Just A Quicky #1

Here's a few more pieces of background art for my comic. I think they look really cool. There's some graffiti on a car in one that says "Fuck". To me that's hilarious because people, by and large are so un-creative that they only write swears on things. I didn't tell him to draw that, by the way. It just happened. I'll be posting the updated Meredith character model later this week.

Slowly But Surely

Awhile back I got the urge to write a comic set in Post-Apocalyptic America. The idea stemmed from a thought that popped into my head: Post-Apocalyptic Private Investigator. It doesn't sound that strange right? Well think about it again. Once society ends, there are a lot of jobs that go the way of Dodo: Actors, writers, and artists to name a few. Another one is private eye. What need is there for some one to find things and follow people? None. So what if someone wanted to be a P.I? He would be the only one in the wastes. At the very least that makes it easy for me to write him and the rest of the characters being all over the place. He's just on a new case that takes him to new places. It's a fantastic plot device.

But I'm off topic. The point is that I wrote a script for this story and went looking for someone to draw it. I found someone. His name is Juan Romera and he's Argentinean. He has a great style and liked the script. He recently sent me the initial character designs (Pictured Above) and I got very excited (Keep in mind that the two characters on the outsides will have minor changes to them). So he's drawing now and soon I'll see the first pages of my comic. After that I'm going to start pitching it to different comic publishers and hopefully I'll have a book on the stands by December. Keep in mind it might not be on every stand because it's an indy book from a first time writer but there's always a way to find it. Now it just needs a name.

Recipe #1: CFS Stew

Today, I make stew. It's been a few weeks since the last time I made stew and I figured it was about time. I thought I'd give a recipe of sorts for this stew. It isn't very hard but it does take awhile. And believe you me it is worth it.

INGREDIENTS

2 Pre-cooked rotisserie chickens

2 Bags of carrots (of 10 to 15 carrots each)

1 Bag of celery

1 Bag of potatoes, you can pick the kind but I prefer the big yellow ones.

1 Clove of garlic

1 Box of Goya chicken bullion

1 Box of chicken broth

1 Medium to large pan

2 Large pots

1 Strainer

1 Long wooden spoon

PROCESS

Take 1 potato, 2 carrots, 1 celery stick, and 1 piece of garlic. Peel the carrots and potato, then cut every thing. It's important to not throw the peelings away.

Get a medium to large pan, pour in olive oil and slosh it around until it covers the pan. Now put every thing in the pan once it starts sizzling. Keep it in there until it's all brown, stirring occasionally.

Take the two rotisserie chickens and peel all the meat off. Put the bones, skin and other miscellanea in one bowl and all the useable meat in another. this should take about a half-hour.

Once all the meat is deboned, put it in the fridge, you won't need it for a while. Take all the bones, browned vegetables and peelings and throw it in a Large pot, and I mean a really big pot, along with 2 packets of chicken bullion, another piece of garlic, and 1 cup of chicken broth. Fill the pot with water up to three to four inches from the top.

Put the pot, which by now should be heavy with bones and water and such, on to the stove top. Put it on high and wait until it boils.

Once it does boil, stir it for a few seconds and drop the heat until medium.

This is the longest part. Let it boil on medium for about three hours, stirring every twenty minutes or so. Add in what ever you think it needs. I usually drop in some salt, garlic powder, and more chicken bullion every now and then. If there's one thing I learned from my dad about cooking it's not to worry about exact proportions and time, just feel it out. But not literally because, hey, boiling.

About an hour and a half into cooking, start peeling potatoes, and carrots. Cut the carrots, potatoes, and celery into good sized pieces.

Once those three hours are up take it off the heat. Put another big pot, this one doesn't have to be quite as big as the other, in the sink. Put a strainer in the pot. Now carefully pour the contents of the Big big pot through the strainer into the smaller big pot. Once all the broth is out throw the bones and such away, you won't be needing it anymore. Make sure the strainer is one of those wire-y ones or else bones might slip through.

Pour the broth back into the Big big pot, after making sure that there are no bones or other ephemera in said pot.

Dump all of the chicken and vegetables into the pot with the broth. I usually put another piece of garlic in with it but that's just a personal preference. I also put 1 packet of chicken bullion and 1 more cup of chicken broth in there with a cup or two of water, to give it more broth.

Put it back on the stove on high. When it boils, drop it to medium again. Stir it every ten minutes or so. Let it sit on medium for an hour.

After the hour is up, it's ready to eat. But caution! it will be boiling lava hot. I usually let it sit for five to ten minutes. When it cools off a little there will be a film over the top of it. this part is delicious, just so you know.

And there you have it, CFS Stew. What does the "CFS" stand for you ask? That's simple: Chock Fulla S#!+. It's aptly named because it is full to the brim with chicken and veggies. I was sick of getting stew that was basically broth and you had go on a scavenger hunt for the good stuff. that's why I put so much in it. Enjoy it with your friends and family. It'll feed a bunch of people. I hope you like it.

Best!

The Device Has Been Modified

One of my favorite games in the whole wide world is Portal. This game is wildly inventive, crazy intriguing and very, very fun. The best thing about this game is the fact that you can keep playing it over and over again and it never gets boring

Lately I've been obsessed with Portal's backstory. It fits into the Half-Life universe (which is so in depth I won't even talk about it anymore) And I've been trying to uncover how. I know that the main company is the business rival of Half-Life's big company. I know pretty much all the knowledge that is available. But i need more.

I'm going crazy because I want to play portal but my Xbox red ringed and I need to send it out to Microsoft to be fixed. To cope with these itches I've watched youtube videos of someone playing, just to take the edge off a little bit. It's a sickness that need so be remedied.

The reason for this is that I've been trying to write a script for the Portal movie. I have a 3 day weekend this week so I'm going to spend it writing. It sounds exciting, I know.

Best!

It's Been A While

Let's just say that I've been busy. Classes for this month were winding down and I didn't exactly have a lot of time to myself. Well, I did but I spent it watching Dollhouse and catching up on my DVR's. Which was fine by me. I did do a lot of writing too. Oh. I think I just found the focus of this blog.

So first off, I like writing. Not so much like. I need to write. I have too damn many thoughts in my head and need a way to get them all out. That way is writing.

This week I've been kind of obsessed with a comic. Actually I've been obsessed with it for a while, but I digress. That comic is Planetary, written by Warren Ellis and masterfully drawn by John Cassaday. I've been trying to turn that into a TV series. There is so much that could be expanded there and I think I'm just the boy for the job.

In addition to that, I've been writing my own stuff: two TV pilots (That the term for the first episode, case you didn't know). One is a zombie show that focuses on a Global Response Team that goes around to human enclaves giving them supplies like food and solar panels and stuff. The other is a supernatural high school show that, I won't lie, borrows heavily from Buffy. It let me write a scene that made me laugh for an hour. It's something that reminded me of Elie, which is always a good thing.

Lastly, just today I got hit with the idea to make Portal, an awesome game, into a movie. I'm breaking it down right now so I can have a better grasp on it when I start writing it. The game is about a girl who wakes up in a testing center and is given a gun that can make, you guessed it, portals. It goes a lot deeper than that but I'm running out of things to say. I think this one might write itself.

Best!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

So I'm sitting here listening to music and all of a sudden Irish Whiskey comes on. Cool song, alright. Then Society by Eddie Vedder, ok. Then Knights of Cydonia by Muse, The Story by Brandi Carlisle, and Girl All The Bad Guys Want by Bowling For Soup. At that point I started freaking out. Those are the songs that each remind me of a different one of my friends from up in the NH (Josh, Elie, Layton, Jacob[who's down here but still], and NH in general). I think it's a sign. It's weird how they all came in rapid succession like that.

I want to go back already. At least I have a relatively easy month. Aside from advanced lighting I really don't have any classes. Documentary is all about post production on the doc we filmed. I think It'll be cool.

I found a letterer for my comic. He's good and he's cheap: just the way I like it. I just need to get a hold of Paul. I'm excited to see how the art is coming out.

Also, my tattoo healed. Just thought I would mention it. No more need to put aquaphor on it every hour. Sweet. And now I want another one. I've got some Ideas but not a lot of money. We'll see how it goes.

Best!

p.s. I just finished reading the entire series of Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday. Wow. It was the best comic I've ever read. And I've read a lot of comics.

Sometimes I Feel Like A Snowman

And by that, I mean I don't belong in florida. I got back from the NH yesterday and man do I miss it. I felt great all week when I was up there and today, my first day back, I awoke to a headache. Which is awesome I know. But enough about my bitchings let me get you caught up.

First off, it's been a while since my last blog. The reason for this is that I found it very difficult to keep my mouth shut about surprising my dad for his birthday. You see, my dad had no idea that I was coming home for his birthday. I showed up and he lost his shit. It was really cool. But everything I wanted to type on here was basically about how excited i was to be going back to New Hampshire and because my dad frequently reads my blog, I couldn't do that. So I just avoided it like the plague.

Secondly, I got a new tattoo. I love getting inked because afterwards, you will never be the same again. It's just a really cool feeling. Too bad I couldn't get one of the one I wanted. It was kind of friend dependent and one of my friends was really busy the whole day. No big deal.

Also, Royal pains is a very good show but it needs more Tucker and Libby. I love those two characters.

Best!