Holiday

My mood is mildly improved from Thursday, but not by much.

Here's a stoopid painting I did a few months ago that was part of a group show:
















Trust me when I say that it looks a million times better in person. But the damn thing didn't sell anyway. I haven't figured out what to do with it now.



This past week my parents celebrated their wedding anniversary. They've been married since 1962. HOLY CRAP!!

That's quite an accomplishment in this day and age, don't you think? The Dear Husband's parents are still married to each other, too. I have to say that because these days it's not safe to assume such things about one's parents. It's kinda sad that marriage has taken the nose-dive that it has. I actually believe that it's still viable and worthwhile...especially if kids are involved.

Of course that's not why I got married. We did it for the health insurance. Hey, it worked for us!


So tomorrow the Dear Husband, my Seestir and myself are driving to San Diego to pick up the parents from the airport to have a nice brunch in Coronado in celebration of their anniversary. That should be fun!

But for today, we're going bicycle shopping. The DH isn't looking forward to it, as he really liked the bike that was stolen. However, he's stoically going to try to find a Good Replacement for the Dearly Departed Bike. I'm kinda looking forward to all this myself, as it beats sitting around the house watching infomercials all day.

Woohoo!

And be sure to check in with Redneck Theater when you get the chance. We're going to be in hell in about ten years, based on the latest entry.

Oh JEEZ...

Yesterday seemed like a good day.

Got my exercise on, had some tasty pasta from Whole Paycheck before going to the track to lead a kick@$$ Tarametrics session at practice, and got home late to have a delicious salad with some pinot noir.

Dinner was interrupted by a frantic call from the Dear Husband. He was out in Santa Monica with his social group, the Drunk Scouts. His bicycle got stolen from the bar where the Drunk Scouts usually congregate. Dammit.

Luckily I hadn't had much of the pinot, so I grabbed my purse and ran out the door, still in my stinky track clothes, to pick up the DH.

On the way, I rolled through a 3-way intersection that has a new stop sign. Guess who got pulled over for running the stop sign?

ARGHGHHFHGHFHGHGHFHGHHGHFHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought about explaining the picking-up-the-DH situation, but I figured that being quiet and polite would work better so that I could just get the hell outta there. The cops take my license, go back to their squad car, and I sit.

And sit.

And sit.

Then they come back, one on each side of my car, flipping their flashlights around the interior of said car, and ask me if,

a)this is my car, and

b)am I carrying a gun?


WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?


I just about jumped out of my skin, and images of being arrested, hauled off to jail with accompanying body cavity searches raced through my brain.

The cops then explained that a record of me having some sort of involvement with the county sheriff's department came up on my license. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! BIG sigh of relief as I explained that my parents work for the sheriff's office.

Luckily that satisfied the cops, and they retreated. I sit some more, and surreptitiously text the DH about my situation. SH!T! he texts back.

Indeed.

The rest of the traffic stop goes by with no further, uh, interesting aspects, and I'm soon on my way. I find the DH, pick him up, and we're on our way home.

He's obviously p!ssed about his stolen bike, but he angrily asked me if I told the cops about the situation to try to get out of the ticket. Since I was driving at the time, I couldn't give him the Glare of Death, but I assured him that had I thought it would've worked, I would've tried it. He wisely picks up on the tone of my voice and drops the subject.

So now we're out a bicycle and probably a Good Driver Discount. I haven't had a ticket of any sort for a few years, so I should be good to go for Traffic School and a hefty fine. Go, me!

Cans I hibernate now?



Oh, here's a flier for a uniform fundraiser my team is having on Sunday, Sept. 14. Go, will you?

Nothing But Trouble

Apparently I'm nothing but trouble.

Funny thing is, most people won't deal directly with trouble. They just let it...happen. Then they whine about it later.

If I were more socially evil, I'd be able to mess with the world ten BAJILLION times worse than I do already.

You.

Have.

NO.

Idea.


*ahem*...

This past weekend TCM featured Laurel and Hardy all day Saturday.

I didn't grow up watching Laurel and Hardy. I'd heard of them, seen photos of them, saw them caricatured in cartoons, but never sat down and had the chance to watch their work. The local independent tv station(remember those?)always had plenty o' Three Stooges early on the weekends, but Laurel and Hardy was not to be seen.

Holy FAWK was I missing out!

