Casting about for something to read whilst waiting on the Adobe InDesignCS point update to download (and at 16MB over a dialup link you know I've the time..after this I'm going to start cleaning up the garage), I hit upon the blog of a local who posts under the psuedonym Reformed Pope. It's called City Business Church and it is a rather irreverent report on the goings-on over at the City Bible Church, that huge salvic complex with the twin domes on the north flank of Rocky Butte. You can see it from I-205, best view is in the southbound lanes, coming from the airport.
This is a blog worth reading, IMO. I'm putting it in my links.
I was even moved to leave a comment. Blogger sucked it up and sent it on.
The next screen told me, in big black letters, Your Comment Has Been Saved.
God does move in mysterious ways.
By Samuel John Klein of Portland, Oregon - Graphic Designer without Portfolio, aspiring artist who dawdled too long.
16 December 2004
14 December 2004
[sundial_life] This I Do For Me!
Glancing up at the timer I see I've been online for about 13 hours.
I haven't been able to do this for months!
Christmas Break rulz!
I haven't been able to do this for months!
Christmas Break rulz!
[pcc_life] It's A Wrap: Fall Term 2004
With the close of the last Watercolor class today, my Fall Term 2004 experience has come to a regretful close.
I've really had fun with this one. The three classes challenged me and I grew artistically, despite the battle with infection. That alone blew a huge crater in the middle of my term, and if it weren't for understanding instructors I don't think I would have made it.
Certainly the web-based Dreamweaver course helped.
Looking back, I can't say which of them I enjoyed more. Watercolor class actually got me to get out my dam' paints, which I have collected for quite some time (I am an inveterate collector of art matierials (yes, bizarre, I know)) and get them used! there is significant damage to my Alizarin Crimson and Cad Yellow Light, and many of the blues are looking quite used. There is a joy in looking at a watercolor box that has seen service. I now have a clue as to what to do when I get them out, and have lost the intimidation factor. I even use charcoal now (I still hate it).
Life drawing benefitted me greatly. Long ago I made the nai'ive statement to my The Wife[tm] that I'd "like to add light and shadow" to my line drawing. Well, my friends, the big epiphany is, there is no such thing as "line"...at least not the way most beginning artists think. Light defines shadow, and shadow gradates and defines itself, the light, and volume. Learning to see, truly see contrasts, areas of light and shadow, is the one true artistic skill. After that, color. But if you don't have a grasp of light and shadow, I don't really think you can really grow as an artist.
To have artistic talent or training, I am now convinced, carries with it the obligation to develop and grow it, or at least to exercise it in some way. It is an important thing that moves us from being worker drones to actual people and citizens.
This is an internal conclusion; I can't back it up with an explanation, but I am as sure of it as I am that the earth revolves about the Sun.
The Dreamweaver class was a good bit of fun. Being web based (and, due to my anxiousness to learn it already and some prior experience hand-coding) I was able to get ahead early on and the infection and hospital visit didn't put me behind much. My final project was a tour of Portland's Bridges, which I have always been fond of, and now adore even more. It used some things because they had to be used (gratuituous rollover images). I found that frames can actually organize and give a site rationale if they are used in just the right way. I used gratuituous multi-event rollovers but it works somehow.
It was good enough that my instructor of record asked to put a copy of it up on his instructor's website. Got full points for it. I did kind of stress the design. And I am kind of proud of it. May post it independently myself sometime, but I borrowed a lot of images and there may be copyright issues to work out. I plan on gathering my own images, over time.
Next term: only two classes, Geography of Oregon (am salivating at the thought of this one) and something called Computer Concepts I, which oddly is seen by PCC as a Physical Science class. Should be more than a coast but less than, say, solo pyramid building. And then there'll be the last term, Spring Term, the term where I do my ultimate GD courses.
Gotta start thinking about a portfolio....
I've really had fun with this one. The three classes challenged me and I grew artistically, despite the battle with infection. That alone blew a huge crater in the middle of my term, and if it weren't for understanding instructors I don't think I would have made it.
Certainly the web-based Dreamweaver course helped.
Looking back, I can't say which of them I enjoyed more. Watercolor class actually got me to get out my dam' paints, which I have collected for quite some time (I am an inveterate collector of art matierials (yes, bizarre, I know)) and get them used! there is significant damage to my Alizarin Crimson and Cad Yellow Light, and many of the blues are looking quite used. There is a joy in looking at a watercolor box that has seen service. I now have a clue as to what to do when I get them out, and have lost the intimidation factor. I even use charcoal now (I still hate it).
Life drawing benefitted me greatly. Long ago I made the nai'ive statement to my The Wife[tm] that I'd "like to add light and shadow" to my line drawing. Well, my friends, the big epiphany is, there is no such thing as "line"...at least not the way most beginning artists think. Light defines shadow, and shadow gradates and defines itself, the light, and volume. Learning to see, truly see contrasts, areas of light and shadow, is the one true artistic skill. After that, color. But if you don't have a grasp of light and shadow, I don't really think you can really grow as an artist.
To have artistic talent or training, I am now convinced, carries with it the obligation to develop and grow it, or at least to exercise it in some way. It is an important thing that moves us from being worker drones to actual people and citizens.
This is an internal conclusion; I can't back it up with an explanation, but I am as sure of it as I am that the earth revolves about the Sun.
The Dreamweaver class was a good bit of fun. Being web based (and, due to my anxiousness to learn it already and some prior experience hand-coding) I was able to get ahead early on and the infection and hospital visit didn't put me behind much. My final project was a tour of Portland's Bridges, which I have always been fond of, and now adore even more. It used some things because they had to be used (gratuituous rollover images). I found that frames can actually organize and give a site rationale if they are used in just the right way. I used gratuituous multi-event rollovers but it works somehow.
It was good enough that my instructor of record asked to put a copy of it up on his instructor's website. Got full points for it. I did kind of stress the design. And I am kind of proud of it. May post it independently myself sometime, but I borrowed a lot of images and there may be copyright issues to work out. I plan on gathering my own images, over time.
Next term: only two classes, Geography of Oregon (am salivating at the thought of this one) and something called Computer Concepts I, which oddly is seen by PCC as a Physical Science class. Should be more than a coast but less than, say, solo pyramid building. And then there'll be the last term, Spring Term, the term where I do my ultimate GD courses.
Gotta start thinking about a portfolio....
[design] Downtown Ad Campaign denouement via Yahoo Graphic Design Group
Just to see what other people thought of it, I shared the PDA's downtown ad campaign with members of a Yahoo! group that I am priviledged to be a member of, the Graphic Design Resource Group.
The members are people who are in the industry-either already pro (Pariah Burke, Jeff Fisher, et. al.) or trying to break in (myself) or self employed to various degrees (there are a lot of freelancers). Typically it's a very good read.
The overwhelming impression I got from reading the responses to it was pretty much along the lines that S. Renee Mitchell had. The ads were professional and polished, but the message was muddled with way too much cleverness.
This'll be my own coda on this subject. I find it personally amusing that I find it so fascinating, but when I saw the ads and saw Mitchell's column I realized just what it was about design it is that I find so appealing.
To me, in design, the task is to communicate. But you aren't limited to spoken language. You can educate and inform, enlighten and move, with color, form, picture, and art. It's the most elegant subjective language there is. It's great fun and it's serious work all rolled into one.
I think it's actually quite a high calling.
The members are people who are in the industry-either already pro (Pariah Burke, Jeff Fisher, et. al.) or trying to break in (myself) or self employed to various degrees (there are a lot of freelancers). Typically it's a very good read.
The overwhelming impression I got from reading the responses to it was pretty much along the lines that S. Renee Mitchell had. The ads were professional and polished, but the message was muddled with way too much cleverness.
This'll be my own coda on this subject. I find it personally amusing that I find it so fascinating, but when I saw the ads and saw Mitchell's column I realized just what it was about design it is that I find so appealing.
To me, in design, the task is to communicate. But you aren't limited to spoken language. You can educate and inform, enlighten and move, with color, form, picture, and art. It's the most elegant subjective language there is. It's great fun and it's serious work all rolled into one.
I think it's actually quite a high calling.
09 December 2004
[war_news] Someone Had To Say It
SPC. Thomas Wilson, Wed, 8.Dec.2004, at a 'town hall' style opp with a group of our fighting men in Kuwait:
This was widely reported already, of course. The above is from an official DoD transcript of the event, availible here
This was actually the second time he had to say it. The transcript reveals that the assembled soldiers began to applaud when Wilson paused the first time, causing SECDEF to request a repeat of the question.
Rumsfeld was stunned. This was a classic case of sandbagging, not so much because the soldier asked an unpolitic question but because he was utterly unprepared for such an incisive question. I got the idea that SECDEF got outside of his bubble, the one where everything's going okay, and got hit with a good dose of reality.
His reply (which you can read in full and I won't completely excerpt here) was typical hand waving huffing-and-puffing. He didn't reply with a contemptuous attitude, mind, it was respectful in tone, but the reply itself was an insult to the intelligence of anyone who cares about how this war is fought. The part that irritated me the most:
Well, we went to war with the "Army we have" three years ago. Just how much time do you all need to get off the dime, Mr Secretary?
Meanwhile, over on Planet Eschaton, Atrios relays the following despatch:
The above is an excerpt of his excerpt of a report from Bloomberg. Real eye-opening stuff.
So, what do we have here? The SECDEF portrays the military establishment as just working so dam' hard to get our troops what they need, it's physics not money, and we're just doing everything we can (insert handwaving and huffin'n'puffin) to fix the situation; and the only supplier there is for Humvee armor is saying "Well, we can get popping on this, we can increase production right now with no added cost. Nobody's asked us. We're ready when they are."
This is why I don't trust the Administration to lead us to anything but ruin. They lie to us and they don't care. They don't bother to make sure thier facts equal our reality-based reality. They just make stuff up. And they expect us to believe it. And they are quite gobstopped when we don't.
If you aren't rich or Republican connected, you're really on your own today.
