http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:oliverat&section=today deviantART RSS for by:oliverat en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:18:43 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/26044933/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/26044933/ Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:12:45 PDT

I promise there will be art soon.

edit* Oh and I want to mention that my dad fixed my car all by hisself (with my help and my mom's). Rather than paying ~$1200 for a mechanic, it cost us ~$400 (because a new gas pump ain't cheap).

:thumb120274107:

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/25602422/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/25602422/ Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:01:01 PDT
[link]

I LOLed so, so very hard. So hard. I dunno if its fake - a lot of people think so but I read some comments from people with relatives who have Asperger's that have similar tantrums sometimes - but either way LOLOLOL

here is the kirby(?) remix

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/25215847/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/25215847/ Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:59:59 PDT
Weelll we finally got it checked out today (after I got stranded in the Target parking lot last Monday after buying some presents for a friend's baby shower) annnddd it's the gas pump, like my dad suspected (he thought it was finally getting clogged up - when you drive the car until it's approaching red, the pump can inhale dust and dirt along with some of the air it would pull in along with the gasoline).

So the gas pump is having problems and is due for a replacement. Except in order to replace that, you have to take out the gas tank and pretty much the whole gas system, which is something we HAVE to get done at a garage.

Cost of fixing: $1,200. Which is probably about or slightly less than the worth of the entire car.

Yiiikes.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24505836/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24505836/ Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:54:16 PDT
PFHFHFH

also, for those of you who watch any stock galleries or have favorite stock artists, could you please link them in your comments? Momma needs references to make pretty draws! And since I use the family computers there's a billion other bookmarks my parents made, so anything I ever bookmarked is... yeah, hard to find.

note: my mood setting has nothing to do with anything mentioned in this entry.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24489885/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24489885/ Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:34:14 PDT
- I'm one of the forum moderators at animeforum.com, and AF has it's very own troll known as Mavericker (we like to call him yellow7 to piss him off). He's an unrelenting, racist retard who will not leave, no matter how much we mock him and the fact that the admins like to fuck with him by putting his posts through a permanent Swedish Chef filter (bork bork!). Apparently he has a DA account, too. [link] I had to roll my eyes at that journal entry since he made a HUGE deal about it on AF about his great comic book idea and blah blah blah. It's fun to watch him flail about sometimes, though I keep thinking "Mavericker" is an e-personality made up by some genius who is doing a sociological report on internet culture or something. How else do you explain a 30+ year old black man, son of a radio pastor and devout Christian who claims to hate racism, who then goes into rants about greasy-haired white people (and how unattractive white women are) and the demonic names people use on the site (and it's an anime website, so most names are, like, "itachi" or "sasuke" or whatever)? Oh, and "yellow7" also thinks that the Major from Ghost in the Shell is a perfect woman - a caucasian-looking cyborg atheist. Yup. It MUST be a joke!

- Due to a move made by the management at my job that I felt was extremely disrespectful and demeaning, I've started looking for a new place to work. The short of the long is someone got promoted above me (and several other senior staff) to a position not one of us feel he is suited for (in fact, no one, not even assistant managers, understand our GMs decision to promote this guy, an old friend of mine whom I had helped to get hired after repeatedly reminding the GM to call him). It's also shocking that this could happen given certain fire-worthy actions this guy has done, because obviously the management didn't do any research before doing this or else he would've found out. Definitely will have to talk to the GM about this. Me and some co-workers will be sending an e-mail to our area manager about it as well.

- Ever did a sketch, had it look GREAT, then when you do it digitally or try to transfer it onto a different paper it loses all feeling entirely? Blah, I'm having that problem with a friend's commission. Gonna post the sketch on another art forum and hopefully get some help with it.

- Yo, GCG! Thought about the price thing yet? E-mail me soon.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24157271/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24157271/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:58:04 PDT

(If any of you are really interested in meeting me, note me and we can exchange cell numbers)

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24121303/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24121303/ Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:43:01 PDT !!!

In other news, I just got a in-site pop-up ad with some rodent that powers my page, asking for me to pay his vacation by buying a subscription.

...

You know what? The more I see this (that is, dumb things of the site) the LESS I want to give DA my money. I mean really.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24075099/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/24075099/ Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:16:56 PDT Nothing stops you from asking for critiques in the description or giving one anyway, but seriously, wtf??

On another note, =Gensoukyoku is seriously just amazing. Go look through her gallery, and then be STUNNED AT AMAZED at her commission prices. I think she's still doing extra-cheap ones, too.
I mean, look at what she did for me: [link] [link] and the total cost was... 10 or 15 dollars. For both. (They were done at separate times, though.) So if any of you are itchin' for new art to own, do check her out!

I still haven't been able to locate my mp3 player. Any of you have advice for locating lost items?

-

commission info

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23995788/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23995788/ Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:12:04 PDT
Pick any of my characters in this gallery and I will tell you their:

01. Full name
02. Best friend
03. Sexuality
04. Favorite color
05. Relationship status
06. Ideal mate
07. Odd Skills/Skills in general
08. Last Amusing Escapade
09. Favorite food
10. Crushes
11. Favorite music
12. Biggest fear
13. Biggest fantasy
14. Quirks
15. Bad habits
16. Biggest regret
17. Best kept secrets
18. Last thought
19. Worst sexual/romantic experience
20. Biggest insecurity

There's also a few characters who aren't in my gallery (like Go, one of a evil twin supervillian duo, or the many other characters of the story Ceara and Aranel are from, like family and royalty and such, though obviously i can't list them all right now XD)

In other news I misplaced my mp3 player - again - and this time I can't seem to locate. Goddamnit I do this at least once a month, and once it doesn't show up after 4 days I start to panic. D:

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23840408/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23840408/ Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:19:15 PDT

I bought a Saturday pass at the comic book shop right by where I work for Emerald City, and have been pre-registered for the whole weekend of SC since December. I AM EXCITE

So, any of you going to the Emerald City Comic Convention or SakuraCon? I'll be at both, though it looks like I may be flying the ECCC solo. I'd love to meet some of you!

