The MuseStand Blog

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and I thought it appropriate to at least mention the term in my Think Shop comic strip.  Bullying is not funny and neither is harming the environment, but the two topics can be spun into a lighthearted little strip that does not take away from the serious tone these topics should garner.  More information on preventing bullying can be found at www.stopbullying.gov/ and PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center.  Taking care of our planet as best we can for our children and their children is the responsible thing to do!

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

​BOSTON - Life can be hard, but a new study suggests it doesn’t have to be. Sponsored by the esteemed Part-Time Scientists of America or PTSA, leading part-time and alternative-schedule researchers from 17 universities collected and analyzed cohort data to better understand the struggles facing today’s youth and to help explain the uptick in underachievement among young people. Although sloppily compiled, with page after page of grammatical errors, misprints and completely unnecessary emojis, the results were nearly definitive and only slightly depressing. It turns out, PTSA’s most compelling study to date can’t explain why this generation of young adults are lazy to the point of incompetence. However, the nearly 12 hours of collective effort that went into this study offers a conclusive guide for dealing with adversity.

Lackluster effort generally produces failure, and failure hurts. So how can today’s youth that’s trying so little, hurt a little bit less?

Try Less
As if it were even possible, one of the recommendations of the study is for young down-and-comers to put forth LESS effort in their various endeavors. Polling data suggests that the harder an employee or student tries, the more likely they’ll be disappointed with the inevitable failure that follows. The reasoning makes sense here, but it’s hard to imagine young Jayden or Zoey becoming MORE apathetic than they already are. Maybe rolling out of bed at 3pm instead of noon is a good start.

Create Your Own Awards
Participation ribbons give solace to the apathetic. It’s no secret. But even the name of this anti-prize has proven to be just as hurtful as a, “loser’s award,” to many youngsters. Research suggests that even the most unsuccessful do-nothings are turning their backs on these sad ribbons and creating their own trophies. Many of today’s slouches are literally designing and manufacturing personalized awards to give themselves. For many, completing as little as 10% of a task or work project deserves a prize, which they then proudly display on their parents’ mantle.

Fail, On Purpose
The most controversial conclusion this team of researchers arrived upon was a simple white flag surrender in the face of hard work, or work in general. There’s only one thing better than failing, and that’s meaning to do it. The logic is sound. How can you be disappointed in an outcome when you’ve actively tried to sabotage it? PTSA public relations intern, Colby Slanders, broke it down with a certain je ne sais quoi. “We suggest blowing it on purpose, it’s that simple,” the floppy-haired surfer beamed. “If you know you’re never going to work hard enough to succeed, why not have a good reason for it? It’s much less impactful on one’s self-esteem if they meant to fail.”

Everyday, thousands of young Americans are venturing out into the cold, harsh reality of adulthood. They’re emotionally fragile, yet unrelentingly confident and wildly optimistic; a dangerous combination, to be sure. What they soon learn is that the real world doesn’t placate them with unearned “likes” and smiley-faces. Most jobs require ACTUAL work. Bosses aren’t brimming with praise, encouragement and gentle hugs. Sometimes, success can be hard to obtain, but that’s no reason to fret, thanks to this cutting-edge new data.
​
The lesson is simple: you don’t have to be good at anything to feel good about yourself. Try hard if you want. Or don’t. You’re still awesome. *eye roll emoji*

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

For 2 months, Think Shop comics have been published in Story Monsters Ink magazine, the award winning literary resource for teachers, librarians, and parents.  Editor-in-chief Cristi Bertini and her staff have done a superb job putting together a family-friendly publication gem that includes the latest news on children's books and products, celebrity and independent author profiles, book reviews, reading guides, special features, and more!

Story Monsters Ink magazine is also a great read for kids, the litmus test being my own 8 year olds who look forward to each installment. Opportunities for kids to participate by submitting creative work is an added bonus... click here for more details!   

​Both print and digital editions are available. (Please note, I am not paid to endorse, advertise, or offer links to Story Monsters Ink magazine... I just love this publication!)  

