Can we talk about True Blood for a moment?

Look, I like the show. I just really don't know what it's about. I must enjoy it to a certain extent because when it's on the DVR I think "Yay! True Blood! it's entertaining! Let's watch True Blood!" Yet every time I have the same basic questions I had from the beginning:

"Why does Sookie love Bill and vice versa?"

"Why are there vampires? Are they hell spawn?"

"Do they have a conscience, guilt and/or a care of consequences?"

These are the things that should've been covered in the first episode. I'm still wondering why I'm rooting for these damn vampires at all. They are straight up killers. Bill is a killer. Why has the world embraced them instead of banding together to rid the world of them? No explanation. We just get the constant parody of Jesus freaks, hicks and political bullshit. Sure, it's cute, it's funny, but it's getting a little empty. Maybe the accusations are true. That I'm tainting by the goodness of Whedon's vamp stories and can't see past them. Excuse me if I like substance.

Bottom line is this. These vamps are flippin' evil. In Buffy's world she'd have little choice but to band together with Pastor Steve and Sarah Newlin of the Friendship of the Sun church and combine her slayer army with the little vamp-killing army they're building. Sometimes I even find myself slightly rooting for them! Now that can't be right. Wonder if the Buffster would like FOS's wooden bullets, thoguh? Seems more like Faith's type of thing. zing!

Bitsy's take:

True Blood and Buffy Season 8 are very similar in that, in both cases, vampires have recently "outed" themselves. The difference, of course, lies in the perspective from which we see the story unfold. In the case of Buffy, it's primarily from the Slayers' perspective while in True Blood it's from the vampires'. What's so confusing is that yes, even though we are meant to see the True Blood vampires as being good guys, they never quite seem so innocent. In fact, it remains completely in their nature to use humans for their own amusement at best and as dinner at worst. Even Bill Compton who is meant to be reformed (Tara's note - for some unknown reason) has a tendency towards some rather violent and murderous behavior.

What's meant to be painted as a cultural difference still seems an awful lot like watching hunters and prey do their wild, one eats the other, sort of dance to me. Obviously the mythos of Buffy extends much further given far less wiggle room on the nature of vampires. They're evil and soulless monsters (except those two hot guys). I wonder what the Buffy story would look like if they spent an arc doing all the telling from the perspective of the vampires. I bet it'd look an awful lot like True Blood. That's my two cents on it anyway.

Moving on...for now

I am literally sitting here with the words 'mutton dressed as lamb' and scary images of clowns wearing all that ghastly make-up whorlling through my head. Why? Because of my new background. Oh, really I can change it back or start all over again. (I roll my eyes heavenward and ask 'why?, why tamper with something that wasn't broken').

But I must move on and I really couldn't wait (before I went on a design madness trip) to tell you about last night's little jaunt to the Lotties. Andrew had some more leaflets about the family fun day and our association stall to hand out/pin on sheds. We're just hoping the good folk of the lotties will donate a little something to the Association stall to sell to our visitors on the big day. It's next Saturday by the way (8th August) and you'll all welcome; if you're coming from afar I'll put you up in my wee house, as long as you spend money at the day and bring your own sleeping bag!!!

Anywho, the reason I wanted to write about it was because I was so happy with the responses we got. Everyone is now getting more interested in the fact that we're having visitors and a BBQ, stalls, a brass band and a petting zoo etc. They want their plots to look good and some have even been thinking of fun ideas themselves. It's a great little community spirit - the only thing that could dampen it would be the weather and that, unfortunately, may be the case. For instance I am sitting here in my living room with a long sleeved top on, jogging bottoms and a blanket over me, and a coffee in my hand tucked up tight against my chest (my glasses are steaming up intermittently but it's a price I'm willing to pay ~ it has been pouring for hours and the wind is fierce and it's making me feel cold. Maggie refuses to go outside, even though I'm pretty sure she must need a pee by now. She doesn't do bad weather, hahaha, a dog that lived on the streets, I've turned her into a softy.

Anyway, a great big virtual hug to all my fellow allotmenteers and fingers crossed we'll have a good day.

Plus if you don't like the new blog background blame Elle May's Mum, she started it. I love the look of her blog and wanted to be like her.

Forgive me...

I am trying to give my webpage a facelift for it's upcoming 1st birthday. This could go horribly wrong..

*****

Okay a million hours later.....what do you think? Be honest. Is it too much, too much colour, too many detractions. Oh I've been staring and staring at the screen trying lots and lots of different combinations.

I shan't be happy until I know if it was a mistake or you like it. With the meds I'm on - it's near impossible to make decisions these days.

