verdantmug

Batter Blaster

2008-01-28T22:07:00.000-05:00

Put simply: It’s pancakes in a can. Here's a series of posters I did with my talented art director partner, Matt of MattAndKK.com fame.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IN NEW WINDOW

Goings on

2007-12-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I blogged like a blogger. Here’s what’s happened since then:

Helen and I have settled into the surprisingly great city of Charlotte. As predicted, BooneOakley is a killer agency. And Hawse Design has turned out to be a wonderful place for Helen to work. Now, we just need to find a house and we’ll be ready for visitors to come up and not have to sleep on our air mattress, awesome as it is. We’ll keep you posted on housing developments (Get it? I do.).

Meanwhile, our family has grown by two kittens: Lincoln and Kennedy. They’re very affectionate, they go crazy for a laser pointer and they like to meow at 5am. Also, they can meow the preamble.

Liam rocked his Bar Mitzvah this past weekend. We were all blown away by how smooth the whole service went and by how elegantly Liam spoke. Also, his rock-and-roll-themed after-party (of which I supplied part of the decorations, downloadable here) kicked ass almost as much as Liam did. He put the illin’ in tefillin.

Helen redesigned Store of David, my t-shirt website, which now includes a line of advertising- and design-themed tribute shirts that make a great holiday gift. Subtle, right?

So, really, that’s about it. We’re very happy to be living in a town that’s so close to our family and friends in Atlanta and we hope to see more and more of you in the coming year.

Until then, shalom out.

Helen at the Bat

2007-09-12T20:43:00.000-05:00

HELEN AT THE BAT

The outlook wasn’t hopeful for the young Greek girl that day.
She’d never tried “The Softball,” but the team still let her play.
So, to the field ran Helen, not expecting much at all.
When WHACK! Some dude sent Helen one real bad-ass line drive ball!

The teammates gasped. The crowd sat still. And everything slowed down.
Just like that scene in movies where, um, everything slows down.
The ball flew right towards Helen and her eyes sprang open wide.
What if she missed? What if she sucked? Should I take off and hide?

Her left gloved hand stretched clear across her curvy, ample chest.
That pink-striped new black leather mitt would be put to the test.
She turned her gloved hand clockwise; her arm was all contorted.
“She may have even closed both eyes and cowered,” some reported.

But speculate all day and night, the truth’s another story.
For Awesome held the field that day and Helen earned the glory.
With twisted arm and obscured view, this Greek girl wowed them all.
The NoDa team erupted – mighty Helen caught the ball.

News Brief

2007-09-07T14:26:00.000-05:00

Bought this car:

Made this shirt:

Love these prints:
(Designed by the incredibly great Fleet Street Scandal)

Click picture to enlarge.

The Bay Bump

2007-08-15T09:09:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Michael Bay's Transformers movie, people have been searching YouTube for Tranformers clips. Mine, which shows the more intimate side of robotic relationships, has shot from 200 views to over 2000 in the past week.

On a related note, my Flapper site just hit the 100,000 mark. These, my friends, are the stupid things I will be remembered for.

Good times.

This just in

2007-06-11T23:47:00.000-05:00

Just got word that the logo I did for Lisa’s bakery Big Sugar got into Print’s Regional Design Annual. For those out of the know, here’s a blurb about the annual from Print’s website:

The Regional Design Annual issue is the most comprehensive survey of graphic design in the United States—and one of the biggest issues to hit the graphic design industry each year. We received more than 20,000 individual entries for the 2006 Regional Annual, from almost every state. The process of selection in all regions of the country was as stringent as ever, and, as always, we feel that the work we chose is first-rate, and that it represents the best design, illustrations, and photography being produced throughout the United States.

In other words, behold the face of awesome:

Big Sugar in NY Times

2007-06-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge.

See my logo? It’s right there on the back of everyone’s shirt! Joke, that was a joke. I am very proud of Lisa, her incredible bakery and also its awesome logo.

Big Sugar, Bigger Nerds

2007-05-30T10:33:00.001-05:00

When we decided to head to L.A. for a mini-vacation for Memorial Day weekend, I had one goal: see Big Sugar, my brother’s wife’s bakery. Sure, I’d heard that the donut muffins were to die for (they were) and yeah, I wanted to load up on delicious buckeyes…

…but I was really going because I designed their logo...

