My Blarrrrg

Hello there :-)

ctp — Fri, 28 May 2010 04:58:08 GMT

I think I log into tribe once or twice a year these days...so here was my first one this year. Just saying hi :-)

Obligatory where to find me on the playa blog post

ctp — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:32:38 GMT

I'll be at BYB, located at Corvair and 3:00, from the 23rd thru the 31st, leaving at dawn on the 1st. Look for the BYB mailbox and BYB sign. Oh yea, and we'll be making hella buttons all week too. :-)

ZOMG!!! I GOT INTO TRIBE!!!!

ctp — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:41:50 GMT

I haven't been able to get into tribe for a month. sigh. I started out missing it, but then as the days went on it got much easier to live without. Since they can't seem to get their shit together it seems like it'd be smart for me to not get too re-attached to the place. Most of you know where else to find me...or know people who do.

I've been blogged upon...w00t!

ctp — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:02:29 GMT

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php heeheehee

First Guest Button Artist!!!!

ctp — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:28:41 GMT

Snarky McFuckbuttons just had a play-date with its first official guest artist, Ruth Hodgins. Ruth hand drew a custom series of works, on real nice paper, and we pressed them into that ubiquitous little round package. http://www.snarkymcfuckbuttons.com

Who said new buttons?

ctp — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 03:24:01 GMT

Yea yea yea... I keep making them, I'm just lousy at telling everyone. I dunno if these are all new to you, but here they are. I also know that I've made many new ones, since I last posted about them, that are not here. Of course there are stories behind most of these...I might even tell you some of the stories too, someday :-) For some of the rest of the dirt go to http://www.snarkymcfuckbuttons.com

an update on me and stuffs going on...

ctp — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:55:44 GMT

People keep asking, so here's the deets. I think everyone is up to date as of Maker Faire? btw - our booth was so popular (which really was a surprise to us, seriously) that I registered the name we showed under - http://www.appliedkineticarts.com - and it looks like AKA is wanted for more shows possibly. We are adding more artists to the group too...YAYYYY So after maker faire I had to get the Breathalyzer Genie ready for a show that opened last saturday - RoboexoticaUS - you've all see the genie by now, but probably not the other stuff so go if you can. It's at the Space Gallery on 5th just above Harrison (in SF) news and info on the show here http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/multimedia/2008/05/gallery_roboexotica and here http://laughingsquid.com/roboexotica-usa-photos-video/ Friday night is SFAI's MFA show opening night, at Fort Mason. Free to get in, free wine, great art, cool kids. A highlight of my year (yea yea yea, I am SUPER biased...and SUPER proud of them...so sue me) Saturday 9-4 is another fire safety training at The Crucible. PM me if you want the contact info. There will be at least one more before the fire arts festival, probably two. All weekend is the Power Tool Drag Races, at the usual place, Ace International Speedway on McKinnon in SF. No, I'm not racing this year - decided to rest on my laurels as a past champion...plus I'm way too freaking busy to put together something to race. I plan to go heckle though. http://powertooldragraces.com/about.html Monday I get to go play at the exploratorium, working towards something cool and musical for this summer...but it's a secret...so stay tuned (it's so secret we don't even know what it's gonna be yet...we have to make it up...that's why we're meeting...see?) The following weekend, Paul Da Plumber (Paul Cesewski) is having his opening at the SF dump. I've been over a couple of times to play with his works in progress and I promise you it'll be a fun show. http://www.sfrecycling.com/AIR oh yea...and the pic above? It's from my friend Bryan's Coachella photoset which he just uploaded. There are some fan-fucking-tastic shots in there if you are interested in what it looks like to build a steel tree in the desert with your friends. http://www.flickr.com/photos/be_mo/sets/72157602035520783/

Master Button List!!!!

ctp — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:09:54 GMT

I has one. And it is kinda up to date...many new ones to add to it this weekend. Anyway, it is here: http://snarkymcfuckbuttons.com/buttonlist.html and there is a link to it on the main page over at Snarky McF too. If you want to be credited for one you suggested let me know, but don't you forget because I'm not quite ready to be able to list all that out, but I want to find a way to sometime soon. And don't forget that many of them can be seen here right now - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctp/sets/72157604548764937/ and the Nemomatic/CTP series (of which there are plenty availiable for $2 apiece) can be seen here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctp/sets/72157604037057393/

Maker Faire!!!

ctp — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:36:14 GMT

Opens Saturday at 10AM - parking $8 cash - $25 to get in. They may be running their subscription deal - $35 for a year of either Make or Craft and you get a ticket...that's a good deal. Traffic gets insane, so think about BART and bus or CalTrain and free shuttle - more info on all of it at http://www.makerfaire.com Hours Saturday 10AM to 10PM Sunday 11AM to 6PM I am in the Expo Hall in space #207 - Applied Kinetic Arts - come see me and all the other artists' works!

so, yea, off to Coachella tomorrow...

ctp — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:35:53 GMT

My April from hell has a shining star...of sorts. I leave for Coachella tomorrow to help install the Steampunk Treehouse, and enjoy the shows, then drive back a week from today. I can't wait to be there, even though it bites a big chunk out of my Maker Faire prep...I'm taking materials along and working on stuff though...might as well, eh? Also taking the button maker along to make snarky ones as well as antiquey ones to sell at Maker Faire. Oh, and the new t-shirt logo? In honor of Prince, headlining Saturday night. w00t!

