Blog du Wren

FC 149 - No Money Down

I'm not stoked on this comic. In fact, I'm so not stoked that I considered not posting it. But then I remembered that people like different comics. Ones that I'm tepid on, people will tell me it is their favorite. My favorite ones often get a meh response. So I'm putting it out there anyway, if only to keep up the tradition (and maybe get a chuckle or two from someone out there).

It's not the concept that I don't like. In fact, the idea of some parental action causing the need for therapy down the road therefore offsetting the cost today is one that came up in real life that we laughed about. In fact, "that's a comic idea!" I'm sure rolled off my tongue. But the baby in a cage isn't a right fit, in my opinion. But I got time crunched* and got too invested before I changed my mind, so I had to live with it.

Anyway, that's more insight than you could have possibly wanted into this week's comic. Happy Friday!

Thursday October 6 2011

File under: comic

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HDR Quarry Pic

I didn't take this photo. I wish I did. Bootstrap took it and then did whatever it is he did to make it look like this. He told me a little about it: wide angle lens, panorama stitched together, and HDR* magic.

For those who can't place it, this a picture taken from the jumping cliff at the [Lookout Arts] Quarry. Bootstrap says it was taken February of 2010, so you can see the water level is a little lower than it is currently. And you can see the roof to the woodshed is still standing. (It sure is neat to be a part of something so much that I can date things that way.)

Anyway, it's just a super neat picture that I wanted to share. Enjoy!

Monday October 3 2011

File under: quarry

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FC 148 - Four Letter Word for Hottie

Ah comic day... I'm super stoked on this week's comic because it has a cute girl and a crossword puzzle in it. What could be better*?

Speaking of comics, have you heard of the site reddit.com*? It allows its users to submit content on a particular category, and then the content is rated by other users basically making it a place to find the latest internet happenings on any given topic. In practice, there is a lot of nerd-ism and insider-ness to it, but the theory is sound.

Anyway, last week, I submitted 2 comics, one to the /r/comics category and one to /r/juggling. To watch the fallout of said postings was supremely interesting to me. Seeing how much traffic it drove, the comments, the up and down votes, and the visitors paths all kept me entertained for a few days. It also raised many questions including esoteric ones such as why do I want people to read my comics? and more. Anyway, while I'm sure I didn't get any new readers, it was an experiment that I might have to try again sometime soon.

(Oh, speaking of crosswords, I just finished up my latest crossword About Time. It hasn't been proofed by my editor yet, but if you want to have a shot, let me know what you think.)

Thursday September 29 2011

File under: comic

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Pumpkins to Potatoes and More

What a weekend! After what feels like non-stop weekends of festivals for the past month, this weekend I found myself checking out 3 more. First off, the Pumpkin Pitch in Burlington. I've been wanting to go to this for years but never thinking about it until Halloween which is too late. This year, however, I saw the sign while riding the bus* so made it happen. Basically, competitors build and huck pumpkins. The winning team chucked one over 1500 feet!

From the pumpkins to potatoes, we headed to Mount Vernon to check out their harvest festival which was highlighted by a world record attempt for the largest . While the spectacle was fun and it was great to run into so many folks I knew, the potatoes were rather : undercooked, cold, and lacking any spices whatsoever. Luckily, a hop over to the Skagit coop for some cleansed the palette.

Lastly, after somehow missing the action for the last 5 or more years, I walked to downtown Anacortes to check out the Oyster Run, our town's annual motorcycle rally. In a word, it was big. So so so many motorcycles and people in black leather. While it was interesting to stroll through and see all the action, I can't say that I'm so excited that I'm looking forward to next year. But a party is a party and it was definitely good for the businesses of A-train.

All in all, a fun weekend. Who would have thought our little corner of the state could be so exciting!

Monday September 26 2011

File under: Anacortes, events

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FC 147 - If a Tree Chokes in the Woods...

This week represents another co-opted comic idea, but it was just too good to pass up. Don't worry, it's not stolen from another comic, just life.

On another, non-thievery note, I tried a little experiment this go 'round. I didn't use the straight line tool at all*. One surprising note is that it went a whole lot quicker. Maybe it was from content (fewer people always makes for faster comics), or maybe the traditional way is that much faster. Overall, I'm not displeased with how it turned out.

