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Last time, true believers, Atomisk was making a steady recovery from a nasty respiratory infection... and that failed miserably. I had a relapse a week ago, and ended back at the doctor. They gave me a shot and another round of meds. I was told in no uncertain terms that I need to lose some weight, get rest and some relaxation. I finally got to the point of functional Saturday, and threw the little one a Birthday Party. Lots of fun was had even though I'm fairly certain that the Little Bear had no idea what was going on. The cold rain and snow put me back in the bed most of Monday. Today I felt better. Congestion is breaking up and I can almost breath freely. The indigestion from the medicine is making life horrid.
On the upside, this prolonged illness let me do a few things I'm normally too busy writing or illustrating to enjoy, such as lay back and listen to music. I picked up War Child Presents: Heroes, which bills itself at the ultimate cover album, and you know what? It's close. It isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is close. The Lilly Allen deconstruction of the Clash's Straight to Hell is worth the money by itself, but other tracks such as Beck's cover of Bob Dylan's Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Elbow's cover of U2's Running to Stand Still, and Franz Ferdinand's driving cover of Blondie's Call Me make the album an absolute gem. For me the stand out track was The Like's cover of You Belong to Me. The Like remind me a great deal of Kay Hanley, and as big an Elvis Costello nut as I am, this track struck me as perfect. I'm going to pick up The Like's CD as soon as possible. I also got a chance to give the new U2 album a spin. No Line on the Horizon is, like most U2 albums, bloody brilliant, and defiantly worth the money. Next on the play list is the new Neko Case CD which if I'm feeling up to it, I'll pick up tomorrow with my big $5 gift certificate to Best Buy.
This weekend is the release of Watchmen, which I will stand in line with every other film & comic nerd on the planet to see. That is all I really have to say of the matter. Strangely, I find myself looking forward to Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, and Public Enemies more than Watchmen. Go figure...
Today has been a experiment in InDesign and Scribus to figure out once and for all which I like better for .pdf layout. The jury is still out. InDesign is amazingly powerful, but Scribus isn't a system hog, runs smother, and is free. I'm still stewing over the decision, and I may need another day of testing. During my down time I started teaching myself Blender for 3D rendering. Ye Gods, this is complex stuff, but it has potential to do remarkable things. I also further immersed myself in game theory and conceptual design (So much for my rest!) which has given me a lot of insight in the way I approach games and how others approach the same games. This heady but enlightening stuff is leading me to some interesting design spaces.
This afternoon we took the two eldest to the Schiele Museum of Natural History since they had a snow day again today. Both parents and kids had an wonderful time, and then it was off to have hot chocolate. Would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the three idiot stoner kids stinking up the coffee shop (I'm talking 3 Days worth of Con Funk), and talking out loud about trading a kidney to get money and score some weed. Gods, I must be getting old, because I wanted to beat these proto-human paperweights with a stick for wasting my kid's air.
So to all you out there on the webber-nets, good night and good luck.
On the upside, this prolonged illness let me do a few things I'm normally too busy writing or illustrating to enjoy, such as lay back and listen to music. I picked up War Child Presents: Heroes, which bills itself at the ultimate cover album, and you know what? It's close. It isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is close. The Lilly Allen deconstruction of the Clash's Straight to Hell is worth the money by itself, but other tracks such as Beck's cover of Bob Dylan's Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Elbow's cover of U2's Running to Stand Still, and Franz Ferdinand's driving cover of Blondie's Call Me make the album an absolute gem. For me the stand out track was The Like's cover of You Belong to Me. The Like remind me a great deal of Kay Hanley, and as big an Elvis Costello nut as I am, this track struck me as perfect. I'm going to pick up The Like's CD as soon as possible. I also got a chance to give the new U2 album a spin. No Line on the Horizon is, like most U2 albums, bloody brilliant, and defiantly worth the money. Next on the play list is the new Neko Case CD which if I'm feeling up to it, I'll pick up tomorrow with my big $5 gift certificate to Best Buy.
This weekend is the release of Watchmen, which I will stand in line with every other film & comic nerd on the planet to see. That is all I really have to say of the matter. Strangely, I find myself looking forward to Monsters vs Aliens, Star Trek, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, and Public Enemies more than Watchmen. Go figure...
Today has been a experiment in InDesign and Scribus to figure out once and for all which I like better for .pdf layout. The jury is still out. InDesign is amazingly powerful, but Scribus isn't a system hog, runs smother, and is free. I'm still stewing over the decision, and I may need another day of testing. During my down time I started teaching myself Blender for 3D rendering. Ye Gods, this is complex stuff, but it has potential to do remarkable things. I also further immersed myself in game theory and conceptual design (So much for my rest!) which has given me a lot of insight in the way I approach games and how others approach the same games. This heady but enlightening stuff is leading me to some interesting design spaces.
This afternoon we took the two eldest to the Schiele Museum of Natural History since they had a snow day again today. Both parents and kids had an wonderful time, and then it was off to have hot chocolate. Would have been perfect if it hadn't been for the three idiot stoner kids stinking up the coffee shop (I'm talking 3 Days worth of Con Funk), and talking out loud about trading a kidney to get money and score some weed. Gods, I must be getting old, because I wanted to beat these proto-human paperweights with a stick for wasting my kid's air.
So to all you out there on the webber-nets, good night and good luck.