The Last Day

Gina Smart is the one responsible for the drawing. She entitled it, Curtis and His Cat Felipe. Gina is currently accepting commissions.

Today, of course, is the last day of 2008. This hasn’t been the greatest year for me. There was a death in the family, financial difficulties, unplanned expenses, family health issues, and just plain bad luck. It’s been the type of year that could easily drive a man to permanently sing the blues (My blues name? Mudbelly.) so I won’t be too crestfallen to see 2008 come to an end. Here’s hoping its predecessor is kinder to a fat cartoonist. And to us all!

One of the benefits of Christmas is knowing the Austinites will be back in town. Tim, Brad, and Emily safely made it back the Sunday before Christmas and each have had a whirlwind schedule of catching up with family and friends ever since. On a cool note, Tim and Brad wanted to film something while they were here so I whipped up a little script and we filmed a short featuring our Fanboyz characters, Max Wray and Riley “Wiley” James. We shot around Ball State and in Bob’s Comic Castle (Thanks again, Trent!) with the help of the always-dependable Jon Sipes.

The shoot went smoothly and we finished a lot faster than we expected. It was fun, too. I think I’ve mentioned it several times in the past how I missed filming Those Funky Idiots for public access so it was sweet to play behind and in front of the camera again. Tim is hoping to edit our efforts and post the episode online in the near future!

On another cool note, my recent Christmas minicomic got reviewed at Optical Sloth.

Happy New Year!

A Year in The Life

In 2007: I was in a comedy that featured me pulling down my pants every night (Don't worry! I was double bagged for safety), I attended S.P.A.C.E with the Dalton boys, I drove to Austin to see my friends and actually got a glimpse of the elusive Harry Knowles, I attended a high school reunion, I got a part in a student film, I threw worms at an old lady, I worked a lot of overtime at Touchy Feely Fotos, read some good books, actually went to the movies, and that's about it.

So far in 2008: I accidentally fried some pork chops covered in powdered sugar (I thought it was flour), I was yelled at by a complete stranger, and I reluctantly dropped out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Hopefully, the best is yet to come!

The Fourth Day of My 38th Year

Hello!: I'm back from Texas and I had a good time in Austin with all my friends! I kept a travel journal during my vacation so I'll be sharing some stuff from that in the next couple of posts. In the meanwhile, I want to thank everybody who wished me a happy birthday this past week. Speaking of which...

My Birthday Bounty: Six cards, an ice cream cake, a box of Dots, a roll of giant Smarties, a copy of High Fidelity, a bag of M&M's, $255.00 in American currency, and a battered copy of Little Archie #158

Lone Star Fact: Texas has no state income tax

The Best Reason Why I Should Wash My Car: Splattered bug corpses from Arkansas may be screwing up its resale value

Acting Up

Practice: Rehearsals continue for Moon Over Buffalo. For awhile we had to endure through some bouts of illness, but things are shaping up nicely as we plow towards our opening night next Friday. I've been rather rough on some of my clothing during the practices which is typical for me. Wednesday found me with a bloodied knee that bled through a new pair of slacks and Thursday was the day I found a slight tear in my shirt. I should really play it smart and wear cheap t-shirts and jogging pants during the rehearsal process.

I also seem to hurt people when I'm on stage. I guess I've been grabbing some of my co-stars rather roughly at times and leaving bruises in my wake. I guess I better work on that.

Bada Bleep!: I caught the first episode of The Sopranos on A&E a a few nights ago and it was strange to hear some of the language cleaned up. I don't know about anyone else, but I found it very distracting. I understand why they have to do it, but it really pulled me out of the episode so I flipped it off. I haven't seen any of the first season in years so it was funny to see how young the kids were (I had forgotten how AJ resembled Bobby Hill way back then) and James Gandolfini was practically slim and trim in the beginning. It was also great to see Nancy Marchard up and running as Livia, the true dark heart of the series. Great show, but stick to the DVDs.

Austin City Limits: I guess some ice and snow invaded Texas this past week which effected everybody at The Group Home West. According to an e-mail from Eric, the ice practically shut down Austin which would happen to a city that doesn't even own a snow plow. Thankfully the local news gave helpful hints about how to successfully walk on ice such as "Don't run!" and "Take small steps!".

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? I Wrote This

The Ghost of Christmas Past: Well, Christmas has come and gone. Despite a bump or two on Christmas Eve, things went pretty well this year. Got some nice gifts, ate too much food, and generally had a good time. Of course, I think the highlight was seeing Tim and Brad. They traveled back to the north to spread some Christmas cheer, but unfortunately they couldn't stay too long. I was glad to see them and I wish they could been in town longer. Having dinner with them and Emily last Saturday felt like old times. And, though the suddenly reclusive Eric Whetsel did not make the trip back, I got to talk to him on Christmas day. Now I need to figure out when I can visit them in Austin. Hopefully, soon.

