All entries written in September, 2007
September 28, 2007 at 9:09 am · Filed under Announcements, Personal, Thoughts
Before I begin: this Monday’s update is going to be a big deal. You should come by…and be prepared to refresh your browsers.
I was born in fall (my birthday is coming up, actually), and I’ve always had a particular fondness for the start of the chilly season. A lot of people think of fall as the season of death, or of the harvest, but I prefer to think of it as the season of change and infinite possibility. And, of course, as a time of profound beauty.
To celebrate the start of fall and the new things shortly to come (hint, hint), here are just three of the many autumn photos I’ve taken around my home in the Hudson Valley. Click them to view them full-size.
By the way, just in case you’re wondering why I usually post photos in groups of three, it’s because three is a very lucky number in Chinese thought. This is because it’s one shy of four, the word for which is a homonym for “death” in Chinese…so three is lucky because it manages to stop before reaching death. True story.
September 24, 2007 at 9:05 am · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
As any of you who get TV Guide in the mail (or see it on the rack at the supermarket) will already know, this week marks the beginning of the new fall TV season, with all sorts of series and new season premieres. I don’t even come close to sampling everything that’s on at any given time, I just watch what I like, and in that spirit, I’d like to share what I’m excited about this September and October.
Keep reading….
September 21, 2007 at 9:09 am · Filed under Extras, Production Art
I’ve been loving and struggling with images of cities, all of them rooted in my abstract impressions of New York, pretty much ever since I’ve been drawing pictures to go with my stories. Drawing a few buildings in perspective for an upcoming project, I went back through my Photoshop folders to find the colors I’d used for similar buildings, and I discovered just how many cityscapes I’ve drawn over the last couple years. I’m posting three now to share them with you.
Keep reading….
September 17, 2007 at 9:03 am · Filed under Misc, Thoughts
Happy Monday, everyone! (Is that an oxymoron?) I couldn’t decide between two things that I wanted to talk about today, so you’re going to get them both, you lucky people, you.
The first is a link and a recommendation. You may already have heard of The Comics Curmudgeon, and ever since I saw a link to this site off one of my favorite webcomics (a review of that is still to come), I’ve followed it as regularly as I can. Having snarky commentary on the side is pretty much the only way to read “Mary Worth” or “Funky Winkerbean.” My local papers never even carried “Apartment 3G” and I’m already used to how ridiculous it is.
Secondly…well, let me start by explaining that MSN.com (brought to me through Dellnet) has been my default homepage since I’ve had my own computer. It was the default, it carries news headlines, and I was too lazy to change it. But speaking of those news headlines, some of the ones they introduce in their picture slideshows are just absurd! I’ve been saving screenshots of the worst offenders, and I think it’s time to share them with you.
First we have this fine specimen:
My only question is whether or not somebody thought this juxtaposition of themes was funny, or if they simply weren’t paying attention. Next, we have a meditation on the sorry state of marriage today:
As you can see, I’ve already added my own comment. It’s one thing to dismiss a person as having been wrong for you after the fact, but it’s quite another to enter into a commitment knowing that it’s just “practice.” I can’t imagine there are many cases where both partners approach it that way…you’re practically guaranteeing that you’ll hurt the one who loved you enough to marry you.
And on that happy note, I’ll close with this delightful travel advertisement, which, judging by the angle and background, depicts an airplane bound for some vacation spot going down with one engine smoking:
See you on Friday!
September 14, 2007 at 9:04 am · Filed under Personal, Thoughts
Tuesday night, I couldn’t sleep–I was too wound up from the events of a long day. I stepped out of my apartment building to take a little walk and tire myself out, but when I crossed the street, I noticed something. The normally purplish night sky was streaked in one spot by an oddly-uniform mark of melting, whitish-blue, like someone had drawn across it with a marker. At first I thought it was somehow the contrail of a humongous plane, and the city lights below it were reflecting white in the smoke, but then I realized it was the 9/11 memorial, turned back on for the six year anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers.
That day was my generation’s tragic event, much like the Kennedy assassination was for my parents’ generation. The question “Where were you when…?” will most likely be asked millions of times in millions of situations over the decades to come, and everyone will have their own unique story to tell. Here’s mine.
Keep reading….
September 10, 2007 at 9:09 am · Filed under Announcements, Extras, Production Art
That’s right! Next month, a whole new episode of School Kids SG begins! That means new weekly chapters, new characters, new plot twists to the overall story, and just so the site ambiance will continue to fit the subject matter, a new page design! I’ve been working all week on the art for the header you’ll see in October, and since I’m feeling so proud of the results at the moment, I decided to share a few snippets of the work-in-progress today. None of these will give anything away, of course.
I decided on three images. The first shows the grinning face of a new character whose name I’m not going to reveal just yet; the second is a surprised Damien I was quite pleased with; and, finally, we have the horrified face of Mark Daley as he faces danger even greater than the Second Great Hallway War!
So, are you excited? I’m excited. I hope everyone who reads this page tunes in next month for the continuation of School Kids SG!
September 7, 2007 at 9:06 am · Filed under On My Influences, Personal, Thoughts
The Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi (also spelled Chuang-tzu, depending on who did the translation) is famous for decrying the power of words. In spite of this, he was also a writer, which I find fascinating, but I digress. Coheed and Cambria is a concept band, for those of you who don’t know them…their albums tell a story in song, conveyed mostly through feelings and a few key phrases, all of it written and envisioned by the singer, Claudio Sanchez. I once heard the story described as Adam and Eve in space (Sanchez having been raised, as both man and artist, on science fiction and comic books), but I have the most fun when I just let it wash over me. I don’t need to understand it in a way that could be explained…Zhuangzi would be proud.
Keep reading….
September 3, 2007 at 9:00 am · Filed under Announcements
I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, barbecuing or something (as I live in the city, I’ll be using a countertop Foreman grill myself). Regular updates return on Friday.
