Tag: matt szal

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blog Personal

New Jersey Roots


I recently joined the parish of St. Casimir in the Ironbound district of Newark, New Jersey. My grandfather and namesake was a Polish immigrant who raised his family in this area of North Jersey. He died before I was born and only left me his name. My whole life I have felt a longing to get closer to him.

St. Casimir has services in Polish and English. My artist name, Magiczyn, means magic in Polish – it only makes sense to try to learn more Polish. The building is a beautiful cathedral with several impressive paintings and sculptures. When Mass begins, one of the paintings behind the altar lowers with an electrical roller to reveal a painting of a golden Madonna. 

I have not talked to my father, Tim Szal, for several years. He was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, and living here is another way I can connect with him without any communication. I still practice Transcendental Meditation, which was instilled in me from a young age as the most important thing to receive support from nature and an edge over other non-meditators. 

Categories
Geopolitics statecraft

Sherrill Victory

I took a huge risk by making only one animation for a Democrat, rather than making one for both candidates for the New Jersey Gubernatorial election. Yet, thankfully, Mikie Sherrill won the election, so all is well.

I have created a new victory animation in honor of her successful campaign.

Categories
blog Mechanic statecraft

A6 test and Mikie Sherrill

After putting it off for a long time, I finally started working on my ASE certifications. I just passed the A6 Electrical ASE test. Next, I am reviewing the material to take the suspension test.

Meme that I created referencing Back to the Future

I have also been working on some new political animations ahead of the elections—my latest is Mikie Sherrill. Things are pretty nice in New Jersey, and I am looking forward to the holidays.

Categories
blog Mechanic Queens

EV Vehicles and the Slide to Hillside

Unfortunately, gasoline vehicles are harmful to the environment. Yet, a good mechanic or auto technician can do several things to ensure your vehicle is running with parts and filters that provide the best specifications to prevent inferior fuel economy compared to the original manufacturer’s miles per gallon rating. A car starts to use more gas as the fuel filter and the engine/cabin air filters become clogged – these are just two examples of several things that strain the engine, which lowers fuel economy. Mechanics help prevent damage to the environment.

I began working at a new mechanic shop in July, where I am blessed to be able to work on more advanced projects and some EV/HEV vehicles. I have serviced a 2024 Ford Lightning, a 2019 Chevrolet Volt, several models of the Toyota Prius and even a few Teslas. These vehicles still have all similar requirements with tires, brakes and air filters – they require less engine maintenance at high mileage. I hope that as some of these vehicles get older, I will have the opportunity to perform more advanced maintenance on them.

I have also begun working on a second deck of emblem cards. I am not sure how long this deck will take since I am only done with two of the fifty new designs, yet I will keep the blog updated with the latest designs. I will also put up behind-the-scenes content as I progress on Arrackeen Nights. I have also moved to a new apartment in Hillside, New Jersey. Hillside is much cheaper than Queens, yet I anticipate moving back to New York City proper at some point.

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blog

TM, Dune & David Lynch

When I was seven years old, I went to the TM (Transcendental Meditation) Center in Dallas to receive my “walking mantra” and learned the standard TM technique at twelve (the youngest you can learn). Several famous people practice TM, including David Lynch (RIP), Katy Perry, Jerry Seinfeld, and the Beatles, just to name a few.

My favorite David Lynch movie is Mulholland Drive (2001); however, he also directed a movie adaptation of the Dune book in 1984. My current animation project, Arrackeen Nights, is also based on this book by Frank Herbert. Dune features numerous spiritual and religious elements which the newest version of the film glosses over. The 2021 film makes it seem like Lady Jessica and Paul are almost “running game” on the Freeman.

The book paints a very different picture of “Mentats” and “Bene Gesserit” individuals attaining a high level of spiritual and mental ability. These, combined with the Islamic and Native American spiritual undertones, are why Dune is such an interesting and important work of literature. Frank Herbert succeeded in elevating science fiction to new heights and paved the way for the “Sith/Jedi” in Star Wars.