*runs off to work on a friend's commission*

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23611357/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23611357/ Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:58:37 PDT
What the hell? It's March, Washington. Last week you were sunny and warm. And now it's snowing. Dubble you tee eych.

To add onto the last journal, though I liked the individual songs used throughout the film the way they were used was strange at times. In fact, the song used during the sex scene reminded me of the sex scene in Team America: World Police. I doubt it was intended to be funny in Watchmen so that's not really a good thing to be reminded of.

Also found out that Amazon does not sell mp3 downloads of I'm Your Boogie Man by KC And the Sunshine Band. Which makes me saaaad. :C

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23567141/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23567141/ Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:13:30 PST
Sadly my sister did not enjoy it. I don't know if that's because she wasn't into the movie itself, or if it was because of a fan on the ceiling right above her that made her feel really cold the entire time, or the Hispanic dude behind her who kept kicking her seat. Shame, because I loved it.

I really liked the soundtrack, too. Oughta buy it. Now, to read the book...

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23166241/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23166241/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:56:06 PST

I seriously need to trim my watch list. I have 1010 people on my devwatch list and save for a few, every single one has deviations and journals and polls and whatever all checked off. I need to invest in an iPhone or something just so I can be on DA at all times.

Also lately I've been getting back into Diablo 2 (OMG SO EXCITED FOR D3 EEEEE) so maybe expect some fanart soon. I love the stories Blizzard puts into their games, even if they're not great. I first played Diablo when I was like... 8 years old or something when my friend Jordan showed me the demo for the game. I loved it and played it often, though you couldn't get past level 2 of the dungeon (or whatever it was), and eventually got my parents to buy me the game. I don't know if they would have bought it for me if they knew its violent nature. >_> But yay that they didn't 'cause then I got it!

Unfortunately I was, and still am, a huge pussy about the game and never got far into it because it was too scary for me. I once played an account where I had to fight the twisted King Leoric and omg too hard!! Too scary! I just gave up right away. I never even beat the game!

In fact, I never beat D2, either. I got pretty far with a necromancer, up to Act 4, until I did something really dumb. There's a mace of some sort you need to use to smash Diablo's soulstone, and earlier in the game - Act 2, I think? Maybe Act 1? - you find something called the Horadric Cube, which you can put items in, click the "transmute" button and possibly wind up with something cool. Well I was using the Cube as additional storage space, then one day was bored, put a bunch of stuff in there including the mace and clicked "transmute" and ALL of those items turned into a really cheap, crappy ring.

BAHHH!!! I immediately reset the computer because you can't manually exit the game without saving it. Unfortunately I guess it must auto-save now and then because the stupid ring was still in the cube, and all of the items were still lost. I didn't know how to go back to the areas in Act 3 to see if I could find another mace, so I just quit playing entirely out of rage. Also uninstalled the game so I could reinstall it, since I felt like playing again and wanted to try doing it online (I hadn't installed the online version) but the CD was so scratched up I couldn't fully re-install.

I actually bought the game again a year ago or so and played online for the first time and I was AMAZED at how quickly you could plow through it all with a friend! I mean, shit, it took me MONTHS to get as far as I did in the game on single player! Again, I didn't beat the game because I stopped playing for school (or possibly WoW >.> actually I think WoW is the reason why I never went back XD) and I totally forgot all the commands and whatnot and dunno where my gamebuddy went.

And yeah, necromancer is my favorite because, again, I am a huge coward and prefer to raise undead creatures and golems to fight for me while I stay back and collect loot and fire stuff at the enemies from a safe distance. Hee.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23117969/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/23117969/ Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:53:03 PST

also my 9 AM human anatomy class was canceled today. And that SUCKS because I really wanted to skip the class anyway and sleep in, but noooo I'm a good student and I went to school. WAAAUGH

Oh, I'm also taking a drawing class twice a week at night. Some of the stuff has been posted up here, though it needs to be updated. It will be, once our teacher returns our midterm portfolios to us, hopefully by Wednesday.

Anyone seen Coraline yet?? A nearby theater is playing it in 3D and I REALLY want to see it!

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22915067/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22915067/ Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:12:46 PST
To keep things light, everyone check this out:

[link]

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22743883/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22743883/ Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:23:35 PST
Also, today I found out a buddy at school died on Jan 4th in an accident involving a drunk driver. We weren't close, so I'm not wrought with grief, but... Jesus that's shocking to hear about. I picked up this week's edition of the school newspaper and flip it over to see the picture, and it's this goofy photograph of Will giving double-thumbs-up. Then I read the caption below the image and it says he died from "accident-related injuries". Those being head trauma that had him on life support for a day and a half before he died. The other four people (drunk driver included) all had concussions and minor injuries. In the article it said the driver had a blood-alcohol level of .23 an HOUR after the collision. If that much time passed then presumably his BAL went down a little, so how fucking high was it when he crashed?? (For the record, Will was stopped at a red light at 2 AM with two of his friends in the car, then the other car with the driver and his friend came at high speed and smashed into the vehicle Will was riding in. I don't know who was driving his car.)
it's so unreal to think about, that this person you liked and everyone liked and had so many friends and was doing well in school and was just so cool and friendly is dead.

