Erik Hendrix is The Last Bard

Folksonomy and a Taxonomy

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Have you ever been a little bit curious about what the whole folksonomy versus taxonomy thing was all about? Well, I wasn't so much, it seemed pretty cut and dry when I read about it in a class I'm taking right now on Web 2.0, but I did get a little more information out of it than I thought!

Taxonomy is the old school way of categorizing things. Much like creatures on the planet, with genus, species, sub-species, etc, Taxonomy categorizes by taking a higher level category and making it more and more granular until you hit the item in question. Take music, for example. Say you would like to categorize the band Metallica. You would put it in Music, Rock, Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, and then it would be alphabetical by "M" for Metallica. If you haven't tried it before, go to Yahoo and try to find any band or any movie just by clicking through categories.

Folksonomy, on the other hand, is all about tags instead of categories. You may throw tags on a web site, making things easily searchable with a search engine. This even works to the level of certain web sites. Photo web sites do have conventional categories, but they also have tags, allowing you to bypass a specific classification, pigeon-holing the photo, and calling it what it is. A photo of a celebrity, like Matt Bellamy, could have tags such as "Muse", "Matt Bellamy", "band", "music", "Custom Guitars", etc... Each of those would find pictures that fall into that tag including, conveniently, the one you tagged. What's the benefit of this? Well, on a lot of sites, people can tag others' photos, posts, etc, to relate them to other people, paces, things, sites, whatever. So if I take a picture of a group of people and post it on FaceBook, for example, tagging three people I know who I took the picture of, someone else might come along, see the picture, and tag several other people, etc. How do you think sites like Ancestry.com manage to work so well? It's a combination of individuals entering in their own personal data and random people finding relations they may not have known about.

Bottom line, though... The two are related in the sense that you end up loosely categorizing things using folksonomy, but how things are "categorized" in folksonomy isn't necessarily in a way you could call it taxonomy.

Clear that up?

folksonomy and a taxonomy.

We're all over the place!

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sun, 16 May 2010 00:09:00 +0000

If you haven't been following up on things... here's where we are now!

Carpet Bomb Comics - http://www.carpetbombcomics.com
The Last Bard's Blog - http://www.carpetbombcomics.com/thelastbard
Zedura Magazine (I'm the editor in chief) - http://www.zedura.com
SP! Nexus Magazine (I'm the editor in chief) - http://www.selfpubmag.com

Where am I again?

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Actually... Head on over to the NEW NEW location of my blog...

http://www.carpetbombcomics.com/thelastbard

Moving over to BeardedLadyOnline - won't you come, too?

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:45:00 +0000

I decided this morning that I was going to move my blog over to BeardedLadyOnline.com... Nothing against blogspot, it's just that we're paying for the name and space, so we figure we should use it, you know? My archived blogs will remain here until I'm able to transition them over properly, but in the meantime, please go over to...

http://www.beardedladyonline.com/TheLastBard

Thanks all!

No, you're not staying up too late, you've got something wrong with your thyroid!

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:19:00 +0000

During Small Press Idol, I spent months staying up late, waking up early, etc... Somewhere in the middle of the competition, April or May, I started getting really tired, like I wasn't getting enough sleep (which I wasn't). I thought, well, I've been staying up late and waking up early for months, so I just need to get some sleep, rest up, and I'll be good to go! So, I took the period between rounds 2 and 3 and then between 3 and 4 to catch up on sleep, chores, etc, thinking it would help me feel better... it didn't. During the last handful of months, too, I started to gain an odd amount of weight... I thought to myself, "well, I haven't been eating a lot more, but maybe my metabolism is slowing down or I'm eating more than I thought." Nope...

During SDCC this year, my wife and I gave blood... I get this letter in the mail a couple of weeks later that I got a false positive for something indicating I could have or could end up with leukemia. Since my grandfather died of leukemia, I thought, OH CRAP, and made a quick appointment with my doctor to get things checked out. Barrage of tests later, nope, I'm fine, oh wait, there are some levels off with your thyroid! Hmmm....

Didn't think too much about it, but I did recall that thyroid issues run in my family. The doctor scheduled me for an ultrasound of my thyroid which showed that I have multi-nodular goiters on both sides of my thyroid. The doctor didn't seem too worried but said "just in case" I should get these extra tests done (I'll get back to that "just in case").

Last Thursday and Friday, I got to play Radioactive Man... They gave me this radio-nucleotide pill (radioactive iodine), which was cool because I didn't have to get a radioactive injection instead (phew). They kicked me loose for a few hours and then did some scans... Friday morning, more scans...

Today I found out that there's a bunch of abnormal stuff in the readings, so I just need to find out what my next steps are, but I was told I'm probably going to need to get my thyroid taken out. Some? All? Who knows!

Strangely enough, I was listening to Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb when my wife called to tell me... Surreal.

Just thought I'd share since people actually do read this thing, I've come to find out!

Well, while you're reading... go check out all of the cool stuff I updated at the Bearded Lady site... Darn it!

Projects, projects, and more projects... more coming?

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:15:00 +0000

So, over at the BeardedLadyOnline.com site, we've got a few projects mentioned... well, some of those are going to be getting a lot of wordplay from us in the coming weeks... We're actually going to start doing web comics, too!

First to be mentioned... Capetown Chronicles... Part 1: Just a Cup of Coffee...

After some of the buzz surrounding the story, perhaps for its sheer vulgarity, I'm not sure, we've decided to share the story in the coming weeks and follow it up with some more installments, all on the web!

The page just shows a sample, so be prepared, there's a lot more coming... Roger is just working to get some more life in the pages. You'll see!

Go to the Bearded Lady Comics section of the site here and click on "Capetown Chronicles"...

Enjoy!

thanks,
Erik
erik@beardedladyonline.com
http://www.beardedladyonline.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com

Image Crazy 99! Ok, maybe it's just the third one, but I thought I'd share...

