All Posts (2161)
Sort by
I say that, not knowing who won tonight, because I left for work before it ended. But, regardless of who won, I still don't like the game.
Or, maybe I'm overstating it. Maybe it isn't dislike, but, rather, that I simply don't care about the game because it doesn't matter. At all.
Which, essentially, is exactly what it is meant to be - a game that is just a show, a celebration of all that is the NBA.
But I think it is just a chance for players to get injured, a chance for them to risk the second half of the season.
The weird thing is, I do like the other aspects of All-Star Weekend. I like the skills challenge, the shootout, the dunking contest, and the three point competition. I know there is a chance for injury in those as well, but not like in the All-Star Game.
In the All-Star Game, you get about 40 minutes of just showing off. No real defense at all. Then, that last eight minutes the teams seem to play as if it matters.
As I said before, it doesn't.
That's where I always fear the injuries will come in. As the competitiveness sets in, players really start to play. Things can get rough, and I, for one, would not want to hear about one of the Pistons being injured in the last two minutes of a game that doesn't matter, that probably has a score in the 130's or 140's.
That would be a shame.
So, I just sorta ignore the game and hope that it doesn't go badly. After all, the Pistons have three of their starters in that game, and they were on a 10 game winning streak before the All-Star Break. It'd be a real shame if any of them were hurt in an exhibition game like this.
I'll type at you later.
Sure, you can have stories that blend the two in various ways as well, but, as I started out, I'm talking in generalities.
I'm also of the belief that neither is better than the other, but, rather, that there are situations in which one works better than the other, and other situations in which the other works better.
In a character driven story, the focus is on, obviously, the character. Things happen around the character, but they are secondary to how the character reacts to and handles the situation. It is all about the character's development and the audience learning about the character.
In the plot driven story, the focus is on the events. The characters are there and we may learn a little about them through their actions and behavior, but only on the peripheral. The goal is to get from the beginning to the end of the story, emphasizing the beats of the story as you go along.
Those explanations are very simplified, and leave out much of the nuance that each type of story has, but for a single blog entry, they will suffice.
I said that each, in my opinion, work better in different situations. I think that, especially with a brand new character, a brand new comic, having a plot driven story is important. I know - it sounds weird. If it is a new character, shouldn't a writer focus on teaching the audience about the character? Isn't it important to get the audience to like the character?
My opinion? No.
Don't get me wrong - a writer should take advantage of the opportunities to develop the character, but I've seen a lot of new comics that spend the first three issues giving the history of a character, their family, their likes and dislikes, and they plod along and quickly lose my interest. They scream "Like me! Relate to me!" They stink of desperation that reminds me of those images of speed dating we've seen - where a person has minutes to try to impress another person enough to get a second chance with them. It is just too much.
If you start out with a plot driven story, though, it is more like going to an action movie. Let's face it - the average action film in America doesn't do much to develop their characters. The movie starts, we see the obvious bad guys doing something bad, the hero comes on the screen, shouts a couple of great one-liners while stopping the bad guys, and we leave the theater happy. We don't know everything about the hero, but we enjoyed ourselves, and if there is a sequel, we'll probably go see it.
Which, in a story with a brand new character, is what I think you should shoot for. Write a good story that captures the audience, and they will come back. That's when you can really start blending in some character development.
And, that's important. If you don't start moving toward character driven stories, you can lose the audience later on. That's why most action films can't make it past two sequels. I mean, how many times can you watch the same hero stop the same villains (with different accents) while shouting similar one-liners? When does that just become too much?
There are exceptions to the rules. Aren't there always? One of my favorite TV shows of all time, Law & Order, has existed using about 95% plot driven stories.
The exceptions notwithstanding, I think the plot driven stories are essential at the start, moving toward the character driven stories, and then a nice blend moving back and forth through the rest of the run.
Of course all of this is merely theoretical. When pencil hits paper, everything can change.
I'll type at you later.
(A request - my favorite pulp hero, The Phantom!)
