Merry Christmas.
Or, as the holiday is written in the most ancient of languages:
Merry "When's momma getting some grand-babies?".
Not to be confused with Happy "When are you getting married" day or it's other name, "Get the hell out of my damn kitchen, I'll tell you when it's ready" Day (Aka Thanksgiving).
-Tom
Monday, December 25, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Steam Punk
Technofetishism (click above for link)
From the gallery of The Battery A collection of art from Greg Broadmore and Warren Mahy (From Weta).
Friday, December 22, 2006
Leather and Paper
Cookies: 4 (Hey, they were a gift.) Mornings waking up with a snotty head: 5 (Ugh, damn weather!) Cough Drops consumed: 6 (getting better). Workout: N/A (No way am I going for Push and Puke.)
Yesterday, a friend of mine came down to drop off some Christmas goodies.
Mmm. Pumpkin Bread.
In exchange for such benevolent baking, I offered her materials of my own addiction; paper and leather. Several rolls of leather for hard and soft-cover books as well as some card stock for one of her projects and a book blank incase she would need to whip up a new book on the quick.
The weather today is grey and wet - urging my sinuses, which were doing fine last night, to fill up and choke me early this morning. Not that I'm a great fan of running around to Christmas parties and such, but I'd rather not be sick. I can't concentrate to work half of the time if I'm so dizzy and light-headed that reading is a wasted effort and writing is on-par with a heavily-sugared six year old with his new box of crayons and a clean wall.
Right now I'm waiting for the kettle to heat up so I can get a cup of chai. Anything to cut through this gick.
Yesterday, a friend of mine came down to drop off some Christmas goodies.
Mmm. Pumpkin Bread.
In exchange for such benevolent baking, I offered her materials of my own addiction; paper and leather. Several rolls of leather for hard and soft-cover books as well as some card stock for one of her projects and a book blank incase she would need to whip up a new book on the quick.
The weather today is grey and wet - urging my sinuses, which were doing fine last night, to fill up and choke me early this morning. Not that I'm a great fan of running around to Christmas parties and such, but I'd rather not be sick. I can't concentrate to work half of the time if I'm so dizzy and light-headed that reading is a wasted effort and writing is on-par with a heavily-sugared six year old with his new box of crayons and a clean wall.
Right now I'm waiting for the kettle to heat up so I can get a cup of chai. Anything to cut through this gick.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Some Good News
To keep things short:
I've been hired by Shawnee State to teach some classes this winter quarter. Hopefully it'll stretch into something more permanent.
I've been hired by Shawnee State to teach some classes this winter quarter. Hopefully it'll stretch into something more permanent.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Rubber Chicken Express
Ya know...Jack Burton once said, "Give me your worst. I can handle it." Jack is a character from the infamous cult movie, "Big Trouble in Little China".
While driving up to Athens this past Friday, I got behind a Semi truck and saw something yellow hanging from the rear. As I got closer, I could tell that someone had hung a rubber chicken from the back door. My mind instantly said, "Rubber Chicken Express" and I thought about the movie and my friend's own... Interpretation of such a thing.
I'm not sure if we would be fighting someone like David Lo Pan, or if we could find someone as cool as Egg Shen, but I really don't want to have someone blow up on me.
So, maybe it was just something of a joke. Maybe it was put there by the Universe so I would get a laugh on the way up to Athens and maybe it was a hint that "Big Trouble" is just around the corner. Maybe it's all three.
Who's to say?
A Cool Picture
While we, Barbara, Zak, Zak's Father Karl, Morganna and I were out walking to go find the "Elf House", I managed to snap a picture of Barb and her daughters. It's hard to see, but the wrapped straps you see around Barb is actually a Mai Tai (sp?), a sort of forward-facing baby pack.
The pic above was the first one I grabbed and was unannounced. I'm not sure what they were talking about - if anything at all, but it was a perfect moment I wanted to grab.
It was this pic, however, that got my attention. Fired off two shots (the one above was seconds before this) just so I wouldn't accidently miss it with a blur. The symmetry of their step and Morganna's head on her mom's shoulder was just a great shot.
Yeah, it was a great walk.
