JUMPING FOR JOY!

Busy Day at Casa Altenburg #ello

Good morning, friends - hope your week is starting out well and HAPPY MAY! 

A few bits that I wanted to share with you today, notably that my Ello profile has reached 10,000 views this morning! Last summer I created a profile at Ello and started posting my comic strip. I didn't really understand that site that well and in the midst of job hunting and everything else, I kind of put it aside. During the past few weeks, I've been working a PT job which has afforded me a little extra time to 'move the needle' on a number of projects, including the comic strip. 

So, two or three weeks ago I returned to my Ello profile, added the more recent strips, and added hash tags. Maybe it was the hash tags but traffic zoomed. You know, for an artist of any kind, there's nothing better than the feeling that at least someone is paying attention to your work. It's certainly encouraged me (and don't we all need that from time to time, no matter what our field is?)

As May starts out, I'm home today managing some workers coming in from the super's office to figure out where the entry point is for a mouse I saw a couple weeks ago. Our frig is also being replaced. I moved in to my apartment in 2004 and by 2005 the frig was making such grinding noises that a guy I was dating at the time who was renovating his place in BedStuy commented that the frig would need to be replaced soon. It wasn't. Fast forward to two years ago when the frig started to drip and I hoped that would be enough to replace it. Nope. Flash forward to a couple weeks ago when the cooling system decided to falter and things started to go bad. And today will be the day that it finally gets replaced. Thankful for this happening at long last! 

Now, before you can say "SpAAHHngeBob Squarepants", I have to get back to resumes, drawing, moving furniture out of the way, etc. I'm kind of not sure how they are going to get the frig through my narrow down and down a narrow entryway... but they got the last one in some years in the past (way before I moved in) so although it may be like Pooh in the rabbit hole, it'll happen. Will report on this tomorrowish. 

Have a fab day all! 

 

The Magic Flip Pup

Today's highlights included having a couple of beers with the Mister at our local dive bar (called, naturally, Dive Bar, but I should do a gay night there and call it Diva Bar for the evening, just because it'd be funny) and then going to Duane Reade to pick up chips for the evening and finding holy moly super discount prices on Easter candy (70% off!) and on rubber ducks with bunny ears (writing this makes me wonder why didn't we pick up a couple? argh!) and four little windup toys - two rabbits and two chicks. Once we got home and as we cooked, I made a line out of blue gaffers tape and had a windup toy deathmatch. Ultimately, naturally, one of the rabbits won. The chicks just list right and aren't really any good in a race (it's like they're not even trying!).

If I can ever get the Magic Flip Pup I bought 25 years ago to work again, I will have to pit the rabbit and the dog against each other. Sure, the dog is bigger but he only barks and flips, so while he's bigger, he's not necessarily going to win a race (he WILL win in the cuteness contest though as you can see in the picture).

Why do I have a Magic Flip Pup? Well, I bought the Flip Pup as a present for my then newborn nephew in 1994 because I liked it and it made noise. You'd have to know my family to know why this was The Perfect present for my nephew's dad, but suffice to say it was totes perfs. It was my go to 'need to make myself feel better' toy (I later would transfer my nervous energy habit to an orange yo yo someone gave me ... I played with that thing nearly daily for over 15 years until it broke last year. It had the tenacity of the batteries inside the radio on Gilligan's Island!)

Anyway, if you had a Flip Pup, you would know why it was a cure-all. I remember I found it in some bin in a toy store in some mall in LA, I think, and it was all of $5. If you're looking for something to get me because you have run out of things to get for yourself, I'll take one, pleaseandthankyouverymuch. Of course, I'm kidding. Please just send the $5. Kidding again. (My lawyer tells me that I am obligated to say this). :) 

Anyway, this evening I wandered around social media for a couple hours while the Mister watched the final two episodes of The Handmaiden's Tale. I figured it'd be too much of a bummer for me and he confirms that this is true. I love Elizabeth Moss, however so maybe one day I'll brave it. Maybe when it feels as though we're not actually living in the world of The Handmaiden's Tale. 

