Maker's Mark commissioned around 60 artists around the region to create works that were inspired by the facilities and the brand. I submitted four concepts and they accepted two. The pieces will be finished in the next few months and may go to any of the following cities: Louisville, Lexington, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, London, or Madrid. Exciting!
I put the finishing touches on "Dave & Sharon" two nights ago. Dave picked it up yesterday to hang that night and Sharon should have noticed it this morning. He had me paint it for their ten year wedding anniversary. How sweet :) I hope she loved it!
I started putting paint to canvas for a surprise graduation gift for my niece. Her older sister helped me with the colors and I hope to have that done for her in the next day or two.
I'm also juggling a piece named "Dottie" and another piece, "Coco Monique", that I've been dragging my feet on. I hope to have them done by the end of next week so I can move on to my June slate. I have a busy month ahead of me.
Stick around for updates.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Ob1shinobi - What's with the name?
I'm on a very boring conference call with GE. I am trying not to scratch my poison ivy. My wife is home for the summer and I'm hating the fact that I don't have summer break with her.
So anyway I thought I'd throw up a quick post to explain the URL, ob1shinobi.blogspot.com. The "ob1" in the name is a play on words for Obi-Wan, as in Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan and having some reference in there is just a reflection of me. The "ob1" actually started with stand-up video games and the recording of high scores.
In most stand-up video games the player is regulated to only three characters when they are adding their high score to the high score records for a particular video game. Normally the player is limited to letters and numbers - occasionally special characters. As a child I would sign in as "EEE" but later I started signing in as "OB1". And it's stuck with me over the years.
The "shinobi" is an homage to the old stand-up arcade game of the same name, Shinboi. It was a game in which you play a ninja rescuing hostages and whooping ass. I liked it a lot and it seemed to be wherever I hung out. A dear friend of mine who passed away also loved the game and I still hold onto a very fond memory of the two of us pumping quarters into a Shinobi machine one night while the rest of the youth group ate at Mr. Gatti's.
And finally if you say the whole thing, "ob1shinobi", is sounds like Obi-Wan Kenobi - again illustrating my fandom for Star Wars. Yep, I'm a dork.
So anyway I thought I'd throw up a quick post to explain the URL, ob1shinobi.blogspot.com. The "ob1" in the name is a play on words for Obi-Wan, as in Obi-Wan Kenobi. I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan and having some reference in there is just a reflection of me. The "ob1" actually started with stand-up video games and the recording of high scores.
In most stand-up video games the player is regulated to only three characters when they are adding their high score to the high score records for a particular video game. Normally the player is limited to letters and numbers - occasionally special characters. As a child I would sign in as "EEE" but later I started signing in as "OB1". And it's stuck with me over the years.
The "shinobi" is an homage to the old stand-up arcade game of the same name, Shinboi. It was a game in which you play a ninja rescuing hostages and whooping ass. I liked it a lot and it seemed to be wherever I hung out. A dear friend of mine who passed away also loved the game and I still hold onto a very fond memory of the two of us pumping quarters into a Shinobi machine one night while the rest of the youth group ate at Mr. Gatti's.
And finally if you say the whole thing, "ob1shinobi", is sounds like Obi-Wan Kenobi - again illustrating my fandom for Star Wars. Yep, I'm a dork.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend Recap
Had a very busy and fun Memorial Day weekend. In no particular order are some highlights:
I hope everyone had a safe and memorable Memorial Day.
- Enjoyed some extended family time out in Shelbyville. My cousin Rachel, who had spent several days in the hospital, was able to make it and it was fun chatting it up with her. I had also lent her my iPod and it was good to get 4LOM back ;)
- Skated the Frankfort mini on Sunday with the Concretins. There is a post over at the Concretin web site (featuring a few shots of yours truly), titled Short Trip to Frankfort.
- Helped Junior move on Saturday. I was called away a little early with the news that Rachel was in the hospital. But I did what I could and dad, my moving mentor, would be proud at what he and I did with so little time.
- Layed down 55 bags of mulch. I hurt.
- I think I picked up Poison Ivy along the way. I hate yard work.