...and I wanted to see it in action. I wasn’t disappointed. Check out the awesomeness.

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ME SEEING THE SIGN FOR THE FIRST TIME.

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HELEN SAMPLING EVERYTHING.

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INSIDE BIG SUGAR.

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Logo aside, I was blown away by the bakeshop itself. As charming as it is well-designed. I kept doing 360s of the place, in awe of how cool and perfect it was.

I was already proud of the logo (one of three favorite logos I’ve ever done), but I’m even prouder of Lisa’s accomplishment.

On the flipside of cool - the Bizarro cool, if you will - Helen and I checked out the Star Wars Convention at the L.A. Convention Center this weekend. See how I used the phrase “checked out” as opposed to “attended.” I am going to try to sound like we’re not total nerds but I have to admit: It was soooo awesome.

Yes, there were 40 year-olds dressed up as Ben Kenobi, light saber and all. Sure, there were women dressed up as Slave Girl Leia (and no, they could NOT pull it off as well as Carrie Fisher did). And no, I did not know that video stores across America employed THIS many people. But, I gotta say, it was a lot of fun.

I would say we were totally geeking out, but that’s not how anyone treated us. Everyone was so nice and so accepting. They could tell it was our first convention and they accepted us with open arms. Okay, so those arms were covered in home-made Empire-grade plastic Boba Fett forearm shielding, but so what?! Here are a few favorite pics:

HELEN GETTING CHOKED DARK-SIDE-STYLE BY DARTH VADER

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ME SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

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DAVE WITH THE VERY POPULAR TROOPERETTE

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Challah if you want one!

2007-05-22T16:55:00.000-05:00

New shirt time! As usual, it can be found in my store by going HERE. Also available on white and jewey blue.

Wakey'z Shmakey'z

2007-05-19T05:46:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Wakey’z Drugmall is big with the Jews. Check it out here.

Click to enlarge.

Up Up and Awake!

2007-05-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

Wakey’z Drugmall launched today!!!

Wakey’z is a project I’ve been working on for some months now. It’s part of a Select Comfort campaign that positions their Sleep Number beds as a better alternative to the crazy wake-aids and sleep-aids Americans use to make up for poor sleep.

The funny thing about creating the over-the-top inventory of products for Wakey’z is that the more research we did, the more actual insane products we encountered. I mean, you can actually buy caffeinated beer, caffeinated mints, caffeinated donuts, caffeinated breath strips, caffeinated soap (!) and even an energy drink called Cocaine.

While it was tough to create even crazier products, we feel we did a pretty great job. And while the products are not real, you CAN pick up some Wakey’s swag at Wakey’z Wear. See if you can guess which t-shirt is my favorite.

Some of my favorite Wakey’z products are:

Morn Horn, alarm clock amplifier

Resteban, The Sleep-Inducing Teddy Bear

Bum Rush, stimulant laxative (The #2 Wake-Aid!)

ChloroFoam, sleep masks

Who rules? Helen rules.

2007-04-17T20:58:00.000-05:00

After months of intense work for Helen, The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is over. You MUST read her moving epilogue HERE.

I'd like to thank

2007-04-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

Just heard that The Duel campaign I worked on got in The One Show. If you worked in the ad industry, you’d be all, “The One Show! That’s awesome! That’s like The Oscars of Advertising!” And I’d reply, “A) Stop yelling and B) Actually, Cannes is The Oscars of Advertising. The One Show is more like The Golden Globes, but it’s still awesome so thanks.”

I also found out that The Duel got in D&AD (Don’t be fooled by the name. D&AD is actually about more than Design & Art Direction.). It’s one of the most prestigious awards in advertising and rarely do American agencies get in, so it’s truly an honor.

Both The One Show and D&AD have gold & silver award systems, but I won’t find out if we won one of those until May. At the very least, The Duel will be in both shows so that’s pretty cool.

Ten Lines

2007-03-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

Launched my new website a minute ago. In case you’re interested, it can be found here.

I was just tired of having all those different urls for my work, my illustrations, my flapping paper airplane, etc. Now everything’s in one place. Sure, iWeb’s pages don’t load as quickly as I’d like them too, but what the site lacks in slick functionality, it more than makes up for in content. And there’s a crapload of content, especially in the STASH section where you can find everything from my illustration works to that silly Transformers video I did to a bank of ads I love but didn’t have room for in my portfolio.

