Welcome to the NEW "Idiothead.com". Links on the right are to my various projects, online store and more. Feel free to follow me on you tube, twitter, and instagram! Thanks for the continued support!!!
Life this week has been up, then down, then up again. I'm surviving. Did 50 hours at the day job and I spent time at the table too! Good news is I got my monthly commissions inked. Just have to scan/color them. Will post live here on Patreon soon! Also I got all the STARSLAM BONUS 20 PAGE STORY all done! Just gotta scan, clean up and send to my colorist. I was trying to get ahead on the KISS cards as they are due at the end of the month. I did a big chunk at the day job but after penciling around 30 of them, I realized I drew them all upside down!!! There's a KISS logo at the top of the cards and I drew them upside down. Used to the logos on the STAR WARS sets, where the logo is at the bottom. I went on auto pilot and created more work for myself. Great! :)
I am happy to say I am three months ahead on Patreon stories, pencils and inks all done for them. I just need a couple good nights of scanning, coloring and lettering. I'm starting the new year off with a special treat for longtime fans of my stuff.
Also, I have ramped up production on PLEASANT LIFE 2!!! I got 6 new pages all penciled and I began inks. These will add to the already 40 I had previously done. But I drew a major scene in the book today. The reunion has begun!
I decided to deactivate my Facebook account. Its done me no good as far as promoting what I am doing and its a MAJOR distraction with lots of headaches attached. I do miss it but I think I just need to disconnect for a while.
Let HENRY ROLLINS say it better than I can:
With Facebook now 5 days out of my life, I am reading more. I finished Brian Posehn's FOREVER NERDY and am now reading FRANK ZAPPA's Autobiography. Its a fun read so far.
In good news I got about 90% of my Xmas shopping done. Tomorrow as I write this, I am getting my boys for the weekend. I plan to cook a nice ham, green beans and mashed potatoes. Just spend a weekend with them relaxing and then artworking when I can. Believe me, I need both. To be productive and to relax. This week was a hell week for many reasons. But I am on the upswing and that ain't gonna change.
So why not smile a bit? Maybe do a fashion show:
Life is full of upside down moments. Its up to us to turn it right side up and get on with it.
Hello friends. Thought I would reach out again from the depths of my fortress of solitude to let you know I'm still alive and how my week went. My social media break has been serving me well. I feel like my mind and body are getting some much needed rest and quiet. I certainly recommend doing this for yourself! Give a listen to this song by the Rollins Band. The lyrics are exactly what I feel about what I'm doing:
I have not been super productive to be honest. I have done some writing and finishing up some reward things for the Starslam kickstarter. But other than that, nothing else. We'll see what happens. Right now, I am just enjoying the break from everything.
In my time of disconnection, I'm taking time to reconnect to parts of me and my life that I had forgot about.
Saturday I finally had a full day off with myself. I had many thoughts of what I should do with a whole day on my own. Maybe get some work done. Maybe take a trip to Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids to do some shopping. But ultimately, I chose to drive to Saginaw/Midland. I hadn't been to Saginaw in well over ten years. I have friends in Midland and while I was hoping to possibly run into them, it didn't happen. We all lead busy lives and my trip was quite unplanned. So in a way, I preferred it as a solo trip for me. A chance to clear my mind and just enjoy the drive.
I went a back way into Saginaw and hit a couple newer stores that sold used media, coming up empty handed. Then I found an old stomping ground: The Fashion Square Mall on Bay Rd.
The exterior looks the same. However inside, lots of my favorite stores are gone. The large bookstore is now an Ambercrombie and Fitch. But there was a used video game store in there, where I purchased NES DRAGON WARRIOR in the box! The clerk told me he had been there for over eight years. Good for them!
Near the mall were the remnants of what I used to hit up every time I went to Saginaw on a shopping trip when I lived in Mt. Pleasant (High School to College years). The big Media Play is no more. Its now a sporting goods place or something. The used CD/DVD store called "The Turntable" is long gone. In a way, its sad to see those places gone but exciting to know that new places have popped up to replace them. Not as good, but they are trying.
After hitting the mall and a used game store called "GAME ON," I headed to Midland, making a stop in the legendary town of Bay City. I was tracking down the rumor that one of the only two HOT N NOW restaurants still thrived there. So I took the chance and did a search and I struck gold!
There she is! THERE SHE IS!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH....
Hot N Now used to thrive in the mid-90s to mid-2000s here in Michigan. They were everywhere. Burgers for 39¢. I used to frequent them a lot when I was in college. The one in my hometown of Mt. Pleasant closed in the early 2000s and that was the last time I had them, until now! I placed my order and got the bag. Immediately a smell of fries and their burgers hit me. Like a smell I hadn't encountered in well over 14 years. The taste was the same. It put a smile on my face. I kinda quit fast food almost a month ago but this was a special treat. I sat in the parking lot and ate the burger and fries, just like I did in college. It really took me back. Its rare that you can reach into the past and pull out an experience like that. I enjoyed every bite just for that reconnection to my past.
After that I headed to Midland to find another used video game store for NES classics. I drove past old haunts, seeing that the old porn video rental store is gone. The Ponderosa I used to eat at every Midland trip is gone. But something special still remained....
In Midland, there is still a LIL' CHEF Restaurant. The old one in Mt. Pleasant, a frequent haunt of mine and well documented as a location in my comic: PLEASANT LIFE, is no more. So it was nice to see at least its cousin once again. I'll never forget that sign with the cute little chef on it. I didn't go inside, but it was just nice to see it and remember it again.
