Bad News, Good News

I got some bad news yesterday. Not bad "my life will be changed forever and I'll never quite get over it" bad, but bad enough that after arriving home alone I curled up with Batty and Nikia and allowed them to impede my movements as I played a few races on Midnight Club 3.

It turns out that due to a mistake on the part of my brother's father-in-law that their dog, Homey, got out and was hit by a car. As he was about the same size as your average squirrel, just taller, you can imagine that didn't end happily. I really liked Homey, too. Not enough to want a dog like him, too energetic, but enough that when he came to visit it was fun to play with him. That, and I have a soft-spot for small furry things. So, next time you're drinking something, pour a bit out on the curb for Homey.

In happier news, I'm quite thrilled about the Superman movie. With Singer directing, I have little doubt it'll be fun to watch. I expect it will be quite different than X-Men was, if it isn't I'll be disappointed, but...Kevin Spacey as Luthor sounds cool! And the trailers and sneak previews I've seen have proven that Singer hasn't lost his visual sense. I'll be going with my wife, mother-in-law and niece, so the nearly 3hr length has me a bit nervous about SOMEONE needing a bathroom break (which I why I don't drink during movies...I learned after The Patriot). Of course, I probably won't be seeing it until Saturday afternoon, so don't expect any real news about it from me until next week, but, by all means, feel free to see it yourself.

Oh...and the Spider-Man 3 trailer runs with it. I've seen it on Apple's trailers site, and it rocked my world. Dude. Sandman...black suit Spidey...Harry on a glider...not bad at all.

Notes from Home

Well, my mother-in-law and niece get here tonight. I'm less than thrilled that they get here on the last flight in and that I'll be driving home from Little Rock in time to get about 5 hours of sleep before getting up for work tomorrow, but it'll be good to have them here. I'm also so very tired of cleaning and once they're here, we'll no longer be preparing for them to arrive which should mean cleaning will have abated for a bit.

My air conditioner smells like the ocean. Well, sort of. You have to keep in mind that my sense of smell works with about the same accuracy rate that Stormtroopers shoot at. Anyway, the humidity in the air condensates on the coils in the A/C unit and then pools inside it until it overflows out the back. This, unfortunately, also leaves plenty of standing water from mosquitoes to breed in, along with easy access to the house...grrr...but it also creates odd smells on the outside of the unit. The one in the front smells a bit like pee. I'll take the ocean one, thanks.

My lungs are healing nicely, thanks. The chemical burns seem to not have been that serious and I expect to be able to breathe normally by the end of the week. This is altogether pleasing.

Family Stuff

So, things've been happening in the old Familia del Monkey... My brother and his wife had their second child on Wednesday. I was going to announce that then, but I was a little irritated at the time (see the previous post, located below) and I didn't want to put it as a "by the way" at the end of that mess or have it as a lead in to the anger, either. Anyway, she's cute, as baby's tend to be, and I look forward to meeting her.

Also, my mother-in-law and my niece are coming down from Potato-land for a visit...the mother-in-law's will be for less than a week, but the niece is crashing at La Casa for a couple weeks following. We'll drive her back home (and stay for a couple weeks there) afterwards, which'll give Andria some quality time with her niece, which she hasn't had since she started college in 2002.

Of course, since we're busy people (ok, she's busy...homework and all...and I'm lazy) our cleaning has gotten a bit behind and we've had to make up for it the last little bit. Last night, I cleaned the bathroom. Obviously, fumes from harsh cleaning chemicals are not good for pregnant women and their babies, so there was no arguing that it was up to me.

I did not go to the hospital for the chemical burns I have in my lungs thanks to the fact that the air in my bathroom refuses to circulate. It remains to be seen if that was a prudent choice on my part.

Also, it seems the build-up of chlorine and bleach has made my tears caustic, as they continue to burn my eyes.

Shoot the Mailman

That's what I feel like doing right now.

Of course, I'm stopped by the fact that I 1) haven't got a gun and 2) never see the guy anyway, since I'm at work when he makes his passes. Truth is, it probably isn't even his fault. I mean, in the myriad of hands mail passes through, there are countless possibilities of parties who could be at fault.

But no one is helping me and that makes me unpleasant to be around.

It all started back on the 2nd (or 3rd...one of those two). My wife got together some of our bills which, being bills, like to be paid, and sent them out complete with checks for the recommended amounts. One was for our electricity and the other was for my student loan.

They were never heard from again.

This is particularly frustrating. We now have a late fee on our electric bill that won't disappear even if the envelope containing the check they desire does arrived, postmarked WELL before the day it was due. Frankly, they don't care that it's not my fault. And, somehow, I doubt the US Postal service is going to cover the difference.

The student loan I am less concerned about. I'm well ahead on payments, so its not like that is a problem, but it'd still be nice if the check showed up where it belongs. That IS why we sent it out, you know? It wasn't an arbitrary action. There was a purpose.

And it was summarily thwarted by the USPS.

Screw you, too, government.

Dear Universal Studios...

