Hills

n. 1) a natural elevation of the earth's surface, smaller than a mountain; an incline, 

especially in a road 

Hills are also known as the bane of many runners' existence. Certainly the bane of a new runners' training regimen. 

When I decided to go out for cross country in high school, I wasn't really looking for anything strenuous. I played hockey outside of the school system and a friend suggested we try out. I think he had his eye on a girl. I figured why not. It's just running (how hard can it be). And better yet, it was running in the woods, which in my mind put me way ahead of the curve since hiking with the family and running in the woods was a huge part of my childhood. 

To say I was wrong would be an enormous understatement. 

Cross country track turned out to be little more than a slog of endless miles in shitty weather capped by weekly runs on trail courses where I had the distinction of finishing dead last in nearly every race. I sucked at track. 

I'd love to say that even though I was terrible at track, I truly found joy and freedom in running for its own sake. 

Nope. Not that either. I hated track. And it got worse when cross country ended and winter track started and races were indoors, doing endless laps around a track in a gym. And I hated it the following year when, for some indecipherable reason I signed up again. 

Looking back, I honestly do not know how I lasted three years of running track with how bad at it I was and how much I disliked it. And it's even further beyond my ken why I ever came back to it. It may have something to do with the fact that I grew up in Hopkinton, Mass. (in case you're not a runner or otherwise familiar with the geography of New England, my hometown's claim to fame is the start of the grail of distance running - the Boston Marathon) and then proceeded to spend another ten years in Boston proper. 

I suspect it has more to do with the moments of peace I found when I finally let go of the misery and drudgery of one foot in front of the other mile after mile long enough to fall into a rhythm and a sort of oneness with the surroundings. I distinctly remember a series of god-awful runs that remain in my memory the pinnacle of my high school running career involving a solo trek, a cemetery and snow and freezing rain. In sweats. 

And the hills. 

At the time that I started running with any manner of structure, the words "hill day" were as dreaded as the phrase "pop quiz". More, probably. For someone with a slow gait, shuffling pace and gasping sports-induced asthma (not to mention the beginning of a very unhealthy smoking habit, hills were the absolute worst. Torture. Running sprints up hills, jogging back down and sprinting back up, over and over. And in some cases, the workout was just miles of up and down alternately rolling and steep hills. They were miserable. 

I suppose it's funny that now, more than two decades later, I see hills not as misery, but look forward to them. As I'm building endurance and mileage, I feel stronger with every foot of elevation and find things fall away as I climb. 

I'm coming to appreciate that running is as much a mind game as a physical one. The challenge isn't in the personal record or the time trial or the race. The challenge is in getting out there in the first place. It's in continuing to get up and run, even when the weather is terrible and you don't feel like it and you're sore. It's in those first steps up the hill. 

An appropos metaphor? I think so. 

Story On The Prowl

The Hermes 3000 cinched the broad silk tie tight around its neck. It glanced in the mirror, made sure the knot was straight. Then shrugged into its jacket. It pulled the hardware from the holster under its arm and turned to the hotel door.

"Time to go to work," typed quietly across the crisp blank page.

I am a runner.

Running & Resurrection

A little over two years ago I last posted on this blog. Over the years, I've had various intentions for this column, including using it as a live journal, a writing lab, an ongoing experiment in coding and a portfolio/sketchbook, among other things.

I'm now returning with the intent to foster a more long-term writing discipline. To this end, I intend to write on topics of public relations, running, surfing, motivation and mindfulness, design and illustration, and various other subjects that strike my fancy.

Since a little before Thanksgiving, 2015, I have been running.

The beginning and the bible.

To be more precise, I have been walk-running. I had been entertaining the thought that I would someday run again and start getting fit for some time, without actually doing anything about it. Becca and I were doing our regular turn around the god-awful bookstore we're now saddled with in South Portland since the tragic demise of Borders and came across Runner's World's 2015 edition of Learn to Run. I flipped through, as I do every time I come upon the "Learn to Run" or "Get Super Fit" or whatever annual super-prestige book-magazine is out that month because, to be honest, I'm a magazine junkie and I have a problem.

For whatever reason, the plans and layout of this edition resonated and I decided that I'd start running. I laid out the 16 bucks and away we went. It was a few weeks later I picked up a fresh pair of Brooks Adrenalines from our local Fleet Feet Sports and another week or so before I was mentally committed enough to set my daily alarm for 5:00 a.m. to allow enough time for a 20-minute walk-run with 5-minute bookend walks.

