The Christmas Lament

Appreciating Grief

When considering the tragedy of murdered children, it occurs to me there are other murdered children, unnamed, that must not be forgotten.

The Last Arrivals at Christmas:  According to Matthew 2: 1-18:
We tend to lump Mary, Jesus and Joseph in Bethlehem with no roof in the inn, shepherds, and wise men all together at Christmas. In reality the wise men arrived later. And they naturally, following the star, stopped first where you would expect to find a new King. They stopped in the palace. Now old Herod, he didn’t have to act surprised but he did hide his alarm and play nice and help find where this prophesied King was to arrive. He sent the wise men on their way.

Now whether it was just the dream that warned them, or whether they heard things about Herod en route to the babe, but they really were wise enough to see he didn’t want them to tell them where that baby was so he could worship. He wanted to kill that innocent child. So, being wise, they blew out of there on their four footed ride’s in the opposite direction.

Matthew 2:1-18
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men

Did God warn anyone else?

Did anyone else heed the warning? Or wake up and think “Oh, bad dream” and roll over and go back to sleep?  What about the soldiers given the order? Did they hesitate, reminded of their own children or siblings?  Did any find themselves alone, with a brief moment of decision when they uncovered a mother cowering with a baby boy and take the opportunity to make a shush motion and hide them again?  How did these men live with themselves afterward? What hatred this must’ve instilled in the survivor’s and their older children – scarred for life by such evil.

Sadly, Herod needed no rapid fire weapons to pull off the atrocity, he only needed soldiers and a position of power.

Some who argue the Bible is false will say that if this truly happened more evidence would’ve been uncovered. But apparently, evidence that Herod was wicked enough to perform these kind of things was common. It’s only news if it rarely happens.

This is where appreciating grief comes in.

It is definitely true to say history is full of children sold into slavery, murdered and sacrificed to idols. Such things do slip under the radar today. But when they rise to our attention, we tend to act, floundering at times and unsure what to do, but we don’t ignore it.  We rage. We cry. We wonder why. So perhaps we should appreciate our grief. For once upon a time it was only the mother’s of Rama who wept for the children. Now we all do. We no longer consider it normal, or the cost of normal kingdoms and rulers, of soldiers and politics. We no longer consider acceptable or unchangeable and hide under the bed and hope we are overlooked.

After a horrific tragedy and mass shooting, lots of people start battling it out about gun control. In point of fact, it’s safe to say what little the Founding Father’s put into the Constitution and Bill of Rights, was based on weapons without modern capability of fast reloads and massive destruction of auto fire. They couldn’t imagine a database of criminals who would misuse the weapons, so how could they plan whether to sell a gun based on it’s information?  It’s also safe to say they weren’t perfect or there would’ve been no civil war later to end slavery, it would’ve happened right then.

I don’t claim to know what will make us safer. Better gun control for automatic weapons, keeping them out of criminals hands, better mental health care. But I know we must care, that the Herod’s of the world should shudder. For no longer do we stand by and accept the norm. One thing we should do is remember that while gun control is an issue debated in our borders, there our other children in the world’s danger zones too.  And we shouldn’t let issues like political red tape or economy prevent us for caring. For once upon a time, Jesus was one of those children too. So was Einstein, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Madame Curie, Charles Dickens, Billy Graham,…..a world of unknown potential waiting to be uncovered. It shouldn’t be stopped by bullet, sword or a rock to the head.

As for where was God?

He was in the Principle challenging the gunman and every other adult in that school who defended and hid the children. He was with every policeman and fireman who runs into the line of fire, whether little or figurative to defend them. He was with children around the world, urging their protection. He was with every soldier who hesitates at the sight of a child and tries to defend his troops and his country without harming the innocent.

In other words…. He’s probably asking where are we. Because you don’t need to be a preacher or a pastor, just a believer whose read about Jesus, to know that he called on us to do the defending. He gave us power to care and pray and act.  And I believe the power has already succeeded in changing us partway. Because now, instead of just crying for the few children in our family or neighborhood we find it in our hearts to cry for them all.

I Care Teddy Bear
I Care Teddy Bear

References:

Principle trying to stop Gunman when Killed – Regarding the recent events in Conneticut

Fair Trade Policy for Chocolate – Did you know slave labor is used in making some chocolate?

Save the Children – Dedicated to the welfare of children around the world.

Prostitution of Children – Wiki of the facts. But there are lots of articles and blogs on the subject around the world. Just Google it.

 

A Tragic Merry Christmas

A Story Inspired by Reality. This is how I imagine it….

by T.A.Paxton

On Earth parents are weeping. Angels hover close by, offering comfort. They don’t show their wings or glow. They don’t offer empty words of  “This was God’s will” or “If prayer were in schools…” No, they just say, “I’m so sorry. I don’t understand either.” And they offer to help in small ways, for there are no big ones to offer. To do the dishes, watch the other kids while sad arrangements must be made. They bring food to the grief stricken and offer hugs as families contemplate what to do…oh what to do…..with the already bought gifts whose children will never receive them. The Christmas lights seem to dim and they stare at the baby in it’s tiny mini manger and ask why?

Somewhere in heaven, God is weeping. Angels hustle to open the gates as children are ushered in by other angels. One angel stands even sadder than the others. “I could not dissuade him. Why do they misuse the gift of freedom so?”

