Silly Translations

The well needs filling.

2011-05-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

My Valentine

2011-02-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

My life is made better by these two. Starting my morning to the sound of his laughter and going to sleep to the sound of her voice gently singing to him it doesn't really matter what the day was like in between. I'm humbled beyond words and any attempt to express or describe my gratitude for this life would fall short.
What more is there to want?
All I can hope is that anyone who comes across this should find something as beautiful for their own life.

To pass the time.

2010-12-15T22:29:00.001-08:00

Bear sighting.

2010-11-28T20:47:00.000-08:00

A few doodles

2010-11-28T01:38:00.000-08:00

Being a working stiff with a newborn boy doesn't allow as much time to write and draw as one would think. This is about all I've had time for lately. It's not entirely random, I'm just trying to get some creativity flowing again.

Anonymous post-ers are funny.

2010-11-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

While holding my newborn son in my arms this morning I was enjoying his sweet sleeping face and thought I'd relax at my desk, maybe check my mail, see what's new in the world.

And I had a thought.

Anonymous posting is funny. It's almost always reserved for hate, right? Who, when seeing something pleasing or inspiring would comment praise and encouragement but then say "oh, no, I don't want them to know who I am...click anonymous!" Nah, it doesn't matter, then, right?

I don't mean to take away anyone's right to hate. More power to you if hate is the only force that gets you out in the morning. We all know the world doesn't have enough of it. Go forth and spew your vile anonymously to those who otherwise would have enjoyed their day.

But let me know if I've yet to be honored with making your acquaintance. I'm curious to see if your hate is grounded in a real world encounter with me or if your hate is pure and impersonal.

Because some of this stuff is really good! I mean, how it digs into your heart and really pokes at the insecurities and vulnerability. Brilliant!

I say, take credit for your poetic gems! Don't leave the world hanging as to the identity of its most thoughtful and creative wizards of negativity. Stamp your dark seal of bitterness and disapproval proudly, don't hide in the shadows. I mean, I've got this blog where it's pretty clear that I, Erik, am putting all of this up here. Only seems fair.

Have a beautiful day!

The Labyrinth

2010-10-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

It's been 9 months and it still hasn't fully sunk in that fatherhood is the next experience waiting for me.
I feel like I've spent this time pacing back and forth, navigating every corner of the befuddling labyrinth of thoughts and memories that make up my crazy mind, all to pass the time and maybe get a little prepared. Up to recently, though, I've felt like I've been crouching in the corner of an empty room, clutching my knees and rocking myself, muttering "when when when when when when when?"

I get these flashes of certain moments: when I first hold his little pink body in my arms, when he first opens his eyes, poops on my shirt, laughs at one of my jokes (only because he doesn't understand me), when Jamie rocks him to sleep.

My mind is ragged with anticipation.
It's Halloween weekend and I haven't spent more than 3 seconds thinking about what to do, how to celebrate or even whether or not to carve this ridiculously expensive pumpkin we bought (there'll be a cartoon about that coming). Halloween! One of my favorites! But all I've got on the mind is that belly. That little pokey belly button, stretched skin and tightening muscles. Everything else is so unimportant.

So where am I at now? We've done the class thing and the midwife thing, the home prep thing and the back up plan thing.

But that all comes and goes. Where am I in my head? I can get up in there and climb on one of the empty niches in the wall of my brain and scream "HEY! Are you ready for this?!" I can poke and prod the labyrinth walls hoping to make the place more aware of things ahead. But I don't know.

Maybe we're always going to be a little unaware of what the future will look like. Maybe that's the beauty of it, the freedom of flexibility. Maybe we'll always be a little afraid we won't make the right choice or live the best example. Maybe it'll help keep us on our toes.

I'm ready. I'm ready for the leap into what comes next, fully aware of how unaware I am of what that means. It's a mess. A beautiful, terrifying, blessed mess.

Kinda weird to say "Happy" Columbus day, eh?

2010-10-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

More dog jokes.

2010-10-09T23:11:00.001-07:00

Dog Jokes!...or do they?

2010-09-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Who hurt you?

