senoritafish | Entries tagged with intarwebs

Sigh... I have a group there, called Animated Adulthood, for grown-ups who like cartoons. I finally had to turn moderation on, because no one on that website seems to understand the concept of posting on topic. Seriously - your awful erotic poetry and your ultrasounds (while understandably exciting) don't have anything to do with animation. Is it really that difficult to NOT CLICK my group? And really, I'm pretty lenient - all you have to do is mention animation in passing, although it would be nice if there were something more.

They get all pissy when you call them on it, too. Part of it is you get points for people viewing your articles, which you can later turn in for gift cards or cash (through Paypal) so there's incentive to post everything everywhere. But why bother posting to something where it's never going to show up? Guess I should just boot 'em. I just hate being the bitchy group owner, though.

My marine life group at DeviantArt is wonderfully behaved, though. I love 'em all to death.

Current Mood: cranky
Current Music: popcorn in the microwave

Go to the Google home page right now and click the gold arrow (or you can do it below if you like, but there's a nice image collage there as well), to see a great little 80's-video-game-inspired animation to salute what would have been Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday using the Queen track "Don't Stop Me Now." Freddie passed away in 1991, but the driving force behind Queen will always be remembered.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but Night at the Opera was the soundtrack for many a weekend night back in the 80's for me...

(I started a group at Gather.com for grownup fans of all kinds of animation...this was originally posted there. I'm sure you guys, being far more internet savvy than the folks over there, have all seen it already...)

About six years ago, I came across a funny little Flash web series from Korea, made by animators SamBakZa. If there's one thing I love, it's a story that's understandable whatever your language. Simply drawn, but extremely well animated if (I wish certain other of my favorite shows were this smooth), they're set to some catchy K-pop/rock songs, which I find myself humming even if I don't know the words. They can be found at the animators' Korean site, or at Newgrounds (the North American community, sort of YouTube for Flash). They also can be found at YouTube, where some have English subtitles for the songs, but they're not really necessary to enjoy the animation; in terms of quality, they are probably best viewed at the sites where the creators first submitted them. For a very long time I was only aware of the first two, then recently I came across some fanart that directed me to the final three in the series. As a rule, I generally avoid rabid cuteness, but in this case it overwhelmed me and now I must inflict it on everyone else. XD All of these shorts are around 5 minutes long.

There She Is was intended to be a stand-alone animation. It involved a reluctant male cat and a rather obsessive female rabbit, who meet at the vending machines in the local park. ( oops forgot the cut-tag, sorry for clogging your FL... )

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: daughter watching Step 3 above

Now I'm amused. Half-heartedly hoping Google will find me some images of vintage early 1900's swordfish harpoon boats for the big boss's presentation so I don't have to dig through dusty filing cabinets or do a lot of scanning. I'm getting the odd picture of Spike Spiegel and Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop - probably because of Spike's craft, the Swordfish. Coincidentally, the Bebop of the title itself is supposed to be a converted spacegoing fishing boat, which, working with commercial fisheries like I do, I always thought was intriguing - just how did that work?

phbbbt. I crack myself up. Probably not anyone else tho'.

Also, MARLIN ARE NOT SWORDFISH! STOP LABELING THEM AS SUCH! They're in different families, jeez!

And whale harpoons. Do not want.

Current Mood: amused

phbbbt. I crack myself up. Probably not anyone else tho'.

Also, MARLIN ARE NOT SWORDFISH! STOP LABELING THEM AS SUCH! They're in different families, jeez!

And whale harpoons. Do not want.

Current Mood: amused

Looking for depictions of Native Americans swordfishing for a presentation for work and came upon this story, which is based on the Chumash legend, namely that the swordfish speared whales and threw them on the beach, thus providing people with food.

Swordfish Story

Swordfish seem to be a bit cruel, but then so do a lot of large predators.

Speaking of predators, I see there's a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out - the mouse people just sent me an email alerting me to the fact, but a day or too ago while looking for something else, I stumbled across a year-old blog entry saying that it may or may not be based on one of my favorite Tim Powers books, On Stranger Tides - which is also the subtitle of the movie. Apparently he sold the movie rights to the book to Disney back in the 80's. While this is one of their franchises I've been pretty pleased with, I hope they've adapted the story adequately. While it has none of the same characters, I can see a lot of parallels between them.

Also, I know getting up and walking away too fast can give you a head rush. I just wish it would occur a little closer to my office chair rather than when I'm halfway down the hall to the bathroom...

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: The Chieftains With Lila Downs - La Iguana

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: The Chieftains With Lila Downs - La Iguana

I'd always kind of wondered how Google Maps got its Street View pics. This morning I was driving to work and, trying to be a good driver and constantly keep my eyes moving, noticed something odd in my rear view mirror. A small car with a very large Thingie...

