Farsong Blog-o-Matic

beatonna gets the 4^th of July right.

THAT IS ALL

I think it was torakiyoshi who has taken an interest in comics with punchlines about hats. This is for you.

Honestly, I don't know why I still read Ctrl+Alt+Del — I think it's still sitting in my RSS reader because I don't find it insipid enough to get rid of. It's a bland comic. What plot there is runs slowly, and is punctuated by long periods of bland commentary on games. Two gamers on a couch? That's not original. Plus, there's the patented Buckley Wall-'O-Text™. And there are also too many panels for the jokes. Seriously, just like Garfield is funnier without its namesake cat, Ctrl+Alt+Del would be funnier if the jokes were compressed into three panels.

To evidence this, I edited the latest comic to three panels. While I don't claim to be the best maker of comics out there, I think I can be funny. I also try to assume a reader is smarter than a brick. Or a fifth-grader. Whatever is the lowest-denomination of knowledge these days.

( Ctrl+Alt+Del remix )


There are many more great webcomics out there that are many times funnier. I should post a list of the ones I'm enjoying at the moment.

KC Green makes journal comics. His cartoons are dark, filled with funny cartoon expressions, and terribly funny--funny, because they're true. Oddly, the misgivings and apathy he seems to express about comics, sometimes, are the same ones I have.

Before I hit the sack:

The venerable American Elf has just opened its archived strips to the public. Previously subscription-only, now anyone can read them. I mention this because, while I hadn't read it before, I will make a point to now--as I have heard a great many good things about it over the past two to three years. Chances are that it is one of the best journal-comics out there.

Yes, I do like journal comics (but only when they're silly and somewhat fantastic).


http://www.americanelf.com/

http://www.ironcircus.com/templar_infopages/book_order.php

I think I need to get this. Templar, Arizona is one of the best comics out there. It's one you should be reading. Apparently it's even won some kind of award.

Why are you not reading Cat and Girl? You need to be reading Cat and Girl. It is imperative. It is amazing.

( First, a little background on Scott McCloud for them what need it: )


To promote his new book (and quite frankly, just to do it), McCloud and Friends are taking a trip around the world across the fifty greatest states in America (all the dates are on the website).

McCloud is going to be in the Northwest in the next couple weeks, specifically in Moscow, Idaho (an hour south of Spokane in the same location as Pullman — WSU for the uninitiated). That's May 21^st.

He'll get over to Seattle on the 25^th. The problem with that is that it's Seattle. Most of Washington's population lives on the West side. Chances are that a few of them know who McCloud is. That means that there might be a few more people there than in Idaho. Plus, those are the weeks of Finals. I'm not getting over to Spokane then, and I'm certainly not going to go to Seattle on the off-chance that I'd get to meet the man.

Amusingly enough, McCloud is going to spend several days down in Portland later in June, complete with some workshops. This reaffirms the fact that Portland is an artsy-er, cooler city than Seattle. Seattle does have "cool," though this is balanced out by the "quirky" parts and the downright weird. Portland is small-enough to not have the weird (or much weird, at least), yet big enough to be cosmopolitan and have things like the Light-Rail system and Powell's Books. Plus, last time I was there there was a pizza place with really edgy, new electronic music and guys with goggles (one had a long braid of red-dyed hair).

I'm beginning to think that Portland is the place that I want to be, second only to Berlin (and I don't know how feasible that actually is).

Alpha-Shade

I should probably be scolded for not reading this comic before now, only reading through the archive for the first time yesterday. But while it is still fresh in my mind, I write:

Alpha-Shade is a flash-based comic, as in, the website and all its pages are kept in a flash-based archive, and the comic its self is made in Flash—though, oddly enough, the site won't run properly in Firefox on either of my Macs (Opera and Safari are fine). That's the first thing one notices when first coming to the page, and makes the drawings very smooth and crisp, though I notice the method used to achieve a focus blur is actually a slight ghosting of the image outlines, which happens to be exactly the way astigmatism works in my eye. Of course, there is also a low-bandwidth version of the comic, in the form of jpegs, but this detracts from one of the coolest things about the comic: the ability to zoom and look at small details of the pages.