2010-09-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Saw this guy talking on his phone outside a cafe, his own one man show. All I could really do was stare nervously around the street like I wasn't eavesdropping and say "yeesh". What I left out was that he also mentioned being locked out of his apartment, having to break in to get something, and he had a strict deadline for something. Tough day.

How awesome is the skull and crossbones, by the way? It's kind of like an overweight pacman ghost. Let's see if you guys can find the other 80's reference in this one.

Went camping this weekend!

2010-09-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

A quick one. Let's see if I can build some momentum.

2010-09-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

Any excuse for a loud outburst!

2010-09-05T20:55:00.001-07:00

Global Sleep deprivation Conspiracy

2010-09-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

So we're sleeping, right? And then doo doodle loo, my cell phone goes off. For a quarter of a second I think it's my alarm and I start to get up but then I realize "No, that can't be right. It's clearly the middle of the night and I'm tired as hell. Let me investigate." I grab the phone and see someone is calling me. At what time? 3:30 in the morning.

We're both awake and a bit concerned. I don't recognize the number, but maybe it's a family emergency of some kind. By the time I think of that the phone has stopped ringing. 5 seconds later it rings again. I pick up. "Hello? Hello?" nothing. A pause for a few seconds and then they hang up. This happens again. I pick up. No anwer. They hang up.

And again.

They try to keep calling but I eventually silence it hoping they will stop. And they do. For 10 minutes. Another 3 or 4 back to back calls. Then silence for 10 minutes. A few more calls. I turn my phone off.

Sleep did not find us well that pre-dawn morning.

The result is this comic. And the mystery remains, though I looked the number up and it is attached to some apartment management office in Azusa. They weren't shy about calling us 14 times so I'm not shy about sharing their number with you.

Happy Monday

2010-08-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Doodles!

2010-08-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few doodles I knocked out today. I was at my parents' house the other day and found my old Redwall books. If you haven't read them, you really should. They're quite the thing for any young adolescent mind forming an idea of how the world works. As an adult I now see all other people not as humans but as woodland creatures. It inspired me to create this little drawing. You can interpret it as you wish, though I really meant nothing by it.

This one is a project I am going to start working on for a friend. When it is complete I will share more.

Work, in Pictures

2010-08-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Got a new day job.

Rome to Sora

2010-08-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

This was on the bus after our first week in Rome, headed to the tiny country town of Sora. Unfortunately, there was some mix up when we bought our bus tickets that became clear to us once we were on the road. When we asked for bus tickets to Sora the woman behind the counter must have thought we meant we wanted tickets that went kinda sorta to Sora. Oh well. The driver and a few fellow passengers took pity on us and gave us directions to another busline that actually went there...but in Italian. Eventually we found it. All ended well at the end of the day.

Coming Back

2010-08-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, people, I am officially back from vacation, back from my comic hiatus, back from laziness and procrastination. With today's arrival of our new scanner comic making should be a lot smoother and a lot more consistent. So for the sake of starting back up again with any ol' thing here is a page from my journal that I sketched on the plane coming home.

I was ecstatic that we had as much room as we had on the relatively short flight from Naples to Munich. I will forever be a fan of the German way of flying. The other guy below was an American from Vegas we met in line in Naples, getting ready to check in for our flight. He had already checked in with Alitalia airline and thought he was line for security. (still don't have any idea how he could have mistaken the check-in for the security) He was already a borderline brusque fellow but he stopped holding back when he realized he'd wasted a good 45 minutes talking to us in line for Lufthansa.

