... they were nice guys and I got a drawing from Edd himself.

^_^

RIP Edd, you will be missed.

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen /340803

It's far from perfect and certainly isn't Hayao Miyazaki's best movie, but it still is sweet, cute and awe inspiring (literally).

Go watch it, it's worth it.

10-17-C4-4E-10-10-BE-F6-C0-9D-11-B7-22 -E7-3F-96

Random poetry, from across time.

There is a hidden part of me,
Dug very deep into my core,
That lead me to pain and agony,
And forced me to implore,
Myself, to forget.

Be it consciously or not,
A part of me was changed,
And through the years I forgot,
And because of this, estranged,
I was of myself.

And yet fate sometimes pity keeps,
For a poor soul such as mine,
And such this week I stood and reaped,
More than I could ever pine,
When I found your game.

It touched me to my very soul,
And allowed me to remember,
That hidden part of my whole,
That from me I nearly rendered,
And had made me incomplete.

It did this with it's heart,
Larger than I could dream,
And allowed me to go and thwart,
My cynicism and the screams,
Of the pain I once had.

Its lovely art,
Its lovely truth,
Its lovely story,
Its lovely music,
Its lovely creativity,
Its lovely pureness,
Its lovely characters,

Its lovely ideal.

Its lovely hope.

And so I must extend my thanks,
To all those who touched this game,
For you have, and I must be frank,
Given back the most precious flame,
Of hope.

For J. B.

Jesting, I look, at the puzzles and jigsaw,
Outwardly obvious, I look again, as if Calvino,
Not obvious anymore, the false should dispel,
And I cry it does not, truth hidden like a tomb

The conclusion, I surmise, is that it is all pretension,
How else to explain, my failure in multiple strata?
And yet, I stop there, lest I lose my worth,
Not going forward, for such lies, would lead to regret,

But if the end is at first, and of course, vice-versa
Lost from my way, I can only hope for cooperation
Of the one I address, and much I'd forgo
Waiting for the answer, such is my hajJ

--------------------------------------

Concrete feelings

(we)
( ) Look for love
Without cause
( ) Search in vain
Reason lost

( ) Hope is that
It does not die
For this truth is such
( ) Cannot lie

--------------------------------------

[R]omantic [N]otions
(or how I started loving the bomb)

Sweet smells are about, and here
That burning feeling comes
And all is forgiven, in a flash
No more evil, for 'tis undone

Live life renewed after this
Even if ere there was calm
You know that dullness is a curse, and
Knowledge can be harm

--------------------------------------

[P]ublic Service

Ask carefully to Death: "Where?"
Swiftly he answers: DESPAIR, AS
HE WHO DISCOVERS TOO MUCH, OF
KNOWLEDGE FORBIDEN AS SUCH

ERE WOULD SAY
No answer I pray!
This truth I now hold
Efface from my mould!

--------------------------------------

Guilt

I climb up to hell
And fall back to heaven
Betrayed by myself
Blind to the future

--------------------------------------

Trolls are welcome. Maybe.

In other news, ever notice how 1998 was <the> year for video games?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_in_v ideo_gaming

Random stuff:

Original, embaixo a traducao:

Mais uma vez
Once again
A natureza revela toda sua sabedoria
Nature reveals all its wisdom
Fomos buscas inspiracao
We seek our inspiration
Num dos animais mais majestosos que Deus foi capaz de criar
In one of the most majestic animals that God has created
A aguia
The Eagle
Dentre todas as aves
Among all birds
A aguia eh que possui a maior longevidade
The Eagle is the one with the greatest life span
Podendo chegar ate os 70 anos
Reaching up to 70 years of age
Mas, para chegar a essa idade
But to reach this age
Na metade da sua vida
Halfway through its life
Ela tem que tomar uma seria e dificil decisao
The Eagle must take a hard and serious decision
Isso porque nessa idade
This is because at this age
As suas unhas estao muito compridas e flexiveis
Its nails have become long and flexible
Nao permitindo mais que ela agarre com facilidade,
No longer allowing it to easily grasp,
As presas das quais se alimenta
The prey on which it feeds
O seu bico, alongado e pontiagudo, se curva
Its beak, once long and sharp, bends downwards
As suas penas,
Its feathers
Evenlhecidas e pesadas pela a gordura do tempo
Aged and heavy by the accumulated fat of time
Dificultam o seu voo, tornando o dom natural de voar,
Hinder its flight, making its natural ability to fly,
Uma tarefa quase impossivel
A task almost impossible
Nesse momento, a aguia so tem duas alternativas
At this point, the eagle has only two alternatives
Aceitar a morte
Accept death
Ou enfrentar um dolorido processo de renovacao
Or go through a painful process of renewal
Que ira durar 150 longos dias
That will last a long, 150 days
Aguia RIP
Eagle RIP
--------------------------------------
---------------------------
--------------------------------------
---------------------------
Quem vem chegando, voando para ate ajudar
Who's coming along, flying to give a hand
Dando um show, que eh mesmo de arrepiar
What a perfomance, it really tingles your spine
Pra toda encrenca e confusao
For any trouble and confusion
O seu carinho eh a solucao
Their love will always be a solution
Ursinhos carinhosos
Care Bears
Eh soh chamar que eles veem
Give them a call and they'll come
Eh soh chamar que eles veem
Give them a call and they'll come
Ursinhos carinhosos
Care Bears
Sao tao fofinhos, sao do bem
They're so cute, they're good
Nao tenha medo, pois voce pode contar
Don't be afraid 'cause you know you can count on
Com seu carinho toda vez que precisar
Their love for every time you need
Ursinhos carinhosos
Care Bears
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
Os Ursinhos carinhosos
The Care Bears

