Alex Pearson - Designer, Illustrator

Making Good Habits

2011-07-08T16:02:00.006-05:00

I recently read an article by Scott Young on The 99% about how to fix bad habits. Although I think it was really more about how to force yourself to create good ones. Scott, through years of self proclaimed experimentation on himself has found a method of how to effectively do this. His method in a nutshell is "do it everyday". After a period of forcing yourself to do something it will eventually become a habit, a routine, that you don't have to think about anymore. No longer will you have to force yourself, but it will be second nature. Such a simple concept, yet I've never heard anyone else explain it in such a way that made so much sense.

As soon as I finished reading the article I was determined I needed to follow the method, and get started. Here are the habits I wanted to create for myself:

1). Wake up earlier
I've always been more of a night person. My whole family is. I just don't naturally want to jump out of bed. It just feels too good to hit snooze 10 times. However getting a late start on the day is probably the worst thing you can do for productivity.

2). Do some quick exercise
This is another thing that does not come to me naturally. I always found working out or exercising just for the sake of it to be an embarrassing and honestly kind of stupid activity. Somehow I can't imagine our ancestors thousands of years ago finding the biggest rock they could and lifting it over and over again for the purpose building muscle. Basically it doesn't seem natural to me. Incidental exercise through work, sport or a rigorous activity seems better to me, but alas I work on a computer... so yeah.

3). Draw everyday
Believe it or not, I do not draw everyday. If fact I feel like I haven't been drawing much at all lately. I suppose it's because I am constantly going back and forth between creating posters, to logos, websites and everything else in between. So I pretty much only end up actually drawing when I have an assignment to. That needs to change.

I'm happy to say that today was my first day, and I accomplished all 3. Ok yeah I know what you're thinking "first day is always easy." True, so we'll see how things pan out.

I woke up at 7:30 (usually I get up at 9)
Did pushups, pullups and situps
and I drew this

Holga D

2011-03-10T14:48:00.005-06:00

Product Designer Saikat Biswas is the kind of guy I want designing the products I use. Simple, elegant and only including features you really need. His aesthetic admittedly makes use of self imposed limitations. This is his prototype for a digital Holga. No. There is no LCD screen on the back.

He has a few other prototypes on his website that will also hopefully be realized. www.saikatbiswas.com

Wedding Poster

2010-04-15T13:10:00.003-05:00

I am going to start offering commemorative poster designs for weddings in the style of show posters. This is the first one I've done. I actually photographed Megan and Cody's wedding back in August and used an image from their engagement session for this.

Custom Twitter Birds

2010-03-11T12:37:00.007-06:00

My friends Mindy and Phil Thornton are really great wedding photographers, and are also active tweeters. Phil asked me to create some custom twitter illustrations that resembled them, but were still cartoony and fun. Check out their work at www.phindystudios.com

Illustration for Scott Miller

2010-03-08T16:57:00.004-06:00

I was recently commissioned to create a feature "window dressing" for stylist Scott Miller's website. He had just done hair for an Armani show in Paris and wanted to bring some attention to it. Unfortunately the project was scrapped. Here is the illustration and design I did though.

Newer pursuits: Photography

2009-04-24T15:21:00.007-05:00

Yes I've been doing some wedding photography here and there as some of you may already know. Mostly for friends. Well I've just launched a brand new website to support my photography services www.pearsonfoto.com and the blog www.pearsonfoto.blogspot.com. Familytree is still my main source of income and personal satisfaction, but photography has always had a special place in my heart as well. So why not get paid to do it?

25 things about me... according to facebook

2009-03-05T18:22:00.001-06:00

1. I started this thing a while ago, and really don't know if I'll be able to get to 25. I think at most I have about 15 qualities so we'll see how far this gets and go from there.

2. I collect things: like, old cameras, pictures of dudes with mustaches, and hot sauce. I want to start a collection of old toys and old pinup paintings. This collector quality also has it's downfalls... like the fact I can't throw stuff away. Underneath my bed and all closets in my home are pretty scary. (sidenote: useful for tax purposes)

3. Two words. Righteous Indignation. I have a highly developed sense of justice. Case in point: when I was 5 years old my dad explained to me the concept of borrowing money with interest. I was angered and appalled.

4. I was born 50 years too late. I love old things, old processes, and old ways of thinking.

5. I have ZERO musical talent. I can't sing or play any instuments, not even fake Rockband instruments. Oddly enough when I was 19 I was convinced I could sing, and wanted to be in a band. You should be glad that never happened.

6. Even though I can't make the music... I can dance to it. I can lay down some serious dance moves. I may look like Gumby or Napoleon Dynamite doing it, but I can do it nonetheless.

