The Voided Times Page A-4

Dec. 6, 2006

For some reason, the strip hasn't been going up that well. Currently, I'm trying to get Monday's update to show up for Wednesday (today) because I was an idiot and didn't check to see if it actually uploaded Monday. I hope it'll go up. I didn't bother to draw an update for Wednesday after finding this out, because of two reasons. One, Monday's update would get hidden by a new update. Two, and the main reason, I'm currently so doped up on painkillers I can't even type straight, let alone draw. Seriously, I've used the backspace key for every three letters I type . . . and let’s not go into the odd places I keep trying to put spaces.

So Wednesday had better go up. I think part of the problem is that I'm so whacked that I keep uploading wrong, or I tell myself I've already done steps that I haven't done yet. Who knows? I'm going to bed; this painkiller'll be the death of me way before anything my ankles can do. Why does that sentence not make sense to me? Does it make sense to you? OK, I'd better shut up now. . . .

Dec. 1, 2006

New voting pic up! It took me forever to finish that Halloween pic, so you can see the completed version by voting. It's kinda small though, because the website that's hosting the pic wouldn't allow it to be any bigger. Oh well.

I betcha all didn't notice I was gone for Thanksgiving, didja? ^_^ That's because I actually planned ahead and did BACKLOG! GASP! Hopefully, I'll have the time to do the backlog for when I go home for the Christmas break. That'll be harder. . . . I'll be gone three weeks. I'm planning on bringing my art, but then again . . . at home there's THAT thing. IT. The EVIL that even rivals Alice's computer. Ah, my old enemy, we meet again. . . .

So we'll see what happens. Finals should be coming up in several weeks, then Christmas, and then the next semester. Life's gonna get hectic. But we'll see it through!

BTW, this new graphics tablet is working GREAT. ^_^ Also, I've bought a Dummies book about web design. . . . I'll see this site gets an overhaul if it's the LAST THING I DO. Which it might be.

Nov, 13, 2006

Well, the tablet finally died. And at the most inopportune moment too. To give you a rundown of my week, let me sum up. Saturday after Halloween I wrenched my right ankle. Bad. Since I'd already been limping for several days, my left foot got tired of supporting my weight and gave out. For those who've been following my surgeries, you know I have chronic ankle problems. My left foot's doing much better since, but I'm beginning to wonder about the right. In any case, I was unable to even walk for two days, and I was only able to walk after that with the help of a boot on my left foot. My left foot is now doing much better, and I can almost put weight on my right. But this threw a kink in my plans to get my graphics tablet fixed. I was hoping I could work on art while I was laid up, but the tablet then died Tuesday, before I could start Wednesday's strip. Hence why there was no update Wednesday or Friday.

But I have some really nice friends. One took me window shopping for tablets on Thursday, where we discovered that my poor tablet was beyond help, and I had to fork over cash for a whole new one. Then my friend and roomie (who also happens to be Diedre's Real-Life-Counterpart) took me to buy a brand-new tablet on Saturday, and paid for half of it as an advance Christmas present. This definitely proves that Diedre's RLC is a very nice person, for all those of you who wondered if she was as hard as her character. Well, even Diedre has her soft side . . . we just haven't seen what brings it out yet. ^_~

So now I have a new tablet, the strip is updating again, and I can go to school tomorrow! Things are looking up behind the scenes of Nowhere U!

Nov. 1, 2006

Didja all have a great Halloween? ^_^ I love that holiday. I dressed up as an angel of Death this time; probably the most Halloweenish thing I've done so far. I used a vampiress dress I got last year, and also added black wings and a scythe to the look. It looked really cool. If I can get copies of photos that were shot, I'll possibly upload them on my deviantart site. I went to my church party, and had three people call me "sexy death". That was rather amusing and strange, since I've never had the adjective "sexy" addressed to me ever. O_o One of my roommies and a close friend of mine dressed up as a CIA agent, but nearly everyone thought she was either from the Matrix or Men in Black. The look really suited her, anyways. Way cool. Two other friends of mine, who like theming their costumes together (a typical approach for married couples, I've noticed) went as Han Solo and Leia. That looked really neat. Two funny costumes I saw at the party were a sack of potatoes and someone with a red letter "e" on his shirt. The potato sack was a guy stuck in a sleeping bag, and it was most amusing to see him try to participate in the square dance. The guy with the letter "e" explained to me that he was going as an "e-male". Ahahahah . . . gotta love pun costumes. Anyways, I love Halloween. Feel free to blab about what you all dressed up as on the forums!

