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DankWart emergency commissions, round 2!!1
General | Posted a year ago[EDIT] 4 slots are taken, 6 slots left.
It seems that tax season hasn't been to DankWart, so he is once again opening 10 "Desperate Special" commission slots, and with no time-limit this time. They're up until they run out, so go get yours now if you want good naughty art at a very fair price.
His discounted rates for these special commissions are 2 characters for $60. That's almost half his regular rate.
He'll make the pictures with full background and the same level of quality of the ones in my galleries shown below.
PayPal payment upfront and as many sketches as possible, he may need references if the topic is unknown to him.
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you. Four slots have already been taken, so there are still six slots remaining. At nearly 50% off, this is a great deal.
Send your inquiries to dankwart[at]hotmail.com
You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
It seems that tax season hasn't been to DankWart, so he is once again opening 10 "Desperate Special" commission slots, and with no time-limit this time. They're up until they run out, so go get yours now if you want good naughty art at a very fair price.
His discounted rates for these special commissions are 2 characters for $60. That's almost half his regular rate.
He'll make the pictures with full background and the same level of quality of the ones in my galleries shown below.
PayPal payment upfront and as many sketches as possible, he may need references if the topic is unknown to him.
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you. Four slots have already been taken, so there are still six slots remaining. At nearly 50% off, this is a great deal.
Send your inquiries to dankwart[at]hotmail.com
You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
DankWart emergency commissions!
General | Posted 2 years agoSince I have done so much good business with him, I thought I should share that the artist DankWart is opening 10 "Desperate Special" commission slots for the month of February.
- 1 character $50
- 2 characters $60
He'll make the pictures with full background and the same level of quality of the ones in my galleries shown below.
PayPal payment upfront and as many sketches as possible, he may need references if the topic is unknown to him.
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you. Four slots have already been taken, so there are still six slots remaining. At nealry 50% off, this is a great deal.
Send your inquiries to dankwart[at]hotmail.com
You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
- 1 character $50
- 2 characters $60
He'll make the pictures with full background and the same level of quality of the ones in my galleries shown below.
PayPal payment upfront and as many sketches as possible, he may need references if the topic is unknown to him.
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you. Four slots have already been taken, so there are still six slots remaining. At nealry 50% off, this is a great deal.
Send your inquiries to dankwart[at]hotmail.com
You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
Signal-boosting for a good artist in need
General | Posted 2 years agoI have worked with the artist know as 
dankwart for several years, even if most of it was never posted here because it wasn't really 'furry' enough in nature to fit with FA's general groove (or at least as I pictured it). We were in fact working on a new pic series, when in January of this year he just... dropped off the map. Now, he had done this before when Covid hit his country (and family) pretty hard, so I decided to move on to other projects, figuring he'd pop back up when he had the time. This hiatus lasted a whole 10 months, until out of the blue I saw him pop back up on FB. Turns out, he'd been wrongfully imprisoned the whole time (was labelled as a terrorist for participating in a protest), and just recently managed to get released.
Needless to say, this has quite messed up his life, his health and his livelyhood, and since he has done so much good work for me over the years, I thought I'd do him a solid and let everyone who watches this account know that a very good artist that needs the work is once again open for commissions. You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
His prices, which are very reasonable, can be found here
DankWart Commission Info (temporarily hosted by me)
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you.
So, if you've got some spare cash laying around and looking to get some good art, drop this guy a line, and I promise you won't regret it.
dankwart for several years, even if most of it was never posted here because it wasn't really 'furry' enough in nature to fit with FA's general groove (or at least as I pictured it). We were in fact working on a new pic series, when in January of this year he just... dropped off the map. Now, he had done this before when Covid hit his country (and family) pretty hard, so I decided to move on to other projects, figuring he'd pop back up when he had the time. This hiatus lasted a whole 10 months, until out of the blue I saw him pop back up on FB. Turns out, he'd been wrongfully imprisoned the whole time (was labelled as a terrorist for participating in a protest), and just recently managed to get released. Needless to say, this has quite messed up his life, his health and his livelyhood, and since he has done so much good work for me over the years, I thought I'd do him a solid and let everyone who watches this account know that a very good artist that needs the work is once again open for commissions. You can find samples of his work in my gallery
DankWart Myaxx folder
and Assorted DankWart Art folder ,
or you can check out his
DankWart HentaiFoundry gallery.
His prices, which are very reasonable, can be found here
DankWart Commission Info (temporarily hosted by me)
He can do both SFW and NSFW, in just about any subject matter. If he's not okay with it, he'll tell you.
So, if you've got some spare cash laying around and looking to get some good art, drop this guy a line, and I promise you won't regret it.
Well damnit, I finally got Covid.
General | Posted 3 years agoWelp, I suppose it was just a matter of time before it happened.
Spent the weekend at the beach with my mother and sister. Perfect weather, water was crystal-clear and warm, and the waves were big enough to be entertaining but small enough to not be a bother. Perfect beach day.
Monday evening, something feels a little bit... off and I go to bed early, and the moment my body hits the bed, *intense* cold shivers break out and I figure "Great, got a cold, tomorrow morning isn't going to be fun.", but I manage to fall asleep. Cut to 3AM and I wake up with the sheets drenched in sweat. This ain't normal, so I take my temp, and it reads at 41,5 degrees Celsius (about 107 degrees Fahrenheit). That's not good. I immediately message the boss telling her I might be out of commission tomorrow, but I'll give it a shot, change the sheets, take a cold shower and go back to bed.
Wake up at 6AM like usual, go to work and start working, but feel tired as all hell. After three hours, I find myself thinking "If I were to sit down right now I'd pass right out.". I call the boss again, tell her what's up, she tells me to call it a day early and get some rest. I do so, clearing up the workplace before i leave and tell her what's left undone, and drive home. This is at about noon.
From this point, until 6AM the next day, it is a non-stop cycle of drinking water and taking aspirins, taking cold shower, and twitching in my soaked bed thinking I'm getting boiled in my skin. I had no appetite and couldn't get a bite down, and when I did use the thermometer again, I couldn't read it. Now, this is an old-fashioned mercury thermometer, so either it somehow stopped working, I was using it wrong, or I couldn't read it because my temp went *past* the 43 degree maximum. Either way, not fun.
Wake up the next morning feeling a little more functional, so I tell the boss and drive back to work (yes, I realize I shouldn't have). Same thing, work a few hours, then exhaustion kicks in, and I break early. While I'm getting ready to go home, I notice I've missed a call from mom. I check the inbox, and she says she and my sister has got Covid. Oh joy! That might explain it. Figuring I better get tested, I drive home, pick up a new mask (been months since i used one of those), go to the pharmacy and pick up a few quick home-tests, go home, do the test, and yep, it's positive. Not surprising really.
So, now I'm in quarantine, probably for the rest of the week. Still feeling a bit sick but hoping I'm over the work hump. Anyting worse than what I've already gone through would have to be something secondary. So, that's the situation. Maybe I'll write up some more HtbD for Karno while I'm resting...
Take care guys and gals. Stay safe out there.
P.S. I've gotten the first two doses of the vaccine, and been meaning to get the third one, but haven't taken the time. Wonder if there is a point now that I seem to have beaten the newer variety.
Spent the weekend at the beach with my mother and sister. Perfect weather, water was crystal-clear and warm, and the waves were big enough to be entertaining but small enough to not be a bother. Perfect beach day.
Monday evening, something feels a little bit... off and I go to bed early, and the moment my body hits the bed, *intense* cold shivers break out and I figure "Great, got a cold, tomorrow morning isn't going to be fun.", but I manage to fall asleep. Cut to 3AM and I wake up with the sheets drenched in sweat. This ain't normal, so I take my temp, and it reads at 41,5 degrees Celsius (about 107 degrees Fahrenheit). That's not good. I immediately message the boss telling her I might be out of commission tomorrow, but I'll give it a shot, change the sheets, take a cold shower and go back to bed.
Wake up at 6AM like usual, go to work and start working, but feel tired as all hell. After three hours, I find myself thinking "If I were to sit down right now I'd pass right out.". I call the boss again, tell her what's up, she tells me to call it a day early and get some rest. I do so, clearing up the workplace before i leave and tell her what's left undone, and drive home. This is at about noon.
From this point, until 6AM the next day, it is a non-stop cycle of drinking water and taking aspirins, taking cold shower, and twitching in my soaked bed thinking I'm getting boiled in my skin. I had no appetite and couldn't get a bite down, and when I did use the thermometer again, I couldn't read it. Now, this is an old-fashioned mercury thermometer, so either it somehow stopped working, I was using it wrong, or I couldn't read it because my temp went *past* the 43 degree maximum. Either way, not fun.
Wake up the next morning feeling a little more functional, so I tell the boss and drive back to work (yes, I realize I shouldn't have). Same thing, work a few hours, then exhaustion kicks in, and I break early. While I'm getting ready to go home, I notice I've missed a call from mom. I check the inbox, and she says she and my sister has got Covid. Oh joy! That might explain it. Figuring I better get tested, I drive home, pick up a new mask (been months since i used one of those), go to the pharmacy and pick up a few quick home-tests, go home, do the test, and yep, it's positive. Not surprising really.
So, now I'm in quarantine, probably for the rest of the week. Still feeling a bit sick but hoping I'm over the work hump. Anyting worse than what I've already gone through would have to be something secondary. So, that's the situation. Maybe I'll write up some more HtbD for Karno while I'm resting...
Take care guys and gals. Stay safe out there.
P.S. I've gotten the first two doses of the vaccine, and been meaning to get the third one, but haven't taken the time. Wonder if there is a point now that I seem to have beaten the newer variety.
Two very cool Star Wars fan-made shorts I found
General | Posted 3 years agoJust came across these two quite fresh fan-made Star Wars shorts featuring the iconic X-Wing starfighters and felt they deserve some love, so have a look.
1st short - Star Wars: Destroyer
https://youtu.be/lkgyCrJVMSI
2nd short - Star Wars: X-Wing
https://youtu.be/urAnFZBx7rE
Seriously, 'amateurs' made these, not professional studios. What a great time to be alive.
EDIT: Make that THREE shorts!!!
3rd short - The Interceptor
https://youtu.be/8weNVHt3s44
1st short - Star Wars: Destroyer
https://youtu.be/lkgyCrJVMSI
2nd short - Star Wars: X-Wing
https://youtu.be/urAnFZBx7rE
Seriously, 'amateurs' made these, not professional studios. What a great time to be alive.
EDIT: Make that THREE shorts!!!
3rd short - The Interceptor
https://youtu.be/8weNVHt3s44
An ending and a beginning
General | Posted 4 years agoY'know, I've come through the Covid-mess pretty well so far.
Sure, I gave up my Friday-chinese-buffé-after-work tradition, and I barely ever went into the big city unless it was for something specific that I needed, but I could go shopping for groceries (granted, always with a mask on) and my place of work never shut down. I worked full-time through most of it, and was grateful to do so.
But Covid did affect my stable eventually. Because of the pandemic precautions, my stable (let's call it Stable A for this story) no longer took in new customers, and since times were tight, some customers went down in service or moved altogether, which lead to me dropping down to 75% employment in October. Not fun, but I saw it coming; I was the only one working 100% and a lot of days I had every task finished with an hour to spare in the workday. Since I was still fully functional, I decided to start looking working part-time at another stable. But before I could do that, I was contacted by the manager of a nearby stable (let's call this one Stable B), who had heard from one of her customers that I was looking for something part-time.
See, about a year into my employment at Stable A, there was a serious shift in management, and the old boss ended up getting evicted. Thing is, she took something like 50-60% of our customers with her, all of whom moved to Stable B with her. Now, she apparently kept up with her bad habits that got her evicted from us, and she didn't make it more than a year before she was kicked out of there too (and quite a lot of her gear seized as payment for bad debts). However, a lot of the customers stayed at Stable B, and over the years, many of our newer customers who have moved out have gone there as well, all of whom had met me.
Now, back in early March the manager of Stable B contacted me, asking if I was looking for work. I said absolutely, and we had a nice informal meeting at a local cafe. We got along pretty well, mostly with me telling her about what I did at Stable A, my horse experiences, how I would handle certain situations, etc. She said we'd do a trial-month, which I was fine with, and two weeks later I showed up at Stable B. It was very interesting. Sure, I mucked some boxes, which was par for the course, but I also got to drive a quad-bike for the first time in my life, harrowing the riding house, which was very fun, as well as driving out water to the various paddocks (the water lines was emptied for the winter and hadn't been turned on yet). All in all, back up to full workdays doing what I know, and other interesting things. Great! Things were looking up!
Then, last Thursday, my boss dropped the bomb on me; She was selling the stable. It had been losing money for years and she was frankly getting too tired to keep it running anymore (that last bit I can definitely confirm; she'll be 80 next year and she is frankly too old, small, weak and tired/impatient to be working physically with horses more than 10x her size). Then she gave me my 3-month notice. July 1st, I will no longer be working for her. And she tells me this mere hours before I'm supposed to be at a family gettogether, the first one in months, to celebrate my elderly mom finally getting her 2nd shot of Corona-vaccine. Nice timing.
Probably what surprised me the most was that I was not overly shocked by this; I've known for years how hard it is to keep a stable afloat, and I do my level best so that the customers will at least feel that they are welcome and that they are getting their money's worth in service. I tell all of them, if there's something they need help with, and I'm nearby, ask me; I can probably fix it, and if not, I'll at least give it a try.
