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Dan's News:
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January...?, 2002 (0500 in the @!!!@#~ morning.)
Hey all, I guess I've been a bit slack in keeping up with the newsbox (not to mention the regular updates...) Part of this is/was getting laid off, which happened on the 25th of January, and part of this is/was dealing with some other stresses, which screwed up both my sleeping patterns, and, my ability to draw things. Especially, my ability to both draw, and, write. Then, Keen's servers decided to take a shit, and we had two weeks of "Is FTP going to work today?" to slog through, (they've got it mostly fixed, at least, until it happens again...)along with general loading problems, webalizer failures, etc. etc.
Mike and I are working on the new layout/design of the pages, and, an update on the Character pages to reflect the cast, and, changes to same. I apologize, because after more than a year doing LGW, I still haven't found a way to make the damned Background/supporting material readable, or, even, organized. (Yeah, okay, YOU take five or six legal-pads, half a dozen drawn-on napkins, a notebook full of character sheets from about six Role-Playing games, three half-completed short-stories, a notebook full of character/story notes, and seven outlines that all conflict, and turn that into something that makes sense! and that's not including the stuff sitting in the inaccessable part of the hard-drive...)
I understand it all, but, then again, I'm weird.
Anyway... I moved my Parents into their new house (at least, all the heavy furniture), drove to Vancouver, Wa. to pick up an Antique Walnut Dining set- Three hours down, three hours back- in a U-Haul, no Cigarette breaks, managed to totally Unimpress a very nice young lady, twice, (thus, confirming that I will grow old and die a bachelor, unless something kills me first...) Lose my Job because of crap happening elsewhere, (I won't get into it, but I'm still pissed...)Oh, and I got Charcoals! WHEEEEE!!! I like Charcoals, they really help with shading, and I don't have to spend so much time trying to get backgrounds in Gimp. (I like Gimp too, it's about the best Free program I've ever dealt with.) Finally, I watched Lord of the Rings 1, which, not surprisingly, was not only better than Star Wars (tm) episode 1:the Phantom Lack-of-a-plot, but, was also good standing on its own merits (much better than the Bakshi version, everything made a certain kind of sense...), I also went and spent money to see "Impostor", which was good, I don't need to demand that time back, as it was not wasted. On the other hand... "Legend of the Rangers" stole two hours from my life, and I want it BACK!!! This isn't something I normally say about a Science-Fiction movie/tv show, There are very few exceptions- the above mentioned Star Wars prequel, along with "Waterworld", "Jurassic Park II", and, "The Darwin Conspiracy" come to mind as examples. It wasn't necessarily bad, but, it should have been Better, especially given the scenario they used.
Especially with G'kar numbered among the Cast.
Disappointing wasn't the word.
On the other hand, I picked up a "Shlocky" movie in the "Previously Viewed" bin at a video store, and found it to be well-crafted and kinda neat, "GingerSnaps", which, from all the indications, was made in Canada, for a Canadian audience. It was kind of like "the Craft" without the pretentious morality play. I enjoyed it very much, and will probably subject my friends to it without adequate warning.
I also knocked out a few books. My pick for January is/was "March Upcountry" and "March to the Sea" by John Ringo and David Weber. February's pick is "Redliners" by David Drake.
These were, all three, good, fast, reads, without the finger-wagging common in a lot of today's Science Fiction. There's no "Message" in 'em, no "Moral Lessons about how we should treat (fill in the blank) better", (I stopped to think after seeing Planet Of the Apes, and decided Charlton Heston's was better...), none of that crap. Just good books that let the Reader make their own decisions. Just like I like 'em.
I stopped to pick up a "Newer" car, since the Oldsmobile was heading for the same "grave" condition that the Ford went to last summer (while I still had a job), a 1990 Isuzu Trooper.
I think I'm in love. The thing's ten years old, can pass Emissions, everything works on it, and, as long as one does not drive like an idiot (treating a Truck like a sportscar is idiotic in my book), handles well. I'm re-acquainting myself with Cassette Tapes now, along with driving without fear of sudden engine failure. It's very nice indeed.
I've also started cooking my own food again, rather than relying on a nukrowave. It's truly amazing how much money you can save doing that, rather than eating out of a box... Although the food-poisoning incident wasn't very fun. (Must remember-when Italian sausage is brown, it doesn't mean it's done all-the-way-through... and did you know, you can expel blood without it being fatal, even if you're male? I discovered this... oww.)
December 7, 2001
Alright, I missed Wednesday's update, and (what I'd planned for today's...), but, I have a very rare treat for you-Kaichi Satake ( www.kyokipress.com ) was going to do a guest strip during the "Black Dragon" storyline. Due to the loss of his computer, and continuing stresses in his Real Life, he was unable to get beyond the "rough" stages, (basic penciling, no shading or inking) of his part of the project. Even in "rough" form, his Artwork is Stupendous, and I thought you all should see it-even if it IS out of order, and, even if he DOES kill me for showing it. (not that anyone actually READS this comic anyway...) Please, enjoy, and, if you haven't already, go see HIS comic, it's how it should be done.
November 16, 2001
Okay, we've reached the "end point" for this segment of the "Black Dragon" storyline. Monday, we're returning to Mackenzie Station for a look in on Christine, Amber/Harold, and, Eric Haas.
To tell the truth, I found this story pretty hard to do, and, I left out a lot of stuff that I could have put in, except that it was a little too close to home. Come Monday, I'm going to focus on some of the lighter side of things for a while, as I move the characters into position for next year- when the major Characters come together, finally, to face the first serious conflict.
It's been several months, and, a few of you have "stuck Around" through it all, I thank you.
October 22 2001
Well... It's been a while since I bothered doing the news and stuff.
Sorry about that.
As those of you who read the business pages know, Boeing (my employer) is going through yet another orgy of layoffs.
I missed getting nailed in the first round, for those who keep score, which means I can pay my DSL and Rent, for another month, at least.
In the meantime, I've added a couple of links to my "Links" page, one of them is for "Ceph", which used to be "Project Squidship", and is drawn by the incomparable Sarah Huntrods! (whom I would love to meet in person, but she's all the way up in Alberta, Canada, and would probably think I'm a bore in person...)
The other is for "Sea of Insanity", drawn in pencil, twice a week, in black and white.
Oh, and, keep reading, we're due to have some guests over in a few days...
August 13, 2001
Alright, it's been a while since I've said anything about what's going on... Things have been a bit crazy since SSI went down, and being on Dayshift hasn't helped much either. In addition, I've had a guest over for the last four days (preparing for that ate up a lot of my "copious free time" last week, I actually had to DO something about my apartment.) Things will be returning to a regular schedule now, but I'll be missing Monday (putting the action something like a week behind.) I apologize for this, but things have been a little crazy...
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