The Art of John Holcomb

Ray LaMontagne » God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise

2010-08-28T04:25:40Z

Artist: Ray LaMontagne
Album: God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise
Release Date: August 17th, 2010
Label: RCA

The fact that we all go back to our roots is a common truth for all mankind. It seems we are victim to our own habits no matter how much effort is put into changing them. How we use those tendencies can either make our lives better or make us lazy. When it comes to the new Ray LaMontagne record, it’s definitely making my life better. This is the kind of music I was born to listen to.

After hearing the line “Momma’s got a few tomatoes, gonna put ‘em on the griddle and fry ‘em” and having it remind me of my childhood it was yet another specific moment where I realized that there is more “country mouse” in me than “city mouse.” I’ve always known I would rather live in a town of 300 than 3 million but recently I’ve come to learn that I prefer a higher ratio of cows to cars lining the freeway into work.

I grew up in a classic country setting where Hank Williams and Patsy Cline were the kings and queens and bluegrass pickin’ was the scepter by which the music ruled. While that genre of music may not have been my top choice throughout my youth, it’s beginning to set its roots into all the music I find myself currently loving.

Music tastes refine themselves over time and similar to wine and whisky, music can be a comfort and a muse. As certain fads from youth fall away as the CDs get sold off (screamo and emo) the type of music that is really “me” begins to surface (Punk & Americana). It seems there are fewer and fewer records that really win me over full force but when I find a record that does… it really hooks me.

Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise” passes every required checkpoint on the way to becoming the perfect record for me.

Ray’s band has the ultimate backing band name. All the best are Band Leader and the So and so’s. Just ask Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer or even Ben Harper (Relentless7 is a terrible backing band name though).
An absolutely brilliant album title from a slightly archaic phrase used by depression era great-grandparents such as my own. I suggest Ray and the Dogs title their next record “For Cryin’ Out Loud in a Bucket”
Perfect lyrics cut from life. They’re deceptively simple and deeply earnest.
A laid back album built on a solid foundation of rhythm and blues.

So for a kid like me, an illustrator and designer who prefers living in the setting sun of the Kansas prairie as opposed to the glistening lights of NYC where most in my profession find work under the white glow of fluorescent lights, songs like “New York City’s Killing Me” shines like a lighthouse amidst all the terrible music that has found its way to shore in 2010. It’s also refreshing to find that Ray himself prefers country life, he shies away from the glitz and just writes a good song whenever it comes to him and reads a book when there is no song to be had.

If you’re a fan of Ray already, I needn’t convince you of this album’s brilliance. But for the rest of you, those who like music that comes from the roots, music built on rhythm and tinted blue, home-cooked lyrics and a smoky vibe to chase it down, this record is for you.

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MLE

2010-07-07T21:32:27Z

Illustration for the main competitive eating competition: Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island every July 4th. It happens on July 4th because nothing says “Freedom” like eating 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes… oh wait, my bad, that’s 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

I wrote a rant about the “sport” here.

No related posts.

The Major League of Eating?

2010-07-07T21:20:55Z

Every year on the 4th of July I like to tune into Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island. Is it because I’m a fan of competitive eating? No. Do I love watching people repulsively shove dogs down their gullet? Absolutely not. I don’t know what it is but there’s just something about the event that’s worth a yearly watch.

There are plenty of characters to make fun of from Eater X to the Notorious B.O.B. It’s hilarious to see how seriously they take it and it’s humorous to watch a group of small-time competitors compete in an event they have no chance of winning. It’s like golf used to be when Tiger was on the course. Chesnut and Kobyashi are so far ahead it isn’t even a competition.

The rest of the year, however, not even the WWE is below competitive eating on the stupidity scale. But apparently there’s even a league for competitive- it’s called Major League Eating! The fact that I didn’t even know there was a major league of eating until this year wreaks of a setup.

If Kobayashi has been the McGwire of competitive eating then Joey Chesnut is the Sosa. They’re really in the competitive spotlight in the moment, but they’re a joke as soon as the it shifts away from their “sport.” In effect they’re in the spotlight for 10 minutes, as long as it takes them to inhale 20,000 calories. After that they are barely remembered for 364 days.

The alleged “hold-out” of Kobayashi this year meant he didn’t compete. This allowed for an easy win for the grossest hot dog eater in history, Mr. Chesnut. After the “match” there was some token sports-competition-like trash talking from Chesnut about the manhood of Kobayashi which incited a slight chuckle from me. Is this competition really even competitive? Is it even a sport? Is it even worthy of trash talk? It seemed silly to me and since the 10 minutes were over, I turned off the TV.

