...that it's time to come clean.
I have been cheating on this blog. But like most cheaters I feel as though I am justified and my reasons are inspired by good intentions (do cheaters actually feel this way?). When I first started this blog my intentions were a bit unclear. Was this a place to share personal thoughts and insights? Or a place to display my work and talents? Maybe both? Well, after a wishy-washy start that encompassed both facets of my life-documenting ambitions, I decided that I did not want the two sides to mix. I did not want the people searching out my work to have to wade through tedious entries written about god-knows-what.
This led me to start another blog, yes a second blog, knowing that I did not posses the energy to maintain the first one. This second blog has since taken all of my typing and image posting attention and left Sound it out to stand as a glimpse of what might have been, but never was. A brilliant endeavor cut short! Yeah right.
My only defense is that the other blog actually has a purpose, and that is to post work that will get me more work, which I will then post, and so on, and so on. The other good reason for this transition was, I don't think about much else other than my work, so all my postings naturally fell into my other blog. I'm sure I could continue to rationalize my decision until even you, the reader, would agree that we must abort Sound it out, but what would be the point. This is just about a stupid journal that no one reads anyways.
Maybe one day I will return. One day when I have more time to think about useless crap that I will make even crappier by writing poorly constructed blog entries about said crap. Crap!
In the mean time please feel free to come visit me at my "other" blog, http://mattwilsoncolors.blogspot.com/
MW
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
D-Day...
What Matt is going to call the Underbelly!
Originally uploaded by Matt & Nayoung
...stands for deck day. And it's actually more like deck weekend. We've completed our first day of construction on our new deck. We started at 8AM and ended at 8PM.
Click the picture to go and see more at the old Flickr.
MW
Old-timey
DAD
Originally uploaded by PurpleTober
What a cool old picture of my Mom's father. My Grandpa just scanned all of these slides that he had made from photos over the years. My mom put most of them up on her Flickr and some of them are really cool, especially if you like old photos.
Like always, you can click on the pic to get to Flickr.MW
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Back on the easel again
Session 3
Originally uploaded by Matt & Nayoung
I haven't done any life drawing in 7 years (since college) and it was probably my favorite part of my art school education. Why have I not done something I was so fond of for so many years? I don't know.
On our way back form New York last month I met Tony Shasteen and his wife in the Atlanta airport. At the time he belonged to a comic studio called Gaijin Studios and that they did life drawing sessions every week, so I jumped at the chance to get back in to drawing.
I've been to three sessions and I've gotten better each time. With some guidance from some great comic artists and a chance to get out of the house and socialize the sessions have been really enjoyable.
I put up more drawings at our flickr page, so go check them out.
MW
Monday, March 16, 2009
Snow'd
The wood I was supposed to cover. Whoops!
Originally uploaded by Matt & Nayoung
This is three weeks late at this point, but I guess I don't care. We actually got snow that didn't melt when it hit the ground. The kids in the neighborhood stayed home from school and played in the snow. I, however, sat inside and worked. Boo!
All the snow made it feel like we lived in a different part of the country. It was kind of nice.
A winter wonderland... in March?
M
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Not perfect, but pretty damn good.
So close!
Originally uploaded by Matt & Nayoung
Yeah, I realize I'm a bit behind the times as far as the whole Wii craze goes. However, that doesn't diminish my recent accomplishment in the world of professional digital bowling.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
So I've got this list.
I didn't realize I had a list of things I wanted to see or do that counted as very "New York", but during this trip I witnessed or did two things that were retroactively put on just such a list and then checked off as “done”. So far these are the only two items on the list, and I think future items will be presented in a similar fashion, without my prior knowledge of their existence.
The items on this list are things I'd only expect to see or do in New York City. Not necessarily tourist attractions but more local events, and these events are small and trivial happenings. You might even classify them as stereotypes. But even if they are stereotypes they came from everyday events that make NYC feel like home to locals. The type of thing you might see if you lived in NYC, and on the 100th visit to the store you noticed a homeless man chasing a pigeon (or maybe visa versa). Or someone peeing on a passing subway train. Now those may not be the best examples, but it’s the scale of event I’m referring to. Nothing big, or grand. Just New York. Hopefully I’ve explained myself, but if not maybe relaying the incidents will do the explaining for me.
