Process or processing typically describes the act of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures to convert it from one form to another, as a manufacturing or administrative procedure, such as processing milk into cheese, or processing paperwork to grant a mortgage loan. (Wikipedia)

proc⋅ess
/ˈprɒsɛs; especially Brit. ˈproʊsɛs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pros-es; especially Brit. proh-ses] Show IPA noun, plural proc⋅ess⋅es  /ˈprɒsɛsɪz, ‑əsɪz, ‑əˌsiz or, especially Brit., ˈproʊsɛs‑, ˈproʊsə‑/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pros-es-iz, ‑uh-siz, ‑uh-seez or, especially Brit., proh-ses‑, proh-suh‑] Show IPA , verb, adjective
–noun
1.     a systematic series of actions directed to some end: to devise a process for homogenizing milk.
2.     a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner: the process of decay.
3.     Law.
a.     the summons, mandate, or writ by which a defendant or thing is brought before court for litigation.
b.     the whole course of the proceedings in an action at law.
4.     Photography. photomechanical or photoengraving methods collectively.
5.     Biology, Anatomy. a natural outgrowth, projection, or appendage: a process of a bone.
6.     the action of going forward or on.
7.     the condition of being carried on.
8.     course or lapse, as of time.

Today was filled with a small handful of processes, two of which required the use and processing power of a computer. The processing power of my computer managed to batch process a large set of photos in a couple of hours.

When I think of the word process – I see this:

I know it’s all flowing only in one direction.

Sometimes I feel like process should be more like this:

Although, my own process tends to go more like:

At this point, I need to hone in and focus – as well as up the stakes. It seems that time is an inherent part of process. Process without time would be instantaneous.

And that would just look like this:

Not so exciting, is it?

It’s official. I now have WordPress installed and running. If Blogger isn’t gonna support ftp, then I simply can’t use them anymore.

Moving on….

When I uploaded the photo into my blog last, I had forgotten to save it in it’s original higher resolution before flattening the image and reducing it into a lower quality. It was so late – or rather very early depending on how you were looking at the time. I went to bed at 7am, slept right through my phone ringer (which I tend to think of as rather loud), and woke up around 11am. It was a good example of what I mentioned in my last entry about sound and hearing/not hearing. In this case, my body decided it was too tired to let me be woken up by anything. Well, except for my cat(s).

More sound stuff today.Watched a few Cymatics-related videos for a class project. And discovered we have a directional speaker (or 2) on the floor. Directional speakers tend to be really expensive (in the $1000s) and the model we have on the floor is called Audio Spotlight by Holosonics. Apparently these speakers run for about $2000. I’ve been wanting to create an installation that uses directional sound, though the speakers tend to be so costly. It’d be great to be able to project sound and also eliminate the need for headphones. Directional speakers can be a useful option. The sound quality however, leaves much to be desired for.

I’d love to be able to beam sound across the room to specific individuals directly without much bleed for others around to hear.

As far as “beaming” sound is concerned, I thought of a more retro/analog concept for communication/audio transfer and took some photos of people holding tin can phones.

Today, I spent the majority of my time migrating the blog section of my website (this section you’re reading) from Blogger to WordPress. In a few weeks, Google will no longer be supporting ftp blogs, but will still host blogs on their blogspot servers. The Blogger setup is so easy to use, but I’d much rather use my own web host of choice. I’ve spent hours and hours tweaking a WordPress theme to look like my original blog and website – and I’m still not even done yet.

mi⋅grate
  /ˈmaɪgreɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [mahy-greyt]
–verb (used without object), -grat⋅ed, -grat⋅ing.
1. to go from one country, region, or place to another.
2. to pass periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds, fishes, and animals: The birds migrate southward in the winter.
3. to shift, as from one system, mode of operation, or enterprise to another.

I generally tend to think of migration not just as a move, but as a move to/towards something better. I suppose it’s also a move in search of someplace that is simply conducive to existing.

trans⋅mi⋅grate
  /trænsˈmaɪgreɪt, trænz-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [trans-mahy-greyt, tranz-] Show IPA verb, -grat⋅ed, -grat⋅ing.
–verb (used without object)
1. to move or pass from one place to another.
2. to migrate from one country to another in order to settle there.
3. (of the soul) to be reborn after death in another body.
–verb (used with object)
4. to cause to transmigrate, as a soul; transfer.

It’s interesting to note how naturally I can tune out aspects of my surroundings. In particular, conversations being had at tables next to mine when I am at a restaurant. Anyone sitting next to me can more or less rest assure that their conversation was private or at least unheard by one less person. I wonder what makes us tune in and tune out. I generally have a difficult time tuning out ticking clocks if I am sleeping in the same room as one.

