Maxwells had F*N

[WonderingInWA]

I also am interested in where Mary's inspiration comes from for her drawings. Those male hairstyles don't look like they would be acceptable in Maxhell.

Maybe she has secretly been saving Chick Tracts!

ETA: A little background for ya -- years ago when the Maxhells were handing out tracts at the fair, a blog poster commented with a link to Chick Tracts suggesting they check them out. It actually got posted (slipped past the gates, I guess), then deleted. So, you know, Chick Tracts are forbidden in Maxhell, for sure.

[DowntownAbbey]

Why would Chick Tracts be verboten in Maxhell? It seems almost right up their alley.

[lilith]

Why would Chick Tracts be verboten in Maxhell? It seems almost right up their alley.

Too exciting and sensationalistic, with an inappropriate emphasis on worldly issues would be my guess. Remember that Steve made his wife and children, some of whom were adults, cover their eyes while a film played at the Creation Museum cause he deemed it too violent and disturbing.

[usmcmom]

I just played that game at a get-together the other week! Mrs. lawlife and I are getting along a bit better with my parents, and so we went to their old college roommates' cabin. My mom's roommate married one of my dad's roommates, so there's this group of about 4 couples and all their families who are all really close. On Saturday at the cabin, we all got drunk and played that- and let me tell you, it was really weird to see my straightlaced, strict teacher mom read the cards like "a sad handjob" and "50,000 volts to the nipples!" I can't imagine Steve Maxwell reading such things.

My daughter and her fiancé play it with another couple a lot. One night they were playing it here and, knowing I rarely cuss, they handed me a card and begged me to read it. It was something that began with "Big Fucking...." I tend to have a very young, almost mousy voice too; so they all nearly fell off their chairs laughing at me. Then, like three-year-olds, said "Again! Again!" So I entertained four twenty-somethings by reading the same "Fucking" card as seriously as I could - about ten times. They were all very recently done with finals so were a little punchy anyway, but I'm glad I could entertain them for a while. Then my husband took a picture of the card and sent it to my son with the text "Your mother has been reading this card out loud all night to entertain the college kids." His response: "Go Mom!" That's the only time I've come close to playing Cards Against Humanity but I was a real hit, let me tell you!!

[thoughtful]

I also am interested in where Mary's inspiration comes from for her drawings. Those male hairstyles don't look like they would be acceptable in Maxhell.

Didn't Mary actually have some instruction in drawing? Maybe she was shown some cartooning technique and ways to draw hair.

[Jana814]

Yes I think Mary has had some instruction on drawing.

[fundiefan]

No opinion on Mary's artwork itself. It's the message behind it all that makes my eyeballs bleed.

Without a schedule life is miserable. Kids are unhappy. Mom is unhappy. With a schedule, kids get the house clean and mom smiles.

And the other message that Mary is, as an adult, spending her time drawing for her mother's blog posts.

There is so much wrong with it from start to finish I can't even grasp the thoughts.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

It may just be her style. I think the first picture is fine but in the second one the mom's face looks weird. I know a couple of people who draw (one is an actual artist) and they both like to do cartoony stuff.

I agree - the mom looks kind of stepfordy in the second one, but that could be my jealousy that her kids are helping her and on a Saturday I'm cleaning alone since mine are all out. (We even let the girl out of the house.)

In the top pic the day looks like Scott Bakula and the mom like Winona Ryder circa Beetleguise. Just me?

[princessmahina]

The drawings are fine to me- they look about on par with the quality of the drawings found in high school notebooks all over the country. But that first cartoon is confusing as hell. Perhaps when there's no schedule, Teri daydreams of hunky men who actually follow their schedules and don't need to be passive aggressively reminded by their wives to order a damn pizza.

[blessalessi]

I think Mary's art is lovely. A parent showing off their teenager's art on a blogpost is quite normal, I think. It is not as if they are passing it off as a Picasso! :lol:

Sometimes the criticism of every minute detail of their blog seems to go overboard!

