Gray Matters - In my head

Vampire bats, Popeye and Vitamin K

2010-02-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

I am not a doctor nor have a played one on TV. But I am a vitamin taker..or at least I used to be. I still have my favorites chewable Vitamin c, Vitamin E, cinnamon bark extract and so on. But I recently heard of an affect a certain vitamin has that i think everybody should be aware of because it is THAT serious.

Vitamin K is one of those among many, but I just want to clear my mind of this blog subject so I can move on.

A friend recently had been diagnosed with "minor blood clots" found in his lungs. Minor being "non-life threatening, at least not in the immediate future. The doctors said they can prescribe anti-coagulants to help thin his blood and then begin to regulate it for an exact viscosity which I guess they know for certain. Once they got him started on the anticoagulants, they gave him a list of foods which contain Vitamin K.

What is Vitamin K and what does it do? Basically Vitamin K is the nutrient that makes green leafy, vegetables green. I'll stop here for a minute and say that I always thought eating spinach just like Popeye was supposed to be a good thing for everybody. Not so. In fact, for anyone who might be prone to their blood clotting for whatever reason should in fact be careful of eating too much of a good thing. So my friend gets a long list of stuff containing Vitamin K and told to eat only a certain amount a week, once they determined the anti-coagulants, which by the way happen to be bat saliva which, you guessed it, makes a decent blood anti-coagulant. My friend, who also happened to be knowledgeable in Latin read the name on the label and asked the nurse....."Wait a second is that bat spit, you're putting into me?!"

I begin asking lots of questions about what's good to eat, what's not, etc. One thing became clear to me what's good for one person may not necessarily be good for another. In other words, we shouldn't go around self-prescribing or worse telling everybody else what they should eat, what vitamins they should take and so on.

There is a cool website, in fact lots of them which offer lists of foods, nutrients, etc. and as someone once said, everything in moderation.

The cool thing is that they regulate the effect of the medicine by re-introducing a small portion of veggies back into his system. So instead of raising or lowering the dosage of meds, which he has to be on the rest of his life, they actually say eat x-amount of green beans this week, or broccoli or whatever.

Basic rule of thumb--perhaps it's a good thing to not self-prescribe or consume just anything without knowing what it does...or worse, prescribe to others something you "feel" will be their next wonder nutrient.

Ironically, we had been eating items anyone can purchase at organic food chains such as barley powder, potassium supplements and drinks. Things I thought of as safe for anyone and can make anyone feel better. But I count myself as a lucky one who learned soon enough that all the vitamin taking I had been telling my friend to take for the last 20 or so years was not doing him a bit o' good. In fact, had they not caught it in time, those blood clots could have created worse damage or even death.

Read the labels. Don't eat just anything a cartoon character tells you to eat. Read labels. Ask your doctor. Find out the facts. Read the labels. Google it! This information contained herein is not to be used to prevent or cure any disease. In fact, I'd check with your own doctor to find out if Popeye has been telling the truth after all these years.

LIfe is short play...hard? more? less?

2010-02-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

We've all the phrase "Life is short, play hard" and other variations and it is true.

We make friends; we lose them. We keep in touch. We lose contact. We reconnect. It seems like an insane cycle in which quality is lost and gained; then a sudden something jars us back into reality. We wake up and find new inspiration to live better, do more and be happy...or shouldn't we?

That's happened to me more than once in this life. Life is like a painting, a long series of corrections if you pay attention. The surprises have come to me when I'm not paying attention. Having lost family members, co-workers, associates and friends over the years, experiencing the loss of someone through death is always profound either a little or a lot.

What do you do when you get a jolt back to carving out the crap of life and making a renewed focus on quality? Follow your bliss....follow your bliss....follow your bliss...and start by

1. Be okay when you've lost contact with friends and know they represent the other half of the equation.

2. If there is someone or a group of people you want to be in contact with, make the effort, do the work. Good friends will be glad you called and you will be glad.

3. When making new quality friends, "quality" is the key. Make sure that's what they are after too. If not move on.....you have better things to do.

4. It's not just about other people, take care of yourself and give yourself "permission" to do things you want to do. Start by thinking of what it is you would like to have accomplished by the end of your life and start doing them. Otherwise, you are the only one that will have the regret in the end.

5. Live life with no regrets and therefore no fear. The world of media and commerce is bent on creating a need often by instilling the "fear of" the "something unknown, if you don't act now." Get rid of that feeling of dread now. It serves no one except Madison Avenue. The world is more than just commerce. Human beings are more than just commerce.

6. Love recklessly and enjoy the people you are with.

7. Go! Start today. Make a plan but don't get bogged down in the details. Just...GO!

OOooooohhhh, Charlene!

2010-02-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Personal note: We just celebrated our dear friend, Tony Perrett's memorial. He was far too young, but he lived large and celebrated each moment. Today, I found his last email to me from 2007. Thank God I'm a pack rat, even with email. I'm also grateful we had spoken since then but this is our Tony (on the left) at his all time best.....the way he should be remembered. At the very least, he deserves an eternal spotlight on a world-wide blog. His partner Ryo is on the right; neighbors in the center. There is to be another memorial in New York March 19, 2010, one day after his 51st birthday. I'm sure he'll be there.

Anthony Craig "Tony" Perrett
March 18, 1959 - December 22, 2009

07-17-2007

Helllooooo Charlene-

Hope this finds you well and happy!!! I hear Dallas is now Seattle! Are you considering living on an ark? I see your home address is new? When did you move?

Not much to report here…I LOVE New York…and I still LOVE my job! I see lots of theatre-which you know makes me happy! I have new found passion too and that’s Opera…I guess it comes with age! (as you might have guessed, I’m pushing 50)…Can you believe 70% of the music on my Ipod is opera? Of course the rest is show tunes…some things never change!

We bought a condo last year and finally moved in this past April in Brooklyn…we love it! The view is spectacular and it’s ours! Much better than throwing that money away on outrageous New York rent!

This Thursday Ryo and I celebrate our 4 year Anniversary; can you believe he’s put up with my shit for that long? He’s a Saint!!!

Are you and Alvaro still together?

Seen any of our friends? Anyone we know?

We should get together some time when I am in Big D….

Kisses to ya!

Tony

PS. The photo is Ryo and I with our crazy new neighbors at my last work party! Ryo’s the one in the hat! I’m the old one!

My Brain: A Visual

2010-01-19T00:19:00.000-08:00

Recent art piece...I say "recent" as in the last couple years. Try navigating in here. (points to head)

Googie Art: Bowl-A-Rama Coffee Shop

2010-01-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a link but don't stop there. Googie lovers, that is, people who love Mid-20th Century architecture and design, will love to take a walk down Retro Avenue and see what you've been missing. If you like it, you'll be there for hours, perhaps even days. Grab a snack now.

http://www.lileks.com/

The style of the 1950s and 60s has a look all its own. The cool thing is these roadside images were meant to be seen from your car. They had to be spectacles and you had to be overwhelmed with desire to stop. Before there were an insane numbers of chain restaurants, chain hotels, chain EVERYTHING, there were unique one-of-a-kind little eateries, which are now so rare.

By the late 60s, these places seem to disappear, although there still exist a few, across the USA, but especially in Southern California...but you have to be looking for that certain neon sign or crazy-angled rooftop.

Some time ago, I decided to make an attempt to preserve this style and create some googie art signs which I hope will be a respectful tribute and appreciation of our retro future past. I've gone crazy with my new love, named Googie.

Synesthesia Part 2

2009-12-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

There are very distinct smells that go along with other childhood memories. Three favorite brand name smells are Crayola™ Crayons, grape Koolaid/ grape flavored candy, Hershey's chocolate.

A couple non-brand name smells are Kindergarten class construction paper and tempera paint. At Six Flags, where I worked as a teenager, the smell of creosol near the train tracks was somehow always a happy smell...at least on a cool day.

Last year I blogged about favorite smells and flavors at Christmas time. I remember we would stick our heads in our Christmas stockings and take a big whiff of all the mixed up smells. The olfactory combination contained oranges, peppermints, Hershey kisses (yeah...I LOVE chocolate), walnuts, Klondike bars, Junior Mints, small wrapped packages (cellophane tape?) and finally, the smell of the bright red flannel stocking itself.

Grapheme Synesthesia

2009-12-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I can remember I have associated single digit numbers with colors. I don't know why this happened, but the colors for the numbers 0 through 9 have never changed since my childhood.

Imagine my surprise when a friend told me there was a name for it. Synesthesia, he said. Wow. There's a word for everything, even things that seem to be nonsense-nobody-else-experiences these things but me stuff.

So for the world to see...or at least a handful of followers, I've attached the image that I created following my number-color arrangement.

0= White
1= Black
2= Red
3= Orange
4= Green
5= Yellow
6= Maroon
7= Blue-Violet
8= Caramel Brown (don't ask me why, but it is a certain hue of brown I see)
9= Maroon (the same as 6 which makes sense to me)

I also included certain colors which appear in my mind to alternate from time to time.
The most solid or consistent associations are 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 8
My remaining wishy-washy color numbers are 6, 7, 9

Who else does this? Jiggins?

Wiki quote: definition for this type of synesthesia follows. See full link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

Grapheme → color synesthesia

Main article: Grapheme-color synesthesia

In one of the most common forms of synesthesia, grapheme → color synesthesia, individual letters of the alphabet and numbers (collectively referred to as graphemes), are "shaded" or "tinged" with a color. While different individuals usually do not report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies with large numbers of synesthetes find some commonalities across letters (e.g., A is likely to be red).^[19]^[21]
As a child, Pat Duffy told her Dad, "I realized that to make an R all I had to do was first write a P and draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line." Another grapheme synesthete says, "When I read, about five words around the exact one I'm reading are in color. It's also the only way I can spell. In elementary school I remember knowing how to spell the word 'priority' [with an "i" rather than an "e"] because ... an 'e' was out of place in that word because e's were yellow and didn't fit."^[26]
"

Jonny Quest Exotica

2009-11-17T01:42:00.000-08:00

I just heard that Zac Efron will be playing the classic Hanna-Barbera character Jonny Quest. The first thing that comes to mind is how "pretty" young Mr. Efron is and how Jonny Quest the boy, let alone the concept, is anything but pretty.

In the early 1960s, Hanna-Barbera ventured into prime-time TV. The big deal was the adult following for shows like the Flintstones, The Jetsons and perhaps even Top Cat...PLUS they matched their adult audience by equally adult sponsors, such as cigarette companies who had Fred and Barney smoking with the likes of Lucy Ricardo ....business as usual.