The pic above was the first one I grabbed and was unannounced. I'm not sure what they were talking about - if anything at all, but it was a perfect moment I wanted to grab.
It was this pic, however, that got my attention. Fired off two shots (the one above was seconds before this) just so I wouldn't accidently miss it with a blur. The symmetry of their step and Morganna's head on her mom's shoulder was just a great shot.
Yeah, it was a great walk.
Last Night
Cookies: 6 (Hey, I'm due!), Tires: 1 (See below), Missed Movies: 1 (ugh), Friends who let you crash: (1 - Priceless)
I'm going to be posting more pictures from my weekend trip to Athens but I wanted to post something about last night's drama.
So there I was, deep in the heart of North-Eastern Kentucky and on my way towards Ashland. A friend and I were going to go see Apocalypto. The road was slick with rain and I was approaching an intersection. A silver Hummer, on my right, accelerated and I backed off a little. Suddenly, it swerved from its lane into mine so close that it nudged my car's front corner. It didn't really push me much but I had to swerve to get out of its way. It continued changing lanes to the left and took an exit.
As soon as the Hummer was out from in front of me, I saw a concrete berm that's in between the east and west-bound roads. The berm wasn't a huge thing, just about the size of a curb but it wasn't sloped so when I tried to veer away from it, my tire clipped the edge. BOOM!
The tire is blown and I hear it flapping. I pulled into the gas station at the intersection to check things out. Some guy who was behind me and saw what happened pulled in to see if I was ok. He didn't see the license plate of the Hummer (neither did I - other than it was from Kentucky). A State Patrol car pulled up within a few minutes to check things out. Since I had the other guy there, hey accepted my story about being 'cut-off'. He took my contact information and said that if they catch the guy and can prove that he 'nudged' me, that they will let me know.
So, I ended up crashing at a friend's place last night. We didn't get to go see the movie and I drove back to Portsmouth this morning on the doughnut. I could have hunted around Russel / Ashland for a place to get it done but I know the place in Portsmouth "Bob & Floyds" does good work.
So, I called Will and Chris this morning on the way in to advise them that Good Karma was heading their way since mine went to crap.
I'm going to be posting more pictures from my weekend trip to Athens but I wanted to post something about last night's drama.
So there I was, deep in the heart of North-Eastern Kentucky and on my way towards Ashland. A friend and I were going to go see Apocalypto. The road was slick with rain and I was approaching an intersection. A silver Hummer, on my right, accelerated and I backed off a little. Suddenly, it swerved from its lane into mine so close that it nudged my car's front corner. It didn't really push me much but I had to swerve to get out of its way. It continued changing lanes to the left and took an exit.
As soon as the Hummer was out from in front of me, I saw a concrete berm that's in between the east and west-bound roads. The berm wasn't a huge thing, just about the size of a curb but it wasn't sloped so when I tried to veer away from it, my tire clipped the edge. BOOM!
The tire is blown and I hear it flapping. I pulled into the gas station at the intersection to check things out. Some guy who was behind me and saw what happened pulled in to see if I was ok. He didn't see the license plate of the Hummer (neither did I - other than it was from Kentucky). A State Patrol car pulled up within a few minutes to check things out. Since I had the other guy there, hey accepted my story about being 'cut-off'. He took my contact information and said that if they catch the guy and can prove that he 'nudged' me, that they will let me know.
So, I ended up crashing at a friend's place last night. We didn't get to go see the movie and I drove back to Portsmouth this morning on the doughnut. I could have hunted around Russel / Ashland for a place to get it done but I know the place in Portsmouth "Bob & Floyds" does good work.
So, I called Will and Chris this morning on the way in to advise them that Good Karma was heading their way since mine went to crap.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
The Cold
Hate the Cold
Hate the Snow
Tell the Winter Winds,
Not to blow.
The furnace has been fixed finally and the gas company approved of the MacGuyverian solution and I now have heat.
H.E.A.T.
Warmth
Goodness
Coziness
Cuddliness
Circulation
Warm toes
Did I just type Cuddliness?
Run away.
-Tom
Hate the Snow
Tell the Winter Winds,
Not to blow.
