Joan Jett

You can read about the Joan Jett concert I went to last night on Salt, Butter and Bacon.

Instructables

This is an interesting site with DIY information about a wide range of projects, and the usual Web 2.0 community features- check out Instructables.

At MOCCA, I got some freebies from etsy.com, a site/community where you can sell the hand-made stuff you make (Kate posted about this site a few months ago). They have a joint project/contest right now.

Shopping: High to Low

I'm not proud of my love of gadgets, its actually a little embarrassing to me. But I want an iPhone! Calvin is equally obsessed, he has watched all the iPhone videos on the Apple site. Neither of us are willing to spend so much money on a phone, or (worse) switch carriers. I (for some reason) have an inexplicable loyalty to t-mobile, and Calvin is just as loyal to Sprint (even more puzzling).

I haven't bought an iPhone, but I have bought a $15. handmade Hellboy purse. Some might quibble with the quality (and have), yes its pretty funky, but I love it. Made with tape, plastic and a Hellboy cover- what more can you ask for?

Pat and Jane in New York

Here are some more pictures of Pat and Jane in NYC. One night, Pat her delicious tomato sauce; for not the first time, Neilson won over a family member through his love of food. On Tuesday, we went to an Indian restaurant near Columbia, a first for Pat and Jane. It was a success. The next time I see Jane, we will be in Denmark.

Pat in NYC

Pat and Jane were in New York last week. I missed Jane, unfortunately (who was on her way to her camp in Denmark), but I did get to spend some time with Pat. Not surprisingly, delicious food was involved (chicken fajitas), and she and Eric and I went to the Museum of Modern Art. We saw the Richard Serra show (is there a more irritating personality in the art world? Astonishingly, yes. But the work is beautiful in its way.) We also breezed through much of the permanent collection, particularly looking at painting. Here's a picture.

MOCCA

Every June indy comix publishers and creators crowd into the Puck building in Manhattan for the MOCCA Festival. Question: How many mini-comics can you buy in one hour? Answer: A lot. Here are a few random pictures.

There were long lines to get in on Saturday.

Hope Larsen

Miriam Katin and Alison Bechdel

Dean Haspiel

Douglas Wolk and Calvin at the Top Shelf 10th Anniversary party. Douglas has a great article in Salon about comics right now.

Mickey Duzyj

Dinner at GrandMary's

Mom forwarded me this picture of dinner at GrandMary's--I wish I had been there.

San Jose: TOC

Calvin and I have been in San Jose for the last couple of days, covering tech visionary Tim O'Reilly's first Tools of Change publishing conference. I am a huge fan of O'Reilly Media's products, I use their technical books and subscribe to Make, "how-to" zine with microcontrollers and pop bottles. I was really happy to be here, and the conference did not disappoint. Here is day one coverage on the PW site, day two. Wrap-up to come.

The conference was in the San Jose Fairmont, in the shadow of Adobe Systems corporate headquarters. Since PhotoShop is what sold me on digital culture, I have an elevated interest in this company (and they control an almost frightening amount of the software to create and modify digital media in practically all forms).

A highlight of the trip was dinner with my cousin Patrick and his friend (also) Patrick. They drove down from San Francisco - it was wonderful to hang out with cousin P.J.

Spurs Parade

No one else in the country may care but San Antonio LOVES the Spurs. I have never seen a city that supports a team so much. The championship parade was this Sunday along the river walk. My friends Ana Liz and Tony love the Spurs so we went to the parade to cheer on our home team.






It was a hot day so we cooled off with some raspas!



We finished the night with sushi. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture of the actual food, so I documented my empty plate.

Wired

I am currently waiting for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, and it appears that Central Park is now wired! Wow. I'll give a report on the show--Romeo and Juliet, starring Lauren Ambrose!

Yoga Breakthrough

Because I'm naturally pretty flexible, a lot of things in yoga have come easily to me. But, to my great annoyance, I have never been able to do a headstand. This is especially irritating, as yoga teachers always insist that a headstand is not about strength, but about understanding the position. Class after class I would fall over and/of fear for my neck. Then Monday, all of a sudden, I was able to lift my feet into the air with no problem. Very exciting start to my summer vacation.

