Declare the pennies on your eyes



I am finally, finally through the severe agony that was my income tax filing process this year. Going to the bank tomorrow and actually paying the money -- the event which should be the most depressing part of the tax process -- will feel like sweet relief compared to the paperwork. Blah!



In other news that I honestly swear has nothing to do with paying my taxes, I was thinking about putting together a couple of new tshirt designs. I've been putting it off for ages, but I have a lot of rough ideas and am not really sure which ones to go with.



I've already mentioned that I was interested in making a "Why must society keep oppressing me with its unattainable standards" shirt. I've also been tossing around the idea of a shirt that would proclaim one's undying love and subordinance to Alphonso. And at some point, I'd really like to do a Noosehead shirt... maybe a tour shirt, or an "I will eat your family" shirt.



Or maybe I should just be honest with myself and make a shirt that says "This tshirt is based on an obscure joke I read on the internet." What do you guys think I should do? Shoot me an email with your thoughts! I can't respond to them all individually but I will certainly read them and then think about their contents while stroking my chin thoughtfully.



Sam Logan

Your brain is very tired



Backlinking Machine Force Five: You can read the first Vignette story here, and the second one here. You can also see the first appearance of the nefarious Grrbil gang here, but as with most pre-Noosehead comics, you don't really need to read it in order to understand what's going on now. Bam!



Gerbils are such bizarre, industrious little creatures. No other animal on earth takes digging and chewing as seriously as a gerbil does, even though sometimes they kind of lose track of what they're doing. You can see what I'm talking about in this video that Claire took of our two.


I've started playing that evil Brain Age game. I don't really understand why it's fun, but it is. Hopefully it will also help improve my atrocious mental math skills. The game does have a few problems -- particularly the voice and writing recognition, which hears my "blue"s as "black"s and reads my "b"s as "L"s -- but it was certainly worth the $20 asking price. I wish more developers would create smaller-scale, lower-priced software for consoles and handhelds. I mean, not every game needs to be a 200 hour, $50+ epic. It's neat to get a quick shot of something different and entertaining for only a few bucks.



Right now, my brain age is 43. Claire's is 31. I don't think I'm ever going to hear the end of it!



Sam Logan

One time a minute, one time a minute oh



What is the deal with that weird Alphonso cat, again? Oh yeah... This is his deal!



Picking our pair of contest winners was really hard. In each category, there was a pool of about six or seven entries being seriously considered for the top prize. However, after much discussion (and Dr. Pepper), Claire and I have chosen our winners. We've also chosen a quartet of "honorable mentions," all of whom came very close to taking the top spot themselves.



There were many other excellent entries as well! I'm sorry I don't have prizes for anyone other than the two winners. But you all put in a great effort and made this contest a load of fun... and in a sense, isn't that the greatest prize of all? Isn't it? Isn't it?



...um, anyhow, here are the winners and honorable mentions, with comments from moi and Claire. (Keep in mind that in most cases, I have made up the "titles" for the art pieces myself!)

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Most Impressive Artwork



Rusty M - "Interplanetary Horseshoes Champion"

Sam: This was the hardest category to pick a winner for, but in the end I had to go with Rusty's entry. The composition, linework, character posture and background all have a neat charm to them and really add up to something special.

Claire: Yeah, we went back and forth enough times to make my clicky finger go purple. The picture has a charm to that really feels happy SnF-y, but unique.



Honourable Mentions:

Beef Stu - "Grin"

Sam: What a wonderful use of high contrast black and white! Seriously creepy, but in a good way. I think. The Candice photos are a nice touch, too.

Claire: This one has beef to it, and I like that. It's like if Frank Miller and Sam were... nevermind.



Kitty Gal - "Monopoly"

Sam: I love the way this image was drawn. It makes me all warm inside. I guess I'm a big softie!

Claire: KITTY! The image is also comforting to look at, in that fluffy sketchy sort of way.

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Most Creative Idea



Wasabi - "A Horse Named..."

Sam: What can I say? Any longtime reader of this rantspace will know why I could never say no to this entry. It's too perfect. Like a horse. A horse named...

Claire: Hidalgo. I also love how he's like 3000 miles away, but still looking over his shoulder.



Honourable Mentions:



Moofles - "Don't Steal Cars"

Sam: This image still makes me laugh every time I see it. I'm not even sure why. It just feels so right somehow.

Claire: I love this one. It was close - If Optimus was more visable, he might've had the touch... I mean win.



Djiem - "One That Is"

Sam: Djiem scores big points for having such a thorough understanding of Sam's character and history. Also, did I mention I'm a big softie?

Claire: This one was the winner for quite some time until Hidalgo sabotaged Sam's education. This one made the most sense according to the real storyline & christmas specials.

Sam: But it's not the real truth. Or is it? No it isn't.

Claire: OR IS IT?

SAM: DUM DUM DUM!



Congratulations to our two winners, and massive thanks to everyone else who entered. This was fun! We should do it again some time.



Sam Logan