The Trailer For The New Disney Animated Film, Encanto, Just Dropped And IT LOOKS GORGEOUS!!!

Link to FREE pack! https://www.neonmob.com/redeem/ANAZENART18671

Aging thoughts

I'm rewatching the 1975 Count of Monte Cristo and Dantes’ has just escaped the island, stating he's 33yrs. I'm not sure if I should be happy that I've done more in my life than he has or annoyed that my greatest accomplishments don't come anywhere near a jailbreak.

Of all the traits I share with my cat, the one I find the most hilarious, because it’s unnervingly close, is the fact that he and I don’t like drinking plain water.

We prefer our water to be flavored.

Yes, he prefers his to be flavored with salmon and other ocean fish while I go for a neon syrup that makes mine taste like a de-fizzed orange cream soda, but that’s merely a minor personal preference between sweet and savory.

Black Panther: Pride

“So this is the blacks’ Coco.”

That was the first thing my papi said when I asked him what he thought of the movie. He’s not the best when it comes to being sensitive (he tends to say all the politically incorrect terms just for the fun of it, actually). So when I got past the bluntness of his statement, I realized what he actually meant.

Pixar’s Coco is a movie that is very dear to me because I am a Mexican-American. My papi immigrated to the U.S. and thus my family grew up with a different set of culture values and traditions; I grew up as part of a minority. 

So when Pixar came out with Coco, I was one of the first to see it. And what pleased me more than the homages to Mexican culture was the reaction it received worldwide. It became a source of pride for me that people loved a film that was based on my culture; a minority culture.

And what my papi had said summed up Black Panther: it is a movie based on a minority culture and people love it, they praise it because it is different and captivating.

I don’t wish to presume, but as a fellow member of a minority, I think it’s wonderful that those of African heritage (wherever they are from now), can look at Black Panther, see how much others love it, and take it as a point of Pride.

tapas.io

Comics Cats Cocoa :: Butterflies vs Moths | Tapas

Comics Cats Cocoa :: Butterflies vs Moths | Tapas

@a-lighthouse-a-man-a-city Saw this and thought of you :3

Favorite Sonic IDW Moments 💙🦔💨 Part 4

STORY TIME:

I work in a decent sized, local, indie bookstore. It’s a great job 99% of the time and a lot of our customers are pretty neat people. Any who, middle of the day this little old lady comes up. She’s lovably kooky. She effuses how much she loves the store and how she wishes she could spend more time in it but her husband is waiting in the car (OH! I BETTER BUY HIM SOME CHOCOLATE!), she piles a bunch of art supplies on the counter and then stops and tells me how my bangs are beautiful and remind her of the ocean (“Wooooosh” she says, making a wave gesture with her hand)

Ok. I think to myself. Awesomely happy, weird little old ladies are my favorite kind of customer. They’re thrilled about everything and they’re comfortably bananas. I can have a good time with this one. So we chat and it’s nice.

Then this kid, who’s been up my counter a few times to gather his school textbooks, comes up in line behind her (we’re connected to a major university in the city so we have a lot of harried students pass through). She turns around to him and, out of nowhere, demands that he put his textbooks on the counter. He’s confused but she explains that she’s going to buy his textbooks.

He goes sheetrock white. He refuses and adamantly insists that she can’t do that. It’s like, $400 worth of textbooks. She, this tiny old woman, bodily takes them out of her hands, throws them on the counter and turns to me with a intense stare and tells me to put them on her bill. The kid at this point is practically in tears. He’s confused and shocked and grateful. Then she turns to him and says “you need chocolate.” She starts grabbing handfuls of chocolates and putting them in her pile.

He keeps asking her “why are you doing this?” She responds “Do you like Harry Potter?“ and throws a copy of the new Cursed Child on the pile too.

Finally she’s done and I ring her up for a crazy amount of money. She pays and asks me to please give the kid a few bags for his stuff. While I’m bagging up her merchandise the kid hugs her. We’re both telling her how amazing she is and what an awesome thing she’s done. She turns to both of us and says probably one of the most profound, unscripted things I’ve ever had someone say:

"It’s important to be kind. You can’t know all the times that you’ve hurt people in tiny, significant ways. It’s easy to be cruel without meaning to be. There’s nothing you can do about that. But you can choose to be kind. Be kind.”

The kid thanks her again and leaves. I tell her again how awesome she is. She’s staring out the door after him and says to me: “My son is a homeless meth addict. I don’t know what I did. I see that boy and I see the man my son could have been if someone had chosen to be kind to him at just the right time.”

I’ve bagged up all her stuff and at this point am super awkward and feel like I should say something but I don’t know what. Then she turns to me and says: I wish I could have bangs like that but my darn hair is just too curly.“ And leaves.

And that is the story of the best customer I’ve ever had. Be kind to somebody today.

Writer’s Block...

