Christmas Movies

I just realized that I forgot to do my post on Christmas movies, and though the holiday, and the year, are recently removed, I figured I'd do it anyway instead of waiting a whole year to do it right.


I'm not going to put these in order as I don't have the time or resolve to put these in any kind of order right now. I can tell you that my favorite Christmas movie of all time, though, which is no surprise to regular readers of this blog, is It's A Wonderful Life. In fact, it's one of my favorite movies of all time in general. The message contained within the film is one we should all keep in mind at all times, and one that helps me through a lot.


Now this next modern classic wasn't always one of my favorites, but the appeal of it has grown on me as I've gotten older. And that is A Christmas Story. The story of a boy wanting a bb rifle for Christmas that takes us on an introspective look into the boy's and his family's life. And the narration of the main character all grown up is just poetic and warm. I'm convinced that the style of the TV show The Wonder Years was modeled after this movie because of that.

Elf is only a few years old, but it's popular enough to garner being played multiple times throughout the holiday season, including an all-day marathon yesterday, and yes, I watch it several times every year. I don't know why, but I love that film. I'm not a huge Will Ferrel fan as I find his style of humor most times annoying and distasteful, but there are a few flicks that I just love him in, like Old School and this movie. My favorite scene, though, is when Zooey Deschanel's character, Jovie, is singing in the shower and Buddy (Ferrel) is sitting on the sink singing along with her without her knowing. It's just a romantic, touching and comedic scene.

A Christmas Carol is the Christmas classic of course, and there are two versions I like. I can't remember who stars in the older version that I like, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the ones from the 1930s. Then again it could have been the 1951 version, I don't know. And the other version I like is the one with Patrick Stewart from 1999. Of course, there have been so many adaptations of that book, and Scrooged is another good and unique take on the classic story.



One can't forget the Santa Clause movies starring Tim Allen either. Though the first one is by far the best of the three, the second one was okay as well. The whole concept of the first film, though, was something new and enjoyable.


Miracle On 34th Street was never a favorite of mine because it was kind of boring to me, but the message in it and the whole plot of the movie deserves recognition, so there you go.


Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was hilarious, once again reprising the role of Clark Grizwald. Full of hijinks and oddities, this hapless family man tries to make the perfect Christmas for his family, but keeps failing miserably, until he realizes all they really care about is being together. Great film with a great moral.

And who can forget the Home Alone films?

Specifically the first two, the only two worth remembering. Such a clever yet simple concept turned into family comedic gold. Often immitated, never duplicated, these two are classics to be sure.

Ernest Saves Christmas. Yep, it's on the list. My brother's dad loved the Ernest films and got me into them as a kid, and this was one I watched every Christmas for a few years. It's goofy, unbelievable, and as all Ernest movies, pretty stupid, but a lot of fun.


The Family Stone is a romantic and family-centric Christmas film with drama and touching moments throughout. It's not your typical Christmas film, and many people probably don't know about it. It has Luke Wilson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Craig T. Nelson, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Clair Danes in it, and is a very warm, yet controversial film with a lot of heart in it. I've caught this a few times on cable and for some reason it just hits me at certain spots in the movie, namely with Claire Danes and Sarah Jessica Parkers' roles (they're sisters) and what happens with them.

Surviving Christmas was not a big hit with critics or anyone who doesn't like Ben Affleck for that matter, but I actually rather enjoyed it. Of course, I'm a big fan of both James Gandolfini and Christina Applegate, both who were excellent in this film, so maybe that had something to do with it. But Affleck plays this rich guy who has no Christmas plans so he pays this family (who happens to live in his old house from when he was a kid) to pretend to be his family for the holiday. It's quirky and humorous, but emotional (and disturbing at times) as well.

Preacher's Wife with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington is another favorite with a touching story and great singing. Think what you will of Houston, but she's a pretty good actor and a great singer, and Denzel is one of my favorite actors period. And this is a great story. I didn't see it on this year oddly.

And of course there's the Jim Carrey driven How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which I thought was a decent flick. Could've been better and had some weird parts in it, but it wasn't nearly as campy or goofy as they could have blemished it with either, so it gets a nod.

And there you have it, my list of Christmas movies to see every year. Not to mention all the classic cartoons and claymation features as well. This holiday season I believe I only saw 5 of the 18 listed. Man, I'm slipping! Guess I'll have to make up for it this year!

The Beginning

Well, folks, it's now 2009, at least in my part of the world, and for a lot of you it has been for a while now. I know the West Coast still has a couple of hours, but it's still close enough to call it.

So, 2008 is in the past and we've entered a new digit at the end of the 2-0-0. What does that mean? Not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things...

Sorry, got distracted there watching some of the musical performances on the Dick Clark New Year's Eve special. Has anyone noticed how much Jesse McCartney now resembles Leonardo DiCaprio? Hadn't noticed that before.

Anyway, the new year could mean a lot, and could mean nothing at all depending on what you do with it. It's another year to get older, but it's also another year to get things done. Time doesn't stand still, and there never seems to be enough of it. And if we keep letting things go these New Year's nights are going to keep coming and going with us still treading water.

So while it is just another night and another day, and just a note on a calendar (that's not completely accurate anyway), it's the mentality we enter the new year with that makes the difference. If we can really set goals and follow through with them then it could be a very good and promising occurrence, this passing of the year. It's all up to you.

As for me, there are many things I want to do this year. I turn 32 later this year and there are many things I've yet to achieve. There are goals in my life I haven't come close to, and I'm tired of the years passing by without great progress. Sure, 2008 was a great year for me in terms of progress in my creative works, and with meeting friends and all that. But there are still many things I didn't accomplish that I should have.

Anybody that knows me knows that I do put significance on dates and numbers and stuff. I've tried to overcome that to a degree in this past year as it puts too much pressure on me and is really arbitrary anyway. But I still believe in new beginnings, something that has been ingrained in me since I was child, and a new year, just like every day we awaken, is a chance for a new beginning and to do something we didn't do the day, or the year, before. And that's how I view 2009 now. Hopefully I'll follow through.

As for resolutions, like most, I've set them almost every year and inevitably failed to deliver on them. So I won't be making any resolutions. There are things I want to get done in '09, and I do have an internal list, but I won't list them at this time because I don't want to set myself up for failure. Plus some of them are personal, so we'll leave it at that.

Oh man, Robin Thicke looks more and more like his dad every time I see him... That's weird, like seeing Jason Seaver singing in a sweater vest, that's all I see...

Distracted again. At any rate, I will say that I plan on doing conventions and getting more Wannabez out there in 2009. I also plan on moving forward on a great many things through the year, so we'll see how that plays out. But more than anything I want to find a way to spend more time with friends and loved ones than I was able to do in '08, which was still far more than I did in the previous four years.

And something I really want to do more is sing. Everytime I watch any kind of singing I get the bug, and the response I got over my little Christmas carols really lifted me up, so thanks for that, all.

Yep, I'm determined to make 2009 a great one, God willing.

Ok, that's enough waxing philosophical and being all full of purpose and emotion. Let's have some fun, it's New Year's, baby!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

A few minutes early, but...

The Ending (Reflections on 2008)

'Tis New Years Eve Day, and this is a day (and a post) a year in the making. As we near midnight when we usher in 2009 I thought I would take a few minutes to post my recollections and a few other things to commemorate the year off 2008.

2008 has been a year of both joy and sorrow. Many sad things occurred, but so did many very happy things. I guess the saying is true that you have to take the good with the bad (and I'm pretty sure that's scriptural as well). And given what this year has been for me on the good side I'm willing to do that I suppose. Not that I'd have much choice in the matter of course.

This year saw the deaths of loved ones, and the deaths of friends' loved ones. Some of them were prepared for, others were not. Some were taken late in life, others were taken far too early in life. I pray for all those that have lost someone close this year as I do feel your pain sincerely.

This year I have battled with gall stones, which I discovered back in March, and several toothaches, not to mention the many colds and flu-like bugs I've contracted through the year. I actually had a gall bladder attack last night.

There have been hard financial problems at times through the year as well, but none so bad that I was drowned by them. God kept His hand on me through this all.

