Commercial Art! Of A Sort.

So, first off, sorry to friends' blogs that I'm usually good about visiting, I promise I'll get to those soon. Second off, I realize the Hundred Faces Blog hasn't updated in like a month. I've honestly been too busy, it'll start getting back on track in a couple weeks hopefully.

Anyway, I was recently involved in a group that was making a magazine (yes, a real one, though as it's still technically a school project there will only ever be the one issue we've made available for purchase/in existence). Though each member of the team contributed an equal amount of article content, we also had our specialties--I was our illustrator, as it were. I've decided to post my favourite images here, for display and kicks.

Holden's Mega Game Demo-Thon

YES.

So a couple nights ago, being that I am in the use of that wonderful game delivery service known as Steam, I decided to take advantage of a lot of the free demos floating around it. A lot of them. So many that, about halfway through checking them out, I thought, "hey! I could make a blog post out of this!" Why not, right? Here go. To make this entry even lengthier, I'll include check-outs of a few free demos I took a look at long before and a couple of totally free, complete games I've handled in the past few months. Let's go in alphabetical order, shall we?

Sunday Comics: Ghost World

Sunday Comics is a weekly feature where I spotlight awesome comics that you may want to check out.

The Comic: Ghost World


By: Daniel Clowes

Type: Former issue series ongoing feature now bound into a graphic novel.

Content Rating: PG-13, for language and sexual discussion

Plot: Follows the exploits of teenagers Enid and Rebecca (and occasionally their guy-friend Josh) as they wander suburbia and make snarky running commentary on the world around them. That's pretty much it for actual plot, but it's entertaining, Enid and Rebecca are both very well-developed as characters, and there's a lot of undercurrent regarding the transition from teenagerhood to adulthood and the blandness/fakery of stereotypical americana. After you finish it, you'll find yourself noticing a lot of the things they point out.

Personal thoughts: I hear Mr. Clowes wrote the screenplay for the film adaption himself. I'd like to see it, a lot of his work, Ghost World included, seems like it would translate very well to film. Since reading him, his style's definitely begun to influence my writing a bit.

Holden Out.

Sunday Comics: Concrete

Sunday Comics is a weekly feature where I spotlight awesome comics that you may want to check out.

The Comic: Concrete (volumes 1-4, at least...I haven't gotten to later volumes, so assume this covers only those four)


By: Paul Chadwick

Type: Former issue series now compiled into a graphic novel series of six volumes.

Content Rating: PG, for occasional violence. mild language, and light innuendo

Plot: As the result of a run-in with, of all things, aliens, speechwriter Ronald Lithgow has his brain transplanted into a large new stonelike body that gives him superhuman abilities, but a distinctly inhuman appearance and several other problems related to his new physical size and weight. Trying to be optimistic, Ron sees this as a writing opportunity, and decides to use his newfound powers to experience things he previously couldn't, and record them--events such as climbing Everest solo or taking an unstopped swim across the entire Atlantic Ocean. In order for him to go out in public and hide the extraterretrial origins of his abilities, he is billed by a group of PR managers as an experimental cyborg, and carefully advertised into becoming an instant celebrity. The stories that comprise the series explore Ron's new limits, musings, and frustrations stemming from both his fame and his new mode of being.

Personal thoughts: Though obviously inspired by classic superhero tales, Concrete is certainly more intelligently written than a standard cape-and-tights story, and offers a very believable perspective on the ups and downs of superpowers and all that comes with them. It's an impressive feat that, for a comic series whose protagonist is an 8-foot-tall half-ton rock monster, Concrete is possibly one of the most human-feeling fiction series I've read.

Holden Out.

My Cell Phone Lives A Couple Centuries Back.

Yeah, a lot of posts today. Product of a busy week and a pad to jot ideas on.

Noticed something interesting about my cell a couple days ago.

