Buzzworthy

West Siyeeeed! Sorry, been YouTubing too much Westside Connection lately. Which brings me to a good point...there is a ton of really great gems on YouTube (music wise) if you know what to look for. Allow me to provide you with some of the best things I've searched for and found:

1. Concrete Blonde doing a live performance of "Someday" on the Dennis Miller Show, circa 1992.

2. Edwyn Collins's great hit from 1994 "A Girl Like You". The real video for the song isn't on YouTube (at least I didn't search that hard for it), but some folks have actually made fan videos of goofy animations to the song. If you minimize the window and just listen, it's very nice.

3. Space's 1996 hit "The Female Of The Species" is a great, funky tune I remember from my days working in a leather store. We had it on the generic soundtrack that played on the in-store stereo, and I had to track it down.

4. An absolutely fantastic live version of "Trip My Wire" by my personal favorite band, Garbage.

Of course, if you're going to be searching around on YouTube, make sure you check out all the Chad Vader series of videos as well. They are very well done for a campy take on the Star Wars saga (and I'm not even a big Star Wars fan).

The Have Nots

I gotta say, the health care system in this country has got to be overhauled at some point. I mean, a lot of people (myself included) have pointed toward the Canadian free health care system as the way to go. However, the one problem with that is that when it's free you don't have a choice per se. You may need an eye operation, and while you'd like the #1 surgeon to work on your eyes, the system dictates the #5 best is available to treat you. But...it's free. Whereas, in this country, we have to pay for what we get. Now I understand, a lot of Canadians that can afford to opt to come to the States to receive the treatment they need because of that choice...so clearly, the totally free way to go is not working either.

There has to be a comfortable medium. There has to be a better way to provide people with what is essentially the most important thing they need. Because really...what is more important than safeguarding your health? As a cancer patient myself, I know my wife and I are looking at about 13K out of pocket as an expense so far in my treatment. Now, of course, that pales in comparison to the 70K that has been billed in hospital bills so far (so obviously the insurance company is soaking up a lot). But, for people like us of limited means, 13K is HUGE.

I think there needs to be some sort of government regulation set to the price medical providers can be allowed to charge for something, and maybe tier that toward what financial class you fit in to. After all, that's what we do with taxes. The rich pay more in taxes because they can afford to, while the poorer folks are allowed to take more tax breaks and get bigger returns. If you own a home or have children, it's even larger. Why not with health care? Why not have American citizens fit into a class for how much they can be charged for every service out there based upon their income? Sure it's not perfect, I don't believe any system we come up with ever will be. But it's something. Allowing the hospitals to charge an inflated rate so insurance companies can settle it down to a lower amount, then pass on the rest to the consumer is a bit out of control. When a hospital settles for what they can get from an insurance company it's proof they're doing the old practice of asking high and settling closer to what they "need" to get.

Health care is a tricky issue because how do you put a price on the most valuable thing you have? Our health and lives are invaluable and hospitals and insurance companies know this. So, we in turn pay through the nose because we have no other choice. Or, do we?

Weekend Warrior

Well the long Memorial Day weekend is upon us and I for one am looking forward to the extra time off. Not really because I've been working hard (well, I was recently but not this week), but mainly because like all Red Blooded Americans I like time off. I'd love to say I'm traveling to some interesting place but in reality I'll be chilling at home. This Saturday will find my wife and I hard at work helping her Mother and Father repainting their house, so that should be Fun In A Can™. I'm sure there will be other projects that demand my attention as well, so yay and stuff. How about you? Are you out there in TV Land traveling? Enjoying big plans?

I was checking out information on Tampa, Florida yesterday based upon my newfound love for the Bucs and wanting to know more about the city. For all intents and purposes, it sounds like heaven! They enjoy three months of hot summer weather during the standard summertime, then mid to high 70's and mid to high 50's all year round with no snow. I could really dig on living in Tampa Bay or Clearwater, no doubt. Eh, Florida's been calling me back ever since I left in '86 anyway...although, I will always have a special place in my heart for Texas.

The return of Fan Appreciation Day

After taking a seven year leave of absence from being an NFL fan (I was previously a rabid and long term 49er fan of some ten years), I have finally decided to once again care about the going's on in the league and enjoy rooting for a team again. I am by far and away a much bigger college football fan than I will ever be of the NFL, as I believe the college game to be much more fan and team oriented, but the NFL does have many great merits. I spent some time considering the team I would now pledge my allegiance to, carefully weighing all the options and narrowing it down to four teams. The Seattle Seahawks, The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs. For the record, the Chiefs made the cut simply because they are the home market team where I live and I manage to see some of their games each season. However, I have never had any interest in being a Chiefs fan as it is entirely too "expected" and "what everyone else here does". No Sir, I walk a different path than that.

