Trez-uh

Antiquing and collecting old things really aren’t my forte.  These hobbies belong to my mother and her friend who obsess over blue willow and leaded crystal (which are pretty, but, seriously, I need groceries first).

But I’ve made it sort of a “Where’s Waldo?” game with coffee mugs, tea cups and tea pots that I happen to pick up here and there.  I only started doing this this past summer after purchasing a practically paper-thin tea set that was incomplete.  It’s kind of fun.  All you need is the name on the bottom of the piece.  I found Austrian pieces, German pieces and even a teeny tiny pot that still confuses me.  The style has been around since the Ming Dynasty, but since I can’t read Chinese, I’m a little lost.

Today, while making coffee, I grabbed my favorite mug: a banged up dark blue mug with a big red cherry/apple design.  This mug was ill-gotten (like most of the things in life that I enjoy).  We lived in a run-down house with a room full of CRAP attached.  The floor had rotted out and nobody really wanted to go in there.  However one day we decided to go treasure hunting.  I found my banged-up mug next to an 8-track player and tapes and it has been mine ever since.  It is my “apple cup”.

I had known about the name on the bottom.  Instead of a relief into the clay, the name stood out boldly; the rest of the bottom carved away.  I had just never bothered to look it up.  Something made me look it up today.  Surprisingly, it was the easiest piece to Google.  I hadn’t even typed out the whole name and the search engine gave me over a million options for the name.

My mug has a website. Since 1832, Waechtersbach has been making snazzy ceramic items.  I couldn’t find my mug’s design so I decided that it is worth fifty million dollars and I’m never going to let it go.  I wouldn’t have anyway.  I was just wondering if there were any other pieces with the design.

Here.  This is the only image I was able to find (another ill-gotten prize, thank you, internet):

Yes…yes it is cute…I don’t think leaded crystal and blue willow are in my future, but I’m probably going to look up the names of pieces I buy on impulse from RecycleNorth.

Panthea Obscura: A Review

A local comic.

I told Mike Luoma, writer of “Panthea Obscura” and local radio host, that I would post a review of his comic series here in my forum and on my blog.  In hopes of being mentioned on the radio (hint hint), I’ve decided to follow through while I have the time.

“Panthea Obscura” is the story of ye old gods who decided “y’know what?  I think it’s about time we got some attention like the old days” and thus, do so.  However, knowingly, once they become public again, they also release the restriction on a horrible evil that is bent on destroying mankind (I suppose that’s his way of getting mortal attention, I know it would get mine).  Now, between tv show appearances and miraculous duties, they have to stop him before he destroys everything.

The gods names are rarely mentioned, but you get the idea of who is who.  Abbreviated names and clues lead you down the right path.  Also, the guy with white hair boinking all the women and shooting lightning from various extremities doesn’t hurt with the hinting.

Mike has not yet released his fourth and final book so I can’t speak of exactly what happens.  I typically don’t give away an ending anyway.  I should also mention that this comic is drawn and colored by Juan Carlos Quattordio.  I will be perfectly honest about this, and feel free to plant a “hypocrite” flag on me, but I don’t really care for the art.  It’s probably a lot to do with the coloring.  It feels like way too many Photoshop filters were used and “subtle shading/highlighting” aren’t an option.  I like the lineart (from the sketches in the back of the book), but “lensflare”, as it’s been stated everywhere in the internet-iverse, is not the answer to everything.

I will be picking up the last issue of this series as soon as it is out.  Issue 3 featured some, I should say, “paternity issues” that I need some closure about.  I hope also to get some actual names of these deities, especially D, who appears to be a water god.  Any guesses?  Take your pick.  You’ve only got about a million to choose from (not counting the pantheon of three million Hindu gods).

You can order and learn more about Mike and JC’s series at their website: www.glowinthedarkradio.com

(Yes, I did start buying this series out of jealous curiosity, so sue me…)

Haters and Voters

I was in a SURPRISINGLY good mood for about, I dunno, two days or so.  It was great.  Drawing more Go Fish pages, chatting with people; y’know?  The good parts of life.

Well I check my deviantART page today from work during break and there’s a message about how “shitty my work is” and “how dare I use Aztec gods for my comics”.

First of all, how dare I use ANY deities for my comic.  Really.  I’m stepping on a lot of toes.  I thought I had free range with Aztec because 1) it’s awesome and 2) most of them are dead or passive.  Apparently not.  I’ve had tamer Christians comment about my “blasphemous” work.  Gee, I better never go to Mexico; they’ll kill me for sure!

Secondly, yep, my work is shitty.  I’ve come to terms with it.  It’s shitty and amazing.  Anything that could make me this happy and this miserable at the SAME TIME has got to be shitty and amazing, right?  Have you ever REALLY looked at newspaper syndicates?  They’re shitty.  They’re REAL shitty.  They make me want to shit on my work just to be as good as them.  But at least have the decency to tell me WHY it’s shitty.  “The eyes are googly”, “they look like they have downs syndrome”…c’mon, gimme something to work with.  If you aren’t going to help out, then you’re a cock sucking ass burglar and you need to go die in a fire, plzkthnxbai.

Thirdly,…Seriously…gtfo.  Haven’t you anything better to do with your time?  A job?  Some kids?  A lukewarm vagina?  I’m one person out of a hundred million on that site.  I’m like…in the middle of the experience ladder and just below that on the “talent” scale.  And honestly, your “work” looks like a bunch of stolen images and screencaps.  Please repeat the sentence in the paragraph above.

See?  I was big enough of a man to bring my bitching away from your battleground and simply choose to hide your dumbass comment.

Gah, I’ve got to get my work off that site.  Sure, the free attention is great, but when you don’t get anything back, it’s like giving a five year blow job to someone who’s asleep and only wakes up to slap you on the face and ask you why the fuck you stopped sucking.

Oh right the voting part of the title.

I’m not voting.