Grave Reflections

The Life of a Shitty Metal Band, pt. 3

2012-01-08T23:23:00.000-06:00

The summer of 2000 was a very bad one. I started out the year by attending Amadon's wedding with a massive hangover. That February I was robbed at the motel I worked at, and had trouble dealing with it for a few months. Personal relationship problems persisted throughout summer, also a falling-out with Amadon, leading to a complete hault musically. My only saving grace was the Type O Negative CDs I listened to obsessively.

It would be another 4 years before I would practice with a band again. In the 4 years, I moved to Grand Forks, got divorced, got a new girlfriend (Karissa), and mended fences with Amadon. I was still in some denial that he was not the friend I knew in high school. Amadon, Kevin and I were sitting together drinking at Derek and Tab's wedding one night in June when Matt Person walked up and asked us when a Dusk reunion was going to happen. We all looked at eachother, saw a little spark of interest, and shortly after decided to get together again.

I had drifted a bit from Derek at that point, and didn't think he'd be interested in joining us. In retrospect, I feel bad about that. It was just Kevin, Amadon and me playing in the basement of Amadon's cellphone store. we got some good pictures from our practices, but little else.

In early 2006, Amadon was evicted, and we had to get our equipment the hell out of there before the landlord took possession. As Kevin and I gathered our equipment, we noticed the Dean sitting there, unstrung and neglected. I turned to Kevin and said "Fuck it, I'm taking it with us." When I informed Amadon that I got it out of there, he replied, "You were the only one who really owned it anyway." A couple months later, he and I had a severe falling out. We have not talked to each other to this day.

The Life of a Shitty Metal Band, pt. 2

2011-12-10T01:10:00.000-06:00

It was Spring of 1998 before we really started to evolve as a band. We were practicing in my basement in a little 12x14 room. On one wall I put up posters and pictures cut out of every guitar magazine I owned, to inspire us while we played. Kevin, Amadon and I had our respective corners while Derek sat on his amp by a wall. We all looked like we couldn't agree on a visual theme for the band. Kevin looked like a college slob, I looked angelic with my golden parted hair, Amadon was goth with his dyed-black hair and clothes, Derek a punk with his spiky dyed-red hair and orange jumpsuit.

Practices were slowly productive. That May we got our first gig playing with DKP (Dean Kotaska's Penis) and another band (name eludes me) at the Spring Days concert. All bands were high-school, we were the most green. I remember clearly the moment Mike Anderson (dead now) anounced into the mic, "Will the members of Dusk please report to the stage?" and feeling butterflies. We got three songs. Starting out with For Whom the Bell Tolls, an overly ambitious attempt at the easiest Metallica song ever to play, we were surprised to hear the audience clap for us. Next we played Dead Forest, an original ripping of Dante but with a cool tribal durmbeat which has gone through numerous rewrites before being scrapped due to being just too cheesy. Amadon couldn't hear Kevin and vice versa, so we got horrendously off-time. Last we played the Happy Song, done originally by Kevin's old band (who turned into DKP and Kevin ended up drumming for them that night as well as with us), sung by Kevin.

Having received a good respone to this show, we were feeling much better about our place in the high school music scene. We set to practicing every wednesday about 7pm. our girlfriends all hung out in my bedroom while we played, and we actually started to sound a little better. We set up an outside show during Crazy Days behind Cellblock '94, a crappy little teen club located in the basement of the Memorial building in Devils Lake. We practiced every day for a week leading up to it, were feeling very confident about things. Unfortunately we didn't realize just how different the acoustics are outside. We had no monitors, we didn't seem loud enough, and we only advertised the show the day it was going on, so attendance was horseshit.

We didn't do another gig until New Years Eve of '98. Amadon had become friends with members of a band called Iron Root Tree Folk, who wanted us to play the show wih them. I remember the soundcheck going really well, and we got to try out a couple songs that we had worked on. Unfortunately, we kept getting our set cut short until we only had 3-4 songs. One them was the Three Little Pigs by Green Jelly.

I don't think we had any gigs after that. We still got together to practice, but not as frequently.

RIP Dime, 7 years

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000-06:00

The Life of a Shitty Metal Band Pt.1

2011-11-16T22:45:00.000-06:00

We always used to hang out at Amadon's house after school. We'd spend hours there, listening to music, cuddling with girlfriends, watching Amadon get baked on Ritalin. Kevin was in a band at that time, called Catalyst or Toy Army, I forget which. He had practice every week, and every week seemed to grow more frustrated with the band's leader.

One night, we were hanging out at Amadon's as was our routine, and Kevin had to leave for band practice. I joked with him as he was leaving, saying we'd steal him and make our own band. After he left, I turned to Amadon and confessed that I wasn't really joking. I had been thinking about it for some time now, and wanted to start a band. Amadon in turn confessed he wanted to learn guitar for that same reason. My original intention was just to sing, but Amadon suggested I learn guitar with him.

I had a couple songs written by that point, and decided to sing for him, after which he demanded I learn guitar as well. We brought it up to Kevin the next night, and I sang for him and April. What a humbling experience that was! April replied, "That was...interesting". No joke, she said those very words, and I knew exactly what they meant. Kevin, however, was on board with the idea and soon joined us.

Amadon bought his first guitar about a month later from a classmate who was in another band called Alien Underground. It was a Dean Firecrackle with a stained wood finish, standard body. Every time Amadon got up to go to the bathroom, I grabbed the guitar and fooled around with it. Soon after, he bought a black Epiphone SG and let me use the Dean.

Trying to think up a name was not very easy. Amadon and I, both goths to varying degrees, agreed on Dark Harvest. Kevin did not. He thought it sounded like and evil loaf of bread. Looking back, he was right. We eventually settled on Dusk. Not terribly original, but dark and brooding nonetheless, so we liked it.

Finding a bassist was, and would continue to be, the most daunting task we've ever faced. Our first bassist was Adam, a skater who got me into The Misfits. He and I would jam at his house every now and then, though we never played the same song at the same time. He broke his leg skating, and for about 2-3 months, I drove him about. He had a lot of spirit and always seemed happy (and high). Once I came to his house to find him lying in the doorway. I asked if he was ok, and he replied he fell off his crutch, but was so comfortable in the sunspot he fell asleep (to this day it makes me chuckle).

Adam moved to California before our senior year, before we ever had a chance to practice with him. We cycled through about 3 or 4 prospects, including a Scottish kid with a glass eye who never told the truth, before finding another skater, about 3 years younger than me. His name was Derek, and we met him on Halloween night my senior year. He was with a friend of mine and was making fun of her the whole time. The first time I saw him, his head was shaved and he was wearing an orange jumpsuit with an "X" on his forehead.

Derek was also a skater kid who liked punk and metal, and was into cars and antique planes. Though younger, he would turn out to be a huge musical influence on me, and not in a way I expected. A few months later, Derek, Kevin and I had our first practice. We had taken riffs that Amadon and I had written and managed to make them resemble a song. I was very excited, and the next time we were able to practice, we showed Amadon what we had come up with. Our band had actually begun to come together.

To be continued...

Halloween Show

2011-10-31T22:24:00.000-05:00

I'm allowing myself some inflated pride right now.
I decided about three months ago to throw a Halloween show in Grand Forks. I wanted a costume contest, bands, and I wanted to prove that it could be done right. I had planned a few shows already, and it's been hit-and-miss. One show turned out with the same attendance and success as any at that same venue, one was done with 2 weeks' notice, resulting in less-than-adequate attendance.

I love learning how this process works, even when it bites me in the ass. For the Halloween show, I needed help, and I thought about where to get it. A fundraiser would work well, the Derby girls always managed to raise money for their league--a derby fundraiser! And who to help? One derby girl did amazing posters for the team's bouts, would she be willing to do a poster for us? One served as marketing director, could she use her experience to help out?

In short: Poster was designed by a derby girl, a venue was found and posters printed by a derby girl, tickets were sold by bands and a local business, links were repeatedly updated. Promotion was in full swing. The Mecan'tiKs were able to get on a local radio station for an interview and managed to get frequent plugs for the show from a very supportive DJ. I even sent weekly messages to virtually every band member, just to keep them all updated on every change possible.

It's one of the first major (I consider it major) business projects I oversaw from start to finish. I learned an incredible amount along the way, and hope to be able to do this again as soon as fucking possible. I was so happy with the result--a great turnout, a significant amount of profit to pay off the bands and contribute to the Forx Derby league, and bands who enjoyed the experience so much that by the end of the night we, in our entirely exhausted states, could barely contain our happiness.

It was many times a headache, to be sure. But it was one I would absolutely do again.

A Good Night

2011-10-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was an example of how a concert should play out.

I got there before the other guys and chatted with the manager about details. Soon after the boys from Rotting Thought showed up, so I helped them move their equipment in. Cody showed up soon after, then Kevin. Some minor hiccups (misplaced mic stands and us forgetting the bass amp), but we got everything going and both bands came out sounding great.

The turnout was great, and afterward while I was getting paid, the manager asked if we'd be interested in coming out every other month to do a show there. Hopefully we can keep people's interest long enough to get them out to the bar every couple months to see us.

The whole experience is incredible to me. I don't feel a need for roadies, I like moving the equipment in and out on my own, I like it when the bands themselves are setting up the PA. I like interacting with the audience while we're setting up, and I fucking LOVE the feeling I get when I'm standing up there in front of the microphone with a guitar strapped on. The only better feeling is when I make that guitar make noise.

I love when the crowd gets into it, but it doesn't matter much a few seconds into the song, I forget about everyone else. Sigh, if only I could do this 40 hours a week with decent pay...

Unfurling the Creative Process

2011-10-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to fall into a comfortable groove with drawing. My work area is set up as I like it, in an 8x10 room in the basement, with a little TV/VCR setup so I can let movies play in the background while I work. It's a tiny room (more like a cell with walls of old wood and concrete, and I share it with some small old appliances and a white stove from the 1950s), but it doesn't really feel confining at all. Everything I need is typically at arm's reach or a few steps away in the basement proper. Every couple nights (hopefully every night when I stop pulling 12-hour days), I come down to my "cell" and draw for up to about an hour. I feel good about my time spent down there, even if I didn't get much done.

The Halloween show is coming along slowly but surely. Things are getting done, and I'm very happy about that. We just got our poster designed, The tickets have been printed and dispersed to the bands to sell--though I still need to find some derby girls willing to sell them as well--and I got a good radio plug during our interview at the Thief River Falls radio station. The next couple weeks will be devoted to finding prizes for the costume contest and drawings, making sure my bands have what they need and are properly updated, and promoting the hell out of this thing.

Work Woes...

2011-10-04T23:49:00.000-05:00

Work has frequently been up in the air for me this summer. We've been busting our asses pretty severely due to people quitting or routes getting changed around.
Last week one of our senior employees put in his two weeks due to frustration over our inability to get proper maintenance for our vans. This week another put in his two weeks because the bosses who won't maintain our vehicles are charging him for a scanner he lost. I worked 12 hours on Monday and missed my uncle's funeral just to get hollered at by the same boss for "wasting plastic wrap" and not keeping the vehicles washed. The new guy I was training in (who I affectionately called "Old Balls" because he's old) watched it happen, and as a result quit after today's shift.
So now we're 3 down again, and can't break up routes any further. The three of us who are still working (without notices) are getting stretched thin and very pissed off. And yet I like the job. I kick an amazing amount of ass in one given day, and still pull up to the shop with a smirk and a smartass remark. I keep my cool for the most part, and try to remain upbeat. But it's getting just a little fucking harder each day.
Some days I really miss working nights.

Skates and Psychobilly

2011-10-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Ever since we went to our first derby bout in Fargo over a year ago, Kevin and I thought it would be completely awesome to be one of the bands playing. When Grand Forks started their league, we got even more excited because April and Karissa were joining, which made us feel involved in it by extension (the old 'riding coat tails' thing haha).

Finally, our wish has been granted. Last night The Mecan'tiKs played before and during the half, and it was awesome. We needed the experience of playing in a sports arena so we could get a good idea of acoustics. But overall, the experience was fucking great. The game was enthralling, getting to play was a kick, I hope we get to do it again soon.

After the bout, I made my way to Zombie Fest to watch an Ozzy impersonator creep up and down the stage. I was hoping to introduce my sister to some of the derby girls I've been getting to know (she's a loud and take-charge type as well), but she unfortunately had to take off early.

Following Zombie Fest, I walked all the way to the Knights of Columbus where the derby after-party was being held, and after a beer or two convinced a few derby girls to defect with me to the Hub.

I've said it before, I feel lately like I'm having too much fun. I've been trying to think of how I should deserve to be having such a good time in the company of awesome chicks. Perhaps I should just shut up and enjoy it, hahaha. As they say, work hard/play hard.

Death Becoming...

2011-09-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

I got a call from my dad today, letting me know that my uncle Teddy is in the hospital, may not live through the night. He was up to see him yesterday, and this morning apparently Ted flatlined. They revived him, but his organs are shutting down and it would seem there is little that can be done at this point.

It feels weird to consider the contrast. I was sitting on my couch tonight, quietly reading (a book about the history of death, ironically), and thinking how casual my night was. I still have so much life ahead of me, so many things to do, so many people to upset, disappoint, make laugh, arouse, etc. I am so filled with life I'm flinging it everywhere I gesticulate.
Ted, however, is laying in a hospital bed, barely able to move, attached to machines, and possibly fighting for every minute of life he has left. The fight is a losing one for all of us, but his is more than likely coming to its non-dramatic conclusion tonight, maybe tomorrow.

I imagine what it's like to be in his place. Nurses and doctors hovering around me; I wonder if I'd be aware that rather than make me better or cure me of my ills, they are simply trying to make me comfortable so my exit is a peaceful and painless one. I wonder just how coherent my thoughts would be? Would I be with it enough to tell people to stop wasting prayers on an atheist, to tell them I really don't care if "God" loves me?
Or would I just lie there in that tense repose, going crazy from listening to my own heart beeping at me through a monitor?

It's probably been a few years since I last saw my uncle Ted. I frankly don't have a lot of memories of him. But I'll miss him nonetheless, as I would the loss of any of my family, keys to my past.

Michelangelo

2011-09-21T00:03:00.000-05:00

I love Irving Stone's portrayal of Michelangelo. At least so far, anyway--I'm only about 1/8 of the way through The Agony and the Ecstasy. I relate to Michelangelo's personality, especially how he relies on people but keeps them at arm's length. He gets along with them fine, but seems to feel as though they have no business inside his head. If not for the pseudoanonymity of blogs and facebook, I would not have been as approachable as I am.

I cannot relate to his artwork, obviously--his was a kind of genius mind that coordinated with his hands to create some of the most magnificent sculptures and paintings detailing human anatomy and emotion like few others of his time.

I noticed recently a movie was made partly based on it. While I am excited to check it out, I'm a bit disappointed in their casting of Charlton Heston as Michelangelo. But whatever, it could still be good.

Life is...

2011-09-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been very busy lately. But I don't think I really have been, haha. In a given week I work anywhere from 9-12 hours, band practice on tuesdays, occasionally followed by a brief visit to the Hub to relax and check out whoever is playing Open Mic. The rest of the days I'm usually down in the basement after Isabella goes to bed, doing a little drawing. Fridays I've been going to the Firehall Theatre to watch B movie double-features. Just about every other weekend we play a show, or volunteer for a Derby event.

It's not a terribly hectic schedule. I feel like I'm making much better use of my time than I used to, though. I love to have things going on, although occasionally I begin to feel rushed, and that's where it all stops being fun. I was reading some argument in The Agony and the Ecstasy where Michelangelo had the thought that there should be no difference between the statements 'life is work' and 'life is for enjoyment'. In our day and age there would be some kind of catchy saying that represents the same philosophy, I really don't care to know it. I'd rather repeat those two statements in my head and hold the meaning to its fullest.

I love that I can look at life right now and not feel dread. For everything that is wrong in life personally and otherwise, it feels good to be human and experience all the highs and lows required to maintain that humanity. I get scared by things like anyone, but it's an incredible challenge to see how far I can push that fear. I'm arachnophobic, yet I'm fascinated by two funnel-web spiders in our basement. I'm afraid of heights but it's still fun to climb rocks in Gooseberry Falls. I'm afraid of speaking in public yet I'm the vocalist in a band. I'm not a thrill-seeker, but I do feel the rush of facing your fears and testing your limits.

Girls

2011-09-17T00:32:00.000-05:00

I like girls.
I've had the opportunity to get to know quite a few over the last year or so, and I love seeing all the different personalities that make one different from the other.
One of my best friends is a dominatrix. She immediately liked me because I didn't flinch and guard my balls when she told me what she did. She's loud and rude--hard for many to take for more than 3 minutes--and talks with her mouth full. She has panic attacks and fantasizes about chicks with dicks.
Another one of my best friends is also one of my oldest friends. I've known her since high school, and have seen her evolution into a hardworking person who isn't afraid of a challenge. Her dedication to her work, friends, family and photography have earned her much respect from me.
One girl I actually developed an deep attraction to--something I hadn't expected--and when I revealed this to her, was let down in a very respectful manner. She could have laughed it off or downplayed it. She could have chosen not to respond to me and let the silence speak for itself. I respect her candid response, and still feel pretty good about myself as a result. So I didn't get the girl, so what? Better than not fucking trying at all.
I suppose some day a girl will come along that can become more than all that. But I'm not too worried. Six months ago I might have said something different. However, I enjoy holding humanity at arm's length. I feel good about distancing myself to a degree. In the meantime, I'll "pull up a chair next to my dirt road while watching all those folks try to find their highway."

Motel Reveries

2011-09-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about April being done at Comfort Inn after having been there so long and put so much into it. I'm excited for her to move on to the Sleep Inn, a bigger and better opportunity. It got me to thinking about my own past career in hospitality.

I started working at Travelodge in 2003. I remember my first week there, because it was the week Dru Sjodin was kidnapped and murdered. I had worked in 2 motels prior, and loved being in the hospitality industry.
While working in motels has shaped and enhanced my misanthropy to dangerously high levels, it has also shown me what it's like to take pride in one's job. I worked at Travelodge for 6 years, was friends with my coworkers, loved my boss and the owner who worked on site. They all knew how weird I was/am, they not only accepted it but liked me because of it.

For all the assholes that came through and talked down to me and treated me like garbage, there were still more that came down in the middle of the night for some coffee or milk and were very polite, even friendly. I actually felt pride in making sure guests were comfortable, preparing continental breakfast, doing laundry, basically being part of a team that did good work and made the place run as well as it did. I also had a boss that made me feel appreciated and listened to her employees, good or bad. My coworkers saw me become a father, welcomed me into their own homes.

Then the motel was sold and the new owners unceremoniously fired her. Most of us walked out as a result. I layed into the new owner who was staying there at the time and ordered him back to his room, then worked my last shift as a parting gift to the guests who still depended on me that night. I often wonder what things would be like if it hadn't been sold. It was the one job in my life where I developed a sense of normalcy. I had my routines, i had my various activities I worked on in my downtime during the night--practicing guitar, working on my comic (or art school homework or archaeological illustration), watching movies and posting reviews on my third blog (which has gone horribly neglected), reading one of my books (I still have the bad habit of reading 3 books at a time, wreaks havoc on my memory). I came up with some of my best comic ideas, my most eloquent songs, and some catchy melodies, while watching over a mostly-sleeping motel.

But it was normal for me. I did that every night, Sunday-Thursday night, sleeping during the early day. On Fridays, I would stay awake and hit the thrift stores for my weekly rummage. Karissa and I would only go to a bar roughly once a month if that, and only when we went to Devils Lake to visit family. It's weird to think how different things are now, and how ironic that I was very docile during most of my twenties.

After I quit Travelodge, I found another motel job within a week (let's just say word got out that I'm awesome), but things were already set in motion to change. Within that month I did my first Open Mic at Mike's Pizza and Pub, my first time in a decade performing in front of people, and this time alone. After that I was at the bar every week, buying just one double-shot of Jack on the rocks, and playing 5 songs. Then I got into a band, and now we have been busy getting gigs and practising. I fell like we have less money than we did to play around with, yet I'm so much happier because I'm living out a dream. Granted, I'm paid little for the band gigs, and nothing at all for the comic, but that doesn't seem relevant right now. I just enjoy myself and like who I am when I'm doing it. I do miss those days at Travelodge, but they had to come to an end at some point. And what better end than a dramatic walk-out that left me feeling proud of the impact I had in my 6 years there?

Introspection

2011-08-27T13:45:00.000-05:00

"From childhood's hour, I have not been
As others we, I could not see
As others saw, I could not bring
My passions from a common spring..."
-Edgar Allan Poe, Alone
Okay so I don't like to quote others that much--I more often quote myself, that way there's less chance of misquoting. But I always loved these lines from Poe's poem. I suppose everyone likes to think they are different from everyone else in some way or unique.
I always tell myself (and others) that I'm awesome. I realized that long ago, I may never have friends that think that of me, so I should start believing it myself. That way, I wouldn't turn into one of those people that NEEDS others to think highly of them. I got lucky in the sense that I actually do have friends who respect me and think I'm awesome. But it became a comfortable mantra nonetheless, and to this day I fully believe it.
While working on Golden Brown, I realized I created these characters, these personalities, and could make them do what I wanted. Not having control over much in life makes this realization so much appreciated, and I became their GOD--when I made a mistake in the comic's continuity, I blatantly fixed it in the next panel or two, exhibiting my power over my little ink and paper world.
My friends know this pretty well by now, every now and then I replace God with Doug in playful megalomania. I guess I figured it's not enough to have fun in life, but also I should be having fun with life. Why not? I don't need to own a house, or have a conventional family. I abide by written laws (mostly), but I don't need to live by every little societal rule--but I can if I choose. there are plenty of others out there who can live orderly lives with prescribed rituals, and that's fine. I don't live in chaos. I would simply love to live within my own order.

