Artist or Procrastinator?

I don't know what happens, but every so often I get inspiration for some sweet artwork and over a few months time it seems to take up a decent chunk of my time.

The most recent episode began about a month ago when my friend approached me about helping him create some artwork for his new company Denik. They sell notebooks with art on the cover and give a portion of the proceeds to some sort of charity/non-profit, which currently is a great organization called Mali Rising.

Anyway, this pushed me to start thinking about some sweet artwork I could create, for awhile I was stuck, but then I realized that I would love to make some stencils. So for the past two weeks I have been creating stencils, mainly of celebrities/athletes, but I'm debating moving into the realm of other stuff, maybe an owl next? I dunno. Anyway, here are two of my finished projects and I have about 4 more getting close to being done.

 Dennis Eckersley - The Mustache

Brian Wilson - Fear the Beard

The side-by-side

Best part about all of this is that it distracts me from my ever present mountain of homework and allows me to be a more effective and happy procrastinator. So if anyone has any cool ideas, or suggestions on how to make my stuffs better, please send them my way so I can improve my art and my procrastination.

Just rant it out

I feel the need to rant. So here are the things that bug me lately/always and forever:

- Incorrect usage of your and you're, their and there, and then and than. Seriously people, it is not that difficult, if you made it through the 7th grade you should have no problem understanding that all of those words have distinct meanings and usages.

- People who care more about animals than humans. I don't get it, I like animals and everything, but humans > animals.I don't care if you take in every stray animal you see, but don't use that as an excuse to not help the poor and needy humans all around you...

- People who drive slower than the speed limit. I probably need to be more patient, but I think it would be easier if people just learned to drive.

- People who smoke. Do what you want just don't do it in places that makes me walk through your filth everyday.

- People who run into your car with theirs then just drive away. Grow a pair and take some responsibility for your actions.

- Roommates that come home at 2 in the morning then watch a movie with the volume so loud I can hear the actual dialog of the movie. You are inconsiderate and dumb.

- When my toilet isn't working. Ever since scout camp I've known I can "hold it" for at least 4 days if need be, but I really like having a toilet that works and doesn't smell like a porta-potty...

- Roommates who leave their dishes in the sink so that someone else (that would be me) can clean them.

- People who borrow things, then ruin them, lose them, or never return them. You know who you are. I will make you pay.

You might be saying to yourself, "Wow, that's a little too stern don't you think Brett?"
And I would reply with this (just replace "the Russian police" with my name):



So if you do any of these things, please stop. You'll be making this world a better place.

Thanks and I love you all.

Spotify: Enabling an Addiction

I am addicted to listening to music.

There I said it. If I were wanting to overcome this addiction, I would have just made the first step towards recovery. But I like this addiction, and rather than looking for ways to stop, I look for better ways to enable it.

And recently I found a new tool to enable my addiction. I discovered Spotify about 3 months ago, it seemed cool, but after a few days I was over it and back to using a combination of youtube, and itunes. A few weeks later Jo asked me if I had seen some songs he had sent me via Spotify, I said I hadn't really been using it much and he told me I was crazy and needed to get back on it.

So I did.

I then spent some time to really get to know its features and abilities. And then I fell in love.

It is an amazing program. You can send music to people (it connects with facebook so you are instantly connected with your friends), you can share playlists, you can listen to almost any band/album/song with an internet connection and create playlists out of them. And it is all for freeeeeeee. You do have to listen to the occasional ad, but it's worth it.

You can also pay $9.99 a month to take any of that music with you without the need of an internet connection. You can sync any playlist/album with your computer/phone/ipod and listen to it in your car, at school, in the bathroom, in the mountains, or at your mom's house. It's a pretty cool feature that I am trying out for a month (for free) and I think I might have to end up paying the monthly fee cause it is so freaking sweet.

Anyway, if you love music and like seeing what your friends are listening to I highly suggest you at least try the free version of Spotify and let your addiction to music be enabled.

On a related sidenote, if you like Pandora I would suggest you try out Last.fm, it does the same thing as Pandora, but it does it better and offers a lot of cool features like suggesting new bands to listen to, suggesting free downloads, info on upcoming concerts, band bios, and oh so much more.

Mormons and Cults

Recently my religion, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), has been forced under the spotlight and received a lot of media coverage due to some not so flattering remarks from Pastor Jeffress. You might think that his comments are "bad publicity" for the LDS church, but I think that it is great. Ya, there might be some people out there who think Mormons are members of a "cult", but the majority of those people decided that long before Pastor Jeffress said anything. But I hope and believe that for the majority of Americans this has merely made them wonder what Mormons are really all about.

And that is the part I think is great. I want more people to know who we are, to understand what we actually believe, and to know that we are normal (or at least semi-normal) people. So we are devoted to our religion, we go to church for three hours every Sunday, we read scriptures everyday, we pray multiple times a day, we don't drink alcohol or coffee, and we don't smoke (or at least we strive to do/not do all these things). But that is only a portion of what we are devoted to. Our true devotion comes in the form of our belief in God our Heavenly Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and  in modern-day revelation thru living Prophets and Apostles.

If that devotion is what it means to be in a "cult" then yes, I am in a cult and I am proud of it. Mormons might be a little quirky or in some instances just plain weird, but we are really just a community of people trying to live the best lives we know how by following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and by sharing that with those around us.

This church has given  my life purpose, drive, and understanding and has brought me only happiness and joy as I have tried to live my life by its teachings. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines who I am and the man I am striving to become.

I invite all of you to ask me if you have any questions about my faith. I can't promise that I have all the answers, but I love sharing what I do know and believe with others. But if you would rather not ask me since you get sick of hearing my voice, I would invite you to go to www.mormon.org to better understand my faith and that of Mormons around the globe.

Nonstop Joy

I have taken a long hiatus from blogging, not because I haven't had anything funny or witty to say, but because I just haven't had time (or made the time). The past month has easily been one of the busiest of my life, but at the same time one of the most enjoyable.

Here is why:

Bachelor Party in Tahoe with some real cool dudes

Hiking Half-Dome

Running Ragnar with ma friends

Visiting Utah for a wedding, family photos, golf, and college football

I'm sad I don't have nearly as many fun things planned for October and November, but I'm glad to finally be able to put in the time I need at school and not feel like I have no leisure time. So here's to straight A's this semester...or more realistically straight B's! Either way, I'd be happy with myself.