Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I've revamped the look of the blog here. The red/orange was starting to look dull and I wanted a change. I may be changing the background again if I can get the original wallpaper to work (can't get it to not tile... and tile tiny) but for now, I like how this looks.
Ok, just wanted to do a quick update. I'm not too awake at the moment honestly. I'll do a real update soon.
-Kat
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Random thought...
What is our facination with pictures of very cute, small, or weird looking animals and adding captions on how they want to kill us. Why do we all find these funny? I don't know... but it works. No matter how "tired" of these things you may be you'll eventually find one of these pictures that will bring a smile to your face.
Why do I bring this up? Because usually these things don't get me, but this one got me laughing. I just can't get over the wall-eyed cat w/ no ears. Kinda reminds me of the Bizarro version of Krypto from the Superman Animated Series. Like it wants to claw your eyes out... it just doesn't know where you are.
-Kat
Monday, January 19, 2009
"Save the Sea Kittins!" It's too stupid to keep to myself.
Oh PETA. :shakes head: words fail me on how stupid this is.
It
Just
Baffles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you eat a sea kitten?
January 16, 2009
Posted: 12:46 PM ET
You don’t have to look at the page views of Web sites like cutelittlekittens.com to know that a lot of people adore
kittens. Conversely, not as many people adore fish — in fact, cutelittlefish.com gives a “page load error,” and
cutefish.com has only the number 0.
The animal rights campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, has decided to play off of
our awe of kittens by re-branding fish as “sea kittens” in order to discourage people from killing and eating them.
“Would people think twice about ordering fish sticks if they were called Sea Kitten sticks? Help us save fish by
changing their names!” PETA writes on its Web site.
The new sea kitten Web portal is complete with a petition, cute little stories about sea kittens — some attend
Clamster University! — and a tool to design your own sea kitten. The petition has more than 4,544 signatures as of
this writing.
“Given the drastic situation for this country’s sea kittens — who are often the victims of many major threats to their
welfare and ways of life — it’s high time that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stop allowing our little sea
kitten friends to be tortured and killed. Who’d want to hurt a sea kitten anyway?!” the Web site says.
How far will this “sea kitten” label extend? Will people find themselves ordering the “Chilean striped sea kitten with
mashed potatoes”?
Certainly there are already vegetarians out there who do not consume fish for ethical reasons. Princeton professor
Peter Singer, famous for his arguments about why not to consume meat, similarly advocates avoiding eating fish in
Animal Liberation, although notes that things do get fuzzier when considering simpler forms of marine life, such as
mollusks and oysters.
Of course, besides being a favorite delicacy at restaurants and family dinners, fish also form part of specific eating
rituals in certain cultures. For example, in China, the fish is served whole — with the head and tail intact — to
represent prosperity, especially on Chinese New Year’s Eve. In Slovakia, it is traditional to let a carp swim in the
family bathtub in the days before the feisty critter becomes part of the Christmas meal. And, it is a Jewish custom eat
fish on the Sabbath, one reason being that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for fish, “dag,” adds up to 7, and
the Sabbath is the 7th day.
So what do you think: Is it ethically acceptable to eat fish? Will the sea kitten campaign be effective? Would your
goldfish mind being called a sea kitten?
http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/16/would-you-eat-a-sea-kitten/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
All I can ask is... "why?"
-Kat
It
Just
Baffles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would you eat a sea kitten?
January 16, 2009
Posted: 12:46 PM ET
You don’t have to look at the page views of Web sites like cutelittlekittens.com to know that a lot of people adore
kittens. Conversely, not as many people adore fish — in fact, cutelittlefish.com gives a “page load error,” and
cutefish.com has only the number 0.
The animal rights campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, has decided to play off of
our awe of kittens by re-branding fish as “sea kittens” in order to discourage people from killing and eating them.
“Would people think twice about ordering fish sticks if they were called Sea Kitten sticks? Help us save fish by
changing their names!” PETA writes on its Web site.
The new sea kitten Web portal is complete with a petition, cute little stories about sea kittens — some attend
Clamster University! — and a tool to design your own sea kitten. The petition has more than 4,544 signatures as of
this writing.
“Given the drastic situation for this country’s sea kittens — who are often the victims of many major threats to their
welfare and ways of life — it’s high time that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) stop allowing our little sea
kitten friends to be tortured and killed. Who’d want to hurt a sea kitten anyway?!” the Web site says.
How far will this “sea kitten” label extend? Will people find themselves ordering the “Chilean striped sea kitten with
mashed potatoes”?
Certainly there are already vegetarians out there who do not consume fish for ethical reasons. Princeton professor
Peter Singer, famous for his arguments about why not to consume meat, similarly advocates avoiding eating fish in
Animal Liberation, although notes that things do get fuzzier when considering simpler forms of marine life, such as
mollusks and oysters.
