Blog du Wren

FC 45 - Ready Set Stand

I again turn over this week's comic to the capable hands and mind of Annie out in Arlington VA. Rumor has it that she had help on this one from Katherine in NYC. (Isn't it great that we get such community involvement!)

While talking over this idea, we had a lot of fun with all the possibilities; different events that could be included, different medal criterion (to each according to his needs), etc. I'll admit that the final layout Annie decided on has me a little confused ("potatoes"?), but I get a good chuckle out of it anyway. I hope you do to.

(Oh, and I think the Olympics are great and China is doing a good job hosting them and there isn't a subversive political aspect to this comic.)

Friday August 15 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (1)

comment?

Compost Experiment

This week, I ate at the ever enjoyable Pizzeria Pagliacci's (a guy should be able to indulge himself on his birthday, right?). Besides having some awesome pizza and salad, which was not a surprise, I was served a frothy root beer in . It seems like any other plastic cup, even more sturdy, but it advertises as being made completely of corn and totally compostable.

Not that I don't trust one of my favorite pizza places, but I gotta see this for myself. Does the marketing definition of "compostable" agree with mine? Do you first have to send it through a shredder? Does it take non-normal composting temperatures to break down? Are we talking glacial timeframes here? Hopefully my little experiment will answer all my questions. What I've done is tied a string to said cup, dropped it in our compost (and buried it good with corn leavings etc.), and plan to check on it every 3 months or so. Any guesses? When we shovel compost onto the garden next year, will we notice any [pseudo-]plastic? I, for one, look forward to finding out.

Wednesday August 13 2008

File under: environment, misc

Toggle Comments (9)

comment?

Ten Year Reunion

The 10-year high school reunion is an institution, a rite of passage, a tradition. It appears in movies and is something you have in common with everyone "of a certain age" you pass on the street (even if it is only comparing notes on why you didn't go, why you didn't hear about it, how your high school sweetheart looks so happy now, or whatever). This myth - lore, expectation, curiosity - led me to greatly look forward to my 10-year reunion. I'm pleased to say that it didn't disappoint.

While some of the cliches applied (there was a drunkard or two that made a fools of themselves, and a few people that had "swelled"*), in general, I was pleasantly surprised at so much. Lots of people showed up, way more than I was expecting (across the 3 events, I would say about half of the graduating class was represented). Most people looked really good. The conversations were much less stale than I might have thought (quickly getting the location/marriage status/job stuff exchanged and then finding a commonality; not nearly as much reminiscing as I feared). But possibly the most pleasant surprise was most people's seeming willingness to leave behind cliques, old grudges, etc. and eagerness to re-meet the people with whom we all share a common past. And while often unsaid, the openness, acceptance, and inclusion displayed signified to me an appreciation and camaraderie the stemmed from that shared experience.

My only real disappointment* was the lack of more than a few notable faces. As I pointed out in my earlier post, "the more, the merrier" couldn't be better applied than to a class reunion. Those who chose not to go made the experience that much less complete. During the showing of the senior class video* when a non-attending classmate was featured, you could hear murmurs from the crowd. Why isn't Siri here?, I wonder what Jeff is up to., or I was really hoping that Aron would be here.. Alas. While not the same, perhaps those questions will be answered at the 20-year. See you in 2018!

Sunday August 10 2008

File under: Anacortes, misc

Toggle Comments (10)

comment?

FC 44 - The Biz

Deanna comes through again with another awesome split-panel, bear/telephone comic*. I only hope that I didn't botch it all up with my coloring and whatnot.

In thinking about this comic, I also started thinking about Picky Oony the Worm. When I ran the idea by a few people, I got the impression that Mr. Oony was quite a bit less well known that Mr. Wuzzy. Have you heard of Picky Oony the Worm? (If not, I'm running to the nearest children's book publisher and starting myself a franchise.)

Thursday August 7 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (1)

comment?

The Cycle Continues

It was time to shave. And since I can't shave without doing something stupid/fun, and since I can't do something stupid/fun without taking a picture, and I can't take a picture without posting it, here you go.

Note to fellas: How come I am the only one creating and posting ridiculous beard pictures?

Wednesday August 6 2008

File under: beard

Toggle Comments (6)

comment?

