Beach Cat

© Linda Davick

Another Planet?

Mom called today to tell me about their trip to the zoo. When I asked her what her favorite animal was, all she could talk about were the plants and trees in bloom. She went on and on about the redbud trees.

But look what I drove by this morning, right up the street. A bluebud tree.

Long Last Lipstick in Bamboo Pink

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© Linda Davick

Beach Find of the Day

A good hair day.
Linda Davick

Mom's Brain / My Brain

Diagnostic
Radiology
Consultants


Aggles: I didn't tell you the really awful thing that happened last weekend when I was visiting Mom, did I.
Me: I don't know. Should you?
Aggles: It will probably happen when you visit, so I probably should.
Me, bracing myself: OK.
Aggles: Mom and I were sitting in her living room talking. She looked over toward the sliding glass door and said, "I believe the artificial plant your Aunt Mary gave me is getting blossoms on it." I said, "You believe the artificial plant Aunt Mary gave you is getting blossoms on it?" She said, "Yes. I've been watering it." I went over and sure enough, there was water in the saucer it was sitting in.

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. The book that Luci gave me, How to Care For Aging Parents, says it's OK to laugh sometimes. Then I grew solemn.

Me: Aggles? This reminds me of something I did one time. I had just read this book by Carlos Castaneda where somebody was on such a spiritual journey that the car he was driving never seemed to need gas. It just kept going without needing to be refilled. It was back when I had the green Fiat. A little while after I finished reading the book, it seemed like my gas tank was staying 1/2 full for the longest time. After a week and a half of this, I started wondering. But I thought, "Well why shouldn't it stay 1/2 full? I'm on a spiritual journey, too, am I not?" Then one day when Evie's sister was in town, the three of us were on our way somewhere in the car, and it suddenly stopped. We had no idea what was wrong. I had it towed to the shop. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. A day later, I got a call from the mechanic. He said, "Ma'am? Your gas tank is completely empty." It turned out that the gas gauge needed to be replaced.

Fun With Nature

Shampoo

















© Linda Davick

Treasure

Linda Davick
It rained all day. At 6:00, the sun came out. We hit the beach. I took 108 photographs.
Whenever I come back home with a camera full of pictures, I feel like I have a box of treasure waiting to be opened.

Stranger Than Fiction

A fun movie.

Dustin Hoffman,
Will Ferrell,
Queen Latifah,
Emma Thompson.

Thanks for the recommendation, Pal.

Not A Good Pick-up Line

This evening as we were stretching, the guy above breezed by with his iguana. I said, "Wow, I sure missed a photo there." Tom said, "It's not too late! Run after him!"

So I chased him down and asked if I could take a picture of his pet. He said, "Sure."

After I snapped a shot or two, the guy looked at me and said, "I think you and he have a lot in common."

I hope he was referring to the fact that I was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt.

Interview with Sally Cruikshank

First, a brief interview with myself:
Linda, tell us about a defining moment in your life.
Seeing Quasi at the Quackadero.
Why?
It brought me to my creative senses. It also sparked my interest in philosophy, religion, physics, history, and psychology. (If you haven't seen Quasi at the Quackadero, step over here.)
...............................................................................................
Hi Sally. When and how did Anita's magnificent profile (the profile of her face) come into being? And is Anita based on anyone you know?

Okey dokey. I was drawing a lot of ducks, childhood obsession, so they all come out of that. From Uncle Scrooge comics, partly. Anita is not based on anyone I know, though there's a lot of my childhood best friend in Quasi, and a lot of New Jersey in Anita. My grandmother sent me a 50s shirt for my birthday that had diagonal pink and gray stripes, and I found it so disturbing, and felt badly that I hated it. The 50s aesthetic... One of those things that locks in your brain. Another childhood friend's middle name was Anita, and I always thought it was peculiar.
Did you do the voice for Anita or any of your other characters?

