Artistic Release

For Christmas I gave James a paint class and some painting tools.  I figured it would be a nice hobby/release to fill some of our recess hours.

It's been surprisingly fun.  Let me say that neither of us has ANY training (except said 2 hour paint class in Dec) and that one of us doesn't have ANY talent.  I think James does, and his family will agree.  I know this because last time we were home they couldn't stop talking about his awesome frog man painting he did when he was a child prodigy of, oh, i dunno - like 8 or something.  It was amazing truth be told.

So here - per Andrea's request - our some samples of our artistic dabbling.  Don't be jealous, and yes, they can all be bought for a price. 

I like big butts and I can not lie.

Thank you Fox News for your unerring nose for the best news.  Once again a headline has truly brightened a Baghdad day.  Spoiler alert:  The end of this story is a bit of a let down for those of us who hoped it was somehow real flesh and blood.  I mean how sick (in all senses of the word) would that be??  Still, fascinating, hilarious and apparently...newsworthy.  Read on.

Iraq demands former UK soldier return piece of Saddam Hussein's buttock (Fox, January 17)

More than five years after Saddam Hussein was executed, Iraq still wants a piece of its former president: his buttock, currently being held by an ex-UK soldier.

Nigel Ely, 52, grabbed a 2-pound piece of Hussein’s bronze statue – that made up part of his rear-end -- when it was pulled down by Iraqis in 2003, the Sun reports.

Ely claims he is the legal owner of the buttock since he has turned it into a work of art. But the Iraqi government is demanding that he returns it or face possible theft charges, as it views the piece of scrap metal as a “cultural antiquity,” the Sun reports.

Ely attempted to auction off the buttock last year to raise money for injured troops through military charities, but was unsuccessful.

"When I got it, it was just a piece of scrap metal,” he told the Sun.

British police are investigating ownership of the buttock.