Drawing Conclusions

2011-08-25T14:23:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about my future in Illustration. I have a few avenues of experience--comics, tattoo/band logo design, archaeological illustration, portraiture...
Unfortunately freelance would be my most productive option, and unfortunately I would have to work my ass off whoring myself out to businesses to make any kind of living at it. I have a good history doing archaeological illustration at UND, and was thinking of contacting other universities to see if there was any interest. Scientific ilustration is still a not-terribly-popular field, mainly (I'm guessing) due to the tedium of having to reproduce artifacts with little or no artistic liberty.
TECHNICALLY I am a professional, even published illustrator. I should be out there doing more with it.

Singled Out

2011-08-21T22:27:00.000-05:00

It's kind of weird to think sometimes that this is the first summer since 1997 that I've been single. I've been single for around 9-10 months now. Some still think it's odd that I would stay close friends with Karissa, but I guess that's just the way we are. I was always cool with her seeing other guys, and would even be excited for her if she found someone she really liked--she is the same with me. Somehow, that works for us. I've never been a conventional person. I'm proud of that. Kevin once said I had "my" way of doing things, I like that.
Unfortunately, I'm not the easiest person to live with. I keep odd hours, I collect too much junk, I go off on night walks (yes I sometimes still do that). Those are things about me that I wish not to change, with the exception of accomodating Isabella's schedule. She is my #1 priority, and any prospective girl would have to know and understand that up front.
Fortunately, I don't hate myself. In fact, I love myself. If I can't find a chick that would work for me, eh. The world won't end. Time won't stop. I'm not the type that "needs" someone, anyone in their life just to make it complete. I have my friends, colleagues, etc. I cherish those relationships. I often let them know when I'm drunk, hahaha!
It would be nice to have that girl to watch the sun go down with, say dirty things to me, all that fun stuff. But if I gotta do that stuff myself, I'm cool with that too. I got my drawing, my music, my whiskey, my friends.

Comic Relief

2011-08-17T22:40:00.000-05:00

So why am I into comics?
When I was about 12 years old, I entered middle school, terrified of the impending social change I was to endure. I knew a few classmates from my grade school days, but they were in maybe ONE of my classes, the rest being filled with strangers I felt were surely staring me down in judgment. I was positive they noticed my greasy hair (even though I showered before coming to school), or my big glasses, or I'd say something stupid and they'd all laugh. To some degree, I was right. That's middle school. Within a week I was attracting the unwanted attention of the more popular kids, someone lower on the rung to make fun of. I wasn't mercilessly bullied in middle school, I know damn well others had it worse. Half the time I was fairly invisible.
There were a couple friendly faces, and over time I would end up befriending other geeks (because that's what i was labeled by then). I was somewhat into comics before, but it was around this time that I really got into them. They provided an escape for me. I liked superheroes, because obviously they were what I was not. But they frustrated me to no end. Why? Because even the geeks had girlfriends. Peter Parker his Mary Jane, Tim Drake his...fuck that guy was juggling girls. Me? Girls thought I was weird because I wrote a rap about setting teachers on fire. I didn't know how to talk to them, so I resorted to aloofness, which at that age backfires horribly.
Enough about the girls, though. I've more or less fixed that problem by hanging out with cooler girls. Because of said unpopularity, I spent quite a bit of time alone. When I came home from school, I went to my room, turned on my TV, sat at my drawing desk and went to town. Sometimes I'd walk to my sister's place after school, a half-hour 5-mile walk to a trailer park on the edge of town, punctuated by a stop to the Arcade downtown to buy a couple comics. In my alone time, I learned that drawing made me happy. I loved comics, I dreamed of stories myself, so one day I finally started trying to make one.
I made tons of drawings of characters I made up myself, worked at understanding muscle-structure--without actually knowing which muscles I was drawing, eventually even managed a couple pages of dialogue. One day I drew a 5-7 page booklet about "Thunderbolt", a hero who shot electricity out of battery-powered gauntlets on his arms. He met Batman. I don't know why.
The next comic I drew was another made-up character called "The Nightmare". He was a high school kid that looked like me, who was the nephew of Thunderbolt. He was NOBODY's sidekick, though. In fact, he even had his own tech-nerd, a foreshadowed sadomasochist who knew too much about the school's basement layout. Plus a girl who was totally into him. Gee, didn't go into fantasy-land much, did I? I actually managed a full 22 pages, ripping off various comics along the way, including a two-page spread of him swinging on a rope straight through the windows of a car, which came from a Batman comic. After the story I wrote a short 2-page vignette where I sent him to Hell.
After that ONE issue, I didn't do anymore comics. I don't know why, I guess I just kept drawing other stuff, like the entire cast and then some of Mortal Kombat 2. My Doug, I really was a fucking geek. I did make the attempt, once or twice, at scripting a new comic. But nothing.
In late winter of 2006, I was sitting at work one night when I had the idea to do a comic about pimps with weird powers. I made Kevin my guinea pig model and turned him into Dr. Golden Brown Kevin Sneed. Golden Brown became my 3-year long experimentation with comics. I learned what jokes worked and what didn't, how to sequence a story and action shots. I drank with a demon. I'm very proud of Golden Brown, because of what it taught me about storytelling. I sent it off once to a local publisher, and was told that he showed it to 2 people. One was a "hillbilly-type" southerner, the other, a black guy who had grown up in "the mean streets of Detroit". The hillbilly thought is was quite funny, the black guy thought found it relied too much on outdated Ebonics and was slightly offensive. My first thought was "how convenient that he had two very polarized audiences to work with!" My second thought was "A pimp parodying 70's blacksploitation films, yes that would require outdated Ebonics so I don't understand the criticism". My third thought was, "Only slightly offensive?" Needless to say, it did not get published.
While attending art school, I took a comics class and actually made some pretty good short comics. I resurrected my demon Hellken from Golden Brown and placed him in a Dantean Hell wanting twinkies. I drew a 3-page wordless story about a lighthouse where baaaaad things happen. I depicted Rasputin's last night alive. I spun Little Red Riding Hood into a story about a Romanian secret order of the wolf run by Bunica (Grandmother) Giurescu. I turned my brother and I into zombies. I did pretty fucking well by myself creatively. My latest comic, Banjo's Tune, is not really different. I abandoned the shading lines I'd used previously. I developed my characters more. I learned how to draw a guitar better.
It's still escapism for me, just a little. But every time I finish a page, I feel so good about myself. Every time I sit down to work at penciling or inking, turn on some music or a horror movie, I feel at home, in perfect solitude.

Watching My Language

2011-08-16T23:43:00.000-05:00

Every now and then I dig out my books on learning languages and go through some of them. I've been doing this for years, you'd think by now I'd be fluent in SOMETHING. My stupid brain doesn't process language well though. I learned from a comic book (of course) that one could theoretically learn the basics of a language by memorizing 10 words a week. Of course, that leaves out grammar and sentence structure. A couple came with tapes that I listen to in my car, which is okay, but really require books to read along with as well. Try learning a full sentence in Lakota or Norwegian in a car...it doesn't work.
I love using language to fuck with people in my comics. Right now, Banjo's Tune has incorporated Spanish and Maori. I purposely did not include the translations in the page because I thought to accomplish on of two things: Either the reader would work for it, and look up the meanings to get the dialogue, or they would give that up and simply try to follow along visually. It's like making them earn the story a little bit, I love that.

Mood Lite

2011-08-14T00:28:00.000-05:00

http://hyenazine.wordpress.com/
Feminism, gender equality, tolerance, and (as the author puts it) bitchiness. She touches on a lot of relevant topics, and draws a great comic.
On that note, I'm excited to be drawing Golden Brown again. It's not a huge story, though--it's more like a preview of tings to come. Actually, it's characters sitting in a room trying to figure out the next story. But now I think I've said too much...
I'm still doing Banjo's Tune as well. I cross from working a page of one to a page of the other. It takes longer, but I love transitioning from a dramatic story to a funny one (shut up it is too funny).
Last Friday the Mecan'tiKs tried DIY recording again. The overall mood this time around was much lighter, and we had more energy. Beer didn't hurt. I hope the recordings come out well just the same. We spent 5 hours locked in a room and came out with 10 songs recorded, but still need to work on them this week. It may not seem like it to outsiders, but life is pretty fun right now.

My Little Musical Evolution

2011-07-27T22:23:00.002-05:00

It's been about 2 years ago this week since I started playing in front of people again. I remember that night, finally making the decision to go to Mike's Pizza and play their Open Mic night, not having done anything like that in almost 10 years.
I remember when it was finally my turn to come up, my hands went numb because I was so nervous (great thing to happen to a fucking guitarist!) My audience was half softball players who were NOT there to hear music, half Mike's regulars. I started out with Johnny Cash's "Thirteen", telling everyone beforehand that if they didn't like what they heard to go fuck themselves, because I didn't owe them anything.
I also played St James Infirmary Blues, a Misfits song (forgot which), and House of the Rising Sun. Afterward, I remember feeling better than I had in a long time, like I went though a huge change. A bunch of punks (The Boys) walked up to me and told me they loved that I did a Misfits song, and they continued to come to Mike's to hear me play for months afterward.
That night after the bar closed, I went down to the river and sat there for a while, proud of myself that I finally got over the fears I had, finally saying "fuck it! Who cares if I suck ass, I gotta do this!".
I wouldn't say that I've been unhappy the 9 years previous at all. But I feel more like myself these past 2 years than ever. I fucking love being in a band that sounds like we do. I love making the music we make.
I have to say, even though Karissa and I aren't together, I respect the hell out of her for being as supportive as she's been of me going out to bars and playing music all night, she helped give me that push I needed to do it. It's been a fucked up 2 years, but musically it's so far been the best 2 years of my life.

Bearing Witness to Cultural Evolution

2011-07-24T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm becoming more proud of how the culture of Grand Forks is evolving. The music scene is fighting to come back. The art scene as been evolving for some years now. There is cool stuff going on in Grand Forks. The only problem is that it's not as well-advertised as it could be. People still bitch about how there is nothing to do in this town. You sometimes have to be a little creative, but there is always something to do. It just might involve getting off your ass and finding it.
Yesterday we drove through downtown, and saw people in Townsquare and hanging out outside Ojata. I thought how awesome that it doesn't look completely barren like it did a year or two ago. There is night life downtown again! The night before, the Grand Forks Roller Derby had their award gala in Townsquare. I was lucky enough to be invited, and had a helluva time there.
Live venues, a derby league--careful, the generations so hell-bent on leaving might just want to rethink their exodus.

"Champagne For My Real Friends, and Real Pain For My Sham Friends"...

2011-07-17T00:41:00.000-05:00

It's weird to think how my social base has expanded and evolved over this past year. I used to have a definitive circle of friends, never really ventured far outside it, and never wanted to.
At one point, I met "The Boys". When I started doing Open Mics in 2009, they were the first ones to hear me play and became big supporters. They gave me a receptive audience, took me into their fold, even made me one of them for a few months (I extinguished my membership for my own reasons). They also opened the door for me to meet other new people, especially musicians in and around Grand Forks.
When The Mecan'tiKs started playing, we found a community of musicians accepting us and we love being part of that. When Karissa joined the roller derby, I was slower than I should have been in trying to socialize , but have found fairly recently that the girls involved in that are cool as hell.
It's even weirder to think that I used to be terrible at making friends, but now in the band I'm the "networker" of the three of us--even though Kevin is the real social bug who can schmooze people.

Inked and Loud...

2011-07-13T23:52:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to revive some long-neglected projects lately. I hadn't worked on Banjo's Tune in a long time, and I figured it's high-time to get back to work on it. I still have a story in there, even though it's vastly different from Golden Brown.
Speaking of Golden Brown, I also decided to do an "in-between" story--only a few pages long, and not anything that leads to a real story. I just want something to precede what might become another Golden Brown story without having to worry right now about an actual story. The last one took three fucking years to write/draw, don't know if I'm up for that again just yet.
The Mecan'tiKs have been trying to record a demo for some time now. We decided to try it DIY and found the process daunting but rewarding at the same time. Luckily, my two other bandmates are technologically inclined, otherwise we wouldn't be getting very far. We came up with 5 songs so far that are pretty tolerable to listen to. We have more recorded, but not mixed.
As far as shows, we've been trying to keep busy this year, and average about 1-2 shows a month. Not too bad for a beginner band in a town that doesn't cater well to live acts. We just did a show in Townsquare which sounded great but had only about a dozen people watching us. Afterword, I got to attend a mellow afterparty at the Dogmahal/Ojata Records across the street. Partying in a comic shop/hot dog emporium/record store is actually pretty damn fun!

the Year So far...

2011-03-21T21:57:00.000-05:00

Wow it's been a while We kicked off the new year with some good band activity, playing at the Hub and making our debut at the Nestor in Fargo. In that same vein, we just did another hub show a couple weekends ago, and will be hitting the Nestor again this coming weekend--history repeating, hahaha. the Mecan'tiKs are evolving as a band, and getting along as well as we ever did. I love being part of this band, and I look forward to what summer might bring for us.
Karissa and I broke up last Fall. We had a good run, 9 years, but just mutually felt like it was time to split. We still get along great, she remains one of my closest friends, though our friends and family still have some difficulty fully understanding us. But then, we never did anything conventionally, so a break-up that only we understand fits the mold perfectly.
i'm sure there's plenty of stuff I'm forgetting, you fill in those blanks. Use your imagination ;)

RIP Dime

2010-12-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

Some Good Times Coming My Way

2010-09-06T04:16:00.000-05:00

It's been a helluva summer. We had a benefit for Jas and Jimmy back in July, it was an incredible experience. Both were at Thirsty's having a great time and in such high spirits. It felt (and still feels) so good to see a couple of tough bastards being able to enjoy life despite the tragedy they'd gone through.
On that note, Jas got his prosthetic leg and is currently getting used to it. It's neat seeing him standing up on his own, and we all look forward to that wedding dance. A simple promise that he would dance with her has become such a huge part of his recovery.

The Mecan'tiKs, Shovelhead and Rotting Thought have gained a mutual respect for eachother as bands that are forces to be reckoned with. We're not out to best eachother, but we put everything we have into what we do, and love every minute of it. I couldn't be luckier to have these two bands as musical support group, and even luckier still that I get to be a part of this music scene, right here, right now. I look forward to establishing a rapport with other bands in the area and being able to give them the respect they deserve.
The band itself functions great. Our respective jobs often throw monkeywrenches into the gears, but we try to work around it as best we can. Each makes his own contribution to the band, and I don't feel like anyone person is picking up too much slack. We don't always see eye to eye, but we work it out in practice and deliver what I feel is some kickass psychobilly music. I'm fucking proud to be a Mecan'tiK.
We played the Hub last night, our first paying gig! It went over big, and we had a blast doing it. From setup to teardown, I was constantly reminded of why I love playing music.
In two weeks I get my wish--we're playing at Town Square! about 6 other bands are playing there, I hope we pack the square. And just in time, Summer is damn near over! We also may get to play with a couple other psychobilly bands--one from Fargo, the other from Minneapolis. My mission to infect the Grand Cities with psychobilly fever is well underway.

A Band of Devils

2010-06-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

Not too many people using the blogs these day, seems like Facebook is taking up all their attention.
Jas got his leg chopped off on Wednesday, the docs took it off a little below the knee--an ideal amputation, if you want to call it that. They've got some more restructuring and patch-up work to do, so he'll be in the hospital for the next couple weeks. It's better than keeping a leg that will give you nothing but pain and infection for possibly years to come. Hopefully he'll be up for the concert in July, it'd be cool to have him and even Jimmy there.

Last weekend we grilled out at our house for the first time this season, and ended up with way too many burgers. That's not a bad thing, as I found out, since I got to eat left-over burgers for days following. This weekend finds us in Devils Lake visiting my dad and checking out Devils Run, which is always an awesome time! The parade is in about an hour, and hopefully will be rain-free, but those clouds look a little iffy right now...

The band's doing great, we played the Hub last Tuesday and were asked by one of the employees if we wanted to do a show in July with another band that hangs around there called Rotting Thought (former members of Inkedindecision). I'm REALLY hoping we get to finally play in the Town Square this year, too.
We get a much better response than I thought we would--people around here actually enjoy a little Psychobilly when you rub their noses in it!
Hopefully we'll have a demo ready soon so we can start whoring ourselves out as working musicians.

The comic? That's tough. Let's just say it's on temporary hiatus right now. I would NEVER abandon this story--I still love thinking about getting back to it. It's just that I've got other things going on right now. Music, Jas, not to mention I've been rediscovering some lost love for my charcoal drawings (see most recent example above). But I will get back to it. Maybe not this month, but soon!

Par For the Course

2010-05-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

It's been a helluva couple shitty weeks.
My grandma died on May 11. It's been such a long time coming, that many of us actually felt relieved that she was no longer suffering. The funeral was nice, more like the celebration it's supposed to be. It was cool to see all my extended family, too.
A couple days later, Karissa found out her grandma is in the hospital. The cancer had advanced and she doesn't sound like she has much longer left, either (but is still alive as of this writing). More good news.
Just last week, Jas and some buddies got into a serious motorcycle accident with an old lady who shouldn't even have been driving. You can get the whole story from this website.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jasonhunter
It's not that I can't tell the story, it's just that I've explained it so many times I don't feel like writing the whole damned thing out again. He's doing alright now, but his leg is still messed up, and he has a long road ahead of him before he can get back on that bike. His fiancee, Amber, is spending almost all her time with him, his friends and family have been filing in and out for the past week to cheer him on.
I'm so ready for June!

Gradma Ann, 1916-2010

2010-05-12T19:34:00.000-05:00

Bye Grandma. We love you.

RIP Pete Steele, 1962-2010

2010-04-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

Me? Stuck Up?

2010-04-12T03:22:00.000-05:00

I dug through some of my old posts the other day. It was interesting to see the things I forgot I thought about back then.
I went all the way back to the beginning and read what I wrote about how I was feeling about music two months after Dimebag was killed, and I was kind of stunned by how much it made sense to me. before his death, I was fairly receptive to new music, and I enjoyed seeing new bands popping up here and there. After, I grew cold to a lot of new music. To this day, I'm very weary of bands that get radio play. I know it's not at all fair to hold that against them, I mean it's normal for a band to want to get recognized. It's just that a lot of "not-quite" bands pop up every now and then. "Not-quite" metal emerges as "hard rock", "screamo", "emo", etc. Correct me if I've mis-genre'd, but they just seem like lesser versions of good bands. Of course, that's all subjective.
But I've become something of a music snob in the process. I reject radio bands, I reject "not-quite" bands. And yet i've embraced virtually all forms of ____billy music, even though they're all all weird mutations of each other. Weird.
I put out a new page of Banjo's Tune. I may be an extra week or two getting the next one out than usual. I kind of forgot to write more of the story, so I have to hammer that kink out before I can work on anymore pages.
Practices are going great, we're thinking of getting together at Mike's for Open Mic to "test" out our audience. Sometime soon, hopefully.
The job is fine, although I'm getting increasingly frustrated working weekends. It's worse when we want to go to Devils Lake or visit out-of-town friends, because then I have to take work off, which I'm sure they hope I don't make a habit of. Plus, for some reason, I've been finding naked men in hot tubs. Seeing fat, white, drunk asses crawling shamefully out of a hot tub isn't as glamorous as movies make it out to be.

FB Fights, River Runs Down, but Music Comes Up

2010-03-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

Interesting couple of weeks. I found myself in embroiled in a heated exchange on Facebook with a former in-law who believes black people are genetically less-developed and more prone to violence. I asked for his sources, and he gave me an author of a badly outdated book, the loud attorney who agreed with him, and horribly biased study by a "racialist" who abuses statistics. Things got somewhat personal, and it became hard to bite my tongue whenever he posted comments. Eventually I stopped (even though I still had more to say). It became apparent he wouldn't listen to ANY kind of reason. Even his sister (my ex), who I thought might have SOME sense in the matter, seemed to think I was "clueless", giving me the distinct impression that she agreed with his views. I entreated him to visit with professors of various backgrounds dealing with people, academics who had spent years educating themselves with ALL sides of the issue, then I wrote the guy off.
The river crest was pretty tame this year, which is the best news we could ask for in Spring. The Sorlie bridge was only closed about a week, and never even flooded. Just this morning, the Point bridge also opened. So all avenues to work are back online! Just a matter of time now before the rest of Spring comes and I can cast off my Winter coat for the season.
I got a new page of Banjo's Tune up. It's become a habit now to post a page every other week, so expect that.
Band practice tomorrow (I love being able to say that again), and Open Mic resumes Thursday!

St. Patrick's and a Memorial, a Pretty Busy Week

2010-03-19T09:11:00.000-05:00

I've met up with Cody (upright bassist) a few more times this past month. Last time even worked on a couple originals, which brings that count up to 3 now. I gave him the chord progression, showed him my guitar part, and let him go to town figuring out his bassline. The drummer was out for Spring Break this week, so next week we're hoping to get him up to speed.
I'm still working on the comic, though posting has become a biweekly thing instead of weekly. I'm not crazy about the delay, but it's apparently necessary, and the story is slowly coming together.
Last Wednesday was St. Patty's Day. I normally don't celebrate it, since for me it's like any other holiday, but I got a message from the punk rockers I hang out with at Mike's inviting me to a celebratory gathering. Karissa told me to go, so I had to listen.
All was pretty good times, but right at midnight, the music shut off, and I found myself in the middle of a memorial. Ray Mesa, a close member of their group, died 3/18 a year ago in the very apartment we were in, of a heart problem. He was found on the floor by a couple of the punks, one of them his little brother, Todd.
Someone put on an Irish track memorializing a Fallen Comrade, and we all listened in silence. I glanced over at the other guys at one point and saw tears streaming down their faces. I'd heard stories of Ray since I started hanging out with them, and actually went to the benefit concert last April that was held in his honor, but I had a rare opportunity that night to see what he really meant to them.
After they had recovered themselves somewhat, the party resumed. It was cool to see these guys allowing themselves some time for grief and remembrance, but then going back to celebrate life. One of them got a call from a guy we call Jagger, who was at O'Really's and needed out help. He was apparently making some enemies with his mohawk and thought some guys were waiting for him outside. So, we hopped in my minivan to get him, having a good laugh over the silliness of coming to rescue a punk from a fight in a minivan. We didn't find him, and found out soon after that he made it out okay and went to the party. He and I talked later about the value of consistency in child discipline.
Of course, one of the partiers, a hanger-on that not many seemed to know that well, had drank too much, and suddenly become over-emotional. He's my age, and likes to fight--actually looks for fights sometimes. He barely knew Ray when he was alive, but let himself get caught up in the moment, and at point was screaming out "Raaay! Fucking Raaaay!" like an idiot. One of the punks, Streak, had to be restrained in the bedroom and was doing all he could to not come out and kill the guy. It's one thing to pay respects, it's another thing entirely to act like you were tight with the guy just because you want to fit in with the other grieving friends.
He finally had to be calmed down and escorted out--by Todd, Ray's brother. This kid's still in his teens, and was handling this big dickhead with more maturity than I've seen in people my age.
Helluva night. Lots of laughs, some tears, came close to a couple fights, even. I had to show my I.D. to a few people who didn't believe I was 30 (it's the boyish good looks and the fun-having).
Last night I hit Mike's again, which will turn out to be the last for a couple weeks, since the bridges closed. I brought out my harmony again, it played great this time. I had to put up with a couple girls playing Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga covers (seriously, they did) before the guys dragged me to a midnight showing of Repo Men, which I found unexpectedly entertaining.

