Over the course of my work, you may see characters make some controversial statements. Understand that I write characters as they would be, and this has no bearing on my personal beliefs. But if you’re curious, the following is a concise detailing of my understanding and belief in light of Christendom. In brief, I align with the “Apostle’s Creed”. But here goes:
God
• I believe there is one true God
• I believe in God the Father, and His only Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
• I believe in the concept of the Trinity- that The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one and the same God: three distinct personalities in one being in complete harmony.
• I believe that all three were participants in the act of Creation as depicted in Genesis.
• I believe that God is still actively working in and guiding His creation and has been throughout history. It is by His will alone that we continue to exist.
• I believe in the aseity of God; that is, God’s existence that has no beginning or end and has complete self-sufficiency. His existence depends on nothing apart from Himself.
• I believe in His holiness; that is his pre-eminent uniqueness and loftiness above all else; that He is in a class all his own and none can come close to His being. It is because of this holiness that our sin is so treasonous, and justice must be served.
The Bible
• I believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God.
• I believe there is one correct way to interpret it, as with any literary work, and that there is a theme and harmony amongst the different books despite the different authors.
• I believe that the Bible is a reliable source of not only spiritual information and verified prophecy, but is validated by the different sciences of archaeology, anthropology, biology, astronomy as well as secular historians.
Jesus Christ
• I believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the prophesized prophet, priest, king, heavenly being and suffering servant foretold throughout the Old Testament.
• I believe Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived solely by the will of God.
• I believe Jesus Christ was completely God and completely human, yet without sin.
• I believe Jesus’ mission on earth was to live a perfect, sinless life on earth, to succeed where Adam failed, and then to die in our place, only to be resurrected and glorified thereafter.
• I believe he was completely sinless and died on a cross as a willing, innocent, unblemished sacrifice as was pictured by the Old Testament sacrifice of a perfect lamb. This was his mission from the start.
• I believe he rose from the dead after 3 days as he said he would. I believe he ascended into Heaven 40 days later and promised to return.
• I believe Jesus Christ was the image of and perfected the Old Testament Mosaic Law in his life and brought a new covenant into this world upon its completion. He succeeded where Adam failed, thus his title of “The Second Adam”.
• I believe Jesus Christ acts as a mediator between believers and the Father, acting on the behalf of those whom his blood has paid for and imparting his righteousness toward their account.
• I believe Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and has been given the authority to judge all the earth in the final days. He will judge every person according to everything they have ever thought, said or done.
Good
• I believe good is defined as anything in thought or deed that reflects the character of God- God is the standard of good.
• I believe only God can declare another being righteous as he is the author of it.
• I believe one cannot be declared ultimately good/righteous without faith in God and His promises as he has stated.
Sin
• I believe in Sin, which is any act, thought or deed in rebellion of, or contrast to the laws of God that stem from His holy character. Sin is thus a crime against God’s authority and nature. It is cosmic high treason.
• I believe the Bible and the Law within it identifies and condemns all sin in action and in thought. The Eternal Moral Law of God governs every human being regardless of belief and is the basis for human ethics.
• I believe all of humanity, every last individual, is guilty of sin and that no one can atone for his or her sin, just as no good work erases a crime.
• I believe that sin separates us from God, and that the just penalty for any sin is judgment and eternal separation, or damnation, from God.
• I believe that final dwelling place of sinners is a place called Hell, which is a literal place of eternal torment originally made to punish Satan and his rebellious angels.
• I believe that God does not look lightly upon sin, but that He is filled with intense fury over it and is justified in doing so.
Salvation
• I believe that Salvation from our sin, and its penalty, has been provided for by God alone.
• I believe Salvation is not something we can earn by good works or by any merit of ourselves, but is given entirely of God’s grace and mercy.
• I believe Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross - a perfect, sinless scapegoat- is the only payment God accepts in place of a person’s just condemnation.
• I believe the Bible teaches Repentance, which is to turn away from one’s path [of sin].
• I believe the Bible teaches Faith, which is putting one’s absolute trust in a person’s character and word.
• I believe the Bible teaches that Salvation comes only by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save us from the wrath of God and give us eternal life. Church attendance and any other religious acts have no bearing on salvation.
• I believe salvation is a free gift offered to any who will listen and believe.
• I believe rejection of Christ’s free gift of salvation means there is no alternative payment to enter into God’s favor, and thus Heaven. That person takes it upon his or herself to accept God’s just, absolute judgment and punishment of their sin which is Hell.
• I believe it is impossible for one to lose their salvation, as it is by God’s hand they are saved, and by God’s hand they are secured, and that no sin is greater than Christ’s sacrifice.
Saints
• I believe that all believers are made Saints, which means they have been set apart as sacred.
• I believe that when a person is genuinely saved, they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, who begins working on transforming their heart and revealing truth to them via Scripture.
• I believe a believer’s heart desires will change toward the things of God after salvation and they will begin showing what is known as “Fruits of the Spirit”.
• I believe a saint is still capable of sin, but will be in a process of perpetual improvement and cleansing throughout his or her earthly life called “sanctification” as the Holy Spirit re-molds them further to resemble the character of Jesus Christ.
