http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:BlackDove42&section=today deviantART RSS for by:BlackDove42 en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:25:43 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/24721388/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/24721388/ Tue, 12 May 2009 13:54:16 PDT
At the moment, I'll be doing a spring-cleaning of everything around here. That includes the deviations that have been piling up, people's journals, watchers' lists, and possibly even my gallery. Let me know what you'd like for me to take a look at or if you want me to keep watching you.

Sorry this isn't a longer journal. Hopefully, I'll have something a little more interesting to say next time I write.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/22478055/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/22478055/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:18:33 PST
I DARE any of you to even try analyzing the first two. At least the last one seems like one that can be applied to me.

---
1st Dream:
Anyways, it's Nolanverse Batman, which means Ledger's Joker. (Just to clarify, I'm referring to the Batman movies starring Christian Bale in case there's any confusion) The crazy train is in the station and ready to go. The part that I remember, however, turns into a weird mixture between Lovecraft and old Salvador Dali paintings. There was some other stuff that happened beforehand. However, I remember that somehow the Joker had caught me, and I was just in a bed without any PJs because I don't wear them when I go to sleep. I was covered up enough so I didn't feel exposed, and I decide that I'm not going to be a wussie and be afraid of the Joker. He sticks a needle in me near my collarbone and draws some blood, but since it doesn't hurt I'm starting to feel pretty confident. He squirts the blood into his mouth for reasons I don't understand (maybe for effect). Then he tells me that someone else is gonna come by. That's when I say, "Well, you're not going to use the same needle, right?" He gets confused and we start having this matter-of-fact conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that's a little unsanitary. Don't you have another needle?--I'd just appreciate if you used another needle."
"I might."
"I'm just saying. It'd be nice if you could use another needle. I can get you one if you want."
The he snaps at me because he's getting a little pissy, and tells me that it's not gonna be one of his cronies coming by to do the same sort of weird shit. Apparently, it's Batman. This is the part where the crazy train just jumps the rails into a pit of insanity. The scene cuts to outside where it's dark and away from this house. It's not Batman. It's a really creepy Living Bat Train. See, there is Batman in his full gear at the front of this train thing. He has his arms and legs, but somehow attached to his back and extending away is this solid mass of black tissue. It's probably two feet or so and massive. Attached to that are more legs and appendanges, and attached to that is some mass of a tar-like mess. Also, the underside of his big bat-cape is blood red, containing many eyes and sharp-toothed mouths which shriek a lot. He's crashing through some trees and trying to pull himself away from the evil thing attached to him as part of his amazing inner battle with this creepy tar-beast that is trying to eat him. Also, at this point it suddenly went from real-life to Batman Series animation. I remember there had been some sort of scene where the tar-beast attached to Batman and he was crashing through the city trying to just pull away. For some reason, he couldn't just cut it off.

2nd Dream:

This is the Twilight Zone one where everything started out in black and white. There were a bunch of cars to choose from at some lake in the middle of nowhere, and there was this SUV that my mom told me not to choose because it was evil. The guy who owned it didn't seem to happy with that. After all the cars were driven except that one, it becomes third-person. The guy with the white SUV turns out to be the devil and he drives away. He's pissed off, so he starts a tornado. I think at some point, my mom says, "See, this is where the tornado starts" as if we're watching this on TV. It gets muddled here. I remember being in a hotel room where we were watching the storm warning and getting ready to leave. I kinda forgot how Pokemon got in, but it was sometime during this point. I think this is where a Lickitung was madly in love with something like a Gyarados. They liked each other about as much as my two male cats like each other (to clarify for people: my two male cats will sometimes try to have sex with each other. That's how much they like each other).

3rd Dream:

Unfortunately, only a few of you will understand this one. That makes telling the dream that much more embarrassing. Pester me for details.

4th Dream:

I remember more of this one than the others, and it is probably my favorite because it's something I would like to do. I remember there was some serious problems in this beautiful forest and animals were getting hurt. I came across this abandomed barn in a clearing surrounded by trees, and a lot of vegetation was growing in and on the barn. This was a safe place for me to put some birds, so I placed them there and fed them until I could move them elsewhere. I have to leave to get more food. Some time has passed and when I come back, there are more birds. Different k... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/22048168/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/22048168/ Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:54:30 PST
In the meantime, I'll post a few things. To start with, you'll notice my happy little meme template (Which can be found here: [link] )

The list of people who have committed thus far to the meme! Tell me also if you're interested. I will post your icon and the link to your deviation!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.


And for anyone else interested. I've working on my terrible, terrible fanfic that's been hiding in my scraps. I got to the tenth scene, and now I'll be posting the links. I've strangely proud of this little thing, and so now I feel that I should try showing off things here.

So, here it is. Cocaine Blues

Part 1: [link]
Part 2: [link]
Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]
Part 6: [link]
Part 7: [link]
Part 8: [link]
Part 9: [link]
Part 10: [link]

More will be posted as it's written.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/19861674/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/19861674/ Sat, 09 Aug 2008 11:59:52 PDT
First off, a thought: Does anyone else wish that John Edwards' mistress was named Billie Jean? Ten points to those who know what I mean

Alright, time get things rolling all over again. I was in summer school, then took some time to go to the beach which should explain all the aquarium photos. The point is that I'm back now and I will hopefully get around to finally writing all those poems. Remember all. I may be slow, but I do keep my promises as best as I can.

I got tagged by ~Kaz-Azrael, so that will give me an excuse to fill people in using this little meme thing. Also, I tag no one.

My name is what? (I couldn't stop myself. Sorry for the 90's flashback, y'all)
I just got back from the Crystal Coast so I can get ready for the coming semester, and I just completed summer school.
I spend most of my time (now) getting ready and hopefully doing all the writing I didn't get a chance to do earlier.
I eat things that I really shouldn't. Like fried bread.
I wish for a comfy pair of socks. And while I'm wishing, a pony.
I love the person that I am. (And really, that makes a little more sense in the context of my summer)
I need to get all those poems done for all the people I promised them to!
I think that now I've got some breathing room, I can get cracking on my big to-do list.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...

The Dread Writer Rachel MacRadical's Amazingly Large List of FEATURES!

Make certain that you tell all these lovely people how you found them! And thanks to everyone who played!


1. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
2. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
3. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
4. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
5. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
6. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
7. http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/19004471/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:28:20 PDT
George Carlin died yesterday at 71 of heart failure.

I invite everyone who watches me to post your favorite quotes and to talk about how George Carlin influenced you. Feel free to even speculate on what he might say about some things (if he hadn't commented on them already).

I promise that I will put my features journal up again. I just wanted to post this because I feel very luck to be alive during George Carlin's lifetime and hear what he had to say.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/18349676/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/18349676/ Fri, 16 May 2008 15:47:28 PDT Just to warn, this journal will get updated and will appear in your inbox often. Sorry for the inconvenience.

At last, I have the free time necessary to attend to these features and give people the poems which I had promised^^ Oh, and how grand it will be! Here's the line-up with some selected pieces. Expect more along with links to their poems! Thanks all!


1. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
2. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
3. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
4. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
5. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
6. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
7. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
8. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
9. (poem) Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
10. Pieces: [link] [link] [link]
11. http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/17591837/ Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:17:53 PDT Five more spots available!


An unusual way of playing the upright bass I wanted to share


deviantART Double Feature: ~Caffeine-Corpsepile and ~Crunchy-Canuck

Caf-C caught two kiriban and kindly allotted one to a friend. I unfortunately haven't neither had the time nor the energy to give their galleries a good look through. However, they do have work of substance in both of them.

Also note that they are working together on a project at the moment, something you can ask either of them. So hats off to you, Crunchy and Caffeine!

+

If anyone would like to, you may post some links of art from their pages which you like and I can feature it.


Even MORE Feature opportunities? You're too kind!

I promised something like three people that I would do this, so I'll be amazed if I can even fill up half of the slots.

Rules

1. Post if you want a feature. This is where I'm supposed to say something like "Oh, you gotta do this too." But here's the thing: I actually don't care at all whether or not you decide to do this too.
2. Because I just want to fill some slots, you are welcome to suggest people who should be featured. Try to limit your features to people you know well but aren't popular on dA. The point of this is exposure.
3. First ten people get a poem about anything they want written just for them. I'd draw, but I just don't have the energy.

Edit: Forget the stupid rule! Poems for anyone who wants one! :woot:

1. (poem)
2. (poem)
3. (poem)
4. (poem)
5. (poem)
6. (poem
7. (poem)
8. (poem)
9. (poem)
10.
11.
12.
13. http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/17270761/ Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:39:52 PDT
In the coming weeks, I will be tracking the Eve Carson murder through my LiveJournal. This is a very high-profile case that will stick messy very quickly. This is so everyone is straight on the facts because certain things might not hit the papers outside of Chapel Hill, but that information will still be important to understanding the case.

This case will get ugly. There is just no denying that. In the meantime, I have posted the first entry thus far.

For those outside of the state, keep this in mind: A very smart and very pretty white woman was murdered in a southern town. Chapel Hill is fairly liberal, but it is still a southern town. Race still makes a difference.

Here is the blog: [link]

Best to all.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16960875/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16960875/ Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:18:25 PST
I lost a battle and two class days to protein-coated DNA. Right now, I'm taking a very small break from my essay mainly because I'm getting distracted. That's usually a good indication that I need to take a little break before continuing. Anyways, I learned something odd while sick.

If you drink whole milk, it'll separate into curds and whey in your stomach. I think this might be from the HCl in your stomach.

Anyways, break time is on the horizon so once that comes, I might be able to post things of interest. My hope is to start cataloging all of the really old documents we have, such as wills and whatnot. While my grandmother was alive, she put a lot of work into establishing a blood line. Not living near my family means that I take that kind of thing for granted. Eventually, I'd like to donate a lot of the documents to a historical repository. That way, someone else can benefit from the historical significance that the documents might possess. I already know that my family's documents found their way into a university repository, so it seems good to just add on.

So, if anyone is still paying attention. What's your heritage? What kind of documentation do you have on your family? If your family was of recent immigrants, can you trace your roots through the old country?

Most importantly: Do you even care about where you came from?


This following stuff is old
Okay, there are good reasons for why I haven't been around. Really, really good reasons. Reason that are so plausible and understandable that you would say, "Wow, that is totally plausible and understandable."

There are also reasons that, for time's sake, I can't explain at the moment. Gotta head to class very soon.

I haven't abandoned this site, but I've been very busy. I'll do what I can soon.

A thousand apologies to those who are supposed to be featured here. I'll get that set up as soon as possible.

Sorry

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16213619/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16213619/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:01:33 PST
Hope everyone had a great time. There's an ancient Babylonian superstition that whatever you do on the first day of the year is what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. Considering that I finished this year after midnight Dec 31st, that superstition says that I'll be finishing things late at night all year. Dunno what to think about that.

This year may also be the year that someone actually catches one of my hits. <.< >.> Anyways, have a great year!


