soapko

Don’t Blink

Karl — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:06:42 +0000

My gallery of free “The angels have the phone box” art has moved here.

Sorry for the runaround.

My Limited Edition Prints for Sale

Karl — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:34:43 +0000

All art is printed by hand, limited edition, and signed. To see how I make my prints, check out this short video.

You can also visit my complete art gallery here

A hearty thanks goes out to all of my fans and supporters.

My silkscreening process

Karl — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:00:28 +0000

A brief look into the process behind my art.

The things I remember about Hawkmoon

Karl — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:00:13 +0000

I first visited the hopeful city of Hawking—population 50,000—when I was no older than eight. Back then, it was called Hawkmoon. My parents woke me and my older brother two hours before first light to drive us to the dewy field just inside city limits for the annual hot air balloon show. Balloonists from around the country converged in Hawkmoon on that special day to alight their giant ships upon the cool morning air while shivering earthbound spectators like my brother and I teetered between a sleepy daze and wide-eyed awe. It was the closest thing I had ever had to a religious experience. And I went to church every Sunday.

Though we never went back to the show, it formed my enduring impression of Hawkmoon; a place where people traveled in brilliantly emblazoned airships and flew wherever they wished or the breeze took them. For a kid living in a small country village, Hawkmoon felt like the center of the universe.

And then came the races…

It wasn’t until my teens that I returned, however. Some friends and I made the drive out to the same balloon field to witness the first of what would later became an obsession of mine. Somewhere between now and my last visit, Hawkmoon got put on the map for a new sport: airship racing. And not since I was a small boy in that windswept field did I experience such exhilaration.

The American Airship Racing League owes its very existence to one man: our local hero, Will Harper. As the story goes, Harper, a pilot and self-professed muscle car gear-head, demonstrated a new prototype dirigible of his own design at the annual hot air balloon event down state. He aimed to show the world that lighter-than-air craft didn’t have to be the lethargic ships everyone knew them to be. He created such a sensation that when he brought his mind-blowing barnstorming airship act to the Hawkmoon air show that year, he was singularly the most anticipated event. The next year, he featured two new prototype airships.

The brilliant thing about the airship races wasn’t just the powerful jump jets which hurtled the sleek airship frames through the sky, but how they’d slip and slide around the floating pylons. The track itself was fluid, subject to the fickle whims of the air.

And the collisions! You could feel the impacts deep in your chest as the pilots slammed their ship into an opponent’s, sending such thunderous waves into the crowd that you thought every atom of you might fly apart. But your body would hold fast long enough to see the opposing ships bounce apart like giant rubber balls, sending one or more careening off-course and struggling to regain control.

Accidents and crashes were thankfully rare, but I’ll never forget the one that nearly claimed Will Harper himself… and my parents.

Ann Arbivore

Karl — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:25:40 +0000

This post is a little late, but I’m excited to announce the launch of Ann Arbivore, Monet’s blog about the adventures of eating locally grown food in Ann Arbor.

Please stop by and share your recipes and support.

New “growbot” series

Karl — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:29:32 +0000

I originally conceived of these plant-powered robots for a short story, but since then they have mostly lived in my sketchpad. Now, finally, I am going to develop them into a short series of paintings. I hope you enjoy them.

“Growbot” title courtesy of Monet.

“The Angels Have the Phone Box” designs

Karl — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:58:08 +0000

I used to sell these designs at Cafepress, but I’ve since decided to make them available for whatever price you see fit. Download them for FREE, or send me a tiny Paypal donation for whatever amount you feel these designs are worth.

If you don’t know how to get these printed, I’m happy to help.

Download these designs and have them printed for super-cheap at Cafepress, Zazzle, or the like. Keep in mind that these designs use transparency and often have white text, which won’t show up on the white background. Silly, I know. If I can figure out how to display them on black I will.

I you like these designs, and decide to use them, please take the time to make a small donation for whatever amount you feel these designs are worth to you. I appreciate your support. And remember, don’t blink.

lovely

Karl — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:10:23 +0000

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

–Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“robot gone wild”

Karl — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:53:55 +0000

I could care less.

Karl — Mon, 02 May 2005 15:13:59 +0000

I couldn’t care less about basketweaving… but is it because I care too much?

There’s nothing like a good language debate to pit brother against brother, man against wife, and cat against dog.

Today I weigh in on the fashionable “I could[n't] care less” skirmish. It’s not as controversial as the “serial comma” debate, but I’ll leave that one for when I’m better rested, pumped up, and sober.

The issue at hand is whether people who say “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less” are just lazy slobs. Normally, I would agree with such a statement, preferring the original phrase instead of a bastard variant… but not this time.

That’s because I actually say “I could care less” when prompted appropriately. I’m not swallowing the contraction or blindly tossing out a phrase I heard the popular kids at the mall use like some language mavens would suggest. And I don’t even mean it ironically or sarcastically like “I could care less” apologists suggest, even if that is the variant’s origin.

No, I look at the phrases this way:

Most people say that “couldn’t care less” literally means an absolutely zero level of caring, thus the reason why the speaker couldn’t care even less… but where does it state that? Perhaps there are other reasons for why the speaker couldn’t care less. Perhaps it is because the speaker cares so much. The phrasing simply isn’t clear on its own.

And furthermore, even if the speaker intended to mean they cared absolutely zero, that is clearly hyperbole. What individual has such a perfect awareness of themselves to make a definitive claim of how much they care? If Psychology has proven one thing, it is that people absolutely suck at judging themselves. Why would this be any different?

This robot couldn’t care less about you.

So, my argument is that unless you are speaking to a robot who can quantify with perfection their internal “caring” for a thing, the statement simply isn’t credible. Go ahead and assume that they actually do care, if only a little bit.

On the other side, “I could care less” implies that the speaker really could care less. Sure, they cop to having at least some level of caring, even if it is subconscious, but they also care so little that they could probably bring themselves to care even less. Talk about not caring! Whereas the “couldn’t care less” people can’t bring themselves to care less, the “could care less” people clearly can.

And that is what brings us to:

Quick Quiz:

1. Assuming you have undying love for your pet animal, which would be a more appropriate thing to say?

A. I couldn’t care less for my pet animal.
B. I could care less for my pet animal.

2-4. Repeat question one, substituting “pet animal” with “loved one”, “God”, and “pudding.”