Remember Yuri’s remote control. (Also here)

Well, I was planning on making Yuri blue, mixing Flineous (she she recently killed) and Kali the Hindu goddess of power. I was even going to post a venn diagram of Kali, Flineous, and a housecat with Yuri being where they all overlap. BUT, I couldn’t make it work without her looking like Neytiri the blue Pandorian from the movie “Avatar” (or Zhaan from “Farscape” if you’d rather). After much fussing and fidgeting and playing with various hues I decided on her new color scheme. Not what I had planned, but I am very pleased with it nonetheless.

Oh, and Dustin is back. You’d be amazed how many times I count the humans in each strip as I draw them (I know there’s SIX! SIX humas!) and then make sure I know where each character is. So easy to forget.

Let’s see… a few links. Tom Walker posted a new SS Myra, of course. And I received the amazing collection of Dicebox in the mail this week (with my own short comic of the charcaters in it), and am champing the bit to read it. Erika Moen and Jeff Parker finished their 102 page webcomic “Bucko” which is a very fun read (and they’re having a store sale to celebrate).

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Hey, by request: a new wallpaper! Just donate any amount (even a penny) with that yellow button right there, and it will send you to chosen wallpaper (more are HERE).

A few bloggy things. Over at MAD Magazine’s blog “The Idiotical” they’ve posted another “It Only Hurts When I Laugh” strip by me. Tom Walker has, as ever, asked me to again let you know a new strip has been posted (NSFW) of SS Myra.

And in webcomic news, Jeff Zugale has joined the team with artwork for “Not Invented Here,” looks great!

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Been really busy here. Been doing lots of freelance, and am fighting to not fall behind while trying to get extra done, mostly involving Spacetrawler book#2, but some regarding writig other comics and novels. But, here we are, 10 minutes before Spacetrawler’s update time, and I’m done. Dammit. Eat that, self-doubting self.

And of course it’s worth it when you get Pierrot, Defender of Awesome riding in on his lone horse. Good times. And nicely timed to post one of Pierrrot’s big strips on Martin Luther King Day (happy Martin Luther King Day, btw).

Been a fun week too. Started playing racquetball with a friend, which I’ve wanted to play for years. And I survived! No injuries even! Whoot!

A couple of links: If you speak Portuguese, some nice things were said about Spacetrawler over at pinkvader.com. Tom Walker, the lucky bastard, had some nice things said about his comic SS Myra over at io9.

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Had a very nice anniversary Monday with my sweetie. We walked to the movies (we saw “Hugo,” which was lovely), made a special dinner, and toasted with champagne so awful it was corked with a bottlecap.

Not a lot otherwise. Beth and I turned the garden on Sunday. There’s a new Faraday The Blob up, that always cracks me up. Tom Walker has a new SS Myra, sigh. The Kindle arrived in the mail, and I’ve been waiting anxiously all day to finish this Spacetrawler so I can sit down and fiddle with it. Good times.

Oh, and nominate me (and spread the word) for the HUGOS! Spacetrawler book #1 “The Human Seat” in the best Graphic Story category. If not me, then the either Schlock Mercenary’s Force Multiplication, Dr. McNinja’s traveling to the future to defeat intelligent dinosaurs that rule the world,  or Marooned‘s “Mars Wars” would be acceptable I suppooooosse.

Okay, dinner time.

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Well, I ordered a b&w Kindle touch. I probably can’t afford it, but I’ve been reading a lot and need something easier on my eyes. I read a LOT about the various devices and compatibility and such, and took into account all your helpful comments, thank you. In the end, I felt it would most suit my various needs, and that there are plenty of workaround programs to convert most files to show on it. Should arrive any day, can’t wait to read.

I’ve begun slowly re-reading Spacetrawler, and making notes on all the little threads and side-comments I’ve written to make sure I don’t miss anything for tying together book 3 which I’m beginning to write (currently is only vaguely outlined, as the story has taken quite a few unexpected twists and turns).

