Wednesday, August 30, 2006
They missed a spot.
Every once in a while, I run across something grand on my own:
CBS alters Couric photo to slim her down.
While I am all for airbrushing someone in a picture to make them look better as far as hiding blemishes, red eye, shiny face, that sort of thing, I am not, however, in favor of airbrushing people to make them look slimmer.
BUT, when they DO elect to do it to my best pal, Katie, I think they missed the BIGGEST part of her that needs to be scaled down...
Are you ready for it?
Her...
BIG...
FAT...
MOUTH!!!
ZING!
That is all.
CBS alters Couric photo to slim her down.
While I am all for airbrushing someone in a picture to make them look better as far as hiding blemishes, red eye, shiny face, that sort of thing, I am not, however, in favor of airbrushing people to make them look slimmer.
BUT, when they DO elect to do it to my best pal, Katie, I think they missed the BIGGEST part of her that needs to be scaled down...
Are you ready for it?
Her...
BIG...
FAT...
MOUTH!!!
ZING!
That is all.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Descent
Last night Ben and I saw The Descent. Holy crap this movie was awesomely scary in SO many ways.
I've said before that I have mild claustrophobia and this movie gave me extreme claustrophobia just watching it.
The plotline is that there are 6 friends who get together to go on a cave diving exploration after one of them has a tragic accident a year earlier. They want her to get back to normal and think that going on a cave expedition is just what the doctor ordered. NOT SO!
So these girls set off being led by one of them that's supposed to be this expert at all things extreme sports and she takes them into this cave that no one has supposedly been in before. Also, she doesn't tell the others that they are going into an uncharted cave, so they get ROYALLY pissed off when they find out. Then things start to get really dicey. Thankfully these girls are all size 1's because they end up having to squeeze through these tiny crawlspaces to get from one cavern to the other in their attempt to find their way out. If normal people tried to get through these crevices, this movie would have been over in five minutes.
Did I mention that they are also being trailed by these subterranean vampire-esque creatures?!? They not only have to fight off these creatures to survive, but there's a subplot between the girls and they also end up having to save each other from themselves.
My only complaint is the very end. I haven't read that much about this movie, but I heard that they edited out a lot of the end for the US audience, and I don't know why. The last thing we see just really didn't jive with the rest of the movie, but I just chalked it up to some other stuff that goes on in the movie so that I wouldn't be left with a sour taste in my mouth. I don't want to ruin anything, but there was also another scene that I would have done differently if it were me, but I didn't direct it, so what do I know? Ask me about it if you're curious.
Other than that, I enjoyed every single second of it. This is one of the better horror movies I've seen in quite a long time. Not only are the creatures they encounter horribly creepy, but all of the tiny shoulder-width crawlspaces they get stuck in are just insane. I ended up having a nightmare that I was being suffocated after seeing this, it was so realistic.
So I recommend that everyone who enjoys horror movies and wants to see a really outstanding flick go see this movie. It's the cat's pajamas. I also don't think that I will ever, EVER go cave diving because I wouldn't have the head to get out of a pickle if my expedition went tits up. So I'd end up panicking and whoever I was with would surely have to knock me out and leave me for dead.
I've said before that I have mild claustrophobia and this movie gave me extreme claustrophobia just watching it.
The plotline is that there are 6 friends who get together to go on a cave diving exploration after one of them has a tragic accident a year earlier. They want her to get back to normal and think that going on a cave expedition is just what the doctor ordered. NOT SO!
So these girls set off being led by one of them that's supposed to be this expert at all things extreme sports and she takes them into this cave that no one has supposedly been in before. Also, she doesn't tell the others that they are going into an uncharted cave, so they get ROYALLY pissed off when they find out. Then things start to get really dicey. Thankfully these girls are all size 1's because they end up having to squeeze through these tiny crawlspaces to get from one cavern to the other in their attempt to find their way out. If normal people tried to get through these crevices, this movie would have been over in five minutes.
Did I mention that they are also being trailed by these subterranean vampire-esque creatures?!? They not only have to fight off these creatures to survive, but there's a subplot between the girls and they also end up having to save each other from themselves.
