A Child Of Atom

And with that I complete month #1 of my 12 month promise to you and challenge to myself. I've completed 31 posts in 31 days. (Over 31 actually...) It wasn't that hard really. I had a few close calls, but I made it. 335 days to go!

I will admit that I watch reality TV. Project Runway, Top Chef, Amazing Race, Survivor... they've all been on my scheduled list of shows or recordings. Even the occasional episode of something that is clearly crap like Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, I Love New York, Celebrity Rehab, or Next Food Network Star.

But since the writers went on strike teh bottom has fallen out of the bucket. American Gladiators is one thing... I mean there is a certain amount of nostalgic interest there (even though I've hated all the contestants) but several of the others that have been popping up on the schedule lately? Not so much.

NBC is the worst of the lot. My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad? Really? Worse than that is Amne$ia. The premise here is that it is a game show, asking contestants questions about their own lives. The trick is that the questions are so obscure, or from so long ago that they probably can't recall the answers correctly. I can't imagine any way that that can be entertaining. NBC is even ripping off Maury Pauvich with The Baby Borrowers, giving aspiring teen parents the chance to keep a real baby for a few weeks to hopefully persuade them not to have one of their own. Maury managed to persuade his kids not to do it in a day, and usually with dolls. Blech!

CBS is dusting off their summer show Big Brother to fill out their schedule. I'll be curious to see how they manage to get the guys to take their clothes off, and keep the girls in bikinis when it's the middle of winter.

C'mon execs. Get off your fat wallets and get your heads out of your asses. The writers are RIGHT. What they are asking for is JUST. You are being stupid. Of course you are just as stupid about DRM, and any number of other issues, so I'm not surprised. Get the writers back. I miss Big Bang Theory, and Grey's, and How I Met Your Mother...

Update your bookmarks boys and girls, as of 15 minutes ago this blog now has its very own domain name: www.childofatom.com!

Of course... you don't actually have to change your bookmarks, the old web address will still resolve to this page, but it will make things much easier when linking to me, or when you send someone a link, right?

The third of the four players that I drew for this year's derby finale poster. This one is for the Manhattan Mayhem. She was difficult for me and I'm still not sure that I got her 100% right. She has a nice booty though, don't you think?

We received our "Thank You" notes from the organizers today there were no arrests this year, though the police did try to refuse the street party permit for a few minutes. It didn't go over well, as you'd imagine. Gothamist has much better photos than I did if you are interested. (Sorry for the quality of mine, it WAS cold... and I WAS technically working.) The comments are over there are just... bitter. The Gothamist readers don't like us at ALL. In our defense my checkpoint left nothing behind, and in fact made some of our racers clean up litter that was already there when they misbehaved.

Today was race day! Actually it was one of the more full days I've had in quite a while. I was up about 8, and out the door soon after. Lots to accomplish today! I found a geocache, dropped off a geocoin, retrieved and dropped off another... and that was all before 10:30.

After that (and breakfast) I hopped on a train bound for Brooklyn to do my part in the Idiotarod. When I stepped onto the train there were 4 teams on the same car as me, all hotly debating which station was going to be the best one for them to exit the subway system. Issues being weighed: elevators, line changes, and the number of flights of stairs out of particular stations.

I was manning a "mini" checkpoint. At checkpoint 1 the teams played rock-paper-scissors to determine which of two minis they would be sent to. The minis were supposed to deal with roughly half of the racers and send them on to checkpoint 2. Our checkpoint was dubbed the "Spank Station" and here's how it worked: Teams showed up at a vacant parking lot where they were confronted with the above padded sawhorse. All five members had to touch the sawhorse and receive their spankings before they had their manifests stamped and were given their next checkpoint location. (I was in charge of giving them slips of paper with the location on it.)

Teams went ALL OUT. Every team was in some sort of themed costume, I saw Elvises, nuns, cougars, the Scooby gang (who screamed "Jinkies" when spanked), pro wrestlers, mimes, ninjas, pirates, sheep... there was some serious effort placed on this event. This team was followed through the race by a flatbed truck that was dressed to look like a wrestling ring. They would have a match at each checkpoint before moving on to the next.

