20121201

still more printing

ok, so i'll try not to get in the habit of posting just a bunch of pics without descriptions, but here's a bunch of pics of what i got up to last night. until 4:30 am or so.

i am tired as shit, but i gotta get ready for work soon, so fuck it, just the pics.








Unfortunately, all pics were taken with my shitty phone, so, yeah, sorry bout that.

also, next time my blogposts are so close to each other and on the same topic, i'll probably just do it in an update instead of a new entry. but for now, i'm on the path of least resistance.

xfathomx


20121128

block printing across the universe

wow, so holy shit. has it been almost two years since i posted here? wild. umm, i have the internet at home again, so my online presence will certainly be markedly higher.

anyway, on to the good stuff!

some months ago, C. introduced me to carving linoleum and speedycut blocks, and i've been fascinated with it. i've been trying to carve a block a week recently, and i think i'm actually a little ahead of myself. yesterday i got a little irked at something trivial, so i busted out a set of french curves, made a bunch of semi-random marks on my block and started looking for shapes. I tend to prefer to work with abstracts, at least in the beginning stages. this is a graphite rubbing of the shapes i found.

i came to to think of the face that emerged as some weird raging tiki god. you can see how i emphasized those shapes in this rubbing. it kind of looks like he's angrily presenting someone with a disembodied ass, right?




anyway, today i spent some time printing. (for those who care about this kind of thing, this block is 5"x6" mounted linoleum. I used Dick Blick and Speedball Block Printing Inks.)


this is just the basic test print. i usually test my prints on construction paper. i like the absorbency of it and i have lots of colors to choose from. now that i can see how all the lines turned out, i start thinking of ways to make it interesting, playing around with tiling and overlapping the prints. I will also see if i have other blocks around that maybe i can work with as well.





 I'm a big fan of that star shape that appeared in the middle of this one.















   This one seemed to connect a little better, almost appearing as one solid print. I've been wanting something to use my new "whisper" and "scream" blocks so i decided to add them simply in the corners of this one.They are both 2x3 mounted Linoleum blocks. Maybe you noticed, but the paper i used has glitter embedded in it. pretty cool, huh?











Now that i have an idea of how things are going to fit together, i'll start getting a little fancier.


I call that one "Message From the Stars" because there's a secret message in an alien script hidden in there. Subliminal, dude.







This one is just a lot of crazy layering, so i didn't really title it. I found something appealing in it, though i can't seem to place my finger on it.










 This one is a more basic tiling, but at 11 inches per side, it's ideal for printing on an album cover, which C. pointed out for me. I rummaged through my record collection and settled on a Partridge Family LP. Don't ask. So i slit it open, and went searching for more blocks. I originally tried to print on the front cover, but it's pretty glossy and kept sliding around while i was trying to rub it on, so i settled on the inside of the back cover and put the now-silvery front cover aside for future use. This one's on Vellum Bristol paper though.






Those are the blocks i decided on. The square one at top is 2x2 mounted linoleum, the Maze on the bottom left is 5x8 unmounted linoleum, and the xFATHOMx Glyph is some weird-sized speedycut block that i can't find anymore. throw em all together with silver, black, blue, and red ink and this is what comes out.



I call it "sweetsweetrevenge" for no reason in particular. Now that's an evening well spent.



A note on the xFATHOMx glyph: It is a design based on the Japanese kanji for "Peace", but i kinda made it look like an F and added X-es on either side. I intend to use it in the majority of my prints, if in maybe subtler ways in the future.



Well, that's all for now. Keep an eye on the blog for more stuffs. Hooray internet!


-xFATHOMx


20110111

oh yeah

i just wrote this relatively long, rambling piece about how i saw where Jared Loughner was coming from with his "what does language mean" brand of schizophrenia amidst an awesome amalgamation of new years resolutions and old years regrets. then blogger took a shit and i can't bring myself to retype it.

i hate technology.

note: yes, i realize there are automatic drafts saved, but they're only partially complete. it wouldn't be as awesome as it was the first time i typed it, and after i type something once, all the fun goes out of it for me on the retyping. the internet wins this round, but i shall have my revenge.

20101102

demockracy in action

watching the outcome of the election results, i kinda want to break something. why do i still care so much?

i don't, not really.
no really, i don't.
really truly honestly, i don't give a fuck.
actually, it would be pretty hard for me to care less than i do already.
elections? was there an election today?

do you believe me yet?

i'll keep it up until i do, at least.

here's how i voted:

Governor - Jerry Brown (D) (because i want to cover "California Uber Alles" with my next band and have it be at least somewhat relevant)
House of Representatives: Hedrick (D) (cause it was time someone else got a chance to fuck shit up for us in Washington)

Proposition 19 -yes (c'mon, it's just WEED people)
Proposition 21 - yes (too many damned cars on the road. did you know in California there are almost three times as many registered vehicles as there are licensed drivers? WTF? hells yes, they should keep my parks well-funded.)
Proposition 22 -  yes (i like my sidewalks paved, thanks very much)
Proposition 23 - FUCK NO! (you leave my goddamned air alone, Vallejo. I'm kinda busy BREATHING that shit.)
Proposition 24 - yes (if i gotta pay my taxes, so do business owners. everyone wants firefighters and shit, but no one wants to PAY the bastards.)
Proposition 25 - yes (PASS THE GOD DAMN BUDGET! we were like, HOW many months late on that shit? and those bastards still got paid for NOT doing their jobs... must be nice.)


oh, and i voted AGAINST every single nominated Judge, just on principle.

don't see it listed? didn't bother to vote for or against it because i either didn't care one way or another or was completely uneducated about it.
.
don't know what those propositions are? look it up.

really truly sincerelyfromthebottomofmyheart i don't care...