HELP xxxx

Friday, Art Day

From his innovative tattoo work to his stunning art, Robert Hernandez is one of the leaders in the industry today. I feel Robert takes his cues from many classic painters and then translates that study into his tattoo work. This piece is a pastel from Robert and it seems to morph over time . I always see something new every time I stop to check it out.

The absolute best thing about pastel pieces is the fact that the artist usually does the bulk of the work with their bare fingers. You can't get more involved than that, Robert's art will always spark some new ideas. http://www.rhernandeztattoos.com/newindex.htm

I do own a lot of art from Joe Capobianco, he is one of my favorites so that is to be expected. This piece is from the early 90's and further more if this girl existed I would want to date her in the worst way. www.joecapobianco.com

Show off

I have been shaking and panicking all day today and therefore exhausted and utterly depressed. I also haven't slept properly for weeks and thus slept, rather uncomfortably and fitfully on the sofa most of the afternoon (I still had my glasses on whilst in the land of nod~ sore nose). So you may gather that I am not in the mood to write a bloggette today but I am in the mood to boast.

I can't be bothered loading pictures up and I don't have the full array away to make you truly sick, but....Our Lottie is feeding us so well these days!! Loads of beans (Runner, French) Peas ( sweet garden variety and Mangetout) potatoes galore, beetroot and carrots and kale and chard, squashes growing, leeks looking good oh, the list goes on and on and on and on.....

Here's 1 pic.

Forgive me my boast, it hasn't been the greatest of days. Hope you too are reaping the rewards of all your hard work, sometimes, in the Winter, it can all seem too much hassle and then this! Plus I hope your weather is better than ours, it just rains here all the time and that, coupled with a water pipe leak right by our plot is driving me bonkers. Anyway there is some of that fabled blue sky outside tonight so maybe things have the ability to perk up. Fingers crossed.

Amber Benson's Next Book Gets Release Date

It looks like the sequel to Amber's book Death's Daughter titled Cat's Clawhas been given a release date of February 23rd of next year! Click that link to pre-order on Amazon. Thanks to Adam Busch via twitter for the heads up!

oh, and click here to follow us on twitter too!

Pitch your Own Dollhouse Episode

It's a slow news day, Buffyfesters so I'm whipping out a question I asked on twitter: If you had one chance to write a Dollhouse episode, what would your episode be about. Bonus points if you can do it in 140 characters. My idea was: The dolls are imprinted with the personalities of characters from an unfinished story to help the author figure out his ending. What's yours?

Christopher Golden joins Twitter

The title says it all. Well what are you waiting for, Buffyfesters? Follow him quick or he'll transfrom into OMG SAD PUPPY d'awe!

MSN Interviews The Guild

We got word that MSN did some very fine coverage of SDCC which included a few videos featuring our favorite kids from the Guild. Here's a video where they talk about the connection they've made with the fans thanks to the healing power of Twitter.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=msn video&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:449bfb75-5d95-4f31-8f57-00436e7bbcb0&showPlaylist=true&fg=MsnEntertainment_ComicCon_player" target="_new" title="Comic-Con 2009: &#39;The Guild&#39;">Video: Comic-Con 2009: &#39;The Guild&#39;</a>

I really agree that Twitter is a great invention. I feel like it's the modern version of answering fan letters not to mention it's just plain fun, kind of like crack! Too much? Anyhoo... check out the rest of the videos at Msn here.

Victoria Beckham Tattoos

What are those Tattoos Doing in the Body of Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham?

Victoria Beckham, the former Spice Girl has five tattoos.
Her first tattoo are 5 stars at her back representing her family members.

Her 2nd is down the back of her neck The tattoo is in Hebrew and is from the Song of Solomon 6:3.


Next tattoo is 08.05.1997 in roman numbers, which was the day David and Victoria Beckham had sex for the first time


The forth tattoo are initial DB of her popular husband, David Beckham on her left wrist.

Her latest tattoo is located underneath an older Roman numeral one, but the complex script is difficult to read
Her tattoos are engraved beautifully that attract the attention of the public.

Tattoos are not new in China where traditional tattooing among some tribes was practiced. China has a rich history of tattooing tradition with the natives living in the mountain region near the Myanmar border. But this traditional tattooing is nearing its extinction if not propagated with the help of the Chinese government.

Several Dulong tribe women trooped to Beijing capital to prove to the Chinese government that tattoo is indeed part of their heritage. Men tattooed their faces and etched designs on their bodies to protect themselves from large fishes whenever they go fishing in the sea. Later, these tattoos were used as ornaments for their bodies.

The style of tattooing varied according to tribe. The placement and sizes of designs had something to do with the rank of the person. Tribes had to follow rules in having tattoos. They just cannot have the size and kind of tattoos that they want. They have to use the type of tattoos fitted for their rank and stature.