They were BRILLIANT at jokes...especially physical ones. The verbal one-offs weren't shabby by any means either, but their comic timing was unreal. And stolen to great effect by Warner Bros. cartoonists Back in the Day. Now I know where Clampett, Avery, et al got it from!

Today's writers and animators need to rediscover their stuff. Like, NOWWWWWWW.

While watching Way Out West, I was amused by a quick shot of a flock of geese in the middle of a chaotic scene. I now vow to try to include a flock of geese in multiple future projects.















Another photo from Rollercon...someone whom I tagged leaned up against the wall and left their mark...or is it my mark?























Two fun examples of People Watching:

Sunday I rode my bicycle to the track for tryouts.

On the way I passed a young man in his very late teens/very early twenties who happened to be a Hasidic Jew. He had the beaver hat, ringlets, and dark clothes. He also happened to have a cigarette dangling from his upper lip and was texting on a cell phone. The juxtapositioning was JENIUS. I wish I'd taken a photo.



Today I skated to the beach.

On the way I saw a guy who appeared homeless but was on a bicycle. He had straggly hair, cargo shorts, dark grey t-shirt, minimal teeth, and to top it all off...the most awesome tricorn hat EVARRRRRR. He looked like a pirate. Well, he actually looked like a bum who stole the hat from an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean, but I won't split hairs.

It's nice to still see interesting people out in the world...in LA it's so easy to concentrate on all the bland, boring-looking people. I guess they just make the standouts stand out oh so much more!

But my overall mood still hasn't improved.

Where Did I Go Wrong?

Yes, another rant. Ignore at will.



I feel that I've messed up my psyche, my groove, my ability to move forward and get sh!t done.

There's the job situation, which has thrown me for quite a loop. There isn't a whole lot going on out in the industry right now, so I'm in a tight spot. I was apparently counting on that September job toooooo much. Dammit!


So I should be working on my own stuff, right? RIGHT.


Except that I'm feeling creatively bankrupt.

What the hell am I gonna work on?

More stoopid toilet seats? I haven't even wanted to paint one for almost two years now.

Pin-up stuff? I guess I should do that, but damn, how many talented pin-up artists are out there that I'm going to go up against? To say it's an overcrowded niche is putting it mildly.

A pitch for a tv series? Um, I have no agent, and therefore no "in" at the studios. And hey, what venues do I even have available? Cartoon Network is going live-action for boys. Warners sold their Saturday morning programming out and isn't doing any in-house stuff anymore. Sony is only doing Spider Man. Nickelodeon? Not likely, based on my track record of even trying to work there. Disney? I'm so NOT Disney, it's obscene.


Roller derby art? I've been thinking on that. T-shirts with my drawings don't really sell well. The shirts that sell the most are just simple slogan-y type of stuff. Again, a market that's becoming well covered. Art prints? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA. Um, no.


I gotta think of something to do.

*sigh*


Oh, and I'm now not a fan of the roller derby movie currently in production. Why?

Because they aren't using any of the posters, stickers, etc. that I sent them as background stuff in the film.

I can take not being used as a skater in the film due to my oh-so-advanced age.

I can take not being used as a trainer in the film due to my harsh Full Metal Jacket Gunnery Sergeant Hartman-esque training techniques.

I can NOT take not having my artwork in the film. I don't know why those jerkfaces aren't using my stuff, but it's not because my stuff sucks so much more @$$ than other league's posters, stickers, etc. I'm assuming there's some sort of politics behind it, but I don't know what those politics are. DAMMIT.

That means there's little to no LA Derby Dolls representation on that front in the film. DAMMIT.

As a skater for the LA Derby Dolls I'm still going to be supportive of the film. But as an individual and an artist I say,

That film can SUCK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ahhhhh, that felt great to type.



The below photo is posted because even though I look like a total jack@$$, looking at said photo makes me happy. Ah, Rollercon!


















FINALLY saw The Dark Knight today. I agree with most reviews: great movie, but went on too damn long. Tried to squash in two and a half movie plots into one film. Still, I enjoyed it highly. Makes me mad that Heath Ledger couldn't handle his drug use 'cos he was damn good. Sad.


I think I'm done whining for the moment. But I do hope my situation improves sooner than later. I hate being such a drain.

Oh looky, hiatus is over:






I'm cracking up over the ridiculous photo that's in the beginning of this little promo.

