Malarkey and mayhem

NEW BLOG - NEW YEAR!

2009-01-02T17:16:00.001-08:00

Insert typical "Best of 2008" post here

2008-12-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

Okay ~ you've read the rest now read the best ~ the definitive list of the good stuff from the year that was 2008 ~ skidooosh!

Best films of the year ~
The jury is still out on this one since I haven't seen Milk yet or a few other contenders such as Slumdog Millionaire. But hey I liked WALLE ~ but didn't everyone?

Best Books ~
Lots of great reads this year - just going by what I read and not publishing date ...
{tbd}

Best in TV ~
Mad Men - OBVIOUSLY! Without a doubt ... Number ONE!
But also enjoyed The Wire, Breaking Bad, Doctor Who, Skins, Psych and
The Office was okay - but getting stale - and just recently started watching Chuck and 30 Rock which are funny at times ... Also I enjoy that silly sitcom with Neil Patrick Harris - How I met my Mother - it's silly but fun to watch ... AND the last season of Project Runway was great too ...

Best personal obsessions ~

This was not only the year I discovered the simple pleasures of the pencil,
but also the year that I discovered and fell in love with Japanese dollar stores and the many pleasures contained there with in - from the wooden toys to the strange candies to the cool erasers and notebooks to the many options in bento boxes and chopsticks! There is no end to the fun I tell you ...

Best Music of 2008 ...

* The Dodos- Visiter
* Vampire Weekend - self titled
* Deerhunter - Microcastle
* The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
* High Places - Self titled
* No Age - Nouns
* Jay Reatard - Singles 2008
* Los Campesinos! - We are Beautiful, We are Doomed
* Blitzen Trapper - Furr
* Fleet Foxes - self titled
* Also ~
* Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll!!!
* The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines
* Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (Legacy Edition)
* Weezer (Red)
* Los Campesinos - Hold on Now, Youngster…

The mind wanders & picks up tinker toys along the way...

2008-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm thinking about the year that was, and looking back as we tend to do as we prepare to begin another one, and I am pleased to say that it was damn fine year in many ways. Oh sure, we're all doomed to poverty and endless economic suffering for years to come ~ but hey, we went places and accomplished things as well this year. So here's my quick recap of the year in retrospect (before my brain erases all the files and says - What trip to Tahoe?)

In January, we went to Tahoe and had a blast in the snow with my parents & Teri + Elijah and the Goodrich family (we even watched the NFL play off game & some great flix like The Last Mimzy).

I coached my first Odyssey of the Mind team at Glenview, problem #3 - The Muses!

I survived my last year of teaching preschool at Ducks Nest with a crazy bunch of four year olds that became very dear to me...

The kids survived and had fun at several summer camps over the summer ...

We also had a great trip back east in July ~ I got sunburned in Michigan, spent time in Metamora, traveled by car to Canada & we rode the Maid of the Mist by Niagara Falls ~ swam in my brother's pool ~ had lots of Salmon!

Began working for Sanrio!

Became obsessed with pencils in September ~

Went to Gerry Beyer's wedding at the Cliff house ~

Bought a Toyota Prius ~ AND ...

Got hired as a permanent employee of Sanrio as a fulltime web designer!

Yeah ~ you could say it was a good year - and it was!

On the moon

2008-12-30T00:23:00.001-08:00

Yes ~ it is time for me to get back to it! It will soon be 2009 ~ the time to begin a new comic strip featuring a clumsy robot and his adventures among the stars. M-bot and his alien friend, Udu (he's the green one armed alien with the big space helmet guy) shall indeed have a promiment place here in 2009. Look out!

Panda Power!

2008-12-26T17:26:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year at our house could have easily been renamed "Panda-mas" ~ complete and utter Panda-monium! We have many many panda toys and products ~ from the panda bento box to the panda raincoat to a solar powered panda nodder! There is no lack of pandas in any department, we even have panda chopsticks!
We found this crazy source for panda stuff ~ Tokyo Jazz Panda not to mention all the cool shops in Oakland and such. Sally is still crazy about pandas. Her tiger phase lasted about a year and a half, who knows how long this panda trip will be? Only time will tell. Well enjoy the photos.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-24T12:43:00.001-08:00

Please enjoy this animated flash movie I made for Sanrio ~
http://www.sanrio.com/holiday2008/

Holly Jolly and some tinsel too

2008-12-23T06:25:00.001-08:00

It's that time once again, to find some holiday music and make festive and what not. For me it's gotta be the Sufjan Stevens album - Songs for Christmas or The Three Suns - Ding Dong Dandy Christmas. Also David Sedaris's The Santaland Diaries set the mood as well as watching the Christmas story or any holiday claymation by Rankin/Bass. It's been a long time since my last post on this sad sack of a blog, but hey I am working like a mad man these days, so it's okay.

For more holiday music that will blow your mind, check out this incredible blog called Ernie (Not Bert) ~ tons of great music for free!