Peony Drawing and More

This summer I have a few projects I want to finish up that involve drawing. I'm not a bad draftsman, but I am sorely out of practice. And drawing is like any other language, you have to keep practicing or you forget.

I realized that I could combine 2 of my favorite activities- drawing and watching TV. Every day I do at least one drawing from a paused television screen- thank god for DVR!

Here are a couple of examples, one from Gidget, one from The Four Musketeers, plus one peony. The peony was not on TV, but sitting in a vase in my apartment.

Pasta and Sports on TV

Here is a picture of the pasta I made for Calvin and Eric for dinner tonight. Some kind of extra fat penne with broccoli rabe and spicy turkey sausage. We watched the Yankee game (win) and Spurs/Cavs (not over yet- looking bad for the Cavs).



Calvin and I went to a barbecue on Sunday in Brooklyn at the house of some friends and relatives of Calvin's dad. Here is a picture of the King of the Grill- he was a fabulous cook.





I think I've decided I liked the Sopranos final.

Food Challenge

Hey Red Peonies Crew: To get things a little more active around here, I am issuing a challenge. What if everyone posts a picture of something they eat this week. One little picture--I know you are busy, but I know you all eat! To get things started, here are some pictures from Neilson and my trip to Grimaldis.

(Also--what did people think of the Sopranos' final episode.)

Peonies

2 Good Movies

The busy semester kept me from the movies, but now that it's summer I've seen two good films in a week. The first is Knocked Up, which, as most of you probably know, is Judd Apatow's eagerly awaited follow up to The 40 Year Old Virgin. Like its predecesor, this movie is an amazing combination of raunchy and sweet and had me laughing out loud. The second movie is Once. Set it Dublin, it is the story of a male vacuum repair cleaner/singer song-writer and a female pianist/housecleaner/Czech immigrant. Not a huge amount happens--the two collaborate on beautiful songs, make a demo, become friends--but it is really sweet and moving. Neilson and I were calling it Before Sunrise with music, but it is more complex and a little sadder than that. It was a hit at Sundance, so it may be coming to a theater near you. (I can't wait to see Paprika.)

Veronica Mars Bars Campaign

Apparently, there is a campaign to swamp the CW with Mars Bars. I guess since the peanuts worked for Jericho, there is some hope, but it seems small. Still, I'm spreading the word.

Paprika

Last night Calvin and I went to see Paprika, a full length animation from Japan. It was charming, scary, weird and fun. It combines dreams, movies, the internet and technology in a strange manner that might see somewhat familiar to fans of other anime such as Ghost in the Shell:Innocence. It may not make sense, but who cares, it looks so beautiful.

You can see short clips at the link.

Book Expo America

I attended Book Expo America Saturday afternoon- walking the floor was somewhat overwhelming. Among the highlights were listening to one of the many graphic novel panels with Kate, hearing Calvin briefly talk at the African American pavilion, getting a preview of Stephen Colbert's new book (no not Tek Janson, he has another one) and getting some new Viz bags, which are finally in a new color- purple!

Graduation at BMCC

BMCC's graduation ceremony is at Madison Square Garden, since we have no campus. Here are the back of a lot of people's heads- the speaker is the student government association president, and she truly rocked the house. Borough President Scott Stringer was our main speaker- he talked a lot about affordable housing, getting a big round of applause from all.

Vacation Homes of the Future

I was interviewed for Creative Time's phone tour of sites where some of their exhibitions took place over the last 30 years. It was fun to talk about my piece at Art on the Beach many years ago, which was a few hundred yards away from where I work now.

Graduation

On Friday, I attended BCC graduation. Charles Schumer spoke briefly, as did Richard H. Carmona, the former surgeon general and BCC alumnus. The speeches went on a little long, but the graduates and families were cheerful and proud. (Among the faculty, there was some discussion that global warming might mean the academic costume will have to be redesigned. A long black robe is not great clothing for a 90 degree day).