In less than five days--well, let's just say next Tuesday, I'll be having a camera snaked up my you-know-what to see what, if, anything is up there... Of course, I am scared. I am scared, not of the actual procedure per se--although it doesn't sound like a day at the beach, but of the possibility that there might be something seriously wrong. My gut tells me (no pun intended--really) that there's nothing to worry about. Rationally, I know that I am a young man--reasonably healthy, if a bit overweight. I know that the chances of me being eat up with colon cancer are less than average--rationally I know all this. I haven't had any other complaints or symptoms. Still, you never know...
Still, I can't help but worry. I can see the doctor coming into the room, his brow furrowed with concern. He struggles with the words, "We found something, this area here (shows me the picture). I took a biopsy. We'll just have to wait and see." In the meantime, I am swallowing the giant lump in my throat. How will I break the news to my family? How can I support my wife and child with a tumor up my butt? I imagine the months of treatment to follow, the awesome journey of self-discovery--worthy of it's own movie of the week on Lifetime. I see myself swimming into the Atlantic ocean toward the end. I look to the sky and shout to the heavens, "I want to LIVE!!!" I think that may have been in another movie I saw a long time ago... Anyway...
I'll keep you all posted.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
MAKE BETTER MOVIES INDEED
Ward-O-Matic has a great post about what movie theatre owners are telling Hollywood... MAKE BETTER MOVIES! I thought I'd weigh in myself as a self-avowed movie geek.
First, there is a ton of speculation as to why people have been staying away from the movies this past year--Entertainment Weekly did a great little piece on it a few weeks back. Bad films, expensive concessions, cell phone madness, CRAZY ticket prices... These were all cited as reasons why the film industry and theatre owners have lost audiences. I tend to think it's a combination of all or some of these factors.
1. Let's look at quality. Do movies stink any worse now then they did last year? Ten years ago?? Twenty years ago? I'm not sure how to quantify that exactly--although I'll go out on a limb and say probably not. I will concede that I have been less excited about going to the movies lately--nothing much interesting me. From my own experience, I can tell you that the movies I have gotten excited about in the past five years were blockbusters, LORD OF THE RINGS and, yes, the STAR WARS films. Now the STAR WARS movies were good eye-candy but not what I would call "really good." But LOTR was and is something I will watch again and again--which brings me to a central point, repeat viewing. One way that theatre owners make a lot of money is by letting a blockbuster hang around for a long time while people see the movie again and again. Say Bob goes to see KING KONG on opening day. He loves it and that weekend he goes again with some friends and maybe those friends each see it again and so on and so on. Think of the concessions sold... That's just a theory I sort of thought about--nothing I know for sure. I have heard that that is one of the reasons TITANIC did so well was that people were just seeing it again and again and again. These days, one only need wait a few months before the director's cut is released on DVD and they can watch it at home--complete with the key grip's commentary. I don't know. I don't think movies are especially worse now than they were, say, five years ago. I just think that people are going to think twice about plunking down $30.00 for tickets and concessions for a movie that, I don't know, might be okay but do we really need to pay all that just to catch a glimpse of Angelina Jolie's bare nipple? I mean, I got cable... I'll see all the nipples I want at home!
2. Concessions. They are just outrageous. Next.
3. Cell phones. This is a particularly sore subject with me. I have seen people answer their phone in the middle of a movie and then threaten the life of the poor bastard who complains. Conversely, I have seen an entire theatre practically disembowel another poor bastard who forgot to turn his phone off. In this latter example, the guy just frantically fumbled with the phone as it screamed the theme from Shaft--all while his fellow moviegoers were cursing him with language that would make Mamet blush. Personally, I HATE it when somebody's phone goes off. It makes me crazy. I heard today on NPR that some theater owners are trying to get the FCC to let them scramble cell phone signals. Wha? That seems a little excessive. I think I would prefer a more direct ad campaign. Picture this, before the FEATURE PRESENTATION, Jack Black or some other popular actor, comes on screen and simply says, "If you don't turn off your cell phone now, YOU ARE A SELFISH DICK!!! Thank you and enjoy the show."
4. Couples. I recognize that this post is less about quality movies and more a rant about what annoys me at the movies... So what. I'm rolling. Now, couples. You know who you are. You are the ones who put up the arm rests at stadium theaters and snuggle and coo and smooch and feed each other popcorn and share your one big coke and basically make the rest of us want to, first, puke, and then, kill you. Let me say this. SHUT THE F**K UP. Sit in your seat and watch the screen and keep your hands in your lap.
