Reading List Addition

A friend of mine who is a writer highly recommends the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. She says it is one of the best books she has read on the ups and downs of becoming a writer. Last week I obtained a copy for myself. I hope to read it soon. In advance, I read some reviews of the book. One reviewer had this to say:

"I used to write and then I took some time away from it, and someone suggested this book to me to inspire me. It did exactly the opposite. Lamott makes writing sound like passing a kidney stone..." 

On a more positive note, another reviewer said:

"This may be the single best book I have ever read in my entire life. It is helping me get my work done, on a daily basis; it helped me see where I do fit in life (my niche); and it helped me see how utterly not alone I am. It's a wonderful thing."

Here's hoping my read falls in line with the second reviewer and not the first. ;) The image above is art by M. C. Escher, Sun and Moon, 1948.

Appendix Entry: Rothi-En

Rothi-En, the homeworld of the Rothi, is a moon which orbits the planet Manta. Rothi-En has a diameter of 658 miles (1059 km). By comparison, the Earth's Moon has a diameter of 2,160 miles (3,476 km) while the largest known asteroid in the solar system is 592 miles (952 km) across. From space, the Rothi Moon appears emerald green due to the vegetation which covers its land masses. One third of the moon is covered by water and substantial amounts of water also exist below the surface. Rolling grasslands predominate the central latitudes of Rothi-En. In the southern latitudes tropical forests are common, while in the north are mountainous regions encircling a large polar ice cap.

Sources of Inspiration

When I first began drawing Spacemouse 9, several characters served as inspiration for the design of his space suit. From Star Wars' stormtroopers I took the idea of a  suit built of a white plastic-like armor. From the video game character Megaman I took the idea of bulky boots which contain jet thrusters (in other drawings of Spacemouse the boots became much larger than the early drawing shown here). Finally, from Major Matt Mason toys I took the idea of a space suit with flexible rubber joints.