On Saginaw Rd. in Midland I found the other GAME ON used game store. I found a special Gem: The Legend of Zelda for NES, in the box! I had to scoop that up. The Legend of Zelda is my favorite video game of all time. To have this piece of my childhood, complete and in the box was a rare treasure. I felt like I had been gifted for my idea to come to these old haunts, just by finding that. I was saddened to learn that the old video store that was near there had closed. So it goes. Things and time have come and swept away lots of the places I had loved going to.
On my way out of town, I stopped by this old porn store called AFTER DARK FANTASIES. It was among the first porn stores I used to go to when I was younger. This swinger couple used to run it. Now it has new owners and its a couple doors down from where it was in the same strip mall outside of Sanford, MI. I walked around inside but didn't get anything. But it was nice to know that for as many places I used to know are gone, the porn store still remains!
I hit M-20 and drove to Mt. Pleasant just for a quick run through, before hitting the expressway for home. I thought about stopping to see my brother but it would have added a couple hours to my trip and I wanted to get home to actually maybe get some work done. He was probably busy anyway. I guess I got cold feet about it because I struck out seeing my friends in Midland. But I was enjoying being on my own anyway. So I just drove through the old hometown seeing how much had changed. There were some new buildings and restuarants in place of old ones. Facades of buildings have been upgraded. Everywhere I looked I'd think, "Such and such used to be there. Now its gone." Nothing reminded me of what I once knew. Its like I was taken back in time going to Saginaw, only to be reminded that its 2016 and so much has changed when I hit Mt. Pleasant.
I drove home in silence. Not saddened, but comfortable. Happy I took the trip down memory lane but content that change has happened and it is good.
Change happened everywhere.
In places.
In me.
Time came and swept away lots of what I once knew as "my life." But it was good to know that I still remembered what it all looked like, and how it tasted and smelled. A stupid little failed burger chain helped me reconnect with what was. That feeling alone, was worth the trip.
I get back to my home and put away my nostalgic finds of old video games and used Blu rays from my trip.
My NES collection is growing! I'm especially proud of my inbox game finds!
Everything I own is a shrine in a museum of my life. The posters I got for my new apartment are all old movies I love. I bought special cleaners to take care of my 30+ year old video games. I did some writing and then I curled up and watched some STAR TREK, a 50 year old TV Show. And I felt content. I felt happy. Calm. It was a nice sensation. Later my girlfriend came out and we talked and I told her about my experiences reconnecting with my past. Then we held each other until I fell asleep with her.
I don't think I've had a better night's sleep in a long time.
Well, Christmas is fast approaching and the snow is falling hard. Supposed to get up to 6 inches of it today. Here's a look outside my office window:
You can't tell so much here but its snowing hard. Its going even worse as I type this. I like snow during Christmas time. The roads suck, but it helps when you don't have to go out as much. The wife's work is less than 2 miles away, so thats great. We both did some early Xmas shopping yesterday for each other's wants. She got rings, natch, and I got vinyl (equally, natch). I picked up some colored vinyl exclusive Nirvana, Ghost BC discs and a dollar bin soundtrack to Xanadu. I got about 50 pices of vinyl now and am now ready to pull the trigger on getting a turntable. I'm looking at a couple that THE RECORD LOUNGE in East Lansing has. I'll likely get it after the 20th for Xmas. We got the kids some presents as well. Just have to wait for them to sleep so we can wrap them.
I've been watching a lot of punk documentaries and flicks online and have made a list of some very basic bands (punk and not) that I have never really given the full examination to. Bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen, Capt. Beefhart, Black Flag, Fugazi, The Cramps, The Smiths, The Specials, Misfits, Rollins Band, Public Image Ltd and more. Some I've only heard a few songs from so I am trying to give all their albums a nice listen. Its nice to get my head back into music so deep. Its like coming home. Ah, Vinyl!
I've mostly been away from FB except once a day, except this last week, some dude was trying to fight with me about how I chose to sell my AP cards. Many of my fellow artist buddies came to my "defense" but it basically fell on deaf ears. After a while, I let it go and its back to normal. I think the internet has taught all of us to sort of disconnect and not treat the other people on it like humans. We keep ourselves amused to death and sedated with indifference. For example, this new school shooting in Denver. I was outraged as many were. Being a parent, I'm scared to send my kids to school. You NEVER know whats going on there. I recently found out someone I personally know brought a gun to school and shot a kid. It was a long time ago and they've changed obviously, but still its very sobering to realize how real it is and how close it can be, as well as random. But the jokes on FB and Twitter yesterday about it just sickened me to the point I had to just stay offline all day. I buried my nose in a book. Neil Peart's "Ghost Rider," which I finished last night BTW. It just felt good to get away from everything and everyone. I think all of us should try that once in a while. Take a vacation from your routine and do something just for yourself.
The holidays are a happy and tough time for everyone, myself included. I have lots of bad memories and celebrations related to this time. I cover them over with new memories but sometimes no matter how much you run from your past, it catches up to you. Its not done messing with your head. I distract myself with work, podcasts, music and other things. Nothing warms the heart more than a good Christmas classic movie. Its all about creating a happy environment around you with people you love.
I guess I'm saying that all of us could use a bit of a vacation from the beautiful distractions and the fighting with strangers. Spend time reconnecting in person with family and friends. Find and make love. Make memories. Eat hearty and find joy. Do it now before you fully train youself and the next generation to disconnect fully and a thing such as basic human interaction is a lost art. Forget the stupid fights of if an imaginary Santa should be black or white, or if you get mad if someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Christmas." Its all bullshit to distract you from your path. Keep your focus. Cultivate happiness. Wake up from your sedation and enjoy the days you have and the friends/family that you have. Cause one day it will end and all you will have is the memories. Live it now. Turn off the phone and the computer and live.
But please, come back and check my blog and my podcasts! ;)
Anyway, deep thoughts over. Just want to say thanks for continuing to read my stuff here and all of you stay safe out there!
