Dandy, Pandy, Wandy, that's all he ever talks about

Yay! Panda! I wanted to draw another Panda, so this is all you get. I don't really have anything to say about it except that your guess is as good as mine as to what is in his hands.

Well, I'm going to be gone to my family's annual Super Vacation Trip-tacular for this summer. And as an added downside, this year it will be more time in the car and less out! But you know how road trips go, it's not about where you're going, but the fast food and soft drinks on the way. YAY America! -I decided I would talk about this now, since it directly relates to Panda Bears.

Summer Time Pests

Another great thing I forgot to mention about Summer in Sunny Southern CA, are the bugs that well, bug me. And flies are the worst. I set out to solve this fly problem by making a flip book on the subject. I found that the only thing you need to solve your bug problem is a gun!

Unlike my last animation video, this whole thing took me about 2 hours all together. And scanning all the little flip book pages into the computer took the longest of all the steps.

If you couldn't tell I have done more posts this month than I have for a long time. The desire to post more has not only come from having more time, but also because I am going to be on a long vacation next month and won't be on here for awhile.

So, hope you enjoyed the video. I usually like to put these kind of things on here before I put them on facebook, but this time I got it up there first. The downside to putting them up other places first is less comments over here. 'Cuz who seriously checks their facebook, right? Facebook is a summer time pest!! Where's my Assault rifle?!!

"Hey, it's your buddy John!" -John, Wall-E

My good buddy John Fisher is quite the artist, and he gives me some masterpieces from his vast collection of sermon-time drawings. Picking out some of the ones that looked like they had some great interpretations I decided to do my own.

Look at the first one. Now, I don't know if you see exactly like what you see, but here's what I got: A dinosaur (that's obvious), in a boxish-looking thing, with a caveman with a hammer on top of the box. Oh yeah, and a flying, hairy fart ball...don't forget about that.

So looking at all these things I asked myself, What could all these things mean? Figuring John had some deep meaning behind the art, that he didn't tell me, I knew I needed to find out what it was. The final conclusion I came to was The Best Dinosaur Trap Ever! It's so obvious! Once I came to this marvelous understanding, it was easy to create my own depiction of the scene.

There you have it! Dead dinosaur, caveman, trap, but WHAT'S THIS?? I guess I forgot about the flying hairy fart ball!! Oh well, I replaced it for a spear instead I suppose.

If you couldn't tell John loves dinosaurs, so following a similar pattern to the last one, I came up with my own version of what I call Krogasaur! Notice the head that contrasts with its disconnected, slug like body. The eyebrow, the twiggy arms...I am just beginning to realize this kid's genius!

I hope you enjoyed this month's John and Ben combo art! Tune in next month for another installment! Maybe!

Gotta' love those Severed Heads

If I had tags on my blog, the subject that would probably appear most often would be Severed heads. Of course I couldn't resist keeping the tradition.

Despite the common trend, I almost named this post Me Four, for a reason you may not have expected. This may be a shock to all of you, especially since my drawings don't exactly support the theory, but giraffes have extremely long necks. Typically their necks are about 6 feet tall. Similarly, my neck and the necks of the people in my family are averagely 5-6 feet long. Well, sorta... Ok, not exactly true, but we do have long necks compared to most humans. It is the one thing that you could tell that we aren't actually who we say we are, and come from a distant planet. I mean, we're normal people-sort of like you, except we're normal. Well, most of us anyway.

Starting in 2008, my alie-I mean regular family had passes to the San Diego Zoo. During that time we would get a magazine that is published by the zoo that has some amazing pictures of the animals. Thankfully my mom gave one to me awhile back and I kept it. So all of these are altered versions of the pictures in the magazine. Including the Ben looking one. The zoo claimed that they had captured an alien, but I told them that was foolish, it would have a long neck. -Not to mention just having a neck.

Netherlands vs. Spain

On the way to the pool yesterday, my mom told me about a story she read on the internet that morning. Here is the story, as I understand it, in short: Octopus Paul, an octopus (duh) who for every two flags of the teams playing in the World Cup, note: not every game was placed in front of him, picked in advance the team that would pull ahead by climbing into the container with a flag on it. For the final game tomorrow, he has chosen the one with Spain on it.

Mani is a parakeet who has done similarly, picking the flag of the winning team before they've even played, but he has chosen the Netherlands to take the trophy.

Only one animal can be correct... Which will it be?

Now I have to say, who picked such random animals to put countries flags in front of to see how good they would do? And who would have guessed an octopus and a parakeet would have guessed so well? Obviously people have way too much time on their hands. And even more, the guy who did a drawing of the random animals and their predictions.

Follow the link here for the whole story about Octopus Paul and Mani the parakeet.

I have a whole bunch more drawings I want to put on here! Even some I did before my other World Cup post. But most the art I have been doing recently has been painting my room, which I just got pretty much done today. Looking at my painting skills, it kind of made me want to re-think my trying to become an artist as a profession. Hahaha, we'll see. Man, taking wallpaper off is nooo fun, but the deed is done. And I just rhymed...See ya' next time'd.

"But what comes from the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles a person." -Matt. 15:18

One more thought from the Together 2010 conference, and I hope there are more posts to come about it.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," -Eph. 2:4-6

"Whatever we value, we will grow to be like." This was one of the first statements spoken by Dr. Bruce Ware at the conference, but though it stuck with me, it didn't hold the same weight at the beginning of Together 2010 as it does a whole day after the conference's termination.

