Giving my beard a needed trim before the paint dried was a very bad idea...
Great Moments of Personal Stupidity.
Giving the bathroom a needed fresh coat of paint was a good idea.
Giving my beard a needed trim before the paint dried was a very bad idea...
Giving my beard a needed trim before the paint dried was a very bad idea...
Danger Will Robinson! Danger!
Re imaging the classic Sci Fi robot from LOST IN SPACE (aka the B9 by devoted fans of the show).
An evening with Mel Brooks
As a gift, Mom gave the guys in the family a night out with tickets to see BLAZING SADDLES in Santa Monica last night. The highlight being a Q&A with Mel Brooks himself after the film. I've always been a huge Mel Brooks fan. It was too much fun. I'm still laughing over these two descriptions. It's the way he talks and his energy that makes them funny...
Mel on meeting a wannabe writer years ago...
"I'd have lunch at a Chock full O Nuts in New York once in awhile. A young guy came up to me and said ...I'm a lawyer now but I'm really a writer! I said... so, go write something then and let me eat my chicken salad sandwich."
On his family growing up...
"My Uncle Joe was a very short man. He drove a taxi. If you ever saw a cab coming down the street without a driver...it was my Uncle Joe!"
There were many good stories, anecdotes and fun insights that I won't attempt to ruin retelling with my poor writing. Here's a lousy picture of Mel I took being mobbed by fans outside after the show...
My Grandmother was a huge fan as well. She said once, the only famous person she would love to spend an hour talking to would be Mel Brooks. Nana loved to laugh. I could not help but think of her.
BLAZING SADDLES is a true classic and even funnier with a packed house of people on the big screen...
A wolfman, a pirate, a squirrel and a cat walk into a bar...
The old and original Lon Chaney Jr. WOLFMAN was on TV last Friday night. A fun thing to watch stuck on the couch with a broken foot, licking my wounds. Get it? Wolfman, broken foot... I crack myself up.
Werewolves are great fun to doodle among other things.
I really over worked this sketch. It started in nice simple pencil. I gave it a water color wash then a really heavy handed ink outline. I played with in photoshop as well. Not a success but that's what practice is for.
Other recent and random sketches were less over worked...
Werewolves are great fun to doodle among other things.
I really over worked this sketch. It started in nice simple pencil. I gave it a water color wash then a really heavy handed ink outline. I played with in photoshop as well. Not a success but that's what practice is for.
Other recent and random sketches were less over worked...
Webridestv.com
My latest project was a set design all about cars for a weekly internet series soon to air on WEB RIDES TV.
My inspiration was my love of building plastic model car kits for a time as a kid. Needed parts were attached to frames...
The thrill of opening a new model, seeing the parts lined up waiting to be snapped off and glued together was exciting. My hope is rabid "gear heads" have the same kid inside them who made plastic models once and get the homage.
My set concepts...
The completed set...
I lost a day or so building/shopping because of rain early in the week. My brother Ted arrived like Han Solo in the Millenium Falcon to help make up the time. There was no Princess to put a medal on him hearing John Williams music but he did get a burrito dinner and a few bucks for the effort...
My inspiration was my love of building plastic model car kits for a time as a kid. Needed parts were attached to frames...
The thrill of opening a new model, seeing the parts lined up waiting to be snapped off and glued together was exciting. My hope is rabid "gear heads" have the same kid inside them who made plastic models once and get the homage.
My set concepts...
The completed set...
I lost a day or so building/shopping because of rain early in the week. My brother Ted arrived like Han Solo in the Millenium Falcon to help make up the time. There was no Princess to put a medal on him hearing John Williams music but he did get a burrito dinner and a few bucks for the effort...
Recipe for a Good Agent.
A real life JERRY MAGUIRE story, sort of, without the love story plot and Cuba Gooding Jr...
My sister Megan was an agent for commercial photographers at a well known company. After 10 years she decided to move on and create her own company. She declared her living room couch with a lap top computer as her agency headquarters and went to work.