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Yeah, I know it's a crazy number of images, but that's the point! Welcome to my mind, people! What happens to me when I'm writing, or should I say when I'm in a creative mode, is that other ideas start popping into my head. Rather than consider them distractions to the stories I'm working on, I welcome them, flush them out, and get them out of my mind by writing as much as I can in a short period of time.

I've probably talked about my process before, but when I get that initial idea, I try to get to my computer, open a file and brain dump as much as I can out at the same time. It's a loose plot and dialog and whatever else might pop up... names, locations, time, whatever happens to come out. I'd say it's a brainstorm, but I don't limit myself in any way, I just throw what I can out in as large chunks as possible. In the end, I'll end up with anywhere between a page and a handful of pages and I can set it aside until I get back to it again. The nice thing about co-writing with someone, if you do that, is you can take that same brain dump, throw it into a Google Doc (I recommend it if you haven't tried it), and bat it back and forth, organizing as you go along, add, subtract, separate into different files, etc... in the end, you have something you can almost start scripting from. Over the past handful of months, I've ended up with over 30 of these "little" brain dumps ranging from solo projects to things I've worked on with Michael Nelsen, etc... So there you have it!!!

What you have is... Unfiltered, written by Me with art by Jason Baroody... Unbeatables, created by Michael Nelsen and I with art by Michael Nelsen.... "TLA" created by myself and Michael Nelsen... pen "doodle" by Michael... The Evil Tree written by me with art by Denman Rooke... My Detective book, written by me with Art by Sachin Nagar... Any lettering you see is done by me, I try to do all of my own lettering, but sometimes I get some help. ;)

Have fun and please go check out the Bearded Lady site, it's getting ready to go through some SERIOUS changes!

Thanks,
Erik
erik@beardedladyonline.com

Bearded Lady - What's it all about?

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:22:00 +0000

I've had a few people ask me recently what the deal is with this Bearded Lady stuff. well... let me tell ya what's up! Michael Nelsen and I share a love for comic books that goes much deeper than picking up the latest issue of X-Men at the comic shop once per month. We both (despite my lateness in actually TRYING to get in the door) share a love for the creative process and want to make comics of the caliber we read or to match what we'd like to see more of in the industry today. Michael is the first person I've met who sees things the exact same way as I do. We both have our strengths and they tend to be different and complement each other... Primary example? I can't draw and he can.... he can do funny and I can't. There are a couple of things I may be a little stronger at, but I won't point those out except for maybe marketing because it's a well known fact that I'm a carpet bomb marketer and have had some amount of luck with it. Bottom line, though, we both have a ton of ideas, we both love to write, love to go through the creative process, etc... the end result we came up with was a desire to be under a common banner... The Bearded Lady name was the first one we came up with, tied to two projects and intended to bring people's minds back to a different time in our history... Mission accomplished. In the process, though, we ended up with this LONG list of names which we started voting on and, in the end, ended up using the first name, Bearded Lady, anyway. Funny how that works....

From there, it was a matter of defining what Bearded Lady is all about. We're not a publisher, though we plan to publish some. We're not a studio, though we do have talent. We're not consultants, though we do consulting work, too. We're all of them and none of them... The goal of Bearded Lady is to bring together like minded creative types under a common banner and help to prop up the collective by helping each other out! I may have a good idea needing an artist, Mike may have a great idea needing a little help flushing out in the writing department, an artist we work with might be looking for a certain genre of book to work on, we may have someone come to us and ask for help with XYZ comic-related project, etc... The door is open to all sorts of potential avenues for us to make a name for ourselves in the industry.

We have some big plans coming up including some names involved with BL who are published professionals in the industry, some books being published, and some significant layout changes to the site to make it a little more.... 2009. Also, expect to see a LOT more content coming... we're working on that now.

Hope that clears a few things up!

To summarize...
Bearded Lady is - Anything and everything we want it to be.
Bearded Lady is - A reference to two projects we're working on.
Bearded Lady is - Going through some significant growth.
Bearded Lady is - Getting some serious renovations!
Bearded Lady is - SWEET!

Check it out... go get some idea of what we're doing.
BEARDED LADY ONLINE

Faction - And one more with feeling!

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Back in February 2009, I was emailing back and forth with Ian, asking him questions about Small Press Idol, trying to figure out if any of my ideas would be a good fit for Small Press Idol. Eventually, I settled on Faction and the journey began! If you can believe that, it has been just over seven months since that time! Since then, our experience and confidence has grown by leaps and bounds.

Guess what, though? It was officially announced today on the DimeStoreProductions web site ~ http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/site/news/view/kick_start_235.htm?filter=1 ~ That Faction won the contest!

I just want to say that Faction couldn't have made it this far in the journey without the support of the 3 F's ~ Family, Friends, and Fans... Our families helped us with their love and support, our friends help with their votes, and our fans picked up copies of the book.

We received confirmation that Faction issue 0 has been sent to the printers, so it will be shipping to everyone who pre-ordered in the next couple of weeks.

If, by some chance, you haven't picked up a copy yet, come check out what all the fuss is about. Read more about Faction at the web site ~ http://www.beardedladyonline.com/faction ~ and then go pick up a copy of the book.

Printed copy - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
PDF copy - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Yet again, I have to thank Arnie for the great artwork and Mike for the spectacular colors... The book wouldn't be the same without your help!

Thanks,
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
Erik@BeardedLadyOnline.com
http://www.beardedladyonline.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com

Patience and persistance can pay off in the end...

