IDLE HANDS...

It's been almost a full month since my last blog post. I get caught up in little projects and fixated sometimes and stay offline at times. I thought I'd share a few little things.

I dug out the Nintendo 64 and thought I'd take another crack at Donkey Kong. I played a few minutes of it years ago and couldn't really figure out the game and gave up but this time I got addicted pretty quick.



I spent over 60 hrs not only beating the game, but getting every single coin, golden banana, including all the secret ones. My problem with video games is I'm never satisfied with just beating them I have to get all the top scores and secret stuff. I haven't gotten hooked on a game for about five years for that reason. It's kind of like a good book you can't put down (more like a drug). It's better not to touch them as far as I'm concerned.

There was a guy who posted walkthroughs of the entire game on Youtube with commentary which I watched along with my play. By the time the game/videos were done I felt like I lost a nerdy friend which is pretty pathetic but totally me. I got used to his dorky humor and catch phrases. His Youtube name is GNRfan (Gun's and Roses fan?) he's done a lot of videos for different games and probably has about as many friends as I do.



Anyway, game has been beaten and done with. I drew a picture of Donkey Kong in my sketch book to seal the deal and remind me of those hours.



I'm too sentimental sometimes. Speaking of that, I was proud of myself for letting go of sentimentality the other day.
A lady I work with was collecting pop tabs for a donation to the Ronald McDonald House which I'm pretty familiar with as a cancer survivor. She had asked me if I had any cans I could pull the tabs off and immediately remembered the year 1997 when I decided just for fun to save the pop tabs off every can of pop I drank for an entire year. I was curious, and I know I drink a lot so on January 1st of 1997 I began pulling the tabs off every can I drank and sticking them in my back pocket. Before I went to bed every night I would stick them in a jug on my dresser. A year later on December 31 I dumped them on the carpet and counted them. There were 763. I strung them on a string and made a necklace which I've saved ever since.



So after a couple days I decided to donate my necklace to sick kids. I wanted to wear it for the last time and had my daughter Sam take a photo of me hopping around like an ape (too much Donkey Kong).



Not only did I neglect my blog/Facebook but I also try to do at least one drawing a day in my sketchbook to prevent "artist's block" and I was losing motivation. Usually when this happens I just dig around my studio for inspiration. One morning I heard a squeek and turned around to see my stuffed Gizmo doll from Gremlins fell off the shelf. He is from a mail-away from Gremlins cereal from 1984.





I decided to build some paper mogwais for a project and worked up some designs in my sketch book.







I wanted to make two brown/white furred mogwais and a black/white furred one based on an evil one from Gremlins 2.





It took about 6 hours to make the heads and another 6 to roll paper for the arms and make the bodies. The smaller they are the harder they are to cut, fold, and glue. They turned out just how I imagined they would.





I've got a couple projects on the shelf and with winter coming up I'm sure to be spending a lot more time in my studio.

CEREAL OF THE 80'S

Sit down in front of your Saturday morning cartoons and munch away on that delicious bowl of 1980s cereal. Can you resist digging the prize out of the box right away? Will the cereal turn the milk colors?
Scroll through these happy memories of your 80s breakfast.


GHOSTBUSTERS CEREAL 1985








RAINBOW BRITE CEREAL 1984




NINTENDO CEREAL SYSTEM 1988




GREMLINS CEREAL 1984


I've got this Gizmo doll in my studio. When you shake him he squeeks.


DONKEY KONG CEREAL 1983


DONKEY KONG JR. CEREAL 1983


CABBAGE PATCH KIDS CEREAL 1985


MR. T CEREAL 1984

This cereal always reminds me of Pee Wee's Big Adventure when he eats it for breakfast.






CRISPY CRITTERS 1989


CROONCHY STARS 1989


C3POS CEREAL 1984




PAC-MAN CEREAL 1980




E.T. CEREAL 1984


BARBIE CEREAL 1988


ICE CREAM CONE CEREAL 1987


Who could resist putting the little ice cream puffs on top of the cones and eating them one by one?


I have one of these green octopus wall crawlers in my studio. It still works just fine after being washed with soapy water. This was from Froot Loops (1986).


NERDS CEREAL 1985
Like the nintendo cereal this had two separate compartments that had different cereal.

The smelly markers on this box were the first mail away I ever sent for. I was in second grade and I didn't understand the concept of the postal service. The day after I sent the letter I sat in a lawn chair at the curb out front of my house waiting for the mailman to bring me my markers. I seriously believed they were coming from Willy Wonka's factory. That summer I sat on the curb every morning for over a month. Finally the day they showed up I wore them all out in about three or four hours.


G.I. JOE 1985


SMURF-BERRY CRUNCH 1985

This one must have been around for a while because I remember eating craploads of Smurf-Berry Crunch.

I hope this brought back some marshmellowriffic memories. Sorry for you kiddos that had to eat malt-o-meal. This post has been part of your complete breakfast!!