arty update

i've been putting in some hours on my painting (finally). things are coming along.


UPDATE: today, this one got a brushed over coat of thinner and some paint on the highlights. not exactly sure how this will turn out, but we'll see.



UPDATE: today, i evened out the darkness of the background, adding some lowlight colors in. also, added green into the tower lighting scheme.


this last one is hard to work on at some points. it reflects a lot of self doubt, and frustration. so, why would i want to dwell on it when i don't feel that way. well, i want to get it done. and sometimes i still feel it.

memorial day

i grew up in a "peace church." i attended university and seminary at institutions that are also affiliated with "peace church" traditions. none of these actually mean that i believe in peace or nonviolence. i do.

so, what do i think about a day that memorializes those lost in war? i'm all for it. i believe that we should honor those who have passed away. i believe that these individuals should not have had to sacrifice their lives in war, but i pay homage to these individuals, as creations of God. i respect their sarifice.

i don't appreciate memorial day when it is turned into a ra-ra, u.s. is best, support our troops at all costs event. i'm not saying that it has today, but then again, i wouldn't know. i haven't watched any news, gone to any parades, or done much for that matter.

so, what did i do? i watched braveheart. it was on cable. as someone who has distant family lines to scotland, i've always enjoyed this movie. (we grew up going to the local scottish games, i did caber toss and shot put as a kid in the competitions.) not too long ago, this movie became almost gospel among the Xian community. why? i'd like to thank, err blame, john eldridge. i like his writing, and in the book wild at heart, he celebrated the savage, the manly, the masculine. i realize that last sentence is an oversimplification. other authors, such as erwin mc manus from mosaic in l.a., have picked up on this theme, written about it, and implemented programs within the church, frequently employing the scottish warrior as a symbol. this bothers me. why? because this is not the way of Jesus. it is not the way of Jesus. i don't see Jesus as some little wimpy hippy guy, but neither was he a scottish warrior that would kill an enemy in his bed. nor was he a revolutionary, ala my favorite redux of che. yes, what he taught and embodied was revolutionary. but it was never violent, and will never be violent.

love your enemies. pray for those that persecute you. forgive without limits.

today, as we remember those who have died in war, i pray for our current soldiers. i pray for our leaders. i pray for God's will to be done in this world and for leaders who will work for this on local, national and global levels even if it hurts their pocketbooks. i pray for the return of the Prince of Peace.

return to life - brief update

xmen3 pulled in 107 mill this weekend. we saw it. very enjoyable. better than the second, and maybe even the first. that's rare, a sequel being as good, if not better.

our school and tons of volunteers put on a successful national track meet. our kids didn't do quite as well as hoped, but it's nationals. at least they made it, most never will complete @ that level.

i'm glad barry bonds moved ahead of babe ruth. i'm also glad dallas won games 2 and 3 in the western conference finals.

i need to paint a little more, and then i'll post an update on that.

world cup, and the arrival of the stewart5 on u.s. soil are both on a few days away. i'm excited. this also means that vega$ is also around the corner.

meh - random thoughts

this week is the naia championships for track and field. it's @ our track this year and next year. so, we've been super busy getting everything ready. the whole school is abuzz. some people just don't get it, but that's alright. so, i've been working pretty hard. it's pretty cool, i'm the head of weights and measures. all throwing implements come to me. so, all you fools that i heard talking crap about our facility, or were just rude while we worked out there, i hope you didn't want your stuff to get certified. just kidding.

i was watching a little of the giants game tonight. i'm a giants fan, and i realize that all things point towards bonds using 'roids @ some point. frankly, this doesn't bother me that much. not just because it's bonds and he's meant a lot to the franchise. honestly, i think baseball is sooo screwed no matter what. watered down leagues and pitching, poor ownderships, and it goes on. anyway, i was watching the game. bonds looks terrible right now, gimping about the outfield. a pretty easy ball was hit to left, over bonds' head. now, he ran to the ball, and made a decent enough throw in. but, a healthy player could have easily gotten to the the ball and made the catch.

been playing some online poker lately, play money. i'm not going the real money route. on pokerroom.com i'm edluv hmr, on full tilt i'm just edluv. woody and sara are both on full tilt. so, if you sign up, we could get a real big game of friends. how lame is that? playing online with each other instead of in person. but, i guess with so many being in different locales...