For quite some time now, I've been extremely curious to the answer to a simple question: what flash movies do the top artists of Newgrounds consider to the best of the site? Anyone can have some idea of what the users think, thanks to the portal ratings (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/) and the most 'favorited', watched and best reviewed movies (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/stat s), but what the artists themselves think has always been a secret.

To try to answer this question, I've organized a poll, where I asked the top 50 rated artists on Newgrounds to answer two simple questions: which 3 movies do they believe are the best movies currently on Newgrounds? And which 3 movies, if any, currently on Newgrounds most influenced them as an artist? I also asked that if, they wished, they might comment on why they choose the movie.

I sent out a PM to each of the 50 artists, in the hope that at least 20 of them would answer these questions and, as luck would have it, 20 of them did, although sadly the majority of them only answered the first question. Because of this, I did not have enough responses for the second question and I can't present meaningful results.

I've compiled the answers and I can now present to Newgrounds the results of the poll. First, a list of the best movies in order of votes, each movie followed by some of the comments the voting artists made regarding that movie. I've also compiled a list of the authors with the biggest number of votes, as an alternative criterion for the best.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Best Movies
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
1st place (5 votes)
The Yuyu
'The YuYu is the slickest animation I've ever seen in a flash movie. The chase scene is simply incredible, and the animation of the YuYu "cloud", especially when it gets defeated is an awesome spectacle to behold.'

'I specifically like the YuYu because first, Adam Phillips is arguably the best animator on this site. But that specific one had a lot of high-speed movement and was very well in sync with the music. I personally enjoy matching the visual actions to music and I would look to that movie for a reference when I am trying to animate fast moving objects or backgrounds. Because it was done in flash, that meant I had all the tools I needed to mimic the effect.'

'Incredible special effects'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
2nd place (4 votes)
Tarboy
'While this is literally a brand new animation, I saw his previous animation "Roller Coaster Junkie" and thoroughly enjoyed that. What he made was an excellent short story that encompassed all kinds of styles: action packed robot fighting, comedy, folklore-styled stories....It was a fantastically made animation that could appeal to all audiences, which is a crucial skill on Newgrounds.'

'absolutely flawless'

'It's a great example of a perfect meld of score and animation. It's a fun little tale executed with precision.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
3rd place (3 votes)
Chuck's New Tux
'absolutely flawless'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
4th place (2 votes)
how it will end.
'Because of its use of styles and humor'

Half Beard
'Because I love the siblings series and this was one of the funniest and well directed episodes of his'

'... the writing. Rob can make a toon from anything! It has its flaws but it's still one of my all-time favorites.'

There she is!! Final step
'The animation is simplistic yet well made. The conclusion of the story is just perfect the way it is'

TankMen 2
'Tankmen II really brought it all together I feel. It took everything good about the original, and upped the scale to match its potential. Taking the Newgrounds icon and making it into a series that good is one of the best things that's happened to the website.'

'because it's a combination of good writing, voice acting and artistic style'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
5th place (1 vote)
Mario v.s Sonic (VGDC) - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
28041
'This to me was the father of all sprite movies. The fight wasn't particularly advanced by today's standards and the humor wasn't the highest brow, but I remember seeing this and thinking "wow! He took the images from the game and made do what he wanted to do". That was just simply amazing to me. Sure you could draw the characters, but that's still imitating the game, or giving it your own spin (...) People bitch about VG parodies all the time, but sprite movies introduced people to flash who were too intimidated by the drawings demands of animation or just sucked at drawing.'

