Freedom!

(I was going to post a picture of a blue octopus tonight, to go along with yesterday's poem, but I just did something else that needs to be commemorated.)

Tonight I went online
I just got off the site
I just completed something
That makes my soul feel light

It makes me feel so happy
We're rejoicing here at home
I made my final payment
On my final student loan!

And now I feel such freedom
My smile's to my ears
I'm free! (Until my girls go off
In just a few short years!)

The Blue Octopus

There once was an octopus who
Had no idea what he should do
So this sadness, you see,
Led to crushing ennui
And he literally became blue

Work From Home Day

A little rain, a little ice
And soon the driving isn't nice

So what's the school to do today?
They give the students a delay

But my class cancelled! Ain't that swell!
My wife's school also closed as well

I had just one quick downtown meeting
Then Taco Bell for lunchtime eating

And then, with nowhere left to roam
I turned around and went back home

Ladybug

Yesterday's post was rather serious. Today I felt like going a little lighter. Here's a happy ladybug.

Poppies, revisited

(This sonnet was inspired by the picture I drew last year at this time.)

A routine test, and then a tiny spark

A fire in the cockpit quickly grew

We ask why we must go explore the dark?

While poppies represent the fallen crew

A frigid morning, but the launch went on

Till one small o-ring brought us to our knees

We wonder why more heroes now are gone?

And seven poppies shudder in the breeze

The flight seemed fine, except nobody knew

About the deadly scar from falling foam

And we debate, why venture like we do?

While seven more mark those not coming home

Yet even poppies know the reason why

To grow, life must ascend from Earth to sky

In memoriam:

Apollo 1 - January 27, 1967 - Grissom, White, Chaffee

STS-51L - Challenger - January 28, 1986 - Scobee, Smith, Onizuka, Resnik, McNair, Jarvis, McAuliffe

STS-107 - Columbia - February 1, 2003 - Husband, McCool, Brown, Chawla, Anderson, Clark, Ramon

Another Day, Another Duty

Another day, another duty
This one smelling fresh and fruity

Someone went and clogged the throne
And I deal with it, all alone

Of all the jobs and tasks I've had
Sometimes it's no fun being Dad

Nothing New To Report

Lost track of time - still working on that other thing I mentioned last week. Nothing new to report - yet...

Computing The Odds

I shouldn't pick it up
I dare not set it down
Computer problems causing me
To grumble, rant and frown

Cause sometimes all is well
With its many little parts
Then suddenly out of the blue
It chimes and then restarts

And I'd like a new one now
But I think that I'll make do
I know the brand new models come
In just a month or two

Until that time I'll try
To nurse this thing along
You'll get updates if I am right
And nothing if I'm wrong

Volcanic Alien Landscape 1

Started doodling around tonight on this alien landscape. Obviously it's not done yet, but it's almost midnight so this will have to be a work in progress. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Understanding The News

It's a sad day for all
When some flabby old ball
From a game that does not really matter
Is the headlining news
And the people all choose
To debate it and argue and chatter

Anybody can see
That they really should be
More concerned with the critical stuff
Like that girl with the face
And those things from that place
And that guy with no shirt who's so buff

But perhaps I'm obtuse
There could be an excuse
We don't know what the future will bring
And these worries of mine
Might just be a good sign
That we're caring about anything!

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Can you believe it's Squirrel Appreciation Day again already? Where has the time gone? It seems it was just a year ago when I was drawing this. This year, I'm not that inspired (or maybe I'm just lazy after a long day of sitting around doing nothing - the girls' school closed, so I took the day off as well!). Anyway, all you get this time is another limerick!

Come along all you good boys and girls
It's the day to appreciate squirrels
With their bright eyes and noses
And comical poses
And the way their big bushy tail curls

A New Avatar

Tonight I thought I'd update my avatar - the little icon that represents me on sites like deviantart. So here's the new, updated writing pangolin.

This Looks Familiar

I found this picture online tonight. Although I have no idea who this kid is, I know a kindred spirit when I see one!

Hey little kid
I know just how you feel
I've been there myself
And I've seen it for real

I, too, have a suit
(A bit tight at the seams)
But I still put it on
When I'm dreaming big dreams

About rockets and planets
And stars that just fell
The Canada Arm
And the OMS pods as well

And though I'm now old
Heed these words that I say
If we follow our dreams
Then we'll get there someday

Busy Busy

Whoops, it's almost midnight! I've been busy writing something else (can't tell you what it is yet, but if anything comes from it, you'll be the first to know) so there's nothing new here. I'll try to get something better up tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Watch Out World

Today out at the mailbox
What was there to see?
A whole world of adventure
Waiting there for me!

I've got the right to travel
To far off distant lands
Cause now my brand new passport
Is in my grubby hands!

So watch out world, I'm coming
To voyage far and wide
Eventually, but first I need
To get off my backside

(I might be here a while!)

Understanding My Muse

(Another submission to the "Understanding" poetry contest. Don't worry about the first few lines - it's all "artistic license" [ = lies] to set the dark tone that so many poems seem to have these days.)

I’m giving up on poetry

Nobody likes my stuff

My friends all moved away or died

My toilet paper’s rough

And just last week my darling wife

Demanded a divorce

I’m living in a cardboard box

My armpits smell like horse

Alas! I can’t keep writing this

I know myself much better

Who wants to wear a hair shirt when

You’ve got a comfy sweater

And why would I go wallowing

In tarpits of despair

When I could write a goofy poem

And find some joy in there

To understand my poetry

You therefore need to see

It’s not too deep, it’s not too wise

It’s simply fun for me

Pierre is There!