The first item I checked off the list is something I witnessed, as opposed to experiencing first hand, and it was New York City temper. The event involved The Couple in the line to buy Broadway show tickets and The Man selling the tickets. The Couple was an elderly, sweet seeming couple and The Man was a rather large, red-faced native (assumed). The Man handed The Couple their tickets and The Couple, with their gloved hands, dropped one of their tickets. The ticket then slid into a crack between the sidewalk and the ticket booth, never to be seen again. The Couple informed The Man, and The Man disconnected his headset and disappeared for a moment. The Man returned visibly frustrated, but he did have an answer. The Man told The Couple to present the theater box office with the receipt that showed two tickets purchased. Now, here is where the New York temper revealed itself to me.
The Couple asked, "Will that work?"
The Man then said, "No, it won't work."
A short pause ensued where The Couple didn't know how to respond.
Then The Man yelled, and I mean really yelled, "OF COURSE IT WILL WORK!" slammed his hands on the desk and then raised his hands up in the air in disbelief.
The Couple walked away and The Man disconnected his headset and again he threw up his hands. He then starts to yell something to his coworkers within the multi windowed ticket booth. Nayoung and I view all of this as a pantomime because without his headset connected the sound of his fury cannot escape the booth. Once he stops yelling and slamming his keyboard against his desk he reconnects his headset.
The Man then says to us, “Wadda’you want?”
The second item on the list is something I experienced myself. An actual event that I took part in. Having this event happen to me has always been a dream of mine, but I just didn't know it until it happened to me. I figured this type of thing only happened to bike couriers or high powered Wall Street execs from the 80's with those big brick cellular phones. So you can imagine my surprise when this dream happened to me.
As Nayoung and I crossed the street we were assured that it was OK to cross by the symbol of a little white man in the crossing signal. Halfway across the crosswalk I notice that a cab was stopped by the curb and the driver was conversing with someone on the sidewalk. As I watched the two men exchange words I could all of a sudden see the events of the immediate future. I was positive that two men's conversation will end, and that the cab driver will start to drive in our direction with out looking. I was also sure that these things would happen just as we crossed in front of the taxi.
As we aligned with the center of the cab's hood, sure enough, the cab driver began to accelerate. At that very same moment is when my previously unknown dream was simultaneously born and fulfilled. The engine revved, the car lurched forward, and in one motion with out slowing the pace of my walk I slammed my hand on the hood of the cab, and then raised that hand above my head. In my mind I shouted with a New York accent, "I'M WALK'N HERE!"
Just like in the movies.
Two New York moments that I can now mark off the list that I didn't know I had until there were two things to put on it... and then mark off. I love lists.
M
The items on this list are things I'd only expect to see or do in New York City. Not necessarily tourist attractions but more local events, and these events are small and trivial happenings. You might even classify them as stereotypes. But even if they are stereotypes they came from everyday events that make NYC feel like home to locals. The type of thing you might see if you lived in NYC, and on the 100th visit to the store you noticed a homeless man chasing a pigeon (or maybe visa versa). Or someone peeing on a passing subway train. Now those may not be the best examples, but it’s the scale of event I’m referring to. Nothing big, or grand. Just New York. Hopefully I’ve explained myself, but if not maybe relaying the incidents will do the explaining for me.
The first item I checked off the list is something I witnessed, as opposed to experiencing first hand, and it was New York City temper. The event involved The Couple in the line to buy Broadway show tickets and The Man selling the tickets. The Couple was an elderly, sweet seeming couple and The Man was a rather large, red-faced native (assumed). The Man handed The Couple their tickets and The Couple, with their gloved hands, dropped one of their tickets. The ticket then slid into a crack between the sidewalk and the ticket booth, never to be seen again. The Couple informed The Man, and The Man disconnected his headset and disappeared for a moment. The Man returned visibly frustrated, but he did have an answer. The Man told The Couple to present the theater box office with the receipt that showed two tickets purchased. Now, here is where the New York temper revealed itself to me.
