deviantART: by:DonSimpson

deviantART: by:DonSimpson http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:DonSimpson&section=today deviantART RSS for by:DonSimpson en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:58:42 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png Marks That Show and Fade Like Shadows http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/28691330/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/28691330/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:35:12 PST
One thing I came across is an old zodiac medal (Taurus) that I got decades ago and kept because I admired the design work. I had intended to try tracking down the company (Medallic Art Company) for more information. Well, I said, these days there is the internet; it's time to do that. And it looks like it may have been the work of Marcel Jovine. Go here: [link] and click on the picture to get the full-sized version. Jovine himself is amazing. Go here: [link] and scroll down past the Visible Man model kit (yes, he designed it) to his medal work. Then go back up and read the article, which begins:
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Only in America!

An enemy combatant, forcibly brought to the U.S. and held in a prison camp where he found life and love, returned to America after repatriation and became a talented toymaker, coin designer, sculptor, and an outstanding and most prolific medalist.
-----
==============================

Marks That Show and Fade Like Shadows
-- Puck's Song [link]

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]]> =DonSimpson For a Breath I Tarry http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/28153380/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/28153380/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:18:43 PST
Not much more rain since the big storm, but some windy days caused a lot of tree breakage. A sixteen-foot branch fell on the phone line, but did not damage the line, so The Phone Company said it wasn't their problem. I got up on a ladder with a saw and a broom handle (and goggles) and removed it successfully, despite being dubious about the prospect. Housemate Christine assisted and kept the ladder from falling over.

Housemate Linda is indeed commuting to work again. Also to various event committee meetings. Both of us worked as election officials in a local election, though in different precincts.

Studio sorting is getting to the visible stage at last. I've been making some minor jewelry items as I sort the bead section.

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Since *keight's comment has reminded me that my previous journal's title is not just a line from Edgar Allan Poe's poem Ulalume [link] but also the title of various books and stories, including one [link] by a favorite author of mine, Roger Zelazny, I decided to title this one the same as one of my favorite Zelazny stories [link] - which is a line from an A. E. Housman poem [link] (and which quotes from it). Ulalume is intended to be gloomy, but I tend to spoil the effect by singing it to the tune of Acres of Clams [link]) (I also sing Poe's poem The Raven to the tune of Men of Harlech [link] though most people I know prefer to sing it to Dvorkak's Humoresque No. 7 in G flat major [link]) ). [Those last two links will need to have a close parenthesis added, to get to the actual page; deviantART doesn't know how to make a proper link to a URL that ends in a parenthesis.]

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]]> =DonSimpson Night in the Lonesome October http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/27773906/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/27773906/ Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:44:23 PDT [link] [link]) but as I write this it's the quiet time just after midnight, when I can sit and listen to the electrons bouncing in the wires and the air molecules bouncing in my ears.

Day before yesterday the big storm hit, after most of a year dry except for some light rain one day about a month back. Water was flowing over the gutters onto the sidewalks, and the tree outside my room was playing the roof with a branch, like a bow and cello; slow, deep throbbing notes, a music I rather like. A very wet squirrel found shelter on the outside ledge of the front window, cleaned water off its fur, and cast longing glances at the dry interior (the cat was in one of the other rooms). I was glad I had done the roof and gutter work. I love rain, and we certainly need it here, but I don't love water damage.

It's been an interesting couple of months, with various problems to be sorted out (computers and electronics, plumbing, other tedious stuff). Also, housemate Linda had to have her hip replacement replaced due to a bad reaction to the plastic portion, and this involved breaking the thighbone to get the old replacement out and bone grafting to replace damage from the plastic. Supplies were stocked up and work-at-home arrangements made, and (having been through all this before and having stratigised to heal at maximum speed) she should be back to commuting to work next week.

SiliCon was small but pleasant this year, and a new fantasy convention was being publicised there, SorcererCon (November 27-29, 2009 at the San Jose Doubletree Hotel) [link], and I plan to have a dealer table there. Since this is a new convention, to encourage attendance they are giving blocks of free memberships to people who reserve rooms at the hotel for the convention weekend.

Much office and studio sorting has been done, but things are still not to the stage where it looks like something has actually happened. Most of my art projects are in the intermediate stage and probably will be for a couple more weeks. But I should at least make occasional changes and journal entries to indicate things are happening....

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]]> =DonSimpson Summer Continues http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/26458243/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/26458243/ Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:47:47 PDT
But I've also been visiting parks and museums, taking long walks locally, going to parties, and researching odd items on the Net. On a visit to the Computer History Museum, I spotted a couple of computer mice that I helped build decades ago, which inspired me to dig out and upload to my gallery some items from those days.

The Computer History Museum had, on loan, one of the two complete Babbage Difference Engines ever built (and made to the original specifications and tolerances), one of the holy shrines of steampunk; they cranked it through a set of calculations during the lecture/demo. I'd seen a few small versions of the calculation columns of the engine, made with modern components, at Maker Faires, but the real thing is much more awesome (and louder).

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]]> =DonSimpson Summer http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/25154480/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/25154480/ Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:48:45 PDT
I heard frogs down at the local creek, for the first time in years; at least three species, huge numbers of them making a racket....

UPDATE: Besides adding new for-sale works to the Unsold Items folder, I've added a new folder of Mystery Items, with a couple of new mysterious objects I'd like help identifying, and the previous solved and unsolved ones, too.

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]]> =DonSimpson And Again http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/24336811/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/24336811/ Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:52:38 PDT
Life has been interesting. Currently I'm trying to figure out why my computer and the external hard disk drive aren't talking to each other. Earlier, the phones stopped working, but I tracked that down to a faulty DSL filter. And before that... etc. I'm still here, though, checking in from time to time to see what's happening, I just haven't had much time for commenting or tracking through favorites of people who did favorites of people whose work I like, or scanning stuff to upload. The dental work is almost complete; just another appointment or two. The studio is much more orderly, but still has a long way to go. Work on the commissions proceeds very slowly, so I have decided not to take on any more for a while. But good things have been happening, too, which I hope to write about next time. Meanwhile, my thoughts are with you, and I wish you well.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson On Again http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/23620888/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/23620888/ Tue, 10 Mar 2009 03:46:36 PDT
So I got back from selling a bunch of stuff to find water (fortunately not too deep) in the basement, and cleaned the sump pump filter as needed while the water got pumped out. Then I had more dental work, ran urgent errands, cleaned off the roof and mucked out the gutters, caught up on yard work and paper work, and got ready for last weekend which was ConSonance, the Northern California Filk Convention*, where I got to listen to a lot of excellent music and song, and do some singing myself, and didn't have to sit behind a dealer table all day.

I did get in some studio time (and time poking about in second-hand stores and recycling centers, and time beachcombing), so I have some new things done and more partially done. And some progress on the commissions.

One job in progress (mostly done) is making a font (from a design by Kimmi Albee) for BayCon, which will be part of their theme for this year, the rediscovery of the lost sky city of Pyrocumulon. [link] Pyrocumulon is an aerial island city like Laputa (Swift's and Myazaki's versions) or The Flying Islands of the Night in James Whitcomb Riley's 19th century fantasy play of that name, or any of various other such inspired by those (a number of which are in obscure Japanese comics I don't think I could track down) (and there's the Sky City of the Hawkmen in Flash Gordon). Ancient Pyrocumulon was a multi-species culture, including gryphons, dragons, and other such, as well as humans of all sorts (in this aspect, I am more reminded of Dinotopia); and was conduited with alchemical phosphorus to enable magical work, and with steam to run mechanical systems. The BayCon committee would like lots of decor, art, costuming, etc. to fit the theme, and for everyone to have as much fun as possible...

