This is my personal journal, I just choose to share it publicly. Positive and negative comments from friends are always welcomed. Honest anonymous comments are cheerfully encouraged. If you fail to identify yourself and I find you annoying, I will have fun at your expense or contact the appropriate legal authorities. IP numbers are logged and tracked.
| New stuffings at the VL: Also my digital art will be on exhibit at the Great River Arts Association Floral Art Show. The 4th Annual Floral Art Show will run through July 5,2008. The show will feature the subject of flowers interpreted by our regional artists. The reception will be held Saturday, June 14 from 10a.m.-2p.m. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the opening because of a modeling gig at the Jax Art Coop (I might try to hit it right at 10:00 am, but I am not making any promises.) The show will be open during regular center hours,Tuesday-Friday from 11a.m.-5p.m. and Saturday from 10a.m.-2p.m. If you are up there, please be sure to check it out. Excuse me gang, I am about to pass out from exhaustion... and I still need to pack and get up early. *DIES* | |
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| Instead, I am off to Minneapolis pretty soon to spend 8 hours of my life modeling in art schools. Little Blond is coming back from her weekend at grandma's. I am sad that I won't get to see her right away, but we'll get to play and work on our Spanish tomorrow.
I am thrilled to death. I am still two months ahead on Rasputin Catamite, and I am doing work on the "Sasha Saatchyan - Supermodel?" storyline which spills over to Barxotka, thus saving me heaps of world. I am taking a ream of paper to work, because I need to make evil chibis for the adult site(s?) I am on time with the Ace Pin-Ups. I only need to letter and assemble the first episode of The Nine Lives of Catnose: 3D edition. Loki is actually working on a new Ace and Bog (It's 90% finished.) I don't even have to worry about Thien, but I still owe her this month's delicious meal and two gift certificates for the Rainforest Cafe for December. (Please forgive me Thien. I've been a forgetful pig and I totally owe you a Bananas Foster at Culver's.) Misty helps me tomorrow, and I need to go to the post office to take care of stuff as well.
Anyway on that note... Here's some Lady Sovereign for y'all who "Love Me or Hate Me." (Blame it on Lucinda. Contains naughty words.)
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| It's official. "The New Adventures of Ace and Bog" and much of its related artwork are no longer online and neither is the "Ace Machiavelli" MySpace profile. We may do something with Ace and/or Bog in the future, aside from P,S! or the Thursday pin-ups, but not under the "New Adventures..." banner. Sadly, I made this decision for personal reasons and Loki is supporting me. If the other parties directly involved in this drama want to share their side of their story, they are welcomed to do so here, in public. If not, they are entitled to their privacy. [Edit: Nik finally shared his side of the story after harassing me via email for the last time, on October 13, 2007. When he realized that he was blocked for contacting me privately, on any medium, he finally aired his thoughts on the matter. Ace and Bog is still production.] I don't think anyone is happy about this, least of all me, but that's life. -Vas PS: "Super No-Clue Yakuza Kill Yuri" is coming soon. | |
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| The Crown Money Map plan has save our butts again from going deeper into debt and going into true financial ruin. Loki may be a Taoist, and I may not be wearing a label at this point, but we have been incredibly pleased with this Christian savings and finance program. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It's so nice to know that medical bills for an uninsured woman are not the scary boogeyman that they used to be when there's a tried-and-true plan in place. AND, it is good to know that we will always have enough to be charitable as well. I am so grateful for this guidance. The living COMPLETELY within our means part is SUPER hard, but we are getting there. Also, I would like to mention that our monstrously huge plumbing bill is 49% paid off. It's really overwhelming to deal with such a huge and unexpected expense, but I have faith that we will succeed. For those of you who aren't part of the P,S! community, I am pleased to announce that we may have a singer for Zoya, and a possible guitarist. I am very psyched. Also, Narphy is taking a well-deserved week off. With the creation of CGI Dmitri, doing the lovely color episodes on time AND renovating the G1 puppets, the least I could do is give her time to enjoy herself. A big change is coming to KillerDyke.com -- a change so HUGE that there will be massive head spinning and confusion. Everything you thought KillerDyke.com was, will be turned on its head and blown to pieces. I sat on the mean-spirited Get Lost mini-series for a long time. I feared causing ill will, and other problems. On another level, it's a very personal work that touches upon my upheaval of faith (particularly the struggle between organized religion and whether I believe in G-d or not,) in a metaphorical manner. But after consulting with several people on how to proceed in the most ethical way possible with what is in essence a personal hate-letter to many things I consider sacred, like relationships and spirituality. Whether it was good or bad, I am glad I purged the emotionally-crushing negativity that I had been carrying inside of me for so long. Now, this gives me the opportunity to move on... :) | |
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| Okay, I have been all missing-in-action and stuff and sleep deprived, but with good reason! Lots of stuff has been going on in the world of the elusive butterfly of Vas. I am REALLY behind on my blog reading and phone calling, so if there is something major I need to know about, either email me or drop me a comment with revelant links or a summary of what's up. Thanks! - I have been getting some absolutely nice big print jobs for local and out of town clients. I finally feel like my little print shop here in Rice, MN, is finally going somewhere.
