Egg-xactly what I was looking for!

I have a confession. I'm addicted to cool mid-century lamps. There I said it. Today I found what might possibly be one of the coolest Mod floor lamps I've ever seen, and I bought it! It's a giant egg. By giant I mean over 2 feet tall and over 4 feet in circumference!!! I've read these were really popular in Italy during the 1960s, that's cool. Below are some photos. Now I just have to find a spot to put it.
This is what it looks like when not turned on.

Oh snap! When turned on it's awesome!

Help! An Italian egg lamp is attacking me! or.... Aiuto! Un italiano uovo lampada sta attaccando me!

Oh my!!!

New 10 Questions!

New 10 Questions with Nina Nastasia on my new site Strange Digs!!! Go read it!

http://strangedigs.blogspot.com/2008/04/10-questions-with-nina-nastasia-4-26-08.html

Have you heard?

There is a new sheriff in town!
For more info visit: www.myspace.com/thevegancountess

10 Questions with Maria Rose

Maria Rose is the quintessential muse. She's beautiful, intelligent, talented, funny and eternally compassionate. She's a gifted painter, writer, sculptor, model and photographer. In addition to her artistic talents, she works passionately for animal rights. As an influential vegan, she's gained a legion of followers that believe in her respect for all living beings. She's also attracted a cult of loyal readers obsessed with her blog Little Things Are Big which is devoted to daily doses of optimism. I think of her blog as the little blog that could. Her dedication to art (she's the co-creator of The Iandi Art Movement) and animals are qualities not found very often. This "10 Questions" was planned especially to coincide with her 27th birthday. So happy birthday Maria!

For more info on Maria Rose visit:
www.iandiart.com/mariarose
www.maria-rose.blogspot.com

10 Questions for Maria Rose

1. What would you say was your first real painting?

I guess that is a tough one to call. I suppose I had made several paintings that I don’t recall, but I made one when I was maybe 14. My parents made me take private art classes as punishment (yes, that was a harsh punishment). I picked a photo of Yellowstone Waterfall and painted it. I think it was the first time I ever painted and thought it was something I was good at.

2. What is your favorite Marc Bolan song?

You are silly, that is like asking me which star is the best one in the sky. Every song he does is my favorite. I will hear a verse or a little curl in his voice and decide that the song I am listening to must certainly be the best…until the next one comes on.

3. You’re a very proud, outspoken vegan; why did you choose to be vegan?

I didn’t really choose to become a vegan. I was getting lunch at my campus cafeteria one day and just happened to order something without meat. The cafeteria server asked me if I was vegetarian. I said something like “I wish.” He looked at me like I was stupid and said something like “Well, why not?” I stopped eating meat right then and there. I didn’t know how to be vegetarian so I started to do research and as I learned about how terrible the animal industry is, I couldn’t simply be vegetarian. I didn’t choose to become vegan I was morally obligated to do so.

4. We first really met at a party when you were 14 and I was 15. You were the height you are now, around 5’11” and I was like 5’5”. The first thing you said to me was, “Does it bother you you’re so short?” Why did you ask me that?

Well, that was not the first time we met. I met you twice before that when you were still fourteen. The first time I actually tried to initiate a conversation with you was at the party you mentioned. What can I say? You were this cool mysterious, funny, sarcastic, goth guy. I just wanted to say something. So, being my usually awkward self I asked you the first thing that came to my mind. You were short…sure, maybe I should have guessed that it would be something you were sensitive about, but I was not exactly a poised gal. You just sarcastically looked up at me and said “No.” Yikes, I don’t think we spoke again for two years. Harsh, very harsh.

5. Your silhouettes created with homemade paper have become quite popular. What made you start cutting out silhouettes?

I saw a segment on the Sunday Morning Show about silhouettes. Several months later I was sitting at the table with scissors and some paper. I gave it a shot. I discovered I could pretty much do it right from the start. Strangely I have to cut upside down. I have tried to cut from the bottom up and it just doesn’t work.