And in case you’re wondering, the reason the url references “ten lines” is because that’s the fewest number of lines it takes to write KEITH.

the girls

2007-02-26T17:29:00.000-05:00

Below is just some of the wonderful, amazing work of Amanda Visell. If I could draw, I’d do stuff like this. So incredibly great. You can find more of her work here. And be sure to check out the amazing stuff she just did for the anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean which you can find on her blog. Also on her blog, coincidentally, is a series of two-headed figures, kinda like the ones I did but cooler.

Superbowl Ads 07

2007-02-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

I should begin by confessing that I do not look at Superbowl ads the way regular people do. Because I work in the industry, I see more ads in a week than most do all year so if I'm overly critical, that's why. That said, I wasn't too thrilled with this year's crop of Superbowl ads.

The best one I saw was actually not a new ad. Weiden & Kennedy's "Give A Little Love" ad for Coke was, to me, the best ad of the bunch. Incredibly well-written and even better executed. So what if it's been running in theaters for the past few months.

That's not to say there weren't some moments of greatness. The Heart Attack ad was wonderful and not only because it didn't have a logo on the end. I also liked the idea behind Careerbuilder's Promotion Pit. The Snickers "Kiss" ad was hilarious, Garmin's "Maposaurus" had its moments and anything with Robert Goulet makes me laugh.

I am not sure what's gotten into America, but I checked USA Today's Admeter and was ridiculously disappointed to find that the Budweiser "Crab" ad was ranked so high. Really? REALLY?! I thought most, if not all, of the Bud ads were just plain boring. "Rock, Paper, Scissors" had a pretty funny punch line but I saw it coming a mile away.

Again, I see a lot of ads so I know a lot of formulas, so I apologize if I'm ruining the fun of Ad Day. But I just expect more on Superbowl Sunday. It's the one day when any company can change their destiny by running a - pardon the pun - game-changing ad much in the way Apple did with "1984," the way Monster did with "I wanna file all day," the way E*Trade did with their "Well, we just blew a million bucks" ad, etc. etc. etc. I will give E-Trade credit for this year's "Finger" ad which I felt had some nice moments in it. But to the rest, it felt like they could've done more with their $2.6 million.

See all the spots here and lemme know what you think.

My Blue World

2007-01-31T15:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I think I’m done with the My Blue World series. I just don’t feel like these later ones hit the mark as much as the earlier ones did. I think part of it has to do with a lack of time I have to really think about them, and another part has to do with a long list of rules I set up for myself based on those earlier concepts. Rules like: Never show an entire face so that the people portrayed can be fairly anonymous, try to capture the least amount of information possible in order to tell the story, try to capture the story at its most interesting moment, etc.

I’ll probably be printing the series in iPhoto book form accompanied by a CD of ELO covers (since my illustrations are like covers: my take on ELO songs). Love to take credit for the CD idea but that was Bill’s genius. If you'd like a copy, lemme know.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed most of them.

Sweet Talkin' Woman

2007-01-31T15:39:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge.

Click on picture for close-up.

Mr. Blue Sky

2007-01-30T16:02:00.000-05:00

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How's the rain look? Not sure how happy I am with it.

Turn To Stone

2007-01-09T13:53:00.000-05:00

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Bock Bock

2007-01-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

Uncovered these the other day. When my friend Laurie first announced she was going to open a Guthrie’s in Atlanta, I did similar versions of these for her. Check ‘em out. Incidentally, my lovely wife did the illustration for the 2nd poster. She is awesome.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Don’t Bring Me Down

2007-01-03T15:32:00.000-05:00

The latest in my E.L.O. series. I think I wanna do "Turn To Stone" next. Any ideas for that one?

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emoticohn

2007-01-02T19:56:00.000-05:00

:—)

This is the emoticohn: The first Jewish emoticon (according to me). Notice the Heebie shnoz. And don’t worry, I’ve already put it on t-shirts here. (Most of them say “emoticohn” on the left sleeve.)

Here’s that Tom & Jerry piece

2006-12-22T12:52:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge.

