August 31, 2007 at 5:22 pm (Writing, education, funny, life, personal, random)
Looking for a graphic to go with this post, I discovered more than I’d ever wanted to know about the origins of Murphy’s Law. It’s kind of interesting, though. God bless the internet 
Murphy’s Law Day is the title I give to days like the ones I had yesterday. Before lunch I’d:
- lost my sketchbook
- cut myself
- burned myself
- endured the first half of a VERY long meeting
- lost my most important teaching book
- smashed my head into a wall
Then AFTER lunch:
- found my sketchbook
- glued my sketchbook to my desk
- set off my car alarm
- endured the rest of the meeting
- tipped a very full basket of paintbrushes, crayons, etc. off my desk
- spilled milk all over my couch
- stepped on a rabbit
- almost killed a small child with a shopping cart
- accidentally scratched a previous wound, which naturally bled copiously
- dyed my floor green
OK, I didn’t exactly dye it, I just spilled green gunk all over it.
The gluing of the sketchbook is the real mystery. You see, there wasn’t any glue on it. Apparently there must have been something on it, because I had to rip the cover off to separate it from the desk, and then I spent fifteen minutes spraying the table down and scraping paper off with a painting knife. The uses you find for things, huh?
At any rate, I’m off to Saskatoon for a wedding, which means I’m driving. Hopefully Murphy’s Law is at an end.
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 30, 2007 at 11:53 pm (art, education, life, personal, random)
This is going to be a record-short entry to match the record-looong staff meeting that sapped my life away. 9:00 am to 2:00 pm with a break for lunch! Yikes! School hasn’t even started and I feel like the life inside me is just draining awaaaayyy….
For anyone who may (or may not) be remotely interested, some of my artwork is now available for sale on ebay — here and here.
More tomorrow, I promise.
Keep writing (and do some on my behalf, huh?)
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 29, 2007 at 11:17 pm (Writing, comics, funny, life, personal, random)
Ever feel that writing is like crossing a looong rickety bridge over a huge chasm?
By the way, that picture is from Capilanno Park in British Columbia, and yes I went on the bridge. It actually wasn’t all that scary. It’s pretty secure. There was a Japanese lady crossing with us, though, who seemed pretty terrified, judging by all the screaming and whatnot….
I’m finding it a lot harder to come up with good ideas for comic strips than either Paper Masks or The Blacksod Scream. It’s funny — or it isn’t, which I guess is the problem. When I write novels I just sit back and write, and sometimes funny stuff comes and sometimes it doesn’t. Doing the comic strips I have to be consciously funny, which I find much harder — I always figure no one else will think I’m as amusing as I find myself
By the way, I’ve submitted The Blacksod Scream to an agent, so we’ll see what comes of that. A friend of mine recently complained that I shouldn’t post only the first chapter on the net, as it’s annoying to anyone who wants to… well, read it! I suppose he has the point, but if I was a publisher I also suspect I wouldn’t want to bother with something that was available in its entirety for free online. What do you think?
Back to work tomorrow (heigh-ho, heigh-ho!)
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 28, 2007 at 6:22 pm (education, hobbies, life, personal, random, school)
You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t have much writing to talk about just now — I’m taking one last day of holiday before it’s back to work! Hey, I was at the school yesterday from eight to four thirty. All I ask is one more day off
The kids aren’t back until Tuesday, but we start tomorrow. Opening mass and staff meeting — looooong staff meeting. Still, I’m kind of excited to go back. My classroom is feng-shuied (a word I’ve verbified). My co-conspirator and partner in crime, who teaches across the hall from me, and I have been busy following a lot of the advice laid out in this little book. Just in case anyone wants a crash course, this is what we’ve done:
- Wherever possible, replaced artificial materials with natural (eg, wicker in place of plastic)
- Placed “pointed red fire symbols” in the south to balance our teaching
- Placed seven symbols of wisdom in the room (in my case, a small plaster dragon, an owl, a dolphin dangling from my overhead screen, an angel, a bamboo plant, a globe, and a stone magnet that says WISDOM)
- Placed artificial white flowers in the North to facilitate our relationships with our students
- Placed drawing charcoal in the southeast to improve our students’ self-esteem
- Tried to follow color advice where possible: Pale yellow is for listening, bright yellow for talking, red is friendly, blue is calming, green is active, etc. Unfortunately my “black” boards are in fact green.
