A Fine Weekend

So this past weekend I turned 31. Not a monumental birthday by any stretch. Not a milestone or anything. But I had a lovely weekend. My mom came down from DCD to hang out. She's mellowed out a lot, so that has eased the stress on us a lot.
On Friday we went to Benali's and ate some awesome Italian food. I was even serenaded by a very strange couple who were providing the live entertainment that night. Usually the chick from Rook is there with her violin(a crappy band, but she's a good violin player when roaming an eatery). They were called The Tempest Duo and I'm not sure they realized that a tempest is a sudden, destructive storm. Although that could be an accurate description of the music. An even more accurate description would be Trainwreak. The Guitar player was about 100 years old, and looked like the cardigan wearing art teacher you had back in grade school. The violin player was much younger and was clad in a pink double breasted suit coat from 1983. To set the mood of Italian-ness, (please pronounce in your head: EYE-tal-EE-an-ness) they stuck to traditional Irish folk with a few Sting covers thrown in. Between each song, they over-praised each other for several minutes in these low, monotone, smooth and smarmy NPR voices*. The food was really good, and Jackson flirted with the wait staff all night so we got really good service.
Saturday Cody came down and met us at the coffeeshop, where Jackson sucked in the caffeine by osmosis, and went crazy. He also flirted with all the girls, one-upping our poor, single Cody.

I then took Cody to see the Driller, Tulsa's only landmark, since he had already seen Six Flags Over Jesus. We ate yummy Indian food.
Sunday was spent in Stillwater. More coffee and baby activities for mom. Cody came down and we sat around yapping and ate barbecue.
Monday I took mom to the OKC, narrowly missing a giant accident on I-35, a brush fire, and weirdness at the airport.


On the way down there, we saw an SUV with a stencil on the side advertising Praise Moves: The Christian Alternative to Yoga.
Really? Is Yoga that much of a threat to Christianity? Laurette Willis explains that she was really into yoga and fitness until she gave herself to Christ in 1987. People usually don't go born-again until they hit rock bottom, but I have never heard of hitting it with exercise. Getting in shape by stress-relieving stretching is apparently warping the minds of Americans everywhere into believing in Hinduism and it's teachings of reincarnation.
"Sadly, this false teaching leads people away from the necessity for a Savior."
Whew! and I thought I was loosing fat, not my soul. Thank goodness for you, Laurette Willis!

I swear to god...

that this was not staged. I put Jack down on the bed while I folded laundry, and the animals just all showed up.
Notice how the cat, who came up there on her own, looks totally pissed about that decision. Yes Maggie is wearing a sweater. It was cold. Also not how Sadie is looking with extreme envy at said sweater.

Marie Antoinette

Weirdest trailer ever: ------>

I guess Marie Antoinette is partly responsible for a New Order, but it seems odd. Does contemporary music work in period pieces? Sometimes. A Knight's Tale? Yes, but that was essentially a comedy and the music was fun, no matter how bad the movie was(or how much I love it). Buch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Sure. The "raindrops" scene was one of the best in the movie, and it was only used that once. But then there's Orlando. DID NOT WORK. The scene at the end of a floating cherub singing Euro-synth pop just ruined what could have been a great adaptation of a Virginia Wolfe book. I guess it depends on the director. In the case of Marie Antoinette, it is Sophia Coppola, and I have to say that I like her as a Director. Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides were surprisingly well made. She has a great sense of pacing, taking her time getting to the point, and not beating you over the head like her father does. She's also great with awkward silences, making the viewer just as uncomfortable as the characters. But those two were small indy films, and more often than not, when you hand a really good indy director a big-budget Hollywood movie, they can get a little lost (Dune, anyone?). Sometimes they pull it off, like Robert Rodriguez and Quinten Tarantino did, although it took each of them a few tires. Jackie Brown was just plain horrible, and Soderburg did a much better job with the same Author's source material with Out of Sight, just a year later.
And I have to say that I am on the fence about Dunst. Mostly she's cardboard, but then Bring It On comes around and you have to give her props. (You know you love that movie, so shut up) But for every Bring It On, there is a The Cat's Meow, which got horrible performances out of the entire cast(Eddie Izzard as Charlie Chaplin: great casting, bad performance), so it might not be her fault. Spider-Man if fine because all she has to do is look mopey and scream. Who knows. Sophia got good work out of her before, so maybe she can do it again. Schwartzman is in it so it can't be all bad. I love that guy. How he snuck into Hitchhiker's guide is beyond me.

