fashionably bored

New Blog

2011-01-11T20:14:00.001-08:00

I have a new blog.

http://thequietsociety.com/blog/

Please visit. update your bookmarks. add it to your RSS feed, google reader, whatever. It will make me feel better about myself.

Thanks!

thank you

2010-12-21T17:33:00.000-08:00

custom lettering...

radiolab

2010-12-01T11:12:00.001-08:00

A homage to one of my favorite podcasts, WNYC's Radiolab.

working on a new blog

2010-11-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

get ready to update your bookmarks and/or rss feeds.

working on a map

2010-11-23T15:58:00.001-08:00

vector textures

2010-11-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

I just made some vector textures out of some scanned paint brush strokes, for a project I am currently working on. If you want an .ai or .eps version let me know...

Children's Hospital

2010-11-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

Just messing around...

burma

2010-11-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

great news today, but they still have a long way to go...

...satisfaction

2010-11-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a little video I put together for the Junior High Ministry. Just a short lead-in to a message series on materialism. I think the animation could be a little better, but it's ok. Making the illustrations was fun.

...Satisfaction from Brian Hurst on Vimeo.

first role of film

2010-11-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago I bought this little gem. A Konica C35. I have been wanting a small, old rangefinder for a little while now, and didn't want to spend very much. I found this one on ebay for 20 bucks. I had been searching for C35 - mostly because I think it looks cool...

It's got a few dents and bruises, but takes pictures just fine. Here are a couple that I just scanned from my first role.

vintage travel labels

2010-10-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Picked up these little gems in an antique store in Pasadena today. My favorite is the first one - love the colors. Now I need to figure out the best way to frame/display them.

here...

2010-10-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

...I made you this rocket. Still practicing illustration illustration illustration. For the first time in a while (maybe ever?) I have felt hindered with my slight colorblindness. No excuses though... still working.

work in progress...

2010-10-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

still playing around with colors and fonts...

alright, here are the details...

2010-10-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

Stephanie and I are engaged. Here's how it happened:

Her dad had a speaking engagement in Barcelona, and invited her and her brother to go along. Stephanie decided to head out a week early and travel around - solo - before meeting up with her family in Barcelona.

Obviously she tried to get me to go along, but as soon as I learned of her plans to travel I knew it was the perfect opportunity to propose. I had been waiting and thinking and planning all summer. But I wasn't ready and no idea I came up with was right. It was difficult to keep it a secret. She took my backpack, my electrical converter, travel towel... all my stuff I usually travel with. Plus she really really wanted me to come along - and I had to keep saying I can't, my boss won't let me, can't afford it, etc. I even wrote her a handful of notes to read while she was gone to throw her off track. By the time I took her to the airport I felt really bad for letting her go alone...

...but of course I wasn't letting her go alone - not entirely. She left on a Friday. I left the following Monday. My very first flight was delayed due to troubles with the plane, so I missed my connection in Dallas. Which meant I spent the night in Dallas, courtesy of American Airlines. They gave me a room in lovely Irving, TX and a few bucks for food, but I still wasted a whole day of my vacation sitting in a hotel with nothing to do for miles around.

Anyway, I finally made it to Granada a day or so behind. I knew she had a flight scheduled from Granada to Barcelona on a particular day because I helped her plan, I bought the same ticket shortly after her.

Anyway, after all the delays and waiting in airports, by the time I got to Granada I was feeling a bit discouraged. Plus I hadn't heard from her in a couple days. I started thinking, "this is a dumb idea, I'll never find her." I checked into a cheap hotel and headed for the hostel she was planning on staying at. I asked the front desk if she had checked in. She had not. I called her. She did not answer. She finally sent me a text, and I responded...see below...

She was quite surprised with that text, called me right away, didn't believe me at first. I sort of ruined my own plan, which was to find her on my own and propose on the spot. I think it ended up working out better though. She showed up to the hostel with 2 friends she had met in Seville, and that would have just been awkward. So we (the 4 of us) hung out in Granada, saw some sights, ate tapas. Stephanie and I made plans to watch the sunrise together the next morning, and I tried to make sure it was just us.

So, the next morning we met bright and early - actually dark and early - and made our way through the narrow and winding streets in the old Muslim quarter, up the hill to Plaza Mirado de San Nicolàs. Still dark out.