5. Movie talkers. Again I say, SHUT THE F**K UP!! What makes people think that it's okay to speak AT ALL during a movie? What? Tell me? I'm serious. I've had people I love run their mouths the entire movie AFTER I have told them to shut it. I am not interested in your commentary. I like to be totally immersed in the complete movie experience and when you start in with your running color comentary it kills it for me. And for those of you I don't know, shut your suckhole during the movie. I'd like to insist that you shut it during the trailers--which I love--but I realize that's asking a lot.
6. Late arrivals. This is more of a nagging annoyance. I realize that not everyone needs to see the previews and not everyone really cares about where they sit. I like to get there early. People who know me, know this about me and love me anyway. It drives me nuts to go to the movies with people--I show up to pick them up and then they screw around until about fifteen mnutes before showtime and then say, "What are you so worked up about? We have PLENTY of time."
I don't know... I guess I just needed to get all that off my chest!
First, there is a ton of speculation as to why people have been staying away from the movies this past year--Entertainment Weekly did a great little piece on it a few weeks back. Bad films, expensive concessions, cell phone madness, CRAZY ticket prices... These were all cited as reasons why the film industry and theatre owners have lost audiences. I tend to think it's a combination of all or some of these factors.
1. Let's look at quality. Do movies stink any worse now then they did last year? Ten years ago?? Twenty years ago? I'm not sure how to quantify that exactly--although I'll go out on a limb and say probably not. I will concede that I have been less excited about going to the movies lately--nothing much interesting me. From my own experience, I can tell you that the movies I have gotten excited about in the past five years were blockbusters, LORD OF THE RINGS and, yes, the STAR WARS films. Now the STAR WARS movies were good eye-candy but not what I would call "really good." But LOTR was and is something I will watch again and again--which brings me to a central point, repeat viewing. One way that theatre owners make a lot of money is by letting a blockbuster hang around for a long time while people see the movie again and again. Say Bob goes to see KING KONG on opening day. He loves it and that weekend he goes again with some friends and maybe those friends each see it again and so on and so on. Think of the concessions sold... That's just a theory I sort of thought about--nothing I know for sure. I have heard that that is one of the reasons TITANIC did so well was that people were just seeing it again and again and again. These days, one only need wait a few months before the director's cut is released on DVD and they can watch it at home--complete with the key grip's commentary. I don't know. I don't think movies are especially worse now than they were, say, five years ago. I just think that people are going to think twice about plunking down $30.00 for tickets and concessions for a movie that, I don't know, might be okay but do we really need to pay all that just to catch a glimpse of Angelina Jolie's bare nipple? I mean, I got cable... I'll see all the nipples I want at home!
2. Concessions. They are just outrageous. Next.
3. Cell phones. This is a particularly sore subject with me. I have seen people answer their phone in the middle of a movie and then threaten the life of the poor bastard who complains. Conversely, I have seen an entire theatre practically disembowel another poor bastard who forgot to turn his phone off. In this latter example, the guy just frantically fumbled with the phone as it screamed the theme from Shaft--all while his fellow moviegoers were cursing him with language that would make Mamet blush. Personally, I HATE it when somebody's phone goes off. It makes me crazy. I heard today on NPR that some theater owners are trying to get the FCC to let them scramble cell phone signals. Wha? That seems a little excessive. I think I would prefer a more direct ad campaign. Picture this, before the FEATURE PRESENTATION, Jack Black or some other popular actor, comes on screen and simply says, "If you don't turn off your cell phone now, YOU ARE A SELFISH DICK!!! Thank you and enjoy the show."
4. Couples. I recognize that this post is less about quality movies and more a rant about what annoys me at the movies... So what. I'm rolling. Now, couples. You know who you are. You are the ones who put up the arm rests at stadium theaters and snuggle and coo and smooch and feed each other popcorn and share your one big coke and basically make the rest of us want to, first, puke, and then, kill you. Let me say this. SHUT THE F**K UP. Sit in your seat and watch the screen and keep your hands in your lap.
5. Movie talkers. Again I say, SHUT THE F**K UP!! What makes people think that it's okay to speak AT ALL during a movie? What? Tell me? I'm serious. I've had people I love run their mouths the entire movie AFTER I have told them to shut it. I am not interested in your commentary. I like to be totally immersed in the complete movie experience and when you start in with your running color comentary it kills it for me. And for those of you I don't know, shut your suckhole during the movie. I'd like to insist that you shut it during the trailers--which I love--but I realize that's asking a lot.
