Friends

So, all this week I've been dealing with kids and their schools.  Oh, and not having any money too, but let's not get off on that tangent.  

Anyway, the upshot is, to shortcut some bullies from her old school, my daughter is now in a new classroom in her new school.  So far, things seem to be working out well there.  She's also off school until December, so that helps too.

Second, and bigger/badder, my son is now in independent study through his high school.  The stress was getting to be too much for him and his Psychiatrist seems to have no knowledge of the specifics of his issues, nor any interest in learning them.  So, we're looking for a new shrink and some form of actual therapy for him so he can return to regular classes in his Sophomore year.  It's been... stressful.  But I.S. will help.  He's still attending classes for Algebra, but the rest is up to me.  But hey!  We all get to sleep later now!  Woo!

Not doing NaNo this year, but writing nonetheless.  Also, am slowly working on the sketch cards for you lovely people who donated to my cause last month.  The first batch went out last week.  I am thinking, however, of grouping the rest of the cards by destination country.  You know, all the English cards done and out together, then the Canadian...  Like that. 

I'm a fan of books and things that put the lie to the whole "OMG, the wimmins were all so deliriously happy back in the day when being a house-wife was mandatory" (yeah, that's why doctors were handing out all those prescriptions for Valium like it was candy).

Why Does Betty Draper Have to Make Wingnuts Feel Guilty?

My favorite part:

Dreher’s main thrust as a conservative is to be a religious conservative, i.e. invested in the idea of shoving women into the kitchen while being open to the idea that teaching women to read was a mistake. So I’ll bet that he dislikes watching Betty onscreen. She’s what conservatives fantasize about---a woman that’s completely and uncomplainingly absorbed the idea that her job is to live for her husband, to obey his every wish, to be sexually available and ready with a drink and dinner when you get home, no matter what hour it is---and here the writers are asking you to care about her feelings. That’s beside the point! The whole point of having women in that role is so that you don’t have to care or worry about how they’re doing.

WORD. The more I hear about Mad Men, the more I want to watch it, because it sounds to me like one of the first shows set in the 50's that's doesn't pretend everything was completely groovy. Hmmm...now I want to re-read The Way We Never Were...or maybe just talk to my Dad. :D

I vote we elect hearty_chili Lord Most High of the Interwebz for the day.

Dies Laughing

and this poor woman in the middle of it all, scrounging between the sofa cushions for crunchwrap supreme funds, wondering why god why was i born white in 21st-century america

BWAH! :D

more backstory + wank here....

Page #52 is up!

The Halloween page is still linked in the news post, if you missed it. :)

I fangirled on Elizabeth A. Lynn.

It was AWESOME. :D

 

Costume Time!

Here's wishing you a fun (and safe) weekend, guys. :D

Is right here - courtesy of Randy over at S*P. Chris's computer looked like it was fixed, and then after further experimentation, decided it wasn't happy still. We're still not sure what's up with it, but Randy kindly offered to throw us a guest strip for your perusal. Keep your eyes peeled, we'll keep you updated as we know more about the computer's status. Thanks for reading!

"So was this some type of ploy to get readers to remind you of your frequent masturbation en masse? Possibly so you could say "i'm a creative type and everybody knows we're all lefties and that hand doesn't hurt"?

Weak, dude. Really f'n weak"

Can someone explain this to me? I have no fucking idea what this person is saying. I was just saying my right hand has been cramping horribly and I'm having trouble moving some of the fingers.

The official stuff:

Friday-
Autograph Session 3pm - 4pm

Saturday-
Autograph Session: 1pm - 2pm
Web Comic Panel: 4pm - 5pm
S*P/Randy's Panel: 8pm - 9pm

Sunday: Just hanging out at my table.

Unofficial Stuff
I'm going to have a sign up sheet and try to run a game tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday night. Dunno when, but Saturday's game will likely be right after the panel. I'm bringing GURPS Bunnies & Burrows, D&D, Mutants & Masterminds, and Little Fears. I'm definitely running a Little Fears game if I can find a place to do so.

Whatever I run WILL be Halloween themed.

You've GOT to be kidding me. :P

So while I was gone over the weekend, the LJ syndication didn't update at all. Should have posted two strips.

If you're one of the people who only checks S*P when the Feed updates, I don't know what to tell you. It's not on my end. I recommend hitting the S*P site and clicking on the RSS feed button. No talkback, but it doesn't have the same level of problems as the LJ syndication.

Oh, and I just posted a comic.

WHERE HAS COREL SKETCHBOOK BEEN ALL MY LIFE!?! :D


click to make bigger

I am IN LOVE, people! FER SERIOUS!!! I MUST HAVE IT, I MUST!

I have spent a LOT of time STRUGGLING with sketching tools in Photoshop and Painter. For painting? I LOVE those two programs. LOVE. For sketching? KILL ME NOW. This sketchbook tool? IS AMAZING.

Does it let me rotate the page any ol' way I please? IT DOES!

Does it have an INCREDIBLY easy and user-friendly interface? IT DOES! The whole program took me about TWO MINUTES to figure out and no I am NOT exaggerating, it's THAT EASY.

Does it make my wrist/arm scream in pain as I struggle to draw? IT DOES NOT!

DOES THE PENCIL ACTUALLY MAKE MARKS THAT LOOK LIKE PENCIL LINES??? DOES IT WORK LIKE A FUCKING PENCIL??? IT DOES IT DOES IT DOES OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

The ONLY problem I am experiencing so far is a slight degree of lag on the tools while the program is warming up, and I'm looking into ways to minimize that as much as possible.

*runs screaming and twirling and dancing off into the hills*

Price Comparisons

Corel Sketchpad is $119

Autodesk Sketchbook Pro 2010 is $75 on Amazon

Full Version of ArtRage 2.5 is $25

OpenCanvas is $85

I'm currently comparing them.

Functionality Comparisons

OK, I'm DEFINITELY not liking ArtRage 2.5 as much, as far as sketching goes. Autodesk Sketchbook and Corel Sketchpad are much more neck and neck. While I find Corel Sketchpad's interface much more intuitive, I'm experiencing less lag in AS. The "Zoom" feature in CS is a little hard to use. Zoom is much easier w/better display in AS. AS has a more in-depth layout, which is also pretty easy to navigate, once you get the hang of it, and a nice "Hard Eraser" tool. However, the rotate canvas function in AS is not working. The trial is supposed to be a full version, and I'm reading about people experiencing the same problem with purchased versions, so...I dunno what's up with that. The pencil sketching tool also feels/behaves more "computer pencilly" in AS, as opposed to the more natural feel of the pencil tool in CK.

OpenCanvas' palette layout looks very similar to Photoshop's, so it's pretty easy to figure out. The inking tools are REALLY nice.

Weird... @_o

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the sketching, inking, and layout tools in Manga Studio are really, REALLY nice. As in, so far they're the best out of everything I've tried.

Also, it MAY actually be possible to get Painter to do what I want it to do, if I fiddle with the settings and play with something called the Scratchboard tool. I'm going to try as soon as I get home. Trust me, I'd sure prefer the option where I don't have to buy anything new!

Via silveradept:

These are AMAZING.

My favorite:

Page #51 is up!

Victory at last.

update of comics :  the past few weeks I've been having continuous trouble with my applications like Photoshop and Dreamweaver freezing up, but then last week it was happening with things like Mail and Safari. Things were lagging a lot, and it wasn't normal. I'm pretty Mac savvy, but this one had me stumped. I took it in to my friends at the Genius bar, and after a lot of testing they've determined my logic board went bad for some reason.
Luckily I have everything backed up on a Time Capsule, and an external HD, so everything is fine, and my iMac is still under the extended warranty, so I don't have to pay for anything. I chalk this up to crap happens, and I've had it and used it pretty extensively for 2 years... so I'm okay with this. Go APPLE.

The only down side is  I won't get my computer back until tomorrow or wednesday at the soonest, but it could be even later than that, which means no comics until then. (I'm borrowing a computer from my wonderful, and amazing girlfriend).  I appreciate you guys having patience in this matter, and I'll get back on to the comics when I get my computer back.

cheers

EPIC

It just keeps going and going and going and going and going and and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and...

I can't get the Beatles songs out!

>:D

[the emoticon of madness]