Killed by Television

Umm... my productivity that is.  We added a cable television in my office.  That and Gears of War 2 have been soaking up all my time lately.  Oh, and Dead Space too.   Dead Space is fun to play while you're playing it, but hard to point out exactly what makes it so special afterwards.

I have been puttering away at my drawing, but it was mostly finishing a reference for the female character clothing in my comic.  Useful, but not necessarily very interesting.  Hopefully as I finally shut off the TV for a while I'll get back to putting cool pics up on the page.

I watched the Hitman movie, recently and really liked it.  It was kind of a different take on the James Bond style characters.  It was inspired by the video game series which I liked.  It didn't get very good reviews, but it had cool action sequences if you could overlook the wooden acting.

I also caught the movie Aliens, which I've seen before.  It was a lot more cheesy than I remember from when it first came out.  Kind of like an exercise in 'how bad can things go wrong.'  It was a horror movie disguised as an action movie.  In an action movie you figure the characters have a chance, but in this one the writers systematically kill everyone off.  They actually finish the job in the 30 second introduction to the following movie.  It was fun and exciting, but a little depressing at the same time.   I guess seeing it after so long made me realize how artificial and predictable it felt.  Reminds me of Dead Space for the Xbox 360.  Or maybe the other way 'round.

My latest toy

I have a new toy... I've been using a wacom tablet for almost as long as I've been doing the comic, and they've gradually gotten bigger and fancier.  I finally got my wish and purchased the grand-daddy of them all: a Wacom Cintiq 21ux. 

Drawing with this is almost like using paper, with all the benefits of Painter or Photoshop thrown in.  I love it. It feels SO much more natural than using a tablet where you're drawing in one spot and seeing it appear somewhere else.  I'm not sure if this would be 'natural' if you'd never used a tablet before, but for someone who's used tablets forever it's nerdvana.  I'm working on the next two pages of the comic at this very moment.

The only thing is, I've had to rearrange my desk twice to try and find a configuration that works.  It changes my seating position a bit 'cause it's HUGE.  But that just means there's more to love.  Right?

I'll give another report in a week or so and let you know how it's going, and if the new-toy-shine is gone.

Places you should visit, and Zombies

Roger Ebert's blog:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/
If you want a guide to movies, ebert is your man. I may not agree 100% with each of his movie ratings but from reading his blog it's clear that he thinks deeply about things. You can't have enough of those kinds of people around you. He's kind of like the movie evangelist telling you where the good stuff is. He's spent his life drinking in a particular art form and now that he's reached an age of wisdom he definitly has some profound things to say. I get a thrill reading his blog, and that's not a common thing.

Wil Wheaton's blog:
http://www.wilwheaton.typepad.com/
He traded an acting role on Star Trek the  Next Generation for a spot in the competitive world of blogging... To quote PVP. He's another one of those creative types that I get a thrill from reading. He's more on the creative rather than the Consumer side like Mr. Ebert. If you've Got Geek? Wil's your man with some pointers to good stuff.

Lastly: Lessons learned from Zombie stories.
After reading  "zombie contingency plans" I've been reminded of one of the fundimental aspects of writing. You don't just ride along like you do in a movie or a comic, you actually get inside the character's head for a time. That's both good and bad. The Zombie story character referenced above clearly has something wrong with him. I felt a bit crazy by the end of the story, or as much as I was able to stomach. It was a good story, there was just... something wrong with the main character. It kind of messed with my head. I guess the threat of most stories is that you really don't know what you're getting yourself into when you first pick the book or story up. In this case I didn't actually finish the story because I felt so "off" after a while.  I guess I'm just a wimp when it comes to those kinds of things.

Jackassery

I read a few books to Anna, my youngest daughter as part of the getting-ready-for-bed process.  Most kids books are fine if a bit sappy, heavy handed and poorly written.  However there's one series of books that I can only take in small doses.  That is of course the Berenstain Bears. There's only so much I can take of an author portraying a father as a complete and total asshole.  Occasionally there's a book that's more neutral, but on the whole they're pretty bad.

It isn't quite time to say enough and hide the offending books, but I'm close.

Darth Barbie

Angela found this picture online over here, and I couldn't resist passing it on.

Batman

One last thing.  I tried to see the latest Batman movie at 8 this evening.  I was blown away that the movie was sold out.  For crying out loud it's Wednesday!  People should be doing something else besides watching the movie I want to see. Apparently from talking to the ticket seller the movie has been selling out for all the evening shows so far.  Wow,  just wow.

