Owen's Headmeat

Speaks for itself really

2006-02-10T23:59:38Z

Because everyone else is doing it, and I'm a dork.

2006-01-14T22:41:07Z

Batgirl:

Others are here

more furry creatures

2005-12-10T20:13:04Z

This is Despereaux, from the wonderful book by Kate Dicamillo. It was the read aloud book in the upper elementary class I was regularly subbing in. I really reccomend it, a first-rate work of children's literature.

The Rat King

2005-10-22T03:29:16Z

King of all rats.

Drawn at work, colored at home.

Hmm, this makes a bit of a theme when seen above the Yak drawing. I should do more of these animals with hands. Although I know that rats don't really have human-like arms and hands.

Yaks, however, do. Oh yes, it's just a secret they keep well hidden.

Not cut this time, this is important.

2005-09-24T19:28:01Z

All Yaks have enormous arms which they hide from humans by tucking under their bodies.

This is True, I Dreamt it.

Another drawing

2005-09-13T23:24:00Z

Yes, that's a samurai riding a rhino.

Bear Hands!

2005-09-08T01:38:35Z

A little comic I knocked out while working at camp this summer.

Done with pencil, ballpoint pen and crayola markers.

I may do more of these, I may not.

What's new

2005-09-04T18:57:02Z

I've got a job again. I'm at BHMS once more, working with preschool kids in the mornings and switching to elementary afterschool in the afternoon and again to reception at the end of the day. I don't think I'll ever be free of the place. But the work is fun and I know how to do it. Plus money is nice to have.

I also signed up for a class at SVA. Starting Monday the 19th at 6:30 I'll be taking a course in webcomics from Tom Hart. I'm just doing this to have some fun and get my productivity up a bit.

I still have a scanner

2005-09-02T04:10:49Z

Samurai, with a hat!

I should really be posting more sketches. It would certainly fill my journal up a bit.

Edit: Changed to lovely color version.

Note: Erin, this is a perfect example of my art; that is if you're still planning that strange-town-story graphic novel.

Montana

2005-08-14T22:52:37Z

AT 5:00 AM this morning my family and I returned from a week's stay in northwestern Montana. It was my first trip to the Rockies and... wow. The landscape was incredible; huge mountains rearing up from the plain, gigantic clouds boiling across the biggest sky I've ever seen. The kind of views that make you want to paint landscapes.

The vacation was very relaxed, I managed to read five books in the eight days of the trip and it was nice just to hang out with my family. We also did a bit of hiking and saw some neat animals in Glacier National Park. Thankfully we saw no bears. I mean, bears are cool and all but I really didn't want to be eaten. My sister would always amke fun of us whenever we would clap our hands or call out (you're supposed to make noise so as not to surprise bears) but she was jangling her key-ring suspiciously loudly.

It was just the vacation I needed. Totally seperated from life-as-usual and all my concerns were left in New York. It was like a fast. I was excised from both the past and the future, existing solely in that one week of hiking, great weather, and awe-inspiring views.

Odd Weekend

2005-07-25T22:58:22Z

So this past weekend was definitely interesting. Hard to explain I guess, when people asked me how it (my weekend) was today I said "it looked good on paper". I mean, I went out for camp and birthday parties, hung out with friends and even got a little drawing done. Unfortunately there were head (not insanity, think affairs of the heart but far, far, less severe) and stomach issues that made Friday and Saturday nights less than enjoyable respectively. Free tip: Mexican fondue = Unhappiness.

Sunday evening I was so damn bored that I ended up doing around 100 or so push-ups and sit-ups (over an extended period of time, I'm in terrible shape) and sending Haiku to half the people on Friendster. I suppose it could have been worse, I could have eaten the half-a-cheesecake in my fridge and jerked off all night or something.

However, now the weekend is over and my head and gut troubles have passed through my system and I'm fresh-faced and looking forward to a new week.

There are also only two more weeks left in camp. I should send out some more resumes.

Belated Siren Fest report

2005-07-20T01:10:20Z

On Saturday I went to the Village Voice's annual free rock show at Coney Island. The Siren Festival is one of the things I look forward to most during the summer. I mean a free, all-day rock show with some great bands; some cutting edge, some long-time members of the "indie" scene. Woo!

This year was no exception, though it was slightly marred by the absence of all the people who said they'd meet me there (they all punked out for various reasons) and the sunburn I got on the right side of my face it was still a greta time. I decided not to skip between the two stages for different acts and stuck at the Stillwell stage which made the day a bit more relaxed.

The first band I saw was Be Your Own Pet, their energy was incredible and their songs so fast and short that their set list ws finished in around 15 minutes. Additionally every member of the band was beautiful. It was kind of strange these model-looking kids from Nashville playing their crazy No-Fi music.

After BYOP was Morningwood who were a similar band, crazy-fast songs and an almost-manic frontwoman. They were equally awesome and did a fantastic cover of "Knock on Wood".

