And, for God’s sake, if you’re in management and dealing with a bored worker, don’t fall into that crap about “showing the person their part in the bigger picture.” Workplace boredom has nothing to do with the bigger picture — it’s all about having nothing worthwhile to do at the individual level! People need challenges, they need creativity, they need autonomy, and they need purpose. Find ways to give them those things — and, if you can’t, find a way to get them. Even if it’s in a different department.

For those who are bored, it’s not all your boss’ or your company’s fault. Don’t just sit there and surf Facebook util your shift ends. Take some stock in your life, a deep look in the mirror, and decide to etiher get in the game or find another game to play. There’s plenty of work to do and your talents are needed somewhere by someone. Don’t like where you are now? Figure out a plan to get where you want to be and start focusing on making that happen — one of the best cures for boredom is a goal. It might even be time to find your own thing to do — and that will definitely keep you busy!

One last video on this subject, as Dan Pink does such a exceptional job at explaining the truth behind human motivation in the workplace. Great find, only takes a few minutes to watch — and those few minutes are worth it to keep from having to dig bullets out of your walls!

Anyway, I had pretty much given up on U2 for the most part until, for some reason, I saw they had given a live concert at Slane Castle in Ireland. As I’m a music concert DVD kind of guy, I asked for it as a gift for Christmas — and when I watched it I was blown away! Especially the version of this song, New Year’s Day. And if you have any Irish blood in you and aren’t completely floored by the part with Bono and the flag, you’d better see a doctor because your heart must have stopped.

So here it is, enjoy!

ADM Kardon, Vice Admiral in the Detarran Empire

Since childhood, Uric Kardon dreamed of sailing the stars, conquering worlds for the glory of the Detarran Empire.  Detarra had perfected the use of hyperdrive technology, developed viable shield capability, and had just started its push into other galaxies.  As a young fleet officer, Uric had ushered colonists to far off worlds, supporting and protecting them during first stage terraforming.  He has navigated the galaxy for 27 cycles, and only feels truly at home among the stars.

When the Detarran Empire decided to embark on the colonization of an occupied world, they turned first to their most experienced Admiral.  Seeing his childhood dream becoming a reality, Admiral Kardon could only accept.  The construction of the Fleet took another 6 cycles to complete, and the Admiral kept pace each step of the way, involved in everything from guild negotiations to personnel assignments.  No detail passed without scrutiny for the first conquering fleet of Detarra.  For Uric Kardon, with no mate and no heirs, history would be the only mark his name would leave behind.

Admiral Kardon chose Ketarra as their first target due to the rich mineral resources and low comparative technology of the inhabitants.  The challenges were largely expected to be technical, and the assault was intended to be a field test of their attack and exploitation methods.  They were not expecting an encounter with a Guard…

Occupation: Industrial Designer

Skill/Contribution: Artist

Location: New York, NY, USA

Website: www.girlsquadx.com

Roland Brown is an industrial designer and illustrator based in New York City. He has been working in the design field for 20 years, and also works part time as a pole dancing instructor. Roland has been drawing underground comics as personal art projects in his spare time since the late 1980′s.

What got you into comics?
A love of storytelling and drawing

How did you learn your trade?
I’m mostly Self-taught, though I’ve been lucky to have worked with very talented artists and designers over the years, and was able to pick up a lot by looking over their shoulders.

What tools/equipment do you use (hardware and software)?
Pen or brush and ink, watercolor, Photoshop, and Painter. I also use a digital camera to take lots of reference photos.

What was your favorite comic as a kid?
The biggest influence on my childhood comic sensibilities was probably Vaughn Bode’s beatnik-psychedelic “Junkwaffel”, but I read all of the underground comics that were coming out in the 60′s and 70′s with a voracious appetite. In my early teens, I was obsessed with the work of Moebius, Richard Corben, and Philippe Druillet.

Who is your greatest comic influence?
In terms of drawing style, I am probably most strongly indebted to Gaetano Liberatore. As far as the sensibilities of artistic expression and design, I am also strongly influenced by the work of Francois Shuiten, Lorenzo Mattotti, Katsuhiro Otomo, and Silvio Cadelo.

What advice would you give someone just starting out in comics?
Learn classical and commercial drawing and painting, preferably in a well-respected art school. Find as many mentors as you can.

Other projects you’ve worked on:
Girl Squad X, Etherscape

Margaret Jessica Sterling (nee’ Carter), was born and raised in Carpinteria, CA, a small beach town just south of Santa Barbara. She spent her youth at the beach and working in her parent’s restaurant. She attended college at UC Santa Barbara, graduating with a BA in Literature from the school’s prestigious College of Creative Studies.

She used her gift for language writing marketing papers for various companies, eventually rising in her field to secure positions at prestigious ad agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Fleishman Hillard, and MSCO. While working on a program for the NCSU sports teams, she literally ran into Michael Sterling at the NCSU University gym. Realizing there was more to life than work, she cashed out of her job, closed down her apartment in New York, and took to the slow life in the Carolinas.

