I get fan mail all the time but I usually just ignore it. Its a chore to answer them all and I just don't have the time. But every so often I get one that I just plain like. I got this one a while ago and I immediately printed it out and hung it on the wall. I find it very profound. Baby balugas indeed. Enjoy:
-----Original Message-----
From: Mona Gagne [mailto:qpnrisjynpsu@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 10:05 AM
To: Ryan Landek
Subject: Where did Ryan go
In the middle of the night, I was walking by the sea, and a baby baluga jumped out from amongst the bushes. SO one day Mr. Gregor exclaimed "Why do skater normals have no preppy either?!?!?!" So I wanted to watched. or Maybe if I wanted to watch it then I had a dream, that countless historian lost their credit but i dont Remember what it was. I don't like you but can I have your autograph. No one wants your autograph so I stated to cry in the pizza shop. Where did Ryan go? He must have moved to Ohio.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Back and Jet Lagged
I've been back for a couple days now, and I can't seem to stay awake past 8:30pm. However, today I took a nap and now it's 11:30pm and I can't sleep! Traveling half-way around the world does things like that to a person. Now that I'm back, I've got tons of pictures to show, but first I'm going to have to sift through them and get captions ready for them. It'll take a couple days if I feel motivated enough.
If any of you aren't aware, there's an awesome online comic strip called Penny Arcade, which has a long history of making comics mostly concerning gaming. Now that the crew over there has teamed up with a company to make a game and that there's going to be some gameplay footage in the near future, so it seems, I'm getting pretty excited.
I'm also excited to start working on Thursday at High Voltage Software. Hopefully I'll get to start working on making Wii games in the not to distant future. Before I do that, I'm going to have to pick up my Master Replica's Darth Vader Lightsaber from my old lab.
-AR
If any of you aren't aware, there's an awesome online comic strip called Penny Arcade, which has a long history of making comics mostly concerning gaming. Now that the crew over there has teamed up with a company to make a game and that there's going to be some gameplay footage in the near future, so it seems, I'm getting pretty excited.
I'm also excited to start working on Thursday at High Voltage Software. Hopefully I'll get to start working on making Wii games in the not to distant future. Before I do that, I'm going to have to pick up my Master Replica's Darth Vader Lightsaber from my old lab.
-AR
Saturday, March 3, 2007
What it's March?
Wow. It's been a couple weeks, already March. I came back several days ago from Puttaparthi, abode of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and I was definitely quite happy with the trip. I was even able to deal with the hot midday's sun. It's starting to get quite warm here, highs of about 93 degrees Fahrenheit in Hyderbad.
A couple days from now I'm going to fly out to Delhi and spend a couple days with Minesh. On the 8th, I'll be flying back home. I think I should arrive around the night of the 9th. I'm quite excited to get back, and start working as I felt like I've been too lazy around here. There's some servants here and I can't really drive on the streets. Plus, I would get lost pretty easily, and public transportation sucks. I don't like the dust that gets kicked up so I'm also not fond of riding on an auto-rickshaw. Fortunately, my cousin's take me out in the evenings every so often, but that still left the days.
One of my cousin's married a girl from the Delhi area, and her younger brother runs an expedition like service. I've seen videos of him riding his motorcycle to some remote places, and it looks really fun. I'm tempted to come back in a couple years to go on one of those excursions.
A couple days from now I'm going to fly out to Delhi and spend a couple days with Minesh. On the 8th, I'll be flying back home. I think I should arrive around the night of the 9th. I'm quite excited to get back, and start working as I felt like I've been too lazy around here. There's some servants here and I can't really drive on the streets. Plus, I would get lost pretty easily, and public transportation sucks. I don't like the dust that gets kicked up so I'm also not fond of riding on an auto-rickshaw. Fortunately, my cousin's take me out in the evenings every so often, but that still left the days.
One of my cousin's married a girl from the Delhi area, and her younger brother runs an expedition like service. I've seen videos of him riding his motorcycle to some remote places, and it looks really fun. I'm tempted to come back in a couple years to go on one of those excursions.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Weddings, Weddings, Weddings...
Lots of stuff's been going on. Minesh got hitched...God help him. Then a few days after we had a double dose of wedding anniversaries prior to love birds day.
