MJ, you took the music video and turned it into an artform. May we all learn to dance and sing with as much passion as you did when you reigned the Pop world.

Rest in Peace, Michael.

I'm getting married in a little over a year (July 24th 2010), so there's a heap of time before we really have to get into the weeds on wedding planning.

Naturally, this means I have designed the invitations, bought the wedding dress, put a deposit on the venue, and had my first argument with my beloved over the guest list. W00T!

Anyway, when I have the opportunity to post stuff on here on how it's all going, I will do so - especially because I had a heap of questions going into this, and who knows if someone out there might be able to benefit from our experiences, right?

So, in the hopes that I will not absolutely bore every male on my flist, here's the first tidbit: ( Wedding Sneakers. )

So yeah. Hooray for the first wedding post (even if it's not terribly interesting)! There will be others that may be f-locked (like the one in which I post the picture of the dress because I'll be darned if Mike sees it before I walk down the aisle), so just let me know if you want to be added to the filter.

Catch you guys later!

PS: Can anyone direct me to a good wedding-themed LJ icon?

Thank God, no one I know was on the Red line yesterday when the trains collided. Bevan was regrettably stuck on her train for a little while, but she managed to get home just fine. Thanks and hugs to everyone who dropped me a note to check in.

Between the train crash and what's happening in Iran, I've got a lot of prayers to say tonight.

Of late, I have come to discover the following formula:

new job + wedding planning + moving out of apartment = no time, no money, no brain cells left to accomplish much of anything

So many people left wonderful congratulatory replies on my engagement post, that it's my hope to reply to everyone this week. I only wish I could have gotten my act together sooner, but given how many life changes have happened in a very short span of time, I'm glad I got on here at all! (All I need now is a kid and a dog, and I'll have hit just about every single momentous change I can possibly hit at 28 years of age.)

There's lots to say, and I'm going to try to be better. I miss you guys, and anyway, this is the perfect place to document the wedding planning process, which is already riddled with lots of crafty, artsy stuff since I've been suffering from the biggest creative drought since high school. (I've even forced my fiance to pose for me so I can prevent myself from losing the ability to draw altogether.)

That said, a preliminary thank you is due. I'll be back on here with open posts again soon once I've gotten to comments. In the meantime, hope you're all having a great summer!

Mike gave me the best birthday present ever.

And he got it on tape.

I am so totally overwhelmed and in love and grateful and I CAN'T STOP CRYING EVERY TIME I WATCH THIS.

Really wish I had a happier reason to be on LJ. Tata passed away last week. Not much else to say about that except maybe that I'm so sad that I'm not motivated to do much else apart from be sad. She was my grandma, but she was the primary focal point of the nuclear family that I grew up with - she raised me alongside my mother. There isn't an LJ-cut that could contain all the wonderful things about her I could write. So like most abstract things that can't be contained in words, I'll just leave a blank space, since at the very least it is an accurate representation of the gaping hole that's left in my heart now that she's gone.

*blank space*

As a probably psychotic side effect of a death in my family, I've been cleaning house. I've stuffed bags upon bags filled with books and clothes and shoes. I don't know exactly why this is making me feel better, but I think it has something to do with how claustrophobic everything is in the days following the death of a loved one. You're surrounded by people who are also grieving, and they're hugging you and telling you they want to help and while you're really thankful that they're there... it's a little suffocating. Add to that the problem of ultimately going back to work for people who, while they send their condolences, don't actually care if you're grieving so long as you're still meeting your deadlines. More reason to quit my job, I think.

Anyway, make a long story short, I'm having a clearance sale. Everything must go. My closets are cluttered with art and I believe it will make me happier knowing someone out there might want it and put it somewhere where it can make others as happy as I was creating it. Someone out there is going to tell me I'll regret getting rid of everything. I'm certain that won't be the case. I like to think that I know enough about the folks that read this LJ to know that whoever wants some artwork will take care of it because they love the subject matter as much as I do. (Tata, at 93, was a Harry Potter fan.)

