Plush Hobbes Doll

So, I've never sewn anything before. In fact, October 31st was the first time I've ever threaded a needle so I went into this project without a clue as to what I was doing. After watching a few tutorials on how to prepare my sewing area, which is basically my computer desk, I set to work on sewing a plush Hobbes doll.

Jane is a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes, and she's been quiet good to me through some difficult times this year, so I wanted to make her something unique for Christmas. Of course, I'm not the first person to make a plush Hobbes doll, other people have done it with greater success than me (see here, and here). You can't buy them because Bill Watterson -- the creator of Calvin & Hobbes -- doesn't licence his products for retail, it's fine to make them for personal amusement, but you can't sell them. And I actually agree with that, it does somewhat cheapen the image when it's plastered all over everything. I'm not really good at buying gifts for people anyway -- some people are, Jane for instance is great at it -- so I tend to favor making things.

So, here it is. Apologies that I forgot to take photos in steps, I worked on it whenever I got time and it slipped my mind to take photos of the parts.

The materials before I cut them apart.

I had to make the pattern myself, and obviously if I've never sewn before, I've never made a sewing pattern before. Honestly I was completely lost at this point, so much so that I was using a plush Easter Bunny as my pin cushion. I later found out that paper scissors and fabric scissors are not the same thing!

So, after about 20 total hours of work, and some very sore finger-tips later, I finished the doll. It's 10 inches (a 0.25 meters) tall. In total it's sixty-one pieces. I didn't quite get all the stripes the perfect distance so I had to do some additions to some, the striping was mind-numbingly boring.

The finished doll on my bed.


He's not that tiny, I have gigantic hands. And yes, skinny arms.


I wanted to make his head fatter, but the thread didn't want me to.


View of the face and front torso.

The tail is a bit loose, and that's really my only worry with it's stability.

I bought the thread and stuffing locally, but the fleece came from a website called Fleece Queen. The price was pretty low, and I'm not exactly made of money, and they got it to me quickly and with no hassle so if you ever find yourself buying fleece online, I recommend them. And no, they didn't pay me to say that, if only they did!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Jane seems very happy with him, and that's really all that matters. He did survive being shipped 1,100 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina to North Texas on Thanksgiving week, so I'm thankful for that. My friends say it came out well, but then again, they're my friends and they might just be being nice to me.

Though if you want something much cooler, you can buy one of Jane's duct tape wallets, she works hard on them and they've all come out really well. This is mine. You can see the rest of them at her Flickr page. Go to her site: www.janeds.tv to find out how to order one. I guess that's sort of a plug, even though I don't work for her at the moment. (I used to be her PA, for those unaware). They are nice though, Jane's a creative girl.

Okay. That's that. Maybe I'll make more crafty stuff in the future, people are always harping me to do artistic things (and try to qualify for Jeopardy!, but that's a different story), so maybe I will.

The USL, Charlotte's World Cup Bid, and a Fun-Sized Green Diva

No, this isn't "Which one of these things doesn't belong", and I'm not Grover. Though we have the same wrist circumference.

We aren't posting USL stuff on majorleaguesoccertalk.com much anymore because some people get pissy when we do. I don't know why, they just do. The very mention of the USL is more controversial to some MLS fans than the bank bailout and the abortion issue combined, and almost as polarizing as Billy-fucking-Mitchell. Damn. But, Kartik Krishnaiyer has posted a write-up about how the USL-related shit has totally hit the fan since August, read it: here.

I think the USL and the TOA need to get there crap together and look at how the J. League works. It's a successful summer-based league in a capitalist country with competing sports that manages to take time off for FIFA days. Can you imagine? Looking at something that actually works. I mean, it's crazy. But that won't happen since the situation has devolved to the point where the two-parties may well start flinging their own feces at one another. You know, like the Democrats and Republicans. Feces-flinging, welcome to the new America.

