Not an artist: Four crystals from Oracle of Seasons that have a secret.

Four crystals from Oracle of Seasons that have a secret. 

Ore Chunks: Ore chunks are the mineral based currency of Subrosia. Just like rupees, Link can find ore chunks just about anywhere, but only in Subrosia. Silver ore chunks are worth one, red chunks are worth five and gold chunks are worth fifty. Link can spend these chunks in the Subrosian Market, but they are hidden someplace inaccessible when Link leaves Subrosia for the sights and sounds of sun kissed Holodrum.

Bismuth crystals are pretty crazy looking but they are a hard mode exercise in perspective when drawing. It is no wonder their oddly artificial looking crystals were used as some of the visual language for Magic the Gathering’s Eldrazi.

This ore was collected from a strange mineral growth that is slowly appearing all over the continent. Scholars are dumbfounded by the fact that the mineral behaves more like a fungus than a stone without any discernible signs of life. Whatever is causing these deposits to form must be getting closer since they are growing faster and faster every day.

Star Trek first contact day was yesterday

April 5th 2063 is when humans made first contact with aliens in Star Trek.

Comm Badge: Tap to talk, hands free positioning on and off planets, and ID badge all in one. 

Humans didn’t do a great job when they made first contact in 2063. We’ve got 42 years to get to a place where we can do a whole lot better. Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Holiday: Wishing you better luck this Easter.

 Wishing you better luck this Easter.

Rabbit's foot charm: To create the most powerful lucky charm, one must ensure that the worst and unluckiest alignment of omens proceeds the charm's creation. The strongest charms are created from a wild hare’s back left foot, caught atop the unmarked grave of a murderer, in an unhallowed cemetery, beneath a new moon, on a jinx day, by a gambler on a losing streak. Some superstitious cultures say that catching a witch’s familiar is even luckier, but only fools think inviting a witch’s wrath is lucky.

I barely invented or tweaked any of the lore around the rabbit’s foot charm. I’m still not 100% sure where it came from originally as there are some conflicting sources, but the practice may have been independently created across the globe. 

----------

I am not a religious person but I grew up in a home that wanted me to be Christian so I am aware of a lot of those holidays and observances from the point of view of having learned about them only as a child. I have always wondered how we bunnies got wrapped up in the festival celebrating the story of a resurrection.

Bunnies, especially white ones, were seen as symbols of purity and fertility by the early Christian church because rabbits can get pregnant while pregnant with another litter which gives the impression that they conceived spontaneously. A feat that Christians claim also happened to Mary. This immaculate conception connection, in addition to the spring/rebirth/bunnies through-line, explains much of the connection.

Practice your personal beliefs as long as they don’t harm others, but don’t force others to align to your personal beliefs. Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Holiday: Have a lucky coin that is entirely fungible.

Have a lucky coin that is entirely fungible.

Lucky coin: Finding a coin heads up on the ground is an auspicious sign. The free clink in your pocket is a sure sign that you have someone or something’s favor. Remember to use that coin and its luck fast so that it doesn’t have the chance to sour.

----------

NFT’s are for fools. As today is a day for fools, I will waste a bit of my time on them. NFT’s, or non-fungible tokens, are a hot topic right now. I primarily think they are bad because they create a sense of value by creating false scarcity. Digital assets are infinitely reproducible and NFT’s just want to use art as a way to add legitimacy to the token collection craze. This also entirely ignores the real environmental cost of running supercomputers just to maintain a decentralized currency so that people can say they own a URL.

Crypto may be here to stay but I for one am not impressed by its impact on art.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph