I once ran into a lovely German lady on deviantART.com. Her art ability is off the charts, enabling her to digitally paint in a photo-realistic fashion. She certainly has the gift---the magical touch that many artist strive for on a daily basis. When I asked her about schooling, she said she never attended a university, college, institute, or what have you. I found that shocking, but when she said she could go for free in her country, my jaw hit the keyboard---something fierce. Of course, there's some type of waiting list or some kind of evaluation process to get in, but the reality is there. Free art school.

I'm sure everything isn't free. There's books and supplies you may have to purchase, but compared to the United States, that's nothing. To a guy that owes tens of thousands to Sallie Mae and other grimey bastards, free schooling in that type of field sounds like the promised land. 

Thinking about the possibilities, I can't help but get depressed about America and my overall situation. At the same time, my depression is just another form of guilt. Let's face it, I wasn't the best student and I didn't have the best teachers. I partly made my bed and I hate sleeping in it. Just knowing that free education exist is quite a kick to the balls, you know? The same could be said about free health care. I'm not sure how Canada works, but it seems to be doing pretty good the last time I checked.

Up until this morning, I didn't realize how deep the shit-hole was for me. I have some messed up teeth in the back, mainly a bastard wisdom tooth that needs pulling. I'm uninsured and I basically have no income. I have a few dollars from commissions, but that's laughable when dealing with medical cost. After going to the free clinic, they sent me on a wild goose chase. The next day, I had to wake up at the first crack of homeless piss hitting the curb to head over to a School of Dentistry. Waiting in line out in the cold for over an hour really opened my eyes to how fucked up my life is. People with good paying jobs and insurance don't have to go through that. If you're not insured, they pretty much give you their ass to kiss. You have to listen to some big security guard barking orders, telling you the endless list of limitations and options that aren't available to the uninsured. After waiting for hours, they refer me to another dental group, which would make this the 3rd place I have to go to. The sad part is this new place charges more.

Being the poor bastard who hasn't worked since December of last year, I can't afford a $300 consultation, X-rays, and the actual surgery. That's gotta be over $100 right there. What's so hard about pulling out a damn tooth? I'd do it myself if I had the proper equipment, not to mention anaesthetics. If I were in Canada, I would be countin' sheep right now.

Is it possible to see free college education in America in our lifetime?

What about health care that actually works for everybody?

I'm a fuckin statistic. Standing in line with all of those poor souls, I realize I'm at the bottom of the barrel. No different from a homeless person if I weren't living with my parents. Where-oh-where did I go wrong? Why-oh-why didn't I take the blue pill?

In most success stories, you read about how some rich folk had to hit rock bottom before they gained their fortune. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter on welfare while diagnosed with clinical depression. I should be able to get my life on track.

For those of you following me on Twitter, you may have briefly scanned my tweet about an incident on the subway earlier in the morning. I'm just going to elaborate on it...

After spending the night over my brother's place and eating a good breakfast, it was time for me to head home. I had a few projects to finish, after all. I was thinking in my head that the fastest and safest route from point A to point B was the subway. Boy, was I wrong. Hell, I was in for a rude awakening.

I get on the train and normally I try to get in the front or middle carts. The logic behind this is that, from personal experience, people tend to be more rowdy in the last few carts. I don't know why it's like that, but I don't argue with the rules. Unfortunately, I decide to break tradition and boarded the very last cart. For some reason, the sight of the thing being empty was enticing (not to mention rare). So I get on and sit down, trying to enjoy my Green Tea Arizona. Then it happens.

The next stop, some homeless guy get's on the train. The FUNK from this guy was unbelievable, but I held my breath, hoping that he just goes all the way to the back. Instead, he stand in front of me, asking for money. Normally, I would have given the guy some spare change, but I declined. I'm not sure why I did that...maybe I just thought he would go away faster. Wrong! The homeless guy noticed my Green Tea and asked for that, too. I declined on that, also. By that time, the funk was getting to me, so I moved down the cart, far enough to get away from the guy. He stayed in middle. At that point, things seemed to be under control.

A few stops later, the motherfucker lays down on the seats. I'm assuming he's about to go to sleep. From a distance, I could see him doing something with his zipper---maybe a few adjustments here and there. Things like that happen. Moments pass and I still see a lot of movement in the zipper area. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out what he was doing. I personally blame my naivety and the constant need to give people the benefit of doubt. The son of a bitch was shamelessly mastubating. Thank goodness I moved down to the end of the cart, but it wasn't enough. I had to get off that cart and sit next to people. I didn't care if I sat next to a Nazi or a zombie.