• I believe that a truly saved person will not be able to participate in what the Bible explicitly lists as sinful acts without guilt. I believe that God will eventually break that person’s will until they repent from that sin and turn back to Him.
• I believe a consistent lack of change and conformity to the nature of God and His laws shows a lack of fruit and a false conversion.
• I believe in the priesthood of all believers, which means that all who believe can freely pray (communicate) with God, make requests and ask for forgiveness of sins at any time.
• I believe that all who believe are adopted as sons and daughters into God’s household and are made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
The Church
• I believe the Church is the assembly of believers together for ministry and outreach. It is not a building.
• I believe the Church is meant to be the means by which Christ reaches out to the world’s physical and spiritual needs today.
• I believe it is the primary responsibility of the Church to uncompromisingly preach the Gospel in Spirit and in Truth.
• I believe it is the responsibility of the Church to train, teach, encourage, and when necessary, correct believers.
• I believe each member in the Church should actively pursue a means of serving others instead of merely attending. This can be giving lovingly, sacrificially and generously of one’s time, money and possessions to help others.
• I believe it is necessary for a believer to attend church when and where possible to better their training and growth, by learning and serving, explicitly or implicitly, and to be held accountable for their actions.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
The Worst Job I Ever Had
I’ve had a pretty wide variety of jobs in my short life with varying degrees of quality and hardship. But it’s remarkable, no matter the difficulty of the job, how much difference management makes in whether a working environment is pleasant. Anyone who has been employed could likely tell you the same.
I’ve worked in machine shops and cut sheet metal. I’ve been a groundskeeper. I’ve worked numerous retail and sales jobs and dealt with customers from hell. I’ve been a business auditor. I’ve scrubbed pots and pans in cafeteria kitchens until my hands bled. I spent 6 months in Iraq with the Air Force handling explosives and “dodging mortars” in the mud (which humorously enough was a vacation compared to my home station at that time). Heck, the diversity of jobs the Air Force has tasked me to do is mind-boggling. They’ve had me on security detail sitting in a 7’x6’ box for 14 hours and also had me staring at penises and collecting urine samples for the Drug Reduction Program. But by far I consider the worst job I ever had to be when I stocked groceries.
Understand that this entry is not some pissing contest where people compete to see whose story can top the other guy's (see Brian Regan and the "That Ain't Nuthin'" segment of his stand-up). I hate those social interactions and I should hope you do as well. I am under no illusion that I have been dealt some grand, incomparable injustice in my employment history or that I've suffered somehow more than anyone else. I can guarantee you my father worked worse jobs than I ever have. Now that that is out of the way.
When I was 18/19 (I can’t recall my age exactly, but it was either the Autumn of 1999 or 2000) I worked for a supermarket chain in Florida called “Publix”. Many of my friends and family from Florida adore Publix for a variety of reasons, and to be fair, I can’t deny that Publix does put out quality products. However, having worked for them, I have a bit of a bias. I loathe that chain for how I was treated and refuse to shop there when I visit home. I off-handedly refer to Publix as “the concentration camp of grocery stores”. Excuse the hyperbole, but that’s how I feel about it.
It started when I applied to be a grocery stocker, or whatever the official term is. My application process was fairly smooth and I was interviewed by the Assistant Manager (hereafter referred to as “AM”), who was a pleasant enough fellow. We talked about your basic things during an interview, such as hours, pay, and what days I might be available. I specifically stated that I would not work Sunday, as to allow me to attend church. He agreed and signed me up, no problem. He also let me know that they did not hire people for full time employment right away- they had to go through a part-time probationary period to show their worth and then would be elevated to full time pay with benefits. Fair enough. After that, he gave me my work schedule and let me know when to report in. No problems there as far as I could tell.
According to my schedule, I still had a few days until my new job began, so I went about taking care of things and generally goofing off as I had always done. But then I got a call from Publix, asking why I was not at work. Naturally I was confused as I was going by the schedule the AM had given me. But I went in to try to clear things up.
I was introduced to the Grocery Manager, Mr. Dana Potter. A Grocery Manager is basically responsible for getting the product on the sales floor. I explained my confusion to Mr. Potter and how I was going by the schedule given to me. He explained that, as the Grocery Manager, he made the schedule for the stockers and to disregard the one given to me by the AM. I was a bit exasperated, but I took it in stride and made note of my new work schedule which had me working nights- which I had no problem with. What shocked me were the hours. I was easily working full time on part-time status. I was told this was part of the probationary period and that I would still be paid hourly but no full-time benefits. Given that I didn’t have any pressing schedule, I went with it. After all, those full time hours were what I had wanted anyway.
My work began fairly slowly as any job does as one picks up the ebb and flow of the workplace. I was introduced to the other stockers and the Stock Manager (I don’t recall the official title- only that he was the supervisor for the stockers). And from there I was put to work. They stuck me in the glass jar aisle for about a month which made me sorta slow as I tried not to break things and also figure out where stuff went.
