Miss Dynamite

Revolución o muerte

2009-11-06T22:21:00.002-05:00

Don't expect much updates in the comin' week cuz I'm goin' to Cuba!

Yes, they're announcing some rain. Fuck it, I don't care, I'm going.

I'm back on these Internets!

2009-11-03T19:21:00.001-05:00

Christ, 'took 8 days and 3 phonecalls.

No Tubes

2009-10-26T21:28:00.000-04:00

I'm without Internet for a day or two. The new place is nice and quiet.

Got the appartement!

2009-10-12T18:32:00.002-04:00

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!

Rent is good. The near neighberhood is not too trashy (compared with the rest of Hochelaga). I'll have a roomate, but it's a friend, so no surprises. And the upstairs neighbors are friends too. There's even a backyard. The floors are crooked, but eh, the floors at my previous appartment were crooked too.

But the most important thing is the upstairs neighbors are not dope fiends. I might move the weekend after the next.

The Talibans and the Republican party agree

2009-10-09T15:19:00.002-04:00

The Talibans and the Republican party agree: Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

Visiting an appartment tomorrow

2009-09-25T20:39:00.000-04:00

Hope it's good. x_X

I dun't need no healthcare cuz I feel fine

2009-09-16T12:28:00.001-04:00

Edit: Wow, I thought the first one was crazy.

Looking for an appartment in Montreal

2009-09-08T12:19:00.002-04:00

This is for people in Montreal.

I've started looking for an appartment. So if anyone sees something nice, around 3 rooms, calm neighborhood. Let me know.

Susceptible Nazis and bad journalism

2009-09-06T16:01:00.009-04:00

A short while ago, I read an article in the Washington Post titled: Opposing Gay Unions With Sanity & a Smile.

With that title, you can kinda guess where this is going. WaPo staff writer Monica Hesse talks about Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM... ya, rly).

Brian Brown speaks to these people (moderates). He has a master's degree from Oxford, and completed course work for a doctorate in history from UCLA. He shoulders the accusations of bigotry; it's horrible when people say that your life's mission is actually just prejudice. He tries to help people see that opposing gay
marriage does not make them bigots, that the argument should have nothing to do
with hate or fear, and everything to do with history and tradition.
The reason Brian Brown is so effective is that he is pleasantly, ruthlessly sane.

Hesse goes on to write the portrait of a man we should pay attention to. Not because he's right, but because he's so gosh darn nice and polite... Sorry, but there's nothing "sane" about bigotry.

"I have gay people who are friends and family," he says. "We can disagree on all sorts of things and still care about each other." And later, "Of course, I have to take their arguments seriously. This issue is important. Ideas have consequences."

Awww, see? He's got gay friends, so he can't be a bad person. The article goes on like that for 4 pages. It's pukerrific.

Anyway, I wrote to Monica Hesse and asked her: "Are you smoking crack, a lazy journalist or are you a bigot yourself?" I didn't really care about getting an answer, I just wanted to give her my two cents. But lo and behold, I got a reply!

Thanks for writing. I'm sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you. I was out of the office last week and am just checking email for the first time in several days.

I expected that I would return to some angry emails about this article. To be perfectly honest, I thought they would come from anti-gay marriage conservatives. This is what I thought they would say: "How dare you write such a snide article on Brian Brown."

It's possible to read my piece and come away thinking, "Brian Brown is a nice guy whose beliefs are correct." Another interpretation could be that Brown's "niceness" is precisely what makes him so threatening to the pro- same sex marriage movement. "Nice" does not equal "right" after all. And sometimes apparent sanity is more dangerous than ranting and raving.

I could have quoted several pro- same sex marriage supporters saying precisely this. I interviewed several of them -- Joe Solomese at the HRC was, as usual, articulate and helpful. Ultimately, I thought the piece would have more impact if the reader heard Brian's voice. They could then decide for themselves whether they found his arguments persuasive, or whether they found his "rationality" chilling, absurd and irrational. It's impossible to tell, before an article is published, how readers will interpret the tone of an article. A lot of factors can influence reader's interpretations--the headline, for example (I don't write my own headlines, and had I been in the office I probably would have protested this one).

