Fanart

by on February 23, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Posted In: Test

I’ve been enjoying My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic since I first heard about it some time last year. I remember my first response to it was “oh no, don’t tell me they’re doing it again!” (having lived through the eighties I remember the original cartoons and was convinced at the time it was sponsored by the makers of insulin) my second response was “I don’t believe it this is pretty good”.

Anyway despite enjoying it and the fanscene I don’t really consider myself a Brony. For the most part, I associate the term with some really obsessive types. I know it’s nitpicking but it works for me. Besides… as a fan and student of animation I’ve never had any guilty hangups about liking children’s programs.

However I’ve been a fan of Discworld far longer. So when I came across two characters in the two franchises that had the same name, certain images occurred to me.

I usually avoid fanart I generally think it’s a waste of time. But recently It occurred to me that it could serve as an exercise by pretending it was a work for hire job with a deadline and serve as a change of scene. Also after some frustration it occurred to me that fanart might be a way of getting more visibility on my Deviantart account.

Anyway look forward to hearing what you all think (otherwise don’t hold my moment of weakness against me.)

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Favorite Quotes

by on February 22, 2012 at 11:15 am
Posted In: Test

Thought I’d try something new. I like to collect quotes and every time I stumble over one I like I put it in a data base I maintain for such a purpose. For the most part they’re all over the place from Shakespeare to bathroom graffiti the only constant being my thinking they appeal to my sense of humor, contrariness or my efforts to find items to back up a personal philosophy which I admit is still a work in progress.

Anyway I decided to start sharing them.

Today’s quote will be from the great Havelock Vetenari as channeled by the even greater Terry Pratchett (I’ll warn you in advance… I’m going to have a lot of material from Mr. Pratchett) As he speaks on evil, ethics, morality  and theology.

“I have told this to few people, gentlemen, and I suspect I never will again, but one day when I was a young boy on holiday in Uberwald I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs. A very endearing sight, I’m sure you will agree, and even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged on to a half-submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature’s wonders, gentlemen: mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that’s when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.”

Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals, 2009

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A Few Thoughts on Tea

by on February 20, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Posted In: Test

I’ve been a tea drinker for the last year or so. When I say that I mean real tea… herbal tea has been one of my main choices for relaxing non-caffeinated herbal beverages for some time. What normal tea I’ve had in the past was your classic Lipton tea bags which frankly I could take or leave.

There have been a few things that have changed this for me the first was a handful of cooking shows which would go on about the benefits of tea and how it’s caffeine content had a much softer kick than coffee did. Thus making it a good choice for an afternoon pickup. The other thing came from coming across more than one stock British character, in a lot of the comics I read, going on and on about finding a proper cup of tea. While I was fully aware this was lazy short hand from various writers used to show an ethnic stereotype the other result that it had was leaving me wonder just what the deal with loose leaf tea.

A little while later I came across a good deal on a small tea pot with a built in strainer and quickly discovered what the deal was. The difference between loose leaf and teabags was so great they might as well be two different drinks.

After a little bit of trial and error, my brand of choice has been Caykur’s Yesil Çay Green Tea. One of my favorite stores in Seattle, Big John’s PFI, sells it for three dollars a tin so I go through it pretty fast. Fast enough that the empty tins add up pretty fast. I’ve been recycling them by using them as the perfect containers for a lot of the bulk spices I like to keep in stock. It beats keeping them in little shakers. The one problem with this strategy is that its absolutely mandatory to keep the tins properly labeled and kept in the correct cupboards. Otherwise… well… let me put it this way.

Basil tea is not to be recommended.

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New Set

by on February 16, 2012 at 11:17 am
Posted In: Test

I’m a growing fan of Google Sketchup. Both as a source of references and sets for backgrounds. It’s much easier to use than several of the 3D programs I’ve used in the past and as I’ve gotten better at using it I’ve started making background sets for some of the prime locations in the strip. Last month I completed a new version of Lysistrata. Yesterday I just finished the Circle Band’s practice Loft.

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