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Recent comics reads
[easyazon-link asin=”1401229697″]Daytripper[/easyazon-link] – Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon: A lush, moving and beautifully illustrated graphic novel tells the story of obituary writer Brás de Oliva Domingos and his life. Themes of love, redemption, friendship, fatherhood, work and the purpose of life intertwine with each chapter. At first, Daytripper’s gimmick seems abrupt, but as it progresses, the narrative builds as time jumps back and forth within Domingo’s life. The supporting cast of characters serve their purpose with purpose as part of the story. Ba has written a meaningful story and Moon colorfully illustrates each page with artwork that feels alive.
[easyazon-link asin=”1607061597″]Chew Volume 1: Taster’s Choice[/easyazon-link] – John Layman and Rob Guillory: Tony Chu is a cibopath, able to discern an entire history of an object by eating it. He’s also a cop, who after a botched arrest, is hired by the Food and Drug Administration, where in the world of Chew, is the most powerful government agency in the U.S., due to an ongoing bird flu pandemic. He is teamed with a fellow cibopath, Savoy to solve a case of a missing FDA inspector. Chew is a bizarre concept, surreal at best, playful but serious in the story its telling. This is not for the squeamish. Guillory’s artwork is colorful and lively and brings an animated feel to Layman’s story. Definitely work checking into other trade paperbacks.
[easyazon-link asin=”1401229654″]iZombie Vol. 1: Dead to the World[/easyazon-link] – Chris Roberson and Mike Allred: Gwen is a zombie, but not a conventional zombie. She needs to eat a brain once a month to stay functional or else she starts to go crazy. Her two friends are Stacy a ghost who died in the 60s and a wereterrier (like a werewolf but not quite as vicious) named Spot. Add a mysterious man with connections to the past, a covert monster hunting group, and various factions of undead, you’ve got the concept. The characters are simple, the conflict pretty generic and the artwork, while well drawn, doesn’t add life to the story. In this first trade, the story doesn’t get interesting until the last chapter.
[easyazon-link asin=”1607060906″]Dead@17: Ultimate Edition[/easyazon-link] – Josh Howard: This collects the first four trade paperbacks of the Dead at 17 series, which features Nara Kilday fighting the undead and evil spirits. The art is light, animated and clean, and gets better as the series progresses. The story rarely veers from the pattern of conspiracy of the undead controlling some power that needs to be stopped. There are some unique twists, and depending on your patience, decent subplots. At times, the narrative feels rushed and overly wordy at times. Surprisingly, there are strong Christian undertones of life and redemption.
[easyazon-link asin=”1401213170″]Scalped Vol. 1: Indian Country[/easyazon-link] – Jason Aaron and R.M. Guerra: A gritty, modern noir set on an indian reservation in the Dakotas. Dash Bad Horse ran away from the reservation at 15 to make a life for himself, and now enforces law for Lincoln Red Crow on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation. The characters and interactions are complex and violent. Definitely worth following and reading additional trade paperbacks.
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A biplane on a rooftop
For things that aren’t what they seem, a biplane on a Manhattan rooftop is one of them.
Though Kaufman delights in onlookers wondering if a plane did indeed fly in and land on 77 Water Street, the aircraft is actually just an artistic re-imagining of a 1916 British Sopwith Camel, designed by Rudolph de Harak and constructed by sculptor William Tarr. It was hoisted into place by crane in 1969 and hasn’t moved since.
Art installations on a rooftop seem better than a helipad or air conditioning units.
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Photo proof you don’t get it right the first time
Below shows that the best shot isn’t the first one you take. Iteratively and progressively, you build on what worked, and use your knowledge to make it better. Also, stuff happens in post-processing of images. As an aside, I prefer to shoot in aperture priority mode to control my depth of field, and I’ll comment on settings for folks, if they’re into that sort of thing.
This is with a bare flash (Vivitar 285HV wide zoom, 1/16th power and camera at f 8, aperture priority). The flash is too bright, nuking the army dude with light. Need to soften the light a bit.
A few shots later, I put a Wescott mini-Apollo softbox over the flash. The softbox is about 10″x6″ and fits on the head of the flash well. The light is softer and direct, but the image needs something more than an army guy on a table.
They defend stuff, right? So I grabbed the salt and pepper shakers, letting the title of “defending the shakers” float in my mind. Ok, it’s somewhat interesting, but white light seems a bit much.
I took the softbox off the flash and added a warming gel and reattached the softbox. I really like this…
…and let’s punch it up a bit in post-processing, changing the levels, tweaking the curves and upping the saturation.
