Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Torakhan's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
12:49 am	Each year I watch the Super Bowl for the ads. This year was no different, other than I having recorded it and fast-forwarding through the game to get to the ads which still wound up taking a LOT of time. Oh, well. Here are my thoughts on the commercials. Hungry Howies "You Can't say Super ****": Hah. And, yet, somehow... they did. Well done, getting around that pesky legal issue. :D Coors "Silver Bullet Pint Launch": Meh. Really, that's all I got to say. Hunger Games (movie): I've seen ads for this movie before and I'm still not impressed. It looks like it's just too contrived, and can't figure out if it's a movie for children or adults. But maybe I'm not the target audience and it'll be a hit for the 14-19 year-olds. VelVita "Cops": Um, kinda cute, but it really didn't spark much interest or grab me. It just seemed to be Downy Unstopables "Mean Joe Green": Amusing in that they re-purposed the Cocacola ad, and a few cute CG edits, but otherwise, it didn't seem like a very effective ad. It'll get folks to remember "Oh, that ad with Joe Green in it... do you remember what it was for? Was it for Coke?" Universal Studios/Transformers the Ride-3D "Transformers Interruption": Interesting. The only initial clue that something was up was that the NBC return-from-commercial audio was a bit tinny. It seems that they didn't get the voices quite right on Optimus or Megatron either, but it could just be that the audio was a bit wonky in general. Otherwise, while it was kinda cool, it really seemed more like a teaser to get you to the website (PrepareForBattle.com) to check out more (what a way to save a few bucks. But, then again, the and NBC/NFL rights probably weren't cheap either.) Pete Hoekstra "Debbie Spend It Now" (local political ad): Okay, I'm really kinda upset with this commercial. Seriously, WTF?! This is just a really STUPID commercial and I'm disgusted with it. I... I just can't really say how sickened I am that this is his OWN personal, theatrical political attack ad. It's so rediculous--A chinese woman in a rice field speaking in pigin-English thanking "Debbie Spend It Now" (and, yes, that's what she calls Debbie Stabenow several times to reenforce it) for giving money to China and taking it away from the US. Then Pete Hoekstra shows up and calls himself "Pete Spend It Not" (PeteSpendItNot.com). This is the shitty sort of theatrics that I really hate seeing on ANY side of the political games and it frustrates me that it's finally rearing it's ugly head here. Brann's Steakhouse - "This is Calvin Johnson. Welcome to Brann's. Real Food, Score Big": Seriously... that's it. A 5 second add. Got the point across, but... wow, a shorty. *L* The first commercial just at the "beginning" of the Superbowl. Nicely put, but supershort. Geico "Schoolgirls": Okay, a bit weird, but, anyone else get the "creep-factor-feeling" about a guy hiring middle-school girls to watch him 24/7? Audi "So Long Vampires": A vampire party in the woods and the guy's new Audi LED "Daylight" headlights bright (I assume they mean Kalvins, not just candlewatts) and everyone at the party in the lightbeams burst into flames. ... Damnit! They stole that from me! (and likely, hundreds of other V:tM players) My Gangrel trucker had those in 1998! *chuckle* #SoLongVampires Hyundai "Veloster Turbo vs. Cheetah": Hah! A contest of who can take off faster? Hah! A great spin on the usual commercial. Not sure it shows off the product well, but certainly amusing to me. :D M&Ms "Brown M&M": Hah! Again, quite amusing. Also, a nice LMFAO "wiggle wiggle wiggle" bit there too. :D Best Buy "Creators of Cell Phones": I really like this commercial. Why? Because it gives names and faces to the folks who've made the devices and apps that folks use. :D Congrats to them! Coca Cola "Crossed Fingers": Their expressions kinda remind me more of canines than polar bears. Am I just more used to the other animation style and this is more realistic, or did they just reference canines for this? Chevy "Apocalypse": Pyramids, Robots, Alien Saucers, raining frogs, burning Big Boys and Twinkies... what more could you ask for?... unless you’re a Ford fan. ;) Battleship (movie): Looking cooler. A lot like a Transformers sequel of some sort in appearance, but I don't mind. :D Budweiser: "Prohibition is Over": If I remember, there was some time before it was ratified, and when it took effect. But, yes, if I remember, Budweiser did in fact deliver a case of Budweiser with the Clydesdales. I really like the set dressings and costuming. Good job on the commercial. :) Doritos "Missing