Jephyr Posts Third MCC Declare Success Your Major Video

Hi again,

Working Towards Two Degrees

As you may already know, I've been slowly working towards both Fine Art and Digital Illustration Degrees at Mesa Community College, taking one or two classes a semester.  

Initially I was only enrolling in courses that interested me...and wasn't honestly looking for anything else.  I primarily just wanted to learn about computers and computer art, and study fine art techniques.

But more recently I've discovered that I had taken most of the core classes for those two areas of study and have gotten serious about finishing up, and from now on will concentrate on only classes that apply to those tracks.

It'll be good to put a period on both programs and then if I want to continue taking classes I can just go back to taking what interests me.

Video Competition:  Newest Video Posted At Bottom

Over the last few years MCC has hosted a video competition for enrolled students.  I entered in 2011 for both the spring and fall semester and won 1st and 2nd places respectively.

The idea behind the contest is to promote the school...which isn't hard for me to do because I've had a very good experience there and think it's an excellent opportunity for prospective students.

Here's my first place video from spring 2005:




Two weeks ago an instructor told me the contest was going to be held again this semester and sugggested I begin working on a video and so I started putting one together right away.

Last week I received an e-mail from the school saying that the contest was "officially" on.

I began working in earnest then and put in a number of hours...and was approximately two thirds of the way to having it finished.

Then on Monday of this week I received word that the school hadn't been able to secure funding for the contest and would have to cancel it.

I was disappointed...but they also indicated that they knew a few of us had already been creating our videos...and that MCC was willing to buy them.

But only IF they were finished by Wednesday!!

Now that was an offer I couldn't refuse...so I quickly finished my video...changing a few things I had planned (like a voice over) so it could be completed on time and had it posted late Tuesday evening. 

So far it appears I was the only one to take them up on their challenge. 

Here's the result of those efforts:




Wednesday, when I went to school I was paid in cash!!! 

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!  : ) 

Later I thought to myself:   “Any day I can make money from my art (including videos etc) is a good day”!

Thank you for stopping by!

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Stop by Jephyr.com to see more of my artwork and photography!

Stung By A Scorpion! FINALLY!!

Hello!

You might be wondering about the title of this post:  Stung By A Scorpion!  FINALLY!!  

Finally??  Really??

Allow me to explain:

Living in the Phoenix area you quickly realize your ARE going to have several varieties of uninvited house-guests...and among them are Arizona bark scorpions.

Bark Scorpion - Photo: Brian Basgen, Sahuarita, AZ
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

I have two cats...and they have really kept the critter count down in my home and fortunately, I've read that cats are immune to scorpion stings.

But since moving here 16 years ago I've seen a number of scorpions inside...and if the cats didn't get to them first, I quickly help send them on their way to scorpion heaven.

Up until recently I even kept a jar that I would put them in as sort of a macabre way of keeping track of how many I'd thus encountered...AND it was over half full.  (including a few "deceased-by-my-hand" black widow spiders who'd also dared make their residence here)


So...you must be thinking Phoenix sounds like a terrible place to live!

Well........since we've just gone through numerous 114 degree days this summer accompanied by unusually high humidly...throw in a few scorpions and black widows...and I might be a little less enamored with desert living myself right now!!

; )   

Anyway...back to our scorpion tale  < Pun intended : )

I figured I'd probably be stung by a scorpion sooner or later.  Almost everyone you meet here has a story about a family member or friend who's been stung...or their own brush with destiny.

Over the years, I even considered just allowing one to sting me to get it over with...but always decided it'd be better to wait and let fate choose the day and hour.

Well...the waiting is over!

This evening I was walking barefooted into the kitchen and felt a very sharp pain on the bottom length of my 4th toe.

I've stepped on slivers of broken glass, or little thorns that find their way into the carpet...so I wasn't sure what had just happened.

It was a bit dark so I turned on some bright lights to investigate and right where I'd been walking was a scorpion that I immediately dispatched to meet it's ancestors.
 

Acrylic Painting:  "Fear" - Copyright 2007, Jephyr

I'd finally been stung! 

For a moment, it crossed my mind that some people go into anaphylactic shock...but reassured myself that as a kid in Colorado I'd been stung by so many bees over the summers...that I'd surely built up some kind of immunity.

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Now:  At least 3 hours have passed since being stung...and I can still really feel it.
 

Although, I've been bitten by red ants before and would put this below that on the pain chart.  OTOH it is much worse than those Colorado bee stings administered to me as a child.

There is still tingling and a steady but bearable pain just on that toe.  Some people report swelling but I haven't experienced any of that yet.

So now when people gather in darkened corners of rooms to talk in hushed tones about being stung...I can nod my head knowingly and officially say I too have felt the scorpions wrath...and have lived to tell the tale.

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NOTE:  While I've written somewhat humorously (I hope) about this experience...some people do have stronger reactions to scorpion stings.

Bark Scorpion Photo:
Musides (Public Domain) 

If so....usually more severe symptoms will happen within minutes.  This may include vision problems, muscle twitching, a racing heart, etc.  

So if you or someone you know is stung...and begin to have conditions worse than I've described...contact emergency help immediately.

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What To Do If You Are Stung By A Scorpion is a good resource for more information.

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Thank you as always for looking in on my corner of the world!

Please visit Jephyr.com for more examples of my artwork and photography.

Arizona's Salt River: Lotza Buzzards!

Hi,

Yesterday I drove up the Bush Highway in the east end of the Phoenix Valley.  I was planning to take some photos at various locations along the way.

It had been a while since I'd been up there....and was sad to find that you now must have a permit in almost EVERY place there is to park.

In addition, there are now very few places the "powers that be" allow you to just pull off the road.

There are signs everywhere saying no parking and going on about fines and permits and violations.

SHESH!!!

It is VERY sad to me.

Oh well...times change I guess.

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Dust Storm:

I did manage to stop at the Great Western Trail Head of the Tonto National Forrest...and video tape a huge dust storm that blew in.

I may post that sometime...but because I was right down in it...the video just looks like a brown cloud for a lot of it!  : )

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Lotza Vultures - Oh My:

Later, as I drove back down into the Valley and passed through the "Lower Salt" I saw at least a dozen or more vultures flying in the sky.

I pulled over and snapped as many images as I could and will post some of the better ones here.

Taking these images did drive home the FACT that I need a longer lens.

Although as you can see after a while they started to drift further and further away...initially they were right over my head and fairly close to the ground.

I had my normally amazing Cannon 24-105 mm zoomed in all the way...but in the original photos the buzzards look like they are miles away.  So I had to "crop in" on all of these...and they are not as "clear and focussed" as I would've liked.

DADDY needs a new lens!!

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All in all, though, it was a great day!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Please visit Jephyr.com to see more of my art-work and photography.