Wolf Pond News

Say “Hello” to Biff!

Tommy — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 04:05:51 +0000

Whilst vacationing at Small Point this summer, we bought a used “Jonboat” with a killer engine. Supposedly makes it go 25 knots (we’ve only taken it as fast as 15, but didn’t open up the throttle all the way yet).

It’s an awesome little boat, suitable for ocean harbours and freshwater lakes. It was a little bouncy when we tried to take it out into unprotected waters, though.

We’ve decided to call him Biff.

Do Fish think of themselves as Brain Food?

Danny — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:32:32 +0000

Awhile back, we added two new Goldfish to the tank as summer friends for the Black Moor (which we didn’t want to put in the lagoon). Always ones for variety, this time out we chose Orandas, a type of goldfish with their brains on the outside of their skulls.

Okay, not really. But they have a growth of flesh on their heads (called a wen) that looks like brains. We’ve had them for a couple of months now, and they’re doing well.

The Black Moor has grown considerably in its time with us. When we got it, it was about the size the Orandas are in these photos. Now, it’s nearly as large as our older goldfish, and very plump.

Showroom: Payback Dagger

Danny — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 15:03:01 +0000

Location:
Music Room

This carved wooden “Payback Dagger,” (approx. 12″ long) is from Tambanum Village, Papua New Guinea, and was found at a store in SoHo (Manhattan) called Evolution. It’s a neat little store, with fossils, skeletons, rocks, insects and more. We also have some bones from there, along with a piece of fossilized dinosaur dung (which is very pretty).

If you’ve ever seen the movie The Associate, starring Whoopi Goldberg as a fat, white rich guy, then you’ve seen the store. In the film, she buys a life-size cast of a Rhino Head. That cast can be found in the window of Evolution.

As for the dagger, not only is it a neat little piece, but its name evokes a myriad of images and ideas about its uses.

Showroom: Mr. Tree

Danny — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:00:30 +0000

Location:
Bedroom

Mr. Tree is an Oil Pastel on art board which Danny did a few years back while on vacation out at Small Point. It really has no meaning, but is one of the few pieces of his own that he actually likes.

Mr. Tree gets his name because he started as a study of an old tree in front of the house we stay at out there each year, but quickly evolved into nothingness. The braces were added as a reminder of Tommy’s childhood.

You can view more of Danny’s artwork, also crowding our walls, at Gallery Danny.

Showroom: Untitled (Christ)

Danny — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:00:29 +0000

Location:
Art Studio

This multi-colour woodblock print was made by Rik Skibinski, a friend of Danny’s from his college days. It’s one of many by Rik in our collection, which were all acquired by Danny in about 1993 as a sort of “patronage.” Rik was trying to raise money to go to Vietnam to study the art and culture a bit. And Danny was working full-time, so did his best to help by buying a few pieces. It was actually Rik that gave Danny the only “education” he’s had in printmaking.

Sorry if the photo is a little blurry. Glass sometimes gets in the way.

Rik, if you’re out there, hi! Contact me via the Contact Form, if you’d like.

Showroom: Regimental Orders

Danny — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 01:04:06 +0000

Location:
Music Room

A small fibre piece made by Tommy’s mother, Ardyth Davis, and given to him as a gift a few years ago. What makes it more special is the connection to Tommy’s own history built right in. The gold chain-mail looking part was actually made of a scrap of fabric which came from some drapes that a childhood dog had torn up. And the text hidden in the background is from an old document related to Tommy’s ancestry.

To see more of Ardyth’s works, you can view her website at ardythdavis.net.

Showroom: A Scary Mask

Danny — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 01:08:13 +0000

Location:
Music Room

Tommy found this Carved Wooden Mask in an antique store near Chicago many years ago while there on a business trip. It was missing an ear at the time, but this makes it seem all the more unique and interesting. When not dusty, the paint on the lips is a startlingly blood-like brilliant red.

We have no idea where this originally came from, we guess the Pacific Islands somewhere. That doesn’t really matter, though. We just like it.

Welcome to our Showroom

Danny — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:54:33 +0000

We’ve decided to add a new category showcasing some of the artwork, odd little trinkets and junk found in and around our home. Some of these we’ve made, others we’ve picked up in various places around the world, and many were given to us. Each has a story, as well, that we’ll try to share. Maybe seeing these will fulfill some need in you, the reader, so you can avoid cluttering up your own home with such things.

Hotter than H E double toothpicks.

Tommy — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:45:03 +0000

Ok, so we’re not the only ones having a heat wave - but after 10 years of not having air-conditioning, we were compelled to go out and buy 5 window-air-conditioners this week. What’s up with that? It’s supposed to be a no-A/C climate up here. Sitting in my office working I’m sweating all over the keyboard and wanting nothing more than a dip in a swimming pool.

We did go for a swim in the Pond the other day - documented amusingly here:

And more introspectively here:

Welcome Once Again!

The Campers — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:35:33 +0000

Notice anything different around here?
Yes, that’s right, we’ve once again redesigned everything. We wanted to migrate the system from a stand-alone application that only one of us could easily use (and then not even remotely, really), and to have more control over things like Comments, searching, RSS feeds, updating styles, ease in Navigation and the like. To that end, we migrated the whole system to a WordPress install, and are fairly happy with the result. One of the major benefits will be that you’ll actually be able to see which one of us makes each post.

Getting all the old posts over here was a bit of a chore, and we had to clean up quite a bit of nasty code. We also attempted to cut and paste all the old comments from the “free” service we were using (No ads now!). Hopefully we got everything. If you see any major problems with the site or the stuff that was migrated, please do let us know.

So dig in, have fun, and be on the lookout for further joys to come!

- Your Hosts at Wolf Pond