I cannot stress my belief in how important it is to understand our goals, priorities, expectations, and desires. Or GPEDs for short. To know our perfect work/play balance. To wrangle one's fear of missing out.

With a relationship ended. I fall back into that aching comfortability. I've been single roughly 80% of my life from age 18 until now. That's a lot of alone time to think about why. And many have asked through the years, Why are you single? Perhaps it's time I explored that.

On a beautiful, calm Sunday I was lucky enough to spend some time creating art alongside a pretty special person. I wanted to help her relax, unwind, and selfishly share in something I love.

Teetering on the precarious edge where reflection meets regret, my heart aches with the missed possibilities that led me to a more flourishing life.

The search for the perfect image for someone who loves chimpanzees took me down many internet rabbit holes. But when I read Gloria's story, saw her photo, I knew.

Growing up I always thought relationships could be complicated, but they didn't need to be.

It doesn’t quite feel like reality yet. The night I met her, I was stunned. And I’m just now shaking off the effects.

My mom lives on within me and I can never thank her enough. With every breath, I'll always be her little boy trying to make her proud.

I have met a lot of people in my life. And sometimes there are people who are just magnetic. Where every instant you're around them feels real, authentic, and memorable. And if we're lucky, we get to call these people friends.

We pull the emptiness close as does a newborn its blanket.
Suddenly, FIRE rages and fills us.

OUR VOICE: THEY RECOGNIZE | DEAFNESS ENSUES 

The film actually begins beautifully in a fantastic metaphoric visualization of the journey of marriage and starting a family. That part of the film is worth seeking out, if nothing else.

I have never intentionally parted with a painting before. I have found every sketch, doodle, painting, to be so very personal, that I have selfishly hung on to them all.

This movie is brilliant in bringing to life its characters without falling prey to traditionally perfect heroes and hateful villains. In fact, many of the character are so rich and complex that they are neither heroes nor villains, yet can and do oscillate between.

Yoshifumi Kondo's first and only film for Studio Ghibli is, above all else, a tribute to young love, idealized and unrequited. But it is also, much, much more.

It’s a fun, bizarre, emotional, witty, wholly unique film about a bunch of adorable shape-shifting, anthropomorphized Japanese raccoon dogs, whose forest is slowly being destroyed and taken over by humans, that decide to fight back in hilarious ways.

I had a thought about how special it is to be a conscious creature — to be so aware that I’m aware of being aware and how much I’m aware of that.

I honestly barely remember what it feels like to be loved, to share a life, to have someone to care about and care about you, check in on daily, to call and chat for hours, to just to exist in the same space, cuddling, silent, both protected and protector...

Last year, I didn’t receive a birthday card from my mom for the first time. No "Happy Birthday, my sweet Turkey!" or "Gobble, Gobble up your special day!" in an elaborately hand-constructed, multi-folding, pop-up birthday card.

We wander.
We saunter.
We explore.

I slammed into the curb, instantly flipping my car onto its passenger side. Still going well over 30 miles per hour, I helplessly slid a many car lengths down the sidewalk, only stopping because my car slammed in between an electrical post and a light post.

Perhaps, this isn’t clear, perhaps it never was, I choose this void of emptiness while embracing the ache of loneliness, over the alternative: an average relationship.

I just love this image so much. I sketched it back in 2018 as a sketch-a-day. And I knew even then I eventually wanted to bring it to life in a painting.

2018 had some ups and downs. Let me share a bit.

You’ll cheer at the heroics of a Bogart-ish, WWI flying ace, who just happens to be a pig and laugh at good-hearted sea pirates stealing children for ransom!

You will be moved, heart warmed, fall into childhood memories, smile, cringe, and perhaps, like me, cheer with eyes blurred.

This film is not only artistically beautiful, but also thematically. It is a fantastic, uplifting, coming-of-age adventure in which a most loveable, delightful young girl must figure out the world on her own.

As I type this, I choke up, my eyes begin to water, I pause. This film will pummel one’s emotions to a pulp and haunt you.

As time sweeps past us, we can forget and lose the innocence, wonder, and magic that defined us as a child. With Totoro, Miyazaki transports us back to that perspective of sheer delight in the most life-affirming, adorable, charming, carefree, beloved story I’ve ever watched.

I wanted to bring color into outer space, so I took my pen and ink drawing and created the most colorful astronaut ever.