Euro trip, WOO WOO

2010-07-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

   Well, we're leaving for Italia early tomorrow morning. It'll be our first time there and our last major trip before little baby boy comes so we are prepared to enjoy ourselves. We are NOT prepared, however, to speak to people in their native tongue. It's kind of one of those things that got lost along the way as this day slowly approached. We've hit the dock where our boat will sail and I pat my pockets and ask Jamie "did I give you the... basic Italian comprehension?" and she looks at me and says "NO, you didn't!" And then I go back and retrace our steps, picking up little scraps of travel information we dropped on the road, hoping and praying it will be where I assume I must have dropped it.
Ooo, ooo, is that it?
-No. Just the average summer precipitation for Sora.
Wait, what about that? That has to be it!
-Nah, that's just the History Channel dvd on Roman architecture.
So then my feet tire from retracing our steps and I hurry back to the dock as the boat's engine is firing up. Jamie's already on board. Too late to go back and find our ability-to-understand-Italian-language now.
   So, I've been thinking a lot about the ramifications of our failure to linguistically prepare. And I'm also well aware that we'll be going in high-tourist season. And that may be a comfort to some, blending in with the crowds and staying safe beneath the wings of foreign culture. But I can't help but feel a bit depressed that there's a greater chance of us being dismissed as typical American tourists. Ehhhhh.
   So my plan, then, to avoid this shameful stereotype, is to lay low, take the side streets, and pretend I'm mute. That's right. My ignorance of this language will only convincingly be concealed by my refusal to let ANY sounds come out of my mouth. I'll just smile a lot and look upwards avoiding eye contact, as though I'm enjoying the birds or the roofs of buildings. In shops or restaurants I'll draw pictures of what I'd like with a smiley face at the bottom. It will be charming. No, no. It will. And if I'm good enough maybe I'll even hear "What a charming mute Canadian."

Another quick splash of fun.

2010-06-30T17:40:00.001-07:00

You'd think it would be fun, no? But doesn't this always happen?

Mt. Everest has an inferiority complex.

2010-06-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy working on bigger projects I've neglected my short comics. Here's one for you. Enjoy. I did.

Things been busy...and so have I! (Said in exaggerated excited voice)

2010-06-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have a comic I'm working on. These are the first couple pages. This one will be longer...and for SALE!! Wait, wait, put your dollars away. It's not ready yet. I'll let you know and then we can rejoice together. (I'm hoping for this summer)

Monsters, Marriage, and Murder in Manchvegas!

2010-06-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

My friend Charles, writer/filmmaker, made this awesome movie with one of his good friends
and I would like the world to see it. So, World, go find it and see it. If you like all of these:
1.)FUN
2.)ROPE SWINGS
3.) SUMMER
4.) MYTHICAL (OR NOT-SO-MYTHICAL) MONSTERS
5.) SMALL TOWN MURDER MYSTERIES
6.) COURAGE, BRAVERY, LOVE

or if you like one of those then find this movie and watch it. It's available on netflix, to start.
This movie will make you a better person. And we all need that.

There have been developments...

2010-06-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful few months what with moving down the hill a bit, ending jobs, planning a trip, and...

...watching my son develop. Look at that beautiful little boy!

Like a Jungle Drum!

2010-06-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

I break my period of silence with this awesome video. I saw this the other day and it's been in my head nonstop...the song, the country, dancing, everything. YES!!!

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

Update!

2010-05-12T00:29:00.001-07:00

I've edited a previous cartoon through some nifty cartoon editing magic. Here is the finished result! And in case you guys might be too lazy to scroll down...here is the original.

I like the new one better. Thanks!

I can probably draw this weekly.

2010-05-12T00:15:00.003-07:00

Geese in the Garden!

2010-05-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

Isn't that classy?

2010-04-25T23:17:00.001-07:00

Bubbles!

2010-04-22T23:22:00.000-07:00

So after being on this good green Earth for 26 years I managed to pull myself together enough to blow my first bubble gum bubble. It was by no means the first time I tried, but it took some courage and maybe, yes maybe, just a little hope. And, well, as you can see, it paid off.
(I won't tell you how many other times that day I just ended up with spit on my chin.)

Way too much effort for this...

2010-04-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is one I'm going to call "Took Way Too Long To Complete". I'm practicing with photoshop. Hopefully upwards is the only way to go.

Nothing's gettin this guy down!

2010-04-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Meet my new friend!

2010-04-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

This is the bird who overcomes adversity.

Go Amtrak!

2010-04-07T22:08:00.001-07:00

Got Fire?

2010-04-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach!

2010-04-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

I wish I was exaggerating.

