Joelle's NaBloPoMofogogokokomo Profile

I was having a conversation about pens the other day, specifically markers.  Most people know I’m a Sharpie fiend — I have been for years. Sure, I dabbled in Pentels in middle school. One crazy night in college, I even experimented with watercolor markers. But my first markers, my gateway markers, the ones that freed my mind, that opened my eyes, that showed me the wonders art had to offer… were Mr. Sketch.

For those who aren’t familiar, Mr. Sketch markers are these fragranced, semi-thick markers with a slant tip that come in a flat Styrofoam tray slipped inside a cardboard sleeve. The packaging is much fancier now than it was in 1982, though. And we only had like, 8 and 12-count sets; now they go all the way to 18. Luckies!  Each of the colors had a corresponding scent: Black/Licorice, Red/Wild Cherry, Blue/Blueberry, Green/Mint, Yellow/Lemon, Brown/Cinnamon, Purple/Grape, and Orange/Orange, Pink/Melon, Turquoise/Mango, Magenta/Raspberry, and Dark Green/Apple.

Clearly, black was a big loser. I think that’s why I ended up loving color so much and not using black in a lot of my art.  Licorice scent = bad.  Unfortunately, this therapy didn’t …

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Over a salad, Kathy and I were perusing our new guilty pleasure, TrueHookupConfessions.com.  If your eyes are virginal or you’re pure of heart or… whatever, don’t read any further. 

I made a total impulse purchase last night.  Impulse purchases for me are usually relegated to $5 DVDs at Target or maybe the occasional lip gloss or mid-priced bottle of wine. But I was just having that feeling yesterday, so I went to Fry’s.

For those who aren’t familiar with Fry’s, its like a Costco for geeks.  It’s just bits n’ parts n’ drives n’ cables, laptops, fans, ports, electronics, movies, music and… games.  Now, I’ve never been a big “gamer”.  I like few video games and I have specific criteria: it must be cute, it must engage and challenge, but not be so hard I curse the game within 5 minutes. And, preferably, it’ll be nil on the fighting and Battle Royale aspect that many games have taken on lately.  I think I talked about this before… I prefer adventure games and puzzle games, for the most part.

After chatting with my friend macgeezel, who is much more of a gamer than I, I picked up an XBox 360, along with Viva Pinata, Viva …

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Kathy and I were bombarded this morning with assorted ways our content and/or design work was being highjacked by other people. So I spent my morning drafting DMCA violation notices or otherwise calling out said peddlers of plagiarism. Good times, good times.

One of these offenders was [name removed because it made me feel icky], which I normally would not call out in such a public fashion except for the fact that their about page says they are a Christian-centric company.  That their “primary focus in life is God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost”.  Muh!?  Jesus is going to be pissed.  It’s been a while since I read the Bible, but I did spend a significant portion of my life in parochial schools.  The last time I checked, Big J wasn’t down with theft.  Did I miss that amendment to Exodus 20:15?  “Thou shalt not steal, unless it’s on the Internet”?  I think we need an 11th Commandment – “Thou shalt not be a hypocrite.”

Now, I am not a Christian, but this is double standard by any measure.  This is also a great example of …

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I was just in Target picking up sandwich bags and a desktop fan. On my way out, I and about a half a dozen other people in the immediate area, spotted a tall, tan, leggy woman with stiletto sandals and the kind of ass you can set a drink on.  She was wearing her caramel colored hair swept up in a bun, as though she’d been at the beach and she was wearing nothing except a thin “wife-beater"-style tank that barely covered her Brazilian.  No, seriously.  Like asscheeks were visible.  She wore a tank top as a dress.

Now, I can so appreciate a beautiful woman. I thought, “Wow, she’s incredible!  She forgot her pants, but she’s got a spectacular ass.” And then, I caught the eye of the 80-year-old Barney Fife security guard checking her out, along with this 40-something guy in a muscle shirt and wrap-around shades.  You know, the kind of guy who does “finger guns” and thinks he’s a babe magnet, but still sports a fanny pack.

I smiled at them both, knowingly and went about my day, weaving through the hordes that find it necessary to invite every member of their family …

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