Last Gasp for learning Japanese

I loaned out all my Japanese books to a friend who was interested in learning.  As usual this got ME thinking about learning Japanese again.  I even looked at the latest edition of the how-to book I like on Amazon.  But as I thought about it, I realized I should once again pass on learning Japanese.  First of all it fails my litmus test for learning a cool new writing system: Can I use it to write my passwords?  Unfortunately Japanese is phonetic, so there's no equivalent for the letter V or writing capitols.  I admit this is a pretty flimsy reason, but it's either a tip of the iceberg kind of thing or a red herring.   I'm not sure which.  Perhaps, someday I'll pick Japanese up, but for today I'd rather spend my time doing useful things like writing inane blog posts and learning elvish. 8)   

The main reason I'm going to pass is I want to be devoting my time to telling stories.  Because more than anything else that's really what I want to be about.  I'm just easily distracted by shiny new concepts.  I guess I'd better get back to it.

Hancock and Wall-e

I liked Hancock. I'm not sure where I would place it in terms of the summer superhero movies, but I thought it was good.  As in the picture above, he goes from being the drunk homeless superhero, to being a respectable hero with a 'family'.  I dunno.  I thought the last half of the story lacked some of the punch it could have, but it definitely had it's moments.  He was definitely a flawed character who was digging deep and trying to change.  I think they could have upped the conflict level in the second half, or spent more time on his drunken rampages.  The move was short at only 1hr and 25 minutes.   I felt like I'd seen almost all the good moments in the trailers, that they hadn't really saved any gems.  Which is too bad.  I think I'll probably rent it when it comes out again, hoping to see some of the footage that ended up on the cutting room floor, but I don't think it's a movie I'll own.  Iron Man or the new Hulk on the other hand...

Wall-e was fun too.  Angelina didn't think it was up to the level of 'Cars,' but I think we all enjoyed it.   I liked the Sci-fi aspect of the story which she didn't appreciate quite as much.  I of course liked the romance in the story between Wall-e and Eve.  I also enjoyed how they told you what happened after the end of the regular story in the form of a hieroglyphic motif that played while the first part of the credits were rolling.  I would consider owning this one.  I guess it depends on how much the kids like it in the long run.

In coming back to Hancock I feel like the movie needed in the second half, better or more development of the conflicted romance and definitely more angst.  It felt like it got all rosy after he really started trying to be a better person, even though at one point you can see him going back to the bottle.

I kind of see Durin in the superhero mold, even though he's in a fantasy setting.  So I empathize with superhero themed stories a lot.  So I'd have to say that I liked Hancock, even though I felt it was flawed.

First post from iPhone

Ok this will take some getting used to.

The iPhone Jackpot

They must have got the servers back online or something because all of a sudden Angelina's and my iPhone just connected and activated.

Woohoo!

Slot machine iBrick

Ok, I lied.  I still don't have a functional iPhone and I'm posting anyway.  This feels like playing some kind of frustrating slot machine.  It already has my X-whopping-dollars of investment already, and now I'm playing a game where I sit with iTunes clicking back and forth between the iTunes Store and the little icon of my iPhone to make it try to connect and re-activate again.  I sit here still playing in the vain hope that somehow before the babysitter arrives and we go off to see Hancock we'll have functional cell phones.

Last time I checked the cell phone would receive calls, but sometime in about 3 hours my Verizon phone will stop working.  I'm hoping there will be a big iPhone payoff before then.

The iPhone Ordeal

Ok, so I have an iPhone now.  The Chico ATT store was a zoo.  I arrived around 6:30 and was somewhere around 40th in line. Three hours later I was finally able to walk out of the store with two iPhones with the help of my brand-new good buddy Gavin.  He was in line ahead of me with another guy, but he wasn't buying.  So I borrowed him to fill the one person one iPhone rule.  They had huge problems with the computer system, since I was doing the family plan it was more complex.  Finally they muddled through and I had my phones.

Now I'm sitting at home with the other bajillions of people trying to activate their phones.  No luck so far.  You'd think they would have prepared for this.  You'd think the headache they had last time they rolled out the original iPhone they'd have learned their lesson.  But no.  

On the plus side the guy that sold me the phone was a buddy from college named Jeff.  I'll have to get back in touch with him when the store isn't full of screaming fans.

I'll post again when my iPhone is anything but an iBrick.