6. Late arrivals. This is more of a nagging annoyance. I realize that not everyone needs to see the previews and not everyone really cares about where they sit. I like to get there early. People who know me, know this about me and love me anyway. It drives me nuts to go to the movies with people--I show up to pick them up and then they screw around until about fifteen mnutes before showtime and then say, "What are you so worked up about? We have PLENTY of time."
I don't know... I guess I just needed to get all that off my chest!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
SALLEY TAGGED ME!!!
Four movies I would (AND DO) watch over and over:
1. Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. A Mighty Wind--really anything by this crew...
Four places I have lived:
1. Clemson, SC
2. Rock Hill, SC
3. Boston, MA
4. Atlanta, GA
Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Lost
2. The Office (Original BBC version)
3. Survivor
4. House
Four places I have been on vacation:
1. St, Thomas, USVI
2. Edisto Beach
3. St. George Isl., FL
4. Isle of Palms, SC
Four websites I visit daily:
1. Folioplanet
2. The Onion
3. MSNBC
4. www.wardomaticblogspot.com (a friend's blog)
Four Favorite Foods:
1. Sushi from Aloha--a takeout place in ATL
2. Good pizza
3. Mandy's stepmom's mississippi mud cake...
4. Snow Crab Legs
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Fishing in the intracoastal waterway...
2. Fishing in the surf at Edisto.
3. Fishing in the Chatooga River
4. Really, fishing anywhere...
That's it for now... Thanks Sal. This was fun...
1. Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. A Mighty Wind--really anything by this crew...
Four places I have lived:
1. Clemson, SC
2. Rock Hill, SC
3. Boston, MA
4. Atlanta, GA
Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Lost
2. The Office (Original BBC version)
3. Survivor
4. House
Four places I have been on vacation:
1. St, Thomas, USVI
2. Edisto Beach
3. St. George Isl., FL
4. Isle of Palms, SC
Four websites I visit daily:
1. Folioplanet
2. The Onion
3. MSNBC
4. www.wardomaticblogspot.com (a friend's blog)
Four Favorite Foods:
1. Sushi from Aloha--a takeout place in ATL
2. Good pizza
3. Mandy's stepmom's mississippi mud cake...
4. Snow Crab Legs
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Fishing in the intracoastal waterway...
2. Fishing in the surf at Edisto.
3. Fishing in the Chatooga River
4. Really, fishing anywhere...
That's it for now... Thanks Sal. This was fun...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (INSECT)
This is an image from a story I am working on... You gotta love little robots...
Monday, March 06, 2006
LEO GET'S HIS BAPTIZE ON!
This past Sunday, Leo was surrounded by both his church family and his REAL family as we all together celebrated his baptism. It was a great day--over 15 family and friends came to visit.
One note, the gown he is wearing the same one my grandfather wore to his baptism. It was very old and fragile...
One note, the gown he is wearing the same one my grandfather wore to his baptism. It was very old and fragile...
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
SKETCHBOOK MADNESS
I had the old sketchbook out last night while I was watching television. First we watched Days of Our Lives (I know, it's a cheesy soap, but what can one do?)... This is a sketch of Victor from Days. He has sort of a square shaped head. Check out some of the other sketches by clicking on the pic...
Sketching is a great way for me to keep those all important drawing skills honed and sharp. Somehow, though, my I always seem to prefer sketches to the finished illustration. What does that say about me as an illustrator? Huh...
Sketching is a great way for me to keep those all important drawing skills honed and sharp. Somehow, though, my I always seem to prefer sketches to the finished illustration. What does that say about me as an illustrator? Huh...
Monday, February 27, 2006
ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (TEA)
This is this week's Illustration Friday topic... Thought I'd get a wee bit of a jump on this one...
Saturday, February 25, 2006
STORYTELLING 102
Another image from this story book portfolio I am working on. I am attempting to drum up some work in children's publishing and I am hoping these images will help.
My wife, Mandy says that this is too scary--too dark for kids... I don't know, I always liked a little darkness in my stories as a kid. Somehow, the stories that scared me a little bit were always my favorites. "Where the Wild Things Are" and, when I was older, "James and the Giant Peach" were stories that had a real impact on me. I suppose that there is an argument to be made that there is so much in the world today that is frightening to children, why do we need to scare them with books? I would argue that a little scare is a good thing... It raises the stakes and pulls kids further in. Maybe, I just have too much of a dark side...