Our soldiers have been fighting in Iraq for coming up on three years. A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We’re digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that’s already been shot up, dropped, busted, picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament vehicles to carry with us north.
This was widely reported already, of course. The above is from an official DoD transcript of the event, availible here
This was actually the second time he had to say it. The transcript reveals that the assembled soldiers began to applaud when Wilson paused the first time, causing SECDEF to request a repeat of the question.
Rumsfeld was stunned. This was a classic case of sandbagging, not so much because the soldier asked an unpolitic question but because he was utterly unprepared for such an incisive question. I got the idea that SECDEF got outside of his bubble, the one where everything's going okay, and got hit with a good dose of reality.
His reply (which you can read in full and I won't completely excerpt here) was typical hand waving huffing-and-puffing. He didn't reply with a contemptuous attitude, mind, it was respectful in tone, but the reply itself was an insult to the intelligence of anyone who cares about how this war is fought. The part that irritated me the most:
As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They’re not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate that they believe – it’s a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously, but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment.
Well, we went to war with the "Army we have" three years ago. Just how much time do you all need to get off the dime, Mr Secretary?
Meanwhile, over on Planet Eschaton, Atrios relays the following despatch:
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the Army was working as fast as it can and supply is dictated by “a matter of physics, not a matter of money.'’
Jacksonville, Florida-based Armor Holdings last month told the Army it could add armor to as many as 550 of the trucks a month, up from 450 vehicles now, Robert Mecredy, president of the company’s aerospace and defense group said in a telephone interview today.
The above is an excerpt of his excerpt of a report from Bloomberg. Real eye-opening stuff.
So, what do we have here? The SECDEF portrays the military establishment as just working so dam' hard to get our troops what they need, it's physics not money, and we're just doing everything we can (insert handwaving and huffin'n'puffin) to fix the situation; and the only supplier there is for Humvee armor is saying "Well, we can get popping on this, we can increase production right now with no added cost. Nobody's asked us. We're ready when they are."
This is why I don't trust the Administration to lead us to anything but ruin. They lie to us and they don't care. They don't bother to make sure thier facts equal our reality-based reality. They just make stuff up. And they expect us to believe it. And they are quite gobstopped when we don't.
If you aren't rich or Republican connected, you're really on your own today.
08 December 2004
[ORblogs_life] pb rox!
Paul Bausch, the net.god behind ORblogs, is a benevolent ruler. He noted by post about being in Happy Valley (again) and 'splained it to the software. Now I'm back in beautiful Baja Gresham...er, sorry again, Portland.
One of these days I may explore why some people dont feel right if the signs don't match up. Also it just seemed silly to say I was in Happy Valley when I was much closer to Montavilla.
But for the time being, Paul, a public thanks. You do all this for free. It so rawks!
One of these days I may explore why some people dont feel right if the signs don't match up. Also it just seemed silly to say I was in Happy Valley when I was much closer to Montavilla.
But for the time being, Paul, a public thanks. You do all this for free. It so rawks!
[blog_life] ORblogs Puts Me Back in Happy Valley
I would just like to point out that, despite what ORblogs says, I've not moved. By some bizarre algorithm the location of my blog comes up as "Happy Valley", desipite the fact that I live walking distance from Mall 205.
As everyone knows, that's actually Baja Gresham. Er, Portland.
That said, I love everything about the new redesign. Looks truly and sincerely spiff.
As everyone knows, that's actually Baja Gresham. Er, Portland.
That said, I love everything about the new redesign. Looks truly and sincerely spiff.
05 December 2004
[us_politics] Gubba say what?
Outgoing Secretary of HHS Tommy Thompson, Friday, 3.Dec.2004:
*blink* Zehnkatzen <= bewildered
Sometimes it isn't what them Republicans say that's scripted that alarms but what they say off the cuff.
This'll give you all something to pray for in church today. For those of you still swimming die Flusse Verleugnung, the country's never been safer, of course.
"For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do."
*blink* Zehnkatzen <= bewildered
Sometimes it isn't what them Republicans say that's scripted that alarms but what they say off the cuff.
This'll give you all something to pray for in church today. For those of you still swimming die Flusse Verleugnung, the country's never been safer, of course.
04 December 2004
[music] Duran Duran Announces Portland Stop
According to the band, a just-released tour schedule has them playing the Rose Garden on 10 March 2005.
I am saving the day.
I am saving the day.
03 December 2004
[graphic_design] S. Renee Mitchell Knows Design
Ms. Mitchell just wrote a terrific column which has lessons to teach about communicating through design and transmitting a message (available through the Oregonian for free through the month of December-after that, you gotta pay).
So far, in my training, one thing seems plain: communicating through graphics is a challenge in which one balances certain factors. Chief amongst them is a need to get attention, a clever approach, and not obscuring your information with the cleverness of your approach. It can be a struggle, as the column details, and if cleverness wins the struggle, your viewers aren't entertained or informed, but bewildered and maybe a little irritated with you for wasting thier time.
The current Portland Business Alliance's campaign to promote Downtown Portland is a case in which perhaps the need to be eye-catching has muddled the message.
Renee Mitchell:
These are full-page ads running in newspapers this month. Affixed to the image is a stub from a SmartMeter, and in the corner, in small red print is the tagline Downtown: You Never Know What To Expect.
The main point is, there's this kind of surreal display and clever graphics. The amount of clever tricks and the feeling that there's all an inside joke going on here is so great that it likely just leaves the viewer scratching thier head.
The columnist contacted the PBA and got thier spokesperson on the phone in an attempt to explain the idea behind it. She probably knew she was going to have a bit of a problem when the spokesperson began by saying "Have you ever seen the movie 'Big Fish'?". Mitchell had not.
The rest of the column is very enlightening. It portrays a client who had a short time to get a campaign together and rushed it, came up with a too-clever-and-too-hip-by-half campaign. The messages are multiple and contradictory in some places.
Again, Renee Mitchell:
I shan't excerpt more of the column. If the subject intrigues, then go read it whilst it's free.
But there's a lesson here that my GD instructors taught early on. Your object is to communicate. Nothing in Graphic Design is strictly good (unless you have an epiphany) or strictly bad (unless it makes you want to run screaming); things work or they don't. To the degree the message is obscured, the concept isn't working.
Perhaps they needed some group critiques. It's worked for me.
In the final analysis, if you leave a newspaper columnist-whose job it is to communicate with the written word-bewildered about exactly what you're after with your ad campaign, one can safely say you've missed the mark.
So far, in my training, one thing seems plain: communicating through graphics is a challenge in which one balances certain factors. Chief amongst them is a need to get attention, a clever approach, and not obscuring your information with the cleverness of your approach. It can be a struggle, as the column details, and if cleverness wins the struggle, your viewers aren't entertained or informed, but bewildered and maybe a little irritated with you for wasting thier time.
The current Portland Business Alliance's campaign to promote Downtown Portland is a case in which perhaps the need to be eye-catching has muddled the message.
Renee Mitchell:
The approach is big on pictures and short on words. A picture of a tuba reflecting a flying elephant? A man defying gravity in the middle of the lobby of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall?
I'm sure the concept is creative. Real cutting edge. In an abstract sort of way. But what's the point, again?
These are full-page ads running in newspapers this month. Affixed to the image is a stub from a SmartMeter, and in the corner, in small red print is the tagline Downtown: You Never Know What To Expect.
The main point is, there's this kind of surreal display and clever graphics. The amount of clever tricks and the feeling that there's all an inside joke going on here is so great that it likely just leaves the viewer scratching thier head.
The columnist contacted the PBA and got thier spokesperson on the phone in an attempt to explain the idea behind it. She probably knew she was going to have a bit of a problem when the spokesperson began by saying "Have you ever seen the movie 'Big Fish'?". Mitchell had not.
The rest of the column is very enlightening. It portrays a client who had a short time to get a campaign together and rushed it, came up with a too-clever-and-too-hip-by-half campaign. The messages are multiple and contradictory in some places.
Again, Renee Mitchell:
Another thing, I point out, is that the pictures make me work too hard to figure out what you're trying to sell. The scenes are festive and interesting. But the intended message -- come visit downtown -- is lost in translation.
I shan't excerpt more of the column. If the subject intrigues, then go read it whilst it's free.
But there's a lesson here that my GD instructors taught early on. Your object is to communicate. Nothing in Graphic Design is strictly good (unless you have an epiphany) or strictly bad (unless it makes you want to run screaming); things work or they don't. To the degree the message is obscured, the concept isn't working.
Perhaps they needed some group critiques. It's worked for me.
In the final analysis, if you leave a newspaper columnist-whose job it is to communicate with the written word-bewildered about exactly what you're after with your ad campaign, one can safely say you've missed the mark.
02 December 2004
[germanophilia] German Advent Calendar Trivia Game
Advent calendars are a German tradition. They come in many sizes and qualities, but the all have the same things in common; a holiday-themed graphic on the front, and small doors punched into the board/card/whathaveyou. They can be designed into the graphic or not.
As Christmas approaches, each little door is opened to reveal a small chocolate treat and, in the more pious versions, some biblical verse. They teach as well as heighten anticipation of the coming day for children (of all ages-they *are* kind of fun. They can be found sold locally, if nowhere else, as places like the Edelweiss deli on SE 12th and Powell).
At this link there's a fun little game to play. There is a gingerbread man with numerals scattered at random on it. On each successive day of December, a new trivia question will be found when clicking on the appropriate day.
The action will bring up a little window with a German-themed trivia question. There's no shame in answering wrong; a link will take you to another page that tells about the right answer, or it can be found by exploring the website, Germany-info.org. It's friendly and fun.
There is a place where the surfer can enter a giveaway for tchochkes like mugs and magnets. If you're fortunate enough to live in the greater Washington DC area you are entered for a chance at a tour of the German embassy or an invitiation to an embassy function.
Might not be reason enough to move there, but hey.
