Garden Update!

I'm very new to gardening, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it and learning lots! (and getting to fight evil terrorist desert squirrels while I'm at it). I'm mostly focusing on vegetables and plants that hummingbirds will enjoy. Vegetable-wise I've started off experimenting with pepper plants, as they seem to grow well here, specially hot peppers. I also have some peppers that I am trying to grow from seeds, but the following pictures are of plants that I have been growing but did not start them from the seed stage. I look forward to growing plants from the seed stage, but that will be a greater focus for me in the future.

I am also planning to organize the garden later on, do some planting in beds. For now I'm sticking with containers. I'd like to keep things as sustainable and resource efficient as possible, but I don't know many of the nuances of sustainable gardening, so that's something I really hope to learn about and improve upon. Maybe do some rain harvesting as well...

If you have any suggestions, ideas, resources you can recommend, it would be much appreciated!

Here are some pictures:

My golden bell pepper plant, with some fruit on the way :)


Jalapeno pepper plant:


Chili pepper plant:


Meyer Lemon Plant and Dwarf Lime Plant I just got... can't wait for these to grow! will transfer them to larger containers at some point...


Agastache plants, they don't look impressive, but they are babies. Supposedly they grow well in desert conditions, and once mature, they have beautiful flowering that the hummingbirds love!!!


Can't remember what this is, but another plant for the hummingbirds, pretty sure it's a native plant.


This next one is some sort of honeysuckle plant, I think Mexican honeysuckle. Another one for the hummers...


Baja Fairy Duster. Not looking so good right now but the flowers are beautiful. Another plant the hummers are supposed to like. Spoiled hummers better enjoy all the work I'm doing for them. I usually throw up the nectar feeders in the fall and winter, summer is not very practical with the feeders, as the nectar spoils too quickly. Hummingbird bonanza... I can feel it, approaching like rolling thunder, ready to overtake us, here at the house :)

A Child's Memories

Back in the day, I knew a girl that owned a floating fire-breathing mini-horse! She was so lucky, and always so happy, because she traveled all over with this creature, to India and China, and even to school. You can see the evidence above... I was so jealous, but she was very nice, and let me ride the horse from time to time!

This next picture shows a wonderful memory of mine. We were on a bombing mission over Bloahdfahekd Land, with our drunken polar bear pilot at the controls. I was in charge of the lights, making sure we could see ahead. My neighbor (the one with the floating fire-breathing mini-horse) was in charge of dropping bombs. We were really good at blowing stuff up. I was so proud of our blowing stuff up skills.

'Dog Connection' and Steven Seagal Movies

You know how some people say they feel so connected to their pet? Well, I can say the same thing, except I mean it literally. My dog and I are a dynamic duo, linked together through tubes and brain waves, we use our power to defeat evil (or create it, sometimes I forget what our mission statement specifies).

Otherwise, I am very excited, I have two Steven Seagal movies on tap from netflix. They are called 'Hard to Kill' and 'Out for Justice.' I haven't watched a classic bad movie in a long time, so I figured I could use a solid dose of Steven Seagal revenge style movies. These kind of movies are good for the soul.

'Making Stars' and Winsor McCay Images

In this little drawing, I revisit a theme that I thoroughly enjoy, star-making! Obviously star-making is a fantastic hobby, I fully encourage everyone to try it some time. Very good for the soul.


I picked up a great book from the library, which features some fascinating illustrations by Winsor McCay. McCay was the creator of the Little Nemo comics, which are beautifully drawn, but which I haven't had the opportunity of fully reading.

The two following images are in the book I picked up, I love 'em!

First up, Winsor McCay's drawing on the Black Death, fittingly titled "When Black Death Rode." I think it's absolutely fabulous (but not a very happy drawing, which I hope you can recognize on your own, haha)...


Next up is a McCay drawing that catalogues the evils and power of drug addiction. This one is called "The Monster- A Horrid Reality." Pretty vicious imagery, this piece looks very contemporary...

And who knew having a drug addiction could be so uncool. I'm going to have to strike out 'Start a drug addiction' from my to do list.

Magical Horse Fun

Hey y'all. Don't forget to put a big smile on your face and find a magical floating horse!

Mini Fire Breathing Floating Bear!

You guys! You guys! I'm so excited. I was walking outside and I ran into this mini fire breathing floating bear! It was incredible. I have become fast friends with this creature. I can't believe how fascinating this mini fire breathing floating bear is, I would've never guessed such a creature could be so interesting.

Stories to come. I promise.

Oh, forgive the stars and circles in the top left of the picture, those are part of another sketch. It involves a little girl walking a floating helmet wearing dog. I swear to god.

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend! and I hope you are as lucky as me, and run into a mini fire breathing floating bear.

Do You Like My Googles?

Misguided Arsonists?

This drawing in no way reflects my opinions or stance. Personally, I feel that the use of molotov cocktails to destroy cars, buildings, institutions, bird fountains, STOP signs, anything really, is not a good thing.

The two above characters are probably very misguided.

But at least they are having lots of fun.

To balance things out, let me throw in a happy stars drawing. Super happy star fun time...


