QUEEN VICTORIA WAS A BABE

The Young Queen Victoria by  Franz Xavier Winterhalter

Queen Victoria was the hottest thing going when she became the monarch of Great Britain at the age of 18 in 1837. Well, maybe not by today's internet standards, but by the standards of the day she was the most desirable woman in England. She had beautiful doe eyes and a pointed nose, compact cherry lips and a gentle chin. She suffered a gloomy childhood, she was melancholy and pale as milk and a tiny little thing but she was in charge of the mightiest empire the world had ever seen.

``Why Mister Jackson, that is a rather naughty proposal! Let me dismiss the servants and we will explore it further!``

In three years she must have had many suitors. I'm certain I would have taken a run at her if I'd been in the sceptere'd Isle at that time (I was sailing with pirates in the West Indies at the time and we had a very busy schedule). In 1840 she married her first cousin from Germany, Albert.

Well, Babe, you had your chance. If only you`d been willing to wait for your Pirate King to come ashore you wouldn`t have had to settle for your German first cousin.

They had a passel of kids and ruled the empire together until Albert died and the now grey-haired and plump monarch who was "not amused" that most people know her as, went into mourning and never came out of it, despite occasional dalliances with her Scottish manservant, John Brown.


She died in 1901 but it is her birthdate that is celebrated in May here in Canada with a long weekend.


So here I am in the middle of this long weekend. I spent yesterday cleaning out the garage, an odious enough task that had to be done. The result of which is that I was sore and very stiff the next day.

Why do I mention that? Because the next day I had to do a rather large pen-and-ink on paper portrait that I had been commissioned to do. So there I was pacing back and forth in front of this large sheet of paper, putting down careful lines and strokes, all the while my muscles were screaming in agony. And it is a portrait, so I have to be very careful because it has sort of has to resemble the subject (who I have met casually, but don't really know) from two little photographs.


It is one of two portraits that I am working on at the moment. The other has a deadline that I am not going to make, which is adding to my stress.


So this weekend my attention to things has been kind of fractured. I have avoided being online (except for a few emails that were very important) and I could not seem to finish a single thought.


I also took a break to try to see the annular eclipse on Sunday afternoon. Alas the only thing eclipsing the sun in my part of the world was rain clouds. I hope other parts of the world had a better view than I did.

``Oh, yeah, baby. Give me that backwards glance again. You know it drives me wild!

Now, it is because the beautiful Victoria had the foresight to be born on this day, that I am now going to enjoy a whole and complete third day of the weekend. What will I do this day? I do not know. Sleeping is certainly desirable. Perhaps the review of the movie The Raven, which I saw on Thursday, that I have been wanting to get to.


Or maybe I'll just sit around. I do not know. Either way, thank you Victoria, for being born on this day and giving me an extra day to recover from my exertions.

Big kiss, Vicky. Love ya!






I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

GROUCHO

I picked this up at a garage sale a couple of weekends back. It was originally a Christmas ornament but now it sits on my CPU reminding me every day (like I need reminding) not to take life too seriously.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

BRITISH COLUMBIA'S GOVERNMENT KNOWS WHAT'S UP

I'm so glad I live in a country and a province that really cares about the welfare of its citizens.


The British Columbia Emergency Preparedness website has a page dedicated to surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. On it you can find such common sense tips as:

• Tip #1: Ensure your gas tank is always half full.
• Tip #2: Have emergency kits for your home, office and car.

The rest of Canada might think we're crazy, but us BC'ers know better. Stay alert. Stay safe!


You can find out how British Columbia is preparing its citizens for the Zombie Apocalypse here.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

LISTEN TO THE LADY IN THE LAKE

This song has been spooling continuously in my head all day.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SIMPLE PIN-UP

All I've managed to do today. Too much running around throughout the day and the evening is too hot.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

WESTERN WONDER

Kind of a silly drawin', for all you comic book cowpokes out there!


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

THE AVENGERS MOVIE: A SLIGHTLY SPOILERY REVIEW

Honestly, I can't say anything about the film any better than anyone else has said. Nor can I revert to supurlatives to describe how good it is, as many others have done ("Awesome" being the descriptor of choice)

Instead I will merely touch on some of the things that stand out about it for me (and mention a few quibbles).

As others have pointed out Mark Ruffalo makes Bruce Banner interesting and compelling. He's a quiet, calm guy who gets across the idea that he is holding back a beast for the first half of the film without showing the actual transformation. That's the mark of a great actor.


It's was also clever storytelling: having everyone talk about the Hulk (even showing Black Widow afraid of Banner) before showing the transformation.

The Hulk himself is brought to life by Ruffalo (through motion capture) and a great swollen team of effects guys. Nevertheless, the Hulk is believable and even likable.

The Hulk in 3D. 'nuff said.

Chris Evans is plays Captain America as the straight-arrow he is but still makes him interesting. Same goes for Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Great stuff.

Robert Downy Junior as Tony Stark can do no wrong.

Scarlett Johannson gives Black Widow depth and a guarded vulnerability. She also has a fabulous ass.

Scarlett Johannson's ass in 3D. "nuff said.

Jeremy Renner is great, but his transition from Loki-controlled bad guy to being accepted back into the team happened way too fast and with hardly any angst or second-guessing. Weak.

Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill. She's hot, she's from my hometown of Vancouver and she kicks ass like nobody's business. I look forward to seeing more of her, either in The Avengers 2 (or as Wonder Woman if Joss Whedon could work that out).

Nick Fury jumping out of the crashing helicopter? Uh-uh. Nope. I know Samuel L Jackson is a badass but I would believe Captain America or Thor doing that, but not Nick Fury.

Agent Coulson. At the end of the day, he was part of the team.

Loved all the Joss Whedon touches. No one writes or directs an ensemble like Whedon. His dialogue is crisp and snappy and never devolves into cliched non-sequitors. The through line of the story never gets lost.

My favourite line: "That's my secret. I'm always angry." Means nothing out of context but in the context of the story it is amazing.

The triumph of this film, despite the great actors and the visual eye candy, rests with the script. Why is The Avengers so good? Because it is so well written. The balance, the characters, the interplay -- they were all there in the script before all the green screen and the CGI. Great filmmaking starts with great scriptwriting.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

THE AVENGERS

My daughter and I just go back from seeing this tonight.


Without spoiling anything I can tell you that a lot of stuff gets broken.


I'll have a longer review later.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

BLOGGER ATE MY BLOG!

I lost access to my blog. Apparently some "suspicious activity" caused blogger to lock me out of my own blog. Personally I think the "suspicious activity" was blogger wanting me to give them my cell phone number in order to increase the security of my blog.


Perhaps there was "suspicious activity". Perhaps it was all for my own good. Maybe Google has my best interest at heart.


Bullshit! They wanted my cell number so they could try to sell me shit over my phone.


So I gave them my land line number because I don't have a cell phone.


The end result: Several of the comments I made to other blogs disappeared this morning. Oh yeah, and it PISSED ME OFF!


So when Google demands your cell phone number, buy a burner phone. When they text you your verification, chuck the phone and continue blogging.






I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SPACE MAIDEN

Unobscured version here.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SPACEGIRL

Found this picture that I had not finished and decided to finish it.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SIREN

Okay. Slowing down a little bit. This one took me closer to two hours.


I've been looking at a lot of Frank Kelly Freas' art. Kinda shows, doesn't it?


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio