New Drawings, Getting Organized, and Catching Up

It has been a long, tiring summer so packed with activity that I've let the house fall apart a bit.  I'm putting the pieces back together now that the busy levels have gone down somewhat.  The house is getting cleaned room by room.  Paperwork is being organized.  Even my stamp collection is finally getting into its album.

I have a few weeks with little Cub Scout responsibility beyond the norm so I'm taking this time to make sure the pack records are all up to date and setting in place systems so that I can give the Membership Chairman job to someone else.

I've also been invited to teach at the University of Scouting/Program and Training Conference in January.  My Wood Badge patrol did an awesome presentation about recruitment and I would love to work with them to expand it and teach it to a different audience.  It has also been heavily suggested that I teach a class about using music in Cub Scouts since I'm most often known outside my own pack as the music guy.  Not bad for someone who can't play an instrument and can barely carry a tune.

My art is progressing rather well.  I've been doing a lot of work with ballpoint pens and am thrilled that things are coming out so well.  I started out with that media oh so many years ago and am returning to it.

I've also been participating in a weekly figure drawing workshop at Arts Umbrella in Bothell with live nude models.  I think this, more than anything, has propelled my art forward.  I've done a lot of artistic nude and a few erotic artist trading cards but drawing from life while surrounded by amazing artists to draw inspiration from has been invaluable.  In order to keep them off my blog where kids and the morally outraged can see them I have put all of my NSFW drawings on their own tumblr.  Please take a gander if you like.    Comments are welcome.  http://brassduckstudio.tumblr.com/

Here are some of the other drawings I've been working on.

I love the Cowardly Lion

The following cards were made to represent the 7 Wood Badge Patrols at my recent course.

Bear

Beaver

Bobwhite Quail

Buffalo

Eagle.  The drawing is older but is one of my favorites and I shrank it to ATC size as a print.

Fox!  My awesome patrol!

Owl

Political Memes, A Better Way

I have Internet friends who are chain posting images this morning either slamming Obama or the Republicans or Congress in general.  You are angry and it seems to you that sending out a dozen photos of quotes, half truths, and general "rabble rabble rabble" will somehow bring attention to your point-of-view.  My feed is so full of all of these that it is getting tricky to find things people actually write.

I know that people are passionate about politics.  I am too.  I would like to offer you a couple of suggestions before you send out that next meme.

1.  Do a quick search to make sure the sentiment you are reposting is actually true.  I've seen 3 this morning already that a simple search of any of a half dozen de-bunking sites would show you are just Internet lies.  Just because it is on the Internet and you agree with it doesn't make it true.  No matter HOW much you want it to be true/have faith that it is true/"my faith in God is stronger than fact so shut up!"  Yeah, I've heard all of those.

2.  Instead of posting a half dozen meme like blurbs from other people take a few minutes and actually write your thoughts down and print that.  Make it personal.  Don't just spout anger aimlessly into the ether.  Direct it and start a conversation.  You will come across as far more intelligent, and people may actually learn something.  Until we actually engage our brains (which batch cross posting meme pictures does not do) we will never move past the anger stage and start working on a solution to our problems.

3.  If you are discussing Obamacare, do be aware that it is a nickname for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and not a different law.  You look like an idiot when you say how evil Obamacare is and wish we could just pass the ACA instead.  Even polls show people don't realize they are the same thing.  The ACA is way more popular, showing that a good name is worth a lot.

4.  Politeness will get you more people paying attention to your views than cursing and vitriol.  You don't have to reply to every comment someone makes telling you that your opinion is garbage.  Don't feed the trolls.  It only encourages them to breed.