Ya know, I guess I'm a bit confused by the whole "OWS'... thing. I ... ME ... I am a college student. I graduate this December/January. I just caught word of all this. No clue what's going on, because I don't have time to read all of the articles etc. But I can safely say that working hard and earning it ( in other words paying your dues ) will always get you one step closer to your final goal. It's not the loans, the money, the debt, etc. that is the problem. It's the people running it. The system is actually great. Just like the justice system. Even though people say it's garbage, truthfully it's the only system that works with everything from top to bottom taken into consideration when making an ethical decision.
Example : In the justice system, a man is put on trial for murder. He is found guilty and either sentenced for life or given the death penalty. However, I did not specify how he committed murder or why he committed this crime. Why? Because either way he will end up in the same place since it was the act of what he did. For all we know the man given this death sentence could have killed a man for sleeping with his wife, or worse, raping his wife. Or we could take this a step further and have it that this man is seeking revenge due to the death of his family ( FRANK CASTLE, The punisher ) so he decides to kill and murder every goon and gang member he lays his eyes on, or even gains knowledge of. The issue here is he is still committing murder and is still dealt with just like those gang members.
Alright so with that cleared out of the way, College and the loan systems here are the same. It's all about how you deal with it and how you have planned this out from the start. There is a reason why college's go to extreme lengths to help you start "your plan". I personally have my own plan, but it isn't something generic and has a little more depth to it. More importantly I chose a profession that hundreds and millions of people will be needing until the day I die and may carry out even further into the future generations. That is Technology. I knew for a fact that this would be the best option, thankfully I also enjoy it.
Truth be told, everyone in today's society uses some form of technology. Whether it's a phone, computer, television - you name it. Not only can I perform diagnostics on this, but I specialize in creating the visual input and output, as well as function of the majority of the programming and other types of code that you use in your every day life. I'm the one who makes it simple, not because I have to, but because I enjoy it and actually want you to be able to also access what I can, just in a different way. This profession I will also be constantly learning new things until my life passes. Technology constantly progresses at a steady rate.
The thing is a degree in this WILL help. I have been told hundreds of times that by me getting a degree in this doesn't really matter, it's just a piece of paper. Well, let me explain that this piece of paper ( before I even receive this , just stating I'm in college ) has landed me some pretty sweet gigs and continues too with all of the experience I gain.
OWS, all of this stuff, to be completely honest , I will be able to pay back ALL of my college "loans" and everything has that is put into my education in literally five years max. Why? Because of that smallish piece of paper. There is a reason why college rates are so expensive. Normally because the assumption that those who have attended college or are in college and still passing with a 3.5 GPA provide the ability to not only make new jobs but create the next best thing.
These are the people that in ten years time could take over what you see today. This is the truth. I think that is why I'm not really concerned about whether or not the government pays for me or not.
HOWEVER - I will state this in the most blunt terms as a I possibly can. IF you do pay for those who are seeking college. THEY WILL LEARN and THEY WILL BETTER THE COUNTRY ( Unites States ) . This is a true fact. The more quality you have within your country, the more strategic power you have. That is extremely simple and young children even know this.
The only thing that truly stops this from happening is one word, and the word is greed. People can have a terrible outlook on college because they think they aren't smart enough to go through it, nor do they think they are worthy of great things. Which is completely wrong. Every man, woman and child has the ability to be amazing and can go through this education system with their head held high.
Every person has the ability to gain knowledge and better themselves and help others. I know personally that when I get my design firm up and running in a few years time ( which has already started by the way ) I want to hire QUALIFIED programmers, designers, UI/UX designers, Developers, content managers, database managers, consultants, business administrators etc. But I can't do that if you, as the person, don't have the proper qualifications. A degree from ANY college stating pretty much that you know what you're doing. Yes it requires a lot of hard work, but YOU... YOU... and yes YOU... can do it. Seriously.
You can do anything you put your mind to and can overcome any obstacle that is set in your path. You can because you are brilliant. You are amazing and you don't even know it.
Ignore the media, ignore the politics, ignore the cries and whines of everything around you. Become consumed by a passion and deliver something to the people that says, "Look what has been created to help you through your times of sorrow, fear, and hunger. This will help put food on the table for you and your family. This will better your children's future, and their children's future. This will ease your worry and concerns." You can do this. You can help.
This means even if you have to take a job you DESPISE in order to move to the next level. Not everyone is immediately handed the "top dog" position right off the bat, and in my opinion, those who have to work for the "top dog" position are much stronger. I personally had to work in fast-food before I could even get to where I'm at now. I hated it, but ya know what, I got through it. I was told by many that I was worthless, a waste of time, stupid - I was even told I would end up in prison.. or worse dead... by the age of 21. Obviously that was all wrong.
Things change, but they only change if YOU allow it. You can either sit here and continue to weep because you enjoy the drama and hope that maybe, someone else, might take care of it, OR you can go out there and face the hardships and do it right, get it ready and set a focus on your goal.
My goal is to be able to better the current web applications we have today and help those who are in absolute dire need, and of course support my family. These are my goals. I want to show the world that I can deliver something that will help make their life run smoother, even if it's just the little things like checking your email, browsing the internet or turning on a computer, and these are just my technology goals! This has nothing to do with my writing, creating and publishing goals.
Remember the choice is yours.
This is Sean Signing off.
P.S. Take the bull by the horns, but don't kill the bull, know your limits.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
How to become a Super Hero
Hello Everyone!
I apologize for being a little inactive this past month or so. I have been very busy as of lately developing websites and creating new graphics and such for my portfolio. I have also been reading this new book called How to become a Super Hero, written by Sage Michael.
Now normally you guys know I won't endorse a book or title unless I know for a fact it's worth a read. I can safely say that this book is rather amazing. You can call it something similar to a self-help type of book, except it makes more sense. ( ha-ha ) Not saying that others don't but knowing that there are a lot of analogies and metaphors to the super hero world I find it easier to relate to than others.
Knowing this I had asked Sage if I could do a review about his book as well as help him in his ventures. He agreed to it and has wished me the best of luck. Sage is not only a man who understands his craft but he also understands life. His thought pattern and mindset that he has poured into this book with words will not only help people, but people will actually act on it. I know that I personally am applying a few new things to my life, making some new changes.
I feel as though that Sage will actually go a very long way in his entrepreneur career as well as being a known author. Again this advice and knowledge that he is willing to share is great and a lot of it are things that are easy to do yet challenging at the same time.
I am going to challenge you. If you feel as though you are stuck in a rut with your life or just feel like everything you are doing doesn't seem to really make a major breakthrough, pick up this book. I can guarantee it will have a lot of eye openers in it and you will be able to start that journey in becoming that Super Hero.
This is Sean signing out.
Purchasing Information:
If you wish to purchase this book directly from the author please contact me or Sage via email:
SeanFallon.web@gmail.com
Contact@superheropress.com
Or you can find the book at amazon.com
More Information about the book:
To find out more information on How to Become a Super Hero or if you just want to read the first chapter please visit thesuperherobook.com
I apologize for being a little inactive this past month or so. I have been very busy as of lately developing websites and creating new graphics and such for my portfolio. I have also been reading this new book called How to become a Super Hero, written by Sage Michael.
Now normally you guys know I won't endorse a book or title unless I know for a fact it's worth a read. I can safely say that this book is rather amazing. You can call it something similar to a self-help type of book, except it makes more sense. ( ha-ha ) Not saying that others don't but knowing that there are a lot of analogies and metaphors to the super hero world I find it easier to relate to than others.
Knowing this I had asked Sage if I could do a review about his book as well as help him in his ventures. He agreed to it and has wished me the best of luck. Sage is not only a man who understands his craft but he also understands life. His thought pattern and mindset that he has poured into this book with words will not only help people, but people will actually act on it. I know that I personally am applying a few new things to my life, making some new changes.
I feel as though that Sage will actually go a very long way in his entrepreneur career as well as being a known author. Again this advice and knowledge that he is willing to share is great and a lot of it are things that are easy to do yet challenging at the same time.