Bodhi Day

2008-12-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

Namaste! My nifty keen Life in Hell Calendar tells me, today is Bodhi Day! (December 8th) It is the day that Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened as the Buddha. Learn more!

Happy Chester Greenwood Day!

2008-12-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Chester Greenwood Day! Yes it is time to celebrate the inventor of the ear muff ~ It all began in 1873 with some cold ears ... I am not sure why this special day celebrating the man and the invention of ear mufflers or "Greenwood's Ear Protectors" came to mean something to me but it's nice to have fuzzy warm ear muffs on when you're out and about with a proper hat on & it's freezing cold outside. I speak not from experience, since I live in Oakland, California ~ where the temperature remains in the high forties during our coldest days in the winter. But the rest of you - enjoy thine ear muffs!

Bark at the Moon!

2008-12-03T22:03:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Ozzy Osbourne! YEAASs! Let us honor the dark lord of RAWK, the prince of darkness himself, OZZY! Don't deny your roots people. I began my adolescence with Ozzy, Motley Crue and the like ~ Yes, it's Ozzy's 60th birthday! On a personal note, I've written O-Z-Z-Y across my knuckles many a time during Junior High and I'll never forget camping as a Boy Scout and playing BARK AT THE MOON as loud as possible at midnight ~ So many great songs like Crazy Train, Iron Man, Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Warpigs, I Don't Know, Bark at the moon, Paranoid, Over the Mountain, Miracle Man - not to mention some other Black Sabbath classics like Fairies wear boots & Sabbath Bloody Sabbath of course. Happy Birthday, Ozzy! (Cue flame throwing demoniod robot creature ... now!)

Thanksgiving story

2008-12-03T21:13:00.001-08:00

Yes this is my first post in over a week ... What can I say ~ it's that time of year when life gets hectic and overwhelming all at once, aah yes the holiday season! So I had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Chris & Kip's this year, astoundingly magnificent I should say except for the fact that I sat next to Jake (SICK BOY) during our private screening of Quantum of Solace (We have a friend on the Academy awards viewing list - Sshhh!) And after Friday's traditional turkey leftovers and multiple slices of pie & watching The Duchess by the warm fire, I began to feel not so well. Saturday and Sunday were spent trying to sleep with an anvil inside my head, the sinus pain was awful. Luckily I recovered enough to hop back to work on Monday ... Well that's my story.

The Best Apple Pie On Planet Earth

2008-11-24T23:33:00.000-08:00

My friend Christine is quite the chef. She recently began making Cook Illustrated's Apple pie with vodka crust. It is amazing! I think she's made it three times in the last two months, and each time, the pies disappear more quickly! I suggest making this recipe at once, and please invite me over for some "taste-testing", just to be sure you have made this work of art correctly. Hi Ho!

Artist of the week: Shepard Fairey

2008-11-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

Shepard Fairey's latest claim to fame has been his iconic poster of Barack Obama which went viral this year during the election campaign, even though it wasn't an official part of the campaign.

This artist, illustrator and graphic designer extraordinaire began by making "Andre the Giant has a Posse" stickers and plastering them all over the streets.

Now the Giant Obey label has become a clothing line and poster factory of epic proportions. Check them out at obeygiant.com

And to learn more about Fairey check the wiki entry or pick up a copy of OBEY: Supply and Demand: the art of Shepard Fairey at your local bookstore or library.

The One True Maverick

2008-11-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

Vignette IV: The One True Maverick
This vignette is the fourth in a weekly series of vignettes composed and photographed by me. This week I was inspired by Xander's birthday party on Sunday. He invited five friends over and they had a Nerf war ~ red versus green. I found these great wacky ninja style masks at the Japanese dollar store, Daiko in Daly City. It was a bit surreal watching masked children with guns shoot at each other and run around the yard like commandos. But it was all in the spirit of fun, and best of all ~ no one got hurt! So please check out the photos on flickr for a glimpse into the madness from that Sunday afternoon! And enjoy the vignette!

And for more fun with your Maverick ~ try this!

Panda Power!

2008-11-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

After many phone calls to the post office and much emotional turmoil, Sally's custom made panda costume arrived today at 3 pm. Yes, the day AFTER Halloween! Amazingly, Sally accepted the sad turn of events about her costume without any fanfare or tears. She simply went through our closets and found Xander's old Ninja Bunny costume and turned it into a Bunny Angel on Halloween night. The crazy thing was, when we tracked Sally's package it said that it was delivered at 2:51 pm on THURSDAY, October 30th! Say What - ?!?!? How confusing is that? Meanwhile, dear old Dad was losing his mind ~ checking the neighbors' porches, calling the post office, and generally getting grumpier and grumpier each hour on Halloween. I almost became convinced that it was stolen off our porch by some no-good hoodlums. Then I realized, that seemed pretty unlikely, and that it was most likely delivered to the wrong house or simply in the back of the mail truck under a pile of magazines and publishers clearing house giveaway letters. My advice? Whatever you do ~ Don't use the United States Postal Service for important packages. Use something more reliable like Uncle Fred and his pal Dave.