Ms vs. Twins

One of the upsides for working for a big company is the little perks now and then. Photoworks (now an American Greetings Company) recently made available a couple of Mariners' tickets that I handily snatched up. Baseball games are fun. Baseball games for free are even more fun.

Despite the $4.25 bottled water*, no ground crew dancers*, and the one place that servers soft-serve ice cream in a little plastic helmet being closed, excitement and fun conquered the day, helped along by an epic rally by the Ms late in the game led by a Raul Ibanez grand salami.

Yep, an epic comeback, a gorgeous night at the stadium, and free tickets make for an evening that is alright by me. (Lack of a drunken college roommate yelling in Japanese at Ichiro did lessen the excitement, however).

Tuesday August 5 2008

File under: misc, Seattle

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

FC 43 - The Little Things

You guys are stuck with me as an artist again this week. Hopefully we'll get another guest artist in soon. But for a change of pace, I cast the mouse aside and picked up a pencil, just like the pros do. Granted I came back through and spent twice as much time touching it up and coloring things with the computer as I did making the initial drawing in pencil, but the bulk of it was comic making just like our forefathers did.

This comic was inspired by a feeling evoked on a trip to Fred Meyer* this week. I won't ruin the comic for you if you happen to be reading this blurb first, but I will say that I was reminded of life's little pleasures. Speaking of life's little pleasures, what would be on your welcome to heaven billboard?

Thursday July 31 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (3)

comment?

Inquire Within

Ever since the Back Porch Cafe discontinued quiz night (and subsequently went out of business*) and IHJ's short-lived but incredibly well done Tuesday Trivia went on temporary(?) hiatus, my trivia needs have gone unfulfilled. Sure a nightly rendezvous with Alex Trebek helps, but it is just so one-sided. You can imagine my delight at hearing the Longhorn Saloon in "Historic" Edision, WA has started their own trivia night.

Last night, we got a table early, filled our bellies with brain food (cheeseburger, grilled oysters, and beer) and planned our strategy, which mainly consisted of picking a team name. To make a long story short, Inquire Within came from the ranks of obscurity to conquer the day. After 4 rounds of 10 ?s each (categories of Saturday Morning Cartoons*, Visual Identification, General Knowledge, and Song Recognition), we stood in a for first. For the tie-breaker round, each team selected one member to compete in a final 3 question sudden death. Barely edging out My Two Dads, won it all with Paraguay*!

Yes, Longhorn Saloon, I will be back to play your trivia again.

Thursday July 31 2008

File under: games, Anacortes

Toggle Comments (3)

comment?

Quote for Monday 4

Quotes can come from the strangest places

"Think Fast. Live Slow."

At its inception, the purpose of this here quotes series was to not only share inspiration/affirming quotes, but also to point out that such quotes can be found in our everyday lives where we might least expect them. Case in point: the other day, I was walking down town with shoes (Simple clogs) on my hands* and happened to glance down at the soles of my hands. This week's quote was staring back at me. I've owned these shoes for nigh on 9 years and never noticed said quote before.

(As a side note, while I don't really like to encourage consumerism and its associated advertisements, Simple Shoes has been a company I've had a crush on for years and years. Their ads are fun, their slogans are clever, and they once sponsored Dan Price and his Moonlight Chronicles.

Monday July 28 2008

File under: quote

comment?

FC 42 - You Talk a Big Game

Do you think writers of t.v. shows ever look at the finished product and think, "Damn, that didn't turn out nearly as well as it was in my head"? Or maybe the director of, say, Jury Duty* felt the need to get up in front of audiences and apologize for what they were about to see, because although in his head, the idea was great, it just didn't make its way out properly? Well, that is my caveat for this comic. It was funny in my head.

But wouldn't that be great if somebody who liked to brag to all their friends that they could do better was put on the spot like that. Maybe it was a sports fanatic second guessing the coach's decision to run that play. Or a music nerd's questioning Microsoft's creation of the Zune. It would just be great if Bill Gates was sitting behind him on the bus*, overheard his conversation, and straight up made him in charge for a day. At least that would be funny, even if the comic isn't.

(P.S. Eyes are hard to draw, so just pretend Billy's eyes aren't creepy.)

Thursday July 24 2008

File under: comic

Toggle Comments (2)

comment?

< Previous Page Next Page >

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .............25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace

Name:
URL: (optional)
Comment:
speak yer peace