Healthy

my table yesterday at Jenni's trunk show

getting up while the newspapers are still on the driveways

the stairs going down

and on the way back up

This past week was spent preparing for a trunk show at my friend Jenni's home. Once that was over, my head was spinning just a touch off its axis. I woke up super early this morning and practiced my new trick that helps keep me grounded. I ask myself what I desire most. The answers came pretty easily. Some of my basic desires are to be healthy and strong, to get in the water more, make more art, and for Jay and I to have our summer vacation in wilderness.

In the meantime, what could I do right now before heading to work? I desired to get up early while the newspapers where still on their driveways, and run to a set of hidden stairs that leads from one street down to another. I vowed to run up and down them 3 times and to do this every morning before walking the dog and enjoying my coffee. Of course, increasing the number of times as I progress. 3 times is hardly the stuff of Gabby Reece, say (my health idol).

This year especially, I have a deep craving to be around wild nature. Thoughts of Wyoming, Montana and Alaska are always with me. The best movie I've seen this year is the documentary of Dick Proenneke's time in Alaska where he builds himself a cabin and lives off of the land, testing himself to see if he's strong enough to withstand a winter and be alone for a year. It's so good that I just can't recommend it enough. This wholesome and profound movie, filmed in 1968, is called "Alone in the Wilderness".



Have you thought about your deepest desires lately? It feels so nice when I remember to. Because when I'm grounded, I know they'll come true.

Photo shoot at home

This shoot made me laugh a lot because I've never seen my husband in a mustache. He really got into character. In a gravelly voice he was saying things like, "Yeahhhhh, I'm gonna get in my van".

Jay had very specific ideas for this shoot and searched all over the bay area for wood paneling. Apparently it's out of fashion (really?) and it was nowhere to be found, until someone tipped him off about a home in Palo Alto that was going to be salvaged. We went one Saturday morning with a crowbar and scored a sheet from a garage for 6 bucks.

I'll let you know when the finished product is on the Interwebs. In the meantime, turn on your classic rock station and get loose.

Mustaches rock!

Just say no to stuffy art shows

Saturday night we found ourselves at the new project space for McCaig Welles & Rosenthal, two gallery owners who recently merged their galleries. They were hosting a silkscreen party and Goldmine Shithouse were the artist collective to do the silkscreening. Bring your t-shirts and donate 5 bucks, and wella! You have a cool, brand new look. Also, there was free pizza and beer. I like things like this very much, especially on the Peninsula - these types of events are sorely needed here.

The Peninsula is an area of towns just south of San Francisco, and to give you an idea if you don't live here...most people in San Francisco don't want to leave San Francisco to come to the Peninsula. Even though it's beautiful and all that. There isn't the 'cool factor' here - but in actuality, there is a lot of cool stuff to be found.

At the show, Jay and I spoke with Melissa McCaig Welles for a bit. She was very mellow, just having moved here from Brooklyn and getting used to living in the Bay Area. We were told she was a genius when it came to framing. Jay made plans to meet her at the gallery, where he'll bring some of his work for her opinion on framing. Which brings me to my next non-stuffy art show.

Jay will be in a super cool group show on July 3rd at 111 Minna. The show? "Full Custom Living: The Art of Garage Magazine". If you've ever seen this fine publication, you know it's full of great photography and design. You may remember that I profiled a sneak peek into their offices earlier this year. And you can check out Jay's profile on Garage Magazine's blog today.

Hopefully by the end of this year, I'll have my own non-stuffy art show to report about. That's my goal anyway. In the meantime, I get lots of inspiration, even online.

Surf Fridays!

International Surfing Day! That's what today is!

I have to go pack my stuff and then we're headed to Santa Cruz. Surf breakfast today consisted of granola with raspberries and sliced white peaches on top. Should probably eat an egg too.