As Christmas approaches, each little door is opened to reveal a small chocolate treat and, in the more pious versions, some biblical verse. They teach as well as heighten anticipation of the coming day for children (of all ages-they *are* kind of fun. They can be found sold locally, if nowhere else, as places like the Edelweiss deli on SE 12th and Powell).
At this link there's a fun little game to play. There is a gingerbread man with numerals scattered at random on it. On each successive day of December, a new trivia question will be found when clicking on the appropriate day.
The action will bring up a little window with a German-themed trivia question. There's no shame in answering wrong; a link will take you to another page that tells about the right answer, or it can be found by exploring the website, Germany-info.org. It's friendly and fun.
There is a place where the surfer can enter a giveaway for tchochkes like mugs and magnets. If you're fortunate enough to live in the greater Washington DC area you are entered for a chance at a tour of the German embassy or an invitiation to an embassy function.
Might not be reason enough to move there, but hey.
01 December 2004
[pdx_media] I Hate KATU News
Trebekkies all over the nation know that, at long last, Ken Jennings, the Original Nice Guy, has been dethroned as 75-time Jeopardy champion.
KATU(2) viewer know it too. And, if you were stupid enough to wach KATU News at 6:30pm, you knew it before the show started.
Message to Steve Dunn and Natali Marmion: Thanks for ruining the surprise for me. What the hell were you thinking? Of course, it was interesting to see how it happened. As I suspected it would, several missteps during the course of the game left him in a vulnerable position at the end, with only about $600 separating him from his second-place challenger. The challenger bet enough to go over Ken's amount by $1, and Ken got the last question wrong.
The question? The category: Companies and Corporations. The Answer: Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. The correct Question: What is H&R Block.
Ken guessed FedEx.
I'm glad this KATU crew wasn't around when someone shot J.R. on Dallas. I'm giving up on them for a while.
KATU(2) viewer know it too. And, if you were stupid enough to wach KATU News at 6:30pm, you knew it before the show started.
Message to Steve Dunn and Natali Marmion: Thanks for ruining the surprise for me. What the hell were you thinking? Of course, it was interesting to see how it happened. As I suspected it would, several missteps during the course of the game left him in a vulnerable position at the end, with only about $600 separating him from his second-place challenger. The challenger bet enough to go over Ken's amount by $1, and Ken got the last question wrong.
The question? The category: Companies and Corporations. The Answer: Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. The correct Question: What is H&R Block.
Ken guessed FedEx.
I'm glad this KATU crew wasn't around when someone shot J.R. on Dallas. I'm giving up on them for a while.
30 November 2004
[pdx_geography] A First Look At Damascus's City Limits
The following pictures was clipped out of, and slightly altered by me, from the PDF of Damascus's incorporation petition which is available to any member of the public who wishes to view it from the Committee for the Future of Damascus website:
The document includes a map of what was then to be proposed as the city's corporate area. Remarkably, the original concept for the City was to extend it all the way along Highway 212 to Interstate 205, including the commercial and industrial district along that road and the area around the intersection of SE Highway 212 and SE 82nd Drive, historically the center of the area we call the community of Clackamas (I find that most people presume the area around SE 82nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road, adjacent to Clackamas Town Center, as the center of Clackamas. Insofar as commercial activity goes, that may be correct. It wouldn't be the first time a commercial district in an Oregon 'town' has migrated. But Clackamas, historically, is the intersection of Hwy 212 and 82nd Drive. Look that up in your MacArthur. Digressionary brackets end here!)
Anyway, I clipped the document out and Photoshopped in a blue line. The mileage scale is still there so you have an idea of how big the area acutally is. I eyeball it as somewhere in the ten-to-fifteen square mile range. The area is said to contain about 12,000 residents, putting it, as a community of size, somewhere between Newberg (about 17,000) and Dallas (about 9,000). The blue line excludes all areas crosshatched out as "Not Included", therefore, as I interpret this document, that blue line is most likely the new official city limits of Damascus, Oregon.
Note, to the left, how neatly Damascus forms an expansion limit for the City of Happy Valley (so much for Happy Valley's dreams of world domination). We can begin to see how big Happy valley can eventually get. Also notable is the omission of the Boring commercial center and its adjacent area (on the right margin of the map, where Richey Road intersects Highway 212). On the south it just touches the Estacada-Carver Highway (State Hwy 224), on the northeast it contact US 26, but just for a short distance. The northern boundary, with one exception on the northwest corner, is the Multnomah-Clackamas county line, thus hemming Gresham in on the south.
The historic community center of Damascus is the area where Highway 212, SE Foster Road, and SE Sunnyside Road all come together, in the lower left hand area of the city territory. Like many Oregon cities, Damascus is off center.
The most intriguing (and in its quiet way, exciting) is the parts that are crosshatched off. The envisioned extension along Highway 212 toward I205 really gets me thinking about what happened there. At what point was it decided that that area wouldn't make the cut? What factors contributed to the sketching in of those lines? Was there overwhelming opposition in that area of the Sunrise Corridor? And perhaps the coolest thing of all was the fact that this was sketched in by hand at some point in the process. They decided to make a change perhaps at the last minute. Attention wonks: this is not just process, this is change in process, a decision point captured in time. In its own small way, that was history being made. We shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, that in the future, when Damascus thinks to annex land (as cities do from time to time) that they will reach westward toward the freeway.
The document includes a map of what was then to be proposed as the city's corporate area. Remarkably, the original concept for the City was to extend it all the way along Highway 212 to Interstate 205, including the commercial and industrial district along that road and the area around the intersection of SE Highway 212 and SE 82nd Drive, historically the center of the area we call the community of Clackamas (I find that most people presume the area around SE 82nd Avenue and Sunnyside Road, adjacent to Clackamas Town Center, as the center of Clackamas. Insofar as commercial activity goes, that may be correct. It wouldn't be the first time a commercial district in an Oregon 'town' has migrated. But Clackamas, historically, is the intersection of Hwy 212 and 82nd Drive. Look that up in your MacArthur. Digressionary brackets end here!)
Anyway, I clipped the document out and Photoshopped in a blue line. The mileage scale is still there so you have an idea of how big the area acutally is. I eyeball it as somewhere in the ten-to-fifteen square mile range. The area is said to contain about 12,000 residents, putting it, as a community of size, somewhere between Newberg (about 17,000) and Dallas (about 9,000). The blue line excludes all areas crosshatched out as "Not Included", therefore, as I interpret this document, that blue line is most likely the new official city limits of Damascus, Oregon.
Note, to the left, how neatly Damascus forms an expansion limit for the City of Happy Valley (so much for Happy Valley's dreams of world domination). We can begin to see how big Happy valley can eventually get. Also notable is the omission of the Boring commercial center and its adjacent area (on the right margin of the map, where Richey Road intersects Highway 212). On the south it just touches the Estacada-Carver Highway (State Hwy 224), on the northeast it contact US 26, but just for a short distance. The northern boundary, with one exception on the northwest corner, is the Multnomah-Clackamas county line, thus hemming Gresham in on the south.
The historic community center of Damascus is the area where Highway 212, SE Foster Road, and SE Sunnyside Road all come together, in the lower left hand area of the city territory. Like many Oregon cities, Damascus is off center.
The most intriguing (and in its quiet way, exciting) is the parts that are crosshatched off. The envisioned extension along Highway 212 toward I205 really gets me thinking about what happened there. At what point was it decided that that area wouldn't make the cut? What factors contributed to the sketching in of those lines? Was there overwhelming opposition in that area of the Sunrise Corridor? And perhaps the coolest thing of all was the fact that this was sketched in by hand at some point in the process. They decided to make a change perhaps at the last minute. Attention wonks: this is not just process, this is change in process, a decision point captured in time. In its own small way, that was history being made. We shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, that in the future, when Damascus thinks to annex land (as cities do from time to time) that they will reach westward toward the freeway.
28 November 2004
[world_politics] The US Acknowledges Election Fraud
Quite an interesting story. After wide evidence of voter fraud and a tainted election, the people (upon whose trust any system truly "of the people" must depend and must be given wholeheartedly) rise up in peaceful protests nationwide. The Supreme Court, taking stock of the situation, proposes an investigation. The legislature issues a vote of no-confidence (non-binding, but hey) in the results. There is word in the air that the elections may be rerun.
Of course, my oh-so-dear commentary above is how the state of the union in Ukraine is going. The Bush Administration, apparently with a straight face, has sternly lectured Ukraine on getting its act together.
Understand this: it doesn't matter whether or not Kerry was denied a rightful victory in Ohio and Florida, at least not in the end. What does matter is that the voting system in our country is full of opportunities for corruption and deceit, from unverifiable "black-box" voting, to challenging of legally-regsistered voters, to Deibold being in the breast pocket of the Bush administration.
The real big deal is that people just shrug and go on when they hear of dodgy voting procedures and elections officials who have conflicts of interest.
I mean, what're ya gonna do in a country where there are such things as "free speech zones"?
Of course, my oh-so-dear commentary above is how the state of the union in Ukraine is going. The Bush Administration, apparently with a straight face, has sternly lectured Ukraine on getting its act together.
Understand this: it doesn't matter whether or not Kerry was denied a rightful victory in Ohio and Florida, at least not in the end. What does matter is that the voting system in our country is full of opportunities for corruption and deceit, from unverifiable "black-box" voting, to challenging of legally-regsistered voters, to Deibold being in the breast pocket of the Bush administration.
The real big deal is that people just shrug and go on when they hear of dodgy voting procedures and elections officials who have conflicts of interest.
I mean, what're ya gonna do in a country where there are such things as "free speech zones"?
27 November 2004
[sundial_life] Notes From the Fray
Olympian Struggle Continues.
At this point Dino Rossi will be certified the winner of the Washingtonian Gubernatorial contest. After a legally-sanctioned recount he's ahead by the incredibly ironic margin of 42 votes.
Christine Gregoire hasn't given up the ship however. The point of contention is the ballots in King County that would most likely go to her, which were rejected due to machine errors (at least that's the way I understand it). It's her right to take it to the courts...any Republican would do the same, sauce for the goose and all.
