Dribs and Drabs

This weekend I worked on a Captain Cactus comic for Cap's creator, Keith O'Brien, and I also penciled and inked a new Oh! Those Savages comic strip. Hopefully, I'll post the strip before the end of the week.
While housesitting for some friends this weekend, I was horrified to see their hen eat some cat food. Why? The cat food contained chicken meat. Yes, Tiny the chicken is a cannibal! All she needs now is a chainsaw and she could have her own horror movie franchise. Perhaps John Oak Dalton could write it.
Worked ten hours at work today with more chances for overtime this week. Extra money always makes me happy!
Looks like I'll be learning the tango the next week or two. It's all for the play I'm currently in, The Guys.  

Savage Time

Yes, it's the mother and father from my comic strip, Oh! Those Savages. I just felt like drawing them last night. It would be nice if I could crank out more of their comic strips. Of course, it would be nice to be able to crank out any comic strip on a regular basis.
In other news, a cowboy song musical I've been working on for my friends in Farmland has been pushed back from August to March 2016. Hopefully, that extra time will help me in making the show the best I can. And it looks like I volunteered to direct it as well. That should be interesting.
I'm also on Tumblr now. I'll probably post the same stuff I post here there, but who knows? If you're interested, I'm at http://waffleville.tumblr.com.

A Change in the Weather

After being on second shift for 15 years, I'm happy to announce I got new hours at Touchy Feely Fotos. I work 10:00 am- 6:30 pm so I now have my evenings free. With that being the case, I'm hoping to do more theater work in the near future. In September, I'll be in Think, Dog's production of The Guys with Ms. Katy Wolfe. In October, I'll be playing Arlo Wazzo on stage in Sean Orlosky's Those Funky Idiots: One Funky Halloween at the Farmland Community Center. Plus I have a cowboy musical that will debut sometime in August. A lot of good stuff to look forward to! Wahoo!.

Three Day Weekend

Things I did over Labor Day weekend:

1. I did some housesitting for some friends who were out of town. Besides watching over the house, I took care of one cat, three dogs, six chickens, and assorted fish.

2. I did some work on my play, Two Guys and a Pearl. It will debut as part of the Halloween show, Chiller Thriller Theatre with Basil Q. Mylk-Bone, at the Farmland Center in October. I'm getting closer to the finish line with Two Guys and I'm very happy about that.

3. I broke my friends' futon.

4. I was attacked by a rooster.

5. After my friends came home (They were very understanding about the futon), we ate some pizza and watched some movies. One of the movies was Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women which featured a robot named John, a few leaping lizard men, and narration by director Peter Bogdanovich. Lots of laughs!

6. I slept most of Labor Day away. Thankfully no nightmares about roosters.

7. Found out there's no word for "smile" in Latin.

8. I made a birthday card for my niece Madi who turned fourteen on Labor Day.

Who knows what new adventures will await me as I return to work on Tuesday!

12 for 12

1. Saturday is my birthday. I'll be turning 45.

2. My laptop appears to be on its last days. Tonight it took me over an hour to get the damn thing started for some reason. It is six years old so I guess that might be a good reason. I don't know how much longer it will be functional so I guess I need to start finding a replacement. Does anybody know a place that still sells laptops with phone modems?

3. Yes, I still use dial-up. The Amish are outpacing me.

4. My grandma just got me a birthday card with a twenty dollar bill tucked inside. She's a dear, sweet lady!

5. Of course, if I get a new laptop, I'll also probably need a new scanner/printer. Ugh.

6. I recently bought the complete series of The Bob Newhart Show because I love the show and I like to pretend I have more money than I do.
 
7. I'm currently writing a script about a corporate retreat. Never been to one so I'll be making it up as I go. Write what you know? Not on my watch!

8. So how many Star Wars movies is Disney planning on making? And why does the very thought make me queasy?

9. Our recent "prime time" run of Tom Cherry's Old Time Radio Show was a bust, but we did just get a paying gig in August. We'll be on the road again!

10. Sorry to hear about the passing of Ann B. Davis. My favorite Alice memory? Her dancing the hustle on that Brady Bunch variety show. Ann B. Davis could boogie!
 
11. At work, a voice comes over the P.A. to praise people for their positive attitudes. Apparently there is no love for us folks with a negative attitude, the people who hate their jobs and yet gets the damn job done.

12. Although I'm not Jewish, I'm having my bar mizvah on my birthday this Saturday in hopes of doubling my gifts. That and maybe I'll finally become a man!