Five Things I Ought to be Doing Right Now Instead of this Blog!
Thing the First - Commissions!
I'm a lucky guy. A few people have asked me to do some drawings for them, and, I swear, I'm working on them when I can. Sadly, being dependent on "The Man" (ie, my employer) for "The Cheddar" (ie, cash) to pay "The Bill Collectors" (ie... actually, that isn't slang, so ignore the quotes), doesn't allow as much time as I'd like for independent endeavors. I do appreciate the patience of the patrons of my art. Remember: I may be slow, but I'm cheap.
Thing the Second - Practicing my Baritone Ukelele!
Shortly before Christmas last year, I bought a beatiful Buke, promising that I would set aside time to really learn to play it. Sadly, I have not done that, and pick it up all too infrequently. I think I'm going to set aside 30 minutes each morning after work and require myself to practice before I go to bed. I'm not looking to start a new career, but if I can become familiar enough to just pick it up and chord through things, I'll be content.
Thing the Third - Working on The Crimson Scarab Webcomic!
This week has been really solid for me with writing for the Scarab... something that was welcome and shocking. I don't want the momentum to die down, so I'm definitely wanting to work on it. The starting month, as of right now, still remains April, so I want to get as much of a lead as I can, so that when I hit a mental block, I won't worry about being unable to come up with anything by the next day. Man, I really should be doing that.
Thing the Fourth - Drawing!
I haven't done any drawing since I woke up today. The concert kinda took that chunk of time away from me. So, you will also notice there will be no daily sketch at the end of today's blog. I'll probably try to scratch through something before I go to bed, but nothing fit for public viewing. Just something so that I don't get out of the habit.
Thing the Fifth - Sleeping!
Ugh... Fridays are rough. I got home from work about 7:30 a.m., went to bed at 10:30 a.m., and was up at 2:30 p.m. Four hours is not enough, and I'm dragging, but on Fridays, I try to shorten my sleeping so that I'm not up until 5 or 6 in the morning on my days off. Doesn't always work, but it will tonight. I'll be snoozing within the next two hours.
And, if there was ever a cue to end a blog, that was it.
I'll type at you later.
You know what I miss? Those little cards we used to exchange in grade school.
One of my favorites.
Not that they don't exist anymore. They are still out there, little pieces of cardboard that come 30 or so to a box, with images of Spider-Man and Mickey Mouse and various other characters touting our love and affection for others.
I remember being in grade school and carefully going through the box, trying to eliminate all of the cards that were a little *too* mushy, so as to not imply to anyone that I liked them.
Yep, I sure did.
The whole situation was nice, though. In our schools, it was required that if you gave out any, you had to give out the little Valentines to everyone in the class, regardless of your feelings for them. That way, a kid couldn't be made to feel bad about not recieving that many cards, because everyone got the same number.
Like I said, it was nice.
I kinda wish there was a similar sort of system in place in the real world as well. Wouldn't it be neat to just be walking down the street, and someone hands you a little card, wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day? Why, I think it would make a person's day.
I wish I had thought of it before now. That's okay. Maybe for next year. I'll pick up a bunch of these cards when they go on sale tomorrow, and plan for it for next year.
Until then, here is a Valentine, from me to you. Happy Valentine's Day!
I'll type at you later.
We too easily throw the word around. Back in college, there was this girl that I had a major conversation with about saying "I love you."
Yeah, one of those conversations.
I explained my stance that the words, though easily expressed by others, were much tougher for me, because they meant much more to me.
(And, no, it wasn't just some cheap gimmick to get my commitment-phobic self out of trouble.)
I guess it is the examples of love in my life that keep me from just blurting the words out. Love is not to be taken lightly. With love, there comes commitment, and in that commitment, a devotion that should outweigh self-preservation. When you love, the one you love needs to be more important to you than you are to yourself.
If it isn't that way, is it really love?
(Just a rhetorical question. Feel free to ask yourself, though.)
Love is tough. And it should be. It is truly an amazing thing, and there should be a cost to it.