- Puppy Victims To Date: Battery compartment on the TV remote, wire connecting Nunchuk to Wiimote for the Wii, plug from the lamp (don't know how the little guy didn't die on that one), half of my wallet.
I hope everyone had a safe and memorable Memorial Day.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Rode in the back of a cop car last night
But I wasn't the perp.
While out with the dogs last night I noticed two teenage kids in the neighbor's backyard. I thought it was odd but didn't say anything to them. I took the dogs in and went upstairs to the bedroom to settle in and watch the Grey's Anatomy finale.
I heard voices right outside the window. I looked outside and saw the same two kids in my front yard. Are you kidding me? Sheesh, I wasn't having it. So I went downstairs to go say something to them. As I was on the second-to-last step one of them body slammed into the door. I just snapped.
I wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes but that didn't keep me from tearing out of the front door and sprinting after them. They instantly split up and I tailed the door-slammer until the end of the block. He had youth and fear on his side and I was barefoot... I wasn't going to catch him. I let up and yelled, "What's wrong with you, you fuck," before walking home. We got in the car and patrolled the neighborhood while we called the cops. The clubhouse was vandalized over Christmas and I caught some punk cutting through the flower garden just a week ago. I am sick of these punks messing with my yard and stuff.
The cops showed up after we returned to the house. I told them everything and then hopped in the back seat to go talk to some neighbors. I knew that we wouldn't be able to do anything about it but having an officer in tow may strike some fear into any kids we find. The cop thought I'd probably scared them enough by chasing after them. We hit up two houses but there were no teenagers matching the description. The last one we tried, however, had a kid that pretty much looked just like the one I had chased.
He wasn't wearing what he was wearing earlier but I'm pretty sure it was him. I stared him right in the eye and explained what I just mentioned above about kids and vandals and such. He seemed very uneasy. I didn't let on that I thought it was him. Oddly, he offered me a piece of gum. I thanked the parents and wished them a good night before walking off with the officer to go home.
"I think that was him, " I told the officer. He smiled at me with a chuckle.
"I think it was too."
While out with the dogs last night I noticed two teenage kids in the neighbor's backyard. I thought it was odd but didn't say anything to them. I took the dogs in and went upstairs to the bedroom to settle in and watch the Grey's Anatomy finale.
I heard voices right outside the window. I looked outside and saw the same two kids in my front yard. Are you kidding me? Sheesh, I wasn't having it. So I went downstairs to go say something to them. As I was on the second-to-last step one of them body slammed into the door. I just snapped.
I wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes but that didn't keep me from tearing out of the front door and sprinting after them. They instantly split up and I tailed the door-slammer until the end of the block. He had youth and fear on his side and I was barefoot... I wasn't going to catch him. I let up and yelled, "What's wrong with you, you fuck," before walking home. We got in the car and patrolled the neighborhood while we called the cops. The clubhouse was vandalized over Christmas and I caught some punk cutting through the flower garden just a week ago. I am sick of these punks messing with my yard and stuff.
The cops showed up after we returned to the house. I told them everything and then hopped in the back seat to go talk to some neighbors. I knew that we wouldn't be able to do anything about it but having an officer in tow may strike some fear into any kids we find. The cop thought I'd probably scared them enough by chasing after them. We hit up two houses but there were no teenagers matching the description. The last one we tried, however, had a kid that pretty much looked just like the one I had chased.
He wasn't wearing what he was wearing earlier but I'm pretty sure it was him. I stared him right in the eye and explained what I just mentioned above about kids and vandals and such. He seemed very uneasy. I didn't let on that I thought it was him. Oddly, he offered me a piece of gum. I thanked the parents and wished them a good night before walking off with the officer to go home.
"I think that was him, " I told the officer. He smiled at me with a chuckle.
"I think it was too."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Do I like Acid Rap? Nah. Oh, I do?
Eminem once rapped the following line:
"I'm not acid rap but I rap on acid."
I have to chuckle. Of course you aren't acid rap, Em. He is pretty mainstream (although the tracks that don't make it onto the radio are by far his best work... so much hate). And acid rap, so I thought, was pretty trippy. I fancy myself a true fan of hip-hop, with a healthy dose of trance and trip-hop included. I never really considered myself a fan of what I perceived the genre of acid rap to be.