I'll Be Coma for Christmas: How do you waste a week off from work? Sleep through most of it like I did! This past Tuesday and Wednesday were one long snooze for yours truly. No wonder I never seem to get anything done!

Recently Departed: James Brown, Gerald Ford, and Saddam Hussein. Of course, only one of them was The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.

My New Year Resolution: To come up with some for next New Year's Eve.

My Favorite Christmas Card Comic:


Thanks, Dale!

Stagy

Good-bye, Columbus Day: So did anybody celebrate the day we honor the man that gave us Adventures in Babysitting?
Besides bank employees and the postal service? I know I didn't get the day off. Is Columbus Day really necessary? Of all of the American holidays, it is truly the appendix.

Stage Tom: I went to an audition at the Muncie Civic yesterday and I think it went pretty well. Definitely an improvement from my bombtactular audition last year. There weren't many people when I arrived though I did bump into some familiar faces (Hello, Shaun! Hello, Barry!). I did a short monologue from Greater Tuna and I was prepared to sing a song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, but I didn't see an accompanist about so I stuck to the monologue. It went quick. I guess we'll see if anything comes out of it.


Austin City Limits: According to my last phone conversation, Eric is now working at Dell, Brad has become a security guard, and Tim did some more extra work for Friday Night Lights. They bought a washer for twenty-five dollars last Sunday and Eric is learning some Spanish with the help of his fellow co-workers.

Eric's Spanish Word of the Day: Guero

Speaking of Which: I just bought Beck's new album. How about you?

Next Time: Jughead blogging!

Unanswered Questions

Wishful Thinking: It would be nice if vaudeville was still around so I could ditch my dead end job and travel on the circuit with my highly acclaimed penguin act.

Mix Tape: Just the other day I was listening to The Flaming Lips and Jimmy Durante at my dead end job and I came to the conclusion Durante could have done a great version of "Do You Realize?" if he was still around.

Mr. Big Stuff: Just the other day at my dead end job, I had the privilege to attend a meeting with The Head Honcho. It is a custom for The HH to schedule meetings with his underlings to discuss company matters and to hear some feedback. These things happen every year and the only positive thing that usually comes out of it is that you get to kill an hour while still being on the clock (Emphasis on the word kill). Anyway, this year's pow wow basically covered the same old ground and the only thing that kept my interest was counting the times a fellow employee said "uh huh" after every statement The HH uttered. I'm afraid I did not actually write the exact total down, but, for the sake of argument, let's say 756 times.

At the end of The HH's spiel, he opened the floor for questions. In times past, this usually yields dead silence, but this year there were some actual questions from some new employees. Not interesting questions, mind you, but questions none the less. I, of course, say nothing. That doesn't mean I don't have questions though, because I have plenty. They include Why is my salary so lousy?, Why does the company treat its employees so shabbily?, Why do you put people who couldn't successfully manage a lemonade stand in charge of things?, and the list goes on. I would love to ask all of my questions, but my current need for employment stifles the urge.

Austin City Limits:




Tim sent me some photos of his new place and it looks pretty nice. From the photo above, you couldn't really tell it exists in Texas. It's the type of house you could see around Muncie if you looked hard enough. All of my former roommates seem to be settling in nicely. Tim and Brad actually got the chance to be extras in a movie this past Monday and it sounded like it was a great experience for them. They got two meals, seventy-five dollars, and a new haircut (Well, at least, Tim did). As for Eric, he was watching his Newradio dvds the last time I spoke with him. More news is sure to follow!

Following the Exodus

The moving is over! Too bad I can't say the same about the unpacking. And remember in my last post when I wrote that the big move should take "two or three hours at the most"? Boy, was I way off base on that! It took all day and I'm still recovering from it.

As for going to Texas, it didn't happen for me. There just wasn't enough room for me to go. Brad's TV set ended up taking my spot in the Hoosier caravan. Plus I had second thoughts about traveling with my former Group Homies to their new home in Austin. It would have been a lot of fun to go down, but the trip back would have been too sad for me. Leaving them in Austin with the beginnings of their new lives while I came back to Muncie to my old one is still too depressing to contemplate.

Despite some minor car trouble, everybody made it early Sunday (September 3, for those keeping track) morning to their hacienda on Meadow Creek. From all reports, their new digs are pretty nice and the neighbors seem friendly enough. Tim and Eric promised to send some photos of the place and I'll probably post one when they do.

As for me, I'm still sorting everything out, trying to figure out what goes where and where goes what. I have decided I have way too much clutter in my life and hopefully I can get rid of some the things I no longer need. Figuring out what stays and what goes may take a bit though.

I've been off work for a week and I have to go back later today. I can't really say I'm looking forward to it at the moment, but, since I have to make some cash to throw at my credit card debt, I really have no choice in the matter. I wish I had the courage to do what Tim, Brad, and Eric have done, but that just isn't in the cards for the moment. But who knows what next week will bring?