The first was at my cousin-in-law's farm house, and I was surprised. Not surprised by the decorations, the dance floor, the dancers for Bollywood film songs, or my impromptu dancing. I was surprised be the newly built buildings because it's been only about a year or two since I was at the farm house. All of a sudden there a buildings that sell steel rods, saris and other goods. What's also surprising is that the buildings look like they've been up there since the mid-80's. There's quite a bit of dust now. It's before the monsoon, which means we're in the dry season. That dust seems to really make some buildings look a bit weathered. What they need around here is more trees and grass.
The second was much smaller, 50 people whereas the first had about 100, and was held at a resort of sorts. It was really nice, very green, lots of green ... yeah.. even the signs were green. We spent the night there, and during the festivities I was dancing like a fool again. While fun, I think I impressed quite a few aunties to go searching for a wife for me.
Yes... people are trying to get me setup, or at least make me consider getting married soon. I have a three year plan, dammit! I'm gonna try to get a place of my own by then! That's my usual response, which I deliver in a usually laughable manner. But seriously...I have a plan. More like goal, but if I say goal then they just say add another goal to my list within the three years.
The first was at my cousin-in-law's farm house, and I was surprised. Not surprised by the decorations, the dance floor, the dancers for Bollywood film songs, or my impromptu dancing. I was surprised be the newly built buildings because it's been only about a year or two since I was at the farm house. All of a sudden there a buildings that sell steel rods, saris and other goods. What's also surprising is that the buildings look like they've been up there since the mid-80's. There's quite a bit of dust now. It's before the monsoon, which means we're in the dry season. That dust seems to really make some buildings look a bit weathered. What they need around here is more trees and grass.
The second was much smaller, 50 people whereas the first had about 100, and was held at a resort of sorts. It was really nice, very green, lots of green ... yeah.. even the signs were green. We spent the night there, and during the festivities I was dancing like a fool again. While fun, I think I impressed quite a few aunties to go searching for a wife for me.
Yes... people are trying to get me setup, or at least make me consider getting married soon. I have a three year plan, dammit! I'm gonna try to get a place of my own by then! That's my usual response, which I deliver in a usually laughable manner. But seriously...I have a plan. More like goal, but if I say goal then they just say add another goal to my list within the three years.
Monday, February 5, 2007
The week to come
So, I've recovered pretty quickly thanks to some antibiotics and a tylenol like item. I've been hearing that the weather is still below 0 degrees windchill in Chicago. Odd as it may sound, I kinda miss it. Of course the weather here is nice, but after staying in San Jose for about 3 months I don't want to get to soft. I'm not complaining... ok maybe I am.
My friend Minesh is getting ready to get married. There's going to be some party tonight, rituals in the morning with a cocktail party tomorrow night. Finally, the main event is on the 7th. I'll make sure to charge up my camera and post pictures from the big day. From that day on, he will be a man who has confused bondage with love. When that day comes for me, please someone, make sure to remind me what the hell I'll be getting into.
Unexpected as it may seem, we have ESPN here, which happens to be tailored to the Indian audience with cricket and football (aka soccer in the States). Luckily I woke up in time to catch the last quarter of Super Bowl Xtra Large, Incomprehensibly soo... (guess that didn't work). Unluckily, a valid word as far as I care at this moment, Chicago lost. Woe is the fan that thought our offense would rock in comparison the man who has a Bears Hall of Famer's last name as his first. I actually had hopes of there being a possible two touchdown rush, but when an incompletion call happened on a 4th down with around 5 minutes left in the game, I knew I should move on. Hope went to despair to hope again, for the next year. Here's hoping we don't loose our defensive coordinator to the Cowboys, or loose any one really.
My friend Minesh is getting ready to get married. There's going to be some party tonight, rituals in the morning with a cocktail party tomorrow night. Finally, the main event is on the 7th. I'll make sure to charge up my camera and post pictures from the big day. From that day on, he will be a man who has confused bondage with love. When that day comes for me, please someone, make sure to remind me what the hell I'll be getting into.
Unexpected as it may seem, we have ESPN here, which happens to be tailored to the Indian audience with cricket and football (aka soccer in the States). Luckily I woke up in time to catch the last quarter of Super Bowl Xtra Large, Incomprehensibly soo... (guess that didn't work). Unluckily, a valid word as far as I care at this moment, Chicago lost. Woe is the fan that thought our offense would rock in comparison the man who has a Bears Hall of Famer's last name as his first. I actually had hopes of there being a possible two touchdown rush, but when an incompletion call happened on a 4th down with around 5 minutes left in the game, I knew I should move on. Hope went to despair to hope again, for the next year. Here's hoping we don't loose our defensive coordinator to the Cowboys, or loose any one really.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
India week 1
Well, I suppose a week hasn't passed yet, but I can say that not everything has been pleasant. Couple nights ago I had a fever of 103 degrees, and after taking antibiotics and stuff I've come down to normal. My eldest cousin is a nice guy, but he's being a little pushy.
