March 2007 Archives

As I continue to mine the depths of the mundane, let's see what Days 3 and 4 bring in terms of daily chores. Oh, there's scooping the litter box...

That's always exciting. It's a bit like digging for treasure. At least that's the way I like to think about it. It makes completing the chore that much easier.

Another exciting chore is recycling...

Okay, it isn't really all that exciting, but I do get a pinch of joy every time I'm able to recycle something instead of throwing it away.

By the way, I correctly predicted two of the bottom three Idol contestants. Chris Sligh and Haley Scarnato were definitely there. I didn't expect to see Phil Stacey there again. (Maybe his hat selection is turning people off.) Of course, the person I expected to go home was safe by a country mile, so instead, we said goodbye to Mr. Sligh. I'm going to miss his curly mop.

(a.k.a. High on a Hill With the Lonely Goatheard... Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo)

American Idol is down to the final ten contestants, which is a long way from the thousands we started with weeks ago. That should mean only the good singers are left and for the most part that's true (except for maybe one, but I won't mention names or words that rhyme with those names (like papaya)).

Anyway, this week, the contestants got the opportunity to work with the legendary platinum blonde yodeler Gwen Stefani.

I got home late last night and missed the beginning of the show, so I have no idea how LaKisha did, but let's assume she blew everybody away. She has a great voice, but she isn't one of my favorites. I predict, though, that she'll be in the final four.

Chris Sligh let me down. He sang "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic". The guy can sing, he just can't seem to sing with the music. Maybe he needs to try singing a cappella. Give the band a break while he does his thing. That might help. His personality (and hair) might pull him through this week, but I fear he'll be in the bottom three.

Gina Glocksen rocked with "I'll Stand By You". She's my favorite female performer, but I don't know if she has the fan base to make it into the final four. Maybe the top five if she continues to improve.

Sanjaya was the next to perform. I think he sang. I don't really remember since I was too busy scrambling around the house looking for my camera to take a picture of his fauxhawk.

I give the guy (whose name coincidentally rhymes with jambalaya) props for having the most innovative hairstyles every week. He's untouchable in that department. I was almost tempted to vote for him just to see what wondrous things he would do to his locks next week. Almost.

Next up was Haley. I don't remember what she sang, but I do remember Simon saying her performance was forgettable, so I don't feel so bad. I also remember Paula calling her a pretty girl, which is Paula's way of telling somebody she didn't do so well. Haley will be in the bottom three.

Phil "Daniel Powter" Stacey sang Sting's "Every Breath You Take". I don't particularly like his voice, but he did an amazing job with the song. It will be enough to keep him in the competition another week.

Melinda delivered yet another strong performance. If she isn't in the final four (or final two for that matter), I'll be shocked and disappointed. She is all energy and charisma on stage when she sings. It's a joy to watch.

Blake sang The Cure's "Love Song". A couple of weeks ago, the judges criticized him for trying too hard to give a song his own twist and I was afraid he would do it again, especially since this was a slower song. Fortunately, he remained true to the music and pulled off the best performance of any of the guys. Paula called him the dark horse of the competition and I have him in my final four.

Jordin sang No Doubt's "Hey Baby". As Randy would say, "The whole thing was weird for me." I didn't get the arrangement or the vocals. I know Gwen praised her before the performance for "adding musicality to the song", but I wonder if she was actually cringing during the performance. Jordin will be in the bottom three.

Last up was Chris "Timberlake" Richardson. He sang another No Doubt hit, "Don't Speak". It was okay, but nothing special. I actually wish he would sing a Maroon 5 song. His voice and range would be perfect for "She Will Be Loved". I think he's safe this week, but don't expect him to be around much longer.

Tonight is the results show. Gwen will yodel, Ryan will stretch thirty seconds of material out to thirty minutes, and we'll say goodbye to Jordin.

Inspired by the photo I took yesterday of common vacuum cleaner tracks (one of my favorite things)...

I thought I'd make it this week's theme to take photos of everyday chores. Day 1 was vacuuming. Today is laundry...

Photographing the chore is so much more fun than the chore itself. On a positive note, it was the first time in a long time that I was actually excited to see the inside of my washing machine.

