the week in photos...

seems like it has been awhile since I have been over here.
feeling sorta SYBIL with the two blogs and the two twitter accounts.
However, it still feels right to separate the two, business & personal.

busy!

am doodling for the charity of Gillian Anderson of X-Files/Scully fame, last year my doodle sold, and I bought one by Bill Mumy ("Lost in Space") go HERE for more info on the auction. Look for doodles from Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer as well---



we had a table read for our film project and as usual, Malena was a little shy with new friends:



there was a bit of a heatwave recently, the cats lay about like dead things:





our poor Drew came home from Coachella covered in bruises & cuts & burnt crispy to boot. He was manning the main stage so he didn't see AFP or Leonard Cohen, but he did catch Mr. Paul McCartney....I didn't go this year, but these are from 2 years ago, the Tool/Madonna year...w/ the Nicoles...






i tipped my tattoo artist with this old big-eye girl w/horse Roth painting (& ok, money too)
and when my arm heals, i shall post up my personal genii who is part-Aquaman....



we had dinner in downtown LA last night with Drew's mom, who I adore,
she was in town for the opera.
delicious shrimp salad and fancy atmosphere:



Sadly, a few furry friends have left this mortal coil: RIP to Buddy the dog & Gumbo the cat. I am writing a story about Dog Heaven for Sean. I don't have any Buddy photos, but here's ol' Gumbo, Justin's cat:



this week we are going to San Diego, we will stay on the beach and get ready for the busy coming season, Drew is going to do Michael Jackson and I am slated for another round of Jonas Brothers....it's a living!




(this is Jozie's hand holding a rock in Malibu, we write our wishes on beached stones and fling them back into the ocean)

meanwhile, over at NEVERWEAR
there is a ANOTHER new contest up...go have a lookseeee......

"bonafide hustler, makin' my name..."

closing a few loose threads on my laptop...

when we were in Oregon, we made a trip to Multnomah Falls.
It was a slice of pure nature, pine trees and river wild.




still testing out my little video camera but I took a couple of movies to remember the climb and the force of the falls.



you can see out over the Oregon coast in this one...



the food in Portland is always stellar.
we ate at PorQue No, and everyone called Drew TINA because of his tour swag jacket.



dim sum with the Nicola trio:



Nancye & William were on a food allergy tester diet, ruling out most everything, so we didn't dine out with them.
and MOXIE RX was still closed for the season. Next visit!

this week, we went to the new location of CAA, where even the pencils are at attention:



after, we stopped by The Palm and the first person on the wall my eyes rested upon?
Warren Beatty....



i do believe he is my lucky star.
more on this later....





this week, I picked up Mark at LAX, he came home for a visit from the AC/DC world tour.



I will never forget hearing "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" for the first time,
and falling in complete love with Bon Scott. I am sure Brian is a great guy, but...hmmmph. RIP Bon.

Thursday night, we had sushi with my brother, Chris, who was in town giving a lecture at CalTech. Yes, him smart.
The University put him up in these fancy digs, as it turns out that is where they shot a scene from BEVERLY HILLS COP--
the "twist o' lemon" scene....



Last night, we went to my old friend Brian's for a re-screening of that 80's gem APARTMENT ZERO...

tomorrow, it's Easter. I took this a million years ago on slide film, and like I said earlier, I miss Kodachrome..



meanwhile, over at NEVERWEAR
there is a new contest up...go have a looksee.

Happy Easter, you bunnies.

we turn to spring...

i had the last bit of winter in DC with my parents, here my Dad burns some of my old paperwork for me, better than shredding.



came home in time to see some spring, it is wonderful to watch the changes here:






Red took this of Batters while we were gone:

:


took a trip down to San Diego to see Drew's family:

the three generations:



Sean and Mister Kitty:



Sean practices his playing:



spent a couple days under the spell of Twitter, judging Neil's #100K contest(results here)

Twitter is a pretty amazing thing, and when i got this on my phone, i was pretty happy, even though, I imagine Obama's ghost Twitterer most likely adds anyone...



Coop DJing at Stinkers in Silverlake:



where they have a huge neon skunk outside to greet you:






we went and got new tattoos…











tax time--- Selina Kyle helps me get the year end numbers together:



since my accountant is in Malibu:



Ghosty shed his hardtop:




and things change in other ways.

while in San Francisco, i took this photo for my friend Alex, "Big Al".



when we returned home, the next night, we heard that he had passed away at age 40, heart attack.

at his memorial, we said goodbye to our friend Big Al, gone too soon, but never forgotton:

RT: #100K CONTEST WINNERS!

