I think I'm in love.

http://www.wmspear.com/fun.php

I gave my dad one of the radiation symbol pins when he had radioactive seeds implanted as cancer treatment recently.

I've got a question-mark-in-thought-bubble pin on one of my hats, a saturn zipper pull on a jacket, and a write-hard-die-free on my backpack. Becky has a winged book, a monarch, and a silver studded blue.

They're not only cool looking, they're extremely well-made.

I was looking through the stuff to see if he had a hang glider pin, and cruising by the "Raptors/Owls" section, I was like, "Wait! I've seen those!" I bought one of his Condor pins just a month or so ago at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program booth at the Capitol Hill People's Fair. The nice lady who sold it to me said that the money went to raptor rehabilitation... So he must have some sort of donation thing worked out with them.

Not only cool looking, not only well-made, but made by a guy with some generosity in his heart!

Any of you who will have the luck to be in Colorado some time in the next three weekends can go check out his work in person (see how the light changes as you shift the pin!) at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program booth at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. :)

No, no, I don't *wear* pins. Gah.

Not me.

---L.

http://www.debrady.com/

The best one, quite unexpectedly, is the Spenard Divorce pin. Not having ever heard he term, I googled it and found the definition on Alaska.com:

Spenard Divorce
A noisy, sometimes fatal, way of ending a relationship. A proper Spenard Divorce involves a husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend shooting at his or her partner. The action is named after the Spenard district of Anchorage, where the rite is often conducted in one of the area's many watering holes. Since a Spenard Divorce often involves alcohol, a surprising number end with all parties still breathing.

Everybody is now looking into my office to see what I am chortling about. I think this guy is going to get into us for serious money around Christmas this year.

Yep, I just reviewed my 2003 Birthday list and this site fills in the remaining gifts.

This one might have been made just for me. I'm glad to know someone in Alaska is against the return of wolf hunts.

http://www.wmspear.com/item.php?cat=21&item=482

---L.

Hmmmm. Christmas gifts. Gooooood idea.

I finally figured out where I had seen these before when I came across the Spawn 'til You Die pin. That's from a design (often seen on t-shirts) by Alaskan artist Ray Troll. Ray has a studio in Ketchikan called Coho Soho in the old red light district that hangs out over a salmon stream (it's called Creek Street). They had an assortment of these pins there for sale.

Some of the more, well, notable Ray Troll designs/shirts were:

- It's never to late to mutate
- Fish worship; Is it wrong?
- The perils of nude flyfishing
- Got Milt?

MKK

(Footnote for the audience: Snowy is Tintin's dog.)

Kip, please lean in the direction of Portland so I can slap you upside the head.

Quite-good site:
http://www.tintin.com/

*laughs lengthily*

*recovers ability to type*

Well, I suppose I didn't know whether you did it on purpose, so we're even. :}

Well anyway, where is it written that you are supposed to make a living out of self expression? ...I hope I haven't spoiled it all by showing up or done something stupid or impolite...
Bill Spear

Any chance of getting these cufflink form? For those male relatives who wouldn't wear a pin, y'know.