The Future Calls...

Everyone has dreams, right? Sadly, I think most of us never realize them.

I think I know what I'd like to do with myself, and with my life.

Unfortunately, it will take a lot of money. Actually, this may be one case where an alot of money will come in handy, only I am unsure of how to snare the elusive beast. His or her ever-replenishing coat of Jacksons or Benjamins could certainly come in handy.

Of course there are things like Kickstarter but I think that would be better put to use later in this dream.

I have a place in mind for this fantasy to take place in too.

I even have ideas of some people to involve in it, maybe some people I know would like to be involved in it. I'm not much of a networker though.

I suppose I could qualify for grants, but I don't know the beginning of that sort of thing. I see people hiring grantwriters from time to time--that must be what they are for.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have to worry about finding accountants to help with things, but I think the type of plan I have requires lawyers. Well at least one, probably not more than that.

Its funny because I haven't really felt excited about anything job-related. like, ever, but for once I do. I just don't know where to begin. Unfortunately, I don't think the Internet adage of

Step 1: Dream Project
Step 2: Start project
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!

applies here.

Especially since what I have floating in my head is anything but a for-profit mega-conglomerate. No, it'd be local and very community and art-driven.

I'd actually had a different plan months ago that was related to this, but I think that was more fanciful (and selfish). This non-plan-plan is much better because instead of (potentially) fattening my wallet, it would fatten the collective spirit of a community.

Most people give up on dreams, and I understand why; it's hard. I don't want mine to end up in the same place as most others. I want others to reap the benefits of what I want to sow.

Drawing is pencil and charcoal pencil on paper.

Some Drawings

I feel like I haven't posted any drawings in some time, so I'm going to. I guess these are sketches, since none of them took much time, if you want to get into semantics.

First, is this fellow. I draw faces a lot, because they're the only thing I generally feel confident in. It's odd, because faces are, in my opinion, the most important part. You can get by with some features being off, but the face needs to be kind of perfect. If the face is off, the whole image suffers. It's like photographs: if the viewer doesn't connect with the person in the image, they don't connect with the image. That's why Tyra goes crazy for fierce eyes, and why people always say to smile with your eyes. If your eyes say "I'm happy" the picture does too.

But I draw faces, mainly because they turn out okay. I'm certainly not that great at drawing them by any means, but compared to anything else I draw, I think they are the best that I do. Obviously, that sentence is not the best that I do, because it sounds awful, but I am leaving it, because I like typing in stream of consciousness.



He kind of reminds me of Golem. Or is it Gollum? I think that's it. It's funny because that wasn't my intent. I think I drew the eyes first, and then the head. He has a weird mustache effect going on, which I'm not crazy about, and his lips look off. But that's okay, because he's off. And it was one of my earlier drawings of a face, so I can use inexperience along with ineptitude as an excuse.

His ears are awfully pointy. Normally I don't even draw ears, and you can see why. They aren't the right size, and they are at different heights. I don't know how to draw ears, so I usually leave them out, or try to see how others have done them, which I did not do here, obviously.

His nose is funny. It's acceptable, considering at this point I kind of did noses as an afterthought. By that I mean, I knew they were required, obviously, but my whole not knowing how to draw them thing tended to leave them being drawn quickly and poorly. In this case, it's funny looking, but at least you can tell it's a nose.

He has weird skin. I don't know what most of those lines are; they're not wrinkles.They make him look somewhat wooden. I think this was my was of showing topography early on. I didn't know what else to do or how else to do it, so I think I just drew lines, apparently at random.He looks like the Ultimate Warrior or something.

I like his liver spots on his head. I think that's what they are called, anyway.


This is a drawing of a fictitious beast of the ages. I modeled it off of several other fearsome animals throughout time. Can you guess what they all are?



First, I am horrible with perspective, and my landscapes suffer horribly from it. In this case, there is nothing in the background except for a tiny volcano shaped like a cupcake liner.

Second, I like the shadow underneath him. I'm really happy with it, then and now. It looks good, I am pleased.

Third, I can't really draw animals, so they are always in this same stance. It's the way I've drawn dogs for as long as I can remember, and I have not progressed much. Similarly, the way I draw cars has not progressed much either, but I don't have any examples I can share right now.