After Morningwood was Diamond Knights who were pretty decent, but they didn't get me too excited. "The Girls Attractve" was the only song that really got me excited at all.

Saul Williams performed some great, political Hip Hop and was a nice change of pace for the show. The mid-set slam poetry wasn't really my thing but overall both he and his DJ were fantastic.

About this time my impending sunstroke (I had drunk over 40oz of water by this point) was derailed by this thick mist that drifted in from the ocean, it eventually got to the point where I couldn't see anything past the audience to my right or left; it was just us and the bands, floating in our own little world. The temprature also dropped at least ten degrees which was very very nice.

The band playing when all that was happening was VHS or Beta who played the kind of music that made you wish people at rock shows would just shake their ass and dance. I like to dance, but I'm pretty bad at it, even still I was rocking out. In all fairness some people did start a pit. Overall VHS or Beta = yes!

The last band of the day was Mates of State. They're a husband and wife group, he plays drums and she plays a gigantic vintage keyboard. All of their songs are either sweet or bittersweet. They (the songs) are also beautiful. Their vocals are also wonderful with some great harmonies.

If these bands play near you, go see them.

Penguins are adorable.

2005-07-18T19:54:19Z

That is all.

Wow

2005-07-02T17:00:06Z

So I was watching the Live * thingy on TV and some random VJ-type was interviewing Kanye West who was especially concerned with AIDS. In fact, he said that AIDS was a man-made disease that was placed in Africa the same way that crack was placed in black communities to destroy and descredit the Black Panther Party.

I wonder if those were the most serious accusations to ever be aired on MTV. I'll give the VJ credit though, she didn't even blink.

owen_the_og @ 2005-06-14T23:37:00

2005-06-15T03:37:03Z

Starting tomorrow and ending Friday the 24th I'll be living in a (huge) Brooklyn loft. Two of my friends are going to Costa Rica and need someone to take care of their dog and two cats. I'll be needing to get up at 7:00 AM everyday to walk the dog before going to work; which should be interesting. Heck, I might also be biking to work since it's faster than taking the subway. All in all it'll probably be a fun time, the place is one of the nicest I've seen and the 45 minute dog walk every morning and shorter one at night will give me some good exercise.

I've heard certain parts of the neighborhood (Fort Greene Park) can be shady after dark, but I'm not really planning to go out much duing those 9 days. Right now the plan is to create art. Hopefully with little to distract me and because of the place's own vibes (both of my friends are artists and each has a studio in the loft) I should be able to get some good work done; which is good because the MOCCA festival always gets me amped up to create.

I think I should mention that the dog, Nero, is not fed normal dog food; his food is specially cooked chicken stew with rice. According to his people the food keeps him healthy and makes his "business" (by that I mean his poo) managable. When my friend showed me the dog food, I thought "wow that looks good."

owen_the_og @ 2005-06-14T00:16:00

2005-06-14T04:22:48Z

So last weekend was the annual MOCCA convention. As usual it was great fun and I picked up some great books and talked to some nice people. I learned that I apparently pronouce "MOCCA" different from everyone else. So yeah, here's my con-report divided by people I talked to and books I got.

Evan Dorkin shouted "When'd you get your shirt?" at me, which I thought was odd. I was wearing the free shirt WFMU gives out every year and he hadn't gotten his yet.

I got to meet Kazu Kibuishi and congratulate him on the succes of Flight, the anthology he more or less masterminded. He, like many of the other artists in attendence, did a little sketch in the book I bought from him.

I dropped by Kelly Denato and Christine Nimocks' (No Punch Backs) table when I noticed that I'd seen their card in a Brooklyn bar. When I told them that they were happy to see their marketing plan worked in some small form and we talked about Bocce for a bit.

Vera Brosgol remembered me from her (and the rest of Pants Press') messageboard as "one of the good ones" which I thought was nice. I'm thinking I came across as a bit retarded in our short conversation but, them's the breaks.

Raina Telgemeier and Robert Ullman and the guys at Globo Hobo Distru were all really cool as well.

I grabbed alot of great books too, but the stand-out was The Octopi and the Ocean by Dan James. It's just a crazy book with incredible print-style illustrations. Daisy Kutter by Kazu is a fantastic sci-fi western with some great energetic art. The No Punch Backs books were very charming and funny and Applicant by Jesse Reklaw was a cool idea that turned out really well.

As usual for me I pretty much blitzed in and out of the con. But it's not a large place, and I can only circuit all the tables so many times before I run out of money and decide to go home and read what I picked up. As usual the show got me all fired up to draw some mini-comics. Hopefully I'll be able to do that this week when I'll be dog-sitting for some friends.

I got a scanner

2005-05-26T02:59:03Z

Here, for your amusement, is a horrible tentacled beast from beyond space and time:

I know no one cares about anyone else's dreams, but too bad.