Cat": Uh.. Hah hah. Hah? Bribery gets you everywhere, I guess. But for $2 of doritos? I doubt he liked the cat in the first place. Chevy "New Car": Uh... yea for excitement? But, otherwise.. uh.. what? I mean, it really could be any brand though. Volkswagon "Weightloss Dog": More amusing than the dog that's working hard to loose the weight is the loving detail put into recreating the Star Wars scene with homage to last year's VW commercial with the kid-vader. :) I wonder if there's more of a story behind this. Coca Cola "Catching the Bottle": Uh... to be honest, it felt like this commercial could have been half as long and still been just as effective, and cost less. I'm not sure what was gained by this part of the "story". Avengers (movie): Hah! Tony Stark wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt! (Get it? Iron Man?!) A lot of new material here (in fact, I'd say 90% of it is new.) Cars.com "Confidence": Uh.. this one is just weird. A second head parasitically hanging off the back of him? Uh... ohhkayyy... G.I. Joe (movie): I'm really liking the colors of the costumes in this movie. Any time a movie that originally had characters in the comics/cartoons/TVs wearing different outfits or colors, they put them all in black, or the same-looking outfits, or mute their absolute uniqueness for similarities, as if we wouldn't know that "That's the X-Men" or "That's Optimus Prime", or whatever. Finally the costumes seem to be mixing it up a bit with yellow, red, black, white, etc. Still not quite the eccentric differences that there were in the cartoons, but at least the bad guys aren't stuck to one look either. :) It actually looks like it could be a lot better than the first. The Voice "Combat for the Voice": A nice touch with Betty White. :D Toyota "Reinventing": Amusing. Not quite sure it shows off exactly how well it reinvented its own product, but the rest is amusing. "This is the reinvented sofa. It also comes in male" and the guy's nod and "Huh." expression are amusing. "This is the reinvented baby. It doesn't poop. It's also a time machine." XD Heh heh. Amusing. :D Coca Cola "Frustrated": Why is there a penguiin near the polar bears? (if we can get past the idea of polar bears watching football and drinking Coke.) Oikos Greek Yogart "Headbutt": Hah. Funny. :D Again, not sure it shows off the product, but... amusing. Bud Light "Herewego": A cute little dog. Amusing. Fortunately, with Bud, they don't need to explain the product. (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 1st, 2012
4:28 am	New Years Resolutions for 2012 Cliché, I know... but I want to ACTUALLY put forth some resolutions for this year. Short-term: • Finish my résumé and start trying to find a job. • Clean my bedroom. Seriously, this is gonna be tough. • Clean the basement.  The hardest part is dealing with the spiders. :( Longer-term: • Get onto a daily schedule (get up, do things, go to bed at the same time each day.) • Eat Better (better diet, at decent times, in proper portions, etc.). • Work-out, or at least get 30 minutes of exercise a day. • Complete at least one finished piece of artwork each week. Sketch-to-Print-Ready. • Begin pre-lay-out for the Final Haven book. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
8:44 pm	Is Pon Farr Rreal? I've been experiencing some dramatic highs and lows lately.  A sudden urge for and lack of physical intimacy  in a seemingly testosterone-high that was easily crushed back to massive depression. WTF?  Things at work have been a bit stressful, but manageable. Gen Con came around and while there, somehing happened. Emotionally I became unable to control my primal instincts as they began to surface. It ended with me growing so frustrated that I had to leave before midnight Saturday. For the nex week and a half, I was on a testosterone high. I was aggitated, possessive, territorial, confrontational, and found myself gorging on this primal, energy like it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. But what I craved most, during this time was physical intimacy, to share this primal force with another. And though I tried, nothing came to fruition. Yet, even through this frustration, there was some sort of force giving me optomism. ... That is until yesterday. A friend of mine gave me some good news--he and his family are expecting a kid. Add to that a girl I know said that a guy wants a paternity test to find out if her kid is his, and another friend just had a kid last night. Suddenly it was like the hands that had been pushing me up were suddenl pressing me down. The world no longer seems bright with fire and conquest on the horizon, but more like I missed the boat and the party has sailed away, leaving me on a cold island, alone. This is how life has felt for a long time for me, but the sudden return to this feels devistating. Oppressive. Dark. Maybe it's just Summer stress. Maybe it's just coincidence, or maybe there's something going on that I'm picking up on...  