I am going to challenge you. If you feel as though you are stuck in a rut with your life or just feel like everything you are doing doesn't seem to really make a major breakthrough, pick up this book. I can guarantee it will have a lot of eye openers in it and you will be able to start that journey in becoming that Super Hero.
This is Sean signing out.
Purchasing Information:
If you wish to purchase this book directly from the author please contact me or Sage via email:
SeanFallon.web@gmail.com
Contact@superheropress.com
Or you can find the book at amazon.com
More Information about the book:
To find out more information on How to Become a Super Hero or if you just want to read the first chapter please visit thesuperherobook.com
Friday, September 9, 2011
Utilitarian Ethics
Hey there!
I hope everyone is doing well, today I have been speaking with my professor in my advanced ethics class. If you didn't know I was doing college ethics, you do now, ha-ha.
There was a question brought up today, the question is :
I hope everyone is doing well, today I have been speaking with my professor in my advanced ethics class. If you didn't know I was doing college ethics, you do now, ha-ha.
There was a question brought up today, the question is :
" The utilitarian framework is an ethical approach that evaluates the results or consequences of the decision. Not all decisions are necessarily ethical because it results in the desired result. Theft is not necessarily ethical if the end result is jail or a life of crime. Utilitarian ethics says that if the end results of the theft is the betterment of your family, or the betterment of all parties, then the decision to steal could possibly be the best decision given all the facts. Because utilitarian ethics are fact driven, if you change the facts you change the potential "rightness" of the decision. If you steal only to get money to buy things you don't need then this is clearly wrong. When a father is driven to steal to feed for his family or care for their needs then people have more empathy with him and are more inclined to be lenient with him if caught.
Take for instance the movie John Q with Denzel Washington. Denzel's character committed countless felonies, including kidnapping and assault. But because of the facts surrounding his set of circumstances everyone in the movie felt sorry for him. In his mind the ends justified the means. His son received the treatment he needed despite the fact that Denzel took an entire hospital hostage and endangered the life of many people.
This in my view is truly utilitarian. The consequences of his actions resulted in him saving his sons life.
Do you think that most people make decisions on principles of utility or consequence that take all things into consideration (e.g. all the people affected by the decision made; or all the bad things that could occur)? "
and my reply to this question is :
I am now curious to know how you feel about Utilitarian ethics. Do you feel as though most people today go off of the Principles of Utility? Why or why not?
This is Sean signing out.
Take for instance the movie John Q with Denzel Washington. Denzel's character committed countless felonies, including kidnapping and assault. But because of the facts surrounding his set of circumstances everyone in the movie felt sorry for him. In his mind the ends justified the means. His son received the treatment he needed despite the fact that Denzel took an entire hospital hostage and endangered the life of many people.
This in my view is truly utilitarian. The consequences of his actions resulted in him saving his sons life.
Do you think that most people make decisions on principles of utility or consequence that take all things into consideration (e.g. all the people affected by the decision made; or all the bad things that could occur)? "
and my reply to this question is :
| " This actually goes very deep and has many factors to it. I personally know a lot of people that go off of the Utilitarian views in life, however, there is always something that stops them from acting on a fact in a situation like this. The reason for that is because we have deepened feelings of some sort of emotion. Knowing that Utility views are key at times, as humans it can be difficult to bring yourself to a level of logic to surpass all feeling. In this case it would have been Denzel Washington's situation. Knowing that in the movie this was for his one and only son, it would be hard to really see anything else, almost as if you put the blinders on and focused on that one goal, no matter what happens. For people who have their hands in many different gloves must make a decision based on consequence, mainly because of emotion, which is something that humans will truly never be able to remove from their being no matter how much they have convinced themselves that the emotion is gone. This is of course saying the only form of ethics is to better the person on factual consequence outside of the standard system we have today in society. Although it's funny, because emotion is what drives us to Utilitarian ethics, yet people would claim that these acts are unethical and there is always a better way. Which I do agree with, their is always a better way. So really what it comes down to is self awareness and self gratification, even in desperate times. So really when you weigh it out, in the end, Utilitarian ethics is a very selfish form of self pity. Which then drives into a whole different question of, am I truly being selfish when I am trying to help the ones I love? That answer would still be yes, because that is what you want and you are the one acting upon it, by definition of course. Which goes back into stating The betterment of your family and all parties. The only parties though that were bettered were yours, ( saying you are Denzel Washington's movie character in this case ) and you have threatened the lives of many for the one, which is completely backwards from The lives of the many out weigh the lives of the few. This would then show that if you were forced in to taking on hostages to get what was needed, ethically, would this still be a view of Utilitarian ethics? Although you are bettering your family by doing so, you are still putting many in harms way; knowingly and threatening their lives. These people could have families of their own, children who are sick too. It's something that is never known from the start upon an assumed action by the person who is affected by the Utilitarian ethical motive. So I suppose in the end when you really think about it, people are very selfish, and jump to Utilitarian ethics most of the time. With that said, the answer to this is yes, most people do make decisions on principles of utility. However, once you've pulled apart and analyzed every option and realize what you are doing by action is wrong; jumping to this conclusion immediately, you have a whole new outlook on life. Which you then realize, it's not all about me and bettering my family no matter the cost. Bettering a family is good, but bettering them the right way, knowing that there is always another option. " | |||
I am now curious to know how you feel about Utilitarian ethics. Do you feel as though most people today go off of the Principles of Utility? Why or why not?
This is Sean signing out.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
I was Born for this, the freedom fighter.
Hey everyone!
So I took a break for a little bit here as well as being extremely busy building websites, and I am still not officially 100% back as of yet seeing how I still have a lot more to do, but I've had this one thing on my mind. Money will never truly make you happy, even if you are poor; broke and feel as though it will help your family friends etc.
You will truly only be happy when you reach an accomplishment or actually do something worth meaning and worth while. Also, something that walks hand in hand with this is fame, does it really though? No, not really. You can still be well known and be that dude who still sits on the corner of a street holding a sign looking for work.
A quote I will like to use here is from the band Flat Foot 56. The quote says,
" To all my brothers, to all my brothers’ sons. You can’t find freedom in money, it has to be won."
It's true, you just can't, in fact it could end up causing even more problems. Sure it's great to have, but the meaning of it doesn't hold any true value. So I will say that to all of you who are reading this right now, you can't find freedom in money, it has to be won. Muster up the courage, go out their ;break those chains, fight and win your freedom! We will be here fighting right along beside you. Don't let money, something so insignificant, bar you down.
On a side note, Smile, it's epic. :D
This is Sean signing out.
So I took a break for a little bit here as well as being extremely busy building websites, and I am still not officially 100% back as of yet seeing how I still have a lot more to do, but I've had this one thing on my mind. Money will never truly make you happy, even if you are poor; broke and feel as though it will help your family friends etc.
You will truly only be happy when you reach an accomplishment or actually do something worth meaning and worth while. Also, something that walks hand in hand with this is fame, does it really though? No, not really. You can still be well known and be that dude who still sits on the corner of a street holding a sign looking for work.
A quote I will like to use here is from the band Flat Foot 56. The quote says,
" To all my brothers, to all my brothers’ sons. You can’t find freedom in money, it has to be won."
It's true, you just can't, in fact it could end up causing even more problems. Sure it's great to have, but the meaning of it doesn't hold any true value. So I will say that to all of you who are reading this right now, you can't find freedom in money, it has to be won. Muster up the courage, go out their ;break those chains, fight and win your freedom! We will be here fighting right along beside you. Don't let money, something so insignificant, bar you down.
On a side note, Smile, it's epic. :D
This is Sean signing out.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Just another cog in the comic industry.
Hello everyone,
Today I've been feeling rather discouraged. It's been some time now that I have been going strong with everything that I am doing, but it seems as though a few things have caught some snags. More importantly I've come to the realization that writers in the comic industry are greatly unappreciated by artists and major companies, but more importantly rendered rather useless. I suppose I've been just trying to block it out as much as possible, but the skin is wearing thin.
