What the...?

I won?

I woke up really early this morning having bad dreams. Mostly stress due to money kind of dreams. But those stresses are ending. I won yesterday. I won one of my cases. Money follows that.

I won because I did the research and I knew what to say to the judge. I have a lawyer that told me that nobody wants to know how much you personally know about the law. Unless you are a lawyer. That the law is the law and if you say the right thing; it works.

Now I wasn't lying or anything (they were -but that is beside the point). I was just telling the truth and the law worked in my favor. So it goes.

The dreams on the other hand disturbed me. I go through periods where I don't remember my dreams. Lately they've been waking me up. In this dream I was dreaming that my biological father was my landlord and that he wanted me to start paying him with cashiers checks instead of personal checks. YeahButWha?

The last two weeks my dreams have mostly been about surfing. Those wake up me up too. Usually I think I'm the water and I wake up and I'm in Minnesota. That's always a little sad.

I'm not sure what the dreams about the ocean mean? I've always dreamed of the ocean. Ever since I can remember. Maybe I need a good Freudian to help me figure it out?

Birthday Stuff

So today is my birthday. I'm way older than I ever thought I would be. I suppose that's just life eh?

Mary made me Beef Wellington (really yummy -sorry to my vegetarian pals) last night and they got me a heavy bag. I've been wanting one of those for years to live out my Rocky Balboa and Batman training montage fantasies. I'm pretty stoked.

In the past I've usually looked at my birthdays with a kind of aloof disdain. But this year is different. I'm not being as hard on myself and I'm liking me a tad more than I used to. So it's kind of cool.

I'm not really doing anything for it other than just hanging out. But I've been into being alone lately. It recharges me or something.

What! An Embryo is a Baby?

There is new advertising campaign that Burger King is running. They've taken the Helen Reddy song "I am Woman"and turned it into some kind of real-men-don't-eat-quiche-so-Hey!-let's-go-fatten-ourselves-up-on-processed-beef commercial.

I grew up in the 1970's when "woman power" and the ERA was at the forefront of just about everything. My mother was feminist. Consequently so were most of her friends. So the idea of taking this song and warping it like this is little disturbing to me. I grew up with the belief that woman were people.

It was really an anthem in a time when things were changing rapidly. Before the Christian coalition (or whatever they are calling themselves these days -Republicans? GOP? Doitourwayortheterroristswin.com?) started bombing abortion clinics and trying to push American back into some kind of Salem Witch Trial puritanism.

So while I understand the need for advertising to appeal to my age group and demographic I find the commercial pretty offensive. I'll file it under the "Who are the ad wizards that came up with that crap?"


I'll also avoid Burger King the way the athletic kid avoids picking the fat kid for his team.

iPhone

Is this the new must have?

72 v. 42

Elvis would have been 72 today. I'll be 42 eight days from today. I alway liked Elvis. He seemed like a nice southern boy to me. I've actually had a conversation with Yvonne Craig about that very thing back when I was doing the comic book convention circuit in the 90's. Yvonne was in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and as the lead in "Kissin' Cousins" with Elvis. She said that he was one of the most polite and charming southern gentlemen she had ever met. He seemed a little lost in her opinion. Too many people telling him what to do. The pastor at the church I went to in Orange County said the same thing pretty much. He used to hang with Elvis back in the day.

I always wondered what would have happened if Elvis hadn't died in 1977? Would he be mentoring Eminem and Justin Timberlake? Or K-Fed? Would he have ended up as just another washed up Vegas performer? Actually started making movies he wanted to make? I like to think he would have had the Memphis Mafia open a can of whoop ass on Michael Jackson? But maybe that's just the romantic in me. Maybe even tour with Rat Pack when Dino died. Who knows? It boggles the mind.

I also have theory that there is a quantum reality where Elvis's twin brother Jessie didn't die but never got famous like Elvis and became his evil twin. Or maybe that's a story I want to write or animate?

I joke, but I actually love Elvis. He seemed like a nice guy that the world ended up getting the better of or he ended up getting the better of himself, rather. I feel like that sometimes as well. I can relate.

Unlike Elvis I've gotten a much later start in life. Oh sure, I've been a professional artist for (oh hamburgers! make me do math now) 25 years now. In many ways I get to do what I like to do on semi daily basis. That is important. It's important to me at any rate.

I'm starting class again today. I'm now a sophomore in college with 4.0 GPA (don't brag you still have to take math, Shawn) mostly because MCTC appears to have lost my transcripts from the 80's or I would be a junior.

Early success didn't seem to be in the cards for me. I'm sure I would ended up dead on the crapper too had that happened. Or maybe I'm just measuring success wrong? I'm successful in ways that very few people see or acknowledge. Including myself most days.

I'm getting there though. It always seems to start with myself.

At any rate, Happy 72nd E.

Here's the thing...

I'm sooooo happy 2006 is over. (Simpson's comic book guy voice) "Worst-year-ever".

The thing is I always learn from this stuff. Doesn't always take of course. Sometimes my mind and ability to understand is like mercury or alternately sludge. It seems like if I hear the right thing at right time I can accept it immediately. Other times I only hear what I want to hear (and that usually isn't very good). I try to prove that things are as bad I think I deserve.

I believe it's a matter of listening. Which God knows I don't always do that well. It's like when I was learning to surf. It took me months to stop jumping on shore breakers, racking myself up going over the falls, or just staying on the board long enough to slam into the shallow water sandy bottom.

It's as if I have to hurt enough to try something different. But that's dumb. It's not worth it. I believe it's time for me to start taking responsibility for jumping on waves that are not kind. That only want to smash me on the floor shove sand in my trunks like a middle school bully.

So as annoyed as I was 2006 -I did learn. I did. I came away from that year wiser and more able to see the truth. In 2007 I'm going to endeavor to just slide into the pitch and ride that baby home. Hopefully give it a San Clemente pier slap as I dismount

I'm also going to talk to that little kid on the car in the picture. He deserves it and needs some attention.