Commentary

July 26, 2012

Fiona Apple – No. 470

Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She has released four albums, all critically acclaimed: Tidal (1996), When the Pawn… (1999), Extraordinary Machine (2005) and The Idler Wheel… (2012). Apple’s vocal range is contralto and her musical style contains elements of jazz and alternative rock.

Fiona Apple is one of my favorites. Tonight Heidi and I will see her in concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon. Blake Mills opens. By the way, in case you’ve forgotten, Fiona’s stunning live cover of Elvis Costello’s “I Want You” still exists.

Posted in Entertainers, Musicians | Tagged Alternative Rock, America, Commentary, Female, Jazz, Virgo

July 4, 2012

Novak Djokovic – No. 454

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who has won five Grand Slam singles titles, between 2008 and 2012. In 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year. During 2011, he compiled in 43-match winning streak and finished the season with a 70-6 record and No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon. Also, Djokovic’s long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristić is possibly the most supportive and adorably emotive tennis fan ever. Happy Fourth of July!

Posted in Athletes | Tagged ATP, Commentary, Europe, Gemini, Male, Olympics, Summer Olympics, Tennis

June 22, 2012

Ernie (Sesame Street) – No. 446

Ernie (Sesame Street)

Ernie is a Muppet on the children’s television show Sesame Street. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program’s centerpieces. Ernie is known for his fondness for baths with his Rubber Duckie, learning to play the saxophone and keeping Bert awake at night. Ernie has made appearances within the Muppets franchise, including The Muppet Show.

I am in Boston for the HOW Design Conference 2012 this week.

Posted in Fictional | Tagged 1980s, America, Commentary, Male, Muppet, Sesame Street

June 15, 2012

Michelle Obama – No. 441

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is the wife of President Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised in Chicago, she is the mother of two daughters, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University. She is an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.

First Lady Michelle Obama will provide the commencement address at Oregon State University in Corvallis on Sunday, June 17, 2012.

Posted in Political Leaders | Tagged America, Capricorn, Chicago, Commentary, Female, Oregon, Pacific Northwest

June 8, 2012

Frank Lloyd Wright – No. 436

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect and interior designer who believed in designing harmonious structures of organic architecture. This philosophy was best exemplified by his design for Fallingwater (1935) in Pennsylvania, which has been called “the best all-time work of American architecture.” Wright was born on this day in 1867.

Of Wright’s over 400 works, only one structure is located in Oregon. It’s the Gordon House at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. I plan to visit the Fallingwater property when I’m back in Pennsylvania later this month.

Posted in Designers, Educators | Tagged America, Chicago, Commentary, Gemini, Hat, Male, Pennsylvania, Smithsonian 100, US Postage Stamp

May 18, 2012

Hồ Chí Minh – No. 421

Hồ Chí Minh

Hồ Chí Minh was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945-1955) and president (1945-1969) of the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. He was born on this day in 1890.

“Ho Chi Minh” is a phrase my dad and his brothers use as an exclamation of fatigue or surprise (or after a particularly violent sneeze). The phrase “L.A.” (which is derived from “Lord Almighty,” I believe) has a similar connotation in their vernacular.

Posted in Political Leaders, Revolutionaries | Tagged Asia, Commentary, Embalmed, Genocide, Male, Vietnam War, Villain, Virgo

May 16, 2012

Admiral Ackbar (Star Wars) – No. 419

Admiral Ackbar is a character in the Star Wars franchise. As the Mon Calamari rebel leader, he played a supporting role in the 1983 film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Admiral Ackbar’s “It’s a trap!” line is one of the most popular lines from the Star Wars films and is a popular Internet meme.

This week I am attending WebVisions 2012 in Portland, Oregon.

Posted in Fictional | Tagged 1980s, Alien, Alliteration, Commentary, Male, Marine, Movie, Sci-Fi, Star Wars

May 9, 2012

Oscar the Dog – No. 414

Oscar the Dog

Oscar is a stray orange and white dog who lives in the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, a walled complex on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru. Sacsayhuamán is the former capital of the Inca Empire. The complex is made of large polished dry-stone walls, each boulder carefully cut to fit together tightly without mortar.

When we visited Sacsayhuamán in December 2011, this dog followed/led Heidi and me around for hours, ignoring all other tourists (and even following us dangerously close to a herd of alpacas, which chased him). I named Oscar after our charming room—which was named after an orphan boy—at the Niños Hotel in Cusco, which supports disadvantaged children. I like to think of Oscar as my canine spirit guide and the best dog in the world.