This is probably the best first Miyazaki film for any newcomer. I’m sad I didn’t see this when I was a kid. Because I utterly adore this film now. I can’t imagine what a splash of nostalgia would have done. It very well may have ended up my favorite film of all time.

This film is fantastic. A deeply complex, imaginative tale of nature, war, compassion, and the struggle of a brilliant heroine destined to save humanity from itself.

This guy just looked so happy I had to take my sketch and see if I could capture some of the original's personality.

In the first of many one-on-one art days, I met with my new partner in art, Jenny. I was excited to paint again, so I grabbed a photo of an elephant and began my first painting in many, many years.

Week seven of my solo road trip! The return! Vancouver to Southern California!

Week six of my solo road trip! Astoria, Cannon Beach, Seattle, Vancouver, and more!

Week five of my solo road trip! Portland, Olympia, the Deschutes River, and more!

Week four of my solo road trip! Bend, Portland, and more!

Week three of my solo road trip! San Francisco, Elk, Mendocino, Oregon, and more!

Week two of my solo road trip! Santa Cruz, Davenport, Berkeley, San Francisco, and more!

Week one of my solo road trip! Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Monterey and more!

There is nothing here that cannot be found elsewhere,
except the uniqueness that exudes from every place.

We are learning how to live through our teenage years. Learning to be an adult. Then, magically, we are one. Or so we are labeled. Our 20s are for exploring what that means to us. Around 30 we begin...

Karl is 100% based on my desire to have an adorable, charismatic, fun-loving, homicidal character help out our hero in a pinch.

I was asked to participate in a fundraiser for a friend to raise money for hospital bills. An art show at the Magoski gallery would feature works from 100s of local artists all painted on...

Begin poem.

Dream you are in an empty room
where your memories are brimming...

Once there was a child who played. When older, the child and their friends began to play in the water. They looked at the islands far passed safe swimming and said things like, I can’t wait to live on that island...

Last year's project fell flat after a fantastic beginning with a trip across the country that spawned no other ventures. That intriguing, yet odd companion I discovered in New York had an aura about her that was very seductive, but I came to discover there was also a harshness and bitterness underneath it all.

On the melaton shores, inky blackness thunders its abuse.
Dean waits.

Dripping lights on the death of the day in the palm of nothingness.

There are those of us who are lost, or meek, or afraid.
And we are not known. People see our reflections.
If we are lucky, they see a glimmer of who we are.

It's an excellent documentary that will leave you with much to ponder. Personally, a few things stood out among them all. What does it mean to be a community? Where is that line between love and fear?

I haven't seen a film this awful in years. A film about sex, beauty and desire was ironically unstimulating, while unironically hollow. They had one scene where they spoke on the concept of beauty. And it was apparently written by a 2nd grader.

I met a woman while in New York. She's different. My first impressions were she was immature, superficial, yet intelligent and cunning. But there was something more, waiting to be uncovered...

So, this time last year, I wasn't happy. The relationship I was in eventually ended. She, like a few before, believed I was giving up on us too soon. I cannot fully disagree. But I have to trust myself or go mad buried under an avalanche of regret.

The fickle memories sneak, evading the ponderer.
Most survive unscathed, eventually caught, examined, released.
Yet some linger under the light too long.

Life is only now. How we spend our lives is minute to minute. What do we desire from it? A living reality or a conceptualized one?

amidst the chaos,
amongst the shared vibrance,
whilst searching for resonance...

Day 1: Driving through the nothingness with my mom. Randall Flagg. Playing carnivorous littlest pet shop with my niece. Toys R Us. Gambling with Adam West's Batman's money.

My yearly project is to reconnect with friends. To go on outings with them. In a way, date them. It is ironic then that the only thing on my mind as I write this is—when and how my relationship might end.

Now consider the book and its reader. The book, a non-sentient object, floats around the planet with the help of other creatures. Between floatings, it can be stationary for many turns of the sun. Within it holds the thoughts of a person wishing to transplant those thoughts into the mind of another, for various reasons.

There are people who are destined to live a life ignorant of the taste of a great scotch, of betrayal, and of beautiful works of literature. For those others, we live a deeper more painful existence. Understanding we are doomed to our limited visions, our finely honed points of view, divergent from another. We must seek to see with the eyes of our fellow pilgrims if we are to glimpse even a sliver of reality.