My hours were much longer than the schedule dictated. It went far beyond full time work and I regularly made overtime pay. Hours for reporting in frequently, unpredictably changed. Sometimes I would report in at 10pm, others 2am. But nearly every day I would leave work around 12-14 hours later. Often times I would bleed over into the middle of the sales day, stocking groceries for customers when I should have been home hours before the store opened. The extra pay was nice, but the instability was not. Even so, this was manageable.
As I said earlier, management can make a huge difference in a working environment and I encountered a pretty hostile atmosphere. Even though I was part time, my work schedule was not negotiable and was always under threat of job loss. Once I got sick and was puking in an empty box. I couldn’t go home. Another time, my father had been hospitalized for a few days and needed me to pick him up early in the morning. I was told I couldn’t go get him unless I finished stocking. They told me to suck it up.
And then there was the issue with Sunday. As I said, I was hired with the AM clearly understanding that was a non-work day for me. Mr. Potter and the Stock Manager did not agree. They regularly took me aside and tried to press me to come in on Sunday. They told me how the other workers were resentful that I was off Sunday when they worked. They told me things such as “I think God will understand if you have to work.” This happened time and again, but I held my ground.
Speaking of the other workers- boy, what a crew. Some of them were civil, but most were passive aggressive. It was not a polite environment. I did find out that many of them did the same job for Wal-Mart and that was not much better than Publix in terms of work environment. So if you worked for Wal-mart, especially in stock, you have my sympathy.
All this paired with a pretty unsafe working environment. Maybe it’s me, but I always wondered how they didn’t get in trouble with OSHA. Anyone who has stocked groceries can tell you that stores over stack their pallets. These things are seriously top heavy and packed so full that they bind them in saran wrap, put metal cages around them and secure them with chains just so the pallets don’t burst. We would pull these teetering, oversized, top heavy things two at a time via pallet jacks out of the back of a tractor trailer onto a hydraulic lift 5 feet in the air. This lift was barely wide enough for two pallets and we were standing with our feet under them just to make sure we didn’t fall off the lift. Imagine standing on the edge of a cliff with a 300lb teetering mass touching your nose and you’ll get the picture.
Another time I was tasked to collect all the metal cages from the pallets that had accumulated over time and stack them all onto one pallet, bind them up with chains and send them on their way. Each cage weighed, if memory serves, anywhere from 30-50lbs. And I had an entire pallet of them fall on me. And I’m lying there under this mass of iron bars, bleeding and calling for help, and nobody is around. I managed to maneuver my way out, but that sucked.
I put up with this for 6 months. Christmas was coming up very soon and I had been watching the schedule very closely to see what my hours might be. Typically, schedules were posted a week or two in advance to allow for planning, etc. just like any other job. I had a girlfriend at the time and wanted to see when I could spend some time with her. But the schedule remained blank for weeks.
I asked Mr. Potter about the hours, whether I was working, or what was going on. He assured me to be patient and that the schedule would be posted soon. So I waited and still nothing came. I asked again and was given the same answer. And then Christmas arrived.
Since I had no hours to work on the schedule, and no consistent timeframe to work to allow me to predict when to report in, (remember, my hours fluctuated often for no apparent reason) I went by the Grocery Manager’s schedule just the way Mr. Potter had told me 6 months prior. And this schedule had me on a 5-day Christmas stretch of time off.
I took my time off and had a good time. But then five days turned into a week and I had no word from work. No phone calls or anything came my way. I went in during the day to get answers but nobody had any and my immediate bosses worked nights. So one night I went in around 2am. That seemed to be the most reliable time to potentially catch anyone at work. I was greeted by the Stock Manager who, with no hesitation, and even a measure of satisfaction in his voice, told me I was fired because I hadn’t shown up for work. I told him why, and he told me to take it up with Mr. Potter who just happened to be unavailable. I knew I had been screwed so I left. I didn’t want to deal with Mr. Potter or Publix any more. I had had enough. So I left and never heard a word from anyone there again.
So I was indirectly fired for following the schedule I was told to follow on my first day of work. Yeah, it’s a bit of a sore spot.
I’ve worked in machine shops and cut sheet metal. I’ve been a groundskeeper. I’ve worked numerous retail and sales jobs and dealt with customers from hell. I’ve been a business auditor. I’ve scrubbed pots and pans in cafeteria kitchens until my hands bled. I spent 6 months in Iraq with the Air Force handling explosives and “dodging mortars” in the mud (which humorously enough was a vacation compared to my home station at that time). Heck, the diversity of jobs the Air Force has tasked me to do is mind-boggling. They’ve had me on security detail sitting in a 7’x6’ box for 14 hours and also had me staring at penises and collecting urine samples for the Drug Reduction Program. But by far I consider the worst job I ever had to be when I stocked groceries.
Understand that this entry is not some pissing contest where people compete to see whose story can top the other guy's (see Brian Regan and the "That Ain't Nuthin'" segment of his stand-up). I hate those social interactions and I should hope you do as well. I am under no illusion that I have been dealt some grand, incomparable injustice in my employment history or that I've suffered somehow more than anyone else. I can guarantee you my father worked worse jobs than I ever have. Now that that is out of the way.