A confident, sexy, intelligent woman, Margaret gave up her successful career in corporate America to marry MAJ Michael Sterling. Not tied down to any place, though longing to return to California, she wanted to start a family and enjoy the next phase of her life with a man she loved and admired. She was (and remains) very proud of her husband, but didn’t always agree with the service or how it treated him. As is very common with military marriages, she is the emotional counterpoint to her husband. She cries, she yells, she laughs – while he would hold it in, she is the emotional one who lets it out.

She was kept in the dark of most of the happenings at the ASP for security reasons. For the most part she was happy for her husband, as he seemed happy with what was happening at his work, but the constant medical treatments, surgeries, and secrecy began to concern her over time. Michael was changing, and while he was the same man she married, he was quickly becoming something else as well. His new strength caused accidents, his senses became overwhleming and painful to him. SHe tried to be supportive, but was unsure of what she could do to help. Combined with being separated from her friends and family and still adjusting to a non-working lifestyle, the stresses put an undue strain on their relationship. By August of 2007, she was relieved to see him deploy so he could do what he did and she could find some quiet time to adjust to her new life on her own terms. As in love with her husband as much as she had ever been, she was nonethless disappointed that marriage and family wasn’t all she had dreamed it would be.

Margaret was not informed of her husband’s accident, nor his subsequent return to the United States. It was the law firm secretly hired by Steve Callan who told her of her husband’s situation. When she was finally allowed to see him, she was horrified by what had happened. When it became apparent that she was the only person Michael would allow in close proximity, significant legal effort was brought to bear to secure his release into her custody.

Now she stays at home, probably drinks a little more than she should, and tries her best to care for her husband. While she always wanted children, this type of caretaking isn’t her – she perseveres, but is certainly not enjoying herself. Her days now are almost as if she was in prison. She can never leave for fear of what her husband may do. She is equally in fear of what others may risk to take him away from her. Her emotions now are a mix of love, fear, regret, and great sorrow. To fight the depression, she maintains her routine and lives in hope of some type of cure.

She tries everything with Mikey – books, movies, toys, video games. Anything to engage him. Always hopeful that one day he will simply wake up, and her husband will be returned to her.

Dresses very casual – designer sweats (juicy couture, VS Pink, etc), athletic clothes (Athleta, REI, Patagonia, etc), etc. Comfortable, but still feminine and sexy in a way. Has her hair back in a ponytail a lot. She maintains her sanity and stays in shape by running on a treadmill and using a spin bike. She runs a successful blog advocating for PTSD treatment and veterans rights.

If you like it, find them on iTunes and buy some of their music — I assure you, you won’t be disappointed!

What not to do with a Classic, image courtesy of Warner Bros

We are surrounded by superior stories composed of powerful archetypes that have survived for hundreds, even thousands, of years. The mythos of our forbears, the brilliance of Shakespeare, the ballads of legends, and the tales of folklore. These are great stories! Passed on for generation to generation they have survived, for the most part, undisturbed. But for some reason that I can’t comprehend, recent authors and screenwriters have been obsessed with “deconstructing” and further modifying these stories, almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

Wrath of the Titans is just the latest in a long line of defaming works, both versions of it’s predecessor “Clash of the Titans” were equally corrupted (Perseus had the winged sandals of Hermes, the hero Bellerophon rode Pegasus! Come on!). The BBC’s Robin Hood series had Maid Marion as a vigilante ninja, for God’s sake! Whyte’s Arthurian work portrays Lancelot as a cowardly braggart, and don’t get me started on the ridiculous Camelot series on Showtime or the wretched mash-up of First Knight. And don’t get me started on the utter mash-up that was “Troy.”

I could go on and on, but I think you’re getting the picture.

When using classic material as a source for a new work, I think writers need to adopt a form of the Hypocratic Oath: “First do no Harm.” The legends are just that — legends, and, as such, there is a lot of wiggle room. Most only cover very specific events, after all. So, you have the time between adventures to fill — and, I feel, it is in those spaces where reader’s imagination truly lies. What was it like for these heroes to grow up? What happened when they got old? What happened in the time between Ballad 1 and Ballad 2? What lessons did they learn from their extraordinary adventures?

This is the very tact I’m taking with my own work, Lancelot. The Vulgate cycle, Le Morte D’Arthur, and the Idylls of the King provide incredibly rich course material, but still leave tons of gaps in the stories. The Lancelot books wedge themselves into a couple of those gaps, looking to explore the great knight’s childhood in the land of the fey, as well as the events surrounding his role in the fall of Camelot. There are a ton of stories to tell, just in those two areas, that remain in line with existing works, and expand the stories we love instead of trampling on them.

The bottom line: History has shown that these great stories and legends are strong enough to withstand the test of time and inspire millions with their words and ideas. Who are we to change them? Instead, seek to enrich them, and us, with your own contribution. Not as a censor or editor, but as a literary explorer uncovering new treasures.