Before him stretched a spectral waste out of which reared only the naked words in a landscape barren of say a quote or many of its ilk.

Four years ago I tore off a part of me, threw it down on a page and began forging it into a unique creature. I was a god among gods.

Does there come a day in every person’s life when they look around and says to themselves, I have to see if other continents actually exist? 

Neil Gaiman's Sandman with Illustrators Sam Kieth & Colleen Doran is F’n brilliant! Lovecraftian horror and kitten dreams! Wooo!

Welcome to Erik Larson's novel, a work of fiction that is not a work of fiction but is sometimes a work of fiction.

When he gets home he reacquaints himself with the reasons he has admitted the strange dark creature into his house into his heart into his mind and once he finishes that last page he sits alone on his couch and stares off.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. knocked on my door. A door was a temporary barrier between two universes. When Kurt entered my universe he sat in my chair. It’s a chair that reminded me of one my paternal grandfather used to sit on.

On December 28th, 2013 there was a shift in time and for a few wondrous minutes the entire world moved at half speed (and occasionally backwards). It was glorious.

Ron Currie Jr’s novel didn’t put me to sleep or kill me. But this book was like if you took the lunacy, silliness, and fun out of a Vonnegut novel, added some watered-down Cormac McCarthy, and poured it into a glass marked ‘unremarkable’.

Go? Why Go? Immortality comes when you Just Breathe at an Even Flow, and Release.

Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is absurd, smart and hilarious. It’s this absurdity that I really found lacking in his first Dirk Gently book. It’s not absent by a long shot, just sub-par.

I feel I’m on the cusp of a new chapter or perhaps I’ve already begun, but lacking the required perspective that only time brings.

This weekend I was at war. Literally. Kinda.

A cruel, enlightening, important, and self-imposed tradition. A single day of introspection. My thoughts immortalized in words.

My reviews on Melancholia, Shotgun Stories, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and Perfect Sense.

Every year that I continue Project 365 I learn and grow in unexpected ways. This year, with my most challenging project to date, it was no different. This last project is a thank you to all who followed along.

Christmas night. Last-minute dinner invite. Delicious food. Amazing friends. And an unexpected weekly project. Enter: Christmas Children Chaos: The painting.

All I want for Christmas is to support my local dentist. I’ve never made a gingerbread house in my life. So, born of curiosity and to prevent such a grievance from befalling my niece, we set out to make the greatest gingerbread house ever constructed. I think we came close.

Tis the season for hand-made, cardboard, glowy-eyed robots hung from trees. So, break out the wire, solder, and fancy cardboard, it’s time for some down and dirty electronic gadgeteering!

Explosion. Reverberation. Exhalation. A poem.

I attempted to use my friend's experimental software and his monome to playback and combine a bunch of video clips. What came out of it was something almost coherent.

Oh. Cool. I interviewed my buddy Charlie from The B-Roll. Check it out.

For when you want to snuggle with your phone and cash. So, I like simplifying my life wherever I can. So when a co-worker came in with his amazing phone wallet made of felt, I knew instantly I would have to attempt my own.

Junkbots! Bad motivators are our specialty! After my lightsaber project, I decided to put to use all the many unused gems from my junk box. What emerged was a beautiful little robot I named Illy 6.

Halloween manages to bring out the creative spark in so many of us, from decorations to costumes and of course the classic carving of the pumpkin. The Jack-o-lantern was the first project I slated at the beginning of this year. It was also one I almost didn’t do.

In every home, behind every closed door, lies a darkness and terror that you can not escape — family. And every family has their dark side.

A long time ago a very sweet girl introduced me to this poem. It found its way back to me and I'd like to share it here.

Death to paper. Long live paper. Stacks of telephone books and buckets of dryer lint have sat patiently in my garage threatening to spontaneously ignite out of sheer boredom. That all ends here. That all ends now.

I felt sick as I sliced into my first page. The oscillating blade shredded through its guts, carving out chunks of the warm paper. I took another swig of whiskey. A permanent cloud of old, pasty dust hung in the air as I continued the mutilation. As the musty smell of an old library assaulted my nose, my thoughts were drawn to my victim...

After weeks of rainy or overcast weather, finally the perfect day! I quickly stole a friend and her camera to go on an adventure and experiment with HDR photography.

