It is aliiiiiive!

Hey, after a rather longish respite from this posting business I think it is time to add a little note or something. 27.66& decline in readership over the last 30 days, average time on site of 8 seconds. Not too spiffy. I don't think I will get the Pulitzer this year. But I do have loyal readers, I do! Thanks to both of you.

You would think that someone would actually comment on the Blog itself instead of the content as happens sometimes. No one has ever said, "Gee, John, what a dweebish Blog you got there", or "Your blog gave me the strength to return to school and become a Forest Ranger, Thank you for all your inspirational words." Oh well.

Here is a quick drawing made using a water soluable graphite pencil received from an art supply dealer as a free sample. I sent them an e-mail and they sent me a free pencil. Wow.
This is a defunct mexican restaurant in my town in the back part of the Hardware store. Had pretty good food; apparently authentic stuff, not your chain restaurant Tex-Mex fare. Nice green paint job.

6 x 8 in., watercolor on paper.

Reef

Reef, 3 x 5 in, Watercolor and Litho gum on glazed white cardboard.

The gum solution is used in lithography to coat aluminum printing plates in order to prevent oxidation after development. The gum is traditionally Gum Arabic but is now only about 5% real gum with the balance being synthetic starches and mysterious chemicals. Mixed with watercolors; the gum makes the paint more viscous and changes the way it blends and scoots around on the cardboard.

windmill

I am still fooling around with sizes and resolutions for posting
scans of artwork on the web; don't have much experience there.
This is just a little watercolor doodle, about 4 X 5.5 inches on unidentified paper.
Thought I had better put something up or everyone would think I am dead
or something worse, like turned Democrat.

Buggety Boo

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this unusual looking insect on the back porch . I have never seen one like this before. What is it called? Maybe there is an entymologist amoung us who can say what it is.

And no, I did not squish it.

a little late but needed none the less...

Cut and Paste from Crunchy Con on Beliefnet

via Morning Coffee

Let's pray for peace on Friday
Thursday August 14, 2008

posted by Rod Dreher @12:26pm

One of Mark Shea's readers, an active-duty soldier, asks that Catholics devote this Friday, the Feast of the Assumption in the Roman Catholic church, to praying for world peace. The reader writes:

What is apparently going on in Russia, Georgia, South Ossetia, and what it about to go on in the Persian Gulf in blockading Iran could indeed lead to a World War One, or more accurately WW-III type conflagration. Although I don't see any evidence of the conspiracy theory "neocon manipulation" leading to the current situation, it is clear that events are unfolding that may be frighteningly irreversible. Call it Lucifer's due diligence.

Through Mark, the reader asks for prayers for world peace this Friday, through the intercession of the Virgin, with special emphasis on the Caucasus and the Middle East. I think it's a great idea. This Friday is the same Marian feast for the Orthodox (we call it the Dormition, and there are some theological differences with Catholics in our understanding of the event in the life of Christ's mother that it commemorates), and if anything we have even more reason to pray for peace, given that the Caucasus war involves hostilities between two Orthodox Christian countries.

I would like to invite all our readers -- Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and non-Christian -- to join together tomorrow to pray, in whatever way you pray, for the peace of the world. Please pass this on to your prayer chains, post to your blogs, get the word out some kind of way. I think our soldiers in the war zones -- I'm thinking of you especially, Another Believer -- would particularly appreciate it.

Author of Popular Blog Stricken

Readers, some of you are familiar with the Blog Glory To God For All Things authored by Fr. Stephen Freeman. Father Stephen is Rector of St. Anne's Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, TN, Dean of the OCA's Appalachian Deanery, and is a precious friend, mentor and spiritual father to many.

Fr. Stephen had scheduled a vist to St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Nicholasville, Ky to assist in celebrating the vigil service for the Eve of Feast of the Transfiguration, however, his visit was canceled because he has been stricken suddenly with E-Coli food poisoning and is hospitalized.

This can be a serious illness. Remember Fr. Stephen in your prayers.

You emulated the Merciful One,
and received from Him the grace of healing,
Passion-bearer and healer Panteleimon;
by your prayers, heal our spiritual diseases
and continually drive away the temptations
of the enemy from those who cry out in faith
"Save us, O Lord."