May I Help You?

2011-05-22T08:36:00.003-04:00

Okay okay.. A LOT of new stuff has happened in my life over the past two years and a half. New apartment, new schedule, new friendships, new books, new iPad, new lots o'stuff. The past four years have been a learning experience, and I keep wanting to come back to Blondie and Chichi, but keep finding I just don't have the time..

insert new lot's o stuff.

Blondie and Chichi, and more importantly the treefrogs, will be coming back.. but possibly at a new location. I've been working on some different projects with a friend, and we're still in process, but much much closer to seeing those projects go live in the very near future.

I'm not sure how many people are still checking this comic, or reading this blog, and if no one is, then I have only myself to blame. But real life does come crashing down every so often, and building back up is half the fun. So.. bear with me, if you're still around.. there will be an address change soonish, we're ironing out the details..

Now what this means is.. starting in a few weeks, at the new address.. I'll start posting MIHY from the very beginning. Just so I can get back in the swing of things, probably once or twice a week. Then the new comics can merge right in with the storyline. Well, that's the hope anyway.

If you've hung in there, thank you. :) I don't deserve a reader like you. If you haven't, I don't blame you.. and maybe you'll come back once I get it back and running. As always, thanks for the journey.

L. Hall

2010-09-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

Okay.. I think the update page is a little messed up.

Yes, I know.. it's been .. oh, almost two years since there's been an update, but a lot has changed in that time. I'm going to be trying to update and get a bit of a recaptured story going on with blondie and chichi, or maybe even another project or two.

In the meantime, I'll be reacquainting myself with comic genesis's processes and procedures and trying to get the website cleaned up a bit.

and yes, you can smack me. I fully deserve it.

2008-12-24T09:22:00.004-05:00

Ohhhh the shame of it.
The utter and complete shame of it.

I am truly sorry, but with the job changes, SL sucking me into it completely.. MIHY took a hit. However, all is not lost.

If you still occasionally check this comic, I greatly thank you. If you don't.. I am so sorry I let you down..

I shall also be updating at least once every two weeks from this point on.. The hope is once I get back into the swing of it, going back to the weekly update, continuing the saga of Blondie, ChiChi, Tree Frogs and ghosts in the closet.. and we can't forget da gypsy LOVE.

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes.. Thanks to everyone for paying attention as long as they absolutely have. You guys so rock and there just isn't any words to describe how much you mean to me.

Kaidoh

2008-05-01T07:47:00.003-04:00

One of my lovely music boxes in Second Life.. A faberge egg type affair with irises and a teeny butterfly that plays Blue Danube when it opens. :)

ANNNNNNDDDDD We're back!

Terribly sorry about the delay.. RL issues do take their toll, and I'm going to TRY to update at least once a week. It may actually be more like once every two weeks with the end of school hitting, the possibility of being transferred to another department, so on and so on and so on.

Spring has sprung, and I've gone through the flu, strep throat, so on and so on and so on. But I'm back, feel better.. and I have some new material for everyone that has been patient enough to check back every so often.

Kudos to Cap'n Skusting at Deviantart for this guest comic to hold me over until Sunday. More Chichi.. More Blondie.. More TREEFROGS.. and what the heck is up with those angel spiders? Stay tuned, and ALL WILL BE REVEALED...

Well, not actually.. but it sounded good. XD

Plug for Second Life here:
Yes, I still have my store. Yes, I occasionally make some moolah with it, so if you're about, looking up Canolli Capalini. Find me.. spend your hard earned cash on virtual furniture that doesn't actually exist.

Me and Mr. Elihu Leominster sitting on a loveseat that I'm in the process of making while he's showing me his latest Periodical table floor tile. Sounds surreal doesn't it?

2008-02-12T23:05:00.002-05:00

Still sort of looking forward to valentine's day.. bloodshed and all..

But sorry about no update. I got hit with something very nasty. My ear hurts, my throat majorly hurts and I do NOT feel good. My fever just broke today.

I'll try and get one up by the next update.. but can't count on it.

Thanks for your patience,
Kaidoh

2008-02-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

I am not a big fan of Valentine's Day.
It seems to me to be a commercialization of a romanticism of an awful awful event in history.
People are already decorating for it, and I've been surrounded by lacy frilly doilies of hearts for weeks due to friends who go extravagantly overboard in their decorations.

That being said.. This is the first year I think I've sort of looked forward to it.

But I'll never admit that again.

***

Thanks to Joey Martin for the wonderful guest art.. He actually sent this to me around Christmas and I was on hiatus so I didn't get it posted. He has a nifty comic over at Educated.

>.<

Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you for your patience. As always, your comments make me feel loved...
Kaidoh

2008-01-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Deek Skusting of DA for this really really sw33t fanart. He liked one of the skits from early on in the strip and expounded on it. "Brought string".. XD I was feeling fairly blue and he lifted up my spirits considerably. He's a good photographer so go check out his stuff at Cap'n Skusting at Deviantart.

The storyline will continue.. and Scarlet Termite, no spilling of spoilers!

I've been working on different pieces for my newest furniture sets in Second Life. I've gotten my own furniture store up and running with the help of several good friends, (Mr. Cornell Mondrian and Ms. Vye Graves) in Babbage Canals. So again, if you're on SL, give Canolli Capalini, furniture maker extraordinaire a shout out.

My hiding chest.. you can sit on top of it, and hide inside it with the lid closed. The idea actually came from Mr. Hengest Whitfield, amatuer surgeon and confidant.

I've always been fascinated by stand up wardrobes (possibly since I read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe at a very early age).. and found them a great source of comfort growing up. Nothing like feeling like the world is toppling in on you and hiding away where no one can find you. (That sounds so happy, doesn't it? XD) It does actually feed the imagination. My take on it in Second Life with a wardrobe that matches the hiding chest.

Thanks to all my friends in SL and outside of it for making the past month a really memorable experience. :)

As always, thanks for your patience and reading.
Kaidoh

2008-01-18T07:32:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the hiatus. It was unintentional and now I'm getting things back on track. Here's a tree-froggy update to finish up why Sophie was so happy.. I have a few things coming up (i.e. guest comics to help me out) and will start back in on the storyline in just a few. My apologies to everyone who reads and has stuck with me through this little two month jaunt.
Thank you..

