Is Atticus Finch a Racist?

I cannot say for sure yet, I do how ever hear the same arguments today from people that lived back in that day.  I have been slowly been reading Harper Lee's sequel to "To Kill A Mockingbird," "Go Set A Watchman."  It is like the first book in that this is the story of Scout.  Jean Louise Finch is a grown woman that has come home to find the things she knew and grew up with are alongside feelings and prejudices she is and was blind to growing up.

This book could have been easily finished by me in a day.  I have been processing chapters and moments.  Each has been familiar in terms of my own growing up in rural Western North Carolina.  It is a dual look for me, as I understand the other side presented in terms of sometimes sitting with people I disagree with to accomplish things.  I do this often when in the presence of fundamentalist and conservative Christians.  

I will write a complete review soon, but for now realize that the critics focused on a part of the book that is not the whole.  I have laughed and almost cried as I read this novel.  Whatever is said, Harper Lee is a great author and writer.

BDS

Heroes Convention 2015 part 2: Sketches and Prints

So I am attempting for a second time to upload and write about HeroesCon that happened almost a month ago now.  I tried last week and had a trifecta of problems that just made me give up.  I am now going to attempt to post a bit on my commissioned sketches and some small prints I bought.  I hope this works because I believe I am passing another Kidney Stone.  

I will first try and display the work of Mike Maihack.  He is the creator of the excellent Cleopatra in Space series.  He did the sketch of Huntress in my Sketch Book last year.  This year I decided to ask about my Word Girl/Captain Huggyface idea.  He was doing these watercolor commissions and I had to choose, so Captain Huggyface now is immortalized in my collection.  I am putting a scan of a print from him as well.  He is awesome and I bought other large prints, but the little Batgirl is nice.

 

Next we have the Kevin Sharpe and the sketch I had done for my book.  I saw and then later that day bought a large Lion-O print from him.  It was that print that had me ask for Panthro.  I am sorry it does not show up well in the book.  The scan did not capture it all either.  So you get only the partial glory of this part of my collected sketches.

 

During one of Things From Another Universe's sales I picked up a sketch cover issue of The All New Captain America #1.  I also bought the regular cover.  I have not collected Marvel in current form for around ten years now.  I did know Sam Wilson, aka. The Falcon had been tapped to be the new Cap.  I sought out an artist to do my cover.  I always try and have at least one woman in my grouping of sketch requests.  Sometimes it is almost always women creators who I pick.  I saw Bridgett Connell and knew I had found my artist.  She had renderings of birds and wings in her art that was for sale.  That was perfect as I had planned on requesting Redwing and the Shield to be my cover image.  I did not realize this was a color commission.  The results are OUTSTANDING.  I mean this is just gorgeous.  The even cooler part is that just near her was Stuart Immonen who did the interior art for the book.  So it has an original cover and it is sign by the artist.  Pretty sweet huh?

Last is the small work I bought from an artist who I have just fallen in love with their work.  Her name is Laura Truxillo.  She has developed a look for the characters she does.  I bought Richard's either Birthday or Christmas present from her.  I couldn't resist buying this Guy Gardner print.  She did a Mera Sketch for my book a couple of years back.

So that is the art project part of HeroesCon.  I still have more to write.  Just working it in between summer work and passing kidney stones.

BDS

HEROES CONVENTION 2015: part 1

My posting for Heroes Con 2015 seems to have gone like my posting for this year, very poor.  I did get all my pictures posted on Google +.  I guess I didn't feel like it mattered since I never got included in the Heroes Con Blog report on sites with pics.  I did all kinds of stuff to get noticed, but I just did not have the energy and with my Blogging being so limited it did not seem to matter.  I think I suffered so depression during the trip.  If my friend Richard were not with me I believe I would have had a very bleak weekend.  I tried so hard to recapture the magic of the last few years, but it just felt off.  Some cool things happened, but i just felt lost a bit.

One thing was wanting to be CosPlaying.  I want to dress up so bad, but have just been behind in creativity and money for doing something.  I know whatever I do will look silly, but as long as I can make some people and kids smile it would be OK.  Knowing my body type is limited on the character I can play makes it challenging.  I want to at least attempt to look credible.  So I think that hampered me a great deal.

This was one of the biggest attendances in a long time.  Friday was especially busy this year.  It was hard to enjoy and get around on Friday and i got tired really fast.  The diabetes just sapped my strength.  It was different dealing with it this year.  Made me struggle to be able t stand around any length of time.  

I did get my three commissioned pieces set and agreed upon Friday.  They are awesome.  I held back mostly until Sunday for Prints.  One Liono print did come with me Friday.  I had to get it.  $5 trades was what I spent money on early.  This was the common early deal of the convention floor.  There was a crazy trend with customized Legos this year.  I never got a pic, seemed like those vendors would be the nit picky ones about pics.  

There were outstanding CosPlayers around.  Some of the costumes just blow your mind.  Lots of kids.  That was cool to see.  The number of future geeks.  It means that these kids will read and dream.  They will be the type to grow up with the type of hope where a man can fly or a tragic lose doesn't crush you.  

More later.

BDS

So I am able to post......

Life really has sapped the writing energy from me.  I took that second job and it did help with money issues, but the time schedule and the way it messed with my diabetes running made me have no energy.  I read stuff and even have purchased some books that I wanted to blog about, but when the time came I just felt to bad to do anything.

Still, it is time for HeroesCon and I wanted to post to let the few that do read when I get something up a "heads up" on my posting of pics and writing about the day.  I am looking forward more to just being away than anything.  I have no real goals this year.  I do want to get a sketch of Word Girl and Captain Huggyface done.  That would be cool.  I have a sketch cover Captain America #1 where the Falcon takes on the mantle.  Not sure what to get.  I want Redwing on there I know.  

