A Really Long Post About Art (updated)

Hi everyone!  I'm going to take a short break from our regular Vital Vocab story to ask a question.  Does anybody know why the Banksy website's down?  I mean, it's not really...down, but it used to take you to a slideshow of his various graffiti pieces (not every piece, but a lot of them), and now it's just this page.

And that makes me sad.  Because Banksy's one of my favorite artists.

By the way, am I the only one who's bothered by how much this

(courtesy of: Russell Darling on Flickr)

conflicts with this?

(courtesy of: stencils.tumblr.com)

That first one is on Main Street in Park City.  (The second is in San Francisco.)  There are two other Banksy works in Park City, but that's the only one I've actually seen.  And I can understand why they framed it, because everybody loves the piece and it's right where everybody's constantly walking by it, and that will keep people from vandalizing our glorified vandalism.  (Like I said, I love Banksy, but what he does is technically illegal.)  Except...it doesn't.  Recently, someone broke the glass over the one on Main Street, and painted over one of the others.  They restored them (and apparently caught the guy), but...still.  That frame does nothing.  *narrows eyes at the well-meaning frame*

ANYWAYS, I digress.  This post is not just about Banksy.  I also wanted to advertise two beautiful webcomics I've found.

So, I might have already told you about Ava's Demon, but look at this.  Look at this!

(courtesy of: Ava's Demon, Chapter Eight)

Look at theeeeem!  Ava's Demon is about a futuristic world where a girl who made a pact with a demon spirit person thing has to go find other demon spirit things and all the characters are really fabulous and unique and the artwork's just amazing and the author, Michelle Czajkowski, "interned at Pixar and worked with Dreamworks Animation," and it updates every Monday and Thursday and it's just really really cool.  And you should check it out here.

Another webcomic, something I found through Tumblr (because I started following the author, modmad), is called The Property of Hate (TPoH).  I don't really know how to explain it because it's pretty early on in the storyline, but it's really just...dreamlike and whimsical and pretty metaphorical, too, and the little girl, Hero, is just really just...really just...look at her!  O.O

(courtesy of: TPoH)

That actually doesn't express her adorableness well enough.  She's just cute and brave and really happy-go-lucky and she has to be lifted off the top bunk because the ladder hurts her feet and she's cute.  And like Ava's Demon, TPoH has a bunch of really creative and different characters, and there's also the other main character, RGB, but I can't even get started with him.  He's just amazing and well-dressed and says "cheerio" and also his head is a television.  (Yeah, I have no idea.)

(courtesy of: TPoH)

Mod (the author) updates I think one page every Sunday.  It's beautiful and you should check it out here.

Another beautiful webcomic is Homestuck, but I'm not gonna get into that right now.  It's amazing, but it's incredibly long.  I haven't read in months (I think I was on Act 5, Act 2, just before whatever the big thing is that Gamzee does).  If you wanna know more about Homestuck (which I highly recommend, regardless of length), read it here or read about it here.

(courtesy of: Siri)

This post is pretty long.  I'm proud of myself.  

Until next time!

-Allie

P.S: remind me to illustrate that last Vital Vocab like I promised.

UPDATE: The Banksy site has now become this:

*sniffle*

Vital Vocab 18

First thing's first, I need to give a shout-out to my friend Sara, for being a hipster.  (ahaha she's gonna hate me pretty soon....)

Okay so hi!  I changed the end of last week's Vital Vocab because I really couldn't figure out what to do with Mrs. Hewett.  I got the idea back in November and then it kind of died, so...I dunno.  I'll bring her back later.
I'm kind of falling asleep as I write this, so...just know that I did my best, okay guys?

Also, I'll probably do what I did last week and post an update with a picture for this on Friday.

Prompt: --
Vocab: metamorphosis, malevolent, myriad, maxim, malleable
Commonly Confused Words: accept/except
Grammar Focus: use a colon to introduce a list

Isaac Bade-
     "I'm not crazy," Ava said, moving various book stacks.  "I swear, she was here like ten minutes ago.  She told me to keep an eye out for you.  Buuuuut, now she's nowhere to be seen.  So that's interesting.  Anyways...."  
     She went to check out the line of girls' books before they started to get too malevolent.  A few of them turned books in, which she accepted, moving seamlessly through the motions except for when she had to tall one girl she owed fines, at which point the girl stopped and struggled to find money in her myriad and oversized purse.  I watched idly, not having much else to do.
     I wondered vaguely what it would be like if this library went through a complete metamorphosis one day and suddenly, there were people everywhere.  The idea reminded me of school functions when I was a kid, things like parent-teacher conferences, where they'd put up inspirational quotes and various maxims on the wall just for the parents to see: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, or, shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.  I'd see them so often that they became completely devoid of meaning.  I remembered hallways being cluttered in the corners with tables showing off kids' art projects of various types, some papier maché, some paintings, some just jumbles of over-malleable wire.  Every Monday morning now, I kind of wished I could go back to that.

Vital Vocab 17 | Vital Vocab 19

Vital Vocab Dictionary

Vital Vocab 17

Hi, all.
This has quickly become mainly just a Vital Vocab blog.  I still love Anthony and will probably post about him (among other things), but I recently kinda just fell in love with Isaac as well, so that kid may take priority for a bit.
One more thing.  Do not try and relate this Eliza to the Eliza of months ago.  Her character's preet-ty dynamic at this point.
Gosh, I really shouldn't be posting this scene yet.