Waterlollies - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
408967
'Mainly because I think Adam Philips is a brilliant animator, the artwork is beautiful and the characters and environments are so realized. It's like it really exists and we're just visiting. It's the perfect little fantasy world.'

Mastermind - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
408342
'I just think the character is really great, the animation is perfect and the voice acting is top notch.'

arfenhouse teh movie too - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
110131
'Because of it's humour, characters and such'

Street Fighter Collab - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
495979
'The quality, the detail, the overall humor (despite the over the top grossness in some scenes) was amazingly put together by most of the best flash authors on the site'

The Real Legend 3 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
480676
'The animation quality and artwork, as well as the humor, is superb and really sticks to the original source material.'

1 - The Story of Khale - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
371968
'The first epsiode of Story of Khale could be looked at as one of the best flash games that you can't play. It's almost completely side-scrolling, with a few run loops, some jumping, etc. However, it's all executed really well, and gives you a great insight to the world Leafworthy has created. The lush backgrounds and interesting vistas are really imaginative and the music that goes with it fits wonderfully.'

Metal Gear Awesome 2 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
426712
'cos of its fast, snappy pace with hilarious drawings and exaggerated animation'

Egocaptured - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
426476
'cos I laugh my arse off at the voice acting and impressions every time, especially Bill Cosby at the end.. oh man'

Bitey of Brackenwood - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
158417
'magic, makes you spellbound'

Fallen Angel: Teaser - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
192340
'Very well produced cinematic work with tension'

Prowlies at the river - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
189081
'It's his fault I ended up getting a tablet in the first place'

Burnt Face man 7 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
350567
'I didn't start watching that until about a year ago due to my dislike of David Firth's main series "Salad Fingers". Burnt Face man, however, is actually incredibly funny and well done.'

Cat Syrup - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
347174
'It basically introduced me to glitchy animations on here and how interesting it can be to try to replicate glitches like that'

Till death do us part - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
95559

Freak: Prelude (ep 1) - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
119403

William the Demon Killer - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
127291

Walk-Smash-Walk - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
193426

Dad's Home - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
195918

Tail Chasers - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
225381

The Ultimate Showdown - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
285267

silver vs blaze 1 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
510033

maze game 2 (unfinished) ** - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
510034

the gathering storm - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
12450

A Norse in the 9th Ward - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
499766

These Pancakes Are Tiny - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
471998

Cuboy Ep.3 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
505526

Bunnykill 4 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
502766

Walk in the Woods - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
431937

Drag Bike Manager 2** - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
510035

Pico's School - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
310349

Pico's Unloaded - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
191815

Voice Chat Adventures - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
207517

Kong - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
32316

Sloth Tv 2 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
6632

Hyakugojyuuichi - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
18702

Reading Rainbow 1 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
4

LA-ATHF Review - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
498016

-Conflict- - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
176946

Cuntilda Ep. 1 - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/
452228

** Technically, these aren't movies but games, but I decided to count these votes anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Best Authors
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Votes Author
8 http://chluaid.newgrounds.com/

4 http://jameslee03.newgrounds.com/

3 http://happyharry.newgrounds.com/

2 http://sakupen.newgrounds.com/
2 http://the-swain.newgrounds.com/
2 http://alanthebox.newgrounds.com/
2 http://bobert-rob.newgrounds.com/
2 http://sambakza.newgrounds.com/
2 http://johnnyutah.newgrounds.com/
2 http://egoraptor.newgrounds.com/