Shoulda Told The Mom[tm]
Finally got enough free time to fire off an email to my The Mom[tm], who gently hit the roof when I let on that I was in the hospital for three days with the infection without letting her know. Miffed for good reason. That's the problem with crises I have, I submerge myself in them and don't communicate out.
You Can't Get There From Here
Was late to TCWMNBN last night. My route in, the Banfield freeway, was closed at its accesses from I-205/Stark/Washington, forcing me to go up to the Sandy Blvd interchange and then into town. Figured I could get on the slab at Sandy Blvd/Hollywood district, but no, it was closed there too.
There was apparently a nasty-ass accident at about the 33rd Avenue overpass. Car rolled over, probable fatality. The Law saw fit to close the Banfield in both directions from 33rd Avenue out to I-205, and didn't mention it until 22:00, after I would have been at The Job if I would have been there on time.
As Tom Weller once said, Almost any misfortune is preferable to a worse one.. So true.
At this point Dino Rossi will be certified the winner of the Washingtonian Gubernatorial contest. After a legally-sanctioned recount he's ahead by the incredibly ironic margin of 42 votes.
Christine Gregoire hasn't given up the ship however. The point of contention is the ballots in King County that would most likely go to her, which were rejected due to machine errors (at least that's the way I understand it). It's her right to take it to the courts...any Republican would do the same, sauce for the goose and all.
Shoulda Told The Mom[tm]
Finally got enough free time to fire off an email to my The Mom[tm], who gently hit the roof when I let on that I was in the hospital for three days with the infection without letting her know. Miffed for good reason. That's the problem with crises I have, I submerge myself in them and don't communicate out.
You Can't Get There From Here
Was late to TCWMNBN last night. My route in, the Banfield freeway, was closed at its accesses from I-205/Stark/Washington, forcing me to go up to the Sandy Blvd interchange and then into town. Figured I could get on the slab at Sandy Blvd/Hollywood district, but no, it was closed there too.
There was apparently a nasty-ass accident at about the 33rd Avenue overpass. Car rolled over, probable fatality. The Law saw fit to close the Banfield in both directions from 33rd Avenue out to I-205, and didn't mention it until 22:00, after I would have been at The Job if I would have been there on time.
As Tom Weller once said, Almost any misfortune is preferable to a worse one.. So true.
24 November 2004
[nw_politics] So What's The Big Deal About A Recount?
Hell, in Ohio and Florida, you'd think you're asking them to build a 1:1 scale replica of the Great Wall of China.
Single-handedly.
With a spoon.
But up in Washington, they're just recounting. And except for one instance where Repubicans sued to prevent King County votes from being counted (on the dubious premise that because the counting machine rejected them they weren't even worth being reviewed), it's gone smoothly, without obvious problems, and largely civilly.
Rossi and Gregoire are behaving themselves as well.
Why couldn't we get to the bottom of the voting frauds in Florida and Ohio this way as well?
It's not a matter of whether or not the results would overturn the election. Not at all. The point is, if there is even the hint of fraud...by intention or by accident, if votes are being thrown out due to 'iffy' circumstances, if absentee votes (including those from overseas from servicemembers who are, presumably, fighting to ensure our way of life continues) are not being counted for whatever reason, then why should I have any faith in the process or the results?
The Democrats and progressives are agitating for recounts-and getting it in Ohio. The Republicans owe it to us as a nation to make the field such that valid recount complaints are getting thier proper redress. As it is, I'm under the impression that the Republican party holds me, as a voter, in contempt until it wants my vote, and after that it's back to normal.
A properly facilitated recount, that would banish any question of fraud, would go a long way toward my assuming good faith on the part of the Republican party.
Hell, they did it in Washington.
Single-handedly.
With a spoon.
But up in Washington, they're just recounting. And except for one instance where Repubicans sued to prevent King County votes from being counted (on the dubious premise that because the counting machine rejected them they weren't even worth being reviewed), it's gone smoothly, without obvious problems, and largely civilly.
Rossi and Gregoire are behaving themselves as well.
Why couldn't we get to the bottom of the voting frauds in Florida and Ohio this way as well?
It's not a matter of whether or not the results would overturn the election. Not at all. The point is, if there is even the hint of fraud...by intention or by accident, if votes are being thrown out due to 'iffy' circumstances, if absentee votes (including those from overseas from servicemembers who are, presumably, fighting to ensure our way of life continues) are not being counted for whatever reason, then why should I have any faith in the process or the results?
The Democrats and progressives are agitating for recounts-and getting it in Ohio. The Republicans owe it to us as a nation to make the field such that valid recount complaints are getting thier proper redress. As it is, I'm under the impression that the Republican party holds me, as a voter, in contempt until it wants my vote, and after that it's back to normal.
A properly facilitated recount, that would banish any question of fraud, would go a long way toward my assuming good faith on the part of the Republican party.
Hell, they did it in Washington.
23 November 2004
[us_life] Your New Corporate Masters
I once said to my The Wife[tm], after watching something about big business, that I thought that Business would be the downfall of America.
This link will lead you to a story, copyright WESH TV-Channel 2 in Orlando, Florida. The shorter version is this: customers of a certain homebuilder in Central Florida signed contracts to take posession of thier homes. These contracts were a sort of Trojan horse however; they contained a provision that prohibited residents from complaining to anyone at all about badly constructed homes. Not the electronic media, not letters to the editor, not picket signs, not even discussing it with your neighbors. And they are suing thier customers to make sure they know who's in charge here.
It gets better. A group of similarly-aggrieved homeowners had an informal gathering to discuss thier situation...and the company sent a spy to make sure they knew who to go after.
This is appalling. This is why corporations need regulation. People shouldn't have to be expected to be on the lookout for people trying to get them to sign contracts that are intended to make them give up constitutionally-protected freedoms. Such bad-faith on the part of the home builder should not even be countenanced in a moral society.
Free-market kool-aid (amongst others) tell themselves, smugly, that the inherent benefits in ethical behavior are attraction enough for corporations to practice it. A lifetime of being the little guy has taught me opposite; once a business gets big enough, they see you as nothing more than something to control and to pay them what little money you got.
It's going to be a bumpy ride. Watch your connections, scrutinize your contracts, and-all else being equal-refuse to do business with people who won't let you read what they expect you to sign.
Of course, as far as I'm aware, you can't give up your constituional rights in a contract. But do you think these people, who have hundreds of thousands of dollars in future revenue already committed, have the money to fight? Would you?
(NB:Alerted to this travesty by a post at Atrios' blog Eschaton during a daily read)
This link will lead you to a story, copyright WESH TV-Channel 2 in Orlando, Florida. The shorter version is this: customers of a certain homebuilder in Central Florida signed contracts to take posession of thier homes. These contracts were a sort of Trojan horse however; they contained a provision that prohibited residents from complaining to anyone at all about badly constructed homes. Not the electronic media, not letters to the editor, not picket signs, not even discussing it with your neighbors. And they are suing thier customers to make sure they know who's in charge here.
It gets better. A group of similarly-aggrieved homeowners had an informal gathering to discuss thier situation...and the company sent a spy to make sure they knew who to go after.
This is appalling. This is why corporations need regulation. People shouldn't have to be expected to be on the lookout for people trying to get them to sign contracts that are intended to make them give up constitutionally-protected freedoms. Such bad-faith on the part of the home builder should not even be countenanced in a moral society.
Free-market kool-aid (amongst others) tell themselves, smugly, that the inherent benefits in ethical behavior are attraction enough for corporations to practice it. A lifetime of being the little guy has taught me opposite; once a business gets big enough, they see you as nothing more than something to control and to pay them what little money you got.
It's going to be a bumpy ride. Watch your connections, scrutinize your contracts, and-all else being equal-refuse to do business with people who won't let you read what they expect you to sign.
Of course, as far as I'm aware, you can't give up your constituional rights in a contract. But do you think these people, who have hundreds of thousands of dollars in future revenue already committed, have the money to fight? Would you?
(NB:Alerted to this travesty by a post at Atrios' blog Eschaton during a daily read)
21 November 2004
[volcano] New Summit ETA
Interesting speculation from the volcano watchers.
First came the estimate that, if the dome growth continues unabated at the current rate, that Mount Saint Helens should regain its 9,677-foot pre-eruption summit height in about a decade, give or take one or two years.
Lately that's been refined. The new word is, that if the dome growth continues at its current rate and does not taper off, residents with a Portland/Vancouver point of view should see it peeking over the rim of the crater in about two years' time.
An' how about that, hey?
I was thinking about the shape and form of the cone, crater, and dome, and realized that we've seen something like this before. It occurs to me that Mount Vesuvius has, with a bit less of the old cone shell, a profile more or less similar to that of Saint Helens.
It will be interesting to see this lava dome resolve into a composite-style shield. Looks like we'll all be learning a lot more about geology before this one's done.
First came the estimate that, if the dome growth continues unabated at the current rate, that Mount Saint Helens should regain its 9,677-foot pre-eruption summit height in about a decade, give or take one or two years.
Lately that's been refined. The new word is, that if the dome growth continues at its current rate and does not taper off, residents with a Portland/Vancouver point of view should see it peeking over the rim of the crater in about two years' time.
An' how about that, hey?
I was thinking about the shape and form of the cone, crater, and dome, and realized that we've seen something like this before. It occurs to me that Mount Vesuvius has, with a bit less of the old cone shell, a profile more or less similar to that of Saint Helens.
It will be interesting to see this lava dome resolve into a composite-style shield. Looks like we'll all be learning a lot more about geology before this one's done.
20 November 2004
[beavos_rule] The Game's Over With Eight Minutes To Go
The Ducks have pretty much folded up. Save some unenvisionable deus ex machina, its...put a fork in 'em, friends...they're done.
With about eight minutes to go in regulation play:
Beavers 50 Ducks 21
The Ducks are having thier backsides handed to 'em on a plate. OSU has scored more points than in any CW ever.
