Wildfires

Dear regular readers,

If you have read my short bio to the right, you have seen that I am a California resident--Northern California to be exact. And I have been affected by the horrific, unprecedented wildfires that are raging throughout our state.

The last several days of postings were ones I wrote and scheduled last week, before the destruction began. I have been displaced from my home and my neighborhood, and we as well as an enormous portion of Northern California are under mandatory evacuation, not allowed to return until an all clear has been given by Cal Fire and government authorities.

Because of this, I am taking a little break from the blog--as well as my career and most of my life--to reserve my mental and emotional energy in order to check the status of my home, monitor the fires, and track the daily progress. Seems like things are moving in a good direction, but it could be up to 2 weeks before I am back in my home, if I have one to return to, knock wood. We are worried and frightened but hopefully soon I will be knocking the wood of my own home with joy and relief.

Of course my thoughts and utter empathy are with those whose homes are destroyed.

Stand by, and if you have a spare burst of mental energy, send it our way and envision the fire getting smaller and smaller...

JEF

PS: I have some sporadic posts already written and queued up starting September 1st. I will let you all know when I am officially back and safe.

The Charming Animation of Mattijn Franssen

These charming, odd, short animated films by Mattijn Franssen (accompanied by his original songs) are populated by quirky people and monsters, and are full of love, loss, humor, and yearning.

http://www.mattijn.com/index.htm

S.A.D.? There's a pill for that...

Suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? Take one of these...

Fun, if-only design from Vaulot&Dyvère.

http://www.vaulotdyevre.com/

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Stewart Hendler's beautiful short film "The Closet."