Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Invisible Man


As an expectant father, I've been thinking a lot about genes these days - what I may be passing on to Spaghetti Rocket, good and bad. In preparation for the arrival of our first child, Beth and I bought a fancy new camera with which to document the new tot. I fooled around with it to teach myself about all the functions and the above photo is one of the zoomed in pictures that I captured. It is of my multi-colored beard. I was well aware of the "reds", the dark browns, and the whites in my calico jaw-warmer. What I was not aware of was the clear, jelly-like, invisible whiskers (inside the green rectangle). Am I part Invisible Man? Is it possible that Spaghetti Rocket will be an invisible baby? While there are clear advantages, it would seem that there would be more disadvantages. Think of all the money I could have saved on philosophy classes searching for my existential void. All along, the emptiness was right under my chin. I hope Spaghetti Rocket gets his/her transparency traits from Beth and not me.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Boston ARTchives - Ready to roll (for real this time)


Sorry about the confusion a few months ago, when I said that we were ready to roll, but in fact, we were not ready to roll. Now, we really are ready to roll! At present, we have 9 artists lending 10 pieces each, so our collection is at a robust and diverse 90. Check it out. We are now accepting subscribers for 2011. Read more about us here and how to join us here. Here's a few samples of the art you can borrow and hang on your very own walls:


Dan Nolan's art






Bea Modisett's art






Ellen Crenshaw's art






David Sturtevant's art







Catalina Viejo Lopez de Roda's art






Karl Stevens' art







Anthony Apeso's art






Sean Flood's art






And our first non-2-D artist, Jeremy Ogusky's art





Experience the thrill of being a collector without the prohibitive expense and storage concerns. Experience the satisfaction of being a supporter of local arts in a new and exciting way. Become a member today!

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Note to media

Note to media: at least one person is going to die because you're covering this koran-burning cult crackpot 24-7. Afterwards, that person will no longer be alive. Just because Freedom of Press entitles you to be reckless if the market dictates it, doesn't mean you should be reckless. Just don't cover it. Here's the model: crackpot runs on the field at a ballgame and you turn the cameras away and don't cover it. Everyone begins to think it's less amusing and more of a game-delaying nuisance, he doesn't get as much attention/adulation = less crackpots run on the field. Then you can stroke yourself about how you took the high road and people feel better about themselves for choosing you over your media competition.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Like Father Like Daughter

It's a proud moment for the Cash family. Years ago, the father became a subject of Dan Nolan art. This week, the daughter joined him, when artist Dan Nolan did a portrait commission for The Progressive magazine.

Johnny Cash painting:



Rosanne Cash painting:



(and thank you, dear VTKountry, for indulging my web-search, word-placement, shameless self-promotion, marketing post)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Boston ARTchives - Ready to roll!

Experience the thrill of being a collector without the prohibitive expense and storage concerns. Experience the satisfaction of being a supporter of local arts in a new and exciting way. Become a member of Boston ARTchives today



Here's how to join:

Boston ARTchives subscribers select art from our diverse 100 piece collection and hang it on their very own walls. Every four months, there is an art exchange where subscribers return the art to the collection and take home fresh art. At each exchange, subscribers have the opportunity to meet ARTchive's artists (ARTchivists) and discuss the work, the community, the future, etc.


Base Pricing


Boston ARTchives offers two membership levels - single and double, for borrowing one or two pieces of art each four month lending period:

* SINGLE MEMBERSHIP - Borrow 1 piece of art per lending period - $250 a year (3 lending periods - 3 pieces a year)

* DOUBLE MEMBERSHIP - Borrow 2 pieces of art per lending period - $400 a year (3 lending periods - 6 pieces a year)


Insurance

One of the innovative components of the CSA model is the idea of shared risk. The fate of the crops is shouldered by both farmers and CSA members alike. Damage to art is obviously a concern for artists and subscribers. In order to keep the subscription price low, we've set up the base ARTchives memberships as a you-break-it-you-buy-it model. As long as you don't damage the art, there's no cost beyond the membership price. If the art is damaged while in your possession then you're charged. Some subscribers favor this model.