​BROOKLYN, NY - For three days, a man in Brooklyn had passersby scratching their heads and searching for answers. Sometime after midnight on Sunday, an eyewitness confirmed they saw a young man emerge from an apartment building on Union Avenue. He was solemn and silent, armed only with a handful of personal items and a small bucket of industrial Glue. After applying a thick coat, the man started adhering objects to his sticky canvas. He neatly plastered his wares including a cell phone, Apple laptop, backpack, and mountain bike, leaving a large bare section in the middle. As the man lathered glue onto his shoulders and slightly pulled down his jeans, onlookers started to realize what was coming next.

Standing on a metal folding chair, the man pressed his backside into the glue. A few minutes later, kicking the chair away, he was stuck, fully attached to the wall, noticeably uncomfortable, a sight that quickly begged the question… why?

“I just figured it was some idiot’s idea of performance art,” recalled Theresa Mendel, a curious onlooker on her way home from a nearby bar. “It reminded me of that dude in Columbus Square a few months back. What a moron.”

The dude Mendel was referring to was Will Barrow, an art student and desperately-dense narcissist that pulled a similar stunt at his own Columbus Square apartment building in the spring. One morning, Barrow was discovered at the Samwell Heights Lofts, standing, motionless in the shallow end of their private pool. Though adorned in too-tight Polo board shorts instead of jeans, Barrow was similar to this nameless wall-hanger with his mysterious silence and thousand-yard stare. His intentions were unknown, but after the 75 consecutive hours of pool loitering ended, he shared his reasoning.

“See my hands,” Barrow shouted at reporters while holding up his disgusting prune hands in the air. “This is what’s happening to art. It’s shriveling and dying.” Reporters laughed heartily as the wrinkly student darted back to his apartment. Surprisingly, he was never heard from again.

So, was that what this sticky wall exhibition was, a statement? Or perhaps, a work of terrible art? Self-professed local historian, Dorian Abrams didn’t think so.

“To me, it’s reminiscent of a movement in 13th century France,” Abrams smugly informed. “A rather zealous architect named Bardeau tied himself and his belongings to one of his creations. The anniversary of that event is coming up. That’s what this is, and that's what he is, a structural infatuation copycat.”

Abrams’s theory, while mildly intriguing, was easily disproved with a 20-second internet search on a smartphone. Bardeau never actually existed, and Dorian Abrams was no expert on history.  In fact, it was later revealed that he’s an out-of-work garbage man with a lust for cheap bourbon and inaccurate historical factoids, who happens to be a close friend of the glued mystery man! Can this story get any more bizarre?

Other onlookers decided the stunt was a political message, but not the kind you might expect. New York morning DJ and self-described, “slob of the people,” Mark “The Beast” Parks, had inspired these sorts of acts in the recent past. Two months ago, after The Beast threw his sweat-stained Mets cap into the local political race for one of Brooklyn’s city council seats, his mentally-defective following became politically active, emboldened to support their unlikely candidate, pulling dozens of publicity-grabbing stunts similar to this one.

“Yeah, I was there when that naked guy wearing nothing but a Giants helmet jumped out of a tree and into a dumpster,” recounts a nameless, mullet-adorned wall-watcher. “It was hilarious, man! Don’t be narcs, vote for Parks!”

Conceivably, this glue act was a lame publicity stunt to draw attention to The Beast’s political race, of course, but it was missing that trash-diving comedic pay off. Nothing funny happened since he attached himself to the wall. Sure, there were a handful of urine-related moments that caused a few giggles, but nothing shock-worthy.

On the third day of his endeavor, the sticky, silent man of mystery was visibly worn down. His eyes fluttered with exhaustion and, by all accounts, the slathered glue was losing its grip, occasionally ripping the man’s skin as it separated from the adhesive. He was running out of steam. Then, out of nowhere, the answer came.

A young woman approached and when she did, the man’s eyes lit up.

“I’m sorry, baby,” she whispered staring up at him. “Please, just come back upstairs.”

And, so he did.

