I DO Know Jack

Today has been about as uneventful as it’s possible for a day to be.
I pretty much didn’t do anything today. I guess you coul say that I did jack…Jack T. Chick, that is!
Yes, as on most days when it’s rainy and cruddy out, making me want to avoid venturing out into the world even more than usual, and I’m stuck inside not feeling like doing much of anything, there are always Jack T. Chick tracts available for me to while away the hours reading.
Beyond reading the tracts themselves I read the various reviews people have written of them (such as at this site I discovered today, which pointed out a heretofore unnoticed connection between evil and wearing turtlenecks in Chick tracts), and there’s always some specific person or theory that Jack cites in his tracts that serve as fodder for Web searches, such as Kent Hovind (aka “Dr. Dino”), who has served as Jack’s science advisor, or reformed witch turned Demon Hunter Rebecca Brown, who, along with John Todd, apprised Jack of the all-too real dangers of witchcraft, and, of course, the “most godly man” Jack ever met, one Dr. Alberto Rivera, an alleged former Jesuit priest who turned his back on the evils of the Catholic church and let Jack know that Holy Mother Church is, in fact, the Whore of Babylon, and is responsible not only for the Spanish Inquisition (Which, according to Jack, not only does nobody expect, nobody even knows that it existed. Jack clearly is not a fan of Monty Python, or even Mel Brooks), but also the establishment of Islam, the founding of the Communist party and the resultant revolution in Russia, the establishment of the Nazi pary in Germany and the Holocaust, and, perhaps worst of all, the banning of Chick tracts from Christian bookstores.
Oddly enough, a cursory bit of research into the lives of these people show them to be a bit less godly (and credible) than Jack seems to think they are, but of course Jack is too busy cranking out tracts to bother verifying any of the claims these people make, and besides, given that they’re saying what he wants to hear, why would he doubt them?



(Sure, this guy supposedly just saved a homosexual from a life of sin, but it looks to me more like he’s actually out cruising rather than evangelizing. Maybe he’s one of those guys who got “Prayed Straight,” and therefore knows all about alternative lifestyles, making him more effective than most totally straight evangelists, but is “backsliding” into his former sinful ways now that he’s got a shot at some impressionable young meat. “Now that you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal savior, how about coming back to my place for a little ‘individual bible study?’ I’ll teach you all about the sinful practices they engaged in back in Sodom and Gomorrah.” )

In any case, I spent my day with Jack and now it’s nearly over, as tomorrow marks the start of another work week.
It had been my intention to write up a Threshold “Year in Review” entry, but laziness led me to decide that, since you all know what happened in 2005, since you were there, there’s no real need for it.
Ultimately, for me there was really only one defining event of 2005: my dad scaring the living crap out of me with the whole heart attack business.
He has, fortunately, recovered from that and is doing well, but those were a few scary and stressful days for me.
As for 2006, it occurs to me that I never actually bothered to pick up a new calendar, and I’m not sure if that means anything.
I would say probably not, but you never know. I’m hoping that it signifies the fact that in 2006 I’ll be settling into my newly-purchased condo, at which time I’ll have a new wall upon which to hang whatever calendar I eventually do buy.
We’ll see, I guess.
In any case, I will most likely have time to crank out a quck entry at work over the weekend, but in case I don’t, here’s hoping that the year comes to a happy conclusion for all of you and that the New Year lives up to its potential.

Not-So Super Nova

And the comic book theme continues...
This is Nova, a woman from Earth who sacrificed her humanity to become a herald of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds.
I think she's actually dead now, but in comic books that almost never sticks.
I mostly wanted to draw Nova for the sake of trying to get the metallic effect of the golden shell that serves as her skin using some different plug-in filters.
While the finished product looks okay, I didn't quite achieve the effect I was going for. Oh well.

Darkseid Of The Moon

(After Walt Simonson)

This handsome fella is Darkseid, Lord of Apokolips, and pretty much my favorite comic book villain.
For some reason I just felt like drawing a picture of him, and so here it is.
I'm not sure he'd appreciate the fact that I chiseled my signature into his shoulder, but so far I haven't seen any zig-zagging Omega Beams heading my way, so I think I'm in the clear...