We sat on a bench with an incredible view of the city, and I went into my little speech I had thought through the night before - most of which I forgot and stumbled through. She had no idea what I was talking about until I got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife. "And to prove that I'm serious," I said, "I have a ring" and brought out the little black box. I told her she couldn't see the ring until she answered. She said yes.

We took a lot of photos of us on self-timer, photos of the view, the bench we were sitting on, the plaza, waiting for the sun to come and just enjoying the moment. There was another couple that showed up by then, taking photos etc. Stephanie asked them to take this photo of us (below), and she told them we just got engaged. I told them they were the first people we told. They were kind of weird-ed out.

a few photos from spain. more to come...

2010-10-12T06:12:00.001-07:00

Chad's business cards

2010-09-27T23:33:00.001-07:00

Designed this business card for my friend (and roommate) Chad. He already had a good idea of what he wanted: black and orange/red, Futura, and his profile/silhouette he's been using for while. I made some adjustments and laid it out in a new way. I'm pleased with the result, and I think he is too. Check out his photography, good stuff...

movie poster

2010-09-14T23:51:00.001-07:00

i don't know anything about this movie. but the movie poster is great, i think. it's nice to see something of quality coming out of hollywood - even if it's just a poster.

reminds me of some of the classics...

point and shoot

2010-09-14T21:05:00.001-07:00

finished up this little illustration tonight...

also working on...

2010-09-10T15:40:00.001-07:00

work in progress

2010-09-09T20:44:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite music in the whole entire world.

2010-09-01T22:46:00.001-07:00

With the possible exception of that guy playing the violin in Budapest.

before & after

2010-09-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few before and after photos of some recent work. Some of my Co-workers and boss needed to layout and visualize the strategy of volunteer application and support in our ministries. Their work is on the white board. I think this is a great example of the role of a graphic designer: Taking a great idea/message from one party, and communicating that idea/message in a clear and effective way to another party. I tried my best with the limited time I had...

Sunday Nights illustration

2010-08-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

album cover for my favorite boy band

2010-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

...the Lost Boys.

actually this is part of a skit/camp theme or something for the high school ministry's summer camp.

i'm simultaneous pleased and embarrassed with how the logo and every thing turned out.

first time in the south

2010-07-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday i got home from a week vacation in South Carolina with Stephanie's family. Mostly just at Kiawah Island, which is a fancy beach and golf resort. I'm not much of a beach goer or golfer, but it was still a lot of fun. other than the humidity of course. highlights include: riding bikes around the island, lounging around and reading, stephanie and i cooking dinner for everyone one night (which turned out quite well if i do say so myself), swimming in the warm atlantic, winning at scrabble, and a couple visits into Charleston. Charleston was a great city, lots of history(played a significant role in the american revolution). So i'd say my first venture to the south was quite a success.

On the way home we got stuck at o'hare. shocking, i know. but, i had never been to chicago so it ended up being a fun day trip. we walked around quite a bit, say some tall building and great architecture. randomly stumbled upon the billy goat tavern and had a delicious double cheeseburger. and then finally made it home last night.

Water for Water

2010-07-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

Below, you can see some images from the work I did for the Mariners Church Water for Water project. Water for Water is an effort by Mariners Church to bring clean water to communities in developing nations that really need it. Someone at Mariners buys a bottle of water, and the money from that sale goes directly to water projects. Been working on different elements off and on for a couple months now. It's a great project and I'm really excited that I got to play an important role in the branding and design of this project. It was a lot of fun.

Above is the logo for the project. The typeface in use is Gotham, and the black bars are actually the "=" sign from the font. I was trying to represent the idea of water equality and/or the concept of the whole project: water (that you buy) = water (for someone that really needs it).

Above, you can see the actual bottles of water for sale. I designed the label, although I wish I would have had more time. It works, but I don't love it. (By the way, a member of our church donated them to us - bottles and labels - free of charge!)

Below is an animation I finalized just recently. Shown during the weekend service to launch the project to the Mariners community. (I changed the music from the one shown at church...)

Here is a poster I designed that communicates some statistics about water in the world. Originally the high school ministry was partnering with charity:water, so some of these stats pertain to them (click to enlarge):

We also had a limited number of aluminum water bottles for sale. I think the logo on white looks killer. There are just a handful left if you're interested...

and a few more promotional items – decals and 1 inch buttons

and finally, a couple water bottle label ideas that didn't make the cut:

hello!

2010-06-28T17:59:00.001-07:00

finer things club

2010-06-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

iphone wallpaper for my bookclub.

oil spill poster

2010-06-17T16:53:00.001-07:00

just messing around. trying to get in the habit of making my doodles and sketches into real things. its good practice i think...

just a small part of a big project

2010-06-10T23:09:00.001-07:00

Kenya Map

2010-06-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

lost canyon crest

2010-05-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

life update...

2010-05-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

starting next weekend i'll be living in costa mesa with these two humans:
one
two

it's off of 17th. if you're in the area, let's hang out.

work update...

2010-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

working on updates at bhurst.com.

what should i put on the "about me" section? can someone ask me some interview questions? thanks...

houseboats

2010-05-04T13:49:00.001-07:00

do something

2010-04-14T10:57:00.001-07:00

how's this for awesome...

2010-04-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

the work of Lotta Nieminen

first draft video - water for water

2010-03-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Water for Water (Rough/First Draft) from Brian Hurst on Vimeo.

first real project using after effects. its not completely factually accurate... and there are a lot of fixes that need to be made - awkward transitions and movements all over the place... but i like where it's heading.

there is also a water bottle label to go along with the video (actually, the label came first). if this project progresses i will share the final drafts.

a few snap shots from the past week.

2010-03-24T21:23:00.001-07:00

another yeti

2010-03-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

this is an illustration i did for work, that i dont think is going to be used, so i made few modifications and am posting it here. enjoy.

life is lonely when you're a giant yeti

2010-03-06T17:58:00.001-08:00

lab partners update

2010-02-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

i heart the illustrations coming from san fran based lab partners. they just updated their site with a some great new work. check it out...

a quick rocket illustration

2010-02-21T18:00:00.000-08:00

commies

2010-02-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

feathers

2010-02-02T19:18:00.001-08:00

practicing the some new (to me) illustration techniques. made some feathers today.

turns out the british can be funny

2010-01-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

i thought this video was funny

via iso50

lumen • this sunday • mariners church

2010-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

this sunday (jan. 31 | 2-5pm), mariners is hosting something called "lumen". a conference of sorts, bringing in speakers to begin conversations on topics such as: human trafficking, homosexuality ("a compassionate, biblical response is not to change the gay individual, but rather to change our own hearts"), and nuclear disarmament. its free! if you love jesus and have a brain, you should come.

more about the conference here.

graphic design mittens

2010-01-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

sometimes it's cold in my office, plus i think i have poor circulation. my hands and feet are almost always cold. sometimes i wish i had mittens...but that would make a job quite difficult. i drew a sketch of some mittens i'd like to see happen. if anyone wants to make these for me, i wouldnt mind.

iphone size patterns

2010-01-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

(*update, i re-saved these so that the images are better quality. and i added a color)

one of my friends at work wanted this pattern for his iphone screen, so i thought i'd share it here as well...

Manclub logo in progress...

2010-01-20T10:20:00.001-08:00

Safari Night

2010-01-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

fabric design

2010-01-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

i have been wanting to design some patterns for fabric. its something i've spent more time thinking about than attempting, but over the past couple months i have come up with a couple designs i think are kind of cool. my friend, Sara, told me about Spoonflower, a website where you can upload your design, they will print it and ship it to you. its actually really expensive (compared to just buying fabric at the store), but i wanted to see how my designs look when printed, and i'm fairly pleased with the results.

roy, live at bro-nation.

2009-12-30T13:42:00.001-08:00

last night i went to see my buddy roy play some tunes in downtown fullerton, and i brought my camera along. here are some shots. i really like the busy-ness of this first shot a lot, i think it captures the loud, eclectic vibe of the place...

the place is apparently the favored watering hole for everyone who loves black dodger hats, tattoo related paraphernalia, and corona. sweet.

i just finished a logo for roy and his band a few weeks ago. you can check it out here

early christmas

2009-12-23T10:46:00.001-08:00

stephanie bought me this book i have been coveting for some time. "Charlie Harper: An Illustrated Life" - available from ammo books (they also have a lot other charlie harper stuff). i love it. i love these illustrations.

animals

2009-12-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

I decided to post all of the animals online (find them here), and i finally finished a "cover" that will do for now. i am starting to not like them as much - noticing a bunch of flaws in a few of the illustrations. oh well. the whole purpose of this project was for me to just practice practice practice, and i think it served its purpose well. hope you have enjoyed seeing the updates and final results.

