Friends,

We have posted a couple of new images and we are working on more, which should be posted shortly.  We are also building some holiday treats, for you and for us, which we will share soon.  It is our hope that everyone will have a safe holiday season, and for those of you on the other side of the pond: enjoy your turkey.  We'll have leg of lamb, instead.

There is some consideration for us to post our news on the Guestbook, in the future, as we have some concerns about using Blogger (aka: Google) for any of our activities.  Their motto of 'Do No Evil' seems to have been created without opening a dictionary to review the meaning of word.  We'll keep you posted, and it looks like we will be making that decision before the new year.

Be safe,   

KJ & DDM

Friends,

We have posted an invitation to share your views regarding the posting of our comic online, as we progress.  There are details attached to a new image, posted today. We hope that you all will feel inclined to participate so that we can get a clear idea of whether or not it is worth the time and effort required, and we thank you all in advance, for your assistance with this. Have a great fall time and be careful on Halloween. Not all of the goblins are friendly out there.

KJ & DDM

Friends, 

We would like to thank those of you who took the time to send us a note, regarding our March blog post.  You have been very kind and we appreciate your concern, and condolences.

After taking some quiet time to ourselves, we have also had a bit of work done around the studio and in the garden, to improve our atmosphere.  Everyone should stir up their habitat, on occasion, and see what settles.  It can be very refreshing.  For us, it has been so.

Several new/old posts in 'Drawings' and a couple in 'TBOSPA' with more to come soon.  We rather like our opening page, so we are not going to be changing it during the summer months.  Maybe in the fall, when the season has shown us the end of summer.  Perhaps, then.

It is our sincere hope and wish that you are all enjoying warm sunshine and a great summer.  For those of you on the other side of the equator, we wish you an enjoyable season, as well.

Get outdoors, fill your lungs with fresh air and have some fun!

KJ & DDM

Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I feel compelled to share that, in the space of one week, both DDM and myself lost a significant family member, on two different continents.  We had planned to have more images up this week, but that activity will be put on hold, as events unfold.  If you have someone you love, and have been lax in sharing your feelings with him/her, don't put it off.  Time is not conscious of our best intentions.

Our best regards to you all,

KJ & DDM 

Friends,

We have entered a new year, with new challenges and hopefully, new successes.  We wish everyone a prosperous and joy-filled 2013.

We have made a small change in one of the folders, which should ease up the page-loading for those with slower internet access. 

We were asked if a prize was given, even though we closed our CafePress account and the answer is, in a way, yes.  With the change of circumstance, the outcome could not be based on a drawing from sales activity.  Instead, we decided to award it based on the level of continued support we receive from this individual, on all fronts.  He lives half-way around the world, which makes his support all the more gratifying and we hope he will have fun with our small  two-of-a-kind gift. (For those who are wondering where the other one is, it is on its way to Paris D'Avignon, who lives on the same body of water as our other recipient, but thousands of miles away.  Don't tell Paris, though. He doesn't know, yet.)

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of our work and we hope you will continue to enjoy what we do.  Additional new images will be posted during the second week of February.


Best regards,

DDM & KJ

Friends,

Well, another holiday season is upon us.  It has been an interesting year, to say the best we can about it.  Let us hope that 2013 sees more sanity restored around us, and less conflict.  Maybe the rest of the world should take lessons from the wonderful boys of St. Precocious?  Perhaps.  

We have posted a couple of holiday treats and we hope you will enjoy them.  We also hope everyone will have a safe and happy holiday.

Our best wishes to you all,

KJ  & DDM

Friends,

We are in a transition of seasons, as cooler air and shorter days affect many of us, while others are feeling a different change in their seasons.  This globe we spin around on is quite diverse and, thankfully, so are the people taking a wild ride on it.  The universe is complex, but life can be simple, if one uses a basic four-letter guide for all that he or she does, says or thinks.  The letters are L O V and E.  No, not lovande, Fritz, LOVE.  It cures, it massages, it pleases, it...the list is endless.  And, yes, it can hurt, but when viewed with the high points as a counter to that part one should always opt for the experience of giving love and sharing it, on any and all occasions...like every minute of every day.

 

To share some of that love, we are having our first giveaway.  We have updated and extended our CafePress web items and we are holding a random drawing from a pan in which transaction numbers of customers who purchase anything from our CafePress site will be placed.  One doesn't have to make a huge purchase to be included and this is supposed to be fun, so do not overextend with us, for this holiday season.  If all goes well we may have another for Easter.  DDM seems to think there may be a trend forming here, but I assure him there is none...perhaps.  Well, not intentionally.  Really.  Maybe.

