Semi-Productive

The last few days have been rather productive for me. Not in the sense of my site, or even working on new comics--or the two guest comics I agreed to do--but I made some significant headway on my novel. It really is starting to shape up into something halfway readable.

In order to work on it, I've had to cut away all distractions, just hole myself up in my room, and pray for the ability to focus. And it's working, slowly, yes, but working.

It just bugs me that I waste so much of my time on worthless interweb sites. Amusing they may be, but they don't fulfill my soul, not the way that creating does.

One of my friends recently started recording music again, and commented that he hadn't felt this good in a long time. I have to agree that creating something, anything, has a beautiful satisfaction to it that can't be replicated by any other means.

I have no idea what you're into, what makes you feel worthwhile and at rest, but take the time to lock yourself in your garage to weld that new sculpture, hid under the stairs and crochet until your heart stops, and sweat over the stove as the aroma of your latest concoction fills the area. Create. Feed your soul.

+Lesson Learned+

Archive

Now if this was Hugh Jackman we were talking about...

How Does This Happen?

I don't know about you, but if something is marginally entertaining--and seems stupid in my mind--I can't get enough of it.

My latest time waster/fad is a free sprite based MMORPG called Sacred Seasons. I'm playing it through Facebook, and it's retarded, but I can't stop playing. Once again, I've found something to waste my valuable time and keep me from doing the things I need to--or want to.

Stupid internets. Making me so angry.

More Gibberish tomorrow.

+Weekends+

Archive

"She's a cold hearted snake, look into her eyes..."

Announcing...

...my very own Etsy shop. At the moment, I have nothing "officially" up yet, though I'm hoping this will change in the next few weeks--but via Etsy's Alchemy feature, commissions are already available.

Things you can expect from my shop: personalized 1" buttons and button sets, original paintings, custom magnets, custom t-shirts, prints of the comics, plus the ability to commission me for any of the aforementioned items.

Things I hope my shop will have: limited edition, custom figurines; hand-made plushes.

Things my shop will not have: herpes.

Things I wish my shop could have: Yetis, ninjas for hire, and customers.

I'll let you know as things pop up online. But if you have any questions about any of this, feel free to contact me chris(dot)smith(dot)mailliw(dot)william(at)gmail(dot)com. (I know, it is the forever address.)

Anyway, happy Monday, and I'll see you tomorrow with more Gibberish.

An Odd Trend...

I'm not sure how to take the fact that more people come to my blog on non-comic days than comic days. Maybe you all just want to wait until you get both a new post AND a new comic, or my personality is really that much better than my comics... If that's the case, then I still don't know if I should take it as a compliment or not. I suppose I should just be glad that ANYONE is even coming to this site--which I truly am--and not worry about when.

In other news, a past mentor, Mark Haskell Smith, sent me a link to a wonderful article about publishing. You can find it here, and if you have the time to read through it in its entirety, I'd highly recommend it, as it is chock full o' good things for any aspiring writer to know.

Also, I've got all the past comics up to date at the "official" Gibberish site. So my archive links will now start taking you there. And--cross your fingers--the site might be getting its aesthetic overhaul here sometime soon. I hope. I may have found someone to help me out and get this thing on track.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you Monday--with even MORE news!

+Empty Nest+

Archive

Gives a whole new meaning to the term "Empty Nest."

"Do You See a Problem With the Stunt Cock?"

I wonder if it also tells the story of how she became white in two weeks...

Found this awhile back and just forgot about using it. This is probably better than anything I'll ever come up with in Gibberish, but what can you do--people's failures are often more amusing than people's successes.

In other news, I finished reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest last night, and it is a book that everyone should read. And I don't say this lightly--especially if you write yourself. Kesey has created characters so wonderful, and situations reeking with tension, that anyone paying attention can learn by leaps and bounds from this novel. Read it--even if you've seen the movie (which is still a good flick, just different.)