2010-03-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Days like this

2010-03-11T00:03:00.001-08:00

Man, I have all KINDS of fun at work.

Jake and Me vs. GiGANtic late night dog Part II

2010-03-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

This took way too long to post. Let's pretend I did these both back to back. And while we're at it, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Jake and Me vs. GiGANtic late night dog Part I

2010-02-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

Aquaman Vs. Illegal Whaling

2010-02-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

Who will defend our seas and the majestic creatures that frolic within them?
AQUAMAN!*

(*thanks for the idea Cassandra and Ryan)

Iceman Vs. Global Warming

2010-01-26T17:05:00.000-08:00

Who will win in the struggle between global climate change and environmental homeostasis?!?!

Wolverine Vs. Deforestation!

2010-01-22T00:45:00.000-08:00

It's the epic battle between forest creature and arboreal destruction.

Wednesday!

2010-01-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

I wonder how long I can keep this guy around.

Tuesday

2010-01-19T01:13:00.000-08:00

Hahahaha!

Fun with extreme temperatures.

2010-01-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

So here we've got a depiction of a recent fitness experience of ours. I believe it speaks for itself. Enjoy.

Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone has heard by now about the 7.0 earthquake that recently hit Haiti. I'm not going to rehash all the details because you can get them from much better sources, though at this point it looks like thousands and thousands have already died, but I want to offer some opportunities to respond and hope that they might move a few people to help that might not have considered it before.

The CIA world factbook has Haiti down as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere "...with 80% of the population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty." It's per capita Gross Domestic Product in 2008 was about $1,300. To contrast, the per capita GDP for the United States in 2008 was about $47,500, and as of 2008 about 13% of Americans live below the poverty line.

I'm no economist but that seems like quite the disparity. My hope is just that we as a mass don't let another disaster in the world dissolve into our collective unconscious simply because it's not disrupting our own personal lives. I'm including myself here, as well. I hope that we can be creative in our response, and stubborn in our refusal to move onto the next flippant news story as soon as we've had our fill with this one.

Below are a few of the organizations sending supplies, aid, and workers to help in the relief efforts. I'm sure they can use anything we can afford.

Donate: World Vision

Oxfam

American Red Cross

Salvation Army

Redbox is the Devil.

2010-01-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

This is the truth.
Jamie and I, when in the mood for an immediate movie fix, have been trying out Redbox for a few months. Sure Netflix has been great with prompt delivery and returns and suggestions and all that but sometimes you're in the mood for something that isn't in your queue, and you want it NOW. Redbox, we thought, was good for this.

So one day we decided to track down the nearest location inside a 7/11 or Vons or something and found a movie we were looking for. Everything was great. We returned it the next day rejoicing at this great new and and inexpensive movie-watching option. A few weeks went by and we tried it again. We were no less impressed that time around.

Then about a month ago we thought "Hey, let's go CRAZY. Let's check out TWO movies at the same time."
"Wait, but can you do that? I thought the catch was that you could only do one movie at a time."
"Nope, that's where you are pleasantly incorrect. You can pick as many as you want!"
"Oh, rejoice! Redbox es fastastico!"

So we got our two movies but then were faced with another problem. "Hey, we have two movies...I'm too tired to watch them both tonight. Is there a late fee if we return them tomorrow night?"
"Let me check." A few tick tack tick ticks on the keyboard later and "Nope, it says right here on their homepage 'Easy DVD rentals, no late fees.' "
"What? I don't believe that. Let me click on this tab (How Redbox Works). Hmm, you're right. 'Redbox easy DVD rentals. With no late or hidden fees ever."
"Wow, did they really say 'no late or hidden fees EVER'? They must really mean it! It's probably like netflix where you can keep them as long as you need and return them before you take out new ones. Makes sense."

So we watched, one and then the other. Life happened and we were pulled to one social function and then to another work obligation and so on and so on. After a couple weeks we drove to the store to return them and the box was full. "Try another location" the screen said. " At 10:30 pm?" I thought "Nah, I'll just return them later. No late or hidden fees after all, right?" Another week went by.

