1.10.2010

Goodnight and Goodluck

If you've been a regular visitor of this blog you've probably gathered by now that my heart really isn't in blogging of late. I think this is, in part, symptomatic of my inability to clearly define my reasons for maintaining a blog these past few years. Was it to share my creative work? To have a forum for concerns I felt about contemporary culture? Maybe an avenue to share the tidbits of daily life with friends and family? A little bit of all these things?

Like many things that just begin with a directionless impulse it has the potential to become anything, but it will most likely retain some imprint of how it began. Quite frankly, this is where a great deal of art begins— with an impulse, and not much more. But with art I always have come to a point of reckoning with each piece and been able to seize upon what is good, or delicate, or elegiac, or hopeful, and run with that new ideal. Suddenly, there is a compass that shows you a path. It's not the only path, but it's the one with the strongest pull, and it will lead to some conclusion.

I don't see the conclusion with blogging. It truly is infinite. The other day I ran across the term "lifestreaming" and, quite frankly, it made me shudder. That is not what I want for myself. I'm asked daily why I don't Facebook, as if that's a legitimate verb. I find myself growing defensive over not taking part in some grand digital party that everyone's attending so that they can talk (seemingly) to themselves.*

In short, I feel it is time to stop blogging. Perhaps this is out of fear that the act of digitizing my life into little serials does nothing to support my aims to be a better human being, but in reality it might be simple pragmatism that compels me to stop. Not blogging will free me up for other things I'd rather be doing— like creating artwork.

So, thank you to everyone who took the time to visit. If you were one of those folks who made it a habit to visit SUBJECTIVE then this decision should free up some of your time as well. Think of it as my New Year's gift to both of us.

Now, let's turn our thoughts to other things . . .

*And I'm not casting stones here: this very blog is evidence that I'm not immune to having a one-man conversation online.

1.04.2010

Free Lunch (Entertainment) From BPB

Images from Brown Paper Bag's pulp-themed 2010 calendar

I'm a winner! Meaning, I won something recently. Not meaning that I'm making some self-affirming statement to bolster my spirits at the end of a rather rocky 2009.

What did I win? I won a collection of sweet mini-comics from the talented chaps over at Brown Paper Bag simply because I typed a comment to a post on their blog.* The BPB trio are Portland based comic book artists/illustrators who have recently begun to post regularly on their creative process and inspirations. If you're at all interested in comics (of both the POW BANG BIF and/or CODED PERSONAL NARRATIVE variety) then go and take a look. This month they've opted for a tribute theme on their blog with guest appearances by the likes of Gollum (for the fantasy neurds) and Cyclops (for those mad mutant X-men neurds).

*Maybe I should give away something to encourage comments on this blog. I've got some extra pine cones (very seasonal), a glass ice cube, half a bag of almonds, and some art. What do you think?