The New Way To Read

Now that I have a car I'm always listening to books on DVD. I'm hooked on them. My whole office has started doing it. We're big into history. My first was "Team of Rivals", Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about Lincoln. Then I followed up with "1776" by David McCullough, "Fiasco" by Thomas Ricks and now we are all sharing a 30 disc history of the United States. My co-workers and I stroll around the office with our heads full of useless trivia. We are constantly spouting wacky facts to one another. Like slaves in America used to be white. They were the riff-raff and prisoners from Europe but they kept running away and assimilating into society. Then someone had the idea of using black slaves because they would stand out in white society. I never knew that horrible fact. At the start of the revolution each soldier was given about nine bullets. Some were even given spears to use at close range as not to waste precious bullets and gun powder. A little different than going into Falluja. The women in the office think we are retarded. We have no off button. It does turn my car rides into pure bliss. Any book suggestions?

TV Guide

When I was a kid I watched television all the time. Every spare minute I was glued to the tube. It's a big reason I make tv commercials for a living. I know a lot about television. Today parents frown on their kids spending too much time watching the boob tube. I don't blame them seeing as there is nothing on really. When I was little there was seven channels and every show was brilliant. Today you have three hundred channels and not one decent show. I did a painting on cardboard of Batgirl. It is now owned by the great art duo, Sauerkids. Check out their genius work. I was feeling nostalgic so I did a little sketch of Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl.

Home Owners

Every step you take in Manhattan or Queens or Brooklyn, you run into a crane. Where there used to be quiet neighborhoods now there are residential skyscrapers. Who is going to buy this stuff. There's just not enough people. Yun and I moved to the boonies and they are tearing down every nook. It's an old Italian neighborhood. The old timers who have been there forever are now wanting to sell their properties to cash in. Developers want to build as high as they can to maximize profit. The problem is, it's a neighborhood that doesn't want too much height. There is a lot of plotting, planning and zoning going on. There are no American Apparel or Gaps but along with over development will come these eyesores. I guess all I can do is try and enjoy the moment before it all goes down the toilet. It's a vicious cycle. I'm sure when the old neighbors saw yuppies like Yun and I move in, they said "Oh no there goes the neighborhood. Time to sell to a sleazy developer."

Reunion

Many centuries ago I had a favorite cousin. Her name was Eileen. We hit it off and always looked forward to hanging out together. After I went to college we drifted apart. Mostly because I was mental. A few months ago I got an e-mail out of the blue. It was her. She found me because of my google power. She thought about me, typed in my name and bingo. I was thrilled to get the e-mail. We saw each other for the first time in thirty years. She had a birthday party recently and Yun and I went. There were many more of my cousins I hadn't seen in decades. It was thrilling to say the least. Eileen and I speak every week now. We don't want to ever lose each other again and we won't. I guess we never really lost each other, it was just on hold. When we hang out it's like a day never went by. She has an incredible family with two amazing kids. Happy Mother's Day Eileen.

Look At Me

There is a bar near us called "The Pool Bar." It was an old pool supply place. They have a big backyard with a nice fire pit. There is always a couple of big logs burning. The other thing they have is the old photo booth. I use it every time I go in there. I make everyone I'm with do it too. I've got quite a nice collection of shots. Sometimes they have just put new chemicals in so the shots are nice and dark. Somedays the photos are all washed out giving them a different kind of beauty. These are some winter shots. I've got to get some summer ones going.

Big Squirrel

Every time I post a drawing of a squirrel on flickr it goes through the roof. People love squirrels (including me). I was not busy at work on new year's eve so I busted out another squirrel drawing. I'm sure it will get like 300 views on my flickr site. Plus it came out pretty darn good if I might say so myself. I got to try out my new set of colored pencils from the photographer reps, Stockland & Martel. I also like playing with the fact that the drawing continues on another piece of paper. I'm tricky like that.