Travelin' Man

Hello internet world! I've been out exploring. In fact, I'm in Austin Texas right now rehearsing to do a musical comedy later on in the month and into April. Not to say that I haven't been coming up with good ideas, it's just that I've been a little busy and where I'm staying is not too conducive for writing or idea generating. But, here in Austin is SXSW, a large media, music, new technology and film festival and it's given me a lot of ideas. Well, not a lot of ideas, but some. This idea is more of a throwaway idea but I thought I'd put it down in cyberspace. I was watching American Idol (not something I watch) with my temporary roommate Robert and I noticed that many of the singers were playing guitars. They all had simple straps to hold their guitar to their body and for some strange reason I thought how cool it'd be if the strap was a recycled automobile seat belt, complete with the shiny silver buckle. You could buckle the strap tight when you wear the guitar and get a firmer hold onto your body. It's also a way to reclaim salvaged material and would add a bit of flair to any performer. Okay, yeah, not the best idea but something worth thinking about. While you think about that, here's a picture of Austin.

iPod Touch Camera Adaption

Let me be the first to say that this will not be designed or built by me. The iphone and the ipod mini both have video cameras but the ipod touch is left out. This bothered me to some extent, meh, not much because I don't own any Apple products. But, I do read a lot about them and technology in general and it seems that cameras can be made and placed anywhere. For reasons of profit, and mentioned earlier, the ipod touch does not have a camera. My idea would be a device that fits into the base of the ipod touch and snaps onto the top, where the camera would be placed. I'd put it on a swivel so pictures could be taken at all angles. Add in video and the ipod touch would be very similar to an iphone. I sorta stole the idea from an old archos portable media player that had a side camera attachment. But that didn't have wifi nor any of the applications that Apple has. Eh, it's a thought.

Holy Sh%*!

I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I'll be living the artist life until I die. I've tried regular jobs, the 9-6 routine and so forth and I couldn't help escape the feeling that I was succumbing to defeat rather than beating back the currents. I have sacrificed job security and peace of mind for a flexible life with no deadlines or commitments. But, it's my choice. It is both scary and very freeing and the complete opposite of my brother Jay. My brother is 2 years older than me, with a wife, a house, a software sales job and now a baby on the way. I'll be an uncle! I get to be the crazy uncle! I may never have kids, but I'll be able to help raise one through my brother and his wife in their home in San Francisco. What's this post about? I don't know, just frustrated and venting. On a good note, I'll be heading to Austin soon to do a musical, my one-man show, play music and see some great people. I guess it's not all bad.

YIKES: READ THIS

Orientation

This post might need to be updated in the future.

Paid Volunteer?

At this point in my life, I'm in a very interesting position. I've never been so creative artistically and yet unhappy personally. My mind races with ideas, phrases, and concepts but I have sort of shut myself down a little when it comes to my personal life. It doesn't bring me happiness so I choose to ignore it at the cost of further alienating myself from friends and potential friends. Had I been working some office job my personal life might be a little more exciting because of the forced contact with employees. I don't cater nearly enough to make great friends with any there. But, I'm trying something new. For the last few years, when I can, I go to children's hospitals and play with the kids who have to stay there and who need check ups. It's a great experience and the time goes by so quickly. I can tell they appreciate me being there and it gets me out of the house. We play arts and crafts and drawing games and improv games. It's a great way for me to try and reconnect with someone. Making connections, that's what it's all about. I've lost so many in my life that I try to make up for them here. The concept here would be, you volunteer and then the city does a raffle for prizes and the more you volunteer, the more chances you have to win. Sign me up!

Melrose Garage Gallery

So, I've expanded the idea of my earlier post. I realized I have some resources in the art/internet/media world as well as friends who distribute premium beverages of all stripes in Los Angeles. The idea would be to open up my garage to art and open the backyard to crafts from local designers. Make it a late day event that turns into a backyard bbq. The idea being to help local designers get seen, see some different art, have some drinks, maybe some food and hopefully make art that people will enjoy taking home. I'm going to be away from Los Angeles for most of March and April so I'm thinking of really working on it when I get back and putting it up, maybe once a month starting in June when it gets really hot. Last night I got some more wood outside of Urban Outfitters that I can use to bolster my walls to make it easier to hang art from. Plus, there's an extra fridge in the garage from a roommate and plenty of tables and chairs to boot. It's all coming together!!

Urban Artfitters?

I live next to an Urban Outfitters. That large clothing/lifestyle chain store that mass produces clothes and trinkets to make them look un-mass produced. Hey, I'm not criticizing it, just pointed that out. I have purchased books there and bottle openers and record cover frames from time to time. I don't buy clothes there because I don't want to look like I buy clothes from Urban Outfitters. You know the type: worn flannel shirts, 80's nostalgia t-shirt underneath with slim black jeans. Maybe they're rockin' a fedora or a scarf around their neck in the middle of August. Sorry, this is not the point of this post. Urban Outfitters (UO) uses lots of wood and textiles to display their clothes and they put it right next to my garage. Lately, I've been carrying the wood into my garage and repainting them and adding my own elements to them. Here are 2 pieces of blank wood that I painted and stained. One red and one black. I can't decide if I want to show them separately or as one piece. What do you think? I've got some great pre-cut boards and old UO displays that I just can't wait to work on and display. When I have enough, I'm going to open my garage on a busy weekend and hang them up there so people can see them. I'm calling it my Garage Gallery. Also, the paint and brushes were left in my garage from the last tenant so I didn't even have to spend a dime on making all this art. Really looking forward to posting some and seeing the response.