Wheeler Dealer

After more than a year using nothing more than public transportation (and getting graciously offered rides), we've decided to go ahead and buy a scooter. (Cue the fireworks! Marching bands! Dancing hippos!)

We're pretty excited about opening up more opportunities to explore more on our own, just to wander, as we really enjoy doing. The scooter would also allow us to get to trail heads where the bus just doesn't go, and we could choose whatever time of day suits us. Another nice thing about a scooter is that it's essentially a little truck. That space between your legs doesn't have a gas tank and an engine taking up room; it's all space! You can literally fit the kitchen sink in there. Plus, you can store your helmet and rain gear under the seat.

There's a cost for all that convenience, though. We're thinking of spending around NT$15-25,000 which is probably enough to get us a decent used scooter. Hmm...let's see...what's available online for that much money...click on this link...and..

Wait...really? Okay, let's do a little history.

Trying It Again

Sometimes I like an image enough that I'm willing to do it twice. This is one of those.

Guizikeng 鬼子看 is a park not far from our house. We can get there in about half an hour on foot, if we hustle. Our usual hiking route actually crosses in front of this promontory, a good distance away from it, and then charges up switchback after switchback to top out on a ridge that's high enough to look down on this exposed cliff. It's a beautiful area, wonderfully rugged. You can quickly leave civilization behind and find yourself deep in the woods. It would take hours if they had not laid out hundreds and hundreds of stone steps for us.

For a look at the hike, check out our earlier post: http://letsgotakealook.blogspot.tw/2011/10/this-is-our-backyard.html

To compare this painting to my original oil pastel of the same scene, read on.

A Dragon Emerges

Sometimes, one creates a monster. Perhaps one didn't intend to, or started out small, until finally the whole thing takes on a life of its own. It's happened to me. I love to create, but then what? The dragon above is a different kind of beast, one that seems a bit easier to manage.

Art Archives

We've decided to consolidate the blog into a single thread. The "separate blogs for separate subjects" turned out to be more complex and not so useful. From now on, everything will go straight into this stream! We'll be disconnecting the menu links to the other segments soon.

To make sure nothing is lost, we're putting all of the miscellaneous art posts into this one archive. These are the posts that didn't have their own "check this out" posting in the main blog to begin with.

"Emerging" (picture of the day)
Cartoons
Inktense Ink Block Travel Kit
Four Color Pen

Creative Writing Archive

We're consolidating all of our creative output into this one blog stream, so to make sure nothing is lost, we're putting some earlier posts into this archive. Thanks!

Mr. Speedy, X-ray Orderly
The Candidate Responds
Poem: "Kelso"
Play: "Overheard"
Debris