7. People have said that I look like Jim Carey, Jemaine Clement, and Billy-Bob Thornton.

8. I don't believe in doing anything half-hearted. Even if it's cleaning the bathtub. I take serious pride in the things I like to do, and try to outdo myself every time. I guess I have a little bit of a competitive spirit, but it really is a competition with myself, and no one else. With exception sometimes if I feel like I can't do something I get discouraged, and don't really bother with it, like music.

9. I am somewhat of a social chameleon. I don't fake my personality or interests, but I like making people comfortable, and often adjust my behavior according to who I'm with. I also find myself filling the hole that needs to be filled. If you are indecisive then I will lead. If you are assertive and like to be in control, then I fall back and go with the flow. (This is also a manifestation of #10).

10. I think there is nothing in the world that I hate more than confrontation. I'm not sure yet if this is a positive or a negative. Actually it's both. Positive, because it keeps me out of fights, but negative when there is an uncomfortable issue that needs to be addressed.

10.5. If you are interested in something I hate, but you really love it and are passionate about it, I still like to hear about it, at least once. I think I can get along with 99.9% of the human population, and there are very few people who dislike me.

11. I'm pretty sure people who don't know me or just see me in passing are intimidated by me. I really don't mean this in a bragging way at all. I never find myself getting in friendly conversations with strangers. I think it's because when I'm alone, I don't give off an approachable vibe. I'm pretty much down to business and act serious. I'm trying to work on this, because I'm jealous of people who get along with strangers.

12. On the flip side of #11, when I'm with friends I am a total goof, and love to make people laugh (which may include dancing, voices, hats, wigs and so forth). So if you know me well, you probably know I'm a little bit of an entertainer.

13. I cannot drink alcohol in uncomfortable situations. Most people would prefer to be drinking, but for me it makes an out-of-my-control situation even more out of my control. I also don't like drinking around my parents or other people's parents.

14. One time I shaved my head and left my sideburns.

15. I think Back to the Future had a deep impact on my early childhood development.

16. If I appear confident I'm probably faking. Deep down I am still a nerdy little kid that wants to play with legos and draw.

17. Today a four year old told me her brother informed her that I was a grownup. I informed her I am a very tall kid.

17.5. I think most kids know about #16 and 17. They're on to me. They know I would rather be playing with their toys than doing grownup stuff. Hence kids love me. Which works out well because I love them. The only problem is that if I do actually try and tell a child what to do... it's like they're hearing it from a 5 year old.

18. I really hope I never go blind. I just love looking at things.

19. I may or may not have a man crush on my brother Ben. I think he's probably the coolest and funniest person I know. Rewind 15 years ago... I hated him. My parents used to actually read me scriptures about not hating your brother... it was that bad. In my defense he did get sick joy out of purposely irritating me.

20. I think if I had a beard I would be 20% better in all aspects of life.

21. Some people describe me as creative. I disagree. I like creating art, film, photography, graphic design. But I really don't think I'm that creative, I just refuse to do a poor job (refer back to #8).

22. If anyone tells me I look like Don Draper I will be very happy.

25. I'm tired of this.

I haven't changed much

2009-02-13T15:00:00.002-06:00

My mom brought over 3 or 4 trash bags of stuff that was all jammed in a closet in my old room the other day. I spent a couple hours going through old forgotten gems. This is from a test I took when I was in 8th grade. I was 14. The jobs groups suggested based on my interest and abilities were 1) Technology Professional 2) Arts Professional 3) Science Professional 4) Arts Skilled. If that doesn't have "Graphic Designer" written all over it... then I don't know what does. I guess I picked the right job.

I am a cartoon character

2008-05-30T15:10:00.004-05:00

Yeah I'm sure this is really old, considering the movie came out quite a while ago, but I just found the website where you can make yourself as a simpsons character, I did a little tweaks myself in photoshop.

Have I lost my mind?

2008-03-30T11:52:00.004-05:00

Those of you who know me personally know that I am a little bit of a coffee snob. I try not to force my views on others, but I just don't stand for bad coffee. I realize if all you've ever had is foldgers then there may be no reason for you to ever upgrade. It will at least save you some money. It's like if all you've ever driven is a 1987 Honda Civic and it still runs, why upgrade to a BMW? I purchase my beans from local Nashville roaster Bongo Java (at this point Starbucks isn't even good enough any more), and that's pretty much all I drink. It seems to me that Americans, although somewhat late, are starting to learn the value of good coffee. Case in point Starbucks recent mysterious afternoon closing, and falling off of customer base. They've realized that as a major American company they have been responsible for broadcasting the coffee culture from coast to coast. And now we've learned that there is better coffee out there. Coffee like Bongo Java's. So when McDonald's began their ads for their new Iced Coffee, I simply laughed. Ok when did Starbucks begin popping up on every corner? About ten years ago! Maybe 7-8 if you live in a rural area. I couldn't believe how stupid this seemed. As if in a McDonald's board meeting this summer, some executive realized, "Hey you know people seem to want better coffee these days. Maybe we should do something about that." Or maybe they've been building this drink in the McLaboratory since the year 2000. Maybe that coffee lab was the only thing affected by the Y2K bug. I don't know, but what I do know is that I broke down and tried it. No less than 2 hours ago, and I'm somewhat ashamed to say... I really liked it. Have I lost my mind?

