http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/ Storytelling. Creativity. ADHD as an adult. Don't Worry Be Happy. What's wrong with education today. Being a good person in a world/society that ain't always the best. en 2009-07-02T04:52:18-05:00 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/07/you_can_too_so.html Sketches Red Monkey 2009-07-02T04:52:18-05:00 Okay, so in the last post, I ran out of time but wanted to talk to those of you who tell me "I can't even draw a stick figure." As I said, I drew some, but not a lot. I grew up watching my mom draw, paint, use pastels, study tons of art books. But I was completely intimidated by anyone who could draw, including my mother. The one summer enrichment class I took pretty much sealed the deal for me. As much as I loved drawing technical pictures (I drew a slew of guns for a history project and discovered planes and boats and guns were things I...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/07/bullish.html Sketches Red Monkey 2009-07-01T05:54:34-05:00 While I have a great deal of fun designing characters, backgrounds are a whole different story. The background in this banner is actually from Elisanth_ at iStockPhoto. Personally, I've always had a tendency to go completely overboard with backgrounds, so I generally do a very, very minimal background now (or buy one at iStock!). That's the next subject I'll have to really study - a proper background. At any rate, here's a snippet of a recent project - just a corner of a blog banner: Now, a note to all of you who tell me "I can't even...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/wander_over_yon.html Sketches Red Monkey 2009-06-29T18:32:14-05:00 Anyone who has talked to me for very long knows one thing for sure: I love cartoons and animation far more than your average kindergartener. Talk to me a little longer and you'll know that one of my all-time favourite cartoons is Craig McCracken's Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. So when I heard that McCracken had a sketchbook entitled Wander Over Yonder, I had to go have a look-see. And, of course, I had to purchase as well. It's a cute little booklet - in the fiction or poetry world it would be called a chapbook. There's no linear...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/critical_hit_th.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-23T20:12:44-05:00 I am a scrounger. I drove my mother the neat-freak insane with my picking up of "trash" and carting it around, insisting it was cool stuff that I didn't just want, but I needed. Besides, it was still good. Why throw something away if it could be used or fixed or re-purposed? I was the ultimate recycling kid. I made shelves out of cardboard and string, I made space ships for my Fisher Price Adventure People out of the packaging to mom's acrylic and oil paints. And that tendency hasn't gone away as I've gotten older. Let me put it this way. My...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/debt_paid_but_b.html Never Underestimate the Power of Human Stupidity Red Monkey 2009-06-22T01:02:39-05:00 On first blush, this sounds like a good local law: "prohibit those who have sexually abused minors from living within 2,500 ft of anywhere where children congregate, such as schools, libraries and parks." (BBC article) In fact, this sounds like common sense. Most pedophiles seem to be repeat offenders operating under compulsion - so just remove the temptation, as much as possible. This Miami law sounds like it's a good thing, right? Before I go any further, let me point out one fact: I am a survivor. I know first-hand the types of things...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/because_im_a_do.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-21T20:21:51-05:00 Here are some more pix of little Mr. Tieg cuz I'm just that dorky. I know, he looks a little lost there on the floor, doesn't he? That's "crabcakes" at his feet, one of Scraps' favourite small toys. And that turtle is bigger than Tieg - nearly bigger than Scraps. Apparently both boys really enjoy huge toys. We call this the teepee. Originally Scout would go in there and huddle and sometimes she still uses it, but the little boy here loves it. He's taken all of the jingle balls he can find and hoarded them along with a few other toys....<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/unnatural_disas.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-20T08:38:31-05:00 I love a good pun. Unfortunately, many people think I have bad taste in puns. I attribute that to Rocky &amp; Bullwinkle. At any rate, there is a book called Shatnerquake. No, I'm not kidding. You see? Right there. Shatnerquake. You can even buy it for your Kindle on Amazon. And, being a devout anti-Trekkie/anti-Trekker how do I know about this book? Well, because despite the fact that I am a Star Wars Geek who pretty much hates Star Trek (in general, some episodes of tNG were good and same for DS9), I do adore one person who too often...