When I got home, I recognized the signs of a slow-onset shock, but I was determined that it was not going to paralyze me. I decided to not waste any time, called the manager of another stable (Stable C) that I had visited a year ago to maybe switch employments to (she remembered me favorably, even with only a day of work and after a year of silence; interesting), let her know that I was soon-to-be looking for work, then freshened up and went to the dinner with the family. I told them what had happened, and they all supported me wholeheartedly (they've known for years what kind of people my bosses are and have never liked me working for them), which helped a lot with my mood.
Well, today I went with my boss at Stable B to a place about an hour's drive from the stable, where one of her other lady customers had a temporary wind-shelter (basically a long tent scaled for horses) that she said we could have. We proceed to dismantle it (I've erected quite a few of these things in my life, so I took charge and the ladies were grateful for it), then hauled it back to our horsetrailer to be assembled at a later date. On the drive back, me and the boss got to talking, and my soon-to-be termination came up, and what I wanted to do after it. She was very supportive, saying she could check around with other stables she knew if they needed someone part-time, mentioning a nearby carpenter shop that could maybe use someone like me, and even her brother, who works at a company that services elevators, might be interested in checking with his boss for me. My path forward was lighting up with new possibilities that I had not even considered.
And then she dropped a bomb of a different type on me;
"I've talked to a lot of people that came from your stable, and the one thing most of them agree on was that the best part of that place was you."
That struck me dumb. I mean... pride is not the right word. Gratitude is too small. It was one of those rare moments in life when you receive hard proof that you have done right. It was... wonderful, and I spent the rest of the ride with a warm fuzzy feeling in my chest.
That's not all. I talked to one of my best friends and she talked to me about maybe starting work as a security guard (they are always looking for people, they pay for the education, and the salary is good). And not an hour ago, I was doing the nightfeeding at Stable A and one of our oldest customers was there, taking care of his horse. He told me that my boss had told him and several others about the sale, asked me if I wanted another job like this one, and how far I was willing to commute to it. I gave him the facts, told him I was interested, and he said he'd check-in with a few nearby stables he knew about, see if they'd be interested. Wow.
Five days ago I was told I'd be losing my job and now I have job possibilities coming out my ears.
It doesn't happen every day, but every once in a while, living your life doing the best you can, helping people, pays dividends.
Sure, I gave up my Friday-chinese-buffé-after-work tradition, and I barely ever went into the big city unless it was for something specific that I needed, but I could go shopping for groceries (granted, always with a mask on) and my place of work never shut down. I worked full-time through most of it, and was grateful to do so.
But Covid did affect my stable eventually. Because of the pandemic precautions, my stable (let's call it Stable A for this story) no longer took in new customers, and since times were tight, some customers went down in service or moved altogether, which lead to me dropping down to 75% employment in October. Not fun, but I saw it coming; I was the only one working 100% and a lot of days I had every task finished with an hour to spare in the workday. Since I was still fully functional, I decided to start looking working part-time at another stable. But before I could do that, I was contacted by the manager of a nearby stable (let's call this one Stable B), who had heard from one of her customers that I was looking for something part-time.
See, about a year into my employment at Stable A, there was a serious shift in management, and the old boss ended up getting evicted. Thing is, she took something like 50-60% of our customers with her, all of whom moved to Stable B with her. Now, she apparently kept up with her bad habits that got her evicted from us, and she didn't make it more than a year before she was kicked out of there too (and quite a lot of her gear seized as payment for bad debts). However, a lot of the customers stayed at Stable B, and over the years, many of our newer customers who have moved out have gone there as well, all of whom had met me.
Now, back in early March the manager of Stable B contacted me, asking if I was looking for work. I said absolutely, and we had a nice informal meeting at a local cafe. We got along pretty well, mostly with me telling her about what I did at Stable A, my horse experiences, how I would handle certain situations, etc. She said we'd do a trial-month, which I was fine with, and two weeks later I showed up at Stable B. It was very interesting. Sure, I mucked some boxes, which was par for the course, but I also got to drive a quad-bike for the first time in my life, harrowing the riding house, which was very fun, as well as driving out water to the various paddocks (the water lines was emptied for the winter and hadn't been turned on yet). All in all, back up to full workdays doing what I know, and other interesting things. Great! Things were looking up!
Then, last Thursday, my boss dropped the bomb on me; She was selling the stable. It had been losing money for years and she was frankly getting too tired to keep it running anymore (that last bit I can definitely confirm; she'll be 80 next year and she is frankly too old, small, weak and tired/impatient to be working physically with horses more than 10x her size). Then she gave me my 3-month notice. July 1st, I will no longer be working for her. And she tells me this mere hours before I'm supposed to be at a family gettogether, the first one in months, to celebrate my elderly mom finally getting her 2nd shot of Corona-vaccine. Nice timing.
Probably what surprised me the most was that I was not overly shocked by this; I've known for years how hard it is to keep a stable afloat, and I do my level best so that the customers will at least feel that they are welcome and that they are getting their money's worth in service. I tell all of them, if there's something they need help with, and I'm nearby, ask me; I can probably fix it, and if not, I'll at least give it a try.
When I got home, I recognized the signs of a slow-onset shock, but I was determined that it was not going to paralyze me. I decided to not waste any time, called the manager of another stable (Stable C) that I had visited a year ago to maybe switch employments to (she remembered me favorably, even with only a day of work and after a year of silence; interesting), let her know that I was soon-to-be looking for work, then freshened up and went to the dinner with the family. I told them what had happened, and they all supported me wholeheartedly (they've known for years what kind of people my bosses are and have never liked me working for them), which helped a lot with my mood.
Well, today I went with my boss at Stable B to a place about an hour's drive from the stable, where one of her other lady customers had a temporary wind-shelter (basically a long tent scaled for horses) that she said we could have. We proceed to dismantle it (I've erected quite a few of these things in my life, so I took charge and the ladies were grateful for it), then hauled it back to our horsetrailer to be assembled at a later date. On the drive back, me and the boss got to talking, and my soon-to-be termination came up, and what I wanted to do after it. She was very supportive, saying she could check around with other stables she knew if they needed someone part-time, mentioning a nearby carpenter shop that could maybe use someone like me, and even her brother, who works at a company that services elevators, might be interested in checking with his boss for me. My path forward was lighting up with new possibilities that I had not even considered.
And then she dropped a bomb of a different type on me;
"I've talked to a lot of people that came from your stable, and the one thing most of them agree on was that the best part of that place was you."
That struck me dumb. I mean... pride is not the right word. Gratitude is too small. It was one of those rare moments in life when you receive hard proof that you have done right. It was... wonderful, and I spent the rest of the ride with a warm fuzzy feeling in my chest.
That's not all. I talked to one of my best friends and she talked to me about maybe starting work as a security guard (they are always looking for people, they pay for the education, and the salary is good). And not an hour ago, I was doing the nightfeeding at Stable A and one of our oldest customers was there, taking care of his horse. He told me that my boss had told him and several others about the sale, asked me if I wanted another job like this one, and how far I was willing to commute to it. I gave him the facts, told him I was interested, and he said he'd check-in with a few nearby stables he knew about, see if they'd be interested. Wow.
Five days ago I was told I'd be losing my job and now I have job possibilities coming out my ears.
It doesn't happen every day, but every once in a while, living your life doing the best you can, helping people, pays dividends.
Happy new year!!!
General | Posted 5 years agoAllright!!! 2020 is OVER!!! Let's *never* do that again!
2021 is already looking pretty good. The Covid-19 vaccine is on the way, so eventually things will go back to normal. My writer's block seems to have passed, so this year will (hopefully) see HtbD come out at a much more regular rate once again.
Now, let's get this party started!!!
https://youtu.be/0mIcQdYK_cA
2021 is already looking pretty good. The Covid-19 vaccine is on the way, so eventually things will go back to normal. My writer's block seems to have passed, so this year will (hopefully) see HtbD come out at a much more regular rate once again.
Now, let's get this party started!!!
https://youtu.be/0mIcQdYK_cA
New comic launch, and a promotion!
General | Posted 5 years agoHey everybody! Summer is a wonderful time of year isn't it?
Most of you have probably noticed that a new comic page has been posted in my gallery.... and it's not HtbD. "WHAT?!"
Indeed. This is, at long last, the comic I have been teasing for a while now. It's a (very) extended adult comic commission I got from the artist
hsefra starting back in, oh 2014 or so I think.
Why so long? Well, lots or reasons, both limited finaces (and maybe just a pinch of perfectionism) on my part and an already pretty hefty workload on Hsefra's part, leading to the comic taking some time to complete (he squeezed me in among a *lot* of other big projects). It is many pages long ( I won't say the exact number), and it will be posted here in my gallery every Saturday from now until it's completed. Now, the inked pages are done, but not the colors; we are still trying to catch up with those, but since Hsefra has cut down on his work-intake lately, hopefully we can speed that up a bit. I haven't quite decided on how to post the colored pages yet; we'll see about that.
And while I'm writing this journal, I migth as well take a moment to inform you that Hsefra has a special offer going on right now. He is selling several volumes of all his old art over on PayHip, and if you buy a copy of Volume 4, you will be entered into a raffle where one lucky winner can win a custom colored panel done by him (as well as a hefty discount on the previous three volumes). Not a bad deal for literally thousands of naughty pics, and the chance to get one of your own design. Granted, not all of it is for everyone, but it's worth a look. Go to his page (click the icon above) and take for yourselves.
EDIT: The raffle will now take place on August 31st!
And with that, I'm out. I'm working on the script for the next HtbD pages, but figuring out how to answer questions with prophecies that rhyme at least *somewhat* good is kinda complicated. As always, the pages are posted here on Fridays when they are done, and at least a week early on my Patreon.
Stay safe out there.
Most of you have probably noticed that a new comic page has been posted in my gallery.... and it's not HtbD. "WHAT?!"
Indeed. This is, at long last, the comic I have been teasing for a while now. It's a (very) extended adult comic commission I got from the artist
hsefra starting back in, oh 2014 or so I think. Why so long? Well, lots or reasons, both limited finaces (and maybe just a pinch of perfectionism) on my part and an already pretty hefty workload on Hsefra's part, leading to the comic taking some time to complete (he squeezed me in among a *lot* of other big projects). It is many pages long ( I won't say the exact number), and it will be posted here in my gallery every Saturday from now until it's completed. Now, the inked pages are done, but not the colors; we are still trying to catch up with those, but since Hsefra has cut down on his work-intake lately, hopefully we can speed that up a bit. I haven't quite decided on how to post the colored pages yet; we'll see about that.
And while I'm writing this journal, I migth as well take a moment to inform you that Hsefra has a special offer going on right now. He is selling several volumes of all his old art over on PayHip, and if you buy a copy of Volume 4, you will be entered into a raffle where one lucky winner can win a custom colored panel done by him (as well as a hefty discount on the previous three volumes). Not a bad deal for literally thousands of naughty pics, and the chance to get one of your own design. Granted, not all of it is for everyone, but it's worth a look. Go to his page (click the icon above) and take for yourselves.
EDIT: The raffle will now take place on August 31st!
And with that, I'm out. I'm working on the script for the next HtbD pages, but figuring out how to answer questions with prophecies that rhyme at least *somewhat* good is kinda complicated. As always, the pages are posted here on Fridays when they are done, and at least a week early on my Patreon.
Stay safe out there.
Birthday, HtbD update and... a new comic?
General | Posted 5 years agoHey everybody! *sighs* Another long abscense.
Sorry about that. The last two months have been... not exactly fun. Circumstances at the stable led to me working under my 'other' boss, the owner of the stable, who is, frankly, too old, tired and strict to properly handle someone with my diagnosis. Imagine someone who never smiles at you (she may smile at other in the stable, but as soon as I come into her line of sight the smile vanishes), almost never says good morning, has a sharp word for almsot everything, quick to lose her temper, and always frames her words in an accusatory manner. Imagine working directly under someone like that in a very physically demanding job, while they themselves are too physically weak to handle the more 'challenging' horses, yet still finds the time to complain how I handle them. Imagine coming home wet, exhausted, cold, un-appreciated, gloomy, or some combination of those almost every single workday. Imagine doing that in some of the grayest, wettest, and windy-est autumn weather you can think of, and you have a rough approximation of how these last two months have been for me. Oh, and add the Corona scare on top of all that.
Kinda hard to work up the enthusiasm to write a goofy porn comic in all that, isn't it?
It's not altogheter bad though. I've had little flashes on inspiration here and there that actually turned into ideas for the comic that I find pretty funny, and I hope you will too. It's just... very hard to get into the creative mood to write at the end of the workday, and the weekend is mostly spent trying to equalize after the workweek. It's... challenging. I have the ideas, the big moments laid out, but fillign in the little gaps inbetween, the details that actually makes a comic, that's where the roadblock tends to pop up. I am hoping to find enough inspiration to get a big segment of the comic mapped out and sent to Karno so he has a buffer to work with. I hope to have one this weekend, but a *lot* of other RL things have also cropped up, and I'm afraid I can't make any promises that the comic will come out in a timely fashion at the moment. Again, sorry.
What else? Oh yeah, I turned 40 today. Wow, four *DECADES* I have been on this spinning rock now. I figure it's only a matter of time before the mid-life crisis and the prostate exam comes around the corner. Good times. Also, typical that it happens smack dab in the middle of the Corona Virus outbreak. That put a *big* dent in my plans for this weekend, and probably for the foreseeable future too. Bugger.