I mean, if you wanted Spring kids, wouldn't this be the optimal time for procreation?  Or maybe it's just another wave of hormonal imbalance and depression's cruel waves. For my friends who are experiencing great things in their lives involving new relationships, successful partnerships, and new lives, I truly congratulate you.  I'm jealous in ways, but I don't deny you the joy you're feeling.  :) Current Mood: annoyed (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 8th, 2011
12:13 am	Gen Con 2011 was a bust for me. Gen Con was just plain bad for me this year.  While there were a few shining moments for me, the rest was heaping piles of cap and I'm seriously trying to decide if 2012 will be worthwhile. ( The daily break-down )     So, in the end... Gen Con may no longer be for me.   There were a few good moments at the Con, but in-all, it was pretty much a waste of time and money for me. Current Mood: annoyed (Comment on this)
Friday, July 8th, 2011
8:47 pm	Potential Maker's Marks for Quen  My Larp Character Quen makes items, and I figure it's time that he had his own maker's mark. The mark will be made into a .75" rubber stamp that will be put onto the tags for items he makes. Which one do you like more? Poll #1760176 Which Maker Mark is Better? Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5 Which Mark is Cooler? View Answers A 5 (100.0%) B 0 (0.0%) Something else (please post more) 0 (0.0%) (Comment on this)
Monday, June 13th, 2011
9:20 pm	I'm sick of being ignored via TXT • How often do you get a text from someone who is asking about something, and decide to ignore them outright? • Why do you ignore them? This has been happening to me more and more lately from many people. I will see them days later and get an "I've been busy" time and time again, even if they've spent time playing Facebook games, posting online, or even doing other things that I know gave them the 10 seconds it would take to give me back a simple response. A simple "Sorry, I'll get back to you later", or "Call me later." would be nice... but the cold shoulder, especially from "friends" frustrates me. How about you? I've never liked texting--I prefer to talk on the phone.  The reason is that I find it more personable, and I know the other person has gotten the message.  But I've texted people because they have asked me to--because they claim to "prefer it".  ((I will also text in areas of low signal strength because it will eventually send.)) But I think I'm going to stop texting soon and go back to calling. :(  At least when I've left a message, I'll have heard something even if I'm STILL being ignored. :( Current Mood: aggravated (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 30th, 2011
6:16 pm	Gen Con more likely Whoot! I got an offer for a room from a friend for Gen Con!  It'll be cramped, but at least I have a place that I know I can crash for the weekend. I have also acquired my Gen Con badge. I guess it's official: Unless something happens schedule-wise, I'll be going to Gen Con '11, making it my sixteenth consecutive Gen Con.  (Comment on this)
6:55 am	Gen Con less likely... Well, it seems less and less likely that I'll be going to Gen Con this year. After Gen Con LLC told me a week after housing registration opened, my other contacts for getting hotel space have either informed me that there's no room with them, or just won't answer my Emails.   I can't believe that I'll be breaking a 16-year run like this... how sad. :( I still want to go.  If I can find a place to crash that's close to the convention center, I'll go... I just don't know of anyone left who I can snag a room with. Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
4:06 am	Laptop... getting fixed soon?  Sooo, last December I was using my laptop when I got a BSD.  I restarted and it tried to boot up and found no OS.  Ever again. A friend helped me try to solve the problem and (for what we can tell) the HD formed a bad sector right on the boot directory and so all of the data is (mostly) there, but without an index to tell it where the pieces are, it wasn't ever going to boot up again.  I got a file recovery program and tried to capture all that I could... but it captured copies of everything and some of it wound up corrupt and I have, like, 1.5TB of information off of a drive that only had 150GB of data used on it.  *sigh* Anyways, just as I was about to try to get it fixed and stuff, my job happened and my soul got sucked away and it's sat here forever since. At some time last month I sent off an Email to the company I have my extended warranty through.  They gave me a phone number to the support center.  So last Friday I gave them a call and reported the computer, finally.  Their tech center called today to tell me that they were shipping a box in the next few days to send them my computer with. I can't wait to have my laptop back.  But, part of me is a little nervous--While the data is "recovered", what I have isn't really an image of the bad drive, but what it pulled off of it, however it pulled it off, and obviously with some issues (If I had a file called "data file", I have multiples of it titled "data_file_1", "data_file_2", "data_file_3", etc... which is how I have 1.5TB of files from 150GB of original files..)  Part of me wants to hold onto the drive just in case I can find a better way of recovering the whole and real files.  But... I might not be able to. *sigh*  A drive of the same type would cost about $45 on Tiger Direct, but since Acer didn't send me an actual Windows disk, and replacing the HD by myself might void my warranty, I guess I have to send it all back to them and when they get it find out if they'll send me back the broken one anyways. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
10:26 pm	FCN this weekend This weekend is FCN (Furry Connection North.)  I will be there with other artist friends dogsoul  and mechanicalhyena .  I don't know if I'll be working the Artist's Alley this year, but I think they will be.  I really don't have any plans, and trying to keep it that way for now.  I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but hopefully it'll involve some drawing and good times. :) (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
4:36 am	April Fools Day Websites 2011. Enjoy them! Starting later today, the internet will be witness to another day of fake web sites and offers. Sites like http://aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com/2011.html will show you what's out there to entertain you with.  Maybe it's fake products by Google, Amazon.com, or ThinkGeek.  Maybe it's fake news articles, or web sites doing throw-back designs to the early 90s, and more. So if you find a site while you're online today, or Friday, feel free to share them with everyone you know. :D (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
5:28 am	A change a'comin'... Well... this Friday, Zeeland Public Schools are out for the beginning of their Spring Break.  Our bosses would like us to come into work early on Friday (as early as 8am) and put in our 10s so we're out by 6:30pm.  However, that will only happen if we can get out at a reasonable time on Thursday... like, getting out at 10pm or so on Thursday (because to be at work at 8am, I'd have to get up by 6am, and getting home at 3:30am and sleeping for 2.5 hours isn't going to work out for me.)  Now, I could possibly not go in on Friday (since I have college classes at 11am which I could skip if I needed to) and work Saturday instead, or in addition to Friday.  The 50+ hour work week would be a nice paycheck.  Especially since next week I only work Monday thru Thursday (because FCN is next weekend!) Tonight we got out early.  We finished the rooms at New Groningen and packed up the trailer and left at 11pm.  Tomorrow we start at Woodbridge, then Lincoln (next week?) and finally ECC to complete our schools.  After we finish ECC, we will probably have another few weeks of work doing changes/fixes/etc., as well as removing the televisions from the classrooms.  (Which reminds me... anyone local need a used TV? Most are around 27" - 36" or so.  Old CRT style, but likely are less than 10 years old and haven't gotten much use.  They're likely to be recycled if not claimed.) FCN is next week.  I'll be taking Kyle and Gil with me, and the two of them will be doing Artists Alley if they can manage it.  I still have Pakesh's piece to do, and so I won't even be thinking about that sorta thing until I'm done with his piece! Sleepy time for me.  I'm sure tomorrow will be fun and joy all-day long! </sarcasm> *sigh* (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