So yeah. I won't clutter up anyone's flist here. I'm going to use own_a_mb428 again and put everything up over there. I'll be giving them up one at a time (since I'm only one person and can only carry stuff to the post office one at a time). On the advice of friends, I'll be auctioning the original pieces, and I've got a limited amount of leftover prints for anyone who wants one for the cost of the shipping only. More details to follow on own_a_mb428.

Sorry if this post seems a little weird and disjointed. I'm not quite myself. I'll check back in soon. All my best to everyone.

Just dropping a note to say a long-overdue hello now that I've got a day to regroup after a work trip to Colorado. :) I know I've been completely MIA, but (as usual) it's not my fault!

With a new administration (YAYOBAMA!!), work has had me under the gun more than usual. Since December, all of us in every corner of the Dept. of Defense have been putting in a heap of overtime trying to account for and justify our programs; it's the easiest way for new folks in charge to get read in on what happened before they showed up. Actually, it's kind of neat to be working for the fed in Washington, DC during a time when so much change is happening. Some interesting tidbits that show that Obama's administration is already at work to revamp the way the U.S. Government does business:

- We've all been given direct orders to conserve energy by turning our computers/monitors off every day
- Unless it's a briefing for one of the bureaucratic bigwigs, all printing must be double-sided to conserve paper
- Documentation explaining and justifying our programs must include return on investment and "Way Ahead" (ie. the next steps that will improve our results)

More work is on the horizon, no doubt. It's only been a little under 2 months since Obama's been in office, and while we've sort of had to derail for a bit, I'm certain it'll all be for the best. If anything, someone's going to look at all the paperwork I've been producing for our department and realize that the Army Guard has all our money. ;)

And then, In the midst of all of this stuff, something totally unexpected happened: I fell in love.

It wasn't entirely serendipitous. I was sickened by memories of last year's New Years Eve debacle, so my sister encouraged me to get on eHarmony. Being an eternal skeptic when it comes to internet dating, I had little faith in the success of an online dating service in which I had to detail all of my "Must Haves" and "Can't Stands" and answer questions like "What's your idea of a perfect date?". And to be fair, it wasn't exactly easy to navigate the sea of people that turned up on my list of matches. A good many were evidently the awkward type, which, being the sort to dread a conversation in which I do all the talking, provoked my closet social anxiety - I even had one date in which the guy told me upon my arrival at the coffee shop that he had not given me his real name, but rather the alias he uses to protect his identity in foreign countries where he would bail out international criminals.

Yep. My finger hovered over the "Delete profile" button. My sister told me I hadn't given it a fair shot. I told her she had not been single for longer than a day in her adult life and therefore didn't have the authority to prevent me from giving up the hunt altogether.

But just before New Years' I got pinged by Mike. His eHarmony profile indicated he was an English teacher, and in a series of rapid-fire exchanges, he and I decided to meet by the end of the week. Our first date consisted of early dinner at his brother's restaurant on M Street in Georgetown and a trip to the movies to watch "Slumdog Millionaire", which had us both misty at the end. Then, not wanting the evening to end yet, we decided to go to Karaoke together. The man has a singing voice that belongs on Broadway. Kid you not.

Our first date lasted 8 hours. He walked me back to my apartment, and not exactly knowing how these first date things are supposed to end when things are evidently going well, I thanked him for a wonderful time, lingered for a split second, then inched away towards my front door. What did I know? Thankfully, he had the wherewithal to close the three foot gap between us and kiss me. :) We've been virtually inseparable ever since. I adore him.

It's the short version of what's been going on in my life lately to keep me off of LiveJournal, and while it doesn't look like I'm going to get too many breaks in the immediate future, I can say for now that I'm thinking of you guys and hoping you're all doing okay. This weekend, I'm going to do what I should've done a while ago and clean out my Yahoo email account, so if you've written me there and I haven't responded, please accept my apologies for not writing back immediately and hang in there! (When you're getting 100+ emails a day for work, it doesn't leave too much time to check my fandom account, if you know what I mean. However, I resolve to be better.)