I met Mr. Neil Gaiman while I was on Tori Amos’ Scarlet’s Walk tour in 2003. We kept in contact over the years, I wrangled him on some of his west coast events and helped his assistant, The Fabulous Lorraine, with her ever-growing work load... in between tours, I found myself drafted by Team Gaiman, becoming his Other Assistant. (Fablo wants me to add here, "to her delight" ...awwww, sweet.)
One of the projects we launched was NEVERWEAR the official Neil merchandise site, for all things original Gaiman and so our story begins...

When he asked me to judge the #100K contest (after forcing me to become a Twitter-er myself), I said, why sure, Boss...I mean who knew...? Days later, after trying to break my true Libra nature of indecision, weighing and balancing each of the nearly 6,000 entries, I enlisted the aid of @FabulousLorrain (her name says it all). Together, we found the glittery Twitters that slipped through my fingers.

Many thanks, miss Quiche, and thanks to all of you who entered, the level of creativity was stunning---
and to Neil, for thinking it all up.

The contest, for those arriving late, asked for captions for photo A:




and photo B:



As it happens, I went over the original limit of 20 winners---
winners should contact me @Neverwear to discuss how to redeem....oh the prizes...delicious...Neil tells me he is donating three WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES books, signed. Three CORALINE tee shirts, signed. Three CORALINE CDs signed. Neil also some signed Graveyard Book posters. Lorraine is donating some surprises, including one magical favor ticket (ask her about it @fabulouslorrain) and Neverwear is donating tshirts, stickers, mousepads, buttons, and a (signed by Neil) Jouni Koponen SAUCERS print. (of which we only have a few left...)

Without further narrative ado, I give you the 27 winners of the #100K contest, which celebrated @Neilhimself getting over 100,000 followers (and yes, he has 135,041 as of this blog publication).



(best rule breaker, it won a special spot by @Neilhimself):

vsivad: My entry for Neil Gaiman's #100K contest http://twitpic.com/2gx3w




(second best rule breaker, and apologies for the mix-up, some many tweets n' retweets flying around...)
SarahG42@neverwear my original tweet - http://tinyurl.com/d3wkax #100K




(best HARLAN ELLISON reference):

zbluesy: #100K A boy and his dog... hell, it worked for Ellison.

(best for making @FurrytigerKitty AND @Neverwear laugh):
jesteram: #100K Photo A: "Other Mother ... Jonas Brothers ... I beat all comers."

(best for making @FabulousLorrain laugh):
MichaelClear
B) Neil is a bloke from Portchester. Cabal is a demon from Hell. Can this wacky pair run a Fish and Chips shop? Find out on BBC One.

(best use of poetic cleverness):
Dookyj_normaljustkyla: C is for Cabal, three years on a chain, Til’ his grim lord did claim him to stand in the rain.

(best use of sibling rivalry aka nanny nannny boo boo):
coralvfl: #100K A) Sibling Rivalry: "The fact of the matter is, furball, I got a movie deal and YOU didn't. So, obviously, I'M Neil's favorite."

(best ad for otherworld dentistry):
pixelz: "No, Cabal, down boy! Leave the fairies alone: they'll stick in your teeth!" #100k

(best Tori reference)
littleread: #100k B: Out of interest, where *is* Neil when you need him?

(best Clint Eastwood reference):
styromus: #100k http://twitpic.com/2jpcv -

(best way into our free speech hearts--a shout-out to CBLDF
Passeriform: #100K B "Boss, PLEASE let me be on the CBLDF board!" "No, Cabal. But I'll see if they need an enforcer.”

(best gentle mockery of Neil's mission statement):
mjolin: #100K A: Sure he SAYS he will eventually grow up and get a real job, but then he brings home a DOLL for chrissakes. I won't hold my breath

(Best LOTR mention was an even tie between these two):
MLopezC: #100k Photo A: And the beast wondered if the hobbit girl would taste good with some lembas bread.

joabaldwin: #100k b) Hey dog! merry dog! ring a dog dillo! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

(BEST USE OF BOTH PHOTOS TOGETHER: Another tie):
christinahere: A) If that dog calls me Caroline one more time, it's gonna be him or me! B) See ya Caroline!!

pinkshirtfarmer: http://twitpic.com/2gzuj - Look what I found!



(best mention of chocolate cake):
cakewelsh: #100K I want royalties, Gaiman. In limeade and chocolate cake. Or I Button the dog.

(best short person joke):
gilldaniels: #100K A) The doll insists they are friends and the dog, politely but firmly, disagrees. He says, "We'll talk when you can reach the kibble."