When I was 18/19 (I can’t recall my age exactly, but it was either the Autumn of 1999 or 2000) I worked for a supermarket chain in Florida called “Publix”. Many of my friends and family from Florida adore Publix for a variety of reasons, and to be fair, I can’t deny that Publix does put out quality products. However, having worked for them, I have a bit of a bias. I loathe that chain for how I was treated and refuse to shop there when I visit home. I off-handedly refer to Publix as “the concentration camp of grocery stores”. Excuse the hyperbole, but that’s how I feel about it.
It started when I applied to be a grocery stocker, or whatever the official term is. My application process was fairly smooth and I was interviewed by the Assistant Manager (hereafter referred to as “AM”), who was a pleasant enough fellow. We talked about your basic things during an interview, such as hours, pay, and what days I might be available. I specifically stated that I would not work Sunday, as to allow me to attend church. He agreed and signed me up, no problem. He also let me know that they did not hire people for full time employment right away- they had to go through a part-time probationary period to show their worth and then would be elevated to full time pay with benefits. Fair enough. After that, he gave me my work schedule and let me know when to report in. No problems there as far as I could tell.
According to my schedule, I still had a few days until my new job began, so I went about taking care of things and generally goofing off as I had always done. But then I got a call from Publix, asking why I was not at work. Naturally I was confused as I was going by the schedule the AM had given me. But I went in to try to clear things up.
I was introduced to the Grocery Manager, Mr. Dana Potter. A Grocery Manager is basically responsible for getting the product on the sales floor. I explained my confusion to Mr. Potter and how I was going by the schedule given to me. He explained that, as the Grocery Manager, he made the schedule for the stockers and to disregard the one given to me by the AM. I was a bit exasperated, but I took it in stride and made note of my new work schedule which had me working nights- which I had no problem with. What shocked me were the hours. I was easily working full time on part-time status. I was told this was part of the probationary period and that I would still be paid hourly but no full-time benefits. Given that I didn’t have any pressing schedule, I went with it. After all, those full time hours were what I had wanted anyway.
My work began fairly slowly as any job does as one picks up the ebb and flow of the workplace. I was introduced to the other stockers and the Stock Manager (I don’t recall the official title- only that he was the supervisor for the stockers). And from there I was put to work. They stuck me in the glass jar aisle for about a month which made me sorta slow as I tried not to break things and also figure out where stuff went.
My hours were much longer than the schedule dictated. It went far beyond full time work and I regularly made overtime pay. Hours for reporting in frequently, unpredictably changed. Sometimes I would report in at 10pm, others 2am. But nearly every day I would leave work around 12-14 hours later. Often times I would bleed over into the middle of the sales day, stocking groceries for customers when I should have been home hours before the store opened. The extra pay was nice, but the instability was not. Even so, this was manageable.
As I said earlier, management can make a huge difference in a working environment and I encountered a pretty hostile atmosphere. Even though I was part time, my work schedule was not negotiable and was always under threat of job loss. Once I got sick and was puking in an empty box. I couldn’t go home. Another time, my father had been hospitalized for a few days and needed me to pick him up early in the morning. I was told I couldn’t go get him unless I finished stocking. They told me to suck it up.
And then there was the issue with Sunday. As I said, I was hired with the AM clearly understanding that was a non-work day for me. Mr. Potter and the Stock Manager did not agree. They regularly took me aside and tried to press me to come in on Sunday. They told me how the other workers were resentful that I was off Sunday when they worked. They told me things such as “I think God will understand if you have to work.” This happened time and again, but I held my ground.
Speaking of the other workers- boy, what a crew. Some of them were civil, but most were passive aggressive. It was not a polite environment. I did find out that many of them did the same job for Wal-Mart and that was not much better than Publix in terms of work environment. So if you worked for Wal-mart, especially in stock, you have my sympathy.
All this paired with a pretty unsafe working environment. Maybe it’s me, but I always wondered how they didn’t get in trouble with OSHA. Anyone who has stocked groceries can tell you that stores over stack their pallets. These things are seriously top heavy and packed so full that they bind them in saran wrap, put metal cages around them and secure them with chains just so the pallets don’t burst. We would pull these teetering, oversized, top heavy things two at a time via pallet jacks out of the back of a tractor trailer onto a hydraulic lift 5 feet in the air. This lift was barely wide enough for two pallets and we were standing with our feet under them just to make sure we didn’t fall off the lift. Imagine standing on the edge of a cliff with a 300lb teetering mass touching your nose and you’ll get the picture.
Another time I was tasked to collect all the metal cages from the pallets that had accumulated over time and stack them all onto one pallet, bind them up with chains and send them on their way. Each cage weighed, if memory serves, anywhere from 30-50lbs. And I had an entire pallet of them fall on me. And I’m lying there under this mass of iron bars, bleeding and calling for help, and nobody is around. I managed to maneuver my way out, but that sucked.
I put up with this for 6 months. Christmas was coming up very soon and I had been watching the schedule very closely to see what my hours might be. Typically, schedules were posted a week or two in advance to allow for planning, etc. just like any other job. I had a girlfriend at the time and wanted to see when I could spend some time with her. But the schedule remained blank for weeks.