I sat looking at my half-empty bag of concrete. I stared and stared. Willing a project to manifest itself. Finally, it did. I create a concrete bowl with some rocks in it and lit it on fire.

How better to sever appetizers than on sharp spiky sticks?! What I loved about this project was how ridiculously easy, cheap, and cool it was to bring to fruition. FUN FACT: The Tree of Deliciousness is also known as the Tree of Pain once it drops all its fruit.

Days of past’s futures are here in all-new models! Every car has a style. Every car has a personality. Especially classic cars of yesteryear. Enter the Carbot™ Wave 1.

Used my Dremel to the gorge the gourd for it to glow. Gourds have been made into musical instruments, dishware, and utensils. They are simply one of nature’s earliest vehicles for innovation. It only seemed natural for one to find itself into one of my projects.

The ultimate ride was complete. No petrol required. With the construction of our derby car complete it was time to don my leathers, shave my head into a mohawk and truly become a Web Warrior! The race was on!

When I began working at Oakley, the idea that in two months I would be working late building a Mad Max themed derby car in an apartment building’s alley somewhere in Lake Forest with a bunch of other guys from my department whom I had just met, hadn’t really crossed my mind.

Feel like somebody’s watching me. And I have no privacy. Sometimes ideas come to you in the strangest of places. This one however just came from stumbling upon the works of artist Junior Fritz Jacquet.

I discovered a recipe for spiced black tea, chai tea, my favorite. At the same time, I discovered the rather odd tale of Sir Gammer Vans in the collection More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs. It was time to mix the two together. Proudly eat this project with sophisticated penguins and dead honey.

The internet is full of lies and deception. Not that this should be of any sort of revelation. I stumbled upon a fantastic image of a cloud made from cotton batting, brilliantly lit from the inside by a couple of electric tea lights. I thought, what a simple, and cool project. I was wrong.

This is not a drawing. I’ve lived in a cocoon of art and creativity practically all my life. So when a friend asked if I wanted to go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), I agreed eagerly.

Comics and a comic pop art artist. If you know me at all I'm sure it comes to no surprise that Roy Lichtenstein was the first artist I really fell in love with. It was within his works that I first caught a glimpse of who I would eventually become.

My brain switches into mad scientist mode as I slowly lower the unsuspecting tin into the electrified salted water. I shall manipulate these alloys! And out of these bubbling, corrosive waters I will birth an etching of my own creation!

Once there was a moment where man first harnessed fire. Nothing thereafter would ever be the same. I put on my chemist robes and mix a combustible slurry to create my own slow-burning pyrotechnic stick!

Papercraft has always been my nemesis. Origami interests me, but when I stumbled upon quilling, I was transfixed by the amazing visuals. I began this project excited with high expectations. It didn’t take long before I despised everything about it.

Rusty heroes that steel our hearts. I had an idea for an illustration made completely out of rust. My dad, an engineer and a machinist, managed to supply me with a ton of metal filings. And the project turned out even better than I had imagined.

Call the Doctor, this project isn’t breathing. I came across an Instructables project for a DIY Spray Paint bottle and thought, that would be quick and easy. So, I grabbed a soda, acquired some bike parts from a friend, opened up some Sugru, amputated a spray paint can, and went to work. Things went south quickly.

Literature has never been so enlightening. There is something amazing about owning a home. When I first received my key, the 10-year-old Dean in me saw it for what it truly was, a gigantic, expensive fort, and fully customizable.

I grew up reading Garfield and Peanuts comic strips. It wasn’t until somewhere in my teenage years I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes — I instantly fell in love. When I discovered my niece loved them too, I decided every six-year-old needs an anthropomorphic tiger sidekick.

After drinking all the wine for my last project, I had a bunch of empty wine bottles hanging out all over my house. So, I decided to slash the tops off...

I grew up loving Star Wars. I had a whole slew of toys, posters, and magazines devoted to the revolutionary film. However, where I had Luke and Vader, my mother had Ken and Barbie.

One does not find adventure atop a lighthouse, we must lose sight of our shores, meet in the chaos of the vast oceans—passionately colliding, evolving with every crash—slowly becoming one.

What a piece of junk! Ever since I first wielded that cardboard tube while watching Star Wars on VHS, of course wearing my Boba Fett underoos, I wanted my own lightsaber. So, I threw some junk together and created my own.