Joseph Barbera 1911-2006

2006-12-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

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Strange Magic

2006-12-18T21:17:00.000-05:00

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With the exception of Xanadu, I’ve noticed that all of these have taken on a dark feel to them. Not that that’s a bad thing, I suppose.

Can’t Get It Out Of My Head

2006-12-15T14:24:00.000-05:00

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Click on picture for close-up.

I wasn’t too happy with the lack of a real concept for Xanadu, but I feel like this one's getting back on track. As usual, if you have any suggestions for visuals for other E.L.O. songs, I'm open to ’em.

On a related topic, I took all of the Better Than One illustrations and used iPhoto to print them in books. They look freakin’ cool all printed up and professionally bound. I geeked out and printed tiny books that can fit into my wallet. They were only six bucks a piece to print! Niiiice.

Greetings

2006-12-10T15:21:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge.

Click on picture for close-up.

The 2nd in my E.L.O. series. Took me a while to do the six illustrations for each letter but I think I got the cheesy vintage postcard feel I was going for, albeit with a slightly updated twist. It skews a bit clip-arty at times, but I’m hoping that lends to the cheese factor. I thought about aging and distressing the image to make it look like an authentic postcard, but I decided to keep with my flat, graphic style.

Comments? Suggestions? Visual ideas for other E.L.O. songs?

Helen’s Wish List

2006-12-06T23:54:00.000-05:00

Can’t think of anything to get Helen for the holidays or for her upcoming birthday January 22nd? Here, lemme help.
First off, you can always rely on her constantly-updated Amazon

Next, apparently, there’s still stuff from our wedding registry on nambé.com that she’d like.

And, lastly, she looooves the Jeff Soto.
More specifically, THIS PRINT

and THIS PRINT.

I’ll be sure to add more stuff as she continues to drop not-so subtle hints.

My Blue World

2006-12-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was introduced to a band called L.E.O., an E.L.O.-inspired group made up of a buncha members of some of my favorite bands (Bleu, Jellyfish, etc.). Listening to them led me to a new appreciation for E.L.O. and that, in turn, led to the germ of an idea: A set of illustrations inspired by the titles of E.L.O. songs. Who knows where, if anywhere, it will lead.

The first one I took a crack at was Evil Woman. Love to know what you think of it.

As always, I’m open to suggestions for illustration visuals inspired by other E.L.O. songs. Being that I can’t really draw, I’m sorta restricted to my simple, graphic style, but I’ll do my best.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Click on picture for close-up.

Fun with Pottery Barn

2006-12-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

When Helen and I saw stocking hanger thingies that spelled out PEACE, JOY and WISH, we couldn’t help ourselves. Hey, if Pottery Barn didn’t want people like us screwing with their stuff, they shouldn't leave it out.

Mwah ah ah!

Wish I dunnit

2006-11-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

Here is my new favorite ad that I wish I’d done.

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And here’s the original photograph the ad is based on.

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Better Than One

2006-11-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

So, as you might’ve guessed, I’ve really been into these Two Heads illustrations. I just finished two more for the holidays featuring the theme “Christmas meets Hanukkah” which you can see below. [Click on an image to enlarge it.]

Since my blog is not the best way to showcase these illustrations, my lovely wife programmed a website for me called Better Than One featuring all the illustrations I’ve done to date.

And, just in time for the gift-giving season, I took some of the more popular illustrations and turned them into mugs which I’m selling on, you guessed it, Store of David. [Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the mugs.]

What do you get when you squeeze a synagogue?

2006-11-21T12:12:00.000-05:00

JEWWWSSS!

After a 20 year hiatus, I finally stepped foot into a temple for Friday night services. Helen wanted to check out the worship side of Judaism and, after a lot of sighing on my part, I gave in. We’re not big on organized worship, but it was an opportunity for her to find out what Judaism’s all about and possibly connect with the surprisingly-large Jewish community in Durham.

In the tradition of Lenny, the first Jew we encountered told us ALL about the temple, the history of Durham tribesfolk and every “famous” Jew ever to live in North Carolina. Then he called us “young people,” which sounded good to me.