I asked Mr. Potter about the hours, whether I was working, or what was going on. He assured me to be patient and that the schedule would be posted soon. So I waited and still nothing came. I asked again and was given the same answer. And then Christmas arrived.
Since I had no hours to work on the schedule, and no consistent timeframe to work to allow me to predict when to report in, (remember, my hours fluctuated often for no apparent reason) I went by the Grocery Manager’s schedule just the way Mr. Potter had told me 6 months prior. And this schedule had me on a 5-day Christmas stretch of time off.
I took my time off and had a good time. But then five days turned into a week and I had no word from work. No phone calls or anything came my way. I went in during the day to get answers but nobody had any and my immediate bosses worked nights. So one night I went in around 2am. That seemed to be the most reliable time to potentially catch anyone at work. I was greeted by the Stock Manager who, with no hesitation, and even a measure of satisfaction in his voice, told me I was fired because I hadn’t shown up for work. I told him why, and he told me to take it up with Mr. Potter who just happened to be unavailable. I knew I had been screwed so I left. I didn’t want to deal with Mr. Potter or Publix any more. I had had enough. So I left and never heard a word from anyone there again.
So I was indirectly fired for following the schedule I was told to follow on my first day of work. Yeah, it’s a bit of a sore spot.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Convention Perspective
I had the opportunity to attend A-Kon, an anime/sci-fi/comic book convention, this past weekend in Dallas. It was a pretty large event and had a tremendous turnout. The entire experience for me was filled with realizations, lessons learned and milestones. To say I had fun would be an accurate statement, but to say I enjoyed myself completely would not. The latter is not necessarily anyone's fault; I think it may be, as my old compatriots used to accuse me, that I'm thinking too much. But since that's what I do and how I write this blog, I'm at least going to put down my thoughts here.
Texas is an interesting place. For the most part, I've enjoyed my stay in Texas; They are a unique sort of people and approach things with an enthusiasm rarely found elsewhere in the US. They are also more traditional in their approach to societal roles and problems, which might be viewed as backwards by people from elsewhere in the country, but to be honest, I usually like it. It feels secure, orderly and acknowledges the wisdom of those who came before and whom established those traditions. Well, some do. But ah, now I'm trailing off. Bottom line, they have their problems like anyone else, but they are traditional.
Nowhere is this traditional approach to societal roles more apparent than the dynamic disparity between the "jocks" and the "nerds", or should I say, the nerds and everyone else. Being nerdy has become somewhat normalized and accepted in the past decade or so in the US. When I was growing up, nerdiness usually meant one was isolated from the rest of the popular group for any combination of an obscure hobby with intelligence, obsessive traits and physical awkwardness. A nerd was the little guy; the oppressed minority in some cases and most assuredly not cool. Now it seems, through a variety of factors, that a significant portion of people everywhere, to some varying degree, has a bit of nerd interest within them. No longer is it limited to those with "societal handicaps". Whether they are a casual video gamer or got into sci-fi or whatever (the situations are too numerous to list or speculate) it seems, especially this new generation, is populated by nerds.
This blurring of the line defining the deviant nerd does not seem to have taken root in Texas. In my experience, if it isn't sports, pop music, or sex, most people likely won't know it. Everything is big in Texas, as they say, which includes divides between groups. And here the nerd seems to be every bit the stereotype (minus the pocket protector and horn-rimmed glasses) we've all cemented into our mass consciousness.
There were interesting reactions to the nerds attending by the people who were not. My own sister-in-law got heckled as we left the tram station. People were quite literally staring wide-eyed and confused at the masses of costumed attendees. Those brave enough to ask had no clue what "anime" or japanese animation was.
My reasons for attending conventions(cons) has shifted over the years. Nowadays I attend mostly for insider panels conducted by industry professionals and art lessons, etc. At this con I couldn't help but notice the significant number of people who attended panels regarding self-publishing or hoped to somehow break into the comic book/video game industry. While it's only natural to want to have a job where you can do what you love and/or play and get paid for it, I couldn't help but feel sorry for a lot of these people for a variety of reasons.
As one panelist stated, everyone thinks that they are a good writer, with the unspoken, understood clause afterward of "they likely are not". Everyone in the West who loves fiction seems to want to tell a story; the question is whether that story is worth telling. A person is free to write and create what he wishes for himself, by all means- every artist should write what they would want to read. Just don't expect anyone else to want to read it.
A successful story needs to truly stand out in some way and draw people in. The crashing anime industry should be a testament to this. There is a ton of crappy, knock-off, formulaic anime out there. The old adage of "every story has already been told" still rings true, but the themes can be re-worked into interesting ways. When I was a teen, anime was rare and as an enthusiast for the art style alone, I would watch whatever I could find, even if it was lousy (I even watched Sailor Moon to a degree, which for the uninformed is meant for girls). Now, anime is everywhere. What was once exotic and trendy has become commonplace and its merits able to be evaluated more objectively. As an aspiring writer/artist I hold myself to the same uncompromising standard. There is an ultra-surplus of writing and art, so how do I stand out? (As an aside I highly recommend the book "How NOT To Draw Manga". It is as informative as it is hilarious and brilliantly derisive.)
