Sweeney Todd was amazing. I never knew a musical could be so bloody. And I started a t-Shirt Gallery at Zazzle.com. And now it's a new year. And I have the hiccups. Very random. This art is from one on my shirts

It's been another odd holiday. Not much too it so far. Saw Enchanted, laughed a lot. Nice of Disney to send themselves up so cutely. Waiting to see Sweeney Todd. Saw NT: Book of Secrets, but as a family thing. Fun. Helped my dad set up a blog where he plans to air his thoughts on the world. I saw some of it and fully expect the CIA to take an interest. I'm visiting the folks in Florida. They have a cat who has been previously hostile to me, though she seems to like me now. But I still have scratches to show for it. Eh. Work has been slow, still. So I'm trying to spend my time not dwelling on that, but trying to send out portfolio samples and resumes and stuff, just to see if anything happens. It occurred to me that I spent the last year or two wishing work would change and so it might be. Really, if I am going to believe that my thoughts change my life, then I should remember I do.

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The one on the left is from the Japanese idea that Sea Horses grow to become Dragons. The one on the right is 'Rambo Shrimp'. (with 'hat' for Illustration Friday). Sometimes people say odd things and then pictures just pop into my head. I don't remember what I was doing when 'Rambo Shrimp' popped into my head. I also love the whole playing with words thing.
So I finally got a chance to see the 3-d Nightmare Before Christmas. It was really cool, of course, it was one of favs before the 3-d treatment, but I was really impressed with how well the textures showed up. I expected the Tim Burton movies to be well made, but to see all the texture and care taken with the stop motion models, was so cool!
Meantime, I just finished going through the Golden Compass books again and I'm becoming more leery of the movie. What with it being Disney, whitewashed, 'controversial' according to Christians, etc. It's just a great set of books and after being so burned by Eragon last year...
I'm enjoying my new copy of Leopard. It has made my iBook peppier. Mostly it's pretty cool, though there are a few oddities that make me go huh?
I'm sure there are plenty of things to go huh? over in the world, but I can't remember what they are. I did feel a little better voting today.

A new Target opened near my house today. Whoever thought of Target as a name and logo is brilliant. I've seen that Target symbol with no name and it's just so obvious what the store is.
I've started watching 'Life', 'Hotel Babylon' and 'Torchwood' And have been pleasantly surprised. And 'pushing daisies' is cool. plus all the old faves of CSI and L & O. I keep wanting to goto the movies, but there's not much out. Plus I've been helping out with some convention planning and it's taking up time. I'll be glad when it rolls over.
meantime, I've been trying to work up some portfolio pieces to show some versatility and graphics ability. Plus all the rest of life. Work is quieter, but steady.
Pics of Kisa being a bad cat. And the recent repaint of the original Laughing Lion for my art site and just to have around.

Well work didn't get any better by the end of the week. I think I need to find a new job or something. But I finally get to have a whole weekend off. I think I need to go see a violent movie this weekend and work out my frustration. Like Dragon Wars. Or do some Wii boxing.
I had fun doing this little illustration. I like when an idea just pops into my head. And it turns out like I pictured it without much hassle. Here's my inspiration. Well OK, she's not juggling, but she is cute and those are some of her favorite toys.

illustration friday- the theme is wedding, but I admit I was affected by International Talk Like Pirate Day.
horrible week, so far. hope it ends well.

Well, work has been crazy. Seriously, my shoulders are sore from all the work. I'm in one of those 'reconsidering my life' moods.
Luckily, my favorite time of year is coming up. I like fall and October. And my favorite Peeps. What is it with Peeps? Marshmallows with Sugar. Weird, right? These ones are cats for Halloween and they're brown because they're chocolate. V. tasty!
Hopefully after I get these couple of deadlines met, I'll have time for more distractions, including the new TV season.
I went to visit mom over Labor Day. Dad was out of town. It was kind of strange, a mix of super hyper, zealot religious, craziness. And we went to the butterfly gardens.