All that said, happy winter to all! In the words of John and Hank Green: don't forget to be awesome.

In these tough economic times, it really makes me sad when I read that my favorite companies are suffering. Today, I read that another Borders out west is shutting down. So in the effort to both vent and say a thing or two to an audience of people who love books as much as I do, or maybe just for posterity's sake, I'm putting down some very quick thoughts on why I love Borders Bookstore more than any other bookstore franchise.

I could talk about how you don't have to pay a red cent to be a Borders Rewards member, while you have to cough up $25 a year to be a Barnes & Noble member. I could probably also say that a cafe doesn't make a bookstore (although if we really want to address the issue, Seattle's Best coffee is better than Starbucks anyway). But what I really want to say is that I am a Borders Bookstore customer because these folks have, in my experience, extended themselves further than B&N to integrate their customers into a tight-knit community of readers. They cater to our schools, host storytime with local kids, and throw the usual blowout events for all of us fandomers that love HP, Twilight, Jodi Picoult, or whatever else gets us excited and decorates the bedside table... only they seem to do it with more style.

Obvious Case In Point: The Borders near me found out I drew Harry Potter stuff, and instead of just letting me continue to do my thing in their cafe unnoticed, they asked if I wanted to do an art show. They promised me the entire top floor. Invite my friends and family, they said. On my birthday. And then, in return for the art show (although I insisted that THEY were doing ME the big favor), they presented me with a free copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A year later, they asked if I was interested in joining other local artists and photographers in decorating their upper level with prints of my artwork - not necessarily because my art is so great (there is a huge art community in Arlington/Alexandria that they could have easily tapped into), but because they have maintained a relationship with me and other creative people in the NOVA area. We recognize the unique environment that our Borders creates for its customers, and we want to be a part of it. Heck, I send the staff at Bailey's Crossroads a homemade holiday card every year, making sure to mention that I drew the picture on the cover in their very own cafe.

So yeah. I don't care about big name alliances. I also don't care that B&N is more popular and has extra knick-knacks for sale that have nothing to do with books or reading. It matters more to me that I can always find an obscure book at the last minute or a version of Pride and Prejudice with the original illustrations in it. I care that the staff is made up of poets and writers and people who don't just want to shake me off if I've got a question. I care that the folks at the front counter make conversation about the latest academic periodical someone is about to purchase. Maybe that's location specific, but if that's the case, our local B&N needs to reexamine their hiring processes.

In an age where technology threatens to make face-to-face customer service obsolete, I'm grateful for my local Borders and ardently hope that they continue to thrive. And that's pretty much all I wanted to say. Back to belated Christmas Card writing. :)

[/rant]

I am WAY behind on the holiday cards this year (my Christmas will be spent filling them out and mailing them), but I figured I'd preempt the post office by posting this little greeting. :)

It's not Harry Potter, I know. I had all these fantastic plans of making an HP-related one, and who knows if I'll just make it a Valentine's Day project or something, but my job sort of got really intense over the last few months what with our new incumbent president and all (YAY OBAMA!). So I had to stick with one that I could give to everyone, because most people on and off of this LJ know that I work for the Air National Guard.

That said: I wish you and your families all the joy and blessings of this holiday season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Title: Santa's Brand New Ride
Medium: Pen and Ink
Characters: Santa, Rudolph
Rating: G
Notes: This card pokes fun at the fact that our F-16 fleet is being gradually phased out and replaced by the superior F-22 (featured in the card below). I mean, with a bird like that, who wouldn't trade their sleigh?



( Santa pimped his ride. )

I won't even spoil it for you. Just watch and prepare to be happy. :)

I learned how to use GarageBand tonight. :) I needed a pick-me-up when I wrote this song. Link is below if you're interested in hearing what I churned out.

