I. New Music Video: continuity error

I got something that I'm wonderfully proud of today but have yet to find an audience for it. I shared it in a few small circles and got almost no feedback (or negative feedback) but I suppose most artists have trouble finding an audience. I'm not special. My definition of music has always been about making myself happy first, and with this music video I am very happy:

Perhaps I should have taken the time to master the audio as the bass guitar is inaudible on speakers without a bass amp. Made an assumption that a bass guitar would have enough tones to remain present on most speakers and a simple EQ/compressor would clean it up but was very wrong. Such is life. Really didn't expect to love the outcome of this video but truthfully it's the drums I'm most happy with. You can download the audio here on Newgrounds if you so feel.

For the last year I've been "relearning" drums since I sold my last drum kit in my early 20s to afford a move to California where I reset my life in a sense. Much like riding a bicycle, playing an instrument comes back fast. I've also spent a lot of free time this winter learning how to play guitar and the one melody I wrote in high school came back almost immediately. It feels so good to be drumming again, I only wish I was in better physical shape. I live at a high altitude (8,600 feet above sea level) and the lack of oxygen plays a massive roll in my endurance. I firmly believe that a better diet and regular exercise is what I need most but I lack the discipline to get stronk. We actually have a rowing machine in the living room but sitting on it and pulling the cord is the most boring thing I can think of doing.

II. Grooming Young Girls For Their Fertility

Did that get your attention? Tom and I bought three more baby chicks this year to replace the one we lost to a skunk attack last fall. The place we got them from only sold them in numbers as low as three, hence 3=1. We're also picking up a rooster today to help protect the girls in the future and possibly fertilize the eggs. My studio space right now looks a little comical:

III. You Deserve A Better Quarl

I asked Shal for permission to post a comic strip with his likeness in it but I haven't heard back from him so I'll just assume he hates it and I was right to ask for his permission to post it. I really have no idea what people think of me and will quickly delete things when given the opportunity because I don't want to come across like degenerate scum. It all goes back to an identity that revolves around a desire to be funny and make people smile. On the night of my moms suicide, I was cracking jokes through my tears because it's just how I cope. As an adult, I have a desire to stay true to who I am but I also don't want to come across as lacking thought or tact. I'm sorry if anyone has been bothered by my sense of humor but technically I developed it from growing up here, on Newgrounds. If anything, my sense of humor is YOUR fault, Newgrounds. Regardless, I'm always looking for ways to improve but I can promise that I will continue to be paradoxically irreverent and apologetic until I can figure out what it all means on an existential level. I'll post the short strip in my next blog if Shal comes around with permission, he's probably just busy... I hope. SHAL, HEY! REMEMBER THAT TIME WE SPENT TOGETHER? DO YOU REMEMBER ALL THE GOOD TIMES?? REMEMBER WHEN YOU TOLD ME ALL OF YOUR SECRETS AND I KEPT THEM BECAUSE I'M A GOOD FRIEND??? Me neither, you've never told me your secrets but if given the chance I would keep them safe...

IV. Have A Nice Day

Tom and I are about to run off to town to pick up the rooster, it's going to be a very busy day. We're still snowed in on the mountain but the snow in the driveway is melting fast:

We still have to come and go in a tracked vehicle but it's not like we didn't prepare for this. The snowmobile has an issue with the clutch not engaging, currently that vehicle is inoperable. We also got our tracked Jeep stuck in the snow this winter but we were finally able to get it out of the deep snow after some melt which brought our numbers back up to two snow vehicles. We rely mostly on a tracked Polaris Ranger, you can watch some of my older music videos from Jamuary to see it in action! Gotta finish this blog off fast, GOTTA GO FAST. GOODBYE NEWGROUNDS, LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

~ quarl

I. No More Downloads?

(edit: Yendor helped me find the global audio settings so downloads are back on. I guess you can skip this section but I'm keeping it around to artefact my bandcamp link)

Despite the title this isn't some big emergency, just a confusing oddity. I was planning on turning off downloads for songs that I've released to Bandcamp EPs, but it seems that my songs have had their download function recently switched to "off." I started turning the downloads back on for a few songs before I realized that ALL of my songs have been turned off. I assume it's just a global settings oddity of some kind or that I've fallen asleep on a recent update and don't know how to get all my music on the same page. Since I didn't receive a notification or message from a mod I doubt it's anything serious but the annoying thing is, I have hundreds of songs. I was only going to turn off downloads manually for a fraction of them to encourage people to seek out my Bandcamp profile.

I've always tried to keep my music accessible and free because I have a very small niche audience. I don't like the idea of begging people to buy my music and I like to see the downloads to know that people are actually listening to my music out in the wild. If there is a global setting to turn downloads back on could someone point me in the right direction? Otherwise, if this was some kind of mod action could the logic here be clarified? I'm very confused but... meh. It's not very important...

II. Where Is Quarl?

I've been absent much of this year which is especially odd after shitting out 30 songs in January. No idea why the Jamuary song a day event causes me the perfect amount of anxiety to write so much music in such a short period of time but I'm not complaining about that. Just wish that I had the same manic energy to compile some new albums and make some music videos right now.

Instead of writing EDM this year I've spent most of my time offline playing my drum kit and learning guitar. I'm getting to the point where I feel confident recording my guitar licks and using them for music videos. I've also collected a lot of winter footage of the mountain, some of it is so gorgeous that I wanted to make sure I had equally interesting music to join with it. I'm not stressing myself out to make content, instead choosing to make things when the urge returns. I'm very chaotic when it comes to inspiration. I'll go zero to sixty when a weird idea hits. I recently got sucked into a sub reddit called r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns because I saw them having fun with memes:

III. Free Racoons, Raccoonapalooza!!

Eventually I decided to try making friends with them via a free racoon give away:

Nobody got the Speedy Gonzalez reference but I did have people participate with the image and even included a few extra "winners" despite the event stipulations:

One of you may have noticed that I forgot to give the furry a saddle. She didn't seem to mind. There's probably a joke that could be made about furries going bareback but I don't want to be the person that makes it. I'm tempted to do a similar Raccoonapalooza for Newgrounds but I'm also just as likely to smoke some more weed and put off doing my taxes for another week.

IV. What's In The Future?

Moving forwards, continue to expect a general lack of activity from me. Tom and I are tired of all the snow we accumulated this year and as a coping mechanism I've fallen back on my least productive pastime: smoking weed and playing video games. I still do music things, putting hours of play into daily practices and have developed super unsexy guitar calluses. I think I've also started to develop an overuse pain in my shoulder from constant drumming. That brings me down a little but my routines are consistently getting longer and my endurance better. Eventually I'll make something new that I'm very proud of, just waiting to get a rush of manic energy. That may come with Spring but I fear that Tom and I are going to be very busy this summer...

