My part-time design job at a local PR firms is now so minimal, it's really a joke to call it a job. Fortunately, FreeFrog Designs is doing well and consulting business keeps picking up. Suffice to say, barring an amazing job opportunity arising, I'll probably just keep working for myself, since it's actually more stable and there's a future in it. Companies seem about as loyal as water on a hot roof.

To compliment my new freelance push I'm planning on moving back into design areas I love -- gaming, icons, logos, interfaces and merchandising -- and forgoing all this governmenty sh%t Sacramento firms keep offering me, since that's about what they pay and expect from creative types. Another year of such drivel and I'll go crazy. I don't care if it's print or web -- they're both great mediums to design for -- but I just need to be allowed to flex my creativity again, instead of consistently asked to dumb down my designs, whereby I can't even proudly display pieces in my portfolio. :-(

Also, the rumors are true...an all new FreeFrog.com website in the works. The ALL NEW website is almost ready – along with matching branded print materials.

The next post will probably be about the new site going live, so stay tuned my little tadpoles, stay tuned. Good things are in the works. :-D

I’m am very proud of my mumz. After years of considering it, she’s finally taking her travel photography hobby to a professional level. Beside upgrading all her camera equipment this year, she’s now a bonafide business as Marlo McClurg Photography. She initially has a presence on her Tumblr blog and will be posting photo galleries as time permits, but more importantly, she’s now showing and selling her photos at local art shows, such as today’s Midtown Bazaar. Congrats mom…I know this is a long time dream of yours!!!

Alas, Memorial Day weekend always turns into a crazy weekend running around, socializing, road trips, camping or even working occasionally. That's all well and good, but this photo reflects what a FreeFrog really wants to be doing on Memorial Day... laying about and catching a few zzzzzzzzz's.

Perhaps it's just my fascination for long pig, but this is the best LOLCATS ever!

Holy crap, I saw a Bimoto Tesi 3D in person today (crappy iPhone photos to prove it). Some crazy ass fool with too much money and apparently a butt of steel bought one of these ultra exotic bikes and actually rode it Sport Bike Night. Very cool. Me and some South African guy named Paul were the most taken with it.



Technically, any Bimota is bike porn on two wheels, but this thing didn't even look like it was from planet Earth. UBER cool.

Holy crap...two creative legends have passed away today!



The unstoppable Lena Horne has died at 92. Her amazing acting persona and magnetic singing shall continue to wow generations to come I'm sure. What can I say...she's a legend.



Likewise, the epic man that is Frank Frazzeta has died at 82. His indelible mark has been made in the world of fantasy and science-fiction art -- including TV, movies, books, album covers, posters, comics and the list goes on. What can I say...he's a legend.

You'll both be missed, but never forgotten. R.I.P.

It was a fun-filled Mother's Day weekend. We took Renee's mom to a play and dessert on Saturday (we took my mom the previous Saturday), then while Renee took her mom to brunch on Sunday, I did the same for mine -- awesome Chile Verde and Sierra omelets at Mary's Gold Miner Cafe by the way. I then took my mom on a long meandering excursion to the Sierra as a photography road trip -- me on two wheels, and she on four. We got caught in a nice downpour along the Mosquito Ridge, but that didn't hamper our fun one bit.

Today marked the end of my long-standing love affair with a certain Suzuki V-Strom 650 motorcycle. It's treated me well since 2004 and we've had many an adventure. At 10pm this evening an upstanding gentleman rode away on my baby with a giant s%7t eating grin on his face. He seemed like the right person for such a fun, yet practical bike, so I've no doubt it's gone to a good home. I'm a little misty-eyed, but it was time to move on. To you, my lovely V-Strom, I say "so long, and thanks for all the fish."

Now it's just me and my Yamaha FZ1000, which is to say, I'm still in good hands. ;-)

Here are some shots taken with my Nikon D40 between Sacramento and Bodega Bay. A day for seaside breezes, sauteed calamari, and family memorials taken in via a motorcycle ride.

Nuclear stacks hold a place both dear and fearful to my heart. How could I pass up this Mad Max meets Fallout photo, sans the mohawk and ash-colored sky.