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:24:00 +0000

Seems like many many moons ago, I started talking with Sachin Nagar about my detective book XXXXXXXXX (no, still not slipping on the name). I honestly have over 180 pages of script ready to go as well as TONS of info to get me beyond that. I'm not going to call it an epic, just a great story with plots and sub-plots, which keep it going. Don't forget the mysteries involved... always something behind the scenes to figure out.
Originally, I came up with the idea back in November and started working with an artist shortly thereafter. I was fired up and he was fired up, so I was cranking out scripts, just knowing, "this is the one." After a while, life got on the way of my poor artist and he had to bail out. Common story in comic book land, at least in the pre-production phases. He has taken a different path and I wish him luck, actually! He's had some luck, done some covers for publications, etc...
For a time, I gave up on finding an artist because the ones I was trying to work with didn't really match up with what I was looking for on this book. Eventually, though, Sachin popped up with this amazing artwork and from the first rendering of the main characters, I was sold on his style.

Here we are a few months later and we're just about ready to get a submission package sent out... I'm excited, of course... this is one of those books I've been waiting MONTHS to send to publishers, eager for feedback, eager to get moving on the book, etc... I guess that's the problem with writing too far ahead, huh?
Hope you enjoy the images! More to come, as always.

Shall we pontificate for a moment?

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:20:00 +0000

I got word yesterday... or maybe the day before... heck maybe the day before that... that Faction probably won Small Press Idol. I haven't posted about it in fairness to the other competitors since it's not "officially" official yet, just looking pretty good. I'm happy things turned out the way they did, certainly!

I received a few messages late last week from people who assumed Faction had already lost, that there was no hope to catch up. I didn't argue because that would be revealing my hand. I'm not intentionally sneaky, but I knew some things would take until the last day or two to come in. I was patient, I was hopeful, but I was quiet. Those close to the fold, on the Faction team, friends, and family, knew I was still confident in the end... well, confident, but also biting my nails a tad, I can't argue there. No matter how well you plan for something, someone is always around to throw some wrenches in your spokes, to which you must react or get tossed on your face, sucking dirt. Worries appear to have been unfounded. I hope I didn't worry the Faction supporters out there too much!

So, what to do now? Well, for right now, we're patient, we wait for the official word and then we can celebrate some. I will say this to the other contestants in Small Press Idol. I appreciate the well wishes and I wish you luck moving forward. Hopefully you will land on your feet and find a home for your books, whether it be at another publisher, or self publishing.

The audiences are out there for small press books, it's just a matter of honing in on them and leading them to the trough to dig in and read up... Six months ago or so when we signed Faction up for Small Press Idol, I didn't know much about small presses, self publishing, or the industry in general, but I've learned a lot, met some great people, and done tons and tons of carpet bomb promoting to the point where I'm even tired of seeing my name on emails (sorry about that). Did they work? Some yes, some no.... If a person picked up Faction, I'd have been a happy camper because that would mean someone believed enough in the quality of the product to purchase it with their hard earned money. It turns out that a lot of people believed in it, which I'm humbled by.... Despite my confidence in the book, despite the feedback I've received, you never know until the book gets in front of the readers how well it will be received.

Hopefully in the coming months, you'll stick with Faction on its journey. We'll keep updating things, show you some images here and there to prepare you for the inevitable issue 1, which Arnie is already drawing... I think you will be VERY happy with what's to come. Faction is a tale I've been excited to tell since I started the first page of the script many months ago and it keeps getting better.... Four issues will just be the beginning of the series, a chance for you to meet the characters and get a feel for the world just long enough for the entire thing to be rocked to its core.

Thank you again to everyone who picked up a copy of Faction, to the retailers who are going to carry the book in your stores, and to DimeStoreProductions.com (Ian) for putting the contest on in the first place.

To anyone who has dreamed of making comic books and never knew how, I challenge you to join in Small Press Idol 2010.... We're not too long away for that to start up!

I've enjoyed the ride so far, hope you have to, and stick around for a lot more!!!

Thanks,
Erik Hendrix
Writer - Faction
http://www.beardedladyonline.com
http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com

BTW ~ Image on this post is Michael Nelsen's interpretation of Acker Kinney from before he joined the Faction team.... How's that!

Image Crazy and Faction's last call!

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:22:00 +0000

This is it, folks... last call for copies of Faction... Tonight (Aug 31st) at Midnight EST is the last time to place orders for Faction issue 0 and have them count towards our win in Small Press Idol. Please help us pull this off!

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Faction - Need a hail mary pass from the fans, what it means, reviews, & check us out online

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Well, this is it! Just 2 days left in Small Press Idol 2009 - Last time to order Faction and have it count towards the results is midnight EST on Monday August 31st. If you haven't already picked up a copy, please go get one. A print version is $3.50 plus shipping and a PDF download is just $2.00. You can click on the image above to get into the store to buy one.

I have to say it has been challenging, fun, funny, frustrating, rewarding, and just about every other emotion under the sun the last six months (yes, the contest has been going on that long), but absolutely worth it. I started the competition with a notion that I was going to make it in comics one way or another. I've walked away with more ideas than I could have dreamed, somewhere over 30 now on my handy-dandy pen drive. Why and how so many? When you're focused so much on the creative side of things, more ideas just keep flowing to you! In a world like Faction's, it's completely possible to throw more and more in there, but at some point you have to stop adding to the idea. Faction as a world is robust enough without me pouring every new idea into it.

While I'm rambling (yes I know, I know)... Winning Small Press Idol is something I've been dreaming of since joining the competition. I've had my moments where I wasn't even sure I was going to make it through rounds, but not because of the quality of the book, but because other contestants managed to get more voters and support for their projects. My "friend-base" may not be as large as others', but I hope by now my fan base is equally as large as the other contestants'.

I went from starting Small Press Idol and thinking Faction was a pretty cool idea and a story worth telling. As I wrote it, the idea grew and became more and more of a dream to write. Adding in Arnie for art and then Mike for colors just put the book in a place where I can imagine it sitting on the shelf next to new copies of New Avengers, BatMan, and Invincible. Why, you ask? Well, look at the cover and the pages! Despite everything, a high majority of the reviews and feedback of Faction have been nothing but encouraging to that fact. Showing pages to comic book shops and fans have helped to cement that as well. No one to my knowledge has walked away saying, "darn it, I just wasted X money on that book."