Victory!

I know all of you have been waiting anxiously, and it finally happened. I beat X-Men Legends. I got Magma to do her little thing and I got Wolverine to beat up a bunch of robots. I do have to say that Magneto went down a bit like a bitch for my taste, but it was 4 against 1.
Now I can spend time with my family again. Or start on one of the other games I got for Christmas, or go buy X-men Legends II. Though I think that purchase would have to come with a divorce lawyer.
Now onto the Olympics: I think 24 hour coverage both helps and hinders the Olympics. Back in the day, they were a prime time event only, and only the REALLY cool ones were shown. The rest you had to listed to on the radio, which you can't do now. There isn't even a webcast that I can find. If I want to know how the Hockey games are going from work, I have to check the website every 10 minutes instead of just listening to it live. When I get home, I have to watch a tape, and I usually already know the score, and that takes all the fun and energy out of it. Everybody loves the figure skating, I guess.
BTW (and this will make me sound sooo gay) did anybody see Sarah Hughes? I know she was only like 16 at the last Olympics, but man she put on some pounds! (she's still cute, tho!)
Not like I can talk. 2002.... I think I was just under 200 lbs. Now I am well above. Though I am working on that. I started a new regiment of more stimulants and less food and switching to whiskey instead of beer. Oh, and I joined the Stillwater Y, and it is exactly what you would think a small town Y would be like. I am also consciously eating a third less food. I hope all of this will get me to my target weight by the summer time. Not like I'm one for the beach or anything like that, I just realized one day that I'd like to be around for Jack's High school graduation, and to show up not looking like Gilbert Grape's mother.

The Alternative

Those of you who grew up in Denver in the late '80s/early '90s and were of the counter-culture subculture will remember Teletunes, a now defunct music video show that aired on PBS channel 12 on Sunday mornings. Sunday was a big day for us. For me, Teletunes replaced Dr. Who as the Sunday morning pajama viewing show once I figured out that cool music existed and that there were videos to go along with it. It later became a regular weekly hangover cure once I discovered drugs and alcohol. It was where I saw new videos that MTV just wouldn't play until 120 minutes came along, and 120 minutes only focused on bands that gained national popularity, thus defeating the purpose. Every once in a while they had a cool guest host or interview, as when Robert Smith hosted 120 minutes of Pure Cure on the eve of Wish's debut, but that was about it. Teletunes was local. Local VJs that you might see at Wax Trax, or better yet, knew personally, as was the case with Sean. Local bands and local music featured prominately, and they were the only ones to interview cool bands that came through town, as no good radio was ever around (KTCL and The Peak tried, but failed over time and were eventually bought out, and 1190 was barely audible most of the time due to low band width).
A Sunday morning spent on the couch in my undies working on that 3rd pot of coffee, smoking obscene amounts of cigarettes with no windows open, introducing my self to my roommate's one-night stand as they fled the apartment still in the goth dress from the night before, all while watching Peter Murphy run blindly through the woods or Morrissey run blindly through London are some of my fondest memories.
Now, I finally have a replacement. VH1 Classic (I feel so old) now offers a Sunday morning show entitled "The Alternative" that shows most of the vids I loved during my late teens and early 20s, when I had shitty apartments, 2nd hand furniture, a crappy job, died black hair, a leather jacket, and disposable income that went mostly to comics, concerts, illicit pharmaceuticals, and punk rock t-shirts. Now I watch while playing with my kid and cooking breakfast for my wife, but the feeling is the same. I still drink 3 pots of coffee, I still smoke too much(though out on the deck of my awesome house that I own, and has decent furniture), I still have weird T-Shirts.
And although Morrissey and Peter Murphy are now too old to run blindly anywhere, at least I know that they once could.


