So this picture is from... ahem... a while ago. I was a big fan of the shirt (thanks to Jill "xtingu" Knapp for that!) and I went to look up a precise translation online. Google had nothing for me at the time.

Then I looked it up again a few years after that - still nothing.

I just did a Google Search again after stumbling on the image for the first time in a while and the top half a page or so is all a series of links to direct translations of this specific phrase. That just seems impressive to me.

These are the things I think about sometimes. I think I may need a hobby.

So a friend sent me a link to The Toolbox Fallacy (the video above).

He sent it saying: "If you're pushing yourself to do Inktoberfest, I figure there's a chance that you aren't where you wanted to be with your art, by this point in your life.

The following 7 minute vid is a potentially impactful one, about how too many of us wait too long and have too many excuses for not taking more action sooner, toward becoming who we want to be."

First, I thought it was very nice of him to try to give me a gentle prod in the right direction.

The tl;dr of the video is "Don't wait until you have the right tools or environment or... whatever. Just do the thing that you love to do." In my case - make art.

I learned something, but it's not what you might think it would be.

I've been aware of what this person calls the Toolbox Fallacy for many years. For me, it's pretty much never about "I have to have X to make Y." In fact, to the contrary, I've spent a non insubstancial amount of time cheerleading others to 'just get started' with whatever they have on hand. Or, at worst, finding something (anything) to 'make it happen'.

It's true that I'm not where I want to be with my art. To grossly oversimplify, where I would like to be is: "Making a significant portion of my income (or possibly all of it) via the sale of art I've enjoyed making."

The reason I'm pushing myself to do Inktober (think NaNoWriMo but art using ink) is because I want to break from my normal digital production. I'm using Inktober to force myself into a 90 degree turn. Okay, so it's maybe more like a 45 degree turn. The point is that it's a different medium, there's a timer running, and it's an intense 'workout' of sorts that I don't normally do. Something like using (as I recently mentioned to Lindsay Harris-Friel ) a reduced color pallet to force yourself to think differently. These sorts of workouts often lead me to some of my best breakthroughs.

"Okay, okay. We get it. You've told us what you didn't learn. Can you get to what you did learn already?"

Fine. Be that way. I'll get to it.

Essentially, I learned two things watching that video:

1. I'm giving folx the wrong impression about the art side of my life. I suspect this is primarilly because right now the majority of the art I'm doing is hidden from most of the world. I'm doing this on purpose (to create a 'big reveal' when our game Conquest! goes live. Still, I need to find a way to share more of what I'm doing. Part of this feels like a social media thing, and I need to do some thinking about it. More to come.
2. It's probably time for a change. I've been doing effectively the same thing with my illustration for... well, probably about 4 decades now. Sure, I've gotten better at the thing I do, but if it hasn't brought me to where I want to be after four frickin decades then maybe I need to change the process / model / product. I'm pretty attached to the (art) process and the product, so maybe it's time to focus on the model. I've spent a lot of time working on character drawings, saying "See what I made? Don't you want me to draw your D&D character for $0.50?!" Just like the guy on the street corner who's asking for a buck, most folks just mumble some excuse and scurry away. The two people a year who actually drop a buck in my offered cap aren't enough to pay the bills. So I need to figure out something to get more work coming in the front door. Here again, I need to do some thinking about this, and I'll post more when I've figured something out.

Stay tuned, True Believers.

A quick (and terrible) collection of the images I've done for Inktober so far.

Top row is the 'standard' Inktober themes. Day 1 was "ring" and Day 9 was 'swing'.

Bottom row is the 'whimsical' list starting with Day 1 "fairy" and Day 8 'sorcery'. I haven't finished Day 9 for the whimsical list. (I'm posting this 10/8 so I'm a day ahead on the 'normal list'.)

"I traveled far and wide
And laid this head in many ports
I was guided by a compass
I saw beauty to the north
I drew the tales of many lives
And wore the faces of my own
I had these memories all around me
So I wouldn't be alone"

From Rose Tattoo by the Dropkick Murphys

So it looks like I may get a new P/T job to supplement my job at TomTom. It’s still a bit of a long shot, but my buddy Brad said there might be an option where he works. We were talking about it last night, and I said that I would love to get some hours there if they would be understanding about my weird “it would have to be on rainy days” thing.

