Remember when Instagram changed their Terms of Service and everyone thought that the world was going to end? Remember how everyone left Instagram and went to Flickr to protect their precious images from being reused without their permission? 

Barely. People got their panties out of the butt cracks and moved on. I mean, really -- you people beg for a retweet and then get mad when you think the company that created the platform you are using might repurpose your content? It's almost funny.

Tumblr is taking strides towards becoming a media business, which means that they'll soon begin implementing ads -- somehow. Bt regardless of how these ads are integrated into their platform what you can be certain of is that there will be a wave of outraged users blindly swinging fear and hate mongering in response.

This seems to be the necessary growing pains that all social media companies must go through when attempting to generate revenue through advertising, It happened to Facebook, Twitter, and most recently, Instagram. But is it really necessary? Do those disgruntled users really have a leg to stand on?

Where has this sense of entitlement come from? Is it a lack of understanding basic business principles that allows users to believe that everything on the internet should be free? Has the age of internet piracy led some users to develop a schema that the technology they feel so passionately about not worth paying for? Maybe DVR technology is to blame for everyone believing that they're too good to be exposed to advertising anymore.

Here's my point: the people employed by these companies have to pay their bills too. They have to go home and feed their cat just like everyone else. They work hard to provide users with an experience that obviously gives those users a high sense of value. So let them make money.

Not too long ago I assisted Mottis and Three Post Media with some camera operation and various production duties at the Epic Games headquaters. 

Epic Games, located in Cary, NC, are the developers behind games like Gears of War andUnreal Tournament.

The video is one part of a new recruitment campaign for Epic Games in efforts to attract new talent from around the country to their North Carolina office. This shouldn’t be a difficult task considering that Epic Games is one of the best video game developers in the business with an ideology that understands how to generate creative productivity.

Getting to tour Epic’s offices and meet some of their people was a great experience and actually gave me some creative motivation towards my own work.

Working alongside Mottis and Three Post was a blast and provided me with some insight into their production methods which will be extremely helpful both personally and professionally.    

A while back I also helped out a little with Steady Films for this promo video about a summer internship with advertising/creative agencies sponsored by WWDUC2 and theAAF-RDU. 

a story starring Secret Agent Clovis Cole P.I.

[Author's Note: The original version of this story was written way back in 2008. It has since then been edited and rewritten with promotional considerations from Wendy's. Wendy's delivers quality fresh food with real ingredients that provide the best tasting fast food. Wendy's® - Quality is Our Recipe]

“Looks like your text book suicide”, said the Police Chief as he pulled the cloth over the corpse, “chalk up another one for the bad guys.”

“Not so fast, butthole!” Secret Agent Clovis Cole, P.I. swaggers into the room and tosses his Wendy's® Frosty to the ground.

“I thought I told you that you were off this case, Cole?!” ,the Chief shouted, like a douche bag.

“That’s where you made your first mistake”, Cole picks up the Wendy's® Frosty off the floor. He gingerly pats the bottom to retrieve the last of the sweet nectar, which was risky because it all could've slid our onto his chin and dribbled its way down to his good dress shirt.  

“I was actually on a super secret spy mission which just became declassified so I could tell you about it right now. But more on that later.”

The Chief wipes the sweat from his brow and takes another bite from his Wendy's® Spicy Chicken Sandwich that was cooked in a delicious, fiery blend of peppers and spices. “It’s an open and shut case, Cole. Just one more typical suicide to be added to the list of thousands this year." The Chief takes a brief pause to enjoy a big swig of Wendy's® All-Natural Lemonade. "If there were foul play, we would have found some evidence among all the broken glass, bullet shells and crispy Wendy's® Chicken Nuggets.”

“Poor sap didn’t have a chance”, some guy said before biting into a juicy BACONATOR®, which is not just a sandwich -- but a tasty treat.

“But wait a minute!” Cole was on to something. He had a fresh idea in his mind -- fresh like Wendy's® Garden Sensations® Salads. 

After a beat Cole continued, “If it was a suicide where is the note? If there’s no note, it could’ve just been an accident.”

“Great work, Cole! I was a real big jerk for not believing in you,” the Chief wiped his greasy hand on Clovis Cole’s suit, which he got 15% off with his Secret Agent Discount. “You’re officially back in our police force. Now, let's all go to Wendy's and treat ourselves to number of delicious items.”

“Gee, I really appreciate that, and I hate that I can't join you,” said Cole, before swiftly kicking the Chief out of the balcony window. 