Sew the vest. Silkscreen the design. Throw the party. I invited the 80s to come chill under my roof along with some most excellent friends!

I love dinosaurs. So, for Earth Day this year, I decided to not only bring a little more green into my home but to also create an alter to these amazing animals that lived for millions of years without destroying the planet.

I kill plants. Succulents, luckily, are pretty hardy and incidentally the only thing I’ve ever managed to keep alive. This is the story of how being a hoarder of plastic containers changed the lives of some of my homeless succulents.

I always loved the idea of making furniture. After years of making fine art, the idea of functional art was very appealing. I inherited a cabinet my father had made and used that as inspiration to create my first ever piece. I cannot wait to make more.

Stones. Relics from the depths of the Earth. Some millions of years in the making. Let's throw them into some concrete and call it a project.

At WonderCon I stumbled upon a booth selling felt creatures, they were cute and quite expensive. Lucky for me and my pocketbook they had DIY kits for much cheaper. I snatched one up knowing how perfect it would be for a weekly project.

I decided to ditch my boring, black leather wallet and create one featuring one of my favorite comic book characters, The X-Men from the 90s.

My early teens were spent reading, among other things, comic books, every Michael Crichton novel, and Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

Let me preface this with I’ve never acted before. Well, not really. Growing up in Southern California I was surrounded by friends who were bit by that particular bug, but I was a timid, shy child. However, that was only my Dr. Jekyll side...

With a little leftover wood, stain, and piano hinge I decided to create this beautiful book that might one day chronicle all of this year's Project 365.

Twelve years ago, I chose to set aside a project I was working on. The reasons for my temporary abandonment are lost, but my desire to complete it never faded. This week, it was time to break out the L-head grinder, Dremel, files, sandpaper, and nostalgia.

I have grabbed my heart and mind, locked them in a padded room, and forced them to discuss this most complex and elusive topic — this romantic love, come what may.

Shadows are fun. Groundhogs enjoy them and they make for great storytelling. So, inspired by YouTube videos, I decided to tackle shadow puppets!

I casually ripped a telephone book in half then made a lamp out of it. Like a boss.

How folding paper zenned me out, transporting me to a place where I was sparing with Bruce Lee, in limbo, atop a giant mountain, that was actually the back of a dragon made of paper that I was folding, while the universe whispered me the secrets of life.

Where I explore my relationship with fruits and vegetables and how I slaughter them for my own amusement and health!

I was around so many old friends today with their families, the irony hits hard. For it was me who wanted a wife and family from an early age, while most of my friends around me dated for fun, I was on a quest for my one.

I had other ideas on how this first submission would turn out. However, I procrastinated. Then today I learned a friend of a friend was killed in a car accident.

No one should go to bed hungry on the street or otherwise. However, providing meals seven days per week is no easy task. It takes some amazing and truly special people volunteering their time to make it happen.

My 2012 project is now decided. Inspired by my friend Charlie and his The B-roll project, this next year I'm taking the jumper cables to the right-side of my brain and creating something every week...

Once a month Surfrider puts up a booth on the boardwalk of one of Socal’s beaches providing bags, gloves, and a few reaching pickup tools in order to empower and inspire people to help clean up their beaches.

There are so many ways to help out this great organization, from office work, event planning, and deconstruction. I, however, wanted to build a house.

It was a dark time for comic book stores. Those which had not already closed were undergoing a slow death.

It’s been a few years since I graduated college, but my alma mater’s volunteer club was more than happy to let me tag along.

...so I sat down and began to create some art. This is what spilled out of my head.

I showed up at 3pm at the Incredible Edible Park in the city of Irvine where I met Raul, one of the caretakers of the park.

I need your help. I need YOU to draw a robot! Take 5 seconds, take 5 weeks. Create a robot from your imagination or draw your favorite from fiction.

Mission: Hunt down and collect the elusive acorn.
Party: Five tenderfoot volunteers. Two seasoned docents. And me.

In a world where video games have become hyper-realistic and intensely intricate, where your emaciated imagination slowly withers from lack of use, there is a glimmer of hope...

Why do we eat what we eat? What qualifies as a pet? Do all animals have rights?

I spent the day with lions, tigers, llamas, bears, zebras, jaguars, chimpanzees, ostriches, hawks, and ferrets.

Our master in brew
coffee be your name.
Your caffeine come,
your will be done,

Chilling with some puppies inside a PetCo for a few hours isn’t a bad way to give your time.

I arrived at Eaton Canyon Nature Center in the hills above Pasadena where I met the CNI docents that were to be our trail guides.

Art of Elysium looks to the volunteer to use their talents to brighten the day of these hospital-bound children.

My Comfort Zone Camp experience transcends words. Its transformative powers can only be understated.

We live. We die. And happiness, contentedness is the only thing that matters. The problems only arise when you desire more than what the world offers and that which you are not willing to fight for.

For 365 days I did not have a sip of alcohol.

This is very personal piece. It has its origins in my career's beginning, teaching art, experimental techniques, silly frugality, and an unreachable, unreasonable love.

and so it is. chaos to be. to be, chaotically...

Stirring before your curious posture, is a world. You know it well enough. You have long recognized it, defined it, explored it, and loved it. Dear, you held it close and manipulated it.

Grand Moff Tarkin runs into Hellboy. They quickly become enemies.

I did not cut my hair for a year

What is the meaning of life? To everyone comes a different answer. Life, a gift. A gift so complex, so vast and beautiful most spend most of their lives just trying to figure it out.

Everyone needs an outlet to express themselves; to emancipate our ideas, emotions, and desires. How we do this and the means in which it is interpreted will inevitably define us.

The absolute worst, best, unbelievable, most uplifting, and brilliantly devastating film that I am ever likely to see.

Here we go again. I’ve been setting the stage for some deep introspection all day and for some reason, I have lost it all in the here and now.

I took a self-portrait every single day this year.

Tired, I stumble into my house. An unfamiliar silence and stale air wash over me. The house seems to grow larger in front of my eyes. The rooms are darker, the air painfully silent.

So I went to the Fish in the Pond — A String Theory Discussion Lecture at Claremont Museum of Art yesterday afternoon.

More and more evidence seems mounted against recycling. I have to admit, I was a bit shocked to find out this discussion has been going on for years and I’ve only now heard of it.

I have been away — mentally, physically, and virtually. I have let my daily photographs become the vehicle wherein I illustrate my thoughts and feelings.

Days past, remembered only in the ripple they’ve caused to eventuate the here and now, sometimes feel so futile.

Years fly by in a maelstrom of change and as I ride alongside of it, I continue to uphold the agreement I have with time to continue to metamorphosis into someone I never was and will never be again.

Unbeknownst to most at the time, there is always a singularity of moment, of change that alters one's life so completely that a chapter ends and gives rise to another.

Identity. I seem to come back to this idea a lot. This time I come back to it pissed off.

I was introduced to Jonathan Lethem at my desk while I sat in my office casually listening to my morning podcasts while gleefully doing what others refer to as “work.”

Our time is valuable. Our choices are our own and its derivative is the weight we bear. Lesser ideas, aspirations, jobs…and people have no place but to fall aside for what we deem more important.

This week is evolving into one of the best in a long while. On top of everything, tomorrow I become truly whole again.

I usually don’t like movies that are based around adultery or cheating. They are usually disturbing, contrived, and generally in poor taste.

As per request, my thoughts on the last few films I have found myself in front of. I must say, I’ve had a streak of really fantastic films and I recommend all on this list, some, of course, a lot more than others.

I can finally move my head and look left. This weekend involved some tempestuous activities that left me broken. I was not alone in this.

Sometimes I watch television and it’s like a glass of wine. A beautiful moment savored, memorable in the here and now but forgotten soon after.

my wednesday night. back at skool. one last time. with an awesome mech pencil and triskets.

my tuesday night. back at skool. again. with an awesome mech pencil.

my monday night. back at skool. with a sucky pen.

I should be having a glass of water heading for bed. But, sometimes in those crucial seconds, before you commit yourself to do something, somewhere, something clicks…and so I’m here.

Hi, my name is: myspace.com/daethington. Some of you might be confused; some of you might think my name is Dean. Not so. Not here.

What is Happiness? Can you create your own happiness? What are life’s ambitions? What does it mean to live a fulfilled life? Is happiness creating happiness for others? What does it mean to love someone? What does it all mean?

I saw my youth slowly fade from my reflection this weekend. Although, if I had been looking closer I would have seen it long ago, this feeling of getting old creeping up from nowhere and settling in my bones.

