Mad Max

Sounds like you have one these cats: http://www.pwasoh.com/media/catattack/wildcat.mov Later, Laszlo

My wife and I are both artists. We've done exactly this with our "studio" (a converted bedroom). It's off limits to the cat. She knows she's not supposed to be in there, but just in case I've put one of those ultrasonic "cat scrams" in the hallway by the door. That way I can leave the door open in the summer (when it gets hot and stuffy) without worrying about feline intrusions if I go take a break. I learned this after one of my first painting contests, when my dragon took 1st but was real close with the 2nd place dragon. That one had little bits of paint missing on the wings. I heard the judge talking with the painter afterwards, saying it may have been first except for those. "Oh," she said "yeah, the cat got to it last night and I didn't have time to fix it..." I secured the room the next day. :twitch: Take care, Laszlo

Yeah, he must be harkening back to his old S&M-looking models for Inferno. Still, I like this one a lot, even with the bondage leg bindings. I'm seeing it as some summoning circle set-up (the circled skulls, the imp). Very reminescent of Fastner & Larson's "Demon Baby": http://www.sqpinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=STAOF&Product_Code=P-DB I love Klocke's stuff for Reaper by I've not been as interested in his own Freebooter stuff. I think he goes off on weird tangents in the minis and does some odd poses which you don't get with the Reaper models (he's following their art direction there). But this one I'd probably pick up, remove the straps and make into some sort of diorama. Take care, Laszlo

Best cyberpunk book ever.... It has all the elements (virtual worlds, software, hip tech, global conspiracy) but with more plot and characterization than Gibson ever threw at any of his works. Raven, the villain, is indeed amazingly badass. The vision of a future America broken into autonomous "burbclaves" who self-goven (withness the Disney and Thomas Kinkade planned communities), is the ultimate extrapolation on consumer culture. Mix in ancient religious mysteries, hipper-than-hip skate rats, heroic Mafiosos and you have a heck of a book! Other things to consider that are "tangental", but contribute to the genre's development or hint at it's future: Vernor Vinge - "True Names" Short story. One of the earliest representations of what would later be called "cyberspace". "Fast Times at Fairmont High" Short Story. On the other end of the spectrum a logical interpolation of what it may be like to be in high school when *everyone's* jacked into the net and the world has to create "technology free" zones... Don't forget genre films: "Bladerunner" I can't say much that hasn't been said about this piece of cinematic art, but it pre-shadows much of what was to become "cyberpunk". Very 'post-modern' as the film majors like to say. Two of the Rezolution minis (CSO Rangers IIRC) are sculpted to look like Dekker and Rachael. "Circuitry Man" a low-budget 80's film with a beautiful cyberpunk sensibility. At one point the villain jacks into a car to drive it Early cinematic views of cyberspace. Sarcastic, dystopian... Other stuff - Ghost in the Shell (anime movie or TV series.) Just give up trying to understand the plot. Watch the cool trappings. Max Headroom - from the original British TV movie to the US series, it's all good. Take care, Laszlo

Ahem... You mean the Herculoids?!? Greatest Hanna-Barbara show *ever*. No, never heard of it... Later, Laszlo

"Ookla! Ariel! RIDE!!!" Loved it.... I can still drive the wife from the room in under a minute watching it Take care, Laszlo

Well, advertisers and channels have clued into the marketing frenzy of kids, so there are so many "blocks" of cartoons now that saturdays have lost that spark. Cartoons before school, after school, before bed, etc. Personally I agree with Eric in that most of the stuff nowadays is crap... Not just "crap" because heck I watched a lot of crap that I can't rewatch now (Hanna-Barbara anyone?) but things that are SO blatantly into product marketing (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-O) or that are just unwatchable/borderline bad for kids. Things with too much violence (yes, I sound like a fuddy-duddy, but I don't remember a lot of people *really* dying in my cartoons. as happens nowadays...) I watched my daughter's TV intake and make sure to avoid anything with just random violence, though it's getting harder and harder to do... TIVO has been a godsend in that regard - I record shows she likes and are parent approved. She gets to watch them any time she wants (well, if she's been good and she hasn't exceeded her TV allowance for the day.) In effect any time can be "Saturday morning" for her, but I at least we have some say into what she's watching. And occasionally we get to coincide our tastes, like watching Teen Titans together. (She is such a future goth chick - her favorite's Raven!) Even I know to draw the line at things like Justice League, where the violence is a little more intense at times (she's 6). Cartoon creators are also pretty sly about including things to give the parents (who they know are watching) a chuckle - Planet of the Apes references on "Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi", etc. They know our generation (are probabaly *from* our generation) and throw us the occasional bone. Adult Swim is, of course, right out!! But damn funny for me and my wife... Take care, Laszlo

May not be a bad thing. The thing is if you learn to paint well using crappy tools you can actually switch to better tools and get *even* better. I used to be a nylon brush painter for years... Learned to get pretty good with them, curled tips and all. But it was hard to blend with them and I was using up a new paint brush for each mini I painted. Then I switched to kolinsky brushes and it was like my technique took a quantum leap! And the brushes last forever with proper care... I'm going on 8 months with my Da Vincis now.

While painting I just rinse them in the water, swirling them gently on the bottom of the jar to clean paint from the tip. After a full session I clean them with brush soap (Grumbacher brand). I use a crappy brush to sud up the soap then move the suds to my palm and swirl the kolinskys in them with a touch of water. I pull back the brush (never, ever push them!) or use a side to side motion until the suds get dirty with paint. I repeat as needed. After each session I use Mona Lisa brand "Pink Soap" to condition them. (It's a gentle lotion-like soap which doesn't clean well IMHO, but makes a great conditioner.) Dip the bristles in some of the soap, shape across your hand to a point, and let dry.

Exactly! Well, I exaggerate No, they're not as long as a true liner, but as you get smaller in size (smallest I use is a 2/0), their bristles remain long, whereas a Series 7 gets shorter. The Miniature Series 7 is shorter still. (In art terminology the Da Vinci's are 'pointed rounds' whereas the Series 7 are true 'rounds').

I agree with Klute on the Da Vinci's! The travel brushes are pretty pricey, but their normal brushes are in the price range of W&N Series 7: http://www.dickblick.com/zz058/18/ You can get a brush for mini painting in the $9 range. Also, I'd consider their much cheaper "Harbin" range: http://www.dickblick.com/zz058/08/ I picked up an 0 'Maestro' and a 2/0 'Harbin' and frankly I can't tell the difference in quality! They are both excellent brushes. I personally love these brushes! I've searched around for an alternative to Series 7 brushes and these are the best I've found. Why no Series 7? I've had really bad luck with them - the ones I bought online always split the tip (sometimes the *same* day I first used them) and lost hairs. Their QA sucks! I used to think this was because I bought them online, but one of my friends from Germany bought some in an art store in Los Angeles and had the same problems, even after he tested them out at the store... I think you can get good Series 7 brushes, but W&N are riding on their rep at this point and not being as careful in the production. I'd rather have a usable brush I pay $9 for over one that has a chance of being crappy... Now that said, the Da Vinci brushes are "liner" style, with longer bristles, whereas the Series 7 has shorter bristles (esp. the 'miniature' line). That may be an issue depending on personal prefence and painting style. I've long used liner style brushes so it's no problem for me.