There's so much more to tell, though... Faction is something that I can write for dozens of issues, the plot is already outlined, the details written, just waiting to be put into script format. Things will happen to challenge the characters in the series and the world on a fundamental level... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This isn't just another action book, though there is action.

This isn't just another "tough as nails" character in Acker... he's all about economy of words and action, but he has been through so much, he can't help but have a harder exterior. Inside, though, is someone who just wants to help.

This isn't just another cast of archetypical characters... each has their own unique identity despite the destinies that push them.

This isn't just another battle of good versus evil... Evil has many faces and good has just as much of a reason to destroy as evil. War makes strange bedfellows and Faction makes for complex alliances. Just because you think they're "evil" doesn't mean you don't have to work with them for a common goal. Just because they're "good" doesn't mean they won't kill you for their ideals.

Just some food for thought...

Faction needs your help to continue it's epic journey... Please pick up a copy today...

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Reviews:
Geek Syndicate
FBomb Cast
Comic Related
Interesting Fodder
HeroSpy
Project Fanboy

Thank you! If you have ANY problems placing orders, please email me... If you want to tell us what you think of the book, email me that, too! As always, you can join up online and follow what we're up to... see below for links....

Bearded Lady Online
Bearded Lady on Twitter
Bearded Lady on FaceBook
Faction
Faction on FaceBook

Erik Hendrix
erik@beardedladyonline.com

Faction - Evolution of a Page from Rounds 3 - 4, pencil to final final

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:50:00 +0000

I always find this kind of stuff entertaining.... How do we get from a script to the final product. For Faction, I thought we could take a look at page seven, how it turned out in Round 3 of Small Press Idol and then how it turned out in Round 4 with Arnie taking another look at my script and Mike adding in greyscale tones.

So... take a look at the script and we'll keep talking...

PAGE SEVEN (Five Panels)

Panel 1. View from the center of the room looking towards the bed where Acker has laid out Elam. Acker is starting to get up, twisting to look towards Gabriel. Acker’s face is stern, alert, ALIVE for the first time since waking up in the hospital, a glimmer, a threat of vengeance in his eyes. Gabriel is walking towards them, leading with his sword, but it’s pointed down towards Elam. Based on the angle, Abigail isn’t visible.

ACKER:
I don’t know who the hell you guys are, but it’s time to start explaining.

CAPTION:
For the first time since being injured, I was me again.

Panel 2. View from the bed looking towards Acker, Gabriel, and Abigail. Abigail is talking, but Gabriel is looking down at Elam, not visible from the angle, his sword pointed down towards her. Acker is shaking his head in disbelief. Beyond them, the black sword is still on the ground, smoking in the light.

ABIGAIL:
Monsieur, we are from the Society of the Enlightened. We were sent to watch over you.

Panel 3. Slightly different angle, same people on the panel, but Elam is visible on the ground, her body hasn’t moved, but her eyes are open, starting to turn colors again towards the fiery orange red they were when she was blackened by a spell. Acker is pointing towards the door with his left hand (of course), looking frustrated. Abigail and Gabriel are looking to Acker, not understanding why he’s arguing with them.

ACKER:
Just get out of here, both of you; I don’t need your Society. I don’t need anyone.

GABRIEL:
You saw that creature; it was just the first, Asa. More will come.

ACKER:
Asa?

ABIGAIL:
Come with us and all will be clear. You are one of us.

Panel 4. View from the center of the room looking towards the bed again. Elam is lunging at Acker’s back, black starting to coat her body again, starting at the fingers, now talons.

ELAM:
Maybe he’ll understand in his next life.

Panel 5. View from the side as Elam cuts across Acker’s back with her talons, ripping deep. Acker is arching his back from the blow, mouth opened to scream into the air.

ACKER (Yelling):
AHHHH!!!

CAPTION:
It felt like it cut me to my spine. A wound like that can paralyze you… if it doesn’t kill you.

You may notice first off that the script itself varies a little from the final product. Since I do my own lettering, I take that step as the final check on the script and sometimes move around dialog to match up better with how the artist draws the page. If you're a writer, I really recommend you learn how to letter. I'm not perfect... I'm still learning and will keep learning, but really it helps!

Now in round 3 of Small Press Idol, Arnie came in late in the game if you recall. KT had some difficulties on a personal level necessitating his departure from the team and Arnie graciously hopped in to fill his shoes. The drawback was we had a deadline looming and not a lot of time to get the pages finished... so, basically, he had to run through the pages and missed a few details. If you look at this page, though, you'll notice subtle differences only. Emlin's eyes (the den-spawn) are glowing, for example, and the characters all look a little bit different as Arnie had time to really explore their look and feel for himself. The very last page, though, is the kicker... when Mike added in 'tones.... wow... the pages really pop. Anyone who thinks coloring is easy, give it a try, it sucks! Mike did an expert job on all of the pages in Faction issue 0, adding a depth you just can't match with straight pen.

Anyway, that's it for now, I just wanted to let people take a looksie "behind the veil", so to speak...

If you have not picked up a copy of Faction... shame on you! Go get one! $3.50 plus shipping for the print version and $2.00 for a PDF download. The winner of Small Press Idol 2009 gets a publishing deal and a cash prize and Faction aims to be that winner, but we can't make it happen without your help!!!!

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

If you haven't been keeping up on reviews... check these out and also be sure to check out the Faction web site at ~ http://www.beardedladyonline.com/faction.

IndiePulp (more coverage than anything else)
ComicsPriceGuide
Project Stylus
DaFixers Hideout
Cream of the Cup
Geek Syndicate
FBombCast
Major Spoilers (more coverage than anything else)
Liam Bradley's Blog
ComicRelated
ComiXtreme
Siskoid
Interesting Fodder
MakeItSoMarketing Pop Culture Blog
HeroSpy
ProjectFanboy

Faction and other projects... image crazy!

