Erik’s Blog

…but trust me, I don’t feel a day over 39…

What have I been thinking?? Summer is the time for books, books, BOOKS, and so I’ve been reading books, books, BOOKS, but I haven’t reported on any of them. I must be majorly distracted or something.

Without further yappage, here is where I stand as of the week of May 21, 2006:

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

A former design professor turned me on to Murakami’s books a year ago? Two years ago? I don’t recall. My first Murakami experience was with The Wind Up Bird Chronicle. Probably not the best choice; it’s his best book, so every Murakami book since then has been held to a ridiculously high standard. Few have added up, the notable exception being the second Murakami book that I’ve read, Norwegian Wood. Whereas the former has the feel of The Ring directed by David Lynch, the latter is a love story that is so gut wrenchingly bittersweet that I still get misty when I think about it. And I don’t read love stories. He’s that good.

Enough blather. Kafka was good, but not great. The thing about Murakami books that you have to realize is that he’s exploring a few specific themes much like an artist paints a series of paintings that all address a concept in only slightly different ways. Murakami uses similar character names, similar pets, etc. in most of his books. It’s odd. I guess I’ve read about these characters so many times I’ve grown numb to them.

All things considered, I still recommend reading Kafka. And all the rest of Murakami’s books. If you like post-modern Asian fiction (think of the hum of dischord that ran throughout The Ring, something disturbing that’s not in your face but instead is lurking beneath the surface) you’ll like his books.

And technically I only finished this book after school got out. I began reading it over spring break. Forgive me. The rest of the books that I say I’ve read I actually have read since the first week of May. Really.

McSweeney’s #14 by…um, McSweeney’s

I don’t know when I was first bitten by the McSweeney’s bug but it’s been a curse on my soul. All I want to do after reading a McSweeney’s book is read another one. I read the web site, I read the store site, I am on a few mail lists for a few McSweeney’s authors… I have a fevuh, and the only prescription is MORE MCSWEENEY’S.

I really don’t know how to sell this series of publications adequately, nor can I describe them. Others have described McSweeney’s’ publications as “high-brow low-brow.” I think I agree. It’s like reading about bodily functions while sipping a flute of Dom. Avant garde offbeat writing for the masses.

This issue isn’t like the other issues that I own. It’s not actually numbered (it was published between #13 and #15, hence it’s #14). It’s not a hardcover or in any other goofy state, like served in a cigar box (#19) or as a rubber banded bundle of junk mail (#17). The stories in this issue are — as almost always — awesome. I took a minor detour before reading act III of Denis Johnson’s play Soul of a Whore so I could read act II from McSweeney’s #11, an issue that I purchased months ago but still have not read in its entirety.

Why am I saying this stuff? Hell if I know. I love McSweeney’s. Deal.

Speaking of McSweeney’s…

The Day they Hung the Elephant by Charles Edwin Price

When I subscribed to McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern the day after Christmas ‘05 I received — as an incentive — a free copy of the recently published Better of McSweeney’s book. I’ll only take a moment to gush over this thing: it rocks. Hard. The first story in the book was about an elephant who kills a guy and is sentenced to hang. This was an incredibly moving, very sad story (but very well written and well worth the read). At the end, the author gives a nod to CEP’s book. Evidently the metaphysical stuff in the story in BoMcS’s was made up but the core story of the elephant, the killing, and the hanging were true.

I, of course, had to read this book. And I did. In about 20 minutes. It’s only 43 pages long and looks like it was self published. It wasn’t, but it’s a pretty cheesy book. Regardless, the story in the book was incredible. The photo of Mary the elephant hanging from the 100 ton derrick car wasn’t pretty, but it was still worth the read.

The Best Non-required Reading of 2005 edited by Dave Eggers

You know there has to be a McSweeney’s reference here, right? Dave Eggers, author of the almost-Pulitzer prize winning A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, owns/runs McSweeney’s. Some McS’s authors are in this book, like that’s a surprise or something. Doesn’t matter, the book blew me away. Only a few duds, but I can forgive a few. Also well worth reading, even if you’re sick to death of reading about McSweeney’s stuff in this blog post.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The hell you say? Not only not a McS’s book, but a friggin’ TEEN BOOK? You gotta be kiddin’ me, right?