And as always, thank you for your patience.

Kaidoh..

2007-11-28T07:53:00.000-05:00

Okay.. Photoshop is up and running.. my scanner is still kapoot! However, this little blurb is to hold you over until next week. What could Sophie be so happy about? And when is the other shoe going to drop?

Things are back on track.. Christmas is coming up and I am completely unprepared. However, now that my computer seems to be holding steady, hopefully I can keep updating for the comic now.

In Second Life news, I usually cannot attend Antiquity (Victorian Sim) events simply because they start too early in the day. Real life does tend to take it's toll. However, Saturday the 24th, I had the rare opportunity to attend one of that communities wonderful balls. I did feel slightly underdressed as I went with more of a "sweet" rural dress (after all, my persona is a simple carpenter.. an inventor of stuffs.)

One of my "inventions". It is a Christmas tree star topper that chimes lightly every 30 seconds and puffs a small puff of steam. I am working on a riveted one and a crystal one.

My arrival to the ball with Mr. Skusting Dagger.. a gentleman of most dubious character and charming conversation. (I believe there may be pirating influences at work there).

Literally, swept off my feet. Mr. Dagger gracefully kept me entertained the whole evening..

One of the many beautiful attendees of the ball. (I now wish I'd kept track of who was whom.. these ladies certainly deserve that recognition). You can also see how I felt I was terribly underdressed.

Still in awe of yet another beautiful avatar that graced the dance floor.

Another evening in my parlor at Laboratory Mondrian (graciously provided by the ever handsome and mysteriously mad Mr. Cornell Mondrian) entertaining my guests.. (Mr. Dagger in the stripped skivvies.. Mr. Ochs, the tall guy at the end of the sofa, and the strangely compelling and ethereal Miss Xryyl Oh at the other end of the sofa). The tea was provided by Miss Oh, and lively conversation ensued. That's me, in the black coat and top hat.. I call that my "Bram Stoker's outfit"..I look a little like Gary Oldham on hormone therapy.

My last picture of the evening.. Mr. Timeless. Yes, that's his name and that's his rude little dragon on his shoulder. The group from the picture above adjourned to Mr. Dagger's compartment after we all went to look at the strange well in the basement of the building where Mr. Dagger lives. (Long story.. brush up on your Lovecraft). Mr. Timeless then joined the party as did Mr. Simon Kline of the "Friends of Second Life" (great resource if you want to learn how to do something script related). I thought Mr. Timeless was an interesting avatar. Rarely do you see someone trying to look older.

As always, thanks for reading and your patience,
Kaidoh

2007-11-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hello, and I apologize we're not back to the story yet. However, for those interested (and you know who you are, Darkyboy) here is a sample of what my sketches from the ride to and from work look like. Not the greatest, but it is simple storyboarding.. and I particularly liked this one because it really conveyed the facial expressions. True story, not making this stuff up.

The reason for the sketching is we've gotten the computers back to some semblance of normalcy.. Scanners mildly operational (not my original scanner, but the one in the bottom of the closet). However, now our plumbing has decided to go kaboom, and we're fighting the good battle against 60 year old clogs. Not happy, so I've been falling exhausted in front of the computer unable to even muster a simple box in Photoshop. Sorry, I'm working on getting it back on track, I swear.

Now, the one frivalous thing I have done was I entered SL yesterday because *squeal* Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery were giving an interview in one of the groups I'm part of, SLiterary. It was all a promotion about Beowulf, but *eeeeeee* Neil Gaiman! They even answered my question! *eeeeeeeeee* about did they foresee virtual actors playing a larger and larger role in the future of film-making.. *eeeeeeee* Neil Gaiman!

Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery in the avatar forms.. *eeeeeee*

Me, FRONT ROW, with my friend Vye Graves, in a motley crowd.

Me at the kiosk in front of the event.. I even got a Beowulf T-Shirt! *Squeals some more-*eeeeeeeeeeee**

The way the interview was conducted..

I really expected more people to show up, then we realized SLiterary hadn't advertised the event outside their group. Plus on top of that, the schedule at the event center had the wrong time listed as the interview. Sloppy, if you ask me. But then Vye pointed out that it might have been slightly on purpose, to keep the sim from becoming overloaded and keeping the whole thing from happening. As it was, a decent sized crowd showed up and it was a very interesting interview.

This is not the first time I've seen Gaiman. Whilst showing some visiting friends from out of town around, one of our local bookstores was having a book signing I was unaware of until we were on the escalator and I saw all these people.. then I saw Gaiman sitting at a table signing books. *Pounds her fist on the table* Dad-blame visiting friends! I couldn't just leave her and join the growing crowd of Gaiman worshippers! *laughs* anyway, if you're asking why I'm such a fan, go read "American Gods" and you'll get it. Gotta get my hot little hands on his new one...

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your patience,
as always.
Kaidoh

2007-11-04T10:56:00.001-05:00

Okay.. I know, old styling. I've been meaning to post this one for a while now, and kind of gives you insight between Blondie's and ChiChi's friendship dynamics. Sorry, trying to get my furniture store off the ground in Second Life, and making stuff is time consuming. Plus, with Halloween and Real Life stuffs going on (i.e. costumes, trick or treating, work, all the boring stuff), the next treefrog strip is half-done.

Needless to say, I've only been taking a break from the comic whilst playing Second Life (it really is a big time sink)and figuring out where I want the story to go. I really did not believe people when they said that stories begin to take on a direction of their own.. characters begin to develop quirks without an creator help and honestly, ChiChi has been diverging off the path I started for her. My hope and intention is to start guiding her back to my original plan, but you know her.. she's off in her own little world.

Here are some pictures of one of my favorite clubs in Second Life.. Club Necropolis in the Dark Eternity sim. I'm not a vampire, and I don't roleplay a vampire, but they have fantastic music and the BEST DJ's..

Club Necroplis in Dark Eternity, Second Life

DJ PunkKitty - My favorite DJ.. she knows how to rock it.

