that was good. Unfortunately they were a little too big for my camera to focus on the whole thing so the pictures are kind of blurry.
Medium: acrylic paint on plastic

Kelsier

Inquisitor

I have also been working on some illuminated letters for the first letter in my Robin Hood book. I thought they would give it an interesting medieval artistic field, but I in no way made them as detailed (or colorful) as real illuminated works. Here is one of them.

Medium: Gimp 2 (Raster illustration)

Also I went on a hike a few weeks ago and ran across some mountain sheep which was pretty awesome. This isn't really artistic per se I was just lucky to see them and the shoot and snap philosophy worked pretty cool, but yeah. I think it is cool that you can see how some of them have neck trackers.

Medium: Camera, Olympus

Finally, I have been finishing up my thesis and working on my presentation for my defense and thus, have been playing around some figures for that. Here are two of my best.

Medium: Inkscape (Vector illustration)

Illustrating different types of data I've included in the database. An early version of this one was already been shown in my blog here.

Illustrating the maps I used to create a master map for the Carnegie Quarry and how they overlap.

Alright, so after putting all these images I realized why I had a hard time relating them at the beginning. They are done with different mediums. They were all done for different reasons (just for fun, for a hobby, because the opportunity presented itself, for school (and to communicate ideas). Which is actually really cool. I think sometimes I forget how prevalent art can be in my life.

Education and Faith: A Partnership

Two posts ago I mentioned writing this, so I thought I should actually include it for those who I didn't discuss it with.

Harvard University, founded in 1636, is arguably the first university in what is now the United States. Like many other early colleges and universities, Harvard was founded to train clergymen. This was not a new phenomenon. Throughout medieval Europe, education was predominantly handled by churches with the most well-educated members of society typically being clergymen. During the same period, the middle east flourished under what is now known as the Islamic Golden age. Inspired by words of the prophet Muhammed, and scholars like Al-Zarnuji, Muslims prized education, teaching children from the Quran and sending them to schools that were associated with mosques (Berkey, 2004). During this time Muslim scholars made enormous strides in mathematics, science, philosophy and medicine.
In contrast to this expected partnership between education and religion are the studies found today with titles such as “Why Education Corrodes Religious Faith” (Zucherman, 2014) or “Does Higher Education Experience Undermine Faith -- or Enhance it?” (White, 2012). These studies are inconclusive with individuals backed by statistics coming down on both sides of the issue. As shown by history, however, education does not inherently undermine faith, previously it was an assumed partnership. However, in the modern era college campuses are rarely associated with a specific denomination and their purpose has moved beyond educating clergymen. Instead, because of the diversity among students and faculty, students are often confronted with ideas that challenge their paradigms, and experiences that broaden their knowledge of cultures and beliefs. These types of ideas and experiences bring up questions and sometimes doubts that have the potential to shake the foundations of seedling faith that is blind, dogmatic or untried. However, in my experience, when individual’s faith is based on their personal experiences with divinity and seeking for truth wherever it can be found, then questions become stepping stones for faith. 
The broadening questions and the very topics explored in higher education experiences can increase faith, if approached with a mind open to revelation. Historically, one of the reasons early American colonists valued literacy was because they could read the Bible and religious tracts (Miletich), and thus learn about and become closer to their God. Higher education can be valued for the same reason. Learning about science and mathematics is learning about God’s creations and His laws. The study of human nature, God’s own children, using psychology, and anthropology is a way to better understand ourselves and learn to serve those around us. The creation of music, art, and literature celebrates God’s own creative power by practicing the same quality. These topics can impact religious faith for good, but the challenge of learning can also be beneficial. 
Two years ago, I started a Master’s program in geology, after studying anthropology as an undergraduate. While taking advanced classes without the extensive geology background of my peers and working with my advisor on my thesis project my own inadequacies have become woefully apparent, making it necessary to lean on the experience and knowledge of others. Learning to ask questions and accept answers, and sometimes the lack thereof, has been crucial to my learning. Working consistently day by day on classwork and my thesis has also been essential to my progress.
These values; humility, patience and diligence, that I have honed in a secular setting are the same values that nourish my faith as I rely on God and His timing, and in the meantime, do the little things to keep Him in my life. However, these and other values can be cultivated in many circumstances including participating in manual labor, missionary work, or being part of a family. No matter the circumstances, working with integrity to achieve something better helps me develop values that when applied to my spiritual life helps to increase my faith in God.
The questions I have explored and the doubts I have overcome, plus the amazing facts, theories, and anecdotes I have learned combined with the values that have become an integral part of my life because of education have brought me closer to God. Understanding that God is not only just, merciful and all-powerful but also all-knowing, is it any wonder that striving for knowledge—becoming like Him—brings me closer to Him as well?