Posted in Animals | Tagged America, Commentary, Dog, Family, Latin America, Male, Peru, Tail

May 7, 2012

Dingledodger VonFefferhedge – No. 412

Dingledodger VonFefferhedge

In March 2012, our 10″ garden gnome disappeared from the front yard. On the morning of Friday, May 4, he mysteriously reappeared on the front porch with a Mexican flag in his hand, a letter and a photo album of his travels. We learned that our gnome’s name is Dingledodger VonFefferhedge and he is 900 years old. He had been adventuring in Redding, California and Ensenada, Mexico to escape Oregon’s cold, boring winter. His journey included visits with Brunhilde the forest witch and two mariachi statues. (The bottom of Dingledodger’s plastic shoes—which reads “© 1994 Art Line Inc. ® Model No. 4030″—marks the date of his enslavement in China, not his birth.)

P.S. Having a traveling gnome prank played on us was great fun. The pranksters went all out, even giving Dingledodger his own Facebook and Google+ pages. According to Facebook, his birthday is October 12. Everyone needs more weird, random acts of kindness like this.

Posted in Cultural | Tagged America, Asia, Commentary, Family, Gnome, Latin America, Little People, Magical, Male, Oregon, Pacific Northwest

April 27, 2012

Thumkii (Monchhichis) – No. 406

Thumkii (Monchhichis)

Monchhichi is a line of Japanese stuffed toy monkeys that Mattel introduced to the U.S. in the late 1970s. The Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Monchhichis debuted in 1983. Monchhichis are monkey-like creatures who live in the forest land of Monchia at the tops of very tall trees, high above the clouds. As a child, one of my favorite stuffed animals was a Monchhichi. I believe the character was the thumb-sucking Thumkii.

After additional, very important research, I have identified both of my beloved thumb-sucking monkey dolls from childhood. One was a tan, 11″ monkey from Atlanta Novelty, a division of Gerber Products. And the other was the banana-holding Thumkey, a 7″ Russ Berrie knockoff of the Monchhichi line. Both had plush bodies with plastic faces and hands.

Posted in Fictional | Tagged 1980s, America, Ape, Asia, Commentary, Hanna-Barbera, Japan, Male, Tail

April 26, 2012

Tiny Ivo the Pony Boy – No. 405

Tiny Ivo the Pony Boy

Tiny Ivo is a stuffed animal that resides on our bed. He is a brown woolen unicorn made in Oregon by Krystal and Mark Sharp, also known as The Roaming Peddlers. This magical unicorn, which my girlfriend Heidi bought in 2011, is embroidered with flowers and stuffed with about 1 1/2 pounds of organic herbs and flax seeds. He is a Magical Forest Friends creature. He was given the name “Derwin the Unicorn” by his makers. His tag explains that Derwin means “friend to the animals” in Teutonic. Tiny Ivo’s body is stuffed with chamomile flowers, calendula flowers, white willow bark, horsetail herb, juniper berries, dandelion root and flax seeds.

P.S. The name Heidi gave him was inspired by Golden the Pony Boy in The Science of Sleep, a favorite film in our house.

Posted in Animals | Tagged America, Commentary, Family, Horse, Magical, Male, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Tail, Ungulate

April 25, 2012

Heidi Boyer Cavalier – No. 404

Heidi Boyer

Today I am celebrating 404 days of pixel art (and, of course, the HTTP 404 error message that lets you know what you’re looking for was not found). Instead of yet another genocidal dictator, religious icon or superhero, today’s character is my girlfriend. Heidi is a native Oregonian who lives in Corvallis with Ian Cavalier, Eli, Tanuki and The King. She is likely to be found with her teacup, camera and bicycle. Attempting to locate other items she owns will usually result in a 404 error (and much digging through heaps of clothes, sketches and books).

P.S. Heidi calls my 8-bit characters “the tinies.” Now she is a “tiny” herself.

Update: Heidi and I were married on 11/11/12, so now her last name is Cavalier.

Posted in Painters, Writers | Tagged Alien, America, Commentary, Family, Female, Libra, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Seattle

April 16, 2012

Astronaut Jesus – No. 397

Astronaut Jesus

Astronaut Jesus was conceived in 2004 by Argentine design collective Doma. A limited edition, five-color silkscreen poster exclusive to Andr8id was printed in 2004 and a matching vinyl toy was manufactured by adFunture in 2005. The visually striking toy is a 9.5″ (24 cm) figure with a removable helmet and a swiveling right arm. Doma is best known for their visual designs and installation arts. According to the Astronaut Jesus collectible packaging, “[AstroChrist] is an elite member of the astronaut gods that have come to our planet since the beginning of time to shape our civilization and the world as we know it.”