Me and my friend, Wolfram Gustafson, on the dance floor.. in the forefront.

One of my Beidermeier chairs I made.. Very primmy stuff, but lovely, I think.

Me atop Cornell Mondrian's Laboratory in Babbage Canals, Second Life.. at sunset.
I thought it was a perfect Steampunk picture.

Me at the Ogdred Weary House in Babbage Canals, Second Life. Very fascinating.. I was touring the Canals with Mr. Skusting Dagger.

My good friend Ms. Elleon Bergamasco in one of her fantastic costumes. I almost got this one for Halloween, but went instead in her Owl ballgown and mask.

My good friend Mr. Cornell Mondrian seated on top of one of my first creations in his Laboratory. Very handsome.

My friend Vye Graves, in her halloween costume. For some reason, she calls it Doublewide Baby Momma..

Mr. Skusting Dagger's placard for his photography studio within Second Life in Babbage Canals. It's a lovely studio situated right next to the Guild Academy run by Mr. ArthurConan Doyle, who is also a lovely gentleman.

Finally, my good friend, Mr. Wolfram Gustafson, seated in a chair he purchased from me. I hope he's still happy with his furniture, I did custom create it for him. Also, very handsome and serious looking.

If you can't tell, I spend the majority of my time in the Victorian/Steampunk sims.. I find it is the most interesting people there, from serious role-players that will look at you astonished if you speak outside of the roleplay to Cat people who cuss like sailors and demons with discreet tails. Most of my friends I met in either Antiquity or Babbage, and I make my furniture to suit those sims particularly.. Though i will have to branch out, I think.

Anyway, if you're on, give me a shout out- Canolli Capalini..

As always, thanks for reading and your patience. I promise I will get all this back on track.
Kaidoh

2007-11-01T10:40:00.000-04:00

A repeating comic, sorry bout that.

Today's guest comic is provided by Andrea aka Scarlet Termite over at The Adventures of Chad Cleanly. She is one of the best cartoonists I know, and it's well worth a quick look-see.

I tried to have it up the day before Halloween, but Comic Genesis would upload the image and then it would promptly disappear. I have no idea what happened, but it seems to be working now. :)

Halloween was a smashing hit in my neighborhood. Trick-or-treater numbers have been flaggin in the past few years, but last night was a hit. One of the houses down the street had a mini-haunted house, and my kiddo was so excited about it. We made our own rounds, (the neighbors around us give out the muchos big bars) and hit the haunted house. First time through, she was screaming "Nobody move!" and still ran half-way up the street. Second time through, when Michael Myers started to get up off the bench, not only was she running down the street, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. I caught up with her and after she hugged me for a few minutes, she looked up at me with eyes the size of saucers and said "That was so much FUN!". Scared the poor neighbors, they were following us down the street with lots of candy until she went back and told them she was alright. Afterwards, I attended a ball in Second Life (masquerade of course) and had a lovely time dancing with Mr. Cornell Mondrian and Skusting Dagger. Of course most of my SL friends were in attendance, including Zoriada Rossini and Elleon Bergamasco (who incidentally made my gown and mask for the ball). Then in Real Life, we all bunched up on the sofa and watched the 100 top scariest movies. Does my heart good to know that Jaws was No. 1.

I would have taken pictures at the Second Life Ball in Antiquity had I given it any thought, though I heard a lot of pictures being taken. If I can wrangle a few from some of my friends, I'll post them here.

Updates should continue on a regular basis this Sunday, however if you want to spread the word of your own site, let me know. Guest comics are always welcome.
So are comments, so let me know how your own halloween went!

As always, thanks for reading and having patience with me.
kaidoh

2007-10-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

No update this week. I'm terribly sorry, but extenuating circumstances have prevented me from updating.

(1) My computer is still not where it should be.
(2) Scanner is still dead.. as dead as a doorknob.
(3) My child is going to the ER today.. rash will not go away, hands now swelling.
(4) Let's face it, I'm tired.

This is not a hiatus. This is not a shutting down.. The comic will continue to post at it's regularly scheduled time next week (365 days, folks, and this is the first i've missed.. you can cut me some slack). If I happen to get some free time, I'll post sooner or at least get something up.

2007-10-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

I am so sorry.. this is NOT the comic I wanted to post today. Due to my computer going down (hardware interrupts suck), after cannibalizing an older computer and realizing that the interrupts were still happening and it wasn't my fried GPU (which, btw, is stilled fried.. massive temperature readings on the sensor).. we opted to remove everything BUT the GPU and the main hard drive and voilé, no more hardware interrupts. But that also means my computer is not running at 100% efficiency and can't do jack with anything graphically.
I had this commercial one done, so you still have some Blondie & ChiChi goodness, just not what I had wanted to do.. Rest assured I'm still working on it. And for those of you who know I have a scanner and are thinking, "Why didn't she just upload her story sketches so we could continue with the story?".. Sorry, my scanner has died as well. Literally, the light's on, but nothing is home.
See kids, this is why you update your equipment every so often even if you don't think you need to. Everything dies at once.

We should have all problems fixed by the next update, and will continue on with the treefrog story line. If not, I suck because I don't have anymore back up comics left in my reservoir.

Please remember, I am inspired by your comments and love.. the more I get comments and love, the more I am compelled to do.. so please? Please let me know you love/hate the comic and why.

Kaidoh

2007-10-08T06:35:00.000-04:00

EDIT-ADDENDUM:
I have changed my email address in the "Contact Me". So, if you've contacted me before and notice that the address is different, that's why. I thought that perhaps there should be an email address specifically for the comic. So.. please? Please send me email and show the love?

Fall is nearly upon us... It cannot come fast enough. Saturday was way too hot for October and this Friday promises to be very cool and mild. I can not frickin' wait.

Hope you enjoyed the update.. I may be a bit late in the next week or so, we think I may have fried my CPU. I definitely killed my GPU, the little fan thingee won't turn now and the temperatures exceeded 90 deg on the sensor. Switched out the GPU with an older card, but the dang thing is still freezing up every two or three minutes with "Hardware Interrupts". Hubby's gonna bulldoze the thing, reformat and see what we're left with. I don't have any pretentions that this will work.. so, lots of sketching and forwarding the story line in MIHY. My SL socializing is going to go down the tubes though.

