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Topics - The Legendary Shark

#41
Creative Common / Thank You... Ron!
28 August, 2011, 07:00:39 PM

Now retired, legendary Twoothy artist Ron Smith had one of the most unique and instantly recognizable styles ever to grace our beloved organ. I could go on and on praising the man here but I'd be preaching to the converted, so... it has been suggested that we say thank you to Ron for the pleasure he has given us through his work over the years. But, how to do this? Simple!

Following on from the successful and eye-wateringly touching "Get Well Carlos" project we ran earlier, I suggest embarking on an entirely similar project this time around. Every one of you is invited to contribute to this project and lack of artistic talent is absolutely no bar whatsoever. You can submit a photocopy of a scribbled note on a wine-stained napkin if you like, or a poem, a letter, a drawing, a comic strip, a poster - anything at all (so long as it's respectful, of course). The brief is simple: To say "thank you" to Ron Smith for the part he has played in your enjoyment of comics or how he has inspired you.

Again, I suggest just a single and unique hard copy that will be posted to Ron and two digital pdf versions - a high-res unwatermarked contributors' copy and a low-res watermarked public copy for anyone to download. Once again, NO MONEY WILL BE MADE FROM THIS. It is a labour of love, not a marketing exercise. Any contributions will remain the copyright of the creator but all I ask is that you hold back from showing your submissions off elsewhere until Ron receives his hard copy.

For the moment, please send all contributions to: thanks_ron at sharkpool dot co dot uk 

Contributions should be A4/A5 size/aspect in jpg/pdf or tiff formats, CMYK colour - and try to keep the file sizes under 3MB if possible.

I'll put a tentative initial deadline on this of December 31st this year - although this may change if there is sufficient need.

So, all you droids, squaxx and lurkers out there - what do you think? Are you in?
#42
Off Topic / Things That Make You Go "Heh"
17 August, 2011, 02:10:20 PM
This just oozed into my in-box from Freegle:



...it made me go "heh."

#43
Where do you get your ideas from?

Many people ask me that when I tell them I'm a writer. (An amateur writer, yes, but still a writer.) The answer, for me at least, is everywhere. This doesn't seem to suit them as an answer. It's as if they believe I was born with a finite number of fully formed ideas hidden in my brains and all I have to do is reach in and pluck one out. Like pre-programming or a gift from God. Like a woman born with all the eggs she'll ever need. As if an idea is a single, isolated entity within itself. A singularity, if you will. But to me, an idea is a nexus - crossing the streams and seeing what happens. An idea is not a static thing, it's a process. Sometimes that process takes years, sometimes it happens almost instantaneously.

My new puppy (aww, bless) is asleep on a folded blanket on my desk, next to my right elbow, head resting on a Star Wars stormtrooper mouse-mat next to this very keyboard. When was Star Wars? 1977? That's, what, 34 years ago. The puppy's four months old, he'll live ten to fifteen years, if he's lucky. From the puppy's point of view, Star Wars came out two to three lifetimes ago. Two to three lifetimes ago from my birth takes me back to around the time of the French Revolution.

This got me thinking about how dogs perceive time. Do they know there was time before they were born, that there will be time after? Or is all eternity just in their lifetimes? I can learn of the French Revolution through books, but the dog can never learn about the original theatrical release of Star Wars and how it changed things, even if it could understand what Star Wars was. The dog cannot learn from history, cannot access information from before its birth. (Well, indirectly it can - through genetics, "species memory" or me teaching it things I learned before even it's great, great grandparents were born.) Free of these constraints, what must it be like inside the mind of a dog? Does it only really concentrate on about twenty minutes? Ten minutes past and ten minutes to come? Does the rest just devolve to instinct?

And this train of thought leads me to think how an alien might perceive time if its two to three lifetimes ago takes us back to the birth of Rome or mankind's discovery of fire. How much patience would such a race have? How much foresight? This is an idea, but not necessarily an idea for a story. If ever I do need to write about ten thousand year old aliens, though, this idea at least gives me a handle on them. So this idea gets filed with the rest, waiting for the right place to be in a story.

Then I looked at the sleeping puppy on the Star Wars stormtrooper mouse-pad again and thought, wouldn't it be cool if, under all that futuristic armour, those stormtroopers were actually werewolves. Well, now we're getting somewhere...

So I get my ideas from the random musings of a turbulent mind. How about you?
#44
Seriously, tell me you didn't just open this thread up and read it?

You fool, don't you know how many donkeys are suffering in New Zealand to provide 3-D glasses for short-sighted otters? It's a disgrace.
#45
...it gives us images like this:



ISS Crew Captures Shuttle Atlantis' Last Brilliant Trip Through the Atmosphere

#46
Off Topic / Does Anybody Know Anything About...
20 June, 2011, 07:12:55 PM
...washing machines?

I have a Hoover H130M and all it does is just go round and round and round. It doesn't pump any water in, it doesn't pump any water out and it doesn't spin. It just goes round. And round. And round. I've tried kicking it, but that didn't work. I've also had the top off, but the extent of my knowledge on such things is limited to checking if it's on fire or not. (It isn't.) No wires hanging off, nothing out of place.

Any ideas that don't involve getting a £100/hr man in?

#47


Gotcha!

01-04-11

:lol:
#48
Creative Common / Japan Relief
29 March, 2011, 02:26:07 PM
I've had a bit of an idea to help raise money  for the Japan relief effort. Not surprisingly, this idea involves creating a comic, but not in the conventional sense.

I've already asked a few people who are in the know (thanks for your time, guys!) and they seem to think that the idea may be a goer.

Step One would be to auction off "starring roles" in specially created stories. The winning bidders submit photos of themselves (or loved ones, friends etc) to be included as characters in how ever many stories we can fit in the special comic. Ideally, we might ask professional creators to agree to write/illustrate special one-off stories including the winning bidders' characters. (For example, how much would COMMANDOFORCES bid to appear in a one or two page Wagner/Ezquerra Dredd if we were lucky enough to entice them aboard? How much would a Hellboy fan pay to appear in a one or two page Mike Mignola strip?) "Cheaper" winning bidders also get to appear in stories, these penned/illustrated by small pressers.

Each winning bidder would get a complimentary issue of the comic - maybe including a page of original artwork (or not, it might be an idea to auction those off separately, creators willing, of course) or a small signed postcard (we could create a page of postcards for each contributor to print out, autograph and send in, so one can be included with each issue - maybe).

Step Two would be to print off a limited run (say a dozen or so issues, individually numbered and maybe containing an autograph or two or whatever might add a bit of extra value) and then auction them off.

Step Three would be to release the finished comic through Lulu (or something) at a set price for anyone to order.

Lastly, a cheap pdf version to download.

First thing to do would be to get as many creators firmly aboard as possible for the initial character auctions. So, who's willing/able/free to donate a day's worth of art or writing to this project?

Second; deadline. It has been pointed out to me that this project might need to be completed quickly, but I don't know. I was looking at the Japanese calendar and two dates suggested themselves to me for deadlines:

1: The Japanese festival of "Obon," (an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors) which occurs in mid-August. This festival may also suggest a title and theme for the comic.

2: New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu). "Years are traditionally viewed as completely separate, with each new year providing a fresh start. Consequently, all duties are supposed to be completed by the end of the year, while bonenkai parties ("year forgetting parties") are held with the purpose of leaving the old year's worries and troubles behind."

Maybe both dates could be used for different stages of the project.

So, what do you reckon? (Be honest!) Of course, I'd be more than willing to do most of the "heavy lifting" on this project - but, having learned a bit from "SuperSquirrel Undefeated!" and "Jikan: The Flood" I'd be very happy to have your help on this, if you think it's a workable idea and have the time to chip in.

So, any thoughts? Any volunteers to help me set it up and get stuff rolling? Anybody knowledgeable enough about Japanese culture to help ensure the project doesn't end up being in poor taste? Anybody got photos of Tharg in a compromising position? Any creators willing to donate a day or so sometime over the next five months?
#49
Off Topic / “Truth? You can't handle the truth!”
18 March, 2011, 06:52:29 PM


As you may know, I've hijacked a couple of threads lately with my "alternative views" of the world. Although I'm not sorry I did this, I am a little uncomfortable. I've been asking myself why I would do such a thing; why would I think that anyone is interested in such outlandish views? Do I want to convert people, to thrust my face into yours and scream "Look! Look what They are doing to us!" Am I mad? Has my mind snapped? They say that a madman never knows that he's mad – is that what's happened to me? Am I howling at the moon? Am I broken?

Or is there something in it? There is little likelihood that such a big question could ever be answered on a forum about 2000AD, but I thought I'd float this thread in case anyone wants to discuss "alternative" views. If nothing else, it'll give me a place to rant and rave without upsetting the forum in general. My own virtual rubber room. Feel free to point and giggle – I won't be offended.

