Brick House Digital

Had a lot of fun last night. Feeling it this morning!

Time to start thinking forward today and making some plans for the comics!

2008 was just not that good a year for us.  We had a lot of external stresses coming at up, and things are pretty bleak financially right now, but we do have quite a bit to be thankful for.  Some random thoughts as we end it -

We managed to stay in a house for the whole year, and would like to continue doing so for 2009.

Trish lost her job, but has a great chance of getting something better, where she doesn’t have to work for a two-faced prick.

In the last few weeks, my art career is showing signs of coming back to life, and I have some very clear-cut goals for it during 2009.

My son has joined the Navy and will be shipping out in July.  He won’t have to worry about the economy, a mortgage, car payment, or health insurance for the next 4 years, and he gets to see the world on someone else’s dime.  Very proud of him.

That’s about it, off the top of my head.  I have a feeling that a lot of the crap that’s been going on in this country will subside quite a bit when George W leaves office.  It’s my sincere hope that Obama can inject some feelings of confidence in Americans again and we can go through a robust rebuilding process.  Time will tell, though.  I am expecting my life to look very different 12 months from now!

Peace.

Some people need it explained, so I’ll do my best.

When you write stupid shit and post it on the Internet, other people can read it.  Those people can often include the ones you’re spouting off about, and their friends & families.  When I find your stupid shit on the Internet, I’m going to turn it around and hand it back to you, and I’m going to enjoy doing it.  Don’t get mad at me for responding to your stupidity - I figure if you didn’t want me to read it, you wouldn’t have put it in writing and then posted it on the world wide web.  Your stupid shit will get the response it deserves every time I find it.  This should not come as a surprise to you.  Unless you’re stupid.

I’ve still been continuing to level my Troll Death Knight, Rickenbacker, in World of Warcraft - slow and steady.  She’s made level 74 on the US Steamwheedle Cartel server, working in Dragonblight mostly.  She made it to Dalaran and bought an armored brown bear to ride.

I took a break from leveling and worked on her professions a bit, which is not easy, running her through the newbie zones.  She’s going to be my gatherer, so it’s mining and herbs for her, which means she’s extra hard to kill from the bonus toughness and Lifebloom spell.  These are her current stats as of today -

Herbs - 118
Mining - 118
Cooking - 225
Fishing - 250

Lately, it just seems like my life has been intersecting with some amazingly stupid people.  I’m talking about folks who have actually been in my home and enjoyed whatever meager hospitality I’ve been able to put forth.  And yet, because of selfish anger issues, they completely shove aside any goodwill toward me and trample all over my life and those I care about.

What’s nice, is that I don’t even have to think about contemplating revenge.  They are their own punishment, as they have to live with themselves, and they are pathetic.

I will continue to open my home and my life to friends, as I refuse to believe these retarded people represent the greater portion of humanity.

And you special few whom I’m talking about should really take a few moments and think about how much harm and stress your actions and words cause to people you ‘ve pretended to care about in the past.  Try reading that bible you thump, because you just don’t get it yet.

Finished another page for the “Golden Age” comic on Justice Babes. I need to do a New Year’s splash page!

As we gladly usher 2008 out the door, I turn my attention to what I want to accomplish in my life in 2009.  This past year was full of turmoil for us, and a lot of things changed.  With the economic plummet, and Trish losing her job, we’re just barely holding on right now, and could very easily lose everything.  There’s a lot of promise out there as well, though, so we’ve got a lot of hope that things are going to be better.  New Year’s Day is a time to wipe the slate clean and put the past behind us, so I’m trying to get myself into a productive mode again.  I’ve just turned 44 years old, and I’m getting tired to starting my life over again.

I also realize that there will be circumstances coming my way that are unforeseen.  Things that I will have to react to as best as I can and adapt my goals as needed.

So, with that in mind, here are some of my thoughts and aspirations for the coming year:

I will get more spiritual.
As I look back at my 30s, and the shambles that my life had become, I see I had no spiritual rudder at all, and I would ask my past-self, “How’s that working out for you?”  It’s been pretty humbling.  Lately, I’ve had some conversations with the Lord, and am thinking I need to lay my burdens down and make a commitment to be a better human being.  My body, mind, and soul are all in need of a boost.

I will dig myself out of debt.
I’ll always owe someone something, but I’d be happy to keep my house and my car and not have the constant stress of worrying about this.  The people who are always standing around me with hands reaching in my pocket need to find someone else to victimize.  I have limitless potential and a lot of ability, and it’s time for me to knuckle-down and start using it.

I will go scuba diving again this summer.
A few years ago, I had a blast with some basic scuba classes and got some meager gear.  With all that’s been going on, I didn’t go in the water at all in 2008, and I’m sad about this.  I won’t go through 2009 without heading under again.  It was great exercise, and yet amazingly relaxing too.  I love seeing places where most people will never go, and I have access to so much in Florida, it’s a shame not to use them.  I will not be going with my last dive partner though, because I don’t trust him anymore, and he’s a jerk.  I’ve love to go again with my brother, and mostly my wife, who is also certified.

I will lose 50 pounds.
I’ve gotten totally out of hand with my eating, and I can really feel it.  I’m as big as I’ve ever been, and there’s no reason for it, other than stress.  I know it would be easier and cheaper to eat better, and I would be much happier, but I’ve struggled with this demon for a few years now.  This is one of those burdens I’d like to lay down and walk away from.

I will return to the comics business.
I’ve had some great success in the comics business over the years and made a modest name for myself.  I was an inker on the Tick, and did quite a few books for Malibu Comics.  I self published 2 full color books featuring my character, Shanghai.  I’ve run an online subscription web comic for about 5 years now with my 3D artwork.  I’ve built a nice following on DeviantART and Renderosity.

I’ve drifted away from my roots, though, but have recently had a bit of an awakening.  I re-connected with quite a few buddies I used to know in the business, and got to ink a few pages again for a DC book.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to get back into it more seriously, as that is what I love doing as a job most of all.  I’ve retooled some of the characters and stories from my Shanghai concepts and will be looking at ways to bring them to the mainstream, both on the web and in print.  My ultimate goal is to get this character back into comic shops in a printed book.  This probably isn’t a very sound financial goal, but it’s personal.  I have some stories I want to tell, and I think I have the means to do it.

I love working with other people on projects, but one thing I’ve found to be true from listening to my motivational material is the fact that I have to plan on doing things myself.  No one is coming to the rescue.  There isn’t a bailout for me.  I remain open and hopeful that I’ll have some collaborators, but I’m not depending on it.  This is one of those circumstances I’m leaving up to the Lord – if there are people out there meant to help me, He will put them in my path.

I will enjoy life more.

I finally got a few minutes to composite a few pieces of art for the new story I’m stating for www.justicebabes.com.  It’s called The Golden Age.  You’ll have to go there for more details!

Amazing

No matter what your political persuasion is, we can all find the above animation funny. President Bush had a shoe thrown at him last week, and this week we’ve seen the incident take on a World of Warcraft spin.

The person throwing the shoe is playing an Elemental Shaman. He or she really needs to clean up their UI: as you can see in the above picture, it’s not very good. Way too many buttons spaced out at odd intervals.

While we were originally under the impression that the shoe throwing incident took place in Iraq, it appears via the mini-map that it actually took place in Thousand Needles. Perhaps if the President ate some Tracker Snacks he’d have avoided the incident all together, as “Ghostrunner” (aka “Greg Highway”) say the buff will include reporter tracking in patch 3.0.8.

And just to be completely bipartisan, after the break is a screenshot of President Elect Obama’s WoW screen after he earned the “President of the United States” achievement.