Song on my mind... "Down to Earth" by Barenaked Ladies

Some people are just all show
I don't mind that if the show is worth watching
But it's all bark, and no tree
What's more ironic than a hippie in Versace?
It's all peace and love and limousines
You've got the right message but the wrong intentions
How can you be touchy-feely when you've lost touch?
I think it's time we had a little intervention with you

Hey now, wake up
And lose the makeup

She makes you want to know her
When you don't know what it's worth
Now you really want to show her
How she's just so down to earth
Via satellite

This morning, the folks on one of the local radio shows were talking about the young woman who has been on a hunger strike in an effort to eliminate Sanjaya from American Idol. While anyone can see it's an urgent cause du jour with greater consequences than poisoned pet food, the Alberto Gonzalez attorney firing flap, the crisis in Darfur, and global warming combined, I don't think voluntary starvation is the proper course of action here, especially when everyone knows how grueling and fatiguing constant (and simultaneous) redialing and text messaging can be over a two-hour, post-Idol period. I think she's in need of a new strategy; either that or an intervention because I don't think she can survive eight more weeks without food.

This weekend, I

watched Ong-bak. I remember seeing the trailers for this movie a few years back and finally got to see it over the weekend. It's a martial arts film with a basic plot (a young man travels to the big city to retrieve the head of a statue stolen from his village), but some great action sequences.

saw the finale of Grease: You're the One that I Want. I'm stoked Max and Laura won. I like to believe that it was my five votes each week that kept Max safe from elimination and nudged him ahead of Austin this past week to get the leading role in the latest Broadway incarnation of the musical.

attended a party thrown by friends for their one-year-old daughter. It's hard to believe it has been a year since she was born. It didn't seem so long ago that we were visiting L & T in the hospital and Z was but a blanketed bundle. Now she's walking. Admittedly, it's a wobbly, halted, drunken style of walking that requires a certain Jackie Chan level of mastery to imitate, but it's still walking (and that wasn't something she was capable of doing the last time I saw her).

The cynic might ask why anybody would throw a party for a one-year-old and I would have asked the same question a few years back, but I think I get it now. The party is less about celebrating a birthday than it is about celebrating the parents' survival. It's a way to for mom and dad to show friends and family that they're still alive and doing well (exhausted, but well). I hold L & T in high esteem and if I can do half as well as T when I'm a dad some day, I'll be ecstatic.

I think the quote that will stay with me the longest came from L while she was opening gifts. She said to her daughter in a genuinely excited tone, "Oh, Z, the things we'll do, the fun we'll have!"

It was such a refreshing sentiment. I've heard enough people talk about their children as burdens, advising parents-to-be or younger, childless couples to have their fun while they can. When they talk like that, I assume they're joking, but I also sense the mean it to a degree, which is disheartening. Every now and then, it's nice to hear somebody express what I hope and believe: that a child (beyond being hard work and expensive to raise) is a chance for fun and an opportunity for adventure. True, it might not be the same fun one would have if one weren't "burdened" with a child; it might actually be different and better fun.

Since I'm not comfortable taking pictures of complete strangers or scalpers (who are really just complete strangers who want to sell you something on the sidewalk), I kept my camera angled upwards to capture any evidence of the NCAA Basketball Tournament in San Jose. Here are a couple of photos I took...

Men's NCAA Basketball is in San Jose today and Saturday as the four remaining teams in the West compete in the regional semifinals and finals. The city is expecting some 17,000 people to invade downtown and the HP Pavilion later today. Commute hour will be a memorably unpleasant experience for workers (a.k.a. office drones) unaware of the basketball tournament.

I took a late lunch and as I passed Gordon Biersch, I spotted cheerleaders and fans of No. 2 UCLA inside the brewery. The Bruins are playing No. 3 Pittsburgh later this evening (6:40 p.m. PDT).

