James Paige

Author: Bob the Hamster

  • Whispy Dress (artwork)

    Current mood: 12 percent dead, 70 percent really really good



    About a month ago, a nice stranger named Erin noticed this drawing in my gallery, and asked me if I would draw a fairy for her to use in a tattoo. The finished product deviated greatly from what she originally described to me, so much so that I would be really surprised if it is of any use to her at all, but nonetheless, I did enjoy drawing it. It is nice to be inspired by someone else’s ideas once in a while.If any of you reading this would like to commission me to draw them a picture, just let me know (with the understanding that after you tell me what you want me to draw, I will then go and draw whatever I feel like drawing instead ;)

  • Sophia Medallion (artwork)

    Current mood: Wise



    Re: So what are you up to these days, Gilgamesh?

    Oh, you know. The usual. Mostly just working on rebuilding Ninlil’s sanctuary in Nippur (you know, the one in Tummal that the mesopotamians razed?)I haven’t seen much of Enkidu lately, he’s always been too busy ever since he hooked up with that harlot Shamhat, but this weekend she is out of town, so he and I were gonna get together and I was thinking we would go to the Great Cedar Forest and try to kill the demon Humbaba.And Ishtar keeps calling me, so I have stopped answering my phone. Sorry if I missed any of your calls because of that. Last time I checked my voice-mail there were like 50 messages, and the first three were nothing but her going “Oh, Gilgamesh, I love you, I need you! Call me back or I will call upon the divine wrath of my father Anu!” I just deleted the rest. I don’t know what I’m going to do about that girl. So needy.

  • Banshee Jeans (artwork)

    Current mood: upside-down


    You may have heard the urban legend that you can trade a good pair of American Blue Jeans for a small car in Amsterdam. While that story is an exaggeration, it is true that blue denim trousers are often highly overvalued in certain economic contexts. If you haven’t done so recently, walk into any trendy clothing store targeting fashionable youth, and start looking at price tags.

    Interestingly enough, blue jeans are especially prized in the supernatural realm, where the clothing industry still lags back at medieval levels.

  • Googling is the new Remembering

    Current mood: Coughing

    Remembering is something that people used to do in the old days before the internet. It was slightly faster, but a lot less reliable. Most people still actually do have the ability to remember, but it is a lost art which is not practical to use it for general purposes. Modern remembering hobbyists find it most useful for copying things off google and taking them along on trips to primitive caves and rain forests and places. Remembering doesn’t take any electricity or special equipment, but nobody can remember why that matters.

  • Anatidaephobia Day

    Current mood: Worried that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching

    As for this “Christmas” thing, I can explain. Christmas is an obscure winter festival with complicated religious connections. It has been associated at one time or another with everything from paganism, to catholicism, to protestantism, and back again. It falls on the day before (and the day after) Anatidaephobia day, and lately it has been used to distract from and corrupt the far more important message of Being Aware That A Duck Is Always Watching You. This “Christmas Tree” is an attempt to embellish the traditional Anatidaephobia Day All-Natural Duck Blind Tree. Particularly subversive is the addition of sparkly tinsel and shiny baubles to the Duck Blind Tree, things which are sure to draw the attention of the ever-watchful duck.

  • Terra Branford – Level 99 (artwork)

    Current mood: ATMA


    Terra Branford, the main character from Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III US). This was the last Final Fantasy game to use 2D pixel art instead of 3D. I think it was one of the best games ever made for the Super Nintendo. It was re-released as part of Final Fantasy Anthology in case you want to play it on your PS1 or PS2.Terra is usually drawn to look more like she did in Amano’s original concept art. I wanted something that was a little closer to the in-game sprites, but also inspired by Terra’s appearance in the Final Fantasy SGI demo

  • I’m Afraid of Fluffy Sheep

    Current mood: terrified

    Yeah, you know you want one. This is taken from this episode of my rarely-updated Bob the Hamster comic.

  • Viola Concierto (artwork)

    Current mood: Green but also slightly blue



    Viola Concierto – 11 Nov 2005 – Megaron, Athens, GreeceDevoted classical music fans this weekend were treated to a spectacular concert, including a 24 minute Bass Violin solo, after which Viola smashed her instrument over an amp and stage-dived into the crowd.

    Eight renown patrons of the fine arts were hospitalized from “mosh pit violence”, and dozens more were injured.

    Despite controversy, both fans and critics can’t get enough of the new star who has revitalized Popular Classical music.

      Upcoming shows

    • 19 Nov 2005 – Prague Opera House – Prague, Czech Republic
    • 27 Nov 2005 – Konserthuset – Stolkholm, Sweden
    • 04 Dec 2005 – National Concert Hall – Dublin, Ireland
    • 10 Dec 2005 – St John’s Smith Square – London, UK

    2006 U.S. concert dates available soon

  • Family Photo

    Here is a photo of myself with my new little family on the porch of our new house in San Pedro.

    From left to right;
    Ryda – Jennifer – Mike – Danielle – Me

  • Major Motoko Kusanagi (artwork)

    Current mood: Integrated


    I love Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, and not just because of Motoko.The show’s storyline centers around social, political, behavioral, and psychological ramifications of technology– especially the integration of human and machine, which is IMHO, one of the most important and interesting aspects of technology.

    Superficially you may see a cartoon about a Sexy Cyborg Crime-fighter battling insane robots and evil hackers, but what I see is a futurist story about real issues that our children and grandchildren may face. I also, of course, see the Sexy Cyborg, (she is hard to miss) … actually, come to think of it, I suspect that Sexy Cyborgs is one of the issues our children and grandchildren may have to face :)

    She is an interesting character. She’s human, but enough of her has been machine for so long that she can’t interact normally with other people anymore. In some episodes, her empathy for robots and artificial intelligences seems to be much stronger than her connection to other humans.

    Something to think about… Imagine if you could just go out and buy a new body, let’s say for sake of example, costing about the same as a car costs today. You would just pick one out, customize it, and have your mind installed. How would that affect you? Our mind is the seat of our souls, but our experiences shape our minds, and our bodies can profoundly influence our experiences. Imagine if you were stronger, faster, more resilient, and more beautiful than you are now. Would your life be the same? Where would you be? Would you be doing the same things you do now? Would you be thinking the same things you think now?

    And a final thought; Batou’s glasses are cool. They are basically part of his eyes. How long until I can order eyes like that on E-bay?