Behold... The Lens!

2008-03-28T12:36:00.004-05:00

This little darling is the Canon 24-70mm 2.8L. I will have the privilege of putting it to good use tomorrow. I am shooting a wedding and decided my 50mm wasn't going to cut it. So I rented this bad boy from Lensrentals.com. Too bad I'll only have it for 3 days. It's going to be hard giving it back that's for sure.

Once the lens, the flash and my other new addition, the lightsphere, are all attached, this bad boy is kinda heavy. Hopefully my wrist will survive.

familytree is GO!

2008-03-20T18:27:00.005-05:00

Okay this definitely makes it official... website up, business cards printed, and spirits are high.

Where have you been?

2008-03-04T16:46:00.002-06:00

You may have been asking yourself that question. Or maybe you didn't even notice I haven't posted anything in a month... hey no biggie. I just thought you might like to get the scoop on why it's been so barren over here. Well the good news is I've been busy. Busy with new work, busy creating my new identity and new website. Although the site isn't up yet, I suppose you can call this the grand unveiling of Familytree. Look over yonder to the right of the screen, there should be a shiny new logo at the top. Currently this is where most of my energy has been going, getting ready for this launch. So in the next couple days look for the Familytree website to be up and running, and ready to accept projects big and small.

Theory 8 show poster

2008-03-04T16:43:00.004-06:00

A show poster for Bill Callahan, Jonathan Meiburg and Caitlin Rose at the Mercy Lounge. Designed for Theory 8 Records right here in Nashville.

Prada is the Devil

2008-02-05T11:58:00.000-06:00

Illustration for Lipstick magazine about the damaging effects of high heels.

For Ben

2008-02-05T10:07:00.000-06:00

A quick sketch I did last night with my newest pen, the Pigma Graphic 1. It's really easy to make thin or thick lines with this pen. Quite a joy to use.

Moleskin Mustache

2008-01-25T13:46:00.000-06:00

My Life as a (true) Sitcom

2008-01-24T11:21:00.000-06:00

(This was originally written as a comment to a post on the blog Speakup)

Why are job interview stories almost always the same yet you can't get enough? It's the stuff sitcoms are made of. Predictable with only one of two possible outcomes, but everyone in the world can relate.

Mine should be no exception...

One day after class in my second-to-last semester, a professor, that I got along with quite well, approached me in the hall and asked me into her office. She held up a piece of paper. "I got a fax this morning from a local design firm, they need an entry level designer part time. Let me know if you're going to call, because you are the only person I've showed this to."

Of course I was going to call! I felt honored that my professor chose me, and this was my shot at my first real job.

Fast forward one week. I pull up to the almost 100-year-old car factory, made of crumbling red brick, that has been converted into office lofts, buzzing with excitement. The building is neat, but is in a really bad part of town. Mental note: lock the doors, and leave anything valuable out of site.

I entered the building and found my way to suite 204. I walked in and expected to find my way over to the receptionist's desk. But all I found was a huge empty room with hardwood floors, 25ft ceilings and windows that went all the way to the ceiling. "We're up here" cried a voice. I turned to my right and climbed the stairs into the loft. I ducked under the precariously place huge black pipe, and shook hands with the man who introduced himself as the owner of the company.

I showed him my school portfolio, and he silently turned the pages, showing no emotion. So man things go through your head at this point. He closed it and said, "Well I like what I see here, when can you start?" I don't even remember what I said, but I'm sure it was along the lines of "immediately."

So my new boss was telling me a little about the company and himself, and suddenly blurts out "Oh by the way... my business partner and I are gay. Is that a problem for you?" Although it wasn't, I didn't even know how to react. If the man had said the converse "by the way I'm straight" its still the kind of thing that totally takes you off guard... especially in a job interview. Next I was told they didn't have a computer for me, but they would be buying one from a designer they had worked with on a freelance basis.

Later that freelancer with the computer was hired. Who also ended up being on meth, yes meth. I don't know how many times his Camaro IROC-Z broke down. Or how many times I was told about how he couldn't get any sleep because he fought beasts all night in his dreams. Or how many times he told me he wished the aliens would just come and take him away.

Like I said... sitcom. After growing and merging with a magazine publisher, there was talk of a studio that wanted to make a reality show out of our office. Whether that was actually true or not I never found out, but I gotta tell you, it would have been a show worth watching.