I got up with haste and crossed to the cart in front. I cleverly looked back to see if he got up, too. Guess what. He did. I saw some folks and sat next to them, hoping that the funky-homeless-masturbating-guy would move on. As it turned out, this fucker actually was following me. He sat down in a seat in front me and started to pick his nose. I started to panic. Under normal circumstances, fighting would be safe choice because if a guy has the nerve---the balls to do that, he needed to get his ass kicked. On the other hand, this dude was HOMELESS. There's no way in hell I want to even touch the bastard, let alone trade fist. That's unnecessary funk I would be exposed to and there's a good chance he's a walking AIDS factory. He just got done playing with his dick, too. Punching his lights out was off the table.  Instead of confronting him and asking questions, a few thoughts entered my head. I had a few bucks on me. Bribing him to go away seemed like a nice option. At the same time, why reward the fucker? Why get him use to the idea of gaining cash for bothering people? Could have moved to the next cart again, but the process would have repeated. City Hall came up and it hit me like a block of ice in the desert.

I pretended to get off at City Hall by grabbing my stuff and sitting up. The homeless fuck got up and proceeded to follow me off the train. In a split second, I stopped while he kept going and stayed on the train. Meanwhile, I could see him actually looking for me. For some sick and twisted reason, the train decided to take forever to pull off. Normally, when it stops to let people on and off at a station, it takes 20 seconds at the most. I was waiting for the damn doors to close for over 40 seconds, hoping that he wouldn't come back in. My options were running thin and I was out of tricks.

Finally, the doors close and the train pulls off. I check to see if he boarded on the carts in front of me, but he was nowhere in sight. I was happy. In fact, I started to tell the people sitting next to me about my little nightmare. Whoever was willing to listen, I didn't give a shit---I just wanted to talk to normal people. One guy chuckled at my brief recap, but I didn't tell him about the "jerking off" part. That's no laughing matter, I can assure you. As Dave Chappelle cleverly put it, the last thing anybody wants is a homeless guy biologically attacking them. [link]

In the interest of passing on years of knowledge, I'm going to give you a few tips on subway survival in Philadelphia (in case you ever decide to visit this dump):

• You want to be in the middle. It's safer because the end of the carts can be rowdy and possibly harbor the homeless, but the same could be said for the few in the front. It's rare for the front to have trouble, but it happens. If you're in the 1st cart, try to score a seat near the driver.
  
• Have some spare change ready, so you don't have to dig in your pockets for a long time. There's a good chance that said homeless person stinks and the fumes could literally stay with you all day long. Having spare change ready for a quick release will cut the waiting time in half and they'll leave you alone. I carry 85 cents with me everywhere I go.
  
• If you have any drinks or food open, put it away before Stinky spots it. You're not really suppose to eat on the train anyway.
  
• If Stinky spots you with food or beverage and asks for it, give it up. The thing about this is that a Quarter Pounder with cheese isn't worth harassment from some homeless guy. Just give him the damn burger and proceed to move to the next cart.
  
• If movies teach you anything, its not really safe to be alone. In this case, it's not safe to be alone on the subway. Move to an area that has people. If anything, they can be witnesses. On a good day, you may get backup from a good samaritan.
  
• Travel with a friend. Safety in numbers works well in public transportation. Half the bastards won't even think about starting shit if you have company.
• If you don't have a contamination suit on you, hand sanitizer is the next best thing. Since homeless people dwell in the subway, passing their filthy germs all over the place, it's best to keep some of that hand sanitizer on you. I recommend Purell.
  
• The freaks come out at night, so handle your business in the day time. Once the lights go out, people who like to start shit come out like roaches with the light off. Some shit can go down during the day, but it goes a lot better when the sun is out. There's definitely less drunks around.
• If you think somebody is about to move in on you and start trouble, make a temporary friend by starting a conversation with the closest person near you. Sit next to them and talk about anything. If they have a Penn State bag or an Eagles jersey or a wedding ring, talk about that. Pretend you know them from somewhere and ask questions about high school or something. Make up shit because the odds of someone interrupting your conversation to cause trouble is extremely rare, especially if you look like you're really into it. If you really feel like you're in danger, let the person you're having a conversation with in on your little game. If anything, they'll play along long enough for the danger to pass.
  
