For the first one, I've got a recently colored version of my first half-naked Renji (with bankai Zabimaru). Both of these represent my attempts to break from drawing directly from the Manga. The colored picture is a pose from the Manga, but I took Renji's clothes off (nice of me, right?)


This one is a funny combination of the St. Paul firefighter calendar and Manga, but completely original.

Enjoy!

Originally published at A.M. Dellamonica. You can comment here or there.

YA author Karen Healey gives her feelings on teen fiction, swearing, and the latest round of censorship pleas. Seriously? The "let's protect all the kiddies by coating the planet in sanitized rubber" movement makes me crazy. I suppose censorship is easier than thinking or actual parenting for that matter.

There's a great interview over at SFSignal on Some Thoughts on Post Colonialism and Politics in SF. And well, here's a link from NPR on baby-naming and political affiliations. (Statistically, it doesn't work out the way you'd think it would.) I thought this article on Why Some Nations Become Wealthy While Others Remain Stuck in Poverty was pretty facinating. Take-away point: "Countries that have what they call “inclusive” political governments — those extending political and property rights as broadly as possible, while enforcing laws and providing some public infrastructure — experience the greatest growth over the long run. By contrast, Acemoglu and Robinson assert, countries with “extractive” political systems — in which power is wielded by a small elite — either fail to grow broadly or wither away after short bursts of economic expansion." I've long felt that extreme conservatism and well as Libertarianism both think short term. "American" corporations certainly do these days.

On a lighter note... and now... McSweeney's "Ultimate Guide to Writing."

Spent entire day yesterday dressed in my jammies, eating aspirin and hanging out on the couch. Watched mostly brainless films* until the very last -- Casino Royal (2006)** -- which told me my brain was finally getting back to normal. Just couldn't bring myself to think. It hurt too much. Am feeling so much better today. Dane says I'm my self again. Which is good. I've two days of slack to make up for today. So much writing to do. Am looking forward to it.
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* Underworld and Days of Thunder. I couldn't watch Underworld all the way through. I usually can't. Days of Thunder was awful, but it featured growly engines. So, I made it all the way through.
** That film was so well written. Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond and always will be, I suspect. And Eva Green hits that sweet spot of smart, tough, competent, feminine, and a little bit vulnerable. Come to think of it, Craig's Bond has that vulnerable quality too. I think I prefer characters (either male or female) who are a touch vulnerable. It makes them more realistic and sympathetic.

If there is any 3 or 4 XL tees from the past few Minicons I'd like to buy one for each year. TIA.

Tony von Krag
612 703 6573
vonkrag at gmail dot com

So the whack factor ran a little higher yesterday. All to the good. After sleeping quite late (by my standards) and a morning workout, I met up with @howardtayler for a leisurely lunch off-site. We had a terrific conversation about writing, life and the value of kindness. Howard also did nifty caricatures of both our waitress and her manager. It was hilariously fun to watch them react with such delight.

Walking back from lunch, we passed a pretty radical steampunked car.



More photos later when I have the bandwidth to upload them. (That would not be right now, unfortunately.)

Back inside, I hooked up with Ellie Copperbottom of the League of S.T.E.A.M. to host a High Tea. Which was a blast, and very odd at the same time. After that, I recorded a brief podcast interview with them. Then I wound up down in the Vendor Room signing books, where we all but sold out of my stock at the table of Off the Beaten Path Books. Gail Carriger and I crossed paths there again.

Dinner consisted of me and a very helpful concom rep making a White Castle run. Sixty dollars later, the League and I were pigging out hard. From there, things devolved into an evening of music, hot tubbing (well, warm tubbing), drinking, and electroshock therapy. I managed to enjoy an electric kiss with a lovely young woman, as well as try out the new sport of electric motorboating. Plus people were doing shots off Boba Fett's icy head, but I eschewed that particular pursuit.

Today I have an author panel and a reading and a day of hanging out.

So, yeah. A lot of fun here. A lot of fun.

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Photo © 2012 Howard Tayler, used with permission.

Your Sunday moment of zen.



San Francisco houses, 2006. © 2006, 2012, Joseph E. Lake, Jr.

The current photo series is from my 'favorites' file, hence the dates jumping about



This work by Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Easter Island statues had bodies — Did no one ever think to look?

CSR project aims to create a high-speed, carbon-neutral steam-powered locomotive — Oh, cool. (Thanks to David E. Vincent.)

Egos and Immorality — Paul Krugman on the Wall Street fairy tale.

Scientist: Evolution debate will soon be history — This is stupid. The evolution debate has been history for a long time. What you have today is a combination of religious willful ignorance and conservative political opportunism. It's not a "debate" in any meaningful sense of the word, as the anti-evolution side has no evidence, logic or credibility.

Conservatives used to care about community. What happened? — They lost their fucking minds.

?otd: Ever been electric motorboated?

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5/27/2012
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (Con time)
Body movement: 30 minute stationary bike ride
Hours slept: 6.5 (solid)
Weight: n/a
Currently reading: Shattering the Ley by Benjamin Tate; Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht