Starting today, I’m fasting for 30 days from dawn til dusk. A happy Ramadhan to all readers, and happy fasting to all Muslim readers. Sahur this morning, before dawn, we had rice with eggs and cabbages, while watching the Smallville season premiere, as Irfan slept. I have an idea for another book, after looking at a random picture on deviantArt… it would be about kids spending the night camping, and the whole story would take place at night. The blues and the grays of the picture I saw was compelling. Now to come up with an actual story, suited for kids. Childhood camp-outs are awesome. By the way, I updated some large artwork into my deviantArt page. Yeah, I have a deviantArt page. I left it untended for exactly a year and a month. I’ll be uploading large-sized images there and link them from there, or elsewhere, to save on […]
Continue readingThe Meme Tagged thingamabob…
Since Lilian tagged Hisham and I for the meme thing and Hisham actually did his, here’s my meme. Quick story about “Meme”, when I first saw it, I thought “grandmother?”. My friend and colleague Jo’s granddaughter calls her “Meme” (pronounced meh-may). But anyway – my contribution: Where I was 10 years ago:1995 – i was starting my Sophomore year at HU, and trying hard to gain back the 45 lbs I’d lost in the previous school year. I was getting used to living in upperclassmen housing and loving the old ivy-covered halls. My classes were quite sucky as it was the year I finished ALL (and i mean ALL) of my pre-requisite classes, so it was quite miserable. Thank God for my roomies and Music A. Where I was 5 years ago:2 years into being in the workforce, I switched companies and got a nice raise and much better working […]
Continue readingI Hate People T-shirts
Chris and Derek over at CCDO are selling their world-famous* “I Hate People” t-shirt on the blog. Read the entry here. Then buy it! 😉 * Okay, I exaggerate. [[image:chris-tshirt-bigger.jpg:Awesome T-shirt:center:0]]
Continue readingPassing On A Meme (or Yikes! I’ve Been Tagged!!)
Thanks to Lilian over at iFantabulous, I’ve been tagged. So here’s I am letting the meme pass through me, allowing the idea to propagate and converting it into the text on this page that you’re reading. So here goes: Where I was 10 years ago Working in Terengganu. 5 days on, 5 days off. On my days off I saw movie masterpieces (yeah, right!) such as Mortal Kombat and Power Rangers the Movie. Nowadays I’m more picky about the quality of the movies I watch. For example, earlier this year I saw Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Zing! Where I was 5 years ago Getting married to the greatest wife ever. Where I was 1 year ago I stopped working for a book publisher and went freelancing. It was a chilling thought then. And it still is a chilling thought now. Where I was yesterday Giving my “European Renaissance” powerpoint presentation in […]
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Blog Glitch Fixed
The entire week was crazy as far as this blog was concerned. First I couldn’t log onto the backend admin section with my correct password. (Even Sila couldn’t do it with her user account.) And after 10 tries my own blog banned my IP. Brilliant, eh? I went to the Pivot Support Forums for help. Griswald there, told me to download the pv_cfg_settings.php file from the server, remove the 2 IP addresses in the php code and change the installed variable to “0”. That done, I had to register myself as the Superadmin first, then try to sort out the rest later. Later, it seemed that the database files of each blog entries weren’t being detected by the index.php file. The center column was empty. The Recent Entries block was empty. The Last Comments block was empty. What was wrong? Checking the admin section, I found out that the Categories […]
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Worlds of the Enteague Sector
In 1989, my father bought me two books that started me into Star Wars role playing game: West End Games’ Star Wars The Roleplaying Game rulebook and the Star Wars Sourcebook. My first campaign (and the longest I gamemastered) was my “Strikeforce Enteague” campaign. The players were characters of a Rebel Alliance strike team that consisted of mostly fringer types, and it took place in a sector of the galaxy I created I ultimately named the Enteague Sector (thought sometimes their adventures took them as far as Coruscant which at that time was only referred to as Imperial City.) Here I am 16 years later, and I’ve finally finished a project I started almost 2 years ago: a pdf mini-sourcebook formatted for the SWRPG called Worlds of the Enteague Sector. It’s not extensive as WEG‘s The Planets Collection or WOTC‘s Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds. There is a front […]
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Future Player’s Companion: Tomorrow’s Hero
Apart from Future Player’s Companion: Tomorrow’s Hero, the second of three books released by The Game Mechanics, being released and on sale at RPGnow.com, I’ve also took my old gallery at Geocities, modified it, gave it a proper banner, updated some details and relocated it here at Hishgraphics.com. The Hishgraphics Gallery can be found at http://www.hishgraphics.com/gallery. In the meantime, here are three four of the artwork from Future Players’ Companion, Volume 2. Click on… to view them.
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Irfan Cuts His Cake and Eats It Too
“I want to eat the Happy Birthday Cake!” Irfan begged for hours after seeing the number three-shaped vanilla cake with the Tigger-esque toon on it. He wasn’t getting it until everyone arrived of course. There were, yet to arrive, his Mak Long and Ayah Long, and his Cik Eda and her roommates. So all day long, he staked out the cake box on the dinner table. More than once, you’ll see this happening and then the cry in the background, “IRFAN!!!” The box opens, much to Irfan’s delight. The cake had support by french fries, chicken curry, roti jala, chicken fingers and watermelon. Finally it was time to cut the cake. Irfan goes nuts. Irfan cuts the cake, aided by his parents. You can just see how happy he was. Now, Irfan’s probably thinking, “Wait! Why is the cake going to other people? I wan’t one.” And he lived happily […]
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HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY IRFAN!