• Drive a car to avoid the subway altogether. It's just plain smart.
  

There's a ton of stuff I can put down, but this entry is long enough.

Be safe, children.

 

Some time has past since the Dark Knight movie swept us
off our feet. It’s been daunting on me, thinking about the possibilities of a
third installment to the Batman franchise. I mean, the Dark Knight was one of
the greatest movies, not only for the superhero genre, but also for crime
stories and thrillers. It’s hard to top that kind of success. Most importantly,
it’s hard to top Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. [ link ] On the other hand,
I think the show can go on.

I think one of the best ways to pay tribute to Heath is to
continue what he started with the Joker. He helped developed the character, whether
it was his walk or facial expressions or his voice. To say nobody else can be
the Joker in Chris Nolan’s Batman films is not fair. In fact, it defeats the
purpose of acting. I truly  believe the
role is something that’s worth passing on to another talented actor. As for whom
the role should go to, that is a task in itself. As always, I constructed a
little casting call…

Johnny Depp – Trust me, this isn’t a lazy choice. It's just smart. Johnny’s no
stranger to make-up and immersing himself in his characters. He’s undeniably one
of the finest actors of our generation. The plus side is that he recently
worked with Christian Bale on the Public Enemy film, so the good-guy-bad-guy chemistry
from that could help.

Paul Bettany – This guy is scary-looking without make-up, so
imagine what he would look like with white face paint and scars. I think he
would do a remarkable job filling on Heath’s shoes. The only thing I can think
of that could work against him is his height. I believe he’s 6 foot 3 inches,
which makes him taller than Christian Bale.   

Benecio Del Toro – He’s probably the last name you’d expect
to hear, but he’s a good actor. I based his spot on the list from his role in Sin City.
The scene where Jackie Boy is in the car with Dwight was Joker-esque. [ link ] His voice is kinda deep, but as I said, he’s an actor. Becoming the character
is all in a day’s work.  

Jim Carrey – At first, before Heath’s name even came up for
playing the Joker, Jim Carrey was the no-brainer choice. Sure, he played
Riddler in the 1997 Batman Forever film, but Jim has come a long way since
then. He proved that he can play serious roles (The Number 23, Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind) and he naturally has the comedic charm of the Joker. [ link ] 

Daniel Day Lewis – With Joker’s makeup applied, it could
work without a hitch. In fact, I think he would probably go more smoothly than
the others on the list. If you look at his role in Gangs of New York, he was
quite scary---definitely a guy you don’t want to cross.

A bonus is
that he Mr. Lewis has a deep respect for Heath Ledger, dedicating his SAG award
to him in 2008. [ link ]

To a lot of folks, he’s the ideal guy to pick up
where Heath left of.

Then again, after looking at a few screencaps of Jim Carrey in The Number 23, I'm starting to think that he would make a seamless transition.

Any thoughts?

Click images for larger view

Hey gang,

You know, one of the many things that pissed me off today was browsing through Marvel's site and discovering the updated Open Submission Policy. It seems the days of mailing in your work is at in end. The guidelines were quite simple a few years ago. I would have submitted sooner, but I just didn't have the confidence. Now, it's just gone. I'm not sure when it happened, but this is a monkey-wrench in my plans. What happened? I guess too many scrubs submitted their crap and Marvel had enough...?

The good news is that an aspiring comic book artist can still submit his or her work at a convention, but the convenience of postal mail and email is no longer an option. I'm royally pissed. I kinda like conventions, but I rarely go to them. Hell, even if I do manage to get in, it's only for a day. I'm a poor person, for Pete's sake. Conventions don't fit in my limited budget.

I suppose one day at a convention is enough to get the job done. Unfortunately, doing it this way adds more pressure to an already stressed out person. I don't mind being proactive... it's just...

...fuck.  

I've been promising this for months now, and I guess I'm going to cave in and post it. Behold! My submission samples for Image Comics, Project: IMPACT!

 

The story, in a nutshell, is about a group of teens who are forced to become superheroes. In these five pages, the kids are fighting a nasty super villain and losing. It's actually a holographic scenario, something I didn't want to mention until the last minute (I should have added another page!!!). Their mission is to stop and contain the threat without being lethal. Of course, the fact that I have to explain this means I pretty much failed at storytelling. I'll be sure to add in a few more pages in the near future.    

