A Good News, Bad News, Kind of Thing

So which would you like first, the good news or the bad news? OK, I'll start with the good. I have been offered a new position in my company. I'm going to have the opportunity to work in our "New Media Studio". I will be bringing my particular "flava" to animation and web work. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me. I will be cramming my skull full of new products, formats, and applications. It is really a great opportunity for me. There are a lot of young folks with excellent skills to learn from. I can also share what I do best with them. That's the good news.

Now for the bad...

This throws a bit of a wrench into the well oiled machine that is my daily life. In order to give the new studio my best effort, I'm going to have to set blogging aside for a season. My time spent in the blog sphere has had many rewards and benefits. It has been a great way of exploring social media and online community. With that in mind I want to thank the viewers and followers of the blog. I have had a lot of online fun with all of you.

I would especially like to thank bloggers that served as benchmarks...

Patrick Parker

Harlan / Narda

Matt Apsokardu

Black Belt Mama

Colin Wee

SteveBJJ

Don Prager

John Vesia

Meg

Maggie

and others.


I've thought about posting intermittently but that's not really how I wanted to do this. As my schedule has gotten busier I have not be able to be as "interactive" as I would like. So for now I'll set the Oldman's Boobishi aside and get crack a lackin on Flash and DreamWeaver.

BTW, If any of you find yourself in Kansas City and want to meet, greet and or train, drop me a line. I'm not giving up training and I'm still teaching 6 classes a week.

I guess at some point I will have to come back and finish "The Martial Addict Part 2".

See ya.

OH! p.s. If the withdrawal is too much, you can still purchase "Oldman's greatest hits"

The Martial Addict Part 1

I'm sure you have heard this comment or something like it, "Dude I Love BJJ I'm a total junkie!". Or maybe "I'm living the martial WAY baby, I'm addicted to Karate!". It is very possible that the statements are more true than we imagine. Can a person be addicted to Martial Arts? Absolutely, positively yes.

Right about now you may be saying, "Yeah I know this guy that... yeah but not me". Or "Even if I was it's not like alcohol or crack for God's sake, it's good for me!". Maybe yes, maybe no. What characteristics do all addictions share? What do substance addictions and process addictions have in common?.

Addictions allow us to not feel our feelings or unacceptable emotional states by distracting us or removing us from feeling by providing us a way to escape. Addictions "help" us avoid anxieties by avoiding reality. Constant pleasure seeking through stimulation or tranquilizing ourselves is potentially very damaging in the long run.

All addictions are also chemical addictions even if nothing enters your body. Why? Because our bodies and brains are an amazing self contained pharmacy. Our martial practice can release a flood of life enhancing chemicals into our systems. Adrenaline excites and stimulates, endorphins relax and soothe us. Any substance or practice that can stimulate us, tranquilize us, help us avoid pain and experience pleasure hold the possibility for addiction and dependence. We can also use the arts to meet psychological needs that are unique to each individual.

In the same way that the chemicals in our bodies are good and exist to benefit us, martial practice can be a great benefit to the practitioner. It can also enslave us.

Martial arts practiced in a healthy manner and environment can help provide us with many many life affirming benefits. When done well the arts help us to become strong. Not so strong as to become invincible, that is a fantasy. We have the opportunity to become strong enough to embrace reality. That my friends takes strength.


More to come in Part 2.

A Thank You From Oldman Industries

I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for visiting Oldman's Boobishi. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, want to say thank you to the people that have purchased "Oldman's Greatest Hits". The first CD's ship tomorrow. Here is one update. Instead of 150 cartoons the collection has grown to over 250. Along with the 250 cartoons, each CD comes with an original Oldman cartoon done just for you. You can't beat that with a nunchuk.

Butt Crack Bunkai, Applying Cartoon Principles.

Click image to enlarge.