My wife, Mandy says that this is too scary--too dark for kids... I don't know, I always liked a little darkness in my stories as a kid. Somehow, the stories that scared me a little bit were always my favorites. "Where the Wild Things Are" and, when I was older, "James and the Giant Peach" were stories that had a real impact on me. I suppose that there is an argument to be made that there is so much in the world today that is frightening to children, why do we need to scare them with books? I would argue that a little scare is a good thing... It raises the stakes and pulls kids further in. Maybe, I just have too much of a dark side...
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
STORYTELLING 101
This is an illustration I am working on for a story project... Really, this is an opportunity for me to build some portfolio pieces while I indulge my imagination a little bit.
I am working on several stories intended for children at the moment--all of them lean a little toward the dark side. I guess this is because the stories that really spoke to me as a child were darker stories, stories with an edge. I love the dark stories and pictures of Maurice Sendak... Not to mention Roald Dahl.
This has been a challenge for me since I am not really a writer--I mean I have DONE some writing... Nothing like this. I am also really trying to adjust my illustration style a bit for some of these stories. I want to keep the painterly look while simplifying the figures and scenes. I am trying to do more with color while I am more intentional about my line-work. Like I said it's a challenge.
I am working on several stories intended for children at the moment--all of them lean a little toward the dark side. I guess this is because the stories that really spoke to me as a child were darker stories, stories with an edge. I love the dark stories and pictures of Maurice Sendak... Not to mention Roald Dahl.
This has been a challenge for me since I am not really a writer--I mean I have DONE some writing... Nothing like this. I am also really trying to adjust my illustration style a bit for some of these stories. I want to keep the painterly look while simplifying the figures and scenes. I am trying to do more with color while I am more intentional about my line-work. Like I said it's a challenge.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
TO QUOTE INDIANA JONES...
"It's not the years honey... It's the mileage."
My body is falling apart.
First, I am due to have a camera stuck up my bum on the 21st of March. That gives me a little over a month to totally freak out... I hear the prep work for a colonoscopy is a real blast too! Can't wait!
And now, based on my last urinalysis, I have some protein in my pee so now my doctor wants me to do a 24 hour collect to make sure my kidneys aren't doing something they aren't supposed to be doing. I had a kidney stone about three years ago... Maybe the fuckers are making more rocks for me to discover later!
I am not the physical specimen I would like to be that's for sure. I had some friends tell me about a month ago that, in spite of how heavy I was, I sure didn't look it. Sort of like, "Geez James. In spite of being a total fatass, you still look okay..." I snore now, which I never did before. I have to get into shape. I don't need to look like Brad Pitt--or even that Eric Bana guy, I just want to loose a little around the middle. I'd love to get back down to 185. That was a good weight for me. Really, I just want to be healthy. Sheesh...
My body is falling apart.
First, I am due to have a camera stuck up my bum on the 21st of March. That gives me a little over a month to totally freak out... I hear the prep work for a colonoscopy is a real blast too! Can't wait!
And now, based on my last urinalysis, I have some protein in my pee so now my doctor wants me to do a 24 hour collect to make sure my kidneys aren't doing something they aren't supposed to be doing. I had a kidney stone about three years ago... Maybe the fuckers are making more rocks for me to discover later!
I am not the physical specimen I would like to be that's for sure. I had some friends tell me about a month ago that, in spite of how heavy I was, I sure didn't look it. Sort of like, "Geez James. In spite of being a total fatass, you still look okay..." I snore now, which I never did before. I have to get into shape. I don't need to look like Brad Pitt--or even that Eric Bana guy, I just want to loose a little around the middle. I'd love to get back down to 185. That was a good weight for me. Really, I just want to be healthy. Sheesh...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
WHAT'S THE POOP?
Well, due to some recent dodgie-ness in the old tum tum, I had to make a visit to my friendly neighborhood doc this afternoon where I underwent a somewhat humiliating examination... It turns out I have to have a colonoscopy. That's right, some doctor is going to have to snake a camera up the old laundry shoot to see if there's anything up there that shouldn't be. Needless to say, I am somewhat terrified.