Although I wanted garlic fries, I didn't want to deal with the crowd, so I wandered over a block to the Circle of Palms (between the Fairmont Hotel and the San Jose Museum of Art). As I purchased a chicken caesar salad from a nearby cafe, I noted that the Circle was unusually crowded by people wearing royal blue attire. I decided to enjoy some people watching while I grazed on my salad, so I took a seat on the museum steps and watched as fans of No. 1 Kansas boarded their tour buses to head over to the venue. The Jayhawks are playing No. 4 Southern Illinois in another hour or so (4:10 p.m. PDT).

I haven't been paying much attention to March Madness, but since the tournament is in town, I'll check out the Pavilion before boarding the train to see if anything special is set up. And I guess I'm rooting for "local" UCLA to make it to the Final Four.

(Written yesterday evening on the train and in Palo Alto, while freezing my patootie off at the Starbucks in the Stanford Shopping Center.)

First off (while I catch my breath), thank you to the kind conductor who held the train the extra two seconds it took for me to hop, skip and jump through the open doors from the platform ramp that I swear gets a degree steeper every week. If he hadn't, I probably wouldn't be writing this and there would be a me-sized dent on a northbound train.

Now for a brief weather report: What started as overcast in the morning turned to showers by midday and blue skies by late afternoon.

You know, that report could have fit on Twitter. It could be a Tweather Report. That sounded cleverer in my head.

If you only read the feed, then you probably haven't seen the Twitter badge I added in the sidebar. Not that there's much to look at. I've twittered an entire three times since joining five days ago. I believe one isn't making good use of the service unless one is updating hourly.

While I'm still skeptical of its hype, I can see the appeal of Twitter. It's an easy way to find out what folks you know are doing or tell folks what you're doing without having to invest too much time or effort. It's a bit like the CNN ticker (or an RSS feed in list view). It's perfect for busy people who don't want the details, only the headlines.

Of course, if you only follow the Public Timeline (PT), then Twitter seems like a complete mess and makes absolutely no sense. Following the PT is like being in a crowded stadium (or bus) where everything everybody says is blared over the loudspeakers. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm positive chaotic cacophony has its benefits. (Personally, it makes me more appreciative of silence.)

If one only follows the PT, then it seems that 99% of the people on Twitter speak simply for the sake of speaking (which is probably the worst reason to speak and the best reason to zip it). I fully include myself in that 99%, probably one of the few times when I've actually been in the majority of anything.

While observing the PT, I noticed that Fox News, Digg, and similar entities are using Twitter. I wonder how long it will be before the full corporate wave crashes upon its shores.

I read this Kottke post about Twitter earlier today. He has some keen observations and I agree with most of them, but I disagree with his statement that “Twitter's like Flickr without the images."

For all of Twitter's simplicity and usefulness, calling it “Flickr without the images" shortchanges Flickr. If Flickr were truly like Twitter, users would only be able to upload 12 × 12 thumbnails without captions or tags or the ability to organize photos. And the question it would ask would be, “What are you looking at? Pixels available: 144."

Now I'm trying to imagine how this entry would've looked if I were writing this on Twitter.

Thanks, Mr. Conductor. AM showers, PM blue skies. Twitter is neat, but it's no Flickr. Coffee in the cold at Stanford Shopping Center.

Yesterday, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and satisfy my desire to hike in this beautiful weather, I drove to nearby Henry Coe State Park. To reach the park, one must cross a trussel bridge...

And pass Anderson Lake, a popular boating, fishing, and picnic location...

Most folks stop at the lake, which I like to see, since it usually means less people at the park.

I had originally intended to venture out to Frog Lake for an hour or two of relaxation, but when I saw a pack of twenty-somethings heading off that way, I decided to head in the opposite direction, towards Madrone Soda Springs. Since the park had a checklist of wildflowers currently in bloom, I made a point of keeping an eye out for them.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was so blue and the hills were so green that I kept stopping to take photos. I elected this one to represent the twenty or so I took...

From the headquarters, I took the Corral Trail until I reached the spot where four trails intersect. It makes it a little confusing if you've never been here before. One has a choice of the Flat Frog, Fish, Forest, or Springs Trail. There's also Manzanita Point Road, a dirt road that people treat as a trail.

