News Archive

June 24, 2005

Thanks for the memories...

May 12, 2004

I recently attended the 2004 Grand Slam Jam, a celebrity tennis exhibition benefitting cancer research in its fourth successful year here in Austin. Check out the gallery to learn all about it, and to hit with John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Chris Evert, and Corina Morariu!

Also, I dusted off the sketch pad, sharpened the pencil, and added some new drawings to the Art Gallery. Long time coming, I know. I hope to add more in the future.

April 19, 2004

The long-awaited resurrection of Proper Gander has arrived – new and improved! As with any living creature, it must be fed and nurtured to grow strong and healthy, so please give it some love and make yourself heard.

The photos from the following galleries have also received much-needed makeovers to enhance color, sharpness, clarity, and size:

San Miguel de Allende, México Western Highlands, Guatemala Alta Verapaz, Guatemala Palenque, México

Jungle Trek, Guatemala Tikal, Guatemala Utila, Honduras Copán Ruinas, Honduras

And finally, a new page of previously unreleased underwater photos has been added to the Utila gallery. Enjoy!

January 27, 2004

New Photo Gallery: Valle Encantado, Patagonia

January 23, 2004

Happy 2004 everyone! It’s been a while, but we haven't forgotten you! This latest update ushers in three new photo galleries from recent trips to Cuernavaca and Tepoztlán, México, as well as the Big Apple, and Texas Twister, Eric’s chronicle of his brief stint in the Lone Star State. Wishing you health, happiness, love and peace this new year! -Brian & Eric

December 5, 2003

Happy Holidays Everyone!
-Love, Eric & Brian

July 13, 2003 Welcome to Patagonia… finally!!! The land that dreams are made of - monster trout, mate and fernet, buena onda, gente increible, amigos barbaros, Sunday asados, pristine Andes, pure water of endless soothing lagos, St. Bernards, lacerating winds, gourmet chocolate, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountaineering, caballos, mountain biking, sailing, diving, majestic coihues, refugios, tripped out refugieros, a very bright future, and a very dazzling Now. For the time being, please enjoy the brilliant Otoño explosion of fire as the forests change colors, and the first snow of the season… As the seasons evolve, so will these galleries, so please visit again soon. Love, Eric

 July 9, 2003

 Just found these...they're pretty ripe. Enjoy!
 Cuzco, Peru to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

June 11, 2003
Come take a guided tour of coastal gem Viña del Mar, Chile, where Eric and Brandon recently spent summer in the southern hemisphere. Be sure to have a bite to eat at Cafe Jerusalem before you leave.

April 9, 2003

• What is a Saint? - contributed by Harry Beaudry

March 24, 2003 ¡Bienvenidos amigos, al regresa del dragón lo que golpea! Welcome friends, to the return of the dragon that punches. Indeed, the winter slumber has been inexcusably long, but fear not, for the fiery breath inside has not cooled. It has been four long months since any significant update has appeared on these pages, but today the dragon leaves his mountain lair and roars, with several new writings, eight new photo galleries, and more yet being groomed in his scaled, muscular wings. Without furthur ado, let the resurrection commence. -Brian New Photo Galleries click photo to enter respective gallery or (enter photo gallery menu here) The Cordillera Huayhuash gallery has 3 new pages filled with the terrific photographic talent of Caryl, Eric's trekking companion in the Peruvian Huayhuash. Thanks Caryl! New Writings Musings & Discourse (go to musings & discourse main page)    The Question - background information.    El Pescador (The Mexican Fisherman) - sipping wine and playing guitar. Chronicles (go to chronicles main page)    Lunar Serpentessence - a mythical midnight encounter amidst the Pacific waters.    Vendimia al Mar - chilean ocean vintage experiences. The O.D. Lewis Page o' Duct Tape    Two new entries - learn how to build your own hot room and salvage your socks.

December 24, 2002

Wishing everyone a warm and loving Christmas Season.
-Brian, Eric, & Brandon

No wammies!!!

