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This one is named Lost Love. I loved this poster because of her eye shadow. I recreated that look almost every weekend for my visits to The Ritz. Thank you, Mr. Brak, for making me feel a little cooler than I could have ever felt on my own.

This poster is named ElectriKiss. I liked it because her hair was pink AND blue. It was impossible for me to dye my hair those colors back then because in 1986, hair dye just wasn’t as good as it is today. I used to wish that I could have cool hair like hers.

I have two more posters, but they are still in storage right now. As soon as I hang them, I’ll add them here. They were Forget Me Not (which is NOWHERE to be found on the web) and Long Distance Kiss.

I never bought Wired for Sound, but I considered it for a LONG time. I just didn’t have the wall space in my teenage bedroom to hold more than four posters.

Mike hates these posters and considers them cheap rip-offs of Patrick Nagel’s work.

I can understand the similarity, but I enjoyed Brak’s work much more. I think I liked it better because it was an illustration, but it was so realistic. It was my first exposure to Hyper-Realism and I loved to find little details in the drawings, such as the reflection of the window in the eyes on Lost Love.

You can buy some Syd Brak prints online:

• Syd Brak :: Folio Boutique – Buy Limited-Edition Prints by Folio Artists and Illustrators

The funny thing is, that you can buy this poster even now, after twenty-two years.

• Rococo Punk [Fine Art Print] – $25.00 :: Randall Lake Art LLC – Randall Lake Artwork

I would love to know where the original Rococo Punk is. Was it bought by a private collector? Does it hang in a museum or collection somewhere? I wish I could see the original painting.

I looked at this poster so often during my young adult years that I feel like I have a personal relationship that punk in the painting. I’m sure he was a real person. Where is he today? Is he an aging punk? Did he cave and become a lawyer after Heroin Bob died? Was he just a poseur in the end?

Written on the back of my poster is the name of the person to whom it was supposed to go after the exhibit, but I didn’t wait that long. I stole it off the wall before she ever got a chance to claim it. I never really felt guilty for stealing it because it was a poster of a punk rocker and stealing a poster off a wall is more punk than putting your name on a list and waiting until your appointed time to take it.

I finally have enough wall space in the new house that I can display it again with pride. I’m not that punk rock girl anymore. I’m more of a punk in disguise…

Nope, not even that. I was just a poseur all along…

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• Pick Me! » KCGL

Nothing that we could do could stop KCGL from changing their format. It wouldn’t have been that big of a difference except that there were no other alternative or new wave stations on the radio at that time. Suddenly, we went from 24 hours a day down to one or two hours a week on public radio. After a couple of months, I was desperate for new music.

What I didn’t tell you was about this poster.

I loved KCGL and I loved this poster even more. I looked at those guys on the scooters and tried to recognize them. I used to imagine that it was Soren Winslow on the left in the blue suit. The drawing on the upper left reminded me of the Ritz and I used to look at it, wishing for the weekend to come sooner.

I didn’t get this poster until after KCGL died, so it felt very special and precious to me. I’ve kept it safe for a quarter of a century and now it hangs in my office with love.

Can you fill this out without lying? You’ve been tagged, so now you need to answer all the questions HONESTLY.

• What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Diet Coke

• Where was your profile picture taken? In the dining room of the Lake Street house… kind of miss that place.

• Can you play Guitar Hero/Rock Band? Oh baby, yes I can! As long as you don’t make me play on any harder than Medium.

• Name someone who made you laugh today? Garret Tan. He posted a funny Doritos commercial.

• How late did you stay up last night and why? I went to bed at 10pm because I had to get up and be at BetaLoft early the next morning.

• If you could move somewhere else, would you? Yes, I’d move to San Diego for the weather and the friends.

• Ever been kissed under fireworks? Yes. Mike and I were watching the Disney 50th Anniversary fireworks and we kissed under the fake snowflakes.

• Which of your friends lives closest to you? Penny Egbert Bivens

• Do you believe exes can be friends? Nope. Too much baggage. Best to just move on.