At This Moment

I’m pet sitting for my friends, Jerry and Judy, so the weight of responsibilty falls on my meager shoulders again. Must keep the animals alive! I'm such a weak man.

I'm eating a piece of colby jack cheese.

S.P.A.C.E. is this weekend. I’m sorry I won’t be able to attend this year. Still frustrated with myself for not writing about my last S.P.A.C.E. experience a couple years back. One of these days I’ll get my act together!

Got tickets to see Cabaret at the Muncie Civic next Saturday. Looking forward to seeing my friend, Rita Wessel, back on the big stage again!

Might see a movie today. Haven’t braved a multiplex in a couple years.

Mad Men returns tonight. Game of Thrones is on, too. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see Games. Sigh.

Got scripts to write. Radio show in a couple weeks. We'll be performing an episode of Dragnet. At least, I have one script I don't have to worry about! Thanks, genericradio.com!

Have I mentioned I'm a weak man?

Radio Active

  Just wanted to take a moment to note that the third season of Tom Cherry's Old Time Radio Show began last Saturday in front of an enthusiastic audience, full of familiar faces and a few newcomers as well! It was a wonderful start to a new year of old time radio show goodness! Special thanks to our fantastic cast (Sean Orlosky, Bob Green, Sean Heline, Judy and Jerry Cole, and Katie Wolfe) and our incredible guest stars (Annette Heline, Amanda Heline, Emily Heline, Nathan Heline, and Rita Wessel) for creating an fun hour of radio magic! More thanks to Lindsey Cox for her amazing technical support and to Cindy Lowe for bringing her homemade brownies for everyone to enjoy! Our next show is April 26 at 3:00pm at the Farmland Center with Dragnet, The Happy Hoppy Hopper Show, and Those Funky Idiots! Plus It Pays to Be Ignorant and a special musical guest! Hope to see you there!

As of Now

The holidays are over. They were rather uneventful this year (To be honest, they are rather uneventful most years), but I had a good time celebrating with family and friends.

As I type this, a major snow storm is heading my way. Inches of snow and plenty of cold from the sounds of it. I really am not in the mood for a blizzard, but, then again, who is?

I’ve been off work for two weeks. It seems like I didn’t get much accomplished during my time off (Typical, typical...). I finally got my brakes fixed so I guess that counts for something. And I’m down to one comic book in my pull list over at Bob’s Comic Castle. That hasn’t happened in over a decade so I’m calling that an accomplishment, too!

I’m slightly disappointed “Draw Dollar Bill Day” didn’t get much traction. I guess very obscure Marvel supporting characters from the 1970s just don’t inspire the creative juices anymore! Thanks again to Dale Martin for making my day though!

We had a great audience for the last episode of Tom Cherry’s Old Time Radio Show. Doing the show with so many top notch folks continues to be a highlight for me every month. Looking forward to starting our third season in March!

After years of wanting to, but never doing it, I finally became a subscriber to The New Yorker. It usually takes me a month to read one issue so something tells me I’ll be reading a lot more in 2014.

I continue to be a big fan of the Total Drama cartoons especially their character designs. Just stating that for the record.

I was hoping to write a little wrap up of 2013, but it hasn’t happened yet. Overall it was a good year for me. Hoping 2014 is even better for us all!

Four Days

Some brief thoughts about the past four days...

October 25: After weeks of rehearsal, God of Carnage opened at the Muncie Civic Studio Theatre! It actually felt more like a dress rehearsal than an opening night for some reason. I thought my performance felt wobbly and uncertain. Afterwards, I deemed it a "Lumpy Rutherford" and vowed to myself to aim for a "Ward Cleaver" the next night.

October 26: It was a super, busy, fun day! The radio gang knocked this month's episode of Tom Cherry's Old Time Radio Show out of the ballpark! It was our Halloween show that featured the classic "Chicken Heart" episode of Lights Out. Our soundman and soundwoman, Jerry and Judy Cole, out did themselves with the sound effects and everyone in the cast (Bob Green, Sean Heline, Linda Gilchrist, Wendy Carpenter, Missy Donahue, Jim Banta, and Rita Wessel) brought their "A" game to create a wonderful show for an enthusiastic audience! Already looking forward to recreating that magic for November's show!

As for Saturday night's performance of God of Carnage, we nailed it! It was a great show and a vast improvement over Friday night methinks. Hopefully we'll continue to grow as the run continues!