There was, after all, for God.
Romans 5:8 -
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
And, if our Lord felt that having a relationship with us was worth His life, that is certainly an indication of caring about us more than Himself.
Just as in a true, loving relationship, we, as followers, reciprocate, by giving our lives to Him. He becomes more important to us than ourselves.
As it should be.
Next time you are in prayer, take a few moments to dwell on what you are really saying when you tell God, "I love you."
I'll type at you later.
(Woo hoo! Sketches are back up and running!)
Where to begin? First, let me say, Michael Tait just has an incredible voice. It runs in his family - his sister is Lynda Randle, and if you haven't heard her sing, make the effort. For the most part, the album definitely uses the strength of his voice to its betterment. The only real problem with that is that it also means less focus on the music that is behind the voice.
As a result, the album tends to sound more like a Michael Tait solo album rather than an album by a band. Not that there is anything wrong with a Michael Tait solo album. As I said - his voice could handle it. But, when I hear a band, I tend to expect more than a mere showcase of the lead singer.
The album has several songs that are very heavily influenced in sound by U2. Again, there are far worse things that could be said, but like the focus on a single voice, this is also a detrement.
Now, having said that, understand - I like the album. I really did. I was just left wanting more from it.
The openning song, the "theme" of the album Lose This Life is an okay, upbeat song. The chorus was very strong, but I found the lyrics of the verses to be a little simplistic, and all too rhyme-y (ooh, I like to make up words!) for me.
God Can You Hear Me is a song with fantastic lyrics, and is on the edge of being really great. It is a prime example of what I said when I was wanting "more" from the album. It was so close to being amazing, but just didn't have quite the oomph I was looking for. Maybe I was wanting a harder sound to it, or maybe, at least, a more distinctive sound for it. I don't know.
On Reconnecting, there is more of the distinctive sound I was looking for, particularly when it came to the chorus. A much more driving sort of beat, with strong instruments.
There were aspects of the album that were really great, though.
Heartache is a great song, with such a strong spiritual message. The music is also very good on this. The piano is great, almost haunting.
I also enjoyed Holding Out for Grace. It is a much more subdued sound compared to most of the songs on the album, but I also felt that it was a very good fit.
I was also impressed with the version of Electric Avenue on the album. I might even be willing to say that I enjoyed this version more than the original.
My favorite song on the album, though, and the one that I think has shown a real potential for the sound of the band, would have to be Numb. Great lyrics, a driving guitar, fantastic message. This song made me want the rest of the album to live up to it.
There is also a bonus "hidden" track on the album - and since the album has been out for a while, I don't feel bad about saying what it is - The Christmas Song. While it doesn't really fit on the album, it does absolutely show what kinda pipes Michael Tait has, and appropriately backs him up with some great orchestration.
(On a side note, listen up musicians - the hidden track thing? Yeah, I'm tired of it. It was fun when it was a novelty, but I'm no longer willing to listen to four or five minutes of silence to get to a surprise. If you wanna put the surprise in, just put it right after the last song. It'll still be a special bonus. When I loaded my Sansa with Lose This Life, I cut out the empty tracks, and lo and behold, I still enjoyed the bonus track. Just a thought.)
On a scale from one to ten, I'm giving the album a solid 7. There is a lot of room for improvement, but the potential is definitely there. When the band finds its "voice," then there will definitely be something amazing here.
As for next time... well, I've come to a decision. Doing these each week is starting to feel like real work instead of just the enjoyment I was aiming for. So, I'm going to do album reviews once every two weeks. Next week, it will be something else. In two weeks, though, (keeping with the post-DC Talk theme) I'll be looking at Welcome to Diverse City by Toby Mac.
Hopefully, the extra time will give me more of a chance to appreciate the music.
I'll type at you later!
(Sigh... couldn't get today's sketch scanned in. So, here's another old one. I don't think I've posted this one before. I think someone asked me for Darth Maul from Star Wars as a member of the Sinestro Corps. As for the pose... I don't know. Maybe he's dancing a jig? Oh well.)