I remember watching the events of 9/11 unfolding moment by sickening moment on TV. Aircraft smashing into buildings. People jumping to their doom rather than waiting to be burned alive. New York suffocating under great, white clouds of pulverized concrete. First Responders heroically but with aching futility searching for survivors in that terrible aftermath. Tears. Pain. Death. Anger.

And then watching, with a chasm of dread in the pit of my stomach, as the United States of America went mad, dragging the rest of the world after it. The most powerful nation on Earth, the one with the biggest guns and the most bullets, shaking its fist and declaring that "you're either with us or against us." I was with America that day. I felt its pain. I felt its fear. I felt its anger. I still do.

I was dimly aware that a few lone voices were crying "foul!" and blaming not Muslim terrorists but their own government and I thought these people mad. The U.S. Government, I believed, would not perpetrate such a despicable act against its own people. The very idea was unthinkable and an insult to all who died on that dark day.

It wasn't until around 2005 or 2006 that I began to have doubts of my own about exactly what did happen on 9/11. There were, I found, some unsettling questions. Thinking still that these questions were probably just landmines planted by anti-government malcontents I decided to look into these questions for myself, to convince myself that what I was being told was the truth and that these questions were trivial and easily answered and dismissed. I soon discovered, however, that many of these questions were difficult to answer and led to some very frightening places.

I had never heard of the collapse of the third tower, WTC7, until an internet friend of mine (whose intellect and knowledge of all things scientific dwarf my own as a redwood dwarfs a thistle) told me about it. Even then I didn't believe it because I didn't want to believe it. But those pesky questions remained and led me deep into a place I didn't want to go – to a place I still don't want to be in.

I continued my research (although the word "research" in this case is a much grander word than my meagre web-trawling sessions merits) and suddenly found myself confronted with a world I had hitherto not even dreamed existed. A world of ruling elites, corrupt central banks, rotten governments, biased media, fake wars, conspiracies and a whole raft of outlandish theories and frightening facts. The world, I realized, was not as I thought it was. It was like seeing a boom-mike dip into the top of the picture in a film or TV show. As if the illusion had been broken, the fourth wall cracked just enough for me to glimpse the other side.

I haven't started this thread to go through all the questions raised by 9/11 – there are a million and one sites on the internet dedicated to such things – but to ask if it's possible that things are not quite as they appear to be in this world of ours. Is it possible that there is a hidden struggle going on for "control" of the world's population? Are we nothing but cattle, or "sheeple" as some observers and commentators call us? If so, what can we do about it?

So, here's a thread where we can discuss truth and lies – if you so desire. The thread may, of course, sink without a trace into the background hiss of the internet but, given everything that has happened and continues to happen as a result of 9/11 should we not at least cursorily examine what's going on, or not, behind the scenes, or not, in our societies?

Over to you, my friends. Let the madness commence...
#50
Off Topic / Martian Life Form or Just Another Rock?
24 November, 2010, 10:21:56 PM








#51
Creative Common / Inspirational Images
17 October, 2010, 01:46:57 PM
Sometimes I come across inspiring images on the internet that really should be shared with creative people - but where to put such imagination-sparking pictures? Here?



Bit of a Strontium Dog vibe coming from this. It's not Durham Red, obviously - Gateshead Black, maybe?
#52
General / The Secret Project
30 July, 2010, 12:19:39 AM
Some of you will already have received a message from me concerning this Top Secret Project. Many have already replied to indicate a willingness to take part in the Top Secret Project.

If you would also like to take part in the Top Secret Project, please email me at

sharkpool AT sharkpool DOT f9 DOT co DOT uk

and I'll send you the details of the Top Secret Project. Even Tharg has offered to help in this Top Secret Project, along with many droids, protodroids and Squaxx. This is a project. It is Top Secret.

Your computer will now explode.
#53
Off Topic / Show Us Yer Rubber, Creep!
26 July, 2010, 03:51:59 PM
A couple of weeks ago in the Yap Shop it came to light that many of us own gas masks or, as Commando Forces insist we call them on pain of pain, respirators.

Here's mine:



Anyone else feel like sharing?
#54
Events / One Year Old
30 June, 2010, 11:31:37 PM
It's my birthday on July 5th (44, dammit) - and also the Rowdy Yates Block Citizens' Yap Shop over at www.paltalk.com is just over a year old. Yaay!

