Fire Monkey's Retreat


Open Directory Project at dmoz.org

Welcome to my retreat; please feel free to look around and enjoy yourself. I only ask that you read the following statement so that we don't run into any misunderstandings:

All art and creative work on this site is copyright by me except where I say otherwise, however you may freely view, download, and/or share it with others provided that you do not alter it or try to represent it as your own work or the work of anyone other than me.

Before using anything here in a commercial application, you must first contact me and gain my approval and such will be dependent on terms and agreements determined at that time.

Any non-commercial use is allowed but I request that due acknowledgment be given. After all, wouldn't you want credit for the things you do? I'm only asking for the same courtesy that you would expect for yourself.

That's it - please, enjoy.

In case anyone is wondering, I'm a Canadian and I live on the west coast, also known as Lotus Land by some. In fact, here is my place:


We Canadians are known for an odd sense of humour [or so my non-Canadian friends always tell me] and you may find a tiny bit of that in my work. We have been known to make fun of ourselves and our country, but never think this means we don't have pride in both.

If you want a feel for what Canadians are really like [assuming you aren't one yourself] I always recommend listening to songs by The Arrogant Worms, a good starting point would be Canada's Really Big, Proud To Be Canadian and you might try Last Saskachewan Pirate and The Mounty Song. After listening to all of those you'll either be an honorary Canadian or you'll jump off the nearest bridge to get the songs out of your head. As I said, we have an odd sense of humour.

Here is a little list of things to help you recognize someone from Vancouver BC [which is the city in Canada that I live in]:

Twenty ways to know you're from Vancouver BC:
1. You think the provincial flower is Mildew.
2. You know what "sunny breaks" means.
3. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.
4. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
5. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.
6. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal before crossing.
7. You don't consider it a real mountain if it has no snow on it.
8. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Blendz, Moka House and Tim Horton's.
9. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon.
10. You know how to pronounce Squamish, Osoyoos, Ucluelet, Esquimalt, Sooke and Nanaimo.
11. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Thai food.
12. You are not bothered by "Today's forecast:: showers followed by rain."
13. You look forward to a day with "showers and sunny breaks".
14. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.
15. You know that Dawson Creek is a town, not a TV show.
16. You can point to at least two ski mountains, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.
17. You notice "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.
18. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.
19. You recognize the background shots in movies and TV shows.
20. You measure distance in hours.

Oh yes, on the matter of spelling - my spell checker tells me that is not the way to spell Saskachewan, but I did a direct cut and paste of the title from the Arrogant Worms site so I'll stand by the fact that it IS the way THEY spelt it, and it's their song so they are allowed to do that. As for any spelling errors you might find - I'm spelling Canadian not American so it's colour, not color, cheque, not check - well, unless it happens to be check in which case it is. Ok, you should be confused enough to move on to the rest of the site now. Take care and have a great day.

What there is to see at this time
DIGITAL COMICS
The Cafe Philosopher: Meet Peter Henry Denton, self styled Philosopher and enjoy a bit of dry humour over coffee.

ORIGINAL ART
Please note that the art pages will show you small thumbnail sketches [200x150] which then link to the full sized art. The art will appear in a new window which you can then close when you have finished looking at it.
Landscapes: Rather self explanatory I guess.
Abstracts: Most of my abstracts are not so abstract that you can't tell what they are.
Mood/Atmosphere: Pictures I created to capture or set a mood.
Animation: I don't have the bandwidth and storage required to put any of my AVIs up, but I managed to add in a bit of my animated work none the less.
REFRESHMENTS
Medieval Recipes: Ever wonder what they REALLY ate? It's great food! Most of what people believe now is myth, here are real recipes.
Drink Recipes: Researched at great personal risk talking with bartenders in dark lounges - I've tried every one of these myself.
STORIES
Sifu's Place: A strange tale of an ordinary man living an extraordinary life. A bit off the wall, a bit unusual, a bit zany and quite funny.
Get Real Sifu: Martial Arts has never been funnier than when seen through Sifu's irreverent eyes.
Sifu Salad: What does a meat lover do when they have to go on a vegetarian diet?
Camp Sifu: You'll never think of camp in quite the same way - or maybe you've already been to a camp like this.
Bargain Sifu: Everyone loves a bargain, but not every bargain is as good as it seems, especially if you happen to be Sifu.
THEATER
Movies: You can see some of the martial arts animations I have done.
Cafe Animated: Links to the first 6 episodes of The Cafe Philosopher.

MODELS
Poser Models: Poser is animation software. I have included a few Poser models I have made using Wings3D mesh modeler for those who work with Poser-compatable software. Also included is a free motion capture of martial arts in Poser pz2 format - I know, that's not a model, but hey..... I figured it could fit in here anyway [grin]

If you would like to see more of my art, you can check out my gallery on Renderosity by clicking here. Some of the art found here may also be found on Renderosity but I choose the art to put on the two sites by different criteria so it is not a simple duplication of art, for the most part the two collections are separate and unique.

Well, that's it for now, what might the future hold? It is my hope that I will be able to expand the gallery, add other comics and perhaps a graphic novel - well, short story anyway, but these things take time. Although my site is complete, it is not static and therefore as time goes on it will grow and change. In the future I may find myself tempted to pay the money for an upgrade to my site and then I'll be able to include a lot of things I decided against including at this time. So if you have enjoyed your visit, be sure to drop by again to see what might be added. That only leaves giving you a chance to have your own say:

Here is my Guestbook
I hope you will sign it before you leave


See What's Been Said
Express Yourself

Renderosity Web Ring
Previous 15 | Previous Site | Next Site | Next 15


Last Updated Friday, October 20, 2006