Worpress blog! (UPDATED)

So, you guys, mi padre asked me to start a Wordpress blog in order to compare it to Blogger - difference in function, usability, look&feel, etc. Do Kippy a favor and comment over there so she can figure out how the comment system works!

http://therandomosityexperiment.wordpress.com/

I'm only running this experiment for two weeks, because Padre needs the data by then, and after that I probably won't use Wordpress anymore, just because I don't actually want to spend my time running two blogs at once. You all know what a hard time I have keeping up with just the one. XD So that other one is only temporary. Just for the sake of the experiment.

Thanks in advance for your help, you gaiz!

*****

UPDATE: Never mind! It only took one post on WordPress to convince me that Blogger is way better for me right now. I have deleted my WordPress blog and abandoned the experiment. Or completed it, whichever. My dad suggested this; after hearing all the difficulties I had just making the first post, he was all like "dude, delete the stupid thing. Obviously, Blogger is way better." So yes, never mind. Yay Blogger! And thank you, faetroubador, for commenting on The Randomosity Experiment, even though it only existed for a few days. I appreciate it!

Commander Kip
"It's like a combination Easter and birthday party. *pause* *face lights up* REBIRTHDAY!"
Normal is overrated!

So little homework lately...

This is dangerous. I can just feel the senioritis coming on. I suspect I might have a particularly strong case of it because I've technically been in school a year longer than everybody else (even though I've done less math.) But whatever, since there's so little homework at the moment, and I've got all my scholarships and so on, I'm just chillin' out and trying to get over this Italian head ick and playing some Tomb Raider and blogging more than usual. No complaints here. I mean, I could be studying for AP tests or doing physics or something, but seriously, if no one makes me do those things, am I actually going to do them? No. That would be ridiculous.

Portals, yay! Have some gooey Anabeth and Thaelen for breakfast. I think I'm finally getting better at drawing hair! *partytime* Anabeth's hand is tiny. Whoops. Oh well.

As soon as I got back from Italy, I realized that Erimon Hill already has a lot of Italian things in it. More on that later.

You guys, this post is lame. I'm sorry.

Ooh, but I have another Fail post I could do over on Epic Fail! If I remember. Maybe.

Getting excited for the OYAN workshop. Brenticus and I are definately doing some coordinating costumes. Like Firefly, and possibly Dr. Horrible. 'S gonna be awesome.

Commander Kip
"Hey, what do you think of moving to a new school?" "NEVAH! YOU'RE NOT MAH DADDIE!"
Normal is overrated!

Thing of the Day: The Hunger Games movie

It's the Thing of Yesterday, actually, but who's keeping track? I'm posting about it today. Because I can, or whatever.

So guess what?

THE MOVIE WAS AWESOME.

I'm serious. It was. Sure, there were minor discrepancies between it and the book, but aren't there always? Yes, because how are they gonna stuff the whole story into a two-hour film otherwise? (Lord of the Rings doesn't count in this discussion - truly the only movies that were "as good as" the books.) People always gripe about how the movie wasn't an EXACT REENACTMENT of the book, but srsleh ppl, the movie would be like five hours long if they did that. See why books are awesome? Because they're easy to carry around, and they hold more hours' worth of content than movies do. A movie is not the "ultimate form" of the book - the book itself is as close to perfect as the story will most likely get. The movie is just cool because it's a visual interpretation of the book. With books-turned-movies, I try to hold the two separate in my mind and appreciate each for their strengths. For example, Percy Jackson. Fun book. A blast, actually. Movie: also a blast. But COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. But still really cool. Now, some books-turned-movies are truly and seriously terrible, such as Eragon. *shudder* That was just a bad movie. But back to the topic.

*SORTA SPOILERY, WATCH YOURSELF* Hunger Games made an interesting movie because they could show stuff Katniss couldn't see in the book, a minor downside of first person POV. We got to see the Gamemakers messing with the game in a tricked-out control room thingy with touchscreens and holograms all over the place, and it was super freaking cool. They also showed, on several occasions, President Snow and Seneca Crane in a rose garden, discussing how the Games were progressing and how to contain Katniss while still putting on a good show. There were several little added things like that, things we missed in the book because we only ever saw what Katniss herself saw. It was cool how they fleshed out Seneca Crane's character, because he's not physically around much in the book, but in the movie they gave him this fantasic fancy beard and a center part in his hair and he looked freaking awesome.

