From a series by Mike Rosulek. One of several variations he offers for sale at Zazzle.com. (Also check out the last entry of his “About” section. 🙂 )
All posts by Peter
Tips for the Physically Disabled
Spinaltips is a cool little Swedish website (available in both English and Swedish) that has a host of tips on little tips and tricks for those with spinal cord injuries to lead an active and independent lifestyle. Not all of these apply to every person, but as a parent and provider, it certainly gets the gears going about just what can be adapted, and how.
Tantrum defined
We’ve been getting a fair number of tantrums from Jon lately. This time around (they come in waves, months apart, gradually fuelled more each time by teenage hormones), they are based on frustration with difficulties in a Wii game (which is why we have strict time limits on certain games) and homework, since this year’s curriculum is at a much more challenging level than that of the previous years, in content, approach, and activities.
On occasion during his fireworks, Jon will belligerently yell that he wants us to “make a movie of the tantrum!”. I usually refuse on the grounds that no one would ever want to watch that particular video of that.
But maybe I’m wrong…here, from Norway, is a very young man known as the PlayStation 3 Kid.
There is a critical difference in tantrum style between the two young gentlemen. The PS3 Kid seems to be fuelled more by addiction: he seems emotionally-detached at points, and is trying a variety of acting methods to motivate his parents. By contrast, Laura points out, Jon’s tantrums are like the bears you see in the movies. If they are going to roar and be ferocious on film, their trainer has to work them into true anger. Like them, Jon is a method actor.
Speaking of Jack…
A blast from the past the other day, when I decided to look up whatever happened to that slightly saucy computer game show from the mid-to-late 90’s You Don’t Know Jack.
It turns out that it continues on in some form. First a very short-lived TV show earlier this decade, then they relaunched it a couple of years ago on the web. Woohoo!
Sadly, production of episodes ended last year, but they posted 100 of them all told, and they are still up for you to play.
Now, it won’t tickle everyone’s fancy, and it can’t match the mischievous tricks of the CD-based versions. For instance, I seem to remember random occasions at the opening (when players enter their names) that I, despite having typed my name in as per usual, watched the letters come up to spell “AAAAAAAA” or “Klingon” or such, just so that the game’s host could make a sarcastic remarks about my skills to come. Silly, sometimes sarcastic, fun.
Ah, well. It’s nice to hear Cookie (snarky host), and relive a little bit of the old experience of a comically snarky virtual friend.
Chelsea Break
Jon and Laura bank tightly. Sorry for the bad composition—I was up to my midriff in a snowbank and could barely see over the course wall.
Off we headed to Chelsea Quebec last weekend, for our annual luge-and-computer-tech-support weekend extravaganza. As always, Jon loved the luge part, getting about 20 runs in.
It was a nice break for all of us, save Photon. Yes, you’d think hanging out on a large plot of land with plenty of forest would be relaxing for her, but she’s a bit of a worrier, and Keski, our hosts’ younger dog, just couldn’t help but constantly expect her to play. So Photon never could really settle, even overnight.
Keski pursues Photon—but this year Keski is bigger and tries to stay close! (Compare to last year!)
Along with a great couple of luge sessions (now with more banking turns!), Paul and Judy invited 11 kids (plus their two, plus ours) over for broomball. In the -25°C evening. It was great, though we had to pull out about halfway into the game when Jon’s wheelchair wheel dropped off!
Jon digs the side of the boards on Paul’s fully lit backyard rink (but no raising your stick when you get a goal!)
(Entirely my fault: I had detached one wheel for better packing for the ride up; the chair has an easy system for that. But the system is mechanically hydraulic, and since I had stored the wheelchair overnight in the cold car ’til shortly before game time, the catches were too lugubrious to fasten securely. It held—purely mechanically—for 30 minutes without a problem, but as we started getting cockier, and spun into the corner to intercept a wayward pass, we pushed the join too much.)
So Jon was effectively benched for the rest of the game. Mind you, first into the warm clubhouse meant benefits: Jon’s first-ever Wagon Wheel (or here) treat was awaiting, and he stuffed it down happily!)
Thanks Paul and Judy and Jamie and Willa, and yes, Keski too!
Imagine Lincoln’s Surprise
The Obama family visits a confident Abe on Tuesday (Gerald Herbert/Reuters)
I had a laugh at the photos of Obama when he was speaking at the pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday: it looks more than a tad surprised, unlike just a few days before when he visited with his family.
But by Sunday, Abe seems kinda surprised. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
What happened? What did he say? Why the sudden split between the Illinois boys? Lighting of the sculpture. This is a known effect. From one of our art books:
The “startled statue” is an accidental effect of light and shadow. The sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, Daniel Chester French, was so concerned about the potential of light to alter Lincoln’s expression that he sent the commission responsible for the memorial a photo showing: (A) how it should be lit, and (B) how it should under no circumstances be lit.
…In correct lighting, eyebrows [give the] impression of lowered, thoughtful brows. Incorrect lighting from below cast shadows…which appear like raised, arched eyebrows;…Eyelids repeat [the] pattern…[making the] upper lid appear enormously high above iris;
The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression, pg. 266
Gary Faigin
This isn’t the first time the instructions have been ignored, Bush Sr. and Quayle were at a pre-inaugural ceremony and the same thing was done.
Uh, guys? The artist usually has a decent idea about what he’s talking about…Oh, well, it’s an amusing lesson in how easy it is to draw a cartoon.
The Winner of the “Short & Sweet†Film Challenge
Photograph of Jesus by Laurie Hill in association with the Getty Images Short & Sweet Film Challenge from Hulton Archive on Vimeo.
Getty Images, one of the big stock photo houses, had a contest for up-and-coming filmmakers to produce a short film using images from their libraries. The winner Photograph of Jesus, a short documentary about some of the odd requests that Getty’s Hulton archive gets is great fun.
It certainly rings a bell about a select few of the clients I’ve had over the past 20 years, especially in the world of freelance illustration. But no tales out of school, I’m afraid. 🙂