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*Filk [link] is Science Fiction fandom's music. The verb To Filk, which comes from this tradition, originally applied only to using new words with some older song's music, but lately I've seen it applied to comics where new words are used with previous art. Actually, a lot of Filk (these days, probably most of it) uses original music. But my song about H. G. Wells' story, The War of the Worlds, is to the tune of Men of Harlech.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Off Again http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/23149142/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/23149142/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:53:30 PST
Heading off later today (2/12/09) to sell my work. Back probably next Tuesday (2/17/09), just in time for more dental work.

As usual, the housemates will not be checking my e-mail or site messages, though I will try to find computer access. Maybe someday I will have a laptop computer or a cellphone....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Back from Further Confusion http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22948174/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22948174/ Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:41:44 PST
Further Confusion was fun. There were a number of Deviants there, including balaa, darknatasha, Hbruton, shinigamigirl, Wolf-Nymph, twospotz, XianJaguar, and mythman11, and art in the art show by some who weren't there in person; and vast amounts of art by others. And the fursuit parade was over twice as large as last year, with almost all the costumes well made, and some very funny or amazingly beautiful. I quickly discovered that I should have made more carved skulls, but I already knew that. There was a large Internet Lounge, too, lots of furries being tech types. There were some striking necklaces at the Cordochorea Creations booth, and more being made by the talented and courteous Dr. Dorothy Cordochorea. She has some photos on the web at: [link] .

Attendance was way up, and the con is planning a move to a larger hotel next year. Dealers who depend on their large trailers, RVs, and such may have a problem with the parking garage. But there should be a (at least slightly) larger Dealer's Den. The physical layout of the Doubletree at the San Jose Airport is, despite some poor remodeling choices, wonderfully suited to a certain range of convention sizes; the open layout of the coffee shop next to the walkway to the major function rooms, the big common balcony of the second floor rooms used for parties, the huge direct-load-in door of the space usually used for the dealers area (though FurCon uses the regular doors), the large ground-level parking lot.... But, beyond a certain size, a convention may need to move to a larger, often less usefully designed, venue. Life is change.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Further Confusion (the convention) http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22732103/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22732103/ Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:20:34 PST
If all goes well, I'll be at Further Confusion starting later today (22 Jan 2009), and will have my usual table in the Dealer's area. There I expect to see many of you (though some of you are already at FurCon, or in transit, and may not see this until later). Commissions (most still in progress) and other distractions (like the studio disentropification) (and sleep*) have taken up most of my time recently, so I need to spend a couple of weeks concentrating on dealer table items. Best to you all, hope to be back by Monday. The housemates check my phone, but not my e-mail, but I'm hoping for web access at the con.

*
"You don't even know what sleep is."

"Yes I do; I've got all their albums."

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Start of Another Year http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22299527/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22299527/ Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:00:40 PST
The dA annual review says that 2008 saw 39,819,949 new deviations uploaded; there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year, so my observation of "growing faster than one new deviation per second" seems to have held for the whole year. The review also says 2,886,913 new accounts were started. That's ... a lot.

Elsewhere, AOL has trashed everybody's online storage. My simple litttle website with my resume and stuff is no more. I do have a backup copy on my home machine, but that's not a server. What to do? Seriously, I am taking web hosting suggestions.

I'm also taking movie suggestions. I've been looking for comedies that are actually funny; or rather, ones that are funny for people who don't enjoy marathons of excruciating physical and/or mental agony. I also like good special effects films, but I'm currently not experiencing any difficulty finding those.

Happy New Year, all!

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Holidays, 2008 http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22180592/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/22180592/ Thu, 25 Dec 2008 03:03:43 PST
It's raining, here in Sunny California. Much needed, particularly if it is adding snow to the mountains. There are drought penalty rates for water use in effect, which I am not having to pay because I'm still using the water conservation measures from the previous drought. And I like rain, as long as it doesn't come indoors. I'm going around singing "I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas...".

Went over today (Christmas Eve) with housemate Christine and got the top six feet of a Norway pine, which I carried home from the lot (fortunately only a few blocks away; I do this every year). Housemate Linda volunteered her vast stock of lights and orniments, and we now have the tree lit and ornimented for Christmas, and it will be up for twelve days. I'm designing some last-minute wrapping paper on the computer.

Yesterday I went over and was one of several people helping a friend clean house for her annual Christmas Day gaming party, which I should be going to tomorrow after Christmas dinner elsewhere.

My friend Mark is in town briefly, and I hope to see him before he heads back to Texas. And then there is the big New Year's Eve party up in the hills. And Further Confusion coming up fast, followed by several other sales events.

Happy holidays, all.

UPDATE: Christmas Day was bright and sunny, after a week of rain, and dinner and party went well. I learned how to play ZAR, a card game (the design on the backs of the cards is an ambigram; it reads "ZAR", and if you turn it upside-down... it still reads "ZAR").

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Selling in Berkeley http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21842370/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21842370/ Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:45:35 PST
Selling first Sunday in December 2008:

==========
ASHKENAZ INTERNATIONAL CRAFT BAZAAR, Sunday, December 7

Friends, Ashkenaz will hold its 1st Annual International Craft Bazaar on Sunday, December 7th. It is a holiday artisan sale, exhibiting crafts that are handmade, sustainable, recycled, relating to our music and dance themes, or representing cultures and traditions from around the world; with a focus on items priced $25 and under. The event will include live acoustic music and dance performances, and organic vegetarian food and drink will be available for purchase. The sale will run from 11:00 am till 7:00 pm. Please mark your calendars - it will be a great opportunity for local holiday shopping!

Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center
1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman = 1317 San Pablo Avenue | Berkeley | CA | 94702
Website: [link]
=========

UPDATE: Sales were slow (not surprising in the current economy), but enough to make it worthwhile for me.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson LosCon http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21690598/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21690598/ Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:49:30 PST
Heading off to LosCon in Los Angeles, then getting ready for a small local crafts fair.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Long Weekend http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21385541/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21385541/ Sat, 08 Nov 2008 09:16:58 PST
Halloween went well. I can indeed still get into my 1970 Burgundian Houpeland (with matching hat), and the decades-old beast mask continues to hold up, so I spent the evening handing out candy.

And the next two days I was at Steam Powered, a steampunk convention in Sunnyvale, California. A small convention, but very enthusiastic; everyone had an outfit of some sort, and many had several. The dealer room and all available expansion spaces for dealers had sold out. I bought a few small items and looked at Dr. Grodbort's ray guns, lots of period clothing, jewelry, gadgets, books, and what-nots. Since I wasn't vending, I was able to attend several interesting panels, talks, and workshops, and the Saturday evening concert (Platform One and Abney Park; not set up as a dance, but most of the audience ended up dancing; much fun).

Saturday I was in my three-piece suit and bowler hat, as a representative of the Black Diamond Company, with their catalog of synthetic jewel industrial materials, and business cards. I had a black on black diamond-weave shirt with cufflinks of black onyx rombs set in silver, and a matching stickpin (worn on the lapel, because I was wearing a bolo tie whose slide was a large black fossel trilobite set in silver). Plus one of my steampunk pocket watches on the ivy-pattern watch chain.