[DaffyDill]

I think Mary's art is lovely. A parent showing off their teenager's art on a blogpost is quite normal, I think. It is not as if they are passing it off as a Picasso! :lol:

Sometimes the criticism of every minute detail of their blog seems to go overboard!

Yeah, I can't pick on her drawings because I couldn't produce anything like that. The message behind the drawings though? Blah...

I saw in the comments someone asked if Mary had thought of doing a picture book for children too young for the Moody books, and the Maxwell reply was "She's hoping to!". What's with an exclamation mark? Are things are getting so exciting in Maxwell that exclamations have been heard?

I wonder how Sarah would react to Mary stepping into the children's book arena with a picture book? Competition for the Moody's on Amazon. Although I suppose it would be too much to hope that Mary be able to keep the rights to her own work, or any money from sales of her cartoons. You're such a knob, Steve.

[sparkles]

I think Mary's art is lovely. A parent showing off their teenager's art on a blogpost is quite normal, I think. It is not as if they are passing it off as a Picasso! :lol:

Sometimes the criticism of every minute detail of their blog seems to go overboard!

I agree with the bolded. I don't think any of us could stand up to the same kind of scrutiny we give some of these bloggers, who have every word and action dissected for hidden meanings. But as for the first part, eh. Not so much.

The Maxwells aren't parents showing off their kid's art. They've positioned Mary as an illustrator of children's books, much like they've declared that Sarah is an author. But just because you can put words on paper doesn't mean you're an author, and just because you can draw, it doesn't make you an illustrator. I'm not saying Mary doesn't have talent. It appears she does and with education and objective critique, she might develop into a real artist. But her better works (the portrait she did of herself and Teri, and whatever illustrations can be seen in the sample of the Moody book she illustrated) appear to be mimicry—working from a photo. Not that it's a BAD thing, but for art students—who study and mimic the masters to learn history and technique—it's a MEANS to an end, not the end itself. When left to her own devices, as with the cartoons on the blog, Mary fails, IMO, because she doesn't have the technique, the education or the imagination (which seems to have been trained out of all the Maxwells because imagination is looked on as an evil temptation) to carry her. Her drawings seem off because they are. She may be trying to find a style but that can't be done in a vacuum. You can't break the rules until you know what they are… (Friend's daughter, L, that I've mentioned, has a very distinct style but that was developed after years of study.) As Princess Mahina said, Mary's drawings look like anything you might find in a high school notebook and that's not the kind of thing that makes one an illustrator. But since that's what the Maxwells have decided she is, she should be subjected to the same kind of review and critique that any illustrator would be receive.

The Maxwells self-publish for a VERY good reason.

FYI, I'm not just pulling this out of thin air. I was very artistic when I was younger, studied extensively and considered applying to art school (but didn't since I was a pig-headed teenager and decided that if I was good at something—which I was—I wasn't going to do it.) I've been a graphic designer for the past 25 years and although I don't have a degree in it, I never, ever stop learning and improving. Like every designer, I keep a file of work I find inspirational/aspirational to study, as well as work that I dislike and think I can improve. And my colleague and I rely on each other to critique each other's work because it only makes us better at what we do. I also go to museums regularly. These are opportunities that Mary will never be given—an occasional lesson from friend Dave (of Liz and Dave) just doesn't cut it.

[blessalessi]

I see where you are coming from but I dont see it as such a big deal. Mary is 19, the same age as my niece,and I guess I am feeling defensive on her behalf. :lol:

I'm sure that lots of people with 25 years experience could justifiably critique my niece's hobbies and professional interests to shreds and I'd want to handslap them pretty hard too. :D

[fundiefan]

I agree with the bolded. I don't think any of us could stand up to the same kind of scrutiny we give some of these bloggers, who have every word and action dissected for hidden meanings. But as for the first part, eh. Not so much.