Holding Pattern

This morning I ventured out into the world to do a couple of things.
I got in my car at 10:06.
I was home again by 10:29.
I don’t know whether that speaks to the efficiency with which I conduct my affairs, or to the pathetic emptiness of my life.
Whatever the case may be, I really didn’t have much to do.
First I had to stop at the bank to pick up the copies of the statements and cancelled checks that I had requested (more on that in a bit), then I had to hit the grocery store to pick up a few things.
(While I was waiting for her to finish ringing me up, the cashier decided that she also needed to pick up a few things…from her nose.  She wasn’t especially discreet about it either, and, in fact, was standing there rolling the results between her thumb and forefinger.  Fortunately everything I bought was packaged.)
Once I got home I went through the statements and cancelled checks and found the check that I wrote last year to pay off the one remaining debt that was outstanding on my credit report.
I knew I had paid the debt off, but I wanted to be sure that I had some ammunition before I called the collection agency to request that they send me a letter to that effect.
So, having the check number and the date, I gave them a call.
Turns out that I didn’t actually need any ammunition:  their records showed that it was paid in full.
*Sigh*
Now I have to wait for them to send me the letter, adding further delay to the process, a delay that could have been avoided if I’d just called them.
Beyond that, my bank charged me a $20 “research fee” for getting me the copies that I didn’t actually need.
In any case, that puts me in what the finance guy called a “holding pattern” as we wait for me to get him a copy of the letter so that we can move forward on the loan.
So that’s where things stand on that front.
Beyond that, I spent most of the day drawing and reading.
And that was about it.
Yesterday was a total nothing day, which is why I didn’t post an entry.
Here’s what happened on Monday:

My dentist’s office called to tell me that my appointment for January 2nd needed to be rescheduled, as they aren’t going to be open then.
I called my mom.
I walked over to Safeway and bought some food for lunch and dinner.
I took a nap.
I worked on a picture for hours before deciding to scrap it and draw something else.

That was the whole day.
Of course, excepting the “development” in the loan process, and the walk I went on, today wasn’t much more eventful.
Which is why this is the end of this entry.

"That Guy" Dies

Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli deat at 57
Most people won't know the name, but they'll know the face, as pretty much everyone who's ever watched a movie or TV show has seen him at some point.
As the article on his death states, he was the ultimate "Hey! It's That Guy!"

"300"

The "Production Blog" site for the film adaptation of Frank Miller's "300" can be found here.
I've never read the graphic novel it's based on, but it looks as though it could be interesting.
One of the bits of dialogue that was cut from the "The Big Fat Kill" sequence of the "Sin City" movie actually referred to the events depicted in "300."
"300" relates the events of the Battle of Thermopylae in which 300 Spartans faced off against the Persian army, which was much, much larger.

More Random Christmas Ravings

When I was sleeping last night, rather than sugarplums it was visions of actress Julie Benz that I had dancing in my head.
I’m certainly not complaining, as she’s a much sweeter plum.
Still, it was incredibly random, particularly given the setting, which was in Tucson, where I was visiting my parents.
Evidently she had given up on the whole acting thing and taken to working in the office in the little retirement community my mom and dad stay in while in Tucson.
Why? I have no idea, but in the dream it seemed perfectly reasonable to encounter the woman who played the evil Darla on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.”
And since we were already defying the logic of the waking world, why not take it further and have the two of us really hit it off?
Things were going really well in that department until my mom walked in to find Julie, in an extremely short skirt, sitting on my lap while my hand was resting on her thigh.
My mom came over, moved my hand away, and swatted me on the head.
I was then woken up by what sounded like country music, as my alarm clock radio just seems to be randomly tuning in different stations.
Thus my Christmas didn’t get off to a great start.
When I stopped at the gas station on the way in to work (and by the way, all Christians should take this time to pause and reflect on how blessed they are that there are godless [or at least lacking the right god] heathens in the world who keep their businesses open on Christmas day).
I walked in and was immediately assaulted by Amy Grant singing about a “Christmas to Remember,” and I said, “Blow me, Amy Grant. That would make it a Christmas to remember.”
And then I arrived at work…where I’ve been for more than ten hours with more than two hours left.
In the spirit of the season I found a “Yule Log” visualization for Windows Media Player and put it running full-screen on one of the computers we’re not using.
After sitting here for hours with not much of anything to do it occurred to me that I could (and should) give my sister a call and find out what I bought the kids for Christmas.
(When I was actually around and involved in their lives it was easy to buy presents for them. Now I have no idea what they’re into, so it’s easier to just give my sister money and have her buy presents for them.)
They made use of a Web cam to allow my brother-in-law, who’s in Iraq, to share in the day, which is pretty cool.
I’m convinced that my nieces and nephews are mutants. They didn’t get up to open presents until 9:45! WTF? What kid manages to sleep past 6 am on Christmas morning?
It’s especially odd considering who their mother is.
Shortly after I got off the phone I partook of the free meal that we got for working today. It was passable. Can’t complain too much, as it was free.
And now we’re entering the home stretch, so I guess that will do it for this entry. I just wanted to share a few more random Christmas stories with you.