And, according to the radio, Duck fans and Beaver fans are starting to wander out of Reser.
These Beavers are a freaking miracle. From a 1-4 start they will finish 6-5, and go to the Sun Bowl. The Ducks are going...home.
Thank God for Derek Anderson.
The announcers are giving those "good sports" praises to the Duck quarterback. The Ducks are playing still, mostly because you don't leave the game before it's done.
With about eight minutes to go in regulation play:
Beavers 50 Ducks 21
The Ducks are having thier backsides handed to 'em on a plate. OSU has scored more points than in any CW ever.
And, according to the radio, Duck fans and Beaver fans are starting to wander out of Reser.
These Beavers are a freaking miracle. From a 1-4 start they will finish 6-5, and go to the Sun Bowl. The Ducks are going...home.
Thank God for Derek Anderson.
The announcers are giving those "good sports" praises to the Duck quarterback. The Ducks are playing still, mostly because you don't leave the game before it's done.
[beavos_rule] It's The Third Quarter...
Yes, I knew I said no more posts until after the game, but hot damn! Duck turnover, Beavos take posession after a high-school-grade punt of 4th down, marches downfield to another TD!
Beavers 41 Ducks 21
Momentum is going OSU's way. They're just about to the tipping point where we can say the Ducks have no hope.
But there's still a quarter and a half to go. Miracles are possible.
But that sound the Ducks are probably hearing is El Paso...getting farther and farther away.
The Vitalis SunBowl? They still make Vitalis?
Ducks ball. 4th and 10 at the Beavo 45.
Looks like a good day to be a Beaver.
Beavers 41 Ducks 21
Momentum is going OSU's way. They're just about to the tipping point where we can say the Ducks have no hope.
But there's still a quarter and a half to go. Miracles are possible.
But that sound the Ducks are probably hearing is El Paso...getting farther and farther away.
The Vitalis SunBowl? They still make Vitalis?
Ducks ball. 4th and 10 at the Beavo 45.
Looks like a good day to be a Beaver.
[beavs_rule] Oregon Tries To Even It Up
Oregon just made a touchdown, aided by a Beav foul. Now Beavs 20 Ducks 14, a 1 posession game, about a minute and a half left in the half, each has 3 timeouts to burn. There'll be more scoring before the half. Beavers have the ball. 3rd and 9 on from thier own 29.
They both want this one, bad. As they should
This'll be the last post on this until after the end of the game. I've got drawing and artwork to do, Dreamweaver work to do, and I still have to get cleaned up.
Ohhhkay, too much sharing.
They both want this one, bad. As they should
This'll be the last post on this until after the end of the game. I've got drawing and artwork to do, Dreamweaver work to do, and I still have to get cleaned up.
Ohhhkay, too much sharing.
[beavs_rule] TOUCHDOWN BEAVERS!!!!
Right now it's Beavers 20 Ducks 7.
It has been a hell of a game. And we're only part the way through the first half.
It has been a hell of a game. And we're only part the way through the first half.
[or_cities] Damascus Roads, or There's A New Town In Town
Something that kind of slipped by in the election day circus is that Oregon has a new city now.
Of course, few cities are actually new. What happened is a group of voters approved a city government to be established which then draws a line around a given area and has authority within that area. The last time this happened was in the 1980s, when a group of people in the urban fringe adjoining Salem on the north finally rendered the unending annexation debate academic. Today, Keizer is a city of about 35,000. Keizer existed long before then, an exurban area centering on the intersection of River Road N and Chemawa Road, but it became a "City", which means a government, control over thier own concerns, and clout of some degree on the political landscape of the region.
Now, we have the City of Damascus, Oregon. Damascus is an area with an approximate center at the spot where State Highway 212 and the bitter ends of SE Foster Road and SE Sunnyside Road converge. It's about 20 miles ESE from Portland city center, as the crow flies. It's been a community since before the turn of the 20th Century, but in an effort to secure some control of its own destiny, a majority of the residents have approved the formation of a city of about 3,000 population.
I like studying cities. It's an outgrowth of my fascination of maps and extends to fascination on growth, patterns of settlement and the shape of the city limits, and how town look at themselves and out at the world around them.
There is, at the present, very very few pariculars on what, exactly the City of Damascus is. No map of the proposed corporate territory, nothing. So I'm frustrated right now, but I've not given up.
But if you follow this link, you'll be taken to an AP story on the KATU website that sums it up just as good as anything else I've found.
Of course, few cities are actually new. What happened is a group of voters approved a city government to be established which then draws a line around a given area and has authority within that area. The last time this happened was in the 1980s, when a group of people in the urban fringe adjoining Salem on the north finally rendered the unending annexation debate academic. Today, Keizer is a city of about 35,000. Keizer existed long before then, an exurban area centering on the intersection of River Road N and Chemawa Road, but it became a "City", which means a government, control over thier own concerns, and clout of some degree on the political landscape of the region.
Now, we have the City of Damascus, Oregon. Damascus is an area with an approximate center at the spot where State Highway 212 and the bitter ends of SE Foster Road and SE Sunnyside Road converge. It's about 20 miles ESE from Portland city center, as the crow flies. It's been a community since before the turn of the 20th Century, but in an effort to secure some control of its own destiny, a majority of the residents have approved the formation of a city of about 3,000 population.
I like studying cities. It's an outgrowth of my fascination of maps and extends to fascination on growth, patterns of settlement and the shape of the city limits, and how town look at themselves and out at the world around them.
There is, at the present, very very few pariculars on what, exactly the City of Damascus is. No map of the proposed corporate territory, nothing. So I'm frustrated right now, but I've not given up.
But if you follow this link, you'll be taken to an AP story on the KATU website that sums it up just as good as anything else I've found.
[sundial_life] Beavs vs Ducks: Civil Thermonuclear War
There are people who know about this already; The Civil War, Oregon's annual big-college signature rivalry, is setting to get underway. I'm listening on KEX. The pre game show is in full swing.
I am bored silly by sports, except for one thing; Beaver football. One of my many misadventures was an attempt to become an IT professional by attending OSU and majoring in Comp Sci. This was back before they even called it "IT"; everyone studying CS at that time called themselves 'programmers'. But I digress.
This was the early '80s, when OSU was a basketball powerhouse (although never able to get a title, and flirted with #1 in about 1981, I think it was) and the football program was a joke without the funny part attached. Who remembers Joe Avocado...er, Avezzano? I sure do. Mad Magazine joked that OSU and Northwestern should be scheduled to play a game in the Rose Bowl just so the two teams could get a look at the inside.
Despite the fact I never came anywhere close to graduating, OSU got under my skin and remains there to this day. And now, how times have change; the Beav basketball program is hardly the giant that it was, and football...wow. Five bowl games in six seasons. While OSU hasn't quite yet grown into the promise it has showed over the past six years, the Beavs seem to be getting taken a lot more seriously than they used to be.
The Civil War, of course, is the proverbial horse of a different color. I remember, back in the '90s, OSU had a certain pitiful, pathetic season. No wins at all going into the Civil War. They won that one, though, and the next day the Corvallis Gazette-Times had, in 144-point red across the top of the page WE OWN THE STATE! You'd of thought they'd had a winning season. A Civil War victory can make up for a lot of pain.
Anyway, and to bring this back on course, this Civil War is huge. See, two weeks ago, OSU had two games in front of it and had to win both of these last two games to get a bowl invite. UO, on the other hand, had two games and only had to win one.
Then OSU beat Stanford, and UO lost to USC.
Now we have two teams with everything on the line. Not just the state bragging rights, but instead of a winner and loser this time around, one team's season ends today. One team goes on to a bowl, and the other goes home and into history as The One Who Lost.
This is going to be one heck of a game.
It's gut-check time, guys. I'm, of course, for the Beavs.
I am bored silly by sports, except for one thing; Beaver football. One of my many misadventures was an attempt to become an IT professional by attending OSU and majoring in Comp Sci. This was back before they even called it "IT"; everyone studying CS at that time called themselves 'programmers'. But I digress.
This was the early '80s, when OSU was a basketball powerhouse (although never able to get a title, and flirted with #1 in about 1981, I think it was) and the football program was a joke without the funny part attached. Who remembers Joe Avocado...er, Avezzano? I sure do. Mad Magazine joked that OSU and Northwestern should be scheduled to play a game in the Rose Bowl just so the two teams could get a look at the inside.
Despite the fact I never came anywhere close to graduating, OSU got under my skin and remains there to this day. And now, how times have change; the Beav basketball program is hardly the giant that it was, and football...wow. Five bowl games in six seasons. While OSU hasn't quite yet grown into the promise it has showed over the past six years, the Beavs seem to be getting taken a lot more seriously than they used to be.
The Civil War, of course, is the proverbial horse of a different color. I remember, back in the '90s, OSU had a certain pitiful, pathetic season. No wins at all going into the Civil War. They won that one, though, and the next day the Corvallis Gazette-Times had, in 144-point red across the top of the page WE OWN THE STATE! You'd of thought they'd had a winning season. A Civil War victory can make up for a lot of pain.
Anyway, and to bring this back on course, this Civil War is huge. See, two weeks ago, OSU had two games in front of it and had to win both of these last two games to get a bowl invite. UO, on the other hand, had two games and only had to win one.
Then OSU beat Stanford, and UO lost to USC.
Now we have two teams with everything on the line. Not just the state bragging rights, but instead of a winner and loser this time around, one team's season ends today. One team goes on to a bowl, and the other goes home and into history as The One Who Lost.
This is going to be one heck of a game.
It's gut-check time, guys. I'm, of course, for the Beavs.
18 November 2004
[art] Lessons In Life Drawing
Drawing is an interesting beast. Everybody I know wants to do it, almost nobody I know thinks they can.
I believe that, exclusive of natural inclination, desire, or skill, just about anybody can draw (natural inclination meaning aptitude, skill meaning raw ability, and desire meaning, of course, whether or not it's something you really want to do).