And it was on the 9th or 10th floor, so it definitely killed the Chief.

Secret Agent Clovis Cole put on his shades. “That’s a little something-something I learned from somebody. Now it’s off to more pressing matters.”

Clovis Cole then flew away, leaving that guy all by himself. That guy didn't mind because he was eating a BACONATOR®. 

That's Not Me

I might not be the Brandon James Clarke you're looking for.

About a month ago I had noticed through my website analytics that there had been a fair amount of traffic generated from the search query "brandon & james clark". I had initially thought nothing of it simply because my name isn't particularly original or unique. But as time passed the traffic increased -- and so did my curiosity.

It would appear as though my curiosity wasn't the only one being piqued.

I'll admit, I was a little bummed that there was a porno, a hardcore gay porno to be exact, that was bringing visitors (no doubt disappointed) to my website. It didn't help that the search descriptions were so ridiculously, albeit humorously, graphic. I'm haunted by the phase 'chub on cub action'.

But this got me wondering about all the other folks out there with Brandon, James and Clark(e) in their name combination. So I went a little deeper down the rabbit hole of Google search results.

Cool Dudes

The first couple of results didn't really blow my mind or anything. Just cool dudes who like to wear fedoras and quote lines from cinematic masterpieces like "TED".

I was probably more upset by the fact that these other Brandons were just so unimpressive than anything else. I was hoping to discover something that could top the fact that my names were being used in Chubs Hairy Bears XXX.  Granted, that was going to be a tall order.

Classy Guy

Then I came across this gem of a story from Kirksville, MO about a fella named James Brandon Clark. This fine gent was pinched by the fuzz for alleged robbery and resell of said stolen items.

Now I know that this doesn't sound like anything earth-shattering, and it's not. But this is one of those cases where the comments at the bottom of the story is more interesting than the article itself.

For whatever reason, this story incited some very passionate responses.

This one lady, Brit Heller, just couldn't reconcile with the fact that the reporter would dare use the term "native" in the title and body copy without being more specific about Clark's previous whereabouts. So much so she felt she needed to post about it twice. 

And then there's Viola Dixon.

Oh, my sweet sweet Viola. You were the pot of gold at the end of the internet rainbow.

One More Thing...

I'm currently taking doodle requests for Night Doodles. Go fill out the form HERE and see your doodle on the internet!

Meathaus Sets The Bar With "S.O.S."

This anthology restored my faith in comic books.

I had been struggling with my twenty-plus year on-again, off-again love affair with comic books. It seemed as if it was going to be one of those things I loved to hate. For every halfway decent book I'd read and enjoy, there'd be thirty "Earth-shattering" event books marketed and released by major publishers that would make me hate the entire industry.   

Don't get me wrong -- superheroes have their place. I don't want you to think I'm carving out some angry punk-kid agenda that advocates the destruction of major comic book publishers or distributors. I just wasn't seeing any heart in those comics. I hadn't truly been moved by a comic book since "Daytripper" by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. And that made me sad.

Meathaus changed all that. The brainchild of Chris McDonnell, this gang of comic tribesmen describe themselves as a "...loosely defined collective of friends and associates contributing to irregular comics and art anthologies and an art-blog-website with a special emphasis on drawing, sketchbooks and comics". Upon discovery their anthology "S.O.S." I was bummed to find out that they had been around since 2000 and I was just finding out about them.

As the web master for Brand New Nostalgia, I was familiar with the concept of indie comic creators collaborating to publish anthologies. But now? Now Meathaus had set the bar at a level I had not known was possible. And in the process they restored my faith in comic books.

"S.O.S." is an absolutely gorgeous book from cover to cover. Brandon Graham of "King City", "Prophet" and "Multiple Warheads" fame was one of the editors of this anthology. Anyone familiar with his work will attest to the little gems he loves to pepper throughout his work.

The Meathaus crew numbers over 20, so I'd be hard-pressed to go down the line and review every story in this book. That's a good problem to have when you're talking about the quality of content this anthology provides. But I can assure you that only a cold, heartless Nazi could read this book and not find at least one story enjoyable.

George Carlin Is More Relevant Than Ever

What would George Carlin have to say today?

George Carlin, "dirty word" comedian, counter-culture icon and social critic, died on June 23, 2008 at the age of 71.  But like all great minds, his words and ideas live on -- almost becoming more applicable as time passes. I often think, whenever I hear something particularly insane happening in American culture, What would Carlin say about this?

