My Grandfather wrote a book called The Parallax View. All my life I'd heard about it, and a lot of my grandfather's other plays and novels, but this one always came up the most. It's a political thriller, centered around the Kennedy assassinations, and I'd known distantly that it had a bit of a cult following, as every so often fans of the book would track my grandfather down to ask him about it. He mostly took this with annoyance, as my grandfather was always a very private man who liked to keep his own counsel, and never coddled anyone who wasn't, well, a dog or a grandchild. These were the two beings in his life he would be very warm to. Still, I respected his privacy and never asked about the book. I didn't think much about the book, until one day I stumbled across a review of.... one of those big name action flicks? The Interpreter, I think it was, with Nicole Kidman. And in the review it said 'In the tradition of The Parallax View. and so for the first time I looked into my grandfather's book. Apparently they made a movie of it. Apparently it had Warren Beatty in it and it's considered yeah, a cult classic. And apparently my grandfather's name was quite known from his era. He was a talented writer, a deeply intelligent man and I'd always hoped that I'd figure out how to get published while he was alive, so I could dedicate my first novel to him, because everyone in the family always told me I got it from him, and from everyone in the family he was the only one who truly believed that I could really do it.

...and I waited too long. I don't really know what else to say about it. It hasn't quite sunk in.

• 09:55 Listening to BBC radio shows. #
• 13:09 @polerin Shoot me an email with the details #
• 14:06 I swear this jpeg of Betty Ford just winked at me. O_O #
• 15:52 The more limbs you have, the more square footage that can hurt. Best to be a very thin quadruple amputee. #
• 23:30 David Tennant dressed like Russell Brand as the Ghost of Christmas Present for Catherine Tate's Xmas show? I cannot WAIT! #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter Follow me @rosalarian.

UPDATE IS LIVE GUYS AND OH MAN

LAST NIGHT WAS BANANAS


Malakin let me know when the update went live, so we hopped on a server and OH MAN THE LAG. The lag made the whole experience all super trippy, with people hopping and jerking everywhere and framerate dropping and people randomly dying or spawning or hanging in air and it was all pretty hilarious. IT EVENED THE ODDS QUITE A BIT I EXPECT

But even crazier was the droprate last night, omg. I saw people getting TEN items all at once, and I myself got a batch of three or four at the same time. :O Hats and new items and everything were just flying everywhere, people running around with swords and direct hits and shields and camera beards and man. I FOUND AN EYELANDER AND HAVE NO MEMORY OF ACTUALLY FINDING IT WHATSOEVER
I did find a Dead Ringer though, finally. STILL NO HUNTSMAN OR SANDMAN THOUGH, DARN IT and no hats. BUT IF THE DROPRATE IS STILL INSANE THEN THERE'S SOME GOOD CHANCES OF FINDING STUFF STILL

Things is nuts man, or at least were last night.

Me and Malakin made a pretty good Heavy-Medic duo for a while. :> Eventually a server we'd hopped on ended up dying out, so me and ymbc and lowbatterylife screwed around on some christmas map bapping presents around and being dorks. FUN TIMES FUN TIMES
Also bbot got hit with jarate at one point as a spy and ragequit as a result, which I guess proves that jarate achieves its intended purpose of showing who is the boss. BUT BBOT SEEMS TO RAGEQUIT A LOT, I'VE NOTICED

I still have sketches and things to finish too but it's so hard to resist playing TF2 instead aaaaa


But in the meantime here's some stuff that's come about the last couple days.

( i need to start coloring stuff again aaaa )

Need to finish eating then I might play some more and see if the droprate is still bonkers, haha.

BY THE WAY GUYS, IT'S STILL FREE SO YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

( spoilers )

I NEED TO SHUT UP SINCE I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING IMPORTANT TO SAY ABOUT IT HAHAHA
I LIKED IT
i need to watch 2D movies more often because i always get a serious art boner every time IT'S GOOD FOR ME

oh yeah mom lost the key for the PO box. SIGHHHHH. i can still use the address to send cards, but i dunno whether or not i can get anything in return. we'll see.

"I'm just trying to entertain people, make a living and pay my rent, without having to get a job I hate, and hopefully find an audience who will love and accept me and not think I'm a narcissist for wanting to be a performer and find true inner peace and that's it."

Substitute "artist" for "performer" and that's how I feel.

Firstly,



Just getting that out of the way.

So, The Princess and the Frog has perhaps what is now my new favorite Disney Princess. For the simple fact that all I could think during this movie is finally, a princess who's a good role model for a modern girl. Her dream is owning her restaurant! Wishing on a star only gets you so far! Work hard, don't give up, but also know that even when you feel down and out the people who love you will be there for you! All your sacrifices DO mean something, in spite of how bad things might seem, and no matter how sometimes it seems like some people are just born luckier than you, even if it seems sometimes like you just weren't born with the chance, if you work hard it won't matter. It's something very very resonant especially in this time of recession. It hit a chord, I don't know.

Also the fact that this movie was just completely teeming with 20s music and 20s clothing and 20s dancing and... remember when I have a big hard-on for the 1920s aesthetic? I have a big hard-on for the 1920s aesthetic. In fact, I had this conversation with coworkers: "...what do you think of zoot suits." "... ... .... I think they're hot. ._."

