Well, I was going to do a post on roleplaying, but I got caught up in something... The post will come, Bunny, but in the meantime (since I haven't posted much artwork to this blog lately), here's a brand new drawing of a superheroish roleplay character called Lady Jester:
The last few years, November seems to be the month when I get sick for some reason. Last year, I was sick during the latter half of the month; this year I've been sick during the first half of the month. Pretty annoying for someone who's hardly ever been sick at all before.
I'll stick to my promise to myself, though, that every month I'll make at least one post to this blog -- and now that I'm feeling better, I'll be doing just that.
Problem is, I have absolutely no idea what to write about. Soooo... I'll just let the question pass to anyone who might be reading this (one... two... three... four readers, there we go). Is there anything in particular you'd see me post about this month? Now's your chance to make requests!
I'll stick to my promise to myself, though, that every month I'll make at least one post to this blog -- and now that I'm feeling better, I'll be doing just that.
Problem is, I have absolutely no idea what to write about. Soooo... I'll just let the question pass to anyone who might be reading this (one... two... three... four readers, there we go). Is there anything in particular you'd see me post about this month? Now's your chance to make requests!
As readers may remember, some months back I reviewed the first season of Buffy Between the Lines, the fan-audio drama based on that beloved TV show from the not-too-distant past, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
For those of you too lazy to click the link, here's an excerpt of what I said back then:
It's not often I plug any type of fanwork here on this blog (other than my own sparse attempts, that is), but I'll make an exception this time around, because this is actually very exceptional -- Buffy Between the Lines (homepage reachable by clicking the link) is a fan-produced audion drama set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, exploring events that might have happened to the characters between seasons of the TV show (the first twelve episodes take place between seasons Five and Six, and the currently-running batch of eps happen between seasons Two and Three)...
...and it's simply a fanfic dream come true.
A highly ambtious project from the get-go, Buffy Between The Lines brings together dozens of fans of the Vampire Slayer from all over the world (writers, actors, musicians, sound editors) and sets out to produce a series of audio dramas that not only tries to mimic the tone and style of the original TV show, but also tries to subtly expand and broaden characters and themes that the show for time reasons never got around to fully explore -- and throw in a few surprises along the way. And the twist is that they have actually managed to deliver.
[...]
It's not quite like having genuine new episodes of Buffy, and never reaches the brilliance of the very best episodes of the TV show... but it sometimes comes surprisingly close, feeling to me a little like a "smaller, humbler, more low-budget" version of the show, with some genuinely sharp writing and an enthusiasm that shines through in every aspect of it. Fanfic-speaking, we've struck gold here; there's no mindless shipper rants, no haughty "we're gonna fix everything that's wrong with the show, because we know better than the official writers" attitude, no denouncing of the parts of the show the authors didn't like, no glorification or bashing of any character... just some really neat scriptwork done by fans who actually seem to understand what made the TV show work.
I think that should make things reasonably clear, don't you? My specific thoughts about the first season can be read by reading that review (I'm not gonna repost the entire thing here, that'd be going just slightly too far), but suffice to say, I liked it.
So now that the second and final season of Buffy Between the Lines has reached its conclusion, I'm here to take a gander at these twelve new episodes and see if the second season holds up to the first.
( Answer behind the LJ-cut... )
For those of you too lazy to click the link, here's an excerpt of what I said back then:
It's not often I plug any type of fanwork here on this blog (other than my own sparse attempts, that is), but I'll make an exception this time around, because this is actually very exceptional -- Buffy Between the Lines (homepage reachable by clicking the link) is a fan-produced audion drama set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, exploring events that might have happened to the characters between seasons of the TV show (the first twelve episodes take place between seasons Five and Six, and the currently-running batch of eps happen between seasons Two and Three)...
...and it's simply a fanfic dream come true.
A highly ambtious project from the get-go, Buffy Between The Lines brings together dozens of fans of the Vampire Slayer from all over the world (writers, actors, musicians, sound editors) and sets out to produce a series of audio dramas that not only tries to mimic the tone and style of the original TV show, but also tries to subtly expand and broaden characters and themes that the show for time reasons never got around to fully explore -- and throw in a few surprises along the way. And the twist is that they have actually managed to deliver.
[...]
It's not quite like having genuine new episodes of Buffy, and never reaches the brilliance of the very best episodes of the TV show... but it sometimes comes surprisingly close, feeling to me a little like a "smaller, humbler, more low-budget" version of the show, with some genuinely sharp writing and an enthusiasm that shines through in every aspect of it. Fanfic-speaking, we've struck gold here; there's no mindless shipper rants, no haughty "we're gonna fix everything that's wrong with the show, because we know better than the official writers" attitude, no denouncing of the parts of the show the authors didn't like, no glorification or bashing of any character... just some really neat scriptwork done by fans who actually seem to understand what made the TV show work.
I think that should make things reasonably clear, don't you? My specific thoughts about the first season can be read by reading that review (I'm not gonna repost the entire thing here, that'd be going just slightly too far), but suffice to say, I liked it.
So now that the second and final season of Buffy Between the Lines has reached its conclusion, I'm here to take a gander at these twelve new episodes and see if the second season holds up to the first.
( Answer behind the LJ-cut... )
When the shadows are creepin',
And the children are sleepin',
And I'm gently slumbering too,
From a way down the trail,
Comes a spine-chillin' wail:
"I love you, I love you, I dooo-oooo-hooo-hoooo!"
When the shadows have fled,
And I'm safe in my bed,
And I think that my troubles are few,
I'll be roused from my dreams
By those ear-splittin' screams:
"I love you, I love yooooou, I dooo-ooo-hoooo-hoo-hooooooo!"