But while those negative things did happen, and probably more that I don't recall at the moment or have blocked out, many positive things took place as well.

Having the gall bladder attack I had back in March finally put a name to what I had been suffering for some time, and that was a relief. I knew how to treat it and what to avoid to prevent the attacks. It also got me out of the house, got me losing weight, and got me focused on other things. I found a dentist I love and began a long climb toward some much needed work to get rid of some problems that had been plaguing me.

I was also offered a job with a generous salary in May, and even though it didn't work out, the experience of being flown down to Georgia, put up in a hotel with a rental car, all on their dime while they wooed me was something I wouldn't trade. It was very flattering.

I made it to two comic conventions, one of which I set up a table and sold my first comic book. Both trips were very exciting, though Chicago had to be the more exciting one for me being my first and all. Not to mention scoring a gig not fifteen minutes into the show!

I got to reconnect with family, including my dad whom I hadn't seen in several years. I also got to meet so many people I had only conversed with online. I got to meet Chuck Kennedy and Scott Simmons, and Chuck Moore, the Ringtail Cafe trio, Bill Hickey, all the people I met from Digital Webbing, Lance Stahlberg, Mike from The Sire, and so many more. I got to sit in on interviews with Hollywood composers and directors, and I got to screen the animated Batman film they showed at WW Chicago.

It was a very exciting year, and I did more traveling in this one year than I've done in over half a decade easy. And the wonderful thing is it's only a beginning!

I fought a lot of personal demons as well this year, and overcame them. For the past four years I had been in a deep state of depression because of things that had happened to me and things people had done to me. I had lost my direction and for many intents and purposes my will. But this year I was blessed and able to bounce back from all of that and once again see the world and the future in a positive light.

2008 has truly been up and down, but for me I think it was more up than down. It may not have answered all my problems, but it set me on a path to be able to climb even further up and continue on for an even stronger 2009. I see great things ahead for me, and though I'm sure there will be many more pitfalls and stumblingblocks, I am determined to look past those and see the prize on the other side.

2008 is coming to a close, and it's at times like these when we tend to make resolutions (which are inevitably broken), recollect and look forward (though we often begin looking backward not too much later), and feel the promise of a new day and a new beginning (though we soon remember we live in reality and one day change does not a huge difference make). So with all that in mind, I challenge you all to take off the parentheses of those statements and strive for a new year without the second guessing.

As for me, well, I do have New Year's resolutions, and I hope that I live up to them. I'm not going to stress out if I don't, but I'm thinking of them more like promises to myself to make some changes rather than meaningless resolutions to mark the changing of the year. After all, tomorrow won't be or feel much different than today. So it's important to determine in your mind to make changes and stick to them, not for the sake of the new year, but because you want to and need to.

But even though tomorrow won't be much different, it really is a chance for a new beginning, to wipe the slate clean and start over. Sure, bill collectors and problems and illnesses that are with us today will still be there tomorrow, but our attitude and our outlook can change if we allow it to.

I don't want to get all preachy, but I get these Scriptures of the Day delivered to me, and appropriately, this one came today:

Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

- Isaiah 43: 16, 18-19

The church I used to go to had a saying when I first started, and I still have the little lapel pin with the phrase on it, "Today, A New Beginning", meaning that every day in the Lord is a new beginning; a chance to start over because God is a merciful God and a forgiving God.

The same can be true in all walks of life. We allow ourselves to become too bogged down with the past and forget to look forward. If we are alive and breathing we are blessed. And if we're alive then we still have a chance to get away from our past, even if that past is right on our heels. Every day we have a choice to either look back or look forward, and I for one choose to look forward.

Okay, enough with the preaching, you get the point. In 2009 many things will change for me, I hope and pray. I have to make changes to take myself where I want and need to go, and the changing of the year is as good a starting point as any, wouldn't you say?

The first change, and this one is a very, very small one, is my signoff for this blog. This post will be the last time you read "B-Out" on this blog. It's played out and I'm bored with it. What I'll replace with I have no clue. It may simply be "B", or it may be nothing at all. It may be something new every day, or it may be another signoff or catch phrase of some sort, I don't know. I guess I'll find out tomorrow along with the rest of you.

Like I said, it's a small, insignificant change, but it will mark the beginning of more to come as the year progresses. Big things are in store for 2009, personally, professionally and creatively. Whether or not I achieve them all is all up to me, as are any changes you wish to make entirely up to you.

So I raise a glass of egg nog (or non nog for all you vegans) to you and yours that midnight tonight will signify more than just a ball dropping and crowds cheering, but a real change in our lives and our world for the better. So if you have that special someone near, grab them and give them a big kiss, or if you don't (like me - maybe that will change in '09 as well?) pat your friends on their backs or give them hugs, and cherish the moment. Then do your best to wake up renewed and filled with vigor before reality sets, and the day job beckons again.

I wish you all, each and every one of you, a very Happy New Year, and I pray that 2009 will be a successful, enriching and blessed year for us all.

B-Out

Veggin' Out

So I kind of vegged out the past couple of days. Sunday I just didn't feel like doing anything, so I just watched movies and TV mostly. Yesterday, I had every intention of working, and actually did for a little bit, but my aunt dropping by and me waking up really late kind of squashed that.

Today I've been working for five hours on Haven stuff, so progress has been made. This week I've got a lettering job to work on and more Haven stuff, then tomorrow night it's over to the cousin's for the New Years Eve get together, if I can hold it together.

What I mean is I woke up not feeling great this morning. I'm telling you, I get over one thing (the toothache - all but gone for now) and another thing comes up. I just don't feel good. I'm queasy, achy, overly tired, sore throat, runny nose, etc. So we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I sent in my next column for posting later in the week, so be on the lookout for that. It will either be my last one of the year or first one of the year depending on when it gets posted obviously.

Ok, I'm getting back to work while I can.

B-Out

Doom Patrol Card

As I mentioned in the last post, the Doom Patrol are Scott's favorite DC characters, and here's the image from the card I did:


And here's it in color:

Here's the front (right) and back (left) of the card:


And here's the inside:

Like I said, not great but ok, especially for a rush job (did it Tuesday the 23rd trying to beat the mail run, so in 3 hours).

B-Out

No Progress At All

Ok, so I've had the Wannabez #2 script opened all day long and have not written the first letter yet. Yep, I'm totally being overcome with the holiday laziness. I played computer games, watched some videos, chatted on MySpace, and so on and so forth. :)

I should be taking this time to draw a little bit. I actually did draw some over the holidays. In fact, I created a Christmas card for Scott featuring his favorite DC characters the Doom Patrol. It's not a great piece, but it's okay, and he seemed to like it. I'll post it soon.

Speaking of writing and drawing, I often wonder had I become a southpaw (that's a left-hander for the uninformed) if I wouldn't have been a better artist and had better penmanship. I was supposed to be left-handed in fact. My father, his brother and their father were all left-handed, and I was actually ambedextrious as a child. My first grade teacher forced me to use only my right hand as she told my mother I would be looked down on for being a left-hander later in life. What a crock! I'm still left side dominant. My left arm is stronger and I use it for a lot of things, and I lead off with my left foot when running, and I kick with my left foot in football, soccer, kickball or whatever sport involves kicking. Makes you think, huh?

Ok, my food has arrived, so I'm gonna go eat. Then maybe, just maybe I'll get some of this script written!

B-Out

The "I'm Bored So I'll Post" Post

Well, this is my 875th post, which should have been about my 915th post before I lost 40 posts somewhere.

Yesterday was the first day since I've had this toothache that I didn't have to take a pain med for it, so that's good. It's really calm right now, so hopefully the Amoxcillin finally kicked in.

I watched Wanted last night and really enjoyed it. It wasn't completely true to the comic, but it was as much as it could be for a general audience and still be a good flick. They kept the most important elements of the book, I think, and McAvoy was perfect as Wesley Gibson. The action sequences were great as well, and it left itself open for a sequel. I enjoyed it.