PS. I might have to figure out a better way to draw molotov cocktails. Anyone has an idea, let me know :)

PS PS. I am really enjoying this book I got from the library: 'Exploitation Poster Art'

Some really silly, quirky imagery and titles. Here are some I really liked (hope I get to see the movies someday):

Happy Mother's Day!

I love my mom, she is wonderful, in oh so many ways! I'm thankful to have such an amazing family and wonderful people in my life. I know I could've never made it through the hardships in my life without my family's support and love, and for that, I am forever grateful.

I hope you all get to spend time with people you love as well this weekend!

Don't Play With Matches!

I know some of you have a serious problem because of your crazy love for fire.

Today's lesson is all about the dangers of fire, and the importance of not playing with matches. I am a bear, and although not as cool nor famous as Smoky the Bear, I still try and spread the word on the dangers of fire and playing with fire.

Unfortunately for me, my message is not always well received by little Sebastien.

So, remember everyone, don't play with fire. Even if your self-esteem needs a major boost and you think that lighting a match and burning a couple of cars with molotov cocktails will help you feel better... well, just don't do it.

Super Happy Starburst Fun Fun Time

The first car I owned was my favorite car I've ever owned. It was tiny, brown, had red hubcaps and white-walled tires. It even shot starbursts out of the exhaust, daaaayyyyuummm that was cool!

I was living in Japan at the time, and I didn't even know it, but I had been chosen to appear as a contestant on a Japanese game show. It was called 'Wow Wow Super Happy Fun In Your Earball Happy Time.' I didn't speak any Japanese, but no matter, when I was chosen to appear as a contestant for this show, I couldn't say no!

The premise of the show was pretty interesting and challenging. Each contestant was given 100 pounds of 5 drugs, namely heroin, morphine, cocaine, LSD, and marijuana. With these drugs, we were given a 3 hour window to sell them, we could choose any location we wanted, have friends or associates help us, plus use any method of transportation we wanted. Whoever made the most money off of selling these drugs in the 3 hour time window was the winner. The winner of what you might be asking?! Well, the winner of what this whole story is about, a little brown car with red hubcaps and white-walled tires and an exhaust that shot out starbursts of course!!!

You know how the show went, since I ended up with the car. I had made the most money off of selling the drugs I was given, and I was prouder than proud could be.

The sad thing about this story is that during the contest one of the other contestants was caught selling the drugs by an FBI agent working undercover in the Japanese prefecture of Ninomiya. Said contestant was promptly extradited to Abu Ghraib where he enjoyed several productive years, getting to take stretching classes, lessons in electricity, and fascinating lessons in agitated dog behavior.

Anyways, I ended up with the car, so that was cool.

When I Was a Boxing Bear

There was a period back in 80's when I boxed. I was the champion of all the land (in my mind at least). People were always down on my dream of becoming a champion bear, saying things like, "You are too old," or "You are too fat," or "I don't like you," or "Your teeth are so crooked it'd be great if you got punched in the mouth to straighten those suckers up" or "I hope you get knocked out because you deserve it for being such a terrible bear."

These things stuck with me, and fueled my fire. Fueling my fire was a good thing in many ways, as it was a cheap and affordable energy that I could use to not only heat my home but light my cigarettes.

People in the boxing business noticed my amazing skills, and dubbed me, "Great white bear who smokes a lot." I was truly flattered. And then I got flattened. Flattened by another bear, no less!

Gosh, the memories are just rushing back, searing my veins and bringing tears to my eyes... I want, I want to talk about this tragic fight, but the loss to this other bear, the memories still rumble through my brain and make me sink into the deepest of bear depressions.

The good thing about being a bear is that during these bouts of sadness I can go off and hibernate. Hibernating is very therapeutic, even for bears who are down and out on their luck!

Kim Kardashian and Terrorist Ground Squirrels

I have so many important things to talk about. First off, Kim Kardashian is great. You are going to be shocked and saddened that I'm sort of over Paris Hilton right now. I've decided it was best for the both of us that we move on, and I'm delighted to announce that I've found new happiness and joy in my newest celeb crush which happens to be the marvelous Kim. The big news with her is that she has a photoshoot in an upcoming Life&Style magazine, and she looks gorgeous!

In possibly even more important news: the local ground squirrels are tearing up the cactuses in my yard. These creatures create little burrows, in and around the cactus, and proceed to eat the roots, thus slowly destroying the cactus plant. Creatures with such a capacity for evil and nefarious tactics fulfill the definition of 'terrorist,' nay, they go above and beyond, and can simply be branded 'Super Terrorists.'

I've done some pain staking/time consuming google research on these gruesome, awful, lazy (except in their quest for destruction), grisly, ghastly ground squirrels... and there seems to be research out there that tentatively links them to the duckbill platypus, a creature we all know to be without match in its attempt to destroy our global economy and establish a world wide duckbill platypus hegemony.

The potential link between ground squirrels and duckbill platypuses is cause for serious concern.

Here is a link to a picture of a ground squirrel, but let me warn you that their appearance can be shocking and frightening, and should only be viewed by people who don't have heart conditions or problems with nightmares.

I am currently working on dislodging the 'Super Terrorist' ground squirrels. Right now I am working through diplomatic channels, having offered them 5 pounds of dried cactus roots and a free vacation to Cancun (hehe, maybe they will catch swine flu, aren't I devious!).