Continuing on, I added a machine gunner buddy. Cool, but what if I added some light behind them?
I placed a LumoPro 160 (1/8th power, zoomed to 85mm, placed a foot from the army guys). I should have known it would have been too hard (it’s like a flash grenade went off).
I moved the LumoPro to a counter top, so now that flash is about 6 feet away with the Vivitar still sitting pretty. Like earlier, the white light isn’t doing it for me.
I placed a warming gel on the LumoPro, took a few shots, and this is the one I like. Sharp and warm and with a good angle.
…and now punched up in post-processing like above.
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Recent reads
Some thoughts on the books I’ve read over the past two weeks:
1. [easyazon-link asin=”0385533853″]Robopocalypse: A Novel, Daniel H. Wilson[/easyazon-link] – a fast paced science fiction thriller, where, in the future, mankind’s robots rebel. Told from the perspective of a handful of characters, Robopocalypse begins Archos gaining sentience and killing his master. From there, a violent, dystopian uprising occurs. Themes of survival, humanity, redemption and evolution occur throughout. If you read a lot of sci-fi, you’ll notice similar elements–cold, logical robots, hacking, cybernetics, etc. It’s already been optioned by Spielberg for a movie.
2. [easyazon-link asin=”0571160565″]Lord of the Flies, William Golding[/easyazon-link] – Somehow, I got out of high school not reading this, the tale of how a group of boys descend into savages on a remote island. Symbolism abounds as the story progresses–Christ figures, society, morals, rational logic, rules. I found myself annoyed by what Golding captures well–the constant squabbaling of young boys, particularly over the same few things and specifically the damn conch.
3. [easyazon-link asin=”B003VYBEK2″]Escape From Cubicle Nation, Pamela Slim[/easyazon-link] – What gives Slim’s book more weight is the fact that she’s done it, and provide concrete steps to overcome fears. Getting ideas, fleshing them out, how to test them, how to figure out the finances, how to live. She quotes other experts a great deal and provides relevant anecdotes–good and bad. More can be found at Escape from Cubicle Nation.
4. [easyazon-link asin=”0399157506″]The Book of Even More Awesome, Neil Pasricha[/easyazon-link] – Appreciate life, and be grateful at all the things that there are to enjoy. This is the second book that collects Pasricha’s blog, 1000 Awesome Things. [easyazon-link asin=”0425238903″]The Book of Awesome[/easyazon-link] and The Book of Even More Awesome serve well as coffee table books, or books you pass around and read aloud with friends–they’re meant to be shared.
5. & 6. [easyazon-link asin=”140122430X”]DMZ Vol. 7: War Powers[/easyazon-link] & [easyazon-link asin=”1401227260″]DMZ Vol. 8: Hearts and Minds[/easyazon-link], Brian Wood – Continuing the story of Matty Roth, reporter in the war zone that is Manhattan, War Powers has Roth acting as recently elected Delgado’s right hand man to seek out gold in Chinatown. Roth realizes he’s a pawn, and isn’t as independent as he wishes to be. This leads to Roth bargaining his position of power with Delgado, leading to Hearts and Minds, where Roth begins to use his new found political power with great consequence. The consequence–Roth doesn’t know how to wield power responsibly and ends with one wondering, are there any good guys?
7. [easyazon-link asin=”0877881383″]The Creative Call, Janice Elsheimer[/easyazon-link] – Similar to [easyazon-link asin=”1585421472″]Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way[/easyazon-link] with weekly chapters of personal creative growth, albeit with a Christian perspective. There are still the daily journaling exercises, weekly tasks to focus on, but Elsheimer includes Christian scripture. This would be a good book for churches who’d like to take a different look at spirituality.
8. [easyazon-link asin=”1935597035″]Crossing, Andrew Fukada[/easyazon-link] – Xing Xu is a Chinese born immigrant living in small town New York, feeling the awkwardness of being a teenager and the critical eye of an immigrant. Mysterious disappearances begin occurring around town and Xing investigates. It’s a brief, haunting and chilling novel as we witness Xing struggle to fit in and find acceptance. Sparse descriptive prose lead to a heartbreaking ending.
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Summer video: Wild Flag – Romance
Sure, you’ve got your summer songs with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga. I’ll raise you one, with Wild Flag, an all girl out fit from Portland.
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Review: The Terror by Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons attempts to write a supernatural, horror, historical novel version of Moby Dick. Where Melville’s monster was an albino whale stalking Ahab’s Pequod, Simmons conjures up a mythical beast that roams the Arctic Circle slowly picking off the crew of the HMS Terror and Erebus frozen in ice. And like Moby Dick, Terror plods along much too long with unnecessary plot lines and characters that only serve to let the author discuss themes.