The furnace has been fixed finally and the gas company approved of the MacGuyverian solution and I now have heat.
H.E.A.T.
Warmth
Goodness
Coziness
Cuddliness
Circulation
Warm toes
Did I just type Cuddliness?
Run away.
-Tom
Almost Forgot
Resees Minis - 6 (Damn!) , Situps - 40 (Ugh.), Pushups - 30 (Better)
Have you ever taken pictures on your camera and then forgotten that you had them? I take a lot of pics on my digital camera and will download them into my "raw" folder to be processed and reviewed later. I found these pics as I was cleaning out some of my photos and wanted to post them.
I had taken these pics in my grandfather's garage probably about a month ago. There, sitting in a funnel-shaped web in a pile of old flower pots, was this odd spider that didn't retreat from me. Immediately I grabbed my camera from my bag and tried to get some close shots of it. Normally I don't get the opportunity to take such detailed pictures so it was nice to try out that function on my camera. I zoomed in and took several shots and still the spider did not move. I began to think that it was dead but it would move a little if I blew at the web.
It was patient.
So, while speaking with my mother about the latest batch of job searches, I continued to take additional pictures and still the spider would not move.
This is the best shot, I think. It shows the legs bunched up so the spider can either retreat or pounce forward on whatever might enter its' web. Very Shelob. The image of the spider, immobile within the 'tunnel' of the web created reminded me of Xenomorphs from Aliens and all those early D&D games when I was a kid. A monstrous spider was never an encounter that we worried about. Unless someone got poisoned from a bite or tangled in a web there wasn't much of a problem. However, now that I look at this picture, I think I would be a bit less brave to hurl a fireball down range at such a thing. It has only two directions to go - backwards and forwards. As the "fighters" charge forward to engage the legs and fangs, I, as a Mage, would attempt to deal damage at range.
Only once did our Dungeon Master think that my fire spells would also catch the web on fire and cause us additional problems. Burning webs would fall from the ceiling like napalm and the silken floor would combust under your feet. I, like many Magi, quickly learned never to attack with fire in such cramped quarters.
It's still a cool picture of a spider.
I had taken these pics in my grandfather's garage probably about a month ago. There, sitting in a funnel-shaped web in a pile of old flower pots, was this odd spider that didn't retreat from me. Immediately I grabbed my camera from my bag and tried to get some close shots of it. Normally I don't get the opportunity to take such detailed pictures so it was nice to try out that function on my camera. I zoomed in and took several shots and still the spider did not move. I began to think that it was dead but it would move a little if I blew at the web.It was patient.
So, while speaking with my mother about the latest batch of job searches, I continued to take additional pictures and still the spider would not move.
This is the best shot, I think. It shows the legs bunched up so the spider can either retreat or pounce forward on whatever might enter its' web. Very Shelob. The image of the spider, immobile within the 'tunnel' of the web created reminded me of Xenomorphs from Aliens and all those early D&D games when I was a kid. A monstrous spider was never an encounter that we worried about. Unless someone got poisoned from a bite or tangled in a web there wasn't much of a problem. However, now that I look at this picture, I think I would be a bit less brave to hurl a fireball down range at such a thing. It has only two directions to go - backwards and forwards. As the "fighters" charge forward to engage the legs and fangs, I, as a Mage, would attempt to deal damage at range.Only once did our Dungeon Master think that my fire spells would also catch the web on fire and cause us additional problems. Burning webs would fall from the ceiling like napalm and the silken floor would combust under your feet. I, like many Magi, quickly learned never to attack with fire in such cramped quarters.
It's still a cool picture of a spider.
Snowing
I knew that the weather was going to turn cold today and tomorrow but I didn't expect to wake up to snow this morning.
Once more and for the record, I hate the cold.
Hopefully the snow won't make the roads too bad. I'm supposed to go back up to Athens tomorrow and I'd rather not have to drive on snow-clogged roads. There are plenty of places on 32 where no one can hear you scream.
-Tom
Once more and for the record, I hate the cold.
Hopefully the snow won't make the roads too bad. I'm supposed to go back up to Athens tomorrow and I'd rather not have to drive on snow-clogged roads. There are plenty of places on 32 where no one can hear you scream.