The only thing that actually bothered me about the movie was the shaky camera work. I know it's supposed to look gritty and immediate, but really it just gives everyone a headache. Something else that bothered me, but not nearly as much, was how little time Katniss and Peeta spent in the cave. In the book, that's where they develop most of their relationship, but in the movie, they had like one kiss and that was it. Huh? There could have been more making out, in my opinion. Some of the stuff they abbreviated, I was fine with; like, nobody actually wants to watch Katniss flail around in the forest for three days looking for water. Boring. And certainly nobody wants to listen to Cato screaming for hours and hours while the mutts tear him to pieces. Gross. But I do think the cave part could have been at least a little more substantial.

Whatever, I'll stop spoiling the movie for you. I thought it was awesome. Can't wait for the next installment!

And to celebrate this momentous occasion, look what I found. The first drawing I ever did of Peeta and Katniss!

I think they're supposed to be on top of the Cornucopia, but then again, my drawing skills were less than fabulous in 2009 (this sketch is from my old sketchbook; I've found so many fun little unfinished things in there!) The first time I read the book, I was under the impression that the Cornucopia was an actual cornucopia, except really big and made out of metal. Well, yeah, whatever. The point is, there are plenty of things wrong with this picture, but I like it for sentimental reasons. Peeta has always had beautiful hair in my art. XD

Commander Kip
"I mean, she's just leaning against the tree and then Peeta's like, 'BREAD!'"
Normal is overrated!

Aurgh... So... many... PICTURES...!!

Between the two of us, my mom and I took over a thousand photos in Italy. O.o Which means it's gonna take a while to sort through them in order to get a coherent blog post going. I'm so scared, you guys. How am I gonna choose a few pics to put in the blog out of the hundreds and hundreds we took? Augh, it hurts usss!

So in the meantime, yuu can haz fanarts. You're welcome.

I read Pure by Julianna Baggot on the plane home from Italy, and it was strange and beautiful and riveting, although not as much so as Daughter of Smoke and Bone, hehe. But still very cool. Lots of weird stuff going on. For example, the main character, Pressia Belze, has a baby doll head for a hand. Srsly, it's fused to her wrist - is that not brilliant? (Apologies for nassty awkward scanner shadow, rawr.)

I also read Chime by Franny Billingsley on the way to Italy, and it was also strange and beautiful and had swamp monsters and hot boys in it. Pretty cool.

And now I've come down with the head yuck - some kind of head flu, perhaps? - that everybody had on the trip. I tell you, I think my mom and I were some of the only people in the group who were not sick during the trip, and that's only because we made it a point to go out and find us some salad at lunchtimes. I've been flailing around in bed for the past two days, skipped school and everything, and it sucks and stuff, but mostly I'm so glad it held off until I got back. Whew. Bullet dodged. And even though I'm not completely up to par at present, I AM GOING TO SEE THE HUNGER GAMES TODAY AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME. Srsly, don't even try it. I will make you bleed.

Finished Season 4 of The Guild yesterday, and lemme tell you, that show makes me laugh aloud more times per minute than anything I have ever watched. Gamer humor, you know. I am a fan of it. And Felicia Day. I'm a fan of her too.

I should prolly go take a shower before I have to sit in a crowded theater with people I know and respect, or they shall no longer respect ME. Showering when I'm sick makes me dizzy, not sure why, something to do with the heat and humidity perhaps, so I'm sure I've acquired quite a stench by now. My hair looks like an oil slick. Better go attend to that. Later, dudes. *shambles off*

Commander Kip
"Well, Tink and I have a secret weapon, hmm. Blake and Gabby, keep collecting cotton for Auntie Tink. Kill the monsters!" "Killa monfers!" "Boys are stupid!" "Boys are stoopid!"
Normal is overrated!

Buon giorno, ragazzi!

Just returned from the most spectacular ten days of my life in Italy. Srsleh, my mind is still blown. Also, my feet hurt. And I can't show pictures yet because my stupid computer is stupid. So instead, you get this video.




We saw this guy playing in the street in Rome, and I was enthralled. The instrument is called a hang, pronounced "hong," and it reminds me of the hybrid child of a singing bowl and a set of bongos. Wot. But I really like it. Kinda looks like his hands are dancing. Apparently these intruments were recently invented in Switzerland or somewhere and are very rare. Whatever, it was freaking awesome.