The act of drawing is nothing more or less than putting marks on some media (in the main paper, though with the right tool you can draw on anything) with some other media (usually ink/pen and/or pencil/graphite, but you can 'draw' with watercolor, oils, charcoal, &c, &c).
What I find is people get hung up on is that they want to produce something finished. This is understandable in an ineffable way. Since aspiring artists I've known, in effect, want to be able to draw to the skill level they see themselves doing already, they feel as though it's not worth bothering.
And that's a point, actually. It speaks to the 'desire' aspect I mentioned previously. Being able to draw-to create art-is a noble thing. You don't necessarily have to become a hyper-disciplined ascetic to acquire the skill. Some practice is required though. Ever notice how artsy-types carry around those black-covered sketchbooks? They're not full of finished, gallery-licious pieces. Artists try things, experiment, sketch in odd moments. They practice. It's a craft and they gradually master it.
You see, once you've tried something, whether or not it's successful, you've done it once. Since you've done it once, you can do it again. Even if it's a chain of 'failures' (unfair word if not for the context), something is gained from each attempt. We learn the ins and outs of our tools and media, and find what we like to use and find a little of our artistic voice that way. The more we attempt the less it intimidates.
A girl in watercolor class tried a quick self-portrait today. It wasn't the greatest thing, and she tossed it; point is, she did it. Once you've done something once you have some ownership of it. Hopefully she'll go back to it. She's a dance major though, not an art major, so that may not be up her street.
Like I said, desire. Some people are content to watch others create art; some aren't satisfied unless they are making it. It takes all kinds.
Now, I went down that road to go down this one...
At this point, with my experiences, I think what an artist, no matter what the intent or success level, brings to the process is knowing how to look. I was aware of this in my own explorations but with Life Drawing it's really started to gel.
Consider a face-your face, a photo, whatever. You've decided you'd really like to draw it. How do you go about it? How do you represent things?
There's two ways I've gone about it in the past. One is iconically, the other realistically. These are my terms. You may have others.
In the iconic way, we take a scene and attempt to reproduce it by inserting symbols. We think of everything in terms of line and shape. If you're drawing that face and you want to draw, for the sake of argument, one of the eyes, a beginner might lay in a symmetrical lens-shape, draw a circle in the middle for the iris and pupil, and bingo, there you have your eye. Draw another one for the other eye. A set of lines define the nose. The mouth and lips are simply and similarly drawn.
Now, the face has power and many people start with the face and work outward. They sense something isn't right, because...well, maybe the eyes are too far upward. The chin may or may not be the right shap, but the mouth is too close.
The result may be a drawing that may be a perfectly valid experession of art, but isn't what was intended. What was drawn wasn't what was seen but filled in; many things were taken from a standard stock of icons we all carry around inside our heads.
Let's start over with a clean sheet of imaginary paper (imaginary drawings are so much easier to clean up after) and, before we put a pencil to paper, take a few minutes to simply look at our model. Instead of paying attention to form as expressed by line, look for shapes defined by light and dark. One of my favorite places to get an idea of depth and dimension is the nose. We might note, here, that the line of the nose isn't so much defined by the edge of the nose as the edge of the nose is defined by the shadows cast in the orbit of the eye, that deep area between the eye and the bridge of the nose, and the bottom plane of the nose, where the nostrils are.
I've found, in fact, that placing the shadows and dark spots where they seem to belong and standing back fromt the result, the mind will fill in the details. Frequently, the ridge of the nose is close to the same value (lightness/darkness) as the cheek under the eye beyond it (YMMV wrt different lighting). If I fill in the dark values, the darker shapes that are actually there, my perceptive process will almost 'carve out' the other things that I know are there.
Like I said, the face is a powerful thing. Very magnetic.
Now, here's a little rule of proportion that originated with da Vinci, Duerer, and Michelangelo. It will help you place your facial features in the correct places every time.
Picture a fat oval. Draw a line down the center vertically and across the center horizontally. That horizontal line is where your eyes are. Did you know that they eyes are right across the middle of the head (Shannen Doherty notwithstanding)? Discovering this was one of my first points of departure into learning how to see. The mouth is half the distance between the eyes and the chin. The bottom planes of the nose are 1/3 the way up the head from the chin in the direction of the eyes (well, since it's your drawing, you can put the mouth in the forehead if you want, but keep well away from me, Hieronymous, you disturb me).
Between my self-study and my art study over the past three years, I've so far convinced myself that the trick, the real trick of drawing, beyond knowing your media, is drawing what you see. The real skill of an artist is knowing how to look
Here's a few book suggestions for those who are interested:
As far as I know, all those books are availible through Powell's and/or Amazon.
I believe that, exclusive of natural inclination, desire, or skill, just about anybody can draw (natural inclination meaning aptitude, skill meaning raw ability, and desire meaning, of course, whether or not it's something you really want to do).
The act of drawing is nothing more or less than putting marks on some media (in the main paper, though with the right tool you can draw on anything) with some other media (usually ink/pen and/or pencil/graphite, but you can 'draw' with watercolor, oils, charcoal, &c, &c).
What I find is people get hung up on is that they want to produce something finished. This is understandable in an ineffable way. Since aspiring artists I've known, in effect, want to be able to draw to the skill level they see themselves doing already, they feel as though it's not worth bothering.
And that's a point, actually. It speaks to the 'desire' aspect I mentioned previously. Being able to draw-to create art-is a noble thing. You don't necessarily have to become a hyper-disciplined ascetic to acquire the skill. Some practice is required though. Ever notice how artsy-types carry around those black-covered sketchbooks? They're not full of finished, gallery-licious pieces. Artists try things, experiment, sketch in odd moments. They practice. It's a craft and they gradually master it.
You see, once you've tried something, whether or not it's successful, you've done it once. Since you've done it once, you can do it again. Even if it's a chain of 'failures' (unfair word if not for the context), something is gained from each attempt. We learn the ins and outs of our tools and media, and find what we like to use and find a little of our artistic voice that way. The more we attempt the less it intimidates.
A girl in watercolor class tried a quick self-portrait today. It wasn't the greatest thing, and she tossed it; point is, she did it. Once you've done something once you have some ownership of it. Hopefully she'll go back to it. She's a dance major though, not an art major, so that may not be up her street.
Like I said, desire. Some people are content to watch others create art; some aren't satisfied unless they are making it. It takes all kinds.
Now, I went down that road to go down this one...
At this point, with my experiences, I think what an artist, no matter what the intent or success level, brings to the process is knowing how to look. I was aware of this in my own explorations but with Life Drawing it's really started to gel.
Consider a face-your face, a photo, whatever. You've decided you'd really like to draw it. How do you go about it? How do you represent things?
There's two ways I've gone about it in the past. One is iconically, the other realistically. These are my terms. You may have others.
In the iconic way, we take a scene and attempt to reproduce it by inserting symbols. We think of everything in terms of line and shape. If you're drawing that face and you want to draw, for the sake of argument, one of the eyes, a beginner might lay in a symmetrical lens-shape, draw a circle in the middle for the iris and pupil, and bingo, there you have your eye. Draw another one for the other eye. A set of lines define the nose. The mouth and lips are simply and similarly drawn.
Now, the face has power and many people start with the face and work outward. They sense something isn't right, because...well, maybe the eyes are too far upward. The chin may or may not be the right shap, but the mouth is too close.
The result may be a drawing that may be a perfectly valid experession of art, but isn't what was intended. What was drawn wasn't what was seen but filled in; many things were taken from a standard stock of icons we all carry around inside our heads.
Let's start over with a clean sheet of imaginary paper (imaginary drawings are so much easier to clean up after) and, before we put a pencil to paper, take a few minutes to simply look at our model. Instead of paying attention to form as expressed by line, look for shapes defined by light and dark. One of my favorite places to get an idea of depth and dimension is the nose. We might note, here, that the line of the nose isn't so much defined by the edge of the nose as the edge of the nose is defined by the shadows cast in the orbit of the eye, that deep area between the eye and the bridge of the nose, and the bottom plane of the nose, where the nostrils are.
I've found, in fact, that placing the shadows and dark spots where they seem to belong and standing back fromt the result, the mind will fill in the details. Frequently, the ridge of the nose is close to the same value (lightness/darkness) as the cheek under the eye beyond it (YMMV wrt different lighting). If I fill in the dark values, the darker shapes that are actually there, my perceptive process will almost 'carve out' the other things that I know are there.
Like I said, the face is a powerful thing. Very magnetic.
Now, here's a little rule of proportion that originated with da Vinci, Duerer, and Michelangelo. It will help you place your facial features in the correct places every time.
Picture a fat oval. Draw a line down the center vertically and across the center horizontally. That horizontal line is where your eyes are. Did you know that they eyes are right across the middle of the head (Shannen Doherty notwithstanding)? Discovering this was one of my first points of departure into learning how to see. The mouth is half the distance between the eyes and the chin. The bottom planes of the nose are 1/3 the way up the head from the chin in the direction of the eyes (well, since it's your drawing, you can put the mouth in the forehead if you want, but keep well away from me, Hieronymous, you disturb me).
Between my self-study and my art study over the past three years, I've so far convinced myself that the trick, the real trick of drawing, beyond knowing your media, is drawing what you see. The real skill of an artist is knowing how to look
Here's a few book suggestions for those who are interested:
- The Joy Of Drawing, by Bill Martin, 1993, Watson-Guptill. A witty, chatty, and brief book that's a basic drawing course. This book reawakened my love of drawing. It teaches shapes, perspectives, all sorts of basic drawing concepts in a friendly, non-intimdiating way. It's pure inspiration and I so love this book I have it with me wherever I go.
- How To Draw What You See, by Rudy de Reyna, 1970 (ppb ed 1996), Watson-Guptill. Starts you off with the basic forms and shows you that many objects can be based on basic forms just about anybody can draw. Like Joy though it takes you in a bit more of an advanced direction; later chapters explore various media.
- Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, by Betty Edwards, Tarcher-Putnam. My edition is 1989 but it's periodically revised and doubtless an updated edition is out by now. Don't let the woodgy title and psychological slant of the beginning of the book put you off; it's mad popular and that's because it's good. Not only does it teach drawing it does so by enlightening the reader on how percpetions develop. Eventually you'll feel your thinking-approach change. This book helps everybody; if you want to draw but think you have no skill, it will open that door; if you want to improve your skill but don't feel as though you have a solid grasp, it'll help you comprehend.
As far as I know, all those books are availible through Powell's and/or Amazon.
17 November 2004
[pdx_life] Are You Ready For Your New, Fashionable District Name?
In case you haven't noticed, the wags and the fashionable set are coming up with new names for familiar places.
I'm not just talking about the awkwardly-named "Pearl District", or the non-historically named "West End". We're really going fashionable.
The area between NW Lovejoy St and the Willamette River has been loosely termed "NoLo". The insiders also know that it's short for North of Lovejoy.
The venerable north Portland peninusla is getting the hip, with-it term of "NoPo".
I think this is a cool trend. In keeping with stealing style from other places, slapping it on our own town and pretending that just by putting it here we've changed it in some ineffable way (hey, Mayor! Chicago called! They want thier motto back!). If stuffy old New York City can dress up the area South of Houston St by calling it SoHo or the Triangle Below Canal by calling it TriBeCa, why not our dowdy old lady? I think we can all look forward to seeing tres namechanges in all of our 'hoods! Visualise the glottal stop at the studly cap and follow along:
Hawthorne hipsters? Welcome to HaTho!
Gateway commuters? Your home should look less drab when you think of it as GaWa!
Mill Park-ers? Welcome to MiPa!-now even Baja Gresham can be cool!
Nobody still has any idea what to do with C.E.N.T.E.R.
Irvingtonians walk tall in IrTo.
Laurelhursters keep it real in LaHu.
Sellwood still doesn't have enough class and has to keep its old name.
Westmoreland can however adopt the quite slimming WeMo.
And the exurbs can join in too! A cow-orker moved recently from Tanasbourne to Lake Oswego. Although we can now say that he moved from TaeBo[1] to LaOs. Altho' he doesn't speak one SE Asian language....
[1] Yes, I know there's no e between the T and the B in Tanasbourne. It's artistic license. I can do this!
I'm not just talking about the awkwardly-named "Pearl District", or the non-historically named "West End". We're really going fashionable.
The area between NW Lovejoy St and the Willamette River has been loosely termed "NoLo". The insiders also know that it's short for North of Lovejoy.
The venerable north Portland peninusla is getting the hip, with-it term of "NoPo".
I think this is a cool trend. In keeping with stealing style from other places, slapping it on our own town and pretending that just by putting it here we've changed it in some ineffable way (hey, Mayor! Chicago called! They want thier motto back!). If stuffy old New York City can dress up the area South of Houston St by calling it SoHo or the Triangle Below Canal by calling it TriBeCa, why not our dowdy old lady? I think we can all look forward to seeing tres namechanges in all of our 'hoods! Visualise the glottal stop at the studly cap and follow along:
Hawthorne hipsters? Welcome to HaTho!
Gateway commuters? Your home should look less drab when you think of it as GaWa!
Mill Park-ers? Welcome to MiPa!-now even Baja Gresham can be cool!
Nobody still has any idea what to do with C.E.N.T.E.R.
Irvingtonians walk tall in IrTo.
Laurelhursters keep it real in LaHu.
Sellwood still doesn't have enough class and has to keep its old name.
Westmoreland can however adopt the quite slimming WeMo.
And the exurbs can join in too! A cow-orker moved recently from Tanasbourne to Lake Oswego. Although we can now say that he moved from TaeBo[1] to LaOs. Altho' he doesn't speak one SE Asian language....
[1] Yes, I know there's no e between the T and the B in Tanasbourne. It's artistic license. I can do this!
16 November 2004
[sundial_life] The Tik-Tok Empire Expands
Our favorite little 24-hour grotty pub and eatery, the Tik-Tok Around The Clock Restaurant And Bar at 112th and SE Division in Portland, has opened a new branch.
It's at 82nd and SE Powell, the restaurant that sits just behind the Seven Eleven store on the corner. That space has held many restaurants over the last decade, notably a branch of Tennessee Red's BBQ, a place calling itself Brix, and the SE location for a family restaurant based in Saint Johns called Our Daily Bread. All operators were notable for putting Oregon Lottery signs up front as a draw.
We'uns plan on going over there one of these days and seeing how the concept transferred. Don't know if the charm of the careworn little place on Division is there, but as long as they keep the formula of 24-hour operation, simple good diner fare, and friendly efficient bartenders up, I don't see how they can fail.
By the way, not long ago I asked Raelynn (the bartender) if she knew anything of the company's history. As it turns out, the Tik-Tok Around The Clock is not a successor in any way to the famous Tik-Tok drive in that was over by the Six Points at Sandy/12th/E Burnside years ago (in the age of places like Yaw's Top Notch). Presumably that's why the official name is different.
It's at 82nd and SE Powell, the restaurant that sits just behind the Seven Eleven store on the corner. That space has held many restaurants over the last decade, notably a branch of Tennessee Red's BBQ, a place calling itself Brix, and the SE location for a family restaurant based in Saint Johns called Our Daily Bread. All operators were notable for putting Oregon Lottery signs up front as a draw.
We'uns plan on going over there one of these days and seeing how the concept transferred. Don't know if the charm of the careworn little place on Division is there, but as long as they keep the formula of 24-hour operation, simple good diner fare, and friendly efficient bartenders up, I don't see how they can fail.
By the way, not long ago I asked Raelynn (the bartender) if she knew anything of the company's history. As it turns out, the Tik-Tok Around The Clock is not a successor in any way to the famous Tik-Tok drive in that was over by the Six Points at Sandy/12th/E Burnside years ago (in the age of places like Yaw's Top Notch). Presumably that's why the official name is different.
13 November 2004
[design] Pariah Burke on Quark 6.5
Pariah's commentary on the 6.5 release is well worth reading, if you care about such things. It covers all the bases.
[art] On Regenerating Diaries and Sketchbooks
Before I came to 'blogging, I was an inveterate (not invertebrate) (look it up) diarist. I got addicted to it as part of a group of misfits in High School who were not unlike the "other" clique in the Safe Havens comic.
We fancied ourselves a great many things. At the time I fancied myself an 'arthur' (as we said down on the farm). I didn't know jack squat about the "examined life", and couldnt tell Pepys from Peeps. But I liked me my journal.
I've come a ways since then. I think I understand the thing about the examined life, though I don't quite grasp it yet. Also I gave up the "manly" conceit about calling it a "journal". I have fewer illusions these days. I keep/kept a diary.
I had a lot of thoughts about that as I opened an appropriately-sized blank book and started to write again. You see, my current diary volume (enclosed as it was in one of those nifty Oberon leather covers, retail about $60.00) was stolen out of the Subaru as well. I hope they enjoy...oh, never mind.
Anyway, I'm summarizing what happened lately in the first pages. I've not been the most faithful diarist, nor the most steady, but I've done it. The thing I think I have over other people who don't do this is, well, I own more of my past. I feel a little bit more immortal because that will survive me (The Wife[tm] would see to that).
I may be just 1/six billionth of humanity, but I do this thing.
I'm certainly no Pepys, but I'd never give it up. Even if someone steals the last volume I could ever do.
We fancied ourselves a great many things. At the time I fancied myself an 'arthur' (as we said down on the farm). I didn't know jack squat about the "examined life", and couldnt tell Pepys from Peeps. But I liked me my journal.
I've come a ways since then. I think I understand the thing about the examined life, though I don't quite grasp it yet. Also I gave up the "manly" conceit about calling it a "journal". I have fewer illusions these days. I keep/kept a diary.
I had a lot of thoughts about that as I opened an appropriately-sized blank book and started to write again. You see, my current diary volume (enclosed as it was in one of those nifty Oberon leather covers, retail about $60.00) was stolen out of the Subaru as well. I hope they enjoy...oh, never mind.
Anyway, I'm summarizing what happened lately in the first pages. I've not been the most faithful diarist, nor the most steady, but I've done it. The thing I think I have over other people who don't do this is, well, I own more of my past. I feel a little bit more immortal because that will survive me (The Wife[tm] would see to that).
I may be just 1/six billionth of humanity, but I do this thing.
I'm certainly no Pepys, but I'd never give it up. Even if someone steals the last volume I could ever do.
11 November 2004
[planet_politics] Generalissimo Yassir Arafat...
...Is now dead.
However, in view of his recent not-dead status, there will be a watch over the body. Stay tuned to world media for updates on his dead condition.
However, in view of his recent not-dead status, there will be a watch over the body. Stay tuned to world media for updates on his dead condition.
10 November 2004
[meme] Catching Up: Two Saturday Slants on Wednesday
I must be getting over my illness. I'm creative enough to follow up to the last two Saturday Slants Pariah posted. I'll try not to make it too staccato.
Number 1, posted about last week, title: Naughty Little Impulse
Actually, I have wanted to steal something just for the hell of it. Or deface something. I'll explain.
All my life I've loved street signs. From the street 'blades' that identify the streets at intersections to that font they use on the freeway signs. Stems from my love of type I suppose but I've been making fake street directional signs ever since I was a kid. Still do as an adult.
There are two things I want to do that I've always had to restrain myself from. Number one:get a "classic" Interstate highway shield. You can tell these quite easily; for many years on both U.S. highway as well as Interstate shields, the standard was to emblazon the state name on the shield, usually above the number. In the case of the Interstate it would be in small caps centered in the top of the lower area, just below the dividing line.
It would be a fine thing to have one of these shields. But it's against the law. Stealing, don't ya know.
The other thing is to make 'edits' to street signs. Ever see those yellow diamond-shaped signs that simply say "PEDESTRIANS"? Wouldn't they be more fun if they said "PEDESTRIANS - 5 POINTS"?
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.
Then, of course, it's just fun.
