pentapus

I have my yuletide reveal plus gifts post about half-coded. I am going to squee about all of my gifts even if it takes until October. Also, I keep getting home from work and planning to draw but sleeping instead. But it feels so good.

ON THAT ENERGETIC NOTE. Are there people interested in more Treehouse? (See tag). Which fandoms? Is there someplace else I should ask about this? Are there changes you'd like to see to the format? Or possibly, please just go back to drawing cute stuff without stories, please?

And are there any neat challenges I should know about? Pimp me into your fandom, please.

My computer died. A really big death.

I no longer have photoshop, which is the only graphics program I know how to use. I am currently working the google magic , but:

Does anyone have any tips on photoshop-like programs (not necessarily free)? Or know what is up with this subscription service? Pay forever or don't get to use the software? >:(

VERY IMPORTANT: If I were a tiger in the avatar universe, what would be the other half of my animal combo? :3

I have discovered that what a grown up job means is: I get home, I stare at the wall or the TV for a few hours while my brain recharges, and then I go to bed. It turns out this is the perfect amount of time + total lack of motivation needed to draw a lot of pictures on my tablet. I have made, like, a tablet nest on my couch, surrounded by stacks of the photo reference books I bought in the Barnes and Noble discount section (Treehouses of the world! Castles! The Ultimate Guide to Reptiles!).

1. I finished all the ones you guys rec'd earlier (thanks!), so forgive me for being this out of the loop a second time -- Do you know of any art-friendly challenges going on in your fandom? e.g., Psych, Naruto, Burn Notice, SGA, Doctor Who, H5O, XMFC, ST:Reboot, Leverage, Highlander, SPN, Temeraire, Vorkosigan Saga (she says with foolish optimism), and some others.

2. Also, would anyone be interested in a reversebang-ish thing with me? You give me a fandom, characters, + a few favorite things, and I make you a picture prompt (like so or like so) that you could write for, say, yuletide-length? ish? (You know, longer than a comment fic but shorter than a miss_porcupine comment fic.) I'm just gauging if it's a crazy idea.

Hey guys, I have a favor to ask -- do you know of any art-friendly challenges going on in your fandom?

E.g. Naruto, SGA, Doctor Who, H5O, XMFC, ST:Reboot, Leverage, Highlander, SPN, Merlin, Vorkosigan Saga (she says with foolish optimism), etc, etc... I got the craving and then realized I had no grasp of fandom current events. Thanks! :)

Do you have a moment to recommend some books?

What is the single most memorable thing you liked about it? In other words, which button did it press? :D I am pretty sci-fi/fantasy oriented, though other genres can and have appealed. I'm a sap for a good romantic pairing set in a solid plot. Also world-building. Oh yes.


As for my favorites, these are the current top two winners for pushing all the right buttons:
The Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (basically, historical fiction for nerds who like badasses. There is ALSO a super sweet, ridiculous--and badass, of course--love story in The Baroque Cycle. It hit all of my buttons so hard, oh my god.)

Everything by Patricia A. McKillip but especially In the Forests of Serre, Ombria in Shadow, and The Tower at Stony Wood, etc, etc. High fantasy here, without being inconveniently epic length. Love the way magic appears here -- there is no attempt to make it scientific or anything less than eerie. ♥


ETA: Also, everything by Ursula K. LeGuin (How did I forget her?!), especially The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness,, and all of the Earthsea books, including the new ones with Ged and Tenar.

Some other favorites are:
Ender's Game and Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Last Call by Tim Powers (haven't read any others of his)
Matter by Ian M. Banks (and various culture novels)
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Alanna and Wild Magic (plus sequels) by Tamora Pierce
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffery (Yes, I like Lessa. And F'lar. And Robinton.)
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (though apparently this is part of a giant book universe I have never read)
Wraeththu by Storm Constantine (which is an angst-heavy love story fantasy epic about gay metahuman sorcerers whose super powers include being really beautiful. Reading it feels sort of like being drugged.)
Archangel by Sharon Shinn (More people need to read this just because every fandom needs an Archangel AU. Pre-industrial society! Watched over by winged individuals who are gifted with heavenly voices and who ask the god for good weather or medicine or for some smiting by singing beautiful music beautifully. EVERYONE HAS A JEWEL IN THEIR ARM THAT LIGHTS UP WHEN THEIR TRUE LOVE IS NEAR--well except for the Edori, who are basically Native American Jewish Tinkers. COME ON, GUYS.)

I need your help!

OK, so it's for my sister's annual 4th of July pub crawl and the associated Family Feud style games. But the pub crawl is happening in like 6 hours, so priority is HIGH even is severity is LOW [unless I have those backwards]. And it is fun.

Please answer only those questions that you find interesting:

1. After area 51, which US city or landmark is most likely to be a top secret military repository of alien artifacts?

2. After the White House, which US city or landmark is most likely to destroyed by alien invaders in a show of force?

3. Which US city or landmark is most likely to be the secret headquarters of the human resistance forces?

4. Which group is most likely to be a member of the human resistance forces? [e.g., IT professionals, Tenured professors, Card carrying ACLU members, Tea Party presidential candidates, Star Trek fans in full Klingon regalia, etc]

5. Which group is most likely to betray humanity by joining with the alien invaders? [e.g., IT professionals, Tenured professors, Card carrying ACLU members, Tea Party presidential candidates, Star Trek fans in full Klingon regalia, etc]

6. Which US tradition, food item, or movie cliche is most likely to lead to total and utter annihilation of the alien invaders?



I'm screening comments so you won't be biased by other answers (I think that is how Family Feud works), but I'll unscreen all of them after the pub crawl for your enjoyment. As a bonus preview, best answer so far for #6: pop rocks. :)

Thank you!!

What do 16th century Scotsmen wear under their kilts?

1. So, commodoremarie suggested I put some art in the Escapadecon art show, and that seemed like a good idea. The only thing I need to decide is which fandoms and characters. Have gotten some input from experienced con-goers, but your suggestions are welcome as well. (Also, how many does one send? 1? 2? 5? I am unsure.)

2. Anybody know anything about matting pictures? What is standard at art shows for little (think 4x6 or 3x5) pictures at art shows? And how to do it?

3. How do you get those links at the bottom of your post that say, "Originally posted at dreamwidth : http:/blablablabla..."?

Hey, so, previous ex-stray cats in my house have been: Sir Laurence Olivier (R.I.P.) and Genghis Khan. (They were pretty pitiful when they joined the family, so they needed big names.)

(Ok, there were also a pair of young cats with us for a very brief time known as the "Fat Boys" and a lady cat, recently MIA (;_;), called Girlie, but she was the only lady in a long line of boys, so 'Girlie' felt almost like a rank and title. She carried it with dignity anyway, or maybe she was just snooty. In short, I can't quite pretend that all our cats have fancy real people names, but I like to.)



There's a young lady cat joining up on Wednesday, and she needs a name of dignity. So, my question is: could you name some badass RL ladies?

So far on the table:
Dame Judy Dench a.k.a. "M"
Boudica, necessarily called "Bo".