(also ( was I the only one who )

Comment I see on the internet way too much:

I'm using 17,000 script blockers, which makes it hard to see the content on your page. Could you please rewrite your entire website so that I can use your site properly?

Yes, that is a bit of an exaggeration. But I see comments from people with various forms of adblockers that go haywire and make it so they can't see the content of a particular site. Only instead of them needing to find a script blocker that isn't complete shit, somehow the responsibility rests on website makers to completely change their sites for a few people who hate ads so much, they're willing to deal with not seeing half of the internet just so they won't see one more banner ad for Best Buy.



I guess this is people not realizing exactly what goes into building a website, and what to them seems like a simple solution requires hours (or days, or even weeks or months) of reworking, all for the sake of a few people who could just turn their script blockers off for two minutes.

But let me tell you, internet-at-large, designers have better things to do. So no, we won't change our sites to fit your needs. And frankly, it's a little arrogant to assume your website browsing needs warrant asking someone to do that amount of work. You will just have to deal with the site as-is.

---

Disclaimer: This is not directed at 99.9999999999999% of my readers. Just internet users in general. So don't get all panicky that I hate you. I don't.
Though I did get a little annoyed when some people with a pretty obscure browser asked me to change the site to work with it. I tried for a couple hours, then gave up and told them to download Firefox already.

• 15:40 Ah, this reminds me of high school.. More on Playlist.com: www.playlist.com/playlist/additem/568797457 #
• 16:40 Sent off email to play celebrity death watch with my coworkers. Should be lots of fun. #
• 23:26 A summary of my art in 2009: tinyurl.com/yzpfg6y #
• 23:27 Can you believe the aughts are almost over? People finally started calling them the aughts, too. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter Follow me @rosalarian.

Tubgirl staggered and finally collapsed. "You...you have defeated me," she gasped.

"No," Fart-chan replied. "It was you who defeated yourself."

It's always nice to look back on things.
The rules: take the first piece of art you did for every month, even if you did something the next day that was way better. If you didn't do anything in a certain month, leave it blank.

Looks like I did a lot of doodles this year.

http://www.formspring.me/dox
ASK ANYTHING i don't care
i also put a link to it in my profile so you can do it whenever you want. i wanted to put the widget there but it wouldn't show up for some reason.

oh yeah, paid users can send out $10 coupons for paid accounts, soooo who wants one
don't bother sending any to me hahaha i'm gonna just let this run out

since it's getting pretty close to christmas, i'm closing off the request post. thanks, guys! i'll work on all that. if it's a little late or something then i apologize; been all down, really hard to concentrate on anything worthwhile. i'll get them to you eventually, though.
roaring_softly, i sent your card on the... 11th? did it get there

( doodles [9] )

man i did that "my guests" thing and lol who are all you people

Webcomic about mermaids. I am so there.

Mermaid Hostel

So, uh... yeah. People have some strong feelings about today's YU+ME page.

I admit, having the romantic interest of a story turn out to be a killin'-machine is a bit strange, and not very common. Which is partly why I do stuff like this! At least I keep you all on your toes. I wanted a love interest who was very, very, very far from perfect.

Just remember, Lia was not only tricked into dying for someone who lied to her, but she has lost her conscience. Her conscience never outright spoke to her verbally, but she's always been in Lia's vicinity.


Have you noticed how there is no "devil on the shoulder" for these characters, just angels? Maybe it's just my cynical viewpoint, but I see people themselves as the devils, who are only kept from doing great evil by the intervention of their consciences.


But that's enough defending of Evil Lia (or Mara, as she is known). You will all draw your conclusions, and feel how you want. I just hope I don't lose too many readers over this.

Pele by ~Yamino on deviantART

A concept design for Pele, inspired by my visit to Hawaii. She is the ill-tempered goddess of volcanoes. I think my favorite thing about her legends is how all of them inevitably end with her getting pissed off and killing everyone with molten lava. Fun fact: Pele is the only Hawaiian diety still openly worshiped.

I don't use a lot of texture overlays in my artwork, but it's something I'm looking into, especially for my more realistic drawings. I know a lot of my friends like to use them, too. So since I've been taking a lot of texture photos, I thought I'd share them! =)

There will be more to come... this is what I've collected so far.

Click the thumbs to get the large resolution file. Warning... these pics are HUUUGE.

I'm working on a short Lesbian Pirates story. Prose with illustrations, as opposed to comics.

I love writing prose in a faux-1950's books-for-girls style. So many adjectives. Entire paragraphs devoted to describing outfits. No attempts to make the exposition smoother.

It's gonna be funny, you guys. You will love it. It's a mystery story!


Also, since I have ArtRage, and it picks up a lot of the slack where Photoshop wants to be a dick and not work, I can start doing those comics more regularly again!