A bit of perspective: As a child growing up during the super escalation of the Cold War, both sides promised they'd would leave the world in cinders -- two suns in the sunset so to speak. Impressionable as anyone, my youth was spent convinced we'd all die long before 2010 came around. This wasn't debatable in my mind for many years. Thus, as a coping mechanism to an inevitable doom propagated by popular culture and governments, I became a fan of post-apocalyptic science-fiction. Unrealistic...sure, but it makes for great adventure and exploration of the human spirit to survive all odds. Unlike some dystopian future fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction is gritty and more about pure survival in a world run amok. From films, books and games, I've probably watched, seen or played them all -- with the Fallout series being one of my favorites -- but also including The Road Warrior, The Terminator, A Boy and His Dog, Wasteland and too many others to list.

Suffice to say, my birthday this year is a pause for reflection, as mutually assured destruction -- at least between Russia and the United States -- seems to have been avoided. For this, I call this my Fallout birthday, because I'm, make that WE'RE, still here in 2010. Who'd have thunk. ;-)

Of course, the Cold War may be over, but tensions religious, racial, eco, biological and territorial seem to be rising. It's hard to say when we'll kill ourselves, but if we don't the planet probably will. For now however, I'll enjoy the fantasy that is post-apocalyptic and that fact that I don't need to use my plasma rifle to fend off mutants. Tomorrow's another day.

Innocuous post: I saw an amazingly complete rainbow this week while driving. Nee tried to get some quick shots with my iPhone, but the rainbow was simply too wide to capture both legs with a phone camera lens. Here's just one leg. Twas purty!

I wish I'd known about this contest earlier, as I might have submitted an entry. It's great to see creative industrial/functional design applied to vital causes. Hats off to Core77 and the contestants!

Spring time is finally here and man have I been lazy about exercising the last couple of months. I got out for an extended trail ride along the wonderful American River this weekend to jumpstart my Sprint/Summer goal to do more hiking, running, bicycling and kayaking!

In an effort to get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day early, I attended the local St. Patty's Day Parade in Old Sacramento on Saturday. I downed a pint-o-Guinness and a corned beef sandwich ta boot. it was low key, but now I'm warmed up for this Wednesday's festivities!

Sometimes it's the little things that make you smile. In my perusal of one of my many web design resources I discovered our favorite bad boy of dreams needs a job.

It's hard to believe this is my first post of 2010, but with holidays, vacations and a plethora of work projects I'm just now coming up for air. Admittedly, I've been doing more Facebook and Twitter than blogging...I need to get back on the ball.

Key on my agenda is a total website redesign for FreeFrog.com. It's looking dated and it needs more WOW factor.

Other side projects include getting my fantasy universe, Rhunyen, finished and printed (or at least in PDF) for mass market. Also, I need to see how the Go'Mo Invasion is coming. My other game universe, Timeon Rizer, is on hold at the moment -- has been for several years -- but ideas and motivation are brewing, so I hope to do something with that this year. Finally, I hope to radically diversify the type of design projects I'm doing...I'm feeling stuck in a rut lately.

Enough talking. Time for me get in gear or it'll be 2011 before I know it.

How to say it any other way... oh bother. Hoppy Holidays!!!

Below sea level be damned in the San Joaquin Valley, it's SNOWING in Sacramento! Mind you, the Sierra are only an hour away with plenty of snow on them, but it's a rare day to see any type of snow on the valley floor.

Where's my sled? Oh wait... it's melted already. Boo hoo.

Okay, let's get this out of the way... Happy Birthday Grandma!!! I miss ya every day. From your sense of humor and clever insights, to your extraordinary cooking, I was always amazed by your go go go energy in the garden, cooking, hunting and whatever else you pursued. We all miss you and Gramps, but on a day like today all that matters is it's your birthday!

And now on to the the wine-tastings in Napa. Dare I say that post-Thanksgiving some of the famdamily rolled through Napa with their sniffers ready and their lips pursed for some delectable wines. Some of the highlights were the Castello di Amorosa and Domaine Carneros wineries.


Some shots of the tasters in action.

Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble... Happy Turkey Day, er, I mean Happy Thanksgiving. Now go forth and experience a tryptophan coma!