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JCK Mechanic Personal

The Kia Cowboy

I started my new position as a mechanic at Jersey City Kia in the first week of May of this year. It has been such a great experience, yet I did not want to write about it on the blog until I completed my first six weeks. I love test-driving our new K5 (which replaced the Optima) model. I plan on buying an old KIA to bring back to life, similar to my Nissan Versa (which also started as a project car).

Kia is a strikingly different brand from GMC. GMC vehicles are designed with future repair work in mind as a priority. Yet, KIA is much more focused on luxury, and the vehicles are designed to be repaired by a professional and not a customer. I am super excited to learn more about swapping engines and transmissions with proper training from the manufacturer, not just ad hoc training from a more senior mechanic. KIA also has some very nice hybrid and fully electric vehicles, which are the way of the future, so learning to service and maintain these engines is critical.

I have been so tired from work, hanging out with my new friends and drawing/painting the beautiful historic buildings in the NYC area that I have been slow-playing work on the Arrackeen Nights project. I have been fine-tuning the candy analogies and references to Dune with all the characters and making some interesting new backdrops (my specialty) of desert buildings in ruins.

Desert Temple Backdrop for Episode 2

Stay tuned for more updates. I will release “Arrackeen Nights” on YouTube instead of Instagram this time, like “The Flying Dutchess.”

Categories
blog watercolor

The Old B’nai Jeshurun Temple

I have been visiting historic places around the New York City area and found an old gem in Newark, NJ – the original B’NAI JESHURUN Temple. The congregation has since moved, yet this temple was built in 1848. I decided to do some drawings and watercolors of it as a subject. I have also started signing my artwork as “magiczyn” instead of “magick”, due to my namesake and grandfather coming to Brooklyn from Warsaw at 2 years old in 1928.

Categories
statecraft

Crimean Republic – крымская республика

I have put together this map, which shows a possible negotiated settlement to the War in Eastern Europe. I understand that both sides have different expectations, so this might be an interesting point of departure for a compromise. The Russians annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2012, and there is a large group that would like to see that changed. The Russians will not want to leave Crimea or Eastern Ukraine after more than 3 years of long and bloody war.

The Crimean Republic would be a Russian protectorate (Русский протекторат) similar to Belarus, with economic ties to Ukraine (беспошлинная украинская торговля) and limited autonomy for itself. I said I would not blog anymore about my views on the war, yet this falls under the category of ideas for peace, not views on the war. I was deeply troubled that Putin did not want to attend the peace conference in Turkey. I hope his friend Xi Jinping will talk to him about the possibility of a diplomatic solution.

Tolstoy was an artillery officer in the Crimean War. His time at the siege of Sevastopol influenced his book War and Peace.

I was happy to hear that China and America negotiated a new trade deal. I still expect a market adjustment when Q2 reporting is filed, yet it should not be nearly as bad with this new agreement.

I have been working on my new animated series in earnest. Arrackeen Nights features gummy worms instead of the traditional worms from the Dune book.

Categories
animation Professional The Flying Dutchess

Arrackeen Nights

After several years of working on The Flying Dutchess by myself, I have decided to wait until I can get a deal with an animation studio like Cartoon Network or Disney to release more content. Since I began making animations in college, I have been trying to develop quality content for my portfolio. Animation is a graphic design specialization, ranging from title credits to CGI. 

In the interest of my demo reel and since I love Frank Herbert (I call him Frank Sherbet), I have started work on an 8-episode mini-series based on the first Dune book entitled “Arrackeen Nights.” There was so much stuff in the David Lynch movie and the most recent film from the 2021 movie that was absent; I felt it was important to make some content with some of my favorite quotes and sections. The second part of book one is entitled, “MAUD’DIB”. The main focus is the two years when Lady Jessica and Paul are left in the desert after the fall of House Atreides. 

Everything is candy-themed now, and instead of spice, our characters are mining blue raspberry candy from the candyjar region of Arrakis. Instead of worms, Dune is covered with gummy worms. The Harkonnens are now the Honeycombs of the planet Gummy Bear Prime, ruled by the famous Vladimir Honeycomb and his champion, Pepermintzophen.