In light of my beta-testery, I have been invited out to the snowy plains of Spokane, Washington to visit Cyan Worlds, the developers behind Cosmic Osmo’s Hexisle. Now this is something of a pilgrimage for me, since these people were responsible for my favorite games of all time, such as Myst. You may recall that over the summer I was involved with a certain fan-convention called Mysterium. This is no coincidence, friends.

A trip report upon my safe return (and no need to pack warmly — I am a penguin after all).

So anyway, after all this nonsense, I bring to you a new antiART update. It’s called “I got blood on my hands,” which sounds ominous but I assure you is the lyric in a song by TPB (WARNING: Gothic Country is not for the weak of heart or stomach). I hope you enjoy this piece: half of it came from Los Angeles and the other half came from New York. I’ll leave it up to you to parse which is which, not that it really makes a difference to me.

So anyway, on the topic of updates. Like I’ve said, Red’s internet’s bad. My problem? I’m insanely busy directing The Rocky Horror Picture show at my school. Yes, I am not joking. I’m also taking a class on Fairy Tales and a class on Literary Theory (Freud, Saussure, Lacan — those guys), and then some. I was lucky to wring this update out, but I can’t promise any degree of consistency at this stage. By the end of the year, Red and I plan to take Penguinbros.com in a slightly different direction, to “unthaw” (if you will) certain aspects of the website. Continue sticking around in the meantime, we appreciate your return visits!

Today I woke up to some exciting news:

I wanted to take a moment to thank you personally for your submission for this year’s Mysterium logo, and also to extend my congratulations! Your Hollywood Walk of Fame star logo was selected for the official Mysterium 2007 logo! We truly appreciate your artwork, as well as all you have done over the years in the community. Congratulations and thank you!

What does this all mean? Mysterium is a convention of fans celebrating Myst, a computer game dynasty that has seen five games, several books, and more recently the online spinoff URU. More importantly, Myst – and the company behind it, Cyan – has been a great inspiration for me. Some of the first computer games I ever played were Cyan’s “The Manhole” and “Cosmic Osmo,” non-violent titles that valued exploration & imagination over mindless destruction (although there is a time and place for that as well).

I have been participating in the Myst community for a long time, but never in an outgoing way. Myst, as many know, was a groundbreaking title that broke records and set precedents for the computer industry. And it was made by a small team, led by the Miller Brothers, in a garage in Spokane, Washington. That brotherly/garage mentality greatly impacted my then six-year old self, and it can be argued that it was a major driving force behind the creation of Penguinbros.com.

Having my design chosen to represent Mysterium is to me an important achievement because it’s a real opportunity for me to give back to a company and a community as a way of saying, “thanks.” And we brothers Penguin will continue to give back to each of our supporters who make this endeavor all worthwhile.

Now I’m off to see my brother in the big city. Maybe he can tell you what’s going on in his life…

EDIT: Happy Friday the 13th!

antiART: Out of Season.

Stereotypical: Raggedy Anne.

Actions speak louder than words.

EDIT: Well it might be informative if I said a little something about each item, so… this week’s antiART is a tree outside of my living space that seems to be trapped between Fall and Winter, in spite of the presence of snow. The Stereotypical song is a little ditty I started practically the day I arrived at school last semester; at midnight. It’s written in the spirit of some daft woman living near the docks, mourning for her lost sailor husband. Some turn-of-the-century pap. It’s a bit of a landmark because it marks the first time I’ve used real instrument – in this instance a melodica. The tune’s a bit experimental but kind of dark/fun nonetheless. How I can possibly reconcile that is a mystery even to me.

I have two new antiART pieces to share with you, for you. The first is a borderline defensive that I like to call Glory, because heaven knows we don’t have enough of that. The second is a – dare I say it – Daydream believer. Look to up the skies from down in the dirt; It’ll do wonders.

EDIT: The link has indeed become unavailable for non-subscribers. I have archived the article here for your convenience.

The second Residents themed update is this week’s antiART. Before I post it, I should probably mention where it’s sourced from. In 2004, Red Penguin and I were commissioned to do a one minute music video for The Residents for their Commercial DVD. The video, which we’ve never made available until now out of respect for the band, is called Secrets.

So if you seen the video by now, you may recognize this image of the “Spider City.” It’s the cityscape backdrop in second shot featuring the spider towards the end. I’d post the other backdrop, but Red made that one and I don’t know how he’d take to that (maybe I should ask?)

We’ve reached the end of it, but it’s only just beginning! Stay Tuned!

One More Thing: Check back later this weekend for a very special post concerning an upcoming Penguin Bros appearance!