Sunday, August 31, 2008

Pretentious Lightbulb Men: The Book of What


I did "The Book of What" at the lobby of my college, circa late September and mid-November 2000, probably waiting for a ride. This is my favorite Pretentious Lightbulb Men story and I made a sequel for it a few years later. It's about five pages, I made it into an infinite canvas comic for the web.

http://www.theoryofeverythingcomics.com/what/

Enjoy!

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Sound is Everything

Although Dark Knight was a brilliant film, well, really, what are the kids gonna play with? It was such a dark film. Although Batman CAN be dark, there was a time when he was light, fun, adventurous, sometimes he was hit with a ray that turned him into "Zebra Batman" and he was meant for ten year olds. So, that's why there's Batman: Brave and the Bold



It's trying to be retro and campy. And I'm not against A retro and campy Batman (it balances out the grim and gritty movie), but as I've entitled this blog entry: "Sound is Everything"



If Batman: Brave and the Bold sounds or feels like this, then it'll be the sort of cartoon that makes me wish that I knocked up a girl 3 or 4 years ago so I have a mini-me to watch this with.

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Adventure Time!

According to Cartoon Brew and TAG , Cartoon Network has finally done something right in a long time-- acquire a show that is a cartoon instead of trying to emulate the disney channel.

Check out Adventure Time



I wished I knocked up a girl four years ago so I could enjoy this cartoon with my illegitamite child.

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Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Alphabet with James Earl Jones

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Gremlins Fan Film



and the making of:

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Friday, August 29, 2008

LUNCH

I've been giving you "cute weird" lately. We need crazy Eastern European weird.

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Words of Wisdom


So true. So true.

[source]

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These videos make me want to go to the bathroom.




This one is a bit abrasive with the translations. Although, I did see one of these toilets in the Philippines when I was..."in trouble" and thought "WTF?"


There must be a problem training children to use the restroom if you gotta make toys about it.


I really want to see the costumed version of this character show me how to use the bathroom.

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Ten no Mikaku






When Yumi Nakashima, the lead vocal for Go!Go!7188, went solo, she released Ten no Mikaku, which, I think translates to "Ten Tastes" or "Point of Taste" or something like that. It tastes a little bit like Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana but I'm not complaining.

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Arno!

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Best Samurai Cowboy Movie ever!



I know what I'm doing September 12th.

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Whatever happened to Chip Zdarsky?

Yes, Chip Zdarsky, creator of Prison Funnies a great comic strip about prison.


Well, I asked myself what happened to this Zdarsky character, someone who'd obviously have a blog.

I like this image.

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GUITAROSAURUS

This artist was just brought to my attention, check out http://rumblo.com/ for more comics.

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Who will watch the Watchmen?


I am pretty excited about the new WATCHMEN movie that's scheduled to come out next year. It's based on the groundbreaking superhero mini-series by Alan Moore. It might very well be the only movie based on an Alan Moore book that doesn't suck. I'm not saying Alan Moore will like it, but at least Dave Gibbons is working on it.

Although, to the uninitiated, they're going to say "The plot was stolen from that Pixar movie! Why don't I feel happy?! I shouldn't have brought my kids here!" Although I did enjoy Brad Bird's take on superhero reconstructionism, and I mean no disrespect to this man's talents and work, we gotta take into account who the real genius is.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I haven't posted any jpop in a while.



I think this video was made in 2003 or 2004. Rarely do you see an actual live performance when a music video is recorded. This just shows Emi Hinouchi's natural talent, not that sound mixing shit where they make someone who could kind sing actually sing. I haven't kept up on Japanese R&B, mainly because there are very few Japanese singers who can pull it off. I'll have to do a search on Emi Hinouchi.

...hmmm, I wonder if Chitose Hajime still has a career?

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God (tm) (c) 2XX8... etc, etc, ... begins!

The first six pages of "God(tm) (c) 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. All rights reserved. God and all related characters, titles, names and documents are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this deity with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental."
have been completed. Yes, that is the title. No. I haven't even memorized my own title yet. It's a science fiction satire about... well, you can guess by the title.
http://www.theoryofeverythingcomics.com/god/01/

I plan to update it little by little and then have my formal announcement that a scene is finished. I feel the story doesn't hit its stride around page 11 or 12.

And I'll get around to sprucing up the website since people are actually visiting it.