Of course, besides being a favorite delicacy at restaurants and family dinners, fish also form part of specific eating
rituals in certain cultures. For example, in China, the fish is served whole — with the head and tail intact — to
represent prosperity, especially on Chinese New Year’s Eve. In Slovakia, it is traditional to let a carp swim in the
family bathtub in the days before the feisty critter becomes part of the Christmas meal. And, it is a Jewish custom eat
fish on the Sabbath, one reason being that the numerical value of the Hebrew word for fish, “dag,” adds up to 7, and
the Sabbath is the 7th day.
So what do you think: Is it ethically acceptable to eat fish? Will the sea kitten campaign be effective? Would your
goldfish mind being called a sea kitten?
http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/16/would-you-eat-a-sea-kitten/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
All I can ask is... "why?"
-Kat
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The most hillarious review I have ever read of a horrid comic.
No, you are not hallucinating... nor is it the work of a photoshop prankster. Nope, this is a panel from Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #53. Chris's Invincible-Super-Blog gives this "gem" of a comic one hell of a hilarious review. If you haven't read it yet, go there now and do so. You won't be disappointed.
In fact, because of this review, I plan on picking up this issue the next time I'm at my LCS. I have never in my life wanted to pick up an issue of Tarot, but this is a bad that I must have. To share and laugh at for years to come.
-Kat
Another Oldie
This is another piece that I did a few years ago that, since I don't have anything new to share, I'm posting up. Tentatively I've entitled it "Frost" but lately I've been thinking about naming it "Depression" instead. Kinda lets you know where my head was when I did it, huh. :)At the time I was experimenting with stark black pictures w/ the image behind giving it depth and mood. I only did two pieces this way. This is something that I've thought about going back to, but I'm honestly having too much fun doing the pencil pin-ups right now. Maybe some day... but I think the subject matter will be a bit happier. :wink:
As you can see by this piece and the previous tattoo (and my sketches) I love putting chops as my signature. This one was an early experiment with designing my own chop. I still like using it but lately I've been using one based on my initials.
The model is a woman from England who goes by Lady D Chaos. Very beautiful and very fun to draw. Check her out if you've got a free moment.
-Kat
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Squid Tattoo
It's been a little while since I posted a drawing. Unfortunately I don't have anything recent that I think is worth showing so I'll share with you a tattoo that I designed a few years ago. I plan on getting this on the inside of my right ankle.
Why a squid? It's a joke left over from my mom's D&D group when I was a kid. That and cephalopods are cool. :)
-Kat
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Holocaust Survivor Tries to get Paintings Back.
Ok, I'm not one for jumping in on "causes" because most of them are crap and boarder on being a scam. This one, however, touched me and I just want to share it.
Read The Full Article at The Pulse:
I will warn you that I think the author of this article went a bit over the top in some parts with his description of the issue. Making statements like "The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum should not be allowed to continue to perpetrate the tragedy that was the Holocaust." Just a bit too sensationalistic if you ask me... but I think the overall message and story are worth sharing.
Long story short, Dina Gottliebova Babbitt survived the Holocaust and saved her mother's life by painting portraits of Mengele's "subjects" because he didn't like photography. 30yrs. ago some of her paintings resurfaced and are now at the Auschwitz Holocaust Museum. Dina has asked the museum to return the paintings to her, stating that they can still display good quality replicas of the paintings (something they are already doing according to the article) but she would like the originals back. They have refused, claiming that they belonged to Mengele himself and were "work for hire".
Now, I can understand that, this is a museum and they want the prestige of having the originals in their possession. But if they are displaying replicas anyway, what's the harm in giving back the originals? And I'm sorry but "paint or be gassed" does not equal "work for hire" in my book.
So, at the very least, take the time to read the sections "Dina Babbitt's Story" and "Immovable Object: The Auschwitz Museum" in this article. Then, if you are so inclined, send the Museum an email. Their address is at the bottom of the article.
Thank you.
-Kat
Read The Full Article at The Pulse:
I will warn you that I think the author of this article went a bit over the top in some parts with his description of the issue. Making statements like "The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum should not be allowed to continue to perpetrate the tragedy that was the Holocaust." Just a bit too sensationalistic if you ask me... but I think the overall message and story are worth sharing.
Long story short, Dina Gottliebova Babbitt survived the Holocaust and saved her mother's life by painting portraits of Mengele's "subjects" because he didn't like photography. 30yrs. ago some of her paintings resurfaced and are now at the Auschwitz Holocaust Museum. Dina has asked the museum to return the paintings to her, stating that they can still display good quality replicas of the paintings (something they are already doing according to the article) but she would like the originals back. They have refused, claiming that they belonged to Mengele himself and were "work for hire".
Now, I can understand that, this is a museum and they want the prestige of having the originals in their possession. But if they are displaying replicas anyway, what's the harm in giving back the originals? And I'm sorry but "paint or be gassed" does not equal "work for hire" in my book.
So, at the very least, take the time to read the sections "Dina Babbitt's Story" and "Immovable Object: The Auschwitz Museum" in this article. Then, if you are so inclined, send the Museum an email. Their address is at the bottom of the article.
Thank you.
-Kat
Friday, January 2, 2009
Xmas Crafts
Sadly this is not all of the things we made. Some of the pictures didn't come out (probably because I wasn't shooting in good lighting) so I don't have all of them here. :( I'll post them as soon as I take the pictures (luckily the missing pieces are at the in-laws.)
Here is the infamous "Nutcracker Pimp." Josh and I were very happy with how this came out. Especially the hat and the pimp cane. :) Since we had been playing Saints Row I found it very funny to put the flure de le bling on his chain. I don't know if you can see it too well but I painted pink zebra stripes on his pants over the red. Also, after this picture was taken I added another large ruby ring to his right hand. That pimp'n arm has got to be strong, yo. :)
I love how this Tiki came out. It started out as a Gundam Goon kit we got for nearly nothing at our LCS and I couldn't have asked for a better model to work off of. It had so much canvas space on it that we could just go nuts and do whatever we wanted. It was Josh's idea to make this one a Tiki and he spray painted it brown. Then I painted in the details and made the grass skirt out of twine.
50's Bug Robot. Same model kit as the Tiki but with a few odds and ends added to it. Josh did a great job on this one. I personally love the props on his hands. :) There are model parts from a Tatchikoma model kit as well as a Black Widow (sorry, don't remember the official designation at the moment.)
And What Xmas is complete without a Santeria Alter. Voodoo Doll complete w/ pins in all the right places, doves placed just so, waiting to be sacrificed, and symbols of power written in blood. gotta love it. :) Again, Josh did a great job!
Gotta love the Gundam Hot Rod. Same model kit, this time Josh spray painted it silver, then I painted the flames on it. The back has flames too as well as more racing stripes down the legs. This one took For Ever to do. Seriously. I thought it would never get done. The problem was I had to do one layer of paint, wait for it to dry, then either do another color or touch up that one layer (the yellow has 2-3 coats on it.) Took me 3 evenings to do it. Oh well, at least while it dried I could work on the other ones. You can't see it very well in this picture but I was really proud of how the flames on the arms came out. I think next time I might just do the whole thing in silver w/ red flames.
And last, for now, is the Gundam Clown. Again, same kit (you can see why I love this model?!) I saw the "nose" part of the model and just had to do a clown. Started out as kind of a "joker" bot but he needed more color so now he's just a clown. :) Had fun gluing the red hair to the head. That was... um.. interesting. I'd never worked with doll hair before and it kept falling out. But, in the end I got it all to stick. Josh put the monocle on it last once it was all done. I think it adds a unique look to it.
I will post more once I get better pictures. What is missing is the "Polar Bear Xmas" that Josh did as well as the Vlad Tepesh Nutcracker (complete with Dracula Trophy.)
I will write about how New Years was next time too. :)
Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!
-Kat
Here is the infamous "Nutcracker Pimp." Josh and I were very happy with how this came out. Especially the hat and the pimp cane. :) Since we had been playing Saints Row I found it very funny to put the flure de le bling on his chain. I don't know if you can see it too well but I painted pink zebra stripes on his pants over the red. Also, after this picture was taken I added another large ruby ring to his right hand. That pimp'n arm has got to be strong, yo. :) I love how this Tiki came out. It started out as a Gundam Goon kit we got for nearly nothing at our LCS and I couldn't have asked for a better model to work off of. It had so much canvas space on it that we could just go nuts and do whatever we wanted. It was Josh's idea to make this one a Tiki and he spray painted it brown. Then I painted in the details and made the grass skirt out of twine.
50's Bug Robot. Same model kit as the Tiki but with a few odds and ends added to it. Josh did a great job on this one. I personally love the props on his hands. :) There are model parts from a Tatchikoma model kit as well as a Black Widow (sorry, don't remember the official designation at the moment.)
And What Xmas is complete without a Santeria Alter. Voodoo Doll complete w/ pins in all the right places, doves placed just so, waiting to be sacrificed, and symbols of power written in blood. gotta love it. :) Again, Josh did a great job!
Gotta love the Gundam Hot Rod. Same model kit, this time Josh spray painted it silver, then I painted the flames on it. The back has flames too as well as more racing stripes down the legs. This one took For Ever to do. Seriously. I thought it would never get done. The problem was I had to do one layer of paint, wait for it to dry, then either do another color or touch up that one layer (the yellow has 2-3 coats on it.) Took me 3 evenings to do it. Oh well, at least while it dried I could work on the other ones. You can't see it very well in this picture but I was really proud of how the flames on the arms came out. I think next time I might just do the whole thing in silver w/ red flames. And last, for now, is the Gundam Clown. Again, same kit (you can see why I love this model?!) I saw the "nose" part of the model and just had to do a clown. Started out as kind of a "joker" bot but he needed more color so now he's just a clown. :) Had fun gluing the red hair to the head. That was... um.. interesting. I'd never worked with doll hair before and it kept falling out. But, in the end I got it all to stick. Josh put the monocle on it last once it was all done. I think it adds a unique look to it. I will post more once I get better pictures. What is missing is the "Polar Bear Xmas" that Josh did as well as the Vlad Tepesh Nutcracker (complete with Dracula Trophy.)
I will write about how New Years was next time too. :)
Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!
-Kat
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