You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2007.
Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you are all wearing at least a semblance of a costume today, although I’m sure many of you disappointed me…don’t turn yourself in…I can see you from the guilt radiating off your non-costumed body.
Here’s a funny, but horrifying little article about how zombies will someday be a real life problem, and not just a movie problem. It’s no secret that zombies scare the crap out of me…suddenly I feel like becoming a republican and getting a big sawed off shot gun…well okay, not becoming a republican, that’s too scary…even for Halloween.
http://www.tvguide.com/news/damages-finale-answers/071026-05
Great interview about the Damages series and finale, as well as information about whether it will be picked up for a second season (apparently still in question). PICK IT UP! NOW! Don’t you see there is crap like Heroes on TV…SAVE US ALL…!
So I think last night was the worst episode yet. The previews for next week looked more interesting and less yawn inducing than last night’s episode, however it also pretty much looked like an uninventive “re-packaging” of last season. Half of New York…I mean the world is dead? New York is destroyed…I mean evacuated. Hiro…I mean Peter, went to the future to see it. Wow. Interesting…that’s stuff we’ve never seen before. Oh, and by ‘never seen before’ I mean we’ve seen almost exactly that before.
And what’s with already giving away what is going to make that “evacuation and quarantine” happen…could it be Bob’s newly developed ”virus” that Suresh decided not to test out on the girl with the horrible southern accent? Because, hey it could mutate and spread to the general population?! Gee, I wonder.
I cannot WAIT for Sylar to kill the twins (and if that’s not in the creators plans they should write it in immediately), but especially the girl, whatever her name is. It really sucks when you have a twin that has all the instincts and all the power and you’re just a whiny little bitch and that everytime you get upset you kill people and only your brother can control you, yet somehow you speak almost perfect English, but your more talented twin can not only not speak a word, but understands little (although this looks to be a red herring – we’ll see). I know the creators were likely trying to make the girl twin (I’m not even going to bother looking up her name) the “really cool badass powerful one” but they’ve only succeeded in making her the “emotional out of control whiny annoying one”. Congratulations guys!
I’m going to hang in for next week’s episode, at this point mostly because I’m a masochist. This shit is just terrible. It’s embarrassing.
I’m also going to start rating the episodes based on how many times I have to sigh and roll my eyes. Last night’s count was roughly 85 times…give or take. I’d say that equals about an F-…is that even possible?
this is my favorite one thus far. what do you guys think?
sidenote: Adam refuses to wear those kitten ears, even on Halloween, despite how hilariously adorable they look on him. So i figured, since it’s my comic world…he’s wearing them. Maybe I’ll make him wear them ALWAYS in my comic world.
sidenote 2: I sadly did NOT go home with the Giraffe.
#37. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. Graphic Novel/Collected Works. 4.5 Stars.
Adrian Tomine is, depending on the day, my second or third favorite artist, and regardless of the day probably my second favorite storyteller in the comics format (Jeffrey Brown remains number one…he may never be surpassed…we’ll see). Tomine (i finally learned, pronounced “To-mean”, after years of Adam and I arguing about the pronunciation) is an insanely talented artist. He also has a very natural way with writing conversation, and he paces a story more beautifully than almost anyone out there in the field.
I read Shortcomings, published by Drawn & Quarterly yesterday after buying it at Jim Hanley’s this weekend. I have read much of it before, and it’s a bit of a cheat to count it as a book considering it doesn’t take long to read, but I felt compelled to include it because it is so deserving considering it’s quality of being included. I am also desperate as I should be at about book number 41 or 42…and I’m obviously not there, so forgive me a bit. Shortcomings follows the story of Ben and Miko (and also Ben’s friend the delightful Alice) as Ben and Miko’s relationship follows a harrowing course. My favorite thing about Shortcomings, other than Tomine’s absolutely stunning artwork and panel layouts (his inking is insane!) is the realistic feeling of this story. It’s not all happy and it doesn’t tie up nicely, it’s messy, as relationships are. And there is hurt and drama, but without any real over the top drama, which is more how life usually is I think. This book is the kind of quality across the board (writing, art, pacing, production values, etc.) that I wish all comics/graphic novels could be, and rarely are these days. If you like comics, or are interested in trying some out, I highly recommend Tomine’s Shortcomings.
