Me and Ben Fiorina at Kennywood, June 1997

“There is an end
Of all things that thou seest! There is an end
Of Wrong and Death and Hell! When the long wear
Of Time and Suffering has effaced the stain
Ingrown upon the soul, and the cleansed spirit,
Long ages floating on the wandering winds
Or rolling deeps of Space, renews itself
And doth regain its dwelling, and, once more
Blent with the general order, floats anew
Upon the stream of Things, and comes at length,
After new deaths, to that dim waiting-place
Thou next shalt see, and with the justified
White souls awaits the End ; or, snatched at once,
If Fate so will, to the pure sphere itself,
Lives and is blest, and works the Eternal Work
Whose name and end is Love ! There is an end
Of Wrong and Death and Hell!

Continue reading Ben Fiorina (1986-2011)…

Three seed packs I designed (Courtesy of Fireman Creative)

I usually don’t make it a habit to blog about what I’m working on (it’s a long story) but the Heritage Seed Collective is one such exception since we’re in need of funding.

The above are three seed packs I just recently designed. The designs have been featured in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Table Magazine (Summer 2011 issue).

Blackberry Meadows Farm approached Fireman Creative to design nostalgic-looking seed packs for the endangered heirloom seeds the farm had selected to save. The seeds were selected from the Slow Foods Ark of Taste list. Currently, Heritage Seed Co. and Fireman Creative are attempting to raise $10,000 on Kickstarter to fund a website that will promote community building, create a seed saving resource and a place for digitally mapping where these species of plants are being grown. Fireman Creative would both design and build the site. Presently, we’re only about 30% there and have only until July 1st to reach our goal or we receive none of the funds. The following video does a good job of explaining the project and where we’re currently at:

Continue reading Heritage Seed Co….

People have to stop making the wide-eyed, blank stare face for DVD cover art–it's not amusing

With her shrill voice, overly sardonic delivery and flagrant generalizations on relationships, Whitney Cummings’ “Money Shot” is the shallowest comedy I’ve yet to endure. While Cummings is certainly one of the prettiest comics to take the stage, it remains her best and only apparent quality in this 48-minute exposé of a harsh little comedienne princess without anything much original to say.

Continue reading Wasn’t Good for Me…

Buy credits.

I’ve been pretty pissed off as of late–I won’t even try to hide it.

Since the CD player in my car froze to death this winter, I’ve been without my metal to drown out the pestering thoughts that run amok in my mind whilst sitting in traffic. All that silence has made for good time to brood on my next invigorating rant on the mediocrity I suffer and endure daily. So if there’s one subject I’d like to focus my energy on today, something that sends me into a complete fit of intolerable rage (aside from marketers telling me to join the conversation), it’s traversing the desert of fakery that is stock imagery.

Continue reading The Evil Demon of Stock Images…

About to head over to Mr Smalls Theater in Milvale, PA to go see Norwegian black metal band Immortal–whose chilling black metal sound and presence has caused a sudden blizzard to precipitate!

Immortal has a pretty central theme of winter, frost and cold which is why I found this particularly amusing. Given ol’e Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring, and the snow has pretty much melted around here, I sure know I didn’t see this storm coming. Never underestimate the power of metal…

Continue reading Immortal Brings A Blizzard to Pittsburgh…