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

I thought it would be fun to do a posting where I stick a bunch of images from projects I'm working on currently... Besides that, I really need your help... Faction is currently in 2nd place in Small Press Idol. We really need a shot in the arm of sales of our zero issue to take this thing or the competition will run away with it. If we win, we get a publishing deal for the book and a cash prize. Please help!

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Now for some images!!!!

FACTION 0 issue cover and pages 6-8 Art by Arnie Gordon / colors by Michael Nelsen

The Evil Tree Mock Cover and some sample pages... Art by Denman Rooke

The Detective book... A Mock Cover and some rough pages... Art by Sachin Nagar

Unbeatables images.... Art by Michael Nelsen

TLA (you'll have to figure that one out) - Art by Michael Nelsen.

Hollywood, Comics (including my thoughts on Ult. Comics Spider-Man 1), and Driving Home.... God I'm stupid sometimes... :)

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:31:00 +0000

So, took a trip to Hollywood yesterday, which was awesome... the drive there and back, though, certainly was not. Had a meeting at 4:30 pm. Knowing how traffic can be in the Los Angeles area at the drop of a hat, I figured I'd give us (my wife and I) about three hours to get there. Good thing we did! We left Carlsbad (where my wife works) around 1:45 pm and headed north. The 5 was dead stopped in Carlsbad, very strange heading north on the 5... South, sure it's a nightmare a lot of the time, but not north, at least not here. We dug in. Amanda (that's my wife's name if you didn't know) fell asleep (don't blame her) and I waited and waded. Eventually traffic dispersed and we were cruising for a big... just to slow down again.

I found myself doing math in my head, calculating if there was any shot at making the meeting on time or would I need to start making phone calls?!?!?! Eventually we were in the Los Angeles area thinking we may even have time for food. We hit the 101 and boom, gridlocked. 9 miles or so to go on the 101 and based on my math, it was looking like it would take as much time as we had left just to get off the highway! Luckily, the traffic gods were smiling on us and we were off the highway just before 4:00 pm. Getting to where we needed to be I almost hit someone with our car (would have left a nice dent), made a couple of other hair-brained moves, but we arrive at about 4:15. Started early, finished on time, walked away a happy camper. What was the meeting? Nothing. :) (insert innocent smile here)

After that, we hit a couple of comic shops in the area to check them out (and bought a few things, so thanks to Meltdown and Golden Apple for the awesome selection!), which was great. I've never been into either before because, well, I don't often go to Hollywood, let alone with directions! Dumb, huh? I know better now.

The drive home was a complete mess... We wanted to stop by Long Beach to check out a shop there, Pulp Fiction, because I've heard about it and that it was great... I had directions, but we got off the highway to look for a Jack in the Box and got a little turned around. Next thing you know we're on the 710 heading south around the Queen Mary! Kept trying to get to the highway so we could get home and ended up completely screwed up. Eventually, we stopped at a gas station and I asked 3 guys waiting for line to buy soda or something for some guidance and they pointed us the right way. We missed out on Pulp Fiction since it was well after 9pm by this point, but at least we were heading home... Doh!

I don't typically do this, but I have to say, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1? Awesome! I've been a fan of USM since near the beginning (well, ok, I started reading at issue 13 and backtracked) and I'm soooo glad Bendis has stuck around with it and the new numbering hasn't affected the quality of the book. David Lafuente's artwork is stunning, too... I loved Bagley's work on the book, I've been a HUGE fan of his since the 90's, but the fresh blood works, too, and adds an air of innocence to the book I find refreshing... Project Fanboy does a little more of a comprehensive review ~ http://forums.projectfanboy.com/showthread.php?t=4091 ~ so check that out... I commented on there, too. ;)

By the way, the picture attached is one of the Evil Tree Pages, drawn by Denman Rooke, words by me...

Faction - Sometimes it's hard not to fight back...

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:11:00 +0000

So, in this journey of Faction, responses to the book have been great. People have made comments here in there about things they didn't get, particularly one of the judges who didn't fully buy into the concept of the book in Small Press Idol. Not a problem, right? As a creator, though, I've been told you have to develop thick skin. You can't please everyone, I'm told. Didn't really encounter that so much until last night. I was sent someone's review that came across to me like it wasn't read, but skimmed, and the point of the book was completely missed. I was crushed, my first non-stellar review, and worse yet the writing was the person's biggest problem. I was dumbstruck! I realize now, though, after thinking on it, that you really can't please everyone. I've commented on that already in this blog, but it really hit home last night. But the simple fact that two people can read the exact same thing and that eleven reviewers find the book to be amazing while one thinks its derivative boggled my mind. I could fire back, over-analyze the over-analysis, but what's the point? Will I change that person's mind? Absolutely not...

This reminds me of an email I received a couple of weeks ago... I've been slowly but surely working to get Faction out there in the world. I won't give away what I've been doing, but let's just say that 99% of the people I've spoken with have been very receptive. One person, though, out of the blue responds to me, very upset, calling me rude and a few other choice words when TONS of other people only responded positively. Why is that? Did I catch them on a bad day? Who knows... I realized at that moment, too, that people are going to interpret events differently.

Some people see a car passing by and notice the beautiful paint, while others focus on the fact that the driver needs a shave. Some people listen to a CD and love the vocals, while others focus on the fact that the production is "rough" and can't get through it.

Message from Michael ~ we're going to have to toughen up your skin.

Agreed!

Faction - The Geek Syndicate and Throws... Plus Idol Results for today...

