Maggie Appleton

Upcoming Chartist-in-Residency on Wednesday May 22nd!

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:30:00 -0700

Next Wednesday on May 22nd, I will be given the digital keys to my favourite visual information blog I Love Charts to run it for twelve glorious hours! The quintessential tumblr for chart-lovers everywhere, I Love Charts has long supplied me with inspiration, information, illumination, and insight. They are also among the impressive ranks of those who turn blogs into book deals – you can buy the book “I Love Charts” (a collection of their best finds) from Amazon.

Previous Chartists-in-Residence include such big-chart-names as Wendy MacNaughton, Jessica Hagey of Indexed, and Dante Sherperd of Surviving the World (better known as science-coat-and-chalkboard-man).

As a chartist-in-residence, I will spend the day posting the mass release of new Quote Charts, a smattered collection of charts that I admire, and an interactive submission session where you can send in your favourite quotes and I will try to speed-illustrate and post ones that “speak to me,” as it were.

I even drew a new chart to “explain myself” (a veritable task in itself):

Stop by next Wednesday and watch it all unfold. The chart glory will be plentiful!

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXV One phrase that tends...

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:35:59 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXV

One phrase that tends to float in circles around the subreddit QuotesPorn (one of my favourite places to troll for ideas) is the Iranain proverb:

“The night hides a world, but reveals a universe”

It holds a place among many other great sayings from Iran. Other ones include:

Habits are first cobwebs, then cables.

You can’t push on a rope.

A drowning man is not troubled by rain.

Only a heart can find the way to another heart.

Some glorious glorious human being made a video of one of The...

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:01:31 -0700

Some glorious glorious human being made a video of one of The Best Essays/Lectures in Existence: “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace.

It is hard to overstate the overwhelming love I feel for this whole piece, as previously indicated in a post where I drew the opening quote.

Starting drawing an espresso cup. Ended in a Lion. While...

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:09:00 -0700

Starting drawing an espresso cup. Ended in a Lion. While listening to the WNYC Radiolab episode 23 Weeks 6 Days about premature babies…. sometimes my hand is just on a whole different train to my mind.

If I ever end up branding my own coffee (pipe dream #659), will definitely be calling it “Lion Fuel” and digging this back up…

Achievements of the Day: Attended last ever undergraduate...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:43:00 -0700

Achievements of the Day:

Attended last ever undergraduate class.
Realised I had gone over a week without putting pencil to paper. Immediately abandoned writing a final essay to spend 20 minutes drawing an Aged Neanderthal (today’s dailydraw theme is “Cave People”).

Hannilbury Doughboy The Sketch Daily on Reddit this morning was...

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:07:00 -0700

Hannilbury Doughboy

The Sketch Daily on Reddit this morning was “Character Crossovers,” and I went with Pillsbury Doughboy meets Hannibal Lecter.

Possible catchphrases: “Mmmm, Human Flesh is Doughy Fresh!” or “Hee hee, Come bake with me Clarice!”

Here Is Today Beautiful, simple, interactive infographic-style...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:55:00 -0700

Here Is Today

Beautiful, simple, interactive infographic-style website putting time into relative perspective. Places “today” in context to our century (21st) — millennium (3rd) — epoch (Holocene) — period (Quaternary) — era (Cenozoic) — Eon (Phanerozoic) — and the beginnings of oxidization, fish, and anatomically modern humans. You quickly grasp the point we are in a tiny insignificant moment, and infinity does indeed reach beyond the three minutes it takes to microwave your supreme-cheese-pizza Hot Pocket.

I have eternal admiration for websites like this with simple, to-the-point, succinctly-executed purposes. Luckily, I’m not alone in this obsession and of course found a subreddit (r/internetisbeautiful) dedicated to collecting them. Others to check out include How Many People are in Space Right Now, The Pick One Game, 7 Billion People on a Webpage and the Make Everything OK Button.

Not Laughing Out Loud: The Actual Meaning of "Lol"

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:56:00 -0700

I have long been trying to put into words exactly what “lol” now means. The way it primarily gets used, it definitely doesn’t mean “laughing out loud” (or the alternative meaning of “lots of love”) – it has shifted to become a casual marker. It is now a filler word that signifies a lack of seriousness or heaviness in a conversation, a social buffer cushioning the text that preceded it. Take for example the following common exchange:

“What you up to?”

