"Its been a long time...I shouldn't have left you...without a dope beat to step to..."

RESOLUTION 1: GET BACK TO THE ISLAND!

Sorry, sorry...just getting a little stir crazy and landlocked - it happens when you go a full year without hearing the ocean...So I guess it has been a minute since my last post...and oh, friends, what a minute it has been! Those holidays do pack a whallop, huh? I have to take a minute and say that this was most DEFINITELY one of the best Christmas seasons - and I mean the whole flippin' season here, folks - that I have enjoyed since I was a kid. It all started back at Thanksgiving getting to roll outta town with the folks to see family we never get to hang out with - and getting corralled into seeing the Rockettes' Christmas Special at the Grand Ole Opry?!?! Then my birthday rocked out and I got to see D. Rose play the Grizz with my Dad...and amidst the whole thing, Tigers season has been a blast...then Christmas worked out amazingly - and thank you to all my dear friends who came over either during my parties or just during the season. You guys are great! And a special big-ups to Paul's family who invited me over for my first ever 12th Night celebration. What a treat!
SOOOO let's bring things up to speed here - Christmas was really cool this year. Paul came into town and sang the Anthem for the second year at the Grizz game. I know he will not mind my relating that the old black dude behind me was heard to declare "That boy could sang!" when he hit the last note. It was very Coming To America. With opera.

Christmas Eve I went "home" to West Memphis to hang out with my folks and have some food & drank. Also, most importantly, it has become a tradition to revisit my Mom's favorite Christmas special, the early Jim Henson jem "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas". If you don't know this one, do yourself a favor and Netflix the DVD. It was the bridge between the Muppet Show and the first Muppet movie. Though South Park later skewered it with their "Woodland Critter Christmas", nothing is as punk rock as the Riverbottom Nightmare Band singing "We don't brush our teeth / cuz our toothache will help us stay mean".

Also, West Memphis has cranked up the Norman Rockwell factor over the past few years so now the park on my parents' street looks like a Winter Wonderland from the 40s. They have music playing, carriages rolling around and egad the lights! But I must admit, the small town charm is alluring and almost makes up for the smell of sewer stank that crinkles your nose when you first cross the bridge. And of course I must comment on Tigers season. And if you think you are making news when you declare "Well, they just ain't as good as last year," you then are an idiot. That's common sense! And I would also remind even my friends and fellow fans that we have thus far played the 6th hardest schedule in the country with all our hokey doke 40 point wins still coming up. Will we beat UT? If we do, we will go Sweet 16, but I doubt it. But these guys are just starting to come online and find their speed. They will be kicking ass by March - book that. Oh, and just because I can't resist - behold our view of the games this season....awwwwww, yeah!

Even Arrow Dog had to get in the spirit of the season this year. At my work party, he had little kids hanging on his neck and petting his head...would you believe we had no incidents - and I even found him shaking hands with my bosses' kids for turkey and cheese! Sellout!And for those who ask me if Arrow ever leaves my side & cuts loose - he does, and this is what he does:

I also got to spend an afternoon helping my friend Chris film his indie-short-film-labor-of-love. I won't spill the beans on it but definitely look up the trailer for "Brumski's" when you next visit Youtube....Chris, wanna post that link in the comments?

We spent an afternoon in the Hi Tone filming what I am guessing to be about 30 seconds worth of footage. I won't divulge any plot points here (spoilers as they are called....spoileralert! You will die alone! Ha!) but suffice to say the subject matter is a bit....off-color? What does that even mean?!



New Year's was also very cool - I wound up dj'ing the Bayou Bar & Grill in Midtown. Very neat vibe and to top it off I had some Tim & Eric fans at the end of the night dancing and singing "Doo-Dah-Doo-Doo"!

Now, I get to start the year with a van wrap project right up me old alley...an animal shelter in Arkansas that reeally wanted me to draw several of their dogs to wrap their ginormous SPrinter van. That thang's huuuuge as Tiny Elvis would say. So I have created a makeshift assembly line for drwing scanning coloring and finalizing these things - here's my progress thus far:

I have to be thankful that I get paid to do this - and I must say I am greatly enjoying this project. In the end I plan to do about 20 of these guys - it's so much easier than dealing with people. Dogs don't go "Wht did you add that line? It makes me look old? That makes me look mean! That makes me look fat! That doesn't look like me!"

Well, happy New Year everyone. I think I have a 2009 looking-forward-to list coming up. Stay tuned and stay in touch!