I am writing you tonight from Phoenix, Arizona. It is around 11pm and I am sitting on the back deck of a family friend’s house.There is a strong breeze blowing across the trees and for the most part it’s rather quiet, aside from the wind and a stray car. My companion this late June evening is a giant dog named Wallace. He continues to run in the yard chasing the wind for about 30 seconds then returns to my side to lather my leg with spit and make sure that I know he is still there. I have been blessed tonight with one of my favourite things about the valley, the smell of desert rain. There is nothing like it. It is a sweet mixture; 1 part dirty earthiness 2 parts freshness. They say we will be getting a downpour at some point this evening. Which tickles me a bit. After 6 full days here experiencing 110 degree plus temperatures every day. I finally may get to experience desert rain again just hours before I leave. It’s a bit like my life really. Years of dry hot desert air before a beautiful thunderstorm and an onslaught of rain. I’ve yet to experience a refreshing rainstorm in my life. But I know it’s somewhere out there (beneath the pale moonlight). Knowing that reaping what I sow will eventually arrive is what keeps me going; keeps me giving all of my pursuits one hundred percent (or 110% if you are overly –enthusiastic). That and staying around for my family is what keeps me breathing. Continue reading ‘Music, Love & Loss.’
I just lost my entire blog post. So here I go again. From the top…
I am currently watching ‘P.S. I Love You’ with my Mom. She came out for a few days visit. Last night we watched mobsters and guns in ‘American Gangster.’ So it’s only fair, tonight, a chick flick.
When I first started writing this blog post the movie had a happier lighter tone to it. And now… well, it’s just downright sad. She just exploded in an array of emotion bleeding all over the screen because he died and nothing else matters in life, nothing. She’s just alone. I relate. Completely. So of course my mindset is not even close to the same as when I wrote this post the first time. I guess there’s a reason unbeknownst to me. Movies, it’s amazing how they provoke emotion and weigh the heart. But that is the beauty of it.
Anyway, that was a bit too transparent for the immediate public. Back to the post.
Last night when she arrived we went to Rumba for a bite to eat. (Rumba is a quant little vibey joint down the street from my place, if you ever visit pin a stop to your trip). After great conversation and food we headed back home and watched the film stated above. Continue reading ‘If at first you don’t click save…’
Thanks to all of you who stopped in last night to view me sketching live on the web-camera. The piece I am working on will be an acrylic painting on canvas for a child’s bedroom.
Here are the sketches from last night. I gave them a little colour today. Click on the photos to view them larger. If you want to skim through the video to watch the sketching CLICK HERE.
A few weeks ago I pulled this video out of when I went skydiving. It was a pretty incredible experience. Skydiving is a very two-fold thing. First it’s the intense adrenaline rush of “Ahhh, I’m jumping out of an airplane!” Second, After the chute is pulled it is so incredibly serene and peaceful floating so high in the air. Words can’t describe the feeling. I would definitely recommend doing this at least once in your life. What do you have to lose? (Besides your life.) As soon as I hit the ground I wanted to go right back up and do it again. I had no time to even think about it, so there wasn’t weeks building up the anticipation. I was hanging out with a few friends at a coffee shop one night and they said, “Hey, we’re going skydiving tomorrow morning, you should come.” And with no hesitation I said, “Okay, sounds cool.” Ah spontaneity, I love it. If someone handed me a plane ticket overseas for tomorrow, I’d say, “Okay, sounds cool.” It’s such a fun and free way to approach life. Of course don’t shirk off your responsibilities. But definitely allow yourself to be more free and open. That’s all for now, enjoy the video.
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.
I grew up on John Wayne films more than anything else. In a strict household I could only watch Christian TV (reeeaaal exciting lemme tell ya) or anything from the 60’s back that was on mid-day. (IE: Dick Van Dyke, I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith.) I was allowed to watch old cowboy movies and got my feet wet with the Duke. Apparently, it wasn’t bad for a kid to see a cowboy shoot an indian as long as we didn’t know that they bled and died. We just thought they fell off a horse and yelped. I used to run around the neighborhood like a nut yelling “Hyaaa!” and shooting my broken off tree branch in the air. Those were the days; no video games or laying around the house. Everyday was an adventure and I woke up just dying to get outside and use my imagination. I built so many forts in my childhood that I could have provided shelter for a few hundred african villages. But unfortunately for them I was stuck in Phoenix, Arizona.
Having blabbed about my childhood for a few, let me get back to the point of this post. A friend of mine sent me this video (thanks Laraine) that shows what a kind, warm heart he had. Along with a great outlook on life, and being an American. So enjoy this short video taken from Dean Martins old tv show, and go rent Rio Bravo and El Dorado - two of my all time favs.
I’m sitting in my comfy chair (the one from my *bucks commercial) and winding down for the day. I’m trying to get shows off of my tivo, so I’m watching Deal or No Deal. By the way they edited the pre-show roll-in it looks like this dude could win a million. But that’s what they want me to think so I’ll watch. After working non-stop for about 6 months on various music videos, editing projects and the documentary I became very very ill. I had been fighting different sicknesses in my body since Christmas. I have always been one to refuse medicine and get up and go about my day trying to shake it off. Continue reading ‘April 1st. Update.’
Test your reaction time with this nifty little flash game from BBC.CO.UK. Simply click on the photo above and follow the instructions. DO NOT mute the sound! It all play’s into the distraction factor. My overall average is 0.17. I know I can do better… dang these addictive simple games.
After finishing some work related emails I began stumbling randomly through websites and happened upon some of the best writings I have read on a blog thus far. The site is dooce.com. She had me laughing so hard that I reached in my closet to grab my respirator for air, then I realized that I wasn’t 90 years old yet and don’t have one. On her site I came upon this little gem. This video was far too hilarious to keep all to myself. Where were these kind of events when I was in sunday school and youth group? I apologize in advance for not having my Japanese to English translator on ’site’. I too would sure love to know what the heck they are saying. None-the-less this WILL be the best 6 minutes of your day, that is a promise.
(unless you just won the lottery or found true love, rubber bands cannot compete with that.)