You may also want to check out Tomine’s Summer Blonde, 32 Stories, and Sleepwalk are all brilliant, and any one of them is a worthwhile purchase and read.
4.5 Stars
Look at this panel…I mean are you kidding me? GORGEOUS.
Such amazing work and detail, yet it remains fluid and natural, not tight.
I tried to post an image of the cover…but it’s not working. 
A picture of my brother 20 some years ago, looking at a jack-o-lantern and apparently taking a little bite out of the table…
I love Halloween.
Something about Fall, which I also love, and the idea of being something else…anything else, for a little while. Plus, while anything might happen on Halloween there is much less expectation than with a holiday like the always sucking New Years, which can’t ever possibly live up to the hype and expectation (I really really hate New Years…can’t remember ever having a good one).
There’s also something naughty and juvenile about Halloween that appeals to me…the idea of being 14 or 15 and on a “date” with a boy you have a big crush on and being at a scary haunted house and that being the perfect excuse to be scared and maybe flirty…if a 14 year old even really knows what flirty is (I know I didn’t). And I love being scared, even though I’m a scaredy cat, and prone to being easily startled, and having nightmares about zombies. I guess the bottom line is that Halloween turns me on in a kind of juvenile and almost innocent way, whatever it is, the shit makes me happy.
So as my depression has been lifting (about damn time) and I’ve finally begun to enjoy one of my favorite months as my favorite holiday approaches (just in the nick of time) I was thinking of Halloween’s past and came across a couple photos…so I thought I’d share. I’m looking for one that is mysteriously missing of my famous randomly blinking devil horns (that year I went as “the world going to hell in a handbasket” – yeah nobody “got it”, but I liked it). The blinking horns are a crowd favorite and probably the best 10 bucks I’ve ever spent. I’ll be wearing them, as per tradition, on Wednesday at work, but I haven’t decided whether to wear the fun pink wig yet…thoughts?
There’s something great about wigs…and having awesome short hair, but only temporarily 
And bangs that go away when you’re tired of them (much opposed to what I’ve got going on currently)
I know this one isn’t in color, but it’s a great little photo…and the hair looks platinum, which almost makes me want to switch back to it again. Also, I’m in my favorite hoodie sweatshirt. Hoodie sweatshirts are also awesome.
Me in a pumpkin patch when I was little. Pumpkin patches are awesome.
What have we learned today class? Pumpkin patches, hoodie sweatshirts, Halloween, pink wigs, and blinking devil horns are all awesome. And New Years Eve sucks.
The Vulture Blog, has a great little piece on why the Damages Finale (and show) was so great. I couldn’t agree more. Check it out here.
I don’t even like the Harry Potter books, I mean I think they’re great – for kids and pre-teens and maybe even teens. But I’m 31…they’re not for me. Had I been 12, or 8, or maybe even 16 I would have loved these books and movies just like the other superfans that are out there of all ages. Almost everyone I know loves these books and thinks everyone should love them. I have, at the request/order of a friend, read the first book, it just wasn’t for me at this age (then 26 I think), but I did try. I also believe I have seen almost all of the movies at some point on television as well, and they have been pretty well done and again, the kind of movie I would have killed for at 12. All that said, I have nothing against Harry Potter and and I think J.K. Rowling is a freaking genius.
So where on earth does Bill O’Reilly get off calling her “a provacateur”? I call her a thinker. I call her someone who gets to do whatever she wants with something she has created (what have you created lately Bill? Other than hate of course). And if Rowlilng wants to use her genius to help people become more open minded…and to use her work as a small platform for the continued education of the masses then I say HELL YES, and more power to her.
I speak of course of the “revelation” that the beloved Dumbledore character has been revealed, Post-Potter series, to be gay. You can see Bill O’Reilly’s infuriating interview with senior Entertainment Weekly editor Tina Jordan (who handles herself pretty well in the face of such idiocy) here.
And you know what, Rowling is catching some flak from other places (not just the idiot O’Reilly) for not putting Dumbledore’s “gayness” CLEARLY within the books, but I say more power to her. Why should her characters have to have clear sexual identities – it’s not in any way shape or form what the story is about. Furthermore, where do people get off assuming that characters are straight unless told otherwise? This is all just further proof that Bill O’Reilly’s mind remains the most closed, backwards, uneducated mind on the entire planet, as if we needed more proof of that.