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:47:00 +0000

First off, special thanks to the Geek Syndicate for reviewing the zero issue of Faction!
Well, there's something to be said for taste today, I think... I found it very amusing that a review posted today by the Geek Syndicate pointed out a particular quote from Acker, "A Little challenging short an arm, but…a throw is a throw." This very quote is one that a particular judge in Small Press Idol commented about, saying it didn't "fully work" for them. That's life, though, really... some people are going to love what you do and others will not. Without various tastes, we'd all write the same and everyone would have a heck of a time figuring out what to buy... and we'd get bored. To the Geek Syndicate, however, this quote, "This was the line where I thought 'OK you got me, who do I need to kill to get issue 1 of this bad boy'." Always nice to hear comments like that! They go on call the story gritty with great dialog (referring to the "throw is a throw" comment again), the art crisp and clean, and "the start of an epic and global supernatural adventure which has got off to a great start." In other words, they want you to go get it.

To see the full review, go to ~ http://geeksyndicate.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/comic-review-faction-issue-0/

As for Faction, the results have been posted for the last couple of days at the DimeStoreProductions.com web site...

1.) Copies: 66 ( +5) - [Mail: 4] DLs: 14 (+1) Bulk: 30 [2] (+20) People: 44 (+3) AVG: 38.50 - Faction
2.) Copies: 69 ( +9) - [Mail:10] DLs: 14 (NC) Bulk: 25 [3] (+25) People: 34 (+5) AVG: 35.50 - White Rose
3.) Copies: 36 ( +3) - [Mail: 2] DLs: 2 (NC) Bulk: 5 [1] ( NC) People: 20 (+1) AVG: 15.75 - The Underground
4.) Copies: 10 ( +1) - [Mail: 2] DLs: 9 (NC) Bulk: 0 [0] ( NC) People: 13 (+1) AVG: 8.00 - Varsity Squad

Faction is still in the lead, but that lead is shrinking! If we win, we get a contract for four more issues of Faction... What can you do to help? Pick up a copy today.

Print version - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
PDF version - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Faction - Early Bio of Acker Kinney Pt 3

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Since many missed out on it, here's the third part of Acker's bio... enjoy!

If you haven't picked up your copy of Faction 0 yet, just under two weeks left!

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

FYI, with the trend how it is, we may not win this thing without some more fan support, so please, if you haven't already, please go and pick up a copy of the Print or PDF versions of Faction.

----------------------------
And for a little bit of Faction Facts (better than a snippet, I don't know)...

Here's another bit of Acker's Bio pre-issue 0...

On Sept 11, 2021, twenty years after the devastating attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, Al-Munajj’s new al-Qaeda struck again, the largest coordinated attack in history. Bombs went off worldwide, planes collided with buildings, trains crashed, busses flipped, key politicians were assassinated, and chaos ensued on 12:01 am GMT Sept 11, 2021. For every attempt that was thwarted, ten were successful. There was not the manpower or intelligence available to prevent everything that happened. When the attacks struck, I was a “young” master sergeant training the next generation of Special Forces medics in Kansas. I didn’t find out until that night that my parents died when a bus exploded in London where they were on vacation. I wasn’t married, I didn’t have kids, I didn’t even have a serious relationship besides friends in the service. Suddenly the military was the only family I had left.

Faction - Early bio of Acker Kinney Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Part 2 of the bio of Acker Kinney for those of you who missed it in Rounds 2 and 3 of Small Press Idol...

PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

-------------------------------------
Welcome back comic fans! I was debating what to put in as a snippet for Faction today and decided to put in a little more of Acker's bio, which actually ties with the history of the world in 2025. So, take a read and let me know what you think. This impacts the world they live in, but not the plot at first, so I figure it's safe to share.

EARLY BIO OF ACKER KINNEY PART TWO (of ???)

The following years brought one constant – conflict. The war in the Middle East extended over various countries the longer the conflict went on. Eventually, the “official” conflict ended, but we were still out there fighting the good fight. After Bin Laden was killed, Aamir Al-Munajj took his place and named the entire world as devils and vowed to destroy us all. Then it got quiet… We looked throughout the middle east for Al-Munajj’s location. He goaded us with videos proclaiming the end was near for their enemies, but nothing came.

Faction - Acker's origin - part 1

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:37:00 +0000

At some point, I'll convert this whole thing to a script with more details and get it printed... but for now!!!

To get a copy...
a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html
----------------------
So, I was thinking this morning it might be fun to show some of what inspired the story of Faction. Several months ago, while I was working on a novel an idea popped in my head. I won't mention my working title for the time becasue it will conjure images that don't completely apply to Faction, but when the idea came, I had to write it down right away. This was an early bio of one Acker Kinney, covering his early adulthood. Enjoy!

Acker Kinney – I once thought that life was so complex; the things I did in life were never easy. I enlisted in the Marines the day of my 18th birthday… It was a present from me to me. I could have gone onto college and tried to become an officer, but with what was going on in the Middle East, I just couldn’t wait to go and do something with myself. The recruiter promised me I could be whatever I wanted to be in the Marines, so I said I wanted to be infantry. Boot camp wasn’t a breeze, but I did better in there than a lot of the grunts to my left and right.

Shortly after boot camp, we trained in the “deserts” of Camp Pendleton. We had classes on tactics, hand-to-hand combat, rifles, pistols, and pretty much anything we could get our hands on. We learned to identify ballistics by the sounds they made from over the hill or miles away. I’m betting I lost some of my hearing during that time, but of course it could have been when the boys and I headed out all over Southern California when we were given our limited time off. Some of the guys partied hard, tattooed anything not visible outside of their greens, and damn the torpedoes. People like me? Well, I won’t say I didn’t party, but it wasn’t quite as hard. I didn’t drink much, though I can remember, errr partially remember a few crazy nights. I don’t smoke, and God help anyone who tried to do anything else if they got caught.

