20 Hours, Give or Take.

I've said it before and most of you were already aware that I am a unrepentant nerd. Well my nerd world just got a bit more exciting. The first trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was just released. I'll admit, I'm not a huge Tolkienite. I haven't read the Lord of the Rings (henceforth to be referred to as LOTR) trilogy. I have read The Hobbit though and I was thoroughly impressed. It was a great story. And the movie looks like it's going to be every bit as good. Peter Jackson is back doing his thing. The visual effects are every bit as good as, if not better than, the LOTR movies. Unfortunately, the movie won't be released until late next year. That means my fellow nerds and I must endure the strategically scheduled teasers and constant hype for nearly a year. Fortunately though, I'm pretty sure that this won't be a massive letdown like Revenge of the Sith, and the last two Matrix movies. So enduring a years worth of marketing is a small price to pay.

Oh, this is somewhere around 20 hours. Starting to get sick of this barn. On a brighter note, I finally found colored graphics pens in the size I use. Hoping to try them out soon and see just what I can do with them. I've never been very good with color, but I think I might have a chance with these.

18 hours

Alright people, you've all been silently following my blog for some time now. I want to hear you guys weigh in on this one. What are you favorite/unusual Christmas traditions? For us, my dad makes suffle (not souffle) every year. It's a wonderfully delicious dish that contains bacon, bread, ham, eggs, cheese, milk, and corn flakes. We also have a fruit salad and cinnamon rolls with it. This year we'll be making a slight modification to the tradition as we have to do it on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning. But we'll still have grandma and grandpa over, and the kids will open their presents after we eat. We had my dad's family Christmas part this last Saturday and like many other families we do the white elephant gifts. Every year the cordial cherries and thin mints are the favorites that everyone likes to steal. We also have the tradition of trying to hit each other in the face with wadded up wrapping paper when you're not looking. Sometimes grandma gets mad about that one though. And of course, just like Thanksgiving, we all eat way too much. Mmmmmmmmm food.

This is about eighteen hours worth of work. Apparently I grossly underestimated the amount of time this project was going to take. I was figuring between 30 and 40 hours. Considering I'm not even halfway done yet, looks like 50 to 60 might be more accurate.

14 Hours and a Giveaway.

So I was talking to a friend the other day and she accused me of being pessimistic. Which I don't believe to be the case at all. I simply enjoy trying to think of the worst case scenario for any given situation. That doesn't mean I expect it to happen. She mentioned how nice living in Alaska would be. I said it's too cold. She said, "But you would have all that hunting available." To which I replied, "Yeah, but I have terrible circulation and my feet would get frostbite then gangrene from infection and I'll die." Logical chain of events to the worst case scenario right? I have a knack for this. It doesn't matter how benign the situation may seem, I can come up with a terrible outcome preceded by a reasonable sequence of mishaps. Think you can come up with something that no matter what cannot end badly? Well leave a comment and I'll prove ya wrong. For the first person to stump me, I will do one piece of custom artwork (either a drawing or pen and ink, winners preference.*)

Well this is right around 14 hours worth of work. The parts I thought I could consider finished turned out otherwise. That's the problem with my brain. I continuously think of ways it could be better. Good enough is never good enough for me. That's  probably why a lot of my drawings are unfinished.


*Contact author for contest rules and prize details.

12 Hours

I think I've found the meaning of life. My life that is. The meaning of your life may be (and probably is) drastically different. Or your life may not have any meaning and you're just using precious oxygen. How can you be so selfish? Just kidding. Everybody has a purpose, sometimes it just takes a while to figure out what it is. Back to mine.

I have realized that the expression "if it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all" and Murphy's Law seem to be aimed specifically at me. I'm a walking disaster. I'll admit, a large part of it is due to my lack of foresight. But it seems a disproportionate amount that is outside my control falls to me. Don't get me wrong, this isn't me complaining about how hard or unfair life is. I understand that there are others out there like me who seem to bear the brunt of the load of misfortune. The reason I think this is true is that we are better able to cope with constant frustration or disappointment. I believe God has given us the gift of endurance. We shoulder the burdens that if left to others could be too much for them. Not everyone is equipped to handle these types of stresses the way we are. And I don't have a problem with this. If my ability to stand the constant letdowns, upheavals, and general crap that life gives us means that someone else doesn't have to suffer them and is able to face the world another day, then so be it. I'll gladly accept that role. 

What's the meaning of your life?

So I've got approximately twelve hours into it now. As you can see, I'm making actual progress and that's really the only thing that keeps me going on something so tedious. That and the fact that I want it to be done in time for the family Christmas party.

Nine Hours

Alright, so how many of you remembered what today is? Without having to be reminded by the news? That's what I thought. This date marks a watershed event in American history. An event that would affect the lives of millions of Americans and others around the world. That's right, today marks the anniversary of the first use of instant replay in a televised football game.
It was 1963 and CBS used it in the Army/Navy game. Little did they realize the effect this would have on the American populace.
Okay, so obviously that isn't the most important thing to happen on this date. Marcus Antonius had Cicero assassinated. Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution. And the crew of Apollo 17 flew the final manned mission to the moon.
Wait...what? I forgot one? Oh that's right, December 7th is the day that Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt called it "A date that will live in infamy." Unfortunately, as our Greatest Generation passes away, the significance seems to pass with them. This was the event that pulled us into World War II. An endeavor in which over 400,000 Americans and 60 million people world wide would lose their lives. This was one of the defining moments in modern history, and how do we observe it? A few television specials and news articles. 2402 men and women died in that attack, and we give it no more thought than Columbus Day.

Just about nine hours of work so far. Parts of it are to the point where I would consider them finished, but I'm still less than a third of the way done i think.