marji4x

Hey guys!

I started noticing a lot of webcomickers are using LiveJournal. I've been hankering after doing a webcomic of some sort once my freelance dies down a bit. I have a couple ideas here and there but I am not sure in which direction to head.

Anyway, if you guys are still alive and watchin me, how about listing some of your favorite LJ comics on here? You can list others as well, but I'd love to see what the webcomic community on LJ is!

Hey guys! It's been 3 years, my goodness! I dont know if anyone is still even my friend haha. I'm joining an LJ group to keep tabs with a book club I am in so I thought I'd dust this place off a bit.

Maaaybe I'll start using it for something, like webcomics or art or something. we'll see :)

So I almost never check this. And I never write anymore. Here's a couple links to things I *do* update semi-regularly so check those if you want :)

My Sketch Blog
My DeviantArt Account

See you guys around!

~marji

I'm reading The Davinci Code and I have to say it started out well. The whole cryptograph stuff was fascinating and the lead up was great. I'm only halfway through. It's gotten silly , though and I am a bit disappointed. A lot of the logic of the purportedly "stunning" conspiracies is full of holes. I admit I am a bit biased but still, a lot of it comes to the point almost of ruining the story for me.

Oh well, I look forward to finishing it anyway, the pacing is good and the involvement of the characters is still making things enjoyable.

So many books, so little time!

~marji

I heard this song on someone's playlist at work and it's one of those songs that makes me stop. And go 'hmmm' It brings to mind driving and sunset.


Steal my heart and hold my tongue
I feel my time, my time has come
Let me in, unlock the door
I've never felt this way before

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummer begins to drum
I don't know which way I'm going
I don't know which way I've come

Hold my head inside your hands
I need someone who understands
I need someone, someone who hears
For you, I've waited all these years

For you I'd wait 'til kingdom come
Until my day, my day is done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me

In your tears and in your blood
In your fire and in your flood
I hear you laugh, I heard you sing
I wouldn't change a single thing

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummers begin to drum
I don't know which way I'm going
I don't know what I'll become

For you I'd wait 'til kingdom come
Until my days, my days are done
And say you'll come and set me free
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

~marji

Whoa! Man this place is DUSTY!

So J. mentioned that he sometimes wanders in here and reads stuff so I thought I'd better update from time to time. Besides, a lot has happened!

Ah am DONE with college! Yeeehaaa! I am a CONGRATULATE! I honestly never thought it would acually happen but...here I be. I didn't walk cause....well just cause. I took a trip up the east coast instead. Remember?

I'm knitting my brains out for Christmas. Maybe I'll post some pictures after I'm done since I'm a snotty show-off. But I'm still in the middle of paying off all sorts of debt so I can't afford to get pricey gifts this year (when have I ever been able to?)

Oh, yes! So...I got a job...in animation.....

I KNOW O.O

ME o.o

Yeah I'm pretty happy now. It helps pay the debt for SCAD, voted most expensive art college EVAR. By...some people....that I'm not making up.

~marji

Went to see a movie a while back and totally wet myself during the previews. Saw a trailer for RENT!!!

I was a gibbering idiot for the duration of the movie. My friends were ready to throttle me. And Idina Menzel will be playing Maureen! I'm excited to finally see her after having heard her powerful voice light up the soundtrack of Wicked!

And speaking of musicals, I just found out Phantom of the Opera is dubbed in French! So I've been watching that and boning up on my foreign languages. Tres fun!

~marji

p.s. Found out that "Skipper Key" is actually spelled "Schipperke" and is a Belgian word meaning "Little Sailor" or "Little Captain". They were used as ratting dogs on Belgian river boats. So that's why they're small and fierce! I still wants one, my preciosusssss....

I had a rotten day starting out.

I got a headache (ah the bane of my life, those!) and my whole body was stiff and uncooperative. I have no idea why. I just felt tense. And as a result my neck and shoulders cued in and began one of my infamous head pains. I took some medicine, the really powerful stuff, but it still took almost four hours to kick in.

But once it did everything was sunshine and roses. And not just because of the medication. I was on my way to Wal-Mart and I took a wrong turn. I ended up just going with it and driving out to Skidaway Island. I crossed the famous Moon River of Johnny Mercer fame. The poet in me was delighted to see the spot. The physical presence of song and longing. I'd like to walk around down there some evening and listen to it. The smell was wonderful. That sort of musty-salty smell of a river that flows into the sea.

