It's been so long…

Where have I been all this time?

Yes, I understand it's been forever since my last post. Fortunately, there's little-to-none readership out there, so no pressure!

Still, if you require an excuse, I've got plenty of things on my plate.

For one, I'm preparing new stuff for Ambrose Bird. Anna Marie and I started this little business at the start of 2009. It got some heat from blogs such as Apartment Therapy and etsy's Fresh Shops for 2009. However, due to work and other pressures it was held on semi-hiatus for a couple months. Within a month there will be new ceramics, prints, accessories, and tee shirts launched. It's going to be HUGE. I'm just waiting for the finalization of some small business permits.

Next, website Relaunch!
I am about 60-70% done with the relaunch of ketchumart.com. It'll group together my art, design, and illustration work. You can get a sneak peak of it here.

Good ol' Artwork
I still manage to do at least one or two drawings a day. Plus I'm learning to screen print. I used to read about 300 pages a week, but now I do artwork with every free moment available. I have a huge pile of things that I want to scan and usually my flickr account is where things go first.

Busy Bees Knees

Despite a knee that forces me to hobble occasionally, I just had an overactive weekend. Saturday my sister visited and it was a perfect day to stop by Coney Island's Mermaid Parade.

There were a lot of fishy nudes writhing about the streets, to the point of what I would call "boob exhaustion". Still, it was great to see so many people having a wonderful time, or even better, making a good time. I am quite proud to consider Brooklyn my home. There's still enough freaks here to make a good party and not feel like Disney World. It's a shame that Coney Island could be destroyed any day now. Death is an inevitability and this small ocean view area may be the last haven for New York's vitality. To have it demolished is to flatten out a beautiful (and... not so beautiful) culture.

A Bow to Low Brow

Yes, I saw Poultrygeist last night. It's low-brow, offensive, and idiotic. It's also really good. If John Waters were a machismo director interested in horror films, it would look something like this. That's not to take anything away from the team at Troma Films, who made not only this movie but the unusually awesome Toxic Avenger franchise.

Without even dipping deep into this finger licking (then vomiting) plot, I'll just say that there's a lot of Chicken-Zombies, projectile vomiting, bathroom disasters, musical numbers, and cringe inducing sex acts.

If you love Ed Wood, B-Movies, or Slasher flicks, this is for you.

The Career Sludge

On an unusually personal note, I lost my job as a freelancer at Victoria's Secret yesterday. This happened just minutes after I sent word of me putting in my resignation. There's no serious loss, but still a minor disappointment of being let go. Today is my last day and I start work as a staffed web designer just across the street at Random House in two weeks. I look forward to Random House because, after three interviews, I know everyone I'll be working with and they all seem great.

There was surprise from my coworkers about my firing from Victoria's Secret. The coworker I share a space with, Josh, is using my calm apathy to my firing and developing it into a comedic sketch for his improv class. I do take some of these events with a grain of salt. I prefer not to be someplace I'm not wanted and once I disconnect from a place or person, my indifference is hard to shake.

"Neural Buddhists"

I just want to point out a column by David Brooks of The New York Times entitled Neural Buddhists.

In it Brooks writes about the changing landscape of science versus the spiritual. A decade ago science would look towards tangible reasons for the actions of human emotion or the psyche. Atoms existed at the base of our being, with chemicals and neurons dictating how we behave. There was no free will and science ultimately (intentionally or not) set out to disprove god.

Apparently, things have changed. Rather than the brain being considered as a computer, it's viewed as an idiosyncratic organ. Things such as love and belief are crucial to brain development. Also, our genes aren't only set up for self-survival but "instincts for fairness, empathy and attachment" as well.

The last two paragraphs sum up as follows:

In their arguments with Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, the faithful have been defending the existence of God. That was the easy debate. The real challenge is going to come from people who feel the existence of the sacred, but who think that particular religions are just cultural artifacts built on top of universal human traits. It’s going to come from scientists whose beliefs overlap a bit with Buddhism.

In unexpected ways, science and mysticism are joining hands and reinforcing each other. That’s bound to lead to new movements that emphasize self-transcendence but put little stock in divine law or revelation. Orthodox believers are going to have to defend particular doctrines and particular biblical teachings. They’re going to have to defend the idea of a personal God, and explain why specific theologies are true guides for behavior day to day. I’m not qualified to take sides, believe me. I’m just trying to anticipate which way the debate is headed. We’re in the middle of a scientific revolution. It’s going to have big cultural effects.

A realization of the sacred without dogma. I see this as a hopeful theological perspective for the future. Sometimes I think modernism went too far to destroy eternal principles. When religion and political revolution failed, I feel like people have been picking up the pieces for decades. Post-modernism has at times been the movement of historical disappointment. Perhaps we can finally move forward.

Similar Artist

Given that I named this blog "Art in Text", it's funny how little visual "art" I cover. Perhaps it's the result of ADD or just a yearning for experience.

Anyway, I caught sight of an artist who I really identify with. Since we do similar looking art, I suppose that's inevitable. Her name is Silvia Bächli and she just had a show at Peter Freeman.

Bellow are some samples:

The Scavengers

Saturday was Metro Metro's annual New York City Scavenger Hunt. This year it took place within the area of Central Park.

I was in one of sixty-five groups of four (thanks to teammates Michael, Meredith, and Taylor). It began at 9 o'clock and went until 4:30. It was brutal, but surprising given all of the history to be found within Central Park. I've been to the park a number of times, but quickly realized my visits were superficial. As in any area of New York, every step on every block has a hundred stories. The hunt revitalizes history with the pomp of costumes and good natured play.

Following the hunt (and a nap) Metro Metro throws a big party with ziti and free drinks. However, it was after all this hullabaloo that I left New York's History and became part of a contemporary cultural event; a house party. At around 1 am James and I arrived at a multi-floored, multi-apartment party in Williamsburg. I danced, I drank some more, and didn't leave until 4:30 in the morning. It was a very long, exciting day.