If you haven’t already noticed, this blog has been limping in content over the past half year. I’ve declared its death, I’ve announced its revival, I’ve promised content, I’ve barely delivered. Life isn’t as concrete as the words one can say and I’ve always been a fan of ‘do, don’t speak’, but here I am speaking once again, hoping the ‘do-ing’ part follows suit.
So for the bazillionth time, Banana Scoop is being put back into regular programming with the promise [that can hopefully be fulfilled] of two articles a week, Tuesday and Thursday. These articles will cover the many things I’m experiencing that will almost 99.9% of the time will revolve around geek culture: video games (See my Last of Us Review), movies, television, fan-art, and books.
I want to thank all of my long time Banana Scoop supporters: On Life and Stuff, Victor’s Movie Reviews, 2 Dollar Cinema, and Sidekick Reviews. You were there in the beginning and I’m glad to still have you guys now. Check out their stuff when you get the chance.
Overall this isn’t the only announcement, continue to read on for the general ‘What’s up with Patrick these days’ summary.
Banana Scoop Returns to Regularly Scheduled Programming
As I mentioned before, I want Banana Scoop to post regularly to enrich its readers with insight of a 21 year old geek. Haha, it sounds pathetic when read like that, but I like to think the internet has at least a couple of people who are interested in something like that. Essentially there are going to be four posts a week. The two articles mentioned above will cover Tuesday and Thursday. These will usually be 1000 – 2000 word long critiques, reviews, analyses of geek oriented culture.
Saturdays and Sundays will also have posts, although they will be more like plug-ins rather Banana Scoop oriented posts. Saturday will share a recent item I’ve drawn or a video I’ve created that will be featured on Fig-TV much earlier. This will hopefully encourage the more passionate readers to check out Fig-TV in the meantime to help grow my audience. Sunday will be an update on the weekly serial I’ve got going on [read more about that below!].
I’m very excited to get back into the creative seat and I’m glad I can once again express myself to an audience that genuinely cares about the same thing I care about.
wouldn’t mind if something like this happened again…
Fig-TV, my Art Centered Website
I announced that I would be ‘deserting’ Banana Scoop in order to pursuit Fig-TV, my website that I built from the ground up that featured the art I created. After hours upon hours of hard work, learning how to operate Dreamweaver, finding a means of uploading it on the internet, and maintaining it without a dedicated user interface like WordPress, I’ve managed to spew out the bootlegged, ghetto-liscious website that Fig-TV is today. But like any five year old that draws their rendition princesses, ninjas, or ponies, I’m goddamn proud of it. I’m still young and I have a ton to learn, but I’m going to have a blast doing so.
That being said, I’m working hard on getting it to a more professional level by slowly but surely revamping it. In the meanwhile, be sure to check out the galleries and see what I’ve drawn in the past.
The Cintiq 13HD has Arrived, My Artistic Adventures Continue
If you don’t know, I currently have a Bamboo Create that I’ve been using to create art for the past two years. This was all I knew about and it drastically changed the way I draw and use digital art. The amount I learned not just about drawing, but Photoshop, Illustrator, shadows, and light still astounds me. However, there is a limit in using a tablet such as that. There is no means of watching what you draw as it appears only on your computer screen. So imagine drawing on paper and looking directly ahead of you, it’s not a natural position and can limit even drawing a straight line.
So after saving up, I’ve purchased a Cintiq, a professional drawing tablet with a screen on it to make drawing easier and better. After two months of waiting, it has finally arrived in the mail and I can’t wait to get a crack at creating new levels of art and sharing it with you all. Stay tuned for the first couple of drawings I’m making! I’m going to go into something I’ve called ‘drawing hibernation’ where I just sit in my cave-like room and draw all the freaking time.
What I’m Currently Watching, Gaming, Reading
This section is kind of covered on Fig-TV, but I’ll reiterate with more detail here. The movies I’m currently watching are the first two Alien movies and Savages. These are all oldies, but I’ve been recommended that I watch them so many times, that I’ve decided to bite the bullet and begin watching them. These definitely aren’t current, but I’m saving a post for later when it comes to movies released this summer, so hang on to your hat for that one ;).
Summer television is quite a drag, with Dexter and The Newsroom being the only beacons of light. However this just means that the highly anticipated Breaking Bad returning towards the late summer followed up by The Walking Dead will make an amazing transition to full fledged Fall TV.
I’m gaming a storm of titles this summer. My The Last of Us review sums up what I thought of the game quite nicely. Besides that, I like to casually play League of Legends with my friends, and I’ve started playing Knights of the Old Republic for the first time after nearly 10 years of its release. In addition to that, I’ve also bought Skyrim, finally jumping on the wagon to see what all the rage that game was about. Articles on all these things to come in the next few weeks!
I haven’t read anything too hard in the past while. I think back and remember The Perks of Being a Wallflower being the last book I read, which was incredibly phenomenal. Other than that, it’s been a number of comic books and graphic novels such as V for Vendetta and Fables. I’ll be sure to write up my opinions on all those things so I can share them with you.
The Black Carnival Serialized Story
Writing is something I love to do and while I wasn’t trying to revamp Banana Scoop, it didn’t stop me from writing. I’ve dedicated myself to writing 2000 words a week for a novel I had an idea for. The Black Carnival is a product of my imagination that I’ve drawn a number of concept art for, but finally gotten the courage to begin writing. I’ve shared it with my Twitter fanbase, but this is the first time I’ve discussed it here. Below is a link to the story. Keep in mind it’s very roughly edited, lacks consistency at some points, and is all very subject to change. However, I would welcome all criticism and praise in order to help me become a better writer.
I’ve already written about 12,000 words and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what I want the story to be. Let me know what you think if you have the time!
I Tweet, Youtube, and Instagram, so Keep Tabs on Me Through One of Those Mediums
You can keep up with me more if you follow one or all of the links below. I’m very active on Twitter and I try to Instagram once a day, usually revolving on geeky stuff. My Youtube is more barren, but I plan on changing that very soon, especially with the arrival of my Cintiq. So follow me around and keep up with all the stuff I’ve got going on now!
Twitter: @Fig_TV
Instagram: @figtv
Youtube: TheFigTV
Thanks for tuning in guys, can’t wait to keep sharing with you all!
Now let’s party! [First piece of art done with the cintiq]
Banana Scoop 
Discuss with the Community!