HEY!...I'm In a Band...

2010-02-27T13:53:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the year, I was contacted by a bassist named Cody, interested in starting up a psychobilly group. Over the next couple months, we e-mailed back and forth, and yesterday, we finally got together for a jam session. I've been in contact with a couple other musicians, and they bail out before we even met, so it was starting to get a little frustrating to find people who wanted to play. Given that, I was skeptical that this would pan out.
It turned out much better than I expected. As soon as I got there, he was asking about my guitar. He was very happy to see me bringing out a Gretsch, then said "mine's over there". I opened the case to find the very same sparkly-silver Electromatic that Karissa wanted me to buy when I was first shopping around! The only reason I didn't buy it was because I didn't care for the color.
While I was drooling over the guitar, he got out his bass. I have no idea what brand it was, but it was big and black, and looked awesome. We didn't waste alot of time getting down to their basement and getting started. The basement is an old bare-finished basement--concrete floors, low ceilings (at least I can stand up straight without kerbonking my head), badly placed outlets, and a little colder than the rest of the house. Being used to playing in conditions like these or worse, I found it perfect. We tried out Police Truck by Dead Kennedys first. I expected there to be a few false starts, but once I got through the intro, we kind of just took off on our own. We didn't sound great by professional standards, by given that we had just met in person 15 minutes before and hastily hooked up the amps, I'd say right out of the gate we kicked ass.
Unfortunately, his drummer had class (and is also running for student-body president at UND) and couldn't be there, hopefully next time. The potential singer also was absent due to scheduling conflicts which may affect his even getting to sing with us. Those duties would then fall on me. As much as I'd love to do vocals too, I have to say I was getting a little comfortable just playing. Then again, once we got into Misfits territory and I knew te vocals, I was singing along to our jam session (sans microphone).
Cody impressed me with how proficient he already was, having only started playing upright the previous month. He had double-slaps down, was goofing around on scales and making shit up as he went along. He learned Mifits songs quickly, and that helped us get used to each rhythmically & tonally in a huge way.
I don't know when the next practice is just yet, but we seemed equally excited about building a pscyhobilly band out of this. We'll see how things go with the drummer and singer before I say we are 100% a band, but this time I might just be holding my breath.

Living Down, Playing Up, Drawing Out

2010-02-13T04:11:00.000-06:00

It's been good to get back to doing Open Mic night again. The last couple times, I'd close the bar with the punk guys, then wind up back at their apartment until about 5:30-6am. Then I'd go home and get Isabella ready for school, and go to bed. This is one of those times that my usual night schedule benefits me, and by the time I get home, I'm not dragging ass and irritable toward my kid. In fact, given the performance and the "after party", I felt accomplished and pretty damned good about myself. Once my head hits the pillow, I'm the most comfortable guy in the world. I'm grateful for it, since Saturday brings with it a broken sleep schedule that leaves me tired the whole day.
The prospective band that I've been in contact with may be getting together next week some time. I'm still having trouble keeping my hopes up, but we've gone farther with planning this than other musicians who contacted me in the past. We've got a reasonable list of songs to work through, and my confidence is pretty good right now. The Open Mic nights did a ton for that.
The whole "looking at publishers" thing, now that's not going so hot. I keep having doubts about who would take Golden Brown without asking me to completely revise it. I know I'm supposed to be prepared to compromise on things like this, but I've worked on this story for a total of over 4 years, including hours of revision, editing, rewriting, redrawing...I'm DONE doing that. I want it published, I want it out there for others to be able to thumb through and laugh at. Oh well, keep trying.
On a related note, I received a paycheck from the Farmer's Union paper in Bismarck yesterday, for an editorial cartoon I was asked by Mike Shirek to draw. Not my first paid illustration gig, but it is my first paid comic gig. I keep forgetting that when someone asks what I do for a living, I can technically call myself, among other things, an Illustrator!

More About Those Things That Don't Bring In a Paycheck...

2010-02-03T06:39:00.000-06:00

I have almost 2 of 4 panels drawn of the next page, hoping and praying I'll get it done by Friday...well, hoping, anyway. I'm in the middle of a 3-day weekend, so one would think a little productivity would work itself in.
I managed to get the last page out a day late, hopefully that won't be the case here. Ironically, I'm learning a bit more about Lucha libre after having drawn those first few pages, but other than mangling the spanish language, I didn't stray much from what it really is. This story is difficult to work on, because it isn't a joke-a-page like Golden Brown was. It's more involved with the general misery of the characters and their struggle to make something of themselves (gee, not digging into the ol' subconscious or anything, are we?), therefore there are pages of them doing absolutely nothing but remembering or coping, which can get kind of boring. Oh well, it's my story, and if you don't like it, you're entitled to your go-fuck-yourself opinion.

I'm still in contact with those musicians, though we haven't got together yet. I've gone farther this time than with other musicians, even to the point of making up a song list and practicing it on our own. On one level, I'm excited, because I haven't come this far yet with musicians I didn't know. On the other hand, it drives me crazy because since we haven't got together yet, I still believe I could get phased out before I could even get a chance to play. If nothing else, I still have Open Mic, at least.

Having a Merry Dougmas

2010-01-24T17:34:00.000-06:00

Sooooo, it's that time of year again, time to celebrate the year something awesome came to this earth and rocked everyone's socks right off...
We almost didn't make it up to DL this weekend. The weather was getting iffy and there was a winter storm watch in our area throughout Sunday. I timed everything out just right, however, and by the time it started snowing, we were safely at my dad's place. Unfortunately, Kevin and April couldn't make it. They couldn't leave until Saturday AND Kevin got the family flu, so they had a lot working against them. Janelle wanted to make it out, too, but that damned weather kept her from leaving her own driveway.
Tab & Derek came, and Jess made it out, too. Tab made me this cake you're ogling, and there's pictures floating around of me going in headfirst for the first bite. The cake was delicious, the company was fun, it was a great sendoff to being 30. AND I wasn't even hung over the next morning (or right now).
Happy B'Day to me!

The Apparel of a Comic Musician

2010-01-20T00:35:00.003-06:00

I finally got a new shirt at C'Mon Inn. We got new doug-awful uniforms in, deep-blue abortions we call shirts, but I don't have to wear them on account of my lowly position. I did, on the other hand get to nab one of the old button-up work shirts, so I finally get to wear a shirt I want to wear to work. Don't take this away from me, it's awesome. And don't look at me like that, either. Fuck you, it's a cool shirt. Stop snickering, seriously. And say that to my face! As soon as I'm done crying, I'll kick your ass!
Anyway, I should have another page of Banjo's Tune up by Friday. For some reason, I've been...working on it. I know, weird. During November and December, I'd been having a helluva time trying to get around to getting another page drawn up, but it feels a little better now. Plus the light/shadow is drawn better lately than in the first few pages of this chapter. I really should be drawing it on larger paper, but whatever. That's the kinda guy I am.
I finally got Golden Brown all revised, now I'm considering what I could possibly do with with it. I'm seriously thinking publishers won't give it a second look, at least not without wanting to cut certain parts out and making me put professional lettering in, which I'm not willing to do. My whole intention was to do all this old-school, even the lettering. Self publishing is an option, but I have to figure out who's reputable and who isn't. Plus, there's a lot of steps I have to take on my own, including press, and I don't know if I'm up for that.
I was contacted a few weeks back by a guy who wanted to get together and jam--he and his drummer friend are looking to set up a psychobilly group, which is right down my alley! I've been burned before by guys who say they wanna jam and then ignore my e-mails, but this one actually seems interested, and he bought an upright bass to learn on. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath.

Been, Becoming

2010-01-14T08:31:00.003-06:00

Birthday is coming up! Karissa asked me to pick what I want for my birthday supper, but I'm having a helluva time with it. I like damn near everything she makes, so it's hard to pick out a particular dish from that. I can't wait for tax time. I know, you read it right. I can't wait. I actually enjoy doing my taxes, once I have everything in front of me. It's mostly due to the fact that I get money back, not gonna lie. But I also like the fact that I don't have a lot to research. I don't have a lot of assets, we live fairly simple. We don't need an accountant or tax preparer for that kind of lifestyle.
I didn't really say anything about the holidays lately, I've noticed. I've taken a typically bleeding heart position on Thanksgiving, I don't care much about X-Mas (maybe I've heard too much talk from conservative Christians about how their holiday with its pagan traditions and Jesus' nonbirthday being undermined by other religions who want to be acknowledged around the same time, or maybe because I'm atheist and don't care about any religion this time of year). Visiting family is great, but it's also nice to spend holidays at home and actually relax.
New years brings an equal amount of enthusiasm. I remember celebrating the millenium and having to drive to Churchs Ferry hung over to attend Amadon & Reyna's wedding before he took off for AIT. It was fun at the time (except for the hangover part), but I could think of a million better things to celebrate than the passing of a year. My birthday, for example. Okay, so that's also celebrating the passing of a year, but it's so much more significant.
I'm turing 30 this year. It's weird to think of leaving my 20's behind. I loved being a "twenty-something". I'm now hitting an age where I should be set in my career, and where am I? I'm still working nights, still paycheck to paycheck. I'm not even playing in a band right now, or drawing a paying comic. I'm working on both, but I had hoped for more by this time.
Who can I blame but myself, though? I lolligagged with comics, and lost my interest in playing music for a while. Right now my passion in both couldn't be stronger, but I feel like I gotta make up for lost time.
Speaking of which, a new page of Banjo's Tune will be up early tomorrow. Read it. I also managed to post a lengthy review on my movie blog. Read that, too. It's hard to keep up the movie blog, but every time I do, I find it's at the very least, an effective writing exercise. The more I do it, the more aware I become of other little aspects in other movies.

Snow, Jobs, and Comic Relief...

2010-01-07T18:28:00.003-06:00

I really can't wait for summer--or at least spring, when the roads are clear and residentials aren't reduced to one lane to squeeze through.
We hired on a couple new people at C'Mon Inn over the past month, and they've both turned out to be morons. One is a front desk guy who vaccuumed up live embers from the fireplace and started the vaccuum on fire, the other was hired for day-maintenance and still doesn't know how to do the pool/hot tub chemicals. On the bright side, they don't really do anything that directly inconveniences me, so I'm not too affected by it.
I got a new page of Banjo's Tune coming out tomorrow, yay! I got the outline & scripting done for the next page, too, so hopefully I can get back to some kind of weekly basis. HOPEFULLY.
Exactly 20 days until my birthday! Only about 15 days until big party! I'm excited.

Holidaze...

2009-12-26T17:24:00.002-06:00

X-Mas was alright, I got to relax, watch TV, and pig out on cookies. I also managed to read If Chins Could Kill in 3 days flat, cover to cover. A coworker lent it to me, and I obviously loved reading about Bruce Campbell's career.

We got shit on with snow over the holidays. I'm not sure how many inches we got, but it has to be in the teens by now. I had a lot of fun digging out my van, I'll have more fun doing more of the same at home and at work over the next couple days.

I'm still thinking over the comic-hiatus thing. I hate to do it, because it's hard to get back into the habit of doing it. Plus, there's a little part of me that wonders if I take a break for a couple weeks, what's to stop me from taking a break for a couple months? I love doing the comic, but at times it seems like a struggle to work it in to my schedule, especially since my work routine is different from what it used to be at Travelodge. I did get a page posted last Friday, so at least I managed to not let an entire month pass by before updating!

Turkey, Cartoonin', Comics, and Caterwaulin'...

2009-12-18T10:05:00.003-06:00

I guess I should do a little update, since I haven't written anything since Halloween. Turkey Day was good, had turkey like everyone else. I did get to explain more about the REAL Thanksgiving to Isabella, and the more I read through the accounts, the more I figured this isn't a holiday we should be celebrating at all, but whatever, I like Turkey. It should be more of a commemoration of Man's casual dominance over poultry.

Isabella had her dance recital around the beginning of December. During the "rehearsal" at the old-folks home, she got scared and ran to us in the middle of the song. At the actual recital, she did really well. We were especially happy that our parents got to come see her do it, too.

A couple weeks ago, an associate from my high school days contacted me through Facebook, asking if I was interested in illustrating some editorial cartoons for a monthly newspaper based out of Bismarck. The pay ain't much, but hey, it's something I've never done artistically before, and if I don't care for it, I only have to do it once a month, so it works out well for me. Add to that the fact that I've been paid a couple times by UND for scientific illustration work, I think I can officially consider myself a "professional" freelance illustrator! Now to find a way to get that damned Golden Brown published.

I have to work the weekend right after X-Mas, plus New Year's Eve, but that's not so bad. X-Mas weekend will probably be dead, and I don't celebrate New Years. Of course, I'm not crazy about having to kick drunk partiers out of the courtyard after midnight, but I'll try to be nice, something that at times is becoming more and more of an effort.

I'm considering taking a temporary hiatus from Banjo's Tune. Not that I want to, but it's becoming difficult for me to find time to get to it lately. For some reason, other little projects seem to pop up that want my attention, and the comic unfortunately suffers for it. Not to mention the fact that my work schedule is different now and leaves little downtime for drawing. It is NOT an end to Banjo's Tune by any means, I have too much of this story in my head to let it peter out. More than likely it'll just mean about 2-3 more weeks before you see anything more about it. We'll see.

I still get to Open Mics when I can, which is usually every week to every other week or so. Last week I got a pretty good response, this week it was pretty dead. There was a sorority taking up space in one corner, a small group of college kids in another. Neither of them felt any necessity to show appreciation for the performers playing in front of them, which annoyed me. Even the people that suck on stage deserve a few claps every once in a while. While I was up there getting the same treatment, I asked at one point, "You guys wanna hear a holiday tune?" After getting some cheers from the college kids, I jumped into playing Halloween by the Misfits just to shine 'em on. I don't think they cared much for it, but the punk guys that hang out there all the time thought it was hilarious.

That's all I got for now, if you want more, go back and reread this post!

RIP Dimebag

2009-12-08T01:55:00.001-06:00

Weird that it's been 5 years now.

Lufengpithecus

2009-10-30T18:15:00.002-05:00

It's a few million years old, and creepy-looking as hell. Done in acrylics and some of Isabella's crayola paints.

Wonderful

2009-10-22T21:31:00.002-05:00

Not much to report at the moment. I finally fixed the pickup on my upright bass, it had been broken for a while, now it's not. I've got a love/hate relationship with mp3 players lately. I haven't been able to get much done on the comic lately, but I did manage to get the next chapter teaser posted, go check it out here and try to figure out what the hell is going on with what little I gave ya!
Kevin finally got his drums into Grand Forks, now we just need to get them to my garage, though it's probably too cold to play now, but oh well.
We visited Devils Lake last weekend, which was fun. Somehow we managed to get a good group together (though still not complete), and I thankfully did not drink NEARLY as much as everyone else did.
That's all I got!

Taking a Little Break From Work For What's Important...

2009-10-11T01:48:00.002-05:00

I felt bad about not posting any pages of the comic for 2 weeks, so to make it up I posted 2 pages this time around! The bad news is that the story jumps to something else from here, and while I have the general outline worked out, I don't have anything specific written, nor have I even begun to outline the next part visually. Long story long, I have to take another couple weeks to do that, so no comic til then.

Last Thursday I was practicing on the steps just outside Mike's when a couple guys sat down beside me and started jamming along, one with a bongo and one with an acoustic. The bongo player did alright, but the other guitarist was great keeping up with lead stuff, especially when considering he was tuned in E and I was tuned a half step lower. It was pretty fun.
The punk guys showed up as usual, and convinced me to try Devilock by the Misfits next time I play (like they had to try hard). They even sound interested in jamming, though it could easily have been more drunk talk.

Anyway, back to work!

Livin' the Dream in Baby Steps...

2009-09-27T01:39:00.002-05:00

I didn't have a lot of time to do a new page of Banjo's Tune last week--oops! I'll try harder this week.
On a related note, I checked my Sitemeter tonight, and noticed that quite a few of the site visits to my BoneDaddy blog are from Google searches, which means random people are finding my blog while searching somewhat-related things, and actually taking a peek!
Open Mic night is as fun as it ever was, even if I don't always like the music being played. There's a lot of stuff like Matchbox 20 & Oasis being played for some reason, with the occasional-to-rare oldie. Then when I get up there it's all Cab Calloway, Johnny Cash, Danzig, stuff like that. In other words, it's awesome. I'm getting more comfortable with playing in front of strangers, though I still feel like my voice is prone to flattening/sharpening beyond my control, but i'm trying, at least.
I'd still love to play in a full band (some songs would be easier to pull off), but I guess I'll have to wait for the right opportunity. Maybe getting a bigger garage wouldn't hurt either.

That Pencil Hand's Been Busy...

2009-09-11T10:29:00.005-05:00

Quick post--Been busy lately! It's been hard to get just one page a week done, but I'm trying. Had to take a break from Open Mic night this week, due to slight illness that couldn't decide whether it was coming or going, and may have been exacerbated by my erractic caffeine intake. I got Jason Pierce's logo done, and as you can see, I even got the bandname banged out, too! I also made a color version, which I'll post later after Jason's posted his on Facebook. I can't wait to hear what they sound like!

My Interests Are Competing For My Time...

2009-09-05T18:24:00.002-05:00

Under orders by Amber, I'm giving a little update.
Sorry I haven't been very consistent with my comic posting! I've been a little busier this past week or two. I haven't even finished penciling the next page yet. Jason Pierce asked me to design a logo for his band, Shovelhead, last week. I did a little "Mort Jester" for him, which got me some big kudos. I also started looking into more reference material for a tattoo idea for a cousin of mine, which I'd been putting off for a little too long now. If only I could get this kind of work on a consistent basis!
I've also had the opportunity to hit Open Mic for the past couple weeks, which has been a blast. I fuck up a couple songs here and there, but overall it feels great to play again, and I'm glad I got over my little fear of performing in front of people (even if it isn't that many). Last week, Kevin got to watch me play finally, which was cool. He convinced me to play Little Red Riding Hood again, and again everyone knew what song I was playing by the first chord. I also got to try out a new song, called Megalomaniac Blues, which I'm very fond of. After I finished, a middle aged guy walked up and told me he liked my rendition of St. James Infirmary, which was one of his favorite songs.
Now on to working on the next page of Banjo's Tune!

Work, Work, Work...

2009-08-14T09:01:00.002-05:00

Holy shit it's already almost mid-August. Where's the year gone?!
The job's still going good, although I'm feeling that schedule change. I can't do much fun stuff on weekends anymore, and everyone else works during the week. Even something easily planned, like going to visit my dad, has to be completely redone. Oh well, whatever.
I got a new page of Banjo's Tune out today! The story's coming along slowly, and it's not too bad keeping up with the weekly posting, though I make no promises from week to week.
My dad had his lapband surgery this week, everything seemed to go just fine. Now is the next difficult step--keeping a diet that will work with his body and not make him feel like crap. Hopefully he will stick to it and actually hit his target weight by Christmas.

FINALLY Faced One of My Biggest Fears!!

2009-08-07T01:38:00.002-05:00

Tonight I finally bit the bullet and made it to Open Mic night at Mike's Pizza--not to spectate, but to finally perform. I put a beer & a double whiskey into me to loosen up, but I still felt nervous walking up to the stage.

The staff knew me from the times I'd been there before, but I also got to meet some other musicians that hang around there. One guy, named Mike, was a swim team coach by day here from Kansas City, by night the lead singer for a blues rock band called Juniors Flat Six. He knew a lot of the bands I was talking about and turned me on to some that I didn't.

A bunch of softball players were sitting front and center, so I had a tough crowd. They were sponsored by Mike's so I can't say too much bad about them, but a few were dicks. I warned everyone it was my first time, then said "fuck it, I don't know you guys," then hit the strings.
I started off my (short) set with Thirteen, a Johnny Cash cover, which nobody really knew.

Then I did Rude Awakening (one of mine), which I fucked up a couple times (maybe the double whiskey was too much?), then played Road Trip (another of mine), which received the kind of applause that people do when they think 'oh shit, the song's done, I'd better clap'. The last song I did was House of the Rising Sun by the Animals, and it went over MUCH better. I got a chance to scream, which I should do more often because it's so fucking fun, and people actaully recognized it.

After I was done, a girl bravely got up and did one acapella song, then a couple guys got up to kill time (there were a few spaces left open before the next band was arriving), and I got to lend out my guitar. Mike (mentioned earlier and who bought me a 'Tijuana Hooker') even got up and did a song with them, which was awesome.

Later I was hanging out with some punkabillies (for lack of a better word) who agreed with me that there NEEDS to be a psychobilly scene out here, and some might even jam with me. I'm not holding my breath (been burned on that one before) but it'd be cool.

