Tag Archives: Kier

I feel a tune coming on

Leave a comment | Posted by Patrick Calder on in friends, home, music, photo

I ran into the prostitute in the laundry room today, talking on her phone. Someone mentioned that her and her roommate do laundry every day. That had never really occurred to me, but it makes sense. Especially this time of year, with the sweat and the juices, and the whatnot.
In addition to some johnny cash, marilyn manson, and patsy cline, I picked up Miranda Lambert‘s album yesterday, on the iTunes music store. (Gift certificates are our friends). My uncle had bought the CD–which is a pretty strong recommendation in its own right, as previously, the last album he’d bought was only available on vinyl and 8-track–and played it repeatedly while I was down there. She’s pretty good. Country, but not to the point of parody. She has a little bit of folk singer in her voice. And always a good sign: not all of her songs are about love. Looking over her website, it’s some pretty sickeningly blatant marketing by a record label. That journal sounds like it was written by an ad exec trying to sound like a 13 year old girl, not a 22 year old professional musician. But so long as the marketing doesn’t affect the music… we’re good.
Okay… political question: Do you ever wonder how a US President who lied multiple times to invade 3 countries resulting in over a hundred thousand deaths, can keep a straight face when acting outraged that the Iranian President may have been involved in taking hostages 25 years ago?
Food for argument.
I maybe shoulda gone out tonight. Kier tried to drag me out to Dollhouse, at the Black Cat. At the very least, I would have like a chance to see Kelowna, (smart, interesting, attractive). But after 2 seperate cover charges, the fact I almost never dance, and that it’s being held in the dungeon known as Backstage, I decided to stay home. I think God is on my side though. Ju7st as Kier stepped out of the subway, he got nailed by the biggest rainfall we’ve had in weeks. Told him that a storm which comes on so fast will dissipate just as fast. He didn’t believe me, and made a run for it. Within 5 minutes, it had pretty much stopped raining.
I was so very tempted to go buy an Airport Express today. So often when I’m working with my laptop on the couch, I want to listen to some music that I have on my machine, but I either don’t have it on disk or don’t feel like burning one. The Express would let me wirelessly stream the music to my stereo. Not to mention print wirelessly. But after spending 8 bucks at Radio Shack for a couple of AV splitters, I now have what I need to plug in my laptop from anywhere in the apartment. Compared to the $120 Express… not a bad compromise. Not to worried about the printing. If I’m printing, I’m gonna have to get off my ass soon anyway to mail, fax, or assemble something. Oh… the store? Crap. No less than 4 employees sitting around on top of the boxes talking, waiting 10 minutes before asking me if I needed assistance. (I couldn’t have cared one way or the other… but, you know… common courtesy…)
Today? Massive laundry day. Tomorrow? Massive kitty litter day. My life is so glamorous.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!

Women, women, women, and cameras

1 Reply | Posted by Patrick Calder on in friends

My friends all suck. Some of them do it very well. I finish up weeks of work on a tedious, mind-numbing project. Every other day, someone was asking me to go do something, or help them with this, or do that for them. But now that I’m free of that yoke, and ready to party and let off some steam, they all bugger off to god-knows-where. I even had an honest-to-God party on my schedule for Sunday night, and that got cancelled. So my party mood is all revved up, but God I hate going out alone.
So yes, I broke down and bought the new camera. Went with the Digital Rebel, because I’ve never been good with that peer pressure thing, or turning down pretty things that want me. And oh my God, it’s amazing. Reminds me what I’ve missed since I stopped using my Minolta so much. The optics on an SLR just blow away anything on a fixed-focus camera.
Okay… it hit me the other night when I was running to FedEx… the Presidential Inauguration here in DC is like the prom. A great big show with no real meaning, attended by a bunch of people who normally wouldn’t spit on each-other. The sheer number of limos that flood downtown cause their own little localized ozone hole. All the cool kids are here. Haven’t seen so many out-of-town visitors since … since nothing. Not even the Cherry Blossoms bring in this many people.
We went out to celebrate Autumn’s birthday a couple weeks ago. It must have been a Saturday, because Autumn and I spent the day doing the tourist thing again. We met up with everyone, though, for dinner at Tuscana West. I knew we’d be under-dressed, just by having walked past that place frequently, when I used to work on 15th Street. But when I walked in there, it was the whole prom thing again. All I could say to my friends was “This must be where yuppies go to die!”.
We went up to the Russia House afterwards. Had never been to that place, and only heard intimidating things about it. Which really, upon reflection… is all crap. One of the girls we were with had a cousin, sister, or roommates-cousin who once dated the owner or bathroom attendant, and got us past the doorman. But unless you go to the dining room, which we didn’t, you’re simply crowded ass-to-ass in this narrow, furniture-packed, red-velveted bar which would easily fit in my apartment. (A feat some restaurant’s bathrooms can’t manage.) There were many cute girls, and I even talked to one or two. Thankfully Kier fell for the girl who interested me most, so that he became the one heartbroken when we found out she was married.
Probably left there around two or two-thirty, and hopped on the subway before it closed. As usual, I was headed in the opposite direction from everyone else, and ended up waiting alone on the platform. It wasn’t such a bad wait though, because I had the chance to fall in love. This girlslashwoman, more drunk than awake, became annoyed with her friends and came over to talk to me. A beautiful dusky redhead with a grin that inspired feelings in its recipient. And half-cocked, we still had an amazingly intelligent conversation for about 10 minutes, as her friends–all male and full of hateful testosterone for me–looked on. A smart, beautiful, interesting, world-traveler wanders over and talks to you… how do you not fall in love?
Yet again, I fall in love by stepping out the front door.
You know… as a creativity and activity booster, I’m seriously considering setting some standards for myself. Ie… I must take at least one photo a day. I must write something each day. I thought about saying I had to paint or draw something each day… but that’s a more serious time commitment. What else could I do?…
I have to get up in the morning and go take pictures of the Ronald Reagan building while the sun is facing the correct side. I convinced my client to use a photo of the building, but don’t know of any cheap stock photo sources for the building. Sounds like a job for… dum da da dum… the Digital Rebel!
God I need to get out more often.
Three weeks and counting to Visqueen.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!

