What's up with you?

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by fragment

and cats, destructive predators that they are, they help too

Just a thought ... you, Qingdai, are a cat and the smurfs are mice. That can help too.

Meanwhile I agree with everything you say, plus the possibility of good things as well.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by fragment

https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/39439779

And you wonder why liv doesn't visit here any more.

[BrotherMan]

[specious_reasons]

I have been doing daily tasks from the book, The Art of Noticing, and I just switched tasks. Before, I was doing, "Spend 15 minutes observing the same place every day", which became more difficult when I moved buildings at work, and I have been busy enough that I've been inconsistent about it for the last 2 weeks.

Starting today, my new task is "Draw one thing a day." This is going to be a real challenge for me, because I have almost no skill. The thing I tried today wound up being out of proportion and pretty terrible, although you *might* be able to figure out what it it. No one is going to see these pictures, so don't ask.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

Starting today, my new task is "Draw one thing a day." This is going to be a real challenge for me, because I have almost no skill. The thing I tried today wound up being out of proportion and pretty terrible, although you *might* be able to figure out what it it. No one is going to see these pictures, so don't ask.

Artists say "You've 10,000 pieces of crap to get out of your way before you're doing anything good."

Excellent resource:
Fun With a Pencil : Loomis, Andrew : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

[ceptimus]

Problem is, with one drawing per day, that's thirty years of crap before you get good.

[BrotherMan]

Who says it has to be something good? It doesn't have to be anything. I just has to be. For the purpose of the exercise.

I mean, I know you want it to be "good." Or at least recognizable. That I get.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Most art nerds I've observed went from toddler doodles to pretty respectable in three to ten years. And made it out of the utter shit sewer in about a year. That was with semi dedicated practice and self directed learning.

That Loomis book is one of the best resources I know. Another really good one is How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way - Wikipedia. It's not just drawing Spiderman, it's drawing whole scenes, planning, the works.

[lisarea]

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a really good one, too, for realism in particular.

[SharonDee]

Ex husband #1 died this month; heart attack at 58. I hadn't seen him in decades so I wasn't sure how to feel about it, particularly since he is Daughter's bio-dad. Were it not for the genetic relationship, I doubt I'd otherwise know or care.

Daughter also wasn't sure how to feel about it since she was so young the last time she clapped eyes on him. What's weirding her out, though, are all the "other side" family coming out of the woodwork. They're all, "We've been looking for you for YEARS!" Which is horseshit and Daughter knows it. She's also her mother's daughter and won't hurt feelings for truth's sake. Yet.

Good thing they're messaging her and not me. I would set them straight. Gently because they're grieving but still.

[Qingdai]

I don't know the story, but I have a crazy as fuck half sister and her kid. I've lost touch with because of my whole family falling apart and dying.

I let it lapse too long for sure, but also my sister is jerk. (Kicked her kid out at 18 to live with her boyfriend) on the other hand my sister and her kid are SUPER Orange county republican conservative, and I lost contact with her when Obama got elected. She said her county was mourning, I told her I lived in a majority black neighborhood, so they were excited for a black president. Really the most neutral thing I could say.

[Qingdai]

Anyway, I would love to get in contact with her, just so she knows the whole story and I can send her things that may be relevant to her, but damn.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

Artists say "You've 10,000 pieces of crap to get out of your way before you're doing anything good."

Excellent resource:
Fun With a Pencil : Loomis, Andrew : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

This is pretty great, up until the racist caricatures about 2/3 through the book.

I think I'll just skip that part.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Lolwait what? *flips through to page 84* Ha! Holy shit. 1939, baby.

I don't know if I should keep recommending that now. A shame, it's such an effective manual.

I sure as hell won't be giving a print out to my seven year old nephew... And that pretty much decides it. There are plenty more books out there. Can't wait until the Stan Lee one is outed as harmful.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

Lolwait what? *flips through to page 84* Ha! Holy shit. 1939, baby.

BTW, I just wanted to make sure you knew about it. Cynical me saw the year this was written and expected to see them. I'm just glad it's buried in the back half of the book.

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

I don't know if I should keep recommending that now. A shame, it's such an effective manual.

I sure as hell won't be giving a print out to my seven year old nephew... And that pretty much decides it. There are plenty more books out there. Can't wait until the Stan Lee one is outed as harmful.

You could probably print out the instructional part and skip all of the characters studies and the book would be fine for almost anyone.

[lisarea]

MY WATCH!

I CAN'T FIND MY WATCH!

[JoeP]

[lisarea]

Thank you, Jope. I feel really weird leaving the house without my watch on. I keep looking for it and rubbing my wrist, and it's just wrong and bad and I'm legitimately freaking out just a little bit.

It'll show up, though. IT HAS TO.

[ceptimus]

When you find it, carry on searching for an extra minute. Then, when someone tells you that, "It's always the last place you look", you can smugly and honestly tell them that they're completely wrong.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by lisarea

I keep looking for it and rubbing my wrist

I still sometimes check for my wedding ring, even though I haven't worn one for many a year.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by ceptimus

When you find it, carry on searching for an extra minute. Then, when someone tells you that, "It's always the last place you look", you can smugly and honestly tell them that they're completely wrong.

You, sir, are a genius.

[Miisa]

We had a case of Finnishness in the office today.

Every Friday morning we have a standing meeting for the whole broader team (usually 15-20 people) where we catch up on what we have been doing that week and what the plans are for the next week, to keep our colleagues in the loop. This morning someone was running late but we knew he was on the way, so we waited, standing in a room in a rough oval formation, in silence. After about three minutes the thus-far pleasant silence was broken by my boss exclaiming that "Isn't it wonderful that we can do this and not feel the need to fill the space with idle chatter?"
Then we continued tacitly, unfazed by his attempts to sully the room with aforementioned idle chatter, for another minute or so until the tardy colleague showed up.

[JoeP]

I hope his loss of Finnishness points has been noted in the population register.

[Miisa]

I think he was blacklisted when back he got a bright orange winter jacket.

[vremya]

I think I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago. I have a gorgeous bruise on the side of my foot.