I ended up working there for two years, and leaving on bad terms with the owner. Although when I left it was way past due, in some ways it was the best job I've ever had. And that's the story of my first interview....

Now almost 5 years later, I work out of my house, and hope to never have another job interview again.

Bad Art... Worse Beer

2008-01-15T12:25:00.000-06:00

The other night, we had some friends over to house. It was a laid back evening of Nintendo Wii, Cranium, and drinking. As you know it can get pricey to supply a get together of 10 people with alcohol of any kind, so we requested everybody bring at least chips or something. You always get a mixed bag, when throwing that request out there, so you can really complain about what you get, especially when it's for free. However I want to know if anyone actually likes Flying Dog beer. We had a 12 pack show up, and at least 6 of them are still in the fridge (the only beer left).

I recently was talking with a friend of mine who visited their brewery in Denver. He said he went just because it was something to do. I also believe him when he claimed that he told the people giving the tour that their beer was horrible. I can't remember if I high-fived him or not, but I should have. Seriously, I don't understand the mystique behind this beer. It tastes horrible, and I absolutely can't stand the labels. Yes I know who Ralph Steadman is, and I really like his work from the Hunter S. Thompson days, but every one of the Flying Dog labels is not only ugly but just annoying.

I mean check out these other two pieces by Ralph Steadman, they rock. I'm kinda glad these weren't wasted on such a substandard beer. Has Steadman simply passed his prime, or has he intentionally given a crappy product to a crappy beer?
Scathing comments to support either side will be appreciated.

The Grey Army

2008-01-11T16:26:00.000-06:00

Since I now work from home 3 days a week, life is quite different. I get to sleep in til pretty much whenever I want, I get a nice breakfast every morning, and every now and then I catch a little Price is Right (like this morning). Anyway, although I have work it isn't enough to keep me busy all day long. And because I'm not a very structured person, I mix a lot of random other things into my day. Today however was the first time I have been to the grocery store in the middle of the day. Usually I tend to go after work at night, which sucks, because that's what everybody else does too. And that's exactly what I intended to avoid.

I was surprised as soon as I got there, so many cars for 11am. Once inside I realized day shopping at the local Kroger is a completely different experience. I was definitely the youngest person in there. I was swimming in a sea of crests. Everyone there had white hair. There were motorized scooters blazing all over the place. I paused for a moment to reach out and grab a box of delicious blueberry cereal bars off the shelf when my arm was almost torn off by a low-riding battle scarred scooter as it whipped around the corner of the aisle, it's driver wearing an evil grin. Scary stuff really. Most of them don't even look like they know where they're going, adding a George A. Romero element to the experience.

I did finally see someone of my own peer group. He could have been an older version of myself (sporting a beard and infant in the cart). We exchanged nods as if to say "when this crap goes down and these oldies start biting heads I got yer back." It was a good feeling... then I got some frozen pizzas and beer.

Disclaimer: I love old people. My shopping experience today was actually better than usual.

for d.a.

2008-01-06T17:29:00.000-06:00

New Illustrations

2007-12-13T11:10:00.000-06:00

These are two illustrations I was hired to do for new blogs on rezoom.com. Tuneology obviously a music blog and the other is entitled Politics Unplugged. Rezoom.com is a lifestyles website for baby boomers, with entertainment news, blogs, and social networking.

local warming

2007-12-11T09:40:00.000-06:00

It is December right? Okay just checking, because the high for today in Nashville is 75 degrees Fahrenheit (about 24 for all you Celsius folks. Ridiculous. My first inclination is to complain, because I like winter to be winter, but it's so gorgeous outside right now I can't. I think I need to get outside and enjoy it. So why am I still typing? Don't worry just about done... okay done.

less pixels more paper

2007-12-10T21:04:00.000-06:00

I watched Amelie again last night in bed on my laptop (which is my new favorite way to watch movies these days). I actually bought this movie a long time ago because I loved it so much and hadn't watched it since. It's such a wonderful movie, it makes you feel good and want to fall in love. But actually more importantly to me is it's the stress it plays on the tactile. Throughout the movie we are given very personal insight into each character and their likes and dislikes. These are often the almost comfortingly mundane little things of life like cleaning out a toolbox or the feeling of a sinking your hand into a basket of dried beans. This really could be construed as the true theme of the movie if you ask me. It is so present in every aspect of it, the glass man who cannot touch anything that is not padded, Lucien the handicapped boy at the fruit stand that like to touch each piece of fruit, Amelie's love interest that works at a sex shop, and Amelie herself who is constantly collecting stones for skipping on the water.

I guess the reason this is so great to me is because we live in such a detached and digital world where everything is disposable. I just love the idea of Amelie's world where everything is to be touched, and cherished. I love the polaroids, photo booths, letters, and boxes of cherished nothings. It also sparks in me my desire to collect something. I think as a child I was very apt to do this, but mostly ended up collecting junk like action figures and baseball cards with the disillusioned hope of one day cashing in my collection and making big money.