Trick Or Treat!

2008-11-01T14:43:00.001-07:00

Here they are in their Halloween costumes ready to get some candy. Xander is Doctor Horrible from Joss Whedon's infamous Dr. Horrible Sing-a-long Blog. And Sally is a Bunny Angel (Her panda costume got lost in the mail & just arrived today).

Them Bones

2008-10-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Some more art from Sally! This time, I inverted her drawing from black on white to white on black to suit the spirit of the silly skeleton and the other ghostly ghoulies. AND ~ Please help yourself to 1000 Ghost bucks for all your ghostly needs! Enjoy.

It's The Great Obama-kin, Charlie Brown!

2008-10-29T23:18:00.001-07:00

My son, Xander, created this Obama Jack O Lantern with the help of Miles, Calen and the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Pink Pages. I tried lighting it ~ but it needs to be etched in deeper to get that eerie pumpkin glow effect. Tomorrow night, I will post an update ... g'nite.

Here it is ... after much digging and scraping away layers of pumpkin, the Glowing Obamakin!

And now a Panda Pumpkin!

Artist of the week: Robert Bright

2008-10-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

There is something really incredible about the energy in the lines of Robert Bright's drawings. The pictures are simple enough, but the lines flow and create something like a symphony playing together in harmony, intrinsically beautiful. It took me some time to appreciate this. Robert Bright published Georgie in 1944, but the story and the art is timeless.

Robert Bright wrote twelve more "Georgie" books for Doubleday & Company, including "Georgie's Halloween", "Georgie to the Rescue" and "Georgie and the Robber." The only information I found on the internet for Robert Bright was an obituary from the New York Times ~

Robert Bright, an author and illustrator of children's books, died of cancer on Nov. 21 at his home in San Francisco. He was 87 years old (Published: December 3, 1988).

Mr. Bright, born in Sandwich, Mass., was also a teacher, reporter and fiction writer. Among his adult novels were "The Intruders" and "The Olivers".

Here's an idea for a new Halloween tradition, introduce a child to these classic books about a ghost named Georgie, and keep the magic of Robert Bright alive for another generation.

Ghoul Evening

2008-10-27T21:58:00.001-07:00

Vignette III: Ghoul Evening
This vignette is the third in a weekly series of vignettes composed and photographed by me. This time I got into the Halloween spirit, and photographed some of our many seasonal dealy bobs. Yeah, that's right you read it correctly ~ dealy bobs! I also employed the use of the cross process curves in Adobe Photoshop CS3. Fun, fun, fun! Now it's time to run.

Going to Helle

2008-10-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

It is time once again for more cuteness from Sally! Here we have a cute panda angel being lured into "Helle" by some other friendly creatures. I am not sure what Sally thinks of Hell, but she is definitely thinking about it. I am also fond of the two drawings below. Her characters and scenes crack me up. Enjoy!

Artist of the week: Elizabeth McGrath

2008-10-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I found this artist on Boing Boing and was blown away. Go ahead, check out these twisted grotesqueries for yourself. To learn more about this artist, check out her bio.

Big Dog in Doraemonland

2008-10-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

Vignette II: Big Dog in Doraemonland
This vignette is the second in a weekly series of vignettes composed and photographed by yours truly. This time I found some objects & toys in Sally's room then added a sheet of Doraemon stickers, that we got at the Chinese dollar store, for a background. I am particularly fond of the little boy in front of the dog on the big Snoopy soap dish (See image below for detailed graphic). The other factor here is my photos have a lot of noise, due to long exposures in low light conditions. Once I find my missing tripod, I'll be golden! You'll see, next week will be even better.

MTXS Poster Factory

2008-10-17T16:52:00.001-07:00

Yes I have added a new page to my web site. I have been trying to get around to this task for over two weeks now. Life is like that some times. Check out my new online gallery of poster designs at http://mtxs.net/posters.html The idea is that I will add more designs as I continue to design more posters. Perhaps I will open up an Etsy shop featuring my custom poster design services... Perhaps, I got an idea from my little brother. Hard to say really ...

More cuteness

2008-10-15T20:48:00.001-07:00

It's Wednesday, so that means it's time for more art by Sally! Today we have a happy girl with balloons and a funny creature who likes video games. Enjoy!

When Monsters Attack!

2008-10-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here at last on the MTXS tip is Letter X ~ Some great drawings by Xander. The little creature on top is Mud Kip, who somehow becomes the predator in the drawing below. Life is a vicious cycle, eat or be eaten, kill or be killed, primal instincts and survival of the epic sized creature who can step on everyone else. Hey, it happens in Spore, so it must be true. Enjoy the art of Xander!