However, we realize that some people may be uncomfortable with this and would prefer to have insurance coverage. With this in mind, ARTchives offers an optional insurance buy-in for each yearly membership. Subscribers can insure the art they borrow on the single piece membership for $75; double piece members can buy insurance for $150. If none of the borrowed art comes back damaged, the insurance would continue coverage into future years. If art is damaged, an additional insurance payment would be required for membership renewal. We recognize that this sounds like a cumbersome system, but we think it's a fair compromise for members who don't feel the need for insurance, for those that would prefer it, and for artists who are risking their work.


Art purchases

Boston ARTchives is operated by artists, for artists. It's not like gallery representation. Our artists can continue to market and sell their art outside of ARTchives, in addition to selling through ARTchives. However, since subscribers are helping us make a living, we feel you should be rewarded for this patronage. While you are borrowing a piece, you have the right to match the purchase price offered to the artist by any buyer. This way, you can feel free to get comfortable with your borrowed art and take your time deciding if you'd like to make it a permanent part of your collection. Let it breathe on your wall without anyone breathing down your neck.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Group C Scenarios



Here's the ESPN breakdown of the scenarios in which the US can advance in the World Cup:

USA advances with:
(a) Win versus Algeria on Wednesday
(b) Tie and Slovenia-England tie IF England does not outscore USA by 2+ goals
(c) Tie and England loss

Slovenia advances with:
(a) Win or tie versus England
(b) Loss AND USA tie vs Algeria
(c) Loss and Algeria win as long as Algeria doesn't make up tiebreakers*

England advances with:
(a) Win versus Slovenia
(b) Tie AND USA-Algeria tie AND outscore USA by 3 goals

Algeria advances with:
(a) Win versus USA AND Slovenia win/tie versus England
(b) Win versus USA AND Slovenia loss versus England AND makes up tiebreakers on Slovenia

Note: If the U.S. draws with Algeria and England draws with Slovenia, and England scores exactly two more goals than the U.S., the U.S. and England would be even on all tiebreakers for second place. The tie would be broken by drawing lots ... aka, a coin flip.

* Tiebreaker order: (1) Goal differential in all group matches (Algeria is -1, Slovenia is +1); (2) greatest number of goals scored (Slovenia has 3 goals, Algeria none); (3) greatest number of points obtained in group matches between the teams concerned; (4) goal differential resulting from group matches between the teams concerned; (5) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned.

(Only way both USA and England advance is if both win.)

If USA finishes atop the group, they will face the 2nd place team from group D. If they finish 2nd, they will face the 1st place team from group D. Two of Germany, Ghana, and Serbia will likely advance, but the order is up in the air.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Saturday, May 22, 2010

ARTchives!!


You may remember a few posts ago, I laid out a fairly rough idea about a CSA-style Local Art Library. Well, I've been working feverishly to shape, shave, and shove the idea into a form that will work for both artists and subscribers. And believe you me, it WILL work. And not just because I'm a belligerent dreamer. This idea works. People just need to see it in action. Ah, yes, the action. So, the action. After a feverish search, I've pulled together 10 local Boston artists who are going to participate, making 10 pieces available for lending to subscribers, giving us a massive, diverse, and beautiful 100 piece collection. The website is under construction, as are the legal details of it all. We're now in the process of rolling out the idea to potential subscribers. Please consider doing us the solid of checking out the succinct version of the idea and of taking the succinct survey (5 quick questions) to help us gauge what potential subscribers think of our crazy, crazy-like-a-fox, so-crazy-it-just-might-work, scrappy-yet-exceedingly-professional idea. Thanks VTKountry!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Free Comic Book Day on WOWIO



Oh don't mind him. He's harmless. It's Free Comic Book Day on WOWIO

Posted using ShareThis

Help yourself to a free download of Business Casual Stag Devil Death Boy to celebrate Free Comic Book Day.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Out to Lunch...

Hey VTKountry - my deepest apologies for the extended absence. VTK will be back after tax season. Coming soon: Notes From a 1040 Factory.