Not everything is clothing related and in the interest of conserving blog space, click our 'Le CafePress' button to your right and check out the details.  As a reminder, our mark-up is minimal and all profits stay within our account for future giveaways.  This is about sharing, not about making a bucket-full of lucre.  We have other activities in life to provide for our chateau and the lovely sailing yacht that KJ just bought for the Med.  You know, the necessities.

Have a fun holiday season, which starts for our overseas friends tomorrow, with gobble, gobble, which many will be doing to their best abilities.

KJ & DDM

There is nothing profound we have to share this month, so we'll be spare with the text.  We have made some changes, added images over the past two weeks and we will be adding more as the holidays draw closer.  We did enjoy a short holiday in the middle of France and we hope to get to the coast some time after the holidays.  KJ likes the stormy, northern shores of Bretagne, while I prefer the quieter, warmer Med areas.  We suggest that you refresh our pages, as you browse, or you might miss some of our new postings. 

We hope you will have a safe fall season and enjoy our work.

DDM & KJ 

Friends,

You may have noticed that we took what might have been perceived as a six-week holiday.  It was our intent, and we had bags packed, animals accounted for, the liquor cabinet chained and draped to keep the servants out, boy next door warned that he would be keelhauled if the plants weren't watered as promised, homes draped to keep the dust down and all other necessary preparations in place - you know, prior proper planning and all of that.  Unfortunately...wait for it...here it comes... yep, a dilemma: DDM came down with an untimely sinus thingy.  Seeing as KJ (moi) is always in close proximity to his cohort in crime, he too, succumbed while playing Florence Nightingtyphoon (you seafarers will get the play on words).  It would be sufficient to say that we were waylaid without being laid, which in and of itself can be inconvenient, if not unfulfilling.  Weeks later, and with many empty antibiotic/anti-histamine/ibuprofen containers headed for recycling, and countless tissues of indescribable condition, we are back...at least we hope we are.  It was not a kind way for the gods to end our summer and we will be filing our complaints with them, as soon as we can sort out which of the gods has email.   DDM suggests Zeus, although I (KJ) believe that it is Thor who can 'send a message' best.

In the interim, we will post new images for the enjoyment of others and look forward to our time off in October, when we hope to get down to the coast, again.  There are images for more than one folder, so have a look around.  KJ will also be posting more images this week, as he has several already in production, to share.  

We sincerely hope that our friends and fans had a more remarkable summer ending than did we, and we hope that you all are in great health and spirits.  Please remember that in dark times such as these it is best to wear a smile, for it illuminates the space around others for whom it is the darkest of times. 

Best regards,

KJ & DDM

It has been a while since we (I) posted a new blog.  Multiple reasons and the best is that I had nothing new to share that would have added to the quality of anyone's life.  I feel it is best to avoid spewing forth just for the sake of doing so, whenever possible.  Hence the reason for our never-used Twitter account.  It is our belief that you folks don't really care what we had for breakfast, and I can assure you - with no intended insult or judgement - that we have little interest in your morning appetite, as long as you are healthy and enjoying life.  Which brings me to something I feel I should address.

I received an email pressing for a response as to why we have not posted much of late.  I assured the writer that it was not from lack of working, but there was a fervent plea evident in the tone of the note, asking to know why the beloved Boys of St. Precocious are not in print.  There was a subtle hint made which I will overlook, sensing the desire of the writer to see more of the boys.  However, it did prompt me to delve into my self, to determine if I should provide information that to this date I felt was/is not really anyone's business. When taking another look at the issue, my sense of this has changed.

  

What no one can know, nor should they have known, was that DDM has been very involved in something so selfless, yet time-consuming that he has had little thought of anything other than the well-being of a friend.  For several years now, he has been providing shelter and assistance to a close friend who was in need.  Without question he has provided what resources he has available to keep his friend afloat and in good health - a task that has not only taken much of his time, but his energy as well.  These types of responsibilities weigh heavily on those who undertake such tasks and although it has not been a task he has regretted, it has taken away from his work on our project.  I can't fault him for that and no one else should, either.  New resources will take a heavy portion of the load off the shoulders of DDM, which will allow him to resume his efforts - after a nice little visit to the coast of France and rest.  

Perhaps in knowing this, we can all delve into our baskets labeled 'Patience' and await the outcome of our combined efforts, for, as you should expect, I will not do this without him.  

So, keep the faith, as they used to say, and bear with us.  I will be posting additional images for a few days, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.  We are also examining the possibility of sharing some of the pages online, as a preview.  We shall see how discussions conclude, regarding this idea.

Edited to add:  We would prefer that communications with us, regarding the Boys of St. Precocious Academy take place through our blog and/or guestbook.  It allows more people to view comments and discussions and eases our workload by removing the need for us to address each email - most often with the same information as a preceding note.  It will be a great help to us and we feel certain that others will be more inclined to join in and feel as if they, too, are a part of the activity.  Merci.

