Obsessed with Type and Jessica Hische’s Daily Drop Caps

I wish I was more artistic. More creative. I wish I had the ability to make stuff like my own clothes or household knick-knacks, or even the talent to paint a decent picture.

I use words instead. Words and paper.

According to 2010 New Year’s Resolution No. 1, I’m going to be making a fat collection of words on paper with the first issue of Bird Fly Good, a new journal of poetry with work from some of my favorite poets from Austin and elsewhere. I’ll be putting some of my snazzy new bookbinding skills to the test, and my dear friend and talented designer Katie Daly will be busting out the design for the cover.

Geek Out on Writing Utensils at the Philadelphia Pen Show

Who’s a geek? I’m a geek. You’re a geek. We’re all geeks. (Yea!)

No, really. We are. Or at least I am. Why? Because I love writing apparatus.

Pens, paper, and office supplies in general are my vices. And I know I’m not the only one out there.

Yea, I’m talking about you, hoarder of cute stationary and little journals with pristine paper – all adored but seldomly used.

We should start a club and hit up the Philadelphia Pen Show this weekend, January 22-24 at the Sheraton Philadelphia Center City Hotel.

I had never heard of such a thing until the other day. I mean really, a pen show?

At first I chuckled a bit, but then realized that if the show was in Austin I’d actually go.

I’m actually kind of surprised that we don’t have an office supply conference/tradeshow type thing around here. I guess we are too cool with our tattoo, record-collecting, and green living conventions.

That’s okay, though. I love Austin. But to all you Philadelphians going to the Pen Show, let me know what you think about the Visconti Homo Sapiens collection of pens made with volcanic lava.

Lava Pens

Hot Italian pens. Nice.

We Have Holidays for Everything … Even a Day to Dress Up Our Pets

I’m not even kidding.

Is it animal abuse, or just an excuse to give your pet a killer outfit?

Tomorrow (January 14) happens to be National Dress Your Pet Up Day. No, Simon is not getting a new outfit.

Why not? Because he is an animal, and the only animal I know of that’s actually comfortable in clothing is Winnie the Pooh, and that’s only because he isn’t wearing pants.

I did a little bit of digging to find out how one may dress his or her pet for this national holiday.

An eHow article gives tips on how to celebrate the holiday cheaply. The author’s first suggestion is to drape the dog in a pillow case. He could look like a cowboy or a princess or like he’s wearing a toga or a cape.

Continue celebrating by giving your pet a treat and a new toy, which should be more like a token or apology for putting your pet through so much torment and embarrassment.

I don’t mean to be a hater here, people, and I like the enthusiasm, but let’s give our pets a break in 2010 and not dress them up. How about giving them some extra love instead.

However, if you absolutely need to participate, why not dress little Sparky in a snazzy new bandana, or get your boy Buster a shiny new collar.

I was thinking something like this:

See? Cute. Simple. Comfortable.

Dear, Charley Harper

Charley Harper (August 4, 1922 – June 10, 2007) was a child. More like a grown-man child who created the illuminating illustrations that wore the covers and insides of textbooks, magazines, and posters in the mid-twentieth century.

No matter the work, his geometric style and minimalism bring me back to childhood, back when a single intricate shape or color would astound me, grapple my attention, and keep me wanting more.

Last Christmas I received one of the best gifts from my sister. It was the gift of imagination. The gift of my youth. The gift of more than 400 page of beating art in a big fat coffee table book. It was Charley Harper in a box.

I love his images of natural settings.

I love all of his images of animals.

I also love his images of people with animals.

And I equally love the more morbid images of animals.

More info about Charley and images for your viewing pleasure.

For Those Hungry for More Poetry

(As if the news wasn’t enough.)

I’m becoming more enveloped in reading poetry these days.

My reading and writing alternate with the seasons, perhaps, and these days I’m beginning to enter a new period of furiously searching, finding, and falling in love with new poets.

I have the Internet to thank for this obsession. I simply have to open a browser, go to only one or two of my frequented poetry blogs, and the witch hunt begins.

I click and bounce from blog to blog, site to site, promoting and oozing with poetry.