The Patent Dragon's Zone of Soul Retraction

Sometimes, you have just got to just dive in...

Mission News... Believe it or not, dear reader - I have finally made a start on the art-based Task double-header of

47 - Refresh my art skills
50 - Create "proper" pieces of art, fit to hang, or give as gifts

The water-colour boards take acrylics quite well, a Ferrero Rocher gift-box from Christmas has become a perfect artist's palette - the tray inside makes perfect receptacles for paint, and it even has a lid - and there were absolutely no mishaps. Yaaaaaay!

I'm feeling rather inspired at the moment, but I'm going to see how things go before I forge ahead with something BIG(ger). What I'm working on right now should be quite "hangable" with an extra coat and the final colour applied - it's a simplified version of something I may just come back to, in the future, but for now, all is going well. Think I can count Task 47 as a *SCORE*, and just in time, too...

Concerning The Oscars... So, Geoffrey Rush got nothing, except a share of the four-Oscar glory earned by The King's Speech, which is a pretty good haul - the same haul as netted by Inception (albeit in the "non-glamour" categories). All well-deserved.

Development News... Chapter 2 of TDD-611 ...Final Movement is moving along quite nicely, thank you for asking. I'm still aiming for... oh hold on - ooops, missed a posting slot...!

Back later...

To "His Holiness"... Religion is "marginalised" in the UK, my dear fellow, not because Christians are "hated by aggressive atheists", but because the tzars of "faith" want the rest of the world to back up and stay stuck in the Middle Ages with them, rather than stepping back to allow humanity to advance as a species. Disagreeing with that approach doesn't equate to "threats" or "insults" - it's a desire to press forward. Live in the past if you want to - just don't expect the rest of us to do the same.

Last word on the matter - I hope.

Development News... Now, this is more like it. Chapter 5 of TDD-607 The Pandemonicum Symphony - First Movement is underway, and more of our protagonists show up for the party. I'm liking the way this is coming together now - I'm sure the interlude MUST have played a part in refreshing my creativity sufficiently to allow this to take place, and give me material for another Mission 101 task...

48 - Do proper reference sheets for at least six of my characters (0/6)

- one character with a new career and one intelligent species could surely do with that treatment!

But first, Ultima Online - hope I won't end up at The Trinsic Rose on my own again.

New Toy, Day 3... I should have been timing how long this netbook has been running on battery charge - I'd say at least 4 hours, and it's on 43%. Sweeeet.

Pity about bloody McAfee Security Centre - every time it updates, it needs a bloody reboot. STOP INTERRUPTING ME!

Anyway... A kind of quiet day, with Boss doing lectures, and a whole bunch of data that I can't really input without proper trip numbers - result: an early finish, and a circuit of the shops!

Development News... I'm staring to get to a point where there's light at the end of the tunnel for CHA-001 "Comes - THE CHALLENGER!". The story has expanded, as these stories often do, to include cameos from other characters in our new hero's world as they cross his path, but I'm trying really hard to keep it to a single, extended chapter.

In a related story, the debut of this character is giving me an excellent opportunity to make a start on this Mission 101 task...

48 - Do proper reference sheets for at least six of my characters

Working from the bottom up, so to speak, makes this a good deal easier. I have a Heromachine "sketch" from last night, which should count as a start, and the details should be easier to produce myself - hopefully.

Of course, the plan is to do sheets for Mane-of-Night and Glitterthorn, which will help make

32 - Get at least one piece of commissioned art

a lot easier to complete...

More on all of this soon!

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