Edited by author 03-03-2008 05:06 PM
Bill, I hope that predicted 'avalanche of luck' on Friday went well for you

Friday? Friday...oh yes. There was a snowstorm, but it started after I left work and ended before I had to go back. Lucky, I guess, but since it involved snow, more of a non-avalanche.

They've sent me 2 emails since then, one titled "Bill, starting on March 7th, claim YOUR share of over 4,000 years of good luck energy" and the other "Bill, on March 14th, You Will Become the Luckiest Person Alive!" The LUCKIEST ALIVE! The Luckiest Dead Person is sooo jealous!
Note that those dates are Fridays, too. As a wise man once said--"TGIF, my son. TGIF."

I thought that "Rosebud" was Hearst's nickname for his mistress Marion Davies', erm, 'love nubbin,'

Actually, her "love labia." That one is true.

Casino Royale

That IS the Royale with Cheese! It's overlong, but it's awfully entertaining. Accent on the "awful." It follows its own 3-to-1 rule: For every minute that makes sense, the next 3 will make no sense. Having FOUR directors working on it separately and changing the script as they went along will do that. Also, firing your lead actor halfway through (a Mr P. Sellers) for calling out hungover, that also helps.

the fact that Davey (who I can't help thinking of after shooting rampages, when they invariably say, "He was quiet and kept to himself") now has access to mind-altering medication

Oh, he's been on those forever. And a good thing! If he ever went off them, that's when we'd hear about the Pontoon Beach McDonald's Massacre.

He was actually angrier--and as everyone here will tell you, far more interesting--on his previous meds. (See the classic NiTRO, wherein he murders Sonic and Pearl Forester) Back then, so much happened in his trips that they were incomprehensible; today, nothing ever happens, and it literally takes years for it to not happen (ie, Livewire, Scarsalot). Good on him for switching before the massacre, but the net is sadder for his increased sanity and dullitude.

Proofing this, I see that I typed "so much happened in his trips" when I meant "strips," but trip's actually a bit more accurate description of his oeuvre.

Back in London I loved beef flavored crisps. If they sold those here I would be a happy chip-eater.

It got to 73ºF (22.7ºC) last week, though it's 'just' 64ºF (17.7ºC) today.

As we say around here, you went from slightly above to slightly below room temperature. I keep the thermostat around 20ºC to keep the monthly heating bills to a nearly-manageable $150 or so.

Fruity chips don't seem strange to me...

About 20 years ago, Hostess tried to flog Grape, Orange and Cherry flavour chips-- like Ketchup, but with Koolaid dust on them. I believe they were on the shelves precisely long enough to establish that no one would pay for them, even as a novelty.

Alright, I'm playing catchup, sorry; the current board title reminded me of the song lyric, "I'd much rather have a caravan in the hills than a mansion in the slums" (~Neil Finn).

Bill, I hope that predicted 'avalanche of luck' on Friday went well for you, and congrats on paying off your mortgage! (Having the fundage for more catnip mice is *always* a good thing.)

Coming late to the party--as always--I'm afraid I totally sucked at the movie quiz. Even though I recognized several, I could only identify #17 & #19, and that's only because of MST3K.

I don't know if I could come up with 15 favorite movies, let alone quotes, but here's one fave quote from one fave movie:

Tommy: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour?
Hedwig: No, but I love his work.

Being nitpicky--in case someone else didn't mention this (I can only read back so far, then my brain starts to lock up!)--I thought that "Rosebud" was Hearst's nickname for his mistress Marion Davies', erm, 'love nubbin,' which was why Welles aimed it as such a conscious insult to Hearst. (That's what it says in Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon, anyway, which I used to consider almost a Bible but now know to be largely comprised of scuttlebutt and innuendo. Still, it's a fun, mildly scandalous read, even if it eventually led to the Drudge Report and overall TMZ-ization of the media.)

Given how Hearst carried on the family tradition of yellow journalism--and ruining countless lives in the process--he had it coming, IMO. Poor Marion didn't, though; if you don't mind silents--I know they're an acquired taste for many--sometime check out The Red Mill or Show People (supposedly based on Gloria Swanson's early years), and you'll see what a gifted, charming comedienne she was. I think she deserved better.

I actually got the DVD of the original Casino Royale from the library a while back, and while I didn't finish watching it, that whole first part in Scotland was definitely indicative of a surrealistic masterpiece, no lie. Still, it made me lonesome for MST3K & 'Operation Double 007,' so I put that on instead. ("Forgot my pants!")

Even as a totally non-comics-inclined person--except for Los Hermanos Hernandez--I really love the fact that there's that actual Stan Lee action figure. At the opposite end of the spectrum, alas, I'm not sure what's more alarming, the fact that Davey (who I can't help thinking of after shooting rampages, when they invariably say, "He was quiet and kept to himself") now has access to mind-altering medication, or the fact that he's been deemed sufficiently angry enough to warrant being given said meds. Yeah, it's the latter.

