A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends

Click Whoosh: Internet World Premiere

Short documentary film, internet premiere, 7 minutes, 2008

My friend Lila K works for Reel Grrls, an after-school filmmaking program for teenage girls based in Seattle. For the past two years, the group has participated in the International Documentary Challenge, a timed-filmmaking competition. 

Click Whoosh was the group's first entry in the contest and it ended up winning the grand prize. Lila's team had five days to make a 5-7 minute-long historical documentary on the theme of "change". The result was this tightly spun history of the Polaroid camera and a celebration of a fading artistic medium.

The film has just been posted online for the first time and A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends is honored to host the web premiere. This isn't an exclusive arrangement, so please share the film on your site, too.

World's Smallest Horses Captivate NASCAR Fans

Press release and doodle, pencil on paper, 11 x 8 1/2, 2009

My friend Seth L works for the media and receives a steady stream of press releases. Most of them are boring, but last week he got the following one about a special event in Texas where Nascar fans can interact with miniature horses:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Worlds Smallest Horses captivate Nascar fans.

“Look at those little horses go…this is far out! These minis are too cool.” 
Clifford Ray said while at the World Championship Show Fort Worth Tx 

While attending the Nascar Race the weekend of November 7^th, make a pit stop in Whitesboro, TX to be introduced to the wonderful world of Miniature Horses

American Miniature Horses and their owners are offering a great day of fun and education to everyone at no charge

10801 E. Highway 82,  Whitesboro, Texas - No admission charged

Public Invited from 8AM to Late Afternoon Saturday November 7, 2009 

Whitesboro, TX- American Miniature Horse enthusiasts are inviting everyone to come meet and learn about the fun and exciting world of miniature horses.   What a great family outing! Kids will have hands on experiences with the miniature horses so bring your cameras.  Free seminars will cover all aspects of horse ownership, training, care, and investing wisely in the miniature horses industry.  Live demonstrations will include  halter, obedience, and driving.  Yes, minis can do it all!   Top breeders from around the USA will have horses consigned to an auction for the buying public.  The Sale starts at 12:30pm being broadcast all across the world via the internet.  Phone bidders from multiple countries have already signed up to bid on these outstanding horses. 

A True Adventure Indeed. The story of the American Miniature Horse, nearly 400 years in the making, is steeped in adventure and the love of little horses.  The American Miniature Horse is the "Horse for Everyone" and everyone will get the chance to meet one at this special event.  This is a chance to hug, pet and even kiss a mini. This is a close up and personal invitation to all of those who have ever wanted or dreamed of owning a horse.

World's Finest & Smallest . (34 inches & under) The American Miniature Horse Association has approximately 165,000 horses and 12,000 members in 32 countries and provinces. Miniature Horses registered with AMHA must meet the Association standards of perfection and cannot exceed 34 inches in height. AMHA promotes the breeding, use and perpetuation of a standard of equine excellence in Miniature.  Registry information  www.amha.com.

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Seth's press release inspired me to sketch a stock car surrounded by little horses. 

 UPDATE: If anyone is interested, I am selling this drawing for $1,000. 

They Walk Amongst Us

iPhone animation, red on black, 12 seconds, 2009

I just downloaded an iPhone application that lets you make stop motion movies with your fingers. For my first attempt, I made a Halloween-themed short film about an alien that comes to earth and dresses up like a dude. 

UPDATE: I promise this blog isn't going to end up being just a dumping ground for random stuff I make with my iPhone. I've been busy with a new job, but I'll get back in the swing of things soon.

Wires and Cords in My Neighborhood

iPhone photos, 1500 x 2400 pixels, color, 2009

  

There is nothing funny about these photos. This is a serious post.

How to Make a Jam Band Out of Stuff You Have Lying Around the House

Anthropomorphic sculpture, digital photographs, 500x400 and 400x600 pixels, 2009 

My friend Amy D was bored yesterday and decided to make a jam band out of stuff she had lying around the house. You're probably thinking that making your own jam band takes days or weeks, but it doesn't. You can do it in 30 minutes! Just follow the five easy steps:

1. Grab anything you have lying around the house that has a face on it and that you can easily lift (like a stuffed animal or a cookie jar). These will be the musicians. 
2. Collect all of your real instruments (like drumsticks or a harmonica). If you don't have real instruments, make your own out of boxes, toothpaste tubes, or old cans.
3. Take each of the instruments that you've collected and tape them onto the musicians.
4. Make up a back-story about a sleazy traveling jam band in the 1970s. 
5. Sit back, have a beer, and watch your band have a fantasy jam session.

Here is Amy's band and their captivating story:

"The band was Vegetable Basics. The year was 1977."

"Raul 'The Boss' Estramado had a bad temper and a problem with authority. He also had a problem with methamphetamines. The other band members dubbed him the leader, not because of his middle-school education or because he claimed to be related to Ulysses S. Grant, but because he frightened everyone."

 

"The Albertini brothers joined Vegetable Basics straight out of an Idaho penitentiary. If there was one thing the brothers were good at, it was electric guitar and bass. If there was one thing they were bad at, it was saying no to dope and loose women."

 

"The band's distinctively heavy sound came from the keyboards and there was no better keyboard player in those days than Tommy 'One Ear' Ghiradelli. He was also the shy one of the bunch, but the other guys liked having him around because he studied chemistry in college and knew how to make his own drugs."

 

"Vegetable Basics had a mighty good run. They performed on Japanese TV and played festivals all over the world, but, like all good bands, they were eventually ripped apart in a tornado of booze, embezzlement, and venereal disease."

