Things have happened, and Jo has drawn, but she refuses to say more until tomorrow because she is tired. Satiate yourselves with doodles of bipedal dogs and cats with thumbs and fingers.
Nothing happened really. But it could have been so different. I pedaled onward to the bank and took a pit stop. I stood there in the restroom looking at my hands as the soap washed over them and thought about how if I had not stopped - if I had only trusted the "walk" light and continued across the road - if I had believed that the red light would make all vehicles stop - I would not be looking at my pale long fingers, whole and clean like this. I would not be walking around, humming. I would not see myself in the mirror unharmed. Heck I could have been dead if I had not squeezed that break when I did. I could be dead. I'm at the mercy of lunatics.
*sigh*
I'm glad I can walk. I'm very happy that my hands are not broken and bloody because I use them a lot. I'm extremely relieved that I didn't have to go to a hospital without health insurance. I'm glad that I didn't rely on the supposition that all people follow the rules.
Jeanie has moved to a new apartment. I do miss her and I miss seeing Jasper when I come home out on his leash on the grass. Orange on green. The poor guy was shaved the day he moved. Then he discovered another cat in the mirror at the new place and freaked out. Poor devil.
Pretty much all that's going on for Jo is work work work.
Oh yeah, and I got to see X-men II which was good although things happened rather quickly and there wasn't as much character focus as the first (which is my cup of tea). Unfortunately I lost my wallet at the theater and am having an awful time without any ID's. I didn't lose any money, but it's hard to get money from the bank without any identification. I wish someone would have just turned it in. I mean - there wasn't any money and I canceled my check card. Why wouldn't they give it back? Why are there so many dishonest people?
I hope I can still get that new studio I was looking at. We shall see. Maybe I will secure a new ID (somehow) in time. One month and I'm booted from this hole. That's alright with me, but I hope I can find a good job in Tempe.
A man at work told me that in order to go places with my art, I should go to college and not try for any degree, but make connections with those who are already in the business. He said that knowing people who are already there is the best way to make it there (because they will help you get in). I think I'm going to finish college because I should and it would be good to have a degree, and I will work more on finding other artists. Maybe I can get into comics. That'd be really fun. Especially if I can make my own story lines like Hiroaki Samura. I just received his latest book in the mail and just about wept over it. He's such a great artist and writer. Just an all around superb story-teller. And that's what I want to be.
So Jo is still ID-less, though she did get her new check card finally. Now she has only to cash her checks and find her birth certificate (if she does indeed have it). This morning she found she didn't have a ride to church, but she had promised to help out with the two-year-olds so she decided to take the bus. Yet again, a fifteen minute drive took TWO hours. She was pacing, her mind dulling like a black prisma color.
Jo hiked about five blocks and got to church just in time to watch the two-year-olds - which was actually pretty fun. Perhaps she likes kids. But she hopes that if she ever has one that he'll be a good kid and not one of those that shoves others around and dumps sand on their heads.
After church, Bradley gave Jo a ride home after they talked to several people (including a self-published writer), and Jo got to do her devotions with Fett while she made tea and cooked a bloody burger. She didn't get to hear any Fellowship of the Ring unfortunately, but maybe there will be time this week yet for over-the-phone book-reading.
Jo met Tari online and she reminded her of the old X-men home video movie thing she, Jo and seven other people got together and made. That was rather unforgettable and fun. Gives her the chuckles just thinking about it. Hee hee hee. She can still quote some of her favorite lines:
"Happy Birthday Wolverine!" and
"Rawwwwwww!"
ha ha ha ha ha ha.
She drew her jaguarundi assassin tonight. Jo seems rather fond of the fellow. Not sure why.
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Murderer! You shall PAY for what you've done!!!
Did I mention that Jo is an aunt? Indeed! Isn't he tiny? What a sweet little rascal.
Jo has finally found the opportunity to get to school and push all the necessary paperwork through. She rode the bus for hours and worked on a card for Mom (tsk tsk, Queen of Procrastination!) and then started another picture that she still hasn't finished. Lots of fur to be done.
She ran into several friends at school and even one on the road outside of the school who invited her to go paintballing Saturday. Jo has never been paintballing, but has always wanted to. Only two things keep her from accepting the offer right away. 1. It will cost her a lot of money. 2. She works and will have to ask for the day off and isn't sure she can do that. Also she will have to bum a ride, but heck, so will Daniel, so that's not such a big deal.
It would be nice for her to get into practice for paintball in June with Fett, but she may just chicken out.
Thursday night is Matrix night with the college church group (OH yeah!) and Jo is in dire need of a birth certificate, for it seems she does not have one here in Arizona, though Mom insists that she has it. Mom must not know what she is talking about because Jo doesn't lose important things...
