Friday, December 21, 2007

Someone Ban Commercialized Christmas, Please!

Thank you to everyone who sent holiday e-cards. I'll have them up on site here this weekend sometime, and I hope to have mine ready and posted here by then too. Also, my holiday shopping is finally done. The second installment to my holiday story is up. More specific information is out about Version Vibrant. In a comment to an Otaku Opinion Poll over on the TheO main page recently, Adam specifically stated that the customizations of MyO will NOT be carried over to the new version. Personally, that's the burg what sank Titanic if you ask me, part of the fun of blogging here is the ability to do things with the page that other sites don't allow, or make difficult. See this week's Otaku Opinion Poll comments for Adam's in context and unedited posting. I'm annoyed cause the time I was putting into a new theme could have been better spent on the artwork I'm overdue on. Also in Version Vibrant related news, Adam is working on several "user groups" of admin appointed member titles. He provided basic information on one such title, tentatively the "Otaku Honor Guard" which will probably spiral into friends of staff and be the biggest group of condoned harrassers on Version Vibrant. Based on what Adam provided about that particular user group's function. I can easily see people using it for, as SomeGuy put it in his comment on the post "backseat modding". I do not see that concept working as it is intended. My Cell phone provider is a complete [Censored]. They fouled up my voicemail account and I told them that if they don't fix it, they can play their games all they want I'll take my business to another more reliable provider. I will do that when my current obligation runs out in late January. Comments NekoMimi16: I can't speak for my own writing style or ability. Every artist is hyper critical of his or her own works. Read and just decide that for yourself is all I can offer. I know people who don't have daily or weekly access to sacanners or digital cameras, so they tend to upload a lot when they have the time and resources to do so. I don't really think it's fair to that type of user to cap the number they can submit cause certain artists are whining that their works aren't getting views and such. Adam also caused part of the problem by setting up the system to bypass moderation after so many works are submitted. He set the system up to be flooded with works that way. Maybe he should start by rescinding that "hidden" feature and seeing how that works first. It still takes my works a while to show up, mine have to go through moderation, why should someone else's works not have that same process just cause they submitted more works over time? That's hardly fair either. Shireishou: Nice to see you around again. I was wondering what happened to you. the titles for all fo the pieces actually came from statements in the comment that inspired the artwork. Just knowing I did a good job on it, and that you like it is saying enough. Well, I don't want to get you in trouble for being online. come around when you can, but don't push it to get on if your boss don't like it too well. Best of luck with the new job. Yeah, a lot is going down right now, and in the near future I think. The Version Vibrant thing has a lot of people really confused and there's a lot of conflicting info going around about it, that's why I'm putting together a comprehensive report on Version Vibrant, what's to expect with it, what's going to change, how will it affect MyO and so on. Just keep reading my blog here when you can, I'll have Version Vibrant updates on it as often as I can. I miss your posts too, I hope to see you back in action here real soon. AngelBest Dream: Gathering information is something I'm told I'm good at, but seeing "the whole picture" in this case is more luck than anything else. Spotting gems requires being in the right place at the right time to see that stuff. Like that first Version Vibrant piece I posted. Normally I don't respond to those polls, but that one I had to, and sure enough there was Adam's statement regarding the MyO customizations. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of web commerce and site proffitability, but I think in the end it comes down to the question "who is the site for?" If the bulk of what's being done is to resemble competing sites or web models, or to cater to advertiser whims, then the site shouldn't be there at all in my opinion. This site is about the members, what the members provide in feedback should at least have some bearing on the future developments of the site. Yahoo! fails to consider it's members' opinions when it changes features and things, and that site is falling apart more and more each day in terms of features randomly breaking down, long-time features not working for over a year or more, and so on. It's an insult to the members to tell them "this is how it's going to be and you're going to like it.", that's antagonistic, and counter productive to wanting to bring more people in. I don't think restricting the number of art each member can submit in a day is the solution to the problem. The problem isn't the number of works being submitted, it's about popularity, plain and simple. There's a faction of ill-tempered artists on here who went whining to Adam about not getting high view counts and demanding that the "flood of 'inferior to mine' art be stopped by limiting the number of works they can submit" to the point he's blindly taken that road. I can see a number of good anime fan artists being turned off to TheO for it having that submission restriction feature. No site as big as what Adam wants to make this has that kind of self-inflicted shot in the foot type of feature. And I can see real problems coming if the submission upload page does not provide clear and direct information on the submission limits as well. I don't comment on every artwork I view, I don't vote on every artwork I view, and I don't favorite every artwork I view either. I have to be moved to do those things, something has to stir in me the passion to say something profound and intelligent. I'm not the type of person to just pop in and go "Dazz c00l!" to a piece of art, just to say I commented on the art. I could comment more than I do, I realize that, but number of comments isn't going to go up for those artists who think limiting the amount of submissions we can upload here is going to get them more views. If people aren't lookng now, they're not going to look when there's "less filler" as some would say. It just won't happen. I'd like to see what other asinine ways they try to beat Adam into implementing to gain those numbers that they crave, cause I guarantee you, they won't work either. If that's about the calendar or the novel, I'm not giving up on the novel, I just have to change my approach and list my landline phone in future solicitations with the manuscript/proposal package. The Calendar will not be valid after next year so it's pretty much a wash considering it hadn't sold a single copy since I made it available. No point dwelling on the failures, just the possibilities right now. If it's about something else, I'm not sure I know what you mean. Animé Dreams!