But I wanted to leave you with a little surfing, art and music. It all relates. There's an amazing community that I am increasingly attracted to and feel a part of. Below is a slideshow from last Friday's art opening at Mollusk. The artist is Serena Mitnik-Miller and I loved her work in person. I met her briefly at the show and she was very sweet. What a great vibe that Mollusk shop has too.



I bought an amazing surf film there that night - Sprout. For anyone who has never seen it, I can't recommended it enough. And if you collect surf films, you have to own this one. Here is a little clip by the director of the film, Thomas Campbell. The music playing is by Tommy Guerrero, who I mentioned in yesterday's post.



Hope you're enjoying this groove and I hope all the surfers out there get to paddle out and feel yet again how lucky we are to have the beautiful ocean as our playground. Let's pick up some trash on the way back too. And say hi to the birds!

I haven't surfed in awhile, but I'll do my best to catch a wave for all of you.

xoxo Jamie

Cool things

Ray Barbee: skateboarder from San Jose, CA and talented musician. His songs are jazz-influenced instrumentals. Very cool vibe. He also did a collaboration with The Mattson 2.

Tommy Guerrero: skateboarder from San Francisco, CA and talented musician. Not only that but he's an artist ~ he does the paintings for his album covers. His songs are soulful, loose instrumentals. Download free MP3s on his site. "I've been playing music since I was about 12 ... skateboarding since I was 9. You are what you are, and you are always that."

Ike Quebec: tenor saxophonist ~ a product of the swing and big band era. Later considered a jazz artist. His body of work is considered fiercely independent and original.

Orchestra Baobab: Currently on tour, catch them if you can. They are from Senegal and their style is a beautiful combination of afro-beat, jazz and roots music. Anyone would love the Pirates Choice album.



Ed Fella: Mr. Fella is an artist, educator and graphic designer whose work has had an important influence on contemporary typography. The pages above are from his book, Edward Fella: Letters on America, Photographs and Lettering. The book gives insight into his idiosyncratic world by combining and juxtaposing examples of his unique hand lettering with his photographs of found vernacular lettering.

Fella insists that he creates simply because, "this is what I do, and I've been doing it pretty well, almost from infancy. When you become famous for doing something, you want to do more of it. And, as Barnett Newman said, 'I paint so I have something to look at,'-which I think is so profound in a way. The context in which he said it was, at the time, a critique of formalism, but on the other hand, if you take it out of that context, it really is the reason why we make stuff. I always tell the students that they are the first people to see what they've made, and they should derive some pleasure from that, right?"

Interview Wednesdays: Nancy Langham

Nancy & I doing our best sophisticated pose
on Monday night at the Mattson 2 show in SF.

I am so pleased to introduce you all to Miss Nancy Langham, a dear friend of mine who lives in Oxford, England. I met her around the year 2000 at a small start-up company. She and our friend Amy and I bonded there and would take breaks together, sometimes going for a ride in the car and getting things off our chests. We also took a self-defense class together and have stayed close ever since.

Nancy is one of the brightest, kindest and wittiest persons I've ever met, and a most supreme conversationalist. She is beautiful, fun, strong, follows her own path, and is part of a very loving family who make you feel like you're a part of it. If I had only one word to describe Nancy, it would be passionate. No further delay...

You grew up in Fremont, CA but had ties to England. What was it that prompted you to move to England?

I am certainly a California girl, but both my grandmothers were English war brides, so I grew up with frequent visits from English relatives and other cultural things, like lots of tea! However, it wasn’t just my heritage that led me to England- I’d always wanted to live there, and in a strange way, always felt English. I even told my 3rd grade teacher that I was born there- imagine my mother’s surprise at conference time! But I was right- the moment I set foot in the country back in 1995, I knew I was home. I had a chance to transfer to the UK with my software company back in 2000, and I’ve never looked back.

Do you think you'll ever move back to the states?