For better or worse, I try to keep my personal views and biases out of any article I write. But since I've gotten several emails from people accusing me of attempting to carry out a homophobic agenda, you may or may not find this useful: My current partner is a man. Before him, my partner of two years was a woman, with whom I discussed health insurance, kids, houses, and marriage. You can bet that I found the fact that our marriage wouldn't have been legal to be wrong as heck. That doesn't mean that what NOM is trying to do and how they are trying to do it are not important to hear about.

Again, thanks for writing.

Monica

What exactly was snide about her article? But it's the last paragraph that fucking kills me. Can we take behind the shed this notion that journalists are supposed to be virgin births of holy objectivity? Did these guys learned nothing from the past 8 years??? If you're on FOX News and wanna bitch about hippies and fags, that's fair and balanced. But if you wanna call a bigot a bigot, oh shit, that's a leftist liberal bias and you're making baby Jesus cry. So let's be polite and non-judgemental towards the people who hate us and our modern civilization. And she's bisexual too. Which answers my question, she's a lazy journalist.

Now, since she doesn't deny smoking crack, I'm gonna guess she either does also smoke crack, or this is a copy/paste. Which means she probably received a lot of angry mail. Which she did, as confirmed by an article from the WaPo's ombudsman:

'Sanity & a Smile' and an Outpouring of Rage

The Post recently featured a story by reporter Monica Hesse that ran on the front of the Style section while she was on vacation. The day before returning, she logged on to check e-mails -- and wept.

OMGs, she cried??? Maybe you need to write for People or the National Enquirer. The ombudsman goes on the explain that the article was probably poorly written, but Monica is such a good writer and we're being mean to her. Something's not right here...

Anyway, one thing seems clear from reading Hesse's reply and the ombudsman's explanation. They were sure the criticism would come from the right. They made the portrait of a bigot, but they were so afraid of pissing off said bigots that they went soft on him. As I said above, this is sadly classic mainstream journalism. The hippies are right, but they smell; at least the Nazis are clean.

Which makes me think of a character in Inglorious Basterds: private Fredrick Zoller, a German sniper who becomes famous for killing 300 allied soldiers. In the film, Zoller falls in love with a French girl who's secretly a Jew. So of course the girl wants nothing to do with that Nazi creep, but Zoller doesn't get it. Sure, they might have different views, him being the occupier and her the occupied, but he's such a Nice Guy®.

This fascinates me because it's something you often see with these people. You can't eat your cake and eat too. You can't hate your neighbor and then expect them to invite your at their BBQ. You can't sign a public petition against gay marriage and then ask for the list to be private. "yeah but I have gay and black friends!" Well I suspect your concept of friendship is probably a lot different than mine.

Also, the Washington Post sucks balls.

Disney buys Marvel Comics

2009-08-31T17:11:00.001-04:00

I'm hearing a lot of "omgz marvel movies are now gonna suck!"

For what it's worth, Miramax was owned by Disney when thet did Pulp Fiction.

Sister Wulfia Focka: August update

2009-08-26T15:02:00.002-04:00

10 new pages of SWF. This month, a cameo by two special characters. (I think you know who already :p)

I you're going to subscribe to Slipshine, use this link to support Miss Dynamite. (or the banner on the left; same thing)

When I start working again on my Miss Dynamite webcomic I'm pretty sure I'll use that style. I'm pretty good at inking on the Wacom, even though you can't rotate the canvas in Flash, which forces you draw always in the same position. It's so much easier on paper. Perhaps if I had one of those screen tablets, but they're still fucking expensive. I nearly bought some Sakura Micron pens at the art shop yesterday but then I thought, fuck it, Sharpies are good enough.