Not only am I wearing an Angel City Derby Girls shirt, but that has got to be the most absurd expression I have on my face! The photo was taken while I was leading a Fresh Meat practice, and I hope I was wiping my sweaty hair out of my face...it certainly couldn't be because I was demonstrating how to be saucy and sexy at the same time.

More proof that I have a face for animation.

Random Stoopidity

I have no decent artwork to show for today, so here's some stoopid photos:


From Rollercon...me, Stiv Skator, Vulvarine, and Demolicious carrying on in the Mai Tai bar at the Imperial Palace:

















Me tagging Bong Jovi:
















Yes, I'm wearing a dress. Shut up.



Me and Adorable Raf at Comic Con, looking badass at the Hyatt:
















It's not easy looking badass when there's a big guy in plaid behind you.



This past weekend my CalArts pals Troy and April got married. I did a kamikaze run up to San Luis Obispo and back in one day to attend the ceremony, meet their rad daughter, and dress like a total dork:






















The Superhero pose:

















They are definitely a couple of the raddest people I know. And they're uber-talented. If they weren't my friends I'd hate 'em for that!



I also found out that the job I was supposed to go onto next month won't be happening for me.

DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!

This throws my life into slight chaos with a touch of panic. I needs to start pounding the pavement...and go find a job, too.


Another episode of Redneck Theater is up. Not too scary, just amusing.

I Don't Know What I'm Doing...

This past weekend I was in a frenzied getting-rid-of-clothing-that-I-don't-wear-anymore spree. I filled five 55-gallon trashbags full o' clothes that I haven't worn in eons...in some cases, since high school. Literally.

Luckily there are bins all over the city for "PlanetAid.org" where one can dump their unwanted clothing day or night, so I took full advantage of one that was only five minutes from the house. I filled that sucker up, and I still have a bag o' clothes to dump in sometime this week. Some poor soul in some horrible third-world country is going to have a nifty selection of HUGE Harley-Davidson shirts to be poor in.

Trying to get the Dear Husband to follow suit and whittle down his shirt collection has been mostly ineffective. He loves his shirts, oh yes he does. Even when he doesn't wear them for years. I cycle through them! he tells me. Bullsh!t!!

I'll find a way, however.


Here's some miscellaneous drawings:

I don't know what I was doing this for:













But it's kinda cute. I doubt I'll do anything with it, however.



Here's a drawing I did several years ago. I think I was going to try to use it on a derby poster. She has the same face as the girl I did for the Bakersfield Rollergirls logo:






















I kinda like this one, especially since it's a mild downshot on her. Maybe I'll resurrect my attempts to do something with it.

Lookit What I Found...

...at Rollercon:






















Yep, that same silly drawing that I did last year is still on stickers and even on t-shirts! Score for them, since I got paid a flat rate for the damn thing. It looks like they never had anyone take the drawing into Illustrator to vectorize it. Funny.


Rollercon was fun, even though the on-skates stuff was ridiculously crowded. I didn't get to skate much, and teaching my one class was a nightmare. Over 100 students, easily. Except I can't teach that many people at one time. Ah well. I should've taught Tarametrics. I think I'll do that next year.

This was another year of buttons. I got tons of them. I didn't hand out all of the ones I brought. Lame.

Of course I had the Sharpies out in full force. I don't know if I made it close to last year's record, as we ended taking a night off to sleep for ten hours straight. Apparently we were tired.

The thing I noticed with both Comic Con and Rollercon was that I wasn't into partying late into the night. Am I getting old, or did the mid-day drinking kinda kill my party vibe? A combination of both, perhaps?

Anyway, I'll post more pix later when I sort through them.


Below is a rough of a quick birthday card I did last week. Of course I didn't scan the final result, but as usual, I think I like the rough better anyway. I used some kind of rad pen that I keep, uh, borrowing copious amounts of from one of the workplaces I prowl:





















I still have two birthday cards and two wedding cards to do this month. Fargh!!

I'm still tired. And now am kinda sick. Laying low is the main plan this week.

Next week the Dear Husband is riding the murdersickle up to Seattle. Lucky bastard! I'm staying home and being the Crazy Cat Lady most of the time. Except for the wedding I get to go to in San Luis Obispo. That should be fun!

So back to "work" for me. Yay!