Little Art

Art is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. I remember seeing some Yoko Ono's art installations from the 60's and in particular one titled "YES" the one that John Lennon saw and feel in love with her. I don't get her art viewpoint. I don't get most art, but I know it is supposed to invoke an emotion, a feeling, perhaps a conversation. So, in retrospect, I guess she accomplished her goal. She made her art, she started the conversation, and she got her man. (and broke up The Beatles - I'm still hurt by that one!)

Remember The Littles? This art installation reminded me of that cartoon, but I guess bigger than that it reminds me of how small we are in the eyes of God. We are just ants marching around building our little ant hills. Sometimes, we focus so intently on building our ant hills that we forget why we are and what purposes our lives have. Again, I guess art has me thinking which invoked an emotion and now a conversation within myself. Art 2, Jenny 0

What's in a Name?

1. Did you know the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons has a name? It’s Jeff Albertson. But that wasn’t the decision of creator Matt Groening. “I was out of the room when [the writers] named him,” he told MTV in 2007. “In my mind, ‘Louis Lane’ was his name, and he was obsessed and tormented by Lois Lane.”

2. Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. (Ken’s last name is Carson.)

3. Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch

4. Snuffleupagus has a first name—Aloysius.

5. The true identity of The Lone Ranger was John Reid.

6. The Wizard of Oz rolls off the tongue a lot easier than his full name, Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. From Frank Baum’s Dorothy And the Wizard in Oz:“It was a dreadfully long name to weigh down a poor innocent child, and one of the hardest lessons I ever learned was to remember my own name. When I grew up I just called myself O.Z., because the other initials were P-I-N-H-E-A-D; and that spelled ‘pinhead,’ which was a reflection on my intelligence.”

7. Mr. Clean has a seldom-used first name—”Veritably.” The name came from a “Give Mr. Clean a First Name” promotion in 1962.

8. In a deleted scene in the 2006 Curious George movie, The Man With the Yellow Hat’s name was revealed as Ted Shackleford. (Since the scene was deleted, perhaps this doesn’t count.)

9. The real name of Monopoly mascot Rich Uncle Pennybags is Milburn Pennybags.

10. The policeman in Monopoly has a name, too. You can thank Officer Edgar Mallory the next time he sends you to jail.

11. On Night Court, Nostradamus Shannon was better known as Bull.

12. On Entourage, Turtle’s real name is Salvatore Assante.

13. Sesame Street’s resident game show host Guy Smiley was using a pseudonym all these years. He was born Bernie Liederkrantz.

14. The Michelin Man’s name is Bibendum.

15. On Gilligan’s Island, Jonas Grumby was simply called The Skipper.

16. The unkempt Shaggy of Scooby-Doo fame has a rather proper real name—Norville Rogers.

17. The Pillsbury Doughboy’s name is Poppin’ Fresh. He has a wife, Poppie Fresh, and two kids, Popper and Bun Bun.

18. Staying on Gilligan’s Island, The Professor was Roy Hinkley.

19. The patient in the classic game Operation is Cavity Sam.

20. In the Peanuts comic strip, Peppermint Patty’s real name is Patricia Reichardt.

Do You Lilac It?

I'm not one to get my nails done. The reasons are simple: time, money, and computer work. I don't give myself that much time to spend on myself. I rather spend the money on something else and in the end I'm always working on the computer and nails would get in the way. Painted nails would distract me too much. I could count on two hands how many times I have had my fingernails and toenails painted. It's not that I'm against it. I think they always look nice when they are done, but again for me it's... time, money, computer work.


Nail polish will always remind me of my cousin Anna. Anytime, I see a bottle I think of her. Even at the ripe old age of eight, she had her "go to" bag of nail polishes. Not just any bag, this bag had every kind of nail polish out there, plus every tool you could use on your nails. Some tools, to this day, I have yet to figure out. She would spend hours on end painting all of her nails and anyone in arm's reach that would stay seated for her. She was a girly-girl through and through. When we stayed over at each other's houses, I would beg her to play restaurant or movie rental store instead of painting her nails or dress-up. Though sometimes I had to concede and we would end up playing beauty parlor and as always, I ended up with the neon orange or blue metallic nails.

So, this post is for my cousin Anna. OPI launched an interactive nail polish widget under the tab "Try On This Color." You can customize your nail length and skin color to your own, so you can find that perfect shade for your phalanges. I like innovation and I can appreciate this interactive selling tool even if it's pushing nail polish. I did mine hand, but they didn't have my translucent skin color loaded yet. I went with "Do You Lilac It?" The name grabbed me. I'm such a marketing push-over, but at least it isn't neon orange.

Put a Sock in it

Where were these socks when I was in grade school? We always had to put tennis balls on our chair legs, but these chair socks are a very cool and simple idea for this common problem. They come in Argyle, Tube, Striped. Argyle is my favorite one out of the set. How classy? As much as I like them, I may have to file this under "If I ever win Powerball and have paid everything else off, then I will buy these for myself." Chair Personality Socks $20

Color My Childhood

How awesome are these cardboard houses by Javier Mariscal? It would be so much fun to play with these little houses and color in all of parts. (cue grandpa voice) "In my day..." we took old appliance boxes and made fort houses. One time, we made our on little city. Well, if I had a kid and an extra $275 lying around, I would really be tempted to buy this house for he or she. Maybe I will buy this for me with our tax return. We could always claim it as my home office, right?

