Our new website has launched, with all of our old comics; it will be the home for our new webcomic when it's ready to launch. Watch this space! @tismrwells and @Tahariel both have things up there in the Guest Comics, and @tismrwells was one of the characters in Two Sides Wide :D It can be found at www.beansandbustickets.com
I haven't been on for a while; two reasons, one being that I wanted this photo for F. F is most definitely for friends and friendship; I cannot think of a better word to define me and the people around me. I'm a social animal and I love to host my friends for any occasion. Also, let's face it, we're nobody without our friends. Friends are what make life have taste and colour, and without you guys I'd be half the person I am today. You're really important to me and though I'm not very good at saying it, I know how lucky I am to have such wonderful people around me.
Ok; we had a good night. Best game of Mao I've ever played; thanks to @Sparrow who introduced me to it a couple of months ago! In the picture are the little group we had, as some people couldn't make it, which is a real shame. Top left is @Tahariel dressed as Angelina Jolie, then there's @tismrwells dressed as Cid from FFVII, followed by @Sparrow as a Pilot, Caz and Charlie dressed as a Cowgirl and something to do with CDs respectively. Front row is @Suekat dressed as a Slow Loris and myself, dressed as Sonic!
We ate chilli, which I cooked; it came out remarkably well, and the baked potatoes were nice too. Chris had baked cakes and they were nomful; Phil had sorted some cheese and pineapple, much to Caz's distress. We watched TV to see the bongs of Big Ben and then played Mao until 3am. Sleep wasn't until 4 and, let me tell you, we've been walking around like zombies today.
E is for Excess. Have you ever done something to excess? I bet you have. I bet everyone has laughed until they hurt, or cried, or had an accident. I bet you remember the first time you had a little too much to drink, or if you're teetotal, perhaps the time you ate far more than you should have done. Or had too much sugar in your tea because 'Just one more won't hurt, right?'
There's a famous quote that runs "Moderation in all things", but there's a less well-known second half that simply adds "...including moderation". Sometimes it's important to let loose, to binge, to come so far into your comfort zone that you're just a heartbeat in the middle of a big ball of fluffy comfort.
The last couple of days, I've binged on webcomic material. I used to read an awful lot of webcomics daily, and it took about twenty minutes to get through them all, every day. Not a lot, you might say. We were in the business then, I suppose, and there are times when I miss the business. When I miss running a daily webcomic. I miss having the time, the inspiration, the few fans we had and the thrill of being a name that someone else knew. We never exactly made it 'big', but we had a small amount of fame.
I've found Phillip M Jackson's 'Sequential Art' webcomic. Probably better known by the name 'Jolly Jack' on deviantArt, he's just awesome. If I could draw like anyone, it'd be him, please. I'm forever indebted to Chippy, who put me on to him.
So, if you're still reading, take pride in the occasional excess. What was the last thing you did to excess? It could be anything; did you read a large quantity of rubbish books that secretly you love? Or good books that you love? Did you watch a lot of episodes of some sitcom?
Most importantly, did you enjoy it? E is also for enjoyment, and I'll finish with another quote; "Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted" (John Lennon).
C is for Coffeehouses. I thought about C words for a long time, and although it could just have been for Coffee, I think there's a certain wonderful experience to be had in coffeehouses.
So we're talking Starbucks, Costa, Nero, so on and so forth; they're definitely not all the same. Nero tends be be dimly lit, and the coffee is more bitter, while Costa tends towards being noisy. Part of it is the fridge cabinets they use that hum most annoyingly, or at least they do in my local one. There's always a screaming child. Always.
Starbucks is where I go for the best atmosphere. It's a place I can work in. The music is quiet and backgroundy, the people talk at a suitable level, it's warm, the coffee is just right and, at least in mine, the staff know me. It's usually not long before I'm on first name terms with someone who gives me sustenance :D
So: I salute you, Coffeehouses. You give us coffee, but you give us something more. A place to work, a place to meet, socialise, relax and be ourselves. Thank you, Coffeehouses!
To answer the (possibly) inevitable questions, I'm still unwell but feeling better. The coat and jumper are because I am just the right temperature, and the mad kitty hat is because I'm keeping my ears and head warm. Last thing I need before a grading is an ear infection.
Oh yes; I've been invited to grade up to 1st kyu at my karate club :D It's a week tomorrow. Wish me luck!
No, actually, B is for Breasts. I'm a self confessed breast man; they are wonderful. Don't get me wrong, long hair is nice too, and surmounting all looks are the things that go into making a person, like a sense of humour, love and all the other wonderful things.
But breasts. There are lots of words for them; different people call them all sorts of things. Boobs. Tits. Breasticles. Knockers. Jugs. I think all of those words are just sullying the wonder that is the word breasts. There's a certain excitement, it's a lovely round word. Just try saying it out loud. Go on, try it. No-one will hear.
It's a lovely word to wrap your lips around.
I'm currently enjoying listening to the soundtrack for the Scott Pilgrim game. It's by Anamanaguchi, and it's basically awesome. It's chiptune, which will make @Sparrow happy, though I'm fairly sure he's got it.
Which part of a body is the one bit you look at? Guys and girls, I'm sure everyone's eyes are irresistably drawn to one particular part. Don't be shy :) We're all friends here!
After exchanging messages with @sapphiresgaze I decided to be a little more systematic (and teacherlike) in my approach. From top left, working clockwise, a few of my favourite authors, namely: Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Robin Jarvis, Tsugumi Ohba, Raymond E. Feist, Sergei Lukyanenko, Stel Pavlou and Philip Pullman. Between @Suekat and I, we have quite a selection, from the eclectic to the mainstream, and I have whole sets of books by these authors, particularly Feist; I was, in a way, upset when he announced the end of the Midkemia series, but he's probably a little tired and that would start to show in his writing. Pullman is an awesome author, as is Pratchett, who I'm sure many of us will be sad to see finally go.
I read rapaciously, currently reading something ridiculously fantasy called Dawnthief by James Barclay.
So, DB, who do you like to read, and what're you reading now?
Wow, I succeeded in looking really scary there. That was supposed to be my 'I've just won a game' face. What's yours?
Anyway; I've decided I spend too much time playing Flash games. So I'm going to stop. Just like that. I'll let you know if I don't, now that the weight of DB is on me not to. I will use my time to do something productive. Any suggestions :D? Not that I don't have plenty of my own.
#NaNoWriMo update: I'm hanging steady at 4000 words short of where I should be. This is miraculous, considering this month I've been going to every karate lesson I can, sleeping a lot, being ill and working, and still somehow I've managed nearly 35000 words of a rather respectable story.
Still ill; in fact, I should be at karate now, but due to a sore throat, snuffly nose and swollen glands I'm not. Many many pills are taken, much tea is drunk, etc etc. No space for moping here!
I is for illness, but I can't even be bothered to edit it.
I'm so fed up of being ill. Woke up this morning with a stuffed-up head. Worked, but the kids felt the brunt of it. No quarter given today.
I'm always bloody ill. Pretty much since I was in hospital at uni, I've had illness after illness. Colds, flu, one particularly nasty ear infection...
I know I'm ill when I'm cold, basically, but falling asleep in the staff room helps to diagnose. It's not like I feel so terribly terrible, but to feel bleh is to feel not quite 100%. Or something. I'm rambling.
But I really don't need to be ill. I need all the karate practice I can get, and being ill stops that. I'll hopefully let you know why on Thursday.
What tells you you're ill? Do you have any little tells?
