Post Adelaide... sigh, reality comes knocking

Hello again peoples! I return from Minifest and Adelaide with not much done and a distaste for reality. So much work to do and so much time wasted, even after I came back. I honestly need to get back into gear!

Minifest was fantastic although on a small scale. I enjoyed a number of anime screenings and did a few sketches, including another version of SF vs Y. Unfortunately it's hard to mingle with everyone else and nobody was really impressed with what I did. To be honest, there were way too many fantstic artists around for me to even show my face. I didn't manage to register for the 'Iron Artist' competition, although I was quite fond of the topic: incorporating happiness, fighting and clockwork (?) as well as crayons into a picture. The competition was stiff and the girls there were insanely gifted! I wouldn't have stood a chance.

Adelaide itself was pretty good. Did some sight-seeing and walked around. Tried to do some work and some cooking. Overall very quiet, especially over Easter. Tried to stand all the reality-tv that my sister likes and surviving. Survived without anime and manga except for some Street Fighter and Darkstalker comics. It slowly ate at my mind and I just had to do some sketching. Some are highly risque, particularly one that I posted (but we're all adults here!). Most are really crap, though. What can I say, but that I was out of practice?

Anyway I thought I'd post up some of the ones that I favour. I might put up the rest of the lesser quality ones (yes... they do get worse!) if I feel like it. Meantime, it's something to see until I arrange my affairs to the point where I'm happy to resume with the 'prologue' of Uninvited - The Story, and maybe a new story arc? Who knows... I'm willing to accept some ideas!

Meantime I've just got the first Deathnote manga. This is brilliant writing and fantastic art at a decent price! I've also been swooning over Ken Akamatsu's work in Love Hina, borrowed from my local library. God, this guy draws women well and dresses them as angels. I've also had dreams of Eureka 7. Talk about obsessed, right? Frightening....

Take care and until next time, adieu...

Some small test sketches

Tomorrow I shall be off to Minifest, i.e. mini-Manifest. This is the anime convention held annually at Melbourne University and quite simply the happiest days of the year, despite the fact that I usually go alone and come home alone. Anyway, they've just started this Minifest last year (I missed it! Casual swearing!) and it just might satiate my horrible appetite for the next few months while I wait for the real Manifest.

Anyway, I hope to sneak into the drawing room and do a few sketches. Ought as well practice a bit to see if I can get some people impressed (and maybe convince them to come see my blog!). It's something to do while I recover from the last stages of flu, anyway.

That should be quite enough, really... All in all I've done the posing shot, some action shots, some with background and covered men, women and giant robots. I should be ready.
P. S. Just thought I'd adda bit more...

Uninvited - The Story Pt 10 (Almost over)

BM: So I made the call. It felt like a torrent of water rushing past, leaving me dripping wet and cold. The chilling sense of intrusion was rapidly replacing the pressure and I could almost taste the annoyance from the other end.

BM: This was exactly like every other impulsive thing I had done in my life and I instantly regretted it. My mind froze up and I didn't know what to say, therefore throwing me into a state of panic in which I yammered all sorts of idiotic notions that popped into my head.
BM: She played along for a while, but her patience wore thin. Have you ever reached that point in the conversation where you've got nothing to say but curt replies in a dragging, never-ending cycle? It really threw me off when out of the blue she asked if I knew the chords to 'Uninvited' by Alanis Morisette.
BM: Ahh.... Uninvited. That cold, hollow song that more or less says it all in the title. The desolate ending song to a pathetic movie. It was like she stabbed me in the back and I didn't even know I was bleeding. There was some instinct in me, though, that alerted me to the presence of cold steel; pierced through my pride. The primal fear came forth and I realised I could not even hope to be considered worthy of her. It was best that I withdraw and lick my wounds, salvaging what little pride I had left. This was the last time I spoke to her...

(Essentially that's the end. Next week... prologue!)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 9

BM: Despite everything else going on, there was this nagging feeling of restlessness and loneliness. I had decided to quit cold turkey and stop calling her. Instead, I chose to admire her from within my memories and for a while things seemed to be a little better.

