What's New? THIS Guy!

Well, for now I'm a little caught up. I just got a brand new Golden Brown out for you uglies, so appreciate! The next one might be a little long, so we'll see about how next week goes.

Dougie's Big Brown Weekend

We just got back today from our "official vacation of '06"! We went to April's dad's lake cabin and spent four days out in cheap recreation. The first night was fun because one of the neighbors was throwing a 40th birthday party, and had Rick Singer's band playing for it. We didn't go to the party, rather just sat on the deck and listened to the music (I got to hear Folsom Prison & Sunday Morning Coming Down--he did a good job). We had awesome steak that night, you could almost have cut it with a butter knife, thanks to Kevin. Saturday, I STILL managed to get cartoons in on the old TV while Karissa made her now-famous breakfast burritos. Then we went to Sully's Hill. I haven't been there since they'd redone it, and it looked a bit different, but still cool. I do miss the playground area, though. I think they took it out. Then we drove around Ft. Totten a little, because Karissa had never seen it.
Butto came over later, we all went on the boat at various times, and had grilled chicken. Kevin got stir-crazy that night, so he, Butto and I ended up walking half-way around the lake. We would have gone farther, but I wanted to go back, and they listened to me. It was still pretty cool, I don't even remember the last time I went a-walking with a group.
Sunday morning was one of experimentation. Karissa experimented making 'baked' bacon, while Kevin made french toast on the grill--without Cinnamon! Well, we were out, but still, it and the bacon turned out great. Afterward April took off to do her stuff, and Kevin popped in the Punisher. Yes, we spent 2 hours on a beautiful day inside the cabin watching a DVD, so sue us. After that we went on the boat again, and scraped my arm when Kevin hit a huge wave. Then April got back, and her parents came over, and her uncle Roger (who I used to work with for the city), and Tab & Derek. It was a whole bunch of fun, there was also some good ribs, and then it got dark.
Oh, and I got the new Golden Brown done out there. While we were all out enjoying ourselves, I wsa pluggin away trying to finish the inks. Actually, while we were out there, everytime I started drawing, I just felt totally relaxed. My attention problems didn't even seem to exist, everyone was having a good time, and stuff just got done. A lot of people have already read it, though. But anyone who didn't happen to be out at the lake, it's up of the Bone Daddy blog, so enjoy!
It sucked having to leave, but all good vacations do have to end, otherwise maybe they won't be so good for long. It did feel really good to get home, though. Nothing beats coming home to a clean house that you like living in!
I'm not posting any pictures, because Karissa's gonna do that. Besides, I like her captions better.
Isabella's coming home tomorrow! I won't say it hasn't been a fun, relaxing weekend without worrying what she's getting into, but Karissa and I have both missed her like crazy and can't wait to have her back, even if she does manage to spill something five minutes after she walks in the door.

New Golden Brown Out

Sorry for the tardiness, but it's out now!

Skull

My brother dropped by the other day to drop some stuff off, and he left me with a cellphone belonging to a friend of his, asking if I would do a tattoo design based off of the background on it. I looked on the internet for the pic, finding it in 70x70 on a cellphone background page. Yeah, 70x70 is pretty much the exact same size as the cellphone screen, so I had to squint a lot. Needless to say, it took me a couple days to get to it, but I got it done. My charcoals got a little messy towards the end, so hopefully it'll work for a tat design.

John Cartwright

Last year, John Cartwright didn't have a website up yet, so I figured he wouldn't this year. Well, I was wrong. www.artrail.com is where you'll find his train station works. Mostly it's for ordering, but you can view some of the pictures, and there's an order form you can print & send in for your own copies. I really can't believe he's done so many stations in just two or three states. He's coming to Fargo July 13-15 for art fair, if anyone else is interested. Unfortunately, he stays with the ND/MN/SD area. Anyway, I just thought I'd post it for anyone interested in buying from him.

Crazy Bastards...

A very effeminate-sounding guy came in about 10 minutes ago to use the payphone, and I couldn't help but overhear some of the conversation. At one point, he talked about why he joined the army, and having to blow people up as a necessity--..."I'm sorry, I know it's mean, but if someone comes after me, I'm gonna have to send a missile up his ass..."--yeah, try to be 15 feet away and keep this guy from hearing you snicker, it's very hard.
He also mentioned that he wanted to join the army not only to be "everything he can be" (his words), but also to see Area 51, because he's 25 years old and can't believe he hasn't been able to figure it out yet.
Wow. This one comes close to the crazy guy I had in here about 2-3 weeks ago talking about how women do nothing for him sexually, he admires the male form, but he's not gay. At another point in his conversation, he talks about geting his ass kicked in a California gay bar. Yeah, he hangs out in gay bars though "not gay", is VERY paranoid schizo, and his dad had money but wouldn't let him have any. He stayed up the whole night smoking and drinking cokes, and talking to me. By breakfast time, he was getting very short with me, and confessed that he had the feeling he was never gonna get out of Grand Forks, and it was getting under his skin. Last I heard he checked himself into the hospital here. Oh, and he dd a stint over in Jamestown. Apprarently very nice facilities, but the women there are witches.
Currently staying with us is a guy who's lived in numerous shelters like the Boys Ranch and the Mission, I think he's working for a contractor now. He comes down every night and asks if I draw, then proceeds to tell me about his dad's or uncle's (not sure I glaze over when I see him coming) car and how awesome it's painted.
Yeah, for some reason I get winners in here. Not unlike a lot of motels, but my question is why do I have to get the ones that want someone to talk to?