I did the voice of Anita. It's kind of a riff on Mae West. I wish I could get the computer voices I use now to have more personality, to be able to tweak them. For awhile there was a wonderful free demo voice of a valley girl which I used in some online thing or other, at helloagain.com in the section about us, I believe. You typed in phrases and it came out with really decent character voice. But then a big corporation bought the little corporation in Scotland that had constructed this cool computer voice, and took it off the market.

Are you working on an animation now? If you aren't, do you have an idea for one?

Right now I'm not working on anything. I'm trying to learn various technical things which can be consuming, since I'm teaching myself. e.g. I found an old and decent interview I'd done, on 3/4" tape, had it transferred to dvd, then found it's really hard to edit from dvd format. Downloaded a program that took the tape to divx format, then bought a program just now that's going to convert the divx to avi. Then I'll edit it in After Effects. Just figured out how to use software to convert old audio tapes to cds. It's not that any of this is so hard, but just tracking down the info and watching out for viruses takes time.

I was thinking of rebuilding the Sado Air part of my old Charbucks web site in After Effects but haven't gotten very far with that. It's very funny.

Jingle: "If we crash, we don't care, we don't say we'll get you there, we just say, if you dare, you'll fly Sado-Air." (written before September 11.)

Did you make things when you were little? What kinds of things? If so, were your parents excited about what you made?

I always thought I would be a writer. I used to write a lot. My sister was an incredibly talented and eccentric artist, who died of a brain tumor at age 49. She had an unhappy life.

My mother has a great sense of humor and is creative. She's 92 tomorrow, things are getting hard for her now.

Do you have a family? (Jon and Dinah from your blog?)

Jon is my nice husband and Dinah is my nice 18 year old daughter. I have a very smart German Shepherd, Molly, and I spend a lot of time with her. We even take sheep herding lessons.

What does your family think of your work?

I love reading the comments on youtube by the grown up kids who watched my Sesame Street pieces. Dinah never enjoyed tv at all, and would leave the room when I turned Sesame Street on.

Does your family put you up on a pedestal or do they think you're just a normal human being?

I am the person who takes care of the animals!

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Trader Joe's Greek yogurt with strawberries. Nasty lunch, TJ enchiladas that were still partially frozen.

What would you like for dinner tonight? (Don't say "howz about oatmeal.")

Salmon tonight with asparagus and potatoes. How bout you?

Pancakes. What kind of computer do you use?

I have a Sony Vaio hardtop media edition computer and use a Wacom tablet to draw. I have 1500 gb ram. I use Flash, After Effects and Photoshop plus Note Tab Pro for coding JavaScript and PHP. I bought Dreamweaver but haven't gotten very far with it.

When do your best ideas come to you?

When somebody hires me to do something, and they're not restricting me, and there's music that I like. I can really groove on creating animation that responds/bounces off of music/lyrics. The reason I got started trying to resurrect this old interview with me is because I remember some interview where they shot me in the old Woolworth's in downtown San Francisco, because I said I got my ideas at Woolworth's. But I couldn't find that interview.

When you first experienced Flash, what was your reaction?

I hated it, and this was Flash 4. It didn't make sense to me at all. I created an elaborate web site with JavaScript and gifs for the animation. Then when Flash 5 came out it was easy for me because I knew so much JavaScript.

Do you like drawing in Flash?

yes and no. The line is strong, but not always the line intended. But the fill is incredible, remembering the hours, days, weeks, months, years of ink and paint. I think it's odd that people have so much trouble breaking away from the Flash look, because the software can do so much.

What's one of your worst habits?

I'm shy and not good at keeping up with friends or people from the past.

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry?

I don't wear jewelry. I even had my wedding ring cut off because it interfered with riding.

What is your favorite cosmetic?

Clinique lotion is nice.

What are one or two of your favorite movies?

I Know Where I'm Going, Michael Powell, and my favorite period is the sound movies of early 30's.

Do you subscribe to any magazines?

Magazines fill me with dread, because they keep coming and there's never enough time in the day.

