Oh noes!

I missed a day. This is a bad thing. I'm so sad...

Oh well. It happens. Webcomic artists do it all the time. This reminds me. I'm a webcomic fanatic. I think it's my (self-diagnosed) partial ADD that makes me able to understand many plots at once much easier than several longer plots. My latest count was that I am completely caught up on 94 webcomics with a dozen more that I'm trying to catch up on. I have thought many times about making one myself, but I just never liked my own drawing. My writing is something I can be proud of (regardless of whether or not it is deserved), but my art is notably bad.

Many people have questioned the number of webcomics I read. They ask how I could possibly follow them all at once. The truth is that I wouldn't be able to follow one at once, so attempting a few more doesn't actually make me understand any less. In fact, most of my webcomics don't even have a plot. They might be gag strips or commentary comics. Even the ones that do have plot are still funny, even when taken out of context. They are an easy hour to laugh at the world, and with as many as there are out there, I can be much more selective than the newspapers are and still have twice as many comics.

In my opinion, the ability to show a face or landscape increases the storytelling medium tenfold. This is probably because my imagination is shot. Well, it would be if it ever existed in the first place. I'm an engineer. We aren't made to think up new stuff. We just have to make existing things better. I can do better. I have a very keen attention to detail. Many people have said so, but they also say that I can't sympathize with others or get the feel of a piece. I suppose this might be true, but I still have my favorite music. Though I put more emphasis on lyrics than most do.

Well that was off topic. Still, it kind of relates to webcomics. I care about the writing and the things that can be seen in the drawing, though I don't focus on the art. A webcomic can have good art and still be bad or bad art and still be good. I guess what I'm saying is that shiny is nice, but that's all it is. Shiny. A shiny watch can still be terrible if the hands don't move.

I'm an advocate of the theory that form follows function. Things that work are beautiful in their ability to work. Things that don't work are ugly, even if they have a nice paint job. Eventually trends catch up and things that work well become the "in" look. I don't really know if that's always the case, but I've seen it happen many times. I guess maybe I just see it because that's what I want to see, but if that's true, then so be it. I like seeing things that work as being nice pieces of equipment.

Christmas List

I have one! This is exciting to me because for as long as I can remember I had to think of things when people asked me what I want for a present. I would usually tell them to surprise me, but people don't like this approach. On the other hand, I do like surprising them, and I do think I do so well often.

However, there is one person I don't know how to surprise. That would be my girlfriend. I don't exactly know what she likes and in the things she does, I am not exactly well enough versed to make a solid decision. I know she likes certain TV shows, but would she like a boxed set of DVDs? I'm guessing no. How about a video game? But which one? She likes platformers, but only 2D platformers. Then again, she has no problem double jumping around in Team Fortress 2. So a shooter? No. She already has the only shooter she'll ever need. What do I do? A book? I don't know how to find an interesting book without her help. How could I suggest one to her? She's already told me explicitly to never get her jewelry. Why not? I think I have a good sense of what would look good. I almost find this insulting. Eh... I don't know what to do. Fortunately, that's a topic for another blog post. This one is about me.

I know what I want. I have 3 things in mind right now. One of them is quite expensive and I don't really want to buy it for said reason. The Archos 5 internet media tablet. I don't mind waiting before buying one because I'm sure Generation 8 will be out soon. Some rumors say it will have 3G, though I'm not sure how important that is since the monthly subscription will not be something I would love to pay for. This device would allow me to watch any video or listen to any music I have in any format. I wouldn't have to deal with any of apple's silly conversions. I would basically use it to fill walking time and other times when I'm bored. I would just pop on headphones and be gone.

This brings me to my second wish list item. Grado's SR60i headphones. These are supposedly the best headphones you can get in their price range, and that isn't a bad price range. Considering these would cost more than my speakers and headphone quality is generally rated higher than similarly priced speakers, these would increase the sound quality of my music by multitudes. I would cherish these, though still not as much as an Archos 5, if I were to get one.


I would also like a drawing tablet. I have found drawing and painting to be fun. I have found art in general to be fun. I just suck at it. This tends to be the case because I erase and redraw so often. If I were to draw on a medium for which complete erasure is an option, I'm sure my art would improve and I would be less frustrated, allowing me to draw more and have my art improve even more. This medium would be computerized drawing. However, drawing with a mouse is quite difficult. Drawing with a tablet is not nearly as bad. I know that Wacom makes the best drawing tablets on the market, but I'm not looking for the best. I'm looking for good enough at a price that doesn't make my wallet cry. For this I have seen something called Kanvas. They are a company who are trying to make cheaper, but still high quality, drawing tablets. They make other products too, but this is the one I'm interested in.

As for other wish list items, they are mostly generic items that suit my indie gamer style. I still want a decent computer game pad for emulators and maybe a nice library of games that even I wouldn't have considered. Other than that I wouldn't mind some nice mystery or comedy books. Books in the same vein as the TV shows Monk or Psych. I also have a list of games that only ever grows larger. On that list now are The World Ends With You (DS), Dragon Quest 9 (DS), Soul Bubbles (DS), Puzzle Quest (Or I hear there are sequels) (DS), Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS), A Boy and his Blob (Wii), Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii), The sequel to Kororinpa (Wii and sorry for the vague description), No More Heroes 1 & 2 (Wii), Red Steel 2 (Wii), Mad World (Wii), Braid (PC), Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC), and Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC). And as always, any suggestion for music to listen to will be appreciated. Still, I would much rather have the above 3 items than I would any of the things on the list in this paragraph.

P.S.
This double post day is to make up for missing one yesterday. I apologize to all my 2 regular readers and hope you can forgive me.