nice, interesting, different weekend.

heather went out of town on friday for a conference @ ucla. she came back sunday evening. so, i was on my own. well, brian was in town from the coast, and crashed on the couch friday night. we went to veni's, tokyo (sang a few songs) and then to meatball magic. didn't dance any, but i really like the music on those nights. definately going to have to go again.

saturday, went down to casa de woody in bakos. bbq, met some of their friends, and played a little cards. didn't play that well, chased too many bad hands. stupid. still had a decent time though.

today, two friends got baptized, and after we went out to a local restaurant, the service was crappy, and the waiter told me that they didn't serve a particular drink that i've had there several times. stoopid. in his defense, that particular drink was seasonal, and it's not currently in stock. but, he tried to tell me that he's worked there a year, and they've never ever had it. now, i know that i had not only this year's, but also last year's batch.

another interesting thing this weekend, i ran into two old friends. friday, as we were leaving veni's, i ran into big dave. small talk, exchange numbers, check you later. tonight, we tried to get a table, but none were avail. @ one place, so we were heading out to another place (where we got crap for service). but, i ran into my buddy theo, who i haven't seen since midway through college. small talk, trade numbers and so on. i really hope to catch up with both of these two at laters times.

yet another interesting thing, the dr. on the stupid carl's jr commercial for "naturally bigger chicken breast sandwiches" is a real plastic surgeon. i saw him on some program. cable's full of good stuff.

finally, tonight i watched a program about the '06 north american international auto show. lots of cool cars. best of show went to this one:



this is the concept for the new camaro. sick throwback to the early camaro models. i think i'm in lust.

interesting day

here's our new cable box:





here's what's currently showing on the box:








wha? i've had cable an hour and it's already out. so, i call comcast. talk to customer service. no outages. everythings plugged in correctly. so, they try a few things on their end. no luck. still no cable. we'll have to send someone out. how does tomorrow afternoon sound. terrible. i've had cable for an hour, and you're telling me that you can't fix it until 24 hours from now. i think we've started a short and unhappy relationship. oh, and thanks for screwing up the order. i ordered cable in 2 rooms, @ a certain rate. the installer comes, nope, i've got you @ this rate and one room. well, the rate turns out to be a slightly better deal, so i'll go with that. and you won't install interior wiring, so i can't have the other room. fine. i think after my 3 month deal is done, so may go cable.

but, i noticed outside that the property management has been around. they fixed @ leak on my neighbor's swamp cooler. that's good, it was probably going to eventually cause the collapse of their building, if it hasn't already done the damage.



and, interestingly, they installed this:

ch ch ch ch changes

so, it seems like we make plans, and then they change. it happens.

like, although the june vegas plans were made plenty in the distance, most have had to back out. understandable.

last friday, i scheduled installation of diret tv. this was done after much consideration of plans, competive options and offers by other companies, and looking into the rules for installation @ our duplex. as renters, we just can't do whatever we want, there is a page and a half of rules for how satellite can be installed @ our place. basically, the main rule is that it can't be attached to the house or roof. as i looked @ our place, i found a loop-hole: the antenna already on the roof. we've got a standard, broadcast tv antenna that's mounted on about a 2" thick pole.

today, the loophole closed. installers came, looked @ my solution, and said no, it wouldn't do. not sturdy enough. damn. damn. cancel that direct tv. damn. that means no dream of nfl sunday ticket anymore.

but, ah, new plans. cable is on the way. installation between 10-12 on thursday. in the long run, it'll cost us a little more than satellite would have. but it'll be good. and, more importantly, we will have access for all of the world cup.

new world record

the man on the left may now be called the fastest man on the planet. 100m, 9.76 seconds. that's crazy fast. beat the previous record by .01 seconds.

justin gatlin, congratulations. keep up the good work. usatf is proud of you.

art update may 11

this lovely little one is in a pretty early stage. well, there are layers underneath, but it's far from where i see it being finished. it's going to be another piece based off of trying to capture the essence of the tower district.