We all had to sit through some hip-hop, which was not cool, but then got to listen to some excellent banjo picking at the end (I got to hear the Ballad of Jed Clampett!). I closed the bar with the punk guys, then walked to the van feeling better than I'vc felt in a loooong time (and I've felt pretty damned good lately).

A Little Work, A Little Reverend, and Some Banjo

2009-07-28T22:49:00.003-05:00

Work's been going pretty good. There are still a few major frustrations with the organization, but since I have pretty minimal contact with staff and guests, I shouldn't complain. Plus, I was incredibly lucky to get stuck working with a cantankorous young asshole who wears weird hats and carries his own guitar pick.
I'm starting to feel out my routine pretty well, and I do like the freedom I'm given to do my work as I see fit.
I've also been surprised to realize that I can sit down at home and work on a comic page for up to 2 hours at a time. It feels nice to work on something and not get all ADHD and have to get up and find something else to do to burn out that "inattentive" itch. Plus, the artwork has been coming out better. Not to toot my own horn too much, but with Golden Brown, I often finished a page with a "good enough" attitude. Now, I'm willing to put a little more effort into it with Banjo's Tune. It also helps that I placed my own restrictions on the artistic guidelines, like eliminating the little shading lines and keeping a more stark, chiaroscuro feel. It's weird not trying to think of a bunch of stupid jokes to put in, though.
Kevin and I got to jam in the garage a couple times lately. Every now and then, we get a little sick of watching Open Mic @ Mike's, so I pick up a guitar, and we see what sounds good. I'm still anxious for him to get his drums down here, I could really use the percussion side to kick in. Maybe some day, we'll hit that Open Mic night ourselves and give them something good to listen to.
Two weeks ago, Karissa and I headed up to Minneapolis to see Reverend Horton Heat & Nekromantix. Karissa's not a big fan of the Reverend, but she does seem to like the Nekromantix. I thought the whole fucking show was just awesome. I never get tired of seeing that stuff. Unfortunately, the Reverend is coming back to Minneapolis 8/28 with fucking MOTORHEAD, and I can't go. Also, Big John Bates, another favorite, is coming back to Fargo on 9/13--Isabella's Birthday! Shouldn't complain, though, I got to see the Nekromantix. The shows are pretty simply, just club venues, but the musicans playing in them are unbelievable. Oh yeah, and the Cambria Suites wasn't haf bad, either. Pretty swanky digs.
Last saturday we went to Kevin's birthday party(though you wouldn't know we were there because April didn't take any pictures of us--thanks alot april!!--jeeeeez...). I had fun, and didn't really want to leave, but I had to work, plus Amadon was coming, and I wasn't in any mood to be in the same house as him. All in all, lotsa food, lotsa cleavage, lotsa fun.
My old boss was celebrating her husband's birthday as well on saturday, but I didn't have time to make it there. Later that night they took a Travelodge sleepy bear cardboard cutout (which some hoodlums had taken and left there, I'm sure) and burned him in a bonfire. They sent me a picture, which I will always treasure.
I've probably got more to say, but I got a hankerin' to draw, and I feel a little "Banjo's Tune" comin' on...

Quick Little Update...

2009-07-15T01:50:00.003-05:00

The new job is going good. At one point the boss told me not to worry too much about every little thing that needs to be done, or about screwing up "it's not like you need to save us or anything". Honestly, I think I do. The place is real nice, clean, but there are some real organization issues, and I think my contribution there will not be light. So take that.
I'm still getting used to the schedule change. It's weird getting home while it's just barely light out and still considered night. What kind of sucks is that I'm going to miss a couple of my favorite shows due to the change. Oh well.
I haven't even started on the next page of the comic yet, but I plan on it pretty darned quick at some point here...

Last Coupla Weeks...

2009-07-04T18:13:00.003-05:00

What a couple of weeks!! We lose Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays AND Karl Malden. Tornadoes within city limits. I lose a job. I get to jam in my garage. I get a job. I get to go to the Drive-In again. What's that? Oh yeah, I totally got a new job. I start at the C'Mon Inn Monday doing courtyard maintenance. I'll also help out at the front desk every now and then, but mainly I get to help maintain the jaccuzis, clean meeting rooms, security, all the fun stuff! I hope I like it.
I'm sick of hearing everything about Jacko and nothing about anyone else who's dying. Billy Mays, who as far as we know was NOT on any kind of drug, worked his ass off and promoted products he really believed worked. Farrah Fawcett was a mediocre actress who had cancer and wanted it documented, which in my eyes is still more tv-worthy than all frickin tributes to Jackson. Anyone know who Karl Malden was? I've seen him in a few movies, but the one I will always respect him for was his character, Father Barry in On the Waterfront--my favorite character, I might add.
Kevin and I ducked out of the open mic night early to go make some music ourselves. He got on the bass and learned some basic bass lines to a couple songs with me, and we actually sounded pretty good! At least, we sounded as good as we could not being a full band. I could use some drums on some of these songs. But, I got a bassline to play with, I can't complain.
Last night Karissa and I went to the Drive In again to see Gran Torino. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. And I would totally live at the drive in. Seriously. When we move, I'm hoping I will be able to make a little mini-drive in of my own at our new house, whenever the hell that'll be.
Oh, and more pages of Banjo will appear soon, just not for a little bit due to the unintended hiatus.

Not My Travelodge Anymore

2009-07-01T23:48:00.002-05:00

On Monday evening I received a call from the evening front desk clerk, Ray. He told me my manager, Becky, had been fired. And Avis (morning front desk/Becky's mom) quit. And Katie (Head Housekeeper) quit. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Travelodge had just been bought by a Middle Easterner about a month ago, and we were all assured nothing would change, no one was going anywhere.
I assured Ray I would be there to relieve his shift, but I knew beyond that I couldn't work in that place anymore, not without the people I've seen 5 days a week for the past 6 years.
I came in to start my shift, and Gary (the new owner) came down from the room he was staying in. Ray took off, Gary asked me how I was doing and if I heard about Becky, and I went off. I informed him that this would be my last shift as well. I said it was crap what he did to Becky, that he's lost the best manager/head housekeeper/morning person/night auditor he'll ever hope to find. He tried feebly to defend his position that he couldn't afford Becky, and even made some allusions to the fact that he would have fired some front desk staff, but she took the bullet instead of us. He assured me that he told her in person, not on the phone, and I said "well how nice of you, that's great of you to have given her your presence when firing her!"
He said I didn't give him a chance, I told him I was on board with his updates to the motel, so I gave him his chance, and he really blew it. I went back and got coffee, then came back to find him still not gone. Frustrated, I said "Just go back to your room NOW and I'll see you in the morning."
He tried to ask me right after that to show him the audit one more time, and I said "No, you have a cheat sheet, you can use that."
He never fought me about how I was talking to him. I would NEVER have talked that way to Becky or Ernie, but Gary didn't deserve one ounce of respect.
I performed the duties of my last shift like any other night. I folded a few linens, I stocked the 2nd floor housekeeping closet, did my security walks, prepared breakfast, and salvaged the broken breakfast sign that some nameless (not me) hooligan had broken into 4 pieces (and that I have hated for a looooong time).
Gary came in at 7:30 the next morning, I gave him the keys and said good luck, and that was it. 6 years, a huge chapter, my identity, gone. And now I have to start that all over. I'll miss the place, the people and the way I spent my nights. On the upshot, I am ABSOLUTELY proud of myself about the way I left and the way I talked to Gary. I actually feel like I kept a great sense of dignity.

Travelogue: Duluth 2009

2009-06-14T21:37:00.037-05:00

This one is us at the drive-in in Warren the friday before the trip.

It was that time of year again--time to strap on the camera & gas up the van, wagons east!

6/8

Early Monday morning we hit the road for Duluth. I put a five-hour energy shot in the van because I figured I'd need it for the five hour drive ahead.

Much of the drive was through rain, which didn't actually surprise me much. We stopped in Grand Rapids for a disappointing bite at Sammy's Pizza, then got on the wrong road and made it 3/4 of the way to Hibbing before realizing it. Karissa managed to point out my error just before a convenient turnoff, though so no real harm done. Plus we got a little extra backwoods driving, which is always fun. No, I'm not joking.

We pulled into Proctor around 3-3:30PM (my energy shot was untouched), checked in to the Red Roof Inn, decided to find the Great Lakes Aquarium. It was fun, but I'm not sure it was worth the admission. Just the same, Isabella loved it, so I guess that's what matters. Afterward, we stopped at Hell's Kitchen for supper, and they were right--it's damn good food. We even got a free sample of peanut butter out of the deal.

6/9

After coaxing Isabella out of the swimming pool, we hit Canal Park. We ended up arriving well between arrival/departure times for the ships, but we picnicked in the park and Isabella chased away all the seagulls, even a sneaky one that thought we didn't notice him coming around the back. We then went to the Maritime Museum, then hit a few stores, but it was becoming clear Isabella needed a nap, so we headed back to hotel for a bit.

After Isabella (and Karissa) got up, we shopped a bit more on Canal Park, then ate at Little Angie's Cantina, a restaurant close to the museum that Karissa's been waiting for 5 long years to get back to and was very happy when she finally did.

6/10

Up and at 'em bright and early again, we went back to Canal Park--this time to take the lunch cruise around the harbor. We finally got to see a freighter come into harbor, even get fairly close to it during the cruise! The food wasn't too shabby, either.

Again, Isabella got worn out doing all this site-seeing, so we headed back to the hotel again. Afterward we hit the zoo, which actually kind of sucked. It seemed like half the exhibits were closed, so no baboons with their big red butts for Isabella to see.

For supper we took Isabella to the Top of the Harbor restaurant at the Radisson, where she spent most of the time watching the scenery change (that's a good thing, why else would we have gone?), and the waiter was very friendly and patient with her yak-yak-yakking.

6/11

Glensheen! I was worried about Isabella getting too bored, but she took it all pretty well and even charmed the tour guide with her chatter. FYI, when she gets over her initial shyness, she doesn't shut up. Oh and it was fun to see Glensheen again, but weird that they moved their gift shop to the carriage house.

Lunch was a picnic at Enger Park, then a trip up to the top of the tower. Karissa was surprised at how easy it was--last time she was very pregnant and didn't even make up the first flight of steps.

Later we traveled along Highway 61 to Two Harbors, then Gooseberry Falls, where Isabella and I wandered among the rocks, while Karissa tried to suppress the anxiety--don't worry, idiots, I was there to keep a close watch on her, help her through the harder-to-navigate rocks, and carry her over the water spots. She's sure-footed like her daddy, though, and only tripped a couple times, and that was on the trails, not the rocks.

On the way back to Two Harbors, we stopped off at Betty's Pies for some Stormy Weather Stackers and delicious homemade pie, then stopped in Two Harbors at the Breaker Point where Karissa got anxiety again watching Isabella walk along the breaker--again, I was close by and held her hand the whole time. Before leaving, we drove by my old house again.

Back in Duluth, I navigated our way back to the hotel amid the taunts of both Karissa and Isabella that I was "just a big baby". Children (and girlfriends) can be so cruel.

6/12

We got packed up a little late, and Karissa didn't think we'd be able to make it to depot to take the scenic train tour. Being that it was her BIRTHDAY, I wasn't about to give up on it, so I hauled ass into Duluth, accidentally parked a block further than we needed to, and just barely managed get tickets and board the train. Yeah, I'm frickin Superman. That's right.

After the train ride, we took a long-assed bridge into Superior, overshot the correct turnoff by about 15 miles, and eventually pulled into Amnicon Acres, a dumpy little campground that might have been more charming if there were a beach to math the lake, and not a million anthills, and wood that was dry. But we made the best of it, had some brats, and played ukuleles by the pitiful fire.

The next morning, we packed up and headed out. We stopped at an Embers on the way home (I know, real creative choice), and pulled back into town in the late afternoon. The 5-hour energy shot, still unopened.

The 'Double Hex' in Action, and a Drive In Experience!

2009-06-06T09:45:00.006-05:00

This was taken with the video setting of my digital camera, it doesn't pick up the lows very well. Aside from hearing mostly slaps, you get a pretty good idea that it actually works. I'm glad I came back to it and redid the pickup positioning.

We went to the Sky-Vu Drive In in Warren last night, it was fucking awesome! I'd never been to a drive-in before, so Isabella and I had a great first experience together. We saw Monsters v. Aliens, which she complained she didn't want to see and wouldn't like. 5 minutes into the movie, she declared she really loved the movie and wanted us to buy it. We are so going back as soon as another good one comes out.

Things To Do in June

2009-06-04T01:54:00.005-05:00

Last Friday we took off for Devils Lake for the weekend. Karissa hadn't seen my dad's new place yet, and had to adjust to the fact that we're staying with me dad, but not at my dad's "house". I'm still getting used to it myself.
On saturday morning we only had to walk two or three blocks to meet up with everyone else to watch the Devils Run parade. It was fun, but that parade gets longer every year. I can't believe the kids all had such a good time! Between snatching up candy off the road, yelling "car" every time they saw a car, and running back and forth, they were nothing but smiles.
I went with Kevin & Butto that afternoon to help an old lady wearing plastic gloves move an antique dresser she bought from Kevin's mom's place into her storage unit. She was so thankful to us "young men" that she offered to buy us all a beer. Then I made them stop at a couple other antique stores in DL (two men antiquing is gay, but what does three mean?) before we headed over to Derek's "shop tour". We really didn't need a tour of a shop we've been in many times, but we thought we'd check it out.
Later that afternoon, we stopped in at Jason's house (formerly my dad's house, still weird) and had brats & burgers. His girlfriend Amber is inthe motel biz too, so she and I got to vent a bit about the things that piss us off about people.
Isabella got to go to the park with Ang & her kids, where they had more Devils Run stuff going on. Karissa and I went out that night to Derek & Tab's garage party, where I frittered away half of the night, inebriatedly pounding on my guitar among the conversation and smores-eating, and spent the other half sitting by the boombox listening to Derek's CD's, which was a treat because even though we have the same taste in music, he's got CD's I don't.
Last night I was hanging out in my garage, working on my upright bass. In case you don't remember, I got a little voice in my head last year telling me "if you build it, they will come." Well, I didn't make anybody come, but I did successfully build an upright bass out of cardboard. As proud as I was of having built it, I was pissed about the fact that I couldn't get much sound picked up on the pickup I made for it. Over Spring I've been working on it, only making things worse. But when I finally took the pickup out and placed it just under the bridge to hold it there, I found the sweet spot where all the sound was being picked up. So I finally made the bass work properly! I'm excited about my prospects of experimental recording now.
Next week we're off to Duluth! Last time we were there was in 2004. It'll be Isabella's first time there, so it'll be fun for her to see the place like I did when I was her age.
We should be back in time for Art Fest, then the weekend after is Wendy & Ryan's wedding (I think), then the Fair is in town, and before we know it, it'll be July! My Doug this month is a busy one!

Local Music, Local Comics...

2009-05-24T08:56:00.002-05:00

The music scene seems to be picking up in town lately. There's been two more concerts in the past two weeks (besides the usual open-mic nights and stuff). I didn't make it to either of them--the first one was a CD release party in an apartment above Gilly's, and for some reason that kinda freaked me out; the second was at a place called "The Rock" on 17th Avenue, and it was a "school's out" concert, so I figured it'd be overrun with high schoolers. Some of the regular metal shows do, too, but this seemed more for high schoolers than 29-year-olds who haven't been in school for over a year. This summer looks pretty promising, though, for shows.

Two weekends ago, Karissa and I hit some garage sales. Ironically, Karissa found stuff and I didn't. But we did discover an antique dealer just outside of Merrifield called "Southbarn Antiques". It's actually a big old barn in a farmstead, and the dealer opens it up on weekends and/or by appointment. We found quite a bit of neat stuff, and he told us a bit about the farmstead, which was left to him by his uncle. There are 2 houses on the property- the original house that was built there in 1879 (which is in GREAT condition), and a newer house which he lives in. Apparently an old Mexican couple that worked there for years still comes up once a year to stay in the old house.

Last Friday, I stopped in at Poppler's to ask them a bit about upright basses. They don't keep them in stock, and they figured the closest place to even look would be in the twin cities. My cardboard one does work, but I don't think I'm getting the best sound out of it, so I've been thinking of trying to make a wood one. It still wouldn't look professionally done, but I think it would resonate better.

I've managed to get another little comic up, this one just a short one-page comic, called "Nose Burp". I have a bit of archaeological illustration to do this week, and I'm also working on the first two pages of "Banjo", which I hope to start posting regularily soon. If I can get back into the groove I had on Golden Brown, it'd be nice--I've had a nice break, but some of this stuff needs to get outta my head.

I found my old band tape! It was in my old camcorder. I remember now that the last time I had it, we were watching some of it on Kevin's huge-assed tv, but he didn't have a VCR, so we used the camcorder. It took on a bit of moisture, but everything's working fine now.

Dylan Vs. Cash & a Cactus Jack

2009-05-09T09:26:00.005-05:00

I took Kevin to a concert at the Guesthouse International Ballroom last nght where a bunch of bands got together and played Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash songs. The musicians seemed to want to play more Dylan, but the audience (kevin and me included) obviously wanted more Johnny Cash--anytime a Cash song was played everyone went nuts.

There was an anouncer trying to do some old-school boxing anouncing--not very well, but it was still fun to watch him anounce the 'bout' between Dylan and Cash. Peat Moss, a dude who normally plays in Big Business, kicked things off in overalls and a train engineer's hat. He was great on guitar, and even played a few of his own songs while up there.

Next up was the Hasty Ladies, a trio of girls, two of whom normally play guitar. One of the guitars kept feeding back (thanks, pro sound guy), so they knocked it down to one. To be honest, the chick playing the guitar was a much better and less-generic singer than the other two.

By this time, Kevin and I were starting to get into it. Despite being pissed about the pro-dylan-izing, the musicians were good.

After the Hasty Ladies came the Noblemen. I don't know what brand guitar the guy was playing, but I loved it! They were awesome (even when playing Dylan), and they played Cocaine Blues, which blew us away. Unfortunately, their set was just the two songs.

The Dewaine Wakeman Duo came on next, consisting of a banjo-picker and a guitarist. They sounded okay, and when the picker switched to a guitar, we were treated to a rendition of Tenessee Flattop Box. By this point, Kevin and I started getting tired. Blame it on the booze, blame on our age, we blame it on the saturation of 7-10-minute Dylan songs.

The House Guitars were the last band we saw last night (sorry other performers!) They sounded great, and just when I least expected it, they banged out Thirteen, one of my all-time favorite Cash songs, with 2 guitars & a harmonica.

We ditched off a little early, and I came home to an extremely cold bed and a sleeping girlfriend who was less than willing to share her warm covers!

One last thing: I've been taking a bit of a break from the comic stuff, but I've still been doodling around a bit--I just finished a short comic called "Cactus Jack"--it got a laugh out of Karissa, so fucking read it, why don't ya?

Drinking Crow

2009-05-03T10:04:00.006-05:00

I found MORE guitars at thrift stores! Every time I think 'okay, I'm done now,' I see one that I find could be useful or that has a different dsign to it. This time, I found two, and neither are for me. The first one is a first act 1/2 size student guitar. We were considering getting a guitar for Isabella, but wanted to wait to actually give it to her until about X-Mas time. The price was right, the size will be okay by the time she gets it, and it actually sounds pretty good for a tiny guitar. The second one is an electronic guitar that has motion-activated "strings"--no strings at all, actually, but simulates the sounds through strumming motions. There's also rock/metal settings, and an option to play with a "band". I got it for Aiden, since he like to play mine, but now at least he won't hurt his little fingers on the strings.

We took Isabella to her last dance class of the season on Friday. Karissa's mom & sis stopped by the class to pick her up and whisk her off for the weekend, so she was very excited about that. We might have done more fun stuff that night, but we ended up being too tired.

On Saturday, we finally got out to do yardwork. I got to mow my lawn! I also got into my garage and cleaned it out a bit, clearing room for instruments to go, hopefully soon. I told Kevin I'm taking those drums of his back with me next time we're up in DL.

That night, we had a little party at our house to celebrate the snow finally being gone. I tried Old Crow this time instead of my usual Jack. I even hoisted my Jolly Roger over my garage!

Kevin suggested an interesting idea of putting lil' smokeys into sandwich buns, which turned out great, so I implemented it for breakfast as well. Karissa made a bunch of other stuff, too, like beef dip, spinach dip, a deli spread, and fruit pizza, so none of us went hungry.

It was a very fun night.

On Sunday morning, Karissa and I (not hung over, by the way) went to her mom's place to get Isabella and have some lunch.

Yet Another Guitar To Feed...