Nope, I read it. And I’m glad I did. Since giving in to the Borg and diving into the Harry Potter series I’ve learned that some of the best storytelling isn’t with adult fiction. The Potter series got me into Lemony Snicket and Eoin Colfer, which somehow got me into Clive Barker’s Abarat books (I can’t wait for vol. III), which somehow led me to this book.

Considering Paolini started writing it when he was 15 and published it when he was 19, I’d say this is one helluva feat and one helluva good book. I gather the second volume in this trilogy, Eldest, is lacking, but this book was great. It’s definitely a teen book — no Pulitzers will ever go anywhere near Eragon — but who cares? Get over yourself and try some teen stuff. You won’t be sorry.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

I know, I know. It’s old, it’s tired, everyone’s read this damn thing and nobody seems capable of shutting up about it. My wife read it a year ago and has been badgering me to read it during school breaks. In her words, it’s a “brainless, quick read.” That sums it up perfectly. It’s a very easy to read book, it’s just interesting enough to keep you turning pages, and it’s definitely brainless. For simple, don’t-challenge-me summer reading this book is great.

If you want real suspense, though, screw this book. Read Intensity by Dean Koontz. Hands down, that is the single most painfully tense book I’ve ever read. It’s more of a page turner, the suspense is real, the story is agonizingly, drippingly wonderful, and it’s also fairly brainless. If you have to choose one intense book to read this summer, make it Intensity. If blood and violence turn your gut, read Da Vinci.

And then read Intensity. Look, just read the damn thing, okay? I’m tired of selling it.

Soooo… What am I reading now?

I feel like I’ve built up my reading tolerance to a point where I can begin to tackle Neal Stephenson’s “Baroque Cycle” series. I already read Cryptonomicon which is technically the beginning of the story, but in a weird way like how The Hobbit is part of Lord of the Rings but at the same time isn’t, know what I mean? Don’t sweat it, neither do I. But with that book out of the way, I’m now reading vol. I, Quicksilver. It’s over 900 pages of dense prose. It took me over a half hour to get through the first 15 pages last night. This is after putting down Da Vinci which you could conceivably read in one day if you began at 1:00 a.m. and finished at 12:59 p.m. It’s going to be a ride.

That’s a bit too heavy for bedtime reading, though. On my nightstand I have Christopher Moore’s The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. I love Moore’s books. Lamb is hands-down my favorite, followed by Bloodsucking Fiends. The rest are good, but those two are great. Hopefully Lust will join the ranks of the great. If not, no biggie. It’s Moore. He doesn’t take himself seriously so why should you? We all need druggie and sacriligious humor every now and then. Folks take themselves so seriously nowadays…

Anyway, that was a long as hell post. I’d apologize, but y’know, it’s my blog.

Sorry, but this post has been removed as we prepare to take legal action against our neighbor.

I really, really hate living here. I really do.

Some time between birth and 2004, the inner bowl of sticky hamburger known as my guts decided to rebel.

In 2004 I was still a fairly young guy — around 38 at the time — but for whatever reason that didn’t seem to matter. One doctor visit led to another doctor visit. Then another. Then another. Tests, blood samples, KY and latex gloves (and eyes that never seemed to meet head-on when goodbyes were exchanged), all of it was part of my life for one year. It was a special thing.

Not that it matters, but as far as I’m concerned 2004 will go down as The Year Erik Began a Personal Health Overhaul, or TYEBaPHO for short.

One of the numerous health related events of early 2004 was my first colonoscopy. This was brought on by 40 pounds of weight that mysteriously disappeared between August, 2003 and April, 2004. Sure, that’s not an unreasonable amount of weight to lose in eight months, but only if you’re trying. I wasn’t trying, like, at all. Colon cancer has been encountered in my family in the past so a colonoscopy was prescribed.

It’s a damn good thing, too, because I didn’t come up “clean.” There wasn’t much pre-cancerous stuff to remove, but what the doc saw he snipped. The stuff that was removed typically takes 10-12 years to develop into full blown cancer. Had I waited until my 50th birthday to get my first colonoscopy… Let’s see, 50-38=CANCER. Fun, huh? Talk about dumb luck.

