I’m here safely in Colorado after exactly 15 hours on the road. It is currently 60 degrees up here; which is so awesome after spending a week in Phoenix. I felt nasty with all that road dirt clinging to me, so I took a quick shower before diving into all of my emails. It was great to take a shower where the spout was actually above my head. My shower in Nashville hits me in the neck. Fun. Afterwards, I took a few moments to stand out on the deck and gaze at the millions of stars. The sky is so clear it seems as though I could reach up and rearrange all of the stars with my hands. I am staying at 9,000 feet in the Rockies, with nothing but the woods and the wind. No street lights, cars or sirens. Just absolutely peaceful. It’s moments like these that you love to share with those close to you. And a photo won’t capture even one tenth of the beauty that I am seeing. As I look at the stars I am reminded of a story that I was once told many years ago. I will try to retell my own version of it with as little detail as possible as to strike the point. (My last post was so long I think some are still reading it.)
A young boy was spending the evening with his grandfather. They were playing inside the house, running toy cars across the hardwood floor and carrying on in a way only a grandpa and grandson could. Out of nowhere the boy said, “Grandpa, what is heaven like?” His grandfather paused for a brief moment then replied, “Do you see how beautiful this finished hardwood floor is?” To which the boy quizzically responded, “Yes.” He then continued, “Come, follow me.” They proceeded outside and pulled away some of the boards blocking access to the crawl space under the house. With flashlight in hand grandpa began to slide through the opening. The little boy followed curiously. After crawling for a few feet grandpa pointed the flashlight at the underside of the floorboards. They both lay there looking up and the grandfather said, “What do you see?” The child replied, “Dirt, spiders, and lots of gross stuff!” Grandpa then said with a chuckle, ”You are correct my boy!” He then shut the flashlight off and his grandson immediately noticed light pouring through the cracks in the floorboards. To which grandpa said, “That’s right! Now hurry out to the backyard with me.” They scuffled out from under the house and raced to the back lawn. Grandpa then took to a spot on the grass and gazed up at the stars. His grandson followed suit and lay back on the grass posturing himself just like grandpa. Then his grandfather spoke again, “Son, see how beautiful all of those stars are?” This was followed by an enthusiastic, “Yes!” He continued, “Those stars are the floorboards of heaven. How much more beautiful will heaven be if like the floorboards of the house, so gross and dirty, are these stars to the floorboards of heaven?”
That little story has always stuck with me and brought a smile to my face. With that I will say goodnight. I have a lengthy day awaiting me after just a bit of sleep. Thank you for all of your prayers, wonderful emails and comments regarding my last blog post. I will do my best to respond to them all.
Thanks for stopping in. Be sure to check back often this week as I will be posting a couple new morsels for you. I have a busy week ahead but will be posting often!
I have to complete some prelim sketches for a painting and I thought it’d be fun if let viewers in on it.
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Yes, I really am going to steal a post just to put up a video of a car driving around. Why? Because I can. I was lucky enough to grow up with a Dad who loves muscle cars. And in turn over the years have had it fully rub off on me. There is nothing better than being behind the wheel of an amazing american muscle car. My father and uncles are major enthusiasts so I have had the privilege of growing up around them. My very first car was a 1987 Pontiac Firebird. It was a huge blessing; and a wonderful car to get into trouble with. V6 fuel injected, t-tops… and fast. As Mom and Dad read this post they will shake their head, but will of course realize that it’s just the gene pool, and not my fault. I couldn’t wait until church on wednesday and sunday nights so that afterwords I could terrorize the south parking lot with my 360 spins and power slides. I was often saved by grace when I tried to see how fast I could get her to go, as Mike Bass held onto the dash for dear life and turned three shades whiter than clear. And yes, I was that dork that installed a car alarm that talked… I was also at the time searching for a Knight Rider style tracer light to put on the front. But unfortunately all I was armed with was the Yellow Pages; as Al Gore hadn’t yet finished his invention of the internet (Sorry for ripping on you if you googled yourself and are reading this Al). Years later I owned a 1994 Mustang that did an incredible job of falling apart on cue (I do not endorse Fords, bleh).
So bringing you up to date. I have been blessed enough to own a Dodge Charger these past 2 years and it has been nothing but flawless as Dodge makes incredible vehicles. I have driven her all over the country with zero problems (except the price of fuel). But come 2009 I am really, REALLY wanting to trade her in for the new Dodge Challenger which I have been waiting on for at least four years. The lines on this thing are absolutely amazing. And the interior is nothing less than stellar.