My thoughts sometimes have a way of escaping time and avoiding reality in order to travel across vast distances where they find themselves cold, alone, outside themselves, looking wondrously at the world in a wholly foreign way.

I ended my relationship with painkillers today. Our breakup was not unlike those of previous romances — it was sad, we had our tearful goodbyes and then we went our separate ways.

The most highly acclaimed independent film of the decade! Well perhaps acclaimed isn’t the right word.

I’m on drugs. Listening to Norah Jones. So. This won't be very coherent. Because of the drugs, not Norah Jones.

I handle stress well. In fact, I thrive in it. Knowing that what I do has an impact on other's lives especially my own makes me want to work hard at it.

I woke Monday morning with no vacation plans at all. So, as chance befalls chance, by the time my head touched a pillow again I had purchased a round trip ticket to Maui.

You see, I own a car. This October I will have owned it ten years. But it's more than “just a car.”

everything happens. not for any reason, in particular, it just does. such is life.

How does one know they are getting older. How does one know they are an adult. How does time play tricks on us.

I haven’t talked a lot about my current job here and that’s a shame, because I absolutely love it. Although, the nostalgia of past jobs and the years and years and years of college has already set in.

I’ve never had the opportunity to experience a Broadway show before. Tonight I rectified that.

I received this comment today and got really excited. I immediately sat down and typed the first thing that popped into my mind. Here it is…

Well okay, not literally. Not even figuratively. More like spiritually. You see, all my life I’ve been baby deprived. Quite simply no one I knew, not family nor friends, had babies.

Okay, as some of you know, my first job was in my local comic book store, Comicmania, when I was 13.

Every time I try, I fail. Okay maybe not every time, but recently it feels that way. In those times my mind turns to me and says, “Hey buddy, this is normal, people fail...

24 hours later and I still feel like someone took a baseball bat to the right side of my face.

So, it seems everyone I know is meeting their soul mates after a seemingly innocent trip to the continent of Europe, which is in fact attached to the continent of Asia.

I literally cruised into my first day of work as a college graduate this morning.

Bored and lonely after almost nine months, it looks like my baby sister’s baby has decided it is time to come on out and meet everyone.

As some of you know, I’ve dedicated a lot of time to a project for a real client that my professor handed off to all his upper-level classes. The idea was to provide this client with a barrage of different styles and designs to choose from.

I went over to my friend's for a Cinco de Mayo fiesta extravaganza…and before taking shots of cheap 50-year-old tequila, drinking a dozen redbull/vodkas, and staying up until dawn having drunken philosophical discussions, I took some pictures with my phone. Including an epic battle…

I’m fried. I had hoped I would have lasted longer. However, with two real weeks left of classes and two huge projects looming over my head, I’ve simply run out of juice.

The girl I’m going to marry doesn’t exist. It might sound like a harsh statement and like everything, my attitude and thoughts on the subject are always changing.

Me and You and Everyone We Know creates a world of such believability that’s also full of such ridiculous eccentricities that I fell in love with it instantly.

An article that I ran across a few days ago; which is strange because by happenstance, earlier this week, I found myself in Downtown Fullerton at the local Farmers’ Market.

Headaches have been something that occasionally crept up on me every few months and then after a Tylenol or two, they would go back into hibernation. I always found it curious when people complained about constant migraines and having headaches every day.

I raise the axe above my head as the rain that beats down on me intensifies. Exhaling, I let gravity and my muscles take over.

Recently, I made a promise to seriously focus on my burgeoning career. This is mainly because I have been neglecting and avoiding the reality of my impending graduation.

I am constantly amazed by my own existence and every aspect within. Some may perceive this as egotistical. Truthfully, I’m not trying to exaggerate my own importance over anyone else. I just find I am the most readily available person who also has the most insight on myself.

It happened in a flash. It’s a moment that changed many things. Recalling it opens my mind to the ideas of regret and alternate realities. And that dreaded question that plagues us all from time to time — what if?

Companies have patented their method of hiring, and real estate agents have patented the way they sell houses. Lawyers now advise athletes to patent their sports moves, and screenwriters to patent their movie plots.

The central metaphor of the film is that of the constant (faithful) gardener, the man who tends to his own world and excludes the tragedy of real life outside the lush and perfect walls of his own creations.

