introduction

First, let me set the scene: It's past midnight and I'm outdoors, basking in the moonlight. (No need for Colleen's Pixel Sunscreen. Just me, a Montecristo, two candles . . . and this infernal laptop.) I just finished recording my last few minutes of Illustrator CS4 One-on-One: Mastery--devoted to Illustrator's capricious Actions palette--which completes my CS4 video content. (Hoorah, babikans!) It's my last night in Ojai, CA, amidst the opulently planted grounds of the Blue Iguana, and I am feeling like a million and five bucks. American.

But that's not why I write. I write because I am witnessing something special. From my midnight patio, I watch--yes, this is happening in real time--I watch as the 4 million-year-old carcass of dekePod rises from its frozen grave. (I told you it would!) And as it puts one cold, shuddering foot in front of the other, I marvel--again, in real time--as it appears to transform itself into something totally new, something very much alive. Read more »