Artist of the week: Obamaware 2008

2008-10-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

Not one artist, many amazing ceramicists shaping clay for the future! Check it out ~ Shop Handmade Obamaware 2008

Little Panda in Warioland

2008-10-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

Vignette I: Little Panda in Warioland
This vignette is the first in a weekly series of vignettes composed and photographed by yours truly. The series will feature found objects, toys, packaging and so on from my home. Today, I just put together a few things I found in our bathroom. I love the juxtaposition of all the various elements, the way the yellows and blues play off the grays and so on. Perhaps this series will lead to my own Joseph Campbell boxes ~ who knows? But you see where I am headed with this right? . . . Cool beans.

Prius power!

2008-10-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today we bought a car! It is a 2005 Toyota Prius with 38,000 miles on it. It's blue with tan leather seats and snazzy chrome wheels. It's going to make my commute so much more pleasurable, words can't begin to describe how excited and thrilled I am to be driving such a car. Now who wants to go for a drive? Half Moon Bay ~ go pick out some pumpkins, anyone?

Our day at the Academy of Science

2008-10-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the kids had off from school, so we went to Golden Gate park to check out the new CA Academy of Science, along with a few thousand other families apparently. Yes it was crowded, but it was fun nonetheless. The living roof is so cool! It reminds me of my 3rd grade project, about an underground solar home built into the side of a green grass hill. Check out the CAS web site.

The new Steinhart Aquarium is really cool too. I played with many camera settings that day, but still have not found the ideal set up for getting a good shot of a moving fish with no flash and no blurring. Also, I could use a better zoom lens, to get those detailed shots. Here is the CAS photoset on Flickr.

Being in the four story Rain forest was pretty amazing, and the highlight of the day really. Just watching the butterflies zoom around the place was mesmerizing, no to mention the cool lizards and snakes on display as well. We did skip out on the penguins that day, in favor of leaving the museum to find some food, but I am sure we will be back soon.

Sally thirty years in the future!

2008-10-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

Sally drew this picture this week in her art class with Mittie Cuetara at Glenview. Her assignment was to draw a self portrait of herself, thirty years in the future. It appears Sally is a Super Veterinarian who lives in a land where animals float on fluffy white clouds to rest and recuperate. That sounds like good medicine to me!

Pizza time with Chef Mark

2008-10-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

I like to cook. Not the every day gotta put food on the table before my children crumble type of cooking, but the fun gourmet type of cooking. One item I have gotten good at making is Pizza. The kids are happy & I get to play with dough. Everything I know about making pizza, I learned from the Cheese Board Collective cookbook.

We enjoy making the Potato pizza with Yukon gold potatoes and lots of caramelized onions! Making your own pizza is a great way to empty out your veggie bin before you lose your vegetables to decay (which happens to me a lot, since I forgot they are in there). I also suggest that you use artichoke hearts, they make any pizza somehow even better! I am also fond of fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil, Aidells Sausage and olives too.

I think I will add my cooking photos to my flickr account and add an item or two that I have made each month, but we shall see. Time to take a break from the computer screen!

The Cheese Board and Arizmendi rule!

Artist of the week: Joseph Cornell

2008-10-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

This week I thought that I would choose an artist that uses found materials and such since all the money in the world will soon be gone. Hang onto those glass beads and wampum, people!

From Wikipedia >>
Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American artist and sculptor, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmmaker. He lived in New York City for most of his life, in a wooden frame house on Utopia Parkway in a working-class area in Flushing, Queens. He lived there with his mother and his brother, Robert, who was disabled by cerebral palsy.[2] [3] Cornell attended Phillips Academy, Andover, in the Class of 1921.

I had the pleasure of seeing his work at the SF MOMA, Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination. It was really inspiring! I got that super charge spark of ideas you get from great art, and wanted to go home and create something right away. Some day I will make my own box and it will say Thank you Joseph Cornell on the inside.

More links to explore >>
The Joseph Cornell Box
The Guggenheim Collection

Ballyhoo for Buckaroo!

2008-10-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon, I took the kids to the Pacific Pinball Exposition in San Rafael for a few hours of pinball madness. It was incredible. If you are local ~ I strongly urge you to get over there NOW! I am still hungering for more pinball action after the meager 2 hour session yesterday. They have 250 machines set on free play, it is a thing of unsurpassed excellence on Earth. I could go on, but I will get to the point. Classic pinball rules! It's strange for me to say this, since my favorite games have always been part of the last generation of pinball ~ games like Attack from Mars, Funhouse, Twilight Zone, Medieval Madness, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Simpsons. But since most of those games were swarmed with people, I stayed away from the crowds and tried my hand at the classic pinball machines from the 60s. They had some incredible machines there, which were painstakingly restored to pristine condition. One game that I absolutely fell in love with was Buckaroo.

Buckaroo features a horse kicking a cowboy in the butt on the back box when you hit certain shots, which you think would get old, but no ~ it's funny every single time! This game is a lot of fun, and has this cool twin Roto spinner in the middle which you need to hit in the middle to spin and then hit the numbers 1-7 on the sides. I could go for days about how incredible this game is but I think I'll just head back there tonight and play for four or five hours! Pinball is mighty, let its luminescent radiance wash over you and its electro-mechanical charms seduce your soul, you might even achieve enlightenment this way, who can say for certain? Well, that's my plan at any rate.