Children are led straight to God who wraps them in strong arms and says “It’s all right now. You are safe forever.” He dries their tears but doesn’t hide his own.  “You are here earlier than we hoped. As long as you are early will you help us decorate?”
The children peer around in awe at the beauty of heaven. They are led to a room with the greatest Christmas tree of all.
“Would you like to help decorate it?”
One child asks in awe “There are no Christmas trees in the Bible. Do you like them too?”
“Well of course. I invented trees and lights. I think putting them together is wonderful. This is the father of all those trees.”
So the children begin putting balls on the tree, and carved ornaments.  When they are too short, an angel lifts them up.
“I was told you don’t like carved images.” Another child suddenly piped up, looking at God.
“Well, it depends on what it’s for. It’s silly to bend down and worship it. But I love stories. I like telling stories, it helps people learn. And these images tell stories. Look close.”
The child gasped. Others did as well. They could now see the ornaments told the stories of their lives.
“I can see Mom and my brothers hanging ornaments in this one!” One boy held up a bright red ornament amazed by the odd reflection.
“This has my Dad  holding my sister at the beach!”
“This one is a roller coaster….the first one I rode…and I’m in it!”
“Look, it’s my dog and he’s looking right out of this blue ball at me, like he’s carved inside! It looks like he can see me!”
God smiled. “All good things are remembered. And all the bad will be like grains of sand in comparison.”
“This one is moving!” One child looked close. For they weren’t moving like a store bought, battery operated ornament, or TV, but like life in miniature. “Hey! It’ s my family! Right now! They are crying…oh”  Another ball of glass popped out of the ornament, a string…..and the child looked up and saw it becoming a string and a garland.
The others found the same.  “Look, they are surrounded by angels.”
They hung the garlands. “But…it’s so sad. It’s their tears.”
“For every sad tear today, they will have many tears of joy again.” God assured them. “The hurt will poison them if it stays inside, so it comes out through tears instead. So I draw it out, if they will let me, and turn it into beauty.”

The smallest child went up solemnly and climbed in God’s lap, holding one of the ornaments. Looked up at the tall, tall tree, and back at God.
“Will our families remember us? We don’t have ornaments like this on Earth.”
“They will. Right now they hurt terribly. But one day, they will look at your favorite teddy bear ornament and say “oh how he loved this one.”  God looked at another. “Or at that favorite snow globe, or doll, or action figure and say “He or she played with it all the time. And they will smile, for they will miss you, but they will be oh, so glad that they had known you.”

And with that. they all went back to decorating the tree. And God smiled. Here in heaven at least all was well. Someday, He promised, someday it would be on Earth as well.

 

 

Comfort Angel Bear
Comfort Angel Bear

 

If you want to say Happy Holidays, lets say it all Year.

It's called Christmas

It's not that I have a problem with Happy Holidays. It's the fact that some people use it to discriminate. Truth be told just about every day of the year is someone's holiday, from the national Independance, to a birthday to a human rights day or national teddy bear or maple syrup days. Yes, those really are holidays. You could say happy holidays every day of the year, for that very reason. So why now? Because now is when the gear up for Christmas (albeit an overcommercialized one) is. And Christmas involves Christ.

Yes, I am Christian. Yes, I celebrate Christmas.  And if I say Merry or Happy Christmas I am wishing you a wonderful, peaceful, light filled season of joy. I am not whacking you on the head with a baby Jesus figurine and saying believe or else, nor sending a Santa in a tank to force a conversion. Believe it or not, when the Old Kris Kringle or Saint Nick or Santa in 'A Night Before Christmas' says Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas, he isn't even quoting the Bible!

I wouldn't object if you told me Happy Hannukah or Kwanzaa.  I may not believe in them, or know much about them, but I wouldn't figure you meant it as an insult. Happy usually doesn't imply insult no matter what it precedes.

Holidays Are All Year

What's more, you don't say happy holidays on valentine's day or halloween. Saint Valentine and Saint Nicholas and even Saint Patrick were catholic saints. I'm not catholic, but I can still enjoy the holidays without insisting someone say 'happy holidays instead of happy st nicholas or saint valentine or saint patrick.. And I wouldn't assume the person doing the wishing was catholic, though it wouldn't matter much to whether I liked them or not if they were. It's a holiday, what's not to like? Some christians don't like halloween. I say, dress up and eat the candy. The candy will be on sale anyway and costumes bring out people's creative side. If you think dressing as a witch or zombie offensive, you can always dress as a teddy bear or a robot.

I wouldn't be offended to be told 'Happy Saint Patrick's Day' even though I'm not Irish.

Happy New Year might give me pause if it wasn't January first, but explain it's the mayan or hebrew or muslim calendar and I'll go happy new year right back.

As for the fourth of July: for all I know the person wishing me happy independence day could be from canada or australia. Or the person I'm wishing it too could be from Austria or Bulgaria. Just because they aren't a citizen doesn't mean they can't enjoy the fireworks.

Yet for some reason, all these holiday well wishes are 'acceptable' and Christmas is not. Ironic, how everything is tolerated….except being a christian, whether practicing or not.

 

So Happy National Brownie Day. And National Ice Cream Day, Human Rights Day, Poinsettia Day, National Maple syrup day……….should I go on?  So if we are going to go 'Happy Holidays'……then lets just say it all year. It's probably easier than saying Happy pop goes the weasel day, happy flip a coin day and all that. It's easier on the fatherless not to hear happy fathers day and the childless woman desperate for a baby to hear Happy Holidays than a Happy Mother's day. 

Besides it's a sure fire way to see who is paying attention. Say Happy Holidays in May and someone will probably do a double take.