Well, the only scenarios I can think of are: a) global warming plunges Britain into a new ice age, making it akin to Siberia, b) nuclear devastation or c) God says to go back (I do what God says, when I listen). That sounds flippant, but I really do love the States, I just don’t feel at home there like I do in the UK. As much as I love California especially, I never felt like I belonged here, weirdly.

Is there anything you miss about the states, besides your family and friends?

Well, my family and friends top the list, but I do miss other things, like customer service and Mexican food. The USA has a real ‘can-do’ attitude that is sadly lacking in slightly-depressed Britain. Though America often goes overboard on the ra-ra cheerleading, it is something really positive and encouraging.

You live in Oxford, but you've also lived in Wimbledon and London. What is it about Oxford that you love?

London is a really wonderful, exciting place (Wimbledon is technically part of it) but it was just too big. There are 10 million people in the greater London area, and it seemed crowded and endless, as much as it had to offer. I love living in Oxford, because though it is relatively small (150,000 people) and is very near the countryside (lots of lovely walks, country villages and pubs) it is an exciting place.

Oxford makes news. There is always a discovery, debate or analysis making world headlines. The university ensures that not only are the very best scholars in the world wandering the streets, its beauty attracts tourists all year round. The university was founded in the 1200s, and the skyline (known as the ‘dreaming spires of Oxford’) is breathtaking. What I love most is the history. I recently walked by a plaque that I had never bothered to read on one of the main streets. It said that in a house there in the 1600s, Robert Boyle had discovered various things, including Boyle’s law- which essentially founded modern chemistry. That would be incredible in any other place, but in Oxford, it’s one of many famous and amazing incidents in a relatively small town.

How much is gas (or do you say petrol) in the UK currently?

Well, my maths (that’s math to us Yanks) isn’t wonderful, but I estimate it’s $10 a gallon. (It’s about £1.23/litre). Yikes. I have to commute quite a distance (to lovely Slough in Berkshire) and the petrol price rise is killing me.

Since the dollar is weaker than the pound, do you plan on doing some shopping here? Anything you like to buy here that you can't buy in the UK?

My pound goes so far, that when I’m in the states (like now, for a holiday) I usually shop LOTS. I buy any electronic equipment I need (laptop, Bluetooth) and things like makeup. I buy most of my shoes and about half my clothes here. I’m currently looking for some killer jeans. Any ideas, anyone?

Congratulations on recently completing your masters and getting published! What did you get your masters in? Tell us about your current studies.

Thanks! (Or, as we say, cheers!) My MA was in Victorian Media and Culture, which essentially means Victorian literature and art. I decided to go with the art route for my PhD, and am now researching an artist called John Rogers Herbert, who was a Victorian painter of mostly historical and religious subject matter.

What is the most fascinating thing (or things) about the artist you are writing your thesis on?

Herbert was a funny guy- he was deeply Catholic (one reason I chose him, as I’m a Christian myself) but terribly eccentric. He felt that art could communicate the highest, most divine truths. Late Victorians were a bit more sceptical and sensual, and his ideas were definitely not with the times as he became older. I think it was that pressure to conform to the ideas of the day that made him put on a fake French accent when he was about 50- which he used for the rest of his life!

What would you like to do once you have your PhD?

I’d like to become a university lecturer (or professor, in USA-speak). I plan on climbing back into the academic womb, never to crawl out again!

Once you have your PhD can I say things like, "Doctor Langham, I presume?"

Only if I can say ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’

Your top favorite authors and artists and bands?

I love all sorts of books, but especially 19th century stuff. Jane Austen is my absolute favourite, but I also adore Charlotte Bronte and Elizabeth Gaskell. I love the Victorian poets- Tennyson, Browning (both of them) and Christina Rossetti. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan.

It’s hard to choose a favourite artist- but I love the Pre-Raphaelites, Constable, Turner, Reynolds and the German Expressionists for a bit of dark flavour.