I am amused by the concept that Jesus has been in outer space overseeing the world and will one day return to fix our problems. It would be fun to have my own Astronaut Jesus figure, but only a few hundred exist in the world, so I’m not holding my breath. After the original run of 500 Astronaut Jesus figures, six small limited edition runs were manufactured in different colors during 2005 and 2006, including a hot-pink flocked Wooster Collective Edition.

Posted in Corporate, Religious | Tagged America, Asia, Christmas, Commentary, Latin America, Male, Middle East, Spacesuit

April 13, 2012

Neil deGrasse Tyson – No. 396

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He currently directs the Hayden Planetarium and is a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Since 2006 he has hosted the educational science television show NOVA scienceNOW on PBS. In 2013, Tyson will host a sequel to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980) television series.

Tyson has become one of my personal heroes, and is doing an honorable job of filling Carl Sagan’s shoes. Have we stopped dreaming?

Posted in Educators, Scientists | Tagged America, Commentary, Libra, Male, NASA

April 12, 2012

Carl Sagan – No. 395

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist and author. He pioneered exobiology and promoted the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Sagan is known for his popular science books and for the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. His books include Cosmos, Billions and Billions and the novel Contact, the basis for a 1997 film of the same name.

Carl Sagan and Kurt Vonnegut were my greatest living heroes during my adolescent years in the 1990s.

Posted in Educators, Scientists, Writers | Tagged America, Commentary, Male, NASA, Scorpio

April 11, 2012

Kurt Vonnegut – No. 394

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat’s Cradle (1963), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) and Breakfast of Champions (1973) blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. Vonnegut was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association. He also was a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He died on this day in 2007. So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut and Carl Sagan were my greatest living heroes during my adolescent years in the 1990s. “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Posted in Writers | Tagged America, Commentary, Male, Scorpio, World War II

April 6, 2012

Mary Magdalene – No. 391

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus’s most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Mary’s presence at the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus is consistent with her role as grieving wife and widow. But we’re pretty sure she was just a trusted disciple. Unless she totally was his wife, or a concubine, or prostitute or some other appropriated mythological archetype.

Happy Zombie Jesus Day on Sunday. Or, rather, Happy Lich King Day!

Posted in Religious | Tagged Alliteration, Asia, Commentary, Female, Middle East

March 30, 2012

Al Gore – No. 386

Al Gore

The 45th Vice President of the United States (1993-2001), under President Bill Clinton, and the Democratic candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Gore is also an environmental activist who wrote An Inconvenient Truth. He has founded several nonprofits including the Alliance for Climate Protection, and received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change activism. A well-known animatronic human, Gore was “born” tomorrow in 1948.

I’m pretty tired of creating 8-bit versions of famous white dudes in suits, so this character is based on a Futurama version of Al Gore (plus his South Park superhero cape). In the 31st century, Gore is First Emperor of the Moon. You guys, I’m serial. I’m super-serial. Lockbox.

Posted in Activists, Political Leaders, Superheroes | Tagged America, Aries, Cape, Commentary, Internet Hall of Fame, Male, Nobel Peace Prize, Robot, Spacesuit

March 27, 2012

Joseph Kony – No. 383

Joseph Kony

Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerrilla group operating in several African nations. While initially enjoying strong public support, the LRA turned on its own supporters, supposedly to “purify” the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy. Kony proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium. He has ordered the abduction of over 66,000 children to become soldiers and sex slaves.

Kony was recently popularized by the manipulative Kony 2012 viral campaign from the controversial group Invisible Children. See the Visible Children blog for a critical view of Kony 2012.

Posted in Political Leaders, Soldiers | Tagged Africa, Commentary, Genocide, Hat, Male, Villain

March 23, 2012

Princess Leia (Star Wars) – No. 381

Princess Leia Organa is a main character in the original Star Wars trilogy, portrayed by Carrie Fisher. She first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977. Leia is the daughter of Padmé Amidala and her husband, Anakin Skywalker, a fallen Jedi also known as Darth Vader. She is also the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.

I know 8-bit Leia is missing her classic cinnamon-bun hairdo, but I couldn’t resist the iconic slave girl costume. Behold her metal bikini from Jabba the Hutt’s palace at the beginning of Return of the Jedi.

Posted in Fictional | Tagged 1980s, Commentary, Female, Movie, Royal, Sci-Fi, Star Wars

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