| The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul |
[Oct. 2nd, 2008|03:32 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | bbc, radio | ] |
| [ | place |
| | work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | anticipatory | ] |
| [ | media |
| | Material World | ] |
Dirk Gently is back!
THE LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL
It's mostly exposition and setup, this episode, but such things are an investment in the future. If nothing else there are the radio production talents of Dirk Maggs to appreciate. |
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| Userpics Meme |
[Oct. 1st, 2008|06:37 pm] |
Dinner break means it's time once again for Farting Around on the Internet!
Today's installment of Farting Around on the Internet comes to you in the form of the Userpic Meme, which I am miming from Copperbadge, who is currently in the midst of a hacker crisis. With this meme I salute you! May the gods smile upon you and bring defeat to the Russian hacker poets!
Instructions (as best I remember them): Post an assortment of your userpics. If you have more than 20, post every other one. If you have more than 50, post every fifth one. Give the background for each of them.
I only have six, as I am a Basic user. (Basic Pride!) If I had more, the difference would probably be made up with Dr Horrible, so be grateful.
 | Default - I'd always intended to do a portrait for my icon but didn't have any ideas at first, so I grabbed a snippet of what had been my desktop image as a placeholder until I came up with something. Three years later, during downtime on my first actual animation job, I drew this. I've always really liked how Mignola handles portraits so I thought I'd try one myself. |
 | Cheese - Back in 2006 I found solace in the TV adaptation of Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen which I'd listen to while working, often several times a day. It was like drugs. I was introduced to Cheese at about the same time, and he seemed to personify my compulsive fixation on Copenhagen. |
 | Nerd - When I first visited Disney they had dressed up the Atlantis workspace to look like a museum, with a sepia portrait of each character and display case of props relating to them, which had me hooked instantly.* This was Milo's picture. I AM Milo (Act I Milo, anyway) so with this picture's nerdy backstory, what better way to signify a particularly obsessive or esoteric entry? |
 | Stress - Before Copenhagen, my comfort movie was Master and Commander, because there's nothing like the hardships of life at sea and beloved characters dying in battle to raise one's spirits. I particularly identified with Hollom at the time, for various reasons. This screencap is from one of the deleted scenes. |
 | Introspect - A screencap from Copenhagen, edited to fit into a square, this is Heisenberg seeing himself in the mirror from across the room. I use it on introspective posts, which I try to avoid, and tend to be friends-locked when they do appear. |
 | Catharsis - I am a catharsis junkie. Really, it says it all right there. I am extremely emotionally detached in real life so anything that can put me through the vicarious emotional wringer I will return to again and again like a crazed addict. Hit me up with some more of those feelings, man ... ahhhahahah, yeeaaaah. |
*The Atlantis Hallway ended up being at least five times cooler than the movie itself. O, for a time machine. |
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| The Worst Journey in the World |
[Sep. 30th, 2008|12:01 am] |
There are better ways to beat the heat on a sweltering summer* Sunday, but I attempted it by listening to Edwardian men pushed to the brink in Antarctica.
This week's Classic Serial on BBC Radio 4 was a dramatization of The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who was a member of Robert Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to Anarctica. Yes, that Scott expedition. Needless to say he wasn't part of the South Pole party because he wrote this book, but it's a gripping listen nonetheless. If you want to listen to the show, I have good news and bad news. Good news: The link works. Bad news: This is part 2. Good news: You can still enjoy it.
( The Background Information You Might Need to Know )
In looking up information about the expedition (and pictures!), I discovered that last year there was a film adaptation on BBC 4. A film adaptation starring Mark Gatiss and Lee Ingleby.
That would be ...
THIS Mark Gatiss:
 | and THIS Lee Ingleby:
 |
I WANT TO SEE THIS. I WANT TO SEE IT NOW. HOW CAN I SEE IT? It doesn't appear to be out on DVD (yet?). WANT. Even though it appears to be drastically different from the radio play. No matter. And no prizes for guessing what happens to Lee Ingleby's character.