I've put this bit of work up for Illustration Friday. It was one of those things that popped into my head. I love it when that happens. One of my customers was going to throw away this clock she broke. It was her son's. He had an airplane theme in his room and it was very retro. Then this idea just hit me.
Meantime, I had to relax this weekend. I got a massage on Friday, so I try not to do any heavy duty work for a couple of days, so I can get the most of it. So I decided to play with the Wii. It was great. I played with Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time. I never had an N64. And I always like Zelda games. Then I started on Paper Mario for the Wii. That is such a cool game. It's so neat looking and slick and fun. It was nice, I didn't even do any yard stuff. It was too hot anyway. And I played with the kitten, helped a friend pick out a GPS and just hung out. Oh yeah, plus I played with the new Mac Mini! It's very cool!

What a week. Work is crazy. I had people at the beginning of the summer, several of whom delayed my work. Now they're all calling to say they're ready!
Meantime the new kitten is cuter than ever. She's really started settling in.

I liked Bourne Ultimatum, it was the first Bourne I've seen in the theater. It was anti-climatic since the power in the theater went off about 5 minutes before the end of the movie. I really loved Stardust, the movie. It was like the Princess Bride of the new century. I don't always read Neil Gaiman, I should, I always like his stuff. But what I totally got hooked on is 'Jekyll', on BBC America. Great stuff! I still have to check out the new Flash Gordan.

So I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and then had no one to talk to about it, because my cohort Potter fans were not done reading or out of town. Luckily I found a forum just for people like me on PopCandy.

Found that other cat a new home and got a new kitten, Kisa! Some may recognize the name from a certain anime/manga, Fruits Basket.
Saw the Simpsons Movie. It was fantastic. The best TV Show to movie transition ever. No gimmicky stuff, no over shooting with a huge plot. Just a great, longer episode with fantastic animation. Speaking of fantastic, I finally watched Fantastic 4, so now I can go see Silver Surfer.

Well I'm an Otaku. I have to admit I just did the stand in line for the last Harry Potter book. I love that a book has created such a stir. I loved chatting with strangers that were fellow Otaku. I had been thinking I would do the stand in line for Leopard (Mac OS X.5), in October. Mostly to do a live blog entry for ThinkMac.net. But I'd have to drive a couple hours to get to my closest Apple store, so I wasn't that committed. I had such fun tonite, I think I'm definitely going to do it in October. I hear Apple Stores make a big fuss for the whole thing! Anyway I bought 2 copies of the book, even though Amazon delivers mine tomorrow. But I ended up having to work tomorrow and I was worried that the post office might not leave it, even though I have the package box on the porch. I hated the idea of waiting until Monday to start it. So I'll send a copy on to Mom and one to Grandma.

My boos for this week- Scanned copies of the Harry Potter book before release- shame on you. And to all the newspapers who printed secrets and spoilers- Boo! Hiss! Veronica Belmont is leaving Buzz Out Loud- Bummer! I hope Tom Merritt and Molly Wood find a third person with as good a rappoire. I think it works with three people.
My cheers this week- the Simpsons movie- 1 week left! Maria Bamford on the Never Not Funny podcast! The Monk and Psyche season openers! The Hex series ender!

I found this cat a couple of weeks ago. She has gone unclaimed, but I think I've managed to find her a home with another Persian. Persians need a lot of care and I have no experience with them. Plus the long fur makes my eyes itch. I also had promised to take a kitten off a friends hands, so now I can.

I was surprised to like the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie. I even saw it twice. I haven't done that since the first movie. I wasn't surprised to not like Transformers.
I was surprised to see the church paying out like a zillion dollars. Not the paying so much as the where are they getting a zillion dollars. I thought churches were basically non profit.
Currently I'm reading the new Dortmunder book and loving it. Heard some Laurell Hamilton stories. I like finding a new author to enjoy. It's like the first bite of a new flavor of ice cream.
And, oh yeah it's Harry Potter week. I'm nearly beside myself waiting for book 7. It's the first one I've ordered to arrive on the release date. I might actually go to a Harry Potter release party at the local B and N.
I saw these bookcases. One day soon, I think I'll need to replace some of my old, wal-mart pressed board bookcases. But first some rain barrels.