Aside from our wedding in August, we still have a bunch of construction projects to finish. The music studio we were building currently has snow up to the roof. I doubt we're even going to start working on Tom's office that we talked about last year. We've put off finishing the porch. Tom wants to install geothermal heating to lower costs from other methods of heating the house. The geothermal installation will be our first project this season but we've also talked about getting a dish washer which would require us to take out part of the kitchen "island" and renovate a tad. Tom also took up a full time job instead of just contracting so he'll have less time for projects... I'm not sure where I'll find time to make stuff but stressing out about it is the wrong answer.

One day at a time, thanks for stopping by!

tldr: I'm very busy but also not very busy. Also, raccoons.

I. New Music Video "In A Good Place"

Hi all, got a new music video today. I've been wanting to do a video featuring some of my more melodic music with some simple footage of the mountains. I'm not playing any instruments in this one, live music wasn't part of the conceptual idea. I've reused some past video clips but figured no one is paying serious enough attention to care:

The video features the names and work of fellow Newgrounds users Ketyri and Xinxinix, both were sampled.

In an episode of Off The Wall with ThatJohnnyGuy I was unintentionally reminded that I'm known for super obnoxious noise music. The piano I played on BleakCreep's Us cartoon series surprised some people that were expecting some other shit. It can be really hard to get out of a box when people expect your work to sound a certain way. Over the years I've tried balancing different styles and sounds to have depth but when you make a lot of obnoxious noise music people will tend to forget that you studied music in college or can play music for real. Eventually I want to bring all my music and video experience together to do something similar to what FKJ does:

II. My Old Band (Highschool)

I've been learning guitar, bass, and banjo (at 33) to round out what instruments I can play with and have been loving the new hobby. My current life situation is giving me the opportunity to sit around and play guitar like I'm back in highschool without the need to go to school everyday. I'm not sure how kids find the time to get good at anything but they do. Looking back on my youth there wasn't any time to do stuff between afterschool sports, dinner, homework, and sleep but I still found the time to learn how to play the drums for bands, write music, draw for a college portfolio, make animations, and do parkour with a few other willing idiots. I'm not quick to share old footage because it can feel embarrassing but someone I used to play with in Highschool (Jody) has footage of the old band and a few of our old gigs. For anyone curious, I played the drums in Lune which is the first 37 minutes of this video:

Kids are amazing when they aren't wasting their energy on people like Andrew Tate, Alex Jones, or Joe Rogan. The concept of role models continues to influence my behavior online but I'm a piss poor role model most of the time and have embarrassed myself trying to be funny. Regardless, I just want to encourage those on Newgrounds to be creative conduits first and foremost. This generation has too many "influencers" and not enough bonafide artists. We have a surplus of fascination with idiots but not enough motivation to be better people than them.

Being an artist revolves around a lot of solitary moments with your craft. It can be very lonely and depressing, especially if you avoid answering messages from your friends. I don't charge my phone anymore because the majority of messages are spam. It's much easier to tune out from the hustle and enjoy life right now which is probably why I despise sitting at my computer screen so much. When I can force myself to sit in front of a screen, sometimes I come across some great people. Earlier in this blog I shared a video of FKJ but I've also fallen in love with Tim Henson's style of guitar fusion. I want a fraction of this guys skills and am posting two of his videos here for your enjoyment:

That second video is so much fun to watch because it takes me back to highschool and reminds me of what it was like to play with young creative conduits. I'm currently bending the pitch on every guitar note much like he was at 12 and my scales sound about as off key. It's obvious he focused and progressed very quickly, his skill at 17 is already better than most. Young people will do things so quickly in an attempt to find value in themselves but will consistently fail to see that same struggle in others. At 33 years old, my best advice for younger artists is to take plenty of time to look around at what others are doing and elevate them because doing so might also elevate you. Try to put out positive feelings and ideas if only to make the world around yourself a little warmer.

III. Removing Free Downloads

This idea has been percolating for a while but I don't really have an income anymore. I've jokingly changed my about info to say "retired" instead of "horticulture" to reflect a growing acceptance of the life I've got going on right now. There has never been an intention to sell out or change my core philosophies but I'm getting older and I need some kind of revenue in case things go bad. I was surprised the other day by the chunk of change I have in my paypal account and realized that the only income I'm making right now is coming from my bandcamp page. If you want to download my music for free I'd recommend checking out my Playlists for old EPs. Songs from albums on bandcamp will be the first to have downloads removed. I'll still keep tracks up for free if they're not currently on an EP but I've been wanting to gather up my tracks for a new one so download my music today or this weekend if you haven't already. I'll be making it harder to do so in the next few days. If you'd rather skip free downloads and start supporting me today, stop by my bandcamp page and listen to a few things: https://quarl.bandcamp.com/

IV. Discord Dance Party

Some of you may recognize my derpy drawings from Discord or Facebook. I usually just draw stupid shit for personal entertainment in the hope that maybe someone laughs at them? Some of those drawings find their way into my blog but most of them get tossed into a large folder of crap and disappear. I don't know why but about a year or two ago I tried drawing as many personas as I could from the old Newgrounds festivals Discord channel. These drawings have never seen the light of day away from that random instance but I wanted to buff up my post with some additional content so let me know if you recognize anyone:

For anyone wondering, the little blue creature wearing a hat holding a bong is my last braincell working over time to be social at the club. Shamefully my last brain cell gets out more than I do. I think I'll end the post on that note, thanks for stopping by this weird blog and hopefully you watched one or two videos or a few minutes there within. Have a wonderful day and stay creative <3

I. Jamuary 2023 Is Technically Over!!

So this post will mostly gravitate around Jamuary, a really dumb tradition Droid started in 2022 that attempts to inspire gullible musicians to write a song a day for the entire month of January, despite the front page of Newgrounds saying Jan 1st - Jan 30th. Let us not forget that there is one day left of the month, we still have the 31st to look forward to! Honestly, I'm skipping the 31st to protest a day that shouldn't exist. It's a power move. Last year I skipped the 30th of Jamuary to prepare for and host a Newgrounds Winterfest panel called "music is 4 everyone." This year I'm skipping the 31st to listen to music by others that fell for Droid's holiday. Don't let my attitude or words fool you, I'm very grateful that Droid got this event off the ground because you can learn a lot along the way and produce some great stuff by forcing yourself into a daily workflow. Expect a song sometime tomorrow instead :p

There were years in which I only put out a handful of songs because I was so infuriated by bad quality and gear. I only wanted to put out good music those years but as a result put out almost no music. Jamuary forces you past the feeling that things need to be great all the time. At art school I learned that the best medicine for bad drawing is to draw everyday. It's the same when learning how to play an instrument. Creatives will sometimes state that they prefer to see quality over quantity but quantity is what refines your work and leads to quality. Quantity is essential in the grand scheme if you want your work to lead to something bigger.