"Hooooow can I make you love me-e-e-e?
Hooooow can I sing to your hea-aa-aa-aa-aaart?"
When the grizzlies are growlin'
And coyotes are howlin',
As grizzlies and coyotes do,
There is one noise more foul
Than the coyote's howl:
"I love you, I love youuuu... I-eyeeeeeeee dooooooooooo!"
And the children are sleepin',
And I'm gently slumbering too,
From a way down the trail,
Comes a spine-chillin' wail:
"I love you, I love you, I dooo-oooo-hooo-hoooo!"
When the shadows have fled,
And I'm safe in my bed,
And I think that my troubles are few,
I'll be roused from my dreams
By those ear-splittin' screams:
"I love you, I love yooooou, I dooo-ooo-hoooo-hoo-hooooooo!"
"Hooooow can I make you love me-e-e-e?
Hooooow can I sing to your hea-aa-aa-aa-aaart?"
When the grizzlies are growlin'
And coyotes are howlin',
As grizzlies and coyotes do,
There is one noise more foul
Than the coyote's howl:
"I love you, I love youuuu... I-eyeeeeeeee dooooooooooo!"
...Just thought you'd like to know that I have a new Harry Potter one-shot up on Fanfiction.net.
It's called Karma, and it's basically my answer to a HP genre I often like but just as often am extremely frustrated by, namely the "Harry travels back in time to re-live his Hogwarts days" genre (also known as the Peggy Sue genre, after the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married, which has the same premise). These fics almost always feature an overpowered Harry with an extremely annoying self-righteous attitude, baffling kids and adults alike with being "mature" (read: snotty, rude and arrogant) and saving the day easily because he's much better than anyone else.
My fic mostly consists of Harry and Dumbledore talking, and Harry getting frustrated because Dumbledore is not awestruck by his "maturity" (read: hurling accusations). Oh, and there are a few other twists too, but no point in spoiling the entire fic, right?
I'd value your opinion, readers.
It's called Karma, and it's basically my answer to a HP genre I often like but just as often am extremely frustrated by, namely the "Harry travels back in time to re-live his Hogwarts days" genre (also known as the Peggy Sue genre, after the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married, which has the same premise). These fics almost always feature an overpowered Harry with an extremely annoying self-righteous attitude, baffling kids and adults alike with being "mature" (read: snotty, rude and arrogant) and saving the day easily because he's much better than anyone else.
My fic mostly consists of Harry and Dumbledore talking, and Harry getting frustrated because Dumbledore is not awestruck by his "maturity" (read: hurling accusations). Oh, and there are a few other twists too, but no point in spoiling the entire fic, right?
I'd value your opinion, readers.
I'm back, and as promised, here to tell you the result of my first venture into 24-hour comics!
To make a long story short: I failed. Inexperience and bad time-organizing, and a couple of bad decisions (which are obvious in hindsight) stopped me from reaching my goal of twenty-four pages, instead just letting me finish a meager sixteen pages. And these sixteen pages are, of course, atrociously drawn and have big timing issues. But then, nobody was saying that the final result had to be good.
As you might have guessed, I'm doing the Gaiman variant and ending the comic at sixteen pages, instead of continuing on overtime. I'd only set apart 24 hours for this and I do have some other things to do. That said, the sixteen pages I do have... well, they do at least make a kindasortamaybe coherent story, even if it does get a little muddled towards the end and ends on a pretty weird cliffhanger.
Now, the comic is actually canon to my ongoing webcomic Vanadys: Tales of a Fallen Goddess, but none of the regular characters appear in this, and you shouldn't need to know the world of Vanadys in order to get the story...
( The entire comic behind the cut! )
To make a long story short: I failed. Inexperience and bad time-organizing, and a couple of bad decisions (which are obvious in hindsight) stopped me from reaching my goal of twenty-four pages, instead just letting me finish a meager sixteen pages. And these sixteen pages are, of course, atrociously drawn and have big timing issues. But then, nobody was saying that the final result had to be good.
As you might have guessed, I'm doing the Gaiman variant and ending the comic at sixteen pages, instead of continuing on overtime. I'd only set apart 24 hours for this and I do have some other things to do. That said, the sixteen pages I do have... well, they do at least make a kindasortamaybe coherent story, even if it does get a little muddled towards the end and ends on a pretty weird cliffhanger.
Now, the comic is actually canon to my ongoing webcomic Vanadys: Tales of a Fallen Goddess, but none of the regular characters appear in this, and you shouldn't need to know the world of Vanadys in order to get the story...
( The entire comic behind the cut! )
Ever heard of 24 Hour Comic Day?
Well, simply speaking, it's a semi-organized way in which participants each do a 24-hour comic. A 24-hour comic is a complete 24-page comic, written and drawn within a period of 24 hours... a challenge thought up by good old Scott McCloud some years ago. You have to do the entire thing over those 24 hours, from script to lettering, or the challenge is considered "a noble failure."
(If you fail, there's two ways of doing it, each named after two comic creators that failed the challenge and dealt with it in a different way: The Gaiman variant -- named after Neil Gaiman -- where you simply stop after the 24 hours are up, and the Eastman variant --named for Kevin Eastman -- where you just keep going after the 24 hours are up, until the comic is done.)
It's a difficult, but not impossible, task -- not completely unlike NaNoWriMo, just over a much shorter period of time.
This year, the official 24 Hour Comic Day is this Saturday, October the 3rd. And, long story short, I decided to sign up for it and see if I could manage a full 24-page comic for 24 hours. So, tomorrow is going to be dedicated to a comic. I'll be stocking up on soda and snacks (and easily-preparated food for Saturday dinner), and having my art tablet ready for the challenge.
I'll return to the blog in a couple days' time, to tell y'all how it went, and probably with some comics pages for you to read. Wish me luck!
Well, simply speaking, it's a semi-organized way in which participants each do a 24-hour comic. A 24-hour comic is a complete 24-page comic, written and drawn within a period of 24 hours... a challenge thought up by good old Scott McCloud some years ago. You have to do the entire thing over those 24 hours, from script to lettering, or the challenge is considered "a noble failure."
(If you fail, there's two ways of doing it, each named after two comic creators that failed the challenge and dealt with it in a different way: The Gaiman variant -- named after Neil Gaiman -- where you simply stop after the 24 hours are up, and the Eastman variant --named for Kevin Eastman -- where you just keep going after the 24 hours are up, until the comic is done.)
It's a difficult, but not impossible, task -- not completely unlike NaNoWriMo, just over a much shorter period of time.
This year, the official 24 Hour Comic Day is this Saturday, October the 3rd. And, long story short, I decided to sign up for it and see if I could manage a full 24-page comic for 24 hours. So, tomorrow is going to be dedicated to a comic. I'll be stocking up on soda and snacks (and easily-preparated food for Saturday dinner), and having my art tablet ready for the challenge.
I'll return to the blog in a couple days' time, to tell y'all how it went, and probably with some comics pages for you to read. Wish me luck!
I finished this drawing a couple of days ago, and while it's up on my DeviantArt account, I thought I'd post it here as well... there hasn't been a lot of artwork on this blog lately, and I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
As you may have figured out, I recently re-watched the 2002 re-make of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It's not as absurdly entertaining as the original, but the character designs are really neat. So here's my take on the 2002 Orko, still my very favorite He-Man character!
.
As you may have figured out, I recently re-watched the 2002 re-make of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It's not as absurdly entertaining as the original, but the character designs are really neat. So here's my take on the 2002 Orko, still my very favorite He-Man character!
.
In 1937, Warner Brothers released a cartoon called She Was An Acrobat's Daughter, directed by Friz Freleng, whose biggest talent was musical comedies (and who was also the one who developed the Tweety and Sylvester cartoons, not to mention the creator of the cartoon Pink Panther).
The cartoon is basically a comedic send-up of movie theater programs in the 1930s, taking place as it does in a movie theater where the audience in addition to the main feature (The Petrified Florist, a parody of the 1936 film noir movie The Petrified Forest )also get a newsreel and a sing-along. Yeah, people used to go to movie theaters to participate in sing-alongs -- wild, huh?!
It's the sing-along that gives the cartoon its name, as the song is called, yes, She Was An Acrobat's Daughter. The song lyrics are projected on-screen, and the cartoon audience sing;
She was an acrobat's daughter
Her muscles would swell up like yeast .
One look at her face made guys keep their place
PLEASE DO NOT SPIT ON THE FLOOR
(oops, uh, wrong text projected on the screen, here's the real text:)
For she feared neither boy, man, nor beast!
She was an acrobat's daughter
She used to tame lions besides
One bit her, named Jack, and she bit him right back
In two days the poor lion died!
It's a catchy little song, and it's easy to see why the cartoon got its name from there. However, this wasn't the last we heard from the song, as nine years later it made a surprise return in the 1946 cartoon Daffy Doodles. In this cartoon, it's Daffy Duck who sings the song as he swings on a rope like a trapeze artist -- but interestingly enough, he uses completely different, and somewhat more dramatic lyrics. Daffy's version goes like this:
She was an acrobat's daughter
She swung by her teeth from a noose
But one matinée, her bridgework gave 'way
And she flew through the air like a goose!
The song is interrupted there by Porky Pig, who hits him on the head with a club. But this led me to wonder -- was Daffy just parodying the original song by making up his own lyrics... or was he, in fact, singing a hitherto unknown new verse of She Was An Acrobat's Daughter? If the latter is the case, then the song is incomplete -- not only the lyrics, but the tune itself, more than imply that there has to be a final verse to the song, presumably where the final fate of the acrobat's daughter is revealed.
I haven't been able to find this last verse anywhere, so my guess is that it was either never written, or just never released to the public (since I've never actually heard the song outside those two cartoons). Therefore, I decided to write my own ending to the song, based on what's gone before and how I think the songwriters might have ended it.
So, here's my version of She Was An Acrobat's Daughter:
She was an acrobat's daughter
Her muscles would swell up like yeast .
One look at her face made guys keep their place
For she feared neither boy, man, nor beast!
She was an acrobat's daughter
She used to tame lions besides
One bit her, named Jack, and she bit him right back
In two days the poor lion died!
Ooohhh...
She was an acrobat's daughter
She swung by her teeth from a noose
But one matinée, her bridgework gave 'way
And she flew through the air like a goose!
She was an acrobat's daughter
An artist right down to her teeth
Her dentures, intact, stayed to finish the act
As she hit the ground underneath!
What do you think? Too corny?
(For the best effect, this acticle should be read with calm, soothing background music, preferrably acoustic guitar.)
I would like to say something about my relationship with Batman.
I hate Batman.
Not all the time, of course. When the Caped Crusader features in good stories written by decent authors, or I see him portrayed by adorably enthusiastic five-year-olds who dress up in homemade hoods and capes, or even if he guest stars in comics starring other characters without upstaging them completely and demonstrating how much "better" he is than them -- then he's a natural and even vital part of the superhero society, and I don't think much about him, neither with love nor hate.