-Tom
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Notebook, Journal, Diary, Addiction, Reflection
Diet Pepsis - 0 (Yea!), Situps - 80 (ok, so it was half in the morning and half in the evening), Pushups - 30 (Yeah, I know, I suck).
I found an old pic of Notebook 3 and decided to post it here. I started to number the "field books" recently when I started the fourth book. I know which order the books were used and anyone who read through them could quickly tell by the dates on the entries, but I wanted to identify them a bit more clearly on the cover.
I've kept a regular "journal" since I started college back in 1990. Prior to that I tried to several times, but never anything consistent. The journals fizzled out when I was in grad school because I thought I was too busy. After a while the journal became transformed into more of a notebook of ideas rather than a record of my thoughts. Once I started to make books in ernest, the idea notebooks were more than just a spiral-bound book in a leather book-jacket; god I love that thing - it's on my desk still. I made books for other people to test theories and techniques and finally kept one for myself.
Though I keep a blog to let my friends know what's going on in my life, my journal is more of the day-to-day record of things. Like Da Vinci who sketched ideas on anatomy and physics side-by-side with grocery lists, my pages encompass an ongoing "Journal of a Pilgrim" as well as thoughts on meta-physics, philosophy, theology, and other oddities.
Those who read this blog (or the new location) would say, "Sure, ok, and?"
People who keep notebooks, diaries or journals of various sort are usually a fairly particular breed of person. When people see me carrying around my notebook where I go and give me a strange look I know that they would probably not fully fathom why I carry it. Those who "carry" know their own. I've only met a few people who, when they see my notebook, instantly gravitate towards me since they carry one of their own.
A few of my really good friends have been those who understand my 'notebook obsession' because they have it as well. I remember a moment with a good friend where we were making a book-jacket for our notebooks. There we were, two grown adults, sitting around my dining room table with scissors and brown-bag paper and cutting the jackets out. They were made to look like the Grail Diary from Professor Henry Jones Sr., but wrapped as a parcel. Nothing was really said to commorate the moment, but at sometime through it I looked up and realized the level of geekness and just smiled.
It was a good moment.
I love those kinds of moments and have begun taking steps in life to ensure that more will happen in the future than has happened in the past.
I found an old pic of Notebook 3 and decided to post it here. I started to number the "field books" recently when I started the fourth book. I know which order the books were used and anyone who read through them could quickly tell by the dates on the entries, but I wanted to identify them a bit more clearly on the cover.
I've kept a regular "journal" since I started college back in 1990. Prior to that I tried to several times, but never anything consistent. The journals fizzled out when I was in grad school because I thought I was too busy. After a while the journal became transformed into more of a notebook of ideas rather than a record of my thoughts. Once I started to make books in ernest, the idea notebooks were more than just a spiral-bound book in a leather book-jacket; god I love that thing - it's on my desk still. I made books for other people to test theories and techniques and finally kept one for myself.
Though I keep a blog to let my friends know what's going on in my life, my journal is more of the day-to-day record of things. Like Da Vinci who sketched ideas on anatomy and physics side-by-side with grocery lists, my pages encompass an ongoing "Journal of a Pilgrim" as well as thoughts on meta-physics, philosophy, theology, and other oddities.
Those who read this blog (or the new location) would say, "Sure, ok, and?"
People who keep notebooks, diaries or journals of various sort are usually a fairly particular breed of person. When people see me carrying around my notebook where I go and give me a strange look I know that they would probably not fully fathom why I carry it. Those who "carry" know their own. I've only met a few people who, when they see my notebook, instantly gravitate towards me since they carry one of their own.
A few of my really good friends have been those who understand my 'notebook obsession' because they have it as well. I remember a moment with a good friend where we were making a book-jacket for our notebooks. There we were, two grown adults, sitting around my dining room table with scissors and brown-bag paper and cutting the jackets out. They were made to look like the Grail Diary from Professor Henry Jones Sr., but wrapped as a parcel. Nothing was really said to commorate the moment, but at sometime through it I looked up and realized the level of geekness and just smiled.
It was a good moment.
