Round 'em on up

Here's some thingies that I should post about before I forget:

My review of Black Static #3 is now live over at The Fix Online. A very stylized magazine that focuses on horror fiction. I really liked a few stories, and others did absolutely nothing for me. Or the genre, if you want to look at it that way.

This week, I pushed past my 300th comic for MyLifeComics. Kinda neat.

I, um, also beat Final Fantasy XII. Was easier than I expected, but then again I put a good 100+ hours into my characters, making them beefier than a field of cattle. I probably could've finished the game a long time ago, but my OCD kicked in and I needed to beat every hunt, find every magic spell, get the best armor and weapons, and so on. Anyways, I loved this game. The story is strong, the world is spanning, and its details are plentiful. My only complaint is that they make Vaan out to be the main character when, in all truths, Lady Ashe is the focal point of the story. But that's minor stuff. The battle system has even gotten me interested in MMOs. Not that I'd ever play one, but it has sparked my gamer's heart.

Hmm, movie-wise I've seen the following:

• No Country for Old Men (2007) - A quiet, slow-moving piece about violence out West. A bag of money is stolen from a deal gone bad, and a crazy, psychotic killer is tracking it down. What ensues is a methodical cat-and-mouse game that ends as it should, both depressingly and inexcusably real. Quite disturbing and quite beautiful, if that makes any sense. Definitely a film worth watching.
  
• I Am Legend (2007) - Vampire flick that really, honestly, was a big letdown. CGI monsters? Come on. This would've been so much more successful if they stuck with live-action actors. Will Smith is fine though, carries the film well enough, but I don't know. This just didn't scare me like I had hoped it would.
  
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) - This is the story of two drag queens and one transsexual woman trekking across the Australian outback on a mission to perform at a casino in Alice Springs. Hugo Weaving stars in this one, and thank the heavens above I saw this before The Matrix or Lord of the Rings because seeing him all donned up in makeup and groovin' to Abba has forever changed his appearance to me.

And I think that's all for now.

Going to ComicCon!

Well, "The Morning Gift" is on hold for now while I figure out what I'm even trying to do with the thing. I've got my characters and I've got my history in there, but the plot is fuzzy and unfocused. Also, I'll be attending ComicCon tomorrow in New York, which means I'll probably be mentally exhausted for the remainder of the weekend. But yay, ComicCon! The guest list is insane and if I meet even just 2% of the people I want to meet I will be quite pleased with the experience.

As usual, I have lots of things I need to do. What's that sound? Is it bullets lining up and indenting themselves? Why, yes! It is! Time for a to-do-list.

Things To Do Soon or My Head Will Splode:

• Review Farthing, Issue 5 for Tangent
• Review Justina Robson's Keeping It Real
• Ink next week's MyLifeComics
• Actually draw the next Greenhorn because I've run out of inventory
• Continue work on a shhhhhhhhhhh secret project that I can't talk about yet
• Finish reading chapters of a friend's latest novel
• Sleep

This past week I finished two stories, rewrote another one, reviewed galleys for "Sonorous" for Apex Digest #9, and managed to find time for some Rogue Galaxy. I think if my head does explode, it's at least warranted.

Here's an update

All right, I've set up a site at Webcomicsnation for my journal comics, magically named MyLifeComics. I'll be reposting the comics on LiveJournal in case anyone wants to comment on them. The username is mylifecomics; feel free to add me and tell your friends. Unless they're old cause I make fun of old people a lot.

Stopped at my favorite bookstore yesterday and picked up a couple books:

• Jack Vance - Star King
• Jack Vance - The Killing Machine
• Jack Vance - The Palace of Love
• Robert Silverberg, editor - The New Atlantic and Other Novellas of Science Fiction by Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, and James Tiptree, Jr.
  

I also got The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction in the mail yesterday. Seems pretty good with a strong TOC to it. That'll probably be next on my review list after I finish up Fast Forward I. This should keep me busy for some time, I'd say.

Changes in the air

There are going to be some changes soon with the journal comic. Trust me, they're for the better. Stay tuned for further details...

Also, I just realized I colored the wires for my iPod Shuffle black when everyone and their mother certainly knows that they should be white. I'd like to take a mulligan, please.

Finished Inkspell

Well, I finished reading Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Overall, it was decent but the whole time I was reading I kept thinking that there was just too many unneeded details and characters. The book was longer than it needed to be, and considering the sudden and incomplete ending, annoying in retrospect. There's some good bits, mainly involving Dustfinger and Farid, and a couple scenes that reminded me why I loved Inkheart so much. Though I liked the juxtaposition of everyone entering the book in Inkspell (instead of those living outside the book in Inkheart), I was just hoping for something more. But who am I kidding, I'll read the third book whenever it comes out.

