no no no -- you don't want that!

Before I knew what was wrong with my ratty little car I decided to check out the used car ads in the paper to get a feel for what is out there in my price range (my price range is "really cheap" ;-) ). But I couldn't help but see the ads for pets, so I glanced through those and came to one for Great Pyrenees puppies. Oh I loved my Pyr, Bailey. He was such a great dog. Everyone respected that dog -- he was huge and was not overly friendly with strangers. And Zeke would love to have another dog to play with. He sometimes seems overwhelmed with all the cats.

But I need a puppy -- even an adorable one -- like I need a hole in the head. I mean here I am bitching about the cost of fixing my car and then I think -- although only for a second, and not really seriously -- about getting a giant breed puppy. Sometimes I wonder about myself.

;-)

Jasmine!

Veleska, it's Jasmine! Jasmine incense.

WTF? I hear you say.

Remember when you mentioned how good Steve smelled when you met him after the gig last year? I'm pretty sure that smell was from Jasmine incense and I bet he carried some with him in his luggage.

I have some jasmine spray I've been using once in a while these last few weeks (and some jasmine tea also) and I've been trying to place the scent. Well today (yesterday now) it just hit me -- that's what Steve (and the books and such of his I picked up in Milwaukee -- which I still haven't gotten around to writing about...) smelled like! I think reading one of his blog entries when he was doing the Queensland Poetry Festival and got yelled at by the hotel manager for burning incense in his room also helped me tie it all together. So anyway I bet if you got a packet of jasmine incense it would have that Steve smell.

Oh my -- that was pretty damned fan-girl, wasn't it?

And speaking of the Stevester (or more accurately, his blog), recently I have found myself more irritated than I should be by some of the comments, so I decided not to read them. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done for me because the temptation to click on and then read the comments was great. So early this week I subscribed to a feed and then read that instead of actually going to his blog page. The feed doesn't have the comments. I figure I'll give it a good two weeks and see if I want to keep it up after that. Maybe after this little break I'll find I mostly enjoy the comments again.

It's a bit weird for me to just read the blog itself and not anyone's reactions to it (also weird to read it with black type on a white background...and I don't think the feed does photos either, although I don't think he's had any lately -- if he has I don't know about it). I do feel kind of disconnected from the whole thing, but I'm not sure how much of that is from reading just the blog and not any of the comments and how much is just this weird little funk I've been in lately. I've been feeling oddly disconnected from a lot of things lately (including several other people's blogs -- I've been a slack and have to try to catch up soon). I think I need to make a better effort to set a more regular sleeping schedule (mine is VERY out of whack), eat better, and get some exercise. I think that might help me feel more normal again.

Ratty little car update

The mechanic called this morning to tell me what was wrong -- it's the alternator. And the battery is also shot. Of course I think the battery has lasted at least 10 years, so that's not bad at all. It's easy to fix (just put in a new alternator and battery), but is kinda costly. It's not really that costly in the grand scheme of things of course, but I've spent a lot at the vet over the past two weeks (nothing major, just a lot of small things adding up) and I had hoped not to have to spend much for a while. Of course I haven't spent much (pretty much nothing to be accurate) on this car since the last time it broke down (last year around this time), so the expenses, although never welcome are still substantially less than buying a different (even if not new or close to new) car would be.

So that's a big relief. Plus the mechanic said the little car looked pretty good mechanically. It looks as if the ratty little car will live on....

well isn't this just typical

I took one of my cats to the vet today. Nothing major, just a blood pressure check (my cat has high blood pressure -- I didn't even know until a couple of years ago they even checked blood pressure in cats...), and it went ok (still high though). So the cat and I get back in the car for the quick drive home.

And the car won't start. It won't even crank. Lovely. So I called my brother because I figured he could come take the cat home while I waited for AAA to come tow my car to the repair shop. When he comes he looks at the fuses because it seems like an electrical problem -- the ignition cut out and none of the lights (headlights, turn signals, hazards) work -- but none of them seem bad. So it will be interesting to see what does turn out to be wrong. It could be something really simple and cheap to fix, or it could be something that just isn't worth fixing. While I would like a different car (it wouldn't be new by any stretch), I hope it's a simple and cheap fix because I really don't need to be spending much right now.

Oh, and this is the second time my car has died when I'm at the vet. I think I better just stop going there. ;-)

bliss would be

going to sleep and never waking up.

What a perfect way to go.

Many nights as I drift off to sleep I wish for this and then I'm so damned disappointed in the morning. Really starts the day off on the right foot. lol

Going to pack up the last of the SK sale orders, so I can get them out later today. Hmm...I guess those people want me to make it through at least one more day. ;-)

the sale

The SK art sale did very well -- both for Steve and for the people who got great deals on his art. More than twice the number of originals sold this year than last so that was very, very exciting. Fewer prints sold, but it was still a very good number. Given how many originals sold my guess is some people who might previously have purchased prints bought originals this time.