By the way, sorry today's update was late. It should be up now, if Comicgenesis allows. I still haven’t finished shading the Halloween pic yet, for three reasons (same as why today's late). One, I've been busy. School's still hanging over my head, and I had a lot of Halloween-related activities going on. Two, I've been sick. Have you ever been sick on Halloween? There should be a law that prosecutes viruses that get people sick around so much chocolate and candy. Argh. It's a crime. Anyways, the third reason's the most important, and probably the most dangerous of the three, because it threatens the future of my art. My graphics tablet is dying. (((O_O))) I do NOT have the money to replace it, and my art has evolved to the point that a mouse no longer can suffice. I think the main problem is with the USB cable; the connection to the tablet is faulty, so that if I so much as jiggle it funny the connection breaks. If the connection breaks permanently, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm trying to see if any electronics stores nearby fix this kind of thing, but if the price is too high, I'll just have to save for a new tablet. If my tablet dies, and I still don't have the money for one, I might have to go on hiatus YET AGAIN. I hate hiatuses, especially since I've pretty much been forced on all the ones I've taken so far due to either surgeries or computer trouble. I'd try to get a bunch of backlog done, but again, school comes first. So we'll see . . . I'm going to keep trying to do the strip as long as I can. I don't think I'll have to go on a hiatus, because I'm fairly sure I can get this tablet fixed. But I'm warning you all just in case. It all depends on whether or not I can get my wounded friend repaired. Cross fingers.

Oct. 30, 2006

Happy Halloween! In advance. ^_~ Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been cramming for midterms. I barely was even able to get this Halloween special done, and it's not even completely done yet (still need to shade). The finished version may get put up as a voting pic later in the week, or whenever I can finish it. I actually did most of the work on this pic early last week, before I knew that I'd become too engrossed in studying to draw. Nowhere U's a high priority in my life, but when it comes down to either updating or passing a test, school wins every time.

In any case, this is the main Nowhere U cast cosplaying Full Metal Alchemist. For those who are not familiar with the series, Google it and you can get a good idea about what the anime's about. Ironically, my twin sister Bookmaster of the comic The Hero's Handbook came up with the same idea. O_o I know great minds think alike, but this is ridiculous. In any case, the pic should be self-explanatory . . . not only are the characters involved in active dialogue that takes up a good chunk of the pic, but they're also labeled as to who's cosplaying who. I did this pic because I didn't have a Halloween pic yet, and I'd already done Thanksgiving and Christmas pics, so this holiday was getting rather lonely. That, and this is the best holiday to dress my already cosplay-happy characters up in a group theme. ^_^ I may do more Halloween cosplay in the future, if I find time. And if anyone wants to discuss the pic, go ahead; the forums are still open.

Oct. 23, 2006

Wouldn't you know it . . . the tagboard worked last night, but is now busted. It loads briefly, but then you get that "This page cannot load" error message that the OTHER tagboard used to haunt us with. It's probably a problem with the host site, because my sister's tagboard (the same thing) does that load-then-pop-the-error thing as well. So bear with us . . . again . . . as we wait for the host site to fix this new problem. . . .

Oct. 23, 2006

OK, if this coding worked, we should have . . . A NEW TAGBOARD!! ^_^ No more annoying login pop-ups! I'll probably be playing with the coloration of it and the look more later, when I'm not so pressed for time (am currently typing this at one in the morning). But in the meantime, enjoy the new tagboard! Feel free to chat away!

Oct. 18, 2006

Burn healed! I can hold a pencil again! Rejoice! ^_^

By the way, some of you may have noticed a couple of different things. First off, there's a new voting pic! Yeah, I finally got off my duff and did a character pic for James (both forms). You finally get to see what he looks like in color! Only one top webcomics vote away! I'll be putting up a bio for him in the character page soon . . . basically, when I can actually log back into the admin section at Comicgenesis (it's currently not accepting my password or something).

Also, the tagboard's down. I don't know WHY, but it's suddenly requiring a login to get it to load. This is annoying, since there's no real way for anyone to log in. I'm currently searching for a new tagboard, so bear with me. I won't be able to change it until I can get the whole log-in-to-Comicgenesis-admin thing fixed.