References
Berkey, Jonathan. “Education.” Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, edited by Richard C Martin, MacMillan Reference USA, 2006.
Miletich, Patricia. “Religion and Literacy in Colonial New England” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/religion-and-eighteenth-century-revivalism/resources/religion-and-literacy-colonial-n.
White, Mercedes. “Does Higher Education Experience Undermine Faith -- or Enhance it?” Deseret News, 11 March 2012: www.deseretnews.com/article/765558804/Does-higher-education-experience-undermine-faith-2-or-enhance-it.html.
Zucherman, Phil. “Why Education Corrodes Religious Faith.” Psychology Today. 3 November 2014, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-secular-life/201411/why-education-corrodes-religious-faith.

The Meaning of Night

I'm sitting here in my apartment with the setting sun shining in on me after a storm. And it makes me happy.
Sometimes at night if the moon is ever shining in through my window I sleep backwards in bed just so I could fall asleep with the moonlight on my face.
There is something incredibly compelling about light. It is bright and obvious and beautiful. Is it any wonder that it has been used in comparison with darkness since the beginning of time as a visualization of un-articulateable ideas, especially involving good and evil?
Of course not. But as my dad says I'm a rebel and I have to root for the other side.... and darkness does get a bad rap.
As a senior in high school I wrote a poem entitled Night is a Blanket* for an assignment. I tried to emphasize the healing, peaceful powers of night and darkness.
Then I wrote a novel about a people who are nocturnal** and are thought to be evil because of it... but really they are just people.
I think the main reason why dark is seen so negatively is because humans are bad at seeing in the dark so the dark often means the unknown and unexpected.
But the thing is complete light with no darkness (shadow/contrast) is just as blinding (more so really because it can last longer) than complete darkness. (Remember don't look straight into the sun).
Just like winter--the time of dormant plants--is necessary for the health of some plants, night is our daily time of physical and often emotional rejuvenation.... So if I take the next step it begs another question. Are times of confusion and uncertainty in our lives, often compared to times of darkness,  really times of unnoticed growth. A type of staging ground for the next step?


*Night is a Blanket

Night is a blanket,
Covering the world,
Thick and dark.

Night is a blanket,
Underneath to hide
Secret longings, hidden from the day.

Night is a blanket,
Comfortable and warm,
To rest in.

Night is a blanket,
Children lie under,
Scaring each other with phantoms.

Night is a blanket,
To snuggle within
And listen to sounds all around.

Night is a blanket,
To look through,
Trying to see the world anew.

**If you ever wanted to know how much being diurnal has affected our language try writing a book about nocturnal people. Today, Morning. Three days ago. Seeing color. How do you tell what time it is when the sun isn't up?

Practical* Crafts

So recently I have finished some fun projects that I thought I would share.
Seeing as how lately I have been living in apartment for a year at the longest and have still been acquiring things (😝) I thought it would be useful to have some sort of bag or box that is small when not in use but large and sturdy enough that I could use it for packing. Instead of buying it, I wanted to make it myself. So I designed a box (made out of cardboard and grocery bags) based off my brother's reusable grocery bag. It was a fairly long process but I like how it turned out. Now I just have to see how it withstands a move. It really is just cardboard and plastic bags (no tape or glue, etc). I used binderclips, paperclips, a carpet needle, and an awl to make it. And it folds up relatively flat (with a false bottom).

