Blog du Wren

Wedding Pics

Katy and Jule tied the knot this weekend over in Spokane. It was a lovely ceremony, a great time with friends and family, and a rockin' party afterwards. There was a good turn out of people to wish them the best, with a spirit of support and love all around.

For those of you that couldn't make it, here are a few of the pictures I took.

Monday October 12 2009

File under: pics

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FC 84 - A Personal Aroma Calling Card

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the stink lines that I promised a couple of weeks ago. And since I am a man* of my word, here you go. The stink lines didn't turn out great, but hopefully they convey the idea appropriately enough.

So I was going to use my name instead of "Mike" because I have noticed that dogs tend to recognize me earlier leading to less barking when I've just come from frisbee or wearing clothes for the 3rd day in a row. It has proven to be very convenient, actually. But when my comic goes international*, people won't get it. They might not even get that it is a name or whatever. So I went with Mike, not because I think this applies to any Mike that I know, but because it is a good universally recognized name. (I bet you didn't realize so much planning and scheming went into my comics, didja?)

Friday October 9 2009

File under: comic

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Plants Grow

Back in May, I embarked on a little experiment. I planted oats (remember?). The skeptical among you might be saying to yourselves, "That doesn't sound like much of an experiment." To that I say, "Please save your questions until I'm finished."* The premise of my experiment was this: plants grow. That's what they are programmed to do. All this micro-managing that we impose on our growing of plants helps increase yield, allows us to grow plants not well-suited for our climate, etc. but my theory is that it isn't necessary. If you put some seeds in the ground and walk away, they will grow.

I'm pleased to report that my oats did just that. Despite having one of the longest rain-less periods in years, my oats, which I didn't weed, water, or fertilize, grew just fine. Had I done any of the above, I'm sure they would have grown better, but without doing anything, I still produced a yield. And while I'm sure this plant-and-walk-away method won't work for every crop, it works for oats here in the Northwest.

This concept, that plants grow, really makes me happy for some reason. It reminds me that many things in life are often much simpler than we are taught. It makes food production accessible to me, even though I may not be willing to devote 2 hours every other day to its pursuit. It reinforces that biology hasn't been completely reversed with all our fancy cross-breeding and specializations. Basically, I just think it is neat.

Now what to do with the oats? Stay tuned and you will see.

Thursday October 8 2009

File under: food, misc

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Kinetics in Port Townsend

This weekend, I cruised on through Port Townsend to check out their much talked about kinetic sculpture race, basically human powered sculptures that have to navigate road, , and mud but somehow put the majority of the focus on showmanship. Luck would have it that I missed out on seeing the race and instead had to settle for the tail end of a parade and the safety check, but I wasn't disappointed.

The entries(/sculptures/racers?) were pretty dang , both with creative decoration and sometimes creative propulsion, like that is powered by the driver essentially bobbing up and down. You can tell that all the participants put a lot of time into their creations, whether they looked race worthy or not.

The theme for the event was something to do with Alice in Wonderland*. People , many of the entries were , there were tea parties in the street, etc. From the brief exposure I had to the whole thing*, it seemed that just as much focus is placed on the non-racing participants (judges, supporters, general crowd, etc.) as on the racers themselves. Basically it was just a big happy creative event. I'm glad I got a peek.

Saturday October 3 2009

File under: events, misc

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FC 83 - We Demand Total Coverage

Buried deep within this comic, there are some hints as to my thoughts on the current health care reform debate, most specifically the insurance portion of it*. But I went through various revisions of this until I found a framing/wording that made it less of an editorial comic than an attempt at being funny. I hope I did well enough that you chuckled rather than felt whatever editorial comics are supposed to make you feel*.

The drawing of this comic, however, took much longer than usual*. Luckily it is a labor of love, both for comics in general, but also circus-y stuff. If a protest like this was happening, I would turn out just to see the show. Hmmm...maybe that is a possible revenue stream for my circus performing buddies - a way to bring attention to a client's rally or protest. Who knows if that would be breaking moral bounds by joining a protest you didn't believe in just because they gave you money. I suppose being a performer's agent to organize something like that would be seedier still. Alas.

Thursday October 1 2009

File under: comic

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Worlds Fastest Knot

So as anyone who has crossed paths with me for more than 10 minutes in the past 3 years probably already knows, I'm big into so-called flying knots. I find them a great diversion for my ever fidgeting hands and they occasionally impress people to boot*. Occasionally, when I am practicing my knot tricks, someone gets inspired enough to want to learn. There isn't a whole lot of material out there to point them to and many of the tricks take more instruction than can be given in a brief 5-minute interaction.

