Monday, January 02, 2006 -- 12:51:22 PM

Survived New Years. Have plenty of time today to draw. Can't believe I have to go back to work on Tuesday.

Saturday, December 31, 2005 -- 05:21:31 PM

ALAS'S YEAR IN REVIEW

Looking back, 2005 was pretty good for Alas, especially when you consider that 2004 didn't exist. Computer woes, site difficulties, and artistic apathy were overcome by new hardware, elegant design (I cannot thank the Gopher enough), and new-found dedication. This past year I only failed to update in the months of January (call it a slow start) and November (when I was settling into a new house and job), making for the best run since 2001. The visual style is changing rapidly, but I'm enjoying the process.

The next step is to work more on the stories. Now that the strip is starting its sixth year of production, it obviously has momentum-- but does it have purpose? Who is this Alas person, really? Why should anyone care? Not a simple question, but it doesn't necessarily have to have a serious answer. A spooky one will do.

But there's plenty of time for all of this later. For now, thanks for reading in 2005, and I'll see you again in 2006. Mutlu yillar!

Saturday, December 31, 2005 -- 02:28:13 PM

The first week of January is set-- if I can do three more by Tuesday, I just might meet my New Year's resolutions.

Saturday, December 31, 2005 -- 11:31:52 AM

I found the spot in the archives where I'd have to add a couple strips to even out the count. The question now is whether it's worth it. Once I get the buffer up to snuff, it probably will be.

Friday, December 30, 2005 -- 01:19:25 PM

I've been doing a little recounting of strips-- sort of a year end stock check. Since I started back in January 2000, I've done about 366 strips. I say "about" because some of those strips are/were fillers that shouldn't be counted as actual strips. Some of those have been moved over to Wasted Views where they belong, but some of them haven't. This reclassifying means the strips once designated as mile markers #200 and #300 are a couple points off. The whole thing is pretty arbitrary, but I still feel like I should go back and insert a couple strips here and there to get the numbers to jive correctly. Sort of like pick-up shots after the primary filming has ended, yes?

Friday, December 30, 2005 -- 11:51:41 AM

New Year's day coming up soon-- not much to say except that vacation is good.

Thursday, December 29, 2005 -- 10:42:03 PM

Progress... so slow! Fortunately, I have the first few strips for the New Year drawn, so I can party with impunity this weekend.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 -- 05:18:50 PM

The previous news post was not meant to imply that you interrupted anything by calling today, Mom.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 -- 05:06:46 PM

Today's strip was up a little late. Despite my best plans and promises, the holidays still proved kind of overwhelming. If the phone doesn't ring tomorrow, I hope to knock out an even half dozen strips (maybe an entire short story arc). For now, Mr. Young will be rockin' in the free world while I'm scriptin' in the parlor.

Friday, December 23, 2005 -- 07:36:12 AM

I've got The Proclaimers' "I Would Walk 500 Miles" stuck in my head. It's going to be a long last day of work before the holidays.

more...