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Devil & The Monk reviewed on Comixetreme.com

At Comixtreme.com the award winning The Devil and the Monk
(winner of The 2008 Elan' Rodger Trinidad Award in Comic Book Excellence and Bad-assery) was Chase's pick of the week.

Check out the podcast. They mention The Devil and the Monk at the end. But this episode is devoted to Plastic Man and I love Plastic Man. So I'm not going to be a douche bag and tell you where to fast forward to.

UNFORTUNATELY

They got the name of the website wrong and their links to my site are wrong.

Oh well, this is what I get for creating very long domain names. Imagine if there was a domain name for my new comic (which I'm coloring at three in the morning-- I abandoned a nice little party in Little Tokyo for this. AND I got a Comics Crit Meetup tomorrow) it would be:

http://www.godtrademarkcopyright2XX8xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxincorporatedallrightsreservedgodandallrelatedcharacterstitlesnamesanddocumentsaretrademarksofxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxincorporatednosimilaritybetweenanyofthenamescharacterspersonsandorinstitutionsinthisdeitywiththoseofanylivingordeadpersonorinstitutionsisintendedandanysuchsimilaritywhichmayexistispurelycoincidental.com

Y'know, it took me a while to delete all the spaces, just for you. I hope you appreciate all my hard work, especially for the thirty or so people who've subscribed to this blog.

They also mispronounced my name, but I'm used to that. Hell, technically my parents mispronounce my name, and they're the ones that randomly picked it from a baby book.

Hopefully, by the time you check out the site, they'd have corrected the links. If not, then we'll start an e-mail letter writing campaign.

Update: They fixed the link.

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Saturday, August 23, 2008

Cyriak


Newest music video.


This is brilliant.

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Pretentious Lightbulb Men: Mirror & Things People Shouldn't F#@k


At the time, I thought this was sad, but everyone thought it was funny. I still think it's sad. I did this September 2000. It's very strange, how different this person who drew this is compared to the person that's older.


....and now for something COMPLETELY different.
I remember doing something based on panel three for a visual effects class. If I ever find the copy of it, it goes on my Youtube. This is also a September 2000 piece. I know there are people on the Inter-Web who do not know what a porcupine is.

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We need some sort of chaser after that

After that last post, we need something to get that bad taste out of our mouths.


Rainie Yang should've sang at the Olympics this year instead to that whole lipsinc fiasco. Oh. wait a second. She's Taiwanese.-- Well then, they should've had the Olympics in Taiwan this year.

She's the sort of girl that makes you want to take an age-reversal serum so you could be her first kiss. But after you've done this, you find out she's well above the drinking age, has already had a boyfriend or two, and your age-reversal serum has made you 18 months old.

Wha--? Why you staring at me like that?

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

It's like Elementary School all over again!

Really?! How is this NOT stupid? I mean, its not like there aren't any Chinese in Spain (I know at least one), do you try this shit in front of them.
(Actually, I could imagine some restaurant owner tolerating this because its a regular customer.)

Let's remember. These are athletes, not ambassadors.

Angry Asian Man does this blogging about the Olympic Spanish Basketball Team better than me. He also has better pics.

Mind you, I think when its done properly, racism can be really funny, entertaining and insightful. I mean, I'll use racist asian jokes-- cuz I can get away with it.

...in theory.

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Review: Salvager Kain

I just read all three (so far) issues of Paul Sloboda's Salvager Kain. It's a comic book about a guy who's kicked out of this kingdom and has all his memory wiped out. My favorite so far is Issue three. Kain runs into the King of Snakes to kick out an army of women from the Snake's castle.

He has a very clean style, reminiscent of Dave Sim. I would say-- light comedy? dark comedy? Comedy Adventure might be more appropriate. Also, one of the nice details is his expressive use of comic book lettering. I find this amazing because I letter on computer (because I misspell stuff like "butterlies"-- I'm not changing it, I think its funny. Although I did correct it in the print version.)

So, check out some of the comic previews that you can download. Hopefully his mini-comic is at your local comic shop. And bother him about getting a paypal account or doing print-on-demand. Please. He lives in a place called "Carbondale" -- does this sound like a town where he has adequate comic book-related human contact? Ask him about his basement.

(Also, bother me about getting a paypal account and doing print-on-demand, too.)

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Today is the Day!