Sunday I had on my WIP in-flight airship mechanic outfit, carrying the repair manual for the polar scout airship Maid of Awesome, and lots of odd tools and items. The non-tool parts are a mix and match bunch of clothing, mostly in browns, with brass and steel accessories. I had a watch case on a neck cord, whose face was a dark red moire pattern with a slowly pulsating light behind it. As I had it configured, I was carrying way too much weight for comfort.

The Monday poll setup went well. All the interior stuff that wasn't voting material (tables, chairs, booths, interior signage) was made ready, and places assigned for people and things. The voting items (ballots, scanner, and the remaining touch-screen for anyone who wants to use it) remained sealed and locked away until six the following morning. Meanwhile I studied the procedural manuals. Election Day was not as frantic as expected. Nearly half the elegible voters had opted for voting by mail. About 75% of the rest of the precinct did show up, and a lot of them hadn't voted with machine-scanned paper ballots before, but we had a good team, and everything got handled quickly. By ten in the evening the polls had been closed, the votes all counted, the ballots, machine memories, and reports had been delivered to the collection point, and I was dropped off at my place, still a bit buzzed on dark chocolate.

I gave myself a recovery day, sleeping late and then taking a walk that went by Urban Ore, one of my favorite sources of art materials, and then started catching up on e-mail and other Web stuff, and then studio stuff. Next comes actually doing art.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Current Obsessions http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21215271/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21215271/ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:52:30 PDT
I'm getting ready for Halloween. Traditionally, I hand out candy to trick-or-treaters dressed as the beast from Beauty and the Beast, with a wonderful horned upper-face mask I bought at RenFaire decades ago and my Burgundian Houpeland made back in 1970 by Quinn Yarbro. I'll see if I can still fit into it; I'm now too large for my brown suit.

Halloween weekend I should be at Steam Powered, "the California Steampunk Convention", in Sunnyvale. But not vending, though I'd like to be vending next year (the dealer room and the dealer room expansion are already sold out this year, so getting in may be highly competitive). Going mainly to look at all the costumes and props, and talk to people and give them stuff (I hope the guy with the great Captain Nemo outfit shows up). [link]

Monday I help with poll setup, and Tuesday I'm a clerk at one of the local polls. It's a sixteen-hour day, and looks to be a busy one, with a halfway decent voter turnout predicted for once. But don't let that put you off, go vote.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson 70 Years http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21000206/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/21000206/ Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:25:11 PDT
Today is my 70th birthday. Wheeeee! The party is planned for Sunday. Getting a reasonable fraction of even my local friends together in one place at the same time is tricky, but seems to be happening. Special chocolate cake and other good stuff should be there, but it is the friends that make the party. Thank you for the birthday wishes, o friends that I have made here, and friendly strangers.

It's been a slow year, production-wise. The dentistry (now approaching a hiatus) has been distracting, but my remaining teeth are in better shape. The studio clean-up has taken lots of time, and will take more, but surfaces have cleared, long-lost items have surfaced, various things have gone into labeled boxes, projects have become defined. So it's good. Custom works for various people are in progress.

The wonderful things here at deviantART continue to awe and inspire me, and often make me wish that I could do stuff like that (for a very large number of thats). This is a great place, and I'm glad to be here.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Mystery Watch Chain http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/20877908/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/20877908/ Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:04:31 PDT
I'm trying to get a translation of the markings (they seem to be German words) on a watch chain I found at a garage sale. Any other information about the chain would be good, too.
Chain: [link] Markings: [link]

UPDATE: It looks like the mystery is solved, and it's just a warning that the design is copyright. But it doesn't say by who, or when. I really would like to know more.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson SiliCon http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/20796017/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/20796017/ Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:28:33 PDT
Off to SiliCon; back in a few days.
* * * * *
Back from SiliCon. Sales very slow this year, but adequate. Saw many friends. Watched a lot of Anime. Particularly liked the anime _Spice and Wolf_, which is about the economics of trade in a medieval culture, the dynamics of several sorts of relationships, and the way humans often do the right thing and then think of a logical reason for that decision. Main characters are Craft Lawrence (a poor peddler) and Holo (a wolf-goddess of the wheat harvest). Lawrence is smart, ambitious, and thoughtful. Holo is smart, homesick, and impulsive (also cute and scary).

.... ]]> =DonSimpson This Whirling World http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19880536/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19880536/ Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:35:51 PDT
It's been a while. I started to work on art, realized I didn't know where some items were, realized that I really, really needed to organize my studio, and have been working on that. I did get a number of pieces started, though, and some are now being finished. Plus: organizing other parts of the house, plumbing repairs, yard work, more of the extensive dental work in progress, research on things I want to do, research on things I am interested in, hauling stuff to recycling centers, shopping for stuff at trade shows, garage sales, thrift shops, etc., beachcombing, tracking down parts on eBay, watching movies, visiting museums (including a submarine, a steam sidewheeler, and a large sailing ship) (and the new de Young art museum, a.k.a. "The Coffin of Great Cthulhu") and botanical gardens, attending the Time Travelers Picnic at the Consevatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park and a DEVmeet at the Albany Bulb, helping Linda VonBraskat with her liquid light show at a party, various other chores and small events....

Included in the above is finding yet another obsolete digital camera, a "non-working" Olympus C-730UZ that I got at a recycling center to salvage for steampunk prop parts. Only, it turned out to not be non-working. I found a memory card for it on eBay (it uses xD cards, but only of 512MB capacity or less; local camera stores stock xD cards from 1GB on up). And it has a macro function, so I can get photos of some items that don't work well on the scanner. (I also got some no-longer-stocked cards for the other obsolete cameras, downloaded PDF manuals, and so on.) And xD is not a smiley here, it's for "extreme Digital".

I'll be 70 next October 15th. I've seen the world change a lot. What a long strange trip it's been, as the kids used to say....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Returned from Las Vegas http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19322639/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19322639/ Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:51:37 PDT
Las Vegas is mostly invisible to me. It sprawls for miles in all directions, tract houses, little shops and malls, but all I've seen of it close-up are parts of The Strip (the few downtown blocks of super-casinos with surreal, over-the-top theatricality in their architecture) and a couple of other casino/hotels.

Westercon was held at the J W Marriott, ten miles northwest of The Strip, in the middle of a constellation of golf courses (golf and the rare book trade are some of the town's other money-makers; maybe someday I'll be able to tour the bookstores). The J W Marriott is mediterranean-themed, spacious (high ceilings and wide corridors everywhere), and the grounds are full of ornamental lakes with waterfalls (even the swimming pool has waterfalls). There are several expensive places to eat in the hotel, but it has a casino buffet, too. Westercon fitted comfortably into its meeting spaces, even with the largest being devoted to a blood donation facility. I was able to talk to people I hadn't seen in years, and otherwise generally relax.

I'd hoped to tour The Strip but didn't make it, so my favorites remain the great black pyramid of the Luxor and the bronze mermaids and dolphins at the Mirage (sculpted by Arlin Robins), though I think I would have added the guardian beasts at the jungle-themed corner entrance to the Mandalay Bay. The Mirage's volcano was under repair, but I saw it (and their indoor rain forest and their white tigers) last time. So I have not seen the roller coasters, computerized fountains, tacky facades, five _different_ Cirque du Soleil shows running concurrently, musicals, flight-sim rides, reviews, magicians, aquariums, water slides, the monorail, the shops, and (as I said) the bookstores....