PS- Jackson seems to be fond of Renegade Soundwave and Thrill Kill Kult. I still don't know if that is good or bad.

Re-envisioning

So I made this ----->
As an ad for my silly job. I make these all day long, and this one was on a pretty obscure portion of our site. I thought nothing of it after I sent it off to the programmer like my second week here.



The other day, I notice this---->
On the Chinese version of our site. They got this product months after we did, which means they made their little image way later. It is possible that there are only so many ways that one can show visually the concept of sound coming out of a little speaker thing, and it should come as no surprise when similar ways come about. But I'd like to think that since this is the same product from the same company, whoever made the Chinese version was poking around our site to see what we did and followed suit. This means that something I have made has been taken, reinterpreted, expanded upon and remade. That fills me with an enormous sense of pride as an artist. Intellectually, however, I am filled with pity for myself that a silly web image on a Chinese website blew my skirt up so much.

Such it is to be an artist.

Spider Monkey

I made this for my comics page, though I'm not sure where to put it. Maybe in the header. I swiped the idea from R Stevens and his awesome Diesel Sweeties web comic. It you haven't read it, you should. He's funny and there are lots of jokes about pron stars getting it on with robots. That sounds a lot less tasteful that it actually is. His site also got me into Scary go Round as well. SGR is a little bit all over the place but the eventual jokes and witty one-liners more than make up for it.
I added something to NGV5 today that I have never added before: color. I shall use it sparingly, so don't worry. Steve will still be steve, though he and Tonto are getting new outfits. If there is a music performer you'd like to see included in there some where, let me know, and I'll work 'em in. There will be a few spots where I'll need it.
Enjoy.

Then I just sorta zone out..

This----->

Is how I spend at least part of my day. Constantly doodling on either my calandar or in my sketch book. This one isn't very full because HR didn't pass them out until halfway through the month. It's nice because it looks like I'm writing something really deep, or actually working, but then I just have a little drawing of a guy biting a hang nail when I'm done. The rest of the time I'm on the computer blogging or reading web-comics. I'm not lazy. When there's work to be done, I'm doing it. I actually hate it when I have an unfinished project just sitting there. But when I clear my projects, I go back to doodling. It's sad in a way.. I think I must think in doodles... A doodlegraphic memory ala Strong Bad.

Bob Slydell: If you would, would you walk us through a typical day, for you?

Peter Gibbons: Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door--that way Lumberg can't see me, heh--after that I sorta space out for an hour.

Bob Porter: Da-uh? Space out?

Peter Gibbons: Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.

Addict personalities

So there are two new television addictions in the Powers household. One is this---->

Meet the Barkers is one in a long line of celebreality shows with the theme of "Let's see what white people do with a shitload of money" I'm not really a fan of Travis' band or any of the mediorchre TV series Shanna was on, but I wasn't a fan of Nick or Jessica either, and that show was like crank. Travis has a hell of a temper and is really anal about everything he does. He's a white suburban California punk without Green day's clout. He spends most of his time while not on tour working out, abusing his weird personal assistant, pulling up his ill fitting pants, and drinking Gatorade. Shanna is a spoiled southern belle who was once Miss America or something. Really all she did the first season was sleep and spend her husband's money. This season, she's pregnant, yet somehow taking a bigger interest in acting, trying to get a pilot launched, and developing the women's side of Travis' clothing company - Famous Stars and Straps. None of this she's very good at, and Travis usually has to bail her out with the checkbook. This all sounds horrible, but what saves it is that these two who have no idea what to do with their money end up spending it on really expensive yet touching and corny displays of affection. The sky-writers, the mountains of roses and balloons, the insane birthday parties, the $175,000 Cadalliacs. All mixed with lovey-dovey smooching and hugging, and terms of endearment like 'oofa woofa'. These two really love each other and since they have nothing else to talk about, that's all they talk about. It is fun to see Travis snap and to see Sahnna ruin things through sheer ditseyness. That's why Nick and Jessica failed: Jessica started learning things.