Catch the Hit and Get a Feature!

Let's see if someone will humor about this stuff.

5152th--the number of legal rook moves in chess. Caught by no one
5200th--divisible by its reverse. Caught by no one
5258th--has a base 8 representation which is the reverse of its base 7 representation.Caught by no one
5306th--the smallest number whose 9th power starts with 4 identical digits. No one
5349th--12345 in base 8. No one
5383th--the number of triangles of any size contained in the triangle of side 27 on a triangular grid. No one
5400th--divisible by its reverse. No one
5489th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 32 cuts. No one
5555th-- a repdigit. None
5602th--22222 in base 7. None
5714th--the number of lattice points that are within 1/2 of a sphere of radius 21 centered at the origin. No one
5817th--34902 / 6, and each digit from 0-9 is contained in the equation exactly once. no one. As usual.
5877th--a value of n for which 5n and 8n, or 8n and 9n, together use each digit exactly once.No one
5914th-- 0! + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! + 6! + 7! No one
5976th-- a value of n for which n and 7n together use each digit 1-9 exactly once. No one.
6012th-- has a square with the last 3 digits the same as the 3 digits before that.
6058th--a number that does not have any digits in common with its cube.
6133th--the largest known number n so that 80n - 79n is prime. CAUGHT! Congrats to ~Caffeine-Corpsepile!
6144th = 16!!!!. That's not an very emphatic sixteen. It's the symbol for multifactorial.
6200th--a harmonic divisor number.
6225th = 666 + 2 + 2 + 5555.
6279th--the number of subsequences of {1,2,3,...14} in which every odd number has an even neighbor.
6300th--divisible by its reverse.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16040824/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16040824/ Sat, 22 Dec 2007 08:34:57 PST Sweeney Todd is a musical that I love.

Now, if you wish to see the movie without a tainted opinion, you should probably stop reading. Separating it from the musical and pretending that the musical doesn't exist, it's a decent film. I'm not sure if it deserves the rave reviews that it's been getting, but it's decent. However, I will not leave this alone without saying this: There is something wrong when the blood on a television show like Law and Order looks more realistic than the blood in this big budget movie. I say that now so you can be prepared and ignore it.

Otherwise, pretty good characterization, some nice effects, a good effort on the part of the actors, good quality of the voices, and some more good stuff.

Now then, that's it for my praise and what not.

----------------------STOP READING HERE-----------------------

So, if you're reading this, then you are probably a musical purist like me (read for me as 'snob.' ) or curious.

If you're wondering. Tim Burton, in my opinion, has taken a proverbial dump on something I love. Allow me to enumerate all the reasons why Sweeney Todd is a great musical.

1. It captures pretty well the overall desperation of people living in London during the Industrial Revolution. What happens in Sweeney Todd is probably similar to the kind of debauchery and misery going on in developing countries as the little people get worked to death and railroaded by those with more power.

2. It's a tragedy because the main character becomes someone of constant anger and pain. The entire time, he is in incredible emotional pain. It's doesn't excuse how many people he ends up killing as a product of his anger and pain, but it's very sad because the play makes it obvious that he wasn't like that before. There's also some hint that part of his agony comes from knowing what he is. He has basically continued his life for 15 years after his arrest only to see the moment he exacts his revenge. After doing that, he has nothing to live for. In the end, however, he sees the monster he has become.

3. It deals with the destructive power of love. Sweeney is still so in love with his disappeared wife that he becomes pained and angered. Mrs. Lovette loves Sweeney so much that she'll do anything to keep him. And Judge Turpin loves Johanna so much that he wants her all for himself.

4. It has the desperation of how people cling to each other. Johanna and Anthony hardly know each other, but Johanna agrees to leave with him so long as she can get away from Judge Turpin. I'm not even sure if she loves Anthony. She just wants to escape.

5. It has the opportunistic back-stabbing, the miscalculated attempts to manipulate someone, and the proof that there are some dirty secrets you just can't keep forever.

6. It shows how people coped with their awful lives. There's a lot of dark humor because life is so, so bad that the characters need something to laugh at.


Now check that. Out of what I listed, 2, elements of 3, elements of 4 were missing, and much of 6. That's not Sweeney Todd anymore. It's a Tim Burton mash-up. Oh, and chorus = sad.

Now let me be clear on something. I'm not knocking Alan Rickman, Helene Boehm Carter, or Johnny Depp. All of them are fine actors with good singing voices considering that it's a hard musical. But Tim Burton really dropped the ball when it came to characterization.

There's something wrong when I feel more sympathy for Judge Turpin the villain than I do for Sweeney Todd. There's a problem when everyone else seems more sympathetic than Sweeney Todd.

What is so frightening about Sweeney Todd, and I'm basing this on other movies made way before this one, is that he is unhinged. He is like a crazed and pitiful animal. There is a brittle mask of calmness over him always that hardly hides the wrath and anguish under the surface that is ready to bubble up at any moment. Instead, Sweeney Todd was cold and in control. Frankly, I don't think that happens with most people. Particularly if you're going along with him being a foolish barber, he'd still be a little scattered. If anything, Mrs. Lovette is the cold and calculating one because she keeps everything running. She basically controls Sweeney Todd for most of the musical and takes advantage of him.

So much could've been done that wasn't. The Johanna/Anthony subplot is supposed to contrast with the Sweeney/Mrs. Lovette subplot. I really don't need to see ten shots of just killed people hitting concrete. It was long movie, and yet there was so much unnecessary stuff. A gratuitous sex scene between Sweeney and Mrs. Lovette would'v... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16011851/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/16011851/ Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:03:50 PST Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which I plan on busting through before I see the special edition of the movie Blade Runner. The book is absolutely amazing. In picking up the book, I realized something: I really don't like, for the most part, soft sci-fi.

By that, I mean fantasy that has some sci-fi elements or takes places in a sci-fi world. I inwardly cringed while getting Do Androids because I saw, in the science fiction of the bookstore, a book proudly displaying a centaur with a bow and arrow. In fact, every time I saw this, I would look up to make sure that yes, I was still in the science fiction section of the store. Call me an old-fashioned and snobby purist (because it's probably all true), but I don't think that swords and dragons say "science fiction" to me. That is, unless the 'sword' is really a gun and the dragon is really a gigantic, genetically-engineered lizard with large bionic implants. (I would totally consider reading that).

Now, I really like fantasy too so long as people call it what it is. Both genres are changing, but again, I'm old-fashioned and snobby. The best science fiction is the stuff that sounds plausible. Until we have the technology and the blatant disregard for ethics, centaurs aren't plausible. I think all of those mythical creatures are great. But without some real stretching of the imagination, I just feel that they don't belong in science fiction.

Unless the centaur is actually a blue alien with four eyes, no visible mouth, seven fingers, and a long spike at the end of its tail. Then I'm game. (Five points to anyone who knows the reference)



Catch the Hit and Get a Feature!

Let's see if someone will humor about this stuff.

5152th--the number of legal rook moves in chess. Caught by no one
5200th--divisible by its reverse. Caught by no one
5258th--has a base 8 representation which is the reverse of its base 7 representation.Caught by no one
5306th--the smallest number whose 9th power starts with 4 identical digits. No one
5349th--12345 in base 8. No one
5383th--the number of triangles of any size contained in the triangle of side 27 on a triangular grid. No one
5400th--divisible by its reverse. No one
5489th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 32 cuts. No one
5555th-- a repdigit. None
5602th--22222 in base 7. None
5714th--the number of lattice points that are within 1/2 of a sphere of radius 21 centered at the origin. No one
5817th--34902 / 6, and each digit from 0-9 is contained in the equation exactly once.
5877th--a value of n for which 5n and 8n, or 8n and 9n, together use each digit exactly once.
5914th-- 0! + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! + 6! + 7!
5976th-- a value of n for which n and 7n together use each digit 1-9 exactly once.
6012th-- has a square with the last 3 digits the same as the 3 digits before that.
6058th--a number that does not have any digits in common with its cube.
6133th--the largest known number n so that 80n - 79n is prime.
6144th = 16!!!!. That's not an very emphatic sixteen. It's the symbol for multifactorial.
6200th--a harmonic divisor number.
6225th = 666 + 2 + 2 + 5555.
6279th--the number of subsequences of {1,2,3,...14} in which every odd number has an even neighbor.
6300th--divisible by its reverse.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15646791/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15646791/ Sat, 24 Nov 2007 08:42:57 PST
How much of a difference does it make whether a woman or a man writes a story? And how much of a difference does it make to you? I can only thing of specific examples for when it might make a difference.

I guess what this comes down to is more how do men and women think. Is there that much of a difference? I like to think that there isn't, but there seem to be subtle differences. (Do note that I'm not someone who got totally up in arms when Dr. Summers said something similar) Do your perceptions about the book you're reading change when you find out the sex of your author? What would you think about Harry Potter if Rowling were a man? Would the Dune books be different if Herbert had been a woman? I ask because whether or not I identify that way, the world will see me as a woman. And even if I were to ever get a sex change (not happening soon), there will still be that lingering 'woman' around.

So, does being a man or a woman make a difference in one's writing?


Catch the Hit and Get a Feature!

Let's see if someone will humor about this stuff.

5152th--the number of legal rook moves in chess. Caught by no one
5200th--divisible by its reverse. Caught by no one
5258th--has a base 8 representation which is the reverse of its base 7 representation.Caught by no one
5306th--the smallest number whose 9th power starts with 4 identical digits. No one
5349th--12345 in base 8. No one
5383th--the number of triangles of any size contained in the triangle of side 27 on a triangular grid. No one
5400th--divisible by its reverse. No one
5489th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 32 cuts. No one
5555th-- a repdigit.
5602th--22222 in base 7.
5714th--the number of lattice points that are within 1/2 of a sphere of radius 21 centered at the origin.
5817th--34902 / 6, and each digit from 0-9 is contained in the equation exactly once.
5877th--a value of n for which 5n and 8n, or 8n and 9n, together use each digit exactly once.
5914th-- 0! + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! + 6! + 7!
5976th-- a value of n for which n and 7n together use each digit 1-9 exactly once.
6012th-- has a square with the last 3 digits the same as the 3 digits before that.
6058th--a number that does not have any digits in common with its cube.
6133th--the largest known number n so that 80n - 79n is prime.
6144th = 16!!!!. That's not an very emphatic sixteen. It's the symbol for multifactorial.
6200th--a harmonic divisor number.
6225th = 666 + 2 + 2 + 5555.
6279th--the number of subsequences of {1,2,3,...14} in which every odd number has an even neighbor.
6300th--divisible by its reverse.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15447831/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15447831/ Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:17:14 PST
First off, "What is Emo": [link] A fake newscast exploring 'emo.' Get all of the questions you never asked answered here. It's good for a laugh.

"Do School Kills Creativity?" by Ken Robinson. [link] This is one of the many TED talks which I enjoy. Aside from being funny, he makes a very good point about education

"How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law" by Larry Lessig [link] Those of you who have read xkcd comics will see that he made a cameo. Like Ken, he makes some good points. He also shows some pretty funny YouTube videos.