5:00 am	Thursday already?!  Dude. It's going on Thursday already? Holy crap.  I've worked 3 days already, just 2 more (that I know of) and then the weekend is mine. Sunday  my plan is to have my face encased in plaster for a while.  But beyond that... I mean, I've got some cleaning I need to do, and some homework and commission work that NEEDS to be done too. Monday and Tuesday came and went too quickly. Today our on-site leader returned... not only still sore from a back injury/thing, but also with the flu.  Apparently he was "forced" to return by upper-management, and so being cranky already, he was even more on edge, PLUS he was catching up on where we were since not only did he miss the last school, but wasn't there for the last days of the previous school as well. EVERYONE is under pressure, and it all just heaps heavier and heavier.  Our current school (Roosevelt) was supposed to be done tonight. Well... didn't happen (obviously) but maybe tomorrow.  We need more people, but they won't bring on anyone else.  We have a looming deadline that only draws closer (the 10th of April) and we're just not going fast enough.  Will we be working 7-days of 12-hour+ shifts? Will we be flooded with the office staff and other folks from the company to finish the job on time?  Will they "inform" us that they've been given another X-weeks to finish?  Time will only tell.  The toughest part is to find some way of concentrating on the work I'm doing, pushing away the stressful pressure that everyone is throwing around and just work away the best I can and not let the rest of it get in my way.  All of this is probably getting old, but... it's a daily thing. *sigh* Saturday 2:30am can't come soon enough. (Comment on this)
Friday, March 18th, 2011
3:00 am	Disappear I just want to hide away, curl up in a ball and let this terrible life go. It's all because of the stress at work right now.  I hate the drug-using, lying, lazy, thieving, abusive, assholes I work with.  I hate the inability of the company to realize just what they're employees are doing, how poorly we're managed, and how distant they are from reality on every level.  I hate that the folks who should be making decisions are either doing so with no idea of what's going on, or can't do anything about what's going on to make the changes that need to be made. After this job, I may work for the company again, but I will never work with this crew again.  That might mean that I don't work for the company again anyways, but so be it.  This job is corroding my soul like an acid and I just want it to end. The job is supposed to be done by FCN weekend.  In fact, they won't be happy that I won't be there for the "Last few days" that the project is scheduled to have to be completed... but I'm not even sure I'm going to go back after FCN either. My hope is that after FCN, I will have some new sense of vitality and energy.  I will cast off this terrible scab that is actually wounding me more, and when the new healing begins, I will take the discomfort and know that better things are coming. Maybe "something" will happen in the next 3 weeks and I will somehow feel better (a change in on-site management, personnel, or something else), but I doubt it.  ... or maybe it's that goddamned sunlight and warm air that's making me frustrated/angry/ugly inside.  I miss Winter already. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 14th, 2011
4:54 am	And they think Democrats want to control folks' lives? So, the Republicans complain that government is over-reaching?  Check out the new bill that Michigan just passed: "Under the legislation, the Michigan Messenger reports, the governor could declare a "financial emergency" in towns or school districts. He could then appoint a manager to fire local elected officials, break contracts, seize and sell assets, eliminate services - and even eliminate whole cities or school districts without any public input." - CBS news report I'm really surprised that this hasn't gotten more NATIONAL attention.  This isn't even about a budget, this is about a shift in control of power over what choices people can make about their own local governments.  If you're Democratic or Republican, this has to be sour in your stomach either way!   Is your city having a budget shortfall? The governor can assign someone you've never heard of, from another place, and they can make decisions about our local government, school district, municipalities, and more.  Your local school district may become part of another, or broken up, your choice of services may be altered for you, and local projects important to you and your local community may be deemed unfit and terminated because someone else thinks they know better than the people of your area. There are a few demonstrations around the state, but a big one is happening on Tuesday at the Capitol building in Lansing. But please go check out the "Emergency Management Bill" yourself and see what you think. Yes, in a perfect world, maybe it would only be used in the most dire of circumstances, for the betterment of the people who don't see just how bad things are getting and will get, and it'll take an outside force to get them back on the right track.  