My roommate back in undergrad used to completely sleep through a blaring clock alarm. Another roommate told me a story of this recurring dream he had of some crazy loud sound (I don’t recall of what). He realized later that it was the knocking sound of the heater pipes going off around the same time every night. Once this realization occurred, his recurring dream stopped and he could sleep right through the sound.

The amount of nuanced sounds in our environment is incredible. There is so much noise in the air, whether it’s “white noise” or not. It seems rare that there ever really is true silence around you. Even then, we can hear the sounds of our body working.

This also brings me to vision and how through some other, but perhaps similar process – we fine tune our vision, by blurring or sharpening it – often involuntarily. Today I had a glass of bilberry juice for the first time. Bilberry is similar to blueberries, though it seems at least from the juice I drank – less tart. I was first introduced to bilberries (conceptually) some years ago by someone who told me that they had laser eye surgery to correct their vision. There was problem with his night vision and he discovered bilberries somehow and their supposed night-vision enhancing properties. I read somewhere that WWII fighter pilots used to eat bilberry jam regularly to help their vision while flying at night.

Vision is often affected by stress and in those cases also often self-corrects once the stress has passed. I believe some of childhood traumas helped manifest the onset of myopia and my subsequent astigmatism. In times of stress, we literally and figuratively narrow our field of focus, sometimes losing sight of things. Beyond certain general categories of race, I wonder if specific cultures are more visually myopic (nearsighted) or hyperopic (farsighted).

What an incredible day. Today I participated in a Chinese New Year celebration. What I didn’t really realize is that it is the year of the Tiger. And it’s actually my year.

I’m breathing.
and I’m grateful.
How do we capture such grateful moments?
Sometimes it seems so fruitless
These trials of documentation
Lamentation
Frustration
Single-minded nation

——————————————–

I found out the secret to soup dumplings

———————————————–

Right Brain action
satisfaction
gut reaction

——————————————

I’m distracted
Contracted
Refracted
———————————————–

Again, I’m beyond breathing
I’m feeling
I’m seeing
I’m smelling
I’m tasting
I’m moving
I’m grooving
I’m blinking
I’m lucky

Yes!

Thank you!

Starting at 8:15 am, I was originally supposed to have a succession of five different meetings throughout today, but wound up going to three. It was clear and sunny again, but not warm enough to melt the slush and ice on the streets.

Sometimes listening to the musicians in the subway is nicer than listening to my own music.

I had Brunch and a dessert of ice cream. I realize I do feel relieved.

I saw a runaway balloon climbing the sky this afternoon.

I went into Kmart to check if they had something and remembered that I love looking out their arched windows onto Astor Place.

Because the snow and ice was melting and the sky was clear and sunny, the streets were super glistening.

I finally went to get my eyeglasses straightened. I think their crookedness on my face was bothering my eyes.

I was looking at some buildings and noticed how beautifully the sunlight reflected off the windows from one building and bounced onto the building across it. I guess this only happens at a certain time of the day. In this case, it was sometime after 4 pm.

I walked into a stationary store and remembered how much I used to love them until Staples came along and cast them into the shadows.

There are delivery bikes with “built in” cold weather gloves!

I ate a variety of yummy sandwich sections. I love that people really went full on, even bringing in their own cutting boards, electric stoves, grills and toaster ovens for this sandwich competition. I missed it last year and am glad I finally got to experience it.

Many mini sandwiches and meetings and ice cream and going here and there all together in one day are some of the ingredients for tiredness.

——————————————————–
Some random bits from today:

Music on the subway.

ATTENTION OBSERVATION:

I decided during Thesis class tonight that I would start my process of attentively observing my surroundings and my reactions/responses, document what I can, meditate, and reflect and/or summarize this documentation creatively.

I originally was going to start tomorrow since I had decided to very last minute during class what I was going to base my Thesis on – My Personal Focus, but after looking at the class timeline, I felt starting today would make more sense in how our schedule is laid out over the next several weeks.

To track back a bit, last week I presented my Mood Board – which was a collage. I used a Tibetan Mandala as the base of the collage and added images on top of it to illustrate the mood I want to convey in my Thesis, even though I have no idea what form or theme or subject it would take on.

I decided to let the class describe what they felt from looking at my “mood board” before I went into explaining/describing it from my personal perspective. The words they used were pretty interesting and really reflective of what I tend to gravitate towards already. Even then, I suppose I still wasn’t quite expecting some of the words.

This is what came up:

Geometrical
Symmetrical
Exotic
Playing w/ perspective
Spiritual
Occult
Symbolic
Gnostic
Ritual
Mystical
Transcendental
Magical
Visionary
Musical
Premonitory
Centralized

The one word I don’t really know is “premonitory”. So let’s dictionary.com it.

pre⋅mon⋅i⋅to⋅ry
  /prɪˈmɒnɪˌtɔri, -ˌtoʊri/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pri-mon-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] Show IPA
–adjective
giving premonition; serving to warn beforehand.

