TK Chronicles - part one

Hello World,

How's your week going?  I'm having fun.  I'm staying busy and challenged at work and enjoying myself as well.  One of the fun things about this blog is that it not only reaches my fellow countrymen and women here in the USA, but I can see that people around the planet read it as well.  I think that's awesome...hello people of Earth.  (Ha!  I crack myself up.)

A little over four years ago, my wife Sue and I moved all the way across the country from Washington DC, to Phoenix Arizona.  As Sue and I were starting to plan the move, my sons (already in Arizona), were planning to start a comic book company with me.  The model for it was great - start the comics on-line.  Put the comics on-line for free, build a following, and later start offering collectors editions and products for sale.  It would be a process, but would really be a viable idea.  It works well for many on-line companies.

Having been in the industry, I could do the web page and a lot of that kind of work.  The other thing was, while my two sons would do their comic, I would also have a comic...just to have more than one on the page.  They had talked about doing a comic for years.  Dave is the writer and story teller and Andy is the artist.  The name of our company; Brain Capital Comics.

Well - we talked about it and planned for it, but once me moved to AZ (the boys were already here when Sue and I moved here), it never happened.  The guys had a lot going on and it just never happened.

I on the other hand had started working on my (lame), comic while still living in DC.  I called it the TK Chronicles.

First 4 pics are from episode one of the TK Chronicals.

OK - I thought the idea was a little lame.  I'm not a great fictional story teller so I "borrowed" the idea of Harvey Pekar and his comic, "American Splendor."

American Splendor is based on the everyday life of the common man, Harvey.  He would write stories in comic form, of his exploits at his job as file clerk, at the Cleveland VA hospital.  He'd also write about his life - thoughts, ideas, and just every day experiences.  It's actually really enjoyed "Slendor," it's definitely different.  So that's what I did in "TK Chron."

So I ended up with a comic of my own - while the boys ended up never getting their story going.  Oh well - everything works out the way it's supposed to, right?  I never did anything with it until now, so I figured I'd post a few episodes in the blog.

I hope you enjoy them.  It's not the most riveting stuff, but it was fun putting this together.

Working and living in the nations capitol, you'd see some interesting things.
The comic is all true....perhaps this one is more dramatic in the comic
than the day it happened - but that's what I saw.

That's it for now.  Have a great week.  Remember - embrace the diversity of life - everyone has a story.  It's ok if everyone is not just like us in every way.  Enjoy.

Peace,

Tom

Life As Art - Bike Road Trip

Hi All,

Well - as usual this was another week gone by at the speed of light.  I hope you're all doing well and having a great week.

This past weekend I took my motorcycle on it's first longer distance road ride.  I took it down to Tucson on Saturday.  I've had the bike for a couple years and took it around the Valley many times, but wanted a really good road test...and I wanted to see some friends in Tucson, too.

The bike and pack, ready to go.

So I did a quick check of the vitals on Saturday morning, (oil, air pressure, quick walk around), packed a few clothes and hit the road.

Rest area about 50 miles from my house...my butt was a little numb by
the time I got here.

The bike's a 99 Yamaha Roadstar.  It's got a 1600cc engine and only about 6K miles.  It ran real well except for one glitch...the speedometer was messed up.

Me, Josh, and Mike

Some friends out at Mike's

For most of the trip I think the speedometer was off about 5 mph.  However - by the end of the 110 mile trip - it was off about 20mph.

Saturday afternoon and evening was a great time.  We had a party and bbq in the afternoon and had a great time visiting with friends.  Evening, we went downtown to "The Hut," to see the Sundowners, a local band.  They were excellent - kind of a cross between Chris Isaac and Quentin Tarantino Movie soundtrack.  We shot pool and we all shared some drinks that reminded me of "Ammo Bowls," from when I spent time in S. Korea during my time in the Air Force.

Sunday Morning coming down...north of Tucson about 35 miles

Sunday morning I headed back.  I tried to get an early start because it's starting to really get hot -- and I got a little sun baked on Saturday.  I took my time, stayed on the frontage road and some side roads for a good part.  I ran over a pretty good size snake on the I-10 frontage road.  That freaked me out a bit.

Red Rock train water tower.

The Bike

The Rider....Me.

All in all it was a good ride and a good little trip....and the bike passed the test!  It was really good to get out on the road again.  I've had several bikes over the years, going back to when I was a kid and have always enjoyed riding.  Now I'm ready for more rides...maybe across country.

Have a good Good Friday and a blessed and Happy Easter.

Peace to you and yours,

Tom

Having a bad Day?

Hi All,

I hope everyone is having a good day today.  I know it's not always easy out there.  Here are some ideas...they help me have a better day.

You can always choose again - right now.... to start your day over - and have a good day.

Peace and Love,

Tom

March Madness Fun

Hi All,

As you probably know (if you live here in the US), it's NCAA Basketball Tournament time - or more commonly known as, March Madness.  I've been enjoying it some, like a lot of folks all over the country.

I've been excited to watch the University of Wisconsin team in the tournament this year.  I'm originally from Wisconsin and I don't know why, but I still have the old loyalties to the home-state teams.  I do support the local Arizona teams as well though (my adopted home).

UW has really had an outstanding year this year, with a very talented team.  They made it to the Final Four of the tournament and lost a heartbreaker on a missed last second shot.  Well, that's how it goes some times.

Basketball Bucky

While watching the game, I thought I'd do a little drawing and put together a Bucky Badger with a basketball theme, just for fun.  After they lost the game, I took it into the computer, cleaned it up a little and colored it.  Then, finished it off with a little congratulations message and posted it on Facebook.

The finished meme

It's been a fun year - catching a few regular season games on TV and a great tournament run to the Final Four.  They're a young team and should be even better next year.  It'll be fun seeing how it goes.

That's all for now - Take care and have a great week.  Have some fun, be kind to others, and keep an attitude of gratitude...you'll be amazed at what a week it can be.

Peace,

Tom

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