Fana knelt down, plunged both arms in the snow, and closed one eye. He waited, chewing on his pipestem and humming quietly, until he spotted a birch twig across the courtyard that was batting to and fro. Like a panther fattened on legless poultry, he sprang across the courtyard, pounced on the twig and heartily embraced the snow beneath it. When he threw himself back on his feet, spraying droplets of melted Russian snow, he was holding his only employee Foma in his left hand and his missing sack of tobacco in his right hand.

"I'll get dinner started," mentioned Foma, as Fana efficiently drop-kicked him into the clear blue winter sky.

"That'd be great, thanks," replied Fana, as his employee descended through the dry tree branches in the distance.

Here's the best thing I've seen yet this year... and it's from 2003. Hrm.

http://www.studioaka.co.uk/jojo/

This is why we soldier on! Check out the whole AKA site too. Thanks to ronniedelcarmen.com for cluing me in to this gem!!

I have vowed to give this poor blog some attention.

It may be the only hope for a well-meaning visitor to As Far As The Eye Can See to get any sort of bearings, and I should be throwing out more than the occasional scrap. I mean, look, this thing is gonna be frabtapulous when I can get my act together and in the meanwhile you, dear reader, should be well fed and wanting to check back often, no?

So this is what is going on: there are dozens of characters already roaming around my glazed-over mental idea of 15th-century Russia, Persia, Ethiopia and India. Afanasy is about to embark on his storied journey away from his frosty motherland and write his marvelous journal, known to the ages as Voyage Beyond Three Seas.

Go ahead and check out the original! http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/nikitin_wielhorsky.pdf is one translation; there are a bunch of them. It is crazy stuff and you will not be any less surprised by the version that will be unfolding at this website, since it takes a number of creative departures from the real thing.

Please be patient while the thing comes together. You will first notice the seemingly random collection of colorful tchotchkes that make up the 2004 edition of the site. There are xeroxed comics that represent a couple of explorations into Brick Land, and the COMIX section will soon blossom forth with other meanderings thru this enchanted version of historical reality. If you are patient, you will eventually be able to enjoy the animated version of this tale, which is only beginning to unfold in our banal reality.

To recap:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LONG-TERM CONTENTMENT:

(a) read the real story of Afanasy Nikitin...

(b) fool around with the 2004 edition of dasbrick.com...

(c) check back often, and keep an eye on the COMIX section for helpful clues to the (soon to be coherent!) storyline, which reading (a) will help with...

(d) tell all your friends, link liberally to dasbrick.com, and save up money for forthcoming merchandise which will provide attention from others who appeal to you.

Cheers

Erm, just more links today...


http://chrisharding.net/

I recommend watching first thing in the morning, in place of a bowl of cereal. It's animated for real, just like we all want to be in the AM.

http://www.jimflora.com/a.htm

I recommend watching right after lunch, instead of dessert. It goes great with everything!

http://www.bigblownbaby.com/comics.html

I recommend watching very late at night, instead of turning on the TV. Not for overconsumption, but a leetle bit won't kill you.

http://www.oceans.gov.au/norfanz/CreatureFeature.htm

I recommend watching right before going to bed, instead of feeding the axolotl. You will thank me in the morning.


more real content to follow presently I promise...

Cheers