Sketchbook #6

This week we have a wrench. I don't know why.
That's a lie, yes I do. I had a professor in college who was really into Jim Dine, and I became a fan as well. Partly because my sketches were similar in style, and partly because I really respected the professor, though most students hated him.

Jim Dine did a whole series of drawings involving tools and paintbrushes and the like. He later moved into a really pop-art inspired period where he did hearts and bathrobes and boots. Unfortunately, these are what he's best remembered for, when he's a much deeper and significant artist, doing sculpture and instillation as well, sometimes all at once. I have a certain affinity with Dine, I think because we both have recurring themes in our art. I tend to put swirls and arrows and matches in most of my stuff, and he has hearts and the Venus de milo. We also like to use nontraditional media and we both have a very textural feel to our stuff.
And of course, we're both better known for more goofy stuff.

Endangered Species

I've only ever seen them in the zoo or on TV, with the exception of a Bald Eagle I once saw in the desert. *
But last night, one of these---->
got stuck between the screen and the sliding glass door. I thought it was a bat at first because it was almost 5 inches across! We took some pics and googled it, to find out that it was a rare endangered moth called a Luna Moth. Good thing we didn't smush it, because that would have been a federal offence. We gingerly took the screen door off it's runner and coaxed it onto the end of my pocket knife. We then released it back into the wild that is our back yard.
They are really beautiful. Mostly green with eye spots and purple edges, a white body, and huge, furry antennae.


In other news, we got Jackson a little floaty thing for use in the hot tub. He LOVES it! He kicks his little feet and splashes in the netting between the first and second inflatable rings. He seems to have a good time. And he looks really cute in it.


*I may have been halucinating

Sketchbook #5

Here is a doodle from my book:

It's a bomb. I thought about making the sticker read "Ishtar", but decided against it. If it could be printed accurately, I would love to do an entire comic in just ball-point pens and highlighters.

This past weekend, Jen's cousin Preston got married. We had a good time. The reception was at a place called Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse, and 'tis a magical place. The reception hall, which was above the main area, looked like any other reception, only with heraldic flags covering the windows.
outside was a giant wooden castle called Adventure Quest, offering:

Outwit mazes, beat obstacle courses, zoom down slides, and splash away at the water stream table in this enchanting three-story playland brimming with extraordinary outdoor activities. Built by the hands of more than 11,000 local volunteers, this impressive structure is sure to be your favorite outdoor activity.

We totally would have gone, had it not been for the torrential downpour occurring at the time.
I can't wait to take Jackson there once he gives a shit. Although it would involve actually going to Enid on purpose. I don't know if I could handle that.

boy howdee

So I watched my boy all day yesterday while Jenn went to a funeral. I had a great time. I didn't get to see him all last week, so it was good to have a whole day just to play. We baught him shoes and he went with me to the comic book store and the coffeeshop. The extremely attractive staff of Aspen Coffee Company were all a twitter about him, so (listen up here, Cody) I'm thinking of renting him out as girl bait. He's the in, you see. Then you can chat up the cute ladies, and you look like the type of responsible guy that people trust their kids with, even though I'll only be a half a block away with a pair of binoculars.

In other news, SXSW Media announced their blog awards last monday. I am really happy that postsecret won a huge heap of awards, because it is a truely awesome site.
I didn't win anything. I know you were all pulling for me, and I thank you all for your support, but I didn't win.

Have a look:

Schmatrix

I work with more that a few really overweight guys who like to wear leather trenchcoats and wear sunglasses with really small lenses. I know this is the norm in places like Germany, but around here it looks silly. Especially when you have just a t-shirt and grubby jeans on underneith. None of you are Keanu. None of you are even Lawrence Fishburn, though his physique is certainally closer to your own.

The Life Pursuit

A record review

If you listen to the entire catalog of Belle & Sebastian as I have done many times thanks to the ipod, no song sounds like the one next to it, though the band has a very distinct sound. The Life Pursuit is no exception. If they want to throw in a Blues song, or a bunch of techno beeps and boops, even nods to '70s AM radio, they feel free to do so with out any concern or care that they are straying from their "sound". They have become less cryptic and less morose as the years and constant line-up changes have gone by, but the music has not suffered for it. It has only gotten better. This is only the second album produced by an outsider, and you can tell that Tony Hoffer is letting others in the band besides Stuart Murdoch have a say in what gets done. The songs are more polished without sounding over-mixed. Unlike past albums, when a track starts off not as wonderful as I would like, it soon proves me wrong. Nothing is worth skipping over.

Dear Catastrophe Waitress heralded their exit from shy, reclusive melodrama to extroverted pop sensations, and this change worried some of the die-hards like myself. DCW tested the waters with one toe, but refused to jump all the way in, and I thought they might pull a Smiths on us, and languish in the shallows, flopping around until they finally died, only to be re-born as an over-cooked dinner. Was Morrissey great? Yes. As great as the Smiths? No fucking way. The Life Persuit has not only jumped in, but set up an undersea bio-dome ala Sealab, where they can live forever. This new found confidence has come with everything associated with it, including touring, radio appearances, and actually allowing interviews and public appearances, something that they rarely did in the past, adding to their mystique. This was a main reason why some of the fans cried foul, but the long awaited release doesn't justify the nail-biting. Every track can trace it's roots to an earlier incarnation, cementing the B&S "sound", but adding a lot as well. "Another Sunny Day" is a series of lyrical snapshots, and "Sukie in the Graveyard" is another in a long line of character studies. There are the standard meandering guitars and organ solos, poppy, happy drums, and backing vocals, along with the lyrics that always make your ears perk up, think: Did I really just hear that? All with Stuart's wonderful not-quite-whiney vocals that Colin Meloy hasn't yet mastered.

All in all a big Thumbs up from Jason.

Feb at my Job

So this---------->
Is how my calandar looked last month. As you can see, there is very little actual work penciled in there. If I had more work, I couldn't have done all these doodles, now could I? I like the Kong part. This month I'm thinking Dig Dug.
My mom came to visit and I had a birthday. Jackson turned 7 mo. old. Time flys, well sorta.
"The years go fast but the days go so slow," to quote Modest Mouse.
Here is something I noticed about how this society is a little weird. We all know about the ads during the Super Bowl, and many people tune in just for them, and that's fine. We all love witty ads, and sometimes we download them and watch them over and over, and then sometimes the ad takes on a life of it's own, and people forget what the ad was for in the first place. I saw the Superfriends version of the wassup ad before I saw the ad itself. But last night I kept seeing ads about a new X-Men 3 trailor that is going to be shown during 24 next week. And ad for an ad. That's taking it a little far. Do we really need commercials telling us when a commercial is going to be on? I guess it isn't that different from a press release about a product launch, just a little more blatant.
The really sad part about it is that I was really excited about the new trailor when I saw the ad for the trailor. I watch the old one every few days, anong with the Superman one.
I am a sad little nerd.