Adorable....

One of my students did this for me.

I like it.

If you don't, get off my blog.

Dinner.....

For dinner tonight, I ate 3/4 of a wedge of mild cheddar.

My life: kind of sad or awesomely simplistic?

You decide.

Kelly Clarkson....

I really like the girl. And I'm not going to be apologetic about it.

Regardless of what your cool buddy who only listens to Bloc Party and The Temps told you, Lady Clarkson puts out some tasty grooves. "Since U Been Gone" is just about--if not--the most catchy pop song of the past five years. And if you don't shed a few after hearing "Breakway," well then, there's not a single drop of humanity inside that walnut you call a heart.

Just so everybody knows, I like No Doubt, too And not in an ironic kind of way, either. Deal with it.

Feeling Kinda "Girl"y

So, I've started watching Gilmore Girls.

Now I know what you're thinking--"That's not really a dude show, fella." And you're right, it's not. In fact, I feel a little less like a man with every passing episode. But damned if it's not addictive. Like, western European pop music addictive. Pabst Blue Ribbon and meat lovers pizza addictive, even.

But what's so appealing about a show centered around a hot mom and her too-smart-for-her-own-good-in-a-sexy-Princess-Lea-kind-of-way daughter? Well, there's the hot mom and too-smart-for-her-own-good-in-a-sexy-Princess-Lea-kind-of-way daughter thing for one. And there's the dialogue. Not since season three of Buffy have I heard such smart and well-delivered dialogue, and that's saying something. Seriously, when those gals get to going it's like the end of The Wild Bunch, only instead of bullets flying everywhere it's snarky witticisims and clever one-liners. Not cheesy action movie one-liners, either. These are the kind of comebacks that make you angry because you know that you'll never be smart enough to ever come up with something so biting.

The actors are keen, too. They're not the standard pretty people the WB usually puts on screen--they got the chops. With what looks like very little effort, they make you believe these characters have loved each other, and fought with each other, and made it through scrape after scrape with each other. In other words, they make you believe they're a family.

So yeah, Gilmore Girls is just that--girly. But it's still a good show.And if any of you wanna fight about it, I'm right here, Annabell.

Faster than a Speeding Bullet....Maybe...

Learn how superheroes aren't as special as you've always thought....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4851397

Kaboof, redux

I'm really feeling Batgirl right now for some reason, so I thought I'd post a few sketches of her I got at the last Wizard World Chicago.

Enjoy, kids.

Dave Crosland

Little known fact--Dave and I used to be partners in the homicide unit in the LAPD. We still hold the record for most busts in a year-long period. Man, those were the days....

Andy MacDonald

What's cooler than a mechanized Batgirl? Maybe a talking dog with a British accent. But still, mechanized Batgirl's pretty cool.

Jeremy Haun

Haun's going to be a star someday. At least, that's what him and his mom always tell me.

You really should go buy the book he's doing with B. Clay Moore, "Battle Hymn." For every copy that's sold, Haun gives me an Almond Joy.

Jim Mahfood

Mahfood's almost too cool for his own good. He knows all kinds of music, he's good-looking, and people seem to think he's charming. Seriously, if he didn't produce art like this, I'd hate him.

Michael Lark

Lark's one of those guys that doesn't need me to talk about how good he is. So I'm just going to tell you guys to go buy "Gotham Central." Cool? Cool.

Mike Hawthorne

Let me tell you folks a little something about Mike Hawthorne--he's a charmer. Not only will he look at you with his piercing eyes, making you feel like you're the only person in the world and that he genuinly wants to make love to you on a balcony in Paris, but he'll rock out a sketch like this that'll just make you melt.

Michael Avon Oeming

Not only is Mike Oeming one of the most talented guys in comics, he's also one of the shortest. Seriously. I have a feeling he could still kick my ass, though.

Go buy his book "Powers" right now. You'll be happy you did.

Phil Hester

What can I say about Phil Hester that hasn't already been said?

Robbi Rodriguez

Robbi's just finished up "Hero Camp" over at Image. Keep your eye on this kid, he's got the chops.

Go get drunk for a good cause

This upcoming Friday, September 9th will be our Issue Release Bash for the sixth print issue of "Tastes Like Chicken"! The party starts at 8PM and goes until bar close. Our last party was such a huge success that we're doing it again, but this time it's even bigger! We're doing it again at the Art Bar, and we got the kind folks at Lakefront Brewery to give us a sweet deal on tasty beverages. The beautiful people at Beans & Barley will also be supplying the party with trays of complimentary edibles. Mmmm. And not only does every person that walks through the door get a free copy of our new issue, but we'll also be giving away free gifts that were donated from Victory Records, WMSE 91.7FM, Troma Films, Palisades Toys, and Cornerstone Promotion! So chances are you're gonna leave the event with some freebie! The event was also sponsored by Adambomb Gallerie and StudyLoft. And the night will be topped off with three musical acts that are guaranteed to make you shake yer behind. Justin Rolbiecki (of The Vega Star) will open up the evening with some tunes, DJ Dori will move the night along by spinning some records, and hometown favorites Pupy Costello & His Big City Honky Tonk will close out the evening with a performance of their fine hillbilly jams. There is no cover for the event, but we will be collecting donations to give to The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army for relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. So in closing, let me just sum it up for you: no cover, cheap drinks, free food, free gifts, free copy of print issue #6, free entertainment, and a chance to donate some of that money you're saving to a good cause. So come on out, have a drink with us, and meet other fellow chickens.

