Saturday, September 20, 2003

Getting artwork from artists I've never heard of is actually a bit more common than I care to admit. In John's case, though, it was entirely a mistake. I got in line for someone else, but by the time I reached the front of the line, the first artist was gone and John McCrea (artist on Hitman, The Demon, and Troubled Souls) had replaced him. I was mildly worried that John wouldn't do an Aquaman sketch, but he drew this for me despite not having drawn Aquaman before for a sketch.

AQUAMAN
by John McCrea
22 July 2000
(permission to post given 17 August 2003 via e-mail)
John McCrea's Website

This was another sketch done at San Diego 2000. The water marks on the sketch were an accident. Right after he'd finished sketching, John picked up his water glass, which splashed a little. I thought it was mildly ironic. I've noticed that a lot of artists who draw Aquaman like to include fish. I ought to go back through the sketchbook sometime and count the number of fish I now have sketches of, too. Does this one count as two or as one and a half?

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me.

by Tegan at 7:38 PM Seattle time

Birds of Prey #59: I'm still not a fan of Huntress, but her "I'm the BAD one" comment definitely went a long way towards making her acceptable in this storyline. Overall, I liked the story, but the timing was off. It felt like it was jumping around too much. I wasn't entirely sure if that wasn't an intentional addition to emphasize Savant's problems with time, but it made the story flow choppy. It was a bad weakness in an otherwise pretty good tale.

Batman Adventures #6: Is Eel O'Brian the unluckiest thug in Crime Alley, or the luckiest? And I honestly cannot remember who Andrea Beaumont is, which is one reason I don't read the regular Batman books: too much continuity to remember. Fortunately, it's clear that she's someone Bruce cared about deeply, and that's enough to explain his anger. For the rest, it's more of the tackling of the Black Mask gang, and it's... fun. Batman fun. And the backup story is good, too.

PS238 #3: My sole complaint about this book is that it doesn't come out often enough. I could stand this book weekly. Certainly monthly. It's not quite a quarterly. Miss Kyle is now my favorite teacher that doesn't exist. And I love poor Tyler. He's one smart cookie. Now the hard part is going to be waiting another two to four months for the next issue. Go Buy This Book. (read a free preview here)

Still to review: Cinnamon, Thieves & Kings, Shrek, and Arrowsmith.

by Tegan at 7:34 PM Seattle time

The district continues to fail to bargain in good faith, claiming they don't have any money (because they spent it all on expensive trips, dinners, and free laptops for the school board members) to give teachers a fair contract. The latest offer, that had been "restructured so no teacher would lose pay" actually produces a pay loss for a significant number of teachers. The district is lying yet again.

For anyone looking for real information about the strike (and I keep getting hit by searches for it), there are a number of good places: the Marysville parents message board is a nice place to start, then visit The Marysville Education Association Website. While the Herald's message boards are frightening, the Everett Herald's Marysville section usually has one article or letter each day about it. If you want more of the teacher view, go to The MSD Commons. And if you want lying propaganda from the overpaid School District Administration, go to The Marysville School District Website. Of course, this is all my opinion, as I'm just the wife of a first-year teacher.

The district has cancelled classes for all next week, and claims that they will be demanding that the mediator call meetings every day. But there will be no solution until the district offers teachers a fair deal that doesn't involve a pay cut to any teachers. In the meantime, students are organizing a sit-in to try and get the adults to talk to each other. And parents are trying to get the school board to meet with them, but the school board refuses to address parents concerns or even meet with parents, claiming that the "advocate" parents don't represent the students. Who do they represent, then, Santa Claus? In short, the district refuses to budge because they will lose their cash cow if they do.

by Tegan at 8:32 AM Seattle time

Friday, September 19, 2003

Smallville #4: As usual, this is a good TV show magazine with a couple of nice comic book stories. The comic stories were entertaining, though I couldn't remember what had happened in the first part of Chimera, so it was confusing at first. The Al Gough interview was actually interesting, even though I usually have no use for interviews. The short "Chloe's Column" bit is promising. Not bad.

Outsiders #4: Wow. An issue of this book I can actually say I enjoyed. That's a change. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's because the team is actually doing stuff. Still, it's an improvement. That's good, I guess.

