Bridge Across Forever (Bonus Blog)

A THIRD blog from me today? Aren't you lucky!?!? I guess I'm just in that mood this morning.

Sometimes I'm asked as to what is my favorite thing I've drawn. Well, storywise, this is the one that I am sharing with you now. It appeared in the second tradebook called PLEASANT LIFE: GEEKS GONE WILD. Long since sold out (may be reprinted in another form someday). It was a small thing I did at the end of the book as a tribute to my mother. I wrote Pleasant Life initially because of her dying. The main character LUCAS' mom dies early on in the first book, exactly how my mother died. In effect, I put my story into the story. Those that followed the series early on know that. But what I share with everyone now is my favorite Pleasant Life story. That being this small bit-the Bridge Across Forever.

Bridge Across Forever is a song by the progressive rock supergroup called Transatlantic. And to get the full experience of this small story, you should get ahold of that song somehow and listen to it along while reading this. Allow me to describe the goings on in the pages as you go. Sort of like a music video for the song. (and please note I drew this six years ago now and my art style definitely has improved and changed since then.) Here we go:



--Lucas comes home from his outer life and then is reminded of his mother. He takes a moment to dwell on her and her being gone. The reminder sets him in a reflective mood to where he just wants to jam quietly on some music. There is great distance between him and her in the picture. Quite unreachable. Lucas is the child and his mom the angel and the magic river of no crossing is the distance between them.



--That night he decides to turn in early. He stares at the picture he has of his mom and the last panel echoes the void between them. Physically and in memory and she is unreachable in both. There is no bridge or anything to connect them. The chasm of death and life seperating them.



--He dreams of being in a desert wasteland. Distant sands and magenta winds. He's been here before but doesn't know what its about. Above him he sees the airship of Transatlantic, the bands' symbol. So he knows that its a song he is remembering from one of his favorite groups. Off in the distance he sees something.



--Its a bridge into the next life. Heaven? Forever beyond? He sees a multitude of angels or people standing there. Happy, united. He runs after them. Wanting to see if they know where she is because he knows she is there. They dissipate and go into the clouds beyond. He is not allowed to go. He stops. As the crowd disperses, he is shocked to see someone distant, has stayed behind for one last long look.



--Its his mother. Standing on the bridge into heaven. Giving him one last look, saying goodbye.

So that folks, is my favorite part of my longest running series: Pleasant Life. Hope you enjoyed. Its a lovely song and thats how I always hear it now.

T

Ten Years Ago Today....

JANUARY 24th, 1978--



DECEMBER 22, 2000 --

I awoke and realized that I was over two hours late for work. I got up and there were several messages on my answering machine. First of which was dad. "Son. Its dad. Call here please." Second message was him again. Third was my work. Jenny had come in to open the theater when I didn't arrive. They just wanted to see where I was. I called my dad first.

"Son, come home."
"Whats going on?" I asked.
"I just I need you to come here," He said quietly.
"She's dead isn't she?" I said. But I already knew. The cancer had won. There was a pause. Silence was deafening.
"Yes. She died at 8 this morning. Do you want to see her before they take her?"
"No. I don't dad. I just can't see her that way."

What we said next is a blur but I remember making plans to meet up with him at his work later. I called work and told them what happened and they said not to worry about coming in. They already figured thats what happened. I drove around town, eventually running into dad at his work. He had gone there to avoid seeing them take her body away from the house. He was sobbing with his co-workers. We left together and got coffee at Meijer's cafe. I do not remember what we talked about. I think he filled in the details of what happened. They were all around her and she took her final breaths and she was gone. There was a fake crystal heart she had got as a gift from QVC, that hung in the window. The sun shined light through it and illuminated her face. My sister in law took notice of that and it got everyone's attention. I don't know what that means really, but its something special to me. I own that fake crystal heart now. It hangs by my art desk to remind me.

I drove to my work and got hugs from people there. I really didn't know where else to go. I said that I was indeed going to the office Christmas party that night at Sydney's downtown apartment. I was looking forward to it actually. Anything to get my mind off what was going on. I drove to the house and my brothers were there. We all generally talked. John and Tony went and got some beer. We cranked open a couple and just talked about nothing. Dad came home and as he was climbing the steps, he began to sob hard. He barely made it into the door. He knew for the first time that he was coming into the house and his beloved wife wasn't there. God, I hope I never have to feel that feeling. He sobbed openly at the table in front of us. Here he was, this man who was the most stern, hard working, backbone of manhood, reduced to a blob of emotions and a complete wreck. He kept saying that if it weren't for us kids, he'd ram his truck into a tree. Tony and John wept. I did not. I sat sternly and quiet. We all told each other that we loved each other. Likely the only time that will ever happen again in our lives. The one thing that did unite us all was now gone.

Someone went and got my other brother Mikey and so all four of us were there. We listened to Jackie Wilson on CD and just tried to talk or think about ANYTHING else than mom. Dad would periodically leave to go to the bedroom and cry. Too proud even now to let us see him in pain. And he was in deep pain. After the third or forth time he left, I went in after him. What I saw was perhaps the saddest thing I had ever seen in my life. I'll never forget the image as long as I live. He was on his knees, head buried into mom's beloved chair. Her spot that she always had throughout our lives and sobbing into the cushion. I got him up and hugged him hard. I told him that he would never be alone, because he had me. He finally came out and rejoined us. After a while, I left and went to the Cinema Four Christmas party. Everyone was drinking and having a great time. Sydney was my secret santa and she splurged and got me a Pink Floyd rarities box set. She knew I was a huge Floyd fan. I don't know if others pitched in or not for it, or if it was her act of kindness because of my mother's death that motivated her to spend $60 on it, when our agreed upon limit was $20. I'll never forget that gesture. I left after an hour because I didn't want to be the elephant in the room. I went home and watched TV alone. And then I went to sleep. Never once letting the events of the day leave my head. It was indeed a long night.

----

As I type this, that day was ten years ago. And as I replayed these events in my head, I had to stop and cry it out a bit before I could continue. The pain never goes away. It always remains. And indeed, there's not one day that goes by where I don't think of my mother. Even in the little things. For example, when I pay at the pump for gas, I always get a receipt. Because mom once told me that she was charged twice and that I should always get a receipt. I have done that ever since and have never once got charged twice. Its a waste of paper and time. But I always do it. Because it reminds me of her.