Maybe someday.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Away (and a Voynich note) http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19172006/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19172006/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:17:26 PDT
Off to Westercon in a couple more hours, away for about a week; the other members of the household do not check my e-mail, but Westercon may have an Internet Lounge (these are becoming more common at the conventions I go to). Thank you for the good wishes, I will try valiantly to have fun.

Among the things I'm interested in are linguistics, invented languages, writing systems real and invented, symbologies.... So I am naturally fascinated by the Voynich Manuscript ("World's Most Mysterious Manuscript" and all that). Back when I first heard about it, it was difficult to get information on it (there was a book (with a few pictures) and a short government paper). Now there's lots of web sites, much new structural analysis, good quality scans have been made of all the pages and they are available on the web and as a downloadable PDF of the whole book and as an actual coffee-table book (published in France). Still mysterious, though.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Westercon http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19091730/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/19091730/ Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:35:11 PDT
It looks like, despite probabilities, I will be attending Westercon (July 3-6, in Las Vegas). I'll be traveling with Linda VonBraskat (a.k.a. "Kitty" or "Momcat") who will likely be sitting at the info desk a lot, wearing purple. I should be running the usual midnight Eye of Argon reading, but not running my usual dealer table. If you are there, track me down and say hello.

I'm currently working on a number of things, but probably none of them will be finished until I get back from Westercon.

A local Steampunk Faire is being planned, so I may be doing more things of that sort....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Eventually, at last http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18792270/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18792270/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:06:22 PDT
Over that bug, which didn't last for weeks like the earlier one. Did a bunch of paperwork, some electrical and plumbing work, and a trip to the Gem & Jewelry Show. And so, after what seems ages, I'm working on art again, getting back to all the commission clients, and to the various people I want to see....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Back to Work - Eventually http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18618671/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18618671/ Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:25:59 PDT
I did well at BayCon, no better or worse than usual sales, and lots of people to talk to. But I apparantly also got a bug, because I've been caughing, sniffling, and headachey. I'm better now, but tired, and I'm trying to get recovered by the next election day when I do about sixteen hours helping run one of the local polling places. I've got a lot of stock to replace this Summer, and house repairs and cleanup, and seeing people, and getting back to everyone who I asked to wait while I got through the busy season....

A couple of days ago I got a call from Dale Enzenbacher. Dale is so much more talented than me that I want to cry, and so much less able to run an art business that I want to bang my head against a wall. Dale is smart, but he's less social than I am, and his medium is lost wax cast metal. I can go out and get a stick or a rock or a shell and turn it into something nice with little in the way of equipment. Casting bronze or silver is expensive in metal, equipment, facilities, and so on. If I had a small fortune, one way I'd want to turn it into a large fortune is to arrange for Dale's waxes to get picked up and cast and patinaed and photographed and put on sale.

Steampunk alert! The Urban Ore recycling store in Berkeley California has got in a bunch of old radios, and by old I mean around 1920. They look amazing, and are priced accordingly. But Urban Ore is always worth a visit for useful parts of steampunk gear.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Busy Season http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18265465/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18265465/ Mon, 19 May 2008 20:31:35 PDT
I'm in the middle of my busiest time of year, so I may not be replying to messages for a week or two (at one point, I may not _see_ any messages for a week), but things should get less rushed toward the end of the month. I'm not moving any new works into the Unsold folder until then, and items in that folder may get sold several days before I can post changes. Some things made just before Costume-Con got sold without being photographed, due to my habit of choosing construction over documentation, so I've made sure to scan and upload some things, and hope to do some more.

UPDATE 19 May: Home very briefly. Shortly after first posting this entry, I got about 500 messages (and a couple of thousand page views). I finally figured out that the occasional mention of a daily deviation in the messages I read were not referring to Starprobe, but to Raveneye, and that I now had a second daily deviation. Woot! One message informed me that Raveneye had been reclassified from a piece of jewelry to a web interface (it had been, indicating either a very quirky sense of humor or somone hacking DA), I changed it back to the correct classification. I should be back to my regular (if it can be called that) schedule in about another week. Be well, all.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Recent journies http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18179411/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/18179411/ Mon, 05 May 2008 11:40:58 PDT
I've been getting ready for a bunch of events I'm selling at, and one I wanted to sell at, but couldn't get a table for.

Two weekends ago I was at Costume-Con (#26) [link] [link] which is at various locations around the US. I was mostly in the dealer room, but got to the Fantasy Masquerade, the fashion shows, the Museum of Mad Science, the swap meet, and a few other events, and missed the Historical Masquerade and the panels and workshops. The beauty, complexity, humor, and workmanship in the various costumes was mindboggling. And, as a fan of the web comic Girl Genius [link] , I was delighted to see Master Payne and several other characters wondering the convention hotel.

And last weekend I was at (but not selling at) Maker Faire [link] (last years was nice, too: [link]) I got to shake hands with *missmonster in her amazing werewolf outfit [link] and wonder among the SWARM orb-bots [link] and, in the steampunk courtyard, talk to the members of steampunk band Abney Park [link] [link] and tour the Neverwas Haul [link] and see ~porkshanks' matched rayguns [link] and Sinister Device [link] in person, and much else besides. And there were lots of amazing robots, and robot kits, and crafts, and alternative technology, and so on. One of my favorite events.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Various Thinglets http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/17777555/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/17777555/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:18:05 PDT
Well, catching up with various things took longer than I thought. House repairs are proceeding nicely. I'm making mainly Indian or Thai food for dinner. Still working on the camera stuff.

ConSonance was a lot of fun, with much music and conversation, and the Chaoswolf-Selkit wedding (The concert harpist snuck in a few bars of the Imperial March from Star Wars at the beginning of the processional, and the father of the bride sang "Ferret Went A-Courting", referring to Selkit's fursonna. Chaoswolf was in a dress instead of her usual battle gear, and Selkit in a suit with a scale mail gorget he'd made for the occasion; they looked great}.

There was an interesting CD album, _Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers_ for sale in the ConSonance dealer room. It seems that the next CD in that series will be _Whiskers in the Jar_ with album art by *Illahie which is very lovely: [link] [link] (and those have a link to the album site.)

And more dental work. At least it's boring; I hate exciting dentistry.

A few weeks back, in response to some remarks about what's on deviantART, I did some quick searches to see rough proportions of art subjects on the site:
Naruto - 589,076
nude - 299,434
-----
cat - 977,987
dragon - 634,251
wolf - 456,895
snake - 109,495
centaur - 13,583
splotch - 1,468

And... back to work

.... ]]> =DonSimpson And Back Toward The Light http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/17187609/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/17187609/ Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:54:02 PST
I seem to have working scanner software again, and will be posting more art shortly. And I've acquired a garage-sale digital camera. It's scratched-up, dented, and discolored, but I've got most of the gunk off of it, and it's working; and its "best" mode looks to be good enough for the web. Just after selling off all my staffs.

I also am now able to access the pictures on some older digital cameras given to me by friends; despite issues of non-maintained proprietary access software and no-longer-made storage media (which do not apply to the garage-sale find, though the issue of the maker going out of the digital camera business does.). These things are what I've been working on instead of commissions for various patient people. Those are next on the agenda. Maybe also fitting in some more information on carving things. (And cooking. And house repairs. And....)

