A Special Message from Optimus Prime

...and a Happy New Year!

The Twelve Months

Over the past couple years, I've noticed some of the holiday traditions I've enjoyed for years have slowly disappeared. The thought was a little sad at first, but as nothing lasts forever, I realized it meant the opportunity to create new traditions.

Last year, one of these adoptions included sending out holiday cards. This year, I decided to continue the tradition, but I couldn't decide on what the illustration would look  like. Many options developed, including a few displayed below:

I was not satisfied with any of these options. I started thinking about what I could do in 2012 that would be better, more iconic, than just another winter holiday themed image. "Important" numbers started flowing through my mind: 2012, 12/12/12, 12/21/2012. The choice was obvious.

The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Part of my interest in The Twelve Days of Christmas involved an incident over Thanksgiving, where I mistakenly claimed that one of the gifts in the song included "lepers leaping." As I remember it, my brother was quick to point out that it was "lords-a-leaping," and that receiving a group of lepers would be quite a poor gift indeed. Through this incident, the realization was made evident: I could not name all 12 gifts. The lack of this knowledge freed my mind and allowed me to imagine new gifts that could be given, such as leaping lemurs (quite the improvement over lepers), Danny Partridge stuck in a tree, or...

What were the original 12 gifts?

The question was stuck in my head and needed to be solved. A quick internet search later lead to an unanticipated result: there were more than just 12 gifts to choose from.

Now, any practical contemplation on the song would infer that yes, there would be many different versions of the song. Even today we have variations of the melody, including The Twelve Gifts of Christmas or The Twelve Days of Yaksmas. Yet, I never would have imagined that there would be previous incarnations of the song that included much better gifts, such as ships that sail or bears that fight!

Of particular interest to me was an old French folk-song. 

The Twelve Months

In the book Chants populaires des Flamands de France: recueillis et publiés avec les mélodies originales, une traduction française et des notes, published in 1855, author Charles de Coussemaker writes about the song Le premier jour d’l’année, also known as Les Douze Mois or The Twelve Months.



In his description, he cites the song as being a traditional folk song derived from pre-Gaul druidic tradition.

The first verse...



...asks the question “What will my love give me on the first day of the year?” and answering with “one lone partridge that flies in the woods.”

The remaining verses...




...though slightly different than the gifts we typically associate with the Twelve Days of Christmas, follow the same format, asking what one’s love will bring, and answering with everything from the familiar turtle doves as well as a variety of other birds, to the strange, extravagant, and odd gifts of branches, windmills, and horned bulls.



De Coussemaker then follows up with a paragraph (seen above) describing how in it’s current state, the song has been extremely distorted. Despite that fact, he felt it important to publish in the collection out of respect for the country’s druidic heritage. He then concludes with a sentence about how the song has spawned several versions of the song where symbolic religious value is assigned to each hour of the twelve hour period.

In case any of you want to play and or sing this song for yourself, the musical notation is displayed below:

Life on Mars?

Though nothing will be confirmed until the first week of December, Curiosity may have dug up organic material, which could indicate the possibility of life on Mars.

David Bowie may finally have closure.

How to Mix the Perfect Story*

 1. Use characters you would like to spend time with.

 2. Place said characters in a world you would want to live in.

 3. Put them in situations you would prefer to never face yourself.

 Place all three into a shaker, add ice, mix, pour, enjoy!

 BONUS RULE! Add or subtract rules as per personal preference.

As always, please use rules responsibly.

*"Perfection" is subjective, therefore the author of this post cannot be held responsible reader's inability to meet expectations. 

GIF and only GIF

The Oxford American Dictionary has declared GIF as the word of the year apparently. I guess that means I can republish this:

If you haven't watched it already, you should definitely check out the PBSOffbook video about GIF.

It is fantastic. Really, you should check out all of their videos. The only piece of criticism I have towards them is the fact that they only put out a new video every other week. That said, if that is what it takes to keep up the quality of the videos, let them take two weeks!

 Question: If GIF is considered an artform, what are the most successful ways of displaying them in a museum setting?

Possible solutions include:

1. Projectors upon a wall.
2. Utilization of specially designed digital photo frames.
3. Connecting directly with portable digital devices with methods such as NFC, QR, or other scan based transmission of data.

