I finished my art explorations this week and I'm waiting for the paintings to dry so I can continue. The heart is a bonus painting that goes on a small easel that I'm sending to someone who ordered a larger work. The grayscale painting has a white sapphire in it and is intended to be backlit. I'll post pictures once it's done. The blue and purple painting needs some work, but it's a rendition of a hypergate from swtor. The canvas panel painting is an old one that I gave new life to by adding different colors. I'm not sure how much I want to layer on. Finally, the flower painting is from when I lived in Korea. It was inspired by a Van Gogh painting that I liked when I was younger--and still like, of course. I never finished it, so I painted the sides and redid the background. I think it could use another round before it's finished. Here's the two paintings I've been working on, Sea and Star Slice. Although they definitely have some color I'm going to tone them down somewhat so that they capture the look of their companions. I always hate this intermediate stage of painting because I have to exaggerate the color in order for it to work. I'm going to paint this weekend before I go away next week, and continue posting my progress. Thanks for looking!
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No one likes tax time. At best, it's yet another reminder of the grown-up world. At worst, it's the devil coming to take even more of your money than you already gave him during the year. I, however, have a bittersweet relationship with taxes. My childhood had four seasons: summer, fall, winter, and tax season; my father is a licensed tax preparer. He built this small business while working full-time as a firefighter. It's true that a fire station has a lot of downtime, especially for the person manning the ladder truck, which typically responds to fewer calls than the standard engines or ambulances. Many firefighters do, and thrive on the long shift schedule, which is followed by several days off during which they can grow their other business. Their contacts and reputation as blue-collar heroes help. But that doesn't make it pleasant. The increased income helped our family relax, pay for big ticket purchases, and make ends meet after the spendy holiday season. However, it also meant high tempers, overwork, stress, and reduced family time. My father worked (and continues to work!) so hard during tax season that he set a standard that seemed nigh unreachable. Many of us have had a ten or twelve-hour video gaming session at least once, or a binge-watch of a show that keeps us at our computer. My dad regularly worked ten or twelve hour days at his desk. We used to joke that the only thing that could get him out of his seat--besides dinner, which my mother insisted we eat as a family--was a fire! Nowadays tax season is heralded by some wordsmithing of my father's business to client communications, fielding computer upgrade questions, and stealing all the new promotional pens for my personal use. I don't feel a January dread the way I used to, but I still understand that travel in either direction and quality time get eaten up by a business that could kick any standard, big-box tax firm's ass in turnaround time, quality, and price. However, as I went to tally up my itemized deductions this year, I realized just how much time and money I had spent last year on charitable giving, volunteer work, and donations. I donated to eleven nonprofits, volunteered my time for four others, and assisted other crowdfunding and Patreon efforts that aren't tax-deductible. I also bought products from the nonprofit organizations I support, and used Amazon Smile to give to a nonprofit of my choice. What I learned: if you keep giving and doing what you can throughout the year, you'll have something to feel good about when tax season comes. Reflecting on my contributions gave me a sense of purpose and direction for the yet-unused time and money in the year to come. Even if you don't acknowledge tax season as a real season. *** Seriously, my dad is awesome and he works with clients in any state. I am also available to hire as a freelance writer and simple web designer. This is a great interview about Team DK, the Korean hots team that made it to BlizzCon after an upset of their rivals--and a team that many felt outclassed them--MVP Black.
If you follow hots, it's a good and interesting read with a lot of hints about how the scene might develop in the new year. However, I'd like to zero in on this question: "Q. What is each player's favorite hero to play? And a hero that you like having your teammate play? CrazyMoving: Jaina | Arthas Noblesse: Illidan | Muradin Jaehyun: Kharazim | Arthas sCsC: Arthas | Muradin Sniper: Abathur | Tyrael" Good old Korea. Someone has to play Arthas, right? Though it sounds like a meta focused on CC and ganking isn't necessarily the worst for him, I wonder why Diablo isn't more of a fixation. C'mon Korea, he's a damage/bruiser warrior who can take a lot more hits than Arthas! Meanwhile, it wouldn't surprise me to see NA and EU completely abandoning him because of the scaling changes that wrecked his health pool and the resurgence of Diablo. Also note that there's barely a complete team in here, because the Arthas/Muradin/Tyraels of the world should unite! It'll be interesting to watch current streams and tournaments on OGN, and also to see how an international rematch goes. In case that was too boring, I annotated the first page of my hots hero collection: |
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