World's worst book covers

This article starts speaking of the worst sci-fi book covers en general, from Good Show Sir, which the writer really likes. If you go there, they are indeed awful covers, mainly retro (from the 60's to the 80's), mainly nonsense.

Then, there's Tutis Classics work. The Guardian itself has an article from 2008 where they announce the launching of Tutis's online catalogue. Nevertheless, if you follow their URL, the site is down. Going through Caustic Cover Critic's blog about Tutis's work (here), you can see why their covers are so despised; they use images that don't relate the plot of the books, and sometimes are the complete opposite of it. A few books even have the same illustrations, photoshopped to look a little different.

Go to World's worst book covers in The Guardian's website to find out more.

Playing music

All my life (since I can remember) I've been good at drawing. Then, when I was about twelve, I became good at writing (because I wrote the scripts for my comicbooks and enjoyed reading books all day long). Nowadays I'm great at both, specially at writing. So much, that people read my 'novels' and are either delighted and want more, or are dumbstruck out of the complexity of the words, since I mostly write in medieval and fantastic contexts.

Yet, I've always wanted to play music. My older brother once borrowed me his acoustic guitar for several months so I could learn, with the help of a guy I met at a drums store. I learned a few things but became frustrated easily. Instead, I started playing the drums, and even became the leader of my own band, along with three other friends. The guy from the drums store knew how to play pretty much any instrument AND he could sing, so he coached each one of us during the rehearsals.

Still, besides the guitar and the drums, I've always wanted to sing. I don't have a nice voice and I never asked anyone to help me (they just kept saying 'your voice has to come from your stomach' or something like that), but I sing everyday while designing, writing, drawing, tidying, etc. I'm terrible, but I'd love to be good someday. And the picture I posted is because I like the high pitch tones that Edu Falaschi can reach in Angra's songs (and Almah's, too). I also enjoy practicing those tones in Iron Maiden's and Helloween's songs, for example.

A girl can dream, right? I want to be a singer.

Festigame 2012

Since I don't ever travel anywhere, I think this counts as a holiday.

Festigame 2012 was a really large event held during the first weekend of August at Estacion Mapocho. It was all about videogames, with all the brands of the many developers there are in the world of gaming.

I was invited by my older brother (the one with the glasses, Marcelo), who also invited my younger brother and my nephew. We're all gamers, although the younger ones play more often and are quite fanatics. Marcelo and I take it easier... but we still went mad when we got to try some motorcycle racing game one against the other. I beat him, as always when it comes to racing games.We also tried a 3D split screen TV and had a race competition there aswell, with cars. Won again.

There was a Marvel vs Capcom 3 tournament displayed in a giant led screen and we stayed to watch. It was AMAZINGLY EXCITING. Then there was a PES 2012 tournament with the football commentator Alberto Jesus Lopez, 'El trovador del gol'. That was tons of fun. The winner was a guy who played using the Barcelona team, so we were happy. Meanwhile, the younger ones were in line trying to get an autograph from Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario (from the Mario Bros. games).

It was very crowded and I found it hard to walk by the stands... and sometimes big masses of people would puch me from one place to another, but I still had a blast. We were all gamers and the geeker you were, the cooler you became!

(My face is blurry in that photo so I look a bit weird...)

Being a clown

I wouldn't say this one is my favourite... but I do like it, a lot. It's pretty much 100% ego with an extra large portion of MORE ego.

This one is my profile picture in Facebook (where I can be found as Nat Kougi).

That's me, sitting by the desk in my bedroom, leaning against one of the walls covered with posters. That one behind me is a 'The New Avengers' poster. I found it cool, because I love comics (my hoodie has 'Deadpool', Marvel's greatest antihero, written across the chest).

I actually think it's funny, because I have low selfsteem, so I don't think I'm pretty or atractive... and definitely not sexy. I took this picture to make fun of the people who take themselves too seriously. People who think they're stylish. I don't have the money to buy the propiate clothing to be stylish, so I decided to pull some sort of parody while listening to LMFAO's 'Sexy and I know it'. I happen to have those ridiculous sunglasses (though there is no glass), and they looked perfect.

On the other hand, I had to take Photography twice because I failed the first time. Nevertheless, I think this is a nice shot. I used a warm filter to take the picture because I like that hue... and it came out even warmer than I intended.

Anyway, I like to be silly sometimes. I guess the fun is worth the embarrassment!

El Pangal

I haven't travelled a lot, really... My parents are lazy and my father keeps saying it's expensive to go anywhere, even inside the city.

If I had to name anything, I'd say I really enjoyed going to Curacavi. It's a small town near Santiago, driving to the coast. We had a house there, behind the hills that surround the town. It was in a valley, in its east basin, named Pangal.

This is what the valley looks like:

Since I was 10 years old, we'd go there every single weekend, for 8 years. At first I hated it, but when the trees my parents had planted began to grow and the entire place turned green, I started to like it. I remember we'd sleep very deep for over 12 hours each night, because it was THAT pleasant. It was quiet, the air was pure and there were birds everywhere.

It was amazingly hot during the summer, but we had a small pool and lots of water, that came from a well. After a few years, we heard about this resort in the other basin of the valley. I don't remember its name, but we'd pack some food, bathing suits, towels and some other stuff and go spend the day by the shadow of their big trees and enjoying the cool water of  their huge pool.

Those were good times. I enjoyed getting out of the pool, changing into dry clothes and sitting by some tree to draw or to write.

We sold the plot when I was 18, but to be honest... I still kind of miss it.