Hello. Well, here I am. I thought I'd write a few things before I disappear from the net for over 2 weeks. So, we'll cover some bases first in regards to some questions that have been posed to me by some concerned citizens.

*Bonus Question*

Where have you been? Where's page 41 of "Beach Blanket Blueberry?"

Originally, around the beginning of May, I had been planning to commit page 41 to paper and computer. But then, a number of issues came up. Here's a little run-down:

1) I went out of town to attend a family get-together for 5 days.
2) Another expansion-based topic suddenly popped into my head, sending me on whirling spiral into mental visuals I never thought possible (whether I can make the concept come to pass, that's another story).
3) I wasn't happy with how page 41 was coming together.

#3 I cite as the biggest issue-well, okay, I did go awol from drawing and kind of tried to focus on life a bit more. Even so, page 41 was in danger of becoming an overloaded jack-in-the-box. Just recently, I managed to come up with a compromise...but still need to work on restructuring the next couple pages. I'm sure many are anxious to see where the story is going, but I'm entering what could be considered 'dangerous' territory. As the story is moving into it's third act, it runs the risk of ending on a sour note. I've read some stories and seen some films where the third act just puttered out. I'm figuring if I can take my time with the story, it'll fall into place, like last fall when my small hiatus allowed me to find the perfect way to proceed.

Question of the month

This month's question comes from Archaizir, which was taken from the comments on Page 35:

Isn't Tai a boy's name?

Tai is actually a girl's name from Asia. When trying to come up with something that was not as generic for this situation as say...Violet, I perused a number of different names, until finally, Tai seemed to fit. Tai's actual first name is Tyra. However, given that she was more enamored with the Chinese heritage side of her family, she found the name Tai, and that became her nickname. It's a small nod to my Mom who had a rather long name, but had it abbreviated to another similar sounding name (though they didn't start with 'T' ). There's also something special about her name...but that's all I'll say.

You Editing Fool!

While going through my programs, and getting the crazy urge to buy more stuff, I finally found a way to make some music videos of some characters and all, and posted them to Youtube. Here are my most recent ones (there are others under my account that you can see as well...though these two really fit into my deviant nature the best):

The Expandable Mammoth Mutt ( [link] )
Fifi's Love Song ( [link] )



Mini Movie Reviews

Since May, I've seen a couple movies, and thought I'd give a couple condensed reviews:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine
( * ) It felt like a couple steps down in quality from Bryan Singer's X2, which to me is still the best X-film. Overall, the production felt like it could have been a TV movie/miniseries.

Star Trek
( **** ) JJ Abrams managed to make a decent story with some pretty decent character development, as well as plenty of little things to mess with the minds of fans and non-fans alike. Also reminds people that in space...noone can hear you scream (for those who have seen the part in the film, you know what I mean).

Terminator Salvation
( *1/2 ) Interesting to view, but leaves you feeling as cold and hollow as a T-800 endoskeleton. McG tries to craft a story of the future war, but can't seem to decide who to focus on, or give enough time for character development. The full star for this is given for the work from the visual effects team, such as Stan Winston Studios.

Drag Me to Hell
( *** ) A nice blend of comedy and horror, though Sam Raimi really messed with the usual cliche of horror films, by making Alison Lohman's character a sympathetic girl, instead of the usual cold-hearted, bitchy non-virgin one would normally find in such a situation. Plenty of in-your-face effects as well.

Up
( ****1/2 ) A number of financial people had little faith in this film, and as expected...they were proven wrong. PIXAR once again manages to craft an inviting story, and mixes visuals and humor that does not cater to lower intelligence.


Tonight, I'll be viewing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Though already, early word of mouth (not just from critics, but from people who liked the first Transformers film) has me apprehensive, as some claim it to shifted more into Bay's style of filmmaking than last time.

So, a little simpler in regards to journal entries. Maybe next time I'll have something more to discuss.