That was my loss apparently as afterwards reports of Kobayashi rushing the stage and his subsequent arrest began to show up in the footnotes of sports news stories. It’s barely even worth space in the footnotes, but it was enough to get Major League Eating on the minds of a handful of sports fans.

Google it. It exists. They even have a decent looking website.

I think Kobayashi and his “Free Kobi” t-shirt and hold out were more than staged. We all know the economy is tough. Even big time sports organizations in major sports leagues like the NBA are signing big dollar deals tentatively. How much money is there to be made for a competitive eater? They should be stuffing all the cash they can into their mouths while they have the chance.

Any money Kobayashi makes is more than enough. I see no warrant for him to hold out in his sport, especially in the Daytona 500 of his pastime. That’s why I believe it was staged.

I imagine the big wigs of the MLE crafting a plan like this:
News outlets would report of his contract dispute with the MLE and then thousands of people would laugh at the TV and say “What’s MLE stand for? MAJOR LEAGUE EATING! There’s a league for that?” Simple? Yes! A genius ploy? Absolutely!

There’s only 1 real competitive eating competition that anyone cares about – it’s the hot dogs. Why would the best in the world sit out over a contract dispute, show up in the crowd and then rush the stage if it wasn’t planned?

It’s such a stupid sounding sport controversy you might be tempted to say “Only professional wrestling could be so fake.” But guess what, no longer is professional wrestling the biggest joke in sports. That title can now go to Major League Eating now that we know it exists.

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Billy Butler

2010-06-24T20:14:23Z

Billy is one of my favorite modern Royals. I recently wrote a blog about the plight of my favorite hometown team and I decided to use him as the subject of the illustration. You can read the blog here.

One year we’re going to win more than we lose. One year we might even contend at the top of the division. I can only hope that year is in the near future and that the likes of Zack Greinke, David DeJesus and Billy Butler can all be here to build that winning season.

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A Fever in April, Cold Sweats in May

2010-06-23T19:18:24Z

I randomly recall heading into another 2nd grade school day many years ago. As I crawled out of the passenger seat of the car, I turned and asked my grandma a simple, yet naively relevant question. It was this: “Will the Royals win this year?”

In an encouraging tone she replied “It’s a new year so you never know what could happen. Now go learn something!” Since that tiny and rather useless memory is now 18 years aged, Royals fans all know the answer. It was no.

If fortune telling was a human gift, what she should have answered with was “No. Nor will they win for the next 18 years. They’ll only let you down. Now go in there and learn to be a Yankees fan!”

Yankees fans see winning all the time, while Royals fans get countless opportunities to appreciate the potential in losing, the possibilities in blown saves and powerless hitters missing the big hit. There are no expectations of coming in 3rd in the division, let alone winning the division, nor are there expectations of winning a playoff series, or taking the pennant or being in the World Series. Winning the World Series? Are the Royals even allowed to do that anymore?

As a kid during summer afternoons I would read the sports section of the Topeka Capital-Journal. I would look at the standings, read the spreads and follow the stats. I would count how many teams had a worse record than the Royals, then I would yell out to whoever would listen “Can you believe it! 4 teams!” Or two teams. On a good streak, 6. How can someone be so excited about such a small feat?

I would look at our own record hoping we’d hit 70 wins that year or not lose 100. I’d hope we’d finish above at least one team in the American League central. I’d be in awe at the fact that we were only 10 games under .500 or 15 games out of first. This is the life of a Royals fan – little things. They are my team.

It seems they like to finish every year on a hot streak, stoking the fire for next season. By the time April rolls around, the spark on the field was dampend by another midwestern winter but my excitement for the new season is at a fever pitch. It sometimes lasts through May, sometimes not even until May, but that’s alright.

I’m still a fan, a lifer if you will. This year is no different.

I see potential in certain members of this team and I hope we don’t lose them. I hope we pay them what they’re worth and build upon them. We’ve had a lot of great names in our dugout only to let them go and watch them win in another city.

I’ve even begun to hope we unlock the secrets of human cloning so we can duplicate Billy Butler, David DeJesus and Zack Greinke. As the years progress and the losing seasons string together like stale popcorn decorations on a Christmas tree in July, I think our chances of cloning players is more likely than building a team from the ground up.