20100921

anarchy, baby! yeah!

i suppose i'm an anarchist. idealogically anyway. many think anarchism is a bit naive. well, "just 'cause we were naive, it don't mean we were wrong."  practically, i suppose i'm more of a socialist. NOT a marxist, mind you. But yeah, i think that as long as government exists it has certain obligations towards those it considers its subjects. not that i'm subject to much at all, but if i need surgery why can't i get it? I'm susceptible to strep throat, and every couple years i have to pay a few hundred bucks for some asshole with cold hands to confirm it for me just so i can have a note saying they can sell me penicillin. SELL me my health. Sell me my life. yes, strep throat, like any infection left untreated, can cause DEATH. Your throat swells up until you're unable to drink any water or eat anything and if the infection doesn't spread to your lungs first, you'll die of malnutrition. My back molars are broken because my wisdom teeth are coming in under them. I am in a LOT of pain a lot of the time. what can i do about it? little more than bitch and moan, ultimately. no dentist will work on my mouth without insurance which, of course, i can not afford.

some will say that i chose to live my life the way i do, menial jobs and the like. i coulda stayed in the army and had all this shit fixed for free. I could have gotten some suck-ass corporate job, one with benefits, but would i enjoy my life as much as i do? would i have even lived long enough for my wisdom teeth to come in? why must security and enjoyment in life be mutually exclusive?

well, they don't have to be, but this country is run by greedy motherfuckers. truth. corporations control the governing bodies, cause they got the MONEY they need to get re-elected. And what is a corporation's driving goal? MONEY. So much so, in fact, that they are required by LAW to put the interests of their shareholders above all else. And what do the shareholders want? more money. it all comes down to that, ultimately. who's got it, who needs it, how do we get more of it?

now i call myself an idealogical anarchist, as opposed to a practical anarchist because i'm simply not as idealistic as i used to be. The big trick of this Capitalist Republic is keeping the masses just happy enough, just distracted enough that they don't riot. When a riot DOES occur, the major media outlets provide next to NO coverage, for much the same reasons the politicians don't want to help. the corporations provide the advertising MONEY they need to stay in business.

jesus, so many problems would be solved if people didn't have to worry about where the next paycheck was coming from.








I'm coming to realize i've bitten off more than i can chew with this. this posting has little direction, and the points it is trying to make are vague and played out, sorta. just like the modern anarchy movement, i suppose. I will have to revisit this topic in smaller doses, when i've had more thoughtful deliberation behind it. Small bites...

















yeah. Capitalism is a bummer. True freedom has NEVER existed in this country, and you're a fool if you think otherwise. Give me penicillin or give me - wait wait wait... Fuck the penicillin, i could really use a burrito.

Give me a burrito, or give me death.
If it wasn't for C. i'd be going to bed hungry most nights.

here's a poem about the machine ruining your life.
____________________________________________________________________________

You Brought Me Here, Now Take Me Home

1.
Behind sealed doors, the leaders of men
  discuss the future
          of paranoia.
Armed guards dissuade the interruption of
            the meeting in
                                        progress.

Progressively blinding eyes and teeth turn to distraction,
    sleight hands and misdirected runaroundphonetagyou're
                                          it
                                          or
                                  This is Not
                                        "It."

The bird flu will. kill. you. all.

Mutant virii across the planet are
                        attacking humanity;
Emergency level is raised half a hue,
              not quite enough for orange...

        more of a
                          goldenrod.

The Earth itself has turned against us.

2.
This place is a sing-along we can't remember all the words of;
we're humming the parts we can't recall when the microphone is
  put in our face, so we holler an approximation of
    syllables at the top of our lungs and hope
      everyone's too drunk to notice.
3.
No one will ever be able to tell this was the last line written;

  a pause
        to find momentum,
afterthought symbols to pretend a level of
    continuity, coherence,
                            relevance.

But we are all afterthoughts,
  sixth-day refugees from the Garden,
      walking sacks of dirt and clay roaming the wastelands of Nod.
We edit, revise, rewrite
                                  our paths with the knowledge
  that one day our journey will end.
Look to the stars for comfort and guidance.
Cast wishes and prayers into the wind like sagebrush releasing spores,
seeds of joy and
                  sorrow.

But what good is Bliss if Happy is alone?
And what good is Sadness if Misery tries to bring everyone
          along for the ride?

4.
Waves of varying frequencies are constantly beamed
through our bodies from a vast grid of satellites;
T.V.s, microwaves, computers,
                                      lightbulbs.
Flourescent orbs are cooking us only slightly slower than
  our hungry star.

I'd prefer
      to be marinated and roasted

                                                over an open fire,
                  my tender flesh
                          effortlessly peeled from my bones.

5.
Pay Attention!

Pay attention to the clowns smearing their makeup and
  whispering to themselves behind the curtain, hunchbacked
              under useless words and
tongues of molasses, brains of jelly, hearts of glass,
and other assorted cliches that true bewilderment requires.

Meanwhile,
the death dealers call to the masses, peddling their wares
            like carnival barkers with the gleam of coin in their eyes.
They've got fear, they've got impulse, they've got
      a special on schizophrenia, buy one get one half-off.
Buy ten and they'll throw in a free handgrenade.
(I've got mine.)

"This
      is what you paid for, now
              come get your dollar's worth!
    This
        is what Appetite calls for!
Hur-ry, hur-ry, hur-ry!

Step right up, step right up!
Who would want to be the last to die?"

                  Not
                    I
                    .

_____________________________________________________________________________

it's true, you know. they've been controlling you with a combination of fear and distraction since you were born. welcome to the New World Order. NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM. it's right there on the back of  your dollar.

it's ok though. you can keep sleeping if you want. hell, i can't blame you for it. this shit's kinda scary.

xFx