Unfortunately, I didn't receive any word from the company, so there must be something wrong with the art...if not the art, then the synopsis wasn't that entertaining. A friend of mine said that page 3 was a bit boring and I have to agree to some extent. At the time, I figured a splash page was appropriate, but a few extra panels would have been better to establish some sense of drama. My beef with page five is that the flying head looks flat. Just need to make it a bit more 3-dimensional. The cover turned out to be quite awful. Sure, it's just a mock-up, but... This was just a bad attempt.

What can I say? You live and you learn. Since things didn't go so well this time around, I'll be sure to give it another go really soon---possibly try other companies like Dark Horse or IDW. I was thinking about self publishing, but that may prove a lot harder than trying to submit this to a big company.

Time for Round 2.

Cheers

I've been thinking, if Wonder Woman were to get the live action movie, who in the blue hell would play her? This isn't a rinky-dink casting call and I think it's one of the most difficult in existence. Think about it, Wonder Woman is probably too fictional to cast. I mean, she's an amazon warrior, which means she's quite buff---but not Nicole Bass or anything. She has a nice rack, but not in the sense of a porn star. She's kinda taller than the average woman, too. In more ways than one, I think she's almost impossible to cast. Unless you want to settle for mere eye candy, which happens to be a dime a dozen. I used to think that there wasn't a woman on the planet who could accurately pull it off.

I found a message board on Superhero Hype. It's over 240 pages of suggestions and discussions on Wonder Woman casting. Some folks suggested Eliza Dushku, of all people. As much as I love her, she's no Wonder Woman. Megan Fox came up in the discussions a lot, but it seems she's not interested in the role. Said something about the character being "lame" in an interview, which was probably a dumb move as an actress. Lame or not, it could have been the biggest role of her life, playing a huge pop culture icon. At the same time, I'm glad Megan Fox turned the idea down because she's just not a good fit. Though, some drunk fools actually entertained the idea of Summer Glau as Wonder Woman... I know, right? Hell, even Anne Hathaway's name was thrown in the hat. Jessica Biel was a smart sugestion and if she were to be casted, I coudn't complain too much. Out of most of the names thrown around, Biel seems like she can actually fill in the boots. After reaching the top page of the massive thread (this was a few days ago and the pages are still growing), it seems the geeks found a suitable woman for the role.

Enter Bridget Regan, from Legend of the Seeker fame. To me, she looks to be the best for the role. Usually, when the subject of casting Wonder Woman comes up, the major issue is that whoever you throw in the hat, you'll have to sacrifice some important quality that would make a convincing Wonder Woman. For example, you can find a woman who is a genetic anomaly---blessed with an amazoian body to die for, but she will lack in the facial department. Another example is having the most perfect face for Wonder woman, but the body wouldn't be up to snuff. Bridget, on the other hand, seems to have the complete package. She's beautiful and she's not starving herself. I mean, click on the link and tell me she's not Diana.

I'm well aware that anybody casted will have to hit the gym and most definitely train for the role, but some actresses have a long way to go compared to others. With that said, Bridget Regan is pretty much there. A few months give or take, she'll have the physicality of it down. Another advantage: her height is 5' 8", which is taller than average. Add in the action and adventure experience, she's just prefect. Look at them legs! Look no further, my friends.

So, whoever suggested Bridget Regan on those boards get's a massive cookie. Whoever...because I'm not going back there. Too many pages...slows down the computer. If you do want to check it out, it's a good read. Just about all the blokes there are nice. Seriously, if you can get away with saying ,"enter actress name here looks better than Megan Fox" and not get flamed, you're around friendly folk. 

*Disclaimer: I have nothing against Megan Fox. Just like every red blooded male, I too wish to make out with her on top of a Transformer. I believe that may be the new American Dream.

   
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Brenda, my ass. You're most likely "Irwin" or "Jimmy", the
nobody that has nothing better to do than miserably fail at enticing me
to join some shitty site. The only thing I'll be sending is my foot up your ass. Then again, you just might fancy that. Eh, Jimmy?

• "I thank you for sharing my kind response concerning rumination and neurology

I'm not even going to try to figure this one out... All I know is that this is the most elaborate one...EVER! Either that or my xanga intercepts messages, making it the most powerful xanga account in existence. Theologianscafe must surrender or I'll start leaking dirty little secrets. This coming from the guy who said he wouldn't try to figure it out. Oh, the possibilities.