Wish me luck in my negotiations, and if you have any ideas or tactics that you think might be helpful, please let me know!

Hide and Seek!

I was babysitting Sebastien again, when he mentioned that we should play hide and seek. I agreed with glee, since it is one of my all time favorite games (even if I am at a disadvantage, being a super humongous bear makes it hard to find good hiding places for myself).

Well, my turn came to cover my eyes and count, and Sebastien was supposed to go off and hide... things didn't turn out the way I expected. I sort of ended up with an axe in my forehead.

Lesson: Don't play hide and go seek with axes and little kids. Or maybe I shouldn't ever play hide and go seek with Sebastien ever again. I wonder if we can play something innocuous like Scrabble without me ending up with an axe in the forehead?

He Needs Coffee!

So, sometimes I have to babysit this little kid. In order to avoid prosecution and death threats, let's change the name of the little kid and just call him by the code name 'Sebastien.'

Sebastien can be very bossy. And he likes his coffee. He will ring a tiny bell from his bedroom, usually around 3am, to signal me to prepare the coffee and come deliver it.

I am a bear. I wasn't made to serve coffee, especially into someone's skull. It sort of freaks me out. But hey, babysitting Sebastien pays well, so... life ain't all bad.

Explosive Driving

I remember driving a car that exploded fire out of the exhausts. It was pretty great. Until I barbecued some innocent pedestrians...

I have to admit, that in my life as a bear, well, I was pretty focused on bear things, like catching fish and hibernating. Soooo, driving wasn't really my strong suit (sorry pedestrians). But I was soooo good at hibernating, so at least I had that going for me.

In other news: I am going to be taking and posting some pictures of my most amazing garden experiment (one bell pepper plant and one chili pepper plant).

You will be blown away.

I promise.

Sketchy Time

Another day, another sketch, another hat I enjoy wearing. I usually wear this giant skull hat around the Easter holidays (please don't ask me why). My crane friend enjoys chilling on top, he says there is a nice view. Probably looking at the chicas. Crane chicas that is.

Enjoy the holidays...

Have You Ever Worn a Giant Bird Hat?

Because I sure have!!! Excuse the roughness of the drawings I'm putting up, they are all directly scanned from my sketchbook. The drawing displayed above depicts a fond memory from my childhood, when I used to wear a giant bird hat and my body was fueled by the giant heart that was popping out of the bird hat. Yes, it really all makes sense, when you stop and think about it...


Otherwise, I am starting to do a little research into war posters. There are some fascinating images, they tend to be simple, direct, and very powerful (and sometimes downright weird). I don't always care for the message, but in terms of design, they can be intriguing. Please let me know if there are war posters you find interesting, or if you come across any that are weird and hilarious. Those are usually my favorite ones. I saw one that had a bulldog with the face of Churchill. It kind of freaked me out, so I will spare you from seeing that image!

These are some war poster books I'm looking forward to checking out from the library or tracking down one way or another:

Design for Victory

And I am trying to track this one down, the library has it, but it has been checked out since 1996. I tend to be an optimist, but I have a feeling this book is never coming back...

Persuasive Images

Another book that was recently published is about posters from the Cold War, looks promising:

Posters of the Cold War

Let's Go For a Ride

This is a little sketch I scanned from my sketchbook. It is not a very clean drawing, but it clearly illustrates a memory from my youth.

I used to hang out with this little kid, and he would drive us around in this egg-shaped car that had helicopter wings on top. I usually had to drink a lot of liquor, because my little kid friend was not a very good driver. The alcohol helped me deal with my terrible fear of dying in a fiery car accident. Of course we ended up having accidents, but I was fortunate, I had the constitution of a bear, so when we did end up in those wrecks, I didn't suffer too badly. A little scratch here, a little scratch there. And my little driving companion didn't ever get hurt either, thank the good lord.

I will rehash other memories in the coming months on this blog... I had a period of time where I was a bear priest in Southern Mexico. Also went through a period where I made my living as a bear wrestler (I mean I was a bear that wrestled, not someone who wrestled bears, at least I didn't consistently wrestle other bears. I did fight against psychotic steroid popping gophers, transexual myopic raccoons ridden with rabies, and 3-legged 1-eyed crocodiles who had leather fetishes. I digress. But I do have to mention, not without some pride, that I won all those fights.).

This wrestling faze, like my career as a bear priest, took place in Mexico. I actually have quite a few wonderful memories from my time in Mexico.

A Little Drawing for Today

I haven't been around in ages. It's sort of a long story (involving my going undercover amidst a group of evil terrorist gophers, in an attempt to foil their plots and bring them to justice). I'll be sure to brief you on gopher nefariousness soon enough.

Anyhow, here's a drawing from a little while ago. I'll try to post more. I promise. So long as the gophers don't kill me. Or the deranged duckbill platypuses. Or the evil egrets who like to work in tandem with the sadistic sandpiper clan.

I sort of have a lot of enemies. I'm important like that.

Happy Thanksgiving! (message from Sebastien's sister)

We hope everyone is having a happy Thanksgiving! Sebastien's sorry he hasn't been able to visit all of your blogs or keep in touch, but he's been resting a lot and getting better. He appreciates all of your support and comments, and he says he'll be back.

