"One Twisted Sock Monkey Comes Home!"

picture by Corrina & Adam Carlson

I have always loved Hunter S. Thompson, and not just for his booze and drug filled writings. He was a twisted, dark voice of reason in times when we needed a anti-hero. He hated hypocrisy, greed, human stupidity, and Nixon. President Jimmy Carter once said. " Hunter was a Delightful, unpredictable, and unforgettable friend of mine for more than 30 years". He even credited him for helping him get elected by bringing him the youth vote.

Pic by Me

 He was as a writer also always intertwined in his tales, usually drunk and or stoned he penned 18 books, changed the way we approached editorial journalism, and sparked 4 movies.

  So when I met Corinna Carlson (Gus Greeper) and her husband Adam we became fast friends. We share a love of sock monkeys, books and weirdness then I discovered that they make custom sock monkeys ( @sockmonkeyarmy on twitter) so I asked them to make me a HST (Hunter S. Thompson, not the tax ) they jumped on it.

 Yesterday I officially  adopted HST i call him "Dr. Gonzo". Adam lovingly hand embroidered Hunter's famous "Fist on  Knife" logo on his back. as you can see below.

photo by Corrina & Adam Carlson

They have since I have known them been amazing supportive friends, through my illness, and I accept the sock monkey as a sign of love. Dr, Gonzo will now travel with me everywhere. taking photos in compromising places and positions and will post stories and pics of him in my journeys.

 "Sock Monkey Army" monkeys are one of kind, inventive companions you can see their amazing work here on flickr; The Sock Monkey Army and they have a Facebook fan page as well. 

Below are more pics of Dr. Gonzo.......and a Huge THANK YOU to Corrina & Adam for being my friends.

   Picture by Corrina & Adam Carlson

Picture By Corrina & Adam Carlson

NaBloPoMo Day 10 "You have Cancer...Now What?"

Last week I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma, and after years of wanton sun worship and growing up when no one knew of skin cancer we all lathered our bodies up with baby oil on the beach. There were even oils with crystallized crap in them to amplify the sun for a deeper tan. No days that is crazy talk in line with Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck.

 After I found out my mind went thru it's usually line of thought, from why me?, to time for bucket list. After I settled in with my turn of fate the toughts have normalized into "what should I do with the dead hookers in my closet".. No No i joke..... But I have thought about what I should be doing with my life in the near future and here is what I came up with so far;

A) I will continue to work. I love my job so I will work flex time ,some office ,some home on my boat / refuge.. I will video conference wearing nothing but a tie & shirt no pants.

B) I will get to know some new people outside of my job. I do not have many friends outside of work. It is like a living on the small inbreed island of Pitcarn ( that is where the Bounty descendants live) . So I intend to get to know some of the people I have met on twitter, like, Monica, Kimli, Gus Greeper and her husband, Emme Rogers and the like.

C) I will help Gus Greeper aka Corinna Carlson get her Bali Charity off the ground. I love that part of the world and I feel my connections, and inventiveness could be an asset to her in her cause.

D) I love Public Art...always have, i feel it is a wonderful way for people of all walks of life to experience art in their own way. So I plan on putting together a photo project of all of the public art in Vancouver and creating a website so anyone including schools can find our cities public art.

E) I will buy a new camera and get back into Photography. My late wife was a professional photographer and always amazed me with her talent and humanity in he work. I always loved to take pictures and wanted to get more serious about it now I will.

F) Reconnection with old friends... It is time to re connect with people i loved in my life. Now that I may not have a long lifetime to do this I plan a"Moose Tour" so that I can get as many of my old friends as drunk as I can.

G) Easy part! I will strive to be nicer, more open and better member of my community. To be a participant in life and not just an observer / consumer of it.

That is it for now, I hope you all choose to follow me in my new journey of self exploration, and maybe just maybe be inspired by it.

VIVA LA BADGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!