The Swamp Thing

Sometimes after you draw something, you look at it and go, "What?" Then you color it and put it on your blog.

This reminds me - I need to learn to play the banjo... or at least figure out how to draw one.

Dogs vs Cats (In Color)

I drew this in March, but I threw some color on it today because it seemed a nice fit for this week's Illustration Friday topic: Opposites. Dogs and cats both walk on four legs, and they're both pets, so I guess they're not too opposite... but they're as different as cats and dogs. Man, that was lame.

A Pirate's Life for Me!

I know A LOT about pirates. For instance, I know that they pillage and plunder and rifle and loot. I also know that they don't give a hoot about kidnapping or ravaging. And how do I know all of this? Certainly not from books. If there are books that mention pirates, I haven't read them. Turns out I'm not much of a reader. If not from books, then how? Well... pirates sang a song about it, of course. These pirates claim to be rascals, scoundrels, and such, but you don't see much to support that. What are the two things you always see pirates doing? Singing and dancing.

In Peter Pan, The Pirates of Penzance, The Pirate Movie, Muppet Treasure Island, and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (which is based on the movie which is based on the ride), most of what we get is a kind of "Broadway at Sea." This fun-loving group of misfit marauders seems to be more interested in choreography than robbery.

What's with the terror in the faces of a ship's crew when they see a pirate ship raise its flag? Afraid of a pirate flag? Just pretend it's a disco ball... it means about the same thing (which, in retrospect, is indeed rather scary).

There is one pirate I know who doesn't sing or dance... he fixes track meets. Man, I love that movie! And that's who the middle pirate is based on.

Dam That, Beaver!

The largest known beaver dam was discovered near Three Forks, Montana. It was 2,140 feet long, 14 feet high, and 23 feet thick at its base.

I guess that's pretty impressive. But guess what... the Chinese built a dam that's 1.4 miles long and 630 feet high. Makes that dainty pile of tree branches and twigs near Three Forks seem pretty insignificant, doesn't it.

In your buck-toothed face... stupid beaver.

Missing Disneyland

In the last decade I've had five or six annual passes to Disneyland. One year when I was a student at BYU, I went to Disneyland 30 times. That's right... the BYU that's in Utah. And yet somehow I managed to spend a whole month of that year at Disneyland? Obviously I like it... or at least more than I like scholarly achievement.

So how is it that it's already July, and I still haven't been there yet in 2006? Now that I'm a cast member, I don't even have to pay to get in! What's my deal? I still have to hold off a couple more months. The heat and the crowds of summer aren't for me. But as soon as kids are back in school and we get some Fall-ish weather... there I'll be.

Here are a couple of pictures I took a while back on a rainy day at Disneyland. The one above was taken at about 5:00. I'd never seen Main Street so empty in the middle of the day. Rain does that. The one below was taken as my brother-in-law and I left the park about ten minutes after the rides closed... and NO ONE was left! Normally they leave the stores open for a while, but that night everything was locked and closed. I stopped to take a picture... I'd never seen so much of Disneyland empty. Not even a street sweeper?

To sum up - I miss Disneyland. Not "I'm Miss Disneyland." If there is such a pageant, I've never competed in it... much less won it. I need to get back to Disneyland soon, before I lose the little bit of "mind" I have left.

Our Enormous TV

Last Friday we got a 62-inch TV. I was at work when it was delivered so when I got home, I went straight to our family room. When I saw the giant thing... I laughed. Compared to the size of that room, our TV looks absurd. 62-inches isn't the biggest TV you can buy, but in a room where the furthest you can sit from it is about 10 feet... well, it's ridiculous. And I love it! We watched Finding Nemo that night. As the fish swam across the screen, I had to turn my head to follow. Wonderful!

I also played XBox. In Star Wars Battlefront, the Battle Droid I was using was about two feet tall. I could see Clones hiding in the brush from a few hundred yards away. I played Burnout, and the car I was driving was bigger than my actual car.

I've accomplished nothing since the TV's arrival... unless you count watching TV, in which case I've accomplished a TON. Why do we even have a family room... or a house, for that matter? It's all just somewhere to watch TV. Bring on football season!

Also... today is my 3rd anniversary. So happy anniversary to my lovely wife, to whom the last three years has probably seemed like 40.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

If you're going to be stranded in a tub at sea, I figure the worst company you could ask for is a butcher and a baker... especially if you're dumb enough to provide them with a means to cook you.

Farewell, Candlestick Maker... I barely drew thee.

Some Raccoons

It's been over a week since I posted anything new on my blog. And it will be even longer, because although I'm posting something today, it's far from "new." I drew this a couple of years ago, and it's the only thing left in my "current" portfolio that I'm not ashamed of. Raccoons are fun to draw... especially when you don't let their actual anatomy influence how you're going to draw them. Take that, realism!