- Misty and I went shopping on Saturday. It was loads of fun in spite of a horrible downpour and me forgetting to bring a means to pay for my groceries. D'oh!!! Naomi, my mom and I went out for lunch, zoo, art and conversation the previous week when it was actually less unpleasant outside. We had a nice breakfast with Loki's family yesterday.
- While I am still waiting on word about the blog and film adaptation comics projects, I am currently in the midst of negotiating for the privilege of VAS Littlecrow illustrating its third book for Dybbuk Press. I am super-pumped about the art style we are going to take for this one, so I'll keep y'all posted.
- Speaking of wheeling-dealing, am negotiating with LJ coverboy, incurable fiancé, soon-to-be-Brit, and Ace and Bog co-writer/lead artist alumnus, Nik Arnoldi, for the publishing rights of a SUPER SECRET project that I am sure his fans will be REALLY excited about. I cannot say what it's about. I can't show you anything. It's not even a for sure thing at this point. But, if we come to an agreement where all of us are happy, and if the VAS Littlecrow #2 and #3 come to a consensus, IT'S GOING TO KICK ROYAL ASS ON SEVERAL LEVELS!!! Trust me.
- Speaking of Nik: Over the last five days, I implemented of really cool backend features that Mr. Arnoldi suggested I implement several months ago. I tested some of the changes that he proposed at KillerDyke.com. After enduring php coding hell and tinkering with the Modern template for Singapore by Ross Howard. Catnose.com, KillerDyke.com and RasputinCatamite.com, all have easier navigation, RSS feeds for individual galleries. The latter site has a completely different look (I did it for you Caylie!) Oh, and I also did a massive makeover for the Rasputin Barxotka site (which I won't link to here because, it's not suitable for ANYONE who isn't a completely sick mofo over the age of anything who doesn't get offended by ANYTHING.)
- In regards to both Rasputin series, Loki and I finally decided what the overall sound of Upir's Mark will be like. WOOT! If all goes well, you will be able to download pseudo-Siberian industial-Asian-gore-rock in about six months! Fortunately, a groovy video vlog and some disgusting animation may come sooner.
- On a the topic of inanimate objects being brought to life, I am now officially the Copier-Whisperer. I can figure out any problems my copier might have before looking at the error screen just by the sounds it makes. I know when my
expensive but, tax-deductible toy Kyocera is about to run out of paper just by it's hums. Kiki and I really understand each other, and this is leading to a more harmonious relationship between homonid and automaton.
- Someone narrowly escaped getting terminated from VL after I was able to separate ongoing personal and professional issues, and s/he actually taking ownership for the result of his/her and correcting the mess s/he created as much as possible, restoring professional operations, and letting me know what the deal was. To my amazement, this individual succeeded in convincing me that s/he was not a total cockmaster/cuntmistress by... um.. being professional, putting the ego aside and gee actually comprehending the consequences and taking responsibility for being a gossipy dick/bitch in the personal arena. I'm not going to be their best friend or even trust him/her too much, but at least we can work together without me ripping out throats in a fit of rage and this person going into fetal position and singing, "LA LA LA!!!" Thank you person for growing the balls necessary to actually communicate what the hell was going on with your ass. Sometimes, confession is the best way to gain forgiveness. It works that way in church and it can work outside as well. So yeah, thank you sir or ma'am as the case may be.