Also, I started working on my first "real" painting the other night, on canvas and everything. It's going alright, I just wish it didn't take so long for the paint to dry. Stupid oils. Teach me not to just use acrylic. I'll be sure to post a pic of it once it is finished--maybe even turn it into a Gibberish. We'll see.

Have yourselves a wonderful day, and I'll see you tomorrow.

+Next Stop, Next Wife+

Archive

They can also be converted into time machines--that one's just a given though.

Novel Day

Some of you might have been under the assumption that today was President's Day. You are wrong. It is Novel Day, and I will be spending the rest of it holed up in my "office" and writing/revising away.

I am leaving.

Gibberish tomorrow.

Fog

It's weird getting back into the real world, where things like jobs and duties matter. If it wasn't for the pile of work waiting on my desk, I'd never have thought I'd left--like I'd just stepped into some parallel universe that allowed me to fire a gun my father brought back from Vietnam, watched my family crumble into broken sobs through my own tears, and drive and drive and drive.

I realize though, that once I get back on track and set into my old routine, things will feel a bit more normal and a bit less numb.

Here's to a good weekend.

+That's Where+

Archive

Would someone be a dear and let me know if I can get sued for this?

I'm Home

There are things I want to say.

They will be said at a later time. Possibly Friday.

No promises.

+I'll Save You+

Archive

Happens every time.

+Waspy Girly+

Archive

Worst part: They don't always die after they sting you.

Finding Distractions

Right now, I'm either in Texas or on my way to Texas. I'm probably talking with my father about how insane my grandmother was, how she used to park on the freeway and say that other cars would stop because "I was here first," how we'd take 2 a.m. trips to Wal-Mart, or how we were always supposed to go to church but she slept until noon every time. Perhaps I'm laughing with my brothers about the drunk she used to harbor or about her dog that always looked like it my shiver itself to pieces.

Or I'm at my computer, trying to bury myself in my own stories. My fictitious world that only has to deal with the deaths and lives that I can control. Or I'm reading someone else's story, letting them carry me through the preset path the figured out the logistics to long ago. Maybe in the midst of remembering my grandmother, I'm trying to forget her just as quickly.

Regardless, this is the filler for today. I've lined up a bonus Gibberish for Monday. And by the time I come back to voice my thoughts, this will be over. You will have forgotten my grandmother. And, in some ways, I hope I'll have done the same.

+Just For Me+

Archive

...

Odd, How Things Work

Found out the other day that my grandmother had died in her sleep.

Odd that it came on a week that Gibberish was devoted to death, a fact I decided before I heard the news.

Might not be much, or anything, on Friday.

More death Gibberish tomorrow.

+Like Sleeping+

Archive

...

Doom and Pickle Fest Vol. 3

I thought I'd have some pictures, but seriously, does anyone want to see pictures of other people watching movies and playing Rock Band? I thought not. So no pictures.

Overall it was a good time, though this year definitely saw a decline in interest. There were only about six of us that were in it for the long haul, and only two of us stayed awake the entire fest. This year changed from the norm, in that there was only about 12 hours of movies, instead of the 24, and we played a six hour chunk of Rock Band from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. Hopefully, the next fest will have a bit more participation.

This year, we watched a few films worth mentioning. We kicked it off with Noises Off, an early '90s film that is hysterical--especially for anyone that has been involved in theater. Then we watched Speed Racer. While it might've bombed at the box office, it really is a very entertaining film, and one that only grows in enjoyability with its second viewing. However, I wouldn't recommend this one if you have to watch it on a small television. It's one of those that really needed to be seen in a theatre, or on a projection screen, as it is a visual feast. The only other films really worth mentioning are Joe Versus the Volcano and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I'd never seen Joe... and it's a bizarre little fable/parable about life that is simply fun to watch. And as for Roger Rabbit... if you haven't seen it, you should. For it's time it was an amazing film feat, and today, it has withstood the test of time and will--or should be--a staple of everyone's film cannon.

And as that was the majority of my weekend--considering I went to bed about six last night--there's not much else to report. Have a good Monday, and I'll see you tomorrow with more Gibberish.