But when opens his mouth and says "I'm Batman," and five million fans cream themselves because for some inexplicable reason those three syllables are the most impressive and awesome thing that anyone could ever say -- or when he spends his entire appearance demonstrating how he's the world's best everything, simply because the writers are blinded by how awesome they think he is and can't fathom that there's always a decent chance that Batman could not beat anyone in the world with enough "prep time" (as if giving him enough time to prepare wouldn't also give his opponent time to prepare, or Batman is the only person in the world who knows how to plan ahead) -- or when you see just how much of a jerk and a moron he is in his own comics and nobody ever notices that for being the "world's greatest detective" he couldn't even detect his way out of a paper bag -- or, worst of all, when he's being written by Frank Miller...
During those times, I think: "I'm glad I don't know Batman personally, so that I'd have to act reasonably polite towards him."
Batman, like Wolverine, is a victim of his own popularity. He's so caught up in a world where fanboys would have worshipped the ground he walked on, if they'd been in a position to do it, and where Internet pages are dedicated to his sheer awesomeness because he's supposedly the Best At Everything, so he's no longer allowed to grow, to evolve, to ever escape this image of the infallible , "badass mortal," the only non-superpowered member of the Justice League who could nevertheless beat up everyone with one hand tied behind his back; an image that would have been tragic if it wasn't so annoying. The only reason why Batman hasn't long since been revealed as a Gary Stu is the fact that he's Batman, which is a "get out of jail free" card which never fails.
There are, in fact, good stories with Batman, and as I said I don't particularly hate him when he's being written sensibly in a decent story -- it's the public image of Batman that makes me want to throw things, the infuriating "awesomeness" that in my eyes is anything but, because slamming some two-bit mook against the wall and snarling "I'm Batman" is not awesome no matter how cool you look in a mask. This is the Batman I detest, the one I'd be happier if I never saw again. I wouldn't this want Batman if I you wrapped him in hundred-dollar bills and presented him as a gift. That is, I'd probably keep the money and tell Batman to get lost.
It's made all the worse because there's something behind that moronic jerk of a Gary Stu who only succeeds in everything because his fans have gone so far into denial about the fact that he's not infallible, that it would go against reality for Batman to fail... behind that vomit-inducing, wish-he'd-go-away, two-bit Stu, there is probably a pretty decent character I could grow to like if I wasn't so consistantly told how awesome he is by everyone, or if he wasn't sonstantly held up as a paragon of coolness -- a status he doesn't deserve and shouldn't have.
And you know something? The Dark Knight was a terribly overrated movie. So there.
(Now the music can stop, as I wait to see if this post brings me a lot of hate comments and death threats.)
I recently watched the first season of Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's newest entrance in the realm of TV series that become cult shows long before the first ten episodes have even aired.
I'd decided not to try and get ahold of or watch any of the individual episodes before the first season had ended, because I know Joss Whedon's style. His stories are usually so continuity-laden, even the ones that are supposed to be standalone episodes, that watching them one-by-one is the most surefire way to get lost or miss the point -- a Joss Whedon story needs to be taken in large doses, so that the larger, overarching themes and plotlines become visible.
Okay, I'll admit that a lot of Joss Whedon shows I only half-watch because I'm busy drawing at the time, but they're good shows to half-watch.
So how does Dollhouse, as represented by this, its first thirteen-episode season, hold up to Whedon's past shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly?
( I'll tell you, but only if you follow this LJ-cut! )
I'd decided not to try and get ahold of or watch any of the individual episodes before the first season had ended, because I know Joss Whedon's style. His stories are usually so continuity-laden, even the ones that are supposed to be standalone episodes, that watching them one-by-one is the most surefire way to get lost or miss the point -- a Joss Whedon story needs to be taken in large doses, so that the larger, overarching themes and plotlines become visible.
Okay, I'll admit that a lot of Joss Whedon shows I only half-watch because I'm busy drawing at the time, but they're good shows to half-watch.
So how does Dollhouse, as represented by this, its first thirteen-episode season, hold up to Whedon's past shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly?
( I'll tell you, but only if you follow this LJ-cut! )
Well, I'm back from my Internet-less trip, and have spent a couple hours getting updated on various messageboards and blogs (and posted a new page of Vanadys), and now I feel quite in the mood to write something for the ol' blog!
While everyone else on the 'net is on about the newest Harry Potter movie (I haven't seen it yet, so no reviews or anything from me at the moment), I thought we'd go back in time and take a gander about some slightly older movies -- or to be more precise, the female leads of these slightly older movies.
Yes, my friends, today we are going to talk about that veritable franchise that has many a little girl squeal in excitement and many a feminist column writer scream in frustration: the Disney Princesses.
I got the idea for this post some time ago, when I re-watched the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, (the original Disney animated movies from 1950 and 1959, respectively) and noted how markedly different the two titular characters were, both in personality and overall participation in the plot. And I thought back to all those articles I'd read, and people I'd talked to -- I'm sure you've heard or even said similar things, about how the Disney princesses are little more than wafish dolls who do nothing other than look pretty, wring their hands, cry, dream about marrying a handsome prince, and (in the case of Sleeping Beauty) sleep a lot. They're weak women, they're weak characters, and they all have the same personality, looks and function in the story.
But is this really true?
Join me now as I go through the eight official Disney Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan -- soon to be joined by Tiana and Rapunzel, whose movies at the time of writing haven't been released yet, and as such can't really be examined in this post) and try to see what they're all about.
And yes, this means I've actually watched the movies and tried to pay attention to what was really there, instead of just relying on vague childhood memories like so many people seem to do.
Shall we begin, then?
( Princesses, in chronological order, behind the cut! )
While everyone else on the 'net is on about the newest Harry Potter movie (I haven't seen it yet, so no reviews or anything from me at the moment), I thought we'd go back in time and take a gander about some slightly older movies -- or to be more precise, the female leads of these slightly older movies.