November 13, 2002
Politics is something that we all have to live with, regardless of how involved we choose to be as individuals. Elections will take place, and we will continually be subjected to the lunacy of them. Please allow me to relay my first-hand experience with the 2002 Presidential Election in Ecuador, in which houses are sold for 10 cents and the "Wiy sha pi" gets born unto this earth.

November 12, 2002
Here's the full account of the Huayhuash trek for those of you with too much free time, Sacrificio de las Rodillas. Enjoy!

November 11, 2002
I've thrown up some new photos in the Ingapirca Gallery, and one new one at the end of the Utila Gallery, compliments of our Canadian pal Ida. And I like what I've been seeing as of late, so I've also cleaned up Proper Gander as well. Ponder on, fine minds.

Halloween, 2002
I thought it was time to finally introduce you to colonial Cuenca, Ecuador, where I have been living for the last four months, so on the left is a photo of the enormous Catedral in Parque Calderón. On the right is a photo from the most recent gallery of the coastal towns of Salinas & Guayaquil, Ecuador. Happy Halloween.

October 15, 2002
Keep em comin', baby! Yet another gallery to share with all of you. Eric recently went on a multiple-day trek through the incredible Cordillera Huayhuash of Peru. The photos of his experience are no less than breathtaking. Make some hot chocolate, wrap yourself up, and take a journey into the Peruvian Andes.

October 4, 2002
Three new photo galleries are now ready for viewing, folks. The first comes from our camping trip to beautiful El Cajas, Ecuador, where we were out hunting UFOs. The second is from Eric's brief stint in the southern reaches of Vilcabamba, Ecaudor, and the third from his initial experiences upon entering Kuelap, Peru.

For those of you who may not already know, Eric and I split paths a month ago. He continued his journey southward, while I remained in Cuenca for the time being. But be warned my friends, for one Brandon Quigley has now entered the picture, arriving two days ago in Lima, Peru, ready to tackle the road with Eric. Keep an eye out for his fresh contributions to PunchDragon.

September 26, 2002

Another gallery has been added, this time of the ancient Incan ruins of Ingapirca, Ecuador. Hope you enjoy it.

September 19, 2002
After slaving to finish “Mule Drafting” the final week in Cuenca, I swore off internet cafes and writing for awhile. But the past ten days have been so rich with beauty and s**t that I had to write about it. Besides, after arriving in Huarás, Peru at 4:00 in the morning and being woken at 6:30 by a public works crew, I was too exhausted to do anything else. So The Valley of Longevity and Hell is now available on PunchDragon for your enjoyment and scorn. Hope this dispatch finds you happy, with well behaved dogs.

August 31, 2002
It's been a long time, but we are still kicking down in Cuenca, Ecuador. We have a couple updates to share with all of you. First and foremost, after much stagnation, Eric has another story for Chronicles. Inspired by an experience he had in the deep green jungles of Guatemala, and six months in the making, Mule Drafting is now complete, and can be read either online, or printed out, for those of you who understandably detest sitting in front of a computer to read a book.

Second, we have put together a photo gallery of Ometepe, Nicaragua, which has a few new pictures from The Fellowship of Maderas. Take care everyone.

July 30, 2002
OK, I think I've got Proper Gander working again. If you have any problems with it, let me know.

July 29, 2002
I've been reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez, and I was taken aback the other day when I read a single sentence that lasted for three entire pages! It seemed worthy enough for me to share with all of you, so if you have a little spare time, give it a quick read.

One Sentence of Solitude

July 18, 2002
Hi all. I just wanted to let you know that we switched servers a couple of days ago, so that is why the site was down for a bit. I think everything is working again, except Proper Gander. It's having some self-esteem issues right now, and thus refuses to display new posts in the table of contents. Mid-life crisis type stuff, you know. We've checked it in to a correctional institute, and hopefully it will make a quick recovery. Big ups to our pal Jeff for all his help with the changeover. Take care kids.

July 11, 2002

It's Eric's birthday everyone! He's finally 9 years old! Almost to double digits! You're getting so big! Happy Birthday Bro!