Here are my photos from the Pacific Pinball Expo >>

Then Comes Marriage

2008-10-02T07:03:00.001-07:00

Here is a recent poster that I designed for a friend that I have known since Junior High, Gerry Beyer. The main image was taken from Mary Blair's The Up and Down book and modified to suit the happy couple. I have some more poster designs, but I will show them all later when I have more time to add another page to my web site. Enjoy!

Life on Cat Planet

2008-10-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

It's time once again, to admire the work of my beloved daughter, Sally! (I would admire some of Xander's work but he has his own blog). Here we have a cat plane flying in the sky. Sally is getting great at creating borders as well. Below is a picture of cat planet, which apparently orbits near Earth. I can only assume, one would find a cat plane on cat planet, but I could be wrong about that. Sally named her Spore planet, "cat planet" as well. Her creatures in spore resemble something like flying scorpion dogs though. Fun game, that Spore!

Artist of the week: Matte Stephens

2008-09-30T20:14:00.001-07:00

do-nothing owl
Originally uploaded by matte stephens

I stumbled upon this artist by chance just browsing through grain edit one day. I must say this is great stuff! A wonderful palette and whimsical creatures and people abound. Yes, it makes me think of Ben Shahn and Paul Klee! These paintings are so much fun.

commission bear monster painting
Originally uploaded by matte stephens

I love what he does with word balloons, and his shapes are so pleasing. Need I say more? You can check out the work of Matte Stephens at the following places >>

Matte Stephens on Etsy ~ Interview with Matte on grain edit ~ Shop at Velocity ~ Matte's web site.

Fobbed

2008-09-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I was going to begin a new comic strip about a robot and then unexpectedly my house was robbed, so I did not begin this new creative endeavor. I was mad, then I was sad, then I thought about how in the world I can hope to replace all that stuff! It was overwhelming. Now after a fun filled weekend, I have come to the conclusion that ~ it's only stuff. It's not important compared to the well being of my family. It sucks, yeah. But there you go.

Artist of the Week: Mary Blair

2008-09-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have become recently smitten with the work of Mary Blair. I am a new fan, and have just discovered just how amazing her art is. I recently acquired an old library copy of The Up and Down Book, and was blown away. Mary Blair rocks!

Mary Blair (October 21, 1911 - July 26, 1978), born Mary Robinson, was an American artist best remembered today for work done for The Walt Disney Company. Blair produced striking concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Her style also lives on through the character designs for the Disney attraction It's a Small World, as well as an enormous mosaic inside Disney's Contemporary Resort. Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s have never been out of print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was honored as a Disney Legend in 1991.

So you'd like to learn more out more about Mary Blair, well Wikipedia is a good place to start. You can also check out some more of her work at the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive and at Cartoon Modern.

In which a robot is named...

2008-09-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

M bot! This is my alter ego turned upside down and shipped ten thousand years into the future. Beginning this friday, I will post one comic strip a week featuring the wordless adventures of M bot. This might be a story for children, or all of humanity, its hard to speculate at this point. In the graphic below we see M bot as he was for over 1,000 years, just standing still in sleep mode on the moon. What woke him up? And how did he find his way among the stars? Stay tuned for the prelude on Friday, Sept. 27th.

Shiver me timbers!

2008-09-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, me Hearties & Shiver me timbers! It's TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY! Avast ye scurvy dogs, & batten down the hatches, it's only once a year ya bilge rats!

Don't ask me how it all started, I don't know ... but it's on my Matt Groening Life in Hell Calendar and that's good enough for me.

Remembering Raves

2008-09-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

This is not a post about crazy dance parties from the 90s, but rather a post about my old web site, Platypus Pranks that was online from 1996 - 2001. I found an old cd with some of my files from the olden days of html. I thought I would put them back online for history's sake, but these things have a way of falling apart so I am attempting to fix all the graphic links to the correct places and rename files and make it work but it's getting late ... so check it out, For AMUSEMENT ONLY ~ Raves > Retrofitted Enthusiasm.

Artist of the Week: Kazimir Malevich

2008-09-15T17:21:00.001-07:00

Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935)
Female Portrait, c. 1928
oil on plywood, 58 x 49 cm.
Leningrad: State Russian Museum

Something about this painting struck me as simply profound at first glance. I found this print at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, about a year ago when they got a ton of prints from the UC Berkeley History of Art dept. They had scanned all their images for archiving, and no longer needed the prints apparently. I was just rummaging through hundreds of images and selecting a few that I liked for display at home.

