Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 25

Not long soon. Jozef's busy painting away!

Ants in the Machine

Okay... so about two weeks ago I printed up a document, and when I picked it up from the printer I noticed there were a few dead ants on the paper. I didn't think anything of it because I occasionally get ants and other bugs in my office. I also have half a dozen daddy long legs that take care of business. But this time they failed to do their jobs and I in turn was completely unprepared for something that happened a few days later...


I needed to scan a document but when I opened the lid I was confronted with a swarm of ants. There were easily a thousand in there. I was completely in shock. What was worse was the fact that I could see clumps of eggs under the glass and what looked like winged ants. I'm not usually queasy but it was kinda disgusting. I had to face facts... I had an ant colony living in my printer.


I promptly unplugged it, took it outside and placed it on the back of one of the farm trucks. I opened the lid in the sun and the worker ants promptly went into overdrive to move the eggs from the nursery into the deepest chambers of the printer. I suspect there was a queen in there somewhere. You can see some of the yellowish eggs in the last pic. This is probably ten percent of the entire load... they moved the bulk of the eggs in about five minutes. An extraordinary feat!


I didn't want to destroy the nest but I did want my printer back so I ended up leaving it on the back of the truck for several days, covered with a towel. After about three or four days most of the colony had moved out. 


Today I had to deconstruct the printer. It took me about an hour to clean what I could, although I couldn't get into the deepest chamber or clean the underside of the glass which was covered in smears. I haven't tested the printer and I suspect it will need to be serviced by a technician. On the other hand it may just be cheaper to buy a new printer. It's the end of the financial year so I may be able to pick up a bargain.


What do I make out it? Well it's winter now so I think the colony decided to relocate into a new dry warm home with lots of subterranean tunnels and chambers for the ant hierarchy. It was quite extraordinary on one hand but a real pain on the other, as I needed to go off site to print, copy and scan documents and it looks like it cost me a printer.


A comics buddy of mine has already claimed the premise for a story. He can have it with pleasure! I'll let you know if he ever does anything with it so you can read it for yourselves.

Underwater Sculptures

Jason de Caires Taylor's underwater sculptures are hauntingly beautiful. They remind us of the Pompeii victims—frozen in time and space and emotion. Love the seahorse in the second video.
Want to see more? Then check out the Underwater Sculptures website. Thanks to our friend Nick for the heads up on these beautiful images. We just want to drink them up.

Oceans of Garbage – The Facts

Created by: MastersDegree.net

Supanova Announces Ledger Awards

Supanova has announced it will be resurrecting the Ledger Awards which went into hiatus in 2007 because it became too big a project for its founder Gary Chaloner to organise. It will be launched in 2013 under Supanova's benevolent umbrella. You can read all about it here: "Supanova Proudly Announces the Australian Comic Book Industry Awards" (scroll half way down the page to read it). 

BMP Lauches New Bridal Black Mermaid™ Range

Jozef is madly designing a wedding dress for a friend of his (it's all top secret until the wedding day!) and Julie attended two weddings last month so we thought a new Bridal Black Mermaid™ range of designs would be apt. We'll bring out one a year, and the "Pink Bouquet" starts the procession off.


You can check her out at the Black Mermaid Boutique.

BMP Directors Say Goodbye to ASA Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio Positions [UPDATED 26/06/12]

Our five year management plan for the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio is coming to an end on 30 June 2012, after which we will be vacating our positions as Portfolio Holders. 


Since founding the portfolio in July 2007 under then Executive Director Dr Jeremy Fisher’s and the Committee of Management’s approval, we have accomplished the following:

(1) Surveyed and profiled the Australian comics community to gain an understanding of the demographics and the needs of this group of literary creators;

(2) Created the ASA Comics / Graphic Novels Page Rates;

(3) Organised annual Professional Development Seminars at Supanova such as "How to Write a Graphic Novel Book Proposal for the Mainstream Book Market", "Legal Self Defence for Comics Creators: Understanding Comics Contracts", "Understanding Trade Marking 101", "Copyright, Resale Royalties and Cultural Funding", and "Professional Friends with Benefits" across four States (NSW, Vic, Qld and WA);

(4) Created and edited 30+ issues of the marketing and legal issues oriented Comics Biz ezine, which has been sent out exclusively to portfolio members since January 2009;

(5) Organised and promoted the successful Comics Masterclass in 2011, which attracted 100 participants from around Australia and overseas;

(6) Promoted 30+ Australian comics artists and writers through the "Comics Creator of the Month" series, which has featured in Comics Biz and the ASA website;

(7) Consulted on the Model Publishing Agreement, which was published in Australian Book Contracts (4th ed);

(8) Coordinated the Comics Creators’ Toolkit, which contains various agreements such as the Comics Collaborators Agreement, the Comics Commissioned Works (Work for Hire) Agreement, Confidentiality Agreement and several more, which will be available from the ASA in the second half of 2012;

(9) Organised the design and printing of the Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio membership brochure, which has been distributed at various comics events around Australia;

(10) Promoted the ASA and the portfolio through various blogs, social media groups, online comics forums and networks to build awareness; and

(11) Created relationships and cross-pollinated with other organisations such as the Australian Cartoonists’ Association (ACA), the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), the Arts Law Centre, and IP Australia to provide additional membership benefits, access to resources, and to enhance professional development opportunities for our members.

Furthermore, since its inception, the portfolio has grown to around 100 members. We have kept our members up-to-date with opportunities and important information through regular newsletter columns, as well as broadcast emails. 

We are leaving to focus on our creative work, as we will be launching a new comic book series and a new comics oriented business during the next few months. We have enjoyed working with the ASA and comics creators, and we thank everyone for their friendship and support. The ASA will appoint new portfolio holders to reinvent the portfolio with their own signature and style. We will remain ASA members, and look forward to supporting these new initiatives.