Many already know this, but I thought I'd state for the record that I will not be attending Further Confusion this year, due to circumstances that make it necessary for me to stick close to home. (the increasing cost and inconvenience of air travel doesn't help either)

Anyway, AFAIK the new Sabrina Online 13 will be available from United Publications and (I think) FurPlanet at the con. a new "first decade" large collection should be available as well.

I'm still working on a CD image collection, which should be available in my catalog (along with the new Sabrina collections) by February.

Eric S.

All they are is something someone came up with one time, which carried forward to other people and subsequent years. Sometimes it turns out to be easier or even better to just come up with your own.

It used to be my family's tradition to travel to indiana, where most of the other relations lived, for the traditional home-cooked dinner and mass exchange of gifts. Over the last decade or so more and relatives passed away and/or moved to diverse and distant parts of the country, making travel to a common point impractical at best, Leaving a very small circle of family and friends in my local area. The upside to shopping for fewer people is it's easier to put real thought into your gifts, rather than getting the same tool set or perfume gift pack for people you see only once or twice a year.

My family's Christmas gathering traditions nowadays are simple. A brief exchange of presents, followed by Chinese dinner and baklava for dessert. Basic and very enjoyable. Hope all of yours were comparably good.

Nice times today, cooking and sharing Thanksgiving Day with my father and visiting dignitary  shoulung , as well as dogs Dot and Dash, and older-than-ancient-dirt cat Ditto. Between all of us we polished off all the food that was fixed (didn't have a whole torkey, but one of those deboned turkey breast things), which makes me feel like I did something wrong. It can't really be Thanksgiving without leftovers for days, right?

P.S. The dogs got some turkey, gravy, green beans, and yams today too. It's what we do.

http://www.slagacon.com/

Saturday  shoulung and I took a day trip to this new Transformers convention. It was quite a small and laid-back affair (in Furry con terms, it was a Morphicon - in its early years). The main dealer room was a small gym/auditorium of the type seen in a lot of schools or churches, with short bleachers running along the sides, which was actually way better than it sounds. I was able to get autographs from the voice actor guests, spent about a hundred bucks on toys & merch, and won first place in the art contest (also last place and any hypothetical other places, as I was the only entrant.). I also won a small Megatron toy in the door prize givaways, which I gave to Shou.

Overall, a small con, and a nice time. I'd go again.

Here's a way to waste a minute or two:

http://bayifier.com/


I may or may not have stolen a toy photo of the web and made this:

http://bayifier.com/view/?id=1041956696

Surprisingly close to home (literally):

http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/video%.....caught-on-tape

Apologies for not following one of the meme templates.

Anyway, (barring any large unpleasant surprises) I will be going to Anthrocon, quite possibly the last convention I go to this year with shifting family issues and priorities.

I can be found during normal con hours in the Dealers' room, (table G-03, near the loading dock and concession stand), I'll have my usual comics, prints (a handful of new ones), CDs/DVDs, line art originals from Fur After Dark and other projects, and the remainder of the Sabrina Online and Fur After Dark t-shirts (some popular sizes are either very limited numbers or sold out, I'm sorry to say. I'll have something listing which sizes are available) Just keep your eyes peeled for the Sabrina Online / Fur After Dark combo banner at the front of my table, as well as whatever Transformer toy mascots decide to tag along.

I'll also be drawing in sketchbooks. Generally I charge $30 for B&W ink drawings (no more than three characters, please.) Available slots fill up quickly (I don't take pre-orders), so get to me close to when the room opens each day for best results. This year I will also be experimenting with cheap 'quick-sketch' drawings on index cards, though the exact nature and the price is yet to be determined. (could be a buck or two, could be free with purchase of some merchase)

Oh yeah, also gonna have a few items in both sides of the art show.

See you at AC! (if you're going, that is)

Partially because it's in Orlando this year, but mostly because it's the same weekend as Anthrocon, which I am going to.

However, the ad video almost makes me want to change my mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JstSopRgmEc
Be sure to stay 'til the end of the video!