Building from the ground up has been our strategy for years. Supposedly our farm system is full of young talent. I can only hope it’s true. There it is again… the little things. I have faith in a young farm team full of talent I know nothing about and while their major league counterpart rides a 4 game losing streak, I’m just stoked we still remain above the lowly Cleveland Indians. Y-E-S!

Now maybe tonight we can give Strausburg his first Major League loss. No matter how great of a pitcher he becomes I’d never forget that little factoid. It might help out on Jeopardy! one day, or at least give a lowly Royals fan something to brag about.

This is the the life of a Royals fan and like family, win or lose I still love them. Win or lose there’s nothing better than a day at the ballpark or an evening in front of the Royals Network. There’s just something about that winning, though, that makes America’s true pastime a little sweeter.

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Hot Hot Heat » Future Breeds

2010-06-22T17:17:31Z

Artist: Hot Hot Heat
Album: Future Breeds
Release Date: June 8th, 2010
Label: Dangerbird

Hot Hot Heat has been one of my favorite bands since Make Up the Breakdown. 2007′s Happiness Ltd. had a few perfect songs but overall it felt like something was missing, the heartbeat of the band wasn’t there.

I could tell by the first glance at the Future Breeds album cover this album was not cut from the same die that made Happiness Ltd. The energy is back, not in the same vein of Elevator or Makeup, but in a new and refocused way. This could be due to the band working in their own studio this time around.

It’s an eternal struggle for bands to evolve and create new music without going stale or repulsing their fan base. I’m sure it’s extremely frustrating for musicians to create songs they feel are their best work yet only for fans to yell out song titles from their very first LP of decade-old songs.

I believe that Hot Hot Heat has done just that with this album, they wrote some of their best songs and these songs will have fans yelling out their weird titles instead of just “Bandages!”

The old energy and wittiness of lyric are back, but there is a new element of spastic experimentation in the guitar solos and frantic synth leads. What I love about it, though, is that it never leaps off into just plain weird “creativity.” Sometimes I feel modern musicians let creativity take over. While by itself creativity is never bad, it can be a negative when the creativity becomes the focus and what’s created limits not only the appeal of the songs but the ability to define the sonic noise as a “song.” Sometimes doing the same thing over again, revisiting what once worked, is the best approach.

Hot Hot Heat walked that fine line and found success in Future Breeds.

The album should be purchased in either CD or Vinyl format. The art is a really fun illustration piece created by Keith Jones.

Hot Hot Heat store

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Texas Goes Shopping

2010-06-21T20:00:08Z

Personal illustration for the shopping spree Texas recently went on. In the cart you see a disgruntled yet content Missouri, a cheery Oklahoma, a whistling Kansas and a euphoric, toothy Iowa as they all find themselves in Texas’ shopping cart. The Big 12 survives for now, in a cart that the bottom just might fall out of in the future.

Read the blog here.

*note, Texas can grow a mean stache!

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Newsflash! Texas Owns Big 12!

2010-06-21T19:57:51Z

Though it seems like eons ago, it was just last week we were listening to big speeches during a pompous newsconference in Nebraska and were shrugging our shoulders when Colorado showed their Benedict Arnold flakiness. How quickly breaking news becomes stale. Both schools were duped by the same university that 1 ups them in the competetive arena every year.

Texas is the mastermind. I’ve always held the position that Texas didn’t want to go anywhere. They covered their bases in case the whole conference imploded, but they didn’t start the snowball rolling in the Rockies, the one that swept away Boulder and ended up wiping out Lincoln.

How did rumors of the Big Ten’s interest in expanding get into the minds of certain Big 12 universities? Rumors started in December which begs the question “Why didn’t Beebe do something earlier?” Maybe there was something more too it than what is now chalked up to Beebe’s incompetence. I find it hard to believe that such a game changing deal was drafted up overnight as soon as the two schools left.

Consider this, assuming the money promised from the new TV deal and the Texas TV Network actually materializes, the Big 12 just got stronger in every aspect including on the football field and in the bank account. In football everyone now plays everyone else. We all must go through the same gauntlet and whoever comes out of that hellish schedule on top is without a doubt the best of the best.

The idea of a super conference is built on a flimsy premise. I think each conference should be split up into groups of 10 teams, everyone should play everyone and whoever ends up in first should be put into a National Championship football tournament. Do away with half of the early season gimme games and actually play a couple games in December. This will never happen because money has long since become king of the game, but it can happen in one place at least for a moment… the Big 12!