...and I have been running steadily since. Four times a week for three months, taking off two weeks only for a recent rolled ankle and micro-tear in the achilles tendon off a heel bone spur.

I feel great.

This is a big deal for me. For those who know me, even admitting, that I feel great is a massive change. My mood, focus and productivity are all improving. I'm more patient, my clothes are fitting differently, and I don't get winded by the stairs at work.

Over three months of consistent running including adding daily yoga into the routine, I have developed a thirst for accomplishment, finding pleasure in the small accomplishment of simply getting out of bed in the morning and running, regardless of the weather.

What I laugh about is that I ran track in high school and I hated it. Hate may not even be strong enough of a word for it. I was awful at running, was almost always last across the finish line and was frankly too stubborn to hang it up even though I often found ample reason to slack off. Now I find that just getting out the door is a joy and the worse the weather, the better I feel about having run.

And I'm not walking anymore. Now it's all miles. 

Mega Orbital

Watching a marathon of TV via Netflix and aimlessly scrolling through Tumblr, I came across a whimsical illustration of the movie Gravity by Bebosoho and thought it was a good Illustrator exercise. Happy with the result of the line work and overall form.

A Samples-y New Year

Working on a New Year's card design for the year-end wrap-up this afternoon, I had free reign in the office to just let the (internet) radio play and forgot some of the stuff I had queued up. 

Little Silver Ring by the Samples on an album I haven't listened to in probably ten years popped up as I'm closing out the year with the lyric "growing old, watching silver turn to gold." 

In the setting sun of Casco Bay's wintery light, I miss old friends I haven't connected with in far to long and the adventures of a younger self. With a slight smile I wish all my friends and family, from this life and past versions, a happy new year and wishes for a prosperous year ahead; a year of watching a little silver ring turn to gold. 

The Sun Sets on an Interesting Year

And interesting it has been, though you wouldn't know it from the activity (or lack thereof) on this blog. This year has involved an eight month job hunt, a weekend certification in reiki, deep explorations into meditation and the shamanic role of art work, and the beginnings of a freelance illustration and design practice. And the entirety has been capped by a new career opportunity in the field of PR.

It feels odd to be relearning many skills I haven't actively used since I was in the journalism program at Emerson almost 15 years ago. And odder still to reflect that in the heat of collegiate angst, marketing, advertising and public relations were "dirty" in my mind, being concerned more with corporate promotion than with truth. And now, many years later, finding myself embedded in this industry, the irony is not lost on me. 

However, in the course of this year, despite many areas of discovery, there have been a number of areas where I have let things go. This can not be stood for any longer. The wife and I have begun the long road of shaping up for road races and we anticipate beginning a new Whole 30 challenge starting January 1. 

And while in the midst of tonight's "we're taking things back" jag, coupled with my utter disgust and frustration with Instagram's total lack of cooperation with my visual blogging efforts, I resolved to reclaim this space as well. 

So...yeah. Hi. I'll be around a little more now. 

The Watcher Watches

Does the watcher watch? Or is she pondering the fall? Hmmm... 
(digital collage) 

Diving for Dollars (IF - Water)

A recent morning collage incorporating hand-drawn, found and digital elements. Fitting for this week's Illustration Friday theme - Water.

Leap

Leap is a piece I did a while back,  maybe 6 months now. But it's appropos for where I find myself, and perhaps this was a bit of foretelling. Oh, and in case you're scratching your heads, yes, I find myself in the precarious position of leaping into a canyon and onto a passing hovering fish. And a less than ammenable one at that. ...It's all very surrealist. But then maybe that's giving myself too much credit. At the very least, it's all very absurd...

Pope Hugorwar

Another collage from the archives. Playing with composition and subject. You can see my forte is subtlety. If memory serves, when I put this together, I was playing with fast collages and reading the NY Times fairly regularly. I suppose  this could have been more heavy-handed...

PongMonster

PongMonster is a quick collage character sketch I did a while back, highlighting a pimpin' old pong-master in reclusion. I've been revisiting some old(ish) sketchbooks recently and came across some collage I'd almost forgotten about. There'll be more to follow.

Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts

I feel very fortunate to have found my way to this video. Though I was never a fan, per se, of Neil when Sandman was at its height, I find that I'm becoming increasingly more enamored of his work and this certainly boosts him in my esteem. 

His commencement address, if that's what they call it on the other side, is a must-see for anyone pursuing a career of life in the arts or any manner of creative endeavor. Enjoy: 

IF _ Faded

I started work on this piece last week for the "Faded" topic over at Illustration Friday though I obviously missed the deadline. That's OK. I wanted to finish this up before moving on to another illustration. 