Yes, my friends, today we are going to talk about that veritable franchise that has many a little girl squeal in excitement and many a feminist column writer scream in frustration: the Disney Princesses.
I got the idea for this post some time ago, when I re-watched the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, (the original Disney animated movies from 1950 and 1959, respectively) and noted how markedly different the two titular characters were, both in personality and overall participation in the plot. And I thought back to all those articles I'd read, and people I'd talked to -- I'm sure you've heard or even said similar things, about how the Disney princesses are little more than wafish dolls who do nothing other than look pretty, wring their hands, cry, dream about marrying a handsome prince, and (in the case of Sleeping Beauty) sleep a lot. They're weak women, they're weak characters, and they all have the same personality, looks and function in the story.
But is this really true?
Join me now as I go through the eight official Disney Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan -- soon to be joined by Tiana and Rapunzel, whose movies at the time of writing haven't been released yet, and as such can't really be examined in this post) and try to see what they're all about.
And yes, this means I've actually watched the movies and tried to pay attention to what was really there, instead of just relying on vague childhood memories like so many people seem to do.
Shall we begin, then?
( Princesses, in chronological order, behind the cut! )
I cleaned out my laptop the other day. Which is to say, I unscrewed the bottom panel and carefully removed the dust that had gathered inside the machine over nearly two years of use. I did this largely because I was getting concerned about just how warm it was getting when I used it for anything more than basic web surfing.
Laptops do gather up a lot of dust, even moreso than stationary PCs, and the dust tends to affect them more because there's less space within a laptop for dust to gather, and the components that get warm will warm up the rest of the machine that much quicker, and then you end up with a laptop that repeatedly shuts itself off because it's too warm. Which is really annoying if you're trying to watch a movie or draw a comic page with your art pad.
Not that my laptop (an Acer Aspire 5720z, which I have named "Pluto," by the way -- when I booted it up for the first time I was asked to give it a name for identifications on networks and such, and "Pluto" was just the name that first occured to me) got to that stage where it kept switching itself off, but if I hadn't taken the time now to clear out the dust, it probably would have reached that stage before long. I know my previous laptop (An Asus by the name of "Bjarne") did, largely because I wasn't aware that I should clean it every now and then.
Nowadays, I know better, though, and when I notided that the touchpad was getting uncomfortably warm, I decided to do what all those sites say you should do with a too-warm laptop, and give it a cleaning. For a moment, I pondered getting a can of compressed air, but after having browsed a few sites with hints and tips on cleaning laptops I came across this site, which gave the detailed description I needed.
So, armed with a box of cheap cotton swabs and a very small screwdriver, I opened the machine and carefully cleaned the fan and the heat sink. And lemme tell ya, there was a huge build-up of dust around the heat sink; impossible to get to without actually opening the computer and moving aside the fan, but easily cleaned by cotton swab once I had access.
Dust removed and the rest of the insides given a careful overseeing, I put everything back together and switched the laptop on... and wouldn't you know it, ol' Pluto is suddenly running perfectly, as if it was factory fresh. No more exaggerated heating, and the performance seems to have improved as well. It truly is amazing how much difference a little dust makes.
Now, while I was browsing the net for cleaning tips, I noticed a lot of people say some really bad things about Acer and how bad their computers are... which quite frankly baffled me, because my Acer laptop has performed very well from the start, and after losing its acquired dust is performing very well again.
So I was wondering... anyone who reads this, what sort of computer do you use? (I'm presuming you are using one in order to read this.) Laptop or stationary? What brand/series? Are you happy with the computer or would you rather have had something else?
I'm just curious.
Laptops do gather up a lot of dust, even moreso than stationary PCs, and the dust tends to affect them more because there's less space within a laptop for dust to gather, and the components that get warm will warm up the rest of the machine that much quicker, and then you end up with a laptop that repeatedly shuts itself off because it's too warm. Which is really annoying if you're trying to watch a movie or draw a comic page with your art pad.
Not that my laptop (an Acer Aspire 5720z, which I have named "Pluto," by the way -- when I booted it up for the first time I was asked to give it a name for identifications on networks and such, and "Pluto" was just the name that first occured to me) got to that stage where it kept switching itself off, but if I hadn't taken the time now to clear out the dust, it probably would have reached that stage before long. I know my previous laptop (An Asus by the name of "Bjarne") did, largely because I wasn't aware that I should clean it every now and then.
Nowadays, I know better, though, and when I notided that the touchpad was getting uncomfortably warm, I decided to do what all those sites say you should do with a too-warm laptop, and give it a cleaning. For a moment, I pondered getting a can of compressed air, but after having browsed a few sites with hints and tips on cleaning laptops I came across this site, which gave the detailed description I needed.
So, armed with a box of cheap cotton swabs and a very small screwdriver, I opened the machine and carefully cleaned the fan and the heat sink. And lemme tell ya, there was a huge build-up of dust around the heat sink; impossible to get to without actually opening the computer and moving aside the fan, but easily cleaned by cotton swab once I had access.
Dust removed and the rest of the insides given a careful overseeing, I put everything back together and switched the laptop on... and wouldn't you know it, ol' Pluto is suddenly running perfectly, as if it was factory fresh. No more exaggerated heating, and the performance seems to have improved as well. It truly is amazing how much difference a little dust makes.
Now, while I was browsing the net for cleaning tips, I noticed a lot of people say some really bad things about Acer and how bad their computers are... which quite frankly baffled me, because my Acer laptop has performed very well from the start, and after losing its acquired dust is performing very well again.
So I was wondering... anyone who reads this, what sort of computer do you use? (I'm presuming you are using one in order to read this.) Laptop or stationary? What brand/series? Are you happy with the computer or would you rather have had something else?