Beetroot and ginger chutney

I was sent this fabulous recipe by my friend Jo last year, just as we had finished all our beetroot! Well, this year I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to make this yummy sounding chutney (even though I personally can't eat it). I'm intolerant to onions and I just simply despise vinegar ~ not a great mix when your about to make chutney ;)

Beetroot and Ginger Chutney

Makes about 5-6 lb.

3 lb beetroot, roasted
1 lb onion, chopped
2 pints vinegar
1 lb dessert apples, peeled and chopped
1 lb seedless raisins, chopped
3 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 lb granulated sugar

• Peel and cut the beetroot into cubes.
• Place onion and a little of the vinegar in a large preserving pan and cook for a few minutes to soften the onion. Add apples and raisins and continue cooking until pulpy.
• Add beetroot, ginger, salt and half the remaining vinegar.
• Simmer gently until thick.
• Stir in the sugar and remaining vinegar and continue cooking until thick again.
• Pot into cooled, sterilised jars, seal with a vinegar proof lid and label.
• Store for 6-8 weeks before using.

It takes a good few hours for the mixture to thicken up properly, but it is worth it!

So Andrew and I made it for the fun day, to sell on our own Eden Allotments Stall. We didn't have quite enough beetroot but it was easy to make the recipe work with some maths (which Andrew is good at ~ I suck at maths). We had bought a lovely new thick bottomed big pot in Ikea especially for preserve making and so we were rather excited to get going. Wow, the Gault household sounds so dull if that makes us excited!

It did take a while but nothing about is difficult and we were able to watch bits of tv and then go and stir the mixture; all made better by a glass of red wine in one hand, hehe. We got a lovely full Kilner jar (for ourselves) and 3 jam jars of the glorious food stuff out of our quantities. Okay, the house stank of vinegar for a couple of days afterwards but it feels great to make lovely things out of your own produce, and it will make money for the association on one hand and make Andrew happy on the other (me? ~ I happy to make money for the allotments, not so overjoyed with a stinky house and hubby ;) )

Just have to prettify (is that a word?) the jars with material over the lids tied with twine and they're ready to go. The chutney is the most beautiful deep red/purple colour and Andrew's labels look great, well done us!

Give it a go! Lovely pressie for a loved one, or for yourself x

Preview of New Brian Lynch Angel Comics

Brian just posted a host of images for his upcoming Angel books and, while I won't post them all, I would like to show a few I kind of love. the rest can be viewed on Brian's page here.

First of all I just love how freakin' meta this is. I mean, Angel and Spike at SDCC? That's just too perfect for words. How many people cosplaying as them do you think they'll be? I bet it'll be like that last picture from Where's Waldo where everyone looks exactly like him. Too much? Hey, dude, come on... Where's Waldo is awesome and you know it. Could this be a little on the side of cheese? Sure. But Angel is nothing if not a little cheesetastic and this series certainly could use it after all the drama from AtF. The point is: excited bitsy is excited. Moving on...









I suppose I should simply say that I'm excited about Spike finally getting an ongoing of his very own but all I can think is WHO THE HECK IS THAT STANDING NEXT TO HIM??!?! Is it a straight-haired version of Spider? Illyria? Gwen? A really modernly dressed Drusilla? Or is it someone brand spanking new? EDIT: It's Beck and I should have known that. D'oh. Still, I'm wondering who else might turn up in this series? I'm assuming the always hilarious Betta George will be there but who else might we see? Ponderous, Buffyfesters. Once again: excited bitsy is excited. Woo!

SDCC recap, Heidi's notes and more!

If you haven't already been recapped on the events of the weekend, Heidi was nice enough to be our correspondent on the left coast and she gave us her SDCC show notes:

Chuck panel notes:

- Chuckmeout.com website was launched.
- Adam Baldwin wants ANOTHER action figure. Lol. Kept mentioning Joss to get applause.
- Jeffster performed! Awesomeness.
- No real plans for season 3. Jotted down ideas from audience. Could come back sooner than we've heard.

Dollhouse panel notes:

- Alexis Denisof will be in some episodes in season 2.
- Felicia Day and the other two from Epitaph One will be back.
- Still trying to negotiate getting Summer Glau.
- Joss still likes to kill people.

- Time travel will not be used to change the events of EO, but they were memories which are subjective. Some things may not happen the way we think they will in those memories.

Jane Espenson (BSG) panel notes:

- Caprica will premiere Jan 22, 2010.
- Jane Espenson says to reach out to the Buffy fans to watch Caprica. Basically, there's an angry teenage girl and a robot. Buffy fans should find something to love.

Thanks a lot Heidi!