Here is what I found out about the artist, Kazimir Malevich...
(Excerpt taken from the Web Museum Paris) Born near Kiev; trained at Kiev School of Art and Moscow Academy of Fine Arts; 1913 began creating abstract geometric patterns in style he called suprematism; taught painting in Moscow and Leningrad 1919-21; published book, The Nonobjective World (1926), on his theory; first to exhibit abstract geometric paintings; strove to produce pure, cerebral compositions; famous painting White on White (1918) carries suprematist theories to absolute conclusion; Soviet politics turned against modern art, and he died in poverty and oblivion.

Pencil Fever!

2008-09-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, I began to notice how nice it is to write and draw with a pencil as opposed to a pen. Then I decided to shout out on my daily dally, the following ~

Lately, I am really enjoying the simple pleasures of pencils! I know it sounds completely daft, or obvious, but just go ahead and sharpen that Dixon Ticonderoga or your Mirado Black Warrior, and just start doodling with abandon on a piece of crisp white paper. This is your day's mission, to enjoy one of life's simple pleasures and find the joy within doing so. Go on then, hop to it! You'll be glad you did.

This morning I wrote some more on the subject:

Still on the pencil tip. The question is, what is the world's best pencil? Now this being completely subjective, I thought I would check the inter-web for opinions and test out some of the pencils deemed worthy of such praise. This is my quest and my journey to find the best pencil ... I have always been fond of the Dixon Ticonderoga, but I am eager to try some others for comparison. First on my list is the Mirado Black Warrior, followed by California Republic's Palomino pencil. I have also heard great things about the Faber-Castell Grip 2001, and talk of the legendary, no longer made, Eberhard Blackwing #602 is just fanatical. This will be fun, now it's off to my favorite local stationary store!

Well it's 4 pm, and I have a whole new collection of pencils to play with now. The stationary store only sold 1 brand of pencil, the Ticonderoga of course. So I went to SUPER LONGS and got some Mirado Black Warriors and then went to Dick Blick and got myself a Faber-Castell Grip 2001 set complete with eraser and pencil sharpener. I must say I was wary of the Triangular shape and the size of this pencil is a bit on the large side. But it is an amazing pencil! I am also enjoying the Mirado Black Warriors as well, they are awesome. WOW, that's a lot of words about pencils ... Enough already ~ it's friday, time for fun!

Pondering the Panda Party

2008-09-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

It's time once again, to behold some incredible art by Sally. This picture is very festive and colorful. This is a fun image, a party under the moon! Just for fun, I shall now attempt to interpret what is happening here ~ it looks like the bird, the cat, the dragon, and the panda are all lined up in front of some sort of booth or gate where a fellow with big hair is standing. I particularly like the festive lanterns or piñatas that are hanging above the animals in this drawing. The artist took time and used fine lines to create them. Feel free to comment below, and tell us your ideas about what's going on in this picture. And after school, I will interview the artist and get the inside story of the panda party. So stay tuned for more fun later today!

4:20 pm Update:

According to the artist, this is a picture of a Dragon parade at night. The cat is jumping on a trampoline, notice the black action lines under the cat's legs. The animals are watching the parade as the dragon passes by. The "fellow" is actually her brother Xander getting water from a well. His hair is a mess because he went to bed and then woke up at night.

Well there you have it.

Riding the happy horse to freedom!

2008-09-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I went to the Alameda Antique fair with my friend Jason. My mission was to take photos with my digital camera, get through the day without losing Jason (which always seems to happen because of our different interests) and refrain from buying anything besides lunch. It was beautiful day and I took a ton of great photos, and I only bought 1 item, a Cool Cat Pepsi glass on sale for $5. I have just added the photos to flickr ~ so take a look-see!

Alien Invasion

2008-09-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

As much as I have wondered about life in a distant galaxy, and the possibility of communicating with aliens, there's the thought that we're just not ready for them, creeping into these ponderings. Having just re-read Watchmen for the third time, in anticipation of the new film coming next year, I can't help but wonder, if life on other planets would change our behavior as humans. At any rate, I thought I would share this new graphic of my little alien friend, let's call him Udu, as a glimpse into what my new web site is going to look like. I am coding up a storm of html and css and having a blast trying to bend that code to my will. Well enough web design rambling, instead let us discuss more cool movies like City of Ember and Burn After Reading.

Improving Ice Bat's Army

2008-09-03T22:28:00.001-07:00

Over the Labor Day weekend, the kids and I decided to finally fix up the clubhouse. We've talked about it for a long time, but now Summer is all but going and gone now. So I went and bought some Myhtic paint at Scout Hardware, Celestial Sky Blue by the way. Then we emptied out the place, and got to work. It looks so much better now! And if need be, the kids can even "camp out" and sleep in there. Plus we added the Ice Bat mural, because the club is called Ice Bat's Army, which Xander named after Dumbledore's Army from the Harry Potter series. And combined it with Ice Bat, his favorite Ugly Doll character of all time! Perhaps some day we will add more murals. Or perhaps have a special Ice Bat Army Open house party ... Who knows? We have a lot of ideas!