So here's Pierre
In case you care
He's very suave and debonaire

He might be here
Or maybe there
To find him you must be aware

Bonsoir!

Where's Pierre?

I've got a commission! Of course, I'm not getting paid for it, and it's for my wife, but a request is a request. She's asked me to come up with a character named Pierre for her school next week. She's hosting a French Week, and she's going to hide him around the school - a different place each day. Anyone who finds Pierre and stops by to tell her where he was will get a little treat. Here are some preliminary sketches. The final version will be posted when I finish him.

Peas Forgive Me

After a 14-hour, nonstop day, I can barely think straight, let alone get up off the couch and go to bed. Here's something quick and ridiculous (quickdiculous?) off the top of my head.


Peas, peas, they're sure to please
It's just too bad they make me sneeze

I ate one once, then sneezed so hard
It sailed into the neighbor's yard

And just last night a spoonful flew
Across the room into my shoe

And let's not even talk about
That time the soup erupted out

So if you tell me, "Clean your plate"
Don't hold me liable for your fate!

Reflections on the Recent Weather

I understand the varied reasons

For the changing of the seasons

Orbit eccentricity

And latitudes aren’t new to me

I know our axis tilts away

Thus shortening the sunlit day

Then from the west the fierce winds blow

And lake effects bring ice and snow

Despite all this, one thing remains

One question rattles through my brains

And it’s been asked since days of old:

Why’s it gotta be so cold?!

(Another entry into the poetry contest. I felt it was timely!)

A Day of Rest

It's been a busy weekend and I'm working on some things, but there's nothing ready to post yet. Plus I just want to read a little and settle my mind before starting another busy week tomorrow.

Working on Saturday

Had to go to work all day
And though it may not be polite
I'm tired, so I have to say
This is all you get tonight

Understanding Grandma's Gift

(My second submission to the "Understanding" poetry contest. I don't know how well I'll do - I seem to have a problem writing deep and meaningful and thoughtful poetry and come up with junk like this instead!)

I love my grandma dearly

And I’m sure that she means well

But the gifts she gives confuse me

Is she joking? I can’t tell!

My attempts at understanding

Why she chooses what she does

Make me wonder, is she planning

Or just picking stuff because?

Please consider my example

I’m a man of forty-three

And I’m six foot four and hairy

With a wife and family

And she gave me something recently

Atrocious, I’ll admit,

But she wanted me to try them on

To see how well they fit

And it’s just because I love her

That I kept my big mouth shut

And spent Christmas day in purple sweats

With “Juicy” on the butt!

Not Going Out In This!

So the wind chill is 20 below
And the air's filled with flurries and snow
But at least I'm inside
With my girls and my bride
Warm and snug in my humble chateau

It's Too Cold

When even the snowmen are grumpy and shivering, you know it's too cold!

Understanding, Take 1

Okay, here's the first poem I'm considering submitting for the "Understanding" poetry contest. Any feedback would be appreciated.

We cast our gazes upward to the sky

To galaxies and nebula aglow

Our maps of Earth-like planets strewn on high

Will help us understand how far we’ll go

We cast our gazes downward to the ground

Each isotope and fossil gets a name

The history of life in strata bound

Will help us understand from whence we came

We cast our gazes in to humankind

From DNA to Fox and NPR

Our art and music, body, soul and mind

Will help us understand just who we are

Through understanding self and earth and air

We are the universe made self-aware

Almost There

I've continued working on my first contest entry most of the evening. Although it seems most modern poetry is just free verse with no rhyme or meter, I decided to go old school with the very structured form of the Shakespearean sonnet. The first 12 lines are in pretty good shape, but I'm still trying to perfect the twist ending/final pair of lines. I'll post it here for feedback as soon as it's done before submitting it to the contest.

A Little Understanding

While working on yesterday's poem, I found out that a website I use to help find rhyming words is hosting a poetry contest. They're giving away 10 $500 prizes for poems on the theme of "Understanding". Today I've been working on ideas and my first poem but nothing's finalized yet. I'll probably have something tomorrow that I'd like constructive criticism on and if you have any other ideas under the theme of "understanding", I'd love to hear them. $500 could go a long way in the new computer fund!

Preparations Continue

Still thinking and planning
What needs to be done
Not very productive
But, boy is it fun

I don't want to write
Any gobbledegook
So I went to the library
Picked out a book

Full of tips and advice
How a guy such as me
Can become all the things
He aspires to be

So I dream and I plan
As I'm sitting right here
And eventually one thing
Becomes crystal clear

For my dreams to take flight
And soar high like the birds
I need to start writing
A whole lot of words!

Waterfalls

Still thinking and planning and getting ideas on what and how to write - so, in the meantime, here's a quick speed painting (~45 minutes) of some waterfalls.

Happy 2015!

It's a new year, and someone's ready to party!

Also with a new year comes a slight change to the direction of this blog. I started this two years ago as a way to force myself to do something creative every day. Now with over 700 drawings and poems I feel it's definitely been successful in that regard. However, at this point, I find myself wanting to do more. Specifically, this year I want to write a novel (and hopefully get it or something published). I also want to improve my drawings, so that means I'll still be doing my best to create something every day, but it might not get posted here. Small, quick, fun sketches will still be posted, but if I'm working on a bigger, more detailed picture, I might post work-in-progress pics, or I might wait until it's all done. If I'm feeling poetical, they'll probably be posted but if I'm really getting into the writing, there might not be anything here for a while. (Of course, if you're really interested, I'm sure I'll need  proofreaders or constructive criticizers or whatever you call them.)

So if this change upsets any (or both!) of my loyal readers, I apologize. But keep checking back - there plenty more random weirdness to come!