Marc It Off.

Update: 6 Weeks

marcbrubaker — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:57:32 +0000

Since undertaking this project I have found myself busier and busier with other things that are unfortunately not on this list. But this is not a complaint, nor will I allow such a position to hamper my progress on the 101 list. There is no point in making excuses, as excuses signify that I have already accepted defeat. That might seem a little too harsh on the Sun-Tzu scale, but I really don’t see a point to saying, “well I was too busy to do (insert task here).” Instead I will simply resolve to finish the goals, regardless of how timely they are on a monthly/weekly basis.

What’s all that mean? Well, I didn’t write a short story last month, and I doubt I’ll get to one this month. But all that requires is that I be more productive in the coming months. I’ll still write 33 short stories. I did read a book last month, John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, and while I enjoyed it I found myself wanting more. It felt short, but I suppose that is a reflection of Steinbeck’s writing – it is descriptive while maintaining simplicity. Perhaps the small boy inside of me just felt that the adventure could have been greater, but that is most likely my affinity for cinematic granduer. The realist in me can acknowledge that the general timeline of events in The Pearl most likely end closer to “real time” than any stretch of scope I would desire, just as the realist in me knows that Jack Bauer cannot possibly accomplish everything in his allotted timeframe.

Regarding my other goals, I am still terrible about flossing (although I have returned this week with renewed vigor), and I’ve done two more interviews for H-Town Rock’s Get to Know a Houston Band…, but I have yet to solidify its status as a weekly feature. I tried my hand at screenprinting for the first time this weekend, and there is admittedly a learning curve to the process. The act itself is not hard, however, and I feel that after a few more tries I’ll have it down. Prairie Cadets played the show at Dean’s in October, and we also went into the KTRU studios to do an on-air session that afternoon. Our next show will be November 27th [aka Black Friday, aka Turkey Hangover] at Avant Garden with The Tontons, Finnegan, and a player to be named later.

I took a notch out of my cinematic goal of the IMDB top 250 list by checking Reservoir Dogs off the list this week. While there were several moments that I found really appealing, I’m not certain how a movie like that would fare after multiple viewings. I’m sure if I watch it again I’ll notice some of the details I missed, but it seems that once one knows the ending to a movie of that nature the suspense will lose its hold rather quickly. I also felt that there were more “shots” to be had in the warehouse space – the wide shots of characters felt both oversaturated and poorly planned. Again, I felt that there was more “story” available to be told. Overall, I enjoyed the film.

Hopefully my next update will be more timely than this one.

- Marc

Update: 3 Weeks.

marcbrubaker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:29:56 +0000

It’s been three weeks since I undertook this project, and very busy weeks at that. So far it doesn’t look like a whole lot of progress has been made, but there are several things brewing under the surface.

While I have been working on my back catalog of photos, my pile has unfortunately grown larger. Hopefully this week I’ll return to making progress against the growing wall of things to edit.

We’ve played our first Prairie Cadets show since starting this endeavor, and we have another one on Friday night at Dean’s in downtown Houston. That’ll be 2 out of the 50 shows goal. The demos are still in a perpetual state of unfinished-ness, and this doesn’t thrill me. Moving the drums around is a lot of work, and it takes a lot of focus on my part. I’ve found that often the times I’m available to work on them are the times that my brain just wants a rest.

The “complete list” of Houston bands will always be ever-growing, but I’ve worked up a good start. The Rock Talk feature on Houstonist is well underway now, and I have Bloglines set up in a nice clean manner to patrol the various RSS feeds. I’m counting this one [#49] accomplished – after this point it will merely receive addtional feeds as I discover bands. The Get to Know a Houston Band… feature kicks off this week with an interview from GTRS, but to me the term establish suggests a few weeks of consistent posting, thus this goal is still in progress.

Also, I’m pathetic at flossing. I knew it’d be a rough start, though, and hopefully I’ll become consistent now.

- Marc

A Quick Note.

marcbrubaker — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:39:43 +0000

In the interest of keeping this blog visually “clean” I have opted not to make my list a sticky post. I think it’d be rather silly if you had to scroll past it to get to the updates every time you visited. So this post will be a sticky, here to remind you that if you want to see my progress on the list you can just click “The 101” in the menu to the right of this.