Tricks of the Trade [link] I have always wondered just how they create those food ads. After all, it was a human being's job to take those pictures and arrange that food just right. This article will tell you everything you need to know. Prepare for disillusionment.

Write Your Name in Elvish: [link] Any fan of Lord of the Rings should check this out. If you do it well enough or your name looks really cool, I suggest getting it as a tattoo.

Speech Accent Archive: [link] This is good for any writer who has wanted a character to have a specific accent but couldn't imagine that accent in their heads. It's also great for people who are just curious about speech patterns.

The history of food: [link] The easiest place to pull an anachronism is when writing about food. This is natural because most people wouldn't know what kind of food exactly would or would not exist at a certain time. We know that the Romans didn't have chocolate, but what did they have? And when was the candy bar invented? All of those pesky little answers can be found here. While you may not learn everything that you wanted to know, it's still worth looking at.


And I saved the weirdest for last.
[link]
Everything here is photoshopped so it's nothing really bad, but bear in mind that some of this is still a little disturbing. Like I said, no actual images of people dying. But there's just something strange about it. Best when watched on only three hours of sleep or very, very late at night.
-----------------
Even more Feature hits!

Everyone knows the drill. Just remind you, let me know when you reach a pageview number listed. PM, IM, Post a message, do whatever^^

Edit: Added the 5K hits


5152th--the number of legal rook moves in chess. Caught by no one
5200th--divisible by its reverse. Caught by no one
5258th--has a base 8 representation which is the reverse of its base 7 representation.Caught by no one
5306th--the smallest number whose 9th power starts with 4 identical digits.
5349th--12345 in base 8.
5383th--the number of triangles of any size contained in the triangle of side 27 on a triangular grid.
5400th--divisible by its reverse.
5489th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 32 cuts.
5555th-- a repdigit.
5602th--22222 in base 7.
5714th--the number of lattice points that are within 1/2 of a sphere of radius 21 centered at the origin.
5817th--34902 / 6, and each digit from 0-9 is contained in the equation exactly once.
5877th--a value of n for which 5n and 8n, or 8n and 9n, together use each digit exactly once.
5914th-- 0! + 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! + 6! + 7!
5976th-- a value of n for which n and 7n together use each digit 1-9 exactly once.
6012th-- has a square with the last 3 digits the same as the 3 digits before that.
6058th--a number that does not have any digits in common with its cube.
6133th--the largest known number n so that 80n - 79n is prime.
6144th = 16!!!!. That's not an very emphatic sixteen. It's the symbol for multifactorial.
6200th--a harmonic divisor number.
6225th = 666 + 2 + 2 + 5555.
6279th--the number of subsequences of {1,2,3,...14} in which every odd number has an even neighbor.
6300th--divisible by its reverse.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15059732/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/15059732/ Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:02:43 PDT first seen in the journal of

The Meme

How old are you? 19
Gender? Female
Gender preference. Not important here, really.

Your honest, balls-to-the-wall opinion on:

Furries. I don't know too much about the subculture, but I don't have a well-formed opinion. People have, for centuries, been fascinated with a double form creature containing elements of man and elements of animals. There's gotta be some sort of sociological or psychological, well, thing there that I'd like to know more about. I find it interesting also when people prefer writing about sentient animals to humanoids. I always wonder what that says about how someone perceives themselves, the world, or just how they think.

Fangirls + Fanboys (combining these, not in original meme) In general, they are the best thing I could hope for. People who unquestioningly buy my stuff and shower me with praise? People who practically worship me and what I write? Man, who could ask for more. But when they aren't your fans, they can be annoying as hell. Admittedly, they are people who can sometimes write fiction even better than the original authors. But I always shudder a little when they insist on slashing any two characters that really wouldn't feel attraction in the canon universe.

Yaoi (and yuri, for that matter) Hopefully, some of you have managed to check out the thread I started on the forum, though I think that it has sense fall to the wayside. After all of that debating and whatnot, I really don't know what to think about yaoi and yuri. I'd really like to study same-sex eroticism as part of a behavioral study or something cultural. There is apparently Japanese yaoi which has pretty strict constraints to each character, and then there is yaoi outside of Japan which seems to just be hardcore erotica.

Critique, regardless of art form or genre. Ahh! I love feedback! But I really like constructive critiques. If someone is going to slam my work, I want to know all the exact reasons why they don't like my work. Blanketing compliments are nice, but I'm constantly striving to improve myself.

Manga-style illustration. All depends on style. No two illustrators are the same. Actually, I learned that 'manga' grew out of the ukiyo-e woodcuts in the 19th century though I'm not sure if that has much to do with this question. What we understand as manga as changed drastically. It's all stylized, so I don't mind it. That kind of stylization can be very artistic, and it can be very trite. This is no different from most subsets of visual art.

Manga-style illustration with a Western influence. I don't think that I've seen enough of that. What I have seen is just confusing because I can't tell where the show comes from.

Rap music + Mainstream pop music Remember that song that you didn't like when you first heard it, but then you heard it so often that you started to like it? And then you downloaded it, but you are still embarrassed to tell people that you like that song? It's a bit like that.

'GRRL GAMERS' Wait, those exist? Sorry. I'm not exactly a gamer, but I hang out with gamers and listen to all the things they have to tell me. I haven't met more than a handful of female gamers. The few that I did meet were people I didn't particularly like, but that's mainly because of personality clashes which has nothing to do with games.

Women in general + Men in general Chauvinism in either direction is horrible. I just as happily stand to defend a man when a woman attacks him for his sex as a I do for a woman when a man attacks her sex. One's gender isn't as important as people like to say. Admittedly, I say this yet I spend more time with men on average than with women.

American politicians, especially George W. Bush I used to look away and pretend it wasn't there. Now, though, I've decided that I need to be more informed. I still haven't formed much of an opinion on the politicians but...Ow. There's something rank with Bush. He didn't sound like such an idiot when he was governor of Texas. Or perhaps he always has been an idiot and no one knew about it because he wasn't in such a large spotlight.

DeviantARTShaky ground. It's...I don't know. It seems as tho... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14562089/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14562089/ Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:41:35 PDT
1. WHY do you watch me?
2. WHAT do you want to see me work on in the future?
3. WHAT is the average flying speed of a swallow?
3. WHAT questions three do you have for me?

That's all there is to it. I'll do my best to answer your questions. I really hope that as many people as possible respond to this.



Journal Feature Time (Oy vey, more of them? Yes.)

I honestly hope that this is helping other people reach at least one extra person. Anyways, the new list of hits:

4732th--number that does not have any digits in common with its cube. As usual, caught by no one.
4764th--an hexagonal prism number.Caught by...er....me. This is at least the third time that this has happened.
4804th--value of n for which n, 2n, 3n, and 4n all use the same number of digits in Roman numerals. No one caught
4848th--the number of quaternary square-free words of length 8. No one caught. *sigh* No! I refuse to give up!
4890th--the sum of the first 4 6th powers.
4900th--the only number which is both square and square pyramidal (besides 1).
4920th--6666 in base 9.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14386467/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14386467/ Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:39:34 PDT Feature Time!

So far, this is my third feature. At least a few people are paying attention. Huzzah! If I had tones of money to burn, I'd be handing out subscriptions and stuff. However, that's a little too capitalist for me. I shouldn't have to buy hits. But that is neither here nor there.

~Suthernscotsman has a charming sense of humor which shows up in his art. As someone who does most emotes, one of my favorite ones is Disco Boogie Fever. Another fun pixel creation of his is :hearthold:. If emotes aren't your interest, he has bits of writing and art. Specifically, he's working on a story titled "The Shack" which is always looking for feedback on. Don't forget to drop by and give him a comment or two!



More Journal Features? Oh, you shouldn't have!
But I did. And hopefully this time, I will be able to keep up with it.

4500th--the number of regions formed when all diagonals are drawn in a regular 20-gon. No one caught it. Laaaaame.
4526th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 30 cuts. No one caught it.
4567th--digits in arithmetic sequence. No one caught it, as usual.
4608th--the number of ways to place 2 non-attacking kings on a 10×10 chessboard. Congrats to ~Suthernscotsman for catching this one! Huzzah!
4649th--the largest prime factor of 1111111.Caught by no one. Laaame.
4681th--11111 in base 8

Remember! Note me if you catch any of these!

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14177110/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/14177110/ Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:42:48 PDT
Now I know that my last submission wasn't what I had promised, but rest assured. I am working on the Cawdor stories. It will take a while for me to submit the stuff because I'm moving into a dorm and getting started with that.

Oh, and by birthday is coming up soon! You know, if any wants to do something for me.



More Journal Features? Oh, you shouldn't have!
But I did

This time, I will put the numbers in bold to make it a little more eye-catching.

4500th--the number of regions formed when all diagonals are drawn in a regular 20-gon. No one caught it. Laaaaame.
4526th--the maximum number of regions a cube can be cut into with 30 cuts.
4567th--digits in arithmetic sequence.
4608th--the number of ways to place 2 non-attacking kings on a 10×10 chessboard.
4649th--the largest prime factor of 1111111.
4681th--11111 in base 8

Remember! Note me if you catch any of these!

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13830892/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13830892/ Sun, 22 Jul 2007 08:30:08 PDT
Anyways, this is what I've got:

1. Voldemort and Harry reenact the famous scene from Star Wars between Luke and Darth Vader. (Now while I haven't seen this per se, I'm gonna be looking for it. It'd be so great to see, though.)

2. Voldemort as Hitler (Rowling even stated it herself. I'd like for someone to make the connection blatant. He can even get the toothbrush mustache and that snazzy olive uniform. Someone should go hog-wild with this one.)

3. A drawing of Rowling's hit list. (A lot of her fans even called it that.)

4. Every dead character comes back as a zombie and wreaks havoc on the living characters. Some suggested themes: Resident Evil, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Shaun of the Dead. (I will give a subscription to anyone who can combine all three tactfully. No joke. Really. This statement is not a joke.)

5. Voldemort meeting with some of the less than nice world leaders. This one all depends on your politics and whatnot. Suggestions: Saddam Hussein (pretend he's still alive), Kim Jong Il, Mugabe, Hugo Chavez, etc etc. Can meet with anyone who was into ethnic cleansing and/or totalitarianism, past or present. The people I listed were just the ones I could think of.

6. Various HP characters as Members of Parliament during an airing of Prime Minister's Questions. (I'm still amazed what the members can get away with when talking to the PM. This would be fun because people could take out wands and do all sorts of crazy stuff. If anything, Voldemort should have wormed his way into Parliament because that's the way to get things done.)

7. Any combination of HP characters and a Tom Lehrer. Suggestions: National Brotherhood Week, When You are Old and Gray, The Masochism Tango, Bright College Days, etc etc. (If you're creative enough, you can do just about anything with his songs.)

