Sicky

I am a sicky again :( Presently, I am trying to retrace my steps as to how I got this terrible sore throat. On Tuesday, I spent the entire afternoon with a very adorable kid. We played PSII, went swimming, ate at McDonald's, then played more PSII. The next morning, I woke up with crazy runny nose but felt ok when I went to work. That afternoon, we celebrated HappyOblivion's b-day. When I went home, I felt so tired I went to sleep. That's when I knew something was wrong. The next morning, I got a tiny sore throat so I drowned myself with liters after liters of water. That night, I passed out because the sore throat got worse and I had to take Tylenol to relieve the pain and the fever. It is Sunday already and I still have a sore throat but no fever. So, what is wrong with me??? I am going to CA tomorrow and I need to get better!!! Oh and there is this white spot in the back of my throat. I thought it might be strep so I got some penicillin just in case I don't get better by tomorrow. Many people called me during the past few days. I am so sorry if I missed your call because I didn't feel like talking...it hurts :(

Comic of the Month

It is time for comic of the month again! HappyOblivion sent me this comic and I vote this to be the best comic for the month of July. Let me know if you think otherwise and have a runner up.

Chips

Today I got a call from my program offering me the TA position and guess what? I accepted it! Full tuition paid PLUS stipend. Itsn't that great! AND...I thought I couldn't get my classes because the timings didn't work out BUT the faculty changed the times today so I can take all three courses of my choice! Today is such a perfect and wonderful day and I was so happi so I thought about chips...hee hee.

Favorite #1:
Barbara's Natural Cheese Puffs
I first tried this at Maui on the way back from Hana. Awww, this was so delicious and so cheesy. And I am not talking about the Cheetos kind of cheese. It really taste like natural cheese! It was crunchy, cheesy flaky, and super ono. I think only Foodland on Oahu sells this kind of chips.

Favorite #2:
Wasabi Funyuns
Everyone loves a bag of Funyuns. I am not a big fan of wasabi but for some odd reason, I just can't stop myself from munching on these wasabi-flavored funyuns. If you are sick of the regular BBQ and cheesey flavors, try this because it will give you the kick.

Favorite #3:
Cheetos
Who doesn't love the famous tiger and his "DANGEROUSLY CHEESY" Cheetos! You know what's the best part? Licking your fingers after you have been continuously poping these guys in your mouth for a hour or so.

Honorable mention:
Terra Chips - veggie potato chips for a low fat low cholesterol salty crunchy snack.
Quaker Quakes - taste much healthier than my favorites above.
Stacy's Soy Thin Crisps - tastes like Quaker Quakes but much less variety and less fat!

Teacher's Aid

I have been offered (or so I think) a TA position today and I don't know what to do...oh dilemma, crisis, confusion, frustration, absent-minded. I would love to give it a try but there is always that fear of public rejection, own stupidity, and total nerviousness. Now I really have to know my stuff because I have to teach it! The TA benefits are great and workload is great also. I am sure it will be a challenge but the uncertainty is killing me. Does anyone know what exactly a TA does? What does it take to be a TA? A genius? Oh gosh, I rather get stuck on Jumble than making this decision. Help...

Movie Review: Batman Begins

So, what movie did I see after War of the Worlds? Batman Begins! A good movie but not great, at least better than the stupid machines. Oh and this movie has a better looking guy - Christian Bale is CUTE! I mean, not checking out guys... Katie Holmes was too goodie goodie and she didn't do much acting so let's forget about her. I mean, all she did was argue and faint. Overall, this movie gave me the answer of how and why Bruce Wane became batman so I am satisfied. Graphics were good, a little scary especially the parts with crane and the hallucinations. I give this movie a C+.

Movie Review: War of the Worlds

Bad bad bad movie! I was so mad after the movie I went to see another one just to get my money's worth. No plot, overly modernized, and stupid dumb looking machines. Tries too hard to depict that humans are not on the top of the food chain but ends up throwing the theme away and created a horror movie that wasn't even scary. There was no acting involved, just people running away from machines that were not even real...so basically people were just running. A total waste of time. I give this movie an F.