My favorite DJs and MCs are DJ Shadow, DJ Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, and even Kool Keith and Kid Koala. DJ Shadow and DJ Q-Bert are my absolute favorite. They are godly in their spinnin' and scratchin' prowess. I own as much DJ Shadow as I can find. And I love DJ Q-Bert's "Wavetwisters" DVD... GENIUS!
So I was listening to some Dr. Octagon (aka Kool Keith) on "Dr. Octagonecologyst" the other day. It was a pioneering album that just blew me away. I looked it up on wiki and found it classified as acid rap. I then clicked through to acid rap (I love clicking through wiki as much as I loved read the encyclopedias when I was a child) and found the following entry...
A pioneer in "acid rap" is the alternative MC Kool Keith, especially as Dr. Octagon on the 1996 album Dr. Octagonecologyst. Dr. Octagon's "Blue Flowers" is often thought of as defining the acid rap genre. Del tha Funkee Homosapien and his super-group Deltron 3030 are also known to make "acid rap" from time to time, while the alternative rap group The Pharcyde are credited with "acid rap" tracks in their 1992 acclaimed album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. DJ's and producers that commonly create acid rap beats include Dan the Automator, DJ Q-Bert, DJ Shadow, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and occasionally Kid Koala and Mix Master Mike.
Wow! Seriously? Those are all of my boys. I totally forgot about the Pharcyde. I have their albums. I have the Invisibl Skratch Piklz album "The Shiggar Friggar Show". I love Deltron 3030. And "Blue Flowers" is one of my favorite songs ever (and the remix "Blue Flowers Revisited").
So I guess I'm a huge acid rap fan and didn't even know it. Funny what one can learn on wiki. BTW, here is the original article from wiki...
Wikipedia - Acid Rap
"I'm not acid rap but I rap on acid."
I have to chuckle. Of course you aren't acid rap, Em. He is pretty mainstream (although the tracks that don't make it onto the radio are by far his best work... so much hate). And acid rap, so I thought, was pretty trippy. I fancy myself a true fan of hip-hop, with a healthy dose of trance and trip-hop included. I never really considered myself a fan of what I perceived the genre of acid rap to be.
My favorite DJs and MCs are DJ Shadow, DJ Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, and even Kool Keith and Kid Koala. DJ Shadow and DJ Q-Bert are my absolute favorite. They are godly in their spinnin' and scratchin' prowess. I own as much DJ Shadow as I can find. And I love DJ Q-Bert's "Wavetwisters" DVD... GENIUS!
So I was listening to some Dr. Octagon (aka Kool Keith) on "Dr. Octagonecologyst" the other day. It was a pioneering album that just blew me away. I looked it up on wiki and found it classified as acid rap. I then clicked through to acid rap (I love clicking through wiki as much as I loved read the encyclopedias when I was a child) and found the following entry...
A pioneer in "acid rap" is the alternative MC Kool Keith, especially as Dr. Octagon on the 1996 album Dr. Octagonecologyst. Dr. Octagon's "Blue Flowers" is often thought of as defining the acid rap genre. Del tha Funkee Homosapien and his super-group Deltron 3030 are also known to make "acid rap" from time to time, while the alternative rap group The Pharcyde are credited with "acid rap" tracks in their 1992 acclaimed album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. DJ's and producers that commonly create acid rap beats include Dan the Automator, DJ Q-Bert, DJ Shadow, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and occasionally Kid Koala and Mix Master Mike.
Wow! Seriously? Those are all of my boys. I totally forgot about the Pharcyde. I have their albums. I have the Invisibl Skratch Piklz album "The Shiggar Friggar Show". I love Deltron 3030. And "Blue Flowers" is one of my favorite songs ever (and the remix "Blue Flowers Revisited").
So I guess I'm a huge acid rap fan and didn't even know it. Funny what one can learn on wiki. BTW, here is the original article from wiki...
Wikipedia - Acid Rap
Monday, May 19, 2008
Boba is just too cute!
I can't go on enough over how cute the new puppy is. Check out these pix...
