Life Happens … **IT HAPPENS

Life rarely goes as planned. Sometimes, unplanned events only cause minor adjustments. But sometimes, they can put you in “crisis mode” and might require major transformations. Like the rainy Friday when Red’s husband came home and told her, totally unexpected, that he had been fired. In a split second, her life went from fairy tale to nightmare.

So, whether you freak out (Red’s default setting) or are feeling overwhelmed and uncertain where to start, when we relaunch this site in the New Year, there will be a section called **IT HAPPENS. Filled with tips and tools (and, of course, food for thought), we hope it will help you survive and thrive during even the most stressful life events.

Because we’ve experienced them, we know that a “crisis” can come in many different forms (financial, work, relationship, health, natural disaster, the list goes on), and what starts as one issue often impacts many aspects of your life. But, as Black recently explained to Red,

Every situation is different, but you can approach them in a similar way, although I did not tell you that at the time. I did not even let you know we were going through the steps one-by-one because, in your case, I knew we first had to deal with the emotional aspects. And, when I told you I thought your “crisis” would be the best thing that ever happened to you, you thought I was being nice. Even though I do not do nice.

Well, Black may not “do nice”, but she did help Red through her “crisis”, and along the way, managed to help Red see that adjusting her mindset and perspective could make all the difference.

However, if you’re currently in a difficult situation (or just curious about how Black guided Red), knowing what’s coming next year doesn’t help you now. So, we hope the following posts might help make things a little better.

P.S. – In case you missed it, here’s a link to the description of THE DAILY HELP, which includes helpful hints you can use now.

crisis

Words & Banter

Red & Black … Do Red, White & Blue

How we celebrate July 4th may change from year to year, but what should never change is remembering WHY we celebrate. And 250 years feels like the perfect time to reflect not just on traditions, but on the sacrifices made to build — and preserve — the freedoms we often take for granted.

Red's Head Red assets.rebelmouse.io

July 4this so different these days with neither girl at home. Natasha always hated the fireworks, while Sawyer would insist we do all the traditional things – barbecuing, eating lots of watermelon, and then watching fireworks in the Texas heat and humidity. But this year, I plan to make it a very “cool” holiday … staying in the air-conditioned house, enjoying “Gone With The Wind” (this summer’s long read), and celebrating my own independence from any “mom” responsibilities with a big bucket of freshly popped popcorn!

Black's Head Black assets.rebelmouse.io

Well, everyone celebrates differently. I celebrate by being able to work uninterrupted. But, I do think about what it took for our Founding Fathers to draft the Declaration of Independence, especially as they did not always agree. The right to disagree, yet respect our differences and find common ground, remains one of our country’s greatest challenges today. Some things never change.

We want to wish everyone a safe and festive Fourth of July, but we also hope that we all take a moment to celebrate — and honor — the United States of America, and remember the best in us, as a people, and as a country.

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Animation

We’ve Always Been Animated

OK, we have to give credit where credit is due … When Black first envisioned “Red & Black” (before she even let Red know that she was turning her crisis into a book — a brand — a business), she thought it could be a sitcom. Because all successful sitcoms are relationship-based. However, years later, at a meeting with Hasbro, they said they thought our sitcom concept would work better as animation. So, thank you, Hasbro!

ANIMATION … MADE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY: FRAME-BY-FRAME

We worked with an industry-renowned animation firm based in Austin, and from the start — beginning with character development — we felt like they “got us” and captured our personalities in our animated “creatures.” But we never realized the incredible amount of work that goes into creating animation (including storyboards and animatics)! And the long lead time between concept/script and final product.

Plus, we decided that the voices of the “animated” Red and Black needed to be done by us. We wish we had videoed the sessions in the sound booth as Red’s theater degree kicked in and she got almost everything in the first take. And Black? Well, she sounded more like a robot than a robot. (Talk about someone who can’t be scripted!)

AND USED IN A WAY THAT WORKS TODAY

We started with the key stories that people seem to love (or at least seem entertained by) at speaking engagements. But even before they were done, we were presented with an opportunity we never expected. The Greater Houston Partnership’s UpSkill Houston initiative asked us to create a Red & Black Soft Skills Animation Series.

It wasn’t long before Red's daughter, Sawyer, told us we needed to do some very short animated "teasers" … so Black said, "Great. Go for it. And, keep track of your hours.” She took the final versions of our animation and started creating teasers for our website.

In late 2025, we hired a social media “guru”, and she started creating content using the animation for our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages. Which, we’re thrilled to announce, have far exceeded our expectations.

WHAT ABOUT AI? DO YOU PLAN TO USE IT TO GENERATE ANIMATIONS?

This question seems to be on many people’s minds.

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: We’re committed to supporting the real-world creative community. Does that mean we’ll never use AI to generate animations? (For an amusing story on how wrong AI got our “creatures”, see this LinkedIn post that got over 15,000 views.) Well, at the point in time we can provide AI with “scripts”, and it can generate new animation that’s consistent with our current animation, then yes. Or, at least, yes, we might seriously consider it.

WANT MORE ANIMATION?

Click ANIMATION for an assortment of “teasers” from our longer stories, while more, including ones from our social media posts, will be loaded on a regular basis. And, of course, they’ll be scattered throughout this site based on subject matter.

Plus, we’ll probably “sneak preview” the full animated stories on our weekly newsletter, so …

Register for our newsletter on the “sticky bar” at the bottom of the page.

P.S. – For those of you who've met us or seen us at speaking engagements, we'd love to know if you think the animators have accurately captured us! (You can email us at Banter@RedandBlack.email.)

Red & Black

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