Oct. 9, 2006

Boy, I haven't needed to update the news in awhile. . . .

Sorry, but the chance of comics updating this week is looking pretty bad. Basically, I can't draw. I've got 1st-2nd degree burns on my drawing fingers right where I hold a pencil. See, I learned a lesson Friday . . . never grab a curling iron by the metal end. EVER. Even if you think it's off. I also learned that if the oven is left on, the shelf under it gets reeeeally hot. And if the hot oven is left open for a moment, the dial to turn it off heats as well. You know the saying, "The burned hand teaches best"? I really must be dumb or something because I keep ignoring my lessons. So in summary, I've burned myself a fair amount over the weekend, and found that when I tried to draw it stung like all get out. It even hurts kinda to type. Unfortunately, this means a halt to anything artistic this week. I guess it's a good thing that my classes this semester don't require as much in the way of notes. . . .

Again, I apologize, but there's nothing I can do. I'll try each day to get something up, but if I can't draw then I won't be able to update. I'll let you know when I do . . . well, duh you'll know, because there'll be an update, but I might also comment in the news. In any case, keep checking; this shouldn't take too long.

Sept. 11, 2006

Well, I've moved back to school. Upside is, I'M ABLE TO UPDATE AGAIN!! WITHOUT ANY COMPUTER PROBLEMS!! ^_^ It's a nice feeling. Downside is, school still takes priority. But that didn't cause many problems last year, so regular updates should now actually be regular.

In other news, I was completely unaware until I dated this news update as to what day it was. My heart goes out to those who lost family, friends, and co-workers in the World Trade center fiasco five years ago. That was a sad time for everyone . . . and resulted in a sad time for those who caused it. I hope that those whose lives were changed that day have been able to move on, and if I were to tell them anything, it's that those that were lost are not gone. I remember a country song on my little sister's radio station; "God only cries for the living, because they're so far from home." Those that left have only moved on to a better place, and there they are far happier than they ever could be here. So instead of thinking of today as a day of loss, let's think of it as a day of remembrance, when we think of those that have gone and remember them for who they are, not who they were. And on a personal note, I'm also going to see September 11th as a day which marks the true strength of not only America, but the whole world, for on that day dozens of countries (heck, maybe more) were united in paying tribute to the fallen. I would like to thank everyone from foreign countries for the aid and respect that they have paid over the last five years after we all learned just how ugly some hearts can be. We've proven that unity, love, and kindness far outweigh hatred and bitterness. You rock, World! ^_^

So Happy Remembrance Day! And let's all look forward to new strips!

July 31, 2006

After several crises, most involving the #&%@ home computer and others involving personal and/or family related injuries, I think I can start updating again. I've got an intermediate sketch strip going up today to help ease back into the swing of things, and another strip lined up for Wednesday. I'm still not going to promise a sustained update pattern, because I don't trust this home computer any more than I can throw it (and I can't tell you how much I'd LOVE to throw it). But things should start falling back in place now.

In other strip-related news, I've decided to help the re-kickstart of the strip by hiring my twin sister BookMaster to completely redesign the entire site. No more drabness! We've got a nice schoolish look planned for the site now. It will take a while to finish though, given that she has to work with the horror computer. But the site should look a little more professional when it's all done.

Again, sorry for the lack of updates; it really couldn't be helped. I hope you enjoy what's coming up. And since the news blog has been getting rather unsightly lately, I've moved all old material to the archives. Ah . . . not cluttered. Much better. ^_^

May 28th, 2006

Um . . . not normal.

Please excuse us, as we at Nowhere U are experiencing technical difficulties. Anyone regular to the strip may have noticed by now that updating always goes haywire when I go home for any reason, and the reason behind this is the unpredictable behavior of a home computer that was put together by hand. Its recent problem: FTP failure. At least, I think that's what it is. Because it took all last week for me to get it to even update one strip, and it did the same this time. I can only hope, as I type this, that I can force it to update at least for Friday. I have to sit for ages and force-feed the info. I'm not entirely sure the problem is on my end (for all I know, Comicgenesis may be at fault, or even the #*%$ internet service). But we'll see.