Its because of her that I am who I am today. Her love of music and movies, pop culture in general. Her loving kindness, her grace. Her open heart, her artistic drive that she never could take the time to devote to. She gave up her life and her ambitions to give her all to us and her husband. At times, her life was a rough one. Husbands that cheated and did all sorts of unloving or nasty things to her. Kids who were tough to deal with at times. Having a son who was mentally handicapped and she took on that challenge. Dealing with my spoiled, needy ass. But supporting me and my dreams all the way. Its for her I am driven to succeed in everything I do in life. Because if I don't, I am not doing right by her. She wanted to be a writer, a performer, an artist, even a musician. But her situation in life deemed it not possible. So she focused her energy on us so that we could succeed. and succeed I have.

Its because of her I am driven. Its because of her death that I wrote comics and made my career and art the best I could deliver. and I never would strop striving to learn and grow. Its because of her death that I know life is precious and you have to go out and live every moment. Its why I love to travel and do things. Its why I love to be around those I care for and who give back to me equally. Its for her I choose not to dwell in suffering. Whenever I want to be with my mom, I pop in a dvd of one of her favorite movies or listen to The Beatles. I do wish she was here so we could talk about those things. Oh how I miss those conversations. Hell, its because of her that I am a Star Trek fan. And that is one of the main things at the core of my being. So indeed, Star Trek is her and its me. Sounds odd, but its true. Just go with it. It makes sense to me anyway.

Mom believed in a God and she certainly wasn't afraid of death. She didn't fear what was beyond this life, if indeed there is anything at all. She was worried about us kids and she wanted us to get close. In some things, we did try. Dad and I have become extremely close. And that in itself, is a miracle. We met each other halfway. Not without tribulation beforehand, sure. But we did achieve it. And I know one day I will have to face these same feelings over again when he goes. and maybe one day if my Kelly dies before me, I will be even closer to him because I will feel his pain of when he lost mom. but I hope those things are a long way off. For now, I take comfort in the idea that mom feared nothing and met death with her eyes wide open. Yes, we were robbed of her twilight years. Dad was robbed of his companion for life. She never knew me as a full fledged adult. She never got to meet my wife, or my children. But all I can do now is pass on to them how she was through how I come to terms with my own life and mortality. As someone in a movie once said "What we leave behind isn't as important as how we've lived." And I always will live on for the both of us. I carry her with me always.

Never forgotten. Never saddened. But always dreamed.




Ten years ago today. I'll never forget.

Projects Galore!

Welcome back. I must be doing something right for you fine folks to keep reading my verbal diarrhea. I appreciate that and the messages/emails back. Love ya all! Hope yer holiday month is going well.

Me, since the wife and I opened our presents already, I've been focusing on getting work done. I still have very large commissions to complete and I am plugging away at the four projects that are on my plate right now. Secret Project "X": I got a few new pages done the last three days. I hope to start some more today. Lingerie Massacre: I still haven't got anything new on it. Project Y: I sent off sample writings to the artist to start on while I catch up. And lastly, my big artbook---see this:



A new BRIAN GRIFFIN as THE DOG WITH NO NAME poster thingie. Might put "WANTED" in the bottom somewhere. Thats the idea anyway.



This is a rare pic of me stripping up negatives on my first indie published comic "DARKNESS" back in 1994.

So these are the kind of things you are gonna get in the upcoming ARTBOOK of mine. A great look deep into the archives of my work from earliest projects and newer stuff. Plus stuff no one has seen yet. It will be quite the collection of art, finished art, sketches, thumbnails, process talk and lots of commentary to the whole thing. A real nice package. I hope to have this instead of new yearly digest size sketchbooks. Look for this to be completed in March or April if all goes well. I just dug through all my digital saved files this last weekend and found a lot of old gems that deserve a place in the book. Its gonna be a treat!

For now though, I got these huge commissions weighing me down and gotta get them done and out the door. Gots ta get paid! So I will work on those during the day and tonight, booze it up with the wife while playing Wii bowling n'shit. Wordzzzz.

This weekend or early next week, I plan to do the live drunken commentary to the film "THE ROOM" via my idiothead.com podcast. It will be epic. Keep watching my twitter as to when I am doing that live!

Cheers, T

Christmas Week.

Hey all. Been a busy week and weekend and I am indeed nowhere near caught up. I likely never will be at this rate. I need like a week solid of uninterrupted work. Like, no kid to watch, no sleep. Just WORK. I got a ton of commission work to pump out first and the project is so large with so many people in each drawing that it will take alot of the time this next week. I gotta get ahead on Secret Project X as well. Lingerie Massacre pages... man, I haven't touched those since before I moved! Its not looking well with my current workload either! But its early in the game, so we'll see.

Today, after I put the kid to bed, I cleaned up various files in the comp, backed up stuff and got things organized for the ARTBOOK thats coming out in March. I want to do a few new pieces for it as well and continue to collect older stuff from the archives. Stuff that not alot of people have seen or have seen it but long since forgotten. Then I gotta build a layout for it all. Yeah. Just alot of pots on the stove man. Lots of cooking to do. But paying gigs must come first!!!!! ;)

Watched the Lions win their first away game in two years today. Both this weeks and last weeks games were exciting as hell. Very great to be a Detroit fan right now. I look forward to all the fans coming back and stop naysaying them all the time. I feel that next year if they build on their successes this year so far, we'll really have a nice run. But this year has been a great season, all things considered. All the games were close. The players are great. And considering all the injuries and all that, they've played their hearts out. Best football team in the league IMO.

The wife and I already opened our Xmas presents to each other. I got her a nice ring, a stephen king hardcover and some nice socks. She got me the Bill Hicks CD/DVD Essential collection, HAYNES Enterprise Manual (which I will return due to ink errors and its being not that great), Heavier Than Heaven: Biography on Kurt Cobain and A DVD of "THE ROOM." I will make her sit down and watch that with me. We're gonna play the drinking game too. Maybe I'll broadcast it as a live commentary on the website. That would be fun. Gives me an idea. Okay. Coming soon: THE ROOM live drunken commentary! An Idiothead.com podcast exclusive!!! YAY!

Its looking likely that I will only do TWO shows next year. That being MOTOR CITY and DALLAS COMIC CON all in May. The rest of time is devoted to a new endevour, which I will not talk about yet. Still too early to reveal. So if you want to see me next year, thats yer only chance! Make plans now.

I guess I got nothing else to report. I wish there was more time in the day to do stuff I need to get done. It would be good to get ahead for once. Wish me luck as I really am gonna try to work hard this week to get caught up! I need it.

Luvs, T

Modeling.

Here's a look at OTHER uncompleted projects of mine...



YEah, I'm into modeling. TREK related models, natch.

I put together alot of the model kits when I was a kid. Boats, cars, planes, etc. But lots of Trek. I have probably put together the original series Enterprise AMT model about six times, literally.

I really wish I had more time to dedicate to it. Cause I do enjoy it greatly. Hopefully sometime soon I can catch up on work so that I can put these together. I'm looking forward to that time. If it ever comes.