I love those kinds of moments and have begun taking steps in life to ensure that more will happen in the future than has happened in the past.
New Blog
I decided to start a new blog as of 11/01/06 and put it on Blogger Beta to prevent things from going off-line for so long as they did for the past few weeks. My host, Frognet, is having some issues and I'd rather keep my blog somewhere I know my friends can access it more easily.
This new blog is less cluttered than the first one - fewer icons and graphics, but I like that. I may change things after a while but for now it works for me.
-Tom
This new blog is less cluttered than the first one - fewer icons and graphics, but I like that. I may change things after a while but for now it works for me.
-Tom
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Note
I've tried to write up a blog entry about some news I got last week but each time I do it just spirals into something I'd never post.
This past Thursday night, I got a call from the brother of an old friend of mine, Scott. Scott, who I had met my first year at OU, was killed in Iraq last week. His brother, Henry, called me to let me know that the wedding was cancelled. I didn't know about the wedding, but I hadn't heard from Scott in a few months. The news hit me... a lot more powerfully than I had ever anticipated.
After phone calls from friends trying to find more information about what happened (I still don't have the details) which tore me up each time I had to talk about it, I started to crumble a bit more. I wanted to be left alone.
It's been a long weekend and I'm still not over it but there's not much I can do about it now.
All I can say in this blog is:
I miss ya Scott.
-Tom
This past Thursday night, I got a call from the brother of an old friend of mine, Scott. Scott, who I had met my first year at OU, was killed in Iraq last week. His brother, Henry, called me to let me know that the wedding was cancelled. I didn't know about the wedding, but I hadn't heard from Scott in a few months. The news hit me... a lot more powerfully than I had ever anticipated.
After phone calls from friends trying to find more information about what happened (I still don't have the details) which tore me up each time I had to talk about it, I started to crumble a bit more. I wanted to be left alone.
It's been a long weekend and I'm still not over it but there's not much I can do about it now.
All I can say in this blog is:
I miss ya Scott.
-Tom
Monday, November 20, 2006
Books and Latex
First, get your mind out of the gutter!
Second, check out this website where someone has begun to make a latex cover for the Necronomicon.
Second, check out this website where someone has begun to make a latex cover for the Necronomicon.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Da Vinci Notebook
Today on Moleskinerie I found a post about some animation work done with the sketches in Leonardo's journals. The animation work is very cool even if you're not a notebook geek like me. Click the icon above to go to the post.
-Tom
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Bookbinding You Tube
I found these videos on You Tube.
- Perfect Binding
- Japanese Bookbinding (1)
- Japanese Bookbinding (2)
- Japanese Bookbinding (3)
- Paperbacking Silk
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Email Issues
In case you're trying to email me, I'm having some problems with Roadrunner.
My pop-server and smtp-server connections are being refused but, of course, it's not Roadrunner's problem.
So after consulting with the Evermind (aka Bryian), I've installed Thunderbird and waiting to talk to yet another tech at Roadrunner for assistance.
Until I post otherwise, please email me at thomas_the_green@yahoo.com
Thanks.
-Tom
My pop-server and smtp-server connections are being refused but, of course, it's not Roadrunner's problem.
So after consulting with the Evermind (aka Bryian), I've installed Thunderbird and waiting to talk to yet another tech at Roadrunner for assistance.
Until I post otherwise, please email me at thomas_the_green@yahoo.com
Thanks.
-Tom
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Pirate Name
My pirate name is:
Mad Tom Rackham
Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Year of the Serpent
Welcome to the Year of the Serpent
Year of the Serpent
2006
1994
1982
1970
1958
1946
Born: Those born in the year of the Serpent are continually reinventing themselves. Whether they stick to a New Year’s resolution or not, they seem to always be itching at their life, never satisfied with what they are for long. One year it’s yoga, the next it’s a tattoo. They are also more likely to change their appearance to match their ever-dynamic personality.
Year: The year of the Serpent is a year of transformation. In this year, you will slowly scratch yourself along the rocks to free your from the itchy dead skin of years past. The process of pulling the skin from your body is a painful process that can last the whole of the year but in the end you will have been transformed into something greater than you were.
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