And finally... I have a new comic in the works. Well, 'new' maybe not quite the word for it, since it's been sort of on the afterburner for a few years, due to some RL crises with the artist. This is a very mellow collaboration between me and the artist Hsefra, who some of you might remember from the Legio Studios site. It's mostly done, and I figure I will start putting the pages out on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, in addition to HtbD. It features my OC Andreas and a somewhat obscure female character from a popular cartoon show, having a bit of... okay fine, a *very* naughty hook-up. I hope you guys and gals will like it.
Just FYI, I'm often playing on Warframe (username euro_salamander ) if there are any players here who want to say Hi (and maybe take a look at my Wish-list X3).
Stay safe out there everybody, and I will try to get HtbD back up and rolling as soon as I can.
Sorry about that. The last two months have been... not exactly fun. Circumstances at the stable led to me working under my 'other' boss, the owner of the stable, who is, frankly, too old, tired and strict to properly handle someone with my diagnosis. Imagine someone who never smiles at you (she may smile at other in the stable, but as soon as I come into her line of sight the smile vanishes), almost never says good morning, has a sharp word for almsot everything, quick to lose her temper, and always frames her words in an accusatory manner. Imagine working directly under someone like that in a very physically demanding job, while they themselves are too physically weak to handle the more 'challenging' horses, yet still finds the time to complain how I handle them. Imagine coming home wet, exhausted, cold, un-appreciated, gloomy, or some combination of those almost every single workday. Imagine doing that in some of the grayest, wettest, and windy-est autumn weather you can think of, and you have a rough approximation of how these last two months have been for me. Oh, and add the Corona scare on top of all that.
Kinda hard to work up the enthusiasm to write a goofy porn comic in all that, isn't it?
It's not altogheter bad though. I've had little flashes on inspiration here and there that actually turned into ideas for the comic that I find pretty funny, and I hope you will too. It's just... very hard to get into the creative mood to write at the end of the workday, and the weekend is mostly spent trying to equalize after the workweek. It's... challenging. I have the ideas, the big moments laid out, but fillign in the little gaps inbetween, the details that actually makes a comic, that's where the roadblock tends to pop up. I am hoping to find enough inspiration to get a big segment of the comic mapped out and sent to Karno so he has a buffer to work with. I hope to have one this weekend, but a *lot* of other RL things have also cropped up, and I'm afraid I can't make any promises that the comic will come out in a timely fashion at the moment. Again, sorry.
What else? Oh yeah, I turned 40 today. Wow, four *DECADES* I have been on this spinning rock now. I figure it's only a matter of time before the mid-life crisis and the prostate exam comes around the corner. Good times. Also, typical that it happens smack dab in the middle of the Corona Virus outbreak. That put a *big* dent in my plans for this weekend, and probably for the foreseeable future too. Bugger.
And finally... I have a new comic in the works. Well, 'new' maybe not quite the word for it, since it's been sort of on the afterburner for a few years, due to some RL crises with the artist. This is a very mellow collaboration between me and the artist Hsefra, who some of you might remember from the Legio Studios site. It's mostly done, and I figure I will start putting the pages out on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, in addition to HtbD. It features my OC Andreas and a somewhat obscure female character from a popular cartoon show, having a bit of... okay fine, a *very* naughty hook-up. I hope you guys and gals will like it.
Just FYI, I'm often playing on Warframe (username euro_salamander ) if there are any players here who want to say Hi (and maybe take a look at my Wish-list X3).
Stay safe out there everybody, and I will try to get HtbD back up and rolling as soon as I can.
I am finally coming back. (warning, long post)
General | Posted 6 years agoHey everybody.
Wow, it's been an entire year since you heard from me. My tendency to procrastinate must have reached an all-time record. For that, I sincerely apologize.
So, what's been going on with me? I'll try to keep it short, but like I said, it's been an entire year, so bear with me.
---
The Negatives:
1) Around the end of 2018 I was pretty much "on the way to walking into the wall" (i.e. on the verge of having a breakdown). The weather was awful, my energy was low, I felt exhausted all the time and work was getting to be too much. At one point I stayed an hour after my normal end of the day without orders just to finish all my chores, and when the boss saw me she said that "I needed to work better so I could finish on time". That's it. That comment started a whole slew of events, which led to me trying out a different stable for one day, which I really liked, but I couldn't handle more than 75% of the required job (they needed me to ride the horses, which I don't know how to do, and ironically enough, the mucking of the stables was so different that I had to reinvent my methods, which actually made my job back at the original stable much easier/quicker, which meant I stayed there.
2) Around the end of March, not long after my birthday actually, I was in a car accident. Nothing too serious, I was not hurt (the other driver, a young girl in her first car, was terrified) and it was entirely my fault. But my car got hit in such a way (small damage but in a corner, meanign a lot of parts were affected) that the insurance company decided to scrap it and just pay out the insurance instead. Now, I'm glad it wasn't a total loss, but that was my mom's old car that she had passed on to me. She'd been driving that since I was a teen and I have a lot of memories associated with it, so I considered it something of a family heirloom. But now it's gone. That still makes me a little sad.
3) Near the end of August, after I'd come back from my vacation, near the end of my workday I got kicked in the chest by a horse. Now, this was (again) a complete accident, but I still got kicked in the chest so hard I flew off my feet. Anybody's who's gotten a direct hit from a horse know it's nothing to joke about, but thankfully the horse wasn't one of our biggest and I didn't immediately start coughing blood, which was the first thing I dreaded (that would have meant my ribs had punctured my lungs, which is *bad*). I somehow wasn't run over when the two horses in question started running circles around me ( I was in no condition to dodge them) and I managed to crawl out of the pasture and get back on my feet. Somehow (I have no idea how or why) I took the time to take the very last horse with me when I walked back to the stable, and after that, I drove straight to the local clinic and had them check me out.
While I was describing what had happened to the nurse, she asked me how I'd gotten there and I told her that I'd driven myself, at which point the blood drained from her face. Apparently, people who have just been injured/shocked can get swoony and have fainting spells shortly *after* the fact, which neither I, nor my boss, had thought of. She said I was lucky I hadn't fainted behind the wheel, 'cause that could actually have killed me or somebody else (sobering thought). She checked my heartrate and ribs, but nothing seemed broken, but she still wanted me to get x-rayed. I called my mom, she came and picked me up and we went to the city hospital, where I actually *did* have a swooning fit during the x-rays so the nurses had to give me oxygen so I wouldn't pass out. I have no idea what happened, I was just standing there when something like an extreme case of the goose bumps spread from a point on my back up to the back of my head, my vision went dark for a few seconds and my balance kinda... fluttered. Nothing serious happened, but keep in mind that I had been on something like 60-80% (at best) of my normal breathing capacity since the kick, so I wasn't breathing right.
After that, it took about 2 weeks before the pain went completely away, during which time the muscles in my upper body kept shifting the workload around to keep the strain off the impacted muscles, meaning that every two days I got muscle cramps in places I had not even been hit, which is one of the strangest experiences I've hard with an injury. Also, get this; I didn't get a bruise. I was hit nearly in the middle of my solar plexus by a steel-shod horse and I was barely even red the day after (I checked). And while I had trouble breathing and pains in my muscles, a visual examination of my chest would barely have shown anything. Odd.
4) A few weeks back I found out that my sister would be moving away, back into the big city. This saddens me, because for a long time most of my family (me, my mom and my sister)lived here in the same community in the south of Sweden, all within a 10 minute drive at most. But first my mom moved into an apartment in the city because she was getting too old to manage the huge garden she had on her plot. She's just as happy, and I'm happy for her, but it's still a bit further apart. And soon, my sister will be going into the city as well, leaving just me and my younger cousin still down here. Again, I want the best for my family and I am happy for them, but it's another little sliver of lonelyness in my life.
Inbetween all that, lots and lots of days filled with work. Anybody working class knows that most of your year is filled with drudgery to some degree or another, but that's our lot in life and we accept it.
---
It's not been all bad though.
The Positives:
1) I had a really good summer, which was nicely balanced, instead of having more rainy days than not (2018) or roasting hot with no rain at all (2017).
2) I finally got off my ass and got some help with my cleaning routines, which has led to a much more tidy home. Nice.
3) My car may have been totalled, but I bought a new car that is newer and much nicer than my old one, and with the insurance money and my personal savings, I could pay for all of it on the same day, no loans needed.
4) Sure my ribs were still sore from the horse kick, but I got to attend a very nice wedding of a few friends of the family, and I even got to dance with the sister of the groom.
5) Through a friend at the stable I got to meet their two week-old foals (different moms though) and I got the chance to cuddle with them and they are *ADORABLE*!! SQUUEEEE! It really brightens up the whole year to meet some baby horses.
6) About a month ago I happened upon a plastic bag lying on the side of the road, which contained no less than *SIX* bloomed-out but perfectly healthy orchids. Guessing someone didn't want them around after the flowers were all gone and didn't have the patience to grow more. Well, I took them home, gave them water and fertilizer and put them in my last free window, and now I have new stem buds (multiple in a two cases) on all of them. More flowers for me, YAY!
---
In the spaces between all of that, I have *tried* to write for the comic again. Multiple times. I've sat there in front of the computer, opened the HtbD folder, opened a new copy of the page script layout, looked at it and... nothing. Nothing would come to mind. I have the base parts of this chapter clear in my mind, but the finer details just... wouldn't materialize. My fingers just wouldn't move. This happened repeatedly. At one point I managed to somewhat lay out 3 pages worth of script, but when I needed to polish it and add dialogue, again, nothing.
At one point Karno asked if I could give him a basic idea for how the comic would go and he'd wing it from there, which actually was an interesting offer. We have similar enough senses of humour, and he's made more comics than me, that maybe that would have worked. But I wanted my own personal touch on the comic, and a few weeks after, that got me thinking. I thought about the core comic idea, then the newer sections that were roughly done but needed polish, and I tried to spot where the problem was. Maybe that dash of OCD was flaring up without me noticing it and I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Let's go back to basics, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). I looked of what I'd roughed out, then threw it out and started fresh. And that was the trick. I found my groove again. The muse has finally woken up again.
And here we are. Slowly coming back but over the worst of it, and I actually find myself happier. Here there be Dragons was always a story I wanted told, and over the years it's become something of a staple in my life. I send Karno a few page scripts, then go back to work and put it out of my mind until one day there's an email and new pages appear before me. I look them over, mark whatever edits need to be done and send them over, back to work, then inked pages show up, they get posted on Patreon first and then on FA, and at the end of the month the Patreon donations come in, I pay Karno for his work, write up some new page scripts, rinse and repeat.
Every time I got a new email from Karno with another couple of fresh comic sketches, it's like a mini-dose of pure Christmas morning, and it wasn't until recently that I realized how much joy I got out of this process.
But now, I know. And I am back to work, doing something I really like (and which apparently brings joy to other people as well). Hope you all have missed the comic, because I have some *weird* ideas for this chapter. Stay tuned. *evil laughter*
Best regards
Euro
Wow, it's been an entire year since you heard from me. My tendency to procrastinate must have reached an all-time record. For that, I sincerely apologize.
So, what's been going on with me? I'll try to keep it short, but like I said, it's been an entire year, so bear with me.
---
The Negatives:
1) Around the end of 2018 I was pretty much "on the way to walking into the wall" (i.e. on the verge of having a breakdown). The weather was awful, my energy was low, I felt exhausted all the time and work was getting to be too much. At one point I stayed an hour after my normal end of the day without orders just to finish all my chores, and when the boss saw me she said that "I needed to work better so I could finish on time". That's it. That comment started a whole slew of events, which led to me trying out a different stable for one day, which I really liked, but I couldn't handle more than 75% of the required job (they needed me to ride the horses, which I don't know how to do, and ironically enough, the mucking of the stables was so different that I had to reinvent my methods, which actually made my job back at the original stable much easier/quicker, which meant I stayed there.
2) Around the end of March, not long after my birthday actually, I was in a car accident. Nothing too serious, I was not hurt (the other driver, a young girl in her first car, was terrified) and it was entirely my fault. But my car got hit in such a way (small damage but in a corner, meanign a lot of parts were affected) that the insurance company decided to scrap it and just pay out the insurance instead. Now, I'm glad it wasn't a total loss, but that was my mom's old car that she had passed on to me. She'd been driving that since I was a teen and I have a lot of memories associated with it, so I considered it something of a family heirloom. But now it's gone. That still makes me a little sad.
3) Near the end of August, after I'd come back from my vacation, near the end of my workday I got kicked in the chest by a horse. Now, this was (again) a complete accident, but I still got kicked in the chest so hard I flew off my feet. Anybody's who's gotten a direct hit from a horse know it's nothing to joke about, but thankfully the horse wasn't one of our biggest and I didn't immediately start coughing blood, which was the first thing I dreaded (that would have meant my ribs had punctured my lungs, which is *bad*). I somehow wasn't run over when the two horses in question started running circles around me ( I was in no condition to dodge them) and I managed to crawl out of the pasture and get back on my feet. Somehow (I have no idea how or why) I took the time to take the very last horse with me when I walked back to the stable, and after that, I drove straight to the local clinic and had them check me out.
While I was describing what had happened to the nurse, she asked me how I'd gotten there and I told her that I'd driven myself, at which point the blood drained from her face. Apparently, people who have just been injured/shocked can get swoony and have fainting spells shortly *after* the fact, which neither I, nor my boss, had thought of. She said I was lucky I hadn't fainted behind the wheel, 'cause that could actually have killed me or somebody else (sobering thought). She checked my heartrate and ribs, but nothing seemed broken, but she still wanted me to get x-rayed. I called my mom, she came and picked me up and we went to the city hospital, where I actually *did* have a swooning fit during the x-rays so the nurses had to give me oxygen so I wouldn't pass out. I have no idea what happened, I was just standing there when something like an extreme case of the goose bumps spread from a point on my back up to the back of my head, my vision went dark for a few seconds and my balance kinda... fluttered. Nothing serious happened, but keep in mind that I had been on something like 60-80% (at best) of my normal breathing capacity since the kick, so I wasn't breathing right.