6. What is your favorite movie?

The Sound of Music. I wish it were playing at all times. I loooooove it. I appreciate that it is two movies in one. Sometimes I am feeling like I am only in the mood for a happy end to the romance part and I will end the movie with the wedding. If I am in for the long haul I will watch the entire movie with the Nazi’s and stuff. No matter how you slice it, the movie is super.

7. I know you want to someday run your own animal shelter in Montana, what would you call it?

I will name it the Coco Foundation. Coco was a shelter dog; my shelter dog. I want to provide a shelter that will help animals to recover from their past and find new life. Coco missed out on that opportunity and I want to stop this from happening again. I will use my efforts to honor her memory and give other dogs the chance to experience a peace that she never got.

8. You’re crazy smoking’ hot. What inspires your fashion sense?

Poverty. When you are poor you have to get creative. Thrift stores are a great way to find items that are unique and do not bring new products into this world. I do draw the line at undies.

9.What’s your favorite new musical act?

Well, I guess it would be Mika. Anyone who is trying to channel Freddie Mercury and does a good job of it has my vote. Seriously! I am also sort of rediscovering old music. Journey has recently come into my world, but I am not sure if that is a passing phase. Stay tuned.

10. What’s the best advice you can give to people interested in going vegan?

Do it! Going vegan is not some magic step, it is a lifelong process. We are all constantly learning and moving toward a goal of goodness. I am a better person, a much better person, for sticking to my convictions. I have never regretted my veganism.

10 Questions with Dan Piraro

I've decided to dig up another "10 Questions" from the vault of interviews that were going to be used for my magazine. Sorry everyone, I got overwhelmed with other things and the magazine got put on the back burner. I think I'll get back on track soon, but until then here is another interview to give all my Earthbound fans a "10 Questions" fix.

This week is with Dan Piraro, he's awesome. He is a vegan, a comedian, an artist and overall swell guy. If you like the Bizarro comic you read in the newspaper everyday then you like Dan.

For more info visit: www.bizarro.com

10 Questions for Dan Piraro

1. Have you ever animated a music video?

No. I've done a bit of Flash animation for my comedy show and made an animated video about humans as herbivores, but that's it.

2. Does your family help you come up with ideas for Bizarro?

Not really. Everything that goes into my head is fodder for a possible cartoon, of course, so in that respect everyone I know has shown up in one way or another. But generally speaking, my cartoons come from some spot in my brain that writes cartoons.

3. We traded art not too long ago. The comic I have of yours is great, but now I want one of your amazing oil paintings. You have a crazy amount of talent, do many people even know that you paint?

The only people who know I paint are those who have checked out my website or bought my book, "Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro." It's a retrospective of my various careers and endeavors in the art world. It features my favorite cartoons from the past couple of decades, fine art, sketchbook art, commerical illustrations, family photos, my comedy tours, and a humorous autobiographical essay. I don't sell my paintings and rarely show them. I find the business end of the fine art world repugnant and since I dont' "need" the money, I've stayed away from it.

4. I’ve always been a fan of one panel comics like Bizarro and Far Side. Are you a Gary Larson fan and have you ever met him?

I like and appreciate Gary's work and have met him a few times over the years, but I wouldn't call myself a fan in the traditional sense. By that I mean that I don't own any of his books and there are probably a lot of his cartoons I've not seen. I think he is a brilliant cartoonist, but he isn't one whose work I've sought out. Kliban, Quino, Sam Gross, Mick Stevens, are some of my favorite single-panel cartoonists.

5. You have certain items that reappear throughout your comics like a firecracker and a slice of pie. Do they have back stories and names like Charles the Firecracker or Diane the Slice of Pie?

I started dropping little out-of-place objects into my cartoons around 1997 entirely to entertain myself. Readers responded immediately and enjoyed looking for them and wondering what they meant, so I kept it up. Later, I invented some humorous philosophical explanation for them, which appear in the back of my book, "Life is Strange and So Are You," and also on my web site under "secret symbols." The names appear there.

6. My wife and I have been vegan for many years. Up until a few months ago she would read me your articles in VegNews and I would show her your Bizarro comics, but I had never realized they were by the same person! One day I noticed there is, from time to time, an animal rights theme in Bizarro. I looked up your bio and felt so dumb that I had not put the two together. Would you mind telling me about how you became involved with VegNews and how you decide what’s funny for Bizarro without alienating your non-vegan fans?

I became vegan in 2002 because of what I learned through a woman I had begun dating. Like a light bulb going off in my mind, I suddenly saw both the sentience of "food" animals and realized the amount of selfish and unnecessary suffering I was subsidizing with my lifestyle. I changed instantly and have not bought or consumed any animal products since that day. Since virtually everything that goes into my head comes out in some form as a cartoon, I began getting ideas for cartoons about this subject. AS I did so, various animal rights and veg groups began contacting me asking if I was "one of them." I hadn't thought of it, but I supposed I was. I began getting invitations to speak at various conferences and festivals and in doing so, quickly became well-known in those communities. Along the way, I wrote some essays and stories about the subject that were published here and there, which caught the eye of the Veg News folks. They asked me if I'd like to write a humorous column for them and I said I'd try it. I've really enjoyed the process and the reader response has been very supportive. Regarding the cartoons not offending the non-vegan fans, I don't really think about that. My cartoons are about the things I think are funny or poignant about the world through my eyes, so that's what I use as a gauge. I often worry about offending people about things over which they have no control–disabilities, race, etc.–but I don't worry about areas in which people have made a choice, like diet. If someone doesn't like what I say, they don't have to read my work.

7. Does anyone, including yourself, have a Bizarro tattoo that you know of?

There have been a number of folks who have written to me asking if they can use my images for tattoos. I always give them my blessing and just ask that they find a tattooist who has good enough hand-skills to get it right. One guy, who is nearly covered with really amazing tattoos based on famous works of art, is adding an entire scene from one of my cartoons that will cover his entire side, wrapping around his ribs front to back. Can't wait to see how it turns out.My wife and I have both have a number of tattoos, almost all of which I designed, but they aren't from my cartoons. Almost all are related to animal liberation and such.

8. Denver’s 1st Annual VegFest is this spring! Sarah Kramer will be joining my wife and I for a yummy vegan dinner while she is in town. Would you like to join us?

I'd love to. What is the date and can anyone cover my flights?

9. The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

The Beatles when I'm sober, the Stones when I'm drunk.

10. It bugs me when people say, “You’re an artist, will you paint me a _____ (insert anything).” Just because I’m artist doesn’t mean I paint on demand. That being said…You’re also a stand-up comedian. Want to tell us a little joke?

Just weeks after her notoriously embarrassing appearance on the MTV Awards, Britney Spears' new album is at the top of the charts.

Denver Veg Fest!

Today was the first annual Denver Veg Fest. It was really cool. I couldn't believe my eyes when Maria and I arrived. My biggest concern was that nobody would come but man was I wrong. Last time I heard there were over 1,600 people wandering around!!! It was so wonderful, Maria and I had went to the very first fundraiser for Denver Veg Fest a while ago, I remember thinking it was so far down the road and then BAM! It was today!

Maria and I had a lot of fun eating samples of soy cheese, tofurky, etc. We got a Veg News tote bag and had an overall blast. Below is a photo of Maria at Veg Fest, what a turn out!

Another great part of Veg Fest was that we got to see our friend Sarah Kramer! She was really busy signing autographs, posing for photos and working her bookseller mad skills (see below). Maria and I didn't want to keep her fans waiting.

It felt great to be a part of Veg Fest. Maria and I donated a work of art each for a silent auction to raise money for next years Veg Fest! I can't wait.

New Short film!

I am currently finishing up a new short film called Enhance Your Calm: Murder, Death, Kill! I'll keep you posted as it comes along.