White guy, black shirt...

Back from Vegas! Strangely enough, the highlight of the trip was not anything at the show, but the places S and K took me. The Artisan is the most gorgeous hotel with the swankiest bar I've seen. And the hookah lounge has our favorite blend back! I did pick up some cool souveniers, like more black t-shirts for my collection, and some German tanks for my Wehrmacht infantry platoon. I also did a podcast interview that will be broadcast somewhere on the net. I am, however, sick of the sights and sounds of a Vegas casino. It's just non-stop sensory overload, with all the noises, flashing lights, and stale cigarette smoke. Not to mention people who think they're having a good time because they're drunk. All of my best Vegas experiences have happened off the strip.
On another note, our yoga instructor's husband is head chef at a place called "Interim." Definitely in the top 3 favorite places to eat in Memphis. This should be a good weekend, finally being home to enjoy what home is to me.

Kung-fu Kenobi's Big Adventure...

If you haven't seen Evan Mather's site of little movies, you really should. He's a filmmaker who loves Star Wars action figures. Watch them all. www.evanmather.com

Buena Vista Fight Club...

Off to Las Vegas.

Update to the thread below...

• I put a lot of pictures on my blog
• My job has trained me to drink a lot
• I've been to England
• My best friend lives in Japan
• My parents are crazy
• My wife is Jenn
• My biggest critic is my sister, and she's clever as hell
• I love music, but am kind of a music snob.
• I love wine and beer, but am kind of a snob
• My sister-in-law and her boyfriend live in Las Vegas
• I don't have kids, but have 2 dogs
• I'm a graphic designer
• I work for a game company
• I love toy soldiers
• I have a tattoo
• Some of my friends are gay
• I live in Memphis
• I have an art degree

The End

Let's begin...

What's this?

So I figured that if I was going to overhaul this blog, I should sort of hit the reset button on what's going on. Here's the deal: They started calling me 'Bobby' once I moved down here to the south, from Cleveland, Ohio. This has sort of stuck, which is ironic since my parents called me this when I was a little kid. The result is this:
Friends from home call me 'Bob'
Friends outside of work here in Memphis call me 'Bob'
People at work call me 'Bobby'
People in the industry of my work, but not part of the compay I work for call me 'Robert' because of my work email address.

And I've replaced the picture of me with the 'plant-head', which I'm now adopting as my personal icon bearer. That sculpture is something I made out of stuff in my front yard.
That pretty much brings us up to date. I have the best job in the world, and I get to travel about once a month (see link along the side of this page).

At some point, I feel, my story/career in Memphis will finally end, thus activating my goal of writing a tell-all book of my wild experiences. But until that book comes out, you'll just have to survive on the scraps printed here.

See you on the other side.

Lost in translation...

So my niece is into these toys, handed down by my sister, called Sylvanians. They're basically little dolls that look like forest creatures. However, she's only 4, and for whatever reason refers to them as 'Albanians.' According to Wikipedia:
"The earliest known inhabitants of Kosovo were called Illyrians by both Greeks and Romans. Albanians today claim to be direct descendants of the Illyrians. Serbian scholars claim that Albanians appeared on the scene in the early Middle Ages as a result of intermarriage between nomadic shepherds and unromanized remnants of Illyrians and Dardanians from Thrace. Tracing such descents is difficult but the people living in the region before the arrival of the Serbs from the North are likely to have some genetic relationships to Albanians, but DNA data would be needed to definitively settle the claim, which in any case is hardly germane to the current conflict. The region was conquered by Alexander the Great 300 years before Christ and became part of the Roman province of Dardania in the 4th century A. D."
This seems to be what my niece was referring to. Apparently, her little bunnies, bears, and beavers have endured the plight of genocide during the 90's. Who knew?
So this brings me to the punchline of this post. My nephew, who is a couple of years older, is collecting Playmobil. A German company hell-bent on manufacturing addictive little action figures and accessories from nearly every genre of humanity, Playmobil also happens to be a hobby of mine. Furthermore, my nephew and I collect the same figures: the Barbarians. I know why I love these particular figures, but by either coincidence or genetic superiority my nephew has fancied these same toys, above all the other Playmobil choices out there. With one exception: he calls his Barbarians "Ovarians." You go, girl!

Treasure trap...

