five miles into the Coral Sea

Languishing in the office with my usual Friday lead feet, nodding my head until I can go home and be hammered by yet another snowstorm -- the last one inspired an essay on the virtues of 'giving up' (shovelling snow, finding empowerment at work, arguing with your wife about kitty kats, etc) -- I'm a wee bit down at not being able to attend the opening of Stories & Tales tonight. Group shows are fun, and it'd be great to meet Susan properly. Still, we're going to do some kind of podcast next week, so I can look forward to that.

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Pirate garden: just sold one these (top, middle) to a fellow artist at SSS.

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More on how Susan continues to be a superstar: not only does she get written up by other artists/admirers, not only does her work get chosen for public art projects, but she tirelessly promotes and encourages her little stable of artists (who, if they are like me at all, are eternally grateful).

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Run bear. Run for your life.

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Well, it's Flat Stanley time again ... this go-around courtesy of my nephew Landon (he is, as some of you know, a committed mentalist). The last Flat Stanley (Ryer's) was clad head-to-toe in a Spiderman outfit; this current incarnation is a bit more bourgeois. Still, we'll hit some pubs, massage parlours, dance halls, etc, and see what the little bugger's made of (right now, I'm guessing mostly paper and laminate plastic).

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Went skating on the canal this weekend ... the culmination of a Christmas present that was three months in the making (skates + C = late). And guess what? When you don't skate for twenty years, you tend to fall down. Also, it's not easy to get up.

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My friend Jeannette likes to pee on her shoes. Really, it's a problem. On the upside, she can do a whole portrait in just one drink.

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Best album cover art. Ever. Yes, that's supposed to be Khrushchev.

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Steve Fossett has been declared dead (he went flying over the Nevada desert and disappeared). His obituary in The Economist is a wee masterpiece.

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Cathy Nichols continues to sharpen her colours. Plus she sells work to famous people!