Lost & Found

"Echoes of the Lost Boys of Sudan" is an upcoming graphic novel that tells the true story of several young Sudanese children who braved extreme hardships to escape the horrors of their home country.

We recently shot a live educational event coordinated by several educators and the World Affairs Council. School children from all over the metroplex came to learn the story of the "Lost Boys."

After an initial presentation the children broke into groups where they were given assignments that involved utilizing problem solving skills to develop an understanding of the monumental effort involved in the "Lost Boys" struggle to escape Sudan.

The students were also fortunate to have some of the actual survivors present who could give their unique insights into their epic journey. Their firsthand accounts of the overwhelming hardships they faced helped to give the students a clear picture of the trials they faced to achieve freedom.

We'll continue to to give updates on the release of the graphic novel. Special thanks to James Disco and everyone else involved in the event who helped us with our shoot.

Unhappy Meal

I recently learned how little I know about Happy Meals. Now I'm not the biggest fan of McDonalds and it's been awhile since it's even occurred to me to order the kiddie cuisine. But once I noticed Spider-Man had gotten involved my interest was peaked.

The first disappointment came when my order was filled and the whimsical box of my youth was a no-show.

What? A bag? Where's the box? The brightly colored and heavily marketed cardboard containment unit with the little handles at the top that contained all our childhood hopes and dreams, along with an air of mystery...gone? Replaced with a sack? How long is that been going on? Nothing good comes in a sack. But a cardboard box with little handles? Pure excitement.

The toy surprise inside was almost an afterthought when the box it came in was so cool. Interestingly enough it seems my Happy Meal ignorance extends to the toy as well.

I've since learned that the toys are released one to two per week, so buying two Happy Meals at once will probably only result in getting two of the same toys instead of two different ones. So much for trying to beat the system.

So that's the reason why you only get a picture of the "Crawling Spider-Man in Black Costume." For those curious, here's a picture of all toys they have to offer (based on the animated "Spectacular Spider-Man" by the way) courtesy of McDonalds:

I blame myself for a lack of preparation. Next time I'll be ready.