partridges and a pear tree

December 24th, 2010

me talking about myself

December 23rd, 2010

A student from Rutgers came to my house with a film crew last September to interview me for a documentary filmmaking project. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around what exactly it was for…the student is part of something called the Institute for Women’s Leadership and for some reason the word “leadership” always makes my mind go blank. But she made a very nice interview. Great job, Mimi and crew!

I’m trying to embed it but if that doesn’t work you can see it here.

Oh! And look. Someone just sent me a link to this amazing in-depth interview with Lynda Barry with the Onion’s A/V Club! I think I’m getting her new book Picture This for Christmas.

point of view

December 21st, 2010

I dreamed last night that I was taking photos of the solstice lunar eclipse. But in fact, I didn’t even bother to wake up—it was way too cloudy here to see anything. This morning I went online to see what it looked like, and found this link to a Flickr page that NASA set up, where people could post their pictures. It’s very moving to see all the different versions, from all over the place, and to think of everyone watching the moon together.

Holly read somewhere that you’re supposed to line your shoes up on the solstice, for good luck or something.

an instructional drawing video from howard cruse

December 18th, 2010

Look at my pal Howard Cruse’s video of how he drew his Christmas card!

for the english professor who has everything

December 8th, 2010

Diane DiMassa’s selling affordable prints of her popular English Language Series. Here’s what she says:

The prints are 8.5″x11″ high-quality signed prints on archival paper. They will last longer than you, easily.
How To Get One Fast:
Paypal, of course, to Heyhothead@gmail.com
The prints are $22.00 each+$7.00 Priority shipping w/tracking.
Please specify in a note either “FnF Book Cover” or “Shit Pee Poo” and quantity.
(Same shipping amount whatever quantity. Don’t ever make me do math.)
I am practically giving them away BECAUSE I LOVE YOU and because affordable art doesn’t really exist except for me; I’m an idiot.

Oh. Here’s the other one. DiMASSA RULES!

Tintin RIP

December 6th, 2010

I just heard that the guy who was possibly the model for Tintin died recently, at age 98. I didn’t know Tintin was based on a real person. Well…I guess it’s an open question. Apparently Hergé was “not forthcoming” on the subject. Here’s an article in the Times.

But in 1928, Palle Huld was a 15 year old Danish boy scout who circumnavigated the globe using only steamships and trains, no airplanes. He won some kinda contest.

left to my own devices

December 4th, 2010

I arrived home last night from my trip to Rochester to find that the power had been out for 48 hours. It hadn’t come back on by this morning. After cooking breakfast on the woodstove and fetching in water from the brook to flush the toilet, I couldn’t quite relax into the silent and technology-free day that stretched ahead of me. Instead of reading or drawing, I became completely obsessed with figuring out how to harness our handy emergency crankable flashlight/radio (available at Holly’s store! excellent holiday gift for the apocalyptically inclined!) to the bicycle trainer which was already set up in the living room.

In Rochester on Thursday, Holly and I went to the High Falls Visitor Center and saw this cool exhibit of old machines—triphammers and lathes and flour mills—that were powered by the 90 foot waterfalls on the Genesee River.

Surely there was some way similar way that I could transmit the power of my bike. I found a dowel, and drilled a hole in it—using a hand-powered auger intended for tapping maple trees. Then I put a long nail through that, and stuck it through a convenient slot in the bottom of the pedal. The nail could rotate freely in the hole I’d made in the dowel. Then I wired the dowel to the crank handle. The tricky part was to make the dowel the exact same length as the pedal crank, and then to make sure the centers of each crank were at the same height.

I hadn’t allowed quite enough room for my bike shoe, though, so when I actually put my foot on the pedal, the whole thing kinda fell apart. Fortunately the electricity came back on at that point, or I would probably still be fussing with it. With a few refinements, I think it could actually work!

Rochester Institute of Technology

December 1st, 2010

If you’re in the area, come hear me talk Thursday 12/2 at 8 pm at the Ingle Auditorium in the Student Alumni Union.

Here are a few more details.

Engineers! I can’t wait.