For every action: a reaction.

I resign my self to be a pretty rational person. i step up when i have to and enjoy my down time just as many of you do, too. I sometimes make art and i sometimes don't. Three years ago, i wrote and created over five hundred puns, designed thirteen 'monster' pictures, and over twenty paintings using a simple paint program. I was also actively making music and enjoying culture. Now, not so much. I created the image you see here using an updated paint program that came with Windows Seven. The program is cool as you can see the black brush strokes look like paint strokes. The effect may or may not change the way i create any of these quickie one off works, but it will look a lot better than the old program that came with Windows Ninety-eight.

Now i guess i'm in the business of creating life.

Not a bad trade off, i think.
But what is really art?
A creation of expression?
A wandering into someone's soul?
A product that is a bigger commodity once one's dead?

My idea of art is just pure expression. I am obviously not trained in the arts. I just express my self. I feel art should come naturally. I can't be forced by academia. You can't take a mail in course, draw a pirate, and then you are an artist.

It doesn't work like that.

I think that's why i can't stand the idea of Andy Warhol even being considered and artist. He may have studied hype, but not art. I think he went with the next lower tier of art as commodity and not as self expression.

I mean it worked, but some poor souls had him as a bench mark and were passed over by his supposed brilliance.

Anyway, as unsubstantiated as the above remarks may seem, you can't really put a price on art or expression. When you do that, you may make money but you cheapen the concept.

Take the above piece.
Is it art?
What would you buy it for?
I didn't sign it.
You could save it to your own computer, call it yours and make millions.
Probably not, but guess what?
I really don't care.

I am listening to music that i downloaded for free. I didn't mooch it, the artist had all of his albums up for free and offered his art for all to hear. Some of it is good, really good Electronica. Others miss the mark. I love to listen to it when i'm writing as it inspires me.

Do you think the artist has accomplished what he set out to do?

It took him about four years to make the three albums. And he offered them up on a silver platter for all to hear.

My thanks to him are the words i am writing and the same ones you are reading.

The way he produced the sounds really motive me to write, create.

Will he ever read this?
Will our paths cross?
Probably not.
You never know in this day and age what can happen.
Especially in cyberspace.

I guess i can wrap this up by saying that true art is not a commodity, it is self expression that is supposed to inspire you to continue writing, making art or music or what ever and to pass that along by well...expressing your self.

True artists never 'make it.' I think they have to keep pushing limits to reach enlightenment.

Anyway, here's the link to Kondor. He was in a band in Australia before he ended up in merry old England.

I like it. Maybe you will too.

http://kondor.bandcamp.com/

Smiegel: a gecko and so much more.

Look out it's a beast! A leviathan from a desert nuclear testing site!

Just kidding. it's our Eublepharis macularius

duh.

Also known as a Leopard Gecko.

I didn't name her. It's a cliche, i know but she is a sign of the times.

I met Smiegel when i started dating Terri, over six years ago.

She is a gecko. Not much going on except a lot of sleeping and eating. We feed her once a week. A feast of crickets fit for a queen.

I found out a bit back that this is one of the heartier of the species as they live a very long life. i'm happy too because she can actually be affectionate in her own right. if you get her out of the cage, she loves to have the bottom of her chin rubbed. We haven't taken her out for a bit because of Jackson. She would be a nice snack.

Some favorite memories of being with her are: catching crickets in the back yard of our old place and seeing her eat them. The day she molted and had a translucent gecko hanging off of her.

The day we gave her her newer and bigger cage and how she ran around excited about all of the space she now had.

I figured that i'd give her the due that she deserved, because she is a silent partner in our family.

I know she's just a lizard and doesn't do much, but we have had her for a long time and she will be a great learning tool for Elsie.

So here you are, Smiegel. You are starring in your own blog post.

Cheers.

Ruby: the young and the restless.

As ramshackle as this picture is, it was taken on the days after we moved to the 10 Clark. As you can see, Ruby is helping us unpack.

Ruby. The fighter, the kneader, the little booger bean.

Ruby was born at our last residence. Our landlords cat had a litter of kittens and she was a shy, gray puffball. She seemed to be a very reserved and extremely shy kitten. Little did we know that Ruby was just biding her time to unleash her inner demon.

She is a super affectionate kittie. This past year she became a little woman. I attached my self to her after losing Pepe and she became my other little girl. She doesn't take any of Jackson's nonsense either. As much as Lily shuns Jackson, Ruby will give him a swat on the nose when he's being pushy.

The reason i love her so much is her attitude. When she wants something she will go ahead and grab it. Her love of plastic knows no end.

She is very outgoing and willing to try new things. I love the fact that she came out of her shell and became a little woman.

I could go without her claws digging into my stomach when she wants affection but look at her; she's a dreamboat!

So here's to you, Ruby. For helping me heal from loss and for being such a spunky and endearing pet.

Lily: the beautiful flower.

Continuing on our tour of pets, i had to mention Lily.

I'll get to Ruby and Smiegel later. This one is for her.

Terri owns Lily. I mean this maybe in the opposite because the lines are blurred. Lily is the undisputed queen of the house. She is a very affectionate and very beautiful cat. Terri has had her since she was born back in 2003.

Lily can be a bit of a diva. which is fine because she earns every bit of her pomp and circumstance by being very affectionate. She will wake me in the morning by sitting on my chest, giving me the eyes that you see in the picture to the left.

She fell in love with my late cat Senor Pepe and i have the pictures to prove it.

She is a gentle cat who likes to play, but no rough stuff.

Lily likes to be pampered, which is fine with me because she is a beautiful little lady.

Lily has a bunch of sisters and brothers somewhere. But she is unique and great in her own right.

