the long and winding road...

Dear Bloggie,

I've missed you. Been a long hard winter. Have been in school trying to retool. Will be better about posting. Here's a model sheet to one of the characters for my final animation project in "Introduction to 2D Animation."



Enjoy!

Yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life...

Couldn't post, though. Too busy trying to scoop out of all the white stuff coming down. The downside is that it causes school to be cancelled, and means I have to find other things to fill my day with. BID...

Sorry, my bloggy, that I've been neglecting you. Been that kind of year. But to get things back on track, I'll start with a short diddy.

My daughter, fondly known as "Satan," wanted a drawing of a four-leafed clover a while back. Take that back...demanded a drawing. "Just draw the damned thing!" was what I remember in pressing her for why when it would be an easy matter to find clipart on the internet of clover images. Finally it came out,...she wanted it for a tattoo. (For the record, her sisters, Megan and Emily, disapproved of their older sibling "scarring" herself.) But I finally relented. I got the "greatest father on earth routine" when I'm being compliant. In another post, I'll have to tell you about becoming "scum of the earth" another time. BID...

So here's what I designed...


I found out it just wasn't for her, but for her and a girlfriend as they were both going to get the same tattoo. (Nothing like compounding my sin by scarring someone else's kid.) So her friend, Erin, aka "E.W.T.N.A."(no, I'm not explaining the initials, or what they truly say. Sorry.) got the tattoo as well, and here's how it turned out...


My daughter, who lives by the credo that children were put on the earth to kill their parents, further scarred me by telling me where said tattoo is presently located. Megan and Emily were mortified. I was horrified. What can I say? I'm just not into tattoos!

My dad has a tattoo...the Marine Corps emblem, on his shoulder with his ID #. When I was a kid and asked him about it, he told me never to get a tattoo, claiming it was the stupidest thing he ever did. And when I hear a lot of stories about escapades involving getting tattoos, they usually start with some version of "...and I was drunk..." It seems like tattoos, having your eyebrows shaved, and getting the "clap" all begin with that short phrase. Not a ringing endorsement.

Which brings me to the modern age and being requested to design a tattoo for someone. I guess some people don't get drunk before getting a tattoo, but have carefully thought it out. (And no, I'm not starting a new career in body decoration.) But I have been flattered that Taryn has wanted me to design a tattoo for her foot. She asked me this well over a year ago, and I've drug my feet. One, for some personal reasons...it seems that in Judaism, which I've been studying, frowns on tattoos, mirroring similar comments from Rabbi Paul of the "body being the Temple of God" The second reason is the permanent factor...it's there for a lifetime. And lastly, because I would really hate to do a design for her that would be disappointing to her.

So we've been doing some brainstorming, going over things that might work versus things that don't. She wanted a particular quote from a favorite song incorporated into the design, something that means a great deal to her. Here's a rough of where we are with it. Still needs some refining, but I haven't posted for a looooooonnngg time, and needed to...


After I told her of a quote I'd recently discovered for myself, she asked if I'd considered getting it tattoo'd. Probably the closest I've come to doing it.

My "quote," by the way, is something written by Peter Ham of Badfinger fame..."Don't let tomorrow be just any day..."

Incidently, today is my dad's birthday even though he denies being born on Groundhog's Day.

"Erev Tov!"

...special love I have for you, my baby blue...

One of my favorite childhood memories is of the "Beatles" cartoon show produced by King Features Animation. Love the designs to the point that I don't feel a need to caricature them myself. I did, however, get interested in the "heir apparent" band signed to Apple Records, "Badfinger," formerly "The Iveys."

Badfinger is the greatest band that never was. And so screwed over by the music industry. Three of them are deceased now, and only one remains. So without any more introduction, here's my version of them done as close as I can for a first draft, in the style of the "Beatles" cartoon show.

Here's lead singer, composer, and guitarist, the late Peter Ham...


Bassist, composer, and singer, the late Tom Evans...


Drummer, the late Mike Gibbins...


And guitarist and singer, Joey Molland...


The knock on them was how much they looked and sounded like the Beatles. Ironically, as they progressed they developed their own sound. I also see a lot of myself in Pete Ham.

"Tell me the day and I'll set you free, what you wanna be
Show me the way and I'll let you see what you do to me
Well, it's not enough to live
If you're gonna take, then you have to give
We're for the dark, mm-baby, you and I..."(from "We're For The Dark," by Peter Ham)

What I did for my summer vacation...

Hard to believe it's been so long between posts. As usual, this particular part of the year is rough. This year has been no exception, and in many ways, much worse. Mostly from readjusting. I lost weight over the summer and it's played havoc with the blood sugar. I'd like to lose more, but at present things are "plateau'd." But I've added some exercising, and some other things, which I'll discuss in another post.