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Friday, December 14, 2007

My Work Here is Never Done

If you haven't noticed already, I pulled down the calendar link I had up earlier than I'd intended (I set a date of December 15th for that take-down), I don't think the extra week or so would have made a difference anyway given the numbers. Kind of hard to hold onto something when all it comes out to in the end is 0. Just one more line item to add to the list of failed projects under my belt to date. As I promised (at least I think I did), here is the first installment to the holiday story I'm working on. If nothing else, it give you all a taste of my writing style. Hope you enjoy it, and I'll keep you all updated on when the new chapters go up, it's not going to be super long, only three to five chapters actually. Most of the work goes into coding up the pages that the story parts are on, and modding the other pages that connect to them. Unfortunately, I don't have a feedback method (I don't even have my e-mail up) on my personal web site yet, so you'll have to comment here if you're so inclined, or you could e-mail me the link is right over there to the left. Some new information is out now, I think it's a very light look at some of what to expect in the Version Vibrant release. Another "feature" that's now known is a cap on submissions. I have no valid opinion on that since I'm not prolific enough to worry about it, but I can see a bit of a rough road for TheO in having that. See Adam's blog post for as much of the detail as he provided there. Those other woodburns have been delayed again. No clue on a new date for them yet. Comments kitbug69: Yeah, seeing those words on the screen of the vid was really something. Hopefully it will serve it's purpose. Hopefully it won't ever come to the point where I have to post a PM, but till the user block is in place, that will be my policy on handling certain types of PM communications. So do I. Yensid: I noticed that bad link in the e-mail. Actually I caught the posting here on site directly before I got the e-mail, but I did see the bum and corrected links in the e-mails. Pays to be on that mailing list, you get stuff like that once in a while. A lot of people are commenting that the video didn't really say much. Adam himself acknowledged that he didn't really give the AMV director who made the promo vid much to work with. For some reason he's keeping a lot close to the vest on this upgrade, kind of makes me wonder. Yeah, there are more questions than answers with that user block. I would hope that ideally it would knock out all points of contact, PM, comment, guestbook, and e-mail link, heck it should block the user from being able to access the page and portfolio at all, but that's just my opinion. We won't know till it gets here how it works and how it doesn't work. Cosplay is not gone yet, but Adam did mention he was thinking about "retiring" it like Articles and Reviews. See here, here, and here for that info. I make a point of linking those "dead" hubs every chance I get to keep them as alive as I can. I will do the same for Cosplay if it gets the same treatment that the other two got. Yeah, getting a REGULAR e-newsletter would be nice for the people who don't use RSS to get the news feed from the main site, or read Adam's blog for the site info he does post there. Maybe it's costly to send one out regularly, I don't know how e-mail lists work, but I do know that could be handled more efficiently. If he needs to outsource to someone to take care of that, I'd volunteer to take care of that myself. Ah, that's helpful information that I'll get right on looking up. Actually physical costs wouldn't be too high, wood's not that expensive, neither are the shipping costs. Time is relative since there are multiple aspects of the projects. I will have to figure out an average of how long it takes me to do a small piece and crunch some numbers from there to estimate the larger ones. Actually, I was underwhelmed by Tin Man when I saw it. The matriarchal society was a gambit that worked well for the story, I don't think that environment could have been portrayed any other way at all, but with the name it had, it should have addressed that character more than it did, or had a different name. Something I picked up on throughout was that the writers went to too many extremes on both ends of a writing spectrum. Were they paying homage to the original work, or was it a new take on the story? I couldn't tell. The story bounced back and forth between the two concepts with such force that it made my head hurt at times. They should have found one really profound element from the original, and made that the only homage in the whole thing (that does not include character elements that are necessary to give the story it's relation to the original). Throw away stuff like the "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" bit, just seemed fake and unrealistic in the setting of this take on the story, and actually those kinds of things annoyed me. One other thing that disturbed me was the gratuitous profanity. There were times when bad language was completely inappropriate, yet it was used anyway. That's the hallmark of bad writing, using course language in that manner is a turn off for the program, because to me it reflects the writers' and the director's insecurity about the program to carry itself. It was like they put some of the cursing in there just because they "could do it". What I saw in Tin Man, was a whole lot of wasted potential. There was so much more that could have been done had the people responsible for the script actually stuck to one direction from start to finish. I've got some decor up, did that the other night. Not sure when the rest is going up though. the real yojimbo: Well, now, that would be scary. AngelBest Dream: Good to know you're not stressing so much anymore. There's nothing on here that can't wait for another day or two if you get bogged down. And thanks on the woodburns. When I get the others done I'll upload them and get them in the table with the others. You said it. Like I said before, take your time, don't rush, and get some rest. Those messages aren't going anywhere. Iruka Sensei: I suppose so, but Hal or Cosmic works better for me. Yeah, thanks for coming by, and I like the holiday avatar, can't go wrong with the classics. Animé Dreams!