The two new grandmothers, September 2002. Three years ago, Irfan Shafiq was born at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. Within that three years, he’s given not just his mother and I a lot of joy, but a lot of other people in our extended family as well. We’ll be cutting cake in the next few hours, so we’ll have pictures of that soon. In the meantime, enjoy the announcement of Irfan’s birth (link dead) in the Star Wars Artists’ Guild forums from 3 years ago.
Continue readingYaaar! Ye Scurvy Swabs!
Since Sep 19th was Talk Like A Pirate Day, something annually celebrated by Star Wars Artists’ Guild as long as we have been online, I’d thought I’d celebrate by retranslating this entire paragraph in pirate speak, cause you know, you can never have too much of pirate speak… especially during boardroom meetings, being rude at traffic jams and at the supermarket checkout. Translation: Arrr, since Sep 19th was Talk Like A Pirate Day, somethin’ annually celebrated by the sea dogs at Star Wars Artists’ Guild as long as we’ve been sailin’ the seven seas, I’d thought I’d celebrate by retranslatin’ this entire paragraph in pirate speak, cause you know, you can ne’er have too much o’ pirate speak… especially durin’ boardroom raids, wavin’ yon cutlass at traffic jams and at the scurvy supermarket checkout. Ye’ll ne’er get me buried booty! – Mad Sam Bonney (Illustrator, SWAG) P.S. Yaaaarrrggh!!!
Continue readingNavcomputer.com is ROTS Complete
As far as positions of movie planets are concerned, the incredibly detailed galaxy map of the Star Wars universe is complete. Webmaster Eric Przybylski has also done a great job placing the planets of the EU in the massive map he made, with inserts of the Corellian Sector and the Si’klaata Cluster, among others. Also included are several smaller maps of sectors such as Kuat, Kathol, Brak and Elrood. Check out Navcomputer.com if you want to know how far it is from Hoth to Bespin (the Millennium Falcon‘s flight in The Empire Strikes Back), and where Polis Massa (where Luke and Leia were born) is located in relation to the volcanic world of Mustafar (where Vader was immolated); or if you’re hardcore what route did Quinlan Vos take to relocate his clone army from Saleucami to Boz Pity (as mentioned in passing in Revenge of the Sith); or if you’re […]
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Illustration Friday: Escape
Escape is the topic of this week’s Illustration Friday. Two convicts sneak out stealthily of a watery tunnel near a prison from which they’ve just broken out. All they have to do is make it undetected into the woods. But how will they avoid from being beamed by a searchlight?
Continue readingIrfan Goes To The Zoo
Last Sunday, Irfan (along with a bunch of family members) went to the zoo! Here’s a series of photos that came out of our little zoo trip. [[image:zoo01.jpg:Immediately after insertion into zoo:center:0]]The crew lead by Irfan walks by the elephant paddock, away from it because he was spooked by the big pachyderms. [[image:zoo02.jpg:Stork lake:center:0]]Irfan and his Aunt Emma with some storks in the background. There’s one bird in flight in the background immediately behind them if you look carefully. [[image:zoo03.jpg:Pony ride:center:0]]Again, Irfan is spooked and refuses to approach a pony, RM2.00 a pop. He preferred to be elsewhere, like… [[image:zoo04.jpg:The jejawi tree:center:0]]…this ficus microcarpa a.k.a. the Malay Banyan a.k.a the jejawi tree. Oh hey, another group photo. [[image:zoo05.jpg:Emus:center:0]]Everyone referred to these as ostriches until we came to the plaque that says that they were emus. The ostriches, we discovered later, were in the the savanna open paddock along with the […]
Continue readingThe Unspeakable Cat
Hastur (the Unspeakable One from the depths of the Cthulhu-mythos pantheon of ancient and powerful gods bent on the destruction of the world and mass insanity of its inhabitants) has not only manifested itself as a cat… it has also started blogging. Here’s an excerpt: [[image:hastur.jpg:The Unspeakable Cat:left:0]] In addition to my slaves and Merlin, there is also a young child living here. I don’t care what his name is. I know that the only reason my slaves continue to care for him is so that they may offer him to me as a humble sacrifice. I await the day of this offering with much relish, for the boy appears quite tender. Does he not? A final observation of note is that Hastur seems to be looking much more agreeable and pleasant to the eye than it was when it was an all destroying amorphous blob of flesh. Click here […]
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Illustration Friday: Depth
Another Illustration Friday, another illustration. The topic for this week is depth. I’m trying add another layer to the concept of depth in this piece of artwork. Desolation? Fear of the unknown? What are those doing in the bottom of the ocean? How did it come to pass? An illustration somewhat less colourful and more morose than the art I made for the e-book posted previously. Medium: Painter Classic
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First Hishgraphics e-Book: The Secret Library
I wouldn’t have thought it possible a year ago, but here we are with our first e-book product on sale as of today. It’s a nice little tale with full colour illustrations throughout, where a young boy who just happens to have the same name as my son, discovers a wonderful library through a doorway in the cellar of his parents’ new house. I hope the public likes it well enough to purchase it. There is a black and white version in the Free Downloads page for a preview. If you know someone who might like it please spread the word. Thanks to everyone who helped me get the site up, especially my family, and all my friends who gave me moral support. In the meantime, I’ll be working on more new e-books.
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