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![[Ike]](kitsunebadgesite.png) Rants Archive - Let's All See What Ike's Doing Now!
Customer: I'd like an order of your finest humility, please - 08 Oct 2008
Server: I'm sorry, we're 86ed on humility. Would you like some elitism instead?
This is something I've noticed about a number of artists, both those I've known in real life, and those I've come across online. It's as if people have forgotten that art is a labor of love and an endeavor of the heart, not an all-out race to one-up everyone and be the best, facetiously and otherwise.
It's even worse when one artist tries to put him or herself on the same level as a second artist and the second artist goes out of their way to make him or herself look superior to the former. It's even worse when the latter artist is largely insecure about their talent (they clearly have it, but they'll tell everyone that they lack it), but will take the opportunity to flaunt their (otherwise undeserved and unwarranted) superiority over you.
This really bothers me because, artists, we as a collective have absolutely no reason to be elitist for anything. Society already paints us as freaks because apparently we're all going to starve if we continue down the track we're on. It's even worse if we're cartoonists because then we're not going to make real money or get real notoriety from our art. You know, just like Van Gogh. Except Van Gogh didn't make his mark on the world until after he died. We have a chance to make a mark on the world NOW, and it's not going to happen if we're doing everything in our power to put each other down.
I mean, you can go putting everyone down that you like. In the long run, joking or actual elitism won't get you anywhere. There's no accounting for talent and not doing anything with it but taking jabs at fellow artists in the name of being funny or superior.
So tell me, all sarcasm aside, who's going to get farther? Is it:
A) The artist who clearly has talent, but is overly insecure of it, or
B) The artist who puts his or her insecurity aside long enough to actually accomplish something with it?
Another question? A and B, which of the two is more entitled to that sense of elitism, even though he or she will most likely not leverage it against their peers?
Think about it.
If you give a man a fish... - 08 Mar 2008
I'm sure you've heard this adage before:
"If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach a man a fish, he eats for life."
What bothers me is that people just don't freaking seem to get this anymore. What would it kill them to actually LEARN the skills they're begging other people to do for them and never again feel as though they're bothering that person?
Take me for example. I don't mind helping people. In fact, I love helping people. But there just comes a point where it's fucking ridiculous to a point where you want to punch a hole in the wall. At my university, I don't know how the hell this came about, but somehow I've come to be known as "the guy who knows computers".
Need help with that really easy Microsoft Word document? Talk to Ike, he's good with computers.
Need to right-click something in PowerPoint? Talk to Ike, he's good with computers.
Need to hack into the school's grading system and get your records changed? Talk to Ike, he's good with computers.
Need someone to scratch your ass? Talk to Ike, he's good with computers.
Seriously, it's nuts. What makes this all the more trifling for me is that I've developed such a nice guy persona, that if I were to say "no" for whatever reason (i.e. I have a test, I'm extremely busy, I'm sick, or someone in my family died), I'm apparently some kind of jerk or I'm being mean. If I'm called upon at 12 midnight (WHEN I'M TRYING TO SLEEP) and I say no, I'm twice the jerk I was before.
The number of times I've had to help people like this, it makes one wonder, "Gee Ike, why don't you start charging money?" I've tried. After that, they label me as a dick and move on about their business. Perhaps next time, I should remind them that I'm the only one who willingly breaks his own back to help them and that a little compensation for once would be nice.
Another thing that really irritates me is how nowadays, you have a disturbingly high number of people (in my experience) who claim exuberant proficiency in computers just because they know how to change the graphics on their MySpace pages.
No, I'm sorry folks. Tracing does not make you good at art. Copying CSS for your MySpace page does not make you great at computers.
Seriously, for all the time people spend talking trash on MySpace and oggling each other's pictures, why don't they invest that time into actually learning how to put together well-crafted letter in Microsoft Word, or learn how to build a basic webpage in SeaMonkey's composer window?
I mean, it's not exactly rocket science, but come on, I'm not going to drag my ass out of bed at 2 AM to help you with an assignment at the last minute just because you're too computer-illiterate to do it yourself, and all with no thanks when all is said and done amidst a stream of catty remarks and snide commentary.
tl;dr LEARN HOW TO USE THE DAMN COMPUTER
-de arimasu.