The Big List.

marcbrubaker — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:27:12 +0000

I’ve begun a new project. Normally big lists seem fairly cheesy to me, but several factors led me to undertake this particular project. One is the duration of time specified for said project, another was the option to choose a level of realism within the goals I selected. Another reason does not particularly stem from any rational line of thinking, but it just seemed to fit with the direction I’ve been headed as of late. I’ve been drifiting towards more structure and discipline within my schedule, but not regimented structure, more of a free-flowing rhythm that leaves movement for change. Anyway, here’s the deal.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

The Time Period:
Start Date: October 1, 2009
End Date: June 28, 2012

The Guide:
Items I have not done.
Items that are in progress.
Items that I have completed.

Photography Related

1. Edit all photos in back catalog.
2. Organize all my negatives and [physical] photos.
3. Establish an Etsy shop.
4. Redesign Pola-Calendar and list it on Etsy
5. Design and print new CWR business cards
6. Save for and purchase a Canon 5D Mark II
7. Establish “The Vast Expanse” series of photos
8. Create a plan for TV-based series of work
9. Create “This is why you’re fat” series
10. Have my own gallery installation
11. Have a photo published in a major music magazine
12. Do photo work for a non-profit
13. Plan, pitch, and shoot Roadies book
14. Create and execute “Brubaker’s Dozens” series of work
15. Establish a specific portrait series and shoot it.
16. Plan and shoot a high fashion shoot at Haut Wash
17. Shoot ten Street Studio sessions
18. Produce a collaborative series with Walker.
19. Create 3 photographs for each subject Assignment:Houston covered. [0/41]
20. Put all my polaroids on Polanoid.net
21. Scan my baby pictures
22. Volunteer with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Other Creative Endeavors
23. Create a business plan for Waste No Buffalo
24. Resume booking shows under WNB
25. Create a roster of WNB affiliated artists
26. Type all old poems
27. Assemble a new chapbook
28. Write a short story every month [0/33]
29. Submit work to seven literary publications. [0/7]
30. Submit work to seven photographic publication. [0/7]
31. Make a short film
32. Make a DVD from Cornerstone 2005
33. Establish blog for Wilshire Village
34. Create a “lost object” art series

Music
35. Learn 3 scales on the guitar
36. Learn to play the piano
37. Learn how to play an accordion
38. Make 3 guitar pedals
39. Fix drums and finish Prairie Cadets demos
40. Record and release Celebrity 7″
41. Record and release follow up Prairie Cadets album
42. Play a show in one of the larger venues in Houston [Warehouse Live/House of Blues/The Meridian]
43. Tour Texas with Prairie Cadets
44. Tour outside of TX with Prairie Cadets
45. Play 50 Prairie Cadets shows [0/50]
46. Record a non-Prairie Cadets album entirely on my own with the computer.
47. Make Blogger Showcase a reality
48. Complete list of active Houston bands
49. Set up Bloglines for easy “Rock Talk” info gathering
50. Establish “Get to know a Houston band” feature for Houstonist
51. Establish website concerned with Houston’s music history

Xnihilo
52. Create Donor forms for Xnihilo Gallery
53. Complete PR contact list for Xnihilo
54. Assemble history of shows at Xnihilo
55. Archive all the e-mails for Xnihilo

Food/Cooking
56. Make my own mozzarella cheese.
57. Cure my own bacon.
58. Brew a batch of beer.
59. Learn how to make a roux.
60. Learn to make Banana bread
61. Learn how to make Mom’s pasta sauce.
62. Figure out how to make a really good sugar-free fudge, for my dad.
63. Learn how to make lemon squares, mint chocolate bars, and raisin puffs
64. Make cookies or fudge for someone for no reason at all.