The service: It went down as most Friday night services do: Some bits from Gates of Prayer, some standing, some sitting, some more standing, Hebrew, Hebrew, Hebrew, etc. They had the phonetic spellings so Helen could sorta follow along. Most of the tunes came back to me, but they had some new remixes I wasn’t familiar with. All in all, it felt like Temple Sinai circa 1980, but without my dad having to separate me and Steven because we were laughing every time we heard the word "Toosh b'chata." (Heh heh...Toosh)

Then they read the torah, which Sinai never did/does on a Friday night. What was cool about the reading was that the rabbi translated as he went along, then put things into context. It was more of a story that way and, I gotta say, it was pretty cool. I did not know Abraham had a second wife. Did'jew?

They also did a thing where they asked the congregation if there were any new folks there that night. Kind of a New Jew Review (Anyone get that reference? Anyone?). New Jews would stand up, introduce themselves and give a bit of background. I went first. I thought when I said my name was Keith Greenstein, half the congregation would shout back, “Oh, Lenny’s son!” But no luck. It was the only room I’ve ever been in where Jews didn’t know Lenny. Spooky.

The oneg (the bit in the social hall after the service: brownies, cheese, Coke products) was nice. A lot of people introduced themselves to us and were very friendly. When they asked what we did for a living, I got an unimpressed, “Oh…” Helen, on the other hand, was deliriously happy with LARGE number of “Ooooo!” reactions she got. I was in Bizarro World. I was like, “Did I mention my father is LENNY GREENSTEIN?!” Nothing. Who WERE these people?

ANYway, it was a lovely evening. Helen felt as anyone encountering temple for the first time would: A bit out of place. But, overall, she liked it. They could use a cantor that can sing IN key and maybe a bit more liveliness in the singing (name a temple that COULDN’T use that), but it was a good experience. We may even go back.

Good vs Evel

2006-11-17T23:49:00.000-05:00

Click on picture to enlarge.

My apologies for the horrible pun. Actually, the reason I paired them was because their costumes go together so well.

I've decided that when I reach 12 illustrations, this first series will be complete. Look for 11 and 12 this holiday season.

Echo?

2006-11-16T13:42:00.000-05:00

My poor, sad blog. It hasn't been visited in days and days. Maybe the last 9 days, each one with a new illustration posted, just weren't worthy of comments. Maybe people would rather enter Bill's awesome photo caption contest. Maybe people actually have work to do (almost got through that last sentence with a straight face). Anyway, I don't know why I'm posting this because no one will visit my blog to read it. Sigh.

I'm so sad, I didn't even go back to correct all my apostrophes. (This is an apostrophe: ’. This is a foot mark: '.)

Caesar vs Brutus

2006-11-15T16:53:00.000-05:00

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Brother vs Sister

2006-11-14T15:05:00.000-05:00

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Politically what-now?

Me vs Beaker

2006-11-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

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This is based on my nickname in high school (pre-beard) that started the trend of people comparing me to muppets. I've yet to be compared to a real person.

Ike & Tina

2006-11-13T01:01:00.000-05:00

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I knew drawing Tina Fey would be difficult but I had no idea Eisenhower would be so rough. Could be that their faces are so simple. Could also be that I drew these using only the trackpad. At least I'm learning what NOT to do.

Ed Norton vs Ed Norton

2006-11-11T03:18:00.000-05:00

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Alright, so some will be harder to get than others, but I like this one so stick it.

Yeti vs Bigfoot

2006-11-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

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Stewart vs Colbert

2006-11-09T20:23:00.000-05:00

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Here’s the latest in the series.

Heard a great suggestion today: Starbuck vs Starbuck (the one from the original Battlestar Gallactica series and the one from the new series). I’ll get to it eventually but, for now, I’d like to do some that are not in the sci-fi genre as I’ve already done that twice.

Helen thinks I should sell these as prints or cards. Bill thinks t-shirts would be cool. Got any ideas for what I could do with these things?

While you’re thinking of that, keep the subject matter suggestions coming. Wee!

Spock vs Evil Spock

2006-11-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

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VS

2006-11-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

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Work has only been slow for a couple of days but I can’t shake the itch to do something creative with my time. So, of all things, I started illustrating. I discovered that my style is - and this should shock the crap out of you - very symmetrical and clean. No, really, it is.

Playing into that, I created this conjoined twin monster thing whose heads represent great rivalries. Well, maybe Sark vs Tron isn’t exactly a great rivalry, but I didn’t want to do something expected.