First off, hope all you mothers (and relatives of mothers) out there had a nice Mothers' Day. Unfortunately I lost my mom back in '06, which results in my family's current Mothers' Day tradition - a solemn visit to a graveyard. Afterward Dad and I, along with Shou Lung, went to see Iron Man 2, which I found to be a thoroughly enjoyable film with loads of fun & personality, followed by dinner at a Mongolian grill. All in all a fine Mothers' Day, even considering my form of Mothers' Day tradition.

Also, I thought I'd mention that I will be going to Morphicon in Columbus this weekend. (May 14-16). This is mostly a recreational convention for me, for relaxing and seeing friends. I might be in the Artist Alley from time to time, but I probably won't be doing a lot in the way of sketches or sales. Not saying I won't at all, but I'll be there for fun, not work. With that in mind, see ya there if you're going.

Eric S.

P.S. I vant my bourd.

I've made no secret of being a fan of the Hasbro/Cartoon Network joint venture "Transformers Animated". Recently the show has debuted in Japan in a dubbed, edited form (some day I'll probably find out whether it was modified or butchered (Japanese dubs of English shows have about as good a track record as English dubs of Japanese shows). But there is at least something worthwhile out of it.

Now this is the series opening titles seen in the USA and elsewhere:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WElNiiPJvUA

- and THIS is the all-new Japanese opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWjXcmBjJXg

It strays away from the normal cartoon style a bit, to add on heaps of "anime fuckawesome" along with a healthy dose of "this never actually happens in the show". As someone who knows the western version of the series, there's a lot of notables in this intro, which I'd assume was made to be cool and exciting above any other considerations (and succeeding admirably)

- The intro seems to excel at avoiding spoiling the cartoon in some areas, and full-on giving it away in other places. (sometimes in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it way though)

. I have no idea who the shadowy guy in a cloak at the beginning of this is supposed to be.

. Arcee does more in this intro than she does in the entirety of the series.

. Bulkhead (called "Ironhide" in this dub), seemed to be part of a non-existent three-person team, of himself, Arcee, and Ironhide (well, Ironhide in the western show, presumably he's getting a different name to make room for the Ironhide who doesn't actually look like ironhide. )

- These animators like their girl-bot glamour shots. I'm surprised they didn't toss any of the short-appearance female robots in for extra cheescake.

- Human characters were wholly avoided - in both intros.

Content considerations aside, it's still very pretty to look at and fun to watch (for me at least). I may have t6o track down that title track eventually.

geek/nurdraeg mode off ... for now.

Apparently Amy the Squirrel is a drug dealer.

http://dopecouture.com/wordpress/?p=5453

I recognize the drawing as a frame from an animation I did ... in 1991. I'm more bemused and slightly wierded out by this than actually bothered, but I guess I'll have to check into the situation.

Got back from Cali and Further Confusion. the new location in downtown San Jose is pretty awesome, though the hotel itself is a tad iffy (I'm probably biased here as a combination of circumstances resulted in me sleeping in a makeshift bed made of chairs, giving me a wrecked back for most of the con). Other than that, it was a good time. My usual thanks to customers, artists, friends, and those who stopped by my corner to say hi.

Also, I have some copies of the "Five Years of FAD" 2010 calendar (mentioned here http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3261928/ and here http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3261937 ) left after the con. If you'd like to get a copy, please send me a private message here to reserve one and get payment info. Price is $18 including shipping within the USA - Sales to outside the US will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I can take payment by PayPal or EPassporte. Supplies are limited, so get yours now! (concluding blatant sales pitch)

Eric S.

2009, for me, counts as a year where several things in my life shifted focus, in that "things will never be the same" sorta way. Around April I took the plunge and bought a new car - not my first car, but the first where I am the original owner, as well as the first bought with no help from parents. While a new car isn't exactly a major life change, the paying for it can be. (I got debt! Building credit scores! Awesome!)

2009 was also the year where I found myself taking more and more taking on the role of my father's memory and appointment calendar. As he progresses through his seventies, his memory, especially short term, has gotten much less reliable, so I've become the go-to guy for keeping him on track, taking his medications, and more. He's still largely independent for now, but I'm keeping watch. I've been through all this with my late mother years back, so I'm semi-confident that I'm better equipped to handle the situation and not get blindsided by it.

