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Another reason I wish I had HBO

I heard about the documentary “Which way is home?” on NPR this morning. It follows kids leaving their homes in Central America and sneaking across borders on their way to the United States. Just another reminder of the desperation that exists in our world and the risks people will take to overcome it.

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Harper's Lollipop Tree Dress

If it weren’t for China, my baby daughter, Harper, would be naked and wouldn’t have anything to play with.

When you have a baby girl, everyone wants to buy her clothes (especially when she is the cutest baby ever!).  Somewhere between thanking the gifter and keeping the giftee from chewing on the wrapping paper, I sneak a peak at the made in label of the onesie or sleeper, the plastic ball or the toy puppy, the teenie dress or tiny skirt.  The tag almost always reads “Made in China.”

Other than shoes (80% made in China), I’ve never seen a category of clothing so dominated by a single country than baby clothes.  If China shutdown, we’d have a bunch of bored, half-naked babies crawling around our living rooms.

I’m always grateful…

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Shoot Me: What good is humiliation if you can't share it?

I am sick of looking at me.

I just scrolled through 600+ photos of me to select a few for my new Press Kit page. It was my first photo shoot since my high school senior pictures.  Maybe I’ll print out these photos and on the back I’ll write you a personal note about how much fun we’ve had these last four years and how I know we’ll keep in touch because we are totally BFFs.  Or maybe I’ll just select the goofiest photos and post them  below.

Brian MacDonald of MacDonald Photography shot the 600 photos plus my new book trailer. I wonder if his finger hurt as much from snapping shots as my face hurt from smiling.  We did have some fun doing it, as evidenced below,…

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Me and Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime Would you pay $4,995 for Optimus Prime?

That’s how much he’s going for on ebay. This makes me happy because I own this action figure already. Sure, he isn’t in the box and he has swapped a little paint with the Deceptagons. But still, it’s about time the world realized the value of Transformers.

Even if my Optimus Prime were in mint condition and worth $5K, I would not sell him.

Transformers only aired for two years in the early 80’s. Their resurgence in popularity reflects my generations newfound buying power. 10 years ago OP probably went for a few hundred on ebay, but now you could go to the car dealer and buy a real car for what he…

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How many people does it take to make a pair of jeans?

Readers of  “Where Am I Wearing?” will no doubt recognize this story about my visit to a blue jean factory in Cambodia.  Of course, the book wasn’t accompanied with an over abundance of hand gestures. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHev86ELF2w[/youtube] …

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Great Expectations: Fatherhood vs. Authorhood

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I’ve heard about authors saying that releasing your book to the world is like becoming a new parent – all that excitement and anxiety.

Since my book and my first child were separated by little more than one month, I believe I have a unique perspective on this and I’m prepared to make the definitive statement on the matter:

Releasing a book is nothing like having your first child. I suspect, if I would have been the one doing the pushing, sweating, and contracting for 23 hours, I would be even more adamant about this, if not offended by the comparison.

Sure, I’m concerned about how my book is perceived by the world-at-large, but what little (I’m lucky) criticism the book…

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In Lesotho, A River Runs Denim

Do you know where Lesotho is? I’ll be honest, I don’t.

I do know that it’s in Africa. I look it up on Google Maps every time I wear my favorite corduroy pants that were made there. But I just can’t seem to commit to memory where in Africa Lesotho is.

“Lesotho” doesn’t seem like a real name of a country to me, but more of an assassin’s name in the StarWars. Each time I try to remember where exactly Lesotho is, I start imagining what the assassin would look like: how far his eyes are apart; the type of laser gun he favors; and other such nonsense. I picture the assassin wearing my brown cords blasting princesses and Jedi into smithereens.

This is the way my mind works….

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