Tag Archives: Words

The Liebster Award: 4th and 5th Nominations!

The Liebster Award: 2nd Nomination!

Thank you so much to David Blake (davidblakeimagemaker.wordpress.com and thebearggrr.wordpress.com) for nominating me a fourth time for the Liebster Award! Don’t forget to check out David’s fascinating work.

And thank you so much to Annamita Virosa (annamitavirosa.wordpress.com) for nominating me a fifth time for this award! Check our Annamita’s awesome doodles and dream memories.

To view the post from my first and second nominations, click herehere, and here.

I’d like to apologize in advanced for my answers to David and Annamita’s questions — I found a number of these queries a bit confusing. But I tried to answer to the best of my ability!

As I mentioned previously, I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!

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Rules

  1. Post eleven facts about yourself.
  2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated.
  3. Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post.
  4. Go to their page and tell them.

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Instead of eleven facts about myself…

Some of My Favorite Japanese Words

  1.  めちゃくちゃ, mechakucha: absurd, nonsensical, incoherent.
  2. 奪う, ubau: to snatch away, to steal.
  3. 見失う, miushinau: to lose sight of, to miss.
  4. 罰, batsu: punishment, penalty.
  5. はしゃぐ, hashagu: to make merry, to frolic.
  6. 飛び立つ, tobitatsu: to fly away, to take off, to leap to one’s feet.
  7. 吐き出す, hakidasu: to spit out.
  8. 叫ぶ, sakebu: to shout, to cry out, to yell.
  9. 降り注ぐ, furisosogu: to rain incessantly, to downpour.
  10. 山椒魚, sanshouuo: salamandar
  11. 鹿煎餅, shikasenbei: rice crackers for feeding deer (in Nara).
  12. 理事長, rijichou: board chairman.
  13. 伯爵, hakushaku: count, earl.
  14. 恐ろしい, osoroshii: terrible, dreadful, frightening.
  15. 戸惑い, tomadoi: losing one’s bearings, confusion, wonderment.

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David’s Questions

1. What encouraged you to start blogging (honestly)?

I wanted to share my work with the world. :)

2. Heart broken or never touched. Would you rather risk it all for love or not at all?

Neither. I’m not a romantic. But I have a wonderful boyfriend!

3. What is your favourite medium to write, paint, draw or generally create with?

Difficult question. If I could only have one implement, I would choose a black felt-tip pen.

4. I love to day dream (but I’m also very proactive ). Are you a dreamer?

A dreamer, yes. But also a “radiant pessimist” — I hope for the best, but expect the worst.

5. Skipping this question.

6. If you were an artist, living or deceased, who would you be?

Myself. Not that I’m “the best” artist — I just have no desire to be anyone else.

7. In answering 6, do you think you have the qualities to do that person justice?

I hope I do myself justice.

8. What is your favourite hot drink?

Chai.

9. What quality do you admire most in people?

Determination and ambition without being self-absorbed.

10. Did you believe I was a bear (ggrr bear)?

Frankly, no.

11. I love imperfection, to me it is true beauty. What do you love?

Creativity and culture.

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Annamita’s Questions

1. Hello, do you know me? ( Biffy Clyro – Living is a problem because everything dies) I’m not sure — do I?

2. How did you get that way? (Lana Del Rey - Millions Dollars Man) What way? What?

3. Do you believe ? (The cardigans – Do you believe?) Not so much.

4. Are we safer or in danger? ( Otep – Confrontation) I’m guessing “in danger.”

5. Can anybody help me make it better? (BFMV – Tears don’t fall) Err…

6. Do you have an opinion? (Garbage – Special) Yes.

7. What was said about this man? ( Chevelle – sma, the man can be anyone you want) What man? Who?

8. Someone who’ll protect you? (Muse – Deadstar) Myself.

9. Remember me when you clinch your movie deal ? (Placebo – Special Needs) If I must.

10. How do we made it? (Black Infinity – Rise of the blackstars) I think I misread something.

11. Do you have any questions? (Annamita Virosa) No, I don’t want to know.

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Nominations

In no particular order… but each one filled with talent and creativity!

