No Future?

June 14th 2011:

Do you ever regret the words that come out of your mouth?

Sometimes I want to stop them, but I just can't. Only so many things can go unsaid.

I need to know where I stand.

Don't be told what you want

Don't be told what you need

There's no future, no future,

No future for you

                      - Sex Pistols

Somewhere over the Rainbow

June 13th 2011:

It's funny how life works sometimes. Hills and valleys and those all too common plateaus. It seems like things will be trudging along, same old same old, then all of a sudden, a tornado sweeps through and tears your shit up.

Now, there are good tornadoes (the kind that take you to Oz) and bad tornadoes (the kind that wreck your double-wide), and there's no way of knowing which your getting until it is far too late.

Hopefully the tornado that is currently consuming my world is the ticket to Oz type. I am ready to be swept out of my figurative Kansas blahs and into a fantastical new world.

Only time will tell.

Family, Disney and Long Walks on the Beach

May 23rd 2011:

So, I finally got out of rainy ass Seattle for warmer climates. The hubby and I headed to L.A. on Thursday to meet up with his mama and sister for a few days of sunshine, relaxation and roller coasters, and I have to say, it was both fabulous and much needed.

I realized I spend way too much time and energy stressing on meaningless shit like money, bills and senseless work. I mean, what is the point of all that?

I know, I know... bills have got to be paid, dogs have to be fed... occasionally I need to be fed, but really, I used to get by on so much less and was all the happier for it. There seems to be a tendency in this here land of milk and honey to work yourself to death just to stay afloat. For the most part, the 40 hour work week is just a misery pit designed to suck away your creativity and soul, bit by bit, until there is nothing left but this unrecognizable zombie hell bent on paying the rent and maintaining a death grip on some shitty insurance policy (if you are one of the "lucky" ones who even has an insurance policy).

Chris and I woke up early and wandered down Newport Beach Sunday morning, in search of my house circa 1998/99. They tore the thing down, an awesome old shingled job, two stories with a fireplace downstairs and a sunroom and balcony overlooking the beach upstairs. I couldn't remember the cross street, just that it was north of beach station 40, but it is for the best. I can only imagine was sort of hideous, boxy, "modern" California home they built in its place. Too sad, as that house was the start of it for Chris and I.

It is odd how much things change and how much they stay the same over the course of a decade, isn't it?

Neglect and Other Things Pushed Under the Rug

May 17th 2011:

Oh blog, how have I neglected you! I haven't posted in weeks, it seems... I am behind on my daily photo uploads, a still have an overdue t-shirt design to complete, a book left only three-quarters read, a heap of unfolded laundry still in the dryer, an abandoned art project mess shoved into a closet... the list goes on.

I have been neglecting pretty much everything for the last few weeks.

Maybe it is the schizophrenic weather, the cold, the gray, the damp punctuated here and there by a few random hours of sun? Maybe it is the constant scrabbling for money to cover the bills and keep the dogs fed? Maybe it is just plain old boredom?

Who know? Who cares?

What matters is, that I need to get my head screwed on right and get back to freaking work already... just not today.

Heading to Los Angeles for the weekend to get some sun, to breath in some ocean air, to relax and try to remember that life is meant to be enjoyed.

After that... well. who knows?

Tolerance is Overrated

April 26th 2011:

Today I learned that dinosaurs and humans walked the earth together as recent as two thousand years ago, which, of course, explains the appearance of dragon-things in the bible. The proof of this... stories about knights slaying dragons, obviously, duh. Also, I learned that there are still dinosaurs living with us today... AND, the average size of an animal is roughly the same size as a sheep, so that is how every animal on earth fit into Noah's ark, AND, Noah also had a T-REX or two on board, AND the reason the salt water from the ocean didn't kill the plants was because the ocean wasn't "stirred up" prior to the great flood, so all that salt was thankfully resting benignly at the bottom of the sea (the offered proof of this: when you pour sugar into coffee and don't stir it, the sugar stays at the bottom... again, duh).

Where did I learn such wonderful "facts" you ask? Why, the FAQ page on creationism.org!!

And why was I on this site? Well, I was looking for cool biblical images for some art reference and it just happened to have the most awesomely creepy collection of images of the "true events" of the bible.

Here is a quick sample of all the extremely factual things that happened in bible as documented by some awesomely demented artist of yore... Enjoy!!

Sunday Morning is Every Day For All I Care, and I'm Not Scared

April 24th 2011:

Easter is a holiday for children and religious folks... as I am neither (and have no children, unless you count the wolves), I celebrated the holiday with an "Iron Range" breakfast - eggs, toast, tater tots and a can of Hamm's - at Zayda Buddies, then the old gang reunited for a trip to EMP for the Nirvana exhibit.

It is an odd feeling, seeing a large part of your teen years on display in glass cases, relics from a time that is no more. It felt kind of like having my childhood slaughtered, and its bloody pieces spread out for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Okay, maybe that is a little over-dramatic, but you get the point. It was a painful sort of nostalgia, seeing all those Nirvana relics behind their plexi-glass windows. Not that Nirvana, as much as I loved them, was the end-all-be-all of 90's rock bands, but more remembering that there was a time when "alternative" music thrived, and local scenes thrived, and people went to shows because it was fun and they were friends (actual friends, I mean, not the awkward hipster "do you have anything I need or want right now? No? I gotta jet" sort of friends), and the majority of indie/underground bands weren't trying to write music that would play well to a car or cell phone ad (I mean, come on, the thought of selling a song for a commercial was sacrilegious back in the day).

But, sigh, things change... I do hope that there is a future generation of kids out there buying guitars and playing rock music because it is rebellious and meaningful and beautiful, not because it could get them an energy drink sponsorship, a slot on Warped Tour and 15 minutes of fame.

That's not too much to hope for, is it?

WWI Aircraft and Weekends the Fly By

April 17th 2011:

Haven't posted in a while... seems I have been staying crazy busy lately. This weekend was pretty ok, all in all. I Started painting a new dining set, which should be finished later this week, worked on some drawings, did a tattoo of a WWI Nieuport Airplane - Eddie Rickenbacker style. This one was super challenging. Lots of detail to put into a tiny space. We will be adding the Red Baron's Fokker Triplane at a later date.

Took a time out Saturday to see Scream 4 - sadly, there's not much to say about it. It was alright... it really pointed out how good the first Scream was. Afterward, to King's for drinks and friend time.