BM: I had hoped that by turning my back on her, I could grow stronger and finally have the strength to admit that I should leave her alone. I had hoped that I could eventually forget her completely... but...

BM: .. the pull was too strong. Everytime I denounced my emotions they came surging back. Doubt and disbelief can sometimes give a man hope, and hope will often bring on the biggest fall.

BM: And so I succumbed. How could I not? Her voice in my tortured memories was like some Siren's call. I was compelled to plunge heedlessly forward eyes closed. The buildup of hope was such a huge pressure that I could no longer resist...

(To be continued...)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 8

Okay, 2nd try...
BM: Well, I managed to call her a few times in the end. I really wasn't much of an interesting guy, but I tried my best. It always started out with some light topics and then it would quickly reach a point where nobody had anything to say.

BM: It's just that everytime I called it felt like I was intruding into her personal time. Every word I uttered felt like the dull thud of clumps of dirt thrown on my coffin. I felt like I was making her angrier with every call.

BM: Anyway, things weren't going anywhere. Our phone conversations were distancing us more than anything and she persistently refused to see me in person.

BM: Not that I blame her, though. I was truly my mother's boy and wouldn't last 10 seconds on my own. Curfews and restriction on mobility really limited my own ability to seek her out. Not that life at that point made things any easier... major exams were coming closer and extensive preperations had to be taken care of to ensure a brighter future (or so my parents told me).

(To be continued...)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 7

So, you may wonder... what does a guy do when he has the phone number of a beautiful girl?



(To be continued...)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 6

BM: Throughout the early performances I was consistently impressed by her many talents. Music, literature and science... she was clearly in a league for beyond mine but that didn't stop me from trying. It's strange though... I can't quite recall any of the performances that day.

BM: After the performances the elocution contest began and my turn came up quickly. Panic set in as I was confronted by unfamiliar grounds and a hallful of talent. I lost control of my arms and they were flailing all over the place in a pathetic attempt to add emphasis to my words. I looked like a bloody windmill. It was only a small blessing that I still managed to deliver my speech properly.

BM: She, however, was as professional as she was on our first meeting. I could have sworn she was even better than she had ever been and the crowd must have thought the same. Once more she flawlessly played the audience like a musical isntrument and it was obvious the competition was hers.
BM: I felt hesitant to approach her after. I hadn't done very well, although my English teacher felt that given the amount of time I had been given it was indeed a valiant effort. Realising that this would be truly my last chance, I steeled myself and congratulated her and bade her farewell. For my efforts, I was rewarded with her phone number and acknowledgement. Things definitely looked better, this time...

(To be continued...)

Valentines '06 Special

Hey, you all! Happy Valentine's Day. It's a late update, I know, but I thought I'd do something bold this particular day. I've been ruminating on what exactly to draw, taking into consideration my lack of style and experience. Well, I've decided to go onto something rather sad as this has been my experience with Valentine's days all my life. Unrequited, forgotten and despised...

I beg that you forgive the roughness of the work. I didn't spend enough time on it and rushed through the last bits while complaining about the materials I had and their limitations. I really need to learn how to clean things up and stop taking the easy way out sometime.

Anyway, I guess it's back to ol' Charlie Brown to keep me company on this day. Every year, he's been there to comfort me.

Uninvited - The Story Pt 5

BM: The competition was held at a different school, one far bigger and more impressive than mine. I was gawking like a slack-jawed yokel while inside I was fighting to suppress the nervousness that threatened to come up.


BM: The hall where the competition was being held was large and intimidating. It was buzzing with the participants, judges and students forced into providing entertainment prior to, and after, the main event. Everybody was getting prepared and the prospects didn't look very good for me. I was sweating as I gazed at the talent all around me when...

BM: ... all of a sudden I spotted her within the crowd. I can't remember exactly how I felt at that moment but I imagine all that pent-up nervousness just decided to mutate and explode right at that moment into a mixture of fear, confusion and perhaps a tint of longing and gratitude.

BM: This was beyond a coincidence, and if it was indeed divine providence then I would be a greater fool to ignore it. Making my way towards her I fumbled a greeting and hoped that I wasn't nailing my coffin shut. With a nervous grin I stood there for a few seconds while she tried to recall who I was... and was instantly relieved when she at last recalled our last meeting, if not my name. I had a leg to stand on, at least, and it was far from the worst scenario I imagined.