( and unfortunately, then I was a very poor driver because I tried to take a picture of it... )

Current Mood: curious

Current Mood: curious

(because it popped up when I opened the LJ post page instead of Semagic - I must have written it and then closed the page...)

[Error: unknown template qotd]

You mean I don't have that right right now? When did it become illegal to bore all my LJ friends with endless pictures of my progeny? Actually you don't get that unless you look at my Flickr account, which you won't look at unless you're nuts.

Seriously though. It seems to me that everyone posting that no one should post any pictures on the internet at all are being a trifle paranoid. Does this apply to school yearbooks? Pictures in the paper? A crowd shot on television? For god's sake, anyone can see your face any time you go to the store. Are you going to put a paper bag over your head every time you leave the house? Fears of photos "getting into the wrong hands"? Yeah, creepy, but it's a file or a piece of paper; it's not my child. Pedophiles have always been around; they just get more media coverage now, and we can find out better where they are. There is no personal or locational information except for first names (I haven't gone as far as making up nicknames for them, like some people do) attached to any of them; they may be in a public place, but anyone can be in a public place. And very few people look at my stuff anyway.

I started this journal to remember stuff and I take photos for the same reason. And I reserve the right to embarrass them on any occasion - up to and including the nekkid baby pictures to their first date, except I don't actually have any of those. I thought that was a parent's job. ;p

Current Mood: cranky

Current Mood: cranky

Wow, I just realized I only need about 448 points to get another $25 in gift cards (for a total of $75) at Gather.com. I've gotten over 1000 points in the last few months for only putting up a few things. I should really start posting more pictures and photo essays over there. People seem to look at those more than anything else. Does anyone else here post over there? I'll look at your stuff if you look at mine... ;)

I know I also have enough points at MyPoints.com for over $100 worth of something - I should really cash these in before the holidays. It'd help a lot. The last time I did I got Starbucks cards for my coworkers, which then got lost before I could give them to them. Derp.

Speaking of gift cards, I keep seeing these ads for selling gift cards you don't want, with someone (a graduating senior maybe) pulling one out of a card and saying, "A gift card? Again? Why is everyone giving me these?" Or another person throwing them into a drawer in annoyance. Really? People hate them that much? With the exception of getting one from a place you absolutely would not want anything from - say, my giving everyone on my friend's list a card for Bass Pro Shops - would you really throw away a card, just because it's a card instead of a gift? We were regularly giving gift cards for bookstores when my kids went to birthday parties. Reading is always good, but that way, we're not stepping on toes in case other parents - who we don't know well - don't care for our selections of books - some people are pickier than others. Then again, if there's someplace I can buy a gift card for myself or other's at a discount, more power to it.

I guess it must come down to me not being very practical. Even when I was eating the same pot of lentil soup for a week in college, or back east when I was a fisheries observer, I would have appreciated a card for books or music, if such things existed at the time. A good story'll take your mind off the fact you've been eating the same thing for that long.

Current Mood: musing

Current Mood: musing

Okay.

Received in the mail, one envelope with a Canada postmark.

Containing one letter that appears to be recruiting mystery shoppers, and instructions on what to do with the rest of the evelope's contents; the letterhead's address says Imperial, California, and an email address for a survey company. Also a survey form, and what appears to be a cashier's check for the amount of $2,408.18, drawn on a credit union in Troy, NY. The contact information on the website listed on the letter only has the address of the software company in Romania. Enough red flags yet?

We do occasionally do market research-type stuff, so it was possible this might be legit, however I looked them up at Better Business Bureau and here's their report - they get an F, with links to tips on Work-at-home, Mystery Shopper, and Fake Check scams. Also four complaints, listed as unpursuable.

Right. Feed directly into shredder, I'm thinkin'.

Avoid esurveyspro dot com.

ETA - Discussed this with some friends and lunch, and while I was intending to phone the credit union on the check, they think it ought to be reported to the Post Office as well, as mail fraud.

Current Mood: suspicious
Current Music: Money for Nothing and Your Checks for Free

Current Mood: suspicious
Current Music: Money for Nothing and Your Checks for Free

So I joined Gather.com about six months ago, and these were my thoughts when I joined:

...might as well check this place out. So, it's somewhat nicer-looking than MySpace, although still littered with ads. I can't really personalize my own page, but it's meant as a portal for others. A slightly different premise than LJ, I guess; it looks like it's really more geared to writing specifically for public consumption, whereas, when I started at LJ it was mostly for me, so I wouldn't forget stuff. The level of maturity seems to be a bit higher here as well (as far as age and the number of icons showing people with grey hair, anyway - emotional maturity is a whole 'nother story)- very little netspeak in evidence, thank gods.