  1. tabascocatart.com
  2. arisbethcruz.wordpress.com
  3. juannavarro.wordpress.com
  4. shashinkaichiban1.wordpress.com
  5. emilyfellah.wordpress.com
  6. mysilvermemories.wordpress.com
  7. lewisleanne.wordpress.com
  8. sharonmanndesigns.com
  9. loudhailer.net
  10. judywatson.wordpress.com
  11. oldkingcurry.wordpress.com
  12. kathrinspycher.com
  13. thedrawingshop.wordpress.com
  14. craftedincarhartt.wordpress.com
  15. madmanchegan.com
  16. hamsterandthebee.com
  17. myhomemakes.com
  18. synkris.wordpress.com
  19. gribouilleuselondon.wordpress.com
  20. joannadunn.co.uk
  21. violetgallery.wordpress.com
  22. wildersoul.wordpress.com

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My Questions

  1. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had?
  2. What is/was your favorite subject in school?
  3. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  4. Who is your role model?
  5. What is your favorite holiday?
  6. What is your least favorite vegetable?
  7. What is your guilty pleasure?
  8. Are you an optimist or pessimist?
  9. What are your short-term goals/New Year’s resolutions?
  10. What did you last eat?
  11. Do you have any special and/or bizarre talents?

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebooktumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine Progress and Contest: Round Two!!

Related Posts: First Zine and Future Shop and First Zine Progress and Contest!!

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A few weeks ago, I finished the pen work for my first zine. I’ve been very busy recently, but hope that sometime soon I’ll be able to get this zine scanned, printed, and watercolored. Then, once The Flea plush toy is ready, I’m planning on opening my online store! :D

Here are a few closeups of some pen work for the zine:

Zine Preview 4

Zine Preview 5

Zine Preview 6

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

I’ve realized that I made this contest a little bit too hard. Thusly, I added a few more hints (#4 and #5). Also, be sure to check the comments of my post First Zine Progress and Contest!! for even more hints. I will be shocked if no one produces the correct answer this time!

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

Hint #4: More specifically than Hint #3 — Mammon.

Hint #5: The poem was written by ONE of the three original Pre-Raphaelites — either William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, or Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


First Zine Progress and Contest!!

Related Post: First Zine and Future Shop

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For the past month or so, in between working on Elias & the City of Cats and The First Reich, I’ve been sneaking in progress on my first zine.

Here are a few closeups of some pencil work for the zine:

Zine Preview 1

Zine Preview 2

Zine Preview 3

As I mentioned before, my first zine is an illustrated Pre-Raphaelite poem. The poem will remain a secret until closer to the zine’s release. But I’ll give one free copy to the first person who can correctly guess which poem it is.

Hint #1: The Seven Deadly Sins.

Hint #2: The poem is not “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti.

Hint #3: More specifically than Hint #1 — The Seven Princes of Hell.

For a chance to win, either leave a comment below or (if you’d like to keep your guess secret from other contestants) shoot me an e-mail at gegallas@hotmail.com — subject “First Zine Contest.”

Best of luck!!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

***

Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas


Celebrating 1,000 Followers!

Screen shot 2012-12-22 at 11.28.47 AM

Yesterday, to my utter surprise, the counter hit 1,000 followers (and a little over) here at gegallas.wordpress.com.

All I can say is: “Wow!”

Many thanks to each and every one of you who has followed this blog. Your “likes,” comments, kind words, insights, and encouragement have really helped me continue to strive towards my goals.

By the way, for those of you who are enjoying The Poet and the Flea (thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com), don’t forget to press “follow” over there too! :D

Happy Holidays and sweet New Year’s wishes,

G. E.

P.S. I’m excited for my family’s typical Jewish Xmas celebration — Chinese food and a trip to the movies!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


Reader Appreciation Award!

http://thegeektransition.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/reader-appreciation-award.jpeg?w=250&h=186

Wow, I can’t believe I was just nominated for another award — that’s the 3rd one in a very short span of time! I guess my dedication is starting to pay off. :) Feels especially good after receiving a number of various rejections over the past few weeks.

