Miscellaneous

Bought some charcoal today, I've always liked the look of it in drawings.  And here is my great work of art...

If you cant tell, it is a little owl sitting on a scarf floating in midair.

On another note, I've decided to start jogging.  I always though to myself "once I get a dog I'll be more active" but that was just an excuse.  If I want to be more active I've got to start now.  Not that doing Tai Chi everyday, going on five mile walks, and starting up the X-box fitness training whatever it's called isn't active.  The problem lies with the fact that I've got no stamina.  I can walk for miles without tiring, but can barely run for fifteen minutes strait.

Be warned, I'll soon be posting a delicious strawberry rhubarb pie recipe!

Branded - Movie Review

This was an odd movie to say the least, but worth watching.  I especially enjoyed how the actors spoke both Russian and English.  Even if at times it was hard to understand I could still get the general meaning.  And, Branded defiantly gives you a unique perspective, not just in how you view fast food either.

Now You See Me - Movie Review

In my humble opinion, Now You See Me is the best movie of the year (so far anyway).  There was never a dull moment; every scene packed with entertainment.  I had worried that the explanations for the magic tricks would ruin the movie but they just made me more impressed.

Lately I'm sure you've noticed movies have been lacking an air of mystery.  I can always guess what's going to happen next but not this time.  This time, I was on the edge of my seat with curiosity.

And, I have to say; my favorite scene was "Freeze!" at the end of act two.  So funny.

Castiel Puppy - Finished Drawing

I was planing on coloring this in with pastels, but apparently they don't work well on printer paper.  So, here is Cas drawn in color pencils.

Castiel Puppy Update (Still Unfinished)

Castiel Puppy Drawing

Started to draw a puppy version of Castiel from Supernatural.  I'm planning to use pastels but at the moment I'm just working on making it resemble Cas.  It looks a little off to me.  However, it's still in the beginning stages so wish me luck!

Nora

Nora died.  I've been doing nothing but crying and listening to Cloud Atlas since six this morning.  I thought she was going to make it.  You know, I really hate it when people say "I'm sorry" when some one close to you dies.  Because, how does that help?   At the moment the only thing helping is knowing that the finches had another baby and seem to be taking care of it this time.  That little bit of hope is the only thing that made me smile today, brief as it was.

My Birthday

So, yesterday was my birthday and despite it also being father's day it wasn't that bad. We made root beer floats and ate dinner at The Three Lion's Pub which is now my favorite restaurant.  The food was delicious and the decor was quite amusing.

One notable thing was the card I received from my bro, the last line said, "Wishing you peace and comfort at this sad time".  I took it as a joke but he had just assumed it said "Happy Birthday".  Which is a warning for you all, read the whole card before you give it to someone!

Shepherd's Pie from The Three Lion's Pub

Flowers from my Dad

Jack the Giant Slayer - Movie Review

I wouldn't call this movie disappointing but only because I had low expectations to begin with.  Perhaps the reason was that story never truly interested me.  Some parts were good, amusing and better than I expected.  On the other hand I yawned one too many times for Jack the Giant Slayer to ever be called one of my favorites.  Also, none of the actors stuck with me.  Usually, I'll be interested in at least one and maybe look him up later to see if he made any other good movies.  That didn't happen here.  To be fair, the few parts that were good were really good.  I was hooked on every line spoken.  It's a shame the director couldn't keep me captivated throughout.

Creating a Bonsai Tree & Nora Update

Went to Uwajimaya today and stumbled across this little item...

Bonsai Starter Kit

As simple as it may look the instructions are much more demanding than I had anticipated.  First it asks that I soak the seeds for 24 hours (not an issue) but then it wants me to refrigerate them for a few days and soak them again, put them on a paper towel in a zip lock bag and after a few months buy some special 100% bonsai soil.  I mean really? Really?!

Anyways, here's a new video of Nora!

You'll notice that Nora jumps off my hand in the very beginning and falls to the floor.  No harm done!  Nora is starting to "fly" and hasn't quite mastered it.  Still, he tries.  There's also the balance issues.  After all, Nora is a baby and babies fall over.

Coat of Arms

I've been thinking about family crests for a while now.  Technically I've got two from my mom and dad, or do people just go with their last name?  Either way neither one suits me. So, I've decided to make my own.  The question is what to put on it.  Every detail on a crest has a story behind it, the trick is narrowing it down and choosing the most important parts of who I am.  Which is tricky because I'm still unsure of that answer.  It doesn't help that I'm having artists block either.

So far I've got this...

Now, I was thinking winged wolves on the sides and Celtic knots bordering but when I started drawing I ended up wanting a tree of life on top.  For some reason I can't quite picture the wolves and I still have no idea what to put on the shield.

I'm thinking about making the wolves smaller because adding wings will take up a lot of space and the shield will be out-shined.

Still have no idea what the motto should be or if I even want one.  Also, considering whether I want my family name on it.  I've seen crests with and without.  In the end I'm probably going to add them both.

Nora Update

Nora has started eating some millet seeds and occasionally does these small flying jumps so I've moved him into a temporary cage.  I say temporary because this is Henry's travel cage and until I make a flight cage it will have to do.  Since Nora is still very young I've left the heat lamp close to the cage but farther from his "nest" than it was before.  As I write this Sweetheart is watching over the finch.  I don't know what I'd do without her.  Lucy would have had him for a snack day one.  However, if you are taking care of a baby bird I do not recommend having a cat guardian unless you are absolutely positive it will not eat the chick.  Nora is a lucky bird to have such a companion.

Star Trek Into Darkness - Movie Review

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Very dramatic.  A bit over the top actually (don't take that the wrong way, I loved every second of it).  All in all, I would say the previous Star Trek was better, though.  That said, Benedict Cumberbatch is a phenomenal actor.  For I while there I thought his character Khan might not be so bad.  Alas, I was wrong.  Which in my opinion was a fail on the director's part.  I'm not trying to sound stuck up here, but I would have loved to see Khan working with the Enterprise.  Instead we are left with the basic good vs evil scenario.  And, how likely is it really that a superhuman genius would loose in the end if he hadn't planed it out that way?  Why did he bother saving Kirk if he was just going to kill him five minutes later?  Don't try to tell me it was because he needed him because at that point Khan could have pulled it off without Kirk's help.

One detail I noticed was that on the Enterprise there are multiple humanoid species, but at the academy (or wherever it is that all those speeches were given) the only non-human I saw was Spock.  Where did they all go?

Dean's Purgatory Blade

Wanted to draw Dean's knife from purgatory since I can't seem to find a good one out there.

It's not quite finished yet but I've got the base lines down.  For some reason I couldn't get a good picture, here it doesn't look proportionate.  I really should just start scanning them in to the computer.

 

Reference

Nora Update

Nora is growing so fast.  In this video he is chirping for food even though he's full, as you can see by his crop (bulge on side of neck).