I spent about two hours last night trying to figure out how to hook my brother's new surround sound system (a gift I forgot to mention before that we found for $40) to his XBox 360 and finally gave up. I don't think there is a way with the limited connections the surround sound system has on it. I got it hooked to the TV so that it plays the regular TV sound just fine, and I got it to work with a DVD player okay, just not the xbox, which is what he mainly wanted it for.

Man, I'm still tired. I only got about five hours of sleep last night. I woke up to find my brother on the couch in the loft (he was over at a friend's house and I didn't know he came home - I was watching TV in his room and fell asleep with the door locked). I woke him up and sent him to bed.

This new office chair I got is not the most comfortable. Bless my mom's heart, but the arms curve downward and aren't padded, so if I cross my leg it digs into my leg. And the seat kind of leans forward a bit, so with the arms curved I feel like I'm going to slide out of the thing (and yes, I put the seat on right - checked three times to make sure). And it doesn't lean back far enough, so there's really no comfort. I'm at like a 100 degree angle constantly. It looks a lot nicer than the one we had though.

I hope hits on this blog pick back up after the holidays. If not, I'm not sure what content everyone was so interested in that maybe I'm not posting anymore?

I have no clue what I'll be doing today, but most likely it won't be working. lol. I may try to write some of the Wannabez #2 script, but beyond that... I didn't ever play any video games yesterday, so maybe I'll do that, who knows?

I like Twitter, but evidently I don't post on there nearly as much as others. I guess my life's just not that interesting, so I fall behind greatly. I can't keep up with all the social sites, and that's just sad. lol.

Well, I can't think of anything else to talk about at the moment (see, life - not - interesting! lol), so I'm off.

B-Out

More Christmas Songs

I got bored, so here's some more Christmas songs for you to make fun of--listen to. heh. The video quality's still not great, but I think I got the sound to work better on this batch. So enjoy!

The First Noel


Silent Night


White Christmas


Christmas Wish (One I'm Writing)


B-Out

The Day After the Day After

Yep, Christmas is now two days removed and the new year anticipation is setting in. No more light displays or anxious waiting for the blessed Christmas Day to arrive, but rather a dread of a whole new year to contend with now. :)

In all honesty, I'm looking forward to 2009. I LOVE Christmas, and this is my favorite time of the year and I'm always sad to see it go. But I have big hopes for 2009, so there's always that. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I plan on doing a year-ender post soon, so I'll save all that for then.

Yesterday/last night became movie fest. I already talked about watching Fred Clause. Well, last night at 8 we watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There were a lot of things I liked in the movie, and some things that were kind of odd. The whole alien theme was a little different and a bit of a departure from the other films in the series. It still had the same feel and wit that other Indy films had though, and I liked the cameo the Ark of the Covenant made in the picture. And the near passing of the torch at the end was interesting. All in all, it was a decent flick.

Later in the night I watched Get Smart, which was also a decent flick. Could've been better, but it was ok. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job in that role in modern day than Steve Carrell, but even still he just didn't have Don Adams' classic delivery. Instead he came off a bit stiff. Especially with the classic lines "Would you believe..." and "missed it by that much". But it was still a fun movie.

I'll probably watch another today, though I haven't decided whether it will be Wanted or Hellboy II yet. I didn't get any new video games, so I may finally play Assassin's Creed that I've not played once in the year we've had it. I've watched my brother play it a little, but I never found the time to. Might be a good time to do so.

Speaking of video games, the new Prince of Persia game looks pretty cool, as does Mirror's Edge.

I have to interject something real quick. My buddy Cary's new website went live recently for his Red Handed Studios, the label he's self-publishing his projects through. You can subscribe to his Fallen Justice series, which goes to print in February, or you can buy individual issues. It's a cool site and the books are great. So check it out here: www.redhandedstudios.com.

Speaking of comics, I know I mentioned Stykman recently, but I just have to say again that if you like comedy you've got to check this comic out. After seeing Stykman for the first time I instantly thought of Earthworm Jim, and the similarities don't quite end there. It's a completely different and unique character, but some of the elements are there. Stykman assumes he's this great hero, which is evidenced by his narrative, but the scenes depicted with the narrative are completely contradictory! For instance, at one point in the first issue he says in the narrative that he decided to take to higher ground, while the scene depicts a bad guy throwing him several stories up to crash into a building. It's that combination of clever wit and antics that really make it shine. And the stories are just really unique as well. And I can't forget the art, which is as good as and better than some of any book on the shelves today. Then Stykman has this sidekick named Al, who is an alien. :) The cover to issue three says it all as it depicts Stykman falling with a set of giant Pick Up Sticks colored sticks falling all around him. It's just hilarious. Check it out here: www.akacomics.com, or in the official forum here.

The tooth is feeling a bit better today, by the way. It still hurts, and the meds seem to be working really slow (namely the Amoxcillin, which is supposed to be taking the infection out), but it is working. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy New Years without any problems.

The stomach hasn't really bothered me for over a week at least, so that's a good thing.

I'll probably return to some work come Monday for a few days, namely the APA website and Haven work. In the new year I'll resume work on a logo for Visionary, and of course some lettering. I've got a few paid lettering jobs lined up in 09 as well.

By the way, if you had trouble hearing either of the songs I sang, I apologize for that. My webcam is a cheap one, and my mic is a little tiny thing that came with my first computer back in 2002. The quality just isn't that great. If you don't have external speakers you can only barely hear Chestnuts I found, and you can't hear Merry Little Christmas at all. If I post more singing videos I'll wait until I'm able to acquire a better webcam and microphone.

Oh, and anyone trying to call me on my cell, don't. I have no minutes left and no money to buy any right now (it's a prepaid phone), so it just rings low and saws "no airtime in the tank", so I can't even see who's calling. Just call my home phone if you have it, or email me, or message me on one of the social sites I belong to.

Ok, I'm off to do... something... don't know what, but something.

B-Out

Comic Related Christmas Coverage

For those of you who were following, the Christmas content produced for ComicRelated.com was very entertaining. I got some things together, but it was truly a group effort that brought forth some great and original content to enjoy in our downtime over the holiday. From comics, to art, to special columns and articles, Comic Related really delivered. And here's a link list of everything in case you missed any of it:

Comic Related's Holiday Plans
Related Recap #58: Christmas Edition (Podcast)
Last Moment Gift Idea
Christmas In Four Colors
Eva Ink Artist Group Christmas Wishes
Is It Christmas Yet(i)?
Arcana Holiday Card
Airship 27 Greetings
Spinner Rack Greetings
TV Party: Christmas Edition
Holiday Artwork
Wild Wolf Holiday
Mid-Ohio Holiday Wish
Subculture Holidays
All About The Family (by yours truly)
a.k.a. Christmas
Blue Line Pro Holiday
Christmas Covers Part 1
Christmas Covers Part 2
Christmas Covers Part 3
Everyone Loves Christmas (Ringtail Cafe 7 page comic created in one day)

And there you have it, tons of Christmas goodness for you to enjoy!

B-Out

Christmas: The After Party

So Christmas turned out to be really quaint and nice this year. I only had two hours of sleep Christmas Eve because I woke up with a toothache, but things got progressively better from there.

I took some medicine and then got online and checked my emails and stuff, and then just sat downstairs enjoying the tree for a bit. But let me backtrack a little first.

Christmas Eve was a little bit stressful. As you know, I did all my Christmas shopping in one day, the day before Christmas Eve, Tuesday. After that insanity I explained how I had to go out Wednesday and regretted it. Well, when I got home I still had to wrap everything, but I had a toothache then as well, and I was exhausted, so as I explained previously, I crashed for a few hours then wrapped. But at some point we all stopped and opened one gift as we normally do. This year, like most, it was pajamas all around.

I was up late wrapping, past 1am for sure. When I finally got done I took all the presents downstairs to the tree. I wish I had a digital camera so I could show you guys pictures. Anyway, once we got the presents all placed it looked pretty magnificent all things considered. I don't know how we managed to make it look like that because there wasn't a lot, but it was nice. Afterward. I settled in and started watching A Christmas Story. I got through most of it, save about 45 minutes, then I fell asleep. Well, naturally they were having a marathon of it, and sure enough, when I woke up it was right at the point, or maybe 2-3 minutes past the point I had fallen asleep on. So I finished watching it like there was no break at all. That was pretty neat.

