When I came in for lunch a few days ago, I saw on a section of palette paper on my work table what looked like the face of one of the man-apes from the "Dawn of Man" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I couldn't resist going in with black acrylic paint and embellishing to reflect what I was seeing in my mind.

This whole thing was sparked by Space Odyssey, a fascinating book by Michael Benson about the making of the film. I have to thank George Beahm for the gift. He knows the film is my all-time favorite and how much I would appreciate such a detailed examination of the film's creation. I've read it three times now, and as you can see have made copious notes.