LIFE, The Series...

We go through our day going with our daily routine, while also learning something new in the process. Such is Life, it never stops being a teacher to you... 

During the last few months I shared some pictures on my Facebook profile with some very thought-provoking pieces on them, reflecting what Life can be... 

Now, since I am pretty active in Facebook this year ( hence, I don't have any new blog posts for a while now...) , most of those pictures that I shared have already been buried with my other posts of slightly nonsensical nature, so I thought I could compile them all in a blog post. That, and also will serve as an appropriate Year-Ender blog post. End the year with a good lesson, as they say. 

So here they are... Life, The Series... 

And there they are... I hope it inspired you as much as it did me. In closing, here's a video of my favorite singer, the ska-reggae Jewish singer Matisyahu. His songs are full of life and lessons.He helped me when I'm commuting in the congested Metro and in times of distress... Cheers, and here's to a great 2014...

- "the king"

Rant Resurgence

                    

 - It can be very difficult to make another post about ranting about society's problems, but all one can do is check any social media and watch yourself roll your eyes countless times.

- Selfies, Check-Ins, Trolling, Sharing Useless stories ( not unless it's 8fact or 9gag.com ) taking pictures of EVERYTHING and liking your own status update or photo are what comprises of Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and almost any social media websites.

- But in every "lemon", there is always a "peach" in those websites, like Traffic or weather updates, inspirational stories and quotes, your best friend getting engaged/ promoted/ giving birth and free links to recent movies does make checking out your profile worth it.

- I do love this photo blog, called The Social Climber, that pokes fun at people who are in need of a good smack to the head for being too full of themselves. Do check it out if you have the time.

- That aside, I've seen the comic strip that replaced Pugad Baboy in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and... the humor is just not there. It's like you get it, but it's just missing a comic flair. Inquirer is missing a large hole in their comic strip department.

- I also remembered a dialogue from The Walking Dead writer/ creator Robert Kirkman that the comic book industry needs to create all-new characters and all-new stories. Writers and artists need to stop making a 37th version of Batman and start making a new character altogether.

an original character by Jamal Yaseem Igle.
Be like this guy. 

- Fast food restaurants need to have diversity in their menus. Or at least have McDonalds' menus be more than just Chicken and Burgers.

- All reality shows ( Billy the Exterminator, Storage Wars, Cake Boss, Pawn Stars, Wheeler Dealers, Amercian Chopper, WipeOut, Survivor, Toy Hunter ) have some form of "scripted situations" that make these TV shows watchable. As long as you accept that, you'll be fine. I mean, just look at Brandi Passante alone.. HOTCHA!!!

- South Korean "accidental" model Jinri Park should go back to the Philippines after her DJ job, 2 Photobooks and several magazine appearances and a TV gig made her famous here. Going
back to the roots, as they say.

- Politics? I said this again, and I'll say it again:  Flying F*ck Politics

- And since I love railroads since they remind me of winding road that has been a recurring image on my "The Torpe Road" series ( start reading the famous series HERE) , here is a beautifully-shot picture of model Susan Coffey ( psstt.. check out her Facebook page HERE or her deviantart HERE.

- "the king"

Dinosaurs Shots...

Back when we were little we are easily fascinated. Whether it is large fighting robots, riding ants at microscopic size or going to faraway galaxies it is that youthful innocence that makes everything larger than life. I was never one to miss out, as I am also fascinated with a lot of things. But one of the number one things that I'm really fascinated was...

DINOSAURS!!!

                     


I really love them when I was a kid. They are one of Earth's mightiest creatures ever. These big, mysterious reptiles ruled the earth 65 million years ago. They range in size from the towering Brontosaurus to the small Compsognathus. There are savage meat-eaters like the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex to a humble plant-eater like the lumbering Stegosaurus. I often thought what if they are still alive today? Would some scheming businessman catch some and offer people a ride for a price?

My father liked my passion for these prehistoric creatures and nurtured it. He kept on buying books and toys on Dinosaurs, and I absorbed all of them. I knew all the famous Dinosaurs from A-Z. I knew where the word "Dinosaur" comes from and who named it ( "terrible lizard", Richard Owens ) I knew the theories of how they died. I knew if that Dinosaur was a meat-eater or not ( clue: it's in the teeth ). And it's because of this that I was often being teased for knowing so much about the Dinosaurs. I remember one elementary classmate saying that Elephants are bigger than Dinosaurs. One even tried to post on our classroom bulletin board DINOSORE with my name on it. Some kids can be cruel and in this case, stupid.

Now usually your fascination can die down when you grow up, and that happened to me as well. Exams, peer pressure, girls and Anime became my new fascination. I tried hard to get it back, even buying an updated Dinosaur encyclopedia a few years ago, but the fascination is just not there anymore. I mean, one of  my favorite Dinosaurs, the raptor-like Dienonychus, had an updated look because of the recent discovery of feathers on some bird-like Dinosaurs. It just looks wrong. But in the field of Science, you have to discard coolness for what's scientifically correct.

old look 

new, less cooler look 

Now there are beautiful artworks found all over the internet of these magnificent animals that make me want to be fascinated again, and I want to share them with you. Maybe I can be instrumental in rekindling your "Dino-Explorer" kid inside you as well.

One of the best Dinosaur artists in the art world is Joe Tucciarone. An Ohio-born physics graduate, Joe wanted to be an artist instead and drew subjects on the solar system and eventually his first love, Dinosaurs. Here are some of my favorites:

You could check some more of his art at his official website. Check it here.

From deviantart user Fel-X...

Maybe this is how Dinosaurs became extinct? From deviantart user TomPreston

...Or maybe it is this theory? From the famous spot gag comic strip "The Far Side" by Gary Larson.

And we must not forget the artwork of Calvin and Hobbes super-private comic strip artist Bill Watterson...

A local artist also draws some mean-looking Dinosaurs. Check out Life In Progress comic strip collections at your local bookstore.

Dinosaurs versus Aliens??? Now why didn't someone think of that??? Fantastic artwork by Marvel Comics Indestructible Hulk artist Mukesh Singh of India.

Sometimes simplicity is key. From deviantart user Molassive...

Dinosaurs being heroic... from deviantart user Eye4Pie...

There's some really amazing talent from all parts of the world. Here is some realistic art from Ukrainian Sergey Krasovskiy...

carchro, a deviantart user had a "surreal look" going on his oil paintings...

Steampunk Dinosaurs??? Why not??? By deviantart user Sumerky..

And that's about it!!! All of the best art I could fin on the 'net in less than a day ( I'm lazy... ) So till next time, and...

from deviantart user Mangela

... do it safely...

- "the king"