My birthday was quiet and a lot of fun. One part I thank God for is that Dad felt better that day than he had all week!
One of the things my family gave me is a blue 'Zelda' ocarina. Its tones are rather pleasant. I know I have heard similar trills in many folks songs.
It seems that ocarinas can be made from many things.
This guy made one from broccoli.

Here is one he made from a carrot.


Here is a tutorial for making your own ocarina!


Speaking of Link's ocarina, here are some funny glitches people recorded from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Make sure you have a back up file before trying these!

"21 bottles in the wall..."


Unlimited Sword

Getting Started with Computer Graphics

If you would like to try making your own cg art, then this post is for you.

It is possible to get an earlier version of Bryce for free. The company that sells Bryce is giving away Bryce 5 and 5.5. I think 5.5 can also work with Daz Studio, but it won't come with it(I think). That would be a separate download, but it is free too.

Bryce 5.5 is here.

Bryce 5.0 is gentler on older computers and is quite stable. This is the program I learned most of my techniques on. However, it will not run Daz Studio.
You can get it here.

If you're going to try Daz Studio(which you can get here), then this might interest you. It is a collection of animals with a few cartoon characters.
They are here.

I would also like to recommend these tutorials. This set of tutorials was once used a a beginner's course for Bryce5. (Corel sold Bryce to Daz, by the way) The Mulawa tutorials are another approach to the same. They were written for Bryce 4, but the same principles apply to Bryce 5. By the way, Peter Sharpe's tutorials are highly recommended for learning how to get some neat effects in Bryce with little effort. Many of these are fairly easy to follow, too.

I hope you enjoy this.

Girl Talk: An Inuyasha/Sailor Moon crossover comic

This would be even funnier if the boys were obviously speaking Japanese (the girls could then be practicing their English. ) Inuyasha is smart! He could surprise them that way. He does occasionally haul off with Kagome's textbooks when he thinks she won't notice. Darien would understand IF he could hear them, but its up to Inuyasha to listen in. Darien is too polite to do that anyway.

This really is a joint project.
I was playing around in Bryce6 and Daz Studio with some assorted bits one evening and decided to do a picture with Kagome and Sailor Moon together in Tokyo. I didn't want it to just be them, I wanted it to show them talking. Mom also thought the idea was fun and while we talked about it she came up with some funny dialog. lol I loved it, thus this comic was born.

Oh yes, as I recall Inuyasha did behave badly the first few times he visited Kagome's family.

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi
Sailor Moon belongs to Takeuchi Naoko
The comic and the images belong to yours truly.
As usual, if you would like to see the full-sized version click the thumbnail.

Inuyasha was a fun challenge to put together, though I didn't have to solve all of that puzzle myself. I had seen another person's work using Poser and, while I liked what she did, I wanted to do my own thing. She gave me an idea of where to start.

This picture is what kicked it all off. I was playing with some free sailor suit stuff and wondered if I could make Kagome. Once I made her, I decided to see if I could adapt the same pieces for Sailor Moon. I had picked up Sailor Moon's hair free a long time before and had one day planned to recreate her anyway. Well-it worked and then I had both Tokyo residents...what if they met? What if they went shopping together and had lunch?

Mom told me she was impressed by how well 'Darien in the Park' came out. I was glad at how it came out too. He was much harder to put together than I'd anticipated. I was glad I could work in a few touches from his alternate identity. Fans will know what I mean.

Sailor Moon is such a cheery person. It is good to see her picture done at last. In the Sailor Moon cartoon they use a lot of pastels and light colors and unusual shades like the green in Darien's coat. I tried to keep that mood.

I wanted the portraits to reflect the backgrounds in the cartoons.

Mom's quizzes seemed like fun so here are the results.


Your signature color is Pink Chiffon

There's nothing saccharine about you — your sweetness is one hundred percent natural! A gentle, thoughtful romantic like you must be paired with a color that's soft and warm — but still has a subtle sophisticated sheen. That's why Pink Chiffon is the perfect color for you! You're probably known for making the most of every situation and trying to see the best in people. But while you may be cheerful and innocent at times, you're nobody's fool. You may see the world through rose-colored glasses, but you can still see, after all.

While you make wise insights time after time, it's probably your good nature and perpetual optimism that are what you're known for and what make you a joy to be around. Even those who sometimes make fun of your Pollyanna-like proclamations will turn to you when they need a friend and some cheering up. So keep pink, Chiffon. With you around, the world's a better place!

What's Your Signature Color?

