I saw some of his art online and thought it looked like “Invisible Hands” from Liquid Television, which I LOVED. Same artist! This didn’t have quite the same level of twisted, creepiness as that animated series, but I was so happy to find his work in comic form. There’s more too.
Before I talk about my odd little niche WordPress projects, what are some of your blogs or personal projects, WordPress or otherwise? If you comment and link to them here, I'll definitely check them out! I like to see people's projects, what they've made and what they continue to work on. The fediverse has been really cool for seeing a lot of that. I'm also interested in how long we're able to keep passion projects going amidst the crazy chaos of life. It can be tough! But writing and making things is always super rewarding, as well-- at least it has been for me.
I think I've always liked writing, I like music and that's basically mostly or all writing. At least it is for the lyrics of the vaguely rock type stuff I usually end up making. I write a lot of lyrics, short little bits, phrases. But for longer pieces, I've always liked the ease of writing and reading blogs and digital journals. I'm not one for writing in physical journals. I do like reading physical books, but for writing, but I prefer to type.
Over the years, I've had the chance to experiment with different forms and styles of blogs, just as I've liked to do when designing websites. That was the initial appeal of microblogs like Twitter, things like Livejournal before it, and the huge appeal of WordPress, which of course you can use for short OR long form writing.
I first started playing around with WordPress back around 2008. It was different back then! If you had a free plan, you could change the name of your blog to whatever you wanted as much as you wanted (something they don't allow anymore but was super useful if you needed to rebrand) etc, and all kinds of other differences (no block editor back then, either, obviously!)
I do still have a blog running from back then. It's called space. time. tech. (https://spacetimetech.wordpress.com). The topics I wrote about on the blog are probably obvious from its title. I've been (pretty infrequently) updating that one for 15 years this year. Wow.
The second oldest blog I still run I've mentioned here before. It's called Animated TV Blog (https://animatedtvblog.wordpress.com), and again, as its name fairly obviously suggests, I write about my favorite cartoons. I started Animated TV Blog in 2010 and it's been a blast, even just doing the infrequent updates. And I've been doing it for 13 years this year- another really long-running blog I've been able to maintain somehow (you gotta love the content!) I had a pretty active linked Twitter account too that I ran alongside ATB (back when Twitter was just microblogging, and not a fascist wasteland) for many years. Again, I believe the key to good blog writing is picking a topic or topics that you really love-- something you're really passionate about (not just a fad or a passing interest). That way, you'll be more likely to continue to want to write on the blog. At least it worked for me, in the case of ATB!
My most recently created WordPress blog isn't updated anymore, but the posts are all still up and viewable. It was called Tech User Today (https://techusertoday.wordpress.com) and it was an experiment to try and make something a little more professional, to try and monetize with affiliate links (there's a lot of competition out there). I ended up taking on a bunch of outside reviews, and it was pretty cool, but it also quickly became overwhelming and not enjoyable. I started that one in 2018 and I stopped writing posts for it around two years later, in 2020.
One last thing I've learned from writing WordPress blogs, always make sure to update and maintain your themes! Older default themes tend to start to look outdated or crappy. Just like any good website, it's best to just make sure you like the look of what you're making, and to remember you can always switch up the look of it- I've definitely done this several times over the last 15 years.
If you read all this, you're awesome. And make sure to comment with your own projects!
I've loved Futurama for so long- I was actually watching on March 28th, 1999 when the pilot episode aired on FOX after the Simpsons, and I've loved it ever since. And Hulu just revived it for a couple more seasons!
I've run a blog on cartoons (https://animatedtvblog.wordpress.com) for 14 years this year, but I realized I've never written up anything on my favorite Futurama episodes, despite loving the show so much, or even had a standalone Futurama-only post on there! I figured I'd change that this year.
I've been rewatching my favorite episodes this week and simultaneously working on a 'top 10 Futurama episodes' post. My top 5 were easy enough to figure out, and then I narrowed a list of 10 more episodes down to just 5 more. Wasn't too tough. Now, to do little write-ups on each, why I love them so much, why they're so rewatchable, etc.
You know when you have a video loop, but to make it loop something disappears in an improbable manner?
And you think, that's a shame, because I really like this little clip.
And you could crop it so, for example, a bird doesn't disappear in mid-flight, but then it looks unbalanced so you need to find some unobtrusive way for the bird to disappear so it appears natural?
Every Friday for the last 52 weeks I have added a new dancer to the canvas. I now claim my crown as Queen of Pointless Projects & hope that you all have a splendid weekend, if you possibly can 👑
Week 29 of adding a dancer a week & this is becoming absolute CHAOS. On reflection the hats & bells have not helped calm it down, but not to worry.
So time to wish everyone a very happy weekend, & if you celebrate Christmas I hope your festivities are exactly what you want, & if you don't celebrate I hope your non-festivities are exactly what you want.
We've made it to week thirty-five, and I didn't expect them to be attempting the can-can but it's all about self expression. If that's what they want to do, they can give it a go.
As always, have an excellent weekend, if you possibly can (can) 😀
Bugs Bunny's birthday is today, July 27. He's 83! As the image attached here says, in 1940 he made his debut in his own cartoon, after being a unnamed rabbit in a Porky Pig short in 1938. And then he became the mascot for Warner Brothers!
I'm a huge fan of Bugs, and I still watch a lot of those old Bugs shorts (especially the ones with Yosemite Sam, they're my favorite). I'm also a huge collector of Bugs toys, memorabilia, just everything. I wrote a thing about it on my cartoon blog a few years ago. 'Bugs Bunny, and how I first fell in love with cartoons': https://animatedtvblog.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/bugs-bunny-and-how-i-first-fell-in-love-with-cartoons.
Also, there's a lot of Bugs video compilations on YouTube, but did you know you can watch (and/or download!) 85 Bugs shorts at archive dot org? The link is also in my blog post above, it's SO cool these are online here.
Elemental struggling at the box office makes me worried about the future of our company. Release only sequels in theaters and originals on Disney+? No originals at all? Cut budgets drastically? 😔😬 #Pixar#animation
Also, time for one final call for the #xmasHatting project for the season. If you have a pet you'd like to see in a Santa hat post a photo in the replies and I'll festive them up as best I can over the next couple of days 🐱 🐶 🎅
Alright, I need more cartoon recommendations. Before you ask what I've seen and what I haven't, just assume I haven't. I was extremely sheltered growing up and not allowed to watch pretty much anything. Just recommend, and it's likely to be something I've never seen.
I have been tied up with work today, and have a few chores to go and do now, but I couldn't let the first year of our things.uk Mastodon instance go by without making a little something for it.
It's our tootiversary!
Lovely to be here, and thank you for making me so welcome 😊
OC Fun fact: Autoplaying animation on websites that you can't stop is disability discrimination in the US
It's time to know your rights!...
OC Creatives of all kinds: check out this delightful list with dozens of FOSS creative tools for artists, photographers, film makers, game devs, musicians, and more! (codeberg.org)
A curated list of delightful tools for digital creatives in a variety of mediums.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed on the Hilarious Spy Show Coming to an End (www.rollingstone.com)
Architect of the Emmy-winning FX animated spy series dishes on its highs (Jessica Walter), lows (changing the ISIS name), and everything in between.
Central Park Is ‘Done’ After Three Seasons at Apple TV+, Josh Gad Says (tvline.com)
The animated comedy-musical Central Park has come to an end after three seasons at Apple TV+, star Josh Gad shared on Threads on Sunday.
The Amazing Digital Circus: Pilot (www.youtube.com)
The Amazing Digital Circus is a psychological dark comedy about cute cartoon characters who hate their lives and want to leave!