First, a thing about me and doctors. I have always been just a FREAK when it comes to visiting a doctor. I don't know why... I take that back, I DO know why. It's because I am a raging hypochondriac. It's somewhat better since I've gotten older, but I still turn into a giant toddler when it comes to going to the doctor. One thing, those little gowns they give you?? What purpose does this useless garment serve? It's pitifully inadequate to keep you warm and it hides NOTHING. Plus, they make you leave it open in the back so you look like an idiot. Try acting cool with one of those things on. Also, I am such a fat-arse that it probably wouldn't have even been able to tie closed--even if I had had someone there with me who wasn't totally repulsed or doubled over with laughter to tie it. I hate it...
So anyway, the doc says that the big "C" is pretty far down on her list but that it is, nonetheless, something they have to rule out. We'll see. I am, as ever, an eternal optimist. I just keep thinking about those movies where the main character gets cancer and dies and everyone is sad but ultimately able to get on with their lives. Think TERMS OF ENDEARMENT or BRIAN'S SONG or LOVE STORY, the list goes on. I don't know what is in store for me. I hope this will just be another "procedure" that ultimately leads nowhere scary. Still, I keep thinking worst-case scenario--which just sucks because we have a new baby. I don't want the first years of my son's life to be about him watching me wither and die--which is probably what sent me to the doctor in the first place. I don't know... Mandy is totally tired of hearing me whine and wax maudlin over this stuff. She has enough on her plate to have to deal with her idiot husband's hypochondriosis. So, in short, stay tuned. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about in the near future!
First, a thing about me and doctors. I have always been just a FREAK when it comes to visiting a doctor. I don't know why... I take that back, I DO know why. It's because I am a raging hypochondriac. It's somewhat better since I've gotten older, but I still turn into a giant toddler when it comes to going to the doctor. One thing, those little gowns they give you?? What purpose does this useless garment serve? It's pitifully inadequate to keep you warm and it hides NOTHING. Plus, they make you leave it open in the back so you look like an idiot. Try acting cool with one of those things on. Also, I am such a fat-arse that it probably wouldn't have even been able to tie closed--even if I had had someone there with me who wasn't totally repulsed or doubled over with laughter to tie it. I hate it...
So anyway, the doc says that the big "C" is pretty far down on her list but that it is, nonetheless, something they have to rule out. We'll see. I am, as ever, an eternal optimist. I just keep thinking about those movies where the main character gets cancer and dies and everyone is sad but ultimately able to get on with their lives. Think TERMS OF ENDEARMENT or BRIAN'S SONG or LOVE STORY, the list goes on. I don't know what is in store for me. I hope this will just be another "procedure" that ultimately leads nowhere scary. Still, I keep thinking worst-case scenario--which just sucks because we have a new baby. I don't want the first years of my son's life to be about him watching me wither and die--which is probably what sent me to the doctor in the first place. I don't know... Mandy is totally tired of hearing me whine and wax maudlin over this stuff. She has enough on her plate to have to deal with her idiot husband's hypochondriosis. So, in short, stay tuned. I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about in the near future!
Monday, February 13, 2006
WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO??
Well, for those of you who don't know... Our son, Leo James Palmer was born two months early on December 12th of last year. He is doing great but I have been swimming in the joys of parenthood and have been unable to get much done--let alone post on the 'SMEAR.
I am back now... Ready to comment and pontificate and, yes, whine about life in the past two months. Currently, work-wise, things have been alternately wonderful and incredibly frustrating.
One of the GREAT things has been this site I helped illustrate and animate for Ant Farm Interactive. Take some time to check it out. It was a lot of fun and I am very proud of the result. I mainly did the illustrations and a tiny bit of animation so it was great to see what they were able to do with the stuff...
On to the frustrating end of things... I have been trying to find an art rep for the past month. It's been incredibly humbling and frustrating--mainly because I have been roundly rejected by about every rep I have contacted--well at least the ones who took the time to write me back. One rep wrote that my work was in no way appropriate for children... Oh well... Stay tuned!!
I am back now... Ready to comment and pontificate and, yes, whine about life in the past two months. Currently, work-wise, things have been alternately wonderful and incredibly frustrating.
One of the GREAT things has been this site I helped illustrate and animate for Ant Farm Interactive. Take some time to check it out. It was a lot of fun and I am very proud of the result. I mainly did the illustrations and a tiny bit of animation so it was great to see what they were able to do with the stuff...
