New Toys

We got some fun toys this Christmas. We got a new digital camera and Adobe CS3 for our Mac (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign). I'm still trying to learn my way around photoshop, but I've been having fun. This is my latest creation:



The shadows don't really line up correctly, but hopefully I'll get better at that stuff soon. We had a fun time visiting my family in California. My dad bought a Wii and I became addicted to Super Mario Galaxy. I'm glad we don't have video games, because apparently I don't have much self-control. We'll post again with more pictures of our trip.

Feliz Navidad

Olvera Street sideways. I guess even Blogger has bad Mondays.

We didn't go quite that far south, but we enjoyed ten days of sunshine in southern California with the Singley bunch. We have all gathered together, except for Whitney, David, and Jonas, (we miss you!) and many a good time rolled.


Fun on Olvera Street, Los Angeles.

Near the end of our trip we went to Olvera Street in the heart of Los Angeles, and made good use of one of our prized Christmas presents--a new camera. (!) The camera also helped us capture our stellar afternoon at Manhattan Beach (more to come).


Jane & Cassie. we took this picture instead of buying the hat.

Between the Wii games, playmates for Jane, plethora of treats, and ever-available delicious leftovers, we didn't really feel like leaving, ever. It was a great break and we had a blast with everyone.


Jane & the cacti, Olvera Street.

season's greetings

Merry Christmas!!!

Jane & Mr. Krueger

Jane in her "princess" dress and "glass slippers"

On Sunday I wanted to watch a Christmas movie with Jane while Brad went home teaching. I found that we have a dismal selection of Christmas movies--Trapped in Paradise, starring Nicholas Cage, Dana Carvey, and Jon Lovitz, which isn't exactly a kids movie--and the anniversary edition of Mr. Krueger's Christmas. (Of course we have a copy of Whitey's special, as well, but I can't watch that without Brad. It would just be wrong). I wondered what Jane would think about Mr Krueger's Christmas. Would she get bored? Would she beg for Strawberry Shortcake? Would she enjoy it at all?
She did. She loved it. When it finished, she said, "Again?"
I enjoyed it too. James Stewart is one of the finest actors in history, I believe, and if you haven't rediscovered this Christmas classic yet, I high recommend it. It's especially sweet to watch with little kids.
The following trivia comes courtesy of imdb.com.

• James Stewart approached the scene where Mr. Krueger talks to the infant Jesus very seriously. Before filming this scene, he told the producer Michael McLean, "I've got only one of these in me. Everyone who doesn't need to be here, get them out. Tell them I want this to go well. I can do other takes, but this will be the right one. There will only be one." After the scene was finished, McLean asked the cameraman, "Did you get it?" "I hope so," was the reply, "because I was crying."
  
  
• The scene where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir starts clapping and gives Willy Krueger a standing ovation was the actual reaction of the Choir to James Stewart's directing. It was a total surprise and completely unscripted.

Whitey McWhites Christmas

I have always loved lame Christmas movies. We watched so many stupid made-for-tv Christmas movies when I was a kid. I still remember most of them. How about this little gem:



As soon as we pulled out the Christmas decorations, we would rummage through our drawers of VHS tapes and pull out all of our Christmas movies we had recorded off of TV. One of these videos was an Andy Williams Christmas special featuring the NBC kids (cosby show, facts of life, silver spoons, gimme a break, punky brewster). We knew all the songs and we loved this movie.

It wasn't until we were a little older that we discovered Punky Brewster's friend Allen (far right).



It wasn't that we hadn't seen him before. He just got lost among all the other kids with actual speaking parts. We gave him the nickname "Whitey McWhites" because he's possibly the whitest kid I've ever seen. Just watch the videos and you'll see why he's my favorite. It may take a few times until you can appreciate the nuances between Whitey and his singing counterparts. I believe his moves in the second video have even inspired some aerobics routines. Enjoy.

I'm on Strike.

Some of you know I studied film in college with an emphasis in critical studies and screenwriting.
I left my college experience excellently equipped to construct a screenplay or whip out a sitcom, and an elitist sensibility that great films could not exist without great writers. I would love to go on about how glamorous and incredible the life of a screenwriter is, to share my brilliant, earth-shattering script ideas with all of you, but alas, I cannot write more.
I am on strike. I have been since 2005.
The WGA joined me on November 5th, and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. I cannot back down until Hollywood executives proffer my fair share of their fat profit pie. I stand proudly beside Tina Fey, Greg Daniels, and David Shore, among countless others, even if it means reruns and mindless reality shows in the months ahead. I could wax philosophic about the correlation between "Big Brother" and the average American's weekly fast-food consumption, but already I think I have written too much.
We writers appreciate your continued support, or we accept your hostile frustration at going up the tube repeatedly to find there is nothing on. You're always welcome on the picket line with us. It's a lot more glamorous in Hollywood.


My friend Ben Stiller shows blue steel resolve on the picket line.

Sketching again

I started sketching again recently. I usually make 2 or 3 sketches a year, but I'm trying to do more lately. I made an amazing discovery, it's called sketching paper. All these years I've done most of my sketching on computer paper. I was surprised to see how much easier this stuff is to sketch on. Meg still makes fun of me for using a cheap-o mechanical pencil.

This is from our trip to the pumpkin patch. It cracks me up every time I see it.

Speaking of picking up old hobbies, Meg has been playing her violin again recently. She just played in a multi-stake orchestra for a production of Handel's Messiah. The vocal soloists were all accomplished opera singers, so they sounded amazing.It was fun to hear Meg play so well after only a few weeks of practice. Jane loved watching her practice. She held her toy guitar up to her chin and everything.

I love my job

For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a hydraulics engineer at Northwest Hydraulic Consultants. I mostly do flood modeling for FEMA. I use computer programs to determine where water will flow during a storm. Usually it's a typical desk job, but I get to do field work from time to time.

On Monday we got a call from a client in Bothell, WA. We are doing a study for them to determine if the levees on a nearby creek will hold in the event of a major storm. The image below shows the boundaries of the creek inside the levees.



They wanted us to go take measurements of the creek. By the time we got there, the whole area had been evacuated, so we had to go on foot. When we got to the creek the water was just inches from overtopping the levees. The image below shows the water rising almost to the top of the levee. I'm sure we looked like idiots wearing slacks and dress shirts in the middle of this flood.



We spent a few hours making high water marks so that we can come back later with survey equipment. We will make a computer model of the creek later. Fortunately, the levees held up. The water spilled over the top at one spot, but sandbag crews took care of it pretty well.

It was almost 60 degrees that afternoon, so it was very comfortable even when we were up to our ankles in water. Here is a picture of a bridge that almost washed out.



The water is about 3 inches away from pouring over the top of the road. Click on it to see it better. I was like a kid in a candy shop running around that day. When we came back soaking wet my boss told me to go and buy myself some waterproof gear at REI and charge it to the company. Could the day get any better?

The Singleys Are Not Swept Away

Or blown or tree-crushed or flooded. We've had power, and that's the only way we would ever really be affected by storms such as we've had this last weekend. We had some rain and that was it for us. Brad has a more exciting story from work on Monday--he went into the field up to Bothell and spent about five hours in a flooded area. He came home wet and happy with his job--and our location.
Saturday morning we woke up to a nice surprise from our gracious hometown--snow. What a beautiful way to start December! We know we won't see much snow this year--it's rare up here--so Brad wasted no time in building a snowman. Jane loves snow; one of her favorite books is Snow by P.D. Eastman. She loved waving to Floyd during his holiday on our back porch. She points out snowmen everywhere now. They are some of her favorite people, especially if they sing like Burl Ives.


One of Jane's favorite holiday characters: Burl Ives the Snowman from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Floyd

Once there was a snowman


Tall;


In the rain he melted,


melted,


small,


small,


small.

Who Started This Whole Tag Thing?

I saw that Katie had been "tagged" on her blog, and I knew if I read that entry, I would probably be tagged at its end. What can I say? I like Katie, I like to read her entries, and so out of respect for her, I will be "it." Six things about me.

1. One of my life goals is to get an MFA in creative writing or screenwriting.
2. I had never visited Seattle or anywhere in the northwest before we moved up here four months ago. Once I found out we would be moving up here, I decided not to look at pictures of the area. It's been more of an adventure that way.
3. I have only kissed civil engineers. The last one I kissed has been my favorite ever since.
4. In fifth grade my friend Jennifer and I wrote a play version of Rumplestiltskin. We included a couple of dance numbers to "All That She Wants" and "I Saw the Sign" by Ace of Base. We changed the words in "All That She Wants" to say "All that he wants is another baby, he's gone tomorrow, oh." Not so different, but we felt very clever for making it Rumplestiltskin's theme song.
5. I took a semester of Welsh in college. Welsh is the language they speak in Wales, in the UK.
6. I am left handed, but I kick, bat, and put right.

In the true spirit of tagging, I tag EVERYONE who reads this post. But I'm changing what you have to write. I just want to know, what was your favorite childhood holiday special? You can also just respond in a comment here. My favorite, or one of them: A Muppet Family Christmas.