well, i woke up on the 15th of this month and low and behold, the Level-Up message popped up and my body flashed in a bright gold burst, revealing that indeed, another year had passed and i had just leveled to 27! i guess ill have to train new skills but dont have the gold to do so until february, and ill hold off on assigning my talent point until im certain i wont waste it since im pretty short on talent.

so im 27, dont feel any older or wiser, but luckily not fatter or balder, altho my hair is going thin, at least i didnt wake up with a comb over or anything. this also marks about year to go until my time in the United States Air Force will be up, ill have served our country for 8 years, hopefully when i get out the country will smile upon me and serve me back by sending me to school! its wide open at this point as it could be i guess, but im hoping for either an Art Institute school, or Full Sail, or some crazy art school in Canada which my brodawg =skulldozer attends. for shizzle. one things for certain, while there is a certain amount of nervousness about leaving this life and the steady income behind, i am filled with hope and anticipation as to the doorstep where the future may deliver me.

since people have done these get-to-know-me-more things, and i think i even got tagged with it, i suppose i will do so in my own little way, so, in light of my turning 27, here are 27 random facts about me, some which may be well known, and others more obscure.

thank you all for your support and friendship over the last year of my life, i hope you will continue to put up with my nonsense in this one as well.

peace and love, brothers and sisters, may the sun shine upon you.
Kryss

1. i am a media junkie. i have probably over 400 dvds and have purchased well over a thousand cd's, altho some were stolen or otherwise. i have purchased video games and never even opened them, at one point i had over 100 video games, most of them i never even played.

2. i am torn when it comes to the issue of internet-piracy/file sharing. i think the best thing to do is probably download whatever it is you are looking for, and if you like it, then go out and buy it to support that artist / group / filmmaker / whatever.

3. i dress however i want. therefore, i have all varieties of styles of clothing. so on any given day, i might dress "gangsta" "emo" "metal" "goth" "skater" - or anything else you may call it. i dont consider this being "phony" or a "poser" - i consider it being me and dressing however the hell i want.

4. i am an unashamed hardcore gamer. i have always been so. when i was a child, i broke my right arm, my parents bought me a large nintendo controller called the NES advantage, and i played games with my feet until my arm healed. people obsess over sports, over music, over any number of things, why shouldnt i be able to do the same with video games? im happy.

5. i have been influenced greatly by many of the artists i have met here and prior at LH. that being said, if i look back, my earliest and lasting influences would probably be Arthur Adams, Chris Bachalo, and Joe Mad. in very recent years, a big influence is the korean artist, Hyung TaeKim.

6. i have been married and divorced.

7. i love philosophy, and spend a lot of free time researching philosophers and their teachings and the things they have said. as socrates once said, the only true wisdom consists of knowing that you know nothing - quoted in one of my all time favourite movies, Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure! i think that couldnt be more true, and i TRY not to come off in debates or discussions as saying, "this is how it is" but rather, "this is how i percieve it."

8. i am obsessed with pornography.

9. even tho i no longer am actively involved in skateboarding, i still love skateboarding videos and magazines. i would love to make a professional skateboarding video someday, but i doubt i would ever have the chance. i hope to design skateboards someday. my favourite skater of all time is definately Ronnie Creager.

10. my favourite video game franchise is Final Fantasy. my 2nd favourite would be Warcraft (altho the MMORPG World Of Warcraft is definately my favourite game of all time.)

11. i dont watch scary movies. they scare me.

12. i am a ridiculously picky eater and often refuse to eat at all. i eat almost everything plain. i dont eat any vegatables except corn. my favourite foods in the world are chicken and pizza, and my favourite side items would probably be macaroni and french fries. i miss my mom's cooking. she makes the best beef stew EVER.

13. i speak/read/write/understand korean.

14. my favourite book of all time is The Chronicles of Narnia, read as one book rather than as a series. if i had to pick a specific book out of the whole series, i probably could not. i read it a couple times a year, and am actually in the process of reading it right now. i cant wait for TLTWATW to come out on dvd. i would love to do a comic book adaptation of the entire story. perhaps one day i shall.

15. i am going to work in the video gaming industry.

16. i love making videos and always have. when i was younger i made skate videos, now i make world of warcraft videos. hahah.

17. i dont like working out.