New Sanna Annuka site...

2009-12-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

awesome. www.sanna-annukka.com

here's a video

2009-12-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

U2 - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight from David OReilly on Vimeo.

The Rather Difficult Font Game

2009-11-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

i got 26 out of 34. give it shot.

i want this book.

2009-11-24T19:11:00.001-08:00

1967. charlie harper illustrated. too bad the "buy it now" price on ebay is $199.99

i made this pattern for you

2009-11-24T17:05:00.001-08:00

free fonts

2009-11-24T15:07:00.001-08:00

when it comes to fonts, you typically get what you pay for (in my opinion). free font websites are a dime a dozen - and loaded with a lot of junk. a lot. however, here are a couple resources for free fonts that are worth bookmarking...

MyFonts.com has some free stuff

Font Squirrel - all free, quality, typefaces

...and the casual manner

2009-11-20T14:37:00.001-08:00

work in progress for a friends band. neither of these have made the final cut. i'll show the final when its ready... if its ever ready.

speaking of alice in wonderland...

2009-11-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

i've been listening to this song a lot lately...

They dont make em like they used to...

2009-11-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

god is not a white man

2009-11-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

one of my co-workers - julie - showed me this video, and i thought it was worth sharing with you.

hello

2009-10-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

favorite sign in disneyland

2009-10-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

... at the moment, is this one:

the new challenge:

2009-10-25T16:13:00.001-07:00

get your photo at every "Kodak Picture Spot". i dont know how many there are yet...

this post has a lot of photos

2009-10-23T11:05:00.001-07:00

so we failed in our attempt to ride everything at disneyland in a year. the only 3 rides we missed were: the horsedrawn cart, the horseless carriage (both on main street), and the the big boat that looks like a pirate ship. i think its called the colombia. but we rode a lot, many rides i have never been on before, here is some proof...

splash mountain
gadget's go coaster

it's a small world

omnibus

tea cups
meeting some princess

haunted mansion

whatever that theater is called on main steet that plays old cartoons
shooting gallery
big thunder mountain
winnie the pooh's acid trip

innoventions

firetruck

star tours

sleeping beauty castle walk thru

autopia

animals

2009-10-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

finally finished. some of the "feelings" are a bit of a stretch. but whatever...

you can see more here: bhurst.com

everyone's favorite character

2009-10-17T13:46:00.001-07:00

i've been looking for the perfect ampersand, and finally decided to make my own. not prefect, but a fun little friday night activity...

screen shot from today's work...

2009-10-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

the horror movie type treatment with the nice/cute phrase, "movie on the lawn" makes me smile.

"and if i die, i'll die, i'll die alone on some forgotten hill"

2009-10-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

today's playlist.

Illustrations by Charley Harper

2009-10-03T17:52:00.001-07:00

I heart Charley Harper. I only became aware of this man and his work a year or two ago. if you are a girl, there is a solid chance you've seen some of his work around anthropology (at least the one at the spectrum). his illustrations are incredible, and so fun, so geometric - way better than anything i'll ever do. and he was so prolific - there is such a vast amount of work to be seen.

yesterday, stephanie gave me a surprise gift: a charley harper matching game. i love it because its one those items i totally admire but would never actually buy for myself. i dont know if these photos i took will do his work justice.... but please please please wander through this website for the next hour or so...

hand lettering

2009-10-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

been doing a lot of hand lettering this week at work. these are turning out ok, but its been fun practice. i havent really had much say in the look of these pieces, and the umbrella one is neither original nor my idea - but sometimes i just have to do what i'm told. the lettering has been fun...

icons

2009-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

i've been working on a set of random icons, just for practice - just for fun. here are two of them:

we saw a bear...

2009-09-25T01:02:00.001-07:00

the audio on this video is hilarious to me.

tommy photographs a bear x3. from Brian Hurst on Vimeo.

currently working on...

2009-09-23T20:01:00.001-07:00

i'm way behind. i was hoping to be done by now, but work at mariners got really crazy...

camping (part 2)

2009-09-17T19:43:00.001-07:00

a few more snap shots. no time to write. fun trip. coming soon: video of a bear, with audio by tommy.