Joyfully anticipating the conference, I had missed the areas of indwelling sin that were alive and active in my heart.

The following day, after hearing that Dr. Ware speak that statement, during the corporate worship time a short video was played, which was done to a powerful song written by some of our Church family in the Pasadena. I had seen the video several times, and as it began was unmoved by the depictions of the areas of sin I had chosen to follow - until there was a picture of the prodigal child embracing her sin in the form of a demonic being. "Have I been doing this?" I thought. And after reviewing my notes from the first sermon I looked on, "Whatever we value, we will grow to be like."

In the first session, Dr. Ware went over a powerful passage in Isaiah 6, where in Isaiah is before and beholding the power and glory of God. Bruce Ware talked about how we must understand and know God as transcendent- That he is exclusively God. As Mr. Ware intricately and effectively showed the awe of this seen in Isaiah, I felt as though I was in Isaiah's shoes. I was standing before his throne, beholding His glory. And I believe similarly as Isaiah did not recognize his own sin until he was beholding the glory of God, so too did God work in me. As God spoke through Mr. Ware, He spoke into my heart, and I could see that I was embracing my sin, myself, and making myself God.

And like Isaiah, I thought "Woe is me, for I am lost."

"The only thing God owes us," said Dr. Ware, "is eternal condemnation."

"But," he continued, "we must know God as imminent." ...And "the story doesn't end there." God initiated Isaiah's forgiveness. And Mr. Ware reminded us of the words from Ephesians 2, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."

Through this conference, Together 2010, I believe God has challenged me to grow in my understanding and knowledge of Him, and my value of him. Because, "whatever we value, we will grow to be like." -I thank God that he is at work in me, and that through His Spirit I could behold a glimpse of Him this weekend.

T10

Just got back from a conference held by the western churches of Sovereign Grace Ministries, which is called Together 2010. It was a great time of gathering as just a fraction of the body to worship God together, and sit under his word, which was graciously given by Dr. Bruce Ware. And I thank God for his Spirit which was at work in Dr. Ware as he was preparing, as he gave the message, and His work in me through what he spoke through Mr. Ware. I also thank him for continually for his Spirit in each of my family members and friends, and his work in them. It was encouraging also to fellowship with friends spread from various places of California and Arizona.

Gathering with his people is always up building, and being together specifically to worship corporately really is a heavenly like experience. I cannot wait till this preview is over and the ultimate gathering of the undeserving before the Holy God is forever. So we pray, your kingdom come!

I have so much more to say about this conference that I probably won't get around to all of it, but I hope to have another post soon covering a fraction of what God did in me.

Goodbabymanship

Soccer is the only professional sport I know of where the players are encouraged to be wimps. Not that Soccer players are wimpy, but when it is an advantage for them to pretend they're hurt, they'll take it.

Makes sense I guess, point fingers and get a penalty kick right in front of the goal... Just doesn't seem very sportsman like. So, I've decided to call this whining, Goodbabymanship. The definition being "a form of bad sportsmanship in which one pretends to be a baby to the referee in order to gain a better standing in a game." In other terms, you are Good at being a baby man.

But no matter what I have said, I've enjoyed watching the World Cup this year, and I suppose it does add another element to the game. It also helps round out the players. Their coaches must have had them take up acting lessons or something, and why not let them use their new found skills in the game, right?

Gotta' be hard for the refs. though. How can you tell when the babies are faking or not? You'd think the refs. would get it when they see the player get up, kick the penalty kick, and play the rest of the game.

Not to practice goodbabymanship myself, I'm not really feeling the pressure the referees are. And that's another thing about Soccer, why do they have all those high speed cameras pointing at so many angles when the refs just blow them all away and decide the call they thought they saw. That's ridiculous! One of two things needs to happen. One, the refs. actually look and see if they judged play correctly (and catch these babymen). Or Two, they need to have less cameras so the fans just blissfully believe the refs calls. If they did one (or both) of these I think there would be a whole lot less riots...in my house.

I don't want to throw any stones; Just pass the babe-chow, baby-man, I'm gonna point my chubby, infant finger at someone else for my problems!

Well, I was thinking I was going to have to be more of a baby in this post considering I was voting for Spain to win at the beginning of the World Cup this year, because I thought they were really good. Well, they weren't. At least at the beginning. Finally they are coming back! But the other teams they would be going up against are teams like Brazil and Argentina. My family was doing sort of a Fantasy Soccer rally this year, so I'll be a good sportsman until then.

I was really disappointed when the US finally lost to Ghana, but my brother had some humorous words about it. "Think about it this way," he said, "If Ghana wins it will make 6 million people are happy, if the US wins, only about three people will be happy." No one watches Soccer here.

Last Sunday my church had a park day, and in honor of the FIFA we played Soccer. (The spectators were as numerous as the people who watch Soccer in the United States.) Man, I wish I was in better shape, or had taken those acting lessons...I was sore. But I'm not sure how acting lessons would have cured the pain.

Oh well, I have said my 5 bits on Soccer. Let's hope I don't have to do it again. Or else I might practice Goodbabymanship.

Sorry about all the negative space in the drawing. And yes, that probably is the worst Soccer ball I have ever drawn.