There are some tunes I'm very happy with this month but first, a shout out to the other artists that kept up the hustle, and those that tried.

baryiscool - I will verify that this man wrote a song everyday and therefor earned his name baryiscool. I'm waiting to hear back from him for some guidance and input into what he's most proud of but for now, here are a couple of tracks I listened to that stood out:

[EDIT] bary got back to me with Rise Of The Dragon King and eXtraverted. These are his favorites from the month:

epikuro - Another user that stuck with the holiday and wrote a song a day, epikuro had some serious diversity and breadth. It looks like they're suffering from a zero bomber, if you're reading this help fix those scores. Like bary, I hit him up for guidance through the 30 track catalog but I'm still waiting to hear back. These are a few tracks I've listened to so far that I liked:

Epik got back to me really early in the morning with a few suggestions and favorites:

[EDIT]

hyenaedon - I wasn't even aware hyena was doing the event until I was tagged in their own Jamuary blog but they managed to write a song a day for the entire month! When asked for a few favourites I was directed to "Spudnuts," "Rym Flare," and " Celesta. "

TeraVex - started out strong on day one and two but we lost him early on. We all know that mofo can write though so let's refrain from shaming him <3

Droid - We lost our host early on this year. He forgot to make a thread for the event but I'll still champion him for inspiring the massive amount of work that went into our songs this month. I've seen conflicting posts from him in the past stating the fear that he needs to spend less time online or that he needs to focus more on real life but we've all been there. Screen time is a massive paradox of feelings. I suspect he didn't make the thread on purpose hoping we'd forget about the month BUT WE'RE STILL HERE BITCH AND WE LOVE YOU.

DiosselMusic - Made a brief appearance with six Jamuary tracks after missing the first seven days. I can appreciate the hustle though and I'm a huge fan of their DNB [that's a relative phrase, I don't spend enough time listening to their work and dropping them reviews but it's really good stuff.] It sounds like from the six tracks posted they were feeling a humble prog hiphop/house sound that wanted to remain a little gentle.

MilkyPossum - Our darling milk maiden started out really strong but we lost her early on like so many greats. I love her energy and her work echoes a hectic desire to write video game music like no other. In my mind, I put her and Teravex in the same category of people that can write continuously, unabashedly, and with impressive style. Let's celebrate her participation regardless of the drop off because in all reality, writing a song a day means you have no life or perhaps a unique life conducive to focus entirely on writing. Everyone that dropped off is living their lives everyday and a love for music is something easily burned. Everyone that attempted the event deserves some love and respect.

[EDIT] I forgot to point at acheney for starting an unnoficial offshoot thread early on but he removed his Jamuary tracks and stopped posting so I'll assume he felt some sort of emotion? Regardless of his reasons I want you all to clap with me for his efforts. Bless his heart.

I'll continue to edit the above section as the day goes on and note the people and tracks I missed. Hit me up with suggestions below, I want to post tracks that people are proud of <3

II. Music Videos In Front Of A Laundry Machine

As part of Jamuary I decided to show off some of my film chops. Despite studying cinematography in both high school and University I almost never dig into that world. The speed at which the technology and formats changed was enough to make my head spin. Learning on linear and nonlinear editing machines in highschool I quickly had to adopt new information to account for better gear in uni, blue-ray, surround sound, video synthesis, animation, multiscreen installations, and a handful of other things that may or may not be out of style already. The world of technology changes fast and I couldn't adopt reasonable strategies to keep up. The following videos are entirely for fun and not meant to be taken seriously. Regardless I'm very proud of the life I live and these videos are a glimpse into what I consider a humble existence in the middle of nowhere.

I got so much laundry done this month DX

III. A Few Jams I'm Proud Of This Month

Since I don't have to message myself and wait for a reply, here are a few tracks I'm super pleased with this year and why:

^ Probably a little over compressed but a good start to the month. I felt like the first of Jamuary last year was a little weak but this years first track gave me the hubris and energy I needed to make it through the month. When you start off on a good foot the need to outdo yourself becomes more palatable.

^ The fuck was I on day 2, this one brings me much joy.

^ Technically a cop out, I wrote this song a few years ago. I deleted the heavy drums from the track and imo, it shines really well without them.

^ This one got almost no attention, possibly because I tried to steal the genre Goth music instead of labeling this as dubstep? Who knows, I just like the obnoxious ass lead and DMX samples. Personal amusement.

^ Fuck, I need to make more easy listening. I don't have any trouble writing this kind of stuff but the psychological desire to spend my time sampling DMX and writing super obnoxious synth leads is powerful. Sue me.

^ Spent a lot of time playing Fromsoft games this last year, Bloodborne is a gem. When I love something, I sample it. All the yelling and screaming samples this month came from it, don't report me to corporate. I'm just vibing.

^ I write one four to the floor track every three to five years and they almost always sound like my dubstep stuff. This is it for you four-to-the-floor lovers, here's your gross pulsating four-to-the-floor shlop. Love it or leave it.

IV. I Love You

I'm really bad at responding to messages and staying active despite the fact that I seem to have all the time in the world right now. My life is very conducive to making things and staying on my computer but there's a psychological conflict to spend time away from my screen. Perhaps it was my mom growing up as she took away tv and game privilege, trying to reinforce the need to "play outside." Maybe it comes from social media execs warning us against excessive screen time. When notifications pile up I get a lurching sick or fear that I'm letting people down or that I'm ignoring them. Despite Jamuary, we should all strive to spend less time on our computers. I often thank the existence of Newgrounds because I would never have found my fiance and my amazing life without a strange series of events that led me to drive around the country meeting people. The peer pressure to make digital things is a hauntingly fascinating aspect of Newgrounds that borderlines a shared sickness but we're all sick together. You people are all amazing, never insignificant, and always fascinating. I love you all, even when I don't take the time to say it <3

Cheers!

Table of contents:

I. Music Studio Postponed

II. Poverty Hot Tub & New Jeep Tracks

III. Jamuary Event & Studio Equipment

IV. A Throwback To My Oakland Apartment

V. Outro

Yo Tom Fulp, up the photo limit on blogs so I can always include silly drawings for the table of contents >:C

I. Music Studio Postponed

Snow has finally arrived on the mountain which means the work we've been doing on the music studio will be postponed until next spring. We managed to wrap the building and put some of the siding over the windows and walls; the structure should be safe covered in snow. Would have been nice if we had the money and time to finish the studio this winter, especially with Jamuary starting up in a few days but we still don't have insulation up or a heat source installed. If anyone is interested in the DIY studio build, read a few of my older blogs. Here's a couple pictures of the wrap job we did and some of the siding from before the snow fell.

II. Poverty Hot Tub & New Jeep Tracks

I'd take a picture of the studio build right now with a little more of the siding up but I don't feel like trudging through the snow to get it. This is a tough time of year because our roads get shut down and closed. We have to plan and prepare so that we can manage the next five to six months while covered in snow with zero road maintenance. We got two new toys to help manage our time with the snow, specifically tracks for our Jeep and a ghetto DIY hot tub.

