That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.

Aldous Huxley

Adam Bowman Widgets

This blog has been using a widget by Adam Bowman since 2009. As I'm about to retire the koi fishes widget at the bottom of this page within a couple of months (you can only see a white rectangle below) and to honor his simple yet awesome work, let us see again some of the most memorable widgets with small customization done for your pleasure. Your mouse pointer will always be a point of reference (and a click to some).

Four Turtles

Eat, Drink, and Run

Penguins

Sprocket the Wet Toad

Along came a Spider

Gabo 1927-2014

"It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams."

― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

You Are What You Read

"I’m not afraid of death, but I resent it. I think it’s unfair and irritating. Every time I see something beautiful, I not only want to return to it, but it makes me want to see other beautiful things. I know I’m not going to get to all the places I want to go. I’m not going to read all the books I want to read. I'm  not going to revisit certain paintings as many times as I would like. There’s a limit."

Viggo Mortensen


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The Man Also Said

Life is like riding a bicycle. 

To keep your balance, you must keep moving.

Albert Einstein

Sad Eyes

image © Yoko Ono

You took a half day off from work to get your second student drivers permit from LTO (how pathetic does it sound?) this morning. The last time you got it was more than a decade ago after speeding around your birthplace with your father's motorcycle and humiliating yourself because you have no license and no helmet. Obtaining it again this morning was a successful mission, amid the undying red tapes and under-the-table dealings from other applicants and their fixer cohorts. This is something ordinary in your country, you thought. But at the end of the day you felt that this first day of October 2012 was something not very ordinary.

You were already inside the MRT, on your way to work Northbound at lunch time when the train stopped by at Ortigas Station. A familiar face printed on somebody else's bag stared and tried to steal your soul. That trademark sad eyes behind the round framed spectacles woke you from deep and slumbering thoughts. John Lennon is trying to convey a message silently and you felt the chill for reasons that you could not fathom.

The office work in the afternoon was good, you were able to proceed without much hassle and without a significant time wasted. The usual gab, the usual faces, the same old atmosphere not far from a simpleton's workplace on Monday. The usual how-was-your-weekend talks and some sci fi film recommendations just to make themselves sound cool. There's a new "kid" that needs another round of tutorial and informal training. The old routine of updating data, some delegations and passing of responsibilities that still needed another set of "guidance."

And of course, the same routine with a friend on the way home. And even if somebody bluffs to you that someone's sad because you're not around this morning, it surprised the shit out of you bringing you a great deal of happiness for a minute before crashing back to earth and realizing that it was all just an illusion. Still, the sad eyes of John Lennon trying to warn you about something is in your head.

And when you reached your destination in the evening, totally hungry and tired from a two-hour ride of jeepney, train, and bus, you saw again that familiar face while walking on the street, a face printed on some dweeb's shirt staring at you mysteriously and emphatically. Déjà vu. Mr Lennon spoke into your eyes: "I feel for you man" or just simply "Tsk tsk tsk." with a headshake. The reason (or the irrationality of it) still remains dancing like a firecracker inside your head and you thought you better shake it up by lighting a stick of Marlboro lite menthol instead.

"I know this is a sad day" you declare. But a meaningful day none the less.

Because you know you can't keep fooling yourself too much for so long.

Stephen Covey 1932-2012

Image ©Gregory Bull

Proactivity.

Paradigm Shift. 

Interdependence.

The Freedom to Choose.

These are just basic ideas the world learned from a great and humble mentor. His name is Stephen Covey. I pay tribute to this genuine educator who just passed the mortal plane due to complications from a bicycle accident. My trip through college (as an engineering undergrad) could have been a very bumpy and stormy road if not for this man's practical teachings and philosophy.

I want to share this quote by Ezra Taft Benzon, Dr Covey's final message in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This one is his favorite (and mine too):

“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”

The trouble with fiction is that it makes too much sense. Reality never makes sense.

Aldous Huxley

Ray Bradbury, 1920-2012

Bradbury art by Ryan Sheffield

A great loss in the world of Science Fiction, Ray Bradbury is one of the pioneering creators in fiction, film, television and theater that became and remains highly influential to artists, writers, educators, and scientists. Fahrenheit 451 is my only Ray Bradbury read so far, but now I'm compelled to read The Illustrated Man, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes, among others. We shall remain fighting for our books to become fireproof.

Moebius 1938-2012

“When I am in the skin of Moebius, I draw in a state of trance, I try to escape from my ego."
---Jean Giraud

The world of art lost another pioneer two days ago. Already popular with his western comic series Blueberry, he is known to many as Moebius, the co-creator of Metal Hurlant magazine in France in the 70's. Jean Henri Gaston Giraud aka Moebius is known for his sci fi and fantasy themed comic book art and it was in Metal Hurlant where the series Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius and his most popular "wordless" work Arzach broke new grounds. For the younger readers not yet familiar, Metal Hurlant is the progenitor of the mature themed sci fi and fantasy comics magazine in the US, the Heavy Metal.

Moebius also worked with Stan Lee for the Silver Surfer and also involved in numerous comic book and fim collaborations like his storyboard and concept designs for the original Alien and Tron movies, as well as the animation Les Maitres du temps (Time Masters) based on the novel by Stefan Wul with director Rene' Laloux.

Metal Hurlant #1

ARZACH sample page

The Long Tomorrow sample page

The Long Tomorrow underground city

L 'Etoile

Blueberry

The United Humanoids (founders of Humanoids and Metal Hurlant)

Bernard Farkas, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and Jean Giraud.

sources:
http://www.moebius.fr/
http://theairtightgarage.tumblr.com/post/7664774204/les-humanoides-associes-the-united-humanoids
http://www.thewilloftheancients.com/parallels/moebius_arzach.php
http://entertainment.inquirer.net/33117/comic-books-giant-moebius-dies

Live The Story

Frank Frazetta, 1928-2010

Yesterday May 10, 2010 (at the heat of the National Elections in my country---the Philippines) the world of Art lost a genuine talent of a very high caliber in the name of Frank Frazetta Sr. At the age of 82, Frank Sr. suffered a stroke while dining in a restaurant with his grandchildren in Florida, USA.

Frazetta's classic style of adult illustration in Fantasy + Sci Fi books and magazines are highly comparable with the style of the Renaissance artists (imagine Juan Luna) that easily made him a likable character in the world of art. I personally loved his rendition of Tarzan in the 70's, his work on Conan in the 80's and later the Death Dealer character. Of course nobody can forget his illustrations of nude women and scantily-clad vixens like Captive Princess, Cat Girl, Vampirella and the Egyptian Queen. The world shall never forget the loss of a great talent.

all images © Frank Frazetta Sr.