Blog du Wren

FC 103 - Work Those Muscles

Wow. It feels like it has been years since I've worked under a deadline like this. It's 11:49 pm on Thursday evening and an hour ago, I hadn't even started this week's comic. Usually, I have it done before lunch on Thursday and all I have to do is cut and paste the post last thing before I go to bed. Not this week. No, this week has been hectic: drive-ins, after parties, double dates, work(!)*, circus ballet, and more.

The result of a hectic week is a quickly thrown together comic. Perhaps you can't even tell a difference. Well, this one took under an hour while most take 2 or more. All in all, though, I'd say the more than 50% drop in time leads to less than a 50% drop in quality, but that's just me. Anyway, we all know 2 hectic weeks back to back for me is practically unheard of so next week's comic will be back in the regular vein. Anyhoo, happy Friday!!

Thursday April 29 2010

File under: comic

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My Earth Day Contribution 2010

I've been really making an effort these last couple years to honor Earth Day. While the saying goes that we should treat everyday like Earth Day, it is easy to slip into less than perfect habits. Plus, having one day where everyone (media, organizations, etc.) is focused on doing good things for our planet makes for a wonderful excuse to do something yourself.

The past 2 years, I've been taking a couple hours out of my Earth Day schedule to go pick up trash on the side of the road. Not only is this Earth Day inspired, but when bike is one's primary mode of transportation, one tends to notice just how trashy some of our roads can get.

Besides the great feeling I get from doing my little part to help clean up, it is just downright interesting to see what ends up on the side of the road. In my unscientific survey, here are my observations. At least 3/4 of the garbage on the side of the road is easily recyclable (glass, plastic, aluminum, etc.).* A majority of that (at least in my small test area) is glass such as beer bottles, alcohol bottles, and wine bottles (the weight and breakablity of which led to some interesting thoughts on glass's desirability as a packaging medium). Some roads haven't had a trash crew through in a . Just an hour of cleaning up trash can make a huge difference.

I'm hoping to make my Earth Day trash clean up a yearly thing. If you happen to be around next April, feel free to join me.

Monday April 26 2010

File under: environment

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FC 102 - Holiday Comic Cop Out

Two years ago, I planned a whole month of comics in honor of Earth Day. But I ended up being on the road for most of April so couldn't get it all to come together. And then last year, I was on the road again, so again it didn't happen. This year, I have no excuse except that I forgot. But while I might have forgot about my Earth Day comic aspirations, I didn't forget about Earth Day, of course. But more on that later.

Anyway, this is one of the comics that I was planning for that month long homage 2 years ago. Had I known how quickly it would come together, I might have just made it happen back then. (Comics without people in them are so much easier to draw.)

Anyhoo, I hope you all had a happy, productive, and conservative Earth Day.

Thursday April 22 2010

File under: comic

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A Beard With a Story

Here's the story:

There is a short beard-related documentary showing at the Pickford Cinema here in Bellingham. Being a beard enthusiast, I rallied my beard-o-phile friends together to go. Then I had the thought, "Hey, I'm due for my bimonthly shave anyway. Why not get creative for the event." I promptly called my buddy to borrow his hair buzzer.

Said buddy is a clowny fellow. And it just so happened that the buzzer exchange was going to happen at Vaudevillingham. Clown buddy decided that we should turn the ridiculous beard trimming into an act. I somewhat (but not really) reluctantly agreed.

The act was an audience plant act. I was the plant and I was to win the bid on a special hair-cut auction. When I got on stage, I sat down to get ready for my hair cut. Then out came Blinky. He brandished juggling knives, took a shot from his bottle of whiskey, then went to down on my beard. He climbed up on my knees, pretended to shave my legs*, shushed the audience, and generally clowned around.

And then I ended up with this beard. On the Trustworthiness of Beards scale, they call it a Horseshoe a.k.a. The Hogan and rate it "unsavory". If it is paired with oversized, yet mismatched, sideburns, I only imagine that moves it more to the "threatening" side of things. The upside is that after the movie, I'm free to shave it off. The downside is that that won't be until Tuesday.

Sunday April 18 2010

File under: beard

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FC 101 - Down On Bourbon Street

A rant: one of my biggest pet peeves is this proliferation of beads in the parade/celebration scene. Okay, so maybe it isn't the beads per se, because dressing up and having a souvenir isn't so bad. It is the fact that the beads are/have become super crappy plastic that is so cheap that no one feels they should keep them. So, during a parade/celebration, those who have the beads want to get rid of them (because they bought a box of 100,000 necklaces or whatever) and when people take them, they just throw them away when they get home. It all makes me cringe.