Again, thank you for reading. As always, please PLEASE let me know if you like the comic, or if you hate it, via the "contact me" words right above the vote buttons. Email is always appreciated and honestly inspires me to continue. One email can keep me going for weeks.

And also just a blurb: Did anyone else think the whole "Psychic energy" bringing the Doctor back on Doctor Who on Friday seemed a bit well... peter pan-ish? I love Doctor Who.. I mean, I LOVE Doctor Who, but it was a bit hard for even me to swallow. Granted, Doctor Who has always been outlandish and very "Deus Ex Machina" but everybody think "Doctor" at the same time and it fixes everything??? Come On!
Will that keep me from watching it in the future.. heck no! *sigh* let me repeat.. I just love Doctor Who.

Thanks for reading.
kaidoh

2007-10-06T09:42:00.000-04:00

This is a bigger update.. And no, Harley is not taking a crap in the chimney as someone else pointed out to me. I'm tired and don't feel like going back in and redoing that panel.
I have applied for a new job at work, so I'm not sure how that would affect this should I get it. As I think I really need a change and this would move me into the escheloned "supervisor" category, if you have a moment, please think of me in your daily prayers until after October 14th (the job stops posting at that time).

The above picture is me in Second Life. I am very enamoured of the game, and have been creating quite a bit of really neato furniture. So, if you happen to be in Second Life, give Canolli Capalini a shout out. I'm usually on in the evenings, when I should be working on the comic.

Everyone is still sick free, the cats are really annoying and so far, everything is right with the world.

As always, thanks for reading.
kaidoh

2007-09-21T07:28:00.000-04:00

Kid is good. Kid has no fever, slight head cold left overs, is working on a mountain of homework and make up work.

Work is good.

Comic has an update coming up, hope you all enjoy it. I finished the details on the last panel this morning. And in response to a question ScarletTermite asked some time back.. Of course spiders go to heaven.. unless of course, they attacked you or some such silliness. Otherwise, they're innocents in the war of keeping our homes insect free. I submit they're an acceptable loss in the war on insect free homes, but innocents, nonetheless. Unlike fuzzy bugs.. They're like the infiltrating scouts.
(\/)
(..)
c()()

2007-09-16T17:43:00.000-04:00

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING.....

*edit* 09-17-07

A new Interruption comic is up.. and again I apologize. Thank you to those who have sent well wishes for my daughter.. Her fever is still really high, and for some reason, isn't going down. The doctor she saw yesterday said it was flavor of the month viral, but shouldn't the fever be abating after three days, not getting higher?
Anyway, if there's no change today, back to the doctor.

***
I apologize for the lack of updates this week. Due to unforeseeable circumstances (I got carried away with Second Life, and my daughter began running a very high fever a few days ago), I have been spending the last few days entirely at my daughter's beck and call. And I have been Bust-A-Grooved out over the past few days...

AND before you start pointing fingers and crying "It was Second Life's Fault!" I honestly have not been online for more than 30 minutes at a time because seriously, my 10 year old child has gotten very sick. To the point of making me nervous. I work in a medical clinic, so making me nervous is quite a feat.

So I apologize greatly for no update this week.. Hopefully by Tuesday, I will have an "interruption of service" short up.. and I promise to not neglect you in the future. I promise!

2007-08-18T09:21:00.001-04:00

Today's treefrog joke (which made me giggle wildly) is courtesy of Andrea McEnaney of The Adventures of Chad Cleanly . Best depiction of a treefrog playing a drumset I've ever seen.

2007-08-08T00:39:00.000-04:00

Well, school is upon us. So are vaccinations, lunches, homework, projects.. field trips.. Ensuing chaos. Not to mention, I probably won't be able to find a parking place downtown on campus.. :(

And.. my yard got mowed. Best fifteen dollars I ever spent.

2007-08-04T07:33:00.000-04:00

I love movies. I adore movies.. To that end, I think I'll starting posting movie reviews here from time to time. I'll start with this one. It's a bit older, but it's one I've already got lying around.

Movie Review: Frank Miller's "300"
Before I say anything else, this is NOT a historic account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. You want to see history? Go get The Civil War by Ken Burns. That's an accurate historical documentary. This isn't even BASED off the historic Battle of Thermopylae. This is based on a graphic novel based off an old movie based off someone else's loose retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. Add in the fact that it's Frank Miller's graphic novel, and well.. it's not for everyone.

That said, and out of the way...

Frank Miller has a beautiful style. It's not always the most genial of subject fairs, but it is always beautiful and compelling. Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad did an excellent job of transferring the comic to screen. Each scene of the movie feels as though you are gazing at the composition of a page. The artistic integrity of the movie is really gorgeous. The drawing of imagery from sources such as Greg Schilhab, the use of contrast and color tinting.. the minute detailing on ALL the characters is just breathtaking. The villain, King Xerxes, is a masterpiece of movie manipulation. His size, his movements, the timbre of his voice, really accent the fact that this man believes himself to be a god. If you liked the special effects of LOTR, this movie delivers in spades.. The elephants (mastadon would be a better word), the creatures, the oddities.. This movie really is a feast for the eyes.
It is also very bloody and violent. There is one scene where the camera pans with one soldier slow motion as the persian army hit like a wave upon the spartans. It is one of the best choreographed scenes, with fluidity and grace I have ever seen. It is also one of the bloodiest. I don't think I've ever seen a decapitation in slow motion before..

Dialogue is not for the faint of heart. It's perhaps not as flowing as it could be, but Miller was really trying to convey the weight of epicness. It smacks of Shakespeare.

King Leonidas: "My heart is broken for your loss."
Captain: "Heart? I have filled my heart with hate."
King Leonidas: "Good."

I could be deep here and discuss the poignant nod to the ancient greek idea of perfection in man. (all the heroes are perfectly sculpted man-gods and all the villains are mutated deformities putting the elephant man to shame). I could draw comparisons of this being much like Shakespeare in it's tone and style, because after all, Shakespeare wrote entertaining raunchy stuff for the masses. I could digress upon the ethical ideology of better to die a free man than rule in slavery (Xerxes offers Leonidas a job) or the pushing of a love story behind the scenes complete with betrayal (it's there.) but that would detract from the real reason to see this movie.

