Random Start: I Like Food
This is from one of my favorite comps, Short Music for Short People. It’s a great idea for a compilation, because even if a song is just terrible, well, it’s only 30 seconds. Some are less. You get to listen to 101 different bands on one CD, and I really wish they’d do another one of these some day.
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
I keep seeing these around Oakland. I’m not sure who’s running around spray-painting bananas on things, but I dig ‘em.
Max Damage on Ice
I made it out to see Max Damage vs. End Zone at the Ice Mine in Connellsville.
You can’t sit down just because you’re losing.
John could play hockey in the 1970s with that ‘stache.
Minimum Wage – Maximum Damage
This isn’t a new project, but I’ve had to dig the original files back out for some reprints (and, in the not-too-distant-future, the special edition queen piece jerseys). When the boys first put together a deck team some years ago, I was tasked with making them a logo that would strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. It was to include:
1). The team name, of course.
2.) Their mascot, the hockey beard.
3.) The “don’t start nothin’, won’t be nothin’” line, from Men in Black.
It’s a lot to jam into a logo, but I think it turned out nicely. Since the team was almost entirely constructed of computer center work-studies, the name comes from their work study code (which also includes the gem, “If it almost fits, it fits.”) I got a few shots of the boys in action coming up.
Between the Buried and Me at Altar Bar
On Monday, we got to go see Between the Buried and Me at Altar Bar in Pittsburgh. Last time we saw them, we had to drive to Cleveland in a snowstorm, so this was a nice change. They’re absolutely bonkers live. To play music that is as complicated as theirs is, and still be so entertaining to watch is a feat. Which is likely how we ended up seeing them twice in three months last year (then again, it isn’t exactly hard to get me to go to shows. Seriously, I went to a N.E.R.D. show because it was $10).
Although this is only the second show I’ve seen there, I really like the setup at Altar Bar. We managed to get a fantastic spot on the stairs, which meant I actually got to see the band (I’m 5′ 4″, finding a good spot is imperative).
They had the most active pit I’ve seen in a long time. Generally the kids lose steam a few songs in, but these guys kept it going through the encore. Also, I’d argued that BtBaM’s name is unchantable, and they proved me wrong.
There’s a lot of Pens gear in that crowd. Since it was on the same night as Game 3, someone would kindly yell out the score in between songs. Not bad for a Monday.
As usual, setlist is here.
Mini Product Shots
One of the projects I worked on at Fireman was taking photos for an options menu for Mini of Pittsburgh. Although, when Paul kept saying he needed Mini product shots, I thought he meant he had some very small items to photograph. At any rate, the layout they did is lovely, and I’m glad I could contribute to it. It’s also good to know that if this IT thing doesn’t work out for the husband, he’s got his career as a t-shirt model to fall back on.
Stats
We had a funders presentation a few weeks ago for the Hear Me project, and needed a few graphics put together. We wanted something that was a little more interesting to look at than bullet points, and also easier to absorb. So, our project stats, so far:
Not bad for just under a year (and right around 6 months since the Tell-Port graphics overhaul).
Random Start: Mechanical Man
I don’t have a ton of soundtracks. I have a few tracks from Nightmare Before Christmas, Newsies (which I bought on cassette), and of course Spamalot. And then, there’s this, which is from Live Freaky! Die Freaky!. Much like Ed Wood, this is one of those things that I thought was funny, but can’t in good faith recommend anyone else subject themselves to. So, you know, caveat lector.
#1 Serenity
EDIT: You can now purchase one of these posters at the Moore Store (they’re also on Etsy, take your pick).
I came home one day after a night class at Cal, and my Dad tells me that he Tivo’d something (this was before every house had a DVR, and we used rotary phones and dinosaurs roamed the Earth). He says, “It’s a sci-fi western. Like, cowboys in space.” To which I said, “that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
As it turned out, the series was one of the best things I’d seen on TV. It’s hilarious, the characters are great, and while it does have elements of science fiction and traditional westerns, they’re secondary to everything else. You can still catch it on the Science channel (also SyFy, I think?), or just go ahead and buy it. So why am I rambling about some canceled TV series? Well, it’s my next project.
I’ve been doing the Word Art Project for awhile now (in 8 or so months I’ve produced 32 of them), and I’m taking a break. I wanted to work with a different format for awhile (it’s not square!) and on something a bit more limited than “whatever I feel like doodling.”
Thus, I decided to make posters for each Firefly episode. There are only 14 of them, which makes for a limited run, and we’ve already gone over what a nerd I am regarding the show. Speaking of which, I’ll be doing them in the originally intended order, and not the Fox-ruins-everything-it-touches order the episodes actually aired in.
Fans of the series may notice (as the husband did) that they don’t exactly scream ‘Verse, style-wise. I wanted to give them sort of a ’50s sci-fi vibe, a la “The Blob” or “Forbidden Planet.” Enough talk, poster time.
If you want to get on the list, and be alerted when new designs hit the shop, you can sign up here.
Downloadable Desktop Wallpapers
If you’ve been digging the word art project, you can now download them as desktop wallpapers. It’s an odd format (square), but I actually like having the blank background on either side (dock on the left, desktop items on the right, party in the back… wait…)
The list includes AFI, Bad Religion, Bob Dylan, The Cure, The Dear Hunter, Dustin Kensrue, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Jack Gantos, Green Day, Lou Holtz, Jimmy Eat World, Millencolin, Operation Ivy, Pinhead Gunpowder, Public Enemy, The Replacements, Rise Against, Hunter S. Thompson, Henry David Thoreau, and Thrice.
