So I've finished a script on a short, two-page comic I'm working on. The problem, as it would so happen, is that the comic (sketched and half inked) is at home, four hours away from where I am now, whiling away the hours of my imprisonm...I mean, winter break. On the bright side, I got an absolutely smooth fountain pen for the holidays, so I imagine the inking will go a bit better (and faster) when I get back to the pages. And then I can make you suffer the works of my hands [insert evil laughter here]!

What else to say (as though people read this)? Definitely check out ryukenjin (find him on my favorite audio artists list), he's uploaded a ton of new tracks to round out 2009 and they're all excellent.

Anyway, to end on a note of shameless self-promotion, as per usual, check out Distance, this prose poetry site I've got (in addition to the one listed as "my site," which is only poetry), since as it turns out I write much better than I make music. And expect more shameless self-promotion when I have short comics to show you.

So I had a ton of fun with the art forum, and then, after I created an apparently undelete-able thread, I discovered how to post to the Art Portal.

I feel lame.

Anyway, click the ART tag way up there...somewhere. And check out my art! It's doodles and sketches now, but I can guaranda[ng]tee you I'm better at art than music. Lemme know what you think / if you think.

And, check out my favorite audio artists, especially Ryukenjin, who takes my best songs and makes them so much better that I still can't fathom how he does it. And don't expect any new music from me for (at the very least) a long, long time.

It's JUNE! I'm back from MOSCOW and ST. PETERSBURG! Russia is a pretty epic place; if you can manage to get in, GO. But now, I really, really want Stardog's in the states...best hot dog stand EVER.

Nothing musical in the works, but at least it's Summer Break for everyone this side of the pond (and I think most places of the other shore, too). For most of us, that either means summer jobs, or the same-old same-old. But if you're lucky enough to have an honest-to-goodness Summer Break, live it up a little for me and all the other employed people.

I feel the urge to nap. Jet lag isn't fun even when it's not +8 hours. I keep waking up at 4am thinking it's noon...

It's MAY! I'm in RUSSIA (i.e. if you message me and I don't reply, there's a reason)!

Having skipped March and April to make way for February parts II and III extended the wait, but we're officially out of the shortest month of the year. And you know what happens in May? With February pt. 3 showers come May REMIXES!

Check 'em:
Remix 1
Remix 2

They're both by Ryukenjin, and as it turns out all of his other stuff is amazing, too, so you should head over and give him some love (and 5's). But those two remixes have a special place in my heart (because they're remixes of my songs, and I still don't know how he got my music sounding that GOOD!).

I was going to do some shameless self-advertisement at this point, but I've since forgotten what I was going to brag about...so, none to be seen.

Enjoy the remixes! And, for scale on how much work he actually did on them, make sure to listen to my originals too.

If you accidentally stumbled onto this website, and have listened to (and voted '0' on) my music, maybe you'd be interested in (blamming) another project of mine.

See, I make music as a hobby. I'm amateur, at BEST (which means I'm usually "novice," "rookie," or whatever else it is that's worse than "amateur"); while I can technically play a piano, I know nothing formal about the art of music-making. I am, however, a college student with a major in creative writing. So, if any of you happen to enjoy poetry, you can go blam on some of my poetry at the following site: Fourteen.

As I recall, I have it set up so that anyone can comment and anonymous comments are allowed, so you can check out my stuff, and then insult me from the safety of anonymity. Still, I would appreciate good ol' fashioned constructive criticism, so if you could find it in your hearts to do that instead of casting aspersions on my person, I would be thankful.

Ah, one last note: they're sonnets. Um...all of them. The name "Fourteen" is a reference to the number of lines in a properly done sonnet. So, if you happen to loathe sonnets but love other kinds of poems, maybe...it's not for you.

Okay, that's the end of my shameless self-advertisement. Which reminds me, if you're trying to lurk for good music on the AP, you should check out some of my favorite artists! They are all AWESOME.

P.S. More shameless self-advertising: I made another banner; it's "Novarri" written in Cyrillic.

It's still February. Screw March and April.

Anyway, I ordered a duduk, finally. Assuming I can ever manage to practice to a level that sounds good, I might try to put a duduk piece up here. That instrument is absolutely amazing, it sounds so depressing...hah, which is a strange thing to love, I suppose, but still.

