Pack Rat does a binary solo: 00000100000111. Robo boogie!

Today I bring you a link to some free laughs. There is nothing funnier than a really good non-sequitur. And I mean nothing. Have you any doubts? Well then you, my friend, should immediately get thee to explainthisimage.com. Explain This Image is my favorite kind of site, the kind where the name says it all. Essentially, this is a gallery of the weird, the mysterious, and–some times–the frightening. The peeps at Explain This troll the Internet in search of the most bizarre images out there, pictures that without a caption and without a context seem completely foreign to the everyday life most of us lead. These little vignettes are either a creative writer’s dream come true, or nightmare as some of the pictures are so outlandish that it seems nearly impossible to ground them in reality. But even if you’re not a day-dreamer prone to trying to figure out the story behind the image, everyone can enjoy this finely curated collection of the ridiculous. Here’s a pair of my favs.

photos copyrighted by explainthisimage.com

Pack Rat: It’s all in the family

Before I begin today’s post, I just wanted to give a shout out and a thank you to Andrew Wagner, the editor in chief from American Craft magazine who took the time to comment on Monday’s Handmade Nation blog. If you want to read his take on this awesome movie premier, check it out here.

Now to get down to business. Today I am recommending you all go and drool over the fantastic photography by Alec Chvirko at alecchvirko.com. In the interest of full, and pretty obvious disclosure, I should mention that the artist is in fact my brother. And because I know any props I give my little bro here will just seem like the biased opinion of a big sister, something akin to putting a finger painting up on my refrigerator, I’m going to give you a little smidge of a taste because his work speaks for itself. He also has a new blog, so we can all enjoy the latest fruits of his labor, fresh. If you like what you see drop him a line. He enjoys talking shop.

photos copyrighted by Alec Chvirko

Pack Rat hates the word “photog”

Okay, so anyone who’s spent any amount of time whatsoever on this blog knows that I go absolutely ape shit for good graffiti. Especially stuff that’s kind of raw and hidden away, stuff that doesn’t necessarily look like there’s an ad campaign attached to it. But, I was standing on the subway the other day (because the subway has been packed with wall to wall meat puppets recently, with nary a seat in sight), and the new little unnecessary waste of tax payer’s money TV screen on the W train flashed that there was no graffiti or “scratchitti” allowed. “Scratchitti?” You mean to tell me there’s a whole other method of public displays of anonymous art? Fucking sweet.

I quickly looked into it, using the awesome power of Google, and was disapointed to find that my initial search didn’t turn up anything of note. Scratchitti, it seems, has only really reached the primative point of carving words into surfaces with clumsy block lettering. But I am still intrigued and hopeful for the potential of this new (yet centuries old) form of street art.

Now, something I know to be a relatively new phenomenon (and by relatively new, I mean in the last decade or so. What, you expect something more cutting edge? What do you people want? I have a life you know. Jeez.) is  art ala USPS sticker. This is where the artist punks out because he/she doesn’t want to get caught doing real graffiti and instead doodles a little something on a USPS label and slaps it on some random public place. But I’m not hatin’. Some of the stuff out there is really fun, and probably a sticker is a bit more socially conscious than a massive painting or a forever scratched window. At least a sticker can be peeled off by people with sticks up their bum about that kind of thing.

Although sadly, because of the stickers’ impermanance, it means that some of these gems will disappear almost as soon as they are put up, either removed by a vigilant public works drone, or washed away by a good solid rain. So, keeping that in mind I am out to preserve as many of these little devils as I can, and because I’m such a giver, I’ll make sure to post the best ones here so we can all enjoy these little acts of creativity. Like the one below, which I found at the corner of 32nd St and 30th Ave in Astoria.

AND, as if you weren’t already sick of me enough, this segues nicely into the other photo project that I’m starting. From February 2nd onward, I’ll be taking a picture a day for a full year. I know, hardly a new concept, but what the hell? Just because it’s hackneyed doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Just don’t get your panties in a bunch about it. Take deep breaths and try to relax and everything will be fine. I promise.

Vox populi, vox Pack Rat!

Good Monday morning to you all! When I was little, I used to be OBSESSED with Garfield cartoons. Garfield, as some of you may know, hates Mondays. They are the arm pit of the week. So I don’t know if it’s being an adult and having to go to work on Mondays, or whether that fat orange tabby predisposed me from a young age, but Monday is my least favorite of the weekdays. Fortunately for me, I am super lucky and managed to snag a job at a super awesome school that let me have TWO WHOLE weeks off for the holidays. Boo-yah! So today isn’t as much of a drag as normal. But just in case, here’s a little pick-me-up for you and me both, in the form of today’s internet discovery.

We all need to spend plenty of time at Leethal.net reading, watching, and absorbing creativity via osmosis from Lee Meredith. This young lady is a whirling dervish of activity, be it knitting, sewing, screen printing, or ‘zining. Her latest ‘zine, Do Stuff, is dedicated to her favorite things, including an incredibly cute monster hat that she provides instructions on how to create. She is such a flurry of activity and ideas that I feel all motivated to get going on my own projects after reading one of her blogs (note: check out her recent post about her new Bad Movie Bingo creation. Sounds like it could be a good drinking game :P). Read over her site. Gawk at her recycled fashions (love the tea t-shirts!). Buy the ‘zine. And get moving on your own creative cocktail!

Photo of Lee Meredith copyright leethal.net

Pack Rat resolves to be 42% more righteous in 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Boy oh boy, where has the time gone? 2009? Really? Does anyone else feel like Y2k was just yesterday? Maybe I’m just starting to get old. Perhaps I’ll start questioning my own mortality. Am I mortal? There, done.

I thought it might be fitting, what with everyone reflecting on the year past and looking forward to what’s next, for us to visit Before IDie I Want To… This Polaroid photo project by Nicole Kenney and ks rives is both an homage to the dying medium of Polaroid photography (apparently Polaroid has announced that it will discontinue making its cameras and film. Can you imagine? In ten years, the new generation won’t even know what a Polariod looks like! Or a walk man!), as well as a motivational tool, of sorts.

The concept is pretty straight forward. Polaroid photos are taken of people in six major American cities. Once the photos come out, the subject writes down one thing he/she wants to accomplish before death in that little margin at the bottom of the photo. What is interesting is the spectrum on which these people’s response fall. Some people take the question extremely seriously, other people…not so much.

For instance, looking through the photos that hail from NYC you come across the grinning, jovial face of a young man in a vest and green tie. He looks a little michevious, and more than a little playful. But the caption of his photo reads “I want to find my birth mother.”  In another, there is a pair of sunglasses and a smile dominating most of the photo, with stacks of bracelets in the background, and the woman in the image writes “I want to be able to wear every piece of clothing in my closet.”

Kenney and rives are most interested in the questions this project raises. They write on the website, ”Hearing hundreds of different answers to this question from hundreds of different people makes one wonder: What make some people more aware of their own mortality than others? What motivates people to take action in their lives? What values do we hold as a society? And what values do other societies around the world find important?” While they might find no definitive answers, the search itself seems to be rewarding enough.

As we move into a brand new year, why not go ahead and ask yourself what is it that you really want to do with your life? And then, hell’s bells, get out there and do it! You never know what tomorrow will bring, so don’t put your dreams off.