Nail Polish Names (an artist’s interpretation)

The people who name nail polish colors are a creative group. The evocative titles don’t always clearly explain the color. When looking at some of the names, these are the images that spring to my mind. These are real names. Try to guess the color. (I’ll be adding to this as much as a can.)

Suzi Loves Cowboys (available here)

More after the jump…
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Power Pencils Launch!

My brand new business and brand new website for my brand new line of products has launched!

PowerPencils.com!!!

These are magical pencils that are loaded with super powers. There will be a new pencil with a new power every month. The wooden pencils ar etched with magical markings and words. They are fantastic!

The first pencil is the Pencil of Desire. Whatever you write with this pencil will come true!

Next month’s Power Pencil will have it’s own design and power. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but it’s going to be awesome.

PowerPencils.com took about a year to get off the ground. The original idea went through many, many stages and it was six months before I finally figured out how to make the actual pencils. Then it took a whole bunch of months fine-tuning that process. I learned so much about all kinds of things! And now I’m ready to make magic pencils!

I’m so excited about this! And the Pencil of Desire is literally and figuratively just the beginning! As I continue to master the art of making fun products, I’ll be releasing more and more stuff!

Laser Farm will continue to operate as my main, personal webzone. And it’s here that you’ll find the usually wonderfulness and Lego Advent Calendar blogs. But now I have two websites! And one of those websites sells magic pencils!!!


Thank you! Now go enchant your words!

Love,
Dan

Coming Soon

Since leaving SparkNotes, what have I been up to? Great question! Unfortunately, I’m not ready to reveal much yet, but I’m currently working on project that is different and new and exciting. It’s the type of thing that makes one lose sleep at night — in a good way, the way in which your brain is too motivated and full to stop jumping around your skull.

It’s like trying to sleep the day before Christmas and your grandma already dropped hints that you’re getting a jetpack! It’s that level of excitement.

It’s also frustrating because it takes a time.

Here’s what I can tell you:

I’m making things, but not necessarily or specifically things with words. Instead, I’m making actual, physical things…things that you can hold and smell and taste…though it probably wouldn’t taste good.

I’ve been in the writing game for over a decade, and I still love writing, but with advances in fabrication technology, it’s time to try something new! Completely new! The kind of new where you have to take classes and wear safety equipment!

And then I’ll take this new thing, combine it with the writing and….KABOOM! Something weird and wonderful will happen.

So to anyone out there who is or was a fan of my writing, you’re in for a treat. Just give me two or three months. It will be worth it. Promise.

Art!


Dollar Store Art!

If you’ve been spying on my Instagram photos, you know I enjoy taking art from the dollar store and then making it more artful.

The first step is finding great dollar store art. While writing up this list of 100 Best Dollar Store Items for Maxim, I learned that the dollar store had more to offer than just scary meats and pregnancy tests. They also sold statues!

Not every dollar store us created (or stocked) equally. My girlfriend and I drove about 40 miles and visited about five or six dollar stores to find just the right stuff. I like the animal busts. These nicknacks are wonderfully weird even if you don’t modify them with colors. Well worth a buck each.

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The Time I Joined a Writing Group

Writing is a lonely, lonely job. Unless you’re fortunate enough to have a staff position at a media company, a writer will spend their working hours in a bubble of solitude. It’s possible and likely that a writer will spend days or decades without conversing with other human beings unless saying, “Number one, with cheese,” counts as conversation.

One possible solution to the loneliness is to join a writer’s group, where like-minded word artists can meet and discuss the work and passion of writing. Such groups will help inspire, motivate, and blow away the cobwebs of a lonely writer’s mind! Or so I thought.

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Middle School Comics

In honor of Free Comic Book Day (this Saturday, May 4th), I offer the following golden memory.

My favorite comic books when I was in middle school were The Punisher and The New Warriors. The Punisher was all about over-the-top macho violence and revenge — like Batman with guns. The New Warriors were a horribly-named third-tier team of teenage superheroes whose roster included characters Night Thrasher (like Batman with a skateboard) and Speedball (a guy who had the power to bounce).

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Dan Reviews Lady Razors

It was time to shave off my beard and this was the perfect opportunity to test out lady razors. I have never used a lady razor before, but I always wondered what the difference is between a men’s razor and a women’s razor, besides the color. Both are multi-blade razors. Both have magical strips of moisturizer. Both are featured in awful, awful commercials. So is there a difference? Let’s find out! Continue reading

Best Lego Things Ever Made

It will be six months before I open the 2012 Lego Advent Calendar. And that’s almost a year away! Luckily, during the non-holiday months Lego is offering up items that rival the mighty Advent Calendar in nearly every way. While the Advent Calendar is filled with surprises and mystery, the Lego items below are filled with angel’s magic and genie blood. That’s how great they are.

Lego just released a series of Monster Fighter toys. These sets Lego-ize the classic movie monsters like Dracula. But who would want stupid, dumb Dracula when you can have….

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