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Sunday, December 9, 2007

Quick Blurb

The trailer for Version Vibrant went up on Friday. I watched it, and for the most part it didn't say much. One feature it did mention specifically was a "block user" feature which has been asked for by many members for some time now. I recently joined the bandwagon wanting to see that feature show up, so I'm happy to know that little bit about Version Vibrant. A quick announcement. I hope to have the first part of a special short story ready for linking here next time I post. Consider it a special gift for the holiday season. No details till linking time though, sorry. I'd post it directly here, but with the new version coming, I don't want to lose any formatting, so I'll just link to an external site hosting it. Still working on the art stuff as well, I'm almost a whole year behind now. Hopefully I can get something done on those pieces this month. Comments twilight samurai: I'm glad you like it. I did put that green digital signature on the scans, only because I can't burn a green signature on the pieces, wood only burns in brown or black. By all means use it how you want. Yensid: Don't worry about missing the boat this time, there will be other opportunities for suggestions. Actually, you bring up a very good question. I had planned to address the idea of doing commission work a little later, after I got my other pieces done and shown off here, but now is as good a time as later to take care of that. Yes, I will take commissions. Now, I don't really have a clue how the whole commission thing works, so I'll be learning all that business as I go, but I'm game to try anything if it helps my art improve. Well, my policy will be obsolete when Version Vibrant kicks in, I won't need to worry because the much requested block user feature is said to be coming with the upgrade. That will make it easier on everyone cause, plain and simple, I'll block the people who try to dodge public discussion of the issues they don't want my readers to know they disagree with me on, then they won't get a voice with me at all. I don't really see myself being all that deep, but that's probably because I don't really do much other than my art, writing and watch animé I try to avoid the pitfalls of doing a "daily diary" type of thing where there a lot of action and little substance. To be honest, I don't really do enough to do that kind of accounting of my days, so I generally avoid it. I know what you mean about getting to know people. Sure there's a novelty to knowing the mundane stuff, but human beings (and dragons :þ ) are more than just what color socks wear and what times we go to bed. I think a lot of the people I try to keep up with here go beyond the mundane and further into what makes them, as individuals, tick. Short of being myself, there's no one else I can be. I missed the first part of that, so I stayed away from the rest so that the story will make sense when I do get to see it all. I'm hoping they run it again soon so I can get to see it. Of all the stuff I heard about it, only one person didn't like it, and that was my brother who's opinion on many things is skewed so I put little stock in his dislike for it. Too many people I know online here say more good about it, so I'll give it a chance when I can. AngelBest Dream: Sounds like you need to take a break from something. Pushing too hard can affect your ability to think, and create. Always rest up when you can so you're not running ragged on 20 things at once. I'm glad you like what you see in the woodburns. I did try my best to do them well. You don't have to rush to get an answer to me on that kind of thing, take care of older/more important ones before getting to mine, and REST UP before you respond as well. Hopefully I'll have a few more up here in the coming weeks Woodburn and non-wood alike. No promises on the non-wood ones though. JD Person I've heard some things about a couple people getting less than pleasant treatment in the recent months. I've seen the same thing happen before here, it seems to go in cycles, and well, now I have a story where it happened to me too, not just my friends. Thank goodness that user block feature is coming. That will be a help in many ways to reduce that kind of attitude around here. Maybe it'll get people to think a little more clearly about how they express their opinions to others. It's okay to not agree with someone, but there's a line between having a difference of opinion with someone and being confrontational about the disagreement. Saying simply "I don't agree, here's where I'm coming from-" will get people a lot further than "You're completely wrong-" ever will. Do I see myself as being brave? No, I think I'm either incredibly stupid, or stubborn, or an unhealthy mix of the two. I've never been the type to be scared off by one or two little annoyances, and I'm going to continue to be like that. I just don't know any better than to hold my ground. I think there are people far more brave than I here on site though. The ones who actively express their dissatisfaction to Adam over the closing of Articles and Reviews sites every chance they get. The ones who will stand up and say there's more to animé fandom that pictures, papers, and e-cards. Those guys