this is a painting that i've been reworking. it used to look like this:

finale season

ah yea boy.

down to the last episode on the amazing race. three teams left. and, heather, mike and i have picked well. going into the finale, the hippies, picked by heather, are leading. in second are the frat boys, picked by mike. and, trailing by just a few minutes are ray and yolanda, my pick.


thursday night is the second to last episode of survivor. sunday is the finale. peeps are welcome to join us on either night to watch. in an odd twist, i don't think i know anyone that made a definate pick before this season started. but i'm pulling for terry right now.

save your pennies

a suggestion for adam and others that might be interested. ps3 is going to cost $500 & $600, and be available nov. 17. i've already got a little nest egg stashed away for mine.

you mean other people think it's inconsistent, too?

nice crack back.

iran says to bush, "return to Christianity."

awesome. although not in those exact terms, still awesome.

back on sale

here's another art update for you:

this painting is going to be considered back on sale. i've been holding it for someone, but they've yet to purchase it. they still could buy it, but so could you. priced as listed.

old news, new video

i finally got around to making a movie of this:

ripple update

thought i'd post a little art update. this is "ripple" without the flash on, and a tad blury.

i also bought some canvases today. yea! work!

i just want to help you

as many of you know, i recently graduated from seminary. i hope to eventually teach biblical studies @ university level.

in the meantime, i thought i'd share this nothing with all of you, especially those who need a little help in the Bible department.

UPDATE: i took out the link. although it was only as crass as you can be with legos, i thought maybe it wasn't something i wanted to leave up linked.

what's next for me

as i look for work, here are a few books i'll be reading. some are ones that i've already read, others i've started, some have never had the spine cracked.





bonus question: do you know what this photo is an homage to?

return of the househusband

so, today is the second week day of being done with seminary. yesterday, i had track practice and tim was still in town. but today, all alone @ home, and i'm not going to track (no practice today not just my laziness). sara called me this morning. she was in town for work, had some free time, wanted to know if i wanted to grab some breakfast. now, i was sleeping at the time, but went. hey, i'm not just a lazy punk, i had to get up @ 4:30 to take tim to the airport. it was difficult to get back to sleep after that. hey, i'm fine anyway that it was 9:30 on a weekday and i was sleeping. but i got up and went to eat. good time, chatting and eating @ the chicken pie shop.

after watching the second half of the price is right, i decided my day would be better served by tidying up. well, yesterday i did the dishes, but whatever.


first, i took the Xmas lights down from the windows in the front. this was done so that they could be opened. then, i cleaned the window seals and some other details in the living room.

then, i went to our bathroom. unfortunately, heather cleaned this room the other day. well, that was good, but the back thing is that we have a swamp cooler. the first time or two of the season that you turn it on, it blows out a big gust of dust that has accummulated in it. it has gotten warm enough over these last few days that we'll need to use the cooler soon (in fact i've got it on as i type).



sunday, heather tried to run the cooler to no avail. she told me it just made this "rrrrrrrrrrr" sound but didn't blow. i opened the front, turned it on, and yes, "rrrrrrrrrrr". i figured that the turn wheel deal was just stuck in place, and the best thing to do would be to turn it by hand and thus free it. so, i turned it off, and then went about moving the big wheel. yep, stuck, and yep, it moved soon. but, it moved and tried to snatch my finger off. yow!



now, this picture doesn't do it justice. i was too lazy to go and get the camera right away, but you might have better seen this white gash on my middle finger. it was deep enough that i kept looking at it and thinking, "is this going to bleed?" nope, it didn't.

so, after freeing the wheel, i turned on the pump to thruroughly soak the pads. that should cut down the amount of dust blown by now freed wheel. i let the pump run on its own for maybe an hour, the pads were nicely wet, and you could feel the humidity around the swamp cooler. while waiting, i had taken all the stuff out of the bathroom that i didn't want to get dusty (toothbrushes, towels, etc) and put most everything else in cabinets. turned on cooler (with doors into adjacent rooms shut), small dust cloud, turn off cooler, wait second turn back on, no dust cloud. sweet. turn off cooler.



then, i brought in the vacuum to get up all the dust on the ground, countertops, and little nooks and crannies. it's all clean and running now.