Check out the Flickr set for all the images and more. Our new flickr home is http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtxs/

One More Vonnegut

2008-08-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

Where would I be today without the wisdom of Kurt Vonnegut? His books blew my mind when I was in 8th grade. And even today, I find comfort and solace in reading his books. Yesterday, I began reading Armageddon in Retrospect that I found in the hot picks section of the library. Check it out it's a great read, and it help you embrace that hilarious curmudgeon within! (I just love the above image of Vonnegut as well. Something about that gnome riding a pig seems to say it all. It's so absurd and ridiculous, yet beautiful too.)

Looking for Fireball Island

2008-08-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Fireball Island, where are you? This old board game by Milton Bradley is calling to me. The sound of gurgling lava and exotic birds can almost be heard as I gaze upon these images. The burning desire to play this game is a strange and sudden compulsion that is hard to comprehend. Here's a commercial for Fireball Island, circa 1992.

Vintage copies on eBay go for $80 to $200. Perhaps that's part of the allure, that funky old and hard to find yearning, the hunt for the rare treasures of yesterday. Ooh yes, some day ... Some day Fireball Island will be mine!

Battle of the Chameleons

2008-08-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I found this drawing under the computer desk and wondered to myself, "What is happening in this picture?" Are the Chameleons being led to an interdimensional vortex against their will? OR are they merely leading their friends to the local watering hole? Studying the drawings of children is so much fun. I place them right up there with great art like Klee or Chagall. I will find out the story behind this drawing by Sally and post an update soon.

UPDATE:
After talking to the artist, I found out some more information. It seems that the chameleons are smelling a rose or attempting to eat it, the rose is the large red spiral with the green leaves. The three stars are stopping them and fighting with the chameleons and the other super heroes pictured on the left-hand side. The red things are capes not swords or daggers (notice the S circle) and they are the chameleons friends. So my orginal title still holds true ~ Battle of the Chameleons!

Also ~ I am thinking that a weekly post of children's art sounds good as well. Perhaps you might spruce up that boring desktop background, or just enjoy the unbridled creativity of youth! Who knows where this could lead ...

Totoro Forest Project

2008-08-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

Check out the amazing art up for auction at the Totoro Forest Project. I have spent over an hour just browsing through this site today. It's amazing! And the proceeds go to a good cause, helping to save a forest in Japan, the very forest that inspired Miyazaki! (Above image: A Gift by Jackson Sze, could be yours at the auction.)

I am also very excited about the next Hayao Miyazaki project, Ponyo On A Cliff, about a goldfish princess who wishes to become human. The new animation style for this film looks like watercolor paintings. But the question remains, when oh WHEN will it be released in the USA?

No More Clownin' Around?

2008-08-26T23:16:00.001-07:00

Summer is over. The Children are back in school!
So what does my son do? He puts on a clown nose of course.
I think Sally described his new brown plaid Converse sneakers as clown shoes ... and they did just go to the Circus recently ... and so now its CLOWNS! Alas ye scurvy dogs, the days of going to school wearing a tri-cornered hat are over... apparently. (That's their word of choice - APPARENTLY this and APPARENTLY that happened as well.)

I have begun adding some of our more recent adventures to my Flickr account, so check it out and behold Sally and Xander chasing waves at San Gregorio beach. Enjoy!

Mighty Mallard Memories

2008-08-17T19:17:00.000-07:00

Friday was my last day as a Preschool teacher. It was a very fun, crazy day involving donuts, hard work and good times with co-workers and the Mighty Mallard families that I have spent the last year getting to know and love very well. (Speaking of Mallard Families, A Tip of the hat goes to Jeni Paltiel for the Super Mallard t-shirt image pictured above. Super Mallards Unite!)

Just yesterday, I was driving down the street and I spotted an enormous cardboard box and thought of grabbing it for my class and then went - what class? I am no longer in the need of cardboard. How odd is that? This transition will take some time apparently. The teacher in me is still there and looking for projects ...

Monkey time

2008-07-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Sally and I stocked up on felt, sewing needles and embroidery thread. We are making felt mascots from The Cute Book by Arani Aronzo! The monkey pictured above is our first complete mascot. I have also begun work on M-bot the felt robot. Behold his fuzzy cubical head on a tea cup and enjoy!

Red, white and blue

2008-07-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

In celebration of the Fourth of July, I made a red, white and blue ice cream cake from Epicurious. It came out great! And was eaten in short order by several teenagers, adults, and children at Chris & Kip's BBQ. I used Strawberry, Lemon and Açai Berry Sorbets with Newman 0's, and yes even fresh whipped cream! Pure decadence for a special occasion. The photo of Elvis was taken at the Alameda antique fair last year. The Alameda antique fair for this month is tomorrow, should be fun!

Attack of the Yeti

2008-07-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Yes I have made some more puppets. This time I have created three small yeti stick puppets for use in my puppet show about super heroes. I considered adding furry arms with claws but time constraints kept it simple. Now what to create for Letter Z?

Maybe he went to go mod ska dancing . . .