Really just playing it by ear and going to browse for books and trades.  We will see how well my Print Addiction goes.  Anyway.  Be on the lookout for post on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Word Up!!!
BDS

Yesterday, A break

I will most likely not get a Flashback Friday up tonight.  We are getting ready to have a Youth Fundraiser for Summer Camp, a Yard Sale.  The best thing was that I was able to at long last get back to Campbell University Divinity School.  It was a break I needed. 

My favorite and the Professor that helped me the most retired this week.  All semester they have had Alumni come to his final Worship and Spiritual Formations class.  In March they had 59 alumni there, it is a class of about 12.  I am glad there were just four of us.  It made the very last class a bit special. 

He is a unique person that models and is a great example of what a Christian should be.  I wish there were a way I could have every church member I ever serve grasp the lessons he taught me.  It was just a nice visit that lead to another side trip.

I stopped to see my cousin that lives near Burlington and spend just a bit of time with her.  That was needed as well.  I needed these moments as the afterschool job and my health conditions have been wearing me down body and soul.

So now I just hope we can have a good Yard Sale and get much money to pay for summer camp.  Take care all.

BDS

Flashback Friday: 1 For 1 Ghost #1

I need to point out that this is the original cover for this comic.  The one I have is a special edition that was part of a $1 comic special where Dark Horse put beginning issues out to allow for new reader's to access them better.  The price I snagged this one for was 60 cents.  It confirmed what i already suspected, I would be enjoying this book if I were collecting it.

Ghost will be on my list as I look through collected editions at HeroesCon.  I will be getting Dark Horse that way for now.  They do seem to be producing some good books.  I just don't have the cash to commit $3.50 an issue to them.

The character has been around for some time now.  This rendering is the first time I have felt I understood and could follow her adventures.  The explanation on the inside cover page was helpful.  I am told how Elisa Cameron was an investigative reporter that uncovered a demonic conspiracy which lead to her banishment to a hellish dimension.  She comes back, sort of, as a supernatural being with fragmented memories.  She took down her original adversaries and now hunts down the demons that worked for the demonic mayor she beat.

Ryan Sook is well suited as artist on this book.  I know his work from the early days of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  He has a good balance of realistic people and scary good monsters.  I am glad that he has pulled back on the use of shadow here that was a trademark of his early Buffy TVS work.  Likewise, Kelly Sue DeConnick & Christopher Sebela have crafted a plausible backdrop for this woman caught between to realities.  The supporting cast come off as well rounded and all things make you want to know more.  It is a good book.

I will be looking to get the first two volumes of this current Ghost series.  It has sparked more interest.

BDS

Sorry -- No Energy

I really have not meant to be gone so long.  The second job and my health have eaten away my resolve to make my posts.  I have plenty of Ultraverse titles to do Malibu or Mantra Mondays, I just need to do them.  Even with the Blogger ability to write and have post at a later time I have fell hopelessly behind.  I even have Flashback Friday choices to my right as I type.  It is all a matter of just having no energy.  

What really is bad is my goal and hope of writing something everyday.  Whether a Blog post or a story Idea I have, it just has not happened.  I really feel like Linda Danvers in this pic here.  Beaten and just gone at times.  I have dreams of posting.  I just hope I can get back to it.

BDS

My Posting

Sorry I have been neglecting things.  I know people read because I see the stats and I hope those who are enjoy what I post and also maybe have some reference to the various back issues I write about.  I have just felt drained lately.  Not sure what it is, I will just blame the diabetes since it is a good scapegoat.  When I feel like this I have to prioritize and the Blog suffers.

I have had another encounter online that has upset me.  That is why I posted the picture I did.  I currently have this as my profile pic on Google + and I just like the pic.  The young woman that is Wonder Woman has been a fixture at HeroesCon over the years and I think she is an outstanding cosplayer.  I even wrote about this photo in my convention posts.  I had watched what I thought was a guy way older than me groping her when his buddy was taking a pic.  It made me hyper aware as this pic was taken as to where my hand went.  I was a bit upset at seeing that happen, but just was dumbfounded.

Anyway, what happened to make me sad was a comment I made on G+ to a posted video where a Pastor tells of punching a kid.  I work in the church with children and this was wrong to me.  I said so.  I was not preachy or anything, but thought I was a good balance for a Christian who thought this was as wrong as other commenters.  So dude wrote that my being a minister and having a pic with a busty babe made my comments invalid.  I realize he made no attempt to check my profile and see that I am a comic nerd or even question my opinion further as a Christian.  To me it was a slap a Christian and use judgmental opinions to make myself look big.

The bigger issue to those that scream about dialogue and freedom of expression is why do you not do as you say?  Why can a Christian not think it wrong to punch a kid as a way to convert them?  I watch this all the time.  I am sick of those that do not want to be stereotyped doing that to me.  I am sick of ultra conservative fundamentalists right wing Christians making me look like them.  They preach and judge and get all the attention.  I could spend hours detailing how my faith and beliefs differ from theirs.  Bottom line is that there will never be understanding in this world until trollz become silenced and reasonable people sit down and talk.

BDS

Happy New Year

Been a rough end to the new year.  I have had a BAD head cold and my Dad has pneumonia.  I have made it to work and been OK watching the Kids, but am dragging today.  I did watch some Netflix while sick.

I finished Season 2 of Arrow.  Wow, what a second season.  It got even better.  I am glad that it and Flash are so strong.  Maybe the CW can become the DC goto station.  I am watching Farscape again and for the first time in its entirety.  I really liked that show.  It was never fully appreciated.

I want to catch up and do more writing this new year.  Here's Hoping!

BDS