“close your eyes and see me”

in

Took some time out of an otherwise uninspiring work session to do another of the humbling exercises in Lynda Barry's MAKING COMICS, this time, "Close Your Eyes and See Me." The instructions:

"Set your timer for one minute, then close your eyes and draw a bacon and egg breakfast with coffee, toast, and silverware. Do it again. Draw... a mermaid... a giraffe with spots... the Statue of Liberty." – Lynda Barry, MAKING COMICS p. 54-55

The results:

I'm particularly fond of number three, my tiny giraffe / brontosaurus hybrid (Jurassic World, indeed) with a tiny neck disconnected ears and similarly disembodied spots. Enjoying myself.

midterminal, coda

in

Prediction largely correct – though definitely not as bad as I feared. Biggest disappointment – though not at all a surprise – was Tim Ryan's loss. Hopefully will cause some recriminations in the DNC over lack of support sent his way; I'm not sure he could have won it with it, but it would have been welcome. Confident that this isn't the end of Tim's political career – he would be the one Democrat (other than Sherrod Brown) that could win the governorship (sorry Nan): Ohio is a red state, full stop, having fallen hook and line from one red slimebucket for another (and this one's a shit writer) – but at least I can find solace in Fetterman's defeat of the other out-of-state opportunistic snake (oil salesman) on the IKEA side of the state line. Current prediction: Repubs take neutered control of House with a slim majority and Senate remains a 50/50 deadlock or one seat +/- towards either party but we won't know the latter for at least another month because I'm almost certain Georgia will head to a runoff. Does this "red trickle" render Tumor toast? I want to say yes, but it's not like he's ever shown the capacity to know when to leave a party, even after he's shit all over the guests and absconded with their top secret documents.

In other news, I slept. So that was nice. And I want to sleep some more. But please get rid of all the signs.

earbliss/20221108

in

My great friend - and first SOCIALIZED RECLUSE guest - Uziel Colón and percussionist Adam Snow performed this stunning version of Mongo Santamaria’s “Afro Blue” as part of a faculty show at Cal State LA (if the video starts at the beginning of the concert, skip to 2:13:20); to make it even more so, note that Uzi is playing most of the show with his left hand - thanks to having fought a losing battle against a piece of fragmented bakeware - to the tune of seven stitches in his right hand the day before. Fortunately, Uzi had the last laugh and did the show one-handed. May all bakeware tremble before his grit.

midterminal

in

Election Day – or as I like to call it, “The Day I Stop Seeing How Fucking Insane the Vast Majority of the Neighborhood Really Is (except for the house that’s had an idyllic "Welcome to our home!" sign with a heart around it on their porch paired with "Tumor/Pestilence 2020 FUCK YOUR FEELINGS" hanging in their opened garage for the last five years and the innumerable odes to Brandon, homemade or otherwise, that populate the landscape)” – has arrived and I make no predictions other than there will be some surprises and that the outcome will probably be worse than I hope (probably) but better than I fear (maybe) – though FWIW, there's more enthusiastic sane yard signage around here than insane (much more than I remember in past years; not dissimilar to Obama 2012 and far different than 2020 and 16) – though yard signage means fuckall on a ballot – and I do know of several Republicans out here that won't vote for Vance (and my father-in-law, a (Tumor)-publican, is voting for Nan Whaley for governor) hence the hope; the one house which had a ton of signage and "HONK FOR (TUMOR)" leading up the end of his driveway in 2020 has none – zilch, zero, nada; and Tim Ryan has run one hell of a campaign (against one of the worst candidates I've ever seen – and that's saying something in Ohio – especially as a democrat (small d - I'm a registered independent but vote for sanity every time)) – but that only matters if he wins.

(I mean, jesusfuckingchrist, Ohio.)

i did not spontaneously combust and other misadventures in sacerdotal flamethrowing

in

Candle lit / in memory of / all saints and sinners whatever and ever amen: all without setting anything including myself on fire by wielding a candle. Victory – though I'm still paying for the pretzel I was able to eat at lunch because the rambling, loquacious minister couldn't edit anything (having never learned anything in the decade he's been at this dying church which begs the obvious question of his hand in its torturous demise) and made a sermon that should have lasted 15 minutes tops last more than an hour and a half. Highlight: his video camera died before he was done and he had no clue. Regardless, good deed for the month complete. Exorcism addendum, complete(?)

ENOLA HOLMES 2 is excellent: think I liked it even more than the first one. Reminds me of the Brendan Fraser MUMMY with something important to say. Marvelous weekend entertainment.

Other thing: my favorite character in all of ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD is the turnip(?) with the maracas. One of life's great desires to have been in the room when that bit of (fucked up) brilliance was created.

newsletter sunday 0090

in

Early post this morning as I have to spend the second chunk of my morning being a good human and lighting a candle for someone I spent a quarter century and 96 pages exorcising but hey, Macro0090 is in the wild and I've slept an extra hour so I guess I'm prepared to partake in the ceremonial bloviations which hold no solace or comfort for me whatsoever and absorb and deflect the Im so sorrys and such a wonderful and blah blah blahs and the close proximities and hugs and my late fucking lunch which will REALLY make things bearable because truly, it's the living (and their attendant rituals) that make death un–.