Made it in!

I found out that two of my submitted works for 12 Angry Women were juried into the show! Apparently there were about 370 entered pieces, and 47 were juried in overall (about 12.7% acceptance). Getting two of five submissions (40%) makes me feel pretty good about this.

The two pieces that made it were Vapor, and The Bottom (both of which have appeared here before).

So, the show runs from 26 September to 24 October, at The Soundry, located at 316 Dominion Ave in Vienna, VA. The Soundry is open every day from 10am to 10pm (hallelujah for good hours!). In addition to being a gallery, it is also an artists studio, performance space (music, poetry), and a coffee shop. Please come by and invite all your friends!

Unfortunately, I won't be attending the opening, because I'll be on a trip through southern Utah - hitting Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Escalante with another photographer friends from Cedar Rapids. I'll be sure to update the blog when I get back.

Next Show submission...12 Angry Women (!)

The next show I'm submitting for is being put on by The Soundry, a relatively new gallery/studio/performance space/cafe that's opened up in Vienna, VA. The gist of the show is that only male artists are eligible to submit, and the jury is composed of 12 women. There's no restriction on medium, so we'll see if any of my photos make it in. Click here to see my submission.

New gallery up...

Hi all; I returned from Maine and finally have a gallery up of the best shots.

Art Scammers!

Well, this is a new one on me. I received an email from someone claiming to be interested in my artwork. Unfortunately, it's a scam - the kind where they send you a fake check for more than the amount requested, then ask you to write a real check for the balance. The exact same email exchange can be found here.


Unfortunately, the name the scammers used is an actual fellow artist, so I've elided their name to protect the innocent.

FWIW, here's the blow-by-blow:

1) Original contact

On 8 Jul 2009, at 11:32, XXXX wrote:
Hi,

Hope this message finds you well. I saw these creatives works on your web site and i will like you to get back with more details if they are still available for purchase.

Portal and Whaleback Light

I will appreciate an urgent reply.

Best Regards,
XXXX.

2) my reply

Hi XXXX,

Thanks very much for your interest in my artwork! Both of those works are still available for purchase, as signed numbered limited-edition prints.

All images are supplied with (edited blah blah)....

Above all, I can work with you on your needs and budget on the presentation.

Thanks again,
Ed

3) "her" response - lots of twin sisters getting married in London - something in the water?

Dear Edward,

Good to hear back from you. Yes,i will like to proceed with the purchase of both prints (matted at 16" x 20") . I think they are lovely works that will add alot of colours to our new wall and i hope to give them a good home. I should be able to frame them myself to suit our interior decor.

I am presently away in London for my twin sister's wedding even though it comes at a time when i was preparing for a big move and also expecting a baby but it means so much to her. I should be back in few days.

Meanwhile,i will like you to forward your mailing address and phone number so i can inform my husband still shutling between our home in New Jersey and Jo'burg, SA on where to forward the payment . He has just been transfer to head the IT section of their head Office in Jo'burg.

I can also forward your contact info to the local cartage company that will be moving all our house decors so they can get in touch with you to arrange shipping details. They can arrange pick up FedEx pick up of the artworks from your studio.

I will look forward to hearing from you so i can know how best to proceed. Cheers.

Best Regards,
XXXX

4) ...and then "her" "shipper" gets into the act:

Good day,

I have received communication from Mrs. XXXX that we should work with you to ship some artworks with her other house decors to her new house in Johannesburg, South Africa when you two are through with the transaction,as she advise.

I will like you to give me the kind and nature of the things she want to ship.I will like to have your studio address aswell,so i can make arrangement with any nearby Agent that will be coming for the pick up once you and XXXX are through with the transactions. Thanks.

I will appreciate your earlier reply .

Yours,
James Carter.
For: Expressmover.
The atlantic House.
48 Caledonian Road,
Kings's Cross.
London D 4 7 BT
UK.
Agent No..206-338-3153

5) ...at this point, "her" original email account gets suspended, "she" contacts me on a separate email address, and sends me a check via UPS overnight.

At this point, I have a counterfeit check for $2500 (much more than the price quoted), and a bunch of disabled email addresses that don't respond. ;-)

Anyway, be careful out there.

ed

Another book review..."Complicity" by Iain Banks.