And yes, for those curious ones among you, I did indeed purchase a Venetian carnival mask, and it is a sexy beast. Just wait till you see the pictures. I really hope I get to see it again, because as of right now they've misplaced our luggage, and everything we bought was in there. So mad. So. Mad.



But anyway. More about Italy later. The bro trashed my room while we were gone, so I gotta go clean it or something. Later, peeps.



Commander Kip



"I am not unglued!" "You're slightly unglued." *deep breath* "There. See? I'm perfectly glued."



Normal is overrated!

Off to Italy... TOFRIGGENMORROW

I might be freaking out just a little. This post may, therefore, end up being a little haphazard/disjointed. Sorreh.

Yes, we're on a plane first thing in the morning, so here's a quick peeksy at some old Portals-themed whatnot. I found these in my old sketchbook. Excuse crappy scans.

Thaelen and Anabeth dancing in a faery hall (to this tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzhzraXuoyw) Thaelen looks unlike himself, but I nailed Anabeth's face for a change, bazinga! And this is a scene I've attempted before, with even less satisfactory results; when Thaelen leaps down out of the tree and tackles Anabeth to the ground to save her from being shot. You can maybe tell I gave up on Thaelen's clothes. I'll get it right someday, I swear!

Kay, back to packing. Ugh, the weight limit is 42 pounds for the checked baggage. Srsly, 42 pounds? You're joshing me. How am I supposed to get my weapons overseas with a stupid weight limit like that? *puffs out exasperated sigh*

While I am in Italy I shall take a bazillion pictures and also purchase a carnival mask in Venice. So there. I don't care how expensive it is, I am buying one of the ones with a ridiculous huge beaky nose. Don't even try to stop me.

Shoutout to Lady Arin, my dearest, who is turning eighteen this weekend!!! *MASSIVE DANCEPARTY* Milady, I am working on your present, I promise. Hey, now you can buy cigarettes and look at porn and stay out past curfew! Isn't eighteen an awesome year?

See y'all after spring break!

Oh, and homework struggled to get itself done yesterday because I discovered The Guild on Youtube and it is SO FUNNEH. SO INNAPROPRO. BUT SO VERY FUNNEH. It's about these six gamers, three dudes and three chicks, none of whom have lives, who meet each other in person after like two years of gaming online together. Frighteningly enough, it reminds me of my brother so much. *terrified*

Commander Kip

"It's about destroying the status quo, because the status... is NOT... quo. The world is a mess, and I just need to... rule it."

Normal is overrated!

scholarship portfolio

Hai peoples! I wanted to do a Leap Day post, just for the novelty of seeing the date in the header, but no. Schoolwork instead. *makes horrid face* In any case, Leap Day aside, I'm leaving for Minnesota today for my FREAKING SCARY scholarship auditions. So yes. I am very afraid.

Pippin wanted to see my portfolio, so here it be!

ApiphobiaFor Wonder
Archaeology Installation

Hailey

The Spatler

Save the Ice Cap

Myself

My Stuff

The Hunt

Forty-Five-Minute Glass

I may come back and edit this post with descriptions after the trip, but I can haz no internets until Monday, so you'll have to wait, at least until then.

Adios, y'all.

Commander Kip

Oh my goodness, look at my wrist, I gotta go.

Normal is overrated!

THERE. DONE.

With my stoopid senior paper, which has been eating my life for a couple months now. This is the outside of the giant envelope the paper went in:
And that's me, celebrating.

I actually finished this a week or two ago, and then didn't post forever because despite what I said in my previous post, I haz no motivationz. Because I fail. Stoopid senior paper sucked all the motivationz right outta me, I think. Along with my soul.

It's my own fault really because I decided to do Beloved by Toni Morrison and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, both of which are difficult books to comprehend. My themes were magic realism and nonlinear time, because I'm crazy and those were the most challenging things I could think of to compare. Yay. No, actually, I did those two in particular because there are elements of both in each of the novels, but in different forms. The novels, I chose because I'd already read them both this year and had done some work on them already. I definately recycled sources from the OHYoS paper I did at the end of first quarter. My secret. Don't tell anyone.

And since that all boring, I solemnly swear I'll post something interesting soon. I really was planning on posting more Valentines pictures, but all those half-finished drawings in my sketchbook seem bent on staying half-finished. At this point, it's looking like you're going to get either another random Thing of the Day, or a million little doodles that have nothing to do with anything, or that drawing of Ewin I did a while ago for Pippin, or my scholarship art portfolio for St. Olaf. Well, maybe not that, since it's more school stuff, and we've all had quite enough of that after this post, I think. Anyway, I'm babbling. I'll shut up now.