So I've been totally involved with the house thing. Moving and unpacking and fixing and enjoying. It's been great.
What hasn't been great is the news. I don't know what it is, but it's just making me sad now. I think I reached a saturation point or something. I try to keep up with the headlines, because you can't ignore all the world and it's crap, but it's gotten depressing.
So I do turn to diversionary tactics like: Spider-Man 3- liked it. Pirates 3- loved it. Die Hard 4- great. Ratatouille- super fun! Oceans 13- too cool.
Oddly I'm in the middle of reading the original Peter Pan and I got my first OS X 'Study' book. I'm hoping to certify. And I'm reading Buffy Season 8.
Yea! The Closer is back on! The Medium season ending was a freak out. So was Numbers! And CSI! Monk and Psyched are soon! Hex is great!
Strangely, I'm involved in the yard; something I thought would never happen. Mostly it's the growing of flowers and trees. I hate grass.
Ohhh. I also really like the Wii! I think they changed the name because the first day I had it, I was so thrilled, I kept saying wheee! Great party fun too!
I found this pic on the net somewhere, showing a couple of cops nabbing a thief on their Segways. HA! HA!

Come tomorrow, this is my house! If a meteor doesn't fall on it or me or the bank. Holy cow I can hardly believe it.
I have to say, I don't often discuss politics in detail. But I'm having hard time seeing the news with all this Bush vetoes the war crap. Someone told me that he thinks he's on a holy mission. Who's idea was that? To get a guy on a holy mission to fight other guys on holy missions? Wasn't that the Crusades? It seems pointless to have a large body or representatives to suggest policies, so that can be voted down by one guy. The whole system seems like frustration after frustration. So I take it out on my NationStates account.
I took a break from packing yesterday and went to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie and LMAO! It was so fun and campy. It's nice to see Adult Swim get some screen play. Now if we could just get a Venture Bros. movie...
I plan on taking a break next week to see Spider-Man 3! Meantime I have loads to do, including my new 'house blog'. Holy Cow, I'm about to be a house-owner!

Well, I might be almost a home owner. Weird! freaky. Crazy. Someone said to me the other day it's hard to tell excitement from fear sometimes. You got that right!

Here's my very late entry for Illustration Friday: Fortune. I enjoy Cats and love the Lucky Cat. So I did this, just for Illustrator practice.

Yo! I just realized it's less then a month away! Spider-Man 3! Cool! Bring on the summer blockbuster! I saw Meet the Robinsons 3D. Cute and real great animation detail.
And I might be closer to buying a house! Things have been signed! Vast amounts of paperwork. Geez. I can't believe how much paperwork there is. I figure I'll keep a page of before and after pics and details up for the friends and family out there past the city limits! It's all exciting and frightening at the same time. A bit like a roller coaster. The Hulk in Islands of Adventure, Universal at Orlando Florida is my favorite coaster. Though the Spider-Man ride down there is v. cool.

I recently went on this organization binge and started using iCal and Yojimbo to keep my brain clear. The idea being, get stuff out of your brain. I feel like I'm getting more stuff done, it's weird how that works. Being the artistic type, I know it's a good idea to write down ideas and scribbles, since ideas are fleeting, but writing down all the stupid little stuff is great too.

I've been doing a few articles for ThinkMac.net. That's been enjoyable, checking out new software and learning new stuff. Jonathan, the guy that started it, has asked for help, from a few people and it seems to be going well. Plus it's really great to share the Mac Love! I'm hoping to take some Mac certifications classes this year.

I was recently in the Smokey Mountains, NC and it snowed! I haven't seen snow in years. I can't say I really miss it, but it was pretty. But V. cold! it was icy all weekend and I had to buy a hat!

So one of these pics was a bit of the ice and snow from this weekend. The other hilariously was from an annual Big Wheel race, held on Lombard St. in San Francisco every year. I think I may have to put that on my to do list for future reference!

