Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Why I love William Gibson

William Gibson is a writer of Science Fiction. He is cited as the person who coined the term "cyberspace" and often writes in what is consider the "cyberpunk" genre. His writing is very detailed but the magic of it is that his highly detailed writing is often prophetic. By that I mean he takes concepts and ideas and puts them down on paper as what they could be. The easiest example I can use is Gibson's use of technology in his writing. When the internet was just being born, Gibson was writing about it as if it had been in society for decades. It's as if the Ford Model T just came out and Gibson is already talking about Ferrari's, and describing them in great detail. One of the greatest aspects of his writing is that it is believable. The things he writes about with respect to technology are crafted with such a realism that they are not only believable but conceivable in the near future.
But the reason why I love William Gibson, is that everytime I read one of his books or his stories or even his blog, I consistently learn something new. His last book, Pattern Recognition, required me to have access to the web so that I could look up and understand some of the things he mentions as well as major plot points. I think that is the mark of a good writer. The ability to not only engage me with a story but to also make me learn something new and to have me do it willingly is really a special quality. I encourage anyone to pick up some of his books, especially Neuromancer.

42

I learned last night that 42 is the answer to everything. However, I am pretty sure that 42 has no chance of explaining how it is in a 48 hour period I seemed to contract tonsilitis. I woke up, actually that is wrong because I never fell asleep, with a 102 fever. A sore throat that could only be compared to swallowing razor blades and post-nasal drip that flows like Niagra Falls. Well, I don't know why but when I get sick I become the biggest wimp on the planet. Basically I just want to curl up and have someone wait on me. However, the realization is that I am 26 years old and the days of my mother taking care of me are long over. So what's a guy to do? Well as luck would have it my doctor was able to fit me in. I got some great drugs and just already notice a difference in my condition. I wonder though if I have to get my tonsils out in the future. I am glad though that I will be able to partake in Christmas festivities. If this clears up fast I will be pretty lucky because I have to drive down to Georgia in the next couple of days. Which I am not looking forward to at all.

Monday, December 20, 2004

Inker wannabe (cont..)


BatsSupes
Originally uploaded by maq911.
Here is the end result. The scan wasn't that good so there are some things that just don't show up. I can't figure out why the speach bubble in panel 5 got scanned. It was done in blue pencil! Anyway, I am fairly satisfied with the way it came out. Definitly a learning experience. Real inkers are lucky they get to work on the actual drawing, which means it is bigger and on bristol board which soaks up ink nicely. This was 8.5 x 11 and on lazer paper, which is slighly glossy. I got lucky the ink soaked up well but the tiny details were a real bitch to do.I think my favorite part was doing Batman in panel 3 (the big panel). I love the Dark Knight and it was really cool to work on Jim Lee's version. The only thing that was a realy bitch about it was his utility belt. It was so small on 8.5 x 11 that my nose was practically on the page so that I could mind the detail!
Overall this was a fun experience and it gave me all new respect for inkers, especially the great ones like Scott Williams. This is not an easy job to have...

Inker Wannabe


JimLeeBlue
Originally uploaded by maq911.
Sorry it has been so long since I have written but with the holidays rapidly approaching, my moving to Georgia, trying to fit everyone into my life and work I have been a bit busy. There is much to talk about since the last time I wrote but I wanted to talk about this picture first.
The picture I have posted is a scan of some orginal pencils done by Jim Lee. They appeared not too long ago in Superman #208. On his blog, Jim posted the original pencils and gave a link to a high res file that you can download and try your hand at inking his work. Up until now, those chores are usually left to the very talented inker-maestro, Scott Williams. So I said what the hell, let's see if I can do it and get some feedback from Jim and the rest of the DC/Wildstorm bunch. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
For you art people, I downloaded the file that was in grayscale and in photoshop turned the linework blue. For those of you who don't know, blue pencil does not photocopy. So rather than inking Jim's grayscale which would end up being a total mess when I scanned it, I inked the blue line work so that only my inks would show up. It wasn't hard to do this, especially because Jim gave directions on how to do it in photoshop. The hard part was when I went to Kinkos to print the bastard out. They were backed up with holiday printing so I was only able to use a lazer printer and print on lazer paper to 8.5 x 11. The actually drawing is 11 x 17. So when the picture gets shrunk down, the line work gets tighter and unless you have the muscle control of a Sloth, it is going to make it a very difficult task. Especially when you have as much detail and fine line work as you do in a Jim Lee drawing. Anyway it took me about three days to do. I work for maybe 2 hours a day on it. Not too bad for my first inking foray. However if I were to do it again, I would definilty work off a bigger piece of paper!