Finally, I had a couple medical scares of my own over the past year. It wasn't anything particularly threatening or serious, but still required real professional attention, and did an excellent job shaking me out of that "Oh, I'll be just fine - nothing bad's gonna happen!" complacency of youth. My usual new year's resolution is to lose weight (with the "and this time, I mean it!" tag on the end), but I think I've got more resolve and a better chance of success in the coming year, as I've already been working at it for months, eating better and getting more exercise. My intent is to slowly modify my behavior, as (knowing myself) that has a better chance of lasting success than the diets. I'll take all the luck I can get in 2010 - I'll probably need it, but at least I've also got this tiny amount of confidence that I'll be able to improve myself - weight, health, and life in general.

I got my H1N1/Swine Flu vaccine, so nobody's catchin' it from me!

Basically it was available when I took my father in for a doctor's appointment. The nurse was great. She said "Here, hold your sleeve up." and I said "So, when are you going - oh, you already finished giving the shot."

Anyway, everyone can relax now. The crisis is over.

SUPPLEMENTAL: Very much serious business in the comments, I see - either from people taking this journal a bit more literally than intended, or from those of a more conspiratorial theoretical bent.

As of the 27th, I am now 38, right in that meaty area somewhere between "BAAAHH, yer still a damn kid! *cough hack*" and "OMG you're so OLD! I'd rather kill myself than be that ancient!". My birthday always falls somewhere around (American) Thanksgiving. This year it's on frantic holiday shopping consumption-fest "black friday". I'm glad to not hear about any bargain-seeking shoppers trampled to death on my birthday (so far) - that would have been a bit of a downer.

Regarding the "Damn, yer old!" side of things, it's a little scary to think that my first Amiga animations as well as my first drawings of Amy the Squirrel - the first things to put me 'on the map' in terms of being known beyond my own immediate area - come from 1989 ... twenty years ago. It puts things into perspective looking at all that has changed, next to all the stuff that barely changed at all in a couple decades.

It'll happen to YOU!!

Oh, and I got Legos for my birthday.

Just got back from Midwest Furfest. It's my first year at the newer location, which was nice, but I was damn glad to have my car available for getting around between the main hotel, overflow hotel, MY cheap-ass motel, and various eating and shopping venues. Thanks to all the folks who drew stuff for me, let me draw stuff for them, bought stuff from me, had stuff for me to purchase, and just in general tolerated my presence for more than ten consecutive seconds. (You know who you are - why rattle off a list of names? ) In addition to my usual Chicago-area staple of Portillo's, I added a new experience to my culinary portfoilo - Korean barbecue. aside from the "don't know crap about the procedure" part, it was pretty awesome and tasty. All in all, good convention. Also the fennec seen at the animal rescue charity booth was insanely cute. Just had to donate knowing that little bugger might possibly benefit from it.

On the other subject, I got the news at MFF that the Sabrina Online website is (wait... lemme check ... was) down. Apparently the host server had RAID issues and refused to boot. After a quick look, I find it's back now, so it seems the next update is back on track, assuming I get the work done in time. (heh)

I didn't make it last year, but I plan to this time, making this my first year visiting the con in its new location. I can be found in the artist alley (assuming I score a table) - just look for a table with one or more conspicuous robot toys to find me.

Just so's ya know, this time of year is always a busy one for me, with this convention and building the Sabrina Online collection book for January release, along with the usual all-year work. In this case it means I didn't have the chance to put together the prints and such I usually do, so numbers will be limited for some stuff. Looking forward to being there, if only to take a short break from business as usual. I've already tracked down the nearest Portillo's , so it's all good.

October 27th this year marks twenty-five years of Dinobots!

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans.....world-day.html

Not surprisingly, they had a ton of 09-11-2001 "anniversary" programming all day. I didn't catch much of it, having seen or passed on it for several previous years, but I did watch most of "102 minutes that changed America", a documentary made up entirely of informal footage from news and personal cameras, showing the events and New Yorkers' reactions to them as they happened. I was surprised to find how strong an impact the program had on me, infinitely more than some narrative or dramatized account. It was that same "holy crap!" combined with "died a little inside" feeling that came from watching the coverage of the event itself, even all these years later. I won't even pretend to understand what it must have been like for those who lived through it first-hand, or lost friends or family in the attack.

