Full Bloom: Too Many Hazards

Full of blooming screens!

I once introduced a friend to Mille Bornes by stating the objectives as 1) get as many miles as you can, and 2) stop your opponents from traveling. He got it really good. In four moves all of us were stopped. Including my friend who had (of course) raised the vengeance of us all.

Full Bloom is a Facebook game that reminds me of that friend. Obviously someone told them that the game is merely a draw, so they throw up as many screens as possible before you get to the actual playing board: invite friends, play a special pre-game, get a gift, give gifts, find a special butterfly, and a news screen. If that isn't enough, when you get to your "garden" there's a big yellow arrow pointing to the news button. Then, you can click on the game button to go to the playing board.

Full Bloom also sucks up CPU usage. I know because I've played it on a Windows laptop and had warnings. It's a simple little match-three game with no need for tons of CPU. So, what's it doing with the CPU? Is it just lazy programing? Or perhaps malicious surreptitious tracking? Could it possibly be checking my hard drive?

The game itself is nicely made: pretty, logical, levels up in small increments, adds interesting hazards. Too bad it's all larded up with crap that makes it frustrating to begin playing. Also, the add-ons are outrageously expensive. It's about $1.00 to add on 5 moves in the middle of a game (if you run out of moves or time). Other options are equally expensive. Really silly when you consider that you could buy a "real" game with endless playing time and unlimited moves for $10.

I like the game. In spite of the detractors I play it a lot. I've never paid to play and I never will. It's not worth it.

One of three pre-screens to click through before you
get to play the game.

You arrive here after the preliminary screens.
After this you can go to the playing board.

After the garden, on the way to the playing
board - a little detour.

About Those Flowers ...

I might be done. And done with the whole Make Something 365 thing. I did make a lot of things for a lot of days, including the years I did the daily Morning Pages which were quite liberating and which I recommend for everyone, whether you believe you're an artist/creative/writer or not. In fact, creating something unique and expressive that responds only to your rules is the best thing a person can do every day.

That and meditate. Or at least have some kind of spiritual practice.

Which makes it difficult to admit that I have done neither for two days now. I'm just sort of hanging out, writing a novel, watching shows and movies, and crocheting and knitting. The whole crocheting/knitting thing is sort of like making something everyday. And then when I'm done I'll have a thing: a scarf, a hoodie, a shawl, a pair of leg warmers. Kinda cool.

Dried gourds, photographed and enhanced.

Just thought you ought to know.

Flower 77

The dinner plate patterned flower.

Sky 323 - tower of insanity

Just beyond the village at the top of the cliffs.

Sky 274 - brown haze

Wow! Saturday blew by and I didn't even notice that I had not posted a sky. Yesterday I decided, in a fit of rebellion, to not post one. I thought about posting "This sky left intentionally blank." and then didn't. I guess I wasn't that original (even if he did post after I had the idea – but who can prove that? And I don't care anyway. Really. It's just that I was all thrilled about my creativity until I read his tweet. Now I'll just have to find something else to be thrilled about).

365: Sky 101 - strange mood

101 skies! OMG!

It takes 21 days to start a new habit. I've been posting skies for 101 days (approximately - with one day off for good behaviour). Since the goal was to make something everyday, I needed a project I could manage to complete daily. Posting skies is not as transformative as the Words & Art Archive project. I could probably manage Words & Art once a week. 

Culling from my archives was like an earthquake in my life. My life does need an earthquake, yet I am notoriously bad at generating my own earthquakes. I prefer to have them made for me. I do respond well.

Anyway, here's to today!