Camping in Sequoia (Part 1)

2009-09-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend i went camping with a couple friends in Sequoia Natl Park/Forest - home to the largest trees in the world. i heart trees. it was a lot of fun. i will post some more photos and highlights soon...

here is a little camping tip: always make sure you bring poles with your tent. we didnt. bad move. here is what our tent was supposed to look like:

by the time we set up our tent it was already dark and too late to do anything about it. tommy propped up the tent with a couple chairs and a box... just enough room to breathe, bryan slept in the car. i slept out on the ground, which made for an anxious night after seeing about a hundred signs warning against bears.

on the second night we were able to prop up the tent using some rope and some macgyver skills. here is the result:

this video makes me want to buy some new balance shoes

2009-09-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Portland/Seattle

2009-09-09T11:56:00.000-07:00

Stephanie spent about a month at her dad's place in portland, and i went to visit last week. i really like portland - despite all the weird people and being assaulted at every street corner to sign some petition, spare some change, or join green peace.

highlights include:
breakfast at pine state biscuits
japanese gardens
the view from her dad's house
day trip to seattle via amtrak (my first ever visit to seattle)
powell's book store (and finding a copy of The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton)
probably other things i can't think of at the moment.

here are some photos:

Recent Work: Pirate Night

2009-09-08T09:26:00.001-07:00

Here is a promo piece i did for an upcoming volunteer party. For some reason they decided to give it a pirate theme. i had a lot of fun designing this... i think (and hope) there are a lot of small, but visually rewarding little treats. also, the pirate language is all mine. it's hard to translate something into pirate language and not sound cheesy.

sweet old stamps

2009-09-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

a couple weeks ago i got a letter in the mail from stephanie with these stamps on it. a very pleasant surprise.

anyway, powell's sells a variety of these envelope/cards with the greeting cards - all with different vintage stamp combos. i suppose other places may sell them but that's where she got it. i think it's pretty neat. i think she's pretty neat, too.

more details about my trip to the pacific northwest soon.

two more animals

2009-09-01T15:21:00.001-07:00

i have 18 of 26 done so far.

just discovered these online today which are pretty cool/way better than me: nerdimals

AAA

2009-08-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

i pay something like 70 or 80 bucks a year for my premium AAA membership, which i rarely use. i think i locked my keys in my car twice, like 4 years ago. thats about it - but its nice to know its there if my car breaks down or i run out of gas. the other day i picked up a couple (free) maps before my trip to the grand canyon - i decided that i need to take better advantage of free maps. so if you get a gift from me wrapped in a map, just appreciate the originality of it, ok? last week i bought a new bible and i decided to cover it with a map...

emotional connections to music

2009-08-26T22:50:00.000-07:00

i don't know about you, but there are certain songs that, for one reason or another, i have such a strong memory and emotional connection to that i get all these weird nostalgic feelings when i hear them. its almost overwhelming at times, i just have to pause and let it overtake me for moment before i can continue doing whatever it is that i'm doing. and it doesnt seem like there is any good reason for this either - it's never a song that reminds me of when i broke up with so and so, or a song that brings me back to high school graduation, or anything like that.

for example, the first time i ever heard coldplay was, i think, summer 2001 - on road trip driving on the 395 to mammoth. (does the 395 go to mammoth?) i dont even like coldplay very much, but whenever i hear the dreamy guitars from parachutes it puts me in a trance, and takes me back to b. white's suburban. i dont know why. the first time i ever heard outkast was on the same trip, but that doesnt affect me at all.

yesterday i broke down and bought "shine on" by the kooks. the first time i ever heard this song was on a plane, at some odd hour over the atlantic on my way to budapest - it was part of some in flight radio. i think i had fallen asleep and woke up with this song playing. and, like the coldplay album, i have such strong feelings whenever i hear it. and let me say, these aren't necessarily positive feelings. it's almost haunting. like it's a part of my past that i'll never get back. but i still want to listen.

hmm, maybe there's a travel theme to this...

anyway, i'm listening to shine on right now.

preview of some of the animals i've been working on

2009-08-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

grand canyon

2009-08-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

last night i returned from a short excursion to the grand canyon with my friend tommy. the total trip probably lasted about 30 hours and it was a fun little adventure. the canyon covers a lot of area, and there are many places to take in the view - but i had heard about this skywalk and wanted to check it out.