Rockin' for Brawl - 27 Nov 2007
I composed a long-ass supplementation to a bunch of existing theories that Megaman could likely already be in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Note that this doesn't confirm anything at all. It just sheds light on some possibilities.
Read on.
Last weekend was great - 25 Jul 2007
I've been meaning to write about this for a while.
If only summer didn't have to end, that would be great because then I could enjoy life a lot more at my own pace rather than this hustle and bustle we're moving at right now.
The thing is, my girlfriend came to town last weekend and for the entire Saturday I spent with her, I was the happiest man on Earth. I was so high on Cloud Nine, I could almost smell Cloud Ten.
She was here in Atlanta for a convention to raise money to build a hospital back in her family's village in Nigeria (I wish my village did these things more often). My brother and I went to the hotel where the convention was being hosted and we sat in on some of the meetings being held. I learned a lot and found it very informative.
However, a lot of the younger crowd had already fled the scene and she, my brother, and I were the only ones left at the meeting. Her dad (with whom I made absolutely sure to get acquainted with beforehand before I decided to do anything with his daughter) decided to let us go, seeing as she was falling asleep. The minute we got the word, we were out the door.
After about a 45-minute drive on the highway, we went back to my place. Originally, the plan was to go see "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", but the dismal ratings forced us to change our minds. We would've then gone to the mall just to browse around and have some alone time (as alone as you can get at the mall anyway). That plan failed immediately when she saw our copy of Mario Party 6 lying on the floor.
Instantly, we tossed out the plan of going to the mall altogether and played Mario Party 6 (with my brother and sister, whom she insisted join us [and I find this very touching]) for the next three hours. It was a blast. I've honestly never had that much fun with someone I liked. My brother and sister enjoyed themselves as well. I don't think they've ever enjoyed having one of my girlfriends over at the house as much as they did Saturday.
My dad, being the professional photographer that he is, took a lot of pictures of the two of us together, and even more of her alone (I think he likes my girlfriend as much as I do). I think my girlfriend really liked all the attention she was getting from my family.
When we had the chance to be alone, I gave her a birthday present, that poster I made on my dA (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/59407340/). Her impression was much better than I expected too :) I offered to sign it for her and she gladly agreed to it. I left a little message (nothing too mushy because my dad was in the room and she already knows how I feel about her anyway).
Somewhere around 7 PM, she called her dad to let him know that she'd be running a little late. Naturally, her dad got really pissed off. Both of us were nervous as to what would happen next when my dad picked up the phone and (holy flipping crap) saved the day for the both of us. If I never ask my dad for another favor again, that has to be the biggest favor he's ever done for me. My girlfriend's dad settled down as my dad explained the situation to him. We got everything cooled off and then returned her to the hotel.
Not much happened at the party that following night, but we did spend quite a bit of time with each other while also trying to mingle with the crowd (I suck at being a social butterfly, sue me). We also got to dance together for the first time which felt silly for me because I'm very stiff, but I really don't think she cared at all. She was enjoying spending the time with me.
She also gave me a really nice T-shirt that night. It's automatically my new favorite shirt for that reason alone :)
Wow, people sure are assholes - 30 Mar 2007
It's 4 AM. I'm deep in the middle of my sleep, my phone goes off.
"What the hell," I think to myself, "It's fucking 4 AM."
I ignore the calls a couple of times...then I decide to answer one of them. They're coming from a company called CDYNE. Apparently, some kid wants a copy of RFLegends. That's all fine and well.
I ask for names and everything, he gives a name. He goes as far as asking why HE has to BUY a copy of RFLegends. Uh...I'm not necessarily drawing the books for charity. I'm drawing RyuFox Legends for the fun of it, but if I can score some cash on the side with the use of a developed skill, why not, right?
Apparently, this guy supposedly knows me on the internet. He says, "I thought you were cool, but I guess you're not." He's pissed off because he isn't getting a free copy of RFLegends. Oh well, no biggie.
For the next thirty minutes, I'm getting a steady stream of phone calls through this CDYNE service. I get pissed off to the point where I actually turn it off. I'm not answering the phone but I'm certainly not going to keep listening to the damn thing ring this early in the morning.
About an hour or so later, I turn the phone back on, and I'm greeted by several incriminating messages.