0216 - Retrospective Dailies

and the tendency i have these days to just throw everything in and expect it to fall into place naturally or for those who experience it to put whatever it is in the correct order and place based on the nature of the object. i am tired of laying things out for everyone. (2009)

Gorgeous (1998)

graphic (2010)

0211 - Words and Art

i'm writng this because i have to let go of something. i'm not sure what it is but i'm pretty sure it involves you and what you represent and how you transformed my life by pointing to the parts that are most vitally me. and yet you stand back like a catalyst and act as if nothing happened. (2011)

Goat's Beard, not normal (2001)

Machine (1999)

0208 - Words and Art

I've missed two days out of the last week and I'm not going back and filling in. In the normal realm of Elaine-ness this spells certain death. But I'm not going there today. Oh. Wait. I just did. Anyway, here's what I did on this day in history.

i noticed yesterday she brought her own lunch or seemed to have her own lunch. after i let her know that i know how the executive dining room works. my suspicion is that she's been feeding herself up there. (2005)

well, this is not really like capturing the first thoughts of the day because those are the ones that get me out of bed. (2009)

i don't want to write. i don't want to think about words or typing. i want to roam around drifting and letting thought pass thorugh my head in one side and out the other. like a sluice. juice. meep. beep. creep. seep. leap. heap. jeep. keep. leep (2010)

On this day in 2000 I either started or finished a sketchbook simile portfolio. I created it in Pagemaker and through the magic of Abode opened it today in InDesign with a mere double click. I had to change a couple of fonts and relink the images (which miraculously are all still here – except for one I didn't bother looking for). Here are a few screen shots.

Cover

High School Graduation Announcement

assorted sketches

frames from an animation

GNOLAUM (ETERNAL) spelled backwards; a pen and ink drawing from the 70s

back cover

0205 - Words and Art

please don't tell me my lot in life is to learn to love everyone but be alone for the rest of my life. that's like telling me i can only have near beer forever. that would be bad. (2009)

get a little crazy (2003)

startup screen for PowerMac (1998) made by my son as a surprise

Current Fads
Listening. Healing Sounds (Sounds True) Ciara, Luka Bloom
Watching. It's a Guy Thing (2008); On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
Activity. exploring the jungle
Gadget. a family of space heaters
News Source. the news feeds in Safari
Reading. The American - Henry James; The Pathbreaker Agent - Elaine Greywalker; On the Threshold of Transformation - Richard Rohr et al
Writing. The Pathbreaker Agent

0121 - Words and Art

to pull the ichat the ribbons the dregs the highway to pull to reach to run the rails the rails the rails that aren't rails the highways or paths or ways of the energy of time and space the length of the morrison and what's that the fuck of the energy and god dammit and there and there's a still small voice drowned out by energy and direction and flow and although i long to jump into the raging river i stay by the still quiet streams and rest and think and enjoy just having my toes in the water insted of full on swimming whatever that is and why is that and that is and there is no flow and i am just pulled and pushed and then the eddies carry me along to the edge of whatever and i am again at the creek the silent nay burbling creek with it's precious stones and quiet bugs and random footsteps and silly aquinas moments and the dread of something something to take me away ...

those things that i do, art, write, blog, poetry, movies etc. are all ways to touch the real world. the world where the paths are true, the steel true and the blades straight. where it really happens. i wish to live there. to stop wishing and just go with the flow to follow the path. what is required? no one knows. (2008)

Random Sky 2 (2004)

As I look ahead and glance behind this 365 Make Something weighs in as a onerous task. Can I really dredge up the past for 365 days? I've done it for 21 days (with a bit of cheating - back dating posts - although, as I've been told, on page 3 the book says "there are no rules.") and that feels like 60. So. We'll see.

At the Crossroads

I think he actually said, "Nature is violent." Anyway, the point being that nature isn't always this gentle, sweet woman.

If I ran the cosmos ...

If I were in charge, things would be organized and make sense. Not like the way they are in this cosmos which is full of randomness and chaos. I mean, how are you supposed to know you've got a message if everything is just chaos? Mediums and psychics make money pulling out the right messages and passing them on. I guess they would lose their jobs. But as enterprising business owners I'm sure they'd find another income stream.

Just imagine how nice things would be if tea leaves arranged themselves nicely at the bottom of the cup, your dirty clothes naturally floated into the hamper, trash into the bin, and fruit landed gently on the ground and waited for you to pick it up without rotting. The latter could be an issue if you rely on rotting to grow anything. So, okay, then things that are intended to rot – like fallen leaves and dead flowers – would automatically end up where they are supposed to be and they would rot quickly so you don't have to wait around for them decompose. And the used bowl shown here would have the remaining bits settled nice to the bottom of the bowl, not splayed around randomly and looking dirty. Hey! Dirt would be pretty!