Now, have fun and get outdoors!

KJ  (and of course, DDM)   

If you are returning to our site, you may notice some changes. There will be more coming, in the following weeks. We have updated our CafePress page and invite one and all to have a peek, although it is not replete with all of our intended items, as yet. Those will be finished in the next two weeks, if all goes as planned.

We are also contemplating ending our blog, as it has not created the interaction for which we had hoped, and it does take time to make an image and post information. This would be one less task for our very crowded schedules. We do get emails, but the information is not shared with many in that venue, and we had hoped that the blog would provide the connectivity that so many have mentioned that they desired. This may also play out the in the same manner for the Guestbook. Both decisions are not immediate, and feedback on both is welcome.

Summer is fast approaching and we hope that everyone is having a colorful spring. It is good that winter is mostly behind us, oui? For those of you still up to your penubits in the powdery stuff, we extend our commiserations.

Stay healthy and have fun,

KJ & DDM

KJ's grandmother used to remind him that if he had nothing of import to say that he should press his lips firmly together until the situation changed. So...

Our next blog will be an open discussion on the new Do-No-Evil Google rules and why we are considering abolishing our Google blog. It may, or may not, be a profound exchange of ideas.

Holiday Wishes...

The holiday is upon us, although we have no idea how it arrived so quickly. Summer was just yesterday, was it not? I guess it's time to bring out the winter coats and put the top up on the cabriolet.

We will be posting several images in the month of December, along with a new folder for Wallpapers. We have been receiving emails requesting some of the aforementioned, so we diddled around and came up with a couple. If you have any questions or requests, leave a message in the Guestbook and we'll give it our attention. No guarantees that we will oblige, but we'll take any well-intentioned suggestion or request into consideration, when producing future wallpaper images.

We will also be posting our holiday image(s?) shortly and doing what we can to elevate the spirits of our visitors. We will rely on you to let us know if we have been successful in our endeavor.

The best of holiday wishes to you all, and do remember those less fortunate than yourself.


DDM & KJ

Just a short note for November, as we prepare for Christmas. There is not much to share from this locale and work progresses very well for us. We have managed to make headway with the new criteria chance has directed and we are happy with how it is turning out. Overall, we feel that the changes we have made will actually enable us to share the story with a wider audience. Those of you in the 'Red States' might be in for a treat.

We hope all of you will have a colourful and enjoyable Autumn and, for the Yanks: we wish you a Happy Turkey day.

KJ & DDM

Salut...

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

If only we had something profound with which to follow such an opening. Ah, well, we are not Marcus Antonius after all. So, we will delve into what is available to us, and you don't have to lend us anything. (If you do not know the reference, then we will want to talk to your history teachers! A scolding will be in order!)

DDM and I took a bit of a holiday at the end of the summer (six weeks), to refresh our batteries. Many life-critical issues were demanding our attention and we managed to conquer most of them. You know how it is - ' life is something that happens while you are busy making other plans.' I don't remember who first spoke this sentiment, but he/she hit the nail on the head. If you are over nine years of age then you will fully understand its logic and profundity.

New images are up in three folders and there are more on the way. I just ran out of steam yesterday, so there will be more over the weekend. With recharged batteries, we are back in the fun of what it is that we do. When we can define what that 'it' is we will share it with y'all. We promise.

One of our fave guys left us, literally, and we want to give a nod to 'the Steve.' What he created helps us everyday and we love what he did for computing. Genius? How about one of the gods?

On a happier note, DDM has a new toy and he'll share aspects of it in some of the images that are coming soon. He has wanted one of these for a while (since he was 14) and now he has it. Everyone should have what they wanted most when they were 14, oui? I wanted a Ferrari. Anyone wish to place a wager on whether or not I got what I wanted?

We sincerely hope that everyone is having a healthy and (sufficiently) prosperous year, and hope that you all stay safe and help those around you who may be less fortunate. These are difficult times and the true measure of a man or woman is best taken during times of turmoil. That is when truth will out. Peace.

KJ & DDM

We recently had a Guestbook post from a visitor, which we felt deserved an in-depth reply. Here is our response, along with the points put forth by the poster:

“I really think your missing the boat on your project. I personally thing you should make the comic to be web based project rather than a book. Times gentlemen have changed since you first began with a book based project.”

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us and, as we value all input, I thought it would be a good idea to respond to the points you presented. Before I go further, it should probably be noted that KJ’s professional experience is in Marketing/Advertising. His experience encompasses trends not only for the last part of the 20^th Century, but well into the current market climate, including the use of the internet to augment sales and activities. That said, he and I both have extensive collections of books and artwork and we appreciate the tactile experience of holding a book or work of art in our hands. We do recognize the changes that have taken place, with regards to digital technology and the attention span of many new readers. However, we are ‘old school’ and know that true collectors of good illustrative art will want to have a concrete object to hold, and to add to their collections. Even some of our younger fans have mentioned how they are looking forward to having something that is not tied to their computer and can be read on sailboat, far from land, without requiring electricity.