Hmm, comments aren't threaded - inconvenient, but no more so than bulletin boards, I guess. Unfortunately, not drama-free, but I suppose that's impossible given human nature. So many Groups, and so many articles being posted to bunches of them - eek! Somewhat overwhelming, on first glance; two, I was added to automatically when signing up (or got a contest entry for doing so), but they seem interesting enough, although I'm too broke to travel much (except when work foots the bill), and the only place I travel by train lately is around Dismalland. I'm a little suprised that groups of a fannish nature seem to be somewhat in the minority - or maybe I just haven't looked around enough. What, more bribes just for participating? Well, I'd do it for free, but ok - although that seems to imply they have to pay people to stay here... I'd appreciate it if I could edit my tags, but I guess I can live with it.

I've been a member of Gather.com for about six months now, and although I don't post a whole lot there, or even comment very much, I have enough points for for a $10 Borders or Home Depot card or I could donate it to KPCC (I'd rather KCRW, but that choice isn't offered). About half that is due a recent promotion wherein you got 10 pts. per picture posted. Better than a swift kick in the keester, I suppose. I could've got more but I thought it ended sooner than it did. However, this promotion resulted in people posting a lot of crap (mine included I suppose), just for the points - there are a lot of pictures posted anyway

However, I am so used to the way LJ works, that navigating around that site is kind of uncomfortable for me. I find I really dislike have to check back to see if a comment I made had any response to it and there no way to save posts I'd like to return to unless I bookmark it. Articles and images by people who have friended you show up on your "My Gather" page, but groups only show up as a logo when an article has posted there; you actually have to go to the group page to see artcle titles. You can be notified of all of these changes by email, but so far that's resulted in a bunch of email (luckily in my Gather folder so it can be deleted easily) on articles that I'm not likely to read. I suppose I could set up an RSS feed or something, that might make it easier.

Yesterday's entry in Dooce gives an hilarious accounting of Heather's dog finally passing a corndog stick he ate quite a while ago. Hilarious to me and other parents, I guess, who have not quite passed the obsession with poop that develops when you have un-pottytrained children. What really got me though, was that at the bottom of the article, complete with photo of the offending object that had made a complete migration through a dog's entire digestive system, were the ubiquitous Google ads - for corndog fryers, and corndog equipment.

Current Mood: giggly
Current Music: Dinotopia - animated movie

Current Mood: giggly
Current Music: Dinotopia - animated movie

I love all kinds of animation, and I obviously love anime, or I wouldn't be wasting so much of my time on it. I do have some little annoyances with it though. Please note that I am in no way trained in doing any kind of animation, aside from a flipbook or two I doodled in school notebooks when the lectures were boring. My art experience is limited to a handful of drawing classes in high school and junior college, eons ago.

One of the reasons I like Cowboy Bebop and others like it so much is the animation is fairly sophisticated and realistic-looking. There is very little use of what I'll call "shorthand" - the stylized sweat-dropping, veins-popping, chibi-appearing, fangs-growing, kitty-faces, expression of emotion. We get what the characters are feeling without being beat over the head with it. I think Faye gets googly-eyes for exactly one frame, when she surprises (or rather, is surprised by) Gren in the shower. I really didn't care for Tenchi in Tokyo (Shin Tenchi, I think?) just because that kind of shorthand seemed really over used. It was annoying. For some reason, this doesn't bother me so much in Fullmetal Alchemist - maybe because without it, it would be hard to tell what Al was feeling at all, since he spends most of his appearance in the show as a big metal suit of armor. So I can put up with a little "shorthand," as long as it fits the context, and isn't overdone.

What does bug me, even in a fairly high quality shows like CB or Trigun is this. Note the following graphic, which someone sent me in an email.

( walking... )

( Noses... )

All ranting aside, I really have very little to complain about. For the most part, in the face of so much network programming in the form of "reality" shows, I'm grateful for a form of entertainment that's given me so many hours of pleasure, and that it's become so much more available, even in the few years I've been watching it.

( An aside - Google oddities... )

(crossposted to

anime and

otaku_over_30)

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Cowboy Beebop - Cats on Mars

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Visit the kelpforest....

...fresh amphipods served daily.

Entries tagged with intarwebs

Anyone use Gather.com?

Google doodle for Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday....

Of Obsession, Love and Interspecies Relationships...

Fishing boats...

Fishing boats...

Swords and pirates...

Swords and pirates...

(no subject)

(no subject)

One of those writer's block thingies I forgot to post....

One of those writer's block thingies I forgot to post....

Points n' cards...

Points n' cards...

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(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

I love it...

I love it...

Some fannish nitpicking...

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March 2016

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