Michael T. Sterling was born in Annapolis, MD. His father was a Naval Officer serving as an instructor for engineering systems at the Naval Academy. Being a Navy brat, he lived traveled a lot, and by the age of 12 had been to more places than most have in a lifetime.

As he grew older, he found he favored the military lifestyle. After a life spent travelling, he had few attachments to a specific location, and a strong desire to see more of what the world had to offer. While his desire to join the Army as a bit unsettling to his father, the family was proud he had chosen a life of service. Michael went to college at Texas A&M as a ROTC candidate. He excelled at both school and ROTC, becoming the ROTC Battalion Cadet Commander and graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As a reward for his achievements, he was given his first choice assignment: Rangers.

During his eight years as an Army Ranger, he participated in both the invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He spent 15 months in Iraq, and saw heavy action in Najaf, Karbala, Ramadi and Fallujah. When he returned home, he was promoted to Major (O-4) and offered Graduate school as a way to unwind and start the next phase of his career. He attended North Caroline State University as an ROTC instructor and student. While attending NCSU, he met Margaret, and by the end of his tour, he proposed. She accepted, and they were married shortly afterwards.

Faced with starting a tour behind a desk at the Pentagon, the first step in the Army’s “future General” ladder track, Michael looked desperately for an alternative. Denied a return to the 101st, he and Margaret braced themselves for two years of desk driving inside the beltway when he received an intriguing email from DARPA. He accepted their invitation and became the first candidate in the Advanced Soldier Program. He and Margaret moved to Baltimore to be close to Johns Hopkins, where the first round of treatments began.

Due to his unique genetic makeup, the ASP Program Managers decided to take advantage of the situation and install multiple upgrade packages into MAJ Sterling. Whereas the other candidates received a single upgrade package, Michael was provided the Orion, Antilochus, Odysseus, and Hercules packages — what the ASP referred to as the “Achilles” upgrade, designed to provide him with superhuman strength, speed, endurance, intelligence, and senses. “Achilles” proved a success, and Michael was given the tactical lead for Team ZERO when there were deployed to Afghanistan for field trials in August 2007. During field testing, MAJ Sterling was subjected to a situation that created a tragic conflict in his upgrade packages, severely injuring him mentally and physically.

Before the incident in Afghanistan, MAJ Sterling, had an easy, commanding presence. Confident, intelligent, good sense of humor. Lovingly devoted to his wife. Passionate about his troops and his country. He served out of a profound need to defend his loved ones and his country. He was clean shaven with close cropped hair (very close on sides and back, longer on top, parted) and always dressed in the military style (golf shirt, slacks, belt).

As Mikey he barely resembles his former self. His hair is long, he is frequently unshaven, and he no longer stands proudly. His stance and mannerisms closely resemble people with autism – head looking down and to the side, hands near the center of his chest (usually wringing), rocks back and forth when sitting. He is usually extremely docile and rarely demonstrates any awareness of his surroundings.

The incident in Afghanistan that burned out his higher brain functions, appears to have been the result of a software failure in the Friend-Foe Identifier subroutine that was a component of the cerebral augments he received. When Mikey feels threatened to the point where his augments activate, he takes on an extremely aggressive stance and is able to move like black death itself: fluid, graceful, powerful, and efficient. His face is fierce, almost angry, and he is utterly without remorse. In this mode, he is a master combatant with superhuman acumen.

Despite the damage to his brain, it appears that somewhere, deep inside, the remains of Michael Sterling ensure that his wife is always identified as “Friend” in his internal threat matrix. The designers of the software do not understand how this is possible. But, they still don’t understand the reason for the original malfunction of the software, either.

As part of the agreement reached between Steve Callan and the Department of Defense, Michael Sterling was released to the custody of his wife, Margaret. Prior to this plan, no medical staff personnel felt safe in his presence. Due to his augments, there was no way to restrain him with gas, tranquilizers, or shock if his augments were to activate. It had been decided to euthanize MAJ Sterling in order to prevent possible catastrophe. Mr. Callan’s plan was met with great resistance.

Once it was demonstrated that Margaret Sterling could “control” her husband, the situation changed dramatically. The intent to weaponize him was reintroduced in the higher echelons of the Pentagon. Mr. Callan’s legal team, on behalf of Mrs. Sterling, successfully argued that this was a gross violation of human rights and a breach of the terms of his appointment as an officer in the U.S. Military. As the DOD was unable to provide safe medical care for Michael, Mrs. Sterling volunteered to provide home care.

Mikey is currently under the care of his wife in their home in Simi Valley, CA. He is extremely fond of the BBC Series “Earth”, Cheetos, apple sauce, and chocolate Ovaltine. While mostly inactive, he has shown an extraordinary capability for survival. He remains under close surveillance by the US intelligence services.