Small Press Expo (SPXpo)

1 Reply | Posted by Patrick Calder on in art

The annual Small Press Expo started yesterday, out in Bethesda. This isn’t your 1980s comic convention, where the attendees were just happy that they could look down on Trekkies. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend bringing children at all in hopes of finding stuff just for them. While there undoubtedly juvenile material, the vast majority of the material is adult, often with a capital A. (Walking in to one door brought me face to face with a t-shirt proclaiming “I’d rather be masterbating”.) But this is also adult material as in mature (and sometimes not so mature), interesting stories with beautiful artwork.
The entire show was sold out this year, with probably about 150 different exhibitors. The largest were probably Fantagraphics or Top Shelf, while the smallest included quite a few people sitting at their booths, folding their photocopied books as they sold them. There was nary a “X” in sight. And if you don’t know what that means, you’re probably better off. It was a mixed group of exhibitors in all, but more than a few or them could learn a bit about salesmanship. At a convention for independents, unless you have a cult following, no one is likely to come over and gush. I pass several tables where the people seems lodged behind their table in a post-meal coma. I suppose it’s contradictory really. You have to be reclusive and obsessive to manage to publish your own comics, but you also need be outgoing and out-of-doors to promote them. As I said, though, it was a mixed group. I had great discussions with several creators, including Danielle Corsetto (who’s excellent new online strip Girls With Slingshots starts this weekend) and Jennie Breeden (starving artist whose business card reads “It’s not satanic porn… honest!”).
My friend Kier came along with me this year. We had to take two or three spins around the entire show before he started buying anything. He just kept muttering in a low moan, “I am going to have to spend soooooo much money”. (Kier recently recovered from a long job search and apartment hunt which have not left much in the way of financial resources). I take this to mean he loved almost everything he saw. I think in the end, the only thing that stopped him from buying more was the inability to lift his bag.
In a brief period of lucidity between tours of the show floor, Kier also mentioned that he suddenly felt incredibly inadequate. Visit this show, and you know it’s a very easy feeling to have. Many, if not most, of the exhibitors are people who could never get a contract with a major comic publisher. But they have such a need to express themselves, they went ahead anyway, and create, promote, and sell their own work. More than one successful company has been founded for just that reason.
Other companies that stood out include Mad Yak Press who had a table full of incredibly beautiful books, every one of which I wanted, (though I restrained myself to just Texarkana and 2 issues of Black Eyed Susan); and John Gallagher, creator of Buzz Boy, who told some very talented local high school students that if they put together something in time for the show, he would sell it from his booth.
(Side note to these student’s art teacher, who apparently tells them they are wasting their time with comics: Shut the fuck up. Who ever told you that the best way to encourage a child is to trash the artistic endeavor they enjoy most, regardless of what you think of the medium?)
Overall, I loved the show. Despite having a much smaller budget myself this year, I came away with some very good stuff:

  • The Devil’s Panties (Summer 2004) by Jennie Breeden
  • An original sketch by Jennie Breeden
  • Texarkana by Neighly, Hadiwidjaja, and Horne
  • A Girls with Slingshots promo book by Danielle Corsetto
  • Issues 1 and 2 of Black Eyed Susan, by Patrick Neighly and Donny Hadiwidjaja
  • BOMAD 2 by Rebecca Sugar

And from the free table:

  • Issues 8 and 10 of Quicken Forbidden by Dave Roman and John Green
  • A Goats.com promo sheet
  • mug-mug: A collection of poetry and prose by Naveen Bokhari

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!