Hong Kong Visually (in parts)

The Gap Fire seen from UCSB #3

The Gap Fire seen from UCSB #3, originally uploaded by twomets.

Jeez.

HTC Touch Pro – or Phone Porn

Update 7/8: So after the discovery of AT&T’s plans to treat its current customers (I being one of them) like crap, I have decided not to get the iPhone for the time being.  iPod touch for iPhone/iPod app development, and currently reconsidering the whole WinMo setup – good chance this phone is still it for me, but only if I can run Android on it.  I’m definitely looking out for that Blackberry Thunder too!

Getting this phone next month and I will try not to destroy it by drooling all over it. I wonder how water resistant this is.

The plan is to use it side by side with the new iPhone, though of course, the iPhone is a whole helluva lot cheaper. I just can’t bring myself to succumb to the grip of the Crackberry as of yet. I’ve used HTCs before, love the touchscreen capabilities and the slide out keyboard (that drastically cuts down on – though not eliminates – pocket calls). Wifi and TV out capabilities will make traveling and giving presentations without lugging around my laptop a breeze (though I will have to deal with the fact that I have two Macs and no PC…). And it’s global. Enough said.

Travis Millard Interview from d/visible

Listening to: My mind turning far too much…

Travis Millard and the Fudge Factory

Travis Millard is a funny guy. I read an article about him in the LA Times Magazine and was fascinated. He runs a site called Fudge Factory Comics, once worked for Spin Magazine and lives in a weird log cabin with his girlfriend, artist Mel Kadel. Travis has a book coming out sometime this year, by the name of ‘Hey Fudge.’ He is a constant creator of work for Vans, Bueno Skateboards, and Volcom. Millard’s work is dependably witty and irreverent. His pieces are multi layered and repetitive, both quiet and contemplative in form and screaming at you, beating you senselessly over the head until you get the idea, after which you start laughing hysterically.
While a lot of artists have a tendency to elaborate on the state of world affairs, or externalize their internal struggles, Millard seems to be mainly influenced by what is going on in his daily life. After tracking him down, I asked him a few questions about his work, his work partners, tattoos and that notorious Echo Park cabin he lives in.

How long have you been drawing? Really, what I mean is, how did you get started?

My mom would always keep my brother and I occupied with a pen and paper to keep us from strangling each other in public. I still employ the same technique today and I haven’t even strangled a single person.

You and Mel Kadel live and occasionally work together, how does that work?

Mel who? Oh… Kadel… yeah, she’s cool. For the most part Mel and I are working on our drawing and projects individually, but bounce questions and advice back and forth a lot. We’ve done a fair amount of collaborative drawings together, but mostly we don’t get all scribbly on each other’s stuff.

Are you tired of people asking you about the cabin you two live in in Echo Park? If not, tell us about it.

A guy got shot in the face in our doorway in the 80s. I heard Steely Dan lived here. It used to be a Hells Angels camp. Our kitchen is a stagecoach they built onto the cabin in the 20s. Hemingway used to finish novels in the cabin across from us. It smells like an old stove. It’s Kind of a weird spot.

How many tattoos do you have? Did you do all of the artwork for them?

Just the iridescent tiger-face on my face, visible by black light only…and the van on my hand. (Which he actually has. Apparently his brother and frequent collaborator Brett had a van Travis drew for one of Brett’s books tattooed on one of his hands a couple of years ago, to cover up a scar. And so, the story goes, the next time Travis was in Kansas, he had the tattoo artist do the drawing on one of his hands as well.)

How many hours would you say you spend drawing everyday (hey, that rhymes!)?

Hey, nice rhyme. You should be a rapper. “I draw a whole lot, with a coffee shot, and a ‘smoke’ of some pot that my Grandma bought, and she don’t get caught, cuz her legs are long!!!”

You once worked for Spin Magazine, doing comics for the rag. Do you have any interesting stories about your time there?

Yeah, let’s see…interesting stories, there are so many… the office leg wrestling tournaments were a lot of fun, the chicken fights, the pie eating contests, craft hour, nap time, dancing around the may pole…man, I miss those guys. We all still summer in the Riviera together though.

Collaboration with Brett Millard and Mel Kadel

You tend to do a lot of collaborating. Do you have any new projects coming up or being released?

I’ve been putting some comics together for the upcoming Volcomix book, and collaborating with some musician friends, taking their drawings and plunking them into a comic-like form. Eddie and Tom from Nebula did one. Ariel Pink did one with me, and putting together one with Jerod and Coady of Big Business. Other favorite collabs: the “Hitten Switches” project with Michael Sieben, and little zines with Mel and my brother Brett.

Who are your artistic influences? Your general influences, what else besides visual art influences you/your work?

Gallagher’s pioneering book, “The Watermelon Years” was very inspirational. Sugar Ray’s powerful documentary, “A Time to Live”. I lift a lot of weights and just think about things. Bungee jumping is very centering, peaceful. And street drugs!