So lighten up people. Enjoy the Christmas or Hanukkah lights.  No commitment required. Just an open heart and a childlike sense of wonder. But I'll bet without Christmas you wouldn't have all those holiday lights. We started it. And you can't take that away.

Sources:

http://www.theultimateholidaysite.com

http://www.holidayinsights.com

http://www.squidoo.com/Christmas-GoFish

The Toy Artist Custom Inspiration

The Limitless Imagination of Childhood Wonder

Most American childhoods are full of toys. Sometimes the toy comes first, sometimes the TV show does. But either way it soon becomes a collectible – whether the kind you play with or the kind that sits on a shelf, reminding you of your favorite characters. A true fan has more in mind than an eventual sale – for one can never know what’ll be worth money later on.
But what about when your favorite just doesn’t strike the fancy of the toy makers? What about when the toy maker’s version of the character just doesn’t match yours?

Making the Toy YOU Want

That’s where the customizers come in. These innovative fans go further. They decide they’ll make their favorite character look the way they want it to look. It may just be a new paint job, like a Breyer horse going from a boring black horse to a splashy pinto.  Or they may go a step further and mash it up, such as taking My Little Pony and decorating it like Yoda or Doctor Who.
How do they do it? Well, I can’t speak from much personal experience: I have done a few Breyer repaints but that’s it. But I can tell you it takes reference material, a vivid imagination and usually the raw figure, maybe more than one if you are going to mix or match parts. This is a time honored tradition, in fact, the original Star Wars….what became a New Hope….owes much of the early starship models to ‘kit bashing’. In other words, they took bits from different model car and airplane kits and mixed them in ways the designers did not intend and certainly didn’t put in the instruction manual!
Of course, some companies have caught wind of this and decided to reward the creativity. Breyer puts out a ‘bare’ paint your own horse kit. Hasbro’s Mighty Muggs: which had Superheroes as well as Star Wars, had a ‘blank’ paint your own version too. And of course, so does My Little Pony. Barbie has a ‘style your own’ on the web site (although that’s not as hands on, obviously.)


Doctor Whooves G4 Custom Pony by ~kd-230692 on deviantART

 

Not surprisingly these ‘bare’ kits aren’t enough for some though. They might be fine starters, but (expect for Mighty Muggs, which are all alike) they usually offer only one model. And you certainly can’t add the furry look of the wookie, the horn of that unicorn or various other features without a bit of tweaking. Surprisingly, some of these use sculpey, judging from my Deviant Art research. This gave me pause. How do you add the Sculpey, which has to be oven baked, to a My Little Pony or other plastic doll, which would melt or burn in an oven? Or do you bake the parts separate (more likely.) Presumably the smaller the toy, the harder it is to ‘customize’. Also not surprisingly, these customs have a following of their own.

Can You Do Make Your Own Custom Toy Or Can You Buy One?

Those who can’t make, buy. And they pay a good deal too. Are they worth it? Probably. Someone thinks so. It took the cost of materials, plus whatever someone felt their time and creativity were worth. I would guess most of these ‘special’ toys, are not going to young kids. They are going to the grown up kind: whether they are over eighteen or just young collectors.  


Wonder Woman Custom by ~n3gative-0 on deviantART

Of course, there is always that ‘iffy’ realm between selling fan art and a violating copyright. Okay. Where does the line come in between “My Little Pony”, “Star Wars” or “Doctor Who” and the creativity of the person who made it come in? For most, fan art stays fan art if it’s ‘at most’ one piece. Forget merchandising. It’s a bit risky even selling one, but it largely depends on the owner of the copyright. I like the think many of these copyright holders recognize their own danger in overzealousness at pursuing a single one of a kind fan custom figure. One doesn’t want to alienate their own fans. That might stop hem from buying. And odds are, that custom figure has base parts from regular figures which…ahem…they still want to sell. So they must balance this fine line with care.

And they don’t stop with toys. They continue into the dioramas and playsets to put the toys into show off.


Hoth Echo Rebel Base by ~GalerieMoreau on deviantART

And why do we do it? Why do apparent adults and kids of an age when hanging out with friends are normally taking up the time suddenly getting involved with this stuff?

I think it’s that emotional, sentimental memory of their fandom. Combined with the need of the arts and craftsman to create, it expresses itself through collecting and customizing. It recaptures a little of childhood’s joyous wonder and refuses to let it go forever. Some people keep their fandom in the closet (perhaps literally). Others are more open. But when you walk down the street, taking with friends, even hearing some bully put another down, let the thought come. The most grown up grown up might, in fact…be hiding a pony in the closet. Or that cool custom hotrod, hand painted and paid a fortune for. Don’t let them fool you. They are everywhere!
 


Captain Amerihorse by ~Epona142 on deviantART

Many Custom Star Wars Whiphids

Custom Star Wars Whiphid Action Figures Posted on Photobucket by lugo_matapollos

Compromised Art

The Art and the Money to Show it

Compromise in art can be maddening. Art can be many things, many mediums. It can be the fine art hanging on the wall of the museum, or even what’s on the front of a cereal box. It can be a play or a movie or a TV show. But all of these things are compromised by the very basic need of funds to create.

Even in the olden days, the famous artists like Da Vinci and Michaelangelo needed patrons. That meant the patron could influence and command what art they were able to concentrate on. Wars stole supplies that would have been used for art and magnificent potential pieces like Da Vinci’s horse waited long after his death to come to life.