Bah! Hum...Ah, Screw It: Merry Christmas!

In the words of Tiny Tim, “It’s Christmas…big freakin’ deal.”
Of course, that’s a quote from years after Dickens’ story, after Tiny Tim had gotten healthy and grown up big and strong and was no longer tiny…except where it counts.
That fact, coupled with the discovery that Scrooge’s “magical” reformation was actually the result of delusions brought on by a massive stroke, led him to become a very bitter and cynical man indeed, one who cringed whenever people would ask whatever happened to the that sweet little boy who said, “God bless us, everyone,” to which he respond, “He grew up, okay? Can’t you just accept that and let it go?”
…
Okay, so I got off to a bit of a Grinchy start, but before you start accusing me of having a heart that’s three sizes too small, I’ll say “Merry Christmas!”
On the way in to work I did actually listen to a Christmas song.
Okay, so it was Type O Negative’s Red Water (Christmas Mourning), which isn’t exactly holly jolly, but it does have jingle bells ringing in the background. (My favorite line? “The stockings are hung but who cares?”)
The forecast today calls for temperatures in the 50s and rain, so it looks like we’ll be having a wet Christmas.
Of course, I won’t notice because I’ll be inside this dark, cold dungeon all day, whiling away the hours, with the only thing that gives me any kind of “Christmas spirit” being the realization that I’m making bank to be here bored out of my skull.
It doesn’t bother me to be working on Christmas, as it’s hardly the first time, and it’s not like the day really means anything to me.
Even the more secular aspects of the holiday have lost their meaning for me, as I don’t have anyone special in my life, and I’m thousands of miles away from my family.
I was invited to dinner at Scott and Stacy’s after work, but it’s been a very long weekend and I’m already feeling wiped out, so I don’t think I’d be very good company.
In fact, I’d probably make it my business to be lousy company.
But ultimately, the fact of the matter is that I’d rather just go home and let what remains of the day quietly pass me by.
Of course, apart from the fact that I don’t have anyone to spend the day with, Christmas has lost its meaning for me because I no longer get cool presents.
After all, the stuff that I really want costs a lot more than anyone I know is willing or able to spend.
I did get a few things, though, such as the aforementioned pajamas, some money, and from Kathleen I got the Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition DVD game set.
(When I talked to her yesterday and thanked her for the game I said that if the condo thing works out and I move to Leesburg I’ll be just down the street from her and Brian so I can have them over to engage in a rollicking night of Trivial Pursuit gameplay. In response she called me a “gaywad.”)
The fact that Christmas comes but once a year and now it’s here mostly means for me that for the next ten months or so I’ll be able to go through life without having to hear about the whole Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas debate. I’m sick of the whining on both sides, though the pro-Christmas side seems to me to be a bit whinier, and I don’t think there would be a debate if they weren’t forcing the issue.
After all, it’s the only religious holiday that’s also a Federal holiday and it’s hardly as though they’re prevented from very publicly celebrating it. So you can’t put a Nativity scene in front of city hall…so what? Maybe there’s someplace else you could go to practice your religious beliefs. Don’t they have some kind of buildings designed specifically for that sort of thing?
And honestly, I don’t see anyone actually stopping you from saying “Merry Christmas.” If you want to say it, say it.
Or better yet, just shut up.
I’m not sure why Christians make such a big deal about Christmas anyway. Even if you overlook the fact that the man they call Christ almost certainly was not born on December 25th and that the whole thing is basically just a co-opted pagan holiday, Christ’s birth isn’t really that significant to the religion.
That He was born is only significant in that He had to be born in order to die.
After all, it was only through dying that He was able to wash away the sins of the world. He didn’t do that through being born, or through His teachings.
Consider how popular Mel Gibson’s movie about Christ was and what it focused on: His death.
What is the most instantly recognizable symbol of Christianity? The manger? The star that heralded His birth? No, it’s the instrument of His death.
In any case, now that the day has finally arrived we’re that much closer to the point of not being inundated with ads for diamond stores, though those will still run rampant until Valentine’s Day.
Honestly, the best ad for a diamond store was a parody ad on “Family Guy.” It featured the familiar shadows on the wall from the old Zale’s (or whichever store it was) ads, with a man’s shadow sliding a diamond ring onto a woman’s shadowy finger. The two shadows embrace, and the woman slowly begins to drop to her knees as we cut away to the tagline: Diamonds…she’ll pretty much have to.
That’s much more effective than “Every Kiss begins with Kay,” which would actually make the word “Kayiss.”
In any case, I suppoe that’s more than enough humbuggery for one Christmas day, and in all seriousness I hope that all of you out there are actually enjoying whatever blessings the season has to offer.