Opinions
Dear Children,
The world is filled with people who have different views than you do.
Yes, you may know this, but it’s wise to stop and ponder this subject in depth. I promise you that a close examination will prevent many heartaches and help you understand yourself as well as those around you. Friends, family, a love, a stranger, an employer, a political figure, a religious leader. This is a skill to serve you well if you will listen with both mind and heart.
It is perfectly ok to have a different opinion than others, even if you part without common ground. You know this from your interactions with myself and your mother. We have always respected your views when talked about in rational and calm tones. You have heard me walk through my decisions, giving a plan path for you to follow in how the decision was justified in my own mind. Rarely have you disagreed once the process was laid before you. Why? Because, I believe, you all have rational minds and a natural love for the truth. You know we love you and want the best for you. We want you to use your minds, your hearts and to reason out thoughts and paradigms placed before you.
Don’t be surprised, however, if people disagree with you and passionately too.
The challenge in discussing any opinion, according to my own rational mind, is whether it is based on fact or feeling. This is an important distinction, because I truly believe a feeling is not wrong. It may be wrongly placed, based on false information, but in and of itself, its simply what we feel or allow ourselves to feel. Anger, fear, sadness and others are simply results of how we process the information in our minds, or rather the interpretation of that information. Feelings unfortunately become our religion in many instances, holding them tight to our hearts, shouting our pain and the troubles to the world. Yet in that pain and emotion, we may lose sight of the facts, the actual truth of the matter and seek to change the circumstances to lend credibility to our initial outbursts. We want our feelings validated, both men and women to a certain degree, though I believe men gravitate more to side stepping embarrassment rather than validation.
This is a slippery slope, to speak your heart without researching and working out the facts in your mind to accompany them. Many discussions I have been privy to have ended badly with parties offended, because I seemed cold, while the debating parties rambled on in their righteous indignation, silenced in the end by simply bringing up rational questions about their nasty, aggressive emotional babbling.
Be very careful when you have strong emotional feelings, even if you are convinced they are right. Let your strong emotions lend strength to the actual truth, not the reverse. Words form easily in the heart of anger or the depths of a wallowing victim. Words which cannot be easily taken back once loosed, if at all. If you find yourself in error, never fear to apologize openly and sincerely. If you do not, you have committed a greater offense. Good men and women of society respect those who take responsibility for their actions and words and it’s how I have raised you to act.
When you speak, always try to do so thoughtfully, respectfully, rationally and calmly. It’s bee a hard thing for me to practice myself, but when I have applied those very rules of conduct, my path remains clear and the barriers few that I cannot surmount. Always strive to be kind and benevolent. Show grace and kindness, reaching out to others and soothing their minds and hearts by finding something genuine about them which you can admire. This is possible with anyone, even if it is limited to the color of their shoes. Be kind and be peacemakers, standing your ground with purpose, strength and boldness.
Respect the opinions of others. Not necessarily the content, but rather their right to have an opposite opinion to your own. It’s what makes the world go round and more importantly, you will see when you marry, that to have a beloved spouse with another point of view is a great strength. It’s what I admire so deeply about your mother. She sees things I simply do not, yet we are one and thus I look upon it as having two sets of eyes. It has become a tremendous strength to me over the years. I find it absolutely priceless, especially when I have been the fool and I can be redeemed through another’s view.
When talking with others who are so desperate and determined to have their point agreed with, with no sign of laying a common ground, listen carefully to the way they weave their words. I say weave, because you will see a common practice to turn the focus on you rather than taking responsibility for themselves. There is, many times, ill intent involved at our expense. To turn other listeners or readers upon you through accusations and meaningless banter to cover their own mistakes and wrongful boastings.
Unfortunately it has always been a great pleasure of mine to deal with such individuals and I must say mercy should be the priority, so long as you do not yield the actual truth of your statements. I fear I have been a bad example in this matter. A bully is a bully, regardless of the medium, and people with ill intent take the truth to be hard. Let me prepare you then, in a better manner than my own rough conduct and give you a key to this process. Ask clarifying questions. Ask them to repeat and define what they are saying, so that you can better understand their position, their thought process and see if perhaps you missed their intent. Repeat their answers back to them. In print, keep records, especially on the internet, where your words leave, never to be erased from the memory of computers or the research of others.
If you will always say what you mean and mean what you say, standing on the facts, you will find little you cannot overcome. My advice, however, is to avoid contention and walk away from individuals who simply refuse to see reason or to discuss any subject with you in a respectful manner. It is fine to state things in a bold and matter-of-fact manner, especially if the truth must be heard.
In the end, understand that there are those who do not have hearts to feel, ears to hear or eyes to see, except for what they have crafted in their own minds and hearts. Those are individuals you must be wary of. They leave a wake of frowns and curses, and many of them love the contention just for the sake of contention. Soothe feelings if you can and pray for them. Pray their hearts will be softened and they will see reason.
…or that they will fall prey to their own snares.
Frankly, I prefer the latter.
With all my love,
Your Father.
Read MoreModern Music Morons.
I was driving my son to work this morning and we happened to be in the same mood for some music, so we flipped on the radio and settled for a catchy modern tune. Now, I shock many parents, but even more youth when they find what’s on my iPod or where my kids actually get their music sources. We are a well rounded family, from Mozart to Journey to Earth Wind and Fire, to Carry Underwood and back to Yanni to level to the playing field.