Prompt: --
Vocab: jubilant, lucid, latent, kudos, laconic
Commonly Confused Words: accept/except
Grammar Focus: use a semicolon to separate two independent clauses

Isaac Bade-
     I leaned against the counter, looking through the various bookmarks and flyers that sat in stacks around the library's ancient computer.  Behind me, the girls - who I'd determined were mostly Freshmen (hence my not knowing them) - gradually started to chatter again, being many things, but not laconic.  One of them mumbled something and the others all squeaked, suddenly jubilant, exchanging kudos.  I smiled to myself; it was quite lucid that were the library not empty, Ava never would have accepted them in.
     Empty, right.  That is, except...
     Someone came and stood next to me.  I looked up.  She was tall - taller than me, maybe - and had wavy auburn hair, shoulder-length.  She held a stack of tiny chapter books, The Spiderwick Chronicles.
     "Do you work here?" she asked, I guess because I was still flipping through the papers.  I just smiled and shook my head.
     "Oh hey, Eliza!" one of the girls behind me hissed, looking over at us.  "Eliza, c'mere."  She looked up but waved them off, holding up her books for them to see.
     "I wonder if they know they're in a library."  She - Eliza - laughed quietly.  "Usually they'll quiet down, but they're not even trying today."
     "Eliza."
     "Shush!  Okay anyways, I actually wanted to ask you something.  I mean, I think I've seen you before, like, around town, so I was just wondering, like.  Like.  What's your name?"  
     I looked up and smiled at her.
     "Eliza, hey!"
     I opened my mouth, then closed it, rubbing my neck apologetically.
     "What is it?" she asked.  
     "Elizaaaaaa."
     "What?  Is there, like, something behind me?"  She turned in a circle, then looked back at me, confused.  I laughed a little, quietly, and looked over my shoulder as she stood on her toes and craned her neck.  Clearly, her friends now thought she had some latent quality for reading lips.
     "Seriously, wh-what is it?"  She looked back at me and I looked down at the counter, rubbing my nose and still laughing slightly.  Finally one of her friends, a girl I'd seen before but never really interacted with, came and pulled her a few feet away to whisper something in her ear.  
     She stood up straighter, and slowly turned to look at me.  "Oh..." she murmured.
     I turned around, hearing the door to the back room open again.  Ava stepped out and shrugged at me.  I gave Eliza one last smile before heading over to her.

UPDATE: I'm recently getting back on Tumblr!  I might not get into it immediately, but considering how addicting it can be, I'm sure I will soon.  For anyone who's curious, you can find me here.  I'm thinking of posting any art I do on there, particularly if it has to do with one of my stories or characters.

UPDATE 2: I was going to draw Isaac, but then I started reading this beautiful webcomic called Ava's Demon and those characters are just so fabulous and Isaac is just so constantly modified in my head that my brain kind of meddled them together.  (Unfortunately, it does this a lot.)  Which is why I can't draw people.  Sorry guys, I'll try again later.  But so I did draw you something.  Here.  :3

Vital Vocab 16 | Vital Vocab 18

Vital Vocab Dictionary

Vital Vocab 16

(UPDATE: I forgot to wish you kids a Happy Holidays!)

UPDATE: on a completely unrelated note, Bicycle came out with some "Eco
Edition" cards, which I think look really cool, and Anthony might use them.

Yeah, it really doesn't help me get more readers when I don't post for over three weeks.  I had Vital Vocab 15 due back on December 16th, but I was so preoccupied with getting other assignments in before Christmas Break that I completely forgot about it.  I'm sorry, guys.  I have to continue with my story tonight for a grade, so I'll have to leave Fifteen behind, maybe saving the words for some odd upload later.

Anyways, I like this one much better than my last few uploads.   I hope you all do, too.

Prompt: --
Vocab: insinuate, instigate, interject, inundate, irreverence
Commonly Confused Words: passed/past
Grammar Focus: use parallel structure to format a list of adverbs

Isaac Bade-
     A little while and some-odd pages later, a group of teenaged girls came giggling in and inundated a nearby aisle, looking for some movie.  A volunteer came out and tried to quiet them down, but they passed her by with complete irreverence.  I waited a few minutes for them to go, but as the girls began to get sidetracked by various other movies and the high school's latest gossip, I decided they might be a while.  I slipped my things back into my bag and headed towards the check-out desk; I'd been here long enough anyway.
     "Hey, Isaac."  I looked up and smiled.  The check-out person ((is there an official job title for those people?)) today was Ava, a short blonde whom I knew from school.  "Looking for Alaska, huh?  Lucky timing; you usually have to put John Green on hol--"
     "Hey can I check this out?" a girl interjected, nearly shoving me aside to reach the counter.  Ava stared at her coldly, harshly, silently, insinuating all that was awful with just a look.
     "Aah...right...."  She slunk away past some bookshelves to whisper - finally, whisper - to her friends, looking back reproachfully at us.
     "Honestly, I should kick them out," Ava said, scanning my book and card.  "They're certainly instigating it.  Anyways, here you are."  She printed out a receipt with the due date and I stuck it in as a bookmark.  "But ah, can you wait a minute?  I think Mrs. Hewett wanted to talk to you about something."  Mrs. Hewett was the head librarian...person.  I nodded, and Ava ran off, disappearing into a back room.

Vital Vocab 14 | Vital Vocab 17

(Vital Vocab 15 does not exist.)

Vital Vocab Dictionary