In those days, we all knew that we could end up shipped to a small base in Kansas or in the middle of the action in Iraq, Afghanistan, or someplace we haven’t even heard of to defend out freedom. In all of our training, some of the officers noticed I excelled in first aid. Suddenly I found that fewer and fewer of my classes were with the guys I had spent the past weeks and months training with. While my friends were crawling through trenches and shooting tracer bullets into the night, I was practicing field dressing, crawling through smoke filled sand-traps to find an “injured” soldier. They had me diving into pools to “rescue” drowning soldiers in full gear, running miles carrying the normal field gear plus basic medical equipment, and praying every day that things would get easier.

A couple of years and ranks later, I found myself in Ft. Bragg. In a 22 week program, the Marine Corps taught me to be a Special Operations Medic. I didn’t realize while I was there but later learned that I was, at 21, the youngest person to ever get through the training. You don’t get in the media for breaking Special Ops records in the military, but the service was proud, so I was proud.

Faction - Sales, marketing, and what may or may not work

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Faction still appears to be at the top of the charts today, which is great... you can see by the below that really only 33 people have purchased copies of the book... Now, you might think that worries me, but really it doesn't. When it comes to indie books outside of mainstream distribution, you don't sell copies in droves all at once. I mean, if you're established and have a large fan base, sure, but when you're building a name, it doesn't seem to work that way. You need to get fans, reviews, word of mouth, convention time, etc, before people really buy into your book, right? Well... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

1.) Copies: 38 ( +5) - [Mail: 4] DLs: 11 (+2) Bulk: 10 [1] (+10) People: 33 (+5) AVG: 23.00 - Faction
2.) Copies: 39 (+10) - [Mail:10] DLs: 10 (+2) Bulk: 0 [0] ( NC) People: 22 (+3) AVG: 17.75 - White Rose
3.) Copies: 22 ( +6) - [Mail: 2] DLs: 2 (NC) Bulk: 5 [1] ( NC) People: 10 (+2) AVG: 9.75 - The Underground
4.) Copies: 5 ( NC) - [Mail: 0] DLs: 7 (NC) Bulk: 0 [0] ( NC) People: 8 (NC) AVG: 5.00 - Varsity Squad

If you think about it, if we manage to sell, over a month, a few hundred copies, that's awesome. The way I see it, we could get to a convention and when people see the book first hand, they may buy it in droves! There's another X-Factor in the whole thing, too... Haven... No one knows exactly how many stores are going to get involved in the contest and order copies for their stores. It could be 50... it could be 500! When all is said and done, the order of things above could be completely different! This, though, is why we need fans of Faction to rise and purchase a copy... $2 PDF / $3.50 printed copy... If you have one, tell a friend... If you don't have one, get one, get two, get 549 of them! ha ha...

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

As for the reviews, the links haven't changed, but I'm putting them here again so you can see them. Check 'em out!

http://forums.projectfanboy.com/showthread.php?t=3945
http://herospy.com/2009/faction-0-review/
http://makeitsomarketing.tripod.com/popularcultureblog/index.blog?from=20090805
http://interestingfodder.typepad.com/interesting_fodder/2009/08/faction-issue-0-promises-more-awesomeness-to-come.html
http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2009/08/submitted-for-review-faction-0.html
http://www.comixtreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49084
http://comicrelated.com/news/2676/faction-0
http://liambradley.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/faction-0-review/
http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/21408.htm/ <-- more an FYI than review

By the way, there are several things on FaceBook you can check out...
Faction Group
Faction Round 4 / 0 Issue Event
Bearded Lady Online Group

Check them all out!

The Evil Tree - From Fact to Fiction... and horror

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:41:00 +0000

A little bit on the Evil Tree... So, the original concept came to me late one night, probably at 2 in the morning. I don't know if I ate some bad food or something, but my dreams were very vivid. This in particular brought into plan a certain tree, which up until a few months ago was right up the hill from my house. The dream had some friends, my wife, and I driving out to this house in the middle of the night and when we got out of the car, the story really began. And so starts the story of the Evil Tree, too! The names have changed, the plot changed a bit from that initial dream, but at heart, the story is a synthesis between the amazing dead tree pictured and my dream.

When I woke up at 2am, I had to start writing or I wouldn't have gone back to sleep... I got up, ran into the office, and started typing away, getting that initial brain dump out of the way like I usually do when an idea first strikes. I can't recommend that enough! I've had so many situations where I don't remember to take down notes and then later I can't remember these "brilliant" ideas I had.

Anywho, hope you like seeing Denman's vision of the tree...

My Super Secret Horror Mini - The Cat's Out of the Bag (sort of)

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:48:00 +0000

I believe it was way back on January 18th of this year, I had a post up at DevianArt that I was looking for an artist for any one of like six ideas I had at the time... fantasy book, detective book, sci-fi/fantasy hybrid, horror mini, and a couple of others. Denman Rooke, a talented fine artist in PA contacted me through DeviantArt and we started talking. After some back and forth, he told me he was interested in my horror mini, which back then I was super tight lipped about, not certain how things would play out... Well, here we are several months later, many projects for Denman, a tour for his band, The Last Hope (get it? The Last Bard is me The Last Hope is his band?), and several other things later and we're just about ready to unleash the book on the world... The name of the super secret mini may not seem so profound, but the story is amazing, probably some of my best writing to date... I finished writing the mini-series months ago and have been laying in wait, just allowing the time Denman needed to get the pages finished so we could release the hounds!

What you see before you on here is a mock cover Denman came up with based on some conversations with me (and from the script of course)... More pages will be posted in the coming days and weeks... Won't ruin the story, just give you a flavor for things.

I give you The Evil Tree... The cover tells you a little bit... The pages tell you a little bit... that's pretty much all you're going to get right now! All I'll say is that the tree plays a large role in the book and there's a healthy dose of my interpretation of how bad things can get in a house when you're cut off from civilization and things start going downhill.