But first I'm going to Consonance, the San Francisco Bay Area filk music conference. (Filk is the musical tradition of the science-fiction community, see Wikipedia for more information.) There will be lots of music, singing, workshops on music and singing, and a wedding. I'm packing my songbook and drums.

Meanwhile, the dental work continues nicely. Trees are blooming on the local streets. I've been getting more fresh air and sunshine, and am feeling well. Mmmm.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Dentistry Begins http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16872881/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16872881/ Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:19:23 PST
Today was the start of my tooth restoration work at the dental school. They've done some emergency extractions, and my assigned student has cleaned my teeth, but now the real work begins. So, root canal today; seemed to go very smoothly. Digital X-ray sensor connects over the school network to the student's laptop computer at the work area. I've seen 60+ years of progress in dentistry (and am very happy that anesthetics were discovered before I needed my teeth drilled), and it's impressive. Modern equipment seems very spare and compact, procedures simpler and faster. I suspect much of difference is subtle, and I haven't even seen it. Sadly, veteran's benefits don't cover dental work except for the totally incapacitated, or as prep for medical work.

UPDATE: Root canal has been followed by prep for post (a metal pin to hold the new tooth top in place), and installation of the post, and an impression taken for the crown (which should be installed in early April). Plus a couple of small fillings and exams. Still going well.

I'm going out of town for a few days, going to try to sell some of my stuff. Then I'll be able to start on commissions, and will answer those of you who have inquired. My brain isn't quite up to speed yet, but is much less fuzzy.

UPDATE: Sales were good. I got back tired, and have been sleeping a lot when not at the dentist. Back to work now.

Thank you for various advice, encouragement, and information. More real soon now....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Carving Questions http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16792041/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16792041/ Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:13:25 PST
I've done the first update to Carving Skulls & Stuff. More is in progress. I've got a file of questions from DA-ers, and will be answering them. I also put some relevant photos (taken by a friend with a digital camera) in my Scraps gallery (linked from my comments in the file).

With another convention coming up, I wish this bug would go away so I can do some proper artwork.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson and Continuing http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16758252/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16758252/ Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:07:15 PST
The bug persists. A few days ago I had a terrible headache and got very little sleep. And when I did sleep, I had dreams about having a headache (in one of the dreams, the headache was caused by having a small, three-compartmented, tin box imbedded in the right side of my skull). Some pain pills and a humidifier have taken care of that. I'm only coughing occasionally now, but still not feeling strong or very coherent.
----------

I spent a day being an election clerk at my local precinct's polling place. It's easy, mostly sitting, work. But a 16-hour day. Then I got about twelve hours sleep. My favorite name on the voter roster this year is Mohan Ganeshalingam. Runner up is Jerry Coe.
----------

Since people keep asking me about how I carve stuff, especially skulls, and I keep encouraging people to do carving work if they want to, I'm starting a gallery entry on the subject, which I intend to keep improving.

I got started carving skulls because a friend of mine gave me an old, damaged, coyote skull that had washed out of a red clay bank in the spring rains. I got started carving stones because she thought I should make beads out of bits of driftglass found while we were beachcombing. She found me a deal on a pipemaker's antler scraps, and I started carving antler. I started with simple, easy things, and just kept going. (I could tell this story at greater length, with more detail, but the moral is the same.)
----------

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Back and Down http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16667814/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16667814/ Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:32:52 PST
I've got a nasty flu, and am coughing a lot despite cough medicines. No other symptoms except low energy and difficulty thinking, and a sort of generalized rotten feeling. Fortunately, the internet means I don't have to respond at normal human speed.

So, those of you I am conversing with via e-mail or notes, expect some delay.

Further Confusion was fun. Lots more attendance this year, and way more fursuits. Sales were down, for me and many other dealers, but worthwhile for me (much expensive dentistry lies in my future, alas, and this will help); and it was good to talk with many friends and acquaintances, several of them DAers. I went to the Chaoswolf and Selkit engagement party, and am looking forward to the wedding. Also saw the masquerade, but didn't dance, as their current music didn't inspire me.

And from the convention hotel, Friday morning, snow was visible on the farther peaks, though it had melted off by Sunday. It is now raining here, a lot.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Further Confusion (a.k.a. FurCon) http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16545929/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16545929/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:14:35 PST
... is the name of the big San Francisco Bay Area furry convention, where I should be headed later today, so I can sell my art in the dealer room. I have many new works, which are not in my gallery due to problems with my scanner software; and, if they sell, will probably never be there. Like most of my art....

I've seen several mentions by DA artists that they are going, and I suspect that many more that I don't watch will be there too. I generally enjoy FurCon (one year I was recovering from some bug, and spent my non-vending time flat on my back), talking with people, looking at art, dancing, admiring the costumes...

When I get back, I'll try to fit in some scanner debugging at some point....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Year Begins http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16412303/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16412303/ Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:36:09 PST
I'm now officially selling from my gallery here, though most of what's in the gallery right now is already sold. I've added an Unsold Items folder so people can tell what the exceptions are. I've already had a few sales and commissions and am learning about shipping. It looks like I could ship much more cheaply if I had an account with a shipping firm, but I don't sell enough yet to justify an account. I'm used to selling in person, and am feeling awkward at this. At my table, people can pick up things, look at them closely and from all directions, try them on, feel the tactile qualities, hear the sounds some of them make, smell the waxed wood (but not perfume from the pomanders, as I leave them unscented for the buyer to choose what they like), get immediate answers to questions, and enjoy the whole vending ambiance (and have a mint).

And I am getting work ready for Further Confusion, and then Pantheacon, and so on through the busy first half of the year. Plus I hope to go to MacWorld Expo, Photonics West, WonderCon, ConSonance, Maker Faire and other events I won't be selling at (unless I can get into the Maker Faire Bizarre Bazaar, which is iffy). And clerking on my local election board, and... bunches of stuff.

I hope all is as well as possible with you, my inspiring fellow inhabitants of planet DA.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Hub of Time http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16128415/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/16128415/ Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:36:38 PST
Doing things for and with people, cleaning and cooking and the tree thing, good conversations, good food, cold nights clear or with rushing clouds, the moon and Mars bright overhead as the days stop shrinking and start to grow again. Rain coming on, the official New Year almost here. Faith manages. Hope remains. "I yet live", John Carter used to say when involved in awkward situations, and it always seemed to me to be a good motto when following current events.

I wish you all a good year.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Gallery Transforms http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15583921/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15583921/ Mon, 19 Nov 2007 23:54:19 PST
The Feature Gallery. An arrangeable gallery, with folders; which is something I have been hoping for. I copied everything that was in my old gallery into new folders I created, and then removed all those pieces from the new "featured" gallery. Now I need to think on what I want to show off, and copy those items from the "everything" gallery into the now empty "featured" gallery.

The "everything' gallery now has the former main and scraps galleries munged together into a sort of train wreck, but if you view it in "favorites" mode, it's not so bad, and having it combined may prove useful, particularly since the scraps gallery is still there. Also, the link on the profile page, to send a note, seems to have vanished, which is annoying. I hope that particular change isn't permanent.

I'm heading to Los Angeles soon, for Thanksgiving and LosCon, so it will be a while before I get the new gallery arrangement into order. I also have to troubleshoot my scanner software, which has recently started crashing on startup, after having worked perfectly for months, so I can add new items to the gallery.