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Pretentious Lightbulb Men: Love & Growth


Back when I went to art school, I really had very little time to draw for myself. I also lived with my parents, couldn't drive, no money, and of course, no girlfriend. For everyone who went to college with me, I'm sure these will bring you back a bit.


This was also an exercise in minimalism (and art therapy) where I tried to see how much I could express with very little. These two were done between July and September 2000.

And yes, college friends, I plan to be posting all your old favorites every now and then-- well, at least the ones that aren't too sad.

On a side note, my major influences for these came from Jhonen Vasquez and Don Hertzfeldt

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re



As some may have already figured out, I have a thing for Japanese girls with electric guitars.

I was fortunate to have seen Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re on their first US Tour. They came on stage as these nervous little girls with soft voices, struggling with their English in a FOBish way-- then they rocked the house. I try to check them out every time they come to LA and have seen them develop from these shy girls who can rock to these awesome performers. It's always nice that they recognize me as that guy with the sketchbook.


They will be starting a new US Tour soon.

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The Devil and The Monk - people are actually reading this thing

Although I knew I had a different sort of comic here, I keep discovering that people have written positive reviews on it at stumble upon and reddit. I did this comic as a sort of exercise because I rarely finish my comic stories and this was something short. Plus I was getting rusty with drawing. There are probably a million tiny things I don't like about this comic, but redrawing it would just be tedious and I probably wouldn't be happy with the new pages either.

Thank you for the positive feedback.

We will see the Devil again. The Devil and The Monk is part of a much bigger story/universe. I ought to get cracking on it, I got slowed down by my weekend.

And remember, there's also a story about a Space Mexican.

eh? -- eh?

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Mom's Library in the Philippines

The Basilio B. Garrote Memorial Library was founded by my Mother, Loreta Garrote Trinidad, in 2007. It's in the town of Cortez, on the island province of Bohol, in the South East Asian country of the Philippines. This is my Mom's way of giving back to her family and her hometown.



It's the sort of thing that I wish that all Filipino Americans who proclaim "Pinoy Pride" would put their energy or money in, rather than: just getting a tattoo in ancient Tagalog, fixing up their Hondas, writing cliche spoken word pieces about being filipino, joining a filipino gang, chisme, being in a beauty pageant, or producing a bad PCN. (Pilipino Cultural Night-- usually its a sort of play produced by the Filipino Club at a college or University which incorporates traditional Filipino dance, hip hop dance-- for some reason, and someone singing. It's the sort of thing that that you go to because a family member is in it.)

Basilio B. Garrote, the man that the library commemorates, was my grandfather who was a councilman in Cortez. He passed away when my mother was very young. I've obviously never met him, although I hear that my older brother resembles him in mannerisms and body type. My brother also carried this tradition in local politics and community service by starting the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council.

Although third world countries need food, health care, money, etc., there are several charitable organizations that help in these fields. We tend to forget that these things will continue to stay as charities, as handouts, and not as self sufficiency until these societies are properly educated. Individuals' imaginations need to be tickled and the laughter that comes from such tickling can end up to be solutions to everyday problems. And the more little problems are solved, the easier bigger problems are taken care of.

I've donated several old art books and comic books to inspire any young komikeros (filipino comic artist) and to help exercise their imaginations. (Y'know, if Star Trek has inspired scientists to create cloaking technology, what do you think a few good books will do to kids whose families can't afford decent shoes?) I've also heard that the library has gotten some illiterate adults motivated to learn how to read.

I wish there was a website for the library, but I'm just a slightly competent web designer and even if I was a fully capable web designer, my mother asking me to do a website (or almost anything computer/art related) for her is as much of a bother when she used to ask me to take out the garbage, wash the dishes or water the lawn.

I don't think my mom is asking for any monetary donations right now. But I don't think she'll deny any, since shipping books to the Philippines isn't free, the library was just expanded in May and Mom employed her cousin to run it, all this from her own pocket.

She is always going to used book sales and swap meets. She also collects old books from friends. I'm not one to simply give away my mom's e-mail on my blog, but you can reach her on her (and my dad's-- I think) youtube account, or e-mail me: elanrodgertrinidad@gmail.com if you have any good books to donate (especially if you're in Los Angeles).

Or contact us if you want to know more about my mom's library. Maybe there are people out there who want to do something similar, I'm sure my mom has some tips. Maybe there are people who ARE doing something similar and trading tips with my mom would be a good thing.