Don't think we let them off easily either... check the swing that my friend Wendy is putting into the spanking she is a bout to deliver. On a cold day (it was about 30º) that's one surefire way to warm up... at least one part of your body anyway.

This was my personal favorite team. I was told that they are somewhat legendary Idiotarod racers. Their cart was decorated as a guillotine and they were carrying cakes decorated as chopped off heads that were handed out to the judges at each station. They were the only team to bribe me personally (bribes to officials are encouraged and indeed often necessary to complete the course) with a pair of lace gloves. Very chic.

The police involvement this year (at least up until our checkpoint) was minimal. No helicopters or lines of police on horseback chasing people this year (unlike last year.) They seem to have gotten more involved by the end of the race based on the reports that I'm reading, but I guess that's to be assumed. For a minute to minute breakdown check the Gothamist's post here.

After my checkpoint was cleared by all the racers I was actually off to Queens for the first organizational meeting of a new geocaching club that is forming here in the city. Awesome to put faces to some of the more famous caching names around town. As I said... full day! (Oh, with lots of time spent on the train... so look for a sketch tomorrow!)

For nearly a decade I've been having an argument with BFE Michelle. It essentially boils down to this: What matters more, what the artist intended, or what the viewer actually sees?

Take a look at this painting and try to decipher what is happening. What you as the viewer sees.

This painting hung outside George Bush's office during his tenure as governor of Texas. He has mentioned this painting and what it means in dozens of speeches. Here's a taste:

I thought I would share with you a recent bit of Texas history which epitomizes our mission. When you come into my office, please take a look at the beautiful painting of a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us. What adds complete life to the painting for me is the message of Charles Wesley that we serve One greater than ourselves.

According to Bush the painting is titled "A Charge to Keep" and is all about a missionary who helped spread Methodism across the Alleghenies in the late 1800's. His particular perception as a viewer.

In fact, and with great irony that has been reported in a dozen places round the web today the truth is something else all together.

...that is not the title, message, or meaning of the painting. The artist, W.H.D. Koerner, executed it to illustrate a Western short story entitled “The Slipper Tongue,” published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1916. The story is about a smooth-talking horse thief who is caught, and then escapes a lynch mob in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The illustration depicts the thief fleeing his captors.

Now, tell me... what matters more, the artist's intent, or the viewer's perception? Even though I find the irony of the artist's intent here hilarious... I say it is the perception that matters. What about you?

First off... do you guys really think that I have the balls to enter an illegal shopping cart race as a contestant?! Hell no... I'm just part of the support staff!

I'll be manning a checkpoint (no I don't know where it is... the route is secret even for us...) and helping to keep the expected 2000 racers in order. Here's how it shakes down: each time a cart team gets to a checkpoint they have to send one of their team to pass a feat of strength or cunning. Once they have done that to our satisfaction they get their passport stamped to prove to the race officials that they have been there and they get directions to the next checkpoint. Each checkpoint has 2 staff teams that take half the racers, and we deal with one in 5 of those, so I'll actually see 200 of the racers. Yes, I do know what their "feat" will be... but I'm not telling yet.

File:002
Catagory: Boyfriend, January 1991 to June 1991
Met: The Castle, Greenville, SC
"L" Word: No
Age Differential: Me-19, He-19
Significance: Worst Break Up
Reason for Break-up: Distance, Cheating

History: Ex002 and I met the night of my very first trip to a gay bar. (Well, second. But I don't count my prom night for a variety of reasons.) I made out with him! In public! It was such a thrill and a stomach churningly powerful feeling. I was out and proud dammit! Ex002 was actually my introduction into a lot of gay culture. He was friends with drag queens, and got me backstage. He taught me where to sit in the bar, who to avoid (the drug dealers in that corner, the chicken-hawks in that one...) who to kiss up to (bar tenders from another bar over here, DJs over there) and what the symbols of gay culture were (tipping the drag queen together announced to the world that you were together). It was like I was dating one of the cool kids, and at that age dating one of the cool kids... well, that was something!

