Happy Hearth's Warming!

I got a new ornament~

I Can Pony, Too~!

     Well, Kassc has been staying with me for the last week, and his presence had had an impact on my creativity, for the positive.  So far, I've written, composed, and even tried my hand at drawing, again.  Moonlight Ballad deserves the life that I can create for him.  I'm going to double my efforts to make him a memorable character.

I like it, mostly.  Something about the body shape doesn't quite feel right, but I'm still learning.  Everybody's got to start someplace.  There may be hope for me yet.

Crossing the Void

My creative skills have been on the edge of entropy for way too long, such as it is.  Right now, though, things have kind of gone off the deep end, and who knows how this might affect the future of me.  My life has a distraction of a sort which I wish I would never have to face again, but it always comes back.

A couple hours away, in a hospital bed lies a dear friend of mine, a inspiration, a kindred spirit - one of the few I have.  Shane's had heart problems since he was born.  It's an unfortunate thing, but he's done okay, for many years of his life, thanks to medical technology.  It would seem, though, that the sands of his life are finally running out.  For the last several weeks he's been in intensive care, his heart losing strength, his lungs struggling.  All of his friends and family have been totally supportive and have done everything they can to help out, for what little we CAN do.

His body continues to grow weaker, despite all the hard work the doctors have done.  The latest message from our network of friends has brought even more grim news, though.  Tomorrow they will take him off his ventilator, and then... only time will answer.  He'll spend what time he has left in the company of his children and their mother.  All the rest of us can do is pray and hope.. hope beyond all possible hope that he pulls through.  It is likely he won't live to see the end of the week, and it will send a devastating ripple of hurt through all of us who love him.

I feel so desparately for his children.  I've been through what they're dealing with, but I was a good bit older.  Even so, it was still hard as utter hell for me to deal with, and I was a grown man.  It's going to be so hard on them.  My circle is full of wonderful people.  I know in my heart, as well as I will, that we'll all help take care of those kids in his honor.

I'm trying to fight back the tears and the wrenching in my guts.  Now, more than ever, our group is going to need shoulders and hearts to lean on.  I must be one of these.  I've done it before, when my mother crossed the void.  I will have to suffer in silence, for a time.  It's my choice, because I know I can be strong enough to withstand what is coming.

As to my dear friend, Shane, I still wish with all my heart that he makes it through this.  I don't want to have to say goodbye to another friend, like this.  I know death is inevitable, that doesn't mean I like it. when it does happen.  Should he go, the world will lose a great friend, a wonderful father, an inspiring artist, and I will lose  another kindred spirit.  If it is time for him to cross over, I wish my friend safe journeys and pray his spirit finds its place in the great all, but he will be dearly missed.

Digitized

Found another 3-D module~!   This one's a lot more detailed than SL was.  I'm pleased.

From Which Spirit Comes - Part 6

Well, at least my creative spirit is recovering.   :)

From Which Spirit Comes - Part 5

No pictures this time, just text (and techst in the works).

     For the next part of my inspiration, I have undertaken something that should have been done a long time ago, and earned much more of my contribution than I have given.  I will spearhead the creation of a web page for Luna's Loft RP.

     I realize that this is one major undertaking, and I can't do it alone.  There's already a team of happy volunteers who are helping set up the page, and the time has come to gather content - bios, lore and canon, for starters.  Artwork and maps, and RP stories and fanfics to follow.  I've never actually made a webpage before.  I realize it's going to take a lot of key pounding to get this thing done, but I think it would be a great thing for anyone new or old that has come to the IRC RP that we've come to love so dearly.  It will help to paint the world we have created and give something to share to all who come to join us.

     This project is not going to be completed overnight.  I don't expect it to be, but I'm also hopeful that as I work on it, gathering memories and history and sharing what all has been lived in this digital realm by its denizens for almost 3 years, that my spark will continue to grow and radiate. 

FEELING RANTY

I have seen so much ignorant flaming over this cat rescue video.  I just wanna smack a whole lotta ingnorant people around until they shut up, actually PAY ATTENTION to what was going on, and THEN make an educated guess about what happened, instead of the blind stupid mob mentality!!

Let's start with point #1 - "How could that horrible parent leave their child unattended by the street near such a dangerous animal?!"

This requires a little bit of reading, and some observation, folks~  Yes, you actually have to deal with a few paragraphs and pay attention OMG!  Notwithstanding the fact that the dog normally didn't just roam around freely, the point that the parent was irresponsibly leaving her child to just play out in the open, by himself is completely absurd!  Not two seconds after the cat defended its child, the mother followed.  So, unless she's The Flash or something, it means she was right there, probably within 15 feet of her son (that's the size of a typical room, in case you don't know).  The only reasons the cat got there first is it was probably scouting the roaming dog the second it got close to its territory, and have you ever seen a cat dash to pounce? Those little suckers can move to action at break neck speed.

