January 30, 2007
 
                                          
 
 
For the past bunch of months I've had the layout and the order of events for the first half of my book solidly in place in my mind.  However, over the past week, I've re-thought how it's going to go down so it's all radically different.  I haven't changed the chapters yet (or written anything of value lately, for that matter), but wow, the thinking part is in overdrive.  I think once I see these changes on paper, it'll make the whole book flow much more smoothly.
 
Damn, Baxter's the cutest dog ever....and just as I wrote that, I turned to see him poop on the bed.  Grr.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Tori Amos - Space Dog
 
 
 
January 24, 2007
 
                                       
 
I've been poking through my thousands of pictures we took while in France and the Netherlands in 2005, and I'm still finding cool photos I've never noticed before.
 
I hardly ever talk about political stuff on here, but WTF...a trillion dollars?!?  The dumbasses who got us there in the first place should work it off as the dine-and-dash-dishwashers of the world.  Each and every one of them needs to be held publicly accountable for this gigantic cluster-fuck.  Heck, we could have had a brand-new shiny sparkling infrastructure for the whole damn country for that amount.  Now we're burdening the next several generations to pay for this mess.  It's just not right.
 
As long as I've opened the door and started talking about political stuff, I have to say that I'm wicked happy that she's running for President.  In 2008 I'll make an exception to my strict "Only-vote-for-left-handed-people"-rule and vote for her.  She rocks.    
 
I'm kind of annoyed with myself.  This month, my writing seems to have taken a backseat to a swirlie combination of intense bouts of painting and veging with the Netflix.  In a way it's kind of crappy since when I last wrote in 2492, I was in a really cool place, teetering on the verge of  a string of revealing chapters.  That, and (I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I'm too lazy to scroll down and read back to check) I've got a wicked awesome idea for a play that's been at the forefront of my mind for the past few weeks.  While the ideas are there, the motivation strangely seems to be lacking at the moment.  We have been watching a lot of movies lately though (some good and some that were beyond horrible).  Thank God we don't have cable, otherwise I'd get nothing done.
 
I wonder if the British soccer (football!) goalie named Eric Nixon did something newsworthy lately.  I've been getting a metric shit-ton of traffic to my site from England lately.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Scout - No One Asked You
 
 
 
January 23, 3007
 
                                      
 
Um, not too much interesting going on today (or lately, for that matter).  Mebbe more tomorrow.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Voxtrot - Missing Pieces
 
 
 
January 18, 2007
 
                                       
 
Stop me if you've seen this one before...Morrissey in his "Kill Uncle" days.  It's a little something I painted the other day.  It measures 12"x12" and is available to buy on our Etsy store. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  The Cars - Tonight She Comes
 
 
 
January 16, 2007
 
                                       
 
Just finished painting this portrait of Mr. Baxter (clicky for bigger picture). 
 
Also in the past day or so I decided to turn a short story idea, I've been kicking around for a few months now, into a short play.  I have no idea what I'll do with it after it's done but, for the moment, it just feels like the best format for it.  
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  The Von Bondies - C'mon, C'mon
 
 
 
January 14, 2007
 
                                              
 
Yesterday we went out to Easthampton and Northampton.  Here's Baxter checking out Eastworks.  Northampton was a much different story with us unable to walk 10 feet due to the throngs of people fawning over the perfection that is Baxter.  He gave out lots of pawtographs to his adoring fans. 
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
 
 
 
January 12, 2007
 
A couple of weeks ago I spouted about how much I hate iTunes, and how happy I was to be using Winamp.  Well, the ugly head of iTunes once again resurfaced much to the chagrin of me when I plugged in my new iPod Shuffle.  It's amazingly small (tinier than a pack of matches!), holds a nice 250 songs, and easily clips to almost anything.  That way I can be listening to cool music and paint while Kari watches some craptastic movie from Netflix.  My only problem (that I've since figured out) was that when the Shuffle gets plugged in (it charges through the compter's USB port), iTunes automatically popped up and vomited all sorts of warning messages all over the screen saying it can only find four of the 200 songs I loaded on it through Winamp.  It then proceeded to delete all but those four songs.  While I do very much like those four songs, I also kinda sorta liked the other 196 songs which I had to re-load onto it.  No biggie, but iTunes got wiped from my drive pretty quickly after that little episode.
 
 
Here's a fun and delightful IM conversation that just happened between Kari and Togbean:
 
Togbean:  hold on...here's a map
Kari:  Uh, I'll save that for Eric.
Togbean:  ?
Kari:  I am against maps
Togbean:  why?
Kari:  I like pretty things.
Togbean:  you're a goof.  I love maps
Kari:  Oh, I don't mind them really, but I don't like the responsibility.
Togbean:  responsibility?
Kari:  Yes. Oh knowing where to go, or how to get someplace.  I don't like it when people are lost and want you to look at the map for them. They are usually uptight when this happens.
 
