tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28020769313331360812024-03-05T09:07:00.740-08:00The Flying Cat Blog<br><img src="http://myusername.icons.ljtoys.org.uk/mi/459763_custom.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="1">An internet artist's place to write.<br>
And post random things on fantasy,<br>life, art, and geekiness.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger211125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-87241438789541257482014-04-22T04:00:00.002-07:002014-04-22T09:03:04.278-07:00Why you should write for Squidoo (If you enjoy ulcers)In my last, rather aggrieved, post about Squidoo, I said: "don't put content there if you care about".
I figured it was worth expanding on that. I don't mean don't put anything there, but:
1. Don't expect to earn decent income. Earnings have crashed hugely, and for many, many reasons, I do not expect it to turn around (certainly no sooner than any other article writing site mightFlynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-25669643409702161842014-04-20T05:25:00.001-07:002014-04-25T17:32:10.674-07:00Moving on from Squidoo
Apparently Squidoo has arbitrarily locked/deleted over a hundred of my articles, including most of my art 'gallery' pages, my art commissions page, pretty much all the LGBTQIA stuff, my zoo photography (one of which was once featured on their front page), my bird sketches article, most of my fandom pages (e.g. Mother Gothel - I had several lenses on her!), pretty much anything about a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-63184131671395752992013-06-15T17:57:00.001-07:002013-06-17T12:09:17.018-07:00Squidoo Thoughts: Warning, Scary CriticismI'm posting this as a response to this post on Squidoo, as my comment was deleted and I was banned* for it. As people wanted to read it, I am reposting (and thank you to all the comments and support, guys, it does mean a lot). I have not edited the following, not even for typos, though I would if it was "for" a blog post, rather than just as a record.
Alright then. Let’s break this down. Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-43125677875785796812013-05-22T03:28:00.000-07:002013-05-22T03:28:33.241-07:00Critique Competition for Article Writers in the SquidU ForumI am running a contest over in http://squidu.yuku.com/ for the most best and awesome critique-giving person.
I am bribing people with prizes.
Basically, I want you to go critique three or more articles/pages/lenses/leafs/hubs and/or post your own stuff up for other people to critique and/or nominate (via a private message on the forum to me) your top picks.
You can get an overview ofFlynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-994607092038447742013-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:002013-05-19T09:15:03.101-07:00 Dodger by Terry Pratchett
A dark and historical dash through Victorian London
Dodger
is an alternate historical story set in Victorian London. Written by
the ever amazing Terry Pratchett, it features international plots, a
dashing working class hero, strong minded women and many of the amazing
people that inspired some of his most memorable Discworld characters.You can buy Dodger here or read my full synopsis Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-36660925909179359072013-05-19T09:12:00.000-07:002013-05-19T09:12:45.395-07:00 Munchkin: The parody card game: Guides to the amazing silliness that is MunchkinMunchkin is
one of my favourite games - it's silly, full of backstabbing and
co-operation and comes in a dozen different flavours! You can pick any
of the variants to start playing and buy expansions for each - or mix
them up! (If you've played Fluxx, it's like that... only more complicated and D'n'D flavoured).
Check out my shopping and playing guides to get started with an awesome game (Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-74353857279701088882013-05-19T09:08:00.001-07:002013-05-19T09:08:30.067-07:00Gerald Durrell, Writer and Animal Collector
The witty and wonderful Gerald Durrell dedicated his life to animal conservation
Gerald
Durrell was an amazing conservationist who collected and studied
animals from childhood, went on collecting expeditions for zoos all over
the world and finally established his own zoo dedicated to conservation
on Jersey.He was a bestselling author, writing wry, enchanting
tales of his Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-7446911466410614142013-05-08T21:34:00.001-07:002013-05-08T21:37:57.598-07:00Not So Stupid Squidoo Answers: How Does the Pending Money on Your Dashboard Work? I'm running an informal Stupid Questions thread over in the forum, for all those questions that start off "this is probably a stupid question, but...". The following answer is really long and something that confuses a lot of people, so I figured it was worth its own blog post.
GreekGeek (of this far more useful Squidoo SEO and Analytics blog) asked:
Explain how the $$ column works. When Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-45842712782020834702013-05-08T21:20:00.000-07:002013-05-08T21:20:20.541-07:00Birdwatchers are out to get us, and Bird Drawings from Melanesia and Norfolk IslandWhile travelling I realised that birdwatchers are actually deadly assassins and I drew a lot of birds from my photos.
Both of these are now up as lenses, so if you like sketches of albatross and robins, or want to know why you should be wary of birders, check them out.
Bird Sketches From Melanesia and Norfolk Island
The Terrifying Truth About Birdwatchers
Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-83551070981222884742013-04-14T23:49:00.001-07:002013-04-14T23:49:16.092-07:00Beware of CoconutsThe most important thing I have learnt while travelling is just how dangerous the coconut actually is. Please. It's incredibly important that you read this article about how coconuts are trying to kill us all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-12532362487481686022013-04-14T20:07:00.000-07:002013-04-14T20:16:09.817-07:00Day 1: A Mob of Mollymawks
P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }
Following my adventures across the pirate infested high seas of New
Zealand, the terrifying unknown of Norfolk Island and the mysterious,
sea serpent haunted waters of the Solomons.