Help with contrast

2009-08-23T12:02:00.003-04:00

Since I don't have access to my graphic tablet since I left my appartment last Spring, I had to work on Sister Wulfia Focka the old school way. With some experimentation, I arrived to this technique of pencils with inks and pencil tones. Very little CG. I had moved from brushes to nibs a long time ago. Then the quality of Strathmore's bristol became so shitty I moved to Flash. Then recently at a convention I inked a sketch with my Pentel pen-brush and it was like riding a bicycle again.

I'm thinking that when I start working on my Miss Dynamite webcomic again, that's the style I would use. It's a lot less clean than in Flash, but I think it's got more life. So here's what I want to know. Which of those 3 versions is better? 1 and 2 and the same contrast but version 2 had a 'sharp' filter applied. Version 3's contrast was boosted.

I'm asking because I noticed a difference on how the pictures looking between an old tube monitor and an LCD screen (which I imagine most people have now).

GiJoe: Rise of Cobra or where I go bitchy fanboy mode

2009-08-17T11:33:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the lack of activity. I'm busy with the SWF update.

First, some background info. For those who might not know, GiJoe was a huge influence on Miss Dynamite. Eva basicaly started out as a Scarlet rip-off (Original character; do not steal!). I was always more of a GiJoe fan than Transformers as you could have a more complete Joe collection with a tight budget. I think you could get figurines around 3 or 4$ in the early days. Even middle sized vehicules weren't too expensive, being 100% plastic. While the Transformers cartoons had a better continuity, the GiJoe comics had some anthology moments, like the Snake-Eyes/Storm Shadow origin. And #21 Silent Interlude should be read by anyone studying sequential art. But except for the first 3 episodes of each series, I can't watch either cartoons anymore; they're just horrible. I sold all my figurines and vehicules to my cousins in the early 90s, but I kept my original Night Raven. Might be one of the best looking 30$ plastic toy ever made.

I saw the movie last Saturday and as some people said, it's better than Transformers. But that's setting the bar pretty low. At least, this is a movie about GiJoe. It's not a movie about some teenager who must protect a pair of sunglasses and oh btw GiJoe. When you see the huge Hasbro logo at the beginning, you know the purpose of this movie is to sell merchandise and that's ok. The story is convoluted, but I don't think it matters. It's not a case of "check your brain at the door", which annoys me to no ends. There's nothing stupid about entertainment for the sake of it. You need to be pretty bright to make good pop. I think what made GiJoe great was great characters. Especialy on the side of Cobra. The only good part of the cartoon is usualy the first act where we see Cobra's new plan enacted. The Cobra elites is a dysfunctional passive-agressive family. That's a sitcom. So instead of reviewing the story, I'll review the characters.

Destro: Exagerated Scottish accent is exagerated, but I wasn't expecting subtlety. I've seen people complain about Destro, but I think he does the job.

Zartan: I think it's useless to complain he doesn't look like the comic/cartoon version. He's the master of disguise. But for people not familiar with the character, he comes out of nowhere. He's Zartan, master of disguise, k thx bye! Uh, who? It's like they introduced some charcters for the fans without bothering to explain who they are, but then don't introduce others that could've helped the plot, because...? They didn't know their source material?

The Baroness: When Sienna Miller was casted, I was afraid she looked too young. My ideal Baroness was a MILF. But I think she looks a bit older in the movie. Maybe it's the hair and the glasses. I think the biggest problem is the origins. In this movie she's under Destro and Cobra's hypnotic control. I always thought of the Baroness as this Euro-trash rich spoiled pseudo-'revolutionnaire', sort of like Patty Hearts. Also, she used to be Duke's fiancée....... LAME! At least they imply that she's probably uncurable and will revert to evil again.

Storm Shadow: Nothing to complain here. He's a white ninja. He has a family feud with Snake-Eyes. Close enough. We're told apparently Storm-Shadow doesn't kill women. Why? Who knows. This useless bit of info is never expended upon.

Duke: No charisma. Ok, but kinda boring.

Rip-Cord: Who the fuck is Rip-Cord??? I barely remember him from the comics. At least Wyant (sp?) wasn't in Jar-Jar-neoministrel mode.

