Holy Crap! That's a big fish!

I absolutely love anything having to do with nature. There is always something new and creepy and huge appearing on tv or the web that no one has ever seen before. We live here and no one has seen everything there is to be seen. Like this thing:

Zeb Hogan that awesome guy doing the Megafishes project over at National Geographic found this which appears to be the world's largest known Giant Stingray. This is just unbelieavable to me. Not only that I just stumbled upon this article but that it was posted Feb 24! I really need to visit National Geographic more often. Also note to self: do not take swimming in bodies of fresh water in Thailand lightly.

Cocks have no cocks

I finished up the cherry painting and am now working on one involving a chicken. So I was able to pull out all of my chicken books (I have a crush on chickens. I can watch, listen and eat them all day long) and look for some photo reference.

"The Fairest Fowl: Portraits of Championship Chickens" photographs by Tamara Staples is brilliant. You never knew chickens could be this beautiful and diverse.

"Extraordinary Chickens" by Stephen Green-Armytage is equally brilliant and informative.

"The Complete Chicken: An Entertaining History of Chickens" by Pam Percy has it all. History, yes, along with photos, artwork, and such informative tidbits as:

'How the rooster became the Cock' (thought to derive from stopcock or spigot),

Until 1830, 'cock' was an acceptable term for male genitalia. Not until the 'onset of Victorian mores' did it become vulgar

And cocks have no cocks. "Instead both he and the hen each have a single orafice called a cloaca (stemming from the French word for sewer), which serves a multitude of functions, including reproduction."

"Niwatori: The Graphics of Japanese Cock" by Kazuya Takaoka and Sachiko Kuru is a japanese publication with 400 pages of chicken eye candy. Every photograph is a treasure and although I can't read a word of it (due to it being in japanese) it's still my favorite.

Photoreference

I always loved doing research. So the fact that I have to look up photo reference for my paintings adds a bonus point to the process. Today I am researching maraschino cherries as a new painting will have one in it and I've always loved them.

Did you know that the modern maraschino cherry was developed by Ernest H. Wiegand at the
Oregon Agricultural College at Oregon State University in 1919? You can still take a class about it.

Did you know the primary flavor added to Maraschino cherries is almond if they are red and peppermint if they are green?

And (unfortunately) it is a myth that red #40 which is used to dye the cherries red is made from carmine which is derived from beetles (sorry Kevin).

And a company called Roland makes extra flavors (lemon, lime, passion fruit and wild berry), but I guess they wouldn't be considered maraschino...

I'm chilling my ginger ale for this evening to make myself a Shirley Temple (did you know that at any Disney resort they call a Shirley Temple a Mickey Mouse?)

I am not a girl

Well I am, but I am most definitely not girly. I do however, love to look at blogs from other women who seem to be able to stop time and accomplish so much in a single day. They are typically creative, they have a shop, they sew, they paint. They also have at least one small child, more than likely two or three. And their postings are filled with spectacular photos of all the lovely things they made that day. Usually involving a meal for their families with fresh ingrediants that they grew themselves then carved into cute little shapes or creatures. I am envious but realize that I will never and have never had the energy to do those types of things. So thankfully I can sit and live vicariously through these amazing women who seem to be able to do it all with flair.

There are many of these women but one in particular who I have had the pleasure of sitting down to coffee with and meeting her adorable youngest son and her husband Tom (In fact, Tom did Ed's new wrist tattoos last month ) is Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane. Enjoy. Visit her site and then specifically her blog here

Welcome to Cuddly Rigor Mortis

This is what I hope will become the end-all-be-all for everything Cuddly Rigor Mortis. I found Square Space and it's just what I've been looking for. A place where I can organize all my artwork into a professional looking portfolio, a place to come to see what I'm up to at the moment and what I'm looking forward to in the future. It's also allowing me to easily give you, hopefully a fan, all the places that you can connect with me like Flickr, Facebook and Myspace.

So stick around and await the grand opening of the new Cuddly Rigor Mortis website.