I decided to involve my wife in the decision process as it really is an investment for a couple just like anything else. She has to be involved (even indirectly) in purchasing merchandise, suggesting gift ideas at appropriate holidays, and even putting up with me adding another game to the must see TV schedule in the house (which for me really is only Notre Dame games at the moment). After careful deliberation, and initially thinking the Seattle Seahawks were the way to go, eventually my gut feeling and instincts won through and we both decided on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My wife and I both feel very good about this...we both love pirate lore and things of that ilk, so that fits right in with the Bucs. I also like their style of play, unis, players and color scheme/logo (being an artist, that's important) so off we go. Hell, we could even see ourselves living in Tampa one day as I for one LOVE Florida.

Another great side benefit of this selection is that one of my best friends is a New Orleans Saints fan through and through, so having the Bucs in the same division really creates a wonderful rivalry for us to enjoy twice a year. It was a long and hard decision leaving the Niners behind...but, as I've told people before, I really feel as though they left ME behind. Changing players, styles of play, coaches, logos, uniforms, front offices...there isn't much the same for the Niners except the name. Oh well, we had a good decade long run, and now I look forward with great interest to being a Bucs fan. Loyalty in general is something I take very seriously, even to sports teams, so moving from one to another is weird but ultimately the best choice for me. Without further ado, and without anymore gilding the lily, I say GO BUCS!

Rambling Esoterically

"Do you bury me when I'm gone?, Do you teach me while I'm here?, Just as soon as I belong then it's time I disappear." - Metallica

I contacted one of my idols in the illustration world yesterday, Drew Struzan, which was somewhat amusing. I went seeking advice, and I guess you could say I left with more doubt than anything else. Mr. Struzan is quite the accomplished illustrator, having had a lot of success in the film industry particularly with regards to box and poster art for feature films. In college, I emulated his style quite a bit and as such he became a big influence of mine. However, as I have grown older, my style of work has gravitated further and further away from his style of work. Anyway, mindless rambling aside, I thought he may provide me with keen insight on how one gets into the business of illustration as he had to do it himself. While he was very nice and accommodating, he left me with something of a "doom and gloom" approach to the illustration market describing it as "ever shrinking".

Illustration as a whole is a tricky thing to get into really, having more to do with the used car business than fine art. It's all about making connections, who you know (and in turn, who they know), and so on and so forth. One of the biggest challenges that faces illustrators today as well is creating a style that is uniquely theirs. Christian Slater once mused in the film "Pump Up The Volume" that "all the good themes have been used up and turned into theme parks." I don't know if I buy that so much as it seems like a convenient cop-out, but I do think the way the world is today it is forcing us to try harder. The opportunities right outside our doors no longer stay there...they must be hunted down and taken back like trophy kills.

I do know some things though, and for that I feel grateful. I am an artist, I have something to say, and I have a plethora of ways in which to say it. Come what may, I shall always have that. The rest is making money and details.

Getting Slapped at the Pump

The gas prices in this country are seriously getting ridiculous. Looking at my handy gas price checking widget it would seem the cheapest gasoline anywhere this side of Fallujah, Iraq for me is $3.25 a gallon. $3.25?! WTF?! The funny thing about the whole situation is, we're all totally screwed by this too. What are we going to do about it...stop buying gas? Yeah, because that will work. In a city like the one I live in, where we do not have reliable and far reaching public transportation, we are almost totally dependent on fuel burning automobiles. Good luck riding a bicycle the 22 miles I have to traverse from home to work one way. The buses are real great here, and we don't have the benefit of a light rail or subway system.

I'm sure back when Ford invented the automobile fossil fuels seemed like a good idea, but come 2007 I think a lot of people would really re-evaluate that thinking. Or perhaps it would be better served to have politicians without ties to special interest groups such as oil companies, no? I'm not saying the War on Terror doubles as a great fund raiser for oil companies and those with ties to defense spending contracts...but, yeah, I am. All I know is...OPEC can officially suck it...like all day long. It's not like I have a slush fund of discretionary income lying about to purchase full tanks of gas whenever the urge to drive strikes me. I would appreciate a little leniency from the powers that be in the oil business. Hell, at least if they have decided to openly rob us...could they at least wear a ski mask on Thursdays just to change it up a bit?

Rock You Like A Hurricane

Just like an 80's band loves hairspray, I love the internet. I thought I would create a blog to link to my newly redesigned website (which is getting closer to launching). Blogs are nice...a good place for people to record their thoughts on whatever is on their mind and then share them with everyone else. So, here is my contribution then.

Have fun with that.

-a