What good is a students knowledge of butt crack humor concepts if they cannot be applied to cartoons. Our goal is not to create artists that can make people think about laughing. We must be able to make people laugh whether they want to or not. Cartoon Uke, should not pretend to laugh or laugh too easliy. That does not help us to improve cartoon skills. Our students must be able to make people laugh even when they resist our techniques.

Yes You Can!

Oldman passes on the cartoon wisdom of the ages that he learned from Grandmaster Braake. Braake's Wisdom?... "Boy, don't draw the pig. Draw the squeal".

History Of The Buttcrack

Easy Money

With another one of his offspring heading off to college in the fall, Oldman starts his third part time job. Oldman finds himself teaching a summer session of "Cartooning 101" at a local junior college. The class is a second chance for the many students that failed the class during the academic year. Many of the students are business and engineering students that assumed the class would be an elective that would provide them with an easy "A".

Memorial Day part 2

Yesterday I encouraged you to say thank you to a soldier or veteran. Today I would ask you to consider those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom and the freedom of others. The following photos are from 11 of 20 American cemeteries in Europe.
























The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne , France . A total of 2289 of our military dead.
The American Cemetery at Ardennes , Belgium . A total of 5329 of our dead.
The American Cemetery at Brittany, France . A total of 4410 of our military dead.
Brookwood , England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.
Cambridge , England . 3812 of our military dead.
Epinal , France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.
Flanders Field , Belgium . A total of 368 of our military.
Florence , Italy . A total of 4402 of our military dead.
Henri-Chapelle , Belgium . A total of 7992 of our military dead.
Lorraine , France . A total of 10,489 of our military dead.
Luxembourg , Luxembourg . A total of 5076 of our military dead.
Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.
Netherlands , Netherlands . A total of 8301 of our military dead.
Normandy , France . A total of 9387 of our military dead.
Oise-Aisne , France . A total of 6012 of our military dead.
Rhone , France . A total of 861 of our military dead.
Sicily , Italy . A total of 7861 of our military dead.
Somme , France . A total of 1844 of our military dead.
St. Mihiel , France . A total of 4153 of our military dead.
Suresnes , France . a total of 1541 of our military dead.

Memorial Day, Take time to Remember.

Let me start this post about Memorial Day by saying I'm not a warrior. I have never served in the military. I do respect those that do, and have. Sometimes when I see a soldier in uniform out in public I will take the time to thank them for their service to the country. Today I'll thank two warriors in particular, my father Morris Delance Cook and my father in law Wesley Edward Kidd.

My dad, was a very good wrestler as a young man. His high school team brought back a state championship to our town. He attended Augustana College on a 4 year wrestling scholarship graduating in business. In our home a cross face was akin to a handshake. One of my earliest memories was learning how to "Sit Out". He served in Korea an achieved the rank of Master Sargent. Morris better know as "Moe" was an insurance underwriter for his entire career. He ultimately retired from The Western Fire and Casuality Company to the life of a "Country Gentleman". He passed away in 2002.

Wes graduated with a degree in engineering from Westpoint. He was an Airborne Ranger and served both in Korea and Vietnam. He rose to the rank of Major before retiring from the military. After leaving the military he was employed as an Engineer at AT&T Bell Labs, and Lucent. At 76 he is very active and is still tough as nails. His mother is still alive. She is 99 years old. My wife and I agree he might just live forever. That is unless he falls off the roof of his house. It is not unusual to find him up there any given Saturday, lashed to the chimney, to touch up a spot of peeling paint.

I would encourage all of you to say thank you to a soldier, past or present. They have more than earned it.

Oldman's Greatest Hits Now on CD

Click on image to enlarge.

That's right. Oldman is offering you his greatest hits on CD. That's 150 of his classic cartoons on CD. Many of these have never been seen before. Each CD is Autographed. Autographed!? you say! Wait there's more. Each Autographed CD comes with an original Oldman cartoon! Imagine that I'm shouting this with a British accent!!! Doesn't that make you want to get TWO!!!