Crazy
I've been working like crazy lately, and working on crazy stuff. I never know what's going to come down the pike. I get requests to write up these bizarre story-lines and make them work. A buddy of mine does the same kind of thing, and we joke that we work for the Ministry of Happy Fantasies (his words). I can't go into much detail, this isn't the place for it. I kept wanting to fall asleep all day, and I did a few times -- one of the benefits of working at home, but I won't be surprised if I'm up half the night. Oh well. Writing like that is very exhausting I think. Fortunately art and graphics jobs come along from time to time to give my brain something else to do.

The Classics
I've had a very frustrating morning having to do with work stuff, but I don't want to talk about it. Instead I'm going to try to write a rant about TV (just for the heck of it), sort of in the style of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I just read it again, so here goes.

You know what kills me? The goddam television. I mean the television kills me. I wouldn't pay for cable if you gave it to me. The goddam regular TV is bad enough. It's all full of phonies trying to act like real people doing real stuff and all, and then there's always some stiff with an english accent around to keep things moving. I wouldn't watch it if you paid me. I mean it. There's nothing but goddam lawyers on TV anyway. Why the hell does everyone want to look at lawyers all the time? I mean it. You got a whole goddam building full of hotshot lawyers, everybody talking all sexy all the time and all, or they always get in arguments about everything. Lawyers! You know what kills me? Nobody says goodbye when they hang up the phone. I'm not talking about lawyers, nobody on TV says goodbye when they hang up the phone. Some babe will be on the phone to God knows who, maybe talking to her mother for God's sake, talking and then when she's done she just hangs up the phone without saying goodbye. It kills me, it really does. And if you don't want somebody around anymore you just give him a sock on the jaw, and they're gone. Like goddam magic they're gone. Some hotshot space captain can give some tough guy a sock on the jaw, and then start working the controls with some babe, while the tough guy is lying on the floor like he's in a goddam coma! It kills me. I wouldn't watch it if you paid me.

I feel better now.

Clarification
That last post seemed a bit inconguous in retrospect. That turned out to be a very tragic day for ABQ. At least four (probably five) people were killed by a mentally deranged guy, including two veteran police officers. The details are available elsewhere. I believe I was affected by the stress of it; I couldn't get to sleep until almost morning, and worked on the post to pass the time. I think something like that really makes you take a look at where you are geographically, hence I was poking some fun at NM. There was nothing amusing about those events though, just consider it nervous laughter.

The Land of Enchantment
By twist of fate or error in judgement I find myself in New Mexico. It was a rough day for the local police yesterday... two people killed during a robbery in the morning, they found another guy dead later (my mind wandered during the news report so I don't know what happened to him), and then two cops ended up in the hospital late in the evening, details to follow. Of course that's nothing compared to what I used to hear every morning in Los Angeles.

Here I am for now though, with a couple of observations: I've noticed that NM likes to come up with long place names and then use abbreviations. Everyone generally writes "ABQ" for this fair city, and what about Truth Or Consequences? The latter invariably shortened to "T or C." In the irony department, here in ABQ we have Coors Road, where drunk drivers are regularly apprehended; and Gun Club Road, where there was a shooting recently. All of the news programs have incredibly detailed weather reports (called Pinpoint Forecasts and the like) where they imagine temp after temp with computer animations zooming around, about the slight differences in degrees from one neighborhood to the next. Let's face it, it's just hot all over the place in the summer.

I'm beginning to contemplate new horizons... I'm actually considering going to Europe and looking into that. It seems a bit far-fetched, but possible. It's an interesting place to be in life when it doesn't really matter where in the world your localized existence takes place.

Back from Hogwarts
(This is a picture of me in a more evolved form - just for fun). I have no solid evidence that anyone reads my blog, which is fine, so I'm going to ramble a bit. This blog seems to have two purposes: I occasionally like to leave a comment on someone else's blog, and I thought it was only proper that I have a blog that the person could reference if they like. It is also good for clearing out those thoughts that seem to need expression, but have no particular purpose. I could go into detail about every little thing that happens to me, or that I think about, but most of that I like to keep to myself, and I can't imagine anyone being interested in all of that. I'm not even interested in it. At the moment I have a routine for living, although I am considering making dramatic changes that could make for good reading (or fun writing). The highlight of this week was reading Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. I thought it was high-time that I find out what all of the hub-bub is about. I liked it just fine. I went through a similar thing with The Lord of the Rings when I was a youngster, although it was confined to my circle of friends, rather than a world-wide phenom. But for a while we were obsessed with all things Tolkien. At any rate, I discovered that I'm not a Muggle, which I'm sure every reader of the book soon discovers about themselves (don't they?). I have two brooms in my closet, and I'm sure I could get one of them to fly if I can just work it right.

Life Goes On
I'm still working on pictures of jewelry. Check this out - it looks like a harmless enough Lincoln Memorial, but look closely at the face. Isn't that from Planet of the Apes? Uh oh, that's how it starts. Damn dirty apes. Wake up Sheeple! Anyhoo... otherwise I had a productive week and a nice weekend, some socializing and more free food.

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho
Ugh... all day long on this project. Knocking out backgrounds on a bunch of product shots of jewelry. There's no easy way to do it. Now I have a perma-dent on the middle finger of my right hand. Fortunately I have a tablet and stylus to use, and an ergonomic perch, otherwise I'd really be hurtin'. It's kind of like enforced brooding though, there's nothing to do but think about your life. None of my tapes or CDs seemed appealing. I tried the radio but frequently the songs dug up more brooding thoughts about said life. I finally listened to some radio shows via the Internet (Rachel Maddow and Harry Shearer), and that helped.