Some new art

A little bit about how my mind works. Yes, I suppose I'm slightly odd. I hbe some eccentricities and strange habits.

I remember telling a friend of mine several years ago before she came over about a few of my interests; I needed her to be aware of what I'd been studying a lot of at that time, because my Comcast DVR was filled with crime specials, Dateline on ID, Investigation Discovery forensics shows, and interviews with sexual sadist serial killers (such as Dennis Rader). Had she decided to turn on the TV and peruse the recordings without any warning; well, I'd probably have to chase her to the elevator after she bolted — and I highly doubt that that would've gone well.

I've heard countless times: "don't talk about religion or politics."

I don't buy that nor bother with it. So, according to that advice, I'm only supposed to talk about inconsequential things... unimportant things?

"Yes, let us not discuss matters of a serious nature. What would be the point of your college education, if you were to actually use and benefit from it? Just plain silliness. Let us now discuss the finer points of Jersey Shore."

If you believe that, maybe you shouldn't read my blog. Especially if you get emotional about politics in particular. It won't get easier for you when I accuse your "side" of using mustard gas — and then blaming "us" when the wind changes and it blows back on your own people.

What in life should we take seriously, and how many young people are there meandering, directionless?

I was discussing "happiness" with a friend earlier, because it bothered me how we treat emotions in America. People aren't allowed to be sad anymore. Because there's a pill for that. Or a drug for it.

Get high, get drunk, forget about your worries. Isolation stimulates creativity; but I suppose young people need none of that, as they have YouTube and Hulu.

I'm going to post a new piece of art soon. I've been working on something... revealing. You may like it — I'm still looking at writing about "Locked Up Abroad" again, and the messed up laws, double-standards, hypocrisy and corruption in the Philippines.

Blogging: as a technology and lifestyle

Updated on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 2:24 AM by Bradtastic

Blogging is definitely changing.

I’m not sure that it’s ever been as fun as it was when I actively maintained a LiveJournal; it’s so easy to get addicted to the comments and the attention — and that feeling of complex social integration. It was a one-stop news source and social radar; with friends-view and community journals, all kinds of information could be found and all questions could be answered without ever leaving LiveJournal. [The quality of information is debatable, however.]

I felt connected to a ragtag group of mainstreamers, social misfits and outcasts, all chiming in from time to time; mostly to share random tidbits of useless nothingness, melodramatic rants and complex status updates in far excess of 140 characters.

Click to read more ...

Art of the Arts.

A “THOUGHT-SKETCH,” a little something to explain why I’ve been so pen and pencil obsessed over the past few days.

I’ve been asked about my love of fine writing instruments and rare paper, and my pursuit of the perfect notebook and pen. Some wonder why it’s so important to me, or what the difference is between a Montblanc fountain pen and a freebie BIC ballpoint. The obvious physical differences aside, I suppose that it’s similar to the differences between a Squarespace or TypePad paid blog, and a freebie Blogger site. 

The significance of art, and its preservation:

Would the Declaration of Independence carry the same significance if it were scribbled on napkins with chalk? 

I doubt that many people ask themselves, or others, this question very often (if ever); however, this is something that I consider regularly. If an artist doesn’t value his or her own work, should anyone else? If a writer doesn’t think that his blog is worth paying for, should you consider it worth reading?

People want to believe that the old adage, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” is followed — and believed — but it isn’t. Our culture has impressed upon us all the importance of aesthetics, advertising and marketing… and we give more credence to the claims of the financially supported (or otherwise famous) than those without similar backing.

I use fine paper to encourage fine writing…

Hopefully, I can create a fine all-around product. If I didn’t believe that I had considerable talent or skill in something, I wouldn’t waste the time or money. I don’t think that everyone should go out and buy $50 notebooks and $1,300 pens… I know that not everyone can afford it. However, there are finer things at a lower-pricepoint. Two-dollar pencils and ten dollar notebooks.

Opening a well-constructed notebook with beautiful paper sets a wonderful tone. Hovering above the page, uncapping a fine writing instrument, my mind becomes enveloped by the significance of the moment, the idea, the message, and my purpose.

I place importance on my work before I even begin, by placing importance on the facilitators of my creations — be it a notebook and pen, pencil and paper, or a computer and blogging service. I like to use products and services created by people who put every ounce of themselves into their craft in hopes of creating a masterwork. Knowing this, I try to do the same.

First, I respect my art. If I won’t, why would anyone?

Superfloo.us Inked — Logo Concept

©2009 Bradtastic Brad Chin. All rights reserved — if you want something, just ask!

Tablet PCs really are a blessing for artists and designers…

Actually, I think that everyone can benefit from Tablet technology — whether or not people know it, or will admit it. The iPhone has proven that touch technology can be truly inspiring and life-changing; and to think, Tablet PCs could have multi-touch and Penabled technology in the same device. That would allow a computer to have all the pinch-zoom goodness of multi-touch and the pressure-sensitivity of Wacom’s pens — the best of both worlds, productivity and art — in harmony.

I wish I could get a new slate; the note-taking benefits from software such as OneNote, illustration with Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro, and of course, Adobe Creative Suite… all in a sleek, easy to carry/use (for a semi-crippled vampire) form-factor… even if I can’t get inkblogging to work, there’s more than enough work to do to keep me busy. Satisfied.