Thursday, December 16, 2004

DAMN!

Check this shit out! Superman vs. Batman

I am so on my way to Kinkos...

Monday, December 13, 2004

Good weekend, Bad movies

A strange weekend. A good one yet filled with terrible film. Perhaps it was just my mood but man I think I saw four movies this weekend, and none of them I could get into. However, Catherine Zeta Jones was in two of them and I can always get into her...
Right so last week I got a call from work. They are swamped and needed to call in reinforcements. Of course I said yes because my ass is broke! Well on top of working in the day I have been working in the night. These damn customers keep calling me at the worst possible times and I have to really control myself to keep from telling them to "Fuck off!"
Anyway, Friday after work I went home and crashed for a few hours. I called up Kev and my buddy Steve. Steve is always up for a movie of senseless violence and special effects. So we went to see Blade Trinity. It is really saying something when the best movie you saw over the weekend was a movie about blowing up vampires. Obviously it wasn't as good as the first two Blades but it was still nice to see Jessica Biel kick ass and Ryan Renolds as "Hannibal King" was freaking hysterical. So of course leaving the movie, Kev and I arrive at my house and we start watching Terminator 3. It is so tongue in cheek that the two of us were laughing our asses off. Kev does a great impression of the Terminator.
Saturday I tried to finish my wrapping but my parents for whatever reason decided they were going to invade my room. It ended up being a several hour foray into how to print labels on the computer. Both of my parents antagonizing each other and barking at me to fix the computer. I was so annoyed that after a while I had to go sit in another room. In the long run I suppose that is better than flipping out at the two of them and then having them gang up on me. When you are an only child, parents always win if you lose your cool. So whatever, eventually I pass out and then wake up. I was supposed to hang out with Emily and so I gave her a ring. She nannies for this family up on the East Side of Providence. She was watching the kid Saturday, so we rented movies and ate pizza. Good times all around and it was better than going out and getting trashed. However, I picked two really bad movies. First off was the Cooler with Willaim H Macy and Alec Baldwin. I could have sworn I saw the previews for this film and they were funny. THIS MOVIE NOT FUNNY! It is really a dark, violent, yet slightly uplifting film. Emily doesn't like violent movies...which means this one really shit the bed. After taking a break to order pizza and play with Nathan (the baby), we popped in Terminal with Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta Jones. This movie was a much happier affair. However, after the novelty of watching how a man lives in an airport terminal for nine months wears off, this movie loses a lot of its fun. The best part of the movie is Gupta. That is all I can say.
On a more positive note, even though the movies were shit, Nathan is possibly one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. Not sure how old he is, but he is a smiley happy baby. He is really easy to take care of too. He didn't cry once, just smiled and drooled. He does make funny noises which crack me up. He really is just a cute little meatball. However he only falls asleep if you hold him. Emily had to hold him for hours.
On Sunday after waking up way too early, I went to breakfat with Paul and Brianne. Brianne is a few months pregnant, although she isn't showing too badly. It was good to see them both, and eat. Paul is a human garbage disposal. He had to eat 15 pounds of food. It is really amazing. Of course the stress of his job probably makes him hungry. Poor guy is at a top rated law firm, which will go nameless, and they treat him like shit. He works 14 hour days of getting bitched at by senior partners. I don't envy him even though he is making serious cash. However, I am sure in the long run he will be better off. If he can handle this place then he can work anywhere. Plus the experience he is getting will benefit him when he decides to move onto a firm that isn't so cutthroat. I really do wish him all the best. Brianne too! This is one of the few chances I get to be an uncle...
Sunday night I woke Kevin up at around 5 pm. He didn't get home till 6 am from a party he was working at. So we got dinner and then went to the movies to see Ocean's Twelve. Again, this was a disappointment. Not as good as the first movie, although it was still entertaining. I remember laughing out loud at the first one, not so much this one. Regardless it had Catherine Zeta Jones in it , who was quite good as an Interpol agent. She is so freaking hot it hurts. Anyway, the best part of this movie was the previews. There was a preview for Batman Begins which is coming out in the summer. I haven't been this excited for a movie since Episode I. However, I think this will at least be good. It has a great cast and director and just looks so badass. It really goes back to the dark version of Batman. It goes back to the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton days when the Bat franchise was still respectible. God damn Joel Schummacher!
But that is about it...I got a couple of new albums that I am giving a whirl to. I will write more about those later but for now I am tired and going to bed. Good night
E

Thursday, December 09, 2004

PC vs URI cont...