The Maxwells aren't parents showing off their kid's art. They've positioned Mary as an illustrator of children's books, much like they've declared that Sarah is an author. But just because you can put words on paper doesn't mean you're an author, and just because you can draw, it doesn't make you an illustrator. I'm not saying Mary doesn't have talent. It appears she does and with education and objective critique, she might develop into a real artist. But her better works (the portrait she did of herself and Teri, and whatever illustrations can be seen in the sample of the Moody book she illustrated) appear to be mimicry—working from a photo. Not that it's a BAD thing, but for art students—who study and mimic the masters to learn history and technique—it's a MEANS to an end, not the end itself. When left to her own devices, as with the cartoons on the blog, Mary fails, IMO, because she doesn't have the technique, the education or the imagination (which seems to have been trained out of all the Maxwells because imagination is looked on as an evil temptation) to carry her. Her drawings seem off because they are. She may be trying to find a style but that can't be done in a vacuum. You can't break the rules until you know what they are… (Friend's daughter, L, that I've mentioned, has a very distinct style but that was developed after years of study.) As Princess Mahina said, Mary's drawings look like anything you might find in a high school notebook and that's not the kind of thing that makes one an illustrator. But since that's what the Maxwells have decided she is, she should be subjected to the same kind of review and critique that any illustrator would be receive.

The Maxwells self-publish for a VERY good reason.

FYI, I'm not just pulling this out of thin air. I was very artistic when I was younger, studied extensively and considered applying to art school (but didn't since I was a pig-headed teenager and decided that if I was good at something—which I was—I wasn't going to do it.) I've been a graphic designer for the past 25 years and although I don't have a degree in it, I never, ever stop learning and improving. Like every designer, I keep a file of work I find inspirational/aspirational to study, as well as work that I dislike and think I can improve. And my colleague and I rely on each other to critique each other's work because it only makes us better at what we do. I also go to museums regularly. These are opportunities that Mary will never be given—an occasional lesson from friend Dave (of Liz and Dave) just doesn't cut it.

Most of us don't whore ourselves out to the world. Nor do we act as though our life is divine while the rest of the world is evil and heathen and ungodly. When one has a blog to show their life, the negative comes with the praise. Just because Steve won't allow dissent doesn't mean it doesn't exist. That's kind of what FJ does/exists for. And particularly with the Maxwells, every.single.thing.they.do. is intentional and designed to spread their message and whore themselves out for money. Having that dissected is nothing new or even wrong. They breathe with an agenda, and too bad, so sad, so do others.

[FloraKitty35]

Too exciting and sensationalistic, with an inappropriate emphasis on worldly issues would be my guess. Remember that Steve made his wife and children, some of whom were adults, cover their eyes while a film played at the Creation Museum cause he deemed it too violent and disturbing.

If a Chick Tract is inappropriate as is in Maxhell, then they should never ever go to the Bible Reloaded channel on You Tube. They "reinterpret" them. Although, they will not parody the "Lisa" tract, because that one is too disgusting for even them to satirize.

[sparkles]

Most of us don't whore ourselves out to the world. Nor do we act as though our life is divine while the rest of the world is evil and heathen and ungodly. When one has a blog to show their life, the negative comes with the praise. Just because Steve won't allow dissent doesn't mean it doesn't exist. That's kind of what FJ does/exists for. And particularly with the Maxwells, every.single.thing.they.do. is intentional and designed to spread their message and whore themselves out for money. Having that dissected is nothing new or even wrong. They breathe with an agenda, and too bad, so sad, so do others.

I wasn't referring to the big picture, but the little things. For example, I don't follow the Duggars but for some reason I used to read the thread on TWOP (I sure as hell stay away from their forum here though) and I remember a whole bunch of posts that pretty much eviscerated Michelle because she used the word "poop" when talking about one of the babies. Seriously, you would have thought she'd murdered someone. That's the kind of thing I meant when I said most of us wouldn't stand up to the same scrutiny. (I have a blog and it's one of the things I thought about before I hit "Publish" for the first time. If I put myself out there I had to be sure I could accept the bad with the good.) YMMV and not hand-slappy, JMHO. If peeps want snark on stuff like that? Go right ahead. It's not like I'm gonna block anyone. I'll still read the posts and I'll actually probably do the same thing too. I ain't no angel. Other than that. AFAIC, I think anything these bloggers put out there is fair game—except for the obvious rule-breakers—including Mary's art and Sarah's writing.