Well, I'm pleased to say my weeklong bout with a particulary resilient flu has ended. Amidst that welcome change and being able to get back to work 100%, Apple has posted a new update to Snow Leopard, version 10.6.2, which offers a whole slew of fixes, improvements and security updates. It's a safe, easy update, so go do it now. All is shiny in the world.

Well we had a very subdued, but fun Halloween this year at Casa de Solberg. Our jello brain mold didn't quite hold together this year -- more like roadkill jello -- and our Halloween cupcake decorating got sidetracked by watching Steven King's 1408 all the while cooking and handing out candy the little ghoulies and ghosties and mystery costumers who rang the bell.

Some of the main participants included BM, MM, RM, JJ, RS and NS, plus Coltrane, Coperinicus and Lula. You can probably guess which one I am -- two by two, hands of blue.



Mind you, the turn-out was mighty low so I'm guessing with all the evangelicals and H1N1 scaring people, Halloween is only for the true diehards this year. Regardless, it was a fun Halloween. ;-)

I've been following the tragic saga of my favorite amphibian friends (with a moniker like FreeFrog how could they not be) as their numbers decline throughout the world. According to new data, it turns out some fungi (aka Fun-Guy) seems to be culprit of worldwide frog decline. I'm sure it's all more complicated than that, and humankind's impact on the world probably hasn't helped, but the research strongly points to a fungus. Evolve my little froggies evolve... it's time to take the fight to the fungus. Don't let them be among us!

Like some amalgum of creatures from my very own RPG Rhunyen, scientists have found a wide range of 850 new species down under in Australia, in underground caves. They speculate that's just the tip of the iceburg. So cool! Read it on Yahoo.

Renee and went to see Henry Rollins doing his thang at Sac State last night. He was as irreverent, insightful, hyper and inspirationally wacky as expected. You've gotta love someone who can in one night offend the f* out of you, yet make you want to get out and vote and make peace with all that's wrong in the world. He's not for the faint of heart, but he's good for it. Even if he's not your cup-o-joe, he gets ya thinking. Right f*ing on Henry. Thanks man!

Okay, so I was just joking about 999 being 1.5 times the number of the beast (or 666 upside down), but apparently a Bolivian didn't get the memo in Mexico. Jose, please understand it's all just entertainment when we say it's the number of the beast. I know some folks who take the Book of Revelation as fact might not see it as entertainment, but I digress. At least it ended without major incident. Now send that man off to Cancun for some real debautury and fun... since he's going to hell for that little hijacking stunt anyhow. The beast is the little worm at the bottom of that bottle Jose... fear it!

On the lighter side of 999, I'm pleased to say that if the beast arrived today and the dark days have begun, it's not in my neck of the woods. I'm not saying it's all roses and cherries where I live, but the only hell I see is my daily job -- okay, so I have a job, but sometimes it's still hell. Does the beast offer full health bennies, a holiday bonus, and perhaps travel expenses? If so, given that I've never had those, sign me up for a little 999 action.

So, with 999 upon us, the only thing I really need to do to celebrate this innocuous coincidence of numbers/dates is go see Tim Burton's 9. Now that promises to be a bleak spectacle filled with adventure.

See you all in 9.10.9, since 999 seems to be a little wimpy -- perhaps he/she/it forgot to eat its Wheaties! Mwhahahahaa! Shhhhh, Damien, it's time to go to bed. No one believes your little "fear me" routine anymore.

My wonderfully talented cousin has landed herself in George Canyon's latest music video, Let it out, as the struggling mom/wife. Go get 'em Meika!

Day Three on the race towards the dark rise of 999. While riding my motorcycle en route to Oakland, CA I encountered the rise or 3 metal demons who tried to stop me from reaching my destination alive -- damn their radiator grills I say, damn them! Surely such madness can only be a sign of what's to come.*

* Of course dodging cars driven by oblivious morons is the daily norm, but in light of 999's impending arrival, it must be foreshadowing of the most insidious kind. Mwhahahaha!

My 999 countdown to the apocalypse continues...

DAY TWO: A disembodied spirit from the past has suddenly called, while another seems to be lurking in the shadows!*

* Mind you, that internet investigative search for them had nothing to do with it. Spooky!