October 27: It was Sunday and I rested.

October 28: I auditioned for a radio version of Miracle on 34th Street that Indiana Public Radio will be producing in December. I thought it went rather well! Of course, I won't know that for a fact until the cast list is posted.

And that brings us up to date!

Minor Majors

Yesterday's Major Accomplishment: Made a birthday card for a friend

Today's Major Accomplishment: Mail it

Four Day Weekend News

  Well, another long weekend has come and gone in a hasty manner. Fools wrapped up its fun run at the Farmland Center and I was honored once again to be surrounded by a talented cast and crew. Much thanks to everyone involved and to our incredible audiences.   Also this past weekend, Tom Cherry's Old Time Radio Show played to a small, but mighty audience. Wish more people attended because the cast knocked this particular episode out of the ballpark! We tackled Father Knows Best as well as The Happy Hoppy Hopper Show and a slightly naughty The Mayor of Farmland. A lot of fun for just a dollar! Archived shows can always be found at 7am and 7pm at http://www.farmlandindiana.org/. You can listen in by clicking the radio icon or on any mobile device through the TuneIn App, keyword Farmland Radio!   What else? Besides spending the weekend with some great friends, I also won a very cool prize from Ivan Shreve Jr., master blogger and the curator of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear (One of my favorite blogs!). Thank you once again, Ivan!

The Year in Review (So Far)

Hey, let’s recap the last couple months!

January

This January wasn’t a great month to start the new year on. Things at work were slow and uncertain. Six hour days and often working four days a week meant I used up most of my PTO time (Paid Time Off, natch) to cover for my missing hours. Since my chances for working more hours rested on me remaining on second shift, I had to reluctantly drop out of the cast for The Odd Couple at the Muncie Civic. On the plus side, I did work on my first full length show, Swann Song, all through January with help from my friends, Jerry and Judy Cole. By the end of the month, Swann Song was completed.

February

Work has gradually picked up and things felt more hopeful for some reason. With Swann Song done, I have to admit I slacked off creatively with no minor or major project attempted. Fortunately, bad winter weather has spared us so far in East Central Indiana. I did get sick for a couple days just recently, but I feel fine at the moment.

March

Here’s some good things to look forward to: 1) Swann Song opens March 8 at the Farmland Center for a three week run and 2) Tom Cherry’s Old Time Radio Show returns on March 23! Now I just need to get started on some new radio scripts!

Mission Statement

I'm hoping to do a lot of tooning in 2012. Old characters, new characters, comic strips, comic books, and illustrations. I like to say I'm a cartoonist and hopefully I'll be producing enough work this year to actually prove it.

Mere Sentences

Yesterday was a rainy, gray day. The type of day that always got Karen Carpenter down. At least, when she was alive.

I’m currently reading The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. It’s a loaner from my pal, Nick. Thanks again, Nick!

The Elves and the Shoemaker premiered in Winchester this past Saturday and the show turned out rather well. Our merry band will return to the stage in Upland on December 3rd.

The shoes I’ve been wearing for the last couple years are starting to resemble the pair Reverend Jim wore on Taxi.

The number of ketchup packets I received at lunch yesterday? Five.

Remember: December 1st is “Draw Hiram Lodge Day”! Make Veronica happy and doodle her daddy!

Weekly Reader

Two Weeks Ago

I was at S.P.A.C.E with John Oak Dalton and we spent our hard earned cash on a bundle of small press offerings, ranging form minicomics to digests and everything in between. I met and talked with some talented folks including Larned Justin, Rafer Roberts, Pat Lewis, Kel Crum, Nik Havert, Jim Rugg, Suzanne Baumann, Matt Feazell, and, one of my heroes, Pam Bliss. Besides buying the newest work from my favorite creators (See the list in the previous sentence), I also bought a few books from some folks who were completely new to me (My two favorite finds were Dutchy Digest by Steven Hager and Bruce Rosenberger Nau and Jack and Zack Make a Comic by Ryan Dow). I wish I was able to buy at least one comic from everybody who exhibited, but unfortunately that wasn’t financially feasible!

I had a great time at the show and I think John did, too! I definitely think we might be back next year and maybe with a table of our own!