The hot tub is just a recycled container we used last year to raise our baby hens in. Additionally we used a copper coil, some hosing, a pump, and a burn barrel. We popped a bottle of champagne open for Christmas and sat in it under the stars. Was very relaxing, water was nice and hot, stars were clear and beautiful. We get some really nice views of the milky way on the mountain, the nearest light polluting town being about an hour away and no neighbors. Half of the reason we moved to the mountains was for Tom to pursue his hobby in astrophotography. Some of the nebula photos he took in Tennessee are in an older blog which also includes some of our studio build progress. Go check that blog out. I also recently used a few of his nebula photos for the secret santa event. I was given CMYK Space Lady an OC by simoonmander. Made a tiny gif using some cheap effects and free software. Simoonmander is relatively new to Newgrounds so go give him some love, scout him, and go make friends :3

(For some reason the animation doesn't always work, go visit the art portal page for those high def nebulas)

III. Jamuary Event & Studio Equipment

For any musicians or composers that love an arbitrary challenge, Droid is hosting the Jamuary Song-A-Day-Challenge starting on January first and ending on the thirty first. Last year I turned my 30 tracks into an album around the theme Don't Give Up Until It's Over. I also hosted a Winterfest panel that month called Music Is For Everyone, themed around beat boxing and music appreciation for the musically uninitiated. I've been sharing music this last year with my fiance, teaching him what little I know while watching him digest music theory in his own time.

He's using Ubisoft's Rock Smith pictured above. It's essentially a guitar hero rip that plugs in your own instruments and slowly builds your chops with regimented lessons and practices. Please ignore the mess in our house photos. Tom's office is a project we haven't even started so his paper work eventually becomes one with the house floor. Eventually we'll build Tom an office above our shipping containers but that's a DIY project that will take some serious time and effort. With a wedding to plan for next year, I'm not sure how long it will take us to build a functioning heated second story office over these two containers:

Since we don't have kids running around we can spend spare money on hobbies and DIY construction projects. Tom got really interested in PRS guitars last year, hence all the new instruments. Though I played some bass & guitar in highschool, I'm not a pro with string instruments and prefer my place behind drums. I had to sell my childhood drum kit in my early 20s to pursue a life across the United States but have been getting back into it thanks to a recently acquired Alesis e-drum. Would love to incorporate the new instruments and toys into a few projects for Jamuary next month, let's see if I can get some music videos produced :3

IV. A Throwback To My Oakland Apartment

I'm sorry if these blog posts seem to show off luxuries. I've had some tough solo years, recently went into my old blogs and deleted a post about a drive by shooting I watched from an Oakland apartment I was renting at the time. It just felt weird reading about that time of my life through the veneer of artsy pessimism and fancy words. The apartment was my sanctuary in a very poor neighborhood. Though that year was incredibly tough (and the work that paid my bills legally questionable) I'll always have a somewhat fond memory of this space:

Ignore the heater's proximity to the bed, they were pushed closer for the picture. I was assaulted outside my door once by a kid named Tino, had to rely on a martial arts background to defend my property. There is a whole story surrounding the beef that led up to it involving a piano, a meth lab, and some train hopping but I'd rather keep blog writings positive and happy. Street violence and poverty are fascinatingly American issues that get glossed over because so many of us become indifferent to the suffering that others experience or are born into. The advice I often give others is to focus on keeping a roof over your head and know where your next meal is coming from. My time in Oakland taught me what it was like to be hungry and to be paranoid of every stranger you walk past on the street. It feels a lot better to be on the mountain, away from humans and sharing a house with this guy:

I'm in a good space. Feeling a little domesticated at the moment but after all the challenges life threw at me in my 20s it just feels all the better to have something idyllic and peaceful right now. There were more photos I'd love to share but I've hit the limit again...

V. Outro

I really wish they'd up the number of pictures you can include in blogs just a little bit. I love to include stupid drawings for the table of contents but that will get glossed over today in favor of the photos I chose to exhibit. Eventually more images will get shared in future installments but I'm going to keep this blog up for a little while as a strong reminder that life was good for me in 2022. Remember to hit some of the hyperlinks I provided above, check out some of the content I've uploaded to youtube, and support my adventures via purchasing some terrible music I've previously uploaded to BandCamp. Go listen to the podcast LD-W made featuring the 2022 Audio Deathmatch finalists. I provided some super dumb voice samples having helped a little in the judging process. Massive shoutout to Zechnition for winning it with his unique stylings and hyper melodic sounds.

Cheers and happy New Years Newgrounds. Go kill it in 2023 :D

I. Old Flash Cartoons

Got some really strange content for todays blog. Was scouring old haunts for material, specifically an old DeviantArt account from high school.

Back in 2005 or 2006 I started animating flash cartoons with my friend Evan. We both enjoyed Legendary Frog's VG parody cartoons and so I'd make similar little models of us in flash for quick easy productions. We could voice act the cartoons on Friday afternoon and have animations finished for school projects by Monday. Eventually I made my own style inspired by the animations of Vinnie Veritas, those toons are in my catalog (2006-2007). I never uploaded the first style of cartoons featuring my friends because I didn't feel like they were good enough to survive the Flash Portal. Plus Newgrounds was blocked on high school computers which made sharing them a little difficult (pre external flash drives). I couldn't care less about portal scores anymore and decided to upload an oldie, check out Pildoras for a quick stupid laugh:

(EDIT: this cartoon has trouble playing on mobile devices and tablets. View via desktop)

The last stupid cartoon I ever published was posted on YouTube for my University which was hosting a film contest called "Why I Love Alfred University." As a freshman I didn't have a lot of reasons to love Alfred yet and even though I never won the contest, I'm still very proud of this stupid little cartoon:

My dad took minor offense to the Absolute Isopropyl poster in the cartoon, never noticing the fact that the sock puppet poster on the opposite wall featured a lady puppet being fisted. In his words "I don't drink vodka." Worth mentioning, Isopropyl isn't vodka but he defensively claimed that he didn't drink that either. To give him the final credit he deserves I never brought home good grades from school, that A was a lie. This cartoon was a total joke, my dad is awesome.