The Couple asked, "Will that work?"
The Man then said, "No, it won't work."
A short pause ensued where The Couple didn't know how to respond.
Then The Man yelled, and I mean really yelled, "OF COURSE IT WILL WORK!" slammed his hands on the desk and then raised his hands up in the air in disbelief.
The Couple walked away and The Man disconnected his headset and again he threw up his hands. He then starts to yell something to his coworkers within the multi windowed ticket booth. Nayoung and I view all of this as a pantomime because without his headset connected the sound of his fury cannot escape the booth. Once he stops yelling and slamming his keyboard against his desk he reconnects his headset.
The Man then says to us, “Wadda’you want?”
The second item on the list is something I experienced myself. An actual event that I took part in. Having this event happen to me has always been a dream of mine, but I just didn't know it until it happened to me. I figured this type of thing only happened to bike couriers or high powered Wall Street execs from the 80's with those big brick cellular phones. So you can imagine my surprise when this dream happened to me.
As Nayoung and I crossed the street we were assured that it was OK to cross by the symbol of a little white man in the crossing signal. Halfway across the crosswalk I notice that a cab was stopped by the curb and the driver was conversing with someone on the sidewalk. As I watched the two men exchange words I could all of a sudden see the events of the immediate future. I was positive that two men's conversation will end, and that the cab driver will start to drive in our direction with out looking. I was also sure that these things would happen just as we crossed in front of the taxi.
As we aligned with the center of the cab's hood, sure enough, the cab driver began to accelerate. At that very same moment is when my previously unknown dream was simultaneously born and fulfilled. The engine revved, the car lurched forward, and in one motion with out slowing the pace of my walk I slammed my hand on the hood of the cab, and then raised that hand above my head. In my mind I shouted with a New York accent, "I'M WALK'N HERE!"
Just like in the movies.
Two New York moments that I can now mark off the list that I didn't know I had until there were two things to put on it... and then mark off. I love lists.
M
A hell of a town
Nayoung and I traveled far from our home in the sticks this past weekend and spent a few days in New York City. The main reason for going was to attend the New York Comic Con, but we arrived a day before the convention and left a day after so we would have some extra time to spend in the city.
On Thursday we landed at Laguardia airport around noon and made it to our hotel near Times Square around 1pm. The high temperature that day was somewhere in the teens, so before leaving the hotel we bundled up to ward off the low temperatures (Nayoung could hardly bend her appendages due to the number of layers). If we kept moving the cold wasn't so bad, but when we waited in line for an hour to get tickets to a Broadway show the bitting wind was brutal. The ticket line wound back and forth two times, so that after you made the first turn you were between the earlier parts and the upcoming parts of the line. Nayoung made the observation that all the people in the line were like penguins huddled against the arctic winds. The ones on the outsides took the brunt of the chill while the people in the middle still froze, but just not as severely. We decided to see Marry Poppins, and before my manhood is called into question I will state these two things for the record: 1. It's Broadway, I was going to see people sing and dace no matter what, so what difference does the subject matter make? 2. I happen to quite like the movie version of Marry Poppins, so there!
After we purchased the tickets for our evenings entertainment we decided that we needed to thaw out back at the hotel. Once we could feel our extremities again we bundled back up and set out for the night. We had dinner near the theater and then walked onto the show. My favorite part of the show was the sets. The house set was the most impressive, like a life sized doll house with the one wall removed to allow the audience a view. Most of the songs from the movie made it into the play, but usually in an altered form, usually longer or in a different part of the performance. There were a few new songs as well, but the best was still Spoon Full of Sugar and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
The next three days were spent at the convention and the majority of happenings there probably aren't that interesting to many people but me. However I did want to mention that we purchased some new art.
I bought a page of original comic art from my friend Sean Murphy.
We bought a print from an illustrator named Celia Calle.
We also bought a few other prints however I can't find examples of them online. The other great purchases were these two 2gig thumb drives from Mimbot.
The one I really wanted was sold out in the storage capacity I wanted and once you see this pic I'm sure you'll understand why I was upset about them being sold out...
Nayoung wanted to visit the mecca of photography lovers everywhere, the superstore for B&H Photo Video. The experience was amazing, and really needs to be seen to be believed.
So, it was a great trip and we'll see you in a year or so, NYC.
M
On Thursday we landed at Laguardia airport around noon and made it to our hotel near Times Square around 1pm. The high temperature that day was somewhere in the teens, so before leaving the hotel we bundled up to ward off the low temperatures (Nayoung could hardly bend her appendages due to the number of layers). If we kept moving the cold wasn't so bad, but when we waited in line for an hour to get tickets to a Broadway show the bitting wind was brutal. The ticket line wound back and forth two times, so that after you made the first turn you were between the earlier parts and the upcoming parts of the line. Nayoung made the observation that all the people in the line were like penguins huddled against the arctic winds. The ones on the outsides took the brunt of the chill while the people in the middle still froze, but just not as severely. We decided to see Marry Poppins, and before my manhood is called into question I will state these two things for the record: 1. It's Broadway, I was going to see people sing and dace no matter what, so what difference does the subject matter make? 2. I happen to quite like the movie version of Marry Poppins, so there!
After we purchased the tickets for our evenings entertainment we decided that we needed to thaw out back at the hotel. Once we could feel our extremities again we bundled back up and set out for the night. We had dinner near the theater and then walked onto the show. My favorite part of the show was the sets. The house set was the most impressive, like a life sized doll house with the one wall removed to allow the audience a view. Most of the songs from the movie made it into the play, but usually in an altered form, usually longer or in a different part of the performance. There were a few new songs as well, but the best was still Spoon Full of Sugar and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
The next three days were spent at the convention and the majority of happenings there probably aren't that interesting to many people but me. However I did want to mention that we purchased some new art.
I bought a page of original comic art from my friend Sean Murphy.
We bought a print from an illustrator named Celia Calle.
We also bought a few other prints however I can't find examples of them online. The other great purchases were these two 2gig thumb drives from Mimbot.
The one I really wanted was sold out in the storage capacity I wanted and once you see this pic I'm sure you'll understand why I was upset about them being sold out...
Nayoung wanted to visit the mecca of photography lovers everywhere, the superstore for B&H Photo Video. The experience was amazing, and really needs to be seen to be believed.
So, it was a great trip and we'll see you in a year or so, NYC.
M
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thank you free nights and weekends.
What follows is an e-mail I sent to Best Buy (is it Bestbuy or Best Buy?) customer service after waiting for assistance on the phone for oh, just a little while.
"I am having problems ordering from bestbuy.com
I am signed in with 3 items in my cart and I press checkout. I am asked to enter my password to sign in, even though I'm already signed in. Extra security, no problem.
Password entered. An error occurs and says I need to enter my zip code for tax.
I enter my my zip code and press go. The tax is calculated.
I then press checkout and it asks me to sign again (annoying this time). I enter my password and press continue.
I am given the same error that says I need to enter my zip code. Repeat this same sequence over and over endlessly.
This is second time I've tried to shop on bestbuy.com and both times I encountered this problem. This keeps me FROM MAKING ANY PURCHASES on your website and that seems a bit problematic for a website that sells things.
I tried to circumvent this problem by calling 1-888-BESTBUY and order over the phone. As of this writingI have been on hold for 1 hr 30 min 58 seconds.
I really like Best Buy. I have a Best Buy credit card and I try to make all of my electronics purchases at Best Buy. However, this experience has made me reconsider my continued support of Best Buy."