I chose the Forest Trail since I was told it would be my best shot of spotting wildflowers. Up to that point, all I had seen were California Poppies. I did come across California Buttercups, Hound's Tongues, and Lowland Shooting Stars along the trail, but that was pretty much it.

.

Other than the flowers, the most colorful thing I could see amongst the browns and greens was a cyclist in red, riding on the Fish Trail.

Not that I'm complaining about the browns and greens. The view of the Middle and Blue Ridges were impressive...

Once I reached the end of the Forest Trail (where it connects with Manzanita Point Road, Poverty Road, and Springs Trail), I stopped at a picnic table under a large oak tree to eat lunch and write.

I ended up spending so much time at the table that I had to change my plans. Instead of getting all the way out to Madrone Soda Springs, I only reached Bass Pond...

I took Springs Trail back and was treated to some pretty views on my way back to Coe Headquarters...

And that's pretty much how I spent St. Patrick's Day. To end this post, here is a page from my hiking notebook that I thought I'd share...

Ed Robertson from the Barenaked Ladies posted nearly twenty music videos on YouTube in a series known as The Bathroom Sessions. They aren't your typical MTV-style videos. It's just Ed playing his acoustic guitar and singing in front of a camera in his bathroom (a very nice bathroom).

A majority of the songs are from the band's last two albums, but there are a few others thrown in. They're rough and low budget, but fantastic. I can't get enough of them. They remind me why I dig BNL's music and Ed's voice.

I especially like the last video in the series. Since Steve can't get Ed out of the bathroom, he joins him on "Some Fantastic"...

I finally watched Stranger Than Fiction last night. I loved this movie. Will Ferrell was wonderful as Harold Crick, an ordinary IRS auditor who begins hearing a woman (Emma Thompson) narrate his life, begins to believe (with the help of Dustin Hoffman, who plays a professor of literature) that he's a doomed character in her novel, and sets off on a quest to find her before she kills him.

There is a romantic comedy aspect to the film (between Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal), but it isn't the point of the film. Of course, if it were only a romantic comedy, it would be one of the more amusing ones I've seen in a long time.

Thompson was hilarious as Karen Eiffel, the successful author struggling to find a way to kill her main character. It brought back many happy (and not so happy) memories of NaNoWriMo. One of this year's writing challenges should be to use the phrase "little did he know" (or "little did she know") at least once in the novel.

The film had many little unexpected moments that made me laugh and made my imagination tingle. I had feared the narration would become an overused device, but it was used sparingly, which increased its comedic effect. I got a kick out of the diagrams and drawings that would occasionally overlay Harold's world, showing Eiffel's influence on it. And I dug the soundtrack.

As the movie and Harold neared their respective endings, though, a sickening feeling of inevitability started creeping in, something that doesn't happen too often when I'm watching movies these days. I was rooting hard for Harold to live, but was eventually overcome with the strangest sensation of acceptance, especially when he came to accept his fate.

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from the film...

Psychiatrist: You have a voice speaking to you.
Harold: About me. Accurately. And with a better vocabulary.

Song on my mind... "Slavonic Dance No. 7 in c minor (Skocná), Op. 46" by Antonín Dvořák

It's a much catchier tune than the name implies. I heard it on KDFC yesterday while carpooling to work. The song is a little over three minutes in length and it's one of eight pieces that make up Dvořák 's Slavonic Dances, Opus 46, the work that brought the composer to prominence. Here's an mp3 of it for your listening pleasure.

With the weather so nice this week, I've wanted to relocate my cubicle to one of the nearby parks. It wouldn't be that difficult in theory. My chair is on wheels. I don't need much surface space. I'm sure I could find rocks to keep any papers and files from blowing away. The only trouble I might run into is with the computer tower and 18" CRT monitor. They aren't really made to be lugged around. Plus, I would need one long extension cord to power everything. This is when having a laptop as a workstation would come in handy.

I found the following Calvin & Hobbes text on my PDA that I had forgotten to post...

Calvin: Popular culture isn't to blame for selling twisted values. Movies, records and TV shows reflect the reality of our times. Artists depict hatred and violence because that's what they see.
Hobbes: Why don't they see things of beauty and value?
Calvin: Because boring stuff doesn't sell.
Hobbes: Such vision and integrity.
Calvin: There's nothing like a good gunfight to uplift the spirit.

