Website of the Week – CarpetsForAirports.com
I happened to come across carpetsforairports.com on AOL’s home page today. It’s a site that is devoted to, of all things, airport carpets. Naturally, I was enthralled. I immediately checked to see if they had the generally unattractive carpet from BHM, my hometown airport. (It’s a pretty ugly carpet, if you’ve never seen it. Ash always comments on how bad the whole airport looks, to give you some idea.)
Luckily, they have it. They have BHM’s TV-static-inspired carpet. I’m not kidding. They have a short biography of the designer (Steven Freeling) and his wacky ways, as well as his untimely, yet Darwin Awards-worthy, demise:
Steven Freeling was one of the brightest and best carpet designers of the early 1980s. His designs broke new ground in their use of 18-foot repeats and Italian-style faux finishing. His innate artistic genius allowed carpet manufacturers to overlook his somewhat eccentric character. Never quite happy with his creations, Freeling labeled even such acknowledged masterworks of his as BGR, “tired”. In an attempt to push the boundaries of carpet design to the maximum he ended up gazing at the static on television screens for hours on end, jotting down the designs he thought he saw amidst the white noise. Soon he began to believe that the television was speaking to him, whispering of patterns undreamed of by man. On July 3rd, 1989, after an uninterrupted 76-hour session in front of the static, something snapped inside Steven Freeling’s brain. He was found naked on his living room floor, his head thrust through the television screen. He had been electrocuted, but not before he had managed to program his dye-injection machines with the pattern for BHM. It remains the strangest of carpets, its pattern a seemingly ever-changing swirl of indistinct shapes perpetually slipping out of focus. Rumours that BHM was installed on top of an old Indian burial ground have been repeatedly denied.
Actually Using My Site
It’s 2011. I hope to actually use my blog more regularly this year. Along with the occasional split-infinitive. In my next post, I’ll probably list my New Year’s Resolutions. Once I get those nailed down. If I get them nailed down. Additionally, if it works out, I’d like to write a movie review every now and then, which I’ve not done in quite some time.
Here’s a quick summary of what my spring will look like, in case you’re interested. If you’re here, let’s just assume you are in fact interested. I start the second of four semesters in pursuit of my MA in Theatre degree at USC. I’m taking modern theatre history, dramatic theory II, and periods & styles of theatre history. I’m not sure what the last one will entail, but I’m excited nonetheless. Also, I will be TA-ing Theatre Appreciation again, which I actually enjoyed doing last semester; I was able to lead class a few times, lecture once, etc. It was good experience, and I hope to have more opportunities this spring.
This post is short, but I’m really hoping to post again soon with some of my resolutions or something. Who knows. I leave you with this photograph of our dog. Because she’s awesome.
Winnie
Happy New Year!
-Neal