Friday, October 29, 2010

Fat Fridays!


Happy Halloween Weekend, Everyone!

Please read my spooky ghost story Beyond the Cube if you haven't already. Tis' the season!

Part 4 will be ready next week

It would be ready sooner, but I am running the Warrior Dash tomorrow

In the meantime, check out my other blog - Everything Else!
  
In addition to webcomic Mondays, I will now be posting delicious fat beats each Friday to kick the weekend off.  I am calling this Fat Friday because I like weak alliterations.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

"If I were Donkey Kong I would SMASH you!"

When I woke up today it was really dark outside. I guess that's what you should expect when you wake up at 5:00 a.m. Since it was black I had no idea it had been snowing!!! I go out to get in my car to go to school and its caked with snow.. to the point when i tried to use my windshield wipers they only made it half way up before stopping due to the weight of the snow.. all I have to say is awesome.. ha!

For some reason I've been finding one dollar bills around in my pockets and in my bags... I never knew I had so much change hanging around. (picture above shows you exactly what I did when I got found my money [[:)

Here is a picture of my elephant.. and a poem to go along with it...

My Elephant Thinks I'm Wonderful

by Kenn Nesbitt


My elephant thinks I'm wonderful.
My elephant thinks I'm cool.
My elephant hangs around with me
and follows me into school.

My elephant likes the way I look.
He thinks that I'm fun and smart.
He thinks that I'm kind and generous
and have a terrific heart.

My elephant thinks I'm brave and bold.
He's proud of my strength and guts.
But mostly he likes the way I smell.
My elephant thinks I'm nuts.

Desenhos de Anderson Silva, Finho Tattoo

Desenhos de Anderson Silva: finhosilva@hotmail.com


Orçamento, Rosa dos Ventos

"Queria saber o orçamento dessa tattoo:

Local: Nuca
Tamanho: 5,5cm de largura e de altura (por ser uma rosa dos ventos, as medidas devem ser iguais)
Cor: Preta
Cidade: Campos dos Goytacazes - RJ

PS: Vi que tem postagens do Nélio Tattoo Studio no blog, gostaria de saber o valor especialmente dele, se possível.

Agradeço desde já!"

Larissa: larissaguimaraes_@hotmail.com

Eto Tattoo, Bangalô Studio Tattoo

Olá amigos!
Primeiramente, em nome da equipe, agradecemos pela oportunidade que o A Tattoo está nos dando para divulgar o nosso estúdio. Abaixo conto um resumo de minha história.

Tatuador desde 1995, Eto Tattoo começou como a maioria dos tatuadores, com a veterana máquina caseira de motorzinho de rádio, com seis meses no ramo já adquiriu seu primeiro material profissional por influência da própria família e, resolveu seguir carreira e se profissionalizar. Hoje dono do Bangalô Studio Tattoo, trabalha junto com sua esposa Babi que há dois anos aprendeu a profissão de tatuadora e já atua também com aplicação de body piercing e alargadores.

Seus trabalhos são conhecidos tanto na cicade de Alagoinhas como na região do interior da Bahia.
Trabalhamos com materiais top de linha, regulamentado pela ANVISA, higienização hospitalar, todo procedimento feito na frente do cliente com intuito de transmitir maior confiabilidade e transparência em cada procedimento.

Para nos contactar temos:
Telefone: (75) 8193-8592 / (75) 3423-6972
Email: bangalostudio@hotmail.com
Msn: bangalostudio@hotmail.com
Orkut: bangalostudio@hotmail.com

Desde já agradecemos e nos colocamos à sua disposição!
Um Abraço!
Welton Ricardo
Equipe Bangalô Studio Tattoo.


















Beyond the Cube, Part 3.


Midweek already!  Well here is the continuation of the ghost story.  I have removed the name from the ghost in Part 2 because it was awkward.  I leave this part off with a clear choice.  Which would you pick?


"So that brings us to the here and now, is that right?"

The guy, or the ghost standing with us says as I finish my week-long history of being dead.   He lets out a long sigh and his eyes trace the horizon where the sun is rising behind hills.  He looks down at the boy by my side.  "You are free to go and do as you wish young one."  He says gently.  "You're not tethered to this man."

"He's my dad." Says my son.   I beam at them both.  The tall blond ghost looks at me and frowns, then back to the boy.