WOCKA WOCKA! The talented Stevie Hahn and some familiar fat guy

One Week Ago

We successfully wrapped up the opening weekend for Parlor Songs and Piano Rolls, a dinner theatre cabaret at The Farmland Cultural Center. The show is focused on the music from The Gilded Age and the turn of the 20th century with some vaudeville sketches and tableaus thrown in for good measure. Besides myself, the cast includes Julie Barber, Stevie Hahn, Rita Wessel, Linda Gilchrist, Jerry and Judy Cole, and our maestro, Darrin Murrell. It’s a fun show with amazing people and there’s great food, too!

Don’t miss out! Our next performances are on May 14-16 and May 28-29! For more info or to make your reservations, just call 765-468-7631 or go to http://www.farmlandindiana.org/!

At The Moment

I’m proofreading what I just wrote (You know, those paragraphs up above) and I’m about to upload this on to my blog for the world to see (All seven of you)!

Newsies

Good News: Touchy Feely Fotos just gave me a raise!
Bad News: It was only for twenty-one cents.

Good News: I got cast in a new film for BSU called Free Wall. I played Bob Mason, a diabetic floor manager for a fluid factory.
Bad News: It was a non-paying gig that involved filming in Indianapolis. I had to pay my own way there for four days of filming which cost me about ninety dollars for gas.

Good News: I also got cast in God’s Favorite for the Muncie Civic. It’ll be the first play in their 2008-2009 season. I’m also in an audience-participation comedy mystery called You Have the Right to Remain Dead. It’s a benefit show for Heartland Theatre Company.
Bad News: While my amateur acting career is in full swing, my cartooning is getting the fuzzy end of the lollypop.

Good News: Beck has a new album and Spaced is finally coming out on DVD!
Bad News: I can’t afford to get them at this time. Remember: only twenty-one cents!


Good News: Unknown Hinson, the voice of Squidbillies’ Early Cuyler, was in town last Friday to perform his psycho rockabilly madness.
Bad News: I didn’t get a chance to go. Can you believe that mess?

Returning to The Fold

Another Year’s End: Tomorrow is my birthday, the beginning of my 39th year on this planet we call Earth. I’m going to celebrate by going to an audition at the Muncie Civic. The last time I went to an audition on my birthday was for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown many, many moons ago and I bombed. I guess we’ll see if history repeats itself.

Did You Know?: When I got my first “C” in the first grade, I cried. Damn you, Mrs. Michaels!

TV Thought: Happiness is a new season of The Venture Brothers

Number of Ketchup Packets I Received at Lunch Yesterday: Four

Today’s Health Scare: Blindness

Question of the Moment: Will this be the weekend when I finally hook up my new scanner/printer?

Final Note: Thanks to my pal Nick for getting me Knocked Up for my birthday! Uh, maybe I should have phrased that a little bit differently…

Needful Things

I need to find a way to fix my poor, neglected website.

I need to stop getting speeding tickets.

I need to thank everybody who came to see Assassins. Hope you had a blast! I know I did!

I need to organize my comic book collection, but that may take a decade or two.

I need to be more productive, cartooning and otherwise.

I need to mention how I enjoyed The Folk Song Cabaret, a folk music revue that I was able to catch in Farmland a few weeks ago. Besides featuring my friends, Judy and Jerry Cole, the talented cast also included Barry McMullen, Lysa Franklin, Barbara Brown, and Marty Zigler. They all put on a great show and I’m so happy I went. Only disappointment: I chickened out when Barry asked me to blow the jug during their jug band sequence. Emmet Otter would not be proud!

I need to buy a book to read. I haven’t read anything since I finished Last Night at the Lobster.

I need to wash my car and, oh, don’t forget about the oil change!

I need to set up my new scanner/printer. It’s still sitting in the box it came in.

I need to get a haircut.

I need to get some new markers. Colors needed: Yellow, purple, sky blue, gray, and that reddish-brown color I use for Amanda and Eric’s hair.

I need to wrap this up. It’s getting late.

Dramatic

I actually worked Saturday in the shipping department. Just six hours. Nothing dramatic.

Later, I went to see Anne of Green Gables at the Muncie Civic Theatre which starred the always great Wanita Spence. The play had some dramatic moments.

Speaking of shows, Assassins opens this upcoming Friday at the Main Street Studio Theatre. I play Sam Byck, the man who tried to kill Nixon. I like playing Sam. I need to play more angry characters. Of course, I expect everyone of you to come to the show. Here's the dates: April 25-26, May 2-3, and May 9-10. Tickets are only 10 dollars! Go get your ticket now or something dramatic may happen to you!

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