Nailing Self-Expression

I have enough trouble painting my nails a solid colour, and I'm a trained painter. Nail polish brushed are difficult to work with and the actual polish dries too quickly to correct any errors effectively.

I'm always amazed when someone can do something that I could never in a million years do.

What really fascinates me, is the way that an individual can use this medium as a form of self-expression just like they would with their clothes, hair or accessories. The main difference with nail art is that it is a whole lot more temporary. Painted finger nails generally only last a week or so if done professionally at best. After the nail polish begins to chip off, the polish must be removed. Chipped nails look very tacky.

People can get a variety of designs in any colour they choose. A common theme appears to be flowers, dots and swooshes, but other designs are available. You can get custom nails done like the ones above that are images of rooms in a house. Nails such as these, are truly a form of self-expression because of their rarity.

Getting your nails done in this way, is truly a unique form of expression, and a sure way of standing out from the crowd without doing something as dramatic as dressing as a goth or dying your hair blue. It is a more understated way of differentiating yourself from others.

Crazy houses

At first glance, these houses may seem kind of ugly or strange, but if you look at them closely, each one is amazing. These are the kind of homes that would draw tourists and that could be categorized as works of arts themselves.

The 'Upside Down House' on the left is located in Japan.

The multi-coloured house is located in Canada.

The tilted house is located in England and is a definite tourist attraction.

There seem to be many houses shaped like shoes worldwide; people must really like that old nursery rhyme. The image below is of a house in South Africa. I found many others in my search.

I think that people seem to like these kinds of homes because it takes them back to their childhoods. These are houses that are designed to reflect an individual's taste.

How do we communicate?

Communication is a tricky business.

The first way (and most obvious) that we communicate is vocally. However, it is not only what we say but how we say the information that determines how the information is received by people. The specific wording, vocal emphasis, gestures, and facial expressions all play a part in the way the information is interpreted.

We can communicate through individual expression particularly through the things that we as individuals create such as music, literature, and art. The simple act of creating something can convey feelings and emotions that are not easily communicated vocally or face to face. The books we read can convey certain messages to the reader. One song can completely change a listener's mood. A photograph can cause a viewer to have an emotional response.

We also communicate through writing and the way that we record information. This information can be recorded in a variety of ways including emails, papers, texting, etc. Here, information is edited, messages tend to be more thought out and information can be more easily omitted depending on the receiver. The way in which the information and the medium used to communicate it help to determine the way in which the message is understood.

In order to communicate to a large amount of people, we also communicate through the media: the internet, television, radio, etc. The information conveyed is more generalized, and impersonal than one on one communication.

Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?

Recently, I bought this documentary on impulse, just because of the title, "Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock." The DVD is about a truck driver who bought a painting for $5.00 in a thrift store, which could potentially be an original Jackson Pollock painting worth over $50,000,000.

In her quest to find out the painting's origins, she had several art experts examine the work.
She had the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York look at it, but he deemed the painting inauthentic based on the fact that it didn't feel like a Pollock. Many art connaisseurs though the same due to the fact that it was purchased in a thrift store and that it was unsigned.

In an effort to prove all the critics wrong, she had an art forensics expert look at the painting. He was able to link the work back to Pollock in a few ways:
1. The technique used to apply the paint was similar, if not exactly the same when you compared magnifications of the painting to other samples of his work. (On the right is an authentic Pollock, his "Number One", done in 1948.)
2. The composition (the actual make-up of the paint itself) was the same as the paint on the floor of Pollock's studio.
3. Lastly, there was a fingerprint in paint on the back of the painting that was a match to one found on a painting done by Pollock in Germany, and one found on a paint can in Pollock's studio.

In spite of all this compelling forensic evidence, the art world refuses to accept this work as an authentic Pollock because of a 'feeling', which is ridiculous. However, until the art world accepts this painting as real, no art dealer will touch it, no one will buy it, and the painting may as well be fake and worth only $5.

Top 10 and Favourite 5

Top 10 Favourite Things in the Larger Scheme of Things
1. Having 8 or more hours of uninterrupted rest.
2. Walking outside on a clear day when it is warm enough that you don't need a coat, but cold enough that you still have the option.
3. Days in the spring/summer when I walk through fields of dandelions and can kick them, or in the winter when the ice makes that perfect cracking sound when you step on it.
4. Reading a good book.
5. Finishing your homework a few days beforehand.
6. Watching a horribly bad movie with friends.
7. Flipping through old books and looking at the illustrations/graphics.
8. Going for a swim on one of those brutally hot and humid July days.
9. Looking after my niece and nephew (when they are not being pains).
10. Going out to dinner or drinks with friends and having meaningful conversation.

Favourite 5 Items
1. Bubble Wrap: especially when you pop them.
2. My Vincent Van Gogh Action Figure
3. The odd ashtray that I found at Value Village years ago.
4. The Wallpaper books at work, which are so much fun to look through and criticize.
5. Sharpie Markers: Perfect for thumbnail scketches.

Symbols of Muhammadali Jaffer

Media Symbols:
1. Television: Ugly Betty, America's Next Top Model, Friends
2. Video Games
3. Youtube: Deathstar Canteen
4. Deviant Art
5. Mac Computers
6. Cell Phone: only texting

Other Symbols:

Visual Symbols:
1. Glasses
2. USB Key: Somehow always loses the cap and yet always finds in a completely random location (lost the lid on the bus ride to school, and found it again on the way home from school (8 hours later)

Tendencies:
1. Says "I'm sorry a lot."
2. Always early
3. Always stressed.
4. Always sleepy.
5. Always worrying.