Bwak! Bwak! Chickenhead!

The newest on-line issue of "Tastes Like Chicken" is up! This month we've got an interview with "Mystery Science 3000"s Mike Nelson, a retrospect on "The Big Lebowski," and all sorts of other cool stuff. Go check it out: http://tlchicken.com/view_issue.php

And when you've seen all the sights and ridden all the rides, head over to the message board and tell us what you thought--http://forum.tlchicken.com/viewtopic.php?t=289

Kaboof!

I just wanted to do a quick post about the "Batgirl" comic book. This is one of DC's hidden gems and has been for years. It's always packed with great characters, amazing action, and fun stories. The art has never been anything less than beautiful, too.

Start picking up the book before Batgirl moves to the center of the DC Universe during the Infinite Crisis. That way, you can make people think you're cool by saying you liked her before she was big.

God is in the details...Or something like that...

Over on screenwriter John Roger's blog, he has a pretty nifty post about evolution vs. intelligent design. Check it out: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/

Being a teacher in Kansas, I have to hear about this a lot. Personally, I don't think intelligent design should be taught in any science classes for no other reason than it's not a science! You cannot use the scientific method--the thing that all science is based around--on intelligent design. There are no hypothesis', no experiments', and certainly no conclussions', so why put it into a science curriculum?

Anyway, go check out that post then come back here and discuss.

Mr. Sensitive Guy

Here in the southeastern part of Kansas, the local UPN station shows Veronica Mars every Sunday night. They have all summer in an attempt to get more people to watch the show. Now, everybody knows how much I love that show. I've expressed an alarmingly large amount of affection for it ever since it started last fall. But, as sad as it makes me, I'm going to have to stop watching it on Sunday nights.

Here's the thing--during every commercial break, they show ads for the United Negro College Fund, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the LAS Foundation Buddy Walk, and all sorts of other commercials that, quite frankly, bring me down. Seriously! I'm sitting there, trying to enjoy my program, then here comes these commercials all about people dying or not being able to reach their goals because they're so oppressed--it's a real fucking drag.

I know that's insensitive to say. Especially with all this hurrican stuff going on. But man, I gotta have some things to take my mind away from all that stuff, and Veronica Mars is one of those things. Except it's not, thanks to those commercials. Kids, I don't know how much more I can take.

The One About the Hurricane

I'm confused by how everything got so bad so quickly. Yes, flooding has always been a concern for New Orleans since it's below sea level, but they've known this for decades so why no definitive precautions in place? Why weren't people presented with options for protecting their homes? I live in southeastern Kansas, where we have a 1 in 2,000 chance of ever having a signifigant flood, yet my house has been flood-guarded for years.

And how did the government let the survivors get so out of hand? Have you heard about the mobs moving from neighborhood to neighborhood, killing people, destroying buildings, and essentially causing havoc all for food and water? Food and water, for fucks sake. These people are little more than animals trying to survive right now. And there's the very warranted dread of disease. There are dead people everywhere down there. Dead bodies floating down the streets, dead bodies sitting in what used to be their homes just waiting to be discovered, dead bodies huddled with the living because there really is nowhere to put them. We've yet to find a place for everybody that's been displaced by this tragedy to stay, as well. The Astro Dome's fine for now, but what about after six months? Or a year? Many of these people no longer have homes to go back to, so what are they going to do?

Is there any real hope for New Orleans? Even if the Army does get down there, which can't happen until some time next week, will they be able to do any good? Seriously, what are they going to do? Pile dead bodies? Shoot looters that are trying to keep their family fed? Build barriers to protect the already ruined buildings? And what about the city itself? As corrupt as it is (was?), nobody can deny how historically signifigant it is. So what's going to happen to all of its amazing buildings and monuments? Needless to say, it's going to be a ghost town for a few years. Not deserted, just nearly.

And, really, there's not any blame to be put on Bush. The media's all over him for not being active enough, but he can't make Congress get together and decide on what needs to be done. Implied Powers, or no he's just a cog in the machine this time. The people that are saying this stuff really need to get their shit straight. People in general need to get their shit straight. Stop talking and do something that actually helps. Donate money to the Red Cross, or better yet, donate food, baby formula, and diapers.

Folks, I don't say this often, but I'm genuinly scared by all of this. We're watching an American city tear itself apart from the inside out and there's nothing that can really be done.....This situation is just plain horrifying on so many different levels......

As If I Weren't Obnoxious Enough In Person....

Welcome to the blog.

Just so everybody knows, this thing is mainly going to be about pimping my friends and their various projects. Sure, there'll be the occasional rant about genre television getting more popular but at the cost of it's individuality, or maybe an overly sentimental tirade about comics being stuck in a constant, yawn-inducing cycle of suck on here. But, for the most part, it's all about logrolling for my pals.

So if you dig on great art and stories that'll not only make you think but also give you a warm feeling down in the cockles of your heart, stick around. If not, I hear Kevin Smith has a blog that you'd probably dig.