The other is this---------->

#1 Single is about Lisa Loeb trying to find love in this topsey-turvey world of ours. I never really cared for lisa's music, but this show has shown a different side of her. The side that collects Hello Kitty and Gnome figurines and that likes to cook, but isn't very good at it. She's decided that after two six year relationships that went nowhere, it is time to find "The One" and settle down, start pumping out babies and become a cool indy-rock-mom ala Susanne Vega and Liz Fair. She enlists the help of her family, and the fact that her sisters are blonde busty bombshells who were in the same sorority, adds to the fun. They are the ones who can find a sensitive metrosexual that really gets her. The first piece of advise is to get some sexier clothes because "guys like clothes they can imagine taking off you." The only reason I care is that I find her so damn cute. She's just the type I would have gone after and acted all awkward around until she dumped me because I'm to awkward-y around her. Plus she hangs out with people like Adam Goldberg who I totally love. The first episode saw her decide that there just wasn't anybody worthy in Los Angeles and deciding to move back to New York, where Adam thinks he may have a fella for her.

I hate that TV does this to me.

Neutral Grey Value Five

This---->

Is a series I did back in the day. I am resurrecting it for new fans. There were two big issues and a bunch of smaller stories in other comics like End of the Line, Earth: City Limits and The Pablo's Comics Evtravaganza. I had a lot of help on these from my brother Jeff and Stephan Donohue, so much thanks! You can find the first issue here:

http://ngv5.blogspot.com/

Start at the bottom and you can click the pages to read them bigger. Keep in mind that these were made over 10 years ago when I was a struggling art student and caffeine addict (among other things). This was from a time when there were 8 - 10 comics guys that would spend late nights at various coffeeshops drawing and ignoring girlfriends, family and schoolwork to draw and self publish mountains of comics. Most of us have real jobs now and families of our own. Thankfully the web-comic explosion had created a new more fluid outlet for people like me who want to work, but don't have the time or energy to self-publish anymore.

Issue two will be up as soon as possible then you get new stories as I make them! The style will be vastly different, as I am 10 years older and wiser now. The new one has giant slugs and zombies!

enjoy.

Where's Cy(rus)

So, a lot of attention lately in the netherverse known as the internet has been attached to this little fella. It is not a joke, or a manipulated photo. It is a one-eyed, kitten with no nose, who lived for only one day. His brother, the only other kitten in the litter was perfectly healthy, reminding me of the movie "Twins" for some reason. It has a very "Li'l Brudder" feel to it as well.

And after a flurry of people could not believe their eyes and new how to send emails started calling bullshit, it was confirmed by snopes, your source for confirming or denying urban myths here:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/cyclopes.asp

Cy the Kitten, then started to gain cult celebrity status and was popping up everywhere.

Questionable Content.com----->

Featured on a t-shirt of one of the main characters, then as a live journal icon:

Diesel Sweeties--------------->







And in fine art interpretations:

Boing Boing------>

You get the idea. Strange that people would rally behind a freak. This society seems to love freakyness and mutations as long as it doesn't involve an adult human. Example: Ewoks. Cute and cuddly, they walk, talk, they have barbecues. An adult human covered in fur, with a doggy nose: No fucking way. Put it under a circus tent. Blame it when kids go missing, follow it with torches and pitchforks. Run it out of town. Unless it's a midget. Small things seem to br 'cuter' for some reason. Normal sized altoids tin: mundane. Teeny tiny altoids tin: cute. I can't figure that one out. Somehow Clifford the dog squeaks by that one. Maybe due to his 'antics'.

Einstein?

This-------->

Almost made me fall out of my chair at work and get fired for not working. Now I am posting while at work, so don't tell. The Onion is the greatest thing ever.

A Fine Weekend

This----------->

Can now be safely posted without prying eyes possibly finding it. Robin and I threw Jen a surprise party this past weekend. We had a good time. She knew nothing, until the idiot crossed-eyed concierge blabbed that her sister was there when we checked into the hotel. Joey and Laura driving up from Austin was a complete shock. (kudos, BTW) We had a good time. We met a really weird cab driver who took us on every back road possible to get to bricktown. He was convinced it was faster because Bon Jovi was playing at the stadium and the traffic would be horrible. He was right. We ate some really good Mexican food and Jen's dad sent a very good bottle of wine to the table from his comfortable chair back in Tulsa. I think technology is wonderful.