“Not much, lol.”

“Lol, cool. Me neither.”

Clearly no one on either end of the iPhone text or G-chat window actually laughed in that interaction. There was nothing explicitly humorous in it. Using “lol” created an atmosphere for the conversation that we otherwise struggle to convey when we’re not standing face-to-face. It’s a show of friendliness and openness to the conversation that would otherwise come across in body language and facial expressions like smiling.

I finally found another great explanation about the use of lol by John McWhorter. In his TED Talk Txtng is killing language. JK!!!, McWhorter calls lol “a marker of empathy, a marker of accommodation” (McWhorter has some great other points about linguistic theory in relation to texting, calling the medium “writing like speaking”). The flexible use of lol includes signifying you relate to the other person’s situation, as well as setting the tone of an interaction.

In linguistic theory, this type of language use is known as a pragmatic particle – a phrase that is used ‘pragmatically’ to fill in sentences.

Think of how we use “um,” and “well,” and “like,” and “yeah,” to build rhythm and pattern into the beats of our conversations. Especially in Singapore the phenomena of adjoining the term “lah” to nearly every sentence essentially defines the unofficial language of Singlish, and has become a point of national identity it’s so pervasive.

And finally, proof that understanding this distinction is important:

Anti-Gravity Tents, Striped Paintbrushes & Reddit...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:49:00 -0700

Circus

Reflections

Stripes

Anti-Gravity Tents, Striped Paintbrushes & Reddit Addictions

Sometimes Reddit addictions can lead to slightly better things than coming-to while lightly drooling onto your trackpad at 1:12am wondering where your mental consciousness has been for three hours. The above illustrations are responses to the themes “Circus,” “Reflection,” and “Stripes” – all handed to me by the glorious creative-motivation forces of Reddit. Specifically, the subReddits Sketch Daily and Art Battle. Since discovering these two, I’ve produced more creative work (not all of it internet-worthy) in the past three weeks than in the past three months.

I recognise that Reddit has an awful reputation. The alleged home of 4chan-worthy misogynists, bad internet-culture GIFs, and an entire century’s worth of “lost productivity time,” the site seems terribly unappreciated. Yet I’ve found that if you look in the right places (aka. troll the right subReddits), it has a ton to offer.

It’s hard to make yourself produce creative work on a daily basis – It actually seems borderline immoral to spend an hour drawing when you have an essay due tomorrow that currently reads like the stream of consciousness of a three-year-old. But throw in some external topic prompts and social affirmation and things change.

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXIV Paul Graham is one...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:36:18 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXIV

Paul Graham is one of my favourite essay-ists at the moment. His reflections are well worth the long reads, and are dotted with nuggets of worthwhile advice. I found this one in “How to Lose Time and Money”;

“The most dangerous way to lose time is not to spend it having fun, but to spend it doing fake work”

I am sure too far many of us know the agony of pretending to be busy out of a sense of obligation to the gods of constant productivity, instead of letting ourselves stare at the wall when we need to. Actual Worthwhile Work only happens if you dedicate yourself to taking some Actual Worthwhile Space in between it. Space no where near your email inbox – Graham continues by pointing out “the most dangerous traps now are new behaviours that bypass our alarms about self-indulgence by mimicking more virtuous types. And the worst thing is, they’re not even fun.”

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXIII I’ve been...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:47:00 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXIII

I’ve been waiting to post this one for a while.

In 2005 David Foster Wallace gave A commencement speech at Kenyon College that has since been published into a small, brief and beautiful book entitled This is Water. It is suffice to say I treat nearly everything David Foster Wallace wrote as closer to Truth than anything a mechanism of science could produce. His sincere reflections on how we are unable to see what we are constantly submerged in, that which should be blatantly obvious, are beautifully insightful.

