Allies

My mother and I ordered cookbooks today.

I am the family's foremost expert on internet shopping. My mantra when out shopping with people is 'Don't buy that, I could get it cheaper online'. It's a double-defense against spending money-- most of the time, this is true, and half the time I forget by the time I arrive in the vicinity of a computer I was going to look for something. By walking out of the store without buying anything at that moment, I save myself lots of money.

So she's been looking for this Italian cookbook for awhile, and because it's out of print, it's impossible to find in stores. I, however, have found it, and ordered it with everything else (I didn't tell her; I'm giving it to her as a Christmas present.). Also, I believe I ordered it for like $11.90 (New copies start at around $24 dollars).

She also wanted this Martha Stewart Cookie cookbook, which I'm still a little skeptical of. Martha Stewart does not much impress me; completely aside from whatever financial issues went down not too long ago, she seems rather awkward on television. She says 'umm' a lot-- very distracting. I only know this because my mother's weekday caregiver watches daytime television, right outside my studio, I've got to make sure I'm properly fortified on a daily basis from the assaults of Martha, Montel, Ellen Degeneres (who, to her credit, is fairly funny, but I'd rather her stand-up), and a variety of Soap Operas.

But anyway, the Cookies book was purchased for like $15 (list price $25). Along with it, she bought for me Izakaya, an omni-book about Japanese pubs. Yes, I am not joking. It contains information, etiquette, traditions, recipes, and sake recommendations. She said she had been wanting to get me an Oriental cookbook, but we browsed and couldn't find anything we liked, so I started looking under other subjects. I think I found this one under the 'bestsellers' section. It was about $15 (list price $25) as well, and ordering them together meant shipping was free. See? I'm pretty good at this.

Finally, I tracked down this fantastic cookbook, which I first encountered from the recently married Bethany of upstairs-in-Savannah fame. It's like a CD one loves every track to: every recipe in this book is golden. I borrowed her copy to make photocopies, but I forgot before I left, and I despaired because I know Marshall Field's closed and who knew if they were still printing the cookbook. I netted it for $21 (New copies start at $31).

It's sort of like a game-- find the item at a financially advantageous price. You must take shipping into account, especially because shipping costs have risen lately, so product plus handling fees must still be reasonably cheaper than going out to the store and purchasing it. This is why I'm still very cautious about the PSP I might try and purchase, because according to my preliminary research, there is too small a gap between online and store price. Ebay auctions in this case are deceptive-- though there are numerous items up, they all tend to even out to about the same price in the end, and it only happens in the last few minutes of the auction. I've seen lots of PSPs for like, $80-$130, only to see them finally sell for about $180. Add about ten dollars shipping, and really, what's the point? I could go to Gamestop and pick up a used version for less. ...Not like I'm going to get a used one, necessarily. Good battery life, remember, is the goal.

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2007.html

And another city specific joke.

Fisherman's Wharf is a popular tourist attraction area in San Francisco. It's lively and busy and a lot of fun to wander around - I know, having been there a few times myself.

I'm beginning to entertain the idea of getting a handheld gaming system. I miss playing games, and honestly, I've begun to run thin on the offerings of the currently owned/have rights to by blood systems about the house. I would like a Wii most of all I think, but the major pull for me with a handheld involves my love of travel and the looming long plane commutes. If I have a good game, I could knock a 13-hour flight to its knees. Case in point: traveling to Italy and back with Metroid Fusion, Sword of Mana (DESPITE its hobbled and holey plot), and Mario & Luigi's Superstar Saga, there was no real traveling discomfort. Just a battery that couldn't quite last the entire way there.

The practical thing to do would be to get a PSP, as my youngest bro already has a DS, and then take them both with me to Japan (rights by blood to the systems, remember?). When one goes out, I still have the other to fall back upon, and there are many games for both systems which I would like to play. This is of course assuming 'practical' comes with a few hundred dollars for the system and then the games on top of that.