KJ and I envision young people propped up on their elbows, smiles spreading across their faces, as they witness the miraculous activities of the Boys of St. Precocious Academy. We even dare to hope that a casually discarded – for a moment only – copy of our work(s) may be discovered by another actively seeking answers to the questions that have made themselves present in his or her thoughts. Can a computer offer this possibility? Perhaps, if one were found digging through someone’s files. It is more likely to occur when a brightly coloured book is found lying about.

“I think now it should be website based where you can set up a the on going story line. I for one don't need a book in my life. Your fans can easily print out the images if they want to and the text.” Added in new message: “I neglected to mention I fully expect it to be a pay as you go site. I'm not asking you to give your hard work away for free.”

Perhaps the addition of a book is of no interest for you, and we appreciate different points of view. The suggestion you put forth would make our site be like any other pay site. Initially, we were approached by many different outfits telling us how we could make money by letting others use our site for advertising, as well as providing links that would provide us with additional money from ‘clicking forward,’ which we summarily dismissed as unappetizing for our fans, and dismal for us. Our site is not about money, although our illustrated tome will be sold at a reasonable price. To offer a ‘Download Now’ option would put us in the same league as the Czech sites offering half-dressed urchins for viewing. A basic review of the internet will demonstrate how often people who download from a site where they had to pay a fee will then post the items for others to consume for free. It is their erroneous assumption that they paid for the goods, so they can do with them as they wish. This copyright-ignorant attitude is the majority mindset on the internet, and we have enough understanding of this to do everything in our power to avoid it, prodigiously. As I mentioned earlier, KJ has a great deal of experience with matters such as this. I am no virgin, either.

In summation, I would suggest that trends are trends, and KJ and I subscribe to the concept that ‘only dead fish flow with the current.’ It’s just the way we are. We do hope that you will enjoy our work in whatever format it is delivered.

Danke,

DDM

Summer, at last!

In spite of the odd weather around the globe, summer has made its presence known at the studio. Thunderstorms followed hot and humid days, and that can only mean one thing: it's time for the beach! If you haven't already made plans for a visit to a body of water for this activity, we suggest that you do so now. We'll post a new pic or two after you get back from your dip.

Progress is being made, but KJ is due for a small surgery to the eye, so his creative time will be impacted for a while, after the 16th. Nothing major, but bloody inconvenient, from his perspective.

Stay healthy and have some fun.

KJ & DDM

Talent...

As many of you know, we are occasionally introduced to new talent, and after the Justin Bieber thing (thank you for not sending his vids to us, by the way), we thought we should save new ones for a later date. Now, we feel like this young lad could use a bit of exposure, and he is very talented. Let us hope that he gets the attention he deserves. Here's a bit of Ryan Beatty performing Bruno Mar's 'Talking to the Moon'...



Remember, if you do like him and visit him on Youtube, be gracious.


KJ & DDM

"May the bunny rabbit of happiness fly up your birdbath..."

Don't ask. It's an expression an old friend once used to extend best wishes to others. His sanity was often questioned, although not by us. We're just as demented as was he, as most of you well know.

It being Easter and all, DDM decided to make up a little treat for everyone. You can visit it here, and there will be new images up by Monday night, if KJ can keep his schedule rolling along as intended.

Have a wonderful weekend and please be safe out there.

KJ & DDM

As promised, no joke...

DDM and I did manage to wind down our four-year project on March 31st, which will now allow us to muck about with writing, comic and other fun pursuits. We greatly enjoyed what we were doing, but we needed to refocus on our creative work, and now we can.

As we mentioned a few days ago, we hoped to add new images, alter pages and otherwise fluff up our site before midnight, tonight (GMT) and it appears that we have managed to do so. Will miracles never cease?

There are new characters to meet, and other changes which we hope everyone will enjoy. We will be devoting more time to sharing our work - now that we have a smidgen more time to spare - so we will be updating regularly. Have a look around, and be sure to poke around in all of the nooks and crannies. You may find all sorts of things hanging about.

We would also like to ask that viewers leave a note on the guestbook, or the blog, if you enjoy our work. Public feedback is always welcome and it's a shame if only DDM and myself get to read the kind words of encouragement we receive in emails. Leave a note, when you can and enjoy.

The emails about David's video were so positive that we felt it would be a shame if it lost its place just by the introduction of a new blog, so we are including it in this blog post, as well:



Remember, you can find the intrepid David Paris (Paris D'Avignon) on Facebook. He's a very gracious lad so get to know him.


KJ & DDM