Oh, I arbitrarily watched the first Narnia movie again last night, because my brother was at a sleepover and my parents were having a James Bond mini-marathon and I was feeling productive because I'd gotten a bunch of homework done at school already. So I watched it, just cuz. And I was laughing because all four of the main actors looked so little! They were so young in that first movie, 'specially Skandar Keynes. He was tiny. Crackup. Plus, I was freaking out because I realized that the guy who plays Tumnus was the same guy who played Charles Xavier in X-Men First Class. There may have been some contained squeeing, just a little.

And I then I went downstairs and ended up watching Tomorrow Never Dies with my parents, because my sneaky father coaxed me into it with offers of popcorn. I couldn't refuse. It's funny because every single James Bond movie does its opening credits to some famous person singing a jazzy song with inexplicable dancing ladies who aren't even in the movie and random special effects. I think it's supposed to be provocative, but it just makes us laugh. And then I freaked out because it said in the credits that this particular provocative opening thingy was sung by Sheryl Crow, and I was like "OH MY GOD I'VE MET HER!" Which I'd forgotten about until just then, because I didn't realize it was important at the time. My chamber choir sang for her at the beginning of the year. I don't remember why now. So there, I've met a famous person!

And while we're still talking about movies here, I sort of accidentally saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at my grandparents' house the other day. It was an accident, I swear. Unfortunately, it was three hours of retarded dialogue and giant robots throwing themselves at each other and Megan Fox waving her cleavage around. In other words, a waste of three hours of my life. The only redeeming part of that whole movie was the ancient Decepticon with the beard. He was legitimately funny. Other than that, whatever. I still have no desire to see Dark of the Moon at all.

Off to St Olaf on Thursday for scholarship auditions. Turns out I'm a finalist both for the music and art scholarships, so I have both of those to do. Wish me luck and things.

Blargh. Spanish homework. Later, dudes.

Commander Kip

"There is to be no runnin', no shoutin', no slidin' down the bannisters, and NO! TOUCHIN'! of the 'istorical artifacts!"

Normal is overrated!

Thing of the Day: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I'm gonna do a new thing. I'm calling it Thing of the Day, and it'll be a post about a cool, interesting, or awesome thing I want to share with you guys. This might be a good motivator to get me to post more, you know. Since I fail so very hard at posting regularly. Anyway, the Thing for today is Dr. Horrible! Because it is forty or so minutes of pure win, and it's got Nathan Fillion in it, AND it's free on the Internet. Watch it!

http://www.whedon.info/If-DrHorrible-com-is-down-watch.html

And then Youtube the accompanying musical, Commentary! All the tracks are there, but no video, which is sad. Apparently there's some cool extras on the DVD, if you buy it, but if you're poor like me, Youtube it. And die laughing. It's basically another full-length musical stuffed with inside jokes, and everybody gets a solo. Even the groupies. And, you know, Joss Whedon. I really want a T-shirt that says "Joss is Boss" on it. Really bad.

If you somehow don't have time to watch the entire thing (lame excuse, its forty freaking minutes, that's not even half the length of a real movie) then just go Youtube the song "My Eyes" in the meantime, because it's totally the best part. I HAD TO DRAW THIS.


AAAAAH, it's so adorable and heartwrenching and stuff. *sporadic flail* And Neil Patrick Harris is so cute. Specially with the massive welding goggles on his head. Maybe I just have a thing for dudes with goggles. I just paused the Youtube video to get this still, by the way, so the quality was rather poor and I'm sure I got some things wrong in the drawing, but whatever, it gets the point across. And Felicia Day has a very difficult face. Her skin is so pale, and yet there's these unexpected shadows all over the friggen place. *mops brow* Whew. Anyway.

But seriously, people. Go watch it. There's so many brilliant lines!

P.S. This should totally count as another Valentine's post, because there's definately some romantic interest between the Doctor and Penny, even if it is pathetically one-sided. *sniffle*

Commander Kip
It's a brand new day/ and the sun is high/ all the angels sing/ THAT YOU'RE GONNA DIE!
Normal is overrated!

Valentine time!