I know I'm not the first person to realize the value of the tactile in our ever-more digital world, but it does do a bit of good to remind yourself every now and then.

Love / Hate

2007-12-01T14:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've got a gripe for the design community. I guess it's also a gripe at myself, because I have been just as guilty as the rest of you. What praytell do I simultaneously love and hate so much that it requires me to write a pointless blog about? Well let me tell you.. You see you know you're getting really lazy as a designer when, every time you have a new job request or a new concept to draft up, your first reaction is to go to istockphoto.com. Yep that's right, I'm going for a full on attack here. It's a two-fold problem
though, and I can't point the finger at any ONE group so...

Fold 1: Designers purchasing from istockphoto
(Full disclosure: I fall into this category) I have definitely gotten better about it lately, but it is really easy to get into the habit of making that your first resource to fuel any project you work on. Here's the deal if you care about doing good design, don't rely on someone else to do it for you. I am tired of seeing lazy designs being churned out consisting of recycled vector ornaments, and generic corporate office photos. Designs that have no concept behind them.

Fold 2: Designers contributing to istockphoto
First off I am a designer and I have no problems with people selling their work, more power to you if you can make a living off of it (I don't really know how much you can make off istock, but whatever). Some designers and photographers out there just seem to be submitting work just to make a quick buck. Not all of course, but some. I mean how many fricking different variations of an email icon do you need?! If you type in "web icon" there are about 50,000 results. Well you only need to look at the first page, because the rest are just duplicates in every shade imaginable. Guess what? We have photoshop and illustrator and can change the color ourselves!

I realize that stock photography and graphics are very valuable, I do not want them to go away. I don't really know how else I would get a photo of elderly couple eating ice cream on a cruise ship, wearing matching pantsuits, I also think that istock can be a good place to get an idea, that maybe you wouldn't have come up with on your own, and I should mention I have seen some really great designs that make really creative use of stock photos, textures and the like. But this goes for both Folds 1 and 2: let's just put some more effort into this whole thing. When you just get lazy and slap a crappy stock photo or vector image into your design without thinking about it, you are only hurting yourself. You are devaluing your design ability.

If you want to be more successful, be more creative, and make more money, slow down. Instead of feeling like you have to grab some quick images from a stock source, sit down and think the concept through, sketch it out, and make the design 100% yours. Make it something the client can't get anywhere else.

And when you need that elderly couple in pantsuits... go to istock.

Reborn.

2007-12-01T13:56:00.000-06:00

About two years ago I started a brand that I called Family Tree. My initial concept was to collaborate with friends and fellow artists on fun little projects, and possibly sell them and make a couple bucks here and there. The point wasn't really the money, but to have an actual thing to put some creative energy into, other than wasting it on slack-jawed employers that didn't appreciate it. So anyway, I made some stuff, and sold some of it, but I just ended up letting a lot of other things get in my way and distract me. There were shirts, bags, suitcases, stuff like that. I always wanted to expand it and make more, but never got around to it. Laziness and Fear, my two biggest enemies ended up getting the better of me. But I am happy to say that I'm not going to let those two bastards stop me. Family Tree is back and about to get a makeover. If you click your way on over to www.familytree.etsy.com/ you will find some goodies ripe for the purchasing. I have plans to expand what Family Tree is all about, and turn it into my primary source of income, so be on the lookout for that.

For the Love of Letters: Tauba Auerbach

2007-11-11T22:02:00.001-06:00

Tauba Auerbach is a 26 year old artist and sign painter out of San Francisco. And quite frankly she is awesome. Her works examines both the complex intricacies of letter form as viewed above (the letter F), as well as some interesting takes on words and how we use them. One thing that really setes Tauba apart is that almost all of her work is done by hand. Once you realize that you really appreciate the time and loving effort that is going into her work. This is the kind of artist I would love to see making an impact on the design scene. Although, as far as I can tell from the (admittedly) brief amount of research I did on her, she is a fine artist and sign painter only, and does not do any commercial graphic design.

Ironic to me because I've had a tie to the sign business running in my blood for over 40 years. My Grandfather started hand painting signs in Chicago for grocery stores, taught his son the trade, passed it on to his son-in-law (my dad), and now I work part time with my father. It's refreshing to see something like this coming from a sign painter, no offense to the family, but for the most part signs tend to be pretty utilitarian and often customers don't understand or accept design principles, making it pretty hard to incorporate good design. Also it's not usually worth your time. Alright my tangent is over.

Check out Tauba's website here.