My only complaint is the very end. I haven't read that much about this movie, but I heard that they edited out a lot of the end for the US audience, and I don't know why. The last thing we see just really didn't jive with the rest of the movie, but I just chalked it up to some other stuff that goes on in the movie so that I wouldn't be left with a sour taste in my mouth. I don't want to ruin anything, but there was also another scene that I would have done differently if it were me, but I didn't direct it, so what do I know? Ask me about it if you're curious.
Other than that, I enjoyed every single second of it. This is one of the better horror movies I've seen in quite a long time. Not only are the creatures they encounter horribly creepy, but all of the tiny shoulder-width crawlspaces they get stuck in are just insane. I ended up having a nightmare that I was being suffocated after seeing this, it was so realistic.
So I recommend that everyone who enjoys horror movies and wants to see a really outstanding flick go see this movie. It's the cat's pajamas. I also don't think that I will ever, EVER go cave diving because I wouldn't have the head to get out of a pickle if my expedition went tits up. So I'd end up panicking and whoever I was with would surely have to knock me out and leave me for dead.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Little Miss Snake Bites
Hello all, just a few things to drop on you.
Ben and I saw Little Miss Sunshine this week, and let me tell you, the commercials aren't lying. This movie is HILARIOUS.
You know, I think I've been a closet Alan Arkin fan for a long time and didn't even know it. I love him in EVERYTHING. From Edward Scissorhands to Glengarry Glen Ross to The Return of Captain Invincible, this man can't lose. He totally makes this movie.
The entire cast is great, actually. This is the ultimate dysfunctional family, but the difference here is that most of them are trying. They are trying to be a unit, even if on the outside they pretend not to be. Greg Kinnear is great as the dad who is the most messed up of the entire family. I love Toni Collette and Steve Carell, they are outstanding. Plus Beth Grant makes a small appearance, reminiscent of her role as Kitty in Donnie Darko. It's GOLD!
I think everyone should do themselves a favor and go see this before it leaves the theatre.
In other news, there's a new sketchgroup blog in town! It's called Snake Bites!
I believe Otis Frampton got this party started and many of the Viper Comics Crew is a part of this awesome collaborative effort to just have fun with sketchy goodness on tap. Check it out daily because you never know what's going to show up there!
Ben and I saw Little Miss Sunshine this week, and let me tell you, the commercials aren't lying. This movie is HILARIOUS.
You know, I think I've been a closet Alan Arkin fan for a long time and didn't even know it. I love him in EVERYTHING. From Edward Scissorhands to Glengarry Glen Ross to The Return of Captain Invincible, this man can't lose. He totally makes this movie.
The entire cast is great, actually. This is the ultimate dysfunctional family, but the difference here is that most of them are trying. They are trying to be a unit, even if on the outside they pretend not to be. Greg Kinnear is great as the dad who is the most messed up of the entire family. I love Toni Collette and Steve Carell, they are outstanding. Plus Beth Grant makes a small appearance, reminiscent of her role as Kitty in Donnie Darko. It's GOLD!
I think everyone should do themselves a favor and go see this before it leaves the theatre.
In other news, there's a new sketchgroup blog in town! It's called Snake Bites!
I believe Otis Frampton got this party started and many of the Viper Comics Crew is a part of this awesome collaborative effort to just have fun with sketchy goodness on tap. Check it out daily because you never know what's going to show up there!Saturday, August 19, 2006
Snakes on a Plane!
Just in case you ARE the only person in America that hasn't seen this movie, drop what you're doing and go see it!NOW!
Ben and I saw this last night and it was so rad. We went in with possibly the lowest expectations we've had since the Omega Code, and were not disappointed.
I don't want to spoil anything *choke*, but the storyline is very 80's and reminiscent of a really bad episode of Magnum P.I. or Simon & Simon, so they had us hooked right from the start. It was complete with every stereotypical character and scenario included. I also made the connection that our cat, Chewbacca, must be a cross-breed of cat and cobra. I say this because his attack style is VERY similar to that of almost ALL of the snakes in this movie. It was a very scary conclusion and I'll be watching him a lot more closely now. I'm going to check his underbelly for scales tonight.
