PALADIN: PAL-UH-DIN

When Nicky and I were deciding on our sons name, we knew if when we chose Paladin that people would think it was a little odd and unconventional, which we liked. We also figured that some people might have trouble pronouncing it. Personally, I can't even fathom saying it any other way than how it is meant to be. But then again I knew what a paladin was way back from my childhood. See, I actually enjoy reading, unlike most Americans these days. So just to clarify, his name is not pronounced pal-lay-din or pal-uh-dine, it's Pal-uh-din.

Anyways, paladins are the greatest of all knights. The title originally came from Charlemagne's (if you don't know who he is, crack a history book and look up Europe) twelve greatest knights which were the first and most famous of these noble warriors. But this was actually the lessor reason why I dug this for a name.

The number one basis for naming out son Paladin was due to the lead character on the 50's western TV show, Have Gun Will Travel. Nicky and I absolutely love that show and the lead, played by Richard Boone, was just too freaking rad. Intelligence was his greatest weapon. He could sling a pistol like no other but knew that violence was only needed if all else failed. He had style, morals and sophistication but was rough, rugged and tough as nails. I could go on but I think you get the picture.

With epic defining qualities like bad ass knights, a man's man gunslinger and sheer uniqueness, how could I not chose Paladin as a name for my son? It already sounds awesome like a rock star, artist or even a president's name?



So remember... it's PAL as in he's your friend and mine, UH as in the sound that most people utter when I ask them who Charlemagne was or about Have Gun Will Travel, and DIN as in the den of house or dinner.

SPARKLE MOTION

As I sat in the stands, watching my daughter Alex cheer at football game last weekend, I got to do a decent amount of people watching. One thing I always take notice of is fashion and trends. I you're thinking that's girlie or gay, bite me. I like ripping on or applauding what people wear, even if I wear some weird stuff myself.

The style that was pretty overwhelming was the amount of ornate shiny crosses and fleur de lis' adorned with rhinestones. On purses, jeans, hats and tons of shirts... they were plastered from head to toe! Its not just girls that want to shimmer but dudes as well. Sparkly jeans with glittery shirts and gaudy graphics. Rhinestone dildos as far as the eye can see. It's terrible. I don't see it much on campus though so it must be mainly for aging hipsters desperately trying to look cool.

My bet is that Twilight is to blame. Everyone wants to be an emo, sparkly, ass-clown, vampire. Bad hair included.

ROBOTS: OUR FUTURISTIC FRIENDS

Baby animals hued in blues for boys and pinks for girls seems to be the norm for infant room decorating. When choosing the theme for my soon-to-be-born son's room, I wanted to stray as far from that as possible. Luckily, I was able to talk Nicky into going with a different type of concept.

Robots!

Nicky vetoed the giant Optimus Prime fighting Megatron battle scene that I wanted to paint on his wall. Psh, I wish. I did did get her to agree to letting me put a big, kid-friendly, robot illustration up. I always thought the cutest and happiest (if robots can even look cheery) artificial beings were the old 50's tin toy robots like Robert the Robot. They kind of feel like baby blocks stuck together anyways. I also like the old propaghanda posters that told everyone what a happy family was "supposed" to be. So I decided to do an illustration based on those two concepts, all in hues of red. Here's what I came up with:


That's all fine and dandy for an infant but you know I couldn't stop there. I wanted to make something slightly more edgy for my own artistic endeavors. Check out the second version for ole daddy-o:


It was fun making these too and getting back into being actually creative. I haven't created any new illustrations in over a year, at least. Anyways, I'll be sure to post pics of the boy's room once it's complete. I guess I can toss a couple pics of his alien looking butt up too once he comes crawling out.

WEEDS

I absolutely love my new house. It has an amazing amount of land and yet it's fairly close to downtown. In fact, it has roughly 20,000 square feet of land which is just under half an acre, give or take. As awesome as all that space is for growing food, hosting parties and running around like a moron, that amount territory comes at a price. Some poor sap has to maintain it all.

The previous owner, rest her soul, had poor health during the last few years of her life. Hence, the back yard that she used to love and keep in pristine order with a full veggie and flower garden has since turned into a massive weed farm. I'm not using the word massive just to describe the quantity of bastard plants that have taken root, but their height as well. These bad boys are huge.

Once I've yanked, machete slashed and weed whacked them all, I'll have a handle on the yard. But boy, what a chore the initial eradication is. I now know why the previous owners husband ran a lawn mower blade business out of this place. He probably spent most of his time slaving away at that yard.