The excitement people get when they do learn one of the tricks got me thinking about wanting to find a way to share these tricks with people in a more effective manner. Since I dabble in comic drawing, I thought maybe doing a little diagram/instructional thing might be a fun exercise. It turns out it was! So if you want to learn how to tie the world's fastest knot, check this out.

Hopefully I will put together a few more of these, maybe enough to fill a small educational pamphlet. Then everywhere I go, people will be throwing flying knots and giggling with glee. That way I won't be the only giggling knot thrower out there. Tee hee.

Wednesday September 30 2009

File under: misc, juggling

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Portland Food Carts

Image courtesy of* Food Carts Portland

I recently had occasion to spend a few days in Portland, land of happiness (remember?). While I missed out on some of the happiness inducing elements (unfortunately there was no time for the cheap cinemas or frisbee*), I got to delve deeper into that [almost]ultimate bringer of happiness: food.

I love street food. While it isn't something you see a lot in the states, occasionally you will find pockets of food carts which is about as close as it gets. Portland has a wealth of food carts, many of which are conveniently clustered downtown. After passing by them many times on the bus, I decided it was time to drop in. The verdict: good, inexpensive food that completely fits my definition of street food.

My meal was as follows: Vietnamese sandwich* for $2.95, Thai ice tea for $1.00, carne asada taco for $1.50, and pork/vegetable dumpings for $4.00. Needless to say, I was stuffed, sated, and happy. It would take days to try out all the good food there is on offer down there. I think I'm up to the challenge.

Yep, chalk another one up for Portland. Remind me why I don't live there again...*

Sunday September 27 2009

File under: food

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FC 82 - Order Up

Kind of a quickie this week as I'm doing a little bit of traveling(ish). I should probably sit down and pump out a few extra comics next time I've got some spare time so I won't have to feel the stress* of Friday's deadline every week. Anyway, I came up with this idea so long ago that I had forgotten about it. It's a good thing I keep a list of comic ideas on file.

One thing notable about this comic (since I've got this little space to fill and nothing else of value to say), I used more freehand in this comic than any previous ones (almost). (Okay, not really notable, but space filling, at least.)

Thursday September 24 2009

File under: comic

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Home Churned and Hand Pressed

Another [near-]equinox weekend means another Lopez JuggleFest. As with the years past, the weekend was wonderful. This was the first year I got to head out early to help with the prep, and with that came additional organizational tasks, which I accepted with pleasure. So in between as much as I could fit in, a shift in the bakery, and general set-up, I helped head up the cider press and the ice cream making.

The is a hand crank jobber (both the masticating and the pressing). If you add a few willing volunteers, it makes for quick work*. This year, we pressed maybe 30 gallons of delicious cider. I drank probably a gallon of it by myself*. (Oh, and it probably goes without saying, but all the apples for the cider came from on island if not from the property itself.)

Organizing the ice cream took a little more doing. Amiel and I were handed the ice cream torch due to the absence of the usual ice cream guru. We learned the recipes, bought/picked the ingredients, gathered supplies, facilitated the , , and helped to serve up the bounty. Everyone* agreed that the results were spectacular. The flavors were kiwi*, blackberry*, peach/nectarine, vanilla, and coffee. Yum.

If it wouldn't blow my strict word limit out of the water, I would go on about all the other great food there was (not to mention all the camping, , campfire, , marimba band, community goodness), but I guess that will have to wait for next year. Ah next year's Fest - another yearly traditional I love having to look forward to.

Monday September 21 2009

File under: juggling, food

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FC 81 - It Practically Drives Itself

Give me my old Datsun 210 (a.k.a. the Pickle) with a slightly more reliable engine and I would be a happy man*. All these new fangled cars with their heated seats and automatic everything drive me crazy. I once went to a drive-in movie and had to watch with the tailgate closed because there was NO WAY to turn off the dome light while the door was open. (We even tried to attack the fuse box.)

In response to these new "smart cars", I couldn't help myself with this comic. This is kind of how I feel. (The same goes for more "user friendly" software that tries to do everything for you but actually makes it all more complicated, but that's a different story (and maybe even a different comic).) All that said, however, I admit that there are times when a reminder that your lights are left on or being able to roll down the back passenger-side window are helpful. Still, I don't know if it worth the trade off. But that's just me. I don't think I am Detroit's target demographic.

Friday September 18 2009

File under: comic

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