How to Spell the Alphabet - 2005

A Sad Day for Russell Street

2007-11-09T16:22:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night was just like any other night. Well pretty much anyway. I live in "historic" East Nashville. Which is the politically correct way of saying there are some pretty old and awesome houses surrounded by urban nastiness that the city wants to go away. Yeah there are lots of random drifters that are constantly passing by my 100 year old apartment building, but they rarely engage you, let alone do anything other than pass through. Not a big deal. I'm sure Nashville has crime, but it is pretty tame compared to most cities. I don't think that I have ever felt like I was in danger while in downtown Nashville.

It's not the end of the world, but somebody or perhaps a group of somebodies, looking for sweet loot to steal broke out at least 5 or 6 car windows on my street. One of them was mine. It was kind of a weird experience, nothing like this has ever happened to me before. When I opened my car door to get in, I noticed everything from my glove box all over the car. It took me a second look to realize my passenger side window now looked like crushed ice. For some reason my reaction to seeing this was not what I thought it would be, I really wasn't upset at all. I didn't know what to feel. So I drove to work (yeah I got a part time job until the sweet freelance money starts rolling in) and shivered.

The next day I had to take my car to a Geico Claims Adjuster, and for some reason that was when it hit me. I felt very anxious and stressed out. Maybe part of it was now I was realizing I had to pay for this. Not the person who did this, but me. Just like all the other people on my street. Breaking 5 windows at about $200 a pop. At least a thousand dollars of damages from probably 15 minutes of fun. Not to mention what ever was stolen. They didn't take anything from my car, or another friend that lives next door.

My sense of righteous indignation now began to flare. This person(s) was now out cashing in on stolen loot, hanging out enjoying themselves. While the rest of us were figuring out to how get our cars fixed, and wondering how safe our street is. It's the kind of event that makes you want to get a gun. However I'm morally opposed to that, so I have one better: blowgun. Yeah that's right just like the natives of jungle areas use. They are wicked cool, super accurate, and they won't kill anybody. I have a perfect view of the cars from my 3rd floor apartment window too. Anything goes down from now on on my street, prepare to get a dart in your neck.

Milligan Massage

2007-10-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

Wow... tomorrow it will be a whole week already. Hard to believe. Oh well, so far so good. I just thought for all 5 of my loyal readers I would toss up my first finished project (since going freelance).

This is a logo I designed for a friend who is in a similar boat as myself. She just recently decided to take the plunge to go on her own and start her own massage business. I've never had one of her massages, but I'm sure they are top notch, and I wanted her to have a logo that would give that impression. We're working on some business cards, a postcard, and hopefully a website too. But if you're in Nashville and need a massage give her a call 615-542-8005.

Changin' and Rearrangin'

2007-10-18T17:44:00.000-05:00

Following a somewhat unexpected (but also somewhat welcome) turn of events that went down yesterday, I will now be putting most of my energy, 85% or so, to developing a full time freelance graphic design business. This has actually been in the back of my mind for a while now, and it just so happens that I technically don't have a normal job anymore. So... perfect time to get started I say. I mean all the cool kids are doin it. Armin and Bryrony of the famed Underconsideration, Speak Up, and Brand New have jumped on this scary self-reliant band wagon, so why can't I. Ok, yes they are awesome designers that live in New York city and probably have ridiculous hookups, but... I gots the charm. Hopefully that will carry me.

I really want to focus on typography. I have always had a fondness for it, and have just recently realized that I love it. Spending countless hours finessing curves and lines in all its monotony is quite pleasant and relaxing.

My newly discovered love of type is due in part to a designer I've been following for over a year now, Marian Bantjes. Needless to say she's awesome (that's her work below, not mine).

So look out Nashville Design Scene, here I come.

An Article Unearthed by one Steven Matthew Turner

2007-09-26T05:34:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from the Sep. 20th Shaftesbury Mountain Herald - Arts and Leisure Section:

It may come as somewhat of a surprise to the residents of Nashville Tennessee that we have stolen the hearts of two of your city's young travelers. Once again.

The events that transpired in the late evening on the 17th of September 2007 have in fact been well documented here in the colonies of the United Kingdom.

Americans Steven Turner and Alex Pearson arrived in a most timely fashion and soon after stepping off the aircraft decided to procure a fine ale, stout. At which point Mr. Turner and Mr. Pearson, before their speech was corrected by the superior English wit and charm, were heard saying, "it only goin up from here y'all" and "this here is dang ol downright coo man." To which they both knocked cowboy boots and spit an utterly alarming amount of mouth fluid into a large metal tin producing what can only be described as a resounding "ting".

What soon followed was a blissful day filled with the meeting of fine folk all around. Yes folk of the finest quality indeed. The following days were filled with being whisked away to various cottages, abbeys, castles, sea-side country and pubs of the highest esteem and regard. These adventures of course continuing the young men's happiness.

But it was late on the 17th of Sep. that the two decided to never return to their homeland America. Yes turning their back on heritage, possessions and honor all the like.