If you're not familiar with T9Word, it's a texting program that's fairly common on a lot of cell phones these days, or at least some variant of it, designed to make typing on a phone without a full keyboard a little bit easier. And it does do that, most of the time. It takes guesses at what you're typing as you type it so you don't have to make as many button presses.

But it also does this by having a sort of bank of common words, and when two different words occupy the exact same numeric space, it will guess the more common word.

I was asking someone about borrowing a plate of theirs, but T9 didn't recognize "plate."

It put in "slave."

...When has "slave" been a more commonly used word than "plate?" I realize slavery still exists, yes, but it's not exactly part of casual speech any more, and seems especially out-of-place in that regard for a program that accepts "dude" as a recognized word. I mean, think about it. There are really only three contexts "slave" is used in outside the taboo subject of real, present-day slavery, none of which seem like they'd be part of your average texting conversation:
1) in a historical context
2) in an S&M context
3) as a fairly uncommon verb meaning "to do something in a slavelike manner," i.e. "I've been slaving away all day on this."

Four uses, possibly, if you include Jimmy O'Teen's whining that having to trim the front yard hedges is slave treatment. But...more common than "plate?" Really?

Thanks for giving me that day's eyebrow-raise, T9Word.


Holden Out.

Happy Belated Free Comic Book Day.

This post was supposed to happen yesterday. It didn't. I'm doing it anyway, because raising awareness about obscure holidays blah blah blah. (In fact, maybe next year I'll feature an "obscure holiday of the day." That could be fun.)

So yesterday was Free Comic Book Day, which to my knowledge currently just exists in the US and the UK (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). On this day (the first Saturday in May), participating comic shops set aside a small portion of books as giveaways. Some publishers even produce special Free Comic Book Day books just for this occasion! So mark your calendars, panel-lovers.


Holden Out.

Cricket Cola: Another Shameless Plug

DRINK IT.

I jest. But it is good stuff. As several people who know me out there in the real world know, I have a bit of a thing for crickets, so there was a delighted grin when I first discovered this soda. It sorta became my little personal official beverage for a while.

Then it promptly disappeared for a couple years.

Now, it appears to be back (though still is probably kind of hard-to-find...was even back in the day). Tres woot.

It's supposed to be a blend of green tea and cola, though the green tea is fairly subtle. It's more like a very, very lightly carbonated cola with some green tea-ish notes to it. It's also a good stay-awake drink, since the combined efforts of the cola and tea give it a massive kick of caffeine.

Go give it a try. It's only like a buck a bottle, so you don't have much to lose (except sleep).


Holden Out.

May's Magnetic Poem

This month's is silly.

And a haiku.

Sing, little waffle
Celebrate your birthday, too
Say what pleases you.




Holden Out.

Yogu-San is Awesome.

So, some of you may have picked up small twinges of anti-commercialism sentiment from me from time to time, either through this blog or through knowing me in real life. I totally think there's a time and a place for advertisements and understand why they exist and don't begrudge them for existing, I just think you should never pay a company for the privilege of doing its advertising for it, blah blah blah blah.

I don't think what I'm about to do violates any of this, because I'm not being paid or in any way coerced to do this. I'm just going to spotlight something I think rocks. I am going to give a place free advertising, which I think is the best advertising. Advertising generated by consumers for consumers because they honestly like a product. (This sort of entry is going to happen at least once more, so I've given it its own category, tongue-in-cheekedly labeled "Selling Out")

Long, rambling self-indulgent punkish-facade preamble now over, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

Yogu-San.













Did you just hear a popping sound? That was the cuteness center of your brain exploding. This little dude is the mascot for which they are named. Squishy, swirly little Yogu-San himself. Or...itself. Whatever.
So what is Yogu-San? Yogu-San, dear friends, is a frozen yogurt place, in a similar vein as such places as PinkBerry and Red Mango...three flavour choices and a variety of toppings. And sweet Aunt Wendy's eyeballs, is it good. (My apologies to anyone who has an Aunt Wendy, I did not mean to desecrate her eyes.)