and gals have much of my respect for doing what they do, knowing that Adam's turning a deaf ear to their complaints. They are truly the brave souls here. If I could have done everyone's suggestions I would have. There were so many good ones to choose from. I did print out those suggestions, so I'll probably look over the ones that didn't make this cut for a future round of woodburn projects when I have the time and money to invest in more wood to work on. Actually, one of yours came pretty close to being picked this time around. It was a tough choice for all three of the character pieces I did. There were a few others that caught my eye, so I'd like to do them in the future at some point, and I think at least one of yours is high on that list. KayuraWolfwood Thanks for the feedback, and for the record, I burned my fingers at least three times, put a black mark on the table I was using, and almost set my pants on fire twice during the burning stage of just those three pieces. The end results are worth the pain though. GIDRA: Nice to see you again. No that notice just went up recently, and hopefully it'll be obsolete too soon to really become a fixture of my site. It's just a precautionary step I'm taking to make sure that certain abuses of the system aren't committed against me again. Everyone has their own opinion on the PM posting thing, and for 90% of the PM traffic I get, it will remain private. I'm just taking a stance on posting messages from people who see how I do things here, and don't want to face the scrutiny of my peers by being public in the expression of their opinions on what I say here. The image behind the notice is actually my first attempt at tattoo lineart. The guy who's doing the tattoo was concerned about some of the detail getting lost so I'm reworking it to fix that. The feedback is appreciated, thanks. Yeah, I'm hearing more and more conflicting stuff about that update and how (in)compatible most current themes and/or user coding are going to be, so I'm waiting to see what I have to work with in terms of backroom provisions, and what I can expand beyond that, then I'll finalize my new theme and try to get it up. Hopefully, I'll still be able to use the CSS I've got for my blog, most of that's just formatting, but we'll know when the time comes right? You take care as well. BASH: Thank you for the feedback, it's very much appreciated. When the others are done, they'll be up here as soon as possible in one way or another. Yeah, I'm getting a lot of mixed messages on the upgrade's handling of the current user coding, so I'm holding off on that. I'll rework my SoBe Team Lizard theme (the current one) into the new set-up once I know what's what with it, and I'll use it for the summer, but I'll keep the subject of my next theme a secret for now. I'm not sure how many of you will know much about the subject, but we'll have to see when the time comes for the unveiling. I'm still looking for a publisher, or an agent. I think if I fail to meet my deadline for having either one (early next year sometime), I may have to overhaul the manuscript to try to make it more appealing to publishers, even though no ones' telling me jack about how to improve the story, just that "it's not right for us at this time". Either that, or [Censored] doing it the right way and go self-publishing which would make the book cost more and harder to acquire. Iruka Sensei: Nice to see you back here. I've been trying to get around to sites more than I have been. And I think I'm succeeding for the most part. Thanks for the feedback on the art, I do appreciate all comments on them, and my PM policy, well hopefully it'll be obsolete before I have to use it. Magnus Lensherr: Thank you for the feedback. Hopfully you'll like yours which will be up as soon as I get it done, hopefully this week. Well, I'm still kind of all over the place with setting a definite posting day. It'll vary from week to week till I eventually just sit down and decide "this day of the week" is when I'll post. Actually Friday might be a good day cause it'll cover both the week and the weekend effectively. I may end up going to a two post a week scenario too, there's a couple options milling in my head. If I can do a lot of the things with Version Vibrant as I can do now, it should be all right. When I know what I can do theme-wise, I'll be able to finish up the theme and get it going. Right now it's just a waiting game to know what Version Vibrant will have to offer configuration -wise. What happened to me a very short thing at the beginning of November, it wasn't and isn't an ongoing thing. The user block feature that's coming with Version Vibrant will effectively end the need for my policy on that type of message, so I'll be glad for it. With luck, I won't have to use my policy before then. Thank you and same here. Mamma Vash: Thank you for the feedback on the woodburns. I'm all right and trying to take care of all those art projects I'm not close to a year overdue on (yikes!). The surfing lizard is cool, all of the SoBe Lizards are cool, that's why they're up here. I seem to be continuing to break everything I touch-- this is very strange. Any suggestions? Pardon the crudely insensitive humor at your expense, no offense is meant, but how about wearing gloves? Animé Dreams!