 
Be sure to check out the new clicky stuff on the menu bar to the left.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Eminem - Lose Yourself
 
 
 
 
 
January 11, 2007
 
                                      
 
Say hello to my first large painting.  Well, larger than the li'l cupcakes I've been painting recently.  We hope to have prints, as well as the original painting, available for sale on our newly opened Etsy shop within the next few days.  If you are thinking, hey, that looks kinda sorta familiar," you'd be right.  Here's the photograph I took a couple of months ago that I based the painting off of.
 
Oh yeah, and we're totally entering Baxter in this.  Not only will his extreme cuteness thrash all his opponents, but he'll add insult to injury when he let's loose his trash trash talk.  While walking him around town, he's always barkin' smack against dogs that are easily ten times his size.  Probably because he was designed to hunt badgers.          
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  K's Choice - Paradise In Me
 
 
 
January 8, 2007
 
                                       
 
Yesterday we went to the Clark Art Institute up in Williamstown.  This year, we've decided to make it a point to go to a museum every month...and it was a happy coincidence that the Clark is offering free admission through May.  I think I've been there once before in my life, about 20 years ago when my mom took me, although, the middle-school version of me didn't appreciate art...heck, the late 20's version of me didn't either, but thankfully I've changed.  The museum has a very impressive collection of Sargent, Renoir, Degas, and countless others.  I was very impressed, and am already planning on going back for this. 
 
Is it just me, or does this picture look like it should be some band's album cover?  Well, that or maybe those crazy kids looking for the Mystery Machine.
 
Kari's friend, Ren, draws some goodly stuff.  And all this time I've been trying to teach Baxter to play the accordian.
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Toad The Wet Sprocket - Stories I Tell
     
 
 
January 5, 2007
 
While on the before-bedtime walk with Baxter, I was stricken by how unseasonably warm it is outside.  It felt more like early April or late September instead of January.  What little snow we got on Christmas night was gone two days later and it's been spring ever since. 
 
As we turned the corner, I realized that not a single business or home in town had taken down their Christmas lights.  The town twinkled in the glow of thousands of lights; draped over shrubs, tied in trees, wrapped in ropes of garland and lazily looped around the pillars at town hall.  It's all still there, shining equally bright as Christmas night.
 
I checked the date on my watch, the face of which was bespeckledly reflecting a particularly vibrant patch of holiday intentions and thought how weird this all was, since all of this is usually packed up and away right after New Year's Day...and here it is, almost a week later, and the entire town is still screaming their holiday message by way of high light counts and electric bills.  Then it hit me...maybe this is my town's version of a rain dance, for snow.  Perhaps the consensus is that the longer and later that the decorations are left up, the chances improve to maybe, just maybe, flag down a passing cold front and we can finally enjoy a taste of what the season should be. 
 
As I walked further, I noticed a smoky something hanging heavy in the air.  I sniffed a few times and disbelievingly muttered, "Woodstove?"  Who in their right mind would be running a woodstove when it was almost 60 out?  I mean, woodstoves are great and all, but come on. 
 
Baxter looked back and up at me as if to say, "Yeah, it's a woodstove.  Big deal," as he aimed his nose back to the ground and hunted a particular patch of grass for the long-gone remains of a donut he found at that exact spot two months ago.  The donut, along with my hopes for a snowy season, were long-gone.
 
If you haven't seen this yet, go and rent it. 
           
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
 
 
 
January 1, 2007
 
I got up this morning and walked Baxter and found the town to be unnaturally quiet.  No one was around.  A moderate fog shrouded everything in a pallid gray, that seemed to further mute the nonexistent sounds that weren't there to begin with.  It wasn't raining but there was moisture hanging heavy in the air, and the sidewalks were wet.  Not a lot wet, but just damp enough to make Baxter tread lightly.  He hates it when it rains out and will sometimes refuse to move if he feels the weather isn't to his liking.  I could tell he was trying to figure out the day but, in the end, he eventually began his normal routine of tracking scents.  He most definitely has a nose for the news; unfortunately, today's edition didn't seem to interest him that much. 
 
The streets were empty save for two out-of-state cars that must have cabbed it from a NYE party last night.  They'll be happy to find parking tickets on their windshields when they return later.  This morning couldn't have contrasted more with the scene last night when the streets were filled with limos and expensive cars of people who were attending New Years Eve parties at the various upscale restaurants that populate the landscape.  The smell also was in sharp contrast.  Last night when I walked our little dachshund, we were assaulted by the sticky sweet stench of too-strong cologne and perfume which swaddled the long-gone people who had passed a good minute ago from limos to the restaurant we were walking by.  Baxter lifted his leg to make his feelings known, and I approved his message.  This morning, however, the air was filled with bacon.  A very powerful smell of bacon, which I found to be strange since the nearest restaurant that served breakfast was two blocks away.
 
Baxter did his thing and we quickly went back inside.
 
Kari and I spent the rest of the day finishing the Lord Of The Rings marathon, and the paintings we had started the night before.  She'd never seen the movies and I saw them only once in the theaters years ago, so we figured it was a good time for it.
 
Heh.                   
 
 
What I'm listening to right now:  Minus The Bear - Drilling
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                    © 2007 Eric Nixon.  All rights reserved.