2009-04-26T20:32:00.004-05:00

I picked up this guitar for about $5 at an antique store last friday. One of the ladies there has been trying to get this guitar to me since last Fall, but for whatever reason, she couldn't get a hold of her son, I wasn't window shopping on the right weekend, etc. I was originally going to use it for parts--I still would like to build a coffin guitar--but when I saw the body and its classical f cuts, I just couldn't tear it apart. It's a Harmony Master, possibly from the 1950's or 1960's. A little glue, a lot of packing tape (no duct tape means not technically a red neck), and I was able to nurse it partially back to health. I'm still having trouble tuning it properly, but it's still an awesome guitar.
I also hit the thrift stores, and would you believe I found an unopened DVD of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians! It was, to me, similar to the experience of finding a brand new copy of a really bad movie in a thrift store. It's one of Isabella's favorites, so she was pretty darned happy to have her very own copy, too. Oh yeah, and there are certain family members in Devils Lake that are going to be watching it. You know who you are...
On Friday night, I went to a concert at the Eagles Club in EGF. It was actually a benefit concert for a kid who died unexpectedly that was apparently pretty into the local scene. I ended up getting there late, so I missed a few bands. I didn't feel like drinking, and was kind of tired, so I didn't have the greatest time. Overall it was pretty cool, though. I got to meet a couple members of Arc the Townsmen, who from the couple minutes I talked to them seemed like pretty cool guys, and a very cool band to listen to. A couple of other bands relied a little too heavily on their 4/4 Circle Pit riffs (a fairly generic crunchy riff played w/crash cymbals that works well for moshing) to the point that I didn't know if they played 3 seperate songs, or one really long one. It's still funny to see a girl bringing her kid every now and then to these things--now don't go calling Social Services right away, chances are she kept the kid in the back where it's open and where the sound come together a little better. Also the bass tones come out more, and if the kid was exposed to this kind of music since his her womb days, he/she'll actually not mind it so much.
On Saturday, we took Isabella to the circus. Karissa got screwed over by one of her housekeepers and almost couldn't make it, but was able to see the second half. It was weird, too, that she and I were both kind of disturbed by the treatment of the animals--not like they were being whipped out on stage, but just that they were made to be entertainers, to do things animals wouldn't and mostly shouldn't do in nature. We don't really know any better than the next person whether these animals liked it, it's just thoughts that ran through our heads. I was impressed, though that an elephant could stand on a ball and shit at the same time.
Isabella had a bit much cotton candy later and wasn't in a great mood, plus sh hadn't had her nap due to the showtime cutting in, so she was ready for bed pretty early.
I was annoyed that I had to go to work again already, the weekend seemed too fast. But then, I don't know why I get annoyed, because once I get here, I'm cool.
As far as the comic is concerned, I'm working on a new story. Golden Brown is finished and waiting for me to put it together into a big pdf file, the new story is currently being researched and prepared for, and I've even been thinking of doing another little short comic, just a couple/few pages. In the meantime, I've been occupying my hand with some more archaeological illustration, as you may have noticed. I'll keep updates coming.
Oh yeah, and this is the 777th post I've done on my blog!

A Couple More Archaeological Illustrations

2009-04-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

The first one was done about month or two ago, the second one I just finished two nights ago. Both are from sections of a quilt found in Lovelock Cave, NV.

Quite a Weekend...

2009-04-21T01:23:00.004-05:00

Wow, my last post actually had some comments on it--maybe I should tell more stories about nutjobs?

This weekend I took Isabella to my dad's while Karissa took her mom & sis on a little girls vacation to Minneapolis. I was supposed to help him and Jas move in, but they had time during the week, so they went ahead without me. I like the apartment, but I'm still getting used to my dad being in retirement and not living at the house he was in for over 20 years. At least it stayed in the family, and I know Jas & Amber will take good care of it.

That friday I had a bit to do around the house, and eventually found I had no time to sleep. Somehow I made it through the day and actually felt pretty good driving to Devils Lake. I slept like a log that night (I guess logs sleep, that sounds like utter baloney but since I said it, it's true).

Isabella obviously didn't care where Grandpa lived as long as she got to see him and color pictures and watch movies at his place. She wasn't complaining either, when he wanted to buy her a bicycle. Speaking of which, she's super excited to try it out outside, and it's exciting to us that she's old enough to take on a bike (with training wheels, of course).

On Saturday, I took Isabella over to Tab & Derek's where she colored, farted and let Tab paint her fingernails green and purple (but not her toes). After making Tab promise to color a picture of Sleeping Bauty and mail it to us, we headed back to my dad's place to eat. That night, I went out bowling with Tab & Derek. My hand is still sore, but I had a lot of fun and really sucked by my third game. Wendy & Ryan came out, too, with Farnum, but he was tired so she ended her night a little early. We moved on over to the 11th frame afterward, but the joint wasn't very lively, so we got a couple pizzas and headed back over to Tab & Derek's, where we watched Dazed and Confused and the second half of Deathproof (because Ryan wanted to watch something with a car).
It was kind of weird, because I haven't been under any real stress lately, but just hanging out, barely buzzed on my 2 1/2 beers and watching a movie I've seen 20 times was exactly what I needed to have a good time. Kind of like when you're really craving swiss cake rolls, and you go get swiss cake rolls.
Of course, I did virtually the same thing at my dad's, so one could say I spent the weekend kicking back.

On Sunday I hung out (NOT hungover for once) with my dad and got to partake in the first cooked meal in his apartment-chili--then went over to Jas' place to take his bass amp off his hands. Amber gave Isabella a little stuffed dolphin, which Isabella wants to bring to school & show everyone now. On the way to Jas' house, Isabella and I had a very frank discussion about 'grandpa dying'. I had to explain to her that yes, one day grandpa will die, yes, it's okay to feel sad about it but you can remember all the good times youhave with him, no you can't just get a new grandpa, but we don't have to worry about it right now, because he won't die for a while yet. I felt so bad for her because she was nearly in tears contemplating my dad's mortality, but I didn't want to sugarcoat things, and we are certainly NOT the family that would tell her he'll go to be wih Jesus and be looking down upon us from Heaven.

It was quite a weekend.

A Little Slice of the Lord's Work?

2009-04-17T07:08:00.003-05:00

A pizza delivery guy came into work last night and wound up getting no answer from the 2 rooms he was delivering to. On his way out, he noticed I was reading Lovecraft's Book of the Supernatural, and remarked how he likes to listen to that late night AM radio show that discusses paranormal issues. Before I knew it, he went off on a tirade about how the supernatural exists and how all these scientists and psychologists who try to explain it away with brain disorders and natural phenomena are wrong. He also revealed to me that he used to work in the ministry (bet there's an interesting story as to how he left it to deliver pizza, but I knew better than to ask) and he saw stuff like demonic possession and healing first hand, assuring me that it CANNOT be explained and that people shouldn't try to understand the supernatural.
I thought about engaging him in this conversation, speaking my mind, and explaining that yes, all this stuff can and has been explained away, and no it isn't in fact real, and yes, the stuff they've talked about on that radio show has, in fact, been disproven again and again (i.e. crop circles, pyramids, ESP,etc.).
Why didn't I? Because it's draining to try to argue with someone who has made up their mind in the absolute about the supernatural as I have about the natural. Because, as Karissa has demanded of me during our more academic discussions, I don't have the proof in front of me--I don't have the medical journals, the diagrams and archaeological reports, the carbon and/or potassium-argon dating results that coroborate geological stratification, the statistics, graphs, or results of various medical tests on thimerosol--to show that I'm not just full of shit--I don't have anything other than a Skeptical Inquirer. Because I only had 5 more hours of my shift, and when I let myself get into discussions of this nature in the past, I would get behind on my work and then feel agitated that the person I had been debating with still thought I was wrong.
So I smiled and nodded, screaming inside my head for him to just go away so I could domy security walk already. He didn't pick up the little demon that was surely putting that scream in my head.
I shouldn't complain too much, though, because he gave me one of the pizzas he was supposed to deliver (neither room ever answered my calls) for listening to him proselytize.

Busy Weekends, It Seems...

2009-04-14T06:37:00.007-05:00

Our basement's still pretty dry. There are some wet spots, but no more than we usually get this time of year. I'm not crazy about taking the Kennedy Bridge detour twice a night, but at least that'll be done soon. On the plus side, I get to listen to more songs going to and from work.
The weekend before last, I took Isabella to A Knight For a Princess, a father-daughter dance. It was fun, and Isabella immensely enjoyed herself. We got there and ate the dessert sitting on our table before realizing we were supposed to wait and eat it after our supper, but oh well. We did the same thing last year, you'd think we'd learn. Next year, though, I'm definitely bringing company along.
Last Friday, Karissa and I got a new washing machine, but couldn't get it delivered (like we were told earlier) because Best Buy lost their delivery diver. So I had Kevin come with me the next day, thinking it'd be no big deal to stick it in the back of the van, but again-no deal. The box was 2 inches taller than the back door of the van, and I was told I could not put in on its side. Ben was nice enough to let us use his Durango, but when measuring it found it was also too small. I finally had the idea to call my cousin Cory, who was in town from Minneapolis for the weekend, to use his pickup (why we don't know anyone in town with a pickup is amazing!). Of course, his sister drove him, so no pickup. But his dad had one, so I convinced to Cory to help me and Kevin move the stupid washing machine.
It was was pretty cool to see my cousins when I stopped in. My uncle Paul lives in town, and I still hardly ever see him. He's got kind of a big family, and I haven't seen them in what seems like years. Cory was in town a few weeks ago, and he and I hit Mike's. They all went out on Saturday night, and I would have joined them (and Kevin & Butto later on), but I was really tired and went to bed like an old fart.
I found out the next day that my manager Becky had tried calling me the previous night because our weekend night auditor no-showed again. Unfortunately, she ended up doing the shift herself, and our weekend night auditor no longer works there.
On Sunday, we let Isabella hunt for Easter eggs outside, since the weather was nice. Later on we had a ham dinner and angel food cake with homemade sauce for dessert. You want to know how good that sauce was on the cake? Picture the best orgasm you ever had. Are you picturing it? Yeah, I bet you are...now picture it strawberry flavored.
This coming weekend, Karissa is going with her mom & sis to Minneapolis for a little mother-daughters vacation. I'm planning on helping my dad & brother move into their new digs, so Isabella & I are heading down to Devils Lake that weekend. I'm sure it'll all go okay, I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that my dad won't be living in that house anymore. I love that it's staying in the family, it's just that we've been driving down there at least every other month and staying a weekend with him since 2000. We can still do that, but now we go to his apartment instead of his house. I think it's just one of those little reminders of his mortality. He's been handing the holiday tradition duties over to Ang, the house (with all its chores and upkeep) to Jas, the family couch (which is unfortunately great for sleeping off hangovers) to me, and he's retired and going to live in a senior apartment complex a block from a cemetery. Gee, thanks Obama--all your talk about change and it's happening!

More Pointless Than a Male Nipple...

2009-04-03T07:07:00.003-05:00

There are 2 things in this world right now that are keeping me up at night wondering what reasoning was put into thir creation.
1. Isabella got her pants soaked the other day playing in the snow at school, so they dried her pants & panties, giving her spares in the meantime. They let her keep the panties, and when I saw them I thought 'those...are granny panties...' Really? Granny panties for toddlers? Does she really need undies that go up past her belly button?
2. Karissa and I were shopping for new jeans a couple weeks ago, and when I tried on one of the pairs, it felt like the back end was just falling out. When I looked at the jeans type (I thought I grabbed loose fit), I found I had grabbed "low rise" jeans. For men. Really? I mean, even women mistakenly wear hi-huggers, and they have figures to show off. Do we really ever want to see a man's ass crack accentuated? Is "plumber" the new black? When I brought the jeans back to Karissa she must have thought by the look on my face that I got molested in the changing room. Low rise jeans for men. Seriously. Like those little yellow balls for your car antenna to help you locate where you parked, do you really want to see those everywhere?
These are things that disturb me profoundly.

Time Flies When You're Havin' Fun...Then Slows a Bit While Waiting For Spring

2009-03-21T16:56:00.005-05:00

It feels like I've had a busy month so far, but I don't really think I have. The months just seem to fly by these days, it's weird that it's already mid-late March.
For those who haven't checked Golden Brown lately, I've posted a 2-page epilogue. I've had that 2-page epilogue in head for 2 of the 3 years I've been doing the comic. As of that posting, BoneDaddy Comics goes on hiatus. Currently, I'm going through the very first pages and redrawing/scripting them, and hopefully when finished I'll have something I consider worthy of sending in to get rejected, called racist, unfunny, and whatever else publishers would tell me until one finally tells me they'll publish it. At least, that's the dream. I've got another major story in my head which I've teased you guys with, but have not fully developed myself, and that'll be a little bit before I have anything more to post.
Derek's birthday party never materialized. To start with, Karissa came down with Bronchitis. She wasn't improving much close to the weekend, and Isabella seemed to be coming down with something, too, so I ducked out. Since I couldn't go, the plans seemed to completely fall apart (that's what I tell myself when mirror Doug is making fun of me, anyway). We'll make sure to try again.
The whole flooding thing sucks but it hasn't gotten us just yet. I look down at our basement every day just to see, and nothing so far. The garage has about an inch of water in it, but that's normal this time of year and nothing is in the water that won't survive.
My cousin Cory blew into town for the weekend, so I took him out on Thursday to Mike's Pizza. We had a lot of fun catching up, and inadvertantly got to check out some local "open mic" talent.
We got into Devils Lake just yesterday to visit my dad. It's still kind of hard to think this is the last time I'm visiting "Dad's house". Next time I'll be visiting his apartment or visiting him as "Jason's house".
In a couple hours I'm gonna jam a little with Derek. We don't seem to make good progress with the 3 of us, so I'm going to try playing with one at a time and see if we can get it together enough that when we all get behind our instruments we go a little more smooth-like. We'll see what happens. It was amazing that last time we couldn't even tune up together.

A Golden Brown Ending...

2009-02-26T08:48:00.002-06:00

Because I spoil you people, here it is. I posted the lsat 4 pages of Golden Brown, J.S.P.S. a day early. It's the end of an era! 3 years I've been working on this--3 YEARS! I've written and drawn some the funniest shit you guys have ever read, and I just gave it to ya for free. You're welcome. And now, I'm going to bed.

Saturday Morning at Liberty Lanes

2009-02-21T12:20:00.006-06:00

We did a little bowling this morning. The last time we went, Karissa was pregnant, so it was kind of almost Isabella's second time bowling. She got little bowling shoes, a little kid's bowling ball, and she bowled in the 50's both times. She actually didn't do half bad, but it took forever to get her ball to the pins. I bowled a 122 the first game, then didn't even break 100 the second game. Karissa did almost the opposite of me. I'm guessing Saturday morning bowling isn't really popular in East Grand, so we were the only ones there. For the first time, I was making my bowling shirts useful!

A Week of Records, Friday the 13th, and One Awesome Guitar!

2009-02-13T02:54:00.007-06:00

I just found out Bob Moore wants to put seat shakers & Smell-O-Vision in his River Cinema theater. Are you kidding me? How fucking cool would that be to bring back the old '50's movie experience?! I knew there was a reason I didn't go to Carmike anymore. I don't even care if the ticket prices go up, it'd totally by worth it to have an interactive movie experience complete with hokey gimmicks. Yaaay Bob Moore! He has to have complete mall domination, though, so nothing's set in stone just yet.

Karissa and I went down to Fargo last weekend. We took Isabella to Chuck E. Cheese with her grandma, Kayla and Kacey for a little treat, let her play some games & such. After that, she left with them and Karissa & I stayed in Fargo for a night to ourselves. We hit the mall so Karissa could check out that kitchen store where I had to convince her to buy a tortilla press, then on to some antique stores, then checked into our room at the Sleep Inn. The Sleep Inn was not a very good motel. Karissa immediately found a bunch of things wrong with it (showing an obvious lack of care by the housekeeping staff), and we had to move once because our door wouldn't latch shut. The carpets were dingy, which is forgivable in the hallways but not so much in the rooms, and they hadn't replaced their January HBO listings, which is just plain annoying. It makes you think the room hadn't been touched since then.

After criticizing the cleanliness of our room, we headed off to the Speakeasy, where we gourged ourselves on awesome Prime Rib that didn't really even need the salty meat juice that came with it. The next day we hit Famous Daves before heading home with a van full of vinyl records. Okay, maybe not full of them, but I did get way more than I thought I would. I was even holding myself back. I did find some awesome records, though--Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, even Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, an album I never thought I'd get to own!

Karissa has been hearing about my desire to get a Gretsch guitar for a long time, now. She's been very patient about it, but last weekend she finally said, "you know, I think we should just find you a good guitar." At the time we were too late in the evening to go to Margeurite's, and the big pawn shop in Fargo that I thought would have a good selection of guitars sucked.

So, we waited until the next weekend to just go to Kenny's Music, since I played their semi-hollowbodies before and been treated real nice, even when I'm just buying picks. After looking over three or four, I zero'd in on a blood-colored (walnut, but looks like blood to me) Gretsch Electromatic, made last Spring for Gretsch's 125th anniversary. As I was playing it, Kenny (the owner) wandered in and remarked that I sounded like I could have been in his band (playing old rockabilly). I was suprised that I never realized the owner of a guitar store would be in a band, seems like an obvious assumption. It was flattering, and even though I figure he was sucking up to make a sale, it didn't hurt. He took the guitar to go find a case for it (which he gave me for half off), I heard him playing some scales on it, and shit on me is he good! It's a pleasure and intimidation at the same time to hear someone playing my guitar like that.

I didn't even get to take it home right away to play it! we had to run other errands so I could be patient.

It sounds incredible to me, and I still can't believe it's mine. This must be what Wayne felt like when he got that stupid Strat in Wayne's World. It sounds great through my amp and pedals, too!

Later on that Friday, we went to Friday the 13th. I'll have a more extended review over at the movie blog, but for now, I'll say this: I expected a movie with not much plot, a lot of good killing, annoying teens, sex, drugs, and maybe a little depth. I was not disappointed in the least. My expectations were no surpassed, either, but that's just fine by me. I was looking for a good ol' Jason flick, and that's what I got. The only difference was that this Jason runs. It makes him slightly more human, but at the same time more predatorial. I predicted most of the killings (not out loud), but still came from the theater feeling fulfilled from watching a good Jason movie. Is it Rob Zombie good? Well, I think that bar's been set a bit high by his version of Halloween, so no, it's not Rob Zombie good. But it's way better than the last 3 or 4 Jason movies. Sorry, Kane Hodder.

Always Glad to Greet a Friday...

2009-02-06T08:03:00.002-06:00

The past couple weeks have been going fast for me. That's good, considering I've spent the last one babying my jaw. Apparently I'm doing everything I'm supposed to to help the healing, according to the dentist, but it still hurts so he gave me more pills. I wondered why they weren't working worth a shit, and noticed that he gave me a lower perscription. So that's fun.
I put out a new teaser comic this week! Again, the name will eventually be explained, and yes my name is in it, but it's not referring to me, just some character named 'Dougie'. Trust me, I can do that. I'm the GOD! I'm going for a moodier tone with this comic, so you won't see much of the humor like Golden Brown. I'm working on getting the last few pages of Golden Brown all done, and hopefully I'll find a little extra time to finish up some archaeological illustrations I should have had done by now.
Yesterday I visited a couple thrift stores, and ended up walking out with around 15 records a new Hawaiian shirt. I wouldn't have minded finding a bowling or lounge shirt, but the right color Hawaiian shirt does the job, too. All that for under $10.
This weekend we're taking Isabella to Chuck E. Cheese in Fargo with Karissa's mom, sis and Kacey, then she gets to go back with them while Karissa & I get a night to ourselves. I'm excited because we haven't hit the Fargo antique stores in a while I'm not gay and plus we want to go to the Speakeasy again. Plus her employment at Comfort Inn is getting us a cheap room.
Speaking of her employment, I've never seen anyone get excited about making schedules like Karissa does. And she calls me weird. But she's ready and willing to go to work, and that always makes me feel better. I've worked a couple shit jobs, and it makes a world of difference to sit in front of your place of employment and not think of ways you can get out of work that day.

The Joys of Dentistry

2009-01-31T05:34:00.003-06:00

Contrary to Aprils view of the week, my week was going ok--at least until Thursday. On Wednesday we went to Space Aliens with Kevin, April, Amber, Ben, and kids. The food was good, the service was about what you'd expect dyring busy times, but it was crowded and I felt claustrophobic. Give Ben an "Attaboy", though, for getting us a big fucking table on almost no notice.
On Monday night (I know, out of sequence), I counted out how many pages left of Golden Brown, and there are under a dozen left until it ends! I can't believe it's already almost at its end! I honestly can't tell you when or if there will be another Golden Brown once this is finished, I tend to like one-shots. I did get a couple pages of a teaser done, though, which should tell you very very little about the next story I want to work on. I still don't even know how often to post, or even how to really start the story.
I've also thought about trying to get Golden Brown published. I sent a few pages into a local publisher last summer, and he sent a copy along to two colleagues of his--one a "redneck-type" from Kentucky, who loved it, and a "black guy who grew up in the mean streets of Detroit", who said I relied too much on outdated ebonics and thought it might be construed as a little racist. I thought it was awfully convenient he just happened to have two colleagues who were stereotypical opposites who read it. And of course it relies on outdated ebonics. For starters, ebonics should never be considered a language because of its constant fluidity. It's a set of modern colloquialisms that may correspond more with a particular generation and should be studied more in a cultural sense. Also, it relies strongly on the language spoken in the films it pays tribute to. Dolemite, Superfly, Willie Dynamite--so of course Golden Brown speaks like them.
Oh well, maybe I can check out a print on demand service just do whatever advertising I can do on my own.
On Thursday I got a couple teeth pulled. I didn't feel it, but afterward I got hydrocodone, which I found I needed, and I'm hoping I'll be okay by Superbowl. I can eat food and all, I just have to keep it to one side, and that's annoying when you wanna stuff your face.
On that note, I am excited for Sunday because Amber & Ben are throwing a Superbowl shindiggity out at their place, and everybody's bringing snackies.
Speaking of hydrocodone, I popped one not too long ago and it's getting really hard to focus on this now, so I'm gonna git. I've been baked for two days now.

A Message To My "Friends"...