I love music too- I think I keep my emotional connection with the USA through bands like Counting Crows, REM, and Green Day. I also love folk and singer-songwriters, some of which is very American. Jason Mraz and Alexi Murdoch are current favourites. Of course, I AM European- so I love Coldplay, Damian Rice, U2 and Athlete. I also listen to really good Christian bands like Switchfoot , Jars of Clay and Delirious? as well as big band standards from Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.

Tell me about your passion for your favorite pastime, Lindy Hopping. I saw you dance for the first time this week, and you are a great dancer and look like you are having a blast.

I AM having a blast when I dance! I think lindy is a dance that is pure joy. It’s a joy to watch and dance to, and the whole vibe is having fun, being silly and enjoying life. I did a few lessons on and off for about 10 years before deciding last summer to go to lessons every week. I dance with the Oxford Swing Dance Society, who are amazing teachers, and I look forward to every Wednesday evening. I think I passed the point of absolute addiction about a month ago, and now dance socially whenever I can. In fact, I danced last night in Redwood City, which was great fun, and am going tonight to Sunnyvale!

Can you tell us about your favorite pub?

I have lots of favourite pubs, depending on my mood and the time of day, but one of the nicest pubs I know is a 5 minute bike ride away from my house, in a little village called Sandford-on-Thames. It’s called the King’s Arms and was opened sometime in the late 18th century. It’s everything you would expect- lovely open fireplaces, wonderful food, and a view of the river and lock outside.

Can you tell us a few funny or quirky differences between the UK and the states - sayings, anything...

There are loads of differences- each one is revealing and special. But I’ll just leave you with one saying I heard: ‘In the USA 100 years is a long time, while in Britain 100 miles is a long way.’

Would you do me the honor of being a guest writer from time to time on PineappleLuv, reporting from Oxford? Stories from Oxford...We'll think of a good title for it!

I’d love to! ‘The Oxford Accidental’? ‘Oxford Words’? Eh, we’ll think of something!



Thank you so much, Nancy. We will certainly look forward to your upcoming posts here.

Lady friends, if you have any recommendations on your favorite jeans, please leave a comment for Nancy. Cheers!

Surf Fridays!

Belinda Baggs, toes on the nose!
I saved this from Longboard Magazine, April 2003

In my last house, which I lived in with 2 other girls, I hung surf photos in my bathroom. I had a photo of Belinda Baggs riding toes on the nose in a short suit. I loved that photo because she looked graceful and inspiring. I would daydream, "Someday I'll ride like Belinda..." She's an Aussie, and her nickname is Bindy.

Belinda Baggs was born and raised in the working class neighborhoods of Newcastle, Australia. The only daughter of a surf-obsessed father, she says “she doesn’t remember back to when she learnt to ride waves just that it feels like she has always known how.”

At the age of 16 Bindy started competing in the Australian longboard circuit. In the years 2000 and 2002 she took first place, along with an assortment of final placings in the World longboard titles. Feeling constrained with the ‘high performance’ approach she was introduced to traditional ‘log’ riding by Malibu stylist and boyfriend Dane Peterson. To Bindy this was a breath of fresh air that opened up a whole new world to her. She became disinterested in contest surfing and dedicated her life to traveling the world in search of perfect point surf. She is also a women's surf ambassador for Patagonia.

Belinda and her dad, rinsing off
Photo Belinda Baggs collection

This is really fitting, since it's Father's Day this weekend. From Patagonia's blog, The Cleanest Line:

My dad is my hero! He is one of those people that can do everything: build a house, fix a car, glass a board, charge the biggest wave and love his family. His name is Phil but his mates call him Digby. He was born and bread in Newcastle, Australia and at 55 years old still lives there now. I am lucky enough to share with him his greatest passion: surfing. He started surfing on a '60s log, cut it down in the late '60s, rode a stubby through the '70s, lost his marbles on a mid-length during the '80s, and has found solitude once again on a 9’6” longboard.