So, thats it really. Nothing new to report. Just staying busy, as per usual.

Okay, back to work!!!

T

New Stuff....

Some new color pieces I've done. A LINK from Nintendo and M'Ress from Star Trek Animated Series.

TOP 2010 LISTS!!!!

Its that time again. My top lists of 2010!!! Here we go---

Top 5 COOLEST EVENTS:
1- Concerts! I went to two concerts this year. Transatlantic and Roger Waters performing THE WALL. Great shows. Equally as awesome for different reasons. Probably best concerts I have ever seen.
2- Lions Game! My first NFL game seeing live ever. It was wonderful and a great time. Will definitely do more next year. At least two more. Gonna make a yearly thing.
3- Michigan Conventions! First up was Motor City in Novi, which was wonderful. My most financially successful show I have ever done. I had a primo spot, was treated well and had great fun. Best hotel experience as well. Then later in the year I had Detroit Fanfare which was great fun. My friend Ted went with me and we hung out with all my pals. Finally met Dante from Clerks, who was a great dude. All in all Michigan comic shows be very good to me!
4- Heroes Con. Roomed with Uko, Grant and Anthony and had a wonderful time. My table placement sucked and it wasn't the best financially, but I still had a great time. Im torn about going again next year cause its such a great time.
5- Move to Lansing. Probably the biggest personal event of the year. Life is sweeter and greater here, as I knew it would be. Screw Southwest Michigan. I love my new life!

TOP TV SHOWS:
1- Doctor Who Season 5- A great show once again and Matt Smith stepped into the big shoes left by Tennant and did a great job.
2- Hollywood Treasures- A fun new show talking about movie props. Theres a tad too much drama in some parts that I wish they wouldn't focus on, but the rest of it is really cool.
3- The Walking Dead- A great new show. I like what they are doing with it as opposed to the comic. Its got kinks here and there, but I am confident in its entertainment value.
4- Man vs. Food- The wife turned me on to this. A fun show. Makes me hungry and disgusted all at once.
5- Destination Truth- Its entertaining when they are going to a new country and exploring but the actual investigation I could do without. But still, entertaining.

TOP 5 MOVIES: (Note: I haven't seen a whole lot of new movies in 2010. Its not been that interesting of a year. Plus with a two year old, I don't get out to the movies much. But here's what I did see)
1- Iron Man 2 - It was okay. Entertaining. I liked it. I don't want to be super critical anymore.
2- Jackass 3D - HIGHLY entertaining. I loved it.
3- Machete - Entertaining. It wasn't the total throwback that I wanted it to be and it does have its problems. But overall, it was fun movie going.
4- Expendables - Again, wasn't a total throwback that I wanted it to be. But it was fun. I enjoyed it.
5 (I have nothing for #5. But I reserve this spot for TRUE GRIT, which I haven't seen. But the trailers look awesome! I cannot wait to see it)

TOP 5 CDS:
1- NIN: Pretty Hate Machine re-release. The sound quality on this is awesome. Love it!
2- TRansatlantic Live - The CD/DVD version of the concert I saw. GREAT!
3- STone Temple Pilots #5 - A so-so album. But still notable. I didn't buy much else "new" music this year.
4- Brian Posehn: Fart and Wiener Jokes - A great comedy album
5- Doctor Who Specials Score - I've listened to the 10th doctor regeneration music over and over this year. AWesome score for the Tennant specials.
(I've got the Bill Hicks retrospective coming in the mail. I reserve this as potentially replacing something on this list)

TOP 5 WORST EVENTS:
1- Pete Steele RIP - A tragic loss to the music world of mine that is slowly dwindling. I am a huge TYPE O fan and to see him go is an amazing loss. I'm still bummed about it.
2- Unemployment - Still up in the air. Haven't found that pie in the sky deal.
3- Family Health - Some of my family members are going through some rough stuff right now. And even myself, I've hit some uncomfortable, unknown strides. Health sucks.
4- Employer/Employee assholeism - at a former recent job of mine, there was some definite BS going on. And I am soooooooo glad to be rid of it. Life is too short to worry about that shit. Oh well. I'll never have to see those people again ever. So fuck em.
5- Move and then move again. Seems about 1/2 this year all my possessions were in fucking boxes. And the constant physical moving sucked too. Oh well. It all worked out in the end.

TOP 10 NEW PURCHASES:
1- House of Usher Bootleg- Found this on Ioffer. Its a dvd rip of the TV version of this story starring Martin Landau and Robert Hayes that I was scared of as a little kid.
2- Grindhouse BR - SOooooooo glad I waited for this release. Has everything I wanted on it. Its fucking dope! Best BR I bought this year.
3- Empowered Trades - Best new series I bought this year. AWESOME book!
4- Ghostbusters swag - Two things: An actual animation cell from "The REAL Ghostbusters" cartoon I enjoyed as a kid. And my first (and likely only) high end collectible figure. I got the EGON for $65. Alot of money but totally worth it. It looks awesome collecting dust on my shelf. Will be great ebay fodder for my family when I croak.
5- Cover Run: Art of Adam Hughes - A great collection of art, sketches and commentary. I'm really into artbooks and sketch books this year.
6- ICON: ARt of Jim Lee - Again, same as the Hughes book.
7- Jay Fosgitt Sketchbook - Now this is what a sketchbook should be. A free sketch on it, each page is PACKED with sketches, commentary and more. No dead space. Best sketchbook I've got in a while. Score yours at jayfosgitt.com (and I'm not just plugging it cause I know the guy. Its really a great sketchbook)
8- Vintage Nintendo Powers - Been wanting these for a while and I finally got it. Very great to relive those magazine memories.
9- Mike Portnoy: In Constant Motion DVD - I've always balked at the price but I finally got over myself and its well worth it. a great dvd full of rare footage and drum instructional footage.
10- Wii - Just fun.