We got pretty drunk at the Piano bar (at least I did) and we had to fend off raving Jovi fans loudly singing that they were indeed living on a prayer. A lot of people showed up, and someone brought cupcakes and we had the flakiest waitress ever. We were still pretty tipsy, so I guess she wasn't that bad.

Begs showed up in a corset straight from the fetish ball, and provided the entertainment for the second half of our stay at the bar. We stayed up till four in the morning chatting and drinking more in the hotel, and slept really well for about 5 hours. In the morning, or plans to sample "The big Bevberger" at Beverly's Pancake House, were thwarted by ancient church goers and two large groups of what I assume were cheerleading squads. Instead we ended up at Madison's Pancake House, which had an equal amount of really old church goers but no cheerleaders and the wait seemed just as long. The food was "meh" and there was no "big madburger", though in these days of mad cow disease, I couldn't really blame them. Then we drove to Tulsa to get the boy, who actually slept through the night and took a bottle, both rarities, and ate din-din with the parents. We then drove back to Stillwater, and almost fell over. A fine weekend!

Thanks to everybody who helped, drove a great distance, wore a corset, or just showed up. You all rock!

I think They're Staging a Coup

Terrorism can take many forms!

Green Bean Sentinels

I got three games for "Holiday". NHL Hockey, The Incredibles, and this------->

I have yet to crack open the other two because I am totally addicted to this game. I am pretty picky about my games. I don't usually play too often, and when I do, I want it to be really fun. This one could easily become a thorn in Jennifer's side, as I will ignore her and Jack while playing, and I'm taking up the good TV.

In other news, Jack has declared a jihad on green beans. In the Fatwa he released to the press last week, he stated that all green beans must henceforth relocate to the floor of the kitchen, with some being allowed small settlements on mommy's jeans, on her shirt and in her hair. Any and all attempts to enter Jackson's head will be met with swift force and a cry of "GaaauuuooooOOOOO!!"

That is all.

Reflections on 2005

This one was up there. One of the most eventful and roller-coasterish years of my life.
Random thoughts:

In 2005 I:
-Turned 30
-quit a pretty good job
-took a really shitty job
-got fired from that job
-spent almost 3 months unemployed while my pregnant wife supported me.
-landed the best job I've ever had.
-had a really freaky experience watching my son get born
-became a father
-started a blog
-was glad that the rest of the world realized that an all-bacon diet is not healthy.
-watched two marriages destroy themselves
-watched a serial bachelor fall in love and propose
-quit smoking
-gained almost 40 lbs
-started smoking again
-lost 10 of that 40 lbs
-was angered by my president on an almost daily basis
-got addicted to the message boards on the IMDB
-took Jackson on a plane
-bought a new house (twice the size of my old one and the nicest place I have ever lived)
-sold my old house (I actually had to pay $56.00)
-moved to an even smaller town. (I have gone from a town of 4 million to 300,000 to 50,000 in 4 years)
-realized how much I miss being in a town of 4 million
-sold a car and bought 2
-have returned to college levels of sleep, though without substance abuse to help me out
-have not had a decent haircut
-bought more music than in the past 5 years
-saw two friend's bands gain popularity at an alarming rate
-saw a huge weight lifted off my brother's back
-took more photographs and shot more film (of Jack, nach) than ever before
-have yet to make a new friend in my new town
-did not find a suitable place to have Jack christened
-watched three very close friends become first time parents within a few weeks of myself
-got addicted to Arizona iced green tea
-have lost touch with my favorite hockey team
-got a subscription to Entertainment Weekly
-stubbed my toe about a hundred times
-did not do one illegal drug the whole year ( I usually sneak in at least one)
-started to pay attention to commercials that offer something cool for babies
-started watching the Backyardigans on a regular basis
-realized that even though I have never been a violent man, I could easily kill somebody when it came to the safety of my child
-read more novels than in any previous year
-created art less than in any previous year
-realized just how strong my wife can be
-realized just how weak I can be
-every vote I cast went the other way
-realized that I cared more about the animals than the people in any one of the many natural disasters including Katrina
-realized that science has no place in a red state
-saw Episode III and was only mostly disappointed
-bought more stuff on line than ever before
-did not pass out on new year's eve (I think I'm 10 for 30 now)