In other news, Newsarama did a fantastic recap of the IDW panel. Go over there to check it out. Some highlights include:

Chris Ryall  announced the release of a Fallen Angel - featuring Illyria - omnibus sometime in mid-2010 (the entire DC run of Fallen Angel along with the IDW run will be presented in the omnibus.)

Brian Lynch next informed readers of a new tongue-in-cheek two-part story where Angel and Spike actually infiltrate San Diego Comic-Con because a movie has been made (in the comic) about Angel and his heroics after saving Los Angeles from Hell in the aptly titled Last Angel in Hell. The movie itself will be depicted in the 40-page Angel Annual in December 2009; the annual boasts Angel-centric meta-fictional advertisements as well.

[We actually spoke to Brian about this back in February and he expanded on some of the scenes in our interview with him here.]

The launch of a Spike monthly title written by Brian Lynch with artwork by Urru in will be in 2010. It deals with the aftermath of After the Fall. 

Also upcoming is Angel: A Hole in the World, a five issue mini-series which adapts an episode of the original television show into comic book form. This announcement garnered a big response from the audience.

After his two-part project, Brian Lynch will be leaving the Angel title. Bill Willingham and Bill Williams will be taking over as writer for the Angel ongoing starting with issue #28. The two Bills discussed their plans, with Williams telling back-up character stories in each issue. Willingham confirmed that Angel would be disappearing from the pages of his own book and that Connor would be taking over in his dad’s place for a while.

Ryall called Scott Lobdell up to the panel and announced the release of a new five issue Illyria mini-series where she and Gunn go on a road trip together. Ryall notes that this is also a story that depicts Gunn’s struggles with not being a vampire any longer and it also explores his first encounter with a vampire.

And there you have it!

Little acts of kindness

At the weekend (I have a good bit to write about this week) there were a few random acts of kindness around the lotties, a lovely community spirit.

Firstly Gary's plot was all strimmed down and then mown for him by Bobby, Doug and Andrew. It was hard work and took a couple of hours for the 3 of them but they didn't complain and threw themselves into the task. The sun was blazing on them as well and it was tiring just to look at them. I didn't help because the grass was over my knee height and in flower, my hay fever was bad enough over on my own plots with all that pollen flying around! Through my hay fever meds are a godsend to be fair, sometimes they are just pushed to the limit, hahaha. Hopefully Gary won't find the sight of his plot too heart wrenching now when he gets back, his work has been sending him off to Scotland recently.

Then there was the happy news that we have more preserves being made by Ronnie and Bill's lovely wife and set aside for our stall on the fun day. Andrew and I spent hours making chutney on Friday night (I'll tell you about it tomorrow), so we know only too well how much effort goes into producing stuff and then there is the added knowledge that it isn't all for you to eat!!!

We were given lots of unwanted pavers on Sunday for free for the second plot. They're great quality and a good size but I'll leave that for another day too.

Lastly I was given the most beautiful bouquet of sweet peas, completely out of the blue by Donald. How nice was that?!!! Take note my love, another man giving me flowers! Donald's sweet peas are fabulous, so many colours and the plants are huge, tall and heavy with flowers; after I was given that delicious smelling bunch I was spurred on to gave my much smaller and less productive plants a good feed ;)

My depression was horrendous over the weekend, it helped being down at the lotties on Saturday and keeping myself very busy. I worked so hard and you probably wouldn't even notice ~ don't you just hate that! But Sunday I couldn't even go at all. I sat all dressed to go but couldn't leave the house. How can I hurt so much when there is no wound to heal?

Today is another BAD day so I'm off now to try and calm down on the sofa. Been depressed and uber panicky since I woke up and shaking even with a good dose of meds. Taken a little extra and hoping for peace soon, I find this all very distressing and frightening. I'm tired.

It's a lovely day outside and Maggie is sunning herself on the bench in the back garden; she's such a cutie.



Thank you all for the continued support and kind encouraging words x

New Martin LaCasse Book Coming!

We just got our hands on some secret proof sheets from publisher Presto Art. They put out Martin's best selling "Take what you can...give nothing back". They are getting ready to go to press with Martin's new book "Three Sixty Five".

Martin created tattoo sketches everyday for a year. Each month he focused on a different subject from flowers to koi to skulls. The rumor is that the book is actually going to be 4 books in a slip case. Over 375 pages, it's going to be amazing and has a tentative street date mid-September. We have also cut a deal to be one of the retailers for the special edition. Stay tuned because it's going to be serious.

Η D.Angel φεύγει...
κι αφού ξεκουραστεί και τσεκάρει όλα τα ζωγραφισμένα κορμιά στις παραλιές, θα γυρίσει με όρεξη (δεν ορκίζεται κιόλας) και με νέες ιδέες για tattoo.Μέχρι τότε καλές διακοπές και καλό υπόλοιπο καλοκαιριού σε όλες και όλους σας.