Iain Banks is a contemporary author of Scottish background, who manages to write both regular (albeit plot-driven) fiction and science fiction (he adds his middle initial, "M", when writing SF.)

I've just finished reading Complicity, which originally was published in 1993, and follows two characters - one a self-described Hunter S Thompson journalist disciple who writes for an Edinburgh newspaper (written in the first person), the other an anonymous serial killer (written in the second-person).

The journalist, Cameron Colley, tends to write muckraking pieces that expose hypocrisy and moral and ethical bankruptcy on the part of large companies or wealthy people. Like his idol, he also indulges in drink, smoke, and harder pleasures; carries on a torrid illicit affair; and, somewhat strangely, also is hooked on video games. The description of his day-to-day life in Edinburgh is filled with details that seem right for the setting (1993). Interestingly, although it isn't a main element of the book, he definitely captures the direction that computing was heading, even in that pre-web time, which makes this read more like a contemporary novel set in 1993 rather than an artifact of that year.

The serial killer, on the other hand, is left quite mysterious...except he seems to target the same people that Cameron writes about. Cameron and the serial killer are headed on a collision course, as the murders seem to implicate Cameron.

Iain Banks is a very readable author - he draws deft characters and gives them interesting and realistic dialogue to speak, fills his scenes with plausible details, and despite the unlikable elements of both main characters, gives them enough sympathy that you care about them and drives you to finish the book. The plot is well-written, and the story skillfully alternates between the present Cameron, flashbacks of Cameron's life, and the serial killer.

All in all, I liked this book a lot, and would recommend it to readers of mysteries or thrillers without hesitation.

If you haven't read Banks before, I'd definitely check him out, with or without the M - and this book is a fine place to start.

Book Review: "Helix" by Eric Brown...

Since my photography business has started, I've gotten a few gigs. However, the larger economy still is pretty flat, and I'm not so busy that I don't have some free time on occasion.

I read a lot of books, so unless I get swamped with work, I'll post my reviews of them here from time to time.

I just finished "Helix" by Eric Brown. I've never read him before, so I had no idea what to expect. The back cover blurb was intriguing, in that it's a group of humans that crash land on a huge construct that encircles the local star (think Ringworld by Larry Niven or Freeman Dyson's Sphere.)

Eric Brown is apparently a writer of SF for both adults and young adults; unfortunately, I can't recommend this novel to either group. While there are a couple of racy bits (but nothing an older teen couldn't handle) and one scene of alien torture, the real tragedy is that Mr. Brown doesn't make the science in the novel plausible, and further gives us a plot that is Hollywood in its simplicity.

For example, early in the story upon crash landing on the surface of the Helix, the local atmosphere is described as being "...a little oxygen rich, [with] a touch more nitrogen and argon." The purpose of this sentence is to make some attempt to explain why the characters don't have to worry about poisoning themselves on the atmosphere.

But a simple check of earth's atmosphere would turn up 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and about 1% argon - 99% of the atmosphere right there - with about 1% other gases. So what are we to make of the sentence, then? Rather than providing a sense of the exotic, this deliberately-added tidbit of information simply stands out as poor fact checking and editing.

If the problem were minor points of setting like this, it would be one thing. The issue is when major plot points begin to hinge on issues that just don't seem plausible - from the actual crash-landing of the ship, to the characters' ability to fix alien technology, to the all-too-convenient presence of advanced technology implants in one of the humans.

But the real problem is the plot and characters. None of the human characters are given any particular depth, and the aliens seem even more flat than the humans. The four main characters are given geographically diverse backgrounds, but aside from specific elements placed in their pasts, this background doesn't lead to any difference or conflict in behavior or interpretation.

Even worse, the aliens seem to be set up as a strawmen for posturing on earthly societal issues by the author. Suffice to say that there is no gray area in the depiction of an alien society where religion holds sway.

Verdict? Avoid.

Sheesh, this blogging thing can fall off the table...

So, Artomatic has been open the last several weeks, and it's been a lot of fun! Don't worry - you can still catch it until this Sunday, July 5th. Artomatic is at 55 M St. SE in Washington, one block north of the National ballpark and directly over the Navy Yard metro stop. I'm on the second floor, and will be around on Friday and Saturday nights (3-4 July). Take the metro this weekend, as the Nationals will be playing ball (and parking will be horrendous).

ed