Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for September 13, 2013

yea

Excellent quotation choice and a wonderfully vivid rendering of the dragon! BTW: One of Calvin’s campaign slogans was “Keep cool with Coolidge.”

That’s great…A wonderful quote with art wonderfully rendered.

Isn’t the assumption that anyone can have persistence and determination, and that it wouldn’t be fair for only the talented, the geniuses, and the educated to be successful?

Many people assume they are going to be successful because they are talented, highly intelligent or educated. I acknowledge the educated already put work into improving themselves yet like the others they haven’t begun applying themselves to the real world, and that’s where the persistance and determination need to be applied.

Yes, failure is an option if you make it one. Just because I am unsuccessful in one endeavor does not mean i will not be in another. I used to tell my students, never make the same mistake twice, always make a new one. sooner or later you will be successful.Two great examples come to mind, Edison & Lincoln.

are we trying to imply that purple dragons are poseurs and “shirky-duty” dilettantes?

@ Colonel Claus: This is a beautifully rendered strip and I don’t want to spoil it. I just have to observe, in relation to Edison and Lincoln and the implication there: They are similar in, among other things, having practically no formal education. Congress, on the other hand, is crammed full of people crammed full of the highest education. Point being, it’s not what goes INTO your head, it’s what GOES ON IN your head. ’kay; ’nuff rant.

Persistence usually doesn’t help when you’re tank and healer are killed off that quickly. Might be time to find another guild.

Well done.There is an old Texas Ranger saying:“No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that’s in the right and keeps on a coming.”Texas Ranger Bill McDonald 1852 to 1918Not only the motto of the Texas Rangers but all us DPS officers.Persistence and Determination.

This strip is beginning to reek of testosterone poisoning. It started out as thought-provoking but now … I hope this bloody trend does not continue.

I see no hint in the quote of whether the persistence is for a good or a bad cause. (There are an alarming bunch of persistent congressmen currently throwing wrenches into the wheels of our government.)

(I agree that the violence seems to be wearing away the wisdom in this series.)

Lets put it this way.In WWII would you take a German Tiger tank head on???? No you swarm it with numbers and hit in the ass. Took on the dragon head on, could have quit, could have gone home, but the mission of all was to defeat the dragon. Like the Ranger saying above “If you wilt or falter he will kill you.” You keep coming anyway possible.Backstabbing was not the intent. The intent was you keep coming on anyway you can to defeat the threat. Frontal nearly got him killed. When in doubt FLANK IT.Too much we read in more than what the story is about. Keep it simple. Just the facts.

Sooooo….. Tyrion Lannister gets to kill Drogon ???? :-)

And you had to kill a beautiful and almost extinct mythological creature to prove your point?

Well done, Gavin. It’s a beautifully drawn metaphor that amplifies the truth of Coolidge’s words

For those who are not fans of Game of Thrones…

Inspirational, but as a Dragon, I must admit I don’t like the visual metaphor as much.