THERE finally finished the last card, now can work on christmas requests SO
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THOSE I GUESS?? god only knows if i'll finish them before christmas I GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT


In other news OMG DEMOMAN GETS A SWEET SWORD
I WANT THAT SWORD AND THAT SWEET SHIELD because i am terrible at meleeing and could use the defense BUT STILL THAT SWORD IS DANG COOL LOOKING

also awwwww demo is rich and loves his mom and aww HE TRIED TO BE LOYAL TO HIS FRIEND

as for soldier the direct hit is going to be useless to me because i can't hit the broad side of a barn and basically just fire rockets desperately in the direction of moving targets in hopes that i might kill someone maybe
which has resulted in me killing myself with my own rockets more than once
BUT HIS COMIC UPDATE IS AMAZING OMG JANE DOE
AND HE FOUGHT WITH DEMO AND FOUGHT POLICE WITH DEMO AND TOLD HIM HIS DARK SECRETS AND AAAAA
I WANT THEM TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN i'm doing this wrong aren't I


POOR DEMO IS STILL BEHIND IN THE NUMBERS BUT HE'S CATCHING UP
IF THERE'S A TIE THAT WOULD BE AMAZING the odds against that seem kind of astronomical though
i am so on demo's side, how did that happen I CAN'T HELP BUT ROOT FOR THE UNDERDOG


BUT EVEN COOLER IS THAT THIS WEEKEND TF2 IS GOING TO BE FREE
THAT'S RIGHT FREE
SO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
DOWNLOAD IT AND PLAY IT THIS WEEKEND BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE CRAZY WITH ALL THESE NEW ITEMS EVERYWHERE AND OMG
GET IT GET IT GET IT GET IT GET IT


here have something cute real quick that'll probably be colored soon enough hopefully

Some holiday comics! The Kiss Elves return.

Oh and I am posting journal type comics on twitter sometimes. If you are on twitter I am @beatonna

SO

MORE IN-DEPTH THOUGHTS ABOUT SHATTERED MEMORIES

( i will put them in here, so i won't spoil people who don't want to be spoiled )

anyway dang that should probably do it for now, I CAN'T SHUT UP

It's only 9pm, and I'm already EXHAUSTED. So today's update will be mostly pictures!

Breakfast: Honey raisin-granola with soymilk and pomegranate. NUM NUM.


We visited a gorgeous place called Place of Refuge. It was once a refuge for Native Hawaiians, and now a refuge for sea turtles. <3 My favorite thing about the beaches here are how you can see exactly how the lava flowed into the water, leaving rippling patterns and cracks.


Tidepools! Always an exciting place to explore! I haven't gotten to visit one since I lived in California. There was a poor little angelfish stuck in the shallow pools, stranded there since high tide. I also found some crabs and convinced them to pose for some photos! (Well... they were empty crab shells... but still!) I also found some ADORABLE shingle urchins. I can't get over how cute they are! They look squishy, but they're hard as a rock...


This talented lady (who I forgot to ask permission for posting her photo online! hence the mosaic, just in case...) was making stone towers on the beach. It's a lot harder than it looks! Also, some of the neighbors of the beach made their disapproval of tourists and and US colonization clear by flying an upside-down Hawaiian flag in protest. A little awkward, considering this was prominently displayed right next to the beach where all the tourists were gathered... Well, I guess that was their intent.


The birds here are all super colorful. I was lucky to get a pic of this redheaded bid and the bright yellow one in the same shot. They're so fast and skittish, it's hard to get a good picture! Also of interest... the most disgusting fruit I have EVER seen. Every part of this plant looks like some kind of nightmarish insect monster. The first picture reminds me of some kind of freakish, toothed worm. Then, the fruits themselves look like a nasty cross between a pine cone and a maggoty larva.


I found a giant spider (about the size of my pinkie) with a very interesting abdomen design. (That's my brother lurking in the background.) Also, a photo of one of the most common flowers on the island, the plumeria. It has a simple elegance to it, and it smells very sweet, which is why it's common used to make leis. (Hawaiian flower chains.)


After hitting Place of Refuge, we drove up to the world-famous Kona coffee plantations to buy some Kona coffee. There were some... interesting outlets along the way. (Yaoi fans in particular might appreciate the "Just Ukes" store...)


The Kona coffee itself was exceptional. For myself, I picked out a chocolate-macadamia nut flavored brew. I was sniffing the bag all the way back to the hotel. *___*


Today was EXTREEEEEME. We took the Captain Zodiac tour (lol, check out their charmingly mid-90's website). I want to KILL myself (and my family!!) for not bringing the waterproof camera. When we weren't seeing humpback whales and dolphins and manta rays (the latter practically jumped into our speeding boat... jesus! I didn't know they COULD jump! Those things are the size of a SMALL CAR) we we speeding around on this crazy dingy. If you didn't hold on with a white-knuckled grip to the ropes, you would definitely have been flung off on some of those hairpin turns. I've got rope-burns on my palms and my hands are permanently hardened into claw-like shapes, but it was SO worth it.

We also snorkeled at Captain Cook's monument, the location where he was murdered by locals when they thought he was trying to kill their chief. Ahh, good times!

Now... it's time to put on some aloe vera... My sun-deprived alabaster skin is turning blotchy, despite my best efforts. TILL NEXT TIME.