I venture to say that of all the troves of quotations I horde, this is my most loved;

“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’ “

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXII Of all the curses in...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:53:30 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXII

Of all the curses in this world, of the phenomenon of cold and mushy toast, of tax season (April 15th is fast approaching…), and even of Voldemort proclaiming Avada Kedavra, John Malkovich still seemed to think consciousness topped them all;

“ Consciousness is a terrible curse. I think. I feel. I suffer”

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXI Cynicism walks...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:07:00 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XXI

Cynicism walks a controversial line. It may be Conan O’Brien’s least favourite quality, but others see it as a dark yet valuable form of insight. George Bernard Shaw was one of these (but I would take many of his quotes with a grain of salt, he had a love for poking sleeping dragons with his words);

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XX The most satisfying...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:06:22 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XX

The most satisfying experiences come not out of total ease and relaxation, but progressing through struggles that, in the end, we get the better of. The words of Andrew G. Williams illuminate how we underestimate the necessity of adversity in order to advance our world;

“The ability to adapt to new realities is what distinguishes those who grow through adversity from those who are destroyed by it.”

Illustrated Thoughts VIII; The Space for Silence Sometimes it...

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:27:03 -0700

Illustrated Thoughts VIII; The Space for Silence

Sometimes it seems there’s just a little too much ‘stuff’ in the world – too much blather and bustle and boisterous opinion – that collectively make themselves a lot less valuable by their abundance.

Worthwhile things usually come from quiet places.

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XIX Aldous Huxley...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:00:17 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XIX

Aldous Huxley didn’t end up enjoying much obscurity, but I still think he was wonderfully genuine;

“I’m afraid of losing my obscurity. Genuineness only thrives in the dark. Like celery.”

A highly practical life tip as well: keep celery fresh for weeks by wrapping it in foil – it likes the darkness.

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XVIII Much like Albert...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:24:50 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XVIII

Much like Albert Camus, I can appreciate how much active effort goes into the performance of normality sometimes;

“Nobody realises that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”

I’ll take the six a.m. alarm…

Illustrated Thoughts VII; Child-like Ravers Having had the...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:10:00 -0700

Illustrated Thoughts VII; Child-like Ravers

Having had the pleasure of attending a fair number of “raves” in the Seattle area, I’ve found myself perpetually fascinated by the sheer amount of fur, feathers, glow sticks, body paint, stuffed animals, beads, glitter, wands, blow pops, candy necklaces, highlighters, rainbow socks, and pacifiers that feature in the nights. If it weren’t for all the pantless women, you can almost imagine you’re mistakenly attending an overblown, spoilt third-grader’s birthday party.

A few rave-specific concepts to add to your lexicon, courtesy of Urban Dictionary and the trolling of some rave forums:

Kandi – Bracelets made out of chunky beads or pony beads of many colours given away or traded as friendly gestures between people who meet at parties and raves. ”Kandi Kids” swap kandi by holding hands, performing the hand gestures for their unofficial slogan “Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect (PLUR),” and interlocking their fingers to slide the bracelet from one person to the other.
Raver Name – An alias one goes by at raves, often silly and frivolous. Given to you by someone you meet at a rave, who then becomes your “rave parent” (these can turn into elaborate “rave families,” bonded groups who attend events together). Examples: Kitty, Energy, Smurf, Starbright, Beat, Virus, Blacklight Luminescence, Glowpaint Spazz.
Raver Goo – When a lot of people are packed into a space with poor ventilation dancing all night, their collective body heat creates a mini atmosphere called “raver goo”. Essentially, the sweat evaporates off their bodies and condenses on the ceiling. This then rains down on the venue in a foggy-cloud. Mmmmmm, yum.

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XVII Randy Pausch offers...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:03:22 -0700

Illuminating Quotes, Visualised – Part XVII

Randy Pausch offers us a whole mountain of worthwhile and useful advice in his talk “How to Achieve Your Childhood Dreams,” more well known as The Last Lecture he ever gave. One insight (among many) I held on to was to question the lesser value of questions;

“The questions are always more important than the answers.”

Illustrated Thoughts IX; Rainbow Food from a Test Tube Of all...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:22:00 -0700

Illustrated Thoughts IX; Rainbow Food from a Test Tube

Of all the things to have emerged from food laboratories that now line the shelves of Safeway, I have always been especially wary of ‘Funfetti’ – the odd convergence of the Pillsbury Doughboy, confetti sprinkles, and “fun.” Perhaps I should be more impressed by the valiant effort of modern science to capture the wonders of a rainbow inside a pound of sugar frosting.