Lastly, where does Bill O’Reilly, who has a show based entirely on PROVOKING get off calling anyone else, least of all Rowling, a provocateur.
Idiot.
Oooh. I found this great picture of pure evil on the internet. I can’t believe pure evil like this is so readily available in jpeg format, seriously don’t look at it too long…your eyes will melt right out of your head.
A piece titled “What Happened After I Lost My Guardian Angel: A Timeline” by Jon Methven posted over on McSweeney’s today, and it is so funny, mostly because it’s too too true. It will only take you a few moments and will be the funniest thing you read all day, so run, don’t walk, to McSweeney’s to check it out, here.
I saw this movie (finally) last week.
I’m not sure what to say about it, but for some reason I want to write about it.
I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, The Royal Tenebaums is one of my favorite movies, and I also love Rushmore and Bottle Rocket. For some reason I haven’t ever managed to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, although it remains a constant fixture of my Netflix queue.
The Darjeeling is no Royal Tenebaums, but it is still a beautiful and excellent film, and the more I think about it, the more I love it. Officially I gave it 4 stars, instead of the 5 that comes with the words “I love it”, and I guess I have to admit there is something missing somewhere in the film that is preventing me from taking it to the 5 star rating, but the more I think about the characters the more I love them, and the more I realize how quickly I accepted the well known stars as the characters they were playing.
THE GOOD: I quickly forgot to see Own Wilson and instead saw Francis, the same was true for Schwartzman’s Jack and Brody’s Peter (it may have been most true for Brody’s Peter) and in an age of movie stars just being movie stars that happen to be saying lines that belong to characters, this is no small feat. I was overcome with a desire to take care of them, even though they were simultaneously driving me nuts (they are as frustratingly quirky as any of Anderson’s charcters). They read perfectly as brothers, both the love and the hate evident in every frame. I applauded their quest for spiritual enlightenment and reconnection to each other. Anjelica Huston as their mother was pitch perfect as usual and really cemented the relationship between the brothers, explaining so much about the who and why of Francis, Peter, and Jack.
There was also a pretty amazing (very short) sex scene between Jack and the train ’stewardess’, Rita, which was incredible. So realistic and true to life I had trouble thinking of a more realistic sexual encounter on film. I’m sure they’re out there, but I couldn’t think of one, and it took me by surprise as Anderson’s films are generally pretty non-sexual, at least not in an overt way, I had no idea he had it in him. Rita, played by Amara Karan was stunning, I predict incredible fame coming her way as she gave a heartbreaking performance.
On top of all that the film overall was just gorgeous, as all Anderson’s film tapestries are, rich and filled with incredible moments…is there anything more romatic than a train ride cross country? Yes, and that is a slow motion shot of three brothers trying to catch a train that is going to take them somewhere, anywhere.
THE BAD: Nothing really, except to say that I did feel something was missing. Something I could not quite put my finger on. Like all of Anderson’s films this movie felt like real life. Like there is no “real” arc to a character, because nothing in life is that straight forward, and I love that, but there was something missing here…I just don’t know what.
THE UGLY: Not an ugly frame to be seen.
Jack, Peter, and Francis.
If you’re not reading McSweeney’s Internet Tendency everyday for their incredible new short pieces, you are missing out. But I’m here to let you know when you are really really missing out.
Go now to McSweeney’s and check out their new piece posted yesterday by Collin Nissan titled “Good News: A Seat On My Tandem Bicycle Just Opened Up” it’s a hilarious bit of fun, and if it’s not enough to cheer you up a bit today than you’re probably not cheer-up-able…
And just for fun…a picture of a tandem bicycle. For some reason i find tandem bicycles hilarious.
How have I missed this!? I can’t believe it. I’m now dying to get my hands on a copy of Jeffrey Brown’s Wolverine v. Zombies comic, Dying Time, the first 11 pages are printed in the interview below, but I’d love to have a copy in my hands of the real (complete) thing, so if anybody has one they wouldn’t mind giving up…let me know.
Please check out this interview with Jeffrey Brown and Silver Bullet Comic Books to read more about Dying Time, and about the god Jeffrey Brown in general. And if you love Jeffrey Brown as much as I do and would love to see more of his work with Wolverine, email/write Marvel and let them know, I know I will.
and here they are:
1. Damages is awesome. We are one episode away from the finale (Tuesday, October 23rd 10pm on FX). If you have not been watching (what are you thinking?) then you have one last chance to catch the whole brilliant arc before the finale, FX is playing a Damages marathon this weekend – Saturday October 20th from 8am to 8pm. That’s a full day for sure, but you’d be hard pressed to see a better show this year. I urge you to jump on the train now if you have a craving for a veggie day on the couch with a great show.