And this is a very attractive thing because the art and the detail that is put into each panel almost begs the reader to examine the pages more closely. In many cases, there are details hidden in scattered pages and corners of rooms—details only testifying to the thoroughness of the artist.

This level of thoroughness is carried throughout the pages of Alpha-Shade, shown in the detail of the airships, weapons, and other vehicles, including the flyers—great blue birds-of-prey carrying agile riders; these happen to be my favourite. Every character is different and instantly recognisable, though the style of drawing makes the characters look rather young. The scenes that are created are fantastic, packed with steam-powered airships and all kinds of detailed weaponry creating a wonderful feeling of knowing and being part of the world. A steampunk world—initially what attracted me to the story.

But yet, this also seems to be one of Alpha-Shade's drawbacks—it seems to be continually focused on all these explosions, as if it is only retains excitement through these sorts of things. It feels as if the story is sometimes nothing but one unexplained explosion after another, and this detracts from the slower reasoning why and how.

And there is certainly a story there—one filled with war and secret alliances between empires, betrayal, robbery, explosions, and, if I had to guess, Zeppelins. And it's a hell of a story. There is only one problem: suspense. The entire first chapter definitely sets up the world, but it is seemingly left behind in the next two chapters, though many of the characters have somehow come from this steampunk world to the Earth as we know it. It builds suspense, yes, but this can be a problem, too—the comic is only up-dated once a week, and with as in-depth a story as this, the comic could go on for a long time, and there are a number of things that could be explained further, though this could potentially happen later in the story.

The biggest problem is that nothing feels resolved—it feels as if there have been big broad chapters setting things up, but each of these seems to leave a reader with more questions than answers—“What happened to that character?” “What is the reason for this event or character?” I do think that most of these will be answered in time, but it leads me to wonder whether a serialised format is the best for this story. Transmetropolitain by Warren Ellis was a somewhat-serialised comic, consisting of three chapters that were first released as issues, and then as individual volumes—somewhere in the neighbourhood of ten such volumes by the end of the series. Each set of three had its own mini-arcs that would be contained within each chapter, resolving at the end, but with arcs that would span all three chapters, finally being resolved at the end of the volume—a very clean format. I do wonder if Alpha-Shade could be better-served by a form like that, or whether it would work well in a large book made up of many chapters.


Of course, this is not to say that Alpha-Shade is bad, because it's not—it's excellent, and a great amount of work goes into each page. The art is crisp and clean and highly-detailed. The worlds that the story is set in are amazingly detailed, and filled with dry humour (such as a pizza parlour called “William Theodore Franklin Pizza” or “WTF” for short). the comic is filled with colour and great and original drawing, but I can't help but feel that the pacing is slightly off.

Alpha-Shade is a fun comic set partially in a steampunk universe with an interesting story—and it doesn't update nearly as often as I would like.

I found a comic made of art called Dresden Codak. It features rather irregular up-dates, and amazing, full-page comics. It's spectacular and chock full of imagination and color. Interestingly enough, I stumbled across Dresden Codak a number of months ago, though I forgot to make note of the URL at the time, though I didn't forget about it. Stumbling across the link to-day was a happy find.

It's interesting to see the dramatic improvement in the art from the beginning of the comic; it's interesting because it happened so quickly.

Dresden Codak has an interesting vibe to it, too: it is similar to comics that tell large stories in one page, predominantly with images. This is in the same vein as the now-on-hiatus A Lesson is Learned but the Damage is Irreversible and Copper by Kazu Kibuishi, editor of Flight.

Have you ever stumbled upon beauty? Upon truth? Something hidden that you didn't see before?

