The Art of the Silent Fart

Wait to hear a pop, then release the rest of the piggybacking fart.
by Edwin of awkwardlist.com

Photo from Matias Jaramillo’s flickr

The whole world needs to be able to fart freely, because nobody wants to hold it in for so long that you explode, and we all know that you should never force such a thing. You see, by the time farts come out, most of it is composed of nitrogen. If you’re a nervous person who swallows a lot of air and digests things quickly, your farts may contain a lot of oxygen.

Why do they stink?

Small amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and mercaptans in the mixture (compounds that contain sulfur) makes them smell. Bacterial fermentation and digestion processes produce heat as a byproduct, which create bubbles that are small, hot, and heavily concentrated with stinky bacterial metabolic products. Aka the silent-but-deadly.

If you skipped the last paragraph because I used chemistry, I’m not offended.

In order for you to fart silently, there are a few techniques out there that can help you out:

1. Let out a little gas (you may hear a pop) and then release the rest piggybacking on the opening the pop made. If you can stop the pop, you’re golden.
2. Squat. A band conductor once suggested this to us, and even though I haven’t tried it.. I still don’t endorse it. It’s risky.
3. Muffle the sound somehow.

Didn’t think you’d be getting a lesson on flatulence this morning, right? Haha! You’re welcome!

Any awkward fart stories out there?

PhotoLedger: Painting – Photograph

A painting looks like a photograph; a photograph looks like a painting.

I like paintings because it is the headline of art. It’s the prominent art form that I first think of when ‘art’ is brought up. It’s meticulous and expressionist.

I like photographs because they capture real life moments. They are testaments of how the world looked like.

I like it when painting and photographs cross boundaries, you don’t know which is which. It’s impressive to create one that rims in the slim distinction between painting and photograph.

This artwork is by Frans Lanting:

This artwork is by Alyssa Monks:

Whose work is painting? Whose work is photograph?

Death of Handwriting

When’s the last time you received a handwritten letter?

Photo from FontFont’s flickr

Note Writing is imperative during my grade school years. I remember starting with a date on the uppermost right side of the page; 07-16-96, short for July 16 of 1996. I copy exactly what my teacher writes on the board. I will underline a word and encircle it three times like how she wanted to exaggerate on it.

I have a good penmanship. My teachers would love me to copy a passage from the book to the board when they’re feeling slack. My seatmates adore my notes. In high school, my friends begged to photocopy my notebook. I really like writing with my hands. I’m proud of it and I enjoy the attention, especially the ladies in college since it’s peculiar for a guy to have a beautiful penmanship.

But in my second year in college, I don’t write as much on paper anymore. I used my phone to take photos of my professor’s scribbles. There was this particular professor who said that his only request from us is to give him heads up if we’re going to take a picture; and he will smile or act like a passionate lecturer.

People now use their smartphones to list grocery items or laptop to write a mail. It’s easier that way. We just need this small box in our pocket to note anything. It’s perfectly legible too.

It’s convenient to write this post using my laptop than in paper. I will have to type it anyway if I handwritten this, to reach you. But I miss the praise I get from my penmanship. It’s my style; parts of my individuality are imprinted on every curve of letter a and the dot on letter j.

“Schools don’t care how a child holds her pencil as long as she can read” (Suddath, 2009). Education would only care if you fared pass on a test. It won’t grade your penmanship. And in standardized tests, we don’t need to write. We just choose the letter or shade the circle corresponding to the right answer. There’s also spur of tablet and computer use in schools.

It’s true that performance won’t be affected whether you have a legible handwriting or not. It’s just that, it’s us. Using our hands to write is human. When we receive a typewritten letter, it can be from anybody because the font is computerized. But if you open a letter and you see the first handwritten word, you know who wrote it. It’s each person’s distinct feature.

Would you mourn the death of handwriting?

Source:
Mourning the Death of Handwriting; TIME

Graffiti is Art, is Not.

Some are pleasing to see, while many are appropriated as vandalism.

A modern city, with clear cut architecture, black and white picturesque, is lacking color. Art is a wonderful output of humans, yet less space is allotted to it.

You cannot hang a painting on the streets – it’ll get stolen in a heartbeat. People can’t perform on the wall as if in a theater – it’ll increase the crowd. So in what form can art be in the city? Graffiti is a debate.

Is Art.

Photo from Fabrizio Morroia’s flickr

Have you seen a wall? It’s as boring as it gets. It’s a blank vertical, too simple to insinuate anything other than set a boundary. It’s like a canvas; the purpose is served in the event of art creation. Graffiti makes a wall interesting, deserving a longer glance. Even appreciation.

Photo from Nagarjun Kandukuru’s flickr

Is Not.

See the Graffiti above? Our perceptions may differ; but for me, this looks dirty. There is even more intense drawing than that, which I chose not to coalesce in this post to maintain decency. Kyla Brooke asked if Graffiti is really an art, or vandalism. I think it is vandalism when people mess up with a wall that is not their property. Yet, if it is your property and you put up a design that’s funky and overwhelming, would we accept it as a “design”?

Art, vandalism, design, where would you put Graffiti in?

How to Leverage Your Creativity

“Be quiet! I’m trying to think.”
by Jeff Whitaker of Giving Voice to Vision

Photo from Photoxpress

Those of us who spend a lot of time in the business of creativity know the feeling. You need to come up with something. But you’re just not ‘feeling it’. Good news. I may be able to help you spark a creative idea or two.

We’ve all been told at one time or another, “Be quiet! I’m trying to think.” Well, it could be that may not be the best admonishment to get the creative juices flowing. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that when you compare next to no noise (or silence) to moderate levels of ambient noise, turns out moderate noise wins out as a better environment in which to create.

Apparently it works this way. Moderate background noise (70 decibels) creates enough of a distraction to push people to think more creatively where as complete silent can have the opposite effect. The researchers say a relatively noisy environment like a cafe or coffee shop may actually trigger the brain to think abstractly and in turn generate creative ideas. (I’m sure the caffeine doesn’t hurt.)

The study also cautions that excessive noise like a jackhammer isn’t the answer either. Too much noise really does make it hard to think. Guess its true that as with many other aspects of life, moderation is the key, literally.

So, the next time your project calls for a jolt of creativity, excuse yourself and head to the nearest coffee house. Who knows what you’ll come up with.

What are some of your best ideas for sparking creativity and do you agree or disagree with the findings of this study?

I am the Pastor of Programming and Media at Shore Fellowship Church, one of the largest churches in Southern New Jersey and one of the fastest growing churches in the nation.