Ahoy, me lovelies, it's... not actually Talk Like a Pirate Day, but whatever. As a staunch supporter of the Pirate/Ninja Alliance, I'm entitled to talk like a pirate whenever I please. Daily, even. But, to business! Happy Singles Awareness Day! Here, have a picture of the District Twelve tributes that sprang into being because I'm so friggen excited for the movie! Those gray training jumpsuits are pretty sweet. Not a very romantic picture, but they are a couple after all, so it totally counts. And by the way, my mommie just finished Mockingjay, so now she's read all three of them. We freaked out together. *SPOILAAAR* Poor Prim. And Finnick, and Boggs, and Peeta. Poor, poor messed-up Peeta. She said that was the worst for her, when he comes back messed up, because he was the only one who really understood everything, you know? Gaah, so horrible. And Finnick, egad. He didn't even get a good death scene like Boggs. Hmph. But we did both agree that Gale, who at first I thought should have died, had to live so that Katniss was truly forced to choose between him and Peeta. Well, whatever, maybe that works better for the subplot or what have you, but I still would rather have Finnick around than Gale. Gale just makes me grumpy, which Finnick never does. Mostly because Gale doesn't "get it" like the rest of them do. He's never been in the Games and he just doesn't get it. Makes me really grumpy.

Side note: my mom said she pictured Peeta as very Aryan and angular, with an almost young-Nazi look and really short hair, while her Gale was fuller-faced with soft features. Whaat? My Gale and Peeta are exactly backwards from hers. Interesting. My reasoning is that Peeta is a baker, so even though his family still doesn't eat well compared to the people in the Capitol, they still probably have more food than anyone in the Seam. As for Gale, he's practically starving. His face would be sharper and bonier and I always picture him looking slightly angry, because he kind of is. So there. Peeta in the drawing is my version of Peeta, not my mommie's. With longer hair. Because I say so.

There's my Hunger Games rant for today. Have I mentioned that I'm SO EXCITED FOR THE MOVIE?!! Even if they ruin it. I just wanna see it so bad.

I have several unfinished couples/romanicky drawings that I'll probably submit over the course of the week, just cuz. And I still gotta do that Dr. Horrible post. But first, senior paper. ACK.

Commander Kip
AAAH-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Ah-HAAAAH-ha-haaaaAAAAH-hahaa. So that's, y'know, coming along.
Normal is overrated!

The Weeping Princess

There was an elfin princess who was unfortunate enough to fall in love with a human boy. Her father, the Lord of the Elves, forbid them to be together; but although she obediently tried to stay away from him, the boy sought her out, disregarding the danger. Over time, she gave in and agreed to meet him once in a while, growing bolder as their courtship went undiscovered. Of course, it was a cruel trap. Eventually, after he accumulated more than enough evidence, her father caught them. The boy, he had killed. His daughter, he confined to the forest palace where she has abided ever since. The Elf Lord made it publically known that any suitor of his daughter's - fey or human - would court her at his own risk, and if he did not approve, they would be likewise put to death. The elfin folk whisper about the Weeping Princess, who wears the symbolic markings of deep mourning on her cheek and spends her time confined to the rose-twined courtyard in the center of the palace. Many brash men have tried to seek her, and all have been slain. The princess knows better than to hope - for them to be spared, or better, for them to forget about her, for she can love none other than the first. She haunts the courtyard in silence, still in anguish over the death of her human boy. This was one of those things that starts out as a random doodle of some random elf chick and turns into *GAWRSP* backstory! So yes, there was really no point to all of that nonsense whatsoever. The people don't even have proper names. Anywhoo.

Real post forthcoming. Probably about Dr. Horrible, which I just recently discovered!! IT IS SO WONDERFUL YOU DON'T EVEN AAAAAAURHG.

Commander Kip
What a crazy random happenstance!
Normal is overrated!

fan doodles. have some.

Okay, we totally got RickRiordanRoll'd at the end of Son of Neptune, because we all really wanted something like THIS *flaps hand at picture* to happen, but no! That's Percy and Annabeth having an angsty reunion, for those of you keeping score, and something like this had better happen in the next book, or I will start breaking things.

Speaking of angst, or very near it, Meet Joe Black was an awesome movie. Or specifically, Brad Pitt was awesome in it. He managed to pull off gorgeous, scary, inexorable, clueless, and excessively hot all at the same time. Gah, the peanut butter scene had me laughing myself into asphyxiation. And then at the end my whole family was in tears. It was so good. Although slightly awkward to watch with my parents in some places, but whatevz. Blonde hair with dark roots, by the way, is almost unbearably striking.