TOP 10 THINGS LEARNED:
1- Moving music to digital is doable - I went through and have been getting rid of alot of my "shelf porn" this year. And one major project was getting rid of most of my physical music media. I kept the beatles and some box sets. But all other cds are gone. I don't miss them either. Best decision in a while. What do I need all that crap for? I got the music! Thats all I need.
2- Back up stuff!!! - Yeah, I had a HD crash this year. So glad I backed up my stuff. Great idea. Keep doing that.
3- Loseit.com - a Great site. If I ever keep up with it.
4- Comic Shows re-evaluation - Been doing alot of thinking on this and my future in this "Industry." In 2011, I am launching a new idea and way of doing things. I'll keep this personal for now.
5- Webcomics - hmmmnnnn.....
6- Prints far outsell my comics - One of the reasons I made mad $$$ at shows this year. Its great, but I want people to read the work! But certainly keeps me financially afloat. I appreciate it.
7- People in other countries appreciate my work more than USA folk do - Its true. I've made more $$$ overseas this year than here from my fellow yankees. I do love ya faithful USA friends. But overseas is beckoning!
8- Color comics look so much better - One look at ANNA POCALYPSE over PLEASANT LIFE speaks volumes.
9- Podcasting is fun! - Not only the idiothead.com podcast, but I've continued with the others from talkshoe.com and I've got a nice following of people from it. I really appreciate that you continue to put up with me and find me "entertaining." I'm in awe of that. Thank you.
10- What matters in comics most? FRIENDSHIP - That has never steered me wrong. I've had good friends step up for me this year and I cherish them for it forever. Thank you everyone in a list far too long to name.

GOALS FOR 2011---
1-Complete Secret Project x.
2-Complete Secret Project y
3-Complete Lingerie Party Massacre and make 2012 Horror Con plans
4-Keep afloat financially and pay off bills.
5-Get this kid of mine to talk more!!!!!

thanks for listening!

T

SNOW!!!!!

Hey all. TONS of snow up here in Lansing area Michigan today. It started coming down early this morning when I had to get on the road to drive to Flint area about an hour and change away. Not too bad though. I've drove through worse.

Been an interesting week. Finished commissions, started on new ones. Still writing things for Secret Project X. And I gotta get started on Secret Proposal Project Y. Project Y I am actually doing with someone else, believe it or not. Its true! But tonight and tomorrow I hope to get a nice jump on commissions and catch back up for the next week.

I got the ICONS Jim Lee artbook, which is awesome! I was hesitant on getting it, but I am glad I did. Lots of thumbnails, sketches and some color finished pieces. Unfortunately, its all DC only work, nothing else. But thats okay. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Jim Lee's art. Its what I remember digging back when I read Xmen back in the day. So I recommend that.

I let the wife open her presents already and she revealed mine. Which I will talk about when I get them in the mail. For now, I am enjoying Empowered #3 tradebook, new art supplies from my new favorite art supply store JERRYSARTARAMA.com (They have ROLLING RULERS!!!!!!!) and some new clothes I bought myself.

The biggest news is I got a Nintendo Wii for xmas for the family. My son Cody has one and hates playing daddys "old fogie" video games when he comes over. The wife has been wanting to play and I was sorta interested. But we got the $199 version with two games (one of which was the new mario brothers) and a $50 gift card to Walmart. So it was a hell of a deal! Instantly upon playing Wii sports, I fell in love with it. I'm getting good exercise from it too. The wife and I enjoyed a night of Wii bowling with some beers and it was a great time. Although my shoulder is definitely sore now as a result. The new Mario game is fun but HARD. I even downloaded some classic NES and SNES games via the wii console. But coolest of all is the NETFLIX link, where I can watch things from my instant que on my TV, instead of being confined to my room. I love that. So a purchase that was a tad extravagant, but well worth it. Besides, ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!

Watched the Lions win today. A big win too. First time beating the Rival Green Bay Packers in 10 games. Also ends a bit of division losing streak. Well done guys. Well done. And notice I didn't say "we won." Thats a pet peeve of mine. When someone refers to a team winning and they say "WE". Like they had a hand in the actual playing. I know, you support the team and feel a part of it and all that. Fine. But you didn't take the hits or the tackles. They did and the Lions certainly earned it today. I hope this boasts their spirits a bit. I'm still with em baby. Every game is important. Learn for next year. Next year.

Okay, nuff said for now. I'm going to go find some food and then play with the bots and then get down to work.

Cheers, T

John Lennon. It 30 years ago today...

I've said many times how much of a music fan I am. I love music. Many forms, many styles, extremely varied. Hard to narrow me down. But some are special. They hold the deepest parts of my love of music and can never be matched. One of these is my extreme love of the Beatles. I love the Beatles. If anyone out there ever says to me that they don't like em, well, I just can't ever get along with you. We're just not meant to hang out man. Cause Beatles people get it. They are unique in a way. Its unspoken, and cannot even really be defined. To sit here and explain what the Beatles are, what they meant and what they mean to me... well, I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. So special they are, that when I recently got rid of all my cds, I kept the Beatles ones. All of them. Cause I need every photo. Every song lyric and liner note. I need it all. The Beatles are deified on my Top Ten list of life, love and music. They don't even deserve a list because its like breathing, its a given thing.

I realize that today marks 30 years since that mother fucking piece of shit shot down John Lennon. I get ill just thinking about it. I was two years old. I remember when my mother would cry early on when listening to The Beatles records. Maybe thats why I started to love them, because of her. Maybe listening to them brings me closer to my mom. I don't know.

I've went over the details of how and "why" he was killed that night. I still have no answers and no comfort in it. Shoot to 2002. I went to the Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH with two of my closest friends. Surprisingly, there was a Lennon exhibit going on there. I saw his Sgt. Peppers outfit. I saw early Beatles outfits, guitars, handwritten lyrics, rare photos, the drumhead from the Ed Sullivan show appearance, Lennon's Oscar and much more. But one display, off to the side, by itself captured my attention. It was a standalone kiosk that was square. On one side it had a circular glass which you could see through. The side of it had a square window which you could look into as well. In the square window was a bag, dried with crimson blood soaked clothing. It had the clothes that John was wearing the night he was killed. Never opened since the hospital sealed them. In the front of this kiosk, in the circular window, was a pair of glasses. Blood caked on them. The ones he wore when he was shot. They stared back at me and I kept staring into them. I was moved to tears. There was a letter from Yoko, explaining that she wanted people to see this to raise awareness of gun control and all that. But I was focused on these glasses. I can never get that visual out of my head for as long as I live.

I often fantasize that time travel is possible. And if I had one trip to take, just one... I wouldn't go back and see my mother. I wouldn't go and try to find out if say, Jesus existed, or if Noah's Ark was real. No. I always fantasize about going back and stopping Lennon from dying that night. What would have happened if that were possible? Would he reunite with the Beatles again? Would he do more great solo works? Would he keep raising awareness about ourselves and the need for peace? Who knows. At the least, he wouldn't have been robbed of his right to live out his life, be a father to Sean and live with the love of his life. He was denied that, they were denied that. Nevermind what we lost out on. I feel their loss as though he were my own family. The thoughts of a life ripped or pulled away in an instant is devastating to think about. I hope we as one race, can grow beyond those things. Just as I hope that I never have to feel that same thing if someone I love goes suddenly.