"How do you know that, you only met him after you died, or did he leave out some earlier contact?"

"My mom told me he was my dad and also that I was named after him. She showed me a picture too.  She said he was dead, so when I saw him I knew I was too."  My son said this then looked up at me with half a smile.

"Well this is highly unusual.   That's not a normal thing for a mother to do.  I feel like a family counselor right now, and that is not my function." Blond Ghost says, looking agitated.  "I don't have time to deal with whether or not this is healthy, but the boy can choose to do as he wishes, even if that is staying with you."

"Well it's fine with me," I nod, then add "better than fine, actually" and smile warmly at the kid.  He's already had a rough day, so I don't want him to feel like a tag-along.

The son I never knew I had looks at me like an idea just zinged through him and says "Can we go to all the zoos?"


I look at him for a second then laugh.  I can tell he is thinking that cages mean nothing now. "We can go anywhere, anywhere in the world.  If you want to see lions we can go to Africa."  His eyes light up and he looks at Blond Ghost like I just said "Ice-cream for every meal!"

Blond Ghost is not amused.  "Not so fast on the family picnic plans.   Ever wonder why your boy and I are the only other ghosts you've seen?"

I had, but not much.  I was too busy exploring. "Yes.  I figured they got lost in space, or you know...found other things to do than hang out on earth."

"Crude but imaginative.  You're half right.  What we are is what is left when you have no body and no mind.  We are the other dimension of living existence.  You can call us souls or ghosts or extra-dimensional projections.  All things exist in other dimensions, but humans and other thinking creatures have a thinking presence.   That is why you still exist and why you still think and move."

"Well that only leaves a million other questions, thanks.  So why are we here and no one else." I say, kind of annoyed at the lofty explanation.

"Because dead people have jobs too."

"Oh wonderful.  If there's one thing I miss about living it's my job."

"Sarcasm, it never goes out of style." Blondy says with a sad smile. His angular features and long hair make him look like an elf.  I tell him so.

"I might be an elf, if there ever was one.  I was born sixty-thousand years ago, and I have seen every major human triumph and failure since then.  I'm the undying observer, the watcher, the one who stays here while others will not and cannot.  I think that's what elves are in popular fiction sometimes."

"Why do you stay?"

"Because someone has to guide the living into their proper roles as the dead.  When no one guides a ghost, they end up like you, or worse."

"Am I doing harm?"

"By interacting with the living, yes.  If you ever interact with a living human it can cause them extreme trauma.  It is difficult to interact, since we have to shift part of ourselves back into that dimension.   It is usually only done with heavy emotion.  That's where the barrier between dimensions parts and we always end up doing damage." Blondy gives us both a hard look.  He is a good head taller than me, and his elf-features make his lectures feel like he's preparing us to battle mythical creatures.

"Ok, ok, so no emotions around the living." I say and try to keep the sarcasm out.  Blondy is looking very grim.

"It is much easier to simply not be around the living.  It is infinitely interesting out there, let me assure you." He sweeps his hand toward the sky.

"Can we go to Africa now?" My son asks.  He's bored, and looking anywhere but at Blondy, who has him a little spooked.

"You have a choice to make," Blondy says, metering his words out carefully to keep our attention. "Either as individuals, or if the boy wishes to stay with you, as a team."

"You can leave earth.  This job is called Explorer.  It is what almost every ghost does, and there is a very good system in place to get you started.  At the highest levels it involves time-travel."

"Holy shit."

My son giggles as that slips out of my mouth.

"Some believe it is holy shit.  That depends on your beliefs, and many ghosts miraculously manage to keep their beliefs after death.  Which means it's often a good thing  we don't interact much."

"Why? And what are the other options."

"There is only one more role.  It will answer both your questions.  Ghosts can harm each-other, just as the living can harm each-other.  Because the vast majority of ghosts are Explorers, we don't really see other ghosts.  The most advanced Explorers, if they wish to, become Guides, like me."

"Ok, what's the job again?"

"This isn't television, this is an ancient ghost explaining the entirety of the afterlife to you, so please be patient!"  snaps Blondy.  I give my son an "uh-oh" look and he covers up a smile.  Blondy has clearly lost his patience with us.  He sighs loudly, muttering something in another language.