All I know is that she started a great thing and I'm very fortunate that this sort of woman raised me. I'd like to see this great thing expand, both as a bigger and better library and I'd love to see it copied, not just in the Philippines, but in places that really need it.

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秘密



I forgot what this song is called, and I cannot read or understand Japanese. But it is called this:秘密 and its by Tokyo Jihen. I don't know about the rap part though.

...plus Shiina Ringo looks hot.

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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Animated Jesus


I bet that whatever country the animation was done in, they weren't Christian. (This isn't meant to be a mean statement. I worked on a cartoon about the Buddha.)


There are ten commandments and seven deadly sins, but this one breaks the laws of all twelve principles of animation! I liked the old days when a deity was praised with a statue or painting. But a badly animated production in shoddy "Anime Style", a visual style few Americans really understand, just lacks any sort of class. At least the first cartoon had production value.


I really like his character design of Jesus but I'm expecting a song and dance number.


I kinda like the animation. Reminds me of Alex Toth designs. I hope someone will some day edit this with episode of Super Friends. I like the sound effect when Jesus is "re-created".


These two look like they were done by the same animation studio. This cartoon manages to discredit itself with its limited animation more than it does Mormonism.

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

Buttons that actually work

As it may be painfully obvious to all of us, I am NOT a web designer. I haven't taken web design since 2002, and I really can't afford one.

But, I'd like to announce a button that actually works!

The ABOUT button and page are in working order.

Other buttons that work: COMICS, UPDATES, "Speak No Evil"(those are on the sides) and the pyramid at the center brings you HOME

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Friday, August 15, 2008

I didn't know Superman was Methodist.

At comicbookreligion.com some one (or a team) has meticulously cataloged every superhero and comic book character so fanboys can site more fictitious facts to answer the question: "Who'd win in a fight..."

They actually put an entry for Theory of Everything Comics and sited the award winning The Devil and The Monk.

The award in question is the 2008 Elan' Rodger Trinidad Award in Comic Book Excellence and Bad-assery. How do you think Will Eisner won all those Eisner Awards? He took initiative and made his own award ceremony!

The winner of this year's Elan' Rodger Trinidad Award in Comic Book Excellence and Bad-assery, who by coincidence was Elan' Rodger Trinidad, got to go to the Eagle Rock Jollibee and ordered the Chicken Joy Bucket with an Ube Shake and Halo Halo.
(Remember, all you non-Filipinos who've stumbled into Jollibee ORDER THE CHICKEN JOY, NOT THE BURGERS!-- at least when you're in the US Jollibee, if you're in the Philippines, the burgers are all right.)

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Parokya Ni Edgar

Yes, I know there is an inordinately large amount of blogs featuring Japanese girls playing electric guitar. But, I gotta support my own, man, and Parokya Ni Edgar is my favorite Filipino band.




Covers with food seems to be their specialty. Y'know, to this day, after living in America for about forty years, my mother still calls it "picha pie".


BASTOS!


This is how I was introduced to the band, when I went to the Philippines when I was-- I think 20. They kept showing this on MTV Asia because they won an MTV award for it. I've tried to sing this on kareoke sing-a-long. Despite my non-existent Tagalog, I was able to hang in there.

Now I ought to work on God(tm) (c) 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. All rights reserved. God and all related characters, titles, names and documents are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this deity with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental. because someone in London, England is eagerly awaiting to read it. (Not you Timmy.) And I need 1000 true fans (and a paypal account) if I ever hope to draw and write comics for a living.

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Aleem in China!

My friend Aleem and his wife, Jenn (and there might be other people with him too, but I probably have never been formally introduced to them) are in China for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Although I don't care much for the Olympics, mainly because they don't recognize Bipedal Robot Sumo Wrestling as an international sport, Aleem's adventures are pretty interesting.

http://aleeminchina.blogspot.com/

(This photograph of Aleem was selected because it reminded me of an old lady.)

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Star Trek Sing-a-long


I just don't know about this one.


At least its "interpreted" and not sung by.


Better.


I was trying to find the live performance on Jay Leno, but this is good enough.

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Oxymorons and the Amish

I find it amusing that the Amish have their own website.

There are also plenty of memes with robots and Amish.