Da Vinci’s imagination –
art and science ahead of it’s time.
Image credit: Photobucket: By bluejule122

Changing demands mean right now photographic manipulation has largely replaced illustration on movie posters and book covers. And once again the artist must choose between money for supplies or changing what they would do. Already one had to fit their creations onto certain products, now they had to alter technique.

Compromise in Storytelling – TV and Movies.

As for TV – oh dear. Television in and of itself has changed. HD is obvious and recent. But what’s more, so has the need for commercials. Those in charge add little pop ups to the bottom or the side, a rather shocking distraction from the main action. Apparently whoever invented them for web browsing decided to take them somewhere without a pop up blocker. Sometimes clever product placements appear in the show – like White Collar’s Ford Taurus and Apple ads or even the fact that HP computers are all thru the FBI office. Some aren’t so clever. But ultimately, commercial time is extended. And it chops into the show, cutting off bits and pieces.

White Collar scene. Probably a Promo shot, this was never part of an episode.
Image Credit: Photobucket: By Spielende

As for movies on TV, that’ s even more of a compromise, because sometimes they just aren’t designed with commercials in mind. They were meant for the big screen of a theater.  The end result of adding commercials sometimes seems like they took the old fashioned film reel, put it on the wall like a dart board and threw the darts at it. Then they spliced in commercials where ever they pleased and chopped out however much they needed too.

Changing the Message of the Story

The problem with these compromises is that sometimes it changes the entire message of the art. Take Disney’s Miracle of the White Stallions. As a child, I never understood why it was called ‘Flight of the White Stallions’ on TV but listed as ‘Miracle of the White Stallions’ elsewhere. Then I got the DVD. The message was immediately obvious. For on TV the flight of the lippizans and the Spanish Riding School from Vienna was just that. A run to where they were found by General Patton and offered protection. But the ‘Miracle’ part had been left on the cutting room floor to make room for commercials. The miracle was the many people who braved the Nazi’s wrath to help smuggle them out in spite of orders to keep them there. I had a similar shock with one of my favorite incarnations of a Christmas Carol: called “Scrooge” and starring Albert Finney and Alec Guinness. It was a musical. The TV version chopped off a whole section where he wakes up in hell. I had no clue it existed until I bought the DVD.

Flight of the White Stallions…or is Miracle?
Image Credit: Photobucket By roberttaylorfan

Sometimes these actions seem downright sacrilegious. I loved ‘A Night Before Christmas’ by Rankin Bass (who also animated Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer and the Hobbit) as a child. But when I came back as an adult I was horrified to find that the whole thing was chopped to bits. The whole message of hope and faith was whittled to nearly nothing by commercials. One whole song was wiped out completely.  As for Rudolph, I no longer know which is more accurate: the one I saw as a child or the one with the music changed but obviously part of the original show. I prefer either to the whittled down version. I  find it rather amusing as well. The rather sexist message of the reindeer refusing his mate’s desire to help search for her son, for instance. “This is man’s work.” Hah. Apparently he failed to realize that disqualified him too, he was a reindeer, not a man!

Who Decides?

Who makes these decisions to alter someone else’s story? At least with something like Star Wars and it’s infamous ‘Han shot first’ debate, the change, however controversial, was made by the creator. But who decides it’s okay to shred a children’s classic? Or remove a TV show’s funniest moments to cram in one more commercial?  It doesn’t seem to involve planning to work around the original story line or message and leaving it intact. It apparently does not take into account the work of the artists involved, actors, directors or creators. Nor does it take into account the fans. And if it doesn’t take into account these, than surely it does a disservice. For by altering the story, they are diminishing the chance to make new fans. New fans, who would buy those DVDs, or collectibles or in turn support shows like it in the future.

Han Shot First

I don’t claim to have a solution. It takes creativity, perhaps, to even work with the commercials, to interweave them into the program without breaking it’s momentum or damaging the story. Perhaps it takes training though if anyone is trained for this (beyond the ‘we need more money’ end) I don’t know.
But if they aren’t, maybe they should be. For television, movies and streaming media are our modern storytellers. They help us know the monsters can be defeated and challenges overcome. They let us escape our own problems to find a new point of view and things to get excited or laugh about. But only if the overcoming and escaping doesn’t end up on the cutting room floor and replaced with another ad for kitchen cleaner. Speaking for myself: I don’t find it inspiring to see one more commercial to ‘buy more.’ I already know how to do that. I really think we all do.

 

References:

Han Shot First

Miracle of the White Stallions

Flight of the White Stallions

Scrooge

Leonardo’s Horse Sculpture

TV Advertisements

White Collar

Inspirations: Dragons

There is something about dragons that just captures the imagination.

Their powerful and have amazing abilities. Their role in our imaginations has changed over the centuries, informed by science, legend, religion and culture. They may be mere animals, or intelligent. They are a myth or a metaphor and maybe more. They can be fun to draw, but also a challenge. You won’t often find a photo of a ‘live’ dragon to pose for you. But if you know their history, you’ll be able to piece together enough of an image to create your own.

Dragons in Myth, Legend and Religion:

Spiritually, European dragons were thought of us ‘evil’. This is due to the influence of Christianity and the infamous claim that ‘Satan is a dragon’ in the book of Revelation (Revelation 12). However this is a bit of a stretch: the same devil is compared to both a snake and a roaring lion. Since Jesus is also compared to a Lion, we can’t say all lions are evil. And while many of us don’t like snakes, others do. They are, for better or worse, animals. A mouse might think a snake evil but most of us don’t. In artwork of the Renaissance Period they are often shown as a snakelike creatures with wings. Whether these are meant to represent a real extinct creature, or were a metaphor for sin, is known only to the creators. (ie look up when internet comes back). In any case these were characterized by not only a very lizard like look, batlike wings and an ability to breath fire.