The realignment mixer apparently showed cracks in the Big 12 cake pan that held the schools together. Rumors were stirred around by the media’s big mixing spoon and soon the whole thing was whipped up into a conference recipe filled with ingredients that never really went together in the first place, like chocolate and cheddar cheese.

It seemed that crusty Nebraska felt out of place and felt slighted by the creation of the Big 12 nearly 15 years ago; wanton Colorado yearned for the Pac 10; Baylor wasn’t part of the equation if Colorado was; A&M wanted to go east; Tech didn’t make the grade in the classroom; both Oklahoma schools would hitch their wagons to Texas; Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State were loners; Missouri was given the finger by the Big Ten and we all hated each other and couldn’t stand being in the same conference.

Was it really a dysfunctional family or was it a product of all the pressure of possible collapse? I wonder how many buttons Texas really pushed? Nebraska and Colorado apparently caught the message, too bad it turned out to be smoke signals for a raid that never happened.

Texas knows they’re the money in the Big 12. Everyone knows that. When Texas sent out a few rumors of their “discussions” with other conferences, did they think they could knock a few screws loose? When pressure is applied who’s the most likely to get antsy and collapse? The weakest ones at the bottom.

Maybe that’s what Texas wanted all along. They knew that deals could be made in the eleventh hour after a couple defectors jumped. Dan Beebe pulled off a genius fix that makes Texas come out looking brilliant.

Now Colorado gets to travel an extra thousand miles to play their nearest conference “rival” unless you count the new dream matchup to mark on your calendars- the Buffaloes vs the Utes.

Nebraska on the other hand gets to take a beating on the court AND the football field now. No longer are the Big 12 north rivals there to prop up their football program.

We get rid of two bottom feeders from the clearance rack. Yes, we’ll miss the wraith of Nebraska football but I wish the the Pac 10 and the Big Ten well as they try their hand at milking money out of those turnips. Texas was the prize all along.

Media coverage has dulled as expected, but when they do bring up the topic they now say this fix is like putting a bandaid on a severed hand. With Texas getting the lionshare now, soon the other schools will grow disasitified with the way the money was divvied up. Maybe so, but Texas and Oklahoma have dominated the football field for years. That hasn’t killed off the fervor fans feel for those “lesser” teams in the conference.

It is time, of course, that will be the only thing that will prove this theory true or false. East-cost media minds under estimate the power of close rivalry, especially rivalry in the midwest. I think that distance is what will ultimately separate the “super conference” from becoming fact and remaining fiction.

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World Cup Soccer

2010-06-21T20:01:11Z

An “unused” illustration on the oceanic divide between the worlds love of soccer and American apathy towards the sport. I’m wondering if ESPN can really help cut out a market for soccer in America?

Read my full thoughts on the blog and comment.

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World Cup Soccer Ain’t So Bad!

2010-06-15T21:33:08Z

Every four years soccer comes around in full force. To the rest of the world, the World Cup is just the cherry on top of the soccer sundae they eat everyday. For America, soccer is the melted ice cream at the bottom of the bowl. If we’re really hungry, we’ll lick it clean. If not, we’ll toss it out. But what about American interest in the World Cup?

It’s not an unknown fact that soccer has never caught on from sea to shining sea. It’s more than just the oceans that divide the world’s passion for soccer and American’s apathy for the sport. Could ESPN’s extended push to cover the entire World Cup event cut into the major sports death-grip they have on American athletic attention?

This time around I decided to give the sport a “kick” (I couldn’t say “shot” now could I?) and what follows are a few of my thoughts on the experience. Keep in mind I am an uneducated Philistine when it comes to the art of soccer. I know little about the rules. I watched the full England v USA match and listen to the rest when I am working through the day, but osmosis has begun to fruitfully impart a little knowledge about the mystics of a game I used to categorically deny.

First, I must admit, it’s not that bad! I don’t think there is any way it will dethrone my favorite sports, but every four years I’ll tune in. The beauty of this sporting event is the passion each and every country has for their respective representatives.

In my uneducated opinion, the biggest reason soccer will never catch on here is the scoring. Most people just don’t understand a tie because winning decisively is integrated into American DNA. If you cannot deftly win, do not bother to win at all.

If a persons only knowledge of the sport is what they caught during the few highlights on Sportscenter, it’s impossible to see what could be interesting about a game that ends 1-1 or nil-nil. “What? They played 90 minutes and didn’t score!”

