What's In a Name?

So far, nobody's really asked me where'd I get the name "Ward-O-Matic," but I've had some people say that they were intrigued by it. And that was why I chose it. At first, I thought it was too cheesy, but the more I thought about it, it seemed like the perfect fit as the title to a blog written by an artist named Ward. Plus, I thought that it would catch your eye.

Originally, I used the name "The Ward-O-Matic" as the name of my iTunes ID at work. Since we're all pretty much Mac users at Primal, we all listen to our iTunes on a constant basis. And I love the fact that you can listen to your fellow co-workers' library of mp3's via sharing. I chose the name Ward-O-Matic as it was a bit retro, plus it was similar to the idea of the Automat, a place where they dispensed food mechanically through a series of windows when you put your coin in the appropriate slot. There is a Looney Tune cartoon that uses this for gag purposes. So with The Ward-O-Matic on iTunes, my feelings were that you can listen to a nice, large selection of interesting tunes at your convenience. For free.

And now, with the blog, the name "Ward-O-Matic" just made sense to me. I think of it as a place that dispenses links, interesting artwork, illustrations, commentaries and the usual hot-air rants at your convenience. For free.


Continuing on the Automat vein, Clark Whittington. an accquaintance of Doug Grimmett (co-founder and Creative Director of Primal Screen), started up a pretty interesting venture, called The Art*o*mat. He takes retired cigarette vending machines and converts them to vend art. Huh? Yes, art. For five bucks, you can become a bona fide art collector by purchasing an original cigarette pack-sized work of art from local or not-so local artists. It's a fun concept and very original. If you want to find an Art*o*mat machine in your area, just find one HERE.