Stuff...

Technically, I live in a retirement home. I'm 31 years old. Mostly because of the fact that I don't have enough money to live anywhere else and live on my own...

What's Real, What's the Deal...Famous Family Member

So as some of you may or may not know, according to a recent statement my birth mother admitted to in a phone conversation when I met and spoke to her in my early adult years for the first and perhaps only few times, she mentioned recent revelations that I, Joseph-James, aka, J.M. Matthews am related to the famous Trappist Monk, Thomas Merton, who was born in France in the early Twentieth Century, who was well liked by many sacred religious figures, such as the Dalai Lama, and the Pope, who mentioned Merton recently, which can also be found on Google. It might sound odd, but honestly, the more I looked into it, the more it matched up: My birth father who I've never known directly, was indeed a Trappist Monk, born in Kentucky, which is where Merton spent much of his life as a Trappist monk working and studying. And then there are the Journals, and the mysticism, and the writing abilities. And the East-Meets-West Philosophy...And the Religious and Mystical concepts in my work and stories and cartoons..And the more I learned about the connection, the more it matched up with the information I've gathered on my own personal information...Merton isn't just related to me by DNA. We both thought about many things and experience life in the same ways much of the time. Our commonality is Profoundly Similar on a more hidden level. If you read Merton's books, the books he wrote say it all. If you want to know how I think, learn about how Merton thought. There is a connection and similarity there a lot of people apparently missed. Our writing has a lot of similar elements to it. BECAUSE we are connected by our genealogy!

I Can [NOT] Retiring...

BUT, I may continue drawing webcomics and self-publishing manga-comics, and I might not...It all depends on how comfortable I am doing said activity.

If I'm not comfortable working in the field, I don't see the point in continuing. It's difficult enough doing the drawings when things are going moderately well. I don't need life disasters to be piled ON TOP OF IT, quite frankly. 

I hate to admit it, but my illustrations and comics are now a "wait and see."

I could very WELL retire from manga..

It's not necessarily that I actually believe every other artist is "more talented."

It's that other artists don't have to put up with as much struggle and bullshit as me. I couldn't think of a BETTER reason to quit my job.

It's a real honor to be called one of the most powerful and influential artists, writers, and creator-auteurs in modern comics, manga, anime, world manga, design, and webcomics, BUT that success and power came at the expense of many other benefits I used to have but don't any longer. Anonymity and peace of mind being two of the main ones...

I Changed My Mind About Florida...I Actually Kind of LIKE Florida

Well, I'm happy with where I live currently, for the most part anyway, in Winter Park. Honestly, now that I've managed to distance myself from my obnoxious adoptive parents, I'm a LOT better off, and am not so biased by my gut reactions. Upon getting a more realistic view of Florida as an adult, it isn't so bad. You know, assuming your WHITE Non-biological family isn't holding you captive as a prisoner of war. That sort of thing. But never you mind that shit. It's over and done with.

Anyway, Florida is part of what I like to call "The Cultural South."

Texas, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Kentucky?

That's the Cultural South. Cities and states in the rural south with higher propensity towards cultural, racial, and international tolerance and harmony. Not entirely, but it's way beyond the Alabamas and Mississippi's of the world. WAY beyond. There are moderate to somewhat bigger cities there. Not MEGA-Cities, like Europe and Asia, or the East and West Coasts, but your Miamis, Orlandos, and Atlantas are certainly big enough by any other standard in terms of American so-called "rural" states.

The Great Jay Market Crash of 2015...I Remember Those Days..

Seriously, I have the subtlety of a World War II Tank. 

But Fortunately, I often also have the Energy and Momentum of a World War II Tank.

I've been plowing ahead for the last what is closing in on almost 2 months straight by now. 

I'm Finally starting to slow down and tire myself out. But MY GOD that was a lot of spiritual and creative momentum! I'm a freaking Force of Nature...

My Current [Revised] Policy on Animation Production...

I think, as a creator of a property that may or may get adapted from the page to animation, if you've grown up in or know America better than Japan, you should stick to what you know...Want details? 

Okay.

If it's an American Property, and the Producer-Creator of the animated property is American, and the show is being produced and animated in America, production should primarily be done by Americans and international contractors overseas for post production, the same way it's always been done.

If the production is being attempted in Japan, it would be important for me not to meddle in the Japanese production process. Approving scripts and production artwork? yes. Meddling into day to day operations of the overseas Japanese studio? I do not think so. 

As a producer you have to not only know how to lead a team. You also have to know when to back off and let the team you're leading do their thing, when to step in and when you keep your distance. If it's produced in America, you can probably step in a bit more. If it's co-produced in Japan, trust in the expertise of the Japanese Planners and co-producers. 

Spiritual Study, Work, and Survival....An Update

So, I've been refraining from posting a lot of new material to my online publishing and social media accounts on sites such as Comic Fury, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, or the Adult Swim Message boards, lately, or even here on blogger for that matter. When you first start living on your own, with your OWN money, even if it is just a small amount of social security, survival takes precedence. Right now I'm just trying to find a place of stability and then I will go from there. I can't really join in on the conversations about myself other people are having as that in generally is getting too voluminous and massive for me to regulate as just one person, seeing as there is a whole lot of it. I wish I could explain it all better, but some of it is just quite hard to explain...Overall though I'm relatively okay. A bit shook up from August and September, but other than that I feel fine.