These were obviously different times, but no way will we ever see Spongebob and Patrick smoking a Camel. I digress. Jonny Quest was designed for family viewing, but with a distinctly different approach than your average bear cartoon. Let me say this was a couple years before Gene Roddenberry followed suit incorporating likely sci-fi elements into his new Star Trek series. But Jonny Quest was an "all boy" adventure. No girls allowed.

Traveling the danger-filled globe with his father Benton Quest, his body guard and tutor, Roger "Race" Bannon, best friend Hadji and comic-relief canine, Bandit, we get a front row seat to Jonny's life as the home-schooled, privaledged youth. His story is clearly one which fit into the era in which it was produced. An unlikely boy's story for today. Which brings me full circle....Jonny Quest isn't pretty.

No matter. We're about to get an update and I wanted to give my 2 pennies on the subject.

First, if there is a director I would anme as "best-suited" for the job, my choice would be, Brad Bird (Iron Giant, The Incredibles). Hello? Talk about saving our jet-packed, retro futures, Bird has successfully recreated an updated "feel" for the past while keeping our 21st Century gadgetry in the picture. It seems a natural choice too since we would not have had the Incredibles, without Jonny Quest. Am I the only 1960s geek who cares about this? Ummm...I doubt it. Zac Efron may work for an older Jonny, who knows. But give us our adventure with someone who respects the.....I hate this word......"property."

Hollywood is brutal. Taking classic concepts and recreating, that is, squeezing the life out of them is old hat. Everything is always about the next quick buck. Hollywood can give us a Zac Efron Jonny Quest. Quest fans may or may not get their jet packs, energy beasts and one-eyed spider spies snd it may not be too late to consider Brad Bird....but for God's sake, give us a decent story filled with as many Quest-isms as you can!

I guess that was more like 3 cents.

Hi Diddle Riddler

2009-10-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Just finished some art that has been floating around in my head for some time. Frank Gorshin is the Riddler, but in life he did so much more. Riddler was tough on his career but it was one of those things that probably also made it. This is my tribute to my favorite villain. But I have to admit, the big four all run hand-in-hand. Cesar Romero's Joker, Julie Newmar's AND Eartha Kitts Catwoman and nobody could top Burgess "Buzz" Meredith's Penguin.

All were top of their game.

Franciscan TIKI Starburst

2009-10-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Okay......I got all jazzed up about the idea so here it is. What can I say. Retro, pop, futuristic + Tiki.

Franciscan Starburst as art

2009-10-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Recently, I discovered for the first time a set of China I had seen before, but never appreciated for it's futuristic simplicity and quality 1950s kitsch appeal. My friends have come along for the ride. So with all the retro modern popularity being as "hip" as it is, I couldn't be having more fun.

Coming soon, Starburst + Tiki!

Oh yes!

Favorite new pet names

2009-10-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Our church recently had a blessing of the animals AKA Feast of St Francis. I missed the event due to a family emergency, but my friend was kind enough to tell me the most unique cat names he had heard from a very sweet older woman who brought her kitties to be blessed by the Franciscans.

The precious names were:

Forbidden Passion
Little White Guy
and
Not Tonight Honey.

Gotta love it.

http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/1966-batmobile-dragster/full/

2009-09-08T20:06:00.001-07:00

http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/1966-batmobile-dragster/full/

Shared via AddThis

New art - Batman & Robin

2009-09-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is anybody knows my affection for all things Batman & Robin, especially from the 1960s. Call me old fashioned, but there is something plain and simple about that old show.

Here's a peek at the new art.

Back to the canvas!

Random favorite words

2009-07-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I used to love to play on my grandfather's old fashioned typewriter. This was the 70s, so it wasn't electric, but we loved it. I remember once how impressed I was he wrote to then, Governor Ronald Reagan on it.

I never knew what to type and at ten years old, I definitely wasn't fast. But I used to love to make lists of the things I loved, and oddly enough, things I still love today. What I enjoyed was how certain words looked in typewritten form in black ink. As I look back on what it was I typed, I realized it's things that are still part of my life in one form or another. This is the list of those random words, just for my own personal fun. I seem to recall the italics to show SPEED, but it could just be my IMAGINATION. Indulge me.

cartoon, UFO, flying saucer, space ship, Batman, space, robot, superhero, SUPER, animated, impossible, monster, groovy, outer space, zombie, island, comic books, tazmania, Bugs Bunny, Hanna-Barbera, television, Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, MOUSE, color, BATMAN, SUPERMAN, Superman, cartoon character, COMIC, professor, scientist, Bible, pool, fun, FUN, crazy, CrAzY, CRAZY, crazy. cRaZy, Tom Terrific, fantastic, science fiction, Charlie Rose, coloring book, paint, crayon, Crayola, SPACE, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Spiderman, tarantula, book, BOOK, zoink, ZOINKS, POW!, Whammo!, puppy, jet, dog, god, GOD, supercalifragilisticexpeealidocius, dictionary, marsian, Martian, creepy crawlers, halloween, Santa Claus, mask, costume, Charles Christopher Rose, Flintstone, frizbee, cereal, Kelloggs, prize, surprise, present, package, secret, Secret, Secret Squirrel, Cracker Jack, candy bar, grandmother, grandaddy, C-H-A-R-L-I-E R-O-S-E, television, BOZO, Bozo, clown, wacky, snowman, create, zoom, ZOOM, Z-O-O-M! POP! BAM! ZOWIE! GHOST, ghost, glow, glow-in-the-dark, paint, orange, Orange, Yellow, brown, Green, Batmobile, Robin, fly, mountain, sea, ocean, Ocean, Vacaville, captain, Captain, CARTOON, add, ADD, scooter, SCOOBY, SCUBA, ACME, ROAD RUNNER, XXXXXXxXxXxXxXxOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO.

3's About Me

2009-07-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is a FaceBook note and also blog.

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the 3's of YOU. At the end, choose 26 people to be tagged. You have to tag me so really you just need 25 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I want to learn more about you. This is a good way to learn more about your friends without INTRUDING!!

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 3''s of Me, tag 26 people - in the right hand corner of the app - then click publish.)

Three names I go by (besides given name)
1.Charlie
2. Muffin
3.Uncle ChuChu

Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Puppeteer
2. lead character in a children's TV show
3. animator

Three Places I have lived
1. Irving, TX
2. Vacaville, CA
3. Arlington, TX

Three Favorite drinks
1. Water
2. Trader Vic's anything
3. Pina Colada

Three TV Shows that I watch
1. The Universe
2. Smallville
3. The Closer

Three places I have been
1. Maui, HI
2. Roswell, NM
3. Washington DC

People that call me regularly
1. Alvaro
2. Dan
3. Billy

Three of my favorite foods
1. steak - especially ribeye
2. hamburger
3. chicken

Three friends I think will respond
1. Elliott Seymour
2. Laura Seymour
3. Alvaro Abrego

Three Things I am looking forward to
1. Tiki Oasis in August 2009
2. Completion of new including Tiki and Space Monkey art
3. visits with old friends

Three Things that are always by your side
1. Inspiration....God is too easy an answer! ;)
2. cel phone
3. Sylvester, our cat

Cartoon Network and "Reality TV" ???

2009-07-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Also an edited post as a response to "William" on Cartoon Brew:

When we lose fantasy, we lose everything. At least that's how I think as an artist. Reality is for the Cartoon Network accountants or perhaps for the execs with little to no imagination; the people with only a bottom line.

I am an animator, puppeteer and cartoon lover of all kinds. I live in cartoon land, as many of my friends will proclaim, so I have never understood moving into “reality” for tv because where I live IS reality. Yet, I survive the “real world” because I am a creative thinker and artist. I make my own world every day. I can’t speak for nor relate to what do non-artists do. I can live in here (points to head) when I feel the need to detach from the realities of Earth. Where does an abused child go from abuse? This abused child was fortunate enough to have become an artist and who makes his living in cartoon land. I would swear to you my genetic code has been altered with names like Chuck Jones or Carl Swan…..or even Pablo Picasso to name a few….not to mention Albert Einstein and Michio Kaku and so on.

What some, less fortunate, non-abstract thinkers can’t do is fully understand or appreciate what fantasy does to heal our world FROM reality. Fantasy is the retreat from the world around us. Where dreams are thoughts and thoughts become things. Reality is simply a status. Reality TV is about ratings and advertising alone.

I can’t imagine a future world where the only thing we have is reality TV. Where do we go from here? Can we recreate an old tried and true concept of a world driven by fantasy without so much reality? What does fantasy do for our 21st Century world? What is reality TV doing to our evolution?

Finally, if a child can be taught to think creatively; it will make a world where an adult can understand and perhaps even predict the consequences to his poor choices. Take it a step further, learn to make better choices.

Adding to that, I would say that we in turn create a world where creative thinking is the peak of human experience, performance and evolution and in so doing create a new brighter future in which reality is not such a dirty word.

Steve Sprinkle's Open Letter to Mayor Moncrief

2009-06-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

Let's help Dr. Steve Sprinkle spread the word!

"My Open Letter to Mayor Mike Moncrief on the Rainbow Lounge Raid of June 28.
Published from Christopher Street on this Stonewall 40th Anniversary from NYC NY

Hon. Mike Moncrief, Mayor
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, Texas

June 28, 2009

Dear Mayor Moncrief,

The news of the raid carried out at the Rainbow Lounge on South Jennings Street this morning around 1 AM is reaching around the nation. I was disturbed to hear of it from a distinguished graduate of Brite Divinity School by phone while I was on pilgrimage to New York City for the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion that began the world-wide movement to secure equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human beings. It is incredible to me that a Stonewall-style raid, roughing up and arresting customers at Fort Worth's newest LGBT bar and lounge, would be carried out on the very anniversary of the birth of the LGBT rights movement. Sir, as a minister, professor, and gay man of conscience, I appeal to you to carry out a full investigation of this outrage against LGBT people and our allies everywhere, to issue an apology to the world LGBT community immediately before any more damage is done to Fort Worth's reputation, and to take steps to see that basic human rights and dignity are upheld in our great city.

You are a man of conscience, Mayor Moncrief. I have gladly met and worked with you and your administration in the past. You must know how personally distressing this act is to me, and to the thousands of LGBT citizens of Tarrant County. That is the reason I am writing this open letter to you and the public, to make my voice heard. I find it difficult not to believe that this raid was deliberately carried out on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion to create fear and consternation among gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. Mayor Moncrief, this sort of heavy-handedness cannot be tolerated in a modern Texas city like ours. You know that. Please act deliberately and quickly to address the LGBT community. We must have personal action on your part as leader of Fort Worth.