He can't wait to catch up on your blogs, and he'll have loads of artwork and pictures (of Rambo especially) to put up when he's back. And most importantly he has lots of stories for you about Paris Hilton and duckbill platypus world domination.

Break

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing ok and haven't forgotten about you! I'm just taking a bit of a break from blogging and will be back soon.

Irish Mythology

I decided to branch out in my reading. That's why I'm reading a book of Irish mythology. It's called "The Tain" and it's pretty freakin' cool. The story is a little disjointed at times, but overall it's nicely translated and good fun.

The main themes of the story seem to be fighting, death, sex, drinking, and heroic feats. These are all things I firmly believe in and find hugely entertaining. Especially the sex and drinking.

And I know you want to ask me: "But Sebastien, all that sounds great, but is there any head chopping in this story? Without head chopping, I just can't get into a story." I understand your concern, and let me reassure you that there is lots of head chopping in this story. A whole heck of a lot of head chopping, mostly executed by a hero named Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn is a little crazy if you ask me, he could have benefitted from some heavy duty therapy sessions or some tranquilers or a stay in a mental institution. I mean, this guy does so much head chopping that it's a bit too much, even for me. And Cuchulainn is also very full of himself, he's got a big ego, and he feels he's entitled to everything. Kind of reminds me of the modern day rock star... except instead of biting birds' heads off he chops humans' heads off.

Now here's a question for you:

Do you have a favorite mythological story or a favorite fairy tale? What do you like about this favorite story? or if you don't have a favorite story or can't think of one, feel free to create your own wacked out story in your comment.

Trouble In Paris-dise.

Sorry I haven't been around, I've had a bit of a rough patch with my health (it happens, but fortunately my bad periods aren't as bad nor as long as they used to be). I will be visiting blogs soon! And I can't tell you how much I appreciate your concern and kind words and comments and everything.

But the truth is, it's not my illness that's making me suffer. The source of my pain comes from something so terrible and so tragic I hesitate to even write about it. I'm sure you can guess what is causing me all this pain:

The Paris Hilton situation.

It's really weighing on me. I mean, can you believe it? Paris has been sent back to jail! For a brief moment, we all thought she had escaped and we were all ecstatic. We all began to believe in God again. With his divine intervention he had helped Paris beat the system and reaffirmed our belief that good people always come out on top. Or so we all thought. In fact, her brief escape only made the hammer come down harder on her poor suffering millionaire soul. So now she has been sent back to jail and she is supposed to serve something like 40 days in jail! How ridiculously unfair.

But I guess Paris should feel lucky that she doesn't live in a place like late 18th century Paris where she would have likely suffered a fate comparable to Marie Antoinette's gruesome beheading. Late 18th century France was not a good time to be an aristocrat.

But the crux of the matter is that I suffer because Paris suffers. Actually, I also suffer because my dog keeps drinking from the toilet and then he sneaks over to where I am and licks me! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

New Drawing

First off, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

As for the above drawing, well, I guess all I can say is that there isn't any blood! Yay!

Somehow, somewhere, through some literature I was reading, I came across a creature that I'd never heard of before: the pygmy hippopotamus! When I discovered that such an animal exists, I just knew I had to include it in a drawing. So, that hippo creature you see in the drawing, well, it's not a baby hippo, it's a pygmy hippo. You needed to know that.

And let me promise you one thing. I promise you, promise you from the depths of my soul, that one day I will have a pygmy hippo for a pet. The day I get this pygmy hippopotamus will be the greatest day of my life.

New Drawing. Music Stuff. Deadliest Catch.

Newer version of the drawing (I simplified things just a little bit)...


Older version...


This is another drawing based on one of my childhood memories. In the drawing, I'm the kid wearing the weird, bear-hoodie thingy (it was in style in those days, in fact, I think it still is).

So, sometimes I'd get together with my buddies, and we'd venture out into the nearby desert. Every once in a while we'd manage to catch eyeball snakes. It was pretty cool. The blind-looking mini-polar bear wearing the red glasses, his name was Baxter, he was especially fascinated with the eyeball snakes. Unfortunately, he got eaten by an eyeball snake on one of our trips. That was kind of a let down.

I could easily write more about my childhood, but I'd like to write about some other topics.

Music Stuff

I have a couple music things I'd like to mention. One of my friends is a great composer. He crafts wonderful amazing songs, and he records everything on his own which I think is super cool. If you get a chance, please check his songs out. Here is a link to his work. I'm sure you will enjoy his music, it's amazing!

I also have another friend (who'dda thunkit!), his name is Dawen Wang, and he is trying to win a music competition. He is a GREAT singer, and he needs votes. So if you can, go to this site and listen to his song and vote for him! If he gets enough votes he will get his song played on the radio! And that will be a huge step for him in his quest to conquer the world.

TV Stuff

In other news, I started watching this show on tv, it's called the Deadliest Catch. It's quite a great show, all about people who go fishing in the Bering Sea. The footage is very impressive... fishing in those waters near Alaska seems like a very dangerous business. Although, I haven't seen any sharks so far, which means the fishing can't be all that dangerous. And now that I think about it, I haven't even seen any crocodiles, nor any barracudas. Nor the most dangerous of all the sea creatures, a creature named Shamu, better known as the killer whale that always has first degree murder on its mind. And I haven't even seen a measly electric eel on this show. I guess this program isn't as scary as I initially thought. Doesn't quite live up to the title. These fisherman mostly spend their time catching crab, and I gotta say, I stopped being scared of that creature when I turned 19, so the fear factor just isn't there for me. Well, I guess if I try hard enough I can be scared of a crab.