Ok, so after checking emails and everything everyone was still asleep, so I hopped in the tub and nearly fell asleep. I got out and it was 10am. We had to be at my aunt's by 2, so I got them up and away we went. Well, I caught a little bit of the parade waiting for them to wake up. But then it was off to the presents.

We always do stockings first, and they were overflowing. And if you could see the size of our stockings, that's a feat under the circumstances. Most of it was candy (Andes mints, Hersheys miniatures, carmels and other stuff), but some nice little presents. I got some Axe deoderant and body spray, a Dragonlance (Amber & Blood) paperback, and the first of my DVDs, which I believe was Get Smart. My mom got some socks, a snowman stuffed animal and a snowman figureine (she collects snowman stuff), as well as a canister of espresso cookies and some star-shaped peppermint peeps. My brother got some World of Wacraft cards, some earbud headphones and also some Axe spray.

Then it was onto presents. Zach played Santa for the first time this year and we would each get one gift and open them simultaneously, and then another, and so on. Zach had the most presents, and I had the least, so there was a little waiting in between. Like mom opened two in a row while I waited, then we both waited for Zach to open about four, then we opened our biggest gifts together at the end.

I came away with five DVDs (Get Smart, Dark Knight, Hellboy II, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Wanted), a few pajama sets (the only thing I wear around the house - t-shirt and pajama bottoms), house slippers, some comics (Superman and Action Man issues of the New Krypton storyline), a shirt I have to take back (it's the same shirt I wore to Thanksgiving and was wearing Tuesday, but mom just got confused. lol. I have to exchange it for a different color), and my big gift, a desk chair with arms (the one I had we acquired when a bank was redecorating and was throwing furniture out, and it had no arms).

Mom got a bunch of socks, two pajama sets, house slippers, a 4-slice toaster (we've been using the same toaster since before Zach was born), a makeup case (really nice silver one with compartments I found for a really good price), a purse and some slimline hangers she saw on TV that I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I also bought her some mineral makeup, but it never arrived. I wasn't able to get her any of the big things she wanted as we concentrated our efforts on Zach. But she seemed pleased with what she did get.

Zach had the big haul. He got some World of Warcraft comics, a couple of pajama sets, a shirt, a gaming keyboard with headset and mouse that was half-off, some World of Warcraft miniatures, a laptop tray, two Xbox 360 games (Gears of War II and Fallout 3), and his two big gifts, Guitar Hero World Tour Complete Band Kit (with drums, guitar and microphone), and his laptop fixed. I couldn't quite afford the new computer he wanted, so I had to go the cheaper route, but he seemed pleased about it.

So all in all, it turned out pretty decent and we were blessed to have that much for sure.

After we opened presents we had to hop in the shower and get dressed. We ended up being almost an hour late to my aunt's and everybody was waiting anxiously to chow down, so we began eating almost immediately, after a quick prayer of course. We had sandwich stuff as we normally do on Christmas, but it was a nice spread. There was potato salad and macaroni salad (neither of which I like) and there were both heated hoagies and croissants to eat our sandwhiches on. We had country ham, honey smoked turkey, salami and chicken salad, several types of cheese (pepperjack, cheddar and colby), various 'fixings' (tomatos, lettuce, onions, pickles and jalapenos), various condiments, several kinds of chips, and some celery and dip. Then there were the desserts, which included jam cake, cheescake, cheesecake tarts, a white chocolate covered chex mix, and marble pound cake. We ate, then just joked around and had fun. A few went to see Marley and Me and cried (it has a sad ending I'm told), while others stayed and made fun of me singing on YouTube. :) They actually liked it, they just made fun of my mannerisms in good fun.

I gave out Wannabez Christmas postcards and copies of Wannabez #0 (none of them had seen it yet), and they seemed impressed, so that was cool.

Then we headed home and were going to watch Indy 4, but, well, we had a bit of drama after a good day and I just went to bed. I woke up about 5:30 this morning with a toothache again and took some medicine again, then read issue #1 of Stykman Jonnie Allan had sent me. Very good book, by the way. If you get a chance, check it out! Hilarious.

Zach was still up when I woke up as he had been playing Guitar Hero all night. He went to bed about 6am and is still in bed. Mom got up about 10, and she and I watched Fred Clause around 11, which is a cute movie. There's one or two cheesy parts in it, but it's a fun family flick.

And that brings me to now. All the sales are going on now, but I'm broke, but content, so it's all good. :) We'll probably watch Indy 4 tonight (mom really wants to see that) and just chill at home enjoying not having to do anything today.

We all missed my cousin Susan and her husband Vince this year. As I mentioned before, they are in Mexico, and they had a real scare the other day. They got caught in a riptide and were having trouble staying above water. There were red flags up on the beach, but other people were in the water and they didn't know the flags meant it wasn't safe to go in. So it was a scary moment. Luckily they managed to get out of it okay, thank God, but it was a close one. Vince is a very fit guy (he's a personal trainer), and he was yelling for help because there was nothing he could do. But they're okay now and that's what's important.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my cousin Matt let me listen to some of his new songs. He's in a band called Society's Plague that I've mentioned in this blog before. Well they just recorded a CD that will be out soon, and they're going on tour in late January starting in California. They don't have a label yet, but they have been really getting out there for a while now. They have improved so much over the years too. I've recollected on her before about how they started off as a garage band just down the street from where I live now, and just a few short years later they are making waves and sound ten times better. Their new songs are really cool. It's not my style of music, but they're very good at what they do, and that's said with no bais.

The next time the family will be together is next week at Susan and Vince's house for New Years. Should be fun, playing games and stuff.

And that's it for Christmas '08. I hope you all had a super blessed holiday like me.

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Merry Christmas!

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, and whoever you're with, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas with a song...



May you all have a blessed and cheerful day today!

With love and sincerity,

Brant

Long Night!

Followed by a long day. Remember how I said I wasn't going back out into all that? Well, I was wrong. Turns out something I bought didn't have batteries with it, so off I went. After braving four stores to no avail I called it quits. The electronics department at Wal-Mart was insane! You couldn't move two feet without being stopped for a minute it was so packed.

I also had to hit Kroger to pick up some things and it was equally insane and packed. It was also raining hard and just nasty out, and people were literally jumping out of their cars and grabbing buggies outside and running in with them. And sure enough, there were only 2-3 buggies available inside the store. Then the lines were just insane. Luckily I got to hit the express checkout (the check yourself out lines were longer), and only had a minimal wait.

I was also up all night last night with my tooth (medication didn't start working nearly as fast as I had hoped). So all day today I was just out of it. While I was out and about, and while driving even I was fine. But when I pulled into my driveway that all changed. I decided to back in today since I had put the groceries in the trunk and it was still raining. As I did I turned my head, naturally, to see where I was going. At that moment I nearly blacked out, seriously. I don't know what happened, but in that instance I could see nothing, could hear nothing, and could feel nothing. Luckily I snapped out of it before running into the garage door, and I didn't leave the house again.

As soon as I got the groceries in and changed clothes I laid down for three hours, woke up with my tooth throbbing, took some medicine, ate supper (meatless chili - yeah, that didn't feel good on the tooth), and got to wrapping.

I took a break about an hour ago to clean up a bit, and now I've got one more present to wrap and I'm done, thankfully!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, though. We'll get up early and do the present thing, then we'll head over to my aunt's where the whole family is gathering to have sandwiches and desserts. We usually draw names with a $10-15 limit, but this year with things tight we're doing something we've done in past years under similar situations. It's a dollar game where everyone brings a dollar gift and we pick one. Then we can exchange with each other before opening them if we like. Whoever's turn it is can grab anyone's gift they want. It's fun and afterwards if you really don't like it you can still trade. But they're just simple little gifts to have something to open.

So it should be fun. I'm sure we'll play more Rock Band and maybe sing some karaoke. Me, I just hope my tooth settles down for me to enjoy the festivities!

I'll still be posting another song and my Christmas greeting to all of you in the morning before we head out. For now, though, I'm going to try to get some more rest.

B-Out

Happy Christmas Eve!