But when the entire game is watched live, excitement is apparent and the overall feeling is one of intrigue. One team can dominate the other by scoring just once. One erroneous goal can shatter the confidence of the players and bring a media blitz of negativity washed up pop starlets couldn’t even comprehend.

A few aspects that are unique to this sport that I enjoyed: ties can be wins, less is more, patience is key. Skill trumps power conditioning or doping (cardiovascular conditioning is highly recommended though).

At its basic form, soccer is the most primal of competitive gamesmanship that requires the most miniscule investment to play. It’s no wonder the rest of the world loves it, everyone should be able to get invovled.

The way the clock is managed is magnificent. They don’t mess around on the soccer pitch, the clock runs without stoppage. The clock runs while players hurry to grab balls that go out of bounds or act injured like they were just ran over by a truck. Torrential downpours and freezing weather? No problem! Even the stadium is still packed in spite of the conditions. Halftime is snappy, there isn’t even much time for commercial interruptions. I like that. Other sports can drag on with stoppage and commercials can derail my interest in the game.

Even penalties add little time to a soccer match. Add up the time spent standing at the free throw line in basketball games and I’m sure it’s more than the typical +3 or +4 they add to soccer games. And time referees spend under the hood in the NFL? Sometimes it can feel like it’s 3 minutes a pop.

The passion of the fans is not much different from other sports, except for the vuvuzelas. Maybe this is local to South Africa, but once the buzzing burns its way into the head it becomes unnoticeable.

In the end I have other sporting allegiances that will always be higher up on the importance order. There just isn’t room for the MLS while I’m waiting on the next World Cup. NFL and college basketball are locks despite disappointing greed in football, MLB takes up my summer and NHL hockey fills in the brief leftover moments. However, I have a newfound appreciation for the sport of soccer. It’s hard to completely ignore something the rest of the world so arduously loves.

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Has the Sun Set on the NCAA?

2010-06-15T01:04:38Z

With the dawn of the super conference era rising in the western sky, it appears that the sun could be setting on the reign of the NCAA in an ironic turn of backward events.

The NCAA’s recent track record has been a bit shaky. Their almighty hammer of justice nails USC into a 6 year old coffin while others continue to cheat under the boards. They want more “students” and less “athletes” yet they let athletics call the plays. They refuse to fix the defective BCS algorithm, yet they want to mess up the perfect ending to the college basketball season by letting almost everyone in the tournament.

Now by sitting silently they are acknowledging that it really is football, not academics, not any other athletic affair nor even the NCAA themselves, is all that matters. Forget the spirit of competition and rivalry, invite the spirit of avarice.

Sportscasters chatter and sports fans watch eagerly as the NCAA turns a blind eye to the rapacious Big Ten and scheming Pac 10 as they burn and pillage a powerhouse conference for money and football. Some are excited at the thought of new rivalries and new incomes, others are being boxed up and packed away. In the midst of all the warfare, nothing is considered sacred and even the most cherished aspect of sports – the rivalry – is being shelved.

Rivalries are what moved sports out of the YMCA gym and into the mega stadium. Without rivalries sports would never have ascended to these heights. Without rivalries money would not be an issue at all. If rivalries go, will the money stay?

“Tradition” is what college sports were built on, not money, and tradition is made through years of competition. Not that changes can never occur, but changes this drastic should involve planning and structure, not this panic-riddled farce of a “realignment.”

Maybe the Big 12 should dissolve, maybe super conferences are the future. I’m not arguing for or against the Big 12 though personally I’d like it to stay. However, if the future of the super conference is beginning to ignite… the NCAAs future is flickering. If the NCAA is showing right now that they are powerless to the conference committees, what will they do when those conferences gain even more power?

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Olde West

2010-07-07T21:33:07Z

Illustration for the topic of American wild west, an era I would have loved to live in.

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Broken 12 – The Death of the Big 12

2010-06-17T16:43:14Z

So with sultry rumors of the demise of the Big 12 swirling around like a sundry afternoon soap opera, I decided to weigh in. Let me say straightway, I’ll miss the Big 12 if and when it’s gone. It’s been a great conference. Keep in mind I’m a nobody in the college sports world, just a Kansas Jayhawks fan. Apparently, Kansas athletics is filled with a bunch of nobody’s, at least that is what all the other conferences are making abundantly clear by overlooking us left and right, west and east.