2005-05-22T20:59:01Z

So I had this really disturbing dream. It also had a narrative, which is uncommon for me. I'm jotting it down here to remember it, and to keep this journal at least somewhat active.

It revolved around this delusional woman who had somehow adopted a huge number of little people children. She was convinced that there were these shadowy forces in the outside wolrd who were trying to do her harm and therefore kept a tight reign on her kids. When the kids got older and wanted to move out she's try and dissuade them by telling stories about her dangerous figments. If the kids still decided to leave she's kill 'em, butcher them and feed them to the rest of the children. Of course when the authorties got suspicious the woman and her ignorant kids just thought they were the villains of the womans delusions.

It trailed off around there, but was really creepy. Especially since the police were the characters from Law and Order.

owen_the_og @ 2005-05-11T19:03:00

2005-05-11T23:03:16Z

Tag is one of the most dangerous games known to children.

owen_the_og @ 2005-05-06T23:24:00

2005-05-07T03:25:01Z

So Tony Blair is back in power with a hugely reduced majority but the discontent over his handling of the Iraq war wasn't enough the return the Tories to power or catapult the Liberal Democrats to the big time.

Man, England really has a great political system.

One month of campaigning = Fantastic

People in town hall meetings have no compunctions with shouting down their (effective) head of state, and are allowed to do so.

My favo(u)rite part is simply the idea that a long tradition of a socialist Labour party has made New Labour (which is disticntly to the left of the American Democratic party) the moderate middle ground party hamstringing the right-wingers and creating a fairly strong party which is still more left-wing than BLair's Labour.

I'm actually thinking about moving. More for the health care than anything else.

Dance you bastards!

2005-04-24T19:23:11Z

Andy D once observed that there are two basic kinds of men on a dance floor. There's the guy who shuffles his feet slightly, swaying his shoulders in time to the music; and there's the incredible dancer who knows all these great moves but who came to the club alone and doesn't make eye contact with anyone else on the dance floor.

Now I admit, I tend to shift towards the first archetype, at least at clubs. I was at a party last night though, that just had a great dance floor. It was in a big-ass loft in WiIlliamsburg so the dance floor in this apartment was bigger than some bars I've been to. Also, people were just going nuts, perhaps since it was a house party rather than a bar or club people felt less pressure to look cool, since we were among friends or friends of friends. There was also alot of drink, so that might have had something to do with it. In any case it was awesome and I think we need more of it, as a society. Let's bring back dancing. I don't care if you need four drinks first, get on the damn floor and just go nuts. If you need any more incentive I've noticed that girls tend to flock around the guy who looks the most ridiculous.

One a somewhat related note, I've noticed a major downside to hanging out with Gen-Xer's; allt he cute girls are married.

Joey Ratz

2005-04-20T22:38:23Z

Oh well, of all the potential Popes we get the crappiest.

thoughs whilst walking

2005-04-14T03:18:55Z

It... no, he. He tried to keep his mind steady as he walked down the street. Walking was fun, the trick of moving through space/time along the limted vectors of the things/people he was moving through was almost like a puzzle, or a game of skill. An easy game, but still fun for its novelty. The hard part was thinking, keeping his mind on those same rails. Height, width, depth and the continous pull of time, a river in was used to trvaeling at wi- no; a ride he was used to. Folding his thoughts into the rough cubes of the natives was an exercise in creativity. Thinking in haiku.

For a second, as the natives percieve time, it loses control; the light refracts through a window in a way that is a perfect metaphor for the sublime ##### of #####. Its thoughts blossom and unfold from the tighly compressed cube and its form does the same. Spring out along unknow angles and directions in space/time. Unfortunately for the people in the street the explosion of it's form fills their vision. In an instant peopl die, many more go mad and a few become prophets; though they will be hard to find among the insane.

Unable to collect himself, to compress back down to the cuboid reality; it retreats sideways, perhaps a little sheepishly.

DUMBO fun

2005-04-08T19:56:12Z

So yesterday I went to a CD release party for the Maybelles down in DUMBO (down under the manhattan bridge overpass for those not in ny). The event was thrown in this crazy basement space. I walked down a flight of tsairs into what looked like an abandoned warehouse; then threaded my way through concrete corridors past huge doors with biohazard signs on them. One of the doors led to this room, the backstage area partitioned with curtains and two kegs to serve as a bar. I spent the next 4 hours listening to some great music. I also signed up for alot of mailing lists. It was just a great DIY venue and a great series of bands, plus they were all playing country music. There was a great song (almost a jig or reel) that one of the Maybelles wrote while living in a solar cabin in the Ozarks, it was about incest.

owen_the_og @ 2005-04-06T19:17:00

2005-04-06T23:17:48Z

Well, looks like I'll be leaving the Guggenheim earlier than expected.

The assistant head of afterschool and summer programs at the school I used to work at is moving in 30 days. Since they need some help and will pay better than they do at the Gugg I'll be switching jobs in two weeks.

Yaay.