Friday, July 29, 2011

Justice wanted a "boy cut"



Here's Justy's hair before (in Florida) and after (tonight in kitchen.)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Do you remember when Jupey had a bob? Popi misses it.

Outside the UCSF Library where Popi Writes His Book



The kids were curious to see the library where Popi goes every day to work on his novel, and they all agreed it was a great place. They were quiet and respectful on our tour, even when they say the display of 124 hand-blown glass eyeballs, each depicting and ocular deformity. When we left I realized the afternoon light off the Pacific was perfect for a couple pics.

Face Painting at the Cole Valle Festival



The Birthday Boy at Six


Here's James in his monster Luche-Libre mask he got on Olvera Street in LA on our trip back from Comicon in San Diego.

Monster Cups for James' Birthday

Instead of buying overpriced theme cups at a party store, James decorated his own monster cups for the pleasure of his birthday party goers.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

James Wrote His First Novel: "A Monster Story"

“A Monster Story”
by James Geronimo Johnson

CHAPTER 1
There once was a monster named Flames. He was a dragon. He had big wings and his teeth were supersonic and he liked to throw people in lava. He smelled disgusting, and he liked to eat Hawaiian people because they’re nice.
Flames didn’t have any friends and when he went to bed at night, he had no dreams because he’s a dragon. Flames’ parents were dragons, too. They were super mean to Flames and they liked to take Flames’ food. And Flames’ favorite thing in the world was to eat people from Hawaii. Flames’ house was a castle, which was very old and dirty and it was so ancient there was lava showing up through the floors. He slept in the tippy-tippy top of the castle, and he didn’t like to go eat people, he liked it when people came to the castle to get eaten. Flames was born from an egg about to fall in lava because it got so close to the edge.
One day a little boy went to see Flames. The boy was named Pleancy, and he wanted Flames to eat him for breakfast. Pleancy loved hot lava, he thought it was so beautiful the way it was orange and hot. He wanted to put some hot lava in a bowl and look at it every night. He was sad that he couldn’t get the bowl of hot lava by himself because it was so hot.
When Pleancy went to the castle, the dragon had already destroyed the bridge, but the people who worked at the castle set up a zipline, and Pleancy used the zipline to get into the castle. Inside the castle was purple and creepy. The hot lava glowing through the floor was the scariest part for Pleancy. The dragon heard the little boy come through the front door. The dragon came downstairs to eat the little boy. But the dragon saw something in the little boy’s hands.”
“What do you have there, little boy?”
“My name is Pleancy.”
“Okay,” the dragon said. “What is in your hand, Pleancy?”
“This is my bowl,” Pleancy said. “I need to get a bowl of hot lava.”
The dragon said, “But the lava is so hot it will kill you. Only a dragon like me can get some hot lava.”
And then the little boy said “Will you get me some hot lava?”
“I’d love to,” said the dragon, “But I’ll be too busy eating you.”
“But please,” said the little boy. “I’d be so happy if you got me a bowl of hot lava, that after, I’d let you eat me.”
The dragon said, “I don’t need your permission to eat you. I’m a dragon. I eat anybody I want.”
“But,” said the little boy, “it would be particularly cold blooded for you to make a little boy happy just before you ate him. When word of that got out, people would be even more fearful of you.”
“Good point,” said the dragon. “I will get you a bowl of hot lava, and then I’ll eat you.”

CHAPTER 2
The bowl was orange and it was made out of shiny metal and it was as big as a hand. The dragon named Flames took the bowl from Pleancy and held it in his claws as he climbed the stairs deep, deep into the castle. It was a thousand feet down. At the very bottom, there was a stream of hot lava. The lava was orange and red--it was steaming and super hot. The dragon dipped his foot into the lava, but it didn’t burn him. Then he scooped his bowl full of hot lava and took it to Pleancy.
Pleancy took the bowl home. The bowl was hot, but Pleancy was careful. He showed the bowl of hot lava to his mom and dad, and they said “that’s pretty.” Then Pleancy put the bowl on the counter. His little sister thought the bowl was cereal and tried to eat it, but when she looked in the bowl it was really lava.
Pleancy said to her, “That’s not cereal--that’s lava.”
Pleancy enjoyed the bowl of lava, but he knew it was time to get eaten by the dragon. Pleancy walked fast to get eaten so that he could get it over with. When he found the dragon, Pleancy said, “Now can you eat me?”
“Of course,” said the dragon. “Aren’t you scared?”
“No, I’m not scared. Just eat me.”
“Do you want me to start eating you at the head or the feet?”
Pleancy said, “The head, please.”
And then the dragon ate his head. Then the dragon ate his legs. Then the dragon ate his arms, followed by his body and finally Flames ate Pleancy’s butt.