That was LESS than a year ago. Her company is now an office on Robertson Blvd. in Beverly Hills and has a large roster of established, top talent in the industry. It is CREATIVE 24 and the official website is up.
What makes Megan a great agent and her business a success? Here's the recipe.
Mix equal portions of these characters...
in a big bowl of heart, dedication and sentiment like this character...
Megan consulted me often for company name and logo ideas early on. She trusted my brilliant design sense and complete knowledge of hip current trends. In the end, she decided to play it safe and not go with my dynamic, unique, cutting edge idea...
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Dad's Birthday Gift
My siblings and I migrated often over the years.
Mom and Dad's place became the default residence in between apartments. None of us traveled light. We accumulated stuff. Their garage became our personal storage. We often left things behind with good intentions that it would be temporary. Not to mention all the stuff saved before we moved out for independent lives, once upon a time.
Out of sight, out of mind...years go by.
Now that we're all grown up (sort of) and settled, my parent's wanted to reclaim their garage. Over the past year my Dad has nagged me (and the other siblings, so he says) if we could please get our lifetime treasure horde out of his garage.
As a birthday gift to him this year, we decided to spend a whole day dedicated to cleaning out the garage and getting our old stuff out. He loved it! Areas of the garage floor were designated to each sibling to have their stuff put into piles. Once complete, the pile was to be taken home. All went about digging through and sorting boxes and bins. I soon heard over and over again...
"Dave's stuff !"
Within an hour, I had so much stacked, I needed to make floor space for others. I loaded up my car and made a quick run to my house and drop off. When I came back, my pile was even bigger than when I left it. It took loading up my car again along with Ted's car and Megan's car to get all my stuff out of Dad's garage.
Having so much to move only proves the following...
- My other siblings took away their stuff years ago with too much free time in the past.
- I was too busy working hard to pick up my stuff.
- My siblings are obsessed with material things and needed their stuff right away.
- I'm fine with a simple amish life and never needed the stuff I stashed away years ago.
- My siblings are cruel and heartless, quick to sever any ties with my parents.
- I like to leave behind items of nostalgia for them to remember me by.
Of course, my garage is packed. The only room for the stuff is in my home office/studio which is always a mess.
Below is my view now while sitting at my drawing table...
The view, if I want to stand up and watch the TV in the corner...
I still have more boxes to unload in my car!
Happy Birthday Dad. Your revenge is complete. Your patience living with all this junk over the years makes you a Saint. It's karma. 2008 has to be the year I organize and clear house.
There is some really cool stuff I found though that I forgot about!
Mom and Dad's place became the default residence in between apartments. None of us traveled light. We accumulated stuff. Their garage became our personal storage. We often left things behind with good intentions that it would be temporary. Not to mention all the stuff saved before we moved out for independent lives, once upon a time.
Out of sight, out of mind...years go by.
Now that we're all grown up (sort of) and settled, my parent's wanted to reclaim their garage. Over the past year my Dad has nagged me (and the other siblings, so he says) if we could please get our lifetime treasure horde out of his garage.
As a birthday gift to him this year, we decided to spend a whole day dedicated to cleaning out the garage and getting our old stuff out. He loved it! Areas of the garage floor were designated to each sibling to have their stuff put into piles. Once complete, the pile was to be taken home. All went about digging through and sorting boxes and bins. I soon heard over and over again...
"Dave's stuff !"
Within an hour, I had so much stacked, I needed to make floor space for others. I loaded up my car and made a quick run to my house and drop off. When I came back, my pile was even bigger than when I left it. It took loading up my car again along with Ted's car and Megan's car to get all my stuff out of Dad's garage.
Having so much to move only proves the following...
- My other siblings took away their stuff years ago with too much free time in the past.
- I was too busy working hard to pick up my stuff.
- My siblings are obsessed with material things and needed their stuff right away.
