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~what's up my friends, buddies, pals, and all of you sexies!
i've been missing talking to many of you on a regular basis, like back in the day when the coComment blog was running. i figure, hell... we had some great conversations then and there.. perhaps we could rehash that idea and just start conversing and sharing ideas right here.
Sam left me a message recently, mentioning that he missed our regular conversations and it immediately got me thinking.. well.. so do i! we had many great conversations going; about BF, about life, politics, society.. or just BS... it's all good.
many of you know i'll be meeting with Brickfish in San Diego soon.... got anything for me to take to them to discuss? let's talk about it here. i feel like i'm pretty much representing you guys ~ the people~ so let me know, let's talk about it and get it out. i know there's been issues lately; prizes, campaigning, legal details within the campaigns, negativity, mudslinging... whatever... you guys and gals wanna chat about it? cool! let's do it!
who wants to start us off?
and for those who just wanna relax, converse and have a little silliness... here's a recent sketch of a new sandwich idea...
i call it the McPossum Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit.
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we've seen many campaigns asking us to create Art for concert or gig posters and i think that specific niche, while exciting and fun, tends to back us up against a wall creatively ~prohibiting for real creative expression and talent.
it unfortunately opens the doors to mere photographic posters featuring the band standing in the same pose as we've seen in their latest CD booklet or on their website, with maybe a few photoshop 'tweaks' added into the mix... but to me it doesn't work.
my idea is to have a campaign where you choose a song from your favorite band... and create a piece of art, inspired specifically by that band and that song. the only thing that would be prohibited would be using photos of the band that you personally didn't take... and certainly not a re-photoshopped version of the band's logo.. i'm talking meaningful, creative art here ~ created by True fans and True Artists. perhaps along with the art, the song can be included and playing so that the viewer and voter gets the Full Effect of the song and how it affected the artist.
~if i should be chosen as the winner of this campaign, i will definitely put good use to the prize to upgrade my own equipment. but! i want you all to know that i am also a big fan of All of the cool, new talent on this site... if i win, i'm gonna buy one lucky artist of my choice, a Wacom tablet to further their own artistic skills. word. |
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Dawn of the Guests
Tags:
Campaign: Casting Call For Conversationalists
Added: 6/26/2007 4:54 PM PT
Last Modified: 6/29/2007 8:59 AM PT
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instead of delving into political and social issues involving our world today, or talking about the hottest celebs and what they're eating today, i would like to address an issue that deals more with our particular community here at Brickfish.
you know them, you love them... you might even be one of them... i'm talking about "Guests".
somewhere around the Black Sabbath campaign, the Guest button was introduced allowing you to run and tell your friends and your family to please stop by and vote for you. this is all without the hassle of signing up for a pesky account. i do agree and see the ultimate good intention for this feature, but what we're addressing my dear friends are the Negative "Guests". those vindictive, unforgiving, unrelenting individuals who will ridicule and spit their opinions at your campaigns and they... well, they get to slink away into the shadows leaving you slightly confused, maybe a little shaken or even angry.
i've dealt with my fair share of "Guests" both on my page, and on the pages of my friends or other Brickfish members. the point i want to stress here people, is that this is a Community. yes. there is a competitive component and yes, these are contests. but it is a Community none the less ~and as a Community we should respect one another and keep the campaigns clean. ~the Negative "Guests" don't allow for fairness nor do they care. also ~ it seems to be the trend of the mere "Guest" to hide behind the mask of "Constructive Criticism" while bestowing their negative rhetoric and slandering. we all have opinions and that is fine, but anyone with half a conscious can detect crude opinion from Constructive Criticism.
these Negative "Guests", they want us to think that we'll never guess or discover who they really are. but in reality, if you get them talking long enough it soon becomes more apparent. i think that these Negative "Guests" are one of two things; they are either the friends of your competitors... or they are Brickfish member themselves (your direct competitor) who is too cowardly to say what they really mean in front of the rest of the Community. it only makes sense. if you read the "Guest's" comments, they are usually pretty articulate to That Particular Campaign. why would someone just happen to wander into our Community and start shenanigans with Brickfishers on a whim? it wouldn't happen. these "Guests" will pinpoint a particular Brickfisher and latch on for the duration of the campaign. i usually see these attacks on people who are at number one in their campaign. why are they targets? jealous. greed. who knows? ~sometimes if you look hard enough, you can pinpoint who the "Guest" is friends with, because they'll be on that page jocking the design like there was no tomorrow.
look guys, i could go on and on... but i'm going to leave you with a quote that was given to me and i think it's very apt for those of you who have felt the dark lash of the Cowardly "Guest".