18. i love sleeping whenever i get tired, rather than when i SHOULD be sleeping, and hope that one day, i will have a job where i can work the hours i choose to work, as long as i am getting work done and progressing in whatever project i may be working on. i guess working from home would be the ultimate goal!

19. i hate it when people who are anti-war curse at soldiers and do horrible things like spit on them. not every 19 year old who joins the military is a war monger - they are probably trying to better themselves or their situation, or do something they feel compelled to do, which is probably help someone somewhere. the people in the military are deserving of their countries' fullest support, whether or not you agree with political agenda.

20. i love other cultures, especially ones that are different from US culture. its all quite fascinating.

21. i dont drink alchohol really, or smoke or do drugs. even if i werent in the military, i wouldnt do drugs. i tried them for a while when i was a teenager, and found that i quite did not like it. the same goes for alchohol, altho if i feel like having a drink, i will. its not because i have some moral objection to any of these activities - i just choose not to do them.

22. i try not to be catty or judgemental of people, but sometimes i slip and find that i dont like someone simply because of the way they look. i admit that i sometimes judge too quickly based off of a first impression. i admit these faults and try to work against them.

23. i have an incredible family. and while i dont feel that i have to live around my family for the rest of my life or whatever it is that makes people never stray far from what they know as home - i do miss them sorely and love them dearly, especially my mom and dad, who have been more than just my parents as i have grown older, but best friends as well.

24. i am in love with the occult, the unknown, i suppose you would say, pagan. the path others sometimes deem dangerous and wicked, i find fascinating and mysterious. i do not currently "practice" any religion - but i can certainly say that some of the beliefs and schools of thought which society may think ill of, have appeal to me. while i was raised in a loving christian household and family, i do not neccesarily share christian beliefs, tho if it makes them happy, i do not wish to interfere with that, either.

25. i want to be in a love metal band. i also want to be in an emo-core band. and an electronic black metal band. i have played guitar off and on for like 10 years, and am embarrasingly not nearly as good as i should be. i tought myself mostly, and play by ear. i cannot read music. i can read tabs. i can sit down at a piano and listen and learn piano parts. i can play drums to a certain extent, but would love to play more. i can pick up a bass and figure out bass lines. my father is a great musician, and i credit any musical ability to his genes! thanks dad.

26. i am absolutely my parents in every way, the worst and best traits.

27. if you actually managed / cared to read all of this, i love you dearly. hahah.

well, its been a little while since my last journal update so i thought id jot something real quick.

my last journal was kind of a living update of Katrina and her aftermath, and im glad to say that my entire family, both mom and dad's sides, are all accounted for and everyone is healthy and finding ways to move on. its a shame to think that everything youve ever owned could be destroyed nearly without warning, and all the places youve ever been could be wiped from the earth without regard to what they may have meant to you. but home is more a state of mind than a specific place on this earth, and so we all do our best to pick up and move on, and find a way to bring that state of mind back to us all.

for all the immoral things you may have heard of, or seen on the news, and maybe witnessed first hand, it wouldnt be hard to lose faith in your fellow man. but for me, for my mom and dad at least, these tragedies have renewed this faith. the support we have somehow recieved, from best friends to total strangers alike, is unreal and truly hard to grasp. my mother was brought to tears more than once by the kindness of others. she is forever grateful, even to those she will surely never see again. and for me, i am forever grateful to all of you! the support you have all offered and the kindness you have all shown shall forever be remembered and im glad to know each and every one of you, if even only a small bit of the person you may be, that small bit is most appreciated.

enough of all that stuff.

in other news, i have a few things that i should be ready to share soon. but sadly, Concrete Block, the studio-project that i co-founded with ~hawaiianpunch - is all but disintegrated. at least for now, it would seem. i blame no one and hold no hard feelings towards anyone - all the artists who were involved, even those who "left" before the final line up, were all incredible artists and i was honoured and humbled to even be associated with them at all. if you werent in the know of what exactly happened, a hacker somehow got to my info and i was unable to get to our forums at all, basically negating any ability i had to - really - do anything at all. i think this was probably the breaking point. so, its sad, but its true, i think that for now, Concrete Block is done. i want to thank everyone who was involved directly, and i want to thank everyone who supported us, and wow did we ever have some support! you guys were/ are the best.

before we had the Concrete Block forums to hang out at i hung out at the Led Heavy forums. i tried to go back there for a while, but i was met with the same ignorance and 12 year olds that were there back when i started thinking about wanting to make my own thing... so thats out. but, if you were down for the cause of Concrete Block and our site/forums and what we wanted to accomplish, check out the Sketch Tavern dudes and forums, thats where myself and a couple other X CB guys are hanging out these days... its a great place, man.