On a totally unrelated note, am I the only one who... doesn't really know what to think of this dA design? The website seems to be constantly updating itself and adding more TOTALLY COOL!!! features that, to me, just wind up looking like a clusterfuck of green boxes. Someone on my watchlist says that it looks more professional, but I don't agree. It seems more like a "meet people" web site now. I mean, you don't see PROFESSIONAL on-line galleries with a million things all over the place like this, do you? Usually they're a lot more basic, trying to draw attention to the art rather than everything around it.

edit* I can't believe that DA has added all of these SWEET FEATS but you STILL can't have a "signature" at the bottom of your journal entry. -_-

well here's this if anyone is actually interested. I'm considering doing 5-10 dollar sketches instead of 10-20, for the time being...

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22498914/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/22498914/ Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:37:51 PST
I watch a lot of people (almost 1000, I think) so I get a lot of deviations and messages to check out, which I don't mind (thumbnails for the win! Though for not much longer...). However, about half of the time when I'm checking the Deviations and I click on the page 2 button (since I can't check every day, I sometimes have several pages of new images to view) the page takes a few seconds to load, then suddenly reverts to my Message center. It does this really often and it's extremely annoying, so sometimes I give up and those deviations go unlooked at.

Am I the only one who has this problem? Is this something to do with the fact that I use IE? (I don't like the new Firefox.) :\

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/21917001/ Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:20:58 PST (several faves in one day is a lot to me)

So, how goes the holiday shopping season for everyone? I've already bought some gifts for close friends but it's hard for me not to go on overdrive for gift shopping and spend more than I can really afford I did it last year, but the current recession and state budget problems has hit us kinda hard, so I'm trying to cut down on spending and work more! I also gotta focus on school next quarter more.

I've also managed to fully kick my creativity drought, and am now drawing more and even writing a little. It's good to have it back!

BTW!: ~slimjim136 is taking commissions to help her with tuition moneys! Check her auwwtt.

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~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/21559075/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/21559075/ Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:04:40 PST
OMG what an utterly adorable movie!! I've never read the books so I wasn't interested in seeing it when it came out, but I'm glad I watched it on TV. I'm gonna add the DVD to my Christmas list for this year, along with WALL-E. <3

I also have renewed interest in Jack Johnson now.

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/21507912/ Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:21:55 PST
Well I found that with the soundtrack to Running With Scissors! (A great movie based on the original memoir, I highly recommend it if you don't have time for books.)

There's this one scene in the movie where the mother is going crazy and imagines snow falling from the ceiling, and this song starts playing while she's dancing around in it (her friends break down the door and find her spinning around on the spot haha). The song, which I had never heard before, is a famous one: "Blinded By The Light" sung by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. I really liked it, plus all the other songs that I had noticed playing during the movie, so I thought I would buy the whole thing and see how much I'd enjoy it. And boy did I ever!

The whole thing is a great collection of older songs (most of them are from the mid-70s, since that's about when the movie takes place). My personal favorites from the soundtrack are:

- "Pick Up The Pieces" by Average White Band - mostly an instrumental, upbeat jazz-ish song that's rather repetitive, but I really like it. No singing except for the occasional faint chanting of "pick up the pieces."
- "Blinded By The Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band - he is NOT saying "wrapped up like a douche," but "revved up like a deuce" Apparently his odd way of saying "deuce" made the song a bit infamous
- "Mr. Blue" by Catherine Feeny - actually a new song (came out in 2006 I think?), downbeat but with a nice singer and a nice tune. C:
- "Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart - I don't even know how to describe why I like this song. It reminds me a bit of a famous Serbian folk singer whose music my parents have always played as I was growing up, and is just in general a cool song to me.
- "O Tannenbaum" by the Vince Guaraldio Trio - an instrumental Christmas-y song. Base tune of "O Christmas Tree" but jazzed up.
- "A Great Ocean Liner" by James Levine - If you have ever seen The Virgin Suicides and liked the soundtrack, you will like this song. At first I thought this was made by Air. A sad, instrumental song.
- "Stardust" sung by Nat King Cole - omfg what an amazing song. I just... love it. FANTASTIC lyrics, great singer, beautiful tune and it really DOES make me think of the stars! "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas" by NKC is also on the soundtrack, and it's a fun song, but omg Stardust. How have I never heard this song before gaah.

I actually love Stardust so much, that I want you all to hear it! Here's a link to a YouTube video that uses it. The video is nice, too.
edit* Gahh silly DA and it's emotes! You'll have to copy-paste this link without the space after the = sign.

youtube.com/watch?v= DtZKwp6cjd4

I had never listened to Nat King Cole before. I was totally missing out, it seems.

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/21331111/ Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:04:08 PST

Even better seeing the few naysayers get completely trampled by whoops of delight.

I am quite surprised at my own joy at his winning, mainly because until a week ago I had no idea just how much I agreed with Obama's stances. Hell, just look at this entry from a few months ago.

Also, lol @ Obama being a socialist. REAL socialists scoff at the idea, but I guess for Conservative Christian America he must be a bat out of liberal hell or something. (I recall reading a blog comment from a French person saying that in France he'd be considered middle-of-the-road, even a little to the right, by their standard of politics.)

For the first time in my life, I look to the future of politics with optimism.

Hail to the Chief!

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~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19957509/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19957509/ Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:08:07 PDT
o_o

... Kellyyyyyy, your commission is duuunnn.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19631637/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19631637/ Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:53:30 PDT
I really wish the admins would give users the choice of skins for the website instead of installing near-violent changes. I'm sure this is wonderful for many people but frankly I was used to the old one and had no desire for change. It's turned me off so much that I hardly even check DA because my message center just irks me to look at it.

So... don't be surprised if I don't respond to comments for awhile... this is going to take some adjusting but I'm very busy with my summer classes and working and don't have the patience to sit on my computer and figure out how to work DA yet again.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19583002/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19583002/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:05:41 PDT He'll definitely have to pay more attention to his health (and that's saying something, because he was in good condition when diagnosed) and remember to take his meds, but... all is well.

Thank you all for the support. Really.

off-topic: I can't get to see the mood emotes on the journal submission to show up when using my Vista computer's IE. Anyone else have this problem?

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19583001/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19583001/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:05:41 PDT He'll definitely have to pay more attention to his health (and that's saying something, because he was in good condition when diagnosed) and remember to take his meds, but... all is well.

Thank you all for the support. Really.

off-topic: I can't get to see the mood emotes on the journal submission to show up when using my Vista computer's IE. Anyone else have this problem?

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19294342/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19294342/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:46:23 PDT
Apparently it was resolved, though, by giving him a breathing machine. But, well... that's not all he has.

I don't know if I ever bothered to mention it but my dad's been having chest pains recently. When they checked him out with the routine heart stuff nothing seemed out of order, but he got some further testing done... a week ago or two. But, for some reason they hadn't gotten back to him with the results still, since it went to his physician instead of him directly. So today he decides to drop by the clinic and see if he could find out if anything was wrong.

When he got to the clinic and they looked up the results, they told him he couldn't leave, and called an ambulance to take him to St. Joseph's Hospital a few blocks away. One of his arteries is clogged up and needs to have a balloon pushed into it to clear it open. Quick internet search reveals this is probably it. If that doesn't work he'll have to get surgery.

I think he turns 55 next month.

I'm feeling pretty fucked up right now so some kind words would be appreciated.

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... ]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19079392/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/19079392/ Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:38:07 PDT
To say that WALL-E is a good movie is like saying that the Sistine Chapel is a pretty well-painted room. It is a fucking MASTERPIECE. I almost couldn't handle the glee my body produced because of it.

What's amazing is how rather grown-up the ideas they put in the movie were, even though it's G-rated. Pro-environmentalism? Anti-consumerism? Teaching the kids watching the movie to take care of earth and not turn into a morbidly obese, lazy slob? And yet it doesn't overpower the main theme of the movie - love!

So, so so so SOSOSOSO adorable. Watch the movie; I doubt you'll be disappointed.

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18485992/ Wed, 28 May 2008 20:21:38 PDT really struggling to force myself to read this shit. Jesus Christ this is fucking bad. It's not bad along the lines of THE EYE OF ARGON (which is so bad it's epic), but just... bad. So bad it's bad. Enjoyable but BAD. Eragon-bad.

It's awesome in the way that Eragon was awesome in that it's NOT AWESOME AT ALL.

But I will continue to force myself to read it because I need to see this through. I promised myself I would no matter how much Stephanie Meyer's* writing style makes me want to tear my eyeballs out of their sockets.

Here's a list of details for why it sucks:

-writing is forced, overlong, drawn-out, and without the excuse and saving grace of epic awesome, like THE EYE OF ARGON
- 1st person POV ughghg it should never be allowed for anyone who hasn't ever taken a creative writing class and never wrote a novel before ever
- Isabella Swan is a fucking idiot
- Everyone who loves Isabella Swan is an idiot; for some reason, despite her being a bitch to 'most everyone, the entire school adores her. Thus, by moving to Forks, Bella has really just returned to her natural habitat of STUPID
- Why does Bella hyperventilate a thousand times in the book over NOTHING?
- She explains that her skin is pale because her mother is "part albino." The sad part is that I can't tell if it's a joke or not, because you can't be "part albino".
- He is also a 100+ year old virgin who never kissed a girl before Bella : (

*makani does a good job of showing through snippets of the writing WHY it sucks so much here, and here. Also this, by another person on LJ. And this blog entry. Hell, just search "stephanie meyer sucks" in Google and you'll find a lot of reasons for why it's terrible.

I do intend on seeing the movie, or did, but I watched a trailer for it and augh... it looks just as bad and stupid as the books. But it'll be short and sweet compared to this tripe I'm reading.

*_{she's got pretty good taste in music, though. Muse ftw}

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~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18385259/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18385259/ Sun, 18 May 2008 15:12:19 PDT

AAARRRGHGH!!!!



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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18204166/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18204166/ Tue, 06 May 2008 21:23:41 PDT
I recommend everyone see this movie, simply to see if you can handle the bitten off male peepees.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18064914/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/18064914/ Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:06:02 PDT
It makes me so happy. SO HAPPY. I won't post spoilers here but OH MY GOD IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!! ;____; I love Avatar so much.

If anyone here wants the torrents, I'll note you.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17883820/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17883820/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:23:14 PDT
Although apparently my bank just gave me 40 dollars because they match your first 3 months' savings. Useful!