Brought to you by Tickle







Your flavor is Sunny Orange

Your sunny disposition and happy-go-lucky attitude are the kinds of traits everyone loves to have around. Our bet is you're known as the chief supporter in your clan. If there's a bash to throw, you're likely the first one on the horn. If there's a crisis at hand, you can usually be counted on to rally the troops. Easy to talk to and fun to be around, you have a gift for blending perfectly no matter what the situation.

This positive energy extends beyond good times into every other aspect of your life. Whatever your career path or goals, your natural ability to win people over and communicate ideas with enthusiasm are two key secrets to your success. The same glass-half-full attitude that makes you a fab friend will work its magic in the workplace. And in the world of business, those kinds of good vibes are always refreshing.

What Flavor Fits You?

Brought to you by Tickle

Another Wryter's Fyre Update

I was redoing some of my art on Wryter's Fyre.


This piece illustrates what I had in mind all those years ago.
(click the image to see the full version)
If you are unable to load the preview and would like to see the picture, click here

Thoughts On the New Harry Potter Book and the New Film

Well, it happened. The end of the Harry Potter series has come and with its arrival has changed many long-held beliefs in the fandom. Some people loved this last stanza of the saga, some hated it, and still others don't know what to think of it all.
I liked it. I liked it a lot. Its tone was strongly reminiscent of the early books, which was a very pleasant surprise after reading the previous two books.(Do not misunderstand me. I enjoyed books five and six)
People had guessed at some of the plot points within this tome, but the way these events were introduced kept me guessing what would happen next. Some of the plot twists, however, were quite unexpected. I was surprised at Dumbledore's back story and at how some of the characters acted during different bits. For one thing, I had thought that Ronald's Aunt Muriel would be a nicer person than she turned out to be and that Xenophilius Lovegood would have had more moral integrity than he showed when he was put under pressure based on how Luna behaves and on what his name means(His name is made from two Greek words - xeno, which means outside and philius, which means love or affection). Kreacher's presence was surprisingly likable and his tale did kind of stir up some pity in my heart.

Anyway, I did go see the Order of the Phoenix in the theatre with my friend on her birthday some time back. The film was a lot better than I had expected it to be. We enjoyed it immensely. It was very smoothly paced and the balance between the war against Voldemort and the battle with the Ministry was done just right. Luna was charming and Neville showed quite a bit of backbone.
Neville is heroic in both the book and the movie. Even though he long believed himself to be inept and had been belittled for his lack of confidence, that kind brave heart of his won out when it really mattered.
Oh, one funny thing added to our enjoyment of the film. Every time the scene panned around Umbridge's office and showed the decorations on the walls, we all kept thinking about our new kittens at home. Personally, I think ours are cuter than the kitties on the plates(those little critters were cute in their own way, though). :P

Fun Quizzes

Well, I was checking out a site containing some neat quizzes. I like how the owner wanted to make quizzes anybody could take. The Narnia one is especially good, if you ask me. I had no idea what result I was going to get. The Beatrix Potter quiz brings back fond memories. :)

Narnia Personality Quiz
Take this quiz at
Sparrow's Song

I did not expect to get this result, but hey I'm not complaining! lol

Which Beatrix Potter
character are you?
Take this quiz at
Sparrow's Song

Which Winnie the Pooh character are you?
Take this quiz at
Sparrow's Song

The Vatican Says "Drive Safely"

(click the title for the article)
I never expected to hear the Vatican tell people to drive more carefully.

Harry Potter trailer

Online Videos by Veoh.com

I liked this trailer and wanted to share it.

A friend of mine is delighted to discover that the film will be out in time for her birthday. So am I, since she does enjoy both the books and the films.

Both the English and American covers are quite intriguing, I think. In the English version it looks like Harry and his buddies are in a Gringott's vault. As for the arena on the standard American version, I cannot help but wonder if it is not the other side of the evil curtain.

Mom thinks Dumbledore really did trust Hagrid with his life and planned out that business on the tower with Snape beforehand but I'd heard he wasn't supposed to return. I do think Snape was still working with Dumbledore and we will see more surprises out of him.

It seems incredible the book and the movie are only ten days apart. On the one hand, I am glad they are so close together. During that time, I'm probably going to be very excited about it and drive my family nuts around then, so maybe it is not so great. :P
However, on the other hand, the down side is that we'll all have to wait until 2008 at the very least before we will see another film AND the book that is coming out in July is almost certainly the very last novel in that series. It may yet be that there is one more book to be written, but I heard it probably will not be a novel. However, another novel is not an impossibility.