[link]

well thats all for now. my long windedness is boring even me at this point.

peace and love.
your friend,

Kryss

for those of you who arent absolutely familiar with me, i am from New Orleans, LA, born and raised there for 19 years until i joined the military and left home. why that is of any significance right now, if you havent been watching TV or checking various news websites around the internet, you might have missed the craze about Hurricane Katrina - basically the worst hurricane to hit us. while Katrina is now a tropical depression, she most certainly wasnt when she hit home.

by hit us i mean that very literally - Katrina landed - basically - on our doorstep. it crushed into St Bernard Parish, thats where Katrina actually set down - which is where we live, about 2 minutes outside of the actual CITY New Orleans. various places around the 'hood have from 10-14 feet of water - others are completely submerged. businesses and homes washed away or otherwise destroyed. and while i am safe and sound and dry here in California, the rest of my family are not fairing as well. Luckily, my mother and father, my cousin Michelle and her 2 kids, and my Nanny Baby and her husband are safe in Houston, TX. however, much of my family remains to be heard from, we arent sure where they are or whether or not they are safe. a fellow deviant, undoubtedly my best friend back home, and one of our Concrete Block members, ~DATAone is also MIA and im worried sick. our area code, 504, is destroyed - cant get any calls thru. from the weather channel website and also a site dedicated to New Orleans, i know for a fact (have seen pictures) that my home has been completely and utterly destroyed. our street is 100% under water as is much of my parents neighborhood. this is factual information. we are looking at a total loss - 100% destruction. our home, everything in it, my dads van... luckily my mom thought to take her photo albums and mine... stuff that can never be replaced... but the rest of our possesions are, almost without question - completely destroyed. we have never been a well to do family... but what little we did have we were always greatful for - its upsetting to know that it is all gone.

for what it is worth, i am considering purchasing a DA print account, and from now until... well, for a long time, any money whatsoever that i can make from it (and my regular salary too obviously) will go towards my mom and dad, and the rest of my family where may be neccesary whenever possible.

if you are a person of faith and pray, then i ask of you, please, keep my family and friends in your prayers. if you are not a person of faith, then i ask you, please, send a wish out for the people i care about. im sending out about 2 wishes a second.

thanks for taking the time to read this, im sorry for the lack of updates artistically, but there will be many coming soon i hope.

love always.
your friend,

Kryss.
[C0ncrete Block.]

--------------------------------UPDATE----------------------------------

the majority of my family is now accounted for as being safe and sound. however, on my mother's side, my Uncle Joe (technically my mothers uncle) is missing, and on my father's, his younger brother David (whom i havent called uncle in years) is missing. since we cant contact them due to the 504 area code being trashed, it causes obvious concern. we are hoping and praying and wishing for the best. ive also heard from most of my friends (to include our boy ~DATAone - bout time foo) and it seems that everyone is safe, tho we are all in the same boat of having lost everything.

people are going crazy down there. shooting at relief helicopters. god only knows what else is happening that will never make it to the news. sad times for the innocent, to be sure. its funny how sometimes crisis can bring people together, and others it can turn them immediately on each other. what an odd race we are. humans, we are all very possibly crazy, down to the very last one.

i want to thank everyone so much for your comments and concern and support. what a truly amazing feeling. i hope you all know how much it means, and how much you all mean. i may have never told you, but i consider you all true friends - i do not believe in the term "internet-friends" - the internet is just a place to meet people - just like any other. hell, i probably spend more time talking to some of you than i ever had people who lived down the street, and id definately say a lot of you know me better.

so, for everything, i thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

love always, your friend. - K

--------------------------------UPDATE----------------------------------

Updated. found out from my Mother that my Uncle Joe was evacuated and safe. nearly all accounted for. only my Dad's little brother David remains MIA... i will update as soon as i know more just to keep you all informed for those who care.

thanks again so much for all the support, i truly could never express my gratitude. no need to waste any more of your time replying, i just wanted to make sure that all the peeps who have done so much for me at least know the situation as it unravels...

love always.
your friend.

K