May 16: Update w/ Sherlock

The more I watch Elementary, the more I like it. Here, it airs on Thursday nights.

Hello. I’m so glad to be touching base with you again. Believe me: I’m trying to post more regularly.

Around May 2, summer came. We’ve had a few perfect days that could have been from July. Of course, Canada’s west coast isn’t a hot place; summer days are often around 22° Celsius. So it’s not so hard to reach such temperatures this early in the year.

I’ve limed the back lawn twice more, the side lawn once more. With the sudden warm, sunny weather, the weeds have taken off. My weeding tool actually broke yesterday. Strangely, just before it did, I was contemplating how many weeds I’ve taken out with it. I was imagining tens of thousands. Then it broke.

Well, my weight is up around 177. My jeans are loose, though. I don’t know what’s going on; a few months back I was around 172.

We have two lawnmowers – one that’s not powered at all, and an old 2-stroke Lawnboy. My wife prefers my using the Lawnboy because it gives a more uniform cut. It’s from 1979; it often takes quite a few pulls to start it. At the beginning of the season, it might take about 50 pulls. However, this year I had to pull the cord 200 times before it finally started. It’s not running quite right; I’ve got it apart now and need to do a couple of repairs. I’ll let you know how it goes.

The “year” 2013-2014 is definitely coming to a close. My kids played in their piano festival a couple weeks back. Their summer swimming has begun. As I understand it, the Blacklist and Elementary both finished their seasons this week. My wife has even begun her “spring” term in her courses. It’s a condensed one, naturally.

While this time of year marks the end of so many things, I find it often brings freshness as well. A different point of view might evolve in just a few weeks. It’s tempting to just let go and ride the summer wave. However, there’s much too much to do:)

My wife is not happy (of course) with this drawing of Sherlock. On inspection, I’m happy enough with it. You be the judge.

I have high hopes to be back again soon.

Wikipedia was a source for this article.

Sherlock Holmes played by Johnny Lee Miller

Hello Again: Update feat. Judit Polgar

Much has happened since my last post. For one thing, I’ve returned to chess after twenty years.

Hello! I’m so glad to talk to you again! Since last fall, you’ve never been far from my thoughts.

My longtime readers know that yard work is a perennial theme of my writings; with that I’ll start. I limed the lawn about two months ago. Moss was really taking hold, so I gave it a double dose. I think that already there’s a positive result; the grass is very green, even though some areas are a little patchy. I need to lime again, but haven’t been able to get to the hardware store yet.

A couple of weeks ago, I had occasion to help a friend make a video and post it on youTube. It was a long video – over fifteen minutes – and I had to figure out how to upload it. What I didn’t know is that some video formats upload much easier than others. Although fairly familiar with picture formats, I wasn’t familiar with video ones. Pulling an all-nighter, I got schooled. I’ll probably start making some youTube videos of my own soon; stay tuned!

I still fit in my 31″ skinnies, but my weight has ballooned up to the high 170s. I can’t explain it, but there it is. I’ve had a cold for a few days, so I missed Friday’s workout. However, last Wednesday I returned to skipping, not having done it since last fall. I was a bit worried my calves would be atrophied, but happily it went well:)

Cautiously, I’ve started cooking. My wife is busier than ever, while of course I stay at home almost always. The feared “What are we going to do for dinner?” has been mainly deflected. Either my wife and I cook something over the weeked – a roast, for instance – that will be good for dinners and lunches for a few weekdays, or else I make something during the day that my wife can reheat later that afternoon. These are not fancy dinners; often I’ll boil up some sausages, then fry them and cook some rice alongside. One time I made mac and cheese (not from a box, as everyone immediately asks!), which turned out fantastic. However, I haven’t made it again, since my younger son doesn’t like mac and cheese:(

To chess: I started playing back in early October. I play with my son or the computer. At first, I was no good at all. I’ve had lots of failures, but some nice wins, too.

Part of returning to chess has been learning the characters involved. For instance, I’ve watched lots of videos on youTube – mainly from Killegar Chess or Mato Jelic. From those playlists I’ve learned about famous chess players and watched their games move by move.

Judit Polgar is one such player. She is a Hungarian grandmaster, born back in ’76 (Wikipedia). Judith has an aggressive, unpredictable style, characterized by early sacrifices and quick victories. See my drawing of her below.

I’ll have much more to say about chess and life soon. Cheers:)

November 12: Update w/ Captain Haddock

Today, a drawing from Paul from years ago, as well as an update on yard work, etc.

I’m torn about this time of year. My immediate thought is that I love it; on the other hand, the long periods without sun can plunge me into depression. However, with the onset of the Christmas season, plus the warm fire on cold dark nights, late fall comes in a winner. It might be my favourite time of year, all in all.