Quizzes

Which climate are you most suited towards?
Warm Climate You like things hot! To you, there's nothing better than lying on the sand with the sun overhead. Most people seem to share your preferences; you can probably make a lot of friends. Just don't try to have too much of a good thing, or you could get hurt.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

What kind of eyes do you have? (with pictures)
Eden You have eden eyes. Eden is the color of water. Your eyes symbolize your great flexibility. You are a creative person. You can think of many good ways to get your point across to people as you have very good communication abilities. When someone feels down or is hurt, you have the remarkable ability to help them and heal them. If you have too little going on in your life, you may be withdrawn and depressed, timid, manipulative, unreliable, stubborn, or suspicious. Some words to describe you: peaceful, sincere, affectionate, tranquil, intuitive, trustworthy, pure, loyal, healing, and stable.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

What Musical Instrument Are You?
Piano Almost everybody knows how to play the piano. Does everybody know how to play you? Perhaps. However, you can do a lot of cool stuff that the other instruments can. You can be used in almost any genre of music. If anyone wants to learn, they'd be well off picking you.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

What color are you? (Amazingly detailed & accurate--with pics!)

You are the color red. You are the most controversial of all the colors. You are often easily angered, but as easily as you got excited, you come down. When angered, do you have the tendency to be malicious? Afterwards, do you end up begging for forgiveness? Maybe. But you're incredibly generous, and, odd enough, needy. You love to hate, and sometimes, you hate to love. This color describes you as generally edgy. When in a bad situation, you're pessimistic, and when you're in a good situation, you're extremely optimistic. You're painfully tempermental, and sometimes it hurts the ones you love. But with an exciting and stimulating attitude, you enjoy talking to people and being social. But aside from your bold and outgoing attitude, you're attention-needing and attention-getting. You're a protective person when it comes to the people you love. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Which Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola soda are you most like?

SPRITE.
Take this quiz!



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Which wand will yours be?

12 inches, yew and stardust. Flexible, unique, mysterious. A Gregorovitch wand no doubt, with remarkable workmanship and beautiful... even if it does have a tendency to get as lost in dreams as it's owner.
Take this quiz!





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Which Writing Implement Are You?
Marker You definately like to make an impression. And you often make a big one. Sometimes you can make too much of an impression. Regardless, the impression that you make stays for a long time. Don't try to change your tune after the fact.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

Which Kitchen Appliance Are You?
Microwave You get things cooked quickly and efficiently. But that doesn't mean they always come out looking the best. What you gain in speed you usually lose in quality. On the plus side, people have come to rely on you every day; they tend to overlook your shortcomings in favor of your qualities.
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

Update Time!

Well, some of the pictures on Wryter's Fyre are looking old to me. Here is the first one to be updated. Why this is the first is due to simply having the inspiration for it. The idea kept bugging me for at least a month. During that month , it developed its basic composition (which had the Age's master high up on a hill overlooking the sea), the colour scheme(which is the same in this final version), the weather, and an estimate of the time of day from the story this is based on.

Of Saucy Sailors and Ogre Kings

Yesterday I saw The Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At the World's End and Shrek 3. Both were even better than I had expected. Be warned that this post is spoiler-heavy.

Shrek 3 was a lot better than I had thought it would be. The storytelling was a lot smoother in this movie than it was in the first two films. The ogre babies at the end and in the credits were cute and so were Donkey's little ones! I was a little surprised at some of the choices made by the filmmakers, though. I am glad that Shrek mellowed out a bit. I think the job he starts off with in this film actually did him some good. It showed him that he could talk to and work with other people without them all treating him like a monster. It wasn't until he was around some narrow-minded teenagers at a high school that he received much of that kind of grief. (The sad truth is that in real life we teens DO have a disgusting tendency to be that way. :( I have only ever met a few people who openly thought outside the box the world tries to push all people my age into. )The moments that had bothered me in the trailer were pretty restrained in the film. They were the same but in the context of the movie they didn't stand out.

Pirates 3 was also better than I had expected. Jack as usual had his funny quips and Barbossa also had several good lines. The story behind Tia Dalma was quite surprising. I would not have guessed her secret prior to watching this movie. However, the movie was dark and rather violent. I know that while I'd gladly watch it again, I'd like to do so with the ability to fast forward past a few spots. For instance, though I am glad Will and Elizabeth are happy together I'd like to give them just a bit more privacy than the film does at the end. The battle scenes were not particularly graphic... until the film neared its end.

While in the line for Pirates3, we were beside a group of local teens were decked out in 'Pirate' style outfits. Their costumes were rather well made and looked good on their wearers, especially the ladies' dresses. Seeing these people made me wish I had thought to bring my camera so I could show you just how neat their costumes were. Walking next to them was like walking beside characters from the films. They even had "Captain Jack Sparrow" amongst them! I was glad I chosen a blouse styled like the ones in the films and had brought along my duplicate of Davey Jones's key and a small tiara comb. My grandmother had chosen a headband and outfit that was also appropriate for the situation.