With a collection of pain-filled squeals, the man peeled himself off the wall and crashed onto the pavement below. His equally-mysterious partner helped him to his feet and escorted him back into the apartment building. The befuddled crowd let out an audible groan of disappointment. It was over and apparently, all for nothing.

It’s a story as old as time, and therefore, not the most captivating. We’ve seen it countless times, a foolhardy young man will do just about anything in the name of love. Add, “glue himself to a brick wall,” to that list of anythings.

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

Photo News Story | The MuseStand

​SEATTLE - Nothing feels quite like waking up at 6AM to challenge your mind and body with an intense 45-minute cardio workout before facing the rigors of the upcoming work day; that is, unless you follow it up with social media time to catch up on overnight posts. A recent study of nearly four thousand 20-somethings conducted by Harvard’s Center for Millennial Health decisively concludes that social media has a net positive influence on all facets of Millennials’ lives, putting to rest mounting speculation to the contrary.

When asked about her Instagram and Snapchat ritual before work, Seattle native and recent college graduate Ashley Lessen admitted, “I usually come in late, but my boss doesn’t really care, as long as I’m happy at work, and happiness at work is a basic right. The quality of my creative work is better, and I get more done. My boss should totally see that.” Explaining how social media influences other aspects of her life, Ashley explained, “My time on these apps is kinda like a religious experience. I look at the world differently.  I see a lot of ugliness, but I also see the goodness in people, especially in the smiley-face emojis they use.”

Despite compelling evidence pointing to social media's addictive properties, Lessen has adopted a perspective more and more 20-somethings now share, namely, thinking skeptically of social science research.  “I don’t agree that social media is addictive. What do these researchers know anyway? In school, I learned that all research studies have bias and you can’t get rid of it. I only look at how social media affects me.” Lessen goes on, “I can quit whenever I want, just like when I quit reading Teen Vogue when I turned twenty. It was totally easy!”

Lessen aspires to a career in law, recently completing her degree in social ecological studies, with a minor in political science. Drawing from what she learned in school, Ashley offered her thoughts on the intersection of social media and the workplace. “Any employer who tries to take social media away from employees is committing a capital crime against our basic human rights and could be opening themselves up to a class action lawsuit. It’s probably a civil right thing too.”

Over the last month, I've been experimenting stylistically with the strip.  I studied countless published comic strips to discern the elements most appealing to me, elements I'll likely adopt to create a more appealing visual experience for my readers.  At the same time, I took a deep dive into the capabilities of my go to digital platform, Adobe Illustrator, which has turned out to be a bit limiting.  This rough illustration of Finn incorporates many of the stylistic elements I will likely add to the Think Shop strip over the next few months.   

I sketched and colored the above illustration using Sketchbook Pro.  Unlike all my prior strips, the color is not flat, giving Finn's clothes and hair a more realistic show, with depth similar to watercolor.  I've yet to find a brush in Illustrator that achieves this precise look.  As a result, I will change my digital workflow to incorporate Photoshop as my coloring platform. 

I will also likely include crosshatching within shadows to incorporate object depth and help achieve the hand-drawn appearance I've come to appreciate.  To date, none of my strips have included crosshatching or shadowing to a significant degree.

I still feel very comfortable with the line tools in Illustrator, although minor tweaks to achieve a hand-drawn  aesthetic will creep into my work.  Over the next few months, let me know how you like the evolution of my Think Shop strip as I begin to make these changes.  Thank you!  ​

Max has decided to start a start a think tank and science research center, called Think Shop, at The University.  He plans to provide policy guidance to world leaders and cutting edge scientific technology to industry titans, all in the hopes of making the world a better place.  You can't fault him for trying, although he may have bitten off more than he could chew.  He'll have to rely on his friends, Landon and Penelope, and his little brother Finn for help.  Think Shop will prove Max's most ambitious undertaking yet, but he's definitely up for the challenge.      