Around the House
65. Fill garden boxes and plant
66. Plant herb garden
67. Clean out garage
68. Tear down garage
69. Build a darkroom
70. Replace ceiling fan in dining room
71. Clean out the flowerbeds

Travel
72. Visit Fetzer & Eira in Pittsburgh
73. Visit my cousin, Laura.
74. Visit New York City
75. Visit Chicago, specifically Northwestern
76. See the Northern Lights
77. Visit Big Bend
78. Visit Marfa, TX and see the lights.
79. Go camping for at least five days.
80. Go to the west coast – [Portland-Seattle-Vancouver]

Miscellany
81. Floss 700 times [0/700]
82. Pay off my credit card
83. Fix up the Raleigh – new hub, new wheels
84. Upgrade my scooter
85. Get a new car
86. Find a new church
87. Get my diploma framed
88. Go to a Rocky Horror Picture Show showing
89. Visit the Beer Can House
90. Spend a sunrise at the beach.
91. Finish Katamari Damacy
92. Teach two of my friends French
93. Learn to screenprint
94. Make a plush doll
95. Design next tattoo
96. Read a book each month [0/33]
97. Watch all movies on IMDB’s top 250 that I haven’t seen. [68/250]
98. Try every drink on Anvil’s list of 100. [0/100]
99. Learn to drive a stick shift
100. Establish a list of all my web outposts in order to keep them well maintained.
101. Be financially independent in 1001 days.

Moving Sale.

marcbrubaker — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:07:32 +0000

Note: If you came here looking for my photography, that blog can now be found at: http://blog.clickwindrepeat.com. This is now a personal blog, and you’re welcome to follow along, but it’s not what it once was.

I left the Pola-Calendar posts up because they still receive a good deal of traffic, thanks to the magical interwebs. But seriously, go check out the Click. Wind. Repeat. Blog and take a gander at my portfolio over at www.clickwindrepeat.com.

The Pola-Calendar.

marcbrubaker — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:16:31 +0000

pola-calendar

Here is the completed Pola-calendar. I had a lot of fun working on this – finding all the numbers was a great challenge and it got me out to see some more of the city. The original inspiration for this project comes from this photo, but I decided to take the concept and run with it, adding a bit more challenge and creativity to it, in my opinion.

I’ll post a few of my favorites below, and you can see the full set over on flickr.

Sunday

Sunday’s shot comes from Texas Art Supply, which is around the corner from my house.

Tuesday

Tuesday = Turtle & Hughes, over in the East End.

24 was taken at my friend’s apartment complex. I had gone halfway up a flight of stairs to take this, and upon descending the stairs a man walked up to me and asked me if I was ok. I suppose I look a bit strange sometimes when taking photos, but he caught me completely off guard.

In addition to the calendar, I’ve finished editing two other shoots this week – one a series of family portraits for my friends the Martin-Webers, the other a set of engagement photos for my dear friends David & Eira. The Martin-Webers are raising funds to do mission work in France, and I’ll be shooting David & Eira’s wedding in May. Look for full posts on each shoot in the next couple days.

I’m also super excited about a roll of 220 film that I just got back from the lab. It had been lost in a pile on my desk for a couple months, to the point where I had forgotten what was on it. After Hurricane Ike hit town, I went out to stay with my folks in Sugar Land whilst a long saga involving the replacement of my carpet ensued. My parents live on Oyster Creek, and all along the banks were giant trees that had been felled by Ike. I took my Mamiya C33 out for a spin one day and shot a series of some trees, in hopes of making some large prints. I’ll be scanning those this weekend, so keep an eye out for a post on them as well.

Until next time – click, wind, and repeat.

- Marc

number one

marcbrubaker — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:42:40 +0000

number one

When thinking of how to start this thing off proper, my immediate thought was With a photograph, of course! – but the problem then became which one to choose?

I’m working on a lot of various projects right now, and my favorite one at the moment is a calendar of polaroids. The photo here is from this series, and hopefully I’ll have it completed soon [just five numbers left].

It’s been a pretty amazing month or so, I’ve met a lot of great people, and in my push to become a more professional photographer I have discovered that I really ought to be blogging. So here it goes, I’m sure that among my friends Adam will be happiest to see me utilizing my creative writing degree to an extent.

Most importantly for myself, however, is to use this space as a place to keep you updated on what I’ve been doing. I’ll have updates from shoots and information about projects on which I’ve been working, so add this feed to your reader [or bookmark it if you're old school].

If you want more frequent [and smaller] tidbits about what I’m doing, you can follow me on twitter: @clickwindrepeat.