It haunts my dreams

The past several nights I've been having this reoccurring dream in which I'm floating idly underwater. The setting is such that there appears to be no apparent end to the body of water I inhabit. There's no ocean floor in sight, no particularly dominant source of light to indicate a direction where a surface might be discovered...nothing, just inky gray all around. I am able to breathe, oddly enough, and as I float there in that vast, overwhelming, disorienting expanse I am allowed just enough time to cultivate profound feelings of smallness. The inky gray water becomes darker, a charcoal color, and I become aware of just how exposed and helpless I am in this situation, when all of the sudden.....



BAM! SHARKTOPUS!!!! To this day, one of the most horrible monsters I've dreamed up. I'm often startled out of my sleep. Then, after I realize that everything's alright and I'm in no real danger of being eaten by a gigantic oceanic abomination, I put my head back down on the pillow and BAM! I'm right back in the dream about to get chomped/suction-cupped to death. Lindsey, the resident expert on marine life, assures me that it's a biological impossibility for Carcharodon megalodon (the apparent father of this terrifying, hypercarnivorous predator) to successfully reproduce with Octopus giganteus. Well, Lindsey, the ocean's a big place, and in the immortal words of Dr. Malcolm, "Life finds a way."

Holiday cards

Lindsey helped me out here a little bit. She designed a card for family that's going out around xmas time. That girl's got it together. Hope to see you all soon.

Nog

The final weeks of autumn have always been an extra special time of the year for me. It's a time for fresh perspectives and dedications, a time for reconnecting with family and old friends, a time for ugly sweaters, and a time for consuming obscene amounts of my wife's egg nog. The tradition of egg nog is relatively new to me as this is only my second year partaking. Early in October it is not uncommon to find that Lindsey has been running errands and making preparations of the most secret sort. Then, the week before the holidays, she triumphantly unveils the product of her mysterious toils. Lindsey brews this magical little concoction annually, like her mother before her and her mother's mother before that and so on and so forth. It makes for the ultimate holiday digestif, and it's a surefire cure for those prone to the emotional and spiritual slumps often associated with the winter months. The good news for you is that if you know me and you read the blog, you just might get a taste. There's a lot to go around this year.

Retribution

Ben

Here's another ink wash and brush drawing. I saw Zombieland about a week back and very much enjoyed it. If you A: think zombies are fun, B: laugh a little sometimes when you see gratuitous violence C: listened to Metallica in the mid 80s, and D: are an unrepentant fan of the first Ghostbusters movie then I would highly recommend you see it.
This one goes out to a true pioneer, the original hardened zombie survivalist, Ben from Night of the Living Dead.

Vic

Hope everyone had a memorable Halloween. Lindsey, our friend Krista and I barely survived a night of haunted photo booths, bootlegs, murder scenes, smoke machines, and a foreign gynecologist tending bar in a clown wig.
I just finished reading Frankenstein. Excellent story. What's more, Mary Shelly began writing it when she was 18, one of her first earnest attempts at a novel.
I took a crack at working with those ink washes again. After I finished I took a step back and realized that Frankenstein's monster looks a lot like Nathan Explosion... Not what I intended. If he were a real person being cast in a production, I'm sure he'd butcher it pretty bad, but what a soundtrack.

Not even honorable mention

too bad, so sad. Ah, well... only moderately deterred when I consider the storyline I would have had to commit to.