I got out for a brief respite -- after feeling under the weather for a couple of days -- to take in the California State Fair. Not much to see I haven't already seen, but as always the corndogs and funnel cake make great fare at the fair. ;-)

Les Paul, legend in music, has taken the stairway. At 94, there's no sadness that he burned out too quick from some overdose or other rock-n-rolla nonsense -- he had a great run and brought us some great music and guitars. My favorite guitars of all time actually.

R.I.P. Les, and strut your stuff all the way to the top of those stairs! Gibson's website has a great obit for him.

Renee under the RedBull at MotoGP

Well we just got back in from an extended vacation to Carmel and Monterey, California to celebrate the 4th of July at the same time attending one of the things I've always wanted to, attend the MotoGP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.


Carmel near sunset

Wow, what a great trip. Renee and I rode down and had a great ride (though the trip back wasn't as much fun as we ran into grid-lock road construction and a very hot section or tarmac). Our place in Carmel was decent... nothing fancy, but very convenient. Carmel and Monterey were gorgeous and the seafood de-lish! Our only major letdown was that we discovered the legendary 17-mile drive is closed to motorcycles. I know Pebble Beach is corporate, but come on... you let all other types of vehicles in.


We're both packed and ready to ride

Regardless, MotoGP was a BLAST! Being our first time at Laguna Seca, the long, winding ride in to motorcycle parking was a cool, plus the track's well organized. Pedrosa, Rossi, Lorenzo, and Stoner all raced their asses off (finishing in that order), along with other great racers. AMA stuff was cool too, but this was all about the MotoGP for me.


Rossi and Pedrosa preparing for post-race ceremony

One thing everyone had told me who's see it live is that the sound of the MotoGP bikes is insane. I can say that loud doesn't begin to cover it. They were louder than the military jets that flew over the event! Wanna hear it? Here's a little iPhone recording I made. They put out some insane level of decibels... something like 115 or 130 decibels PER BIKE, so multiply that and it puts the loudest rock concerts to shame.


The bikes on the grid

Whoa, I just got an eye opener after returning from vacation. One of my favorite TV stations (or at least it was long ago) has decided to rebrand itself and insult its core audience -- the one that kept it afloat for over a decade -- in the process. I'm of course talking about the Sci-Fi Channel, who has now opted to go the road of trendy mediocrity by rebranding themselves as SyFy in an attempt to be clever and dodge their sci-fi origins.

Mind you, I don't watch the channel much now since all the good shows are gone, but Eureka's and Sanctuary are popcorn level entertaining, it's the rest that's drivel IMHO.

Why do I care? Well, first, it's NOT original, since SyFy has been used before. Second, its not clever, so I'll from now pronounce it "siffy" instead of "sci-fi" (thank you Cassie), because it puts the "wuss" in acronym wordplay... or should that be WuSy? Lastly, SyFy apparently has no desire to acknowledge the fans that made them successful. Instead, if you read this article, you'll see SyFy execs go out of their way to actually insult fans of the station, calling sci-fi fans geeks and losers more-or-less. Damn son, the people doing your PR should perhaps evolve past cro-magnun, because homo sapien PR folks know who butters their bread. Can you say fan...base?

The president of SyFy, Dave Howe, implies their new programming moves away from sci-fi flavored programs, however SyFy's new programming agenda looks no different than before. When the original Sci-Fi Channel (which was really quite excellent) was taken over a number of years back, they already abandoned most sci-fi programming and diluted it with more fantastical or completely off-target stuff like wrestling. Basically, they've in no way created something new.

I think it's ironic that the very shows that have kept them on the map SG-1, Farscape and BSTG -- to name the most obvious ones -- are all sci-fi shows (some more fantastical than others mind you), so what's with their dislike of sci-fi SyFy? Suffice it to say that more horrifically bad SyFy original movies, more wrestling, and more reality shows won't save your asses if you lose your fanbase. Oh wait, if your fanbase reads your comments you've probably already lost them.

I do believe that SyFy is living in it's own fantastical realm. Your new demographic will probably watch another station, since you're like about 10 others now, and your old demographic will have to find a new channel since you don't respect or want them. Way to go SyFy, you WuSy...you've lost a fan for life!