- I'm fine with a simple amish life and never needed the stuff I stashed away years ago.
- My siblings are cruel and heartless, quick to sever any ties with my parents.
- I like to leave behind items of nostalgia for them to remember me by.
Of course, my garage is packed. The only room for the stuff is in my home office/studio which is always a mess.
Below is my view now while sitting at my drawing table...
The view, if I want to stand up and watch the TV in the corner...
I still have more boxes to unload in my car!
Happy Birthday Dad. Your revenge is complete. Your patience living with all this junk over the years makes you a Saint. It's karma. 2008 has to be the year I organize and clear house.
There is some really cool stuff I found though that I forgot about!
A Christmas 2007 memory
Why does a 5 year old abuse her slow moving, Jabba the Hut-esque, 300 pound uncle when he is lazy and tired from holiday fun? Then again, why does she abuse her slow moving, Jabba the Hut-esque, 300 pound uncle at any time?
After a long Christmas day opening gifts and feasting... I was a beached whale on the couch drinking coffee.
You become a prime target for the never ending energy of Devin especially when looking weak and helpless. A thousand and one new toys surrounded her but she chose to decorate my hair late on Christmas day.
I was patient but it soon got out of hand.
I want to let her creative spirit grow. I will always support her art but she went crazy!
I became just an art installation to her. I was blinded by liberal use of tinsel and garland. Endless yards of ribbon knotted my hair...
My only critique... the hat made from tissue and a gift box was so last year.
Devin must learn that "less is more" sometimes.
Dismantling her creation was torture. As you can see in the below video, Uncle Ted's pep rally did not help things at all. Moments of pain did not however disturb my sloth like couch position...
After a long Christmas day opening gifts and feasting... I was a beached whale on the couch drinking coffee.
You become a prime target for the never ending energy of Devin especially when looking weak and helpless. A thousand and one new toys surrounded her but she chose to decorate my hair late on Christmas day.
I was patient but it soon got out of hand.
I want to let her creative spirit grow. I will always support her art but she went crazy!
I became just an art installation to her. I was blinded by liberal use of tinsel and garland. Endless yards of ribbon knotted my hair...
My only critique... the hat made from tissue and a gift box was so last year.
Devin must learn that "less is more" sometimes.
Dismantling her creation was torture. As you can see in the below video, Uncle Ted's pep rally did not help things at all. Moments of pain did not however disturb my sloth like couch position...
Addendum to Previous Post.
I should of noted in the previous "Happy New Year" post it was Devin's first ride on a real grown up thrill attraction (as far as I now). The kiddie coaster in Toontown, the Dumbo ride in Fantasyland and the slow moving Pirates of the Caribbean don't count.
Happy New Year!
I wish all a great new year.
My personal resolution is not being the usual "bitter" guy I am all the time. I'm going to try to ignore my angry side and be more positive.
Keeping a vision of my niece's smiling face in my mind everyday will help.
One of the best memories from 2007 was just last week on the River Raft ride at Disney's California Adventures.
Niece Devin went from worry to pure joy in a split second. I love that she held tight to her Mom's hand in security the whole time. Nothing is better in life than seeing a little kid smile having fun...
Stills of joy from the last moments on the video just before I hid the camera under my jacket from a surge of water...
My personal resolution is not being the usual "bitter" guy I am all the time. I'm going to try to ignore my angry side and be more positive.
Keeping a vision of my niece's smiling face in my mind everyday will help.
One of the best memories from 2007 was just last week on the River Raft ride at Disney's California Adventures.
Niece Devin went from worry to pure joy in a split second. I love that she held tight to her Mom's hand in security the whole time. Nothing is better in life than seeing a little kid smile having fun...
Stills of joy from the last moments on the video just before I hid the camera under my jacket from a surge of water...
She had so much fun we rode it a second time right after. A great picture taken my Dad who declined taking the ride both trips...
Devin was surrounded by family every trip.
Devin was surrounded by family every trip.