Another possibility is to buy the PSP in Japan-- I understand so far it is compatible with American and Japanese games both (which would be nice for working on the Japanese skills). This doesn't negate the purchasing power that must be had, but with where my resources are allocated right now, I have the money in Yen, but not dollars. ...So perhaps something to think about as I continue to do research.

I worry about buying a used one, as the major thing I need is battery life. Perhaps a refurbished one can be procured for less.

Anyway, I have felt a great desire to game lately. I don't know why. Maybe 'cause I haven't done it in awhile, and I want to play something fun. I think perhaps I want to do something that doesn't involve work once in awhile. Something relaxing. Something that may not necessarily have a constructive component to it. And I love good games! I wish I had a good game to play.

...That wouldn't suck the life from me and demand the next hundred hours of my life. That would be nice.

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2006.html

The pirates clearly have a pretty low opinion of French combat tactics.

I don't.

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2005.html

Information on cheek kissing in Russia on the net is a bit contradictory, so I'm not entirely sure how common this actually is. It does seem as though it might be reasonable though, which is good enough!

And anyway, maybe Dr Ginny Smith is just pretending...

Man. I just read the most depressing article about how bees (I have some bee-infested trees, remember?) are 'becoming extinct' and 'it is said' that once bees are extinct, human beings will follow in about four years.

I dislike speaking in absolutes (I am jedi, not sith), and don't wish to scoff right out, but... seriously? If bees die, we go too? And in only four years? Am I the only one that thinks that sounds a bit ridiculous?

I've shifted gears from my writing and artwork to my commissions, which as usual, are slow-going. I got a fair amount done today, and I aim to have all of one and most of the other done tomorrow. I did a little writing, but I'm tired and need to let the upcoming few events marinate as I decide how best to approach them. I had originally planned the Planned story to be told in comic form, so switching it over to completely written word is giving me some small headaches here and there in terms of dramatic revelations. This particular upcoming event involves three characters, and technically it's told from only one of their perspectives, but I would like to included a little bit from another character to round it all out. It sounds so simple, writing it like that, but please believe me when I say it's very difficult to pull off in a narrative, switching points of view and keeping the audience properly oriented on everything. It's not hard to do when switching scenes, but when that POV switches within a scene a few times...

Anyway, quietly working away on everything.

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2004.html

Having grown up with this knowledge, it's not actually clear to me that it's clear to anyone who hasn't grown up with it* that Knock is a Dungeons & Dragons spell used to open locked doors. It's a reasonably sensible name, and you could probably work out from context that that's what it's supposed to do. But it's hard for me to judge how obvious that is to anyone who didn't already know it.

* I'm wantonly proud of this particularly convoluted bit of grammar.

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2003.html

It's considerably easier for me to the paste a starfield into the background that the on-planet scenes I was using for a long time there. Phew.

In chapter 4 of Takemoto Izumi's Transistor Venus, Enus runs into some other spies on a train. In chapters 5 and 6, Enus poses as a maid and uses a rather unconventional method to get information out of the other maids.

i admit that i totally don't know how to use adobe photoshop. oh, don't say i didn't try, because i did.....i DID, but it only cause my brain to explode! XO

it's weird actually, but that's the fact. so, instead of forcing myself to understand that photoshop thingies, i settled for a new software that i just installed= Corel Painter X. feel the magnificent vibes!!

ohohoho, and i'm able to say that i CAN USE it!! muahahaha!! \(^o^)/
yea, so i went on and pick any one of my pic that i drew before and used it as a target for my new experiment. snicker

and WA-LAH! a coloured version of mrs' kuga~


honestly, Corel Painter is sooo much easier to use than Adobe Photoshop in my opinion....
but then again, i say that because i'm the only one who don't know how to use the great Adobe Photoshop..... pity me, huuu. 

oh well, on the side note......

 

http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2002.html

I considered putting a punchline in the last panel, but then I realised it was even funnier if it was left out.

Make your audience feel clever for working out what you're not saying. It's a good trick.