2. Pam & Jim. I am sick of the critics complaining about Pam & Jim being together on The Office. The writers are managing to keep it light and fun and lovely to watch. What is so wrong with seeing two great people finally getting to be in love. I think it’s infectious. So long as they keep it funny as it has been then I’m in. Think how many more adventures they can have now that we are not relegated to in-office jokes and secret looks? Plus, Pam has never looked better, whoever is in charge of hair on that show has finally put a bullet in her character’s bad wavy over brushed out look for softer more natural curls. She looks fantastic. Who’s complaining?!
3. Heroes. My disappointment in this show is so vast that it is difficult to measure. They have made every single mistake with this season that they could…at every turn they have made the exact wrong decision. Which I didn’t even know was possible. We have a couple interesting plotlines hanging out there (Sylar/Gabriel/Cockroach boy; whatever is up with Nathan’s “mirror face”), but nothing mind blowing.
More importantly they have somehow managed to make every storyline and character (even the once fascinating ones) whiney, overblown, and as badly written as the Nicki scenes we all so hated last year. I suppose part of the reason this is so upsetting to me is because there was such opportunity to do something amazing this year and they have just totally dropped the ball. Have you listened to the promos?…I’m paraphrasing here but it’s something like “Now the Heroes are being hunted down one by one by a mysterious…blah blah blah” Wait…um…wasn’t that EXACTLY what happened last year? Here’s the problem I think. These creators/writers DIDN’T study their model enough (which Kring has admitted…”oh we didn’t take anything from comics…we didn’t study them” – not a direct quote so don’t yell at me – but it’s the jist of it) and so they don’t know what to do with the characters.
I’m sure they don’t have the budget to go all out effects wise, but they also don’t know how to write themselves out of the the position they left themselves in at the end of the year. So they’re just chickening out. Introducing new characters, which they can take time exploring and growing, but which are so far all really really lame, so that they don’t have to focus on existing characters that they don’t know what to do with and then slowing all the existing character’s stories down to a snail’s pace.
I guess I should cut them a little slack since I wouldn’t be so disappointed if it wasn’t for such a great first season…but it’s just so sad. I’m going to go and cry about it a little bit now…
I’ve been trying to read a lot of daily (or frequently updated) journal web comics produced by some of the great comic artists out there working on the web and I’ve seen a lot of really great stuff over the last couple months – and most importantly really inspiring stuff (Everyday Comics, My Life Comics, to name two of my favorites). However, one has really impressed me, especially lately and it’s a journal comic by Matthew Reidsma called Drawerings. It is a little inconsistent in timing, e.g. it won’t go up daily and then three will go up in one day, but the content (and drawing) is so good that it’s worth checking in daily.
I highly recommend putting it on your daily comic reads.
Here’s a little taste, one of my recent favorites…mostly because it’s so true:
So I have been thinking about television a lot lately, mostly about how it is not worthy of my time. I had high hopes for some interesting shows this year, but very few have proven worthy of my coveted spare time. I also don’t want this blog to be about television, so I thought to get things off my chest, I’d share in a post, what I tried to watch, what I didn’t even bother with, and what has made it into the enviable “season pass position” of my Tivo. So without further ado, here it is:
WHAT I DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER WITH: Really this list is too long to mention everything, but notable are:
Gossip Girl: – despite the fact that I saw a few minutes and it seemed surprisingly well written/well acted, this is the kind of show that it makes impossible for me to respect myself in the morning, so I didn’t bother.
Chuck: I didn’t find one thing interesting about this premise. Nothing looked charming or the least bit original. No thanks.
Journeyman: This show was great back when it was called Quantum Leap and had a much more charming lead and a great sidekick. Extra no thanks to this show.
K-Ville: Gimme a break. I couldn’t even make it through the promos.
Carpoolers/Cavemen: No, it has Jerry O’Connell in it and he hasn’t done anything worthwhile (no Rebecca Romijin jokes please) since the first three seasons of Sliders…which wasn’t even that good. And NO, it is based on a commercial for car insurance. Let me just say that again to make sure it sunk in: IT IS BASED ON A COMMERCIAL FOR CAR INSURANCE.
