I got to play outside the other day after all! Austin and I picked up Evan and went to the park for a while. There we ran around and they took pictures. We took Evan to work after a while and then ate there, which was a mistake for my belly. I forgot how awful campus food is. We left Evan to toil with the dishes and went to my mom's house, because Hunter called and told me they found two eggs! I had all but given up on those fluffy money drainers. They were born on St. Patrick's day, so they took their damn time to start laying. Austin took a picture and then we left, with one of the mossy green eggs (so pretty!) and went to Wal-Mart. He was going to take pictures of creepy Wal-Mart goers, but instead mostly just took pictures of me imitating various faces on the packaging of the crap for sale. It was fun. Then we went to go take pictures of some dog and then I went home. I'm glad I got to hang out in the delicious weather, that I got to hang out with Austin and that I got about 100 pictures taken of me.

I rode my vespa later on that day over to Hill Street, and then again to work yesterday morning. Now it is raining, but I loved the prettiness while it lasted. After work I went to the Saloon with Sommer. Every time I go there I am a little more sure that I hate it, but I had fun talking with her, so it was worth it.

I had some much needed and way belated conversation yesterday (and a little the day before). Parts of it were weird, but I have at least been reassured that certain friendships aren't as in danger of falling by the wayside as I'd been imagining. And also I confirmed that I am pretty goddamned good at guessing people's secrets. Go on, try and hide things from me. Won't work! Also, I want to draw that friend group kissing map again. It will look like a spiderweb, dudes. A spiderweb.

This morning I cooked up that egg, along with some taters 'n onions, while Evan finished writing a paper, and then we ate it.

I am gonna go babysit and then wash every item of clothing I own, because it is all dirty.

But first! Here are some attractive pictures of Beck Hansen. Just, you know, because.









I think I like the second one best. Although the hair and pinstripes in the 4th one sure are nice. What say you?

To be fair about my paralyzed reaction to this sort of contact, I had no idea how to deal with boys, despite being about 13 and having almost only male friends. Up until that year (when Gareth noticed I was female), I was...um... I had a singular style, and never had to think about boys beyond how much I enjoyed hanging out with them and playing Ren and Stimpy on Sega Genesis.

In order to draw this comic, I did a little research into bottle-base sidewalks. They were made to illuminate the basements below the city buildings, because NYC is so crammed that it's mostly built up and down. Turns out, there are a TON in downtown Manhattan, where I was a kid. They exist in other cities too, but they aren't that common, anymore. What's really sad is that a lot of them are wearing away-- the prisms busting out and breaking. But look: aren't they fascinatingly beautiful?

It is the most beautifullest day ever and everyone is doing homework. How dumb is that? I'm sitting on my porch now. I like how my house is so shrouded in trees even though it is almost in the very center of town. After Kevin got me listening to Norwegian country this morning I stayed in a rare country mood. The parts of country music that don't suck complete ass are really good. So I made a playlist. It's kind of a stretch, as I don't have much, but I am enjoying it. And this song is just so true. Oh man. It just prevented me from being a dick on the internet, too! You do gotta know when to walk away (even if misinformation burns like fire).

Yesterday I took Evan to Mary's school to give him a tour. It was fun, because I got to be proud of lots of different things about the place, and everything I showed him was the coolest thing he'd seen, until I showed him something else. I really love that job.

Later on we went to my mom's house to check on the pets, as no one was there. We played Star Wars Pod Racer, which I'd not played in many years. Sometimes video games are the best. Then we went to Rick's house for his birthday. Harrison was out of town and Hunter was sick, so it was just me, Evan, Mom, Rick, Paul and Chris. I had a whole lot of fun, though. Good food, the hugest cat I've ever seen, wine, tequila shots and good talkin'.

Back at my house, Evan and I debated the merits and inaccuracies of Carlos Castaneda books for a good hour and half. Once we were both satisfied with the standpoint of the other, we moved on to talking about the existence of God, and Rio came home and joined the conversation seamlessly. I started reading The God Delusion yesterday, so I had all kinds of fresh opinions on my brain. It was a fun conversation. We eventually moved the talk toward computer games, somehow, and at some point went to sleep.

I think I lost my wallet and that sucks a lot.

I wish I'd bought that Pure Prairie League album when I was in that record store in Philly now. Goddamn.

Things I have done in the last week:
-Hung out with Sommer and dyed her hair. Evan and I also put a bit in our hair, but we didn't leave it in long enough or something. The three of us looked at cool pictures on the internet. As much as I hate youtube, I can get lost looking at still images forever.
-Babysat a few times. I'm really glad I've gotten to know this family better. They are really cool, and I'm apparently at the point where I have "But I remember when you were so small! Stop growing up, child!" thoughts.
-Went to my Dad's house for an extended Harrison birthday thing. Also got some Halloween treats from Jenny's side of the family.
-Watched Space Mutiny, my second favorite MST3K movie, with Evan, and later, Rio also. So good.
-Went to see the art exhibit by one of my Mary's School kids at Earth Fare. She was really excited to see me there. If you're in Efare, stop by the deli section:)
-Blah blah other things. I don't remember.