Madrigal again, alongside part of a poem we were studying in English. I can't seem to stop drawing her. No wings in this picture because I got distracted/lazy and didn't get around to them.

See, there she is again.

Okay, so there's this thing on Youtube called Merlin's Apprentice, and it's super long, like three hours, and it's a super-messed-up version of the Grail legend about a thief with some magical talent who tries to rob Merlin and ends up learning magic from him, and then he finds out that he's Merlin's son by the Lady of the Lake, who in this version is a big-boned witchy lady who is in cahoots with the barbarians and apparently raped Merlin in his sleep or something. And all of this because she needed a son, or better, a servant who could get the Grail for her. Anywhoo, amidst all the weirdness and terrible acting, there were a couple of awesome kissing scenes in it. Like this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnG_9O5I3KE

And the other good one is when Jack accidentally puts a love spell on Brian, who turns out to be a very horny girl named Brianna, and she like tackles him to the frickin' ground. It's hilarious. I attempted to draw the girls, but neither of them look like themselves.

Yvonne:

Brianna (her face always looks like that):

And now some Artemis Fowl, because everybody loves him. I tried something different with Holly's hair, and Arty's arms are atrocious, and I can't draw weaponry, but you get the gist. I suspect Artemis is fairly useless with a gun (except for that one time in Lost Colony when his aim luckily didn't suck, but that's a HUGE spoiler, so... shutting up now.)

The end. By the way, I've finished all the Christmas/birthday books except Inheritance, which I am plugging away at quite ferociously, and Eye of the World, which I've nearly finished. You know when the Waygate wouldn't open because the key was gone and Moiriane was freaking out (which never happens) and that messed-up TORNADO OF SCREAMING SOULS was bearing down on them, egad, I seriously thought they were all gonna die. I may have screamed a little.
So mostly, every one of those books just left me ravening for the next one in the series, and now I gotta wait till like next Christmas to get 'em.

My mom and I had a Mission: Impossible marathon a few weeks ago. We stayed up till four a.m. watching the first three, then went and saw the new one with the whole family the next day in the theater. They're all pretty awesome, but I specially loved the second one. TOM CRUISE WITH LONG HAIR. *excessive drooling and fanning of self ensues* That is all. And I thought the feisty cat-burglar lady was pretty awesome in that one too. We also saw Troy as a family, which had an overabundence of pretty men in it, including both Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, although Paris was a total pansy, and Achilles was a gore-streaked war machine - not my favorite of either of their roles, but whatever, pretty. The chick who played MacTaggert in X-Men First Class was in it too, but again, all she did was look pitiful and do a little stabbing at the end. Okay, no, the really awesome movie I saw recently was the first Sherlock Holmes, and it was seriously beasty. Even though Robert Downey Jr. doesn't look very Sherlockish to me (I tend to think of him as tall and almost spindly thin), he is certainly a boss. Same with Jude Law. I always picture Watson and portly and moustachioed; movie-Watson did have a moustache, but he was not portly in the least. They were both boss ninjas, and there was some really clever things in the movie, stuff that Sherlock does for no apparent reason and then later you find out exactly why he did it. Want to see the second one now.

Commander Kip

*gesticulating dangerously with violin bow* "Get that out of my face." "It's not in your face, it's in my hand." "Well, get what's in your hand out of my face!"

Normal is overrated!

for wonder

Nothing wrong with art for the sake of art. These self-portraits were for class. Good practice, y'know.

Blahblahblah, boring post. Cooler stuffs soon, perhaps?

Saw a bunch of awesome movies recently; more about 'em later.

Commander Kip

"I bet getting stabbed didn't help." "It wouldn't. Getting stabbed never helps."

Normal is overrated!

oh, the brilliance!

Guess what. That's right, ladies and gents, I did get Daughter of Smoke and Bone for my birthday (AND Clockwork Prince, but that's later) and I proceeded to spend the ENTIRE day reading it because I was physically unable to put it down. Well, the entire day except for when Brenticus and his brother were over, but the rest of the day, that's what I was doing. And in case you were wondering, it was FANTASTIC. So very fantastic that it gets its own post. I can't say hardly anything without spoiling stuff, which I refuse to do because you all should read it, but I will say that my first drawing of 2012 was a doodle of Madrigal the chimaera, because she's awesome.