I wish you all a pleasant Thanksgiving

UPDATE (1 DEC 07): The "everything" gallery has been separated into the "browse" and now easily accessable "scrapbook" galleries, and many new edit features added. Much nicer. And the note button is back (with, I am told, new anti-spam features). This site has awesome programmers.

.......... ]]> =DonSimpson Centering http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15081863/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15081863/ Tue, 16 Oct 2007 01:07:57 PDT
Today (October 15) is my birthday. My traditional request being for food I didn't cook myself, I was given a very tasty Mexican dinner at Montero's, a local cafe dedicated to the spirit of Freda Kahlo. Next year I am hoping to have a real party, and invite bunches of people; we will see.

Unless I'm very lucky, I don't have another sales event until Further Confusion, next January. I sold most of my wands, and a staff with a quartz crystal set in the top, and many pendants; so I need to do some replacements. And I want to do a lot more new pieces for next year. And repair and add to my display boxes. And get my workshop in order. And... so on....

Being on deviantART is inspiring. I'm still finding people whose art is better than I would have thought possible. I hope to find many more. Last time I looked, new artworks were coming into DA faster than one per second. Not all great stuff, but there is more here than I could ever look at just the thumbnails of, even looking full time. I can't even look at all the favorites of everyone whose work I like. I'll never even find all the people whose work I would like if I should find it. So I have to accept in my heart the vastness of the world, from time to time, instead of just knowing in my head that the world is vast.

And that means there will always be more friends to find. Joy be with you all, wherever you are.

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Wandering Out http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15021049/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/15021049/ Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:07:15 PDT
Fellow deviants I saw at SiliCon:
- ~skribbln8, a comics penciller, who I had never met before, but saw standing around in a deviantWare shirt. I've been avoiding getting any DA recognition devices, because I'm holding out for enamel lapel pins, but I'm thinking about it more seriously now.
- *colmahouse, who I have known for years, but who I didn't know was on DA until after the convention. Still thinking about DA recognition devices....
- ~Atomic-Bear, creator of the comic Beyond the Great Chimney, who I've met before and talked with, or I wouldn't have known he was on DA. BtGC isn't a big-name comic like, say, Turbo-extreme Dude or Brickhousella - she-tyrannosaurus with a fully automatic tactical nuclear device launcher, but I greatly admire Atomic-Bear's graphics abilities.
- and all the ones I never even knew were there.

There was something else I wanted to talk about here, but it's slipped my mind....

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Gathering In http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14920680/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14920680/ Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:52:19 PDT
And later this morning I'll be off to SiliCon, where I have a table in the Dealers' Room. In earlier years, SiliCon had a lot of science programming; then it was the sort of wild (for a science fiction convention) local happening; then it shrunk down to nothing and re-emerged, mostly as a media (comics, movies, TV) and gaming convention; though, through all these changes, keeping the eclectic mix that science fiction fandom produces and enjoys; and it is growing toward its old size. Decades ago there were four or five local annual science fiction conventions in the San Francisco Bay Area, and occasional visits from the conventions that rotate among cities. We did get a WorldCon, and (this year) a Westercon (at long last), and there is the occasional Potlatch (very small, very literary, very enjoyable), but it's not like it was in the good old days. Why, when I was your age....

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Turning Toward Darkness http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14880024/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14880024/ Tue, 02 Oct 2007 03:31:43 PDT
I went walking with a friend out at the Huckleberry Nature Preserve, up in the Oakland hills. There are indeed many huckleberry bushes there, the dark berries no more than a quarter inch across at most, but sweet (though not as sweet as any of the commercial berries). The land there is mostly steep and heavily wooded, but there is a trail that loops through it, cutting across the slopes with occasional switchbacks and steps, and making corridors through the brush. I didn't try the Chinquapin nuts, though I have read that they are edible; they are buried in a fruit that is a mass of small, very sharp thorns, and I didn't trust their edibility. The Bay Laurels were amazing. This is a tree that can fall over and then keep growing, sending sprouts out from its upper surfaces. There were a number of Bay Laurel trunks that were arches with both ends in the ground, and a row of sprouts running along the topmost edge; I had to look carefully to see which end was the original root end. It gave me some interesting ideas for alien plants. William Rotsler used to say that it was hard to make up a plant more alien than what could be found in the cactus and succulent section at Huntington Gardens; and the world is indeed full of stuff I'd never have thought of.

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Wheel of the Year http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14778775/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14778775/ Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:20:21 PDT
I got to The Gem & Jewelry Show and found most of the things I was looking for, for specific projects (blue stone disks, black horn cushion beads, etc.) and a few other items. I don't spend much there, as I work mainly with found natural objects, but I love to look at all the stuff. [link]

The Solano Stroll has about one band or so per block, and quite diverse. My favorite was a group called Ellis Island Old World Folk Band. [link] Plus food, art (including art cars), and community information. [link] [link] [link]

I'm cheerier again, though I was a while getting back to work, distracted by the preparations and recovery time for a housemate's gastric bypass surgery. The operation went really well, and she should be going back to work this week, though still with a very strict (time and food type, as well as amount) diet. [link]

So I'm getting ready for SiliCon, [link] where I should have a vending table, perhaps my last until Further Confusion 2008. [link] The first part of the year tends to have more events that I sell at, so it would be good to get a lot ready for next year in general.

Happy Autumn, all.... Oh, and look at these: [link]

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Circle of Days http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14482019/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14482019/ Tue, 04 Sep 2007 04:29:55 PDT I went to the Crystal Fair to look for materials. It's always been a bit New Age there, but the last time I went it was mostly gem and mineral dealers. This time it was mostly readers (tarot, aura, etc.) and healers, and most of the gem dealers were selling on the basis of the spiritual vibratory powers of their items. The quartz wands with little slices of dichroic glass in the middle were lovely and expensive, and there was much Libyan desert glass (which I love) at spectacular prices. But I found a few affordable things.
My sister and her grandkids came by for a day, and we went hiking at the Albany Bulb. And a few days later there was a DevMeet there, a baker's dozen of us tramping about and taking photos, one of which is now one of my DeviantIDs that I cycle through.
I went to the big concert for the 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love, in Golden Gate Park. Estimated attendance was 40,000 to 50,000, crowding Speedway Meadows and the adjacent hillside shrubbery. I missed the original Summer of Love, as I was in Los Angeles at the time. I was also officially still in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, though I was in the inactive reserve phase of my enlistment and going to art school on a government loan.
And I went to some parties and meetings, shopped at many garage sales, helped out with driving and with computer problems, did some commission work and chores and paperwork, the usual things. The Gem & Jewelry Show is coming up, and the Solano Stroll. And so on....
There's been a few sad events, but things are generally going well.

..........
[link] ]]> =DonSimpson Two Conventions and a Train Ride http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14141408/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/14141408/ Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:29:31 PDT
Con-X-Treme - Almost no-one showed up. It was dismal.

Not _totally_ dismal; Robert Picardo (the holographic doctor on Star Trek Voyager) was one of the celebrity guests, and Teri Davis, who I was selling with, is a big fan of his. There was taiko drumming by two groups, anime and gaming rooms, a con suite with real food, and so on. But nearly zero attendance.

Myth-Con - The 38th annual gathering of fans of J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, Charles Williams, and other fantasy writers. Small, with what looked to be between one and two hundred attendees. Saw old friends I hadn't seen in years. Had better sales than at Westercon. Watched films. Sang songs. Had fun.