Late fall is a fun time to do yard work, although you can’t do it every day. Today, though, it’s 11°C, with a sprinkle now and then. I gathered some more leaves, put out compost, and took down our hanging baskets. They still have blooming flowers, but my wife wanted me to take them down because they look “scraggly.” By the way: we still have fresh flowers on our outdoor fuchsias.

Any university student knows how much work November demands. It’s a time of transformation; by the end of it, the student realizes he/she has been changed by the courses.

For the non-students, November might well be a time of reflection. After all, the business of Christmas can entirely consume December, when you consider the decorating, the parties, and the shopping. For many, November offers the last chance to reflect on the year before it’s gone.

Whatever your feelings about November, we’re in it now:) Thanks for stopping by. I leave you with this drawing by Paul, which he made I don’t remember when. It’s of Captain Haddock, from the Tin Tin series.

Captain Haddock from Tin Tin

Leaf Capture feat. Martha Stewart

For me, yard work is prominent now. When I think of it, I think of Martha….

On the west coast, we’re not known for leaf trees; rather, our needle trees are famous. However, in populated areas, ornamental deciduous trees are common. An oak that doesn’t naturally grow here stands in front of my house and another one on each side. There are maples as well…they might be native.

The point is that leaves from trees make excellent compost. I have care of our grounds, which I do the natural way; I don’t use any fertilizer or weed killer. All the help my lawn gets is compost, physical weed pulling, and the occasional dose of lime.

Leaves fall and cover the yard, but they soon blow away. This year I’ve developed a new term: leaf capture. It describes the percent of leaves I’ve claimed from those landing on my yard.

Some years I’ve been busy; regrettably, my leaf capture was likely quite low. This year, however, I’d estimate it at about 30%, which I think is pretty high. After all, we live on a busy street, toward which the strongest winds blow. Moreover, the leaf trees are right beside it.

I’ve emptied the compost of ready soil, then filled it with leaves. I have more leaves waiting in a receptacle when room develops. Next spring should be very exciting for the lawn.

Developing a sustainable lawn takes time, but is very rewarding. A gardener learns to enjoy waiting and looking ahead, even to distant eventualities.

Here’s Martha. I continue to be a fan.

Martha Stewart

Nov 1: Ender’s Game

We enter November with a new movie offering: Ender’s Game. The book, by Orson Scott Card, has been on the suggested reading list of the US Marine Corps.

Halloween went well. The house looked good, with eight jack-o-lanterns, some cotton spider’s web, and other assorted decs. We tried glow sticks in two of the jack-o-lanterns, which worked out well. I met about forty-five trick-or-treaters in front of the house, which is a pretty good turnout for our neighbourhood.

My wife fixed up our kids’ costumes: they looked awesome. She took them to a different neighbourhood, where the houses are closer together and there are more kids. They pulled in quite a haul.

Halloween is my favourite holiday. It symbolizes the change of season and the presence of an unseen world that, nonetheless, affects the one we know. I love the artistry and imagination of Halloween.

I find Halloween a dividing point in the year. After it, we enter the rainy season – witness today. Mist hangs in the trees, the temp hovering between 5 and 8, with no sun for days at a time. My younger son loves the rain; winter is his favourite season. By the way: no other part of Canada has weather like this except the west coast.

To Ender’s Game: I know my wife will see it. I never watch movies; I just hear about them. I’ve read a bit about this one. It sounds like an echo of the Cold War era – preparation against invasion.

As someone who grew up in a Cold War military family, on or near military bases, I don’t miss that era, nor do I see it returning. Luckily, the world seems to have adopted a new way of thinking.

In everyday life, though, people strategize to gain advantage in their relationships. People with talent – like Ender has – can realize tremendous success. However, the really powerful people usually end up matching their skills against others similar.

Whether or not you’re going out to see Ender’s Game, have a great night. Let me know how you liked it:)

Here’s Ender Wiggin.

Ender Wiggin

Wikipedia and IMDb were sources for this article.

Paul’s Halloween Drawing

My older son, Paul, has always been artistic. Luckily, he’s interested in drawing – sometimes.

From age two, Paul’s shown he’s a natural artist. We were carving pumpkins, so we gave him a marker to draw a face on one. He did so in about 90 seconds, then handed back the marker. The curves he’d marked on the pumpkin looked like nothing to me.

“Paul, are you sure you’re happy with that?”

Even at two, Paul didn’t doubt himself; he nodded his head. His answer was final.

I carved Paul’s pumpkin, then my wife put a candle in it. We put it in a dark room.

Paul’s jack-o-lantern came to life. With the light coming through, we realized that he’d drawn a face on an angle. We hadn’t been able to discern the effect on the surface of the pumpkin, but with the candle shining through, we couldn’t miss it. It’s not an effect I would be confident to try for.