I found one of those things.

Perhaps this is a small way of trying to document these things. To hold back the tide. To share art and poetry.

I found a comic. But it's not a comic. It's a beautiful, surreal world, filled with sex and zombies and dreams and bridges. It's beauty and poetry, with a shock. There's the future and the past. It's there. And it's so damn beautiful.

Truth and beauty.

A picture-poem called A Softer World.

Like the Soda, Star, and Format Wars what came before, the Console Wars:

Randall Munroe of xkcd does a great job of summarizing this weekend (or, should I say, wiikend?). This is really the vibe I got from my friends who went and waited for consoles. Also, most people waiting for a Wii are not going to sell it. Amazingly enough, there just might be enough Wiis for consumers this holiday quarter!

And, of course, there are the cute stories of the Wii lines.

My old buddy, Alex, has started up a new collaboration with his older brother, and have started a new webcomic called Danse Danse Macabre. There're only a few strips up at this point, but they're crisp and awesome.

Alex does almost all the writing, and his older brother, Josh, does the drawings. Alex mentions that this has caused some trouble when his brother modifies the dialogue or direction of the punch-line, changing the timing, and perhaps putting it off. I think that the timing is on in most of the strips; it's quite noticeable that the writing and jokes are Alex's.

I suppose I'm a little close to the source to be an unbiased source, but what source is truly unbiased? Really. It's a rhetorical question. Regardless, the timing is good, and the art is very crisp. It's worth taking a look at.

link

Nikki: "So, do you just scan random things when you get bored at the desk?"
Steve: "Pretty much."
Nikki: "Did you just scan your chin?"
Steve: "Yes; it's my lady-pleaser."

It was ridiculous, and the only thing that could be said at that moment. It was also a reference to John Allison's Scary-go-Round, specifically the strip from Thursday.

It remains one of my favourite comics online. The transition to hand-drawn has only served to make the comic better. Moreover, it's wonderful to note how much better Allison's drawing has gotten since he started hand-drawing the strip, August of last year. The mix is even better, combining a more folksy art with the already kitchy storylines and the wonderful pacing of dry humour. It is one of the comics that you must read; if it's not in your bookmarks already, add it.

I feel like I was productive this weekend. All sorts of things have been simmering and bubbling, and are beginning to come to come to fruition. I'll let you know when that happens.

Part of it might be explained or furthered by the fact that I have been reading a lot of Dominic Deegan, Oracle for Hire, recently, spurred on by a conversation with a friend about City Limits via the wonderful Blue Day Media (whose service is prompt and courteous). The book is a collection of wonderful comics by a number of my favourite webcomic artists.

Anyway, I've been working my way through the Dominic Deegan archive (the read made much simpler via Opera's fast-forward feature), and it's a wonderful comic, combining magic with two things I love: pirates and bad puns, and much of the humour feels like an inside joke that you're in on. The drawing and writing is fun, too, conveying the alternate humour and serious drama of the comic (many times in the same instance), following Dominic from his humble beginnings as a maligned village seer with his talking cat to his being the saviour of the world. Even more amazing is the fact that the strip up-dates every day.


I've found a cool Netcast (formerly known as “Podcast,” hence forth referred to as Netcasts) called Radio Clash—a music show that's about an hour, once a week, focusing on both new and old electronic music and music mashups (along with some commentairy), with each show usually playing off a central theme (or themes). Nice, too, since such things as the Pulse have died



For reference, though, I think that Hinderlie, the dorm in which I live, is breaking. They have been here three times (in as many weeks) to fix the boilers, and we just got back in from a fire alarm. We think the boiler may have a'sploded. Also, the internets died around 18:30 last night, coming back roughly 21 hours later. Vince kept jibing me about the lack of internet and whether or not I would go insane. I personally think that it would take a few more days.