It becomes difficult to compete in an industry where not many people are actually willing to work together to put something through, especially in an industry that requires you to work with many people to form a great creation.
I feel as though I am just another cog in this war machine, whether I do anything at all really doesn't matter in this industry because I am just a writer with some art background, or so they say. In the end it really just makes you question the motives of not only other people, but of yourself.
I just want to know if I am the only one who feels this way.
This is Sean signing out.
Today I've been feeling rather discouraged. It's been some time now that I have been going strong with everything that I am doing, but it seems as though a few things have caught some snags. More importantly I've come to the realization that writers in the comic industry are greatly unappreciated by artists and major companies, but more importantly rendered rather useless. I suppose I've been just trying to block it out as much as possible, but the skin is wearing thin.
It becomes difficult to compete in an industry where not many people are actually willing to work together to put something through, especially in an industry that requires you to work with many people to form a great creation.
I feel as though I am just another cog in this war machine, whether I do anything at all really doesn't matter in this industry because I am just a writer with some art background, or so they say. In the end it really just makes you question the motives of not only other people, but of yourself.
I just want to know if I am the only one who feels this way.
This is Sean signing out.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Softened Heart
Hey everyone,
It's been rough these past couple years to say the least, but like everyone else, issues are always lingering. Which is actually a great thing, well for me anyways. It sounds silly, but honestly, I think with out a lot of these issues reminding me to be humble, caring, understanding and sympathetic , I would probably end up being the most egotistical grouch on this side of the planet.
This morning I woke up feeling happy, yet sad at the same time. I suppose that sounds a bit bi-polar, but these feelings feel true none the less. It's difficult for me because I haven't really experienced that joy or happiness in awhile. Not the typical joy or happiness, like " oh awesome! I just found a $100.00 bill on the ground!" No no, it's more like, a peace. Something that I haven't felt since I was kid. The words that came to me immediately were "
It's been rough these past couple years to say the least, but like everyone else, issues are always lingering. Which is actually a great thing, well for me anyways. It sounds silly, but honestly, I think with out a lot of these issues reminding me to be humble, caring, understanding and sympathetic , I would probably end up being the most egotistical grouch on this side of the planet.
This morning I woke up feeling happy, yet sad at the same time. I suppose that sounds a bit bi-polar, but these feelings feel true none the less. It's difficult for me because I haven't really experienced that joy or happiness in awhile. Not the typical joy or happiness, like " oh awesome! I just found a $100.00 bill on the ground!" No no, it's more like, a peace. Something that I haven't felt since I was kid. The words that came to me immediately were "
Saturday, August 20, 2011
More than a thought, More like a feeling
Hey Everyone,
It's nice to see everyone has such an interest in my blog here. I appreciate you, the reader, coming out and reading what I have here on this website. This is probably one of the only areas where I can truly express my feeling and thought, aside from my fiction stories. I just wanted to take this time and thank you for being here, taking time out of your life to experience a little piece of mine.
Thank You, it really does mean a lot.
Today has been a strange day and most definitely a strange night. Things from the past have come back, really great memories. Some bad, but more so great. Talk about a very comforting feeling, something I haven't had in over eight years. I don't want to go into to much detail on this feeling or what has happened, but I can safely say I have some inner peace tonight. I will definitely be sleeping well.
With that being the topic, it can be difficult at times to look at our past in our present, in other words something right there in front of us from many years ago. Whether it be good or bad, it can be difficult regardless what state someone is in, especially if you had an emotional connection with that moment in the past with whomever or whatever it may be.
Something that I have realized facing this and experiencing this now is that everything will be okay, no matter what has happened or what happens in the future, even what may be happening right now. No matter what the circumstances are, that situation that may haunt you, or may even bring you a great memory that is no longer there or will no longer ever be again, it's alright.
You as the person have not only moved forward through your success and failures in life, but are a stronger person for even facing such a thing. Not only that, but the understanding, knowing that you are not who you once were, better or for worse, is a great thing. The change of it all, is great. If you end up beating yourself up over something, or listen to that lingering memory, you will only remain stationary and not move at all.
Closing this here, it's okay to move forward and it's okay to still remember those times, but more importantly it's okay to be happy with who you are and what makes you, you.
I want you to do something. I got some very wise advice from someone who plays a major influence in my life right now, very close to me. He had said, " You know, every morning I was told that when I wake up, I was supposed to look in the mirror and say good morning until I meant it; it really does make you feel a lot better about yourself. You need to love yourself in order to love others and push through, and leave all of the past behind you. It's the past. Look to a new light." Go look in the mirror when you wake up tomorrow and tell yourself "Good morning" until you mean it. You may notice a change in your day and a change with your outlook of those memories. You are epic, no matter what was said.
This is Sean signing out.
It's nice to see everyone has such an interest in my blog here. I appreciate you, the reader, coming out and reading what I have here on this website. This is probably one of the only areas where I can truly express my feeling and thought, aside from my fiction stories. I just wanted to take this time and thank you for being here, taking time out of your life to experience a little piece of mine.
Thank You, it really does mean a lot.
Today has been a strange day and most definitely a strange night. Things from the past have come back, really great memories. Some bad, but more so great. Talk about a very comforting feeling, something I haven't had in over eight years. I don't want to go into to much detail on this feeling or what has happened, but I can safely say I have some inner peace tonight. I will definitely be sleeping well.
With that being the topic, it can be difficult at times to look at our past in our present, in other words something right there in front of us from many years ago. Whether it be good or bad, it can be difficult regardless what state someone is in, especially if you had an emotional connection with that moment in the past with whomever or whatever it may be.
Something that I have realized facing this and experiencing this now is that everything will be okay, no matter what has happened or what happens in the future, even what may be happening right now. No matter what the circumstances are, that situation that may haunt you, or may even bring you a great memory that is no longer there or will no longer ever be again, it's alright.
You as the person have not only moved forward through your success and failures in life, but are a stronger person for even facing such a thing. Not only that, but the understanding, knowing that you are not who you once were, better or for worse, is a great thing. The change of it all, is great. If you end up beating yourself up over something, or listen to that lingering memory, you will only remain stationary and not move at all.
Closing this here, it's okay to move forward and it's okay to still remember those times, but more importantly it's okay to be happy with who you are and what makes you, you.
I want you to do something. I got some very wise advice from someone who plays a major influence in my life right now, very close to me. He had said, " You know, every morning I was told that when I wake up, I was supposed to look in the mirror and say good morning until I meant it; it really does make you feel a lot better about yourself. You need to love yourself in order to love others and push through, and leave all of the past behind you. It's the past. Look to a new light." Go look in the mirror when you wake up tomorrow and tell yourself "Good morning" until you mean it. You may notice a change in your day and a change with your outlook of those memories. You are epic, no matter what was said.
This is Sean signing out.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Angry like a Hulk
Hello Everyone,
I've had a lot on my mind today, and yesterday. The topic in this post is going to be blind rage. An anger that is not only scary, but dangerous to the person who has it, as well as those who around that person. I find that Blind Rage is very difficult to control, like a Hulk. Something to really set you mind into a question is this, Does someone with a blind rage have control? More importantly, how does someone know if they suffer from this "blind rage" .
I can safely say, I know what "blind rage" is by experience. Blind rage is basically someone who can become very angry and everything that they love, feel compassion for, cherish is removed from their sight. Blind rage is exactly as the words state, It is Blind and there is a lot of rage. An anger that bellows deep within.
In a realistic view, a hulk is much more real then someone may think. When someone becomes this angry, there is no real control over thoughts, feeling or anything of this sort. A berserker takes over and is thirsty for blood. For many years, and especially now this has been an issue I have suffered with. Knowing that I have no control is not a good thing, admitting it however is a great thing, which is why I write. I insert all of that anger, rage, and threatening feelings deep into my writing. If not writing, then my gaming. It's a great stress relief as well as a great way to pour out that rage.
However, it does scare me to know that other "hulks" are out there off their chain. Chain referring to their positive stress relief, rage relief. Not only is this scary, but it's truthfully life threatening to those who don't know how to battle a hulk. As a hulk speaking through this post, I hope those other hulks out there are reading my words clearly.
