Almost… there…
Y’know, i was going to say ‘where the hell did December go’ but i know very well where it went. It was one of the busiest months Sarah and I have ever had, and that’s saying something 
We’ve been working our tails off since Thanksgiving, and we’re still not done. I was not expecting to have to deal with a lot of shipping this week after Christmas and I was hoping to be able to focus 100% on the comic, but, uh… that didn’t happen 
It’s a good problem, of course, but it’s funny when your idea of a Vacation becomes ‘gee, wouldn’t it be nice to have an evening to just sit and watch TV together?” We have only been able to do that twice this month, and i tell you, it was more enjoyable than any trip The last thing we have to do this year is Inventory and year end accounting stuffs, which we are going to work on tomorrow. It’ll be a lot of work, but once it’s done we’re good for the year and I can turn my focus 100% to hitting my deadlines for book 5.
One of the reasons I haven’t blogged at all recently is that i’ve started work on moving the blog part of this site from Movable Type to Wordpress - it’s a lot easier to maintain the installation, and i am liking some of the features better. For a while, Movable Type wasn’t functioning on the server due to an upgrade - that’s fixed now, so i can post again
Yesterday I had one of the drives fail on my mac, but luckily i didn’t loose much - most of the content was backed up elsewhere (thankfully i had done a recent DVDr backup of the contents). I can scan and rebuild the two comics i lost. Still, it was a pain having to get a new production drive up and running so I can work. After dealing with that last night and then getting a new drive this morning and restoring contents back to it from my backup DVDrs, i decided that the writing was on the wall for 2006, and i’d push the comic posting to Monday and start the year off right. Almost done with the drawings, and it’ll be nice to be able to finish it up without the stress of trying to post a late comic.
As i’ve posted a number of times over the past few months, i’ve been enjoying my little Kanon fix every week whenever i can fit it in. I watched Episode 13 today, and it was full of much win. Mai’s character is filling out, and her personality has an interesting twist on it in this version. Her action scenes were great - Mai in full kick ass mode. Sayuri was amazingly super cute and awesome in this one… Sayuri and the anteater… I almost died, it was that cute. Seriously What tied the episode up in a little bow for me was the delightful little Nayuki scenes, from her look at Yuuichi in the opening scene to face down on the kitchen table to bumping sleepily into walls… wahhh, it’s so nice to see Nayuki not pushed to the side this time around.
Ok, i gotta get back to working on the comic. Lots and lots of stuff to ramble on about, but this will do for now. I hope everyone had a happy holiday, and i wish everyone a happy new year - it should be a good one
pirotunes: “‘ve - 05 - Take on your will” from “Verge -I’ve Girls Compilation”
December 30th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
I am also glad to see that Nayuki is not being stuffed in a corner somewhere while more Important storylines are taken.
On Wordpress, I was helping Greg with it a little while ago. Feel free to fire an email if you need something.
On failing harddrives, uguu~
December 30th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
wordpress suggestion.
You might want to try one or two spam filters. I use one called did you pass math that asks the poster to add two one digit numbers before the post is accepted. It is amazingly powerful for getting rid of spambots. Another useful plugin is an admin dropdown menu for the admin page to make navigation very easy. I found them at wp-plugins.net
December 31st, 2006 at 2:49 pm
yeah, spam filters are one of the things im really looking forward to adding - ive had some real problems with spam and this older version of movable type (which we installed right before comment spam started to be a real problem)
January 2nd, 2007 at 9:07 am
I am glad that you have everything under some resemblence of control. Everything else seemes to be nothing but chaos. Quick question: when are you going to put that pic of Largo and piroko (pirokiko, pirogoeth…whomever) that is on the current blog of MT up here?
Thanks for your time.
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Any chance of an updated Miho “evil minion” tshirt (mayhaps with her “polesitting” image?
Anyway, yes, Mai is FTW (always been my favorite) but heck — ALL of them for the win. I’ve been particularly liking the interweaving KyoAni is doing to make the stories more integrated (special points for making Jun relevant in Mai’s tale for example or the “Ne!!!!” moment with Nayuki and Ayu). Behold the giant anteater….
Frankly, whether or not one has seen or knows of the game, this series stands on its own quite nicely (unlike many visual novel conversions to anime that seem clunky).
January 4th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
You’re doing a great job. Fans of your work (like myself) really appreciate all the work you put into everything. ^_^
January 5th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Actually… if you watch ep 14 of Kanon, you might want to set aside a few hours to stabilize your breathing.
Its a beautiful episode but just about AIR-ized me, it was both hilarious and massively tragic — great stuff.
January 6th, 2007 at 6:46 am
I haven’t seen the old version except in AMV’s and I’m not sure how to find/watch this new one.
(please forgive the following:)
:,( (tears) I really wanted a Kimiko/SGIS ornament, but I couldn’t afford one at the time. Now I’m really sad! Will it be back next year?
January 7th, 2007 at 1:20 am
The only blogging site that isn’t filled with bratty teenagers…wordpress.com. Bow down to the glory.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Amanda,
yep, the Kimiko ornament will return - we actually ran out (they are a dye sub producut, i actually make them myself on the heat press). The round ornament will be different next year (going to do an original one every year) but the Kimiko snowflake will definately return.
jo,
there are some that consider me a bratty teenager
can’t wait to have some time to make the switch to wordpress. This month is way too busy, hopefully by next month
January 8th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Kanon2006: hope you enjoyed ep 14 as much as I did. They’re doing a remarkable job of bringing as much of the story as one might hope for and adapting it to animation well. I’m not quite rational in regard to Mai and Sayuri anyway
MT comic: I’d call the 8.jan.07 comic a major story milestone, yet quiet and relaxed. Not sure how well you remember the Kim Justice tracks from a few years ago but the tune “When Piro met Kimiko” just leapt to mind in the last few frames. Count me as someone who doesn’t mind the humor butreally enjoys it when these characters act… hmmm, mature? human? meh… not a good word for it.