I would like to thank The Geek Transition for nominating me and for these kind words: “She just released a graphic novel called The Poet and The Flea, and I think it’s pretty cool. You can tell she put a lot of work into it. Congrats on the premiere, G.E.!” Thank you very very very much!!

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Rules

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Attach the icon to your site.
3. Answer the questions.
4. Nominate some other bloggers whom you feel deserve this award!

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Questions

Your favorite color?

As covered in my post “A Bit More About Me“: Since childhood, I’ve always favored blue. But nowadays everyone would accuse me of being passionate about the color black.

Your favorite animal?

Difficult question! I’m torn between llamas/alpacas, red pandas, and Shiba Inu (if a breed counts as an animal).

Your favorite non-alcoholic drink?

Tea! Especially Earl Grey, Darjeeling, and Chai.

Your favorite number?

I’m not particularly fond of numbers. Though I prefer odd to even — it’s a question of aesthetic!

Your favorite day of the week?

Don’t really have a favorite day. My least favorite day is Wednesday.

Your favorite flower?

I have developed a fascination with the history of tulips after reading The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas.

What is your passion?

As you can hopefully tell by my blog, writing and illustrating. Also, Japanese language and culture.

Do you watch television?

I am a junkie for high-quality dramatic series like Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men, including a million BBC shows like The Hour, Whitechapel, and House of Cards. I just fall in love with the brilliant writing, the multidimensional characters, and the amazing actors. I also love really cheesy Japanese dramas — right now, my favorite is Guilty: Akuma to Keiyaku Shita Onna (Guilty: The Woman who Made a Deal with the Devil).

Who is your favorite author?

Another difficult question! Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces is practically my bible (I mentioned I’m a Jewish atheist, right?). I’m also quite fond of Robert Graves’s I, Claudius, Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo, Yukio Mishima’s Spring Snow (Haru no Yuki), E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, etcetera, etcetera. My bookshelf looks frighteningly like a Penguin Classics library!

Do you like 80′s movies?

Not particularly. The closest I get are the BBC series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982) starring Alec Guinness. And yes, I also love the 2011 version of  Tinker Tailor.

What social issues bother you?

Oh, don’t even get me started — we’ll be here forever! Just know that I watch The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and MSNBC (Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, and all of them) religiously.

How do you like your eggs?

Usually, I like them scrambled. But I also like them poached, especially for an Eggs Benedict!

When did you discover blogging?

I truthfully can’t remember exactly. I remember first using a computer when I was 4 years old. And I started using deviantART sometime in middle school, if that counts.

Why do you like to blog?

I don’t always like blogging, but I’ve discovered how incredibly wonderful bloggers are on WordPress. Unlike other social media sites, bloggers here seem to have a bit more etiquette. I enjoy sharing my work and receiving positive feedback from other talented bloggers!

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Nomination

G. Martinez Cabrera

It’s been a true pleasure collaborating (Elias & The City of Catswith Gabe thus far, and I look forward to our future projects!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


Work in Progress: “Elias & the City of Cats”

Just wanted to share some of the work I’ve been doing collaborating with writer Gabe (G. Martinez Cabrera) on the children’s book Elias & The City of Cats.

I’m really enjoying working with Gabe — we’re good at bouncing ideas off one another and both have the creative energy to push one another to make the best book that we can!

Currently, we’re working towards creating a mockup of Elias to shop around to publishers.

A few weeks ago, Gabe took the time to cut up his story and arrange it into a format that gives me a better idea of the images he’s looking for. From that, I worked on a rough sketch storyboard draft of sorts.

Recently, I showed Gabe this first rough draft, and from our discussion I’m putting together a second rough draft. I’m sure both of us will be doing a good number of drafts before we have a polished mockup!

Elias and Ignis, preliminary character designs.

Ignis, another preliminary character design.

Two pages from the first rough draft.

Another two pages from the first rough draft.

The second rough draft, in progress!

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


October 2010: VAMPS at Roseland Ballroom, NYC

I can’t believe it’s already been two years since I saw VAMPS in New York City. I made so many great friends in line, and I still communicate with them via Facebook today! –G. E.