Dadkenny
Originally uploaded by maq911.
This final picture is of my father and Kenny. My Dad is the guy in the back with no neck. He looks like kinda like a bulldog but he is really a nice guy. The guy in the foreground is Kenny. He is my father's right hand man at work and his golfing buddy. Kenny is a really good golfer but his technique is bizzarre. If you watch Tiger Woods you will notice he has a lot of hip motion. Kenny doesn't move from the waste down when he hits the ball...it is really bizzarre.
If you hadn't noticed I surprised them with the picture.

PC vs URI


EMCPC
Originally uploaded by maq911.
This was another picture I took at the game. It is a shitty picture because I took with a PDA that work gave me. If you can see on the far side of the court the blue banners, those are ads for my father's company. On the rare occassion that a Rhode Island sporting event makes it to TV, the banners get on and then his home office in Iowa gets really excited. It is pretty funny.
Anyway, the game takes place every year at the Providence Civic Center recently renamed the Dunkin Donuts Center, or as we say "The Dunk". Rhode Island literally has a Dunkin Donuts on every street corner. You will notice the size of the crowd. That is about as big a crowd as you will ever see in that stadium. The biggest crowd on recorod at the Dunk was for WWF Wrestling... GOD I love home!

Kevoatgame


Kevoatgame
Originally uploaded by maq911.
As promised here is a picture of my hetero-lifemate Kevin. This was taken at the PC vs. URI game this year. Kev wasn't being shy. He was protecting his identity. He has a lot of mob connections and so he tries to keep a low profile so that he can work behind the scenes. His own mother doesn't even have pictures of him. He is a man without a face!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

The Death of Alcohol

I am giving up alcohol. My love affair with the fermented ambrosia was short-lived, but gave many a moments to remember. It all started on a St. Patrick Day in March 2002 at the Four P's on Connecticut Ave in the Van Ness area of Washington, DC. To this day it remains my favorite pub but when next we meet I will be dry. It was a chilly overcast day in DC as my roommates and I trudged from our new home in Rockville, MD back to the old college stomping grounds. The pub was different on this most holy of Irish-American days, no furniture and several make-shift stations of different beers. Arriving early at 10 am, our festivities began and I decided that I was going to get drunk for the first time. Huzzah Jay! Huzzah Nick! Huzzah Caz! Those three devils in humans clothing, encouraging my debauchery. So the Edge was born although not yet named and all these years and bottles later I have decided once again to go dry.
Why do you ask? Well there are many reasons, the superficial ones would include the price, the taste, etc etc. But to be perfectly honest I feel like shit the day after. I used to be able to drink and have no problems the next day. Even if I was drinking heavily. Now even if I have just a little bit, I feel all messed up the day after. I think it may have something to do with all the training I do. The booze goes through my system fast than it used to or something along those lines, but who the hell knows?! Plus if one is trying to lose weight (ie ME) then drinking really fucks your metabolism and brings it to a comatose standstill. One of my biggest pet peeves is the dehydration. I can't stand being dehydrated, and nothing will destroy moisture like alcohol.

Now I probably won't swear it off permanently. I am sure there will be the occasional party or wedding when I decide to share in the spirits of the moment. But on the whole I think I will swear it off. So it is then, that I lay to rest the bottle. I wish it a happy and peaceful slumber. No longer will I feel obligated to drink while at a bar, no longer will I futilely limit myself to "just one", no more will I wake up the next day feeling like a shriveled prune in the middle of a desert. Farewell to thee, my dear companion. Oh you go by so many names...Jack Daniels, John Jameson, Johnny Walker! You Wild Turkey! You old Granddad! You will truly be put on ice. My seven and seven will now be just a seven. How I mourn for the empty sifter, the highball glass, the rocks that will never fall. Cry not the popping cork, the grinding cry of the untwisting cap, your pleas fall on deaf ears and dry tongue. Though your barrels will continue to age and roll, your amber huge still shine, let not my fast break for you. I will miss your fiery kiss, your rumbling rage down my gullet. The tingling orgasms up my spine, that makes me shake and close my eyes. Good night to you, dear friend Al! Let your intoxicating tastes and aromas find you a new companion. For on this day our relationship has ended, our love has broke, you shall no longer taste my tongue!