(best Star Trek/Stephen King mash-up):
gavroche: #100K A spoonful of Gaiman helps the tribbles go down, in a most cujoful way!

(best for pandering to Kitty’s giant Henry Selick crush):
craig_church #100K A) "Tell Henry he forgot the wings on this one."


(best Doctor Who reference--and there were MANY):
dogeatdoug: My entry for Neil Gaiman's contest: http://twitpic.com/2hf30 #100K




(best use of a kindergarten joke that worked perfectly in this case):
Lacrimus: #100k What's black and white and read all over? Neil Gaiman and his dog!

(Kitty's favorite use of fewest characters with most punch!):
mysynergy #100K Mad dogs and Englishmen.

(Quiche LOVED this one so much it showed up twice on her list--two different times)
KristenIsKadu: #100K The dog wondered if he should eat the bubbles full of tiny beings. The man calmly took out his umbrella so none landed on his head.

(because Cabal think sticks are the end-all-be-all)
solo1y: #100K B: http://yfrog.com/0e100k2j

(this entry EVERY time was on both mine & Quiche's list, a real visual sentence, and compound to boot):
ferallon #100K Despite being armed with an umbrella and a spectral hound; a twinkle of will-o-the-wisps made short work of the man in the dark suit.

(best in that it absolutely got the whole point of this Twitter contest in the most succinct manner--well done!)
Pergamond: #100K B. Followed by 100,000. Led by one.

(this one may be made into a Neverwear sticker with Middlesmith's permission--
because it is closest I could find to A Grande Prize WINNER!!)

middlesmith: #100K There was a hand in the rain, and it held a milk bone.

Congrats all you winners, please contact me @Neverwear on Twitter.com
and I will give you an all new email contact for mailing addresses....

& give me a minute to reply---I just finished packing up all the buttons people won last week,
and I will be running an April special at Neverwear.net, any purchase of ten bucks or more gets a free set of 3 Neil buttons...

WOnderCON! part two

been in travel mode, spent yesterday in an airplane to Baltimore, Charm City..
visiting friends and family on the way to New York City.

however, I did want to post this second half of the WonderCon happenings.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was responsible for two fascinating events:
on Friday night, the Drink and Draw Social Club, at 111 Minna Alley, patrons of the arts and supporters of free speech could come and watch artists do exactly that, drink n’ draw....



the Obama-Lincoln looks just like Nancye’s William, our Portland friends.



i made this bartender pose for me, just to get a shot of his shirt for my little brother :





the next day we were up bright and early for the call of duty,
look at these lovely volunteers. (and Bets bought one of “my” books”):




out on the floor, business as usual, look at this gun-toting fairy:
(maybe you can't see her gun in this shot, but it was as tall as she was--)



a huge and unwieldly (sp?) BumbleBee Transformer blocked our traffic flow for a bit too long, he couldn’t move...and neither could anyone else...Charles went out and solved the problem.




Saturday brought the most interesting two hours of the event for me.
CBLDF sponspored an ArtJam in which comic book legends drew on the overhead and narrated their techniques.
The resulting works were auctioned off to support the Fund.
Jill Thompson, Wendy Pini, Dave Johnson, Matt Wagner and the ever-popular Jim Lee participated.


here Wendy creates one of the Elfquest characters:



we watched until she finished up with this:



here she posed with some admirers, of which you can count me as one. Delightful lady:



Jill Thompson, she of Sandman fame, ended up winning the Wendy Pini auction, which makes her a double supporter of the Fund! (volunteering her time and money)
SHe decided to do a watercolor demo of the character Death, and I learned so much about shading and light:











amazing woman, pure talent.
we thank you, Jill.

During Matt Wagner and Dave Johnson's presentations, I was running around giving auction numbers and getting supplies for the artists. When Jim Lee came on, however, I was able to be front and center. I have been fascinated by his lines for about 15 years now, since he was drawing the Xmen books, his Psylocke was my alter-ego for a long time. Actually, she still is.

He drew a WOlverine crowd-pleaser, and made the hall laugh repeatedly with his antics, using props such as hotel key and water bottle top to dazzle us:





watch here in this little video clip I posted on youtube as Jim shows us his magic touch, that man is made of elven charm:



he also dashed off my favorite Batgirl:



that night we went out for tapas, here Drew and CBLDF Jill mack some teeny lamb burgers...(see Charles in the background)



now to catch my train up to NYC to give Neil an assist in his BLUEBERRY GIRL signing, with the gorgeously talented Charles Vess. more to report soon---

Gotham City, Kitty out.