Heavy Duty: That guy I never heard of! He's from Sigma Six apparently? Why not Road Block?

Scarlett: Not bad, but unfortunatly for the actress she's given one of the worst line in the movie. Also, they hint at her relation with Snake-Eyes, like in the comics. But then it's completly ignored after.

Breaker: He likes bubble gum, like in the comics. Thanks for the bone Hollywood, that made this movie fucking special. e_e

General Hawk: Quaid was acting like he was in Spy Kids, but that's not his fault since the movie's tone was very unequal.

Snake Eyes: That mouth on the mask is creepy. I know the figurine was like that, but I never liked that version. I never understood what that medieval armor-like visor was supposed to be. I always like the original Snake Eyes better. The whole Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow story was thrown in just for the fans. Jee, thanks, but it serves no purpose to the story. There was material there for an entire movie. Instead it's delivered with two quick flashbacks and no emotion.

The origin story of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is tragic. The Cobra crazy plans is comedic. And you've got stuff in the middle. This movie doesn't know what kind of movie it is. Is it dark? Serious? Funny? While I'm sure most people would've wanted more grimdark ninja badasserie, I think they should have gone the America Fuck Yeah satire way.

Speaking of which, I forgot the most important. Cobra Commander! Much like General Hawk, the actor isn't bad, but the movie is so uneven his acting looked awkwardly comical. He's Snidely Whiplash evil. He's the brother of the Baroness and former friend of Duke... That's not necessary, I'm not sure why Cobra should have an origin. He's evil, let's leave it at that. If you give him an origin, you make him more human. But that would only work with a realistic tone and that's not gonna work with Cobra. And the fucking costume.... christ! I would have been ok with Cobra only becoming 'the Commander' at the end, but why didn't he get the original costume??? And don't tell me it would have looked too cheezy. The helmet maybe, but not the hood. I heard (might not be true) they were afraid it would look too much like the KKK. Wha? Who cares, he's the bad guy, he's allowed to look like a bastard.

Crank 2 made more sense, I didn't even saw the first one and it cost dozens of millions of dollars less. If they don't bother improving, I'll do as I did with Transformers 2 and won't bother watching the sequel.

To the person who tried to steal my bike

2009-08-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

YOU FAIL"!

Otakuthon 2009: More Photos!

2009-08-03T20:35:00.004-04:00

Otakuthon keeps getting better every year. They even talked about it on the news. Radio-Canada cancelled their interview with me on the radio but, oh well... Maybe they didn't like porn. :-p

Panty shot of a figurine bought by Kurt.

1-up bought by Maïté.

Sold this one pretty quickly.

Here's some photos taken by Maïté.

I bought a Pikachu for my sister from the lady who made those. I might commission her to make one of Eva and Blackie.

Twiggy fanart made by Maïté.

Photos taken by others.

More photos here.

Probably more to come later.

about Starship Titus

2009-08-03T17:12:00.003-04:00

I should have written an informative post about this a long time ago, but I kept forgetting. And things develloped so slowly over a year that there never was an appropriate time to talk about it.

First, Starship Titus is over. The last update was on 8th April 2007.
I am not the admin of Starshiptitus.com, so I have no idea if they still take subscriptions. But if they do, the last update is indicated on the site so there's no false advertizing.
The reasons why Starship Titus ended are unknown to me. These reasons are personnal to Jason and we are still in good terms.
I do not own the rights to the Starship Titus characters. So the chances of me continuing the series are slim to nil. I've read criticism of me for not finishing the last episode. Not my fault, nor my problem.

That's all I can think of for now.

Otakuthon 2009: Saturday

2009-08-01T23:48:00.002-04:00

This is just a quick Flickr upload before going to bed. I'll edit them and upload others later.

Furries!

Pillow fight commission.

Lovely pillow fight commissioner.

Another commission.

He didn't whisper "no".

Me and Stéfani, who drew a lot of Pu Sisters fanart. Damn I look awkward in that photo.

Fanart for Maïté.