Friends — People who know you really well and still like you. These are the people you willingly invite into your lives to share with them your greatest gift — yourself.

There is something nostalgic about the phrase, "first day of school". For me it brings back exciting memories of reuniting with friends after a summer-long absence, mom taking pictures, and meeting my new teachers.

If there was any doubt in my mind that 24 is the greatest action TV show ever in the history of TV shows, the season premiere of this new season obliterated them!!!

It always comes as a surprise. It seems I always forget about it until it’s upon me. Today is an anniversary of sorts. Of what, it matters not.

What makes a person sit down and write about themselves? There is a bit of arrogance in writing this and placing it online for people to read. Personally, my writing here is a bit of a challenge for me.

Wooohoooo! Somehow I managed to pull off straight As this semester! I guess all my sleepless nights paid off.

A quick rundown of some movies I have rented over the last few weeks.

Today, I discovered how much I missed a lost love. I believe that love stripped down to its core is sacrifice. When you feel strongly about something, you make sacrifices for it.

Nothing more to say. No more ace to play. The winner takes it all.

A MySpace survey that delves into who I think I am.

There are always things you wish you did in hindsight. Some are small and some can be huge. And sometimes the small ones can be the most important.

It’s about strangers meeting strangers. It’s about how we treat one another. It’s about the reasons we act the way we do.

29 years ago, I popped into this world-changing countless lives for better and for worse. I ask you to join me in a drink to celebrate our pasts and rejoice in the here and now!

Bubba Ho-Tep is a must-see, especially for Bruce Campbell fans. Now, I always hate movie reviews that talk about the plot.

It seems this time next year I’ll be an uncle. My sister made the announcement tonight and I must say that it left me feeling a bit bewildered, confused, and pensive.

There is nothing like eating sausage & beans and drinking a beer while watching TV in my pjs to make me really feel like a bachelor. But bachelor life isn’t the subject of this entry, I got my first birthday gift!!!!

Wow! How special am I? Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Warren Beatty called me today! They wanted to tell little ol’ me to vote! And of course, I will, because the future of the world depends on it.

In the Mood for Love is probably the most breathtakingly gorgeous film I’ve ever seen. It’s a sad, achingly beautiful love story that asks us not to identify with the characters so much as to empathize with them.

KUNG FU HUSTLE is easily the most entertaining movie I’ve seen all year and there hasn’t been a martial arts film this good in a long, long time.

I’ve sat through many nights so engrossed in a novel that time virtually disappears. However, one author, in particular, transports me utterly and completely beyond all others.

From the very start, you know bad things are going to happen because it’s stupid people making stupid mistakes. And that’s exactly what happens.

That said, let me tell you one to avoid. I just watched The Apartment and was extremely disappointed.

I feel like more of an anomaly than usual. I don't know. I often feel like I do tonight…it is as if I exist on a different plane of reality.

Uuuuh. The lack of sleep combined with six hours of inhaling developer, fix and stop has made deano beano quite queasy.

“Life’s a journey, not a destination
And I just can’t tell just what tomorrow brings.”

For some of you, this might be the most boring article ever.

Video: A glimpse into what creates our individual identities. How what we wear, the way we cut our hair, our facial expressions, and everything else about our outwardly appearance is perceived and can never truly express who we really are.

My random thoughts spewed onto the virtual page in order to hone in on an idea for a self-portrait video.

Who can blame her? They're delicious!

Sometimes I just hate talking. I’ll think of something to say and yet when I go to speak it, I’ll babble out some nonsense along with the occasional slurring and stuttering before I can get out my disjointed thought.

Everyone wants to believe they are special. Everyone wants to be different. Contrary to this, many strive to conform and struggle to be accepted.

It all started when I ran away from home. I was five years old. Almost six. I lived in a simple, nice, yet thug-ish city in LA. Not that I ever noticed. I was a bright kid and had the street smarts needed to survive. Playing on the streets of LA makes you grow up fast, one wrong move and you’re toast.

Disbelief, helplessness, and despair all flood my mind faster than I can comprehend what it all really means, and the impact it will ultimately have on my life.

Everything that happens to us is a direct result of the choices we make. You choose to act or procrastinate, believe or doubt, help or hinder, succeed, or fail.

When I came across this old relic from my youth, yellowed, its foot broken off, it felt deeply symbolic. I want to capture this, erosion of my childhood.