These are all ideas that I had. *shrug* They're really just ideas that I'm too lazy to draw myself. Some of it is based on my observations, and some of it is just me being silly. I personally like the zombie one of them all because I have a soft spot for Thriller.


Journal feature hits!
Alright, I've got a new batch of numbers here. Only two people actually caught them last time, so let's hope that more will catch them. Remember, it can be anyone.


4324th (the sum of the first 23 squares.) Caught by no one.
4342th (Appears inside its 4th power.) Caught by no one.
4358th (the number of lattice points that are within 1/2 of a sphere of radius 19 centered at the origin.) Caught by no one. You guys are bad at this :/
4392th (Is a value of n for which n and 4n together use each digit 1-9 exactly once.) Laaaaame. Catch it already.
4409th (Prime, but changing any digit makes it composite.) Just pay attention already.
4423th (The exponent of a Mersenne prime.) No that hard, really.
4444th (All numerals are the same.)

That's all for now, folks!

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13783090/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13783090/ Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:31:42 PDT
I also did a bit of writing that I will post here. And yes, I actually wrote one of the Cawdor stories!


4112th (product is equal to the sum of its digits) (Caught by no one, sadly.)
4150th (4^5 + 1^5 + 0^5) Caught by no one
4175th (Has a square comprised of the digits 0-7) Caught by Cochiti...I think. I'll pretend it so.
4200th (Divisible by its reverse) Caught by Cochiti for real this time
4224th (palindromic number, says '42' backwards and forwards. Consider this one a special feature) (I'm very sad to say that no one caught this. *sigh* Ah well)
4253th (exponent of a Mersenne prime.) Caught by =XxKal-elxX Hooray!
4305th and 4310th (have exactly the same digits in three different bases)

Feature Time
As promised, I'm doing a feature for =XxKal-elxX who caught the kiriban^^

I see someone here with potential. She has some amusing pictures, particularly this one here: [link] There are bits of writing here and there, but overall she has some drawings. She is open to critiques, so feel free to drop by and tell her what you think of her stuff^^

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13524599/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13524599/ Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:23:00 PDT [link] I will also probably post some stuff there for added exposure. If you have one, feel free to add me as a friend. Just make you that you leave a comment telling me who you are.



I'm still sticking to my plan in hopes that someone will play along and just capture a screenshot of the number of hits on my page. So far, no takers which is a little saddening. Just play along! It's one of the few things that gives me joy in this life!

That last sentence was an outright lie, but I really would like to feature people. Just to remind everyone, these are all the hits that will earn journal features:

4112th (product is equal to the sum of its digits) Caught by no one, sadly.
4150th (4^5 + 1^5 + 0^5) Caught by no one
4175th (Has a square comprised of the digits 0-7) Caught by Cochiti...I think. I'll pretend it so.
4200th (Divisible by its reverse) Caught by Cochiti for real this time
4224th (palindromic number, says '42' backwards and forwards. Consider this one a special feature)
4253th (exponent of a Mersenne prime.)
4305th and 4310th (have exactly the same digits in three different bases)


Feature Time!

My goodly friend ~Cochiti recently opened her account for a fresh start. She's looking for thoughtful criticisms of her work, focusing on her technique and how she portrays figures. I'm doing this journal feature also as a thank you for her piece depicting Many Tongues. While her gallery is modest for now, it's still worth looking at. Thanks again, Cochiti


Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13370523/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/13370523/ Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:29:16 PDT finally done with and I don't have to worry about classes for the rest of the summer. I've been working on a possible project that has nothing to do with the high seas because I decided to give those characters a well-deserved break. Since it's summer and I have the time, I'll probably start with a few preliminary 'writing sketches' to give people a flavor of what I've been doing. I've got at least one story idea in my head.

The project focuses on Cawdor, SC, my own fictitious town. I would've used Lancaster because my ancestors used to own that land and my ancestor got the town charter, but some people may not take too kindly to that. It's a fantastical town set somewhere in the 1880's. The whole idea of the project is to see what might've happened if some species of fabulous beasts had been part of the immigrant population, but not a big enough part to alter much of history. I think you'll see what I mean when you take a look at the first story. Just know that every story relating to the town will be tagged CSC. It's also what I'm calling the whole project.

Also, I decided that it might be fun to start doing journal features each time I reach a certain amount of hits. I totally lost my chance on my dAnniversary and my 4000th hit, so I thought that I'd try making up for it this way.

These are all the hits that will earn journal features:

4112th (product is equal to the sum of its digits) Caught by no one, sadly.
4150th (4^5 + 1^5 + 0^5) (Caught by no one)
4175th (Has a square comprised of the digits 0-7)
4200th (Divisible by its reverse)
4224th (palindromic number, says '42' backwards and forwards. Consider this one a special feature)
4253th (exponent of a Mersenne prime.)
4305th and 4310th (have exactly the same digits in three different bases)

That's just to start out, of course. Journal features will also be given to people who can dissect what makes those numbers so special (explaining Mersenne primes, showing a proof, etc.)

Just send me a note when you catch the hit. I'll comb through your gallery to display what I like along with writing a little review of your gallery. The point is more exposure. There's also room here to explain why I should feature on one hit and not another. Good luck and have fun^^ More updates on the way

~BlackDove42

Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/12459372/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/12459372/ Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:21:39 PDT Tengoku, a kick-ass friend of mine. I decided to use characters that you all have either met already or will meet soon. Gives you a flavor of what to expect in the future. Lemme know if anything seems confusing, and I hope y'all enjoy it^^ Feel free to use this for your own characters.

1. Choose a few of your own characters. Five at the most.
2. Make them answer the following questions

Characters Chosen:
1. Nicolai LeVanne (Everyone’s favorite crotchety negotiator)
2.Judah Khristi-Meyer (elder of the Meyer twins)
3. Many Tongues, or MT (female Laoii leader)
4. Nagendra Chandrasekhar (Jatjini king of Lakshmina)
5. Lazar Khristi-Meyer (younger of the Meyer twins)

How Old Are You?
Nicolai: 629. I have a few centuries left…unfortunately.
Judah: Mmm, I believe that my brother and I are about 228.
MT: My people do not count our days, but I am still in my youth. My egg-laying days, however, are numbered.
Chandra: I’d rather not answer. That is a rude question.
Lazar: 30. Whatever my brother says is a lie.

Height?
Nicolai: I am 10 and one-fourth hands tall [6’11”]
Judah: 173 cm.
MT: 8 hands. [5’4” in her human form]
Chandra: 12 hands [8’]
Lazar: [same as Judah]

You Got Any Bad Habits?
Nicolai: I do. If you want me to name one of them, then you should’ve asked.
Judah: My interests in intellectual pursuits supposedly makes me a bit inaccessible in conversation. I can get caught up in the inter-workings of a theorem when others don’t find it interesting^^’’’
MT: I too often eat my weight in mangoes.
Chandra: A king should never freely admit his flaws or lack thereof to a stranger.
Lazar: I enjoy harassing my brother :3

You a virgin?
Nicolai: I refuse to answer that question.
Judah: No, but I do visit Confession often.
MT: I find the concept very curious. You Two-Foots [humans and related peoples] talk of that, and when they do it is for a woman who must be reserved, pure, and unattainable. I have never been that way.
Chandra: My people have no concept of virginity regarding men.
Lazar: Do I seem like someone who would be? :3

Who's your Mate?
Nicolai: I have no mate, but I do…there is a young woman named Keet whom I cherish.
Judah: No one, sadly. I’d like to have one.
MT: My younger brother, Water Tongues.
Chandra: I have four wives, but my queen is Sarojini.
Lazar: No one at the moment, but there is someone who has held my interest for a long time.

Have Any Kids?
Nicolai: No, and I have no intention of having any kids.
Judah: No, but I would eventually like to have some kids of my own.
MT: yes, I have raised 19 children to adulthood.
Chandra: Three of my wives have given me 7 children.
Lazar: None that I’m aware of.

Favourite Food?
Nicolai: I have learned to stop being fickle about food, but I do like venison.
Judah: Blood pudding and liverwurst, no matter how much my brother dislikes liverwurst. I think I like it more because he hates it so^^
MT: Monkeys and mangoes.
Chandra: Bhapeet. It is a special, fried bread my people eat. It is a good thing that we only eat it during special celebrations, or I fear that I would eat far too much of it^^’’’
Lazar: Blood tongues and blood pudding. What my brother likes is disgusting.

Favourite Ice Cream flavour?
Nicolai: I still find myself reeling at the very idea of ‘iced cream.’ I would prefer something plain to let me taste the cream.
Judah: Hmm. It’s hard to make a blood flavored ice cream, so rum raisin.
MT: Anything with fruit^^
Chandra: This treat is quite fascinating. I enjoy the kind with the fruit. There is also the kind with stripes. Um, it has these dark ribbons of candy folded in, I believe. They call the candy ‘cacao,’ if I am not mistaken. It is a strange treat that I am still unfamiliar with.
Lazar: Anything with chocolate.

Killed anyone?
Nicolai: [character refuses to respond]
Judah: Er…I visit Confession many times.
MT: Of course.
Chandra: I have, unfortunately, put many to death and I have been in many battles.
Lazar: I am a vampire. I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.

Hate anyone?
Nicolai: I do.
Judah: Well, I don’t particularly hate anyone at the moment, but there are many people I strongly dislike. I try to have sympathy for all, and hate is the absence of sympathy.
MT: I suppose so.
Chandra: I have no reason to tell you.
Lazar: Of course I hate certain people! Everyone hates someone. For example, I hate Hitler for what he did to my country and what he did to t... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/12309481/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/12309481/ Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:20:48 PDT
Now, I need to ask everyone another favor. I have an idea about what my next writing project might be, but I'd still like a little help. Checking through my gallery, is there anything that you guys would like to see more on? Maybe there's a character you want to hear more about or a particular situation you want to hear about. Whichever is fine. Maybe it's something totally different.

Whatever your ideas are, please put them here! Thanks everyone! :woot:

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11740427/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11740427/ Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:19:39 PST
One of her characters is a unicorn man with long hair and glasses. He's supposed to be very pretty, but also really uptight. And tall. Apparently, he's tall. I think he had white hair, but I distinctly remember fair skin but I don't think he had fur. I don't remember that part. He had a couple wards who were teens, and everything took place in some fantasy world of the artist's own creation.

Anyways, does this character ring a bell at all to anyone? Anyone. I came across the images when doing a search for some term from Book 1 of the Aeneid, and now I can't remember the term.

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11499524/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11499524/ Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:39:23 PST Frankenstein.

I'll probably use that title with a subtitle whenever I decide to rant about anything having to do with creativity of story-telling and the written word. That way, you'll know it's a rant and you can just delete it if you're not interested in my griping The purpose would be for me to just put my thoughts out there and let my journals become a mini-forum to those watching my journal. May not work at first, but I'll have to see.