After that, it took about 2 weeks before the pain went completely away, during which time the muscles in my upper body kept shifting the workload around to keep the strain off the impacted muscles, meaning that every two days I got muscle cramps in places I had not even been hit, which is one of the strangest experiences I've hard with an injury. Also, get this; I didn't get a bruise. I was hit nearly in the middle of my solar plexus by a steel-shod horse and I was barely even red the day after (I checked). And while I had trouble breathing and pains in my muscles, a visual examination of my chest would barely have shown anything. Odd.
4) A few weeks back I found out that my sister would be moving away, back into the big city. This saddens me, because for a long time most of my family (me, my mom and my sister)lived here in the same community in the south of Sweden, all within a 10 minute drive at most. But first my mom moved into an apartment in the city because she was getting too old to manage the huge garden she had on her plot. She's just as happy, and I'm happy for her, but it's still a bit further apart. And soon, my sister will be going into the city as well, leaving just me and my younger cousin still down here. Again, I want the best for my family and I am happy for them, but it's another little sliver of lonelyness in my life.
Inbetween all that, lots and lots of days filled with work. Anybody working class knows that most of your year is filled with drudgery to some degree or another, but that's our lot in life and we accept it.
---
It's not been all bad though.
The Positives:
1) I had a really good summer, which was nicely balanced, instead of having more rainy days than not (2018) or roasting hot with no rain at all (2017).
2) I finally got off my ass and got some help with my cleaning routines, which has led to a much more tidy home. Nice.
3) My car may have been totalled, but I bought a new car that is newer and much nicer than my old one, and with the insurance money and my personal savings, I could pay for all of it on the same day, no loans needed.
4) Sure my ribs were still sore from the horse kick, but I got to attend a very nice wedding of a few friends of the family, and I even got to dance with the sister of the groom.
5) Through a friend at the stable I got to meet their two week-old foals (different moms though) and I got the chance to cuddle with them and they are *ADORABLE*!! SQUUEEEE! It really brightens up the whole year to meet some baby horses.
6) About a month ago I happened upon a plastic bag lying on the side of the road, which contained no less than *SIX* bloomed-out but perfectly healthy orchids. Guessing someone didn't want them around after the flowers were all gone and didn't have the patience to grow more. Well, I took them home, gave them water and fertilizer and put them in my last free window, and now I have new stem buds (multiple in a two cases) on all of them. More flowers for me, YAY!
---
In the spaces between all of that, I have *tried* to write for the comic again. Multiple times. I've sat there in front of the computer, opened the HtbD folder, opened a new copy of the page script layout, looked at it and... nothing. Nothing would come to mind. I have the base parts of this chapter clear in my mind, but the finer details just... wouldn't materialize. My fingers just wouldn't move. This happened repeatedly. At one point I managed to somewhat lay out 3 pages worth of script, but when I needed to polish it and add dialogue, again, nothing.
At one point Karno asked if I could give him a basic idea for how the comic would go and he'd wing it from there, which actually was an interesting offer. We have similar enough senses of humour, and he's made more comics than me, that maybe that would have worked. But I wanted my own personal touch on the comic, and a few weeks after, that got me thinking. I thought about the core comic idea, then the newer sections that were roughly done but needed polish, and I tried to spot where the problem was. Maybe that dash of OCD was flaring up without me noticing it and I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Let's go back to basics, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid). I looked of what I'd roughed out, then threw it out and started fresh. And that was the trick. I found my groove again. The muse has finally woken up again.
And here we are. Slowly coming back but over the worst of it, and I actually find myself happier. Here there be Dragons was always a story I wanted told, and over the years it's become something of a staple in my life. I send Karno a few page scripts, then go back to work and put it out of my mind until one day there's an email and new pages appear before me. I look them over, mark whatever edits need to be done and send them over, back to work, then inked pages show up, they get posted on Patreon first and then on FA, and at the end of the month the Patreon donations come in, I pay Karno for his work, write up some new page scripts, rinse and repeat.
Every time I got a new email from Karno with another couple of fresh comic sketches, it's like a mini-dose of pure Christmas morning, and it wasn't until recently that I realized how much joy I got out of this process.
But now, I know. And I am back to work, doing something I really like (and which apparently brings joy to other people as well). Hope you all have missed the comic, because I have some *weird* ideas for this chapter. Stay tuned. *evil laughter*
Best regards
Euro
Status update
General | Posted 7 years agoHey everybody. I've been out of touch for quite a while, so I thought I'd give you a sitrep.
First off:
I am not dead.
I am not in the hospital due to a terrible illness or injury.
I am not broke.
I am not homeless.
I am not unemployed.
What I *am* however… is physically and creatively exhausted.
Here's what has happened in my life since the last page of HtbD got published.
1) I threw my back out when I got a little overambitious at work. Anyone who's done this knows it's no joke. This had me in various levels of sick-leave for a whole month. I *hobbled* to the PT the day after and the pain got so bad when she was trying to help that I *fainted* and woke up on the floor under her table, having nearly hit her on the way down. After that they gave me some serious painkillers and ordered me to just rest. I couldn't stand up for 3 days straight, and after that it took a week before I could spend more than 10 minutes sitting in a chair before the pain got too bad. Thankfully my mom moved in while I was recuperating, so I had help. After about a week and half I went back to work, starting at 50% workload for 3 Days Before the weekend, then 75% for the next week. And then the next bomb hit.
2) My sister (who has a horse at my stable) took a vacation to Greece, and another client went to Denmark, both being gone for a week and upping their coverage from half- to full service. That means we got an additional 2 horses to care for, and I got my sister's horse, bringing my total up to 11 horses to handle in one day. That includes mucking out their stall, changing their water, sweeping in front of their box, packing their hay, as well as taking them in and out to their enclosures. I had only just gotten back up to 100%, which in my case is 10 horses two days earlier, so this was a strain, but the others had plenty on their plate so it was just "grin and bear it".
3) About two months before this I had accepted the job of babysitting a friend's dog for 2 weeks while they were on a Convention/vacation tour. I had no idea I would have these backproblems when I took the job, and when the time came for them to go I was about 95% back to normal, to I took the dog. Thing is, I work in a stable, and I've seen enough stable-living dogs to know that I don't want one living in my house, so the dog stays at home while I work. My day pretty much goes; Wake up, walk the dog, she and I eat breakfast, drive to work, work until noon, drive home, walk the dog, she and I eat a quick lunch, drive back to work, work until five, drive home, walk and play with the dog, she and I eat dinner, cuddle with the dog a bit, then try to unwind for the rest of the evening, minus any chores that needs to get done, one more Quick walk, then off to bed. I have done this before and I know that two weeks is my absolute limit at this pace with this job. After that, I start burning out. During this, cue the next bomb.
4) We had what qualifies as a drought this summer in my part of Sweden, meaning a lot of the hay that we were counting on for the Winter never got grown, so we had to switch to a new kind of imported hay. This new kind is thinner, shorter, and a hell of a lot drier, meaning that packing this shit into bags is almost like working with an armful of needles. I packed my hay as usual the first day wearing nothing but a t-shirt, and the next morning I woke up with my arms looking like they'd gotten a whole body's worth of measles each. I understandably freaked out, thinking I had somehow gotten some *very* aggressive fleas in my bed. I spent the whole day working in angst and severe itching, thinking I would have to get my entire apartment fumigated. The next day after work I went to the doctors to get checked out. She looked me over and said that this was most likely not flea bites, since these were small water-filled bumps and happened way too fast, but rather an allergic reaction. She asked me if there's been any changes lately, I told her about the hay and she said that was probably it, and told me to get some anti-allergic medication and maybe some ointment for the sores. I was relieved that it wasn't fleas (my sanctuary had NOT been invaded by parasites!!), but the medication didn't relieve the itch very fast, and I spent a few days in "Scratch Until You Bleed" mode. I know I shouldn't, but damn does that pain feel good. Hard to stop though, despite the fact that you *need* to. Problem is, the meds make me just a little bit drowsy when I work, which is just a *Lovely* detail to add right now. Cue next bomb-Shell.
5) I found out via Facebook that a horse owned by a friend, a mare that I had helped deliver, had died at the far-too-early age of 4, due to some kind of accident. This was the daughter/foal of the first horse I ever took care of, and I spent the whole of her first summer taking care of and cuddling with her and her mom. The owner once said that she would *never* have become so social If I hadn't spent almost every day visiting her. I loved that little tyke, and hearing that she had died broke my heart a little. And since misery loves company, more death soon followed.
6) The owner of the stable where I work owns this female Dalmatian, 14 years old, who has got to be the most vocal dog I have ever come across. Every time I start cuddling with her, which is every time she sees me if she has her way, she makes all kinds of cooing noises that I at first thought meant that she was in pain, but was in fact just to show that she loved getting attention. She's lived here at the stable for the last 3 years and have been a source of joy every day, if sometimes a bit too needy, but we all love her. Well, she's been having problems with her hips lately, and the owner has had to help her get down from the car when they arrive at the stable, but she never complained or slowed down, it was just zip right up to me and demand cuddles. Last week I found out, again via Facebook, that the owner had had to put her down when suddenly she stopped being able to stand up. Vet said there was nothing to do so they let her go to sleep. The stable still seems eerily quiet without her, like there's something missing when that constant sound of clicking claws isn't around anymore.
These last two happened just this weekend.
7) First on Saturday I stop by the stable to drop off my latest picking of wild apples (a hobby of mine), when I run into one of the vets that's we regularly have over (this is not a good sign). He sees me carrying the bags with apples and immediately starts explaining how easily horses can get apples stuck in their throats and suffocate if you don't split or quarter the apples (I know this full and well). With a feeling of dread I check our waterhouse and there's one of our former customers, holding the head of her drugged horse up while blood is oozing out of both nostrils. Apparently they had given the horse some small apples in the transport before they drove over to us for training, and when they opened the transport she was coughing up blood and snot. Thanksfully the vet got there in time and was able to help, but it was a close call for the poor horse. The owner of the stable had already removed the apple crate that I leave lying out for the horse owners, and she will most likely ban the giving out of apples at the stables, which hurts my heart because it's been a source of joy for me for years and a free luxury for our customers. And considering I've been putting them out for about 4 month every year for the last 3 years, and we've never had a problem until now, clearly we all know the risks and how to avoid them, so I hope that she will change her mind and let me keep the apples around, though probably not as readily accessible.
8) And the very next morning, I'm eating lunch when a friend texts me, asking if it was one of our horses that got hurt. Not having a clue what she's talking about (I hadn't turned on the TV all day), she sends me a link to a story saying that a horse had been run over on the road that passes right by my stable. Almost choking on my toast, I check the stable's FB page and see the boss has put up a notice that all our horses are fine. Apparently the horse had escaped from another stable a few towns over, so she'd gotten quite a ways before her luck ran out. I was so relieved that it wasn't one of ours (some of our clients are *really* sloppy about closing the gate that leads out to the road, so it wouldn't be impossible that it could have been one of ours), but it is still a horrible thing to happen.
Later on Sunday the dog's owner came by and picked her up, so that is one burden off my chest, but as you can see… it's not exactly been uneventful around here, and not in a good way. I have neither had the time, energy or inclination to write for HtbD, so Karno has not had any page scripts to work with, meaning no new comic pages.
I hope the worst is behind me now, and I'm going to try and rest up, but please, be patient and give us a little time. Karno has had his own share of IRL problems, so I don't think the comic would have gotten done faster if I *had* been fine.
Getting back into the motions though. I haven't given up on the comic yet. Still got a lot of plans.
Best regards
Euro_salamander
P.S. Oh, I also managed to find the time to donate blood somewhere in the middle of all that. So yeah, blood count's a little low too, but I got a text from the blood clinic today saying that my blood had just been used to help a patient. That's a nice new feature, and nice to hear.
First off:
I am not dead.
I am not in the hospital due to a terrible illness or injury.
I am not broke.
I am not homeless.
I am not unemployed.
What I *am* however… is physically and creatively exhausted.
Here's what has happened in my life since the last page of HtbD got published.
1) I threw my back out when I got a little overambitious at work. Anyone who's done this knows it's no joke. This had me in various levels of sick-leave for a whole month. I *hobbled* to the PT the day after and the pain got so bad when she was trying to help that I *fainted* and woke up on the floor under her table, having nearly hit her on the way down. After that they gave me some serious painkillers and ordered me to just rest. I couldn't stand up for 3 days straight, and after that it took a week before I could spend more than 10 minutes sitting in a chair before the pain got too bad. Thankfully my mom moved in while I was recuperating, so I had help. After about a week and half I went back to work, starting at 50% workload for 3 Days Before the weekend, then 75% for the next week. And then the next bomb hit.
2) My sister (who has a horse at my stable) took a vacation to Greece, and another client went to Denmark, both being gone for a week and upping their coverage from half- to full service. That means we got an additional 2 horses to care for, and I got my sister's horse, bringing my total up to 11 horses to handle in one day. That includes mucking out their stall, changing their water, sweeping in front of their box, packing their hay, as well as taking them in and out to their enclosures. I had only just gotten back up to 100%, which in my case is 10 horses two days earlier, so this was a strain, but the others had plenty on their plate so it was just "grin and bear it".