As a Hulk you shouldn't be ashamed to admit that you are one, anger, depression , addictions and many other things consume people every day, we are all human. That is something we can't change. The good news however, is we don't have to hang on to it, you can let it go. This however is up to you.
A great way to test yourself, is to take something very small, and work with it. Let's say you have this irritation with how someone sitting next to you in a lobby is clicking their pen, and it is literally driving you mad, mad to the point that you just want to take that noisy clicker and use it as a weapon of mass destruction upon them.
Instead, why not introduce yourself to them, shake their hand and tell them a little bit about what you do. If they aren't interested in meeting you, that's fine, at the very least you did something great and turned a negative into a positive. On a better note though, the clicking has stopped! Fantastic!
Wrapping this up here, it's okay to admit you're a blind raged hulk and that you do need some sort of support, from either your friend or your family. Life is way to short, and living angry all the time is a great way to waste what precious time you have left.
This is Sean Signing out.
I've had a lot on my mind today, and yesterday. The topic in this post is going to be blind rage. An anger that is not only scary, but dangerous to the person who has it, as well as those who around that person. I find that Blind Rage is very difficult to control, like a Hulk. Something to really set you mind into a question is this, Does someone with a blind rage have control? More importantly, how does someone know if they suffer from this "blind rage" .
I can safely say, I know what "blind rage" is by experience. Blind rage is basically someone who can become very angry and everything that they love, feel compassion for, cherish is removed from their sight. Blind rage is exactly as the words state, It is Blind and there is a lot of rage. An anger that bellows deep within.
In a realistic view, a hulk is much more real then someone may think. When someone becomes this angry, there is no real control over thoughts, feeling or anything of this sort. A berserker takes over and is thirsty for blood. For many years, and especially now this has been an issue I have suffered with. Knowing that I have no control is not a good thing, admitting it however is a great thing, which is why I write. I insert all of that anger, rage, and threatening feelings deep into my writing. If not writing, then my gaming. It's a great stress relief as well as a great way to pour out that rage.
However, it does scare me to know that other "hulks" are out there off their chain. Chain referring to their positive stress relief, rage relief. Not only is this scary, but it's truthfully life threatening to those who don't know how to battle a hulk. As a hulk speaking through this post, I hope those other hulks out there are reading my words clearly.
As a Hulk you shouldn't be ashamed to admit that you are one, anger, depression , addictions and many other things consume people every day, we are all human. That is something we can't change. The good news however, is we don't have to hang on to it, you can let it go. This however is up to you.
A great way to test yourself, is to take something very small, and work with it. Let's say you have this irritation with how someone sitting next to you in a lobby is clicking their pen, and it is literally driving you mad, mad to the point that you just want to take that noisy clicker and use it as a weapon of mass destruction upon them.
Instead, why not introduce yourself to them, shake their hand and tell them a little bit about what you do. If they aren't interested in meeting you, that's fine, at the very least you did something great and turned a negative into a positive. On a better note though, the clicking has stopped! Fantastic!
Wrapping this up here, it's okay to admit you're a blind raged hulk and that you do need some sort of support, from either your friend or your family. Life is way to short, and living angry all the time is a great way to waste what precious time you have left.
This is Sean Signing out.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Artists and Writers. Who needs them?
Hello everyone!
So today I just finished some of my own writing, and my own artwork and I am feeling very satisfied. However, I stumbled across a post today online that rubbed me the wrong way. It went something like this " Writers need Artists" . The reason this rubbed me the wrong way is mainly because of how this was said. It's true, writers do need artists, if they are creating a comic book. Artists do need writers if they are expecting professional content throughout their stories, web content and promotions.
How this was said though, is it was belittling writers. Feeling a little belittled and underestimated by this post, I can safely say that writers and artists both need to come together within the comic industry. Without either you don't have a very good title. A great script can't hold up terrible art and terrible art will never be able to hold a great story. There has been success on both sides, but that title didn't always continue.
The craft of writing is much more then just writing comic scripts and screen plays. I find that a lot of people don't consider this when speaking in terms of creating a solid title. Sure, the art is great and amazing to look at, but without the writer you just have the art. The story is what is suppose to bring life to the comic, if not then it can just become a book. Sure it requires more work on the writers end, but that option is available.
Of course the artist can just do pin-ups and such and also shine that way too. I must clarify though that both an artist and a writer don't absolutely need each other. Both of them can stand on their own very well. It's when they come together is when magic happens and a rush of excitement and a thrilling ride is thrown at the audience and readers that make them go "WOW" .
I personally read comics, the key word here is read. Although I can marvel at the artwork and do have a deep appreciation for it, if the story isn't great, I won't touch it. However, there are others who read comics strictly for the art work. The story to them is alright but the "wow factor" comes from the art.
To end this here, being both an artist and a writer, neither should be under estimated in the comic industry. They both have a lot to bring to the table in creating something amazing.
This is Sean signing out.
So today I just finished some of my own writing, and my own artwork and I am feeling very satisfied. However, I stumbled across a post today online that rubbed me the wrong way. It went something like this " Writers need Artists" . The reason this rubbed me the wrong way is mainly because of how this was said. It's true, writers do need artists, if they are creating a comic book. Artists do need writers if they are expecting professional content throughout their stories, web content and promotions.
How this was said though, is it was belittling writers. Feeling a little belittled and underestimated by this post, I can safely say that writers and artists both need to come together within the comic industry. Without either you don't have a very good title. A great script can't hold up terrible art and terrible art will never be able to hold a great story. There has been success on both sides, but that title didn't always continue.
The craft of writing is much more then just writing comic scripts and screen plays. I find that a lot of people don't consider this when speaking in terms of creating a solid title. Sure, the art is great and amazing to look at, but without the writer you just have the art. The story is what is suppose to bring life to the comic, if not then it can just become a book. Sure it requires more work on the writers end, but that option is available.
Of course the artist can just do pin-ups and such and also shine that way too. I must clarify though that both an artist and a writer don't absolutely need each other. Both of them can stand on their own very well. It's when they come together is when magic happens and a rush of excitement and a thrilling ride is thrown at the audience and readers that make them go "WOW" .
I personally read comics, the key word here is read. Although I can marvel at the artwork and do have a deep appreciation for it, if the story isn't great, I won't touch it. However, there are others who read comics strictly for the art work. The story to them is alright but the "wow factor" comes from the art.
To end this here, being both an artist and a writer, neither should be under estimated in the comic industry. They both have a lot to bring to the table in creating something amazing.
This is Sean signing out.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
A fresh idea.Spawn? The Umbra Flame?
Hello everyone!
I am right now sitting at my desk here mulling over the spawn stories, series, mini series and just the name in general. As a writer I have found it very difficult to put some of my works up here, but this is quite possibly the most difficult of all. Why? Mainly because of my own creations.
I rarely ever choose to talk about my creations because I feel as though I may come off as "trying to boost the ego" or "too full of himself". I was given some advice today by someone who made a lot of sense. "Don't be afraid of rejection, it's all about how well you can climb back up the tree once you have fallen." Right now I am going to talk about one of my heroes, The Umbra Flame. How is this any relation to Spawn? This has a lot of relation to Spawn, seeing how Todd McFarlane and Spawn are the inspiration for this character.
I have been a huge Spawn fan for only God knows how long. There came a point in my life where I had thought none of my creations would ever see the light of day, so I closed up shop and moved here to Texas and found myself working in a fast food place a ways down the road from where I had lived.
I thought "this was it", then of course I met my wife had a child and settled down. I worked at that fast food place for sometime, however with marriage and a baby on the way things changed. I "matured" and found myself leaving this fast food place to get a better job. Great! Well that's what I had thought at the time. It was in telecommunication, definitely not fun, not tolerable either so I left.