 My second project was inspired by my Saturday hikes. I have low topped hiking boots and so with the advent of summer there is a ridiculous amount of prickly seed pods of various sorts that would get caught in my socks. After one week of stopping every 5 minutes to pick out the prickles I got smart and did something about it. The next week I made gaiters out of gallon ziplock bags but they were kind of hot and sweaty and noisy. So two weeks after I made these gaiters out of my old pants (good thing I hadn't thrown them out yet). They might be more effective if I wore them over my boots instead of inside them (a few prickles still slide down to my lower foot) but I wasn't sure I had anything hefty enough that could survive the beating the cloth would take on the bottom of my boot and these work great so far (I've only used them once but still). I'm also glad I made the plastic prototypes because I cut these a little different than I would have otherwise.

  So maybe these projects don't look exactly classy, but I still enjoyed designing them and I made them with stuff that I just had laying around (or my mom had laying around... well I did buy the binderclips). I might have been able to find similar things at a store, but then I would have had to go shopping! Plus, it makes me happy when I can make something that I will use.


*As in they can be used, not necessarily that they are monetarily worth the time or effort.

Satisfaction

I find hard physical labor satisfying, and the dirt, scratches or soreness that goes with it is a reminder of that satisfaction.

I also find solving problems satisfying whether it is fixing something by tightening a screw or getting a query in a database to work properly.

I like being useful whether that means answering someone's question, holding the door open for someone with too much in their hands, reading a book to a child or making a thoughtful observation that someone finds helpful.

Creating something new out of old things, or just a new drawing, painting, etc. is also satisfying.

No matter your occupation or position in life I think everyone finds aspects of it that they like better than others. Sometimes when we feel unsatisfied with life currently I feel like there is a tendency to want to drastically change your life. Move somewhere else, quit your job, etc. However, I'm not convinced that is necessarily the answer, because as I said before there are always things that we don't enjoy..... but maybe instead of trying to drastically change our lives we can instead try to find opportunities to incorporate things that give us satisfaction.

I don't often have the need to do hard labor but the other day when a friend was moving I volunteered to help. Once when my Mom needed a handout for a lesson I volunteered to whip one up instead of just letting her get one offline (sure she could have just used a pre-made one but it was more fun for both of us that I made one).

That said I think there will always be times of discouragement and depression whether you are living a balanced life or not but I think recognizing what makes you satisfied and looking for opportunities to do them does help.

Learning about Ink

The last couple of weeks I have played around with drawing with pen and ink. It has been fun and one thing that is kind of interesting about using real tools and not digital ones is that now I am the absolute expert out of all the world on my nibs. Even other people that use pen and ink and might know just from looking at my nibs how they will perform more or less don't know how it will work as well as I do.
It is like knowing exactly how to close the door so that it won't jam.
A couple of things I learned.
Pen and ink is amazingly forgiving. If you don't put the first line exactly where you want it you can just draw another line over it. I didn't love how the hindfoot of this mulgara turned out so so I just drew the tail over it and you can't really tell.

Pen and ink is amazingly unforgiving. If the proportions are off when you start with those first couple of lines you will fail. That's why after a while I started using pencil to sketch out my pictures and then followed with ink. These fighting gemsbok are the first sketch that I started doing this with, and is probably my favorite.

Being familiar with the nib you are using is very important. While working on the gemsbok above I think I accidentally broke my favorite nib. The next image I drew in pencil and I thought it turned out quite well (especially because it is a person and I struggle with people), but then my nib had broken so I was trying out other ones and the one I choose was too thick for what I was trying to do here so it turned out kind of weird, especially the face and shading.

Overall I think I like drawing animals best. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise to me,but here is one of the plants I did, a canaigre plant.

I really haven't worked with pen and ink for a long time (all my ink was dried up so I had to keep pouring water into it the first couple of days), but it was fun to play around with it again. Especially because when I did ink drawings before I mostly did it with modern markers and used the nibs and ink for calligraphy.

A couple of other things I noticed is that I do SO much better when I have a good reference picture, even if I modify it after I draw it. I also realize that I have a hard time scaling down from my reference picture.