Ever since I was a kid I would go to the beach everyday with Dad; that’s what we did and still do together. If the waves were too big, I would sit on the shore and watch him until one day I got sick of watching and made an oath to surf with him no matter what! I knew I would be safe even in the most challenging situations because dad was there. He has taught me almost everything I know and inspires me to love life everyday.

This video below, captures perfectly the essence of the photo hanging in my old bathroom.



Another cool video can be found on surf photographer Ryan Tatar's blog, Shakas and Singlefins (I love his photos and his blog). Belinda Baggs can be spotted at the 1:24 mark. Looks like a beautiful film.

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Tonight am headed to Serena Mitnik-Miller's art show at Mollusk Surf Shop. I am really excited about this. Will post about it next Friday.

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I keep listening to this song.

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Happy Father's Day to all you awesome Dads out there (I love you Dad!). Wishes for a happy weekend to everyone!

RRAAAAAARRRRRR

Mac's and The Creamery

My old stomping grounds
Emerson St., Palo Alto

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New banner designed by the incomparable Brian Bounds. Thank you, Brian.

Surf Fridays!

Donavon Frankenreiter - somewhere in Laguna

He didn't know how many he had, so they counted: 75. "I'm not a surfboard collector. All the boards I have, I ride. There's dirty wax on all of them. I ding 'em up, have all my friends ride them. I've never priced out any of the boards, either. I love to look at boards and wonder what they ride like. I don't know, I guess I'm just addicted to the ride."

With wife Petra and son Hendrix (yes, after Jimi)

"The soul arch bottom turn is one of my favorite moves: It's just really fun to get way out in front of the wave and do that."

Back in April 2005 I was on a surfing/camping trip in Big Sur with Jay and his buddy Justin, who at 7am rapped on our tent and said, "Wake up you guys, I let you sleep in. Time to surf!" The surf at Dollar turned out to be a bit scary for me so I paddled back in and had some leisure time to read the latest issue of The Surfers Journal (one of the best mags out there, period). I was fascinated by the article on Donavon Frankenreiter and decided then that he was one of my favorite surfers.

Surfing and music. They go hand in hand for Donavon Frankenreiter, a world-renowned free surfer and musician living in Laguna, CA.

Donavon has a flow and rhythm that you rarely see on the water, even among the best surfers in the world. "The guy has so much natural ability," says Kevin Naughton, half of the 1970s Naughton/Peterson surf-travel writing duo. "Whether he's riding some funky, strange board or whatever, you can see that he's just got this incredible amount of natural ability and talent."

"Most surfers are very consistent in their approach, but Donavon has this spontaneity. He may do something from the '70s or he might do something futuristic. You don't know what you're going to get. And for a guy like me - I started surfing in '65 - to be able to see all these influences through the decades and then see this young guy replicate it and do it with style and functionality, it's rare. It doesn't look forced. And it doesn't look posed," says Duncan Campbell, co-creator of the Bonzer surfboard design and owner of the venerable Cafe Haleiwa on Oahu.

In 1983, while on a trip to see her mother in San Francisco, Jeanne Frankenreiter paid a visit to a psychic. About halfway through the reading, the clairvoyant began channeling information about Jeanne's 10-year-old son. "She said Donavon would be very popular in music and surfing. She said he was going to be a pro surfer and retired at 40 years old as a millionaire. She said that he was a special son, motivated, and that he would travel a lot," recalls Jeanne, more than 20 years later. "She said, 'Let him do what he wants to do because you can't stop him. You have to let him go. You cannot hold him down or you'll stifle his personality. He's going to do it and he's going to be successful.'"

Jeanne and husband Marty kept the soothsayer's predictions to themselves for more than a decade - and didn't tell Donavon about it until age 23. They also took her advice and nurtured their son's quickly erupting single-minded interest in riding waves. By age 14, Donavon was obsessed. He surfed nearly every day and grew into a gifted contest surfer, eventually winning the 1988 NSSA National Championship in both the Open and Explorer Jr. divisions. Soon Donavon's high school class schedule proved incompatible with his contest commitments and ever-increasing docket of surf-magazine sponsored photo trips.