"Listen well, you two.  This might seem funny now, but I give it gravity because it is grave."  Blondy realizes his pun and cracks a smile.  "I have humor too, we ghosts develop a dark sense of it, no matter which job you pick.  I am funny in hundreds of languages.  However, It is my job now as a Guide to impress upon you the situation and the seriousness of certain rules.  You cannot interact with humans, and you have to fill one of two functions.  We elder ghosts have this system because it works.  There have been bad times and rebellions among us, but it works well for thousands of years at a time."

"Ok, got it...and behind door number two?"

"If you don't 'got it' you certainly will get it, if and when you step outside the lines of these rules. " He says, and whether it's him doing it or not I get the chills for the first time as a ghost.

"Job two is Ghost Catcher.  Ghosts go rogue, or some ghosts who were terrible people remain terrible in the afterlife.  They harm humans and other ghosts, and Ghost Catchers stop this from happening.  It is clearly the more dangerous of the two, and that's why so few pick it."

"Why, what happens if you get killed, as a ghost?"

"I don't know.  No one knows."

"So death is the same even when you're dead."


"Exactly.  It helps to think of us as extra-dimensional beings for that purpose." Blondy's  attention is visibly fading as well.  He looks off toward a clock-tower and back to us.

"Is it easy to die as a ghost?"

"No, in fact it is very difficult.  That's why you are called Ghost Catchers and not Ghost Killers."

"Ghost Busters!" I say, and my son and I laugh ourselves to tears while Blondy looks up at the sky.  My son sings the theme song all the way through.  I sing backup.

Blondy waits for us to sober up before asking.  "Which do you choose?  Time is running short.  I have others to guide."

Monday, October 25, 2010

Monday Madness with Nedroid!



Good news! Mondays will now be dedicated to the wonderful world of webcomics.

Why?

Because I love comics! Nedroid.com and the wonderful Beartato contained therein is one of my all-time favorites.  This is a well known comic, but always worth revisiting.  I spent a lot of time this weekend reading nedroid front to back, and it was worth it, again, for the third time.

This comic and the genius it expresses always makes the world better, for me.  I think it might do the same for you, and...Mondays are hard to deal with.  This comic is about heading back to school (or sub in work for school).  Well sort of it is.

Also, I love nedroid.com so much I am dedicating my other blog to it today as well, and issuing myself a webcomic-related challenge there.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

On a Sunday afternoon...

Today it is raining.. Oh how I love the rain.. It reminds me of scooter sailing, and playing in the rain with my best friends.. 

Here is a poem I found on the internet about rain..

Wonderful Rain
Today it's raining.
The drops of rain
Glimmer out of my window.
I hear the rain
Pitter, patter on the roof.
I love to watch the rain fall
From the sky.
I love the rain.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Vocabsushi.

Just a quick post for the weekend with some updates.

1. I'm working on overhauling certain parts of the site design, so you'll notice some changes this weekend.  You'll already notice the blogger toolbar is gone.  If you'd like it to disappear too, drop this code into your site html between the style tags:

#navbar-iframe { height:0px; visibility:hidden; display:none; }

2. I know where I want the current story to go, and I've written some of the next part, but I've noticed a drop in the interest in this story in particular.  So I want to open the story up to let anyone who wants to suggest ideas and direction to have their sayI'll work your suggestions in with what I have so far and run with it.  In part 3, Brad the Ghost is going to meet the leader of Ghosts from Earth.  Yep.  If you've been wondering why he hasn't seen any other ghosts, part 3 will go into why.  There will be some actual dialogue (gasp!) and Brad will have to make some tough decisions.  I'm planning on leaving part 3 off with the toughest of decisions, to be continued in part 4.  Thoughts?

3. I'm terrible at posting daily, but I want to get better.  I'll be using posts like this as daily material with tips related to blogging or writing, so my blog doesn't turn into the thing that no one wants to read but me.


4. Flav mentioned that the pictures have been going well with the stories, and that I should break up the text with more pictures.  I slapped my forehead when I read that.  It's a great idea, and I'll be doing that from now on, thanks!

5. I have a new favorite site for vocab and new words, it's called Vocabsushi.  It lets you build your vocabulary from wherever you are right now, and it is free.
The site has a fun and natural feel; you get points and levels for practicing your words, and you advance in little baby-steps to new levels.  It's a great, intuitive format, and I spent a little too much time on it this morning, collecting new words and points.  From the main page you can start the free test, then go on to choose your grade level or specific test you want to work on.  I just chose college+, as I'm not studying for any tests except life in general.  A screencap of my new Vocabsushi home is below.
Next up: Scuttlebutt?
Saturday Night Update!