3) About two months before this I had accepted the job of babysitting a friend's dog for 2 weeks while they were on a Convention/vacation tour. I had no idea I would have these backproblems when I took the job, and when the time came for them to go I was about 95% back to normal, to I took the dog. Thing is, I work in a stable, and I've seen enough stable-living dogs to know that I don't want one living in my house, so the dog stays at home while I work. My day pretty much goes; Wake up, walk the dog, she and I eat breakfast, drive to work, work until noon, drive home, walk the dog, she and I eat a quick lunch, drive back to work, work until five, drive home, walk and play with the dog, she and I eat dinner, cuddle with the dog a bit, then try to unwind for the rest of the evening, minus any chores that needs to get done, one more Quick walk, then off to bed. I have done this before and I know that two weeks is my absolute limit at this pace with this job. After that, I start burning out. During this, cue the next bomb.
4) We had what qualifies as a drought this summer in my part of Sweden, meaning a lot of the hay that we were counting on for the Winter never got grown, so we had to switch to a new kind of imported hay. This new kind is thinner, shorter, and a hell of a lot drier, meaning that packing this shit into bags is almost like working with an armful of needles. I packed my hay as usual the first day wearing nothing but a t-shirt, and the next morning I woke up with my arms looking like they'd gotten a whole body's worth of measles each. I understandably freaked out, thinking I had somehow gotten some *very* aggressive fleas in my bed. I spent the whole day working in angst and severe itching, thinking I would have to get my entire apartment fumigated. The next day after work I went to the doctors to get checked out. She looked me over and said that this was most likely not flea bites, since these were small water-filled bumps and happened way too fast, but rather an allergic reaction. She asked me if there's been any changes lately, I told her about the hay and she said that was probably it, and told me to get some anti-allergic medication and maybe some ointment for the sores. I was relieved that it wasn't fleas (my sanctuary had NOT been invaded by parasites!!), but the medication didn't relieve the itch very fast, and I spent a few days in "Scratch Until You Bleed" mode. I know I shouldn't, but damn does that pain feel good. Hard to stop though, despite the fact that you *need* to. Problem is, the meds make me just a little bit drowsy when I work, which is just a *Lovely* detail to add right now. Cue next bomb-Shell.
5) I found out via Facebook that a horse owned by a friend, a mare that I had helped deliver, had died at the far-too-early age of 4, due to some kind of accident. This was the daughter/foal of the first horse I ever took care of, and I spent the whole of her first summer taking care of and cuddling with her and her mom. The owner once said that she would *never* have become so social If I hadn't spent almost every day visiting her. I loved that little tyke, and hearing that she had died broke my heart a little. And since misery loves company, more death soon followed.
6) The owner of the stable where I work owns this female Dalmatian, 14 years old, who has got to be the most vocal dog I have ever come across. Every time I start cuddling with her, which is every time she sees me if she has her way, she makes all kinds of cooing noises that I at first thought meant that she was in pain, but was in fact just to show that she loved getting attention. She's lived here at the stable for the last 3 years and have been a source of joy every day, if sometimes a bit too needy, but we all love her. Well, she's been having problems with her hips lately, and the owner has had to help her get down from the car when they arrive at the stable, but she never complained or slowed down, it was just zip right up to me and demand cuddles. Last week I found out, again via Facebook, that the owner had had to put her down when suddenly she stopped being able to stand up. Vet said there was nothing to do so they let her go to sleep. The stable still seems eerily quiet without her, like there's something missing when that constant sound of clicking claws isn't around anymore.
These last two happened just this weekend.
7) First on Saturday I stop by the stable to drop off my latest picking of wild apples (a hobby of mine), when I run into one of the vets that's we regularly have over (this is not a good sign). He sees me carrying the bags with apples and immediately starts explaining how easily horses can get apples stuck in their throats and suffocate if you don't split or quarter the apples (I know this full and well). With a feeling of dread I check our waterhouse and there's one of our former customers, holding the head of her drugged horse up while blood is oozing out of both nostrils. Apparently they had given the horse some small apples in the transport before they drove over to us for training, and when they opened the transport she was coughing up blood and snot. Thanksfully the vet got there in time and was able to help, but it was a close call for the poor horse. The owner of the stable had already removed the apple crate that I leave lying out for the horse owners, and she will most likely ban the giving out of apples at the stables, which hurts my heart because it's been a source of joy for me for years and a free luxury for our customers. And considering I've been putting them out for about 4 month every year for the last 3 years, and we've never had a problem until now, clearly we all know the risks and how to avoid them, so I hope that she will change her mind and let me keep the apples around, though probably not as readily accessible.
8) And the very next morning, I'm eating lunch when a friend texts me, asking if it was one of our horses that got hurt. Not having a clue what she's talking about (I hadn't turned on the TV all day), she sends me a link to a story saying that a horse had been run over on the road that passes right by my stable. Almost choking on my toast, I check the stable's FB page and see the boss has put up a notice that all our horses are fine. Apparently the horse had escaped from another stable a few towns over, so she'd gotten quite a ways before her luck ran out. I was so relieved that it wasn't one of ours (some of our clients are *really* sloppy about closing the gate that leads out to the road, so it wouldn't be impossible that it could have been one of ours), but it is still a horrible thing to happen.
Later on Sunday the dog's owner came by and picked her up, so that is one burden off my chest, but as you can see… it's not exactly been uneventful around here, and not in a good way. I have neither had the time, energy or inclination to write for HtbD, so Karno has not had any page scripts to work with, meaning no new comic pages.
I hope the worst is behind me now, and I'm going to try and rest up, but please, be patient and give us a little time. Karno has had his own share of IRL problems, so I don't think the comic would have gotten done faster if I *had* been fine.
Getting back into the motions though. I haven't given up on the comic yet. Still got a lot of plans.
Best regards
Euro_salamander
P.S. Oh, I also managed to find the time to donate blood somewhere in the middle of all that. So yeah, blood count's a little low too, but I got a text from the blood clinic today saying that my blood had just been used to help a patient. That's a nice new feature, and nice to hear.
When I saved a lady from drowning, and the days after.
General | Posted 7 years agoHey everybody. Long time no journal.
The main reason for this is that I had 4 weeks of vacation in June and July, and I have currently been back to work for 2 weeks.
I have to admit, I have done almost nothing except lounge around and enjoy myself my whole vacation. Well, maybe not the first week which I spent with a bad Cold (darnit!), but the other 3 weeks, solid gold. I even got some much-needed re-planting and construction done on my garden and back yard. And the sun has been non-stop shining the whole time. Granted, the lack of rain has hurt the local farming scene, but overall, I'd call it a plus.
All things said and done, it's probably been the best vacation I have had in years. I didn't feel like I wasted a single day and I came back to work with a smile on my face and working like a tornado. The downside is, I haven't really felt inspired to write, and since Karno's worked through his buffer of page scripts, that meant no new HtbD pages this month. I'm getting back into the swing of things now and we should be back in business this August. I'm sorry for the lack of content, but I have to say, I really loved this break and apparently I needed it more than I thought.
Well, this flow of good vibes got a pretty serious knock on its head in the afternoon of last Thursday, July 26th.
I live in the South-west tip of Sweden, and we have great beaches here. We also have a Canal, with 2 piers on either side of it with Little lighthouses at the ends of them. I have dived from and swimmed by the pier closest to where my family camps on the beach since I was a teenager. I even have a standing tradition that I jump of the wall around the lighthouse into the Waters below at least once per summer. This has some slight risks if the current is going out, but I know how to be careful.
Now, on this particular day I had "comped out" from work 3 hours early (I have a lot of overtime saved up) and went straight to the beach to join the family for some sun and bathing in the ocean. Well, around 4PM I decided that I wanted to jump from the pier, and my mom, ever so worried about me, decided to come with. We walk over the beach and out onto the pier (it's about 700 yards from the beach to the lighthouse), when my mom draws my attention to this lady swimming alongside the outside of the pier. We both see that she is swimming very weirdly, with almost no coordination and she's mostly going in little circles. We both smell trouble and we shout out to her, asking if she needs help. No response, and her motions are now starting to slow down in a very alarming way. By now a few guys a bit further in on the side of the pier has noticed her as well, and are looking on with some alarm, wondering what to do, some of them shouting as well. A few more moments, and I can tell that this is going to end in a drowning if nobody does something.
I look outward the pier towards the lighthouse; closest people is at least 50 yards away and doesn't seem to have noticed anything yet. I look out to the water past the lady and there are several boats anchored a bit further out, but I can't see anybody on them. I look inland and I see the three guys about 15 yards from us, but they're just standing there watching with nervous looks on their face.
And then it hits me.
Nobody is going to jump in first.
Ah crap.
Decision made in that split instant, I hand over my glasses and my towel to my mom and I start making my way down the pier as fast but as safely as I can. Now, this pier is a serious piece of work if you're careless. It has a flat concrete surface about a yard and a half wide at the top, which then turns into a diagonal slope about 5 yards long down into the water, but it's made out of huge block that are only *sorta* flat, and there are gaps between some of them where if you step wrong in a hurry, you *will* snap your leg clean in half. Below that are more boulders under the water line, and they are so slick with seaweed it's like walking on wet ice.
In short, a pretty hazardous terrain when you're in a hurry, and I certainly was, but I had to weigh taking too long to get to the now-drowning lady against slipping on the rocks and breaking a leg (or worse) and therefore making myself useless to the situation.
Soon enough, but what still felt like way too long I get into the water and start doing the freestyle stroke out to the lady as fast as I can, all the way thinking "please be fast enough, please be fast enough, please be fast enough". By the time I reach the lady she is full-on floundering, but she's still spitting out water, which is a good sign. I try to get her attention but she is not noticing me at all, so I grab her with one arm under her chest ("don't grab them around the neck or you'll suffocate them" I remember someone teaching me), and try to swim to the pier.
This immediately proves to be impossible as the lady is completely flailing about in a panic now, and it's taking everything I have just to keep us afloat. Now the mantra running in circles in my head has become "Keep her head above the water", but she is rolling every which way, pulling me down under with her a few times.
Somehow I remember that there is a new lifeguard tower near the pier, and praying that they're watching, I stop swimming with one arm to wave it above our heads, trying to get their attention. Problem is, I was using that arm to keep us afloat, and I have no time for more than 3 waves or so before we both dunk under the water again, and I get my first taste of seawater. Okay, that's not going to work.
I resume keeping us both afloat, and I'm trying to get closer to the pier, but it's feeling like we're moving inches at a time at most (I've lost most spatial awareness by this Point), and the thought that crosses my mind is "Where the fuck IS everybody?! Am I ALONE out here?!" And I start screaming (as best I can) for help. The lady is still non-responsive and flailing and I'm starting to get tired. Now, I have a pretty physical job, I'm in pretty good shape and I've been swimming since I was a kid, but this is an entirely new level of exertion, one that my stable-working body is apparently not handling very well. At this Point, I am seriously starting to Think that me drowning next to her is actually a real possibility, and the thought pops into my head "If she starts dragging me down, am I going to kick her off to save myself and let her drown?". That was a really horrifying realization, that I could think that in such a situation.
Now, I'm approaching exhaustion, having taken a few mouthfulls of seawater, cradling a woman who (to my best efforts) is still in danger of drowning, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm goign to do the same. I'm only running on pure stubbornness right now, but things are looking grim.
Then, I notice someone else swimming towards me. One of the guys from the pier has come to help! Huzzah! He reaches us, and we both put one arm under her ribs and swim towards the pier for dear Life. Again, not making much apparent progress, but at least we're working together. A chance glance towards land lets me see someone in a redshirt lying on a yellow board swimming towards us at full speed! The lifeguard is coming to the rescue! YES!!!
And then things get worse.
The lady stops moving entirely.
Oh FUCK!
Now, I started out my career as a seaman, and drowning (and hypothermia incidentally this far North) is considered an occupational hazard, so I have been trained in how the process works. Basically, when a drowning person stops moving, this does not mean that they are *entirely* dead. It *does* however mean that they are starting to die, and you only have minutes before brain damage occurs and then eventually death. The clock was now ticking and it's all I and the other guy can do to just keep her afloat. I practically WILLED that lifeguard to swim faster for goodness sake before this lady starts having brain damage.
After another seeming-eternity she reaches us, and goddamn is this girl professional. No more than a teenager, but she instantly rolled off her board, then dragged the lady's limp arm across the board, then in one smooth action rolled the board again, dragging the lady up on it. NICE! I am so relieved that help has arrived, but the lady starts slipping off again. I can't help the lady now, but I can help the lifeguard, so I grab hold of the board with one hand and put the other on the lady's hip and SHOVE her into position so she's now steady on the board. It is at this point that I get an up-close look on the lady's face. Leather-y brown skin, thinning hair, in her 60's or there about (looks a bit like my mom actually). But her eyes are wide open and glazed over, looking right at me. I see a line of white foam dribbling down from the side of her mouth and I think "Oh God, am I staring into the eyes of a corpse right now?".
The lifeguard takes off as a shot, and I figure that my part in this is done. Time to get back to the pier… which is when I notice that I'm way more tired that I thought. Forget freestyle, I'm barely keeping afloat, and the thought occurs to me that it'd be pretty stupid to save one person from drowning only for me to take her Place. But I'm way too tired to Think of what I'd look like, so I flipped over on my back, took a Deep breath and then just floated for a bit. Aaaah, much better. My arms were like leadweights.