As promised, here is the comic strip. That's supposedly me in the second panel, giving the voidling a solid thwacking. By the way, I don't know how I managed to wear capes in two panels. Everybody knows (especially if they've seen The Incredibles), capes can be harmful to a hero's health.

During Cinequest, I saw two films. I contemplated using the word only in the previous sentence, but considering how busy I was last week (working, volunteering, sleeping, and wondering where the rest of the time went), I'm amazed I managed to see any movies at all. One day, I'll take the entire week off and wander from screening to screening like some of the hardcore festival-goers I've seen.

Rene Hjerter (Pure Hearts) was a darker film than I expected. The star, Anders Matthesen, is a Danish comedian, so I thought he might play a more lighthearted character. I was mistaken. Like Jim Carrey or Robin Williams, Matthesen uses this movie to show he can be something other than funny, namely serious and disturbing.

The story is about Kriss, a mental ward patient, who is obsessed with Linda, a character in a 1930s film called Pure Hearts (a movie within the movie). He and his buddy, Willy, watch a videotape of the movie constantly. The only problem is that it's an incomplete copy and neither of them has ever seen the ending. Kriss is also obsessed with the story of Noah. He hates it and claims it's the reason he stopped reading. He believes Noah should have been more selective about the animals he allowed onto the ark - saving the good ones and leaving the evil ones behind. When the videotape is confiscated, Kriss and Willy escape to find the real Linda, a.k.a. Ulla Vilstrup in the real world.

At its core, this is movie about how we view life, which is like Kriss's copy of Pure Hearts. It's incomplete and nobody knows the ending, but that doesn't stop people from having their theories, letting those theories shade their views of the world, and acting as though their theories are fact. The film asks us to explore those theories by examining the motives behind our actions, challenging the views we hold, and questioning our beliefs of right or wrong.

Monster Camp is an entertaining documentary that explores the world of live action role-playing games (LARPs). In particular, it spends a year with a group in Seattle that plays NERO, which is like World of Warcraft (or Dungeons & Dragons) brought to life.

Instead of making fun of the participants, Cullen Hoback, the director, seeks to understand them. Why do they play? What do they gain from the game? The answer to the first question is pretty obvious. People play because the game is fun and it offers an escape from real life. The answer to the second question is more difficult because it depends on what people are escaping from in the first place.

By trying to honestly portray them, Hoback both reinforces and debunks the D&D stereotype. Yes, there are the slackers (a.k.a. permanent escapees) who aren't employed (and aren't seeking employment) and play Warcraft all day at the expense of everything else (work, family, health), but they aren't the only ones who play. To me, the more compelling participants include the man who learned to be confident "in game" and applied that confidence to his career "out of game"; the quirky son and father duo who bond by playing the game; and the wheelchair-bound seamstress who enjoyed sewing costumes and used the game as a means to temporarily forget her disability.

What was most amazing was the amount of effort and planning it took to make the fantasy a reality. It's a lot of hard work and the people who make the sacrifices so others can have a weekend of fun are pretty incredible. I can see how somebody might get burned out and actually see reality as an escape.

All in all, Monster Camp is a fun peek into a different world and if it (or Pure Hearts) appears at a film festival near you or manages to obtain distribution, I'd recommend seeing it.

Movies I missed that I hope will come out on DVD include The Namesake, Military Intelligence and You, and Maskot.

I had intended to include a comic strip at the beginning of this post, but I haven't finished coloring it yet, so keep an eye out for it later this evening.

Before yesterday's episode of The Show with Ze Frank, I had never heard of Jonathan Coulton. It features the two men performing acoustic versions of a few of the songs Ze wrote over the course of his show, which began last March and ends next week.

Coulton puts me in mind of They Might Be Giants or Weird Al (his original pieces) - well-written songs with hummable melodies and funny lyrics.

For a year, starting in September 2005, Coulton wrote and recorded a song weekly as part of his Thing a Week project. I've only listened to a few of them so far, but the ones I've heard are inspired. I especially like "Code Monkey", "Kenesaw Mountain Landis", and "Tom Cruise Crazy"...

