“Dip Your Pen Into Your Arteries and Write.”

Beguiling Graffiti

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 21:26:46 -0400

When I happened across two separate stories about artistic — and let’s face it, delightfully oddball — graffiti today, I decided the phenomenon is definitely blog-worthy.
I’d actually heard about the first type, “yarnbombing”, in my knitting class last summer, and was was excited to rediscover it. Yarnbombing usually involves taking multiple knitted pieces (hello, unfinished scarf collection!) and blanketing inanimate — often public — objects, so that the mailbox, lamppost, etc. is “tagged” with yarn. In other words, it’s kind of like knitting a glove for things you pass every day on the street.
The yarnbombing subjects are often surprising, and the result is usually enchanting. Seeing a drab, commonplace object fitted in a Technicolor Dreamcoat has the effect of making you see the original object in a new light, much like seeing a coworker dressed up for a night out.

Yarnbombing was recently popularized by Knitta Please, a group founded by Austin-based Magda Sayeg in 2005. According to the official website, it is “her response to the dehumanizing qualities of an urban environment. By inserting handmade art in a landscape of concrete and steel, she adds a human quality that otherwise rarely exists.”
A perfect example of handmade art softening the urban landscape is a series called “Territorial Knittings” by artist Lauren Marsden. Her aim was to replicate street signs for every street she lived on in Victoria, British Columbia as knitted covers. The image below is one of six.

One of my favorite examples of yarnbombing is “Tree Cozy”, which was created by Carol Hummel for the 2005 Heights Public Art Competition in Cleveland Heights, OH. This crocheted tree jacket took Hummel 500 hours to complete — plenty of time to come up with a sane-sounding answer to “whatcha working on?” Hummel’s website describes the project as “a tree – a natural object representing masculinity and strength – covered with a crocheted cozy – an emphatically handmade blanket representing femininity and comfort.” Mostly, I can’t get over how wonderfully Dr. Seuss it is.

The second offshoot of graffiti that grabbed my attention today was included in a Google Alert for podcasting (one of my authors is writing a how-to book, and I want to stay in-the-know). Anyway, “Social Graffiti,” is the literal merging of Twitter and...well, a seven-story building. The experiment, which involves projecting a live Twitter feed onto a campus building at Drexel University in Philadelphia, is part of a senior project for a team of digital media students.
While these students hope the drive-in Twitter feed can serve to broadcast university news, the wall is open to anyone with a Twitter account. You simply tag your tweet with @digmGraffiti, and as long as it doesn’t contain profanity (or any other words from a undoubtedly colorful list), it will be projected onto the side of Nesbitt Hall for — for a few seconds, anyway.
Sample tweets:
ozmucur2259: @digmgraffiti IT'S WINDY OUTSIDE
Alcedine: @digmgraffiti your project looks awesome! I would have loved to have seen it or been a part of it when I was a student there! #digmGrad06

Is spray paint passé, or what?

PowerPoint: “Editing for Content”

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:37:13 -0400

A new batch of interns started on Monday, and we editors had our hands full preparing for their arrival. I was asked to run their training day again, so I wanted to make sure we placed more emphasis on a few aspects that were overlooked last semester. We decided to split up the training into three parts — a refresher on copyediting, the PR duties they will be taking on, and the importance of content editing.
Since 90 percent of our interns at Atlantic Publishing are journalism majors, they are already naturals at copyediting, fact-checking, and AP Style. However, we noticed with last semester’s interns that editing for actual content doesn’t always come as naturally.
Our company’s particular system of commissioning authors for certain projects (and not accepting manuscript submissions, like other publishers) means that editing for content is particularly important. As a result, the editors and project managers must help define and direct the content of the book, keep it from veering off course, and provide ideas for additional content.
Thus, I made this simple PowerPoint presentation (click the image above) to accompany the content editing portion of the intern training. This is a topic that I still have much to learn about myself, but it’s obvious the interns already have a better grasp of the subject this time around.

Podcast Profile: The Drabblecast

Sun, 2 May 2010 17:19:30 -0400

If you’re a podcast fan, you understand that subscribing to one is like agreeing to go steady with someone — it’s a commitment that should not be taken lightly. After all, who wants 50 neglected podcast episodes on their MP3 player just because they didn’t want to break things off? Personally, I look for podcasts that update regularly (but not too regularly — biweekly is plenty), have entertaining hosts, run about 30-60 minutes and love their mothers. After a brief courtship, I subscribe and then we go everywhere together — the gym, car trips, even the grocery store.
If you aren’t taking advantage of the free podcasts on iTunes yet, ask yourself these two questions: “Do I own an MP3 player and/or computer?” and “Do I have at least one interest?” If your answer is yes to both, then visit Podcast Alley and search for a keyword based on admitted interest.
As one of my own admitted interests is storytelling, The Moth and This American Life are two of my favorite podcasts for this reason; but, as they tend to stay grounded in reality, I decided to seek out some fiction-based storytelling. In my search, I came across several stellar podcasts — my favorite of which being the Drabblecast.
The Drabblecast is, as it bills itself, “a weekly flash fiction audio magazine that brings strange stories by strange authors to strange listeners...such as yourself.” The podcast’s editors choose stories spanning science fiction, fantasy and horror that all have one thing in common: weirdness. You’d think this quality would be hard to identify, but it seems the obscenity rule applies (“I know it when I see it”). So far, I’ve heard stories about apathetic super-villains, god-toddlers, an alien wedding and mustached magicians...you get the picture.
Considering the podcast is published weekly, the production quality is magnificent. Aside from a plethora of quirky stories contributed by new and established authors alike, the Drabblecast also includes “twitfics” (stories of 100 characters or less submitted on Twitter) and “drabbles” (stories exactly 100 words) submitted by fans. The podcast also showcases an impressive group of voice talent. However, the real clincher for me was its host, Norm Sherman. Every week, Norm’s charm, wit, and silky narration makes listening worth the price of admission. Most hosts are merely gatekeepers to the podcast’s content, but Norm is part of the entertainment — play the first sample episode below and you’ll immediately see what I mean.
Between the eclectic mix of oddball stories and well-crafted podcast scripts, the real magic of the Drabblecast lies behind all successful entertainment mediums: good writing — and better editing.
Further Reading:
1. Drabblecast 155 — The Second Conquest of Earth
2. Drabblecast 151 — The Society of Eccentric Mustaches
3. Drabblecast 158 — Dr. Diablo Goes Through the Motions
4. Drabblecast 161 — Higher Than Usual