And so here I was tiddling about online a few minutes ago when I checked by bank account.

$52.68 POS DEBIT REDBOX DVD RENTAL 866-733-2693

"Wait a second. Must be some kind of mistake" I thought. "Not Redbox." But immediately the suspicion arose in the back of my mind. I knew something foul was afoot.

"Call the number" Jamie said, both of us becoming increasingly agitated. The soft, almost imperceptible cursing was beginning in the deep recesses of my throat. I was preparing what I was going to tell them, how I'd defend our cause.
Everything I could think of for some reason included the phrase "This is bullshit!" I dialed the number and waited. This was just the general customer service number but one of the first options stated was something like "To dispute a charge to your account, press 1." Hmmm.
The polite, bubbly voice of an older woman clicked on and commenced the obligatory pre-encounter recording meant to placate waiting callers. I thought, as I was listening, "This is strange. Why does the recording keep suggesting I try to email my concerns to them? They also seem to be repeating their rental policy pretty frequently."
Time dragged on, but as the minutes ticked by I felt my resolve strengthening. My German stubbornness was kicking in. Meanwhile Jamie investigated further into the Redbox website, found the Frequently asked Questions page and found that any DVD's deemed "lost" after 25 days were charged to your account for $25 plus tax.
"It doesn't change anything" I thought. "I'm going to wait here until I talk to a human fucking being! They can't get rid of me that easily." And so I waited and waited and waited. 17 minutes went by and I started to hallucinate, picturing myself in line at the DMV.

Finally I heard a voice.

"Thank you for calling Redbox, this is Martha. Can I help you?"
"Yes, you can. I have this charge on my account and I..."
"Helloooo?...Thank you for calling Redbox, this is Martha. Can I help you?"
"Yeah! Hello. I'm right here. I have this charge on my account..."
"Helloooo?...Anyone there? Thank you for calling Redbox, this is Martha. Can I help you?"

The Irish fury was burning up from my chest to my face. I understood what was going on.

"HELLOO!!!" I yelled into the phone. If she couldn't hear that she couldn't hear anything.
But the recording kept looping over on itself. "Helloooo?...Thank you for calling Redbox, this is Martha. Can I help you?"
I just held the phone to my ear and listened, heard the same loop for a while and then "There's no one there, I'm hanging up."
Never in my life have I been on a call and had the operator try for so long to catch the other person on the other end. After one or two attempts there'd be a click and silence. She tried too long. No one ever says "No one's there, I'm hanging up."

Everything became clear. The oversimplified home page, "No late or hidden fees EVER." The absence of any emails notifying me of overdue movies. The customer service menu options. The pre-encounter recording. The loop, and the loop, and the loop.

The movies are still at my side, next to the computer. My bank card is on top of them, waiting for the last 4 digits to be given to the operator. I still have a window open on the screen to my bank account and to the FAQ page of Redbox's site.

And this is all I can do:
Redbox is the devil.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

This was forwarded to me, and now I pass it on.

2009-12-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT ON NEW YEAR'S EVE!

While Over 1,000 peace activists are trying to enter Gaza, we can support them:

PASADENA VIGIL: JUSTICE FOR GAZA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31 - 3:00-5:00 p.m. - OLD TOWN PASADENA Colorado Blvd. @ Fair Oaks

Please join us! Even if you can't attend, please circulate this call!

From OXFAM's December 2009 report on Gaza:

www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/Oxfam_FailingGaza_OneYearAfterCastLead.pdf

