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"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would till be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be there on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole, with their pretty antlers and their pretty, skinny legs, and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be waving that blanket. Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you."
Time for another NYC SketchCrawl. This one will be on Sunday, December 11th, (2005), late morningish (I'll announce a specific time next week) and -- because it'll be in December, because I am getting old, and because I want to wear my authentic SketchCrawl t-shirt -- will be in the toasty warmAmerican Museum of Natural History. We can draw critters (they have a few live ones in there these days), visitors, canoes, whatever.
We'll have a special guest/host on this 'Crawl:Enrico Carusaro, the originator of the concept of Sketchcrawl. He's an amazing draw-er and watercolorist who works at Pixar. He manages to churn out hundreds of pages of exquisite drawings and paintings on each Sketchcrawl so we may split into a speedy Enrico group and a "let's draw every hair on that mule deer" Danny group. Either way, it should be fantastic.
If you missed the last one because you are lazy, intimidated, unattractive, terminally ill, or would rather sit at home and eat frozen bagels and read Chris Ware's comics in the NY Times, get a grip, grab your gear, and get your ass up to 79th Street and Central Park West.
What I like best is a book that’s at least funny once in a while.... What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.
The very last installment of "Peanut" ran this week which was noted by a few nice folks (here,here, and here) who seemed to have liked it. If you haven't read this final chapter or any of the preceding, please feel free to.
"If you'd a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "F**k you' signs in the world. It's impossible."
My new site seems to have propagated all over most of the Internet now. There are still all sorts of little burr and rough edges to work out and I appreciate all of the alerts from people who've tripped over them during this test drive. Trish and Jacob and I are working on polishing them and appreciate all your alerts about the remaining errors.
Most people seem to like the new design but a few don't. Those who do say it's dense with stuff and that they are having fun wasting far too much time looking through it all. The ones who don't say it's far too dense and that they are wasting time far too much looking through it all. It also seems some people are bothered that it takes a little more time and effort to explore through. And a few people are just bothered by the fact that it is different.
My advice to those who wish it is the way it was is just to read the Everyday Matters essay and ignore everything else. I think I may have complicated matters by showing an image of the site as the key visual in my first essay. It seems to have confused the hell out of some people who thought it was a permanent self referential part of the design.
Anyway, I like it because it is rich and complex and yet (for me, at least) pretty easy to get around and to explore ideas I had over the years. I began the redesign because I am so bored and constricted by the standard blog design and by the tyranny of the latest entry. It seems far more suited to geeks who post transient thoughts dozens of times a day than by authors who want to create something of more enduring quality and relevance.
Rather than a faucet dripping out the newest entry, I want to have an ocean that is always bringing new things to the surface, cross-referencing to create new life, dark and deep and accessible from many different points. An ocean with sweet water, a few sharks and crabs, ideal for surfers and for divers. Jump in.
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All above quotes from Holden Caulfield, the patron saint of the American Museum of Natural History. Incidentally, the very first title of what became Everyday Matters was "Where Do the Ducks of Central Park Go?". They made me change it. Probably a good thing.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
yay!! its up and im the first to post anything!!! I canty believe ur entire blog has turned into a blog though.... it sed to have ur commercials, books, and everything!
Posted by: JackTea | December 1, 2005 07:43 PM
I like dense - I love poking around all the sidebars and clicking on this and that. I'm the kind who would never have a minimalist loft - mine would be crowded with pigeon-hole desks and whatnots everywhere.
That said, I think the best part of the website is it's fonts and "sketchy" look.
Loved Peanuts by the way, especially the birth story.
I'm throwing my hat in for the sketchcrawl and holding my breath that nothing gets in the way.
Posted by: Loretta | December 1, 2005 08:48 PM
One of these times I'm hoping to be in town for one of your sketchcrawls. Last time I was on vacation, this time at a medical meeting. We're off to the Museum of Natural History tomorrow with our 2 year old grandson - so Ill look for the dragon.
Posted by: shirley | December 1, 2005 10:23 PM
We like the real crooked line at the bottom of the page; too bad it's so difficult to put it at the top...
Posted by: Warren and Catherine | December 1, 2005 10:40 PM
The new site is interesting...meaning that it's a little confusing, but then I feel like that when Yahoo changes their layout now and again, and eventually I adapt. The important part is that you're still doing it! I don't expect to make the upcoming 'crawl, though it sounds so great with EC...two of my five kids have birthdays on that very day...and Sundays are always tough for me for it's our family-dinner-gathering day. But maybe if you start it early enough....
Posted by: Rita Cleary | December 2, 2005 12:32 AM
Hey Danny, Love your new web sight wonderful. Thesketch crawl I'll do again don't have the printer to scann thing but this Pittsburgh lady will try and draw that day,although its really awful out side Ill be an indoor whimp and stay by the fire. Have a good one . I pre-ordered your book can't wait. Till then keep your pen flowing! The best to you Danny.
Your Pittsburgh artist friend,
Linda
Posted by: Linda | December 2, 2005 01:36 PM
Danny,
I like the new site; I also liked the old one too. So it's a flip of the coin.
I like the content because I enjoy reading your thoughts on a variety of subjects and they create thoughts for me to mull and kick about, which is good.
I don't like the typeface, or font, to some. It is serif and almost anyone will tell you that sans serif, which is what I'm typing in the commets box, is easier to scan and much easier to follow across wide spaces such as your site page. I hope you'll consider changing it.
Frank
Posted by: Frank Bettendorf | December 2, 2005 05:21 PM
Depending on the time, I might be able to make it. Church ends at 11 in Summit, NJ, so I could potentially be there around noon. We'll see! If not, I'm sure you all will have fun. :)
Posted by: JennySmith | December 2, 2005 06:05 PM
Any chance of archiving the entries from the old site by month & year as they were posted ? I am enjoying wending my way round the new bizzo, but miss the old order too - it was like a favourite book I dipped into - going back to old posts and links. Cheers !
Posted by: janine | December 2, 2005 08:57 PM
lisa and i will be there in spirit! hope all is well. i wrote a paper about that quote from Catcher in the Rye in 8th grade..and it is still my favorite.
Posted by: morgan | December 3, 2005 12:32 PM
Hey Danny, could not find the reference in the archives 04, 2004 on Cameron,(Julia) i presume.
The new site is Yikes, so much going on, I'm kind of a purist of sorts so I did like the cleaness of the old site with your great sketches popping up strong and clear and large, without too much else on the page.
ckp in chi town
Posted by: ckp | December 4, 2005 10:38 PM