Futurelawyer

#TBT - LawComix - Lawyering Is Serious Business...But Laughter Makes It, And Life, Tolerable.

LawComix Home Page. My dear friend, and one of my favorite people on the planet, Charlie Fincher, quotes me on his home page: "Charles Fincher is the most talented lawyer cartoonist living". I have displayed his genius on my page often, and I have an original ink drawing of his hanging on the office wall. But, more than all that, he agrees with me that laughter and smiling at human foibles and trouble are the best survival tool we have. If you aren't laughing at the folly of the human condition, there is something wrong with you. I have followed the theme in some of my poetry, in which I have pointed out (See "A Serious Man", and others) the hypocrisy and cluelessness of our too serious, virtue signalling, materialistic, society. Charlie has made my life better, every time he makes me smile. He will do the same for you. Check out his stuff at his home page. 

The incomparable Heather Joi, did the illustrations for my book "Poems For Lovers".

Pasqual Artise - Reimagining The FutureLawyer Office.

Pasqual Artise Squalart. Artist Pasqual Artise will be coming to Florida, and, while here, will be painting his wonderful art on the FutureLawyer office exterior, and I am going to try to get him to repaint my metal sculpture parrot. I am giving him free rein, as his talent is obvious. You can check out his website and see some of the beautiful work he does. I will be posting about the results of his work, so keep an eye out. Thanks Pasqual. I am very excited about showing your work.

 

Luma Dream Machine - Video Generation For The Rest Of Us.

AI is advancing so fast that it is impossible to keep up. Luma is the first to make its AI engine available to everyone, for free. The videos bear the Luma trademark; but are free to create and use. I asked the software to create a video of me and Rio driving in the Arizona desert. This is what came back: Rick And Rio In The Desert.

Fun Fact - The Very First Disney Animated Cartoon With Sound Had A Parrot Character.

After Walt Disney saw Al Jolson in the first movie with sound, he knew that his animation company needed sound. He bet the company on an unknown character, Mickey Mouse, and created Steamboat Willie, the very first animated cartoon with sound. The rest, as they say, is history. The cartoon also featured the very first parrot character making sound, a "squawk" heard round the world. Enjoy.

 

Artificial Intelligence Bot And The FutureLawyer - An Artist In The Making?

This is a canvas print of an art piece I created with the assistance of an AI bot. It is a self portrait of the FutureLawyer, in an abstract style. It should fetch a few million at auction, don't you think? :-)

All Saints Day And All Souls Day - Days Of The Dead In Many Cultures.

Day of The Dead. Yesterday, in my tradition, was All Saints Day, on which we honor all good people who we divine were Saints in their lifetime. Today we celebrate as All Souls' Day, which, I suppose, is for the rest of us. My favorite tradition, however, is the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, and we collect the skulls and bride and groom images that so often are created for the festivals. I am often accused of being too much involved, in my poetry, with death and dying. However, in the Stoic tradition, being aware of the possibility of our demise at any moment is a certain way to heighten our living by not wasting any moment of life. The tradtition of "Memento Mori", or remembering always of the certainty of death, fixes the mind wonderfully on each moment and each day. I think we are also fascinated and haunted by death because no human living has any idea what is after death, if anything. Every Pope, every Priest, every TV preacher, and every other person who claims to "know'"  there is a God, or who claims to know what "God" days, is either deluded or a liar. We can "believe" whatever we like. If you find joy or comfort in believing that there must be something "after", then that is great. I believe that most of us who are rational animals know what we don't know. There must be a Prime Mover? Okay. But, in every religious tradition there are human beings, just like us, who haven't got a clue what they are talking about. So, call me Anti-Religion, if you want. Nobody has the patent on knowledge of the hereafter. Now, go enjoy whatever tradtion you like. Today, we honor all the souls who have gone before us. And, we decide how we are going to live this one more day we get on the earth. Do good. Be good. You choose.

LawComix - Charles Pugsley Fincher Is The Cartoon Laureate Of Law Practice.

Lawcomix. A blog post about cartoons wouldn't be complete without a mention of my good friend, Charles Pugsley Fincher, whose comics about law and lawyering were discovered by me some years ago, when he was doing a regular column in the American Bar Journal. Since that time, his insights into the humor and frustrations of law practice have put a smile on my face often, and an original work is hanging in my office. Charley is a good friend, and deserves a deep dive from every lawyer in the U.S. who values the benefits of humor in our lives. Thanks, Charley, for making my life better.

Make Your Own Comics Page.

GoComics. News and journalism have migrated to the Internet. With that migration, much of the content we used to get in our local newspapers is available in much broader quantity and quality on the Internet. News aggregators like Google, and other services, can create a curated, personal reading experience for the user who is willing to spend some time aggregating on his or her own. Longtime readers know that some of my blog posts are commentary on comic strips, which have given me respite from daily troubles and stresses since my youth. What began as a fascination with Dick Tracy, became a lifelong love of technology. These days, my favorites are Shoe, Pickles, Dilbert, and Pearls Before Swine. Like all humor, they make us laugh at the same time as they make us think. Thinking is a human activity that is too little done these days, no? So, if you can afford $19.99 a year, go to this website, and choose from hundreds of the best comics in the world. You don't have to rely on local editors to choose what you watch or read anymore. 

Guilty Pleasures - Science Fiction Meets Space Opera Meets The Master Chief.

Halo Comes To Paramount Plus. I have loved science fiction since I was a small boy. The evolution of special effects and storytelling has brought the genre into places that I can go to escape the reality of any current crisis in my life. Kids (and some adults) play video games for the same reasons. While I have never had time to spend on video games, I like the tech, and Halo has been one of the best. The Master Chief, a Mandalorian style warrior gets dropped on a planet overrun by monsters called the Covenant, and he spends his days blowing them away. Basic drama; but, fun. Now, the story comes to Paramount Plus in March, and I will enjoy losing myself for an hour at a time in a fantastic world of good guys versus monsters. At my age, silly guilty pleasures don't seem so silly anymore. Who's with me?