Yesterday I was put in mind of a play I had to read for my Irish Literature class. You may have heard of it, though I kind of hope (for your sake) that you've never had to read it. Waiting for Godot is an entire play's worth of dialogue between two guys who are waiting … Continue reading Waiting for Godot
Category: Design
Pirates of the London Underground
This morning I listed some of the significant maps in my life, and there's another one that stands out in my memory: the London Tube Map! The Tube Map has been periodically updated, and stylistic flourishes added, but the basic design of this subway-diagram was created in 1933, by a smart fellow who realized that … Continue reading Pirates of the London Underground
Avoiding “Sketcher’s Block”
I have a weird relationship with drawing and painting. I'm utterly ignorant, have never taken so much as a weekend workshop, couldn't tell you if that Italian word describes a painting technique or a musical instruction. I've figured out some stuff, just playing---some stuff about light and shadow and perspective, at least. You can generally … Continue reading Avoiding “Sketcher’s Block”
Cross My Heart
When I was a kid, I loved paint-by-number kits. I remember they always came in three-packs (three paintings of horses, three paintings of lighthouses), and I loved everything about them. I loved the tiny paint-pots, all connected in a little plastic row. I loved stirring up the oil paints with a toothpick, watching the sludgy-looking … Continue reading Cross My Heart
Here a Duck, There a Duck
In the Philippines, the streets are crowded with--- Well, I could just make that a full stop. The streets are CROWDED. But among the things that crowd them are specimens of a form of public transportation known as the "Jeepney"---a sort of mashup between jeep and school bus, often open-sided and always painted with incredible … Continue reading Here a Duck, There a Duck
In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy
I've been playing. It was another blogger, The AI Grandad, whose post about "falling down the AI rabbit hole" led me to exploring MidJourney, an AI program that produces images from the written prompts you give it. This rabbit hole runs deep! For a start, I managed to create a pretty good approximation of Yoda-cat's … Continue reading In Which Kana is Delighted by a New Toy





