Rick.Stavanja.com

I Had a Weird Urge to Write Tonight...

Stavanja — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:25:00 GMT

...but I guess I'm over it now....(read more)

They Don’t Make Greeting Cards Like They Used To

Stavanja — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:07:00 GMT

I don't understand why finding an appropriate greeting card has become so difficult over the years. I used to take pride in diligently searching through endless racks of greeting cards for the perfect message for each and every occasion. Unfortunately,...(read more)

Movie Review: August Rush

Stavanja — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:50:00 GMT

Rottten Tomatoes Rating: 39% Yeah, I know. I've been away quite a while. Sorry. I'll explain that more at some point soon, but for now I'm looking to get back in the habit of blogging, and truth is I've been back to the movies again lately. Look for more...(read more)

Hello... Life to Rick...

Stavanja — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 01:32:00 GMT

Some of you have been wondering why I've been absent for a while. My apologies. I've been occupied by some issues beyond my control Near the end of last month I was both distracted and occupied with some urgent health matters that materialized suddenly....(read more)

Movie Review: The Holiday

Stavanja — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:56:00 GMT

After we'd enjoyed seeing We Are Marshall together, my mom and Rikki invited me to see The Holiday just a couple days later. Being a guy, I gotta admit that my first impulse was 'chick flick', but the chance to hang out with mom and Rikki again was more...(read more)

What Happened Behind the Scenes

Stavanja — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:13:00 GMT

For those of you that have asked, here's what's different behind the curtain on the new site... I decided to distract myself with geek work on the personal site back during the first weekend of the NFL (a full three months into my blogging hiatus). I'd...(read more)

5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Stavanja — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 10:54:00 GMT

OK, I guess it's my turn to play. Randall Newton of AECnews chose to tag me from his personal blog for the "5 Things You Didn't Know About Me" meme, so here goes... Although I've always lived in the Pacific Northwest and love the four season climate,...(read more)

Movie Review: We Are Marshall

Stavanja — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 21:51:00 GMT

New Years day was a pleasant change-of-pace for me. I called my mom because over Christmas she'd mentioned how much she wanted to see We Are Marshall , but Bill wasn't feeling up to going. I needed a break from work that day, so I called her that afternoon...(read more)

My New Egg-A-Muffin Machine

Stavanja — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 07:04:00 GMT

The Egg & Muffin Toaster From Back to Basics My baby sister got me a great Christmas gift this year. An Egg & Muffin toaster ! I've been a big egg-a-muffin fan ever since McDonald's began offering them years ago (BTW Heaven used to call them egg-a-muffins...(read more)

Yeah, I'm Finally Back

Stavanja — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 23:16:00 GMT

Yes, That's right. It really is a new entry on my site. I've been away from my blog for a long time now. Beginning In early June, several things happened that led me to eventually take some severe turns in my life. Things have been hectic, satisfying,...(read more)

I May Have Found a New Hobby

Stavanja — Mon, 29 May 2006 02:35:00 GMT

I took a break from working today. After watching another dramatic Indy 500, I ended up at my computer while I watched a variety of other sporting events this afternoon. Eventually I found myself exploring some old bookmarked web pages I'd been meaning to explore further. If you remember, I was recently inspired to pursue my creative side a bit more. Well, one of those bookmarked pages led me to some interesting digital graphic techniques, which only served to get my juices flowing even stronger. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was working on creating a comic-style piece to commemorate Meagan's birthday.

I spent a bunch of time exploring a variety of techniques before I found a look that I liked and would be fairly repeatable. I don't claim these are up to professional standards by any means, but it's turning out far better than I'd expected. Here's a sample...

(click to enlarge)

I think I could really get in to this kinda stuff... :)

Meagan Turns Seven

Stavanja — Sun, 28 May 2006 06:14:00 GMT

Meagan had her seventh birthday party today. We celebrated with a lunch at Ron's, followed by cake and presents at Nonie's. Although Ryan and Papa couldn't be there, everyone else was. She loves having the family together.

Check out the new photo gallery capturing the excitement.

If Money Was No Object

Stavanja — Thu, 25 May 2006 12:13:00 GMT

1969 Hurst Edition Buick GS 350 coupe

On Wednesday I was in one of those “What would you do if you won the lottery?” discussions. There were lots of things mentioned (houses, trust funds, sports teams, etc.), but one thing we agreed on was cars. Although we agreed on filling enormous garages with beautiful vehicles, I couldn't help but think that I probably had a slightly unconventional idea about what kind of cars I'd go after first. Being a muscle car freak, not a lot of people share my taste for mid-size 60s & 70s GM coupes and convertibles packing overly powerful engines. The discussion proved timely...

eBay Listing
(Alt: Archived Listing)

While perusing my RSS feeds tonight, I happened upon a real gem on eBay: A rare 1969 Hurst Edition Buick GS 350 coupe.

Based only on the photos, this GS may very well be one of the best I've ever come across. Although I tend to favor dark color schemes on this model (here's another example), the simple silver with stock black pinstripes combined with the chrome rallye wheels and black interior on this one is stunning. I've never seen this combination before. It may be unique to the Hurst Edition. (If someone out there knows more about the history of this model, I'd love to hear about it)

Personally I think the 1969 GS is one the most beautiful and underrated muscle cars ever. It's styling is unique, and it's power trains are among the best of the era. I've owned a couple of these in the past, and seeing this one has whet my appetite for another.

I envy the lucky *** that can afford the $30,000+ to take this baby home with him. Given the millions we're seeing spent on muscle cars at auctions like Barrett-Jackson, Kruse, and Silver, it's certainly a fantastic investment.

If only money were no object.

tags: buick gs, muscle car, hurst, ebay

Ricky Gets A New Ride

Stavanja — Wed, 10 May 2006 11:55:00 GMT

This past weekend I finally broke down and got myself a different set of wheels. I was originally gonna hold out for a new rig one of these days, but I came across a nice used 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo last week. I was lucky. It ran great, had the right options, and was a great price. But I gotta admint, I think the clincher was that the car came from Montana. A nice gal about to graduate from Gonzaga.

Boy I didn't realize just how much I missed a driving V8 on a regular basis.

tags: jeep, cherokee

Maybe It's Time to Break Out the Old Pen & Ink Set

Stavanja — Wed, 10 May 2006 10:35:00 GMT

Adam Hughes sketching tutorial: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I loved comics as a kid. I was a Batman fan. The stories and the old campy TV show were what originally captured my imagination back when I was 6 or 7, but when DC Comics' brought in Neal Adams to overhaul Batman's new, more realistic style comic book, it became more about the art to me. By my early teens, I was choosing comic books not by their stories or characters, but by their artists. If Adams penned a Green Lantern, it was mine. If I stumbled on an older Nick Fury by Sterenko, I couldn't pass it up. It led me to try to copy their style and I developed an interest in art and illustration. I favored pencil, and pen & ink.

Although I outgrew comics in high school and my interests migrated to sports, drafting, and architecture, I continued to pay attention to comic book art. Guys like Adam Hughes and Jim Lee [blog] are my favorites of today's crop of of comic artists.

It's stuff like this that get's me thinking about digging out my old pens.

(I wonder what ever happened to all my old comic books anyway. Hmmm...)

tags: comic art, adam hughes, neal adams