Eastern dragons on the other hand were considered good luck.  It’s a symbol of water and the heavens as well as fertility.

Physicality of dragons:

Given the general description of dragons, it’s possible they were informed by a combination of the Bible translations and remains of dinosaurs. Unless of course there is  a real dragon that is not only extinct and the remains totally destroyed or buried deep in unexplored ocean depths.
It’s unknown what Eastern dragons are inspired by, but dinosaur bones are also found in China.  But they share similarities to creatures in art by the aztecs and inuits.

Komodo dragons are real lizards,  and  in some tongues the word dragon traces back to ‘serpent.’

Modern Dragons:

In recent years dragons have become popular in the realm of fantasy.  In some ways, they’ve always been a hot topic. But now, advances in computer science allow for the creation in digital dragons. They swoop through movies in pursuit of Harry Potter and chase knights with swords. Perhaps it’s a slow recognition in our own flaws that has us re-evaluating dragon lore. Some dragon movies have come out which show dragons as more misunderstood than monstrous. Pete’s dragon is an old Disney movie featuring a friendly animated dragon and a real boy. But at the time most dragons were villains like The Hobbit's Smaug. Now stories like ‘Dragonheart’ reveal a different tale: a dragon who helped create the code of chivalry.  In the Dragonriders of Pern series, dragons are a combination of human engineering and a natural species which help combat a deadly threat from a colony planet's skies.

As for the dragons of Christianity, some authors have finally recognized the gap in fantasy that Christian books had after CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. They have created new fantasies, and unlike the old ‘villain’ dragons, new ‘hero dragons are born. Stories like Donita K. Paul’s Dragonspell series where our heroes live in a world of dragons and magic where ‘Wulder’ and his ‘Paladin’ represent the creator and all follow his laws. Their are evil dragons here too, but they have their good counterpart. Also Bryan Davis ‘Dragons in our Midst follows the tale of a boy and girl who are the children of dragons turned into humans. The dragons were pursued by slayers, who had already slain all the wicked dragons and were indiscriminately turning to the ‘good’ dragons, not caring that they served God. Prophecy says these children will save the dragons and restore the Arthurian throne.

When drawing dragons, it’s helpful to keep this dragon history in mind.

Is your dragon good or evil or neutral? Intelligent as a human or purely an animal? Is he a dragon from an established fantasy or are you inventing one all your own? Given that dragons are usually lizards, pictures of lizards can be useful in determining types of scales. Bats can supply the wings. Claws are important too. Natural earth colors would make up a realistic dragon. Remember that it would take huge wings to support this critter!
You can of course be totally exotic. You might change bat wings for feathers, go for wilder painted colors and or markings. It can have a more mammal like paws and face. Perhaps your dragon is meant to have a rider like the ones in Dragonspell, Eragon or Dragonriders of Pern.  It’s your dragon. You decide! How you draw your dragon will bring it to life and influence it’s personality.
Don’t forget that where your dragon lives can help you too. Grab some pictures off the internet to reference if you want to create your own ‘cave’ backgrounds, look up sky and mountain photos for how tips and tricks on coloring your backdrop. It can be harder than it looks. Make sure your dragon stands out, at least in those features you want to be prominent.

Finally: keep in mind how much of your dragon will be in your picture. A dragon is usually big and long. So if your limited to small paper you’ll either need to shrink down your dragon and lose details or focus on one area, such as the head, and crop out others. Of course, if you can afford big paper and have the place to work you can go all out!

Here are a couple of cool references  I've used for dragons:

Dragonart: How to Draw Fantastic Dragons and Fantasy Creatures  – J. “NeonDragon” Peffer

DVD- Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real – Discovery Channel Volume 3

Imaginative Realism– James Gurney

The Dragon Chronicles (Fiction)

Dragonspell series – (Fiction – Series) Donita K. Paul

Dragons in our Midst – (Fiction – Series) Bryan Davis

Dragonriders of Pern (Fiction- series)  – Ann McCaffrey

 

For beginners, here is a decent video tutorial on dragons:

 

Check my Squidoo lens on dragons for more resources!

Faith, Science and Imagination

Our outlook on life depends on what we let our mind see.

We live in this world as a species at war with itself. I don’t just mean the visible, battles for land, food, resources and power.  I mean in our way of looking at things, even within each of us individually. And then, it spills out without our even noticing.

We battle between creationism, science and imagination. Some people claim evolution is a science and creationism fantasy. Others object. This leads to conflict. I say ‘prove it or, for that matter, disprove it.’ That’s what science is supposed to do. Within a species you can prove evolution, for your various wild and tame breeds of canine, feline and equine are proof enough. But I’ve never seen anything to suggest solid proof man came from a monkey.  And the odds are astronomical against even a single cell coming to life without a guiding mind behind it. So it’s not like gravity, where you can drop something off a cliff and instantly prove it. If you want to teach science, you can’t claim all science is reproducible except this one thing! That makes it a scientific theory, not a fact. Whether I believe (or want to believe) the alternative theory is besides the point. I, for one, know I can’t really prove either.