CHAPTER 3
The dragon sat in his parlor. There was only blood on the floor where Pleancy had been. Flames had even eaten the boy’s clothes, and there was nothing left of him except the bits of flesh in Flames’ humongous teeth. Pleancy tasted yummy, though the dragon needed a Tums. At the door, Flames heard a little boy shout, “Dragon, come out!”
The dragon answered the door. When he opened the door, he saw a little boy. He thought this is my lucky day--two little boys have come to get eaten.
Flames said, “Hello, little boy, what do you want?”
It was Marigon at the door, Pleancy’s friend school. Marigon was a big boy, already in the first grade. He had blonde hair, ugly teeth and one small tattoo: a heart on his hand. He wore a blue shirt, and instead of a backpack, he had a sword.
Marigon answered the dragon by demanding to know where his friend Pleancy was. “You better tell me,” Marigon said.
The dragon smiled and said, “Look on the ground and in my teeth.”
When Marigon looked on the ground, he saw blood, and when he looked in the dragon’s teeth, he saw flesh. Marigon said, “How do I know that’s Pleancy’s blood?”
The dragon said, “You’ll know when I eat you!”
Marigon drew his sword and said, “Not if I kill you first.”
Marigon started to fight the dragon, but the dragon blew fire from his mouth and blew Marigon’s sword in pieces. But Marigon wasn’t scared. He walked up and stood beside the dragon and said. “No, never do that again.”
The dragon burped in Marigon’s face, and it smelled like Pleancy.
Marigon punched the dragon in the stomach, hoping to push Pleancy out.
But the dragon wasn’t hurt. With his clawed hands, the dragon picked Marigon up, and ate him. Marigon’s feet twitched and shook as the dragon chewed and swallowed the boy until finally, after licking his teeth, the dragon had completely eaten the boy called Marigon.

CHAPTER 4
After eating the boy named Marigon, the Dragon named Flames took a nap. He dreamed about nothing because he’s a dragon. He just slept on his back and snored really loud. He woke at dinnertime and went to find his parents, who were really big dragons. They met up at the middle of the castle, where they stood on their four legs. They drank water from big straws while they prepared to eat some people for dinner. When it was time for dinner, the dragons released some grownup Hawaiians, and they all were soon eaten by way of giant dragon teeth.
Flames’ parents said, “We love to eat grown ups.
Flames said, “I eat all sizes of humans, but my favorites are little boys.”
His popi said, “You should grow up, son, and only eat grownups.”
“Yes,” said his mama. “It’s time you started eating grownups and forget the little girls and boys.”
Flames said, “no.”
“But why not?” asked his mama.
“Because,” said flames, “That’s what I eat.”
“But,” his Popi said. “There’s so much more meat on a grownup. I have to eat 5 little boys and girls to feel filled up.”
Flames said, “I do like to eat grownups, but I don’t eat them a lot. I promise to eat the next grownup I see.”
“That’s fine,” said his mother.
“Great,” said his father.
They all smiled and ate some people brownies for desert.
The next morning, the mailman Blatchin came by the castle. “Morning mail,” he called.
Flames went to the door and opened it.
“I’m sorry but I promised to eat you. Get ready to be eaten.”
Blatchin said, “What? Who did you promise? Why are you going to eat me?”
Flames said, “Cuz, I told my mom I am.”
Blatchin dropped all his mail in horror. “But why eat me now? We have been friends for a long time? And who will deliver your mail?”
“No one,” Flames said. “Cuz I promised my mom!”
The mailman said “Aw, man,” and then Flames ate him.
All that was left on the ground was bloody envelopes.
Flames had to agree by the taste of the flesh hanging in his teeth that growups did taste better than little boys and girls.

CHAPTER 5

Flames didn’t know an asteroid was hurtling toward Earth. Flames was outside blowing up the zipcord so that people would fall into the lava and die. He looked up and there were giant rocks that have fire coming out of them and they were racing toward earth. Flames thought they wouldn’t kill him but suddenly they struck in a flash of light, exploding his house and killing his family. Flames lived just long enough to see his family die and then he died. All the people of earth died. All the animals died. All of the plants died. Everything was on fire when the asteroid landed. Everybody’s houses exploded. There were a couple astronauts sitting on the moon doing nothing when they saw the earth explode. They were shouting, “AAAAAAAAA!” The astronauts were sad because they were going to miss their grandmas and neighbors and their brothers and sisters.
One astronaut said, “Oh this is bad, we better get out of here.”
The other astronaut said, “Let’s go back to see what happened.”
They went back to earth. And when they got down, everything was on fire, and the houses were still exploding and meteors were still landing and one even hit them. They died because when meteors hit, anything dies. The monkeys were so scared. They were all dead. When the meteors exploded, all the human shouted, “AAAAAAAAA!” The butterflies died, the mosquitoes died, the ants died and the fish at the bottom of sea died. They even shot all of the fairies. The ground pulled apart and all of the lava started landing and there became a flood of lava, which came to every single city. All the cities exploded and then the meteors weren’t hitting the earth anymore, but the lava was still there. It even went in the water, and water melted the lava. And the lava flood was gone. All the metal broke. Everybody’s glasses broke. And the lesson is to stay away from dragons and to stay away from lava and to stay away from meteors. I think that’s the end.

THE END

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Jupiter Johnson--Three Years Old, Going on Thirty

James Daydreams in a Tree

We went Pirate Park today in Pacifica, where the kids ran wild for a while and James climbed a tree to contemplate the joys of being a five-year-old boy. After, we went to El Gran Amigo for some serious al pastor and rellenos, washed down with horchata.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Vampire in His Coffin


James tries out the cardboard coffin that will be a central prop in his new vampire movie.

The Vampire Strikes


Wait till the coffin has a lid to spring open . . .

Dr. Harrell

Hammer and Chisel


James readies his paleontology tools.

Jupiter mans the brush


While James Chisels, Jupiter brushes the loose sediment. Justice, teething, looks on.

T. Rex fossil in situ


A T. Rex emerges from the strata.

On-Site Excavation


An anklyosaur emerges.