A moment of two of that, then I flip back upright and swim very slowly to the stone of the pier. A few of the other guy's friend have come down to the water and they help drag my coughing and exhausted carcass, in fits and starts up to the middle of the pier, at which point I decide I need a lie-down. I haven't felt this tired in years, and it's all I can do just to breathe steadily. I manage to turn my head towards shore, and there I see a stretcher, 4 guys on each side, hauling ass up the dune towards the parking lot, and that felt good to see. If the lady was dead I don't Think they'd be in such a hurry.
By now me and the other 2 guys (apparently a 3rd guy showed up around the time the lifeguard did, but I barely noticed him) have started to attract a crowd, everyone saying we did a great job, but all I can Think of, inbetween the coughing fits, is how damn thirsty I am. A bottle of water and slices of watermelon are produced out of somewhere and the drenched heroes just try to get our breath back.
After a while a colleague of the lifeguard show up, and tells us that the lady got CPR on the beach, and she was both breathing and talking as they hauled her off in the ambulance. I felt real good to hear that, but I also know that she'd gone lifeless for a bit there, and I really hope there's no brain damage.
After that one of the ambulance crew walk up and check on us (we're fine, just out of breath), but he still wants us to come in to shore so he can check our vitals. Along with him is a guy in a survival wetsuit (not sure what his job was), who also asks if we're okay, and when we say yes, he says that the police will probably want to take our statements. Fair enough, we get up, but my legs were like jelly so it was kind of a shuffle up to the shore. Walking over the loose gravel of the parking lot barefoot was especially fun.
Problem is, as the police is taking my statement, I'm starting to come down off the adrenaline, and the shock is starting to wear off. Along with a severe tingling in the fingertips and toes, I start going into fits of insane giggling, which inevitably slides into sobbing fits, accompanied by severe shaking in the hands. I must have seemed properly mental, but the cop doesn't look surprised by this and calls the medic over, who starts taking my vitals. I'm hyper-ventilating at this Point, as some part of me must've realized that I just had a brush with Death and a lot of signals are getting crossed in my brain. The medic takes my pulse, heart-rate and blood-sugar levels, then gives me two sugar tablets and advise me to breathe calmly. I lean back in my chair and do just that, helped by some fresh water from mom. I drank like a frikkin Camel I was so thirsty. Guess I got more saltwater in me than I thought.
After a while I start to level out, and the medic says I'm okay to leave, but I shouldn't be alone tonight. The cops offer to drive me and mom home, which I happily accept, 'cause I'm still not in any state to be riding my bike home right now. We get in and the police are actually nice enough to drive us to our beach hut first to pick up our gear, then we get driven straight to my front door, me sucking on the sugar tablets the whole way and thinking to myself "Don't fart in the nice police people's nice car." The things that bubble up in your brain in situations like this.
I'm still trying to Catch my breath, so I give mom the house keys while I sit down in one of my porch chairs and just Breathe. I make a call or two and call in some friends, who show up promptly once they hear what's happened, 'cause I need to go through this shit Before it melts my brain. Once evrybody's there, I go through Everything, telling the whole tale, interrupted by the occasional Crying spat (that still hurt), just letting it all out there. After two hours or so, the whole tale is out, and I feel like a wrung-out dishrag, so I stay in the porch chair for the rest of the afternoon, too tired to keep my Eyes open but too wired to fall asleep. An odd state for me to be in. Mom says she's spending the night on my couc no buts accepted and I'm grateful. To my surprise, that night's Dream featured a lot of water, but wasn't a nightmare.
Thursday I go back to work, despite my mom's arguing, 'cause honest work helps keep a man's head off the bad stuff. The boss has heard (through a friend) what happened yesterday, and she let's me comp out after half the workday with a lightened workload which I was very grateful for, 'cause my muscles were still a bit shot. So, Clock out, drive home, get out of the workclothes, then down to the beach, a Quick swim and a wash, then I spend the rest of the afternoon in my chair. No more excitement for me thank you.
Friday is pretty much the same; work half the day, comp out, then down to the beach, but when I get there the wind has picked up and my family isn't there, so I go home and sleep in my hammock.
Saturday afternoon and I'm back dow on the beach with the family, and I feel like diving again, so I walk down to the pier, alone this time since it's a bit late and mom wants to stay put, but thankfully nothing exciting happened (I kept a nervous eye off the side of the pier the whole way out though) and I did a few dives into the warm water. Sweet.
On the way back, I decided I wanted to shake the female lifguard's hand, 'cause she had really done a good job, but she wasn't in the first watchtowe, but the next one, which was past my family's usual spot. I walk by, drop off my towel and proceed to the lifeguard HQ. It's now nearly 5PM, so they're about to Clock out for the day, but she was thankfully still there and we talked for a bit. She was a skiny Little thing but she had my respect and I told her she'd done a great job (when I was getting into the ambulance I had seen her being lead away by a colleague, leaning on his shoulder as she cried her Eyes out, so she was in a bas bad a shape as me). While we're talking a lady walks up and wants to talk to her, and since I now know intimately how important a job these lifeguards do, I stand off to the side… and then I hear this:
"I just wanted to thank you so much for pulling me out of the water."
My heads snaps to her like it's on a swivel! IT'S HER! THE LADY WHO ALMOST DROWNED!!
I cut in by saying she looks a lot better than the last time I saw her, she realizes who I am and gives me an iron hug. She's there with her husband and we start getting her side of the story. Apparently she was doing an excercise swim when she got a mouthfull of water in her lungs and then couldn't get it out again, since she was in too Deep water to reach the bottom (it was at this Point that I noticed her). She apparently has no memories of what happened from when she panicked to when she woke up on the beach. She'd been told that a few guys had jumped in and helped keep her afloat until the lifeguard, but apparently nobody could remember our names. Still, I'm glad to be here now to meet her.
I give my side of the story, shake the hands of the lifeguard, the lady and her husbands, then walk back to the family. Along the way I can't help but me amazed at the long odds this lady just Went through.
For one thing, I wasn't supposed to have been there. When she was starting to drown I should have still been at work. If I hadn't gotten the suggestion from my boss to comp out, I wouldn't have been at the beach. What if I had decided to not go to the pier that day, or just when I did?
If I hadn't been there, would anybody else have noticed her floundering? She was right between two groups of people on the pier (three if you count the anchored boats), and a fair distance from both, and she could easily have been missed by either Group until she'd drowned.
Would anyone else have reached her in time? I was the first one to jump in and I hesitated for a few seconds, and it was only after my mom berated several of them that one jumped in after me, and I was alone with her for several long seconds.
If she had gone out just a half-hour later, the lifeguards would have gone off their shift and there wouldn't have been anyone to call the ambulance or fetch her out of the water.
Seriously, that lady beat some *Heavy* odds against her that day.
And my meeting with her? If I had done *anything* differently, *anything* to make me 10 minutes later or earlier, I would never have met her (probably).
These are the kind of odds that makes a man wonder.
Sunday afternoon it occured to me that I never bought any papers to see if this incident was mentioned in them. Just didn't occur to me.
I was shown an article by another friend on Sunday that showed that 6 people had drowned that Thursday in the entire country, a number unsurpassed in *decades*. Yikes. I'm just glad I helped it from becoming 7. ( https://www.msn.com/sv-se/nyheter/i.....AQP?li=BBqxCu3 )
So there you have it folks. My Life for the last few weeks. It's… been a bit eventful.
Sincerely sorry for the lack of updates, but like I said above, my muse has either been in a vacation-coma or in shock, so, Karno hasn't gotten any new page scripts to work on, but I'm getting my feet back under me now and I hope to be back to business as usual in August.
Take care out there, and stay safe.
The main reason for this is that I had 4 weeks of vacation in June and July, and I have currently been back to work for 2 weeks.
I have to admit, I have done almost nothing except lounge around and enjoy myself my whole vacation. Well, maybe not the first week which I spent with a bad Cold (darnit!), but the other 3 weeks, solid gold. I even got some much-needed re-planting and construction done on my garden and back yard. And the sun has been non-stop shining the whole time. Granted, the lack of rain has hurt the local farming scene, but overall, I'd call it a plus.
All things said and done, it's probably been the best vacation I have had in years. I didn't feel like I wasted a single day and I came back to work with a smile on my face and working like a tornado. The downside is, I haven't really felt inspired to write, and since Karno's worked through his buffer of page scripts, that meant no new HtbD pages this month. I'm getting back into the swing of things now and we should be back in business this August. I'm sorry for the lack of content, but I have to say, I really loved this break and apparently I needed it more than I thought.
Well, this flow of good vibes got a pretty serious knock on its head in the afternoon of last Thursday, July 26th.
I live in the South-west tip of Sweden, and we have great beaches here. We also have a Canal, with 2 piers on either side of it with Little lighthouses at the ends of them. I have dived from and swimmed by the pier closest to where my family camps on the beach since I was a teenager. I even have a standing tradition that I jump of the wall around the lighthouse into the Waters below at least once per summer. This has some slight risks if the current is going out, but I know how to be careful.
Now, on this particular day I had "comped out" from work 3 hours early (I have a lot of overtime saved up) and went straight to the beach to join the family for some sun and bathing in the ocean. Well, around 4PM I decided that I wanted to jump from the pier, and my mom, ever so worried about me, decided to come with. We walk over the beach and out onto the pier (it's about 700 yards from the beach to the lighthouse), when my mom draws my attention to this lady swimming alongside the outside of the pier. We both see that she is swimming very weirdly, with almost no coordination and she's mostly going in little circles. We both smell trouble and we shout out to her, asking if she needs help. No response, and her motions are now starting to slow down in a very alarming way. By now a few guys a bit further in on the side of the pier has noticed her as well, and are looking on with some alarm, wondering what to do, some of them shouting as well. A few more moments, and I can tell that this is going to end in a drowning if nobody does something.
I look outward the pier towards the lighthouse; closest people is at least 50 yards away and doesn't seem to have noticed anything yet. I look out to the water past the lady and there are several boats anchored a bit further out, but I can't see anybody on them. I look inland and I see the three guys about 15 yards from us, but they're just standing there watching with nervous looks on their face.
And then it hits me.
Nobody is going to jump in first.
Ah crap.
Decision made in that split instant, I hand over my glasses and my towel to my mom and I start making my way down the pier as fast but as safely as I can. Now, this pier is a serious piece of work if you're careless. It has a flat concrete surface about a yard and a half wide at the top, which then turns into a diagonal slope about 5 yards long down into the water, but it's made out of huge block that are only *sorta* flat, and there are gaps between some of them where if you step wrong in a hurry, you *will* snap your leg clean in half. Below that are more boulders under the water line, and they are so slick with seaweed it's like walking on wet ice.
In short, a pretty hazardous terrain when you're in a hurry, and I certainly was, but I had to weigh taking too long to get to the now-drowning lady against slipping on the rocks and breaking a leg (or worse) and therefore making myself useless to the situation.
Soon enough, but what still felt like way too long I get into the water and start doing the freestyle stroke out to the lady as fast as I can, all the way thinking "please be fast enough, please be fast enough, please be fast enough". By the time I reach the lady she is full-on floundering, but she's still spitting out water, which is a good sign. I try to get her attention but she is not noticing me at all, so I grab her with one arm under her chest ("don't grab them around the neck or you'll suffocate them" I remember someone teaching me), and try to swim to the pier.
This immediately proves to be impossible as the lady is completely flailing about in a panic now, and it's taking everything I have just to keep us afloat. Now the mantra running in circles in my head has become "Keep her head above the water", but she is rolling every which way, pulling me down under with her a few times.
Somehow I remember that there is a new lifeguard tower near the pier, and praying that they're watching, I stop swimming with one arm to wave it above our heads, trying to get their attention. Problem is, I was using that arm to keep us afloat, and I have no time for more than 3 waves or so before we both dunk under the water again, and I get my first taste of seawater. Okay, that's not going to work.
I resume keeping us both afloat, and I'm trying to get closer to the pier, but it's feeling like we're moving inches at a time at most (I've lost most spatial awareness by this Point), and the thought that crosses my mind is "Where the fuck IS everybody?! Am I ALONE out here?!" And I start screaming (as best I can) for help. The lady is still non-responsive and flailing and I'm starting to get tired. Now, I have a pretty physical job, I'm in pretty good shape and I've been swimming since I was a kid, but this is an entirely new level of exertion, one that my stable-working body is apparently not handling very well. At this Point, I am seriously starting to Think that me drowning next to her is actually a real possibility, and the thought pops into my head "If she starts dragging me down, am I going to kick her off to save myself and let her drown?". That was a really horrifying realization, that I could think that in such a situation.
Now, I'm approaching exhaustion, having taken a few mouthfulls of seawater, cradling a woman who (to my best efforts) is still in danger of drowning, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm goign to do the same. I'm only running on pure stubbornness right now, but things are looking grim.
Then, I notice someone else swimming towards me. One of the guys from the pier has come to help! Huzzah! He reaches us, and we both put one arm under her ribs and swim towards the pier for dear Life. Again, not making much apparent progress, but at least we're working together. A chance glance towards land lets me see someone in a redshirt lying on a yellow board swimming towards us at full speed! The lifeguard is coming to the rescue! YES!!!
And then things get worse.
The lady stops moving entirely.
Oh FUCK!
Now, I started out my career as a seaman, and drowning (and hypothermia incidentally this far North) is considered an occupational hazard, so I have been trained in how the process works. Basically, when a drowning person stops moving, this does not mean that they are *entirely* dead. It *does* however mean that they are starting to die, and you only have minutes before brain damage occurs and then eventually death. The clock was now ticking and it's all I and the other guy can do to just keep her afloat. I practically WILLED that lifeguard to swim faster for goodness sake before this lady starts having brain damage.