Evolution? Check! Nihilism? Check! Absurd 19th century social mores? Check! Evil white man? Check! Noble savage? Check! Alcoholism? Check! Environmental concerns? Eskimo mythology? Betrayal? Love? Cannibalism? Check! And so much more.
What works well within the novel is the depth in which Simmons describes life aboard a Royal Navy ship and what it takes to run it. Using the ill-fated John Franklin expedition, in search for the Northwest Passage as a backdrop, each chapter is told from a crewman’s perspective, with the main character being Captain Francis Crozier. The novel begins mid story and chapters go back and forth into the past (of the expedition, characters lives) to tell how the crew got to its absolutely depressing point.
Pointedly, men die as the novel progresses, in numerous ways. And like the unbearable cold of the Arctic, this tone doesn’t let up. Give us something to hope for, as there’s not much. Like most horror stories, what can go wrong whether it be from sheer character stupidity or the horrific force bearing down upon the characters, will go wrong in Terror. You have to wonder, is anyone intelligent or gives a damn enough to live?
The blend of historical fiction and horror works, however, the unnecessary diversions to draw out themes bloats the story. Melville used an entire chapter on cetalogy, the study of whales. Simmons uses a sermon about Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. There’s a crewman who plays the human villain, who is a homosexual, while there’s a chief crewman who’s also a homosexual who feels like a token character to balance out the other. At one point, Crozier suddenly gains supernatural abilities himself, when there was no inkling that he had them at all. This feels forced.
And then there’s the end, which feels forced, pulled out of nowhere to create a happy ending. Sure, we don’t know what happened to the crew of the Terror and Erebus, more than likely they all froze to death, but their descent into unintelligent-able madness seems a disservice.
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Thoughts on Fort Worth mayoral campaign signs
On June 18th, the Fort Worth Mayoral run off will be held between Betsy Price and Jim Lane. Through out the entire campaign, their respective signs stood along roadsides and street corners. Regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, their signage is interesting as well as signage for the other candidates. Below are some thoughts on the designs of all 5 Fort Worth Mayoral candidates, in order of least to most popular vote percentage from the May 14th election. All images found via Google Image’s cache and copyright their respective owners. I have no affiliation with any candidate.
Nicholas Zebrun
All during the campaign, I never once saw this sign. I recall seeing a blue and white sign with some sort of stylized star, nor can I track down any images of the sign I’m thinking of. This design is high contrast sans serif type face, white against red. Zebrun and mayor are weighted, made bold, for impact and visibility. The drop shadow gives the type depth. Aside from the red and white contrast, nothing stands out, nor would I think this to be memorable.
Dan Barrett
Again, we see the high contrast, eye catching red and white design. Barrett has several other things going on. His first name is skewed, albeit disproportionately to his last name. The last name, is skewed in such a way that it gives a sense of perspective–alluding to a path, or a way, or he has perspective on the issues? The skewing, renders the sign, “Dan B”. The tagline, “A New Way for Fort Worth”, is placed in the additional empty space, made by the distortion of his last name. Also, the alignment of the text needs work–Dan and Barrett should be better aligned, as does the tagline. Unless this sign is large, it’s not very readable.
Cathy Hirt
Cathy Hirt’s sign is visually interesting and appealing. Good typography–alignment and weighting of text, plus, the “for mayor” and the star flourish make this attractive. “Hirt” is dramatic and bold–definitely stands out, and the “for mayor” is interesting enough that the brain will make the connection. This sign will work for print and posters. Two concerns, however, are that the blue could be hard to read in passing or if the person was colorblind.
Jim Lane
Jim Lane’s sign is the first to break away from the red and white sans serif design. The other candidates up to this point emphasized their last names. Lane uses the brevity of his seven letters to an advantage–JIM LANE, in a distinctive typeface. The “FOR MAYOR” contrasts well between his name and the longhorn. The longhorn. It’s very similar, if not the same as the City of Fort Worth’s logo, except in a different color. Does it help? Yes. Take it away, and the sign is generic. With the longhorn, it’s an image associated with anything Fort Worth–so much that it could easily blend in with all the other Fort Worth signage as Yet Another Fort Worth Sign.
Betsy Price
Betsy Price has luck from her namesake to help with a clever, interesting and playful design in that of a “Price” tag. The design is shaped uniquely with high contrast black sans serif text on a yellow background. It’ll work large and small. The similarity to the Best Buy logo is uncanny–and will definitely catch people’s attention. Price’s use of an already existing visual works, whereas Lane’s does not.