"So I went to the principal's office and had a meeting with him and I said, 'I'm going on this surf trip to Indonesia for two weeks and I need all my homework so I can do it while I'm over there.' And the guy looked at me and said, 'You know what? You're going to be a loser, with this whole surfing thing.' I got really upset and told the guy to fuck off," Donavon says, with a hint of fire in his voice. "Then they had a meeting with my parents and told them, 'If you let your son do what he thinks he's going to do, he's going to grow up to be a loser. You guys are ruining his life. He needs to go to school.' My dad just looked at me and said, 'What do you want to do?' I said, 'You know what I want to do, Dad.' So we got up and walked out."

Donavon happily traded high school for independent studies and over the next several years he hopped on surf trips for magazines and videos. Soon, his mug appeared in countless photo features - that unmistakable style dripping off the pages. Before long, contest surfing was totally out of his picture. Instead, Donavon was focused on forging a lucrative career as one of the sports first sponsored "free surfers".

For Donavon, it wasn't the higher purpose of legitimizing free surfing that motivated him. It was more base and instinctual than that: "I just had more fun going on trips and seeing things and places than doing contests. Before I turned pro it was always, 'What are you rated? And that's how much we're going to pay you,'" he says. "Nobody had ever heard of: 'You don't need surf contests to make money, bro. Just get these sponsors to pay you and let's go do surf trips.'"

And that's exactly what he did. For four straight years, Donavon traveled the planet on one huge protracted surf trip.

Surfers don't come much better rounded than Donavon. He can ride most any kind of board - from potato chip to longboard - with equal aplomb, and he excels in virtually all surf conditions. The only real chink in Donavon's surfing armor is big waves. Good friend and former traveling partner Brad Gerlach says, "He doesn't like really large waves. He doesn't want any part of that. He'd rather surf eight-foot Backdoor, which is gnarly too. He just has a certain range and then after that he's like, 'Nah, that doesn't sound fun.'"

While he was traveling, he picked up a guitar in order to master riding a different sort of wave. By his senior year of high school, he was part of a popular live act called Peanut Butter and Jam, in which he learned that taking the stage provided an entirely different sort of pleasure. Donavon's life took a major turn in 2003, when rock star and former pro surfer Jack Johnson gave him his first big break in the music world. Johnson came across a homemade four-track recording of Donavon's singing and song writing and promptly offered to produce his first album.

Donavan dresses the part of a traveling rock star, but his favorite groupies are his wife and son and he brings them along on tour whenever he can. "Playing music is a totally positive thing for me," Frankenreiter declares. "I've talked to people who've asked 'why don't you write more depressing songs? Sure, I have bad days like anyone else, but mostly, I feel lucky. When I pick up a guitar, I feel good. It makes me want to open a bottle of wine and have a party, and that's what I'd like people to feel when they listen to my music."

Of course, some see Donavon's transition away from surfing and into the music profession as a mistake. Brad Gerlach: "I told him, 'You're in the upper one-percent of the world in your sport, and in music you're not even close. That's fun and everything, but dude, you're kind of walking away from a legacy that you can leave in the sport, that you could still leave in music later in life.' I told him that, but when someone's focused on something, they're just really focused on that. And that's okay. But inside him is a fricking really, really talented surfer. He rips. If you took him away from his music and said, 'Okay, you're not fucking playing nothing but a ukulele and you're going on a surf trip for six months and you're not going to bring any of those stupid retro boards.' If he'd only surf short boards and he'd let me train him," Gerlach continues, "I'd put him up against any of the best pros in the world right now. He's 31, so he's right on the edge there, but it'd be an interesting experiment. It'd probably blow some people away with how good he surfs."