Eric (left) and Brian waiting to catch a ferry away from the Osa Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Anna Staiger.

July 5, 2002
It's official, we've made the leap over into South America, and we're currently nestling ourselves into the colonial town of Cuenca, Ecuador. We've finally written some long overdue chronicles on our last month of travel, and here they are:

• The Fellowship of Maderas - Ometepe, Nicaragua
  • Part I - Atmospheric Splendor Eric, May 23-24, 2002
  • Part II - The Degobah System Brian, May 25, 2002
• The Fire-Belching Battle Toad of Playa Negra Playa Negra, Costa Rica - Eric, May 2002
• Mr. X San Jose, Costa Rica - Eric, May 2002
• Man's Best Friend Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica - Eric, June 2002

June 19, 2002
Hey everyone. We are in Panama City right now, about to make the cross into South America after the last two weeks of travel through Costa Rica. You can now go look at two new photo galleries: the first one is from the month that we lived on the island of Utila and the second is from our trip to Copan Ruinas where we explored the local artistic Mayan ruins.

May 29, 2002
I have added a gallery for some of the drawings I have been doing in my journal/sketchbook as I travel. Right now, they are all just black & white #2 pencil sketches, but I plan to move into the Land of Oz soon. The friggin' scanner I was using just broke, so I'll try to put more up as soon as I find one that functions properly.

May 29, 2002
New galleries of Eric's Jungle Trek and his visit to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, Guatemala are now available for your viewing pleasure in the Photo Gallery.

"Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and has powers of reality." -- 22 Kalima in the O.C. Bible

May 15, 2002
The good stuff is here. You can now go to our Photo Gallery to see a selection of the pictures Eric snapped in his travels through Mexico and Guatemala. Have a ball!

May 14, 2002
Okay, kiddos. We've buried ourselves alive in an internet cafe in Copan, and we've knocked out some serious updating for the website. Go check out the Chronicles, News Archive, Recipes, and the O.D. Lewis Page o' Duct Tape. I know pictures are what you all want, and believe me, it is what you are all going to get, but the process of getting pictures up is a little more painstaking when you are burdened with these snailspeed computers. So til then, enjoy these new updates, and we'll bring more to you soon.

Our recent tenure in Utila is now being brought to you in technicolor.

"Chill man, we're on island time now."

May 13, 2002
Two days ago we left the comfort of our most recent home in Utila, after a one month stay full of new friends and underwater adventure, and journeyed back into the mainland. We are currently in Copan Ruinas checking out some Mayan ruins and working feverishly on updating the website for all of you to enjoy. Next up are two short trips through El Salvador and Nicaragua, followed by more extensive travelling through Costa Rica.

April 22, 2002
After some serious trekking and river adventures through the Mayan jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, journeying to Palenque, Tikal, El Mirador, Nakbe, and others, I headed to Belize where I picked up a vagabond known as BA. We have been travelling south along the islands and coast of Belize, including Placencia, ultimately arriving in Utila, Honduras, where we have been scuba diving for two weeks.

   "This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes or your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body..."

March 3, 2002
Eric just finished a two week stay in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, and is now headed into the Northern jungles of the country. He will emerge in late March, where he will meet your humble webmaster (me, Eric's hermano) for more adventures beginning in Belize on April 3^rd.
Full Update

Panoramic view of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Yes, those are volcanos.

I am currently rebuilding this website, so keep an eye out for plenty of changes in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy the life Eric is breathing into the page through his stories, and you are encouraged to use Proper Gander as a response destination. Keep in mind that Proper Gander will soon be overhauled as well. Cheers.

Two donkeys in San Miguel.

February 4, 2002
After spending several weeks in Monterrey, and making many new friends, Eric departed for San Miguel de Allende after New Year's Eve, and spent a month there learning Spanish in the mountains.  He has recently left San Miguel, travelled through Mexico City, and is on his way to Guatemala.

December 13, 2001
Eric has officially embarked on his journey.  He confidently crossed the border between the U.S. and Mexico in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo at 7:20 AM this morning!  Let's everyone wish him well!

    "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. You playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others."