General Whatevers and Survey What Nots

Hey friends!

There has been a spike in traffic to the main site here and to the Idiothead Morning Show podcast, which I appreciate! Makes me believe that the new PATREON I will launch early next year will really hit it off nice. We got some great ideas flowing for it. Hear more from the podcast I did about it right HERE

Some pop culture type of stuff. They showed off the new Doctor Who outfit for Jodie W. Check it out:

Some David Tennant, Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker homages in it. NICE!

Also, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS are apparently making a new album (SURPRISE!) and it will no doubt feature whoever their new lead singer is. Everyday they are revealing puzzle pieces... which fans are now assembling. It seems to be showing new album art. Here it is so far:

While I am apprehensive of an STP album without Scott Weiland, that of course... is impossible to do now. So I look forward to this next phase of their band and will give it a shot. They deserve it.

Im working hard on a new card set and then some STARSLAM 3 stuff. I am still writing little bits and things that will be for PLEASANT LIFE 2 and the Patreon page. All of that is to come. But for now, let me waste some time doing one of these filler survey writing things. People seem to like them, so I will keep doing them from time to time. Enjoy!

Are you an optimist, realist, opportunist, or pessimist?

A~ I think Im all four on various things. But mostly I dwell in realism.

Do you wear dresses, and skirts?

A~ I have never worn a dress or skirt. Maybe some Halloween. I wonder what I would look like as a woman.... something to talk to my therapist about.

What is your hair like?

A~ A mishmash of nonsense.

Does time go by fast or slow to you?

A~ When I am at home, it goes fast. When at work, it goes slower than snail snot. 

Favorite sweet food?

A~ Probably cheesecake.

Tea, coffee, or hot cocoa?

A~ I like coffee. Dont drink it super often like I used to. I should start back up. And I enjoy some cocoa in the winter months.

Space, Ocean, City, or Forest?

A~ All three have some value. But I would prefer space.

Favorite game as a child?

A~ If it was a board game, maybe CLUE. If it were video games maybe Atari: SPACE JOCKEY and NES: LEGEND OF ZELDA.

 Describe your life in 3 words.

A~ WHAT... THE... FUCK...

What makes you smile?

A~ Good food, good friends, good news.

Have you ever cried in a book or movie?

A~ Dont recall crying at a book. Movies Ive cried at: About Schmidt, Forrest Gump, Gran Turino, Star Trek 2 (natch).

Marriage or kids?

A~ Was married once with 3 kids in total.

Who’s your 3 am thought?

A~ I miss Caleb. My mother. Gloria. Uncle Richard. I hope I am wrong and I get to see them again someday.

Do you like candy? What’s your favorite candy?

A~ Ill eat some candy every now and then. Fav candy bar is either Kit Kats or Whatchamacallits.

Favorite holiday?

A~ I like Halloween the most but I get gooshy and soft around the thoughts of Christmas.

Favorite season?

A~ The fall. It needs to last longer.

Cat or dog person?

A~ Moreso cats.

Favorite time period? (80′s, 60′s, etc.)

A~ 80s to early 90s. After 1996 or so things started to really suck.

Favorite fashion fad that went away?

A~ Man, there are several that went away that I liked. I liked girls with the hairspray in the 80s. I liked Grunge, so I kinda stay there mostly. I'm slowly reacquiring my flannel.

Do you flirt?

A~ I am oblivious to what that is or how to do it. Do I use pet names on random stranger girls? Not at all. I would hate that. Im oblivious if anyone flirts with me. No idea.

What’s your style?

A~ A mishmash of nonsense.  Whatever fits, I sits.

First love?

A~ This gal named Bianca. Although the girl before her really had me a bit too... but it was brief.

Last love?

A~ It is going to be D. No doubt. Even if she wises up and leaves me, I am retiring from all of it. So D will be the last one I will ever give my heart to.

Do you think people have any misconceptions about you?

A~ Maybe. But that is on them I suppose. I dont hide who I am or what I think. If they misinterpret that, then that is on them.

What’s something you wish you could understand better?

A~ Probably computer science of some sort. Scripting or HTML code. Seems like that knowledge would be used a lot in my life. But I zone out and drool when it comes up.

Have you ever injected a drug?

A~ Never

Where is the shirt you are wearing from?

A~ No shirt on currently. (hear that ladies!?!?!?!?! CALM DOWN!)

Whose bed did you sleep in last night?

A~ My own that I bought and paid for muthafukka!

Do you think the whole day is better if you smoke pot?