There's more. There was an Amish Cyborg in this Slave Labor Comic I bought years ago.

This will never get old.

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Olympics 2008 Monkey Movie - BBC Sport

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I would care about the Olympics if they had this event



MazingerZ vs Gundam!

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Saturday, August 9, 2008

RayRay tries to find himself

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Batman needs a diaper change!



Silly Daddy is a Xeric Grant recipient. I'll admit, I haven't read much of it because when I saw it at comics shops years ago, I thought-- "Interesting, but this guy can't draw." Nowadays I'm more open to different styles rather than just the muscle bound superheros or the bright eyed manga look. The style goes with the story. Now, its basically a blog, which is great because making mini comics and distributing them is a lot of work and Joe Chiappetta (I always think of Chia Pets with his name) has three kids. It's one of those comics that has a lot of heart. You can see how much this man loves his family. And making comics and kids so you don't have to is a good service to mankind.

Although, I'll stick with making comics. Not sure about making kids. (If the kid part never happens, I'll settle for a puppy.)

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God(tm) - Preview


Here's a preview of God(tm) (c) 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. All rights reserved. God and all related characters, titles, names and documents are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this deity with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental. I plan to color it. You'll probably see a few pages next week.

For those of you paying attention, I changed the title from:
God(tm) copyright 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Inc. All rights reserved. All characters and the distinctive name and likenesses thereof and all related indicia are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Inc. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this story with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.

to:

God(tm) (c) 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. All rights reserved. God and all related characters, titles, names and documents are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this deity with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.

The comic will have the longest indicia ever.


God(tm) (c) 2XX8 *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. All rights reserved. God and all related characters, titles, names and documents are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Incorporated. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this deity with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental. (c) 2008 Elan' Rodger Trinidad. All rights reserved. All characters and the distinctive name and likenesses thereof and all related indicia are trademarks of Elan' Rodger Trinidad. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this story with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.

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In Memory of Lyla Lei

Remember, this IS "Theory of Everything Comics" and everything meaning, everything I find amusing. And this is a comic, and I feel that I haven't put up enough comics stuff lately. (And I'm considering making the comics menu into the index page again, but that doesn't have much to do with anything.)

This is an amateur comic done by a former adult film star. It sort of reminds me of Silly Daddy in its book form. (In style and verve, not content-- OBVIOUSLY.)

It's rather interesting to see how the manga/anime style is becoming prevalent in American Visual Language. And how she identifies with the super hero motif of the alter ego with her personal and work life.

(Plus there's sex and sexuality, of course. Everyone's interested in that--even if they pretend not to. Plus the adult film industry is pretty interesting. Just the fact that it creates all this fantasy and amorality yet all in all its just a business and its just work for these performers. Plus something I learned from an ex-girlfriend who did make-up at a shoot: three parts water + one part mayonnaise (or vice versa)... well I'm just glad its fake.)

I'd like to see more adventures about Lyla Lei leaving the adult film industry.


PS. Yes I was bored looking at girls on myspace. I wasn't intentionally looking for porn.

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Friday, August 8, 2008

PIZZAZZ!



Go! Go! (Nana-Ichi-Hachi-Hachi) 7188 - Ruriiro

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Call Girl Poems

I was going to call it "Prostitute Poetry", but I thought that was a bit crass.

Clicky here.

Hey, everyone blogs these days.

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Redifining "Japanimation"

From Wikipwedia: "Anime is occasionally referred to as Japanimation, but this term has fallen into disuse. Japanimation saw the most usage during the 1970s and 1980s, but was supplanted by anime in the mid-1990s as the material became more widely known in English-speaking countries."

There's a distinct difference between and Anime and Japanimation.


Super Dimesnional Fortress Macross is Anime.

Robotech: The Macross Saga is Japanimation.


Gatchaman is Anime.




Battle of the Planets is Japanimation.



MazingerZ is Anime.



TranzorZ is Japanimation.


Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is Anime

Warriors of the Wind is Japanimation.

Japanimation isn't simply translated Anime. Japnimation is rehashed, retitled, and reedited Anime.


On a side note, I didn't mention Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom). This is because they're starting to call him Astro Boy in Japan.

Also, on Wikipedia : "it is now used primarily in Japan, to refer to domestic animation; since anime does not identify the country of origin in Japanese usage, Japanimation is used to distinguish Japanese work from that of the rest of the world."

