I need some movie titles.  I go into the video shop and I can't really think of anything I want to see. For the most part, if it is a new release, I probably already saw it in the movie theater.   What I am looking for is backlist!  Something that is probably over a year old.  Older than that is okay, too.  It just has to be good.    Genres I like: sci-fi action fantasy comedy (not stupid stuff like American Pie and not Woody Allen-- I h...

I recently wrote an article titled, "Self-Learning is Hard".  I am still doing on-line tutorials.  I just finished one about Adobe Illustrator for web and now I'm working on Photoshop for Web.  I am learning a lot.  I just upgraded from Photoshop Elements to CS3 and it's a huge leap.  I was not too bad with Elements but I'm really learning a lot now.  I'm also getting to the point where I don't have to repeat things as much because there is some repetition.  Al...

I've been doing a lot of on-line tutorials about how to make a website on Dreamweaver and using Illustrator.  I'm really enjoying the process.  I'm so excited that I'm going to be able to start producing some of the ideas that have been kicking around in my head for a long time. I'm spending so much time trying to get the hang of this stuff that my butt hurts from sitting in the chair.  My legs fall alseep and if I try to walk I fall in a tangled puddle of useless muscle. On...

I finally saw The Mist on Saturday night.  I know, I know.  It's been out forever already.  It's not been out so long in Tokyo. It was actually out in theaters last time I was in Canada (January) but I didn't go see it then. I had read the short story by Stephen King.  I could never decide if I liked it.  I thought the idea of the military opening a hole and bug stuff coming through from other dimensions was a pretty interesting idea.  What I never liked about ...

I finally have pictures of the container garden I started.  There's still dirt everywhere.  I sweep and sweep and there's still more dirt.  Blech.  Well, it makes me at least wish the balcony tiles weren't so lightly colored.    I've clipped a few sprigs of lavender already and I've used some of the basil on some nice tomatoes.                       I like this view a ...

I finally have pictures of the container garden I started.  There's still dirt everywhere.  I sweep and sweep and there's still more dirt.  Blech.  Well, it makes me at least wish the balcony tiles weren't so lightly colored.    I've clipped a few sprigs of lavender already and I've used some of the basil on some nice tomatoes.                       I like this view a ...

I've been trying to load an avatar for weeks.  First I couldn't get a file small enough (but good way to learn new things), then nothing would load from the dashboard (stupid safari?) and then when I went to my account from the forums, success!  mebbe.   I made it super small so it may show up funny.

When this event happened, my puppy was actually a full grown dog.  Sadly, she's long since passed away. This dog was a femaie Sheltie named Boots. She was a fairly interesting animal.  She'd originally been picked up by another family but returned when she didn't clear a vet check that discovered she had a heart murmur--probably a hole in her heart.  As the breeder knew we were looking for a dog, she called my family and asked if we'd be willing to take her on and give her a...

We moved into a house last September.  It's been great.  I love my house. One of the benefits of this place is that it has a fairly large balcony.  Maybe 1.5mx3.5m.  I'm estimating.  It's enough room that we can fit a small table and two chairs and have a comfortable time having breakfast or coffee outdoors.  It's right off our kitchen/living room so it's great.   Ever since we moved in we toyed with the idea of growing some plants in containers.  My...

We moved into a house last September.  It's been great.  I love my house. One of the benefits of this place is that it has a fairly large balcony.  Maybe 1.5mx3.5m.  I'm estimating.  It's enough room that we can fit a small table and two chairs and have a comfortable time having breakfast or coffee outdoors.  It's right off our kitchen/living room so it's great.   Ever since we moved in we toyed with the idea of growing some plants in containers.  My...

There has been a temporary 30 yen (roughly 25 cents)/liter consumption tax on gas in Japan for the last thirty years.  Don't you love the loose application of temporary?  But such a loose interpretation will not lose and election for your.  Having the public find out that the majority of that tax which is supposed to be used for road improvement has mainly been used for massage chairs, tennis courts, unbelievably stupid graft projects like plays or paper projects to promote useles...

April 27 was International Pinhole Day.  Note that I wrote Pin HOLE not Pin HEAD (I read somewhere that Pinhead Day is the 29th).  How many of you got your pinhole cameras out?  I missed it, but better late than never.  A great example of pinhole can be seen here.  It's a flickr group for pinhole that really inspires me to try it.  This person has beautiful work.   I've been interested in Pinhole photography for a while.  I've seen some amazing wo...

As I sat at the table of the bed and breakfast trying toingest the incondite tonic prepared by my host, a pilgaric with a face ofchimeric proportions, a terrible thunder whose verberations threatened to rivethe establishment   asunder diminished into the sound of scree scrabbling down the rooftop.   Curious as to the sound's emanation, Ipicked up my cup and peered out the fulinginous window while sipping theinfernal draught.   The tonicquickly erupted from my nasal cavity...