In that time I could have driven to three different Best Buys to get the three items I was trying to purchase. Just for the record I did all of that waiting on speaker phone while working. So not a complete waste of time, but still!
You've got to love customer service.
"I am having problems ordering from bestbuy.com
I am signed in with 3 items in my cart and I press checkout. I am asked to enter my password to sign in, even though I'm already signed in. Extra security, no problem.
Password entered. An error occurs and says I need to enter my zip code for tax.
I enter my my zip code and press go. The tax is calculated.
I then press checkout and it asks me to sign again (annoying this time). I enter my password and press continue.
I am given the same error that says I need to enter my zip code. Repeat this same sequence over and over endlessly.
This is second time I've tried to shop on bestbuy.com and both times I encountered this problem. This keeps me FROM MAKING ANY PURCHASES on your website and that seems a bit problematic for a website that sells things.
I tried to circumvent this problem by calling 1-888-BESTBUY and order over the phone. As of this writingI have been on hold for 1 hr 30 min 58 seconds.
I really like Best Buy. I have a Best Buy credit card and I try to make all of my electronics purchases at Best Buy. However, this experience has made me reconsider my continued support of Best Buy."
In that time I could have driven to three different Best Buys to get the three items I was trying to purchase. Just for the record I did all of that waiting on speaker phone while working. So not a complete waste of time, but still!
You've got to love customer service.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Spotted abroad.
This travel site, Travel Muse asked to use a photo Nayoung took of me while in the BVI for our honeymoon. I haven't poked around the site a whole lot, but the layout is very nice and it certainly looks professional (considering the look of some sites, that's quite an accomplishment). The page that features our photo is about Jost Van Dyke, one of the British Virgin Islands and our picture was taken at Foxy's Bar. Foxy's is a big attraction on Jost Van Dyke and the popular thing to do is for people to leave clothing and license plates which get attached to the walls and ceilings. If you scroll to the bottom of this page you'll see me in a green shirt looking up at many articles of clothing left by former patrons. I liked my shirt way too much to staple it to the ceiling, and I wasn't wearing underwear so that wasn't an option either.
Leaving so soon?
I've already declared on this blog that the chances of me posting regularly are slim. The chances of those posts being interesting or... anything at all? None. With this information clearly in mind I have decided to start another site entirely. (naturally)
I have decided that I'd like a site entirely devoted to my work. An online portfolio of sorts. I'm not sure if doing such a thing on blogger is the best way to go about this, but it is a quick and easy start and I'm pretty sure this is really overdue. I intend to make it to some comic conventions this year and I will inevitably be asked the question, Is your work on line anywhere? I should probably have the professional response of, yes, you can see my work here.
Travel stuff, family stuff, and Maru stuff will still be posted here. But artwork and comic stuff will now be over at my new joint. So, pick whichever topics bore you the least and visit accordingly.
M
I have decided that I'd like a site entirely devoted to my work. An online portfolio of sorts. I'm not sure if doing such a thing on blogger is the best way to go about this, but it is a quick and easy start and I'm pretty sure this is really overdue. I intend to make it to some comic conventions this year and I will inevitably be asked the question, Is your work on line anywhere? I should probably have the professional response of, yes, you can see my work here.
Travel stuff, family stuff, and Maru stuff will still be posted here. But artwork and comic stuff will now be over at my new joint. So, pick whichever topics bore you the least and visit accordingly.
M
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
This cat... OMG.
This cat makes me smile... a lot. I have his site posted in the links to the right, it's the Japanese characters. His name is Maru, and he lives in Japan. The breed is a Scottish Fold and they usually look pretty odd, but Maru isn't quite as strange looking as most Scottish Folds. Apparently the Japanese love that breed, I guess it's because the look like little anime characters.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Gigantic
So a few months ago I had my first cover credit on a comic. It was for Gigantic #1. It's a five issue series written by Rick Remender and drawn by Eric Nguyen. Also, there is a "Making of" type article over at Dark Horse for the second issue here.
M
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
