Photoshop fun

PART 1 of THEATER THINKS: CURTAIN

Theater Thinks
The Curtain

The Curtain
When you go to watch a play you will most likely see a curtain. The curtain may be big, the curtain may be small. The curtain may be red, it may be black and it may even be a picture. But behind that curtain lie so many stories. They may be sad, they may be happy, they may be comic, they may be tragic and they can be so many different things. All behind one curtain.

Back on the computer

note: forgive me for the weired post before this. I was going to post something but than I just wrote three letters and pressed enter and TA-DAH it's posted! because I have not posted in such a long time I thought I would post something a wee bit special. The drawing below was done using photo shop (I think) so there you go. Enjoy!

hwe

Scanner

I just baght a scanner and it is working GREAT! see images above

The cover for Neil Gaiman's new book by Dave Mckean in sketch and painted versions (from Neil Gaiman's blog: http://journal.neilgaiman.com)

SPECIAL MARCH POST!

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwcg3mp_3g9fkkqdm
click the link than.
Why are you still listening to me!
CLICK IT!
CLICK IT!!!

A piece of art

A nice piece of art about the blog that I did
Drawn on Scribbles and colored and Lettered on Photoshop

The Artificial Intelligence continues

from http://tv.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=304142&GT1=7703
Is America Ready for a Gay 'Idol'?
Postnote: No, they are not it turns out, he was voted off shortly after this article was published.

March 5, 2008, 6:50 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- No finalist has ever been portrayed as openly gay during the past six seasons of "American Idol." With more details about contestants' personal lives being exposed — both on the show and unofficially online — that could change, and soon.

Or will it be "Idol" business as usual?

"It feels like we're closer now than ever to having an openly gay contestant on the show," says Jim Verraros, who came out after his run as a finalist on the first season of "Idol."

"I'm not here to name any names, but I feel like there are some definite possibilities for this to happen this year," he said. "Do I think it'll happen? I don't know. I hope it does."

On Thursday, the current 16 semifinalists will be narrowed down to 12 finalists, who will perform live each week until the seventh winner of "American Idol" is selected by the voting public. At its core, "Idol" is a singing competition, but finalists' popularity has always seemed to play a big role in who moves forward.

When reached for comment about this story, Fox and "Idol" producers issued the following statement to The Associated Press: "We do not comment on the personal lives of the show participants." None of the current contestants have been made available for comment.

Over the years, however, "Idol" has devoted plenty of screentime to participants' personal lives, ranging from asking intimate questions of the contestants (this week it's "What was your most embarrassing moment?") to aiming the camera at their sobbing significant others in the audience, to airing fully edited segments about their backgrounds.

"The show hasn't seemed very conducive or gay friendly to contestants coming out," says Michael Jensen, editor of AfterElton.com, a Web site about gay and bisexual men in entertainment and the media. "Simon and Randy have not hesitated to mock effeminate contestants and crack the occasional gay joke. It has not communicated to contestants that it would be a good place to come out."

Every season, blogs and message board users endlessly speculate about the sexuality of contestants. Online clues hinting at their sexual orientation often emerge, but Fox and "Idol" producers have never addressed such rumors or depicted openly gay finalists as such on the show or on AmericanIdol.com.

Such speculation isn't new.

Will Young, the first champion of "American Idol's" British predecessor "Pop Idol," was rumored to be gay — then publicly came out following his win. In 2005, a gay personal ad featuring U.S. season-four finalist Anwar Robinson was discovered on BlackPlanet.com. And second-season runner-up Clay Aiken continues to be a constant source of "is he or isn't he?" gossip — though he's always maintained that he isn't.

"Gay people, like everybody, want to see themselves reflected on television," says Jensen. "I think that when a show hasn't reflected that, and goes on and on not reflecting that, it sort of raises the ante, and each season people begin speculating even more intensely about who may be gay."

This week, a video of flamboyant current semifinalist Danny Noriega lashing out against Santa Claus appeared on MySpace and was posted on several blogs. Another video of Noriega singing Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" and rapping about being gay — all while wearing a do-rag — was also posted on YouTube.

"Yeah, I'm gay," raps Noriega in the video. "But you eat hay for dinner, 'cause you look like a horse ... ."