On to the frustrating end of things... I have been trying to find an art rep for the past month. It's been incredibly humbling and frustrating--mainly because I have been roundly rejected by about every rep I have contacted--well at least the ones who took the time to write me back. One rep wrote that my work was in no way appropriate for children... Oh well... Stay tuned!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
LEO IS HERE!!!
Hey y'all! So sorry I haven't been posting these days but, you see, our son Leo decided to come two months early--I guess the tax deduction was really important to him! Anyway, Please check back often and I'll be updating everyone on what's going on!!
Monday, November 28, 2005
WE CAME, WE SAW, WE ATE...
Mandy and I spent the better part of last week in Clemson with my folks. It was great--although I was very much ready to come home by Saturday. Of course, we ate like fiends--picking every morsel of edible flesh off that damn bird! The picture above is just our first go at it. Of course, the white meat was the first to go.We had a great visit with family and friends which climaxed with a cool engagement party for a good friend of ours on Saturday night. Everyone continues to marvel at Mandy's ever-expanding belly. She is getting so big and we're starting to sort of freak out about the prospect of her getting much bigger. She is really sort of starting to get uncomfortable and sleeping is becoming difficult. Last night, we were sitting around talking to the baby (Leo) and he started getting the hiccups. It was so cute. It also seemed that he was pushing up against Mandy's belly because her belly-button was poking out. We figured out where his back is and we have been giving him little back-rubs every once in a while. It's amazing. I can't wait!!!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
STRENGTH
I just tossed off this sketch for Illustration Friday's topic.Strength is a relative concept obviously. I see so many businessmen these days who are pumping themselves up to make themselves look more intimidating. There's really no reason to be able to bench 300lbs. unless you play tight end for the Falcons.
Anyway,...
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
GOINGS ON
Mandy and I just finished playing some music for Leo. We ran the gamut--Beethoven, Strauss, Dvorjak, Bob Dylan. I wanted to play some Dark Side of the Moon, but Mandy forbade it.
To think, in February, we'll have our little dude here with us!
In the meantime, I have to finish this freelance gig which is about to kill me. It's a web-toon for a company here in Atlanta to send out to clients for the holidays. It's pretty involved and I am really sort of burning myself out.
On the upside, once I finish this, I can move on to some cool projects of my own. I just sent out some promo cards and I am waiting to hear from a couple other prospective clients at the moment as well. So, while I am waiting, I can work on a personal story I am creating for Leo. It will be sort of a fantasy/sci-fi thing... I'll post more here and there as I get cracking on it. Anyway, here's a color sketch I did for that story. It's going to be a picture book-type thing ultimately. It'll give me a chance to stretch some different muscles. It's really the kind of story I would be into as a young lad. We'll see...
Friday, November 11, 2005
WHAT THE F**K?
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city,"
Well... I guess I hadn't better move to Dover, PA. Honestly, how can anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ say something so unabashedly hateful?
From the CNN article: "In voting on Tuesday, eight Dover, Pennsylvania, school board members up for re-election lost their seats after trying to introduce a statement on "intelligent design" to high school biology students."
I wish I could say that Pat Robertson has just lost his ever-loving mind, but the sad fact is that he commands a pretty large audience of "believers." The 700 Club has been spouting this kind of swill since its inception in the 60's and Robertson is the Chsristian Broadcasting Network's--which broadcasts the "Club," chief commentator and, yes, televangelist. His "Keebler-Elf-esque" head is the one that I usually flip right past between BBC America and ESPN.
Pat needs to re-attach himself to the twenty-first century...
Well... I guess I hadn't better move to Dover, PA. Honestly, how can anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ say something so unabashedly hateful?
From the CNN article: "In voting on Tuesday, eight Dover, Pennsylvania, school board members up for re-election lost their seats after trying to introduce a statement on "intelligent design" to high school biology students."
I wish I could say that Pat Robertson has just lost his ever-loving mind, but the sad fact is that he commands a pretty large audience of "believers." The 700 Club has been spouting this kind of swill since its inception in the 60's and Robertson is the Chsristian Broadcasting Network's--which broadcasts the "Club," chief commentator and, yes, televangelist. His "Keebler-Elf-esque" head is the one that I usually flip right past between BBC America and ESPN.
Pat needs to re-attach himself to the twenty-first century...
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
WHOSE CHURCH IS IT ANYWAY??
Friends, and readers... I realize that this is ostensibly an art blog--and that to go directly from a post about the limitations of Flash to a post about religion might cause some people a momentary loss of orientation... Still there are several things that have really put a burr under my bum, so to speak, about the way that my faith is being dragged farther and farther away from what I believe are the true teachings of Jesus.