Last year's sale was more dominated by US buyers, with a fairly strong showing of Australian print buyers. I think all the originals went to US buyers, but I might be mistaken. This year a large chunk (over a third in number, and more than that if you count dollar amount) went to buyers outside the US -- mostly Australia. It's been a "nervous" year in the US and almost every artist here I know is having shaky sales. During one of my art group's meetings several of the artists said they noticed that in the year before presidential elections art sales generally suck. It has been a strange year in my art coop gallery/shop -- some months there are excellent sales, other months no one even comes in the place. Steve has several very good US customers this year, but the base doesn't seem to be quite as broad as in past years. Some of that might be due to the lack of a US tour this year. I know he had several sales from people who only learned of his artwork when they went to one of the concerts. Plus the tour generated a bit of excitement which carried over into art sales.

Sales to other areas have been noticably stronger this year. I always thought it was strange that not many of Steve's works sold to Australians -- well this year that changed. Quite a few sales were from there. Good sales to Europe also -- a little flurry just after the tour there, and then a nice amount during the sale. And Steve even had a couple of nice sales this year to buyers in Korea, which is very exciting. He had a couple of paintings go to a buyer in Hong Kong a couple of years ago, and I believe one or two pieces are in Japan. I like seeing his work go to markets which can't really be considered his strongest.

And now I'm working on ideas for a few things for next year. If they pan out they could be a lot of fun.

holy hell

I've been trying to set up a wireless network for my and my niece's laptops this evening and it's a fucking mess. The instructions are confusing (especially for me because I'm pretty clueless about this crap in the first place) and I'm having a hell of a time with it. I contacted customer support and was online with them for at least an hour and a half and the damned thing still isn't set up. I have to pick up an extra ethernet cable (of course I don't have an extra one >:( ) so I can physically connect the laptops to the router so the customer service person can re-set some stuff for me and then maybe they will actually work.

I know this will be nice once it's done, but right now it's such a huge headache.

is it just me?

If Steve -- or any blog author -- asks several times over a couple of months for people to keep their comments relevant and then writes the following:

"i see people are having conversations there
after i asked them not to"

is it really too much to ask that people actually respect and follow those wishes?

First off I think it's rude to hold conversations which have nothing to do with the content of the blog entry in someone else's comments section, but if I did engage in such behaviour and was asked to stop I would STOP.

But maybe that's just me.

Busy

Preparing for the SK art sale has kept me busy for the last couple days and now that it's on I'm even more busy. I've been answering emails and sending out PayPal invoices most of the day, and now I have to go pack up several paintings so I can mail them out later in the day. The originals are going really quickly. Several prints and cards have also sold and I expect more will sell later today.

It's going well so far. :-)

Steve Kilbey Birthday Sale at SK Art site

I'm posting this everywhere else, so it might as well go here too. :-) It's a really great sale. If you are at all interested in any of Steve's art, this is the time to get some.

In celebration of Steve's birthday the SK Art site is having a sale -- the only site-wide sale of the year. There is an excellent selection of work available.

Here are the details:

-- Sale is on Steve's birthday only -- September 13th. If it is September 13th anywhere in the world, the sale is on.
-- 40% off all original paintings on the SK Art site
-- 40% off all prints
-- 25% off all cards (a perfect time to pick up those Bah Humbug Christmas cards! )
-- 10% off any painting commissioned during the sale (first contact has to be made during the sale and the deal finalised within a reasonable time afterwards)
-- free shipping

We are also now offering an extended payment (ie., layaway) plan (which will also be in effect for the sale) to buyers. Buyers will be able to spread payments over a three month period (one payment per month) for any original painting (commissions also), and may be able to arrange to extend payments an extra month or two for the largest size paintings or multiple purchases.

The prices should be all changed on the site by the time the sale begins, but if anyone experiences any problems with the website or the sale prices, please email me

Couldn't have said it better myself

So I'm gonna let you read what Steve wrote (you probably already have, but if you haven't go read it). Click here for a sensible and practical way of dealing with illegal drugs.

Here are some other people who agree:

Benson B. Roe, MD

Norm Stamper -- Former Seattle Police Chief

Walter Block -- professor of economics at Loyola University New Orleans

and another (very long) one from Walter Block and Meaghan Cussan. This article was in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

Yeah, it's not just hippies and druggies who think legalisation is the way to go.

The best laid plans....

I had what I thought was a great birthday gift picked out and ordered. Today I find it hasn't even been shipped and the birthday is fast approaching. Now I have to hit actual bricks and mortar stores in search of something which is really discouraging. Since I've gotten so used to shopping online I find regular stores lacking. The prices are often higher and the selection not nearly as good. And I'm not real fond of salespeople either. I know -- I'm a horribly grumpy person!

I do have a few things in mind and I'm pretty sure I will be able to get them, but the stuff I ordered was a brand new product (which may be why it wasn't ready to be shipped even though the website said it was in stock) and looked as if it would be really cool. I'm more disappointed the potentially really cool gift isn't going to make it on time than I am that I now have to find something else. I like picking out those special gifts, and I was so tickled to have found something brand new. I mean it's always cool to be the first kid on the block with the newest toy, isn't it?

Ricky Gervais on Creationism

I love this -- it's hilarious! :-)

Some of the language isn't quite work friendly though, so beware of that. And it's nearly 10 minutes long. But it's worth it. :-)