*glances at a month's worth of paychecks she found hidden in a stack of papers*
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A true artist of both pen and pencil!
Well I went and saw Reloaded last night and it was a grand fun time. First we went to the Coffee Plantation across the street and I sketched some people, ate most of a rich chocolate muffin, and watched the solar eclipse.
When it was time we went to the theater and stood in line to get good seats. While everyone else stood there doing nothing, I joined a hacky sack circle made up of four guys who were positive strangers to me. They were happy for me to join them, however, and I was glad to see that I've not lost any of my L33T hackysack skilz (what little I may have had). I usually hit it though I can only use one leg effectively and only kick it a certain way. Oh well.
The Matrix rocked to say the least, and I want to see it again very much so I can review all the nifty action scenes again and try to understand what the old guy in the end said. I think the movie would have been postively monumental had it not been infected by a certain poor actor. Kiano Reeves just doesn't move me, I'm sorry. He's supposed to be sad and he looks angry. He's supposed to be caring and compassionate and he looks aloof and pouty. I think if they had any other actor playing Neo (Okay maybe not Costner) it would have reached me at a much deeper level and I would have held my breath more. Yes, I did hold my breath a little - especially during the freeway battle - HuZZah! That segment was absolutely spectacular.
I also noticed that there are a lot of close-up shots of people's faces, showing every imperfect human detail (i.e. the space between Morpheus' teeth, the slobber between Neo and Trinity's kiss, the interesting way Link's top lip comes to a sort of point). I like it because it really emphasizes their humanity. They all have their little characteristics and they are not perfect models. The camera did not shy away from the normalicy of the human being, it embraced it. Most movies seem to disguise any flaws and keep the camera at a certain distance to hide the fact that their actors are humans who are not perfect and smooth in every way. They are believable in that way. I see people like them every day.
After a bit of an escapade with losing track of my ride, I leapt down the escalator and was driven home at 1:30 a.m.
I slept like a rock and woke up later in the morning today feeling very comfy and glad to be rested. I was sleepy the rest of the day still - not as energetic as usual, but it was still a good day. I remembered Eric had been running low on gasoline one of the last Fridays he drove me home, and so I asked him today, "Do you have gas?" and he nodded in his usual solemn way. Then I broke into a grin and said, "I meant in your car." And then broke into laughter and he couldn't help but smile. We joked a little more about it and then fell back into cleaning and sweeping again. It's fun to get the Shadow to grin.
Near the end of work my stomach was roaring something fierce because when I had my 15 minute break at 1:00 I'd not been hungry. Paul ordered a pizza for us in celebration of the end of his finals and the last weekday he had to work from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was good.
Finally I was home and I found Fett and had a nice long chat with him (a pleasant relief). I scanned my sketches of the coffee shop band members and they turned out all weird and skewed. I think my scanner is going to be kaput soon which is bad news all around. I hope it straightens up and acts good until I'm moved into my new apartment and can afford a new one (and a printer too). I may have to resort to cheap looking comics drawn with my mouse in Paint. Let's hope the scanner starts working right again.
-Jo
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Niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin.
Just what am I drinking here?
So I went to church and it was nice to see Sammi and Jess again. We went out to a Mongolian barbecue and I was displeased with the rules. There was a large bowl for $6.50, a small for $6, and a kid's for like...$4 or something, but then they said you have to be under the age of SIX to get a kids bowl and you are NOT allowed to share. So I blew 60% of this week's food money on a stupid small bowl, and then they charged me 50 cents for a dumb to-go box! What a rip-off. I like the one in Montana better. They also make it more of an art. Here is a description I wrote of the good one in Montana:
Steam pours off a giant table-size grill in the center of the restaurant as two cooks in green shirts and aprons slough bubbling oil from the surface into the surrounding grease trap. A sweet and sour scent fills the air. Soon the grill is a spotless shiny black circle. One snatches up a bowl and goes through the long salad bar, filling their bowl with red onions, green peppers, shredded cabbage, carrots, noodles, beef, pork, baby corn, bamboo shoots, sprouts, and whatever else their heart so desires. When finished, the bowl is heaping – nearly the size of a human head. It is then passed to one of the cooks who dumps it on the round table grill with a sizzle. The cook snatches up a bottle of teriyaki sauce and sprays a stream across the mixture with a hiss. Then he takes his long sword-like spatula and begins to move it around the grill expertly. He moves around it like a clock - scrape, turn, scrape, sizzle, heat waves distorting the air around it. Then, when it is perfectly browned, he grabs up the empty bowl and lets the steaming mixture cascade off the edge right into it. Mmmm.