It's entertaining. It's primal. It affects that part of you that wants to see the good guy punish the bad guy against all odds. I use the word punish there for a reason. It's not just the good guy triumphing.. because that doesn't happen. He doesn't triumph. But he makes the stronger and more evil pay for his villainy, with body counts, blood and sweat. And just as it's a joy to watch a good martial arts movie for the fight scenes, it's a joy to watch the battle scenes and the one-line bantering between characters.

Xerxes: "Yours is a fascinating tribe. There is much our cultures could share."
King Leonidas: "Perhaps you haven't noticed, but we've been sharing our culture with you all morning."

All in all, well worth seeing.

2007-08-01T22:40:00.000-04:00

Picture above, another little project I'm working on.. sneak peek.

And it's always nice when someone lets you feel like an artist. I mean, truly feel like an artist. About a year ago, I took a couple of my prints to the local Hospital fall festival where I'm at most years with all my handmade bookmarks (they're really pretty and I can usually make some spare change with them.) One of the ladies at the booth next to me was perusing my wares, and was looking at some of my framed prints. I had brought along a copy of "Waiting for You" simply because it was in with my other prints. I had it printed for myself and had no intentions of selling it. She saw it peeking out of the bag of prints and asked about it. I showed it to her and she offered to buy it on the spot. Said something about it speaking to her.
Well, a couple of days ago, I received an email from her showing off how she had it framed and hanging in her home.. and I'm braggingly posting that here, with her permission of course. It really made me feel like I'm doing something with myself..

Today, my toilet went in the crapper... And unfortunately, I did not have the hand strength to fix it. So I called my handy-dandy husband.. and after much debate and a couple of threats of divorce, we got it fixed. No longer do I have water dripping from the base of the tank upon my already sinking bathroom floor. Needless to say, it wore me out.

Last, but not least, another Lizzie pic.. Gosh I like her.

2007-07-25T10:31:00.000-04:00

I am hoping that this layout doesn't confuse anyone. This is jumping right back into the story "after the clinic is rebuilt". I really wanted to do a lengthy segueway about the actual rebuilding, but with working overtime and lack of sleep.. well, you know. Oh, let's add the Harry Potter book in there (Yes, I finished it by Sunday morning.) And there will be the introduction of another character/creature/something in a few weeks.
School is starting back soon and the one thing I am really peeved about, the schools do not let you know what school supplies will be needed until the week before school starts! Gah! I could be purchasing supplies here and there, instead of this big one lump sum. I do know my in-laws have already gotten her a backpack (with an owl on it) and my husband's uncle has purchased some rudimentary supplies (pencils, paper, etc.). The mailbox is getting checked everyday for that letter from the school.
I am also happy to announce that I may be having an art show at a coffee shop here in town. I have to go down and meet with the owner, but she sounded very positive on the phone. Maybe I'll find a home for some of my birds. :)

They are all for sale, btw.. if you're interested.. I'm cheap.

Last but not least, I'm posting my new little character. She's my alter ego, her name is Lizzie. Her balloon burst. :(

2007-07-20T06:21:00.000-04:00

Woooooo! Todays guest comics (and I did more than one because I think my writer's block is finally over) are provided by two very lovely people. The first one is courtesy of Joey Martin over at Educated. Thanks for continuing the running joke, Joey..

The second is by, of course, the wonderful Andrea McEnaney from The Adventures of Chad Cleanly. You know, I can almost hear Casey Casem saying that!

Third, there will be an additional update Wednesday of next week to jumpstart back into the regular storyline. Then MIHY will return to it's once a week update on Sundays. I appreciate all who have given me lovely guest comics to help me through this very tiring time.

Oh, and more dustbunnies!

2007-07-17T08:06:00.000-04:00

Today's comic was in appreciation of all the wonderful comics Andrea McEnaney has done for me to help me through this time with so many real-life malfunctions. Chad Cleanly, Perkie Diva and the "Oh God, It's Morning" show are all © Andrea McEnaney. You should really check it out.

On the homefront, my daughter and I went to the local fair this past weekend. Ferris wheels, gravitrons, and bumper cars were ridden (we would have ridden more, but the apple of my eye is a little wary of rides) multiple times. We had the wonderful sound of motocross in the distance, the wonderful livestock exhibits (chickens and rabbits.. the real livestock will have to wait until the state fair), and the smell of pizza, popcorn and cotton candy wafted on the air. We truly enjoyed the Birds of Prey show (my kiddo is an absolute owl fanatic.. her favorite gift this year at Christmas was owl puke. No joke, but that's its own story), being that close to such magnificent birds is always amazing.. Being able to pet an eagle owl, touch the wingspan of a golden eagle and actually getting to see and hear a real raven is quite moving. Jonathon Wood and his family front run the Raptor Project and tour the nation bringing these wonderful birds to the public awareness.
Between shows and rides, after the pizza and the stuffed dragon we won at a game, we sat on the grass in between the basketball dunking game and the Tornado ride, in the shade. She leaned up against me and I told her, "See those white puffy clouds? Smell the cotton candy? Feel how hot and sticky it is and do you hear all these people walking around us? That's summer, sweetheart.. that's summer."

2007-07-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

Since Comic Genesis is having problems that do not seem to be resolving (and yes, I'm still hanging in there), I've signed up with Web Comics Nation for a mirror site. http://www.webcomicsnation.com/llhall2 I'm still currently working on getting all the archives posted and the up to date, but it's there.. just in case, you know. :)

"I can't believe it's not coffee" courtesy of the awesome Andrea McEnaney of The Adventures of Chad Cleanly.

2007-07-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

I went to see "Transformers" with my daughter yesterday. Right off the bat, let me say NOBODY in my house, save me, likes the Transformers. Nobody even likes the concept behind the Transformers. She's 10 and she didn't really care for it. She kept leaning over and saying "Are you happy?".
I loved it. Everything about it. The pace of the movie was very quick, and the special effects were stunning.. But mostly I just loved the thing as a whole. I found myself tensing up during the fight scenes and really got carried along with the characters. I just wish they'd had more with Megatron actually in it. And with the way it ended.. I smell sequel.