From previous journal:

"The first 10 deviants who post in this journal will be featured. I will go though your gallery and choose 3 of your deviations I like the most and post them in my journal for everyone to see! It's pretty much to show you off. Who doesn't want that?

The catch?

You have to put this in your journal as well if you posted!"

So, comment awaaaay! Can't wait to peruse your galleries.

1.
a) b) c)

2.
a) b) c)

3.
a) b) c)

4.
a) b) c)

5.
a)http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17714248/ Sun, 06 Apr 2008 11:29:40 PDT and for this.

"The first 10 deviants who post in this journal will be featured. I will go though your gallery and choose 3 of your deviations I like the most and post them in my journal for everyone to see! It's pretty much to show you off. Who doesn't want that?

The catch?

You have to put this in your journal as well if you posted!"

So, comment awaaaay! Can't wait to peruse your galleries.

1.
a) b) c)

2.
a) b) c)

3.
a) b) c)

4.
a) b) c)

5.
a) b) c)

6.
a) b) c)

7.
a) b) c)

8.
a) b) c)

9.
a) b) c)

10.
a) b) c)

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Commission Info





http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17617344/ Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:03:23 PDT
That is (and soon will be "was") awesome. I dunno if this is a DA glitch, or a prank, but I love it.

Just in case you miss it or it's deleted from DA by the time you read this...



See that? Everyone on DA has that icon right now. Or so it seems from my comments inbox and my front page... Buahaha. I love it.

edit* WOW I'm a dumbass. I just realized it's APRIL THE FIRST.

Ohhh DA.

edit2* holy crap it's happening on YouTube, too. All the top picks go to the same movie. XD ALL OF THEM

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Commission Info





]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17450111/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17450111/ Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:42:44 PDT FAQ #831: Why can't just anyone submit film?

The film gallery is by invitation only to preserve the integrity of artistic filmmaking. deviantART is looking to maintain a certain level of production values in the films that our community of artists can post and appreciate.

I'd love to know why the film part of this site gets quality check, but it doesn't matter how shitty the drawings are.

That's why so many people mock DA because of the incredible amount of terrible artists that submit stuff here, or people who just use DA as an image hosting service.

"Preserve the integrity of artistic filmmaking"? :roll As if. If they're going to allow anyone to put up any kind of art on DA, that should include films.

No I'm not mad because I can't submit something of mine, I just can't stand this hypocrasy. DA, accept that you're a low-quality art image host already, not a high-ranking community like Epilogue.

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Commission Info





http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17418917/ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:22:51 PDT
I also totally got boned on the sociology final because I only studied two of the chapters before going to bed, then woke up at the exact moment I should have left my house to make it to the test on time (I woke up on time two hours earlier to study some more but went back to sleep. Can anyone say WINNER)

Tonight was our Intro to Color final portfolio. I didn't do so well on the midterm due to having missed several days and lacking a lot of the assignments + not being actually present for review for like two weeks, BUT I'm fairly certain I did well on this! The instructor was all over my final, which I will be posting shortly. (I still have to post the art I did last quarter with him in Life Drawing I :< I shall do that soon! Just watermarking and resizing the pictures, since I, like a doofus, did not sign anything I did in that class)

Anyway, after tomorrow's test, I just have to work from 12:30 to 4 (I get my one year review finally @_@), then I'm FREE!!!! for a few hours, 'til I finally get to see someone I haven't seen in months. Then I work the next few days. Then stuff happens. Then SakuraCon. And then maybe a baby. Probably no on the last one, though.


Oh oh oh and I've been shopping a lot lately. <3 i used to ABHOR shopping but now I love it! I think I only hated it because I hated being forced to walk around a mall with my family for 7 hours as a kid. But struttin' by myself, spendin' my own monehs... it's sweet. I should post a picture of this new trench coat I got from Wet Seal, it was very cheap (around $25) and not the best quality (I've only had it for a few days but the threads around the buttons are all frayed, and one of the buttons fell off and I had to sew it back on before I went to my art class tonight o_O) but it's SO CUTE. I should post a picture of how hawtsome I look, haha.

I'd go spend shittons more, but I have to save the rest of my money for SakuraCon (and resist maxing out my credit card <_< and I already spent more than I should (30 fuckin' dollars for some nice eyeliner, BUT I got all this free shit with it. yaaaay Macy's sales! Seriously, it was totally worth it), so restraint time for Miss Ollz.

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Commission Info





http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/17368927/ Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:03:27 PDT
What's sad is that I asked a friend of mine WHY he's so awesome and so much better than Clinton. Essentially the whole reason was "I like the way he gives speeches better so he'll probably be a better president."

I also like how pretty much every candidate takes about how WE NEED CHANGE, CHANGE IS GOOD without really going into specifics sometimes, it seems. I could use pocket change, but I have a jar of it in my room.

I'll be glad when it's all over. I can't vote, so it's not like I can do anything about it anyway.


I also had a pretty INTERESTING discussion with an old co-worker of mine about politics which eventually turned into him trying to tell me "all poor people are lazy and don't value hard work or money". As I'm sure you can all guess, it went downhill very fast from that point on.

as someone who took a sociology class that covered this specific myth, I tried to tell him otherwise, but it it ended when I got tired of him repeating everything like a broken record and just told him he needed to take a class on it before spouting bullshit on a subject he obviously knows nothing about. He got very offended and did the internet equivalent of storming out and slamming the door in a huff. Dumbass.

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Commission Info





http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16962753/ Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:51:34 PST
Non-huzzah: I mentioned that traffic violation awhile ago, and now it's time to cash it. I got a deferral for it, meaning it won't go on my permanent record since this was my first minor violation, but I have to pay a $150 fee, due the first day of March. $150 isn't anything huge for me and normally I'd be able to cover it just fine.

However, due to some medical thing with my foot and my doctor giving me way too much time off from work (two weeks, though I felt better after one - though I did appreciate having a whole weekend to myself, sans pain), it's causing me a bit of concern, since I used the previous paycheck to cover my previous credit card bill (which I had used to get gas and stuff before my treatment put me out of work for that period), and I have this month's to pay off by a few days after my court fee is due. Although I -am- getting my tax return soon since I filed it as soon as I could, I have no idea if it will arrive on time, and I'm not sure how trying to get a $500 loan from my parents will work out.

So... I'm dropping my commission prices a touch and making a small list of commissions here. Normally I wouldn't do this because I can generally get by without much worry and I don't wanna sound like a hopeless pity party or anything (especially since I'm not dying or anything), but it's gotten a bit too... something for me to ignore or figure will work out itself.

Chibi and bust sketches are both 5$, inks 10$, and cel- or painterly (this quality) are $15. Add'l char, add $3.
Half-body are $8 sketches, $11 inks, $17 colors. Add'l char, add $7.
Full-body are $10 sketches, $15 inks, $20 colors. Add'l char, add $10.
Backgrounds are usually blank or very simplistic. If you want a background, ask and I'll see if it's even necessary to charge. However, if you want something more like this, the background would probably be an additional $15.

For all three, you can have either digital or traditional style.

Yeah, I know this is crazy cheap, but like I said, I'm more concerned about working up some moneys than making a HUGE PROFIT right now.

Slots:
1. ~LadyPlague Done. [link]
2. ~slimjim136 awaiting details...
3.
4.
5.
(will add more if there is any demand)

And now I'm off to work my seven and a half hour shift. x_x;

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Commission Info

~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16891994/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16891994/ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:54:54 PST


THIS DOES NOT BODE WELL.

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Commission Info





]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16537969/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16537969/ Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:24:26 PST
So what kind of fucko would protest a funeral?

The same ones who protested the funerals of American soldiers, for defending a country that protects homosexuals.

I was enraged when the Westboro Baptist Church did this to the soldiers funeral (followed by delighted, when they got their asses kicked by some angry people and arrested, IIRC), and I am now. They make the country look bad, Christianity look really bad, and have no virtually no support outside of their own church, and yet no one can really stop them because there isn't anything inherently illegal in what they preach and practice (although IIRC, Congress apparently passed a law that made protesting soldiers' funerals illegal).

I don't like violence or discrimination... but I think there should be certain exceptions made for hate groups.

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Commission Info





http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16400619/ Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:08:14 PST
Better than not wanting to draw at all though.

I also need to upload more of my life drawing pieces! I will try to do that when I get home.

Bahhhh accounting is so boring and sociology is so tedious and lengthy. If it weren't for karate, this quarter would be a total drag. Even my intro to color class isn't living up to my expectations, since the school is too freaking cheap to pay the teacher for two separate classes, so they decided to merge two different classes into the same night and timeslot. Fuckshits. D:<

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16230172/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/16230172/ Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:02:25 PST
2007 was a pretty good year to me, I think. How did i welcome the new year? By working ALL NIGHT. Wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, either!

One of my Christmas parents was a big Italian collapsible painting easel, complete with a set of paintbrushes, 3 sets of paints, and several canvases (I went out and bought a few more, plus some books on oil painting to help me get started). I haven't used it yet, but man I really want to!! I gotta clean my room up before my mother has a seizure (she really does not like a mess), but afterwards I think I'll get started. Gotta get some turpenoid, though.

Um... I also got TWO copies of Stephen Colbert's new book, I Am America (And So Can You!), so I returned one and got Brian Froud's World of Faerie for just $18 (it's normally 40) I was going to get Good Faeries and Bad Faeries, but since that one is cheaper I figured I could get it later. Also a new bathrobe, Stardust on DVD (*glee*), some nail stuff from a friend of mine, and uh... a few other things, I think, that I forgot about.

How about yous? Any good presents? How was 2007 for you?

edit* How is it just now I notice I wrote "one of my Christmas parents"? Must be because it was a Christmas present from my parents.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15639904/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15639904/ Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:39:58 PST
Anyone wanna help me make sure I can pay my credit card off in time and order some commissions from me? XD

edit* Wow I forgot how much it sucks being a non-subscriber. Sigh. Here's the info, for anyone interested: [link]

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15629818/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15629818/ Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:23:51 PST


FROM DROPPING SHOPPERS, THAT IS.

Man, deviantart, 30 dollars for a year-long subscription? You're killing me, dA, you're killing me.

Well my subscription dies out today and since I'll be spending a fuckton of money on Christmas presents and getting myself some desperately needed pants, PLUS I need to pay off the 150 dollar balance on my credit card by the 5th, it may take awhile before i can buy a new sub. And having nearly 900 people on my watchlist makes it very difficult to view everything (do non-subscribers get thumbnails now?) and take care of comments and the like. So if I'm not around much for the next two weeks or so you know why.

In other news: I've had this CD for like a month but i never listened to it. I finally am and I love it! I knew I did, of course, I heard a few of their songs on the local radio and on their website but still. And when I ordered it online it a few days after I got an e-mail from some guy (either a bandmember or a rep from their indie label) thanking me for supporting local indie music. Hahaha! Didn't see that coming at all. It's nice to know the world isn't run by greedy corporations that sue for thousands when they catch you downloading one song, though.