(To be continued...)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 4

BM: There was to be a 2-man elocution contest at another school. My seniors were supposed to participate, but one couldn't make it. This forced the English teacher to turn to the debate team for help. The others were hesitant, but being the attention-hog I am I accepted.

BM: It was a pretty last-minute thing so I didn't have much time to prepare. I hastily wrote a short essay on some trivial topic I found in the news and taking themes from previous presentations I had done. It wasn't very well researched and I was hoping that my delivery would be sufficient to pull me through, so I knew I had to work on that.
BM: I didn't have any coaching on how to handle elocution contests, and I had not done anything of the sort outside of my school. I really did not know what to expect, although I really didn't have much time to worry about this. I had to make do with the little time I had as well as the audience I had to put up with...

(To be continued...)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Xi Nien Quai Ler! Gong Xi Fa Chai!

In short, Happy Chinese New Year to you all, my loyal (and begrudging) supporters! No, this isn't a continuation of the story, but rather a short break to wish you all good fortune and good health in the upcoming Year of the Dog. Now that my year (Rooster) has gone, it's about time I started thinking more seriously about life and taking more responsibility.

Either way, make sure you don't break any of the new year taboos and follow the recommended fortune-bringing steps. Doesn't matter anyway because I'm rather hopeful that this year will bring good fortune to us all. Enjoy the company of your family and friends and don't forget the good food.

I'll be back with the story (or some other filler material) shortly, but one of the taboos is not to use sharp objects during CNY. Cut off fortune, you know! AHA! You all take care then!

Uninvited - The Story Pt 3

BM: Funny thing, though... If you just stop and think for a while all that resentment eventually dissipates and what fills the void is a sense of admiration. We were well and truly beaten by the best, and they weren't poor winners either. Shaking hands, we bid each other farewell.

BM: If you let that admiration stay with you, though, it can sometimes become something stronger. Although the competition was long over, there was this nagging little thought in my mind that I just couldn't get rid of. My little encounter with her had left a permanent impression.

BM: Of course as time passed I began to accept that I would never see her again. Our schools were far apart and the only thing I had of her was a memory. Man, I sure was pathetic and I regret that. Anyway, it's not like I didn't have other things to think of at the time. Exams were drawing near and preparations had to be done. Panic partially dulled the emptiness.

BM: Strange thing about my life, though: God has always given me second chances. Always. I don't know what I did to deserve them, but this was one of those times...

(To be continued...)

P.S. Additional notes in Comments.

Uninvited - The Story Pt 2

BM: Yeah, life was pretty good for a while... or as good as high school life could be. I was with a team that consisted of some of the best the school could offer and we held our positions firmly.

BM: That was before we faced THEM in a debate. School vs school and we had the homeground advantage. Man, I can't even remember the topic anymore much less wether we were for it or against it. It didn't make much difference anyway. All our advantages did us little good.

BM: They blew us out of the water. She alone could have taken us down. She... who at that time seemed like a terrifying warrior with her words. Every trick in the book was thrown at us and the judges loved it. She was relentless and almost demonic in her abilities. We were way out of their league.

BM: Defeat was bitter. There was the standard line-up of emotions. Fear of what we were up against. Disbelief and denial at our loss. A short burst of indignation, but mostly a seething resentment at our shattered pride.

(To be continued...)

Uninvited - The Story Pt 1

BM: You know what? Love really stinks.

D: Yeah? What do you know about it? Is there some dark tormenting secret that I haven't heard of before?

BM: Hmph...



BM: You ever hear the song 'Uninvited'?

D: That Alanis Morisette song?

BM: Yeah that's the one.
BM: I tell you, there's not another song that stabs me as much as that. That song always brings on the memories...

D: Surely you're exaggerating. It really can't be as bad as that.

BM: Well, there's a story that explains why, but it's long...

D: Call me curious... what happened?


BM: Well.. when I was in high school, I was an avid debater and elocutionist. Even represented the school a few times...

(To be continued)