I also had a friend receive an e-mail from the RIAA. This is what they send to you if they catch you sharing files. See the RIAA's scare-tactic form-mailer and my views on the happy subject, after the jump.
( RIAA Scare-mail )



I have a strong hankering for Mac and Cheese right now …

I don't know what sense there is in linking to Penny-Arcade, but I do so anyway with the foreknowledge that it is already read by millions.

It's exactly the things I've become increasingly concerned about: freedoms.


Seriously, just read the newspost on the site. Jerry Holkins is fare more eloquent than I pretend to be.


It's a talking-point.

In my exploits this weekend, I've spent some time listening to some old music. Old being a relative term here. Looking back is not at odds with Number Three, either—in my looking-back at what Has Been, I look forward to What Might Be.

Specifically, I listened to a whole bunch of music that I listened to Senior year, around December—The Arcade Fire. That really is where the Arcade Fire will always be, when 'ere I listen to them.

I've even been listening to a bit of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, and others. I really spent several years, both towards the end of Eighth Grade, and then all the way into Sophomore year of Highschool, listening to solely Jazz in various forms. Swing was always a favourite.

It wasn't until roughly half-way through Junior year that I started branching out. It started with two of my friends, and two bands they recommended. Both were wildly different—but not completely to the point of disparity. The friends were Mike and Calvin, and the bands were (respectively), Queen and Weezer.


The first half of Farsong (at the time, “For the Love of Dragons,” usually referred to by the acronym of “FTLOD”) was written to a soundtrack of mostly these two, with a little bit of the Flaming Lips tossed in for good measure. There were a number of explicit references to such songs within the text of the story.


When I do start tracing things back, I always first think of spring break of that year, when I first started “waking up,” but it wasn't then. It was before that time. I all started in January when I first got a laptop. It was old even then, and did word-processing, and nothing more. I did make it do more. I finally gave up on it nearly a year later, when the battery died—but not before I had written nearly all of the rough draft I have of Farsong. Actually, technically the computer still works, though it needs a new Hard Drive. I think I also may have found one of a usable nature for such an endeavour.

It really is to that point, sometime in January, when I started writing. I haven't stopped yet. I even know the date: January twenty-fourth, Two-thousand four (Farsong started the twenty-seventh, which is why that day is Klitaka's Birthday). Is it really only 2004 that this started? There seems to have been so very much between then and now. “Steve” then is only a shadow of what “Steve” is now.

And things have more-or-less always moved in the direction that I assumed they would. It wasn't a conscious move, but it was based around things that happened. I always somehow knew I would get glasses. I always knew that I would go to PLU. I always, from the first time I went to camp, knew I would end up a Camp Counsellor. I always knew that I was going to start making movies. And I have a prediction, too; these sorts of things amount to a gut-feel, but have always felt “right.” In this case, I've always felt like I was going to end up being an RA. Not that I don't have a say in the matter—the job would be completely up to me—but is just what I'm going to end up doing. It's an interesting twist on the idea of Fate. Yes, Fate, with a big capital letter. It's a Noun, and to set it off, I use capitals.

So, then, where am I going is the logical next question. I maintain that I choose the How in how I get there, but I already have a few inklings of what I'd like to be doing.

I think that Weezer's “Holiday” would make a good soundtrack—or at least a part of one—for this journey forward to What Might Be. And, from where I stand, the future looks damn shiny to me.

Favourite sentence of the night: “When he came-to, the chamber was dark, and full of spinning.”

I've been getting back into writing a lot, and it makes me all manner of happy! Elated, even! I've been working slowly on a scene with action. And a large, steam-powered robotic dragon-machine. And a swear (yes, Dylan makes a swear).


And I'm so impressed with so many other artists' work. The crisp lines and clean forms, and so detailed. Mine is so rough and poorly-concieved. Yeah, these sorts are professionals, but it still stands that there are so many who are better than I. And I know what it is, too: it's the attention to detail; I can't focus for long enough on one small, highly-detailed thing. I work in parts, which is why the story of Farsong is not written yet. It's why I'm jumping around whilst writing it, and am writing a scene that's a hundred pages into the first draft, bypassing the bits between the very beginning.

