Bedtime battles, work and tutoring taking their toll today.
I Finished ‘The consolations of Philosophy’ this afternoon. What a fantastic book, I wish I’d read it fifteen years ago. Though in truth I may not have stuck with it then. Not being then, as I am now thoroughly addicted to audiobooks and thereby able to read while doing things with my hands.
I am going to have to summon some enthusiasm and paint tonight. Painting is whole lot better than my usual alternative though. One thing I am very grateful about at the moment is that as supply I don’t have any take home marking piling up in every file and folder. The bane of my profession existence and I have absolutely none at all.
The innundation of markable assessment a class generates and requires positive feedback on has been constant source of hellish amazement to me. I don’t look forward to the resumption of the flood.
Started watching ‘Dirty Wars‘ while painting during nap time today. Infuriating stuff.
Finally got around to starting ‘Mr.Robot‘ last night. Widely recommended to us months ago. Two episodes in and loving on Christian Slater channeling Tyler Durden. Made easier no doubt, by the fact that there was a time when I thought he wasoneofthecoolestmenonearth. Looking forward to slamming another few episodes this evening.
I’ve been listening to ‘The Consolations of Philosophy‘ for a couple of hours now. Loving it and find excuses to snatch minutes here and there.
Creative
A pair of sketch drafts completed during nap time, though one was a redo of previously completed sketch. At fourteen of fourty-four as of now. Sharing the two cards I made a couple of weeks ago as I can now be sure they are safely with their recipients. Both are single layer papercut and ink on card.
On the basis of a challenge by my extraordinary cook book, I bought and butchered a whole hen on Friday.
The free range chooks were on special for $10 each at our local rather expensive supermarket. Butchering is interesting from a biological perspective but also to see the assembly of the parts we so often buy separately. I was so surprised by how much meat we got for that price that today I bought and butchered an additional two. All my adult life I have been paying $10+ for a pair of chicken breasts or a punnet of six thighs. Getting two of everything plus an amazing homemade stock for the same price is a bit of a revelation. Of course we have bought roasting hens pretty often but actually cutting into sections by hand I had never even considered before. If like me you are not squeamish it is well worth a try. Just be very conscious of hygiene and keep your blades sharp.
Tonight we used the thighs from today’s hens and the stock from Friday’s to make a yummy dinner porridge.
Daily
We got to meet our newest nephew by N’s little brother. Fresh home from Dubbo hospital yesterday. He’s a cute squishy thing.
A trip to the tip this morning yielded maybe $300 worth of timber and if I can borrow a ute in the next day or two I am going back for some very nice sheets of marine ply. They are too large for my car. Material for three projects secured.
Creative
Another two sketch evolution cards completed. I plan to do a gallery post once all the sketches are completed. Only another 33 to go. A bit of clerical work to complete tonight, possibly another sketch card as well.
It did get weird. For the longest time I really wasn’t into it. None of the characters were really interesting me and I was really struggling to care, then about a third of the way in things as I say got delightfully strange and I slammed through the rest in short order. I plan to recommend it to a friend with a more hard science background to see what she makes of it. There are some very big and uncomfortable ideas played with and as with anything that starts talking about interdimensionality wrapping my poor monkey brain around it was at times challenging. The storytelling had a different pace than I am used to and by the end at least a couple of the characters were sympathetic and emotionally interesting.
On the subject of interdimensionality Miegakure a 4D computer game is on its way ‘soon’
Creative
I’ve spent the past day taking the draft text and titles of all 44 evolution cards into the printable card template made a few weeks back. I’ve also begun sketching higher quality thumbnail placeholder art for all 40 incomplete cards in readiness for a draft print run which will be test played at an upcoming board game convention.
‘Sanjay’s Super Team’ the short from before The Good Dinosaur -which we have not yet seen- is adorable. Unfortunately this is the only complete streaming version I was able to find kind of potato quality I’m afraid.
A shiny new NSW license is making its way to me through the maze of rural bureaucracy. The local office can’t actually issue them, they do the paperwork, take the pic and send it all away. The card will come sometime within the next month. Until then I have a nice official looking piece of paper as my ahem, licence (they cut a hole in my QLD card). Transferring the car rego is going to be a different level of complicated. Apparently transferring rego to NSW involves initialising the vehicle in their system. That means a new blue and green slip and surrender of plates for a refund of the remaining rego, minus a fee of course.
Taught two children today for an hour each, primarily handwriting and maths today. I need to work on improving my handwriting too, going to be putting some time into that this week.
Creativity
Finished and posted the two handmade cards both of which are quite late.
Planned some unrelated stuff. No card progress today though.
Thoughts
Started listening to ‘Three Body Problem‘ shortly after finishing Rubicon a day or two ago. A couple of hours into the former and it is engaging but getting a bit weird. If it is good at I’ll have to recommend it to a friend with a background in hard physics to see what they make of it as it is playing with some big ideas.
