The Mizark Show

In The Rear View Mirror: Fall Semester 2011

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

The end of a semester is always a glorious thing... but this has been quite the busy semester for me. So, before I get to drinking the stress and memories away and jump into a new project for the winter break, I thought I'd document this semester here so I can look back at it someday and scoff:

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Lessons From Tutoring: Week 1

2011-11-09T13:55:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago, my school sent out an email asking for tutors. I've never tutored officially, but I saw openings for Art History and Photoshop and decided that talking about things I love with people who need help with those subjects would be a cool source of extra income; especially if I can get them excited about these subjects as my profs did to me.

As of right now, I have only been a tutor for one week, but I'm pretty sure they have taught me far more than I have had the time to teach them.

That isn't a confession of my tutoring failures, because I kick ass. I love the subjects, know the material frontwards and backwards, and come from a family of teachers. It's just that these students have some serious hurdles to jump in terms of learning disabilities and bad habits acquired because of those academic short-comings. And through that they have shown me an ugly truth I was somewhat blind to for years...

...our academic system has failed pretty much all of us.

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Cellphones: Helping You Avoid Eye Contact with Strangers!

2011-10-31T13:55:00.000-05:00

I've been absent from the school scene for a few years prior to this current re-engagement with academia, and in that time technology has shifted radically. Especially in the mobile/cellphone department. This, in large part, was due to the iPhone's release in mid-2007... the summer before my senior year of college.

There are a lot of ways which this has changed my recent school experience: I use a Kindle app on Android/PC for most of my textbooks, when taking pictures I use my phone and not a dedicated camera, instead of lugging a seperate portable gaming system around for the freetime in-between classes and meetings I just use my phone, and perhaps most importantly, it's where I keep short notes, to-do lists, homework assignments, and contact information.

But this is more about another thing that comes along with the school experience: social interaction. And in my experience, technology is really starting to impede upon it.

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Parental Delusions: Allowances

2011-09-25T12:28:00.004-05:00

If I was ever cursed with tiny people who relied on me for years on end, I think there are some things I would definitely do different from my parents. A lot of people have these sorts of things pseudo-planned out in their heads, but there are a few key things that I wish I had been able to experience as a child that I want to make sure my own kids would be exposed to.

Right now, all of these things involve allowance and my nerdy luxeries that my parents deemed immature or worthless at the time (and probably still do) but that have played a huge role in who I am and the person I am today.

There are a few things I would do similar though... so I guess we'll jump into it at that point.

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2D Design Projects, Part 1

2011-09-12T11:55:00.001-05:00

School's in session and since I'm taking 4 studio classes, I'm putting out quite a bit of work lately. Since that stuff cuts into my blogging/writing time, I figured I would share with you what I've been up to and explain some of the concepts I've tried to execute on each.

Feel free to provide feedback and critique. That's why I'm sharing these with everyone on the internet. If I didn't want/need feedback, then each of these would be selling for rediculous amounts and I could drop out of school and do this for a fucking living.

But since no one is throwing money at me, I'll assume that I'm still learning and can use some feedback.
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Support Your Artists

2011-09-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

I don't make much money, in fact the part-time job I have pays minimum wage. I don't have much in a savings or checking account, partly because rent and utilities are kinda high... but also because I'm bad at budgeting what I do have (confession: I'm an impulse videogame buyer). There is no shoebox under my bed with emergency funds in it; honestly, the most physical money I have is a bunch of change in a Coca-Cola piggy-bank on my desk (and I use most of it for laundry).

But there is one thing I will always stretch my funds to spend money on, even if it means shorting myself a meal or waiting for a sale to get the game I want: the fruits of your creative labor.

Why? Because, as artists and creators, I truly believe we must to support each other.

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Catherine: A Truly Mature Game

2011-08-07T14:02:00.002-05:00

As an adult gamer, I purchase and play quite a few games with a Mature rating slapped on the cover. But, like most rating systems, the ESRB ratings are pretty worthless. Shitty parents still buy these games for their kids. Kids think the higher rated games are better or cooler and overlook sometimes much better and more interesting games for the likes of Call of Duty. And it doesn't help adult gamers decide what they want or whether will be interesting to them in the least, because the standards by which they rate are ridiculously short sighted (aka, there are naughty things in this box, don't let impressionable dipshits take this home).

Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that retailers can't force parents to be responsible, that kids will still get their hands on these games, and that their system of deciding what age group is able to handle certain content is subjective to each individual. With this in mind, I don't understand why the ESRB doesn't retool the rating system to be more helpful for those who actually care. And,, Catherine, is the perfect example of this rating system gone wrong.

Its not that it doesn't deserve this MA rating, it does, but for reasons they don't list on the back cover of games: the story is incomprehensible to those who haven't faced the struggles of adulthood.

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How Art Teaches Logic

2011-07-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

This past spring was my first semester as an Art Student, but it wasn't my first semester as a college student. My previous collegiate life was enjoyed as a Philosopher. And even though they don't have a lot in common, it kept coming up like a case of deja vu you can't quite kick. Case in point: the further I got in my Drawing class, the more ties there were to Symbolic Logic.

I mentioned this to a friend and fellow Philosophy BA and he demanded I explain. That was months ago and I'm just now getting to this post. So, I won't doddle any longer... how does art teach logic? Well, there are a few key similarities, or perhaps overlaps...

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Hello Again, Friend

2011-07-21T16:39:00.005-05:00

The last time I wrote on a regular basis was almost a year ago, before I submitted my resignation from Gamer Limit. And really, even that gig wasn't about writing; it was about "community promotion."

So... really, the last time that I was writing on a regular basis was during college where I ghost wrote articles for the school paper when they needed filler, did movie reviews every month, and wrote comics for the paper and the web. And, when inspiration would strike, I'd jot out a poem or short story to post online for my friends and strangers to stumble upon.

But inspiration and I had a falling out... lately, she hasn't been returning my calls. And as more time passes, I've been getting worried that it never will.

So, instead of sitting around and waiting like some schmuck, I'm taking action. I will write. Even when no one reads it. Because eventually that arrogant bitch will catch wind of what I'm doing without her and get jealous. Hopefully, she'll come crawling back, begging for a piece of the action I've diligently sculpted without her help or fancy tools.

And when that time comes, I'll take pleasure in turning her ass down; cause who needs some ethereal bitch hanging from their nuts, anyway?