"A year after Israel launched its Operation Cast Lead military offensive on Gaza, on 27 December 2008,little of the extensive damage it caused to homes,civilian infrastructure, public services, farms and businesses has been repaired. As thousands of families still come to terms with loss or injury of their loved ones, they are being prevented from rebuilding their shattered society.
This is not for a lack of determination by the people of Gaza or of resources committed to do the job. Indeed, over US$4 billion was pledged in March 2009 by the international community to assist reconstruction in Gaza and to support
the Palestinian economy.1 Gaza’s jobless people are only too ready to put their skills and work into rebuilding their wrecked homes or getting the shattered water, sewage and electricity systems working again. Crossing points into Gaza from
Israel have been designed and tested and security procedures developed that could facilitate the large-scale entry of the materials needed for reconstruction. But little of this committed money has been spent. Goods and equipment earmarked
for rebuilding languish in storage outside Gaza. And much of Gaza still lies in ruins.
This is not an accident; it is a matter of policy. The Israeli government’s blockade, imposed in 2007 after Hamas took control of Gaza (though long
preceded by regular closures and restrictions), not only forbids most Gazans from leaving or exporting anything to the outside world, but also only permits the import of a narrowly-restricted number of basic humanitarian goods. Desperately-needed reconstruction materials are not counted amongst these. So the civilian population and the United Nations and aid agencies that aim to help them are
prohibited from importing materials like cement or glass for reconstruction in all but a handful of cases.
Indeed, since Operation Cast Lead, only 41 truckloads of construction materials for all purposes have been permitted into Gaza. Thousands of truckloads are required to rebuild all the houses destroyed. And this is to say nothing of all the
remaining reconstruction desperately needed to put right damage to all the schools, hospitals, other buildings and water network because of previous
military action or serious dilapidation caused by lack of repair materials due to the blockade."

WE CANNOT BE SILENT! WE MUST BEAR WITNESS!
WE IN THE U.S. MUST HOLD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS ROLE IN PERPETUATING THIS INJUSTICE!

Postcards!

2009-12-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do some Christmas-related drawings for a while but have been short on spare time, and I was also trying to think of creative ways to connect/reconnect with family and friends so I made some postcards from construction paper and ingenuity. They were done quickly, with the hopes of getting them in the mail by today or tomorrow so the drawing could be better but the thought is still there. Thanks as usual for tuning in.

I believe this portrait was taken at JC Penney's.

One of the lesser known rivalries in the cosmos.

You won't hear about THIS on CNN or BBC...and I wonder WHY NOT! Corporate news whores.

The face of ignorance (Or: Conclusion)

2009-12-07T22:20:00.001-08:00

Oh, THAT'S what he's training for!

2009-12-02T16:51:00.001-08:00

Oh, WHAT can he be training for?

2009-12-01T21:31:00.001-08:00

This will be my Thanksgiving post

2009-11-25T01:25:00.000-08:00

On any given day of a particular type of work, one may find oneself escaping to other worlds, other more exciting worlds.
Fields are calling out to be frolicked in, and skyboats are yearning to be taken through the clouds. And sometimes I'm just hungry.

I'm making all kinds of friends.

2009-11-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

This is the closest I've come to being productive lately, even though this actually happened about a month and a half ago.
It reminded me how much I enjoy my drawing so I'll try to get back to it again.

Hi ho.

