The Best Apple Pie On Planet Earth

My friend Christine is quite the chef. She recently began making Cook Illustrated's Apple pie with vodka crust. It is amazing! I think she's made it three times in the last two months, and each time, the pies disappear more quickly! I suggest making this recipe at once, and please invite me over for some "taste-testing", just to be sure you have made this work of art correctly. Hi Ho!

Artist of the week: Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey's latest claim to fame has been his iconic poster of Barack Obama which went viral this year during the election campaign, even though it wasn't an official part of the campaign.





This artist, illustrator and graphic designer extraordinaire began by making "Andre the Giant has a Posse" stickers and plastering them all over the streets.




Now the Giant Obey label has become a clothing line and poster factory of epic proportions. Check them out at obeygiant.com

And to learn more about Fairey check the wiki entry or pick up a copy of OBEY: Supply and Demand: the art of Shepard Fairey at your local bookstore or library.

The One True Maverick

Vignette IV: The One True Maverick
This vignette is the fourth in a weekly series of vignettes composed and photographed by me. This week I was inspired by Xander's birthday party on Sunday. He invited five friends over and they had a Nerf war ~ red versus green. I found these great wacky ninja style masks at the Japanese dollar store, Daiko in Daly City. It was a bit surreal watching masked children with guns shoot at each other and run around the yard like commandos. But it was all in the spirit of fun, and best of all ~ no one got hurt! So please check out the photos on flickr for a glimpse into the madness from that Sunday afternoon! And enjoy the vignette!

And for more fun with your Maverick ~ try this!

Panda Power!

After many phone calls to the post office and much emotional turmoil, Sally's custom made panda costume arrived today at 3 pm. Yes, the day AFTER Halloween! Amazingly, Sally accepted the sad turn of events about her costume without any fanfare or tears. She simply went through our closets and found Xander's old Ninja Bunny costume and turned it into a Bunny Angel on Halloween night. The crazy thing was, when we tracked Sally's package it said that it was delivered at 2:51 pm on THURSDAY, October 30th! Say What - ?!?!? How confusing is that? Meanwhile, dear old Dad was losing his mind ~ checking the neighbors' porches, calling the post office, and generally getting grumpier and grumpier each hour on Halloween. I almost became convinced that it was stolen off our porch by some no-good hoodlums. Then I realized, that seemed pretty unlikely, and that it was most likely delivered to the wrong house or simply in the back of the mail truck under a pile of magazines and publishers clearing house giveaway letters. My advice? Whatever you do ~ Don't use the United States Postal Service for important packages. Use something more reliable like Uncle Fred and his pal Dave.

Trick Or Treat!

Here they are in their Halloween costumes ready to get some candy. Xander is Doctor Horrible from Joss Whedon's infamous Dr. Horrible Sing-a-long Blog. And Sally is a Bunny Angel (Her panda costume got lost in the mail & just arrived today).