Tom Cruise is so in love with Katie
At least all his people tell him so
And while he thinks that she’s a very special lady
It’s probably not the way he’d choose to go
And a lifetime of longing looks would cause too much distraction
Good thing that he’s not gay anymore

Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise crazy
Just be glad it’s him not you
If you had Tom Cruise’s troubles
You might be Tom Cruise crazy too

If you need cheering up or want something to make you smile, treat yourself to one of his songs. The ones I mentioned above are good places to start.

If you want something more serious and inspirational, I suggest listening to "A Talk With George". It's my favorite Coulton song and my favorite song about George Plimpton ever. I especially like the last two verses...

Enjoy yourself, do the things that matter
Cause there isn’t time and space to do it all
Love the things you try, drink a cocktail wear a tie
Show a little grace if you should fall

Don’t live another day unless you make it count
There’s someone else that you’re supposed to be
There’s something deep inside of you that still wants out
And shame on you if you don’t set it free.

On Monday morning, I was rolling the garbage bin down to the sidewalk for pickup day when I spotted two ducks across the street in the park. They were waddling across the soccer field towards the pool where I could hear another duck quacking.

Since it's rare to see animals in the park (other than dogs and children), I raced inside to grab my camera to get a photograph of them.

As I was running back out, I noticed a nasty looking insect attached the front door. I grimaced, but ignored it and said to myself, "No time to deal with that now. Must photograph the ducks."

I reached the sidewalk and scanned the field, but the ducks were nowhere to be seen. That's when I noticed a neighbor from other side of the park walking her dog across the field.

Only a minute had passed, but that had been more than enough time for the dog to scare away the ducks.

Defeated, I retreated to the house. As I opened the door, I noticed the insect was still clinging to it.

"Well," I said to the bug. "You don't look like you're going anywhere and I'm too big of a sissy to smash you, so how about a photo instead."

Unlike dogs and children, who seemingly remain motionless for hours, but move the instant you try to take a photo of them, this insect didn't flinch or spook when I photographed it...

And just in case you were hoping for a photo of a duck, here's one that doesn't run at the sight of a dog...

I'm going to keep my eye out for the ducks in the neighborhood. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to post a picture of them soon.

If you watch Heroes, then you know the show has several characters and it can be hard to keep them all straight sometimes. With the series also taking six weeks off, the task of remembering who everybody is and what they're doing will be even harder.

It would be nice if there were some sort of handy reference diagram available.

And now there is.

To save you some time, I took the liberty (and a few spare seconds) to create one for you...

Just click on the image, choose the size you want on Flickr, and print out a copy so you can refresh your memory when April 23rd rolls around and the show returns.

By the way, this can also serve as a neat cheat sheet for those who don't watch the show, but don't want to appear completely clueless when friends are swapping theories about Sylar and Peter Petrelli.

Disclaimer: The above diagram is meant to enlighten, confuse, and amuse. Use wisely and enjoy.

I first noticed the snowmen over on Yosemite Blog. I hopped over to the Sentinel Dome Cam to see if the snowmen were still there today. They are!

Who knew snowmen enjoyed the view, too?

Major League Baseball's Spring Training is underway. For the Giants, that means playing Cactus League exhibition games down in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I know the wins and losses don't mean much at this point in the year, but the Giants have a winning record so far (3-1). That's with a clubhouse suffering from a bad case of the flu. Just imagine how well they'd be doing if they were healthy. (Okay, they'd probably be 0-3, but work with me here.)

I listened to part of the Giants/Mariners game on the radio yesterday and one of the broadcasters said roughly 25 guys on the 63-man roster were sick or recovering, including Barry Bonds and Ray Durham. Both were told to stay home so no one else would get infected.

For veterans like Bonds and Durham, the flu might cost them a few days away from the field, but for young prospects hoping to make a good impression, being sick might cost them a spot on the team. I can't imagine the stress they must be going through - wanting to show off their stuff, but at the same time wanting to drink a bottle of Robitussin, curl up in a ball, and sleep. (An alternative line I considered using was "wanting to hack away at the plate without hacking up a lung", but my better judgment intervened.)