I was told to come back in two years to make sure everything was removed. It’s been two years. Tomorrow, I go in for colonoscopy #2.

What am I doing today? Nothing. Well, not really nothing; I’m prepping for tomorrow morning. Anyone who has had this procedure knows the drill: a clear liquid diet all day long plus a wonderous concoction known as Fleet Phospho-Soda. Thank goodness it comes in lemon-ginger flavor… Unfortunately, lemon-ginger outside of Fleet’s R&D department equates to sour bilge water. Naxtay…

I’m currently about 10 minutes from the designated time when I give myself the first dose. I expect nothing less than the worst.

I’ve been on fluids all day long. There’s only so much clear liquid variety you can conjur up when it’s all you can consume. I’ve gone through cranberry juice cocktail, lemon-lime Gatorade, white grape/blueberry/kiwi juice, green tea, coffee, and gallons of water. Sorry, but even when your stomach is full of liquids you can still feel hungry. The one solid food that I can eat is Jell-o. In a few hours it’ll be firm enough to eat.

Yay.

I think I’m going to eat a side of beef tomorrow afternoon when the colonoscopy is through. I’m HUNGRY.

Oh, and I guess wish me luck. I doubt anything bad will be found, and even if it is, it’ll be taken care of. Staying ahead of the game is what it’s all about. (BTW, the mystery of the 40 pound weight loss was never solved…)

Okay, so this is going to be a boring post.

Up until last week I thought the squirrelly sounding “main brother” hosting CarTalk was the skinny, Brillo-haired, ’stache/bearded guy and the hefty sounding, slightly slower “sidekick brother” was the heavy guy. I associated the voices so fiercely with their appearances that seeing them on TV gave me a major shock: all this time I’ve had it backwards. Can you believe it? The heavy guy is the “main brother” and Brillo Boy is the “sidekick.”

Argh… The voices don’t fit, like, at all. I can’t unwrap my brain and rewrap it around this new information. It’s quite a dilemma.

I have tons of stuff I’d like to write about other than school, but for now I only have time to do this. If school info bores you, g’away.

I finally have my grades for this past semester:

• 3rd Year Graphic Problems II: A
• Digital Studio Practice II: A-
• Food & Nutrition (don’t laugh): B

The Food and Nutrition grade could be a shocker as I haven’t dropped below an A- since returning to school in ‘03, but for some reason I’m fine with it. I think I’m coming to terms with the fact that I don’t have to kill myself over A’s. When I’m out of school, nobody’s going to care.

I’m also happy to see my list of to-dos reduced as I roll into my last year. I have a math class, an upper division writing class, and a handful of graphic design classes left. That’s it. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, it’s a cake walk compared to the list I had three years ago.

Yep, that dot on the horizon is the light at the end of the tunnel…

Like it matters, right?

I just took my NUTR 1020-90 final exam (I took a nutrition class as my second science general ed). I swear, half of the questions weren’t in the textbook or in the lessons. No biggie, all I have to do is pass. It should be the last science class I ever need to take, at least for an art degree.

In pre-celebration I built a pinhole camera out of a matchbox. I’ve been carrying this thing around with me all day long. Developing the negatives will be…interesting.

So, school’s out until August. On to bigger, better things.

The logo on the left was created by ICOM (a design company in Russia) for a cosmetic company called F&C Technology. I created the logo on the right for a fictitious packaging company called 9 Lives Packaging.

It’s pretty obvious that these logos are different. And yes, people all over the place employ easy design decisions when creating things like logos. Still, the visual concept shared between the two logos isn’t so common that their similiarity shouldn’t be surprising.

The topic of logo duplication is hot right now. Companies like LogoWorks in Utah have been accused of stealing logos, re-branding them, and re-selling them to customers who don’t know any better. Quark recently revamped their logo, but unfortunately for them the logo was a 100% duplication of the logo used by some Scotish art foundation/museum/whatever (look it up… To their credit, Quark has since re-revamped the logo to something a bit more unique). It’s nuts.

Again, I don’t think the logos above are identical. I’m speaking more of the design sensibility, the look the designer was after, and the final execution. There’s no way in hell anyone would mistake my logo for theirs. It just got me thinking, that’s all.