Cane: Oh, I get it, it’s about sugar cane producers/exporters, but it’s also a play on the whole Caine & Able thing…wow, how unique. Uh, NO!
Reaper: I probably should have given this a chance, but I didn’t hear much about it until I’d already kind of committed to what I was and was not watching, so it suffers from poor publicity. If it’s any good it probably won’t last a full season anyway, so no real loss.
Dirty Sexy Money: Stupid title, stupid soap. I’m trying to have less “stupid title, stupid soap” things in my life, veto!
Back To You: Just because I liked Fraiser (yes, I did – three words for you: David Hyde Pierce) does not mean I like any piece of crap you throw together with Kelsey Grammar in it. NO! Now, you put David Hyde Pierce in it…and well, I’ll consider it.
Kid Nation: I wanted to watch this show, especially with all the Vulture Blog hype. It just never seemed to happen. Too bad.
My Name Is Earl/Scrubs: Why are these shows still on? They deserve a mention here because they are just still NOT GOOD. Also of note is the fact that it’s pretty hard to be bad AND have Jason Lee involved. My Name is Earl somehow manages, impressive.
Moonlight: Shows about vampires are at this point so not on cutting edge of anything that it is like trying to cut something with a swatch of velvet. Stop trying to follow up anything Joss Whedon does. He is the master and you can’t try to do something better than (and five years after) the master, or you just end up looking like some idiot that didn’t do his research. Move on.
Ghost Whisperer: Why is this show still on? I have never met one single person who has ever seen more than five minutes of this show…people who have watched more than five minutes of this show probably died from head implosion (and those people were thankful to be out of their misery). I know, I know, she’s got great tits. So let’s see her use them on something not horrific. More Hanes commercials? Great, I’m all for it, so long as this show gets the kill switch.
Torchwood: I don’t even know what this show is, and I have a strong suspicion that nobody else does either and that it only made it on the air by sounding vaguely like the now dead HBO cult favorite Deadwood.
Viva Laughlin: I mean you’re kidding right? I want to go back in time and be in the room when this gets pitched. You can’t BUY laughs like that must have been…especially when some executive said, “Ok.”
WHAT I TRIED TO WATCH, AND WAS ALMOST BLINDED BY IN THE PROCESS:
Bionic Woman: My hatred of Bionic Woman is (almost) unmatched. Read more about here…here…or here!
Private Practice: The few times I watched Grey’s Anatomy (there were times I kind of liked it) I always thought Kate Walsh was one of the more interesting characters (certainly more interesting than Meredith) why wouldn’t a show with her and some other decent actors (love Taye Diggs) be good? Well, I don’t know the answer to that, I just know it is very very not good.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Put me on the loser train because unlike the rest of the population I just can’t find what is funny about this show. A couple of the actors have pretty good comic timing and are easy on the eyes, but I just find it rambling and un-funny. I really did try.
Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style: I saw this on accident. I love Tim Gunn and anxiously await his return to Project Runway, I also don’t begrudge Tim’s attempt to make some dough while it’s an option, but is this really all we could come up with? Yet another “makeover show”? So tired. I’m disappointed in you Tim. I will never watch this show again in hopes that I forget you ever lowered yourself to this show.
SHOWS I INTEND TO WATCH, I SWEAR:
Tell Me You Love Me: I watched one episode and was underwhelmed, but decided to let it keep recording. Somehow I have not managed to watch any of the other recorded episodes. I intend to do it though, really.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: I have all these episodes recorded, yet have somehow not watched any. I remain hopeful.
Mad Men: Ditto.
The Sarah Silverman Show: I just can’t seem to get to it.
Drawn Together: This raunchy cartoon is just too far off my radar, I keep forgetting it’s out there, but I’m trying.
WHAT I AM ACTUALLY WATCHING, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO WATCH:
Heroes: I am watching this, but am actually hesitant to encourage you to watch it. It sucks. I am incredibly disappointed in this show (so much so that I dreamed about it last night – it was much better in my dream). I am going to hang in there until mid-season, but if they don’t get their act together, all the heroes are out of here. UPDATE: Last night’s episode of Heroes was just laugh out loud bad. The show has somehow managed to make all the interesting characters and their story lines just like the terrible whiny Niki character and story lines. Everything is over the top earnest…every scene! It’s just terrible. This is confirming my suspicion that these creators/writers were taken by surprise by their overnight (last year) success and didn’t have a follow up play in mind. They have no idea what to do with these characters. At this point I think the only way to save this show would be to bring in some great creative comic book creators (Moore/Gaiman/ Kirkman/etc.) and let them rework everything. I’m going to give them a couple more episodes to turn it around, but it was very difficult to watch the show last night.
