Sunday, July 30, 2006

Turn, Turn, Turn... To Flickr

It appeared in the Bible first. Pete Seeger put it to music. And the Byrds made it a hit.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

I've gotten sidetracked from this blog. The last few posts have been about my artwork. While I do want you to enjoy those images, I am ready to get back to writing on the blog. As such I am going to post all future images of my paintings and illustrations over on Flickr. It's a great format for images and I'm going to use it as such. Check out the slide show... It's great.

I have posted a permanent (as if anything on the web is permanent, right?) link to my Flickr page over on the right hand side column under "Links". Appropriate, eh?

Please feel free to pass along the link to anyone who might be interested. I always welcome feedback/criticism. Thanks!

You can go straight to my Flickr page here.
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Saturday, July 29, 2006

Forbidden Alley


Colored Pencil, Marker, Airbrush. Copyright 2006 by Dan Duff.
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Forbidden Lion


Colored Pencil, Airbrush. Copyright 2006 by Dan Duff.
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Monday, July 24, 2006

Hands Of Color


Colored Pencil, Airbrush, Marker. Copyright 2006 by Dan Duff.
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Sunday, July 23, 2006

Stars & Stripes


Airbrush & Pen. Copyright 2006 by Dan Duff.
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Art Is Power


Acrylic on canvas. Copyright 2006 by Dan Duff.
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Harder Than I Thought

Okay, my idea about having you guys suggest titles for future posts is proving to be a lot harder than I thought. So far I've only really been able to deliver on one solid post - My First Arrest. I am not counting Take Your Finger Out Of There and Lost In Translation because I took the easy route with those and found a video and an image to plug in. That video still makes me crack up.

I've got the list printed out and taped next the the computer. I am keeping it there as a reminder to try to use them whenever possible. I've got to admit I have no idea right now how I will use some of them. I promise I will find a way to write a post with the headlines "There's No Dignity In Plastic" and "Fuzzy Shoulders". My muse has not spoken to me about those yet.

But since I did get a couple emails asking if the painting posted in Lost In Translation was mine and if I had others to share, I am going to talk about art for a while. And yes, that was one of my paintings. I do have prints available of some of these if you are interested. Just let me know.

So, stay tuned as we change the focus of this blog for a few days to a more cultured and sophisticated one... the art of Dan Duff. Yeah right, cultured and sophisticated? I'll let you be the judge.

Art posts coming soon. I hope you enjoy - and let me know what you think. Thanks!
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Monday, July 17, 2006

Lost In Translation


Title suggested by Steve.
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Friday, July 14, 2006

Phun With Photoshop


Mary thinks this is the scariest picture ever. I think it is hilarious.
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Friday, July 07, 2006

My First Arrest

Charlie made me do it. I was a good boy. Really. I was.

I was six and Charlie was seven. We were next door neighbors so we were, by default, friends. I have no idea where he is today. We had a fight and I bit him once. We stopped playing together and then eventually our family moved far away... ten blocks.

But before that we were friends and played together all the time. It was 1976 and I wore a yellow baseball hat, a red, white and blue wrist band, cut off jeans and a mesh tank top with the number 76 on it - all the time. I was stylin'. I have no idea what Charlie wore, though I am sure it was equally as cool. It was '76 after all. We played all the time. We played with each other and with the neighborhood kids. Our street even had it's own baseball team. We were organized by one of the older kids on the block. He and a friend from the north part of town arranged a baseball league. We lived on Maple Avenue and went by the moniker of the Maple Maulers. I can only recall one other team and they were the Forest Firemen. They lived on Forest Avenue.

We had shirts with numbers. I got one too even though I was six at the time and didn't really play. I was essentially the team mascot. Still, having a t-shirt with a number and being part of the Maulers gave me a sense of belonging. It was like we had our own gang. Nobody messes with the Maple Maulers... or their kid mascot.

Maybe it was the gang influence. Maybe it was age. Maybe it Charlie or maybe, just maybe, it was just a lack of impulse control that got me into trouble with the law.

