#bluebirdproject

Yesterday, with the disappearance of the eggs, we saw q!Forever go crazy and go meet Cucurucho (also, what an incredible performance from Forever!!).

But we also had a little hint or, at least, a glimpse into what Cucurucho thinks about q!Cellbit — After seeing photos of q!Cellbit at the Federation base, q!Forever asked if Cucurucho really liked q!Cell and he replied:

“-Haha yes."

We know that Cucurucho uses q!Cellbit and tries to control it, either with threats or manipulations. But also now we're seeing something else more bizarre - obsession and...He seems to like q!Cellbit?

I don't believe that Osito Bimbo and Cucurucho legitimately like or are in love with the island's residents (q!Roier and q!Cell), but that there is something behind it similar to the Blue Bird Project and q!Baghera.

The Federation knows each of the residents and knows exactly their capabilities. They tested q!Cell thousands of times and saw how capable he is of obtaining information, lying, manipulating and actually playing their game. He...Seems to be a good agent for the Federation. It would be a good "Cucurucho" or something different, similar to that.

Just as likes q!Jaiden and q!Roier, they realize the potential of q!Cell and them, and they don't want to lose that, on the contrary.

I see the Federation treating q!Cell like a pet that does a fun trick. A trick they want to be repeated and they are willing to give "treats" or punishments depending on how well it goes.

So, when Cucurucho laughs and confirms that he likes q!Cellbit, he does not claim that he is in love with him, but it is a pejorative way of treating him. They knows that q!Cell hates them and what else would irritate q!Cell if not the Federation treating this hatred as just a tantrum from a disobedient child?

What If...WHAT IF the BlueBird project is real. What if all islanders are part of it? Experiments in the search for perfection. Over and over again having their memories erased, following a narrative and being manipulated into living the same day over and over again. Because, come on, the q!Cellbit was manipulated to look for riddles and solve them, like a lab guinea pig having to solve mazes. What if every island resident has their own experiment?

The guinea pigs of their own stories. What if the eggs are nothing more than a test. Like those videos of babies with raw eggs. Will the test subjects really care, fail or skip the test?

Constructive criticism. It is something all designers have to face when designing for a client. "I like it, it's good, but what if..?". It's something that no one really likes but is something that we need to expand and refine our ideas and develop ourselves as designers. Without it you would only create the things that you liked. The things you were good at. Constructive criticism allows for innovation and uniqueness to take its place and grow.

Half way though our two week Major Charrette, we were asked to attend a consultation with our tutor to present our ideas and receive some constructive criticism to help refine our ideas. The concept behind the charrette was "[creating] new, meaningful ways to provide care and support for people who are currently homeless or recently arrived refugees in and around Brisbane. […] in ways that promote their rights and wellbeing, as well as recognising difference, creating connections, and cultivating respect." (Choi, 2017).

For this task I rejoined my group from the previous charrette, as we all knew how the others worked within the group. After three hours of group brainstorming we had developed an idea for the task. Coined "Bluebird Project" our organisation focused on providing homeless women with a safe and comforting space, as well as better access to sanitary products and care that they may need. Through a café shopfront Bluebird Project could provide: safe and secure toilets and showers, to allow homeless women more accessibility to these necessities; coin operated washing machine/dryers, allowing them to have clean clothes; free food, allowing them to save money for other things they may need; access to professional community help, people that they may not be able to talk with normally; and Sanitary Hand-Out Containers, filled with tampons and pads giving the women access to what they need during their period. With this basic idea in tow we headed to our tutor, Carly Hare, for some advice.

Hare suggested that we focus on refining the idea, as it stood we had a basic plan for an idea, but not enough to make it new and innovative. She also mentioned we needed to look not just at community stakeholders and meaningful engagement for them but also for governments and the wider population of Brisbane. Hare heavily recommended we look at and use the ideation techniques we were taught a few weeks back as a way to refine our idea and expand on the concept. She loved the focus we had on homeless women and specifically their sanitary needs and how the idea created a safe and secure environment for them.

To address this feedback, our group planned on meeting together more often to help the creative ideation process and expand our thinking. We also looked at the TILMAG ideation technique to expand our ideas and to help create a more refined idea. Through these meetings and TILMAG ideation my group decided to change the project form a café building to a mobile truck that was able to go to the homeless shelters to provide the women with the care they needed. From this point the group delegated the tasks out to spread the workload. We met several times after the original consultation to check up on each other's progress and to ensure we all knew exactly what we were doing for the project.

YouTube: The Bluebird Project

Facebook: @Bluebird.Project.Brisbane

As a team we worked well together. As individuals we balanced each other out and allowed for constructive collaboration to take place. The advice given to us by Carly Hare allowed us to further develop and expand our idea and make it something new and innovative. During this week I have seen everything that I have learnt over the past 10 weeks come to a peak. Everything has been useful, from prototyping and ideation techniques, to the thoughtless acts and the advocacy lecture. I have seen how everything has a purpose and not one second has been wasted.

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