John Elway is a retired National Football League (NFL) player. He played his 16-season career for the Denver Broncos (1983-1998). At the time of his retirement, Elway had the most victories by a starting quarterback and was the second most prolific passer in NFL history. He led the Broncos to five Super Bowls, winning his last two (1997 and 1998).
Note: Elway is famous for “The Drive,” which was a 98-yard, game-tying touchdown drive in the 1987 AFC Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns. Watch a recap of his clutch performance. Don’t forget that Elway is also Eric Cartman’s father.
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is the name given to an ape-like creature that cryptozoologists believe inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. Most scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider this cryptid a combination of folklore, misidentification and hoax.
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.
Chief Seattle was a Duwamish chief. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with Seattle founder Doc Maynard. The city of Seattle was named after him. A widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect of Native Americans’ land rights has been attributed to him. He died on this day in 1866.
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered an icon of alternative rock and Seattle grunge. Vedder was originally invited to Seattle in 1990 by former Mother Love Bone members to audition for the Temple of the Dog tribute project and their new band Mookie Blaylock (renamed Pearl Jam in 1991).
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.
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.
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.
The leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa) band of Nez Perce (or Niimíipu) during General Oliver O. Howard’s attempt to forcibly remove “non-treaty” Nez Perce from the Wallowa Valley of northeastern Oregon to a reservation in Idaho during the late 1800s. For his principled resistance to the removal, Chief Joseph became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker. He was born yesterday in 1840.
With apologies to Kurt Vonnegut: This is I. This is me. This is the author of this site. Today I am celebrating 365 days of pixel art with my most self-indulgent 8-bit character of all. I was born on this day in 1979. This year on 3/3 I celebrate 33 revolutions around the sun. For many years I called Pennsylvania home, but I’ve lived in Oregon since 2001. My three cats are Eli, Tanuki and The King.
Linus Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist and author. He ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century. Pauling was one of the first scientists to work in the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology. A graduate of Oregon State University and winner of two Nobel Prizes, he was born on this day in 1901 in Portland, Oregon.
P.S. “Do unto others 20% better than you would expect them to do unto you, to correct for subjective error.” – Linus Pauling
The Wheedle is the title character of the 1974 children’s book by Stephen Cosgrove. He is a large, round, furry creature who lives in the Northwest. The character eventually evolved into a popular mascot generally associated with the city of Seattle. From 1978 through 1985, the Wheedle was the official mascot of the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics.
An American business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. With a net worth of $56 billion, he ranks among the world’s wealthiest people. Born on this day in 1955, Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution.
One of my three cats. The youngest, smallest and most skittish of the group. Tanuki was rescued from the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex. He is part-Siamese, insane and magical. I suspect that he shapeshifts. He was adopted in November 2008 as a kitten. My ex-girlfriend adopted his lunatic brother. They both turn three years old soon. His estimated birthday is September 2, 2008.
Update: Tanuki passed away on November 9, 2019, almost exactly four years after The King. He’s now buried in our backyard. Rest in peace, little buddy. On to shapeshifting in another realm. Eli is our last surviving cat, the only family pet we have left – gone are his father and his loyal, secretive little brother from another mother. Eli will turn 13 years old in March. (Thinking about the diversity of fur colors and patterns in the feral cat colony my cats came from, I’m reminded of the detailed Colour and Pattern Charts page at Messybeast.com.)
One of my three cats. Before being neutered, The King was the alpha male of the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex and the presumed father of Eli. He was rescued in October 2008 when I moved from the apartment to a house. This broad-shouldered, 17-pound cat is loyal, tough and possibly shamanic. He wins battles with raccoons. His estimated birthday is May 17, 2005, though he could be older.
Update: The King passed away on November 4, 2015 due to complications from feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a lifelong condition from his feral past. He had grown thinner and more feeble throughout 2015. One morning he suddenly stopped eating, and it was all over by nightfall. I’ll miss how he followed me everywhere, requesting attention with his broken meow. The King is dead, long live The King. His body will join the previous homeowner’s deceased cat Bhanti (a tiny brown tabby female) in our backyard pet cemetery. Now we are down to two cats, Eli and Tanuki.
One of my three cats. Eli was rescued from the feral cat colony beneath my old apartment complex. More accurately, he showed up at my door on Father’s Day in 2007 as a 12-week-old kitten and asked to come in. He is large (17 pounds), intelligent, affectionate and codependent. My coworker adopted Eli’s brother. His estimated birthday is March 11, 2007.
Update: Eli passed away of old age on August 6, 2021, two years after Tanuki and six years after The King. Dear Eli, good boy until the end, respectfully waited until the morning after our daughter Ramona’s eighth birthday to leave this mortal coil. Ramona was very fond of him. We all were.
A Hong Kong American actor, martial arts instructor and founder of the Jeet Kune Do movement. He is widely considered the most influential martial artist, and a cultural icon. While doing work for the movie Enter the Dragon, he suffered a cerebral edema. Two months later, on this day in 1973, he died at age 32 from a mysterious allergic reaction to medication.
A musician from Aberdeen, Washington. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana, which destroyed 1980s hair metal and put the Seattle music scene on the map. He became famous, married Courtney Love and died at age 27 (of apparent suicide, though some evidence points to the possibility of homicide). Also, where did you sleep last night? This is character #6 of my eight-day Music Week.
Jimi Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is widely considered the greatest electric guitarist in music history. Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27 from “barbiturate intoxication and inhalation of vomit.” Watch the original “All Along the Watchtower” music video. This is character #4 of my eight-day Music Week.
A pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s. He died on this day in 2004. “Georgia on My Mind” is one of his best.
Michelle Obama – No. 441
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.