A while back, I found an interview disc with John, recorded mere hours before he died. I still haven't been able to bring myself to listen to it. Even though I never met him, never knew him... I still feel for him. Odd isn't it? That we feel something like this for someone who we have never or will never meet. He was more than just a musician. So very very very much more.

In actuality, Paul McCartney was always my favorite Beatle. But Lennon was equally as great for different reasons. Below is an in store performance of a song McCartney wrote about John called "HERE TODAY." I tear up when I watch this. Its hard to watch Paul break down about it, remembering his friend. I share it with all of you...



There's no positive note to end on. John is gone and even thirty years later, it still hurts. Sometimes in life, you meet someone, or find someone special. Sometimes people are given to us and they come and kick our ass and show us how it was done. Sometimes indeed, we are blessed with such a person. And we always remember them, and thus they will never pass away. John Lennon was such a person. And he is here with us today. The soul, the spirit of him, his music, his life.. all of it. And we can feel it now.

RIP John. We love you and still miss you. We sure could use you right now.

Movie time and what a week!

Hey all. Been keeping busy mostly. I partied with the wife a bit on Wednesday, playing old NES/SNES games. Then the wife went up north to see some of her friends on Thursday while I did some Christmas shopping. Friday she returned and we went to dinner and did some minor shopping. I took a nap (in my office floor even!) and then watched two movies I keep putting off: American Movie and Saving Private Ryan. I liked both. I promise to expand on my thoughts on Mighty Sabo podcast next week if I get the chance. Up next I got some classic GI JOE cartoons from the 80s via netflix. I never saw the cartoon beyond the GI JOE the MOVIE they did for it. And I saw the recent live action one. I thought I would give the cartoon series a taste as well. A lot of my friends were huge GI JOE and TRANSFORMERS guys. I was a He-Man, Star Trek, Star Wars guy. Well... moreso the middle one, natch.

Still on a mission to rid myself of a lot of the clutter around here. I'm gonna be selling some of my magazines and Star Trek figures on ebay maybe next week when I can find some time to post them up on the site. Meanwhile, I am plugging through a new round of commissions and work on Secret Project X. Lingerie Massacre pages have sort of stopped for a bit cause I've been so damn busy. I need to get some new pre-lined Bristol paper anyway. Maybe I'll try to score some this week after I get paid.

I bought a couple of Itunes cards and downloaded some new music and some Star Trek TOS episodes onto my ipod. Its funny, I got like 4,000 songs and 12 Star Trek episodes, a couple movies and a couple of Doctor Who episodes on it and I still got like 120GB of memory left on the thing! That beauty will last me a while, thats for sure.

Well, I got commissions to get done this weekend so I will end this. But first, your Adam-Factoid for today:

I love meat. I could never become a vegatarian. Never. I love hamburger, steak, chicken, pork, etc. Just love it. But Venison? Deer meat? FUCKING SICK!!!! I have tried to eat it twice in my life and both times puked it up. Even once I was tricked into almost eating some. But I recognized the smell even though the chili broth tried to hide it. So I am against deer hunting for that reason. Venison is the sickest meat ever. A bonus fact: I hate salad dressing. I always order my salads plain. People always give me that "um, are you SURE" look, like I'm crazy or something. But no. Give me a salad with LIGHT cheese, bacon bits and croutons. And the leaves, the greener the better. Toss some dry spinach up in there too. So quit looking at me like I am crazy for not liking dressing. Last I knew, it was the fattening part of the salad anyway. And it tastes artificial and yuck yuck!!!

T

Some ART stuff...

Been doing some nice warm up sketches/pieces for the artbook and just general warm up. Some I bothered to color as well. Here is a look at some of them... (Trust me, I got TONS more... but you'll have to get the book for that!)

Of things to come...

The game is changing and I am changing with it. 2011. You have been warned.

Leslie Nielson RIP and other stuff...

Hey folks. Glorious Monday morning here. I finished all commissions this weekend and took some time to draw yesterday on whatever I felt like. I did some more things for my upcoming "artbook" that will see release in March or April. Sometimes, the ink flows right and a concept I sketch comes out quickly, exactly or even BETTER than I concieved it. Yesterday, I did some sketches for possible pieces and I drew this Legend of Zelda concept that I really liked instantly. So I went ahead and drew up the final piece and everything came out on it exactly like I wanted it to. It really came out nice. I'm gonna scan it and color it, maybe even make a print out of it. I guess the drawing gods were with me during the day! But then the kid started acting up out of neglection so I had to stop. Natch. :)

But to celebrate, I plugged in the SNES "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past" and started from the beginning. by the time I turned it off, I was in the 3rd dungeon in the Dark World. Probably beyond the halfway point of the game and I got a lot of the extra crap in the game as well. So yeah. It felt good to plug in and play away a night of potential working for once. I even forgot to watch WALKING DEAD in the process! I gotta catch up today via On Demand.

Learned late last night that Leslie Nielsen the actor passed away at 84. I really dug the man. From Airplane to the Naked Gun movies, to even his lackluster later spoof movies, it was all gold when he came on the screen. I love his turn in Forbidden Planet, where he played a very convincing stern lead man of those 50's Alien movies. Also a great turn as a bad guy in Creepshow. And a similar role to F. Planet in The Reluctant Astronaut. It was always a treat when he arrived into a movie. and I'd put him in my top 30 favorite actors of all time. He was just great. And he will be missed. They don't make em like that anymore. Someone I follow on Twitter said they'd trade 30 Russel Brands for one Leslie Nielsen. I couldn't have said it better myself.

I forgot in my blog that I stated that I was gonna start telling things about myself each time and I skipped a few. so here's another factoid about me: I hate pirates. I hate the concept of pirates. The whole "talk like a pirate day?" Hate it. I love The Goonies, all up till the point to where they get to the Pirate ship. I just don't like pirates. Why? I don't know. I just don't like em. I've never seen the Pirates of the Carrabean movies either. Or Cutthroat Island. I hated Hook. So why do I feel this way? What made me so against the concept of pirates and why can't I just go along for the fun? I don't know. But I resist with a fist. And everytime I see someone cosplaying as a pirate at a comic con, I want to take their fake sword and jam it in their nutsack.

Till next time me hardys..

T

Black Friday. Drawing my arse off.

Hey yo.

Celebrated Thanksgiving on Tuesday. The wife worked thursday. Went out on Black Friday briefly to JC Penny and Best Buy. Got WATCHMEN: DC on BR for $7.00 and a new Ipod case. We got the bots' presents as well. Just gotta shop for each other and the Codester and we be done! It was insane out really, but we survived.

