April 9, 2006

Search

So, when I started this thing I didn't think I would need a search feature. Silly, silly monkey.

I added that in this morning, so, you can now search for my ghost stories or for the stupid red monkey jeans that I'm SO tired of seeing in my statistics (but even if I never mention it again, they'll still be there since "red monkey" appears on every page ... and the word jeans appears from time to time as well).

Let me know if you run into anything strange with the search ... I'm not a programmer, so I don't know a lot about how MT has this script set up, but I can do some fooling around if I need to.

The colors ... well, it looks good in FireFox ... hopefully it looks all right in IE ... Safari, I know the text is very light in the white box. I'll try to fiddle with some settings on that later on.

So, spam is driving me crazy, so I've got to close the comments on this entry ... please hit me up via email if you need to say hey.

Posted by Red Monkey at 10:42 AM | Comments (2) | Blog | Stumble

April 7, 2006

Green

Before we moved into this house, I'd never seen anything like this passion flower. I hate purple, but find these utterly fascinating.

UPDATE:
Guppyman put this in the comments and it's well worth highlighting in the main article area as well:
Why it's called a passion flower: plantsinmotion

Posted by Red Monkey at 5:27 PM | Comments (9) | Blog | TrackBack | Stumble

April 1, 2006

And Now a Word

Not exactly a word from our sponsor by any means, but I will say that CafePress just had a 20% off sale and I, being the total geek that I am, ordered my own CafePress stuff. And, I also have to say that I just love it!!! Far more than I expected. Here's just a smattering of stuff I have available:

I have a few more designs than this, and some of these designs are on t-shirts, ball caps, kids' clothes, et cetera. Check it out, give it a try. And let me know if there's something you'd like to see that I haven't included there yet ... sometime in the next year or so, I'm sure I'll add products with some of my sketches, but since I feel like I'm still very much in the learning by copying mode, I'm not ready to upload anything I've drawn just yet. Eventually, I'm sure I will.

Also, I do have a teeny-tiny military section in my store ... which I started because one of the men in my church is a Pearl Harbor survivor. Unfortunately last year, someone stole his favourite black ball cap which proudly proclaimed Pearl Harbor Survivor. So, I made him one and ordered it for him.
ANY military merchandise is NO PROFIT to me. I only make survivor or veteran gear (or something along those lines).

Posted by Red Monkey at 12:18 PM | Comments (3) | Blog | TrackBack | Stumble

March 10, 2006

Cat With a Pen

Now, normally I don't do this, but I've recently run across a blog that has me digging through the archives in a way that I haven't since I first discovered WWdN (now WWdN in exile). So, even though I try to keep my little links section over on the right very, very small (too many links and then what's special about any of them? ... besides, it's a hassle to make sure they're all up to date and stuff), I have recently added a new blog I discovered through BlogMad. (BTW, BlogMad is in public beta testing ... you need an invite to get in ... want an invite? drop me a comment!)

Anyhow, Cat With a Pen is one of the best blogs I've seen in a long time. She's got an engaging writing style and wonderful, wonderful, wonderful posts to share. The blog layout is nice and clean ... my only wish is that she'd include a "real" archives link instead of a link to previous posts (down at the bottom of the page). I've got tons of archives to read and comment on yet! One really nice touch that I just love is how often she replies to comments ... and her text is always inside your comment, but indented and in another colour ... really great touch.

Cat lives with multiple personalities due to childhood trauma ... so this site is not for everyone. If you don't "believe in" multiple personalities, don't go bugging her about it, okay? If you've been through childhood trauma, you might find things a bit too reminiscent and triggery ... but overall, I think this is just a delightful, honest and engaging blog. Would that we were all so open and honest with ourselves and others. And hey, what better pen name for someone with multiples ... cats have at least nine lives, right?

Posted by Red Monkey at 7:04 AM | Comments (5) | Blog | TrackBack | Stumble

March 8, 2006

Escapes

Somedays it just seems like like there is no escape, you know?

You've got this beautiful sky, green grass, trees, birds flying free in the air ... and the ruins of an ancient fort/prison. Some days no matter how beautiful some of the surroundings, you just feel like there's bars keeping you back or the ruins of something from 'back in the day' that just wrecks the landscape.

This picture ought to represent oppression and fear, really, given the subject's long and storied history. But as I sit here with the big 300 dpi version as my desktop at work, I'm confused at all the messages it gives me. Green grass means summer and freedom. So do the birds. Ruins are for exploration both of the history and of the building itself. And, of course, Alcatraz is a level in one of my favourite video games (one of the Tony Hawk games).

Right now, I long to be there instead of here, at work. But think of all of the men trapped on that island, in that prison who longed to be anywhere but there.

It's a weird world. There are more prisons in our minds and of our own making than any jails we might build.

RIght now, I just long for green grass, sun baking my bones, a light breeze ruffling my hair and cooling my skin, eyes closed against the overwhelming brightness. I need a month without pressures ... I need time to relax and stop worrying about tomorrow, shoot, about ten minutes from now.

For now, this photo will have to do.

Posted by Red Monkey at 8:24 AM | Comments (3) | Blog | TrackBack | Stumble

March 3, 2006

Snow on Mt. St. Helena

Mount Saint Helena ... shot just outside of the Roshambo winery outside of Healdsburg. This mountain only gets snow about four times a year ... this snowfall happened last night.

Posted by Red Monkey at 12:15 AM | Comments (3) | Blog | TrackBack | Stumble