This next yet will be a little more settled I hope. Jack will keep growing like a weed and we will get better at parenting. I will lose the other 30 lbs, and work hard at my job. Jack will probably enter a preschool or a teaching day care of some sort, and it will freak me out. My dogs will continue to shit on the carpet and the cat will keep shedding on my best clothes. The republicans will lose seats in the congressional elections and a little balance will be brought to the world.

I will get a good haircut.

End of Year

This------------------------------>
Just makes me laugh.

The holidays are almost over. Jack made out like a bandit, and doesn't even realize it. All he knew on Holiday was that things were bright and shiny and that it was okay to shovel massive amounts of wrapping paper into his mouth.

He got loads of clothes and toys, and Jen and I got cash and gift cards. I cannot think of a better Christmas.

To all of you wondering where the hell the Christmas card or gift are, please remember that we are new parents and a little distracted, which means we are broke and tired and just didn't get around to it. We love you anyway. Do you really need a card to prove it? If so you are a shallow, shallow friend.

Non-demoninational Holiday

This --------------------------->
Will sicken you with cuteness.
Don't say I didn't warn you.

So, the holidays are here. I suppose you could say they have been here since Turkish Day, and they we are in the thick of it.
I am excited for wee Jack to see his first Christmas. He doesn't know why, but he's really excited. The coming years will be even more fun, as he will learn about the mystical Amazon who will deliver packages for weeks leading up to Dec. 25th, and then again for a little while after that. "why doesn't The Amazon deliver all on one day like Santa?" he will ask. "Because The Amazon doesn't have a magic sleigh, and has to rely on UPS," I will tell him. "But The Amazon does have elves. Clad in dark brown shorts and named Malone, but elves nonetheless," If the creators of this holiday had envisioned what the mail-order industry would become, they would have tailored their story to include it, and it would have helped out parents the whole world over. And there wouldn't be the awkward few years where belief slips away. The Amazon will deliver forever. Perhaps we could all band together, and slowly change the tradition to include The Amazon. We could get the UPS elves' union to agree (for a fee) to hold all packages, and deliver them all on Christmas day. This could eliminate the kids finding their presents hidden away in the bottom of a closet, or as my mom did, in the trunk of her car. They would have to rely on their hacking skills and crack into Dad's email instead. It would also add the the fun of opening a shipping package and the wrapped present. Oh what fun!
Who's with me?

Lies! All Lies!

This------------------------>
Is Jackson with Santa. It is a weird thing to decide to lie to your kid for years on end. Setting yourself up for the eventual time when the kid figures it out, and then you have a bunch of backpedleing to do. I suppose that just like buying a pet that you know you will outlive (unless it is a turtle), the good times and fun will far out weigh the time spent at the funeral. In my case, there was never a big deal, it just sort of trailed off. I remember figuring it out when I realized that Santa had the exact same handwriting as my mother.

It did have ramifications involving my religious beliefs. After finding out about Santa and the Easter Bunny, God and Jesus didn't stand a chance. At least the other two stopped by once a year and gave me something.


Jack did seem to enjoy his outfit however.

Nuthin'!

We got nuthin' !
Sure it got cold, but the storm passed to the east of Stillwater, and for the most part we got very little snow. Sad, The residents here still have no idea how to deal, and the most dangerous part of driving is the other drivers, who should just stay home if they are going to act like that.

Random Thoughts:

This------------->
Is a random pic of the D. I like it, so I'm sharing it with you.

"You can catch more flies with honey..."

I have no idea how that ends.

As a child, for some reason, I always wanted a pet rabbit. I don't know why, and it was never a deep desire. I just thought it might be kind of cool. Then, in my mid 20s, some friends of mine had rabbits that they kept in a cute little pen in their back yard, and I decided to go check it out. I realized that they don't really 'play' and that they smell awful. Not ferret bad, but bad. That small desire left my system, and I got a fish instead.