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the roost, one creature was stirring, the fabled Gonzogoose!

It's Christmas Eve Day, folks, and I'm excited! I have been pretty outspoken about how much I love this time of year and this holiday. It just gives me this warm, bubbly feeling inside for a number of reasons.

And because of that, I thought I'd do something a little different this year and treat you to a song. I'm feeling in the Christmas spirit, and I recorded this prior to my toothache problems. My webcam sucks, so forgive the grainy image and the poor sound quality. And I've sounded better, but I think I did alright. :)

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs, so I hope you enjoy it.



Another one is coming tomorrow!

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Slight Change

Ok, so after being frustrated half the night, I've decided to move my blog back to blogspot hosting. This won't change anything for you as I've redirected www.brantfowler.com/blog to go to http://brantfowler.blogspot.com. So it's still the same.

There may be some broken images though, so please let me know if you come across any. One is the one in my profile container, which I'm trying to resolve now.

With that said, check out my "Living Through the Madness" post that didn't go up in time.

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Just Testing

For some reason it seems my last post has not taken. So this is just a test to see if this one will post.

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Living Through the Madness

I have finally emerged from my weekend plus absence by and large. I've been writing, writing, and then some. And for the past two days I've had a toothache, so there's that.

I was finally able to go out today and do my first Christmas shopping of the year TWO DAYS before Christmas! And it was a nasty day, too, with cold weather and rain that turned into freezing rain. I went out around 8am and aside from returning to the house once to drop off something, I was out until about 4:30pm or so. And let me tell ya, I was beat! And my tooth was really hurting. Luckily, my dentist called in a prescription for me which has helped tremendously.

First I hit K-Mart and then Wal-Mart, spending about an hour and a half to two hours between the two. I then popped into the Dollar General Store briefly. And that was it for Winchester. I then had to brave lunch hour traffic in Lexington in Hamburg, a huge shopping plaza with various stores and restaurants. And I'm talking a Meijer, Wal-Mart, Target and many more within 30 seconds of each other. It was a mess.

I didn't find much as I went from store to store looking for specific items. I hit Target first, then Kohls, Bath and Body Works, Best Buy, Meijer, Office Max, Gordmans, Marshall's, Gamestop and a few others I don't even remember now. In Gordmans I was checked out (no pun intended) by a very sweet and attractive girl, but foolishly I didn't really speak to her beyond pleasantries. I think I'll make a point to go back there.

At some point between stores I was driving along and some car beeped their horn at me. It was an elderly man who kept looking at me and pointing, and then I heard it as I hit a bump. My trunk flew up and slammed down, then again. So I thanked the gentleman and pulled over to make sure my gifts hadn't gone AWOL. They hadn't, thankfully.

After being frustrated and whipped not being able to find what I was looking for, and having only bought a few small things with what little money I had to spend, I went further into Lexington to check out Big Lots. I didn't find anything there either and immediately regretted going that far.

I wanted to go even further in and hit Burlington Coat Factory, and then the Mall, but it was around 4 at that point and the weather, my tooth and the chaos that is last minute Christmas shopping at peak traffic times just did me in and so I headed home.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of fender benders and I was stuck in traffic. Now, if you're not familiar with Lexington and Winchester, KY, there is one road in both cities that is a straight shot between the two. In Lexington it's called Winchester Rd., and in Winchester it's called Lexington Ave. In both it's called US 60. There's also the interstate, but sometimes that's more trouble than it's worth. So I headed out Winchester Rd and almost instantly it was stop and go traffic. And seeing as how it's already about 20-25 minutes home from that point, this easily added an extra 15 minutes to my travel time. Not to mention I had to stop at my uncle's on the way home, and I was tired and in pain.

So I get maybe two minutes down the road and under the bridge I ever so lightly tap my breaks (we were only going like 5 miles an hour at this point) and my car just decides to start skidding and then fishtails nearly taking out three cars in the process. Yep, black ice was beginning to form on the roads. So needless to say, it was a very slow drive home even after traffic finally cleared up about halfway to Winchester.

Then I stopped at my uncle's house, which is a little more than halfway between the two cities, and lo and behold he wasn't home. Had I had minutes on my phone I would have known this, but seeing how I didn't I stopped for no reason.

When I got back into Winchester I still wasn't done as I had to head to Kroger to pick up my prescription. And as luck would have it, as soon as I parked the rain started coming down heavier and the wind started blowing harder. Fortunately, the prescription was ready and I was in and out in a flash.

When I finally got home, after maneuvering around the treat the neighbor's dog left in our yard, I almost slipped and fell on the driveway as it was completely iced over. So gingerly, I unloaded the car and headed in the house, where I have been ever since and I'm not going back out there, you can't make me!

All in all, it was a somewhat productive day. I didn't get what I wanted, but I did get a few things that my giftees will enjoy, so that will have to do. I also got out of the house for a whole day, which is a rarity for me as I'm usually chained to the keyboard. And I met a pretty girl, which is never a bad thing.

Tonight I'm doing just a bit of writing and then I'm going to crash. Tomorrow will be wrapping and then it's Christmas!

Tomorrow I will also be posting something special for you all, and then another special posting Christmas day. So make sure you check it out. It will be my way of wishing you all Happy Holidays.

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I'm Jealous!

This morning my cousin and her husband are boarding a plane and heading to Mexico for Christmas. Yep, I'm jealous.

Now, for me Christmas just isn't the same without snow (though we may not get any anyway) or without family, but I still envy being able to get away and go somewhere with nice weather and beaches and all that jazz.

They did this secret getaway package I'm gathering where they don't even know what hotel they're staying in, but it's a highly rated 'secret' resort, so it should be nice.

We'll definitely miss you, Susan and Vince, as we sit here getting pale and cold while you two get tan and warm, but that's okay. We'll raise a glass of egg nog and sing a Christmas carol in your absence. :)

Have a great time, you two.

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Christmas at Comic Related

Check out the forum post linked to the title of this post real quick. Go on, it'll only take a minute. I'll be here, ready to continue as soon as you're through...




Okay, now that you're with it, this is a call to all you writers out there (or artists) who may want to contribute to Comic Related for some content. Whether you're a regular contributor or not, just if you want to or have something to add for some Christmas reading then by all means let us know!

If you want to know what site this will be on, check out the main site www.comicrelated.com. It's top notch design with tons of great content, and it's updated 365 days a year! I've championed the site enough you should all be familiar with it by now surely. For a while this blog became a commercial for the relaunch of the site, and now I'm just thrilled to be a part of it, and am taking initiative with this Christmas content.

Generally, this would be more a call for writers, but hey, if you're an artist and want to contribute a holiday piece (keep it clean though) for posting with a link to your online gallery that's cool too. Or if you have a webcomic with a holiday strip send us a link and we'll post that too if we get enough of them.

Just whatever you want to do let us know. You can register on the forums and post there, or you can post here, or you can email me (click contact at the top of this blog and use the second email).

And if you don't want to contribute anything, just be sure to check the site out on Christmas for some cool content!

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Journey of a Wannabe - The Inspiration

And the latest column is up a day early this week! Go check it out for some awful art by yours truly and some recollection on comics and cartoons!

Click the title of the post as usual.

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Disappearing Posts?!?

Ok, something really strange just happened. The last post I made was my 900th post, but when I just now logged in it says I have only made 860 posts! So somehow I just lost 40 posts, and I have no idea which ones I lost!

Has this happened to anyone else??? That's messed up!

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Lady Tows Tow Truck!

This is hilarious! We've all been there or seen it I'm sure. A tow truck hauls off our vehicles as we watch helplessly. Well this lady decided she wasn't giving her car up without a fight!

I Have a Forum!

That's right, yours truly now has a dedicated, public forum! I had my own forums at one point, but I kept them private and now they are filled with spam and I'm taking them down. But Chuck Moore at ComicRelated.com has been kind enough to allow me a space on the Comic Related forums!

So, now everything I'm working on has a place for discussion! I'll be posting samples and other stuff there you won't find on my sites or this blog, and I'm inviting you all to come check it all out and strike up a conversation with me!