I regret to this day that it happened. I wish I could have taken back my actions, but I cannot. I cannot take back the forward motion of my little arm that launched a wooden scrub brush at Bobby D'Andre and his bicycle. I cannot take back the fact that it hit him and made him cry. For that I feel bad.

But he was a punk. He was a seven year old punk.

The day of the incident he kept riding his bike down our street. The street that belonged to the Maulers. He taunted us. He said things that pushed our buttons. He wouldn't leave me and Charlie alone. So we plotted how to take him out. How could we let this punk know that he was on our turf. He had to learn. He had to be driven away. We were going to make an example out of him. No one messes with the Maulers. No one.

So we found a wooden scrub brush. It was probably one Charlie's dad used to keep his white walls clean. Charlie handed me the brush and told me that I should throw it at Bobby. It didn't feel right, but Charlie convinced me to do it. I thought I'd give it a try the next time he drove by. So I did. I did not really think I would hit him. I did not really think I would even come close. But I nailed him. I nailed good and hard with that brush. So hard that he started to cry immediately and raced home. There was no doubt he was going to tell his dad about this. He said so as he peddled off in tears.

So we hid. We went to our back yard and laid low. All was good until later that evening when my father got home. I do not know what was said. I do not know who he spoke with. All I know is that I was in serious trouble. Mom and Dad wore scowls. That was never good.

They told me in a very calm, yet stern manner that the Wilmette Police had called them and that I was in trouble. They had to take me to the station for an investigation into "the incident". I was mortified. The police? How could this have happened? I was only six years old! I didn't think six year olds could go to jail. What was happening to me? How could I have ruined my life so easily. My life was clearly never going to be the same. How could I get out of this? Could I blame Charlie? Was he in trouble too? Did the police call his family? I needed to talk to him immediately to get our story straight, but my parents prevented me from talking to him. There were no stops along the way. It was straight from the house to the car to the station. I was going down. Big time.

I remember the drive to the station. It was dead quiet. I remember the walk from the car to the station as dead quiet too. I swear there wasn't a cicada chirping, the wind stopped blowing and everyone, EVERYONE on the street stopped what they were doing and stared. There he goes. The foolish boy who could not control his impulses. Too bad. So young. I was a dead six year old walking.

As we walked into the station I stared at the ground. I could not bear to meet anyone eye to eye, lest that be all it took for them to pronounce me guilty and send me straight off to jail. They could do that couldn't they? Look you straight in the eye and immediately decide that your case was hopeless? They could do that couldn't they? Eyes down. Don't speak unless spoken too. Use your very best, most polite manners and no matter what do not give them an excuse to lock you away.

We sat in the hallway for an eternity before an officer finally came out from a back room and asked Dad if he could speak with me about the incident. Alone. Dad said yes. I followed the officer to his desk and he directed me to a chair to sit in. He then asked me about the incident. He knew what happened and let me know that he had already spoken with Bobby and his parents about the incident. Crud. He also told me that Charlie was there too. He was in another part of the station being interrogated about the incident by another officer. Double crud. He let me know that he had already heard Charlie's version and now wanted to hear from me what happened. So I told him.

I told him that we went to the same school as Bobby. I told him that Bobby lived on another street. I told him that Bobby was teasing us and not saying nice things to us. I told him that Bobby was bugging us.

And then he asked about throwing the scrub brush at Bobby.

"Who threw the scrub brush at Bobby?"

"I did"

"Why did you do it?"

"Charlie told me to do it."

"Did you think that was a nice thing to do?"

"No sir."

"You knew it was a bad thing, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you know you could have seriously injured Bobby?"

"No, sir. I mean, I guess so. I mean, I didn't think about that."

"What do you think the police should do about this now?"

Holy crud. This wasn't really a question. It was a set up for him to tell me what my punishment was going to be.