Anyway, for this first day of fall, I hope you start it out with a chuckle. Happy Friday!

Friday September 23 2011

File under: comic

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Band of Bellingham Boy Beards

Bellingham has a pretty amazing juggling scene. That point was made quite clear this weekend at the Lopez Jugglefest when a Seattle* juggler sought out Bellingham jugglers to try out some complicated patterns. The patterns were a success, partially because there were a few of us that have been doing them throughout the summer at Bellingham's Juggling Club, which is quite impressive in numbers and skill, esp. for the town's small size.

Another thing about Bellingham jugglers is the tendency toward beardedness. In homage to this, I put together the 3rd annual Band of Bellingham Boy Beards skit at the public show* at Lopez. As always, the skit was meh. We would rather spend our time working on 16-club Philadelphia lines rather than rehearse for a silly act. But nonetheless, it was fun.

Maybe next year, I'll plan the BoBBBs skit more than 4 hours in advance so that we can perform something a little more fun and entertaining. But whatever the case, the Lopez Jugglefest is the highlight of the juggling year and only 51 more weeks until we can do it again!

Wednesday September 21 2011

File under: juggling

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FC 146 - Soups On

To start, I have to get a few excuses out of the way. First off, if you happened to notice the lack of a Friday Comic last week, it was because I was Sh'banging*. While it would have been possible to take a break from all the preparations and fun to quickly put together a comic, I chose to be in the moment instead. Secondly, the reasons for the late post time on today's comic are two-fold. I am on Lopez Island, helping set up for Juggle Fest (possibly the best juggling festival on the West Coast). Last night, I was down at the bakery mixing, baking, transporting, and testing all the wonderful baked goods for the fest. Then, the power went out all over the island. I guess thats one of the hiccups of island life.

Anyway, without further ado, here's this week's comic. One benefit of the week delay is that I got to "workshop", bouncing ideas and punch lines off a few people. The one I finally setted on wasn't even close to what I was originally thinking of, so I'm super glad for the help.

Friday September 16 2011

File under: comic

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Soap Box 2011

Thanks to Luke for filming and putting this together!

Tuesday September 13 2011

File under: quarry, video

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2011 Soapbox Shbang

Yep, folks, it's that time again. Time for the Lookout Arts Quarry's annual fundraiser/ridiculous-fest called Off Road Soapbox Sh'bang. And this fourth annual installation of derby racing madness promises to be even better than years past. Each year, the quarry gets a little bit better with improved access, additional features, and new areas uncovered. This year, more carnival games will be the new attraction for some. But for most, the non-OSHA approved water slide will be feature of the year*.

But the real draw is homemade derby cars being powered by gravity and creativity alone flying down the hill, over jumps, and avoiding swinging hay bales all vying for the coveted golden goggles. In between heats, music and circus will occupying the various stages and last year's super-well received Sideshow will have it's own tent (complete with oddities, sword swallowing, and more!).

Hopefully you are all sufficiently enticed to make a plan to come check out the quarry and all the antics we can pack into one day. The big day is this Saturday, Sept 10. For more information, directions, etc., check out www.lookoutarts.com. I hope to see you there!

Tuesday September 6 2011

File under: quarry

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Tall Bikes

Tall bikes seem to be the rage these days with young artsy types, esp. in the more artsy urban areas (I'm specifically thinking of Portland here). And while I've always thought they were pretty neat, I also thought of them as not very utilitarian*. I can't imagine riding through the streets of a city knowing that if I hit a red light, I'm pretty much toast. Well, while my utilitarian view of them haven't changed, getting a chance to ride some tall bikes was a whole lot of fun.

For those of you who don't know, tall bikes are much like what you would think: bikes that are tall. They range from slightly taller than your average bike to you-need-a-ladder-and-wing-man-to-mount-them height. The ones got to try out weren't of the latter variety. (The largest one available was the one I am on in the picture to the left, which presented mounting challenges of its own.)

The opportunity to experiment with these mix of form and function was provided by the Zenga bros. at Bobland. And I must say they are fun. Riding around, so far above that which is around you is quite a novelty. And the looks you get from passers by just adds to the fun. So while I'm not about to go building my own tall bike (welding skillz and general bike repair handiness come in quite useful), I do have a newfound appreciation for this twist on a classic.

Sunday September 4 2011

File under: transportation

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