Notice the USB cable and the modem/Blackberry on the dash. Not to mention the power inverter so that the laptop is running full speed on house style power! HAHA I have total power now!
So here I am riding down the Jersey Tnpk. No, I am not typing on the Blackberry as is usually the case when I am traveling. Since I am traveling to Boston, I decided to do something different. I am on my laptop, surfing the internet through its internal modem, while it is giving me GPS directions and still pulling down email. Ah, technology. So, I took a picture with my digital cam (yes the real one) and put it on Picasa just now and so here I am. Technology is almost too much!

So, I am looking forward to the time in Boston. Anna's sister Susan is who we are visiting and we are excited to see her. I of course, have never been to Boston so this is also an important trip for me. I am looking forward to things like the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) and the Boston Public Library which is a famous landmark as well. So anyway, I suppose as Anna just said, I will have to post video here on the road to be a true geek. Maybe soon. Maybe the trip home. ;)

Blender 3D Comes in to my Life Once Again!

So, over the break I have been working as close to non-stop as I can on my artwork. In addition to three other projects, I have begun work on a short film created in Blender 3D. I haven't worked much in 3D in the last 10 years and am truly amazed at how far the software has come! I am having to learn all new ways of working and creating! Easier ways of course but new! I am so excited to be working in this direction! The above image is not the only project I have going in Blender. I am working on another print piece that will be approximately 12-15 feet wide by 5 feet tall. I will post more as I go.

Died for Our Country

So, yesterday I visited Arlington National Cemetery for the first time in my life. I think it is an understatement to say that it was a powerful experience. I shot these photos at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

I went to the cemetary to get some photos to use in one of my latest art works. During my foray I started to feel as though I didn't really want to do the work I have in mind simply because it might be disrespectful. Of course I am still going to do it but I just need to handle it in a way that is thoughtful and respectful to those who have lost a loved one in the military.

That said, Arlington Cemetery is a pretty amazing place. Walking around you become wholly aware that the men that gave their lives for this country deserve respect, whether or not their idiot government had them in a war they didn't belong in.

X-Mas Makes me Tired

So, Christmas is not even hear yet and I am tired. Not enough sleep, too much alcohol, too much fun. All of this I have to blame on Aaron. Aaron can't help but have holiday parties. In fact, his Christmas party and his Seasonal beer tasting happened over the last two evenings. Therefore I blame him for my being tired. Aaron on the other hand is in even worse shape. His daughter is sick with a cold as is his wife. No one is sleeping as a result. So, I am glad for Aaron that his personal parties are over. Now all we all have left to endure is everyone else's parties. Here are a few of the photos from the last couple of days. Unfortunately, my sister who was present on Friday didn't make it in to any of the photos. Therefore, I only have my word as proof that she was there.














Kathy with Emelia just before things got going on Friday.
















Gene's beautiful girlfriend Shannon with Patrick accosting her.
















Me accosting Lydia.
















Now for last night. Left to right Ken, Eben and Mike appreciating some fine beers.
















Left to right. Mike, Jason, Chris and of course Aaron.
















Shannon and Gene cheesing for the camera.

I love winter. I love snow. The early snowfall this year is definitely a big smile from mother nature. I met Anna last night at the Dubliner for her Christmas work happy-hour that almost no one showed up for. I walked all the way there in the snow and it was fantastic! We had loads of fun! Her co-workers Dell and Zoran are fantastic folks! Once we were done there, we decided that dinner at Cafe Berlin seemed like a good idea and was on the way home. The food was great! The company (Anna) was the best and I have to say it was one of the best evenings I have had in a while. On the way home I snapped this picture of Stanton park at night in the snow. Beautiful. In addition I snapped this photo of a fire hydrant this morning. I am just so anxious to test out this new camera I bought. (Panasonic, Lumix TZ3) I am really pleased with this camera so far. It takes fantastic photos (Thanks in part to the Leica Lens), good quality video and is easy to use! I am finding that carrying it around with me and shooting shots of whatever I please is making taking pictures fun again! Check out the slide show to the right.

Jake of the Dead

I spent the day with Jake here at home. Jake has some sort of creeping-crud, zombie, walking death sort of thing. The doctor calls it dyshidrotic excema. Unfortunately it was irritated and then became infected by him not keeping his hands clean and of course chewing on his fingers, DUH!
So home today we were. "Tom!, are we going to do anything fun today?". This is the call of the bored child. One who because he is unable to use his hands for much, feels the helplessness we have all experienced at some point in our lives. Mind you, Jake can be a creative individual who at times comes up with the damndest ways to entertain himself. Today, however, was not one of those days. Today, I was the savior of the child's universe. The knight who comes to the rescue to fend off the evil monster of boredom.
Of course this was the perfect opportunity to pull out the big guns and introduce Jake to one of my favorite movies of all time! A movie that changed the way sports movies were made. A movie that was so monumental that it put all previous sports movies to shame!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Some may ask why I would let a 9 year old watch this film. This is the person of whom I would ask, "Are you kidding?". This is only the greatest football film of all time and should be on every parents mandatory "what films will I use to raise my children, so I don't have to." List. So, regardless of the thoughts of 1/10 of a second blurred, unrecognizable tit shots and the incessant curse words, this movie is absolutely appropriate for a child of 9. This film looks at football from a sensitive, realistic viewpoint. It shows the intricacies of high school football in the self obsessed, insular, maniacal way that only a West Texan could truly appreciate. The absolutely bloody and brutal nature of West Texas high school football comes through with blood squirting, detailed realism, and the hormone-maddened completely inappropriate stupidity of high school football parents is true to form and would make any West Texas trailer-trash proud. Needless to say, this film is now high on Jake's top-ten movies of all time list which makes me proud. You see, his blood parents don't want him to have a violent thought or to be angry or to get in the scuffles that most boys find themselves in during the painful stages of adolescence. They want him to grow up without ever seeing a violent film or playing a violent video game. Now, I may be a bit of a Neanderthal but this seems to me the quickest route to raising one of those useless people with no identity that just want to cry about the world. You know the ones, the people that wear nothing but clothes from the goodwill (because they want to, not because they have to), the ones that are always sad because the world is just so mean.
It seems to me that a child needs to understand a bit about the world. A bit about life handing you the short end of the stick most of the time, and the need to work with what you have to make the best of a situation. Some may say "but Jake is 9! He shouldn't learn about the world yet! Let him be a child!". I assert that the formative years between 8 and 14 are the years that will decide who a person will be for the rest of their life. If you make your child afraid of the world during these ages, that child will grow up to be an adult that is afraid of the world. That said, I believe further examination of this subject is a discussion for another post.

Life is Good

So Jake and I had fun. This is key for someone who came in to a child's life during the child's seventh year. We are now in his ninth year. We are friends. I am a recognized authority figure. Things seem to be as they should be. By this time next year I will be his step-dad and a permanent part of his life. We will spend a lot of time together, learning about each other and learning from each other. Though I never imagined I would be in this position, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Jake is an incredibly important part of my life.

Zombies 'R' Us

So Jake will be going back to his dad's on Sunday and back to school on Monday. The doctor says his Zombie ism is not permanent (thank god, I am tired of doing things for him that he can do himself). He will continue on his path and this past Friday will become a memory and may even fade in to obscurity for him. I however will remember our time together watching "The Greatest Sports Movie of All Time". When I am old, I will talk about it. I will enjoy the memory. And it won't fall in to obscurity for Jake because I will remind him of it, period.

Mom Walked Up a Step Today!

I am so proud of her! She will be independent before we know it!