My friend Abraham tagged me, so I thought I’d post my answers. If you’ve been dying to know my deepest, darkest secrets…well, that’s for another day. But if you want some mundane trivia about me, here ya go:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. School bus driver
2. Grocery store night manager
3. Sanitation at a factory
4. Bookstore clerk

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. Toy Story 2
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. The Passion of the Christ
4. Beauty and the Beast

Four places I have lived:
1. Cleveland, MN
2. Waterville, MN (Bullhead Capital of the World!)
3. Moorhead, MN
4. Bloomington, MN

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. M*A*S*H
2. Monk
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. Inside the Actor’s Studio

Four places I have been to:
1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Washington, DC
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Colorado Springs, CO

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Blogger.com (Lots of art blogs!)
2. WorldMag.com (news of the day)
3. apple.com/trailers (movie trailers)
4. drawingboard.org (art forums)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. BBQ ribs
2. granola mixed with yogurt
3. string cheese
4. jelly beans

Four places I would like to visit:
1. Hollywood/Los Angeles (been there once but would love to go back)
2. The art museums of Europe
3. Sites from Colonial American history.
4. New York city

There’s a new podcast in town. Stephen Silver, a very talented illustrator and character designer, has started a new podcast called ArtCast. Only two episodes to date, but good content so far and well worth checking out. (You can subscribe for free on iTunes. Just do a quick search for “Stephen Silver’s Artcast”)

A couple of months back I completed a Flash-animated cartoon called The Dentist Survival Kit. It’s a spoof infomercial designed to promote Way of the Master Radio, a nationally syndicated show on Christian talk radio. The campaign has now officially kicked off and you can view the animation HERE. If you like it, feel free to forward it to your friends (there’s a “Send to a Friend” button at the end of the cartoon).

I doubt the debate will ever take place, but it would be fascinating to watch…
Bill Maher Challenged to a Debate
(Scroll down to watch a clip of Bill Maher’s comments that triggered the debate challenge.)

(Click image to view full-size)

I recently rented Citizen Kane, which I guess makes me an official film buff. It’s considered by many to be the greatest American film of all time, so I had high expectations when my wife and I sat down to watch it. At first we weren’t too impressed, but by the end of the film I could see what all the fuss was about. But I won’t spoil it–you have to rent it for yourself.

Citizen Kane is also full of powerful visuals: excellent lighting, dynamic compositions, and some great faces. I just had to watch it again so I could do some sketching. I don’t often put much black in my artwork, but studying this movie reminded me again of the power of contrast.