I want my iPhone

I really want an iPhone.  I've taken the day off work. I'm getting up at the crack of dawn to be at the ATT store in Chico at 6:30ish.  The wait in line should be about an hour and a half until their 8am opening.  At which time I'll be purchasing two 8gb iPhones for Angelina and I.  I've been waiting for a year, since when the iPhone first came out I was still locked into Verizon for a while longer.  Hopefully everything goes smoothly as I transition between carriers.

Angelina tells me I should bring my laptop and see if I have wifi access so I can blog in line.  ...it's been done.  They already have theirs in New Zeland.  'Cause it's tomorrow there today.  

I'm not spending the whole day on the iPhone though.  I'm also going to finally see Hancock with Angelina too.  We've hired a sitter to watch the kids and everything.  We can even surf in the theater while we're waiting for the movie to start.  Aaaah.  I can feel my internet addiction growing stronger already.

I expect with the new iPhone I'll be trying to blog remotely and include more of my own pictures too!

217 calories or about a candy bar

So I'm about a week into this new exercise thing.  It's good and all, and I'm glad I'm doing it, but it's frustrating that just about any piece of junk food is about the equivalent of my whole half hour of hard exercise.  

The Treadmill I've got has this cool read out of how many calories and carbs and all that isht you've just been by.  So my average half hour exercise session is currently good for about 217 calories.  That's the equivalent of a Milky Way Bar (full of carmelly goodness) or a big Henry Weinhard's root beer (which I'm enjoying the creamy smoothness of at this very moment).

I hate to gripe like this, but now that I've really started counting calories I'm using it feels pretty sucky.  I feel like I'm hacking most of the things I like to eat out of my diet.  On the brighter side I'm down closer to 180 rather than 190, which is cool.

Drinking, walking, oblivion and 263

I've been walking on our treadmill lately.  Not the calm walk-after-dinner kind of walk, but the wring the sweat out of you and let you enjoy the endorphins afterwards kind of walk.  I can't do it outside 'cause it's too smoky from all the fires and it'd kill me.  I've walked in the past, and had good times thinking up new plot twists for the comic while I was doing it.  But not this time.  I'm actually working to push myself a bit.  I'm trying to get in shape, and the extra effort seems to push the happy-comic-thoughts right out of my head.  I've heard of people drinking themselves to oblivion, but this excercise thing really drives out anything you might want to be thinking about.  You can even get the nausea afterwards if you want, but I'm trying to avoid that this time 'round.

The whole reason for my get in shape and eat right push is my most recent visit to the doctor.  I had a fun blood test and my cholesterol came back at 263.  Great fun when your dad's side of the family has a long history of serious heart attacks.  So in order to avoid medicine, or at least limit my need for it I'm doing the walking thing.  Who knows, I might live longer.

In other death related news Michael Turner, the comic book artist, died just the other day.  He was a big inspiration to me.  I have posters of his art up all over my home office.  It makes me sad to think he won't be sharing his art with us any more.

Home Again

Disneyland, as they say, was the happiest place on earth... except when it wasn't. A screaming feisty contrary four year old can make for some un-fun moments. On the whole we didn't let her ruin our day and managed to have a good time anyway. Best ride there: Pirates of the Caribbean for it's quick line and long cool ride.

Picked up a few pins while I was there. The Mickey-skull and tinkerbell are my favorites.


We cam home last night from San Diego. Our plane was delayed, then it had mechanical difficulties before we took off and they had to get us a new plane, but finally we're home. I'm so tired. I need a vacation from my vacation.

If I believed in gremlins... Oh my God. got up to go to work this morning and happened to look on top of my Xbox360 only to find... the stylus for my graphics tablet. The one I had spent around four hours looking for before we left. It would have been harder for it to be more in plain sight or more in the middle of my office. ARGH! But I'm happy that I have it back. As it turns out a new Wacom stylus would cost about $60. Yikes.

A Star Trek Experience

Went to the Star Trek Exhibition at the San Diego Aerospace museum.  It was a fun day.  Dad went with me and the rest of the family went to the Zoo, which was next door.  Anna is very taken with the Elephants, and Elizabeth loves the Big cats.

I have to say that while the Star Trek Exhibit was fun, I was kind of expecting more.  It seemed like it was over quickly for how much we (dad) shelled out for tickets.  

I think the most fun was the section on the 'next generation' tv show.  They had a section of corridor where you couldn't see anything but Star Trek.  You could imagine for just a moment that you were there.  Except everything seemed a little small... the ceiling felt low and the doors felt small.  I hate to nit-pick, 'cause I did enjoy myself.  But I kept thinking wouldn't it be better if...