Other than that, things should pick up. Have to get ready for my friend's wedding in a couple days. All the while trying to avoid getting setup myself. I should probably take some pills to deal with malaria and such as I'll be heading out to more rural areas soon, where there may be mosquitoes. Fortunately out here in Hyderbad, I haven't seen many. I actually got sick because my nephew was coughing directly on my face several times while I held him up. Yeah, I got sick from a kid, but traveling to the other side of the world doesn't do too well on your immune system. Nor does visiting a foreign land in general help.
Other than that, things should pick up. Have to get ready for my friend's wedding in a couple days. All the while trying to avoid getting setup myself. I should probably take some pills to deal with malaria and such as I'll be heading out to more rural areas soon, where there may be mosquitoes. Fortunately out here in Hyderbad, I haven't seen many. I actually got sick because my nephew was coughing directly on my face several times while I held him up. Yeah, I got sick from a kid, but traveling to the other side of the world doesn't do too well on your immune system. Nor does visiting a foreign land in general help.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Where's my damn tablet!?
I unpacked and my tablet is somewhere in my house. The reason why I haven't put up my sketch yet! I'm sure I'll find it, and find out my dad put it somewhere that seemed reasonable at the time. It's not like we have a big house, but we have clutter. When I come back from India in March, I'm going to clean this place up!
So, on the side I've been catching up with my friends, getting a little drunk and the usual reminiscing of the past. Still more of that to do, not the getting drunk part that is. So if you want any gifts while I'm in India, post a comment, and I will try to accommodate.
So, on the side I've been catching up with my friends, getting a little drunk and the usual reminiscing of the past. Still more of that to do, not the getting drunk part that is. So if you want any gifts while I'm in India, post a comment, and I will try to accommodate.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
I'm Home!
So I spent another day with my dad on Monday, and I think I had enough of hanging out with my dad. We went to Alcatraz Island, which is a National Park now, and I highly recommend it. Especially the audio tour.
I flew in on Tuesday, and just hung around the house, transferring all my Bleach fansubs from my laptop to my desktop. But now, I've already got to get ready to go to India on the 30th. In the meantime, I intend to do some catching up with people, including karate. I went to karate today, and I'm beat. Gotta work on getting rid of the fat along my sides :P
Tomorrow, I'm going to do some sketching, so be ready!
I flew in on Tuesday, and just hung around the house, transferring all my Bleach fansubs from my laptop to my desktop. But now, I've already got to get ready to go to India on the 30th. In the meantime, I intend to do some catching up with people, including karate. I went to karate today, and I'm beat. Gotta work on getting rid of the fat along my sides :P
Tomorrow, I'm going to do some sketching, so be ready!
Probably should have introduced myself
Greeting and salutations. I'm Ryan. Arun and I met at UIC. We made a webcomic called Oddballs for a few months a few years ago. I just moved my website (landek.com) to GoDaddy and haven't gotten a chance to reupload Oddballs so...I can't link to it. I thought it had promise. But we were both to busy so it kinda faded away. I had some guest artists draw a few of my panels (including myself. stick figures! yikes.) but it was too hard.
ANYWAY, Arun invited me to post on his blog and so I have. Not sure if I supposed to fit a theme but that previous post was my latest "bit" that I've been mulling over in my head for a few days. There it is in the flesh. Yes I aspire to be a stand-up comedian. I've even graduated from the Second City writing program. But, alas, being a Network Administrator pays slightly more. Maybe someday.
ANYWAY, Arun invited me to post on his blog and so I have. Not sure if I supposed to fit a theme but that previous post was my latest "bit" that I've been mulling over in my head for a few days. There it is in the flesh. Yes I aspire to be a stand-up comedian. I've even graduated from the Second City writing program. But, alas, being a Network Administrator pays slightly more. Maybe someday.
Silly Yogurt People
Have you noticed the proliferation of yogurt-based products?
I’ve seen several ads for this product called Yo-J. Have you seen this? It’s like some sort of yogurt/orange juice hybrid?