I wrote down all my dreams, but didn't check the spelling. All my hopes are written in a book I never read.

Radiation ruling the Nation...

Great news, it looks like I'll be going home over Memorial day weekend. But don't tell mom, it's a surprise for (belated) mother's day. Hopefully she'll recognize me this time. The last time I did this, I showed up for thanksgiving and she stared at me, unable to speak. I just invited myself in and helped myself to some wine at that point.

Anyways, while looking around iTunes, I found that yet again, the perfect name for a band has already been taken: Gay Dad. Now I know what you're thinking, but hear me out-- there is only one other person who finds this as amusing as I do, and he lives in Japan. So forget I brought this up.

Also, we went to Gena's photo show for her master's thesis. Lots of grad students there who were dressed down in the height of fashion, making comments on people's work like "he's doing a lot of great stuff with space lately" or "her paintings have a kind of Stevenson sort of thing going on, very iconic but I like it." I shit you not. People need to learn how to speak at these things. Now, I went to art school, was immersed in this stuff, hung out with people like this, graduated (similarities end here) and then got a job. Keep in mind that at this show, almost no one knew me. So I had me some free cheese and crackers and walked around saying things like "that looks like an octopus" and "that one smells like purple" and "his stuff looks cool, I hope he finishes them." No one made any effort to introduce themselves to me. We were there for Gena, who displayed some lovely photographs of people's houses. She's doing a lot of great stuff with space lately...

The evening just got stranger from there, going out to dinner with lots of "people of the art community" who all talk about art they saw elsewhere or art they're thinking about, but nothing regarding any art they're actually making. I told them of my recent Warhammer army and how I'm going for sort of a woodsy kind of thing. They were all 'interested.' I asked Crystal what kind of army she played and she smiled and pretended it was too loud to hear (it was loud). I figure her for Dark Elves: lots of purple, crazy monsters, witches in bikinis, and loses all the time. I would crush her army like an eggshell.

So I'm off-topic here. The point is, I don't really like most art students, but I can tolerate them if there's free cheese at the event.

A Girl named Whiskey...

I really hope I get to see Darby O'Gill & the Little People in Vegas.

Man in a suitcase...

So I'm off to Vegas again next week. This time, to confer with my UK counterpart. Turns out there's some kind of formal evening, so I have to break out the suit of arcane goovy-ness. There is still a lot more I want to do in Vegas, but time is always a factor. At least I get to see S and K again. A note on the last post, the girl pictured is from the Velvet Tango Room site. Who knows who she really is? Then again, I rather enjoy not knowing. In other news, I may have found a Hookah lounge in my own neighborhood here in Memphis.

Anyways, I'll see you all when I get back.

Coat check...

"When a man has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself."

Easter descends upon the hungry and damned...

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted. I'm aware. And I'm sorry.
Anyway, here are the next two appearances I'll be making:
• Las Vegas, April 23-26
• Philadelphia, June 13-19

"I do not want your blood, I can take that from you. I want your Loyalty, for only you can give that to me."
-Nero

Things that have happened since I've last posted:
Markian has moved to Japan (Hiroshima) to spread the divine word and teachings of the English language to those who would find advantage in learning our fine tongue. I've done one vegas trip, in which Sarah's pet finch landed on my shoulder and tried to say something into my ear. I have no idea what it said, and therefore couldn't meet his needs. Canada was deathly cold, minus 11 degrees with the wind (there is ALWAYS wind). St. Patrick's day was fun, with a few friends and even our yoga instructor Amanda stopping by. The kids learned some yoga and watched the grown-ups behaving more like the kids.
Some movie reviews:

"Sideways" A movie about wine snobs and a bachelor party. A bottle of Pinot would have made this movie easier to watch.
"Broken Flowers" Bill Murray is one of my all-time favorites. This movie seemed to be the missing link between 'Rushmore' and 'Lost in Translation' only a little askew. I recommend it.

I've gone to a Neuro-Muscular Therapist for my haunted shoulder. Turns out, my poor posture and computer work is the cause of "severe muscle strain." This sounds much better than "Thoricic Outlet Syndrome" as was first thought, by my friend D who is a massage therapist.

Happy Easter. Remember, this is the day that Jesus rose from the dead, emerged from the cave, saw his own shadow and we had six more weeks of winter.