Best to all,

As usual, it was cool in that way that huge conventions that deny the possibilities of resting are cool. Usual thanks to all the people who said hello, drew something, had something drawn for them, bought something from me, or provided fine product for me to spend money upon.

The Pittsburgh 4th fireworks were darn good, even if from my vantage point I was viewing them through a bridge. I especially liked the smiley-face pyrotechnics.

After talking to several other artists on their con book commission practices, I'm tempted to write an essay on the subject sometime in the future.

Actually, I went to see the movie Thursday. Meant to mention it before now, thinking I'd hold off until the death news quieted down, but celebrities just kept dropping like flies on Obama's jacket, so here goes.

Anyway, the best way to describe "Revenge of the Fallen" is that it's like the first film, but with a lot more in it. (mostly Baysplosions). Here's a few observations I've made:

* "The Fallen" appears as the Emperor Palpatine to Megatron's Darth Vader. Also much like the Emperor, it's damn hard to get close to him, but if one actually does lay a hand on him, he goes down like a bitch.

* I'm beginning to notice the most badass robot in the movie world is Bumblebee. Seriously, in two movies now he's never lost a fight. Now I understand why the writers keep him well away from Megatron or the Fallen - the outcome is already pre-ordained.

* I've heard a lot of people refer to the plo of the movie as 'incomprehensible' and similar words. Maybe it's the Transformer fan in me, but the story made sense to me - not a LOT of sense, mind you, but I could follow it.

* There's a very strong theme of robot face mutilation running through this film, damn near fetish levels.

* I notice the robots are 'juicier' this time around, spitting, drooling, spraying, what have you - and what the hell was that green jello found on the inside of (deboned) Ravage?

* Congrats to Starscream for actually growing a personality for this movie, even if his role was mostly that of punching bag for a pissed-off Megatron.

* Fun fact - in the original cartoon, Soundwave was Frank Welker doing the same voice as "Dr. Claw" from 'Inspector Gadget' with a heavy synth effect applied. It made Soundwave stand out as the only Transformer who really talked like a robot. I think they could have used more of that synth in the movie, because he ended up as "Dr. Claw who tentacle-rapes satellites".

* A lot has been made of 'the twins' and racial stereotypes (or 'dumbass white kids talkin street'). In any case, they were doing their level base to Jar-Jar up the movie. By contrast, I liked Wheelie, the little blue RC truck-bot.

* Also, Jetfire, AKA angry old Scot-bot, is a hoot.

* Contructicons (or just construction vehicle Decepticons) are apparently the reusable cannon fodder of the film. A clump of them form Devastator, while others fight battle elsewhere at the same time. Don't even get me started about the appearance of robots identical in appearance to ones killed in the first film. I guess if they can repaint toys, the same applies to CGI models.

* Sam's mom steals the show once again.

* The biggest failing with ROTF as I saw it is no action sequence or effect was left out, necessary or not. It seems almost like a brainstorming session where NO ideas were rejected.
- Girl unicycle-bots? IN!
- insectoid German doctor-bot? IN!
- slutty Terminator-esque Species-esque thing? IN!
- tiny insect robot that does nothing but get its head pulled off? IN!
- swarms of itty bitty ball-bearing robots? IN!
- paper-thin robot that can't be seen edge-on? IN! ALSO SAME THING AS THE BALL BEARINGS!


In spite of all this, I really enjoyed the movie. It's no master work by any means, but that's the expectations. What I notice is an incredible disconnect between those that enjoyed the film and those who criticize it. While there's not a damn thing wrong with disliking and/or criticizing this movie (believe me, I know there's plenty to talk about there), there's also the undertone of "if you liked it, there's something wrong with you. ". I can appreciate a loud, dumb movie for what it is, and I did. It's cinematic junk food.