One is from a "concerned parent" who wants me to take RFLegends off the shelves and stop writing the series because their kids somehow imitated some of the violence in the book and injured each other. This "concerned parent" also went as far as saying this all happened because of this "piece of trash comic" I bought for their "son". Wow, someone's holding quite a grudge there.
I get two more messages saying I won't sleep tonight. Damn right I won't sleep tonight, you fucking woke me up at 4 in the morning, jackass. How the hell will I get back to sleep now?
I have no idea what the flying hell is going on, but at least I've gotten an IP out of this :D
Whoever you are, say bye bye to your ISP.
Damn, Lulu's fuckin' up! - 06 Feb 2007
Let me start off with a note I received from our publisher today.
With the growing number of Lulu titles entering the retail channels, we've discovered we are causing our customers serious confusion. Over time, many Lulu authors have their book listed in the Lulu Marketplace at a price that is lower than their retail price. Customers simply don't understand why a book would be priced differently in different places.
Furthermore, as Lulu continues to expand on an international scale, markets such as the Netherlands, Japan and Germany, require a fixed price by law. While we'll leave the political debates for another time, the purpose of these consumer protection laws is to avoid the confusion we've been seeing. Customers wonder if the book they are looking at on a book retailing site is the same one as the one they see on Lulu, when the price is so different.
To ensure Lulu Marketplace and retail prices are consistent, we are making the following changes, effective immediately.
Any title you have that is currently in retail distribution via Published by You or Published by Lulu will be temporarily removed from the Lulu Marketplace, and the price of that title will be set to match the retail price you've already set for distribution. All we ask is that you click the link below to make your book available again in the Lulu Marketplace--this time at a price that matches your retail price. By doing so we'll be working together to communicate clearly and consistently to your readers and customers, regardless of where they may be.
The great news from this change is you'll benefit significantly from the higher royalty resulting from this upward price adjustment of your book in the Lulu Marketplace. As an example, let's consider a book that was priced at $19.99 for Lulu distribution, but has been listed in the Lulu Marketplace at a lower price.
*Before:*
Published by Lulu distribution price: $19.99 (royalty $4.75)
Lulu Marketplace price: $15.95 (royalty $7.09)
*After:*
Published by Lulu distribution price: $19.99 (royalty $4.75)
Lulu Marketplace price: $19.99 (royalty is now $10.32)
Notice the higher royalty that you'll now earn every time your book sells in the Lulu Marketplace.
That's the gist of it. Just click the following link to make your title available again in the Lulu Marketplace:
[link here]
The above link will take you to a page where you'll see that your Lulu Marketplace content has been repriced and is waiting to be made "available" again. Keep in mind that your retail distribution status has not been affected with this change, only your Lulu Marketplace listing. In addition, the price you pay (as the author) when buying your own book has not changed.
In a few weeks Lulu will be making changes to the distribution and publishing processes that will automatically set prices in both the Lulu Marketplace and retail channels. We will also introduce a pricing calculator to make retail pricing decisions easier. Finally, we will be introducing attractive shipping options for your buyers made possible by these higher Lulu marketplace prices and the resulting increase in royalties.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reply to this email or jump on our LiveHELP chat and ask for assistance.
Regards,
The Lulu Distribution Team
Now, while this means RFLegends will cost SIGNIFICANTLY more in the shop (we're looking at around $27-$28), I'm not nearly as bothered by that as I am by how haphazardly all of this was handled. No prior warnings, no red flags, just an instantaneous price change. Oh, and on top of that, RFLegends got taken down in the process and in order to put it back up, as of now, I will likely have to pay $80 to put it back on the shelves.
Suck my balls, Lulu. To hell with that nonsense.
I'm going to hell for doing the things I normally do! - 27 Jan 2007
I'm laughing so hard right now. Why?
Read this.
That entire article sums up any actual content that would have gone into this rant.
Elite Beat Agents is the greatest game I've ever played on the DS - 22 Dec 2006
Yes, that title sounds very opinionated, but I'm gonna go on a Chris-style rant for a minute on this game.
It's effing amazing.
I absolutely love everything about this game: the colors, the characters, the artwork, the music (oh GOD the music is great), the sounds, the presentation, damn near everything about this game is wonderful. As far as I'm concerned, Dance Dance Revolution needs to make a run for its money because the Elite Beat Agents are in town.
