Criticism: Accepted

To stand on the shoulders of a giant...

"A list of the items I had on me August 30, 2007 and an analysis of what all of that stuff really means..."

* sketchbook with deteriorating front cover, 80% used pages, notes:sketches 3:1, and various notes and phone numbers on back cover.
empty plastic water bottle Trader Joe's brand
plastic fork soiled with yogurt
yogurt container TJs brand
mechanical pencil .5 mm - no eraser remaining, plenty of spare lead
2 gb usb drive containing the secret lives of others
500mb usb drive with corporate logo - empty
Bottle opener - worn
key chain - 3 segments
car key - honda
house keys (3) - all copies
work keys (2) - labelled "do not duplicate"
drivers license - not smiling
student ID - smiling
AAA card - 9 years member
gift card ($200 balance)
bank card - wells fargo
credit card - wells fargo
BART card - $5 balance
psychoanalyst contact card - email on reverse side
torn notebook paper containing "Art Baum's" email and phone number
$105 receipt to APA convention
Somatic psychologist business card
24 hour fitness card - includes original drivers license photo ( smiling)
$5 bill
$1 bill (4)
Plain blue boxer shorts
Worn, foot imprinted sandals
Green shorts
Laundered white long sleeved shirt
Timberland leather wallet with clear viewing midsection for identification, two wings containing staggered card storage, and soft linen money pouch ( TM!@!@! )

***This List has been through multiple iterations in an attempt to capture as much detail and context as possible - upon noticing its low comparative size, I decided it might be valuable to invest it with more detail***

I think the overall impression is one of mobility and access. This list suggests someone who can travel light and easy with a modicum of compromise. Whereas keys suggest access to private space, cards suggest access to shared resources. Shared resources burden the individual with membership, but allow a user get away with nothing more than a transient interest in the physical realities of the resource....thus 'users' can travel light.
These materials suggest someone who can travel lightly due to a reliance on his various memberships. He owns and controls very little. His meal seems hastily thrown together, eaten in transit. His data travels with him, ready for calculation at any number of remote sites. His AAA card insures that his travel will never be interrupted for very long. His psychological contacts insure that his sanity will never be interrupted for very long.

What brandscape do these items suggest - is there affinity or contrast?

Unity ==> Practicality and 'concerned' consumption are seen in the TJ's food, the Honda vehicle, the mass transit BART card, the length of membership to AAA, the gym membership, and the psychoanalyst contact.
Contrast ==> The fork was obviously used to eat the yogurt...suggesting eccentricity or lack of preparation. The psomatic psychologist card is the second mental health professional...suggesting an unhealthy obsession ...aside from the obscurity of such a specialization ( which raises 'new age nonsense' flags). Maybe this person is not as put together as the above section might have us believe.

The Diderot Effect
Diderot was a French writer who penned a piece called "Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown." He had been given a fancy new gown, so he tossed his old one. His well-worn furnishings didn't fit with the new gown, however, and soon he was replacing tapestries, chairs, desks, and bookshelves. Finally, he found himself financially depleted, uncomfortable amidst his new possessions, and resenting the "scarlet robe that forced everything else to conform with its own elegant tone."

“I was absolute master of my old dressing gown”... “but I have become a slave to my new one … Beware of the contamination of sudden wealth. The poor man may take his ease without thinking of appearances, but the rich man is always under a strain.”

The new wallet vs the old wallet ( what a difference a week makes ) ==> out with the old wallet, cards, identity...