I'm just curious.
Man, I'm just getting worse about posting to this blog. In my defense, I have been pretty busy, and most my online time has been spent on my webcomic site, Vanadys, and I have this sneaking suspicion that my blog readers are getting sick of reading about Vanadys.
"Old hat!" they'll cry (or "Not again!" or possibly "Deja vu!", if they want to use those words.) "Talk about something interesting instead! Rant about fanfiction, make pop culture jokes, do some humorous reviews, post some new artwork -- just stop going on and on about that stupid webcomic!"
So, of course, this post is going to be about Vanadys.
Well, okay, it's only indirectly going to be about Vanadys. But I thought that, well, there are a pseudo-related topic I've been wanting to say a couple of things about, namely the MAX art exchange.
If you don't know what MAX is, it's an art exchange program, hosted by Comic Dish, which is of course the host I use for Vanadys (one of the best webcomic hosts I've seen too -- it's free, you don't have to put ads on your site, and they have not only a neat forum with all sorts of friendly and helpful people, but also two audio podcasts -- one "official" and one "unofficial" -- with all sorts of discussions, reviews, hints and tips).
MAX is held twice a month, and the participants draw each other's characters -- for every round (and you can choose whether you want to be in every round or not) you are randomly appointed someone to draw the characters of, and have two weeks to choose one (or more) of your recipient's characters, draw that character and then submit it. In return, someone will be drawing one (or more) of your characters... but you won't know who is drawing for you until the round is done and all the finished artwork is revealed on the MAX main site.
It's actually a very fun thing to participate in, and of course it's always exciting to see your characters drawn by someone else.
Anyone can join, the only demands are that you have one or more original characters of your own invention (alternate-universe version of the Ninja Turtles probably don't count...) and some place on the web with artwork of these characters... a DeviantART or Elfwood gallery is perfectly acceptable. You don't even have to have a webcomic, or be planning a webcomic, to join in on the fun... or even be a brilliant artist. Artists of every skill level participate in MAX, and it's the fun that counts, not that every single picture should be a masterpiece.
I've been in MAX for five rounds now (well, the fifth round ends today), and have gotten to draw the characters of others, and received interesting takes on the Vanadys characters in return. I recently set up a MAX gallery of my own, on the Vanadys website, just for my artwork and the artwork I'd received, and you can find that here.
If there are any artists out there who happen to read this and feel like participating in MAX, I'll direct you to the Visual Guide to MAX, by "Modesty," which should answer any questions you might have.
If not, you can just look at the selection of interesting pictures.
"Old hat!" they'll cry (or "Not again!" or possibly "Deja vu!", if they want to use those words.) "Talk about something interesting instead! Rant about fanfiction, make pop culture jokes, do some humorous reviews, post some new artwork -- just stop going on and on about that stupid webcomic!"
So, of course, this post is going to be about Vanadys.
Well, okay, it's only indirectly going to be about Vanadys. But I thought that, well, there are a pseudo-related topic I've been wanting to say a couple of things about, namely the MAX art exchange.
If you don't know what MAX is, it's an art exchange program, hosted by Comic Dish, which is of course the host I use for Vanadys (one of the best webcomic hosts I've seen too -- it's free, you don't have to put ads on your site, and they have not only a neat forum with all sorts of friendly and helpful people, but also two audio podcasts -- one "official" and one "unofficial" -- with all sorts of discussions, reviews, hints and tips).
MAX is held twice a month, and the participants draw each other's characters -- for every round (and you can choose whether you want to be in every round or not) you are randomly appointed someone to draw the characters of, and have two weeks to choose one (or more) of your recipient's characters, draw that character and then submit it. In return, someone will be drawing one (or more) of your characters... but you won't know who is drawing for you until the round is done and all the finished artwork is revealed on the MAX main site.
It's actually a very fun thing to participate in, and of course it's always exciting to see your characters drawn by someone else.
Anyone can join, the only demands are that you have one or more original characters of your own invention (alternate-universe version of the Ninja Turtles probably don't count...) and some place on the web with artwork of these characters... a DeviantART or Elfwood gallery is perfectly acceptable. You don't even have to have a webcomic, or be planning a webcomic, to join in on the fun... or even be a brilliant artist. Artists of every skill level participate in MAX, and it's the fun that counts, not that every single picture should be a masterpiece.
I've been in MAX for five rounds now (well, the fifth round ends today), and have gotten to draw the characters of others, and received interesting takes on the Vanadys characters in return. I recently set up a MAX gallery of my own, on the Vanadys website, just for my artwork and the artwork I'd received, and you can find that here.
If there are any artists out there who happen to read this and feel like participating in MAX, I'll direct you to the Visual Guide to MAX, by "Modesty," which should answer any questions you might have.
If not, you can just look at the selection of interesting pictures.
If you've been following my webcomic, Vanadys: Tales of a Fallen Goddess, you'll probably be aware that it's been on hiatus for a month while I've been not only revising the comic itself (I decided I could do better for the introduction of the main characters, following the prologue), but also redesigning the website -- largely because I was tired of the old layout, which frankly wasn't very visually exciting or appealing.
Now, however, Vanadys is back -- bigger, better and more stylish than ever. Just about everything about the site, and most of the comic has been updated and (at least in my eyes) improved upon:
- There are twelve new comic pages, replacing the old post-prologue pages, with a mix of old and new situations and dialogue. Everything has been redrawn and much new stuff has been added.
- The site design has received a massive facelift, swapping the light dull purple-and-black color scheme with a stylish new green, gold and black. It's also been tweaked a bit to fit better on screens with an 800x600 resolution while hopefully not looking too bland and dull on screens with a bigger resolutions (as the old one did).