As a minister, I must uphold the highest standards of justice for all people. This is not an act that any religion can condone or justify. At the very heart of the Golden Rule, observed in one form or another by all the world's great religions, is the holy standard to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you." The Fort Worth Police Department, the State Police, and whoever else planned, approved, and executed this act of humiliation and violence against God's LGBT children in Fort Worth have transgressed that ethical, spiritual, and religious boundary. LGBT people have come a long way since Stonewall, Mayor Moncrief. I am here today with millions from all around the world thankfully remembering that human rights are hard won. Our city has some hard work ahead, and some powerful explaining to do to the children of Stonewall.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle

Associate Professor of Practical Theology

Brite Divinity School

Fort Worth, Texas

Holy Hollywood Rapture!

2009-06-25T17:25:00.000-07:00

David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson! Can you imagine the party that's going on at the pearly gates??

Used to be, we thought about that part of theology that describes this thing called "the rapture," so I've used the term loosely in this case, but it as always seems strange that celebs file into Heaven three at a time....in this case four. This time it looks like Heaven couldn't wait.

As one who likes to look at the sunny side of life, I imagine the rafters must be shaking with the latest Hollywood death toll. I mean ONE BIG PARTY.

What do you want your passing to be like? Think of it....A party with all your deceased relatives, friends and (why not?) favorite celebs there to usher you into the next realm....seems an awful lot like a the finest, swankiest party with only the best, except this time, YOU are the real star.

In some ways, I can't hep but think these deaths seem premature in some ways, if only for the number of years the aforementioned folks had lived their paparazzi-filled existence. Ed McMahon being the one exception as one who lived the fullest. I must also believe regardless of age, I would wager all the others were not short of living life to the fullest, with all the trimmings.

We have been entertained by you. Godspeed to you all!

Image of Heaven © Jim Warren
http://iasos.com/audioclp/

Favorite books and teachers

2009-06-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

The Power of Now, Bob Burn's Basement, Night of the Tiki, I-Ching, The Secret, Change Your Thoughts; Change Your Life, Tao, California in the 50s, The Bible,Blast Off, The Art of the Incredibles, Tiki Road Trip, The Power of Intention, The Secret Language of Birthdays, (currently reading) Don't Get Too Comfortable, Excuses Begone, anything Wayne Dyer writes changes me.

Dan Peeler teaches me to learn AND retain new information about God, theology, thinking. Further, the things we "choose" to see in this world are tainted; they become our very own custom-made, personal doctrines which are as diverse and plentiful as there are people.

My partner Alvaro, teaches me to live as much within my means as possible and do what you must do, no matter what others say or think. Work hard; make sacrifices.

And finally, everything Dr. Steve Sprinkle writes enlightens me and changes my perspective; in that the reality of our world sometimes isn't happy or upbeat, as I like to be. Bad things happen to good people. I learn why humankind must evolve or we will all die horribly as so many young people have and about whom he writes and honors daily.

In all things we must "do the right thing" which is different for everybody.

Favorite music

2009-06-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Another ever growing list.....So I'm stopping... in light of better things to do:

Jazz, Classical, New Age, Exotica, 50s/60s lounge, Ultra Lounge, Yma Sumac, Les Baxter, Martin Denny, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, The Tikiyaki Orchestra, Adham Shaikh, Nelson Riddle, Michael Giacchino, Claude Debussy, The Eagles, Chicago..........

Favorite movie list

2009-06-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Just a list....ever growing. But today.....I'll stop typing this and know that basically I love movies and the movie experience.

Harvey, The Day The Earth Stood Still-1951, Star Trek (2009), Pixar's Up, Field of Dreams, Star Wars Original Trilogy, The Bucket List, The History Boys, The Illusionist, The Secret, Sunset Blvd., Jaws, The Fugitive, Spider Man, Superman, Dogma, Undercover Brother, Austin Powers, All Pixar movies, The Dark Knight, Superman 2 (Donner Cut), Some Like It Hot, Psycho, Rope, (most Alfred Hitchcock), Hollywoodland, Men In Black, Men In Black II, Casablanca, The Birds, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Rear Window, Mildred Pierce, The Addams Family, North By Northwest, Harry Potter, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Back To The Future, American Graffiti, Willy Wonka (1971), Snow White, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, King Kong-1933, War of the Worlds, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Bride of Frankenstein, Young Frankenstein, What's Up Doc?, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Alien, Aliens, Gidget, Batman (1966), The Producers (1965), Postcards From The Edge, The Women, Dracula, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Bowfinger, The Wizard of Oz, Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, The Pink Panther, Best In Show, Burn After Reading, This Is Spinal Tap, Blast From The Past, Gods & Monsters, Kids In The Hall: Brain Candy, Now Voyager, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, Kontiki (documentary), Singin' In The Rain, The Mask, Bringing Up Baby, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Alfred Hitchcock movies, A Christmas Story, Get Shorty, Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2, The Glass Bottom Boat,

Believe and Manifest etc. NO Excuses!

2009-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, Wayne Dyer....what's with the bald head thing?

Never mind you're cool....cooler?

Watched Wayne Dyer on PBS last night called "No Excuses." I am a believer.
How many times in my life have I placed custom-made obstacles in my path so I could defeat my plan BEFORE I even started. Answer: Plenty.

So today, this is my gratitude blog. A way of saying "thank you" to the Universe, God and whatever you call your higher self or highest power. I am thankful to say the least that I know this method works. I come from a place of heavy doubt and low self esteem. This side is WAY better.

The first thing you have to do is decide...rather CHOOSE one thing over another. In this case it may be happiness over depression, best health over ailing health and so on.

I have chosen success....S-U-C-C-E-S-S in all things. The flow of success begins as the natural course of what you decide to change happens in this moment. I was successful at delay, derailment, and other methods of procrastination that add up to zero. Not anymore.

Life has turned around to this new spiritual awareness that finds you exactly where you are today and just by doing, acting asking for what you want to change it happens. The catch...good things come with a price......you must believe with all your heart and soul it's happening to you right now, not tomorrow. Today, in this moment.

"As a man [woman, child] thinketh, so shall he be."

"Ask and you shall receive."

It does not take being creative, being an artist, or anything but sheer will. The belief that you control your destiny.

Step into your future. Know that every second you think about doing something, or not, a feeling surrounds you, it encompasses your belief set and you wallow in it. Good or bad....you are wallowing.

If you think about losing weight, being healthier, doing something you've always dreamed of doing, June 4 2009 is that day you have changed the course of your life from this moment forward.

Thunderbirds are go.

What will you do now?

Cat-Tiki or Tiki Cat

2009-05-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud of this new piece. Dan and I decided Tikis in other forms would be cool too. So here's our latest Limited Edition print we call Cat-Tiki: Fishbone Moon or just Fishbone Moon...haven't quite decided.

This Queen Loves Tiki

2009-04-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

(http://www.arkivatropika.com/) and I noticed a particularly interesting drink called a Susie Wong in another (very familiar to me) art deco glass mug or chalice.

Being an old Disney fan and also an animator, I remembered seeing the Evil Queen from Disney's Snow White drink her magic potion from a similar mug to transform herself into the old hag.

Fast-forward -- OMG! Did the animators who conceived this scene go to Tiki Bars???? Were there such things as Tiki Bars in 1936? And if there were -- how cool is that??? Now, I want one of those goblets!!!!

Wait a sec.... if you drink Susie Wongs, will you become an old hag????
No. But it sure makes old hags look better.

Trader Vics anyone?

What does Jesus have to do with America?

2009-04-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine wrote the following superb illustration of the origins of Biblical scripture among other ancient texts. In it we get a capsule of information that begs some to ask: "What does Jesus REALLY have to do with America?"

Before you get all riled up, I found the following rather enlightening and revealing the ego of America's "ownership" of Christianity and all things Jesus.

Here it is:

"Iraq and The Bible
[The] land mass that we now know as Iraq was the location of much history that was recorded in the Old Testament, however it was divided into many small civilizations; the Ammonites, the Jebusites, the Hittites, the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Babylonians,the Medes, the Persians, the Seleucids, the Hebrews and many others. (I'm not sure about the spelling of all those right now, but take my word; there was lots of turnover in those desert lands during the approximately 2,000 year period that the scriptures record. The Egyptians, whose records are more ancient and more thorough, list a lot of additional cultures that came and went.

The past tense reference in the Koran about the eagle triumphing, written about 600 years after Christ, is not prophesy of the future, but very likely a reference to the Roman Empire's destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. (A.D.), the Palestinian Peninsula being a part of that same highly populated land mass. The eagle was a popular symbol of many ancient civilizations, including Rome, so it could refer to other conquerors as well. None of this stuff in the Koran, New Testament, Old Testament, or any other ancient writing refers to the future United States. Their world was limited to the borders we have already mentioned, and their writings were full of symbols that represented clearly the nations known to them. They had no practical interest in predicting the future of any country outside their realm.

Maybe someday the people of the United States who see themselves in all these ancient texts will realize that history is just not all about them."

Riddle Me This

2009-04-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the Y today. First time in a week-ish...and by "week-ish" I mean nearly 3 weeks. Anyway, I'm doing the treadmill. I like it because I can listen to my meditation tracks on my iPod...you know...because I think of this when I'm about to work out and realize I can 'birth 2 birds with one egg' by doubling my workout pleasure and meditate to "positive thought training." So, I'm on the tread and this guy walks by...early 60-ish... with a gut and he has these sort of weird goggles for racket (raquet?) ball, but they don't look like actual goggles; more like a strange mask, like the Riddler used to wear on the old Batman....I mean JUST like it and I couldn't even see a plastic shine in the eye holes....just the mask. I'm thinking, "Ha! He's still hiding his old persona, when he was who he used to be.

I start to day dream a bit and I think what if that guy were a ponchy old Riddler for real. A former elite, top-of-his-game villain who had seen better days, but who still wanted to sort of keep an edge, so he works out and plays raquetball. Even though he wasn't "super" he still was crazy enough to wear bright-colored tights and was considered a super-genius.

I know we have seen the new incarnations like Batman Beyond and The Dark Knight of the comics age. It's not a far stretch to see others have given life to this kind of idea, but I don't think anyone outside of "The Watchmen" and Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" have actually fleshed out the what-if scenario of superheroes and villains existing in our world; not TV or movie world, or CG world, OUR Earth. I think The Incredibles came as close to ours as any could, even though it was a retro-futuristic, sci-fi, James Bond-ish kind of 1960s take. Okay so it wasn't that close.