NEW BUTTONS!!!!!!!!! oh yea :-)

ctp — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:59:00 GMT

I found a part of an hour to make some new buttons. yayyyyy :-)

New stuff up at KineticWorld.com

ctp — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:14:01 GMT

http://www.kineticworld.com/ just sayin, in case you don't subscribe to the feed or something.

BYOBW!!!!! I won't be there...

ctp — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:11:01 GMT

BYOBW is tomorrow. Have fun. It's been moved to Vermont Street after last years shark-jumping-hipster-overpopulation-landscape-destruction debacle. I'll be teaching fire safety in Oakland...and not fucking up my knees :-D Meantime, here's a doc I made on the BYOBW in 2003. http://www.recursiveirony.com/byobw/byobw.mov ps - There's a bunch of us cranky old-timers who will ride again on Lombard, we just have to pick a date and then not tell the whole world. pps - yea, that's me about to crash into a photographer...and no, I had no skin on the palms of my hands after that day

KineticWorld.com named one of the Best Blogs Evar!!!

ctp — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:36:43 GMT

Except they spell it "ever"...whatevar. http://bestblogsever.com/2008/03/17/kinetic-world/ I'm so proud of my baby :-)

ZOMFG!!!!

ctp — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:11:57 GMT

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Et_LsxlX8Y I happened to find this video on YouTube this morning. It's a short doc on the making of the HBO identity spot from the 80s...the one where we fly down the street in the city, and out to the hills, and then into space where we see a huge silver HBO flying toward us. I can't understate the profound impact this video (which I saw on HBO around 1983 when I was a junior in high school) had on me. I was already constructing things - a "maker" of the times as it were - but this blew me away. Whenever I build something in brass, the brass HBO from this video flashes in my brain. That's right, the flying HBO in the video isn't an animation...it's a chrome plated brass model, on a motorized pedestal, that is filmed in stop motion. The whole thing is models in stop motion!!! The downside to this video is the song they wrote for it (oh for fuck sakes, take me now so I don't have to listen to it!!!) and the 80's look to the people...did we REALLY look like that? WTF were we thinking? egads. Anyway, go watch it and I hope you like it.

There are NO brown recluse spiders in California!!!

ctp — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 19:42:25 GMT

So once again someone came to me today with a tale of an infestation of brown recluse spiders that they saw, and called an exterminator who came and said they were brown recluses, yada yada yada. Trouble is, it just ain't so, and being your local mini-snopes as I am I have to get the word out yet again, that there aren't any brown recluse spiders here, and even if there were they don't pose the apocalyptic threat that people attribute to them. http://spiders.ucr.edu/myth.html "This website presents evidence for the lack of brown recluse spiders as part of the Californian spider fauna. Unfortunately, this contradicts what most Californians believe; beliefs that are born out of media-driven hyperbole and erroneous, anxiety-filled public hearsay which is further compounded by medical misdiagnoses. Although people are free to disagree, this opinion has come about after more than a decade of constant research." -Rick Vetter - Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA More info here - http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html

HAPPY LUPERCALIA!!!

ctp — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:49:36 GMT

I'm in LA and just got online so it's a tiny bit late, but happy Lupercalia! There's still a little time to go whip your chosen mate with a bloody strip of goat skin...although there's more to it than that :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia

Bike Porn - Thursday Night - The Roxie - Be There!

ctp — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:14:22 GMT

"Thursday, January 3rd. One Night Only. The 90-minute showing will consist of 28 short films on the theme of Bike Porn. They range from the contemplative, to the inventive, to the downright illustrative. Included with the movies will be a live dramatic recreation of the World Naked Bike Ride where bike porn curator Rev. Phil Sano was hit by a drunk driver and then arrested*. Please be advised of adult content. The Pornography of the Bicycle has received rave reviews selling out shows in Portland, Seattle, Bellingham and Vancouver BC Don't miss your opportunity to see what the buzz is about; one night only, this is the 2nd of 3 stops on the Bike Calipornification Tour. Admission is $10 or $7 if you ride your bike. Showtimes: 7:00 & 9:30." http://laughingsquid.com/the-pornography-of-the-bicycle-curated-by-rev-phil-sano/ http://www.roxie.com/events/details.cfm?eventID=176B6EDF-F1F6-5CD4-15D6E04D1E1A3E72

I just officially relaunched KineticWorld.com

ctp — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:59:32 GMT

First off - Happy New Year everyone!!! Secondly, I waited until the start of 2008 to announce the relaunch of KineticWorld. It's a blog all about kinetic, electronic, media, time-based, and most any sort of tech arts, that has been on hiatus for 2 years or so. Please take a look if you feel like it...I hope you enjoy it if you do :-) http://www.kineticworld.com