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Waiting for Hyde:

Curiosity Killed The Average New Yorker

It was 7 in the morning when a skinny, middle-aged woman in a tracksuit jogged up to us and asked “What are you guys waiting for?”

Carey, one of many fellow fans I had met for the first time that very morning, asked her friend Shannon to hand her the signs. After receiving the pile of lined paper from Shannon, Carey proceeded to display the first page to the skinny woman. In crude Sharpie marker, the sign read:

We are here for VAMPS.

After staring at the words for a moment with a confused expression on her face, the skinny woman responded by asking, “What is that?” Carey tucked the first page behind the others to reveal the second sign.

They are a Japanese rock group!

“VAMPS” is the popular side-project band of Japanese rock star Hyde. In Japan, “Hyde” has been a household name for over a decade.

Hyde’s major band, L’Arc~en~Ciel, keeps busy dishing out one hit single after another and playing Tokyo Dome (a venue with more than twice the capacity of Madison Square Garden) for the umpteenth time. This year, the band celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Hyde performing at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Although Hyde doesn’t sport fame in the United States equivalent to that of bands like Green Day per se, his fame among American Japanophiles is enough to earn VAMPS a spot in the 2009 Vans Warped Tour and a 2010 World Tour including four concerts across America.

On Saturday, October 9th, I attended VAMPS’s concert at The Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

After reading the second sign with an increasingly confused expression on her face, the skinny woman asked “How long have you all been here?” Carey revealed the third sign.

Yes, we’ve been here ALL DAY.

VAMPS fan Carey and her signs.

My friends thought me insane for heading over to the venue at 5 in the morning. But I knew better. By the time I got to Roseland, there was already a block filled with VAMPS fans standing in line for the 8 p.m. concert.

By “standing,” I mean fans huddled in blankets, sleeping sprawled out on the dog-piss-covered Manhattan sidewalk.

Chatting in line, I could tell that these fans were truly dedicated.

According to Josh (a friendly, chubby VAMPS fan dressed in a kangaroo costume for some unknown reason), some fans had been waiting in line since Wednesday.

Many had come in from Syracuse, Connecticut and the like. Some – such as die-hard fan Mayline – had flown all the way from faraway places – in Mayline’s case, Puerto Rico – just for the concert. Mayline had even lied about a death in the family just to get time off work.

The skinny woman, confused as ever, continued asking questions. And for every question, Carey had a pre-made sign with the corresponding answer. “7 in the morning, and Carey was already an expert at this,” I thought to myself. “Only 13 hours to go.”

Taxi drivers stopped at the light would shout out their windows at us. We would shout back and, once the light turned green, they would drive away still chuckling.

Tourists stood with their cameras snapping pictures of us. Fans in line would retaliate with their own cameras. Upon seeing cameras flashing in their direction, the tourists would flee.

Theater-goers would ask us, “Is this the line for Jersey Boys?” or “Is this the line for Promises, Promises?” They would leave moping about how young people don’t appreciate Broadway anymore.

Sometime during the afternoon, the VAMPS American tour manager came around and handed out flyers with Hyde’s face on them. We figured the flyers would make our lives easier, a visual tool to show curious passersby.

VAMPS World Tour official flyer.

Unfortunately, the flyer just seemed to confuse people more.

Around 5 p.m. and about the gazillionth curious passerby, VAMPS fans in line started getting fed up with all the questions. Down the line, we started hearing people walking past, complaining, “Why didn’t anyone tell me there was a Justin Bieber concert today?”

By that time, the VAMPS line must have already reached the Letterman Show a few blocks up. I can only imagine the kind of hell that part of the line was getting. “What, you’re not here for Letterman? What’s wrong with you?”

After all her questions were answered, the skinny woman seemed disappointed. As she jogged away, she sighed, “Okay then, enjoy yourselves.” She didn’t even stop to read Carey’s last sign:

Thank you for your time! :)

Perhaps the skinny woman would have been less disappointed if Carey’s first sign had read “Bette Midler.”

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2012: L’Arc~en~Ciel went on to become the first Japanese band to headline Madison Square Garden. The “WORLD TOUR 2012 LIVE at Madison Square Garden” concert DVD will be released December 26th.

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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas


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