I hadn't planned to sell at Myth-Con, but last minute synergetic coincidences made it possible.

In between, I was invited to ride on the Roaring Camp Railroad, near Felton, California. A lovingly maintained 90-year-old narrow-gauge engine and rolling stock winds up through an ancient, never-logged redwood forest to the top of Bear Mountain, where there is a grove of 800-year-old trees that sprouted from a common root system whose age is estimated at around 2800 years. Though this area was never logged, their steam engines were built for logging; the steam cylinders on the engine I saw turned a massive driveshaft with cone gears that meshed with gear teeth on the wheels. So, it's slow, but can go up a much steeper slope than regular engines. The old flatcars have been given railings and benches, so the view is excellent. Sadly, they don't give tours of their repair yards (I doubt their insurance would cover it). A very pleasant day.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Dancing With the Light http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13860219/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13860219/ Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:01:10 PDT
So last Saturday night I spent four hours (plus the setup and teardown time) helping Linda VonBraskat do her liquid light show. She had a slide projector with slides of sixties rock posters, but the main work was "wiggling dishes" on two overhead projectors, each with two nested dishes, each dish containing differently colored oil and water, plus modifying chemicals; four layers, sixteen colors, all aimed at the same spot on the rear projection screen. Complex blobs of moving and blending colors swirling about in time to the music through a whole repertory of ways to move the dishes. She calls this art form "dancing with the light". And she was dancing, singing along with the house tracks of sixties songs, as she rocked, oscillated, gyrated, spin, pulsed, and nutated the dishes atop one projector, and I followed along on the other. Like a lot of art forms, this is easy to do on the basic level, but has a lot of subtleties and sensibilities to be mastered. There are a few left who still practice it, but most have gone to computer generated images and video processing. There are some amazing computer programs available for image generation (though Bliss, which I think is the best one, only runs on old Macintosh computers), but nothing yet with the chaotic richness of a good liquid light show. The advantage of the computer setups is that they are much more portable. The ambiance for the party was great; old posters on the wall, colored lights in all the fixtures, black lights, a strobe, a star projector, people in sixties costumes dancing....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Woke Up This Morning... http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13804906/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13804906/ Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:31:05 PDT
...Around 4:40 am, my time (PDT), looked at the clock and decided to go back to sleep. Then (as I was pulling up the blanket) the earthquake started. The house shook for about a half minute, lots of stuff rattled, nothing fell over. I lay there a couple of minutes, waking up, wondering about aftershocks, then woke up Cougar (who is an iMac computer) and checked my earthquake bookmark.

These days, all the earthquake instruments are online, talking to each other, and automatically put up a marker on the Recent Earthquakes map, which is a link to the automatic Quake Report, which has links to the auto-generated Topo Map with the epicenter marked on it, and links to the Online Seismograph Readouts for the whole state, the "Did You Feel It?" report forms, the Statistical Map of the report form results, etc., etc., etc. And, I assume, for larger quakes, they send little notes to various seismologists. All this happens within five minutes of the quake.

Trigul (who is a cat) complained. Christine (one of the other inhabitants of Tumbledown Manor) came by, brought me a cup of hot chocolate, and looked at the seismo readouts. Magnitude 4.2, centered 2 miles ENE of Oakland, CA, 4 miles deep. Linda (another inhabitant, and Trigul's human), was making her breakfast; she said her plush Totoro fell off her computer, but the fox-squirrel and the small Cthulhu (also atop her computer) did not.

Trigul has wondered into my room, and is sleeping on my bed, secure in the knowledge that his complaint has been heard, and all that unseemly jostling about stopped. Light is seeping in through the window. Another California day.

EDIT: Supplemental graphic in my Scraps: [link]

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Slow Summer Days http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13768931/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13768931/ Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:06:49 PDT
I went to the San Francisco Zoo with a friend. I get to the zoo seldom enough that they've rebuilt, re-purposed, and added things each time I go there. One of the snow leopards was sunning on a high platform down in the Feline Conservation area, looking beautiful and aloof, and the prairie dog and meerkat colonies in the Children's Zoo were very active. The new grizzly bear exhibit lets you get _very_ close to the bears; there is a large window that you and the bear can get right up to the opposite sides of, and one of the bears and some of the human kids were just an inch of glass apart. Lots of other critters, and a very garden-like style.

Also went hiking in the Berkeley Hills, and then visited to the Botanical Gardens in Tilden Park, which _is_ a garden, and very stylish.

The university also has a Botanical Garden, which I should get to again (I recommend the Japanese pond). And there's one of the parks on the ridge of the Berkeley Hills, south of Sibley Volcanic Park (which has some nice labyrinths), that I've been meaning to get to.

And I should be helping Linda "Kitty" VonBraskat do a liquid light show at a party this weekend. She and the late Michael Mohle (data base guru and reconstruction blacksmith) did what may have been the first liquid light show, at the 1966 Trips Festival in San Francisco, and she's keeping the art form going.

Outside of that, and various chores, I've been working on things for Con-X-Treme. Then I start on the commission work, repairs, and various other listfulls of stuff. Need to learn some new art techniques, too. And....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson And Other Delights http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13639883/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13639883/ Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:39:01 PDT
Well, Westercon was small (though large for a this-decade Westercon, I'm told), so sales were minimal; but I had a good time. I talked to many folks, bought nice art materials and was gifted with more; and saw a lot of anime (including every episode of Serial Experiments: Lain). One of the people I talked to may be able to get me a slot on a 3D printer, so I've downloaded Blender, a free 3D design program, and will be working on learning that. I'm very excited by the whole rapid prototyping technology scene, and by how it is getting cheaper the way laser printers did. In other news, folks at the dental college say I'm healing up nicely. Also, Con-X-Treme is due in a couple of weeks, and I want to have a nice display for that. But first, a few days of walking about, relaxing, and catching up on communications.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson With Wolves http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13492113/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13492113/ Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:25:08 PDT
Lots of wolves lately; people looking at my page or commenting or faving my stuff, with "wolf" as part of their devName, pictures of wolves as their cons, with galleries and/or favePages full of wolfpix. Kind of nice; I like wolves. And interesting in the implied dynamics of dA communication.

Getting ready for Westercon 60, and for the all new Con-X-Treme. I haven't been to a Westercon in many years, and this will be the first Con-X-Treme, so it should be interesting. At least they aren't in strange hotels; I've been to several events in both the San Mateo Marriott and the San Jose Doubletree (formerly the Red Lion).

Lots of interruptions. Years ago I attended a lecture on color theory by Ed Land (inventor of polaroid), in which he showed that what was then standard color theory was wrong, and human color perception depended on the entire visual field. He said he was able to be productive because he could organize his work time for zero interruptions. Recent studies in computer programmer productivity seem to bear this out. It seems to me that there are artists who manage interruptions very well (though I can't tell how this effects their work), but I'm not one of them.

I regard deviantART, though, as a source of nourishment....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Nicely http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13240952/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13240952/ Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:13:49 PDT
Well, I'm out of oral surgery land for a while, and off painkillers, and much more chipper. I did get a sunburn at the Albany Bulb devMeet (the Bulb is one of my favorite Actual Reality sites in First Life

); next time I wear my hat. At BayCon I got to see the XO-1, the One Laptop Per Child laptop. I want one. Specs at laptop.org. I also want one of the new wrist computers, and the new supercompact, and other toys. But I have what I need.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Continuing http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13161819/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/13161819/ Thu, 31 May 2007 09:17:38 PDT
Feh! Oral surgery continues, and I await the next extraction appointment on painkillers, which have been making me drowsy. For a few days there, I would fall asleep if I stopped moving.

