Blog du Wren

My Trip to the Olympic Games

This was the only picture I got of the GREAT Vancouver Olympics logo and it was on the not super scoreboard. Still, kind of a neat picture

Yesterday, Ma and I trekked north to Vancouver to check out the Olympics and all the surrounding hubbub. In a word, it was awesome. While the city wasn't totally overtaken with the excitement as I thought it might be, there were pockets of Olympic . Initially, the city wide general excitement was what I was all stoked for. What I walked away with as a highlight and with most pleasant memories of was the actual event: .

All I know about curling has come from last week's Simpsons episode and the spectacular* Canadian movie Men With Brooms^IMDB. Luckily, an avid curler was

sitting next to us in the stands, so we learned all about the hammer, house, ends, sheets, peeling, strategy, rules, and so much more. By the end of the 3 hour match, we felt like pros.

There isn't much to report results-wise. This was one of 9 qualifying matches, so a win or a loss doesn't mean too much by itself. The U.S.A., however, ended up losing a super close match to Switzerland.

They went into extra innings and had to bring out the measuring device 3 times (while none of the concurrent 3 games had either of those things happen). That excitement just added to the overall appreciation of the experience.

So while the were pricey* and getting up there proved interesting*, it was exactly what I hoped it would be: a once in a lifetime experience. Besides, now I can say and have the to prove it.

Thursday February 18 2010

File under: misc

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Progressively Sketchier

Granted this isn't nearly as cool as that progressive shaving video but I just wasn't feeling as inspired. Plus I was planning on leaving that right hand column style for a while. Well, I'm 5 days in and I'm digging it more and more everyday. That might, however, explain why I didn't have a date for Valentine's Day*. But for you beard/mustache nay-sayers out there, you'll be pleased to know that it will have to be gone by Wednesday when I will be heading up to the Olympic Games in Canada. Something tells me I might have any easier border crossing clean[-ish]shaven.

Monday February 15 2010

File under: beard

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Roses Are Red 2010


	It's been a whole year now I've got Rose poem withdrawl So write up some good ones At which I can guffaw	Roses are red Violets are blue I just wrote a poem And so should you!
	I won't get no roses But that ain't so bad 'Cause I've got the internet Oh wait, that is so sad	Roses are pricey What's a guy to do? Try your hand at Writing a poem or two

It's that time of year again: time for the annual Rose are Red poetry slam here on BdW. This is a chance to let your poetic juices flow! The rules are easy: the poem must follow the standard ABCB "Roses are red" rhyme/stress pattern and it must make reference to either "red" or "roses"*. Topics can be anything you want – it doesn't have to be Valentine's Day related. Feel free to submit under pseudonyms or anonymously, and as often as you like.

For inspiration (or at least a couple of good laughs), take a look at previous years' showings: 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Friday February 12 2010

File under: poetry

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FC 96 - Take Bennifer For Example

I was going to do something clever like have a newspaper with stories of celebrity break-ups or something like that to demonstrate flawed "introductions", but then I didn't. True story.

Another true story: wings are hard to draw, at least for me. The butt, however, came pretty easily. Hmmm...

Since this cartoon is kind of Valentine's Day themed, I don't feel it is out of place to remind you all that the annual Roses Are Red Poetry Slam is coming up quickly. (There will be an official post soon.) So start composing your poems now!

Thursday February 11 2010

File under: comic

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Scrapbalking

At one point in my life, I aspired to become a scrapbooker. I had seen some really great scrapbooks (remember?), so I started saving all the necessary scraps of paper, ticket stubs, maps, pictures, etc. I put them all in a nice pile to be dealt with later*.

Well, since now piles are needing to be dealt with, I thought I would make a scrap-scan and call that as close I'll get. Besides, there will be more ticket stubs, scraps of paper, maps, pictures, etc. The real fun, for me, is in obtaining said scraps anyway.

(Most of these scraps are from my SE Asia trip and various trips east in 2008)

Wednesday February 10 2010

File under: travel, misc

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The Outback Is Now Spider Free

I've been away from home quite a bit recently. According to my Sleeping Around calendar, I've only slept at home 9 nights since Nov. 15th*. Well, has taken advantage of that time to tackle the Outback as her latest retirement-induced project.

