Winter shore after a blizzard

Below: a shoreline and some gulls hanging around it

A worried look

A worried look...


Over a gingerbread house.

MIT, Show Opening, Boston Bazaar photos

Thursday at MIT's Craft Fair, Dan and I find that our table is in a strange corner of Stata Center. While it makes for an interesting photo, foot traffic was low.

We decide to make a sign that clearly states what we are selling.



Friday, we get a better location, near the center of Stata.


We also take advantage of the blackboard behind the table.

Below: more Stata shots. It was a bit slow overall, but it was interesting to interact with students and people at MIT.





It was fun when people came over, eyes wide and arms open in curiosity, asking out loud -- "Comics?" I had a good time chatting with people.

At one point, two gentlemen looked interested in the comics and came over, while continuing to discuss something. They kept up the discussion (about the recent climatology scandal?) at the table for about 10 minutes, before they finally started browsing.

I had a new minicomic for this shows, a series of cartoons about things I'd seen at MIT. One of the gentlemen was very critical of this minicomic, particularly on one cartoon about how I watched students electrocuting a pickle in the hallway. I had to explain it was a real experiment that Prof. Bulovic occasionally performed for people, which his grad students were replicating.

I also sold the minicomic to researchers who had come into Boston for the Materials Research Society meeting that week, as well as to many other people.



Saturday -- reception for Inbound 4's debut and the corresponding art show at Atomic Bean Cafe!





Sunday --- Boston Bazaar Bizarre!

Above: someone looking at my minicomic... with a suspicious expression?

Above: people looking at my "Bored Angel" book.

Eric B, who organized the table at this event.

Shows, shows, shows and a skull

The engimatic drawing above is courtesy of a figure drawing session where I ran out of time. It's a long story.


And now --

Show, shows, show!


Going on right now! Holly Fair! I'm not there, but some stuff I worked on is there.

Where: First Parish Unitarian Church - corner of Church Street and Mass Ave, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
Website: www.harvardsquareholidayfair.com



Dec 3 and 4th: Catch me at MIT selling comics! In an Authorized Manner!

Thursday and Friday, I will be at the Stata Center, selling minicomics and anthologies!

When: December 3-4, 9am-5pm
Where: MIT’s E25 Atrium and Stata Center (see MIT campus map for directions)
Website: web.mit.edu/abd/2008-2009calendar_sp.html



Dec 5th: "Inbound 4" Opening Reception this Saturday 4-6pm at Atomic Bean Cafe!

The Book about Boston History, drawn in comics! Original artwork will be gracing the wall of the cafe, and the book will be sold there as well. I'll be there, and so will the cow comics pages I keep mentioning on this blog. (Here, here, here and here.)

Atomic Bean Cafe location
Events Link


Dec 6th: Boston Bazaar Bizarre!

I will be there selling comics!

When: December 6, 12-7pm
Where: BCA Cyclorama, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA
Website: www.bazaarbizarre.org/boston.html

Dec 12th: Comikazi Bazaar! I won't be there, but again, books I worked on will be there!

When: Saturday, December 12, 10am-4pm
Where: George Dilboy VFW, 371 Summer St, Davis Square, Somerville, MA
Website: www.comicazi.com

Jan 21 (?) Inbound 4 even at Porter Square Books in Cambridge. Signing and reading, I think.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's a little weird to celebrate Thanksgiving with photos of live turkeys. (At least, I think so, although I can't explain why exactly.)

But since I have the chance, here's some photos of wild turkeys in Kenmore Square, from two years ago.

Turtles, ducks and exhibit at Atomic Bean Cafe

I'm part of a new show at the Atomic Bean Cafe!




With the soon-to-be released Inbound 4 (Boston History done with comics), the Boston Comics Roundtable is putting up an exhibit of the original pages from the anthology. In the above picture is the short comic that Dave Unger and I collaborated on, "Cowpaths of Waltham". It's a side tangent of Dave U.'s dissertation.

There will be a release party at the Atomic Bean for Inbound 4 in early December, I'm not sure when.

You can find the Atomic Bean Cafe on Mass Ave between Harvard and Central.
904 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139-3041
(617) 499-0972
Link


Also this week, a guest photo:

"Ducks and Turtles" by Junko Rothwell

Halloween 2009

The author of the blog at a Halloween party....




Below -- from Halloween.




Tom dressed as H1N1, I dressed as a Luna Moth, and that's Alex in the back. We rocked the town. Or at least got some puzzled looks.

And that's why the toaster was on the porch this morning

This morning, I started to make toast. After a while, I looked at the toaster to see how it was coming along. The bread was on fire.