I almost forgot to say that watching the trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the theatre is quite a different experience from watching it online. It was in front of Pirates 3, by the way.

Pottery Thoughts

The trailers for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are neat to watch. The acting looks promising and the scenery looks fabulous! Umbridge is rather well portrayed if you ask me. She DOES look like she could charm someone who didn't know what she really is.
The movie version of the Department of Mysteries looks a lot like my interpretation of it that I had posted on my site a few years back. How wild is that! I saw something similar in Goblet of Fire too. Another old fan art of mine has a sister in the films. A year or so prior to the film's debut I did a pic of Harry wearing a red t-shirt bearing the Hogwarts crest; in Goblet of Fire several kids were wearing black ones similar to Harry's t-shirt. lol
A local shop has taken to carrying a few of the licensed hats. I found a cute one based that looks like Prof. McGonagal's hat. I like the hat AND the character so that was a fun find. It looks good with a ribbon on it(a red one at the moment).

Some Spring Photos

We've been busy in happy fashion this spring! Everybody in this house has been trying to catch the beauty of spring here with photos. Here are a few of mine from one especially balmy afternoon.


Here is Geometric Water. The ripples looked to me like what so many rendering programs attempt to duplicate. However, depicting a wake like the one this goose is leaving is still not an easy task. lol I guess it just goes to show that we humans merely imitate the wonders God has made and that we even now still have a long way to go before we really succeed at it.

I like the composition and the topic of this photo. Kids are cute and since the photo's other subjects were being nice that day this girl photographer is one happy critter!




This area has many charming backroads to explore. It is easy to get lost in enjoying their beauty.

The play of the lines reflecting on the water is why this piece was posted.

A few KH Quizzes

You Are An ISFP

The Artist You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now). You enjoy spending your free time in nature, and you are good with animals and children. Simply put, you enjoy beauty in all its forms and live for the simple pleasures in life. Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs. You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer.

What's Your Personality Type?

Eh, I try.

You scored as Namine. You are Namine! Namine is Kairi's nobody (supposedly). Namine spends alot of time drawing and can mess with people's memories. She is a sweet girl but very lonely with few friends. Namine 85% Roxas 80% Sora 60% Ansem the wise 50% Kairi 45% Riku 40% Xemnas 15% What Kingdom Hearts 2 character are you? pics included. (i love comments. Send comments!) created with QuizFarm.com

What Kingdom Hearts 2 Character are You?
Namine Aww... you're Namine...
Take The Quiz Now!	Quizzes by myYearbook.com

She became likable after Chain of Memories, but apart from being the same gender we are rather different girls.

Anyway, I saw the trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3 and just had to jot down a few theories.

The old man the keyblade masters were facing appears to be clad exactly the same way the main boss in KH1 was. I wondered whether he was an elderly version of him or was the KH1 boss's teacher after the KH1 boss betrayed the ruler of Hollow Bastion. That dangerous old man's comrade was clothed the way Riku was when the boy went evil. Intriguing, yes? That guy looked like he could have been Xehanort.

I really wish that SE had kept those extra cut scenes in the original release of KH2. Those 'extra' videos really gave the game's story a richness that could have made this title a classic.

Which Keyblade Keychain are you?

You are the Oathkeeper Keychain!
Take this quiz!



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This is my favorite keyblade.

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What Howl's Moving Castle character are you??

You are Sophie! You are shy and polite, but can be stubborn.You don't like fighting either. You can be conservative sometimes too. And YOU LIKE THINGS CLEAN!!!!! Take this quiz! Quizilla |Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Sophie is such a neat character. I like how she deals with tough problems. :)

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You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional Those who like you crave security

What Kind of Pie Are You?
Eh, not really.
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Your Leprechaun Name Is:

Stinky Shortlegs

What's Your Leprechaun Name?

You Are a Creative Gift Giver

Your gifts are one of a kind, special, and well chosen. Whether you've made it yourself or searched all over town... There's really no one who has more of a personal touch than you.

What Kind of Gift Giver Are You?

Mom and I both like to do things that are appropriate

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

(please click the thumbnail above to see the full sized image. Artwork by Rebecca McGaw)

Happy St. Valentine's Day! If you use a cg proggy, then I have couple more treats for you. I made a ring and a pair of earrings. They are smart propped to Victoria 3, but I also made the base models available as .objs so they can be used in most programs.

Ring obj - Earring obj