What music have you been listening to lately?

I go in and out of interest in music, but transferring these old audio tapes has me more in than before. I'm not into contemporary music at all.

What is your favorite pair of shoes?

I wear ugly Ariat boots, but I did have a pair of shoes I designed constructed once, in England. I think there's a picture of them somewhere on my site.

What are some of your favorite books?

One of my favorite authors is Barbara Comyns, Our Spoons Came from Woolworth's and many other books, but her last one was awful. I also like to read Western History. Can you imagine anyone reading James Joyce's Ulysses any more? (I never read it.) I keep up on T.C. Boyle, but he could be better. Lately I've enjoyed mysteries when well written, not that I ever know who did it or even like the crime aspect, but enjoy the less affected writing styles and real milieu created. You'd think I'd like science fiction but I can't get into it. I'm a horribly critical reader.

My husband has a few more questions:

Why do you pick on Quasi?

probably mixed feelings about my old boyfriend.

How did Quasi escape from the time hole?

artistic liberty

Why did you tease the goats? (as witnessed in I get slammed by a fat goat)

I didn't tease them! They tease me. They torment us. We love them.

Do you have any other pets? (I know you have a German shepherd.)

Two horses, two goats, 12 doves, koi, an OLD frog, five chickens, two parakeets. Used to have more.

If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would you live?

I'm always happy where I am and don't like moving.
whew. enough of me. gonna send this before computer crashes. Sally

ps no idea why but my email program flashes a notice that this email is full of things that will make the recipient angry. huh? no idea what that's about!
...................................................................................................
Don't forget to watch Make Me Psychic.
Order the DVD so you can really see the movies.
Afterwards if you feel the need to talk to someone, you can go here.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

© Linda Davick
Drawing rats can be fun.

Sea Air

The first photo ever taken of Tom that doesn't make him look like an escaped criminal.

Then, to Add Insult to Injury...

photo by
Photo Booth
on Anne's
new iMac

My Three Stages of Computer Envy

My next door neighbor Emmy got a new iMac yesterday.

photos by
Photo Booth
on Emmy's
new iMac

Stage 1:
Joy









Stage 2:
Anger











Stage 3: Grief

Baby Deer

rejected baby illustration with antlers added

Tom is scrambling to find our fax number while on the phone with a client. I hand it to him silently. When he hangs up, he says: "Thank you, Dear."

me: Don't call me Dear!
him: OK. Then don't call me Baby!
me: Baby is OK, but not Dear!
him: (a little perturbed) OK, I won't call you Anything.
me: You can call me Baby or Baby Deer, but not Dear!

Later I mention that his drawings look really good. He says: "Thank you, Dear Baby."
me: You mean Baby Deer.
him: Sorry–I just got the words transposed.
He'll never get it right. Later he called me Bambi.

Live Catalogue Model

Dee said...(in her comment)
Yes, indeed, you COULD be a catalogue photographer! Could you get Tom to model something for you so we can see if this talent extends to live catalogue models? :-))
I said: Here we see Tom modeling his new swimming goggles and t-shirt. This was taken before I knew how to focus. Now that I can focus sometimes, what do you think?

Beach Find of the Day

Linda Davick

Spending Report

And now we reach the end of our story. When my friend held out the money and I grabbed it and ran, she shouted after me that I had to spend it on something that I liked. (I couldn't use it to pay my PG&E bill.) Fun!! I told her I would report back on my spending.

1. m.patrizio necklace (sold out at the moment)
2. paper and stickers
3. gardenia blossoms
4. massage ball
5. six prints by Antonio Benjamin
6. Sally Cruikshank's DVD of incredible movies, including Quasi at the Quackadero.

It should be obvious to everyone by now that I want to be a catalog photographer more than anything else in the world.

Congratulations, Sal

The last time I was helping my friend with her computer, she thrust a hundred dollars into my hand as I was leaving. How did I react?

Sal guessed correctly: #4. I took the money and ran to my car.

