my world is round

Music in nature

Saw the coolest thing Wednesday night at the Artist Saloon. Nick Bontrager, a local artist, has developed software that lays the movement of animals atop a musical grid. As the creatures, in this case - mice, ran about the surface, their movements generated strings of musical notes. Cleverly built, you can change the scale key, length and instrument sound with a touch of a button. Brilliant programming. Brilliant idea. You can see the footage on his blog.

I spoke with Nick briefly after his demonstration and he asked me what I liked best about it. Had to think on that one a sec - was I more intrigued by the complexity of the program or ingenuity of the project? I think in the end it is all about the music.

I think that the natural world has so much to offer artistically. Sunsets contain the most vivid colors. Animals with their silky fur or sleek and shiny skin. The sense of awe you feel in a violent thunderstorm. It seems only fitting that the natural movement of our creatures, when played out in multiple dimensions, creates a beauty all its own. The music from those little mice sounded like the tinkling of an old-fashioned jewelry box. Simply beautiful.

personal tastes in books

One of the things I have come to accept is that not everyone will like my writing. The latest writing contest on Gather.com has brought a hailstorm of complaints from readers and writers alike claiming that the best chapters were not chosen for advancement to round two. I think that if you talked to each one of the 2600 who entered and perhaps another 5000 that voted, you would not find a single match in the top 20 lists of each person.

Why? Because we all have different tastes. I took a writing workshop once where our instructor handed out photocopied first pages of five different books. We were to act like potential agents and rank the books based on the first page. Then we compared results. For each story, we had people who thought it was great and others who thought it was terrible. And some that found the story okay. Out of a room of 50 people, we all had our different opinions. Turns out all five pages handed out were from bestsellers.

My point is, you cannot eliminate personal taste from a contest. The same way that two people can compare a glass wine based on structure, balance, complexity, etc., what matters most is whether they like the taste of it or not.

Some people will think my writing is good, some will find it okay and some won't like it. I'll write for those that enjoy it and let the other readers find authors more to their tastes.

and dream becomes reality

It is done. I have finally written a book. Forty-Two Blue. A full-length, crime-fiction novel. And it's pretty good. I am posting the first two chapters here for anyone who wants to take a peek while I work on a web site to post the entire work under a Creative Commons License. No point in going the old-fashioned route. Takes too long and you don't make any money anyway. The point is to have the book read and enjoyed.

A synopsis: Maggie is a computer analyst who gets called to Houston by her brother, a partner in an online trading firm, with some strange data patterns on his network. Determined to unravel the mystery -- while juggling a new romance -- Maggie uncovers secrets about her brother's oh-too-perfect wife and finds herself face to face with a deranged killer. ("Every good story needs a little sex and violence." -- my Grandmother, can you believe...)

Enjoy! And let me know what you think.
Download fortytwo_blue_ch_1_and_2_rachel_schipul.pdf

Art for the next generation

There is a guy I work with that is incredibly talented. He paints pictures using bold colors and exaggerated strokes that grab the attention of every teenager and early twentier that sees it. Tim Newton posts his work on CreativeLeak.com. Read the story behind Tree House.

When you were a kid, what was the one thing you really wanted? Most girls wanted a pony, and most guys wanted a BMX or something close. I wanted a tree house. My family never had a good tree to do that in, and if we did, I don’t think I could have gotten anyone to build it for me. Then there’s the cost of materials and the fact that my mom was overly cautious. It sure would have been cool when I was younger. Across the street, though, the neighbor did have one. I didn’t like the kid too much, and it was a crappy tree house, but it was a tree house.

I am finally starting to feel like I am getting the things that I really want, and this tree represents that. I get the chance to paint, I’m able to play drums, and I am getting married to a girl that I really love being around. Of course, she is in my tree house with me, and nobody else is coming up. As I get older, I hope this tree becomes more extravagant, and one day I will probably have to have more branches, but this is where I want to be: At sundown, in my tree house, with the woman that I love.

Tim Newton, the man behind the message, looks like an everyday guy -- good-looking, into sports, fun to be around. But the way he connects to these kids is amazing. Kids that you thought couldn't do more than spray paint obscenities on the wall behind the gym get pumped talking to him about his work. It speaks to them.

From graffiti to the masters to a contemporary like Tim, what do we learn? Like wine, art can be appreciated the more you sample. No one can tell you what you do or don't like -- no matter the price tag. But you learn to recognize the nuances, the differences, the subtleties until you find a style that satisfies you.

What do I want my kids to learn? That expression takes any number of forms. Find yours.