The Very Venture Vodcast Project

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:29:32 -0400

The Very Venture Vodcast is a personal project my roommate/coworker and I started in October of 2009. V3, as we describe it on our YouTube profile, is “an unofficial fangirl vodcast for the highly acclaimed Adult Swim comedy, the Venture Brothers.” The show itself is a cartoon targeted toward adults, but it is definitely an acquired taste — probably best enjoyed by absurdist comic book nerds. But unlike other cartoons in this genre (such as Family Guy or The Simpsons), the Venture Brothers has an evolving plot and characters, existing in a unique world fabricated largely from science fiction and fantasy spoofs.
Holly and I have recorded, edited, and published 10 episodes thus far, and are currently on hiatus while the show is amping up for the rest of season four. Even though this hobby is potentially embarrassing, I decided to share Episode 9 on my blog because this experience has been so education when it comes to social media marketing. In addition to the vodcast, we created and maintain a blog and Twitter account, developed a brand, established relationships with the “big names” in the Venture Brothers fan world, and were fan-nominated for a Shorty award. Another high point was tweeting with Venture voice actor James Urbaniak and John Hodgeman (“PC” in the Mac commercials).
This whole project has been a crash course in using social media to develop a small empire (granted, an extremely close-knit, dorky empire), and it has been eye-opening to see how effective these tools can be. Whether you’re a vodcast hobbyist or a corporation, in this day and age it is incredibly important to identify your audience and develop relationships with them. Over two months, our followers and commenters multiplied many times over, which would have been impossible if we were merely putting out product and not creating a community. In the end, our goals and our viewer’s goals are the same — to feel like we are participating in something we love, not passively witnessing it. If businesses want to succeed with upcoming generations, they will take note.

Magic, Sans Safety Net

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:50:03 -0400

The Magicians had me from the first line: "Quentin did a magic trick. Nobody noticed."

My mom recommended this book to me after being engrossed in the audio version during a car trip, and after reading reviews like "Harry Potter Meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," I hunted it down. Here's the truly magical thing about this book: It's unpredictable. I didn't realize how long it'd been since I'd encountered an unpredictable book until picking up The Magicians — from chapter one, it zigs when you think "zag, surely" and gracefully ignores all traditional fantasy plot development. After the first chapter, I surrendered to the story. It was uncomfortable at first, but I recommend you do the same.

As for the story itself, I have no intention of depriving you of the same experience I had, but I can say it's less Jonathan Strange and more Harry Potter meets Narnia — with a twist. The twist being reality. Our protagonist, a disenchanted gifted kid with an aptitude for magic, is so believable that he's hardly likable — but extremely lovable. Not to mention, there were so many times when my head jerked up and I thought, "OK, that never happened in Narnia," I lost count. "The Magicians" is full of sharp twists and big reveals — reveals you didn't even realize you were waiting for — and a handful of downright terrifying moments. No one is safe, and nothing is sacred. This is magic without a safety net.

Lev Grossman writes in a simple, unaffected style that, as a journalist, I appreciate; but as an aspiring writer, I envy. He writes with supreme confidence; only occasionally slipping in breathtaking lines to remind you who's in charge ("The problem with growing up is that once you're grown up, the people who aren't grown up aren't fun anymore.")

I should end this with a warning: Do you ever wish you could turn back time and re-experience your favorite movie or book series for the first time? Alas, oftentimes our favorite things enter our lives unexpectedly, and soon it's too late — you can only enjoy something for the first time once. The Magicians was one of those things for me, and I suspect it will be for you as well. Savor it.

DeviantHeart: Color Punch

Thu, 1 Apr 2010 19:07:31 -0400

Wow. So, kidchan has really gotten my attention recently. For months, everything she’s submitted has been a punch of color and elegance, and I am a sucker for the bright and shiny. Her gallery is really worth visiting, but there is an anime-esque style pervading, so fair warning if that’s not your scene.
Aside from the beautiful watercolor-inspired tones, the most impressive thing about kidchan’s work is the textures. The layering is simply amazing — a collage of lace, wallpaper prints and delicate figures with coffee-colored skin tones.
Honestly, while Photshop skills can be learned — an eye for color like kidchan’s can’t.
Featured piece: “smoke” by kidchan / mediums : open canvas 3.03E PLUS, Photoshop CS2 / brushes and textures by kidchan