On a brighter soccer-related note, Charlotte is still in the running to host World Cup matches should the US win the right to do so in either 2018 or 2022. Charlotte is far from the most famous city on the list, and far from the most prosperous, but it should host matches anyway. Why? Because it can. Charlotte has a successful history of hosting big events, it does so every year when it plays host to the NASCAR All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600, two of the biggest events in motorsports. The CIAA has seemingly fallen madly in love with Charlotte as a host for it's showpiece event, it's basketball tournament and the ACC has decided to put it's football championship in the same stadium that would host World Cup matches. Charlotte's track record is nothing short of wonderful. Furthermore, Charlotte isn't playing the "we simply deserve it" card, it actually wants to host. You can support Charlotte's World Cup dream here.

Oh, and Jane. Who isn't small, she's fun-sized, hosted a conference today about the Ford Fiesta at her school. She's a Fiesta Agent and as such, she's driving the Fiesta for six-months. If you want a new car, and happen to want an economical American car, you should watch her Fiesta Movement videos. It looks like a fun little car, and no FTC, I'm not on Ford's payroll, and as of March 2009, not on Jane's either. So you'll have to find some other way to make money.

What about cars regular people can buy?

NASCAR used to, and still does to a small degree, have a mantra that went "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday". They said this because the cars they raced on the NASCAR circuit were actually cars that you common people could afford to buy at the car dealership on Monday. But that all changed when NASCAR race cars became a thin sheet of metal on a roll cage, it looked like the car you could buy, but it wasn't, and that got worse thwne they introduced the "car of tomorrow" which makes every car, regardless of make, basically the same.

Recently NASCAR announced that the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger would compete in the Nationwide Series as that series' car of tomorrow models. The problem is that common people can't afford those now even if they looked like the real one you could buy.

Today on the X-Games Ford used the rally event to introduce the American public to the newest car in it's American stable, the Fiesta. The Fiesta is an affordable, gas-saving subcompact that has proven itself wildly popular in Europe. There was once a school of thought, which is lessening, that Americans don't like things Europeans like...tell that to Jane. Jane is a friend of mine. She's from Texas and she's very, very Texan. If you think of the "All-American girl" the image you think of probably resembles Jane in some way. Earlier this year Jane was picked by Ford to become a "Fiesta Agent", a group of internet-savvy people chosen to honestly review the Fiesta for six months, and perform strange tasks while doing so. Jane adores her Fiesta, and it gets positive reviews wherever she goes. Yes, these cars do work in America.

With this in mind, I asked myself, why doesn't NASCAR -- which is suffering from falling popularity -- catch wind of this? People like the Fiesta, and people can afford the Fiesta. In 2010 Ford will enter three different vehicles in NASCAR's three national divisions: The Fusion, the Mustang, and the F-150. I understand the appeal of all three, but why isn't there a division for smaller cars? I know people will say "Because they're small", but the Fiesta was very entertaining to watch as a rally car and would be entertaining on courses like Charlotte and Bristol if it was kept as is. It could race along side the 500 if Fiat brings it over as a Chrysler, the Yaris, and Chevy's neglected Aveo. People would watch, and people would buy.

From Africa, To Africa

I bought some coffee from Starbucks today. It's called "From Africa, To Africa" and as the name implies it's an African coffee and revenue from the product goes back to African farmers. That's nice.

Jane told me about it and she was really excited about it - she doesn't tout it much, but she actually really cares about helping people, she's a lovely person - so I bought it. It's actually quite good, though I'm not a huge coffee drinker because I have a delicate stomach.

The whole (red) line finds itself on the end of a lot of criticism, a lot. I'll admit that I seem like I'd be in that camp, but I'm not. We live in a consumer based society and at the moment there isn't much we can do about it on a grand scale. Companies aren't required to give any profits to anyone other than the shareholders of that company, and many of them simply don't. Thanks to NAFTA and it's ilk, companies aren't required to practice fair trade, and many of them simply don't. Thanks to deregulation the food industry isn't required to use products not tainted by growth hormones, and many of them simply don't. Starbucks does. See here: charities (ones they don't tout, they just do), fair trade, unmodified milk. Yeah, they actually do what they claim to do. Do you? Yes, that's a general rule, if you're going to call someone on it, you better damn well do it yourself.