Now, as the title says, I'm addressing name. Character names, place names, deity names, you name it. (No pun, seriously. Sorry if anyone groaned at that.) ...Okay, mostly character names. It's on my mind because I had to name a few characters yesterday and I spent much of my snow day searching around for the perfect names. I love names the same way I love words, and so choosing the perfect name is something I labor over.

So naturally, and probably because I'm just an all-around irate person, it irritates me immensely when people have obviously not put any thought into naming their characters or the places they have. So I present you with:

Naming Practices That Piss Me Off
Anyone who enjoys story-telling has probably been culpable of at least one of these. And don't worry: I'll freely admit my hypocrisy. I did this and still do a little, but I tend to name things to just give it a working name. If I knew that someone else might be doing the same thing with a character, I'd be sympathetic and understanding. However, I just don't know. So, don't be offended. This IS a rant, after all, not a nugget of truth that should be followed to a T.

1. Naming a character after a well-known deity of yore.
I don't care how closely that character resembles said well-known god, or if the naming is meant to be a comment on the character. Especially naming anyone lacking godlike attributes or even a dominion is bad. If you're going to actually claim a god of yore, fine. But naming your whiney vampire or your girly male anthro after the vengeful god of war or the fiesty and masculine messenger god is shit.
2. Naming a character after a well-known epic hero.
Nuh-uh. Snatch the names from the sad and neglected auxillery characters like Serestus and Achamenides. Those names are just as good as Aeneas as Achilles, and they don't carry nearly as much weight. (Note: I'll make exceptions to names like Hector and Cassandra because those are used pretty often for real people. Not gonna be totally anal ) Especially Aeneas. That's a name that's close to my heart after studying Vergil's epic for so long. Which leads me to my next point....
3. Naming characters after a well-known historical figure.
I was so annoyed when I heard that the protagonist and antagonist in the Devil May Cry video games. Worst yet, Vergil was the name of the antagonist?! No! That's like naming your unicorn Abe Lincoln, or worse yet, naming your adrogynous elf sorcerer William Tecumseh Sherman. ...Add that's a horrible thought. I'll smite anyone who comes up with that and takes the character seriously. (Note: part of the names of well-known people is kosher with me. For example, naming a character Mahatma would be cool, depending on the context, but not naming the character Mahatma Ghandi. Going with that example, from what I know, Ghandi is a pretty well-known name so it could work if there was a note about the two people not being related in any way.)
4. Naming a character after a character in an overwhelmingly influential work.
I have seen little pretty gay-man characters named Hamlet and Horatio. It hurts so bad. If you're naming the character in homage to that other character and having them somehow the resemble the previous character, I'll play along. Otherwise, find another name. (Again, this one depends on how often that name has been used already. This rule generally applies to names you won't find in any other work. I have yet to read a mystery about a detective named Shylock. And speaking of detectives...well, I think the name Sherlock has been cursed forever thanks to Doyle. I'd almost like to see someone re-invent it. But that's for another time.)
5. Giving people and places names that sound oh so pretty without paying any attention to what the name means.
This is more of an umbrella peeve that incorporates all of the aforementioned peeves. But also, don't name a nice Jewish girl something that means "ghost pig." (Note: again, this rule can easily be broken if yo... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11440024/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11440024/ Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:39:23 PST
My mom was right when she said that the difference between me and most people is that I suffered something harrowing, but that's gonna stop for me. For other people, that will be their life forever.

Sorry to open my journal on that note. I had a wonderful vacation and I finally have a D drive I can use! So, expect many pictures when I get my fat ass around to putting them up.

Ooh! And I brought two races back from my trip! The Laoii and the Jatjini. I suppose it's my reaction to all of the naga art that's on dA. Not enough people look at Wikipedia anymore, or else they'd know what a naga was. Yeah, I like taking an old idea and turning into something else, but have some perspective. Nagas are different from gryphons and dragons. Nagas were, and are, part of Hindu and Buddhist religion. RELIGION. That means that there are people out there who totally believe in them. So the way I see is this: If you're going to draw something like that, have some respect for the creature and the religion it comes from. You know, go buckwild with the rest of the stuff, but do your research.

Just my opinion. Cut it down and tear it apart however you want :3


Obligatory Club link

Proud owner of . MMMM MMMMMMM, BITCH!

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11129007/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/11129007/ Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:14:14 PST
He's also British and has a great narration voice. The whole show is a mixture of a naturalist's show and Worst Case Scenario. I know it might be too soon to say this, but I think this guy's show could be like the next Steve Irwin show. Now, humor me here. I want to say upfront that when I was a kid, I practically worshipped Steve and he made learning about animals interesting and cool. But you know that watching his show, at least one person would tune in just to see if this is the episode that Steve gets eaten up by the croc. If "Man Vs. Wild" picks up steam, people will be tuning to see if this is the episode that Bear accidentally eats rancid zebra meat (He carved off a piece of meat off a freshly killed zebra and ate it on camera) or finds out the hard way that he gave the wrong advice. I personally like Bear's style because he's understated and he takes the show seriously. I'd love to know more about how they produce each episode.

Anyways, I'll be gone starting on Friday and won't be back until New Year's Day. I'm actually glad that I can take a break from everything. I probably need a small break from dA. There are lots of good artists, but there are also some popular artists that just really irritate me. It's different reasons, but I'll freely admit that part of it is jealousy. I'd like more exposure, and I'm not sure how to get it. Then again, getting exposure as a writer on dA seems like something you really have to work out, and I don't want to make dA my life. That's unhealthy. I don't want to make the internet my life either.

So, all this really means is that I won't be replying all that quickly to comments and don't expect anything new to appear here over break. Part of me would like to stick around, but I'm also very excited about my vacation. Hope everyone has an awesome holiday!


Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10871011/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10871011/ Sun, 10 Dec 2006 16:17:25 PST
Remember when you were a kid and you had that loose tooth that you knew not to poke at because it hurt, but you kept poking at it anyways?

That's how I feel about the world of Harry Potter. I have a lot of problems with the world, but I want to mess with it very badly. I've resisted for a long time, but now I'm succumbing to my petty desires.

So, with that in mind, I've decided to start writing a bunch of non-canon scenes involving my characters. My own characters will act within the normal parameters of their personalities and such, but the setting should be considered an alternate universe and something that in no way contributes to my characters' history. Anyone who has been a long-time reader of my work should recognize at least one of the original characters appearing in these scenes. The overarching premise is that they, as teachers, come sometime around the fourth Harry Potter book (where I stopped reading) and things go from there. It's two pairs of characters, and they're characters who...well, really shouldn't be all in the same place together. In addition to getting a flavor for my characters, you'll get a flavor for how I view the Harry Potter world. This is something recommended for people who know the world and don't take it seriously. Or, it's for people like me who have problems with the world but thinks that it's such a fun thing to mess with.

The objective is to have something light and fun my friends can read leading up to exams and during exams so they don't get too stressed out. Since I'm sure that I have watchers who are getting pretty stressed out over their own set of exams, I'm wondering if anyone here might be interested in reading what I have. Again, just for fun and relazation.

This doesn't, by any stretch of the imagination, mean that I've stopped working on BF. If anything, I hope to produce the 10th scene during exams because I'll have so much free time.

I've already got the first scene written. Anyone interested?

Random: The "eager" emoticon is the cutest^.^



Don't forget about my club! ~ShrimpNGrits

Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10595382/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10595382/ Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:21:59 PST *Self Promoting* Just to let everyone know, I submitted "Saint Lou" (This: [link] ) to contests hosted by and . The voting for the last contest is going on right now, so I'd appreciate voting for my story if you enjoyed what you read *end of Self Promoting*

I figure that if I'm going to be begging for votes, I might as well be honest about what I'm doing. Seriously though, don't vote for my story if you either haven't read it or didn't like it. There's just no point in voting for something you don't like.

On the subject of that story, though, I realized just how limited the categories are for fiction-writing. dA is obviously geared toward visual artists, so it's not that surprising. However, I'm wondering if anyone else feels particularly limited.

This is why I'm thinking of starting a Southern fiction club, though I may expand it to include "Southern art." I'm not entirely sure what "Southern art" would be, but I know that Southern fiction is a viable and legitimate genre. I'm only thinking in terms of Southern fiction right now because it's in my mind. In general, seeing more diverse galleries like Magical Realism or African-American could possibly give writers more freedom. Deciding what category a piece of fiction falls under is up to the writer anyways, so I don't see having these extra galleries as something that dA is imposing on writers. They're just options.

If you're interested in joining or supporting a Southern fiction (and possibly art) club, please PM me. I'd appreciate it if you let other people know about this idea as well. If it sounds like there is little interest, I won't go through with this plan. However, I hope that y'all will be interested or at least curious


Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10490339/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10490339/ Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:03:51 PDT
To anyone in , I'm trying to get everyone's stuff posted because the account has been neglected for a while. Some people are submitting tons of writing, and that's on top of the 'join' notes which the club gets.

Right now, I'm frantically packing and trying to get everything sqaured away. I'll definitely bring some homework with because it's a school trip, but now I'm wishing that I could read in a moving vehicle x.x Maybe I can work on my college essays too, if I'm lucky.

I'm hoping, mainly, to get some inspiration and take lots of pictures. It's supposed to be one of the best school field trips that my school can offer, so I want to make the best of it.

BF is coming along, albeit slowly. I have a lot of picture series ideas bouncing around in my head, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to commit them to paper in a way that I want. I see a lot of people doing all these "seven deadly sins" series and "seven heavenly virtues" series. That's all very nice, but the pictures are serious and somber. Now, I'm not completely insensitive and I understand that a lot of people think that we should be taking those seriously. Still, I can't help thinking about a parody series of each. Seven Heavenly Virtues: Nothing but Seamus. Seven Deadly Sins: Nothing but Scarlius. It just works, really. Ultimately, you'll see later in my writing that these characters are foils of each other so it just makes sense. I might go into detail about this a bit later, but right now I've got more packing to do. See y'all later!

Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10313067/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10313067/ Sat, 07 Oct 2006 10:13:51 PDT Gone with the Wind. ) The participation of my family in the war has hung around in my mind for a while. We have all sorts of artifacts from the period, but for whatever reason we're too coy to show them to a museum.


A few updates. I've been working a cellular physiology lab for a while, and it's really awesome despite some of the setbacks. I plated some cancer cells last week, and I found out yesterday that some kind of feathery fungus had started growing in it on Thursday so we had to toss out the whole thing. The cells weren't growing well to begin with, so maybe it's just as well. I also learned that when I'm doing the cell screening, I get motion sickness. Screening cells involves methodically going through the plate on a microscope and looking for cell colonies we can harvest and eventually inject into a rat. However, there's all kinds of debris floating around in the medium, so I think I was reacting to the shaking of the debris. I thought I was gonna hurl, and I had a really bad headache However, everything is still going well. I can simply take something help the motion sickness, and I should be fine.

Still working my way through BF. It's been hard between school and some of my other ideas. I'm also finally saying adieu to this neverending saga I've been working on with two of my friends. It was fun when we started, but now I just want out. Such is the way of some people. Whatever happens, though, I'm never gonna be stupid enough do that again.