My favorite panel was probably the one where they began by warning that they were going to disillusion everyone regarding the industry, writing and self-publishing by giving cold hard facts. I do so love the truth. You have to face the truth to wash away the smoke of ignorant wishing so you can see if there is any substance beneath it.
One of the things I noted about all the creators and panelists was that they all had excellent communication skills and passion for what they did. I think this is absolutely essential to being able to tell a good story, let alone to market yourself. I saw so many attendees who could barely speak up and form a question or simply express themselves clearly. Perhaps I'm writing them off too soon, but it seems to be a key external defining trait that divides the doers from the pipe dreamers.
Right now you may be thinking, "Well, you haven't published anything either," and that's a very fair rebuttal. It also ties into one of the realizations I had this weekend. I think I have all the tools I need to do my projects. I keep waiting for that perfect moment when all my ducks are in a row and I know everything I need to. I think I've been at that point for awhile now and have been too hesitant or lazy to just take the leap. I did learn one new trick for my art (and I found that apparently I'm already at an intermediate level for Copic markers. Who knew?) But in regard to storytelling and publishing, I learned absolutely nothing new. That's not to say the panels were bad- far from it. They were very well done and communicated great information. It's just I already knew the information and that means I have no excuse not to have begun.
Reaching back, more of the reason I pitied a lot of these fans was that they seemed so hopeless. Nerds by reputation are obsessive about something. What I saw was that their obsession seemed to define them- not in the way people latch onto their jobs or creativity or something. I'm talking about an obsession that produces nothing. It is an obsession that defines them based on what someone else produces. I'm not sure what to think of all that right now. I did see a couple guys who embodied the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons which also made me laugh and despair at the same time. He had the cynicism, the unmerited condescension and criticism, the shorts, the gut... you get the idea. No ponytail though; just a bald spot like friar tuck. It reminded me of when I attended BJU around 2001 and I saw (completely serious and fully represented) a group of 1950's-esque stereotypical nerds, with the glasses and calculator and everything, talking about Star Trek. I assume they traveled in packs to guard against predators.
On to other things.
Going to a big convention such as this is a sensory overload. There is so much to do and see and, tying into what I said before regarding anime, what once was exotic and rare is now commonplace. I'm sure there was a lot of good stuff, from artists to merchandise that I simply overlooked due to the sheer volume of its kind present. There were a ton of cosplayers there as well with, as is typical, a varying degree of quality to the costumes (and to the appropriateness of said cosplayer parading around in said costume). What has become a cringing joke regarding obese, pimply nerds dressed up in skin tight, revealing outfits from their favorite fiction held true at A-Kon. But there were also the leaner, attractive ones who pulled off their costumes well. The latter I used to be able to enjoy and even look forward to in past years. This year I could not, and I realized why: I'm old.
Seeing a revealing, meticulous, fantastically crafted costume of a fictional character worn by a fit, attractive woman is the stuff of male nerd dreams. However, the generation after me has started to grow up, and those young girls are taking up the looks of their heroines as well. At times it can be difficult to assess the age of a particular attractive woman, a term known as "jailbait". Young girls try to look older and more mature while older women try to retain the beauty of their youth. So while you may see a female wearing what one might otherwise consider sexy or just interesting, the ambiguous age ruins the experience. I'm not sure if there is anything more unnerving at my age (and it'll only get worse) than being unsure if you're staring at a minor and thus are in the "creepy older guy" role. Given that I could confidently assess that a large majority of the convention was made up by teenagers, I simply put my blinders on and didn't look at anyone. This probably made me look like a jerk, or perhaps just uncomfortable as I navigated the crowds trying not to look at people.
The Dealer's Room was something I have to admit I was disappointed with. Perhaps I'm showing my age or obscure taste, but I couldn't really find anything I liked there. Conventions are odd experiences if you're anything like me. I did pick up a few items, along with a hint of guilt for the purchase. Since conventions are such rarely attended events for me, I almost treat them the way a person who doesn't live in Florida or California would approach visiting Disney World. At Disney World, you will often pay twice the cost what you would typically consider paying for merchandise because, after all "It's a special occasion". I admit I reluctantly overpaid significantly on a model kit for that very justification. But other than that, I didn't find anything I liked save for a butt-load of novelty t-shirts, of which I really don't need any further.
Nerd stuff aside, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Dallas. I have to say I was very disappointed with that place. Granted, the convention had made a deal with the hotel for special rates, but we were stuck in what I consider a shoddy room. It was clean, sure, but from the start, there were problems such as unmarked wet paint on the door which got all over my wife as we entered. The walls were paper thin and we could hear everything going on in the room adjacent to us, which got worse at 3am as I was woken up by loud, drunken nerds cackling and hitting the wall so hard that it knocked my bed around. My wife commented in her exhausted delirium that she had "never wanted to strangle an otaku so much." I complained a couple times and requested a reduced rate for the room. I told the very kind clerk that I realized I was paying in part for the location of the hotel, but that I felt I "could get better quality going to a Best Western off the interstate." He cringed noticeably and knocked the cost down a good chunk. Got a free breakfast which was nice too.
