"Weird Facts About Products"

Learn the weird histories and bizarre facts behind Aunt Jemina, # Wrigley's Spearmint Gum, Silly Putty, Tabasco, Barbasol, Nestea, Miller High Life, and many more.

Consider it today's early morning Pop Culture history lesson.

Have a blessed Friday all!
-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:48 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Dust Art"

When dust from the road gets thick on the back window of his Mini Cooper, Scott Wade uses it as a canvas to create temporary works of art.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:41 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Chemical burn update"

Well, good news, the chemical burns I recieved on Tuesday are starting to heal quite nicely. My pinkie finger (right hand) is still a bit sensitive to the touch, but the other two fingers seem to have fared far better than I expected. Next time, though, I'm definitely wearing gloves!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:07 PM  I   I  0 comments

"We Let the Dawgs Out"

The Athens-Oconee Junior Woman's Club has created a Public Art Exhibit for Athens, Georgia. Local artists have painted 4-foot fiberglass bulldawgs that are located throughout Athens-Clarke County. It's an opportunity for the art industry to give back to the community and bring recognition of its artists, galleries and sponsors.

Athens is the first city in Georgia to join the national animals on parade phenomenon. Each sculpture has been paid for by an individual or corporate sponsor and painted by local artists.

Each bulldawg is a unique creation showcasing the talents of local artists. Thirty-six painted bulldawgs are on display throughout Athens.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:52 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase"

Joan C. Gratz is an artist and animator who pioneered the animation technique called claypainting. In this technique, bits of clays were used as if they were oil or acrylic paint and the end result is truely impressive.

In one of her best-known works, MONA LISA DESCENDING A STAIRCASE, images of the human face are subtly transformed to communicate the graphic style and emotional content of key artworks of the 20th century, creating an animated history of art. The film won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, among many other awards and prizes at festivals worldwide.

Click to watch the film on Google Video.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:51 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Chemical Burns"

A word of advice, be careful how you handle some of the more heavy-duty cleaning solutions, chemical burns can be quite painful.

Yesterday and today I spent most of the day(s) helping my landlord paint and clean one of the apartments that he owns in preparation for the new tennants moving in later this week. One of the last things I did this afternoon was scrub out the tub/shower in the newly-painted bathroom. Unfortunately, however, foolish me neglected to realize just how concentrated the cleaning solution was, and I ended up getting minor chemical burns on my right hand.

Thankfully, though, the burns were confined to the tips of three fingers, but it still hurt. So, for the next few days, I'll probably have hyper-sensitive fingertips -- and I can't tell you how inconvenient that's going to be (especially since I'm right-handed)! But, I've definitely learned my lesson.... Don't assume all cleaning solutions are the same, because they're not. Some can burn through your skin on contact.

Ironically, too, while this was more my fault than anything, these burns are my fourth notable injury while working for my landlord.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 6:17 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Quote of the Day"

"Weave in faith and God will find the thread."
- Unknown

Trust God with your troubles, and he will take care of the rest. What a powerful quote -- and an excellent reminder for the start to a new week! Faith isn't the easiest thing to accept. When it comes to trust and belief, we'd rather see concrete proof, but that still doesn't change the fact that all around us, faith can and does move mountains.

So, it's a new week. New hopes abound. New resolutions must be faced. And, as always, much uncertainty drifts in the air. But I'm still chugging along, and while a lot of my hopes for this new week rest on nothing but faith, I'm not going to let that stop me from moving even bigger mountains.

Have a blessed new week all, and until the morrow,

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 9:37 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Times Change"

Here's an interesting article about technology and the effect it has on our younger generation. Mores and social behaviors have changed. Informality and individualism are the thing.

"Tech creates a bubble for kids"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 5:56 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Summer Hath Arrived."

