The Little Anarchist in Me

Hi internet! I’m still working on my big comic book. Or Graphic Novel (which is a comic book). Here’s a page to prove it:



The Nebula nominations came out recently and, having read Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, I decided to try one of the others on the list. The only one available at the library was Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (check the link, you download the text for free). The book is fully YA fiction but that being said I really enjoyed it. It’s a hacker counterculture version of 1984 set in very near future San Francisco. The bibliography alone is worth the library fines that I will probably rack up when I forget to return this.

If I categorized my books this one would go next to my old favorite Access All Areas by Nijalicious.

The other thing I thought I’d point to today is the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are. I should be so skeptical about this. I mean, I can’t think of a single instance when translating a 32 page childrens book into a feature length movie has been anything short of spectacularly horrible. I saw ten minutes of The Cat in the Hat once. Anyway, this film looks artsy and cool (in a good way) and finally they are using big muppet costumes again! Oh you lovely big muppet costumes, where have you been all these years?

A Sketchblog!

That's what this is turning in to I tell you. I say to myself "I am going to post some useful information about swords" and what happens? Here I am slapping up another batch of sketches of kids. At least this time I broke out the watercolors a bit. The first one is from my favorite old picture of Zita from a couple winters ago. The second was a really quick and loose sketch using a frayed old brushpen, and the last is Angelica who was holding a cat when I started the picture.







I'm reading the Alvin Maker series, by Orson Scott Card. This week I'm on the second book, Red Prophet, which is all about a sort of alternate universe fantasy version of Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa, William Henry Harrison, and the events that transpired within a few miles of the place where I grew up. The real, non-parallel-universe history of the battle of Tippecanoe was also the subject of my college Thesis. How did I not find these books 20 years ago when they were published?

Luck o' the Artist

For St. Patrick's Day I made a couple of Irish Coffees for Anna and I and, I have to say, I had no idea that drink was so amazingly tasty. Goodness gracious.

Here are some more recent bits from my tiny traveling sketchbook -little snippets scribbled speedily:





And why did I have Irish Coffe on the brain? Because of Science Fiction, of course. Hard SF, in fact. I've been reading a book by Larry Niven called Draco Tavern. It's a series of short stories about a bar that caters to all kinds of crazy aliens -think Mos Eisley Cantina but in Russia. The bar tender is always fixing exotic alien fare and mixing classic earth drinks for himself. Like Irish Coffee.

And if you like lighter sci-fi you might enjoy a short video called World Builder. A tasteful use of CGI. Link thanks to Charlie Parker.

No Time To Blog Dr. Jones.

Not much time for blogging lately! But I do have a few sketches from today’s coffee shop lunch (plus some geese). I had to be sneaky with the bearded guy -I’m pretty sure he didn’t know I was drawing him.







Unfortunately, the geese totally knew I was drawing them and they got all huffy about it and left.

And I have a new favorite in music: Coeur de Pirate. Take a listen to the lovely french tunes and tell me it doesn’t make you want to hop about the room.