Could Starbucks do better? God yes. Everyone could, and unless you live in a mud brick house, grow your own food, and use the sun as your only source of light, so could you. We could all do better, but most of us don't even try, Starbucks does and they deserve credit for that. Remember, this is a company that isn't exactly doing well either, so it's not like they have money to spend on this type of thing.

I'm not saying don't pressure them, by all means, write them letters and ask them to be more Green. Please do. For instance, they could put solar panels on some of their roofs, that'd be a nice start. I'm not on Starbucks' side, but calling them out for actually doing stuff is a bit crass. Who cares if they market it, they actually did it and that's what matters.

Starbucks isn't the enemy. They do some less than desirable things, yes, but they also do a lot more good than many other companies. You want a company that destroys lives, jobs, health, and the environment? Look no further than Monsanto. Want to make a difference? Stop them, not Starbucks. Starbucks doesn't have the blood of an entire town on their hands, Monsanto does: meet Anniston, Alabama. There's also the whole Agent Orange and the blood of an entire nation thing as well.

I also have to say, the (red) campaign is to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa. Believe it or not, many Americans simply aren't aware of the scope of the problem. You can blame this on a number of things, mainly the public schools and their infatuation with test scores while ignoring issues of worldly concern. There's another thing you can rail on. It needs to be advertised, that's how you get people's attention in America. When they went on Oprah and talked about (red), that was a big moment, that got people's attention. The companies involved made that moment happen.

I'm not arguing against traditional charity, that's a wonderful, wonderful thing. If you do it. But if you don't do it, don't you dare mention it.

Bobby's addiction

I'm addicted to Jane. I am, I really am.

I should use my blog more

I should, but for some reason I don't.

It's not for a lack of writing. I tweet pretty commonly, I keep a written diary which for some reason I've taken to writing in blank verse (maybe it's this whole Elizabeth Barrett Browning clip I'm on), I keep another blog, send out several e-mails (my e-mails average 500 words, apparently) and maintain Jane's fan network.

I just forget to write here. Not that anyone cares, heh. Something always comes betwixt me and updating. For some reason I used to get a lot of hits from Beverly Hills, California and Odessa, Ukraine though...I always found that interesting.

Alas, I shall try. You could also check out MJ's site, she's a smart girl (and a new twitter mate of mine :)....).

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!one!!!

Cause Janey is the best :)

I think this speaks for itself

Watch live video from Jane? on Justin.tv

I guess I should update.

So, I had what I think was the flu last week. It wasn't great and I could think of a million better ways to spend the week. I won't go in to detail, but parts of the week were not pretty.

I'm better now though, kind of.

Anyway, I played Megaman 9 a lot while I was ill. I got okay at it, I have to stress the okay part because some people are crazy good. Playing it made me think of older Megaman games, notably the title MM9 is based on, that being Megaman 2.

Anyone who has ever played Megaman 2 will remember Woodman. He's one of the more memorable "robot masters" and featured in future games as well. Anyway, I've always thought that Woodman resembled John Daly. Do you agree?



So, the Jane recently (Oct 25th) celebrated her one-year anniversary of lifecasting. She had a fever that day :( but still managed to do something. Jane's a really awesome person once you get to know here, and I'm glad I do :). Oh, watch her make pumpkin seeds here.

And since Jane would want me to include it, watch this:



So, my Meredith Robbins post was quite popular. Apperently she's been swamped by attention recently. I got around 200 hits on that post, which is more than my usual 4. (Hi, Jane, Denis, and Dane).

Watch Jane's vlog

and lifecast: http://www.justin.tv/jane_ds

Seriously, she'll hurt me if you don't.

