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Seville, Spain. I wish I had taken more pictures of this place, or could even remember where it is or what it's called. It kinda looks like Disneyland, doesn't it?

I'm quite frustrated with the "contacts" portion on flickr being down. I'm too lazy to go find new images on my own. Why must life be so hard?!?!

Anyway, happy weekend! (And no, I'm not abusing question marks! I really would be shouting everything!)

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Now playing: Jonathan Coulton - Pizza Day

Canterbury Cathedral

The fourth in my series on cathedrals, and maybe my favorite one. I took this picture shortly before venturing to a nearby public square. Despite being late morning, there was a pub blaring "Parklife" on the square. I felt so English. It remains in the top 20 moments of my life.

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Now playing: Wilco - Impossible Germany

February 18 - 25, 2008

1. I know you wanted a closer view of my teeth.
2. Drawing, in the mirror, yourself drawing yourself in the mirror, is more difficult than it sounds.
3. That gash above my eyebrow is from an unfortunate furniture transportation accident. Bit of a headache, but I'm fine now. Thanks for your concern.

Europe

Our view of the Nimes Cathedral from the hotel room. This was the evening when millions of Dutch were crestfallen over their national team's loss to Brazil in the semifinals of the World Cup. Poor Holland. But yay for France, which has lovely cathedrals.

Old men lawn bowling in Barcelona. I thought this was so cool that I took a picture. It serves as a reminder that someday I will get old, so I should start aiming for that level of awesomeness right now. Even the guy in the wheelchair was pretty darn cool-looking.

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Now playing: Ash - Jack Names The Planets

OCC

"2.23.08
The chill and fog are having a tough go of it trying to dissipate from Old Colorado City. It makes the Germanic architecture of this abandoned building almost fit in with all the Southwestern-styled buildings of Colorado Avenue. In the park, this guy is walking his pet ferret. Awesome."

It really was awesome.

Il Duomo

Florence. The birthplace of modernism.

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Now playing: The Beatles - With A Little Help From My Friends

Pont du Gard

This thing blows my mind. Civil engineering has faded in much of its glory over the centuries, if you ask me. I hope to see in real life again someday.

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Now playing: Jonathan Colton - Baby Got Back

SP

It's been almost a week since I did any artistry (besides self-portraits), and I was jonesing in a big way. So I got up at 5 am today to rock out this ditty. It's the facade of St. Paul Cathedral in London.

Ah, London.

February 10 - 17, 2008

How's that for mixing it up?

Also, Twins spring training is now officially on. I'm very excited.

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Now playing: Explosions In The Sky - Your Hand In Mine

The Biggest Wind

"This one's from the biggest wind. I wore a down vest and a hat because summer was ending. We walked and listened to the trees stretching. And you wrapped me up, saying not to be sad, but that it was okay to be sad. We walked by the pet hotel and climbed around in a house that was just being built. It smelled of sawdust. That was the night that Half a Poem was born."

Words by Lisa.

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Now playing: Skavoovie and the Epitones - Aquaman

Summer in Minnesota

Minneapolis skyline and Mississippi River on the left, next to Selke Field in St. Cloud on the right. I miss foliage.

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Now playing: Aquabats - Cat With 2 Heads

Pikes Peak

I want to do ink drawings when I climb some mountains this summer, so on Sunday I tried it at Palmer Park. The temperature was comparable to the top of a 14er in summer, so I loaded up my gear and headed out to a good vista spot.

I didn't expect the strong winds, though I should have. I spilled ink, there was an unfortunate break in the binding, and I was unable to do decent work. Really, I'm not looking for sympathy. This is about a 50% effort.

So maybe I shouldn't paint from the summit, maybe I should find good views from sheltered areas below the timberline.

An ironic form of creativity

Because if an idea is worth stealing, it's worth stealing from Milton Glaser.

A day at the zoo

For a city of its size, Colorado Springs has a pretty fantastic zoo. I just wish I had a better shot of the penguins.

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Now playing: Miles Davis - So What

February 2 - 9, 2008

This is starting to get really boring. I need new subject matter. Maybe I need to go back to making faces that are appropriate to my day. Yeah, maybe.

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Now playing: Madeleine Peyroux - I'm All Right

I wish I knew how to quit you.

My lenten vow, somewhat explained.

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Now playing: The Velvet Underground - What Goes On

Ink drawings II (Teleport Me)

Kansas on the left, Lake Superior on the right. The Kansas one is wrong, though. I made it too hilly. My plan is to fill the whole Moleskine with ink doodles, and not a single word. Already it's starting to feel way too precious, which is fine with me.

The north shore of Lake Superior is where I went to commune with the infinite when I was in high school and college. It was worth the drive. Now, in Colorado, the mountains don't hold the same appeal.

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Now playing: Blur - Far Out

Ink drawings

A yucca plant in Colorado, the Mississippi in Minnesota, and some ducks in Missouri. I'm discovering that the small Moleskine sketchbooks are supremely awesome. It's a lot less hassle to fill up a small spread.

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Now playing: Jimi Hendrix - Red House

Mess

Friends since the eighth grade, you gotta love this guy (if you know him).

My wife said I'm ridiculous for drawing this in 20 minutes last night. After 200+ drawings in the past year, I think my humility is well-founded.

Additionally,

1. It snowed maybe an inch and a half overnight. The 10 o'clock news had "full team coverage" of this "winter storm alert." I miss Minnesota sometimes.

2. ABC News has FIVE FULL HOURS of live coverage of Super Tuesday tonight. That seems like overkill for a day that's not officially deciding a thing.

3. I'm ok with the Santana trade now. The AL Central is becoming an arms race, and the Twins are restocking at the right time. By 2010, they'll have a new stadium and a division with the Tigers and Indians trailing off. I just have to trust the system.*

* - The above statements are no longer valid if the Twins let go of pitching coach Rick Anderson.

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Now playing: Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap

Joe

An old roommate. We all end up with a drumstick up our nose at some point, yes?

Across the street

Ink is hard. I have some shaky hands. Maybe straight lines and ink aren't my bag. The tree is nice, though.

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Now playing: The Rentals - Sweetness and Tenderness

January 25 - February 1, 2008

Trying out some faces, I think I'll stick with the straight on "everything's fine" face.

Oh no I didn't!

Oh yes I did.

Wheels and memories

I'm pretty sure the top drawing is from a picture taken on the day the Vikings lost to the Falcons in the NFC championship game. That was the closest Randy Moss ever got to a Super Bowl, until now. It just goes to show that good things can happen if you try (when there's a clear gain for you involved).