A~ It probably would be, but I havent touched the stuff in years.

 Have you ever touched a dead body?
A~ No. I have a fear of it. I dont think I ever could, unless someone died in my arms. I could handle that. But post embalming after a few days? No way. I cant even touch the coffin they are in.

Ever played Grand Theft Auto?

A~ Just San Andreas and GTA5. I have GTA5 now. Pretty fun game.

How old will you be in 3 months?

A~ The dreaded 40. Over the hill. My life is over.

What is something you regret doing today?

A~ Ive only been awake for an hour. Far too early for me to fuck up anything yet. But wait a couple hours Im sure I will drum up something. 

The last male you spoke to … is he attractive?

A~ It was probably Zillins. I aint gonna fuck him.

If your ex called right now, would you answer?

A~ I let all calls go to voice mail except if my dad or brother calls. So Id see what they wanted and see if I need to reply. I don't have a problem with my exes, depending on what they wanted from me.

Is there a dictionary on your bookshelf?

A~ That is what the internet is for, silly!

 Do you have any pet names for the person you love/like?

A~ several.

Who was the last person you had a serious conversation with? What is your honest opinion of that person?

A~ Probably Zillins or Dori. I like them both a lot. I see them more than I see anyone else in my life.

Who was the first person you dated? What is your honest opinion of that person?

A~ Her name was Krista. I was in puppy love with her. She was my first kiss. We ended it so long ago and I am not sure where she is or what she does now. I wish her well.

If you were angry/upset, who’s the first person you would generally go to?

A~ My girlfriend, of course. If I needed a male perspective I would probably talk to Shane or Zillins. They got good heads on their shoulders.

When you feel like crying, do you generally hold back, or just let the tears flow?

A~ Naw if I feel I need to, I do it. I cannot bottle things up in me. It must flow.

Are you allergic to anything?

A~ Dogs, Dust, Bullshit.

Do you think that things will get better?

A~ Man, I fucking hope so. Cause shit sometimes seems pretty fucked up.

Have you ever seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

A~ Yes, love it! I didnt get to watch it this Halloween season though. Shame on me.

Ever been to a bonfire party?

A~ Used to have them all the time back in the motherland of Beal City. I miss doing them. Proably never again... and definitely not with the people I went there with before.

Is your dad bald?

 A~ No, but I am thinning in the front for some fucking reason. Thanks Obama!

How long do you have until your birthday?

 A~ Just under three months. Then I will be old as fuck. One step in the grave.

PROGRESS!!!! (And comments on current events)

Hey friends!

After my last blog post I am happy to say that I actually took a day (my one day off that I mostly used to regulate my sleep) and did some work on the new book. I did a shit load of word balloons and colored three pinups. I got a massive chunk of it done and I am sharing some pics of progress below. SAFE FOR WORK and spoiler free of course. But enjoy the newest thing to come (very soon)!!!

Before we get to that, some comments on recent events:

---San Diego Comic Con brings a lot of cool news and things. Here is a list of things I got comments on:

1-JUSTICE LEAGUE TRAILER: Looks fine but sometimes modern movies just feel too flashy for me and might give me an epileptic seizure! The movie in my head will always be Chris Reeve, Michael Keaton, John W. Shipp and Lynda Carter playing those roles... But I'll never get that. I've always leaned toward DC titles more than Marvel, so lets see what happens. Likely I will be seeing that quickly unless reviews are abysmal.

2-STAR TREK DISCOVERY TRAILER: (Sigh) It is what it is and I will give the series a chance. Again, my TREK will always be everything from 1966-2002. Minus Voyager and Enterprise. So this is all we got. Whatever. Its... yeah, whatever. At least some of the gadget designs are inspired of TOS era stuff. That is something I guess. But so far I've seen nothing that makes me excited to see it. On the other hand...

3-THE ORVILLE: Now THIS is more like it! I'm super excited to see this show.

4-TREK TOYS: McFarlane does a run of TOS toys. Cool. (sigh) I'll need to get a second job soon.

5-DC VERTIGO: Good new art and the tease date of 080818 has me curious. More SANDMAN? Maybe something else? Cannot be more PREACHER without Steve Dillon. We'll see.

6-PREACHER (Rest of season 2 trailer): The HERR STARR stuff is awesome! I'm excited about it, of course. Season 2 has been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy better than the first one.

7-BLADE RUNNER 2049: I'm not the most massive BLADE RUNNER fan, but the trailer looks like fun. Maybe I will revisit the flick. Somehow the first movie missed my radar as a kid.