Finding meaning

In regards to faith, I've always been a bit of a lost sheep. I don't know why, I just never felt like I fit in.

I don't like how my Church (I consider myself a lapsed Baptist, but I'm still Christian) kicks people out often for simply being different, it bothers me. I understand why they do it, but it always seems like they're going after the wrong people. I don't think homosexuals are bad people by birth, they shouldn't be scorned for being the way they are, again, I understand the reasons behind it, but I don't really see how it's rational considering that much worse acts are perpetrated under the banner of the Church. Maybe it's because I'm so liberal about everything.

I've always been a very spiritual person, but I've never been able to understand why I am. Until one day, by chance, Jane spoke to me about her spirituality. She's incredibly admirable in her faith, she attends Church three times a week and is active in other areas as well. I don't think she ever intended to help me, but she ended up doing so. I asked her if I could ask any questions about it when I felt the need to, she said I could, and I have. It's been very helpful to me, I appreciate all she's done with it. It's impossible not to love her once you get to know her well, she's pretty and that helps at first, but it doesn't matter once you find out how genuinely good she is inside.

It's nice that I found someone with similar spiritual beliefs to my own, we disagree on one major point but I look passed it because I know she wants to help me.

So...

Happy Independence Day, 45 minutes too late, heh. But still.

I didn't see fireworks this year because I'm still in some pain, but that's ok because I need to relax to heal myself. I wish I wasn't so frail, but there isn't much I can do about it other than workout like crazy which my heart won't allow.

I'm really glad that Íngrid Betancourt was rescued in Colombia, along with 14 other hostages. Gosh, that must have been hell for them and their loved ones, but at least they're safe now. Ms. Betancourt is a hero of mine, she's an extremely strong woman to say the very least.

Jake and Smokey (two of my dogs) are doing better. Jake was in shock for a few days, and still kind of is, but he has some of his pep back. That was just a freak accident. In a way I take spraining my toe as a sign that I was supposed to be home to stop that.

I wanted to mention this too, I'm an Arsenal supporter but I'll also be purchasing an Aston Villa shirt this season. The Villans have forgone a £2 million (US$3.96m) shirt sponsorship deal with an internet gambling site in favor of "giving" their sponsorship the the Birmingham-based children's hospice Acorns. I write more about it in my other blog. It's a very, very touching move by Villa and should be applauded.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say. I'm actually rather complex, but I mostly hide my inner most feelings.

Oh, vote for Jane, please :)

Eek

So I hurt my toe on Thursday, then aggravated it helping my dog on Sunday. Two of them got their collars hung together, one couldn't breath so I had to jam my hand, well, finger between them so one could breathe. They're both okay, thank God, but that was scary.

I hurt my back, both arms, and other foot along with aggravating my toe. So, I don't really feel well right now. I'd have been even worse if I'd have lost him though, I'm still fighting the depression thing. I probably will my whole life, but I've had some good days recently. I hope I keep having them.

Other than the pain I'm fine right now, I seriously used all my energy though...

Oh, vote for Janey, she's an angel you know :)

Haha I'm actually happy for once

Yep :) Hopefully I feel this way for awhile.

Janey you are teh r0x0rs :D

"Bobby, you're wasting your vote."

Am I? Well, everyone says I am. Half want me to vote for McCain (yea, that's happening) and half want me to vote for Obama (he's ok, but I want more). So following the departure of the one major candidate I had chosen to support (Fmr. Sen. John Edwards) I've decided to vote for Kat Swift (G-TX) :).

Upon hearing this I was met with a ton of derision, the whole "It's people like you who ruin this country" line of bull. Doesn't the constitution allow me to vote for whomever I want? Technically Cookie Monster is of age to run for the office of President and I could vote for him if I wanted to (and I did vote for him as a County Commissioner once), plus Kat is cool!



She's a lot like me, a lot. So, go Kat go :)

Oh, and watch Jane's vlogs. She'll disagree with the rest of this post, but she's still totally lovable.