After another seeming-eternity she reaches us, and goddamn is this girl professional. No more than a teenager, but she instantly rolled off her board, then dragged the lady's limp arm across the board, then in one smooth action rolled the board again, dragging the lady up on it. NICE! I am so relieved that help has arrived, but the lady starts slipping off again. I can't help the lady now, but I can help the lifeguard, so I grab hold of the board with one hand and put the other on the lady's hip and SHOVE her into position so she's now steady on the board. It is at this point that I get an up-close look on the lady's face. Leather-y brown skin, thinning hair, in her 60's or there about (looks a bit like my mom actually). But her eyes are wide open and glazed over, looking right at me. I see a line of white foam dribbling down from the side of her mouth and I think "Oh God, am I staring into the eyes of a corpse right now?".
The lifeguard takes off as a shot, and I figure that my part in this is done. Time to get back to the pier… which is when I notice that I'm way more tired that I thought. Forget freestyle, I'm barely keeping afloat, and the thought occurs to me that it'd be pretty stupid to save one person from drowning only for me to take her Place. But I'm way too tired to Think of what I'd look like, so I flipped over on my back, took a Deep breath and then just floated for a bit. Aaaah, much better. My arms were like leadweights.
A moment of two of that, then I flip back upright and swim very slowly to the stone of the pier. A few of the other guy's friend have come down to the water and they help drag my coughing and exhausted carcass, in fits and starts up to the middle of the pier, at which point I decide I need a lie-down. I haven't felt this tired in years, and it's all I can do just to breathe steadily. I manage to turn my head towards shore, and there I see a stretcher, 4 guys on each side, hauling ass up the dune towards the parking lot, and that felt good to see. If the lady was dead I don't Think they'd be in such a hurry.
By now me and the other 2 guys (apparently a 3rd guy showed up around the time the lifeguard did, but I barely noticed him) have started to attract a crowd, everyone saying we did a great job, but all I can Think of, inbetween the coughing fits, is how damn thirsty I am. A bottle of water and slices of watermelon are produced out of somewhere and the drenched heroes just try to get our breath back.
After a while a colleague of the lifeguard show up, and tells us that the lady got CPR on the beach, and she was both breathing and talking as they hauled her off in the ambulance. I felt real good to hear that, but I also know that she'd gone lifeless for a bit there, and I really hope there's no brain damage.
After that one of the ambulance crew walk up and check on us (we're fine, just out of breath), but he still wants us to come in to shore so he can check our vitals. Along with him is a guy in a survival wetsuit (not sure what his job was), who also asks if we're okay, and when we say yes, he says that the police will probably want to take our statements. Fair enough, we get up, but my legs were like jelly so it was kind of a shuffle up to the shore. Walking over the loose gravel of the parking lot barefoot was especially fun.
Problem is, as the police is taking my statement, I'm starting to come down off the adrenaline, and the shock is starting to wear off. Along with a severe tingling in the fingertips and toes, I start going into fits of insane giggling, which inevitably slides into sobbing fits, accompanied by severe shaking in the hands. I must have seemed properly mental, but the cop doesn't look surprised by this and calls the medic over, who starts taking my vitals. I'm hyper-ventilating at this Point, as some part of me must've realized that I just had a brush with Death and a lot of signals are getting crossed in my brain. The medic takes my pulse, heart-rate and blood-sugar levels, then gives me two sugar tablets and advise me to breathe calmly. I lean back in my chair and do just that, helped by some fresh water from mom. I drank like a frikkin Camel I was so thirsty. Guess I got more saltwater in me than I thought.
After a while I start to level out, and the medic says I'm okay to leave, but I shouldn't be alone tonight. The cops offer to drive me and mom home, which I happily accept, 'cause I'm still not in any state to be riding my bike home right now. We get in and the police are actually nice enough to drive us to our beach hut first to pick up our gear, then we get driven straight to my front door, me sucking on the sugar tablets the whole way and thinking to myself "Don't fart in the nice police people's nice car." The things that bubble up in your brain in situations like this.
I'm still trying to Catch my breath, so I give mom the house keys while I sit down in one of my porch chairs and just Breathe. I make a call or two and call in some friends, who show up promptly once they hear what's happened, 'cause I need to go through this shit Before it melts my brain. Once evrybody's there, I go through Everything, telling the whole tale, interrupted by the occasional Crying spat (that still hurt), just letting it all out there. After two hours or so, the whole tale is out, and I feel like a wrung-out dishrag, so I stay in the porch chair for the rest of the afternoon, too tired to keep my Eyes open but too wired to fall asleep. An odd state for me to be in. Mom says she's spending the night on my couc no buts accepted and I'm grateful. To my surprise, that night's Dream featured a lot of water, but wasn't a nightmare.
Thursday I go back to work, despite my mom's arguing, 'cause honest work helps keep a man's head off the bad stuff. The boss has heard (through a friend) what happened yesterday, and she let's me comp out after half the workday with a lightened workload which I was very grateful for, 'cause my muscles were still a bit shot. So, Clock out, drive home, get out of the workclothes, then down to the beach, a Quick swim and a wash, then I spend the rest of the afternoon in my chair. No more excitement for me thank you.
Friday is pretty much the same; work half the day, comp out, then down to the beach, but when I get there the wind has picked up and my family isn't there, so I go home and sleep in my hammock.
Saturday afternoon and I'm back dow on the beach with the family, and I feel like diving again, so I walk down to the pier, alone this time since it's a bit late and mom wants to stay put, but thankfully nothing exciting happened (I kept a nervous eye off the side of the pier the whole way out though) and I did a few dives into the warm water. Sweet.
On the way back, I decided I wanted to shake the female lifguard's hand, 'cause she had really done a good job, but she wasn't in the first watchtowe, but the next one, which was past my family's usual spot. I walk by, drop off my towel and proceed to the lifeguard HQ. It's now nearly 5PM, so they're about to Clock out for the day, but she was thankfully still there and we talked for a bit. She was a skiny Little thing but she had my respect and I told her she'd done a great job (when I was getting into the ambulance I had seen her being lead away by a colleague, leaning on his shoulder as she cried her Eyes out, so she was in a bas bad a shape as me). While we're talking a lady walks up and wants to talk to her, and since I now know intimately how important a job these lifeguards do, I stand off to the side… and then I hear this:
"I just wanted to thank you so much for pulling me out of the water."
My heads snaps to her like it's on a swivel! IT'S HER! THE LADY WHO ALMOST DROWNED!!
I cut in by saying she looks a lot better than the last time I saw her, she realizes who I am and gives me an iron hug. She's there with her husband and we start getting her side of the story. Apparently she was doing an excercise swim when she got a mouthfull of water in her lungs and then couldn't get it out again, since she was in too Deep water to reach the bottom (it was at this Point that I noticed her). She apparently has no memories of what happened from when she panicked to when she woke up on the beach. She'd been told that a few guys had jumped in and helped keep her afloat until the lifeguard, but apparently nobody could remember our names. Still, I'm glad to be here now to meet her.
I give my side of the story, shake the hands of the lifeguard, the lady and her husbands, then walk back to the family. Along the way I can't help but me amazed at the long odds this lady just Went through.
For one thing, I wasn't supposed to have been there. When she was starting to drown I should have still been at work. If I hadn't gotten the suggestion from my boss to comp out, I wouldn't have been at the beach. What if I had decided to not go to the pier that day, or just when I did?
If I hadn't been there, would anybody else have noticed her floundering? She was right between two groups of people on the pier (three if you count the anchored boats), and a fair distance from both, and she could easily have been missed by either Group until she'd drowned.
Would anyone else have reached her in time? I was the first one to jump in and I hesitated for a few seconds, and it was only after my mom berated several of them that one jumped in after me, and I was alone with her for several long seconds.
If she had gone out just a half-hour later, the lifeguards would have gone off their shift and there wouldn't have been anyone to call the ambulance or fetch her out of the water.
Seriously, that lady beat some *Heavy* odds against her that day.
And my meeting with her? If I had done *anything* differently, *anything* to make me 10 minutes later or earlier, I would never have met her (probably).
These are the kind of odds that makes a man wonder.
Sunday afternoon it occured to me that I never bought any papers to see if this incident was mentioned in them. Just didn't occur to me.
I was shown an article by another friend on Sunday that showed that 6 people had drowned that Thursday in the entire country, a number unsurpassed in *decades*. Yikes. I'm just glad I helped it from becoming 7. ( https://www.msn.com/sv-se/nyheter/i.....AQP?li=BBqxCu3 )
So there you have it folks. My Life for the last few weeks. It's… been a bit eventful.
Sincerely sorry for the lack of updates, but like I said above, my muse has either been in a vacation-coma or in shock, so, Karno hasn't gotten any new page scripts to work on, but I'm getting my feet back under me now and I hope to be back to business as usual in August.
Take care out there, and stay safe.
R.I.P. TotalBiscuit
General | Posted 7 years agoI just found out that John "TotalBiscuit" Bain passed away yesterday after a long battle with bowel cancer. This saddens me greatly.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44250597
I first came across TB while looking for videos on the game Magicka on Youtube, and his videos never failed to be either entertaining or informative. Through his videos I have also found other YT content creators that have made my Life, if not richer, then at least far more entertained than I would have been otherwise. Jesse Cox, Dodger, the Yogscast, the Co-Optional Podcast and so many other. The man truly influenced my Life for the better.
TB made a video back when he first was diagnosed with cancer and I died a Little bit. This was by far my absolute favorite Youtube personality, and the thought of his life being in danger sickened me. But I fully understood and sympathized when he declared that he was goin to step down from his place as a YT content creator to be able to spend as much of his remaining time with his family. Who wouldn't do the same in that position?
And today, I found out that cancer finally managed to beat him. A great light has been extinguished and the World is a Little bit less bright than it was. Mr Bain might not have been known the world over, but those that knew him loved him for providing such quality content.
In tribute to this great man, I now post the first part of my absolute favorite video series by TB, his playthrough of Magicka with the Yogscast.
https://youtu.be/wZHhwUK8aj8
And here's the rest of the series in one playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZHhwUK8aj8&list=PL645A94C4720C11E7
Rest in Peace TB. You made my world brighter.
John "TotalBiscuit" Bain
July 8, 1984 - May 24, 2018
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44250597
I first came across TB while looking for videos on the game Magicka on Youtube, and his videos never failed to be either entertaining or informative. Through his videos I have also found other YT content creators that have made my Life, if not richer, then at least far more entertained than I would have been otherwise. Jesse Cox, Dodger, the Yogscast, the Co-Optional Podcast and so many other. The man truly influenced my Life for the better.
TB made a video back when he first was diagnosed with cancer and I died a Little bit. This was by far my absolute favorite Youtube personality, and the thought of his life being in danger sickened me. But I fully understood and sympathized when he declared that he was goin to step down from his place as a YT content creator to be able to spend as much of his remaining time with his family. Who wouldn't do the same in that position?
And today, I found out that cancer finally managed to beat him. A great light has been extinguished and the World is a Little bit less bright than it was. Mr Bain might not have been known the world over, but those that knew him loved him for providing such quality content.
In tribute to this great man, I now post the first part of my absolute favorite video series by TB, his playthrough of Magicka with the Yogscast.
https://youtu.be/wZHhwUK8aj8
And here's the rest of the series in one playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZHhwUK8aj8&list=PL645A94C4720C11E7
Rest in Peace TB. You made my world brighter.
John "TotalBiscuit" Bain
July 8, 1984 - May 24, 2018
NO PATREON FEE CHANGES!!! WOOHOO!!!
General | Posted 8 years agoGlad to see Patreon actually listens to feedback!
https://blog.patreon.com/not-rollin.....t-fees-change/
https://blog.patreon.com/not-rollin.....t-fees-change/
Battle Angel Alita.... live action movie???
General | Posted 8 years agohttps://youtu.be/bhAkOUJseqM
Speaking as a fan of Yukito Kishiro, I am not sure this could work. Okay, this looks *kinda* promising, but BBA is one of those mangas that is *very* hard to translate into movie form. They tried it once with an anime of the first book, and that was kinda so-so.
That said, I really like the look of the special effects in this trailer.
- Alita's eyes both look weird and appropriate. Love her arms (that were salvaged from a cyber-prostitute btw XD). I think Rosa Salazar will do a good job of portraying her.
- It was interesting to see Ido salvage Alita from the Scrapyard again, now that I actually know how she ended up there. No spoilers, but let's just say it involved a really painful amount of fire, and not in the way you think.
- Christhoph Waltz is an interesting choice for Daisuke "Doc" Ido, and I'm sure he'll play the part well. AND I WANT TO SEE HIM USE THE ROCKET HAMMER!!!!
- Jennifer Connelly as Chiren? From the OVA? Noooot sure that's a good sign. "Mark of Tiphares"
- Is that Ed Skrein as Zapan? Interesting choice, and I suppose he kinda fits the role.
- I'm noticing a distinct lack of forehead tattoos. Neither Waltz (Ido) nor Skrein (Zapan) have their traditional markings. Strangely enough, Connelly (Chiren) does, but it doesn't look exactly like a "Mark of Tiphares". Huh???
- I see Gonzu is now a woman. And black. And got a cyber arm instead of a skull plate. Okay.
- Tiphares looks a lot more Alien in this version, what Little we saw of it.
- Hugo got a motorcycle. Huzzah?
- Mahershala Ali as Vector coudl be interesting. They got the look down pat at least.