2009-01-26T02:34:00.006-06:00

Haha, I bet you guys saw the quotations around "friends" and thought I was gonna say mean things! Seriously I have great friends, but I'll get around to the why's later.
Earlier last week, I asked Isabella if she remember who the new president is, and she replied Brok-Amama! She doesn't quite have his name down yet, but she's getting there. We then proceeded to have a serious conversation about Martin Luther King, Jr. I guess her teachers already told them about him in school, so all I had to do was fill in some details. We also had the "people with different skin color" talk, and it was actually harder to get her to stay focused on the conversation than it was to get her to understand what I meant. I guess I have to accept that she's already two steps ahead of me.
Later last week, we went to Grizzly's with Kevin & April, and Isabella and Aiden raised holy hell--but in a happy good way, so we all had fun.
Quick note: This past week, I posted 2 pages of Golden Brown, little present from me-to-you.
We headed to Devils Lake on Friday, had birthday Rhubarb pie, and just chilled at my dad's that night. For those who don't know, my dad has the best living room to just chill out in during the evening. It has tons of chairs all sourrounding a tv, and if you get tired (and you will if you stay in the room for longer than 10 minutes), nobody cares if you take a little nap or watch a movie.
On Saturday I got together with Derek and Kevin to practice in Derek's garage. There's really no way to sugarcoat it, so I'll just say the whole practice was a mess. We never have a permanent place to play, the places we do play aren't heated, and there's 90 miles that affect our communication skills.
Later on, in a fit of unusual clarity and lucidity, I managed to order 7 subs from subway and got the whole order right! Ask Karissa, I fuck up simple orders from McDonald's, so this was truly an accomplishment.
We met April/Kevin/Tab/Derek at the Paddlewheel Lounge that night, where I got a death balloon and badly humored birthday cards, right up my alley. Oh, and there were also silly hats involved. No, you fuckers, not the hats I usually wear, these were official National Doug Day party visors, which I still have and Isabella has taken a liking to. Later, after we officially took over the jukebox, Tab brought out the cake she made for me. It was a zombie skull on top of dirt (oreo crumbs), it said "Happy Death Day Doug" . The eyes were marachino cherries set into marshmallows and the teeth were made of chicklets. The cake itself was red marble (right?) and when I made the first sacrificial incision, strawberry(?) jam oozed out the top. I got so excited I went Borneo on it and ate the top of his head with my hands.
I was VERY appreciative that Tab went to so much effort with my cake, and it turned out awesome, tasted even better. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pics on our camera, so if you want to see how it all turned out, you'll have to wait for April or Tab to post their shots.
The whole party was great, and I would have loved to have gone on longer with it, but I had 3 shots too many and made friends with a toilet. I was a bit groggy/headachey/nauseous for most of Sunday, but it was totally worth it. For those of you who would have liked to come but couldn't make it, we took a shot in your honor.
See? This is why I make such a big deal about my birthday. It gets everyone else excited, and we end up having a big ol' shindig over me. Just a heads up, Tab--how are you at naked-lady cake? Just a thought.
So the message to my "friends" is simply thanks for giving me a fun birthday and putting up with me going off the deep end with my megalomaniacal, super undeniable, wonderful, fantastical self. I was humbly honored.

Aiden in Charcoal

2009-01-18T18:19:00.002-06:00

I can post this now, since Kevin and April got it. I surprised them with it a couple days ago. They'd been having a bit of patch with Aiden's biopsy stuff, so I thought this is a good time to finally do an "Aiden" pic. April took the photo I used as a source, and he's holding a toy stethoscope kinda like his daddy's, so I thought it had elements of the whole family in it that way.
Karissa pointed out that the lips looked funny after I finished it, so after I took this pic I went back and fixed it. This is why I need her around, she's a good second set of eyes. Isabella recognized him right away, so I was satisfied with that response.

A Saturday Post--What a Treat!

2009-01-17T12:35:00.003-06:00

One more week until I turn 29! I'm gonna have to live it up this year, since this marks the twilight of my roaring twenties. Karissa's making me a pumpkin spice cake, Tab's making me something which I won't be able to see until Saturday but am sure it will be awesome. And if all goes as hoped for, I'll get to jam in Derek's garage. We'll sound pretty shitty, but it'll still be fun as hell to play again. I'll even try to get the banjo in on it.
I've managed to get ahead on the comic, I think I'm finally getting down to a conclusion, and it's exciting to think I'll soon have a finished story. Then on to the next one, which is about

I also made it back to the lab, which I hadn't seen in about 2 months. Nothing really new there, though, just picking up where I left off. I'm getting pretty good at the textile stuff, though, like trying to show what's fibrous v. what's animal hide. Yeah, it's riveting I know, but I like it, so there.
We finally got rid of the Achieva today! My brother, brother-in-law and one of his friends hauled it away on a trailer and left behind my dad's old Cadillac. Once we get it fully street legal, Karissa can look like Queen Bitch riding to work!

Dougmas and Beyond!

2009-01-11T12:46:00.005-06:00

I suppose I should get around to ringing in the new year with a post.
Christmas was fun, all 3 times. It's not sarcasm, it really was fun, it's just that 3 of them takes it outta me. Karissa's mom got us a Wii, so I've been pretty addicted to that lately. Stupid fitness test telling me my age is 80. Karissa & her sister made their mom a coupon good for a free vacation for the 3 of them. I think it's a cool gift, I just hope their mom doesn't "parent" out and try to pay for stuff.
Karissa got me a gift certificate to the antique mall in Grand Forks, so within the week I became the (perhaps overly) proud owner of a brown bowler hat, who knows how old it is. I got her a Pink cd, which she played over and over again while we drove to Devils Lake the next weekend.
Everyone had already done their X-Mas partying in DL, so we just had a little hootnanny when we got there and relaxed afterward. My dad got me a baritone ukulele, which I've also become addicted to. A baritone is a little bigger than a soprano uke, and is basically tuned like the four high strings on a guitar, which means it didn't take long at all for me to pick up the chords. Karissa got a food processor & pajama pants, which she was very excited about. Isabella got a V-Smile from her grandpa, which she loves to play (she likes the Scooby game the best).
The tree and everything came down fairly quickly. Weird, that little part of me that used to be sad to have to pack that stuff up is even smaller this year, I was pretty happy to take things down and move on. I had a fun holiday and everything, I just felt DONE once it was over.

Geeking out musically here:
I stopped at Kenny's and finally picked up some fingerpicks for the Banjo! While I was there, I played some different guitars--I finally tried out a Gretsch and loved it! I also heard some playing going on in the basement from whoever was taking their guitar lesson, and was immediately humbled.
The fingerpicks are harder to work with on the banjo, but they add volume and tone to it, so I have to keep at it when I can--don't worry Jess, I'll have another recording for you eventually to show off how much I'm learning.
Karissa's been pretty patient with how cluttered the entryway is getting, since that's where I store my instruments I'm "currently" playing with. When we get a new place, hopefully there will be a room where I can hang all of my guitars/ukes/banjo up and keep things somewhat organized.
My BIRTHDAY is coming up! 29 spankings for this guy! We'll be heading up the weekend before to do some fun stuff. Unfortunately, the some of the peanuts gang won't be there, due to prior engagements and scheduling conflicts. On the bright side, Derek and I (and hopefully Kevin) will be having a little jam session in his garage when I come up, so I hope that goes alright.

A New Comic? Merry Dougmas!

2008-12-24T09:18:00.003-06:00

That's right, I'll do anything to make myself a holiday. My birthday is just an asshair over a month away, but this month, it's Dougmas. Give me one good reason why not?
I posted a new comic over at BoneDaddy Comics, but it's only a teaser, that story is for when Golden Brown is finished. I still have to work out when and how often I'll be posting pages, but you can have a little preview. I'll allow it. Oh, and despite the fact that I recently received a banjo as a gift, the title for it was in place for a looooong time now. As the story progresses, you'll understand more. Golden Brown resumes next week/year.
That's all I have to say at the moment. Christ/Michael/Doug/X-Mas shopping is all done, errand need to be run, then it's time for food & fun!

The Banana Didn't Fall Far From the Tree

2008-12-21T11:13:00.002-06:00

Last week, Isabella saw me drawing this guy from the comic (sorry April, Isabella's allowed to see what I'm drawing before it's out). She asked what was wrong with him, and not knowing how else to explain him, I just said he was a burned guy. A couple days ago, I noticed her drawing this face, and she said, "Daddy, do like my burned guy? I was surprised she just had this in her head from a week ago. She also decided he need different colored eyes, plus a bumble bee & couple ice cream cones (one is broken).

For Whom the Doug Tolls

2008-12-11T21:45:00.005-06:00

I just found this video posted on Metallica's website, posted a few days ago. It has soviet propaganda, chemical warfare, zombies, it is fucking awesome! I wasn't even expecting them to come out with another video yet, so this was like an early X-Mas present from Metallica. Yay!

I just finished For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway, and holy shit--I've never seen such a walking contradiction in an author! He can drag out one man dying over 5 pages, or say the same thing over and over about 20 times in a paragraph, rewording each sentence slightly different. Twenty pages will go by with absolutely nothing going on, pissing me off. Then another twenty pages go by with intense action. Another twenty pages, conversations and "obscenity in the milk of" or "obscenity of such and such", and then twenty pages of anticipating action that doesn't come. It was a good read overall, though, it taught me a bit about pre-WWII Spain and guerilla life in the hills. Oh, from a little side story in the book, I FINALLY get what the Metallica song of the same name is about!

Last Saturday Isabella had a dance recital at an old folks home, which went pretty well. Then on Tuesday she had another recital at the Empire, and she obviously loves being on stage, because she was all smiles and dancing good. There were older girls there who were part of a troupe, and Isabella watched them intently every time they came on to dance, so I'm guessing she's gonna want to keep going to class after the new year starts.

The banjo lessons are coming along. I'm trying to familarize myself with fingerpicking, but I need to pick up a couple metal picks to get a proper pluck. Also, I need to practice when a certain someone isn't trying to watch her stupid news.

On a last note, Betty Page died today. She had a heart attack a few days ago, I imagine it's got something to do with that. She was 85 years old.

RIP Dimebag, 4 Years

2008-12-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

Morning Funeral, Evening Concert

2008-12-03T01:13:00.005-06:00

It's been a very interesting weekend.
We blew into Devils Lake Friday afternoon and ate with my family, as usual. Later on we headed over to the Paddlewheel Lounge to see how Tab and her family were holding up. At this point, I have to say I like the Paddlewheel Lounge. It's dark, it wasn't too crowded. I can understand if Tab gets sick of it, but I think it's cool.
Anyway, everyone seemed to be doing alright. They had come back from the visitation not too long before, so I imagine they could have used a night out.
Jess arrived before too long, then had to leave again to go get a gift she's been keeping for me. Everyone apparently already knew about it, but they were pretty good at not spilling the beans. Imagine my surprise when I opened my eyes to see a big ol' banjo sitting in front of me! Her dad had given it to her a while back. Then she got a newer one from him, and wondered if he'd mind if she gave me the old one, since she knew I loved my string isntruments and could give it a loving home. If I haven't already said so a billion times, Thank you Jess! I appreciate it very much, and I plan on evolving a little death-bluegrass out of it just as soon as I get more familiar with it.
Later on that night, Derek started trying to convince me & Kevin to go to the Big John Bates concert with him. I kept telling him I couldn't on this short of notice, I'm here to see my family, can't afford it, blah blah blah. He told me not to worry about that stuff, it was taken care of, blah blah blah. Finally Karissa told me I had to go, and Tab told me I had to go, and Kevin, and so forth.
On Saturday morning we went to Tab's brother's funeral. Funerals don't bother me, but I hate to see the looks of grief on my friends' faces. Comes with the territory, I suppose. And someone's cell phone really did ring during the service, and that person really did answer it and whisper, "Can I call you back?". Whoever that was, we all heard you.
It was a nice service, though, and I took the opportunity after the cemetery part finished to go visit Dane Garcia's grave. He killed himself almost 2 years ago now, and I feel bad that I never got around to it. We were never really close in high school, but he was a friend, nonetheless.
That afternoon, Derek, Kevin and I took off for Fargo. We had plenty of time (too much, in fact), so we tried out HuHot, which was really good except I don't like feeling like cattle with buffet-style lines. But we got to watch our noodles & meat & sauces get fried up on that huge frying surface (what the hell is that called, anyway?) and speculated on what they did with the excess food/grease/water that fell into the middle receptacle (I thought whoever lost some sort of bet would have to eat it).
We checked into the motel and took a cab to the Aquarium, where we found out the show didn't actually start for another 2 hours. So naturally we hoofed it over to the Northern and saw some pretty ladies before coming back to see the last couple songs playd by the opening band The Hot Button, which was pretty cool. I'd wanted to see them, too, so i was happy to find out they opened for BJB that night.
The Big John Bates concert was awesome! We got to talk quite a bit with their drummer, J.T. before the show--this guy couldn't have been nicer. He wasn't in a real hurry anywhere, and was happy to mingle us. He even had an old short-brim fedora on, explaining that his previous hat was stolen by a girl, but this one was given to him the next night by another girl. I told him that I'd bring him a back up next time they were in Fargo--now I've written it, so hold me to it!
The show itself was great. We stood in the exact same place as last time, and toward the end, Derek got a bit of bravery, and when they invited people up on stage, he hopped up and danced his little heart out. After a little coercion, he managed to pull Kevin up, too. I wanted to be in on this, so I hopped up too, and we three had a shindig on stage with the band.
After the show, we were hanging around trying to see if there was an after-party. I was personally invited by Big John himself to go to the Hot Rod Shop (yeah yeah, it's because I was standing there trying to congratulate him for a good show when the guy throwing the party told him about it and he was being nice, but it was still cool). I tried asking the after-party guy, a big dude in a cowboy hat, where the Hot Rod Shop is, and couldn't have been more ignored. After that we decided the hell with it! We don't need to make asses of ourselves trying to crash an afterparty we're not really invited to!
While Derek and Kevin were getting ready to leave, I asked J.T. (paying attention? he's the drummer) if they needed help loading their gear, and I totally got to help the band pack up! You might be asking why that's so special? Since they're not a stadium band or anything, they have to load up their own shit. That means the band and the dancers had to do it all. Since they put on a great show, I thought it'd be awesome to help them afterward. Big John didn't really do much, he mingled a bit with the ladies afterward. But I got to hang out with J.T., sCare-oline, and the Voodoo Dollz (dancers) Little Miss Risk and Lola. A couple seemed to be having a long night at that point, but they were all very nice to me and very appreciative of the help. I even got to carry the guitars to the trailer!
Afterward, I made my way back to Derek & Kevin, who were waiting in the cold for me. As we waited for our cab, we were visited by a drunk guy on a bike who asked me for hash. He was nice enough, so I let him down politely. Back at the motel, we ordered pizza that we had to cancel after waiting over an hour and a half, and Derek got pretty sick. Oh yeah, and he got the Jagermeister bottle the band was drinking from! One of the bar employees gave it to him because he said he was in the band, and right away he ran over to Big John and somehow got the whole band to sign it.
Sunday morning found me surprisingly awake and doing well. We made it to Grand Forks before Derek finally let me drive his pickup, and we made it back by about noon.
I felt really bad on Saturday because Isabella didn't want me to leave. She even cried a little, but was better when April brought Aiden over. When I came back Sunday, we hung out for a bit watching cartoons before she was spirited away by my mom & niece to Walmart.
It was maybe one of the strangest weekends I've ever encountered so far.

Things To See

2008-11-26T09:04:00.006-06:00

First: A slightly edited video of Kevin and me working on songs in my exremely frigid garage--the reason for his cute little hood.

Second: an arhaeological illustration--yes, I'm still doing those here and there.

Third: More archeaeological illustration. I'll write more another time.

Got My Training Pants On...

2008-11-19T02:02:00.004-06:00

Well, the whole shitty sleep thing is getting better. I had to cover a couple shifts for someone over the weekend, and I had to train someone in. I didn't sleep well Saturday, and that night when I should have gone down for a nap, I chose to hang out with our friends. I don't regret it at all, but I was pretty beat by the end of my shift.
The training didn't go too badly. I hate doing it, but at least the girl I trained in has previous experience and did a good job training.
Due to some other scheduling switcharoos, w had to rework our Turkey Day plans a little, screwing me out of the chance to see Big John Bates in Fargo (yeah I'm pretty much gonna bring that up until after the concert--it's no one's fault, but I still have to bitch). But Kevin & April are going to DL the same weekend, and Jess seems to have a present just for ME, so I think I'll get over it.
Karissa has been working at Comfort Inn for a few weeks now, and loves it. I was hoping she could at least tolerate it, because we all know how it feels to be stuck at a job you hate and then have to let all that negativity spread to your family when you get home. I didn't actually expect her to love her job, though, so that worked out really well. It makes me feel so much better to see her actually eager to get to work. Even on days I don't really feel like coming in, I'm glad I got my job, and I always lose that feeling once I get here (except when I walk into a motel full of drunks and noise complaints, but even last Saturday was pretty tame). As much as working at Barnes & Noble has taught me about customer service, I couldn't imagine still being there after all these years. There are days I even miss working for the city, but I know that's not ultimately my thing.
Yesterday Isabella & I went to visit Aiden at the hospital. You wouldn't know he had anything wrong with him to see him chasing after Isabella and screaming. I was glad he was happy to see her. It was weird to think it was exactly a year ago that Isabella was in the hospital for completely difference reasons. Also, both Aiden and Isabella went to Urgent Care where they were treated pretty inadequately.
My big plans for Friday? So far, I crashed on the couch with a bag of Cheetos and a Skeptical Inquirer while listening to groovy '60's non-political rock. So far, so good!

Bad Breaks For Music, and Very Little Sleep...

2008-11-14T09:28:00.003-06:00

I feel like I slept for most of last weekend. At least I had the comic all done. In fact, I had this week's posted since last week, but on a timer, so you wouldn't see it until about 2am Friday. Haha. Not up to date on Golden Brown? Go here.
I had hoped to make it to a local concert on Friday, but my cold went down into my chest and I wasn't in much condition to be outside. Due to scheduling changes, I have to pass on the Big John Bates concert coming up in Turkey Day weekend. Oh well. On that note, Kevin and I got to practice some more last wednesday. It's nice making people realize I'm a much better songwriter than I used to be. I think that may be our last time in the garage, though. We damn near froze our balls off. We got a little video, but the tape ran out early. Maybe some other time I'll post a little tidbit.
Thursday night, Amber & Ben moved into their new house. I didn't get to help until about 5:30, and even then I only helped with a couple loads--most of the stuff was already moved by then.
Isabella has only had school two days this week, so I've had to stay up with her while Karissa works. It's not so bad until about noon, then I just get wiped out (mind you I've come off the night shift and haven't slept yet, so I'm not that big a sissy). She's behaving just fine, I'm just getting shitty sleep.

A Goldren Brown Halloween Treat!

2008-11-05T01:17:00.007-06:00

Halloween was awesome. In case you can't tell, I dressed up as James Hetfield (didn't have time to draw in tattoos, though, that would have been awesome). Imagine my surprise and immense pleasure when I open the door and see who else but my very own Golden Brown waltzing through my door. I joked with Kevin before about putting together a Golden Brown uniform for him but was continually frustrated by the fact that I could not find the right hat or sunglasses. By pure luck Tab found sunglasses that are the best match I've seen so far, and Kevin actually made that hat from foam board, chicken wire, duct tape, and linen! For those of you who don't know by now (get out from under your fuckin rock!), I based Golden Brown's looks largely on Kevin, so when I first saw him I was practically speechless. You want to see how well he compares to the drawn version? Go to April's mom's blog to see them side by side.
I also made a life-sized coffin out of cardboard, which I left outside and didn't really look at for the rest of the night--but at least I have something to put my Halloween crap into now.
I was pretty happy with the elections, but not terribly surprised, given how the last couple weeks turned out. I'm glad the "important" votes turned out in Obama's favor.
This weekend there's a CD release party at the EGF Eagles' Club for a band called Shake the Sleeping Beauty. They've got some other bands coming to play with them, so I might check it out, and hopefully remember my walk home this time.
I've been able to post quite a bit on my What Am I Watching? blog, but I've been wondering if there's a way I could structure it to have consistent posts like the Bonedaddy blog. Unfortunately, the amount of movies I watch varies from week to week, so some weeks I might not be able to post much. I'm open to suggestions on this one.

New Blog, New Comic, New Illustration, New Songs!

2008-10-21T09:01:00.003-05:00

Here's a couple more illustrations from the lab. The first one has to be detailed. Last Tuesday we took Isabella to my Travelodge Halloween party, where she watched the "dead guy" sit up and talk to her (halloween prop) and got candy and glo sticks from Elmo (Ernie, Travelodge owner), and we got a rum cake. I know, it's a weird Halloween treat, but the rum cake was awesome so I'm not complaining.

Sorry about not getting the comic out last week, but I had some other things on my plate to worry about. Don't worry, though, a new one is out Friday! Also, a reminder for any of you interested in what's on my move screen, I've started a movie blog which you can find in my profile, or go to http://www.dougsbadcinema.blogspot.com/ and add it to your favorites. Come on, I know some little part of you is wondering what kinds of movies I've been getting into. Just take a peek--I've even added ratings! Oh yeah, and I just realized that Boris Karloff could totally be Pete Steele's dad!

Kevin and I got to play again last night. Hopefully the neighbors are being too put off by it, but I'm having a blast getting to jam in my garage. It sucks that it gets cold, but we spent 3 hours working on maybe 4 different songs. It really sucks that we don't have his drums here, even moreso that we don't have a bassist here...Derek! But just to get to work out ideas we have and actually hear this stuff being put together is awesome. Seriously, though, Derek, Kevin has to do your bass lines for me, and we NEED a REAL bassist! We have the room! I know the whole 90 miles and expensive gas thing makes it hard to get down here, but I'm just throwing that request in there.

A Fiendly Face and a Change in the Scene

2008-10-19T09:59:00.003-05:00

Can you believe I painted again? I had been watching bits and pieces of Haxan since Fall started (mostly I just fell asleep to the Franz Schubert music in the beginning). I had thought about doing some kind of picture of the devil from it, but then just last week Mark Poutenis (Thinking Ape Blues) beat me to the punch by paying homage and drawing up his own version. Oh well, I still wanted to do my own, so here it is. It looks just a bit unfinished, but I kind of like it that way, so it stays. This was the best I could get it photographed, though. The original is not quite so 'bright' red, it's got more brown in it. It's very low key, and I decided to do swirls, which are invisible here, but in other shots pick up too much surrounding light and make the whole thing hard to see in spots.

Sorry about the delayed posting. I didn't really feel like writing anything last Friday, I guess. Plus I don't have a comic this week--I've been working on my archaeological illustration, which has seemed more difficult than usual to nail down. You wouldn't believe how hard it can be to draw knots.

I've been looking for a record player for a while now, and on Friday I was getting frustrated that no 2nd Chance store has carried them for weeks now! Ever since vinyl records are coming back, people have been buying up the record players--thankfully, they don't much care for the actual records from 2nd Chance stores, just the ones of antique stores and new ones put out by bands who want to return to the vintage format (which I think is kind of cool). Anyway, I finally found a shitty-but-functional one from St. Vincent de Paul's! I finally got to hear Rod & the Cobras, and was able to dig out my old Dennis Larson album, not to mention getting to hear the Fantasia soundtrack and Alley Cat on the "slow" setting.

