NoPo No Post.

Um ... I haven't posted today because I can't decide which of the two pages I have done I feel less weird about.

So.

Yeah.

Maybe tomorrow?

(Also, you should probably be listening to 'Heavens to Purgatory' by the Most Serene Republic, if you aren't already.)

Yeah - I like to namedrop.

It's just cause I like places and want you to give them your money.



I had quite a day yesterday; meeting another blogging friend, battling inner drunk demons, solving a mystery, pondering the great philosophical questions of human interaction, traversing a dark cave full of bro-dawgs, narrowly avoiding being involved in a fight with bro-dawgs, aggressively buying my roommate a sandwich, wandering all over the NE and NoPo clutching a jam jar full of raspberry vodka (when asked to explain this, the only reply appropriate is "That's just how I roll."), planning art projects, chatting with the ever-friendly Portland PD, watching late night B Ball games, learning about 'happy birthday racism', experiencing time more slowly than the rest of humanity, etc.

My life is a constant stream of awesome, somehow!

PS - Send me more guest comics!

PSS - I finally updated my food blog.

Dinosaur Lurkers

Today is my first day at my JOB! It will be the first normal (service industry) work I have done in 6 months. I'm excited.

Send me more guest comics! Y'all are awesome.

Guest Comic, the First

Guest comic by the Hiebster!

The Song is "Ford".

You can listen to Daniel's music here.

A couple items for you today:

- Guest Comics! Anyone can do one and there's no deadline. You can email 'em or send 'em. My email is vlpaine (at) yahoo (dot) com.

- I started a blog just for my arts. It is doeverythingatonce.wordpress.com

- I am adding a donate button to my site, just in case you want to support me but don't like buying things. Also, I am broke and still need a scanner, photocopies and an 08 Copic cause the tip on the one I have now is frayed and makes double lines. This will also help keep me boozed up so I can continue writing about my marginally entertaining adventures.

- I think it's easy to forget in a pseudo-utopia like Portland that there are still genuine struggles for things like reproductive rights going on out there. That is why I am so proud of my brave, brave friends in Louisville who act as escorts for women at one of the two abortion clinics in Kentucky. You can read more about it at everysaturdaymorning.wordpress.com.

Nothing Compares

Y'all have a good weekend!

UPDATE: I'm gonna be sort of busy for the next month and a half or so and I had a thought: does anyone wanna do a GUEST COMIC? Anyone? Anyone? Woolard, Patrick, Hiebster, Damien? April, Onlyembry, Liv, Bobbi, Biobro? Allan, Japes, Stormgren, Carrot? It'd be like commenting, but ... more work? Fun, right?

(It's an update that's half shout-out, half plea for help. LOL!)

Another Day in Portland

On Sunday at Comics & Coffee we played a game, and this was the result. Each player writes three random sentences and throws them in a hat with the other player's. Then each player draws three and has to incorporate all three sentences into the dialogue. Can you guess which are the three I picked?
I managed to make mine pretty normal, something you might run into any given day in Laurelhurst Park. I like to imagine that Carla (the girl) is Shaun's long-suffering ex-girlfriend. She is too soft-hearted to refuse his invitation to lunch even though she has an inkling of what it might involve. And Shaun is pretty oblivious; he is so in his own world that his attempts to remain friends with his ex just come off as mild insanity.

And yeah, I will be making Shit's Binoculars t-shirts as soon as I get some money or a generous friend who can screenprint.

Yesterday was Arian's birthday! I <3 him a ton!

Sleepyhead.

My roommates are starting to get annoyed with my obsession with that song, but I can't really help it 'cause it's like Passion Pit crawled into my head and figured out exactly what I like in music and then wrote the song. I have written about singing while riding my bike before, but adding hand claps is a recent thing.