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt
i hope that this discussion opens a few doors. and yeah, i'm not an idiot... i know you "Guests" despise me not unlike Blade to a Vampire ~so bring it. to the rest of you intelligent fellow Brickfish members.... i invite you to a conversation about change.
i think that this blog has served it's purpose in it's short existence. it was never meant to win this campaign, but instead to utilize it to send the message throughout the community. i thank you all for the interesting comments the past couple days. i'm going to pull this blog from this campaign on the 30th. thanks for reading and supporting.
due to popular demand... ~this blog will remain. enjoy!
~Dennis
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what can i say? last night i saw TOOL for the second time, the first being a few years ago when they toured for Lateralus. it was Fucking Amazing...
the night was simple, right down to stopping at McDonald's for temporary substance during our journey to Fort Wayne, IN. it was Amy, Diane, myself and special guest Evil Curt! i drove and tried to turn Evil on to the new Manson. it did not impress him, but Trivium did! so we jammed all the way down and upon reaching the greater metro area, stopped at a liquor store for beer. the wait in traffic sucked to get to the parking lot, but that gave beer drinkers beer drinking time.
we reached the venue at almost 8:20, i feared we were missing the opening act. we didn't even know who it was. we got inside and was thoroughly searched. "what were they searching for", i wondered... i smuggled all kinds of things in. we soon found out that we needed a wristband for the floor (fuck yeah, i had the floor)... so we waited in line again for that and went down a new hall where we had to show, not only our wristband... but also our tickets which were now punched (at the wristbanding previous). so we traveled down this new hall, one of us on the constant vigil for Cleavage. ~and there was plenty. after quick restroom stops, we all stepped onto the floor and i was amazed.... it was tiny. we pretty much walked right to the center middle. the crowd wasn't pumped like we thought, leading Evil to believe that the opening band hadn't even performed yet. he pointed out how clean the floor was.
it was almost 9 now and i knew that we missed the opening act, but Evil's case was solid. this crowd, barely swished themselves in like i'm accustomed to... but something wasn't right... Danny Carey's drum kit was on the stage. you cannot mistake that drum kit, emblazoned with magickal symbols, along with his gong. no, i told him, we missed it... this is Tool. soon it went black and the screens above the stage lit up with fire. they opened with Jambi.
Jambi
Stinkfist (an extended version)
46 & 2
Schism (an extended version with a speed portion in the middle of the song)
Lost Keys
Rosetta Stoned
Flood (yes! from Undertow, this song kicked ass)
Wings for Marie
10,000 Days
Lateralus (with a super long extension)
Vicarious
the visuals were amazing as usual, courtesy of artists Chet Czar and Alex Grey... there were four on the stage and two on either side of the stage. there was also a huge screen above the entire stage, it was definitely a worthwhile production, complete with a laser show during Wings on. scenes for Flood were amazing, showing mass rain, water, morphing images of legs and feet frantically treading water.
there were so many cell phones out, that it was almost ridiculous. at one point, starting during 10,000 Days, staff was hitting the floor and telling people to put their phones away... she told Diane that Maynard requested no photography and he'll stop the show. everyone stopped for a few... but not for long. soon enough, everyone was taking pics and videos again.
during Lateralus, there was an extended middle in which they brought out the opening act to perform with them. basically the bands members all jammed while Maynard and the lead singer from the other group played Rock, Scissors, Paper. it was hilarious and the crowd loved it. Lateralus reached it's climax and i knew that everyone there was really into that particular song. they ended with one of my new favorites, Vicarious.... powerful and i was so full of energy... but the crowd was kinda very wussy and i could not get my mosh on. that bummed me out, but Tool's performance was stellar! another amazing show... and my ears still ring today.
on the way out, Evil reminded Diane in a girly voice "now you better put that away or Maynard will personally come down and shove that phone up your ass". as we made it to the jeep, he exclaimed, "man, i gotta piss". "well... go ahead, no one's around", i told him as droves of people approached. he started, coyly reminding us that he would try to not piss on the door. suddenly he exclaimed "oh shit, it's running downhill towards me!" we died laughing. suddenly, lol... the car next to him came to life! the lights cam on, the security alarm sounded ~ bleep-bleep! the owner of the car next to him came up took a good look at Evil's member and said "oh." and went to the other side of his car while Evil finished. "sorry man, just step over it", he told the guy who gingerly stepped over Evil's piss river to get into the driver's seat of his Honda.
at midnight, we finally got out of the parking lot and made it back by 1:30. and a great time was had by all!
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Opium for the Masses.