Carlin wasn't left wing or right wing -- just common sense. He spoke with a conviction and confidence that's been lost through the continuous softening of our society. Thankfully we can go back and watch his old stand-up specials and be reminded that there were once people who would say exactly what they felt, without the fear of being labeled a bully. Bullies, of course, being the worst scourge of humanity since the Communists.

From gun control to Lance Armstrong to the lopsided American economic system, George Carlin's routines are both timely and timeless.

Is the Internet Becoming Brainiac?

Google is getting to know you.

Since 1997 Google has saved ever single search inquiry typed into their little box, backlogging information and storing it to help strengthen its search engine. Now Google claims that the changes in their algorithm are to deliver users more high-quality search results.

It would mean that only the most relevant sites containing the highest quality content would be coming back in our search results. On the surface that sounds great. But could it be something more sinister? 

What if Google becomes self-aware? What if it realizes that this planet deserves better than cat videos and pornography? What if, once Google is finished cataloging all human knowledge, it decides that humans are no longer necessary?  

It's not an impossible notion. For those who don't know, one of Superman's greatest villains, Brainiac, was spawned through a similar function of data collection.

Eventually Brainiac became so driven by its thirst for knowledge it began destroying planets after downloading their information -- and capturing only one member of each species for his private museum.  

I guess all I'm saying is: let's put more false information on the internet just to be on the safe side.

I invite you to try and keep up with all my various postings and such:

• Twitter - @brando432
• Tumblr - brando432.com
• Instagram - instagram.com/brando432
• Night Doodles - nightdoodles.com

Pencil and ink version featured on Night Doodles.

Big Star

Here's a colored version of a drawing I did for my sketch blog, NightDoodles.com.

He reminds me of a younger version of another drawing I did called Dream Job.

An old drawing from a while back.

I invite you to try and keep up with all my various postings and such:

• Twitter - @brando432
• Tumblr - brando432.com
• Instagram - instagram.com/brando432
• Night Doodles - nightdoodles.com

The world didn't end. We're still here, waiting for the apocalypse. The fact that human existence will continue beyond December 21, 2012 probably won't shock most people, and will likely relieve those who were wringing their sweaty hands in nervous anticipation. But me? I'm a little bummed. This was our last chance for the end. 

Growing up there was an expectation that the world would be destroyed by the robotic overthrow of Y2K. But then 2000 came and went without the computer-scrambling system breakdown we were promised. I was sort of okay with that. I mean, I had just started college and wasn't quite ready to forego the great time I was having.

Then Harold Camping proclaimed that the world would end on May 21, 2011. Everyone laughed and said that dude was crazy. They were right, 

But there was always December 21, 2012. The end of the Mayan  calendar, and the top contender for Earth's destruction. It was something we could all believe in. No way the Mayan simply stopped charting time at some arbitrary point. It couldn't be that they just ran out of space on their stone tablet. No, the Mayans knew something, man. It was like some kind of extra-dimensional space gods gave the Mayans this exact date to warn us, right?  

Nope.

So what now? When's the next projected apocalypse? We need a date. And this time let's see if we can't stick to it this time. We need to come together as a society and take the steps necessary to actually destroying this world. If not for ourselves, do it for the children. I don't want to live in a world where our kids have to live with the constant fear, and then eventual disappointment, of their world ending.

Colored version of Mars Attacks that I did earlier this week for Night Doodles.

Here's the original drawing that I did for Night Doodles.

Here's the final version after I slapped a little color on it.

"Tables for Two" design by Laurenn McCubbin

Over the last seven months I've been the working as a Digital Media Specialist for the North Carolina State University's College of Textiles. Each month I, along with the multi-talented Laurenn McCubbin, would hold workshops for the students enrolled in Design and Merchandising of Cotton Home Products. 

The College of Textiles was awarded a grant from Cotton Incorporated to fund a competition among the students. Based on an integrated marketing campaign from a visual presentation of the home textile products, students developed display vignette designs for "Tables for Two" in the Spring Semester 2012. The Fall Semester class was a continuation of Phase 1 and was to assist the students in further developing an integrated marketing plan with a strong focus on digital and social media. The students were to design marketing strategies that focused on their consumer communication through digital media, packaging and other creative channels.

The final phase of the competition included a review of the students' work by Cotton Incorporated Marketing personnel. They were judged on their digital media strategy (copy, graphics, video, social media) along with the team's display. The competition was held at ITMA Showtime in High Point, NC.