With the exception of Rap, I’m a relatively open guy, so long as the lyrics aren’t trash.
Yet something hit me in this song I was listening to and it seemed to echo many of the latest pop artist tunes and I wanted to bring this thought out.
Has anyone noticed that the very artists who our kids idolize and desire to emulate, are the same ones we find in the news for drugs, adultery, endless counts of ‘he said, she said’ cheating on boyfriend/girlfriend and violence…while singing songs about love, forever, eternity, we were meat to be…yadda, yadda, yadda???
I heard the phrase “we were meant to be” in this song, right after he admitted he was cheating with another woman, but since they were “meant to be” he should be forgiven as if it never happened?
Maybe after his donkey nuts were put in a vice and crushed to a powder, but even then it wouldn’t be likely. Not if the girl had any brains. But does anyone see this pattern in the music of the day? This seems to be the theme in much of the youth bands or pop artists. Kids too young to know how to deal with the pimples on their face, let alone understand what ‘love’ actually is. Certainly not ‘eternity’ being sung by a gangbanger who’s life expectancy is closer to 24 than 74.
Tell me I’m not crazy here. Tell me there are smarter people out there than those wanting to emulate the artificial intelligences like Britney Spears or Beyonce who think being good is wearing a cross between their breasts while they shake them like cheap prostitutes in front of our kids!? Maybe I’m the slow one, I don’t know…but doesn’t this bug anyone but me?
If your a parent or a kid with an opinion on this, I’d really like to hear it…because after unloading this brain fart on my son Evan, he agreed with me fully. I was quite relieved, especially after reviewing his own iPod playlist (which we share).
What’s your view?
Read MoreBreakfast with Brothers 4 (March 2010)
We have the new date gents, though it popped up a lot sooner than we had anticipated: march 13th!
That’s right, next Saturday!
Not a lot of time, but very doable. I have the hash browns covered again, but I need someone willing to cover the eggs and someone to cover the pancakes. Who will rise to the food famine call and join me in the RCA kitchen at 5:30am?
The last breakfast was the best yet and we had some new surprises, which we all enjoyed, meeting new people and having that wonderful discussion with Ryann. I hope he felt like one of the guys, being new to the crowd =).
Those of you who came last time are invited once again. No one can make it all the time, but please make the effort and let me know ASAP so I have a head count.
Again: I NEED SOMEONE TO SUPPLY AND COOK EGGS / SUPPLY AND COOK PANCAKES.
Let me know guys and I’ll see you all on Saturday for more laughs and good food.
Jaime
Read MoreThe Perfect Ink (The Voodoo Mix)
Each artist has their own ways of creating their stories. We have favorite tools, we have a favorite style, whether emulated or unique in our own right.
However, if you are making a comic book in a traditional form, and you have to perform inking…we all have a specific need in common, and that’s the right ink.
There are as many brands of inks that you can use, as there are pens and brushes. However, getting the right consistency is something we all strive for. Why?
Well, if you have ink that’s too thin, you’ll get splotch marks throughout your work—and when scanning, you’ll be doing a great deal of cover-up work. I had that problem myself during he first year of WANTED:HERO, and let me tell you—the last thing you want to do, is spend double the amount of time, inking—because you have to go over everything twice!
If you have ink too thick, you’ll find your pen nibs or brushes gumming up, which can not only be a pain—but it can ruin some brushes if left too long to dry.
So, the question is….how do we get an ink that is black as midnight, pliable, and consistent? Many message boards on the web pose that very dilemma.
Well, I have an answer for you—so grab a pen and paper.
If you have never heard of Dick Blick art supplies…these guys are huge (largest in the USA) and they have the thickest ink I have ever seen in 20 years of cartooning. Go to dickblick.com, and look up “inks”. There you will find the gold in a jar, called “Black Cat”…and they Do mean BLACK. Not only is this stuff as dark as you can get, it’s also very inexpensive. Only $14.99 for a full QUART! However, they run sales most of the time, and I buy the same amount for only $10.98. This ink has been around since 1911.
Now, you can experiment with this ink, by thinning it with water…or you can add one more step, which is what I do. I use “Higgins” water proof India Ink, and simply mix ¼ Higgins, to ¾ Black Cat. When I open the container, before working with the ink—I simply take the back end of a brush, and stir the ink for about 30 seconds, wipe off the handle of the brush, and stat working. The consistency stays the same for over an hour, at which time I simply stir the ink solution again.
…and there you have it—a good, consistent black ink you can rely on, day after day.
Read MoreThe Right Paper
Paper is the most important supply an artist uses. You can have the best ink in the world, but if you have a pitted, coarse paper, that valuable ink will run every which way and cause all sorts of chaos in your creation heaven. This should not be tolerated.
Over the years I have spent thousands of dollars on paper alone, and I’m here to tell you, if you want to create a good work of art—comic book or not, you need the right paper and you should get it from the right source. Many claim to have the paper you need, but most still contain acid in the fibers, which will turn your creations yellow after a time or even from simple exposure to sunlight.
I have found the very best paper source and at the most remarkable price too.
I buy all my paper at Comic Art Supplies.
Just to prove how popular these folks are, we found an old religious revival in Clockworks City, preaching about paper to the congregation of artists!
Have a listen…
Read MoreMy Latest Book