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Updates and Commemoratives

Update: Commemorative Woodburn Projects Piece Details Fighting Spirit In All Of Us Hosted By theOtaku.com. Title Fighting Spirit in All of Us Character/Source Ichigo Kurosaki / Bleach Inspired by twilight samurai Status DELIVERED Where We Came From Hosted By theOtaku.com. Title Where We Came From Character/Source Pikachu / Pokémon Inspired by beyblader Status Ready To Ship Facing Pain Hosted By theOtaku.com. Title Facing Pain Character/Source Hokuto / B'T X Inspired by Shireishou Status Ready to Ship As you can see, I've made some progress on the woodburns. Three of them are completed, I just have two more to go right now. Been doing some thinking on the update thing, I'll probably post either Tuesday or Wednesday, middle of weekish to get the wider coverage of people updating their own blogs. I'm trying to get around to sites, and I have been kind of lurking without commenting on some of them, but I'll make a more concerted effort to actually comment if I can. Not a whole lot else going on at the moment, I've got a new theme in the works (SoBe lizards are cool so I'll probably them as my summer theme and Next year I'll have at least one more picture in the line-up). I'm holding off on putting it up till this major site update goes into effect inthe next who knows when. I don't want to have a nice theme in the works to find out I can't use some of the elements I spent my time on making. After Version Vibrant gets going, I'll know what i have to work with and try to adapt my elements to fit. Comments japanese kitten: It's not all of them yet, but it's a start. The others will be added to the table when they're completed. JD Person That's a well put way of saying it. I'm sorry it took me almost a month to figure that out myself. The greatest victory one can have against those who would try to be oppressive, is to stand up and face them head on. Resistance is the largest obstacle that impedes their path. Magnus Lensherr: That is a policy decision I had to make. I've always done my best to promote open and honest discussion on my blog here, that's why I answer publically posted comments publically, so that my views are open to everyone to read and discuss should they feel it appropriate. I can assure you, the first time it happens that I have to post a private message, someone's not going to be too happy about it, but this is my firm stance on the matter. I want people to read and discuss my blogs and have their own opinions, they have the right to their own opinion. They, however, do not have the right to have their opinion shielded from the scrutiny of my peers should they fear being criticized for their views, or the manner in which they present them to me. If a user has something to say to me about what I say publically, they should be prepared to speak their opinion publically as well. Yeah, I'm back, and I'll probably be posting on the week like I was before (though I'm thinking about trying out a different day than Saturday), I just don't have a lot going on to post about any more frequently than that right now. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to posting relevant private messages. I'll be honest, there will be some satisfaction in putting the words of someone trying to play me in private out into public view. I just hope that anyone wanting my attention for discussion of a disagreement will be motivated to keep their public sentiments public, so that not only I, but they, are protected from fallacies that can be perpetuated from having things said in private. You know, it'll feel good to be back here. timechaser: I had no intention of letting the situation chase me away from here indefinately, I just needed time to figure some things out and regroup my spirits. I still will not give out the details of my situation publically. Even though I am taking the keep all important things public stance, I will in no way deliberately bait those unsavory characters into renewed aggression in my direction. I expect them to come at me for other infractions I commit against their poorly defined moral senses, or for just for telling the truth in a way they're too tunnel-visioned to see the full scope of clearly. Love the mythbusters crash test dummy avatar, it's amusing. That's one of my favorite non-anime shows on these days, and one of few "reality" programs I can watch. Hop-Frog: As the line goes: "I'm Baaaa-aaaaack". If I remember right, that's from a horror film or something like that. Anyway, it fits the mood. I'm old-school on that front, I prefer a big stick *hefts full size redwood tree baseball bat* to LASERs and blasters. Even dragons find themselves wounded in battle and need to seek quiet healing away from their opponents. I have healed, and now I am back to fight longer and harder than before, and this time, I won't let myself get wounded so easily. I've been lurking a lot lately too, I'm finding it hard to comment on sites and stuff where people talk of things I'm not familiar with. I don't wnat to post one-liners just to say I posted, I like to be coherent and relevant with my comments on topics people post about. They take the time to write up a blog post for something important to them, so I shouldn't take up comment space if I can't speak from experience or wisdom on the topic they're passionate enough to post about. I'm glad to be back, I feel things are right with me again. I got the ones I'vefinished up there for you to look at, the others are on the way. It's been cold here lately, especially at night (27°F one night recently). Wool socks are good for the cold, and hiking. I've got a pair of those I'll have on at night so my feet don't freeze. Yensid: Yeah, I'm back in action. Hm, I suppose the nature of a "private" message is to be just that. I however don't see it exactly that way for all situations. It's far too easy for someone to use "private" messages to further their own agenda or quite simply to harass users knowing there will be no scrutiny of their words, that no one will be able to hold them to their views, and that cannot be allowed. That is a carte blanche I'm not willing to concede to the types of people who would take advantage of such shadows to hurt or intimidate others while trying to keep their own public image intact. Is it likely that making a public matter out of private messages will incite a conflict? I have no doubts that in some cases that will happen, but no one can say they weren't warned, that's why the notice is in red text up ther at the top of my page. There's no way around that potential for conflict, no matter what choice is made. If someone would perpetuate a conflict for that reason, for what they said in private about a hot-button issue being made public, it's highly possible that they would perpetuate the conflict whether or not it was in public eyes. How do I know this? How can I be so sure? Well, I used to be that kind of person myself, I used to go out of my way to make trouble for others and play head games with them when they said something I didn't agree with. I know the personality type more intimately than I care to admit, so I know how to handle that type effectively, and trust me, this is it. Being the son of a minister, I can certainly relate to religious differences of opinion first hand. That's why generally, I don't talk religion because there are too many variables involved. I do however bring up one piece of Scripture particularly tailored to the overzealous would-be preachers. Don't get used to me quoting Scripture, it's not going to happen often, but I believe "Judge not lest ye be judged." is a justifications stopper if ever I heard one. I was taught that God wants me to respect others, whether or not they believe what I do, I was taught not to cast judgement on other people (I do fail at that, often), and I was taught that it is not appropriate to force the Word of God upon someone who does not want to hear it, or honors it in other ways. Lost souls who are open to the Word are different, but I won't get into that here since it's not really relevant. Your encounter in that instance tells me I'm in the right for taking this approach. It will either completely disarm the attacker and I'll be left alone, or it'll convince such a person to be civil with me in public discussion of our differences, which is fine by me. Being able to hold a public discussion in a polite manner, that's really a conerstone of civilized society. I'll actively converse with people who don't agree with me so long as they are tactful and polite, and they can expect the same of me in return. I know what you mean. There are a few things left over from my situation that I, unfortunately, can't really talk about without tipping my hand to those still involved. There will be incidents like that which come up once in a while, and we each have to choose our own way of handling them the way we best can. My choice is going to be to keep everything I can in the public eye so that one-sided views of the situation can't be developed by anyone looking on, or anyone who gets involved. Yeah, it's getting chilly here, got down to 27°F the other night, time to get out the electric blankets or this dragon will turn into an ice cube. AngelBest Dream: Tests are always tiring. Some more so than others I would imagine. Take your time with the messages, do a couple at a stretch, then take a break, do a few more, and so on till they're done. Trying to tackle so many messages at once can be exhausting, and from the sound of things, you are already. I like that material, I'll have to be inspired to create my own message tagline from it. Don't push yourself too hard okay, get some rest when you can. Animé Dreams!

