A Severe Lack of Focus

Winter gets tougher for me every year we live up here. While my mother and wife suffer from varying degrees of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), I just flat become inspired, unable to find the time or effort to passionately engage in just about anything. My paleo research has flatlined--I can't be bothered to keep up on the literature like I know I should. My art has suffered tremendously due to just not practicing (I drew a fairly disgusting little Eodromaeus yesterday; it is not fit for print), and I can't even decide what video game I want to play. Almost nothing is drawing me in.

Two weekends ago, I did become mildly obsessed with a new puzzle (1000 pieces) and completed the whole thing in a big block of time on Sunday, but that was clearly a fluke. The wife is out right now with a friend, and I could be gaming it up or drawing to my heart's content, but neither prospect tickles my fancy. Add to this bout of vapidity an increasingly-stressful job and a longer med routine, and the season's really starting to wear on me.

Hopefully it's just a phase. But it does explain why I've been quiet lately. I leave you with a newish hobby of mine: using Perler beads to create old NES character sprites. From left to right, we have Mario, a Parakoopa, and Mega Man.

Zach's Figure Reviews: Kokoro (Venus on the Beach)

I've finally gotten around to snapping a bunch of pictures of Kokoro, who is one of my favorite figures. I bought Kokoro on my birthday in 2009 (I think) from Amazon. She was on sale at the time for what I considered a reasonable $70. As it turns out, a quick Amazon search today shows a price of $180, so I'm happy I got her when I did. Kokoro was also my first cast-off figure and I learned some good lessons thanks to her. Like Kasumi, Kokoro is from the "Venus on the Beach" line from Kotobukiya. I assume both her swimsuits are taken from Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, but since I haven't played it, I wouldn't know. For reasons we'll get into in a minute, I keep Kokoro's alternate, cast-off outfit off.


Definately one of my sexier figures, Kokoro has a sinuous, curvy body from virtually every angle. She looks like she's at a photo shoot (which is appropriate here). The umbrella you see is fully-functional and slides out of her hand. Unlike Kasumi, who shows detachment lines at almost every joint, Kokoro's entire sculpt is smooth and free of jarring breakage points. I like her base, too.


The sandy texture is especially nice, and the floatsom thrown in add some detail. I wish the water was a little higher on the base, though, and she had more interaction with it. One of the things I absolutely adore about this sculpture is the level of detail in the feet and hands. You can make out individual muscle groups in her palm, and creases in the finger joints. The bottoms of her feet have clearly-defined arches, and Kokoro has pominant ankle bones. It's just lovely.


You can really see the underside of the unbrella here, as well as the one cast-off seam on Kokoro's body: her head. We'll get to that soon. That umbrella is pretty cool--see the little wire pin? You can press down on that to make the umbrella collapse.


The detailing on her bikini is pretty amazing, too. Not only is the color scheme nice, but you can see little creases at the center of each side where the loop runs through the fabric. Wonderful detail! The little beads that join the necktie are appreciated, too. And look at all that skeletal and muscular definition! Shoulders, clavicles, stomach and neck, all lovingly sculpted with actual human musculoskeletal anatomy in mind. You rarely see this in a pin-up sculpture. It's also worth mentioning that the bikini is tightly taught against Kokoro's breasts, creating a deformation along the sides (this is especially apparant on her left breast, above).


I maintain that Kokoro does not have an oversized chest. Well, okay, compared to her in-game character model, she does. However, for this figure? Proportionately, I'm okay with it. Remember that they're being pulled up and together by her bikini. I think her face is wonderful here. She's not looking at you--she's got a far-off look in her eyes, which are wonderfully painted. Apart from Velvet (who we'll get to), Kokoro probably has the best eyes of any of my girls. I like her lipstick and size of her nose--both much better than Kasumi. You can also see one of this figure's only flaws from this picture: her hairtie has some smudged paint, and that's not from the cast-off process. Also, real quick, look at this girl's hands.


Alright, let's get down to the cast-off story. Like I said before, Kokoro was my first cast-off figure. Thank Cthulhu she was so basic. You literally just pop her head off (as shown above), pop the necktie off, uncork the ties on her bikini bottom, and snap or wrap the pieces seen below onto her person. Then you put her head back on, put the ties back in, and voila--she's a new girl.


Unfortunately, this costume is dull. It doesn't look like something you'd ever wear to the beach--it looks like one of Lara Croft's alternate costumes from some long-lost Tomb Raider game. The unsightly seems in the costume, on both the top and bottom, subtract from its appeal, too. But what's the worst thing about this cast-off costume? I'll tell you in the next paragraph.