On my way back (once I finally turned around) I was hit by a stunning sunset. It had been there the whole time and it felt...like it was almost grinning in mischievous frolic at my surprise. Or maybe God was. I think He gets a sort of prankster's delight from these things.

So I was happy.

Then later on tonight I came home and started cleaning and feeling generally fantastic. And of course Jay called and that was just icing on the cake.

And the gas at Wal-Mart was only $2.00. Wheeeee!

~marji

Hello all you Marji internet fans! I KNOW you're out there and I KNOW you want to know where I've been the past month! Well, too bad! You sit down an' listen anyway!

I went on a fabulous road trip in MY NEW CAR! Yes, Marji's got wheels! I got myself a 2000 Toyota Rav4 and her name is Maggie. And she's a great little car. So of course now I have transportation I had to hit the open road! I went and visited B. and J. both of who have left Savannah (I cried) and both of whom live on farms with horses and chickens and guinea pigs and stuff. So of course I enjoyed myself! But hands down the most bizarre/delightful thing I saw was B.'s "bullet-dog": an odd breed known as a Skipper Key (I think?) and shaped like a pig. B. assured me it was a dog but the verdict's still out on that one.

J. took me to Amazement Square in Lynchburg, VA where I ate an indian village. That place is beautiful. It's...it's just....stunning. Big misty BLUE mountains and more lush greenery than you care to shake a stick at! Also I got to read to his mom's second grade class. I read Where the Wild Things Are and then we drew some wild things. I was in heaven! Maybe I'll go back and take second grade over.

Then it was up to Massachusetts to see good buddy H.! We hit up Boston and went to Finale. Take a good look at that picture because that is $50 worth of dessert and drinks! Soooo goooood.... creme brulee to die for. And the dessert martini! Decadent. And speaking of decadent, we made pies! From scratch! And they were BEAUTIFUL.

And finally I drove 11 hours (please don't ask why it took that long) to Pennsylvania to see mah sweet man! He took me trompin' all over the Philadelphia Art Museum (where I saw buckets of armor and swords an' stuff as well as some original Impressionist works...and a Degas sculpture!). He also stuffed me full of more good food than I've a right to! And we drew and drew to our hearts' content ^ ^

I've been told (at gunpoint) to upload these...so here ya go!

We ate at Outback...a lot.
Jay fantasizes about his dream job.
Sushi is always in good taste! This is probably my favorite of our sketches.
We ordered a sushi "boat" and it didn't come close to filling us up. So then I had to improvise.

It was a fantastic trip and I had more fun than a barrel full of Chihuahas! (and I should know what that's like since J.'s family OWNS a barrel of Chihuahuas). Now to work one more quarter and build myself up so maybe MAYBE I'll have a job after I graduate!

~marji

Hey guys! My new website is officially up! It's a portfolio site for now but I'll be expanding over the summer.

www.marjifortin.com

Many many many thanks to the talented and hard-working Wertle for all her help in getting this sucker up at record-speed!

~marji

Haven't written in a while. Call it finals. Or call it I'm too happy to write. Sometimes that causes it too!

I've just submitted my reel and portfolio to Cartoon Network...they're visiting SCAD looking to hire so...keep your fingers crossed everybody! And if not, then I'll cry a little and move on. The world is my oyster! I'm feeling pretty great these days and I don't think much could bring me down, short of an all-out catastrophe. And even then.

I have my health I have my youth and I have my love for animation. I've got rhythm I've got music.

And I've got a boyfriend. That's right, I said it! I have a sweet, sexy man who thinks I'm pretty cool stuff. And that's a great feeling.

I don't think I could be any more blissfully happy. But then I've thought that two years running. Life is beautiful.

~marji

p.s. My official site will be up soon! Be on the lookout!

The song for the day is: Buckets of Rain by Bob Dylan

It's been a gloriously golden afternoon!



Took the puppy-girl out for a walk. Yep, she's visiting her summer home here in Savannah, the spoiled pooch! The weather's been wild and strange lately, a bit like my moods. But everything was sunshine and roses today. I couldn't stop grinning all the way home, just loving the air, the slant of the sun, the pat pat pat of Fly's feet on the ground. I hope I never grow too old to find the pleasure around me no matter where I am. It's there for the looking.