Now I’m not one of those yippie-dippy smoothie drinking people but I can’t imagine ever having a desire to drink this product. Never in my life have I been eating yogurt and drinking orange juice and thought to my...actually, I’ve never eaten yogurt and drank OJ at the same time ever but…even if I had at some point, I can’t imagine saying, “Man. I’m really going to have to mix these together before I can continue.”
Or how about this one: Go-gurt. It’s yogurt in a squeezie tube for people who need their yogurt on the go. Seriously. How long does it take to eat a cup of yogurt? A yogurt cup is what? 2 spoonfuls….maybe 3 if you scrape the bottom and sides? Who doesn’t have time for this? I’d like to meet the person who has a job that prohibits them from spending that much time eating yogurt. Here. Watch how long it takes for me to eat a cup of yogert. Time me.
Ok. Go in the fridge here and grab my yogurt.
Over to the spoon drawer to get my spoon.
Alright. Lets open the top here……man these are hard to open……ok. There.
Scoop 1. Mmmmm…..
Scoop 2. That’s good. Man I wish I had some OJ.
*scrape* *scrape* Scoop 3….
Done!
How long was that? 30 seconds? I don’t get it.
I’ve seen several ads for this product called Yo-J. Have you seen this? It’s like some sort of yogurt/orange juice hybrid?
Now I’m not one of those yippie-dippy smoothie drinking people but I can’t imagine ever having a desire to drink this product. Never in my life have I been eating yogurt and drinking orange juice and thought to my...actually, I’ve never eaten yogurt and drank OJ at the same time ever but…even if I had at some point, I can’t imagine saying, “Man. I’m really going to have to mix these together before I can continue.”
Or how about this one: Go-gurt. It’s yogurt in a squeezie tube for people who need their yogurt on the go. Seriously. How long does it take to eat a cup of yogurt? A yogurt cup is what? 2 spoonfuls….maybe 3 if you scrape the bottom and sides? Who doesn’t have time for this? I’d like to meet the person who has a job that prohibits them from spending that much time eating yogurt. Here. Watch how long it takes for me to eat a cup of yogert. Time me.
Ok. Go in the fridge here and grab my yogurt.
Over to the spoon drawer to get my spoon.
Alright. Lets open the top here……man these are hard to open……ok. There.
Scoop 1. Mmmmm…..
Scoop 2. That’s good. Man I wish I had some OJ.
*scrape* *scrape* Scoop 3….
Done!
How long was that? 30 seconds? I don’t get it.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Day with Dad 2...
Wow... what a long day. I got up at 7am so that my dad and I would have enough time to get ready and pick up my friends from work. I think he was still confused with the time zone difference and was still groggy, which surprised me because Chicago is 2 hours ahead.
My father, two friends and I left for Monterey Aquarium in Monterey, CA. It took about an hour and a half to get there, plus we parked a little walk away from the aquarium. It was nice, and a good change of scenery for my dad. While Santa Clara & San Jose county is nice, it's still a giant suburb like Naperville, IL. Monterey is by the coast. We got there in time to see live penguin feeding, and then we went to the other side of the aquarium and saw the live fish feeding. If you've never seen tuna in real life, let me tell you... they can get FREAKIN' HUGE! There were tuna in there that were purportedly more than 400 lbs! Can you imagine how many cans that tuna would be turned into! It's amazing. What's also amazing is the Sunfish. This weird, slow as fish that in the wild eat slow ass jellyfish. Speaking of jellyfish, there were many tanks of them and the lighting was such that they expected people to be taking pictures to be the new desktop wallpaper of the month.
After the aquarium we searched around for a sports bar, but we eventually just got too hungry and went into a restaurant by the shore. Fortunately there was a t.v. in there, and we started to watch the Bears' play the NFC championship. And they kicked ass. Sorry New Orleans.
Following the feast, we took our time getting to Santa Cruz, and the nice beach they have. There was also a great sunset. Eventually we started to head home, and made a stop by to visit a family friend that was moving out to Texas. Now, I'm home and I'm exhausted. It's time to go to sleep... today Monterey... tomorrow San Francisco. I'm actually not looking forward to it. I don't know why, I'm just not.
Great, my dad is snoring.
