Friday Afternoon, Canberra
Well, I've finally made it here, against all odds. Of course, it seems the battle isn't quite over yet - I'm still to find the address of the lovely young lass I'm supposed to be staying with. Which isn't problematic in the sense that yes, I do still have somewhere to stay, in fact I'm typing this having just popped out of the shower, but as I've come back to this city expressedly to see lovely young lass, I find the situation somewhat frustrating.
You could point out that we really should have gotten our shit together before now. You could point that out, but I'd ignore you.
Elsewhere, I've had two birthday's to attend in the past seven days. One was for a lovely young fellow I will nickname Benjy, who provides me with anime and music and books and all sorts of other intellectual porn, all for free. Where he acquires it, I choose not to question. His birthday was, I am afraid to say, a rather dismal affair. I had to work until three, and it was also Mother's Day, which meant that some time had to be devoted to talking to mother and, with some uncertainty, step-mother. In that individual's case I have chosen to take the attitude that, though she is not my mother she is a mother, and as such should be shown a token appreciation by mankind for continuing to propagate the species. This all left me rather little time to spend with the fellow, a fact that would not have made me feel quite so guilty if I hadn't been informed that he had been given no presents by his family. Or cake. And there should always be cake.
Yojimbo's birthday was a much more pleasant affair. Although I again had to work, he lives but two streets over from my worksite and I had no other commitments that day. And he really did seem to love the Shikomizue we picked him up in Sydney. (His word, not mine. From my limited research I'd be more likely to describe it as a straight-edged Shirasaya, but then, its a replica, I doubt they really intended it to be too accurate, and as long as he's happy, who cares?) And it was entertaining for us as well, when he continued to polish it so fiercely, and after we had warned him it was sharp ....
After that they all played Mario Kart on wii, and I watched. And then I went home.
The drawing's starting up again, and I've decided the easiest way to convince myself to ink things at this point is to screw pressure and line width and just buy different sized pens and muck about with the basics that way. Its working, as I've gotten a number of individual pieces finished, and the disatisfaction at the result is easily tempered by the satisfaction at actually getting something done. It is amusing mixing a number of different styles though, as right now I'm working on my own stylised pieces, practicing a more westernised method for a few commissions, and also attempting to capture the stereotypical bishounen look for the Papillon shorts. Its fun.
At any rate, I'm currently in the middle of exchanging hasty emails with a friend whose work will cruelly not allow her to msn, and my stomach is rather forcibly informing me that one slice of pizza a day does not a young body fuel. I tend to disagree, but that's another story for another time. For now, I have quite enough to be going on with and so, I hope, do you
And to end, a song I beleive everyone should hear: My Medea, Vienna Teng. The music video, I have no opinions on. It was merely there.
You could point out that we really should have gotten our shit together before now. You could point that out, but I'd ignore you.
Elsewhere, I've had two birthday's to attend in the past seven days. One was for a lovely young fellow I will nickname Benjy, who provides me with anime and music and books and all sorts of other intellectual porn, all for free. Where he acquires it, I choose not to question. His birthday was, I am afraid to say, a rather dismal affair. I had to work until three, and it was also Mother's Day, which meant that some time had to be devoted to talking to mother and, with some uncertainty, step-mother. In that individual's case I have chosen to take the attitude that, though she is not my mother she is a mother, and as such should be shown a token appreciation by mankind for continuing to propagate the species. This all left me rather little time to spend with the fellow, a fact that would not have made me feel quite so guilty if I hadn't been informed that he had been given no presents by his family. Or cake. And there should always be cake.
Yojimbo's birthday was a much more pleasant affair. Although I again had to work, he lives but two streets over from my worksite and I had no other commitments that day. And he really did seem to love the Shikomizue we picked him up in Sydney. (His word, not mine. From my limited research I'd be more likely to describe it as a straight-edged Shirasaya, but then, its a replica, I doubt they really intended it to be too accurate, and as long as he's happy, who cares?) And it was entertaining for us as well, when he continued to polish it so fiercely, and after we had warned him it was sharp ....
After that they all played Mario Kart on wii, and I watched. And then I went home.
The drawing's starting up again, and I've decided the easiest way to convince myself to ink things at this point is to screw pressure and line width and just buy different sized pens and muck about with the basics that way. Its working, as I've gotten a number of individual pieces finished, and the disatisfaction at the result is easily tempered by the satisfaction at actually getting something done. It is amusing mixing a number of different styles though, as right now I'm working on my own stylised pieces, practicing a more westernised method for a few commissions, and also attempting to capture the stereotypical bishounen look for the Papillon shorts. Its fun.
At any rate, I'm currently in the middle of exchanging hasty emails with a friend whose work will cruelly not allow her to msn, and my stomach is rather forcibly informing me that one slice of pizza a day does not a young body fuel. I tend to disagree, but that's another story for another time. For now, I have quite enough to be going on with and so, I hope, do you
And to end, a song I beleive everyone should hear: My Medea, Vienna Teng. The music video, I have no opinions on. It was merely there.