What would you say the goal of your art is? Are there any specific statements you’re trying to make with your work?

Just trying to score a goal … to say something I guess.

New Song Obsession

Not really sure why, besides their evident greatness but currently obsessed with:

A Paw in My Face – The Field mp3

Massage Situation – Flying Lotus mp3

Si Scott

Listening to: Iron and Wine – Trapeze Swinger (mp3)

Thought I would bring back an old post I did for d/visible magazine about Si Scott. There’s something about illustration, especially black and white, that is really doing it for me lately.

Si Scott: Illustrator, designer, typographer

Si Scott is among the most notable of the freelance design creatives today. Very much in demand, his work has appeared in Massiv, Computer Arts Magazine, advertising for Casio and The Royal Academy of Arts’ 2006 Summer Exhibition. Drawing since he was very young, Si attended Leeds College of Art and Design where he developed his love for designing his own typefaces. He then went on to Buckinghamshire Chilterns University where he began to expand his methods of expressing himself through graphic design. He has held posts with a number of exclusive London-based studios, including Frost Designs and is currently a part-time lecturer at Leeds College. His work can be found at www.siscottdesign.com and www.somagallery.co.uk.

Where’d you get such an interesting first name?

My first name is short for Simon – not that interesting really I know. Everybody always calls me Si so it’s just second nature to call myself it. There’s quite a funny story though – My Mum and Dad agreed on Edward Benjamin Scott for my name. My Dad went to register my name on his own and called me Simon instead! No wonder they got divorced!

How would you describe your working process?

My work process normally begins with an idea a thought around whatever it is that I am planning to do and then I generally have an idea in my head of what it is I want to create. Normally though things change as I work on them and things just happen.

It’s almost as if the type bursts open and the contents come flowing out in the form of the line drawings. How did this style come about?

I don’t really know how this style came about – I think it is may be down to both my love of type and drawing and trying to do something that is a happy juxtaposition of the two. I like the idea of doing something quite traditional like hand drawn type and doing something with it that is more contemporary!

I’ve read that music is one of your biggest influences. What have you been listening to lately? Are there songs that you find you come back to over and over again?

I love music and apart from Design it is the one constant in my life that I never get bored with. There’s always something else to discover that you haven’t heard before (which is like design in many ways – it’s always changing and new things happening!). I think my dream job would be to direct a music video or something like that for a band or musician that I really like. There’s too much music to list what I like and I would just frustrate myself by forgetting things and then wanting to change it later – so I’ll just say there’s too many to mention.

What question, besides the standard ones you’re always asked, do you wish someone would ask about your work?

I honestly can’t think of any question that I wish somebody would ask me! I’m just quite chuffed that people want to ask me questions about my work anyway!

What would you suggest to someone who wants to take up your craft, schooling, apprenticeship, studying and practicing on their own?

I saw a quote on an Anthony Burrill poster which read ‘WORK HARD AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE’ which really struck a cord with me for some reason! I think it sums up the best way to be in whatever you choose to do! I don’t think there’s any one way of getting into design you everybody’s story is different – just stick at it I guess!

Interview by d/visible contributor Courtney Walker Visit her blog.

Procrastination

Really should be working, was reading Caural’s website, and through his last post and a mentioning of them, got the sudden urge to listen to Iron and Wine “Boy With a Coin”. And somehow from there, I needed to find pics of any new Visvim backpacks I could find (but still can’t afford), which led me to Being Hunted. All this to avoid Arabic and Biblical Hebrew work and to dampened the giddiness that brings itself to the surface when I think about the fact that, after many years of wanting to, I finally jumped out of a plane, at 13000ft – it was truly a life changing experience for me – though I’m not quite sure what the effects will be just yet.

Skin to Win Baby

Skin to Win Baby, originally uploaded by CEDubya.

Was not looking my best there… Anywho, short jaunt to Vegas, went to the Mr. Olympia convention and who was there but the Marine, Jon Cena. He said the next movie he’s in will have more shirt off action – hence ‘Skin to Win’. This is a side bar to the rest of the posts I put up, something different – but as the tag line says, the blog is about things I find aesthetically pleasing and I definitely find Jon Cena aesthetically pleasing…

Petros Koublis Photography

The guy is dope. Absolutely amazing.

Cool Hunting: The Crucible

Oakland, CA art school The Crucible

All I can say is, very interesting. And is it just me or is Josh Rubin rather attractive…

The best casino/hotel on the Strip

Can I just say how much I love the Wynn? Steve Wynn is definitely on my list of people to meet – you know, those lists of like the top 5 of 10 people, past or present, that you’d like to meet – mos def in my top 10. I’m pretty sure the general consensus is that he is the reason Vegas is the way it is today – which isn’t necessarily a good thing depending upon who you ask. And I have to say, regardless of what my friend Sam thinks, that the Wynn is the most stylish hotel on the Strip – fuck the Bellagio (which I believe was built by Mr. Wynn…).

