baby bowling

Stoneleigh duckpin lanes. This place has been here since before I was born, and I'm pretty sure the last time I came here I was about 8.
My nephew Will has this amazing technique where you lay down after chucking the ball overhead. He beat me.
What is it about bowling alley pizza that is so consistently good? It doesn't matter where you go. Maybe it's just that it's not good.
Uncle Timmy- always the clown.

Tomorrow I am going to Chicago- come snow or shine!

It's viticus, but they call it something else.

Dance party at the Lithuanian hall.
Constantine is in Baltimore...
(The bathroom was the best place to escape the sauna-like effect of sweat and smoke.)
Oh, what fun!

I really am dreaming of a white christmas

Some things that make Christmas merry-
Twinkly lights
BBQ at troy hall
24 hours of A Christmas Story
Christmas cookies
Spiked egg nog
A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack
Seeing family members I only see at this time of year
Old ornaments
Gift wrapping (I actually enjoy this task).
And of course, getting presents.

no fancy fotos this week

been slaving away on a top secret project.

does anyone know how to put a picture in your blog title area? It's totally not working for me.

Another night, another dream

That'll be the day.Turns out that was Old Man Nevin's o'douls and Tim stole it. Good thing I blamed it on someone else- Old Man Nevin hates Timmy.

Whoa. Whiplash.
This guy.
Family ties.
Poor kitty, your fur probably smells like cigs. Mew.

Glorious Snow!

betsy said that snow is magic, a good omen.
I don't know about magic, but I can roll with the good omen thing.
My car was pretty well covered. Took a good 20 minutes to scrape that baby off- but it was worth it, because snowflakes, albeit cold, are pretty and snow smells good and makes everything quiet.
After several moons in southern california, i thought that rainboots would suffice in my lack of proper snow boots. I am here to tell you that I was wrong. My feets was freezin.

Art / work

YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GET THE NEWEST ISSUE OF ARTHUR MAGAZINE, BECAUSE WITHIN THOSE PAGES YOU WILL FIND MANY INTERESTING THINGS INCLUDING MY ILLUSTRATIONS OF VARIOUS MUSICIANS IN THE C&D SECTION! In case you didn't know, this magazine is free and is reminiscent of the earliest days of Rolling Stone magazine.

The following is from their website:

C &D drink kratom smoothies and beer, run the fog machine and check out the "ULTIMATE REALITY" dvd by DAN DEACON & JIMMY JOE ROCHE, the "MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES" dvd, AC/DC's live/TV triple-dvd, an unearthed goodie by KAREN DALTON, and new records by WITCHCRAFT, BABYSHAMBLES, SOULSAVERS, TENDER FOREVER, MICHAEL HURLEY, PHOSPHENE RIVER, WOODEN SHJIPS, DRAGONS OF ZYNTH, YELLOW SWANS, EXPO '70, EXTRA GOLDEN, BRAD LANER and HEADDRESS. With artwork by Beth Hoeckel.

ritual sacrifice or witchcraft

One of the main houses I grew up in- on Woodbine Avenue. Raking those leaves was always a treat. No, your eyes are not deceiving you- It's rather small.
The "Y Woods"!
Some creative local graffiti
I used to think some kind of ritual sacrifice or witchcraft probably took place on those boulders...

Takin it Back to the Old School

Carver Center for Arts and Technology magnet high school.

The old lacrosse field. Many a spring day was spent here.

I think this wall was inadvertently built to conceal pot smoke. I remember getting busted with a bunch of other people smoking behind that very wall, and someone using the excuse that it was Earth Day- which actually worked!
That's right- established in 1993. The year I started as a 13 year old freshman. The building is much older, it used to house some other school. Being the first year to ever go there was immensely peculiar. I can recall very little about 1993, but at the same time I remember every little detail down to the underwear I wore at the time.
I spent a lot of time waiting for rides on those steps.

a turkey for you and a turkey for me

my dad carving the turkey. it's a dad thing to do.
My brother and I discussed raking, and how it doesn't happen in the city.
2 out of 3 Hoeckel crashers at the "kids table"
Food coma.
And then there was thanksgiving-eve. apparently called "black wednesday" in some circles.
I made two pumpkin pies and then went out for the unofficial high-school reunion partying. I was too involved in the catching up process and forgot to take pictures. But I did get to hang with Jaime and Paige at the Towson people's party, then over to club charles for the Carver people's party.

This is chartreuse, not the color, but another discovery of the Fine Moonshine variety. Kinda nasty.

relic central

Specimens from my Pageant of Delightful Artifacts

UPDATE: Viticus is Lithuanian

Yum.

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

THIS HOUSE IS TOTALLY ON FIRE!
OH GOD A GIANT CLOUD OF EXPLODING CHEETOS!

I just remembered, the other night at a bar, this guy was like "scuse me- is your name Beth?" and I was like yeah why? and he goes "Are you Beth From Above... from Youtube?" Whoa. That was funny.

a walk through the fiery rainbow

Southern sympathizers.
How enticing does this trail look?? It was like a cave of beautiful colors. Trees really are the greatest living things.
This looks like a Bob Ross painting. But it's not, it's the real life artwork of Mother Nature.
all that's missing here is a rope swing, perhaps a canoe.

Alexander McQueen Latifa

And this one, I drew it too.



If you are as much of a fashionista as you think you are, you may recognize the subject matter.

Olivia Newton John Cougar Mellencamp

Here are some of my very own fashion illustrations

Black satin sashes on starry nights.
A midnight blue shift. Collar adornment is quite popular right now.

Clive Owen Wilson Phillips

SEND ME 3 PICTURES OF YOU OR YOUR BAND AND I WILL DRAW YOU FOR AS LITTLE AS ZERO DOLLARS! Or $50, $75, or $100, depending on how long it takes me, clarity of picture, number of band members, detail, and other factors that I might feel like considering. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! No returns.