#thomas wu

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #519 - "Destructive Interference II"

Originally posted on July 21st, 2010

Story, Letters - Vernon M. Moore Art - Thomas Wu Colours - Eman B. Zubia

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: A whole bunch of Shockwave variants appear dispatched here. In order of appearance: Energon Shockblast, Alternators Shockblast, Action Master Shockwave, Animated Shockwave, and finally the RadioShack-exclusive “Galactic Man”, a separately-licensed version of the ToyCo toy which became Shockwave, sometimes referred to as “Shackwave” by the fandom and more recently homaged by an exclusive Generations Selects redeco. I’m not sure if the other G1 Shockwaves are supposed to be any in particular. He’s attended to by some Diagnostic Drones, which are often used as generic helper drones in modern G1 stories outside their original Beast Machines context. Now, I’ll confess that I’ve found the scripting in this one to be a little confusing, but if I understand correctly, this strip is positioning Galactic Man as a kind of proto-Shockwave (though they were on shelves in 1985 at the same time) who set up this “transdimensional beacon”, only to summon G1 Shockwave and fail to defeat him. My confusion stems from Shockwave’s line about “the unexpected tenacity of the target” seemingly referring to someone other than himself, so I’m open to the possibility I’ve misinterpreted things. His final remarks about not submitting to an “inferior/duplicate/Megatron” makes me even wonder if it’s implying Megatron is a copy of Shockwave/Galactic Man, but surely that’s an overly literal interpretation...? Clean colors below.

[angstmongertina]

7KPP Promptober 2023 Day 1

I'm once again pretending I'm actually gonna participate in Promptober this year. Shhhh it's fine.

This month, I may end up playing entirely in the VaLia 'verse that @teaandinanity and I have created just for fun. AKA is it even 7KPP anymore when we're shipping the next generation and also only one canon character exists still? I apologize to everyone else, who don't actually know what's going on and will not recognize the characters we're yelling about. I promise I will hide everything under read mores, at least as long as I'm participating.

Thank you for your patience! <3

He’s staring again.

He shouldn’t be, and he knows it. It’s something that has always made Nadia uncomfortable, the unsubtle leering of men who only ever wanted her for beauty or title. It’s something that he’s always known about her, that he has always poked fun at, dismissing them as lechers and ingrates, hardly worthy of her acknowledgement, let alone her time, her attention.

And now, neither is he.

Or, perhaps, he’s never been, but he’s just never realized it until now. Perhaps his only saving grace is that she’s never noticed either, that she somehow still hasn’t noticed.

And if he wants to keep that up, he really has to stop staring.

“Lord Thomas?”

A giggle, a gentle weight on his arm, brings him back to his senses, and to the young lady whom he has been tasked with escorting and whom he has been rudely neglecting. He turns, forcing a smile onto his lips and thanking the years of socializing that has given him the training to manage one which passes basic muster.

Or, at least it ought to, but he sees Lady Rana’s own expression turn stilted for a fraction of a second before smoothing back into graceful levity. And yet he almost doesn’t notice, because instead, he can feel another pair of eyes land on the back of his head, and he’s not sure if the sudden weight is relief or disappointment by his timing.

Rather than considering it any further, he puts it out of mind with a small bow. “Lady Rana. My most sincere apologies for my wandering mind. Might I redeem myself in your eyes with a dance?”

Her smile widens as she accepts his proffered hand and he fixes his gaze on it, the delight and coquetry that ought to be enough, that ought to be everything.

When he next gets a chance to look back, she’s gone.

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #389 - "One Step Ahead"

Originally posted on June 8th, 2009

Story - Tony Jackson Art - Thomas Wu Letters - Dane Eichinger

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: As many commenters would put it, this strip is “logic vs logic”; Shockwave and Prowl were both defined by their rational thinking in Budiansky’s original profiles for the characters, with their appearances in the Marvel comics popularising those personalities. Prowl is definitely based on his Universe toy, and I think the same is true of Cosmos and Beachcomber, if Cosmos’ curved shoulders are anything to go by. Anyone know if that shuttle’s based on anything?

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #321 - "Service"

Originally posted on December 26th, 2008

Story - Aaron F. Bourque Art - Thomas Wu Letters - Joana Lafuente

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: I believe Cloudburst is talking to the Autobot Clones, Fastlane and Cloudraker, in the first panel, as the two share identical head/shoulder designs and that’s unmistakably Fastlane’s black spoiler behind his head—but I have no idea where their orange visors have come from, nor the spiky grey details on their shoulders and the orange lights on Cloudraker’s chest. It’s probably artistic liberty, but if you know an existing source from the time that the art might be referencing, get in touch! I also have no idea where the lineart for the holographic panels was drawn from, whether they’re old pieces by Bourque or what—sorry, I know I’m not being much help on this one!