Terri told me that she went missing from home and became pregnant. unfortunately, she lost the whole litter. This was some time before Lily and i met, so i'm sure i'd be distraught.

We love her so much. She does this cute thing called 'the bear' when we give her treats. She'll get on he hind legs and grab for the treat like a dancing bear.

I am so happy that with my lovely mom to be,Terri, i also happened upon such a beautiful creature.

She is especially funny when we put her witch costume on. She hates it so much, the look on her face is priceless.

So, that is Lily. She is a one of a kind sweetheart and i think the above picture really says it all.

Thanks for letting me share her with you.

Jackson is my new best friend.

The picture on the left is Jackson. I mentioned him about two blogs back, and many times before. he will be my partner in crime from now on. he came to us when we first moved into the 10 Clark last year. He is now a very active member of our family. I enjoy his company mostly because he has a tremendous personality and a sweet heart.

His story is this: he was part of a litter born under someones stairs. We never found out how many brothers and sisters he had, but we know that his mom is an Border Collie and his dad is a Labrador.
We know that his previous owner was really quite cruel to him in the fact that he or she kept him locked in a dog crate for the first five months of his life. This stunted his socialization skills. The person finally gave him up to a no kill shelter just outside of Salem. He ended up at a training camp for police dogs. From what i remember, the guy trained mostly German Shepard's, but took on Jackson to get him up to speed.

That is when Terri found him on a web site and now he's ours forever.

Admittedly, i was not too enthused by this situation as our cats Lily and Ruby were just used to their new surroundings and to this day, Jackson and Lily are mortal enemies.

He also had problems with acting out. He would get crazy and i have many scars on my arms to prove it. It was a difficult few months but he soon melted my heart.

I mean, look at that picture and tell me you couldn't love this guy!?

We ended up putting him on a very low dose of Prozac, and he is the better for it, as he isn't as anxious as he used to be.

So he still goes to classes every week and is a very very good boy compared to when he first arrived.

What does he mean to me? He's my friend and comrade. He helped me to be more gentle and my reward is his undying loyalty.

I didn't think i was a dog person at all. I'm still not. I'm a Jackson person.

I just wanted to document his story in case you were wondering about him.

Plus the picture is pretty cool too.

No title.

I have been so busy chatting you up about everything, that i haven't really mentioned the baby in a bit. Here and there, but not really focusing any really time on her. Why? I don't know.

She's doing fine. Terri's last visit to the doctor checked out well. Terri has to go every two weeks now. I feel assured by this fact because it's the third trimester and Elsie has to finish 'cooking' so she'll come out fine.

According to Your Pregnancy Week By Week by Glade B. Curtis & Judith Schuler, We are in our 33 week, the baby weighs over four pounds and is about a foot long.

Thank you, doctors.

We still have to finish the baby's room, which will be out of the way ahead of schedule. Terri's mom's dentist donated a full crib/dresser and changing table for the unbelievable price of: nothing.

We have tons of clothes already, the breast pump, the this, the that. That little room is going to fill up very quickly.

The baby shower is coming up.
I hope that everyone who received an invitation will attend. It's going to be a celebration of what's to come, an homage to my Grandmother Elsie and a cackling cauldron of womanhood. Ha!

My job? I will be here at the 10 Clark with all the cast off males, probably grilling meat and trying not to feel awkward about my lack of sports knowledge.

It's not really traditional for men to show up at a baby shower, especially the dad. I guess I would be a distraction from Terri and our baby.

These are modern times and i'm sure that tradition has been debunked, but it's one i'll gladly follow to ensure my sanity.

So there you have it.

Terri is fine, which means Elsie is fine. I am fine too. I am on my second juggernaut week at work. I will end today at eleven p.m. with thirty-six hours finished and fourteen more to go.

It's worth every minute of my time because it will help the three of us.

'Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.'
Bill Cosby

Picture: from the archives. Taken on 7/24 by my dad.

You came from Iowa to knock on my door?

The mighty walled in compound that is the 10 Clark, was almost breached today by mid westerners.

After a night of celebrating the departure of one of the laziest and confrontational temps that we were working with yesterday, I decided to enjoy four beers at home with the dogs.

I awoke in a fog as i really don't drink to excess anymore, with the doorbell ringing.

The car they were driving had Connecticut plates. A rental.

She went next door to Esther's house after ringing our bell twice, and her husband pointed to me as she was walking back to her car.

Esther is One hundred and three.

We greeted. Instead of verbally berating her for stirring me, i decided to play nice.

Here's a recap of a person i'll probably never see again:

They are from Iowa. They are relatives of the previous owner. they are obviously religious because they mentioned living next to a recently closed church across town.

She asked if we knew the previous owners phone number.

She was nice, but i had absolutely no information about Kittie(yes, her name is Kittie) save that she moved from here to Palmer.

I ended up pointing her across the street to Maureen's house.
Maureen is the unofficial queen of nosy gossip on our street.

That was that.

I can say that the first thing i did today was meet someone from Iowa!

Now i'm awake. I have no iced tea or iced coffee prepared for that morning jolt, so i'm drinking some almost flat Polar ginger ale.

Polar ginger ale is the best among the worst. By that i mean there are the ginger ales that come in a plastic bottle and there are those that come in a bottle and are micro brewed.

Polar has a zing of real ginger that other ginger ales fail to reach.

The best of the micro brewed? it would have to be Boylan's and Reed's for a tie. but Reed's is a Ginger Brew. They have three strengths. And it's more of a tonic as it has herbs.

Boylan's is sweetened with cane sugar and real ginger. It's a punch that is hard to take, and it has to be served really cold, but it's so refreshing.

So that's it for me for now.

Good luck!