Last night we decided to start art crawling early. I went with Evan and Jacob to Mellow to find Sommer, first. Derek joined us and we went to the Nth for a little bit. My limit for being in that place is now about 30 minutes, so it wasn't long until we left for Murphy's, where I ate way too many cheese fries. Austin, Matt, the female Ryan, Lindsay Kelber, and possibly someone else joined us. We were there for a long time, and then went back to Mellow, and were probably obnoxiously close to closing time ordering pizzas, but I don't think it was a big deal. Rio played Chocolate Rain for me, which was a highlight. I like hanging out with Sommer and my other friends simultaneously. Each place was a lot of fun. I walked back to Hill St. and was asleep by 11:45. It was awesome.

Holy god it is beautiful out today! I need to become more alive and do things outside! YEA pretty!

Man...I used to write in this thing so much. I've been really busy this semester. NO TIME TO BITCH AND MOAN ABOUT STUFF.

My insides are turning, burning.
My heart is growing cold and distant.
I want to be happy again.
When will it come?
fall, winter, spring, summer
fall, winter, spring, summer
I want to sleep for a century.

well

onra - the anthem

I spent this week totally re-organizing and cleaning out my studio, so I'm sorry I don't have a proper comic for you guys (but I've started one). Instead, I thought I'd share some of the work being done by my 10-year-old comics students, and some of my thoughts on teaching comics to kids. (Also, if you'd like to see the first five handouts I made for the class, you can read them here)

( My students are just brilliant. I have nothing to do with it. )

Man, kids comics are absolutely the best.

AJ pointed out that Rotten Tomatoes just put up their 100 Worst Movies of the Decade list. I was surprised (and thankful) at how many I didn't see.

Here's the list of the ones I saw (and the reason I saw them):

100. Whiteout (based on a comic book I like)
94. The New Guy (Eliza Dushku in a bikini)
92. Babylon AD (I like big dumb action movies, just not this dumb)
91. Surviving Christmas (???)
74. Envy (Jack Black and Amy Poehler)
73. Gigli (I wanted to see if it was as bad as everyone said, it was)
62. Serving Sara (Bruce Campbell is in it)
61. Good Luck Chuck (Jessica Alba falling for an ugly dude)
44. Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li (I love kung-fu movies, except this one)
28. Rollerball (from the director of Die Hard and the Hunt for Red October)
27. Battlefield Earth (I wanted to see if was as bad as everyone said, it was)
24. Texas Rangers (???)
1. Ballistic (I think I lost a bet or something)

Worst movie not on the list: Transformers (the sequel looked bad too but I didn't see that one). Also dishonorable mention goes Punisher: War Zone.

Oh, kids. Halloween. It was great.

I was hoping for some kind of Halloween event on Friday, so I could dress up twice, but it didn't happen. I ate dinner at my mom's house because my grandparents were in town. Evan came and met them, which made me slightly nervous, but it ended up being fun. This is possibly one of those you-had-to-be-there moments, but I am going to tell you anyway. Harrison was telling a story about trying to rescue his cat, Flapjack, who got outside, and he said "So I was crawling through the woods, holding on to Flapjack and I slid in the mud and got caught in some briars and I had to jerk off-" and there was a moment of silence in which everyone stared at their plates and I wondered if even conservative old people could laugh at a good accidental Freudian masturbation slip, and then everyone lost it and Harrison sat there with his head in his hands, saying "okay, story ends there." It was good. After that I went to Derek's, where people were gathering, but no one dressed up and I fell asleep on Derek's bed and had to be coaxed home. Lame.

I went in to work for a bit on Saturday because it was the Boone Boo. That is the biggest event the library does all year. Hundreds of kids come here and do crafts and stories and things and then go on a parade through downtown, bartering their adorableness for sugar. My coworkers and I all dressed up and child wrangled for a few hours.

As I expected, almost none of the adults and little girls knew who the heck I was, but every boy between the ages of 5 and 13 (there was no one older, really) thought I was the coolest ever. Here are some pictures.


Here's the giant balloon spider that a balloon dude did. It's still up and it looks awesome.


That black hair dye spray was awfully uncomfortable and isn't entirely out of my skin, but it did the trick.


Action shot of me and Owen. Pardon the belly flash.


And just in case you can't tell who I am, for some reason:

His shirt is supposed to be black, so I dunno what's up with this picture but it gives you an idea, at least.