Finally a door opened into the graphic and web design world. By walking through that door I stumbled back onto some old writings. These writings have now lead me here speaking to you now. Again how does this relate to spawn? Well as of now, I am sitting here again, now more matured in my ways of thinking and have found myself reading again, the spawn series. In admiring Spawn and McFarlane, I have produced The Umbra Flame. The Umbra Flame is similar to Spawn, but there is a difference, he's from heaven, oh and he's from Texas.
Have I caught your interest? I hope so. Originally I was going to work The Umbra Flame into a Spawn character setting and set up some fan fiction and hopefully send it off to Todd McFarlane himself, in the hopes that he likes it. Then White Mane made a break through. Although it is interesting how most of my heroes are created around a similar setting to Spawn. Maybe someday I will send The Umbra Flame to Todd and maybe someday he may message back, someday.
These are of course all of my fantasies and me breaking out of the shell a little bit to introduce you into my life and emotions even more.
What happens when a Spawn meets a Flame? Chaos. What happens when a Spawn teams up with a Flame? Justice. To be so evil where both heaven and hell turn on you, you know you're doing something wrong. Knowing that I hold the copyright to the umbra flame I have to say is pretty epic, but will he see the light of day? Let's hope so.
If it so happens that things happen this way, wonderful! If not, I can safely see that you will still see The Umbra Flame regardless of what the original intention was for him.
If you want to know more about this character, feel free to comment here on the blog or you can message me on face book.
To end this here, the only thing I can really say is don't let your dreams go. If you have let them go, find and catch them. Hold on to them through the storm,because you never know what you may find on the other side.
This is Sean signing out.
I am right now sitting at my desk here mulling over the spawn stories, series, mini series and just the name in general. As a writer I have found it very difficult to put some of my works up here, but this is quite possibly the most difficult of all. Why? Mainly because of my own creations.
I rarely ever choose to talk about my creations because I feel as though I may come off as "trying to boost the ego" or "too full of himself". I was given some advice today by someone who made a lot of sense. "Don't be afraid of rejection, it's all about how well you can climb back up the tree once you have fallen." Right now I am going to talk about one of my heroes, The Umbra Flame. How is this any relation to Spawn? This has a lot of relation to Spawn, seeing how Todd McFarlane and Spawn are the inspiration for this character.
I have been a huge Spawn fan for only God knows how long. There came a point in my life where I had thought none of my creations would ever see the light of day, so I closed up shop and moved here to Texas and found myself working in a fast food place a ways down the road from where I had lived.
I thought "this was it", then of course I met my wife had a child and settled down. I worked at that fast food place for sometime, however with marriage and a baby on the way things changed. I "matured" and found myself leaving this fast food place to get a better job. Great! Well that's what I had thought at the time. It was in telecommunication, definitely not fun, not tolerable either so I left.
Finally a door opened into the graphic and web design world. By walking through that door I stumbled back onto some old writings. These writings have now lead me here speaking to you now. Again how does this relate to spawn? Well as of now, I am sitting here again, now more matured in my ways of thinking and have found myself reading again, the spawn series. In admiring Spawn and McFarlane, I have produced The Umbra Flame. The Umbra Flame is similar to Spawn, but there is a difference, he's from heaven, oh and he's from Texas.
Have I caught your interest? I hope so. Originally I was going to work The Umbra Flame into a Spawn character setting and set up some fan fiction and hopefully send it off to Todd McFarlane himself, in the hopes that he likes it. Then White Mane made a break through. Although it is interesting how most of my heroes are created around a similar setting to Spawn. Maybe someday I will send The Umbra Flame to Todd and maybe someday he may message back, someday.
These are of course all of my fantasies and me breaking out of the shell a little bit to introduce you into my life and emotions even more.
What happens when a Spawn meets a Flame? Chaos. What happens when a Spawn teams up with a Flame? Justice. To be so evil where both heaven and hell turn on you, you know you're doing something wrong. Knowing that I hold the copyright to the umbra flame I have to say is pretty epic, but will he see the light of day? Let's hope so.
If it so happens that things happen this way, wonderful! If not, I can safely see that you will still see The Umbra Flame regardless of what the original intention was for him.
If you want to know more about this character, feel free to comment here on the blog or you can message me on face book.
To end this here, the only thing I can really say is don't let your dreams go. If you have let them go, find and catch them. Hold on to them through the storm,because you never know what you may find on the other side.
This is Sean signing out.
What do you REALLY want?
Hey Everyone!
Today's topic is following on the same topic in the last post, just taking a different path. As we are talking about writing and other forms of entertainment, movies, video games and comic books, we all want something different yet on par with what we know.
When I read comic books, books, play video games or even watch movies I expect a lot out of any of them, close to a perfection, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are right? Wrong. Sadly, there is a lot of publicized entertainment, that should have never been publicized to begin with. Taking that deeper and questioning myself, am I right? In a general opinion, no. Why? The main reason for this is because we do live in a democracy and majority rules.
I will take one of my favorite authors and stories, J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien and his works had the most amazing depth I have ever seen and read. There is so much more to Tolkien's works then just Lord of the Rings however. In fact, he wrote so much more that when he has passed from this earth, he left it to his children. Sadly, only his youngest son Christopher Tolkien had picked up the works. Seeing how Christopher had picked up the works of his father, a lot of the fans were angry and upset because he was touching something "sacred" even though his father wanted people to add on to the world. Tolkien himself had said " This world that has been created is far from perfect" and knew that others would add in their own stories, races and feeling into it.
Another one of my favorite authors and stories is C.S. Lewis and the works of Narnia. C.S. Lewis delivered something on another level of deep magnitude. He brought to life a fantasy world that can only be seen through a child's mind. Seeing how then, it wasn't sociably acceptable at the time for a grown man to be stuck in a fantasy world. In fact, during that time you were nothing but a joke and considered less of a man. Aside from those times, things change and now these are classics and have a huge following.
Let's move off the topic of books and dive into video games. Video games is another story form that has always caught me in a trap of lore. I will take the World of Warcraft as an example. Despite what the game has turned into today ( nothing but a sickly filled competition filled with egos that pride themselves over gear that do not matter and will change within another year ) Warcraft has a very deep lore. The story is so deep in fact, that Blizzard could probably add another twelve expansions. Yes! I said twelve. To our knowledge, this is only what is available online, who knows what else they have stock piled up within the office and mind of Chris Metzen.
With all of this said, a lot of things seem to fall short for me without a deep line of story, and a captivating emotion. The first time I saw the battle of helms deep in the movie Lord of the rings on the big screen, I had an over powering rage that I wanted to jump through the screen and start busting heads of orcs and goblins. Or in Warcraft, as of recently my favorite leaders Thrall and Vol'Jin were going through some dastardly times, it made me want to pick up an axe and lob it into the face of Garrosh Hellscream and claim the throne of the warchief. ( This change has actually forced me to the alliance, which I am now thoroughly enjoying the storyline of the Worgen, I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't yet. )
Concluding this post, this is what I look for in a story. Although there are many more stories that I thoroughly enjoy. Spawn, Batman, Trigun, Deathnote, this is just to name a few.
My question now is what do YOU look for in a story? In lore? What emotions drive you?
Feel free to post here on the blog, I am looking forward to seeing your responses.
This is Sean signing out.
Today's topic is following on the same topic in the last post, just taking a different path. As we are talking about writing and other forms of entertainment, movies, video games and comic books, we all want something different yet on par with what we know.
When I read comic books, books, play video games or even watch movies I expect a lot out of any of them, close to a perfection, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are right? Wrong. Sadly, there is a lot of publicized entertainment, that should have never been publicized to begin with. Taking that deeper and questioning myself, am I right? In a general opinion, no. Why? The main reason for this is because we do live in a democracy and majority rules.
I will take one of my favorite authors and stories, J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien and his works had the most amazing depth I have ever seen and read. There is so much more to Tolkien's works then just Lord of the Rings however. In fact, he wrote so much more that when he has passed from this earth, he left it to his children. Sadly, only his youngest son Christopher Tolkien had picked up the works. Seeing how Christopher had picked up the works of his father, a lot of the fans were angry and upset because he was touching something "sacred" even though his father wanted people to add on to the world. Tolkien himself had said " This world that has been created is far from perfect" and knew that others would add in their own stories, races and feeling into it.