Art Fest & Udda Tings...

Yeah, I know, it's a crappy photo, but the picture was too big to fit on the scanner, so mind yer business.

We went to Art Fest this weekend, and it actually wasn't quite as good as last years. Parts were better, like how organized it was this year, and I saw street performers--okay just a couple of musicians with their cases open to throw money in, but it was still cool. I wish we had street performers on normal days. Unfortunately, it was so congested that I was getting cranky having to maneuvre around all the cattle until I finally got my beer-battered cheese fries. Sunday, we went back with Kevin & April, and I had a buffalo burger & some mini donuts. miocardial infarction, here I come!

Anyway, April and Kevin, being ever the thoughtful ones, saw the booth with all these ink renderings of train stations that I love. They're done by a guy named John Cartwright, a weird guy with NO formal training in the arts. He just gets pictures of the train stations, and draws them. I think people even send photos in from around the state, too. Oddly enough, he hasn't done any train stations in Devils Lake, so I wanted to get a picture of both of them to send to him, but it never happened quick enough. Anyway, Kevin and April are at this booth Saturday, and they see the picture above, an historic train depot in Duluth, and they're thinking, 'wow, you know who'd like this? This Guy! -(perverbial thumbs pointing at Doug). So they got it for me! For Karissa's Birthday...yeah I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but I don't care because they got me a friggin ink picture of a Duluth train depot, and that's awesome. So thank you again, Kevin & April, I still have it on display on our kitchen table. By the way, this picture is a year older than Karissa.

On another closely related note, Karissa's BIRTHDAY is tomorrow, so anyone who doesn't wish her a happy birthday by midnight tomorrow night, will get her spankings...oh, hell, you'll get 'em anyway, why discriminate?

Full Metal Jacket

Did you guys know that Vincent D'Onofrio played "Pvt. Pile" in Full Metal Jacket? You know, the fat guy who went crazy? Weird.

New Golden Brown Up In Here

A little later than I wanted, but I got some Golden Brown up by Friday just the same,

A Weekend With the Arnoud's

Okay, I know, I was in a bad mood when I wrote that previous post. I still stand behind it, but I don't usually go political on my blog, and when I do, I end up feeling a little dirty.
We did have a really fun weekend, though we all wished April would have been able to make it. For some reason, I was really feeling like staying home. Then when we were there, I didn't feel like visiting people or anything. It was weird. Friday night I played catch with Karissa & Kevin, and we heard some guys practicing oldies in a garage across the street that belonged to the River of Life church. Then we went to the street dance and met up with Amy, Derek & Tab, and I even met Reyna's Jason, whom I have never met before, so that was cool. It was pretty cool seeing Reyna so mellowed out, and it was weird thinking back on the history I'd had with her and now just being able to talk to her like a normal person and all. Jason gave me his phone number and told me & Kevin to get a hold of him next time we're in town so we could jam. Now I have to practice again to get the chops up.
Then we hung out at Tab & Derek's, and got to see their attic, which was completely fucking awesome. I told Derek I want to play in this attic, and he said that'd be cool and that we should, so I'm going to push the issue.
Derek also told me he'd picked up the bass again, and was playing Primus the other day. It actually made me a little proud of him.
Then like dumbshits Karissa & I got home at 4:00 in the morning and slept late, causing us to miss half the parade, so we didn't go. That afternoon, my sister had a big ol' grill-out at her place--tons of burgers and beer brats and corn-on-the-cob, then we got to drive the golf cart & four-wheelers around. Karissa instantly fell in love with the four-wheelers, and now wants one along with a motorcycle. It was awesome.
Saturday night, we basically did the exact same thing, with a few changes:
I ran into Peurto Rican (Matt Pearson) and got his phone number as well with the same request to come jam with him and Jason. Then I wandered into Ye Olde Tavern to get Karissa a beer, when I ran into Brandt Wolfe. So, I FINALLY got to ask him if he'd be interested in writing a comic, when he referred me to a friend of his named Cole. Cole and I talked comics for a little bit, but it didn't sound like he was into writing comics, just doing plays with Brandt. So basically I'm still stuck writing for myself. I also got to meet Brandt's wife (can't remember the name)!
I even argued with my dad about the state of the war in Iraq (although we basically agree--it's a long story), though he didn't read my blog.
Anyway, we got home at about 3:00 this time, but Sunday was lazy day for us anyway. I managed to sneak out to get Karissa an early birthday present (it's 6/12, by the way), she'll show you what it is, and then we saw my mom's new place and visited her for about 1/2 hour or so, then came home. It was good to get home after such a busy weekend.
We came home to find my projects had returned to me from my Color & Design instructor. I got a C in the class, and I pretty much deserved it. I told you guys I didn't like that class, I don't like paint, and therefore I didn't try as hard as I probably should have. So get off my back, you dirt-monkeys. He did like my final one though.
That's about all I have right now. A new Golden Brown has been up since Friday, read it NOW if you haven't yet, if you have then fucking read it again.