Luckily, the regular season doesn't begin until April, which means players will hopefully have enough time to recover and prove themselves worthy of a spot on the 25-man roster.

The Giants are playing Arizona today. Barry Zito is making his second start. (How nice it is to see him in black and orange.) He pitched two scoreless innings in his first outing. Let's hope he can repeat that performance today. Maybe they'll let him test his endurance by pitching an entire third inning.

The 2007 season is just 29 days away. I can't wait for baseball to start again.

Earlier today, I was volunteering at Cinequest. It's the only time I can wear a bright red shirt without feeling self-conscious. This year's design has an exploding light bulb on the front across the chest and the word "Cinequest" on the back across the bottom (or in my case, my bottom).

Today was the first time I was stationed at the San Jose Repertory Theatre, which is right across the street from Camera 12, the festival's main venue.

It had been a most ordinary day until the gentleman depicted in the comic strip showed up at the box office.

I have yet to see a film this year. I'm hoping to see two at the end of this week: Pure Hearts and Monster Camp.

I've been trying to make sense of February. It started out like any other month, but took a completely different direction once I started making the daily photocomics.

I've been going through a bit of a withdrawal the last couple of days. I couldn't bring myself to shut down the little LEGO studio completely. I only succeeded in moving it from the corner of the dinner table where I had it set up to the top of the piano (a whole ten feet away).

It's funny how the project evolved over the month. It began on a whim - as an excuse to goof around, experiment, be creative, have fun, but it became more serious as the month progressed.

I began reading comic strips more regularly as a result of the project, both on the web and in the paper. And by "more regularly", I mean I immersed myself in them, delving into archives without hesitation. The downside was that I fell behind on world events and house chores for a few days. The upside was that I gained a greater appreciation for the art form. I'm just glad the world doesn't fall apart when I ignore a news cycle or two or put off a load of laundry.

Not only did I read more comic strips, but I began reading them differently. Just as NaNoWriMo changed the way I read books, last month's project changed the way I read comic strips. Now I read a strip more carefully and multiple times, focusing on different elements with each pass.

Part of me is happy the project only lasted a month. That part of me is relieved not to have to think up new ideas. It's also the part of me that worries if people will like what I've done. It feels I've exercised my creativity enough. It says things like, "You've had your fun. You've taken your risk. Can we go back to life as usual now?"

The other part of me is disappointed the project only lasted a month. It's the part that wants me to try something else new or creative; or if I'm going to follow the same comic strip stream, perhaps try something really risky, like drawing, as I did on the last day of the project.

It says things like, "Forget that you can't draw. Draw anyway. Make silly comics and jokes. Have fun with it. Maybe you'll surprise yourself. Then again, maybe you won't and you'll have created a large pile of crappy comics, but that's still better than going back to life as usual."

That's the part of me that gets on my nerves, but it's probably right, which makes it even more annoying. Like I said, I'm still trying to make sense of it all. I figure I can mull over it a while longer. All in all, I hope you all had fun seeing what I created and got an occasional laugh from it.

"Oh, if I could make sense of it all!
I wish that I could sing
I'd stay in a melody
I would float along in my everlasting song
What would I do to believe?"

- "Act of the Apostle Part 1" by Belle and Sebastian

A new Peet's Coffee & Tea opened in downtown San Jose today. It's located on the south side of Santa Clara Street, between Market and First.

To celebrate the opening, the cafe is offering free coffee and pastries to everyone until 3:00 PM, so if you live or work in the area, stop by for some goodies.

When I dropped in earlier, it was busy, but they had a dozen people working, so the line moved fast. I grabbed a hazelnut latte. I wasn't going to get a pastry, but after some coaxing, I succumbed to a maple scone. Darn those scones! Those wily, irresistible scones!

1. They're a chain, but one with local roots (they started in Berkeley, CA).
2. They're an alternative to that ubiquitous Seattle-based coffee chain.
3. Most importantly, they serve good coffee.

I'm glad they moved in. Now I have another place to choose from when I feel like grabbing a cup of coffee on my walk to work.