BLOG: Keeping Sane

Morning friends! How you staying sane with everything going on lately?

I wasn’t doing so well earlier this week to be honest. Monday and Tuesday were tough for me for some reason. Nothing specific. I think just a combination of some things… mostly things out of my control. But they have a shelf life on them, so I am just trying to stay sane and ride it out. There is only so much I can do. And I have to remember that while times seem so horrible, humanity has survived equally insane times. I’ve read about them and now I get to live my own part of that history. We’ll learn from it (for a while anyway) and we will survive. Its inevitable. Hope is undefeated. For me, I just have to make sure I can navigate okay and take care of those around me and those who read me. Like you. So despair, but don’t let it consume you. Disconnect if you have to. And honestly, I’d recommend that. We are only meant to handle so much. Take a break, read a book, catch up on an old TV show, keep the back and forth, the images and the news out of your head. As Kubrick said, “No matter how vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” And for those going out to protest, please be safe. Please.

For me, one of those ways to stay sane during this is MUSIC! Some good came with that this week… when I am in a dark state of mind, I listen to the Real Jazz channel on Sirius Radio. On Tuesday, I was headed to work and a song came on that caught my ear. I took a shot of the display screen and googled the name once I parked. A guy by the name of Jim Alfredson. The song is called “Winkin, Blinkin’ and Nod.” I bought the album on itunes and put it on a loop while in the office that day. As the kids say nowadays, “It Slaps.” So I googled the bloke to see what other albums he has. He has a few. And then I learned, surprise! He is from Michigan!! So weird! So I found his website to see if he plays anywhere around the area. Website hasn’t been updated in a while. So I found him on Facebook. I mostly wanted to see if he was by chance playing the Jazz Fest in Lansing here coming up in July. Wouldn’t you know it… HE LIVES IN LANSING!!! How crazy is that?!?!? No live dates that I saw, but he’s a working musician so I am sure I’ll see the band at some point.

So that is good news from Music for me. But this week we got some bad news… A member of Nitzer Ebb died (I’m not a massive fan of the band but they got some stuff I like), Sly Stone died… which sucks cause he’s got GREAT timeless songs. But this one hurt…

Brian Wilson. He was 82. Quite a good run, but still. And he leaves behind a massive body of work and some of the most amazingly beautiful songs and harmonies that defined a generation and will have millions more after him humming along. If you haven't checked out his solo album (and long delayed Beach Boys record) SMILE, I cannot recommend it enough. Its in my top 20 of all time.

I knew he was ill and his wife/caregiver passed away very recently. He entered into a conservatorship as all our heroes are doing now. His mental health hasn’t been great for many years off and on. So it wasn’t a shock, but it still greatly saddened me. So I have been on a Beach Boys kick all week after that. And yesterday I hit the Barnes and Noble and scored this:

As if I don’t have enough to read already, right? Well, this should read quick. I hope to finish it by this weekend and try to soak all of it in. So far it has started out great, talking about being backstage before the first performance of SMILE live after shelving and avoiding this lost masterpiece album for decades. I hope to take some chunks out of the read today as I go along. The man may be gone, but he leaves behind soooooo much. Certainly won’t ever be forgotten.

While I am on pop culture and things I enjoy, We got the spectacular news about this:

Spaceballs 2 is coming. “The Search for More Money?” Or maybe it will be called “Spaceballs 3: The Search for Spaceballs 2.” Whatever it is, I’m grateful its coming. Even Rick Moranis is coming out of retirement to return as Dark Helmet! Should be some great fun I hope. Mel Brooks is going to be in it, but he is 98. Still sharp as ever! But I fear they better start shooting very soon, cause you never know. And talk about another guy who has quite the body of work and will always be remembered no matter what! Not even I have seen every single Mel Brooks movie. Some gaps remain. Plus I have all the seasons of GET SMART, but haven’t seen them all. I gotta get on that. Keep my head out of the news and enjoy stuff I should have seen or listened to by now. Hard to be angry at the world when there is so much beauty, right?

Speaking of beauty, let’s talk ART… specifically, mine! heh

I started the art on the new card set I got hired for from Dynamite Comics, which the Kickstarter is launching soon for. I was hestiant when I was first asked but I figured, hey, its a freelance check, why not take the challenge. Its for a card set for Pope Leo the XIV!

Here’s some early pencils:

I am doing a total of 30 so far. 25 smalller ones and 5 5x7s. I got the faces all colored and the smaller cards inked. Here’s a peek at some of those:

I just think its kinda funny that me, an athiest, is doing a Pope card set! Heh… I’m doing my best though. I hope someone wants em. I will have 7 blanks for anyone who will want them, so let me know ahead of time if you are interested at all. I’m hoping to kick these all out by next week as I gotta get rolling on stuff I need for July’s comic con. Plus next weekend I am heading back to Mt. Pleasant/Clare area to a memorial for an old friend who passed away.

Lastly, I am busy coloring Issue 7 of PLEASANT LIFE and working on the covers for the remainder of the issues. (12 in total) One coming up I am toying with is this… a homage to another indie comic series. A legendary series.. Love and Rockets! Check it:

We’ll see what it looks like at the end and if I even use it. But for now its kinda fun to do.

Okay, I got a ton of stuff to get rolling and I got some reading to do! Have a great father’s day weekend. Give your pep pep a call if you can. If not, spend time with your kiddos. Furbabies too. That counts!

Stay sane!! Much love, T