So, basically my attempt at reviving a nostalgic term is just me talking out of me arse.

Anime is "animation" in Japanese. Japanimation is "domestic animation" in Japanese. "Nippon" is "Japan" in Japanese... or Nippon.

Whatever. I should sleep.

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Monday, August 4, 2008

Sometimes, I just don't know what's going on with RayRay

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God(tm) - Robot design


(You can see these characters in this story or jump to the pages that they appear.)

This is a model sheet for

God(tm) copyright 2xx8 *** ***** ****** ******* Inc. All rights reserved. All characters and the distinctive name and likenesses thereof and all related indicia are trademarks of *** ***** ****** ******* Inc. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this story with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.


(You can see these characters in this story or jump to the pages that they appear.)


He (or they) start off as a minor character. I was doing an homage to classic Floro Dery designs.

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Mayonaka wa Junkestu & Lupin the 3rd

Shiina Ringo & Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra



It sort of has a Lupin 3rd feel.


Which Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra does a great a cover of.


Pizzicato 5 did a nice interpretation.


Though this guy did animated a pretty good version of Metal Gear Solid to Lupin 3rd.


If I ever do cosplay, I'd dress as Lupin 3rd and have a tiny speaker playing different versions of the Lupin theme. Or I'd have a live band play that theme and follow me around, like in "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka".

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Resolution



This is something I worked on a while ago. I did the effects. It's still one of my favorites. RayRay doesn't have as much time to come outside and play these days.

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Post-modern, dada, and something with Hostess Products comics


I did this as filler for the back cover of my mini-comic. I was selling them at Con. I am oddly proud of it.

(Original Source)

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Eddie Izzard - Death Star Canteen

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Sunday, August 3, 2008

God(tm) - Joeb Kim model sheet

So, my next big comic project is this sci-fi satire comedy where Christianity corporatized. ( I'm trying to make this one beautiful as well as witty (I'm tired of dick & fart jokes. They're too easy and very predictable), making model sheets, doing exploded views of backgrounds, colors, etc. Unlike Speak No Evil and The Devil and the Monk this is not an exercise in drawing fast. I was trying to develop a rhythm and speed. By the way, "The Devil and the Monk" is part of this story.

Right now, the working title of this humorous opus is:
God(tm) copyright 2xx8 *** ***** ****** ******* Inc. All rights reserved. All characters and the distinctive name and likenesses thereof and all related indicia are trademarks of
*** ***** ****** ******* Inc. No similarity between any of the names, characters, persons and/or institutions in this story with those of any living or dead person or institutions is intended and any such similarity which may exist is purely coincidental.

(2xx8 is pronounced: Twenty-ex exty eight. Plus I can't seem to do that trademark and copyright symbol on Blogger.)

I think the title is too short.


Anyway, here is a model sheet of one of the lead characters.

Asians are very easy to draw. All I need to do is find a mirror and I have great reference. (C'mon, Jim Lee draws Wolverine a bit slanty-eyed and no one's complaining!)


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Muppets on Youtube




The muppets have been doing some fun little skits on youtube. There'll never be the same glory of the Muppet Show or when Henson was alive, but hopefully they'll make some really cool and fun stuff.

...I kinda wanna buy some sort of Beaker doll right now.

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Saturday, August 2, 2008

This guy is awsome.



Clifford Stoll could talk about the atmosphere of Jupiter. Or hunting KGB hackers. Or Klein bottles, computers in classrooms, the future. But he's not going to. Which is fine, because it would be criminal to confine a man with interests as multifarious as Stoll's to give a talk on any one topic. Instead, he simply captivates his audience with a wildly energetic sprinkling of anecdotes, observations, asides -- and even a science experiment. After all, by his own definition, he's a scientist: "Once I do something, I want to do something else."

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My very brief career on Sesame Street



Yeah, you gotta turn up the sound. It's better with headphones.

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Hidden Gold at San Diego Comic Con International

I love Comic Con. To me it is a secular Mecca. Where else can a Klingon and a Stormtrooper get in a scuffle-- plastic weapons at hand!? (Although, unfortunately, the Klingon population has been dwindling. I don't want to blame the guy from Quantum Leap, but...)

It is a celebration of human imagination, pop art, fandom and pure geekiness. But for me, one of the highlights of the Con is The Comics Art Conference. Basically, the CAC are lectures and panel discussions where scholars give very interesting insights to comic books as a medium, superheroes, and pop culture.