Another reason I haven't been able to figure out the problem is because I'm prepping for surgery that will occur later this morning (I'm currently typing this at 1 am, btw). This surgery is mainly to remove hardware from the previous surgery, so it shouldn't take me too long to recover and start updating again. But, as usual, I'm not sure if that will be the case, because if the doctor manages to find out why my ankle still bothers me, he'll do something to fix it, and that may require additional time for recovery. But since I really don't like missing updates (and have nearly killed the family comp for its lack of cooperation), then I plan on at least drawing up a buncha strips while I'm laid up. This will help for more regular updates in the future.

So as much as I hate to do this, despite the fact that I really should have done this a few weeks ago, I'm temporarily declaring Nowhere U's update status to be "Random". This won't last long if everything goes according to plan . . . but again, as regular viewers know, things never really do. See y'all on the other side.

May 15th, 2006

OK, two weeks of once-a-week updates, and I hope I'm back to normal. I can never predict just how crazy moving back home for the summer can get, and I always underestimate it. And I haven't even scheduled my ankle surgery yet . . . sigh. But I don't plan on having many more problems . . . knock on wood. The only thing that will hold me back now is when I'm laid up for at least a week from the surgery, and also the unpredictable nature of the family computer and internet connection. But things should be settling down for now. Sorry for the rocky start to May. To make up for it, here's another new character! Yes, another one. It's almost as though it's the first week of school or something (I can never get all those new names and faces right when I start a year).

April 29th, 2006

Well, today's the day. I'm moving back home for the spring/summer. Unlike last year, I don't think I'll be needing a hiatus. However, there still may be a week or so of no comics. I'll try to avoid that, but it all depends on how quickly I can get my computer, scanner, and tablet installed at home. Took awhile last time, because we're very short on space in that one story house. I'll get things set up as quickly as possible, because I hate missing updates and I've got the next three strips drawn already (it's always annoying to me when I miss a day that I already have partly done). I just thought I'd give you all a heads up in case the worst happened. If I end up missing, I'll see if I can post in the tagboard.

See you all on the other side!

March 20, 2006

Dang it, I missed Friday. I mentioned in the tagboard that I was having issues with Photoshop. Also, my computer wasn't registering my USB key. The key thing fixed itself when I rebooted, but Photoshop refused to work. So I had to tinker with it, and eventually just turned my computer off for awhile in the vain hopes that it would fix itself. And strangely enough, after church on Sunday, it works. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to make up for Friday; I only had enough time for Monday's strip. I'm getting to the end of my semester, so the schoolwork's piling up. Blast it, I hate missing days . . . stupid computer. . . .

On the plus side, I've started writing up character sheets for the professors we've met so far. My goal is that I'll have the character page completely updated by the time this semester ends. That includes doing pics and bios for the teachers, villains, and side characters. Yeah, I can dream, can't I? If I don't have time, I'll cut the villains out, since we haven't really delved into their angle in this story yet.

I'd also like to get a new color scheme up by the end of April, but that might have to wait till I'm home from school. I'll be getting some more ankle surgery, only minor this time, so I shouldn't have to take a huge hiatus like last year. Heck, while I'm hoping, I'd like to get enough backlog done so I don't even need to take off the two weeks that I might have to otherwise. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what I can get done. What I don't do for the characters and main page though I'll definitely work on during the spring and summer.

March 15, 2006

Hey all! Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile . . . life's decided to get really busy. Let’s see. . . .

First off, LTUE was excellent, as usual. Big shout out to Kevin J. Anderson, who was the guest of honor. His address was hilarious, as he used drinking as an analogy to make a point. Actually, he made several. What I got out of it was that to make a good foreign culture for your story, you can use differences between the foreign culture and the known culture to create interesting situations. The reason drinking helped with this was, well, this is BYU and pretty much 95% of the audience were Mormon and hadn't drunk a drop of alcohol that wasn't something like Nyquil. So he used the drinking culture to bounce Mormon culture off of, and the result was hilarious. He had all sorts of fun stories from when he tried to purchase beer or order drinks in Utah. He was a wonderful speaker. I hope I can see him again in LTUE.

Another big shout-out to Howard Taylor, the artist of the way funny webcomic, Schlock Mercenary, who also made his appearance at the symposium. I saw him here last year, and started reading his strip because I was impressed with how he handled the chaos that was the webcomics panel (I was on it too, but then again, so was every other comic artist in the valley, it seemed). I loved the strip so much, I finished the entire seriously huge archives in two weeks. A feat normally considered impossible, but hey; it was a hilarious strip. In any case, he gave some really good advice on this year's webcomics panel, so hopefully I can improve.