Still to review: Birds of Prey, Batman Adventures, Cinnamon, Thieves & Kings, Shrek, PS238, and Arrowsmith.

by Tegan at 9:56 PM Seattle time

Arrrr. Avast, ye mateys. And that's all of that I'm inclined to do.

I may not have gotten the SoBig virus in my mailbox, but my mailbox is now overloaded with the bogus Microsoft security patch. It's annoying, but mostly harmless. After all, what kind of idiot would install a "patch" they got through e-mail from an unknown source? link via Franklin's Findings

All you JLA and Avengers fans must check out this image of ... well, all the JLA and Avengers. Aquaman is left-center, below Iron Man and above The Flash. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like he's standing on Plastic Man's neck. via Newsarama

Newsarama also has some art from Abadazad up. Abadazad is a new offering from CrossGen that is a kid-friendly fantasy series. Says writer J.M. DeMatteis: "When I think of the best children's fantasy-from L. Frank Baum to C.S. Lewis. from Roald Dahl to J.K. Rowling-they've been stories that have been as delightful to me as they've been to my own children. And I wanted to create a series that would have the same appeal. A comic book I could actually read with my nine-year-old daughter." With artwork by Mike Ploog, who worked on Return to Oz and did a great adaptation of Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, this looks like one book that will end up in our pull list, despite any of CrossGen's shenanigans.

Bunny Names. That's right. Names of actual bunnies. I'm ever so slightly confused. via Neil Gaiman

A spacecraft being worked on was damaged because "technicians from another satellite program that uses the same type of “turn over cart” removed the 24 bolts from the NOAA cart". Ooops. "Hey Bill, we need some bolts!" "Ok, Zed, go borrow them from that other cart. The NOAA folks will never notice they are gone." Sheesh. And the article has pictures, too. via Making Light

Here's another bit on the RIAA's copyright problems. This is a cartoon that shows illegal actions YOU might be guilty of. via Pete Welsch

I seem to recall some pundits going on and on about how the number of items looted from Iraq's museums was overstated. Here's a DoD briefing about the missing items, and the quote I find interesting is: "In total, the number of artifacts now known to be missing from the museum stands at slightly over 10,000." They have recovered over 3,000 pieces, and more will be recovered. Gee, that's more than "a few dozen". via Mark Evanier

by Tegan at 1:51 PM Seattle time

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Gah, I promised more sketches, but haven't posted any. This would be unforgivable if I wasn't so utterly involved in the fight against the Marysville School Board... As it is, I've been a wee bit distracted, and I'm getting discouraged by the whole thing. Hard not to when people you care about are being tormented by forces beyond their control. Anyhow, this is a pensive Aquaman for a pensive time. This is Aquaman looking within.

PENSIVE AND KELPLESS
by Rebecca Woods
14 September 2003
(permission to post given 14 September 2003 in person)
Mercury Studio

This is the first sketch I got at the recent Seattle ComiCard show. Done by Rebecca Woods (Robin, Deadpool), it shows a young Aquaman pondering. It's kelpless only because Rebecca couldn't remember how to draw kelp, and I couldn't kelp her with it either.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me.

by Tegan at 8:15 PM Seattle time

I got another letter into the Seattle Times today. No, it's not about the teacher strike in Marysville. I'm afraid most of the stuff I write about that isn't suitable to be printed in a family newspaper. This one is about the state's blanket primary. Our primary is flawed, yes. It allows for political parties. If I were in charge, I'd simply remove that bit. Whoever the top two vote-getters are, regardless of party, they'd be in the general election. As it is, though, it tries to be kind to political parties and allow one from each into the general election. And that's the issue the court seized upon to declare our primary unconstitutional. So I wrote a letter to the Times, and they printed it. Incidently, about 75% of Washington voters prefer our primary, which is the same percentage of letters supporting it. Nice symmetry.

Update: I didn't realize that the Seattle Times is now requiring people to register to get access to their archives. The first link should work for a few days, but the other two links ask for an invasive registration (which I apparently have already done, or I couldn't get at their archive). I can't find a non-registration version of the stories, sorry.

by Tegan at 7:55 AM Seattle time

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

It's that time of year again. Time to vote for DC Archives. Unlike many on-line surveys, DC will get the results of this one, and they do pay attention. I urge anyone who reads DC Archives to go vote. And, if you like me, you will put in a good word for Aquaman. No space to beg for a Golden Age Aquaman, unfortunately.

