Join me in congratulating Earth for making another successful orbit around the sun. Good job, Earth!
I made up my own challenge and decided to do 24 days of art last month. The goal: draw/paint something or work on an unfinished piece for the first 24 days of December, and I am happy to report that I DID IT! If you remember my post in May when I lamented over the fact that I wasn’t as prolific as I used to be, 24 days of art helped me overcome that difficulty.
With out further adieu, here is the result of December’s challenge.
All
Mars
Nature
The Aurora Mountains
Inspired by the one and only Bob Ross! I learned so much from him.
American River
This is based on a photo I took during my July trip to my home state of California. It's not finished yet, but it was so much fun to finally get this one started.
Alice of two worlds
My character Alice from my unfinished story set in the world of Sisters. What would you be like on other worlds?
Mars & Starfury
A tribute to two of my favorite things: Mars and Babylon 5's Psi Corps. The Black Omega squadron soars through Mars' atmosphere into the great beyond.
MCRN: Self portrait
Because I can, ha ha!
A Winter Escape
A fun painting that I had a great time working on and completing. A family of bears marches through the snow as the frozen lake glimmers in the moonlight.
Admiral Smith of the MCRN
A tribute to The Expanse, Mars, the MCRN, and of course Smith from The Man in the High Castle
Windy Beach
One of my first attempts at oil painting. This was a learning experience for sure!
Elf with blue hair
Something fun and different, an ode to the many elves I drew in the early 2000s.
Hello everyone! I know it’s been about six months since I’ve posted here, and I am going to blame it on the prolonged-neverending-braintomush-pandemic because…well, it’s true! But this post isn’t about me ranting into the void; it’s about the annual grasshopper awards! Grab your popcorn and get ready for my favorites of 2021; I’ve added a few categories!
2021 Grasshopper Awards
Best Discovery of 2021
This goes to a YouTuber I stumbled across who has provided me hours of vivid storytelling. He’s my go-to Thing In The Background As I Draw. If you like the strange, dark & mysterious, MrBallen has you covered.
Thank you for keeping me company while I sketch, draw, and paint, MrBallen!
Best Discovery of 2021: MrBallen YouTube Channel
Best Show of 2021
This award goes to my favorite show that aired this year (we all know what my all-time favorite is!).
The Expanse.
Season 5 (and now 6) keeps me on the edge of my seat, and if you follow me on various platforms–or have seen me in real life–chances are you know of a certain, growing obsession of the Mars variety. I love everything about this show except for the fact that we get fewer episodes this final season. I’ve talked about The Expanse before, so without further adieu, thank you to the cast & crew for hours of entertainment and sparking my imagination!
BestShow of 2021: The Expanse
Best Movie of 2021
This one goes to 1917 (with a huge thanks to Delta over the summer, lol! I take full advantage of catching up on films when I fly). This one did not disappoint. It is a thrilling ride from the moment it starts. The way it was filmed–a continuous shot–is part of what makes this movie so gripping. If you are a history buff or have an interest in WWI, 1917 is a must see.
Best Movie of 2021: 1917
Best Wardrobe Find of 2021
As I mentioned earlier, The Expanse awakened a certain, dusty red obsession in me. I found this shirt when looking for something else, and I had to by it. I mean look at it. It captures everything badass about Mars and how much I want to go there.
Thank you to Everyday Astronaut for the hard work you do to bring us your live streams and videos. I’ve worn this shirt more times than I can count.
Best Wardrobe Find 2021: Everyday Astronaut
Best Vintage Find of 2021
I’ll give you a moment to guess. It feels like eons since I bought the winner of this award, but it was, indeed, in 2021.
…Time’s up! This one goes to the beautiful purses from the set of Man in the High Castle I got early in the year.
Best Vintage Find of 2021: High Castle Purses
Best of the Best 2021
This is for everyone who kept me company, laughed with me, or made me smile—both in person and online.
Thank you for making the pandemic a bit easier to handle.
Best of the Best in 2021: You!
*There is no Best Book category this year as I have yet to finish reading any of the multitude of books I started.
I started writing something new, and I decided to share the first draft, chapter by chapter with everyone. I mean, it will force me to stay on top of things; plus, I can open the comments up to readers who enjoy spotting typos and grammatical errors (I’m thinking of doing something special to reward people for that–a prize tier list for how many errors you spot! Let me know if this sounds like something you’d like to participate in).
Metropolis is set on a distant, dying world (of the same name) ruled by an authoritarian government. Annalise Drake assumes life is good, for she knows nothing else…
Today’s post is taken from a prompt from the wonderful folks here: The One-Minute Writer. We all love a good conspiracy theory, so here’s the purrfect one!
“You are the president of your local Conspiracy Theorist group. Unfortunately with the internet and all, most of your regular conspiracies have been debunked. You need something new, something that the group can really get behind. Create a new conspiracy theory.”
Concave of Concerned Catizens
There is something out there. I know it. The sheepish minions of conformity are always after people like me. They can’t wrap their minds around the fact that there is more than meets the eye, and it may not always be a crappiota latte or a pair of fuzzy moon boots in 60 degree weather.
I’m getting sidetracked. I need to think of something for our next meeting. The Concave of Concerned Catizens is counting on me. That last debunk was a slap in the face. The sheepish minions of conformity won’t stop until the world is made of lemmings!
We are not alone. They are out there, and they are among us. I will not succumb to society’s stubborn refusal to look beyond science. Okay. I can do this. Let me just put on my traditional foil cat ears.
There we go. It was never secret lizard people! I should have realized that. That myth was invented by the government to throw intellectuals like me off guard! Not lizard people. It has to be some sort of mammal—no, a humanoid! How else can they pose as warm blooded humans?
It’s the Martians! Why is Mars suddenly popular? Why are we crazy about sending people to Mars now? It’s a trick. It’s an ugly trick. They want us to go there. I don’t know why, but The Concave of Concerned Catizens will find out! They conceal themselves from NASA’s spying robots.
They’ve altered the DNA on a select few super Martians who are walking around among us. Oh my, God. I should have known all along! The Martains are posing as restaurateurs! What better way to spy on us than to listen in on our lunch conversations! The next Concave of Concerned Catizens meeting will be held at McBurgerz Place! As we munch on our delicious burgers and fries, we’ll be watching. We’ll be the masters because we are on to them!
*We will also be voting on the font for our book; it’s a collection of our sightings and theories. I’m all for Comic Sans.
Like every other person who probably saw The Martian, I immediately went to NASA’s website (well…I go there every day anyway to check out New Horizons, so this really isn’t altering my Internet habits any) and flooded myself with images of Mars and selfie obsessed robots.
We live in an exciting era. We are on what I hope is a brink of a new age for humanity. I mean, we sent New Horizons to Pluto, and there is talk of a manned mission to Mars. Right now the possibilities of what we may discover are endless. I just hope we don’t mess it up before we can even cross the bridge of a new age…We humans tend to be greedy and warlike.
Until we know every last inch of our solar system and have sent a person to every viable planet, I will be daydreaming my own futuristic societies and writing science fiction. Until then, I will also devour every decent sci-fi book I can get my hands on!
If you could go to any planet, which one would it be? My answer is obvious: Pluto!
In other news, I’ve finally gotten myself a smartphone. Yes, ladies and gents, I am just now jumping into the 21st century as far as telecommunications is concerned. A combination of my hard-headed defiance, “They are too big!” and realistic “I don’t have the money.” were the factors in my tardiness for joining the rest of the world.
Shocking! Space and Buzz Aldrin on the moon? I surprise myself.
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