I want to do a series of these, so if you have any ideas of unusual rivalries, lemme know. I think the next one will be Spock vs Evil Spock or possibly Zorro vs Zorro The Gay Blade. Did I mention that they don’t HAVE to be rivalries? The heads can also represent two sides of something.

Anyway, gimme some cool ideas, why don’t you? THANKS!

Pass or fail?

2006-11-06T13:58:00.000-05:00

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Say, whatchoothink of these ads? Dave and I created them back when we worked on the account and I’ve been debating whether or not to include them in my portfolio. On a scale of 1(Likey) to 5(Pukey), where do you think they fall?

You Don’t Know Jack-O-Lanterns

2006-10-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

Helen and I carved pumpkins this weekend with our friends Sean and Carrie. I call Helen’s the Jor-El-O-Lantern. Mine is, of course, Stewie from Family Guy.

Halloweird

2006-10-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

Last night was McKinney’s Halloween Party. Here are our scary costumes. And by “scary” I of course mean “freakish.”

LITTLE RED RIDIN’ IN THE HOOD

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LITTLE RED RIDIN’ IN THE HOOD (a closer look)

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TV’S BOB ROSS. (Uncanny, isn’t it?)

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The Duel

2006-10-20T12:25:00.000-05:00

I'm just proud as hell of this site. The amazing designers and programmers at McKinney hit this one outta the park. Make sure you check out the song (click ON at the right side of the navigation bar), the Track Design, and the various entries in The Tom Blog. And of course, Declare A Duel.

What I Want for Hannukah

2006-10-20T11:46:00.001-05:00

Even though this cool-ass installation is not for sale, I still want it. Maybe my friend Bill will build it for me. With two kids, he must have loads of free time.

DUEL!

2006-10-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Got a problem with someone? Settle it with a duel.

Choose from a list of titles to dispute over or make one up. Pick what kind of duel you’d like to see and watch two Polaris ATV riders face off on your behalf. Sit back and watch the virtual carnage.

Declare-A-Duel

Kosher To Fine

2006-10-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

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Sure, I've been ridiculously busy working on the next big project called The Duel which launched this weekend, but apparently not too busy to create another shirt design. As usual, no idea who the model is. And also as usual, the shirt’s available at Store of David.

P.S. Yeah, I know what the circled U means. Called “irony,” look it up.

Jew Jew Bee

2006-10-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

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New shirt time! As usual, it’s avaialble at Store of David.

Never Look Back

2006-09-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

Helen and I are very excited about the new print (signed, woo hoo!) we got this weekend. It’s called Never Look Back and it’s by Andrew Bell. Helen found it at an amazing Kid Robot-like store in Chapel Hill called Wootini. If you like pop surrealism, vinyl toys, Mark Ryden, Jeff Soto, etc., you'll love this store.

What th'?

2006-09-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that I have taken down all ony-Say entries (I have to use Pig Latin because you-know-who has the technlogy to search the entire web for anything with their name in it).

Apparently, I had posted some things (behind-the-scenes photos, rejected ideas, ideas in progress, etc.) that ony-Say didn't want me to post. Oh well. I was just trying to share my excitement for the project but I get why they want to control communication as much as they can.

On a totally unrelated note, check this out: How to Act Crazy

2006-09-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

How to dissuade yourself from becoming a blogger

You know, for kids. UPDATE

2006-08-31T16:08:00.000-05:00

Just got an e-mail from the folks at Spreadshirt where I’ve got my t-shirt store. They said my OYS ‘R’ US design is basically copyright infringement. I guess all those plays off of “Got Milk?” out there are just flattery? Sheesh, it was just for fun. Whatever.

Anyway, if you'd like a shirt with the OYS ‘R’ US graphic on it, you can make one at the CafePress website. It's really easy to do. When you get to the part where they ask you to upload the image you want, just use the graphic below. DESIGN TIP: When sizing the graphic, make it about as wide as the shirt's collar. Tends to look better that way.

Click on the image below for the high-res version. Mac folks can drag the image from your browser to your desktop. No idea how you lame PC users do it, but I’m sure you’ll find a way. ENJOY!

Two new shirts!

2006-08-23T09:54:00.001-05:00

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

I had to take SOME kinda break while working on Sony. Two things to know: First: No, I have no idea who the guy is in the photo. I stole the shot off of the Busted Tees site. He should be happier considering he's wearing such awesome t-shirts. And second: The type and the graphic on the Zombies shirt glows in the freakin' dark.