Max is the lovable 8 year-old with a heart (and hair) of gold. His deep curiosity about his world explains his drive to innovate and try new things.  His generosity and love of both computers and biotech inform his desire to improve the lives of others through technology.  Max is a dreamer, loves science research, and remains wildly optimistic despite countless past failures.  He approaches every new idea with a childlike spirit only an 8 year-old can have.  His creativity ensures that he will never run out of projects, some of which have been impulsive and zany.  He skipped junior high, finished all his college coursework in one year, and enrolled at The University for graduate studies.  Despite his precociousness, Max seems to have a knack for screwing things up, often because he's still just a kid.

Max believes he can achieve anything he sets his mind to, deriving strength from his favorite superhero characters, especially Iron Man.  He loves video games and social media, but admits both can be hugely wasteful. 

The Think Shop comic strip is largely about Max and his scientific ideas.  But his friends and their kid adventures are also explored in the strip.  Fans can read Think Shop comics online free at The MuseStand website, by RSS, or on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.      

True Star Wars fans know this simple fact, blasters shoot plasma, not laser light.  Right?  Not so fast.  There is still a school of thought asserting that laser light is expelled from the nozzle of these firearms, although seemingly a minority viewpoint.  Check out 2 science-focused Wired articles by physicist Rhett Allain PhD, here and here, for a deeper analysis of blaster fire, of the charged gas variety.  In fact, a fair amount has been written about blasters and the energized gas particles that more accurately emanate from these futuristic weapons.  A simple Google search will yield information aplenty.  Wikipedia outlines how Tibanna gas (not real) is expressed into a chamber where the gas particles are excited by a detachable power pack magazine, followed by compression and expulsion through the barrel.  From a technology standpoint, how close are we to actual weapons that shoot particles, whether light or gas, inspired by and resembling the Star Wars variety?  In the top-secret world of military research, DAPRA, and the like... who knows?  Comic-con often indulges in such scientific speculation, assembling a panel called Science of Star Wars to discuss.  Seemingly, much of the dialogue in 2017 disappointingly centered around lasers, not plasma.  Check out a write-up of the panel here.  Advances in laser technology have made it into the popular literature and hint at our proximity to Star Wars-like technologies, as reviewed here in Popular Mechanics if you're interested.                 

For more Think Shop comics, click here.

Wishing you a May filled with love and peace!

The 4th Think Shop strip was inspired by my perusal of the latest mainstream science news, which naturally led me to some deeper searching.  Sushil Kumar's research team at Lehigh University apparently developed a technique for increasing the power output of surface-emitting single-mode semiconductor lasers.  What I read quickly became technical, but suffice it to say that when a more powerful laser can be packaged into a smaller form factor, it can have tremendous commercial applicability, and make our lives better!  You can read about it here. 

Aristotle clearly wasn't impressed with the discovery, until of course he learnd it might lead to the development of a real Star Wars blaster.  Little does he know that Star Wars blasters shoot plasma, not laser light... the topic of the next Think Shop strip.  Stay tuned!           

For more Think Shop comics click here!

For World Book Day... one day late.  Better late than never! #worldbookday

It appears that pinky toes don't hold much functional value to humans.  Read this Popular Science article to get some clarity on this important topic.  Of course, to people, functional value can pale in comparison to aesthetic or emotional value, a fact that shouldn't be overlooked or outright dismissed.  We at TheMuseStand cannot endorse belittling, deriding, or otherwise diminishing the worth of this important little digit.      

More artwork for the Think Shop comic strip, going on the home page of TheMuseStand website.  Choice of colors was the most time consuming aspect.  Quite happy with the final result.  Max, Landon, Penelope, and Finn are partially depicted.  

Worked on a new MuseStand type design and came up with this...

Pretty happy with it for now, until I get sick of it and will want to change it... again!  The original type design felt adequate when I made it, and I displayed proudly on my website for a few weeks.  Then I grew tired of it, realized it was dated, and finally couldn't stand looking at it, in that order.

So far, the artistic work in designing an aesthetically pleasing website has been challenging and rather time consuming.  But but each work result has led to brief periods of euphoria, making it so worth it.