Streamlining

Note: I used to have two blogs running, this one and one devoted to posting sketches (called "BrySketch"). I hadn't updated either in ages, until this little mental/emotional shift I've been embracing for a while now provoked me to start updating here like a goddamn lunatic.

Since I'd been so sporadic - especially with the sketch blog - it seemed silly to keep them both up separately. So I've folded them together into one blog (this one) and will just post everything I feel like posting here from now on. No organization required - you can consider this blog a shotgun blast of Bryness from here on out.

The old sketches should all appear in this blog's archives, under the label sketches.

Something else later? Hey you bet.

Random Thursday

Today is Random Thursday, where I'm going to just post a bunch of random stuff I've done, plan to do, or am thinking about. Join me in this endeavour, won't you?


I've got the urge to go zip-lining. Probably this weekend. I've wanted to do it for a long time, and I'm sick of putting things off. To hell with it, I want to do it, so I'm gonna do it! I'll update afterward - maybe with video!?


Steadily over the course of the year, I've been gravitating more to bright colours of all kinds. I'm waging my own personal war on the boring and the bland. It's a worthy fight.


I didn't have time to make a new comic for today, unfortunately, but I did draw/ink a bit of filler art that I'm pretty happy with - Athena after an all-night gaming session:


(I, meanwhile, don't even remember when I last had time to play games. I feel surprisingly okay about this!)


A bit of dialogue from "Angel", one of my all-time favourite shows, that I've had swimming through my head for a while now:

Lorne: It's called a moment of clarity, my lamb, and you've just had one. Sort of appalling, ain't it, to see just exactly where you've gotten yourself?
Angel: I don't know how to get back.
Lorne the Host: Well, that's just the thing. You don't. You go on to the new place. Whatever that is.

I've always liked that.


This is my dog:


His name is Logan. He's the best.

Further evidence:


See? The best.


And once again, some Mother Mother:


Change - inner change in particular - seems to be my "theme" of late. And hey, turns out it really is the only constant - I've come to accept that more and more. Here's to changing, and growing, on your own terms!

Community's Freaks and Geeks

For those who watch Community (and those who don't, get the hell on that already):



That's Childish Gambino's "Freaks and Geeks" mashed up with clips from Community - Gambino being Donald Glover from the show. And man, there is an impressive amount of really specific, literal stuff cut in there. Well-done.

(Via @danharmon)


EXTRA CREDIT:
Here's an acoustic version of the song, with Ludwig Goransson (the composer from Community) on guitar.

Resolution Checkpoint

Seven months ago, I wrote a "New Year's resolutions" post about the parts of my life I wanted to work on and the goals to continue pursuing. Since I've been a bit reflective and analytic lately, I thought I'd take a look back and see how far I feel I've come since. Let's count 'em down:

I want to continue to change some of my attitudes. I feel that I've become a much more optimistic, positive person than I used to be, but I still have some ways to go. More than ever I believe that negativity and cynicism are huge roadblocks for personal growth. They're a crutch, one that's held me back for too much of my life, and I can't let myself fall back on that again. I don't even want to be in the frame of mind where it could be an option.

Checkaroonie. Despite a few speed bumps, I feel I've stayed on track here. Moreso, it feels very much like this has become my "default" mindset, and less of something I need to work toward.

Related to the last one: I want to be less judgmental. I have strong opinions about a lot of things. That's fine. That's not changing. But I need to know when to cool off and where to draw the line. I want to become more understanding of others' perspectives, even if I can't agree or personally relate to them. I can have strong opinions and confidence in my beliefs without being arrogant or self-righteous, or potentially alienating others.

Granted, I'm only human (for now), but I think I've made real strides here. I mean, I feel I already had been getting better at this over the years just by experiencing life and challenging my perceptions like most people do (or should do), but lately it feels like a much more conscious effort on my part to remove myself from my own perspective and to try to understand others' situations and viewpoints, even if I don't agree with them. I feel that I have more empathy and understanding than I used to. It's neat.

I really need to read more books. Actual books. Of all kinds. (In fact, please recommend me some.)

This is semi-successful so far. I've read a few books since July, for example, but I haven't had a lot of free time to really invest in heavy reading. But I'm being productive, so I'm fine with that for now.

I need to create more, and possibly consume less. This one's tricky, because pop culture is a huge part of my life, and I don't want that to change. I will always be consuming a lot of comics, movies, television, music, games, etc... But I need to work harder to match my consumption with creation. I'm doing better with this already, I just need to keep at it.

I don't think I'm consuming less, but I'm creating more for sure. I've stayed (mostly) on a regular schedule with Welcome to Hereafter, despite a little hiatus - but during that time I was dealing with personal issues and hitting a turning point and had other things I was prioritizing, so I'm not really counting that against myself. I'm back to it in a big way now, so I think I'm doing well here.

Related to the last one: I want to branch out and connect with other people doing creative, interesting things. I want to meet people with similar interests. I want to collaborate, talk about ideas, influences, and hopefully learn a few things.

Big no on this one. I've been good at keeping on track with my own endeavours, and I feel I've "learned by doing" a fair bit, but I haven't really branched out much at all. Something to keep on the list.

Perhaps most importantly, I need to put more effort into staying involved in the lives of the people I care about. Many/most of them live in different places than I do right now, but that's never an excuse, is it? I go through spurts of sending lots of emails, then I'll get busy and distracted. The former's understandable, the latter isn't.

I was pretty terrible at this for a while there - again, when I was dealing with personal issues and adjusting to several major changes in my life - but I've bounced back lately and am putting in more of an effort. Not all the way there yet, but I'm getting better, I think. Half marks?