Ex002 and I dated fairly intensely because we were on a clock. When we met I was home from art school on Christmas break and was returning in just a few weeks. We'd be separated by a mere 3 hours, but to young boys in love, that's quite a distance. The separation didn't treat us kindly. I wasn't able to make it home during the semester, and his trips down always seemed flat, fro all the reasons that distance dating never works. In June I left school for the summer (and unbeknown to me at the time the next 2 years) and hoped to pick up the relationship and the passion now that the distance was closed. Instead I returned to SC to a minefield of rumor and stupidity. Ex002 had cheated on me while I was away it seemed and when I confronted him about it, (very publicly) I got no apologies, and no remorse. He blamed his cheating on my emotional distance during our separation.

What followed was high gay drama at its best. We fought in public both inside and outside the bar. I got him kicked out. His friends attacked me and threatened me. Drag queens took sides between us. He threatened to commit suicide behind the dumpster outside the bar. I offered to run him over if he wanted to die so badly.

And that was just one night.

A month or more of this followed until I decided to stay in Spartanburg, and avoid the bars in Greenville, that was his territory now. The last time I saw him was the only time he broke our detente and came to Spartanburg. He showed up at my home bar in drag, portraying a bitchy shrewish character. He tried to make peace with me and when I accepted he laughed it off and said that it had all been a joke, just to see how weak I was, etc. etc. More drama, he thrived on it it seems. Eventually I began going out in Greenville again, but he had moved on, or stopped coming out. I never knew what had happened to him after that.

Current Status: Unknown. MySpace, Friendster and Google reveal nothing.

I hate to do it to you, but in order to properly understand what I am doing Saturday morning, I have to assign you some homework. I'm sorry, really, I am. It'll be pretty painless though, I promise.

Start here, with the Old Grey Lady, and you can follow up with New York Magazine. That's it for the respectable press. (Both articles are brief.)

Now have a look at some less respected media, the New York Post.

And finally let's get some info from the horse's mouth.

Okay, not to bad, right? And now you'll know what the hell I'm talking about when I post later this week!

I came close to missing my post today! Not much time, but just a quick week in review:

Ate lots of squash, including a squash lasagna at a dinner party tonight.
Dear GOD is it cold.
Got to sketch a new poster for derby... boys this time! Yay!

And a look ahead...
Lots of good stuff to do at work this week.
Next weekend I'm participating in an illegal shopping cart race.
And going to my first geocaching event.

And hopefully getting a sketch or two in!

Lately I've been craving squash. Winter squash, not zucchinis or yellow summer squash, but butternut squash or acorn squash. I tend to like it mildly sweetened, Kid Flash (naturally) likes t ina more savory preparation, with rosemary and such. We've had it twice already this week, once acorn and tonight butternut. I'm not sure why I've been wanting it so much. The other thing I've been eating tons of is beets. The deli by my office has a fantastic citrus beet salad. This afternoon at the farmer's market picking up the squash we found fresh beet pasta as well! So my two current obsessions will both be fulfilled tonight. Yum.

It's all about food around here these days isn't it?

Following the success of my green tomato canning experiment last fall I have decided that I can fulfill another of my needs by canning.

I've spoken here before about the generally horrible state of food here in the north, and my inability to find the basic consumables like self-rising cornmeal, etc. Two of the things that I enjoy I have yet to find a suitable source or substitute for is mayonnaise, (I mail-order Duke's, it's the only kind I can eat) and Chow Chow.

Chow Chow is one of those things that there are a MILLION recipes for (or around 2000 if Google is to be believed) and everyone's family does it differently. My mom has sent me several quarts of it from the area around her, some of which was okay, some of which wasn't. And I've purchased various ones on trips home, both commercial and not. I've yet to find the perfect brand. So my quest is on... I need a good Chow Chow recipe that I can produce and can for myself next year. This seems like as good a place as any to start. Does anyone have a recipe for me? (Mama and Max, I'm especially counting on you guys!) I'm looking for something that isn't too sweet, or too spicy, just good and tangy. Not very many peppers. I seem to remember my aunt Annie making it with green tomatoes, but I've had it with cabbage as well. I leave it up to you!

