Every once in a while you meet someone that is truly talented. Not your normal run-of-the-mill talented, today I'm talking about that special kicking ass and taking names talented that is so rare. I'm lucky to know the guy HERE. Scary shit, eh? Yeah he is amazing.

I was lucky to meet-up with Mr. Pitiful, aka. Scott Monaghan, to design a brand-spankin new website that reflected just a fraction of his musical soul. Below is a brief overview of how the design came to life, and some elements left on the cutting room floor. Scott is launching this site in hopes to earn some funds for his debut solo album so if you like what you see please swing on by to show your love.

Part one above but I'd recommend watching the whole series. For those of you who'd like the Cliff Notes check HERE for a good summary of Ira's excellent (and obvious) advice. Like all brilliant advice it is so clear that we've forgotten we ever had it in the first place.

Like gangsta rap in the mid-nineties, geek-on-geek violence is on the rise. As so deftly stated by Joystiq:

Since the 1980s, weekly British comic 2000AD -- makers of the famous Judge Dredd -- has seen its sales drop from 100,000 issues to just 20,000 issues today. The reason for the decline, according to artist Ian Gibson, is video games. Murder, violence, civil disobedience and now the demise of comics all grace gaming's lengthy rap sheet. "The comics market, sadly, is dying because the PlayStation has taken over and comics can't compete," said Gibson in speaking with the BBC. "Most comics I have come across haven't realized that they have lost the battle."

Hmm...damn. I'd be mad at you Xbox 360, but you are just so friggin good to me. And Crackdown is kind of fun...well kind of fun-ish. Seriously though, I'd be creating the greatest comic book rebuttal ever in response to these dastardly video games but I'm swamped working on my new graphic novel "Welcome to Pixelton". Oh crap - I'm fueling the machine that will destroy me. WHERE THE HELL IS THE SHEER TERROR EMOTICON?!!?!

In other news, Geek-on-Dork and Nerd-on-Dork violence is suspiciously at a standstill. (Intro comic stolen from the transcendent Perry Bible Fellowship. Go give the creator lots of money. Seriously)

FIRST - Take a look at the above. This is Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs. It will help you be the best unique and focused individual you can be.

NEXT - Begin at the bottom, if you've got a solid foothold within a category move up to the next tier. Rinse and repeat.

FINALLY - How close are you to the top?

I know many intelligent folks who are endlessly trapped in Safety and Love/Belonging, and so this brings the question - how smart can they really be? Solve your own damn problems first. No one else can fix you. Now you know where to start.

Stories run the world. They are the engine of human action.

Compelling tales frame our lives in perfect context, wrap our hopes in purpose, and cut the crap with forced brevity. They teach and entertain with every step. I really believe there isn't a single action we take each day which doesn't prosper the story which we tell ourselves. We're engrossed in tales from the minute we're born until the moment we die. Their rhythms and flow make up the very substance of our lives.

For many of us the concept of writing a full story is sheer terror, or maybe we simply don't have the time to put into a new project. If this is you then check out Story Squared. It is an attempt to allow multiple authors create stories that could grow beyond their wildest fantasies.

Oh, and sincere thanks to everyone who has written in the past few weeks. Your thoughts, ideas, and massive comic book purchases mean a ton so keep the requests and ideas coming!

Enjoy a sample below. The awful, awful truth HERE:

You give your relatives a lecture about color spaces and profiles when you email them your vacation photos. Seeing someone use Lens Flare or Comic Sans adversely affects your blood-pressure. You maintain a grid system for your refrigerator magnets. You organise your CD collection according to the Pantone chart. You sit at work for eight hours straight just looking at your monitor, waiting for a spark of inspiration that doesn't come. You're up 'til 5am because you came up with the best idea ever while brushing your teeth.

I AM 788,400,000 SECONDS...13,104,000 minutes...almost 10,000 days.

I turned 25 two weeks back and so I'm officially on the verge of death. With the thought of my impending demise I've been putting some extra elbow grease into my new projects. This could explain the lack of posts but I won't push it. Here is a quick update of items that I'm working on in my free time for those that are bored and tired of staring at the sun:

Welcome to Pixelton (Comic):
My new big book is getting hefty. It is clocking in at around 200 pencilled pages at the moment and I'm no where near adding in two big key scenes. It will be a fun epic adventure that is truly something never before seen. My biggest goal? Appeal to the non-comic crowd and gain rabid adoption. Still not telling you the "big secret". I'm inking a few pages a week with the average time for each running around 5 hours.

Welcome to Pixelton Documentary (Film):
So I'm making a film alongside the book. It is about creating comics, publishing, and hoping against hope that something we do will be left behind. I'll probably release the thing as a behind the scenes. Expect some bits to appear on YouTube very soon.

Everlasting Effects of a Butterscotch Smile (Comic):
Amazingly, this book is still happening. It is still a collection of short stories. It will be VERY different from Welcome to Pixelton and Nothing Left to Lose. I can't shake the feeling I overcomplicate everything...even a short story collection.

Sketchd (Start-up):
This baby has been in the works for close to a year now, so it seems time to let the lid off and see how it played out. This is my first tech/web 2.0 start-up that I completely funded so who the hell knows what will happen. As soon as I launch you'll know. What is it? It is a place to share, vote, and comment on Sketches in a very "new web" sort of way.

NinjaPal (Start-up):
Haven't you always wanted a special ninja friend? I sure have. Wouldn't it be neat if your invisible ninja friend had quick access to all his/her ninja magic? Hmm...

Unnamed (Start-up):
This is a big one that I can't even talk about here yet. If it is half as ambitious as the plans it will make folks very happy.

BoycottEA (Non-for-profit):
I really want to get this off the ground soon but it may have to fall. If you have ever played a videogame you know what this still will be. And yes, they deserve it.

I'd like to say this is it, but these are the tip of an iceberg really. I have some heavy changes in how I treat comics coming in the next month. Please don't take this post as complaining - I love what I do and I'm very lucky to have a chance to do it. Taking stock of what is happening though is a bit humbling. All the time I talk with folks who are simply indifferent about their jobs. I can't imagine a world where I spent 70% of my life doing something I hate. Here is hoping I die young, happy, and massively overworked.

Have you had a solid dose of Sci-Fi lately? Read up and chow down on three mind-altering Science Fiction short stories. Even if you're not a big fan of Sci-Fi, these human insightful stories are bound to excite:

The Last Question
by Issac Asimov

The Nine Billion Names of God
by Arthur C. Clarke

They're Made Out of Meat
by Terry Bisson

Robin Jackson at HumorWriters.org has culled some disturbing facts into the same room for high-bulb questioning. The facts point to a dying print market, or to a nation that is borderline retarded. Here are a few gruesome highlights (full credits in Mrs. Jackson's story):

- 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book in their lives.
- 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
- 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
- 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in five years.
- 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
- 70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
- A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
- A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.

And finally:
- Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

I knew the comic industry was in the crapper but didn't expect awful numbers like this from "mainstream print". Eep. I wonder if our kids will ever see books outside of libraries and museums?