July 2002 Archive

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

Sunday, July 28, 2002

And I did.

Even though my portfolio had next to nothing to do with comics (although it had loads to do with words and text), I asked Scott to take a look at it. Before the class, I had it in my mind, that if I were going to draw comics, I was going to draw comics. I had this built up in my head as a Herculean task - thus no comics. Must draw comics. Must be epics. Then on day one, Scott mentioned microcomics. And I thought, "yeah...microcomics." So, I formatted my last assignment as a microcomic. But I was still stuck in the print paradigm, when it came to comics for myself. Scott was very enthused about a page in my portfolio that was an electronically drawn "Everyman" character. He said, "This has to be a webcomic." Which made a lot of sense in itself, and a lot more sense to me. I think I could make some kick ass hand-drawn microcomics, but they would be much more laborious and less enjoyable, than making computer-drawn web comics that I'd have a lot more fun with and feel like less of a chore. Besides, I could get the ideas out much more clearly and quickly.

That was a good change in my brain and well worth the price of admission. And if that weren't enough, Scott showed me When I Was King by Demian 5. Way cool - you must go.

So, after my August of a print edition of 150 (oof.) for a killer print portfolio of 50 artists around the topic of Pandora's box, I think I'll sit down and try McCloud's 24 Hour Comic challenge. Get that webcomic ball rolling!

Agerbecks in Cyberspace
My sister, Burgundy Agerbeck, was very disappointed to see that she only comes up once on the web - in this blog awhile back. So, I'd like to say now that Burgundy Agerbeck was a very lovely host and sister to me this week in Minneapolis. I had a great time. Especially visiting critters at the Humane Society and even trying on bridesmaid's dresses (we finalized the decision! Hooray!).

Now Burgundy Agerbeck will come up twice.

Enjoy, Burgundy!

(love, Brandy.)
Posted on 7/28/2002 11:39:08 AM

Tuesday, July 23, 2002

Amtrak
I took Amtrak out here. It was another scenic ride. I think the Amtrak employees have finally given up their will to fight. Chipperness has been replaced with apathy.
But one of the things I love about humanity is totally unsolicited, possibly unreturned greetings. Like folks who wave at the Amtrak train zooming past them while they stand in a rural field. Or folks on Chicago bridges who wave to people on the sightseeing boats on the Chicago river, and vice versa.

Posted on 7/23/2002 09:02:38 AM

Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Saturday, July 13, 2002

Monday, July 08, 2002

Friday, July 05, 2002

"Trash is a failure of imagination."
- Neil Benson, craftsman and artist, Philadelphia, PA

Just saw this man featured on HGTV's Carol Duvall show - very snazzy stuff. I've got to agree with him. There are several lifetimes in any object or material.

My dad totally understood this. A highlight of his backyard (it was definitely his backyard, not ours, with all the time and creation he put it in) was a bell. He hung a old rusty iron crucible from a tree (or the pagoda?) and next to it he hung from rope a big rubber stopper about the size of a cantaloupe. If you hit the crucible with the rubber stopper it emitted a wonderful pong.

But here's my all-time favorite creation of my dad's:

My dad was a greasemonkey, collecting old Mopars, among many other things. He'd go to one particular junkyard twice a week - Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. He was always bringing' back the the weirdest shit left in people's trunks. That's a whole other story.

I grew up in Minnesota, and I think my dad maybe went ice fishing once or twice a year. Still, he had two icehouses. (For those not familiar, it's a little house you put out on the ice to protect you from the cold as you wait for fish to bite.) I guess both were deals he couldn't refuse. One acted like another shed in the yard, one was smaller and snazzier. Just enough room for two people to fit it in. Aluminum siding on the outside. I knew that he had the thing, but didn't give it much thought. One day he called me down from my room.

My dad yelling, "Brandy come here!" Had a myriad of possible outcomes, often unpleasant. This time was a lovely exception.