This started off as little more than a scribble as I'm spending more time getting used to the tablet interface. The abstract in the background evolved from a couple of preliminary scribbles (I suppose I should call them "sketches" in the interest of conveying the character of a serious drawer, but really, let's be true to the truth...) and the figure in the foreground is a composite of several elements, heavily filtered/effected. The overall result being a semi-surreal depiction of a sun-faded and watchful loiter.

Skully Hat

So I found this great little app on iTunes called Procreate and have to say I love it! I've been looking for a great sketch/paint app that does it all and I have to say, right now, I'm deeply enamored. Layers, great brush customization, full range (well, fullish, anyway) of colors, patterns, plus blending tools...the list goes on. 

I suppose it's too bad that my skill doesn't quite match its range....

Anyhow, this is a sketch I was fooling around with the other night, a take on a figure from a game called Smallworld. I can't say I know, well, really anything about the game, but the cover illustration of it on the issue of Game Trade Magazine I picked up had a version of this guy in it. Looked like some great characters and the gesture and action was great practice, both for my skill, and for my use of the app.

Tryit

We've all heard "try it, you'll like it" before, generally as kids, usually in some relation to vegetables. So parents and babysitters everywhere should be ecstatic when they see Tryit coming. Tryit is a character devised for the packaging of Try It, You'll Like It, a new spice rub from Peter Dockendorf, mixed specifically for the vegetable-stubborn child in mind. For anyone unfamiliar with Pete, he's a retired chef and up and coming blogger who also happens to make the best general purpose hot sauce on the planet, Nogginflogger. I'm not sure what the long-term plans are for Try It, but you'll want to look for this character on the shelves. 

Incidentally, this piece also happens to fit with this week's Illustration Friday theme, "Jump". (Those wings don't give Tryit real flight, but more of an extended hop. Think of a chicken rather than a dove.) 

Diogi - a dragon-headed boy; plus Many Happy Returns

Good evening all. I'm back. Again. I realize how long it's been since last posting, as well as how often I've written these words, or eerily similar words, in any case. So, in realizing this, I'm going to choose to not justify my absence or make false promises about more regular posting (wow. that almost sounded like bowel humor, didn't it?). Instead, I think this would be a perfect time to embrace the title of an episode from one of my all time favorite television shows. Though The Prisoner epsiode, Many Happy Returns, is a darkly sarcastic turn on the phrase, I'll choose to evoke it here as a new mantra in the upkeep of this channel of media. In other words, I intend to fall off and pick up as the whim takes me. Perhaps some of you who are left will return with me.

And I will say, if you're unfamiliar with The Prisoner, specifically the good version from the late 60s starring Patrick McGoohan as opposed to the god-awful remake AMC tried to do last year, I suggest you run, don't walk to your nearest video rental worth its salt (for me, that would be the unequalled Videoport down in the Old Port) and pick up a couple episodes and strap in. 

Moving right along, this evening's post is a quick concept piece I did up the other night to get a character out of head. His name's Diogi, and yes, that's a dragon's head he's sporting. Diogi and his pal Eekay (keep an eye out for him soon-ish) are an idea for a story that's been mulling about for a few months and neither one of them have let up. 

So here's Diogi: 

If you've been hanging around, waiting for me to say something, I thank you and appreciate your patience. 


I hope you'll hang out a little longer, and perhaps even find something worth looking at enough that you'll be moved to share with your friends, family, colleagues, whoever. 


Signing off, 
rocketfuelsushi

Surreal Composite with Girl in Taffeta

Another photo manipulation, the result of a series of tutorials and a composite featuring elements taken from found images, put together in a collage. Not the end result I was hoping for, not quite as clean or seamless in some areas as I would have liked, but I think I've exhausted my patience with this piece. 


...at least for today. 

Dyslexic Readers

Newly designed typeface could help dyslexic readers - CTV News

Dyslexie Font 


I saw this story in the feeds this morning and thought it was worth noting. First off, it should appeal to all you type geeks out there. I found it particularly interesting looking at the thought that went into why some of the choices were made. 

But it should also be noted that there was a study done on this font, showing slight improvement on reading accuracy with people with dyslexia. Although "slight" may not be a promising descriptor, I imagine any improvement would be welcome. 

IF _ Gesture

"I worship an elephant-headed god." - King Mob

The first in a series of applied skills taken from tutorials and demonstrations. I used a small image of a brass choki Ganesha to create this image for Illustration Friday. The font was ready-made and all effects were custom generated.