Will Pfeifer's latest is about The greatest TV Show ever: "The Simpsons".

by Tegan at 9:22 PM Seattle time

Superman: Blood Of My Ancestors: You know, it doesn't matter whether or not this is marked as an Elseworld, it is a classic format Elseworld, and a fine one, too. It's even open at the end to allow possible sequels, though that seems mighty unlikely. This one is worth getting.

Supreme Power #2: The first issue was nice and solid. This issue pumps it up a notch, with the birth of four other supers. See if you can guess which Justice Leaguer they correspond to...

Fallen Angel #3: Very very very odd book. There's more gore in this one. Two plotlines are introduced, both fascinating. Overall, I just don't know what to think of this book... and I think I like that feeling.

I've barely had time to flip through the Silver Age Teen Titans Archive, so I'll save reviewing that one until I get a chance to really look at it. Today's books, which I'll review as soon as I can, are: PS238, Shrek, Thieves & Kings, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, Smallville, Cinnamon: El Ciclo, Outsiders, and Arrowsmith. Wow. Another large week.

by Tegan at 5:49 PM Seattle time

Yeah, I wrote a lot about it yesterday, but this is the biggest thing happening in my life right now, so I have to vent, or I'll explode. For anyone looking for real information about the strike (and I keep getting hit by searches for it), there are a number of good places: the Marysville parents message board is a nice place to start, then visit The Marysville Education Association Website. While the Herald's message boards are frightening, the Everett Herald's Marysville section usually has one article or letter each day about it. If you want more of the teacher view, go to The MSD Commons. And if you want lying propaganda from the overpaid School District Administration, go to The Marysville School District Website. Of course, this is all my opinion, as I'm just the wife of a first-year teacher.

Latest news as I've heard it: the negotiation teams met for six hours yesterday, which is longer than ever before in this strike. I hope that means that they actually had something to talk about and not that the mediator was tired of shuttling information between rooms. The teams will meet again tomorrow, Thursday, at 10 am. Spin those prayer weasels.

The primary vote didn't kick out the incumbent on the Marysville school board, but I hope that the 57% to 27% margin sent some sort of message to the school board. I somehow doubt it, as the incumbent was heard to say that the strike affected the vote, but kids will be back in school by the time of the general election, so he'll win that. Grrr.

Speaking of weasels, Eric and his grandmother had a lunch date during the first week of the strike. Eric's grandmother taught in Marysville back when they had a decent school board. She remembered one of the members of the current school board from her teaching days, and remarked to Eric that the student in question had been "a brat" in class. While that really has nothing to do with the current problems, it did allow me to giggle a bit through the anger.

written and posted by Tegan at 10:04 AM Seattle time

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen II #6: Wow! It finally came out! Now, as I recall, the last issue had me bleaching my eyeballs, and the one before it had me washing my eyes with scouring pads and stinging soap. This one had none of the ... stuff ... I objected to in the last couple of issues. In fact, it came out remarkably strong, much more readable than I feared it would be. Ok, I admit it. I liked it. I didn't like the previous two issues, but this one won me over.

Superman/Batman Generations III #9: Is it over yet? As part of the arc, no, I'm not impressed. As a standalone, it works ok. This is the classic Frankenstein story, with an unpleasant twist at the end. All-in-all, an ok bit, but I'm still not liking the main storyline.

Green Arrow #30: This is on issue #30 already? Wow. And this is a fascinating story, with more twists developing. I'm really curious about the cliff-hanger on this one. Is that really what it looks like, and what will this uncover? When's the next issue coming out again?

Still to review: Superman Blood of My Ancestors, Fallen Angel, and Supreme Power. And maybe the Silver Age Teen Titans Archive. Hey, it could happen!

written and posted by Tegan at 6:53 PM Seattle time

Time for some more reviews. Maybe I'll even get these all done before I get tomorrow's books! Nah.

Opposite Forces #3: I'd forgotten what happened at the end of the last issue, and so had to go look it up. Ah, yes... talking dog, fainting. Got it. The artwork was odd in this one. First I thought that Tom Bancroft just wanted to get it out faster and didn't have time to finish it, but as the story goes on, it's clear that this is a style. That's confirmed in the text page, where Tom admits to doing this issue more "sketchy" out of preference. As for the story, I'm liking it a lot so far. Several different story threads, and all of them funny.