Some of these new little features for the journal are neat. I hope unsubscribed people eventually a chance to post polls, but I don't think it will happen. Ah well.

EDIT: I have to share this with everyone possible. There is a great site, Bookcrossing.com. You register a book, release it into 'the wild' and track its journey. Even if you never hear from the book again, it's just something cool that lets you turn the world into your library. Here's the link---> [link]
Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10156388/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10156388/ Fri, 22 Sep 2006 21:05:25 PDT It'll be very interesting to see what comes up.

With my playlist on shuffle, this is what I get:

1. How do you feel today?
Executive Transvestite--Eddie Izzard (One of Izzard's bits. Hmm...I suppose I feel a little Eddie Izzard-ish every other day at some point or another. There are days where I listen to him so much that his voice gets stuck in my head.)

2. Will I get far in life?
Grease Megamix--Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. (...Wha? That's not too good. Grease is about teen sex and changing one's self for the sake of being liked.)

3. How do my friends see me?
Over the Rainbow--Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. (Err...okay. Doesn't really answer the question. I guess my friends see me as someone who's very escapist. I suppose that's sometimes the case. You know, when one of my friends is being a real bitch, and I'm applying that term to both men and women.)

4. When will I get married?
Poisoning Pigeons in the Park--Tom Lehrer (...That's not good. That can't possibly be good As much as adore Mr. Lehrer, his appearance does not bode well for me.)

5. What's my theme song?
Long Hot Summer Night--Jimi Hendrix (Hey, Hendrix!^^ Hmmm...I've never undestood this song, honestly, so I can't comment on whether or no this is a good thing.)

6. What is the story of my life?
Humming Chorus from "Madame Butterfly"--Sta Cecilia Academy Chorus (There are no words to this song, and I really don't know the context in the opera where this is performed. It hasn't answered the question at all )

7. What am I like in bed?
Comedy Central Presents---David Cross (A Comedy Central show. I shudder to think what David Cross' comedy bits has to do with my sexual prowess.)

8. How can I get ahead in life?
The Closing of the Doors--Roisin Murphy (I almost wish that I had gotten "Ramalama" instead.)

9. What is my best feature?
Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little/Good Night, Ladies--The Music Man Soundtrack (Um...I guess it means that I'm really good at deception and being a whore? Except that's not me....)

10. How is today going to be?
Habanera(Carmen Suite No. 2)--Royal Crown Classics (Classical music! I knew it would appear.)

11. What is in store for this weekend?
La Cumparsita(Tang'oriental House Mix)--Hovannes K (I'm gonna tango in a really sweaty club, maybe? )

12. What is my life like at the moment?
Extraordinary Girl--Green Day (That's depressing. This song is about a girl that just can't get what she wants out of life, so she does all these things to escape. Wow Really sad. Good thing it's only for the moment and not the weekend or anything like that.)

13. What song describes my secrets?
That Particular Time--Alanis Morrissette (Never really listened to this song that much, so I can't comment.)

14. What is my current or future lover like?
Saqisaaq--Louis Andreasen (My lover will be like the Crazy Old Polka Man! Sweet <3 That statement only makes sense if you've heard the song.)

15. How does the world see me?
Tramp--Knut Reiersrud (<3 <3 <3! The world sees me as baroque-sounding Scandinavian folk that's really happy and that no one can ever feel angry at when listening to it! I rock! By the way, songs like 'Tramp' are highly recommended. Go find them!)

16. What song will they play at my funeral?
Roll Out The Barrel/Lafferty's/The House of Hammil--Kevin Burke and Dale Russ. (Well, I'd call it appropriate that someone play an upbeat Celtic tune at my funeral because it's what I love^^)

17.Will I have a happy life?
Dark Chest of Wonders--Nightwish (I really don't listen to Nightwish that much. Maybe I should take them off my compy for the most part and leave a few songs.)

18.... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10022548/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/10022548/ Sat, 09 Sep 2006 19:29:40 PDT
So. I got an account on Gaia. My username is Persephone13. I'm really trying just because why the hell not. So, drop by if you have an account too!

Obligatory Club link

PS: Left some things off. The 2K is slowly approaching. Any thoughts on what I should do to celebrate? I'd also like to know what people want to see more of. More Pirates? More negotiator? More poetry? More art? Feedback will be much appreacted :3

As is fanart. And collabs. And trades. <.< >.> Okay, enough said. ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9949677/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9949677/ Sun, 03 Sep 2006 09:42:56 PDT

I am afraid of:

1. [ ] the dark
2. [x] staying single forever
3. [ ] being a parent (no doubt you've read my ramblings about how I just love my job as a camp counselor)
4. [ ] being myself in front of others
5. [ ] open spaces
6. [x] closed spaces
7. [x] heights (more that I'm afraid of falling)
8. [ ] cats
9. [ ] dogs
10. [ ] birds
11. [ ] spiders and/or other insects
12. [x] driving or being in cars (I'm slowly getting over it. But still.)
13. [ ] flying on a plane (No, but if there are snakes....)
14. [ ] flowers or other plants
15. [ ] being touched
16. [ ] fire
17. [ ] water
18. [ ] the ocean
19. [x] failure
20. [ ] success
21. [ ] germs
22. [ ] thunder/lightning
23. [ ] frogs/toads
24. [ ] mice/rats
25. [x] jumping from high places
26. [ ] snow
27. [ ] rain
28. [ ] wind
29. [ ] cotton balls (I truly pity those who are afraid of cotton)
30. [ ] cemeteries
31. [ ]clowns
32. [x] large crowds (I have panic attacks in crowds sometimes.)
33. [ ] crossing bridges
34. [x] death (afraid of what'll happen after I die, how I will die, etc)
35. [ ] Heaven
36. [ ] being robbed
37. [ ] men
38. [ ] women
39. [x] having great responsibility
40. [ ] doctors-
41. [ ] tornadoes
42. [ ] hurricanes
43. [x] diseases
44. [x] snakes (only if they're on a plane. And you gotta pry the joke out of my cold, dead fingers)
45. [x] sharks (I really, really like sharks but I'm still afraid of them too.)
46. [ ] Friday the 13th
47. [x] poverty
48. [ ] ghosts
49. [ ] Halloween
50. [ ] school
51. [ ] trains or railroads
52. [ ] odd numbers
53. [ ] even numbers
54. [x] being alone
55. [x] being blind
56. [x] being deaf
57. [ ] growing up
58. [ ] monsters under my bed
59. [ ] creepy noises during the night
60. [ ] bee stings
61. [x] not accomplishing my dreams/goals
62. [ ]needles
63. [ ] blood
64. [ ] long words such as hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
65. [x] virgin pregnancy (I'm interpreting this as getting pregnant the first time you have unprotected sex)
66. [x] insanity (To quote my mother: "Don't wanna be fat, don't wanna be crazy.")
67. [ ] puppets or dolls
68. [ ] doors/windows being open
69. [ ] showers
70. [ ] basements
71. [x] having a limb amputated
72. [x] drowning

Obligatory Club link ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9888915/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9888915/ Mon, 28 Aug 2006 19:26:42 PDT
All around me, I hear chatter about how much it has changed. All I can think about is how everything is still the same. I didn't miss any of it. I still don't. I need to get out of here.

You've read it a million times already. Production will drop significantly.

I keep expecting my brain to eventually take out a secret axe, hack its way out of my skull, and leave so it can escape the utter monotony.

That's all for now.


Obligatory Club link

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9780840/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9780840/ Thu, 24 Aug 2006 06:13:51 PDT
Naturally, I was psyched as hell for this movie because I expected it to be so bad that it would be awesome. Also, people have probably noticed the MASSIVE amount of internet meme it generated, not to mention the producers held an online contest for selecting the ending credits song. This is probably the first movie to become a cult classic on the internet before hitting theatres. Someone please correct one on that one.

Now for those of you who think that the movie is absolutely stupid, bear with me. Hollywood has not fallen from grace completely, and it's not the first time this has happene. Don't believe me? Go back and look at some of the movies Fred Astaire was in where the plot was formulaic. Take a look at some Elvis Presley movies. Geez, look at any formulaic movie for that matter. Or Jesse James versus Frankenstein. If anything, Hollywood has probably hit a bit of a bad spot. Then again, we're finally seeing the rise of more and more indie films. But I digress.

The movie is definitely a treat for anyone who enjoys dark and grizzly comedy. I pretty much got what I had hoped: A really crappy concept, great acting, great dialogue, great casting, great special effects, great music, and great cinematography. What I find amusing is that before the movie, there was a trailer for Samuel L. Jackson's

I don't want to ruin much of it, but there are tons of really great little moments. Be warned, there is definitely some nasty stuff in there because venemous snake bites are bad news. It's one of those situations that you can kinda laughed at on screen, but I'd shit my pants if that ever happened to me in real life. And to anyone who's been paying attention to the meme, yes, Sam Jackson's famous line is in it just because of the meme.

Overall, you'll like the movie if you liked Lake Placid. I want to watch this movie over and over until I'm sick of it.

Obligatory Club link


EDIT: Wow, I got a free subscription for seven days. I didn't make a separate entry for that because I like having my Snakes on a Plane displayed to the whole world. Hmm, let's see how worthwhile a subby is....

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9757330/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9757330/ Thu, 17 Aug 2006 07:58:07 PDT
Anyways, I don't remember as much as I wish I could because it was actually a fairly entertaining dream. For some reason, Will and Jack run into each other again after a few years of not seeing each other. I think they were on a ship of sorts and both happened to be in the hold. (My favorite part of this dream: No Elizabeth to be seen.)

Naturally, Will is a little pissed to see Jack because whenever he sees him, the man wants something and they usually end up in trouble. And as predicted, Jack wants something. Treats him like a friend, pretends their buddies, then gets down to business and asks for [insert something here because I can't remember. Most likely, it's money]. Will tries to resist, but ends up getting roped into one of Jack's really odd schemes.

As usual, Jack is looking for something bigger and better than regular ol' dubloons, but he's going to do it this time by swindling people and pushing all competition out of the way. They keep going back to this kinda dimly-lit library/bowels of a ship with a table and old parchments. This is where things get like Psych. Jack decides that the best way to execute his plan is to pretend that he is clairvoyant. He'll find out some interesting things about whatever they're looking for beforehand, chat up the people in some way connected to the big thing they're looking for, and then have a seizure. In having his seizure, he would fall into a trance and start writing based on 'the will of the spirits.' Being that he lives in such a superstitious place, it's bound to work. The real idea is that he reveals some of this interesting info and it either weedles more info out of whomever he's talking to, or it scares the bejeesus out of that person searching for the big thing too.