Finally, if you want an example of great GIF work, check out the following:

Dain 8)

If We Don't, Remember Me

From Me to You

OFF THE WALL - CLASH OF THE RACQUETEERS

Since June, the majority of my free time has been spent training for the 2012 Northshore Inline Marathon and creating a deluge of art for Halloween. However, having completed the marathon in September, and with Halloween wrapping up a few days ago, my nights and weekends have been rather aimless.

Until now...

Since 1994, I have been in a constant state of competition with one man. Prior to our meeting, neither of us had peers we could classify as equal. Whether it be a feat of art, intellect, or sport, the two of us would fight tooth and nail to best the other. Now, 18 years later, nothing has changed.

So may I present an event of moderately epic proportions:

HOW IT STARTED

The following account contains moments of truth. Be warned.

• MARK: Hey man, want to go to a Burlesque Show?
• DAN: Gonna pass on that one. Wanna play some racquetball tomorrow?
• MARK: Sure, what time?
• DAN: Let's say noon.
• MARK: Sounds good!

The next day...

• MARK: So how much does it cost to play?
• GYM EMPLOYEE: $10 for a day pass, or $50 for a punch card.
• DAN: How many sessions are on the punch card?
• GYM EMPLOYEE: 10, plus you will get the first day free.
• MARK: That means we could play 11 matches of raquetball.
• DAN: That means you can lose 11 matches of raquetball.
• MARK: That sounds like a challenge. 
• DAN: No, more like truth.
• GYM EMPLOYEE: *staring at computer screen*
• MARK: I bet I can beat you best out of 11.
• DAN: You're on.
• GYM EMPLOYEE: So you guys...want punch cards?
• DAN & MARK: *slamming down money* YES! 
• MARK: *shaking Dan's hand* May the best man win.
• DAN: May the best man win. How do you play racquetball again?

Diagram of a Raquetball Court

BASIC RULES

The winner will be determined by the best of 11 matches. The winner of each match is determined by the best of three sets. Each set consists of two 15 point games plus an 11 point tiebreaker if needed.

Points are earned when the serving player successfully ends the rally.

A rally begins when the serving player bounces the ball once in the service zone and commences with a successful serve that lands behind the receiving line.

A serve must hit the play wall, and is allowed to hit one additional side wall before landing behind the receiving line.

The receiving player may allow the ball to bounce once on the floor or hit the ball on the fly. Once the receiving player has hit the ball, it must strike the front wall before striking the floor. Unlike during the serve, a ball in play may touch as many walls, including the ceiling, as necessary so long as it reaches the front wall without striking the floor.

Should the receiving player end the rally, no points are earned and the receiving player now becomes the serving player.

Any disputes will be settled through a series of sub-competitions and/or outside arbitration.

WINNING

The first player to win 6 matches is considered the winner. As part of the competition, the losing player must then make a piece of artwork (henceforth referred to as THE TROPHY) in the media chosen by the winner. The winner is then allowed to retain THE TROPHY upon completion. Should the loser not complete THE TROPHY within 30 days from the final match, the loser must forfeit $100 USD to the winner.

So far: Dan 1 - Mark 0

This early defeat is humbling. It looks like I'll have to retreat back to training and discover the secrets of racquetball.

Stay classy, and stay tuned!

Something Smells Fishy...

Ichthyosapien 61912
Digital Painting
2012

Lately, I've been working on a project that I have been thinking about for a long time. Originally, the project was a series of essays connecting classic movie monsters with fears and phobias. Though I may return to the lengthy written discourse the project originated as sometime in the future, for the time being, the project lives as a series of portraits called Social Monsters.

The first portait, Zombie 5412, actually marked the first time I made an artistic rendition of the walking dead, as I wrote about previously. Originally, it was created for a friend, but the enjoyment it brought encouraged me to complete and entire series of related portraits. Icthyosapien 61912, as seen above, is the third portrait of the series and one of the more challenging pieces I have ever completed. In fact, the image seen above is the second version of the piece. The first was much more heavily inspired by Creature From the Black Lagoon.

The goal is to complete the series in time for Halloween. If I feel inspired, I may write the full essays to accompany each image explaining what fears and phobias each monster represents and why. For now, I'm content just making the images. What are your thoughts?