Kinda crazy....so who else would we see trying to maintain their aged super-self. Would we see Flash on a treadmill; The Joker working at a Novelty Shop?

End of ramble......temporarily.

That old thing called etiquette

2009-04-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

etiquette |ˈetikit; -ˌket|
noun
the customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular profession or group.

Better known as Customer Service with a smile.

Is it just me? What is happening (has been happening) to customer service? I was standing in Frye's electronics waiting my turn to be directed to the next available cashier. The guy doing the deed was so busy texting, the cashier had to signal me himself. Jeez! I wanted to say something, but what do say "Think!" or maybe "Hello???" "Thanks for nothing."

But it's not just that.

A guy cut me off in traffic and then acted like I was in his way as he barely missed my front fender. I raised my arms as in "WTF?" and he gave it right back and proceeded to do that to another 7 or 8 cars ahead. "WTF" indeed.

McDonalds: Went back to the store that forgot my hashbrowns....yeah...they are THAT good. I got a "sorry 'bout that." What I wanted was, "Did you have to drive all the way back here because we screwed up? Gee....here's a free (something because WE blew it)"

Popeyes (yeah I eat out a lot) forgot cole slaw. I go back without my receipt and tell them and you think the $1.19 for the slaw was pure gold. "Sorry, not without your receipt." as if to say, yeah, you must be lying to us so prove it." They don't even serve Spinach and it's called freakin POPEYES! WTF???

Okay, so fast food is just the shits to work at. And God knows some just bounce from one fast food to the other for employment......so I guess and the people who eat there (like me) are really just looking for trouble.....Oh, okay I'll stop here. Epiphany realized. I feel ummmm... better?

God bless all you golden archers....I'll be back. Who am I kidding?

--Former Pizza Hut employee.

Recreating Jesus

2009-03-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

I often wonder what old JC actually looked like. The famous paintings of him make him out to have blondish hair and blue eyes; quite caucasion...perhaps too Caucasion.

Christians continue to recreate Jesus to fit her or his personal or doctrinal stance on the Son of God.

But it occurs to me that Jesus was likely as dark-skinned (or as light-skinned if you prefer) as President Obama.

Let's get our heads around that for a minute.

Lower Manhattan

2009-03-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

Okay...the phrase is funny and people are starting to refer to the nether regions of Dr Manhattan from "Watchmen" as Lower Manhattan."

But, the first time I heard this phrase (note the date 7 Mar 2009) was the next day from my good friend Dan in an email. He said he was looking forward to seeing some fan art of Dr Manhattan I am working on, but he thought my true interest would be in "Lower Manhattan." And indeed it was. I liked other stuff too.

I mean really! I can't remember a time when a superhero (or anti-superhero) movie appealed to me more. But I have to admit, EVERY TIME Dr Manhattan appears in a long shot, I have NO idea what happened!

Happiness NOW!

2009-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Turning the whine button off now. And in the further midst of turning off the noise and voices from the world and in my head, I've decided today to be really happy despite my inner ramblings. I am happy because I know whatever negative thinking may be attempting to take root is ABSOLUTELY temporary. It is for you too.

Why write this? Because I know somebody else is in deeper despair than I was feeling a few minutes ago. I am not without work and there is plenty to do as a volunteer for any number of local charities. I have the ability to quickly raise for our company large sums of money and donate my time and resources. These things help my world become a better place.

I am traveling on a future time line which is in itself a mere illusion. I'm fast-forwarding to the place when I am basking in the millions that I'm creating today as a result of my good and faithful work, just by changing my thinking. I have so many resources, I'm not sure which to go with first, so I'm choosing the best thing for this moment.

I choose happiness over depression and action over complacency.

It's that simple.

Create a great day for yourself as I have done.

Eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich on 9-grain bread along with some celery.
Eat some foods that automatically make you feel better immediately. Avoid junk. Eat something healthy and that you'll be happy to reflect on later. Or give of your time to somebody who needs it. It is a scientific fact that our brain LOVES when we are cheerful givers. We feel better when we give, more so than when we receive.

Whatever you decide to do....start by being happy now.

Stem Cell Research

2009-03-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another forward move by our President today as he signed the bill to further continue research on a highly controversial topic. The topic has been, like gay marriage, the money-making fear word used to give conservatives additional ways to create fear and make some money along the way.

People, what are we afraid of, really? Some say "the embryos that are 'killed' in the process" should not be made to begin with, therefore, we shouldn't do the research, therefore it's a moral issue. Is that too abbreviated? Did I jump too far ahead?

Hell, if it's a "moral issue" why send our troops overseas and lose even one of them? And you know, speaking of morality and so-called faith-based issues, when conservative Christians make statements about the stuff they fear, it is 1. a projection and 2. it always seems to be a black and white scenario. It's all gray.

About faith-based stuff....First of all, killing embryos as though it's right there with abortion. It's always weird to me when people who faith in their God and heaven and hell say it's a "moral issue." Break it down: When does the "soul" form? (Gee this is a lot of quotation marks, but I don't see a way around it.) If dead babies of any life-stage/progress go automatically to Heaven, you know, the place where God is...no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering place.....then what's the big deal?? We're talking about about embryos or even more-so, the research to give more actual living people H-O-P-E - hope for a better life. Those little life-bearing embryos are there for us.

As far as news items go, at least the gay marriage thing will be in the shadows while our focus is steered another direction by STEM CELL RESEARCH. Let's see...we can one day grow new kidneys, hearts or sheep....wait a second..we already grew a sheep. What do you say the odds are we already grew a few babies too? Albeit, highly secret clone babies but real babies nonetheless.

People, whether we vote for such a thing or not, it's happening in the private sector. We may not be able to, via government means, fund going to Mars either, but it will most likely happen in the private sector anyway.

Some preachers will keep you on the edge of your seat, creating things to be afraid of, while they take your money to give you some hope....while others give you hope reminding us that the God we somehow believe in, is always in charge.

Seriously, it never ceases to amaze how we come up with these fear-based issues, especially those that involve human progress and our planet's evolution. It galls me when the government, our government, uses our tax money to do things I completely disagree with. If I had my way, I'd say send me the check-box list of the ways you want to use my money and let me choose the ones I agree with. But fortunately, I guess we get a voice by who we vote for....at least when the polls are not miscounted. Don't get me started. As for this topic, I agree so do it. Use my money so we can all have a better chance for life or at least growing a kidney that someone else did NOT have to donate.

The best thing I heard this morning on CNN came from the woman who said (paraphrased) "....politicians are not the ones who should be telling the scientists what and how to research. We look to scientists to tell us when they ave a good idea of how to help humanity."

The Daily Show

2009-03-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

I LOVE the Daily Show. As much as they are comical, the team actually brings the real news all wrapped up in good-natur'd fun.

It is unbelievable how much crap people have to say about President Obama. I mean, if you truly listen he's intelligent, witty and takes his job seriously....oh yeah...and he thinks out of the box. He addresses us in a progressive way. By progressive I mean you don't have to wade through side-stepping bull s**t as we did for the 8 loooooooong years up till now.

I'm happy he's there and I wish people would let the man do his job. Meantime, Jon Stewart will keep us posted on all the real stuff. I love you Jon...in a manly way. And okay....I love Pres. Obama too.

Okay.....well....back to cartoon land.

I'm just sayin'

So my friend says . . .

2009-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Paraphrased: "Dude! Okay....I get the blue dog parody thing but...you would-a hit the mark if you actually had done Huckleberry Hound since he WAS the original blue dog. Scooby wasn't....not...nada." (see earlier post)

So I said. "You're on."

Here it is.

B-iiiiird Man!

2009-03-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

Time for a little 60s kitsch. If you couldn't already tell, I love cartoons; originally the reason I became an animator. Among my faves are old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. You can imagine how much Boomerang is on in my house. Not to worry, I also love Sponge Bob, Powerpuff Girls, Venture Bros. etc.

Probably the weirdest HB factory work was Birdman. At the height of superhero cartoons in the 60s, NBC had to have their own brand of Space Ghost & Mightor. Sort of the "Shazam!" of its day (okay now we're in the 70s) being that the alter ego would yell out a word and become the super one. Let's note for a second, that Space Ghost never yelled his own name in public. That's just corny. Mighty Mightor is forgiven since yelling his name is kind of a battle cry...am I stretching?? So Birdman flies out of his secret mountain lair and yells "Biiiird Man in his operatic timber.....and we're not sure why. I guess just because it sounds good.

So Boomerang always uses the old HB toons as time-fillers to the next show. The other night, Birdman came on and it had to be the single WORST episode ever. (I'm not talking about Harvey Birdman, Attorney -- it's brilliant.) By the time HB was in to their 1960s hey day, they were really crankin' those babies out. They were probably already shipping stuff out to Mexico or the Philipines, but the drawing continuity was way off model in almost every cut. His head was too big, his body out of scale, his hands were huge...and you know what that means.....I looked for anything to let me know this was not a real Birdman cartoon. At one point I thought, why doesn't Birdman hold up a sign (ala Road Runner) that says "Silly ain't it?"

So in the interest of all that's kitschy, I've continued my entries into 1960s Halloween masks. Everything that had ANY popularity was made into a Halloween costume...still works today right?

Birdman was my next natural choice. Note the usual thing about Halloween costumes is they had to plaster the character name all over it. You couldn't just dress up in these store bought licensed versions. You had to be recognized by adults too. Without the word "Birdman" imprinted who would know what the heck superhero you were. Even Batman had it stamped all over.

I hated that. These days it's called marketing.

The state of "The Economy"

2009-03-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

It really bugs me how some people seem to be automatically drawn to using the phrase "in this economy" or one like it. Is it something they actually have studied or have they just heard it on the radio or TV and so use it because they've been told.

"The economy" is a fantasy; a mere concept. If you believe what anyone says about it, especially about spending money, you feed the misunderstood concept like a weed. I'm not saying if you're making less money or are out of work you should charge your life on a Visa card, but I am saying the economy happens because of you, me and everybody. The consumer rules by what we spend, what we don't spend and who/what we support by our dollars. We actually have real P-O-W-E-R!

We could have greener cars if we sacrifice driving gas guzzlers. We change our world by what we buy and the decisions we make every minute of every day. But we have to think first and some of us think we have to be told what to do next. Pity.

