Art by Meeks
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meeks has posted her sketches from the latest Sketch Fest. I think my favorite is "The Giant's Sneaky Dragon Trap."Jan. 10th, 2012
meeks has posted her sketches from the latest Sketch Fest. I think my favorite is "The Giant's Sneaky Dragon Trap."
Garden of Prose
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:09 amclare_dragonfly posted an advance notice for her next Garden of Prose on January 15-16. The theme will be "paths."Sketch Fest Art
Jan. 10th, 2012 12:29 pmSee another sketch from my prompt "He gave her not his heart, but his lungs, for she was his breath." This one features a man and an air elemental.
I love seeing what wildly different things the artists come up with from the same prompt!
Sketch Fest Art
Jan. 10th, 2012 12:29 pmSee another sketch from my prompt "He gave her not his heart, but his lungs, for she was his breath." This one features a man and an air elemental.
I love seeing what wildly different things the artists come up with from the same prompt!
Sketch Fest Art
Jan. 10th, 2012 12:29 pmSee another sketch from my prompt "He gave her not his heart, but his lungs, for she was his breath." This one features a man and an air elemental.
I love seeing what wildly different things the artists come up with from the same prompt!
Sketch Fest Art
Jan. 10th, 2012 12:29 pmSee another sketch from my prompt "He gave her not his heart, but his lungs, for she was his breath." This one features a man and an air elemental.
I love seeing what wildly different things the artists come up with from the same prompt!
Planning for Imbolc
Jan. 10th, 2012 01:18 pmCheck out the "Imbolc" page on the Greenhaven Tradition website for themes and decorations related to this upcoming holiday. At the bottom you will find some sample rituals from previous years.
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Planning for Imbolc
Jan. 10th, 2012 01:18 pmCheck out the "Imbolc" page on the Greenhaven Tradition website for themes and decorations related to this upcoming holiday. At the bottom you will find some sample rituals from previous years.
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Planning for Imbolc
Jan. 10th, 2012 01:18 pmCheck out the "Imbolc" page on the Greenhaven Tradition website for themes and decorations related to this upcoming holiday. At the bottom you will find some sample rituals from previous years.
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Planning for Imbolc
Jan. 10th, 2012 01:18 pmCheck out the "Imbolc" page on the Greenhaven Tradition website for themes and decorations related to this upcoming holiday. At the bottom you will find some sample rituals from previous years.
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Last night we celebrated the full moon and a belated Yule. There's a brief summary of that over on "Havenspeak."
Amazon vs. the Publishers
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:23 pmPay close attention to Amazon.com because it's moving more aggressively into book publishing. This has pros and cons. For authors it can mean a better deal, especially on books ... at the moment. For readers, it means a richer one-stop-shop if you like online browsing for books. But like any monopolist, if Amazon succeeds in killing off the competition, it will turn on its current allies and shaft them once they have nowhere else to go.
Amazon vs. the Publishers
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:23 pmPay close attention to Amazon.com because it's moving more aggressively into book publishing. This has pros and cons. For authors it can mean a better deal, especially on books ... at the moment. For readers, it means a richer one-stop-shop if you like online browsing for books. But like any monopolist, if Amazon succeeds in killing off the competition, it will turn on its current allies and shaft them once they have nowhere else to go.
Amazon vs. the Publishers
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:23 pmPay close attention to Amazon.com because it's moving more aggressively into book publishing. This has pros and cons. For authors it can mean a better deal, especially on books ... at the moment. For readers, it means a richer one-stop-shop if you like online browsing for books. But like any monopolist, if Amazon succeeds in killing off the competition, it will turn on its current allies and shaft them once they have nowhere else to go.
Amazon vs. the Publishers
Jan. 10th, 2012 02:23 pmPay close attention to Amazon.com because it's moving more aggressively into book publishing. This has pros and cons. For authors it can mean a better deal, especially on books ... at the moment. For readers, it means a richer one-stop-shop if you like online browsing for books. But like any monopolist, if Amazon succeeds in killing off the competition, it will turn on its current allies and shaft them once they have nowhere else to go.
So Lego made this dumb line of girly toys that people are petitioning against. Meanwhile Lego also made this awesome line of architecture toys.
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my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.
Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
So Lego made this dumb line of girly toys that people are petitioning against. Meanwhile Lego also made this awesome line of architecture toys.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.
Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
So Lego made this dumb line of girly toys that people are petitioning against. Meanwhile Lego also made this awesome line of architecture toys.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.
Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
So Lego made this dumb line of girly toys that people are petitioning against. Meanwhile Lego also made this awesome line of architecture toys.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.
Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
my_partner_doug just got Fallingwater for Christmas. We spent several days putting it together as a team. And what was I talking about most of that time? The NASA legos I loved as a kid, and how complex they were in comparison to the new set, and the evolution of Lego instructions from folded to stapled to spiralbound. Build-it toys were a favorite category; I had the most of Legos and Lincoln Logs, plus other stuff like Construx.Dudes. If you want to sell Legos to girls, you can 1) make Lego things of what many girls like -- Lego dollhouse, Lego barn and horses, etc. made with plenty of bricks; or 2) put a bunch of girls in a roomful of Legos and see what they build, then firm up some of that into sets. Put some girls on the packaging of the generic sets and themed sets because, hey, some girls like rockets and trains instead of dolls. If you've come up short on girls who like Legos, maybe quit hiring ad agencies and go ask some scientists and teachers if you can borrow their daughters.
An even better idea: crowdsource Lego plans and kits on the website. Lots of people love to play with Legos. It shouldn't be hard to let customers share their building plans free in a forum, and the best ones will float to the top if there's "favorite" button or 5-brick rating system. There are already places for buying particular types of Lego bits, so people could get what they needed if they didn't already have it. Heck, imagine being able to go to the Lego site and buy new patterns for a buck or so, to use with one's own collection of bricks. You bet there would be girls and moms building stuff and sharing their patterns.
Read "Hellwatch"
Jan. 10th, 2012 08:42 pmWhile hunting for resources for this weekend's Crowdfunding Creative Jam with its "Disabled Characters" theme, I stumbled across a splendid new crowdfunding project. "Hellwatch" by Larime Taylor is a supernatural horror novella series, initially crowdfunded through Kickstarter. The structure resembles that of a television series, which is a cool approach for serial fiction. The first episode can be downloaded free; the next two, funded by the Kickstarter project, will appear in January and February. More are planned.
What makes this awesome? The characters. I fell in love with them just from the descriptions, and tracked down the story based on that. They are Ester Vasquez, a hacker-come-demon hunter in a wheelchair; and Sammy Lutui, her live-in care provider and assistant demon hunter. Ester's ancestors came from Chile and Sammy is Samoan. Sammy is also gay. Together they kick much ass. They have guns and knives and metaphysical science. Illustrations are in the article, and they are vividly evocative. Accurate characterization is guaranteed on account of the author/artist being in a wheelchair (with a more severe version of Ester's condition) and living with other disabled folks.
I really enjoyed the pilot episode. It's a bit slow to start, as the first couple pages of the story introduce the characters and a lot of background information. (You know how the first few minutes of a pilot go.) Once the conflict is introduced -- a demon possessing a young boy -- both the pacing and the tension pick up considerably. The author makes good use of the novella length, laying out a vigorous double-peaked plot with a major confrontation first in Mexico and then again at home. The description is detailed and gripping. I particularly admire the rendition of demonic entities: ruthless, suave, devastating, atavistic, and generally creeptastic. The hairs on the back of my neck gave them a standing ovation. Highly recommended.
So, go read the scary story with the awesome heroes. See the nifty art. If you can spare it, send a donation -- details for that are on the art FAQ page.
What makes this awesome? The characters. I fell in love with them just from the descriptions, and tracked down the story based on that. They are Ester Vasquez, a hacker-come-demon hunter in a wheelchair; and Sammy Lutui, her live-in care provider and assistant demon hunter. Ester's ancestors came from Chile and Sammy is Samoan. Sammy is also gay. Together they kick much ass. They have guns and knives and metaphysical science. Illustrations are in the article, and they are vividly evocative. Accurate characterization is guaranteed on account of the author/artist being in a wheelchair (with a more severe version of Ester's condition) and living with other disabled folks.
I really enjoyed the pilot episode. It's a bit slow to start, as the first couple pages of the story introduce the characters and a lot of background information. (You know how the first few minutes of a pilot go.) Once the conflict is introduced -- a demon possessing a young boy -- both the pacing and the tension pick up considerably. The author makes good use of the novella length, laying out a vigorous double-peaked plot with a major confrontation first in Mexico and then again at home. The description is detailed and gripping. I particularly admire the rendition of demonic entities: ruthless, suave, devastating, atavistic, and generally creeptastic. The hairs on the back of my neck gave them a standing ovation. Highly recommended.
So, go read the scary story with the awesome heroes. See the nifty art. If you can spare it, send a donation -- details for that are on the art FAQ page.
See a Picture of Rai
Jan. 10th, 2012 08:51 pmbootheel did this adorable picture of my character Rai holding a skycat. I really hope to see more Free Art Days from this artist! Check out some of the other pictures, too, on the original post -- they are all charming.
See a Picture of Rai
Jan. 10th, 2012 08:51 pmbootheel did this adorable picture of my character Rai holding a skycat. I really hope to see more Free Art Days from this artist! Check out some of the other pictures, too, on the original post -- they are all charming.See a Picture of Rai
Jan. 10th, 2012 08:51 pmbootheel did this adorable picture of my character Rai holding a skycat. I really hope to see more Free Art Days from this artist! Check out some of the other pictures, too, on the original post -- they are all charming.See a Picture of Rai
Jan. 10th, 2012 08:51 pmbootheel did this adorable picture of my character Rai holding a skycat. I really hope to see more Free Art Days from this artist! Check out some of the other pictures, too, on the original post -- they are all charming.