An Old Mural in Bremerton, and Misery Whip

I went back to Bremerton for a friend's son's party, and stopped in to get some shots of a mural I helped on in 2001. I was amazed it still existed.

First of all, let me show you a photo of Jack Moriarty's band, Misery Whip. They were wonderful. I'm not necessarily fond of country, but when it's done well, I enjoy it. I've been watching Jack play since his guitar was bigger than him. He plays the pedal steel, too. The band is really something. The lead-in band was Jack Habegger's Celebrity Telethon, which was - well, if I can describe it - kind of like if Laurel Canyon went HARD rock. I really enjoyed those guys. 

Then we'll have the mural photos. I expected the colors in the deer mural to fade to autumn, because we'd been running out of paint as we got to the right side of the art. But somebody's been doing more green trees on it, which is just fine. I was amazed to see any of it was left. The street kids originally suggested the deer, and the bear, and the two cubs, which they named Frick and Frack. I think the stream is new, too.

Appropriately, the homeless of Bremerton seem to treat the area around the murals as a forest sanctuary. Yeah, there's a lot of tagging, but what the street kids can't reach, still remains. It looks cool and pleasant. Enjoy.

Sol Duc Hot Springs Birthday

I'm going to the Sol Duc Hot Springs on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, on August 14. It's my birthday, and I want to swim and soak and get a massage for these tired bones! I'm doing it after my birthday on Sunday, so I can get an appointment.

Come join me. Bring a swimsuit and towel, and flipflops or other swimming shoe. The pool entrance fee is very inexpensive. The pools range from mild to very hot, and the pool is a delight. But hide shiny stuff - ravens fly overhead!

They have food at the pool, including the Sol Duc Resort restaurant and a snack bar. No eating in the pool area, of course, but direct access. Gorgeous walking trails, to Sol Duc Falls. 

There's cabins and camping, too. If they don't have them, try the Last Chance Camp and Equine Rest Stop in Forks. Which means you can bring your horse. The husband is frightened of Liberals, but he likes fun. And Veronica, who runs the place, is definitely fun! 

Come join me. If you can't, I'll be doing this every year!

Hallowe'en Party and Haunted House, 2016

Witch and bones, actual Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en and the Haunted House, in Clallam Bay. A party on wheels.

Started down at the Three Sisters of Clallam, listening to "Therapy Session," a local deep country band. No Nashville, here. The band was a mix of Viking/Kitten costumes. No Led Zeppelin, but good tunes.

Zombie clown and John Lennon

The Sisters and their family wore a clown theme. My formal zombie clown outfit fit right in.

As usual, there was a great potluck. It's all about food and music up here.

And then - the Haunted House! Put on by Hessmart, the little store-deli-coffee shop-liquor store. In the empty space next to their store. Yes, it's the Haunted Strip Mall.

Hallowe'en Feast

Me and John Lennon went together first, to test it out. And came back with tales of getting practically the piss scared out of us. The halls were long and frightening, twisting on forever, and peopled by figures who knew how to fake and follow. I was screaming and giggling, John engaging.

We ran back to the party to encourage/recruit/entrap other victims!

Then Dressy Dog - who had never been to a haunted house in her life, and was terribly afraid to - teamed up with other partiers Queen of Hearts and MaskMan, with Zombie Clown holding her hand, and went back.

Dressy Dog did great! She got scared silly, and said she felt happy when she was most scared. She was a very brave little dog! I'm using their costume names, of course.

Hallowe'en Home

And then John Lennon, who'd waited outside, scared us all again.

We headed back to the party, and more music and food. Favorite dish: Pink Lady. Basically, strawberries and Cool Whip, whipped up together. 

What fun! The Girls put on a great show every year.

And I wish the guy who played John Lennon would just stay in character all year. 

Hempfest and Me

Okay, so I don't do the EmJayJay (yes, I'm one of the 29% who have their own cutesy name for weed); I cough my brains out if I try. Or at least nothing but medibles, if legal and available (and please, coconut oil), for sleep and pain.

BUT I do want to hit Seattle Hempfest in 2014 for the first time in years and years and years, just as a party. See the picture? That's me with far too little Seattle of late, at C.C.Attle's on Capitol Hill. It's also why @RuPaulDragRace now follows my tweets.

And because I'm a Leo, we could use the August date to consolidate all our birthday parties! Heck, we could do everybody's birthday party - why not?

As usual, looking for a couch. I'll buy breakfast, or one of those Safeway Roast chickens for supper. Hey, I'm an artist. We're always broke. Well, no we're not - but properly managed, food and clothes and even shelter can be cheap - and why spend the Trying to Recreate the Olduvai money when  we can use for that next set of brushes or that art program? Priorities, people!

Nerd Parties

Okay, we think we're such hot shit as marketers.  So how come we're not selling what we do like Tupperware™?

You just get some product - for now, you can clean out the dollar boxes at the local comics shop, invite the owner as a guest, put up some flyers, set out some cheese and crackers, and add 40% to the junk price.  Any you have left over, you can push off on the next nerd for their own party.

I didn't name Nerd Parties -- somebody else at the 2012 Emerald City Comicon did.  When I asked the Wacom rep about them, he blinked and said, "We could get a call from a nerd party and just show up and not even unload!"

My first nerd party, sold at the Prism Comics booth, was only $10.00 worth of backstock, a little stack I sold to an enthusiastic beauty in a cossack -- pardon, "Socialist," costume.  She's going to hold the first nerd party in Bremerton.  Oh, yeah -- THAT navy town.  I didn't even have to tell her the Nerd would come out of the woodwork.  She said they would.  Talk about guts.  She is now Nerd Commissar.

Another girl grabbed a $10.00 party pack.  Then I told another that if she got me a $20.00 nerd pack, I'd give her five dollars.  She dragged back a friend, who looked skeptical until we admitted the plot.  The party got bought and the five bucks got plowed back into the Prism booth.

If you want a nerd party yourself, get the Everything box from me -- I'll pack that puppy with backstock and you can make yourself some cash.  Just go to my website and hit the book store link.

What are you out?  You get a bunch of books for your party or yourself and your friends.  And you can make yourself some cash.

Some guy started throwing out complaints about how this wouldn't work, and I said, "Then get out of your girlfriend's way."

Maybe this could bring back the magazine comics we all love.  20 or 30 nerds in your stable, and you could do a print run.

Emerald City Comicon 2012

Emerald City Comicon was great fun.

That's me with the long hair, the one in the back, in the Prism Comics Booth.  One on the left is my new friend Kyra, one on the right is the amazing Zan, Master of Prism.

Made many new friends, sold lotsa books, got to use the new Square card reader on my Ipad -- whoo whoo, real credit card capability without stupid accounts and stuff!

This here is my in the Ka-Blam t-shirt, worn at Emerald City to show off the new reprints.

In my next post, I'll finally get down and tell you all about Nerd Parties, and how I sold three of them and found a minion -- and a commissar.

Next week is Norwescon, then back to the Wet End, for the Clallam Bay Comicon and Photosynthesis 5!