The manipulation may be well-intended, BUT it is the consumer who decides how she/he spends. I guess I just want everyone to be comfortable and faithful that everything is going to be fine and the Universe, God will take care of Y-O-U. So don't panic.

The upside? The greatest thing our wonderful President is asking us to ask ourselves is to "roll up your sleeves," "get to work," and "stop buying things you don't need." We have been spoiled as a nation...we have been brainwashed to "keep up with the Joneses" whoever they are. We have been a Saks Fifth Avenue junkie for too long...and you know what I mean.

There are many ways to find your own bliss; a bliss that costs very little to nothing. That is finding the things that make you happy from within, the things that don't hypnotize you into buying something you don't need.

We're going to see many stores and businesses close. People will lose their jobs, but they will find new ones. We be forced to actually THINK about what we really need and it is long overdue. I include myself; one who used to buy shirts, cocktails, comic books, magazines, toys and so on just for the color alone.

We are being called to a simpler life; one that doesn't dictate our happiness based upon the last purchase of meaningless crap we just bought.

We CAN do this. It is easy. But first consider that a change of a lifetime happen is permanent when it is practiced regularly. I preach to myself.

Thank GOD for a president who inspires us to think, do and be better people, by being these things first.

We're watching you Mr. Prez.

After-life Tour Guide

2009-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Recently, I accepted the possibility that my dreams are a window to other dimensions, not just my brain working out the kinks for the previous day or recent past. I have allowed myself to look at my dreams as visits to other parallel worlds none of which I can either prove nor disprove.

Through this I have been able to begin experiencing lucid dreams, that is, dreams I can pick up from where I left off, usually from the same nights' dream. It's a fun journey and if your one who usually has positive, happy dreams, I highly recommend as an experiment for you.

While I'm continuing, I've been thinking about the afterlife and what it might be like. First I assume it could be very personalized, giving each dead person their own mystical take on the way they feel things ought to be.

In any case, when we die, I feel there has to be some sort of transition period; a time when we adjust to our new surroundings and become acquainted with the here-after. Make sense? Since we all have functionality of one kind or another...either jobs or things that occupy our time, it seems like an interesting spiritual aspect of functionality after we're no longer living in this physical realm.

One job I'd like to have would be the tour guide, showing freshly dead people their new home and the ins and outs of living in the new dimension...or at least in "a" new dimension, if millions upon millions of them co-exist anyway.

Maybe it would look something like this.

Hi my name is Charlie. Welcome to the after-life; a creation of your own unique design, desires and tastes. While the over-all look and architecture of your new home is what you'd like it to be. There are a few laws in place that are consistent with each personal utopia dimension AKA Heaven.

1. You may not time travel since time here does not exist.

2. You may visit with anyone you can think of, not only those who have already past but you may enter into living human's dream world as they sleep, approach mortality, or are unconscious.

3. Your travels are not limited to Earth and human beings minds; you may travel anywhere in the Multiverse.

4. Any appearances you make to living people may only be to help them learn, evolve and have better lives, whether they choose to follow your example, action or advice.

5. Travel comes to you as easy as a thought or a blink of an eye. You can go as slow as you want or blink through as fast as you can imagine or faster.

6. No matter what problems you had faced while you lived, you still have the opportunity to think and perhaps resolve old human issues without the crude matter that made up your mind and body. Now you are pure Spirit, free to enjoy all of Creation as your Spirit is meant to be.

7. What are you waiting for? Go.

Any of these things might be told to you from a former spouse, close friend or relative. What do you think your after-life will look like?

Post blogging blues

2009-02-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

I am missing my blog community and just plain writing. The month of January I was sick with a chest cold....had it twice...and still I had lots of work, which is good.

I am delighted to have a new president and yet still amazed at how people are so accepting, even my Republican friends. I am also amazed at his use of the English language, his intellect and matter-of-fact way he has of handling anything. I know he's not perfect, but he is the complete opposite of what we had for eight years. The weird thing is, I got so used to watching Jon Stewart rip W, I'm afraid their comic material will be lacking for decent "slam content." There's always Steven Colbert Report, tho. Goody.

I've seen some cool new things on History and Science Channel...both coming up with new programs and continually updating their science data. I'm looking forward to a new show called "How The Earth Was Made." I've seen two versions of this before, but evidently they have enough material to have created a series. Cool.

Tonight I caught up with Smallville. (SPOILER ALERT) A classic comic villain "The Toyman" made his debut. Plus we got a lot of a shirtless, hunky Green Arrow in the hospital. And finally Lana has to leave again. All that eternal smooching and "I love yous" was starting to get to me again. Clark even bangs her at the beginning via sound effects through the wall. My "chick-flick loving" partner even said "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Agreed. Kristen is a fantastic actress, but sorry, I'm a superhero geek from the word "GO!" and I need me some super powers and costumed heroes...kissin' or not! Yeesh.

Meanwhile, at our company...that's the two of us.....we're creating a graphic Time Line showing overlapping Bible characters (some real, some fictional-since we're not literalists) along with world events and real people. It's very fun, for example, to see when the Polynesians first settled in Hawaii and other highlights of the 3rd Century. Can you say ka'mana'wanalaya?

Walk into the light.......

2009-01-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

"They're not part of consciousness as we know it. They linger in a perpetual dream state... ...a nightmare from which they cannot awake. lnside this spectral light... ...is salvation. A window to the next plane. They must pass through this membrane... ...where friends are waiting to guide them to new destinies."

If you didn't get the quote, one of my favorite movies is Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist. I just saw it on AMC...or one of those channels. Looking back, the story holds up, even with the non-digital effects. My rule: never compare apples to oranges; in this case analog-to-digital. It'll screw you up every time. There are wonderful subtle truths about the spirit world presented in the film. Although it may be a bit heavy-handed at times, I was amazed at the humor and cleverness, which gave us an out to the spookiness when we needed it. Tangina will forever be one of my favorite mediums into "the other side."

And who doesn't love Zelda Rubinstein??

Cue theremin music here.

One last thought . . .

2009-01-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

It would be short-sighted not to wish my fellow bloggers a happy new year too!

This is an interesting concept and so 21st Century.

I love it.

...more to come! G'nite!

I digress to resolve

2009-01-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

first, I want to wish myself a happy new year! I don't think I've ever done that. It felt good. I'm going to say it again....Happy new Year, Me!

With all the traditions of Holidays behind us, sort of. I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year. It's nice to have the cycles begin again. It's like life's built-in re-boot.

I know a bit about what I want to do this year, that is what new or additional things i would like to accomplish. It goes along with what I wish to drop from previous years. I have the list in my mind and I was going to post it, but more importantly, I think I'll keep pondering and not formally commit myself. Therein lies the first problem I had last year. Commitment. What is it I'm afraid of when I think of committing or even thinking about the word "committing." It seems to create a feeling of a rule that I now must follow and if I don;t do the thing I said then I've failed because I didn't even try. And so what. I took on plenty of things last year I didn;t know I would take on. I ended 2008 in an upbeat mood because I didn't give a shit about the Holidays and therefore wound up with little to no feelings of depression afterward. Yay! This is fantastic because the holidays bring on a false sense of responsibility to to buy things and do things because we feel obligated to do them based on stupid traditions.

A friend of mine commented that he didn't feel the spirit of the holiday at any time; nor did he "feel like" buying anything just because. I congratualted him because that is the opposite side of our commercial spirit of Christmas that I've failed to explore in depth. That is, when you don;t feel like doing anything, i.e. buying gifts, sending cards, attending parties, then why do so? Why need some sort of approval or not. I missed a dinner with some good friends recently and analyzed why I had not made it a better priority. ADHD was one excuse. There were others, but I felt really bad because it didn't even register; I had no back up for memory loss and instead was called several times while I was doing somthing else. I went to the gym. I digress, but it still fits the point. So I resolved to give myself a higher sense of self-respect and made a personal promise to at least 1. be honest and 2. call when I';m going to be late or not even show up.

The fun would have happened but it was strange to be in limbo land at that point and not recognize by poor 'Emily Post' moment. Then again Emily Post was a much too formal apporach and was really for the snotty rich and not everyone else. THAT is unAmerican, or at least exclusive behavior. Oh well. She's dead and most people don't even know who she is anymore. Good. We need better standards anyway.

So as I conclude this post, may I resolve to myself to blog shorter, do the things I am thinking of doing this year and by all means raise my level of respect for myself and my friends.

I think I'll do the gym more too. It has a hot tub.

Anticipating the New Year

2008-12-31T14:32:00.000-08:00

It's the last day of the year. It has been a strange yet somewhat productive day, but not at all like I planned yesterday. A friend was to come over and spend the day watching DVDs and celebrate a late Christmas. As it turns out he had errands to run and a few personal things to take care of, so we delayed getting together a little while. Meanwhile, another friend came over and waited to see him too and enjoy a visit.

The day wore on and we waited and waited. It got so late that I called and suggested we just plan another day when we could enjoy more time together.

Looking back over the day, it was a little frustrating; the day was spent 'in between.' Off subject, this is kind of funny. I'm an animator. I began my career doing cel painting and then moved up to assistant animation A.K.A. in-betweening. For those not familiar with animation terms, 'in-betweening' is drawing the pictures between the extreme poses in animation. An animator may draw extreme poses numbered 1 and 5; the in-betweener draws 2, 3, and 4. I thought about this in comparing that definition and what today was like in my life. It was definitely an in-between day and in need of a plan B to fill it in.

So I ask, am I 'in-between' life's extremes at the cusp of the new year? What are the things happening in this last few hours of 2008 and what extremes should I anticipate (if any) for 2009. I'm certain there will be surprises in store in the coming New Year as there were things that happened this year I did not expect. It's funny to be in that place where a plan has been made, I anticipate the outcome, assume a few things that will likely happen, then nothing happens. We all know what assuming does.

Even so, today, lessons were learned for the next time such a day may occur and a little bit of catch-up I needed was accomplished and I still had surprises waiting for me. I received a gift; a really cool Hot Wheels Limited Edition 1966 Batmobile. 1:18 scale fr children 14 and up. For a couple moments, I'm 14 all over again.

Good-bye 2008.....

And now, on to the new year!

UFO - Vapor trail

2008-12-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

Last summer, while driving back from West Texas I had the opportunity to see the strangest vapor trail ever. Not that the vapor trails left by jets is usually a streak that dissipates over time. However this time, with two other passengers, I confirm that what we were looking at could not have been made by a jet. In fact, I have never been able to find anything of this nature on the web. The photo I've attached to this post is a retouch in PhotoShop.