The final project was actually a test for my writing... Since I like to let a story breathe, I decided from the point I wrote the first caption on the first page that the Evil Tree would only be four issues, that's it, so my goal was to get my ideas, which filled a huge number of pages in a notebook, into a concise story, not rushed, and yet in that four issue goal. I was so pleased with the results, I finished it, edited the heck out of it, shared it with only like four people, and locked it up... Now that we're getting so close to things, I just had to show off these pages to show the world how great a job Denman did. He took the story, read it, really got into the characters minds, and ended up producing images that needed little in the way of guiding from me. He trusted the script, I trusted his interpretation.

Anyway, enjoy!

Projects, content, and behind the veil looks at things

noreply@blogger.com (TheLastBard) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:47:00 +0000

First off... the sample image today is by Denman Rooke, the artist for my horror mini, which I can't seem to get myself to talk much about... I'll add more details on the book shortly, actually, because there is some info out there on the web, so I might as well... I'm just super secretive with it. The book is written 100% hand has been for months. We're getting ready to send a submission package out to someone...

I was thinking today about content in books and how so many modern comic books frustrate the heck out of me... actually same with a lot of movies, too. It seems to me that a lot of writers want to try to fill a book so beyond letting a book breathe, they seem to stretch out conversations and moments that really should be condensed into fewer pages. Now, I'm known to be wordy and I'll never apologize for that, but when you're thinking of an issue of a comic book, you want something where by the end of the book, something has changed for he characters. Each issue should have a full beginning, middle, and end, even if it's not the resolution to the overall story through multiple issues. We shortchange our readers when we don't do that. In the case of Faction, for example, I have been pouring over the script, trying to make sure I give the story a chance to breathe, and also remembeing some of the early lessons I learned with script writing... If you have a lot of dialog, put it in more panels per page, more action means less panels per page. I follow that naturally most of the time; other times I have to kick myself to remember. With Acker's "voice" in the book, even when there's action, there's often some sort of commentary going on.

I'm not trying to bash on any modern comics in particular, because you don't make any friends that way, but I just have this feeling that creators often forget about the audience when they're telling a story. Personally, if I pay $3 for a comic book that has 22 pages of story and each page has 3 panels, full page splashes, double page splashes, etc, by the end, I'm ticked off. Why? Money is tight for most people... Give them their money's worth! That's one thing I'm proud about with Faction, I packed that sucker full of content. I don't see why it's so hard to do that? If you have a story you CAN tell in four issues, why drag it out to eight? If you have arcs, have some 4, some 6, and some 8 issues, all depending on the story, not concerns about a graphic novel or whatever. We all know that you can technically make a GN with about any even number of pages, so no issue... Basically, though, give them their money's worth. The other side of it (besides the 3 panels, splashes, etc) is dragging a story out for no reason. I've been following some larger indie books for years and realized recently that some of the ongoing series really aren't going anywhere. They're good reads, but after 50-something issues, how far has the story gone? It's like we're looking at a novel and instead of each issue being a chapter in the novel, it's only covering about a paragraph... Get on with it already! Geezzzz....

My other thought today had to do with the "behind the veil" look at comic books... A few months ago, I had the honor of attending a music and art show at Sky High Comics in San Marcos. When I went, I took a ton of sketches, script samples, works in progress, etc, to give people an idea of how a comic goes from concept to the final printed page. The reception was great! Someone recently commented to me that they haven't seen a lot of that in modern comics and it's a shame. The same person referenced the old Ditko issues of Spider-Man from the 60's and how they used to do pictures of how the web shooters were made and such... I can't remember the specifics, but I do remember seeing that in some of the collections of those old issues. Same with books from a few years ago... I love seeing how art goes from script to pencil, ink, and color and I know I'm not alone. With Faction 0, we added a TON of that stuff; everything from the Small Press Idol judges' comments to character bio's, concept art, etc, and the reception has been great. I wish more books did that! I remember seeing a year or so ago when Invincible changed his costume some of the different options they were discussing when it happened. I loved that! Those kinds of things really aren't that hard to put together when you think about it, because it has already been done! Adding a couple of pages to a page count isn't really that big a deal either, so add 'em on!

Bottom line is making the dollar go further. It's not about cutting corners, making page counts go down so you can necessarily print books for cheaper, improve your margins, etc... Sure, if you're printing 10 - 20k copies of a book, every penny counts, but how long do you think it's going to take for the consumers to get tired of it?

Let your artist do their thing in the books, but make sure 3 panel pages are at a minimum in a book and only do like one splash page per issue, if that... If you can, make up for it by making the book a couple more pages! With the story, make sure you're telling one, not dragging the fans through your attempts to stretch out the story for issue requirements or whatever...

Part of this rant is a response to the recent Return to Witch Mountain movie... I didn't love the movie, it was frustrating, but one thing I did appreciate is that although it wasn't done well, they tried to pack as much content as they could in a short period of time. It was like a three hour movie crunched to less than two hours. Personally, I would have liked to see it a little longer, have the story breathe a bit, etc, but I appreciate the intent. Better than other movies and books that are 3.5 hours long and you feel in the end like it could have been accomplished in an hour... I hate that. The ideal is something like the old Star Wars movies and even Revenge of the Sith. Yes, I don't think that George Lucas is the best director there is (no offense George). He's a freaking genius, but he should create and write, but let someone else direct. One thing those movies do masterfully, though, is put enough content in there that you walk out of a two hour movie feeling like it was four hours, but in a good way. Lots of content, action, dialog, and it progresses!

Ok, enough ranting for one day?

Back to the normal request ~ If you haven't already, please check out the Faction web site ~ http://www.beardedladyonline.com/faction ~ to read about the book, see the sample pages, read about the characters, factions, etc... I think you'll like what you see. Then pick up a copy of the book!

a. PRINT COPY - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-2274.html
b. PDF DOWNLOAD - http://www.dimestoredistro.com/faction-0-dl-2275.html

Thank you!

Erik Hendrix

Writer - Faction and other things

erik@beardedladyonline.com

http://www.beardedladyonline.com

http://thelastbardsblog.blogspot.com