*Technically it is autumn but any sunny day over 90°F is summer in my book. |
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| Orphan Works: JUST DIE ALREADY |
[Sep. 29th, 2008|08:32 am] |
| [ | place |
| | home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | bloody pissed off | ] |
EMERGENCY
Selected passages from the Illustrators' Partnership of America:
As lawmakers struggled Friday to clean up the mess on Wall Street, sponsors of the Orphan Works Act passed more special interest legislation. Their bill would force copyright holders to subsidize giant copyright databases run by giant internet firms.
Small business owners didn't ask for this legislation. We don't want it and we don't need it. Our opposition numbers have been growing daily. So Friday, the bill's sponsors reached for the hotline.
"In order for a bill to be hotlined, the Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader must agree to pass it by unanimous consent, without a roll-call vote. The two leaders then inform Members of this agreement using special hotlines installed in each office and give Members a specified amount of time to object – in some cases as little as 15 minutes. If no objection is registered, the bill is passed."
- Roll Call, Sept 17, 2007
In other words, a Senate bill can pass by "unanimous consent" even if some Senators don't know about it.
With lawmakers struggling to package a 700 billion dollar bailout to avert a worldwide economic meltdown, with the rest of the country focused on Presidential debates, with Washington in chaos and Congressional phone lines jammed, they hotlined an amended bill. On short notice, even the legislative aides we could reach by phone said they didn't have time to read it. And so, while we were rushing to get out a second email blast to artists, the bill passed by "unanimous consent" - in other words, by default.
The Senate passed their bill Friday, but the House hasn't. There's still time to write, phone and fax your congressional representatives. Tell them not to let the House Judiciary Committee fold their bill and adopt the Senate's.
DO IT NOW. It takes 30 seconds. Flood their inboxes. It's the only way (if any) they'll notice.
Our international friends with fax machines might be interested in this page.
Background information on this legislation can be found here.
In other words 'DIE! Why don't you just DIE already! [hacks at zombie legislation with a shovel] DIE! DIE! DIE!!'
Yes I changed the time stamp on this to move it up. It's an emergency, and LJ is very poorly-travelled on Sundays.</a> |
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| Once ... we were Postmen |
[Sep. 28th, 2008|01:57 pm] |
Please check the colour of the moon tonight and look up NOAA's estimate for the temperature in Hell.
An old-fashioned stop-motion kids' TV show is being remade ... but not in CG.
Postman Pat in the Twenty-First (and a half?) Centuryyyy!
Also, who wants to bet that the character of Arthur Weasley is at least subliminally influenced by Postman Pat? Anyone? |
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| The World is a Mess ... |
[Sep. 26th, 2008|07:01 am] |
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| Air Guns and Real Estate and Wax Busts, oh my! |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|07:38 am] |
If you enjoyed The Final Problem, follow it up with The Empty House! (New link should work ... I think ...)
If nothing else, at the very least it has one of the best faints I've ever heard on radio. |
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| Bolt! |
[Sep. 20th, 2008|10:15 am] |
Hey look, there's a clip on Yahoo!
And an interview with – hey wait a minute, I know that guy! Ladies and Gentlemen, The Voice of Rhino! |
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| Air Guns and Mathematicians and Switzerland, Oh My! |
[Sep. 19th, 2008|08:13 am] |
My favourite* episode of the Sherlock Holmes radio series is on BBC7!
The Final Problem
I wish you luck, as the iPlayer has been having Problems itself lately, beyond the inherent inferiorities to its predecessor. [shakes internet fist]
*Dramatically, anyway. 'Charles Augustus Milverton' is great fun as well. |
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| Justification for Melancholy |
[Sep. 17th, 2008|09:04 am] |
Even when I was a child, I gravitated strongly towards minor key music and tragic stories. I suspect my darkness worried a number of people. Little did they know I was improving my attention to detail and analysis skills!