- The character pages have been updated; all the main characters are now on individual pages, and there's new character art for each of them.
- The other pages have received similar updates, with new graphics, new drawings and improved designs. There are a few new links on the "links" page (more webcomics) and new link banners.
- There are a few minor things that still need to be added, but they can wait. For all intents and purposes, the redesigned site is ready for inspection!
I'd love to hear your opinion of it all, so if you have the time, visit the site (either by going to the links on the "links" section of this blog, or by clicking the banner below) and let me know what you think... on the comments form on the comic site itself, or here on the blog, whatever suits you the best! I'm especially interested in hearing from people who use a different web browser than IE, Mozilla Firefox or Opera, as I've tested the site out in all three browsers but haven't had the opportunity to see how it looks in, say, Google Chrome or Safari or others.
All right, that's all I had to say for now... see you later!
Now, however, Vanadys is back -- bigger, better and more stylish than ever. Just about everything about the site, and most of the comic has been updated and (at least in my eyes) improved upon:
- There are twelve new comic pages, replacing the old post-prologue pages, with a mix of old and new situations and dialogue. Everything has been redrawn and much new stuff has been added.
- The site design has received a massive facelift, swapping the light dull purple-and-black color scheme with a stylish new green, gold and black. It's also been tweaked a bit to fit better on screens with an 800x600 resolution while hopefully not looking too bland and dull on screens with a bigger resolutions (as the old one did).
- The character pages have been updated; all the main characters are now on individual pages, and there's new character art for each of them.
- The other pages have received similar updates, with new graphics, new drawings and improved designs. There are a few new links on the "links" page (more webcomics) and new link banners.
- There are a few minor things that still need to be added, but they can wait. For all intents and purposes, the redesigned site is ready for inspection!
I'd love to hear your opinion of it all, so if you have the time, visit the site (either by going to the links on the "links" section of this blog, or by clicking the banner below) and let me know what you think... on the comments form on the comic site itself, or here on the blog, whatever suits you the best! I'm especially interested in hearing from people who use a different web browser than IE, Mozilla Firefox or Opera, as I've tested the site out in all three browsers but haven't had the opportunity to see how it looks in, say, Google Chrome or Safari or others.
All right, that's all I had to say for now... see you later!
Time for some more talk about comics, methinks!
In the creation of Vanadys, I've taken inspiration from many different sources... in some instances, the inspiration has been fairly minimal, but still influental in some ways. Among these types of inspirations are several French/Belgian comics, whose "album" formats and special type of story structure has fascinated me a lot over the years and at least given me a few ideas about the use of timing and narrative flow.
Today, we'll head over to France to take a peek at one of the biggest successes in the history of French comics, and one of my personal favorites; Asterix.
Have you ever read Asterix? If you're European, the answer is probably yes. Ever since its humble beginnings in 1961, this series of humorous comic albums has been translated to many languages and had success in many countries -- it's quite possibly the most successful French comic ever... And with good reason. Asterix at its best is sophisticated and witty, with intriguing storylines and intelligent humor -- all without losing its broad appeal.
Basically, it's a satirical look at the world, and particluarly France (back then known as Gaul), in the times of the Roman Empire -- not completely historically accurate, perhaps, but... let's just let the comic itself sum it up:
The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely... one small village of the indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders, and life is not easy for the Roman legionairies who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium...
The story of Asterix is the story of a small, unnamed Gaulish village somewhere on the coastline of Armorica (Britanny); the only village that was never conquered by the Romans. Because this village has a secret weapon, namely a magic potion that gives superhuman strength to whoever drinks it. Not very realistic, perhaps? No, but the point of Asterix isn't realism. The fact that nearly all the characters (except the actual historical people, like Julius Caesar and Cleopatra) have puns as names should tell you most of what you need to know.
There are thirty-four Asterix albums (thirty-three full-length stories and one collection of short stories), and just because I really want to talk about Asterix today, I'm going to give a full run-down, with commentary and my personal opinion, on all thirty-four.
First, however, a presentation of some of the characters.
( Let's go! )
In the creation of Vanadys, I've taken inspiration from many different sources... in some instances, the inspiration has been fairly minimal, but still influental in some ways. Among these types of inspirations are several French/Belgian comics, whose "album" formats and special type of story structure has fascinated me a lot over the years and at least given me a few ideas about the use of timing and narrative flow.
Today, we'll head over to France to take a peek at one of the biggest successes in the history of French comics, and one of my personal favorites; Asterix.
Have you ever read Asterix? If you're European, the answer is probably yes. Ever since its humble beginnings in 1961, this series of humorous comic albums has been translated to many languages and had success in many countries -- it's quite possibly the most successful French comic ever... And with good reason. Asterix at its best is sophisticated and witty, with intriguing storylines and intelligent humor -- all without losing its broad appeal.
Basically, it's a satirical look at the world, and particluarly France (back then known as Gaul), in the times of the Roman Empire -- not completely historically accurate, perhaps, but... let's just let the comic itself sum it up:
The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely... one small village of the indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders, and life is not easy for the Roman legionairies who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium...
The story of Asterix is the story of a small, unnamed Gaulish village somewhere on the coastline of Armorica (Britanny); the only village that was never conquered by the Romans. Because this village has a secret weapon, namely a magic potion that gives superhuman strength to whoever drinks it. Not very realistic, perhaps? No, but the point of Asterix isn't realism. The fact that nearly all the characters (except the actual historical people, like Julius Caesar and Cleopatra) have puns as names should tell you most of what you need to know.