8-STRANGER THINGS 2: Yes!

---LINKIN PARK singer suicide thoughts: I wasn't a fan of the band and I had the anger on because they "replaced" Scott Weiland in STP with this dude. Not his fault, but still. Anyway, apparently he and Chris Cornell were close. Some weird shit is going down. But if it truly isn't some weird conspiracy and is a suicide as it appears to be.... I will get in trouble for my stance on this, but it seems like there is this weird movement of "accepting" suicide when it happens. Look, your life is your life and yeah, I understand pain and its your right to check out if you want. But it really devastates those around you, whether you think it wont or not... it does. Both of these dudes leave behind a family and kids that will have to grow up with that shit. As a father myself, it pisses me off. Forget about the fans and all that... what about their kids? To me, its a selfish act. Not a cowardly act, but just extremely selfish. I gotta think that somehow substances might influence or alter brain chemistry to allow such a thing to stay in the mind. I've been to the point of thinking in that ballpark of suicidal thoughts many times in my life. But I will never do it because it will hurt those I care about. So I suck whatever it is I am feeling up and ride the wave. Things get better. Things will change if you want them to. I understand circumstances like disease and other stuff. I respect people's wishes. But man, I could never do something like that to those I care about. I don't get it. If you are feeling these thoughts, please reach out. Call someone or one of the anonymous phone help lines. Life is a gift and its always better above ground. I mean, we got burritos up here. And Lord of the Rings. And good STAR WARS and STAR TREK flicks. And THE BEATLES' music!!!! C'mon now. We live in a great time. Sure there are assholes and shit to slug through, but man we got some good shit going on too if you look around. Reach out and it will reach back. I promise. Life is for the living.

Okay, here are the pics I promised. Enjoy! (Its all coming soon!)

---T

Scott Weiland RIP

This week was a rough one for me personally. Not only is the great Robert Loggia gone but I lost my favorite modern rock singer: Scott Weiland.

I am a massive STP fan. Anyone knows who listens to my MORNING SHOW PODCAST (which is still going BTW) that STP and a Scott Weiland album are in my top 25 albums of all time and likely will never leave. I named my son Scott after him. I actually wanted to name my son Scott Weiland Talley, but thought better of it and named him Scott Michael Talley. But you see my point.

Weiland was a massive influence on me when I dreamed of being a singer. When I was in a band in high school we covered things like Crackerman and Plush. I was heavily into his style of signing and dress. He was a fashion icon to me. Just heavy influence. Unfortunately, I didn't have the physique to pull off any of his fashion templates, but I dreamed I could.

I own all his albums. All solo stuff, all Velvet Revolver, all STP. I just bought TINY MUSIC on vinyl just last week. "12 Bar Blues" is one of my favorite solo albums of all time and is in rotation constantly.

So yeah, massive fan. This is definitely a blow. It blows. STP was likely going to reform and tour again. I almost went to see Weiland on his latest solo tour but I figured "eh, I'll catch him next time." I shoulda went. Another regret.

I saw STP twice in 1997-1998. First show was at the Palace. Local H opened. I swore if they played "Superman Silvergun" I'd lose my shit. They did, and I did. The following year I saw them at Van Andel arena in Grand Rapids. Cheap Trick opened. We were on the floor and damn close to the stage. STP always put on an amazing performance. Say what you want about Scott and his demons but the man was a dynamic performer. He'd dance, snake and play to the crowd. I've never seen any other modern frontman like it. It left a huge impression on me. If only I coulda been like that. If only.

I really cannot type something long enough to eulogize this guy properly to convince you of my love for the guy and the music he leaves behind. So I have to just stick to my thoughts, throw on the albums and relive it all over again and again. I'm truly coming to an age where all my heroes are going away. It sucks. But so it goes.

It helps me reflect on one major point in context. Scott died of a heart attack. All signs are pointing to either drugs or the effect drugs had on his body years after the fact. It just gave out on him. We all abuse ourselves by some standard. And I know I have. I feel it that any day my body might end this ride for me, and its my fault. We all want to be the hero of our story. We don't want it to end and become a statistic and say "Well, they just couldn't beat their demon." We all want to rise above, don't we?

For us, there still is time. Do it for you. Do it for those that influence you and dare you to do better. Change in your life can start today. Right now. All it takes is for you to get tired of your own Bullshit.

How bad do you want it?

I'm motivated to truly change. Because I'm not dead and not for sale.

T