The fun thing is that it works a couple times. At first, Jack tries to convince Will that he's clairvoyant, but Will doesn't believe him and so they inadvertedly become partners. However, there is one time where Jack convinces some guy that someone will send him The Black Spot and it totally freaks the guy out. After some bumbling around, Jack and Will end up on the ship of one of my pirates, specifically Murdoc. Now, the hobbit isn't too happy about having these guys on his ship; in fact, he hates them. But he lets them carry out whatever part of their plan they want because they promise to follow the rules and they might've paid him some good sum of money. Or maybe they got orders or permission from Seamus. I'm fuzzy on those details. Besides, the ship is in port so it's not like they'll be bothering many of Murdoc's crewmates.

So, Jack has all these powdered ladies on the ship with their big wigs and big dresses. He's chatting them up and filling them with alcohol while Will sits next to him being silent. Jack has his seizure and, like every time Jack has one, Will rolls his eyes at how stupid the whole thing is. He plays along though, and the powdered ladies are absolutely fascinated. All of a sudden, Jack leapts up and (whilst in his seizure) starts running around. Then he's in the bowels of a ship reading off names silently because he forgot how to spell someone's name. Unfortuantely, the powdered ladies have followed him but they're too stupid to realize that they're being duped. I think this incident eventually resolves itself, but even then I was thinking, "Jack, you're stupid."

There was more to the Psych thing than just that. Apparently, Jack even had the same sort of daddy angst. There's one part of the dream where Jack is tied to a chair and sent to a butcher for execution, but his father (who is apparently Bootstrap Bill) refuses to vouch for him. They yell at each other, but that doesn't last long because Bootstrap Bill gets the final word and has that look that tells how ashamed he is of his son for pretending to be clairvoyant. Will manages to bail Jack out of this situation.

The last part came when for some reason, Jack and Will are on the sand dunes of some beach. Their clothes are ripped, they look either weather-worn or just bewildered. There's some fire going and there are other people around, but no one really cares about the two. Amazingly, Jack is all but crushed (probably has to do with his father), and seems on the verge of losing all hope. However, Will suddenly spots something important that has to do with the big thing they're going after.

Weird thing: My dream melted right into something about me at the beach. I'm driving with my dad to go to some store, and I buy some things on watching wildlife. I gotta go back to the store the next day to pick up the book I wanted. As I walk out of the store, I think about how on earth I'm gonna get down to the store again when I'll have to deal with pirates aga... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9749590/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9749590/ Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:41:00 PDT .>

]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9711260/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9711260/ Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:26:23 PDT

Again, thanks to all of you!

1 - Full name: Duong Huu Nghiem. Don’t even try pronouncing it. Just call me Ignus.
2 - Age: 22
3 - Gender: Male
4 - Eye color: Um, brown when I’m not pissed off. Then they become red-orange.
5 - Hair color: Black as black can be.
6 - Hair length: Short.
7 - Hairstyle: Um, short? Why does it matter? I got bangs, I guess.
8 - Preferred clothing: I like dark colors, and my coat. Hah, I’m never too hot.
9 - Weapon (If any): Fire. And I guess my lighter.
10 - If the weapon has a name, what is it? …Bic? What the fuck?
11 - Do you have a boy/girlfriend? Nah.
12 - What is their name? …Okay.
13 - Describe your personality in one word. Asshole. :3
14 - Good or evil? *shrug* Kinda good, I guess. Whatever. I'm not like a pimp or a criminal or anything like that. But I got this friend...wait, does that make him evil if he's a criminal? But he's a good guy too...damn it, this question sucks.
15 - Nice or sadistic? Well, I don’t hurt animals or anything sick like that.
16 - Loud or quiet? Loud.
17 - Fun or boring? I’m one badass motherfucker. What do you think?
18 - Are you sentimental? Not really.
19 - What is your idea of fun? Setting shit on fire, drinking, drinking things that are on fire, pissing people off, getting into fights, fucking hot chicks, hanging out with friends, doing stand-up…I think that covers it.
20 - Boredom? Not doing the stuff I just mentioned.
21 - Any hobbies? Dude, it’s the stuff I listed.
22 - What are your fears? Screw that.
23 - Your desires? Screw that.
24 - Ambitions? Okay, I want to make up in stand-up. There, I said it. And if you laugh at me, I'll set your face on fire.
25 - Obsessions? Screw that.
26 - What do you like to eat? Um. I guess pocky is okay…nah, not really. Eggs are okay. I really like rum cake and baked Alaska. And sausage. I like red meat like cow. Pork and chicken are okay. I like cow better because if you get something really tender, it takes great, like really great. Eating really, really good steak is better than getting a blowjob. Okay, almost as good. What else do I like.... And fur pie. Oh shit, I said that, didn’t I?
27 - Drink? Coffee, and anything with alcohol in it. Oh yeah, and I guess Pepsi. I'm trying to drink more water because Pepsi will rot out your teeth. I had a friend who had to get porcelain teeth because he drank so much Pepsi and Sunkist. He still drinks that stuff, the dumbass. Coffee is good, too, because I heard that it'll lower the risk of cirrhosis. Or something like that. It has to do with the liver. Whatever. Point is, it's good for me.
28 - Favorite color? Red, orange, and yellow, but I’d never wear them.
29 - Favorite or lucky number? Four. Actually, I don’t. I say that to piss off Asian people because that number is bad luck.
30 - What would be a quote typical of you? Um…hm. I don’t really spend my time thinking up these things. I guess something like, “Of course. I’m an asshole.” Yeah, that’s pretty lame. I’m a lot funnier when I’m doing stand-up. Quoting yourself is sad. It's arrogant and I could normally dig that, but it's just so pathetic. It's like you're such a loser that no one else will quote you. That's lame.
31 - What kind of job do you have, or would have? Stand-up comedian. Sorta. I’m getting there.
32 - Fondest memory? Umm…I’ll get back to you on that one.
33 - Do you have any family? Yeah. Just some parents who won’t talk to me.
34 - Any children? Fuck, I hope not.
35 - What is you favorite animal? Um…I kinda like elephants. They’re pretty cool. You know, they've got that trunk that helps them pick up stuff. I heard that some place got this elephant to paint and they sell the shirts that the elephant paints. It looks like really crappy abstract art but I think the money goes back to the zoo or something kinda noble. Elephants are cool. So are dragons. And cats and tigers. I always wished that dragons were alive today because they can breathe fire and fire is awesome. That'd be fucking awesome to be able to just breathe fire whenever you wanted to. I really like monkeys because you can train them to do stuff like steal shit for you or bite other people. There are places where you can buy helper monkeys, and I kinda had the idea on... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9692518/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9692518/ Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:25:45 PDT
1) Tagged by

List ten things about your art:

Hmm...I hope that writing counts too. I'll post five things about my drawings and five things about my writing.

1. I have trouble drawings feet in perspective.
2. I use art to visualize what I'm writing.
3. I really like drawing vines and sinuous things.
4. I've taken only two art classes in my life.
5. I've, more or less, stopped concentrating on improving my skills as an artist because writing is passion.
6. Writing has a way of altering my mood depending on what I'm concentrating on.
7. I never (hardly ever) write about myself directly.
8. Much of my writing is based on real things I've either experience myself or things I've taken from the real lives of others.
9. I want my reader to see what I see when I'm writing.
10. I hope to make my living as a writer.


2) Tagged by

List six weird things/habits about yourself:

1. I'm a Scotch Irish Jew, and I like kim-chee (Korean spicey pickled cabbage)
2. I compulsively mew when I hear my cats mew.
3. I rearranged things compulsively when I'm very anxious about something.
4. The new Sprite commercials creep me out.
5. I had a major fixation on dinosaurs until I was 13, and I still some of that fixation.
6. I used to work at being character. Now it comes naturally^.~ ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9660489/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9660489/ Thu, 10 Aug 2006 09:58:26 PDT Trades and collaborations

~Mega-saurus: Done.
~sailor-timeless: 50% (His part of it is done <.<; )

Yay, more trades and stuff! It makes me happy and excited^^ As before, if anyone wants to do a trade, or even has a request, I'll be happy to do it.

Everyone has put in their two-cents about v5, and I really don't have much to say about it. It's different because it's not what I'm used to, and I've got mixed feelings. I'll say nothing more.

I see my first K on the horizon. It'd be nice if I could set up a little poll to leave in everyone's inbox, but that's not an option for me So, please reply to this telling me if there's any character y'all want to hear from in the next little survey. And for that matter, tell me if there's something else you'd like to see instead of that survey thing. Really old artwork I find embarrassing, old poetry, etc etc. It's my thank you to everyone who stops by.

Also, should I consider having a special preview image for my prose and poetry? I'm not sure if I can do that with v5, but I want to try.

Finally, you should be familiar with this: [link] If you're not, go watch it. It's the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny by Lemon Demon. I love the idea of everything from my childhood and present-day life coming back and having a massive war. So then I decided to do something a bit stupid, but I like it. I call it....

Create your OWN Ultimate Showdown!

1. Allanon from the Sword of Shannara
2. Moxy Fruvous
3. Bruce Lee
4. Rainbow Brite
5. All Sailor Moon scouts
6. Genie from Disney's Aladdin
7. Legolas
8. Sean Connery
9. Nostradaemus
10. Youngblood Priest from Superfly
11. EA Poe
12. Julius Caesar
13. Cesare Borgia
14. Aeneas and Achates
15. 007
16. Miyamoto Musashi
17. The Incrackable Crunk
18. Xena
19. Steven Seagal
20. Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors
21. Big O
22. Zaphod Beeblebrox
23. Lewis Black
24. Dark Angel (can't remember her character name)
25. Mal from Firefly
26. Samurai Jack
27. Aku from Samurai Jack
28. Sweeney Todd
29. Any of Godzilla's enemies
30. Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek.

EDIT: Send some good vibes and nice comments to *Kaz-Azrael. Because I said so <.< >.> ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9597496/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9597496/ Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:44:12 PDT I now do trades and collaborations! Huzzah!

Exciting, isn't it? Expect much of my trades and such to be of the written nature, though I will gladly do some lineart. This announcement was prompted by my first trade with the one and only Thank you so much for doing this with me!

In addition, I'm very excited to say that is doing illustrations for my current story, Beautiful Friendship. Thank you so much, shadow! It's such a deep compliment to hear that my story are a source of inspiration in others. Check out his gallery when you get the chance!

And finally, I invite one and all to come into the ~original-fictions chatroom, #OriginalFictions. I ask people to do this mainly so we can get feedback on how the chat is running and what we can do to improve it.


Clubs
]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9534437/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9534437/ Sat, 29 Jul 2006 15:08:24 PDT [link]

It's the Mary-Sue Litmus Test for original characters. This test was created by two people known as Falstaff and Grayswandir. But what IS a Mary-Sue? This should help explain it:

MARY SUE (n.): 1. A variety of story, first identified in the fan fiction community, but quickly recognized as occurring elsewhere, in which normal story values are grossly subordinated to inadequately transformed personal wish-fulfillment fantasies, often involving heroic or romantic interactions with the cast of characters of some popular entertainment. 2. A distinctive type of character appearing in these stories who represents an idealized version of the author. 3. A cluster of tendencies and characteristics commonly found in Mary Sue-type stories. 4. A body of literary theory, originally generated by the fanfic community, which has since spread to other fields (f.i., professional SF publishing) because it's so darn useful. The act of committing Mary Sue-ism is sometimes referred to as “self-insertion.”

