Friends
Jan. 5th, 2010
05:18 am - More Fire Wheels.
Only with this version, I've coated all of the surfaces with glossy PVC vinyl. It's part of a new experiment I did to see how easy it would be to coat a complex prop like this with vinyl. The good news is, other than the cross bar at the center, I don't have to apply paint to this prop. Painting something like this can be a real pain in the ass to get all of the corners and borders straight so an alternative method of coating is definitely worth looking into.
The bad news is--it takes me about three times as long to coat the prop in vinyl as it does to paint it. (That, and I can't get away with just vacuumforming the componments either--I have to apply the vinyl to each individual piece that makes up the surface of the prop. ) Each fire wheel (and these are a pair God help me) takes about 40 hours to do. Ouch. There is no way that's ever going to be cost-effective. (Just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to for the last couple of days. I'll try to answer my e-mail as soon as I can...)
Grr! I posted this ebay doll wig auction a day or so ago for a girl who requested to buy it. Unfortunately, I forgot to make it a "Buy It Now" auction and she decided to buy another wig elsewhere. So, if someone wants to save my hash and bid on this auction to keep it from being a complete waste of my effort and money, I'd be grateful. (Also, if you don't trust me and you want to buy something from me via an ebay auction, fine. But never again will I do this for something that's under 15 dollars. EBay fees cut into my profits and its just not worth my while to set up an auction for something that cheap. So don't ask me to do it, Thanks.)
04:08 am - [Video] In today's Q&A video....
Jan. 4th, 2010
04:06 am - Ustreaming
Come watch me work on comics until I decide to stop.
All done - thanks to those who came by.
Jan. 3rd, 2010
10:49 pm
I don't mind people complaining about Year 9, but at least wait for it to start. *delete*
No, not sharing the email - it was just stupid.
09:23 pm
Am I the only person who, when I hear/read some "oh, you evil sinners you're all awful" - especially from the likes of Westboro Baptist Church - wonders how these people reconcile their actions with Matthew 7:1-6? ("Judge not, lest ye be judged....")
04:33 pm - You know what's BS? Vending Machines.
I've always wondered why the AVGN never did a Bullshit segment on Vending Machines. I can't think of a more concentrated source of bullshit than vending machines. They often give you the wrong things, but what's worst is when they take your money and give you nothing back. At least if a human thief takes money from you you can chase after him or call out for help, but when a machine takes your money, what can you do? Nothing. Just stare at it helplessly. It's a cold, neon-colored monolith that just stands there with complete indifference to your plight. Good luck ever getting your money back.
Sometimes the machines like to fuck with you--lights may blink, or they'll have a digital readout that indicates that your money was taken--only it won't give you what you asked for! So you press the coin return lever and if you're lucky, you may get part of your money back. But never all of it. You push and pound on the machine awhile, then you pump in a bunch of new coins and try a different selection. You still get nothing, only now the machine won't give you ANY of your money back. Nice. REAL nice. You beg, prod, plead and do everything you can to get the machine to work, but in the end, it's made you its bitch. You might as well just go on home with your tail between your legs. Your money is gone forever. You can't even use it to buy your soda or candy elsewhere. You've just been mugged by a machine.
And don't get me started on how those dollar bill roller thingys never seem to want YOUR dollar bills for some particular reason. Apparently they only accept magical dollar bills that have been soaked in holy water and ironed so smooth and flat that they disappear from our dimension altogether. (Good luck finding any of THOSE bills...)>_
03:17 am - Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Festivus/Chanukah/Kawanza/Satu
John and I went out on New Years Eve to the Werx, first time we've danced in an actual gay bar in a long time. Had a great party dancing to 4am with friends.
Tonight we went out to dance at the straight bar with a friend. Had fun, didn't seem to violate any dress codes this time. Some asshole threw an ice-cube at me while I was slow dancing with John. Other than that we had a really fun night. Got mistooked for a girl again by somebody who asked John if he'd mind if he danced with his girl. When I told him I was a boy he took a moment to think about it then decided he didn't want to dance with me anymore. I loled.
Jan. 2nd, 2010
06:29 am - Sleep is for the weak.
This day was a day that was made to irritate me. (And by "this day" I mean what is yesterday to most of you since I haven't gone to bed yet.) Oh no. I couldn't go to bed until I had made damn sure there was no possible way that I could make a stretchy garment the way I wanted to make it, and you know what? There WAS NO possible way that I could make it! And it only took me FIVE HOURS to discover that! Time that I probably would have only wasted sleeping or working on something profitable. Feh! Who needs that when you can spend half the night knee-deep in lycra with rivulets of tears flooding down your face like the River Ganges?
About the only useful thing I accomplished today was posting my time-lapse Noctis sword video on Youtube.
No annotations this time. I do too many jump cuts to keep up with those. Still, I hope some of you out there find it of use. (And please read the description before asking me questions about things that may be right there in the description. K thx bye!)
Jan. 1st, 2010
10:33 pm - Happy New Decade
New Year’s Resolutions-
2010-
Well what a decade it has been, you know it was just 10 years ago I said, “Magus, in ten years you will be living in Japan working for the government.” And by that I mean doing forensic science for the FBI. Right now you (all three of you who still use livejournal) are being deluged with the best 10 of the decade or some bullshit like that.
But you do not get to miss out on another round of Magus’ New Year’s resolutions (tm).
First the traditional look back at the resolutions that I failed to do last year.
