Ice-Cream Monster Toon Cafe

John Ernst Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) is one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. A winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, he wrote the novella Of Mice and Men (1937) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1940), both of which examine the lives of the working class and the migrant worker during the Great Depression. He was known by many as a regionalist, naturalist, mystic, and proletarian writer. He was also respected for his empathy for the migrant workers of the time.He incorporated many Monterey County and Monterey Bay area locations in his writing.

Top: Fisherman's Wharf

Bottom: Monterey Bay Aquarium (Octopus and Kelp forest) I love Kelp forest. Get to visit Catalina Island few years ago and see kelp forest in its nature environment, it's breathtaking!! Wildlife behind cages or tanks, aren't going to look as wonderous as in their nature habitat ... but still ... one doesn't get to see a giant kelp forest everyday. I love to take extra time in front of the Kelp tank at aquariums.

Wooo ... I saw the the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. That fish is amazing and very strange. I get so facinated with this fish, so I go on-line and research about it some more. It's the largest bony fish in the world!! Not surprise, that one I saw in the Aquarium is GIGANTIC!! Look like an UFO!! It is a unique pelagic fish, and specimens of ocean sunfish have been observed up to 3.3 m (11 ft) in length and weighing up to 2,300 kg (5,100 lb).

I take a little road trip from Los Angeles to Monterey Bay county over the weekends. This is my first time explore driving up the coast line of California. It's a wonderful trip, the pacific coast line is gorgeous. Sceneries changes with each twist and turn of the road.

I was worry a 5 hour drive could be stressful, but on the contrary, I feel re-energized and inspired by the experience.

The Ancients believe "Men are the center of the Universe ..." We keep the universe the way it is!!

By Newton's time, we realize ... well ... it's really not a good news to have a whale drop on top of you ... with the G force and all ... you can get smashed pretty badly ...

In the early 20th century, Einstein redefined Gravity with Relativity ... Gravity isn't an energy force afterall ...

It's the density of mass bending space and time around it. Year passed ...

My old car was dying earlier this year, so end up I have to get a new car - left is the drawing of it. Err ... the drawing doesn't exactly ... represented the car very well ... Brr ... One of those bad drawing days ... HE ! HE!! Anyway, I always dream to take a little road trip along the beautiful pacific coast of California, but never dare to do it, cause I don't trust my old little car could handle the challenge.

2007 is the Year of the Red Fire Pig. The year of the pig also ends the 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. The Branch sequence order is Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog and Pig. Stem and Branch are used together to form a cycle of 60 counting systems which begin with Wooden Rat and end with Water Pig. From 1924 to 1983 is a complete cycle. Year 2007 is Female Fire Pig , the 24th of the Stem-Branch in the system.

This weekends is Chinese New Year ... start day dreaming about dim sum and yummy food ... HE ! HE!! Top piece is drawn while working out at the Santa Monica staircases.

These are the last two pages of the entire Asian trip sketches. The top piece is a painting at the Huang Shan mountain. The translated name of that particular mountain top means "Golden fish carrying a golden turtle," cause the shape of the mountain top shape like a giant fish, and there's a funky big rock sitting on top of the seemingly flat mountain top ... so that rock was named to be the turtle. Left is a drawing of Song town.

A little twisted version of Tennyson's poem - Lady of Shalott - one of my favourite Tennyson's.

The little pink bunny is the Lady in my story. But in my version, she has a different curse. Being the fairest maiden of the land, a jealous wicked witch put an evil curse on her. When others see her, they wouldn't see her as a radiant lovely lady, but a big scary ugly crocodile. This becomes a big problem when you live in a bunny country ... everyone is scary of her.