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #284 - "The Missing Piece"

Originally posted on November 5th, 2008

Story - Juan Pablo Osorio Art - Thomas Wu Letters - Carlos Oliveros

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

Later revised and annotated for Transformers: The Lost Seasons

wada sez: For the rerelease, only the title was changed. This strip stars Sunbow cryptid Hauler, who briefly appeared in the very first episode of the cartoon, as Grapple’s toy had at that point been planned for a 1984 release under that name. Hauler’s Constructicon-green colour scheme comes from his eventual toy release as an e-HOBBY exclusive. Crystal City was featured in “The Secret of Omega Supreme”.

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #350 - "Faster When It Counts"

Originally posted on March 4th, 2009

Story, Letters - Vernon M. Moore Art - Thomas Wu Colours - Susan Loweck

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: Windcharger’s bio by Bob Budiansky mentions that “Windcharger is the fastest Autobot of them all - for short distances”, so this strip clarifies that Windcharger is the fastest Autobot of them all, for short distances, unlike Blurr, who is faster over longer distances. Wheeljack and Windcharger end up together here, leading into them jobbing offscreen.

[mmckenzieport]

By Melissa McKenzie

As the food truck revolution continues to take over not only the Bay Area, but the rest of the country, Santa Clara has a leg up on the competition - a fully-functional sushi restaurant on wheels.

"We enjoy being mobile and reachable," said owner Thomas Wu. "Instead of being idled in one fixed location, we can reach out to sushi lovers anywhere in the Bay Area. [A] sushi truck is not new in LA, but it was completely new in the Bay Area when we first started."

Wu, and his partner, Sofian Halim, started the We Sushi mobile concept in July of last year. "[We] were both working at a Japanese restaurant, and wanted to open one ourselves," said Wu. "We were having an extremely difficult time deciding where in the Bay Area we should situate ourselves. We spent months looking for a location but none fit our needs. That was when the idea of making ourselves mobile came about."

Wu and Halim operate the truck on a daily basis, but have part-time chefs who help out. The truck they use was created to accommodate their needs with refrigerators, a grill, stove and sushi station. "We built in the sushi case with a large clear window display so that our customers can see the entire production process - exactly what they experience when sitting at the sushi bar in a restaurant," said Wu.

"For sushi, the main ingredient, of course, is rice," said Wu of the process. "We use [an] authentic and traditional Japanese recipe to make rice vinegar and mix with Japanese rice in a wooden pot. It’s not an easy process as everything has to be precisely measured and timed."

"In terms of fish," continued Wu. "We purchase a whole fish from the market in South San Francisco most of the time, break it down and season it. The methods used are not always the same and it depends on [the] fish type. Another important ingredient is the tempura batter used for some of our menu items. We use [a] special recipe to make our batter so that the end product is more crispy.”

The menu consists of many items seen in traditional sushi restaurants, as well as a few vegetarian items and items exclusive to We Sushi. "Sofian loves [the] Lobster crunch," said Wu. "He likes the crunchiness and the strong lobster taste without carbs [as there is] no rice in the roll. For me, my favorite is the Wheel of Fire. I like the overall texture and the chemical effect of the combination of seared albacore and jalapeno. I have to mention that both these items are We Sushi exclusives.”

Customers, have taken to the We Sushi idea, and Wu claims the most popular items are the Crispy California Roll and Sekiwake. "Many of our side items are also very popular, including [the] Sushi Taco and Takoyaki," said Wu.

"We run almost seven days a week, lunch and dinner. We offer lunch service near office buildings from Santa Clara to the Peninsula, and dinner service greatly depends on when we are scheduled to attend food truck events. We [were] recently accepted into Off the Grid, and therefore will expand our service locations to include San Francisco."

Visit www.wesushi.net for more information. Or, to find out where We Sushi will be at each day follow them on Twitter @we_sushi.

[uslaw-blog]

Three United Commercial Bank executives charged with fraud crimes related to fudging the bank's books in order to receive $298 million taxpayer bailout from then President George W. Bush's Troubled Asset Relief Program.  The bank has since filed for bankruptcy, leaving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp with losses totaling as much as $2.5 billion.