In spite of the lack of sharks, crocodiles, and other such dangerous creatures, the Deadliest Catch is good, I recommend watching it. So, if you are ever bored and want to watch people fishing on tv in your spare time, this show is for you. It's on the Discovery Channel.

Mini Magic 8-Ball Meme

I was tagged by Tara... so here goes:

8 Random Facts About Me

I broke my hip... the day before my 13th birthday. I'd tell you about it, but it's kind of a long story.

I love celebrity news (but you already knew this). The latest celebrity news that made me laugh: Britney Spears deplanes due to a lack of leather seats. How awesome is that?!! The answer, of course, is ridiculously awesome.

When I was younger, I had recurring nightmares about the witch from Sleeping Beauty.

I usually read the Economist before going to bed. That way, instead of having nightmares about witches, my nightmares will be about rising interest rates, terrorism, inflation, nuclear proliferation, Iraq, collapsing 3rd world economies, global warming, stock market crashes, or the rising US trade deficit. Sometimes, instead of reading the Economist before bed, I'll read something like People Magazine, just to mix things up. That causes me to have nightmares about celebrity fashion faux pas. And let me tell you, those are the most frightening nightmares of all...

My favorite art, from a particular culture and period of time, is Flemish art from the 14-15th century.

The last movie I saw in theaters was Hot Fuzz. I liked it. But I liked Shaun of the Dead more.

My favorite sport is basketball. My favorite player, other than a Phoenix Suns' player, is Gilbert Arenas.

I'd like to visit India someday.

I tag anybody who wants to do this!

I Saw a Lizard. Patterns in Nature. Deadly Squirrels. Paris Hilton. Georges Brassens.

Something very important happened the other day. I saw a lizard. I was so sure you wouldn't believe me that I took a picture (the one above). It's a cool little creature, in my opinion, and I like the diamondy pattern on its skin. I hope it doesn't get eaten by a snake.

Speaking of patterns...

I love how nature is made of patterns, very different sorts of patterns, like color patterns, patterns based on shape and form, textural patterns, sound patterns, patterns in movement... and these patterns can be seen in everything, like branches, weather, stars, leaves, grass, animals, clouds, rain, water, trees, etc., etc. I remember someone telling me that paintings of nature were nice and everything, but that really, the truest way to capture nature was through music. And when I look at the natural world, and I see all those patterns, what that person told me made a lot of sense, but at the same time, there really isn't any way to capture the complexity and beauty of the natural world (which is kind of obvious!)...

So, I think we established the fact that I think nature is pretty cool. But it can be pretty evil too. For instance, did you hear about the killer squirrels in Denver? Contrary to those first images that pop into your mind, these squirrels aren't walking around with machetes chopping peoples' heads off. No, the truth is much more terrible. Turns out, these killer squirrels have the plague, aka, the Black Death, and they can transfer it to humans!!! I always knew squirrels were evil, and this evidence only further proves how right I am in fearing these evil, demonic, Black Death giving creatures...

In other news, I was watching one of my favorite channels, E, and I learned that Paris' jail sentence has been reduced to 23 days! I'm not sure how I feel about that... I have to admit, I'm very curious, I'd like to see how much money she's going to be able to be make from her jail stint. Somehow, every thing she does makes her richer.

Lastly, I'm gonna post another French song, Aupres de Mon Arbre by Georges Brassens. It's one of my favorites, very cool song, hope you enjoy it...

Thoughts. Another Drawing.

I've been posting lots of drawings of late. Sorry, it's kind of repetitive, but I promise I will get around to writing about really interesting things, like Paris Hilton, Herman Melville, and the NBA playoffs.

Although there are ups and downs with my illness, overall I'm able to create more than I could before. I couldn't even come up with ideas or think about creating a while back, my mind was too groggy and in too much pain... And I still get pain sometimes, but it's not as bad as before, and that makes life much much easier. And I feel sooo much stronger than before, especially my mental strength, I've never felt so mentally strong in my life. This illness is a bitch, but it's teaching me a lot of things, in all sorts of ways...

And sure, I'm still very limited, leaving the house is tough, this illness is lasting a heckuva long time, but I feel everything is trending upwards, that's what counts, so I just try and stay focused on the good, I focus on what I can do, I focus on the good things in life, and I know I'm going to will myself to full recovery.

As for this drawing, it represents an adventure I went on, back in the 80's. You might be wondering which person/creature I am? Well, I'm the little prairie dog thingy, ya know, the one holding onto the big dog's ear... It's weird, I don't remember much from that period of time, it's sorta hard even remembering what it was like being a prairie dog. I mean, I think I had good times, I remember eating plants and staring at the sky and thinking about the limits of the universe and wondering whether nothing can really exist, and if nothing exists, doesn't nothing have to be something? As a prairie dog, I struggled with these mind-boggling thoughts and questions. Ultimately, I realized all the answers lay within my prairie dog soul.