Last week, "Idol"-bashing VoteForTheWorst.com posted photos of scantily clad semifinalist David Hernandez working at gay nightclub Burn, as well as rumors that he was a stripper at Dick's Cabaret in Phoenix. Club manager Gordy Bryan told the AP on Monday that Hernandez did indeed dance fully nude and perform lap dances for the club's "mostly male" clientele.

Club manager Bryan says he did not know anything about Hernandez's personal life while he was stripping at Dick's Cabaret. Hernandez's MySpace profile lists his sexual orientation as straight.

First-season finalist Verraros, who says he was out to fellow contestants and "Idol" staff but not on the show, was publicly outed when an online journal he kept in college, which included comments about dating guys, was discovered. "Idol" producers later asked Verraros to take down the LiveJournal.

"The message boards were so homophobic. The gay-bashing was awful," says Verraros. "It was horrible. They said a faggot would never win 'American Idol.' It was pretty intense. I think it's something you have to expect in this industry, whether it's 'American Idol' or a sitcom or Broadway. It's going to happen the more exposed you are."

Verraros decided not to come out until after the show and the subsequent tour, doing so in the pages of gay magazine The Advocate. Since then, Verraros released his first album, starred in the gay-themed indie film "Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds" and his currently working on his second album.

"Regardless of whether or not a contestant is gay, the talent is there," says Verraros. "That should always come first and foremost."

Buffy is...

I must admit for me as mere reader of the comic book I felt no huge degree of shock while reading the latest issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have to say I did not have any clue what was going on and would have to say I do not recall the storyline that Joss Whedon said in the N.Y. Times article on the story that this had

evolved naturally

I would have to say it was just a good old school bit of making the charecters as uncomfortable as possible as per romantic comedy rules.

Note: this is my 70th post. I just thought you might want to know!

Sounds from the set

"Quiet on the set"
"Shut up"
"It's a murder mystery"
"They can hear you typing"
"shh"

2 for the price of one

from the LA TIMES

Breaking News: Hillary Clinton hints at joint ticket with Obama

Sen. Hillary Clinton, who some wrote off as all but finished in the race for the Democratic nomination for president, has pulled another surprise out of the hat that we never see her wearing.

The morning after regaining some political momentum by winning three of four primaries (after losing 12 in a row), the former first lady happened to mention on some early news shows the possibility of her and Sen. Barack Obama forming a joint ticket to face the new Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain.

With most political observers sound asleep after a long Tuesday evening that appeared to augur at least seven more weeks of possibly bitter and divisive struggle between the two Democrats until a potentially decisive Pennsylvania primary on April 22, Clinton went on some morning news programs, according to the Associated Press, and appeared to raise the possibility of a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket.

"That may be where this is headed," she said, "but, of course, we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me."

It's a clever move to vault herself to the level of equal standing with the Illinois senator, who remains way more than 100 delegates ahead of Clinton in the nomination race. The idea does speak to what many Democrats have long regarded as a dream ticket combining the first serious African-American candidate with the first serious female candidate.

And it raises the prospect of a negotiated agreement that would avoid prolonged intra-party strife, while a victorious McCain forges ahead already with his general election campaign.

In the early morning hours two top Clinton advisors, Mark Penn and Harold Ickes, released a memo to "Interested Parties," that said: "With last night’s victories in Ohio and Texas, one thing is clear: the momentum has swung back to Hillary Clinton." At last that's what they'd like today's message to be as McCain meets at the White House for lunch and the official blessing of President and Mrs. Bush.

But the joint ticket idea may be more of a nightmare in the mind of Obama and his team, who thought they were about to finish Clinton off Tuesday only to see it slip through their hands and the struggle prolonged.

And Obama remains well ahead in delegates and popular votes, so he'd be unlikely to be interested in such a combination arrangement now, especially if she sees herself in the No. 1 spot with Obama as the No. 2. The proposal could well be an attempt to stall his momentum further.

Later, on the same CBS "Early Show" Obama referred to his delegate total as "close to an insurmountable lead." Clinton had minimized the gap calling it "smidgens of difference."

Plus, to be realistic, whomever is the Democratic vice president on any successful ticket lead by the New York senator will actually be forced to work with a pair of Clintons in the White House, making him potentially vice-vice-president.

--Andrew Malcolm

I have to say I at the moment support Hilary Clinton. This could be the best way for either to win.

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