J.B. Sommerset

It's been a long time since I put some info out there about where I am going and what I am doing. Well this time around, I am doing a lot... Wait a second, last time I was doing a lot, I am always doing a lot.  In this case, there are a number of updates I need to go over. The first is really neat. I am currently working on a hardback copy of Patchwork Indigo , It should be posted within three days, provided the proofs meet the requirements- so fingers crossed on that one. If it turns out nice, I will follow up with all my other books.  There's no way around it, the site is dated and I need a fresh new look, but digging around in the butt-crack of time to find some spare change... well let's just say, all I found was some lint. So it's on my to-do list as item number two. I have been working diligently to update all my art and find a new platform to host all of this. It's going okay, but there are things I want my site to do that don't come with most of the serv...

This week I am digging back into one of my favorite authors. A surly man from another century who writes like my grandfather chasing whipper-snappers off his lawn. The master of irony, satire, and pointed whit and criticism. That's right, the one, the only, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens to those more cultivated). This time, however, it's going to be some of his lesser read, but no lesser valued works- Life on the Mississippi. These ones a long one, and it's two parts, both are posted below. I hope you all enjoy them! Cheers!

One of my more recent posts was a picture I ran through an A.I. filter to modify its color and style. I liked the result so much that I decided to keep it and post it here on the site. I mentioned I would post more on how A.I. affects the world of creators and how I feel about transitioning into a world where A.I. will be everywhere. Today is that day, or one of them, because I am sure the future will bring so much more to the debate. Although we really haven't created real  A.I. yet, we are closer every day, and that brings me a little bit of concern. I find myself arguing about where the world is going. As far as A.I. is concerned, all of us seem to embrace it no matter how many warnings there are. No matter how many times we see The Terminator  or IRobot.   This is a difficult subject to tackle. On one side of the coin, there is a better life for all of us. A.I. means better health, self-driving cars, more security, etc- a world of more possibilities. On the other side...

I am glad there are such things as audiobooks, this is one I spite read from time to time, and now I will listen to it instead. You know how you are told when you are a kid that sometimes it's good to do things you don't like? Well, this week's audiobook is one of those things for me. For years I tried liking this book. I had to read this as required read material for 3 out of my 4 high school years- from 9th to senior year. My teachers always told me that one day I would understand and love it. I have tried again and again to like this book, although I must admit it's been about 10 years for me now. I am about to find out how much I don't really care for this book, again, maybe not, but maybe I will like it more this time.  This week's book is " The Great Gatsby " by F. Scott Fitzgerald . So I am going to go ahead a try this thing again. For the rest of you, who already like this one, good on ya! Enjoy! Cheers!

I don't usually run my art through filters, it makes it less authentic. It's hard for me to view things like A.I. as tools because they do all the heavy lifting for a person, making the creation of art nearly thoughtless. This is not what art is about, art is about the product of something new and unique to a person's tastes. It can tell a story or make a point. I can have a deeper meaning, or just be shallow and enjoyable.  As much as I would like the world to stay the same, it isn't going to. So I have been trying to dip into it and see how I can combine it with my work. I have used this filter before but never on my works from Umbria. Here is the result, I like it and I hope you do too. This one is called " The Bridges of Taebora- Redone ".  Also, that A.I. conversation isn't over yet, I will revisit it. Cheers, and keep on creating!

Well, I'll be a mushroom's uncle, so far " The Last of Us " is a solid show. Good story, good acting, and good visuals. It's still too early in the series to tell how it's going to go, but much like the " Game of Thrones " Spinoff " House of the Dragon " it showed up and demolished the competition. It seems that all the good writers and actors went and got jobs for HBO.  First off, there might be some spoilers ahead... so if that's not your thing, stop right here. Prepare to get infected, but this time it's not a virus or a bacteria, it's a fungus! A gross one too.  Unlike " The Walking Dead ", this show has roots, or mycelium as they are called in the world of molds and spores. The Walking Dead was one of the best post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak shows ever made, but one thing about it always bothered me. The audience never learns what happened, how it happened, and the mistakes that were made. I was okay with this ...

In another life, I learned and taught martial arts. My Sensei had a number of books he wanted us to read, some made more sense than others. The one that always seemed to make no sense to me, at least until I was in the moment during a match, was " The Art of War " by Sun Tzu . It's one of those layer books that have more meaning the more they are read, also they get new meanings as time goes by. Unlike the other books I read, The Art of War was something I never fully got, and don't think I ever will.  Every few years I go back and read it, and I am also pleasantly surprised to glean more lessons from it- I no longer wonder why it can sometimes be found in the business section at Barns & Noble . So today, the biweekly audiobook is The Art of War. I know some of you won't be into this, and I know some of you will- it's an acquired taste. Cheers!