- Loki has been working hideous hours at the farms in preparation for planting and hauling corn. I have been working hideous hours at the office. We finally saw each other this weekend and we spent all of this Sunday rearranging the office and getting everything organized. On the positive side, we are getting closer to actually being ready to get all our tax stuff together and do the filing thing. So much work though. :p
- WOO! We got hate mail for Ace and Bog!!! Click here to see how I handle someone who thinks that my work is utter shit. This guy, to his credit had some really valid point, and I can respect them, even if I think he's trying to critique tastelessness by the standards of high comedy -- which is kind of silly. However, several people who think too much, along with some feminazis and PC pussy boys were showing hate to Nik over the fact that he was the art behind an offensive comic strip about a Dyke who is using a cop as a cat tree. People, he's not the mastermind of this game. If you want to show some hate, don't shoot the unarmed messenger, deal with the Multiracial Carpetmuncher, the Polack Gypsy and their heavy artillery. We're not some young, fresh out-of-college kid trying to gain experience as an illustrator doing a humiliation fetish and/or stoner pulp comic that isn't meant to be for mass consumption. We are the sickfuggs who call the shots. FREAKIN' DEAL! Don't like the freaking stickers, don't take 'em. That simple. But, if you are not easily offended, read the rant, and I will send you a free comic. No kidding.
That's it for now. | |
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 Nik Arnoldi, the guy who draws all of that cool stuff on Ace and Bog, came to Rice on Friday, to help Loki and I with getting some stuff done at the store, as well as working on some art. His visit was an absolute delight. Apparently, he also seemed to like our taste in food, coffee, and tea. To Loki's credit, he managed to make it through the entire weekend eating a meat-free cuisine, without gagging, or making monumentally stupid comments in front of our vegetarian friend. He did call Nik "weird" for not eating meat, but he more than a made up for it with a huge loaf of homemade bread and good conversation. we did talk about hunting and animal husbandry, but Nik did not seem to mind at all, and in fact asked all sorts of cool questions. On Saturday, Loki roped him into chopping some wood in the freezing cold. Nik seem to have an absolute blast doing that. I suppose it was one of those good chest hair growing activities, that really seemed to get city boys, such as him in touch with his inner Neanderthal. The cats provided an endless source of amusement for him, but they didn't seem overly amused over the fact that he could get them to shed their dignity by wiggling the stupid yellow feather-boa-on-a-stick thingy at them. Nik, Loki, and I invested a great deal of time working on art and scripting. Unfortunately, Loki was unable to work on drawing and writing as much as he would've liked to, because he had potato trucks to load on Sunday morning. Nik and I, stayed up until some insane hour sketching each other. We are totally hardcore, so we said screw it to the pencils and lights, and work straight to ink using nothing but candlelight and the light from the wood-burning stove. Nik wasn't used to the dim and unpredictable lighting, so I'm sure his eyes felt like someone had scraped them with sandpaper, but he performed admirably during our sketch jam. I'm used to putting myself through that kind of insanity, so I fared a little bit better in the ocular department. Nik made an absolutely kick-butt portrait of me using a red ballpoint pen and a black brush pen. My gel pen portrait sketch for him sucked royally, but thankfully it made a nice base for the neat digital painting that I've posted here for your viewing pleasure. I cannot even begin to express my happiness with that piece. The facial structure is a little bit goofed up, which is pretty understandable considering both Nik and I were bobbing our heads up and down as we were working on each other's portraiture and technically weren't even posing. Drawing someone who is trying to draw you at be exact same time, is an exercise in madness, but considering the staff of VAS Littlecrow consist mostly of mad(wo)men, this activity did not seem terribly out of character for either one of us. Still, GAH! I haven't really had the opportunity to work on black-and-white life portraiture in a very long time, so considering the obstacles Nik and I've put ourselves through in doing these pieces of art, I am delighted that the resulting work is, as they say in Minnesota, not too shabby. I have other pieces that I will share in the near future, but y'all just have to wait for them, because they are still works in progress. Anyway Nik is awesome company! His last name is not pronounced Ar-nole-dee, but he doesn't care, so do not fear the mangling! | |
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vaslittlecrow