Anyway, good job (apparently you struggled over the last couple of comics, the results worked for me at least).
January 9th, 2007 at 4:42 am
^_^ Yay! That makes me really happy! ^_^ Thanks for replying to my question Fred-san!
On a quiet, less hyper note…I love today’s comic. Piro’s trying to think of what to say and Kimiko uses the eloquence of an action.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Amanda, I’ve tried to email you some hints about the new Kanon but hotmail keeps claiming your mailbox is unavailable.
If you haven’t figured out what to do about Kanon yet, send me an email and I’ll provide information.
January 11th, 2007 at 5:36 am
Try it now (I put in my gmail addy). I also have shinai212@yahoo.com
Thanks for making an effort to help me vexx! ^_^
January 12th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Well. It seems the spam is back.
January 12th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
same one i deleted yesterday. This new version of movable type has spam blocking stuff, i’ll get cortana to run it tonight
January 13th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
yay, it worked. The fucktard tried to post again today. ok, i’ll delete this one and that should be it.
January 13th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Definitely move to WordPress asap! Movable Type is not nearly as simple to maintain as M.T. Hope all goes well with getting those spam filters in too. WP already has one you can use on your server called Akismet. I was happy to make the move also.
By the way, YOU MUST WATCH KANON 15! KyoAni made a smart choice not switching from Mai’s arc in the middle of it like they have been doing with the others. The interweaving, as one other person mentioned, is melding beautifully, but Mai’s story is by far where my heart lies. I’m sure you’ll continue to enjoy it also.
I’m sort of glad I did not see the original one or I might be missing out on so much meaning and emotion in KyoAni’s version…
Keep up the great work with MegaTokyo also! Still a devoted reader and looking forward to adding Vol. 5 to my collection! ^^
January 15th, 2007 at 2:00 am
Mai’s arc FTW …. oye, little Mai … so damned cute.
I’m now trying to decide whether to dig in my heels in the hopes that KyoAni’s new weight (with Haruhi) will kick some momentum and get Kanon 2006 licensed in the R1 lands…. or to hock my pony and get the R2s….
January 16th, 2007 at 6:23 am
Hey Fred,
Firstly I’d like to say that I’ve been a fan for a long time :-), and you’ve inspired me to start my own webcomic. Thanks :-), just a quick question, can you please point me in the direction of incorporating wordpress into a site? Because i’ve been using Blogger, and I dislike it…
thanks
H
January 18th, 2007 at 3:27 am
Fred,
Not to be annoying or anything, but the longer you take to give your developers some feedback, the less spare time they have. Most of them are students, so as the semester progresses projects and assignments and such will build up.
-Kalium
January 18th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
my developers?
Uhm, developers for what? I’m sorry, your post is somewhat confusing ^^;;
January 18th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Maybe he’s talking about the pack of gnomes and goblins that do your bidding in the basement of your house, I mean lair
Until he clarifies, that is one of the more entertaining bits of randomness I’ve seen today
Kanon: I’m doomed… I ordered an Ayu and a Nayuki figurine and am prowling for a Mai release. Lame rationale is ebaying some of my less enjoyed figurines.
January 18th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
I was talking about the work I’ve been doing with Alpicola.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
ahhhh…then that should be handled via PM or personal mail if thats something you’re doing per Fred’s request… but anyway.
@Megatokyo: 29jan07’s comic is one of the funniest ‘grownup’ pieces of work I’ve seen in this story. Not necessarily original (thinking Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn moment here) but deliciously executed. Whereas the K+P story seems almost panicky in their clutching for each other, these two seem almost leisurely in an Asian cultured sense (which is funny in its own way considering Largo). Meh, my own take on the matter - but good stuff.
@Kanon: series keeps hitting the marks and for-the-win… Shiori’s first major episode cute sweet.
February 4th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Dear Mr. Gallagher,
No, this has nothing to do with this blog, and I apologize. I try my best not to act fangirlish (ever since the horrible Poke’mon incident in 97…) but I can’t help it this time. I just wanted you to know that you have made my week, and maybe my entire month brighter because Piro and Kimiko (sorry if it’s spelled wrong) are together. I know, I’m pathetic, but I almost cried when they hugged.
Thank you. God Bless, Mr. Gallagher.
February 6th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
@MT-2/06: excellent sense of motion and dynamic in the frame layouts today. Some artists like to go frameless for such stuff but I prefer the effect you created.
Nice pointage to Largo for being more concerned with who he plays with rather than winning (something I see too little of in many online games).
@Kanon: Shiori-driven depression in progress … though I’m getting the impression that neither Mai’s nor Shiori’s story is really “done” as such - feels like more will come later…
February 7th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
urg… quiet blog (not really a double post, honest)
@MT-2/07: Erika’s game: Largo pwnzed in first move by Erika’s Hair+10 and Eyes+5…
no film at 11 sadly
Kanon: just pre-ordered a Mai+bunnyears figure the other day… whee for Mai.
February 12th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Hey Fred, have you considered doing a megatokyo decal(s) for the DS/ DS Lite? Rawr. I’m being totally fanboyish, but for those random people who actually enjoy customizing their stuff, the thought occurred and really appealed.
Blargh.