OH Bra Where Art Thou?

So I had an interesting day at work the other day. I got up and was getting ready for work. I wore a big sweater and a tank top underneath it. The day was a great day. No drama just a normal day at work. I got home around eight that night and was just lounging around. I took off my sweater cause I was hot and went up to the bathroom. I was standing in front of the mirror and suddenly realized something was missing. It was my BRA. I didn't wear a bra all day long. I must have been in a hurry to get to work and forgot to put it on. Thank goodness for the big sweater. It was hilarious though. I went all day not wearing a bra and didn't notice at all. I believe I am turning into my mother.

Portfolio

So today I went and showed my portfolio to some of the art teachers and directors at Broadview University. It went very well I thought. They told me I was the only one that actually brought in a good looking portfolio in way of the presentation. We had a nice chat lasted about 20-25 min. They were very easy to talk to and very plesent. The whole experience got me geared up for school, excited to start and determined to be the best. But, like everyone, I have to start at the bottom. The fun will start Jan 3.

Jack Bauer Interrogates Santa Claus

Well it's that time of the year again. And we just love this video! Hilarious! This is a battle of wits fit for the ages! Jack Bauer vs Santa Claus!

Sequential Imaging and First Postings of Art Work

Well, I (me, McLean) have officially been accepted into Broadview University in their Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Sequential Imaging degree. Now you may be asking yourself, "what the crap is sequential imaging?" Sequential imaging is the ability to tell a story with pictures. So, I will be learning to do illustrations for books, storyboards for movies, character/vehicle/background design for movies and video games, and learn how to write, pencil, ink, color and layout comic books and graphic novels. And that's just a few things. It will definitely make me a better artist and get into a field I love. Mary also thinks I should start to show off a little bit. I normally don't show off my work too often. Mainly because I never think it's good enough to show. But, Mary thinks I should start since my art will be seen more. So, I'll just start with a few right now and more will soon follow.


This first one is a self portrait. This one was long and grueling, because it is made up of small squares that each have a different shade of gray in them. So up close it just looks like distorted shades of gray, but when you stand back you see the image. Distorted Me.














This one is a drawing of my beautiful wife Mary on our wedding day. I love the original picture that was taken by Luke Hansen. I just had to try and draw it. When I scanned it however, it doesn't really show the full value level because it's a little light. I did the best I could to make it stand out more just so you could see the title of it, Love.













I wanted to do something for Halloween, so I drew a zombie in a graveyard. After I penciled it something was still missing. I then decided to ink it. I've only done inking a few times before and I'm starting to really enjoy it.

















This last one it was not suppose to look like this. It started out as a picture of a young woman and I'm not sure what happened next. Maybe I saw a story about how more women are going under the knife to acheve beauty. Maybe I had just watched Terminator 2 and was inspired by the moving, hefty thumbs up as the terminator is destroyed. Maybe I dug deep into that creepy part of my imagination. Maybe it was a combination of all three. In the end it turned out like this. An Artificial Beauty.

Halloween 2010

So, another Halloween has come and gone. Mary and I had a lot of fun at the Harman Great Pumpkin Carving Contest on 10/30. We had good fun with family, sparklers, pizza, pumpkins and the destroying of one said pumpkin. Mary didn't care how hers turned out so her brother Matt threw it into the field in the back of his house. It took two attempts, but he got it in the field.

(Last years pumpkin by Mary -Iron Man)

(McLean's pumpkin this year)

Also that same day I helped my Mom set up her garage for her trick or treaters to come through. Every year my parents set up there yard or garage in some sort of theme. We've done everything from pirates, to dead hunters, to zombie auto mechanics, to killer farmers. This year we did a spooky restaurant called, The Full Moon Cafe. Later that evening the boys, Spencer and Ross, go on their traditional Trick or Treating garb and went around the block. I'm sure they startled some folks by how scary they looked.

ARCHES!!!

The time has come and past, where the Harman family goes to the Arches National Park. The road was long, yet the scenery, once you get into southern Utah, was nice. But, when you get into Arches, you are met with awe inspiring landscapes that are both eerie and beautiful at the same time. It's like an alien world! And with my imagination, it was an alien world... Either that or I was in the wild west... I did play with some toy dinosaurs with our little niece Sophi. But, it was all about her entertainment, I swear! Anyway we did a bunch of hiking to various arches. I even went on my own walkabout in the wilderness. When I got back to camp Mary was a little mad and worried. I did apologized very quickly after seeing her. Mary and I did go to Skyline Arch and looked down on the rock that I proposed to her on and watched the sun set from there too. At the end of the trip when we packing up our tent, we came to find that we had been sleeping on a little lizard. Thinking it dead, we carried on with packing up. Then it moved... not very well, but it moved. With a limp. We had maimed a poor little lizard in our sleep. Now it's going to be easy meal for some predator. But, that is the cirle of life. As we drove away we thought that it's only 364 days till the next trip back to arches.