I don't know about you, but I think it's a pretty auspicious way to begin the day.

Obama at MIT

Mini update: forgot to mention, but I'll be at the Boston Comicon today (Back Bay events center, click for map) and at the Comics Guild meet and greet this evening.


===
So I was given the day off today, because Mr. Barack Obama visited MIT.

Specifically, he toured some labs before giving a speech at Kresge Auditorium. One of the buildings he toured is where I work, so the building was locked down Thursday night and opened up Friday afternoon. (Before the lockdown, of course, the building got very spruced up and sparkling... see previous journal entry)

Having given the day off, what did I do?

I went back to where I work around noon, to watch President Obama's visit.

Some photos of the event.

Click and zoom in, you can see someone smiling, in the middle of the crowd.

Despite all the craning of necks, the president was transported around in a black limo and all. We all saw the lines of limos, but I didn't see the president himself. ( * However, my sister did meet him, last Tuesday.... see later in the blog.)

Still, the crowd was interesting to look at.



Some fliers informing people about Low Energy Nuclear Reactions, also known as Cold Fusion. (click for LENR.org, the site with papers and information about this alternate energy source.)













Above: one of the live broadcasts shown around campus. This one was in Lobby 7. People watching, below.


Seemed like a good speech about renewable energy. Read the Transcript here.

In the intro, President Obama applauded MIT, adding at one point, "And I'll probably be here for a while... I understand a bunch of engineering students put my motorcade on top of Building 10." Youtube link

(More info here on the hack this refers to.)



And speaking of President Obama ---

(She said she was already putting this Proof photo up on the internet.)

Here's my sister Naomi meeting with President Obama last Tuesday. My sister organizes a lot of healthcare rallies in New York City.

President Obama is visiting where I work

I was wondering why there were groups of men in black suits walking around the hallways, earlier this week. And now I know.

President Obama is visiting where I work and giving a speech on clean energy. (Link to article in the Tech) He is also visiting some labs . . . hence why the floor (where I work) is being turned upside down. The labs are being thoroughly cleaned and tidied. Hallway walls and doors are being madly renovated and repainted.

The hallways are now very sparkly.

The president ought to visit more often.

Kabuto and Vegemite

I wonder if Kabuto beetles would eat Vegemite.


Anyway, Martin Dolan has written a review of Outbound, and my Time-travel Vegemite story was mentioned. (Read the Vegemite story online here.)

(Mister Martin Dolan mentioned he enjoys eating Vegemite. I am hoping I didn't offend him.)


And now for some beetles!

Here's one walking.



Here's the beetle falling, by accident.



Don't worry, I caught it. We later returned the beetle back to some earth and bark.

24 Hour Comics Day: relatively peaceful, actually

I went to 24 Hour Comics at MIT this year, hosted by the Student Art Association and MIT Anime club. The crowd was a mix of MIT students and local artists.

A 24 hour comic (for those who have not heard of it) is where one draws a 24 page comic in 24 hours. There is also a webcomic equivalent. All conception, planning and drawing must take place during the 24 hours. And since a couple of years ago, there has been an official 24 Hour Comic day. People can gather and draw comics together; it's a bit like pulling an all-nighter with friends during school, but it involves comics instead.

Unlike last year, this year was relatively peaceful and quiet. I spent the first part wandering around and brainstorming, and eventually settled down later. In the evening, we ate some really delicious and somewhat healthy pizza. It was interesting to watch people draw different stories and in different styles. For instance, near the end of the event, some people started drawing manga on slices of bread using a felt tip pen.

(I didn't take much notice at the time, as I was busy coloring my comic. But now I find myself wondering about this.)

Below: some shots of the event. No photos of the bread manga, sorry.




The title page of my comic, below. (Color was added this afternoon, after the event.)


In-progress shot...


I finished lettering and added washes of color to the main characters, before the Sunday 11 AM deadline.

I considered inking the dessen of my comic, like last year, but have decided to experiment with color instead. So I will be adding more color and fixing up some of the text. The layout and internal structures of the story will remain as created during the 24 hr event.



PS: Thank you for condolances from the last blog post. I am happy to report some good news -- I got my backpack back! It was found and delivered to the police station. Although things of actual monetary value (and one tin can of chocolate) were missing, everything else was left in the bag.

Komainu and Sheepdogs

My sprained ankle is mostly recovered; thanks again to everyone who helped me.

However, last Friday, someone(s) stole my bookbag and everything in it. It has been a huge pain for me and a lot of other people. I am hoping the police catch the scum.

But here's some photos, regardless...

(Actually, above is kind of how I felt on Friday and Saturday.)

The photo stars this week are Komainu and Polish Lowland Sheepdog.