There are thirty-four Asterix albums (thirty-three full-length stories and one collection of short stories), and just because I really want to talk about Asterix today, I'm going to give a full run-down, with commentary and my personal opinion, on all thirty-four.
First, however, a presentation of some of the characters.
( Let's go! )
It's starting to become tradition that I post some silly song here on this blog to mark the Norwegian Constitution Day, and so, without any further ado:
Oh, you are certain of a chuckle
With a chicken or a chimpanzee;
The merest mention of a mallard
Is guaranteed hilarity!
A gibbon always gets a grin,
But none of them are fairer
Than the te-te-terrapin!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
You can depend on the pangolin
To get them rolling in the aile;
A bat or a bandicoot,
A cougar or a crocodile!
A ferret is a funsome thing,
But if they're gonna cheer you,
You gotta let them hear you sing:
Not sa-sa-sa-sa-safetypin
Nor na-na-na-na-nappypin
But te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Not co-co-co-co-cotterpin
Nor ro-ro-ro-ro-rollingpin
But te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
All together!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
And that's the terrapin song!
Oh, you are certain of a chuckle
With a chicken or a chimpanzee;
The merest mention of a mallard
Is guaranteed hilarity!
A gibbon always gets a grin,
But none of them are fairer
Than the te-te-terrapin!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
You can depend on the pangolin
To get them rolling in the aile;
A bat or a bandicoot,
A cougar or a crocodile!
A ferret is a funsome thing,
But if they're gonna cheer you,
You gotta let them hear you sing:
Not sa-sa-sa-sa-safetypin
Nor na-na-na-na-nappypin
But te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Not co-co-co-co-cotterpin
Nor ro-ro-ro-ro-rollingpin
But te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
All together!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing the song!
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Te-te-te-te-terrapin
Everybody sing along!
And that's the terrapin song!
So, a couple of days ago, I got a private message on this blog, claiming that a friend (it didn't say who) had invited me to join something called "Dreamwidth."
I didn't know what Dreamwidth was, so I started checking out the links included in the post... and after that, did a Google-search and visited a few pages that talked about Dreamwidth... and, you know, even after all that, I'm still not completely sure.
Far as I have been able to make out, Dreamwidth is a lot like LiveJournal, except for the moment it's in beta testing and invite-only, and has a few diffent features. So the quesion, I suppose, is whether I actually need a new blog when I already have one (and one I only update a few times a month anyway). Maybe it's supposed to be for the communtity or something?
Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that someone found me worthy of an invite, but I think I would like some more information about it all before possibly joining. It's possible I just haven't looked in the right places, but if anyone would care to point the right places out to me, I'd be very grateful.
Also, who was it that invited me, and why? Anyone wanna help me out with this one?
I didn't know what Dreamwidth was, so I started checking out the links included in the post... and after that, did a Google-search and visited a few pages that talked about Dreamwidth... and, you know, even after all that, I'm still not completely sure.
Far as I have been able to make out, Dreamwidth is a lot like LiveJournal, except for the moment it's in beta testing and invite-only, and has a few diffent features. So the quesion, I suppose, is whether I actually need a new blog when I already have one (and one I only update a few times a month anyway). Maybe it's supposed to be for the communtity or something?
Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that someone found me worthy of an invite, but I think I would like some more information about it all before possibly joining. It's possible I just haven't looked in the right places, but if anyone would care to point the right places out to me, I'd be very grateful.
Also, who was it that invited me, and why? Anyone wanna help me out with this one?
I've been totally neglecting this blog this month, so I thought I'd at least let you all peek at some of my sketches from the croquis classes I've mentioned before.
The point of croquis drawing, as I think I've mentioned, is that the model only stands/sits in any given pose for a few minutes at a time, so you have to draw quickly in order to get the basic shape of your subject down on paper before it's too late. It's a very good way of training yourself to spot relevant shapes and lines and decide what's important to draw and what isn't.
The drawings presented here are from two separate sessions, one with a female model and one with a male model. Both models are naked (though it's hardly the most detailed representation of nudity here), so I suppose I'd better hide them behind the cut so as to not offend the eyes of innocent bystanders:
( Badly drawn nudity behind the cut )
The point of croquis drawing, as I think I've mentioned, is that the model only stands/sits in any given pose for a few minutes at a time, so you have to draw quickly in order to get the basic shape of your subject down on paper before it's too late. It's a very good way of training yourself to spot relevant shapes and lines and decide what's important to draw and what isn't.
The drawings presented here are from two separate sessions, one with a female model and one with a male model. Both models are naked (though it's hardly the most detailed representation of nudity here), so I suppose I'd better hide them behind the cut so as to not offend the eyes of innocent bystanders:
( Badly drawn nudity behind the cut )
You remember the Spike VS. Voldemort snippet from not too long ago, right? Well, since I had so much fun writing Spike, I thought I'd try my hands at writing a proper fanfic with the character. The result is called Bloody Cheesecake Surprise (thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
sarahcoldheart for the title!), and the first chapter is up on Fanfiction.net, here.
(See? True to my word, I give a heads-up here whenever new stories are up on FF.Net!)
Story involves Spike being taken prisoner by some mysterious woman calling herself Wanda, who wants to figure out just what makes him different from other vampires. First chapter mainly features Spike being extremely sarcastic about absolutely everything while this Wanda tries to explain why she has taken him prisoner.
sarahcoldheart for the title!), and the first chapter is up on Fanfiction.net, here. (See? True to my word, I give a heads-up here whenever new stories are up on FF.Net!)
Story involves Spike being taken prisoner by some mysterious woman calling herself Wanda, who wants to figure out just what makes him different from other vampires. First chapter mainly features Spike being extremely sarcastic about absolutely everything while this Wanda tries to explain why she has taken him prisoner.