August 28, 2004
Salvaged Friday by staying late and working on a scratchboard of a Tombstone clerk until 6:40. Got some good tones. Getting better at different cloths and skin tones, I think.

Watched part of the director’s comments on Original Sin. They filmed in and around Mexico City. Quite interesting to hear the director tell about finding a museum in the north of Mexico City where they could film a scene on the cheap and double up and not have to use a previous setup or location. You assume they are on an unlimited budget, but as usual, they are scrambling to make it all work. So typical. Can I use this priceless vase from your family in the chase scene we're filming? Thanks. We’ll give you credit in the film. I appreciate you coming down. Sorry we broke it. It never ends. When you break it all down it’s still all about putting on a play in the back yard, isn’t it?

One of Deena’s best friends, Ursula, got a job in Iraq. Tommy was considering going with her because the benefits were so good. The salaries start at $60K and go up to $100K, plus they pay for all your subsistence while you’re there, so you can sock it all away for when you come home. It’s a grand opportunity for bold youngsters. So I read with interest in Time magazine about most businesses in Iraq being headquartered in the “Green Zone,” a heavily barricaded, and militarily guarded area in Baghdad, where almost all of the U.S. businesses work out of. The article also pointed out that terrorists have a $25,000 bounty on “Western women” and that anyone who can capture one and behead her on video gets the reward. I assured Kathy and Deena this has to be where Ursula will be stationed.

Imagine my shock and our collective horror when Deena got an e-mail from Ursula two days ago and she’s in the “Red Zone,” out in the "infidel" world where the chaos and mayhem is 24/7. She has trouble sleeping, although they have trained her on using a machine gun. Ay-yi-yi! I cannot imagine having a kid there in that situation. And this is a girl who lived at home and had trouble sleeping while her parents were in Sedona!

Had a very nice Saturday. Worked on scratchboards, including a couple of Tombstone related images. Getting better at the nuances of negative space.

“Fortune favors Audacious.”
—Erasmus