Study Proves Sad Children Out-Perform Happy Children
I am now abuzz with theories for possible ramifications ... does the much larger proportion of minor (or modal) French children's songs have anything to do with how they seem to be intrinsically better at drawing? Do you stunt your child's intellectual development by feeding them only jaunty, happy media, as most children's media is? Does this effect continue into adulthood? Was listening to Thomas Newman soundtracks responsible for the overly technical animation I did on that seagull? Is this why Christian Pop and its devotees annoy me so much? Oh, the possibilities!
EDIT: The transcript of the segment of As It Happens where I heard about this study is behind the cut. They have more/different information than the story linked to above.
( According to Barbara Bud and the CBC... ) |
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| Small Update |
[Sep. 16th, 2008|06:58 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | art, website | ] |
| [ | place |
| | work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | waititng | ] |
| [ | media |
| | Snicket playlist | ] |
I've just amended the book list on my How-To-Draw page to reflect some of the more recent publications which I, in my lofty position and incalculable wisdom (ha ha ha) deem useful. If anyone knows of any other good online drawing tutorials that I could link to, would you be so kind as to notify me? (What happened to yours, Syd?) Mine is pathetically cursory and I don't see any point at which I'll be able to flesh it out. |
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| Vastly Delayed Lupin |
[Sep. 11th, 2008|08:34 am] |
I drew this in 2004 or 5 but couldn't scan it at the time and forgot about it. I'm sure I scanned it a couple years later, when I ran across it again, but it wasn't on my computer or my external hard drive when I remembered it during my recent website update. So I scanned it again. And here it is.
Remus tries to ignore James bullying Snape by burying himself in his book, from the 'Snape's Worst Memory' chapter in Order of the Phoenix (the only part I really liked in that book).
Yeah ... might be guilty of this sort of thing myself ... a lot ... |
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| The Vision-Fixing Doctor |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|07:24 am] |
The Miserable Mill is sort of the forgotten Snicket book ... it's referenced very infrequently, later in the series; it's far enough along that the formula starts getting a little tired and it's the last one before the introduction of the VFD mystery so it doesn't stick in people's minds. I have a bit of a soft spot for it, though, because it was my introduction to the series, it has the best song, and it's just so goofy.*
I've always had a very clear image of Dr Georgina Orwell in my head, but whenever I try focusing on her she turns into one of my designs where I can't think of anything original so I just throw together a bunch of features that I've used a hundred times before. Frustrating. I gave her an actual try this weekend and might be getting somewhere ... maybe ... or maybe I'm just throwing together a different selection of features than I normally do.
( Spurious Optometrist )
*Evidence:
Now that they were standing at the gate, the children could see why the letters looked rough and slimy: they were made out of wads and wads of chewed-up gum, just stuck on the gate in the shapes of letters. Other than a sign I saw once that said "Beware" in letters made of dead monkeys, the "Lucky Smells Lumbermill" sign was the most disgusting sign on earth ...
The moral of 'The Three Bears,' for instance, is 'Never break into someone else's house." The moral of "Snow White" is "Never eat apples." The moral of World War One is "Never assassinate Archduke Ferdinand." |
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| Flippancy |
[Sep. 5th, 2008|10:18 am] |
It's time once again for one of my most annoying habits: Taking sober situations and making light of them for comic effect!
Jack Abramoff Jailed for Corruption
One of two things happened here: either the jury had no choice but to convict because anyone looking at him could tell he was guilty, or since his conviction he's thrown off all pretense and dressed up in character. I mean, look at that outfit! That is not the black fedora and trenchcoat of an innocent man.
Reunited in Meteorology
I don't suppose anyone else has noticed that there is both an Ike and a Josephine in the Atlantic this year. Just me, then? Thought so. I do hope you are all enjoying your mental stability.