Andrea McEnaney of The Adventures of Chad Cleanley has graciously provided me with two, and possibly a third, guest comics that are absolutely fantastic. These I will be uploading the 11th, the 14th and then the guest comic I did for Chad Cleanly on the 18th. This week's comic also marks a sort of segue-way into a new "chapter" of MIHY.

2007-07-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

First, the good news. Andrea McEnaney of The Adventures of Chad Cleanley has graciously provided me with two, and possibly a third, guest comics that are absolutely fantastic. These I will be uploading the 11th, the 14th and then the guest comic I did for Chad Cleanly on the 18th. This week's comic also marks a sort of segue-way into a new "chapter" of MIHY.

Second, the bad news. I've had so many "mechanical malfunctions" in real life (home repairs mandated by the lovely city of Lexington which interestingly enough coincided with the insurance company's inspection of our roof. How coincidental/car breaking down/leak in the guts of the toilet/coworker being put on bedrest and me asked to work 50-60 hours a week to compensate, etc.) have delayed any time that I would have had to put into the comic. Rest assured, the ideas are there.. the sketches in the notebook on the shuttle are still being done.. but the time I usually work on this comic in the morning is now taken up by actually going to work. And I'd work on it in the evening, but I'm afraid I've been passing out around 9:30pm. I'm too tired. There will be no hiatus.. but I had this big plan to segue way into the reconstruction of the clinic and to be real honest, I'm just too damned tired. So, just imagine 4 weeks later, the damaged portion of the clinic has been rebuilt and let's get on with our lives. At this point and time, any guest comics to help compensate with a lack of buffer comics would be greatly appreciated.

And in case you've wondered.. The house has new gutters, cornices, vinyl and aluminum siding.. still working on replacing one of the windows, the crumbling brick around the flowerbed and repaving the driveway. The car's starter was kapoot, and is now fixed. The leak in the toilet is less than 10 dollars and I'm going to fix that tomorrow. The work issue.. well, that's not going to go away. I need to sleep people.

2007-06-30T15:14:00.000-04:00

Well, it would appear that Comicgenesis is once again experiencing difficulties.. so in the mean time (I do have a bit of a buffer so when it updates, they'll be there) I've been working back on some of my Celtic Knotwork projects, one of which is the picture directly above. Mostly inspired by Robert Frost's "After Apple-picking".

I am looking forward to Comicgenesis getting their crap straightened out. I don't believe MIHY has a large following, but what few I do have, I would like to keep. And eventually, even the most die-hard fan drifts away if the pages are continually "Page Not Found".

With that in mind, I'm going to give it another month or so.. and while giving it a month or so, I will be researching other possibilities for hosting. At the end of said time, if the server issues have not been resolved, I may have to find another space. I know this is free-hosting. I'm not bitching.. I'm looking at this from a business model.

And when the page does post, the update for 07-01-07.. a cookie to the first person who can tell me what movie is being referenced. :) A big, chewy chocolate chip cookie!

2007-06-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

I went and saw "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" Sunday.. in the vain hope that it would be a better movie than it's predecessor. And it was. But not by much and ONLY because of the Silver Surfer.

The thing that I am really excited about, and please let me know if you've seen the trailer, "I Am Legend". I got goosebumps when I saw the trailer. I've been a fan of the book for years upon years... And interestingly enough, I'm not disappointed that Will Smith was cast as the lead. He can pull it off, I think. Ehhhehheheehe.. I can't wait. ^.^

2007-06-16T19:43:00.000-04:00

I joined the bandwagon. Everyone else was doing it and honestly, it seemed the easiest thing to do. I joined Blogspot at Google. Because I'm tired of having to update EVERY single HTML page everytime I make a comment. It's haaarrrdddd *whine*.

This though, I can update quite easily and it's pretty. :)

So now, we're continuing on with the story line.. I had toyed with the whole "Dallas" thing with the clinic blowing up as just a dream, but no. And there is a revelation coming up in a couple of week with another character. And did anyone check out the character page? It's updated. Also, you can now read the older posts of this blog and find the older "My Life"'s. Just.. if you wanted to. There is a difference in shading on MIHY and just a quick question.. do you think my colors are too bright?

As always, thanks for reading.

2007-06-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

My Life-007

2007-06-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

My Life - 006

2007-06-13T18:37:00.000-04:00

My Life-005

My own personal homage to Applegeeks.. I LOVE that comic. It was actually the second comic I ever started reading, right next to Megatokyo. I don't generally do a lot of fan art, but when I read that Justin Long of the PC Guy commercials would no longer be doing them.. this just sprang into my head fully developed.

I sent this to the creators of Applegeeks and they found it quite amusing. :D Also, it's an unscheduled update. Hehehe.. I'm just full of surprises this week.

It's also the first comic that has the new shading and text formatting. I know it's not that noticeable.. but that's me. Subtle is my middle name.

Have a good summer. Regular storyline continues next week.

As always.. thanks for reading!

2007-06-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

My Life-004

2007-06-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

My Life-003

2007-06-10T18:37:00.000-04:00

My Life-002

Happy Anniversary to me.. I didn't think I'd be doing this for a full year, and I don't think anyone I knew thought I'd still be updating this comic regularly for a whole year. Just a lack of attention span.

Hopefully, CG will have some of the kinks worked out permanently soon.. It's already better than it was.

Thanks for reading.

2007-06-09T10:08:00.000-04:00

My Life-001

2007-06-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

I've been working on differences in dialogue boxes and styling.. you won't see the styling until a bit later. Sorry. I've also added to the characters page. More to come there.

Sorry about the wonky updates and lack of pages. Apparently Comicgenesis is experiencing some technical difficulties.