2008-06-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, after having the pleasure of dining at KISS Seafood in Japantown then indulging in an amazing Crepe filled with Nutella, fruit & ice cream, my wife and I went to see Camper Van Beethoven at the Fillmore in San Francisco on the occasion of their 25 years of being a band. It was a really amazing show which began with Pictures of Matchstick men and went on for over two hours! They played most of my favorite songs from Telephone Free Landslide Victory including Club Med Sucks, Wasted, and The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon! It was so much fun.

Introducing M-bot

2008-06-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Today I made a collage after setting up my classroom. It was fun. This is M-bot, he is a character in our new family comic, The Adventures of Pirate Bunny. M-bot is a robot created by Doctor WonderKid. M-bot is a happy go-lucky sort who means well but seems to cause trouble wherever he goes. His current mantra is "Mirth is King!" But that could change after a few more months abroad the good ship Popsicle. Stay tuned for more updates on our Summer comic as we continue this fun project.

An Amazing Monday!

2008-06-23T16:27:00.001-07:00

Today has been quite the day. First I found out that my brother John and his wife Danielle are having a girl due on Xander's Birthday ~ November 9th! I can't wait to be an Uncle again... That makes it, Four Garretson girls now in the next generation.
What could be better?

How about a new game to play ...
Indeed ... Today I received my belated birthday gift from John, Mario Kart Wii! After a few short races, I have quickly realized that playing this game with the wii controller is going to take some time to get used to. Thanks John and Congratulations to you & Danielle!

Hello Robots!

2008-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

This post is for my brother, John. He keeps asking to see photos of the robot puppets I made last month, well here they are! They are currently named Rog-Bot and Fred-Bot after the two puppets that inspired their creation. The puppets are made from recycled materials such as cardboard, foil, and various items I found in the house. My latest puppet show at school was a wild three part adventure featuring Freddy and Roger in a Tardis traveling to the past and future, needless to say the two robots save the day.

Overgrown

2008-06-18T21:26:00.001-07:00

Today, I took my first picture with my spankin' new camera! (That's the one with the blackberries above) My new camera is a Canon Powershot SD1000! Its very compact, simple to use and best of all - it takes great photos. In our backyard we have a monster of a blackberry bush, and last year I thought that it had reached its zenith but after checking on it for the first time in several months, I realized that this bush knows no bounds! Take a look at the image below. Soon we will be swimming in blackberries! Did I mention that I also received my CycloDSEvolution today as well? Indeed, it's been a great day for packages. Back to the washing of dishes and other menial labors ...

Fathers Day, pirates and kung fu too

2008-06-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was great fun, we went to a pirate festival on Saturday and I had Eggs Benedict with potatoes for breakfast on Fathers Day. Sally made me a beautiful card (see lotus drawing above) with crisp clean writing on the inside. We spent a few hours debating where we could go to find Mario Kart for the Wii and then realized no one even has it in stock after a few quick phone calls. Then on Monday we went to see Kung Fu Panda. I liked the credits and the animation was gorgeous throughout the film,
the story was better than expected. The first week of summer camp is going well - it is wearing me out, with all the drop offs and pick ups but the kids are having a great time.

Sardine in Outer Space

2008-06-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on a whim I picked up this colorful comic / graphic novel at the Library called Sardine in Outer Space 2 by Emmanuel Guibert and Joann Sfar. The characters are really great and the stories are a hoot for myself and for Sally, my 6 year old. She likes the cat that lives on Sardines' head most of the time and I enjoy the great colorful art and wacky stories. After reading this book, I felt immediately inspired to create a new comic this summer, somehow collaborating with Xander and Sally. I could draw and we each could create characters and write the stories togetner ... my brain is already buzzing with ideas ... I am also delighted to discover that there are 5 books in the series! That should keep us going all summer long ... Peachy keen!

Michael's Magic

2008-06-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

I occasionally create custom posters for friends and family. I really enjoy designing posters with flat bold colors! This poster began as an idea over a year ago, when I was contracted to design this poster for a former student of mine. Michael loves to collect "treasures" and keep everything in his backpack - everything from dirty bird feathers to the odd pebble or stone to shiny coins and such. Enjoy!

Learning the Eric Carle technique

2008-06-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I had an idea. I wanted to create some art for the annual auction to raise money for Ducks Nest Preschool. I decided to create paintings of characters that we use in our classroom puppet shows. Then I decided that I would try using Eric Carle's technique of painting tissue paper to create the colors and textures with the help of the children at school. I had no idea how labor intensive this way of working could be! It was fun but very time consuming. Also it took some time to get the hang of painting on tissues with children. It's not very often that I get the time to paint and work on canvas these days. Needless to say I enjoyed myself immensely working on this project. The top characters are Freddy & Roger - two best friends that put on a weekly show & tell puppet show in my classroom. Below are Ringo the rooster and his pal Giddy-Up the horse, popular characters in my friend Miles puppet shows. Enjoy!