Wow! I can't believe one of the great pieces of fiction (and not so fiction), William Gibson's Neuromancer turns 25. I've read it twice -- once back around 1986 and later around 2000. This was one of the first "cyberpunk" novels I read. I personally think for me and many of my friends, it defined a generation. Hats off to a true master.

Mind you, Gibson is never an easy read, but once you adapt to HIS way or thinking and wrap your head around the ideas, it's immersive, brainy, raw and provocative. Much of the world described has come to pass, and some "thankfully" hasn't. Here's a nice write up by Mark Sullivan about what did and did not come to pass in Gibson's future.

Da Bulls... Da Bulls! Oh, and Da Poop!

Somehow we made it to the finish line of the first inaugural Running of the Bullipedes (which I created the logo for) in Old Town Folsom, CA. The day was HOT and our bodies out of shape, but our last-minute, haphazardly thrown together 5-person Bullipede somehow came together. Mind we walked in a few spots -- maybe quite a few spots -- but the fans on the sidelines kept us inspired and we didn't come in last. Woohoo!


Two of our team who were happy for shade and water at the finish line.


One of the marching bands.

Next year let's hope it's earlier in the day... all the teams were melting.

Well, actually it was Saturday morning before hitting the road. Turns out another Peet's Coffee fan needed her coffee worse than most, so she drove to the front of the line. Yikes! I arrived just a few minutes afterwards. Luckily no one was hurt, but my favorite coffee shop needs some TLC. Now that's a coffee fixation!

Good gravy, I was going to buy a new iPhone 3G S later this month -- I love my current 1st Gen model, but it's very slow -- but after seeing the early upgrade costs AT&T wants to charge ($200 on top of the phone), I'll stick the my current iPhone until my contract expires in April 2010!

I mean, I expect to have to renew my contract for another 2 years (I've got no problem with that), but I refuse to pay $200+ for a phone, only to have the service carrier require me to pay another $200 just for the privilege of using their service -- one, I'm already paying for. Talk about sticking it to your loyal, always pay my bill on time customers! Worse yet, the new tethering and MMS aren't even included yet in the plan, so I don't even get more for my money.

That's financial rape plain and simple! I can't wait for iPhones to support another carrier. AT&T are money grubbing bastards! Nuff said. I'm angry that such business practices are allowed, and shame on Apple for every agreeing to that bullshit!!!

For my birthday, some friends gave me a used Wilderness Systems Pungo 140 kayak to compliment my older sit-on-top Bic Bilboa. This Memorial Day I put it to the test on an all-day river excursion and it performed admirably.

Saturday, May 23, 2009, I'm proud to say I got to witness my nephew graduate with a degree in Civil Engineering. Great commencement and achievement Covelle!

Well, I'm just getting over a nasty chest cold and all that lovely stuff that coughs up with it. It started on a hectic Friday, but felt better the next morning, so having tickets to the AMA Kawasaki Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway for Saturday, I ignored the warning signs of impeding sickness and rode down for a great day at the races. Once there, I took the obligatory walk around to see the people, booths and bikes (see the Duc above), but since they were just running qualifying laps, I decided to go on a few demo rides. Free rides without sales pitches on new motos is hard to turn down.



The topper for the day was riding a bike I've been lusting after for a few years, the KTM 990 SuperDuke -- sadly, they didn't have the 990R to ride, but no complaints. License down, waivers signed and away I rode on a 20+ mile demo course with the hooligan bike from hell. Ironically, aside from monster brakes and rather abrupt throttle response, the thing was more manageable than I expected. Of course, had we be given more room to open things up I'm sure the beast is lurking. Nice bike, but it's not going to get my $15k just yet. All geared up from the KTM ride, I jumped in line to hopefully ride a Kawasaki ZX-14 or ZX-10R, but they were all spoken for, so I rode the bike my wife's been thinking about switching to. I hopped aboard the attractive, but unassuming Ninja 650R. Sadly, I wasn't impressed with the engine. It made my V-Strom 650 feel like 750, plus the Ninja's brakes and suspension were abysmal. Not a bike I'd ever own, but hey, that's what demo rides are for. Hopefully Laguna Seca in July will have some demos from Triumph, Guzzi, Aprilia or Honda.



