Movement, Emojis & NOPATTERN

Weekly Update 2016-24: More Australian music (but this time it isn't electronic) from the moody band Movement, my own personal and troubled usage of emojis versus ascii characters, and the intricate illustrations of NOPATTERN.

Music: Movement
I just can't get away from Australian music. This band from Sydney released their EP in 2014, so I'm pretty late to the game but I've had it on repeat all day. It's dramatic, soulful and moody, and somehow really good for concentrating on some of the difficult tasks I've been handling at work lately. Not to mention, the lead singer Lewis Wade's voice is literally smoother than velvet. Also, Wikipedia classifies the genre as 'minimal soul', which may be something I need to investigate further. Listen:

Accomplishment:
Not a whole lot. I've been consistently biking to work 3-4 days a week, and started attending band practices at Tdot Batu on a weekly basis as well. I've taken the plunge and made a big purchase ($75) on a brand new pair of drum mallets. Unfortunately for me, they're not really something I would be able to find on Bunz, but I also needed a good pair of kneepads (the drum is big/heavy enough to hit my legs as I move around), which I found on Bunz.

Goal:
Tomorrow, I am going to finish a long-overdue China post, and try to pick up where I left off with my Arduino work. Even just recreating a project I've already created would be really great, so I can get motivated again. One certain motivator is the shrunken size of that "accomplishment" paragraph up there. Since the weather's been really nice, I find it difficult to stay inside. I wonder if I could pick up any hobbies outside - like finishing the yarn tapestry I've been meaning to work on for the past four months.

I'm also going to scope out where to buy a new phone - that's been a long time coming. Since I want the iPhone SE, it'll probably have to be the Apple Store...doubt I could find one of those on Kijiji right now.

Random Thought:
I talk a lot about emojis, but when it comes to texting, I still often use :) and :( to express emotion. And, since I am a slave to autocorrect like most people with smartphones, sometimes I am too quick to press Send for my own good. Since the ( and ) bracket keys are beside each other on the iPhone keyboard (as would be logical for their primary use of being brackets), the mistake of expressing sadness instead of happiness is all too easy to make. I've always had some trouble with that, which so far hasn't gotten me into too much trouble, but could soon.

Perhaps when I finally arrive into this decade with a new phone (and all the taco emojis I can type), I'll start to rely more on emojis and less on :( or ): – the old standbys.

Inspiration: NOPATTERN (aka Chuck Anderson)
Another excellent dribbble find, Chuck Anderson is the creative dude behind NOPATTERN. I love his weird psychedelic gifs and intricate illustrations.

But probably my favourite thing about his work (on dribbble) is that much of it is process work or just for fun. I strongly feel that this is the true purpose of dribbble, to draw back the curtain on the illustrious design process and share the how, not just the what. For finished pieces, we have Behance and portfolio websites.

Although his website is under construction, it's still kind of cool, so check that out too.