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Claiming My Territory

For certain people, you know who you are, I'm not nearly so easy to silence as you would like me to be. I've given the whole thing a lot of thought and well, I made a decision. Not once in my life have I been such a coward that I would run away. I've always stood my ground and spoke my mind regardless of what others might say or do to me in the process. This little game here shouldn't have been any different, and it will not be any different in the future. Consider this notice that I will not back down again, I will not hide, and I will not let anyone bully me into silence or submission. This dragon's defiant roar will be heard echoing off the distant mountains, through the bottoms of the deepest seas, and higher in the skies than eagles and dragons soar in response to any future challenges that are thrust upon me. All you have to do is remember two things: 1) I know who you are, and 2) I don't make threats, I make promises. The enigma that is the dragon has returned. I have given a lot of thought to the situation, and I decided not to let a rag-tag little collection of losers inhibit me from doing something I enjoy doing. Sharing who I am with good, understanding people. I chose not to let what happened over the past few months to get at me. I can still be my open, honest self if I really try, and show no fear to those who would attempt to attack me for being who I am. Fear isn't worth it, so I'm back, and I'm ready to go at this thing again with the same level of quality and commitment that I had before. I will point out my new header, the important message that should be read by all my readers. Scroll back up and read it if you skipped over it already. What I have chosen to do is to make public all attempts by unsavory individuals to manipulate, harass, intimidate, or otherwise impede myself and/or my posting here. I will be posting content, and answers to comments publically, so any concerns or statements dealing with what I have posted in public will also be kept in the public eye so that the scrutiny of peers can keep all parties honest. Expect to see the wood burn pieces, at lteas threee of the show up todat or tomorrow. I will try to have what I do have finished up pefore tomorrow. Comments Everyone, I thank you for your support through this ordeal, you have been a big help in more ways than you know. I will return to answering comments in my next post. You have all been much more valuable to me thsi past month than I can really express. Thank you again. Animé Dreams!

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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Posting a week late, apologies for the delay. Update: Commemorative Woodburn Projects Character Source Inspired By Project Status Ichigo Kurosaki Bleach twilight samurai DELIVERED Pikachu Pokémon beyblader RTS: November 30, 2007 Hokuto B'T X Shireishou RTS: November 30, 2007 Lizardman Original Design Magnus Lensherr Delayed New Projection: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Bonus Piece Undisclosed Myself Undisclosed Status Messages Information Message/Code: Explanation: Projected Date project expected to be done. Delayed Project unable to be completed by projected date. New Projection Revised Projection Date. RTS Ready To Ship (The project is completely finished). DELIVERED Project arrival at destination confirmed

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Saturday, November 17, 2007

I've added a weather info module to my page (yes, it ID's the town I live in). Because the weather is a critical factor in the final stages of the wood burn projects (ie allowing the polyurethane clear-coat to dry properly), I felt it necessary to have provide that information. As I understand it, the module is real-time and should update on it's own, but it gives you an idea what's going on with that. Update: Commemorative Woodburn Projects Character Source Inspired By Project Status Ichigo Kurosaki Bleach twilight samurai RTS: Monday November 19, 2007 Pikachu Pokémon beyblader Delayed New Projection: Thursday, November 22, 2007 Hokuto B'T X Shireishou Projected: Thursday, November 22, 2007 Lizardman Original Design Magnus Lensherr Projected: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Bonus Piece Undisclosed Myself Undisclosed Status Messages Information Message/Code: Explanation: Projected Date project expected to be done. Delayed Project unable to be completed by projected date. New Projection Revised Projection Date. RTS Ready To Ship (The project is completely finished).

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Update: Commemorative Woodburn Projects Character Source Inspired By Completion Date Ichigo Kurosaki Bleach twilight samurai Projected: Friday November 16, 2007 Pikachu Pokémon beyblader Projected: Sunday, November 18, 2007 Hokuto B'T X Shireishou Projected: Thursday, November 22, 2007 Lizardman Original Design Magnus Lensherr Projected: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Bonus Piece Undisclosed Myself Undisclosed

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Friday, November 9, 2007

Final Update

The heading says it all. Some new information regarding the reason I had originally chosen to reduce my blogging presence here has come to me recently, information that I'm not too happy about seeing. Right now, I'm in a very awkward position because what I have before me strongly indicates a violation of trust has been committed. That is something I do not appreciate, nor will I accept passively. What that means to everyone who reads my blog is, I don't feel I can be open or honest here anymore for reasons that I do not feel I can safely communicate in public or private. Because what I now know, and what happened previously both tell me that my honesty here comes at too high a price for me, I will not add fuel to fires I did not start in the first place, but was left to tend. This is not a decision I make lightly, I take my trust of others very seriously, and you can bet it hurts like a trek through all seven levels of Hell when I feel that was violated. This means I have to postpone indefinately my "bigger project" relating to the woodburn practice project I'm still working to complete right now (had I not been sick, it would have been finished and the pieces sent on their way by now). It also means that my posting here will be limited to portfolio plugs when I update that, but little else. As before, I will make my rounds and comment when I can, and I will answer comments to my last blog entry (and the ones to this one which I know will come) in private messages. I can't answer comments publically anymore either, since that goes along with the trust issue I'm having right now. When I am absolutely sure I can be open and honest with my readers here, I will blog here again, until that time, I won't be saying much here except in the comments.