And dude, I swear I already posted this journal. Although it was a bit shorter. You guys didn't see this show up in your inboxes or whatever did you?

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Commission Info



<... ]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15471493/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15471493/ Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:29:40 PST


Man, i love our new computer but this screen makes everything SO BRIGHT it KILLS the colors on my digital artwork when I look at my DA on here. I can't figure out how to reconfigure it so it's not like this either. Help anyone?

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Commission Info



]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15165068/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/15165068/ Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:47:30 PDT


It was deleted. Some of you are wondering why... well, basically, the guy we wanted to help? Changed his mind.
Like, in an angry way.

I don't want to go into details here - note me if you really wanna know - but basically, I won't be going through with it.

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Commission Info



]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14834722/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14834722/ Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:49:24 PDT


so, on the way to school this morning I got my first traffic violation, and it seems that no matter what I can do I'll end up paying a large fee I don't have the money to pay. So, commission page is up if you wanna help!

I really need more money right now since my school is not even in my city, and it really eats up gas, and everyone knows that's not cheap. :/

But on a lighter note, I'm finally taking a life drawing class! I'm really excited to be in it, it's frustrating but enjoyable and so far I already feel like I'm starting to improve, simply because I'm getting a bit more courageous when it come to dynamic shading

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Commission Info



]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14834705/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14834705/ Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:43:18 PDT

Chibi/Headshot
Sketches: $5
Inks: $10
Digital colors: $15 - $20, depending on complexity
Traditional media - $15 - $20, depending on complexity

Busts
Sketches: $10
Inks: $15
Digital colors: $20 - $30, depending on complexity
Traditional media - $15 - $30, depending on complexity

Full-body
Sketches: $15
Inks: $25
Digital colors: $30 - $45, depending on complexity
Traditional media - $30 - $45, depending on complexity

Backgrounds are an additional $5-20 depending on complexity as well. If it's something exceedingly simple, no charge! (If you wanted scenery to be the main focus of the image, that's another deal and we'd have to discuss it.)

If you want flat coloring on any of the above, just add 3 dollars to the "inks" charge. :] But keep in mind that if you choose to have me do a traditional drawing and would like it mailed to you, no extra charge for mailing (so long as you live in the continental U.S.). I will also send the high-res final version of your commission to your e-mail. (These prices don't include commercial usage.)

Keep in mind I also reserve the right to refuse any offer that I feel I can't do a good job on, or is a subject that I'm not comfortable with (like certain fetishes). This is more of a precaution for you than me, though. Note me for more details.

Process:

Send me a note describing what kind of commission you are looking for and a description of what you'd like me to draw. After we agree on a price and everything, I'll send you small copies of the sketch to make sure the drawing looks like what you want, then proceed with any other progress images necessary from that point on (if you wish). I will not send the final copy until I receive full payment, however.

Right now, I only use PayPal, but if you really want a commission and can't use PayPal, note me and we can discuss an alternate form of payment.

]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14099931/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/14099931/ Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:22:37 PDT


So I figured since I have that prints-for-life account, I might as well put it to good use and see how long it takes for it to pay itself off.

So far, the only print I've made is this:



... which I think I'll edit so it looks more like the full deviation, since I liked the frame and little website address (and if not the address than I'll put my name there instead).

I have a much nicer version of so much lovin' to give... that was re-painted that I intend to put up... it'd only be good for a post card or something, but it wouldn't be that difficult to fix up for larger prints. BUT I had added some text to it, since I had made it into a little gift for a friend who loved the picture, and I'm not sure if I should leave it.
What do you think? With all text? With the main caption? No text?

I was thinking of re-scanning this to put up as a print as well...

I need to draw finished pictures more often. Yeesh, it's like all I have in my gallery are half-done drawings or cutesy illustrations with no backgrounds... and yet people like this crap? I don't approve, must fix this!

edit* LOLOLO when I put up the thumbnail of that artwork I somehow put this up instead no idea how that happened, the numbers are totally different! Guess it was just the prints page... must be a different number from the deviation.

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~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13854355/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13854355/ Tue, 24 Jul 2007 02:29:46 PDT


WIN
WIN
WIN

Favorite book of the entire series. Bar none.

One thing that had me fidgety in the other books was how often I'd be thinking get on with it get on with it get to the damn action. Book 7? Not once did I think that. So much action was almost hard to keep up with.

Snape has earned a place in my heart. I hope Harry told the world why he did what he did so people would respect his memory.

Good-bye, Harry Potter series. I missed my final chance to stand in line for you at midnight, but I will miss that far less than I will miss the anticipation and the mystery of the next page you held for me.



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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13739908/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13739908/ Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:22:51 PDT


Turned 18 2 hours and 22 minutes ago.

A good friend of mine I met on the interwebs will be here in less than a week.

Seeing Muse in September.

AAHHHG SO MANY GOOD THINGS HAPPENING !!!!!! MUSE

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13653615/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13653615/ Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:30:05 PDT


Just so you all know... I turn 18 on July 15th.

I expect presents and/or money. Hopefully money, since certain bank fees jumped up at me unexpectedly (all my fault) very recently, combined with *Destichado coming to visit soon and the fact that I'm going to Serbia in August for two weeks... I don't have the money to spend 100-200 dollars on *sorskc's beautiful artwork. ;_; NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TO. I don't get nearly enough hours at work to justify it. I'd totally do commissions but I'm not that well-known and I'm not sure if anyone would be interested anyway. Even though they'd be cheap... hm!

anyone interested? I'll post prices if there's any reaction.