And drugs. Drugs gave me a lot of answers too.

A Drawing. Brigitte Bardot.

This is my latest drawing. It's based on another one of my childhood memories, back when my dad used to drive me around on his Harley Davidson. Those were the good ol' days...

This drawing is also slightly inspired by the following video, Brigitte Bardot singing 'Harley Davidson.' I only recently discovered this song, and I LOVE it!

A Shipwreck. My Adventures on Borneo.

I just finished reading The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, a story by Edgar Allan Poe. If you've read it, let me know what you thought of it, that story sure gets crazy near the end...

Part of the story is about a shipwreck. Reading those parts about the shipwreck brought back a lot of my own memories, from many many years ago, when I experienced my own misadenture at sea.

At the time, I was a wee lad of 12 years. I was idealistic, full of life and vigor, not yet hardened by reality and the onslaught of failure after failure that I would later experience in my adult life...

So, here's the story... two of my friends and I had decided to set out on a sailing voyage. I remember that first day, moments before we set out on our adventure. The sun was yellow and the sky was blue, and the clouds weren't in the sky but if they had been in the sky they would've been white. The butterflies fluttered about, drunken sailors sat on the beach and talked to each other, bragging about the previous night's debauchery (whorehouse stuff I guess). There were also hilarious knife wielding squirrels who patrolled the beach, stealing tourists' sandwiches at knifepoint. And there were lovers laying on the sand, curled together in blankets, condoms littered about them...

It was a beautiful day.

But my friends and I didn't have time to contemplate this beauty, we wanted to go on our adventure. We quickly clambered onto a catamaran, and set off into the ocean. I remember one distinct fact, the ocean was very blue. I also remember seeing a floating horse's head, it seemed like a bad omen, but at the same time, it reminded me of that movie, The Godfather, and I thought that was pretty freakin' cool. So, other than the floating horse's head, for the first hour or two, everything went well.

And then our boat flipped over.

My two buddies and I managed to cling onto the flipped over catamaran. We didn't panic. We were only 20 miles from shore. Although none of us was older than 14 years old, and none of us had any experience with the sea, well, we weren't worried. One of my buddies even wore an eyepatch, it made him seem tough and wise, and for some reason that eyepatch made us feel better about the situation. I also had a knife with me, it was my lucky knife. I called my lucky knife "Lucky." We were relieved that I had brought the knife along, Lord knows that Lucky could really come in handy. Unfortunately, when I checked my pocket to grab my knife, I realized the pocket was empty. Lucky had fallen out and had probably sunk to the bottom of the ocean. This was hugely disappointing. My lucky knife was no good to anyone now, well, maybe Lucky would fall into the hands of some ocean dwelling creature, like an electric eel or crab or octopus. And maybe the creature that found Lucky would use the knife for something good, like sharpening their teeth or cracking open an oyster.

As we looked down into the blue depths of the vast ocean, already disappointed by the loss of my knife, a terrible realization came upon us. We were in shark infested waters. And not just any kind of shark. These parts were infested with tiger sharks, the worst shark of them all. Now, you probably already know this, but I am afraid of sharks. Specially tiger sharks. Think about it, a tiger is already scary enough, right? And a shark, well there's nothing scarier! But to have a tiger combined with a shark, well, there's only one word for that: ridiculous.

In the end, we were lucky, we didn't get eaten by tigers, sharks, or tiger sharks. We magically drifted 3,000 miles, finally finding ourselves off the coast of Borneo, where we were saved by a group of fisherman just off the island's perimeter. Our shipwreck adventure had ended. But our adventures didn't end there, because once on the island of Borneo, we experienced many marvelous, crazy, and dangerous adventures. But, as I'm sure you already know, I wrote a novel about those adventures. And just in case you haven't heard of my novel, it's called: The Adventures I Had One Time on the Island of Borneo and Pygmie Elephants Kinda Freak Me Out But Tiger Sharks Are Worse I Guess So I Try To Put My Fear of The Pygmie Elephants In a Proper Context. It's a very good book, if I do say so myself.

First Time.

Zhu, from the blog Correr es Mi Destino, is very awesome (and she's French too, that probably explains her awesomeness! :). She sent me an interview... basically, there's a list of things, and I'm supposed to explain my first experience of each thing... I think you'll understand when you read...

1- First memory

Most of my first memories are from the time period I lived in Germany. At the time, I was in pre-pre school or something of that nature. So, I was in class, and I was passing my bottle back and forth with some other little kid. The teacher lady wasn't happy that me and this kid were throwing my bottle around, and without warning she swooped down upon us and confiscated my bottle. I was utterly horrified and shocked. I needed that bottle for inner peace and happiness, and to have it taken away, and to have it taken away with such brute force, well, that was tough. I still haven't gotten over that incident. I suffer to this day.

2- First injury

My first major injury occurred when I was 5 years old. We were in France at the time, and I can't remember all the details, but for some reason I ran across the street without really paying attention. A car ended up hitting me and running over and breaking my leg. It was painful, that much I remember.

I spent a great portion of my recovery period playing with tiny model cars, racing them around, crashing them together, facing them off in death matches, it was really quite awesome and fun. Ironic too, I suppose...