I don't think I made her tall 'n skinny enough, but whatever, she rocks. The best thing about the book was that so much of it made me want to drop everything and draw it. The descriptions of characters and settings were in such vivid and startling color; as an artist, I was itching for a pencil throughout. I suspect there will be more drawings soonly. The other best thing about the book was that it was full of every cool thing I could think of, except maybe ninjas, and there were smouldery seraph dudes instead of ninjas, so that's all right. There were also horns, and weird tattoos, and gas masks, and awkward life drawing classes, and blue hair, and random humor, and teeth in jars, and giant costume wings, and strange awesome weapons, and bullet scars, and frivolous wishes, and tiny scary best friends, and masquerades, and edible glitter, and kissing and stuff. Dude, it was so shiny. Laini Taylor is such a boss. Seriously, go read it so we can freak out together.

Also, I hear there's a movie being made out of it.

SQUEE.

Oh, and Happy New Year. Love you.

Oh, and I go back to school tomorrow. How's that for a weird thought? *is boggled*

Commander Kip

"Oh, gross. Your stomache is full of butterfly barf!"

Normal is overrated!

Break? What break?

My winter break is always so busy that it doesn't even seem like one. Aargh. Anyway, it's my birthday, and I'm sick again - this stupid cold-thing will not leave me alone. Whatever.

News! We got some sweet books for Christmas, including The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, and the Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. I also used some of my Christmas monies to nab two of the hardback Serenity comics, Those Left Behind and Better Days, from Barnes & Noble. I was planning on using those particular monies to get Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Claire, but then I was like "FIREFLY" and now it will have to wait, because all my monies are gone. Also, I'm fairly sure my mom is giving me Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor for my birthday, which is freaking awesome.

You know what else is freaking awesome? X-Men First Class, is what. Most particularly the end. I love it when hot dudes get shot. Says a lot about my character, don't it?

Also? Have some pictures.

Oh, I missed posting on Nath's birthday this year, so here's his present. Or the upper half of it, anyway.

And by the way, I somehow magically ended up with "una A muy grande" in Spanish for the semester, which is fabulous, though somewhat confusing, since I apparently got an 83% on the final. Whatever, I'm not complaining. A 90.2% for the semester is still an A, yes? So whatever.

I just got back from Lady Arin's, but I don't have the pictures yet because she's sending them to me from the library, but when I get them, I will show you some. Milady, I'll have you know that you look ravishing in period clothing.

And since I was at Milady's for the last few days, I had to postpone finishing Pippin's portrait of Ewin that I'm working on. Gotta finish up his cloak still. In fact, I'd better go work on that. Toodles, all.

Commander Kip

Enough chatter up there. And try not to drop God on me.

Normal is overrated!

some quick nerdy things

First order of business: the Halloween post is UP! So scroll down and read it, or if you'd rather, wait until after Christmas and then read it, because nobody's in a Halloweeny mood right now. I sorta missed my window.

Second order of business: Happy Koloss Head Munching Day! http://www.17thshard.com/forum/blog/8/entry-185-where-to-buy-signed-copies-of-the-alloy-of-law-updates/
Now get out there and munch some heads! *nom* Mmm, heads.

Speaking of heads, I was bored in English the other day and the result was a crappy drawing of my Skyrim wood elf character, Sansavi. I haven't actually played her yet - she hasn't even been nearly beheaded - but when I do, it's gonna be awesome.

I can't tell on the stupid monitor I'm looking at right now, but I promise she has dark skin and is wearing freaky warpaint. I swear. And by the way, I told Spud not to follow the Imperials, but did he listen to me? Noo, nevah. So now he has two characters, an Imperial-aligned female Argonian warrior and a Rebel-aligned female Imperial mage. He still prefers playing the Argonian, probably because she can breathe underwater, but his Rebel mage is leveling so much faster, it's not even funny. That's why the good guys always win, you know; they kill the bad guys and steal their bawsome gear. It's genius, and it always works. I also told Spud not to choose the warrior class, but again, does he ever listen to me? Nooo. And now he's all like, "Dude, this magicka stuff is so much more powerful than low-level weapons, herp derp! I shoulda made my Argonian a mage too! Wow, I'm tho thmart!" and I'm all like "I may have mentioned all that. But... you never listen to me, so how would you know?" And he gets the biggest kick out of doing dangerous/stupid/evil things just "to see what would happen", like leaping off cliffs and attacking random villagers and stealing expensive items when a guard is standing right there. I swear, he spends half his time with a huge bounty on his head and the other half killing witnesses in order to get rid of the bounty. That boy has no moral compass.