Trestles and San Onofre flash by at 80 miles an hour as they race to San Diego for Donavon's gig at a local radio station. There's swell in the water and Donavon cranes his neck for a peek. He gets a sharp glint in his eye after hearing Brad's mad scientist plan to get Donavon back into contest surfing shape. "Yeah, that'd be really fun," he says with a wry grin. Then Donavon gazes back out the window and says, "And I don't think it would take six months."

Donavon and Jack Johnson singing "Heading Home"

From the surf film, "Shelter". Donavon is in the green board shorts.

Interview Wednesdays: Dustin Ortiz

I couldn't be more pleased that my first artist interview is none other than Dustin Ortiz, a very talented artist from SoCal. I found out about him accidentally when I was researching Int'l Surfing Day. I was on the Surfing Mag website and saw his name connected to The Art Mosh.

I then went to Dustin's website and was totally excited by what I saw - the whole style of his site, his prints, his posters for my new favorite band, and his offer for a free pencil. After I e-mailed him for the free pencil, I asked him if he'd be willing to be interviewed, and he was totally gracious about it. Something cool you should know, he sent me his answers in orange.


It looks like you do art for a living and for yourself. Can you explain what kind of art you do?
I do all sorts of things to keep myself living, Paint, Draw, Apparel Design, Graphic Design, Product Design, and all sorts of various projects. I would love to be able to just paint full time but you gotta do what you gotta do.

What are your current influences? Other artists, musicians, where you live...?
I'm really influenced by people around me, I get excited when other people are excited about things. It keeps me going. The Mattson 2, Peter McBride, Mikey LeBlanc, Cody Hudson, Eric Abel, Cut Copy, Seu Jorge, just to name a few people off the top of my head.

Your artwork has been featured in Surfing magazine and in posters for talented musicians such as Mattson 2. Does this kind of work bring you satisfaction the way your personal work does?
For sure, I kinda get stressed out over projects like that, I don't really like the fact that a bunch of people are looking at them.

What would your perfect day be like?
I would be happy if my dog would let me sleep in once in a while. Being able to camp at the beach with my crazy family and friends, I could really go for just hanging out with them all day.

What town do you live in and what is your favorite place to eat there?
I currently live in Carlsbad, but I will always view Leucadia as my home, and I would have to say Juanita's is the best mexican food joint ever.

Your pencil project is really fun. What made you decide to do it?
Not really sure why. I'm a big fan of Fluorescent Orange and I love making random little promo items and I found a company that was having a huge discount on Orange pencils so bing bang boom, I got em made.

You also have a blog. Is that like another creative outlet for you? I enjoyed learning on your blog that you can rip a phone book in half.
It turned out to be that way. I was living on the road with a friend of mine all winter. We started a blog to keep everyone back home updated in all our adventures. It was just easier than telling the same story over and over, this way they can just check up on us when ever they felt like it. When I moved back to Leucadia after about a year on the road, I decided to start my own blog. Its a good way for me to reflect the good things that happen day to day.

Any upcoming shows?
Yeah, I have one on June 20th in Washington DC, and another one in September in New York, and a couple in the San Diego Area this winter.

Dustin, thank you so much for your time.

update: No matter how much I try, I just can't deny including this video. It's only 12 seconds long, and it's irresistible.

And the lucky winner is...

Hi everyone, it's Devo here. Thanks for putting your name in the hat! It was nice to see all your friendly comments.

Who's it gonna be?

Oh boy, it's Blessed78! Congratulations!

Blessed78, thanks for stopping by and I hope you are feeling like today is your lucky day! Please e-mail me: pineappleluv at gmail dot com to tell me what your address is and I'll ask the mailman to send them to you in a hurry.

This was a lot of fun and I'll definitely do more giveaways in the future. Hasta luego, amigos!

Cars in my neighborhood: 06

'59 Chevy Impala
Nor Cal Collision, Center St., Redwood City