turns out the skywalk is located on an indian reservation or something and you have to drive about 15 miles on dirt roads to get there. some tribes make money by building casinos. others build skywalks and try to trick you in to paying an arm and leg to visit. in addition to the ticket for the skywalk (about $30) you also have to buy a tour bus ticket just to get to it (about $40). im guessing a lot of people end up paying this simply because they just drove an hour on a dirt road to get there. tommy and i just rode the bus to a couple stops. no skywalk, and im glad about that because it looks pretty underwhelming. you're also not allowed to take any photos on the skywalk - probably because they dont want you showing your family and friends how lame it is.

that being said, the views of the grand canyon we saw were pretty incredible - even more breath taking than i remember it being as a kid - and we got some fun photos.

let's talk about this photo for a moment:

i just dont understand it. i mean clearly who ever made it knows how to effectively cut and paste and blend etc. - and it still doesnt make any sense. seriously? a speed boat next to a giant hummer, and a tiny skywalk? i would love to be in on the meeting where this bus graphic was agreed upon.

van Gogh on "artist"

2009-08-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

stumbled on this a while ago when reading a book of van Gogh's letters. i like it.

"[Anton] Mauve takes it amiss that I said, 'I am an artist,' which I won't take back, because it's self-evident that what that word implies is looking for something all the time without ever finding it in full. It is the very opposite of saying, 'I know all about it, I've already found it.' As far as I am concerned, the word means, 'I am looking, I am hunting for it, I am deeply involved.'"

when i die, i want to turn into a tree

2009-08-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

this neat little biodegradable urn can be filled ashes and seed(s) of your choice, and then planted. i think when it's my time, i would like this form of "burial". i'm just saying so that everyone knows. not that i am planning to die anytime soon.

i'll try not to hold against them the fact that it's called "spiritree".

animals update

2009-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've begun updating all the animal illustrations i've done this far, and sketching new ideas. my goal is to have 12 done by the end of august.

i wouldnt mind seeing this film...

2009-08-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

objectified

some photos

2009-07-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

so i'm not much of a photographer - but at one time i tried to be. every once in a while i'll take a photo that i think is pretty good for one reason or another. i suppose if one takes enough pictures, you're bound to come up with some good stuff eventually. anyway, here are a few of my favorites from over the past few years.

Summer Reading...

2009-07-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

so far this summer i've read:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
this won a pulitzer prize. i thought it was good but not great. i enjoyed reading this but was happy to be done at the end and move on. it was kind of long for me.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
this lady is my favorite author by far. she wrote my favorite book, Gilead. this was her first novel and i decided while reading it that i will write her a fan letter. i have actually stopped recommending her books to people because i am disappointed when they dont love them as much as i do. although i know one or two of you loved gilead, so... great,... you are cool.

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
3 or 4 people recommended this book to me, especially right before i left on my trip to spain and morocco and was looking for a book to bring along. a fun easy read, but a little impersonal for me. it was more about certain principles and ideas than characters. still, not bad, and i knocked it out in just 3 or 4 days, which i guess means i liked it. it was mildly inspirational - but mostly just made me want to travel again.

today i am starting Night by Elie Wiesel. i picked up a copy at the library book store for 2 bucks.

i like reading books that can be found on the required high school summer reading table at book stores. usually they are there for a reason. i didnt read much in high school at all, but its just as well because i wouldnt have appreciated these books anyway. plus i feel like these books are the most likely to come up in conversations. maybe. anyway, Night should be a quick read as well, so what should i read next????

quails

2009-07-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

arabic typography

2009-07-08T21:21:00.001-07:00

i took all of these on my trip to morocco a few months ago. i probably could have done a lot better at taking photos of signs and such, but oh well, its too late now. i find the Arabic script quite fascinating. my journal from the trip contains a few attempts of my own to copy it.

My Mariners Church chapel mix

2009-07-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

portfolio website...

2009-06-23T13:08:00.001-07:00

been thinking about getting some sort of portfolio for myself up on the web, just for fun, and to practice my very limited web skills. i decided to go with a free program called indexhibit. it was slightly tricky to install, but now that its going its pretty cool/easy to manage.

nothing exciting right now. but take a look, let me know what you think. bhurst.com

i heart my non-moleskine notebooks!

2009-06-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Fieldnotes
Rhodia