The available toppings range from the expected (crushed Oreos, chocolate chips, various types of fresh fruit) to the quirky and fun (Pocky, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles). The two "set" flavours are Original and Green Tea, with a third flavour that rotates/changes each month. As if Yogu-San himself wasn't cute enough, they also apply the "-san" honorific to their flavours, as though they're Yogu-San's relatives or something...Green Tea-San, Mango-San, etc. It's precious.

The yogurt itself I found to be awesomely delicious, though it might not be what you expect from frozen yogurt, necessarily--for one, it has a notably stronger "yogurty" flavour, rather than just being like soft-serve ice cream, and two, the texture is different from samesaid soft-serveish fro-yo, being sort of like snow. It breaks off in your mouth in chunks and quickly melts across your tongue.

Oh, and did I mention the workers have a genuine-feeling air of friendliness?

Yogu-San is located in the Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, Washington. If you ever find yourself there, seriously check it out.

Eesh, even the name is fun to say. Yogu-saaaaaaaaaaaaan.



Holden Out. (of yogurt)

My Local Grocery Store Sucks.

I will prove it with numbers. Oh snap.

Near where I currently reside is a grocery store, part of a chain called Haggen. There's lots of whining about how steep their prices are, yet they are still bought from readily because of their ridiculously convenient location. Today, though, I found out just how much they're ripping me and other people that live near and with me off.

Let's compare grocery lists and prices, shall we?

First, the list from when I made what I now call "FailDogs" (Homemade corn dogs that looked hideous and were a pain to make but actually tasted pretty darn good). These I got at Haggen. It's mostly raw ingredients (which are by nature usually cheaper than premade mixtures/prepared stuff). It should also be noted that I went for small sizes on these since I didn't need a lot, and cheap brands.

- 1 box cornmeal
- 1 box sugar
- 1 ...thing...baking powder
- 1 pack sausages
- 1 pack skewers
- 1 cheap plastic bowl
- 1 box baking soda
- 1 mid-size bottle vegetable oil
- 1 tiny carton of buttermilk
- 1 box butter

Total price: FIFTY-FIVE DOLLARS.

I'm trying to convince myself there was more on that reciept, but no, that was seriously it. ...Why I still paid that, especially knowing full well I couldn't really afford it, is an even greater mystery.
Now, let's look at the grocery shopping I did today at the local Trader Joe's. It's more out of the way than Haggen, for sure, but...ai yai.
I would also like to thank Starlight, who proved herself to be the best shopping assistant ever. Kept me on-track, focused, thinking, moving efficiently, prioritizing and even was kind enough to provide a running price tally (I had a fifty-dollar gift card that was a Christmas present to work with).
The list from today's TJ's grocery adventure:

- 1 pack roast beef
- 1 pack pepperjack cheese
- 1 tub boursin
- 1 good-sized cucumber
- 1 pack salami
- 1 loaf oat/wheat bread
- 1 box squash soup
- 2 little things of yogurt
- half-gallon of milk
- 1 tub tapioca pudding
- 1 bag veggie chips
- 1 box granola bars
- 2 box crackers
- 1 bar good dark chocolate
- 2 box mochi
- 1 bag tortilla chips
- 1 jar salsa
- 1 bag snap pea crisps

Total Price: 48 dollars. Didn't even use all of the gift card, and the things bought can easily mix for and stretch across multiple meals and snacks, as opposed to eight corndogs.

What are you even thinking, Haggen.

Though there are plenty of individual items there that can be cried foul on too. They have a little lunch pack thing of six smallish chicken strips with a little tub of ranch. ...For eight dollars. Eight bloody dollars? I could go down to Dairy Queen and get the same thing with a drink, fries, and toast and it would still be less. Even the apples at Haggen are like a buck each, as opposed to a lot of other places (a lot, not all) hovering around fifty cents each.

Eff you, Haggen.


Holden Out.