“Project Handjob” was unleashed today, the actual name of which I can now reveal to be: IT TAKES A VILLAGE. An installation of sorts meant to activate the exterior of the Moody Center while its insides remain shuttered for the summer (what with a very contagious virus still roaming among us that everyone seems to have forgotten about!).

Just a teaser image for now, until official photography is taken next week.

Houston's restaurants and bars may have opened their doors to crowds of patrons, unmasked and ungloved, but the people operating in non-profit art organizations aren't rushing to chase the money with complete disregard for human life. So no big art opening for this thing. The wife, myself, and a dear of mine did however enjoy an intimate (yet socially distant) get together with the Moody's curator Frauke Josenhans, and her immediate family in a laid back picnic setting on the front lawn right outside the piece, and that was very lovely.

Probably the only bit of socializing with humans other than the wife since... since April.

Goddamn.

#Journal #Work

These days I start my day with coffee and some light reading, typically comix (in this case it's Jack Kirby's NEW GODS). I avoid my phone, email, social pings, and any news stuff for as long as possible.

This lasts for 30 minutes to an hour, and then I'm ready to get to work, usually involving drawing or inking. An hour or two in, and I'm ready for a bite, leaning towards fruit, granola, and yogurt (it must be summer). Back to work again for a couple hours, powered by podcasts and/or music (today it was a Deconstructing Comics episode on Warren's Black Summer/No Hero/Supergod “trilogy”)

(Spoiler: they didn't like them as much as I did.)

By mid-day I break for a shower (it's a mind-trick, deceiving me into thinking I'm getting a fresh start on the day), before lunch (something savory) and another read, preferably non-fiction prose (these days it's either HITLER AND THE POWER OF AESTHETICS, REBELS AGAINST THE FUTURE, or the latest New Yorker.

Back to work again for a few hours, with the last hour reserved for email, important social media responses, and a skim through my feeds, with my workday officially ending at 5:00pm.

Then it's time for dinner prep and winding down with a show or movie. Bed time reading from time to to time, but lately I find that I drift off mid read and am rarely able to retain what I've read or know where I stopped.

A child is forthcoming though, and changes to the daily routine are upon us.

#journal

Redrawing a few panels that need redrawing. I hate backtracking, but certain things are just gonna haunt you too much. I think I'm pretty good at letting go and moving on most of the time. You have to pick and choose your “battles”, and it's like that everyday, regardless of what the task at hand is.

Generally speaking, when it comes to comix, I'm a big believer in the overall page being far more important than each individual panel, because it is the overall page that is “the piece” really. It's okay for there to be a panel on that page that won't blow the viewers' eyeballs out of their skulls, just so long as it doesn't ruin the overall page for you. And it can take looking at a thing more than once to know if it's worth redoing.

Too much time lost today figuring out some technical video/sound stuff. Have it down now, so might get to shooting some video content already. Maybe next week.

#Journal #Work #Comix #TheSolarGrid

Jellyfish washing up the shore of Surfside Beach yesterday, which made it less than an ideal beach day, but neither that nor Coronovirus could keep the crowds away. To be fair though, the threat of infection isn't something to worry about at Surfside, not even on the most crowded of days, because the beach-going experience is quite different from any beach I've ever been to anywhere else on Earth. At Surfside, you drive up to the shore—directly up to the shore—in your car. You just park it right there on the beach, and create a little setup right against your car. A setup that could include a few chairs, a foldout table, a canopy, and a grill to name a few. Which is to say, you have a significant amount of territory marked out for you, and virus or not, social distancing is already very much practiced.

It was great to be among so many humans though, even with the aforementioned distances in place. Just the awareness of other peoples' presence, theirs sounds, playful chatter, and competing music... almost forgot what that was like.

It's also got to be one of the most diverse beach-going experiences I've ever had. And I've been to beaches in California, New York, the Netherlands, Egypt, and Vietnam, and absolutely nowhere I've seen is as diverse as Surfside. Walking along the beach, you would cross paths with whites, blacks, Latinos, and fully veiled Muslim women. Music would transition from country rock to hip hop to regaeton and the smells would shift from grilled meats to pizza to apple and grape-tinged shisha.

This, as far as I'm concerned, is exactly how it should be (although, a touch of Netherlands-style nudism wouldn't be a terrible addition).

#journal

When I started this blog, I was sincerely hoping I'd treat it more like a journal. The kind of thing you scribble daily thoughts in with complete disregard to whether or not it's being read, whether or not there is an audience for it.

Not that I mind it being read, but I wanted the mindset writing it to be more inward that outward. It's entirely possible though that over a decade of social media has corrupted our ability to write that way, or worse... think that way even.

Inbox zero. Feed-catcher at 99+ though.

Might have to obliterate and start fresh. Need to feel lighter.

#Journal

Skipping tomorrow's newsletter again.

Needless to say, a wrench has been thrown in my productivity and any methodology I might have had for going about things has been agitated to say the least.

Working to get back on track despite a rush of thoughts, feels, and ideas.

#journal

Helicopters hovering overhead tonight.

Last night however was beautiful. A light but constant drizzle, and the symphony of frogsong. No, really.

I dragged my trash cans out to the curb, and the frogs were everywhere. Just hopping around in the middle of the street. Hundreds of them.

It must be mating season. Or some ancient plague bullshit.

Either way, it was kind of magical.

#journal

Just about wrapping up my, uh, my hand job, and don't think I can look at another hand again for a while.

Skipping tomorrow's newsletter. Not much to report this week other than work-in-progress stuff. Will try to spend the weekend tidying up, reading, and thinking.

#journal

Keto diet out the window with today's lox, arugula, and cream cheese on bread, because if you're gonna have lox and cream cheese, well then you gotta have it on some form of bread.

Inbox has climbed up to 20, but I should have that taken care of by the weekend.

Wrapped up this week's worth of inking, and reminded myself why inking supplies should never be left anywhere near computer stuff.

#journal

First time out last night since... I dunno, March? (Well, if you don't include weekly grocery runs, which I think is very fair to disinclude.)

Is it safe to assume that drive-in movie theaters are in for a comeback? If the full lot at the SHOWBOAT last night is any indication, maybe. A bit out of the way, but if inner city drive-ins were to spring up anytime soon, I don't see why that would be a bad business model (especially in car-oriented cities like Houston or, say, Los Angeles). Oh and by the by, JURASSIC PARK, 27 years later(!)... still totally holds up (okay, so they glaze over some of the science stuff, but still a damn fantastic movie).

Set out this week's worth of mail out front for pick-up and winding myself up for a long day of inking.

A couple newer additions to the webshop too.

Inboxes at (gulp) 19.

#journal