Delicate Arch

In Skyline Arch and nervous. Very nervous.

"There can only be one true king of the dinosaurs!"

So excited!

Farting Arch-The most mysterious arch of all the arches

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

So, today 10/09/2010, is my last day working for Eyemasters. It seems that my time there has flown by so fast. I have worked there for just under 7 years. I made some good friends, allies, memories, some I would like to keep and others I would like to forget. And of course I met my beautiful wife, Mary, while working at Eyemasters. That's the best thing that Eyemasters had given me. And perhaps why I stayed so long. But, now it is time for a change. A time for something new. Abyssinia Eyemasters!

State Fair!

Mary didn't care for the smell of the animals at the fair. Our niece Sophi had a run in with a goat. And I laughed the entire time!



At the army reserve tent Harman passed on some literature for me to read. Fat chance.

Oh, let us not forget the funnel cake! Sweet, glorious, only good when it's warm funnel cake. First time for Mary and Marci.
Also thinking about about trying to get some art in the fair's art show next year. We'll see.

The R-word

The R-word has slipped into everyday vocabulary with ease. Some use it and don't even realize they are saying it. Most say it and don't think about who they are offending. It is a word that must be stopped. Come up with a different word to describe someone or something you think is being dumb or stupid. What is the R-word? Retard or retarded. I hate these words. I have only seen the ugly side of these words. Having two brothers with autism and over the years hearing them be called: freak, spaz, dumbass and stupid. But, the one word that always hurt the most was hearing them be called a retard. It's a vile word that I rank near the top of offending words. So when I hear some one use this word to describe someone who is acting strange or slow or dumb, it sends a shock through my body. Have you ever noticed you never really hear that word on TV? It's because it is an offensive word much like the n-word or the word fagot. You don't hear those on TV much do you? It's a word that needs to be eradicated from everyday vocabulary. If I hear you say this word I will give you a warning to not use it around me again. If I hear you say it again I will give you an example of what it's like for me. Please do not make it to this point. For a while I just brushed off this word for fear of offending someone. Then I realized I'm the one they are offending. And I will be giving an education.

Dave Matthews Band

Mary and I went to the Dave Matthews Band concert last Wed 8/17! It was a total blast out under the stars at the Usana Amphitheater. They played a lot of songs I hadn't heard live before and one song that they have never played in front of anyone before. Still one of the best bands to see live! Just them and their instruments! I love it! I would put them up against any modern band that's out there today and the Dave Matthews Band would win hands down. Mary was very happy that they played the song "You and Me", which I think has become one of our songs and her favorite DMB song thus far. And I was happy that they played one of my new favorite songs "Why I Am" and payed tribute to their saxophone player who died almost two years ago. All in all it was an amazing concert!

Cricket Injury

For our current Coomans Family Home Evening we went to a local park and had a field day of sorts. Ross and I played badminton and he wore me out. Mary played catch with our cousin Dylan. And Spencer sat in the car because he didn't want to be there. Then came the time where my uncle Peter was going to teach everyone Cricket. Peter and his boys showed us how it's done and then said who's next? Mary and I got up there and I was first to bat. And in the the game of Cricket you have two batters up at the same time and when one gets a hit you run back and forth between two posts. Well I got a hit and started running to which Mary had to run as well. And as she approached the first post across from her, she slid into a small hole and injured her foot. She is fine. Her foot is still swollen and is bruised pretty good, but, she is fine. I think it's a fun game and my brother Ross got in on the act, which is way fun to see. But, I also see how dangerous it can be... when playing around gopher holes in the lawn anyway.

Comic Con

Sadly, I did not go to Comic Con this year. But I felt like sharing some photos of this geek Mecca from the year before. Comic Con is such a fun place to people watch, see cool things, meet interesting people, get first hand news dealing with comics, movies and games and of course get awesome comics at a huge discount!

Camping at the Spruces!

A few weeks ago Mary, myself, my folks, my brothers Spencer and Ross, my aunts and uncle, my cousins and Nana and Coomans, all went camping overnight at the Spruces up Big Cottonwood canyon. When we (Mary and I) had finally arrived to the camp, we were greeted with tales of a moose that had wandered in the camp ground. Mary wanted so badly to see a moose. Unfortunately we didn't see one. That is until we started to walk around Silver Lake...

On the vacation James was trying to be cool!