The one thing that floored us though was that there were almost NO people in the theatre with us. Not a single line was made for people wanting to see it. We all walked in and got choice seats, and then a few stragglers wandered in at the last minute. I think we had about 7 people in our group and there were maybe 20 more people in the theatre with us. I can only assume it's because everyone else saw it at a midnight show the evening before.
This made it for a pretty fun experience. Everyone in the theatre was cheering and yelling and laughing, it was awesome. It wasn't too crowded and there was only about a 10 minute timeframe where the two groups of people behind us were possibly going to get into a fight. But I think the snakes helped that out as well, because as soon as they started showing up, the groups zipped their lips. Poor Sammy J. didn't even get the MFing Snakes on the MFing Plane line completely out before the theatre erupted in chaos. So it was good that there were no pivotal plot points given for about 10 minutes after that line because we couldn't even hear what the hell was going on.
This movie was gold, and I recommend it to everyone who wants to put on their low brow pants and just have a good time. To sum it up, I would classify it as a horror movie with jokes, if that's any indication of what you'd be getting yourself into.
Friday, August 18, 2006
More good news!
You know why I love my husband? Because he spends his time scouring random pop culture websites looking for coolness and he's always on the lookout for stuff that he knows I will get excited about.
Today, he sent me this:
Depp as Todd
I knew that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were in talks about the remake of Sweeney Todd (see my archives), but apparently its been confirmed and filming is going to start soon.
Squee!!!
I'd bet the farm that Helena Bonham Carter will be Nellie, and I think she'll be lovely.
So along with the Dark Crystal sequel and the Transformers movie, I now have this to look forward to!
Today, he sent me this:
Depp as Todd
I knew that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were in talks about the remake of Sweeney Todd (see my archives), but apparently its been confirmed and filming is going to start soon.
Squee!!!
I'd bet the farm that Helena Bonham Carter will be Nellie, and I think she'll be lovely.
So along with the Dark Crystal sequel and the Transformers movie, I now have this to look forward to!
Monday, August 14, 2006
You smell like phys ed!
So I joined a gym this weekend. I decided that I'm never going to get my ass out of bed at 6 AM and go to the park down the street to jog and it's too freaking hot to jog at said park after work. Ben and I attempted this feat on the first 101 degree day this summer and ended up feeling like some Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark we were so hot, sweaty and on fire. Also, it's really hot in our house and trying to work out in the living room was a bit of a joke.
So I joined a gym. Ben got a month long guest pass to come with me until I get used to going, and then I'm on my own. We went on our first trip today and it was pretty awesome. I didn't want to over do it, so I just ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes, but I ran for almost the entire time. I was very proud of myself. I did about 2 miles.
I also had to stop early because the season finale of Hell's Kitchen was on tonight. I happened upon this show a couple weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. I love cooking shows and I love smarmy Brits, so they had me at "F*@k off!". I was very happy with the outcome. If the other girl had won I would have had to go eat at her restaurant when we go to Vegas for Christmas and cause a scene. But, since the girl I wanted to win won, I may still have to eat there and praise her as much as I can.
This was really non sequitur and I'm sorry... you can go back to your normally schedule interwebbing now.
So I joined a gym. Ben got a month long guest pass to come with me until I get used to going, and then I'm on my own. We went on our first trip today and it was pretty awesome. I didn't want to over do it, so I just ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes, but I ran for almost the entire time. I was very proud of myself. I did about 2 miles.
I also had to stop early because the season finale of Hell's Kitchen was on tonight. I happened upon this show a couple weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. I love cooking shows and I love smarmy Brits, so they had me at "F*@k off!". I was very happy with the outcome. If the other girl had won I would have had to go eat at her restaurant when we go to Vegas for Christmas and cause a scene. But, since the girl I wanted to win won, I may still have to eat there and praise her as much as I can.