Sal, your award for making the correct guess is the black and pink purse, bottom left. When I found it in the store today and went up to pay for it, I asked how much it cost because it didn't have a price sticker. The cashier said, "It doesn't have a sticker?"
Me: "No."
Cashier: "But it doesn't even have a zipper!"
Me: "No zipper? Really?"
Cashier: "It fell off or something. You still want it?"
Me: "Yes!" To me that made it even more valuable.
Cashier: "I'll have to call the manager."
So he picked up the phone and called the manager.
Manager: "You want to buy this?"
Me: "Yes!"
Manager: "But it doesn't even have a zipper!"
Me: "Can I have it as a bonus then?" (I was still in contest mode.) She looked offended, and made up a price, which I can't disclose being that it's Sally's valuable prize.

What's so valuable about it? It will teach Sal a valuable lesson. She can put money into it, but the money will fly right out. She'll get to walk a mile in my shoes and learn what it's like not to be able to save money.

Guess Correctly and Win Big

This is a prologue to a story about helping my friend with her computer, which I love doing. The last time I was there she thrust a hundred dollars into my hand as I was leaving. The first one to correctly guess how I reacted wins a valuable prize.

1. I hand it back demurely saying, "Oh no. I could never accept this."
2. Protest, then take it. Before leaving the room I stuff it under her Wacom tablet.
3. Take it, but as I go outside and she closes the door, I slide it back into her mail slot.
4. Take the money and run to my car.

p.s. (Above) That's how the ocean looked today when we started our walk. An hour later, the sky was clear, and the beach was packed with people watching the sun set.

Two Miracles

Linda Davick
Miracle #1: I got my work sent off that was due today.
Miracle #2: I had more to do tonight, but I decided to go for a jog. I was shocked–shocked, when I ran into that particular client on the beach. I must have looked a little ragged. She said, "Take the night off."

Creativity Explored Opening

A great show at Creativity Explored. I found six incredible prints by Antonio Benjamin. Then I set out to find Antonio Benjamin himself. Antonio makes his art in Photoshop and prints it out on fine paper.

This Evening

Linda Davick

Winners, Prepare To Be Millionaires

© Linda Davick

Sally and Dee, congratulations. You answered the question correctly.

The million-dollar question: Is it possible for me to put my money into savings?

The correct answer: No.

Sally and Dee, prepare to be smothered in riches beyond your wildest dreams. You have each won a ticket to The Super Money Show, where one weekend can make you a millionaire! The Wealth Expo is to be held March 17-18 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. Your tickets are in the mail.

Contest: Money Game

© Linda Davick

Hi! Take a look at what I learned in skool this week. Play the game. Be one of the first two readers to post the correct answer, and you will win an extraordinary prize valued at $179.00.

Goodnight Whinsey

You can chat with Whinsey too.

Whinsey the ChatBot Horse

Do you need to talk with someone? Go here.




Sally Cruikshank

Cats. And Men.

Dorothy had just sent me a link to a remarkable feline movie. Hearing this cat play the piano reminded me that Kurt Elling, Dorothy's favorite jazz singer, was at Yoshi's this weekend.


From: Linda
Date: March 1, 2007 10:26:55 AM PST
To: Dorothy

priceless. priceless.
p.s. Are you going to Yoshi's to hear Kurt Elling?










© Linda Davick

From: Dorothy
Date: March 1, 2007 12:57:35 PM PST
To: Linda

Do you mean, "Speaking of musical prodigies...are you going to hear Kurt Elling?" :^)

YES MA'AM!!! I got the 2 for one KCSM tickets for the 8:00 show tonight and we're having dinner there too and they have a new chef. I'm so excited.

Steve's coming, although he said, "We've already seen him." This coming from a guy who laughs hysterically at the opening of the Simpsons when Homer almost gets hit by Marge's car coming in the garage...every single time. And who can see a movie over and over and over. At least with a concert, they might sing a different song or have a different arrangement. I don't understand him.
D.