I'm really just doing this because it's fun, but I also think it's something every serious writer would consider. All writers are guilty of making Mary-Sues at some point, and there's no harm in it. *shrug* Just one of those fun things. This is the breakdown of the scores:

0-10 points: The Anti-Sue. Your character is the very antithesis of a Mary-Sue. Why are you even taking this test?

11-20 points: The Non-Sue. Your character is a well-developed, balanced person, and is almost certainly not a Mary Sue. Congratulations!

21-35 points: Borderline-Sue. Your character is cutting it close, and you may want to work on the details a bit, but you're well on your way to having a lovely original character. Good work.

36-55 points: Mary-Sue. Your character needs some work in order to be believable. But despair not; you should still be able to salvage her with a little effort. Don't give up.

56-70 points: Über-Sue. You've got one hell of a Mary-Sue on your hands here, and it's not going to be easy to set things right. But do your best. There may be hope for you yet.

71 points or more: Irredeemable-Sue. You're going to have to start over, my friend. I know you want to keep writing, but no. Just no.


So naturally, I took this test for the character some of you might know, and have decided to put the results here. So...here we go!


Seamus Bander: 18. (I was very relieved by this score.)

Nicolai LeVanne: 14. (I find this one amusing because Nikita is one of my favorite characters. However, he's not someone who gets to be coddled.)

Trenta Vir: 9. (Again, a bit surprising. Some of her life was influenced by my own experiences. I think it helps, though, that she's just a mortal human working hard to earn a living...you know, as a pirate.)

Jensen Meyer: 21. (A bit odd. This man was based off of my father.)

Carlotta Khristi: 20. (Again, odd. She was based off of my mother.)

Scarlius/Pelagios: 45. (Very amusing. I wrote FiR to show that he's not a Mary-Sue, but I find it very amusing mostly because Scarlius comes to represent almost everything I despise. There's also a ton of backstory not accounted for, like the fact that Scarlius had to come a very long way before he had any sexual prowess or knowledge. Then again, he had a lot of time to gather all that knowledge. *shrug*)

That's all for now. I'll edit this entry and add more characters as y'all get exposed to them. Comments would be very appreciated!

Clubs:
]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9510674/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9510674/ Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:15:38 PDT
1. Tell a 3rd grader this in all-seriousness: "Hey! I don't want to see you guys shooting each other at point-blank range. Gotta be an arm's length away."

2. Be Dr. No in a made-up 007 game.

3. Watch my classroom get flooded as I played Go Fish.

4. Play War and Guess Who simultaneously.

5. Heard HP7 spoilers from a 4th grader.

6. Be so excited about camp that the kids stare at me like I'm crazy.

7. Handle pieces of meteorites.

8. Get paid for eating ice cream and pizza.

9. Explain secondary sex characteristics to a 9 year-old girl.

10. Realize that I could, n all practicality, live in the planetarium's basement year-round with a cot, a thermal blanket, and the family of possums scurrying around.


Didn't get tagged or anything, but you're welcome to borrow this format if you like.

Clubs
]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9457038/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9457038/ Sat, 22 Jul 2006 10:31:40 PDT 500 hits! W00t!

Thanks to everyone who came by and visited my site. I checked and it was 500 in two months to the day!

I've decided that from now on, I want to do something nice and special for all my viewers every time I reach a landmark view number. Since I feel like my drawing skills are lacking, I've decided to really utilize my writing skills and turn them into a tool for your entertainment.

In addition to putting up some pictures from my trip to Seattle and Califarney, I'm gonna post right here some more coming attractions. That is to say, I will select one of my characters and they will answer an assortment of survey questions. The idea is to give you (the viewers) a better idea of who my characters are, but also just because it's fun^^ Perhaps when the next landmark number rolls around, I'll put up a poll asking people who they would like to hear from next. Please note me or post something letting me know what you think of this so far and if there's another way you'd like for me express my gratitude.

So without further adieu, I give you the survey. (I'm heading off to see Pirates 2 later, and I just might let some of my chars write their reviews. <.< >.> :3)


1 - Full name: Captain Trenta Vir of the Seven Seas Mariner. 'Tisn't the best name, but 'tis also bad luck to rename one's ship.
2 - Age: 34
3 - Gender: female
4 - Eye color: brown
5 - Hair color: black
6 - Hair length: Oh my^^'' I believe it's down to my hips, maybe even longer.
7 - Hairstyle: One long braid, though I also have bangs. It used to take me too long to fix my hair but now I have a few crewmembers help me fix it. Of course, I don't ask them very often. They're my crew, not my chamber servants.
8 - Preferred clothing: My captain's garb. Captain's frock coat, men's trousers, boots, a simple shirt, and neckstock. I'm a woman, but I must project the image of a man.
9 - Weapon (If any): Ooh, bit of a list^^'' Stylets, my iron fan, various daggers, knives, a few swords I swiped from those bloody Iocastians, pistols, muskets affixed with bayonets...oh, and I suppose the cannons on my ship.
10 - If the weapon has a name, what is it? None of the weapons have any names, but my men are fond of call
11 - Do you have a boy/girlfriend? Er...not per se, but I'm involved with a man right now.
12 - What is their name? Cade. He's such a gentleman.
13 - Describe your personality in one word. One word? Ooh...that's a bit hard. I really don't know which word I would use because I have to change the way I act depending on the situation....Protean. I'd say it works right nicely^^
14 - Good or evil? Neutral, but I try to be good.
15 - Nice or sadistic? Nice, of course! Sure, I take joy in the pain of my enemies but I try to avoid killing when I can. And I certainly take the kind of joy from it that some people do.
16 - Loud or quiet? It all depends on where I am^^'' I have to be very loud on my ship when giving orders.
17 - Fun or boring? I certainly hope I'm fun.
18 - Are you sentimental? Aye, I'm afraid so.
19 - What is your idea of fun? Spending time with the other captains in fleet, or with my crewmen.
20 - Boredom? Being stuck at sea for far too long.
21 - Any hobbies? Hmm. Well, embroidery, song, dance, honing my skills as a fighter, hunting for treasure, writing when it suits my fancy, and reading.
22 - What are your fears? ...I won't name them all, but I fear outliving my friends.
23 - Your desires? I'd like to one day quit my sea-faring ways to retire somewhere nice and quiet. I'd also like to one day have children, and settle down with someone I can love and trust till the end of my days.
24 - Ambitions? Hmm. It may not be reasonable, but I would like to make sure that every single one of my loyal crewmen can retire comfortably off the gold we've looted.
25 - Obsessions? I obsess over the safety of my crew, of course. And my own safety and the welfare of the fleet.
26 - What do you like to eat? Well, I'm rather fond of bean cakes. My mother used to make them. When she died, my aunt refused to make them for me until I was done mourning because she knew that if I ate them while grieveing, I would learn to hate them.
27 - Drink? Rhiannonian Rum.
28 - Favorite color? Hmm, I'd say blue or green because they remind me of the sea.
29 - Favorite or lucky number? Don't really have a favorite or lucky number. Though I'm very fond of large numbers when they relate to gold^.~
30 - What would be a quote typical of you? Hehe, it's a saying typical of all the captains. "I lied. It's what people like me do."
31 - What kind of job do you have, or would have? I'm a pirate, sea captain, and joint-owner of a black-market company founded by Commodore Bander.
32 - Fondest memory? .... ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9369363/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9369363/ Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:04:13 PDT

For anyone interested, she's created a club for traditional artists, namely You can find it there, as well as the chat. Things are still getting organized, but it's worth taking a look at anyways. Just letting y'all know. Hope you drop by the chat for...well, a chat

EDIT: Okay, that should be right Correct me if I'm still wrong.

EDIT 2: I was just about to go to bed but...shit. To anyone reading my blog, you HAVE to see this. A friend of mine lives in East Point, GA and he sent this to me. It's a joke, but this is my question. If you actually fill it out, do the police come to arrest you anyways? Also, how many people really take the time to fill it out?
[link]

EDIT 3: I'm doing this until I get it right! This is what paintergurlie had to say--

lol you are so cute
OK here it is. is my club here is the [link]
THIS is 's chat and club
She made Featureshare.
I made Thetraditionals
Hehe anything else we can help yah with, don't hesitate to ask.

IGNORE EVERYTHING AT THE TOP ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9315873/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9315873/ Sat, 08 Jul 2006 21:27:33 PDT today after spending nearly seven days on the West Coast. Uncool. My trip was far, far better than I had expected. We took three cameras' worth of photos and I'll have some of them up (assuming anything of them are worth posting). I feel like I'm drowning in things I need to look at. Didn't get anything done on the two stories, but I got a huge amount of character backgrounds and whatnot done which makes me very proud. Some of it may get incorportated into stories, but those are a pretty long ways off. Right now, I just wanna work on what I've got while I still have summer to do all that. More updates to come since I don't have work this week. Thanks to anyone who bother dropping by.

EDIT: Forgot to add this. I read up to Book 8 of the Aeneid during my trip, so expect a few pieces based on what I read. I didn't cry during Book 4, but it's hard to get into the emotion at 7:15am, waiting on a flight that's already delayed one hour. ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9239505/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9239505/ Sat, 01 Jul 2006 07:16:21 PDT Falling into Rebirth scene, but it's looking like I won't get it finished until after the trip. I'm also working through revisions and new scenes on Even in Death. I can't promise that there will be a lot of new stuff up, but I'm hoping to get something new posted after the trip. With luck, it may even be two FiR scenes or two sections of EiD. (Hope no one minds the shortening of the names). ]]> ~BlackDove42 http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9209620/ http://BlackDove42.deviantart.com/journal/9209620/ Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:30:35 PDT
I know that there was little else I could've done, but I still feel very sad about it. I don't think that the baby fell because it was weak; I think a cowbird might've laid its egg in the nest. The baby survived long after the fall, and the only reason why I took it to the wildlife center was because it was still moving and breathing. One of my friends had suggested that I simply put the bird out of its misery >.< I know that people say 'Oh, we shouldn't mess with nature' but these are the same people who try to say that we are connected with nature. Well, it's human nature to go and mess with other animals. We're curious beings so it only makes sense for us to mess with the lives of other things. Besides, we're not the only animals who do this. Animals have to interact with each other, so there's always going to be some kind of interference. I don't know. I want to believe that I did the right thing, but it's hard to tell what the right thing always is. Obviously, there are times when it's easy, but this is one of those questions of morality.

Mrr. I just found out from my mom that there's no cowbird chick in that nest, so the baby I saved was probably very sick. I guess that means that my efforts were wasted, but I do believe that no animal deserves to die suffering. Meh. I'm gonna watch Colbert Report reruns and hope it lightens my mood. ]]> ~BlackDove42