Sloth, Maybe?

  Here are two new experiments: - JJB

  Let’s see if this works… - JJB

It all began with a post-it. Yeah, I'm particularly fond of this doodle.  I consider it my last attempt at creating true art.  If you see the date, I sketched it out on April 1, 2004.  The date means nothing.  I was nobody's fool, unless I was fooling myself into thinking I could make fine art. Usually, a preliminary sketch such as the one above is used for a final composition - be it water color, tempera, or oil paint. But twenty years later, something entered my life that I did not anticipate. A company called OpenAI created an online program called Chat GPT.  With this, you could ask for food recipes, fun facts about the Roman Empire, or some random character like the superhero Sharky, the toothbrush using Shark that encourages kids to brush their teeth.  Something like that. It can also be used to write outlines to screenplays, among other features. I'm an amateur screenwriter.  I pride myself on banging out a scene in the space of five minutes, al...

  This is late in the game to discuss the pros and cons of Apple Vision Pro, but I’m not a tech expert.   I’m just a blogger with interests ranging from anime to Legos to mythology to why I was looking under rocks to find one good thing about The Book of Boba Fett. So where was I?   Ah, yes.   The Apple Vision Pro. I arrived half an hour early to the demo I scheduled at my local Apple Store to try on this device and go on a - not virtual reality… not augmented reality… but a spatial computing experience!   In previous emails, they asked me about if I wore glasses (I do) and asked basic questions as to whether I’m near or farsighted (bit of both).   The expert (let’s call him “Steve”)   took me to a semicircular demo space and asked for my glasses.   I handed them over and he walked quietly over to a device I originally thought was a coffee machine.   No.   It was to scan my lenses in greater detail so I could have lenses calibrated to my...

  February 10th, 2024 has arrived, and with it I have officially completed IRVING!  Yes, Irving the Auspicious New Year Dragon.  In truth, I had finished him several days before, but as a symbolic personal gesture, I did not affix the plaque (seen in lower third of photo) until today. I named the dragon Irving (Full name Irving Long), when a joke made by comedian Jon Stewart crossed my thoughts unbidden.  Jon was making up the name of a law firm with two WASPy names and one stereotypically “Jewish” name.  “Williams, Flagstone… and OOIIIIVIIINNNGG!” said Mr. Stewart. Irving, thought I.  Yes, Irving.  It’s a nice sanguine salt-of-the-earth name.  Not a mighty name normally associated with a dragon, but I liked the juxtaposition.  As mentioned above, his full name is Irving Long.  The word “long” is Mandarin for the giant, divine serpent erroneously referred to by we Western folk as a “dragon,” since we had no other cultural analogue. In fa...

I think it’s time I spoke about my “edifice complex.” I refer to my avocation with Lego models. It began on a day in late December, 2019, after seeing my least favorite Star Wars film, “The Rise of Skywalker.” I DO NOT LIKE THIS FILM! I was put off by its disjointed lack of structure and technique.   I was repelled by the unneeded return of a villain from the past.   I had seen it the day before with Susan and our two friends, Lily and Liz.   I was seeing it that day with Susan, her sister Mary Grace, and Mary Grace’s family, the Hansons. I DO LOVE THESE PEOPLE!  THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE!   HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG! At the Hansen’s place, I got to see Mary Grace’s elaborate Star Wars-themed Lego collection.   Collection is an understatement.   I saw set pieces of the Death Star trench, the Sarlaac Pit, the Battle of Hoth - I lose track from the top of my head the complex Lego-scape. PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE.  SORRY. Mary Grace and I had a civil disc...