When asked for a statement one Alex Pearson had this to say. "We have grown weary of the heat. Here we have cappuccinos, scarves, mittens and above all rosy cheeked women at our disposal at anytime. It is rather nice, we are staying."

Steven continued saying, "At first, and this of course goes without saying, the lack of honky tonk saloons was quite upsetting, heck, downright abhorrent and detestable, but once one gets by this fact the hilly mountain pathways and lush greenery is equally if not more beautiful."

The two continued, "What a blast so far. The Fanthorpes have treated us with the utmost generosities and kindnesses, indeed. Our friends back home will be missed, true, but this is our decision. We are sorry."

Soon after this interview Steven and Alex were accosted by a group of English Hooligans (slang term chavs) and died on the morning of Sep. 19th.

By Teven Surner - Staff Writer

Blog... stands for Back Log

2007-09-24T17:54:00.000-05:00

Yes I know I'm way behind on filling you in on this awesome trip. But here's the deal it's too awesome to take time out of it to sit down for an hour every night and write about it. But trust me, there are many stories to be told and way too many pictures. Today was especially awesome. No spoilers... but Steve and I took an unplanned sidetrip, that was well worth the 4 hour train trip.

Day 2: Zombie Flight

2007-09-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

I guess this is still technically part of Day 1, but who cares? We get to the airport and arrive at our gate which is absolutely packed. There aren't even any seats in the waiting area. We go up to the desk and tell them we have standby tickets. The unnamed and misshaped woman with a man's haircut looks at us and says "The flight is full, there are no seats," in a tone that would make Ghandi resort to fisticuffs. So we sit down, and hope that we can either upgrade to first class or some poor sucker dies on the way to the airport.

We wait.. zones are being called for boarding, people look excited that they are getting on a plane, and we are imagining being stuck in Philadelphia for even longer. Sitting next to some annoying looking 20-somethings from Denmark wearing way too much cologne, I was jealous of their confirmed seats. After about 30 minutes, the other desk girl called our names. We walked up and without a word she handed us two tickets. We were beaming.

I was tired, really tired, and fell asleep almost right away. The odd thing about this flight is that it is a six hour flight, and Manchester is 6 hours later than home, so after sleeping what felt like 10 minutes, being randomly awoken by vomiting, a meal landing in my lap, and trying to get comfortable on a postage stamp sized pillow, the sun came up.

After we landed, we were immediately corraled into a huge line right off of the boarding gate. It didn't look that bad, but customs took 2 hours. You are required to fill out an arrival card with some personal information upon arrival to the UK. One of the lines was for the address of where you will be staying. I did not know Jason and Helen's address so we left it blank. At the customs desk Steve and I both were harrassed and made to feel stupid for not knowing this ahead of time. The woman at Steve's desk told him to "go sit down and think about it" like a misbehaving 8 year old. But they let us through anyway.

I felt really bad for my friend Jason, he had been there since 8:30 and we didn't even see him until 10:30. But he was cheerful and friendly nonetheless as he greeted us.

The drive from Manchester to Hull is about 1.5 hours, and absolutely beautiful. It is filled with pastures and farm land of rolling hills. It felt really good to get to the Fanthorpes and sit down in a normal and relaxing setting. Their home is part of a quaint 100 year old building of many units of the size. They have done it up very nice and their bathroom looks like it came out of a magazine.

Jason called his friend "Jimbo" and we went and played ping-pong in a used car lot office surrounded by old MGs and motorcycles. It was very dream like at this point, I could barely keep my eyes open and kept falling asleep every time I sat down.

Day 1: The Beginning of Our Story (continued)

2007-09-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Ok I know I said I was going to update this thing everyday, but the laptop has been dead, and we've been too busy to get on the computer anyway.

So to continue from where we left off... We pretty much just rambled about the city for quite a while not really knowing where we were going. We ended up in the Amtrak station, which was massive and quite impressive. I have never been in a real train station before. The ceilings
were no doubt 50 or 60 ft high. It was a very neat place. Some on-duty officers helped us with directions to the Mutter and we were on our way.

The Mutter Museum was started quite some time ago as a place for physicians and doctors to study strange human anomalies and deformities. Now it is pretty much just a place for people with a taste for the deranged to see some freaks and babies in jars. Definitely not for the squeamish or faint of heart, however I was expected it to be a little more edgey. I mean there was one little girl there who did not like what she was seeing and her extremely matter-of-fact grandmother had to take her out of one display.

I did end up buying a "Box O' Bones," but guess what... nobody left me any Philly ideas. So... don't be expecting any consolation prizes. Yeah that's right. You get nothing!