...and how to overcome it. Or at least, some of the methods I learned from a workshop I attended and now help me when I get stuck. Please note these are not my ideas, but I feel they really helped me get some longtime projects done so that’s why I felt the need to share it. (and to make sure there’s a place I can find these tips later in case something happens to my original notes)

Writer’s block isn’t a physical thing - one can always sit down to write. Writer’s block is more of a mindset than anything. You have to tell yourself that you can write. What it really actually boils down to is fear; fear that what you’re writing isn’t good enough - that you aren’t good enough. More accurately, writer’s block is writer’s doubt. It’s good to know what you write will never feel 100% perfect, because there will always be things that you felt you could have done better. But that’s okay; because that’s what art is about - improving one’s craft so the next piece is better than the last. Because perfection isn’t achievable. But finishing something is achievable, and it’s what your aim should be for the First Draft.

Writers are comprised of two jobs - drafters (the one responsible for getting ideas down and setting up where the project is going to go), and revisers (the one who goes back after the draft is done and fine tunes the completed project - adding lyrical sentences, fleshing out characters, etc.). You have to build the house before you can decorate it. Don’t try to do them both at once. Finishing a first draft is not the same as finishing a good draft.

Ways to help get over the problem of writer’s block:

Write a detailed letter to someone who has no familiarity with the project. Give them all the details and explain what the problem is and why you’re struggling with it. A lot of the time just defining the problem can help solve it.

Talk it out with someone. The human brain has different areas for writing and talking. So if you’re stuck writing, try talking it out to engage a different part of your brain.

Use bullet points to test out ideas - because your brain doesn’t see them as something that’s super complicated, or even final. They allow you to zoom out on the project and see the overall picture. You can do it with an entire section or even just a scene, or even move onto the next part to figure out how it is framed. And don’t feel like what you’ve written before has to stay that way. Also remember that outlining is still writing and counts.

Go to the backstory, behind the scenes - sometimes it’s a lack of knowledge that prevents you from writing. Take some time to go and figure out the motivations of the character or the things leading up to the story. Write it as if it were a prequel to the story. Write past or future scenes. Sometimes you need a break from where you are in the current plot. Write from a different character's point of view.

Try switching to writing things longhand instead of typing. The brain is more active and engaged in handwriting. Good for brain dumping - getting the creativity flowing. Handwriting eliminates distraction (from the internet) and the need to be perfect.

When you don’t feel like writing, just Write Five Words. And then you can walk away guilt free. More often than not, you’ll write more than five. But the point is not to encourage your doubt, guilt ridden mind (you have to get into the mindset that five words is enough for the day). It’s to help keep you on track to write everyday.

Look to the greats, the people you admire, when you get stuck. Immerse yourself in their great works and tell yourself they’ve been stuck as well. Let yourself be inspired by them. Take a look at what they’ve done and learn from them. Find something that is similar to your project to get inspired.

Sometimes it’s best to leave a scene for later. It’s better to move on and work on something else. Go ahead and write a candy bar scene (the ones you want to write).

You need to prioritize your writing. You need to shut out distractions. Writer’s block can also be writer’s distraction. Find ways to block out the distraction - remove everything that has notifications. Know that distractions can be addictive and there will be a withdrawal period. 

Meditation. Try to just sit down and calm your mind for five minutes before you write. Breathe and count your breaths while on a timer. 

Sometimes you get the best solutions from doing something else. Because your brain is working in the background. So get away from the writing space every now and then; get into the quiet space. Do mundane activities or draw, or just do something that makes your mind relax. Give your brain a break.

It’s possible to be plotting in circles when you are surrounded by the same scenery that you’ve been in during the struggle. Then it’s time for a literal change of scenery. Go somewhere else to write. New space physically to get a new space mentally. Because surroundings can contribute to your mental writing process. 

When you get super stuck, there are times when you just need to write something else. Find a prompt to work on. But don’t use this technique for too long. This is a mini break. Find something you can finish in one sitting. Don’t let it become a distraction to the main project. 

Inspiration is what gets you started, but discipline is what gets things done. Write anyway. Because inspiration can be fickle. So set up a consistent writing routine, because humans thrive on it. Have something you do that is unique to you that you do before you write, so that it helps set up your brain to get ready to write. Doing a physical movement is incredibly helpful to get your brain set up. Do it for 30 days (because habits take about 30 days).

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

For today I have a parking pass for my place of work and NEVER have to take the bus again! (Unless, of course, my car is in the shop), but other than that!

Never again must I worry about catching the right bus. Never have to worry about being too early or too late. Forced to wait at a bus stop covered in graffiti and unspeakable human fluids in the rain, heat, and snow.

Never again do I have to worry about getting a seat, let alone getting a seat that provides me some semblance of personal space. I won’t have to put my bags on the seat next to me to insure some perv doesn’t force themselves upon me.

Never again will I be forced to listen to other people’s music and ticktock videos, babies wailing, and crotchety old men state their unwanted opinions loudly, as if we weren’t in a confined space and can’t hear them despite our headphones trying to drown them out.

Never again worry about unstable people causing scenes so violent and disturbing and mentally upsetting that I burst into a fit of tears and shakes the moment I’m able to get home and feel safe again.

Never again.