The Days of Our Lives
Here we are in the strange middle period between Christmas and the New Year. There is always a sense of waiting for the next thing to happen, and the hope that things will be better somehow. You can count on things being different at least. 2005 was a bumpy ride for me, but I'm still here to tell the tale. It's almost time to buy a 2006 DayMinder. I have a set of pocket calendars going back several years (since 1998). These little books are essential to making my life feel like it's on some kind of track. When I look through them they are mostly page after page of little notations about when bills are due. That is the center of gravity for a life -- when the bills are due. Oh sure, there are some big events. I can look back and remember where I was, and when I moved from place to place thanks to some notes. I can find my trip to Europe in there. On the whole though, it's mostly bills.

'Tis the Season
Five more shopping days. I need a total of zero. It seems that almost everyone in my life is more well-heeled than me, so you all get my best wishes. The last present I bought (for a birthday) was dumb and useless, and I'm embarrassed when I think about it. This Christmas will be quiet. I don't appear to have anyone else's gatherings to attend. I'm not crazy about being one of those stray dogs that people let in the house once or twice a year (a position I've been in rather frequently). I'm sure Christmas Day will revolve around a crossword puzzle or two.

My big present this year was receiving the PDFs for my Robot Zoo book series. They look great, and I can't wait to see some of the animation. I only have one more story to write, and then hopefully I can rest up for the new year and see what comes down the pike.

So Best Wishes to You and Yours this Holiday Season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Enjoy Boxing Day, and Happy Kwanzaa.

Crossword Puzzles
I've taken to doing crossword puzzles lately. It's just a phase, I'll grow out of it. I was anxiously picking up the latest copy of Alibi and doing those, and then I realized that an entire magazine full of them can be purchased at the local supermarket. So now I'm expanding my vocabulary of obscure words, and encountering a few mysteries along the way.

I'm learning about monetary units (RIALS are coins in Iran, and a DARIC is from ancient Persia). I'm getting familiar with some French and Spanish words and abbreviations, and also letters of the Greek alphabet. Other useful words to the puzzle-makers are OGLE, EGGED, and HEMAN. That last one being a bully at the beach. We also must not forget the First Name in Household Humor (ERMA).

For mysteries that I haven't had the inclination to solve, there is a woman named Ruby. In one clue her "acting" husband is OSSIE, and in another puzzle her "radio hubby" is AMOS. It sounds a bit scandalous, but I'm sure they're all good friends, whoever they are. Another pair that shows up is Damson and his "cousin" or "kin" SLOE, and I don't know who those folks are either.

It's a harmless enough way to pass the time, and sometimes it seems like that's what it all boils (or simmers as in egg) down to.

Alarms & Diversions
I've been reading a bit of James Thurber lately. [James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894–November 2, 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. Thurber was best known for his contributions (both cartoons and short stories) to The New Yorker.--from Wikipedia]

I started reading him in high school and became a big fan. By some happenstance, I have a copy of Alarms & Diversions, which I apparently checked out of the high school library and never returned (shhhh!). I don't specifically remember doing that almost 30 years ago, but I don't think it was deliberate. At any rate, I was reading one of the essays yesterday called There's No Place Like Home, and I haven't had a laugh like that in a long time.

I also have a T-shirt that a couple of friends made for me, with this picture on it (although he's facing the other way for some reason). I remember the couple running up to my VW Bug as I was getting ready to leave my job as hotdog-maker at Carl's Jr, and handing it to me through the passenger window. I think it was my birthday present. I still have the T-shirt, and I'm still friends with the male half of the pair. I also have a copy of My Life and Hard Times (obtained legitimately I might add). I could recommend that if you ever want some light and amusing reading -- perhaps for that flight to Spokane.

Blog Break
I went to see the new Harry Potter movie with one of my pals yesterday. I don't have much standard of comparison for the movie, so I have no business commenting really. I enjoyed it though. I've only read the first book, and this is the first on-screen version I've seen. It just carries along with what I was saying in the last post about the SFX they can do these days. Believe it or not, there was a time when computers couldn't do anything artistic. I think the first revelation came along for me when the original set of Photoshop filters came out. I could take any photo, and filter it and make it look just like a painting of some kind, even on a textured surface. The results looked exactly like the illustrations that were such a big deal at Art Center just a few years before. Those were painstakingly executed by some dude (or dudette), and now I could do a simulation in seconds. It simply proved to me that anything could be reduced to numbers, or binary code or whatever it is that does it. Now I'm watching new generations come up with ever-more complex and imaginative applications. Good for them.

Aslan
It looks like The Chronicles of Narnia is going to make it to the big screen. That's nice, that was a good read. This is a picture I did a long time ago... basically just an airbrush of a lion's face. I added a little Photoshop blur and decided that it is a picture of Aslan, who everyone will get to know soon. I have piles of artwork from the passing years, and it's interesting to see themes surfacing in pop culture. I did several in high school based on The Lord of the Rings. I have one from college that is based on The Incredible Hulk. I happened to unearth that one just as the movie was being promoted. Of course, now they can do all of the special effects right. Not like they used to -- Spiderman, for example. There was a TV show for a while. As I recall it was mostly Peter Parker doing this or that, and for a few seconds he would show up in the suit and stand there in a fight pose. The Hulk was on TV also, where they just painted a big guy with green paint. In fact, this CGI animation almost seems too easy to do these days... they can hardly come up with enough moves for Chicken Little to do. At any rate, the Aslan creation looks pretty cool from what I've seen.