A great book that came out of the CAC was Peter Coogan's Superhero: The Secret Origin of A Genre, a book that I ought to finish reading. Plus I ran into him at Horton Plaza just before I left San Diego. Just so I can say thanks.

He asked me why I liked the CAC. For me, it's because it gives me ideas. If mission, powers, and identity are the main things that define a superhero (read his book), then what would happen if I changed some of these aspects? Will I still get a superhero?
If I am to become a decent comic book storyteller, I ought to know my medium. This is better than an Art History class.
Also, the scholarly language used in the CAC have become part of my vocabulary. With the company that I keep, "superhero deconstructionism" is a common word. Basically, the CAC prevents me from sounding like a geeky fanboy and more like a pop culture intellectual... in theory.

Although sometimes the lecturers to the CAC aren't exactly a Broadway musical, they do say a lot of really interesting things. (Mind you, I love lectures. It's like someone telling me about a really fascinating book that I don't have to read because I need my eyes for drawing.) And I've never gotten any of my friends to go with me, even though I know they'd find it interesting.

You know who you are.

But I guess going to a panel discussion to see clips from a movie that will be next year's summer blockbuster-- that you'll see anyway-- is a lot more shiny and seductive than hearing about postmodernism in comics or gay and lesbian themes in Grant Morisson's run on X-Men or how Superman mirrors "The Golem of Prague".

This is one of the major reasons I go to San Diego Comic Con. I love, as Dr. Stephan Hoeller calls it, "The 20th Century Mythic Revival." (Please use this phrase often, I'd like it to be a meme, why do you think I put it in italics? It's catchy in a convoluted way and it makes Star Wars sound like it should be placed next to King Arthur--the Star Wars with Mark Hamil, not this Hayden what's-his-name crap.)

...that and also to oogle at Asian Slave Girl Princess Leia.


But, Asian Fetishes aside, the CAC is one of those things more people ought to check out. It's my intellectual salvation from the insane commercialism on the Floor. (Plus I have a habit of running out of money on the Floor-- its also a salvation for my wallet.) I sort of wish they'd put the lectures up on Youtube like TED or Carnegie Mellon University. It would be slightly better than a CD with all these word documents that I buy every year, but rarely come around to reading them.

Here are some other wonderful CAC resources:

Emaki.net - Neil Cohn has some interesting things to say about comics and visual language.

Hyperreality.alechosterman.com - Alec Hosterman gave an interesting lecture on Hyperreality. I found it very fascinating because in a very secular way, he was touching on Buddhist, Hindu and Gnostic concepts. His work is still in need of some development, but he's definitely on to something.

ScottMcCloud.com - Although he didn't contribute to the CAC this year, or for a while, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a frequently referenced book when it comes to the study of comics. I'll have to say that this book is the basis of how I think of art.


I wish I had more links. I remember last year, one lecture was on the fascination of Wonder Woman to the gay community. That mainly stood out because the lecturer danced to the Wonder Woman theme. There was another on Dave Sim's view of women in Cerebus. A bunch on Superman and mythology.


I also remember a really great one on Watchmen and exactly how it deconstructed the superhero. [In a nutshell, classic superhero: the most moral is the most powerful, Watchmen: the most moral is the least powerful (Nite Owl) and the most powerful is amoral (Dr. Manhattan). It's interesting how these two characters at the extremes of the spectrum both had romantic relationships with the same woman.]

See?! Don't I sound like a nerd with an expensive Phd rather than a nerd that lives with his mother?


(I don't live with my mother, by the way.)

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Fixed that damned logo/menu thingy

For those of you who are paying attention, I've managed to fix my menu. I'm not the most skilled at Html and CSS and my code would probably be laughable to any professional, but by George, it's doing mostly what I want it to do. It still needs a bit of work, though.

(Who is this "George" fellow?)

I would like to thank the guy who makes those tutorials. Thanks Nathaniel at Tutvid.com. Thank you for all your informative tutorials and your calm and non-threatening voice. You're doing a service for the entire Inter-Web.

Now I shall move onto making other pages for those buttons which do not work. Only updates, comics, the two big images on the side for "Speak No Evil: Melancholy of a Space Mexican", and the logo (the triangle) do anything.

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