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*cough*

ask me questions so that I can post the answers like everyone else. March is question and answer month....and I can't aswer if NO ONE ASKS ME QUESTIONS!

*cough*

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I guess all I had to do was ask :)

allanh asks: What is the story behind your LJ alias?

Right after I graduated from high school I created a website.
http://www.geocities.com/boyshapedbox

It was right before blogs had a name, and right when online journals started to pop up everywhere. I had this problem where I would buy an analog journal, start to write in it, censor myself because I was afraid people would see it, and then after 4 or 5 entries forget about it.
I have about 5-10 journals that are 98% blank.
I figured an online journal, where it was public would be the best forum because I was always on a computer, I found if I MEANT for people to see it I wouldn't be scared if I was uncensored (which is a weird but true concept for me), and I could get a lot of what was going on in my head out.
My friend Miranda had an online journal, and basically because she had crohns disease, and spent a lot of time home sick, taught herself html. When the summer came, I spent WEEKS staying up all night, and sleeping all day, all night at the computer chatting with Miranda learning html from her and other online sources. Looking at the raw source code of others websites until it started to make sense.

So I learned enough to make my own site and I needed a name.
Right after High School Graduation I came to the realization that as popular as I was, and with as many people who knew me, only about 6 or 7 really "knew me." I was always socially outgoing (surprise surprise), and when you grow up in a small town where you dance in nothing but tights in front of everyone, people take notice (both negatively or positively).
There was SO much more to me than "that boy who dances and is funny."
Boyshapedbox was how I felt.
I thought of myself metaphorically as this package that everyone in my high school got in the mail over a 4 year time period (some as long as since kindergarten), and I realized that only 6 or 7 people took the time to get passed the wrapping paper that said "boy who dances and is funny" and look inside.
It's a weird metaphor but it fit perfectly. I felt like a gift you shake to hear what is inside, but you never take the time to open it and investigate what made those sounds.

Boy shaped box.

I started writing in my journal almost EVERY day. It got pretty popular and moved from geocities to redtear.net/boyshapedbox where I didn't have to deal with popups or banner ads and could handle the bandwidth of my readers. Then from there to overturn.net, and then finally I bought boyshapedbox.com and hosted my OWN site.
My journal was a way to get to know ME even if you weren't one of those 6-7 people I considered my close friends. I was (and still am) completely uncensored and wrote as honestly as possible. I had my story to tell and I was going to tell it to who ever would listen.
In senior year of college I realized that I needed a portfolio site with all my work, so I moved my journal to livejournal where it was easier to update AND keep track of other journals.

All in all I found out that the people from my high school missed out, because there WERE people that wanted to know me and not just the outside.

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kitchenbeard asks: If you could redesign a cultural icon, be it a cartoon character, corporate logo or other "drawn" form, what would you do?

Tough question :)
As a designer, I have a complete respect for accessability, legibility, and simplicity. To create something that millions of people have to see over and over again and not grow tired of, and understand/recognize in under a second, is NO easy task. That being said I don't normally go around saying "ugh I could design that better."
Usually when I redesign things it's because I am asked to, or because they need to be updated.

So if I had to pick something to be updated I would like to update our currency.
I think the new nickel's are beautiful and really are a step forward towards a fresh look at an old standard.


Other countries have currency that is decorative and colorful and look like small works of art.
I think a redesign of the dollar bill would greatly improve how this country thinks. A redesign of something everyone takes for granted, and that everyone see's daily, sparks the feeling that things are progressing forward and that change is being made. And the FEELING that change is being made, makes way for actual change.
Does that make sense?
I think "patriotism" is being confused with "sticking to the old ways" and that "new/different is bad." Taking something OOOZING with patriotic symbolism and giving it a fresh face might make Americans feel like the US isn't like a "stubborn grampa in the corner who has all the power, but only because they won't budge and think that because they are old and have had the power for a long time, they don't have to do anything new to earn respect."
I think I am just going in circles trying to explain.
I'll make it simple.

Dollar design = old and outdated
New Dollar = feelings of being on the forefront of change
Everyone feels that everyone ELSE is ready for change = ACTUAL change.

Tell me if I make any sense at all.

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bigreddee asks: What is your favorite thing to draw, and why?

I tend to draw cupcakes, tentacles, and creepy children a lot. They keep popping up in my sketchbooks and have been for a few years now.