First, The United Methodist Church, in what can only be seen as a quantum leap backward from their slogan, "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." has reinstated a pastor in Virginia who had been placed on involuntary leave by the judicial council for denying membership to an openly gay man. From the church's own website:
"In Decision 1031, the council dealt with the due process problems in how Johnson was disciplined. Decision 1032 was the more sweeping ruling, saying that the church’s Book of Discipline “invests discretion in the pastor-in-charge to make determination of a person’s readiness to affirm the vows of membership.”
I am not interested in quibbling over technicalities regarding what the ruling said, or what the Book of Discipline says. To me the central issues are these: (one) that an openly gay man--every bit a beloved child of god, was denied membership into the United Methodist Church and (two) that a local pastor, acting on his own authority was the one who denied that membership and that (three) that pastor now has the blessings of the governing body of the UMC to CONTINUE to deny membership to ANYONE he feels goes against the Discipline.
Friends, this is wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Not only is it ethically wrong, it is a 180 degree turn from the UMC's own stated policy of "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." AND it is in complete opposition to everything we are taught as Christians. For the UMC's governing and judicial bodies to cave to the rigid right wing of the church in this way is shocking. It makes me scared for my church, my United Methodist Church, of which I have been a member all my life.
Jesus was a champion of the outcast and marginalized. He was someone who, without fear, would challenge those who would hope to limit the kingdom of God to a chosen few. He sought out the otcasts and misfits and those on the "sketchy" side and he said to them, (I'm paraphrasing) "Hey y'all! Y'all who have been locked out of the temple! Come and follow me." After they have been turned away everywhere else, where can they go BUT to the church?
I am a member of a United Methodist Church here in Atlanta. We are a stewpot congregation of broken mutants--gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, Baptists, Catholics, Bhuddists, Dancers, actors, artsists, police officers, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians. We are all there every sunday to soak in the fellowship and to hear the Gospel. One sunday, as I was waiting to recieve Holy Communion, I looked around and saw the wonderful, bizarre, diverse family that had taken me in two years ago. I thought to myself, "This is indeed the body of Christ."
I don't know what will happen with the UMC and their policy on homosexuals within (and without) the church. I do know that every time we here on earth attempt to close our church doors to one group or another, to quote my crazy cousin Ed, "...the power of the Gospel just breaks those doors down again."
The second burr under my bum deals with the Kansas Board of Education's decision to delete the teaching of science from its science curriculum. This article illustrates part of the reason why I am so beloved by my liberal friends for being a devout Christian. This group is one of several behind the push to rid our nation's schools of the scourge of evolution instruction. Apparently, if dinosaurs actually existed, then the bedrock of scripture which our Christian faith is built upon would crumble before our eyes.
For me, whether or not we decended from Australopithecus africanus is immaterial to my life as a Christian. It doesn't affect how I worship or how I pray to my God. It doesn't affect how I read the Gospels. It doesn't in the least change how I relate to the poor or the sick. It doesn't at all deter me from working and seeking to be in ministry with my fellow Christians. While we shout and beat our chests over issues like homosexuality and evolution, poverty is killing thousands upon thousands of people every day--in every corner of the globe. The irony is enough to make one sick.
I could go on, but I seem to have burned myself out... My bed is calling...
First, The United Methodist Church, in what can only be seen as a quantum leap backward from their slogan, "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." has reinstated a pastor in Virginia who had been placed on involuntary leave by the judicial council for denying membership to an openly gay man. From the church's own website:
"In Decision 1031, the council dealt with the due process problems in how Johnson was disciplined. Decision 1032 was the more sweeping ruling, saying that the church’s Book of Discipline “invests discretion in the pastor-in-charge to make determination of a person’s readiness to affirm the vows of membership.”
I am not interested in quibbling over technicalities regarding what the ruling said, or what the Book of Discipline says. To me the central issues are these: (one) that an openly gay man--every bit a beloved child of god, was denied membership into the United Methodist Church and (two) that a local pastor, acting on his own authority was the one who denied that membership and that (three) that pastor now has the blessings of the governing body of the UMC to CONTINUE to deny membership to ANYONE he feels goes against the Discipline.
