Scientist Poop and the Epic Fail

Our son recently contracted Streptococcus within his person. We’re all familiar with such things, but the signs of this particular infection alluded us. We knew he had a stomach ache, but little else. The stomach ache became chronic and Balthazar the harbinger used is poo oracle to let us know something was truly wrong. We… Continue reading Scientist Poop and the Epic Fail

Threadless (Critique): Everybody Loves Eye Scream

This design has been sitting around on a couple of drawing pads for a while now. I finally got it finished up to a point that it’s ready for some critique. I think I may still be an image off from original goal of one submission per month. However, I still have several ideas to… Continue reading Threadless (Critique): Everybody Loves Eye Scream

Sorscha the Serious

We’re starting to see a more wakeful baby now. She’s staying awake during longer periods of the day – only to nurse relentlessly upon her mother. She has gained a good amount of weight and shows all signs of being a very healthy girl. Of some uniqueness, she’s quite grunty. We get the impression that… Continue reading Sorscha the Serious

The Horrors of the Obama Administration

This week’s “The Pain” comic tells the story – probably from my area of the world – of Obama’s election. When I first perused it, I had assumed Mr. Kreider was not a fan of Obama. For this one, you need to read the Artist’s statement which raises the comic wit. …watching Obama’s luminous acceptance… Continue reading The Horrors of the Obama Administration

A Baby Changes Everything

Remarkably, the biggest change at the Gradin household is simply in our perception. There are all sorts of things that change when a new child is born into your family. Your free time dries up, your bank account empties, you become more selfless. But when you already have an older child, the thing we noticed… Continue reading A Baby Changes Everything

Sorscha Valkyrie

The latest member of our family made her gooey entrance around noon today. She cleans up well, however. Balthazar is so happy to be a big brother, and Sorscha’s mother and I are, of course, completely in love with the new girl. She’s such a beautiful, healthy girl; I couldn’t ask for anything more. Mommy… Continue reading Sorscha Valkyrie

Smallest, and Newest Member of the Empire’s Finest

Guess who has the coolest costume on the block? Balthazar does! His best (and only) Uncle-figure went all out and got together a suit of youth Storm Trooper gear for Balthazar this year. He’s been working on it for a while now and it’s finally finished. Sunday, he brought it over and we had an… Continue reading Smallest, and Newest Member of the Empire’s Finest

Threadless Scoring

So I learned today that my impression of the way Threadless submissions were scored was entirely by the public and finalized immediately after your time was up. Turns out, I’m way off. Like 83 days off. A submission can stay in the “choice” bucket forever, it seems. I was told by someone at Threadless that… Continue reading Threadless Scoring

Cloudberries

From the folks that brought you surströmming, a kind of fermented herring, comes something a bit different to entice your palate! When I first heard “cloudberry,” I thought it a playful term for flatulence. Turns out, it’s an indescribable fruit found in northern latitudes. It’s rare, and rather difficult to cultivate as I understand. The… Continue reading Cloudberries