I'd love to get that analized and see what it says about my brain.

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excalibear asks: If you had the oppertunity to meet with one important person in history, who would it be and why?

I was raised on Sci-Fi time travel shows/movies and I would be scared that if I met with a person I wasn't around for to meet, I would end up erasing myself.

I legitely believe that.

But for my entire life I've always said, "I would love to give the country a 10 minute address. Not from a politician, not from a millionaire, and not from a celebrity. Just me. Not because I feel like I'm more important, but because I think it would be cool to say 'I told the entire country at the same time that parents need to discipline their children better, gay people are normal people, and that the Rich have too much power for all the wrong reasons, and the poor people have no power for no reason at all. I got to tell everyone at the same time, and now NO one could use the excuse 'I had no idea."

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grubbybastard asks: If you could liken yourself to a kitchen appliance, which one would it be and why?

I am sitting here really considering which appliance I am most like.

Am I like a blender? Or more like a hand mixer?

Or maybe I'm like that new jar opener machine where I look cool, but in actuality I just do the same old thing that has been done for years and years.

I hope not.
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eloquentwthrage asks: Did you ever have a crush on a relative when you were a kid less than twelve years old?

I never had crushes on relatives, probably because I never really spent anytime with them other than holidays, and I never had any near my age.

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betc102 asks: if you would recommend 3 albums (any kind at all), that i dont know, that you think i would really enjoy what would you recommend?

In terms of 100% full albums....Hmmm....

First of all I'd send you Dean Grey's "American Edit" album.
I think it's the highest quality full mash up album where all the tracks are well done.

Then I'd give you a copy of Frou Frou's "Details."
I can listen to that entire album in one sitting without any problems.

And Kenna's "New Sacred Cow."
I think you'd really like those.

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finetuning asks: What's your favorite visual artist? your favorite performing artist? your "safe place?" the song you can't get enough of right now? do you play any instruments?

My favorite visual artist is probably Tom Friedman. He created really simple works in their execution, but the thought and the message behind them is complex. On the outside it looks plain and boring, or just "cool", but when you take a second to ponder the meaning you can debate it for hours.
Example: His work "Hot Balls"


At first you see all these balls in height order sitting on the ground. It's colorfull, it's neat to see all the balls increasing in height towards the center where there is a pretty large one. It's "cool."
But the name "Hot Balls." When you read about the work you find out that all the balls were stolen over a 2 year period. You start visioning just HOW he managed to get the big one out of the store or where ever...
The piece is about more than that though....it lets the viewer question what is more important, the art, or the intention behind the art? Does the fact that the balls were stolen make the piece valid? or does it stand up on it's own. Would you get the same impression if you hadn't read the description?
But I do have to admit....he does have a great "HOW DID HE DO THAT" factor, plain and simple.

Soap. And Tom Friedman's inlayed Pubic hair in perfect concentric circles.

My favorite performing artist is a tougher question because frankly I don't have one. I love performance art, but I never really got to see much in person having gone to a design school.
But my favorite performer in general is easy if ya know me.

Gene Kelly hands down.
Besides having the best ass ever and having had a crush on him since I can remember, I have ALWAYS admired his talents.
From acting, to dancing. EVERYTHING he did always looked effortless. He was a joy to watch and took dancing and singing and made it masculine; like just a regular guy who could sing and dance the pants off of meany girl he wanted.

I don't really have a defined "safe place" of my own but here in san francisco the two places I feel the safest, most welcome, and most comfortable are my friend Drew and Orme's apartment, and at dhbearguy's apartment. They are two place I can go if I am stranded, or if I just need a place to go.


When it comes to music, I suffer from Musical ADD. Songs get stuck in my head VERY easily whether I want them there or not (*cough* Celine Dion "All Coming Back *cough*)....so usually it's for bad reasons.
But as of lately no single song seems to be sticking around for very long in my noggin'.
I've been singing Tycho's "Sunrise Projector" (which has NO words, go figure), the mash up of Madonna's "Hung Up" vs. Deathcab's "Soul Meets Body", and Cheese On Bread's"Where the Fuck are They?" and "Sally".
Seems like I only sing IMPOSSIBLE SONGS TO SING.

I used to play 3 saxophones, but dancing conflicted with Jazz Band Practices so I stopped.

I think that covers them all.