Speaking of location, given we were downtown and surrounded by companies and banking institutions, I was amazed at the number of homeless people there, particularly at the tram station that ran through the center. We gave a lot of money to a variety of people we encountered, which is fine, but I guess I'm just not used to that. Granted, going to a big city is always an eye opener for me. I know there are homeless people who are just down on their luck and of no fault of their own necessarily, ("The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike") but I was also amazed at the volume of them who seemed to literally be mentally unstable. On a humorous note, there was even a homeless guy yelling at another homeless guy across the tracks for "going through his trash". I suppose living a life like that could be very psychologically unhinging over time so it may be one of those "walk a mile in their shoes" situations.
All in all, A-Kon was a nice experience and unusually exhausting. Maybe I'll attend again next year.
Texas is an interesting place. For the most part, I've enjoyed my stay in Texas; They are a unique sort of people and approach things with an enthusiasm rarely found elsewhere in the US. They are also more traditional in their approach to societal roles and problems, which might be viewed as backwards by people from elsewhere in the country, but to be honest, I usually like it. It feels secure, orderly and acknowledges the wisdom of those who came before and whom established those traditions. Well, some do. But ah, now I'm trailing off. Bottom line, they have their problems like anyone else, but they are traditional.
Nowhere is this traditional approach to societal roles more apparent than the dynamic disparity between the "jocks" and the "nerds", or should I say, the nerds and everyone else. Being nerdy has become somewhat normalized and accepted in the past decade or so in the US. When I was growing up, nerdiness usually meant one was isolated from the rest of the popular group for any combination of an obscure hobby with intelligence, obsessive traits and physical awkwardness. A nerd was the little guy; the oppressed minority in some cases and most assuredly not cool. Now it seems, through a variety of factors, that a significant portion of people everywhere, to some varying degree, has a bit of nerd interest within them. No longer is it limited to those with "societal handicaps". Whether they are a casual video gamer or got into sci-fi or whatever (the situations are too numerous to list or speculate) it seems, especially this new generation, is populated by nerds.
This blurring of the line defining the deviant nerd does not seem to have taken root in Texas. In my experience, if it isn't sports, pop music, or sex, most people likely won't know it. Everything is big in Texas, as they say, which includes divides between groups. And here the nerd seems to be every bit the stereotype (minus the pocket protector and horn-rimmed glasses) we've all cemented into our mass consciousness.
There were interesting reactions to the nerds attending by the people who were not. My own sister-in-law got heckled as we left the tram station. People were quite literally staring wide-eyed and confused at the masses of costumed attendees. Those brave enough to ask had no clue what "anime" or japanese animation was.
My reasons for attending conventions(cons) has shifted over the years. Nowadays I attend mostly for insider panels conducted by industry professionals and art lessons, etc. At this con I couldn't help but notice the significant number of people who attended panels regarding self-publishing or hoped to somehow break into the comic book/video game industry. While it's only natural to want to have a job where you can do what you love and/or play and get paid for it, I couldn't help but feel sorry for a lot of these people for a variety of reasons.
As one panelist stated, everyone thinks that they are a good writer, with the unspoken, understood clause afterward of "they likely are not". Everyone in the West who loves fiction seems to want to tell a story; the question is whether that story is worth telling. A person is free to write and create what he wishes for himself, by all means- every artist should write what they would want to read. Just don't expect anyone else to want to read it.
A successful story needs to truly stand out in some way and draw people in. The crashing anime industry should be a testament to this. There is a ton of crappy, knock-off, formulaic anime out there. The old adage of "every story has already been told" still rings true, but the themes can be re-worked into interesting ways. When I was a teen, anime was rare and as an enthusiast for the art style alone, I would watch whatever I could find, even if it was lousy (I even watched Sailor Moon to a degree, which for the uninformed is meant for girls). Now, anime is everywhere. What was once exotic and trendy has become commonplace and its merits able to be evaluated more objectively. As an aspiring writer/artist I hold myself to the same uncompromising standard. There is an ultra-surplus of writing and art, so how do I stand out? (As an aside I highly recommend the book "How NOT To Draw Manga". It is as informative as it is hilarious and brilliantly derisive.)
My favorite panel was probably the one where they began by warning that they were going to disillusion everyone regarding the industry, writing and self-publishing by giving cold hard facts. I do so love the truth. You have to face the truth to wash away the smoke of ignorant wishing so you can see if there is any substance beneath it.
One of the things I noted about all the creators and panelists was that they all had excellent communication skills and passion for what they did. I think this is absolutely essential to being able to tell a good story, let alone to market yourself. I saw so many attendees who could barely speak up and form a question or simply express themselves clearly. Perhaps I'm writing them off too soon, but it seems to be a key external defining trait that divides the doers from the pipe dreamers.