Boba's Flickr Photo Set
In other news... oh, who am I kidding. My life has been spent on this puppy since we got him. I haven't painted. I've barely skated. The kids are with their father this week so I may have some time to catch up.
Boba is sleeping through the night and holding his bladder and bowels until the morning. This is all spectacular and, from what I understand, makes us lucky puppy owners. I let him out as often as I can during the day and regulate his eating and drinking as the night draws to a close. I also make sure he has a few toys to sleep with at night in his crate (I rotate between Afro Dog, Loofa Dog, Rabbit Dog, Rubber Chicken, Patriotic Rope, Soccer Ball, Brown Rag, Blue Socks,
and Patriotic Ball).
Boba's Flickr Photo Set
In other news... oh, who am I kidding. My life has been spent on this puppy since we got him. I haven't painted. I've barely skated. The kids are with their father this week so I may have some time to catch up.
Boba is sleeping through the night and holding his bladder and bowels until the morning. This is all spectacular and, from what I understand, makes us lucky puppy owners. I let him out as often as I can during the day and regulate his eating and drinking as the night draws to a close. I also make sure he has a few toys to sleep with at night in his crate (I rotate between Afro Dog, Loofa Dog, Rabbit Dog, Rubber Chicken, Patriotic Rope, Soccer Ball, Brown Rag, Blue Socks,
and Patriotic Ball).
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Puppy!
I've always wanted a boxer or boxer-mix. And I've never had a dog of my own. We had a poodle when I was young and I've owned cats. But I've never had the pleasure of having my own little puppy.
Well, that changed last night. We saw a cute little boxer/shepherd mix online at 5:58pm. By 7:30pm we were on our way home with the new addition to the family. He was named Rodney after the late Rodney Dangerfield and we renamed him Boba Fett (I always wanted to name my puppy Donkey Kong but my wife nixed that and came up with Boba... that's cool too). He's as sweet as can be and appears to be somewhat crate-trained and house-broken. Sweet!
I haven't had time to get a decent shot and the little bugger never stands still, but here is what I have so far...
Boba running in the grass
Boba's coming right at us
Well, that changed last night. We saw a cute little boxer/shepherd mix online at 5:58pm. By 7:30pm we were on our way home with the new addition to the family. He was named Rodney after the late Rodney Dangerfield and we renamed him Boba Fett (I always wanted to name my puppy Donkey Kong but my wife nixed that and came up with Boba... that's cool too). He's as sweet as can be and appears to be somewhat crate-trained and house-broken. Sweet!
I haven't had time to get a decent shot and the little bugger never stands still, but here is what I have so far...
Boba running in the grass
Boba's coming right at us
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
You kids and your blogging (shakes cane in air)
I have more than an insignificant cyber-footprint. I used to blog over at GameSpot. I blog periodically on my site (shameless plug... Brinley.com). I currently blog as NoShow of the Concretins. I post in forums. I have an ever-growing presence over on Flickr. I have a mySpace page that I never really setup. I IM a bit. I email a lot. I'm tuned in to what's going on. So why has it taken me so long to start something up over here on Blogger and, more importantly, why?
I guess it's because I'm tired of sharing space with the Concretins for my own stuff. And I'm tired of having to muck with HTML and FTP files onto my server for my site. And the GameSpot blog is just old and... well, not a good representation of me since it covered a rough time in my life (and screw CNET and their properties anyway). I'm familiar with the tools and I want to blog more. And the process I go through now is just cumbersome.
Besides, the aforementioned Concretins are here. And so is Smorty71 and Twinkie. I like this place and I'm tired of ignoring my desire to blog more often. So here I am!
Yea me :)
I guess it's because I'm tired of sharing space with the Concretins for my own stuff. And I'm tired of having to muck with HTML and FTP files onto my server for my site. And the GameSpot blog is just old and... well, not a good representation of me since it covered a rough time in my life (and screw CNET and their properties anyway). I'm familiar with the tools and I want to blog more. And the process I go through now is just cumbersome.
Besides, the aforementioned Concretins are here. And so is Smorty71 and Twinkie. I like this place and I'm tired of ignoring my desire to blog more often. So here I am!
Yea me :)
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