Monday, April 20, 2026

2021 Diary: Whanne That April


2021 Diary

4/21/2021: Up at 7 AM. Went to bus stop at 8 AM. Very cold. New bus, new driver. Went to Walmart and got a money order for $994. Bought some frozen eggrolls and the Hey Arnold Movie DVD. Made it home by 11 AM.

Eggrolls for lunch. Took a nap and spent the rest of the day doing little chores. Feeling very wore out and my balance not good. Washed my clothes. Switched dogs out at 5 PM.

 

4/22/2021: Well, prayers and Bible, and juggled out the dogs. The day trudged along. Delivery from HEB at 11 AM. Had shrimp with sweet and sour sauce. And so on and on and feeling nearly nerveless and nigh unto the end. Talked to Yen a bit over Facebook Messenger. To bed at 10 PM.

 

4/23/2021: Up at 4 AM and found I was awake. “Pygmalion” then “Quo Vadis” on. Fried some bacon. Made sandwiches. Watched TV until 6 AM when the cartoons came on then promptly fell asleep. Woke up and took some recyclables a little after 8 AM and saw they were home [from vacation], the lights turned off and the big dogs inside. Also that the door on the vehicle open on what must have been Kam’s seat. Closed it.

About 10:30 AM went out to check the front porch and brought Susan’s packages round to the side. She was up and took the stuff and we talked a bit. I suppose it was lucky I did because the rain started a little after that.

I was just getting ready to watch “Rashamon” and eat some scrambled eggs at 11:15 AM when bang crash the top shelf of the bookshelf next to the AC comes tumbling down, spilling my Cabell hardbacks and smashing a little dragon/gargoyle. The damp, I guess. Spent time picking up books then relieving the books on the next shelf down. Now I must find out how to do new arrangements. Really coming down rain now at about 12:30 PM. I guess it will be a while before they come collect Ginger and her things.

And so it was, almost at 5 PM. I went in, and they had brought me a shirt, a cap, 2 Bigfoot magnets, and an alien bobble-head.

 

4/25/2021: Did not go to church today. At 11 AM John came and picked me up. I took a bag of clothes that S&A were sending to Morgandy. Went to Chicken Express and got a 30 piece family meal. Went off to Babeloth. Ate at 12, then watched “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” (a rather mixed experience – perhaps will improve with more viewings) then “Tolkien” (which seemed to me to have improved on this viewing). Through both movies we made the occasional Babellian comment. Left, stopped by DG to get some soda, the home at 5 PM.

The evening went along pretty smoothly (even painwise) and I went to bed about 10 PM.

 

4/26/2021: After a night of getting up about every hour I arose at 6 AM. Started to watch cartoons, then turned them off. Prayers, two chapters of Mark, then read the missalette for yesterday. Fried chopped bacon and eggs for breakfast. Started wash at 7:30 AM. Gathered trash and recyclables. Took Kam out to bus at 8 AM. Everything back on schedule, I guess. Might even get the controller from Walmart today.

And so I did, at about 11 AM. So tickled was I with having that and the little speakers John had given me for my computer (which allow me to hear my music even when the fan or the AC is on) that I began a project I would have believed impossible just a couple of days ago. That was worming the old recliner out of the corner and moving some bins into its place. Lots of dust and bugs, but I did it, with Kam assisting me (not lifting, but watching to make sure I didn’t get hurt and fetching the broom and scoop. The recliner is now in front of the Tolkien Shrine, but a step closer to out the door.

Made cucumber salad early before Kam came home. At 4 PM made supper and fed pets. More bits of straightening and arranging all evening. Made an HEB order for tomorrow. Kam came in and hung around a bit while S&A at a conservative meeting; he went in a little after 7 PM. Went in at 8 PM and washed up. About 9 PM took a shower, and then prayed the rosary. Bed, with sore legs but a feeling of accomplishment.

4/27/2021: Spent much of the day recuperating from yesterday. Up at 7 AM, prayers and Bible. Things muddled along as usual. Sort of humid all day. For supper picked 2 BBQ half-chickens and mixed them in with rice, mushrooms and broccoli. In the evening played quite a bit of DQ8 (until about 11 PM) then rosary and bed.


 

Sunday, April 19, 2026

It's a Bonus, Like






So what I did was take five of the pictures I posted today on Power of Babel, turn them into fantasy paintings on ChatGPT, then animate them on Grok. Some became almost unrecognizable through the process. That one there is The Man in the Moon Came Tumbling Doon. It seemed to need some explanation.

What Is It, My Precious?














I include variations of Gollum, Haroo, and Holger just to have examples of the wayward nature of AI. Who asked for mouth goo or extra legs? Where do you get that stuff? The extra Haroo was my fault; I decided we needed the words to make it work. Speaking of words, for His Majesty Commands I asked for an unknown language, it it gave me something vaguely Sindarin-sounding!

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Oh, F and G











Now, I'm pretty happy with this batch. They're good. Nothing heart-breakingly splendid, but ... nicely adequate. No-one spouting out random inanities like "The Mystic Prune approaches! We must be on our way." Ghamen Guard and Groka, of course, are both from Golfire. If you had told me in middle school after I'd drawn Forge that it would come to this, I don't think I'd have any idea what you meant.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Artifial Intelligence = Genuine Stubborn Stupidity











Oh gosh. I must have tried to get Drummer into at least an acceptable form over a dozen times before just leaving it; it was like herding cats. I'm also not very satisfied with Firf (labelled here as [generated video 1]; the long title is Firfinfindlefifflefur). The AI insists on turning long muzzles into big noses. The Face in the Frost you would think to be a simple matter, but no. Still, we got what we got, and I'm too tired for any further edits.


Thursday, April 16, 2026

B, C, D: Early Elements














We open and close with Druids, and besides my own concepts there are illustrations from Late for Hallowe'en, The Silmarillion, The Silver Stallion, and Walt Disney's Song of the South comic. Also Borrisk gets a redo, as does Dragon in Disguise, as I learn more about editing. And of course the disturbing Bryan Babel in Oz.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Once and Future







I was thinking lately about how few 'Arthurian' illustrations I have in the files. Lots of Merlin's, yes, from before he was even born until he was put in his magical prison, and the few King Arthurs that do appear often feature Merlin too.  Pellinore and Up on the Tower were inspired by the T. H. White books.