The truth is the beginnings are so far back no-one knows for sure. They can claim they do, but to some extent it’s all belief. Why they can’t admit it, is beyond me. At the same time, are we so sure we want to prove everything?  Even bringing a child into the world is a perilous venture. And we’re trying for artificial intelligence. Who knows what will happen when the imperfect intelligence of humanity succeeds? It’s unlikely to create perfection. Many a sci fi movie is based on the robots rebelling against mankind. (Well, if mankind rebelled against God than I guess that would make us the robot’s god and turn about is fair play.)  And we’ve already seen ‘Planet of the Apes’. No, I definitely am not keen on that being proven. I’m pretty sure my alarm at the idea isn’t soley due to a belief in God.

On the other hand, the creation story is an account no doubt passed on for generations by storytellers before written. It seems to have lost some details along the way. For instance: if Eve came for Adam, where did Seth’s wife come from? Was she from his rib? Was she his sister? Was she a monkey? (I find that thought disturbing for a lot of reasons. No one said imagination is always a good thing.) And these children of the nephilim they mention, like the giants,-what did they look like? It says ‘giants’ came from them. And giant bones have been found. (Even now the human race seems to be getting taller all the time. Would we seem giants to our ancestors?) We know dinosaurs existed, was that before humans or a different part of the world? At least some of it does dovetail with science: there is plenty of evidence, both scientific and in world myth that there was a great flood for Noah. And the evolution with the animal kingdom could explain how he stuffed so many beasts into the arc. You don’t need every breed of feline, just a starter set. And of course, some creatures were born for life in the water anyway.

Young children seem to ask these questions automatically. Then as they grow older whether Christian, Atheist or any other, their curiosity gets squashed. ‘Don’t ask’, the adults say, we don’t have the answers and fear we wouldn’t like them. Why not, I don’t know. Okay, so you believe God wrote the Bible through man. That means for all humankind, not just the rocket scientists and biologists. He certainly didn’t write it with picking apart the DNA of dinosaurs in mind.

I for one, wonder if some of our ancient religions and myths aren’t connected. Science fiction is unafraid to confront such questions. Stargate dared think ‘what if the ancient gods’ were aliens. Well, what if they were these ‘children’ of nephilim or nephilim themselves? They don’t have to be actual ‘gods’ in a pantheon for there to be a Zeus or a Hera. Just someone bigger, more powerful and maybe more high tech than humanity at the time. Were there centaurs? Or was there someone with poor vision in a horseless society who was attacked? Perhaps all his colleagues, having heard it, then saw what they expected to see. Perhaps Pegasus sprang from ancient versions of the modern western: the legendary wild white stallion. As the ancient people saw it make a mighty leap away, perhaps on a high mountain, the sun and clouds contrived wings.

I believe we need the ability to dare to imagine, even if we don’t believe in others viewpoints. Myth and legend often starts with a grain of truth. That’s no surprise. There probably always were storytellers who’d master a stories ‘spin’ (now they work for politicians) and capitalized on the best features of a true story and expand.

Unicorn Tapestry #8 ; photo by nhyder 51 Photobucket
Unicorn Tapestry #8 photo by nhyder 51 Photobucket

Unicorns and dragons probably, in some form, did exist. Maybe they still do and we just don’t recognize them. Ancient tapestries show unicorns that looked like goats with one horn. Yet now we expect a magnificent horse like creature. A one horned goat would be a mere genetic mutation to us. Paintings show Sir George battling a dragon much smaller than he and the horse. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the ‘dragon’ of Revelation, the devil. If so, he’s smaller than expected. On the other hand, maybe dragons were lizards descended from dinosaurs and were (or even are) just unrecognized. Maybe it’s not that unicorns and dragons have gone, but our ability to see them. We’ve lost it either to science or faith, when we need imagination. A dragon is supposed to be terrifying by our ‘western’  standards (as opposed to the friendlier eastern dragons) . So as we become more confident and build better weapons, our imagined dragon must be bigger and scarier. He needs more than fangs to attack the children and a powerful body. He now needs a flame thrower gullet and giant wings to take to the skies.

Is your mind full of the mundane or is it full of wonder?

Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau
Saint George and the Dragon by Gustave Moreau, photo by mafiashaolin on Photobucket

But to some extent, we need them all. We need the faith (for even a belief there is no god can be considered ‘a faith’ for you can’t prove there is no god, either.) We need science. We need imagination. Perhaps imagination is the place where science meets faith and either creates a war or releases a sense of wonder. If our faith can answer the question science asks, it will be all the stronger. And if it can’t? Then we maybe we either need to think outside the box or we need a bigger box.  We have far too much war. We need far more wonder.

Wonder creates answers and solutions to problems the ‘wonderless’ accept as the status quo. It invented the wheel, encouraged someone to tame the first dog and ride that early horse. It created the car and the computer and sent satellites into space. It painted the Sistine Chapel and Cinderella’s castle. It creates problems, true, but also dares to dream of solutions. It dares challenge the possible. Wonder guarantees there is joy and beauty to be found round nearly any corner: if we only have the imagination and courage to look.

Cartoons were never just for kids.

For some peculiar reason, many an adult turns up their nose as if a cartoon  is unworthy for adults. I’ve never really understood why. A cartoon is just a story, told with artwork in sequence. It’s not guaranteed even to be rated for kids, some are actually rated mature. Even those with a kid friendly rating are not free of true storytelling excitement. Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had a wicked queen trying to kill the beautiful girl. Those stories are very tame compared to their original counterparts.  The original fairy tales are a good deal more frightening.  But the timeless tale of good versus evil still is clearly represented.

Adults create these stories. They usually write the stories, do the artwork, and ‘act’ the voices. True, if the cartoon is for kids, they have to get inside a child’s viewpoint. But look at it from an adult one and there are things about the stories one rarely notices when one enjoys it as a child. They have meanings: for good or bad, even if they are unintentional.