Actually, we have the whole school curious — other teachers keep stopping by to see what we’re doing! I’ve also made a big banner reading aut disce aut discede — either learn or leave. Years ago, someone told me that on the first day of school each child should take something home and learn something specific. That’s always stayed with me. So on the first day of school, I always make “welcome back” kits — you know the drill, an elastic to remind you to stretch, an eraser to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, etc. And I always teach them something random. This year it will be a phrase in Latin
Anyway, good luck to all my fellow teachers — try to go in with a positive attitude, huh?
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 27, 2007 at 2:49 pm (Writing, hobbies, personal, random, writing ideas)
This was brought to my attention the other day — the blog of a couple girls traveling around and knitting… well, whatever, which they then leave attached to various public places. I can’t decide if it’s really cool or really weird, although I must say that picture is pretty darn neat. And I suppose that if you want to pester the public with your “art,” I’d much prefer some brightly colored wool to six foot high curse words. I wonder what I’d do if I woke up and found someone had knit-fittied say, my car. I think I’d leave it.
And people say they have trouble coming up with ideas to write about? Folks, browse the
internet. Every crazy person in the world is out there and usually pretty vocal about it. You’re bound to come up with some sort of idea.
I used to knit, actually. A friend of mine was a member of the Revolutionary Knitting Circle, which is actually pretty cool. She taught me how and I made a scarf. It was six feet long, dark green, about six inches wide at its narrowest and a foot and a half at its widest. Needless to say, it was not a very good scarf. I haven’t knitted in ages now — too busy with painting and writing and now cartooning. I should start again. I like to do it while I watch TV, because it gives me something to do during commercials. I hate commercials. It’s that English degree coming out — I tend to sit there and analyze them, loudly. By the time I’m done, other people hate commercials too (or they just hate me!).
Anyway, school’s starting again soon (us teachers go back on Wednesday) so I’d better get myself moving and try to accomplish something today. On a bright note, today is the VERY LAST DAY I have to force feed medication to Kirsty Trickster. One more dose and we are FINISHED. Thank you, God.
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 26, 2007 at 9:31 pm (Writing, comics, life, random, religion)
If you are one of those people who throw garbage into recycle bins, could you please stop?
A group I’m involved with is going to Australia next summer for World Youth Day. For a fundraiser, we spent this weekend working like crazy at Cornfest, Taber’s local festival/ midway. Look, I didn’t name it, okay? Yesterday we cleaned up the beer gardens, then worked a five hour concession shift, then spent four hours emptying recycle bins. Today we cleaned the beer gardens again, then spent three hours at the recycle depot sorting the contents. Here is a small sampling of what we gathered:
-many many cans and bottles
-lots of soaked napkins
-a shoelace
-a heavy black object that opened to reveal a sort of metal stick (???)
-hamburgers
-corn cobs
-chewing gum
-copious amounts of various liquids
-lots of cigarette butts
-lip gloss
And much much more. So if you are one of those people who like to throw things that can’t be recycled into recycle bins, I repeat: please stop.
Ugh. I smell like beer, I’m a magnet for wasps, and I’m exhausted. In fact, I’m just on my way for an hour long shower, which may begin to remove the grime.
In other news, I have a new comic up on Tomorrow’s Trust, where Halos now has its own category (yay Halos!) Check it out!
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
PS: Bunny update: Kirsty Trickster is feeling much better although still hopping somewhat tenderly, and Skunkzilla seems to like her again (although she is still stealing her food). Yay!
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August 24, 2007 at 6:25 am (bunnies, life, personal, random)
Yup, I’m still blogging about bunnies. That’s all I can think about right now.
I’m not sure what’s going on — if Kirsty came back from the vet with a weird smell, or if weakness just triggers Skunkz’s instinct to go for the throat — but Skunkzilla seems to have forgotten she was ever friends with Kirsty. I’m talking, 8 AM yesterday they were cuddled up together, and today every time Kirsty gets within ten feet of Skunkz, Skunkz chases her and tries to attack her. It’s driving me nuts because Kirsty really shouldn’t be running, not with the stitches, and she probably shouldn’t be stressed out either! I really hope I don’t have to go through the whole getting-to-know-you process again, because it took forever.
HOW do you forget your best buddy in a 24 hour period????
Or maybe my boyfriend’s right and the Skunk Bunny is, quite simply, evil. I’ll let you know.