I came out to the backyard, and he gave me a tour of the icehouse. There was a framed pinup, tasteful old school one of the 1950's. A little drop leaf table. under a window. On the opposite wall - let me explain that this space was all told about 4' wide and 9' long - was a sight to behold. Dad had been collecting a spectrum of shag carpeting from old custom vans over the last few months. On that wall he created a landscape in in-laid shag carpeting. In-fuckin'-credible. We're talking a sunset over a lake. Big golden yellow sun hitting the water. Rippled reflection of the sun in a darker orange on the water. Pine Trees. Inlaid shag carpeting. In-fuckin'-credible.

I rue the fact that I never got a photo of it.

Posted on 7/5/2002 01:50:14 PM

Just saw The Bourne Identity. I was eagerly awaiting it, and it totally worked on me. I could watch Franke Potente all day.

Happy Fifth of July.

Posted on 7/5/2002 01:20:54 AM

Wednesday, July 03, 2002

NOT a plea for help
My strangest combination of items in the express line to date:
1. "Less-Drowsy" Dramamine
2. Refill bottle of blue window cleaner
3. 46 oz. can of tomato juice.

Posted on 7/3/2002 08:50:29 PM

European Daydreaming
For those not in the know - After a decade of running my own company, I'll be taking a year-long sabbatical traveling around Europe in 2006. So, yes, it's a ways off, but it gives me time to save money, learn lots, brush up on language skills . An unexpected benefit is keeping my buying and possession in perspective, buying things that will last the next 4 years, not buying stuff that'll just go into storage for the year. And I'm also psyched about living out of a backpack. I love to travel, and always pack light so it's fun to think about those logistics.

The one thing that's taking up a lot of mental energy is how much technology I'll be taking with my. I'm thinking I'll be taking a digital camera, PDA, MP3 player and a laptop. The first 3 will be tiny. The last may very well be in the next 4 years. Since I'll be taking loads of digital photos and I intend to record the year on eurobrandy.com, the laptop feels like a nonnegotiable. Yes, cybercafes are great if you're checking email, but I'll need more than that. So, I've gotta stop thinking about the friggin' laptop. Lord knows that I can't speculate what these things will look like, what they'll way and how they'll operate in 4 years.

Consumerism
Yesterday, I splurged. Money is starting to come in after a painfully slow winter and spring. So, I bought two things I've been deliberating over for quite some time:
1) New Birkenstocks. My senior year of high school, I was determined to get a pair of Birkenstocks. Maybe had something to do with being accepting into Grinnell early admission. :^) Off to the department store. I wanted a pair of Milanos in black. They only had brown. I was too impatient to hunt down a black pair, if they even had that style in that color. Dug the birks but always had this lingering annoyance about the browness. I'm a gray/black neutrals girl, not a brown/tan one; and I'm obsessed with matching. So, after a decade of the birks, it was time to retire them.
Off to Nordstroms. Great service and in fifteen minutes I owned a black pair of the Arizona style. Diggin' the lack of heel strap. Lovin' the black suede and the black buckles. Not so keen on breaking them in, but so it goes. And as the salesman said to me on my way out, "I hope those last you another decade!"

2) Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes . Fundamentally, I think you can do a great job packing with good old ziplock backs, but I've been eyeing these for awhile. They are a simple premise - Lightweight, nylon zippered compartments in 3 sizes. Each of the sizes are the same depth and they are sized to fit nicely with each other. And they come in different colors, so you could color code them. I came across The Container Store's listing of the cubes. Fewer colors offered, but 25% off! So, in the gawdawful heat I made my way to my local container store. Let myself totally geek out and look at everything. Met a lovely woman in the travel aisle who was outfitting herself with the perfect toiletry kit. Since I have the one myself, I shared my ideas and enthusiasm. Got a computer bag, 2 cubes, 2 half-cubes, 2 quarter cubes all in matching black plus a couple odds and ends. For a lovely low total of $115.

$200 very well spent yesterday.

Posted on 7/3/2002 04:06:31 PM