II. Pre NGP Alesis E-Drum Demo

I made another Alesis E-Drum demo in part to boost interest in the Newgrounds Podcast episode which I'll get to in a minute:

Uploaded this to a couple of Discord channels the night before the Podcast hoping someone might tune in because of it. The performance is improvisational, it's another short practice session but I'm playing with a new patch I've been calling "melody rims." The initial funk kit is a preset I've made some minor edits to but I love jamming on it. I still have massive endurance issues but my excuses are top notch:

Elevation of our house is 8,600 feet above sea level which means oxygen levels are very low. I spent my 20s smoking marijuana basically everyday several times a day but have managed to cut it almost completely out of my diet. For a little while I switched to legal Colorado edibles but now that I'm engaged to Tom I'm doing my best to live healthier for the both of us. Alcohol is almost never a part of my schedule, I've always had some trouble controlling my intake. I'll have one beer with dinner every so often but even one beer gives me a headache now which might be related to the altitude. My final excuse for sucking at drums is that I transitioned in my early 20s, low testosterone levels makes kinesthetic exercise noticeably different. Started HRT when I was 23 and almost immediately noticed a loss of strength and endurance which sucked because I always banked on my natural athleticism. I'm working really hard to practice daily so that I can again physically play the rhythms that are in my head.

III. lmao, Old Parkour Video

On that note about natural athleticism, here's a fun but ancient high school video of my friends and I doing parkour in Sag Harbor. I don't like to show this old stuff off because of gender dysphoria and a small "peaking-in-high-school" phobia but I'm mature enough to admit that I miss my late cousin. He's the guy with the dreads in this video. Andrew passed away when he was 23 from a drug overdose. For those curious, I was the idiot that wore pants while doing flips:

IV. Newgrounds Podcast Guest Appearance

I feel like this was a nice event and was very happy to have a chance to sit down with this crew and chat. I will update this post with the actual episode when they finish editing it but for now, there's the image they made for the frontpage. It will remain in my digital files as a small trophy and will be a reminder that I do all of this content generation for new friends and experiences.

Was a little taken off guard, VoicesByCorey filled in at the last second to make up for a few absentees but Droid did manage to appear late in the episode. I'm eternally grateful to Droid for hosting the Jamuary song a day challenge which allowed me to write some of my best material in a long time (Don't Give Up Until It's Over EP). I've had some minor interactions with VoicesByCorey in the past so it was lovely to have him grace the episode. I never know what type of feelings I'm sowing when I sample people but I named an EP after a Salad Fingers impression he did, Almost Orgasmic. He could have told me to eff-off and remove the sample but he's always been super cool about it so I'm in his debt, even though he thinks he's in my debt:

Shout out to PopTaffy whom I wasn't familiar with beforehand but that's just the way of Newgrounds. This website has always been many microcosms of talent so it's easy to be unaware of people that are making waves. I'll keep an eye out for you in the future and one final massive shout out to Shal for organizing the episode, the channel, and making it all happen!

Oops, yet another shoutout to Bleak-Creep for joining us during trivia. She's currently working on a game with Peti, Pam, and Levc. I might contribute some sounds as well but I've been absent from my computer a lot lately. I've been letting contacts slip away from me by not responding to messages. The notifications pile up and I start to get anxiety. I'm easily overwhelmed by very simple messages and interactions, screen time is a claustrophobic experience. I might have talked about that a little bit in the podcast. Perhaps it has something to do with my upbringing? My mother used to kick me off screens as a kid, forcing me to "play outside." As a kid I would walk around the neighborhood and trespass onto construction sites of new houses and use the tools left behind overnight to make my own rooms. I didn't know anything about construction, was mostly nailing two-by-fours to the floor and spray painting profanities onto brick chimneys BUT AT LEAST I WAS PLAYING OUTSIDE, RIGHT MOM?

That about wraps up the news worth talking about. Check out my latest song We Are Not Alone if you haven't already. Live long and prosper my lovely readers and extended Newgrounds family!

Table Of Contents:

I. Please Check Out My Bandcamp

II. One Of Our Chickens Was MURDERED

III. Studio Progress, Raising The Roof

IV. Astrophotography Segue

V. Music Studio Again

VI. Vacation Home

VII. Outro

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I. Please Check Out My Bandcamp

YAY! Another day another blog about how I've been too busy to make new content! I'm not going to apologize for my lack of activity because one day I'll be just as busy as I was in January. I can't recall how much I promoted the Jamuary album but I participated in an audio portal event to write a song a day for an entire month. Please check out some of the tunes from that project in case you never did. I'm really proud of a few tracks from that:

That was a really good month. If you can't be bothered to hit up my BandCamp page then please check out this playlist I made for that occasion. I've been wanting to get a new album together but I've been so busy. I'm sorry to do this to you all but it's time to segue into some sad news...

II. One Of Our Chickens Was MURDERED

Technically they are livestock not pets but I can't express how much I love these girls. The other night a skunk found it's way into the coop and ate the head off one of our babies. I don't want to get too graphic about our revenge but Tom managed to kill the skunk after mistakenly asking me to grab the air rifle. Our problem with the air rifle: it's not powerful enough to kill a squirrel. Despite a perfect headshot the skunk managed to survive, walk all over Tom's feet, then stumble out into the yard where we had to finish it off with a handgun. Apparently my nose is wonderfully busted, I couldn't smell anything but Tom had to endure the worst of it. The headshot only managed to stun the poor thing which is why Tom then grabbed the Savage and the Sig Sauer. Eventually we ended it's pain, I feel monstrous about it. I'm sorry if this news bothers you or comes across as animal abuse, I absolutely love skunks. They are the cutest little things but if we hadn't dispatched her then we probably would of had four dead chickens instead of just the one. SAD TIMES ON THE MOUNTAIN, let's talk instead about something more positive...

III. Studio Progress, Raising The Roof

In my previous blog, I talked about the studio progress from the foundation to the beginning of the walls. I also talked a little bit about our solar array. If you have any interest in solar power I would recommend going back and reading that blog. Conservative politicians in the pockets of big oil will try to downplay solar energy by implying that solar doesn't work at night completely ignoring the fact that solar energy is charged batteries. Our battery power will last about 72 hours of night time before we have to switch to generator. Thank god we have sun light every 12 hours or so to compensate for all that night time. In regards to where we left off with the music studio, we had only lifted two walls. This is what the building was looking like after we put up all four:

This leads into the roof rafters and OSB, a project that proved far more challenging than anything else yet:

All the pictures are of Tom, I'm working too but mostly as support. The nature of the roof rafters is to create a slope that helps offload snow. It's skeleton is very similar to the floor (previous blog, go go go). Eventually I'll put up insulation panels, probably after it snows. We've got all the OSB board up, but had to retire early today because the wind was very aggressive, more on that momentarily...

Fuck, that last picture has a few dirty extra projects visible in the background. I never found the time to talk about our water supply & rain harvest. Maybe next time I'll get into more detail but we catch all our rainfall from roof gutters. After we fill up two 55 gallon blue barrels (visible in the above picture) a float switch activates a pump which sends the water to the above ground holding tanks (also visible in the picture). From the holding tanks the water gets processed in the basement via a slow sand filter, before going underground and up the hill into three 1,700 gallon cisterns where the water sits until we decide to take a shower, clean dishes, or flush a toilet. We have several more filters to help deal with possible contamination or bacteria including R.O.D.I., blacklight, and some other shit...