Conclusion
High contrast, clean design, visually appealing and, if you can pull it off, add something unique. Plus, use the roadside test. Can you see, and remember, the sign in the brief moments someone may take to look at it? If you can only afford small signs, they better be clear and distinctive.
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Review: Tina Fey – Bossypants
Tina Fey brings clever wit and charm to her memoir, Bossypants
that tells of her growth as a creative individual. This creative individual is also a confident woman, business woman, mother, daughter, wife, keen and self aware of the life she lives. All these roles culminate as she recounts the perfect storm of getting Oprah to shoot a scene for 30 Rock, play Sarah Palin for the first time on SNL and pull of her daughter’s third birthday, complete with pirate cake. The lessons she learned from her father, Lorne Michaels, traveling with Second City and running a neighborhood theater kept her together for those crucial few days.Bossypants brings a female perspective to the creative industry that reads well, and insightful. One interesting passage is her photoshoot for Bust magazine, and she expounds on her feelings towards Photoshop. Fey understands its purpose when used appropriately–enhance images for publication, and recognizes when it crosses the line to distort reality.
It’s knowing those lines, where Fey excels at sharing in a self-deprecating style that makes they key part of an issue relevant.
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Bloom like an artist
An illustrated parable to growing as an artist by IdaEva.
So true, and applies all the same to any ability to create something.
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Seryn unplugged in my living room
To get a band to play in your living room, there are several steps to make it happen.
- Find an intimate setting large enough to fit a band and their equipment.
- Get owner of said place to agree to let a band play in their intimate setting.
- Ask said band to play in said intimate setting.
Inspired by two stories posted to Fuel/Friends music blog, by Heather Browne, I pitched the idea to my parents: to put on a show in the living room for my birthday. Reticent to the idea, I strategically, I loaded up the potential band’s music on the kitchen computer and played it for them as I talked about how cool it would be for a 30th birthday experience. Once the soothing, serene harmonies of Seryn filled the kitchen, they began to seem amiable.
“Sure, email the manager, to see if they’ll play.”
A week’s worth of emailing with the band’s manager passed and we worked out a deal. It would cap off a 4 day run of shows for the band. Seryn would play, unplugged, in my living room. I relayed the news to my parents, and they were shocked and impressed, and possibly wondering what they committed themselves to.
Invites were sent, food ordered, the band’s whisky purchased, last minute details cleared up, logistics finalized, poster made, living room cleared, margarita machines stocked, and the dog tranquilized with doggie downers.
People began arriving around 4:30, and the band followed, unloading around 5. They arrived in their bus, a midnight blue shuttle bus, pulling a trailer for their gear. One by one, they entered the house placing an assortment of instruments from a stand up bass, pump organ, tambourines, banjos and xylophone. And in a small world moment, Nathan, the red-bearded guitarist, and my brother, exchanged glances and immediately recognized each other.
“Hey, I know you… from UNT.”
“Yeah, you were in Bruce…”
“… and you had a girlfriend back home…”
“… you did too…”
“… and we’d talk about it all the time… “
“How you been?!”
Everything was fine.
The stage was set, and fajitas were shared, and margaritas and whisky were dispersed for the set. At five after six, a sizable crowd swelled within the confines of the kitchen to the dining room to the stairs. I thanked everyone for coming, and introduced the band.
Trenton spoke, “Hi, we’re Seryn, and we’re happy to be here to play a few songs for you and celebrate Patrick’s birthday.” And they transitioned into Of Ded Meroz.
For an hour Seryn played, switching instruments mid song, applying bows to a banjo and a xylophone during On My Knees, singing in 5 part harmony, jamming out, letting the music ebb and swirl and coalesce into a rousing finale of Here We Are. This is a band you have to see live, for their energy, passion and camaraderie, and you can’t help but feel that and get a sense of something bigger, something hopeful, and joyful.
Friends and family lined up at the makeshift merchandise stand at the dining room table, picking up cds for themselves or others and T-shirts, too.
It was a memorable night. Chelsea, Trenton and Nathan told the story of how they all joined up (fyi, an Explosions in the Sky show is involved); my father helping Andrew, the merch guy, fix the band’s box o’ wares; taking a shot of whisky with Trenton and Nathan, Aaron showing me their spiffy Square credit card processor; my friend Mark collecting autographs with a silver Sharpie; my friend Brad suggesting the addition of a cowbell; the margarita machine drained dry; Chris arriving just in time from a wedding.
All in all, I’m incredibly grateful, humbled and appreciative for all the people who came out to celebrate my 30th.