Θα ήθελα τη βοήθειά σας μέχρι να γυρίσω.Οποιος έχει όρεξη και θέλει ας μου απαντήσει στις παρακάτω ερωτήσεις τις οποίες θα λάβω σοβαρά υπόψιν μου.

Ας υποθέσουμε ότι έχετε αποφασίσει να κάνετε ένα tattoo.
1) Με ποιό κριτήριο θα πηγαίνατε σε κάποιον tattoo artist για να το κάνετε;
2) Τι θα προσέχατε;
3) Θα πηγαίνατε σ ένα studio που πήγε και κάποιος γνωστός σας;
4) Θα δίνατε βάση στο χώρο και στη διακόσμηση;
5) Θα ρωτάγατε πρώτα για το κόστος και μετά όλα τ άλλα;
6) Θα σας ενδιέφερε να συζητήσετε με τον tattoo artist, να σας ψυχολογήσει και να σας φτιάξει το tattoo που σας εκφράζει;
7) Υπάρχει πιθανότητα να μπαίνατε απλά στο πρώτο studio tattoo
που είδατε στο δρόμο και σας έκανε κλικ;
8) Τι σας αρέσει πιο πολύ σ ένα studio; Να είναι κυριλέ, underground, gothic κάτι άλλο;

Αυτά τα ολίγα!
Σας ευχαριστώ όλους εκ των προτέρων.
kisses

fanvid sunday: sdcc edition

This is hardly the time for fanvids, not when there's a show a goin' on in the San to the D, right? No, sir. Posted late yesterday was the full length of the Dollhouse panel and I can think of nothing better to embed here today than that, honestly. Here's part one:



The rest can be found on ecsmith34's page. There's also video of the Bones panel for those of you who ship the Brennen/Booth. Happy Sunday, Buffyfesters!

Φιλία

Αυτή η ανάρτηση είναι εξαιρετικά αφιερωμένη στο παρεάκι μου. Τελευταία μέρα στην Αθήνα και τα φιλαράκια απ τα Χανιά ήρθαν να με δουν! Ολοι οι δικοί μου άνθρωποι είναι διαλεγμένοι ένας κι ένας. Εξαιρετικά παιδιά με θαυμάσιες ψυχές! Τους αγαπώ πολύ! Πριν φύγω, ήθελα κάτι ξεχωριστό για όλους μας. (Δημοκρατικά πάντα)
Εκτός απ την τρέλα που μας δέρνει από σήμερα μας ενώνει και το νέο μας tattoo.(Δείξτε μια επιείκεια στο δικό μου έεε;;;Μόνη μου το έκανα!)

Podcast interview with Scott Allie from SDCC

So we got the inside scoop about all things Dark Horse/Whedonverse from Scott Allie back on Thursday, prior to the major announcement panel at San Diego Comic Con (which actually is taking place as we write this.) When we spoke with Scott, he gave us all the news on what would be announced. You can listen to the full interview in the podcast link. Here's a rapid-fire rundown of what we talked about.

click play

There will be a program called One Shot Wonders - Joss has 3 things in this category:

1. A Sugarshock one shot.

2. Dr. Horrible for the first time in print full length 24 page. story. Zack is writing it, Joelle Jones is drawing it. It will take place prior (prequel) and the goal is later on when they move forward they'll do post-webisode stuff.

3. Willow one shot - Written by Joss and someone else. Drawn by Karl Moline (Fray/Buffy) with covers by Moline and Jo Chen. It will take place prior to season 8 and explain the Snake Woman back story. Here's how Scott explains it:

"The main story tells what happens before season 8, you know...what's going on with Willow and when you see the cover by Jo, it's a gorgeous cover with Willow and the Snake Woman all wrapped up on each other. So it's gonna fill in a bunch of their story.

There's potentially room for more Buffy one shots i.e., Tales of the Vampire and Willow. We needed a break and figured no one would complain with Willow..."

We also talked about Jane's arc, "Retreat", and beyond. At the end of Jane's arc 26-31, Joss will be kick-starting the next arc with one issue (31). Brad Meltzer is writing 32-35, the outline have been turned in to Joss (some was Brad's idea, some was Joss's). The first script has been done (32) but Scott hasn't seen it. And then all 5 finales will most likely be back to Joss.