"I don't know, sir." I said

The rest of the interrogation was a blur. I couldn't think. Here I was about to be told that my life as I knew it was over. Should I cry? Would that get me sympathy? What about running? Maybe I could make a break for it and live life on the lam. Sure, I could do that. I had plenty of friends. I bet Stutz would figure out a way to help me. Maybe he could leave a window open and I could slip into their basement to sleep at night. No, wait... I could be found out. I'd have to keep running. The cops found out about the scrub brush incident pretty quickly. They would find out even quicker that Stutz and I were good friends. Running wasn't an option. I was going to have to take my lumps.

And then, somehow they let me go home. I was a free man. I was not going to jail. I was going home!

Wait. Mom and Dad couldn't send me to jail but they could also make my life miserable if they chose. And they did. They told me that this was not over and that I had to apologize to Bobby... with his dad there... and Charlie and I were not to play with each other any more.

Crud.

----------------------
Title for this post suggested by Jenne.
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Thursday, July 06, 2006

Take Your Finger Out Of There!


Post title suggested by Jeff Risley. I immediately thought of this video. I cannot help but laugh each and everytime I see this. Enjoy and thank Jeff or the idea!
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Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Now Taking Requests

Okay. Experiment time. You give me a title for a post. Any title. Just make one up, and I will write the post to go with it. Let's try to keep it clean and only three or four words to the title. Make it short and sweet and give me some room to be creative enough to make the post fit the title.

Any takers? I know there are a couple regular readers out there. C'mon, let's try it out.
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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. For A Five Year Old

Mary took the girls to a Fourth of July Festival down by the village center today. While there the girls each got a balloon from a magician. Grace got a pretty flower (a daffodil she says) and Hannah got a yellow bunny rabbit (with "floppy moppy ears").

The girls took their balloon creations to the party at Uncle Bill and Aunt Terry's house later in the day. On the way to the party Hannah expressed great concern that her balloon would blow away if we had all the windows rolled down. Grace likes to control her own window on nice days and wanted hers down. We agreed that it would be better for the balloons if we went with a/c.

We made the girls leave the balloons in the car while we were at the party. I had no desire to deal with a fit of screams if someone at the party were to accidentally pop a balloon. We survived the party without a balloon incident. Grace did try to pick up a sparkler with her hands, but she's okay and will heal fine.

So it was about 10:15 PM when the fireworks had ended and we finally got the girls wrangled and buckled into their seats. Hannah requested to listen to "the monkey song" aka Another Postcard by Barenaked Ladies. Soon we were jammin.

And then we heard the squeaky twists of balloon on balloon. Hannah was playing with the bunny. Then... Pop! Quicker than you could say "don't play too hard with your balloon bunny or you will likely pop the lower torso and be only left with the floppy moppy ears" the lower torso of the bunny disappeared. Hannah was left holding a still inflated pair of floppy moppy ears. The rest of the bunny lay dangling, deflated, in shreds.

And then came the tears. It was well past bedtime so over all we thought she had held out well for the majority of the evening. We anticipated a melt down at some point. But then Grace stepped in. And what she said to her sister made our hearts get warm and fuzzy. You know, the way you feel after seeing a really good Hallmark Cards commercial?

Grace said to Hannah "That's okay sissie. I'll share my balloon with you. Part of mine popped earlier, but I'll trade with you if you want." And the tears started to dry up instantly.

"Okay...sniff, sniff... I'll trade with you. Thanks. Here you go." Said Hannah

But then upon being handed a the remnants of the bunny and realizing that she was getting just the ears Grace took back her flower and tossed back the bunny to Hannah. She said quite simply "I don't want to trade for that."

And the tears started flowing. Hannah was really upset now. How dare Grace take back her offer. A deal was a deal. And then like a mob boss who just found out that his right hand man had turned state's evidence against him, Hannah said sternly... "So this is how you treat me? Where is the respect!?!? You are not giving me respect!?!!!"

Wow. I thought this was about a balloon. Apparently Hannah and Grace have some baggage between them that I am not aware of yet.
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Happy Birthday Roddy!




Happy 41st Birthday from your little brother (on the right, in the green jacket!)
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