Those are the underground cisterns. You can't see them because they are underground but the PVC pipes are attached and necessary for upkeep, monitoring, and pressure. Under the tarp is a pile of concrete bags that stayed outside over the winter and are now totally solid, ruined, rock hard, and not going anywhere. Don't ask, it's another project that never got finished. Also visible from two pictures up is the skeleton of our astronomy dome. We built a foundation for Tom's telescope dome in Tennessee when we thought we were going to live there but moved away after some not-so-neighborly drama. I could go into detail about that drama BUT FUCK THAT, HERE ARE SOME MORE NEAT PICTURES INSTEAD!!!

IV. Astrophotography Segue

Tom is a mad scientist. I can't believe I never blogged about his astrophotography hobby but the years have gone by so fast and maybe I was always nervous that our relationship would wither and die? Regardless, if you've been following my blogs you'd know that we're engaged and getting married next year. At least two other Newgrounds users are invited, let me know if you're interested in coming. We're going to marry on our homestead in Colorado near Groundhog Mountain:

V. Music Studio Again

Don't worry, the wedding will take place in the summer when there is no snow. I just really love that picture. I've gotten so off topic, I forgot about the news of the music studio. As I said, we called it early today. There is a storm coming in tonight, rain and snow. The snow probably won't stick but we only got about 1/4th of the work done that we wanted. The wind got very aggressive and was making the job dangerous. We weighed down the roofing with anything we had on hand:

The wind on the mountain can get brutal from time to time. Under the metal panels is tar paper to act as a second water barrier in case the metal panels decide to stop preventing water from hitting the OSB wood. It seems a little silly to protect wood with paper but totally necessary. The tar resists water, it's science. The walls will get a layer of tar paper as well before we apply some cheap T-111 siding. For a quick glimpse of what the studio is looking like from the inside:

I just realized, there are so many pictures of Tom in this blog that you might have started to assume he is me. In case ya'll forgot what I look like, here is this older picture from our temporary Georgia home:

I exist too aside from Tom but with the added burden of holding the camera most of the time. Life goes by so fast that it can be hard to remember to document all the happenings. We recently got a pop up camper and trailer but these blog posts are so erratic and all encompassing that including every cool little thing just feels braggadocios. I've hinted at some of my darker experiences in past blog posts, I even recently deleted one particular post about witnessing a drive-by shooting when I was living in Oakland in my early 20s. From trafficking small amounts of marijuana during United States prohibition, to flirting with sex work, to dealing with suicide; I haven't always been a good role model. It feels really good to post these updates, even if I'm not particularly active with my art or music. I'm secretly an introvert, so don't expect to see me on Discord unless I'm uploading music daily. I'm sorry to some of you that may have felt close to me, I'm just not a very reliable person when it comes to sitting still and making out with my computer monitor. I'm still here, I just get very lost from day to day. I don't talk about ADD much but my attention span is terrible. My fiance will notice that my eyes glaze over almost immediately when he starts talking to me. I'm not present in my own life 90% of the time so I'm grateful that he's so patient with it...

VI. Vacation Home

VII. Outro

I'm at my picture limit, so no more uploads for this blog. Maybe next time I'll talk about Tom's office which we plan on building on top of two shipping containers next year after the wedding. We recently got the shipping containers dropped off in our driveway after we decided to abort a garage. We will still build a modest garage under Tom's office & in-between the shipping containers but we have so many random projects in the air at the moment that it seems foolish to even mention Tom's office.

(edit: just realized that picture with the water processing equipment also has the shipping containers in it)

I suppose you can look forward to that build next year, I'm kind of excited to work on it. Tom will have a really nice view of the valley from atop two shipping containers. It kind of sucks that I reached my image limit, I was going to include one of those goofy chibi-Quarl drawings but I saved it for last, ran out of data, and regret nothing. Please have a great day people. I hope these posts serve as some kind of inspiration for you misanthropes and angst babies. I love watching Newgrounds users grow, especially the youth. I see a little of myself in all of you. Sometimes that's a good thing, other times it isn't. Do your best, focus on progress, make some crazy shit, become a better version of yourselves.

~love Quarl

Relative Blog Contents:

I. Inactivity Apologies

II. Studio Build

III. LOOK AT HOW MUCH BETTER MY LIFE HAS GOTTEN SINCE MY EARLY 20s

IV. ...Making Stupid Shit That Made Me Happy

V. Hang Gliding Edit

I don't like to blog unless I got content, have been trying to make videos to include in recent blogs. It's kind of worth checking out my Alesis Strike Pro E-Drum content [HERE] [AND HERE]. I've been super inactive digitally and felt it was necessary to make an update; especially considering I've been ignoring Discord messages. Something about that app, I just hate it. Red dot notifications with numbers make my eyes glaze over. I've got hundreds of messages I haven't opened. Best chance to get my attention right now is with a DM right here on Newgrounds. I go through periods of massive activity and content creation followed by dry spells in which I'm more invested in my day to day life. Avoiding my computer is a sport. Tom and I have started building the music studio these last few weeks and when we're not building he's on conference calls. Sharing the office has always felt a little cramped, having my own space again is going to rock. Totally check out some of those older blogs or my YouTube channel to get an idea for what kind of jazz-dnb-electro-acoustic shenanigans might be created in the future studio space.

II. Studio Build

Two walls are up, floor is done:

I'll get into some of the nitty gritty of the studio construction with some more pics in a second but I want to plug a few of our older projects first. Tom and I moved off grid over a year ago. For those that are unaware, off grid simply means we don't receive electricity from the national grid, it does not mean we don't have internet. We use Starlink's satellite network to stream tv and work from. For some reason the term off grid has been misunderstood with a few people on Reddit, "hur hur how can you be on Reddit if you're off grid," massive eye roll. I tried finding an older blog post about the solar array but didn't see one, guess I forgot to talk about it. The solar array was literally the first thing we worked on when we moved onto the mountain:

I probably never blogged about it because we technically never finished it. If you study the above snow picture, you might make out that we never actually cut two by four to attach steps on the left most pathway going up the panels. Turns out we don't need to climb the array to move snow off the panels; pushing snow off the first string quickly melts the snow on the higher panels. When the wood starts getting a little older and rotten we've talked about doing this project again but with metal. We got a plasma cutter and welder for that project when we get around to it...

Some context for those out of the loop: we bought a property a couple years ago in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The house was built by a man named "Spark." Originally it was a summer cottage for his family that we've been repurposing for year round living, there's no winter access (I'll talk about snow mobiles shortly.) The house was originally outfit to run on propane but gas is crazy expensive, hence the solar array. Tom engineered and drew the plans for the array in Georgia after watching a fuck ton of YouTube videos on Will Prowse's channel. If you have any interest in making a solar array or running something off solar power you need to look at Will's YouTube channel. Here's a couple of old pictures of Tom building the battery for the house:

Edit: just thought to mention, the white wires are connected to a device called a BMS (battery monitoring system) which hooks up to an app and tells us how the batteries are feeling at any given time. They're usually pretty good, real chill homies.

