I treat my words with respect like "what up dog," give them a pound, let's hit the streets so we can tear this venue down. Tread lightly on your favorite proving grounds. I stomp politely on your garden party harboring myopic thoughts contrary to reason. Your pockets full of posies, rosy outlook's out of season. There's no reason for me to give up or surrender without a fight. I penned a couple verses causing the masses to unite. You can, hate if you want, but passion passes with the slightest light that touch the kindle heart and passive activists ignite.
Bad speller's of the world, untie!
And our collective can collectively shed the chains of collected communal lies. The chefs are in the kitchen with Aunt Bee, they baking pies. Feel like I'm Superman but fuck saving the world I'd rather fly. Took the blue pill with the red, walking the line until I die. I'm like a passenger on a plane explaining I'm well ver-sed in jive. And while the birds are all outside and blithely playing in the light, the bees would rather stay insidecontent with buzzing in their hives. My hits are like a Timberland, stomping Rodeo drive, I'm writing for the working man who's hard at work from nine to five, and again from six to ten as he hums "staying alive." I let my words play like wordplay off of a poet's pen. My maladjusted happy super friends, they want to meet again. We all might try to march against the grain until we fall, but at the very least we knew to get our backs up off the wall.

Hmm, something a little different today. I didn't think you would mind. I would hope that it was at least somewhat apparent that we here at The Candy Coating are at least in some respect writers. Both my compatriot and myself have, at the very least, dabbled with a pen or two in our days. Mostly poetry, but there was a period where I experimented with some of the hard stuff (short stories, novellas, etc.) in college. I'm not saying I regret it or anything, but that's just not really where my life is at right now.

The reasoning behind this unorthodox posting is that while perusing the interwebs last night, I came across something that a stranger had written that absolutely made my day. It was as if in reading this person's writing, for a moment I was connecting with someone I had never actually met. It's the kind of thing that just stands out as a unique moment and manages to put a smile on your face. It was in that moment that I was reminded of the power of words. The power they have to create visuals more powerful than any artist or photographer can portray because they are individual to you. The power to inspire, entertain, enlighten, or invoke. The power to express the depths of a soul more true to a person than they are to themselves. The power to alter the flow of an individual's entire perception with just a few paragraphs read. I let my words play like wordplay off of a poet's pen just because I like to see them frolic. So today something a little different. No deep thoughts or topical analysis of issues relevant to the youth of present. One of the reasons we started The Candy Coating was because we love words and we wanted a venue to highlight and entertain with them. Just think of this as a little reminder of how cool words really can be sometimes.

Posted by Orion @ 3:28pm Comments[2]

Hello dear readers. It appears to be that time again. Peanut butter Jelly- No! (bad internet). No it's time for another helping of candy coated goodness. Yum, smells like cookies.

So today, I wanted to talk about media from the perspective of working within a media related field. This topic was actually suggested to me by a friend, and upon reflection fits well for me. As it turns out, I work in a media related field. I'm sure that this is a topic that you will see me revisit a fair bit, but for now I wanted to focus on how one reconciles being in a media field while being true to their core principals and beliefs.

At the heart of the matter is that the media is kind of a hard place to work sometimes. There's a constant bombardment of sex and violence being streamed to the public at an almost constant rate. I don't think I'm exaggerating either, unless you restrict your viewing habits to maybe Nickelodeon and The Weather Channel, you're going to see it at some point. Hell, even The Food Network has some model-like talent floating around. Have you seen Giada De Laurentiis lately, omg, I want to touch her... My culinarily romantic interests aside, I'm just saying it's there and you can see it.

Now, allow me to qualify for a moment. I don't object to sex or violence on any fundamental level. It's not "wrong," per say. I just object to how we use it sometimes. Some of these devices are implemented with all the subtly to of a morning star. Oh, how we do ride our beloved sex and violence like a brand new powder blue Prius in a highway fast lane. Again, I don't have any diametric opposition to these things, I watched a series on HBO called Tell Me You love Me, and loved that, I just wish we could put a little more craftsmanship behind it.