It’s so pretty, it’s so pretty (in fake Eddie Murphy voice)

Sad isn’t it?

Is it wrong that in spite of my very meek efforts, which suggest the opposite, I still want to be a party promoter. Probably more sad than anything else. I lived in LA/West Hollywood/Hollywood Hills for 3 years, met some fairly well-connected people and still couldn’t pull that shit off. I didn’t go out enough, meet enough of those people, and though I am sociable and easy going, I am not a natural networker or a social butterfly, I’m introverted a bit and more of a connector, and in all honesty a bit too lazy for the job (at least lazy in the sense of – in the whiny voice – “I don’t wanna go out tonight, I just wanna stay in a lay on the couch and watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

Check out my review of the Ocean at the LAist.

Next week, back to exercising. Ok, who am I kidding, next week is Thanksgiving break and my birthday, so I’m going to be drunk a lot of the time. So realistically, the weekend after. I am in dire need of gym time again, I have gotten off my lazy ass to go to the gym in weeks – though I had been doing the Tabata Protocol for a bit in an effort to get back into USBSF shape.

Visvim Backpacks

I know I may be late to the game on this one but I have recently become obsessed with Visvim backpacks, ruthlessly stalking them online (as I cannot yet purchase one because I am a poor student) when what I really should be doing is my Arabic homework. Ahhh!

Listening to: Tortoise “In Sarah, Mencken, Christ And Beethoven There Were Women And Men”

May 6, 2007

The crackpipe chandelier at BBlessing…

Photography

Learning to tell a story visually as well as through words is a goal of mine now, I want to be able to give an audience every facet of the storytelling experience and so I am learning to shoot. I’ve been interested in photography forever, I have a camera now, film only, though, and a great locale (and great subjects – though my boy, Jason, pictured below, is leaving me to move to San Fran). So here are the fruits of my labor thus far. I actually had some cool black and whites of buildings downtown that I wanted to post but the camera shop only gave me a contact sheet and no negatives (I no longer have the contact sheet and I didn’t know better to ask, so boooo!).

Not really sure what I was trying to say with this photo (kidding), just thought the can was cool…

May 5/6, 2007

Saturday, Cinco de Mayo. I have no desire to go out what so ever. Bouncing around the internet in search of info, I have asked the good folks at the LAist (seperate link here for my shit) if I could write a weekly/bi-weekly summary of hipster shit (which I kind of disdain using that word but I don’t have another one to substitute for it), some LA Influencer (using the site as a tastemaker of sorts) type stuff, but not on the glossy, fake tip (those magazines/blogs know who they are – we all read them). More on the, I’m chill and I actually am interested in this stuff/shop here/read this tip, not I’m trying to be super trendy and do what everyone else is doing. Think Jason Bentley/Late night KCRW/Vice Records/Ed Banger versus Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohan/KROQ. But I digress…the point of this post was to put up this quote I read when I was looking at the Poets and Thieves website.

Something about it just spoke to me, I guess because I have been feeling like I need to meditate more and be present in each moment. The stress of being other than where you are, mentally, or allowing anxiety to get to you is not worth it. Ever.

Richard Magazine

I’ve had the idea for this magazine for a couple of years now, a women’s magazine unlike any out there (that’s as much as I am sharing) and now I am in a more disciplined place, creatively, where I can go about making it happen. I had created a blog in 2005, titled Richard @ www.sometimesyoujustneedalittle.com where I had a few musings on the nature of seduction, kissing, the power of a woman’s look, etc. Reading over them again, I feel even more inspired to make the magazine come to fruition.

April 26, 2007

Feeling: A bit of relief and a bit of frustration. Still haven’t meditated. Like I shouldn’t have drank my lunch but like I need to drink my dinner.

Listening to: Hoodwinked – The Movie

Looking at: Luiz Calado’s website, Damn Halle…more magazine inspiration.

April 25, 2007

Feeling: A bit weird today, like I need to make sure I meditate tomorrow.

Listening to: Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’

Reading: Havana @ Atlas 6

Looking at: Loaded Magazine cover from way back, the inspiration for the intro page to my magazine, Richard, online as soon as I get off of my ass and get it there. This picture is most likely the reason I am listening to Marvin Gaye.

April 23, 2007

Feeling: Like my roommate might be losing her shit but I’m not for sure…

Listening to: Caural – Re-experience Any Moment You Choose

Reading: Mac Life, Slaughterhouse Five, Nylon Guys, Stryker NYC Blog, GQ’s May Issue article on Ivanka Trukp, Ableton Live 5.2 User Manual

Watching: Tyrone Lebon’s short film on Indonesian surfer Dede Suryana @ i-D Magazine

I need to step up my camera game, for real….