Like I need a reason to paint my face

Way to go Huskers. Nebraska routed Arizona in the first Holiday Bowl shut out.

Well worth painting my face for.

I'm here

Anybody else feeling the magic?

After seeing the Alice in Wonderland trailer, my sister showed me this video:

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

This video reminds me of a Thomas Demand exhibit I saw at the Museum of Modern Art in New York a few years ago. I remember having the same feeling then as I do watching this video: I have got to make something.

Anybody else itching?

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I can't be happier when mine starts with my sister and my daughter and an "A Christmas Story" marathon:

My Secret Santa adventures

Not only do I enjoy having a Secret Santa, I LOVE being one. The only downside this year was I had so little time and my execution wasn't as clear as I'd preferred. The theme I did for my recipient was "Believe". He is a big Angels fan so I put up red and silver tinsel as well as pictures of key players and the manager advising him to believe in Secret Santa. Unfortunately my big decoration became sort of this hot mess of a collage of giant peppermint candy and Japanese cartoons. One of my friends said it reminded her of the prop in "Saw":

Day 1

The second day I fulfilled my recipient's wish for Stephen King books ("The Shining" and "Different Seasons" paperbacks) with a bonus steak and hash brown breakfast burrito from Del Taco.

Day 2

My recipient said he was a rap fan so the third day was a mix CD of old school stuff--"White Lines" holla!--and new non-rap songs like Phoenix's "1901". He also said he liked food so I tossed in some crazy snacks (like Octopus crackers) from the Korean grocer including one featuring a hip-hop mascot who was down with the honey-dipped crackers. And I "capped" it off with a Kangol baseball hat. Does anyone remember when Kangol was the big label in rap?

Day 3

My recipient had wished for a dashboard hula girl but I couldn't find one locally and at this point it was too late to order one so I did one of my favorite things--made a t-shirt:

Day 4

As luck would have it, I offered another Secret Santa my services and made his recipient (obviously a Glee fan) this shirt:

Day 4 Bonus!

And on the final day, I had planned on getting the specific CD my recipient had on his wish list. I had reserved it at the local Borders but I got an e-mail on Wednesday telling me that they had sold it as an online order! I tried a bunch of local stores--even my friends tried to help me out when they were near some specialty stores--but to no avail. So I ended up giving him an errand for his final gift:

Day 5--the final day

My recipient was a good sport and still enjoyed it--hooray!

Can't wait until March

What is it about Tim Burton and Johnny Depp:



that wants me to make something magical?

Wagon wheels

Instead of bagels, I shared "wagon wheels" from a local bakery to celebrate my ill-gotten Survivor gains:

Sweet, sweet victory.