I enjoyed the convention. Overall it's a different experience for me, as I don't go there to be in the dealers' room or artist alley (though I did hang out there frequently, I only did two books outside of trades and gifts - sold a few pieces of original line art from FAD and other works too). Morphicon is a great place to visit friends from the fandom - it's small enough that people are not mobbed or bogged with ten different commitments at once, so it's a lot easier to just hang out and talk, which is most of what I did. On the downside, I can tell this con is on the verge of outgrowing its venue, judging by how difficult it is to get around the dealers' room or the hallways, especially if one has to move past a fursuiter or someone with twelve backpacks. Perhaps some of that can be helped by shuffling around which rooms are used for what purpose. Except for the occasional crowding, I like the location.

All in all, a fun experience. Thanks to everyone who said hello or helped out, or traded drawings, or did other things I can't think of right now.

-and by "L.D.D.", I mean "Lego Digital Designer", free software that lets you make Lego stuff on your computer.

Damn you once for being such an addicting waste of time. I wouldn't have expected it to be as much fun as this to virtually construct virtual things out of virtual plastic bricks.

Damn you twice for reigniting my dormant interest in real Legos (or "Lego Bricks" if you're picky) and causing me to spend more money than I usually do.

Damn you three times for making it possible to price and order the bricks needed to build the stuff you create in the designer software. Let me tell you, that can be pricey, especially if you make anything bigger than a Matchbox car.

And Damn you for the fourth time for switching around the bricks you can and can't order ( One one hand, there's all this new stuff I wish I had access to for some earlier projects, but on the other hand, things I DID use were taken away, like those clear canopies for vehicles), as well as jacking up the prices to nearly thrice as much. starting in April.

--

Thankfully, I got a couple custom orders in before the big shakeup. Maybe I'll show them off sometime.

It's been a fairly happy time around here, as I and everyone in the immediate family have clean bills of health now (in relative terms anyway - germs and such mentioned before are cleared up and nobody's in the hospital anymore)

I didn't wear green - I actually have very little green clothing period, but I did whip up a mess of corned beef and cabbage for the family. In Irish cooking tradition, I boiled the hell out it all. I actually messed it up a little - the corned beef was supposed to simmer for two and a half hours, and I misread the time and took it out about a half hour early. It came out fine, perhaps a little less tender than it would be if cooked longer. It was tasty, tastier than any food that sat in a pot of hot water for hours should be. Not bad for someone with next to no Irish roots at all (mostly German on both sides of my family I think)

I've been out of contact and not very active over the last month or so. There's a reason for that.

It all started the day after I returned from Further Confusion. A while back my father had surgery on his foot to correct issues which caused a diabetes-related pressure ulcer (the surgery involves modifying the toe bone so it won't put pressure on the skin). The day after FC, Dad had an appointment to check progress, and it turns out the foot picked up a serious bacterial infection (MRSA), and he had to go to the hospital immediately for treatment. After a few days of visiting my dad in the hospital, I noticed a swollen lump on my lower back, like a bad pimple or boil. soon after, it abscessed and was draining blood and pus. I had apparently picked up an infection as well, likely the same bug as my father, but I don't know for sure. I probably should have checked with a doctor right away, but I let my sense of responsibility (to my father in the hospital, to work, and to others who depended on me) get the better of me, so instead I researched my condition and tried to treat myself. While it seemed I was making progress, when one thing healed up, something else popped up, so there was little to no real improvement in the situation. When I started getting a fever as well, I knew I had to take this more seriously and contacted a doctor. Luckily I did not have to go to the hospital myself, though I was sent to a surgical resident to get cut up, lanced, and all the nasty crap drained out (really quite painful, I must say), as well as being put on antibiotics. I'm left with a couple gruesome open wounds, which I need to periodically pack and cover with gauze so they can heal properly and avoid further infection.

All said though, as March rolls in things are doing better. My dad finally is out of the hospital (and out of the "step-down facility" he was in for the majority of February) and while I'm still healing up, I'm feeling much better than I was at my worst (no pain or fever anymore, at least)

I'm not the type to burden others with my problems (which turned out to be a bit of an issue in this case), but I thought I'd let people know why I've been out of contact and/or not getting the work done that I've meant to. There's no need to worry about me, as I (and those around me) are well on the way to proper (or at least 'usual') level of health.