To Draw

For all artists or those who just like to doodle, a must read by Danny Gregory.
His daily journal at http://www.dannygregory.com/weblog/
I really enjoyed this particular post by Danny Gregory because it changed my perspective in drawing. I have always tried to draw what things should look like and not what I see. Now I know...the difference is amazingly beautiful. Danny's drawings are unique and personal as you will see in his blog. Enjoy!

Slow=Know

Dear H______:
Think less. Draw more.
When you draw a thing, see it just as that. Not a head, not perspective, not crosshatching, just pure observation as if you've never seen it before. The more preconceptions you bring to the drawing, the shittier it will be. Clear your mind, and start drawing what you see. Start anywhere. I tend to start in the upper left hand corner because I am right handed. I move across observing, recording, until I get to the lower left hand corner. Then I am done.
If my subject is sufficiently complex, this will take me a half hour or more. I go as slowly as I can stand to go. But I don't know how long it is usually; my left-brain has no sense of time.
As I draw, I avoid evaluation. I avoid thinking of the purpose of the drawing. I avoid commenting on what I am drawing, even in the quality of the line. I am empty and the drawing fills me up. Drawing is meditation, not production. Drawing is entirely in the present with no attempt to create context.
Do not think about style. Add shadows as you see them. But better to avoid shadows all together and stay engaged with the contours of things. When you have done that for months, even years, then add shadows and crosshatching (My pal, d.price has been drawing for a dozen years. Only on his trip to New York last week did he decide to start concentrating on the effects of light. He still almost never uses color). For now, none of that is important. What matters is to see deeply and let your hand respond.
And if you start at huge length before you draw, you risk becoming bored, or forming mental notes, theories, ideas about what you are seeing. The reason to let your hand and pen take over is to shut the hell up, silence the internal voice, the endless chattering of the mind, the distractions, the pointless pontificating that insists on meaning for the meaningless. The moment does not need meaning or context. It just is.
Drawing is about reaching for pure being. Not making pretty pictures to put in frames and on websites. The world doesn't need more pictures. It needs peace and connection. It needs people who can accept reality and don't feel compelled to control their environments. If you can look at a boot, at a rotting apple, at car's worn tire, at an old man's foot, and see it for what it is, without value or judgement, can see the beauty and particularity of the thing, you will find peace. You will avoid being covetous. You will be happy with what you have. You will accept others more readily, will see the sunshine on a cloudy day.
Life is a wonderful business, though fools blow up London tube stations and sell each other crap and waste time with gossip about movie stars. If you can draw, you will always have a place to go that is beautiful and honest and true. As you sit in an airport you will find pleasure in the folds of a crumpled lunch bag. As you bide your time in a doctor's waiting room, you will find peace in the arrangement of the shadows on the wall. Even without putting ink on paper, you will be able to slip in to Drawing Mind.
The point is not what your lines look like or how accurate your crosshatching might be.
The point is not the drawings on the page or the pages in the book.
The point is not the opinions of others who love/hate/ignore those lines you made on the page.
The point is not the money you make selling your work to galleries or publishers.
The point of practicing your craft is not to rise in the rankings of those who draw. It's not to have your style dominate (sorry, Dan!).
The point is to more easily gain access to the moment, to the deeper more peaceful recesses of your Self.
The point is to live as well and as fully as you can today, right now, whether your pen is in your hand or not.
The point is to See and to Be.

Your pal,
Danny

What's for Lunch?

I found the following pictures on a random website from Google. Look so cute and I bet they taste good too because they are sushi! However, I don't think I can eat the panda one...so adorable. There are more here but these are just a couple that I really like.