You know where to get them: Store of David

Luke Chueh

2006-08-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

This is Luke Chueh's work. It is wonderful. He did this great DigDug painting as well as a few other ones that reference pop culture. There's also some sick-ass work that, of course, I also love. What I wouldn't give for him to do a Donkey Kong painting for me.

I'm gonna ask him.

Just try and stop me.

Mel?

2006-08-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

A while ago, I was informed that directions for making my flapping paper airplane were posted on Wikipedia's WikiHow. I was flattered that someone took the time to post my plane there.

For fun, I went to the Discuss This Page section of the site to see what people thought of it, if they were having any trouble building it, etc. and I found this:

Mister Mel Gibson has seen my Flapper! I can't wait to tell all my banker, lawyer, doctor, jewler, deli owner and Hollywood executive friends about THIS!

Is Matrix, no?

2006-07-06T18:45:00.000-05:00

Here is an incredible collection of illustrations done by Russian artist Andrey Kuznetsov (yes, THE Andrey Kuznetsov). Most of them depict famous movies. Can you guess which ones? I'm told the first one is a character in some Russian cartoon, though, it could also be Stanley Tucci.

Mr. 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer

2006-06-29T15:10:00.000-05:00

This radio spot has got to be about me.

Superman Returns

2006-06-28T00:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s 1:30 in the morning and I just got back from seeing Superman Returns. Legitimate chills hearing that classic John Williams theme again (Thanks, Stravinsky!). Needless to say, I loved the movie literally from the opening credits to the very last shot. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything for you. I'll just say that we finally get to know Superman’s secret identity and you’ll never guess who it is. Ooo, I’m dying to tell!

Anyway, I believe Superman was the first thing I ever drew that actually looked like something and I’ve been a fan ever since. To be clear, I mean that it was the first thing I ever drew WHEN I WAS A KID that looked like something. If it was the first thing I EVER drew that looked like something that would be so sad. Moving on.

In such cynical times, it must have been tough to do a movie about a character like this. A movie about someone so...good. No dark side. No bad-ass costume. Just a good guy trying to help people out because he believes they’re special in some way. Putting it like that, I suppose I could be talking about most fathers. I know I’m talking about mine. Which, come to think of it, probably does a better job explaining why I’m such an admirer than those childhood drawings do.

Helen’s blog

2006-06-26T17:06:00.000-05:00

Part of me wanted to encourage people to check out my wife’s blog. And yet another part was just looking for an excuse to post this silly poster idea I had. I swear there will be actual content on this blog soon. I’m just waiting for something interesting to happen.

rustboy

2006-06-25T19:07:00.000-05:00

So this illustrator Brian Taylor sat down one day and said, “I'm gonna create a CG movie using only off-the-shelf animation and design programs.” This site takes you through his entire process. You get to see concept drawings, test animations and clips from the final movie - which is still in progress. It’s truly amazing that this guy basically taught himself how to do all this stuff. It’s also amazing that what started out as a hobby has turned into a full-time gig mainly due to a growing loyal following. And the movie looks like it’s going to be wonderful. Like early Tim Burton (an obvious influence). If you go to the Rustboy website, go straight to the MOVIES section. Truly amazing stuff there. He’s also selling a Rustboy vinyl doll that, of course, I must have.

Smurfin' hilarious.

2006-06-23T15:52:00.000-05:00

Illustrator Chris Wahl did this. VERY funny.

If this was MatchGame 77, the clue would be: Smurfette gave the rest of the Smurfs blue…BLANK.

I overheard Brainy Smurf say, “Oh yeah, I'd smurf that.”

Nice shrooms.

If this was Meg Ryan's famous scene in When Harry Met Sally, it’d go like this:

SALLY: Smurf........oh, smurf.......oh SMURF.....SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF! SMURF!

ROB REINER'S MOTHER: I'll smurf what she's smurfing.

I could do this all day. Feel free to add your own bad jokes.

Know who's funny?

2006-06-21T14:29:00.000-05:00

Bryan Singer. As part of the marketing efforts for Superman Returns, he's made it seem as though Lex Luthor has trashed just about everything on the Superman Returns website. The wallpapers are particularly funny. Go to the site and click DOWNLOADS to see them.