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/blerg.html Blog Red Monkey 2009-06-18T20:28:35-05:00 I hate being sick. I thought I could bull through it, forced myself to go to work. Thought it would be ok. Lasted about 45 minutes and then about ralfed. I know, TMI, TMI. Hopefully this will be over with soon (I've mostly felt better this evening) and I can finally snap the pic I need to get the next post published.<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/fictions_we_tel.html Storytelling: She was, of course, supposed to be sleeping. Red Monkey 2009-06-16T18:47:06-05:00 I have always had a relatively easy time making acquaintances when I gear myself up for it. What I have always had a difficult time with is making friends. Sure, everyone has this problem to some extent - that's why most folks have more acquaintances than friends and it's why the one line from "The Body" and Stand By Me gets quoted so often: "I never had friends later on in life like the ones I had when I was twelve - Jesus, does anyone?" But I always struggled making friends. Maybe it was because we moved seven times to six cities before I...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/introducing_tie.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-15T05:38:32-05:00 As I was going to sleep last night - after the idiot neighbor had his crappy, stupid, LOUD fireworks show on a damn Sunday night before everyone had to be up at ungodly hours for WORK on a Monday - I was just about to drift off and I thought: Tieg. A good Irish name. A name from one of my favourite book series (Katherine Kurtz' Deryni series). The character in the book is a precocious youngster. Honestly, I fully expected other half to veto it, but she cocked her head to one side and said, "Tieg. I like it. What's it for?" I told her it...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/nameless.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-14T19:24:39-05:00 Hmmm. We are still nameless here. Names that have been discussed include: Snickers (too obvious), Scamp (no self-fulfilling prophecies, please - plus he looks nothing like Lady &amp; the Tramp's son). I liked Joss for Joss Whedon who created the TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity. And since the main characters were once resistance fighters called browncoats, it seemed to fit. If Joss wouldn't work, I'd settle for Nate. (The main character's name is Mal, but the actor is Nathan Fillion ... I'm all about the crazy tangential...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/i_am_a_star_war.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-12T23:16:31-05:00 I am a Star Wars geek. Not so much that I can name every bounty hunter in all 6 movies. I don't watch the crappy Clone Wars cartoon (I tried one day ... it reminded me of the last time I tried to watch the Superfriends cartoon. Ridiculously stilted to the point of unwatchable). I don't actually own a Jedi robe. I have not (yet) built my own lightsaber. And somehow, we haven't gotten around to getting the original movies on DVD yet. (Definitely need the one without Lucas' later crap added on.) I do, however, read some of the books. I...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/little_guy.html Vacations and Photos Red Monkey 2009-06-11T18:38:27-05:00 Nope, still no name yet, but the only reason there wasn't a post yesterday is I wasn't home to write one! I picked up other half at 4:30 and we drove down to the breeder to pick him up. I managed to drive over a large-ish curb-thing because other half insisted we stop for Arby's. I thought for sure the car was damaged, but apparently lucked out. Sounded bad, though, and of course that was only about half way through the trip. I was exhausted by the time we finally got there - took about an hour and a half to get there after a particularly...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/escape_with_pha.html People Say I Have ADHD, But I Think - Hey Look, A Chicken Red Monkey 2009-06-09T21:35:34-05:00 So, there's this song that I liked back in the day, called "Escape," but most of us call it the Pi&#241;a Colada song. What sucks about being in "the" demographic is that far too often your best memories of back in the day are co-opted by inferior marketers who usually just screw it up. Except sometimes they actually get it right. And boy did Taco Bell get this one right. So right, in fact, that 30 seconds was just not long enough. Not being an in-front-of-real-live-people kind of singer, I'll just give you my alternate lyrics with two...<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008 http://www.coyotethunder.com/RedMonkey/archives/2009/06/live_long_and_p.html Sketches Red Monkey 2009-06-08T19:10:12-05:00 So, what have I been so busy with that I had to give short shrift to my Hugo Awards logo entry? Well, back in January a dear relative of mine announced his wedding intentions and I instantly volunteered to do the invitations. Click the image to see the invitation itself: Oh, and it's actually not a Star Trek themed invitation ....<br/> <br/> Check out the rest of the article @ Red Monkey (c) 2005-2008