The picture under this paragraph is a of a scar I have on my right elbow. It's my favorite scar. Back when I lived in Chicago, I took a tumble down the rickety back stairwell of my apartment building, and my arm broke through a window (thank God it wasn't my head!). The glass broke, and cut a huge jagged gash on my elbow. I also got cut on my hand and wrist. Luckily the glass didn't cut any major tendons or veins, but I was bleeding like crazy, almost passed out... Cooooooll!

3- First lie

When I was younger, I messed with my sister a lot. One time, I convinced her that mom and dad had been eaten by spiders. I told her that under no circumstances should she leave our room because the spiders were all over the house, and they would eat her as well. My sister was freaked out beyond belief, it was hilarious (my poor little sister, I was really awful back then!)! Unfortunately, my plan backfired... my sister ran out of our room and burst into my parents' room and woke them up (it was early morning).

In the end, there were no spiders. There was no death. But there was punishment for me.

4- First person you admired in your life

Hmmm, hard to say, I remember admiring lots of my family... I also really admired Bugs Bunny, I thought he was pretty great.

5- First time drunk

Many, many years ago!!!!

6- First failure
Has to be centered around sports. Playing on a soccer team and losing at a young age, that was my first dose of failure I suppose.

7- First success
I remember winning some swim competition when I was young. It wasn't my first success, nor was it anything major, but I thought it was pretty damn cool for some reason. I still have the medal somewhere.

8- First trip abroad
I was moving to different countries pretty much since I was born, so in that sense I'm lucky, I've always gotten to travel!

9- First concert
Seeing Sebadoh in concert! That was an awesome awesome concert. They played very loud.

10- First thing you do when you get up...
Eat some toast. Skim the paper. Most importantly, I check the celebrity gossip section :)

Guest Post by Mariana: Movie Review of "The Remains of the Day"

So, I'd like to introduce you all to Mariana, she runs a wonderful blog called Gatochy's Blog. She usually posts about a variety of subjects, she always has interesting ideas, and she loves art, film, music... Today, she is writing a guest post here at my blog, it is a review of the movie "The Remains of the Day." Enjoy!

I accidentally caught a glimpse of 1993's "The Remains of the Day" on tv, and it made me realize a) why I hate it, and b) why Anthony Hopkins was picked to play Hannibal, the cold, psychotic criminal who eats people without raising his heart beat.

In "The Remains..." he's a stiff upper lip butler who works in a big mansion, and he has lots of employees under his charge, namely his own father and Emma Thompson, who is the housekeeper. In the IMDB page his character is defined as "A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years before World War II (and) realizes too late how misguided his loyalty has been." But that is so misleading. There is no supressed emotion here -- there is no emotion here. Sacrificing his humanity or common decency is not something that was ever asked of him, or something that simply came with the job. He chose to do away with them all on his own because he genuinely didn't need them. He's a silent, quiet monster.

Example: his father is sick, and dies in his bed while a dinner party is going on. It's up to Emma to see Anthony in private to give him the bad news. His retort goes something like: "I see" or "I understand". How about "Hmmm" eh, Anthony? Emma asks him if he would like to see the body. Anthony says he's busy now, girlfriend, he'll see it laters. He uses the word perhaps, perhaps later. Perhaps? You mean there's a chance he may choose to not see his father later in the day? Remember she is not exactly inviting him for tea and scones. Saying not at this very moment, thank you, perhaps later, is not the apropriate response.

Now Emma is in the horrible position of having to ask Anthony for permission to close his father's eyes, to which Anthony acquiesces. Put yourself in her shoes: here you are, working in a household, and someone dies. All of a sudden it's up to you to touch a dead body, to close the eyes of this man who is essentially a stranger to you, like so many other to-do items on your list: clean the stairways, wash the dishes, close Anthony's dead father's eyes.... Not cool, Anthony, not cool. But Anthony is all, yes please Emma, if you would be so kind, because I am rather busy right now as you can see, I don't have time to see my father for the last time. You'd think there were no other employees who could stand around looking stiff in his place. It's not that it was necessary to ask that of Emma, or that he had any right to do so, he simply doesn't care about people.

For me this character just goes to prove you don't have to be a raving lunatic who eats people to be creepy. Just being this cold, autistic, shockingly inappropriate person is more than enough. Remember the butler in "The Shining"? He was another one. All he had to do was stand there talking about how he had corrrrrrected his wife and kids and he made you shiver to the bone.

Create a Conspiracy About Duckbill Platypuses and Their Desire To Take Over the World Day

I was visiting Tara's blog, and I learned what day today is!!! It's create a conspiracy about duckbill platypuses and their desire to take over the world day!

So, let me tell you a story, a perfectly true story. The veracity of this story is unquestionable (since it's coming from me, duh!). But first a warning: this story I'm about to tell you, well, this story is not suitable for children or people with heart problems. This story is frightening, shocking, apocalyptic, mind-jarring, and it's all about my encounters with a duckbill platypus(es).

On to the story...

I was visiting the doctor's office 2 weeks ago. It was a normal sunny day outside, but as I walked into the office, something wasn't right (and it wasn't the fact that a fat rabbit was tugging at my shirt sleeve asking me for a carrot and 6 dollars for the bus, while also trying to sell me a baggy full of marijuana). Trying to ignore the rabbit, I scanned the room. I noticed an elderly couple, sitting, waiting for their appointment. They seemed normal enough.