I always identified more with Road Runner and Tweety as a kid when watching Looney Tunes: but they weren’t always nice. While I didn’t want the Wile E Coyote or Sylvester to win, now I see that they were dreamers chasing the impossible dream. One might – from a pessimists point of view – say they suffered greatly for their ambitions. They were dropped off cliffs and smacked with frying pans on a regular basis. Well, really can you blame them for just being what they are? They were predators and hungry.  And would you really want your kid to drop his adversary off a cliff? Or even develop Bugs Bunny’s sarcasm? I suppose he might encourage carrot eating. I’m not trying to bash Looney Tunes. They were great fun. But don’t tell me these were really written with kids in mind!

On a more modern basis, I’ve watched Ben Ten grow up. Ben found an awesome device called the omnitrix, which turns him into a variety of aliens.  These enable him to battle evil alien invaders, under guidance of his Grandpa ( a ‘plumber’ a code name for a secret group that defends earth against aliens) Aside from being impressed with how many imaginative aliens they invent, they also show Ben regularly learning (often the hard way) about cooperation, appreciation of family, and thinking ahead.

Ben 10
Ben 10, image from photobucket by anime001eater

Transformers have been recreated a few times. The impressive computer animation goes along with the timeless tale of friendship and loyalty between very different beings. My Little Ponies also have such tales for a younger set – but even adults have refused to give up their hopeful message.

As for Star Wars the Clone Wars, the tales are anything but dumbed down for kids. The original Star Wars tale dealt with Anakin’s fall – becoming Vader and his redemption by his son. Now we see him as the hero he was meant to be. But we also witness the trauma of warfare. It’s a confusing era in the Star Wars galaxy.  His apprentice wrestles with the responsibility of losing men in battle. Even the villain Ventress searches for a place to belong. But the timeless values of loyalty, honesty and friendship are there. But only for kids? There are episodes that might give some nightmares. The answers aren’t always so clear. Tell a lie to save lives? Sacrifice a few to save  many? These are not stories where what the right answer is comes easily. And since we know it ends where Revenge of the Sith begins we already know, to our dismay, that not all of our favorites survive the conflict.

Star Wars The Clone Wars
Star Wars The Clone Wars, image from photobucket by eduardorg100

As for style, there is something for everyone. We’ve come a long way from the hand drawn art of Snow White and early Mickey Mouse. Now we have computers to allow smoother animation and programs to make them appear almost three dimensional.  Where does ‘animation’ begin and live action end in stories where an alien being is created entirely on computer but yet still interacts with humans?

Cartoons for kids? I’d rather have those then much of what is passed off as adult programming. I want a story, I want characters that make me want to root for them and scrambling to tune in when they are in trouble. I want stories with heroes. I love the animation: it makes it complete. I want the cake, the icing and even the ice cream. And why not? If I have to go to a kids channel to get it, fine. Their stories are still often resonating with the messages of myth and legend, of heroism. Kids aren’t perfect – not pure innocence, for they can be greedy and bullies and violent too. But they are still learning and growing. And while the stories often come attached to toy promotions, at least those toys promote the same values. (Except perhaps, for encouraging greed.)

So down with this absurd notion that cartoons are for kids. Cartoons are for everyone. If you can’t find one you like, I’d bet you haven’t looked too far.

Colors and Creatures of Pride, Humility and Courage

 Color and Creatures of Sins

These are not set in stone, they change with the times, place and religion.

Pride

Pride is often shown as violet. Maybe it’s because it’s also related to purple which is a royal and regal color or something and when we are proud we think we are the center of the universe, king or queen of all. And we don’t like to concede we aren’t or that we need help. Everyone does, at one time or another. Purple was harder to find for pigment making so it makes sense it was used more rarely.

Pride doesn’t want us to admit we need help or accept it, even though everyone needs help at one time or another. What’s more it encourages us to assume those who do have done something wrong, or are lazy or deserve their problems. This isn’t necessarily true. People don’t choose disabilities or mental illness that may sideline them from working. It’s a ridiculous point of view. Most of us will have money troubles and even so, in the USA even the poorer among us are richer than in other countries. But we all need help. No one truly survives on their own.

It’s also the sin associated with horses. I guess that’s why Jesus rode a donkey instead of a horse into Jerusalem according to the Bible. He wanted to appear humble. Horses are magnificent animals although they can also be timid, shy and have their own families and pecking order. But as a species, yes they do look proud. Just watch a stallion prancing freely around, mane and tail held high and yes, proud and regal are the words.

 

 Color and Creatures of Virtue

Humility

Donkey, laying downHumility is often brown.  Earth is brown too. Perhaps it symbolizes a willingness to work with your hands. Sometimes red is used too. This surprises me a bit, since I think of red as blood and wrath and pain. (Anyone else find too much gives them a headache?) But apparently the blood is that of the martyrs and maybe the wrath is for those who hurt them. The humble are, I imagine, those who put themselves into other people’s shoes. They realize that they too, might easily be the ones who need help. Yesterday it might have been them, or tomorrow. So they give, sometimes quietly. Christmas 2011 saw people paying off other people’s layaway toys so children could have a Christmas. Others contribute to funds to help those having trouble with bills.  Okay, only some donkeys are brown. I don’t know what other creature would be associated with humility. Long eared and gentle enough to carry a pregnant mother a long way. Perhaps a lamb or sheep would be humble.