Sadly, the day was hot and my cold kicked back in with a vengence, so I took a rest and watched the races while loopy from DayQuil and too much sun. Saturday's Superbike races was a treat...Mladin didn't win for a change. I ran into a fellow rider from Sacto and we rode back together. I paid the price for my day in the sun and my nasty cold kept me couch-bound for the next 2 days, but some chicken soup and dreaming of Super Dukes passed the time. Better now...mostly.

What an awesome birthday gift from my wife Renee! I got to go skydiving for the first time at the Lodi Parachute Center. It was one of the most relaxing things I've done (seriously) -- not an adrenaline rush, just a calming zen feeling. Not what I was expecting, but even more wonderful.

If you want to see some pictures, check this out.

My tandem instructor was great --a Norwegian paratrooper visiting the States -- and Wendi and Betty of Peak Adventures (and the whole group that came with us for that matter) were a blast. An unforgetable experience and another check off my very long bucket list. Of course, I was ready to go back up, so this probably won't be my last time. The landing wasn't so smooth -- bruised my tailbone -- but the pain was well worth it. Thank you Renee!

On a sidenote: What a fun filled, birthday weekend of various get togethers and parties as I raced from one to another. Thanks Renee, James, Tom, Eidy, Shelly, Troye, Brandon, Chris, Aimee, Christopher, Vanessa, Rachel, Penny, Dave, Tess, Brian, Ray, Miles and Maddy. Whew, that was a weekend! :D

:::BREAKING NEWS:::

It was said by observers to be like an invasion of lights!

This morning, during the pre-dawn race at the World Free-For-All Motorcycle Races, participants and fans claim to have seen strange lights following the racers during the event. Details are still sketchy, but some describe them as faint glowing orbs not bigger than a golfball that seem to spin & flitter around the motorcycles during the race. At one point, racer Gordon Carlz fell off his motorcycle after something appeared right in front of him. He claims it said something to him is a strange buzzing voice, but medics on the scene say it was likely just a cause of him hitting his head. Fortunately, he suffered no real injuries from the crash. Fellow racer, Zoe Cho said she swore one of the lights stopped and blinked an eye, however, her press agent said she misspoke, having consumed too many energy drinks before the race and probably saw LOTS of things during an extreme sugar buzz.

The lights are said to have disappeared immediately after the race was over, leading many to conclude it was some mass hallucination caused perhaps by the extreme decibels given off by the motorcycles, or a play of pre-dawn lights off the various metals and plastics on the bikes. Regardless, more far out speculation varies from ghosts and spirits, to sprites and fairies, to of course alien visitors or invaders. This reporter simply says, stay tuned for more information as it become available.

The World FFA Motorcycle Races are held each year to allow any type of rider to ride any type of motorcycle in a grueling multi-terrain track over 3 days. For each stage of the race, riders are allowed to switch motorcycles. Riders come from all over the world to participate, riding an amazing variety of motorcycles.

Joe Cranston of the Backroad Alley Sun, reporting.

Over the last weekend The Great War Society (TGWS) took the wraps off it's all new FreeFrog designed website. TGWS is committed to providing information and maintaining awareness about one of the largest wars in history, which is WWI of course – also known as the Great War.

From a design standpoint it was a fun challenge. The requirements for coding were that it needed to use traditional HTML and CSS, with only a minimum of scripts, and no Flash, as they will be maintaining the site themselves with consumer-level web tools. Visually it needed to provide an inviting, yet somber feel and use a limited color palette. While some of the back-end pages on the site are still being converted at their end, the new front-end GUI is mighty purty and garnering good reviews for their users. Woohoo!

Are you prepared for the Go'Mo invasion? The FreeFrog has been busy creating Go'Mo critters for mass consumption. They'll be spinning around this world in March 2009.

Stayed tuned you hue-mans!

This year I finally watched the start of the AMGEN race, which begins in Sacramento and tours California. Hearing all the media hype about the race start, I thought I was in for some neck-n-neck racing, but alas, I failed to do my research and instead got to watch the physically impressive, but competitively unexciting part of the race: the time trials. My bad, but I still got some great photos of the amazing riders and of course am following the race as it goes around California.
Photos by Nicolas Solberg using Nikon D40 with a Nikkor 55-200mm VR lens in natural light in sports mode. Midtown Sacramento, CA, Feb. 14, 2009.

In my last post (boy have I been lax), I said I couldn't wait to see the Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. I got my chance this weekend at our local Crest Theater. Suffice to say it lived up to all the hype. Great mood, acting and story. Check it out if you get the chance... just remember, it's not an American action film, so it moves at a different pace.

Not being a BitTorrent junkie who "acquires" films through alternate means, I haven't yet seen the movie I really wanted to see in 2008, which is called Let the Right One In in english. It's supposedly a very original Swedish vampire tale. Can't wait for it arrive in my NetFlix box sometime in 2009 for one of our mandatory horror/sci-fi movie nights. Here's a preview:

Well the 2008 Sacramento Christmas Parade went on despite budget woes. With my trusty Nikon D40 in hand, I caught most of it... cold as it was. There weren't really any floats, but given that it was originally cancelled it was still a very good turnout. The Grinch hug is a classic moment and cowboys and cowgirls of all ages abounded.

Well maybe it won't cure the cold I have (or whatever bug it is), but a little Hamster on a Piano will always improve my mood.

Today was a solemn day visiting the national cemetery and the site of my father-in-law. Here's to you Matthew – and Uncle Keith – and all the generations of fine men and women who have served.

Inspired by the character Kyle Grubbin, from Dance of the Dead, I whipped together a fairly lame costume this year -- wasn't the plan. I tended to the trick-or-treaters this year, as Nee was under the weather. Rain kept the doorbell rings to a minimum, but with Lustmord cranked up in the background, I think I worried some the little goblins as I gave 'em some punkitude. Oy!

It's been too damned long since I've posted, but in the spirit of Samhain/Halloween, I found that someone had done a nice cosmic slideshow to one of my favorite dark ambient songs ever – Lustmord's Blackstar.

In an odd set of circumstances, I just discovered that my neighbor's wife was found dead in a ditch last weekend with her car nowhere to be found. Cause of death is a mystery still, but she'd just gone out to get a pack of smokes and a short drive and never returned. I'd wondered why I hadn't seen her the past few days. Scary people in this world who'll just dump you dead and steal your car. Her husband's a wreck.

Wow! I had very little expectation that Cloverfield would be anything but a special effects and cheesy action flick. Action, yes (but more disaster film action). Effects, yes (but not cheesy). Great movie... HELL YES. I thought the main creature was very Lovecraftian for a while, but later scenes disproved that. Either way, it's a visceral and intelligent film that doesn't simply fall into gore, effects and machismo stereotypes. While some say it lacks a plot, the gimmick it uses works very well to move the story ahead. Nuff said. Go see it and don't worry if it starts off slowly.

Well we rung in Samhain with a bit of ghoulish fun, though the turnout of trick-or-treaters was pathetic. That said, we did see from the window that some were afraid to approach because of the creepy music and pagan decorations. Mwhahahahaa! Weak Fools!

We were inspired by Wendy's awesome "monster" cupcakes, so we did some of our own.

Worth 1000 is having a Deadly Cute photoshopped animals contest. Some are brilliant, some creepy and some so cheesy only a programmer could love 'em.

Wendy's awesome cupcakes from the Dreamlands. Check out how they're made for all your Halloween festivities.

This is just too cool not to share. This is probably the coolest treehouse ever and I could definitely see it in my roleplaying universe of Rhunyen.

Tonight's lunar eclipse was quite extraordinary. Check out some photos I took.

Alas, my father-in-law, after struggling with his health for the last four years, passed away at the age of 74. He's being interred at a Veteran's cemetary, having served as a Corporal in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Matthew, your infectious wit and smile shall always be with us... and thanks again for raising such a wonderful daughter!

Just got back from seeing my cousin get married in Washington D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend. First time there, so Renee and I toured The Mall, Smithsonian and Library of Congress, as well as watched the Memorial Day parade.