The Great Race
Democrat and Republican would have you believe that what really matters are the policies and/or personalities of the candidates for president. I say, don't listen to what those squares tell you; what will decide this race is the quality of the delegates' hats! ( Visual Aides ) |
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| Election Commentary #2 |
[Sep. 3rd, 2008|06:50 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | random | ] |
| [ | place |
| | home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | bloody hot | ] |
| [ | media |
| | the RNC until it got ridiculous | ] |
Dear Audience of the Republican Convention,
If you cheer and applaud after every sentence the speaker utters, you will be there all month. At least save it for the people on the ticket, mkay?
Thanks,
A Concerned Citizen |
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| Diverse Auditory Amusements |
[Sep. 2nd, 2008|11:56 pm] |
Hey, Internet! Guess what's finally on iTunes? Betcha can't guess!
Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Soundtrack!
Professional sound quality! Crystal-clear stereo! No sound effects!* Official song titles! Individually packaged tracks that you can put on repeat!**
I live in the hope that perhaps, some glorious day soon, the nerds will unite and dethrone the album that is currently #1, which appears to be some sort of 'urban music.' So I do my part by spreading awareness. Be aware.
In celebration I was going to draw 'a shiny new Australia' but FAILED. This is probably the fault of one of two things: 1. The grinding of the mental transmission as my brain tried to switch fandom gears at full speed 2. It's actually really hard.
In return, here is a visual approximation of listening to the Snicket audio books ( As Read By The Author )
*Definitely cool re: such songs as 'A Man's Gotta Do...' but the second Bad Horse song kinda loses something without the whinny and the gunshot.
**Not that I would ever recommend doing such a thing. Or do so myself. |
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| Hector's Tragic Flaw |
[Sep. 1st, 2008|10:05 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | drawing, snicket | ] |
| [ | place |
| | home | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  lazy | ] |
| [ | media |
| | surprsingly not the loud neighbours | ] |
This drawing was first conceived several years ago, when the Unauthorized Autobiography made it clear that Hector had been a member of VFD and almost certainly knew Jacques. This added a whole new psychological layer to the scene in the Town Hall of the Village of Fowl Devotees. Surely he would have recognized Jacques? They practically grew up together, if we are to believe the image of pre-schism VFD as some sort of intrepid mobile underground boarding school. His skittishness lands the Baudelaires in prison but he at least tries, in his ineffectual way, to help them after that, and we can kind of forgive him because his heart's in the right place; the fact that Hector doesn't do a thing to help an old friend and colleague, when he is in sole possession of knowledge that can attest to his innocence, 'gives him rather a darker edge,' as ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) octaveleap succinctly phrased it.
So, here is a little sequence illustrating the scene with this character background in mind. Since it's written from the Baudelaires' point of view, all we know of Hector's reaction is that when they look back to him for support he 'continued to sit in his folding chair with his eyes cast downward.' Doesn't say anything about his expression or what might be going through his mind ...
( The following image is both large and depressing. I am not just saying that to be 'in character.' Not funny at all. You have been warned. ) |
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| And the Updates Keep Trickling In... |
[Aug. 30th, 2008|10:08 pm] |
While listening to The Vile Village, I remembered a drawing that hadn't made it to Photobucket and therefore was not included in the most recent update of my site. In looking for it I discovered a few more stragglers, so they're up on The Snicket Page now, along with some snippets of media that felt like they belonged. ( They're also behind the cut. )
I also discovered that the most Snickety minute in cinema is now on YouTube. I should warn you, over the course of the clip, three people get shot, two of them in a war setting, so if you have no stomach for such things, turn away now. The scene I'm talking about is at 3:44. Things being how they are, I don't know how long this clip will be up ...
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| Evasive Measures |
[Aug. 29th, 2008|10:11 am] |
| [ | place |
| | work | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  annoyed | ] |
1. Download and install Firefox (it's just better anyways)
2. Download and install Adblock Plus
If you're logged in you can't see 'em (for now) but following the above instructions should eliminate the ads from the side of my journal, only slightly messing up the formatting of the page.
Curse you, LJ – your antics have not perturbed me until now. |
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