Nebula thoughts

Swing-and-a-miss.

Seems the 2006 Preliminary Nebula Award Ballot is up and breathing. Scanning through, I see only a few things that I've actually read, which makes choosing my top choices rather forced. From the novels category I've only read Tobias Buckell's Crystal Rain, which I really enjoyed a lot. Haven't read any of the novellas up, but I have enjoyed Paul Melko's work before. Novelettes...hmm...it's a tie between "Journey into the Kingdom" by M. Rickert and Peter S. Beagle's "Two Hearts." For short stories, my silent vote has to go to "Pip and the Fairies" by Theodora Goss, a wonderful (and quite sad) fairytale-like adventure set in modern times where the media gets involved. And I personally don't give a hopping hoot about movie scripts, no matter how amazing they can be at times. So there you have it, for now at least.

Twas a lovely day

Though right now it's pretty cold out. I'm really fearing February since that's usually the worst of the cold months. Good thing I got a new pair of gloves for Christmas. Cause otherwise, what's the point?

Nice doggie...

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Things I need to do (I'm OCDDDDDDD, I make to-do-lists just to stay busyyyyyyy):

• Finish the other three parts for the upcoming Greenhorn series
• Review Fast Forward I
• See Children of Men
• Beat Suikoden V, even if it means not collecting every single character
• Laundry
• Possibly re-organize my bookshelves

Now, isn't all that exciting?

Comic and some thoughts

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I finished several books as of late. In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck is of standard fair for epic fantasy sorts, a young squire named Durand getting involved in a plot of treason and fighting for the Lord Lamoric, a man who is far more interesting than those around them. So there's a lot of knights galloping on horses, several jousting tournaments, and the occasional monster. The magic of the land is kept in the background, which I did not like. The writing was good except I kept stumbling upon several similes that were 100% jarring; hopefully by his next novel Keck will have improved because I did find some aspects of In the Eye of Heaven interesting and I wouldn't mind reading more from him.

Don't Bite the Sun and Drinking Sapphire Wine by Tanith Lee are two books set in the utopian world of Four BEE. Yes, Four Bee. It's a strange world where everything is splendid, the youthful Jang can suicide daily to change bodies and body types, and the idea of God is obsolete. But one person decides she no longer wants to be Jang, seperates herself from her circle, attempts to make a child, and then becomes exiled to the desert. Lee's writing, here at its earliest, is simply compelling. She has such a handle on her characters and the story never strays too far from its absurdity. Characters come and go as different sexes, and through it all everyone remains clear. I definitely recommend the series for those that like their science fiction pulpy, fast-paced, and lush with alien ideas.

The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin is set on the planet Athshe where a once-paradise is being conquered by humans. The forests are being cut down, the land cleared all over, but the Athsheans have had enough. Long thought to be docile, they attack the humans. The book sort of made me think of a deranged version of the Ewoks on Endor, where the little fuzzy creatures went rabid with rage, killing all in their path. I've always been a fan of Le Guin's work, and this is another piece of her genius: a battle between man and nature, where those working for the trees are able to fight through lucid dreaming. If you have the time, it's a short book and well worth the read.

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It seems I forgot to post a link to my review for Eragon, which was an absolutely horrible film on a hundred different levels. Right now though, Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth are looking amazing. I'm still having trouble finding a theatre that's playing Pan's Labyrinth around here. Ugh. Why is that the artsy films get no love but Night at the Museum is playing everywhere, ten times a day, over and over and over again? Tell me now, brown cow.

I got mad

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Don't hate/honk at me just because I don't have EZ Pass/the change for the toll in my hand the instant I come to a stop. Sheesh, peoples.

Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

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And yet I never watched a single airing of A Christmas Story over the holidays. I long for the day when Elf becomes the classic Christmas movie. Really, I do.

Tree time

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Al doesn't speak too much English.

I guess I was sleepy

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Did some sketching over the holiday break. So expect to see some comics over the next few days...

Hooray!

...and now I'm off until 2007! Hooray!

You do the math

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Math is hard.

No, no, no, and no

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Lather, rinse, repeat. For fifteen minutes.

An empty sandwich

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Ever eat a sandwich consisting of just bread, shredded lettuce, and black olives? It's not bad, certainly edible, but I wanted my tuna. Shame I was too lazy to go back and complain. Least they remembered the bread. And to charge me $6 for it.

Wind it up...

Bow staff skills, vacuuming skills...