Audience of Strangers

The moon looks like it has been spread with marmalade.

The abbreviation OMG dates from 1917 at least.

There is a comic about knitting here. Some of it is over-the-top. Only some.

I have a new bookshelf.

So. Up at three to let the dog out, found out one of the cats had made a mess, cleaned up, did dishes, threw stuff in the laundry, set the load running... and of course being tired meant this was all in slow motion, so it took me a while to get back to bed. (Although the discussion was part of that, and was fun.)

I did have a chance to check my e-mail, and link-bouncing led me to a fictional transcript and obituary. Also, the first short-short here made me grin, and the second is a rather pleasant take on fairies.

The interview yesterday... really did not go so well. I like to think this was in part because I was thrown for a loop[1], and not because I am naturally disposed to give bad interviews.

Being downtown in the early morning again's interesting. I'd forgotten how awake it seems. Also, I have just realized how many art/readings/band/show flyers there aren't on the telephone poles out in the suburbs.

There was a garden at the corner of MacLaren and O'Connor that I always rather liked. It was really thick with tall grass, flowers that came up to my shoulder, vines on stakes... It's mostly just mowed flat now.
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[1] "What was high school like?" "What did you like about it?" "How did you spend your summers?" "Who were your inspirational figures in high school? In university?" I mean... It was high school, it was last millenium, and it was not a position which required exceptional social skills or a particular adherence to cliques. I refer you, somewhat grumpily, to the sixth panel here.

John linked me to this.

Tell me how long it takes you to recognize it. :)

Because I have dozens of tabs open right now because they have cool things I've been meaning to share with people, and I should probably give poor old Firefox a rest.

First, Dead Eyes Open. Zombie comic. Was prepared not to be impressed, read the free downloads they had up, and... well... they had one of those moments where the author/artist show you something that makes sense, that isn't what you're expecting and yet that fits so perfectly into what they've already shown you that you just *grin*. Here, it's pages ten to twelve of the third comic. (More excerpts here.)

Also, they have props. (I love prop documents. Library cards for Miskatonic University, death certificates for Wraith games, references to Torchwood pamphlets... *glee*)

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Second, Warren Ellis has something to say about Jack the Ripper. It's old--December 2003--but it's a neat idea, and damn it does nail exactly how much we know about old Leather Apron.

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Hmh. There's a fifteen-minute indie short of "The Statement of Randolph Carter" up here. Looking at it and it's suddenly reminding me very much of Poppy Z. Brite's "And His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood".

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Hey, there's a contest up here; explain what and why your favourite horror game is in 250 words or less. Figured it might be of interest to anyone who hadn't seen it.

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(There is no fifth.)

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Online comic called Stark Reality; new page every week (I think). Black and white, scratchy setting that feels like a slightly less urban version of MegaCity One. Short stories, generally black humour, kinda fluffy. I like it.

Fans! is back. Or will be on Monday morning at about 1:00 a.m.

I broke out the wine when it ended. Probably shouldn't do the same thing once it's back, since I'll be reading it first thing in the morning. But it'll be nice to see it back; I read it for seven years and I missed it.

Woke up half an hour ago, and am absolutely not tired. Have caught up on all my Monday comics, because if there's one thing the holiday season is good for, it's falling behind on that.

Penny Heartbreaker is back. And GirlAMatic has a new strip, the road to god knows..., set locally. I should check the index pages of the... ensemble sites? ...I go to more often; I'd missed it showing up. (Also? Should probably prune my links. I am still checking comics that haven't updated in a year and a half. Won't somebody think of the bandwidth elves?)

I swear I have completely lost any sense of what day it is. I know it's Monday, but after a weekend off and a half-day on and a half-day off and two days off and a day on and three days off and a half-night's sleep that I'm not tired after, it doesn't feel like Monday. It doesn't feel like anything.

I should go back to bed--hey, it's the last day of 2007. Happy New Year's Eve.

On the one hand, I love Dresden Codak. (The current storyline starts here.)

On the other hand, I often need to look something up after reading it. Like this one. I mean, you can get the gist of it without knowing what the Chandrasekhar Limit is, but I was curious.

...you know, these things should not really be on opposing hands. They are both all to the good.

(Also? They occasionally game.)

There's a webcomic I've started reading lately. SPQR Blues, what I'd guess you call an ensemble cast story of life in Pompeii. The latest strip is less detailed than usual, and has the note "I couldn't find my fine-line pen today ... so I only inked the parts I felt I could do with the gigantic 01 pen." Emphasis mine.

For reference--these letter you are reading upon the screen? These lines that make up said letters? Are probably appearing as *slightly* thinner than the line from a 01 graphic pen.

Gigantic, indeed. I only know of two people drawing comics who draw them as (practically) finished size--this artist and the one who did the four-part mini-series on the undertaker in a Very Strange World (blanking on the name, will dig up later).

But yeah. Neat series. Worth a look.

So, kakkoi_hakujin walks up to me today and says "I hear you're a seamstress. I need a favour." And I put a shot of cinnamon whiskey in the Coke, because the scar from the last seamstressing hasn't gone away yet and I don't have my sewing machine handy and, you know, I'm passably good at it but still cringe when asked to do it for someone else in case I screw it up. But the drastic shortening and gentle tweaking of the jacket went well enough. Thread-fiddling may occur later.

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Furthermore, I have decided that while I'm happy to read well-done dark and grim fiction with superheroes, I occasionally just want death-defying action and wonderful strange monsters and quips and a hero with style and grace and little bit of fencing skill. They'd never torture, they'd never lie, honour a promise if it meant they'd die... (Anyone recognize that without Googling it? Man, Wildberry coolers bring out my inner geek.) And you know, I started reading comic books for that. And I can't find it in comics anymore. They got serious sometime when I wasn't looking, and some of it's good, and a little of it's great, but it's not always what I want.

So I'm watching Doctor Who. Because I *will* have my dose of unabashed heroism,dammit.[1]

Speaking of which, Danny, this link's for you. Includes Daleks.

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Also: I have discovered that I would like more webcomics to read. So... uhm... suggest a currently updating webcomic, and if I haven't seen it yet and like it, I'll draw you an icon or something? (Two if it updates exclusively on some combination of Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.)
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[1] David Tennant is additional appeal.

Dear Internet:

Occasionally, I feel that I don't appreciate you enough. Take you for granted. Especially when I was up very late and so have read all but one of Monday's webcomic updates before going to bed and have nothing to read this morning.

(Tangent: I cannot for the life of me figure out if the protagonist in this simply hasn't thought of chopping off limbs with zombie bites before--he is a vampire, after all, and may have different assumptions--or if he knows it isn't going to work and is just being an utter bastard. Suspect the latter, but am really not sure.)

And then you gently toss up a twenty-one track steampunk compilation on the shores of gears_and_steam, including a Vernian Process track dedicated to Unhallowed Metropolis[1], and I remember just how wonderful you are.

(Ohhh. Three Vernian Process albums available, here and here. Must bring headphones to work today.)

Thank you, Internet.
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[1] Haven't heard anything since early June, but then it was that the files went to the printer and the book was slated for a GenCon release, so I remain quietly attentive. Is it just me, or is there a lot of green in steampunk logos...?