2009-11-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today is Kurt Vonnegut’s birthday. The 11th day of the 11th month. Armistice day, now Veteran’s Day. I should read one of his stories today in his honor. What a great writer. Some people might not think so, though. Some highly privileged, highly educated, highly critical individuals might not deem him worthy of the honor of the title “great writer.” To them he will always be a science-fiction writer, something that not even he, himself, was comfortable being called. Or he will be some coarse and shallow humor writer. It’s a shame, those that interpret him that way that read into what shouldn’t be read into and don’t read into what should.
I can only speak for the influence he’s had on my own life, though. In the world of literature, at a time when I was hesitant, if anything, to welcome any work into my mind and let it plant roots his books did just that. My time in high school was most characterized by a distanced and dutiful approach to education. And when I was unknowingly keeping these great writers at arm’s length, allowing myself to sail through assignments without any heavy lasting impact, I found that there was one in particular that broke through my guards.
Cat’s Cradle was that first book. I was caught in the story, tangled up in the characters and was led. I was led forward out of my safety bubble and taught how to take off my student glasses. Maybe that’s what it meant to actually read something, to see it the way it was intended to be seen, as a story.
Stories get so twisted and exploited in our society. Somewhere between publication and a student’s backpack their meaning gets dissected, categorized, labeled, repackaged, processed, and filtered. The story’s meaning, its purpose, is told and passed down. It becomes sterile and lifeless, like a portable museum exhibit. Its heartbeat becomes frozen in time. It is no longer a dynamic and kinetic relationship between reader and word.
What I mean is that the reader isn’t caught off guard in the same way, isn’t thrown back, pulled forward. Their mind isn’t trampled by the heaviness of the words on the page and the task of finding the meaning for themselves. And they, in turn, can’t move the story, can’t bring it to life in any new and creative way because that path has been paved for them. What impact they could have had on that story and that story could have had on them is diluted.
And that book was one of the first to leap over all of the walls and diversions to really show me what stories can be. It was one after another after that point. It would be a year or two later until I had the freedom of college to choose what I wanted to read for myself and when I went back through the catalog of writers I knew Vonnegut’s roots were planted and the curiosity had bloomed. It was Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Slaughterhouse-five, Breakfast of Champions, Bluebeard, Hocus Pocus, Deadeye Dick, Slapstick, Timequake, and then Man without a Country, Armageddon in Retrospect, and Fates Worse than Death.
I ate through them like a kid with his first box of See’s Candies, picking up the next curious creation before I was finished swallowing the last. And I think when I read everything I could I sat back with the same, is that it, no more? look on my face, words stuck between my teeth and smeared around the outside of my mouth. With a gentle sigh and contented pat on the belly I closed my eyes and waited for it all to find its way into my blood. My appreciation for this creation is immense, and my gratitude on this day is sincere.
Happy birthday, Kurt.

Screening

2009-09-08T01:30:00.001-07:00

One of the last things I had to do before starting work. When I got to the waiting room there was this woman sitting by the door who had been talking to herself for a while. I sat down without her noticing me. A minute or two later, though, she noticed. Finally a chaperone (I'm assuming) from across the room told her to calm down and behave herself as she was obviously getting louder, trying to get my attention. The rest is self-explanatory.

(Apologies for the poor fuzzy quality. The notebook doesn't scan as clean as the flat sketchbook.)

Maybe the economy IS turning around...?

2009-09-07T00:57:00.000-07:00

So I got a new job. I can't imagine I'll be able to post EVERYthing that I might wean from these new experiences, but I'll do what I can. The rest will remain in my secret vault/sketchbook.

Anyone else haunted by really old anxieties?

2009-09-07T00:55:00.000-07:00

Pretty much explains itself.

P.S. By "for a while" I mean like years.

Update 2

2009-09-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

This is from a good day we had recently. It deserved to be recorded.

Thanks.

Update #1

2009-08-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

So August hasn't been the month of 1-Post-A-Day, but I've done my best. I've recently started a new job, we've been busy with pet sickness, me-sickness, house-sitting, meetings and trip planning. I've got a lot of things I want to write and draw about and I'll do my best in this next month to keep on top of them. Here is update #1. While house-sitting for my family we had a brief encounter with one of the more primal sides of our domesticated friends.
What follows is the abridged version: ( Not for children under 3)

Amish Bread...the Bread of Friends

2009-08-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard of it Amish Bread is traditionally passed on from person to person after it sits on your Amish countertop for about 10 days. There is a somewhat complicated process of adding ingredients and mixing at various points until you are ready to bake and separate the dough. Well this is well and good if you give the leftover dough away like you're supposed to. However, when you have 3 batches that will make 12 loaves of bread you tend to get overwhelmed. The tradition of baked friendship ended with this household. My apologies, America.

Part II

2009-08-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

This took way too long...but here it is. More days to come.

Our night was eventually redeemed by an extended visit to the Souplantation. Nothing like endless coffee and muffins to brighten a particularly dreary day.

This is our day. Part I

2009-08-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

When all you want to do is sit somewhere and eat your *&@$!@$% sandwich, some days it seems the world conspires against you.

P.S. What do you think people did to allude to curse words before the advent of the typewriter?
P.P.S. When I was little I used to count the number of symbols in those same fictitious words to try to guess which curse words were being referenced.

To be continued...