WildGuard #1: This is better than I was expecting. To be honest, I'm never sure how good the quality is going to be when an artist writes. I should not have worried. The story is only as disjointed as it needs to be to fit the "reality" format. The whole plotline moves along smoothly, with the introduction of a handful of characters we might be seeing on the main team as well as a few of the... unlikely ones.

Warning: After the recent problems with CrossGen, you may want to take any of my reviews of CrossGen books with a grain of salt, as I may be filtering my perceptions through mud-colored glasses. This negative perception will last at least until Robin Riggs is paid for the work he did for CrossGen, and possibly until Robin also gets that personalized apology from Alessi for Alessi's slander against Robin.

El Cazador #1: I wanted to love this book. I wanted to be thrilled by pirate adventure. By great Steve Epting artwork. But the inside front cover derailed me. Two mistakes that are either typos or very poor attempts at puns: First is "Holy Sea". In that particular context it should definitely be "Holy See". The second is in the last paragraph: "ware" should be "were". With that to distract me, I read the rest of the book. Solid, but very predictable. I wanted more. This gets three and a half only because of Epting's great artwork.

Still to review: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Superman Blood of My Ancestors, Generations III, Fallen Angel, Green Arrow, and Supreme Power. And maybe the Silver Age Teen Titans Archive, if I get a chance to flip through it.

written and posted by Tegan at 3:36 PM Seattle time

I'm going with my hubby to the picket lines today to show a little support. I may be iffy about unions, and hate strikes, but the more I read about the Marysville School District administration, the more I think that something needs to give, and soon. There's something rotten in the MSD, and her name is Linda Whitehead. Superintendents who get $30,000 raises over the last two years then cut teacher pay should not be allowed. At the very least, she should take a pay cut also. Though I'm thinking that it would be best for the school district if she had resigned when she got the vote of no confidence a couple of years ago... or even resigned now. Ahem. Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll post more reviews later today, and probably a bit more about the strike as an update. Gotta cruise, now. Lots to do.

Update - 12:20: Just got back. I'm exhausted. Walking for two hours followed by standing for an hour and a half is not the easiest. I started out the morning walking the line with hubby-Eric and his colleagues. After awhile I couldn't keep walking, so I stood holding a sign that said "I support Marysville Teachers" and waving and nodding at passing cars. Most people didn't make eye-contact. There's a stigma against making eye-contact or something when you are driving. Those that did make eye-contact with me generally responded. Of those who responded, I'd say nine out of ten were positive.

One guy, stopped at the light, had a tie hanging out of his passenger seat, caught by the door. A couple of teachers and I attracted his attention, then I dashed out into the traffic to quickly open his door so he could free the tie. I don't know if he was grateful or not, but his tie survived a major beating thanks to us.

The MJHS picket leader, one of the math teachers in Eric's department, was interviewed on our line by KING5 TV. Then, when she got to the rally, she was interviewed again by KOMO TV. The rally was fairly interesting. It was the first time since the strike vote that all the district's teachers had gotten together. Crowded together on a local farm, they sang protest songs and had speeches for the benefit of the press. The old protest favorite, "Solidarity Forever", reworked by yours truly to fit the situation, was sung and made the news. There were also loud calls for people to vote, and to help get people out to vote, as it is possible to unseat one of the current school board members in the primary.

I also continue to find it very telling that the district is making a point of saying that their "new" offer, which is just the old offer with some numbers shuffled, makes sure that no teacher will lose pay. The district said that no teacher would lose pay with their original offer. Are they saying that they were lying then? If so, then why should we trust them now?