My father, two friends and I left for Monterey Aquarium in Monterey, CA. It took about an hour and a half to get there, plus we parked a little walk away from the aquarium. It was nice, and a good change of scenery for my dad. While Santa Clara & San Jose county is nice, it's still a giant suburb like Naperville, IL. Monterey is by the coast. We got there in time to see live penguin feeding, and then we went to the other side of the aquarium and saw the live fish feeding. If you've never seen tuna in real life, let me tell you... they can get FREAKIN' HUGE! There were tuna in there that were purportedly more than 400 lbs! Can you imagine how many cans that tuna would be turned into! It's amazing. What's also amazing is the Sunfish. This weird, slow as fish that in the wild eat slow ass jellyfish. Speaking of jellyfish, there were many tanks of them and the lighting was such that they expected people to be taking pictures to be the new desktop wallpaper of the month.
After the aquarium we searched around for a sports bar, but we eventually just got too hungry and went into a restaurant by the shore. Fortunately there was a t.v. in there, and we started to watch the Bears' play the NFC championship. And they kicked ass. Sorry New Orleans.
Following the feast, we took our time getting to Santa Cruz, and the nice beach they have. There was also a great sunset. Eventually we started to head home, and made a stop by to visit a family friend that was moving out to Texas. Now, I'm home and I'm exhausted. It's time to go to sleep... today Monterey... tomorrow San Francisco. I'm actually not looking forward to it. I don't know why, I'm just not.
Great, my dad is snoring.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Time with dad... day one
I picked up my dad from the airport today. He was pretty surprised by the nice weather here, which didn't surprise me. We spent some time hanging out and I took him to a nearby sushi place. It was his first time and it was entertaining watching him try to eat sushi with chopsticks. These were really good, easy to use chopsticks too, as far as I know.
Afterwards we went to downtown San Josa, via the VTA. I figured it would be a nice way for him to see some more of the area while riding on the train. So after we got there we basically took our time walking around because downtown San Jose is teeny. When I looked at the city map and saw blocks, I always confused myself in thinking they were Chicago sized blocks, but they are not even close. That or maybe it was because I wasn't wearing ankle weights all day long, so it didn't feel long. Yeah I've been wearing 5 lbs. on each leg. I even played some basketball with them on, for about 30 minutes.
At the end of the day, my dad and I went to the Improv. We had some good food for dinner, including a generously portioned Improv nachos, and ended by watching three comedians from the "Young Comedians" tour. The tour is lead by a Mike Young, and they were all pretty funny. I grabbed Mike Young's comedy CD at the end of the night. The great thing about the night, aside from being seated up front by the stage, was that my father was laughing more than I was.
Afterwards we went to downtown San Josa, via the VTA. I figured it would be a nice way for him to see some more of the area while riding on the train. So after we got there we basically took our time walking around because downtown San Jose is teeny. When I looked at the city map and saw blocks, I always confused myself in thinking they were Chicago sized blocks, but they are not even close. That or maybe it was because I wasn't wearing ankle weights all day long, so it didn't feel long. Yeah I've been wearing 5 lbs. on each leg. I even played some basketball with them on, for about 30 minutes.
At the end of the day, my dad and I went to the Improv. We had some good food for dinner, including a generously portioned Improv nachos, and ended by watching three comedians from the "Young Comedians" tour. The tour is lead by a Mike Young, and they were all pretty funny. I grabbed Mike Young's comedy CD at the end of the night. The great thing about the night, aside from being seated up front by the stage, was that my father was laughing more than I was.
End of days...
So it's my last few days out here in San Jose. My dad's coming to visit, which is good because he's never left the Chicago area for about 10 years now. He really needs a vacation. I'll be taking pictures and posting them up. He's over 50, so if we're at home and he's taking a nap, I'll just do some doodling.
More to come.
More to come.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
To art...
Ok, so I used to do some blogging and I gave up mainly cause I don't think people were actually reading it. Much to my surprise, some people were. However, that blog is discontinued because the premise was that I was located in San Jose, CA, but now I am headed back home. That being said, it's time to start a new blog.
Since I happen to have a nice Wacom tablet, which I hope to upgrade with a tablet PC or a Wacom Cintique monitor, I will start posting my doodles. I used to do a lot of drawing, and some of it is visible here.
More to come... end transmission.
Since I happen to have a nice Wacom tablet, which I hope to upgrade with a tablet PC or a Wacom Cintique monitor, I will start posting my doodles. I used to do a lot of drawing, and some of it is visible here.
More to come... end transmission.
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