On the other hand, if things were perfectly arranged all the time, anything that was not in place would stand out really badly. Actually, we may have that already ...
Current Fads
Listening. It Ain't Me Babe - Bob Dylan and Send in the Clowns - Judy Collins; high pitched whining in ears
Watching. It's Complicated (2010)
Activity. waking up
Gadget. iMac
News Sources. the news feeds in Safari, Twitter, Facebook friends
Reading. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen; Creative Visualization (sample) - Shakti Gawain; How to Get What You Want Just By Thinking About It - Me
Writing. uh...

when day is done and shadows fall I dream of you

when day is done I think of all the joys I knew

that yearning

returning

to be held in your arms

I know love, what's so love,

without you life has lost its charms ...

and although I miss

your craziness

the whole day through

I miss you most of all

when day is done

rain making me morose

Lessons learned from Shrek:

1. When you are ugly, have a good roar, and can run fast you never have to fight.

2. Unusual creatures make the best friends.

3. True love makes you beautiful, not the other way around.

4. You don't have to look for opportunities to be a hero. They will be thrust upon you.

5. Be open minded. Not everyone is lucky enough to be an ogre.

Current Fads
Listening. Goodbye to Love (personal playlist – see below); the beating of my heart
Watching. Shrek (2001)
Activity. discovering Chocolates by Kelly
Gadget. my head
News Source. news?
Reading. Vision of Murder - Victoria Laurie (yes, it is taking me along time to get through this detective mystery. i only read it before going to bed)
Writing. this post

right the first time

First thought, best thought. Zen proverb
Current Fads
Listening. Vocal Genius Mix; A/C blowing; ringing in ears
Watching. Slaves of New York (1989)
Activity. contemplating the universe
Gadget. iPhone 3GS
News Source. Google News
Reading. Vision of Murder - Victoria Laurie
Writing. nothing :::::sigh::::::::::
Song of the Day: Is That All There Is? - Peggy Lee
Ap of the Night: Planets

someone like you

Current Fads
Listening. Chicago - Greatest Hits; Miracle Drug, U2
Watching. The Mirror Has Two Faces (1992)
Activity. walking in the heat
Gadget. iPhone 3GS
News Source. Google News
Reading. A Vision of  Murder - Victoria Laurie
Writing. morning pages
Song of the Night: Send in the Clowns, Judy Collins

It's Not the President's Fault

I recently had a conversation with a friend who relayed to me her belief that employment in the US most likely is about only 85%. Officially I think it's about 90%, not taking into account those who have dropped off the unemployment lists. I'll buy that some have given up and that some are under employed (forced to work part time or for less than industry standard). So, let's say that employment is around 85% (unofficially). Pair that with a cute statistic I saw in the news that about 70% of those employed are afraid of losing their jobs. Interpolated, this could mean that just about everyone who has a job is afraid of losing it. This is fear factor.

Let's also combine the fact that President Obama's approval rating is falling. According to a newscast I watched (sorry I can't remember which one, might have been CNN), the low confidence in job security is to blame for this loss of approval. Seems like kind of a long shot to me. After all, Obama has done a whole bunch of things in the first six months of his presidency which could affect that rating. Also, let's remember that Obama was not just a candidate, but a super candidate that we all hoped would save us. (New Hope, anyone?) Based on these ideas, I think we can say that Obama may have started out with a high approval rating but it was based on him turning out to be Superman or maybe Spiderman.

Folks, the issues in this economy go way back to the beginning of George W. Bush's reign of terror. Some go back even further. US finances have long been based on faulty notions that there will always be more money and if we run out we'll make more. Turning around this sort of thinking and getting the military away from buying $1,000 hammers is going to take some time. It won't happen overnight or in six months. It won't happen even in four years. All the president can do at this point is make a start. The best we can do is support him and offer up whatever knowledge and experience we have of sound financial practices.