2009-
1. Read more- 2 books a month at least: No
2. Get better sleep- find the perfect mix: No
3. Write more blogs- 1 a week: No
4. Learn Japanese cooking (bonus for relearning some Japanese langue wise)- Learn one recipe a month: yes (kind of had to)
5. Cook more- Cook a full meal one a week: no
6. Keep my house free of clutter- try 1 in 2 out system: no
7. Get down to 130lbs- Be it Wii Fit or my Apt Gym: no
8. Save money- Put 10% of my pay away each week and cut spending: yes
9. Eat out less- Limit to seven times a week (yes I eat more than that, this includes fast food): no
10. Keep my computers organized- I have the space now, need to get files organized: no
11. Make a digital portfolio- For job and professional reasons: no
12. Finish a writing project- Book, script, something.: no
13. Play less video games- I use them to get to sleep and distress should use that energy to focus on the above: no
So yeah I really failed last year with those pasky resolutions I am not even going to bother scoring. So let’s look at the 2010s future failures!
1. Learn Japanese- I kind of have a reason to.
2. See Japan- I’m here right?
3. Get organized- A mix of remember the milk, evernote, iPhone and Google calendar
4. Lose my gut- I want to fit into some of my old dresses
5. Work on a collaborative project- With Steve “The Man” Bennett the 4th here why not
6. Make some Japanese fiends- I have .5 at the moment
7. Use social networks more to keep in touch- Like the lj and facebook, and twitter, and xyz that will come out.
8. Do not work webstuff- When you spend 40 hours working on web stuff it burns you out, need to find some fun stuff to do with it
9. Write more- just need to do it for fun again
10. Get connected with my spiritual side again- Shinto + Druid = Shidru?
11. Kick ass at work- I have a real job try not to fuck it up
12. Get a Vespa- I have no driven a car sense I’ve been here I want to something cool
13. Buy a formal kimono- I want something besides a nice suit to wear to functions
Last year really changed my life, with losing and getting jobs, moving to Japan, and living the dream. I just wonder what 2010 has to offer.
And as always a reading for the year.
Year- 23 The Dreamer
Jan- Air 13- God of Air
Feb- Air 5- Struggle
March- Air 6- Victory
April- Water 6- Memories
May- Air 3- Partnership
June- 22 The Journey
July- Fire 10- Ruin
Aug- Fire 4- Merging
Sept- 13 Rebirth
Oct- Water 14- Goddess of Water
Nov- Fire 13- God of Fire
Dec- 3 Mother
-Magus-
Dec. 31st, 2009
09:13 pm
Hey all, Christmas 2009 shoot is up! Check out the great work from all 3 photographers here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7309685@N0
Shawn
Dec. 30th, 2009
08:52 pm - [Video] S*P Q&A: How Branwen Joined the Cast
Lighting blows and camera's too high - WHEEEE. Also I need a better mic.
02:22 pm - Happy Almost New Year!
The weather cleared up so I was able to do some painting. This next project, fortunately doesn't involve any--it's an armored helmet I'm making that I've coated completely in vinyl:
(Well not completely--the black areas have been coated with a sheer fabric--that's so the person wearing the helmet can look through the eyeholes I cut into the rigid face of the helmet. It's basically the same thing I did to make my Voldo helmet.)
I haven't really done a decent tutorial on vinyl armormaking yet, I don't think. I guess I'm still trying to find ways to perfect it. (It DOES take a long time when compared to other methods. One advantage it has is that once you've coated a surface with vinyl, you're done! No messy painting or long drying-time waits to deal with. It makes armor with an even surface that's much less prone to scratching.) I'm still fiddling with it though, trying to find ways I can cover curved surfaces with it without having to cut the vinyl. (Some Japanese costumers mount the vinyl with a special glue to urethane foam before assembling their armor but I don't like working with strong, fume-y chemicals. I'll just have to figure something out.)
I've added some more annoyingly practical things to my Amazon Wish List. (My Christmas want list this year was so uncool. When you get a giftcard and go "YES! Now I can finally buy socks! Wheeeeee!" You know you're either ass-poor or on the train to Fogeyville. Or --as in my case--both. Sigh.)
02:21 pm - [Politics/"Do As I Say"] Karl Rove Gets SECOND Divorce
Karl Rove, who's been outspoken on the sanctity of marriage and the threat gay marriage poses to it, has been granted his second divorce.
But, see, gays getting married will devalue the institution. Nevermind the fact Jesus was pretty outspoken about his dislike of divorce.
Oh, silly me! I forgot - it only applies to OTHER people.
Ganked from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
flemco
Dec. 28th, 2009
03:42 pm - Hey, Christians?
Is there a contest to win Randy back to Jesus? If so, I really hope the prize is awesome.
This shit is getting old.
02:09 am
I love this song.
It incorporates some of the best quotes from Sagan, including: "We on earth marvel, and rightfully so, at the daily return of our single sun. But from a planet orbitting a star in a distant globular cluster, a still more glorious dawn awaits. Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise - a morning filled with 400 billion suns; the rising of the Milky Way."
Dec. 27th, 2009
04:27 pm - New Video!
I've finally gotten around to finishing the audio on my gemcasting tutorial and posting it here:
This is part one. You can find parts two and three here at my Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/theprop
It IS my first video tutorial where I actually talk (and after listening to my sloppy-tongued, robot-reading-cuecards speech, you'll know why I haven't done it before.) Let me know if you have any questions about anything. (I may have to revise the audio if people are confused with certain parts of it. There are times when I swear I sound no better than this guy. And that's just not good.)
Here's hoping that the 5-day blizzard finally ENDS outside so I can do some spray-painting. (Sigh...)
01:22 pm - [Video] S*P Q&A: Where Did Vanessa Come From?
Today I try to justify the webcam I bought without doing webcam "shows."
01:00 am - Watch me on Ustream !
I'm working on scripts for the coming year and answering reader questions.
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