Ideas
I’m still fighting a mental block, I find it difficult to focus my mind on creativity. I have a friend who wrote something similar on his site the other day. Are the drugs we use as prescribed by doctors dulling our creativity. Hmm, it feels like it to me. I used to dream up stories all the time, no sweat. I’m older now, I don’t want to believe that age might also be a reason.
Most likely I think environment and experiences might be affecting how I think. More than drugs or age. Because I do know that William S. Burroughs wrote most of his best stuff on drugs, and not the prescribed ones. So many artists have “enhanced” their creativity with chemicals.
Let me be clear, I do not advocate illegal drug use, neither do I condemn it. It’s a personal choice to begin with, after that it is a lifetime struggle to manage an addiction (in some cases). I do think it is a factor in some artist’s work. Burroughs, Leary, Hendrix, Morrison, Cobain, and I’m sure tons more that I am missing. I think some of their work is amazing and definitely creative.
Cobain for one tapped into pain and angst in his lyrics and I still find them intriguing to listen too. Most of what he did in his short career will stand the test of time.
I’ve never been a part of the drug culture. Most people don’t believe me when I say I’ve never even smoked marijuana. But it’s true. Pathetic, maybe, but true. My point is, are the drugs that are deemed “safe” by my doctors affecting me in ways I don’t want them too? I’m not sure, can’t seem to find hard data on it. There are a lot of people asking the question though. I’m going to do more in-depth research I think.
Family
This made me smile when I really needed it. My cousin Amy, her husband Dan, and their new baby boy, Milo. Wonderful photos. Enjoy.
Trying
I vowed to be productive today. It didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. Sitting here alone isn’t helping. But I’m feeling like I’m limited in my options. There is nobody here to talk with, my family doesn’t understand or is so wrapped up in their lives, they don’t have time.
I do know that everyone is having difficult times these days. I am not alone in that respect. I’m not going into anymore detail than this, not here at least. Yes, I’m whining, I know that, but I feel like I need to just write this out, regardless of whether it gets read, ignored, or whatever. I don’t really care. Maybe getting this out, even if it’s just here will help, just a little.
Okay, I needed to see this today…
PowellsBooks.Blog – Contributors – Paul Madonna: A Graphic Blog.
I hope it helps somebody else as much as it did me. Keep believing.
Happy Friggatriskaidekaphobia
Yes it’s Friday the 13th. The Witches Sabbath, if you believe the Norse mythology. I find it interesting that it was the Christian coverts who decided that Frigga (the Norse goddess of love and fertility) was a witch. Another source of the superstition created by the extermination of the Knights Templar initiated by the Pope on October 13th, 1307. I don’t believe it’s unlucky, just another myth generated by religion and the church.
Friday the 13th...not!
Lightsaber Dueling Robots
Just thought this was cool.
Consciousness
Just going to write something here. The weekend was okay. Not great, I got new crutches so I’m all blingy and super quiet. Like a sparkling ninja. No, not a vampire, though, that might be cool too. God knows I could generate the angst for it.
Anyway, I was busy most of Saturday and have been pretty must uninspired and unmotivated since then. Spent most of the day Sunday in bed feeling lousy. I haven’t felt like writing, doing site design, or anything really. It may be something in the air. Allergies are still kicking everyone’s ass here.
I’m hoping that just putting something here will spark something. I spent most of Sunday in silence with no TV, music, or Internet. I try to detox from all the buzz once in a while. I hope that it will spark my imagination. It’s one reason I don’t do Facebook. But that only a small part of the media we are all constantly bombarded with. Does it help to walk away from it? Probably, but I’m not sure.
But hey, I’m not promising that anything of substance will every be put here. There is alway hope. But I don’t want to promise anything. That way I’m not a liar and your expectations are low.
Yesterday, Free Comic Book Day, and Thor
Yesterday was Free Comic Book Day. Pepe Melan and I spent the morning at the local Comic Shop in Lancaster signing comics and talking to comic book fans. It wasn’t as big as last years gathering, but it was still nice to meet so many people like us who love comics. We made a few connections which may result in more news here later.
If you’re a person who reads and is passionate about comics please support your local comic shop. It seems to me they are dying away, especially in the smaller towns like mine.
After the signing we decided to catch the new comic book-based movie, Thor. I went into the theater with a sense of “I hope this movie is good.” I was not disappointed. Anthony Hopkins as Odin was expectedly great. I am willing to over look that the film makers cast other supposedly Nordic gods in the film who were Asian and African-American, It is after all, fantasy and who is to say that an alien culture from another place would not be as diverse as our own here on Earth. To the bitching I’ve seen online I say “It’s a comic book film people, get over it.”
The film is a bit slow in places, but I think it was necessary because it was a big story to tell. My main concern was that the story would be too big and complex for the average non-comic reading moviegoers. To be fair I think Kenneth Branagh pulled this off nicely. The story by J. Michael Straczynski was a good translation of comic to film. Since he was the writer of the comic I think he was the right choice for the film.
The story is spread across three realms or planets Asgard (realm of the gods), Yodenheim (realm of the Frost Giants, and Earth (realm of mortals). The movie skips between them telling a story in each. There is war with the Frost Giants, punishment of arrogance, betrayal, and redemption. I liked the Einstein explanation of travel between the realms.
The acting is decent, as I said Hopkins is perfect as a god-king. The other actors fit their roles as well. I could probably done without the comic relief of Cat Denning, it seemed out of place or maybe added to keep teenagers entertained. I was disappointed with SHIELD, they’re supposed to be an organization that handles super-human threats. I don’t think the portrayal was fair, they had their butts handed to them numerous times in the film. If they are a line of defense for the planet I think we’re in trouble.
I’ve seen other reviews saying the movie is another Dark Knight or as brilliant as Lord of the Rings. I don’t think I would go that far. It was a good film, not sure if I’d see it twice at the theater. If early box office is an indicator I think the movie will be the success it deserves to be. If the upcoming Summer of comic book movies are as well done as Thor we are in for a great bunch of comic-based films.
Cleaning
My tiny space that I live in needs an overhaul. What few possessions I have take up the space. I try my best to keep it all organized. I fail most of the time. I don’t really have a lot of things. But what I do have is precious to me.
The other bad thing about living here? The dirt, it is ever-present. You can clean something very thorough here, and the very next day it is covered in dust and dirt. It gets everywhere and it’s one of the things I truly hate about the desert.
Saw the movie Thor this afternoon. A review of the film and recap of Free Comic Book Day is coming tomorrow. Too tired….need sleep.
Ad Inserter