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Sunday, November 4, 2007

Under the Weather

Sorry for the delay in posting. Last weekend the site was down for server maintenance/issues, and I've been a bit sick all week so I hadn't felt up to getting online and really posting a whole update till now. First off, Hope you all (those who celebrate it), had a great Halloween, I couldn't resist getting in touch with my inner zombieish thing. At any rate, enjoy the meager attempt I made to show off my effects make-up skills for you. I know I talk about them a lot, but never really went out of my way to show you what I can do. Granted, that's far from my best work, but then again I don't have access to the green room at my high school anymore, so I make due with what I have to work with. Yes, I know how to make a life cast and do the full face latex applications (any sci-fi series alien is done that way), but I don't have the alginate to really go overboard with doing those kinds of things yet. Someday though, I'll do up a really cool application for you guys here, when I get a couple more quarts of latex, and the alginate to make the molds. I'm still working on those wood burn pieces, they should be finished up this week, and I hope to have another piece or two from my back-log finished up as well. While I am here, I will mention that I'll be cutting back on my regular updates here for a while. Something came up this week that's got me in an uncomfortable position, so I'm going to step back from my blog for a while and watch a few things unfold before I decide what step to take next. I will not go into detail for personal reasons, but this is something my gut tells me I have to do for now. Don't worry, I'll get around and comment to sites more while I'm taking my leave from active blogging, so, some good will come of it in the end. Comments timechaser: The words of encouragement are always appreciated, they do so much to lift my spirit, I can't even begin to say how. With my work, I'm taking some time off from actively soliciting it to research the genre I've been marketing it under. I may be missng the mark because I'm shooting the wrong direction. Hopefully I'll get some ideas and maybe, just maybe spark some interest in my writing style. In my short stint in art classes, and my whole High School theatre career, I heard that very thing many times over. My pride is in the work I put out to get to the point where a company could tell me "no", it is in the finished story, the labor of passion stirred by my own desire to get somewhere in life on my own and with the help of true friends. I have no energy to waste on pride in a useless rejection that tells me nothing. There's no point in being proud of a message that says a company is too high-brow to even offer a single piece of useful information to market the work elsewhere. Oh, I'm useless in the woods too, that's where Boy Scouts will get you. The park has cabins that are pretty well modernized with central heat, indoor plumbing and a refigerator. I enjoy the environment out at the park, it's peaceful and a good source of inspiration for me. Too bad I can't get out ther emore often. Shireishou: Thank you, the support I get from my friends is what keeps me pushing to see that work in print. If I have to self-publish, I will go that route, there are a couple avenues I can take in that direction, but I'd like to avoid having to do that if I can. No one ever said getting published would be easy, and there isn't a really solid roadmap for how to do it, but that's the kind of challenge I enjoy pursuing. What strikes me is, I wrote my piece from the theatrical perspective of an actor or director, and Cassie wrote from a completely different one. Tthe concept really boils down to the same basic elements. Whether it's called feedback ( for a convention) or critique (for an actor in a play or a piece of art), there's a right and wrong way to do it. That's not much of a surprise, I hear tell of other characters that have differences in their personalities between the manga and the anime. I do like the character, and I'm still looking for that first DVD so I can see what the anime is like. Those links are a big help, I got what I needed from them, thanks for sharing. I'll come up with a way for you to hear it, don't worry about that. I just have to find it first. I'm late with this suggestion, but the best stiff wire I know of for anything is that of cheap coat hangers, like you might get from a dry-cleaner. Oddly I enjoy reading as much as writing, but I've never really tried to read something in another language. I suppose if I got a book in another language, I'd have to learn the language to be able to read it, and that would get tiring for me. Magnus Lensherr: When your mind can center on the art, it is a great place to work from. This last time though I couldn't get my mind to work at all. Yeah, there are less conventional ways to publish than the "old school" traditional publishers. Those methods usually make the end product cost more, and less accessable (the industry isn't really set up to handle the modern age of publishing on demand yet) than traditionally published books. I'd prefer old school publishing to self publishing in any form because I want it to get the best exposure and distribution possible. Apparently that's the case, given what I've come across in my research. I'd like to forego the agent, but most publishers don't want to even waste time on direct contact with authors. They probably think agents will screen out the worst stuff so they don't have to work as hard doing all that themselves. Whatever the reason, it's frustrating to say the least. Having to court agents as well as publishers is really mind-boggling. I heard about those strikes over there. You know, one thing the US government did right was make it so certain unions couldn't strike, the ones working Postal Service jobs are among them. Might be a model worth suggesting to the politicians over there, it would at least keep mail flowing while deals are worked out. As for the survey, yeah, it'll be a couple questions, not too many, about the piece and some related stuff. All in good time. It was a refreshing break for me. I'll probably have pictures up with my next update, which is a while off at this point. GIDRA: The site's been having some issues lately. I think the bulk of them are handled by now though. I had that comment thing happen to me a couple times, but anymore when it does, I chalk it up to the tinkering being done to ready the site for Version Vibrant as Adam is calling it. If I knew the camera was there, I'd have flashed it a sour look (I hate cameras unless I'm behind them), but it goes to show you the casual nature of the convention's down time. I looked through the other pictures on the site, and didn't see me in any others. The line art is actually done now, but I'm going to hold off on posting it till I run it by the guy doing the tattoo. If he gives it the okay (in terms of not being overly detailed