The purpose is to illustrate the kind of vapor trail we saw in July 2008.

A funny thing, we passed by the exit for Stephenville, TX where the huge "Walmart-sized' UFO had been spotted and reported last January. We opted to keep going as we didn't have enough time for the detour, and since there was nothing to see anyway. Check out UFO Hunters on the Science Channel this Wednesday for a new episode. Please note the program can be rather hit or miss with it's content, but the guys seem sincere enough.

Please feel free to post any thoughts you might have. We have NO explanation about why (or IF) there could be a sudden turn from a jet or what other kind of aircraft could leave this kind of angular trail.

Enjoy the picture and happy UFO hunting.

Consumerisms, collecting.

2008-12-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

I was listening to NPR today. On one of the programs they interviewed a UPS employee who said his mall deliveries to a bunch of stores which included Banana Republic, (although he called it "banana") were down from 1500-2000 packages to only 900-1000 in this years deliveries, if I heard this correctly. Anyway, the point being his numbers are way down.

I think I have a blatant lesson to learn here and it is in order to learn a valuable lesson; I had better evolve and think of new ways to sustain myself. The stores have been selling high-priced junk at a premium for years and I bought it. Now what? Granted some of my best clothes have come from friends or thrift stores, but occasionally I buy the shirt or pants not on sale and experience buyers remorse for about two seconds. Shame on me. Gasoline companies do the same and then we're surprised or even elated when the prices come down to almost half of what they had been in Spring and Summer 2008 which is good, BUT how quickly we forget how they jabbed us in the gut. My memory is getting better and better. Good. That's what evolution is all about.

I decided that instead of buying high-priced gas to buy less; consume less. In fact a lot of other people thought the same way. Yay! We did it! It wasn't to show the oil companies we have brains. We did it out of necessity and isn't that better? We consumers tend to shine when forced into a corner. And we can continue to take the same approach. I take pride in that. It's never too late, is it?

Maybe it's time we took a good long look at what we really need, not want, but need. I feel a high sense of gratification when I give away my stuff, either new or used. I have too many clothes. I collect too many things. Hell, I even collect too many friends on Facebook. Why? What's that about? Oh yeah.....I collect compulsively. (It used to be comic books.) Still, what can a person do with 200 virtual friends? Maybe it's too early to tell. People are one thing. Virtual people are entirely another.

Looking back, I have added a few so-called "friends" to my ever-growing list rather compulsively. Don't get me wrong. There are many friends I LOVE to keep up with, even if we don't chat everyday. Then there are the ones I see in person and have actual face-time with, which is a bit better. Then there's this another category of people who don't really give a s**t but want me for the same thing I added them for. Granted there are those I won't call either and so, again, what's the point? Should I drop them or block them? I think I should call them. I will.

For 2009, I'm doing some house cleaning. I don't need to keep adding virtual "friends." I want friends who want to spend actual Facetime with me; friends whom I find enjoyable to be around and vice-versa; let's enhance each other's lives; let's inspire ourselves to grow, learn and evolve through love; this lovely thing called personal contact. Does that sound lofty? What about old fashioned? Love is a great and sometimes powerful word, but who was it who said "Words are cheap?"

For 2009, I'm going to reduce my Facebook time and spend a little more actual face-to-face time with the people I truly cherish. And instead of wasting time purchasing things I don't need, eating too much food at restaurants, and going places I don't really care about, I think I'll paint more, read more, blog more and create a more authentic lifestyle with people.

I think I'll collect some quality, for a change.

Sugar Plums-Memories of Christmas Past

2008-12-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

One of the things our family enjoyed talking about this year, if all too briefly, was the things from our childhood Christmases that we still love to remember. The top three topics were: Stockings and the stocking stuffers, Christmas smells, and the anticipation.

As children, we had no idea we were essentially poor. Yet our family had a tradition every year for the things Santa would put in our stockings.

But before I get into that, let me first say my stocking was made by my Grandmother Elsie, out of bright red flannel. It was abnormally large since she used a pattern from her volunteer work at church which was making stockings for Baylor Hospital for the babies born close to or on Christmas Day. This was the early 196os and I was born in October 1960.The pattern was large enough to hold a baby, which it did, but not me. My brother and I were almost two years apart, so we both had similar designs; a felt snow man, a felt Santa, a sleigh or reindeer, also in felt and glued to the flannel, instead of sewn. Our names were embroidered on her sewing machine in Christmas green. It was the very best thing to hold a baby; even better for all the stuff. My sister came 5 years later and was not as fortunate; her stocking was red artificial fur, store bought, smaller and her name was glued on. She still got cool stuff though.

Here's the ususal "stuff" we got for years, even as teenagers: hazelnuts, Hershey kisses, smoked oysters, peppermints, butter scotches, a few oranges and apples, Life Savers books (remember those?), M&Ms, Butterfingers or some other candy bar, small toys such as string tops or Whizzers™ by Mattel (gyro-tops which seem to spin for hours), Pez, View Master reels, candy canes, small wrapped gifts for fun, kaleidoscopes, sometimes, but rarely, a banana and last but not least little Hickory Farms™ kid size cheeses and sausages...I love typing "option 2" for the "™" it adds so much.

Now take all those things together and stick your whole head into the stocking. Go ahead. You know you want to. Now, breathe all that aroma. Do it again. The flannel, the candy, the fruit....all of it. This is what Christmas morning smelled like for us for many years.

Then we grew up.

The end.

Crap. I hate growing up. So for all intents and purposes, I'm still 19...Got it??

Oh wait....not so fast.....there were other Christmas smells too, I almost forgot. At my grandparents house, that is my father's parents (who were not divorced) we had a cool Grandmother making fudge, divinity and brownies and there were always peanuts around, especially during Xmas. At this house another favorite scent was the smell of the 8mm movie projector running while we watched family home movies. I suppose the modern day equivalent would be watching VHS tapes of holidays past, but can you smell those?

At grandparent's house number two; this would be Mom's father C.M. and his wife Nina, our very first and only Step Grandparent, Nina made holiday popcorn balls, all buttery and sweet but in a specific kitchen drawer (if we found it) was a stash of Juicy Fruit™ gum or Wrigley's Spearmint™ gum. Both smells were prominent as you pulled the drawer open. But Grandy (C.M. to the adults) kept his Hersheys™ bars stashed and well hidden from us kids. The last smell I can remember from this house was Grandy's cigar, which we didn't seem to mind at the time. He quit later and that favorite smell was almost lost forever, until now.

The last of the Christmas smells takes me to my Grandmother Vivian's house. Even though we ate plenty of Holiday meals at all the grandparents' homes, this one had a magical smell during Christmas. Grandmother Vivian loved to cook but certain foods were always over done; other foods were barely recognizeable as what they used to be. Yet the smells still linger in my mind and among those would be the ham and green beans with bacon (they were cooked to almost mush by the time she took them off the stove....the GAS stove I'll add which wafted through the entire house since the pilot lights always stayed on, even in the Summer. Something about gas heating always makes me think of her house at Christmas. Another great smell were her famous sugar cookies. I say famous because she would often leave out the sugar. We always wondered what in God's name was she thinking, but we faked liking them anyway. She could never figure out what she had done to make them taste so "yummy." One time, we think she accidentally substituted too much baking soda, but the mystery of her special recipe was never solved from year to year. They made a fantastic Christmas smell, however, and it will always be a cherished memory. The last of these is an obvious smell, but I can't top it: Wood burning in a fireplace on a cold night. I'll stop there.

The last of these memories could only be summed up by the greatest of all intangible Christmas brain candies: anticipation.

What I believe made us grow feel this thing begins first with the holiday specials. My top favorites which are Charlie Brown's Christmas, The Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph. These TV elements combine to make us REALLY believe in Santa and all the stuff that is Christmas. A long time ago, these animated specials were doled out one or two at a time during the three weeks before Christmas beginning Thanksgiving night. By the time Christmas was here, we were ready to literally bust. I think my great nephew who is 3, still gets as wound up, but I know his world is greatly different from mine, yet we put all the same crap in his stocking just because we had it too.

All these old "files" have been stored away for years and I chose to let them out again and live them as this year comes to a close. We grow up; I grew up. Our grandparents and even our parents eventually pass. My mother and one great aunt still live. All my grandparents and my father are gone. They leave us a thing that becomes their legacy, the things we preserve if we carry it on. Hopefully it's full of the same innocent wonderment and happiness they created, whether amidst the usual family dramas or not. They carried forward their old traditions too and gave them to us without giving it too much thought, I suppose. But the candy, the gifts, the times I recall with my family were always so planned where everything was wrapped individually, and gift bags didn't exist.

This is the colorful, smell-filled Christmas that lives on in a parallel world, somewhere in my head.

May it always be so.

And how was your Christmas?

2008-12-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

This year, I have to admit, unlike Winnie The Pooh, my tummy was rumbly for Christmas. Anticipating spending the holiday with family had me a bit on edge. My siblings and I seem to have a deep inner connection that we all feel but rarely speak about.

Background: Before our strong belief in Santa Claus was exchanged for "Oh it's Mom & Dad," before our parents divorced; before driving to all the "step" places, Christmas was the biggest blast ever. Every year, we woke up earlier and earlier. Until one year it became almost an hour after bedtime that the parental units shifted us back to our rooms and demanded we stay in slumberland...that is IF we could. And under NO circumstances were we to leave our rooms again!

The real holiday pressures came later from having to see new family we had no association with otherwise and for the most part had to fake liking. Sound familiar? I wish I had been fortunate enough to have been young enough to develop a relationship. Hard to do by dad's third wife/family. Mom only remarried once and there was little expectation of creating a family center since most of that step family lived elsewhere, thankfully. Not that they are bad people, they are not. It's just that odd way of "creating" new, heart-felt relationships when people like your parents remarry. Maybe it's different these days since so many people end marriages sooner. Is it? And of so, why marry? Just COMMIT without that piece of paper.

Aaaaaaanyway......Christmas was actually fantastic. For the most part, everybody said all the right things, made all the right comments and made a point to just have fun. We laughed and we never traipsed down memory lane, for that is where the trouble starts; the picking and poking and remembering not so pleasant memories. We did good. It was well deserved and we have finally made it on our own; that is made a Christmas for oursleves that our parents would have been proud of.

