Inklings

Category: Inktober

  • The Spitter

    spitter

  • It’s Almost Here…

    The cool, crisp air of autumn wafts the scent of dry leaves, pumpkin spice and Sharpie ink. It can only mean one thing…

  • InkTober Ends

    Inktober31
    As my first InkTober ‘draws’ to a close, the Trick-or-Treaters continue to shiver to my door. I hope you enjoyed the past thirty-one days as much as I have. Thanks to Jake Parker for the challenge and to all who followed, shared and commented on my daily drawings. It was a lot of fun. InkTober may have passed, but Inklings will continue to live on (sorry, haters and hiders). Stay tuned for the occasional entry in the virtual sketchbook. Until next time, Happy Halloween!

  • American Gothic

    poeI remember the first time I read The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. It was one of the only times I can recall reading poetry that was so macabre. I can still hear Mr. Theilen’s voice reading Annabel Lee emphatically to our seventh grade English class. As a freshman, I uncovered The Cask of Amantillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. As successful as his works are today, it’s interesting to learn how financially distressed his life actually was as one of the first full-time American writers.

  • Magister

    axtmann
    Once in a while I reminisce about my school days and think about those teachers in my life who most inspired me to learn. Ed Axtmann was one such teacher. His deep baritone, rumbled along with a hint of old country German as he recited countless verb conjugations in Latin. He was an animated presence, often stooping low and taking deep steps as he marched around the front of the classroom holding his hardwood chalkboard pointer. Occasionally he would burst out in a fit of mock anger and slam that pointer onto the desktop of some unsuspecting student, uttering a German phrase that I can only transpose as ‘deuter gewitter, loci mol’. To this day I don’t know what the literal translation is but he often assured us that it was Bavarian profanity and was best said to mean ‘thunderstorm’.

    If I learned anything in his class, it was to be prepared for anything. Participation was something Mr. Axtmann expected and the fact that we didn’t know when we would be called to participate was especially unnerving. To make Fate a major player in our education he often utilized Pandora’s Box, which was nothing more than an old Sucrets tin that held a small collection of red paperboard bingo disks. Each disk had been inscribed with a number in felt tip pen and represented a student in the classroom. Axtmann would allow a random student to choose from Pandora’s Box, and when the (un)lucky number was read aloud, that student would get to translate – ready, or not – a passage of Latin for the rest of the class.
    Pandora's Box

    I was reminded time and again by many friends that took Spanish or German that my three years of Latin were a waste of a foreign language. ‘It’s a dead language,’ they would say. Maybe. But I would remind them that Latin is the root of many languages, including English. Thanks to Ed Axtmann and my studies in Latin I have a pretty good handle on the English language. It not only improved my spelling habits, but has been tremendously helpful in deciphering difficult vocabulary. Above all, Ed taught me the importance of having passion for what you’re teaching.

    Mr. Axtmann, Magister, you made a difference. Thank you.

  • Royals Make Giants Look Small

    giantsThe Series returned to Kansas City tonight – in more ways than one. After three hours and twenty-one minutes of baseball, the Royals shut out San Francisco with ten unanswered runs. Admittedly I felt the Royals would be the underdogs in this contest, but with a fired up hometown crowd, Game 7 will prove to be an extraordinary one.

  • Three degrees of Rob Lowe

    robloweThe latest string of DirecTV spots featuring Rob Lowe tap into some scary side effects of an actor who just has cable. Lowe’s personification of each of these characters would not be complete without costume and makeup. For this reason I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some ‘Less Attractive’, ‘Super Creepy’ or ‘Painfully Awkward’ Rob Lowes out and about this Halloween.

  • Homework

    backpackIt could be a bit of an exaggeration, but lifting my eldest’s backpack could be considered a rep in cross-training. Since the new high school policy — if you’re not a freshman — is ‘you don’t get a locker unless you request one’ he’s essentially lugging his locker on his back to every class.

  • Dreamers

    mittyOne of my family’s favorite movies of late would have to be Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Aside from a catchy soundtrack, the story is inspiring and motivational. I think one of the central themes of the film is that it’s okay to dream, but until you start moving forward with a plan to accomplish your dreams, that’s all they’ll ever be.

  • Gored Gourds

    carverOnce the pumpkins are gutted, everyone craves the carve. We have four orange canvases that will be creatively transformed at some point this week. Every year I aspire to create something more Ray Villafane, but end up with a standard, three-holed lantern with a slightly unpleasant expression.