So, to celebrate a year of chat that's seen such visitors as John Wagner, Pat Mills, Carlos Ezquerra and the ever present and much loved Colin MacNeil, amongst other droids too numerous and talented to mention, I thought we'd try for a little party.

I'm going to email as many droids as I can and if any agree to attend, I'll post their names here. If anyone else would like to attend this one-off on-line party, or if you know anybody who might be interested, or know any droids, or are a droid and you want to call by for a jolly good chatter about nothing in particular, please come along!

The time and place is next Wednesday, the 7th of July and let's say eight-ish until whenever.

What do you all reckon? There's only a week so it might all come to naught but, what the Hell, shall we give it a go?
#55
Games / Starfleet Commander on Facebook
04 June, 2010, 07:18:56 PM
I swore I'd never get sucked in to one of these things, but here I am trying to build up enough resources and technology to build a Hephaestus Class Attack Platform and avoid getting crushed by more powerful players.

Anyone else addicted to this bloody thing?
#56
Off Topic / The Political Thread
09 April, 2010, 03:59:03 PM
As the "election" is coming up, when we'll all be asked to vote on the people the Power Elite tell us to vote for, I thought we might as well have a political thread for this and other political comments.

I'll kick off by posting this here:


"Dear friends,

Take a look at this: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/clean-up-lobbying

I've just emailed my local election candidates to demand that they support new rules to ban secret lobbying to help clean up politics.

Whether it's tobacco advertising, arms deals, GM food, or airport expansion, companies pay people to try to influence government. We've got a right to know what they're doing, especially when its our prospective MPs who are working as lobbyists.

Please email your candidates now and ask them to commit to lobbying transparency, it only takes two minutes: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/clean-up-lobbying

Thanks,"
#57
Off Topic / Photoshop Tennis II: Free For All
22 March, 2010, 12:36:11 PM
The Photoshop Tennis thread we did last year was fun, but spoiled by the strict turn order.

Let's have another go. This time, just take the last image on the thread and do as thou wilt with it. We'll get a few people doing different things to the same image occasionally, but what the Hell?

Rule 1: Keep the original image size (in pixels).
Rule 2: Always build upon the latest posted image (ie, no skipping backwards to use earlier images).
Rule 3: Have fun.

And to kick us off, a bit of Jock/Blythe Dreddy goodness...


#58
Books & Comics / A J. R. Hartley Moment
06 March, 2010, 06:56:12 PM
Ah, comics - and comics people! I come before you to beg humbly for help...

In the late eighties or early nineties, I had a two-page comic strip entitled "The Adventures of Burnley Smith" published in a "Viz-Alike" comic called "Trout." I think it was in either issue three or four (the last issue before the comic folded).

I used to have a copy of said comic, but alas this was lost many years ago. There was this woman, you see, and this argument... Well, I've never seen it since.

Does the Hive Collection include any Trout comics? Does the Hive Mind know where there is one? Help me, JR Hartley, you're my only hope!
#59
Film & TV / Pat Mills on TV NOW
22 January, 2010, 04:22:11 PM
Pat Mills is being interviewed on Sky Channel 200 RIGHT NOW

Also straming here:  http://www.justin.tv/edgemediatv#r=KyRP0YI

#60
Off Topic / The Intercourse of Beautiful People
06 January, 2010, 06:02:49 PM
You read the word "intercourse" and thought I was on about SEX, didn't you? Well, I wasn't on about SEX at all, but SEX sells and so I deliberately tricked you into thinking about SEX through cunning use of the word "intercourse," by which I mean not SEX but chat.

Web chat, to be frank.

It's a New Year, so why not make a resolution to nip in to our snuggly Twoothy-based chat room on Wednesday nights? It's not as good as SEX, but it's better than bleeding to death in a rat infested sewer.

If you have a pc, download and install the Paltalk chat client (it's free to install and use) from here: http://www.paltalk.com/index.php

Mac and Unix can join in the fun (also free) via this page: http://www.paltalk.com/express/

Once you get Paltalk (which is free, or did I mention that?) working, you can find our thrillpowered room under: Miscellaneous/Other/Rowdy Yates Block Citizens Yap Shop


You'd be surprised who visits us. Colin MacNeil (yes, the very same) joins us regularly and PJ Holden has been known to drop in from time to time as well. I'm going to try to get some more creators in this year for Q&A sessions, maybe, or maybe just for a chinwag.

Most people drift in between 20:00 and 21:00, some much later, and the room is open into the wee smalls. So, come on down and have a natter and please accept my apologies for luring you into this thread with the promise of SEX.