Just click the title of this post to get to the forum. It's mostly bare right now as I'm working to populate it right now. But soon it will be filled with content for you to peruse and talk about!

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Cold and Snowy

We had a winter storm advisory all through the night last night, and sure enough I woke up to an inch or two of snow. Not too bad, and fortunately not as bad as they thought (there were fears it would be like the ice storm of 2003 where many went without power for anywhere from a few hours to a week or two, including us). But at least in my area the power is still on, but it is quite nippy.

The last episode of Heroes until February aired last night, and it was a fun one. Ando finally got a power, Peter seemed to have gotten his back again, and Hiro was rescued from the past. But things look to become grim when it starts back up with the next chapter entitled "Vigilantes". Should be fun.

I just realized I haven't been getting much reading in lately. In fact, I can't remember the last time I really sat down and read. It's been a while. Hopefully once the insanity of the holiday rush is through I'll be able to take some chill time and read a bit without tons of things on my mind.

The tooth, by the way, is much better. It still flares up a bit, but it's calming down. I should be good until I can get into my dentist next year. I also seem to once again be over my cold, at least for the moment. But with the change of weather (it was nearly 60 Sunday, and then today it's 28 with ice and snow) may have something to say about that.

I'm just about caught up on all paid lettering and logo work. I still have to finish up a logo, but everything else is there. I've got some backend stuff I'm still catching up on, but you know. I've also got some writing to do. I've got a few more music bios I need to get done, and I'm waiting on the go ahead for some articles.

I'm staying in good spirits...

My uncle never did make it over to help me with the lights. And aside from the bad weather, he's having hand surgery Thursday, so we definitely won't be putting up lights this year. I should take those clips back and get my $5 back...

I've been thinking a lot lately about people I used to know. Kind of remininscing I guess. I guess that happens at this time of year though. Been thinking about my dad a lot too.

Anyway, this should be a good night to get some writing done. Fringe is done for the season, so I have nothing on TV tonight, and I'm not tired, so it should be productive. The keyword there is "should".

Aside from the articles and the music bios, I've GOT to get Wannabez #2 done. And Jason Moser has been on me about finishing Dowry #1 as well to give him something to work on. So I've still got plenty to do. I really hope I get the go ahead on those articles soon though...

And with that I guess I'm off.

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Christmas Wallpapers

A couple of years ago I used a different Christmas wallpaper for each day of December up to Christmas. I'm not doing that this year, but I still looked around and found some cool ones I thought I'd share.

First up, some I've posted here before:



Now, here are some I found recently that I thought were pretty cool.







And then this last one gets an honorable mention because it's so twisted.


I haven't decided which one I'm going to use yet, though the Yoda one and the Nightmare Before Christmas one are contenders.

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Jazma Interview!

Click the title of this post to read an interview I did for Jazma Online. I was asked several questions about Wannabez and the interview went live tonight!

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Surviving

As I type this I am clenching my mouth shut because I have a severe toothache. It's a back lower molar that just needs to come out, and this is the worst it's been. It's flared up a couple of times, but not too bad and not for too long. I'm all too familiar with the way it feels tonight. It will probably give me trouble for a few days at least. I won't be able to get into my dentist until well after Christmas, so I'm hoping Advil or Aleve will do the trick.

Las night I had a gall bladder attack. Not the worst one I've had, but not the mildest either. It woke me up and kept me up, but it passed thankfully.

Though the thermostat in the house reads 73 it is so cold in my room, and now my throat is once again raw and it hurts to swallow. Just days after I had thought myself over that nasty cold too.

But I'm surviving. I managed to get some work done last night and into this morning and early afternoon. And I've been looking into some other things as well.

I won't be starting those things I mentioned until next week because they require a bit of effort and preparation on my part, and I'm just not up to it at the moment.

My uncle didn't make it over to help with the lights again today, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow, but cloudy, so it may not make a difference. But as I mentioned before, after that it's a few days of rain, then it will be only one week until Christmas, and there won't be much point in putting up lights then.

Tonight is the Ultimate Fighter finale. I've watched Ultimate Fighter since season one and really got into MMA/UFC at that point. I'm pulling for a couple of favorites, but we'll see what happens. I'm going to tape it as I don't feel like watching it with the pain. I tend to tense up when watching it anticipating moves and such, and that just wouldn't be good when I'm trying to relax to get rid of this toothache.

I may be writing a lot here pretty soon. Not on this blog, and not scripts or novels, but articles. I'll fill you in when the time comes. I will be writing two comic scripts pretty intensely before the end of the year though, and next year I am going forward with the novel. Jason, we'll definitely have to keep each other motivated on our writing efforts in 2009.

Speaking of Jason, who lives in Australia, I was watching Transformers earlier tonight and the Aussie chick hacker's accent really appealed to me for some reason. Could be because she's very attractive as well, I don't know. I'm just sayin'.

I've now been up for 22 hours straight. I tried to sleep this morning, and again a couple of hours ago, both times to no avail. My eyes are so heavy it's hard to even focus on the screen, but right now laying down makes my tooth hurt worse, so up I am.

And on that note, I guess I better figure out some way to relax and get this to ease down.

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I Should Really Be Working

That's not to say I haven't worked today, but I should be working instead of posting 5 posts to the blog today.

I have been on the computer since midnight last night, non-stop, yet I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. That's not true as I did accomplish some stuff, but it's just one of those days where everything is going slow and nothing's clicking just right.

Usually Fridays are the good, relaxing day that launches you into the weekend, but this Friday feels like a Monday to me. Maybe that will explain my seeming split personalities exhibited in the various posts today, I don't know. Maybe I'm just looking for some reasonable explanation as to why I'm being a total spaz today.

As for work, I have finally dug my way out of a mountain of Haven emails and work, but I'm only about half done with all that had built up.

I am eight pages deep into En Garde! and it's coming out quite nicely so far.

Tomorrow I will finish the Visionary submission pages, at least the first draft of them.

I'm also going to send some variations off to True West.

I may work on a variation of the Jesse Roland banner I posted a few posts earlier this weekend, but that's only time permitting.

I hope to make headway on a logo that has kept me stumped.

Genesis #2 is giving me problems and I'm waiting to hear back from the writer for a bail out.

Venger #2 I'm still far behind on sadly.

I just received the pages for the next installment of Ellium yesterday, so I've got that now.

Sadly, a lot of this work I've already been paid for, or it's backend, or a trade off, but it's work, and work that I'm more than willing to do for one reason or another.

Outside of work, I have also updated the sidebar a little, though it won't be noticeable. I cleaned up and updated my ComicSpace page, and even added a new gallery. And I applied for a few jobs, but haven't heard back about those yet.

At 2 I have to pick up my brother and get food. Then I'll probably take a nap as I've been up all night and my eyes are already burning.

Sometime this weekend we may finally put lights on the house, but only if my uncle has free time (he's the one with the ladder and the know-how). If not, I'm going to just forget about it as it will be pointless.

It has been really cold here the past couple of days, with freezing rain and low temps. This weekend it's supposed to warm up a little, but back to raining Monday.

I say this every year, but next year I'm writing a novel. I don't care if I have to hole myself up in a room for three months, I'm writing a novel. It's long overdue, and my prose skills are going to go away if I don't start using them.

And now I've run out of things to say finally, so I'm going to work for ten minutes, get dressed, and then head out to pick up my bro.

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Down, But Not Desperate

I am having a bad day today. I am just running off at the mouth, spilling out my guts when I shouldn't. I am trying to keep my dignity about me, but I haven't done such a great job of it today.

Someone recently told me they could smell my desperation all the way where they lived, and they're right! There's no excuse for that, and it sickens me that that's what people might be seeing from my posts about work for Christmas money and such.

I've been blessed this year, and it's been a better year than the past half a decade. I'm not where I want or need to be in a number of areas right now, but I can't forget what good came of this year for me.

With that said, I apologize to all of you who for losing sight of things for a moment of weakness. I just wanted things to go well for my family who have seen more than their share of disappointments over the years. I know what has to be done, and that's all there is to it.

On that note, I'm off again, but I'll be back. I'm going to launch that thing I talked about either today or tomorrow just for the fun of it. Heck, I may launch two things I have in mind. I need to jolt myself out of this horrid day and jump back into the holiday spirit.