Another one of my favorite authors and stories is C.S. Lewis and the works of Narnia. C.S. Lewis delivered something on another level of deep magnitude. He brought to life a fantasy world that can only be seen through a child's mind. Seeing how then, it wasn't sociably acceptable at the time for a grown man to be stuck in a fantasy world. In fact, during that time you were nothing but a joke and considered less of a man. Aside from those times, things change and now these are classics and have a huge following.
Let's move off the topic of books and dive into video games. Video games is another story form that has always caught me in a trap of lore. I will take the World of Warcraft as an example. Despite what the game has turned into today ( nothing but a sickly filled competition filled with egos that pride themselves over gear that do not matter and will change within another year ) Warcraft has a very deep lore. The story is so deep in fact, that Blizzard could probably add another twelve expansions. Yes! I said twelve. To our knowledge, this is only what is available online, who knows what else they have stock piled up within the office and mind of Chris Metzen.
With all of this said, a lot of things seem to fall short for me without a deep line of story, and a captivating emotion. The first time I saw the battle of helms deep in the movie Lord of the rings on the big screen, I had an over powering rage that I wanted to jump through the screen and start busting heads of orcs and goblins. Or in Warcraft, as of recently my favorite leaders Thrall and Vol'Jin were going through some dastardly times, it made me want to pick up an axe and lob it into the face of Garrosh Hellscream and claim the throne of the warchief. ( This change has actually forced me to the alliance, which I am now thoroughly enjoying the storyline of the Worgen, I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't yet. )
Concluding this post, this is what I look for in a story. Although there are many more stories that I thoroughly enjoy. Spawn, Batman, Trigun, Deathnote, this is just to name a few.
My question now is what do YOU look for in a story? In lore? What emotions drive you?
Feel free to post here on the blog, I am looking forward to seeing your responses.
This is Sean signing out.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Is it for joy? Or money?
Hey everyone!
Today has been an interesting day. Earlier this morning I was messaged by a person who had asked me a very deep question. It seems as though this person has read both of the Power Zombie interviews that were given to me as of recently. In these interviews I talk about how my creations are not about making a lot of money.
Sure money is nice, but if I was only writing for money, it would be just another job and the stories would be bland. People don’t want to read bland, I don’t want to read bland. I only produce what I want to read or what I want to see come to life.
I know for a fact that if I just wanted the money, I would not have picked writing for a top end money maker. More importantly, I wouldn’t be doing anything that I am doing now. I would have either gone to Law School, Med School or have even tried dabbling with computer engineering. Writing, by far is not one of your higher paying jobs.
I create to immerse others, as well as myself into a story that is rather mind blowing. If I write non-fiction, that too goes into a deeper thought and will wrap someone into dwelling on what they can get out of it. This is how I write. It’s a selfless feature. Of course everything takes money, so yes that is and will always be involved. The support is always great too, but at the very least on my conscience I don’t have something wicked sitting there prodding me to make more money at a faster pace.
Writing is not my only “profession”, in fact I wear many hats when it comes to professions. I can do everything from business administration and advertising all the way to graphic and web design. This is what I do on a regular basis. With this being said, no, writing is not my main supplement of income. Normally people are afraid to speak about things like this, as you can obviously see, I am not. Comics, books, manga, technical writing : All of this is something that will come secondary in my life until I can claim it as a lead source of income.
For anyone who is just starting out in either the art field or the writing field, you have to be kidding yourself if you think you can survive solely on this. In time, you can most definitely, but those first starting out, you must have something else going on in the background.
I say this because no one else will. They think it’s a “secret”, when it truly is not. In the end though, this is my conclusion over all. If you are the type of person who writes or does art work because “it’s just a job and puts food on the table” I suggest you stop now, no matter how great you are. Why? The main reason is because your fans will see this in the work that is presented. If not through the work, they will see it through you. Fans are a prime example of how well something will become.
Anything can be hyped, but if it doesn’t live very long, we all know the real reason and tendencies behind the red curtain. Also, let’s say it does go far, are you ready to face the fans and actually get deep into conversation with them over your own title? These aren’t accusations and telling those who are like this that you are terrible people, this is about trying to motivate those to create for the right reasons and not the wrong.
The best example I can give of these things happening is any of the major movies that were hyped and then flopped, any major MMO video game or video game of the sort that was hyped then flopped or any comic/book you have read that had great reviews from the critics but fell short of good.
To end this here, I create what I do because I enjoy it and I feel as though I am a part of these worlds and universes, and that I am able to share them with all of you.
This is Sean signing out.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Creation while deep in thought.
Hey everyone!
Today I am very deep in thought while creating some new things for White Mane as well as other things for the new title I am working on with Kate Prime. It's been very interesting so far seeing how I have only been "creating" for only a little over two hours now and already have a lot of it completed.
As someone who tells stories and immerses the reader into the worlds and universes that have been created, I have realized I can be pulled in as well too. Which I tend to lose track of time, this time was a little different though. I did lose track of time, but this time I actually completed more tasks in a shorter period of times, which rarely ever happens with me.
Most of you who know me, know that I spend long hours into the night creating or I work non-stop during the day to just complete this one task. I think I have finally come to a balance and conclusion on the issue I had originally.
Writers block is never fun, as a lot of writers out there know, it can be extremely tedious and frustrating at times. The way I used to break writers block was to switch to a new topic, as of lately though that wasn't working anymore.
I was struggling these past few weeks, but I have come to this new way of breaking it. The answer? Walk away from the computer, relax and enjoy yourself. It's true! Yesterday I was with my family and we were celebrating my sister-in-laws birthday. I had decided to sit down and just talk about everything under the sun with my brother-in-law that day and BAM, things just flowed like a rushing river.
I find it interesting that I am able to finish more work, away from work, than I am able to complete tasks at work. Very interesting indeed. With this new found shattering, I am going to keep it at hand.
With that said I think I will be ending this here, so I can go "work" some more.
- Sean
Today I am very deep in thought while creating some new things for White Mane as well as other things for the new title I am working on with Kate Prime. It's been very interesting so far seeing how I have only been "creating" for only a little over two hours now and already have a lot of it completed.
As someone who tells stories and immerses the reader into the worlds and universes that have been created, I have realized I can be pulled in as well too. Which I tend to lose track of time, this time was a little different though. I did lose track of time, but this time I actually completed more tasks in a shorter period of times, which rarely ever happens with me.
Most of you who know me, know that I spend long hours into the night creating or I work non-stop during the day to just complete this one task. I think I have finally come to a balance and conclusion on the issue I had originally.
Writers block is never fun, as a lot of writers out there know, it can be extremely tedious and frustrating at times. The way I used to break writers block was to switch to a new topic, as of lately though that wasn't working anymore.
I was struggling these past few weeks, but I have come to this new way of breaking it. The answer? Walk away from the computer, relax and enjoy yourself. It's true! Yesterday I was with my family and we were celebrating my sister-in-laws birthday. I had decided to sit down and just talk about everything under the sun with my brother-in-law that day and BAM, things just flowed like a rushing river.
I find it interesting that I am able to finish more work, away from work, than I am able to complete tasks at work. Very interesting indeed. With this new found shattering, I am going to keep it at hand.
With that said I think I will be ending this here, so I can go "work" some more.
- Sean
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Freelancing
Hey there everyone!
How is everyone doing today? I personally am not doing so bad, just picked up some freelance work and I am trying to meet a deadline. Today's title says it all, we will be talking all about freelance work. I as a freelance graphic/web designer, inker, letterer and writer put in roughly fourteen to seventeen hours of work each day. This includes the weekends, working seven days a week without a break.
It's difficult, but it can be very rewarding. However, something I have realized over the years is that when freelancing, a lot of companies think that you don't really do anything at all. This is because you work within your home. So it blinds them to think that you are really just messing around the whole time when that is not the case at all.