Warning: I'm Being Mean to the Military

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4018171.stm
I just picked this website out of others, because I thought it had good links. To any of you who have friends & loved ones serving in Iraq, sorry I'm coming off extremely disrespectful, but I think this whole "War on Terror" business is getting even stupider than when it started.
Memorial Day was just a few days ago, and all I can think about is how bad morale must be in Iraq that U.S. troops jump the gun and go psycho on a bunch of civilians. I understand, it's hard to walk by a house and wonder if it's rigged with explosives, or just has people hiding behind a door. But honestly, what fucking hillbillies were thinking, 'ah, to hell with it. I'll just shoot the whole lot and let God decide which is the bastard that killed my buddy.' This sometime after the mysterious "disappearing WMD's", the whole Abu Ghraib deal, and the more recent brilliant idea from the White House: "Dwindling troops, huh? Well, let's just put them guys on the Mexican Border." Plus the story (on the same above link) about a pregnant woman and her cousin being shot dead as they were driving on an closed road to the hospital. Yeah, I get how difficult it must be to be able to tell an innocent civilian from a suicide bomber or insurgent. Seriously, I do. But Im sorry, guys, that's no excuse anymore to me. I keep hearing these claims that we have one of the greatest military organizations inthe world, and I am continually unimpressed. With all your special training, all your apparent knowledge of everyone else is doing in other countries (and unconcerned about nations like North Korea), don't fucking tell me that you can't afford proper armor, or that you accidentally shot innocent people, or that you got mad/frustrated/threw a psychotic tantrum and went on a door-to-door killing spree because a fellow soldier got shot. You're the military. Fix it. Don't go whining about how soldiers should be respected, prove to me that you're worthy of being respected. WWII vets get my respect, because they didn't have a choice, and whatever else went down, they helped get the job done. Vietnam vets get my respect, because they didn't get their ticker-tape parades when they came home. They were forced by the govt. to do their "duty" and came home to hippies spitting in their faces and persecution due the media getting involved in the war.
Yes, soldiers get bored, they get frustrated with how things are going, with the fact that they haven't seen their families in a long time and won't get to for a long time still, or that their lives are threatened. So help me there are even those that "only joined to see the world, and never expected to have to fight". SUCK IT UP. You're a soldier. You're a representative of the United States military, and your branch is only as strong as its worst members. You've signed on to a military branch, which means everything you do, everything you learn revolves around survival through any means necessary. It does NOT mean bully and abuse POW's. It does NOT mean using your training and weapons for personal vendettas, or letting your rage be channeled through your weapons. It certainly means you lose your excuses for misperceptions and colossal fuck-ups. You are not supposed to take the violence that comes with war personally.
Yeah, I'm a little pissed off at how the War in Iraq is going. I wouldn't have gotten all riled up, but we were watching Anderson Cooper on Larry King Live tonight, and he was talking about how the govt. was so preoccupied with how "smoothly" it was operating just after the hurricane that it forgot there were still bodies in the street and people trying to get help. And then I have to keep hearing this shit in the news about irresponsible soldiers who apparently have some kind of ego problem, and the govt. for the most part is being the same way about the war. "Things are going good, we're making progress." Really? Are you sure? You want to back that up by going yourself to a coffee shop in downtown Baghdad? How safe would you feel, due to the "progress" our military has made?
I talked with a history professor once (casually) about why we went after Saddam not too long after 9/11, and he said, "well, Saddam's been saying he had WMD's for years, and Bush Jr. finally called him on it." He said other stuff that made sense and that I could agree with, but this statement stuck in my mind. Hasn't bin Laden been talking shit for a long time? What about Kim Jong-il and the Pyongyang military buildup?
I don't know. I'm still wondering where Bush got his "Axis of Evil" bit. Has he been watching episodes of The Superfriends between military briefings?

Sorry about the bitching. I just had a stick up my butt about this, and around memorial day, most of what I hear from people is this America is the best bullshit that makes me think our country must be full of Toby Keith-"America: love it or leave it" followers.