After the Boo I napped and decorated and though too much about things and got stressed out. That didn't last too long, though. The party was slow starting only for about 30 minutes, and then it got going. There was good dancing, visiting with friends who were in town for the event (Eric, Rio, Kathleen, Kevin, Will, Jordanna, Zach, etc), good levels of debauchery, awesome costumes, a great Space Jam and Kiss From a Rose and no cops. Austin and Matt Keefer didn't spend long at the Nth, so they were at my house really soon after it started, which made me happy. Austin's Mika costume was great. Basically everyone I hoped would come came, and even some people I didn't expect to be there showed up. I am thinking it will be remembered by most as a great night, which makes me glad. There was some badness, including a really dumb fight over hurt feelings and cocky dickbags, but thankfully most people didn't witness it, and most of the fighters left soon after it happened. Also someone got sick and the paramedics were alerted, but she ended up being fine. Those events are minor in my mind, though, as they happened at the end and weren't lastingly bad. My house is trashed to hell but it was definitely worth it. I didn't take very many good pictures, so hopefully other people did. I'll post the ones I did take soon.

Eric passed out in my bed and was unwakable, so I spent the night warmly sandwiched between him and Evan. In the morning the three of us stayed in bed, rehashing all the things that took place the night before, filling each other in on parts we missed (or couldn't remember). We were all in severe head/body pain, and my bed and face and clothing were all covered in black crap from my hair and Evan's face (he was a chimney sweep), and there were stray parts of costumes and puddles of beer on the floor but I still felt pretty damned pleased.

Eventually Evan went to work and Eric left town and I ate ODB and napped and then at 5 gathered for a special Greenbriar viewing (thanks to my sweet parental student union hookup) for just Jenny and me and my friends of Princess Mononoke. Lots of people ended up being interested, which was cool. All but one of them had seen it before, and Jenny (she's the one with the keys and authority) seemed to not find it completely weird, which was good!

I didn't get to see Kevin or Rio or Will as much as I'd have liked this visit, but it was good to spend so much time with Eric.

Today at the Trolly Stop Evan and I surpassed being just regulars and became the kind of regulars who get a free Dr. Pepper when they don't bring enough money for the usual drink. Awesome.

i finished shipping all the orders i have received so far, i am taking a couple weeks off from shipping to concentrate on making comics, i am looking forward to this i think.

belong - late night

My friends were married around Halloween a while back. I usually make them a card. This year they're zombies...zombie winos actually.

I have a confession to make. I had wanted to hate her because she was Andy Samberg's girlfriend...and tried...but after a few moments of research her music took over my soul. I can't get enough and am seriously considering harp lesson. This is my first post here...and I'm sure I'm not as hard core as most of you yet. Still, I'm under her possession. I've written about my conversion in my blog Solitary Confinement, if you would like to read about it, please do. #1 Meet My Competition, Andy Samberg's Girlfriend Joanna Newsom http://www.lonnacottrell.com/?p=1322 and http://www.lonnacottrell/?p=1596

Harrison's birthday was on the 26th. Harrison took this video of us all fulfilling his birthday wish. I think it's pretty cool that not only can my mother, father, stepmother and stepfather-to-be hang out together, but that they can headbang together. I have a pretty damned cool family.

Tuesday I had the day off. Eric is in town visiting, so I went over to Derek's, where he was staying. We sat around and talked for a while, catching each other up on our existences, and then we went to the library to rent a movie. It was a fruitless search, so we went back to Derek's and watched Trailer Park Boys until Evan came over, and later, Derek. We picked up Emily and ate at Dos. Mmmm, Dos. My guts hurt after that, so I went to sleep early.

Last night Derek, Evan Emily and I carved pumpkins. Eric came over for a bit, but he left to go chase some tail after not too long. We covered my floor in pumpkin guts and talked and when the pumpkins were finished, Derek and Evan and I decorated my house. It looks awesome and it is only halfway done being decorated. I am really jazzed. Also nervous that the cops will come or that people will be awkward or uncomfortable, but still.

Today I worked at Mary's School 7:30-12:30 and then went straight to the library from then until now. I'll get done here at 7, at which point I am babysitting until 10:30. AY! It's been a good day so far, though. Ursula is back in town and she came to the library and helped me cut out alphabet squares and color them in, and Evan took me to Mellow for some lunch.

I hope people are still doing things tonight when I get back. If not, though, I could probably use the sleep.

im a big fan of Laura Laine's work
and am soooo delighted to be the owner of her hand-painted kokeshi piece for the Kokeshi show
that took place last month at the Japanese American National Museum.

ughagha she is so delicately crafted with fine detail. i am in love!
( ..close up.. )

From liveguide:

After her stunning performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House in 2008, Joanna Newsom returns to Australia. Joanna will perform her music this time accompanied by the her American Band. It will be the bands first performances outside of Sydney. Newsoms second album, Ys was recently voted by Mojo Magazine and Pitchfork as one of the albums of the past decade.

01-16 Brisbane, Australia - The Tivoli
01-18 Sydney, Australia - Sydney Opera House
01-20 Melbourne, Australia - The Forum Theatre
01-21 Canberra, Australia - The Playhouse (Canberra Theatre Centre)
01-23 Thirroul, Australia - Anita's Theatre

So this is pretty much the best news I've heard all year. =DDD (Since I've never had a chance to see her live before!)

Already booked my ticekts! ^_^

If QC were done in straight-up anime style, this is what Marigold would probably look like.

( TOTORO HAT )