Otakuthon 2009: Friday

2009-07-31T23:31:00.002-04:00

Big day tomorrow. Opening ceremony at 11am; webcomic panel at 5pm; exhibition until 9pm. There will be two screenings of hentai and one of yaoi at night. I'll be too tired to assist, but enjoy! :p

Otakuthon 2009

2009-07-28T19:20:00.002-04:00

I should have mentionned this earlier, but I will be a guest at Otakuthon 2009 next weekend.

Friday, July 31, 2009
6:00 pm - 5:00 am (exhibition hall closes at 9pm)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
10:00 am - 5:00 am (exhibition hall closes at 9pm)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

If it's like last year, there will be anime screenings for most of the night. I dunno what I'll do after the exhibition hours. I'd like to stay for the night but I'll probably be too tired. In any case, bring your Nintendo DS!

I only have the same old stuff to sell, but I'll be doing 10$ commissions.

Gatesgate

2009-07-25T14:49:00.002-04:00

It's interesting how Libertarians are suddenly silent when it comes to the matter of Gates' arrest in Cambridge. And by interesting I mean, if it's a white guy getting arrested, we hear, "GET OF MY PROPERTUH, B'FORE AH USE MAH 2nd AMENDMINT!" But if it's an old black guy getting arresting on his own property for being sassy it's, "OBEY MAH AUTHORITUH!!!"

And I agree with Obama, that cop was at minimum stupid.

I said I was gonna post something interesting, like 2 weeks ago... XD I'll try to get to it today.

Sister Wulfia Focka: July update

2009-07-24T16:23:00.002-04:00

I forgot to announce the June update last month. That was 10 new pages then and 10 new pages now. That's almost the end for this Sister Wulfia Focka storyline. Next month, an epilogue and some special guests!

Nice burn, Sotomayor

2009-07-14T16:01:00.004-04:00

I'm not paying too much attention to the confirmation hearings of Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, because this should be a non-story but for Republicans hyperventilating about Mexicans Atheist Muslim Libruls invadin' 'Murica. So Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) is twisting his panties in a knot like a Catholic school girl over comments Sotomayor made about her latina heritage. Sessions, someone who once made the apology of the KKK, thinks that's racist. That's rich... So Sessions quoted Judge Miriam Cedarbaum, who “believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices.” And Sessions continued:

“So I would just say to you, I believe in Judge Cedarbaum’s formulation,”

That's when Sotomayor pulled a move worthy of Woody Allen's Annie Hall and said:

“My friend Judge Cedarbaum is here. We are good friends, and I believe that we both approach judging in the same way, which is looking at the facts of each individual case and applying the law to those facts.”

For those who've never seen Annie Hall, this is the scene I'm talking about.

Who's never dreamed of doing that?

See you in hell, Stephen Harper

2009-07-10T13:17:00.002-04:00

So I guess when I'm going to hell, I'll be joined by conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At the funeral of former governor-general Roméo Leblanc, Stephen Harper (a protestant) was given a communion wafer. But instead of eating it, as the Catholic church requires, he put it in his pocket. Harper denies the accusations, but the video tells another story.

This remind me of the story of the student who received death threats for kidnapping a communion wafer in the States.

We can only assume Stephen Harper kept what he perceives as a "Death Cookie", so he and his family can torture the body of Christ in the comfort of his home. Hey, Harper once said climate change was a socialist conspiracy, so who knows...

The Forum is Dead

2009-07-09T14:47:00.002-04:00

I think probably one person noticed (even I forgot about it), but the Miss Dynamite forum has been closed and is dead for good. There was already very little activity when I transfered it to Slipshine, now the only new members were spambots. I think the blog killed the forum, so I don't think it's a loss, just a change. Who still goes to forums these days anyway?

Netbook advice

2009-07-08T12:48:00.002-04:00

Anyone uses a netbook?

They seem like a good and cheap alternative to a laptop if you only need to go online.

Are they good to watch movies online? (pr0n!)
Are they exclusively WiFi or do they have an ethernet socket?
If your OS fucks up, how do you reinstall XP? USB key?