Novice Pop

Playing Catch Up

Yes I know, it’s been dead here. Hell, if there are any of you out there actually left reading this I’d be shocked.

And I have no one to blame but myself. I’ve let just about anything and everything get in the way of my posting.

Here’s a quick list of what’s kept me from my postingly duties:

• Changed positions at MassMutual, leaving my role as designer on MM’s Producer “portal” and joining the User Experience Services team as a User Experience Designer
• Dealing with numerous on-again / off-again health issues, including a situation recently that caused some minor memory loss
• Repositioning my freelance design work to be more specific to User Experience Design
• Raising Owen
• Expecting a second bundle of joy this December
• Preparing to teach at UMass Amherst in the fall

I’d love to get back to a regular posting routine, and to post real, honest-o-god content, and not this drivel about myself (no one cares about this crap anyway) but I can’t honestly say when that might be. With the new baby coming, it seems to make sense for it to be soon, but at this point who knows.

So until next time, here’s to ya…

Happy Father’s Day

Just a quick note to say Happy Father’s Day to my fellow Dad’s. Expect new life at Novice Pop in the coming months.

In Memory of Jackie Walker

Early in the afternoon yesterday, a friend, who also happens to be my Brother-in-Law’s mother, passed away as a result of complications from cancer. Jackie Walker was a great woman whom I admired and respected and will very much miss.

Jackie was a co-founder of the Cancer Connection a well-respected, local, non-profit organization offering support services to individuals living with a cancer diagnosis and their families. If you knew Jackie, and wish to do something in her memory, or even if you didn’t know her and just want to help a great group of people, please make a donation in Jackie’s memory to this wonderful organization.

Monster Squad Coming To DVD

OK, it has absolutely nothing to do with parenting, but one of my all-time favorite, cheesy movies from the 80’s, Monster Squad is finally being released on DVD. And it looks like there is already a listing up on Amazon.

Apparently, Being True To Your Product Counts For Little These Days

Want to know why I prefer Burger King over McDonald’s and Wendy’s?

No, it has nothing to do with the fact that a Whopper with Cheese would wipe the floor in an all-out burger death match against the the Quarter-Pounder and the Classic Single. It has to do with the fact that as a company, Burger King has accepted who they are.
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Let People Know Just How Much They Bother You… With Paper

Finding the right words to let someone know how much they suck can be difficult. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve gotten upset at someone, anyone - for doing something stupid, but kept it to myself because the right words just wouldn’t come.

Thanks to some clever, innovative individuals out there in web-land, though, I no longer have to think for myself when trying to decide the on the perfect expletive or insult for that jack-ass who won’t get off his damn cell phone and quit holding up the checkout line at the grocery store.

Now I can just hand them a card or a slip of paper, and all the insulting is handled for me:

• for the dillhole who rendered the last parking space in the lot worthless, because he decided that the lines painted on the ground are just there for decoration…
  The “You Park Like An Asshole” Infraction Notice from You Park Like An Asshole
• for the moron who feels that his cell phone conversations are sooooo important, that we should all hear them…
  SHHH! Cards from Coudal Partners
• and for the general pain in the ass - last, but not least, we have…
  The Douche Card from Orange 32

The Hiatus Is Over

For those of you out there who have noticed, I haven’t been around for a while… at least not around here anyway.

Things got fairly overwhelming for me and I needed to take some time out in order to straighten out my priorities (everything that comes after being a good father and husband - and let me tell you, I have no shortage of other things). After much drinking thinking, I am proud to have come to a few realizations that will, hopefully, assist me in getting everything in order. Decisions have been made, goals have been set, and lunches have been lost.

That being said, I plan to return to my blogging and within the next few months establish a regular posting schedule. Also, be on the lookout for a new design, as I’ve become fairly tired of this current look.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

Hope yours is as good as ours!

Go Ahead, Make Something

In honor of March being National Craft Month, I thought I’d put together a list of my favorite “Craft” related blogs. Now, before I go any further, I want to explain that my idea of what constitutes “Crafts” is a little broader than most peoples. Crafts to me aren’t just Scrapbooking, crocheting, and things of that nature, but the act of making something. To me it’s about creating an object, that object can be functional, decorative or both. For that reason you’ll see that some of the links below never actually mention the word “Craft” instead they categorize themselves as DIY or something like that. I really don’t care. When it comes to crafts, all I care about is making stuff, so on that note…

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Creative Block? Try Sleep Deprivation.

As a designer and illustrator, I pay my bills by coming up with new ideas for displaying and communicating information, whether it is instructions, a story, or meaningless babble such as this. And from time to time, as any creative will tell you, I have to deal with the dreaded creative block, an invisible force field through which original, intriguing ideas cannot pass.

I have numerous tools for fighting off this fiend, ranging from strategic thought processes to alcohol, but with the arrival of my son, I am now able to add an additional weapon to my arsenal, sleep deprivation.

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