Day 1 At Sea: Tuesday 26th March
The ship left Port Lyttleton at 6.05
am, behind schedule. It was meant to leave at midnight, or preferably
6pm the day before, but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-3930159033408025072012-06-02T20:40:00.009-07:002012-06-05T01:57:29.183-07:00The New Greek-Zealand Riot Police and the Student Education ProtestThere was a student protest at Auckland University on Friday the 1st of June, about the recent educational cuts, leading on from a protest the week before. However, unlike the first protest, this one attracted an incredible overreaction from the police, who turned up in overwhelming numbers, and violently arrested 43 people. This led to more students joining into an impromptu protest march Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-379918305216837342012-04-12T07:03:00.002-07:002012-07-26T00:23:20.214-07:00Affiliate Sales Are Awesome: On Amazon, Squidoo and SquidUtilsJust an update on Amazon affiliate sales and Squidoo. And the awesomeness that is SquidUtils.
What is SquidUtils? It's a site run by TheFluffanutta (freelancing lensmaster, now a volunteer on the Squidoo team due to his years of entirely independent bug squashing and tool developing) that provides several additional functions, and a range of fantastic Amazon link tools. The Hidden Catch
(Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-75097465670530624362012-01-17T21:26:00.000-08:002012-01-17T23:00:00.689-08:00SOPA & PIPA BlackoutAs an internet addict, person with more than forty two brain cells and a librarian, I find the proposed PIPA and SOPA bills abhorrent. I'm not even in the US and they've managed to scare me from clear across the world.
There are at least a hundred good, lengthy, expert explanations of why all the various bits of it don't work, so for now I'm just going to link to a few of the major sites that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-23170042392889255242011-11-18T18:17:00.000-08:002011-11-18T18:17:31.432-08:00Greenpeace: Toilet paper, fish and oil. And money, please?I got a phonecall from Greenpeace a couple of days ago. They've been on my mind a lot recently, partly because they've been quite active, and I wanted to share. They're probably my favourite charity/activist organisation (Amnesty International is a close second).
I get them ringing me once a year, because I donate to them, and they call up to remind people they exist - and to ask for a bit more Flynn the Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07359358579031758394noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-57621805747706505382011-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:002011-11-10T14:14:10.416-08:00WTF John Key Quote of the Week"And Act has been very stable so Act returning to Parliament is something I would like to see as opposed to something I wouldn't like to see."
From this NZHerald article: Greens vote could put Labour in Government - Key
Seriously? Act? Stable? A party that imploded, suffered a hostile takeover, and now only has two real members, both of which are completely opposed to each other, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-49705363206918705492011-11-01T08:12:00.000-07:002011-11-01T08:12:46.507-07:00Sketches from Armageddon 2011I do have a lot of photos and things, but I'm still going through those. So I'm posting up some of the many sketches I did instead.
Will be scanning the best ones and maybe painting them.
A steampunk hot air balloon for my sister
Warming up by drawing faces
Marceline the vampire from Adventure Time
NARWHALS
Practicing cute.
From life, evening between convention days, inked at Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-52811907896513577712011-10-14T19:28:00.000-07:002011-10-14T19:43:44.372-07:00Nationoil: Painting New Zealand Black and the Rena Saga
Nationoil: Painting New Zealand Black
This is a collection of research, rants and facts about the response to the Rena oil spill. If you don't know what that is, or much about what happened, there's a pretty good overview here and a timeline in the Herald (which is reeling from having actual news to talk about). It is officially 'the worst maritime environmental disaster in New Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-10225659511879663782011-09-27T04:31:00.000-07:002011-09-27T04:31:54.025-07:00Sketchblog: The Book of WomenFinished the sketch from the last post. Finally.
The Book of Women
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-90558120032444139832011-09-26T05:52:00.000-07:002011-09-26T05:56:22.169-07:00Sketchblog: Yinyang Women & Adventure TimeI bought Terry Moore's How To Draw Women, and it arrived a couple of days ago. I read it cover to cover three times. He's the creator of the amazingly good Strangers In Paradise graphic novels and one of my favourite artists.
It's only part one, but it's good, and it's actually useful. And it's already affecting my drawing - this is a sketch I was doing to explore that. The face of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-82736656848902282542011-09-08T23:10:00.000-07:002011-09-09T04:47:05.437-07:00Pukeko ChicksThere's a small pond round the corner from my house, and the first baby birds of the year can be found there. Currently there are three little pukeko (Purple Swamp Hen) chicks, being looked after by eight other adults.
More Pukeko Cards
Mooooooooooom! by NZPhotography
Pukeko and Chick Splashing by NZPhotography
View more Pukeko MousepadsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-9824386331344271372011-09-07T23:21:00.000-07:002011-09-07T23:21:26.297-07:00I SOLD Something on DeviantARTWow. First sale on DeviantART in two years (minus one month)
It was a print of this.
...I am currently 10c from getting a payout (my first and only payout). Ten. Cents.
Actually, my Zazzle and RedBubble offerings tend to be slightly more finished. The one on Zazzle has a customisable background colour, which is quite fun.
Firebird (Little Phoenix) by Flynn_the_Cat
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-50251961484498632011-09-06T07:19:00.000-07:002011-09-06T07:19:45.341-07:00Sketchblog: WonderwomanRandom sketch of her old crown and her new costume and lots of hair. Testing stuff.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-46965579256648844712011-08-30T08:36:00.000-07:002011-08-30T08:36:56.826-07:00Sketchblog: Random RedheadJust playing in ArtRage - she was part of another picture, but didn't work with the composition. So I carefully edited her out from all the layers and gave her a save file of her very own.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2802076931333136081.post-17772943296025985142011-08-29T04:27:00.000-07:002011-08-29T04:28:12.064-07:00I Love My Kindle: A Review
Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Pearl Display
This is my Kindle. Isn't she pretty?
I'm reading Vorkosigan books.
I've been wanting to talk about my awesome Kindle for a while, but I wanted to actually explain what it was like to use, not just regurgitate all the same old 'AMAZING TECHNOLOGY' blurbs. And come up with an angle worth reading.
So, I looked at what I used it for the most. And that was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0