TGIF!

TGIF!

Thank God it's Friday!

Alan Moore

Now that we've been introduced to Alan Moore, I'd like to share his rather refreshing view of religious belief and practice.  He believes that spiritual pursuit should be decided by the individual, or that one religion for everybody doesn't make sense.  Everyone is different, and since everyone id different, we each have our own spiritual needs that we should seek to satisfy on our own.  If you don't have much of a spiritual hunger, then just get a salad and a diet coke.  But if you crave exotic tastes, then look into the ancient deities of the Mayans, Inuit, or Roman snake deities.

Moore, as I've said before, is a bit of a weirdo.  As a comic writer he has been incredibly influential on the medium, and has even been called one of the most in important contemporary writers in Britain.  Many of his comics have been turned into films, though you'll notice his name isn't on it.  Why?  Because for him, the movie is something  completely different than the comic, and he wants no part of it and thus, he gives his portion of the royalties to the other contributors.  At least he practices what he preaches.

He supports an open view of reality, religion, and personal values.  He also has some interesting views on the idea of magic and mysticism.  Simply put, magic  is Art.  Magic is manipulation of symbols, words, and ideas in order to change the consciousness of yourself and others.  This is so cool to me.  To think that being a magician is to someone who creates with words, with colors, and with objects what was not before is empowering to me.  I think I will be a magician.

Moore is a fascinating personality because he is at the same time mystical and rational.  He has poetic air bout him that is almost intimidating, yet he has a gentle sense of humor and an open mind that would invite you to join him for tea.  There are many great interviews with him on Youtube and other places, including an 80 minute documentary about him.  Here is a few (10 minutes worth) words from Kevin Smith and friends on the amazing run on Swamp Thing that Moore worked on in the 80s.

 I'll leave you with a quote from the video I linked to in the last article.  As Alan stands on stage a callous version of himself accuses him of having a messiah complex.  He responds:

"Would I have a haircut like this if I didn't?"

See you on the other side

Creators: Leonardo da Vinci

Creators

A growing list of artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Leonardo da Vinci

The term I chose for my weekly Wednesday blog entry couldn't better describe my subject for today: Leonardo Da Vinci.  

This wizard of Florence was not only an exceptional artist, but he was an inventor, engineer, scientist and superhero (He went by the name Renaissance Man).

What I love, and have loved, about Leonardo is that he didn't limit himself to just one area of human endeavor to master, but anything he had an interest in.  I'll go through a few of my favorite works of his and let you know what I think, because, you know, you care.

Look at this drawing for a moment.  It was rendered so long ago and yet it still gently rises off the page.  The back of her head is a subtle gesture, and yet that is all we need.  The man knew what he was doing.  I love that classic da Vinci brow and nose.

These hands also pop off the page, going from sketch to life.  Could this be Escher's inspiration?

Our man Leo was one of the first artists to realize that babies were not miniature adults but pudgy little fat-headed aliens.  Her we have amongst his notes several renderings of a fetus as it develops in the uterus.

This guy was a scientist back before there was science to speak of.  He studied the world in ways his contemporaries couldn't comprehend: through looking around at stuff.  So while others were developing flying salves and amulets, he was designing artificial bird wings and discovering the engineering behind flight.

As far as his inventions go, he seemed to find it easy to design weapons of war, despite being a pacifist.  His inventions include but are not limited to:

• The Tank
• Giant siege Crossbow
• Underwater Breathing Apparatus
• Contact lenses
• The Ornithopter
• The Glider
• The Multi-cannon
• The Parachute

Although he never got around to building many of his creations, the people over at the discovery channel, when they aren't building motorcycles or pumping out other bs shows, came up with a show that actually builds Leonardo's creations and sees if they work.  It's called Doing Da Vinci.

His skill at painting was of course remarkable, but it was also pleasantly mysterious.  Many of his creations are surrounded in controversy, which I'm sure is good press for any artist.  If you paint something, you might as well get people pissed off.

Word up!

TGIF!

TGIF!

Bill Nye!

For today's edition of Thank God it's Friday, lets have Creationism talk about science.  Or rather, lets let a scientist talk about Creationism.

 Personally, I agree with him, but its hard for me to think that I can tell parents what to teach their children, even if I think it's illogical, childish, and stupid.

Gotta love the Bow tie.

And now I'll just let Bill tell it like it is.