It scratches paint. See that wedge in the middle of the bottom's back half? You have to somehow cram that between poor Kokoro's legs before the two halves can slot together. It's a problem because it's not flexible, so the hard edges of that wedge run against Kokoro's thighs and, unfortunately, scratch up her skin. That's not a problem on her top, but her top does have it's own set of problems. Kokoro is made of pretty soft material, and every time (every time) I uncork her head, then put it back on, the process becomes a little easier. There's a little less resistance every time I do it. This makes me extremely worried, so I don't do it anymore. Remember how I said that I just keep Kasumi in the one bikini and never switch to the other one? This is why. I learned important lessons about cast-off figures from Kokoro. Now she almost never gets her alternate costume on.


Since they're from the same line, I display Kokoro and Kasumi pretty close together. I kind of wish that all the Venus figures were sculpted to fit in a similar environment so that, at the end of the day, you could put them all in some kind of hazy diorama. But I doubt there's a pool five feet from the ocean, so it doesn't really work here. Also, gawd, look at that breakage point on Kasumi's thigh. It's just unsightly, and another reason I kind of disuade myself from buying cast-off figures. I do like that both girls are to the same scale (as they should be) and both have pretty awesome accessories/bases. A lot of loving attention went into both sculpts--something that I, as the buyer, really effing appreciate.


Like I said at the top of the post, Kokoro is absolutely one of my favorite figures. I was able to get her for a great price, the detailing is mind-blowing, her expression is priceless, and it's just a high-quality sculpture all around. She's probably "out of print" at this point, but if you can find her, maybe online or in a comic shop for under $100, I highly recommend picking her up. Just be sure to decide which costume you like, then commit to it. She's about 7" tall, excluding the umbrella-ella-ella and came in a box so nice that I was reluctant to get rid of it.

I should mention here that Kokoro was purchased largely thanks to the excellent photo essay/review of Tier over at Tentacle Armada. I'm a huge fan of his site and his photography (it's about a million goddamn times better than mine) and his reviews give me enormous insights into whether I'll want to buy a figure or not. So a big shout-out to Tier!

Let's hear votes for the next review: Velvet from Odin Sphere or Tamaki Kousaka from 2Heart?

New Yard of Bones

It's the first Boneyard of 2011, kids. Let's make it a GOOD one. I'm honored to once again host this most esteemed paleoblog carnival, which has been taken up by everyone's favorite chasmosaurine lover, David Orr. In fact, let's start things off over at his humble blog: Our man has an interview with the originator of the Boneyard, published author, and dear colleague, Brian Switek! Dave also has a particular fascination (as do I) with old or interesting dinosaur art: Check it out and thank him later. Perhaps best of all, though, Dave's recently been featured as a guest blogger on Scientific American's website. The topic? How to name a dinosaur.

Albertonykus, of the Raptormaniacs blog, has put together an entertaining series of comics called A Christmas Caudipteryx. Makes me wish I was still drawing comics...keep it up, man! You've got the skillz.

Tony Martin, of The Great Cretaceous Walk blog brings us the answer to a question not many of us ask ourselves, but is probably important in the long run: Why Dinosaurs Matter. It's a great post, and it's good to get an ichnologist's point of view.

Remember Traumador the Tyrannosaur? Looks like he's taking a new direction for the new year. Oh, don't change, Traumador! We love you as you are! For more on the changes, check out Craig Dylke's blog for more information.


The big news this week has been Titanoceratops, a still unpublished "new" ceratopsid that might actually be Pentaceratops. Lots of people have been covering this, including myself, Dave, and Brian. Andrew Farke has voiced some concerns over this rather of electronically-named dinosaurs, a concern Bill Parker shares.

Have you been watching, over on Archosaur Musings, as Tyrrell's Darren Tanke takes us through the preparation of a Gorgosaurus skull and skeleton? It's fascinating stuff, and it goes quicker than I thought. Dave has also been making a good habit of posting excellent photos of pterosaur fossils. Among my favorites: Scaphognathus and Pterodactylus.


Over at Superceras, David Tana discusses the recent description of the incredible strange but cool Simosuchus and weighs in on the irritations surrounding the buzzterm "living fossil." I'm shocked this little croc isn't getting more blogosphere coverage. You're all aware of it, right? It's like nothing you've ever seen, seriously.

Over at History of Geology, David Bressan (too many Davids in this Boneyard) discusses the ichnofacies of the Bletterbach section. Like me, you may be wondering what the eff the "Bletterbach" section is. Well, I learned by clicking that link. I highly recommend you do, as well!

Head over to the relatively new home of Laelaps to get the skinny on giant goddamn storks and my favorite marsupial carnivore, Thylacosmilus. In a similar vein to the stork story, Ed Yong introduces us to Xenicibis, a bird that could have knocked you out...with its club-shaped hand.


