2017

Here we are at 2017!

I'm going to be trying to be much more active this year on all my web publishing sites! And while I will be posting primarily Zombie Shark Bear and other art work in most places, I think this blog will still be my primary place for religious reflection.

So, to start the new year off right... here's some art that I never got around to posting in 2016!

Pepper being sneaky with that mistletoe!

Even though 2016 had a lot of ups and downs, I was happy at the beginning of it because I managed to do two Christmas drawings and a New Years drawing for the first time ever....

MY THOUGHTS ON: HYOUKA

Reading manga is probably my favorite hobby and it originally stemmed from my love of anime, however, as the "moe"- fad began to over shadow anime more and more, I came to distance myself from watching anime little by little, until it was several years since I had seriously followed a particular show. The past year or two, I have ventured back in to the realm of Japanese animation to watch shows like Chuunibyo Demo Koi ga Shitai! and Maoyuu, but the shows had to have a particular slant that I found interesting to draw me in- I was hyper critical about the anime I watched and easily dismissive of  shows that I thought had too much "moe."

This attitude has changed over the past month or so following the release of Studio Trigger's new series, Kill la Kill, which has essentially brought me back to watching anime on a regular basis. It was my joy to find that since I had been away, the production house behind Chuunibyo, Kyoto Animation, had created a hefty backlog of shows for me to watch; one of them being the slice-of-life/ mystery series, Hyouka.

Happy New Year's Resolutions!

(Late) Happy New Years, everyone!

After a really busy last part of 2013, I got to take things a little easier in December and get some much needed "me" time. As announced last month, Comic Con is a "go" for Aswembar Productions in 2014 and its time for us to get started on the projects this will entail. From myself, personally, this'll mean a new Zombie Shark Bear Project and a brand new story called about a ninja-wannabe named Jun.  There'll also be some Street Fighter fan art prints and stickers.

MY THOUGHTS ON: THE DARK KNIGHT

Christopher Nolan's now legendary film, The Dark Knight, was originally released back in 2008 to acclaim from both critics and viewers alike. Much has been said about it since then, so why do a review now?

At this point, I don't think it's something I need to worry about, but Spoilers are ahead.

My Favorite 80's Cartoon Intros

Now that I'm using advanced technology to embed videos into my blog posts, I thought I'd go out on a lark and do a random post listing my top 10 cartoon intros from the 1980's. These are the opening sequences that either fostered my love for the medium of animation or are shows I have gone back and watched and left an impression on me. With each video I'll be providing a brief explanation about what in particular I enjoyed about each intro, and a great big thanks to the fellow fans who uploaded these videos! 

Of course, I'll put my disclaimer here stating that I do not own any of these intellectual properties and they are copyright to their individual owners.

Hit the jump to get to the videoy goodness inside.

PALS WITH THE BIG G: Day 11

Still gotta catch up, hopefully tomorrow.

Lately I've been listening to my friend's podcast a lot (which will be the topic of it's own post in the very, very near future) and one of the things I like best about it is that my friend and his co-host are very candid about a myriad of several different topics, which I think is very refreshing considering how many people (myself included) often try to soften or sugarcoat our feelings in order to make them more palatable to others.

PALS WITH THE BIG G: Lent Blogging

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and in trying to come up with something to give up in order to better myself, I decided something that would help me even better than giving something up would be writing daily blogs about my experience as a 30-something Catholic artist/ customer care consultant bachelor in California.

So, that's going to be my Lenten project.

I was thinking of writing an entry about Pope Benedict's retirement this week, but I think I will take some more time to really get my thoughts on the topic in order. I also want to write about more conventional topics like the toy shows last weekend in New York and Japan. Lots of cool stuff announced. 

It is very late, and I am very tired. I think I will write a post tomorrow with more substance, but I am glad I wrote something today.

God bless everyone!

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai Final Thoughts

So, I just finished watching Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai Episode 12 today, the first new anime I've watched through to the end in a great long while. As to be expected Kyoto Animation still does wonderful work, though I honestly wish they'd not pigeon hole themselves in terms of genre as much as they do. Still, they are truly masters of their craft and one of the best animation studios around. Lots of great secondary animations, lighting effects and attention to detail make this show lovely to behold, and I'm looking forward to owning it on Blu Ray, and also getting the characters in action figure form via Figma or Figuarts, whomever decides to make them.