Number 2, posted two weeks ago, title: Worst Traveling Experience
I stopped by my then-stepsisters home in Pensacola for a night. Made note to self: Florida's big. Well, it may be only about 100 miles across, but it seems about 500 miles long. From there I drove across Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri to Saint Louis.
See, I only had maybe two weeks to get back to Oregon, reconnect to family, then get back out to Idaho for training at a Naval facility out there. And I was already on day two. Tempus was fugiting like mad for me.
About the only thing I took time to do was take a picture of the Gateway Arch. And that film (actually it was one of those funky disc cameras that Kodak came out with in the '80s) was never developed and looong gone.
While I enjoyed the chance to be on my own for some 3,500 miles I had to kick out the jams and get on it so much that I pretty much speeded past all of everything I really ever wanted to see in America. My biggest memory is interminable miles of freeway and driving from Saint Louis, Missouri in two days. The last day was 24 hours of solid driving, from a place in the Nebraska panhandle called Sidney to Salem. I saw Memphis...from I-55. I drove within two miles of Graceland and didn't pull off to look. I took the I-84 cutoff around the northeast side of Salt Lake City, but never came within sight of the place-I've always wanted to see SLC, see the big Mormon temple there. There were snowstorms on the Utah-Idaho border and in the Santiam Pass on State Hwy 22, and I got to experience those-mind you, I was in a '80 VW Rabbit at the time.
I saw so much, but I missed so much more. And I may never have the chance to do that again.
Go to Saturday Slant Central:
Number 1, posted about last week, title: Naughty Little Impulse
What is your naughty little impulse never acted upon? Ever wanted to kiss your boss? Do you often feel like telling your mother-in-law that she’s a self-centered, controlling witch—over Thanksgiving Dinner? Do you sometimes feel the compulsion to pick up your man’s dirty socks, which are constantly strewn about the floor irresponsibly, and ball it into his sleeping, snore-opened mouth? Ever wanted to steal something just for the thrill of it? Or is your impulse more along the lines of seducing that hunk from the mail room? Tell us about some naughty impulse you’ve had—or have frequently—and the circumstances surrounding it. This is a classic Saturday Slant revisited from 42 weeks ago.Well, I've never wanted to kiss my boss....ew.
Actually, I have wanted to steal something just for the hell of it. Or deface something. I'll explain.
All my life I've loved street signs. From the street 'blades' that identify the streets at intersections to that font they use on the freeway signs. Stems from my love of type I suppose but I've been making fake street directional signs ever since I was a kid. Still do as an adult.
There are two things I want to do that I've always had to restrain myself from. Number one:get a "classic" Interstate highway shield. You can tell these quite easily; for many years on both U.S. highway as well as Interstate shields, the standard was to emblazon the state name on the shield, usually above the number. In the case of the Interstate it would be in small caps centered in the top of the lower area, just below the dividing line.
It would be a fine thing to have one of these shields. But it's against the law. Stealing, don't ya know.
The other thing is to make 'edits' to street signs. Ever see those yellow diamond-shaped signs that simply say "PEDESTRIANS"? Wouldn't they be more fun if they said "PEDESTRIANS - 5 POINTS"?
Yeah, yeah, I know. It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.
Then, of course, it's just fun.
Number 2, posted two weeks ago, title: Worst Traveling Experience
Whether you were flying back home for the holidays, driving across town for aunt Liz’s wedding, or globe trotting for business, odds are good you’ve experienced something bad. Tell us about your most embarrassing or frustrating travel experience.A loooong time ago, I was in the Navy. I was stationed in Orlando for training. Training concluded I loaded up my then-new car and started out on the road, driving all the way from Florida to Oregon.
I stopped by my then-stepsisters home in Pensacola for a night. Made note to self: Florida's big. Well, it may be only about 100 miles across, but it seems about 500 miles long. From there I drove across Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri to Saint Louis.
See, I only had maybe two weeks to get back to Oregon, reconnect to family, then get back out to Idaho for training at a Naval facility out there. And I was already on day two. Tempus was fugiting like mad for me.
About the only thing I took time to do was take a picture of the Gateway Arch. And that film (actually it was one of those funky disc cameras that Kodak came out with in the '80s) was never developed and looong gone.
While I enjoyed the chance to be on my own for some 3,500 miles I had to kick out the jams and get on it so much that I pretty much speeded past all of everything I really ever wanted to see in America. My biggest memory is interminable miles of freeway and driving from Saint Louis, Missouri in two days. The last day was 24 hours of solid driving, from a place in the Nebraska panhandle called Sidney to Salem. I saw Memphis...from I-55. I drove within two miles of Graceland and didn't pull off to look. I took the I-84 cutoff around the northeast side of Salt Lake City, but never came within sight of the place-I've always wanted to see SLC, see the big Mormon temple there. There were snowstorms on the Utah-Idaho border and in the Santiam Pass on State Hwy 22, and I got to experience those-mind you, I was in a '80 VW Rabbit at the time.
I saw so much, but I missed so much more. And I may never have the chance to do that again.
Go to Saturday Slant Central:
09 November 2004
[planet_politics] The New Generalissimo Francisco Franco
Arafat's dead.
No, no, he's just resting.
No, he's dead.
Well, we know he's not. But we're going to be burying him just in case we're wrong.
What about his wife?
Well, we'd bury her too only she's in France.
You sure he's not dead?
He's sure acting dead.
But look there, his beard is still growing.
Alright then. Keep an eye on him. Definitely let me know if he moves.
What do we tell the world media?
I dunno. Whatever you want. Tell them he likes Halo 2. That'll keep 'em on thier toes.
No, no, he's just resting.
No, he's dead.
Well, we know he's not. But we're going to be burying him just in case we're wrong.
What about his wife?
Well, we'd bury her too only she's in France.
You sure he's not dead?
He's sure acting dead.
But look there, his beard is still growing.
Alright then. Keep an eye on him. Definitely let me know if he moves.
What do we tell the world media?
I dunno. Whatever you want. Tell them he likes Halo 2. That'll keep 'em on thier toes.
[sundial_life] Things You Can Buy At An SF Convention
There's a neat place at OryCon. It's on the 2nd floor of the main part of the hotel, taking up 2/3rds of the big ballroom area (which is usually divided into three big meeting rooms by folding walls). They call it the "dealer's room" (tho' I overheard a man claiming himself a big convention veteran from yonks say they uster call it the "huckster room").
Objects range from the SF to the Wiccan to the SCAish. One good true friend is a man who goes by the name of Shane Harris, in the SCA as Ulf Magnusson. He's very good with metal, as witness below:
It's a hair clip; I like tying my hair back with something interesting and stylish (it's my only real pretention to style, actually). Clicky upon the image to view it larger. The business card will not resolve, so here's the information therein:
Objects range from the SF to the Wiccan to the SCAish. One good true friend is a man who goes by the name of Shane Harris, in the SCA as Ulf Magnusson. He's very good with metal, as witness below:
It's a hair clip; I like tying my hair back with something interesting and stylish (it's my only real pretention to style, actually). Clicky upon the image to view it larger. The business card will not resolve, so here's the information therein:
Redwolf ltd.
Historically Inspired Jewelry
Shane Harris www.redwolfltd.com (503)332-0832
33470 Chinook Plaza #164
Scappoose, OR 97056
amberly@thesheepsclothing.com
Historically Inspired Jewelry
Shane Harris www.redwolfltd.com (503)332-0832
33470 Chinook Plaza #164
Scappoose, OR 97056
amberly@thesheepsclothing.com
I've made the relevant text into URL and mailto links. Now, the above beauty is $20, which may seem a lot for a hair clip, but when you get one of Shane's products, you get something that's not only stylish and beautiful but something that will last forever.
Fellas, thinking of a unique gift for your lady? Look no further. Anyone who has long hair needs these things. They're made in a variety of configurations and all have semiprecious stones as details (the above is blue agate). Hell, these rock for your own long hair, gents, if you're classy enough to have it, and you will draw compliments. This ugly duck usually does.
I also got another hair clip to replace the imported Siberian birch bark number I lost when our Subaru was entered. It's rectangular, though, not this lovely bouquet-curlique explosion that I loved, but it's good none the less.
Another product we acquired is a game called Chrononauts, by Looney Labs. They have several innovative games that are intensely habit forming, especially check out FLUXX. These are clever and engaging card games. They also have what must be the universal game-piece, called Icehouse pieces. They came up with this cool set of plastic pyramids to play a real time game with no game board, called Icehouse, and soon discoverehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifd that they adapted themselves to a whole lot of invented games. They are cool people with an interesting outlook on life and you should buy much things from them. Your brain will thank you.
OryCon can empty your wallet. But you won't regret it. Where else can you get stuff this cool?
PS Note: The original title of this post was Things You Can Get At An SF Convention, but when I looked at it a second time, I reacted badly.
Fellas, thinking of a unique gift for your lady? Look no further. Anyone who has long hair needs these things. They're made in a variety of configurations and all have semiprecious stones as details (the above is blue agate). Hell, these rock for your own long hair, gents, if you're classy enough to have it, and you will draw compliments. This ugly duck usually does.
I also got another hair clip to replace the imported Siberian birch bark number I lost when our Subaru was entered. It's rectangular, though, not this lovely bouquet-curlique explosion that I loved, but it's good none the less.
Another product we acquired is a game called Chrononauts, by Looney Labs. They have several innovative games that are intensely habit forming, especially check out FLUXX. These are clever and engaging card games. They also have what must be the universal game-piece, called Icehouse pieces. They came up with this cool set of plastic pyramids to play a real time game with no game board, called Icehouse, and soon discoverehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifd that they adapted themselves to a whole lot of invented games. They are cool people with an interesting outlook on life and you should buy much things from them. Your brain will thank you.
OryCon can empty your wallet. But you won't regret it. Where else can you get stuff this cool?
PS Note: The original title of this post was Things You Can Get At An SF Convention, but when I looked at it a second time, I reacted badly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)