I've made a change to my blog this past week that I'm still developing. I will no longer be posting "What Am I Watching?" on this blog: I made a third one with the same name and will be posting movie reviews on there from now on. This way I can devote more time if need be to one particular movie at a time and provide better information about it. Find in in my profile, or just go HERE.

A Childhood Nightmare and a Little Middle-Eastern Thrash

2008-10-06T19:18:00.008-05:00

For the past I-don't-know-how-many-months, I've been trying to get up the nerve to actually try painting again. Last Sunday morning, I finally did it! I know I've done better but I'm pretty fuckin proud of myself for jumping back in and doing something using no more than a memory and a basic sketch. This particular memory comes from when I was little, and saw a preview for Return of the Living Dead. I slept with my door open and could see the front door from my room. That night, I could swear I saw in the shadows a zombie leering at me, waiting for me to make a movement so he could tell I was alive.
ANYWAY, last Saturday night I let Isabella stay up a little late so she could help me figure out paper mache. She was a big help tearing up paper and helping mix in flour, and last night she helped me paint it a little.
I was excited for this week to come, because it's Fall Cleanup week in East Grand, and I had a hankerin to get the basement taken care of. I had an awful lot to sort through, especially since quite a bit of our things have gotten water damage over the summer (I know, my fault). It killed me to have to go through my comics and end up throwing out about 1/4 of them because they got so waterlogged they just fell apart in my hands. What really got me, though, was opening a box of framed drawings I was nervous about. My JROTC certificate I got my senior year for outstanding achievement is together but virtually ruined, and my 3 favorite pencil drawings ar completely wrecked, including the "Dusk" band drawing from high school. Oh well.
On Wednesday night, I decided to move some things out of the garage into the basement. It all fit onto a pallet, safely out of potential water zone. I can store stuff efficiently like it ain't nobody's business, I just don't always want to, because it makes it harder to get at when I need it. But the garage never looked spacier. Now, if the weather permits, the men can have somewhere to go during my Halloween party when they get tired of all the nagging---I mean, when they start doing stupid things that annoy their women.
Speaking of Halloween party, I am hearing more and more enthusiasm for the whole dressing up thing. I do not require it, but I greatly encourage anyone who wants to show up in costume to feel free.
What am I Watching?
I don't remember if I've mentioned it yet, but I thought I would take a moment and endorse a couple online comics I've come to read regularily. One is a comic that started around the time I started Golden Brown in 2006 and has since taken off and evolved way beyond my own little story. It's called Dr. McNinja, written & drawn by Chris Hasting, inked by Kent Archer, and now colored by Carly Monardo. I'm sure I've bored people talking about it by now, but if you do lik Golden Brown, Dr. McNinja makes just a little more sense. Another I've been reading for a while is Red Meat. It's a somewhat-weekly strip that makes a little less sense, but is very funny. The creator, Max Cannon, even has a couple little cartoons on the Comedy Central website. The last one is called Thinking Ape Blues, by Mark Poutenis. It's pretty much about the adventures of a naked man, an ape, and a robot. Really, it's more about their observations and philosophies, which can swing easily into the misanthropic. I like his opinions on stuff. I consider these guys esteemed colleagues.
Townies- Schlarb, Ohio is overrun by weird people. As the story goes, the local mental institution had taken in "freaks" from all over the county, and when they were let out, they stayed in Schlarb, where they are apparently harrased by locals with more immature malevolence than brains. I thought the characters were interesting--especially Dickie (played by Harvey Pekar's buddy, Toby Radloff!), a local garbage picker who finds a fresh corpse in the back of a pickup and makes her his girlfriend. Despite this, the characters could have been better developed, as could the story. There isn't really any defined plot to follow, and even when an attempt is made to go deeper into a character's head (Caduceus, for example), it falls flat and fails to deliver. The ending is open-ended and confusing, but all in all, it was still a good movie, and it's always entertaining hearing Toby Radloff talk.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad- A journalist comes into contact with Acrassicauda, "Iraq's only metal band", a group of young men trying to make a go of it in a country that offers them no hope or opportunities for metal. He tries to keep in contact with them from 2003-2006, and finds many changes with them along the way. It's really interesting to get an Iraqi's take on things like the fall of the Hussien regime. They mention that the first year after it was great, it seemed like there was a lot of hope, but in the following years they saw massive bombings, rebellions, violence, and all of it apparently presented in a different way to the U.S. than the Iraqis see it. By 2005, the camera crew is warned to never go anywhere alone in Baghdad for fear of kidnapping. Band members were reluctant to even do interviews because they might be seen with English-speakers and thus be targeted. By 2006, they had managed to get out of Baghdad and end up in Damascus, where they couldn't get jobs, couldn't get out, and even after recording a 3-song demo and playing a good show eventually had to sell their instruments to pay their rents. What I heard of these guys sounded great, and I can't even fathom the kind of shit they've had to live through and come to know as "normal"--two of the band members are best friends, they lived 15 minutes apart in 2005, and hadn't seen eachother in months, because neither wanted to risk his life making that kind of trip. The ending was depressing, but the good news is the band is not dead: they are all currently in Istanbul, and still trying to make it. They have even set up a Heavy Metal in Baghdad blog to keep us updated.
Rabid Grannies- A family congregates to the house of two old sisters celebrating their 92nd birthday. The family is a bunch of greedy assholes, apparently, and the only one not invited appears to be a satanic third sister who delivers a box to them with a curse inside. The curse turns them into hungry demons who proceed to kill their family one by one and eat them. Effects are cheesy, but there is a nice effort put into the killing scenes, even to the point of disturbing in a couple. I thought the grannies as demons were very silly, but in the moments before they turn, when they're still human but with husky voices and crazy 1000-yard stares, they are creepy as hell.
Bloody Mama- One of the many films detailing the exploits of Ma Barker and her sons in the 1920-30's, directed by noneother than Roger Corman. I was surprised to see not only Shelley Winters (Poseidon Adventure, Lolita, Roseanne) in the starring role, but also a young pre-Taxi Driver/Godfather II Robert DeNiro in the role of Lloyd, one of her sons. This version strongly suggested sexual relations between Barker and her sons, and even a little bisexuality here and there. A few effects and a lot of effort was put into the killing scenes, and the acting was phenomenal, especially Shelley Winters.

No More Politics! and Movies? I'm Wearing My B-String Now...

2008-10-02T20:13:00.002-05:00

Karissa's watching the VP debate right now, I'm trying not to. All it does is make me angry, like everything else I see on CNN. The current housing issue sucks, but how many times can I hear that Wall St is to blame and the American people are not? YES the American people should share quite a bit of that blame! Do you know how much money you take home? Did you crunch your numbers to see if you could afford that house instead of just believing the bank or the realtor? To the candidates: Please, STOP pronouncing it "nuclear" as new-cue-ler! It's nuCLEar! You people sound like fucking country bumpkins when you say it like that.
Anyway, Karissa has been watching Bailey a couple days a week while we're waiting for her business to get going. It's taken a few days, but Bailey has warmed back up to me. When Karissa would leave the room, she didn't want anything to do with me, she wanted her and was pissed that she got stuck with me. But today, I played my guitar for her real fast and she was dancing and and smiling, and didn't realize that Karissa had even gotten up to go to the bathroom until she came out.
A new page of Golden Brown will be out by friday, as it always is. I do welcome comments, even derisive ones. I likey da feedback.
Speaking of which, holy shit it's 10/2, and I don't have my Halloween stuff up yet!! I gotta get it done!
I'm still planning a Halloween party for 11/1, I believe I've told you people all about it before, so make sure your night is cleared. Costumes are not required, but encouraged. I'm currently working on good Halloween music to be played during. I hope the snow holds off until after...like maybe until 12/15, or so...
What am I Watching?
Popcorn- Film students decide to put on an all-night horror film fest to help fund their new department (really? A Cailfornian college with a new, underfunded film dept?). To add to the experience, they rehash old theater traditions by renting out a soon-to-be-demolished historic theater, and stocking it with gimmicks, give-aways, and interactive props. Unfortunately, someone in the department has a hidden family grudge. Ugh...film types...The students in this movie acted like the drama students in my high school. Could just be the 90's acting, though. I really don't mind much the 80's & 90's music in horror flicks. It was mindless and without substance, but so is much of today's horror film music. The only difference is that horror films didn't require a separate release of soundtracks back then as they do now(see: Jason vs. Freddy, for example). The killing scenes were pretty okay, actually, at least for 1992. The back story being revealed near the end, however, fell kinda flat.
Last note: Wanna see how to make a proper soundtrack/score for horror flicks? See anything Rob Zombie has directed.
Microwave Massacre- An average joe is sick to death of his wife's "gourmet" cooking. After she gets a brand new microwave (very futuristic for 1983!), he goes off the deep end in a drunken rage and kills her. In morning, he realizes what he's done, chops her up and ends up cooking parts of her (he is starving, after all--I mean the poor guy hasn't had anything good to eat lately!). After dating a bit, he realizes he connects sex and food in his mind to produce a sexual cannibal fantasy.
I loved this movie. The small things first: Jokes about censorship where the bleep on tv comes before the profanity instead of over it, the constant Dangerfield-esque jokes about eating and sex, the boobs, the big swinging pendants. The big thing that struck me right away? Jackie Vernon playing the guy who eats his wife! Don't know who Jackie Vernon is? Here's a hint: "Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul..." Yeah, that's incredibly fucked up. Incidentally, this was also his last film.
Even Dwarfs Started Small- A film out of West Germany from 1971 about a group of inmates from an insane asylum that become fed up with the bad treatment of their keepers and go on a rampage throughout the grounds, causing much property damage, and apparently, merriment. Oh, and the entire cast is made up of little people. The only other known film to do that was Terror of Tiny Town, made in 1931. This was just bizarre. At points it really kind of drags on, but at other points it's at turns humorous and disturbing to watch. Two scenes toward the end, in particular, are both funny and creepy: one scene shows one of the institution staff going nuts himself and screaming at a fallen tree limb to stop raising its finger to him. The other is a prolonged scene in which one of the inmates is laughing hysterically at a camel that is trying to lay down but for some reason cannot.

Metallica: Doug Magnetic

2008-09-26T02:01:00.009-05:00

The whole first part of this post is going to be about Metallica. I have defended and will continue to defend St. Anger until I'm cold & dead. It was an album they wanted to do, it came from an angry place and was used more as a creative outlet for Hetfield's problems than anything. That being said, I got to read what Hetfield himself thought about it 5 years later upon the release of their new album. He stops short of calling it a mistake, but still appreciates the album nonetheless. They've pretty much come full circle by now-- after "singing" more on the black album, and their musical experimentation with Load, ReLoad, S&M, Garage, Inc., and St. Anger, they apparently just felt like thrashing again.
Last Saturday, I was napping on the couch. Karissa got the mail, and dropped a package into my arms. I knew exactly what it was--my new metallica album, Death Magnetic, that I only paid $1.47 for (long story) had came! Unfortunately, I was still very tired, so I hugged my package and fell back asleep. When I finally woke up, I had to go outside and mow the yard, so I didn't get much of an introduction, and Isabella talks all through dinner, so I was still having trouble gtting to hear it all. My real introduction came in the car, when I got to crank it up and listen to it nice and loud. I had already heard about three songs on the album, but I was still blown away. The entire album is fucking awesome. The first song, That Was Just Your Life, reminds me of songs like Battery and Blackened--it's fast as hell with a catchy riff. And speaking of fast as shit, All Nightmare Long has become a favorite of mine already for its insane tempo. Broken, Beat, and Scarred is a little more simplistic lyrically, but nonetheless cool in its get-the-fuck-up-and-fight kind of way. Cyanide, The Judas Kiss, My Apocalypse, and The End of The Line might become lesser known-but still hard-hitting classics in no time (I'd say people will remember them like they remember The God That Failed, My Friend of Misery, The Thing That Should Not Be, Orion, etc). I LOVE the intro to The Unforgiven III, which incidently might share a chord progression with the first two, but pretty much nothing else. No acoustic feedback, no "What I've felt..." lyrics like before--this one is no less awesome, though. As for the piano, I wonder myself if Hetfield played that intro--he did learn piano at a young age.
The Day That Never Comes was the first song I got to hear, and it's one of those cool Metallica-style ballads that works its way into your head. I've been using the clean verse riff as a practicing tool, adding it to my growing repertoire of catchy Metallica clean-riffs.
And is there an instrumental? Well, they did dive into their past a little, and must have decided that an instrumental is a welcome addition after 4 or 5 albums without. Suicide & Redemption clocks in at over 10 minutes! and is also awesome.
Yes, Kevin, there is a teensy bit of Lars' annoying snare, but not much, and the lowest tuning they go is dropped D. No Derek, Hetfield isn't all sing-songy with his voice. Here and there, he is, but he's still got his signature growl. And yes, Kevin/Derek, their WHOLE ALBUM is going to be on Guitar Hero, so you guys can fake-play to your hearts' content.
Anything bad to say about this album? Nope. I guess not. I love it, and I'm still listening to it as loud as I can get it. Plus it's all about death, and how various people are attracted/repulsed by it. Kinda like Tom Waits' Bone Machine.
What am I Watching?
Cashback- After a nasty breakup, an art student develops insomnia. To help him get through the night, he takes a graveyard shift at a local grocery store and there realizes (or pretends, it's never really clear) that he has the ability to freeze time. Utilizing this gift, he undresses store patrons (solely for art sketches, he's not a total pervert), plays little pranks on his boss, and eventually comes to se the beauty in life as a still scene. Characters are a little shallow and predictable, but are still fairly interesting. His freezing snowfall at the end looked really cool and would have amde a great end if the director hadn't opted for the mega-happy guy-gets-girl-and-shows-her-beauty-of-frozen-life ending.
AB Negative- A good guy is exhorted into harvesting organs after losing his wife (alcohol, bad liver), his job (expendable), and his house (see job). Using a database from his laptop of other employees & clients, the guy exacts revenge on those who fucked him over. Using a drinking problem to add depth to the characters was a good idea, but very poorly acted. The overall sound sucked. The ending was pretty good, except that he laughed maniacally, and that's just plain reidiculous. It's billed as a horror flick, but it's really just a cheap indie thriller.
Harold- 13-year-old with early male pattern baldness tries to make his way through a new school in a new town. This movie is one of those little nuggets that doesn't get good enough advertising and therefore falls through the cracks of popular cinema. It was funny as hell, and I have to give kudos to Spencer Breslin for his apparent natural acting abilities, also to Cuba Gooding Jr. for taking on a supporting role he didn't get enough credit for. It was a textbook happy ending, except for the fact that the bald kid blew off the hot chick for the frumpy big girl (and she actually is a frumpy big girl). That little detail makes me like how it ended after all.
Little Otik- A barren couple takes a weekend at cabin to take their minds of not being able to have children. While the husband is trying to rip out a stump, he comes across a root that looks a bit like a little child. He carves it out better and varnishes it, then presents it as a present to his wife, who immediately begins treating it like a real child. Despite being completely unnerved, the husband and wife concoct a lie about finally getting pregnant. They have different sized 'tummies' made up, and leave the root baby at the cabin, coming back for it on weekends. Finally, the wife "gives birth". The husband comes back to get her a week later, only to find the root baby alive and breast-feeding. I'll just stop the synopsis there and let that one sink in. I had to go back and check the info about halfway through, and sure enough, this film was made by Jan Svankmajer, a master of ultra-creepy artistic European stop-animation, and one of my favorites. This particular story is actually based on an old, equally weird Czech fairy tale called Otesanek. It is very bizarre and nds on an odd note with no closure.

A Couple Doodles, and Some Junk

2008-09-18T08:59:00.010-05:00

I haven't posted pictures in a while, so here's a couple.
These are a few of the things I've been working on lately at the lab. I started out making rough sketches to mark the directions of twists and spins (not shown). The first sketch shows some examples of hide twisted by itself and around a cord (twisted fibers). They are mainly only for reference. The second illustration shows a sample from actual textiles Dr. Leach is looking at. By sample, I mean that it is still drawn without having seen the blanket, but still contains examples of how the blanket is woven together. This gives us a pretty good idea of how proficient these people were in weaving.
I never realized how hard illustrating textiles can get until I tried figuring out the exact spin and/or twist directions, especially when you twist a cord one way, wrap it around another the same way, and then wrap those two around yet another the opposite way. And they did this shit by hand. Neat stuff.
If you haven't been by April's blog, Kevin had an inflamed gall bladder, he went in for surgery, now he's recovering. Anymore details, read her blog. Needless to say, I can imagine him rolling around on his bed saying "I'm a stupid man!", and since he's doing alright, I can say that's fucking funny.
We took Isabella to Yunker Farm last weekend. She had a lot of fun, we had very little. The museum was okay, but w got bored quickly. Then we did a little present-opening at McDonald's, and took her to Toys 'R' Us and let her buy something with her birthday money. Then we went to the Halloween store and she became obsessed with the life-sized woman holding her own beheaded head. Why? Who knows? It's Isabella.

That Saturday we had April, Tab and Derek over (Kevin was in Oregon seeing the town the Goonies was filmed in). It was funny to see Derek scoot closer and closer to the tv as we all talked. I had asked him if he watched Metalocalypse at all, and was surprised to hear he didn't like cartoons. I guess I didn't see that coming from a guy who loves Rob Zombie. I myself have become obsessed with the show. I'm not a huge fan of death metal, but this cartoon hooks me every time. That and Murderface reminds me so much of Butto.
We had to go to a Headstart parents meeting last night, it went okay. Isabella got to play with her classmates while we listened to budget stuff and parent involvement in school activities blah blah blah.
I really wasn't up for going, but I had this thing about her having both her parents at these meetings every once in a while. Good thing, too, because one of the teachers was impressed by how many fathers were there. I wanted to be insulted, but let's face it. Dad's aren't exactly famous around here for participating in their kids' academic lives like mom's. I got lucky because I had a dad who did that stuff, so I at least know I should, even if I get a little lazy.
What in the world am I watching?
Jesus' Son- A long walk through addiction and the various interactions with people lost along the way. It's hard to pinpoint a real description for this movie. Between the after-the-fact narration, the occasional hallucination, the overdoses, the rehabilitation, and mennonite voyeurism it turns out to be just some guy's life over the past few years. It really plays out like the guy is trying to remember the last couple years of his life--he even forgets parts and puts them in later. While slightly annoying, it does add to the overall effect of seeing the past of an addict through his eyes. I was impressed by the low key introduction of major actors like Jack Black, Dennis Hopper, Denis Leary, and Holly Hunter, but I was especially impressed by the character-acting of Billy Crudup--I totally bought that he was a hopeless addict.
The Day the Earth Stood Still- A ship lands in the middle of Washington D.C. A humanoid in a funky spacesuit with major shoulder pads comes out with a message for Earth about ceasing its violent ways. He is accidentally shot by a nervous soldier, and looked at by earth doctors, while his bigger-than-a-breadbox robot plays statue in front of the ship. The being, named Klatu, escapes and lives with an unsuspecting family for a little while before trying to get into contact with a famous scientist about atomic issues. He gets found out, gets shot again and dies, but not before instructing his confidante Helen to give his robot a verbal code so it doesn't go on a big hypocritical rampage. The code? Any Army of Darkness fan knows it...Klatu...Varada...Nikto...Anyway the chick (played by Patricia Neal--remember the Fountainhead? Of course you don't you cinematic philistines) has to give the code twice, because apparently death-robots are a little hard of hearing. He stops shooting things with his eyes, takes Helen to the ship, then goes real quick-like and picks up Klatu. It uses the ships mysterious atomic technology to revive Klatu and they drop Helen off and stay just long enough to explain to earth that his people now have robots who keep them from being violent. Basically, humans have used robots to make themselves not kill eachother, and the robots can be trusted to help keep them safe. I don't buy into that message at all. I've seen I, Robot.

Oh No I Blogged All Over Myself!

2008-09-12T10:29:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we took Isabella to Devils Lake. On Saturday we had a little party over at my sister's place where she got to later spend the night with her cousins. I must say I really appreciate getting to sleep in a little at my dad's place.
I hadn't intended to get into discussions of politics, but right when we got there he asked about the Republican convention and Dumb-shrill-Bitch--I mean, Palin, and right off I started bitching. Fortunately I have pretty good conversations with my dad and he's fairly politically open-minded.

I've been thinking about the whole tin-can banjo thing again lately, and decided I might be able to pull it off if I tune the canjo lower than a normal one. I'm not sure how the lower tension on the strings will affect its playability, but it can't be much worse than breaking all my strings because they grind against the wood.

Halloween season is just around the corner! Last year I was pissed that the Halloween stuff was out so early, but this year I'm just excited to look at it all. If we have time while in Fargo tomorrow, we're planning on stopping at the Halloween store and taking a gander (and a few gooses, yah).

I have a new page of Golden Brown out now, but due to a professor giving me a bit more workload for the coming week than I expected. I may be taking a week off from the comic. We'll see.

What am I watching?

It's "1931" week. Both of the movies I saw this week were made in 1931, and both were completely awesome.

M- A child murderer incurs the wrath of the German underworld for letting them take the blame for the lives he's taken. All descriptions of this movie call him a pedophile, but there's not really mention within the movie of sexual contact between him and the children. Insignificant detail, really, but I like my descriptions accurate. This was Fritz Lang's first talkie, though the dvd was oddly scratched so all my sound was mistimed unless I restarted the chapter. Strangely this is my first real intro to Peter Lorre, who I found out is an incredible actor. I finally get the reference in the Ren & Stimpy episode where they try to pass themselves off as babies in a family with a creepy grandpa that whistles "In the Hall of the Mountain King", like Lorre's character does. This seems like a pretty cutting edge movie for 1931. But then, it's Fritz Lang, a master of his time.