5th grade graduation was a resounding success. Now kiddo just has the whole summer stretching out before her. And she will do math. Kiddo's not happy about it.. but she will do math. As it is, today I took her to Barnes & Noble and got her "Eldest" the sequel to "Eragon" as a special gift. We added colored pencils and an artist's model, the small one, that she can pose to help her proportions. I'll probably be sneaking and using it too.

Also, note the above animations. I'm just now learning how to do Flash, so if anyone has any suggestions or wants to impart their knowledgeable wisdom, please do so.. I have no idea how to embed a play and stop button, so it's just going to loop. More dustbunnies!

As always.. thanks for reading!

2007-05-26T18:36:00.000-04:00

The field trip was a resounding success. The buses were an hour late getting home, so I sketched in a hot car while waiting for the kiddo. Just one more field trip to a bowling alley and graduation and the fifth grade will be over in my household. *sigh*

The above sketch was just something I was playing with.. a soap opera of marionettes? Anyway, nothing that will be coming soon..

And yes, I am entirely predictable.. no revelations there. I was going for cuteness in this comic and not necessarily ground shattering drama. I thought the dustbunny was cute and I had been promising for months that my dustbunnies would re-appear.. Ta da!

As always.. thanks for reading!

2007-05-19T18:35:00.000-04:00

And the story continues. Nothing much happening on the home front. As always, need to clean the house. Kiddo is getting ready to get out of school so obviously, the school has to try to squeeze us out of every last penny we have with field trips.. Tuesday is election day here and school is out.. so she has a whole pokemon/zelda day planned with her bff Matthew.
The sketches above are something I'm just starting to work on.. Please let me know what you think. I'm also going to work on my dialogue boxes a bit more.. hopefully in the next week or so you might see a slight change.

As always.. thanks for reading!

2007-05-13T18:35:00.000-04:00

05/13/07 - Hopefully, this page is understandable. I know I need to work on my compression within the storyline.. and this page is awfully big.

Saturday, I took my daughter to Wafflehouse as I do once every two weeks.. and right across the street there's an old bookstore. Not a franchised conglomerate thing, but an actual old personal bookstore. It's a late 19th century house converted.. has been there for years. My husband spent time there when he was younger (His father knows the owner) and since the only bookstores my daughter has ever been to are florescent lighted monster big places, I thought she might like it.

She loved it. Mr. Glover is an anthropologist as well, so the store is filled with african masks, statues from south america, and so forth. The second she walked in, she said "What's the smell?" and I said "That's the smell of old books honey.. Isn't it great?". She loved looking through the old books. She loved the big glass cases where the more expensive and fragile books are kept. She loved going up and down the narrow staircase and the way the floor creaked when we walked. All in all, it was a very successful trip.

So, if you're ever in Lexington, Kentucky and you like rare and used books.. please look up "Glover's Bookery" on Broadway. It's well worth your time.

As always.. thanks for reading!

2007-05-05T18:34:00.000-04:00

05/05/07 - YAY! For free comic book day!

So what are you doing still sitting there??! Go to your local comic book store now! Have fun with today.. maybe do a cookout (weather permitting.. or heck, go crazy. Even if the weather doesn't permit).. share comics with your kids.. Eat out and make a whole day of it. Give your children something to remember.

And if you don't have children.. give your inner child something to remember.

As always, check out the other comics in my links sections. Some pretty cool stuff going on.

2007-05-03T18:31:00.000-04:00

05/03/07 - Just an early update. And the first actual form of me in the above mini-strip. Please let me know what you think of these. It would have been up earlier but our powersupply on the computer totally pwned us this weekend. Then we started having hard drive issues. But it's all good now.
As always, check out the other comics in my links sections. Some pretty cool stuff going on.

04/12/07 - Gonna start uploading some of the little sketches I do.. No, they're not great art, but please remember: I draw these in a small book on the shuttle bus to and from my car to work. Crammed in cafeterias, breakrooms, etc. Hopefully, this aspect will develop as time goes on.
And special thanks to both Mineka C. and Andrea McEnaney for the slight inspiration in the upcoming strips. Darn you Andrea! Bunny Ears are SOOOO annoying. Check out their strips.. they're in my links.

Please let me know what you think of the new addition, and keep your eyes peeled for new artwork in the gallery and links. Also, could always use some spare change for lunches.. check out the products section. Save the treefrog, save the world.

03/31/07 - Well, I applied for a new job, and didn't get it. Thems how the cookie crumbles. It's a good thing I love my old job, just wish I made more money at it.

There will be a slight subtle change to some of the formatting in MIHY. If you'll notice, the speech balloons are slightly different, and different layouts will be utilized a touch more. If you like/dislike it, please let me know. This is a learning experience for me.

I'm on spring vacation this week and will be able to devote some time to make some MIHY related stuffs.. Keep an eye on the "Products" button. There will be buttons, hoodies, and some miscellaneous stuff that you can buy (and hopefully foot me some lunch money occasionally) and mystify your friends with by saying "Yeah.. it's a comic I read.. and no, you can't read it. It's secret and that makes me uber and stuff."

And on a last note, one of my faithful readers, Joey, has started his own comic. Still working out the kinks, but it's cute. Go check it out at Educated .

Still going to add some more stuff to the gallery and I did a fan art of Sokora Refugee's Viela & Kana. Please vote to see it. ^.^ Thanks for reading.

L.Hall

03/12/07 - Lots of new things..

First off, I updated the links section. Cleaned out a few "hiatus" and no longer there comics (Sokora, this means you.. but I will giddily buy your volumes in the store.). Added a few comics that I've found since the beginning of MIHY, and did some general re-arranging. Now comics that have completed are separated from ongoing comics.

Secondly, *sigh* I have added a swooby little "Products" button in the navigation. I didn't do that to begin with because.. well.. it felt cheesy. However, I did make a coffeecup for the guest art contest and thought "why not?". The only product available so far is the Large Coffee Cup. And believe me, I'm not making that much of a profit on it. It's only there for people who REALLY.. REALLY want a MIHY coffeecup.

Thirdly, I've added a little "about me" section. Read it at your own risk.