Back to the Mutter: Probably not too surprising, but after a while that place will make you sick. Not from seeing the hideous deformities but mostly from breathing in air tainted with hudred-year-old formaldehyde. As soon as we walked outside and took in one breath of fresh air we instantly felt better.

After the Mutter we still had quite a bit of time to kill before our plane was to take off. So why not see the Liberty Bell? That would seem like a good idea wouldn't it? Well looking at the map is quite different from actually walking the distance (about 16 blocks) Keep in mind we've already walked 10 at least. But we've got time so why not? After a bit of walking we realized we were not on the right street, we had some how got disoriented and turned while going through some construction areas. But while lost we discovered that the people of Philadelphia are quite nice. No less than 3 people stopped us and asked "Hey, what are you looking for?" We were just walking looking at a map. It was surprising and nice.

Walking for so long we got a bit tired and stopped off at an Irish pub, drank whiskey ate Ruebens and sat. It was good. On to the Liberty Bell. Let me just warn you.. if you're thinking of taking a trip to see such a grand monument... don't. It's pretty boring and enclosed in a building that you are not even allowed to go in. You get to look at it through a window. Disappointment ensued. Especially after walking who-knows-how-many-miles.

Now to the airport...

Day 1: The Beginning of Our Story

2007-09-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to get up at 5:00am, my parents were to arrive at 5:30 to pick us up for the airport. As you may have already noticed I did use the phrase "supposed to." Well at 5:30 I got a call from my mom, which woke me, informing me that she was downstairs waiting for us. In quite the stupor, I had only been asleep for 3 hours, I jumped out of bed and was ready in 10 minutes (impressive for me). And we were off to the airport.

Our flight to Philadelphia was quite ordinary other than only being half full. The flight attendant actually requested that for proper weight distribution that two passengers from the front move to the back.

The weather in Philly was absolutely gorgeous, 65-70 degrees and beautiful sun. Our first measure of order: to find the biggest "Philly" we could and devour it. We took the train from the airport to East Market, a bustling district of indoor shops and restaurants. We quickly found Rick's Philly's and dove right in. I gotta say though, neither of us were impressed. Odd though considering there was a line of about 20 people.

From there we just began to wander, we knew we wanted to go to the Mutter at some point, but really didn't know where it was. So we walked. I really need to get over my photo shyness, there were so many crazy looking characters that would have made great photos. I did muster up the courage to ask a guy that looked like a mixture between Woody Allen and Blanka from Street Fighter. Unfortunately he declined.

(To be continued... when I have some more time) Sorry there's no pictures yet. I haven't found a power converter yet so I can't plug in my laptop.

What to do?

2007-09-13T19:15:00.001-05:00

First off... wow, I got a bunch of emails yesterday from friends and fam (some of whom I haven't seen in a while) in response to my mass emailing the other night to promote my little blog. Thanks guys. It was good to hear from all of you. Please post comments, that's how I know if anyone is actually looking at this.

But the real issue at hand here is Philadelphia. This city of Brotherly Love is going to be holding us hostage tomorrow for about 10 hours against our will. So we've decided to make the best of it, and get out there and experience all that this city has to offer. The only thing I've got on my to-do list so far is to visit the Mutter Museum. I was looking forward to taking some pics, but unfortunately they don't allow photography inside. I guess if you want to see it you'll have to go for yourself.

I've been advised to eat a "philly" and find the nastiest pizza joint I can (apparently they're the best). But I ask you friends, what should we do with our euro-anxious selves while trapped in Philly? If you've got an idea just add it to the comments.

(If you come up with something really great, you might just receive the coveted "Box 'O Bones" as a thank you prize)

Luggage

2007-09-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

Does anyone have any luggage they would like to sell me? I want a nice big case: the kind with the extending handle and rollers.

Two days til launch....

2007-09-13T02:18:00.000-05:00

Wait.... actually now that I look at the clock, only 36 hours. Yeah so anyway early Saturday morning Steve and I will be departing for England (if we hadn't already told you about a million times already). And in honor of such a grand and momentous occasion I decided to start my very first blog. I know, it's exciting isn't it? Everyone has been begging me to start one so here you go. Ok so no one actually begged. Fine, caught me, no one has ever even asked if I had a blog. Well I'm one step ahead of the game.

Anyway I am going to attempt to update this thing pretty regularly so that anyone that cares might read up on my trip and hopefully have a laugh or two along the way. I'm also going to add photos and video right here so you can see Europe right from your living room/den/basement/selarium! See, mom, the internet isn't all bad.

So we leave Nashville Saturday morning, but we have a horrendous layover in Philadelphia (10 hours) so that should be a blast. But from there we go to Manchester, UK. We leave at 7:40 am Saturday and arrive in Manchester at 8:35 am Sunday. I have yet to experience jetlag. That should also be a blast.

Currently I am constructing my packing list and to do list. (I knew I should have started this whole passport thing ealier.)