• How do you feel about Dr.Pepper? I like it, but not as much as Diet Mountain Dew.

• When was the last time you cried really hard? When Carol died last year.

• Who took your profile picture? My iMac.

• Who was the last person you took a picture of? Kristen

• Was yesterday better than today? No. Every day just keeps getting better.

• Can you live a day without TV? I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Watching shows on my iPhone counts as TV, right?

• Are you upset about anything? Yes, but I’m trying my best not to be.

• Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? ALWAYS!

• Are you a bad influence? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I’m the GOOD influence, kinda like Glinda without the fluffy dress, although, I’d love to wear that dress…

• Night out or night in? Night out. I work in, so I ALWAYS want a night out.

• What items could you not go without during the day? My iPhone, caffeine and food… oh yeah, and air! I really likes me some air.

• Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? Carol

• What does the last text message in your inbox say? Yes, just a minute.

• How do you feel about your life right now? I am pretty lucky and happy.

• Do you hate someone? Hate? That’s kind of a strong word. I AVOID some people because they really can’t be good friends to me, but I wouldn’t say I HATE them.

• If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find? Tons of messages that I never delete. The latest is from Stacey saying that she’ll come to my house for dinner.

• Could you pass a drug test right now. Easily… just let me drink this gallon of water first, okay?

• Has anyone ever called you perfect before? I don’t think so.

• What song is stuck in your head? The theme song to The Dollhouse… la, la, la, laaaa, la, la, la, la, laaaa

• Someone knocks on your door at 2:00am, who do you want it to be? No one! Don’t be knockin’ on my door at 2am unless it’s an emergency!

• Wanna have grandchildren by the time you’re 50? Not possible.

• Name something you have to do tomorrow? Write, write, write.

• Do you think too much or too little? Too much when I’m alone. Too little when I’m with other people.

• Do you smile a lot? Yes!

• Do you think that the people you are tagging are going to answer honestly? I’m not tagging anyone. This stops here.

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We were Jehovah’s Witness, so I wasn’t allowed to celebrate Christmas, but that didn’t stop me from buying presents for everyone at that fair. I bought this for my grandma.

It stands only two inches high and it’s a pencil sharpener. That little drawer opens up to empty out the pencil shavings. My grandma was an antiques dealer, so I had seen the coffee grinders that she owned and loved. I thought that she would like this because it looked like an antique.

Because we didn’t celebrate Christmas, I gave her the pencil sharpening coffee grinder the next day. She took one look at it and said that she didn’t like it. She gave it back to me. I tried to explain to her that it looked like an antique and she liked antiques, but she was certain that I bought it because I wanted it myself, so she insisted that I take it back.

I didn’t want it myself. I really thought she would like it.

I found it last week with all of my Barbies. It kind of lived in all of my Barbie houses that I created over the years until it was finally shoved with all the clothes and furniture in the doll box. It kind of served as a doll-sized representation of my grandmother’s antiques. Seeing it again after so many years made me incredibly sad at the rejected gift. I put it in the china cabinet with her crystal and Depression glass.

On another note, DUCKZBUNNY Blog has the collection of pencil sharpeners that this came from. They are photographed beautifully.

• DUCKZBUNNY Blog Pencil Sharpeners

And you can buy the ENTIRE set here:

• VINTAGE PENCIL SHARPENER COLLECTION (ODDBALL & MUSEUM QUALITY) at FROZEN BEAUTY

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This bag cost me $25 of hard earned K-Mart money and I bought it at Nordstroms. I think that might be the only thing I’ve ever bought at Nordstroms.

I felt so cool when I carried around this bag, but it really wasn’t a good bag for me. I always do better with purses that zip because then nothing falls out when I’m clumsy. Even though it wasn’t the best for me, I still proudly carried my books in that bag. I always made sure that the Esprit logo on the useless pocket was facing out so that everyone could see that it was an ESPRIT bag, not just some stupid canvas bag.

Now, I have tons of canvas bags that I use at the grocery store, but the Esprit bag is kept hidden safely away from them. It’s still special to me, even after all these years.