Cheers.

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Slow Load Times?

Is my blog loading slow for anyone? I have put too much stuff on it? Please let me know. It slows my browser up at an alarming rate!

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Slow Load Times?

Is my blog loading slow for anyone? I have put too much stuff on it? Please let me know. It slows my browser up at an alarming rate!

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Some Recent Work

I figured I'd share some of my recent work for lack of anything better to post about this morning.

Here's a banner I did up for Haven. Simple, but effective.

And here's a banner I did for a blog discussing the current state of America. All the art is original digital art by yours truly. It's supposed to fade into the forthcoming white background of the blog, hence the fade into white, in case you were wondering.

Here's another piece of original digital art based on a reference pic, that will be used for a comic company logo.

And here's a logo I did for a film company.

Sorry, I can't show any lettering right now as I haven't acquired permission to yet. When I do I'll post it on the Comic Related forum thread where the Zombie Cop stuff is.

I'm trying to wrap up a couple of things today, but I'll try to post again later. I mentioned starting something on here last week, and I hope I'll have time to get that started today, but we'll see. It may have to wait until next week, or even after Christmas.

Remember, more of my samples can be found at www.gonzogoose.com!

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Still Here

I've been trying to catch up on work from when I was sick, and I've made a lot of headway. There are still just a couple of things I'm behind on that I hope to catch up today, but other than that everything is flowing along swimmingly.

You may notice the new banner up top. It's a PW ad in hopes to gain some extra cash through it. The buttons in the sidebar have done really well (the square, not so much), but obviously the payout is pretty low as the min. bid is $0 on those. So I've been trying to do a little more. We'll see how that works and how intrusive it becomes when it changes from Wannabez to something not linked to me and my stuff.

I've been scouring messageboards and freelance sites trying to find some extra jobs to get some Christmas cash, but as of yet I've been unsuccessful. There are plenty of jobs, but either their beyond my expertise, someone else gets chosen, or the pay just isn't good enough to justify the work. It's a shame this huge lettering gig I have starting next year sometime doesn't get an early start!

Though I'm currently working on a couple of graphic novel projects, the pay is on a completion schedule, so it's not upfront, and the bulk of it will come after Christmas, which doesn't really help me all that much at the moment. But hey, at least I'll have some money coming in the new year.

What little money I had set back for Christmas is steadily dwindling away on groceries and gas, and I have yet to buy the first gift! In fact, none of us have bought any gifts yet! Two weeks to Christmas and nada. It's hard because what my brother wants and needs will take up the bulk of what I have (or more), and so I'm not sure what route to go. I keep hoping some job will come up that will take care of it. We'll see.

I've said this before, but I know Christmas isn't about the gifts, and I could really care less if I get anything honestly. I just LOVE giving and seeing faces on Christmas morning when it's beyond expectations. It just gives me great joy to make that happen. But every year that it's been tight we've somehow been blessed to make it work, so I still believe things will work out...

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'd be doing a post about Christmas movies soon. Did I already do that once? I can't remember, but I do recall talking about a couple of specific Christmas movies, and I don't want to be redundant or bore you all if I've already discussed the topic. So let me know!

With that said, I better get back to work.

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Wannabez #0 Still Available

I am still sitting on plenty of copies of Wannabez #0, so please purchase a copy for yourself, your children, a loved one, a friend, or all of the above! :) Help a friend out at Christmastime and purchase your very own copy of the very funny Wannabez #0!

Seriously, I really want to move these and get these out there. We're in two retailers now and are carried by a distributor, but as I said, I still have plenty of copies to unload. They're $3.95 + S&H within the US, which I know is a hefty price, but may soon be the standard. Paypal me (sidebar).

Thanks for supporting an independent comic creator, I hope you enjoy the book that I know you will all now purchase! :D



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Back!

Well, I got the site back up for now. Hopefully it won't be hacked again. I'll be changing my password later on tonight or tomorrow. Stupid hackers.

HIJACKED!

My website has been hijacked, which might explain my hits this week. I just discovered this. I'm working to fix it.

Numbers Tanked!

Well, I'm hoping this is due to the holidays and people being busy, and not because of the content on the blog, but numbers really took a nosedive this week. I had close to 8,000 hits last week and only an amazingly low 252 this week!

Please let me know if it's my posts that caused the drop and let me know what you want to read about so I don't bore everyone to tears! If it is the holidays then that's cool and certainly understandable.

Regardless, thanks for reading, I really appreciate your support!

Numbers Tanked!

Well, I'm hoping this is due to the holidays and people being busy, and not because of the content on the blog, but numbers really took a nosedive this week. I had close to 8,000 hits last week and only an amazingly low 252 this week!

Please let me know if it's my posts that caused the drop and let me know what you want to read about so I don't bore everyone to tears! If it is the holidays then that's cool and certainly understandable.

Regardless, thanks for reading, I really appreciate your support!

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Missed My Signing

Well, Friday night and into early Saturday morning I got really, really sick. I think I've got a touch of the flu to be honest. Scott thinks it's from my work/sleep schedule, but I think added to that and some stress, I have a draft in my bedroom that keeps it pretty chilly in there. But whatever the cause, I got no sleep at all Friday night, kept getting hot flashes and cold chills, had some serioue nasuea if you know what I mean, and felt like I was going to pass out every time I stood up.

Saturday morning I tried to stop Scott from coming, but he didn't get the message in time and came anyway. And with the weather we were having and a couple of accidents on the way, it took him three hours to make an hour and a half trip! Then he refused to take the gas money I offered, and he brought me a Christmas present (Incredible Hulk DVD!)! So needless to say I felt really bad.

I hated missing, I really did. I also missed seeing Chuck, the Ringtail Cafe crew, and Paul of CBW again, which bummed me out. And I'm still pretty sick. Aside from checking my email to get a report from Scott of the signing (which you can read here), I haven't even been on the computer. I've been in bed since Scott left the house yesterday around lunchtime save for a hot bath this morning to get warm and soothe my muscles.

I'm really sorry I missed anyone who came by to show their support. We're going to try to do another one there in March or April, so stay tuned.

As for today, while I've got the strength to be on here I'm going to try to get some of the stuff I said I was going to get done today done. I'm at the very least rested today, which is something I couldn't say yesterday. My throat's not quite as sore either, though I still sound bad and it still hurts a bit. So hopefully I'll be able to accomplish something.

You know, there's only been one year in probably the last decade I haven't gotten sick close to or during Christmas. I'm a pretty healthy guy, the gall stones and seasonal allergies aside, but during December I'm a magnet for every cold or flu that decides to come around. Ugh.

Well I think I've used up enough of my momentary uprightness blabbing away, so I'm off.

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Out Til Sunday

Well, I'm about to head to bed so I can get up early tomorrow. Scott will be here between 10:30 and 11, and the signing starts at 1. It's already almost 3am, so I need to get some rest even though I'm not really tired.

I may take my brother's laptop with me to do some work on the way, but it doesn't have all the programs I need, so I'll be limited. If Scott brings his digital camera, though, I may upload some photos on the way home and post them on the Wannabez blog and maybe here too.

We're supposed to go out to eat after the signing with Scott's wife and a couple of his friends from work, then I'll be heading home for some rest. I'll resume work Sunday some, then back hard at it Monday of course.

For any clients reading this blog, here's a tentative timetable for when you can expect something from me:

Corrective Measures #8 High-Res Files - In about 20 minutes
The Supremacy Cover and Int. Cover Corrections - Sunday first thing.
En Garde Pages 6 and 7, and Corrections to 1-5 - Sunday sometime.
Emptied Graves - Sunday evening
Genesis #2 - Tuesday
Tainted Pages 64-67 - Sunday/Monday
True West Stuff - Tuesday
Visionary Project - Tuesday/Wednesday
Visionary Logo - Next Friday
APA Website - Next Weekend
Wannabez #2 - Dec. 20th or Sooner
Music Artist Bios - Some Monday and then more flowing in throughout the week.
Anything Else - Ask Me

Those are the main priorities right now, so we'll see how that all goes.