For this special Christmas cheer, my sister had the brilliant idea to watch on old (dated even) DVD of the Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976). Remember him? Center Square on Hollywood Squares, Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, and lest we forget one of the many stars in Bye-Bye Birdie. How ta-acky! The show had a classic appearance of Margaret Hamilton and Billie Hayes (The Wicked Witch from Oz and Witchipoo from H.R. Pufnstuf, respectively). It was old but we were amused at the first TV appearance of KISS contained therein. It was TV at it's tackiest and it really tried to give us the best of Paul Lynde. It just didn't translate to 2008. The best items: 1. Paul's best jibes at KISS toward the end of the show. 2. The extras contains a great tell-all audio interview with Peter Marshall. Worth every bit of the $8 bucks.

Later we played Scene It, both the movie and TV versions. We knew just enough to make it a good match for all involved. Ahhh, family games at Christmas. After that a brief nap THEN off to the movies. We intended to see Benjamin Button (sold out) so we opted for totally different fare; The Spirit. Highly stylized Frank Miller movie take on the comic character. In vivid black, white and red and ocassional chest shots of he that is the Spirit. Yay for that but on the whole, not after Xmas lunch. Too sleeeeeepy for the virtual movie.

At second glance

2008-12-26T19:11:00.000-08:00

I recently saw this movie and made some quick judgements. After a second glance, I HIGHLY recommend The Day The Earth Stood Still for it's timely message, if not for being a cool re-do of the Hollywood classic. When you see it, leave your comparisons to the original at the door.

SPOILER ALERT: Don't read this if you intend to see the movie.

Let me exchange the haste of a snappy review for the value in having seen the new TDTESS a second time, which allowed me to enjoy it with two teenagers who thought it was cool, and who don't have an opinion one way or the other about Keanu Reeves or 1951 science fiction movies.

My first thoughts...I always shoot from the hip....were albeit premature. Too many comparisons to the 1951 version was unfair and the update does stand on its own. After seeing it a couple weeks later, I really wanted to exorcise the first thoughts and dig deeper into the subtlety and fresh approach, even being so hung on the original for so long.

1. "Klaatu, Barada, Nikto" was indeed present in alien form and WAS used, but you have to listen for it as G.O.R.T. first appears. My apologies for missing it the first time, but you had to listen closely, for it is in alien tongue, yet almost unrecognizable.

2. With regard to the ending, the thing I missed the first time was that Klaatu touches the Orb/Mothership before allowing himself to be assimilated. The first time I saw it, I thought he just disappeared and died, making himself the sacrifice as the Earth's salvation comes with a price. This time, it seems he lives because he touches the ship. Timing is everything.

Of all things to be remade in world that tends to take itself too seriously at times, we could take a hint and think about our impact on Mother Earth. Then I remember we also "revisited" Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Lost In Space among many others in TV Land. I suppose we don't ourselves seriously enough.

As we plod through our daily lives, let's hope it won't take something in the form of an alien to wake us up from ourselves...or maybe the upcoming movie 2012 will show us the way.

Gotham Ghouls

2008-12-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

I started this a few years ago; updated it last week. The layout resembles the Disney Haunted Mansion ride poster from the 60s. Then an artist named Shag did another version with his own characters. Here's mine. Just for fun.....

Batman, Superman and Childhood Abstractions

2008-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

I don't know who your favorite version of Batman is. I'll have to admit my favorite would be the one I think about the most, I suppose. The Adam West Batman. But before I lose you, let me say I also LOVE the new movies; I totally enjoyed Heath Ledger's performance, but not because he died. (How many people have you heard say that? I've heard it said at least 4 times. ) But it's funny because you almost feel obligated to qualify your taste because he died before it was released. Ledger was a stupendous actor and this Joker role was another of his amazing portrayals in his brief line of screen personai, God bless him!

My superhero fetish came first from Superman....the George Reeves version. When you're 5 and under, these people are real though I didn't see it in it's original run. It doesn't matter about wrinkles in the costumes or the over-use of "Jeepers!" or "Biff! Bam! Pow!" What matters is these are real people, who exist and they matter because simply because they're real...forget the goody-good lessons because nothing else matters.

I was so young when I watched Superman, it was an abstract thing. I don't remember dialogue, I just remember seeing an image of a man who seemed to be in charge whenever he was on screen; in my mind there was no music or sound effects, maybe just the wind sound for flying and the drum roll within the opening theme. They say that children do not begin to understand abstract concepts until after the age of 6 or 7. Maybe that has changed, I don't know.

Batman, I did see originally. I was 5, and I hate to date myself. I think I got that it was a TV show, but it still seemed real enough, after all they were real people, not cartoons.

Though it's true for most superheros, I'll focus on Batman for now. I'd say he was cool because he seemed impervious to pain, he was logical, smart, he cared about the people around him, especially for the well-being of Robin who occasionally got into a tight spot. Batman would have to make decisions about sacrifice and he seemed to always say "take me instead." Wow. What a sacrifice. Robin had his whole life ahead of him, even though Batman was only in his mid 30s. Gee....the 30s must have been ancient back then.

My hero worship must have developed largely due my alcoholic father. Yet, I could clearly see the differences of men on TV and my dad. My father wasn't all bad and he had some good things about him. But you never get in the way of what your children love, or you'll make an enemy for life. Of course there are things to discern for them, but in this case we are talking about harmless hero worship, so sorry dad, you blew it on this one.

Dad probably also was none too thrilled about the capes, masks or complete disinterest in sports of any kind. I can look back and see why he would question my staring at the baseball mitt and bat, the football. I gave it a try, but I preferred my colored pencils, crayons and markers to any of that. He could at last understand the "artistic side" since he was an oil painter. Maybe that is what scared him the most. "Oh my God, my son is (gulp) an artist!" And we all know about those artsy types.

My love for superheroes also helped develop my love for drawing them. Everything I drew showed a level of interest in the subject, whether it was houses, architecture, space ships, flying saucers, race cars, or cartoon characters.

As much as I loved my Batman, the biggest letdown on Batman was adding Batgirl. This didn't make sense to me because Batman & Robin handled everything quite well. Why did they need a "Batgirl" to help them out now? What a rip-off. Now I look back and see, "oh it was the ratings." Times have changed and so have I. Now I love the inclusion of women and they constantly show me a thing or two about heroism, oftentimes more than men, but I don't wanna seem the least bit sexist. I'm not. There's plenty of room for everybody, period. The teamwork is what really matters the most. I'll save another post for Lynda Carter.

I digress.

Dad had a knack of continually showing off his lack of compassion for his children and their world. He was a stern believer in "Children should be seen and not heard." and showing off the family dog tricks saying things like "I wish I could get the kids to behave as well as the dog does." Umm....we heard ya, Pop.

Back to the drawing board. I'm not bitter, but I was for a long time. Now I look back and know I grew as an artist because I dove head first into fantasy land because of Dad. He never understood how much Batman really meant to me as a child or how much I was saved from lingering depression later in life. Pop had his good side too. Thankfully, he loved Halloween and Christmas, a couple cartoon shows like the Road Runner and the Pink Panther and an occasional, if rare visit to a local amusement park. he also had big dreams and big ideas. These are things I inherited from him and cherish the most. See -- he wasn't bad, he was just drawn that way.

Then again he might have enjoyed life better if he would have traded his Jim Beam and cigarettes for a cape and mask. Come to think of it, he was not lacking in masks.

Ironically, Pop died the exact same day as Frank Gorshin who played the Riddler, May 17 2005.

I can only imagine what a meeting that may have been.

Riddle me this:
There are three men in a boat with four cigarettes and no matches.
How do they manage to smoke?

Christmas and dream follow-up.

2008-12-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday Week! I assume some of you may not celebrate this holiday, but we celebrate Christmas in my family...that is whatever is left of the tradition of Magi bringing gifts to baby Jesus. I still don't understand what that has to do with us today. We Americans are such capitalists, but I am reminded by well-meaning friends WE set this scenario up and so goes our economy. Anyway, I believe the giving away part is at the heart of the tradition. Follow your own heart on that one. The receiving part isn't so bad either. Today I enjoy the less tangible substance of receiving.

For 2008, I am extremely grateful to have found this new release called blogging for what goes on In my head and what needs to come out of it. I am even more grateful for having followers, which I had not anticipated. So, THANK YOU people & Welcome to my brain. I'm enjoying your brains too, I might add.

Before I forget this, I am totally fascinated with the Magi both as concept and history. 2000 years ago they were highly regarded as astronomers and astrologists, with hardly any differnece in definition. There's all kinds of speculation about the so-called "star" they saw; specifically what astro-phenom took place to make them take off on a journey for a baby. Anyway, all they know is there were at least 3, probably more and they likely rode horses and not camels, likely being from Persia; modern-day Iran. So much for the Hallmark card moment. Hi-yo silver!

Dream follow up:

Last night I carefully crafted my sleep time to be something different. I guess I had already accepted the fact that my dreams are an alternate universe, so no changes. Note: I remembered something about where part of this concept may have had its beginnings and that would be through the DC Comics universe. I remember from my childhood phrases like Earth 1 and Earth 2 which somehow combined the existence of the old style characters to co-exist with the then modern versions. I'm not up to date on that, sorry.

That brings me to last night's dreams, both were art related and also related to my previous career as an animator. I had two waking dreams since I tend to do that just before I wake up. One was about a non-artist friend who had become an animator and was showing me a round the studio where he worked. His job entailed laying out simple drawings on colored paper which would not allow any visibility to other layers. Animators would get this. The other was about a young friend who was training to be an artist. Not much to exciting to give a way here. The dreams contained real people in unreal events and in places I had never seen, but all in color.

By the way, I had heard recently that when dreams were first analyzed back in the 20s and 30s, they used to say that people only dreamed in black and white. They have since speculated/concluded that the reason may have been how movies of the day were only in B&W and therefore must have some affect (effect?...I get those confused) on the dreamer's meta-physical reality. Other misnomers were about not being able to read words in dreams or signs always being in gibberish, also not accurate, but perhaps this was about a person's level of education.

How do you dream?

Anyway, part of the fun about my dreams is about the amazing likeness they are to watching a movie or TV, yet existing within the dreamworld. I seem to always be a participant/observer. Also, one of the major elements is that I often dream about real people and places, whom I have never met or visited, that is I can dream about seemingly REAL circumstances. This is the major thing that led me to believe that dreams are alternate multi-verses. I've also had dreams when I was paralyzed or stuck in one place or situations where I could only run in slow-motion....another film reality.

Dreams: A New Rabbit Hole to The Multi-verse

2008-12-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

Question: Are dreams a product of REM sleep or are they an alternate reality; a view into a real "MULTI-verse."