Assuming you agree with my perceptions of the industry at large, imagine that you're a person, such as myself, working in one of these industries. You know, I'm one of those people that when I see a game with a woman with an epic bust line and an impossible outfit, I think to myself "hah hah, that's utterly ridiculous." Then I saw our designs for the female supporting character and I was like oh... we're that studio now. There are a number of challenges that we might face when we find that the media we're producing is at odds with how we would like to view the world. First is just the fact that sometimes it's difficult to speak up. It's difficult to go against the grain, or to be preceived as "that guy." The one who's always making trouble or questioning the vlaues of others. Also, we may not feel that we have the power to change things. We may feel that our part is so minor in the operation, that our voices will not carry. Alternately, how do we succeed when we are trying to sell ourselves, for instance, as an actor or musician. Some may find it difficult to be themselves when there is a perceived image that a person is expected to conform to. There are clearly a number of things that a person may view as an obstacle when working in these fields.

In any scenario, some boldness is required. For the record, as I was writing this very posted I was inspired to walk up to my art director and ask why we made some of the choices that we made. He was rather receptive and challenged me to submit some of my own character designs, which I will, but that's just the start, right? How does one get over the fear of being rejected by their peers for having views that deviate from the median? Where does one strike the balance between their right to be different and others' right to not want to be so deviant? Is there such a thing as too vocal? How much compromise is appropriate, especially when it comes to selling yourself? It's hard to say, right, but surely there are some suggestions that could help guide those making these very decisions. It's not an impossible task, and I'd like to believe at least, that little by little, we can have a very real impact on the world in which we live. In my opinion, passivity is no longer a valid option if you've been given the opportunity to speak. But of course, it's not about what I think. What do you think?

Posted by Orion @ 6:00pm Comments[6]

Everybody's been getting married recently? Have you noticed that? All of your friends getting married around you? What's up with that? In fact, our very own Dangerboy has tied the knot only a few weeks ago, and, while we wish him and his new found love the best, these events have left a hole in the heart of our beloved The Candy Coating. Like some sort of plumber with a toolbox full of grammar and syntax, friends, this is a hole I intend to fill. Naturally I find myself pondering all manner of thoughts about love, marriage, sex, dating, and babies (in no particular order) recently, especially as coming from a perspective that is bahai influenced. My thinking is that amongst bahais, there are some things we have right, and something we have wrong, and some area I wish that we would, at the very least, exchange notes.

I don't know how to say this, but does anyone else get the feeling that bahais are somewhat sexually repressed. Maybe not just bahais, but perhaps the religious community in general. Somewhere in our respective religious dogmas it has been pointed out that chastity and purity of thought are good things, and, by extension, a lack of it is bad. The problem arises that the most fundamental basis of human relationship is sexual. Now, I'm not saying it's the only basis, or necessarily even the most important, after all, possibly the greatest part of being human is the ability to rise above out most base instincts, but still, it's there. Because of this, a situation can then arise where one is encouraged to deny the existence of this very basic part of who they are, all in the name of being spiritual, or pure. In my opinion, this is at the very least unhealthy, and in other cases simply does not work. As a matter of practicality, the rest of society does not necessarily operate on those principals, and I've noticed that the integration of these two vantage points is sometimes difficult. Hell, I know that for sometime I didn't even know that I was supposed to even try to be sexually desirable. It had simply never occurred to me.

So Now, by contrast is the bubble that seems to exist outside the religious one, i.e., the majority of the American population. Maybe it's regional to where I'm located, but it seems like operations are the exact opposite in these segments. That is the order of business if I'm interested in you is: determine your gender, acquire your name, determine if I would like to have sex with you, attempt to have sex with you, fluff. Fluff includes little things like looking for common interests or seeing if life goals match at all. One should also note that in some circles, steps one and two are optional. Jokes aside, I'm saying that the reality of human relationships is that they are sexually based, and that those thinking outside of a religious context are more than willing to think about it in just those terms. If it turns out that the person you're sleeping with just so happens to be an interesting person: bonus.

So here's the thing. I don't think that either side is better per say, I just think it would be cool if everyone could come together and share some ideas. Like maybe it's cool to not feel the need to pounce on every attractive person you see, or maybe, we might even see it as a good thing to develop strong friendships first with those we have romantic interest in. On the flip side, for those of us on the spiritual side of the fence, perhaps we can discuss more freely this concept of sexuality. In this country in particular, there's the whole shame thing associated with the concept, and it really doesn't need to be that way. The question I pose though is where do you start drawing these lines? How does one find a balance between purity of thought and being true to one's self? Further, how should one of spiritual belief be expected to conduct themselves in general society? As always please click the little comment link below and leave your thoughts, rants, and mad-man-like ramblings on the topic. We always appreciate a mad man's ramblings, so make it good.

Posted by Orion @ 3:00pm Comments[10]