This is a combination of many creatures. First, you may notice the unicorn horn. He has healing powers from this, but can also use it for self defense. Unicorns never attack, never forget that. He also has a small rhinoceros horn underneath that. This can be used for ramming and attacking despite the fact that it is shorter than the unicorn horn. Don't try and bring up physics or math here, that's just how it works, okay?

he has a trunk, like an elephant for bathing and such (the ladies don't like 'em dirty). He can also use it like a turkey baster to soak up any type of fluid and spray it at his predators, or to get a fine looking ladies attention. He just has to remember that urine and toxins are for the predators and pretty, pleasant smelling liquids are for the ladies.

He has a triceratops-like shield around his head. This is rounded, though. This can collect water to and dissipate heat to keep his head cool in the summer and collect snow in the winter to make him look like a lion.

He has the body of an elephant, with some parts of him being covered in scale-like thingamabobs. These are for defense, I guess. Or maybe he just really likes dragons. His back plates are from a Stegosaurus. These have many purposes. First, they dissipate heat pretty well. They can also maybe be used for defense, although scientists are not quite sure about that just yet. They make handy perches for birds to sit on too, when he's not in motion. I think this may keep him cool in the summer because he will be shaded by the birds. Or maybe he just likes the company.

He's also got a spiky tail, like that dinosaur. It resembles an armadillo, but it's huge? I never liked them because they're ugly, but I liked their tails. This is an improved version of that. This can be used for defense or offense, or when courting a female. When competing with other males, he will flail his tail about much like giraffes do to gain favor with the females.


Finally, the last drawing. If memory serves, I drew this around Halloween. I like it. The drawing looks better in person than it does on the screen, though.



This is a scene with much tension in it, yet it contains a certain calmness to it. The man and cat are very calm, like they're on prescription medication (they're not, don't worry). Meanwhile, they are surrounded by all kinds of destruction. There are volcanoes oozing magma everywhere, there's a moon that looks like a comet going across the sky, like a giant ball of fiery hell. The clouds are rather ominous, like one of those bizarre storms that just looks photoshopped. But they are still.

The man is holding a broom, though I use the term "holding" with a grain of salt. You'll notice he is ensconced in a cloak, so he can't actually be holding it. Despite what you may think, that is definitely not a Snuggie.

So let's just say his broom is leaning against him. I like the broom though. It turned out well. The handle part looks pretty well detailed, which is impressive for me. I like his face. He has large, puffy cheeks and the most ridiculous mustache I've ever seen for someone in his situation. I also like his hat. I like drawing hats too, and this is probably the first to have some semblance of detail. I feel like I accomplished that in his hat.

The cat looks kind of pissed off, or constipated. Maybe both. Maybe the cat is pissed off because he's constipated. Then again, cats usually look pissed off. The tail looks like I knew what I was doing. I can see a few planes on it, and it has detail otherwise unheard of in my drawings. He looks silly though, and cartoonish. He is scraggly, but loyal to his master. Perhaps his demeanor is as a result of what he and his master do? Maybe that is why his fur is matted and dirty. What adventures these two must enjoy! Oh, I can just imagine.

Or maybe he just tried licking his balls and realized his master had them cut off when he was a kitten. It could really go either way.

Snow...And Dorks

We got a lot of snow. Again. Apparently, we got 30" or so, and after shoveling it and walking in it, I'm going to have to agree. Walking through the snow, it went above my knees, and shoveling the snow, there were definitely some areas that had a really large amount of snow. But that's okay. I like snow. I like shoveling snow. I just don't like the small talk that goes along with it.

"A lot of snow, huh?" No, actually, It seems like more of a dusting to me, and the blood in the Saw franchise is more akin to a pin prick than anything more substantial. Of course there's a lot of snow. You can literally see the snow. You can see the piles of snow reaching five, six feet high. It's pretty fucking obvious there's a lot of snow out there, so saying something stupid like "We got a lot of snow, huh?" doesn't really say "conversation" to me. If that sounds harsh, I'm not sorry.

Of course, none of these photos are from this storm, these are from last weeks, when we got around a foot of snow. We're dorks and wanted to play in the snow. Me, being a really big dork, I decided to set up my strobe in our room to take some pictures. I was just kind of hoping to take some pictures that didn't totally suck. By that time, it's basically pitch black, and I figured having a nice, bright light source should make for some magical moments. Actually, I just wanted to take pictures of the snow. And I was going to take what I could get. Fortunately, it kind of worked out.

