Ben Munson, Cinco designer and purveyor of some mean fuckin’ pong backhands, sent me an amazing link a couple days back. Ben is known for his info gathering, be it with photographic solutions or “I’m looking for a…” source hunts. Every now and again he’ll send me some fascinating link from the Interweb. One has got to wonder: Where does this guy find this stuff?

So here’s a link worth clicking. Upon arrival, start clicking away, and be prepard to be paralyzed with awe. >> Fuckin’ amazing.

I’m bit of a carver myself. I like the idea of the “wood holding something inside it.” I remember hearing a little ditty about Michaelangelo and how he justified his talent as a “duty to God.” Something along the lines of, “Hell, the sculpture is inside. I’m just the guy who chips away the pieces that don’t belong.” Yeah buddy, go paint a ceiling or something.

Anyhoo, I’ve done a little carving in my day, with big hopes and even sharper knives. Here’s a piece from my Alaskan summer days, carving in between runs on the train.

You gotta pay to play: One time I was stayin’ over at my Gramma Josie’s apartment. I was back from Oregon for a spell and was on a bit of a carving kick. I had this chunk of a branch, neatly parted out into a carvable chunk. Well, like a dumbass, my blade of choice was a regular ol’ X-Acto knife. So dumb. I was really into it, carefully whittling my chain link creation, when, in a moment of fleeting terror, a certain tough corner gave way and snapped. With a flash of silver and an odd feeling in my ring finger, I noticed a gaping slash, blood streaming down my fingers, into my palm. I nearly lost it. Instinct took over and I made my way over to the sink, got the water going, then a compress. It was well past midnight, so I called mom and dad. A couple hours later I had a seven stitches another lesson learned: “Don’t carve with a fuckin’ X-Acto knife.”

So when this graphic design shit goes broke, maybe I’ll pursue the “woodchip arts” as a living. Y’know, chainsawin’ bears and shit out of tree stumps.