Aargh I want money. And to plan a party of some sort for my birthday but I totally suck at these things and the person who is supposed to be helping me with it is impossible to get ahold of almost always. Luckily another friend is back in town from a trip to Mexico... aahhh it's so good having awesome friends.

In other news, I'm getting a really weird callous on the palm under my ring finger on my right hand. It's callousing under all of those fingers, but it's HUGE there. I dunno why. I think I mopped with too much force or something at my last job where it started to get like that, and then just kept growing. IT'S MASSIVE, I SAY.

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/13052791/ Tue, 22 May 2007 15:43:25 PDT


I'm feeling much better, thanks for all the well-wishing guys. I'm not completely over the cold yet (and somehow my lips got horribly dry and cracked sometime during Saturday night/Sunday morning at work), but it's hardly anything now!

And here's something entertaining for you all.

1. Follow them around the house everywhere...

2. Moo when they say your name...

3. Run into walls...

4. Say that wearing clothes is against your religion...

5. Stand over them at four in the morning with a huge grin on your face and say, good morning sunshine...

6. Pluck someone's hair out and yell, "DNA"...

7. Wear a sticker that says, "I’m a retard"...

8. Have 20 imaginary friends that you talk to all the time...

9. In public yell, "No Mom/Dad, I will not make out with you!!"...

10. Do what they actually tell you...

11. Jump off the roof, trying to fly...

12. Hold their hand and whisper to them, I see dead people...

13. At everything they say yell, Liar...

14. Try to swim in the floor...

15. Tap on their door all night...

16.Pretend to have amnesia...

17.Say everything backwards...

18.Give yourself a swirly...

19.Run around with a lamp shade on your head yelling, "the sun!!! it's dying!!!"...

20.Sing at the top of your lungs while running around the house...in your underwear...

21.Have nervous spasms at spontaneous times...

22.Snort loudly when you laugh and then laugh harder...

23.Run in circles...

24.Recite a whole movie 3 times...

25.Pretend to beat yourself up...

26.Slither everywhere...

27.Wear your pants on your head and your shirt on your waist... tell them you're making a fashion statement...

28.Try and drink out of a glass the wrong way...

29.Super glue your finger up your nose...

30.Talk to a pen...

31.Lay face down and chant like an indian tribe...

32.Try and climb the wall...

33.Spread out on the window and buzz, pretending to be a fly...

34. Take your ice cream cone and put it one your forehead... say you're a lovely unicorn...

35.Put pegs on your nose and eyes...

36.Switch the light button on and off for a while. then say, "ooooh... I get it!!!"...

37.Eat your hair...

38.Whatever they are eating, tell them it looks like a certain animal...

39.Eat anything obviously not edible...

40.Say your pet is mocking you and chase it around the house...

41.When you shower or bathe yell, "i'm drowning!!!"...

42.Try to snorkel in your fish tank...


Repost if you laughed.


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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12967871/ Tue, 15 May 2007 16:34:11 PDT


I hate being sick. My throat hurts and my ears hurt and I can't breathe.

I hope I'll be okay again by this Friday. I'll be working an overnighter at LQ that I've been looking forward to for weeks.

I want my health back!

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12347629/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12347629/ Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:15:36 PDT


I just had to share.

[link]

I love the 300 meme. :3 Here's some of the ones I've found...














If you have any more, please share them! They're quite amusing.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12213629/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12213629/ Sat, 17 Mar 2007 00:14:25 PDT


You know what is really pathetic?

For WEEKS I've been seeing people post bulletins on MySpace and talk at school about the show and a few times mentioned a guy named Sanjaya...

Then I noticed that a lot of these people were rather personal with the dude's name. I didn't really recognize the name, and I only saw one picture of him with his big poofy hair.

... holy crap. I'm probably the last person in the universe (or at least this part of the state) to find out that Sanjaya is not only from my city, but goes to my school. I looked up a better pic of him and his face, and when I recognized him I was floored.

How the FUCK did this not come to my attention earlier? e_e I guess I SHOULD watch more TV.

So after this I looked up the internet info on him to see his feedback... I feel sorry for the guy. People don't like him much. And they make fun of his behavior, too... well, he's what we call "the downstairs kids". Free spirits. (my friend Chris said that he's just really comfortable with himself, and actually tried to grope him once [as a joke, I think o_O])

yarhhg e_e;

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http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/12098330/ Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:43:51 PST


Check out this AWESOME kiriban art I got from ~ogar555 -



Based off of this, and another drawing not on my dA page. Wahhhh I need to learn how to digitally paint like this! I feel so limited with line sometimes, but venturing away from them is scary. :[

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11893690/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11893690/ Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:28:15 PST


You know what's REALLY ANNOYING? When you think the money you have in your Paypal account should be transfered out of it and you have plans to go out with a friend use it, then you find out you somehow forgot to verify the transfer. RAGHG

I need to pick back up on those sketch trades, too.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11848156/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11848156/ Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:24:42 PST


To those of you who found my page through Penny and Aggie (and to those still coming in from the site) - welcome!

In other news, this is totally rad.

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]]> ~oliverat http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11660497/ http://oliverat.deviantart.com/journal/11660497/ Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:51:55 PST


Taken from
-

Every day, there are more and more Craigs List posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “c... ]]> ~oliverat