I'm now on some that seem to let me do work, though I wouldn't try driving or operating heavy machinery.... But I don't have a car or a construction crane, so it's OK.

I went to BayCon (local science-fiction convention) last weekend. I usually sell my work there in the Artist's Alley, but they were in a different hotel, after 25 years in the same place, and on their way to a larger one starting next year, so no Artist's Alley this year. Instead I actually attended convention programming, which was fun, and I was a panelist on panels about censorship, wearable art, and the ITTS. The ITTS is the Institute for Trans-Temporal Studies, devoted to scholarly research of literary universes and costume making; they should have a web site up soon that I can direct people to. I gave them my report on why immanantizing the eschaton is a bad idea.

I also did my usual BayCon thing of moderating the midnight Eye of Argon reading, which is a much-enjoyed tradition. The recent recovery of the final three paragraphs of the story after thirty years of searching was applauded.

However, in about a month, I will be selling my art in the dealers room at Westercon (west coast regional science-fiction convention), which will be held Saturday, June 30th to Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007. [link]

This will be in the same hotel, namely the San Mateo Marriott. Despite what many feel is excessive corporate mis-management, this is a beautiful hotel, very high-tech post-modern (though with red tile roofs), but nicely detailed and maintained, with friendly staff. It is, however, the most confusingly laid out hotel I've ever been in, and was nick-named the Escher Marriott by convention attendees.

I'm looking forward to this weekend's get-together of the ~SF-Bay-Area-Deviants at the Albany Bulb.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Progress http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12989663/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12989663/ Thu, 17 May 2007 13:39:33 PDT
So, I've been turning out new things. Some I do in stages, a little bit at a time over months, and some happen all at once. I try to have works I can sell for a wide range of prices, from a few dollars to a few hundred, and to have a lot of things to sell. I do a few things I think of as "commercial", where I pick a theme I think will sell, but my general philosophy is to make what I'm moved to make, and wait for each item's destined person to appear. And I'm doing yard work, and repairs around the house, and paperwork, and getting the studio in order, and all of that. And keeping in touch with people. It will be a couple of weeks before I start anything really experimental, though I've done some commission things that I'm waiting on permission to tell people about.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Day to day http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12941117/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12941117/ Sun, 13 May 2007 11:45:58 PDT
The cool San Francisco Bay Area summer weather pattern has set in. I'm out and about walking in the sun, spending evenings making art. Hopefully no more dental stuff for a few months. Time to work on my summer chores, be with people, try some new art methods and projects. Thank you, DA folk, for your kind support and encouraging comments. Peace and joy be with you all.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson What's happening http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12872960/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12872960/ Mon, 07 May 2007 07:20:55 PDT
Meanwhile, I've been having oral surgery.

Not that good things aren't happening to me, they're just less dramatic. Being with people, talking with them. Encountering beautiful things. Doing art. Food. Air. Music. Silence.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Beads http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12613137/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12613137/ Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:45:32 PDT
This last Saturday I went by the Bead Expo's Bead Bazaar, a room filled with hundreds of people selling beads and beading materials. There were beads that were thousands of years old, some that were only hundreds of years old, or just decades, and a lot of modern beads, including flameworked art beads of awesome beauty. I had a small budget, just for materials to use in my own work, so I didn't buy much, but I looked very hard at lots of nice things.

Sunday I did some moving help, but on an early errand I peeked in the window of a local gallery and saw a bead necklace with an astrophysics theme, with a sequence of handmade glass beads representing the life stages of a Sol-sized star, from coalescense through expansion, and collapse to a dim dwarf star. It made me think of various themed bead necklaces I've seen: Astrological chart necklaces of 360 beads representing degrees, color coded for signs of the zodiac, with larger beads for the planets in the wearer's birth chart configuration. Life history necklaces, made up of beads chosen to represent important events in the wearer's life. Various religious necklaces. And it made me think of my own project for beads that encode text messages: Morse code necklaces of long and short beads (and spacers for between words). Binary code beads, using ASCII code or Baconian cypher. Rune necklaces with amber and jet beads indicating the aett and rank of the runes.

So many possibilities from such a simple thing....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Still Here, Update http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12525441/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12525441/ Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:31:54 PDT
Thanks to some deviant help, it looks like the identity and a source for the mystery palm nut have been found.

in other news:
~KittenKiss does Easter Biscuits [link]
Americans should note that she's an Aussie, and translate that to Easter Cookies, not Easter Scones (though there might be a way to do that, too, come to think of it...).

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Still Here http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12490805/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12490805/ Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:12:14 PDT
It's not been a good time, but I'm not ready to write about that yet. It's not been an entirely bad time. I've helped a friend with moving, another with electrical wiring, another with research work, and so on. And I've done some art that will get posted in my gallery eventually. And, speaking of research work...

In my scraps there is a picture of a type of palm nut I'd like to know more about. Anyone who can identify it, please send me a note. Tagua is excellent carving material, with a fascinating history and biology; and this other is the same material, but larger and differently shaped. One thing that complicates the search is that there are _lots_ of kinds of palm nuts, including tagua, several sorts of coconut, betel nuts, and many little-known varieties. Many places now sell tagua. This other...?

.... ]]> =DonSimpson The Phantom of the Space Opera http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12008409/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/12008409/ Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:05:17 PST
I used to do art for Off Centaur Publications, a tiny company that published science fiction songbooks, and cassette tapes of people singing science fiction songs (known as "filk"). They did other, related stuff, like a tape of Juanita Coulson singing Martha Keller's poems on historical subjects; and they put on an occasional small convention to get the singers together. My preparations for ConSonance, the local filk convention, reminded me that I had a bunch of those tapes, including some I had done art for. So I got them out and scanned some of them for my gallery and my scraps.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson And off again http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/11985288/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/11985288/ Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:27:13 PST
So now I'm getting ready for ConSonance, the local filk convention (where people indulge in the musical traditions of the science fiction community). Then I should have a couple of months to get ready for the next selling event. The deviantART community is full of inspiring stuff by inspiring people, and there are lots of pieces I want to make. And a lot of old projects I want to finish. And a lot of old projects other people want me to finish. It should be interesting.

.... ]]> =DonSimpson Wandering http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/11918340/ http://DonSimpson.deviantart.com/journal/11918340/ Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:57:30 PST
I've been away for nearly a week, at yet another convention, with another bunch of seldom seen friends. Fewer artists (almost no art show), but more craftspeople. About the only dealers (besides me) overlapping with Further Confusion were Nicole Loxley and Goldenwolf. My friend Teri was sharing a space with me, so I had more time to wander around and look at things, though I didn't get to any programming items. In a week and a half, there's another convention, but I won't be selling at that one, just singing and listening to other people sing and play music. But I've got a lot of sold items to replace by the next sales event. I bought some chunks of jet at the Blue Star booth for carving, and looked longingly at some large carvable-looking pieces of amber. Nearby was the Amber Moon booth with Riva Myers' inspiring work in amber (she's one of the people I hope to someday be as good as)....

.... ]]> =DonSimpson