Thread "2016 Rant/Share/General Discussion Thread" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 6:06PM, Jun. 30, 2016

@Kim- You do what you think is best for the environment you're in.

@Bravo and Genejoke- DON'T do it guys! Always better to have an archive of good projects on show. ALWAYS. Old work is valuable.

Posted at 8:06PM, Jun. 30, 2016

bravo1102 wrote:
Genejoke wrote:
Seriously considering scrapping all my comics bar the community projects. Looking at them I don't feel pride, save for a few pages. Maybe it's the depression and anxiety talking.

I haven't done anything new in almost six months. I'm thinking the same thing as you.

Ozone is right. It's natural to look back on work you've done with frustration and disappointment sometimes if you're a creative type, but having that body of work is a great recommendation in itself. Maybe a case could be made for splitting comics into active and archive sections for creators who have a lot to show. That would make life easier for potential new readers, but don't lose the old stuff.

Posted at 9:06PM, Jun. 30, 2016

I'm not talking deleting what has been done. I haven't even deleted my unfinished comic from years ago. The one comic I did delete contained work since irrevocably lost after a hard drive failure.

But it's boiling down to "what have you done lately. " And there's nothing to show. Lots of new content on the site, but none of it is mine.

I might have to completely change my medium because the old one just isn't practical. But where do I start in doing that? Maybe I should forget the whole thing and do something else. I am not sure right now.

Posted at 12:07AM, Jul. 1, 2016

I was talking about deleting it, but I doubt I'll delete anything that I haven't already. I did delete some of my failed comics. I think I'm just going to leave them and maybe have a hiatus on them and do short stories in the meantime.

Posted at 6:07AM, Jul. 1, 2016

Bravo, if it's no longer practical and you don't want to get into some drawing, how about experimenting with 3D stuff? You could try doing what you already do, but keeping it all inside the magic interbox? Sometimes just messing around with something new, without anything much in mind, well you know the rest.

Genejoke, whatever you do, don't delete any of Lore: I'm using it for reference right now!

Posted at 8:07AM, Jul. 1, 2016

Lol no not deleting that, I still have pages to upload. I've only deleted things that aren't updating and will not again. I'm just going to focus on short term stuff while feeling out of sorts, things I can finish.

Posted at 12:07PM, Jul. 1, 2016

Genejoke: I think it IS anxiety and depression affecting your.perception, but yeah, people's older work often seems inferior in their own opinion.

Bravo: sometimes things just jam up and nothing seems to be happening. Your unconscious mind could very well be working on your next opus right now, without you even realizing it!

I hope neither of you delete those older stories (assuming you haven't yet). That's a record of where you've been! Don't erase our shared DD history, sirs!

Posted at 3:07PM, Jul. 1, 2016

I deleted Equivocate, which never really got a readership and didn't quite work. I tried bringing it back a year or so back but couldn't keep it going. Also, hero factor and malefic tales are gone. both had chunks missing and were deader than dead.

It's very much the depression and anxiety affecting me, I've been making new pages, but not of ongoing series. I finished a short story that will go live in We are the duck after the current comic jam wraps, it's a very bleak story that I found quite disturbing to write. I've also started doing the second part of the Fishing series, that's the one about the guy dating via the internet. I'm finding writing and illustrating things like this much easier than sci fi and fantasy at the moment. Again I assume it is all about where my head is at right now.

Posted at 8:07AM, Jul. 3, 2016

I took down comics that I no longer actively work on (at least the ones with a small archive) and stuck them all under one comic. I kept the ones with larger archives up for posterity. I just don't like totally closing doors.

I'm now entering into one of the busiest time of the year for me. Drunk Duck Awards Elections. (Go vote everyone)

The level of busyness is only overshadowed by the Open Enrollment Period for insurance. And even that is starting in much earlier than it should. I'm training a 3 week class of new agents. That isn't so bad, but I have to train from 3:30 PM to Midnight. Headaches from exhaustion are becoming a constant…and I still have two more weeks to go. I'm just glad that I have a three day weekend because of Independence Day.

Posted at 2:07PM, Jul. 5, 2016

Welp, I have a new, part time job as a pharmacist's assistant. I just started as I continue through the mandatory training, so essentially I'm a cashier right now (although once, for a few hours, I got to count pills and put them in vials).

The training is primarily on-line courses, which is great except when everyone else is trying to access them. There is not enough bandwidth and things won't load. Meh. It looks like me and the laptop will be sharing some early AM hours if I'm going to meet the deadline. So not crazy about this.

Posted at 9:07PM, Jul. 5, 2016

ayesinback wrote:
Welp, I have a new, part time job as a pharmacist's assistant. I just started as I continue through the mandatory training, so essentially I'm a cashier right now (although once, for a few hours, I got to count pills and put them in vials).

The training is primarily on-line courses, which is great except when everyone else is trying to access them. There is not enough bandwidth and things won't load. Meh. It looks like me and the laptop will be sharing some early AM hours if I'm going to meet the deadline. So not crazy about this.

And guess who wrote and lobbied for the legislation that created the pharmacist assistant job because of the shortage of pharmacists in NJ?

My sister Melanie Willoughby, then president of the Retail Merchantstores Association, now senior vice president of the NJ business and industry association.

It really irked her that our nephew went through all training, was doing really well at and then quit because it was "too hard"

And that her younger brother is a ne'er do well irresponsible wastrel who spends too much time on Web comic sites.

Posted at 9:07PM, Jul. 5, 2016

Ha, you should get Ayes to give you some pointers on the Pharmacist assistant job :)
With the family connection and all it's perfect.

