Baby Mammoth Remains Found
One of the best preserved mammoths ever found was recently unearthed in Siberia. Even her eyes are intact, though her tail seems to have been bitten off.
So now there's talk, again, of cloning a mammoth. The article seems to be saying that, given viable DNA from the specimen which is not guaranteed by any means, we now have the technology to produce a hybrid mammoth/elephant, if not a pureblooded clone. But there are ethical questions- should you resurrect extinct prehistoric animals? The mammoth is about the only one we could, since they are the only ones who were thoughtful enough to be buried in ice. Where would the mammoth live? Personally I would love to see a living mammoth- it would be amazing. But would it be right? I don't know. I suspect that if they do it, though, it will mean there is an associated ethical imperative to resurrect as many of the extinct modern species that have died off due to human intervention. So that would be a good side-effect.
A good book on the technology (though now out of date) and ethics of this issue is Mammoth: The Resurrection of an Ice Age Giant, by Richard Stone.
Anyways, here is a great mastodon sketch Travis Hanson made for me a few months ago:

As of 7AM this morning I'm on holidays for the next twelve days! That's the coolest thing ever. Here are some things that are tied for second coolest thing ever:
1. Little red panda cubs born at the Valley Zoo. Help me cheer on my little cousins as they struggle to survive their first few months.
2. Many dinosaur fossils just down the road a ways from my place. (The actual location is secret to protect the site.)
3. Tomorrow I'm running my first race! Happy Canada Day Race. Yay for me! Join me in cheering me on! And Michelle too but she is an old pro at races and our little 5 KM race is just a cakerun for her. In fact she was the 5 K run clinic leader for the past few months.
4. This: and this: arrived in the mail for me this week from my internet pal Travis Hanson, the most excellent illustrator and print-maker. It joins the other print I already have and never ever tire of looking at. You can order your own prints or his books if you like over here.
5. Monday is our second anniversary. Yay for me and Michelle!
6. Bears. Or maybe they should be the coolest thing ever and everything else can be tied for third.

On deviantArt there's a meme going around where artists offer free sketches to anyone who wants one (up to ten, usually) so long as any takers offer the same . So I've taken up a few people on their offers, but rather than sketches I offer poems in return, since my sketches would be a terrible blight on the world. Here is the sketch Travis Hanson did for me, since I was in a mastodony mood last week:



And here is a poem I wrote at the request of Hermitchild, who also drew me a sketch that I will try to write a poem for as well, so I won't show it to you yet:

Little lemming, lemme in, lemme in
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin
I'm not a big bad wolf and you're not a little pig
So just open up your door, quit being such a prig
No, I'm sorry, but I'm a little indisposed
which is why you can't come in and the door is staying closed
Listen, little lemming, just a second then I'll go
You're probably a salesman so my answer still is no
Little lemming, little lemming, please just let me in
No! Now my patience is starting to wear thin
You keep standing at my door, yammering and talking
I say go away and still you keep on knocking
Sorry little lemming, I know I am a boor
But I won't go away until you open up that door!
I know what you did, how you let those lemmings die
You led them off a cliff by claiming they could fly
Now little lemming, lemme in, lemme in
So I can serve you this subpoena so you can pay for your sin!

The two typefaces are to distinguish voice, which you probably figured out on your own. I wanted to make use of the obvious lemming stereotype while still doing something a little unique.

An Interview With Travis Hanson On the wall above my desk is a print called The Storyteller, by Travis Hanson. I love looking at it because there is so much detail- I always notice new things. And I love the spirit of it- the joy of a good story. Some day my little bear cubs will look up at it from their crib, and be inspired to dream in Techniwonder. Travis is the artist behind The Bean's Song- Tales of the Broken Moon. He has also just started a weekly webcomic called Stardusters, so I thought I would ask him a few questions so you could get to know him better. 

 So, tell us a bit about yourself: 

  Well I am a 35 year old illustrator and father of 4. I've been married 12 years and life seems to get better each year i get older:) 

 And tell us a bit about your projects- Stardusters and Broken Moon. Star Dusters is a little pet project of mind that has been sitting in the back of my head for the last 8 years. Like the Bean it has changed form and developed into something completely different. I find it a welcome release from fantasy and it helps keep my cartooning skills in check. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes. the Broken Moon series is a much larger project. It started as a webcomic than morphed into a comic book and finally found a home in written print. Aimee Duncan and myself have really put in a lot to give the bean life. Right now we are in the midst of finishing the 1st draft to book 2. It is looking outstanding and it will really go more indepth on Bean's relationship with the sword.

How did you get started in art?

 I have been drawing since i was about 6 yet i did not become serious about my art until i was about 23. It took a swift kick in the butt from a close friend to help me really see my potential. I then spent several years looking for work and busting my hump to find jobs. I landed my first job as a cartoonist for a print shop and than spent the next several years learning my trade. 

 What tools do you use? 

  I use a wide variety - i hand draw and ink everything first than i scan the work in and do layout with photoshop, illustrator and indesign. 

 What inspires you? 

  Life and my kids 

 Do you have any tricks you do to kickstart creativity if you aren't feeling it? 

  I sketch a lot- all the time- and it's usually some minute sketch on a piece of scratch paper that kicks it all off 

 Your work has a definite vibe, or even a message- can you expand on that?

  I want people to realize that they can accomplish anything they set out to do and that imagination is only dead if they make it so. Too many people live in the world of "what if i had done this" i try to encourage people that no matter what station of life you are in that there is hope, imagination is real and everyone needs to belong.  

 What are some goals or dreams you have? 

  To finish the broken moon series:) and start another. 

 And do you have any advice for other artists? well for one keep at it, grow a thick skin and draw all the time. Stop watching tv and playing video games - they aren't bad they just take away from an artist time that can be used to create. 

 Other artists you admire?

  jeff smith author of bone, and many others that you find at deviantart. I also admire the work of my uncle, mother and grandmother 

 Your uncle, mother and grandmother are artists too? What do they do? 

  my mother is a painter(china painter) and doll maker- my uncle is a classic car and abstract painter and my great grandmother was an oil painter- though her work is hard to find in the family:) 

 Finally, what is your favorite kind of bear? 

  grizzly 

 Thanks Travis! Support the Bean! Copies of his prints and the Broken Moon book can be purchased at Bean Leaf Press.