He apparently had some turmoil there this morning including the firing of a beloved coworker. They were already understaffed. They normally have paid interns, but those positions had been frozen until recently which threw them out of the school seasonal hiring schedule.

So we will see. I’m hopeful. I could use the extra hours and the extra money. What’s more, the position, while not anything like any ‘illustration’ gig I would ever think of, does have the word illustrator in the title, so it might be a bit of a resume builder. What’s even more, I know that I will learn a lot - which is enough to be enticing all by itself. I’ve been so stagnant in recent years when it comes to learning anything. I feel like my brain is turning to mush.

Anyway - this all has me looking at my resume and touching it up / adding the TomTom relevant information. That, in turn, had me wandering down my work history in my head. I’ve long thought I need to better document the jobs I’ve done in my past. It’s a pretty broad spectrum and it would be nice to reference them.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and the potential new side gig!

[ x - posted this to my DW account ]

This episode was based on a single tweet - details here.

A discussion developed in response to a friend's post about the security of entries here on OPW. I worked through my current understanding of the Key/Lock system here on a comment thread, and thought I would repost it here, publicly, for reference. Tom, if 1. You see this 2. it's accurate and 3. you are so inclined, feel free to copy and/or link to this post for reference. I'm happy to edit this post if that proves easier.

* * * * *

Let's assume I lock ALL of my posts with stop light colors. I would do that because I don't want Google or John Q. Public to be able to read what I write here. If I DID want that, I could just make the post "Public" and all the world could see them. At least that's my current understanding.

But I don't. I lock them all for the purposes of this scenario.

Posts that are pretty friendly to everyone get a Green Lock. I create that here: https://onepostwonder.com/friends# under the _New lock_ link. Posts that are only for close friends get an Yellow Lock, and of course, posts that show my Deep Dark Secrets and are thus only for my singnificant other get a Red Lock.

Then, I can give each person the correlating keys to the locks I want them to be able to open. I would do that for my imaginary friend Jane Doe here: https://onepostwonder.com/users/ImaginaryFriendJaneDoe and clicking on the _Give keys_ link under her her profile info.

This system allows for really accurate filtering, and kudos to Tom for using it. As I see it, the only 'down side' is that it could theoretically get pretty complicated over time if you had a lot of situational locks that you wanted to create. So while I don't use the system I described above, my system isn't far off.

* * * * *

Side thought: I just realized that I have no idea if/how 'hidden' response comments are to posts. ie - if I have access to my imaginary friend Jane Doe's entries, do I get to see responses by people I have no access to?

My gut reaction is yes, that I _can_ see those responses, but I'll have to double check.

I had the good fortune to have brunch with the lovely Miss Knapp this morning. As is often the case after spending time with creative people, this has me on a bit of a high and feeling very creative / inspired / wanting to be productive.

So that’s the mood I was in when I hopped in my car and started heading back down to Maryland.

All of that is backstory to explain where I got the idea to create a Knappucino’s for Illustrators.

So here’s some thoughts I’m working through to see if this would be a worthwhile venture:

1. Would it be worth it for me? What’s my objective here? I mean, the arts are generally not a side hack you want to start if you’re looking to get paid. You either go all in, or you go home. There just isn’t room for ‘half way’. But maybe money isn’t the point. It’s certainly not what triggered the idea. The idea was feedback from the audience to the artists. Much like the original Knappucino’s wasn’t so local unknowns could get paid, but rather that they could try things out with an attentive audience who cared about such things. It’s a different starting point than most gallery showings I’ve come across.
2. Do artists want feedback? I know that I want feedback, but maybe I’m an oddball? Maybe it’s more of an illustrator thing. Since we tend to be more mercenary about our work than fine artists, the audience opinion matters more. Or at least, their feedback should. 
3. Do I want to invest this kind of time and effort? I know that Jill put a lot into the original. Perhaps much of this was emotional effort (I don’t want to presume to speak for her) but I have a pretty simple live right now. Chop wood, carry water. Repeat. More possessions and more activities create more stress. This is something I have to pay attention to.
4. Would I want to do this as a ‘pop up’ concept? A long time ago, I came up with an idea (I wasn’t the first) to do pop up galleries utilizing unused strip mall space. Getting folks to come through would potentially lead to business for the mall property owners, and it would provide me with free (too much to hope for?) space for the shows. This seems like an obvious extension to that idea. Would that just be making things overly complicated though?
5. How would it work? Simple is obviously the name of the game. At least to start with. So here’s my rough idea:

5a. I would try to control the flow of the audience through the space. Nothing super rigid, but creating a ‘direction of travel’ will help with some of the other elements we’ll find below.

5b. No artist’s statement. Start with the art.

5c. At the end of each artist’s section, there are printed forms for the audience to fill out. The forms are crazy simple: 3 questions to direct the flow of the feedback (see also: the Start with This episode dealing with Feedback - https://beta.prx.org/stories/273387) AND a space for people to write in their email address if they want to join the artist’s email list.

5d. Rinse, repeat for each artist in the show. (Initial shows would be kept to something like 3 or 4 at most - because KISS.)

Anywho - that’s what my brain is chewing on right now. Oh, that and the charity illustration I’m doing. Speaking of which - I should really get back to that now.

I know - most of you probably left that particular platform a long time ago. I was still poking my head in pretty regularly, and as it happens, I was on it today. I was checking out the pluthera of goodbye posts from others who were swearing that they would remain until Google kicked them out and barred the doors.

Then I hit refresh on my browser and got the screen above.

Well, it had plenty of problems, but I am genuinely sorry to see it go. I did pull all of my posts and upload them to MeWe, but it's not the same. What's more, some of the content (some images, etc) didn't translate over. So I'm cleaning up old posts that don't make sense anymore.

But with that said, I was a little surprised to see that I was on Google Plus for 8 years, and that ain't nuthin.

For any who are curious: mewe.com/i/mattlichtenwalner

I created a FaceBook Group (groan) for my coworkers and myself. Just those of us who are 'grunts'. Working at a job like ours, it's suuuuper easy to feel alienated and alone. This was a little way for us to band together for everything from support in work stuff to telling random funny stories that the others would appreciate.

It's one of the (very) few reasons I check back into FB occasionally.

Recently, someone posted to the group and asked about "Ultimate Road Music". They didn't give much in the way of stipulations. A bunch of folks dove in and presented what I think is a rather excellent list of music.

While much of it is what you might expect - classic rock is a high percentage of the list - there are a lot of gems that I either didn't know or had forgotten.

Instead of doing any one of the million things I should be doing right now, I just took a bit and sorted through all the comments to compile a list of all the recommendations. Since it has a very 'mix tape' feel to it, I thought I would present it here for your enjoyment.

Feel free to add to the list if you've got something that has to be added!