I think that would be a super interesting job, you'd get to know about medications and drug interactions without doing the expensive sources that a pharmacist has to do.

Posted at 10:07PM, Jul. 5, 2016

And give up a job where I can watch movies or work on comics all night? I got it too easy. I work long hours, bitch and moan but still have most of my time to myself.

I just have to find some way to get comic ingredients together so I could do it all at work. Looks like 3D or a nice tablet. We'll see.

Posted at 8:07AM, Jul. 7, 2016

Get a Samsung Galaxy note tablet. You don't need the latest greatest model, any of them will do. Stick Sketchbook pro or something else on it and you're good to go.
Mine is an OOOOOOooooold model and yet I do most of the work of Pinky TA on it so you KNOW how great this device is. ;)

Posted at 10:07AM, Jul. 7, 2016

I have one, I've never really gotten off the ground with using it for art but it does it well. Mines the 2012 model I think but still holds up well today.

Posted at 9:07PM, Jul. 7, 2016

And it would be compatible with my Samsung Galaxy phone. Hmmm.

—–

September 2017, Mediterranean Cruise for sister in law, niece and her husband and the wife and me. Rome, Sicily, Ephesus, Santorini, Athens, Naples. Time to get back to learning Italian. Know at least a few phrases. I'll probably be rescuing the wife from all sorts of misunderstandings like I did in Britain.

Posted at 9:07PM, Jul. 7, 2016

You could meet up with Tantz! Do it man. Do it!!!!

—–

Well I've been doing a bit of dating and it's been interesting. Met a lot of nice ladies… Nothing has really come of it. But I find I care less and less funnily enough. It's all become more and more like a game- Yeah, I think that's a good way to describe it.
There are rules and modes of play, paths you go down that lead to certain conclusions, goals to achieve and a compulsion to keep playing even after the interest and fun has waned.

Posted at 1:07AM, Jul. 8, 2016

You only noticed now?
In some way or another all interpersonal relations could be considered game play. And indeed many individuals have their own games and make certain those around them play by their rules. And that is in addition to social rules and courtship rituals. Part of cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the self awareness of knowing you're in a game and making it clear you will not play by rules you don't agree with. No suckered plays.

So therr could be several layers of inter- related game play all at once. Which for some makes the hunt more interesting than the catch.

But then life is usually only boring if you let it be so. Least you can do is occasionally change the curtains, just to keep it interesting mind you. ;-D

Posted at 6:07AM, Jul. 8, 2016

Dating later in life is definitely a funny game, I went through a whole cycle after the end of my marriage which is slowly being semi documented in a series of short stories in We are the duck. Only done one so far but I've started work on the second. I learned a lot from it, but all the hard way and now I'm in a similar place to what ozone described.

Posted at 3:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

I long ago quit dating. I now use OkCupid solely as a means of entertainment called "spot the bad life choices", because I live in a rural area where you either need to be into muddin' trucks, guns, drinking Busch and flannel, or ok with marrying someone on their second marriage and 3rd kid at age 24.

I've definitely noticed though, that American society has this major thing about sex and love, and really don't like single guys who are older than about 24. Once you reach that age, unless you're in something serious, people start to treat you like your options are "gay", "creepy uncle", "cool/quirky uncle" or "…we don't like to talk about him". Girls? Good luck. At least around here, if you don't have a baby in you by 24, you either must be "f**k ugly", or infertile in people's minds. This is a fairly conservative area so views change, but I've noticed that human beings have an amazing ability to worry about really simple things to the point of actually making them complicated regardless of where you go. I'm constantly amazed by the energy and effort other people put into worrying about whether or not people like each other.

Posted at 4:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

So true Iba.

Fortunately living in the Northeast the age is closer to 30. If you're really sophisticated or career oriented then it stops mattering and you become a "Sex in the City" character.

My sister has had all kinds of experiences since her divorce over 30 years ago.

I finally got a handle on dating just before I met my wife. It's all about networking and meeting people. I was pre-Internet so it was hard to find new opportunities. I really have a hard time socializing and had really poor social skills. But looking back I was too hard on myself. I did not do as poorly as I thought at the time. Once in a relationship was when I messed things up. ;-D

Posted at 7:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

I sometimes think I should have tried to be single for longer periods of time… I've almost always been in a relationship, and a couple of them ended up very badly (still paying for those even today haha)… Maybe being single sucks, but being in a bad relationship can't be better…

Posted at 8:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

bravo1102 wrote:
So true Iba.

Fortunately living in the Northeast the age is closer to 30.

30 in my area as well, I believe the average age for having kids in Vancouver is 30.5, mostly because it's expensive to live here. I'm 27, so I am in a normal range here, but I was born in Saskatchewan, which is more like Iba's situation.. everyone is married and with kids by 25. In Vancouver, "Oh you're 27? So young!" in Saskatchewan, "Oh you are 27; not married and no kids? What is wrong with you?"

As for the dating game.. I have never gone out with a stranger.. I never went out with someone I met in a bar or a cafe, or online, or a blind date (not that I have anything against this, I just haven't come across it) Every person I have dated as been a friend or a long time co worker. I guess I don't really like the game? Everyone I have dated was someone I knew really well, so no guess work there. But unfortunately break ups mean friendships ended or bad work experiences.. so there is that…

Posted at 9:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

I had one blind date. And I ended up marrying her and twenty two years of marriage later I ask: why didn't I try blind dating sooner?

Posted at 10:07PM, Jul. 8, 2016

Dating… hmm… gonna stay away from that. I'm TOO OLD for it anyway (I'm 45) and most women I've met either have a boyfriend, a girlfriend, are married, or undesirable (some are somehow insane). So yeah… right now it's better to be single and unattached.