 But there is another virtue here:

Courage

It’s hard to pin a color on courage. Some say orange or red. I guess that makes sense, it takes some energy to be brave and those are energetic colors. It takes courage to say yes,  I need help. But it’s important because rarely do our actions or inactions hurt only us. If one can’t find courage to say ‘yes, I need help’ for oneself, what about ‘yes, I need help because my family will suffer if I don’t at least ask? It takes courage to offer help to, because people who are proud may be offended.

You also need courage to offer help. When you give help, it’s either a loan or a gift. Offer a gift of help to a stranger, homeless perhaps, and you have to wonder if they will spend it on food, lodging or a bottle of alcohol or drugs. You can’t know. But you’ll know – and your reason for giving it is at least as important as who receives it and how they use it.

I don’t know that I’d associate any species of animal as courageous. It’s too individual a thing. Any individual of many a species can be courageous if it faces a fear for any reason. But in spite of the association with pride, horses are a decent example. The term War Horse is out there due to the movie. A horse that has confidence in it’s rider charges into situations in spite of it’s fears. Whereas the ‘average’ horse may run in fear at the sight of an oddly shaped pile of hay!

References:

Colors

The layaway angels

 

The Virtue of Television

There are those people out there who live without TV. Who thinks it’s a waste of time and money. They’d rather be active or socializing. Well, if they can live without it, I suppose that’s good for them. But for some of us who are not blessed with the gift of socializing or those without the health for exercise or the attention span of reading, or the price for multiple video games and their systems, TV is a great blessing.

But in our stressful world, some of us do need escape at times. Times to unwind and look at problems that aren’t real, aren’t are own – or maybe they are, but we have a chance to see them from another point of view, an outsiders point of view. A good TV show inspires one to care about the characters and want to know what happens to them. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the ‘real’ world of cops and robbers in New York city, a reality show (where reality itself is rather fictionalized for the camera) or a fantasy world of dinosaurs like Terra Nova and fairy tales like Happily Ever After or spaceships like Firefly.

And sometimes the TV is our means and reason for socialization. Like a book club, a good TV show can be a conversation starter and an ongoing topic. For those of us who weren’t born with an easy starter kit for conversations it’s absolutely priceless.

What’s more, it can inspire us – or destroy us, depending on one’s choice. We can take comfort from the fact that our real life family (hopefully) isn’t as bad as the one on the sit com. We can laugh at odd moments. Or we can pause and consider what and why do we care so much about the fictional character, invest so much in them when we can’t do that with our own family. It’s like an unrequited love. We give it and ask for little in return except they show up the same time next week.

Then again, maybe that’s more than our family does. Show up? Do families do that? Well some do. Others just leave members adrift, as if family was just a loose title and not a bond at all. It’s not uncommon these days for every member of the family to be in their own little room watching a different show on TV or computer. But that’s just a difference in taste. There is little reason to think without the TV the family would be more compatible.

The TV can be educational too and not always for obvious reasons.

My personal favorites: White Collar and the USA channel in general. Scary to think what one can learn from a con man and an FBI agent. How to fleece (or avoid being fleeced, one hopes) But also very inspiring in the art history department. I was so inspired I drew these guys for fun and came up with these greeting card ideas. It’s tricky to put a teddy bear in a Neal Caffrey style hat!

Fedora Bear St. Patrick's Day Greeting Card  Boss Birthday Bear

And on another end of the spectrum: Star Wars the Clone Wars. Okay, I’m biased.  I’ve loved Star Wars most of my life, yes even the prequels. The whole redemption thing has me hooked. But the sheer scope of the imagination takes my breath away too. I bounce with joy when I see stuff from the comic books suddenly come to life on the TV screen and all the different styles that characters can be drawn as. I’ve been amazed at the ways they’ve been able to interweave new stories into the already established ones from the comics, especially given the time line difference. (In the comic Anakin is an apprentice for much longer. In the series, he is almost immediately knighted.) I’ve learned so much from them. And it applies to real life too, inspiring creative problem solving.

And what about the nature programs? I don’t see them much these days. But Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies on PBS Nature has alerted many in the world to the plight of the Wild Mustang and the behavior of the Bureau of Land Management. (No predators? What’s that giant paw print from? And what killed that foal?)

It’s just a shame that greed has such control over television. There may have been a time when a few channels was enough. But I for one, am tired of free network channels dropping the shows I like and putting up junk in return. Or they stick the stuff I like on at the worst hours, like right after sports and then expect it to survive when no-one knows when it will come on. Cable has it’s uses, especially if you live where you can’t get anything else. But the greed thing is full blown there too: They – and I don’t know who they really are – stockholders? management? –  try and bleed people dry for a couple of hundred channels. Personally I use less than ten. I don’t need a hundred. But I do need to want to be able to select the few I do watch.  Satellite has the same issues. Internet TV needs the internet and a computer meeting the requirements.

So what do we do? We who have little income are going up against the giants as if we were either A: a sheep to be sheered and left shivering or B. Goliath. At least with the latter we have faith, although some stones for the slingshot come in handy. Goliath is more inclined to listen when you warn him their is another giant in the area more reasonable! That’s a big stone. Patience and stubborn determination are two more. Somehow one needs to remind the Goliaths that little people matter and that without their customers they’d be out of business. If they treat us like they would want to be treated then all is well. If they treat us like we are the dinner then they need a reality check. They can’t exist without us either.

Right now I’m looking for a way to pay for both internet and cable in an area with comparatively few ‘other’ giants to compete with the local ones. Ouch. Anyone out there know where I can get a few stones?