Christian: The Lion At World's End

I know it's a rather old video, but it's still a very powerful story, even the brief clip managed to get to me. It made my day :)

Things like that are why I'm an environmentalist. God didn't create, or ever approve of, money. Kind of like the Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip song.

On a somewhat related note, Today is Endangered Species Day. There will be a lot of events, like in North Carolina there will be an event at the botanical gardens in Chapel Hill and a boating event in Asheville. Nothing in the Charlotte metro though. :(

I'm glad California overturned it's gay marriage ban. I'm not gay, but everyone deserves a chance at happiness and it's not threatening to "the American family" to have two men or two women who love each other get married. I understand how some people can be repulsed by it. Not to mention God twice in the same post, but he wouldn't create something he hates.

Oh, and for the 6 people who read this (I'm big in Huddersfield, apparently), do this please. It's for a good cause no matter what you sign up for, I switched my cause from the environment to Invisible Children because A) Jane supports it, B) I want to help children in Darfur.

Oh well, bye-bye for now.

SocialVibe

Jane wanted everyone to join SocialVibe, so I did.



It's for a good cause, so yay.

Stuff I guess

I've had a pretty crappy week, well, everyday since mid-March has pretty much sucked. I don't think a day has passed where I haven't had a sinus headache. This is the main culprit, but I deal with it because it's nice and I like nature. Notice my 2006 Earth Day tree in the foreground? :)

A tornado, or maybe a couple of tornadoes, hit Greensboro yesterday. That sucked. Someone died and part of the town got beat up pretty bad. I quite like Greensboro, it's a really nice town, so it scared me when I heard that.

But despite all that, I'm happy because Jane had an amazing day (which I'm sure she'll write about). She's had a bad run of luck so seeing her smile warms the cockles of my heart :) Heh, I love her too much. But she really deserves only amazing things, such a beautiful person, more so inside than out (as hard as that is to believe), should never have to put up with that much bad luck.

Oh, I do actually write in this blog. Heh. And I have to thank Anders for showing me this beautiful ad on youtube.

Arbor Day...what should I do?

I planted two trees on Tuesday, I don't guess planting another one would hurt, I do have an open spot in my backyard. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 81° F (22° C) and clear tomorrow, so the weather will be good for it, I guess I will.

I ran today for the first time in a week, it was the first day I've had any energy since my kidney stone issues started. So, I guess I'm pretty well recovered. I do have a sore throat from allergies though, but I have some Tazo African Red Bush Tea that Jane sent me, it's really good and works quite well. She also sent me a picture she drew me (that I use as my Twitter icon) back in December, it's an inside joke between us, but I was touched that she sent it to me, it made me smile. :) (It was sent awhile ago but I figured I should blog about it, maybe I'm simple, but since it came from her it was amazing to me.)

Heh, I think I get more scared of tornadoes in Texas than Jane does! I think I have a strong enough heart to get through their tornado season, maybe :O

Earth Day, Jane, and Me

So today was Earth Day. I consider myself an environmentalist, though I could do much better than I do. Anyway, I planted two trees, one Southern Live Oak and one Sugar Maple. I'm not so sure how the latter will do, you don't see a lot of them around here, but I'm confident the Oak will take well and someday be a great big tree for someone to enjoy. The tree is also somewhat of a Southern tradition, you see them in big cities like Charleston, New Orleans, and of course Charlotte.

Last week I asked Jane if she had ever considered becoming a songwriter. I told her I thought she'd be good at it, she has a really deep passion for music, sings very well, plays three instruments and used to write poetry (and having read some of her poems I can confirm she's quite good at that too). She's very intelligent and has a lion's heart so I'm sure she'll be successful at it. Heh, if you couldn't tell, I'm quite fond of Janeybean! :)

My kidney stone hell seems to be over, thankfully. I'm still hurting some, but I'm doing a lot better. I'm going to try to change my diet some, hopefully that'll bring about some change.