And to think, if I could get inkblogging to work (possibly with some help!), I could change the world! Well, okay, maybe that’s overstating things just a tad… but right now, that’s how it feels. I’m severely limited at the moment, restrained — tethered, really — by the power cord, because my Fujitsu convertible’s battery (fully charged) runs dry within 25 minutes. In practical terms, I can’t risk using the device unplugged, making it no more mobile than my iMac.

But I can still create art — illustrations, designs — such as the one above. That logo concept is rough, but it brought me to the realization that… I want a logo. A logo designed by me, and probably not vectored. I like the sketched look… so I created another, after coloring the “rough.”

©2009 Bradtastic Brad Chin. “Superfloo.us” Logo, (Superfluous) Colored Version 001, draft.

I could create something for you… just throwing that out there.

After coloring the logo concept, I realized that I didn’t like the design… fundamentally. The style and colors are close, but not exactly what I want. Obviously, this draft is undeveloped — emphasis on rough — so the final version would be shaded more deeply, with richer colors and a presentation much more bold.

I also realized… drawing on the Tablet is fun!

Inkblog or not, expect more art. It might be unrelated to the post, but hey, it livens up the entry, yea? I’d really like to inkblog again, however.

Initially I was going to use Bradtastic Premier for art and design, and blog here about superfluous — perhaps superficial — things… but now, I’m having fun being serious. Seriously. When I went to the Apple Store several days ago to get my iPhone 3GS and Snow Leopard, I met a new sales associate, Armont, and we spoke about my writings and thoughts regarding criminology and the DOC — he was intrigued, naturally.

[Sidenote: we had a miscommunication in the beginning; I had told him that I was entitled to a “business discount” and he tried to look-up “AIS” on the list — and couldn’t find it, because I should have said that I’m a “business customer.”]

Conversation is a powerful tool; each time I discuss my thoughts about recidivism and psychology, I think of something new… generally, a stronger, more-direct way to deliver my information or express my opinions. Ultimately, I believe that “discussing” — blogging — about the things that I write about will make for better books.

Along the way, I can share some sketches.

Hope you enjoy it! Please leave comments or feedback; some people have been generous, getting me things from my Amazon Wishlist (link and widget located on my sidebar), and I’ve been thinking about paying it forward… by giving away some gifts of my own, to lucky website contributors!

I’ll post another Superfluous logo design soon. Stay tuned!

Bradtastic — Art, Design and Ink.

I want to expand this website, beyond this blog…

I’ve mentioned at Facebook and my Twitter (@bradtastic) that I’m trying to inkblog again, like I did at my first decent inkblog, bradchin.com. My progress was halted — incidentally after winning an Ink Blot Award — because my Tablet PC, bloated with viruses and junkware, stopped connecting to the Internet… and then stopped functioning altogether.

Work and recovery stood in the way of progress — but I never stopped writing. I never stopped dreaming about books and blogging — changing the world by changing one mind — contributing to the ever-growing collective…

With ink, I wanted to share what Montblanc calls the art of writing; with computers and typesetting so available, handwriting has become a dying art. People neglect it — it’s not being taught in schools, and it’s as if it’s just not that important. True — no one is openly graded on it, graphology is a pseudo-science, but I believe in its importance — the importance of the image of writing.

I look at classic documents of incalculable value — The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and Bill of Rights — I look at the penmanship displayed on these documents and think, “would these documents hold so much value if they were chicken-scratched?”

Of course, these documents will always be important — crappy handwriting wouldn’t change that — but I think that if they weren’t written so beautifully, with a combination of perfect word and perfect handwriting, we’d look today at reprints… rewritten or typed.

The blessing of the computer is a bane to handwriting.

The abundance and availability of free fonts and the ease of stealing fonts makes almost every computer user an amateur typesetter. Software such as Microsoft Word allows an untrained, unskilled user to create beautifully organized and set documents — legible documents.

It’s time to take a stand!

In defiance of this trend, I’d decided to share my art, illustrations, design and writing. I try to keep my personality vibrant and loud, but paradoxically, I prefer to keep much of my “art” private — including my handwriting styles — but shortly after I started inkblogging, I received positive feedback, genuine comments and interest.

I was contacted by other inkbloggers, enthusiastic and energetic. Their comments were positive, their words —
encouraging. I felt that I could represent the format in a strong way, drawing fresh eyes and attention to Tablet PCs and WACOM Penabled technologies. 

A new beginning.

Tablet PCs have generally been thought of as the business tools for doctors, contractors, engineers and the military… but this is changing. For consumers, “the pen” has been a nuisance; with Palm devices and PDAs, it’s just another piece to misplace or break. The iPhone has bridged the gap in a beautiful way; integrating multi-touch technology with incredible usability and consumer-friendliness.

New devices are looming. Apple might release a Tablet-type computer next year. Many netbook manufacturers are adding touch-screen technology to their lineups.

Handwriting, to make a comeback?

Devices like the Livescribe Pulse Pen make evident the convenience and occasional necessity of writing by hand. To “jot” something down — a phone number, address, take-out order — it’s much easier (and quicker) writing with a pen… especially compared to thumb-typing on a handheld or worse — stylus keyboard input.

The tech-world is changing, and I’m part of it. Perhaps I can inspire more people to enhance their lives. I’ve already done so with tools like HighriseHQ, BackpackIT and products like Moleskine notebooks and websites like jetpens.com.

Hopefully I can continue changing the game and setting trends. For more information on the  Bradtastic Approved© — check out bradloves.us/links or contact me or one of my associates. You can also just leave a comment or message at my guestbook.

Please let me know if you can help with inkblogging — you can also help by simply spreading the word, “Superfloo.us!”