Happy Birthday Kristi

2006-06-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

Today is the birthday of my friend Kristi (she's the one on the right). Kristi is wonderful. If she was a religion, she'd be Kristianity. Here's what happens when you Google her name.

Charlotte visit

2006-06-20T17:47:00.000-05:00

Once Helen heard Abby completing sentences over the phone, we had to see it for ourselves. So, Helen and I trucked it on down to Charlotte to visit Betsy, Dan and Abby who now live only 2 hours away. Totally worth it. She's uh-DOR-able. You might not understand what she's saying in the video, so let me translate for you: My word, Uncle Keith, you are most humorous as well as wise and awesome.

Blown away (get it? see what I did there?)

2006-06-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe these are made of balloons.

Methane Studios

2006-06-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

These are just a few of the incredibly great posters Methane Studios in Atlanta (!) has created. Most of them are only $30. I've posted ones that appeal specifically to certain family members and friends but there are a lot more, all incredible. I want to wallpaper my living room with their work.

They've also got great t-shirts.

Check 'em out here

NOTE TO JILL: That Pearl Jam poster is a limited edition. Only 650 were made and Methane's got 100 of them. Get to it!

Superboots

2006-06-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

Someone has to ask this question so it might as well be me. I get that Clark Kent hides his Superman outfit underneath his clothes, but where does he hide the boots? Does he buy extra-large socks and shoes to go over his boots? If so, why doesn’t Clark score better with chicks on account of his super-large feet? If not, where does Clark keep the boots when he’s not Superman? Dude’s been around for 70 years and no one's asked this question. About time we find out, don't you think?

Get this!

2006-06-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

So, as you know I made a video that married footage from The Transformers to Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" (y'know, "Don't go changin'...get it?). Anyway, I posted it to YouTube and, get this, it was sent to my friend Rebecca by someone I have absolutely no connection with. That means it went out there in the ether and actually made its way back to me. Not since my flapping paper airplane has this happened and I just think it's cool. If not ridiculously nerdy.

Sounds of Superman

2006-06-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

Jeff just found this collection of songs about Clark Kent. I mean, Super- oh crap, did I say too much? Anyway, check it out here

And if you’re a mac nerd like me and you need a countdown clock for Superman Returns, download it here

Bill’s got a blog

2006-06-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

Check it out here

And someone will buy this for me, when?

2006-06-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

Check it out here

Why I Love Crystal Meth

2006-06-06T18:41:00.000-05:00

Seems every year I get more and more allergic to the planet. But this year is special because the one medicine that actually works for me, Tylenol Severe Allergy, is no longer available because apparently certain people have found a way to turn it into crystal meth. So now I'm tired all the time from sneezing and I can't get my TSA fix and I'm hurtin' bad. I needs my connecshuns t'get daddy his pills b'fore I cut somebrutha.

My Aunt MADE this

2006-06-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

This was a wedding gift from my talented aunt. She gave it a music theme for our post-rehearsal dinner karaoke party. She's been talking about making customized versions as a side business which I think is an incredible idea. Click on the image for more detail and see how AWESOME this thing is.

My niece is cute.

2006-06-06T17:19:00.000-05:00

Art-o-Mat

2006-06-06T14:50:00.000-05:00

These are cool. See more of 'em here

Rub it in

2006-06-06T12:35:00.000-05:00

Sandra went to Florence and all I got were these lousy pangs of jealousy.

It’s on. It’s on like Donkey Kong.

2006-06-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

Lately, this is my favorite shirt. Someone out there should reproduce screen captures from all the classic black-background video games. I mean, who wouldn't buy a Tempest shirt? That's what I wanna know.

Don't Go Transforming

2006-06-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

I liked the idea behind this. Probably more so than the execution. Marrying the lyrics "Don't go changin'" with Transformers seemed like a funny idea but, to make it entertaining, I had to throw in a lot of Brokeback moments. If you have ideas on how to plus it, lemme know.

Me likey this artist

2006-06-06T09:43:00.000-05:00

This is Rodney White's work and I think it's, as my dad would say, terrific.

’sup.

2006-06-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. I have no reason for putting this up other than to tell you about some stuff, show you stuff I've been working on and make inside jokes that only, like, six people will get. Hope you six people will enjoy it.

Keith