I just finished this for Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. I didn't intend it but there is a little ode to Mondrian here. I also just noticed, by pure coincidence, that it has icicles like Adam's picture below. Or are those stalactites?

In the spirit of Valentine's Day I thought I would post this image by Mark Ulriksen. I'm lucky enough to own this painting, and as I look at it again I am reminded of how well Mark can simultaneously create a beautiful narrative, and a formal work of art. I could go on all day about the wonderful play of negative space in this piece, or speak of my enjoyment for the staging, and the invitation for my eye to swoop and dive. I might also mention the nice reminder of how, in this fast-paced, rush hour world, it's nice to pull over to the side once in a while and have a smooch.

This image is modified, (for Valentines Day) from a job I did for Wired Magazine. You can read about the story "Snack Attack" in the upcoming March issue. We can all expect good things to come from the new Design Director Scott Dadich and team, including Art director Jeremy Lacroix, and Designer Carl DeTorres.

Now that we are covered in snow up here in Ontario, Canada, I don't have to think about my Saturday chores. I live on a corner lot, there's quite a bit of grass to cut, and over the years we've added some gardens and shrubs. I'll tell you right now, I suck at maintaining my yard. I've always wondered why because some of my neighbors are making it look very easy. I learned a bit about myself after accepting an assignment from Richard Weigand at The New York Times. The story was actually titled "Saturday Chores". It discusses the different attitudes towards maintaining your yard. What I've learned was, it's not my fault, growing up I didn't have a role model teaching me about proper yard care. It's true, my dad sucked at it too. He'd rather practice his golf swing.