Jeff Novich, creator of Vocabsushi, informed me earlier today that they will be launching a brand new iPhone app soon. I imagine it will be stylish and handy for public transit, waiting in lines, or cramming before tests.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Beyond the Cube, Part 2.


Yes, I see in color, and I can still smell and taste everything.   I can use all of my old senses, but no one can sense me.  So today I decided to ... well I visited the girls I've dated.  Can you blame me?

Absolutely boring beyond belief.  Once you backstroke through solar flares at roughly the speed of light, your past relationships seem like jokes.  Especially mine, I suppose. 
 
Well, except one.   Hannah.   Not Montana - Murray.   I found her crying on a swing behind her house.  I can't do anything physical to the physical world anymore, but right away I wanted to put my arm around her.  You know that kind of cry where the person is quiet but their body is moving rhythmically to the crying.  I came up behind her and looked down.  She held a framed photograph of a young boy - he looked funny and bright and about eight.   I walked inside to see if anyone else was home, but the place was dark.  The kid's picture was all over though, and toys too.  I'm sure I could have found his room, but I walked back outside.

Hannah was shaking pretty bad, and she dropped his picture as I walked up.  I reached down to pick it up.  I don't know why I did that, seeing as I haven't been able to touch anything for a while now, but I'm still new at being dead.   This was a first though.  My hand brushed hers without going through it, and it felt like a match lit on my skin.  Only I don't have skin, so I laughed in surprise.  She looked right at me and said my name"

I said "Hi, how are ya?" This might not be funny, but she looked like she'd seen a ghost.  Except she couldn't see me after all; she looked right through me.  I followed her gaze and turned around in time to see the boy in the picture sitting on top of the fence, staring at us.

(To be continued in Part 3...)

Orçamento, navio pirata

"Boa tarde,

Conheci o site de vocês hoje, e achei superbanca essa área de orçamentos.

Há muito tempo venho querendo fazer uma 1/2 manga com o tema de piratas, mas nunca havia encontrado uma imagem que pudesse servir de base para o desenho que eu quero. Esses dias dando uma 'caçada' na internet eu encontrei essa imagem e achei fantástica, muito parecida com o que eu tinha em mente, para não dizer igual.

Gostaria de saber quanto sairia mais ou menos um desenho semelhante a esse no meu braço direito, somente meia manga (Medi mais ou menos o tamanho do meu braço e dá a altura de uma folha sulfite A4), e com cores mais escuras do que essas que estão no desenho.

Gostaria do céu nos tons da foto ou algo puxado pro roxo, mas com nuvens escuras (remetendo a tempos de tormenta), gostaria de fazer o mar mais escuro (como se fosse noite), o barco um pouco mais realista (Com velas de caveiras rasgadas e tudo o mais...) e gostaria de fazer a caveira da imagem,como se fosse uma ilha no meio do oceano, mais ou menos no mesmo local em que a pessoa que tatuou esse desenho fez, na parte interior do braço. No desenho, a areia da praia começa na parte superior do braço (onde eu tenho interesse em fazer a minha tattoo), mas eu não quero essa areia não, queria na parte superior só o mar, o navio e a ilha, e se mais pra frente eu tiver oportunidade de completar a manga, ai sim eu faço a praia.

Moro em Aguaí, interior de São Paulo, cidade vizinha a São João da Boa Vista e próxima de Jaguariúna,Campinas,Mogi Guaçu. Já morei no ABC, então teria facilidade de me locomover caso o estúdio de algum de vocês seja na região, porém prefiro algo mais próximo a minha cidade.

Optei por procurar o site de vocês pelo fato de não conhecer muitos tatuadores nessa região,e tatuagem é uma coisa muito importante pra mim então não prezo muito pela questão financeira e sim pela qualidade do trabalho.

Obrigado pela atenção."

Gabriel: gabrielsrs@uol.com.br

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Beyond the Cube, Part 1.


This is a story I wrote recently.  I'm trying to break it up into a few coherent parts that create intrigue and suspense about the next part.

I'm still new at blogging so I hope everyone enjoys this method of presentation.