Jane's arc really moves the story forward and actually the thing that happens at the end of her arc is what will be nuts. According to Scott:

"When Jane's arc wraps up, things will be significantly different for the organization. The slayer organization will be in really, really bad shape and it's going to bring about real, major transformational changes for Buffy herself

Joss will step back in for a single issue before Brad begins his arc. Digging a little deeper into why Joss was penning this particular issue Scott went on to say:

"When Joss comes in to write an issue, a lot of the times it's kinda to refocus the continuity to take everything we've done and kind of kick start into the next aspect of the story."

We also talked about the upcoming comic for Cabin in the Woods. The comic will be released after the movie is released. As to who will be writing the book, it's still looking pretty up in the air. Scott:

"Nobody's really decided who's going to write it, Joss or someone else. I suspect it will be someone else just because he's so busy."

We tried to get a little info about the potential animated series finally seeing it's release. Tight lipped on this, Scott could only answer:

"Nothing that I can say. We at Dark Horse have very little to do with that. Nope, that's not anything you're going to hear from us."

I found the "from us" part to be really telling. Could it be we'll be hearing news about a Buffy animated series elsewhere before the end of the con? Fingers crossed on that one, Buffyfesters!

We got the chance to nerd it up with Scott once all the big announcements were out of the way. We asked if Scott could pen a Buffy one-shot with no limitation to season or canon, what would it be? Here's what he had to say:

"I don' t know like, um...the 2 characters that come to mind that I'd really love to do something with would be Angel and Giles. I like horor stories set in the past, Not necessarily the distant past, but i think there's something about a horror story in the recent past where you can get a sense of nostalgia and mystery. To do a DH story with one of those guys....both of them have very, very dark pasts. That would be one the thing that would thrill me the most."

We also asked him what non-Buffy writer he'd love to see write a Buffy story. Scott, who is no stranger to the great masters of comics went for one of the biggest names of all.

"I mean the easy answer is Alan Moore because he's my hero and my favorite comic book writer of all time. "

Can you even imagine? A Buffy book by Alan Moore. Sick.

And there you have it. From Scott's mouth to our ears and now to you, our dearest Buffyfesters. Again, for the full interview, take a listen to the entire audio clip. It was great fun. Thanks, Scott!

Listen in the player above or:
Right click/save as here to download mp3

We're Sell Outs!

Yes, it's true we've sold out. Our "Build Your Own" Workshop at this years Paradise Tattoo Gathering in September is sold out. Thank you to everyone who has signed up, we are going to have a lot of fun.

Cover up

...σε παλιό ερασιτεχνικό tattoo

Scott Allie confirms "The Guild" Comic

So, hey, you like Felicia Day, right? You might even say you are super, crazy in love with her, yes? And, of course, you also has the Guild love, don't you? Uh huh... I thought so. Well, good news, Buffyfesters, Scott Allie confirmed to Buffyfest yesterday that there will be a Guild comic produced through Dark Horse. And you know what? It sounds awesome.

Not only is it going to be written by Felicia, but it's also looking like we'll be getting two separate artists working on the book: one to handle the real world and one to draw the WoW world in a classic, fantasy comic style. As to the length, Scott tells us it'll be a three issue miniseries followed by a TPB release. I'm a huge fan of the Guild and the concept sounds super exciting so, you know, yay.

Stay tuned for more SDCC news tomorrow. We have an exclusive interview with Scott Allie about all the big Whedony news!

Awesome Guild Panel update: Now with Costumey goodness!

Some Fine Art For Friday

This weeks treat is from artist Jason Limon. Jason has a great blend of mechanical and organic subject matter and it's usually intertwined. The real amazing thing is the amount of craftsmanship that Jason puts into the canvas. If you look close you can see he has cut out shapes and then covers them with canvas. It's really impressive in real life.

Each letter of this painting is it's own individual canvas piece. Check out Jason's Blog for a step by step of how he goes about it. Really unique. Also love the painting, real clever. http://www.limon-art.com/

Also this week is a piece from tattoo artist Jon Sweet. Jon had a show a few years back with Tom Strom and the room was filled with so many amazing pieces. Jon has great arsenal of imagery. Also a wonderful frame. http://uptowntattoo.com/author/jon

Right, enough whinging

Okay, so I have had a terrible time of it but I have to share the good with the bad. I am glad to say that I am feeling stronger and even managed a walk with the dog and a photographic trip out into the back garden yesterday by myself. I just needed rest, lots of it and I still need more but I can cope better today and therefore here I am with all the love and thanks in the world to those who encouraged me and supported me through yet another blip.

Here are a few of those photos from yesterday, it was sunny for a while!!....



Insects; fascinating up close.