Individual Songs
AC/DC - Are You Ready
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
AC/DC - Riff Raff
Allman Brothers - Midnight Rider
Allman Brothers - Ramblin Man
Animals - It’s My Life
Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans
Billy Joel - New York State of Mind
Black Sabbath - Fairy’s Wear Boots
Black Sabbath - Neon Knights
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Blackfoot - Highway Song
Blackmore Night - Locked Within the Crystal Ball
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
Boston - Peace of Mind
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Buffalo Springfield - For What it’s Worth
Cake - The Distance
Canned Heat - Going up the Country
Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
​​​​​​​Credence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary
Crosby Stills and Nash - Marakesh Express
Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night
Damn Yankees - High Enough
Darryl Worley - A Good Day to Run
Deep Purple - Highway Star
Depeche Mode - Route 66
Dire Straits - Sultans Of Swing
Eddie Rabbit - Drivin my Life Away
Elvis Presley - Hi-Heel Sneakers
Eric Clapton - Let It Grow
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy
Focus - Hocus Pocus
Foghat - Drivin' Wheel
Freddy Jones Band - In a Daydream
Gary Allen - Highway Junkie
Get Set Go - I Hate Everyone
Gladys Knight - Midnight Train to Georgia
Golden Earring - Radar Love
Gordon Lightfoot - Carefree Highway
Grateful Dead - Truckin
Hank Snow - I've Been Everywhere
Heart - Straight On For You
Honeymoon Suite - New Girl Now
Howlin’ Wolf - Highway 49
Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills
Iron Maiden - Wasted Years
Jackson Browne - Running on Empty
James Taylor - Carolina in my Mind
Jefferson Airplane - Wooden Ships
Jimmy Buffet - Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes
John Denver - Travelling Song
John Deniver - Country Roads
John Deniver - Leaving on a Jet Plane
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Johnny Cash - I've Been Everywhere
Joni Mitchell - Circle Game
Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand
Led Zeppelin - Dancing Days
Led Zeppelin - Tea for One
Led Zeppelin - Ramble On
Lee Clayton - Silver Stallion
Lindsay Buckingham - Holiday Road
Linkin Park - Castle of Glass
Lulu Santos - Como Uma Onda
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Call me the Breeze
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Men At Work - Down Under
Metallica - Wherever I May Roam
Molly Hatchet - Boogie No More
Montrose - Bad Motor Scooter
Motorhead - Going To Brazil
Nat King Cole - Route 66
Outlaws - Green Grass and High Tides
Pantera - Cemetary Gates
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Prince - Little Red Corvette
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Rare Earth - Born to Wander
Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack
Rise Against - Ready to Fall
Roger Miller - King of the Road
Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years
Ronnie Milsap - Prisoner of the Highway
Rush - A Passage to Bangkok
Rush - Red Barchetta
Rush - YYZ Slayer - Seasons In the Abyss
Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild
Steppenwolf - The Pusher
Steve Miller Band - Jet Airliner
Sting - Desert Rose
Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
Sweet - Set Me Free
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Tesla - Comin' Atcha
The B-52s - Roam
The Doors - Horse Lattitudes
The Doors - Riders on the Storm
The Eagles - Take It Easy
The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreaming
The Marshall Tucker Band - Heard it in a Love Song
The Proclaimers - I Would Walk 500 Miles
The Way - Fastball
The Who - Who Are You
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Walk on the Ocean
Tom Cochrane - Life is a Highway
Tom Petty - Running Down a Dream
Tom Petty - Time to Move On
Tony Bennet - I Left My Heart in San Francisco
Tool - Sober
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Traveling Wilburys - End of the Line
U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
Van Halen - Poundcake
Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
Waylon Jennings - Lonesome Ornery and Mean
Whitesnake - Love Ain't No Stranger
Willie Nelson - On the Road Again
Yes - Rhythm Of Love
ZZ Top - I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
ZZ Top - La Grange

Whole Album Recommendations
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
Metallica - Black Album
Metallica - Unforgiven
Pink Floyd - Animals
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd - Division Bell
Pink Floyd - The Wall
U2 - Actung Baby

Band Recommendations
5 Finger Death Punch
Avenged Sevenfold

ETA:
New Additions from OPW Folks
Beastie Boys (See below)
Black Sabbath - Johnny Blade
Black Sabbath - Never Say Die
Black Sabbath - Psycho Man
Blue Oyster Cult - Godzilla
Blue Oyster Cult - Veterans of the Psychic Wars
Deep Purple - Space Truckin'
Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
Depeche Mode - Nothing
Don Felder - Heavy Metal
Eagles - On the Border
Eagles - Witchy Woman
Eagles - Victim of Love
Eagles - Heartache Tonight
Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue
Golden Earring - Twilight Zone
Nazareth - Crazy
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magick (entire album)
Sammy Hagar - Heavy Metal

Just a little something I cooked up since I just finished the first dozen characters for one of my clients. It's nothing really, but I thought he might be able to use it for promotional purposes and the like. Figured I would share it here in case you guys were curious. 

If any of you find yourself curious enough to want to try the game out, it's available on DriveThruRPG:

Tall Tales! Core Rules (Note, this does not contain any of my art, but is required for playing)

Tall Tales! More Classes (Note: This is available as a Pay What You Want product, does contain some of my artwork, and is a supplement to the Core Rules.)