Let me know where you think the story is going, or what you would do if you were the main character/narrator.   I'd love to see some crazy new angles to this, and then show you where I take the story with each new part.


Hi, how are ya?  Me?  I'm thirty-four years old, and I found out last week that I've been haunting people for a while now.  Here in the office where I spend almost every minute of every day, I sometimes wondered why I never saw ghosts.

Late at night I would walk the halls to printers and break-rooms, and never once even got a chill or felt like I was being watched.  My tiny apartment feels more haunted than an entire skyscraper.
There are plenty of people here, where I work, but the faces are always changing.  I tried to keep track for a while.  I tried to keep them all three-dimensional with families and interests, but that just made it hard when they disappeared.  So now everyone is a 2D cutout with a name and a face, in my mind.

Some of the people who work here have died on the job, or after they go somewhere else you might hear that so-and-so died in such-and-such a way.  It always kind of hit me like a great big "oh."   As in: What if they hadn't, would my day be so much different?  Was their day much different?

So I would commute home, late at night, and every day fewer people noticed me.  At first outside the office, then inside too.   Every day, one more "hello, how are you?" went unanswered.  I couldn't figure out why.

Then it dawned on me.  I am dead.  I am a ghost.  Worse, I had become a ghost without even realizing it.  I can try to remember it all I want - I'm trying now in fact - but nothing is there.  The days blur together, you know?  A bus?  My heart?

Funny thing is I feel fine, so I decided to test it a little. I generally don't run into people, but I gave that a try.  When I passed right through their bodies, they gave me the same look as when I used to say "hi, how are ya?"

It turns out no one was being rude to me.  I was haunting them and I can see how it might be hard to be polite to a ghost.  I used to sort of get sad about that, but when I learned the reason I perked right up.  Being dead is exactly the same as how my life has been for the last ten years, except fewer people talk to me now.  Well that's not entirely true either.  My schedule didn't leave much time for close friends you know.

With my spirits hitched up like a new pair of tailored pants, I decided to test some deeper waters.   Literally.  I dove into the bay here, the cold, icy, choppy bay. I swam under boats, then right down to the bottom.  I found some dead bodies, but none of them were me.

It doesn't really matter how you died, I realized, once dead the rules go out the window.  Pretty exciting, actually.  I'm just glad I'm not a zombie or a ghoul, or some other nasty thing.  Just a ghost,  a ghost that can go anywhere.

Did you just hear someone laughing? That was me.  I've learned a lot in a week.  I learned what it feels like to swim inside the sun.  It feels, and this is strictly speaking as a ghost of a man without much experience, better than sex.  I flew up there after whizzing around the moon, and diving through it to see what's inside.  Not much.  I've been to all the planets now, which is funny to think about.  The last time I even thought of the planets as real things was third grade.  My favorite is Neptune.  You can't get a better blue than Neptune.

(To be continued in Part 2...)

Orçamento, símbolo infinito

"Boa Tarde,
eu e mais 3 amigas estamos pensando em fazer uma tatoo com o símbolo do infinito, no pulso ou na lateral da mão (entre o braço e a mão), o tamanho seria de 3 cm de comprimento e 1 cm de largura.
Estou mandando a foto para orçamento mais preciso.

Desde já grata pela atenção."

Daiane: daiane.rodriguesdacruz@gmail.com

Miss Tattoo Goiânia

No último dia 14 aconteceu a primeira etapa do evento Miss Tattoo Goiânia, os barbados que perderam a primeira etapa classificatória não precisam ficar desesperados pois no dia 21/10/2010 acontecerá a segunda etapa classificatória e no dia 23 (sábado) será a grande final realizada no festival Go Mosh III, com ingresso a R$ 20,00.

Os concursos de Miss Tattoo já são sussesso em muitos países como o Miss Tattoo Usa e o Miss Tattoo Asia e no Brasil ganhou força na 13ª Convenção Internacional de Tatuagem em São Paulo.

Mais informações:
E-mail: misstattoo.go@gmail.com
Telefone: (62) 8409-2626

Monday, October 18, 2010

First Blog Post EVER!

This past week was fall break! Woot!

We went to the Zoo as a family :]] Aren't we awesome!?!

Then went to Fork Fest with my Best Friends! I love 'em!
Best Weekend EVER. The End.