So what did I do this summer? Not a whole lot of drawing or creating. Not a whole lot of "Mike" time for that, it seems. But I'm proud of one thing in particular...the booth at Oceans of Fun. I remember Jacob, my assistant mgr at the time, and I going over there to do some recon. I don't have any pics from that time...they're probably somewhere on a disc I can't find...but I wasn't very happy. Later on, I was given the tour of Oceans of Fun by Gena, one of the photographers from the previous season, and I was struck by how pretty the place was and is. One of the WF people commented on how it needed some blowups and signage, and it did. Guess in a roundabout way, it became my "baby" of sorts. Mostly because no one really wanted to deal with it. It took all summer and was a work in progress 'til the last weekend Oceans was open, but here's how it turned out...


We added some lock boxes over the viewing stations to secure them, and to also not have to assemble and disassemble each day. Here's what it looked like open in all its glory...


I guess one thing I got tired of hearing real fast was what couldn't be done there. Some things were simple...make it look like a place people would want to approach. Get working equipment. Recognize the windows of opportunity and business flow. Add a second cash register. Lastly, we had some really good kids who worked hard. They took a lot of photos. Here's Gena in action...


She's the best at the underwater pics, and did a lot to teach the others. We had some "go-getters"...Emily, Laura, Jessica, Pat, Derek, Jake, Taryn, Kayla, Linda, Lauren, and probably a bunch I'm not remembering at this time. When it came time to pull it down for the season, I gave Taryn the power drill while I ran folks to their cars. By the time I got back, she'd taken it pretty much taken it all apart with extreme prejudice. Probably a good thing, as I tended to get too sentimental.

I'm signing off on this subject. Going to get back to what I do best, which is drawing and cartooning. But I don't have any regrets regarding how Oceans operated this season. I had a lot of fun with something "the suits" really had written off. I will miss it. And give my farewell to my time at Oceans of Fun with a pic of me there at closing time. I was really happy there.

"o give it to me..."

This week began with some interesting things, mostly the aftermath of the weekend. The last post gave a sizable hint as to Derek's "facial wound" being a bit gynecological... and it does appear that way.

Last Saturday one of my male artists got groped by two drunk men who thought him a woman. And while they provoked a certain amount of rage, indignity, and incredulity initially, upon hearing how the incident unfolded brought about giddy laughter. The quote of note being, "You are one tall glass of woman!" Thought I would wet myself, considering the artist in question is built like a linebacker. He said he didn't know what to do, that girls are better trained to handle this situation. In all fairness, I'm sure the initial shock was more profound, deadening the urge to knock the crap out of them.

This week I encountered a quirkiness of texting of receiving the last part of a message first. The message I received is the heading of this posting. And I had a "What the...?" moment upon receipt, particularly when the artist in question is a 17 year old girl who works for me. Somehow I could feel She-who-must-be-obeyed's cast iron skillet poised to smite my bald spot yet again. Later on in the day, the first part arrived to something like,"...I would like to get my paycheck...but when I go to the office there is no one t-..." Hopefully you see how this was to be, and excuse the initial kneejerk reaction of my being a lech.

Kelsey, my niece, was at the park last Saturday with my daughter, and they wanted a caricature together. Here's the first version...

Kelsey is the angel, and Rachel is cast to type. Or, as I've been like to say, "...had she come first, there wouldn't have been the other two." And in typical fashion, one drawing didn't suffice, but I needed to do a drawing for each of them. Here's the girls together...


Here's the one I did for Kelsey...


We had some equipment go south this season, and the Ford family was kind enough to come through with help. Payment for this was in the nature of me doing a caricature of the father. I don't do "parents" well when it comes to employees, finding that usually they hate my guts. And I admit that I've had a certain "creative bankruptcy" the past few years, struggling to find that energy again. It seems to take about everything I have to pull it out of whatever well reserves I have left to draw. BID.

Here's how his caricature turned out...

...and him with the drawing for comparison...


I think he liked it. He wanted the motorcycle in it and he has a Harley, which I can kind of "halfass" draw. The flag thing just seem to fit. Here he is, again, with the sketch...

...although in my psychosis I'm wondering if he just wasn't missing the machete in this pose, ready to give me my just desserts. "Ghost machete," perhaps?

I find myself restless today. Must be a weather change coming. Only 5 hours of sleep and I am wide awake. The season, like a runaway train, is speeding to a crashing halt, and I'm haunted by what I didn't accomplish this year. While there was/is a lot of positive that did happen, I'm not naive enough to say, "...there's next season." I approach my birthday this next week and the last weekend of the season. And instead of looking at it joyously, I find a sense of dread looming over it. I will be the same age as my grandfather was when he died, and a sense of foreboding has enveloped me. Not sure as to how to handle this next year.

...drinkin' homebrew from a wooden cup, the folks dancin' got all shook up!(part two)...

My pride and joy from this year's Renaissance Festival, held in Bonner Springs, KS! Some day I'll have to get my own lathe and turn my own goblets and such. But for now, got one a second year in a row. And "she-who-must-be-obeyed" didn't complain...too much...

But I really wanted the bronze satyr! Don't know what I'd do with it. Have threatened to put a patio in, but we can never agree on decor. She wants traditional and I want tikis and such...


The parades are always interesting. Didn't get any good shots as my phone/camera was doing the flashy out of memory thingy. Irritated me to no end. Nothing like most of the pics I did get were of horse's butts. But this one turned out okay...