Monday, December 06, 2004

Spiderman


Spiderman
Originally uploaded by maq911.
Man what a weekend! It all started on Thursday night with me and Kevo heading to the Wickedend Pub. This little hole in the wall gets really rowdy on Thursday and they have raffles with some pretty cool prizes. Best part is there is no cover. Make sure you meet Wendy!
Then Friday night, I went out with Emily. I had gone to middle school, with Emily and we recently just reconnected. Good times had by all! Even though it was freaking cold out and finding a decent bar was a bit of "hike".
Saturday rocked with the biggest sporting event in Rhode Island. The Providence College Friars vs. University of Rhode Island Rams basketball game. What a game! To be honest, URI played better overall but being a PC fan I still had to cheer for the boys in white. They started off really strong but got really sloppy towards the end. Luckily they tied it up and beat the Rams in overtime. Me, My Dad, Kenney (my dad's top dog at work) and Kevo had a blast. I have some pictures from the game that I took with my PDA, so as soon as I figure how to download them I will post them. Then Saturday night, Kev and I met Emily and company at The Shark Bar for surreal Cranston West High Reunion! Man am I glad I tranfered. It was a good time, although I don't recommend playing darts there. For some reason 3 out of the 5 darts I threw came flying back at me. I think the dartboard was possessed.
Overall great weekend, but man am I beat. I think I average 8 hours of sleep altogether this weekend and that with the alcohol has made me rather ill. It will be a while before I drink again...if ever!
Anyway for those of you who enjoy the artwork (although I have no idea why!?) here is a bone being thrown for you. This was another sketch I did, when I was still working. Based on a cover of Ultimate Spider-man by Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley. Check out Bagley's work if you can...his new stuff is drastically different from his old stuff...really impressive.
Edge

Friday, December 03, 2004

absent minded unemployee

The other day I mention something to a friend about having to scan some pictures to put up on my blog. Well, as it turns out my sketchbook (one of them) is now packing in a trunk in the back of a truck on its way to Bluffton, South Carolina. Inside it are any and all "finished" pieces that I would have posted up here. This is a testament to just how absent-minded I am.
I have been really noticing lately that in the time it takes me to walk from my bedroom to my kitchen that I have forgotten a whole bunch of things. I can't really tell you what they are because, well I have forgotten them. I find this rather disturbing and God help my brain if my body is hungry because then it just gets worse. Not only do I get absent-minded but I begin to go deaf. Really, people can ask me things and I will completely ignore them in the quest to find food. It is a very strange thing. Usually in the morning after I get back from my run or whatever, I will shower up and get dressed. By this time my Mother has, without fail, asked me to do 10 different things before I make my way to the breakfast table. I will be lucky if I remember my shirt, nevermind all the requests she made. This results in a sort of post workout workout. Usually it involves me running up and down stairs to various different levels of the house, carrying semi-heavy objects to their next location. It is a wonder I have any bodyfat at all. Mind you, it isn't that I don't listen but it is quite possible for me to go into a room with the intention of doing something and get distracted by something else that will lead me on random thoughts and I will completely forget what I was meant to do in the first place. A perfect example is walking into a book store. Christmas shopping in Barnes and Noble or Borders or wherever is truly a battle for me, because by the time I actually remember what I came in for I have already gone through all the magazines, comic books, sports, military history, science fiction and literature sections before realizing that 20 minutes ago I came in there to buy a present. There is also something about books stores that make me have to go to the bathroom. I am not sure what it is, and mind you it isn't a quick pee either. Perhaps it is the smell of pages or the warmth of bookjackets that suddenly makes my bowel work! Who knows!?
That is really all I have to say today. Had a horrible run this morning. After drinking the night before what can I expect but 2.2 miles in 22 minutes is absolutely atrocious! Need to get my ass in gear!