1 http://granfaloon.newgrounds.com/
1 http://toma.newgrounds.com/
1 http://romeojr.newgrounds.com/
1 http://sexysexybicycle.newgrounds.com
1 http://ediblecastle.newgrounds.com/
1 http://mottis.newgrounds.com/
1 http://theweebl.newgrounds.com/
1 http://stamper.newgrounds.com/
1 http://leafworthy.newgrounds.com/
1 http://impendingriot.newgrounds.com/
1 http://luis.newgrounds.com/
1 http://evil-dog.newgrounds.com/
1 http://bleeg.newgrounds.com/
1 http://randy-solem.newgrounds.com/
1 http://misteroo.newgrounds.com/
1 http://andrewwilliamdickman.newgrounds .com/
1 http://robsh66.newgrounds.com/
1 http://kloyst.newgrounds.com/
1 http://frumpy.newgrounds.com/
1 http://bikegamer.newgrounds.com/
1 http://doki.newgrounds.com/
1 http://somebody.newgrounds.com/
1 http://altffour.newgrounds.com/
1 http://tomfulp.newgrounds.com/
1 http://mindchamber.newgrounds.com/
1 http://tttttttttttttttttteh.newgrounds .com/
1 http://raz.newgrounds.com/
1 http://jeremylokken.newgrounds.com/
1 http://trapezoid.newgrounds.com/
1 http://jeremylokken.newgrounds.com/
1 http://apex-dvd-video.newgrounds.com/
1 http://indre.newgrounds.com/
1 http://unauthoredhoax.newgrounds.com/
1 http://dl-neutrino.newgrounds.com/
1 http://chakra-x.newgrounds.com/
1 http://el-cid.newgrounds.com/
1 http://keirupted.newgrounds.com/
1 http://valerofond.newgrounds.com/
1 http://zombie-pimp.newgrounds.com/
1 http://insert-name-here.newgrounds.com /

Annex: technical discussion.
First off, how do I select the top artists on Newgrounds? Using my own personal preference was obviously not a good choice, so I pretty much had only two options: using the artists with best ratings (http://www.newgrounds.com/rankings/ar tists) or the artists with the most bookmarks (http://www.newgrounds.com/rankings/bo okmarks).

In the former, as every vote can end up making a difference, there are small changes on those included on the list almost daily; the latter is much more stable, but tends to favor older authors, who aren't necessarily on Newgrounds any more. Both criterions have their advantages and disadvantages and would probably have been acceptable, so I arbitrarily choose to go with the ratings criteria, on the hope that it would lead to more votes.

Second, how many movies should I ask the artists to vote on? 1, 3, 5, 10? Ideally, more is better, but if I requested too many movies for them to vote for, that would almost certainly have discouraged some authors, especially those who wished to comment their choices, so in the end I decided just for 3. I also made any commentary optional, for the same reason.

How many responses would make for a meaningful result? A simple rule of thumb would have probably said at least 30, but I knew this wasn't realistic, as I had previously tried to conduct this poll in the past, with a measly 10 responses, so I decided that 20+ answers would have to be enough. Finally, how would I compile the votes? As I didn't request for an ordered vote (which would have been a bit too complex), this was simple to do: I just summed up the votes for each movie.

Concerning the artists' votes, I decided to exclude any musician and voice actor from the votes and only consider main artists. One movie, Street Fighter Collab has many, many authors and I was tempted to only use Stamper, the organizer, but in the end I decided on simply counting all of them, even if this did inflate the votes of some artists.

Finally, let me end by saying a big thank you to all the participating artists and to Tom for divulging these results. And a thank you to the all the great authors that put their flashes here on Newgrounds; they are what makes NG a really great site.

4445

Jesting, I look, at the puzzles and jigsaw,
Outwardly obvious, I look again, as if Calvino,
Not obvious anymore, the false should dispel,
And I cry it does not, truth hidden like a tomb

The conclusion, I surmise, is that it is all pretension,
How else to explain, my failure in multiple strata?
And yet, I stop there, lest I lose my worth,
Not going forward, for such lies, would lead to regret,

But if the end is at first, and of course, vice-versa
Lost from my way, I can only hope for cooperation
Of the one I address, and much I'd forgo
Waiting for the answer, such is my hajJ

Geometry and Sand

It was a calm place, that small simple town,
Where things seemed idyllic, without a frown,
But as is necessity, when finding such a place,
Not all is what seems, as one looks through facades.

Walk down the main road, and you quickly reach,
A house so dammed crooked, upfront from the beach,
You'll ponder for sure, look straight at the angles,
Refuse to believe, start to going to shambles.

For who could have built, such a bizarre place,
Who'd defy God, who'd make it their base?
For the roof begins, where the walls fall,
And all the right angles, are not present at all.

A stranger approaches, hidden in cloth,
Telling mad tales, and smelling of scotch,
You run from the smell, as fast as you can,
For a minute or two, 'till you run out of land.

And then you will sink, into the sea,
Thinking "oh why, woe unto me!"
Blackness will come, encroach on your mind,
And you'll finally see, truth from behind.

A monstrous thing, with so many tentacles,
And a massive head, made up of pentacles,
The truth now so clear, it waits for the clang,
When it'll awake, for C'thulhu fhtagn!

