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my little bro

April 14th, 2011 | Other Projects

Look, my brother John and me got mentioned in this list in the Village Voice of “The Ten Best Musician/Comic Artist Friendships!”

I remember once going to a record store with John when I was twenty and he was sixteen, and the clerk being so impressed with the stuff he was getting. I think it was a Kraftwerk album. I was proud to have such a discerning little brother. In recent years, a fan of his work with Ministry has shown up at a couple of my readings. This makes me feel very happy and connected.

We’re number 10.

Mapping Memory

April 10th, 2011 | Other Projects

If you’re in the Boston area, come hear her supreme awesomeness Lynda Barry and me talk with comics scholar Hillary Chute at Wellesley on Friday night.

I’ve been reading Lynda’s new book about drawing. It has been immensely inspiring as I slowly grind into gear to begin drawing the memoir about my mom that I’ve been fussing over for years now.

i think this thing has officially gone viral

April 8th, 2011 | Other Projects

The Bechdel Test gets a mention in this week’s New Yorker, in an article by Tad Friend about the actress Anna Faris. I’ve had the magazine sitting here all week, but hadn’t made it past “I Was Gandhi’s Boyfriend” by Paul Rudnick. I only found out about it when someone from the blog She Said, She Said emailed me a link to their recent post about the test.

rule

April 3rd, 2011 | Other Projects

Hi. Sorry I’ve been so inactive here recently. I went into a deep trough of work on my long-overdue book, which is a good thing.

I hardly remember how to make a blog post…but I will try.

I thought I would mention the curious spate of references lately to what seems to now be officially called The Bechdel Test. I’ve made at least a couple of posts about this phenomenon…here’s one. And then Neda Ullaby did this NPR piece. It’s all about a cartoon I did a hundred and twenty six years ago about two lesbians going to the movies, and how one of them won’t see a movie unless it meets three criteria. I totally ripped this idea off from a karate buddy one day when I couldn’t come up with an idea for my strip, but I’ve been unsuccessful at disconnecting my name from it.

Anyhow, I feel vaguely sheepish about the whole thing but it just seems to have a life of its own.

The Guardian’s (UK) Sunday Magazine had this recent column by Eve Wiseman that cites the Bechdel Test.

There’s another article called The Simplicity of the Bechdel Test on the website examiner.com by Caroline Hippler.

And this webcomic The Dumbing of Age referenced it in a recent episode.

It’s like the culture is finally catching up to the radical lesbian-feminist notion from a quarter century ago that women can be subjects. Thanks to the various people who tipped me off to these links!

tsunami propagation animation

March 11th, 2011 | Other Projects

I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around scope of the earthquake/tsunami that hit Japan 16 hours ago. But this NOAA model helps.

snow

March 10th, 2011 | Other Projects

The snow is up to the windowsills of my office. I had to give up on shoveling out my mailbox. Here I am feeding the birds.

Study Cartoons!

March 9th, 2011 | Other Projects

Hey, this week Vermont’s Cartoonist Laureate, James Kochalka is being sworn in at the Vermont state house. 9:30am! I’m gonna get up early so I can be there for his inauguration or coronation or whatever. Update: It’s at 1pm, thank the lord.

There’s a great article my pal Lauren Ober wrote about James in last week’s Seven Days, our local alt weekly.

The whole Cartoonist Laureate scheme was thought up the by the Center for Cartoon Studies, the amazing MFA program in cartooning just down the pike in White River Junction, VT.

CCS is always looking for motivated and talented new students–and it’s not too late to apply for the fall semester! If you think this might be up your alley, or you know anyone up whose alley it might be…check out the admissions page on their site! This place is a remarkable hotbed of cartoonaceousness.

freaking Donald out

March 3rd, 2011 | Other Projects, Wild Kingdom

I was working at the computer this evening, past the cat’s feeding time. She was sitting right in front of my screen and following my cursor around, occasionally reaching up to bat at it. It occurred to me that she might enjoy watching something more exciting, so I went to YouTube and searched for “videos for cats.” I didn’t know there was such a thing, but of course there is. This example popped up, and I started playing it. She knows the squirrels aren’t real, but she’s not quite sure what to do with them. She does a little investigating toward the end.