"The End."

Falling Asleep in Front of the TV

Super 8 film, digitally edited, 4:25 minutes, 2008

This film was made for an experimental film class in 2008. It stars Teresa U.

I'd been trying out my rental camera by filming scenes in my neighborhood and creating stop-motion animations of various objects in my apartment. This was my best attempt at pulling all of the footage together into a single project. 

You can tell this is serious artwork because it has classical music.

UPDATE: I just realized that with the recent transition to digital TV, the static featured in the film is now a thing of the past. If you are reading this in the future, the static is what used to happen to TV shows when the electrical beams got scrambled in the atmosphere.

Celebration: A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends Turns One Year Old

Drawing, pen on paper, digital coloring, 500 x 500 pixels, 2009

 

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since the internet gave birth to this site. In honor of the special occasion, I've created a new celebratory header and tidied up the images on the side bars. 

I'm so proud of my little one-year-old that I bought an iPhone as a birthday present! Now I'll be able to make mobile updates from anywhere. Work, home, on the bus, it doesn't matter. I'll be snapping pictures, podcasting, cutting deals. This is like getting called up to the big leagues. VERY EXCITING!

It's sure been a wild year. Here are ten notable posts from the last twelve months:

1. Vladimir Putin's shirtless camping trip became a Fantasy Art epic.
2. Kelsee and Brittny discussed boy problems in a real life comic.
3. The patented "Tips for Thriving in a Recession" helped turn the economy around.
4. Population growth in California was explored with flash animation and doodles. 
5. One Hundred Ronald McDonalds delivered a week's worth of nightmares.
6. Falcor the Luck Dragon went berserk in a trashy web video. 
7. Eight great-great-great grandfathers battled for the title of Greatest Beard (start from the bottom and work up).
8. Taft High School in the Bronx got an inspiring new mascot.
9. Three weird looking dogs battled for the crown at the Westminster Dog Show.
10. The Joy of Christmas Re-Mix became an instant holiday classic.

If you are new to the site, you should also check out the collaborative pieces in The Buddy System series. Because this is a community blog, anyone can send their art projects to aquietmoment@gmail.com. You don't have to worry about making bad art because I don't publish anyone's last name. Future employers won't be able to find your sketches of penises and devils.

The Holy Mountain

Spiritual doodles, pen on paper, digital coloring, 8 1/2 x 11, 2009

I was home sick yesterday and these mystical landscapes came to me in a fever dream. 

The rainbow colored pyramids are houses inhabited by deities from outer space. The deities use lightning and energy from the sun as a mode of transportation. They came to Earth to spread a message of peace, friendship, and having a good time. 

I'm considering starting a cult around this mythology. I would be the leader. If anyone is interested in joining, drop me a line: aquietmoment@gmail.com

UPDATE: The cult idea is generating a fair amount of interest. I've already gotten some great suggestions. Here is a summary:

The Cassini space probe's field recordings from the atmosphere of Saturn will serve as the cult's anthem. Cult members will subsist by collecting the rainbow sap that the deities inject into the trees as a gift. The cultists will then bottle the sap in baby food jars and sell it in the parking lots at music festivals. To sell the jars, signs will be printed in the Papyrus font listing the price and medicinal properties of the sap (eg. antiperspirant, cures cancer, quitting/starting smoking). All profits will be divided equally and spent on food, camping equipment, and musical instruments. Depending on their rank, cult members will live either in the tops of trees or in hollowed-out logs on the forest floor. Everyone will be required to wear the same tennis shoes, sunglasses, and smocks. 

I'm happy to incorporate any additional ideas, just so long as I am the leader forever (or until after we go into space and find the source of the rainbows). This is going to be a great cult! 

UPDATE 2: More ideas from the comments! The cultists will move about the mountain while doing the space-girl dance. This will also be the dance of worship. A portion of the profits from the sale of the rainbow sap will be used to "buy off" the local officials so they don't shut the cult down. And along those same lines, the cult will need to stockpile guns to defend its private property.

UPDATE 3: The cult will purchase a power generator and a DIRECTV subscription so all members can watch television deep in the forest. No one will fight over what channels to watch because everyone will have their own miniature television. 

Moby Dick in a Pint of Beer!

Cellphone photo, 480 x 640 pixels, 2009

My friend Jonathan H in New York just found a sperm whale in his pint of beer. He sent a photo via Twitter. 

A few years ago, back in the days before cell phone cameras, people would have dismissed claims of Moby Dick in a beer as the hallucinations of a drunk. Today we can quickly verify the miracle and rejoice!

Unforgettable Moments in Sayulita, Mexico

Collage and doodles, 500 x 1000 pixels, color, 2009

A week ago, my wife and I spent five days in the town of Sayulita on the Pacific coast of Mexico. It was a great trip. On the return flight I doodled in the Alaska Airlines in-flight magazine. Like cave drawings from the prehistoric days, these drawings and the resulting collage tell the complete story of our vacation. 

Here are some hints to help you decode the piece:

• The beach in the upper right is the actual beach where we hung out. 
• The reoccurring snake symbols represent two boa constrictors we found by our lodging.
• The pools represent me being in a pool. 
• The surfboards represent me going surfing.
• We saw the actress Shannen Doherty. 
• Alaska Airlines offers daily nonstop service to Puerto Vallarta from San Francisco.
• All of the hands looked like gremlins. 

UPDATE: My brain hasn't fully returned from vacation and I'm backed up with real work. The blogging may be a little slow while I get acclimated.