My speeding days are behind me as I am a responsible adult. But give me a closed course and it’s pedal to the floor, and yes I will most likely win. (Mom, Dad, that’s a challenge you just heard. )
Well, enough ranting about material possessions. And yes, I am well aware that in the whole scheme of things they do not matter and I can’t take them with me when I die. But it sure is fun to enjoy them while I am here.
And to add a disclaimer: In all seriousness you should never race anywhere but on a closed course or speedway. We have lost a cousin due to high speed driving and it is nothing to shrug off or take lightly.
So after displaying my first piece of cartoonery I felt it only appropriate to show you a music video that includes my animation. This is a video that I worked on for INPOP records and JonnygrandFilms. I was brought in to write the treatment (which is the script or storyline) and draw the storyboards for the music video. That progressed into working heavily on set and eventually editing the video as a whole. It was very fun to work on and eventually opened several other doors for me.
The band is Everyday Sunday check them out on myspace. They were a fun bunch of guys to work with. I ran into Trey at the GMA’s and we were able to catch up a bit. He’s getting married shortly so congrats are definitely in order.
At one of the showcases I attended at the GMA’s last week they showed this video on the big screen between acts. I got a kick out of seeing it up there all big and such. :) I’ll display more of my work as time progresses. Enjoy.
Quite possibly the most exciting web-ccessory (yes I just made that up, now spread the term globally) that I have stumbled upon in quite some time is Jott.com. (thanks carrel)Here comes the testimonial: Through Jott I now no longer need to speedily fly through the alphabet on my tiny cell phone keypad. I can just simply hold down the speed dial that I have set for the Jott phone number and presto. As soon as I call “Jott” recognizes my phone number and accesses the contact list that I have loaded online. It asks me, “Who do you want to Jott? And I simply reply with a one word answer, Jott repeats my answer by asking if it is correct, I say Yes. And a “BEEP” occurs. Then I say what I need to say, wait for the pleasant robot lady to say “Got It!” And I hang up. Continue reading ‘All about Jott dot (com)’
It appears that with the age of the internet more companies are apt to embrace the almighty April Fools Day tomfoolery. It’s been going on for a few years now, especially with blogs galore spreading news faster. And of course there are plenty getting upset because they don’t know whether or not to trust the internet on April 1st. My response: you probably shouldn’t - calm down it’s one day, live a little. The one that made me giggle the most was the BBC penguin mockumentary. (Video attached below) Penguins are just funny in general, I mean, they lack bendable knees, so just watching them walk is humorous enough. The funniest penguin moment had to be when I was watching “Happy Feet” with a former friend. She said, and I quote, “They kind of look like birds.” I looked at her with a blank stare, “Are you serious?” Yeah, not so intelligent.
I’m sure you have seen some of these, seeing as how it’s April 4th and news travels fast. But if you haven’t here are some of the funnier ones.
hello all. my apologies for the lack of blog lately.i have been horribly ill as of late… for the better part of two weeks i’ve ignored it… it’s finally all catching up to me and putting me flat on my back. i sought emergency care yesterday and am on a few different medications now trying to rest… be back to blogging soon. prayers appreciated. cB
I was lucky enough to grow up with a Dad who loves muscle cars. And in turn over the years have had it fully rub off on me. There is nothing better than being behind the wheel of an amazing american muscle car. My father and uncles are major enthusiasts so I have had the privilege of growing up around them. My very first car was a 1987 Pontiac Firebird. It was a huge blessing; and a wonderful car to get into trouble with. V6 fuel injected, t-tops… and fast. As Mom and Dad read this post they will shake their head, but will of course realize that it’s just the gene pool, and not my fault. I couldn’t wait until church on wednesday and sunday nights so that afterwords I could terrorize the south parking lot with my 360 spins and power slides. I was often saved by grace when I tried to see how fast I could get her to go, as Mike Bass held onto the dash for dear life and turned three shades whiter than clear. And yes, I was that dork that installed a car alarm that talked… I was also at the time searching for a Knight Rider style tracer light to put on the front. But unfortunately all I was armed with was the Yellow Pages; as Al Gore hadn’t yet finished his invention of the internet (Sorry for ripping on you if you googled yourself and are reading this Al). Years later I owned a 1994 Mustang that did an incredible job of falling apart on cue (I do not endorse Fords, bleh).
