U_Steve's Xanga

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:11:21 GMT

(X) Donated Blood
(X) Skipped school--i don't think so.
() Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
() Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
( ) Been to NYC for New Year's Eve--
(X) Been on a plane---Yes, many times.
() Been on a helicopter
( ) Been on a zip line
(X) Been lost
() Gone to Washington, DC
() Hugged a homeless person
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Swam with Stingray (Didnt actually sing with it. I stepped on it)
(X) Been sailing in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep (probably)
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons.
() Ran a half-marathon
(X) Sang Karaoke (sang in a pub once. Never again)
( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen--
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only..
() Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
() Seen the Northern Lights
( ) Been Parasailing
(x) Been on TV
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
() Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) Fed an elephant
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue.
(X) Made a snowangel
(X) Fired a gun
(X) Danced in the rain
( ) Been to the Opera
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
() Serenaded someone
() Seen a U.S.President in person
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe..
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(X) Been to a National Museum
(X ) Been to a Wax Museum--
(X) Eaten caviar
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies--
(X) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States--
( ) Been in a hot air balloon--
(X ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling--
(X) Lived in more than one country--
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon
() Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
() Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding--
() Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
() Been in a rain forest?
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing----
(X) Been snow-skiing--
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean--
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game--
(X) Been to a National Football League game--
() Swam with sharks--
( ) Been White Water Rafting
(X) Written a book or screen play
() Witnessed a volcano erupt

the neolithic final

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:33:17 GMT

Here is the final of the neolithic round house. I think I like how it turned out.

A little bit of what I am doing...

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:14:05 GMT

I am working with/for a archaeologist on my newest project. Its a Bronze Age site (from approximately 4,000 - 3,000 years ago). Here are a few of the roughs that I have done so far. They're just pencil drawings and when they are approved they will be done in ink with grey washes of colour. I'm really enjoying the project.

^This is a bronze age camping/hunting roundhouse. The house is thatched with the walls being made of twigs interwoven (like the windbreak in the picture) but also covered in mud.

^Pretty obvious this is a poor fella who has died. He would have been placed atop the timber structure and when the elements (and the odd animal) had finished he would have been buried in a burial mound. In case anyone was curious he did not eat any of Jackies cooking and contract appendicitis (No, I have not forgotten ha ha), he simply died of natural causes.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:17:01 GMT

10 Years Ago...
1. I was had spent one year in Ireland
2. I was working in a outdoor clothing shop
3. I lived in a 200 year old cottage
4. I had no car
5. I would paint while listening to the radio instead of watching tv

5 Things on today's "to-do" list
1. post illustrations to the client
2. go to Galway
3. study my Irish
4. go to Irish class
5. bring a Cadburys chocolate cake to class for payment for the free t-shirt they gave me

5 Snacks I enjoy
1. pringles
2. fruit
3. cheese, cilantro and salsa burritos
4. the odd can of beer or porter
5. these fat free crackers with fruit filling

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. pay for family to come to Ireland
2. travel
3. buy a currach (boat)
4. finish the shed in 2 weeks with new builder that actually show up
5. fly to Dublin just for the craic

5 Places I have lived
1. Long Beach, CA
2. Arvada, CO
3. Westport, Ireland
4. Galway, Ireland
5. Clare Island, Ireland

5 Jobs that I have had / or still have
1. illustrator
2. ferryman
3. shop clerk
4. barman
5. bicycle salesman

5 people I am 'tagging'
1. Maura
2. Tammy
3. Virginia
4. RJ
5. Joe K.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:17:10 GMT

Its been ages since I last posted anything here. Sorry about that.

Things here are going about the same. The studio shed is coming along slowly. As I type the electricians are hard at work wiring the place up. Next the plasterer needs to come back and finish the outside in order that the inside can be leak free so the dry lining (insulated drywall) can go up. Trying to get the plasterer to show up is like getting someone with Dentophobia to have a tooth pulled. He can only work one day a week (he's is taking a course in Galway) and I was ready to replace him when he said he'd be there and then his cousin was killed in a car crash. I would have a hard time firing someone when they get back from a funeral.

I'm painting still. I find it easy to be busy and not get any painting done so I have to crack the whip on myself.

I don't know how well the book is doing. It is selling so thats good. I did get a offer to be interviewed on RTE1 radio about the book. The programme is on the national radio station RTE1 and deals with the handicapped and their issues. The host was the host of a TV programme dealing with the same thing. I had contacted her to say I liked her TV programme and she later came back wanting to interview me on the radio. Am I nervous?....yes.

