Revival

I was originally set out to revive Meaningful Memes with an article about something that annoys me. A hand-written banter of opinions about other people's opinions on a topic that I am not nearly as educated about as I would like to be sits on my desk. The dark scribbles are neat and clean, a few scratches here and there as I picked words from my mind with as much care as I could muster in those moments of frustration. These words mock and degrade others with the intention of promoting a positive notion: think before you speak/write.

Upon realizing the hypocrisy with a thoughtful reflection, I decided not to share these words with the rest of the world. They will, instead, meet their timely end in the recycle box with the mess of millions of other easily discarded ideas and words once thought and spoken in some forever drifting moment of time.

Instead, I will utilize this moment for the sake of goodness and hope. As the new year approaches like the dawn of a new and shining day, I find myself in want of a truer embrace of beauty. I feel a pull on my heart by the gravity of impermanence, and I wonder why I feel so weighted down. A self-righteous pessimism disguised for many years as realism has stunted my growth and robbed me of my energy. I no longer want the weight of this ugliness that has beseeched my attention for more days than I would like to recount. This crass lifestyle of crude behavior confused with boldness and unharnessed glowering mistaken for virtuosity have tarnished my image and brutalized my intentions for goodness.

So I hope to be rid of these deplorable habits. Slowly, I have been working towards a more positive and beautiful existence. I have dismissed cigarettes from their vice-like grip on my life. For over three weeks now, I have breached the destructive relationship I had with nicotine. I have incorporated art as a steady companion. I'm learning how to paint glasses and dishware to be given as holiday gifts and to, maybe one day, sell to willing buyers for a slight profit. I'm learning to love writing again, imploring my skill and talent to reawaken and keep me company. I'm allowing my curiosity and imagination more free reign in my life. I'm allowing myself to love without an expectation of anything in return. I'm letting go of expectations in general with the goal of enjoying life as it comes. I'm strongly considering becoming vegetarian once again. I'm building courage and banishing unnecessary anxieties that prevent me from completely being myself. I've began my own website dedicated to the webcomics I've been making, called www.CandidComics.BlackInkComics.com (though have been slow in making more, due to recent unfortunate incidents that have significantly affected my funny bone).

I want to see beautiful things and create more beauty. I hope you'll join me in this travel of beauty, goodness, joy, and love.

Candid Comics Continues!

Comic #30

Comic #31

Comic #32
Prelude to several comics to come!

Comic #33
Contrary to popular opinion, panda bears CAN and DO cry.

Comic #34
(Protip: If you're thinking about drawing a camel, DON'T.
They're goofy-looking animals that are a pain to draw)

New Candid Comics

Comic #26

Comic #27

Comic #28

Comic #29

Candid Comics Returns!

Following a temporary setback due to a heinous case of strep throat, I've been searching for my funny bone amidst the rubble that is now my weakened body. I located it last night in the form of a Cracked.com-like article that I titled simply "Atheists are Vampires," inspired by three cans of cheap beer, a long night of mind-numbingly boring work, and vegging out to a horrid Wes Craven vampire movie (I know, which one, right??).

After fleshing out the article (to be posted after this blog post), I grew bored once again and searched through the book-lover's massacre that is my car's backseat for something to read. Out of the dozen or so books tossed nonchalantly in my car over the past several weeks of starting a new book and then moving on to the next, there was one that caught my eye. Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, was sitting there so lonely, batting its sad baby blues up at me from the crumb covered backseat floor of my Suzuki SX4. Why not? I picked it up, dusted it off, recalled with a tinge of guilt that this book belonged to a friend and that I've "borrowed" it for nearly a month now, and carried it into my place of work. I noticed that there was a large bookmark I was using for it, which is not unusual in itself, but that there seemed to be drawings on the inside of the folded page.

It had been sitting in my car for so long, the edge of the page had melded with the slightly melted glue that sustained the book's structure, acting like it was to be a part of the book. I carefully tore it from its roots and opened the paper. Holy shit! It was a comic I had drawn about a month ago! I thought it was pretty cute, and I remember that it made one of my friends laugh when I let him read it (I always like letting someone read it for a chance to see if it's funny to anyone else but me prior to posting it online). I haven't drawn a new comic in the past week or so (which is a real long time for me), so I decided to cheat and make this one my newest comic (number 24). Luckily, the type of comic it is, very short and straight to the point, inspired me to create the next three or four comics. Right now they're in the planning stages (i.e. - on little yellow post-it notes and in my noggin), but they will be coming shortly.

Now, without further ado, here are comics number 23 and 24. Enjoy!

Comic #23

Comic #24