Memes. How bloggers love them. I very rarely participate in them, but when I saw this one at Secret Simon I knew that I had to participate.

The ingredients are simple. Clicking here will get you a random Wikipedia entry. The title of the entry is the name of your band.

Clicking here gets you a list of random quotations. The last 4 words of the LAST quotation is the name of your album.

Finally, clicking here gets you random photos from Flickr's Interestingness pool. The THIRD photo is the cover of your album.

Drag them all into your favorite photo editing software and you have the cover of the premiere album of the band you were never in. Fun, huh?


Yes, I cheated a little and used the last 5 words of my quote, it just made more sense. Incidentally it was "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home." said by Ken Olsen in 1976, at the time he was the president of Digital Equipment. Fairly apropos I think. I appear to have named my band after a train system that runs between France and Italy, also fairly apropos.

The second part of my derby poster series, (see the first here). This time focusing on the player for the Brooklyn Bombshells.

The thought with these was to create iconic versions of the players, giving them a "weapon" based on the themes of the teams.

The foreshortening on this one isn't quite as successful as the first. It works better when all four players are in a group, but I'll post that one when we get there.

...Uhm... sort of.

Every blogger or net denizen worth his salt longs for the day that he gets that most coveted of all net prizes, The Boing Boing Link. Check this post. That commenter they mention? Yep. That's me. Here's the original post. So I've been.. obliquely... linked. Close enough for now!

I'm always fascinated by how helpful and kind the people at the Apple store can be. I don't think I've ever had to go there for a problem and not been treated kindly. My iPod had been acting oddly lately, stopping in the middle of songs randomly and not "waking up" properly when I allowed it to "sleep." So I went in to the Apple store to see if I could get it checked. What followed was 15 minutes of trying to get it to duplicate its problems on command (which is always tricky whenever you take something to a mechanic) and then 20 minutes or so of sitting while the Genius (that's what Apple calls them) who was waiting on me reloaded the software and hopefully repaired the problem. All in all, it was a pretty congenial time. The Geniuses were all genuinely nice people who actually had conversations with me while we waited, and the other customers who were being waited on were also a friendly bunch that were willing to chat with a stranger in a similar situation. Not how I'd want to spend every night of my life, but not unenjoyable considering what it was. It makes me happy to support a product that I can be generally assured will work the way I want it to, and will be fixed if it doesn't. I guess that makes me a member of the Cult of Mac, but I don't mind. I'm in decent company it seems.

This weekend Kid Flash and I took a brief trip to DC as a sort of post-Holiday, pre-return to school getaway. It was a great trip actually. We got a really decent last minute deal from one of the budget airfare websites, and we were off!

This was the lot directly beside our hotel (guess that explains why they were willing to let a room go so cheaply!). Doesn't that piece of equipment look awfully precarious ? It did to us. This was a DEEP pit, and I just knew that thing was going to tumble, especially on Friday when it was raining.

Yay! I managed to get a subway shot even though I was in a completely different town! The DC Subways were a bit confusing, no single ticket price every destination had a different price based on the distance traveled and you had to swipe going bot in and out of the stations. The most frustrating thing though was their tendency to turn the maps based on what seemed to be aesthetic reasons so the map were never oriented the same way from station to station. Frustrating.

Our first destination that morning was Eastern Market a flea/artists market in a neighborhood just beyond Capitol Hill. It was the first habitable area of the city we had seen since the hotel was by the convention center surrounded by office blocks. Cute neighborhood.

Our next destination was the National Gallery in the Mall area so we passed by the Capitol Building. It was beautiful weather, warm enough to walk most everywhere, and other than the drizzly rain Friday morning very dry.

In the mall we spotted the National Conservatory and went in to have a look at the pretty flowers. It was very well put together, one of the best of these type of things either of us had seen.

The view from the rotunda at the West building of the National Gallery.