I would greatly love to work linearly, but I can't. My mind jumps about, busy thinking about things other than those that which I want to focus on at the time.

Perhaps the new old laptop will help me sort things out. Yeah, it has internets, but it's unreasonably slow. No, actually, it has every reason to be slow. It's just that I'm used to a computer that does ten things all at once, without hesitation. It will also make a decent machine for going off with—no substitute for the desktop, but a simple portable word-processor and internet gateway, making it easier than trying to find an open computer terminal. Still intending to get the Black MacBook, but this will suffice for now. Besides, it was free, not factoring in the elbow-grease and headlight fluid. That's what I'm saving up for, and I don't need to spend monies on new things.

I think there's a list of some sort:
1) Wii
2) MacBook
3) You can ignore this bullet point
5) I skipped a number
6) Sony Reader
7) is a berry good number


But what about a cool thing? Shiny and distracting? I'm easily distracted by shiny things.
A Super-8 video-recording of the drive from Tacoma to Seattle, vintage 1988.
[Link] via BoingBoing



( Essays about stuff: “My voice is barely inaudible. I also wear Tee-shirts with things on them.” )




The internets went down or something, last night. I went to sleep. I should do that more often.

And a re-ararngement of the computer's display setup. Slight, though.

Also, I certainly didn't fall down and scrape my right knee very badly. Nope. Certainly not.

On a rather un-related note, humans are rather fragile things …


And I'm excited about getting Okami … It's coming in the mail.

Sam Logan, oh what a twisted tale you weave!

If you don't read Sam and Fuzzy, you really should. It's one of my absolute favourite comics.

Sam and Fuzzy has an amazingly-intricate and well-written story that Logan has put a lot of effort into—taunting us with bits of his plot. It is only in going back through the archive that one realises what a simply amazing job that he has done with the plot—hinting at later plots. The art is also wonderful—a very sharp, edgy style that fits the story very well.


Since January, we've been following the heavy-metal band Noosehead around, and it's been one year since Sam (or rather, his girlfriend) destroyed the Mafia Ninja Syndicate. Since then, Sam has all but disappeared. There are still a few traces left, and Ninja Mafia Agent Blankface has been in pursuit of Sam and Fuzzy throughout the Vignettes this year.


We were lead to believe that Sam assumed the identity of Aaron, and began touring with Noosehead, but in the latest up-date, like a house of cards falling down around him, it has been revealed that Aaron is none other than Jackson, the Mafia Ninja with the robotic hand. This is completely possible because, as a Ninja, we never saw Jackson's face, and it's not a stretch to see him as Sam, with similar hair, though perhaps a bit leaner. It was endorsed by the fact that Fuzzy is almost constantly hanging around Aaron, playing off one another as he and Sam did, as well as the fact that Aaron was terrified of the Mafia Ninjas. It was misdirection on the part of Sam Logan. He fooled Blankface (aka Willis), and he fooled us, too.

However, looking back through the archive to-day, I have realised that Sam could never have been Aaron. Aaron is too cocky. Aaron is too thin. But Aaron also a lot like Sam, because he has been hanging around Sam for the last year.


That's because Sam is there on the Noosehead tour, too. Sam is actually a lot more prominent. I believe that Sam changed his appearance more than a little bit for his new role, and gained a lot of weight.

There is only one man on the tour who Sam could be; only one other man who is a little depressed at times (though he has made a lot of progress over a year—being involved in the collapse of an international Ninja Mafia Crime Syndicate helps you put things in perspective). There is only one man who fits that build, and keeps his spiky hair under a hat …


Sam is Crush.



And Crush has just left.


Which leaves me with more questions, like, where is Ox? What about Carlyle?

Right now. So very much. [SARC]