Dave's Blog

Miller Gay

Do fundamentalist Christians know that Miller markets to gays!? Shouldn't there be a boycott? Are there any other companies out there who are trying to sell their products to gay people? Who would Jesus boycott?

Memorial Day Weekend

Hot, hazy and crowded on a Minnesota lake up north. Up here, they like their beers like they like their boats: in aluminum and in abundance.

Two More Views

A couple of additional shots of the blue, blue team "kit" (uniform). Pictured are three very fast cyclists, Mark Hartney, Dave Simpson, and Camilla Schmitz. Go, Smurfs!

Team Birchwood

Tracy Singleton, owner of the wonderful Birchwood Cafe in South Minneapolis, thrusts her bosom in our direction not to titillate but to show that Magnetic Poetry is a sponsor in good standing. Watch for us around town (our club has almost 100 members), and eat at the Birchwood, home of organic and locally-grown deliciousness, meat included!

Watterson

I mentioned Eli's reading of The Complete Works of Calvin and Hobbes; well, last night I read the intro to the books, which is the story of the development of Bill Watterson's drawing/writing career and the incarnation of Calvin and Hobbes, written by Watterson himself. One of the big topics he covers is his struggle with the decision not to license/merchandise his characters, because it doesn't feel consistent with the message and spirit of the strip. Lots of hard feelings and burned bridges between him and his publishing syndicate. Hmmm, I thought, I guess I hadn't really noticed that there are no Calvin & Hobbes t-shirts or figurines or plush dolls or greeting cards or TV shows or movies, but now that you mention it...

It sunk in slowly at first, and then came over me in a wave: Bill Watterson flat-out turned down millions and millions of dollars, for which he would have had to do virtually nothing, other than to okay contracts and projects and do (paid) art direction for bigger things like movies. The strip itself would be unaffected, other than existing within the mix of other Calvin stuff, which might contractually be high-quality "Watterson Approved." Sort of like the whole "Peanuts" franchise.

And now, he's given up doing comics entirely, and is developing his painting and music skills. He's not even doing the strip any more, and still he won't license (sell) it out.

Wow, this man (of whom there are only two or three photos on the internets) really lives by his artistic principles. Agree with him or not, the guy deserves a lot of respect!

Siesta

May this little fellow be an inspiration to us all...

The Innocent Age

I was a little alarmed by Eli's sculpting until my wife pointed out some notebook art of mine she found from when I was around his age; sadistic, violent, bloody. I think this particular study was inspired by the famous Calvin & Hobbes "snowman" series (he's been reading the Complete Works).

Another Birthday...

...another Cable Classic. Lke last year, this one was cold, rainy and muddy, and like last year, I had a ton of fun. Unlike last year, however, I had to go to the emergency room immediately after the race to tend to an injured eye, victim of a flying rock. I was considering putting a photo of my bloody peeper here, but it's pretty gnarly; one of Eli's classmates actually started gagging when he saw it yesterday. Not to worry, no loss of sight; just a subconjunctival hemorrhage.

The Eye of the Beholder

In developing our new Stone Faces Kit, I've been shooting a lot of sculpture, lately with an eye toward women's faces. These ladies are on Washington Avenue right next to the Metrodome. As far as their beauty, all I can say is... yikes! My theory is that the sculptor used his own face as a model for these, um, gals.

Big Change

My tires are getting balanced down the street at Tires Plus, so I wandered over here to Calhoun Square for a cup of coffee and went upstairs to revisit this hallowed ground, which I hadn't visited for 12 years. This is the place where my life changed drastically, at the People Who Make Stuff craft show, November 1993. Next to that rail on the right is where I set up my table and fridge door covered with hand-cut Magnetic Poetry Kits, 200 of which sold in the first 3 hours, turning me into an accidental entrepreneur. Almost everything in my life changed for me, on this spot, almost instantly. Ahhh, life is scary and wonderful...