I really like the picture above. You can see the flash blowing out the window, and how much it lit up the yard. Krissy is running back to the house, probably t fetch some snow or something. I really like the nice, hard rim light around her hat. And the warmth of the lamp, while a bit jarring, adds a nice warm feeling to the photo. Winter is cold, the photos are cold, but I think that small touches of warm colors like that make them stand out a bit more. Ideally, I could have had a bit more warm tones in there, but oh well. For a snapshot, I really like it.

This is me. I'm probably getting ready to pick up some snow, or clapping my hands together, because that's how I roll. I like the light on my back, it has a very soft feel despite the light source being very hard. I found that the white snow everywhere was very forgiving, which was awesome, because the light meandered its way to places it otherwise would not have.

I got a gift card for the Gap, and I got that sweatshirt with it. Gap is ridiculously expensive considering the low quality of their clothing. I think the retail for that sweatshirt was around $70. Already some thread was coming undone and needed to be repaired. Also, it's not very thick. I really don't see how they could value it at that price. I think I paid around $30 for it, and even that is asking a lot. If it was my money, I would have left.

This is me throwing snow in the air. You can't see my face, obviously, but it's me, trust me, I ought to know.

Here's me again, I like the rim light here too. It has a weird holy kind of feel to it, which to me is peaceful. But I can see how someone would look at this and think it's kind of creepy. Ideally, I'd have had another light to light the front of me, but lights and water do not mix. I'd rather not obliterate my nice strobes, thank you very much.

Krissy took this one (and the others, except for the first one). I like it. It's a bit out of focus, but there's just something about it that I like. Also, my autofocus wasn't working at all for some reason. I attribute it to the cold, or the snow, so focusing was kind of a pain in the ass, considering how dark it was.

This is Krissy. I have to be pretty selective in what photos I show, and I think this one passed through her filter because you cannot really see her face. I love this picture though. She is smiling, and her hat is like, perfectly centered in the frame, and it really pops, color wise. The rim light around it only serves to accentuate it even more. And there's a little bit of overlap from it on her (camera side) shoulder, which I adore. 

This is from the first snowstorm, on the 26th (Boxing Day). I took this almost as an afterthought at the last minute before heading inside. I just wanted to take a picture of the snow falling, and I like how it turned out. It's nothing spectacular, but I like the ambiance of it. The photo is very wintry, which is what it is intended to portray.

Here is the same storm, as seen from the front door. These are steps which have been pretty much leveled off in snow. I think this storm was around 8-12 inches. This was the first experiment with the strobe, too. It was very awkward, and involved a boom (which we decided not to use) and Krissy, the most beautiful light stand ever. I only took a few photos, because I felt bad for her holding my light, and I didn't want to go traipsing through the snow.

The color in this one is weird, but I posted it anyway. This is what's nice about snow being white, the light bounces everywhere. This is below the window, so it might not have been lit up otherwise. I like it. It's a nice snapshot of the Christmas storm.

Bakerella has nothing on these. The red velvet recipe made for a delicious cake that, when combines with the frosting, created the richest, most amazing sweet ever. The frosting basically tasted like cheesecake, so when you bite in, you get a cakey texture, with the chocolate, that gives way to...cheesecake. They were quite decadent, but really yummy.

Obviously my technique for coating them could use some work, though I prefer things to look a little sloppy sometimes. Sure, sometimes perfection looks delicious and tasty, but it kind of makes you not want to eat it. With these, they're a bit messy and sloppy, so no one feels bad about messing up the perfect exteriors. They are more inviting. They say, "Eat me. I'm delicious. You know you want to."

Marshmallows. This time around, they were really sticky. And they worked their way all the way up the attachments. It actually was pretty amusing to watch. Of course, they were delicious. Peppermint marshmallows, yummy. Too bad everyone had to wait a week to eat them due to the snow, though.

My attempt at a chocolate confection. I don't like dark chocolate, but I actually kinda liked it. Salt makes chocolate better. Always. (Actually, it makes everything better, but chocolate especially). The picture looks like a turd, though, which makes it kind of funny.