Origin:
1640–50; < LL praemonitōrius. See pre-, monitorypre·mo·ni·tion (prē’mə-nĭsh’ən, prěm’ə-)
n.
1. A presentiment of the future; a foreboding.
2. A warning in advance; a forewarning.

Hmm…I have to say that I prefer “presentiment” over “warning”, but even that definition has an odd dark/negative tone. Let’s just say “seeing ahead”.

In any case, a few days ago I wrote down two important questions:

* What do I long to do that I have not yet done?
* What are my most significant challenges?

My challenges:
* Focus
* Consistency
* Creativity (or the lull in)
* Documentation
* Sharing/Process
* Practice (as in Consistency)
* Memory (not as sharp as it used to be)
* Giving myself time

I thought of daily exercises I can do:
* Vision/eye
* Meditation
* Attention/Focus (of environment & my response)
* Document
* End of day creative summary

Then I remembered the 21 Days to Form a Habit study.

So my timeline aligned with the class timeline:

2/11 – 3/3: 21 days of focusing/documenting/summarizing & making
Paper Outline
2/11 – Timeline
2/18 – Blockages
2/25 – Recital

3/4 – 3/24: 21 days of designing
3/4 – Mid Semester Critique
3/11- Mid Semester Critique 2
3/18 – 1 on 1

3/25 – 4/14: 21 days of making something interactive
3/25 – Describe each other’s work
4/1 – What’s in a name?
4/8 – TBA
4/15 – Correct each other’s paper

4/22 – In-class Final Presentations
4/29 – In-class Final Presentations 2

Mediums/Media/Tools (12-13)
Photo (Sequence)
Collage
Journal/Writing
Poetry
Audio
Video (Sequence)
Processing
After Effects
openFramworks
MaxMSPJitter
Arduino/Pcomp
Material (?)
Book

Patrick pointed out possibly having too many “tools” and constraining/limiting the projects through just a few. I figured something like dividing the 12 “tools” into the 21 days. Thought that wasn’t quite fully though out so erg…we’ll simply have to start with poetry.

Earlier today when I was researching the 21 Day Habit thing, I found this article/site online: http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2007/05/12/how-to-be-more-focussed/
Despite the typo, the author writes about uptime and downtime.

My attentive (as I can be) observations today:
* I can still manage uptime on only 3 hours sleep, including considerable physical exertion, but I do still feel tired after
* It was clear and sunny when I awoke and throughout the day
* It was slushy out
* I felt extremely nervous talking to the class about my thesis idea, though I was told I looked relieved. I found this interesting.
* I saw 2 young (possibly 20-something) women at a public phone booth on Broadway. One was holding the receiver and slamming it down on the hook several times. I guessed that she lost her quarter. It was rare to see anyone at a phone booth, especially ones in three 20s. I’m assuming most people in this age range living in the city have mobile phones.
* A homeless man accompanied by a large black trash bag was panhandling in the subway car I was in. When he passed I noticed he did not have a belt and his pants sagged low. However his coat/ top layer covered any area above that sag. I realized that he was possibly unintentionally fashionable in the ways of young men/boys who sag their pants way low these days.
——————————————————————-

My creative summary:

Started
Sleepless
Sad and scared
Finally slumbering briefly
I awakened to early morning ringing
And clear blue with shine in the sky
Outside, it was slushy and slippery
beneath our heels and our wheels
Making our way as we carefully felt our footing

See something, convey something
In transit and transitioning
Like “old phone” as a ring tone
And the phone booth as a dinosaur of modern convenience
A parlance of stance
Silly sagging would be fashion
But in this instance, fit is not an option
Neither is no fit or let it slip

* I realize there is a disjuncture in this poem and I would like to come back to it and work on it. I will leave it as is for now.

21 Days to Form a New Habit

ATTENTION & FOCUS/VISUAL EXERCISES/MEDITATION/CREATING & MAKING

2/11 – 3/3
3 weeks/21 days of focusing/documenting/summarizing & making
Paper Outline

3/4 – 3/24
3 weeks of designing

3/25 – 4/14
3 weeks of making something interactive

Instead of a full sound “walk”, I decided to record a subway ride. After the recording, I manipulated the sounds to try and reflect some of the feelings I gathered from the sounds – as opposed to just the naked sounds themselves (and the bits of my voice over). I managed to shave down a 20 minute journey into about 7 minutes.

Sound Traveling (mp3/16.4mb)

Sound Traveling (wav/This file is HUGE 72.3mb!)