I have my last two finals tomorrow (!!!) and then it's break and I can get down to playing Skyrim in earnest, rather than just watching my brother play it. XD Oh well, I feel like I'll do much better after watching him fail so hard. Whenever he does something that doesn't work, I make a mental note not to do it when I play.

Aaaand no one understood any of that, I bet. Sorry for being so boring. I had a nasty bugger of a cold last week, and I'm still not fully recovered. Hence the nerdy spewage. I'll be myself soon enough.

Kay, back to Spanish. Ooh, I'll be so glad when this final is out of the way...

Commander Kip

Bumptious bum. *snigger*

Normal is overrated!

We Now Interrupt Our Scheduled Program - you'll never believe this -

but I FREAKING GOT INTO COLLEGE.

*MASSIVE DANCE PARTY*

Seriously, I'm so relieved right now. St. Olaf was my first choice, and they like me, and I like them, and it's all good. Now I only have to do one scholarship audition instead of like five. And if you're wondering what the heck I'm doing on the Internet in the middle of the day, it's because I GOT INTO COLLEGE and I'm just celebrating for a minute. So there.

Now I have to go study for finals. *deflates*

Commander Kip
"Aren't you planning a rescue mission?" "Yeah, it's called winning the war."
Normal is overrated!

tiding over

I actually started the Halloween post, and it's getting super huge, and my blog is neglected, so you get a stack of random arts while you wait. Which means that the Halloween post will show up UNDERNEATH this one, kay? So scroll down more every once in a while until it shows up. It's gonna be frickin massive.

Still pumped for Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I own a copy now, but can't read it cuz finals are soon. Most likely, it'll end up as a Christmas present. But anyway, I'm pumped. Watched Serenity with Brenticus the other night. Cried. (I always cry during that movie.) Took a whack at drawing Zoe, but I don't think I made her lips big enough. For serious, her lips are really big.

Um, maybe this is Rochester? At a strange angle. Whatever.

There's an artist I've been following online for several years by the name of Adele Sessler. I think there's a link to her site in my sidebar - Meadowhaven, it's called. She has a character called the Mistress of Illusion or somethin' like that. Fun to draw. I think these are sorta inaccurate. But whatever. Due diligence, right?

Akima! Sorry, the colors are sort of wrong. I just used whatever pens were in my school bag, and that means no green. Sorry. Also, the pose is horrible, but I drew it in pen, so oh well. By the way, I love this girl because she gets shot in the shoulder and there's blood and everything. Titan A.E. is awesome like that.

Raven. A very tiny Raven. See how big those Spanish words are?

Here I was trying to get some ideas for my River Tam costume for Halloween. And even though there were like twenty choices, the world conspired against me and I couldn't work it out in time. Snarl. Anyway, here were a few of the options. See why I love this chick?

Xandria Castillo from the ghost kids thing. She has dark hair, I promise. Actually, this kind of looks nothing like her. Whoops. Partly cuz I gave up on the shading, but I'm pretty sure I got distracted by the vamp team and forgot about the ghost kids entirely. Not that I don't love them, of course.

Quick attempt at an older Ellian. In a tweed suit. Or something. Although, I don't think twentysomething-year-old women actually wear tweed suits, but that's kind of not the point. Portals is changing itself around in my head like, daily. For serious, every time I look at it, I see something new and awesome. Yay me. Oh, and I drew some sketches of Cairbre the other day, whose name is now going to be Kavra, because that's apparently the phonetical pronunciation of Cairbre, thank you Amzi very much. Who would've thunk? Gaelic is haaaard. Point being, I haven't scanned those Kavra sketches yet, but I will. Don't worry.

More randomer types of stuffs shall now ensue. There's really no good explanation for any of this crap.

Except this one, to which I shall only say, I have a thing for fairies with dreads and/or elaborate hairdos. The end.

If you survived all that, you get one of my famous theoretical cookies. Here. *gives*

Now, some sleeping would be nice.

Oh, Green Lantern was pretty great, by the way. Not the plot so much, but the Ryan Reynolds part, um yes. I heart Ryan Reynolds. And there were some pretty sexy explosions also.

Commander Kip

"I've known you all my life! I've seen you naked! You think I wouldn't recognize you just because I can't see your cheekbones?!"

Normal is overrated!