Movie Review: March of the Penquins

A wonderful loving documentary about penguins. I loved it. The movie was funny and very real. Even though many people call it a documentary, it was more like a story with a beginning, climax, and an ending. The life of penguins, the harshness, the love, the warmth, and the will to survive are all captured really nicely in this film. It doesn't hide the cruelty of nature on these penguins. Instead, the death of the unborn and the young reinforce the strength and power of the mammal. They may be viewed as stubborn birds, refusing to leave the freezing weather. However, they have evolved and adapted, and they are respected and admired for their determination to continue their tradition. I give this movie a B+. Way to go penguins!

A Day at the Zoo

I am very happy to invite you to see some of the tortoises that I work with every Saturday at Honolulu Zoo. Simply click on the picture and it will automatically take you to a page with all the photos. You are welcome to comment if you like. Enjoy! BTW, on the left is Jaws and he is my favorite tortoise : )

Honu Beer

I have just heard from my honu connections that Honu Beer will be discontinued and it's last bottles are being sold in supermarkets at very low prices. The brand might be sold to Kona Brewing Company but nothing is set yet. I am very sad because the turtle organization that I volunteer for, World Turtle Trust, receives funding from Honu Beer. Now we have less money to help the endangered sea turtles of Hawaii. I have tasted Honu Beer and I didn't like it THAT much but I hate beer in general. My sister loves it because it is a light beer. Well, that's not the point. The point is, we have to find other ways to raise funds for our organization.

R2D2

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/grimmy/about.htm

Movie Review: Mad Hot Ballroom

This movie is cute, funny, innocent, and educational. I laughed the entire time because these impressionable kids are so darn adorable. Listening to what they say and how honest they are with their words just makes me long for my childhood years. Oh and now I want to learn ballroom dancing. I love the Indigo pair that danced the maranga and the swing. Oh and the swipe your hair look at your watch move in rumba. If these kids can shake it, I can too! I give this movie a B. Way to go, you kids did better than Tom Cruise and Brat Pitt!

Habushu

I first saw this thing at Tokkuri Tei. It is Okinawan sake with fermented snake inside. The waitress said the snake poison is also inside the bottle. I love alcohol but this...is kinda' weird. The waitress also said just one shot will kick my ass. Um...anyone wanna try it with me?

Photo Blog

It's me again. In case you haven't found out yet, you can now use Blogger to post directly to your blog instead of using Hello. The only thing is you don't have the fancy options to add borders and junk. However, you can fool around with the HTML and add image styles that way. So now that you know and if you are one of those people that hates to clutter up your computer with useless programs, you can say bye bye to Hello! Weird...

Oh yeah and sorry, I made some major changes (mostly design) to my blog...as you can obviously see. I like to design so I am constantly looking for ways to improve the look of things. Lately I have been working on this blog and my comic strip blog. Hopefully that's ready soon.

Tag Me

Hey peeps! I now have a tag board at the side bar for you to write messages to me. It can be a mini online messenger if your work computer blocks instant messenger websites. It's great! Write me!

New Years Resolutions

Remember your New Year's Resolutions? Well, since it's the middle of the year, I think it's time we check on our progress. I can cross off 4 on my list!

1. Take GRE - done and got good scores too!
2. Get into UH - yup, back to school in August.
3. Maintain my weight - so far so good.
4. Eat at all the yummy restraunts on Oahu - still eating.
5. Watch as much MacGyver as I can - I think I watched all 7 seasons.
6. Learn to sing Totoro in Japanese - still learning.
7. Teach my niece to say "Bryan has a fat head" - doing this August.
8. Learn to sing one song in German from American Continental Radio
9. Learn all of the confusing functions in Adobe Photoshop - It's all good.
10. Collect all 10 Sherman's Lagoon comic books - I have 4 more to buy!
11. Kiss Jaws regardless of the salmonela??? - ummmmm.....
12. Draw comic strips - launching my comic strip soon.
13. Play with my baby niece in the water.