There will be updates to the gallery in the next week or so, plus.. a really sweet fan art was sent to me by a good friend. If you'd like to see it, it is currently the incentive picture at TWC, so vote so you can give my friend the props she deserves for being so.. sweet. :)

It would be nice to get some feedback on the products, and whether or not I should do a froggy hoodie. I'm going to anyway, but it'd be nice to see if anyone was interested. If there were any other products someone might be interested, please let me know and I'll work on it.

The frogs will be coming back, but in the meantime, some nice little unconnected comics and a short corporate storyline coming up. Yes.. involving dustbunnies... They're everywhere...

2007-02-26T18:30:00.000-05:00

02/26/07 - A wonderful week of updates from guests such as

Day In The Life of a Cosplayer by Mineka C.

Heroes in Audio Land by Sasjhwa

Thanks again for the participation, guys!

02/22/07 - Stay tuned for next week. Starting February 26th, all the art sent to me will start appearing. Thanks to everyone who sent in their version of my dustbunnies! Please make sure you email me with the link/email address you wish displayed with your artwork.
So that's right, folks. Next week, five days, five updates. Then Blondie & ChiChi will be applying brooms to "May I Help You?" and taking their spot back away from the dustbunnies.

02/11/07 - Well, that's the end of this particular story. There will be a slight intermission with... DUSTBUNNIES! If you (that's right, YOU, the reader) can draw a circle, you too, can draw a dustbunny! And I'd really LOVE to see some guest strips of dustbunnies. Stay tuned for the next few days and you'll start seeing the dustbunnies.

Oh, and did I mention it's a contest? In celebration of the fifty-ith strip (see Feb 11th), the first person to send me a strip with dustbunnies will win.. a Blondie Coffee Cup. Seriously. I'm not joking! I really will send you a "May I Help You" coffee cup.

2007-01-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

01/28/07 - Only a couple more posts till the frog story is wrapped up.. then back to the regular jokes, folks.
Not really happy with how the building wall or the vine came out, I'm thinking the brick is too red.

01/15/07 - Happy New Year. Well, I didn't get a Wii.. and we had a long talk about copyright infringement and legality issues of Santa's Workshop and Nintendo with the ten year old. I did however get a fantastic book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane and my lovely child gave me a beautiful silver frog bracelet (appropo I felt considering the comic). The book is simply wonderful.. innocent in story and subtle in morality. The illustrations alone, are worth a look at this book.
That being said, I'm changing to format of the front page for just a little while. An experiment of sorts. Please note the shoutbox is now visible on the main page. No pop up window. I may not like that, but I'm just going to see how it goes. Comments on the formatting would be greatly appreciated.
Again.. Happy New Year!
12/04/06 - With the upcoming holidays, the comic will have to go back to a once a week update. Unless you wish to submit guest art... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Nintendo Wii..

2006-11-13T18:27:00.000-05:00

11/13/06 - Edward Hopper is spinning in his grave. Actually, he is one of my favorite painters, with such grace in his use of lighting. Here is a link to a short biography of someone I consider as one of the best painters of all time. Please take a moment and check him out.

11/04/06 - Just a quick update, I will continue to update three times a week in November. After that, I will go back to the regular schedule of once a week. I also updated the gallery, new format and a bunch of new stuffs there. Please check it out. Drop me a line, let me know what you think. I always appreciate a little feedback.

10/16/06 - Could this be, possibly, a segueway for a new character? I'd originally started these pages with the express intention of NOT carrying a storyline beyond two pages. However, the grand scheme of things dictates that I add a little more story to the pages. Simply put, my mind is coming up with stories and not just one line gags now. It's an interesting process

2006-10-09T18:27:00.000-04:00

10/09/06 - I am just so thrilled with the guest pages that Mineka C. over at Day in the Life of a Cosplayer did. I think she really captured the essence of Blondie & ChiChi. And I think maybe more than one person is actually reading my comic now! On a regular basis! Course, that's only because I generally rush off to view the stats everyday and see how many hits the site is getting. Toying with the idea of a counter, but I really like the layout and design that Bakerstreet did for the site. I 'm just afraid that something like that would just clutter it up. Also, I'm wondering if a shoutbox should actually be ON this page, and not just a pop up window. Some feedback would be really nice here, folks.

I am also very encouraged with how well my other art projects are going. The ornithology paintings are getting such good feedback that I'm basically walking on an artistic cloud 9. (Yes.. I like to paint birdies. Ya got a problem with that?). I've got to start working on a new owl painting and get two pictures ready for a charity silent auction that I've been asked to donate to. In the next few days, the gallery section of this site will start carrying my birdie pictures. I might even throw in a few more goodies.

AND.. Because I feel so encouraged and enthusiastic right now, YOU, the reader, benefits. For the remainder of the month of October, there will be an update every three days. After October, it will probably go back to the same old, same old. But for now, every three days, there will be a new page up. Yippee.. and there was much rejoicing.

2006-10-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

10-02-06 - Woohoo.. Guest comic love! This really cool guest strip comes to you from Mineka C. over at Day in the Life of a Cosplayer which doesn't actually have any cosplay in it.. but it's pretty darn cool. Thank you Mineka.. Thank you from the bottom of my squishy heart.

2006-09-20T18:26:00.000-04:00

Well, I swallowed my ego and submitted "May I Help You" to a comic ranking site over at Comicrankers . I got a 4.00/5.00, an A grading. Not as fantastic as I would like because, you know, I think my comic is perfection itself. But not too shabby. Head on over there and check it out. - L.Hall

2006-09-18T18:25:00.000-04:00

If you don't get this week's comic, well... nothing I can do for you. I grew up with Monty Python, geekdom, and rural isolation, so my sense of humor has developed a few cracks of its own. And I like Shrubberies. Or is it shrubberys? ys or ies? *shrugs* Not mine to question. :)

First Post

2006-09-01T18:21:00.000-04:00

For the month of September, I will be updating once a week, with a possible extra comic thrown in, here and there. Also, I added a shoutbox over to your left. I don't like the looks of a shoutbox on the actual page, so just click on it, and it will pop up. (I was just so darn impressed with Poinko's comments box over at Lancaster that I did a cheap knockoff). Please comment. It's a shame to waste a perfectly good shoutbox. And Angelkitty doesn't count. I know her. :)