Whut up, homies?

(You can blame my wife for the title of this post there. She thinks it's funny. I think she's delusional.) It's been rather hectic for me lately, but now that I've been able to finish up on some projects, I can now focus on providing you guys with some of my fabulous writings which, at times can be labeled "confused and babbling." Yes, an actual quote from someone out there, but hey - that's what these blogs are all about, right? I'm not a professional writer, I've never purported to be one, but I do love the fact that what you get when you read blogs is real, honest-to-goodness opinions, unedited. That's the joy of blogging.

And can I say how deceptively difficult this blogging thing is? I thought that posting something, anything would be a piece of cake, but I find it very hard to actually find the time to sit down and really devote my time to this. Of course, when I do post something, I can't just type something and leave it at that. No, I have to add images and links galore to the smallest of posts, which, with html tags and all, doubles the time it normally takes. I can't help it, though. That's the part in me that wants to leave the reader with something substantial.

So, enough with all that rambling. I've got some fun links for you guys.

(First of all, congratulations to the kids at Pixar for a sweep at the Annies. Big props to all the winners. You can check out who won HERE.)

Atlanta is not particularly known for respect of its own history, but thanks to Greg at Atlanta Time Machine, you can view old photos that are a part of Georgia State University's Pullen Library photo collections and view "then and now" shots of various Atlanta landmarks, buildings, houses, etc. It's quite an undertaking, as he's chronicled a good amount of homes and businesses from around the city by taking the "now" shots in the exact same position as the original. Sadly, I would've done the same if I had the time.

Continuing on the Atlanta front, there's an all-city gallery event going on. Didn't you know? Me neither. So it goes in the art-anemic ATL.

When I grow up, I want my blog to be as cool as these guys': What Do I Know? and The ByrdHouse Review, two Atlanta designers doing the blog thing.

Even cooler, Methane Studios makes pretty images for bands and things. Yes, they are in Atlanta, too. (More hip cool rock posters: Aesthetic Apparatus.)

Continuing on the design front: Check out these designs for barf bags. The problem is, if I get sick 30,000 feet in the air, why would I bother booting into a designer bag? And I recently found this fun book at the bookstore: Design for Impact, an entire book devoted to airline safety cards. The book even has a web site.

What to expect in the next couple of weeks on The Ward-O-Matic: a follow-up to my Polar Express commentaries (Part 1 and Part 2) once I get a chance to see the film in IMAX 3D, weekly inspiration from my daughter, more artwork, and exclusive interviews with distinguished artists and animators. (Here's hoping I don't pull a Chris Farley during these interviews.)

All that plus more confusion and babbling, here at The Ward-O-Matic.