Ze Long overdue Blog update + what I’m up to these days.
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The blog has been neglected for awhile now…again…so here I am rectifying the situation.
The first thing is that I’ve reduced my social media presence by…a LOT. Other than keeping up with a few sub-reddits, I have relegated the politically correct Facebook/messenger/twitter garbage to just responding to posts in which I’ve been mentioned. (Messenger has been completely ignored.)
I still keep up with Instagram as I follow several artists and enjoy seeing their work when they post it up.
The only social media that I’m going to focus on going forward is this sadly neglected blog-site…that I’m paying for. heh heh.
It (social media) is really a hard habit to kick once you’ve been doing it for awhile, but getting away from that cesspool means more time (a LOT more time, I’ve discovered) to dedicate to things that interest me.
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Since the scary(TM) lock down started last year, my driving gig has been more or less decimated with so few customers left that I’ve finally hung up the keys. You can’t work an independent gig if the expenses out of pocket are more than what is coming in.
If it wasn’t for the gov’ment supplied relief funds for the gov’ment DISASTER(TM) lock down, I’d be typing this from a tent. Fortunately, at this point, I’m not.
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The other Murphy’s law bit has been arthritis.
I’ve had mild carpel tunnel for years, but in the last year, the big “A” has taken a front and center seat…in my hands, wrists, joints and feet. You can imagine what this has done to any real productivity in the writing department. (Even this shorter foray at the keyboard aches quite a bit.)
As I write for my own personal enjoyment rather than for $$$, this hasn’t has been as bad as it could be for someone earning their income with it, but as a person with an artistic bent, this has been breathtakingly irritating.
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So in the last few months I’ve taken up something I’d left lying in my youth.
Sketching and Painting.
I am not without a bit of ability, but the rust…oh man the rust there was/is to knock off to get back to where I was then has been interesting. Back in the ancient of days (junior high school) I had an art teacher that took an interest in me. If by some wild chance he is still around and kicking, Tom Scarborough…thank you for your time, effort and care.
I should have stuck with it, but no…real life interuptus and other goals pushed it aside. Hindsight sucketh the big wang most of the time.
Digital painting is different and yet similar enough to the traditional paper/pen/paint methods to allow me to at least practice and get some creative juices flowing.
I was worried about yet more aches and pain, until I actually started using a graphics tablet. I’ve discovered that the movements are FAR less of an issue than banging on a keyboard. In painting, for most stuff, you use your arm rather than move your fingers around constantly. Go me. heh heh.
😀
The last couple months have been filled with learning/relearning all about layers/blending/brushes…as well as the skads of YouTube tutorial videos to get good habits going from the outset.
I’m thoroughly back in love with art again.
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(I haven’t quit writing…nor will I ever, but short stints at the keys means that the process is dragging.)
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In the getting old and decrepit arena, I got back on the marijuana bandwagon. I am one of those curmudgeons who hates, no, DESPISES, over the counter medication..and the medical profession in general. (A lifetime of misdiagnosis by idiots with degrees has led me to this opinion. I could write an entire post just about the crazy stuff that has happened to me at the hands of quacks…er…doctors over the years.)
Good ol’ ganja…ZE Devil’s Lettuce(TM) has helped considerably. Using smaller doses than the ‘getting truly baked’ level has been better than anything else I could have tried to alleviate pain and symptoms.
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Short shoutouts:
1. Deborah Harkness for her ‘All Souls’ trilogy of novels. (The show, A Discovery of Witches, is based on these.) Some of the most addictive stuff I’ve read in a long time. 🙂 Deborah Harkness website
2. The Kobo Clara HD e-reader. Good gear, and the light is perfection. Kobo Clara HD page.
3. Cryo Chamber – Dark Ambient trance label. Some of the best sounds/compositions I’ve listened to in a long time.
4. Huion for making outstanding budget graphics tablets.
5. Something Awry Productions for blowing me away with what an independent producer can create. Short animation that looks like a studio did it.
6. Sam Does Art. Artist, You-tuber and all around entertaining guy. Makes it look easy!
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My tarantulas say hi!
Oddly, today I was thinking of you often and felt an urge to reach out to you. Thanks for update!
Much love to you,
Jeannette
I noticed…”Matthys” eh? 🙂 Congrats, my dear. xo
You’re very welcome on the update. While my wordpress posts forward to FB/twitter (gotta love SEO), I’m paying about zero attention to stuff there. 🙂