Terrarium Fever, Amazing Race, Sister Spit & More

Hello!
1. I made a terrarium. I went to a terrarium-making birthday party for a friend and came home with my very own fishbowl full of flora, complete with miniature house and mushroom. I can now space out and stare at the terrarium's landscape every morning instead of just staring at the cereal box.



How about a close up?



We've got some Irish Moss in there, and a little moss blob to the left, in the back yard of the ceramic house.

The terrarium is made of a fishbowl, some rocks, charcoal bits, dirt, more rocks, and tiny hand selected plants. I am obsessed! My friend Jenny is a terrarium expert and sometimes will even sell you one already made.
Easy!


2. I finished this pet portrait of a lovely dog named Restaurant last week, and had it resined (as always) with the ladies at Robot Candy.

Thanks to hand model Katy Davidson.

Tiz the last portrait I'll finish before completing my book! (knockonwoodknockonwoodknockonwood)

3. CONFIDENTIAL TO WATCHERS OF THE AMAZING RACE:
Did you see the Amazing Race this week? It was brutal and amazing that the "Dating Goths" U-turned the people right behind them: The vicious cheerleaders! Jaime and Cara could be so nasty, I was of course glad to see them go, BUT I found out that the Goths'd had 11 (ELEVEN) hours to get from the pit stop to the mandatory flight in China, and their fellow race-mates were miffed that they were given only a 30 minute penalty for missing a mandatory flight. What do you think?
Also, what's with the "you're still racing" pit stops? Are these in place so the producers can keep favorite teams racing even when they come in last? I'm so confused.

4. NEW Advice Column Up (for adults only), covering questions about placenta etiquette, cougars, radiation and more.

5. I'm reading with Sister Spit on Monday! Also, I'm reading at SmallPressPalooza on Monday! Two shows in one day. Different things at each show. Please come out! Monday March 28th. SmallPressPalooza is at 6 at Powells, Sister Spit is at 8 at Holocene.



6. A little spotlight for you on some of the people on the Sister Spit (/Mister Spit) train coming to Portland:
Amos Mac and Mari Naomi


Amos Mac is a photographer and co-founder of the trans male quarterly magazine Original Plumbing (OP to you).

He does brilliant portraits and author photos, and took this photo of me a couple of years ago as part of The Creamcicle Project for our friend Rhiannon Argo, in which I look much more dissatisfied than I do in real life.
......Right?



MariNaomi is an artist from San Francisco who has just released a book called Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume Ages 0-22, and has been keeping a fantastic comic tour diary here.


They will be joined by Michelle Tea, Ali Liebegott, Myriam Gurba, Kirk Read, Blake Nelson, and special guests Matilda Bickers and Chelsea Starr.

Get tickets for Sister Spit here.

Over and Out.
Good Day.

p.s. Wishbone got ten (10!) teeth removed exactly two weeks ago. Way to go, Wishbone!

In Case You're a Vegan Addicted* To Nutella Like I Am...

THIS WILL DO.

*I'm a dry Nutella-holic

12-14-2009

It seems important to note that these are comics drawn whilst leading zine and comic workshops with students. Children.

So you will find nary a curse word or the usual foul mouthery I may draw on my own time.

Clean as a whistle!




I have before encountered teachers who get self conscious about the grating voices they adopt when disciplining or having to sternly explain something over and over again to students. I was feeling a bit of this on the diary day shown.
Having to remind someone that they need to respect you / themselves/ their paper/ their friends is a drag.

12-8-09

Most of my favorite blogs post comics on a regular basis.
With the advent of my scanner finally working, I am going to try & post comics from days of old, and eventually some new things.




Just click it a couple of times, you know...

Seniors React to Placenta as Food

So, some of my friends in San Francisco have something called Food Adventure Club.
They are shown above, marveling at an exotic and deadly fruit.

Food Adventure Club's motto is: Making your gastronomic dreams a reality.

They've eaten Durian Fruit, learned to make croissants and toured an oyster farm, to name a few.

Here's a snippet from their by-laws:

4. Adventures should be balanced to achieve harmony between difficult and benign adventures.
a. For example, simpler, gentler Adventures that have an emphasis on cohesion-building (ie canning fruits, visiting a beehive) should follow gross, controversial, or destructive activities (ie eating roast guinea pig, live octopus, or human placenta.)

Did you catch that last example? Human Placenta?
Indeed!
After one missed opportunity (possible formaldehyde exposure), this group of savvy individuals have chanced upon a (volunteered) human placenta to eat and also try as a supplement.

I do not live in San Francisco, and as you can see most of these adventures are far from the vegan realm, BUT I had placenta on my mind after a recent visit with a food adventurer.

I took this topic to the Senior Center where I volunteer, and asked our Zine Group if they'd ever heard of the practice of ingesting one's own placenta.

I wasn't trying to horrify , shock or disgust the old ladies. These are the same people who talk to me about buying "Brown Beef" (horse meat), eating "Hog Ball" (something from the inside of a hog's stomach) and roasting possum or squirrel for dinner as kids. Who knew they'd be squeamish!

Read on for their reactions.

(if you click twice, the comic will be large and legible)




If you'd like to know more about Food Adventure Club,
please visit their facebook page . You may also read recent articles about the "intrepid gastronauts" "pushing the boundaries" on Coca Cola Night here, via the post and courier Post and Courier.

I Hooked Up My Scanner

click to enlarge


So now you may enjoy comics without my having to drive far and wide to scan them for you.