Colorado

Ok, I get it. You’re scared you’re going to go the way of the buffalo (pun definitely intended!) along with the Big 12. Your hoops team has been busted since Donnie Boyce broke his leg in ’95. At least Chauncey is back in town, but like Mr Billups, even Tebow can’t help the Buffaloes on the field. If the Big 12 breaks up, you’re a mid-major lock so you’d better cover yourself while you can. The Pac 10 claims they want the Denver viewing market. Are people in Denver really watching Colorado Buffaloes games? Unlike Nebraska who only has the Huskers literally, don’t they have Tim Tebow and Carmelo Anthony to draw their attention in Denver? Yes, I’m saying a third string Tebow on Sunday afternoon is more interesting than a Colorado Buffaloes game on Saturday.

Now did the Pac-10 really want Colorado? Is the Boulder gold and black the real lapel pin on the Pac 10 suit coat? Or are they just trying to lure away some stray cattle from Texas? Do lapel pins and suit jackets go well with boots and chaps?

Colorado, you jumped the gun. Nebraska could have been the fall guy, but now YOU are the ones history will blame for the break up of the Big 12. If you would have waited four days, we could have blamed Nebraska like we’re all primed and ready to do!

Either way, some new team will use you for their doormat in the Pac 10… but at least you’ll be getting paid for it, right? Money is more important than winning games.

Texas

We (those of us from the Big Eight) knew you’d never fit in. Sheesh, you think your state is it’s own country! However would you fit in a college athletic conference? You couldn’t even consider the notion of conference headquarters in Kansas City (the middle of the conference regionally and logically) so we moved them to Texas too! Now you want to move on, who cares about the other school’s programs your stomping on? I say annex yourself and become your own conference! Invite SMU, TCU, Rice, Texas El Paso and North Texas. Sounds like a real Texas party!

Nebraska

This one hurts a bit more. Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Nebraska have been together since 1928! Now they decide to blow away with a whisper of interest from the Big Ten?

Oh how crafty you Cornhuskers are! I can’t wait until it’s Nebraska game day when you have to travel to KU, KSU, ISU and MU. The boos will be a sound so loud, a roar like you’ve never heard! We will all bring ears of corn to the game and hail them down on you like a summer thunderstorm in the fall when you enter the stadium. Go ahead, take the money and run. We’ll hate you forever. We already do.

By the way, do you really think you’re going to be able steal the spotlight from Ohio State, Penn State or even a fledgling Michigan football program? I know you have a legacy and all, but let’s get real. You made that legacy on the field against what are now being called weak football programs! I believe you’ll miss bowling over the Big 12 North in football every year on your way to a bowl game… oh wait, you haven’t even been able to do that the past few years. And poor Doc Sadler, will he ever win another conference game now? He has to play Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana yearly now? Good luck Big Red, you’re going to need it.

*the designer in me would like to point out that the ingenious 11 hidden in that Big Ten logo won’t work so well as a “12″ or “13.”

Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech & Texas A&M

I feel for you guys. You don’t know what’s going on, so you’re tying to cover yourself like the Buffaloes while we watch Nebraska and Texas hose us down. That’s fine with me, look out for #1. I’ll miss the OU and OSU rivalry. The others, not so much.

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Crusaders

2010-06-13T22:22:48Z

An illustration on the crusades, an interesting topic for the history nerd* in me.

*Note, this is the book I’m currently reading. The back flap showcases praises from other authors, editors and such including “If you are going to read only one book on the Manichaean struggle between East and West, this is the book.” Ah, but I really wanted to read 2! And yes, I’m reading the actual page turning, hard bound book. No, Amazon, I do not want to buy a Kindle.

Birdies Birdies So here it is officially, the entire 36 page book....
Wise Old Bird Wise Old Grandpa Bird is reading a book of short...
Edgar Allan’s Pick There are thousands of great books to read (many of...

Edgar Allan’s Pick

2010-06-13T22:23:36Z

There are thousands of great books to read (many of them classic literature), so why not choose one? There are so many great books, you could use an extra pair of hands and an extra life to read them all!

*Note, there are also thousands of terrible modern books. Ease of publication leads to over-saturation, which is a problem in my opinion.

Crusaders An illustration on the crusades, an interesting topic for the...
Shakespeares Spurn Part 2, this one depicts Shakespeare expressing his opinion on...
Texas Goes Shopping Personal illustration for the shopping spree Texas recently went on....