I had kind of a bad time last night. It started out fine, having a beer with an old acquaintance while we talked about making art and relationships (my two fav things to talk about), but devolved as my good mood took the predicted nose-dive. Predicted because I know what makes me crazy (not eating right, drinking too much and not sleeping) and even though I'm aware of those things, I still do them.
This was exacerbated by the presence of one person who I am struggling to be friends with and another person who - despite my best efforts to be 'over' our little tryst - I still cannot comfortably be around unless I am feeling at my awesomest. I tried to rally for the naked bike ride; by rally I mean splitting a can of Sparks. That didn't work. I tried to rally to go dancing - this time with three beers and a shot of tequila with Rachel.
Well, Rachel and I made it downtown. I downed some bourbon and tried to get down, but I don't think any DJ could have saved my party at that point. Then Rachel bought us absinthe. I tried to talk to her, because all I really want to do lately is talk. I miss having conversations. It was too late. I said goodbye to my roommate, slipped through the throngs of Pride go-ers and hailed a cab I couldn't afford.

And woke up this morning with a horrible taste in my mouth, feeling bad for ditching Rachel and not having the where-with-all to do the naked bike ride, something I've always wanted to do. All of it is my fault; treating myself badly makes me hate this place. I don't hate Portland, I just hate the part of myself that doesn't listen to myself because really, all this bad feeling could be easily prevented.

And I was having such a great week otherwise. Stupid girl.

Oh Goodness.

I should write something better than "That was a fun night" here, but my head really hurts from showing downtown hipster bars how it's done.

DIY or suffer Milkyboots' wrath.

I wish there was some way for me to recreate Arian's deadpan speech in comics form. It would make this a lot funnier.

This is my favorite thing I have drawn this year:



Do it! Then we can trade and do splits and stuff ...

UPDATE: What the ... how the ... why the f@#% did I get mentioned in this review of my old second home, Seidenfadens? Who wrote that?

IFLML

Peeps 'round here been saying FML a lot lately, so I thought I'd start saying IFLML. Even if I don't really believe it, if I keep repeating it maybe I can fool myself into believing it. It's the "fake it 'til you make it" life philosophy.

Oh yeah; trust me, you really don't want to know what John said. He's lucky I'm occasionally forgiving.

Job?

And the 'Is semen vegan?' debate rages on, to no one's particular interest.

I am really happy with how everyone looks on this page, besides my head being way too big in panel three and Arian, who I can never seem to get quite right. Oh yeah, and that's not hair on Matt, it's tattoos.

I got a job yesterday. Vaca is over! However, t-shirts are still for sale! Have an excellent weekend ... let's get together again on Sunday.

Friday Update: Today I drew this. Again, head's too big.

Nicknames

Comic!

T-shirts continue to be on sale!

Updated FAQ!

It's been over a year since my last one and I feel like talking about myself. So, FAQ 2009:

Q. Are you from here?
A. No, I'm from Wisconsin. I moved to Portland from Louisville, KY in January.

Q. Why don't you have an accent?
A. My folks are from Illinois and I grew up in a college town. Though since living in Louisville, I put a Southern twang on some words.

Q. Why Portland?
A. I've wanted to live in the Northwest since high school and I *had* four friends living here. Two have since moved back to Louisville. Also, it's good for my comics "career".

Q. What can I get for you?
A. Nothing. I don't even know why I came to this bar, it's not like I have any money.

Q. What do you do?
A. I'm currently unemployed, so mostly I look for jobs, draw and drink. Sometimes I sew stuff. Also, I have an internship doing historical research for a graphic novelist.

Q. Will you sew me something?
A. Will you pay me for it?

Q. Are you in school?
A. Yes, I am taking Japanese at Portland Community College.

Q. How are you?
A. A little bit stressed out, occasionally lonely and usually hungry. Otherwise, doin' pretty good.

Q. Are you going to blah blah blah house show this weekend?
A. I don't know. I keep having ridiculous anxiety fits everytime I go out.

Q. Will you bring me bread?
A. I don't work at a bakery anymore, sorry dude.

Q. What's your degree in?
A. I have a history degree, with an emphasis in East Asian history.

Q. Who cuts your hair?
A. Rachel, Meagan or Daniel.

New additions for Portland:

Q. Whatever happened with you and ______?
A. Fuck if I know.

Q. Who are you?
A. I'm Paris' roommate.

Q. Need anything from the Food Whole?
A. Nah, I'm good.

Q. Since you can't get a job, why don't you just go to grad school?
A. I want to get residency first and I don't even know if PSU has the program I want and it'll take a bunch of work but mostly I'm just SCARED!

Q. Know how I know you're gay?
A. Because I listen to Coldplay?