Mary Todd's Todd-ally Nutty Bars!

In honor of Honest Abe's 204th birthday, Heather and I baked up an American classic: Mary Todd's Todd-ally Nutty Bars!

Ingredients
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 bag (14 oz.) caramels, unwrapped
1/3 cup half-and-half
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
1 cup coarsely chopped mixed nuts
1/4 cup broken pretzels
2 cups emancipation

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat brown sugar, butter and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour and oats. Spread in pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat caramels and half-and-half over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted. Pour caramel mixture over crust. Sprinkle with chocolate chunks, nuts and pretzels.

Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Cool about 1 hour or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows.

12 days...

A Palatable Lunch

When I saw a that a child had furiously scribbled a swatch of color on my lunch menu yesterday, I felt inclined to contribute a doodle of my own to complete the scene.

I wonder which cocktail the kid ordered.

6 days...

Fantasy Football XXI: Packers vs Niners

It is with no small amount of satisfaction that I present to you the result of the battle of the bays.

"Say cheese, y'varmint!"

20 days...

You'reWelcomesGiving

Friends are just as important in life as family, so my friends and I created You'reWelcomesGiving, a holiday that comes the day after Thanksgiving. Usually You'reWelcomesGiving involves a lot more heavy drinking and loud music.

It's a fantastic way to get rid of left overs and comb the neighborhood for that last remaining survivor turkey. There can be only none!

38 days...

AM vs PM

Sometimes my co-teacher, Paul, and I disagree in the class. When this happens, we always settle our differences amicably. Then I stab him in the back.



Our rocky relationship is made easier by the desserts that our students bring us every week. These desserts are a requirement of the course, and you teach any kind of class at all, I'd recommend the same for your syllabus.

While munching desserts, I like to catch up on what films my students have been watching. When a student told me they'd just seen The Fly for the first time, it made me wonder what a reverse-Fly flick might look like...

Between the sword fights, decadent desserts, and insectoid mutants, the AM/PM class tends to keep things interesting.

42 days...

Twaggies

So that's why they make a "Boo!" sound...

This was a contribution to Twaggies.com, a website that lends illustrations to the web's best tweets. It was the first tweet I favorited after joining Twitter, and I don't think I'll ever look at flatulence the same way again.

7 days...

Always Coca Koala

I always thought a koala would make a better mascot than a polar bear.

24 days...

Obi-Wine Merlotbi

"May the corks be with you."

Happy Friday, everyone!

28 days...

Last Day of AM/PM Class

Last night was the final class of my third semester teaching at the Academy of Art University. 

Brave's director, Mark Andrews, was our guest lecturer. Fresh from finishing the final cut of the film, Mark gave a talk on the slings and arrows of filmmaking and the story process. I think it's safe to say all of the students came bounding out of the lecture, their cups brimming with a fresh serving of inspiration.

We asked our class to bring in scenes where a character experienced victory, to celebrate the end of a successful term. This scene, in particular, fit what Paul and I put our students through and the vindication of passing our class.

The clip warranted a final whiteboard sketch.

As you may know, we have a tradition of bringing a dessert to class. This week it was my turn, and I wanted to send my class of in the most decadent chocolaty style.

Congrats to our class, and all you film students out there who are wrapping up a semester of hard work!

37 days...

The PUNisher

Killing time after a Mark Andrews story class. Also probably killing brain cells.

2 days...

Butt-Touchdown

Last night in class, we analyzed Ahmad Bradshaw's game-winning butt touchdown. I love the sharp angle as he put on the breaks just before the endzone, juxtaposed with the almost absurd squat-and-tilt backward. These are the sort of contrasting poses that make for great animation.

As I mentioned last week, my co-teacher Paul and I are also instituting a new tradition of students bringing deserts for the class. Here's Fiona with the first animation class dessert: dried mangoes.

Fiona was kind enough to bring a box for every row. We're definitely keeping this tradition going (though I discovered it's a bit more difficult to teach with your mouth full)!

18 days...

Han Rolo

My brother, Andy, and I were more excited about the Star Wars VW commercial than the Superbowl, so we brought Star Wars-themed snacks to our friend's Superbowl party.

"Luke, we're gonna have company!"

We used Think Geek's Han-in-Carbonite ice trays and hired mercenaries to keep strict supervision over the molding process.

"Put Captain Rolo in the Chocolate Mold."

Aside from being delicious, the molds also look fairly authentic. Here's a Han Rolo next to an actual vinyl Han-in-Carbonite. By the end of the process, Andy and I felt like regular Dartha Stewarts!

"Who you callin' crunchy lookin'?"

Warning: if you eat too many, you may begin to suffer from hibernation sickness and temporary blindness.

20 days...

Just Desserts

Last night was the first class of the new semester at AAU. Animation Lesson One: always bring a dessert for teacher.

Each week, a different student is assigned to provide treats for the entire  class. I'm particularly looking forward to frozen grapes. Yeah, I'm failing that kid.

25 days...

UNPOWDERED TOOOOAST!!!

My friend Nicole asked me to do a painting for her kitchen. The only requirement was that the piece be food-themed. It was either this or a banana in a hammock.

0 days...First Day of School!

Guest Checks

Now that's rex appeal.

The waiters at Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe (Pixar's local greasy spoon) have started a blog called Guest Checks that features nothing but receipt art. I'm a huge fan of this idea, since I like to doodle on receipts for the waiter (okay, usually for the waitress) and I always imagine the work just gets thrown away.

Here's a guest check from the animator who told me about the blog, Aaron Hartline:

And another by friend and fellow Dandy, Everett Downing:

Now if only someone would create a blog for coasters and napkins...

4 days...

Happy Independence Day!

Don't let that recession get in the way of you and a good fireworks show! And what better way to prove you're still on the top of the food chain than by eating a bald eagle?

Britain may have the monarchy, but here in 'Murica we can all eat like kings! SFfoodwars.com has the recipe for Elvis Pie, which combines the king's love of peanut butter and bananas (sorry, we didn't have any room for mayo and bacon).

Oh, and make sure to have some Elvis movies on in the background so that the sweet sounds of the king are baked directly into each ingredient.

11 days...

Happy Independence Day!
Truth, justice and libations for all.

My New Year's resolution this year was to cook more and (aside from a failed attempt at chili) this is about the best I've achieved. Still, these regal eagles are quite the patriotic treat. If you'd like my recipe, forget it! I'm taking it to the grave.

In the words of my friend James, "May your fireworks be awesome and your enemies line up in the open with bright-colored uniforms."