And on that day, cursed for evermore,
It'll arise from the sea, as foretold by lore,
And finally enter, it's place of doom,
That crooked beach house, and fate will loom,

On all of mankind, for the truth is so simple,
All it ever wanted, was a house with no wrinkle,
To enjoy the seaside, and go to the fair,
To drink lemonade, and into the sea stare

But man choose to twist, the house into disrepair,
And for that he was cursed, drawn into despair,
What could be, the moral of this tale?
I answer quite quickly, lest it get so stale:

Never hire man, when building a beach house.
Or
Even C'thulhu likes a day in the beach!

Sol Lucet Omnibus
or
Why danger lurks everywhere

Glittering down, upon the earth,
Millions of stars, stared with mirth,
At the events, terrible to see,
Happening below, they laughed with glee.
For of all the things, that'll exist in the morrow,
Stars are those, who'd laugh hardest at sorrow

But what on earth, could be there,
To make the smiles, that now lay bear?
We shall soon see.

For us to begin, this bloody tale,
Let us start, with a man so pale,
That when he goes, to sunny zones,
His skin does shrivel, up to his bones.
'More like a zombie', this poor chap must hear,
And even worst offenses, with patience so sheer.

Not a bad man, despite his condition,
But not a good man, with a bad disposition,
But even so, his fate was not deserved.

On the day, I mentioned before,
He left his house, apparently bored,
At another day, another fight,
Another cycle, another rite,
But walking along, covered up well,
He suddenly started, feeling unwell.

Oh what could await, our 'hero' to be?
What kind of fate, we shall soon see.
For the climax is coming.

He had started to sweat, as he felt the sun shine,
For a mistake he had made, it was all in his mind!
He wasn't enclosed, as believed when he left,
In fact he was nude, which would lead him to death,
For when the light, hits on his arm,
The damage produced, is a terrible harm.

In seconds the skin burns, leaving him puce,
And making him fall, followed by puke,
For no man can stand the pain he receives.

For after the skin, gone with such haste,
Follows the fat, which toasts in its place,
All of which leads, to a blissful expiration,
A most blessed fate, for the rest is no elation,
On the contrary we find, that not much is there,
In a few minutes, down to bones and hair

And so we have reached, the moral of this poem,
One that is child's play, and carefully chosen:
Always wear sunscreen, even when clothed*

*After all, you can never be sure if you're really dressed or merely gone crazy!

--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------

To those illustrators interested in this, I'd recommend either doing this in 5 pages (i.e., one page for every 9 lines) or making a page per paragraph (for a total of 10 pages).

On the other hand, all sorts of other divisions are possible, feel free to experiment.
To any one who doesn't know what this is about, check out this link.

Sadly, the author whom I had contacted and who was working with me has given up flash (for the meanwhile), so I'm looking (again!) for a author who'd like to work with me. Below is the relevant parts of my previous news post.

It's quite simple, really. The most common criticism of my latest movie was that it's presentation was poor and could have used a lot more work / polish. So, because I don't feel I have the necessary skills to improve this crucial aspect of my flash, I'm looking for a co-author for my next flash-poem.

I'm looking for a artist with a proven track record (i.e., I want to see reasonable previous work before I'll work with you), at least some minimal knowlegde of ActionScript and an interest in poetry. Basicly, I'd work together with my co-author to design the flash, at the same time that I'd able to provide both voice acting and the poem(s). Then, my co-author would actually program the flash itself.

Feel like your up to it? Then just PM me (or write a message here) with (a) link(s) to your previous work(s) and I'll take a look and get back to you.

[EDIT] I've found my co-author. Not that anyone is actually reading this...

It's quite simple, really. The most common criticism of my latest movie was that it's presentation was poor and could have used a lot more work / polish. So, because I don't feel I have the necessary skills to improve this crucial aspect of my flash, I'm looking for a co-author for my next flash-poem.

I'm looking for a artist with a proven track record (i.e., I want to see reasonable previous work before I'll work with you), at least some minimal knowlegde of ActionScript and an interest in poetry. Basicly, I'd provide the poem (which I haven't written yet, since I don't want to force feed a poem to my co-author) and the voice acting (and, possibly, a bit of help with the action script), while my co-author would create the flash itself (i.e., design and program it).

Feel like your up to it? Then just PM me (or write a message here) with (a) link(s) to your previous work(s) and I'll take a look and get back to you.

In unrelated news, 1998 was probably the most important and influential year for videogames ever. It's stagerring how many brilhant games were released that year, making a true watershed year.