... well, the best 1000, really. I finally decided to just go with a photo show of all the things I had happen in China last year since I don't know if I'll have the time to finish writing about them. Here's the link: http://www.zzzptm.com/china2006/default.asp. Day 1 is my trip up, not a lot there except for the great shot of the wall outside my window. Days 2-5 are Beijing, Days 6-the first half of 8 are Nanjing, and the rest are Shanghai - except Day 12 which includes the trip home. My favorite set is 10a, a great round of night shots in Shanghai. They're really bright and fun at the end of the shoot.

For most of these, Day 4 and afterward, I used a Canon A530 I purchased in China because I lost my camera just after all the Day 3 pics. Day 3a shots were taken by a friend in China, which is why I'm in all but one of them.

If you need stories to go with the pictures, feel free to email me and I'll say a few syllables about them. Hope you enjoy these!

I've been working at dreaming more effectively, something known as lucid dreaming. It's a state of sleep in which one knows one is dreaming and is able to control how the dream goes. It's very enjoyable and I had a great one last night.

I managed to dream that I was flying, always a great sort of dream, and one of the easiest things to do in a lucid dream. But last night I also made myself invisible - nobody could see me as I swooped all around the place, above trees and between buildings. When I landed, I went into my car and every time I tapped the roof, the song on my stereo changed. That was hilarious.

The most exciting dream series I had, though, occurred earlier this year when I imagined a city of peace in which everyone could do things that made themselves truly happy. We all moved with joy in that city, and did great works of art: one artist managed to create a tree with metal strands running through it that could conduct electricity in marvelous patterns and colors when current ran through it. It was truly beautiful, and I felt it in my heart.

When I control my dreams, I try to use them to explore ideas impossible on this world at present, to see what would happen if ever humans lived without the taint of evil. It could be so beautiful, and I have seen it.

115 Civil War Videos

I'm not going to link all of them here, for what should be obvious reasons. But if you're interested in the Civil War, these are going to be fun for you. I flub a few names and dates, but correct myself in other videos. Popular ones include "Appomattox Blooper" and "Gettysburg 8". Some are serious, some are funny, all are done for free and are dedicated to the kids in Academic Decathlon... and my family.

As I finish off editing and uploading the videos from the Civil War trip, I did a few drawings from the world of Rock and Roll and plan to do more as a series. Here's one and the rest are linked off the visual arts part of the "Stuff" page.