We did not build the inverter. If you've ever "built" a computer, think of the inverter as the mother board that comes preassembled because you're an idiot. "Building" a computer is usually rather simple because all you do is plug a few things into an already assembled mother board. Think of the inverter as the thing you don't want to do yourself because fucking it up is expensive. The above battery is just a bunch of smaller batteries daisy-chained together then covered in tape. We have a second back-up battery the same size that we built after this picture was taken. It sits below the first where all the paper is pictured. I never bothered to get a picture after the back up battery was assembled, fuck me.

Another project we managed to hustle out last summer was enclosing the porch and installing a pellet stove for heat. See this older blog for some information on enclosing the porch. I've already rambled like crazy and haven't said much about the studio space. We started the studio project by using a rented excavator to flatten some land and keep the building's foundation level:

That picture is actually from last year, we borrowed another excavator from a friend to redo the horrible job we did last year but I didn't take pics. We're using six concrete blocks to build the foundation the studio is being built on top of. Leveling the four corners was a small hassle but allowed us to go ham for a few days after everything was ready.

(Tom used the winch on the Jeep to straighten out a few things. Mad improper but neither of us are carpenters. The man in the above picture is a glorified computer geek WHO I LOVE. Read this older blog about how he proposed. Wedding next year, June 2023. Let me know if you want to show up.)

After putting in some studs we cut and crammed in some Styrofoam insulation panels. We used the same panels under the floor of the enclosed porch. Just like the porch, we're going to install a pellet stove to provide heat. Our house is heated with a stove but our back up redundancies are electric and gas. Pellet stove is just super cheap and the wood pellets can also be used for cat litter. We use electric heat during the day when sun is hitting the panels and our batteries are full. It's always smart to have back ups when you live off grid, hence three possible sources of heat. Our budget last year included a snow mobile and a tracked UTV; two vehicles to manage the snow. Our roads are not plowed in the winter so we had to manage 8 miles last year to the nearest parking lot outside an industrial pumping station in the middle of the San Juan forest. We parked our Jeep there last year but our car was broken into once, that's an entire story unto itself. We came across a guy who got his truck stuck in the snow and gave him a ride into town. We found our Jeep broken into a few days later with one of our tow straps broken but still attached to his immobile truck. We called a tow company to unfuck his car when he was gone, called the cops, and eventually got a police line up. He was very easy to identify via a cliché tear drop prison tattoo under his right eye, can't make this shit up. Instead of parking the Jeep at the pumping station this year we're just putting tracks on the Gladiator for our trips to Walmart:

Fuck this blog is out of control. This is why I ignore messages on Discord, my life is fucking mess of projects, builds, and fun. There is so much cool shit going on that I'm not going to include in this blog because it might come across like I'm gloating. My life is super good right now but it hasn't always been this way. My 20s were a rough patch of hustling and working. While marijuana is currently being legalized in states across the US, I might have relied on moving it illegally to pay bills in my early 20s. That wasn't a confession, I have no idea if that time of my life will ever come back to haunt me but so far things have been peachy. I will confirm or deny nothing...

III. LOOK AT HOW MUCH BETTER MY LIFE HAS GOTTEN SINCE MY EARLY 20s

SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? Ignore that time in my 20s when I tried paying bills via sex work, my 30s are a much better period from which I can apparently gloat about how good life is. You people can find happiness too but first you probably have to do some soul searching, grow a little, and experience life's lowest lows. There were valleys in my 20s that have given me the outlook I needed to better enjoy my 30s. Enjoy little things. Depression will kill you, as it killed my mom and my cousin when I was 25. I fought with depression, anger, and dysphoria nonstop growing up but I kept...

IV. ...Making Stupid Shit That Made Me Happy

MAKE STUPID SHIT, ALL THE TIME, NEVER STOP.

You people are artists, musicians, animators, programmers... don't let life stop you from drawing something dumb or making noisy music that nobody loves. I'm no one special but I never wanted to stop being weird and making stuff. Go make cartoons, bleed out some content, cry but also work hard, keep a roof over your heads, pay bills, know where your next meals are coming from. Stay in school, brush your teeths, don't lose sight of things that matter because one day you may rise from your depression strong and beautiful. You, yes you: you're a phoenix. From ashes you will rise and become bitchin' fire birds. YOU ARE LIONS, BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES! KILL A GAZELLE, EAT IT IN IT'S ENTIRETY. DON'T THINK, JUST EAT. FEEL THE WARM BLOOD DRIP DOWN YOUR FURRY CHIN. YES, YOU. I BELIEVE IN YOU. FUCK YEAH, mic drop.

V. Hang Gliding Edit: Bleak-Creep commented on the hang-gliding pic so I decided to repost this video from an older blog. I have to re-up my registration and fly again, it's been a couple of years. This video was taken at Look Out Mountain Flight Park in northwest Georgia. Now I'll have to make a six hour drive to Salt Lake City Utah but there's a huge flying community out there and the wind is consistent daily so it's much better for learning. Look Out Mountain had incredibly inconsistent wind in comparison.

I. New Video: With Every Note

Been trying to get some new video projects recorded but video is not my cup of tea anymore. Compared to the age of linear and nonlinear hardware editing machines that I used intuitively as a kid, I had to try about four different free software applications before settling on something very basic. They just don't make video editing tools like they used to. Some of them lacked razors, dissolve transitions, black screens, intuitive sequencers, save features, and so on. To the music, I'm not very good at bass guitar yet. Started playing a couple of months ago but in a years time I'd like to revisit this material and do a better version of it. This was incredibly sloppy for what I wanted to do, had to fight my fiance once or twice for the office. A lot of this material is a little embarrassing but at least I can fall back on my drum chops.

(cleavage in thumbnail is an attempt to drive up views the old fashioned way. sue me)

II. Us Chapter 4 & Piano OST

I'm sad to see this series come to an end. It took me a while to get to know Bleak-Creep but the pay off was better than money and sex. She knows how much she means to me, please give the cartoon series a once through viewing from Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4. Garden is a visionary animator and story writer with admirable skill and execution. Her design work is impeccable. You can get a better idea about our friendship via everything I wrote on the Episode 4 Piano OST page (more drawings too). I'm not sure I want to gush about it all one last time, I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it. THANK YOU GARDEN!

Also worth mentioning, Garden and I recorded an episode of Off The Wall with ThatJohnnyGuy. It's meant to plug the animation but it hits on some big topics so please keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks! It was amazing catching up with him. We've met a few times irl but this was a very unique experience and fun way to rekindle an old friendship.