Then again, is it right for the few to make a decision for the many, even if they are making the wrong decisions?   I can see both sides, and to be honest, I'm torn because I do see how a failing area could be siphoning the money away from other areas through X-means to stay afloat when that money could be used elsewhere, if it's really even available.  Or should we let certain cities/locations just suffer and become destitute 3rd-world locations and hotbeds of crime, inhumane practices, or worse as they spiral out of control? The sad part is that we are selfish and we expect greater things than we can afford, or actually need.  One day we WILL  have to live a more simple lifestyle, but no one is willing (at least in large enough numbers) to give up the comforts of things they expect to have--be that their HDTVs in every room of the house, 2 cars for each person living there over the age of 14, or a house with bedrooms big enough to park 3 cars in it.  Our lifestyle cannot continue this way.  We are going to have to live more simply... growing some of our own food, living in more managable houses, purchasing less expensive things, and saving more money.  Of course, that will impact our economy, which will have to work harder to export goods more than import... and create a new social change.   As you can tell, I don't have great hopes for such a thing.  But I don't think that giving the power to businesses, or taking the "humanity" out of our system will help us either.  We will need to find some sort of happy medium if we are going to move forward.  But right now, it feels like we're moving at blazing speeds into a terrible car crash that will leave us all in a very bad way very soon, only blaming one another.  We must become less polarized! We must learn to work together, to give and take.  No more plugging our ears and screaming about the other side being unreasonable.  We must be willing to compromise and work together, or we'll surely break ourselves into pieces. (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
5:09 am	Friday Night happened too Well, well, well.  We got to work and we were told, "When we finish these rooms, we leave for the night."  No moving to the next school, we just go and hit the next school on Monday.  That meant that if we got our act together and things went smoothly, we could be out in just a few hours (and because I worked 6 hours on Monday, I only needed to be there for 4 hours tonight.)  But, of course, fate was not on our side and we worked through Lunch to get out sooner... and.. well... 7.5 hours later, we walked out feeling rather beaten and broken. Still, I called it--we got there and were told we were going to finish up the school, then head home right after.  I don't mind the overtime pay though. :) Tomorrow I don't really have any plans. I'd like to hang with the 'Yena and see if I can't get some artwork done, and some pics of me in the foamy-clothed tiger legs.  I don't suspect that she has the fur samples, or mask-making kit yet, so I won't expect that to happen. Afterwards, Michigan Irish Music Festival is having their St. Pat's fundraiser at the Fricano's Event Center, starting at 5:30pm.  I might show up early to get in some more pizza time, or if I'm occupied during the day, I might show up later so as to still hang with folks AND get pizza time in. :) Other than that, I've got nothing. I still need to get my laptop fixed.  Gotta do my homework for class.  Gotta do some artwork before FCN. GOTTA! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, March 11th, 2011
4:04 am	Thursday happened. Friday will too. 1:24am (6 minutes until clock-out time) my boss comes to find me. "Are you done?" "Nope. Just one more room left (and would be done if I wasn't having to come out here and meet you...)"  "You're not done? Why aren't you done?"  "The rooms are a mess. Every desk has dust on it." "Well, the trailer is packed up, and I gotta get out of here. I guess you're locking up.  Make sure everything is closed up and turned off."  "Uh... okay."   And so... they left early, and I was left alone at the school.  I hope I closed up and left everything the way it should be. Tomorrow (Friday) we're scheduled to work until 1:30am again... but our Leader has said he wants to leave by 11 because he has another job to do.  I have a feeling that what will happen is that we will start at 3pm.  We will have difficulties with this school and won't finish until 7 or 8pm.  