Ugh... Tired...

So, drama over. Not exactly in a great way, but less there than usual. I'll deal with it later, I hope.

So Otakon was a blast. I wandered quite a bit. I saw many people in costumes. Some were kind of bad. Some were kind of good. Some were great. I loved most of the costumes I saw. There was even a pair of scouts (TF2) who had down all the animations and sounds to the T. I really enjoyed all the cosplay, for the most part.

There were also some panels and workshops that were interesting. I saw a Miyasaki panel and now I know that I have to watch a dozen more films that I had never even given a second glance to earlier. My friends also dragged me to a panel about Mechas and I dragged them to a workshop on Calligraphy.

Also great was the Artist Alley and Dealer's Room. I managed to get out of the whole experience only buying one thing, and it wasn't even for myself. I'm surprised though, because I was really tempting to just go on a shopping spree. There were so many things I wanted. This was the first time I had any inclination of how to decorate my walls, my shelves, and even myself. I want some of the hats they had there. I just don't ever feel responsible when I spend money on myself. I have no problem spending money on other people though. I guess it's just in my nature to avoid selfish tendencies. That doesn't stop me from being selfish when I don't realize that I'm doing it, but I usually feel best when I'm making sure other people feel their best.

Still, there are things I like to have for myself. Those things include the items that were on my Christmas List which has now gotten longer. It now also includes a set of Steampunk goggles and a hat to match. Though, these are all material things. What I really want for myself isn't quite as tangible. I want caring. I want people who will listen. I want to share myself with as many people as I can. This is what is important to me. Having a person who can help me with those things is important to me. Knowing how to change who I am in order to happily communicate with anyone and everyone that I meet is important to me. I want to be the people I look up to. Xander ranks high On the list of people I look up to. But I understand that Xander is only a character. Still, he has a personality. He would give up everything if he could protect his friends. He doesn't get down often. He knows where he stands most of the time. He has some rage and some jealousy, but he never lets it ruin his relationships.

I need to figure out a half decent way to cosplay Xander. I could style my hair like his, and maybe even wear an eyepatch, but I don't think it could outfit clothing properly to display Xander. I would have to do it all with personality. I think it could be done. That's my goal for Otakon 2011. I want to cosplay some Buffy character. It could be Angel, Spike, or Xander, but whomever I choose, I need to perfect it. For some reason, this is important to me.

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.