Right now you may be thinking, "Well, you haven't published anything either," and that's a very fair rebuttal. It also ties into one of the realizations I had this weekend. I think I have all the tools I need to do my projects. I keep waiting for that perfect moment when all my ducks are in a row and I know everything I need to. I think I've been at that point for awhile now and have been too hesitant or lazy to just take the leap. I did learn one new trick for my art (and I found that apparently I'm already at an intermediate level for Copic markers. Who knew?) But in regard to storytelling and publishing, I learned absolutely nothing new. That's not to say the panels were bad- far from it. They were very well done and communicated great information. It's just I already knew the information and that means I have no excuse not to have begun.
Reaching back, more of the reason I pitied a lot of these fans was that they seemed so hopeless. Nerds by reputation are obsessive about something. What I saw was that their obsession seemed to define them- not in the way people latch onto their jobs or creativity or something. I'm talking about an obsession that produces nothing. It is an obsession that defines them based on what someone else produces. I'm not sure what to think of all that right now. I did see a couple guys who embodied the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons which also made me laugh and despair at the same time. He had the cynicism, the unmerited condescension and criticism, the shorts, the gut... you get the idea. No ponytail though; just a bald spot like friar tuck. It reminded me of when I attended BJU around 2001 and I saw (completely serious and fully represented) a group of 1950's-esque stereotypical nerds, with the glasses and calculator and everything, talking about Star Trek. I assume they traveled in packs to guard against predators.
On to other things.
Going to a big convention such as this is a sensory overload. There is so much to do and see and, tying into what I said before regarding anime, what once was exotic and rare is now commonplace. I'm sure there was a lot of good stuff, from artists to merchandise that I simply overlooked due to the sheer volume of its kind present. There were a ton of cosplayers there as well with, as is typical, a varying degree of quality to the costumes (and to the appropriateness of said cosplayer parading around in said costume). What has become a cringing joke regarding obese, pimply nerds dressed up in skin tight, revealing outfits from their favorite fiction held true at A-Kon. But there were also the leaner, attractive ones who pulled off their costumes well. The latter I used to be able to enjoy and even look forward to in past years. This year I could not, and I realized why: I'm old.
Seeing a revealing, meticulous, fantastically crafted costume of a fictional character worn by a fit, attractive woman is the stuff of male nerd dreams. However, the generation after me has started to grow up, and those young girls are taking up the looks of their heroines as well. At times it can be difficult to assess the age of a particular attractive woman, a term known as "jailbait". Young girls try to look older and more mature while older women try to retain the beauty of their youth. So while you may see a female wearing what one might otherwise consider sexy or just interesting, the ambiguous age ruins the experience. I'm not sure if there is anything more unnerving at my age (and it'll only get worse) than being unsure if you're staring at a minor and thus are in the "creepy older guy" role. Given that I could confidently assess that a large majority of the convention was made up by teenagers, I simply put my blinders on and didn't look at anyone. This probably made me look like a jerk, or perhaps just uncomfortable as I navigated the crowds trying not to look at people.
The Dealer's Room was something I have to admit I was disappointed with. Perhaps I'm showing my age or obscure taste, but I couldn't really find anything I liked there. Conventions are odd experiences if you're anything like me. I did pick up a few items, along with a hint of guilt for the purchase. Since conventions are such rarely attended events for me, I almost treat them the way a person who doesn't live in Florida or California would approach visiting Disney World. At Disney World, you will often pay twice the cost what you would typically consider paying for merchandise because, after all "It's a special occasion". I admit I reluctantly overpaid significantly on a model kit for that very justification. But other than that, I didn't find anything I liked save for a butt-load of novelty t-shirts, of which I really don't need any further.
Nerd stuff aside, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Dallas. I have to say I was very disappointed with that place. Granted, the convention had made a deal with the hotel for special rates, but we were stuck in what I consider a shoddy room. It was clean, sure, but from the start, there were problems such as unmarked wet paint on the door which got all over my wife as we entered. The walls were paper thin and we could hear everything going on in the room adjacent to us, which got worse at 3am as I was woken up by loud, drunken nerds cackling and hitting the wall so hard that it knocked my bed around. My wife commented in her exhausted delirium that she had "never wanted to strangle an otaku so much." I complained a couple times and requested a reduced rate for the room. I told the very kind clerk that I realized I was paying in part for the location of the hotel, but that I felt I "could get better quality going to a Best Western off the interstate." He cringed noticeably and knocked the cost down a good chunk. Got a free breakfast which was nice too.
Speaking of location, given we were downtown and surrounded by companies and banking institutions, I was amazed at the number of homeless people there, particularly at the tram station that ran through the center. We gave a lot of money to a variety of people we encountered, which is fine, but I guess I'm just not used to that. Granted, going to a big city is always an eye opener for me. I know there are homeless people who are just down on their luck and of no fault of their own necessarily, ("The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike") but I was also amazed at the volume of them who seemed to literally be mentally unstable. On a humorous note, there was even a homeless guy yelling at another homeless guy across the tracks for "going through his trash". I suppose living a life like that could be very psychologically unhinging over time so it may be one of those "walk a mile in their shoes" situations.
All in all, A-Kon was a nice experience and unusually exhausting. Maybe I'll attend again next year.
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