At that point he will decide that it's not worth packing up, going to the next school, unpacking and doing an hour or less of work just to clean up and pack up again by 11, and so we'll have an early night tomorrow (which is fine, because I put in 6 hours on Monday, and just need 4 on Friday to give me my 40 hours.) Also, gasoline in Holland was $3.65/gallon.  In Grand Haven it was 3.36/gallon.  For 30 cents per gallon, I was willing to fill up my tank (I put about 9 gallons in), for a "savings" of $2.50-ish.  That was fair enough for me.  However, it's making me think that I should TRY to limit my driving even moreso this weekend (Muskegon>Zeeland>Muskegon>Home on Friday, then driving to Muskegon again on Saturday, maybe Sunday too?... eeeesh.)  However, I may just chalk it up to "being social" and do it anyways. Anyways... time for me to sleep. I hope that the weekend will bring me some sort of peace and happiness.  I doubt it, but you never know. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 7th, 2011
12:23 am	Only available Satudays and Sundays for a while Well, starting Monday, I'll be unavailable between 2pm and 3am, Monday thru Saturday morning.  Yep. 10-hour days, 5 days a week for about a month or so.   Right now I'm working 10s for only 4 days of the week, but... well, I'm sure I'll be exhausted come Saturday.  There goes my productivity for the next few months.  *sigh*  So if you don't see or hear much from me, besides posts at 4am, that's what's up. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 6th, 2011
10:47 pm	I never grew up. Does anyone? When you close your eyes, or just enjoy yourself without distractions of the drags of the real world, what age do you see yourself as being? Do you feel like you're a 16-year-old in an older body? Did you feel that way up until some event and then you just sort of felt "grown up"? I have a suspicion that certain external factors are often required for the brain to be triggered for certain levels of maturity.  Maybe it's a relationship, having a kid, or being responsible for other folks, where the certain pressures force new thought patterns to be solidified. But, unfortunately... I have none of that.  I'm 32, partly employed, no S.O., a crumbling social network, and living in my aging mom's basement. Will I ever "Grow Up"? Is there really such a biological thing, or is it just a label that we just place on other people based on what we'd like to see in them? (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
4:07 am	Art-Nerding a bit... More Ron Spencer So, I've been working with Ron Spencer (fantastic artist for White Wolf, Magic: the Gathering, etc.) on artwork over the last year or so.  The last part of our project has been delayed and so today I gave him a call to get in touch with him.   Now, I have admired Ron Spencer's artwork since my early days of playing Werewolf: the Apocalypse, and I always looked forward to his artwork when I opened a White Wolf book.  So when I finally got the gumption to commission him for the Final Haven/Winter Haven artwork and he said "Yes", I felt like I had won the lottery.  And each piece I've gotten from his has blown me away, even if he considers them "rough" or "sketches." So, during our long conversation today, we talked a little about the project, and chatted for 45 minutes about gaming, LARP (He really was interested in the idea of a working economy in our LARP with real value based on what players want/are willing to pay IC), family, work, Winter storms, and future projects.  He said that I was a great "art director" to work for, that he has enjoyed working on the projects I've given him, and that he's open for more personal and company commission work!   Oh, and on top of that, he complimented me for my coloring work that I did, saying that he was impressed by how good it looked with the rough sketches he'd given me.  I told him that his work was amazing, and that it was only with the best ingredients that a chef can make great food.  A rough analogy, but I think it got the point across. :) So, knowing that he'll be open for personal commission work too, I'm going to find out what the prices for that sorta thing is and probably have him do a full pencil piece of Jason Shadow-Walker, or something along those lines.  Then my life will be complete. :D He says that he may put together a quick commission price list for individuals (company/published work would be different, obviously), and when he does, it'll probably be up on his Deviant Art page or something (maybe I'll even encourage him to put up a web site of his own!) As a personal question (and unsolicited by Ron Spencer): • Are you a fan of Ron Spencer? • Would you commission him if you could? • What would YOU pay for a character drawing in his style? Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)