Books: I want. I like. I bought.

I love book covers. I will buy a book based on the cover (insert joke here). I have lots of books... that I haven't read yet. I start them, but I stop because my life gets busy and I can't multi-task while reading. Eventually, they wind up on some nice espresso bookshelf where I can view them while working on some project. One day I will read them, maybe when I'm older and have more time. For now, they will be a part of my room design and inspire me to read... some day.



















I WANT. Usually, I'm attracted to book coverlets. However, these deluxe classic hardbacks are on my most wanted list. The Great Expectations & Sense and Sensibility covers are my favorite covers. I love how the designer picks a signifier that invokes a feeling within the context of the classic story. So, coming soon to espresso bookshelf near me these two clothbound series from Penguin Books Senior Cover Designer Coralie Bickford-Smith.

I LIKE. I have no idea what these are about, but at first glance I like the concept and design. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a clever cover.

I BOUGHT. Well, Kris did for one of my birthday presents. I love old books and especially color-coordinated ones. This is the 1965 Volume set of My Book House. I organize my books by color, of course. These are not pictures of my library, but what I aspire to have one day.

Man in the...Scan?

If you have a million dollars lying around (let's face it, who doesn't it), then I have the deal for you. You can be the proud owner of the Michael Jackson 3D Scan Data Avatar from 1996. I don't question the price because let's be real Michael himself would have bought it at that price, but what would you do with a 3D scan of the King of Pop. {daydream with me for a moment}

Hmm, I could use it on my upcoming Christmas cards, who wouldn't like to see the King of Pop's face while celebrating the King of Kings' birthday. I could have a wax figurine made, so I could throw the cops off me while driving in the HOV lane in Nashville. If stopped by the police, I would totally get out of a ticket because he's so life-like since the 3D was made from Michael in 1996. I could finally have a cool morph scene when I'm remaking The Secret World of Alex Mack. Can you imagine the all of the fun that could be had with a 3D Michael doll? I could put him in overalls and have a new My Buddy doll... "My Buddy, My Buddy... My Buddy and meeee!"

I guess I will save my first million dollar purchase to buy something more reasonable, maybe a website domain. There just happens to be one for sale. I think it's a diamond in the rough.

The Wanderer

I have been floating from one project to another these days, since being freed from my gilded cage... I mean my job. I have been working on my new business venture with my brother (more to come about that in the coming weeks). If someone asks me to help with something, my mind wanders in another direction while completing their project. My mom asked me to design our Pinson Family Christmas invitation (still haven't done it yet), BUT I did update my mom's blog header. She's asleep right now and doesn't even know it yet. Hope she likes it, oh well back to invitation.

I also side-tracked again and helped my cousin-in-law with her start-up company. I got to help with naming it and the logo. When I finish, I will post the logo on here. Her company will be a consignment fine furniture and home decor store. I named it "Then & Again" and it stuck.

If you know my family at all, we can have one conversation and start a company. Whitney started hers last week. Colby and I formed ours a month ago. We come from a long line of entrepreneurs. One of my favorite family business ventures was my parents' disco club. Yes, you read correctly - a DISCO, a discotheque to be more accurate. It was called the "Nite Lite" and I can only imagine the decor it was rocking back then. My aunt and uncle also started a Pretzel store in the mall on a whim too. Since then, we have had lighting and furniture stores/companies, electronic and appliance stores, corrugated packaging company, mattress store, restaurants, jewelry stores, construction companies, real estate, etc. One thing can be said about my family, if there is a dollar to be made we don't waste time or ideas.

I can trace this back to my childhood. I had the rite of passage Lemonade stand. Who didn't? However, did you recycle your cups to increase your profits? Did you market your stand on two of the busiest corners of the neighborhood? Did you offer a free cookie to the consumer who spent $2 on a 8 oz cup of watered-down lemonade? I can honestly say I did all of these and took my money all the way to the piggy bank. I love business, in any format. During my childhood, I had a Friendship Bracelet business that home-delivered (that was the key!) Way before Slater, Jessie, and Kelly had Buddy Bands (see below if you lived under a rock in the 90's), I had franchised a Ramblewood neighborhood empire of selling various bracelet styles to all of the kids and indirectly to their parents. I deployed my siblings and their friends on bikes to deliver these precious gems. They had walkie-talkies to ensure prompt delivery and customer service. The key was to get kids to do all of the work. By all accounts they were ADHD, so in order to get them to help me with my deliveries one had to make it into a game. I called it the CHiPs Game. So, in essence, Colby was one of my Erik Estrada delivery boys. Everyone wins!

Well, I guess I will design the family invitation tomorrow or maybe...

Step by Step: NKOTB Reunion

There is talk of a New Kids on the Block Reunion Tour. I'm already digging out my oversized band button and jean jacket. Hangin Tough! Cover Girl! You Got the Right Stuff! I'll Be Loving You Forever! How fun would that show be? I wish I had a teenage daughter and could drag her to the concert if it were to happen. Step by Step, I will be covering this breaking news (well, the rumor at least.) For the record, my favorite was Jonathan Knight, no Joey love here.

Official Website: NKOTB