"I'm Already There" on Putfile

( Lyrics )

As you were.

Let me start off by apologizing for that incensed post I left regarding the whole art theft thing. leviathan0999 frequently talks sense into me, and expressed that I probably shouldn't make a snap decision when I'm angry, so I'm currently exploring other options so that I don't have to shut down my art site or lock up my LJ art posts. (Granted, if I can't find a way to disable that little right-click "save as" do-hickey, I probably have to shut it down, but only because there isn't another me that I can task with tracking down my artses.)

That said, I'm on it. And I'm sorry I got so mad. Between the DeviantArt thing, and various other issues that probably started when 2008 began, I've been feeling a bit like an open wound, but a good reality check certainly helps put things in perspective.

Anyway, I hope you guys are doing all right. I'm at work on a commish for naiad8, finishing up a piece for lunalovepotter, and working on this year's holiday greeting, so all things considered, I'm fully engaged in teh fun. (Thanksgiving festivities with family, notwithstanding...) I've picked up most of the Christmas gifts for my family, and I'm looking forward to knocking that completely off the to-do list. In other news, I am getting to know my beautiful niece, Anna, as well as enjoying some extra time with my nephew, Michael. Hooray, Aunt-hood!

Finally, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And to those whose many, many birthdays I've gone and missed, I hope you all have a wonderful year ahead and celebrated it right!

I pray you're all okay. I hardly know what to write that would aptly express my horror at what is happening there, but please know that I'm thinking of you and hoping for swift justice and peace.

It's a Sunday - a day off when I never get days off - and I've spent the last hour and a half of my life going through the imposter's gallery on DeviantArt posting a violation for every piece of my art this person put up there. They've even put up my restricted stuff for the world to see. It'll take me the rest of the day if I get every last picture/story that they posted there without my permission.

I'm so upset I can't even describe it.

Not to be dramatic or anything, but I don't have it in me to deal with this crap anymore. I can't police my artwork because I don't have the time or energy to run after assholes with nothing better to do than impersonate me. The only thing that's making sense right now is to take it all off the web for the purpose of preserving my sanity.

I'm giving it to the end of the year before I shut down Mudblood428.com and lock up every art post on this journal.

Enough is enough.

Okay. I'm going to approach this as calmly as possible.

Someone has started up a deviantart account for me in my name. Only instead of using mudblood428, they used mudblood-428 as my screenname. (http://mudblood-428.deviantart.com)

All of my artwork is on it. My e-mail address is on it. They even went so far as to say my real name is "V".

This is NOT cool. As a matter of preventing both art theft and the besmirching of my online identity, I keep my art where I can watch it. A bunch of people have left comments on there for a post I never made. And now it's on an account where I can't even log in to take it down.

I'm pleading for the person who started up the site to take it down. If anyone familiar with deviantart knows how to deal with this sort of thing, I would really appreciate some guidance.

I'm stunned.

(Thank you so much, aurorproudfoot, for bringing this to my attention.)

ETA: In case anyone's thinking of doing so, do NOT flame on DeviantArt! This won't help solve the problem, but it will get you kicked off DevArt!

Watch to the end. :D And don't forget to VOTE, my fellow Americans!

ETA: Actually, don't watch to the end. There's about a minute and a half of dead air time at the end, so watch until the six minute mark! (I was a tad sloppier on this vid...)

I'm an Aunt!!! Again!

My niece was born November 1st and weighs in at a healthy 6 lbs. 6 oz. Both mommy and baby are doing wonderfully! Welcome to the world, Anna Rose! (You can bet the pictures are coming...)

In other happy news, a bunch of you have mentioned having seen our Air National Guard commercial, but the project from which the commercial sprang was the Air Guard music video - and it's finally on the air! The entire production lasted approximately six months from treatment to post-production, and took a grand total of seven days to film, with shoots occurring on location in Nashville, TN, Burlington, VT, and Los Angeles, CA. On the credits of the project, I'm both Art Department and Producer. Talk about double-hatting!