The Champ- A washed up boxer holes up in Tijuana with his kids and gambles/drinks. Despite his bad habits, he's a very loving father to "Dink". Things get complicated when Dink's mother accidentally comes into his life, and "Champ" gets in trouble with the law. Hard decisions are made, and even harder fight is fought, and in the end Jackie Cooper (played "Dink") gave a heartbreaking performance better than any 9-year-old I've EVER SEEN. That's right Dakota Fanning, you don't hold a candle to this kid. Throughout the whole movie he did his character like he'd done it all his short life, even the non-verbal gestures, which kids typically can't do. Seriously, he's the BEST child actor I've ever seen (okay maybe besides Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon).

Political Groups, B-Day Shindig, Where Bands Play: What are PARTIES!

2008-09-05T08:05:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm posting every other week these days. Makes the movie list longer, but oh well. Last week Kevin, Derek and I went to Mike's Pizza for Open Mike Night, which turned out a little disappointing. Isabella started her dance class, and now she's a ballerina on top of a princess. At least she likes it, though. Her birthday is rolling around, and we've decided to have a party for her Headstart class after we do the parties in DL & Fargo. How many kids get like 3 birthday parties a year? Seriously. We wanted to do something with our friends, too, but then Isabella would have to have a birthmonth instead.
I wound up through no fault of my own watching Karissa's National Conventions over the past couple weeks, and I have to say I am honestly scared for November to come. Watching people twisting and/or omitting facts to make their opponents look bad, the snide remarks flying around, people trying to shove the word "Maverick" down my throat, and so help me if I have to hear a bunch of fucking morons mindlessly break into the "U! S! A!" chant one more time...
Whew. Anyway, never fear, the political crap won't make it into the comic. I may take jabs at monks, women, fat people, myself, doctors, readers, the bunny ranch, art, current events (wait, no not current events), the elderly, women with odd nipples, and some twelfth thing, but I don't pander political in Golden Brown (by the way a new page should be up by the time anyone reads this).
I'm getting very excited for Metallica's new album! I think I've heard about 4 tracks from it now, and so far I love it. The new video is growing proof that Hetfield is trying to steal my look. That's okay, though, I'm trying to steal his chops. I've found lately that a good guitar exercise is to take clean riffs from their songs and play them. The picking is hard, but it helps develop good coordination of your fingers while trying to keep up a rhythm.
Scroll down a touch for the movie section.

2008-09-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

What am I watching?

The Defilers- A wholesome girl is kidnapped and sexually abused by a couple young men. One guy has a spanking fetish. The acting is okay, the movie overall is actually pretty engaging for a sexploitation flick. In the end one man's conscience overcomes him and he attacks the other man. The fight concludes when nonconscience guy gets his head knocked against the wall into a nail, which I thought was awesome! The camera backs up to show us the whole scene as maybe a police officer might find it, and makes for a good ending.
Scum of the Earth- A wholesome college girl is taken advantage of by guys who take nude pictures of her and market them. The dialogue is stiff, and especially forced from the girl's father, who I'm pretty sure must have been picked off the street at random. The nonverbal acting, like her discomfort with being naked in front of a camera, was much better. The plot moves along pretty well.
Bad Girls Go To Hell- After killing a rapist in self-defense, a girl leaves her husband for NYC, where she meets all sorts of different undesirables before settling with an old woman. But her past catches up with her even there. Not nearly as interesting as I just made it sound. By this point, I was getting sick of seeing guys portrayed as mindless sexual predators and girls as helpless idiots. The ending was pretty interesting, but didn't really save the movie.
Another Day, Another Man- After getting a raise and an espensive apartment, a guy falls ill and his wife goes into prostitution to help pay the bills. This movie goes on way too long. At one point the pimp begins narrating to us about his women, and I'm not sure why any of this is relevant information. I liked the ending not just because the movie itself was long and boring, but also because the ending was actually not bad. I won't tell you what happens, but it involves a knife.
Soylent Green- in a grim future of starvation and, apparently, heat, we no longer have regular fod. We now have the synthetic Soylent brand. A cop investigating a high-profile murder and a retired professor stumble upon its secret ingredient. Who hasn't seen this movie yet? Avert your eyes now. Soylent Green is PEOPLE!! Soylent Green is PEOPLE!! You blew it up! You really blew it up!! Damn you--oops I mean Tell everyone Soylent Green is made from people!! Charleton Heston did pretty good in this one, and if you look closely, you'll see and an aged and severly ill Edward G. Robinson playing Sol Roth opposite Heston's Thorne. There's a great scene where Thorn and Sol get to eat a real meal, Thorn's very first ever. Their appreciation for a good meal is genuine. Robinson faced his own death when his character died, the scene was peaceful, and yet one of the most well-acted natural death scenes I've seen in a long time. According to IMDB, that scene was the last day he ever worked; he died nine days later, and Heston was the only one on set who knew he had cancer. What I like most about this movie is that it's about the future, and yet you don't see the shiny clothes & giant shoulder astro pads.
She Mob- "Big Shim" leads a gang of chicks as they lure a former associate (a gigolo) to their hideout and hold him for ransom from his lady-boss. A detective, Sweety East, finds him and helps him escape, only to deny the boss her fee and decide to keep him for herself. Lots of tits, a little sex, a little violence, I actually liked this movie. I didn't lik Sweety's pantsuit, though. It was so low-cut in the back that she could poop without having to remove it. For the most part, the women all had realistic bodies, nice ones by 1960's standards. Big Shim was pretty non-sexy, but I liked her more than the others for her brutality.
Nymphs Anonymous- A bunch of woman form a club to fulfill thir carnal needs and recruit "other" men to do the jobs. I notice the same donkey cigarette dispenser was used in She Mob. I do like the concept of a jealous husband-turned sniper. Otherwise this movie is forgettable.
Kung Fu Panda- A big fat panda dreams of being a kung fu master, then mistakenly gets his chance against a leopard(?). We took Isabella to this one at the Dollar theater. It was a nice little film, but nothing spectacular. I really thought Patton Oswalt voiced the crane, but it turns out it was David Cross. The two have uncannily similar voices.
Nashville- A bunch of stuff happens leading up to a big political convention, many musicians are involved. It speaks more about the music industry than about politics. Henry Gibson was awesome in it, as was Ned Beatty (who sometimes reminds me of my dad). That's really all I'm gonna say about it. I wasn't really planning on posting it, but it was a helluva good movie. Every now and then I watch a flick but don't post about it. Those movies are just for me.

Car Show, Sideshow, Shitty Show Shimmy Sham

2008-08-17T18:27:00.005-05:00

Oops, I think I missed a week in there! Karissa's got a couple ads up for her cleaning business, so we're eagerly awaiting any bites. It would be nice to just do massive advertising, but we don't have the means other businesses do. Luckily her boyfriend is a guerilla advertiser and is willing to help get the word out (as soon as they're printed, anyway).
We spent last saturday with Amber & Ben out behind their house. I'd never seen their fence before (I obviously didn't help build it), but it looks professionally done (that means good job, Ben, Kevin, Butto, and whoever else helped).
Last night I took Derek to Culver's, where every week a bunch of car guys park their classics & talk shop. We got to meet an auto tech teacher from Red River high who must have been somewhat popular in this circle, because quite a few people knew his name. Derek would probably keel over reading that this, but the car the guy pulled up in looked like a giant hotdog bun. It was built back in 1948 by a then-16-year-old, who later went on to enhance it for a Masters' thesis (in exactly what I didn't really pay attention to). The engine was from an old Mercury police car that was totalled in a previous accident (yeah Derek I at least caught that part).

What am I watching?

Dark Ride- Some college kids on Spring Break check out a re-opening carnival ride with a horrific past. At the same time, the serial killer that once dwelt within the ride escapes from his asylum and gets himself a sense of nostalgia. The acting is mediocre, and the 'girlfriend' is a huge bitch--I know, there's a backstory of the 'boyfriend' possibly cheating on her, but whatever. She's still a bitch. I don't care. Anyway, Patrick Renna s in this. Who the hell is Patrick Renna, you ask? Well, despite the fact that he's been pretty busy for the last 20 years acting, he's not terribly well-known except as the chubby kid, "Ham" from The Sandlot. His acting was actually pretty good, and the plot twist, though not really surprising, was pretty satisfiying. Unfortunately, I'm betting there'll be a sequel.

Varietease- 1954 film replicating Burlesque shows of years before. It says Bettie Page stars, but I only saw her in the first part of the show. The other dancers were so-so and didn't get naked. Lily St. Cyr came on last and seemed more like the main attraction, rightly so since she showed less and danced more provocatively. Seeing the last 1o minutes would have been better than having to watch the whole thing.

What About Bob?- A "multiphobic personality in a constant state of panic" leeches onto a psychiatrist whose book is just starting to take off. He gets along great with the "fam", much to the doctor's chagrin. While Bob gets better, the doctor gets worse. I saw this back when it was a new release, and a couple more times since. It's somewhat formulaic, very funny, but the ending is the best part--the protagonist & antagonist do not reconcile like in most comedies, even though Bob nevertheless becomes part of the beloved "fam". I wonder how many psychiatrists would actually side with Dr. Marvin on the issue of imposing patients, especially having one of those patients with you on Good Morning America?

Uncle Buck- After a woman's father has a heart attack, her husband is forced to call upon his shiftless gambling-addicted brother to come and watch the kids so they can go back to her hometown. Jean Louisa Kelly looks a bit old for her part of the 15-year-old daughter, but she plays the bitchy, say-anything-no-matter-how-hurtful teen very well, and John Candy & McCauley Culkin are in their prime (actually, 1989 was a pretty good year for movies). I've seen this movie more than a dozen times, and I still like it.
Mr. Jingles- Serial killer clown makes a supernatural comeback via self-spoken incantation. The synopsis on the cover said it was a sequel to S.I.C.K. (whose summary sounded better and less deceiving). The acting sucks, the special effects REALLY suck, and the clown isn't really scary. Watch Killer Clowns From Outer Space or The Clown At Midnight and you'll see some creepy shit. This was just not worth the effort I put into watching it. My attention started wandering not even halfway through and I got more action out of the crossword puzzle. Yes, there was some nudity, no, it didn't help.
She-Freak- A frustrated waitress starts her life over working at a carnival. She marries the boss, has an affair with the strong man which leads to the boss's death, and the freaks of the ten-in-one get their revenge. Sound familar? Except for a few character switcharoos (that's right I said it), this is pretty much a modernized version of Todd Browning's Freaks. The acting ain't half-bad, at least. Overall, it was okay, but didn't have nearly the substance or storytelling abilities Todd Browning brought to his. Th DVD I watched came with a neat little Sideshow short.

To the Movies! And Pork!

2008-08-08T06:45:00.002-05:00

We went to Kevin & April's on Thursday for a little outdoor grilling. I loved getting to eat outside, that's one of my favorite things about grilling out. The mosquitos & bees were well-worth it, and Kevin's custom barbecue sauce was awesome on his pulled pork. Oh wait, does that sound dirty?
A new page of Golden Brown is out as usual, hopefully will be wrapping up soon. The action is picking up again.
I finally got to see the Dark Knight! I was worried the van would die again, the result of some cosmic force fucking with with me and trying to keep me from seeing the movie, but NO! And we had enough on my gift certificate left to get us admission and some nice super-buttered popcorn. I didn't feel very good that night, and it was totally worth it. See below for my review, stupid.
What have I been watching?
Drillbit Taylor- A trio of high school nerds hire a veteran bodyguard to help them with some vicious school bullies. They eventually realize he's just a bum telling stories. There's a returning trend of using actors pretty close to the age of the characters, and geeky ones to boot. I like that. A little tidbit on the bullies: Filkins is played by Alex Frost, who starred in Gus Van Sant's Elephant as a bullied kid who goes on a killing spree at his school. Ronnie is played by Josh Peck, who used to be on a Nickelodeon show called Drake and Josh in which he played a huge nerd. Ironic, huh?
21- MIT student is convinced by his conniving Nonlinear Equations professor to use his superior number skills in Vegas counting cards. Dialogue isn't great, action sequences aren't great except when someone's getting beat up. It looks like a Steve Bochko show.
Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music- Home footage intermingled with concert footage, also his wanderings into his woods. I thought it was neat to see what his concerts were like. I always used to hope he'd make one more trip up north for a concert, even if it was in Minneapolis, but even before his death you could tell he was pretty much done doing the national tour thing. It also made me realize that although Joaquin Pheonix managed to sound like Johnny Cash, he really looks nothing like the Man in Black. Oh well.
Bad Acid: It's Worth the Trip!- An acid freak with his own underground metal radio show drops acid & goes on various misadventures trying to get to and from work. This is made by Bill Zebub, the same guy who made The Worst Horror Film Ever Made. Fortunately, this one was put together a little better, and very fortunately features a cameo by noneother than Pete Steele from Type O. In one part Bill throws a DJ out for playing Metallica while covering his shift, but we're assured in the end credits that no insult was actually meant by it, since Zebub's show was to exclusively promote underground metal (although I don't know how underground Type O Negative is these days). The tripping scenes looked well-acted and natural--I wonder how 'acted' they were?
The Dark Knight- Batman takes on the Gotham mafia, the Joker, and briefly Two-Face. Even despite the hype I was pleasantly blown away by how well this movie turned out. This movie and Batman Begins, in reality are not at all faithful to the comic. Everything has been rewritten. But as far as rewrites go, this one was written better than any comic movie I've seen. The characters have substance to them, and despite the visual attraction of Batman and his gadgets, your can take your eyes off him to focus on the non-hero characters. Speaking of which, the topic of 'hero' pops up, and it is here that Batman officially declares that he is not a hero. He realizes that he has to be regarded as a vigilante and even a villian to get things done. Heath Ledger did an excellent job as the Joker, and deserves any posthumous award he gets. This Joker fits the attitude of the one in the comics the best. He's completely amoral, sadistic, chaotic, and funny. He plans his crimes meticulously, then blows everything up just for the fun of it, even money. He's got plany of stories for how he got his scars, and Nolan (director) wisely opted not to show his real origin. Aaron Eckhardt did an awesome job as Harvey Dent. He looks like the handsome upright type of DA the comics had in mind, and after his disfigurement (the burn is a little closer to the animated series than the comics) he cuts the character of Two-Face perfectly. Whatever CGI was used on the burn side was not overdone or fake-looking, and all the plot development that led up to it was written in well enough that you didn't guess every little step. His struggle with his own volatile duality gives me much respect for Eckhardt, as well as every other cast member. Two things disappoint me. First, all the attention Ledger got was fine and all, but overshadowed how great the rest of the cast was. It's redeemed when you see the movie, but the media really tries to lead people to believe that Ledger is the only important character in the movie, even to the point of forgetting Bale's role. The second thing was killing off Two-Face. Why? Why did they do that? He had so much more pontential as a character. Even Scarecrow got a little part in this one, so Two-Face could easily have have shown up in the third movie (believe me there'll be a third), even if in a supporting character. I am glad the Joker wasn't killed off, though. And I LOVED the pencil trick. A perfect example of that wrong kind of funny you almost feel disturbed for laughing at.

Will I Ever See It?

2008-08-01T01:30:00.002-05:00

What a week! I've been kept from seeing the new Batman movie for two weeks now. We were going to drop Isabella off at daycare two fridays ago to go see it, then she threw a big tantrum and had to stay home, which meant we had to, too. The next day she got sick, so we hung around the house all day. Then it seemed like we had an appointment for each day of the week--that coupled with her swim lessons fucked my sleep schedule up so I was tired and cranky all last week. By the next saturday, I was ready to see the movie. We got as far as Little Keepers, and then the van died. I knew it was having alternator trouble, but that trouble accelerated quickly and killed our car halfway out of the parking space. After getting it towed next door, we barely managed to reach Rent-King before it closed and snagged ourselves a piece of shit Ford Taurus that looked like something my mom would drive. By now, we had barely 2 hours left and the movie idea was a wash. We decided to go to Target to get some stuff, and at the checkout, the cashier guy asked me if I'd seen the Dark Knight. I said "not yet," and he told me "yeah, you HAVE to see it, dude...seriously, if you don't go watch it, I'll come find you..." If I hadn't just been royally fucked out of seeing it, I would have laughed and agreed "you bet yer ass I'm gonna see it!", but no I really wanted to fucking punch the guy. So all you guys who got to see it, I'm happy for you and all, but don't tell me how much you loved it unless you want to get hurt.
Anyway, on Monday night it rained from hell. I had just got done with my beginning shift paperwork around 12:30, and decided to open up one of our downstairs meeting rooms just in case the weather got worse. As soon as I got down there, I could hear water running in one of the rooms, so I checked it out, and sure enough, water was pouring in under the emergency door. I went to the windows to see how bad it was getting, and couldn't even see the concrete steps leading up to the ditch. I ran outside with a stick to see if I could poke around and find the pump we keep there. Couldn't find it, so I got som towels and jammed them into the door as best I could. It didn't work at all, and soon I could hear more water. I looked up to see that two of the windows running along that wall were badly sealed and letting in little waterfalls. I couldn't believe the water had actually risen up to the windows! Finally I called our manager, who called our owner. While I waited for them, I tried bailing out some of the water from the ditch to relieve pressure on the windows. I was standing knee-deep in water about 6 feet from a tree, and lightning was still jumping around overhead. We found an extra pump, the water finally lowered (most of it already inside), and afterward, we spent almost 4 hours cleaning and drying carpets.
The next night, I had a slight domestic dispute at the motel, but luckily it wasn't anything loud, and it didn't end with me cleaning carpets.
What am I Watching?
2000 Maniacs!- The southern town of Pleasant Valley holds it's Centennial (oddly enough starting from 1864). They set up a fake detour to lure traveling Northerners to their town, and procede to cut, quarter, and smash them in ritualistic revenge. The opening song "The South's Gonna Rise Again" is oddly magnetic and held my attention for the entire opening sequence. My favorite kill? Either the "boulder dunk" or the "spiky barrel roll". The ending was great--supernatural elements, and no one was willing to explain them, which turned out to be better for the movie. What was missing? Guns. Lots and lots of guns being fired off for no reason at all.
2001 Maniacs- Retelling of the 1964 original. They changed the opening song, thy should have stuck with the original. There was a cool updated homage to Deliverance when one of the annoying college guys gets out his guitar and starts jamming with a hillbilly kid playing on a resonator guitar. Acting was subpar, which is normal for these movies. Robert Egelund (Freddy Kreuger), as always, made a creepy character as the one-eyed mayor of Pleasant Valley. I didn't like how far the director went to show how "hillbilly" they were, though. Jokes about making out with cousins, overpolite southern hospitality, rebel yells everywhere--there was even a guy chasing a sheep around throughout the movie, obviously forgetting that it was a Montana joke. The ending was decent, though. My kind of ending for a movie.
Little Children- Picture Desperate Housewives with nudity, sex, and a recently released pedophile thrown into the mix. Bad marriages, affairs, paranoia, anger. Bunches of emotions in this movie. The narrator made me feel like I was watching a kid's fantasy movie. I almost didn't even recognize Jennifer Connely. Jackie Earle Haley took his hateful pedophile role to a whole new level. There are no disturbing scenes with children or anything, he just makes the character thoroughly creepy. In one scene, he is on a blind date his mother coaxed him to go on. As the woman is confiding in him that she's had a bad history with dating, he proceeds to masturbate in her car, threatening her and leaving her horrified. Interesting tidbit- Jackie Earle Haley, who revived his acting career after a decade or so of limo-driving and pizza delivery with Little Children, is set to play Rorshach, my favorite character from the Watchmen. I hope he does it justice.

Birthday, Tadpoles, and More Concerts on DVD

2008-07-24T21:06:00.002-05:00

I'm coming down with a cold--seems like I can't keep healthy these days! It's just a little cold, though.
A new page of Golden Brown is coming out by Friday! Now that I've introduced tits, let's see what I do with them.
Kevin's birthday is on Friday, Happy Birthday Kevin! I've 29 spankins for you! Unfortunately I can't give them to you this weekend. Wish we could make it to the celebrations but oh well, We'll be there in spirits.
Isabella has been going to swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks. I'm glad she was able to do it, but it's seriously fucked with my sleeping schedule, so I'm also glad it's over. She did pretty good, she was reluctant to try some of the stuff they were doing, but after a while she warmed up to it. It's funny how the moms there were so quick to chastise their kids anytime they misbehaved just a little bit. It was even funnier that every time they chastised, the kids just seemed to get worse.

What am I watching?
Type O Negative: Symphony For the Devil- Type O in live concert, unlike After Dark, which showcased videos. Between songs are various clips of the band in non-concert situations. Sage advice: If you go on tour, leave the Sharpie's at home, or don't go to sleep. Some bonus materials include an interview with Juliya, a CD with Type O doing a cover medley of Santana songs (only Type O could make Oye Como Va sound cool), and even a slideshow of the band during their respective childhoods--Pete Steele as a kid! Pete Steele as a teen in tight-white 1970's pants! That's funny. The concert footage was cool and the sound was well-mixed for the DVD.
Primus: Blame It On the Fish- An 'abstract' DVD of the band during their 2003 tour. There was this little part where Larry Lalonde (guitarist) is just fiddling around on a guitar in a back room. I realized he wasn't even playing a recognizable solo or scale, just some random fingering--just like I do! Of course, he was better, but I thought it was cool that Larry and I had the same right hand. The footage was very cool, but my favorite part was the bonus interview with Les Claypool, which takes place in 2065. Les' make up is great, his acting is amazing, even for just goofing around. He even had a little "old fart tremor" in his hand that looked completely natural.
Mr & Mrs. Smith- A couple whose marriage is on the rocks finds out that each had been leading a double life as a high-tech contract killer. Unfortunately, each has become the other's next mark. Despite any reservations I had about this movie being a typical action flick, I did like it. A bickering couple literally left to kill eachother? It's a good concept. The only real bad parts about this movie were the high-tech gadgets/weaponry (it's a bit much, just use a fake moustache and a gun every once in a while!) and the ending in the Cabella's-type store, which was waaaayyy over the top and hoky.