HUGO Award nomination is open! The Foglio‘s (last I knew) have bowed out, which means others have a chance. I’d be in the best Graphic Story category, although I’m terrible at forms — they ask for “Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in 2011″ which I’m not sure if that would be Spacetrawler book#1 which appeared in print for the first time in 2011, or book#2 which began appearing on the web for the first time in 2011. Sigh.

Anyhow, go there, nominate me (if you find me worthy) (even Konrad Gaertner thinks it is), and then spread the word about the strip and nominating it far and wide (please). If not me, then either Schlock Mercenary or Marooned would be acceptable I suppooooosse.

Made seitan this week, as well as several batches of granola, bread, and we’ve recently been playing with growing sprouts. I do so love the kitchen.

I went running for the first time in years on Sunday, inspired because a friend asked me to play racquetball, and I wanted to see if my body would hold together in one piece if moved faster than a stroll. I survived the test jog (barely), racquetball is Wednesday, the resulting wake and funeral will probably be scheduled for the weekend.

Oh, and i got a nasty phonecall from Tom Walker this weekend, asking why the hell I didn’t link to last week’s SS Myra. There you go, Tom.

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(**EDIT** colored and finished version now uploaded) As you may notice, the strip is not all the way colored, seems the queen is still painting the roses red. The finished strip should be up within 2 hours TOPS.

For that reason, I won’t spend too much time blogging today. Thank you for the advice regarding the Kindle (and Nook and Pandigital). I am definitely interested in b&w, for ease on the eyes. But your discussion led me to go to my public library’s website and see what devices their files are compatible on. Every kind of file is compatible on every device except Kindle. Except Kindle files ONLY work on Kindle and no other devices.

It’s an interesting choice on Kindle’s path, and no doubt inspired by MAC who knew their presence was strong enough that they could make buyers feel their way was inevitable (where else will one buy ebooks if not Amazon?). I have a personal/professional reasons why it would be good to get a kindle or to get something else. I’ll continue to ponder.

Heh. not that I can afford to buy, but I might budget it in if I feel it’s useful and warranted enough.

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Did I link to this? I don’t think I did because I was traveling at the time. Wasn’t I? This year has been such a blur. Anyhow, over at MAD Magazine’s “The Idiotical” they posted another “It Only Hurts When I Laugh” strip.

And there’s a planet, “Kepler-22b,” which seems very similar to ours. As a sci-fi writer, I will file this away in my head for future potential stories.

And speaking of space travel, for all of you gullible fools who still believe we’ve landed on the moon (pfeh!), here is actual documented proof of the NASA conspiracy.

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Tom’s got a new SS Myra up (NSFW).

Hey, it occurred to me. My readership here is about 3 times the size of when I did my comic “Little Dee,” and so many of you might not know that strip (or my comic “Bruno”). “Little Dee” was designed to be a classic newspaper strip, heartwarming but weird enough for both  kids AND adults to like it. It ended in 2010, but I’m currently re-running it with author commentary. It did pretty well in readers and reviews, and was even under contract with United Syndicate for a year. So, anyhow, here’s a sampler. For links: The STRIPS. The ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR SALE. The STORE.

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Hey, there’s a new strip in town. And it’s Not-Safe-For-Work (NSFW) SS Myra. By Tom Walker, the same jerk who wrote and drew “Bad Mile.” I might also note, that Tom Walker is NOT ME, so just stop even suggesting it. I don’t even like him.

Ah, another week. Spent some time at Occupy Seattle. Made cranberry-orange granola. Had a freewrite session over bagels with Matt. A nice walk with my friend Kim around Greenlake.

Been thinking a lot about the plot of Spacetrawler. There are so many little threads to make sure I tie back in, and it’s mostly all mapped out in my head. And then I keep adding things, and adjusting, which adjusts everything else like dominoes. And I have to say i love doing this MORE THAN ANYTHING.

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Hey, @Stewart, I did up a wallpaper of Monday’s strip (and I added a couple more panels)!

I keep meaning to say, I do tweet. Me On Twitter:  chris__baldwin

Oh, and lastly: a new MAD is out with a piece-o-mine in it. Check it out on newsstands. :)

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