After the Trek tour we got to wander through the Aerospace museum.   They had aircraft and memorabilia from the Wright brothers through today.  I especially liked the Zeppelins.   I just love the idea of these huge floating airships.  I guess they're kind of reminiscent of the flying ships from my stories, or the flying castles, etc.

Late this evening Mom and Dad watched the kids while Angelina and I went out.  We had dinner at a nice restaurant called the Elephant Bar.  Anna would have loved it for the elephants alone. Afterwords we did out usual thing when we're having a night on the town and went to a bookstore.  I don't know if it's 'cause we're nerds, or boring or just unimaginative.  As you might expect we bought books, and laughed and had a good time together.

Tomorrow: Disney Land.

A Pickley Revelation

So I was eating dinner with the folks, and came to the realization that there is a kind of pickle that I like to eat: Sweet Pickle Relish.

If you have been following along, you may or may not have noticed my obsession with pickles. I don't have a good reason, and I know it's irrational, but I love brining pickles into any conversation... just because.

At the Beach in San Diego

Picture from here.

I love being at the beach.  Not sunbathing or anything like that.  I just enjoy the sound of the waves and the feel of the sand between my toes. 

There is something deep and mysterious about the ocean.  I don't know if it's the immense size, or the continuous energy of the pounding waves.  If a piece of the ocean, it's spirit if you will, could walk up out of the waves what would that being be like?  That's the question I've wrestled with in thinking about the Elemental characters in my stories.  Durin especially perplexes me.  How can my character embody the mysterious depth and chaotic pounding of the unseen waves that are the essence of Magic?  How would that kind of being see humans, or interact with us?  So I'm here in San Diego, enjoying the weather and the waves...  and pondering.

Gone to San Diego

The whole family is going down to San Diego for a week.  I'm typing this from the Sacramento Airport while we're waiting the mandatory two hours for our plane to take off.  Going through the Security Theater here at the airport went smoothly.  We feel properly inconvenienced and therefor safer.

The down side to the whole trip preparation is I've misplaced the stylus for my Wacom tablet.  I spent a number of hours last night looking for it around my home office, and even called a buddy at work to check my desk there for it... no luck.  So, not much published drawing this week, which I had been looking forward to getting something out.  I suppose it will have to wait.  Not like readers of my web-comic are expecting anything different.  -sigh-

I tend to get obsessive when I can't find things.  I have so much junk and I'm so disorganized you'd think it'd happen more often.  

My only other hope is that Anna didn't run off with it.  It's happened before... and I didn't search ALL her toy drawers... hmmm.

Pickle

Just so we're all clear:

This is a pickle.

That is all.

-j 

The picture is from the wikipedia article on pickles. Picture is the lightly edited public domain picture from there.

Catgirl

This was some fanart I did that appeared on the Catgirl Research Foundation page. 

I've been meaning to link to them for a while. 8)

This is also my first image for the blog, and I'm still experimenting to see how this works.  

-j

*edit* - Ok.  So Blogger.com shrinks the picture down and then gives me a link.  Interesting.  

So you can click on the image to the left to get the full sized picture.

As long as I'm editing and asking questions out to the aether I'm a little confused about the whole "labels for the post" thing that appears at the bottom of the post editing page.  Are they actually useful?  Can anybody else see these?  And why do I like pickles so much, but not to eat.

Oops - added a title.

down-time Deviant Art

Well, I've got a Deviant art account set up.  There's really nothing new over there yet. But eventually I'll get everything from down-time.org moved over there and that's where all the new stuff will go.

It's at jallen327.deviantart.com.

-j

The new blog

So I'm trying out the blogging services here at blogger.com.  I'm a little sad just plain "down-time" was taken as a title, so I had to go with "down-time manga".  All lower case just to show I'm rebellious.

My regular site, in case your arriving here from somewhere else is down-time.org.  It's a site full of vaguely manga inspired art, with a story line that has recently stalled.  Hopefully temporarily.  However, I'm still trying to post art there on a regular basis.  'though I'll probably move most of the art stuff to deviant art if I can figure out to make that site work.  I will of course post here when I have that underway.

I also have to apologize to NonCharon (sasquach) for copying his layout.  (it was one of the standard choices after all.)  I'll try and spice it up as soon as I can get myself motivated.

-j