III. NGADM (Last Minute Judge)

I've come to the realization over the years that competing in things leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm impetuous and quick to frustrate, will nit-pick small things, and generally whine sometimes. I'm in a much better headspace to take on the role of a judge or bystander that cheerleads others to greatness. Also, I'd much rather have a hand in delivering the results. I was pleasantly tickled when LD-W reached out and asked me to help judge NGADM, I will put my energy into helping that contest instead of being a NGADM sore loser that questions aspects of the competition while doing nothing to help it. I'm looking forwards to hearing some great material :3

IV. AIM Results And Reviews

Shout out to all the amazing material featured in the Art Inspired Music competition. For the uninitiated, the theme of the contest was to find art and write music inspired by it. Shout out to Random-Storykeeper for organizing the entire thing and making it possible. So many people enjoyed themselves and it's all on her. I wrote reviews for everyone because I know how much users can appreciate genuine feedback. There were some tunes that blew my socks off and I decided to link to them here to give them some added credit. If you want to know why I loved the tracks so much, feel free to read the reviews and remember to look at the illustrations! Though I handed out 7 perfect scores that suit the spirit of the contest, these specific ones just spoke to my soul on a level that transcended the scores I gave them:

I apologize if you don't see your song in my short list but it's honestly way longer than I wanted it to be for this blog. I actually went back and deleted songs from it to make the list even shorter so there's a chance it was up there. Sorry in advance, I really loved all the tracks for one reason or another. Having grown up here this place is special to me. I love hearing and seeing what the community is up to and judging a contest is the fastest way to catch up. Go check out Playlist 1 and Playlist 2 organized by Annette to hear everything produced for the contest!

edit: Or if you just want the results from the contest, I forgot to add the link! Here you go!!

V. TLDR:

UNRELATED TO EVERYTHING I SAID IN THIS POST, giggle at this short comic featuring VoicesByCorey and donate to his recent life struggles, he's hurting right now AND HE'S ONE OF US!! NEWGROUNDS FAMILY ACTIVATE!!! If you've already donated, donate again. I've been considering slipping him a third small donation. It's just pocket money but the man genuinely respects anything and he's not going to get mad at you for doing it. So do it.

Today's blog header is a quickie I traced up for ControllerJar. I don't often take requests for derp drawings because I just do them without thinking but I love me some ControllerJar and was getting Titanic's "draw me like you draw your French girls" vibes so I threw her on top of a piano. I think we're both happy with it even if it was just for laughs. Vivian's fursona was originally drawn by Controllerjar, I based my drawing off of Bleak-Creep's illustration from December last year, go give that a look. Garden has such an awesome cartoon style.

Section I: I got a chaos emerald.

Was playing AC Valhalla last night when my fiance offered a walk up the mountain. For those unfamiliar, we moved off-grid a year ago an hour up the Colorado mountains near Groundhog Lake. We have great views and peaceful quiet. He decided to lead me to the highest point on the property while we carried up two chairs to watch the sunset on the mountains. At the peak of the climb he pulled Champaign and two wine glasses out of a bush. I had no idea what he was planning, I was just playing along and going on a hike. The elk were bugling, the sun was setting on the mountains, and he gives me a small jewelry bag with a necklace in it. I thought it might be a ring, was a little let down that it wasn't a ring but I was grateful for the necklace, I thanked him. Then he pulled out a ring. I'm officially marrying my best friend and the love of my life. After getting back inside I didn't feel ok playing Assassin's Creed so I turned off the PlayStation.

Tldr; perfectly good game sesh was ruined by some horny guy >:C

That picture was taken shortly after we got back from the hike. Was so excited I didn't care if it was blurry, immediately sent the picture to my family. Also, I had to mirror flip the image because I had the ring on the wrong hand BUT I DON'T KNOW ANYHTING ABOUT TRADITIONS. IT FITS SLIGHTLY BETTER ON MY RIGHT HAND, SUE ME.

Section II: AIM contest reviews and results (coming soon)

In other news, I've been putting off the very last audio review for the AIM a few days now. I'm letting the other judges catch up, I went overboard with my free time and wrote in depth reviews for every contestant to bridge logic to their scores and help composers finesse fidelity/mix-down issues. When the contest is over and all the scores are tallied up I'll start handing out the 94 reviews. If you want to listen to some of the songs in the contest I'd recommend the two playlists that Random-Storykeeper made for the event (Playlist 1)(Playlist 2). I'm not spilling any of my favorites or anything, all the music was amazing and once the other judges tally up their scores the results are sure to get interesting. Stay tuned, we'll get those results all sorted out eventually. I tossed some prize money into the pool and if I remember correctly the top three spots will get some. If you want to help me recoup that money...

Section III: ...hit up my Bandcamp or Patreon you slobs.

I don't push my other sites very much. I think two people follow me on Patreon, Sorohano limits me to two dollars a month. Y'all can responsibly follow me there and I will almost never update it or take your money. You can also head over to my Bandcamp and purchase songs & albums that remain free on Newgrounds. I try to remain accessible, I really don't make much money off my work. Just started a new part time job but in many ways I feel retired at this point of my life. You can support me or you can support yourselves. It's all good.

Section IV: New Video In The Works

I actually want to compose something serious for YouTube. I've been updating my blog posts with improvisational practice videos for a while showing off the new Alesis Strike Pro e-drum. I've been in love with this instrument so if you're wondering why I haven't been making music, that's why. I'm getting all my music kicks away from my DAW, sorry maybe? Video should include a little piano stuff too, I essentially have a full sound studio now but I'm mostly playing with the drums.

Section V: Us Chapter 4 & Goat Dreams

Bleak-Creep is chugging along with her animation, apparently she's not terribly far off from finishing it. Episode 4 is the last true episode in the US series but I'll make sure to harass her for off shoot sequels at some point in time. I've been joking about a parody cartoon series where the protagonist Poppy wakes up from a long dream and she's actually a goat. The entire Us cartoon series was just a goat dream and Skye is also a goat. Skye just wants to eat grass and stand on cliff sides, Poppy goat has a gay crush on Skye goat but they're just goats and they eat grass YO SHUT UP. THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. THEY EAT GRASS AND BLEET YO D:<

I made Garden some fan art to show her my seriousness and devotion. "Goat Dream" coming soon to a Newgrounds portal near you :p

That about wraps it all up. Thank you for stopping by and staying involved in my life. May you all have a wonderful day and refrain from doing anything illegal. Stay in school, don't do drugs, brush your teeth. If you get stopped by United States police you are under no obligation to say anything that might incriminate you. Ask if you're being detained or whether you have commit any crimes then stick to your 5th. Ask periodically if you may leave under the assumption that you've done nothing wrong and film every interaction. Dash cam ftw.

Section VI: tldr

Silly drawings, chaos emerald, I write too much, give me your money.