I got a lot of work done today on the unicycle project. The walk was the pleasanter for not feeling guilty about slacking. I earned it this time round! As a sort of cap to the afternoon I found a new treasure, a song I've become enchanted by. It's one of those songs that comes along every once in a while and makes me stop. Literally just stop and listen with every inch of my self. And no matter how many times I hear it it never grows old. Just richer.

Good news! K. and N. will be able to come down for Sidewalk Arts! They're gonna try to convince some of my other friends, too. What with E. also inviting people we may have a packed house! It's going to be hectic I'm sure. And on top of everything I've got a date with a pirate.

Yar, bring it on!

~marji

Buckets of rain
Buckets of tears
Got all them buckets comin' out of my ears.
Buckets of moonbeams in my hand,
You got all the love, honey baby,
I can stand.

I been meek
And hard like an oak
I seen pretty people disappear like smoke.
Friends will arrive, friends will disappear,
If you want me, honey baby,
I'll be here.

Like your smile
And your fingertips
Like the way that you move your lips.
I like the cool way you look at me,
Everything about you is bringing me
Misery.

Little red wagon
Little red bike
I ain't no monkey but I know what I like.
I like the way you love me strong and slow,
I'm takin' you with me, honey baby,
When I go.

Life is sad
Life is a bust
All ya can do is do what you must.
You do what you must do and ya do it well,
I'll do it for you, honey baby,
Can't you tell?

It's spring! So that means it's time to do some gardening
E. got the idea even though we are poor and as you can see our lot of land is not exactly garden-sized. But then, those two factor into each other, no? SO out we went to the ol' Home Depot to buy some unsuspecting plants to stick into the ground. And it looks nice! We're both very pleased with it.

Just yesterday A. called H. (who called me of course!) to say that there was a pirate ship out on River Street. "I'll be there in two minutes" I said as I hopped my bike and TORE downtown. And sure enough, there was this beautiful sailing ship, just as sail-and-sea-worthy as I could wish! It wasn't really a pirate vessel, of course. And a good thing too, otherwise no one would ever see me again. There'd just be tales every now and then of the Dread Pirate Marji and her band of cutthroats who troll the rivers of the southeast coast and are the sometime terrors of small southern towns when they stop by to loot and pillage and eat all the pralines!

Alas, some dreams must never be!

But I did take pictures! I believe her name was the Amsterdam. And pictures just don't do her justice. She's beautiful.





H. insisted I take a close-up picture of the lady hanging out. Poor dear, she looks so...cold.

Poor H. got harassed by the drug dogs this morning. By the way, just to end the suspense, she doesn't do the drugs...she just had to deal with the dogs. So I drew her a picture:

We thought it would make a great cartoon. The dog could keep popping up. Staring at her out the back of the squad car....waiting in her room....wearing her clothes....a never-ending entertaining nightmare.

~marji

[edit] I had to add H.'s riposte:


[edit some more!] Okay see now it's becoming an obsession for us!

The Sidewalk Arts Festival is coming up! I can't wait! This is something I've always wanted to do since I heard about it in high school. Participating last year was just as wonderful and happy as I thought it would be.

My goofy roommate and (even goofier) me made matching shirts last year:



Our theme was the Owl and the Pussycat (what else?) and we knew some people haven't read the poem so we ironed it onto some shirts along with my modest little pea-green boat logo. It was a cheap-home-printed success! And some people even recognized it as they passed. We were the delight of children that day ("look mommie! A bear!" "No dear it's obviously a dog" grrrrrrr.)



This year is promising to be just as fun and wunderbar. We're tackling The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Stay tuned for pictures at the end of the month!

~marji

Okay I have FINALLY given in.

*Welcome to the 2005 edition of getting to know your friends. What you
are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste
it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they
apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including the person
who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little
things about your friends, if you did not know them already.

1. What time did you get up this morning? I...haven't been to bed yet

2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds ^ ^

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sin City...and it was sinfully gooood!

4. What is your favorite TV show? I'd have to say...Father Ted


5. What did you have for breakfast? cheese blintzes!

6. What is your middle name? Lily


7. What is your favorite cuisine? Sushi


8. What foods do you dislike? amaretto


9. What are your favorite Potato chips? Ranch Doritos

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Dave Matthews' Some Devil

11.What kind of car do your drive? a pretty red bike and ocasionally my roomie's Honda Accord

12.Favorite sandwich? CHICKEN!

