A Quiet Moment Amongst Friends

Good Job

Very nice! 

Weird Coffee

This is the climax of a crummy advertisement I made in advertising school. I burned the rest of the footage.

How To Make A How-To Video

 

How-to videos don't have to ruin your life.

In this video, I lay out five simple steps that will guide you from doing something, to making a clear, concise video teaching others how to do that very thing. It’s fun, it’s easy, and you’ll go to sleep at night with a vague sense of accomplishment. 

Before you start stressing out about what to do, remember that your video can be about anything. There are no right things, only things. Possible topics include:

• Drawing
• Puzzles
• Relationships
• Swimming
• Whistling
• Medicine

You need to stop beating yourself up. This isn't that hard.

Happy Emoji Family

 

This Emoji family lives in my phone. Instead of sending text messages, I have them act out whatever I'm trying to communicate. It's a longer process, but I'm better able to express subtle emotions. 

Mystery Cave

Ghosts Being Ghosts

I found some kid's terrible drawing on the street and made it a million times better.

Before:

After:

Little kids are so bad at drawing. It's embarrassing.

Things I Saw Last Year

 

Over the long New Years weekend I slapped together all of the video footage that I'd taken with my iPhone over the previous year. I somehow ended up making a real-deal experimental film with close-up footage of insects and long shots of escalators. My friend Carl W was kind enough to help with an original soundtrack. Without music, this would be tough to watch.

UPDATE: This video bookends nicely with this video I made last year.

My Thighs Will Be Your Helmet

 

 

My friend Jake and I were recently heading back to San Francisco from a party in Oakland. Jake was traveling with a bicycle and I wasn’t and we went back and forth for a long time trying to figure out how the 12-block trip to the train station was going to work. Was there a way to share the bike? Perhaps I could I sit on Jake’s shoulders, chicken-fighting-style, while he pedaled? We only had one helmet between us, “but don’t worry”, I said, “My thighs will be your helmet.” It made a lot of sense, but we were tired and couldn’t figure out how to make it work. We ended up walking the entire way.

In the days following, we couldn’t stop thinking about our failure. We knew there must be a way for two friends to safely share a bike. The following series of sketches explore solutions to this problem.

In the first set, Jake provides a classic template for riding on your friend’s shoulders. The top rider keeps the hands up as a sign of success.

You’ll notice that no one gets hurt in a crash because the top rider has a helmet and the bottom rider has thighs protecting their head. 

 

Very nice!

 

In the next set of sketches, I expand on Jake’s template by adding some different styles of handgrips and footholds.

 

 

Where is the bike?  There is no bike.

 Fantasy!

 

Next, my sister Anna trashes convention and provides a number of alternative ways to safely sit atop someone’s shoulders.

I doubt you'll need to pray. This is safe. 

 

Finally, our friend Peter provides two vivid, real-life examples.

We’re so close to figuring this out! If anyone out there has other ideas, please send in your sketches. Who knows where this is going? We might set up a My Thighs Will Be Your Helmet shop on Etsy and sell t-shirts and handbags.

UPDATE: A few people have mentioned the phrase “my thighs will be your helmet” has sexual undertones. Seriously? I don’t know how I could be any more explicit that this is about friends sharing a bike in a safe manner. Get your mind out of the gutter.

Christmas Melted My Face

I drew this beautiful thing for The Hairpin and am honored to have it included in a Christmas story by Edith Zimmerman.

Do you read The Hairpin? You should. This Q&A with Santa Claus (Part 1, Part 2) is fascinating. I also drew another holiday thing here.  

WHILE WE'RE TALKING HOLIDAYS: Is The Joy of Christmas: Secret Santas Remix part of your family tradition? Just curious.

Jesus Died at Thirty-Three

I just turned thirty-three, the age when Jesus died. These lists compare my accomplishments with his.

Who do you think had/is-having the more interesting life? You wouldn't expect it, but maybe it's me?

Things Jesus did by age 33:

• Worked as a carpenter
• Slept in a manger
• Wore sandals
• Walked around
• Performed miracles
• Was tortured
• Rode a donkey

Things I did by age 33:

• Went to prom
• Graduated from college
• Ate pizza
• Ate ice cream 
• Started a blog
• Went to Mexico
• Rode a bike
• Had sex
• Watched DVDs
• Shot a gun
• Owned an iPhone
• Went surfing
• Took drugs
• Sat in a hot tub
• Got married/divorced
• Went snorkeling
• Watched sports on TV
• Flew on a plane