最近我的生活有点忙！没什么大事情但是有好多小事儿。这些小事都标志机会。最大的问题是决定哪一个机会比较好实现。感觉又兴奋又奇诡…这些机会将影响生活以后5-10年。我不太习惯这样的长期想法…除了结婚,我没有做出那么长期的决定。有运气这些事儿都非常好！
Lately life has been busy! Not with big things but lots of little things. All these little things represent opportunities. The biggest problem is figuring out which opportunities are the best to make real. I am not used to making long term plans, except for getting married I don’t really think very far ahead. We’re lucky that all of these opportunities are good ones.
Life always seems to get busy… then suddenly you realize you haven’t really sat down and took a deep breath in a long time.
That’s where I am at now. I feel like I am finally catching up with myself again. Yeah there is a lot going on and yes I’m still busy as can be but at least I have had a few days to sit down and just enjoy the quiet. It takes a lot out of a person, life I mean. You get up early to go to work; you stay there being busy for most of the day, and sometimes part of the evening. You may even have overtime! Then when you finally get home, despite being tired, you have to cook, sit down and eat and when that’s done there are still some random chores around the house. You would think weekends would be better but they are just there to help you catch up on the things you didn’t have time to do during the week.
Thankfully, there are certain times when things just happen to work out just right… you get off early (rare but it happens), you come home and your amazing wife has made your favorite meal for you…OR traffic is good and you get to work 15 minutes early, someone has just made a new pot of coffee in the office lounge, and no one stole your stapler! Isn’t it GREAT to have those kinds of days?
I have been having a long run of good days recently and I hope you are to!
I am teaching myself Photoshop. It’s not too difficult (though it does take some time to get used to things). I have been playing with layering and with blending colors for the most part. I have also started putting two of three photos together and then changing the style of the whole thing.
It really reminds me of oil painting. You have to get a background laid out and then slowly build up the rest of the picture piece by piece. It’s also very forgiving, again like oil paint.
I wish they would come up with a Photoshop 3D for sculpture minded people like myself. I know there are some programs out there for it but in the end the image (no mater from what angle) is still in the computer…
With the passing of Earth Day (which was the 18th of March for all of you non-activists) I have been having green promotional ideas on the mind! Things that have been on the back burner for a long time are now moving into the oven and all of it is being powered by solar panels! I was wondering what people would think of an Art Show that promoted green/alternative energies and the companies that help these kinds of energies into action? I am willing to take ideas or comments on the idea. I will be posting updates as this plan starts to unfold (if indeed it does start to pick up). Please let me know what your thoughts are?
I do my best to keep reading books as much as I can. I have found a few decent book stores in town and I adopt books from people as they move, get rid of them, or just don’t wish to read.
I have a substantial library growing and besides the adopted romance novels, I have read most of the books there. Here are a few that I have read and already re-read over the past 2-3 months.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (who has worked on graphic novels, with Jim Henson’s Muppet Theater, and several motion pictures).
The book is a story line intertwined with the fact that as immigrants come to America (no matter pre-Columbian or through Elis Island) they bring their beliefs with them. These “gods” of the old country are often forgotten once they have reach America… then what can they do? They become, swindlers, garbage collection agents, NY taxi cab drivers, and whatever else they need to do to make a living and scrape together a little worship! Fantastic read… This one was a hand-me-down gift from a former colleague (one that I am currently reading for the 3rd time).
The Monster-Blood Tattoo Series by D.M. Cornish (3 books so far, Australian Illustrator who has gone the Tolkien route and created a who new world).
The first book is called Foundling and follows the orphaned main character from his orphanage home towards his state appointed job. Set in the world of musket and saber, tri-corn hats and walled fortifications the first book is short (in comparison with the other two) and only gives you a taste of Cornish’s “Half-Continent” and of the monsters that dwell there. It lays a basic understanding and foundation for what is to come.
Book two (Lamplighter) is much more robust and dangerous. It is for the most part based around a single massive fortification and the story unfolds within and around this place. Monsters (both traditional and human) become more and more prevalent in the second book and while some of the old characters return, they are also joined by several very likeable new ones. The book ends with an amazing surprise that will blow your mind and opens the story line wide.
Book three (Factotum) follows our young hero far from the fortifications and outposts we have been reading about and into the cities and political craze that comes with them. The story becomes darker and the monsters start to come out of the wood work. However, by this point you are feeling more and more that “some every-day folk are the worst monsters of all”… The book has a wonderful ending that ties off the tale and yet leaves it very well open to continue.
I hope you have the time to pick up a book and read something good… (A flash memory of Reading Rainbow just popped into my mind)… Anyway, go pick up a book, crack the spine, breathe in the fresh print smell and sit down for a good long read!
Do you ever get so busy with life (the normal things you do from day to day) that you suddenly look around and say to yourself, “I haven’t done anything I have been meaning to in the last few weeks… where did all the time go?”
That’s what I have been feeling like over the last few weeks. I have been getting a lot done but none of it seems to make a dent in the “to do list”… still I haven’t been this happy in a long time so I guess it’s not really worth complaining about!
Art Show Success
我要非常感谢所有的朋友们来过上海路看到我的画展！因为你们都来了我感觉到这个画展真有意思！如果你还没有机会去看不要担心，画展到5月结束你还可以去看！
The art show I have been working on for the last few months went up this past weekend and the opening was a HUGE success. Together with a local photographer named Momo we filled two small rooms at M-e@ting point Italian Restaurant in Nanjing. Of the ten drawings I hung, five have been sold (2 before the opening and 3 the night of the opening).
The opening itself was a huge success, not because of the sales but because of the guests. I would like to thank all the friends and colleagues who took time out of their schedules to come and show their support. It made my spirits soar to see so many friends come out to show their support. THANK YOU ALL!
A special thanks to David Smith for helping organize the show and M-e@ting point for their hospitality. Also, a special thanks has to be given to my wife for her patience over the last few months as I sat drawling into all hours of the night and for her understanding at how, quite often, an artist’s brain is not as focused as others’.
Wu Lei and Visited the US for thanksgiving last November. It was her first trip to the US and it was wonderful. We were able to visit my home town and spend time with family and friends. We went to a lot of the places I grew up spending time at and I was able to tell my wife “stories of old”. We also spent time with my brother and his family and even got to play in the snow with my nephew and niece. We were able to meet up with the Reynolds family a few different times and each occasion was wonderful… they had a knack for choosing good restaurants that gave my wife a new (and very high) opinion about food in America.
After that we headed east to Williamsburg were we stayed my mother and her “Royal counterpart”. We had an amazing dinner by the Chickahominy River, saw a young fawn, a heron, and several bald eagles. We were also able to check out Colonial Williamsburg and show my wife the historical side of the area.
After that we drove north to visit the Bausermans near Winchester. For a wedding gift my father gave Wu Lei and pump action 4-10 shotgun… she was in love with it from first sight. The Bausermans let us spend some time on their farm to give her some practice shooting and we were also able to go hunting for one morning. I was able to shoot two deer (a first for me) with my father’s 8mm mauser, a gun that I have always enjoyed shooting. While skinning the deer my friend rushed off grabbed his rifle and took down a huge doe that came running into the lower field. We grilled out and cut up meet for the rest of the afternoon. It was an amazing day!
My father came up and met us and we were able to take a day trip to Washington. I hadn’t been to the capital for years so it was interesting to see the new monuments and the way the city had changed. We did a lot of walking and were able to see several of the monuments along with getting some sea food from Capt. White’s before calling it a day and heading back to Winchester for the night.
Thanksgiving itself was an event all its own, pies, steak, turkey and all the fixings of a proper holiday meal. We celebrated at my brother’s house and after gorging ourselves took out the guns for some distance shooting. I was able to spot for my brother while he made an impossibly long shot with pin-hole sighted rifle from his father’s sharp shooting days. It was a wicked shot to say the least.
Before we left, we spent several days at Radford University doing presentation about China and talking with university officials about how to build up interest in China. The international studies office and center for experiential learning took wonderful care of us and arranged a magnificent schedule of events for to take part in. There is a story about out visit on line; you can see it here (http://www.radford.edu/NewsPub/December10/1209kirk.html).
As much fun as we had we did have to leave. Our flight back to Shanghai was not as long as I remember and we slept for most of it. After arriving back in Nanjing we rested for a few days before getting back into our normal work schedules. It was wonderful to visit home, see family and friends and spend time with the people we miss. I hope we can do it again soon.
最近我去看两个新电影。第一个是敢死队 。如果你喜欢有名星的动作片的话这是一个非常有意思的电影。我记得小的时候看了好多电影有这些人。看他们一起做真的是好事情。故事有可能简单但是你应该不 在乎。。。因为你可以看Jet Li打死一个超大的80年代的动作片名星。这个名星（Dolph Lundgren）是你就要一个人打了。。。他是最烂的名星。在他自己的电影里他是一个好酷的HERO但是从来没有那么酷。而且看到Stallone 嘛Schwarzenegger非常搞笑。除了他们都有点老但是他们还会Kick Butt!
第二个是盗梦空间。这个电影真有意思！特别好看！你们都要去看！我好久没有看一个电影用了这样的新想法做故事！很棒！
Wu Lei and I have seen two movies recently. One was “The Expendables” … if you like nonstop action with ALL the action heros you could ever want, this is a great movie. Simple story but lots of fighting, guns and explosions. It was great to see Jet Li fight Dolph Lundgren (and bet the tar out of him) and it was also great to see Stallone make fun of Scharzenegger’s political career, and that all these old guys still got what it takes to make a great Kick Butt movie!
The second movie we saw was “Inception”… I will not discuss this movie, just in case any of you have to see it. It is AMAZING and I really enjoyed it a lot! I would say that everyone should go and see this as soon as possible. It’s a great film to see in the theaters so don’t miss out! IT’S GREAT!
These are random thoughts that have come into my mind during the last few weeks… I have jotted them down and figured I would share them.