13.What characteristics do you despise? bad driving manners

14.Favorite item of clothing? My pink and blue sock jamjams ^ ^

15.If you could go anywhere in the world? anywhere sounds nice :)

16.What color is your bathroom? blue and white and rubber-duckie yellow

17.Favorite brand of clothing? New York Company! They have clothes that actually FIT.

18.Where would you retire to? I'll get my sleep in when I'm dead!

19.Favorite time of day? dusk

20.Where were you born? Fort Ord, CA

22.Favorite sport to watch? Ewwww.....

23.What fabric detergent do you use? Arm and Hammer WOOT!

24.Coke or Pepsi? Coke

25.Are you a morning person or night owl? Creatures of night BROUGHT TO LIGHT! *hissss!*

26.What is your shoe size? 8

27.Do you have pets? Yeah my lil puppy-girl ^ ^

28.Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family
and friends? I'm graduating soon suckas!

29.What did you want to be when you were little? a veterinarian

Aaaaaaah, that's MUCH better. giving in to the dark side is just so much easier....

~marji

the surprising cover of the day is: Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy

So I had a guest tonight.

Yes, demon cat was in town and decided to pay me a visit.


He stopped by last week when my brother was in town (or as Desiree would have said, "my bro-ham") but we didn't let him in. Tonight I took pity on him and offered him a bowl of dog food (sorry kitty, don't have any cat food...I'm a dog person!) He nibbled at it politely but there was something else he wanted. He was an attention-hog and was enjoying a good petting from me but I could tell his mind was on something else. Not that he wouldn't accept a good rub down until then.

Mmmmmmm...


He miaowed around the house a bit forlornly but whatever he's looking for, it ain't here. So I let him back out. He wailed at my door a bit and I let him back in. More wandering, more pitiful miaowing. Finally I let him out again and this time he seemed more satisfied about it. He took off somewhere.

I can't live with cats but I do enjoy them and there is a lot of the cat in me. That stretchy, indolent, lazy critter that doesn't mind showing when she's enjoying herself. Basking in the sun is nice too though cats have the distinct advantage of not getting sunburned.

~marji

After a brief stint into one of my "deep blue funks" I've emerged happy-go-lucky as ever. As if in celebration of this event I discovered Reel Big Fish and my long-lost love for ska. And I am reacquainting myself with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. So my house is pretty hoppin' right now! And I'm happy as a lark. Life is once more a golden song.

I finally set up my llamas:

That too improved the festive appearance of the house. Sally the Absolutely Marvellous got me these for Christmas. It was the biggest surprise of my life and the best Christmas present I've yet received. I didn't stop squealing for well thirty minutes. Maybe more. The llama fixation goes way back to when we were younguns. She had one and I always wanted a llama all my own. They used alpaca hair to make them so they're very very soft....and consequently completely addictive. So to receive a whole family of llamas! I keeled over with delight and they had to whip out the smelling salts to bring me round.

H. and N. and I all went to the beach on a lark. The weather was too beautiful for video games (even though H. was slavering to get her hands on Paper Mario...but we managed to restrain her with heavy chains long enough to drive out to Tybee). Once there she was able to spend her time contemplating the ways of the world and bicycles. Much more productive:



...



Definitely one of my happy places. I got seagull poop all over my feet I'm sure but the water was too delightful to pass up. N. is not one for water but he did indulge a sudden urge to eat gull flesh:



I've become the biggest photo-whore over the past few days. Guess I'm realizing I'll be leaving soon and I need to keep a record of how it was.

~marji

Current electronic toy: WACOM TABLET OF JOY!!!! (and doomy doom)

So, I've been animating with the tablet and having a blast. Then last night I took a break from layouts to doodle and paint a bit. It's like finger-painting if you just let yourself go, which I did. I have plenty of time to worry about working on my linework later.

Anyhoo, I showed the results to J. and he brought up the very good point that pirates don't have manners. He shouldn't be worried about dropping his food. I'm still not so sure I agree. Hookbeard was a sweet fellow after all. It all depends which side you look at it from. Which side of the pirate, that is. If you're on the sword and cannon side then...kablammo. But I'm sure Ms. Ninja was more than a little touched by a chocolate-covered cutlass.

Still, I couldn't resist altering the piece a little. Not as poignant perhaps but definitely funny.

~marji