The corresponding shot in the much newer (but far less interesting) East building. This was the first museum that we encountered this weekend that had any sort of a crowd in it at all. Unfortunately the crowd was all waiting to see the Edward Hopper exhibit which I wanted to see as well... oh, well. Next time.

In the National Gallery, an Andy Goldsworthy installation. I love this guy's stuff, and had never seen any of it in person.

After that we visited the National Aquarium, which I have to say was a bit disappointing. It was the only museum all weekend that we had to pay to enter, which is in pretty deep contrast to the fact that it was a) tiny, b) about a third of the exhibits were empty and c) about a third of the exhibits that DID have animals had signs saying that the animals on display didn't match the graphics around the display. Sad. Poor presentation.

A quick snack as we leave the Capitol area. One thing we had trouble with was finding decent places to eat. Lunches were usually at the museums, but dinner was a problem the entire time we were there. Saturday night we decided that we were going to try a different neighborhood, so after consulting the guidebooks we tried Dupont Circle since it was supposed to be an "artsy" neighborhood. The snack was to keep us happy until we arrived.

Another look at the DC Metro system. It was weird that every station was pretty much identical. I guess I am used to NYC where every station has it's own look, (or at least every neighborhood.)

Ah... the siren's call of hot donuts. (Which weren't actually hot, btw, but were still tasty.) Our last stop before returning to the hotel for the evening.

Hey... a bit of self promotion, if you are clicking over from Chad Darnell's blog (the founder an originator of this project) check out my CSI:Christmas post while you're here!

Okay... so I took the wrong USB cord to DC right? So I couldn't upload my 12 of 12, right? Well... it seems I also left it in DC. I just got in and attempted to upload the pics from both the cameras. KF's was no problem. I have 6... count them... 6! Large USBs. The apparently ONLY small USB that I owned is now MIA. What the heck am I doing?! Usually when I travel I have a huge assortment of cables and cords and chargers and what-not. This time I decided to pare it down, to take only what I needed. Which didn't work out for me at all, and has now left me in a poorer position than before. Drat and blast.

Well... about 8 pictures into my day today my camera batteries decided to die. (I think it had something to do with the camera being on while in the bottom of my bag for quite a while... I'm not sure though...) luckily Kid Flash had his camera along so I was able to complete the day. I realized belatedly that I could have just pulled the batteries from my GPS which I had along but wasn't really using, but that was a hindsight thing by that point. The bad luck is that the USB connector for my camera is a mini-USB and his is a regular USB. So rather than upload half the pics now and more later I'm just going to do the full set when I get back to the city. Hope you don't mind! More tomorrow... we're having a great time!

I'm on vacation, so you only get a cursory post to keep up my 366 post promise (it's a Leap Year).

But today I accomplished a goal I've held since I was about 6: seeing the dinosaurs at the Smithsonian. It's good to check that off.

The color is a little weird because I scanned it at work rather than at home... and I still don't feel quite on my game again, but here she is. The first Subway Sketch of 2008.

Mike? Really? Not "Michael?" That's just sad. And is a Mustang really the current cultural equivalent of a Trans Am? That can't be right.

So, after my whining I sucked it up and asked for Friday off. Michael (my boss) had no problem with it at all. So Kid Flash and I are going away this weekend after all. We decided that Washington D.C. was a reasonable destination, and checking the Last Minute Deals on some of the travel websites we discovered that it is basically dirt cheap too. For less that $350 apiece we have what the travel site is referring to as a "Luxury Get Away" in Washington. A king sized bed in a historic hotel that is just a few blocks from the Capitol Building. The hotel looks very cute. It cost us an extra $5o for the weekend, but we decided that if we were going for luxury, we may as well go for luxury, right? And luxury isn't a chain hotel by the airport.

Late Thursday evening we'll be off for a whirlwind adventure. Mostly consisting of museums I'm imagining... I haven't been to D.C. in years, since a student trip in 10th grade actually. I'm excited to see some of the Smithsonian museums, which I've always loved. The last time I was there I neglected a childhood dream of seeing the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, instead choosing to see a Superman retrospective at the American History museum. (It was a mental war between two parts of my geek persona, what can I say?) So I'm excited about the possibility of seeing that. The 12 of 12 falls during this trip, so expect to see some photos!