Well sometimes I've overwhelmed by this insatiable appetite for cuteness. Which is why I bought these St. Pat's cupcakes. It might have been an overwhelming sugar craving, too. Still I remember when I was little and we made a special trip every year for new school clothes. The place we went was special, because they were the only place for miles with Sanrio stuff. Now there are stores in every mall. Ah, childhood nostalgia; it always seems to involve stuff that people take for granted in the present time.
So I haven't written an entry in a while, because I've been trying to buy a house. I've never bought a house and so had no idea it was such a long, annoying, aggravating, red-tape wrapped process. Ugh. At some point, hopefully, I'll get to a place where I can start a separate blog about it, since the house I'm currently interested in, needs remodeling. I figure any house I get will need work and what better way to share with far flung family, the whole housing experience. Enough of that!
How awesome was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Another nostalgic experience of youth. The new movie was v. cool. Great animation, such detail! Cool story, just the right amount of silliness and darkness. Totally Cool Dude!
I've started using Yojimbo, to keep track of ideas and projects. It's great and it syncs between computers.
I also caught up on Scrubs. I love the ole DVR, set it to record some show and it pulls in as many as possible, until I'm all caught up. Tech is great!
I'm currently in the middle of Princess Tutu.
This comic, Mows, has been keeping me laughing, through all the red tape. Very keen on cats, this comic is.
Sleep now, more later!

So first- this piece is from an idea I've had for a while. It's an entry for Illustration Friday, called 'Can you hear me now?'

Second- Life has been busy. I don't know why it seems like whenever one part of my life seems messy, my whole life begins to feel like a snowball rolling downhill to hell. Or something.

A couple of weeks ago I saw the hilarious "Capitol Steps" comedy show. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to see the 'Mock in Democracy'. Was it ever funny. They even snuck in a quip about the recent Aqua Teen Hunger Force fiasco. It's hard to believe Boston freaked out when no one else did. I think people in Boston need more exposure to pop culture. Crazy!

Ohh. Ain't we lovin' the new iPhone commercial from Apple? wheee!

So I'm reading Get Things Done! It just sorta makes sense, being based on the notion that you can get more things done if they aren't taking up space in your head.

So people are wrecking gnomes in Australia. Trashing gnomes is so mean. Who does that? Gnome stealing like in the Full Monty. Gnome Traveling like the gnome in those Travelocity commercials and Amelie. Those are funny. It makes me want to create gnomes and leave them places, just to make up for the gnome deficiency. Hmmm... sounds like a new hobby.
So that's what one of these pics is. The other pic is from the iPod battery update process. My iPod mini's battery went wacky in October and in November I got a battery replacement kit from iPod restore. Of course, I bought a Nano to hold me over until I fixed the Mini. Well the Nano's great; and I got to take apart the Mini and replace the battery. So I took pics of stuff when I did, just for fun. They're a little fuzzy since I must have set the camera wrong. And I let Mom 'borrow' the Mini and then after she used if for a month, I had to order another iPod for Dad.
For no apparent reason here's my favorite pie recipe:
Peanut Butter Pie- it tastes like a Toasted Almond Crunch Bar.
Take a 1/2 cup or smooth peanut butter and mash it with a cup of powdered sugar. It makes crumbs. Bake a pie crust ( I use frozen, just for easiness). When the crust is ready, fill 1/2 of it with the peanut butter crumbs. Now make Vanilla Pudding, not instant, it has to be hot. You can also make Custard from scratch. When the pudding is ready, pour it slowly into the pie crust over the crumbs. The pudding has to be hot, so it melds with the peanut butter crumbs.
You can also use chocolate pudding, then it tastes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
Mmmm...tasty.

So apparently this cat got a credit card in the mail. He has a very sophisticated name, so the bank thought he was eligible. Go figure.it's been an exciting week listening to all the new tech and stuff podcasts about Apple's MacWorld show and the CES show in Vegas. I think I'll add attendance to MacWorld to my lifetime goals list.
Meantime, I've been working lots, trying to ignore world politics and being sick. I've been playing with the Stumble Upon button on Firefox and running into interesting sites.
Some of these sites include: Banned Books. a great list of books that have been banned for some reason or other. Scratch. A new programming language. I dunno it might be fun to learn a new programming language. I was watching the Zamboni at a hockey game last night and wondering if I could turn that into a video game. AtomFilms. Short film projects- it's what podcasts and YouTube used to be. Still Fun. Best Movie Mistakes. A huge list of movie screw ups, though often invisible to the eye, fun to watch for. Make Magazine. I keep hearing about this and thought I should check it out.