Other than that, I've mainly been busy with school. And, I've also started to work with my good friends UniEm and Lanea on another entry for the Rising Stars of Manga competition. Frankly, I haven't been impressed with the winners of that thing so far. There's usually one or two good stories, two or three mediocre stories, and the rest make me wonder what the judges saw in them. So I had kind of lost heart in competing . . . that, and I really didn't think my art could really compete yet. I had to get better. Well, now it's been over a year since my last attempt, and now I've got a strong writer (UniEm) and a strong artist (Lanea) to help me out in the trouble spots I've been having. I was having trouble getting this manga off the ground, so why not make it a group project? Heck, if I can get my sister HHB Bookmaster in on this for graphic design and paneling, we'd become the American version of Clamp! We're already considering a professional full-length manga story. Well, we can dream at least. ^_~

February 17, 2006

LTUE is on! ^_^ That would be "Life, the Universe, and Everything," the BYU science-fiction and fantasy symposium. All kinds of cool panels and talks going on. The best part is . . . IT'S TOTALLY FREE! So I've been majorly busy, and will be thru Saturday. I'm actually not on any panels this year, which is kinda weird. But since I'm planning on being on the committee next year (if I get the time), I'm perfectly fine with not having much to do for this year. In any case, I've also used the panel time to draw new strips, so I'm actually getting backlog now. This is good, as it will help keep me from missing any strips, because I can't stand it when I miss strips, and I'm pretty sure you don't like it either. And I'm pretty sure that sentence had serious English errors, but I'm too busy to care for once.

Once the symposium is done, I'll be starting work on updates to the characters page. This'll include fixing existing character sheets as well as writing new ones. I'm not sure when the updates will actually go up, as one of the planned updates is for a character I've yet to officially introduce. Heck, I don't even have a name for him yet. But it will go up soon. Also, don't forget to go to the forums to vote about what you think of NU's color scheme, as I'm considering changing it to something a little less oppressive.

February 1, 2006

New month! That means new voting pic! I've put up a small version of the nearly finished wallpaper. I'd call it completely finished, but I still am not sure of the background. I'd really appreciate suggestions or comments on it. I've gone through six possible backgrounds already, and I can't find one I like. In the meantime, enjoy!

January 30, 2006

Well, THAT effort to catch up tanked. >_< Just too busy with school. And as important as this webcomic is in my life, three things come before it: School, religion, and health. Health has been annoying as well. However, I'm sick and tired of missing days, so I'll just start following my schedule now. From here on out, I'll be updating regularly again.

January 15, 2006

So, did everyone have a wonderful holiday season? I did . . . sorta. Unfortunately, I met with far more complications than even Fate could have conspired to throw at me. But I won't bog you readers down with excuses, so let's get to the point. I plain couldn't do the strip while I was gone. For literally a dozen reasons. The fact that it wasn't my fault doesn't make it any less my responsibility, however. I'd like to do something to make it up to everyone. Right now, I'm currently working on getting the entire crossover banged up on the days they were supposed to air, so hopefully by the end of this week I'll be able to start on the actual strip. I'd like to get completely caught up with all the days that I've missed. This will be hard, because I'm currently wrestling with a life-and-death situation at school, but I really want to stick with my commitments. I've also nearly finished the wallpaper, and I've started work on the artwork that I'll use when I add the professors into the character profiles pages. As of now, that's the only thing I can think of to try to apologize for the complete failure of mine to uphold my promise that I would update during the holidays. If anyone has any other suggestions (short of sending all my readers cash), please e-mail me or something. I really want to make up for this.

On another note, I've been thinking about changing the site's colors for the New Year. I've kept the navy blue/grey look because it was the color scheme that best reflected what I thought the mood of Nowhere was. But now it's kinda starting to depress me. Like there was with the other color option, I'll be putting up a poll in the forums. If anyone thinks it should be changed and has suggestions, feel free to post. And if you think it's a great color combo and I should just leave well enough alone for once, please post too. Feel free to threaten, so long as you have no intention of actually following through; I'd like to survive long enough to graduate. But I feel that since you readers are the ones who have to put up with looking at the web site, you should get a say in whether or not the site colors reek and should be tossed or not. Go ahead and let your opinions be known.