Throughout the game, you have sixteen missions (plus a few bonus missions) in which you have to match beats by tapping "hit markers", dragging a ball along what they call a "phrase marker", and occasionally spinning the stylus on a "spin marker". The trick is to time everything just right so you get points to fill your "Elite-O-Meter" (not unlike DDR's meter) and avoid it from dropping to zero. As you fill the meter with your frantic tapping, dragging, and spinning, your Elite-O-Meter can go from "yes" to "no". Once you reach an interlude in the song you're working on, a small skit related to the current mission plays (which is also a handy time to rest your fingers).
What happens in the skit depends on whether or not your Elite-O-Meter reads yes or no before the interlude. If it reads "no", some pretty crappy things can happen, like your target character gets locked up, is chased by animals, gets beat up, or even finds an embarrasing photo of their late father. You also get an X for that skit.
On the other hand, if your Elite-O-Meter reads "yes", good things happen and you get an O for the skit (which will be beneficial to you in your overall score).
The game eventually gets to be very hard toward the final levels, almost to the point where you can only miss a beat once or twice and not completely screw up the song (and believe me, you will be screwing up like HELL before you finally get into your groove and know what to do). But once you do, it's very easy to go through several verses or skits and not even miss a single marker. The great thing about the difficulty level of the game is that it's not one of those games with an insulting level of difficulty. The challenging nature of the game invites you to keep playing, up your rank, and keep kicking ass until you score big points.
The selection of songs is also something to be marveled at. You have very laid back tunes like "Walkie Talkie Man" and overly hyper songs like "Without a Fight" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash". There are even a couple slow songs in the mix too. The skit that goes with one of these songs is actually very heartwarming. I swear I almost cried playing it.
Overall, Elite Beat Agents is a great game. I've never heard a handful of these songs before, but they've become instant faves for me (to the point where I'm seriously gonna look for all the songs in the game and burn them onto a CD). Seriously, if you want a nice change from DDR or don't have too much of a liking for rhythm games, give Elite Beat Agents a shot. It's definitely worth the $30 you'll put down for it.
I have a lot on my mind - 09 Dec 2006
I've had a lot on my mind as of late and I've been having to sort through all of it, especially with finals coming up as of late. Since I'm barely functioning mentally at this late hour and I have enough sugar running through my veins to power a small village for a week, I'll keep this short.
Most of my concern as of late has been with the interpretations of RFLegends within the small circles it's taken popularity in. I appreciate the fact that the readers are starting to take to the series and form their own opinions on it, but what's starting to bug me is how people making these different interpretations are beginning to take them a little seriously and hold me to them.
I won't say names, but I will say that I wrote RFLegends for one purpose and that was to put myself out on the market. There are some underlying themes, yes, but all I wanted to do was write a good action story. You might pull a moral, lesson, or message out of it. That's fine. Just as long as you don't hold me to that message, then all's cool, right?
Okay, I think my brain is about dead right now. More on this when I can actually think.
Life and stuff - 30 Oct 2006
It's been a good while since I've written anything here (aside from the last post I had up and during th time RII was helping me switch nameservers, the last couple of rant entries were killed).
Anyway, production on RFLegends Volume 2, I can easily say is not going swimmingly. Not because of difficulties, but mainly because of several factors including school, college homework assignments, and more recently a the girlfriend I mentioned that God would help me find in the preface of Volume 1 (and actually, she's mostly the reason I haven't been working on it).
Don't fret, however, I'm making special efforts to make some headway on Volume 2. Remember that omake project I mentioned in the last update? Well, I've finished scripting it, and since my girlfriend is ready and excited to help me with the final touches of the script, I can finally get started on that and begin tackling that project step-by-step.
Of course, if I work the kind of schedule I was working on previous comics pages, it would mean staying up for five or so hours just to get three or four pages done, and since that's not the pattern I want to follow this time around, as soon as my girlfriend and I go over the script in its entirety, I'll get down to illustrating the omake pages ASAP, especially because I'm also doing them for a school project.
Of course, if I don't see her again tonight, I'm gonna have to go on ahead without her and I reeeeeeeeeally want to avoid having to do that since I really value her opinion on my personal projects.
Anyway, that's all I got for now. I'll try to keep this thing updated.
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