Well, it's official. Today is the first day of summer. Get out those grills, fire up those hot dogs, and put on those cute bathing suits. The sun is here to stay!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 6:36 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Back to the 80's"

In today's day and age, music from the 1980's is huge. It's become such a distinct genre, that entire radio stations play nothing but "80's rock". But how many of us remember the videos that went with that music? If you've forgotten, or were too young to remember (like me), here's your chance to visit the creativity and strange imagery that was twenty years ago:

Watch music videos from the 80's. There are over 1,400 of them.

Big hair. Rock ballads. Crazy outfits. It makes you wonder... what will people think of our unique music styles twenty years from now? And will a young adult "Generation Z" be listening to radio stations that play nothing but vintage "MP3 rock"?

It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:17 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Swallowed by Sand"

In 1899, the Danes set out to build the Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse on the North Sea shores in Jutland, Denmark. The lighthouse was built on top of a cliff and towers about 66 yards above sea level. Light was sent some 26 miles out over the sea.

But sanddrift caused a build-up of sand around it. In 1968, the sand dune had grown so high that the light could no longer be seen. The lighthouse ceased operation and was turned into a museum. But the dune kept coming. By 2002, the structure was completely abandoned to the sands.

Here are some amazing photos of this unique ruin.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 9:33 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Home for Father's Day"

Just to let everyone know, I will be out of town visiting family for the weekend, as well as seeing my younger brother before he ships out with the Marines to Iraq. So, that said, this blog is on hiatus until Monday. Have a great Father's Day weekend all, and I'll see you on the flip-side!

Kind Regards,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:22 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Crappy Job"

Now this is clever advertising! .... When a vending or atm machine has a picture on the side that shows someone working inside it delivering the product to you.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:53 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Two Turn Tables and a Time Machine"

In this excellent short film titled "Spin", a mysterious DJ is sent to reverse a series of tragic events -- with unintended consequences along the way.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:19 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Quote of the Day"

"An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied."
- Arnold H Glasgow

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:34 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Brandon Hardesty’s Re-Enactments"

Brandon Hardesty re-enacts scenes from popular movies such as Star Trek: First Contact, The Princess Bride, Pulp Fiction, Planes Trains and Automobiles, The Shining, etc. He used nothing but his own household items as props, and plays all the parts in the scene.

Not half bad, and quite entertaining to boot!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:05 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Jon, Joined the Circus?"

Wow, a whole week of blogging forgotten! Shows how busy I've been. What with the portrait, logo, web, art, and marketing projects these past few days, I have completely neglected my writing. Bad Jon. I guess I'll have to rectify that this coming week, eh? Afterall, I don't want you to think I've gone off and joined the circus without telling you (or did I?). That would be downright rude now wouldn't it!

Heh. Well, time to get back to work -- and time to start doing a better job of keeping all of you in the loop! Have a blessed Sunday everyone, and until next time,

Your busily-occupied should-be-blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:47 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Quote of the Day"

"You don't throw away a whole life just 'cause [it's] banged up a little."
- Chris Cooper, "Seabiscuit"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:54 PM  I   I  0 comments

"How to Get Traffic for Your Blog"

Promoting your blog in this ever-growing blogosphere can often seem difficult and unrewarding. Just writing a post won't do the trick. Like with any other public project, if you want to build traffic to your site, you need to promote it.

That said, marketing guru Seth Godin lists 56 ways to get traffic to your blog.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 9:18 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Minor Surgery"

Today I underwent minor surgery. I guess my string of work-related injuries while helping my landlord continues. First there was the infamous crushed finger. Then there were the painfully sunburned arms. And now today there was a 3/4 inch wood sliver that I had to surgically remove from my hand. Let's just say, it took a pair of nail-clippers and some notable digging to get it out. Yeah, not a pleasant task.

But, the good news is, the offending piece of wood has been successfully removed, the wound has been thoroughly cleaned, and the palm of my hand -- though sore -- is starting to heal nicely. Injuries happen, it's a sad fact of life. But I do have to wonder... three injuries, all while working for my landlord. Have I become jinxed? ... [grin].

-Jon
posted by Jon at 6:34 PM  I   I  0 comments