Because the Dead

Yurei Yunited now has a new format! I'm attempting to make it look more comic-y.

Due to health problems, I've been gone for quite some time. Hopefully, however, BTD will be back.

I never intended to offer this many downloadables when I started Because the Dead. Originally, I didn't intend to offer anything to download at all. However, I just keep running across fun shareware or free trials for making downloadable stuff. My most recent acquisition--a program for making desktop icons for Windows.

I won't be making extras for every film. Not every film has a scene worth recording; not every film is visually stunning enough for people to want to put it on their desktops. But some films, like Casshern, are just begging to be made into decorations.

I currently have the new Naito wallpaper on my desktop. To jog your memory, there is a scene in Casshern when Kamijo Jr. kills a man during an important meeting. Naito, who is present at the meeting, tries to compose himself but can't stop cracking up. That, in turn, makes me crack up.

All this screencaping Casshern has me bawling when I go to bed every evening. The ending is just so sad!

I got some new shareware and free trials! That means a page of downloadables (the Extras page) for you!

First of all--the video clips. You can stream them from YouTube, unless YouTube deletes them. You can download them in AVI format for playing on your computer, or MP4 format for putting on your iPod. The downloads are hosted at Badongo, and since I'm not willing to pay for an account, they will be deleted after fifty days of inactivity and will need to be re-uploaded.

Second--the wallpapers. I used to have Photoshop, but due to my computer being re-imaged several times and replaced, the registration key doesn't work anymore. I finally got some image-editing shareware. I am fully aware that my wallpaper-making skills aren't very good, but I have to try!

I've been working on the analysis of Samara's curse tape today. Why Samara before Sadako? That DVD was closer.

I popped the DVD into my computer to let it load while I ran off to get a cup of tea. Came back. FORGOT that the DVD menu of The Ring is not static--Samara's chair is occasionally replaced by a flash from the curse video.

Came back, took my sweet time setting my tea down and getting my windows organized. Brought the DVD up to see the curse face leering at me. (You know, the one from the video with the big teeth and the intestine/whatever coming out of its mouth?) Shocked the crap out of me. I mean, I've been feeling physically ill the rest of the day.

Now, The Ring does not scare me. I can watch Katie's face warp in slow motion, then go to sleep without a problem. But that doesn't mean I like to.

My main problem with The Ring (in comparison with Ringu) is its reliance on warped faces--namely, Katie's face, Noah's face, and the curse face--in lieu of a strong plot. I find all three disgusting and I don't get a thrill out of looking at them, the curse face especially so. (Whereas I have made Samara's face my desktop background at times because the special effects team did a good job on her.)

So...yeah. Tylenol time.

Yurei Yunited was a little project that I started in the summer of '09, just to amuse myself. I hadn't planned on posting it anywhere, but it seemed like it might fit in Because the Dead, so here it is. I've never tried making a webcomic before and I know it can't compare to the ones that are already out there, but I'm having fun, and I hope someone else might enjoy it, too.

In realizing the limitations of Flickr and desiring to provide screenshot galleries, I've decided to begin transferring Because the Dead from Wordpress to its own website. Weebly looks like it will provide everything that I need.