In the same way that every time I've been overseas, I've felt compelled to constantly apologize for being American, Bill & Ernst's tales of dangerous wintry conditions have made me mildly mortified at what's termed "winter" here in NoCal. It got to 73ºF (22.7ºC) last week, though it's 'just' 64ºF (17.7ºC) today. Sorry!

I got the cheddar ones. Lemme tell you, they're intensely cheddar-y. I think I'll get some of the apple & cinnamon. Fruity chips don't seem strange to me since these aren't potato chips - IIRC, the first ingredient listed was rice. That made me grin, because I'm quite fond of rice crackers. Japan has rice crackers the way the US has potato and corn chips.

Sorry! I've been printing coupons for years, and there's a program for doing it that most sites make you download. Since I already had it I didn't have any problems printing, so I never thought that anyone one else would.

Yeah...they're GOOD. Very good. I'm no potato chip fan--they're too greasy and salty for my taste, so I don't eat more than a few handfuls at a time--but Flat Earth is so good, I might get them for NOT free. By paying actual money!

Which variety did you get? My store didn't have the cheddar ones, and the fruity ones seemed like a kinda weird flavor for chips, so I got the tomato ones.

Free chips are good. Flat Earth chips are tasty. Thanks, Thoughtty! I practically had to move Heaven and Earth to get the frickin' things to print, though.

Ach! My head dangles in shame at not recognizing some of those lines. Of course, I can honestly say I left "I've got a bad feeling about this" alone as too easy, but I have no excuse for missing Road Warriors and Citizen Kaneses.

Negs: Completely right!

Ernst: Right on The Swarm, not on the rest. Well, I haven't seen Buffalo, so maybe the line appears there. It does sound rather Hunter Thompsonesque.

Damn, I should've thought of Strangelove! Then my chosen line would've been close to that one: "Mein fuhrer! I CAN WALK!"

Chien was a silent and you know it, you eyeball slicer! I chose that line because it could appear in just about any movie ever, but when I identify it, many an MST3K fan will slap their forehead and cry "Of course!"

I'll give the list in a coupla days, in case anyone else wants to play.

Some of those quotes:

1: Star Wars
3: Plan Nine from Outer Space
12: The Iron Giant

Rabbit: Davey was responding to my remark about his repeated restarting his projects. After seeing him restart Scarlett three or four times, I had to say something. (I'm just glad that it's not Night Soldiers that he keeps rebooting.)

After years of calligraphy with dip pens, I learned something new last week which I'll pass along for context's sake-- they work better if, before inking, you lick 'em then let it dry. Something to do with protein providing a better surface for ink to hang onto than clean metal, so you can go longer between dips.

9- The Swarm
10- Where the Buffalo Roam
16- Dr. Strangelove, or H.I.L.T.S.W.A.L.T.B
19- Un Chien Andalou

Jim's world will be in badly rasterised 'tones', Scarlet's world will be in paint-bucket.
And once again, Davey banks any discernable 'improvement' to the work on fancier tools, like disposable fountain pens - which incidentally aren't really meant for drawing.
I use good ol' cheap Pigma Microns for Diva and a dip pen(Q nibs, as used by manga artists) for Thorn. I'll readily admit I'm not the greatest nib inker, but at least I use the tools the right way.

Not to mention, textures and brushes do not make ziptones. You use carefully-aligned pattern fills or use a specific ziptoning program like Manga Studio. I can't WAIT to see what this looks like.... oh, he won't be able to resist showing the odd page.
I wonder if he'll remember to credit all the people on DA whose brushes he uses? I made all my tones myself.

Wow, it'll be reinked--using ink!! Does the man's daring know any bounds?

"a Wizard of Oz feel: Jim's world is in Anime-style screentones...and Scarlet's world will be in technicolor."
WHY? What sense does that make? None. NONE MORE SENSE.

Uh, hi. I've been preoccupied lately and haven't had time to feed my Gonterobsession. Then I saw this comment on his latest picture and I about died laughing. Lesions to learn from? I think I might be hooked again.

I know it's not impossible to shrink screen tones. I've done it before, I just don't remember how. And I've used Gimp, so I know it doesn't automatically make everything pixelly and crappy. So what's he doing to his pictures that makes them look that way? Maybe he's working at a really small resolution?

And OMG, Lackadaisy how-to! *dies*

Oh nice, I hadn't seen that page before... so THAT'S how she does it.
Tones are an underpainting, colours are on top.
That, and she's an expert painter anyway.

Meanwhile...Davey starts again.

Since Screentones obviously don't shrink very well, posts on pages here will be very limited.
Uh, what? I use tones on Thorn and they shrink down to web size just fine. Moire problems only occur when you try printing resized stuff.
I've never used Gimp like Davey, though by all accounts it's a perfectly acceptable substitute for people who can't get Photoshop... so why does all his stuff look like it came out of MS Paint? Is anti-aliasing still a foreign concept to him after all this time? Look at Scar's head colours!
Heck, look at the whole picture. The last time I had linework that pixelly was more than ten years ago when I had no scanner and had to FAX my artwork into the computer.

Lackadaisy How-To! Perhaps we should send a link to Gontli-- she gives tips on lighting and depth.