Friends, this is wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Not only is it ethically wrong, it is a 180 degree turn from the UMC's own stated policy of "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors." AND it is in complete opposition to everything we are taught as Christians. For the UMC's governing and judicial bodies to cave to the rigid right wing of the church in this way is shocking. It makes me scared for my church, my United Methodist Church, of which I have been a member all my life.
Jesus was a champion of the outcast and marginalized. He was someone who, without fear, would challenge those who would hope to limit the kingdom of God to a chosen few. He sought out the otcasts and misfits and those on the "sketchy" side and he said to them, (I'm paraphrasing) "Hey y'all! Y'all who have been locked out of the temple! Come and follow me." After they have been turned away everywhere else, where can they go BUT to the church?
I am a member of a United Methodist Church here in Atlanta. We are a stewpot congregation of broken mutants--gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, Baptists, Catholics, Bhuddists, Dancers, actors, artsists, police officers, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians. We are all there every sunday to soak in the fellowship and to hear the Gospel. One sunday, as I was waiting to recieve Holy Communion, I looked around and saw the wonderful, bizarre, diverse family that had taken me in two years ago. I thought to myself, "This is indeed the body of Christ."
I don't know what will happen with the UMC and their policy on homosexuals within (and without) the church. I do know that every time we here on earth attempt to close our church doors to one group or another, to quote my crazy cousin Ed, "...the power of the Gospel just breaks those doors down again."
The second burr under my bum deals with the Kansas Board of Education's decision to delete the teaching of science from its science curriculum. This article illustrates part of the reason why I am so beloved by my liberal friends for being a devout Christian. This group is one of several behind the push to rid our nation's schools of the scourge of evolution instruction. Apparently, if dinosaurs actually existed, then the bedrock of scripture which our Christian faith is built upon would crumble before our eyes.
For me, whether or not we decended from Australopithecus africanus is immaterial to my life as a Christian. It doesn't affect how I worship or how I pray to my God. It doesn't affect how I read the Gospels. It doesn't in the least change how I relate to the poor or the sick. It doesn't at all deter me from working and seeking to be in ministry with my fellow Christians. While we shout and beat our chests over issues like homosexuality and evolution, poverty is killing thousands upon thousands of people every day--in every corner of the globe. The irony is enough to make one sick.
I could go on, but I seem to have burned myself out... My bed is calling...
USING FLASH
I am pushing a serious deadline this week--a ton of illustrations for use in a web-toon which will be created in Flash. In order to help the process along, I have been trying to re-acquaint myself with Flash. In short, it's been a little bit frustrating. The rewards are obvious (right Jared?)... Still there are some things that drive me up the freaking wall!!First, keyboard shortcuts are different than just about every other program I use so there's a substantial dropoff in usability. Also, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The old "apple-spacebar" zoom-in feature works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, I end up dragging a huge part of the illustration off the stage. Which brings me to another irritating feature that sometimes doesn't work: apple-Z undo. Flash will sometimes crash if I try to undo too far back... It also doesn't undo accurately.
Second, making selections is a hassle. Flash will sometimes just not select what you've "selected" just for spite. Also, making and editing multiple selections is all but impossible. In Adobe Illustrator, it's possible to make a multiple selections by holding down the "shift" key. You can they easily change colors and transform the selection. I haven't figured out how to do this in Flash yet. What seems simple and intuitive turns out to be hard as balls to figure out.
Third, working with Illustrator files is sort of frustrating. Sometimes Flash just refuses to import an Illjustrator file. It just refuses. I have to export the illustrator file as a *.swf file and THEN import it in Flash. It seems like a minor step, but it is frustrating.
About four years ago, I helped animate and design a "web-toon" called "kung Fu Kiwi" which actually won some awards. That project was created in a much older version of Flash and seemed to move a lot more smoothly than this one. I just don't remember being this FRUSTRATED with Flash.
On the positive side, The animation capability is something that all but erases all the frustrating aspects... It takes some getting used to but it's a lot of fun. Also, the html capabilities rock. I am already trying to figure out some cool stuff to add to the old website. Stay tuned! I also like how smooth the drawing flows in Flash. There is a great crowquill-look to drawings in Flash. For creating great, vector illustrations there's really nothing better.
I'm sure all of this stuff just takes more learning and more patience than I am willing to give at this point. I wish I could post some examples of what I am working on but I signed an NDA which prevents me from sharing. Maybe after I get finished, I'll be able to post some other examples.
Now that I've vented, I feel better...
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY (BROKEN)
This is the illustration I chose for the current Illustration Friday topic.
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