All said, not too shabby.

This One's Optimistic

Good (late) morning, Internet! It's a lovely day, at least in my corner of the world, and I feel like babbling at you. Take it or leave it!

I've had some really great conversations lately with those closest to me. Very productive, open and honest, in the way that only real trust and closeness can produce. It's a good feeling.

I wrote a bit the other day alluding to how I've changed in the past year. I thought about it a little more, and this is the crux of it, I think:

Some time ago, I made the deliberate choice to embrace optimism as my personal philosophy (though actually, perhaps optimalism is more accurate/specific to how I feel). It's how I've always wanted to be, deep down, even though I often had trouble following through on it. I truly believe that negativity and pessimism are addictive, toxic influences. My personal experiences tell me that they hold your whole life hostage, eat away at your mind and make you almost inescapably miserable - you can attempt to distract yourself, but ultimately, if you're stuck in that negative frame of mind, you're gonna wind up straight back in the gloom eventually. I'd been through that too many times, but fortunately I got to a point where I had that "moment of clarity" and realized how much I hated being that person. Who I used to be, I now recognize, was weak, afraid and insecure. So I changed.

So who am I now? This is gonna be rambly, but here it is: I'm being open and honest with myself and others - not that I was dishonest before by any stretch, but I'm much more aware of my own thoughts and feelings than I used to be, which makes it all easier. I'm living without doubt. I no longer hang my strength on other people or other things; I'm fighting those urges, I've learned from my bad bets, and I've reinvested it all in myself. I'm looking to the future. No dwelling. No "what ifs". No vicious cycles of regret and doubt and over-thinking everything. No passivity or avoidance - If life gives me trouble, I want to confront it head-on, on my terms, because I have to elevate above it rather than be dragged down into it. That's how I feel - I just hope it makes sense. ;)

To be honest, I haven't had the most enjoyable week. My website was hacked, I've had some personal stresses, and a laundry disaster involving a kerosene lamp. But I dealt with it all, learned a few things for next time, and now I'm moving forward. Because that's what I'm doing now, and it's working out, friends.

Okay, enough rambling. Because I'm on a Mother Mother kick, I leave you with this:

Resurrection

Photo by Melanie Godecki
What a difference half a year makes.

Since I last updated, my life has changed in some significant ways, and while I've opened up about them to some of my closest friends and family, I've chosen to be pretty tight-lipped about it online. Lately, however, I've been feeling very introspective about the ways I've changed and continue to change, reflective about who/where I used to be, and appreciative of where I am now, mentally and emotionally. I'm sure it all sounds corny, but y'know, deal with it. ;)

I've been writing a bit about all this, getting the thoughts and feelings that I've had swimming through my head for some time out of my head and into words - stuff I've worked internally already, but haven't really "let out". I'm debating sharing some of it, but I'm not convinced that's a good idea. I'm usually pretty open about my feelings and opinions, and I don't feel I have anything to hide, but I have some hesitance, so... I'll have to think about it. (I realize this is all incredibly vague, but the important part is that I feel I'm in a much stronger, more self-secure, happy and confident place right now than I've ever been before.)

So yes. Maybe I'll write again soon. If not about this, then about something else. But for now, I leave you with a song:

Resolute

A little late to post this, but punctuality has never been my strong suit. Let's just get to it.

The new year's not so much "new" anymore, but hey, close enough. I don't know if I believe in making new year's resolutions - I mean, I do, but I don't think that "it's a new year" is any more reason to do it than "I moved to a new apartment" or "I bought a new phone". (And I did both of those right around NYE, incidentally.)

But resolutions themselves, yes, those are perfectly fine ideas (when we manage to follow through, of course). First off, I guess I resolve to actually follow through on things, because sometimes it takes me a while to actually get there. I've been promising myself I'd get on a regular schedule for comic-making for years... and I finally did it, but far later than I hoped to. (Shameless plug: check out Welcome to Hereafter!)

Beyond that? Let's count 'em down:

• I want to continue to change some of my attitudes. I feel that I've become a much more optimistic, positive person than I used to be, but I still have some ways to go. More than ever I believe that negativity and cynicism are huge roadblocks for personal growth. They're a crutch, one that's held me back for too much of my life, and I can't let myself fall back on that again. I don't even want to be in the frame of mind where it could be an option.
  

• Related to the last one: I want to be less judgmental. I have strong opinions about a lot of things. That's fine. That's not changing. But I need to know when to cool off and where to draw the line. I want to become more understanding of others' perspectives, even if I can't agree or personally relate to them. I can have strong opinions and confidence in my beliefs without being arrogant or self-righteous, or potentially alienating others.
  

• I really need to read more books. Actual books. Of all kinds. (In fact, please recommend me some.)
  

• I need to create more, and possibly consume less. This one's tricky, because pop culture is a huge part of my life, and I don't want that to change. I will always be consuming a lot of comics, movies, television, music, games, etc... But I need to work harder to match my consumption with creation. I'm doing better with this already, I just need to keep at it.

• Related to the last one: I want to branch out and connect with other people doing creative, interesting things. I want to meet people with similar interests. I want to collaborate, talk about ideas, influences, and hopefully learn a few things.
  

• Perhaps most importantly, I need to put more effort into staying involved in the lives of the people I care about. Many/most of them live in different places than I do right now, but that's never an excuse, is it? I go through spurts of sending lots of emails, then I'll get busy and distracted. The former's understandable, the latter isn't.

And I guess I could also resolve to update this blog more, but I'm not going to. The whole point of a blog, for me, is that I update it when I feel like updating it.

(But hopefully I feel like updating it more often.)