The Irish Guild of Illustrators, which I am a member, has a halloween illustration 'show'. Its online and the brief was a quick illustration (under 2 hours) with the theme of halloween. Here's my entry. I tried to turn the tables and have the scary monster scared of the little kid...

A bit early...but Happy Halloween! (This year I am making pumpkin pie...from scratch!)

Irelands Recession to last 'well into 2009'

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:59:21 GMT

TCM - Thursday, September 25 06:22 pm

Ireland's recession will last at least 12 months, the country's leading think-tank predicted tonight.
As new figures reveal the country's once aggressive Celtic Tiger economy contracted by 1% in the first half of the year, a top economist warned the Government's biggest challenge was stemming spiralling unemployment.
Dr Ide Kearney of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), who predicted the recession earlier this year, blamed the crisis on the crumbling housing market.
"I think it's quite clear that this is going to last well into 2009 now," Dr Kearney said.
In an effort to limit the impact of the recession, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has brought forward the traditional December Budget by six weeks.
Mr Cowen, who is attending a United Nations summit in New York, warned painful decisions would be made as the Government attempted to contain the knock-on effects of the now shrinking economy.
Opposition politicians rounded on the Government over the slump, claiming ministers had been caught flat-footed by the downturn.
Fine Gael Finance spokesman Richard Bruton said: "The Government has demonstrated no such leadership and hide their inactivity behind the announcement of an early budget.
"The tragedy is that the Government has been caught entirely flat-footed by these more difficult times.
"Their reckless flirtation with the property bubble has seriously handicapped the Irish economy."

bits and pieces

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:17:00 GMT

Lately I have been trying to organise workers, run errands for them, and paint. So I haven't keeping up the blog too much.
Anyhow, I found out my cats can climb ladders. Why didn't anyone tell me that they could do that? Its weird.

The donkeys figured out a way into my garden and ate the lot. No stone unturned or carrot top uneaten. A bunch of ungrateful hooligans.
I took this picture yesterday up by their shed (not at the garden). When I first saw they I could quite make out what was going on.

Yesterday as well, I got a little visit from a this fella. Soon after I took the picture it took off. If the kittens were around they would have eaten it for sure.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:53:10 GMT

I was in Galway yesterday. It's always nice to get away and see more people than the few pilgrims that live near me.
I checked a few local book shops and one had my book. It wasn't on the shelf with the cover facing out but rather straight in, but hopefully I can remedy that. They asked for a poster to hang up. I'll bring them one tomorrow maybe.
I asked if they had sold any and she said it was only in for short time but they had sold one. I must admit I bought two for friends I was meeting that day so that brings my tally up to three! I get royalties on every book sold so I'm going to have to get my wheelbarrow ready to bring all that money to the bank.

I checked this other shop and asked if they had the book. They said they didn't and she opened a magazine and on the inside back cover was a ad for my book and a picture of the cover. She pointed to it and said she saw it and was thinking of getting it in. I said I was the author and I thought she should and smiled.

This the magazine the ad was in. It is for book sellers to see what books are out and about but I found a copy and bought it. I like seeing the book advertised!

~~~~~

This morning brought heavy rain. I let myself lay in bed for a extra 15 minutes as I listened.
Normally the cats would greet me at the door to give out about breakfast not being served early enough, but this morning I had to wake them. They were in the 'cathouse' (which is actually the dog house that Millie refuses to use but that the cats love. I even modified it by closing and locking the dog door in it and I then cut a cat sized opening in it for them to use.) They normally eat on top of a covered bale of old hay that I use for bedding for the donkeys. I do this so Millie can't raid their food (cat food makes Millie fart like a badger) but this morning they got breakfast in bed and I fed them in the cathouse.

M-
If any cats get to your hay for the donkeys they may not eat it. Donkeys do not like the cat smell and may just turn their noses up at the hay if they smell cat on it.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:21:10 GMT

Loren,

I found the commercial about Hank the horse that wants to pull the Budweiser beer wagon. A good ad, but I found one that speaks to me a bit more.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:59:30 GMT

J-
You posted a pic of your computer station, so here is a picture of mine.
I have a 4 or 5 year old iMac G4. I upgraded from OS 9 to Tiger. It works nicely with a few exceptions (that are usually lightening induced)

The big map of Ireland there, I got on eBay. Its from 1885 and shows all the shipwrecks around Ireland from the previous year.
The little picture is a old picture of Clare Island.
The ribbon is 4th place in the Donkey Pageant
And the clock is handy because it of course tells the time but also tells the tide. Around here the beaches are small at high tide so its best to plan to be there at low tide.
The wallpaper on the computer is my dog Millie