For years, "She-who-must-be-obeyed" nagged about going to the Ren Fest. "We never go anywhere or DO anything!..."yadda, yadda, yadda... So we finally went. Then went the next year. And the next year. And the next year. Then came the "...do we HAVE to go this year?..." whine, whine, whine...

"But you used to complain we never went?"

"Well, we've been. Do we need to go again?"

By this time, I kind of like going and plan on it each year. And my expectations are fairly simple...drink some meade, check out the wenching outfits,...and the wenches..., eat some food(usually something in a bread bowl), and shop. This year there was a lass willing to have a picture with me. The blurry, flesh colored border at the bottom is my wife's finger, as she didn't get it out of the way of the lens...

Best to not comment past this point. The bandaid on the nose was from a biopsy. At some point I'll tell why it isn't a good idea to tell fart jokes while the doctor is either injecting something into your nose, or cutting a hunch out. Made his hands shake. Not a good idea. Tests came back benign, by the way.

At this year's event was my senior supervisor in charge of Front Gate Photo. He brought his girlfriend, Anna, and their baby. Here we are having a "Kodak" moment...


He and I rode the elephant, and it was new for him. He got guilted into it by us, and I could tell he really didn't want to do it. As he gingerly got onto the beast(her name is "Paige," by the way) he expressed some concern as to whether or not she would go nuts, having seen too many "animals gone bad" vids. As I got on I told him we should be okay, unless she decides to rare up or something. He white-knuckled through the entire ride. It was deliciously funny. And I hope Anna posts either some pics from the ride, or the video.

This past weekend marked how close we are to this season's end. Like a train wreck, it is coming to a halt. Now we have only 2 more weekends. But two things from this past weekend are the phrase, "...one tall glass of woman!" and this picture of one of our "monsters" for the Asylum. Taryn noticed his "wound" bore a striking resemblance to a certain anatomical part. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but suffice it to say, he took quite a ribbing...


Hopefully I can post some drawings I did from this past weekend tomorrow, and finish up some stuff from around the studio.

Todah!

Of mantras and men...

It's October, and both a feeling of relief and of sadness begins to creep upon me. In four weekends the season at Worlds of Fun will be over, plus one more to put things to bed. November will signal some changes and time to fill. I've applied to go back to school, hopefully for this old dog to learn some new tricks. I'm drawing tonight, and it feels both exciting and terrifying. Kind of like getting back up on a horse and waiting to be bucked off.

But if I've reaffirmed some things, it has been to define some sort of "credo." Or mantra, amidah, code, philosophy of life... whatever moniker to be given to it. Sometimes it's defined by certain sayings or snippets of wisdom. Harry, from "Dexter," said there are two kinds of people in the world...the ones the way we want to see them, and the what they choose to show. Certainly the "golden rule" has merit, too.

W. C. Fields had 3, and 2 of which he used for movie titles. They weren't my faves of his movies. That one would be "The Bank Dick." But his mantra was simple...
1) Never Give a Sucker An Even Break
2) You Can't Cheat An Honest Man
3) Never Wise Up a Chump

The last one haunts me the most, as I still have a nagging feeling of being suckered, or played, by a few individuals. Nothing to really discuss here.

But my simple credo is this..."Like" is generic, "Love" is relative, but "Trust" is what you can "take to the bank." More than anything else in our "commodity" society, trust in in short supply. Some would even live by "Trust No One!" Sad really.

I tend to be trusting. Which is why betrayal seems to be heinous to me. In Christian society, Judas Iscariot is generally banished to the lowest rungs of (whatever definition of ) hell there may be. After all, didn't he betray the Son of God? But maybe his crimes are worse than that. More personal. He betrayed his friend. And worse,...he betrayed his rabbi.

Which brings me to...

TARYN...
Here's a portrait I've started of her. I'm drawing it on coquille board, and will probably do another of her once I get more comfortable with this surface. To quantify, this is a work-in-progress...

Taryn is someone I trust. I've never had the feeling she didn't have my back. She isn't the only one. There are several people working for me this summer who are in that category and as I continue to draw, I hope to post not only the drawings, but some things about some of the wonderful kids who shared some of their lives with me at the park.

I've given different ringtones to folks in my contact book on my phone. Taryn's ironically is "Born to be Wild," as she comes across as a force of nature. Others were given ringtones based on either I just like the song, had an epiphany, or it was a favorite of theirs in particular. Of the latter, I think Kim may be the only one from the park, as hers is the Doors' "Don't You Love Her Madly." Derek got Dexter's "Blood Theme." Pat got the "Twilight Zone" theme. My daughter got Judy Garland's version of "Over the Rainbow." My wife got 2...both were popular when we were dating..."How Deep Is Your Love" for her cell, and "Baby, I Love Your Way" for her work phone. I gave Ray, my senior supervisor the Raspberries, "Go All the Way," in honor of my catharsis at Oceans of Fun. He hates it, and would prefer something "cool," but it's my phone. My tones. And there are others. It's kind of nice knowing whose calling.

Enough BS-ing and pontificating. Have some drawing to do!