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 23, 2007 at 3:44 pm (Writing, bunnies, daily, life, personal, random)
I am a horrible person who does not deserve a sweet lil‘ bunny.
Actually, I had Kirsty Trickster spayed the other day for her own good — female bunnies REALLY have to be fixed or they can get very sick. Also, she kept behaving inappropriately with furniture. She was supposed to stay at the vet overnight, but they asked me to take her home early because she was so scared. She looks an utter wreck. Skunkz was bigger (not older, just bigger) when I had her done so she didn’t look quite so… so. Kirsty’s eyes are red and puffy and her fur’s all matted, and she is VERY VERY UNHAPPY with me!
If she doesn’t eat by the end of the day I’m calling the vet, and that’s that! My poor little bunny.
On a similar note, HOW ON EARTH DO PEOPLE GIVE BUNNIES MEDICATION? I’ve read all these tips and the vet assures me she has no problem, but I have two bunnies who would rather swallow hot coals than anything from a tube. I even tried to give Kirsty a smartie today as a treat (I know, I know, she shouldn’t have chocolate but I figured if I gave her something really good) and she wouldn’t take it! She just hopped away and flicked her feet at me.
Well, fine. I just don’t want her getting hurt or tearing her stitches in a fight to dodge medication. Any ideas?
Sorry, I’m just so worked up about my baby bunny that writing is the last thing on my mind!
You keep at it, though!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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August 22, 2007 at 6:13 pm (Writing, books, daily, hobbies, life, personal, random)
I just recently picked up Elsewhere by Will Shetterly. It’s a book I expected to like from the description, expected not to like from the first chapter, and wound up loving. The basic plot involves a kid named Ron who travels to the border between the human world and Faerie, a place where street gangs perform magic and elves and humans mix tentatively at best. Ron is an immediately unlikable character, which turned me off at first but quickly became an understandable part of his personality rather than just an annoyance. Shetterly’s comic timing is great. Even when I didn’t want to I’d find myself chuckling at an off-handed comment or joke. I think the writing itself, and the concept, are more enjoyable than the actual book — there are a handful of loose ends, the ending isn’t particularly satisfying, and events don’t play out the way I’d hoped they would. But it’s more than worth reading just for the… well, the read! There’s a sequel that I’m looking forward to picking up as well.
The other book I’m reading is Anthony Horowitz’s Public Enemy Number Two.I’d love to give you a picture but I can’t find one without a stupid graphic plastered over top, so just go check it out if you’re interested. Horowitz wrote those Alex Ryder teen spy novels, which I haven’t read although I do keep meaning to. Public Enemy Number Two is the second in a series of mystery novels written in the tradition of old-school film noir type detectives. It’s full of groan-out-loud puns and the narrator is a hardened thirteen-year-old with a dumb-as-nails private detective as a big brother. It’s another one of those books I didn’t expect to like (and didn’t intend to like after reading chapter one) but couldn’t quite bring myself to get rid of.
I highly recommend these two reads. Even if you don’t enjoy the plot, they’re worth reading just for their style.
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynswark.bravehost.com
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August 21, 2007 at 9:44 pm (Writing, life, personal, travel and places)
So Waterton is incredibly beautiful. It’s kind of like Banff, except without all the stores and wall-to-wall people and cheesy tourist attractions. Don’t get me wrong, Banff is lovely and all, but it kind of personifies the word commercialism — or at least, it would if it was sentient and capable of personifying anything.
Waterton, on the other hand, is a little more low-key, a little more natural. There are still heaps of people and loads to see and do, but it’s less like being in a really gorgeous shopping mall. There are deer EVERYWHERE right now — it kind of reminded me of Nara in Japan! Nara is a city where deer are considered sacred, so they wander around eating your jacket and making pests of themselves. Actually, it’s kind of neat, though I can’t say I’d like to live with them.
At any rate, Waterton is a wildly inspirational place. I’ve done lots of writing and drawing over the last two days! By the way, any of you American-types might know the area better as Glacier National Park. We actually crossed the border by boat (one of the few places you can do that without going through customs and immigration, but don’t get any bright ideas — they’re pretty careful about making sure you don’t stray, and the place they take you is literally miles from civilization).
If you’re in the area, I highly recommend it!
Keep writing!
Caryn
http://www.carynscorner.bravehost.com
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