Darren Naish regails us with tales of recent stegosaur controversies in an epic two-part post. More to come, I'm sure. At least...I hope! Stegosaurs don't get nearly enough coverage in the blogosphere or in the literature. Like David, Darren also got some time on the Scientific American blog, touting the virtues of Iguanadon taxonomy. Check out the three part series here, here, and here. Really great stuff! On a related note (sort of), if you've ever wanted to see the holotype of "Ultrosauros," your dreams can now come true thanks to SV-POW!

Head over to the Dinosaur Toy Blog to ogle with delight at Favorite Co. desktop model of Triceratops--I must have it! They also review a Bullyland version of one my favorite sauropods, Spinophorosaurus. Too bad it's such a horrible sculpt!

Good ol' Trauamador has some celebrity encounters to share from this last year: personal hero of mine Phil Currie, Dinosaur Train conductor Scott Sampson, the always amazing William Stout and Brian Cooley, and finally comic creator Ryan North.

On the Art Evolved side of things, look for the new Elephants gallery coming soon. Craig's got a preview up at his website, and the always reliable Peter Bond is showing off his work, too. Did you know I'M a member of Art Evolved too? I know, I was just as surprised as you are. I can't help but feel bad that I don't contribute more. Ah, life, you always manage to get in the damn way.

That's it for now. I'll have my own post up tomorrow. It's late and I'm beat. Thanks to everyone who submitted, and thanks to David Orr for helping me out with this edition. Happy reading, everyone!

2010: It was a bipolar year

Well, 2010 is over and done. I accomplished some things, missed out on others, had some bad points, but some good stuff too. Let's run some of it down.

The year started badly: I'd been layed off from my previous job and January 1st was my first day of unemployment. I spent almost two months without work, but I managed to find gainful employment at a trust & estate firm in downtown Anchorage. The work schedule was pretty tough, the hours were longer, and the pay was a bit of a downgrade. However, I persevered. Three months into that job, I got a call from the people at my current job asking if I wanted to work there. It was not an easy decision, but I eventually said yes. I'm still there now, and I'm loving it.

My friend Erik got married around the same time, and I visited Wisconson for the wedding. It was great fun, and I was able to catch up with my relatives, too. Unfortunately, my four geckos (three leopard, one frog-eyed) began getting sick and dying around this time. By summer's end, all of them would succumb to a nasty, bizarre infection that the vet had NO idea what was. The house remains reptile-free to this day. My next ectotherm will be a small tortoise (someday...).

I didn't attend any conferences this year, but I had fun at home. My wife went to visit Kansas and my family hiked out to Rabbit Lake--where Gina and I were married--for the first time in a few years. I continue to write for Nintendo World Report, and started doing a bi-weekly podcast called the NWR Newscast. Check it out if you haven't already. I also became more serious about figure-collecting. I toned down the buying of DVD's in exchange. That's okay--I have Netflix Instant.

Many times this year I was faced with the threat of IV antibiotics, which is never fun. My doctor suspects I picked up a bug in London last year and it's been haunting me ever since. After three separate treatments with oral antibiotics and a new inhaled medication, we finally managed to get it under control. I'm bumping up against 10 years without an IV, which is a stunning achievement. However, it's clear that I have to be more militant about my health than I ever have been, so 2011 will have to see some changes to my routine. This will probably involve swimming.

It was a good year for gaming. Dragon Quest IX, Picross 3D, God of War 3, Darksiders, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, and Bioshock 2 rocked my world. There were disappointments, too: Kirby's Epic Yarn failed to achieve much beyond being pretty, and Metroid: Other M, a game I'd been excited about since its initial announcement, ended up being pretty sub-par. I actually didn't play much on the Wii that got my blood boiling. I wasn't able to play Super Mario Galaxy 2, but I really enjoyed Trauma Team.

Lots of good paleo news in 2010, especially if you're a ceratopsid fan. My new favorite member of that group, Kosmoceratops, was named not long ago. The oft-delayed ceratopsian volume from Indiana University Press finally saw the light of day and did not disappoint.

Then just last month my friend Nelson got married, too (in town, thank Cthulhu). Lots of weddings in 2010. And from what I hear, my brother-in-law is getting married in January 2011!

The Missus and I just got back from a 10-day trip to Kauai, which was wonderful. Certainly the most fun I've had in that state (and I've been there several times), and I wish we were still there. It's cold and dark in Alaska, but Hawaii is warm and light. There are fewer people. There are beaches and things to poke in tidepools. Alaska is great four, maybe five months a year. The rest of the time it's pretty depressing.

Here's to an awesome 2011!