I have, in the past, had to pass up certain opportunities just because I wasn't in the right place to take them. The biggest was probably the opportunity to move to New York.
Yeah, that's right - I almost moved to New York.
It was a rather odd set of circumstances. There was a youth ministry position at a church in New York, and, at the same time, there was a film being made in New York. I had applied to both, at a time when I was applying for just about everything in the world, just after college.
Imagine my shock when both were interested in me.
The youth ministry job was part time, and the position with the film crew was, basically, a jack-of-all-trades job on a Christian film. Both positions seemed to be willing to work around each other.
Sounded great, huh?
The thing was, just out of college, I was in no shape financially to make a move like that. Forget about the cost of the actual move, but the cost of living in New York, along with my lovely student loans, my credit card... it simply wasn't feasible.
It was then that I realized that just desperately sending out my resume to get *anywhere* wasn't going to work. Honestly, I wasn't interested in working on a film set, nor did I really feel a calling to youth ministry.
I realized that I needed to figure out where I wanted to be, and then I needed to put myself into a position to where I could jump at an opportunity when it presented itself.
The first part wasn't too bad, because God eventually led me to what He wanted me to be. The second part? That was a chore.
It took time, and effort, and there are still things I'm doing to put myself in the proper position. I want to be ready for when it is time to move.
I was recently watching an episode of *Dirty Jobs* on the Discovery Channel, and they were at the Kennedy Space Center. The focus of the show was on the Crawler.
In case you didn't know, the Space Shuttles don't just taxi up to the launch pad on their own prior to launch. Nope, they have to be carried.
No small feat when a Shuttle, minus its payload, weighs 4.5 million pounds.
Enter the Crawler.
The Crawler is a massive tracked vehicle that carries a Shuttle from its bay to the launch pad, about a five mile trip. At the blazing speed of approximately one mile an hour.
That's right - one mile an hour. Your car idles faster than that. Not only that, but the average walking speed of a human is three miles an hour, so you could concievably start walking from the bay to the launch pad at the same time as the Crawler, get to the pad, remember you forgot your lunch, walk back, grab the lunch, walk back to the pad, and be there just as the Crawler arrives.
That is how fast the Crawler moves. While its loaded, anyway. Unloaded, it can race away at two miles an hour.
Kinda weird to think that you have to go a mile an hour in order to get a vehicle that will eventually travel over 17,000 miles an hour into position.
Without the crawler you couldn't have that amazing liftoff. It is necessary.
Before we can really take off, we also have to get into proper position, and, yeah, it sometimes feels like we are moving at one mile an hour. Its a lot of heavy lifting, and it takes time. When you think about it, though, the payoff is definitely worth it.
Do what you can to prepare for launch, so that when the time is ready, you are set to go.
Type at you later.
(Note - Right here you usually see a sketch. I did complete it, but wasn't able to get it scanned into the computer. So, in its place, I've included an old sketch I did of Harley Quinn that someone requested for a birthday, right after this little explanation. To tell the truth, the daily sketch may fall victim to my lack of time... I like the daily sketch, but it may become less frequent as I try to focus on other artistic endeavors, such as a certain webcomic. I'm still debating that. It is a "wait and see" right now.)
So after seeing allthe things introduced by humans in the first 4 years of the 60's whywere we so shocked at the pace technology is going now, other than therate of morals being thrown aside per "innovation?"
House of theRising Sun is my papa's least fav. song, since it's overused and ismeant to be sung by a woman and other reasons...liked most of the othermusic...I was raised on it in the 90's and still am :P
Instead of rubbing out the unwanted spectacles, I decided to allow them to stay - call it an error allowed to slip through the drawing, and after finishing the drawing - I found that I liked the lookof the glasses.
For the next few characters, I then decided that I'd intentionally give them all glasses - I don't know whether it is just me, but there's something about spectacles on Animals that just adds to the character.