Signed,

Not a Degreed Art Professional

[WonderingInWA]

If a Chick Tract is inappropriate as is in Maxhell, then they should never ever go to the Bible Reloaded channel on You Tube. They "reinterpret" them. Although, they will not parody the "Lisa" tract, because that one is too disgusting for even them to satirize.

Wow, I had to go look that one up. That's awful. Any of the Chick Tracts I've ever seen I've found distasteful, but that one is a doozie. I guess it is no longer in publication and isn't available on the Chick Tract website, so apparently even THEY figured out that theme/resolution wasn't a good idea.

[kpmom]

In the case of the Maxwells I feel comfortable with the criticism they get here as I believe they have such a harsh, critical spirit themselves, often much more so than I see here towards them.

1. Steve writing about counting how many overweight people were in a doctor's office waiting room

2. Sarah and Teri gossiping about immodestly dressed girls at their church.

3. Steve taking a cashier at Wal-Mart to task for not reading her bible daily-then remarking about how she got insulted with the criticism.

4.Christopher saying how difficult handing out balloons and water at the fair was because people were dressed so immodestly.

These are just what I can remember off hand.

It's obvious they think they're above we unwashed masses, so I think they invite this sort of criticism.

[nausicaa]

Wow, I had to go look that one up. That's awful. Any of the Chick Tracts I've ever seen I've found distasteful, but that one is a doozie. I guess it is no longer in publication and isn't available on the Chick Tract website, so apparently even THEY figured out that theme/resolution wasn't a good idea.

I was not prepared for how disturbing that was. Especially when you see just how little Lisa is. Also, the dad telling the wife that her pulling away only made things worse? :wtf:

"I'm afraid we might have scarred Lisa for life." You mean her dad and grown neighbor raping her and her mom beating her might affect her later on? You think?????

[WonderingInWA]

I was not prepared for how disturbing that was. Especially when you see just how little Lisa is. Also, the dad telling the wife that her pulling away only made things worse? :wtf:

"I'm afraid we might have scarred Lisa for life." You mean her dad and grown neighbor raping her and her mom beating her might affect her later on? You think?????[/quote]

Don't forget the herpes she contracted!

[fiery redhead]

Am I the only one who is super pissed off at the post before the F*n Night at the rest home where the women are hiking a dangerous area in long skirts? I have no respect for these men who dictate that the women in their families dress dangerously modest.

Good job Steve for endangering your wife and daughter's lives!!!

[BigSandy]

Holy cow, I just read the "Lisa" tract - that is so awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The doctor should have called the cops!!!! I sure wish I could un-read that tract! So terrible!!!!!!

[Justme]

Am I the only one who is super pissed off at the post before the F*n Night at the rest home where the women are hiking a dangerous area in long skirts? I have no respect for these men who dictate that the women in their families dress dangerously modest.

Good job Steve for endangering your wife and daughter's lives!!!

In more ways than this. I wonder when these women has last had a physical exam with a doctor? A Pap or breast exam??? :(

[WonderingInWA]

In more ways than this. I wonder when these women has last had a physical exam with a doctor? A Pap or breast exam??? :(

I have actually wondered if they do those or not. My guess is Teri gets them and so does Melanie just based on the number of pregnancies they've had and their ages. I wonder if NR-Anna sees a gynecologist. Breast exams are really recommended for women under 40 unless there are certain circumstances (and yes, I have had friends in their early 30s who have had breast cancer, so the "age 40" rule gives a false sense of security).

I've never seen Steve address this issue. Maybe someone should pose it to Teri as a topic for one of her upcoming Corners.

[lilith]

Holy cow, I just read the "Lisa" tract - that is so awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The doctor should have called the cops!!!! I sure wish I could un-read that tract! So terrible!!!!!!

If it's any consolation "Lisa" and her story are the products of Jack Chick's warped mind - she, her parents, the neighbour and the doctor never existed.