- Not sure if that's supposed to be Grewcica, Makaku or Kinuba wielding the iconic Grindcutters. That's one's a cointoss really.
- I have no idea who Mantis lady is suposed to be. Considering the hulking shadow in the background, maybe a female version of Rasha/Izuchi
- No sign of Clive Lee, which is a little bit sad.
Any other Battle Angle fans here wanting to make your thoughts known on this?
Speaking as a fan of Yukito Kishiro, I am not sure this could work. Okay, this looks *kinda* promising, but BBA is one of those mangas that is *very* hard to translate into movie form. They tried it once with an anime of the first book, and that was kinda so-so.
That said, I really like the look of the special effects in this trailer.
- Alita's eyes both look weird and appropriate. Love her arms (that were salvaged from a cyber-prostitute btw XD). I think Rosa Salazar will do a good job of portraying her.
- It was interesting to see Ido salvage Alita from the Scrapyard again, now that I actually know how she ended up there. No spoilers, but let's just say it involved a really painful amount of fire, and not in the way you think.
- Christhoph Waltz is an interesting choice for Daisuke "Doc" Ido, and I'm sure he'll play the part well. AND I WANT TO SEE HIM USE THE ROCKET HAMMER!!!!
- Jennifer Connelly as Chiren? From the OVA? Noooot sure that's a good sign. "Mark of Tiphares"
- Is that Ed Skrein as Zapan? Interesting choice, and I suppose he kinda fits the role.
- I'm noticing a distinct lack of forehead tattoos. Neither Waltz (Ido) nor Skrein (Zapan) have their traditional markings. Strangely enough, Connelly (Chiren) does, but it doesn't look exactly like a "Mark of Tiphares". Huh???
- I see Gonzu is now a woman. And black. And got a cyber arm instead of a skull plate. Okay.
- Tiphares looks a lot more Alien in this version, what Little we saw of it.
- Hugo got a motorcycle. Huzzah?
- Mahershala Ali as Vector coudl be interesting. They got the look down pat at least.
- Not sure if that's supposed to be Grewcica, Makaku or Kinuba wielding the iconic Grindcutters. That's one's a cointoss really.
- I have no idea who Mantis lady is suposed to be. Considering the hulking shadow in the background, maybe a female version of Rasha/Izuchi
- No sign of Clive Lee, which is a little bit sad.
Any other Battle Angle fans here wanting to make your thoughts known on this?
A Batman Ninja anime???
General | Posted 8 years agoSpoiler-free review of "Passengers"
General | Posted 9 years agoI just got back from the theatre, and wow, that was a good movie.
Beautiful cinematics, a well-made soundtrack, and some very interesting characters. The setting is in deep space, which is always a plus for me; equal parts amazingly beautiful and utterly terrifying.
Some really well-thought out scenes, but pretty realistic depictions of how dangerous a spaceship can be when things stop working. There are some details about the overally setting of this universe that are a bit sketchy, but overall, I feel you get told enough.
The ending might have been a bit cheesy, but after the whole rest of the Movie, I felt it was well-deserved.
Chris Pratt puts in an amazing performance of what a person in his situation would do. Some of his scenes are pretty heartbreaking.
Michael Sheen is amazing as always. Not easy to find a character who is a genuinely positive influence (with maybe one exception) throughout an entire movie, but he pulls it off. Personally, I think he makes a better android than Michael Fassbender's David character in Prometheus.
This is probably one of Jennifer Lawrence's best movies in my opinion. She plays a believable character who, like Pratt, is put in an impossible situation that nobody can really say what they would do in their place. It is slightly different than Pratt's, which I can't talk about without going into spoiler-territory, but it's very interesting to see how she reacts to a situation that is almost entirely identical. I found myself wondering how she would have acted if their positions had been reversed.
Lawrence Fishburne plays a small but good role with a character that moves the plot forward in interesting ways that would not have been possible without him, which to me is the sign of good writing.
Finally, I think this movie was brilliant for raising an extremely tough question: When put into a situation where there are only bad choices at hand, what would you do?
I give this movie a 8 or 9 out of 10. I could see myself watching this movie again. Maybe once more in the cinema and few more times on rental, but it's not something I'd dip into when I'm bored.
Beautiful cinematics, a well-made soundtrack, and some very interesting characters. The setting is in deep space, which is always a plus for me; equal parts amazingly beautiful and utterly terrifying.
Some really well-thought out scenes, but pretty realistic depictions of how dangerous a spaceship can be when things stop working. There are some details about the overally setting of this universe that are a bit sketchy, but overall, I feel you get told enough.
The ending might have been a bit cheesy, but after the whole rest of the Movie, I felt it was well-deserved.
Chris Pratt puts in an amazing performance of what a person in his situation would do. Some of his scenes are pretty heartbreaking.
Michael Sheen is amazing as always. Not easy to find a character who is a genuinely positive influence (with maybe one exception) throughout an entire movie, but he pulls it off. Personally, I think he makes a better android than Michael Fassbender's David character in Prometheus.
This is probably one of Jennifer Lawrence's best movies in my opinion. She plays a believable character who, like Pratt, is put in an impossible situation that nobody can really say what they would do in their place. It is slightly different than Pratt's, which I can't talk about without going into spoiler-territory, but it's very interesting to see how she reacts to a situation that is almost entirely identical. I found myself wondering how she would have acted if their positions had been reversed.
Lawrence Fishburne plays a small but good role with a character that moves the plot forward in interesting ways that would not have been possible without him, which to me is the sign of good writing.
Finally, I think this movie was brilliant for raising an extremely tough question: When put into a situation where there are only bad choices at hand, what would you do?
I give this movie a 8 or 9 out of 10. I could see myself watching this movie again. Maybe once more in the cinema and few more times on rental, but it's not something I'd dip into when I'm bored.
Spoiler-free Doctor Strange review
General | Posted 9 years agoIt's good!
.
.
.
.
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Okay, maybe a bit more info than that. Hmm, let's see...
- Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job as playing Doctor Strange, and there are several moments that are genuinely funny.
- The special effects are pretty amazing, with the classic "magic circle over the hands when casting magic" trope a very appreciated addition. The "fractal everbending structures" are also an amazing effect.
- For those curious about those wicked short swords that Mads Mikkelsen uses (sadly only once in the movie), they're called "trumbash" and are from Africa.
- There are two end-credit clips, one after the fractal lightshow ends and then another after all the rest of the credits. Both are fairly good.
- Fair warning to those who easily get motion sickness; there's a scene around the half-hour mark that *might* make you throw up. Or maybe give you an epilectic fit. Listen for Tilda Swinton saying "Open your eye." On the other hand, if you're even a little bit high, it will probably also blow your socks off. XD
- Some of the faster action scenes can get a bit confusing with all the close-ups. Or maybe that's because I saw the premiere in 3D and my astigmatism makes seeing movies through 3D glasses a bit blurry sometimes.
Overall, I really liked this movie, I recommend it to Marvel fans, and I'd go see it again. Though probably in plain ol' 2D this time.
.
.
.
.
.
Okay, maybe a bit more info than that. Hmm, let's see...
- Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job as playing Doctor Strange, and there are several moments that are genuinely funny.
- The special effects are pretty amazing, with the classic "magic circle over the hands when casting magic" trope a very appreciated addition. The "fractal everbending structures" are also an amazing effect.
- For those curious about those wicked short swords that Mads Mikkelsen uses (sadly only once in the movie), they're called "trumbash" and are from Africa.
- There are two end-credit clips, one after the fractal lightshow ends and then another after all the rest of the credits. Both are fairly good.
- Fair warning to those who easily get motion sickness; there's a scene around the half-hour mark that *might* make you throw up. Or maybe give you an epilectic fit. Listen for Tilda Swinton saying "Open your eye." On the other hand, if you're even a little bit high, it will probably also blow your socks off. XD
- Some of the faster action scenes can get a bit confusing with all the close-ups. Or maybe that's because I saw the premiere in 3D and my astigmatism makes seeing movies through 3D glasses a bit blurry sometimes.
Overall, I really liked this movie, I recommend it to Marvel fans, and I'd go see it again. Though probably in plain ol' 2D this time.
Signal-boosting another great artist on Patreon
General | Posted 9 years agoThe older I get the more I believe in the power of word-of-mouth. Very often, it all comes down to who you know, and who they know.
And seeing as one of my favorite artists to commission, the amazingly talented Dankwart, has just opened a Patreon page, I naturally felt that I should spread the word to help this amazing artist.
https://www.patreon.com/Dankwart?ty=h
For some of the art that I have gotten from DW over the years, have a look at these.
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/20024508/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/16981964/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/12474800/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/11595476/
I really cannot recommend commissioning him enough, as he is very interested in input with a great eye for details. And throwing him a few bucks a month wouldn't be that bad a thing.
And seeing as one of my favorite artists to commission, the amazingly talented Dankwart, has just opened a Patreon page, I naturally felt that I should spread the word to help this amazing artist.
https://www.patreon.com/Dankwart?ty=h
For some of the art that I have gotten from DW over the years, have a look at these.
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/20024508/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/16981964/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/12474800/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/11595476/
I really cannot recommend commissioning him enough, as he is very interested in input with a great eye for details. And throwing him a few bucks a month wouldn't be that bad a thing.
Looking for a silly Gilligan's Island remix
General | Posted 10 years agoDoes anybody know, or possibly even have a link to, the sped-up remix of the Gilligan's island intro song that's heard at the end of this video?
The song starts at 18.28 btw.
https://youtu.be/mlEWUbNO6vo
The song starts at 18.28 btw.
https://youtu.be/mlEWUbNO6vo
My review of Deadpool (spoiler free)
General | Posted 10 years agoGo see it.
...
Now.
...
Why are you still reading this??? Go see Deadpool!
Why?
Okay, spoiler-free reason to go see Deadpool; I have not winced this much at seeing people die in horrific and gory ways in the theatre since Django Unchained.
And I laughed my ass off to most of them.
Make of that what you will.
Go see this movie. You won't regret it.
;)
...
Now.
...
Why are you still reading this??? Go see Deadpool!
Why?
Okay, spoiler-free reason to go see Deadpool; I have not winced this much at seeing people die in horrific and gory ways in the theatre since Django Unchained.
And I laughed my ass off to most of them.
Make of that what you will.
Go see this movie. You won't regret it.
;)
Let's start off 2016 FABULOUSLY shall we?
General | Posted 10 years agoMuahahahaaaa!!! More Guns of Icarus!!!
General | Posted 10 years agoOh yesssss, more steampunk airship warfare of the very highest quality!
https://youtu.be/XxnyjVwRB50
https://youtu.be/XxnyjVwRB50
Battlechasers Kickstarter now in its final hours.
General | Posted 10 years agoWell, I posted a journal about this Kickstarter about a month ago, and man has this game gotten some love. Those stretch goals just keeps dropping one after the other. It frankly tickles to watch. To be perfectly honest, there are a few that I didn't care about, but the rest, wow, they would make the game so much better.
However, since the Kickstarter is now in its final hours, and there is a chance my last journal went unread, I figure I could spread the word one more time.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....sers-nightwar/
Battlechasers will be a game. It might even be a great game. But will be an awesome game? If you love Battlechasers, and feel that you have a few spare bucks, why not throw some of it at this Kickstarter? Mre Battlechasers love cannot be wrong.
On that note, to all my Watchers who have read Battlechasers, what was/is your favorite character? Mine was always Calibretto, the lovable goof. He may very well be the reason I love Warforged so much. No not Wargolems, Warforged. The DnD construct race. X3
EDIT: Aaaand it's over. Just over 850k pledged. WOOHOO!!!
However, since the Kickstarter is now in its final hours, and there is a chance my last journal went unread, I figure I could spread the word one more time.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....sers-nightwar/
Battlechasers will be a game. It might even be a great game. But will be an awesome game? If you love Battlechasers, and feel that you have a few spare bucks, why not throw some of it at this Kickstarter? Mre Battlechasers love cannot be wrong.
On that note, to all my Watchers who have read Battlechasers, what was/is your favorite character? Mine was always Calibretto, the lovable goof. He may very well be the reason I love Warforged so much. No not Wargolems, Warforged. The DnD construct race. X3
EDIT: Aaaand it's over. Just over 850k pledged. WOOHOO!!!
OH MY GOD!!! AN ACTUAL BATTLECHASERS VIDEO GAME!!!
General | Posted 10 years agoYES! YES! YYYEEEEEAAAAAHH BABY!!!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....ar/description
Bloody hell, good ol Joe MAD is finally doing it. Battlechasers is finally coming into glorious digital life!!! If there are any fans of Joe Madureira, or hell, Battlechasers reading this, you seriously need to get off your ass and throw this project a few bucks, because it *deserves* to get made.
I've already thrown some cash their way, because I'm a *huge* nerd for all things Joe Mad, and I recommend you do so too.
Heck, even if you're broke, you can still vote for it on Steam Greenlight.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...../?id=512363629
NOW GET OUT THERE AND HELP MAKE THIS GAME A REALITY!!!
https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....ar/description
Bloody hell, good ol Joe MAD is finally doing it. Battlechasers is finally coming into glorious digital life!!! If there are any fans of Joe Madureira, or hell, Battlechasers reading this, you seriously need to get off your ass and throw this project a few bucks, because it *deserves* to get made.
I've already thrown some cash their way, because I'm a *huge* nerd for all things Joe Mad, and I recommend you do so too.
Heck, even if you're broke, you can still vote for it on Steam Greenlight.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfil...../?id=512363629
NOW GET OUT THERE AND HELP MAKE THIS GAME A REALITY!!!