San Fran and San Diego

Well McLean and I had an awesome time on our vacation! We went to San Francisco to see Wicked! Which was awesome!!!!! Then drove down to San Diego and hung out on the beach. There were many firsts especially for McLean. First time we saw actual dolphins in the wild. It was also the first time McLean stepped into the ocean. Awesome!!!! Boogie boarding was great. But alas we had to come home. LAME!!!!! The Brett Harman family is by far the coolest family everrrrrr!!!!!!

Geek Chic: You Didn't Earn Those Stripes

Earlier today I was at the gym with my brother Spencer. During our work out I noticed a young man playing basketball. What really caught my attention was his shirt. It was a Marvel superheroes t-shirt with various characters. I was curious if he knew who all those characters are and if he even really cared or really loved those characters. Needless to say I really wanted to start testing the young man on the Marvel Universe and it's individual characters and stories. Now, I know it sounds a bit extreme and sick, but I was really curious to see what he knew. But, I didn't. Which brings me to my point that you should know and love the characters you wish to represent on your t-shirt. Whether it's Marvel, DC, Transformers, G. I. JOE, Thundercats, Ghostbusters or even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Know the material! There has been a trend of "Geek Chic" going on for a couple of years now. Which consists of a geek t-shirt, plaid shirts, thick plastic glasses and and ill fitting pants. I know that this trend will go away in a few years, but it's bugging me now. Because, I feel that some people don't know what they are wearing. They wear it just because it's "cool" and they have not officially earned the right to wear those clothes. Whether it's because they haven't been reading comic books for a very long time or know certain cartoons or TV shows and have seen every episode or been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a while and are now a dungeon master, they have not earned it. Now I have dubbed a few people "honorary geeks", such as my father in law. But, most of the others that wear such clothes have not earned the right. Which makes me want to quiz you on your t-shirt or slam you into a locker and tease you relentlessly so you can earn your stripes and what it felt like to be a geek back in the day. So for the same reason I wouldn't wear a NFL t-shirt or a t-shirt dealing with a certain video game or cartoon I've never heard about; should go for the same for all those other people who wear something geeky and have no idea what it's about. And believe me, I am watching and I will test you if you wear such an article of clothing.

Next time: Geeks vs. Nerds!

The Best Background

Well after searching forever on the internet for the perfect background I found it!! I didn't want something too girly but also I didn't want it to be too geeky as well. So this is the start of me maybe posting things.

This week was very awesome but sad. Jack Bauer is no longer on T.V. it was a very sad moment I almost had a tear in my eye. He was a wonderful man and I can't wait to see him in the 24 movie. Thank goodness for Jack Bauer once again our country is safe!!!

Tire vs Windshield

We were driving on the freeway yesterday, when a stupid VW car of some sort, ran over a large piece of tire and it slammed right in the middle of the our windshield! My poor Autobot suffered damage! I am very surprised that the tire didn't go right through the windshield. I maintained control of the car, because I try to drive like a action hero or Transformer. Plus, I'm more concerned about Mary, who was in the passenger seat and the other people around me and their safety. I was more irritated that he didn't try to avoid it, which he could have. And to top things off, the car that hit the tire was the same car that cut us off in Centerville. By the way he was driving you could tell that he was some punk thinking he's hot stuff. I hate idiots like that.

Thou Art No Geek!

What makes a geek? I mean a true geek. Not some fan of the coolest TV show playing currently. Or someone that went and saw Iron Man and knows nothing of the character outside of the movie and yet claims they are a geek because of it. I am so sick and tired of seeing people wearing t-shirts that have some super hero character, 80's cartoon or sci-fi movie that they really know nothing about. Yet they wear it because it's the cool thing now and days. It's the whole geek chic persona that just drives me nuts! Also the people that claim to be geeks, but really aren't. They just want approval or acceptance from other true geeks or the general population that believes it's the "in" thing now. So to clear everything up, I will be giving you the explanation of a true geek. This explanation will be broken into several parts with their own category. Here is a taste of what's to come! We have: Geek Chic- You Have Not Earned These Stripes!, Geeks vs Nerds- Get It Strait!, You Are Not a Geek Just Because You Say So, and finally What Type of Geek Are You?
Please expect me to be up on my soapbox a little bit and for these posts to have sarcasm. One last thing, if you have any questions please post them on the comments portion below the post. Now let's have some fun! So say we all!

McLean: Now on the inter-web! Heaven help you!

Okay, here we go... I never thought, that in all my days, that I would be writing a blog. But, Mary and I decided that it could be a lot of fun! We are going to inform you, entertain you, smother you with geeky goodness, make you laugh, make you cry, maybe even make you pee a little and tell you more about ourselves then you care to know. And since we are movie junkies we will be reviewing movies on this site as well. Along with other reviews of what ever we want. So sit back and enjoy! So say we all

I did it

I actually made a blog. Now I just have to figure out how to post everything.