Killer Skate Weekend

This past weekend was an awesome one. The Concretins converged in Louisville (the ones that could make it) and we had a video-tastic good time. I am so jealous of Skidzilla's lens. It rules. RULES, I tells ya. See for yourself...

Epic Weekend Photographic Evidence

Ike beat us like Tina

Louisville may be hundreds of miles from any coast but that didn't keep Hurricane Ike from bitch-slapping our city around a bit. Ike raised his pimp-hand and we took the force of his winds - up to 75 mph - all afternoon on Sunday. We lost power. Everybody lost power. Half of Louisville lost power (and some still don't have it). The amount of damage was pretty unbelievable. Trees were down everywhere. Power lines were down. Poles were smashed. Cars were smashed. It was pretty neat actually :)

But we got it back after only a couple of days. We lost some things in the fridge but managed to save the important stuff (meat and beer). The kids were out of school an entire week. Kelsey stayed with friends mostly. Will and I made the best of it. Julie loved being off work. We all loved it!

But things are back in action and settling back to normal. I know that Ike caused massive damage in Galveston and the surrounding areas of Texas. But I'd like to thank Ike for giving my family an only slightly stressed late-summer break.

The Mark of Great Art

The Maker's Mark online gallery is now up...

The Mark of Great Art

Go check it out. Go vote! And if you like, vote for me :)

I like my blurb on my artist page...

Eric Brinley - Artist Profile

When Did September Hit?

Wow time flies. September is upon me and I feel like I'm coming back to this blog for the first time in a long time. Where have I been? Seriously, I'm not asking rhetorically... where the hell have I been? :)

I started skating again. My blood came back with low iron but I'm feeling very good nonetheless. The Mark of a Great Artist show opened this weekend and I went down with my family to proudly stand by my two contributions. I am very proud of my work. The kids are digging school. Julie is not so much digging her school. I hate Kelsey's orthodontist and went toe-to-toe with them. Miss Annie is alive and I think recovering. Boba had his first trip to the vet and is in great shape. I watched the movie "Fight Club" with Kelsey and then again with Julie. They both loved it. My new niece is getting more personality every week. I'm still stuck on the game City of Heroes. I saw "Pineapple Express" with Julie and giggled. I watched "The Dark Knight" again. Awesome. I need to get some creative juices flowing and start painting again. I need to update my web site. The NFL season started (and my FFL started too) and my Vikings lost their first game against the Bears (and the Hillbilly Hairybacks lost their first game too). Weak.

So yeah, I've been busy with this and that. But overall life is good.

It will only get worse

That was Jed's mantra. He spent an exhaustive amount of time explaining to me that it is not a pessimistic way to view the world. I was never really convinced. But now I think I've got it. Instead of lamenting when things go awry and expecting everything to work out, maybe he's suggesting that we should expect things to just go downhill. And when they don't, well, won't that be a pleasant surprise? Well, things with Miss Annie are only getting worse.

I took Miss Annie to the vet today for what I was hoping would turn out to be a simple checkup. Miss Annie is not doing well. She's lost another 1/2 pound. The doctor is gravely concerned about her weight and told me to forget the prescribed food and to load her up on whatever is her favorite. She will die if she does not start taking in more calories. He sent me home with three IV bags and a bag full of needles to administer 200 cc's of fluids every other day. My attempt to stick her while in the office was unsuccessful (I stuck in and back out of her skin... so sorry Annie!) but I can do it moving forward. The vet pointed out that even he still does that from time to time.

So wish us luck. We'll go back to the vet in four weeks. With her health a growing concern (her eyesight is also failing the vet informed me) and mounting medical bills... well, I could be up for discussing the "other" option :(

Maker's Mark pieces done

Whew! It's been tough but the two Maker's Mark pieces, "Bottle to Barrel" and "Red Wax Dip", are done. I'll post pix once I take them and have linkies. Here are a few things I've learned in the studio over the last few weeks:

1. I don't like Raw Umber - Raw Umber sucks just as bad as Burnt Umber when it comes to applying the paint. Both suck less than just about any shade of yellow but only because yellow requires at least 2 coats and possibly more. Why can't everything work as well as Cadmium Red?

2. Golden Raw Umber is best - Of the different brands of Raw Umbers I tried the one that I liked best was from Golden. Not Liquitex. Not Winsor & Newton.

3. Brushes survive the dishwasher - Due to an innocent mixup ("Put everything in the sink into the dishwasher") my daughter put two of my prized brushes into the dishwasher. They survived and work just fine :)

4. What goes into a dog... - Paint goes into a dog one color but always comes out brown. Colored pencils go into a dog one color and retain that color. Sharpies make a mess going into a dog but do not kill them. Oh, and when a rope is sticking out of your dogs butt, pull it but don't yank.

5. Procrastination - I am and will forever be a procrastinator. No matter how much I try I simply cannot shake it.

"Procrastination is like masturbation... you're just screwing yourself."

Low Iron... Still

I called to get my blood test results from earlier in the week and my iron is still low. Bummer. I've been taking my iron pills and my multi-vitamins. And I'm still eating red meat (much to my wife's chagrin). I'll go back to the doctor in two months. Meanwhile, he suggests taking a vitamin C tablet with one of my iron pills and continuing to eat red meat twice a week. I guess that's good news for Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Skyline Chili - bad news for those who have to smell my meaty farts(that would be the wife and kids). Boo-yah!