The receptionist waved to me with a smile, I waved hi back... but still, something, something was wrong. Then, as my eyes scanned the room, I saw IT. Two creatures sitting in the corner of the room. Duckbill platypuses. These two duckbill platypuses were quietly sitting and reading waiting room magazines. One of the creatures was reading People magazine, the other was reading Gun and Ammo magazine. Not only was the one platypus reading People magazine, but it was the latest issue, the one I wanted to read. Damn that hideous creature.

I tried to play it cool. I quietly sauntered over to the pair and surreptitiously tried to grab the People magazine away from the platypus in a kind/gentle/sneaky manner. But the platypus wasn't falling for my sneakiness, and yanked the magazine away from my prying hands. The creature snarled at me and threatened me with its stinger... "Whoah," I said, as I started to back away slowly, "whoah now, I just wanted to see what issue of People magazine that was. Ok?"

That's when they called my name. It was my turn to see the doctor.

So I go to the back room and wait a couple minutes for the doctor. Finally there is a knock at the door and the doctor enters the room. But I notice there is something odd about him. He isn't his usual 5'10 height, he is more like 3'5, midget height. How very odd. And he has grown a duckbill, and instead of skin, he is covered with brown fur. I'm beginning to think something is up, something weird and sinister, and yet, I want to attribute these weird changes that I'm seeing to the massive quantities of opium I'm smoking day in and day out... but I just don't know.

So, my doctor, or at least, this creature whom I assume is my doctor, speaks up, and says, "How's it going Sebastien?"

"Fine," I says.

"Well, even though you say you are 'fine,' let me inject you with a new super medecine. It's called Super Medecine," he says.

"Will it get me high?" I ask.

"Yup yup," he says, "and it's good for you."

"Yummy," I reply.

He opens the cabinetry, and pulls out a needle full of the super medeciney stuff. The liquid in the needle is a greenish color, and it's softly glowing. How pretty... and before I know it, he's injected the stuff into a vein in my arm. Wow!... not as good as heroin, but really, it's got a pretty good kick.

Moments afterward, the doctor (platypus?) starts laughing demonically. This isn't a good sign. With my razor sharp thinking, I quickly realize something has gone terribly wrong. My innards start to twist and turn, my body is feeling weird, rubbery, furry. I feel like I'm shrinking, and maybe even growing a bill. These weird changes happen for several minutes, and then I start feeling normal again, except more midgety, and furry, and I'm feeling slightly evil. I feel a new desire in my body, a desire to take over the world. The doctor, still in the room with me, quietly rifles through the cabinetry and finds a mirror, which he hands to me. I look into the mirror, and with utter horror/happiness (I'm not sure which), I realize I've turned into a duckbill platypus, and I want to take over the world.

Cool.

Paris Hilton: Going to Jail...

Paris Hilton is headed to the slammer. Really. Truly. No lie. I promise this isn't any of my usual chicanery.

She is going to jail for, get this: 45 days! I know, I know, that's a lot of hard time to serve. I feel sorry for her, but you know who I feel really truly sorry for? Us. The public, the regular folks, you and me, people whose joy absolutely hinges on witnessing her celebrity antics day in and day out.

Paris will be ok. She will be able to entertain herself in jail, I dunno, probably by counting money or snorting coke or doing something awesome like that. But us, how, just how in the hell are we going to entertain ourselves during her jail time? We've always relied on Paris for entertainment, for joy, for happiness. And unlike Paris, we don't have millions of dollars that we can spend our time counting, nor do we have bags of coke lying around. Actually, I did have bags of coke lying around a while back, but my dog found the bags and flushed them down the toilet. That's what I get for owning a German Shepherd, a goddamn crime-fighting superhero police dog...

And you know what the saddest part of all this is? We never truly appreciated how blessed we were when Paris was free and out of jail, able to entertain us with her constant antics, day in and day out, 24/7. We became jaded and blasé, dare I say, we almost had TOO much Paris (but really, we all know that that's impossible!). So, for those 45 days that Paris is locked up, we will come to appreciate her greatness, we will never again take her antics for granted...

And I'm trying to tell myself that there is a glimmer of hope, that I will make it through those 45 days of no Paris. But when I dig deep down inside, I realize, I'm just lying to myself, there really is no hope. We are all going to suffer. I'm scared... and I don't have any coke... I'm sooo screwed.

Well, I'm gonna post a video, it might mitigate your suffering... it's a fun little clip of Anna Karina dancing around, it's really quite great...

A Drawing of My First Fishing Experience

The drawing pictured above shows my father and me, right after a fishing experience (my first time fishing actually!). Can you believe it, my first time fishing, and I caught a shark! and my dad caught a salmony sorta fish (with his bare hook no less!).

Although, I must admit, I'm a little embarrassed by this picture. I'm looking kinda fat. I remember, back then, all the little polar bear kids really gave me hell for my weight. They were terribly cruel. But I'm not fat nor a polar bear anymore. Cool.

What was your first fishing experience like? Did you catch a shark? swordfish? Moby Duck?