Weekly Dose of Mark
Sunday, February, 26th 2023 • 02/26/23
Monday was President’s Day, which is a Federal Holiday. That meant I got to sleep in, something I enjoy doing a great deal. Krista and I then met with Stan Brown, Corery Macourek, James Stowe, and his two kids. We all met at sushi revolution for lunch. Unfortunately, this meant that we had to break into two tables with Stowe sitting with his kids. We had a great time and spent a small fortune on small plates. The next time I get a sushi craving, Krista and I will just order a large plater from the best place in town as there might be a small saving. But having a wonderful conversation with my friends with delicious food is priceless.
Wednesday evening, I went down to the Grand Cinema. I met before the drawing session with the cosplay model Peyton DeSanta. Last month I sent a query to the Tacoma-Lakewood Cosplayer Facebook page to see if anyone would be interested in modeling. Peyton was the first to raise her hand. She is one of my fans, and we’d met previously at a convention. I was concerned about 6 o’clock as we were the only people there. But, by 6:15, the room was filling up. And we had even more folks show up by 6:30. In the end, we had nine artists drawing Supergirl in various poses. RR Anderson brought Miss Darcy and his son Max. Also in attendance were Sean Hall, Mark Brill, and a few new faces. Both Stan Brown and James Stowe couldn’t make it as they were not feeling well and didn’t want to chance to spread a cold to the group. As the organizer, I was a bit nervous at the start of the evening but by the end, everyone was really jazzed. I remembered to get a group photo. I was also pleased with my sketches. The last one of Peyton’s books came out really well. I think I might use that image down the line somewhere.
Saturday was Tacoma’s Night Market. I tried to get in, but since they never responded to my email, I guess they were full up. I thought about going down and checking it out. But, I spent the week cranking on a deadline for Solid Waste Management and was tired. You would think sleeping in on Saturday might have allowed me to recover, but I stayed up late the night before watching a movie. I’ll have to ask my friend Eli how it went for him. Another one of my friends was at the Atlanta Comic Con and reported that he didn’t sell anything during the entire show. The people next to him only sold one or two items. I’ll have to ask him if the show was thinly attended or if it just lacked buzz. It’s very odd for him to do a show and not do well with sales.
Krista’s old iPad’s battery isn’t holding a charge anymore. She can only use it now if it is plugged in. Rather than getting a new one at the Apple Store, she decided to save $100 and buy it through Costco. The only problem was the model she wanted was only available via delivery. She was relieved when it finally arrived on Friday. She spent the weekend setting it up. But it’s still not synching with her phone very well. So she has more troubleshooting to do there.
Alley News
The weather has turned cold again. A light coating of snow has been renewing itself on the ground. Every few days, it warms up enough to rain, then another dusting of snow. Aside from small patches of black ice in the morning, it's not too dangerous. But the dampness had us adding another layer and bundling under blankets when we watched television. The only time I get to see my neighbors is when Pat Smith calls me up to see if I want to go for a walk. Audrey’s cat Nugget is the only wildlife I’ve seen this week. The raccoons sited in the alley the week before must be hunkering in their dens to keep warm.
I managed to write down some of this week’s dreams:
Feb 20
#IDreamt while visiting a psychologist, I cleaned her television screen. On the way home, I found a plaster casting form. I poured clay into it and found it was a life cast of Bruce Dern.
Feb 21
#IDreamt when a young suffragette died, she returned to the family mansion as a very powerful poltergeist. She changed the dynamic of the others ghosts there. In winter, she plows snow as a statement against patriarchy.
Feb 22
#IDreamt a high school prom committee decided they wanted to be progressive and have a nudist-themed prom. The teachers were against it but agreed to cite health concerns instead of dress codes. This was set in the ‘80s, like a teen movie.
Feb 23
#IDreamt I found myself stowed away on an enormous freighter. They were so shorthanded that I easily passed myself off as a new employee.
Feb 24
#IDreamt of Samurai family in feudal Japan. The father favored his older son, who favored the sword. His younger son favored the brush. He barely acknowledged his youngest child, a daughter who favored politics.
Feb 25
#IDreamt James Stowe and I were walking by a building shared by several congregations. We went in and found a communal potluck starting. We decided to stay and draw the scene.
Feb 26
#IDreamt I became a numismatist.
Here are the movies I watched this week:
20. Feb 23
Pineapple Express (2008) Rating: 5
I watched this movie, wondering if I'd seen it before. I usually have a great memory for movies, when I saw them, and who I saw them with. But my memories of this movie are vague. Just like the ramblings of these potheads bumbling their way through the day as various bad guys are out to kill them. Most of the dialog feels like it was improvised. I watched this film on Netflix.
21. Feb 23
Troll (2022) Rating: 6
I wanted a monster movie. What we have here is a small Kaiju movie with Norwegian flair featuring all the tropes associated with a Kaiju movie. I would say it is better than Reptilicus but not as good as Troll Hunter. I give it an extra point for having a dog with a name. I watch it on Netflix. I watched this film on Netflix.
22. Feb 25
Lou (2022) Rating: 7
I always wanted to see Alison Janney as a lead in an action movie, and it finally happened - an extra point for that. This film has a dog named Jackson, often shortened to "Jacks" - an extra point for that. It's set in the pacific northwest - one point for that. The storm in question is just the regular rainfall from the last year - one less point for that. The plot slowly provides exposition, so big reveals aren't so big. Plenty of plot holes around the various action movie tropes. I watched this film on Netflix.
More next week,
Mark