This is what we all look like after Christmas, and getting snowed in. If only the oven wasn't obliterated and falling apart (literally), I could maybe make some goodies to go along with the bread I made last night. (Note: using the broiler to bake bread because the heating coil on the bottom fell apart is not the best method to bake bread, but it kind of works, if you're patient and pay attention.)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope anybody reading this is having, or has had, a good Christmas/holiday season.

First, here is the back. This is Meatball. Originally, the card was just green, but I felt like something was missing, and that something was Meatball. I masked out everything but meatball from the photo and it really worked out perfectly.

Here is the front. I posted earlier some out takes from the piggies's photo session; here is the one we picked. You can see Max in the corner, hanging out. Jasper is looking at Max and has oddly pronounced lips. And Blondie is just being happy munching on some lettuce.

We're really happy with the cards we got. They're on nice, thick press paper (130#, I believe). They were printed at BayPhoto, which I'd recommend, and we will be using more of in the future. They have all kinds of photo products, too.

I hope you have a good holiday.

Baby Animals Are Adorable, No?

Baby cheetah is cute.

Who doesn't love baby animals, right? There's something especially cute about baby animals that. when adults, will tear your face off. Unfortunately, there are some (let's call them mentally deficient) people who seem to ignore the fact that while bobcats may be cute, they have paws the size of my face.

This brings me to this little guy:

 

This fine young  lad is a Savannah, and the one cat I really, really want. Unfortunately they may be illegal in Connecticut. See, technically the Savannah is a hybrid cat. But what cats aren't. tight? Well, the part that makes it illegal, from what I understand, is that part of it's hybridity (I totally made that word up) is that its daddy is a Serval, and Servals are wild cats. Lamesauce. By the way. the mommy is a domestic Siamese. Picture that, big, male Serval mating with a wee little Siamese. Yeoch. I imagine it'd look something like this:

 

A few things I would like to point out:

• Yes, that is a full-sized adult male holding a Savannah; they are huge!
• Please tell me you see that painting in the background. Epic.It looks like a naked lady straddling a basilisk. I want it. (the painting, not the lady)

Savannah's tend to weigh around 10-15 pounds but can weigh up to 20. If you have a fat cat like some people maybe they can weigh more. The Guinness record for the biggest cat is a Savannah (18 inches tall  and almost 42 inches long). Yowza.

I think my favorite trait of the Savannah, though, is it's basically a dog. Imagine all the best traits of a dog with some of the more mischievous characteristics of a cat, and you have a Savannah. The cats are very playful, and can be trained, much like a dog. They will follow around their owners and are extremely loyal, whereas cats always seem like they're holding out for something better.

Savannah's greet people with head butts (as does our beloved Meatball)


and sometimes they can actually pounce. But this is more of a "Hi! pleased to meet you!" kind of pounce, not the more treacherous "Die! I'm going to rip you to shreds and eat your carcass" kind of pounce you need to be afraid of with other cats.

Savannah's are incredibly smart, managing to open doors, cupboards, and anything else they can get their paws on or into (See, little troublemakers!). Oh, and from a standing position they can jump 8 feet! Eat your heart out LeBron, there's a new king in town.

You know what cats hate more than anything else? That's right, water. Except Savannah's don't! They actually love water. Just like dogs, Savannah's will frolic and swim in water and, believe it or not, you can actually shower with them. It sounds bizarre, I know, and I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, but apparently a lot of Savannah owners do it. I think cats are a little to prone to swatting though, if you know what I mean.

I don't think they should be illegal. Sure they look scary (compared to most domestic cats) but they're pretty harmless. Unfortunately, Connecticut likens them to Grizzly Bears:

Possession of potentially dangerous animal. Bill for costs of confiscation. Civil penalty.
For the purposes of this section, the following wildlife, or any hybrid thereof, shall be considered as potentially dangerous animals: The felidae, including, but not limited to, the lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi cat, puma, lynx and bobcat; the canidae, including, but not limited to, the wolf and coyote; and the ursidae, including, but not limited to, the black bear, grizzly bear and brown bear.

That's right, owning this sweet cat is just like owning a pet wolf, bear, or lion. True Story. It just makes me want to break the law though, or move to another state.

Here kitty, kitty. Maybe one day I will own one of you, but for now I guess I'm out of luck.