Good lord. I tried to sketch this afternoon on the train... MAN! Am I out of practice or what?! I won't sear your eyeballs with the pain of the "sketch" that I produced, but it did prove to me that I CAN get a sketch in on my current schedule. Give me a sketch or two to get back on my game and I'll start posting them again.

In the meantime... do you read these? (For your own city f course...) Well, I do. They are quite entertaining at times. Why do I mention them? Dunno... just thought you should give them a perusal. >wink<

In the past few weeks a lot of art has come into my life, some as Christmas gifts from others to me, some as gifts I bought for other people, but it has all been a very welcome addition. I'd suggest that all of you check them out to see what you might like. I bought several of the "Li'l" series prints from Kyle Cummings as Christmas gifts. Kid Flash bought the Monster Sex print series from Jen Wang. I received the Process Recess book from James Jean as a Christmas gift. Adam Koford sent me a Laugh Out Loud Cats piece for joining their fanclub which I'll be framing and hanging soon. And I also just received several prints from Sanjay Patel at Ghee Happy as a late Christmas gift from Kid Flash. (I got a complete set of prints from his Indian Gods series.) It makes me so happy to be supporting these guys, either through purchasing or talking about their work. You should go and see it for yourselves.

All in all, I have to say that I've been pretty happy with my new 9 to 5 situation. I have health insurance, I can break my arm and not worry now. I was paid for the 2 weeks we had off around the Christmas holidays. I have a steady flow of income that still allows me to take off the occasional day here and there to do other projects. They don't seem to mind that I usually show up about 9:30 for my 9:00 work time. Life is good.

But I have no freedom.

Kid Flash is currently out of school, which has been awesome, and he is interested in taking a small trip to somewhere like DC or Boston or something before the new semester begins. In years past I would have thrown together a bag and been at his doorstep panting, ready to go. But I can't. I have to consider my job. I have to consider the fact that I had Dec 22, to Jan 3 off with pay, for no other reason than my boss is a good guy. I have to consider that I took two days off back around the 15th to go to Orlando for a job unrelated to this one, and that I'll likely need to take a day at least off in early Feb for another unrelated job. I could potentially leave early on Friday and it not be a big deal, but the trip would still be sort of truncated and stunted. So I'm left to consider my possibilities, and they look bleak. Is this what being grown up means?

A little piece of roller derby artwork that I created a few weeks back. As part of their "end of season" celebration the league president, who was stepping down after three seasons, and the new head of creative asked me to create a poster that could be handed out to all of the players as a wrap-up/thank-you gift.

I did a poster of iconic versions of the four teams, shot from above, looking up into the camera. Then I composited the 4 images into one poster. Here is the Bronx Gridlock player. I'll share the other three in the weeks to come.

I'm pretty proud of this one really. Good art, good coloring. Accomplishes everything I wanted it to. Yep. Proud.

My favorite compliment was when one of the players said they liked that I could make the girls look strong and sexy without making them look slutty.

Sweet Buddha's bicycle it's cold! I know this is sort of in the "water is wet" category, what with it being January and all, but I was happy to be wearing my (Christmas gifted) flannel lined jeans this morning. This is that dry creeping sort of cold that makes your skin stiff and your fingers feel like they are going to crack and bleed. The kind if cold that makes you just want to stay in bed all day and snuggle. I hate it. HATE it. I'd rather drown in sweat than be cold, but I guess this is the life I've chosen... of course it snowed in Florida today, so maybe nowhere is safe at the moment. I have no idea if it is at all probable but I feel so much colder now that I no longer have hair than I did before. It's like my scalp regulates the temperature for the rest of my body.

In Blog news: Watch this space! I hope to unveil the first of my new initiatives this weekend!

In reading my RSS feeds this morning I found 8 (8!) separate blogs that were posting what amounted to apologies for their lackluster performance this year. So... in the end I was in good company I guess. I won't apologize, I'll just say: It was my fault. I know it, I'll be better. So to that end I bring you: