exitstrategy

John Safran.
Who else would travel to the middle east in order to trick the sperm bank system into making a jelestinian (sp?) baby?
Who else would not only steal, but also smell, women's underwear in the name of science?

Hilarious, controversial, interesting and cringe-worthy.
End Plug.

In other news - First dates concurrently scary and satisfying. I once more reminded of how delicious thai food is.
In other other news - My knee requires surgery. An anthroscopy to be precise. *sigh*

Dear Decision-Making Bigwigs of the ABC,

I've been a fan of Good Game for years now and since moving to the big smoke and attaining respectable internet speed, have watched it religiously on iView. I have one question. Why has the Junglist been replaced by a younger and sexier model? I think you are doing a disservice to your viewers and the hosts concerned in this debacle and the entire scenario seems shifty and poorly handled. I am sure that Hex will prove herself in time as a worthy host but I feel that a statement should have been issued to inform the loyal fan base of changes to the show. While I feel my interest in the show beginning to waver, I cannot help but feel that your underhanded tactics are at the core of this disenfranchisement. Find a more digestable solution, talk to your fans and most importantly, FREE THE JUNGLIST!

That is all,
Disgruntled Gamer.

Random Thought of the Hour -
Listening to Vivaldi whilst showering shouldn't be this fun.

Random Thought From Last Night -
If one of your ingredients is water, don't write 'Aqua (water)' on your label. Just write 'water' and stop being pretentious.

I'm a little sick of having this fluctuating mood between happy, confused, nihilistic and worrisome. Some clarity would be nice, as would be the ability to look past the inherit half-life decay of any great moment my life. I need to work on my own sense of worth and decide that I deserve some of the beautiful things in life instead of just the trials/tribulations. There is so much worth writing in here, but that energy would be far better spent working on strengthening the various friendships that seem to hold everything together for me. Thanks for reading.

Dear Birds of the Greater South Australian Airspace,

Please coming down the chimney and making me rescue you. Please stop freaking out and spreading a noxious cloud of dirt, dust and poop all over the house. Please stop nesting atop the chimney to begin with and we can avoid all of this mess. I am running out of old towels for catch n' rescue operations.

Sincerely yours,
Stay-at-home Bird-wrangler

And now, back to my regular scheduled dino-painting.

Dear Steam,

There is no need to forever deny me the purchase of games. Although I am sure that my friends relish the opportunity to make the purchase on my behalf, and consequently get reimbursed for the hassle, I cannot help but feel that you are driving a wedge between us. Our friendship should not be surrendered on this trivial matter of connection and update errors on your store. Please see reason and allow me full access once more.

Sincerely yours,
Disgruntled Gamer.

Strange how busy the park is on a Sunday morning. Herding families, eldery couples and elegant young folk. Spring rolls back around and I get depressed once more as nature takes its course. I am honesty surprised I haven't worked myself toward sickness. I think the vitamins and exercise must be having some positive effect after all. Sketchbook follows -
There was something else to write, but I cannot recall what it was at the moment. Meh, back to watching some 'Two Guys and a Girl'.

A few things to add to the plate.

Thursday - UP - One of the most emotionally resonant animated movies I've seen. A joy to see.
Friday - Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog for Charity - Always a fun time with Whedon & Co.
Saturday - Dad's birthday at a chinese restaurant. Not as painful as family events can be. Good fun.

Otherwise - My feet and knees hurt and I'm not good company. I'm going to draw again and forget about the world for a while. Maybe I will think about Jen's new lhasa apso puppy, which is one of the most adorable things I have seen in recent memory. How are you doing today?

Myself and a few of the usual suspects went along to see a burlesque show last night. However crowded the venue was, the performances were a good deal of fun and we enjoyed our time out. My memories of the night may have been little clouded by the free cupcake I recieved at the end, but I do recall Teagan winning some lingerie as a result of being the best dressed audience member. I like to think that her 'good luck feather' played a pivotal role in this victory but I guess Leslie's grand corsetry skills are equally responsible. *smiles*

In sports news, I have been playing around at the illustration table once more with some non-horrible results. I would like to thank Stephen Fry's smooth-voiced narration of the oh-so-famous Harry Potter chronicles for providing me with something interesting to engage my ears during the process. As I am only halfway through 'The Prisoner of Azkaban', I'd wager that there are a few more pictures on their way to you happy, art-horny people soon. I shall keep you posted, but in the mean time, enjoy the first three installations of the Freaky Cats Collection at the end of this post.

Now onto the Weather (which I feel requires capitalisation for no actual reason). As most of you may not know, last week was Book Week in schools all across South Australia and possibly the entire continent itself. To celebrate and preach the good word of 'The Bus to the Zoo', Josh and his publicist/mother went out to a few primary schools and spoke to children about the process of book illustration. I came to the realisation early on that reading the book aloud was not my strong suit, and thankfully had teachers and librarians to help me. Although I was slightly stressed to begin with, the casual atmosphere at both Williamstown and Two Wells Primary and attentiveness of the children made for a rewarding experience. I signed a few books and even got some high fives from kids. Not a bad way to spend a sunny day.

After the weather usual comes the little happy spoof story to close the news and I haven't trained a squirrel to waterski yet. Instead, at this point I will mention that I was interviewed for local publication 'The Bunyip' about my book and experiences as an illustrator thus far by a charming young woman. I haven't read the article yet, but I am assured that I don't come across as a complete fool. I guess I shall write the experience off as positive until proven otherwise. I noticed there are some furry, tired and stupidly-grinning photos of myself on the website that may sate the appetites of any stalkers out there. *yawn*

Here are a few other things that probably don't warrant a paragraph of text glorifying their presence in this 'journal' entry.
- Ikariam Colony 9 is now up, running, and a welcome new addition to my empire.
- Playing a bit of AOE3 with my beloved Dutch to prepare for the upcoming friendly LAN battle soon to hit our shores.
- Back at work once again after several weeks off due to knee injury.
- Taking my muddy but still shiny mountain bike out for a checkup + upgrade this afternoon.
- Bought tickets for Against the Grain. I shall be interested to see Alchemist, Ne Obliviscaris and Lord later this month. Booyah!

Ponyo = Fun. Thanks for the tickets Denes and Sarah, you magic couple you.
District 9 = A brilliant film. Highly recommended.

Platypus entertains in his drawing room. Deer is invited and arrives without a present.


Thinking about an ikariam comic. Here are the results so far.

Til next time Lords and Ladies,
Josh out.

Platypus embarasses Lion with superior braiding skills
Platypus +1
Lion -1

Platypus used rocket launcher. It's super effective!

Platypus +1
Okapi -1

Seeing District 9 tonight. Excited...

A handful of things -
Thanks to everyone who has been feeding me this week :)
Mike and Steve are back from their missions in case you didn't already know.
Ikariam Level 8 GR upgrades - 5/8. Getting closer to that new colony.
ABC iview is awesome and free for Josh. Yay!
End.

Today I bought a mountain bike and rode it about. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed cycling as a kid.
I also went to see an orthopaedic specialist about my knee. Nothing was turned up or resolved but at least the doctor was nice.

Sketchbook page - A handful of 'unreferenced' faces scribbled whilst watching some DVDs.

Tea at Jen's tonight.
Josh out -

Still having knee problems...

On the bright side of things, you can buy my children's book in stores now! (Provided they have it in stock that is!)

The Bus to the Zoo (2009)
Written by Mary Murphy
Illustrated by Josh Lee

Hands down, one of the funniest things I have seen it weeks. If your websites have been plagued by advertisements of the online game Evony, then you will know exactly what I am talking about. Plants Vs. Zombies. You are win!