Something that I have found useful is to constantly keep in contact with the employer. Keeping in contact with the employer, sending one or two emails a day updating them on where you are working on will give them reassurance. This is very important, and as an employer myself, when a freelancer cuts all forms of communication with me I assume one of two things. One, they don't want the job or two they weren't serious with it to begin with. This is actually another reason why I either do milestone, back end or royalty pay. I will never pay someone upfront ever again seeing how I have experienced some very terrible situations where they took off with the money I had given them and cut all contacts.
This not only brings a bad name to freelancers, but to any community within that specific industry as a whole. My experience as a freelancer personally has not been the best, seeing how this can go both ways. From either the employer doing that or the freelancer. In a reality form of work, it comes down to trust if anything plans on getting done.
Something that a lot of freelancers don't consider is that they do expect the employer to immediately put trust into them, when this will never be the case. They are the ones paying you, and they can clearly decide who they wish to work with. Sure you have the choice too as a freelancer, but as the freelancer you have the disadvantage because you are the one being paid for a service.
Again, as being a freelancer I have to say there is a lot of ridiculous competition out there, you have to make sure your work is the best of the best. If you don't, that is one flaw that will be seen immediately by the employer. Another thing that freelancers don't take into consideration is the business side of things. If you as a freelancer do not have any business classes under your belt, or do not have anything set up in a professional business manner, you will not be taken seriously. This is where I will recommend either getting a form of business operating certificate or hire on an agent to work with you.
Agents are extremely important when it comes to writing or art of any kind. If you are the type of freelancer that can't do your own type of business work with professionally made cover letters, presentations and meetings then I will suggest this even more so than I am now. I am mainly suggesting this, because if not, you will constantly land those $30.00 jobs that are asking you to write fifty articles with 5,000 words each. Or even worse, those jobs asking you to do a full fledged thirty page website with graphics and coding for $50.00 , or my absolute favorite, that $20.00 logo that is going into branding.
Those are not fun and are definitely not worth the pay. I've done these in the past due to inexperience. I can say now that with experience I was very foolish for taking on those types of projects. Knowing now that I can produce grade A work, I shouldn't settle for less. The statement then comes up, " Yeah Sean, but if I charge to much, then no one will want my work." At first, this is slow and can take many months before you land a decent project. Which is why a lot of freelancers work two or three jobs a lot of the time. I myself have five or six. This is something employers also don't take into consideration. As freelancers we know this. As both a freelancer and employer I can safely say I am very well rounded when it comes to both sides of the game.
Also as a tip to some employers, if you are only willing to spend $30.00 for a professionally done logo, $20.00 on web content articles and updates, and $100.00 for a web design , this shows the freelancer that you aren't taking this seriously nor are you a decent company. For all they know you are fraudulent. Sure everyone needs a start, but in order to actually be taken seriously, you also need to pay the serious prices. Other wise, you will get what you pay for. Unless of course you do all the work on your own, then you deserve a high level of respect.
Wrapping this up, both sides need to see their own faults and fix them so things may actually work out for the better. Freelancers, if someone says they plan to pay you, expect pay. If nothing is paid do something about it. Employers, if the freelancer doesn't ask for milestone pay, don't hire them. It's plain and simple, and this truly is how things should work. Collaborations now are a whole different story, as well as royalties. I will cover these two topics in other articles in the future.
Until next time, this is me signing off!
- Sean
How is everyone doing today? I personally am not doing so bad, just picked up some freelance work and I am trying to meet a deadline. Today's title says it all, we will be talking all about freelance work. I as a freelance graphic/web designer, inker, letterer and writer put in roughly fourteen to seventeen hours of work each day. This includes the weekends, working seven days a week without a break.
It's difficult, but it can be very rewarding. However, something I have realized over the years is that when freelancing, a lot of companies think that you don't really do anything at all. This is because you work within your home. So it blinds them to think that you are really just messing around the whole time when that is not the case at all.
Something that I have found useful is to constantly keep in contact with the employer. Keeping in contact with the employer, sending one or two emails a day updating them on where you are working on will give them reassurance. This is very important, and as an employer myself, when a freelancer cuts all forms of communication with me I assume one of two things. One, they don't want the job or two they weren't serious with it to begin with. This is actually another reason why I either do milestone, back end or royalty pay. I will never pay someone upfront ever again seeing how I have experienced some very terrible situations where they took off with the money I had given them and cut all contacts.
This not only brings a bad name to freelancers, but to any community within that specific industry as a whole. My experience as a freelancer personally has not been the best, seeing how this can go both ways. From either the employer doing that or the freelancer. In a reality form of work, it comes down to trust if anything plans on getting done.
Something that a lot of freelancers don't consider is that they do expect the employer to immediately put trust into them, when this will never be the case. They are the ones paying you, and they can clearly decide who they wish to work with. Sure you have the choice too as a freelancer, but as the freelancer you have the disadvantage because you are the one being paid for a service.
Again, as being a freelancer I have to say there is a lot of ridiculous competition out there, you have to make sure your work is the best of the best. If you don't, that is one flaw that will be seen immediately by the employer. Another thing that freelancers don't take into consideration is the business side of things. If you as a freelancer do not have any business classes under your belt, or do not have anything set up in a professional business manner, you will not be taken seriously. This is where I will recommend either getting a form of business operating certificate or hire on an agent to work with you.
Agents are extremely important when it comes to writing or art of any kind. If you are the type of freelancer that can't do your own type of business work with professionally made cover letters, presentations and meetings then I will suggest this even more so than I am now. I am mainly suggesting this, because if not, you will constantly land those $30.00 jobs that are asking you to write fifty articles with 5,000 words each. Or even worse, those jobs asking you to do a full fledged thirty page website with graphics and coding for $50.00 , or my absolute favorite, that $20.00 logo that is going into branding.
Those are not fun and are definitely not worth the pay. I've done these in the past due to inexperience. I can say now that with experience I was very foolish for taking on those types of projects. Knowing now that I can produce grade A work, I shouldn't settle for less. The statement then comes up, " Yeah Sean, but if I charge to much, then no one will want my work." At first, this is slow and can take many months before you land a decent project. Which is why a lot of freelancers work two or three jobs a lot of the time. I myself have five or six. This is something employers also don't take into consideration. As freelancers we know this. As both a freelancer and employer I can safely say I am very well rounded when it comes to both sides of the game.
Also as a tip to some employers, if you are only willing to spend $30.00 for a professionally done logo, $20.00 on web content articles and updates, and $100.00 for a web design , this shows the freelancer that you aren't taking this seriously nor are you a decent company. For all they know you are fraudulent. Sure everyone needs a start, but in order to actually be taken seriously, you also need to pay the serious prices. Other wise, you will get what you pay for. Unless of course you do all the work on your own, then you deserve a high level of respect.
Wrapping this up, both sides need to see their own faults and fix them so things may actually work out for the better. Freelancers, if someone says they plan to pay you, expect pay. If nothing is paid do something about it. Employers, if the freelancer doesn't ask for milestone pay, don't hire them. It's plain and simple, and this truly is how things should work. Collaborations now are a whole different story, as well as royalties. I will cover these two topics in other articles in the future.
Until next time, this is me signing off!
- Sean
Friday, August 5, 2011
"EPIC"
Hey Everyone!
So today I woke up feeling rather tired as usual and still a little under the weather, but I can safely say that I feel great now! Today's topic is the word "epic". People see me use this a lot and I feel as though I need to clarify, this is mainly for the older crowds out there who aren't "hip" in today's generation of words. ( yes, I used the word "hip". For younger crowds who don't understand that word, I will explain that word in another post. )
The word "EPIC" is slang and similar to words such as cool, awesome, great, fantastic, radical, bodacious, killer, tubular, righteous, out of this world etc. the list goes on and on. Anything can be epic. Cars are epic and phones are epic. You are epic and I am epic. Everything is epic! Now something that a lot of people don't hear is "CIPE" . Cipe is epic backwards, which means beyond epic.
In other words when speaking with some dude who is just too epic, he then becomes cipe. He is so Cipe in fact, his Epicness from his Cipe is Cipe. Were you able to follow along? ha-ha. I hope this clears some things up and sets the words in place now when you are reading my posts or even others posts, writings or even if you are talking with your children.
