My Inspirations: George

I can't believe I haven't written this post yet...


A few months ago, my P.S.E. class were visited by this amazing man named George, who spoke (rather signed) on behalf of deaf-blind Scotland. 


We've had our fair share of incredibly mundane, predictable and uninformative speakers in the past, but George was undeniably different. He didn't just give us an insight into the hardships that deaf-blind people deal with every single day, but he made every single one of us walk out of that room feeling a little more inspired than we did walking in.


You see, unlike the majority of us, who whinge and moan about every minuscule problem in our lives, George just gets on with life. He started laughing half way through one of his explanations and told us that he had won his bowling competition yesterday. Everyone had a grin on their faces, it was such a lovely thing to hear, a deaf-blind man, not just bowling, but bowling well. Hey, he'd probably beat both of us if we challenged him to a game!


He showed us all of these fancy little gadgets that the charity kit the people they help up with, including a device that ensures that you don't overfill a cup with boiling water whilst making yourself a hot drink. It was interesting, discovering how the charity help.


But it was this man, it was George who was unforgettable. This lively, optimistic man who used his own situation to educate people about not only the charity, but the condition itself. The talk made us all think twice about the simple things that we take advantage of every single day. Our sight, our hearing, our lives. Music, television, TV, reading, sports, shopping, writing... all of these things that we love would be so difficult to do if we were registered as deaf-blind... how would you react if all of a sudden, they vanished from your life?


George doesn't get depressed about these things... he probably leads a happier life than you or I. 


There is real beauty in being able to see the light when surrounded by nothing but darkness...


THAT is the lesson I took away from my short meeting with George.


Lauren xxx

Memory lane: Boomhowler & Trollkin Mercs

Well, posting up my Ironbreakers the other day gave me an Idea for some blog content. I have oodles of painted miniatures that have never been shown to anyone other than just a few close friends and gaming buddies. So, I thought I'd post once or twice a month showcasing my older figs (rough as they may be)

First in line could only be Boomhowler and his Trollkin Mercs. Besides Eiryss, these were the first Mercs I picked up for Warmachine, and some of my very first attempts at freehand with those Tartans.
These guys were finished almost exactly 5 years ago to date.( I paint the month and year on the bottom of figs I finish)

Started watching True Blood - Finally

Apparently True Blood DVD boxsets have been doing the rounds at the hospital where my wife works and it's rather popular among the theatre staff, Fiona came home a couple of days ago and asked me if I'd seen it, I told her I'd had the season one and two Blu-ray boxset for ages but I hadn't gotten around to watching them yet.

Last night we watched the first two episodes of season one, I enjoyed the first one but was fairly bored by the second, hopefully things pick up again before too long.

To War!

Well, these guys are not necessarily a new paint job but the reason I am putting them up here is that I finally got one unit of my massive Dwarven horde completely equipped with painted shields. You may be thinking Whoopty doo, but this is actually quite a milestone for me.
For some strange reason I have no problem painting up the rank and file soldiers, 5 or even 10 at a time. I always forgo the shields though. I know they make the unit look much better and helps with WYSIWYG but I still tend to ignore them completely.

So, now my Ironbreakers may charge forth into battle, fully equipped and armored.

First flame....of war that is

Got my first U.S tank all finished up for Flames of War. I really had no idea what I was doing, and I do think it shows somewhat. I was surprised at how different these little things were to paint as opposed to a 28mm fig.
I am pleased with how it turned out though, and I do think it will look ok as a whole force rather than a magnified single piece.
As of this point in time, I think I'll be running a 29th infantry division with some medium tank backup.
Now to learn this game!

A year and 300 posts later...

16th October 2010.


The day that this little blog's first post was sent into the cruel, cold world that is the internet.


One year, fifteen thousand views and three hundred posts later, I'm still here!


Whether or not you are grateful for that, it's up to you to decide.


Just wanted to post a quick thank you to anyone who has read this blog, it means a lot to me! Promise that I'll try to get back into writing for it, been spending more time trying to get this You Are Not Useless video up and running, so after that's made, I'll probably go back to writing daily for it once again.


I haven't really have anything more to say. So here's a picture of a ostrich skiing to keep you amused:

Killer.


Thanks again!


Lauren xxx

Old school Middy

Finished this guy up the other night. I don't know what it is about these Mid-Nor figs, but i get going on one, and I exclude everything else I'm working on till its done. I guess they are just that fun to paint. I tried a new gloss medium for the blood on this guy and I don't think I like it much. Really gave it a lot of goopyness. Perhaps it will work better if I do a bunch of gore.
After working on this guy I have a new appreciation for Rackhams older sculpts. I thought they were pretty sub-par at first but I am looking forward to another one now.

You Are Not Useless

Seen as I have been abandoning you all for the past week or so, I thought you all deserved an explanation to what I've been playing at...


So here it is.


Perhaps you will have read my post on Jamey Rodemeyer, the teen who was bullied to the point where he thought his only escape from his tormentors was death...


If you have, then you will know that I was deeply moved by his story... which brings us to why I've been steering clear of blogging for the past few weeks...


I'm organising an anti-suicide message.


If you haven't seen the wonderful Paws Up Forever project, then please, watch it right now.


Inspired by the video, I've written a script and I'm asking people to help out with the making of the video by recording pieces of dialogue for the main body of the video, by taking pictures of themselves with "You are Not Useless" written on their palms or by simply tweeting me messages of support for those who need it the most.


There were 130 pieces of dialogue to be read out originally, but thanks to the amazing support I've received thus far on twitter and on the PFC forums, there are only 112 left. 


However, that is still 112 people I need to help out with the video, so if any of your friends, family, followers, readers or you personally would be willing to help out, please get in contact with me by emailing parascots@hotmail.co.uk or leaving a comment at the end of this post.


Thank you so much to anyone who is even considering taking part.


Lauren xxx

I'm not Ignoring You

To anyone who has recently commented on my blog, I'm not ignoring you but for some reason Blogger won't let me respond to comments, I can post without any problems but not comment on those posts - very strange.

Quick Update

Well it's been a while but I'm back to hopefully begin posting on a more regular basis again.

I picked up the limited edition version of Thor on Blu-ray yesterday, it has the 3D Blu-ray, the regular Blu-ray, the DVD and a digital copy - I'm looking forward to watching the movie today as I've been wanting to see it for a while.
I also watched the first half of Sherlock Holmes last night and it's ok but I was hoping for something better, who knows things might improve during the last half of the movie.

Daturazi Finished

So, to start things off on a better foot in October, here are some (finally) finished pics of my first Infinity fig.
I wasnt 100% sure about all the bright colors coexisting on this fig all at one time but I am rather pleased with him after all is said and done.
There ought to be lots more Morat to come as they are pretty fun to paint, and now that I have a color scheme nailed down it should be a ton easier to get them rolling out.

Thanks for checking him out.

Long time, no post

Well, the month of September was a brutal one as far as hobby time goes. I sat down to paint all of maybe an hour the entire month, and I didnt game one stinkin time! Now October has arrived with a little inclement weather, and this means work slows down and hobby time picks back up, Woohoo!
Hopefully this means the Blog posting picks up as well, and I can get things back and rolling.

So, keep your eyes peeled for new content and hopefully a lot more paint.