Life: This is a genuinely good show. It is really well cast and the writing, acting and directing are all solid. More importantly the story arc is interesting and somewhat unique. The main character is a cop/detective, so is weekly trying to solve fairly typical “cop crimes” (although certainly more interesting than your average L&O episode) but more importantly the larger story arc is him trying to solve the crime of who framed him and sent him to prison. It is good stuff. Sadly, as it is on opposite the “more buzzworthy” Dirty Sexy Money, I fear for it’s future.
Pushing Daises: This is the best show on television right now. Bar none. Read more about it here. Sadly it is probably too good to be on tv, so I naturally fear for it’s future as well.
America’s Next Top Model: I watch this only after it has been recorded, so that I can fast forward through the horrible bits (many whiny crying juvenile brats and Tyra’s tirades and ridiculous over the top antics – someone please stage an intervention for her). I am only watching this show because we’ve got an office pool going and I feel the compulsive need to know who is going to win my 20 bucks…
Damages: This is a great show. Read more about it here or here or here!
30 Rock: Let’s hope others are watching it too this year so it doesn’t get the ax…all my favorite shows do (sniff. Studio 60. sniff).
The Office: I was loving those luxurious hour long episodes in lieu of the always sub-par Scrubs. I have to disagree with critics, I think the show has done a great job of keeping Pam & Jim fun and light and beautifully together. It’s nice watching two people perfectly matched be in love in a non-gooey way, we so rarely get to see that. I hope they buck the trend and keep at it. Also, how great would a Dwayne/Kelly relationship be…I’m totally into that after the teaser last week.
Last One Standing: Okay, almost nobody knows about this show I think because it is on opposite The Office and it is on the Discovery Channel, but I cannot recommend it enough. It is just AWESOME. It’s a reality tv show about 6 athletes from various countries (primarily US & UK I believe – they all speak English) and with various “specialties” (kickboxer, strong man, endurance athlete, bmx biker, rugby player, and a fitness guru) as they are shunted around to different tribes and cultures throughout the world and given a chance to live with the people and absorb the native culture, and go through some of the trials of “becoming a man”, with the ultimate goal of having the opportunity to participate in the native competitive sport of the region against other tribes. The episode I watched this past week was as they were embraced by the Zulu people and were taught stick fighting. It was intense amazing stuff. I highly recommend it for your TIVO. If you don’t have TIVO and can’t give up The Office, look around for it on your guide as it replays at different times/days in the week.
The Simpsons/King of The Hill/Family Guy/American Dad Block: Still good. I don’t always get it, but when I am, I’m happy.
Robot Chicken: Every chance I get.
So that’s it. Now I’m going to try to talk very minimally about TV from here on out, for some of you that’s probably great, for others of you maybe that means you won’t come back…I hope it’s mostly the former.
Pushing Daisies – best show of the new 2007 season
Sorry this one is such a downer folks, but per my bet with Adam I have to make sure to post weekly at a minimum…even when I feel like the cartoon below…
Hope everyone out there is having a better October than I am!
#36. karlssonwilker inc.’s Tell Me Why: The First 24 Months of a New York Design Company. By Clare Jacobson. 4 Stars.
This book was a huge departure for me content wise, and was also a huge surprise. I read it for work, as our business model is changing slightly and may begin soon to include graphic design.
I have been doing some of the graphic design for our company for the last two years, but barely had time to touch it, but we hired someone new for the office and so for the last six months I have been doing a lot more of it. I’ve been loving it, but it has also been scaring me silly as I actually dropped out of my University of Arizona graphic design classes so that I could transfer to The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) that offered degrees in sequential art, comic books to the layman. I know, stupid. But what’s done is done.
