Creative Suite

Currently I am working on learning the primary elements of Adobe Creative Suite 3, namely Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver. I feel like I am tech savvy enough to learn these programs well, plus I am starting to realize that a solid knowledge of them is pretty valuable for the line of work I am planning to pursue.

I know my way around photoshop pretty well already, though there is still a lot for me to hone my skills on.

I have only used Illustrator briefly, and right now it seems like photoshop on crack, but it is ultimately used for different purposes. It can be especially helpful in logo design, where vectored images (that don’t get all pixelated when you transform them) are key.

I haven’t seen much action with InDesign, but it is considered the definitive layout program, so I suspect it could be quite useful in print advertisement design.

Finally I have been working with Dreamweaver to develop my personal webpage that will include a digital copy of my portfolio, resume, etc. Right now my webpage is basically a bunch of links, but I hope to improve it eventually. My goal is to have a functional and professional site up by graduation in spring so that I can use it as a selling point during my career search.

We will see how it goes, I’m not taking any formal training with these (yet), so my learning process is simply trial and error right now.

Upcoming Shows

So I am going to The Hush Sound at El Corazon on Friday, pretty damn excited. My roomate Zack got me into these guys last year, and like most of the music he sends me, I got hooked. Their newest album is definitely their most polished, and it will be great to see them at a headlining show in such an intimate venue. Granted, El Corazon isn’t exactly the best venue in seattle, but I think its size is perfect for this band.

Also heard that Electric Six is playing at Neumo’s in November, so I am super excited about them. Definitely check them out if you haven’t already, their style isn’t for everyone, but definitely worth a try. Thinking about going to the Ratatat show in September, and I am just keeping my fingers crossed for a Muse tour (plus that means a new album!).

Finally, caught a leaked copy of the new Faint Album, sans the first track. In the process of listening to it, definitely more mellow than Wet From Birth, but still interesting. We’ll see.

The Bourne Ultimatum

So I recently finished reading the Bourne Ultimatum, the third book in the Bourne series by Robert Ludlum. I’ve really enjoyed the previous two (Identity, Supremacy), and Ultimatum didn’t dissapoint. I felt that it was the most human of the three, with an aging Jason Bourne forced into a final standoff with his foe from the first book.

We planned to watch the Bourne films after I finished the last book, and we recently watched Identity. While I really enjoy the Bourne films, they are simply too different from the books to be as memorable. I suppose I need to take them as they are, but it’s too bad they weren’t made closer in line with the books; I think they could have been much better. I’ll have to watch Supremacy and Ultimatum soon, as I don’t remember the former at all, and I’ve only seen the latter once, in the theaters last year.