‘Rubicon‘ was amazing, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I was absolutely enthralled by Tom Holland’s telling and I am grateful to have dispelled so many of my knowledge gaps and misunderstandings about ancient Rome. I for instance did not know that Brutus was considered to have likely been one of Gaius Julius Ceasar’s bastards, nor had I, despite even reading some Cicero ever really understood how the Roman Republic had been shattered and replaced. I am now avidly seeking some more similar audio books.
In the process of researching something for an adult client I stumbled upon this article today. It deals with the creation of Sci-Hub which is just about the most exciting thing in science today, bigger and I would argue of far more global significance than gravitational waves.
Alexandra Elbakyan has solved the problem the extraordinary Aaron Swartz was charged as a criminal for tackling. She has freed the research, her site Sci-Hub, is aiming to create a complete collection of all human scientific research free an open to all and they are well on their way to doing so. Elsevier is of course doing their damnedest to stop Sci-Hub, but the rabbit is out of the hat and it will never go back. The game is up for Elsevier’s business model, of charging researchers to hand over copyright on their -often publicly funded- research so that they can then charge library’s and readers exorbitant fees to access the papers, while also doing their damnedest to stomp on any competing publications.
In other news, progress on the castle card. L’s first day at Pre-School went well.
Three cool artists to share:
The simply incredible doll’s of michael zajkov. Occasionally NSFW depending on attitudes.
A photo posted by Михаил Зайков, скульптор?? (@michael_zajkov) on
The gobsmacking drawing skills of Kim Jung Gi, paraphrasing a good description “He draws like someone who could build a house starting with the paint.”
Painting all day. N took the boys to the farm for the day so I sweated it out at home painting digitally, listening and peripherally watching docos. Despite hours of attention the bloody village card is still not done. It’s getting there but my goodness it has been time consuming. Some minor and some significant changes still to go. Had took take a break as my wrist got sore.
Edit: Finished the bugger.
I watched or rather mostly listened to the following today:
Deep Web The Silk Road story which has a particular focus on the case against the alleged Dread Pirate Roberts user/admin Ross Ulbricht who has been jailed for life in a trial that involved some significant miscarriages of justice in the name of making a statement with his sentencing. Interesting for a variety of reasons, particularly so for the old law enforcement officers acknowledgements that the online trade has a profound effect in the reduction of violence in the drug trade. Which as the formost stated aim of The Silk Road counts as a success for the market. Also like so many other examples of distributed access as quickly as one is shut down others spring open. It seems that finally the writing’s on the wall for the ‘drug war’. Thanks largely to capitalism and the internet.
The Island President Follows the interesting figure Mohamed Nasheed during his brief time as president of the Maldives as he attempts to convince national leaders from around the world to act decisively on global warming prior to and during the Copenhagen summit. A somewhat depressing film particularly so for the endnotes which told how the Maldives have since slid back under military rule.
Unhung Hero follows Patrick Moote as he recovers from a humiliating breakup in which his penis size is implicated by travelling the world exploring the weird and wonderful field of penis enlargement treatments, almost all of which are decidedly dodgy scams. Occasionally quite touching, mostly annoyingly American, self indulgent and trite.
Playing link aggregate with a few other interesting things from the feed today:
Very much enjoying Rubicon still. This vid is quite timely really, though it shows Roma a few centuries after what I’m listening to. I do wish I had read it before my last trip to Rome.
A day spent with my boys. A trip to the library, some paperwork and the first meeting with some new clients: A pair of boys fresh from Brisbane over the holidays just like us.
Fbook, by minor coincidence put me in touch with friend of my father and mentor Brandon Cavallari (Gallery Link). He shared a pic of one of my works from childhood, in his house. I went looking for and found this in mine:
We exchanged a few more pictures including these two of Brandon’s:
This one of my father although laminated for protection is badly faded. I think it’s from when we lived in Balmain so about the same period as my painting above.
My friends father’s passing reminded me of an essay extract I read in Tell Me No Lies of the extraordinary The American Way of Death. Let me say with absolute certainty that I do not want an open casket funeral when my time comes. In fact the quicker you can get me mixing (hygienically) with the biosphere the better. I take great comfort in knowing that my atoms once belonged to stars and will again someday.
Trying to get that terrain card over and done with now. Oh and I’ve some Hallmarkish cards to produce as well.
I spent the evening drawing and singing along to Irish heartbeat out of tune in a response to a nostalgic rush brought on by a chance link that led me to this:
A good friend who lost a father today shared this link yesterday, I’ve sent my condolences but I’m saying it again here all the same. Love and support from rural NSW mate. I’m thinking I need to make a contribution, I never got around to doing one for the first project and let’s be honest, Empire is the better film.
Made the mistake of watching some TV before writing a post or completing the card I was working on this evening.
Finished the last of the Old Man’s War series in audiobook format today, thoughts to come. N and I are now about half way through the Mighty Johnsons season 2, enjoying it. Thoughts to come on that too.
Calling it finished anyway, though I might be back to bump the brightness of the feature picture in the morning. Other than that I’ll be focused on primary carer duty tomorrow.
The third evolution card:
Edit with fixed spelling mistake and brightened image.
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