I have concentrated on the photography side of things and opened my own on line shop of pics from holidays, but mainly from the allotments and of nature in general. I only opened it yesterday and already sold one photo! We did visit the lottie last night but to be honest I have been neglecting it and found it to be overwhelming - too much to do! Plus I made the mistake of dandering over to Bobby's plot (which is eerily perfect in every way) and made myself ill with jealousy. My strength suddenly was zapped from me and we went home! What an effect the 'competition' can have on you, so silly.

Plus our new road is so far looking far from promising. I hope major improvements are afoot as the new hardcore that's been put down is already potholed and terribly thin (to my, albeit, untrained eyes), as a surface for delivery lorries and the odd car to drive down, never mind a person to walk down safely. Arrrgghhhh! I hate it when things aren't done right. I must give them the benefit of the doubt and just hope it gets good.

So, as I said, I still need a heck of a lot of rest so I'll leave it here for today.

I just want to thank those who cared, worried and wrote messages, it honestly helped; when I am so low I can't see a way out and you helped me fight on xx

Buffyfest's Spoilerific "Epitaph One" review

Comic Con attendees will have the privilege of watching the mysterious, PR snafu surrounded, unaired and straight-to-DVD finale of Dollhouse "Epitaph One" before the DVD is released at Friday's panel. We thought it appropriate time to give our 2 cents about the ep with this here little review, Buffyfest style. Let's get right to it.

Tara's take -
The Gist- I found the episode to be good, bad, confusing and clarifying all at the same time. Things get going when the team of "Actuals" on the run from what is seemingly an Active run world arrive at the now defunct LA Dollhouse. The place seems like Wolfram & Hart just after The Beast attacked in season 4, leaving nothing but zombies behind.

The Bad - The wannabe "post- Skynet apocalypse" looking set decor wasn't Whedon's finest. I understand we were working on a limited budget, here, but the opening scene was a sad reminder of how Sarah Connor Chronicles would be no more than anything else. Felicia Day's appearance here didn't really help, what with her speaking in "year 2019, just-short-of-Dark Angel-lame" slang. Just saying. Oh, and let's not forget the Eliza shaped hole in the wall and all that surrounded it.

The Good - Well, there's Amy Acker, who's fantastic. I'm really sorry she was underused during the season but I guess that's what made 'the reveal' better. Not sure what's up with her and Boyd, though (Bhiskey!) and that's obviously a whole other story. There's the touching scene between Topher and Dewitt that changed everything for me (even though I believe I'm alone on this within the realm of Buffyfest.) And most importantly, there's the comfy feeling that I have about season 2 of Dollhouse. The Dollhouse Death Watch might be a very different bet this coming season.

Tara's Final Rating - I give it 2 and a half stakes for story and a T-800 series Terminator Skull for quality.

Michelle's take -
It's hard for me to put in words why I didn't love this episode, especially since anything post-apocalyptic is always my cup of tea. I think it has something to do with my feelings for the rest of the Season which were not positive at all.

Duschku's absence was weird to me, her being the main character and all and when she did appear, her scenes became a distraction. The first scene where she announces that she's still getting headaches and then screams out in unconvincing pain right after that declaration was stupid and I can't believe it even happened. Then there was the brick wall-breaking, gun-toting Caroline with her silly one-liner. No thanks.

One ray of sunshine during the entire episode was Amy Acker. She was convincing and had an awesome Illyria-esque quality to her. There is a scene with her and Boyd that was well-done, too. Joss Whedon, when he does it right, can get a lot of emotion and back story out of one tiny scene.

Another positive is the fact that Joss is telling us straight out that imprinting humans with false memories for the good of rich people is NEVER going to end well. But where does that leave the viewer? A big problem I have with the show is that I don't really sympathize with any of the characters. The "Topher crying" scene was touching and they did a great job acting it, but I still found myself thinking that they should feel this pain. Funnily, I find Dominic, the one who is supposed to be the dickiest, to be the one I root for most of the time. That can't be right, can it?

Michelle's Final Rating - I give it 2 stars.

Bitsy's Take -

In a moment of complete shock that surprises no one more than me I actually loved Epitaph One and was sad as hell (yeah, you heard me: hell is sad) when the episode ended. To qualify: I treated this episode as functioning essentially completely outside of the canon of the rest of the series. The only thing I found myself connecting the episode to was the unaired pilot and, in a way, I think you could probably splice the two of them together into a really keen movie.

In fact that goes right along with what I've always believed; that the premise of Dollhouse is a better fit for film than it is for a television series. I just don't think the concept can be sustained under the duress of weekly broadcast. As a two hour movie, however, it is harrowing, haunting, and deliciously distopian. Gone are any pretenses that anything good could possibly come out of the Dollhouse. All we're left with is the terrifying consequences of what happens when the people with all the money and power can live forever. More than that, we bear witness to the ultimate Orwellian nightmare, where Big Brother isn't just everywhere you look, he is programmed into every facet of your being.