I've been drawing my ass off this past week. I had a lot of commission work and now I am trying to do this 4 page thing for Antarctic Press. Sketch Cards should arrive any day now and meanwhile I am drawing more LINGERIE MASSACRE pages and stuff for a thing I am dubbing "SECRET PROJECT X." Something that will come to light early next year. ALSO--I haven't even touched the layout of my artbook. We'll just have to see what comes of that.

So yeah, super busy. Parenting, drawing, cleaning, etc. On the plus side, all my CDs are gone. I finished that. I found a used CD/Record shop in Mt. Pleasant that bought the rest of them in bulk, so they are gone for good. YAY! I don't regret the decision in the slightest. In fact, I am continuing to see what else I can rid my life of around here. Going to a bit of a minimalist lifestyle when it comes to my packratry. If only I could get things off of my great TO DO list....

Orders for Anna trade keep coming in. Thanks to those who have ordered. For those who have not, order HERE

Its mighty cold outside lately. And my stomach muscle on my left side has been bothering me again. Just blah feelings all over. I could use a vacation. From myself. You know. Just go to RECALL and check out for a week. Wish that could be true. Better get my ass to Mars...

Okay, I'm quoting movies now. Better end this sucker.

Luvs, T

NINTENDO POWER!

Looking through an old Nintendo Power mag and saw J Scott Campbell in the book! Click on it for full scan. I thought it was kinda cool to see this. The kid went to to huge things!

Cheers, T

Xmas is coming and so am I!

Hey ya'll! Fun week. Buncha kids being loud outside our apartment every night. Called cops tonight. Hopefully its not an issue anymore. Sucky neighbor assholes anyway.

Been busy with commissions and what not. But took time to watch Toy Story 3. I didn't like it as much as #1-2, but it had a lot of heart in the beginning and end. Its made me give a lot of thought to what was my most cherished toy as a kid. I don't know if I had one stand alone thing. I had lots of action figures (Trek, Wars, Heman, etc). I had lots of cars but one of the things I loved to play with was cardboard boxes. I loved to make spaceship control consoles and play in giant boxes as well. I made robots too. I was always building or creating something. Model kits of STAR TREK ships or cars. I guess around the time Nintendo arrived, I stopped all of that. But if I had to label one stand alone toy, it would have been my Star Wars figures. I played with them the most. I had the Falcon and I played with them a lot. I still have some even. And I guess this guy right here, he was my "buzz lightyear or woody"....




Yeah, I was HAN SOLO a lot when I played action figures with friends. He was my main guy. and I still got him. Despite all my moves, I've kept him. Not prominant but still, he's never got tossed. I think one day when the kid is old enough I will give him and all my other unopened newer Star Wars figures. I hope he has better adventures than I did. Cause I had doozys.


In other news, I took all week to upload every CD I owned and made them all digital files. All 400 of them. They are all gone but 30 of them. Here's the bots playing with some of the more scratched ones..




He loves playing with discs. Anywho, I kept the really nice 2 disc expanded artwork collections like the U2 remasters and some of the rare 2 disc book prog rock releases. and I kept ALL the beatles remasters. But other than that, all my cds are gone. Ones that I've had since I first started collecting even. I sold some to local stores and some were in too bad of shape to try to sell. Its very liberating to be free of all that clutter. It took 5 boxes to move all my cds last time. Now I can fit all my cds AND my music related DVDs in one box. Here's to lightening my load!

Also considering getting rid of alot of my in box figures. They just take up space. Things you own end up owning you. Word.

Lastly, he had our thanksgiving today cause the wife is working on thursday. We ate a nice big turkey and pototoes. TONS of leftovers. I got this cute little Xmas tree from biglots for dirt cheap. My favorite color! Just an extra tree for decoration. We'll put the big one up this week. I cannot wait to buy presents for the kids and wife to put under it!




I also sent the wife my xmas list. Mostly things off of Amazon.com! :)

Anyway, back to artwork! Cheers, T

2011 Plans/Thoughts...

Hey folks. So far, GREAT response on the ANNA POCALYPSE graphic novel pre-order. I am humbled by the interest by ya'll. If you haven't ordered yet, place yer pre-order right now by clicking here

I've been doing a lot of thinking about 2011 and what goals I want to set for my family and myself. Personal, professional and otherwise. Some of it I won't go into here publicaly. But some I can talk about. I got a sort of new goal and game plan when it comes to my work. The idea right now is that I am only gonna exhibit at one or two shows next year. Motor City definitely being one of them. The other? Maybe WWChicago or something in the fall. No idea yet. Its a tad too early. I will also do a few store signings and really take the books to the people.

My main goal is one that I won't reveal yet. And I got a couple other side goals that I am working on achieving. All of which is my 2011 goal idea: "Throw Enough Shit at the Wall and See What Sticks!" I do plan on continuing to work on LINGERIE PARTY MASSACRE, as I have plans for that. I do plan on doing the art book as well. So far, online sales of my books far outweigh con sales of them. The things I sell most at cons are art and prints. Which is nice but I want to shift focus a bit to keep me and my products in the green.

This said, I've decided that I do want to hit one convention as a "fan" and have fun. The idea it being either HEROES CON or SAN DIEGO again. Both have definite benefits and drawbacks. I am gonna take the holiday season to decide ultimately which one I want to do. If you all have opinions, fill me in. Maybe it will help me decide.

The other goals I've thought about are things I will not share publicaly, as they are personal and even delve into the professional and sometimes I hang my dick out there too much. Learned that lesson, I have. So I guess you can wish me luck that I sort all these thoughts out. I'll take all the luck I can get right now.

Basically I can say that I am somewhat scared as much as I am excited. Its quite likely that I am going to be unemployed for a while and I will be focusing on freelancing to not only pay for my work, printing and convnetions, but also to feed my family. Paid work has been increasing HARDCORE for me lately, and I certainly appreciate it. But I also know it can dry up in an instant. So it is scary. I am trying to get myself into a position where I can make regular income with my ideas that I haven't started yet. So I need all the support and luck there is.

I thank you all for the continued interest and thoughts for me. I am humbled by it. Truly, I am. You guys rock. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Thanks for a great life. And in return, I hope to give you all my best.

_____

I thought about each blog maybe stating some factoid about me and discussing it. Maybe an opinion or a memory. Let me start with this one: I hate the term "TREKKIE". It sounds completely playful and childish. Almost demeaning in a way. In fact, I don't really like any term for fans of a Tv show. Even Browncoats I don't like. Can't you just be a fan of something without useless labels? And no, I don't prefer "TREKKER" cause it sounds more manly or the like. All of those words and labels are rubbish. I'm just a fan of a thing. I enjoy it. Maybe sometimes a bit more intense than others, sure. But I am just a fan. and even that word is short for FANATIC, and those people are crazy! So I enjoy certain things. Simply that. Bascially I am saying, call me a "TREKKIE" and I'll jam my tricorder up your ass.