Enjoy February (parts 2 and 3).

Also: don't you just liberating love China Rules? Gee golly, so many good mental exercises and physical exercises! Things like this are why February should last until May...

Buuuuuut, I like it. So, I forgive China. Just...this...once......

February and I have a love/hate relationship. For me, it's one of those OH DANG I GET GIFTS months, but for most people the only worthwhile holiday is St. Valentine's Day.

Ladies, Gentlemen, St. Valentine's Day sucks. Miserably. It is absolutely the worst excuse for a holiday ever invented by a man who clearly lost half his brain to some lovey-dovey chemical warfare. I mean, what person says, "hey, let's make a holiday that makes most of the world (i.e. the siiiingle people) not only feel worse about themselves but also make them bitter by forcing them to watch couples become totally retarded for each other and engage in things like PDA!"? An insane one, that's who.

St. Valentine's Day should be called "Remember How You Are Unloved Day."

And it doesn't help that there's a good chance a lot of people got dumped right before the day. I mean, who's going to wait half a month to dump a man after, instead of doing it before? NOBODY.

At least we can look forward to Groundhog's Day. Hopefully we get six more weeks of winter, that way when everyone asks why we're all moping on St. V. Day, we can tell them it's because we're sick of the cold.

Let's just hope they don't discover that we like the cold.

At least it's a short month. Clench your teeth, head out in to the cold, and on the other side you'll find spring.

I managed to make myself a banner, a statement proving that though I suck at music, I am at least tolerably skilled when it comes to some of the arts. Also, you can check out a picture I made with hand-drawn vector brushes and Photoshop (along with a USB Tablet), which I am posting FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON.

Other than that, there is absolutely no news and you should all go vote 0 on my music. Trust me, it's fun!

I swear, these months go by too fast. Heck, at this rate by the time I'm retired a month will feel like a week...

Time discrepancies aside, not much is happening in life. Except that Virginia Tech won the FedEx Orange Bowl, which promises to enrich my party life in the first few weekends of spring semester. Not that I actually GO to parties, but still.

...so I'm listening to a streaming radio station from St. Petersburg, Russia, and they have - I am not lying - a Crazy Frog remix of "Jingle Bells" playing. Now, I'm not exactly a fan of Crazy Frog...or "Jingle Bells"...but really, a Russian radio station playing this? I'm frightened. The apocalypse is near.

Well, I hope you all are enjoying the freezing cold. I'm looking forward to the best month ever, only a short 28 or so days away (you have to cut me some slack on this math, I'm a Liberal Arts major): February.

The shortest month in the year is staring us down, and I'm up for the contest.

Check it, I made a new banner for my blog: Pismeny

Before the post, I just have to include this. My music is mediocre, but I am a writer, and now I have a "blog" (I was trying to avoid it, but it seems it became inevitable). Check it (should be in Cyrillic, like the banner at the bottom, but whatevs):
Novarri's Pismenyi

______________________________________

Welcome to the month of tolerating jerks playing sappy Christmas songs, and pretending to like said music in the neverending quest for amazing presents. Or whatever else it is you do this month.

Not that I know why I'm posting, since nobody reads this thing anyway.

I can't wait for the new year. This semester has, academically, sucked hideously. If you ever get the chance in college of taking 8 classes, don't...especially not when one is Russian (=hard as all get out), one requires a ton of boring essays, and all eight take up way too much free time.

Next semester's a balmy six, filled with more Russian (what can I say, I'm addicted), playwriting, fiction, linguistics, medieval history - all the good stuff. It's like the chewy nougat center of those Three Musketeers bars. Granted, it's only one credit hour less than this one, but the loss of two classes will make it all so much better.

And the fact I prefer all those subject way more can't hurt, either.

Anyway, it's regularly cold as [expletive deleted] here in Blacksburg, and scarfs and fuzzy coats abound. Half the time it can't decide whether to snow or not, and it just sits around and flurries on and off all day. Is it wrong that I like this weather so much? It's amazingly refreshing to step outside into cold so sharp that it makes your nose numb and your cheeks all kinds of red, with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and I'm rambling, sorry.

Anyway, I feel like posing a question and if you wouldn't mind answering in a comment, I would consider it awesome. The question is:

What do you consider the most awesome/crazy/intense class you're taking next semester?