Helvetica, the movie, at The Roxie, for a week....(now with show times!)

ctp — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:26:02 GMT

Helvetica the movie is playing at The Roxie from the 21st to the 27th. You are about to learn another little factoid about your chum CTP...I am a type freak. Yep, typography, fonts, letters, all of it. My fellow typehounds and myself can see a sign and end up talking for hours about typography...you either get it or you don't, and those who don't run away pretty fast. Anyway, this film, from what I am told, has none of the eye-glazing side effects as me and my fellow typenerds' conversations do. And that is a good thing. Anyone planning to go see it? I am but I dunno what night(s) yet. (yea, I said night(S)...remember, I'm a typegeek?) "Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day." Speaking of being a typegeek...go watch this, seriously, you will enjoy it. http://www.goodiebag.tv/episodes/06_trajan_is_the_movie_font.htm Date.....................Time..............Screen December 21 7:00 PM Big Roxie December 21 9:00 PM Big Roxie December 22 2:30 PM Big Roxie December 22 4:45 PM Big Roxie December 22 7:00 PM Big Roxie December 22 9:00 PM Big Roxie December 23 2:30 PM Big Roxie December 23 4:45 PM Big Roxie December 23 7:00 PM Big Roxie December 23 9:00 PM Big Roxie December 26 2:00 PM Big Roxie December 26 4:45 PM Big Roxie December 26 7:00 PM Big Roxie December 26 9:00 PM Big Roxie December 27 7:00 PM Big Roxie December 27 9:00 PM Big Roxie

Video sneak preview of "Robots Are Art" at the Float Gallery

ctp — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 07:35:02 GMT

http://www.ktvu.com/video/14857211/index.html look for my piece in there too :-)

Details for that coming art show...

ctp — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:42:38 GMT

Here's the deets, peeps: http://www.thefloatcenter.com/robot_art.html ROBOTS ARE ART Show & Contest Show runs December 13th, 07 , through Jan 17th, 08. Party & Contest Dec 15th 6-10p Monty the first humanoid robot of its kind, will judge the robotic art in this DIY Art show and contest, in his first open to the public appearance. A few Pleo’s (a baby Camarasaurus) will make their way through the crowd as critics. Pleoworld.com Robots will serve you Beer, paint paintings and even a disgruntled homeless robot will be on display. A presentation on the history of robotics by Frank Garvey will be shown at 6pm, along with raffle prizes and free robotic magazines. This event will encompass a diverse group of robotic artists including mixed media, painters and kinetic artists. The contest will be 100% violence free, and will focus on form, function, and fun. Prizes will be given for categories such as overall artistic esthetics, unusual functionality, robots as a reflection of society, and incorporation of unusual objects to name a few. Judging the robotic art will be, Monty the first humanoid robot of its kind along with Trevor Blackwell, Ph.D. Founder and CEO of ANYBOTS and David Calkins, President of the Robotics Society of America, and founder of the international RoboGames. This is a not to be missed event!

Art show approaching...and I'm in it!

ctp — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:12:03 GMT

"Robots Are Art" at the Float Gallery in Oakland. The reception is this Saturday evening. I will probably be at the reception, although Santacon takes top priority, followed by Nick's birthday party. Anyway, the show will be up for a month, so go see it!!!

Thanks for coming out on Saturday!!!

ctp — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:21:19 GMT

I just wanted to thank all of my friends who heard the call and came out to Todd Blair's fundraiser on Saturday. Todd has a long and difficult road to recovery ahead of him, and the Blue and Green ball was such a great way for us to come together, see one another, and raise a lot of money. So anyway, thanks again, you guys all rock! If you want more up to the minute info - http://toddblair.wordpress.com/

Evel Knievel......dead at 69

ctp — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:40:29 GMT

I grew up in a motorsports family. In the late 60s and into the 70s Evel Knievel was HUGE, and even though my parents weren't much into motorcycles, they were fans of EK. I can remember watching every one of his jumps on TV, and we even went to see him live at the Cow Palace. That night held one of his best failures ever - skidding out of the arena in a shower of sparks, but not getting too hurt in the crash. You can see that jump in some of the videos of his stunts. I still can't, to this very day, enter the Cow Palace without looking up to where I was sitting, how his jump was aligned, where he rode in from, and where his ass skidded out of the room. Someday if any of you are there with me I'll give you the whole tour. Anyway, there are some great videos on youtube of and about the man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYGGCVE2lKY possibly his worse crash ever...or at least his best filmed. Warning - there's no blood, but it is hard to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg9Hrp0CVms Owwww http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLURFJQGeZE He didn't always crash :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PKx2GlC7U When they show "promoter J.C. Agajanian" - we knew him :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZZB9lnJFPc owwww again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxgm5uM64hc I got this very toy for my 10th birthday, and loved it! They recently started making them again. I should get one. Funny video too. and finally http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7IUKyDkDig Starting at 1:24 is the Cow Palace jump I wrote about. He was one crazy fucker who things his own way. Rest in peace Evel.