Great! Thanks for listening! PREORDER ANNA POCALYPSE NOW!!!!!!!

PRE-ORDER ANNA POCALYPSE: REVELATION

Its official, my new graphic novel - ANNA POCALYPSE: REVELATION is now available for pre-order. Get yer credit cards ready and go to the site to preorder HERE

I am very excited about this book man. We got some great stuff in it. You get 80+ pages of story in FULL COLOR! Pinups from: Grant Gould (Wolves of Odin and Star Wars: Clone Wars), Mike Pascale (Bru-hed), Jay Fosgitt (Dead Duck and Star Wars Sketch Card Artist) and Robert Knight (Tales of Sequential Mayhem). Some new sketches from the archives, some fanart from Finland, and Artist Retropective/Commentary on the book! Also, every order comes with a FREE ANNA SKETCH on the inside cover!!!! Oh, and FREE SHIPPING to continental USA!!!! Can you believe it? Best deal in the house!

This is a PRE-ORDER. I am gunning for these books to be returned to me, sketched in and sent out the same week as Christmas. So it makes a perfect stocking stuffer for the comic reader in your house (or treat yourself!).

Anna Pocalypse is different than anything I have ever done. Its gory, uber violent, gross, disturbing, whitty, funny, action packed and just plain awesome. Its got tons of stuff you want with a lot of subtext about faith, religion, symbols of armageddon and much much more. I hope to delve more deeply into the concepts behind it in a full length audio commentary once the book ships. And see me take a bullet to the head in the book! Lots of fun.

This ends a year and change of a journey that started at San Diego 2009, where I first sketched Anna and came up with the title. All this time later, she's done and ready to rock your world. She's certainly rocked mine. I am very proud of the work I have done in the book and I cannot wait for you all to see it in its complete form. Some of you got a taste in the first toss out issue #1, (which is SOLD OUT btw, and will not be reprinted like that again!). So you know what you are in for. Its the first book I have colored all myself. Its my new baby after my long running PLEASANT LIFE series. Its a different cookie, but still my child. Very proud dad at this moment folks. I cannot wait till it comes off the truck, complete!

Okay, I guess thats it. I got more work to do. Commissions, sketch card work and oh... the NEXT project after ANNA!!!!! Here we go!

T

What What, In the Butt?

Two blogs back to back? How lucky you are! How wonderful for you!

Well, got our kitchen table and chairs that we ordered online and I assembled them today. Our home is mostly complete. YAY! Also finished the commissions last night. I had to draw lots of girls and inking them took quite a while. The good news is I got hired for more and its paying my bills. WORD! I will likely do one more commission sale before the year is out for those who are seeing a nice Xmas present of art. Also, expect a presale announcement of Anna within the next week. I should be done with it for good very soon.

The Beatles are now available on Itunes, as it was announced today. I find myself asking lots of things, like what are things going to be 5-10-20 years from now. Should I just go all digital now and toss all my Cds? I'm thinking about it somewhat. I got some that I would NEVER sell, but I think the majority I could get rid of. Its a real head adjustment for me, a guy who loves shelf porn. I honestly am even considering getting rid of all my action figures in the box. Yes, even the STAR TREK ones. I just don't need them and they take up space. I enjoy them, but to what end? I could take that money and put it toward bills or get things that the kid or all the family could enjoy. I dunno. I need to do some soul searching about it. Decide what I want to do about it.

I got a small $15 purple pre-lit Xmas tree yesterday. It stands in our living room/Kitchen counter for extra decoration. I am really excited about Xmas coming up. I want to build good memories for the bots that I missed out on after I was nine. (all the fault of that kooky religion I was a part of.)

On a side note, I checked out Adam Warren's comic, EMPOWERED. That book is wonderful. If you are anti-superhero and like some T&A and fun writing, check it out. I recommend.

Okay, I got stuff to do and thinking to do. If you got opinions on what I should do with the CD.DVD thing, hit me up. I would love some opinions. Keep them or go digital. Thats my question.

Cheers, T

Busy as hell, what else be new?

I'm busy as can be! And what a great problem to have, eh? I'm gonna pump out commissions tonight and then finish ANNA the rest of this week. Gonna get it to the printer by next monday hopefully. So expect a pre-order very soon! The price will likely be $20 for the artists edition with free shipping in the USA. Artists edition means you get a free Anna related sketch on the inside cover. Of course, those of you who bought a copy of the first issue will get a $5.00 discount. You'll have to email me to get details on how you can preorder that. So expect news very soon. Will ship in time for Xmas hopefully. Thats up to the printer! Also talked to a couple local shops about doing a store signing for the book, so look for that in the coming future.

Been taking the time to catch up with some TV. I am addicted to the show "Man Vs. Food." Such a fun watch. Makes me hungry and disgusted all at once. Love it. The Walking Dead is surpassing my expectations for it by very far. Only three episodes left for the season and man, so far, its all very killer! They are doing great things with it, from following the comic to not, and adding tons of new stuff for us hardcore followers of the comic. I am so glad with its progress. Another show I love is Hollywood Treasures, a show about the Profiles in History catalog of movie props tracking down these rare hollywood props and things. I wish it had less of the guy bitching out his people about getting props ready to show for the auction, and more focus on the props themselves. That gets old really fast and makes him look like an asshole. I don't care about the drama between those particular characters, I care more about the PROPS! So get on with it.

I treated myself with all the hard work I have been doing lately and bought a couple things on ebay. First up, I FINALLY won a lot of old vintage Nintendo Power magazines, the first 30 issues. I've been trying to win a lot of those for the last five years, and this week, I prevailed. And at about a 1/3rd of the price of what they are worth! Also won the old vintage black covered Nintendo Players Guide. Relooking these things over again for the first time since I was 10 will be great. Great toilet reading too! Remember games I loved and maybe never got to play. Refuel the classic gamer in me beyond what it already is now. Thanks to AVGN for inspiring me to recapture my youth. Word!!!!

Tonight, I am inking on commissions and getting them out the door and then moving on to Anna to finalize everything hopefully by the weekend. Also those sketch cards should be arriving this week hopefully and I'll get started on those. Still no word on what unemployment is gonna do with me, but I am trying to find a secure full time employment and mini freelance jobs in the meantime to help supplement my income. Toss some luck my way on that, please.

Okay, not much else to say. I'm going back to the grind. Thanks for reading!

T

New Office pics...