This was really non sequitur and I'm sorry... you can go back to your normally schedule interwebbing now.
Friday, August 11, 2006
New pics!
I put up a couple new pics in my Family & Friends photo gallery.
Ben and I hung out with our friend Rich. Fajitas, Beer and Gellati was had by all. And it was good. Here 's the quick link.
Ben is also growing a beard! Shocking!
Ben and I hung out with our friend Rich. Fajitas, Beer and Gellati was had by all. And it was good. Here 's the quick link.
Ben is also growing a beard! Shocking!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Save the Internet
Many of you may be aware of a thing called Net Neutrality that's been a hot button for some time now. If you don't know what its about, basically is means this:
"Congress is now pushing a law that would end the free and open Internet as we know it. Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. So Amazon doesn't have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer."
This excerpt was taken from MoveOn.org. Sign the Save the Internet petition TODAY!
I just saw this video on Yahoo.com and had to share. Its got one of my favorite divas, Leslie Hall of Leslie and the LY's fame, singing how much she loves the internet.
Don't we all?
"Congress is now pushing a law that would end the free and open Internet as we know it. Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. So Amazon doesn't have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer."
This excerpt was taken from MoveOn.org. Sign the Save the Internet petition TODAY!
I just saw this video on Yahoo.com and had to share. Its got one of my favorite divas, Leslie Hall of Leslie and the LY's fame, singing how much she loves the internet.
Don't we all?
Something's come up...
Yeah, so as you can see, Wonder Woman is on hiatus. I've had a coloring gig come up that's got a deadline so that's coming first.
I'll be back to work on her soon though. In the meantime, chew on this:
I hate TACO BELL.
Seriously. They have to put crappy refried beans in EVERYTHING!!! I also hate refried beans, so you see my problem.
So I'm going to try to never eat it again because it blows goats and its not really good Mexican fast food anyway.
That is all.
I'll be back to work on her soon though. In the meantime, chew on this:
I hate TACO BELL.
Seriously. They have to put crappy refried beans in EVERYTHING!!! I also hate refried beans, so you see my problem.
So I'm going to try to never eat it again because it blows goats and its not really good Mexican fast food anyway.
That is all.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Wonder Woman Color Step by Step part 2
This is going to be the last post for today, we're going to Uncle Julio's to eat in about an hour and I need to get ready.
So here she is with some detail added:
I wish I could say that I have a method to which parts I color first, or that I finish one part of the drawing and then move on to other parts, but I don't. I work all over the place. I will start on one part, then get mad at how its turning out and move on to another part and come back to other parts with fresh eyes.
So right now, I've gone in and colored all of the lineart (Ben is finally allowing me to do this to his art and I'm very excited about it!) with some preliminary colors.
I also added a little bit of detail to her hair, the red part of her bodice, the blue part of her "pants" and her boots. Yeah, I'm all over the place with this.
So enjoy this bit and hopefully I'll have more up tomorrow.
So here she is with some detail added:
I wish I could say that I have a method to which parts I color first, or that I finish one part of the drawing and then move on to other parts, but I don't. I work all over the place. I will start on one part, then get mad at how its turning out and move on to another part and come back to other parts with fresh eyes.So right now, I've gone in and colored all of the lineart (Ben is finally allowing me to do this to his art and I'm very excited about it!) with some preliminary colors.
I also added a little bit of detail to her hair, the red part of her bodice, the blue part of her "pants" and her boots. Yeah, I'm all over the place with this.
So enjoy this bit and hopefully I'll have more up tomorrow.
Wonder Woman Color Step by Step
Since you demanded it, I've started the colors for the Wonder Woman pinup that Ben drew for Ronee Garcia Bourgeois last weekend for Blogathon! I don't know if I'll get to finish her today, so you'll just have to keep an eye out for the progress posts as I complete them. The program I use to color with is Photoshop CS. I also use a Wacom tablet.
Here's my progress so far:
First thing I do when I begin coloring a piece is lay down some flats. Flats are just that. Flat colors, no detail, to separate out the different parts of the art. This is done on a separate layer and then I use the wand tool to select the blocks of color when I move on to adding the detail.