I've just re-read the above and it sounds as though my life is very boring, but, you know, there have been times, and some not that long ago, when I wasn't sure how I'd get through another day. I'm a little more hopeful now and grateful for being in a better enough place where I have the bandwidth to even have fun with a silly thing like creating a wind up toy race and sitting online on a Saturday night. I expect an email soon from the CIA or NSA or Cambridge Analytics telling me to spice up my life as they have become bored with tapping my phone, email and social networks. 

Have a good night all and if you're reading this on Sunday, hope you have a great day with your Sunday things! 

 

Freaky Deaky

This has been a very strange past few days. 

First the clock alarm in the bedroom went off at 6:32 pm Thursday evening. Given that the alarm hasn't been turned on for two years and that both alarms on the clock are set for Noon, I can't imagine how suddenly the alarm went off. There are no batteries in it so I couldn't have mistaken the 'low battery' sound (if there is one) with the alarm. 

It was also the first evening that I noticed that my traffic had gone up to 156 for the day. Very nice. What did I do? Then, today, it skyrocketed up to 451. I'm thrilled but my analytics don't indicate where all this traffic is coming from. As a side note, maybe it's just one person who really went all in depth into the site. Would I rather have 451 unique visitors who stopped for a minute or one super friend who felt compelled to dig down deep into the site? 

Anyway, back to my story, then, when I clicked on a forum in my favorite soap site, Soap Central, (let's pause- yeah, I know what you're going to say about soaps and I agree but I just can't quit 'em. Soapback Mountain and all) their main forum was displaying comments from two and three years ago on a current story. Then, today, I noticed that this blog had posted on Facebook a bunch of times at times when it wasn't scheduled. I thought - maybe it's a hacker... but first, Jumping for Joy.. really? And besides, what kind of hacker simply re-posts things? It's not exactly Loki level shenanigans. :) 

But something freaky deaky is going on. 

But that's OK. Freaky deaky is OK once in awhile. Breaks things up. So Freaky Deaky Powers That Be, bring it on. You're welcome here and what will be, will be. Realistically, we've all been in Freaky Deaky Land for the past couple years so odd things happening seems more par for the course than as Freaky or as Deaky as they might normally be considered. 

If you're reading this tonight, hope you have a great night's sleep and if you're reading this on Saturday, have a great start to your weekend! 

 

Welcome Whomever You Are

I like doing this blog as opposed to other blogs I've done because I have low expectations.

I post things that I like to post and generally no one really pays attention. Mostly these are little essays that I want to write, animation I've found that I want to keep, quotes, and, of course, MEMOs. I have been, admittedly, a bit of a traffic whore when it's come to driving traffic to one particular site I worked on for many years not in the sense that I would do anything for traffic, but more in the sense that I was obsessed with numbers hoping that whatever it was that I was doing was attracting enough attention from the group I was appealing to. Mainly this was to draw people to the site to promote the fundraisers I was producing, but it was also a little bit about ego. See graphic at right for a reflection of what you're saying to yourself right now.  <wink>  

Anyway, the other day my one day total here jumped up to 156. That's about 155 more than usually stop by. I'm not 100% sure why that is or where they came from. Even though Typepad has a feature to track incoming traffic, it doesn't hold history, and since I saw the number of hits a couple days after it'd happened, I don't know who showed up or why. 

Well, if you're still lurking and/or checking back in, you're welcome to stay and/or come back anytime. I am working on some things to post so you might be jumping on at the right time. I'm always available to yak, feel free to leave a comment. I monitor them so if someone cranky shows up, you, the reader, won't know it. 

Finally, tonight before I tuck myself into the bed next to the Mister who is smart enough to have been in bed already for like an hour, a short word about the photo to the right -- it's from some movie and I usually post it on the Facebook because I think everyone should have a recurring theme that people can count on them for. And, this is mine. One of mine. One I use on occasion. When I feel like it. Like now. Here it is, just in case you missed it before. 

Have a great night everyone and if you're reading this in the daytime, hope you have a faaabulous day today! 

54 - La Vie En Rose and The Missing Blog Post

There's got to be a morning after. A morning after a terrific birthday where I shared some of my favorite music with you throughout the day.

But one post has vanished. I'm sure I 'published' it but it's nowhere to be found. I must tell you - it was brilliant. In fact, it was probably the best blog post I've ever written. It may have been the best blog post that anyone has ever written since the dawn of time... well, the dawn of blogs. Grown men would have wept after reading it, monuments would have been erected, and the course of human history would have been changed forever.

Ah well, so it goes. Whatever. :)

I merely stated how fun it was to have spent the birth day exactly how I wanted to spend it - a morning walk, volunteering at God's Love We Deliver, having a chinwag with my Mama, writing, and, finally, seeing a show with loved ones. There are a few days throughout the year that I have particular ideas about how I want to spend it - my 'dad's day' (which you can read about here), Christmas, New Year's, and, of course, my birthday. I think four days a year isn't really a lot to ask.

In any event, I ended the musical selection survey by posting multiple versions of one of my favorite songs - La Vie En Rose. I discovered this song just a few years ago and the fun is that each of the versions I'm posting has a meaning for me - especially the Grace Jones version which became my go to song during 2014 while I traveled for work and had the amazing opportunity to see and celebrate with friends I had been out of touch with for many years. 

So, enjoy - instead of a wind down from a busy day, they are now the soundtrack kicking off the new year: my "Life seen through happy lenses" or, as a literal translation, my  "Life in Pink". 

(Seriously, I could not choose just one so I'm posting four! Enjoy!) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

54 - I Just Want to F*cking Dance - the Dance Break You Need

OK so I know I just posted a whole thing on dancing, but this song from, of all places, The Jerry Springer Show, saved my life. 

The year was 2005 and as it did in 2000, my life kind of fell apart piece by piece. I'm not going to go into the particulars but it just blew all the way around. 

And, one of the ways in which I found my groove again, was by being introduced to this song. I cannot for the life of me remember who is was, exactly, that turned me on to it. I have a dim memory but can't be sure. 

In any event, since those sad days, I have found this song to lift me up and out of my doldrums and give me the moment to express the LKJ;KJPOASIDFAISU that we all feel at times in this crazy world. Your baby daddy has skipped down with your sister and taken all your weed? OK - DANCE BREAK. 

I occasionally have a Morning, or Afternoon, or an Evening Dance Break whereever I am. You may have noticed that I sometimes post that and this is where it comes from. 

True story: a few years ago when I was working at the bank, I entered the elevator to go down to the lobby. The doors opened and I discovered a woman moving about - she looked at me startled. I didn't know her and wasn't sure if I should say something but I felt compelled and so I uttered "were you having an afternoon dance break in the elevator?" She looked at me embarrassed and I said, "can I join you?". And so from the 43rd floor to the lobby we had a shortish dance break. After a certain floor, it went express so we could jam out to imagined music without worry of additional discovery. 

So there you have it. But if someone does discover you, all you have to say is "I just want to fucking dance". Trust me. More people will understand (and join you) than you think will. :) 

 

 

54 - You're Beautiful, Now Dance Your Ass Off

True confession time - I'm with Emma Goldman, if I can't dance at your revolution, I don't want any part of it. And if my friends are still limber enough to dance when I leave this mortal coil, I expect to look down (well, hopefully not 'up'!) and see y'all dancing your asses off. Sure, I expect there to be wailing and gnashing of teeth, but mostly, I want it to be a party. The kind of party you know that I would have thrown. Naturally, I have been working on my own funeral for some time and you will be easily able to find them on my computer. Please follow the run of show, thank you. Please hire someone to put this together because I do not want to look down or up and see that it's disorganized and run poorly. I will be very upset. I may even have to crawl out of my grave and get the thing back on track. You cannot put my name on something that isn't awesome. OK? :) 

ANYWAY there MUST be dancing. I've spent the better part of my adulthood blowing off steam by dancing half the night away and so my funeral must follow suit. In fact, writing this makes me realize that it's been a very long time since I've been out marking my territory on the dance floor, usually under the disco ball, because, really, where else would you expect me to be? I have even toyed with the idea of hanging a disco ball in my apartment but maybe that's a step too far (of course it's not a step too far but I feel obliged to state that I think it is because that shows that I'm sort of a responsible adult). 

In all seriousness - this world is crazy and, for me, finding euphoria in music and moving and shaking the night away is one of the best coping mechanisms. I find it sad that people over a certain age stop going out. I've kind of lost that but in this 54th year, I hope to reinstate that part of my life. 

Below is one of my more recent favorites from the clubs - I could easily post a couple dozen more that I go gaga for. Enjoy. And for cryin out loud - get up and DANCE whenever you have the chance! 

 

 

54 - Sugar

Yes, Adam Levine is IT. And "Sugar" is simply one of the best songs of all time. Seriously. This is the song that wakes me up in the morning. That is all. 

 

 

54 - This Is What I Listened to While Learning to Draw

Growing up in Wisconsin, my family lived in a four bedroom home. As my brother and I never got along, I spent my junior high years sleeping in whatever bed in the house wasn't occupied. My sister was at college for part of this time and my parents, each of whom had their own room but slept together, would sleep in one room for a few months and then the other one, so there was never really a lack of an alternative place for me to lay my head down. But, I did have to toggle from one room to the next for months at a stretch. It probably taught me adaptability, but I sure was happy when the brother moved out of what used to be our bedroom. They did a remodel in my freshman year and from sophomore year onwards, it was mine, all mine.

It was a kind of golden age. I was stable. I had a cast off stereo that I could play my movie soundtracks on. I had a cast off black and white TV I could watch shows on. And, I had a drafting table that my dad gave me for Christmas. It was kind of like my own little studio apartment. Actually, I think it might have been bigger than the studio apartment I first lived in in New York in the mid 90s. :) 

The drafting table gave me no end of pleasure. I'd fire up the stereo with Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, 1941 (I think I'm the only one who loved that movie), and Close Encounters.  I would spend entire weekends drawing comics full of characters that I made up. No one really saw them and no one was meant to. They were there for me to practice. The music inspired me to draw and write heroic deeds, cliffhangers, and narrow escapes. I know that I have had happy times in my life, but that era was among my favorites. 

Even through my father's illness, I drew and played on. Basically it was my own way of finding something to do and trying to keep life going as normal as it could be. My mother only made one request - that I keep the music from 1941 turned down as it made my father sad reminding him of his days in the War. 

My music tastes have expanded quite a bit since those days. My playlist includes a lot more than pop culture, but it is those soundtracks that form my inspiration. Some day, you might see Angie dashing from a big boulder while wearing a cape and getting into her spaceship at the top of a ferris wheel sitting on a pier. If that happens, you'll know exactly that came from. :) 

 

 

54 - Mr. Blue Sky

Yes. I know. It's ELO. I'm supposed to hate the 'disco' sound but I can't. I don't. I love it. I truly love ELO and pretty much everything they do but MR BLUE SKY is my all time favorite. And it's the perfect launch to a year of being upbeat, positive, celebratory, and looking to the future. The Mister is in agreement with me on this and this song is, on occasion, blasted from our apartment. I am sorry, neighbors but if the guy on one side can sing opera music, and the girls on the other side can clank on the floor with their heels at 1am, we can blast MR BLUE SKY once in awhile. :) 

As a sort of side historical note, my best pal in high school, Woody, and I wrote a MEMO version of THE MUPPET MOVIE and used the last little bit, the orchestral part for a scene where we arrive in New York (ready to conquer the world of cartooning) and are in awe of the tall buildings and the fact that we are, indeed, in New York City. To be honest, I feel like that every day and I've lived here since May 2003 (happy nearly 15th anniversary to me!) and for four years in the mid 90s... so 19 years total and I am still in awe of this city. As it should be. :)