Broked
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007
I just tried the site in Internet Explorer and found that it looks very, very broken. I’ll work on getting that ironed out…
Until it’s fixed I’m going to switch to the default Wordpress layout.
Category: Website
Archive for March, 2007
Take my hand some other day
Tuesday, March 27th, 2007
The roaring receded to little more than a whisper. A few of the survivors cautiously took their hands away from their ears and peered about into the darkness. After nothing followed for a time almost all took up their tools and rekindled sources of light. A few gathered and risked using what little remained in their flasks to clean the mud and ash from their faces; among them one was given distance out of respect. A voice from somewhere, delicate and careful, addressed the solitary figure, though its source remained outside of torch light.
“Master, what of the children?”
“Let the children flee,” the figure replied without looking up.
“But surely they must go accompanied to the vista.”
“We old ones are tired. It’s too rainy for a midnight walk.”
“There are some that would go.”
“They simply pine for an empty sky.”
“This entire day went without a sound. And now there is so much undone. Think you nothing of the land that dawn will reveal?”
“Such is the vicious nature of preservation.”
The voice did not respond. The solitary figure stood, his feet sinking into the waterlogged earth, his thumbnail digging into the moist helve of his hammer. He labored forward until wet soil gave way to vegetation, and he found himself standing in a ring of kempt grass. “Tell them,” he began to say, though the roaring returned before he could finish.
Category: Writing
Knowledge is Sour
Sunday, March 25th, 2007
Didn’t really create much for the site this week, despite having a lot of ideas floating around. That’s primarily due to my spending several hours a day working on expanding my grasp on CSS and PHP, which(along with work) kind of drained motivation to sit in front of the computer even longer. I’m figuring out a lot of stuff at the very least, and picking up new code languages has always been an “eventually” project. Just don’t have much to show for it right now.
Category: Life
Samuel Visits the Sea - Part 1
Tuesday, March 20th, 2007
On a Saturday during the middle of Summer a young man decided to take a coastal path home in order to avoid his tormentors. He recalled having luck with back roads previously, and he felt that the added amount of time was a fair exchange for the cost of cheap analgesic. The path itself followed a line of high cliffs that overlooked the ocean, weaving between tangled patches of grass and underbrush.
The path began to ascend, and up ahead sat an old man slumped in a wheelchair. The young man looked around and, not spotting anyone else, called out to the aged figure.
“Hello,” he said. The old man did not look up. “Hello? Hello hello? You alive?”
“Yes,” came a somewhat muted, gravelly voice. Despite responding the old man did not move. His head was tilted back slightly, resting mostly on his left shoulder, and his gaze remained on the waters. His hair was matted and gray, twisted into a mass of stray strands by the winds. He had a thin white beard and deep lines under his eyes and above his brow.
“Are you OK?”
“Yes.”
“Someone leave you here?”
“This is my Saturday.” The old man’s mouth only slightly moved with his words, and his eyes did not waver.
“Can you move?” The sound of the waves crashing upon rocks far below the two filled the air for several moments.
“No, I can’t.”
“Then how’d you get here?”
“Back…back there is a small home for the broken and worthless. Twice each week someone brings me all the way here so I can spend some time close to the sea.”
“Were you a sailor or something?”
“No.”
“You just like the sea?”
“I can’t stand it. It smells and the wind never stops.”
“So why they bring you here?”
“Because they think I enjoy it and that it’ll do some good for me. They have these remedies for everyone at the home.”
“Sounds like they just want you out the way. You give them problems old man?”
“Ah they don’t mind me. Who are you anyway? Come over here where I can see you.”
“Name’s John. I don’t wanna walk out by the edge there. You?”
“Samuel Osborn.”
“Look Sam I gotta get home now. I have something important I have to do before tonight. When they gonna wheel you out here again?”
“Again? Probably Wednesday. That’s the usual.”
“All right, then. I kind of like this way home so maybe I’ll see you around.”
“If you come this way you will.” Samuel heard footsteps behind him trail off to the right. He took a deep breath and released it.
Category: Writing
Reaching
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
Click for full image
I’ve frequently tried starting up a piece of Ico art in the past, but never seemed to bring it to any state of completion. So this is a first for me.
I’m still experimenting with how I want these construction paper images to turn out, though I end up learning a couple of things with each one that I create.
The Last Song of Trenton Fairweather
Monday, March 12th, 2007
“I got this for us,” he said proudly, holding up a brown plastic bag tightly wrapped around a square form.
“They were on special. Two for $4.” He marched into the kitchen, sighting her vacant gaze settle on the package. She sat sprawled in the corner, still wearing her black sleeveless shirt and a pair of torn shorts.
Finding her eyes after a moment, he smiled. The lights buzzed. The fridge, empty, hummed distantly. Outside two people’s voices slid by in the darkness, caressing one another with giggles and indiscernible whispers.
Category: Writing
Girl in Green
Friday, March 9th, 2007
One of my more recent projects has involved scanning construction paper and creating illustrations of sorts by meticulously cutting out pieces in Photoshop. This one depicts a character from the book I’ve been working on for a number of years.
The Epic of Waldren
Friday, March 9th, 2007
With a twist he pulled the blade from the dead body, wiping it clean before re-sheathing it. He coughed.
“And now,†he said, “I am the last.â€
He buckled over and, for a moment, held his hands on his knees before he finally collapsed. “A fine life,†he whispered before his eyes slowly closed.
The rest of the guests quietly gathered their belongings and excused themselves.
Category: Writing
Kenku scholar
Friday, March 9th, 2007
Prior to my hospital visit I numbered Dungeons & Dragons among my few hobbies. I tended to find myself spending the most time just coming up with interesting character concepts, as the rules system did allow for quite a range of different possibilities. An obscene number, really, which tended to cause me to come up with a ton of characters that would never see the light of play. This is one of my last, a kenku(a type of bird men with a reputation for thieving) with a leaning toward the the scholarly ways. I think he’d be capable of some interesting conversations.
New Beginning
Friday, March 9th, 2007
And now Paperninja.net is open once again. Originally created way back in August of 2001, this place has gone through a few changes in layout and direction. Overall, it was always intended to be a collection of my “creative works.” Previously that was limited to graphite-and-paper artwork and a few other random projects, but nothing ever especially consistent or long-lasting. All of that old stuff will probably not be re-posted, as it feels hardly reflective of my more recent work.
I think that this re-emergence is based mostly on some recent re-prioritizing of my time and energy. As some people close to me know, I spent February 15th-21st in the hospital due to a pretty terrible illness. It knocked a lot out of me, and afterward I found that certain things didn’t hold the appeal that they used to. One thing that has changed is that I have had a sudden resurgence of interest in creative outlets. This website went through quite a bit of neglect over the past couple of years, and it seemed like time to try once again to present and maintain a collection of shareable works.
I’ve invested some time into experimenting with CSS and PHP in order to utilize Wordpress as a website backbone. It seems pretty handy thus far, and after many hours of experimentation I’ve forged this meager layout. The about section has a basic outline of what I hope to do with the website at this point. I happen to have a few things laying around that can be posted, so this starting week will actually come accompanied with material. With any luck it won’t be the last week with new content….