The performances were solid. I actually didn't mind Dushku as much as some but, then again, I was just happy she wasn't the focus. Dollhouse is at it's best when it's treated as a true ensemble piece. Felicia Day is, well, Felicia Day. It's nice seeing her do something that isn't just on the interwebs. It's really a shame this didn't go to air. Amy Acker earns the break out performance though. Her treatment of Whiskey in stark contrast to Claire Saunders is spell-binding and unnerving. It's actually pretty similar to the turn from Fred to Illyria actually and there aint nothing wrong with that.

As Travis Birkenstock would say: I give it two thumbs up. Fine, family fun.

Tο ότι η πραγματικότητα ξεπερνά και την πιο δυνατή φαντασία, είναι γνωστό. Όταν όμως τα στοιχεία που τεκμηριώνουν αυτόν τον κανόνα παρουσιάζονται καταγραμμένα και εικονογραφημένα, τότε το αποτέλεσμα είναι εκπληκτικό.

Και πράγματι η έκπληξη - που πολλές φορές μετατρέπεται σε σοκ - κυριαρχεί σ' όλες τις σελίδες αυτού του βιβλίου. Πρόσωπα και καταστάσεις που κινούνται στο χώρο του ακραίου, παρουσιάζονται ανάγλυφα και σκιαγραφούν γλαφυρά την εικόνα του πιο παράξενου πλάσματος σ' όλο το σύμπαν: του ανθρώπου!

Γλυπτική σώματος ή αλλιώς Body Carving
Εάν δεν ξέρετε τι είναι η γλυπτική σώματος, σκεφτείτε την γλυπτική σε ξύλο. Ένας καλλιτέχνης παίρνει ένα κομμάτι ξύλου, συνήθως βελανιδιά, και με ένα σύνολο μικρών μαχαιριών κόβει τα μικρά κομμάτια από το υλικό. Στη γλυπτική σώματος, αντί της εργασίας στο ξύλο, οι καλλιτέχνες εργάζονται στο ανθρώπινο δέρμα. Εκείνοι που αποφασίζουν να μετατρέψουν τους οργανισμούς τους σε υλικό χάραξης, επιμένουν ότι το δέρμα τους είναι ένα κομμάτι τέχνης.
Η διαδικασία αυτή διαρκεί πολλές ώρες. Κατ' αρχάς, το δέρμα, συνήθως στην πλάτη, πρέπει να απολυμαθεί, ακριβώς όπως όλα τα εργαλεία που θα χρησιμοποιηθούν. Στην καλύτερη περίπτωση, η γλυπτική σωμάτων πρέπει να εκτελεσθεί σε ένα καθαρό, αποστειρωμένο δωμάτιο με ένα καλό σύστημα εξαερισμού. Συχνά συμβαίνει, σε ένα ημι-επαγγελματικό γκαράζ. Αυτό μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια σοβαρή μόλυνση στην καλύτερη περίπτωση και στον επίπονο θάνατο στη χειρότερη περίπτωση. Τα κομμάτια του δέρματος αφαιρούνται από το σώμα, κάνοντας πληγές και που στους επόμενους μήνες, θα μεταμορφωθούν σ ένα ροζ σχέδιο. Τα απορρίμματα είτε καίγονται είτε λαμβάνονται από τον ιδιοκτήτη τους.Ένας άλλος τρόπος της γλυπτικής σωμάτων είναι το λέιζερ που κόβει το σχέδιο με χειρουργική ακρίβεια.Δεδομένου ότι είναι μια πολύ ακριβή μέθοδος, αντί ενός λέιζερ, πολλοί καλλιτέχνες χρησιμοποιούν απλά ένα πρωτόγονο εργαλείο.
Η γλυπτική σώματος έχει μια μακροχρόνια παράδοση στην Αφρική και την Ασία. Το Scarification - ο όρος που χρησιμοποιείται από τους επιστήμονες - είναι ευρέως δημοφιλές μεταξύ των ιθαγενών της Δυτικής Αφρικής, της Νέας Γουϊνέας, και της Νέας Ζηλανδίας, αλλά μπορεί επίσης να επισημανθεί στις αρχαίες φυλές που κατοικούσαν στη βόρεια Ασία και ακόμη και τη Μέση Ανατολή. " Το Scarification σχεδόν πάντα γινόταν σε πολιτισμούς με πολλή μελανίνη στο δέρμα, κι αυτό γιατί δεν ήταν ορατή μια δερματοστιξία, "Κι αν νομίζετε, ότι αυτό που διαβάσατε, ξεφεύγει απ τα όρια, δείτε τι σας έχω "εδώ"