Some people choose crazy random colors that don't go together at all so they can distinguish them out from each other when they add the real colors to the piece.
Personally, I like to choose colors that are going to be similar to my end result. I usually choose a background color and fill the entire illustration with that color first, and then work my way inward. These colors will most likely change somewhat, but I like to have a rough idea of where I'm going with something while I'm flatting.
Here's my progress so far:
First thing I do when I begin coloring a piece is lay down some flats. Flats are just that. Flat colors, no detail, to separate out the different parts of the art. This is done on a separate layer and then I use the wand tool to select the blocks of color when I move on to adding the detail.Some people choose crazy random colors that don't go together at all so they can distinguish them out from each other when they add the real colors to the piece.
Personally, I like to choose colors that are going to be similar to my end result. I usually choose a background color and fill the entire illustration with that color first, and then work my way inward. These colors will most likely change somewhat, but I like to have a rough idea of where I'm going with something while I'm flatting.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Where Global Warming REALLY comes from...
I don't know if you've noticed, but its been DANG hot this summer.
Like LAVA hot. And not just in the two places that I've lived, one being Vegas or as I lovingly call it, Satan's Armpit and two being Texas, which I think is Satan's Ass Crack. I'm talking all over the country. San Diego was hot, the East Coast is hot. Its just plain hot, EVERYWHERE.
My first thought was, well, it must be global warming creeping up on us, because its been steadily getting hotter every year.
But upon further analysis and research, I realized that Chewie is almost 7 years old, and I think that's about when the weather started getting crazy. We jokingly call him Satan Spawn and other such Hellfire and Brimstone nicknames...
So... what if??? What if Chewie is the reason for all of these absurdly ridiculous heatwaves?
Need more proof? Take a looky loo:
Like LAVA hot. And not just in the two places that I've lived, one being Vegas or as I lovingly call it, Satan's Armpit and two being Texas, which I think is Satan's Ass Crack. I'm talking all over the country. San Diego was hot, the East Coast is hot. Its just plain hot, EVERYWHERE.
My first thought was, well, it must be global warming creeping up on us, because its been steadily getting hotter every year.
But upon further analysis and research, I realized that Chewie is almost 7 years old, and I think that's about when the weather started getting crazy. We jokingly call him Satan Spawn and other such Hellfire and Brimstone nicknames...
So... what if??? What if Chewie is the reason for all of these absurdly ridiculous heatwaves?
Need more proof? Take a looky loo:
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Blogathon: Where do I send my money?
Since I've had a couple of you ask me about sending in your donation from Blogathon I thought I'd post this. Blogathon is supposed to send out an email, letting everyone know where to send the cash, but if you can't/don't want to wait for that , please go here to the Friends of Lulu donation form.
Where it asks for a designation make sure you let them know that you're coming from Marlena Hall for Blogathon.
Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again to everyone, seriously.
Where it asks for a designation make sure you let them know that you're coming from Marlena Hall for Blogathon.
Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again to everyone, seriously.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
The aftermath.
Well, I'm back. Sort of. The blogathon is done, and I've gotten some sleep, so I'm able to sit back down here at my computer and give a proper thank you that wasn't induced by sleep deprivation.
So thank you again to everyone that participated, helped me out, sponsored their money and everything else that I've left out. Yeah that wasn't any better than the one I gave on Sunday, sorry.
Things have been sort of quiet around here, one of Ben and Zach's oldest friends was killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday morning, so we haven't really been doing that much. It's been pretty hard on the both of them.
That's about all there is to report right now.
Peace and love and take care of each other.
So thank you again to everyone that participated, helped me out, sponsored their money and everything else that I've left out. Yeah that wasn't any better than the one I gave on Sunday, sorry.
Things have been sort of quiet around here, one of Ben and Zach's oldest friends was killed in a motorcycle accident Sunday morning, so we haven't really been doing that much. It's been pretty hard on the both of them.
That's about all there is to report right now.
Peace and love and take care of each other.
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