(For those of you who don't know, the Outback is the garage/my room*. Concrete floors, lack of heat, plywood walls, and less than precise "finish carpentry" all add to the place's charm.)

With the help of the neighbor, Ma tore up the old carpet*, painted the concrete floors, and relocated all my spider friends. The place looks spic and span now (although IMHO less welcoming.*) One product of this epic cleaning is that my many piles of artifacts-of-my-life have now become fewer yet larger piles that demand to be gone through. Going through the piles is fun, but seeing them be weeded out is kind of sad. I guess that's how it goes.

The upside of pile reduction is the few blog posts that I hope it will produce. Scanned in personal crap that I at one time felt strongly enough to put in a pile under the bed instead of the garbage? What's not to look forward to?

(Oh, and it should be said that while I wasn't (and am still not really) a fan of this cleaning/reorganizing/etc. project, the ladies did a great job making the place look presentable. They say it smells much nicer too. I can't confirm that one.)

Sunday February 7 2010

File under: misc

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Handwriting Decipher Help Requested

I've recently had the [opportunity/coaxing] to go through a number of years of accumulated stuff.* Every piece of paper I pick up reminds me of something: a receipt for scooter work done while on the road to/from Vegas, a map of Chongqing China, crossword puzzles from all sorts of places, and lists galore (shopping, todo, comic ideas, addresses, work chores, etc.)

There is one thing I've come across that I can't quite figure out. I'm having trouble reading the handwriting and thought I might call on ya'll to see if you could decipher it. Highlighted in this picture is a signature. Does anyone have any ideas?

Over the next week or two, I hope to work up a few more Hey-Look-At-This-Neat-Crap-I-Saved-And-Want-To-Post-About-Before-I-Throw-Away posts. But don't worry; none of them will call for the same audience participation that this one does.

Friday February 5 2010

File under: misc

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FC 95 - If It Works For the Escalator...

I just got to thinking: how many webcomics are out there? Answer: A lot. I mean a lot. And I can see why. It is easy enough to "publish" them and the audience is huge, so someone is bound to think yours is funny*.

How do these reflections on the webcomic scene make me feel about my little month long experiment gone on way to long? It's tough to say. Sometimes, esp. after seeing a lot of other poorly drawn, not so funny comics, I feel like a metooer*. But then, when I look back through some of the previous comics, I smile and remember that at the very least, these incorrect perspective panels make me happy, and that should be enough.

Thursday February 4 2010

File under: comic

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A Well Done Wall (groan)

Back in September, I proudly posted about the wishing well that I built out at the quarry. Well, I had so much fun building it (and subsequently using it for wishes*) that I embarked on embellishing the space.

Another couple tons of rock and a goodly amount of work later, I'm proud to unveil the of the Dreams Come True Pavilion. Like with the well, all the rock for this wall was gathered on premise, it's dry stack so no concrete was used*, and all the work was done by .

I'm so pleased with how this phase of the project turned out that I foresee phase 3 getting started in no time flat. That, along with some other exciting projects on the horizon, should make for a very build-y and project-y time in the coming seasons at the quarry!

(Here's an alternate angle picture that I couldn't quite work into the text.)

Tuesday February 2 2010

File under: misc

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FC 94 - There Is Always an Upside

This week's comic was created much more quickly than last week's, which I attribute partially to having learned the new program and partially to the fact that there aren't 7 people in this one. Anyway, going from 6-8 hours on the last one to just 2 on this one is quite an improvement. *

So I got this idea (or more specifically the seed for this idea) when a friend's daughter* told me over the phone about how their dog had to wear one of those cone collars. I've been around dogs with the cone collars before and it is so sad to see them like that. Anyway, this is an attempt, maybe, at least to myself, to salvage a little dignity for those coned creatures, thinking that maybe there are some upsides.

But just don't ever make me wear a cone, please. I'll be good.

(P.S. First person to say that the dog looks like a goat or sheep or anything else will be forced to wear a cone of their own. So no cute stuff.)

Thursday January 28 2010

File under: comic

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