M. Szal
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I was distraught to hear that President Xi of China has been sending troops to Ukraine. Volo has expressed his concerns in this press conference. The new tariffs with China could cause a crash in the American Stock Market, 2008-style, this summer. I have also decided to work on drawings and watercolors around NYC until my inspiration to continue the Presidential Portraits returns. I have also contacted the White House about becoming the next UN Ambassador since Elise Stefanik will no longer be able to represent the United States. I have a few favors to call in to Senators I have done design work for, like Cruz and Pelosi.
I also want to quash all these rumors about me getting laid off from the CIA. I was never in the CIA and have only ever done graphic design/I.T. work for the U.S. military as a sub-contractor. I lost my security clearance after I was in a HAZMAT accident while working at GC in Austin during COVID-19 times. Please do not read into any 6-page articles you might have read about me in Eastern Europe or the Middle East.
After traveling around Vermont and Cape Cod, I returned to New York City and signed a lease on an apartment in Queens. I also found that Xi Jinping, Waylon Jennings and my son Roman all have the same birthday – June 15th, the zodiac of Gemini. So, Roman and I have started learning Chinese. Chinese is very similar to Kanji in Japanese; for example, the Kanji and Hanzi for water are both 水. This 水 symbol is also on the dials on the Japanese Submarines in one of my favorite Burt Lancaster movies, Run Silent Run Deep.
I have been talking to several card store owners in New York City about selling my deck of cards. Instead of calling the deck “The American Game” – I may switch the name to “Emblem Cards”. I was sad to leave Capitaland, yet I needed some space from my family. My New York family members have all been so disruptive to my graphic design work and my car mechanic/Art Conservation practice that a few hours of space as become preferable. I pray will be good for all of us. I have missed living in NYC, yet the city has changed a lot from when I lived here in 2010 and 2011. I liked living near my mother, yet Upstate New York makes one yearn for the city. I lasted about a year in Schenectady.
I have been missing my pet bunny rabbit, Mugs Bunny. Easter was always our special day. Yet, I found a famous rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons in Manhattan, which took some of the pain away from our seperation. Stay tuned to the blog for more Queens and New York City updates. Ciao!
I have finally completed my first of the Presidential Portrait series. After about six weeks of working on a painting, I begin to worry that I have over-done it and thus ruined the painting. I had a drawing teacher at Pratt who used to tell us to stop at 96% and leave a touch for the viewer to fill in with their imagination. If someone works a piece of art even past the threshold of 101%, it destroys that remarkable quality.
It is so nice to have so many resources to study to try to learn about a person who you are trying to paint in a way that captures more than just a physical description of the person. It is essential to capture the “essence” of a person, and I thought the story of young Washington admitting he cropped down the cherry tree to his father would be interesting. The cherries also have a sexual reference that speaks to our nation’s birth in blood and war through Washington’s deeds.
My uncle, John Szal, was a captain in the Marine Corps. and he asks me not to join the Marines. I thought joining the Army would be a perfect solution as a loophole to get around this. I can enlist at a higher rank with ASE tests and hopefully work on vehicles and/or helicopters. However, several things might disqualify me or limit my options in the military from my past. Also, in the Army, you do not get to pick what you do and are obliged to follow your orders, so I could do graphic design again.
He who lives by the pen shall die by the pen – no force of arms can resist my ink…
Capitaland has a policy of letting people leave for military service. Yet, I do not expect them to have a job waiting for me in four years, so I will be leaving Capitaland. I will miss my new manager, Brian Hansbury, and his dog Bandit (my favorite part of Capitaland). I will no longer be around to receive any commission from someone purchasing a car, so no more pressure on anyone to buy a vehicle to help me.
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