So, to suddenly be doing something that I kind of gave up on more than 10 years ago (wow…I’m getting so old) is weird. It’s also incredibly exciting, especially since it is the first time in my life that I’m doing work that is something I like and something I’m good at (other than being “organized” and “responsible” and all the other things that you either are good at or get good at when you work in administration for so long). I’m also working with a boss that is completely nurturing and encouraging and supportive…and a good man. I know. I got really really lucky. But luck scares me sometimes, so I’m having trouble sleeping these days as my imagination concocts bizarre (but realistic) ways for me to screw this up. That’s what brought me to Tell Me Why. I was buying a bunch of graphic design books for our office online, everything from stuff about printing and contracts to basic logo design books. Nothing is more inspiring and helpful than books. I love them, and so does my boss. Which makes it easy to say “let’s start building a graphics library.”
While shopping, when I read the full title of Tell Me Why…”the first twenty four months of a new york design firm”…I thought that it sounded right up my and my firm’s alley. Although we have great experience in design, we don’t have this kind of design experience, just some raw talent, so who better to learn from then some people who started out a similar way. And the book is SO good. I read it in 4 or 5 hours in one sitting and I was just completely transfixed. I feel I learned a lot that will benefit my firm in a practical way, but more importantly there was some kind of zen knowledge of reading about the travails of Karlsson and Wilker that calmed me (and will hopefully help me sleep). They have a beautiful way of looking at things and it shows in their design and in the people they are.
I suppose that is what is most impressive, you get the distinct feeling that both Karlsson and Wilker, though they went through much in those first two years (and I assume went through much more since then) they never seemed to lose their selves…they remained incredibly true to who they were. I suspect in the end that is/will be what makes them so much better than so many other firms and designers out there. And what will keep their clients coming back.
Additionally, what makes this book so much better than other “vanity projects” that design firms tend to produce…and “retrospective looks at their ‘best’ work” is that this book is incredibly honest. They tell it how it really happened, mistakes and all. All the designs are there so you can see what worked and what didn’t and the commentary about all the projects in unflinchingly honest without ever being cruel. They sometimes learned why something didn’t work and were able to avoid that the next time and sometimes they didn’t figure it out and admit they are still scratching their heads. This kind of honesty is unheard of…well almost anywhere these days, but certainly in business, and I for one appreciate the hell out it.
I can’t recommend this book enough to graphic designers, especially those just starting out. I’d also recommend it to any creative person that runs or wants to run their own business. It’s a great honest look at how it happened for these two guys and I think a lot can be learned from just reading and absorbing it fully. I don’t know if I’d recommend it to business majors/graduates as they would probably be very frustrated with how backwards Karlsson and Wilker often behave (sometimes it doesn’t seem like a way to run a business) but you can’t argue with their success and if you’ve got any creativity in you at all you might love it, and learn something.
4 stars.
I couldn’t find a picture of the book online, but here is a link to their website where they talk about their book:
http://www.karlssonwilker.com/tellmewhy.html
So in some backwards kind of way I got a writing acceptance this week….here’s the story…
A couple weeks ago my issue of Tony (Time Out New York to the uninitiated) came and it was an issue titled “Awwww….Ewwww” and on the stark white cover was a picture of a cute little kitten (Awwww) and a disgusting realistic (and large) cockroach (Ewwww). The problem is that this horrible cover caused me to think, every time I looked at it that the realistic looking cockroach was the real thing. Within 24 hours I had been forced to put that issue in the recycling bin, which pissed me off as I didn’t get to read the whole thing.
So I did something unusual for me, I wrote a letter (an email really, and really only like four or five sentences…I’m not sure that qualifies as a letter) bitching about the cover. It was dripping with sarcasm, my email, which I hope they “got”. Anyway, long story short I got an email from the TONY letters department and my “letter” is not only being published, but I won ‘Letter of The Week’ (which basically means I get published, identified as Letter of the Week, and I get Time Out Publication of my choice – I chose 1,000 books to change your life – and I got it yesterday – talk about fast service!). Anyway, I suspect it will be in this week’s issue (today probably) and if not today than next Wednesday.
While this is nice/fun news, I sure would trade it for some other acceptances…*sigh*.
Also of note is that this is only the second time I have ever written in to complain/ask questions/give commentary to a publication, and both times I have written in, I have been published (the other time was to an X-Men comic book when I was but a teenager). I guess I have found my calling. Unfortunately it seems rather unfulfilling.
If you live in the NYC area check for my TONY Letter today, it’s incredibly exciting. Not really.