to the point ink would bleed and not look good), I'll post it in my next update, and by then, I should have a color scheme in mind of it as well to post too. I'll check out your pics when I get done posting here. Oh yeah, I can be wicked stubborn when I want to be, and getting published is something I want to be stubborn about. Yeah, Camping does relax me, and it rained when we were there, it was really nice. I sure will come up with something. japanese kitten: I know. If I knock on many doors, one is bound to open. Nature and I get along very well. I wasn't counting on being sick this week so they got delayed again. Hopefully I'll have them done and up next week. JD Person All we can do is wait and see right now. With VV coming up withing the next month or two (barring any other delays), we'll know soon enough. AngelBest Dream: It certainly did trigger something in me, and you can bet I'll find a use for it. I'll take some time off from that, but go at it again full force with renewed energy to do it. I have had it looked at and got great feedback on making some changes and polishing it out some more so I'm good there. I don't want to have to rely on too many people to get this project done though. That;s just cause I'd want to make sure everyone who offered me any advice on changes and such was acknowledged. Too many manes would be very hard to remember when writing that part up. With my next update, I will begin posting some of my short stories that I have posted over on the message board, just to give you all a small example of my writing style which isn't really easy to explain. I've been meaning to share my work with you for some time now, I just never got around to doing it. BASH: The day I give up is the day my non-evil (I'm the evil one) twin is posing as me, and feel free to kick his butt all the way to Pluto for me. I know if keep at it, something will happen, but I do need a little rest right now and I'll go at the whole thing with reneweed fervor in a week or so. I let myself be too lazy for too long, and I have to get all my stuff done, I want to be completely free of old projects by the end of the year to start off next year fresh and new. I kind of have to work through my doubts and all that to get these things done, and never let myself fal so behind again ever. Actually, I'm a horrible editor, go back through my posts, you'll see any number of spelling and grammar flubs I missed while typing and proofreading. There are no local people worth talking to about anything, they're only interested in helping themselves and their inbred cousins here, but if I could talk to people from anywhere, I'd certainly try. I don't really want a "job" that way, I need the income, but if I got a job, that's all it would be is for the income so I could pursue my passions like writing and my art mch better. Yensid: The "powers that be" are too art-centric these days, focusing more on visual rather than anything else. Sure it takes some writing to do manga, but not every fiction writer is capable of drawing out their story, or is willing to seek out someone who can draw it out for them. Aside from that, there's no way to submit joint projects here that equally applies credit to both drawer and writer. I know I'm not really comfortable with my art enough to take on a fan manga project yet, nor would I be a very good partner to work with in terms of having someone else do the artwork for me even though my writing is really good. Funny little thing people never seem to be aware of. An idea cannot be copyright, the expression of the idea in tangible form can, but not the idea itself. I think it would have to be moderated by intelligent people with a few years behind them so that they could properly evaluate pieces when a question comes up, but a literary section would be a nice addition to the site. Sometimes people come up with independantly similar concepts, it happens all the time. The right people would be able to spot those versus the shells that some people would try to pass off as original having only changed the names and places a little. On that note, Deviantart is a much bigger site that TheO, yet it still has a thriving literary sector with few problems of the type you describe that I'm aware of, and if they'd happen anywhere, that would be the place youd expect to see them. Problems will only arise if the people submitting, and other members of the site create problems for such an area like they do on the art sites here now. I'd volunteer my time to a literary cause in a heartbeat. Granted, I'm no Hemingway, but I do have some sense when it comes to literature and stories and such. I did have a good time, thanks, and I'll mark your vote. Yeah, time and patience seem to be key factors in a lot of things. Alphonse122: I know the feeling. I've been so busy myself it's hard to keep track of things anymore. So do I. After a week or so of research, I'll go at it again and keep going till something comes up. I did have a good time, it was relaxing to not have the daily beat of checking the e-mail or posting on the board, or even seeing the regular TV shows. SunfallE: First off: Welcome to my little corner of the Otaku universe. Pull up a chair, grab some biscotti or a cookie, have a cup of hot tea, and enjoy yourself. I've seen your name around the whole site quite a bit myself. It's nice of you to stop by and say "hi" to this somewhat timid dragon. Yeah, been trying for a little while now to get into print. The things worth doing in life are never easy. I agree whole-heartedly, and "getting away" doesn't have to mean going out to a cave in the middle of the woods either, there are ways to "get away" right at home. Turning off the TV, the computer, and putting on a nature sound CD (I have thunderstorm, ocean waves, the Bayou, light rain, and a few other nature sound CDs I use for that purpose), lighting a scented candle or some incense, and just closing your eyes and letting your mind go on a journey once in a while can work wonders to recharge the mind. Even if all you have is 20 minutes, you can get a mental refresh that way. I don't do that enough myself, but it does work. BASH: Hello again. Can't say that I have. At this point, I'm looking for work for the incomee, not for the joy of working. My passions, I'm looking at ways to see if they can be a source of trickling income for me (I doubt I'd hit it big with them - then again I don't know that I'd want to). The book is still in limbo, still waiting to get the green light from someone willing to take the risk on it. No comment is ever useless. And I did have a good time camping. I am somewhat recharged, though a little under the weather this week, but I'll manage. Thanks for the luck I'll need it. Oh, funny thing, I can only remember how to spell endeavour because of the Space Shuttle. I recall reading one of the articles about it way back when it was still a young shuttle, and the space program has always fascinated me. Animé Dreams!

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