But that's not what this comic is about. It was inspired by my recent-ish trip to New Orleans and seeing how it has become quite a family tourist destination, which necessarily tones it down. I thought it was funny seeing parents trying to give their kids the New Orleans experience yet also protecting them from exactly that. Oh well. The thought made me chuckle.

Friday April 16 2010

File under: comic

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Cirque Lab on the Move

The Cirque Lab, home of the Bellingham Circus Guild, has found a new home. While the old space was pretty dang neat (and home to many great memories*), circumstances dictated finding a new place to better accommodate Vaudevillingham and the other great shows that are in store.

Anyway, along with a new space comes moving. It's really amazing how much can accumulate in a shared space, esp. when shared by circus folk that can turn pretty much anything into a prop or costume. A bunch of people helped out on the moving, so it was a hoot. There was to unhook aerial equipment, trying on old , and alternative .

So now all the is left is organizing the to get ready for this month's Vaudevillingham show. Speaking of which, you should come. Use it as an excuse to check out the new space, see a great show, and support a worthy local circus group. Info (address, times, etc.) can be found on the website. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday April 14 2010

File under: misc

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I Love My Job

I love my job. For those of you who don't know (or are saying to yourself "You have a job!?!?"), I am a professional housesitter*. While technically the focus is usually on pets, since I do the plants, mail, papers, etc., I think "housesitter" encompasses the job better than "petsitter".

Why do I love this job? It's always different. I get to shop at different grocery stores, see different views, hang out with different pets, get to know different neighborhoods, and ride different buses, just to name a few things. And while housesitting requires you to be around the house as much as possible, it still leaves time for me to do my thing: make and do crosswords, draw comics, read, watch t.v., make websites, etc. But what I like most of all about housesitting is that I can see the direct result of my work. There is no middle man between me and the people for whom the service is being rendered, and they always appreciate it so much. That, the being able to directly help someone out, is what I love most about my job.

Do you know someone who needs a housesitter? I'm always looking to take on new clients and move into new markets*. And the jobs don't have to be in the northwest. I'd be happy to do a stint in Delaware, California, or Germany. Just get ahold of me and we'll work something out.

Monday April 12 2010

File under: work

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FC 100 - Billable Hours

Woohoo!! Comic number one hundred!* I'm halfway tempted to review the history of Friday Comics, from a one-time shot to a month long experiment to what it is today, but won't. If you are feeling nostalgic, however, have a browse through some of the past 3 years of comics.

Instead of a nostalgic look back though, I thought it might be fun to look at a few stats:

Besides me, there have been 11(!) guest artists*
8 guest artist contributed just one comic apiece*
Guest artist contributions account for 38% of the Friday Comics
At the time of their contributions, guest artists represented 5 different states and 5 different countries!
Since the official start of Friday Comics (Oct 2007), a new comic has been posted on over 75% of Fridays*
90% of comics have been 1-panel, 4% 3-panel, 3% 6-panel, 2% 4-panel, 1% 2-panel
26% of the comics have been drawn by hand on paper*, about half of guest artists' chosen medium

Any stats I missed that you'd like to know? Any particularly fond memories or favorites you have from over the years? As for me, there's too many to count. And hopefully, there will be many more.

Thursday April 8 2010

File under: comic

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Bus Pass Pride

I am the proud owner of an April 2010 WTA bus pass. "Big deal", you might be saying to yourself. For me, it is. It has been many years since I've had a bus pass* and I am super excited to have one again.

My schedule is such that owning a month long bus pass wouldn't benefit me. Either I am in Anacortes, where the bus is only really useful for getting out of town, and I don't do that very often, or I am only in a place for a short period of time, not long enough to justify getting a pass.

This month, I have a couple of housesitting gigs lined up back to back in Bellingham and it works out calendar-wise that I can justify buying a pass. The benefits of having a pass aren't just saving money when you ride often. There is also not having to think about transfers*, never needing correct change, and the knowing smile exchanged between you and the driver that you are a frequent rider, a user of public transit.

Yes, I am excited to have a bus pass again and am reminded of that every time I swipe my card. YAY FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT!

Tuesday April 6 2010

File under: transportation

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Rejected Photos From Mex-Guat-Bel


	In the course of a trip, there are good pictures that don't make it to the blog, whether because of subject matter (they didn't fit into any post I was making), balance (there were already enough pictures for that post), or timing (someone else took the photo and got it to me after I already made a post on the topic). These are those photos from the 2010 Mexico/Belize/Guatemala trip. I'm trying something new in terms of displaying them. I hope you like it (I sure do). (If you are reading via RSS, please do come visit the blog for this one as it is worth it (I hope).) (If I did things right, you should be able to scroll the photos by clicking through the right hand of each photo once it has enlarged)*.