Update - 5:40: A few more things. First off, I just watched the local news. KOMO TV had the interview with Eric's picket captain and fellow math teacher, basically a sound bite. They also showed the teachers singing my reworking of "Solidarity Forever", including some of my words and not just the chorus. The Marysville teachers were their second story, and they indicated that the negotiations are still going on, which means they've been at it for over four hours now. That's mildly promising. KING5 TV had the story much later in the newscast, and they also showed Eric's picket captain, and also showed Eric walking in front of his school with the other teachers. It was essentially the same report as the one we saw at noon, with the addition of the news that the teams were still in negotiation. I'm afraid KIRO TV took the prize, though. While they covered the story near the end of their newscast, they had two pieces on Marysville, one focusing on some Seniors at Marysville-Pilchuck High School discussing their difficulties in holding fund-raisers when they can't get at their class funds along with their worries about graduation, and the second story covered the rally (again, with the "Solidarity Forever" song, it makes a good sound bite). Then they went to the negotiations, and showed the mediator walking from room to room (as the negotiation teams apparently are still not meeting face-to-face, ARGH!) as well as discussing the problems with the district's offers. They didn't go into details, but they seemed fairly pro-teacher about the contract, and they covered more than just the conflict between the teachers and the district.

In other news, I chatted with the security guard at the Junior High today while walking the line. She admitted that watching teachers is completely pointless, but she's found that bored students are coming to the school and knocking over trash cans now. Last week, nothing, but she said the longer this goes on, the more likely serious vandalism will occur. Trash cans this week, maybe graphitti or fires next week.

The fact-finder clause in the law is completely useless to the teachers. Soon after the law was passed in 1975, teachers tried to use the fact finder to end strikes. It didn't work because negotiations stop as soon as the fact-finder is called in, and nothing can happen until the fact-finder finishes his job, which can take up to a month. It was a useless clause, despite the good intentions.

I'm off to monitor the news some more, in the hopes that good news will happen. Is it too much to dream that today's long session might result in some sort of tentative agreement?

"I will still make what I am making, but it will stay there until the rest of the state caught up with what I am making," said Deanna Whitton, a striking Marysville teacher. "If there were no raises in five or six years, that would be tough to swallow."

written and posted by Tegan at 7:19 AM Seattle time

Monday, September 15, 2003

Hubby-Eric got some unexpected support from a comic book cover:

More reports on Mazal the rescued kitten. Here's a growth comparison in photos, and here's little cat in big doghouse.

A friend sent me a link to a LEGO Tarot. Check it out.

One of Phil Foglio's earlier efforts has been posted at his website. This is not a Girl Genius story, but you might recognize some of the names.

I didn't know what Five Card Nancy was, but now I do, and I'm amused. I wonder what other strips you could pull this trick with? via Neil Gaiman

Interesting article on Wired about solar power windows. Basically, you take a bunch of solar cells, and put them in windows that get lots of light, and the result is less glare on the inside, and power to run things. via Slashdot

It's not "Korea", it's "Corea". via the Daily Snopes

September 11th United the World. What have we done since then? via Atrios

Here's a Twin Towers Memory I think you ought to read, if only because you already have heard the story, but perhaps not from the source. And if you want to read more on Sep 11th, there's a round up of links at VodkaPundit, and another at Winds of Change. via The Light of Reason

written and posted by Tegan at 6:52 PM Seattle time

TV - Teen Titans: Deep Six: I had seen only one episode of this show prior to this, and I wasn't impressed. I just wasn't expecting much coming into this one. In fact, I was fairly certain I would be disappointed. That's why I'm really impressed. I loved this episode. It wasn't high art, and it had lots of cringeworthy moments, but Aqualad is HOT, and the story served to introduce him nicely.

Aquaman #10: Still going... thump, thump, thump... This isn't bad, it's just slow. I'm betting when I sit down and re-read the whole thing, which I'll probably so shortly after issue 12 comes out, I'll like it even more. But this issue seems to be just more of the same happening.

H-E-R-O #8: I don't think it's a secret that the guys in the "Captain Chaos" crew are loosely based on some of Will Pfeifer's on-line pals, so I was not at all surprised by their eventual fate. I was, however, more than a little amused by the way the plot worked out to that fate. Not a bad little run.

written and posted by Tegan at 2:57 PM Seattle time

Sunday, September 14, 2003

Several weeks ago, hubby-Eric and I had a short discussion on whether or not to attend the September 14th Seattle ComiCard Convention. Hubby-Eric would have been teaching for two weeks and would be into the swing of things. More importantly, we would have some money on the way at the end of the month from his first paycheck. We decided to attend.