Remember to stay epic. For we all know now, without being "EPIC" you can't become "CIPE".
- Sean
So today I woke up feeling rather tired as usual and still a little under the weather, but I can safely say that I feel great now! Today's topic is the word "epic". People see me use this a lot and I feel as though I need to clarify, this is mainly for the older crowds out there who aren't "hip" in today's generation of words. ( yes, I used the word "hip". For younger crowds who don't understand that word, I will explain that word in another post. )
The word "EPIC" is slang and similar to words such as cool, awesome, great, fantastic, radical, bodacious, killer, tubular, righteous, out of this world etc. the list goes on and on. Anything can be epic. Cars are epic and phones are epic. You are epic and I am epic. Everything is epic! Now something that a lot of people don't hear is "CIPE" . Cipe is epic backwards, which means beyond epic.
In other words when speaking with some dude who is just too epic, he then becomes cipe. He is so Cipe in fact, his Epicness from his Cipe is Cipe. Were you able to follow along? ha-ha. I hope this clears some things up and sets the words in place now when you are reading my posts or even others posts, writings or even if you are talking with your children.
Remember to stay epic. For we all know now, without being "EPIC" you can't become "CIPE".
- Sean
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A different outlook on Humble
Hey there everyone!
I just got finished watching one of the older seasons of Hell's Kitchen. Hell's Kitchen and the food network in general is probably one of my favorite stations by far, although I don't have cable. I watch a lot of these shows on Hulu, so I am normally behind on new things, but I still get to enjoy them all the same.
Anyways, the title of this post is "A different outlook on humble". Now a lot of people won't agree with me on this, but I think that Chef Gordon Ramsay is by far one of the main types of people who I believe deserve a very high level of respect from every person within the food industry and out. This man does what he does to seek perfection from others, within his passion. I too have gone this sort of route, yet not as intense with the cursing. I guess you could say I am more at a "calm professional business" status more than the type of person who flares colorful words out and about. Although I do have to say that is definitely one big way to push someone to their breaking point.
In all my works I strive for perfection everyday. Just starting out in the industries that I'm in, I can safely say that I have taken a leap from the standard " Hey new kid on the block" to really pushing for something not only unique and fresh, but something reasonable and realistic. It becomes difficult in these fields that I work in to reach that goal and to constantly compete on that level of competition.
Something that Chef Gordon Ramsay has taught me, just through watching his show Hell's Kitchen, is that anyone can become a contender in a competition. This is something a lot of bigger dogs and well known type of people who are comfortable in their ways, don't take into consideration.
There are a lot of independent creators in the comic world, Novel world and the design industry that have a very special gift that can and will pull them through to the top. However, this will only happen if they can handle the heat in the kitchen and the pressure from the critics. Not to mention how they hold themselves at a respect type of level. These industries are tough, and like chef work, it can be very hard to compete with even those who are close to you. The key thing here is to not ruin something beautiful and make your decisions wisely, for any step could have you barreling through the wooden floor at full speed, crashing into a pile of who knows what.
Today, I have learned the lesson that everyone has a chance equal to what you have, no matter how great something is that you have tucked up your sleeve. In the game of life, a trap card isn't going to win you the levels of respect, loyalty, honor and most of all the game.
In other words, don't get a big head and take things for granted, but still have a wicked bite when it comes to your work speaking for itself and create that new form of humble.
- Sean
I just got finished watching one of the older seasons of Hell's Kitchen. Hell's Kitchen and the food network in general is probably one of my favorite stations by far, although I don't have cable. I watch a lot of these shows on Hulu, so I am normally behind on new things, but I still get to enjoy them all the same.
Anyways, the title of this post is "A different outlook on humble". Now a lot of people won't agree with me on this, but I think that Chef Gordon Ramsay is by far one of the main types of people who I believe deserve a very high level of respect from every person within the food industry and out. This man does what he does to seek perfection from others, within his passion. I too have gone this sort of route, yet not as intense with the cursing. I guess you could say I am more at a "calm professional business" status more than the type of person who flares colorful words out and about. Although I do have to say that is definitely one big way to push someone to their breaking point.
In all my works I strive for perfection everyday. Just starting out in the industries that I'm in, I can safely say that I have taken a leap from the standard " Hey new kid on the block" to really pushing for something not only unique and fresh, but something reasonable and realistic. It becomes difficult in these fields that I work in to reach that goal and to constantly compete on that level of competition.
Something that Chef Gordon Ramsay has taught me, just through watching his show Hell's Kitchen, is that anyone can become a contender in a competition. This is something a lot of bigger dogs and well known type of people who are comfortable in their ways, don't take into consideration.
There are a lot of independent creators in the comic world, Novel world and the design industry that have a very special gift that can and will pull them through to the top. However, this will only happen if they can handle the heat in the kitchen and the pressure from the critics. Not to mention how they hold themselves at a respect type of level. These industries are tough, and like chef work, it can be very hard to compete with even those who are close to you. The key thing here is to not ruin something beautiful and make your decisions wisely, for any step could have you barreling through the wooden floor at full speed, crashing into a pile of who knows what.
Today, I have learned the lesson that everyone has a chance equal to what you have, no matter how great something is that you have tucked up your sleeve. In the game of life, a trap card isn't going to win you the levels of respect, loyalty, honor and most of all the game.
In other words, don't get a big head and take things for granted, but still have a wicked bite when it comes to your work speaking for itself and create that new form of humble.
- Sean
Welcome to the site!
Hello to everyone in cyberspace!
Welcome to the site! Epic eh? So before I start posting like mad or actually dive into some sort of crazy rant on why I hate it when candy sticks to my teeth, I thought I would actually welcome you into the website.
I've had a lot of questions as of lately asking why I don't start my own blog. After a lot of thinking and consideration I have decided it's actually the best thing for me. No more strange updates of crazy purple chickens or why specific things confuse me about companies when the answer sits right in front of them. Although things really aren't as obvious as it seems, for someone in the business world who is on the higher side of things, you would think that it may be obvious.
That's me assuming of course, and we all know what happens when I assume, yep you guessed it. I am normally wrong. Which is why I like to spend a lot of my time dwelling in a deeper thought to bring all of you, the fans and people interested in my life and works, a bit of interesting news and even more interesting outlooks on life. A good one would be flamingos. Very scary and smelly creatures, to think they actually build their homes out of mud with their mouths. Very interesting indeed. This is probably why I would love to see a mutant zombie flamingo fighting against Predator.
Anyways, back on topic, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay in my mind, because we all know I really have no where else to go seeing how this is my mind. Unless of course I would try to take over another persons mind. Or maybe even a strange type of ocean creatures mind.Well this just became awkward. Stay epic, and enjoy!
- Sean
Welcome to the site! Epic eh? So before I start posting like mad or actually dive into some sort of crazy rant on why I hate it when candy sticks to my teeth, I thought I would actually welcome you into the website.
I've had a lot of questions as of lately asking why I don't start my own blog. After a lot of thinking and consideration I have decided it's actually the best thing for me. No more strange updates of crazy purple chickens or why specific things confuse me about companies when the answer sits right in front of them. Although things really aren't as obvious as it seems, for someone in the business world who is on the higher side of things, you would think that it may be obvious.
That's me assuming of course, and we all know what happens when I assume, yep you guessed it. I am normally wrong. Which is why I like to spend a lot of my time dwelling in a deeper thought to bring all of you, the fans and people interested in my life and works, a bit of interesting news and even more interesting outlooks on life. A good one would be flamingos. Very scary and smelly creatures, to think they actually build their homes out of mud with their mouths. Very interesting indeed. This is probably why I would love to see a mutant zombie flamingo fighting against Predator.
Anyways, back on topic, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay in my mind, because we all know I really have no where else to go seeing how this is my mind. Unless of course I would try to take over another persons mind. Or maybe even a strange type of ocean creatures mind.Well this just became awkward. Stay epic, and enjoy!
- Sean
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