Welcome to my world. I believe everything is connected. Everything. Dreams affect your life, life affects your dreams. I looked up "mystic" and I know I'm one of those.
mystic |ˈmistik|
noun
a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.

I love the last part of that "....truths that are beyond the intellect." Believing myself to be a mystic is the basis of my own personal evolution. Currently, my new area of discovery is the places you go when you are asleep...your own personal dreamworld.

I used to think of dreams as something quite personal, yet containing symbols and revelations that were common to most people who either have them and remember them or not and in which the dream symbols were somewhat standard. Examples of dream symbols include things like snakes, white horses, being naked on stage in front of your family and peers, and so on.

We are told that dreams are a way that our brains process the day, our problems and basically create some sort of balance while we sleep. I still believe this or at least part of this. Studies are beginning to reveal to us through quantum physics, we "live" in an infinite number of worlds via our sleep, but only one physical reality; a concept not unlike one seen in the movie "The Matrix." But I don't wish to peg it like that exactly. Check out Dr. Michio Kaku on the Science Channel sometime and hear more about these mind-blower philosophies.

So, I'm still pondering dreams but for now, I've decided they are indeed part of the multiverse, not just a manifestation of REM sleep.

Side note:
Evidently spell check doesn't recognize this new word "mulitverse" and I'm a bit surprised. I would think "multiverse" would be an automatic addition since "universe" describes one; multi describes many, right? So much for Websters.

Back at the ranch.....My dreams have become a conscious part of my daily living. I feel as though I am able to unravel mysteries of our existence and to begin to answer at least two very human questions, "Why am I here?" and since I am here, "What is my ultimate purpose?" The first part of this answer is simple: to evolve, which takes me to "into what?" That's a little scary. Did anyone ever see that episode of Voyager when Paris and Janeway evolve into their higher selves, which was a some sort of psychic lizard creature? What next "Godzillaaaaaah!"

When I dream, I rarely have bad dreams unless I've eaten too late, had a cocktail (or three) or have some other situation going on such as a sinus cold, etc. (I hate those nasty, bad dreams that happen when your nose is stuffed up creating oxygen deficiency) In fact, lately I've been dreaming about the most positive things and places. I awaken feeling great and ready to create a new day.

I'll stop here for now. Bedtime. I'm hoping I get another flight dream. Last time I would have sworn I could fly like Clark on "Smallville."

Do you believe your dreams are portals to other real dimensions?

RABBIT HOLE TEST for yourself. When you're getting ready for bed, consciously say to yourself: "I believe my dreams are an alternate universe and it is real." As a disclaimer, I'm not a doctor, nor did I play one on TV, so get advice from a real doctor or sleep guru if you have any doubts about the outcome. Then if you have fantastic results, blog it, baby!

Next blog: What did I dream last?

The Day The Earth Stood Still 2008 vs. Lost In Space

2008-12-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Day The Earth Stood Still SPOILER ALERT:

Sci-fi comparison:

You never know how much a studio will use and re-use its own material for future productions. The following 20th Century Fox Studios projects make a great example. In the first season of Lost In Space, Michael Rennie played a Klaatu-like character called the Keeper in which he collected alien species for further study on his home planet.

Ironically, the primary focus of Klaatu in the 2008 incarnation was to preserve as many of the Earth species as possible species of Earth much the way his character had done in The Keeper episodes. Klaatu was here to take away all the species except for us naughty humans.

Side note: Okay here's the sci-fi geek in me. 20th Century Fox also used stock music from the original The Day The Earth Stood Still in many Michael Rennie scenes, which they also did for several of the Irwin Allen series including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea all the way through The Time Tunnel where ever a 'sci-fi ambience' was needed.

8th Man and "Spider Hero?"

2008-12-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

There used to a be a black & white cartoon from Japan, the first of its kind, called 8th Man (AKA 8man). For a superhero with a dual ID, he was the first robot/superhero I remember....predating RoboCop even; but a very similar scenario and for a kid's cartoon, it was pretty gritty; A cop is shot and killed; a super genius brings him back as a cyborg/supercop. Weird thing: In order to recharge his atomic battery, 8th Man would smoke a "special atomic-charged cigarette." (...no chance we'll be seeing that show anytime on Late Night Black & White) Anyway, there was a cool 8th Man Halloween costume that went along with the basic design except with "day-glo" safety colors in place of the dull TV grays on the mask. Isn't safety fun?

Halloween was the greatest thing next to Christmas...sometimes, even better.
In the mass market of Halloween in the last 40-50 years, the masks and costumes were always related to pop culture, comics and cartoons. Yet every so often costume companies would "sneek in" a knock-off character for some poor kid who didn't get there in time to be Spider Man or Batman. I would have been one of those kids. I remember one year I had the chance to be a knock off of 8th Man and Captain America combined. It wasn't so bad. I could create my own powers and wear a cape or not...although I must admit, wearing the cape always made you feel more "super" than without. The mask was bonus.

The weirdest concoction one year was the Spider Man knock off. We'll call him "Spider Hero" for lack of a cool name. He wasn't bad. Actually he should've had his own TV show. But he simply wasn't Spider Man. He would be resurrected from time-to-time in various colors day-glo, bright red lips (hmmmm....made ya wonder) but always with the zombie white face...almost like a vampire/spider guy.

I wonder whatever happened to him?

Blue Dog Comparison

2008-12-14T22:24:00.000-08:00

It may work better to see the original too.

A new Blue Dog

2008-12-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

I enjoy rethinking art that already exists. Art is always derivative of the world around us. To say "original" is an oxy moron (did I say that right?), yet we all have a uniqueness that is unlike anyone else. Here's a new blue dog. This time bandit from the old Jonny Quest gets a blue treatment. Thank you George Rodrigue for the inspiration.

Are Our Dreams Really A Parallel Universe?

2008-12-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

I had this profound thought today after a long nap...actually I've been thinking about this for a few weeks; Are Our Dreams Really A Parallel Universe? When we think of quantum reality (don't ask me to define it) electro-magnetic impulses which we are told are also our thoughts, I ponder the questions 1. what are dreams and 2. if not then are they other possible places that actually exist. The possibilities are endless, so I want to focus on the dream world as a real place or perhaps many places.

I am fortunate enough to be an artist; a creative thinker. My dream world most often is an inviting place, sometimes challenging. In it I have run at super speed, flown, painted masterpieces which valuing upwards of $10,000...you get the picture. For the most part, it's really a positive place attainable only through deep sleep.

Today, I took a two hour nap. I have been sick almost all week recovering from strep throat. I felt I needed to shut down and heal a little more. I awoke inspired and full of questions about the place I just visited and the strange things I was doing.

I called a friend of mine, whom I had been discussing this parallel universe idea with. He is totally on board. We believe it's real; an alternate world where these things are actually happening. Part of my exploration in this is to give the best definition possible, but I have only myself as an example. Do other people think about this? Do they believe this alternate world exists? We can't prove it. No way, no how. I'm not insane, but others may disagree. So what is it, really?

Since I have only my own dreams to think about as being my personal manifestation, I acknowledge there are millions upon millions of other similar worlds too just by sheer volume of other like-minded people out there. But if it truly exists, it's real for everybody, not just me. Believing it is a whole other subject.

For now, I'm content with pondering, but ultimately, I want to see more about this subject. I think one of the greatest minds of today is Dr. Michio Kaku. I know he would probably agree with the concept and likely, though I haven;t researched it, may have some writings or TV shows about it. I know he has done lots of work and study on parallel universes, but I wonder what he would think of those other worlds in dream land?

I'm going to ask. BRB. I did it. Here it is:

"To:

Dear Dr. Kaku,

I'm a huge fan of yours. Like so many people who have posters of Einstein on their walls, I would love to have one of you.
Thank you for opening up new, progressive thinking to the world. I watch your programs regularly. I love to ponder the possibilities of parallel universes (multiverses?).

You may have a program on this already, but I'm wondering this:

What do you think about our dreams being actual parallel universes or alternate realities?
That's my question. I don't know if there's a quick answer you can give it, but I would welcome any answer at all.

You are definitely headed in the right direction, as I am certain you already believe.
Keep up the great work.

I'll be watching.
Thank you for your attention.

Charlie Rose"

I'll post the answer here too. What a cool world we live in...even cooler is the one I dream of.

Thoughts on the movie: The Bucket List

2008-11-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

I do not intend to include any spoilers, so read on freely.

I watched the movie, The Bucket List, today on DVD starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It struck me as odd to have the finale of the movie revealed in the opening scene. I'm glad I was mistaken. The story is about two men who have terminal cancer. One of them creates a "bucket list" containing 10 things to do before he dies. Together they embark on a journey living out the remainder of their lives, doing things they either wanted to do before and didn't or grander things because they were short on time.

I was left with one basic realization. Perhaps it's obvious. Of all the things they put on their shared list, I realized the right thing to do is live life to the FULLEST everyday. Don't wait for a life threatening anything to steal your time. Make your bucket list NOW and live it out as completely as you can.

Make time to do the things that are important to you; especially the things that make you happy. Create your list as goals ASAP. Know yourself and change what is necessary to do the things you want to do. There are only 24 hours in every day minus the time you sleep and work. What's left is yours. Be liberated from the people and things which you allow to dictate your life schedule.

Og Mandino said it well: "....Separate yourself now from the multitude of humanity so that you will be able to control your own destiny. Remember that what others think and say and do need never influence what you think and say and do."

So practice your freedom. Be free to say and do and be the best person you can be. Give yourself permission. Attract the life you want. Think about the good feelings that surround you when your happiest. What makes you happy? There is no giant blackboard in the sky with a list from God dictating the things God wants you to do. Those things on life's blackboard is entirely up to you. Erase the things that you dislike. Honor good, ethical, and moral behavior. Be grateful by making lists of everything in your life for which you give thanks everyday. Think of the people that inspire you. Think of the good things that others do for you. Pay it forward. become the person you wish others would be.

Make your "bucket list" count. Make your life count.

Art reflections

2008-11-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

So much of the art I enjoy doing is re-thinking subjects that already exist. I'm inspired by favorite TV shows, movies, cartoons, etc. In this case, I LOVE the Blue Dog painting series by George Rodrigue. His paintings are so cool. As some things in life go, the simplest ideas can often carry the most gratification to the viewer. I had been thinking of other familiar dogs. Scooby Doo is still quite popular, almost 40-years later. The character seemed a natural pick for me to do in this quick photoshop "oil paint" treatment on. Huckleberry Hound? Too obvious, however....