Yesterday afternoon I reminded hubby-Eric of the con, and asked if we were still going. Our situation had changed drastically. I really wanted to go, if only to possibly get some more permissions for posting sketches. Hubby-Eric, always the sensible one, reminded me of the money situation, and we dropped the topic to think on it some more. After a few hours, I decided that I was being selfish, and told hubby-Eric that with the way things had gone the last couple of weeks, I understood and accepted that we couldn't go. However, in the same time, Eric had thought about the cost of the con ($10 for both of us) and how much fun I was likely to have, and decided that we should go after all. I didn't need to have my arm twisted.

My goal for the con was at least one new sketch and two permissions to post older sketches. The first person I spotted upon entering the artists alley was William Stout, who was mentioned yesterday in Mark Evanier's blog. Mr Stout was not doing sketches, or so he said, but he drew a pretty cool dinosaur in my autograph book nonetheless! I should have had him sign in my sketchbook instead.

Next person we visited was Matt Clark, whose Aquaman drawing continues to amaze me. I went up and politely asked if I could post his sketch from 1999, and showed it to him. "Sure, no problem!" was the response (one permission down!). He then did a sketch for my husband of classic Hal Jordan Green Lantern.

While Matt drew in Eric's book, I visited the table next to his. Rebecca and Peter Woods were sitting together, and as Rebecca wasn't too busy I showed her my Aquaman sketchbook. She was ... "wildly enthusiastic" is almost not strong enough. She looked entirely through my first sketchbook, then through my second, and was willing to give Aquaman a try. While she sketched, I wandered to find more permissions. Well, actually, one permission walked up behind me while I was still talking with Rebecca. I now have Karl Kesel's permission to post his sketch, which he remembered and liked quite a bit (two down!). I spotted Mark Brill from across the room since he's been at every Seattle ComiCard Con I've been at, and I think I've said hello every time. This time I asked for permission to post his image, because for some reason I've never been able to reach him via e-mail. Again, permission was granted (three down!).

Rebecca finished her drawing of a pensive Aquaman after deciding that she didn't know how to draw kelp. So he's "Pensive and Kelpless". She then took on Eric's challenge, and drew Spoiler (from Robin) as Green Lantern (without the Spoiler mask on). She also granted permission for me to post her image, and her husband tackled the Aquaman challenge. His one is great, but you are going to have to wait until I post it (yes, permission granted) to understand why I love it so much. His is definitely along the lines of the Scott Alan "grin-every-time-I-see-it" sketch.

I figured I was done with sketches and permissions, but since Rebecca was still working on hubby-Eric's sketch, I popped over to visit Paul Gulacy. I honestly didn't think he'd be able to do a sketch, as there were tons of people at his table, but he took my book and managed one anyway. His is an amazing flowing image of the face of an older Aquaman, with the beard and long hair. It's beautiful. And, yes, he gave permission to post it. While he drew, I wandered the tables and spotted James Dean Smith (Boris the Bear) who had done a sketch for me at the Emerald City Comicon. Again, permission was granted to post his sketch (four down!).

By the time Paul Gulacy managed to finish my sketch between all the various other folks talking with him and getting autographs, I had run into The Cliff Guy, who got a cliff sketch from Peter Woods, and into another gentleman (whose name I can't recall) who had the most amazing book of Thor sketches. Unlike my sketches, which are entirely at the artist's whim, the Thor sketches were commissions, and frankly they were incredible. I hope someday to graduate to getting commissions of Aquaman done in a full-size book like that. One artist in the Thor book, Steve Hartley, was across the room doing caricatures. As hubby-Eric was getting a Peter Woods sketch, I went over to Steve and explained about my sketchbook, and apologized for not having any money, and asked if he was willing to draw an Aquaman. As there weren't any paying customers at the moment, he agreed, pointing out a caricature he had just done of the guy at the next table, Deep7 games, who, because he was blond and had a beard, Steve had drawn as Aquaman with two hook hands. He then did a very serious and sexy Aquaman for me, the Peter David version shirtless and muscled. Yum. Again, permission was granted to post the sketch.

Running out of energy and time, hubby-Eric collected his "Tin Lantern" sketch from Peter Woods and we vacated. I beat my goal by getting four permissions and four new sketches (all with permissions granted). Yeah, I had fun. And yeah, I think it was worth ten dollars.