I posted pics of my new office with super descriptions at my Facebook site. If you want the descriptions, look in my photo album there. Otherwise, here are pics of the new office, sans commentary:










This weekend I am staying away from the net as much as possible and getting work done. The wife is going north tonight to see friends and so I am staying up all day and night to rock on commissions and Anna coloring. Wish me luck. It will be a long two days. I hope to emerge triumphant! Okay, into hibernation I go.

luvs, T

LANSING so far...

Well, one week into the new place and I gotta say that I have fell head over heels in love with the area. Everyone is nicer, restaurants foods taste better and are not sloppily prepared. The city has its problems, sure but the good I have gained so far has far outshined that. Glad this opportunity came to us. The only problems we have right now is my unemployment is in flux. I had to quit the one day a week (where I wasn't getting scheduled anyway) Walgreens job and anytime you leave a job while on unemployment, you lose it. So I am appealing to see if I can get it retained. It should not be a problem due to the fact that I was forced to relocate due to my wife's job and the great distance to the old job makes it unfeasible to continue employment there. So hopefully this will all work out.

Right now, all I got is commissions to keep me financially afloat, which I HIGHLY appreciate!! I am doing a bunch for my clients overseas, and they are being very very good to me! If you are thinking about getting yourself some art for the holiday season, please, don't hesitate to ask! I'm likely going to announce a holiday season commission sale soon to help generate funds and keep food on my table till this whole thing irons out. And who knows? Maybe I'll finally score that job I have been wanting and all will be okay! But for now, I gotta keep swimming or go down with the Titanic. I appreciate the thoughts, folks.

Hung out with my pal Dean for a bit yesterday. I was finally able to check out that Clem's comic shop downtown, as well as an art supply store down there. Maybe tonight I will venture out some more, but no guarantees. I'm trying to talk myself out of going to get Doctor Who season 5 on Bluray while its on sale this week, in an effort to keep saving funds for whatever is to come. I hope and pray that this Unemployment sneeze works its way out. I think it will. But doubts sink in and its doubts that include fears of not putting food in my kid's mouth. Scary shit. But for now, we be okay.

I don't want this to seem like a downer post. Its actually a happy one. Cause despite this snafu, we are quite happy with this big change. Once we get settled and stable, we will be able to enjoy the perks of living in our State Capital. Word to yer mutha.

I guess thats all I got folks. I got a TON of work to do this week. Lots of commission work and coloring Anna needs to happen or else I am sunk behind again! Wish me luck that I crawl out by the weekend and have all this stuff done!

Cheers, T

CRAPLOAD of pics, Lions, Fanfare and more. Oh My!

Finally uploaded from the other camera. Some new pics of the Bots...





Now on to DETROIT FANFARE. Not alot of pics. But here's a JONAH HEX Commission I did...




Officer TED GROSS (Pleasant Life) says: "Buy this comic or I'll put muh boot up yer ass!"



This was cool. A nice lady made a couple of my prints into these metal tins and gave them to me as a gift! Very cool looking!



I'm not even supposed to be here today! Dude, DANTE from Clerks is one of the NICEST celebs I have ever met. No shit. You ever get the chance, meet the dude. He's really great with the fans.



Here's a piece I did for Jay and his wife's Anniversary. I hope they dug it.



Lastly, some pics from the LIONS game I saw today in Ford Field in Detroit...







I gotta say it truly was awesome to see them live. It was my first professional sports event live. And I DEFINITELY will do it again!!!! Totally beats watching it on TV. We were up by ten, but QB Stafford got hurt and it went downhill. We lost in overtime by 3 points. Getting out of downtown Detroit took some doing, but overall, it was extremely enjoyable. Next time, next year I will go early, leave late and bring more $$$ to enjoy the hell out of it. I for sure intend on making it a regular thing. If the Lions start doing good (ahem) I may even buy season tickets. I had so much fun going. Thanks to Jim for scoring the tickets and putting up with my questions at the place and before. It was quite the experience. Will do again!!!

Okay, I am off to take a nap and get rocking on commissions. Don't say I never shared pics with you fine folks!

Luvs, T

Studio, House pics and other such Nonsense...

Got some requests for new pics. This is the first chance I've had to post them. Here we go:

First up, I got this shirt this past week. Might be the best shirt ever made:



Okay, a general view of the office looking in the door.



My autographs hangs proudly as per usual. But new is the two new ANNA and LIFE posters I had specially made for my office. They are my babies and deserve a spot on the wall.



A look at the very empty living room. Couch is in dissarray, and we need a coffeetable. But you get a look at what it looks like after just moved in.



A view of the kitchen and the laundry beyond those doors. Its a small kitchen and I don't really like that, but it serves me. All appliances and sink are brand new.



Back in the office, my bookcases are representin' once more.



The other bookcases and a look at the door. DALEKS and STAR TREK 3 posters hang proudly.



And thats about it for now. I'll post pics when its all cleaned, done and put together. I have a huge blank area next to my cork board and I intend on starting to collect some original art from my favorite artists and hang it there for inspiration. Cable buy comes today to juice me up and meanwhile, laundry and sorting! Yippie.

Cheers ya'll.

T

LANSING: Week One

Well, we did it. We've made it. I'm blogiddy to the blogging from our glorious State Capital here in Lansing, Michigan. We loaded up the truck starting at 7:30 and was done by 10:30. We had to vaccum the place and drop off the cable box, and were on the road by 11:30. We arrived and unloaded by 4:30. My folks arrived around 2pm and watched the kid while we finished up. We've only now sorta got everything sorted and up to 75% of normal. Getting there!

Some things that have went wrong: Our bedroom TV broke somehow. So we gotta get a new one. Our poor cats keep howling loud each night. Except our oldest, Jake. He's laying around quiet as usual. Molly however is driving me nuts and waking us up at 4-5am. The little bitchy. And I set up Comcast (got transferred to 5 different people I might add) to get our cable and internet, but I guess the gal I talked to set up some deal that is not available in our area so they cancelled our order. No notice. Stuff was supposed to be hooked up on Tuesday, but they quoted me Friday or Monday. I bitched them out and got a discount and a thursday guarantee out of the deal. This is the SECOND TIME that Comcast has done this. I'm not happy about it, but I'll deal with it I guess. The wife needs the Jewelry channel and I need the net for my business. So whatever. You win Comcast. But you fucks need to get your shit together.

So far, the town has treated us awesome! I mean, we've stopped into stores and restaurants and the food is plumper and fresher. The people are super nice and friendly. They don't have that tone of voice saying they hate their life and job. My folks experienced this as well. I haven't got the chance to venture out too much but this week I will. I know the Lansing hot spots that interest me mostly already. I will go out later this week after things get settled. I will also post pics and possibly video of the new place.

Well, I am off now to get to work on finishing this place, calming Molly's ass down and finishing commissions. Talk soon.

Cheers, T