Woe unto them...

First, allow me to apologize for the 2 month gap in this blog. I wouldn't insult your intelligence to say that I've been so busy that I could not maintain it, quite to the contrary, I just haven't. In an effort to correct that inaccuracy, I am making a post. ^_^

Secondly, I've had some questions about my name. Kuragari is the Japanese word for Darkness. The reason that I chose this metaphor is two fold actually. The original reason being that each of us has a dark side, whether we wish to acknowledge it or not, and I don't ever want to be afraid to let that side show. Humans are born this way and it is not something to be ashamed of, HOWEVER, it is something that we need to be aware of, and keep control of. The dual reason for the metaphor is a little more complicated than all that. Since many years ago I have been aware of... well. What's the best way to say this without coming off as some psycho new-age atmospherium smoking weirdo? Well, I shall just put this forward and you can decide for yourself. Darkness is a clown. A very wicked, evil clown that has hunted me most of my life. I dared to draw him once many years ago and captured the essence of what he was at that time. Since then, he's changed, matured, metamorphed into something so much darker. Even as a child I never liked clowns, and Darkness gave me every reason to be steadfast to that prejudice into adulthood. There are times when I can sense he is near, moreso than other times... unfortunately I've come to the realization that he is always around... waiting. I can't claim that I have a sixth sense, though I do believe that God in His infinite wisdom has given man the ability to use more than 10% of our brains, and I am not so closed minded to believe that man is so intelligent as to have discovered everything the human mind can do. That being said, I also have cause to understand the primary indications of such things. Have you ever stood in the shower and KNOWN without a doubt that there was someone on the otherside looking right at you through the shower curtain? I started becoming aware of this presence... at first I thought that they were just fanciful imaginations of an already overly imaginitve mind, however, one morning that changed. (Story time with Kuragari... o_O )

Once upon a time... I lived in a house in Beach Park, Illinois. I was 28 at the time, a young man living in a two floor house on Greenbay Road that a friend was renting to me. Upon waking, I had dressed and read my devotional for the morning and headed downstairs. It was a beautiful sunny day and the birds were chirping vehemently. The house had two bathrooms, one upstairs which consisted of a toilet and a sink (and about a foot between them) and a downstairs full bathroom. The upstairs bathroom was primarily used for mid-night relief as the 3 bedrooms were the only other rooms on that floor. Everything else was conducted in the lower floor. (Anyway, I digress...) My two roomates at the time had jobs that started at some indecent hour in the morning, while mine afforded me the luxury of sleeping in, so I was home alone at the time. As I decended the staircase I felt it. It wasn't subtle like times when you 'think' you're being followed or that someone is watching you, it was abrupt and definitive. I was aware I was being observed. So much so that I looked around to find out which roomate had overslept or skipped work. I saw no one. I dismissed it as a random oddity and while I couldn't get over the awareness that I had about it, I had not seen anyone. I made my way to the bathroom quietly contemplating why I would feel like I was on display as I've never been the paranoid type and I certainly didn't care when people looked at, or watched me. But this was different. I brushed my hair and started brushing my teeth when I was OVERWHELMED with the awareness that I was being observed. At VERY close proximity. It was unnerving as suddenly every molecule in my body knew. Without hesitation I looked right down it. Sitting in the threshold of one of the two bathroom doors and it reacted to being seen. It was not physical, I did not see it with my physical eyes, but it was as if my awareness of it, allowed me the ability to see it. I saw clearer and just as real as everything else in the room. Now, I know this sounds like a fantastical account of an off day, which I would be entirely happy to agree with you, however, it reacted. It had been suprised that I saw it. I won't go so far as to speculate what it was or to insult your intelligence as to declare what I saw... all I know is that I saw it. It doesn't matter if anyone believes me, or what they think of it, or me. Demon? Ghost? Visitor from another plane or dimension? I don't presume to know. Ever since that moment I have been aware of many things that are there that I just can't see in the physical plane.

It's haunting really... to know that the darkness is not always empty.

Do not be afraid of the dark, be afraid of what's IN the dark.

Kuragari

Trouble in Paradise...

Greetings fellow blog readers. I'd like to take the time to thank you for reading my blog. I apologize that things are not going as well as I originally intended, and I appreciate your patience. Most times a blog will forget that it will be nothing more than a digital journal if it wasn't for the readers that attend to it on a daily, or weekly, basis. So anyway, Thank You...

My scanner is not communicating with my pc for some dreadful reason. The twain dll file is having an issue. I don't know. I tried updating the drivers and what not from the manufacturer, which normally takes care of any issues, but it didn't. The scanner is a CANNON LiDE 60 (so it's not like it's a no-name brand scanner...) . Any input would be greatly appreciated... I will continue to update as the situation develops. At the time that I actually post a first comic on the website, I will post a link to the comic site.

Kuragari

When Dream and Reality Merge...

The Illustrated Thought is proud to announce that "Once Upon A Journey...An Adventure Broke Out" has found a home on the net and is live, the first comic posting will be this coming week. I am excited to be seeing the realization of this dream and I hope that it will bring people everywhere some sense of the lunacy that is life. To be perfectly honest, I've listed some concerns here so that they may be noted for future reference:

1st Concern:
That this blog and the comic will be an EPIC FAIL.
This concern is based in reality and the understanding that most people will not understand or comprehend the very small world that I draw experience from, or will not share my unique perspective on humor. At the very base of this concern is that no one will care about my life and experiences enough to warrant keeping up with a blog or a web comic. The reality is that there are MILLIONS of webcomics and BILLIONS of blogs on the net... that mine would receive international fanfare is at best... a dream.

2nd Concern:
That this blog and the comic will be an EPIC SUCCESS.
This concern is based primarily in the 'leaving the comfort zone' area and the fear that I will be unable to keep up with the demands of daily blogging and comic updating. With the research that I've done thus far, it is recommended that you update your blog daily ( a few moments of thought at least...) and update your comic once a week to start. The reason this is suggested is that when you are beginning anything, there are ALWAYS bumps in the road. Those whose dreams are large enough and solid enough to endure bumps and set backs are the ones who succeed.

I will be posting links to the comic once the first issue is up, again I am hoping that this will be tomorrow. It is not my intention to appear arrogant or assume that I will be an over night success, but at the same time I do not wish to make a chore out of a gift that God Himself has given me. So without further adieu, I will close this posting and begin working on this weeks illustration.

Kuragari >_<