I’m not talented; Paul is. I always wonder where he’ll go with art. Since the summer, he’s been drawing, now and then.

Details and that “finished look” are very important to Paul. His mother is the same, while I’m so opposite.

Here’s a female vampire Paul drew last week. Happy Halloween:)

Halloween Female Vampire Drawing

A drawing from James

My younger son started drawing last summer.

I used to think that all kids draw. My younger son, however, never seemed to want to. Last summer I asked him why; he told me that he was never happy with his drawings. He lacked faith he could produce anything he would like.

I’m no great artist, but I would say I’m pretty good. Moreover, I’m self-taught (starting about three and a half years ago) and not very talented. A person who lacks talent, yet learned on their own, is usually well-suited to explain a skill to others.

Like people usually do, James was making the mistake of outlining the subject first. Experience has taught me that’s exactly what not to do. People don’t recognize faces by the outline, but rather by the features. “Focus on what’s light and what’s dark,” I told him, “and what draws your eye when you look at it.”

James immediately started drawing with a whole new attitude. I thought he did pretty well. I’ll show you that drawing some other time; today I’m showing you a more recent one that he really wanted me to put “on the computer.”

By the way: James has his own computer at school, and probably rivals my competence at some day-to-day uses. Of course, he has a Mac.

Well, James, here’s Santa’s Buddy, for all to see:)

The Blacklist, Part II

Does another world exist around us, inhabited by people whose most potent resource is secret knowledge?

The Blacklist, echoing the X-files psyche, suggests that secret people are powerful players in government and big business. Many of them live only by crime, but hide in the impenetrable depths of the very institutions we are supposed to trust.

Unlike ordinary criminals, the motives of the secret people are difficult to understand. Rather than money or comfort, they apparently seek power and prestige. For people who must forever live in the shadows, such goals seem ironic.

In The Blacklist, James Spader plays Raymond Reddington – just such a secret power player. His objectives are mysterious, but he seems occupied with using the FBI to neutralize other power players. One wonders if he is doing so to thin out his competition.

See my second drawing, below, of Reddington. This time I put in more detail, in the tradition of my earlier drawings.

Talk to you soon. Happy Halloween:)

James Spader as Raymond Reddington, Blacklist

Oct. 24: one week until Halloween, feat. Bela Lugosi

Bela Lugosi was an American actor born in Hungary. He played Count Dracula in the first such film in 1931.

I’ve seen “White Zombie” and a few of Lugosi’s other films. I’ve never seen his portrayal of Count Dracula. Around Halloween, I always think of him, since he played a lot of horror roles. See my drawing of him – done over a year ago, I’d say – at the end of this post.

The time before Halloween, yard work is also bound to come to mind. There is leaf raking, dead heading, and general clean-up before winter. Today I was out there for longer than planned, raking up oak leaves and picking up sticks and cones blown from the Douglas fir. Around here, a yard needs to be combed of debris at least a couple of times per year.

The oak leaves are a great catch. I raked them from my own yard, but also from the sidewalk and road. Oak leaves are very high in nutrients; they’re great for composting. My lawn will be very happy come springtime. The oak tree has lost about half so far, so I’ll probably bring in another haul about as big within the next couple of weeks.

Last night we hit zero. Today is warm and bright, with a high of 14. I take such opportunities to get sunshine, since we can go weeks without it in winter.

Hope to talk to you again soon:)

Wikipedia was a source for this article.

Bela Lugosi

Update w/Bette Davis

Bette Davis (1908-1989) is an iconic American actress from last century.

I found out about Bette Davis from Kim Carnes’ song “Bette Davis Eyes” back in the early ’80s. I have never seen a Bette Davis movie, although I’ve seen clips here and there. Davis had intense presence and was very sexy. See my drawing of her at the end of this post.

Here, the weather’s turned foggy. Everything is wet in the morning. Sometimes the fog rolls in after school; I haven’t seen such weather since living in Newfoundland. This morning, the sky above is bright as the sun struggles to break through.

There is yard work I must do, but day to day action has kept me from it so far. There are courses to work on and of course spending time with the children. We play a lot of games together: Careers, for instance, as well as Mille Bornes, Rummy-O and others. The kids don’t enjoy them as much as my wife and I do, but I think they’re important anyway.

We haven’t got our pumpkins yet, but we need to: Halloween is just over a week away. People ask me if I’m going to dress up, but I don’t plan to. However, I always give out candy to the trick-or-treaters while my wife takes our kids around. We haven’t even bought the treats yet, but we’d better do it soon.

Our reno is taking a break right now. The place is liveable, anyway, and looks much better than when we started.

Talk to you again soon. Cheers.

Wikipedia was a source for this article.

Bette Davis