Part II

2009-08-16T00:41:00.000-07:00

and thus, the end of the walk:

My wednesday

2009-08-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

This was a nice little break in my run-of-the-mill Wednesday experiences. I hope you enjoy. Part II to come next.

(Note: My job includes many duties, one of which is the occasional walking of the dogs.)

How romantic...

2009-08-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

Jamie and I were fortunate enough to come across this lovely gentleman at the street fair the other night. He was charging a dollar for anyone that wanted to come and sing a song, but in the meantime he chose to serenade us with some of his favorites.

Harvest!

2009-08-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Figs are delicious. And now they're in bloom. Did you know that a fig is really just an inverted flower? Yes, it's true. I just found it out. If you already knew, well good for you. No need to make other people feel dumb. Geeze.

Character sketches.

2009-08-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

These are a couple sketches I made while waiting around at the hip local young-person clothing store. I could have made these people up, but in this town there's not really a need to. And because yesterday was a particularly uncomfortably hot day my irritation over the beanie that guy #2 was wearing made me single him out.

Need I say more?

2009-08-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

Birthday, baby, and Disneyland!

2009-08-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

He knows who he is, silly Mr. Man.

2009-08-04T03:19:00.000-07:00

May you be fortunate enough to cross paths with one today.

2009-07-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, someone's taking this search seriously...

2009-07-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Another one of just normal life.

2009-07-28T01:21:00.000-07:00

LIfe has had a lot for us this past week so drawing has been put on hold. Here is one I started about a week ago and just finished. I've got a few more in the works so I'll be back to posting more daily. I was going to do a longer multi-page series of this one "normal" day I had but I realized tonight as I was finishing this page that I forgot all the rest of what happened that day. Oh well.

Dream #2

2009-07-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

There are just so few bakeries around here, especially ones that sell great baguettes. Well, in the future we hope to do something about that.

2009-07-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Its only a matter of time...

2009-07-18T03:56:00.000-07:00

After a lot of talking and thinking and more talking and more thinking Jamie and I have decided that this is one of our dreams...one day...one day soon.

Don't sweat it

2009-07-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

School's out!...

2009-07-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

And that means...

I have to stop posting these so late. I'm tired.

2009-07-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday!

2009-07-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

We've all seen it, the blank stare, the angry stare, the far from sober-looking spacey stare. We've seen, if not felt, the atmosphere around us change in certain special situations. There's something eerily inhuman about that feeling of desperation, whether driven by fear or greed or anger, and that is where this came from.

Spider-man!

2009-07-13T01:54:00.001-07:00

This one is for a young Spider-fan who just had a birthday party and also just broke his arm. But that's okay because even Spiderman doesn't let it get him down.
We hope the rest of his celebration is more joyful and pain-free!

2009-07-11T01:42:00.000-07:00

Happened too many times to count

2009-07-10T01:51:00.000-07:00

We just have to look up!

2009-07-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you gotta let it out

2009-07-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

Nature 1, Man 0

2009-07-07T02:43:00.000-07:00

Seriously, though.

2009-07-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday

2009-07-05T01:46:00.000-07:00

When did clouds ever make you a friend, huh?

2009-07-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

Public Service Announcement

2009-07-03T00:33:00.000-07:00

Another from the college days...

2009-07-02T00:39:00.000-07:00

These are fun for me. I can see a whole series on ninjas coming up. Mmmm...ninjas...

Psy 301

2009-07-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Psy 301 was an Introduction to Research Methods class. I wasn't the biggest fan of it. I did a lot of drawing. The first image is my notebook with the rough draft of the idea. I decided to dig it out and polish it up a little. The next image is the result. There will probably be more of these in the near future.

Signs

2009-06-30T00:04:00.000-07:00

What comes from a jogging injury...

2009-06-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

I was out running with the dog and hit some jutting pavement wrong. A 'snap' and a 'pop' later and I was hobbling home. The one picture is after I got home and had my foot up, still with my shoe on for the swelling. In the other one I took more artistic liberties to best describe the emotion and trauma of such a serious event. Do enjoy.

Another 2-fer Sunday!

2009-06-28T16:15:00.000-07:00