Tags:
Campaign: none
Added: 3/28/2007 4:54 PM PT
Last Modified: 3/28/2007 4:54 PM PT
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and now i shall try to answer your undying questions.
first. this Sabbath campaign is precisely the embodiment of Rock. no, not just rock... but metal. metal is no stranger to controversy. in most religious instances, metal is obviously the most despised form of 'youth corruption'. this campaign is without a doubt one to remember. i also think it sets forth the standards for how future campaigns will be planned out and created. if you want a guaranteed prize, it's obvious to try to get your campaign in as soon as the campaign opens. it behooves you to do so. So what you ask? oh i don't mind. i have total respect to the artist who obviously spent hours of planning and creating their masterpiece and was still able to be the first to enter a campaign. it's the american way. fast and furious. seriously that's not the issue.
but i wish to now point out that Black Sabbath will choose the winner from the Top Ten. this means that, beyond the popularity vote as long as your in the Top Ten everyone is equal. sure you can say that the band will be influenced by the fact that you're number one, but i don't think that it will matter to them. they are given the ultimate choice of Ten pieces. and believe it or not, they will choose the one best suited for their needs, their fans, their music based on the design, creativity, blood, sweat, tears, and whatever that the artist put into their work. the upside of being in perpetual number one is that you are guaranteed that coveted second place. the first place piece is no better or worse than any of the others that make it into the top Ten. so you see why it matters not to me? sure, if i slip out of the Ten, well then perhaps it was meant to be. otherwise i'm happy with my place and appreciative of the fans of my art that have bothered to leave me comments and support beyond the one word "voted!". in fact everyone who has left a comment on my page, whether you like it or not, has influenced the page views and helped to spark and continue to fire the controversy. and any exposure in something off this nature is gonna be beneficial in the outcome.
as an artist, i think that the creative mind is one that is open to accepting that the relativity of a subject might be different or skewed in another artist's eye... but remains respectful of the different creative angle instead of attacking in a covetous manner. when you're approaching something as open minded as music, i would assume that a personal visual creative interpretation would be just as open. being too literal is a creative choice. being a stereotypical Rock poster featuring sexually attractive subjects, obviously frightening hellish, scary ~ these are personal creative choices no more or less than your own. and the outcome? the visual outcome? that interpretation is left to you, the viewer. whether you love it or hate it, i've done my job because i have invoked some sort of emotion from you... valuable human feeling from you. and not just from anywhere... but a special place inside of you. sometimes from this special place, will emerge dark feelings. hate, dislike. or... you don't see it as a threat, but an equal that will stand beside you in the end and be judged by the one and only. Black Sabbath. we're all in this together, deservedly so.
beyond the poster, one of the coolest things about Brick is meeting all of you cool people. we may fight now, but we'll be boys again another day. and so many of you are now great friends. i leave you all now with that. let's get it started again...
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greetings to all.
Tags:
Campaign: none
Added: 12/19/2006 5:02 AM PT
Last Modified: 2/7/2007 7:51 AM PT
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hello to all my new friends here on Brickfish ~ and all of my buddies that i've wrangled in from here and there... thank you all for your votes and support. this is a fun and exciting place to hang and to express ourselves.
speaking of expression ~ freedom of and all of that.... i noticed this morning that a couple of my more risque pieces were ganked from my portfolio. that's cool i guess, so now i know... no naked ass paintings.
again, i wanna thank all who have voted for me in this great Trivium contest... it's always cool to meet likeminded individuals ~ creative and dedicated. this Trivium poster is an opportunity for all of us who have entered to show how Trivium's music affects us creatively and emotionally. it's awesome to see the turn-out, and to all of my competition ~ i'm honored to be in this contest with you.
this morning on my entry page, there was this:
i try to find a relation between your art and Trivium and i can only find "a bullet to the head of trepidation" now the question what are those bees or moskitos in the sky for ??
right on. Bullet to the Head... is obviously a great song and no doubt a part of the influence of this painting... as is All of their music. pinpointing what exactly a certain element "is for??" in my work well... when i'm painting a piece like this, i always have the itunes on and am listening to (in this case) Trivium and really rocking out. i like it loud. so you know, you're painting, no distractions... you're into it and the music is loud and great ~ you're getting into the words, the feel of the music, the killer sound... all of that and you just let it flow. this is what music, art and Creativity is to me. when i'm doing a piece like this, i generally will listen to the band and really get into them... what comes out is my personal, emotional and physical embodiment of the music i have 'absorbed' into my subconscious. what does this mean, what does that mean... it's all relative and applies differently to each viewer as does the music... it's interpreted and discovered differently by each individual who is into it. it is the music as a whole or the art as a whole that brings us together.
so while yes, i have a violent gun image that some can relate to. (why? simply because we're dealing with metal ~ see? it's all relative to the viewer's interpretation)... i also have a serene almost comfortable feeling (or perhaps anxious feeling) with those lighted insects. so what are they for? ~ what's anything for? why this color, why this, why that? utilize your imagination and it will all be apparent!
this was just a good opportunity for me to discuss my contest entry, so i appreciate the question and look forward to seeing how it all plays out. it's all in good fun. and again thanks to all.
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