  Mom could easily have been stooped working on the plants or anything. Do you have your eye on your playing child every single second?  Don't lie.  The boy screamed when the dog hit him and the fact that the parent reacted so quickly, once she realized what was going on, is quite the compliment to her.  Fine, the cat got there first, but the lady got to the boy in less than 5 seconds...  5 SECONDS, PEOPLE!

Point #2 - This is one I can relate to, actually.  The second the cat chased off the dog, the lady was at her son's side, then she goes off, suddenly.  Okay, let's get one thing clear, here.  When an animal goes into attack mode, it usually doesn't just STOP after the first pass.  The cat startled the utter hell out of the dog, but it only took him seconds to shake off the shock and set up for another attack.  Once again, the unobservant make a blanket assumption.  "She left her injured child and ran back into the house WTF!!!"

(sigh)  The video clearly shows the mother coming from one direction, and going in a different one, around the front of her SUV, where the dog ran, by the way, you know the one that was likely coming in for another attack, and don't just try to tell me that she should have picked up the kid and run.  I've been there!!  The animal is faster and not encumbered, and it can jump!  The lady did what any protective mother would do, she put herself in between the dog and the child.  She didn't just abandon him, either.  She was clearly interacting with her son, and while he was injured pretty badly, HE COULD MOVE and I'm sure she was yelling at him to get his butt into the house, while she made a front to protect him.

All these people blanket flaming this woman for being a bad parent, I wonder if they've ever even been put in such a situation.  Everything that happened, did so in SECONDS!  Every moment was a snap decision, and I would say instinct took precedent on all sides.  There's no way she could have seen the dog coming.  He was creeping along the fence on one side, and the vehicle was between him  and the view of the parent and the boy until it was too late.  The only one that probably was watching the dog the entire time was the cat, and it was ready for him!  Good kitty~

From Which Spirit Comes - Part 4

Final coat competed!  The next step was mounting, a task which proved to be a slight bit bothersome.  I swear, I've been in the home remodeling business for a decade and a half, and I don't think I have EVER encountered a corner that was truly square!  Nevertheless, I managed to find a position that was satisfactory to my needs.  A few wall anchors later and...

And a view from my seat:

And finally, with the exception of a few tiered background stands and some extra decorative trim, which will come later, my ponies have a new home~!

From Which Spirit Comes - Part 3

It's starting to take form!

First coat of paint...

From Which Spirit Comes - Part 2

I'm not backing down on this!  I can't!

So, here we go, I've begun my spiritual reconstruction with a little ACTUAL construction project.  All the parts have been rough-cut and shaped.  Now I have a lot of sanding, in my future...

It amazes me how much livelier I felt after just an hour and a half of working on this.  I guess it's true that I am a maker, a creator.  When I'm in my element, I feel fantastic!

From Which Spirit Comes

The oriental culture has a concept called Feng Shui.  It basically means setting up your environment around you, to bring a sort of spiritual harmony to your corner of the world.  While I'm uncertain about the spiritual aspect of this practice, I do agree with the basic concept.  Surrounding yourself with things that lift your spirits and inspire you, most certainly can nurture a creative spark.

It is of this creative spark that I am concerned.  You see, my little corner of the world, isn't much but an actual little corner anymore...

That's it.  That's all that remains.  The shelf with all the things on it, is gone, the pictures are gone, my writing table and the part under my monitor are a chaotic mess of unkindled ideas.  I had to give up the spaces occupied by those things in favor of the crib you see, to the left of the desk.  (I really need a bigger house.)  But I also really need to rekindle my spirit, and for that, change must happen.  I have to turn this into something that sparks my emotions and my imagination once again...

My paints, my notes and my drawings, my ponies and my collectibles, all piled and boxed, and gathering dust.  It's no wonder I can't come up with anything new, or finish anything old.


Today I resolved to do something.  It's been four months since I last posted on this blog.  It was even longer since I updated my Tumblr.  That's a long time to have been stuck in a slump.  It can't be allowed to continue like this!  Somewhere along the way, all these things that brought me joy just sort of faded.  There were many causes, but one of the worst offenders was the gradual diminishing of the spirit energy which surrounded me.  This will be the first of a series of transformation posts.  My plan is to start converting this little remnant, into something that once again radiates a spirit of artistic creation.

My dear friends in Luna's Loft deserve me at my best, and quite frankly, I haven't been.  It's time I stepped up and changed not just my surroundings, but ME.   I must find new inspiration, but at the same time I must push past all these inhibitions of mine and just MAKE STUFF!  I'm always so afraid of how it will be taken, or if it would even be worthy of them.  I'm obsessed with this perfection to such a degree that I have set unreal standards of myself.  More than ever, I think I need their support.  It's asking quite a lot of them, and I don't really feel I deserve it, but I must.