It did taste good, and I did also get soup and a drink, so I guess it worked out to about a $3.25 meal which I guess isn't bad for take-out.
On the way home we drove past a man who had a sign that read, "I am not a bum. I lost my apartment, job, and car and need help getting back home to Florida" Jess said something about how he shouldn't have come all the way out here in the first place, and then that he should find a job here. I sat at home afterwards wondering if he was telling the truth and whether one can obtain a job without a phone number or address. If I weren't all by myself, I might have brought him water or something and had someone else talk to him about his situation and solutions. Mmm, guess I can only pray for the guy whether he's telling the truth or not.
At home I bummed around on the computer and ate chocolate pudding. I also finished this picture and let my dirty dishes sit. I also let my packing boxes sit there, waiting to be packed. The weekend really should be a time of rest.
I guess I will phone the MVD or DMV (whatever the heck it's called) tomorrow and figure out if I can get a state ID. Wish me luck. I have my plane tickets for June so I will have to have a valid photo ID to claim them.
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Who is Shakira?
My sister's birthday was yesterday. She is four years older than me. Ha. And she always will be (unless I die) (or if she dies). This week is my MOVING week. That's right. I'm packing up everything I own and transporting it to a new (temporary) base of operations. That's right. I'm even going to be unplugging my baby from the wall and storing Mr. Dell at Bing's house until I get my new apartment in July. So HotD might not get any comic up for some time. Unless someone at Bing's house has a scanner (which I doubt). But if they let me use one of their computers I will try to update. Lots of goings on in June I tell ya. Meeting all sorts of people I haven't seen in months/years/ever. It should prove exciting and thrilling. I'm particularly looking forward to just hanging out and having fun without worrying over bills and rent and such things.
Today I worked (as usual) and then came home and called my sister to wish her a happy birthday (it was technically yesterday) and then Jake to see how he's doing. He and Pete could quite possibly come down to see Meesh at the same time I'm there. If he can work it out. We'll see. I do hope so.
I really haven't been keeping up with the comic very well. I mean, I used to do it EVERY day and now one crops up maybe once a month if you're lucky. I am truly sorry. I don't want to lose my touch. Maybe I can start up again some time...when I have my new apartment and things are working and I have a job, etc... Until then you will have to make due with doodles like these. Maybe I'll put up unpublished comics sometime. I have a few of those believe it or not. Some that were only penciled but not inked, or scripted and not penciled. Or both scripted, penciled, inked, and colored, but hidden from the public eye (bwa ha ha). Jo has changed so much since she came to Arizona. I will have to start a new segment of Highlight of the Day when I get into my new place and get things running. Sort of a celebratory new beginning. Even now it all needs to be updated. The characters and their status. Jo has no bangs and has started wearing contacts now and Fett is no longer The Annoyed Cockroach. Jeanie has moved away and Sammi and Jess need a proper introduction.
It's all on my to-do list. But my FAFSA comes first as do bills, a job, moving, and most things obligatory.
Oh. Sorry I'm being boring.
Spoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!!!
Here's a thought I scribbled out on a napkin at the coffee shop the other day:
A good movie HAS to have good music. Strong music. The soundtrack should be just as powerful and affecting as the story itself. It should be the blood that runs through the body of the film and gives it life. Music cannot merely be random background tunes. It has to be carefully selected and woven into the story itself. I think of Star Wars, The Neverending Story, Romeo & Juliet, and Braveheart. I recall Last of the Mohicans and Edward Scissorhands - what would 2001: A Space Odyssey be without its stunning orchestration?
As a matter of fact - I would venture to say that music is the emotion in a movie (for the most part). All the audience can experience in a movie is visual and audio. If your soundtrack stinks like moldy dead fish, that's 50% of your movie wasted down the sewage drain. A movie is a work of art and as such, you should incorporate all your tools and not leave the job half done. The right tune needs to be searched out to fit each scene. If it is a sad scene, a piece should be found that could almost make you cry on its own. If it's thrilling, a song that naturally gets your heart rate up should be incorporated. For the villain the music has to fit his personality whether that's cold and creepy or violent and cruel.
If one is to view a movie that has any depth beyond slapstick and fighting, it has to have GREAT sound.
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Agree? Disagree? Email!
Man. All I did was work all day. It wasn't very exciting, but it'll be my last night working at Cousins (at least for a month).
Hottest day of the year so far today in AZ. 109 degrees. They say it'll only get hotter and since I was here this time last year, I do believe it. I guess I should be celebrating one year of survival!
67% Murder increase in Phoenix. Wheeeee. I just love the city.
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If you have a pool, put a fence around it.
Please.