I can finally show you guys the fruits of our labor. ;) Even if you're not into country, watch it for the cool aircraft.

HOMETOWN HEROES - Laura Bryna

Aaannnnnddd, now you know why I've been MIA! :)

I caved. :) Because two of the most generous people you'll ever meet - cauldroncakebkr and hp5freak - are such huge Twilight fans, I drew a scene.

Disclaimer: I do not necessarily endorse any literature that depicts a female protagonist who lusts after a dangerous yet unrealistically perfect man and asserts that her life is meaningless without him and would change everything she is for the sake of being with said man. *nods* Of course, I'll still go to the movies and see it anyway, because Robert Pattinson is eye candy. End of story. ;)

Title: "Human Inclinations"
Characters: Bella and Edward
Medium: Digital
Rating: G
Summary: "But..." His fingers touched my lips lightly, making me shiver again. "There are other hungers. Hungers I don't even understand, that are foreign to me." "I may understand that better than you think." - pg. 278, Twilight [click image for hi-res]



( I'm not used to feeling so human. )

I've been derelict in my comment responses, so I'm taking a few hours this evening to catch up. :) In case I can't reach everybody tonight, a huge thank-you, as always, to everyone who still drops in. At some point in the near future, I'll be able to show you guys what I've spent my summer/fall doing (although, if you get MTV, CMT, ESPN, etc. you might have already seen it...).

September continues to shock and astound me.

I'm in Nashville working the last piece of the Air Guard video shoot. In the last two weeks, I've been made a studio manager which has added a bit of pressure and a lot of e-mail traffic to my work inbox, but essentially, this is a cool thing since it brings me closer into the fold of our in-house production studio and advertising agency. Both branches are quite cool and I greatly enjoy my involvement with them, so it's all gravy, ya know?

Of course, it's greatly hindered my ability to answer LJ comments, and considering how grateful I am that anyone still pokes around this dusty old thing anymore, it bothers me that I can't get on here to tell you how much your feedback brightens my day. Moreover, it sucks that I can't keep up with your lives.

So, in the event anyone's wondering what the heck has got me so busy, here's the synopsis of what I had mistakenly thought was going to be a low-key September:

9/8-9/11: Nashville, TN to film last piece of Air Guard music video
9/12-9/17: San Antonio, TX to catch up with good friends and AFRISS folks at Randolph AFB (pending certain hurricanes don't screw it up)
9/19: Andrews AFB, MD to do the Nat'l Anthem at promotion ceremony
9/19-9/21: Raleigh, NC to throw my sister her baby shower
9/25-9/30: New York, NY to meet up with more good friends for Equus and drop in on family

And somewhere in there, I have to coordinate a trip to Burlington, VT. Don't know when on earth that's gonna happen.

In any case, just so no one thinks I'm being lazy or thinks I'm not the sort of person to reply to comments, please know that I SO would if I could only stay home long enough! *thud*

I hope you guys are awesome (and srsly, you already are), and I hope to catch up with you guys soon!

First of all, I'm so completely and utterly stoked about all the positive feedback from my last picture. Thank you for popping in to tell me what you think, and I hope the second in that series doesn't disappoint! (This pic is not it, BTW.) I've just returned from the second wave of traveling for work, so I'm hoping to get back on LJ and catch up on replies and the flist. Just... bear with me for a bit while I get my life back in order. :)

In the meantime, more art?! This is for Shannon (aka. pennswoods), who I'll be catching up with in San Antonio as well. I haven't drawn a pic this angsty in... well, I don't think I've ever quite drawn a picture this angsty...

Title: Anatomy of a Villain
Rating: PG-13 for partial nudity
Medium: Digital
Characters: Severus Snape
Notes: This picture is supposed to be circa 1981 after Lily is snuffed out. I imagine this as the moment when Snape decides what team he's really playing for, and what his allegiances have truly stripped him of.



( He was never yours from the moment you threatened her... )

Be back in a bit!