Now, I'm sure you are all dying to know when I'm going to post these images. Well, I've got permission at the moment to post twelve sketches. I only have two of those scanned. My original plan was to post one per week on Saturday, but I think I'm going to increase the pace a bit as I've got so many permissions right now and I recently got a load of e-mail addresses to try. I don't, however, want to post them all at once. They are to be savored. So I will probably be posting one or two more per week until I get low on sketches with permissions.

written by Tegan | posted 8:15 PM Seattle time |

I've been neglecting my linking lately. It's been a busy and painful week, sorry, and I haven't actually been visiting most of the sites on my sidebar. Here's a little bit of linking to make up for it.

What to expect when the BBC puts up its on-line archive. via Neil Gaiman

Once Upon a Time There Were No Cellphones ..., three stories about parenting from children's book author Nancy Smiler Levinson. via Calpundit

La Cárcel De Papel looks like a fascinating weblog, I only wish I could read it properly. The Google translation does not do it justice, though I like this bit: "Incapable to articulate word, my sleepy mind, still moldy by resfriado and the logical lack of oxygen derived from the nariguil clogging" Very poetic. via Johnny Bacardi

While my reviews are slow going out, Johnny Bacardi already has his up, and we overlap with four books this week, possibly a new record. And over at Neilalien you can catch a fresh review of El Cazador, which I also purchased this week. Pirate comics, arrrr!

Give blood, get free artwork from a Dracula comic book. via Nielalien

Everyone has heard about the RIAA suing a 12-year-old girl who didn't know that downloading songs was illegal (because she had paid a fee, and thought the fee covered the downloads). Do you know that some kind folks are paying the $2,000 settlement the RIAA forced out of the child? Once the RIAA has sued all their customers, do you think they will be able to sell any more albums?

If you don't like what the RIAA is doing, you can Boycott RIAA. It's easy to do when you have a list of RIAA members. via Legomancer

Scott McCloud has a more sensible view on filesharing in his intelligent essay on micropayments. Like Baen Books, McCloud believes that change is necessary, and will result it more profits if only the producing industries will learn how to embrace it. As Eric Flint said, which is echoed by Scott McCloud, "most people would rather be honest than dishonest." It's just a matter of making honest purchases as simple or more simple than file-sharing.

Neil Gaiman has some real good links up. Here's one to a list of phobias. I already knew I suffer from Agoraphobia, I didn't realize I might have Enochlophobia, Demophobia or Ochlophobia also. And I don't see "fear of being followed" there, which is another problem I have. Neil also links to an article about a killer icon that was removed from a museum because, well, it was killing people. Supposedly.

Mark Evanier links to an article about DVD that self-destruct in 48 hours. If this becomes a reality, I wonder how soon people will start complaining that the disc was already destructed before they got it (because oxygen somehow got into the package)?

Scott McCloud has a nice paragraph on how people read on his site. Very interesting. I wonder how many people read it just fine, like me, and how many folks have serious trouble with it?

Are the Harry Potter books being used to promote Christianity over Islamic religions? I wouldn't think so, but apparently a terrorist group in Pakistan believes so. via The Leaky Cauldron

Neville Longbottom, or rather the fellow who plays him in the movies, has a website. via The Leaky Cauldron

Marta's latest is of Auror Headquarters. To see Marta's latest, check out her livejournal, and the archive is at artdungeon.

Apparently Dave Barry put the toll free number of the American Teleservices Association (1-877-779-3974) in one of his latest articles and urged people to call and tell them what they think of telemarketing calls. People did. Hooray for Dave Barry! via the bitter shack of resentment

Here's an on-line description of a nice home with an underground bunker. It sounds from the description like it's somewhere near Bellingham. via The Modulator

Doc Shazam explains why you should always wear your seltbelt.

I've intentionally avoided doing too much tribute to 9/11. The whole political statement thing is important, but I feel like the day itself should be given over to memorial. The political reminders should come the other 364 days of the year. I feel a lot of anger over 9/11 and what has happened since. But when I went to write it down, I found I had no words. I still don't. Maybe the words will come in time. Maybe the silence is more important. But please don't think that my writing nothing about it means I don't feel it. There's just more to be said than I know how to say.

written by Tegan | posted 7:15 AM Seattle time |