I have decided to inform you that I will not be attending your movie The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, or as I've come to call it The Movie so Bad, They Couldn't Get Paul Walker Back For. I know this seems harsh but, seriously, it's not like he's in a place in his career where he can turn down many gigs. In fact, I probably won't see this movie on video either, barring the chance that someone breaks into my house, ties me down, tapes my eyelids open and forces me to watch your steaming pile. Or, perhaps, a "friend" sneaks it in on me.

This excludes O'Neal because, while he is a friend, he has crappy taste in movies (except for Star Wars) and I can tell when he's planning something retarded. Like watching Tokyo Drift.

I might see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything-A Veggie Tales Movie, but that's really only in a liklihood comparison with your aforementioned steaming pile.

I hope you don't hold this against me. I plan on getting most of my drifting action in Midnight Club 3, some of which will actually be in "Tokyo" (the Remix has a Tokyo level), but there will be no "Kid from Slingblade". Or Paul Walker.

Sincerely,

Adam "Noise Monkey" Askins

P.S. Try making more good movies. I hear it helps.

Seems To Me...

It seems to me that a biker would need to be very tough if he were going to have dolphins frolicking in the ocean mist airbrushed onto the side of his bike.

Then again, tough may not be the image he's going for...

Mark Your Calendars...

Chuck will be peeing his pants on August 29th. That is all.

Coming Soon(er or Later)...

Yeah, so that comic I've been working on...I don't know what's up with that. In the conceptual phase I was all gung-ho about it. "Yay, superheroes!" and all. Thing is, I lost steam. I realized that, while I had a concept, I didn't really know how to get from A to Z. Some of that is actually due to memory. I was counting on remembering some of the ideas I'd had from the first version of the comic I'd come up with B.K. (before Keenspace). Some of that was crap, but the backstory for Widow, especially, was some good stuff. I can still remember bits of it, but that's not enough. Plus, I think I took too long getting it actually going. I wasn't at a place in life that was conducive to starting a whole new work and I recognize that now. I AM however in that place now, I think. Only time will tell for sure, but I've already gotten the first page of a new comic mostly drawn and I plan to have it scanned and such very soon.

Don't get your hopes up, though, I don't plan on debuting it until August. Ze Cricket will get a preview, because I plan on uploading pages as I finish them, but next month is going to be busy for me (my niece, daughter of my sister-in-law, will be staying with us for a couple weeks, then we'll be in Idaho for a couple after that) and I don't want to start the project with a string of missed updates. However, this project is at the same time something new that I'm interested in and a steam-builder. I do intend to get that superhero comic going. I just need to be able to be in a place where everything is flowing in that direction, which it isn't right now. Something else caught my eye.

No, I won't be posting previews. I've only got a couple VERY rough sketches besides the first page, and I'm not letting those hit daylight. I'm kind of doing this on the fly, designing characters on the page (which I couldn't do with superheroes). I think it'll be cool. It's like nothing I've ever done before. And I plan on it being short, for me.

That means I hope I'll be done with it before my (unborn) child is in kindergarten.

Flame On!

Today's sketch is the standard Marvel Universe version of St. John "Pyro" Allerdyce. Well, actually, if it were the current version of Pyro, it'd be a decomposing corpse, but other than that, we've got Pyro here. I'm not sure exactly how many of these I've got left in the buffer, because I haven't drawn jack squat since seeing X-Meh.

I stand by that spelling.

Saying that I hated The Last Stand would be incorrect. It's like that episode of Friends where Rachel tries to make a dessert and the pages stick together, so she ends up making it part shepherd's pie and Joey's talking about how good it is. You see, while the part of my brain that recognizes things as being good and bad are tossing it over the balcony (and blaming it on a bird attack), the stupid part of my brain is thinking: "Action...good. Special effects...good. X-Men*...good." I left the theater (on my birthday, mind you...this is something I've had time to think over) feeling like I'd just had my pocket picked by George Lucas (which follows because while getting your pocket picked sucks, I would still be stoked about meeting George Lucas). After the adrenaline rush died down, though, I started remembering all the little things that were bothering me. So, I didn't get to enjoy the initial post-movie high AND I decided I'd been cheated upon reflection.

That said, I think it would be acceptable to set Brett Ratner aflame and forget this movie happened.

*I'm talking the comic book characters here.

Aging

So, I tured 28 on Sunday. Yes, I'm aware it's now Thursday. You'll take the notification when I give it to you, and you'll like it!

Anyway, I realized that when I was younger creativity was easier for me. It was easier to write songs and poems and stories and things than it is now, and that's bothersome. I did, however, manage to figure out what the two main sources for my creativity were, though. First was my sense of wonder. I can find something to be amazed about at all times. It's also easier for me to sit back and enjoy something than it is for other people. There's almost always something to take interest in, even if it's not what is supposed to be the focus. Second, however, was my youthful irritation at where I was in life. I was angry and dissatisfied and I felt like everything sucked.

This causes a problem for me. Outside of my dwindling creativity, things are good. I'm married to a woman I love more than anything. She's pregnant with our first child. I like my job. I'm not completely and utterly broke (close enough, but still...). There's just not a lot to make me angry/sad/depressed enough to be creative anymore.

That really sucks. ;)