Okay, it's after 3, Into the Blue just went off, and I need to hit the hay, so til Saturday night or Sunday morning...

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Journey of a Wannabe - Back at the Beginning

The new installment of my column is up! Click the title of this post to read it!

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Where I've Been

Allow me to apologize for my absence the past couple of days, I think I'm coming down with something. I've been pretty sick to the point of pretty much staying in bed all day Wednesday and Thursday. Heh, I think I told someone I had been out all day today, which was kind of true. I was out... like a light!

Last night I finally got up and at 'em and got out of the house for a few minutes, then returned to working, which I'm still doing at the moment. Of course, Saturday I probably won't get any work done, but I plan on working as much as I can Sunday.

Saturday I'll be in Florence, KY participating in my first signing! It's a little exciting, but at the same time a little intimidating. Hopefully we'll have a good turn out. I know we're supposed to get snow, but I don't think there's supposed to be any accumulation. Of course, that's here. Where I'm going is an hour north, so I don't know.

Early next week my uncle's going to come help me hang Christmas lights on the house provided I can get the outdoor outlets working. I've never hung lights before, and I don't have a ladder, so I had to call on some assistance.

I do believe here real soon I'm going to announce a little project/experiment. Just something fun that might bring in some pocket change. I'm not quite ready yet, but be looking for that probably by next week at the latest.

I'm also going to make a post about Christmas movies soon just because I love Christmas movies. I just watched Elf again the other day, and The Santa Clause and a couple of others have already been playing multiple times.

Don't forget that the next installment of my column will go up sometime today!

In what little spare time I have I've discovered that I'm pretty good at the online Wheel of Fortune game at www.wheeloffortune.com. I've only played it like 6 times and just discovered it a couple of days ago, but I'm scoring better than 97% of the recent players. :) Yep, I'm a sad, sad man. lol.

Well, I guess I better get back to it before I get too tired to continue or start feeling bad again. I just hope I can hold it together Saturday!

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Wannabez Signing Press Release

The official press release for the upcoming Wannabez signing is now up at the Wannabez Blog (click the title of this post)!

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Work Progress

My sleep schedule is soooo off! I am sleeping a decent amount of hours, but I'm going to bed at a different time every day and it's throwing me off.

Right now I'm sharing my computer with my little brother and we keep on trying to alternate so that while one of us is asleep the other one is up. The problem is we both keep going to bed at different times, and so inevitably he gets up before I'm done and vice versa.

Granted, my work takes precedence, but with everything he's gone through recently I'm trying to compromise.

That said, work progress has been slow since Thanksgiving. I finished Corrective Measures #9 and am awaiting pages from #10. I did not complete Venger #2 before Thanksgiving as I had hoped, and have not made much progress thus far.

Really my focus has been on a writing project and lettering En Garde, which needs some additions to pages already complete, and some finishing touches on the last two pages I have currently.

It's around 4:30 am as I type this and my brother will be up soon (he went to bed around 8:30 last night) and I'm getting tired (I got up around 2:30 yesterday afternoon), but I have not accomplished nearly as much as I had hoped. So hopefully this afternoon I'll get to do a little on the writing end, then through the night I'll be catching up on lettering.

The goal is to have En Garde completely caught up by Wednesday, and also have a good start on both Venger #2 and a project for Visionary.

Later in the week I've got some work to do on the Haven cart, but I may not get to that in depth until next week.

I've still got a couple of other lettering jobs as well as the APA site, which we hope to finish by the end of the year.

I just feel like I'm walking in place. I was in such a groove prior to the holiday, but since I've just been in slow motion. Maybe I'm just weighed down by turkey and pumpkin, or maybe it's because I haven't felt good, I don't know. But I have to do something to jolt myself back into action fast!

We'll see how today and tonight go, then I'll attempt to set some solid goals for the week to accomplish.

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First Day of Christmas

Yeah, traditionally, or as the song goes, there are only twelve days of Christmas, but seeing as this is now the first of December I am declaring this as the first day of Christmas.

When I was a kid, we had this calendar with little pockets on it and a little mouse that fit inside to indicate what day of December it was. Naturally, it went from the 1st to Christmas Day, and the art nodded to the ever popular poem/book 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, hence the mouse. It was always fun counting down the days.

In addition to that, my mom would help me make rings out of construction paper stapled together to form a paper link chain that hung on my doorknob. Each day I would tear a ring off until there was only one left, which meant it was Christmas morning.

Christmas was always a big deal in our family. My mom, aunts and Nana would go out of their way to have tons of presents under the tree, even if they were cheap little dollar store items or what have you. It was about the presentation and the appearance of Santa coming through the night and leaving our house full of presents.

But it wasn't just about the gifts, but the atmosphere and the togetherness. We would all decorate and make candy and play games. We'd sit around the tree in the heavily decorated living room on Christmas Eve drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas movies or programs, and just be together.

Then on Christmas we would wake up early, have breakfast and then open presents. Later in the day the whole family would get together and we had draw name gifts to exchange. See, each year we would each draw a name out of a hat or whatever and whoever we drew we'd buy that person a gift under a set amount (usually $15-20). Then we'd exchange those on Christmas Day, then eat lunch or dinner together. It was always just a magical time, and I always feel like a kid at this time of year.

When my brother was little I got to get in on the excitement of making the presence of presents the spectacle I always enjoyed. I remember the first year he was old enough to play with action figures and stuff I just went overboard. I had so many presents under that tree, and most of them were for Zach, you wouldn't believe it. And it's something I've tried to keep up ever since, following in the tradition of my family, even if they're small, inexpensive things.

The most important thing, though, is being together and enjoying that time together. I start listening to Christmas music well before Thanksgiving and keep it going until after New Years typically. We have the house decorated up real nice and cozy, and Christmas movies are a must! Break out the egg nog and hot chocolate and it's a done deal!

This year, for the first time in many, we are planning on getting together and making candy and stuff like in times of old. It should be a lot of fun getting together. We're also going to go look at the lights and all that kind of fun stuff, stuff we used to do years ago but haven't in quite some time.

This will be the first year without my Papaw, as it was our first Thanksgiving without him. He never really got involved on Thanksgiving anyway, but with Christmas he was a big hit. He used to put on the Santa hat and pass out gifts when I was younger, and in later years he still very much enjoyed the holiday in his own way. My Papaw could sing just like Bing Crosby, so when we'd play White Christmas he would sing right along as beautifully as he could. And he used to also play the organ and we'd join in singing along with him.

It'll be hard listening to those songs without him there, but with all of us being together it should be a time to reflect on those good times and enjoy each others' company all that much more knowing that we're not promised tomorrow.

As for gifts, I've not bought the first one this year yet, which has me a little nervous. But we'll manage all right. I think my mom's bought a few small things, but nothing major. I just keep plugging away at work to make it happen. We certainly won't be going overboard this year, but it's going to be special no matter what happens. For the first time in a few years now it really feels like Christmas to me this year, and I can't wait for the festivities to begin!

My family doesn't always get along, and that's my immediate and extended family I'm referring to. Many times myself, my brother and my mother are at odds, and we all three come from drastically different perspectives, yet are all a lot alike, so we're constantly butting heads and have a hard time seeing things from each others' points of view. But in this season, when it comes down to it, we come together as well as anyone could.

See, this holiday for me means so many things. It means that magic I experienced as a child that I refuse to ever let go of. It means a togetherness and closeness with loved ones in spite of differences and circumstances. And it also means a reflection on why we celebrate the holiday to begin with, which is in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our savior. Whether you follow that belief or not, for me it's the most meaningful reason to celebrate Christmas, and probably why I feel that closeness and joy so deep within this time of year.

So to all of you out there, whatever beliefs you may or may not hold, from me to you I wish you a very blessed and wonderful holiday season this year. May this countdown to Christmas bring you all together with loved ones, putting aside differences and grievances if even only for a day. I hope that it brings you great joy and peach despite the wading through the angry mobs to get the items on your wish lists. I pray it brings you happiness and love in these hard times that we face. And most of all, I just hope you all find a piece of time to spend with your families and enjoy each others' company.

God Bless.

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