It's not his fault.

Those of you who follow my Twitter posts may wonder if I was just being dramatic or if I really was in a hostage situation Saturday night. I was not being dramatic.

I went to church with Mom that night. We were mystified by the huge crowd at church on a Saturday night and had to park the car on the lawn outside the school building. As we crossed Government Ave. a volunteer quickly met us and advised us to get out of the street as soon as possible. The nearby intersection with Granby St. was blocked with police cars. A young man had taken over a convenience store and was holding a hostage.

The high attendance mystery was solved easily by noting the number of children dressed up for First Communion. The church was packed. After the service we were told to exit only through the side doors. No one was allowed to cross Government Ave. to get their cars from the parking lot. The situation with the hostage had heated up and police were concern that the bad guy might shoot along Government Ave. One couple snuck across the street and drove off anyway.

Mom asked for the office building to be opened and we went inside and sat down. Lucky for everyone else that it was a pleasant night and not raining. A single phone call brought friends to meet us down the block (in the opposite direction from the hostage situation) and take us to dinner. By the time dinner was over, so was the situation. We were driven back to the church where we got into Mom's car and drove home.

Later it was discovered that there was no gun and no hostage and the desperate man was 17 years old. He just wanted to get some gifts at the neighboring jewelry store. Read the news story.
Current Fads
Listening. Rock Music in my iTunes library; ringing in ears
Watching. Dersu Uzala (1975)
Activity. not finishing the screenplay
Gadget. iPod Shuffle 2nd Gen
News Source. Google News
Reading. Smoke in the Wind - Peter Tremayne; A Wish Can Save Your Life - Gahl Sasson and Steve Weinstein; Romantic Religion - R. J. Reilly
Writing. morning pages

Signs of the Time

Well, it's snowing, really, at long, long last. It takes about four invitations from the weather forecasters to get the snow to come to Richmond. I've been up since 3:15 trying to go back to sleep by reading, drinking Tension Tamer and eating a cup of Cheerios. That didn't work, obviously. Now I'm eating chocolate chip cookies which are poison but taste so good going down and, really, go a long way toward distracting me from the pain of sleeplessness.

The street light in the alley is doing that amazing thing that streetlights only do in Richmond, which is projecting incredibly romantic light into the trees and offering the snowflakes a momentary dance in the spotlight. In no other town are the street lights such purveyors of dramatically romantic light as they are here. This is what really keeps me in Richmond, the gentle nightly caresses of the lights in the protective branching arms of the trees. I became infected during my first tour of duty as an art student in 1969 and the inoculation of years of travel has not cured me. Okay. I know inoculations don't cure, but whatever.

The main point is I'm awake when I should be sleeping. What is keeping me up? Is it that I have been unemployed for seven out of the last 13 months? No. I had more trouble sleeping when I had a job. Sometimes I thought it was the job that kept me up at night. Not because it was overwhelming or particularly engaging. That's what kept me up.

You'd think that seven months would be enough time to edit a novel draft and start getting it out there, wouldn't you? Well, it is actually. It's just that seven months of unemployment is not the same as setting aside seven months away from the job to work on a project. I don't feel I can really begin or commit to anything because I might be back on some job at any time. On the other hand, there's this notion that selling everything and living on the wind would be a lot more fun and an immediately relief from uncertainty.

Well, the cookies are gone. Wish me luck. And if you have a job or some other gainful employment that engages you, congratulations. Be sure you put aside some money for the down time. It comes to all of us.
Current Fads
Listening. Continuo, Avishai Cohen and Bonfire Dreaming, Jay Atwood; whirring space heaters
Watching. Defending Your Life (1991) (DVD) and The Private Life of Sherlock Homes* (1970) (Hulu)
Activity. trying to ignore the strident call of imminent doom
Gadget. iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen)
News Source. Google News
Reading. A Ticket to Ride - Larry Kane

*Christopher Lee is partly bald!

Oh! And if you know of some gainful employment that I would find particularly engaging, let me know ASAP. Thanks.