Weekly Dose of Mark

 

 

Friday, July 21st, 2023 • 07/21/23

 

On Monday the car didn’t start. I texted Greg Spencer Wolf and told him I could not pick him up. He asked if I needed him to come over to jump-start the car, and I agreed. It took him a while to find the right alley because he was looking on the wrong side of the street. The car was locked in park, so we couldn’t move it out of the garage. With the car in the garage, our cables were not long enough. I left Greg and Krista looking through the manual to get my neighbor Don’s electric starter. Greg and Krista discovered a way to unpark the car in the manual, but by then, Don was over with the starter. Don tried to open the battery to check the water but with no luck. I thanked him and Greg. After I told Greg I was going to go to the battery store, he drove on his own down to Fandango. During all of this, I called Stowe to let him know I couldn’t pick him up. The battery store said the battery was still under warranty, but checking it showed it was back to 80%. Krista told me the inside cab light had been left on. I remember going out to search through the glove compartment the day before. I must have left it on, and it drained the battery. I was only an hour late to Freelance Fandango, where Greg, Jennevieve, Stan, and Penny were kind enough not to tease me too much. The KitKat flavor was cookies and cream, which the group found to be too sweet.

 

Krista and I have enjoyed watching Sumo this week. It’s the July Basho. There’s a changing of the guard happening. Several of the players we’ve cheered on over the years are either retiring or falling into the lower rankings. There’s a lot of young blood coming in, and I do mean young. One of the youngest is a nineteen-year-old whose hair still isn’t long enough to form a topknot. We are watching to see if early injuries will shorten their career. A sport that is basically king-of-the-hill sees a lot of injuries. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a basho where a player didn’t bleed or withdraw from injury. I won’t bore you with statistics. Just know that for 30 minutes in the day, sometimes in the morning, more often in the afternoon or evening, Krista and I are calling out the names of who we think will win and howling in agony or triumph at close calls, just like football or baseball fans. We don’t wear any sports colors, but I did have a Takayasu pillow I wave about.

 

This week I’ve been taking my daily walks in the morning while it is still cool. I was finishing my walk around Wapato Park and saw children playing in front of the civic center. This is the time of year when it is used as a location for children to come and play with supervision. A group of what must have been eight-year-olds were playing musical chairs on the grass. My best guess is that it was early in the game. There were at least ten chairs to be circled, with only a couple having been set aside. The organizers were pros at this. I could see that they were drawing out the game as long as they could, so the tension would be high for both those watching and participating. The kids were all smiling, laughing, jumping, and waving their arms. It was a charming scene and a perfect way to bring my walk to a close. I’m trying to remember the last time I played that game. Was it in grade school? I have less than a memory, an inkling perhaps, of playing it in college in the dorm commons. Earlier in my walk, I was laughing. I was on a dirt path surrounded by birds singing, bright greens of plants and trees around me, a warm sunny day with a light breeze, and all was right in the world. You really have to enjoy those moments when they happen.

 

I was happy to find a nickel on the sidewalk during one of my morning walks. I’m lucky if I find a penny. I’ve found quarters and dimes, but finding a nickel was not bad at all. It was just as I was thinking this that I spotted a folded five-dollar bill. I truly couldn’t believe my luck. I thought it must be torn in half. But, no, it was an intact five-dollar bill. As I tucked it into my pocket, I realized that this was going to jump out in the statistics I keep of picked-up money. The total for 2021 was $1.06. 2022 was $1.35. When I got home, I told my wife I found a nickel.

“WooHoo,” she said cheerfully.

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “But a few footsteps later, I found this.” I snapped the five-dollar bill out between my two hands like I was holding up a shirt.

“I five dollar bill!” I announced.

“Ooooooooo!” She admired.

 

There’s a new lost dog bulletin posted on a utility pole near the post office. A 12-year-old Chihuahua Dautson mix ran away on the 4th of July. I wonder if the fireworks scared him out of his senses. I also wonder if he ever made it home safely and if their owner never bothered to take down the signs. 

 

The Weird Cabal is a group of artists I organized to create movie posters for the Grand Cinema’s Weird Elephant series. Wade, the fellow in charge of scheduling movies at the Grand, told me he planned on getting “The Wicker Man.” I usually will let the entire group put “dibs” in on a film. But I’ve not done a poster in months and wanted to do it, so I started the artwork for the poster even before Wade officially announced it. The rest of the group forgave me. The Grand announced that one of the movies they will be showing is “The Cabinet of Dr. Calgori.” I would love to do a movie poster for that classic, but I’d already claimed “The Wicker Man.” It wasn’t long before Brill and Stowe both put in dibs. I mentioned I wanted to do it, too but knew I’d have to let someone else take it. Stowe suggested that all the members of the Cabal do a poster. Just as this idea gained traction, Wade stepped in and said that both “The Cabinet of Dr. Calgori” and “Nosferatu” had their own group that toured with the films and sold their posters. They didn’t want to have to split sales. He apologized for not mentioning that sooner. I’m still thinking about doing a poster, which I can always sell at my other shows. 

 

Alley News

There was a flurry of activity outside my window. It was the young grey cat hot on the heels of a grey squirrel. He must have caught him by surprise because this squirrel was practically under its claws. Had the cat a little more experience, the squirrel would have been a goner instead of finally managing an escape through some bushes. I opened the front door, complimented the cat for his fine efforts, and set up the squirrel trap. I told Krista about the excitement. A couple of hours later, I reported the squirrel was in the trap. “Already?” she asked. I loaded the trap into the trunk and drove it to Sprinker Center. Their large parking lot is under renovation. Most of it was torn up. I had to park near the edge of the road in what spaces were remaining. The squirrel had four options, through the tall temporary chainlink into the dirt and dust of the parking lot construction, across the street to the golf course, across another street to Goodwill and strip mall, or to a large lone pine tree set next to the side of the road. It chose the pine tree. As I put the trap back into the trunk, I noticed a portable surveillance camera. It was part of a trailer unit with a tall telescoping pole with a camera on top. I’m sure it was used to check the perimeter of the parking lot. I wondered if it was on and if anyone was going to be amused by a few seconds of footage. The next day I noticed there was another squirrel in the yard. I’d reset the trap, and the varmint was digging around next to it.

 

July 15

#IDreamt I called my wife over to the window to see a goldfinch. Then I realized it was a Robin-sized, yellow, orange, and black. What type of bird is that? I asked.

 

July 17

#IDreamt I lived in one of the outer dimensions. My job was to adjust the filters to make it look better than it was to encourage choosing it as a destination. Most dimensions travel was one way.

 

July 18

#IDreamt my family was at a fishing lodge in Forks when the river flooded overnight. The water was at the doorstep. My late grandmother arrived complaining she was cold. I bundled her up in a chair next to the fireplace.

 

July 19

#IDreamt the characters from my recent dreams were creating a competition chart. Some of the criteria for judgment would be non-sequiturs of conversations and erratic movement.

 

July 20

#IDreamt my friend Goro visited me during a family gathering at my Uncle’s house. But the year was 1986. Neither he nor I could talk about what came after 1986.

 

July 21

#IDreamt I was a teenager disguised as a clown retrieving a camera as I attempted to escape from the Fairgrounds.

 

I watched some movies this week:

 

65. July 14

Deadly Instincts (1997) Rating: 3

I thought I was getting “Breeders” from 1987, not this film, which Netflix’s DVD service has titled “Breeders.” Rubber suit alien: check. Sexploitation: check. Way too much running around in the basement, sewers, whatever the hell space they call it: check. I took one point off when I realized I got the wrong movie. And the last point I took off was when the much-awaited exposition was carried out in less than thirty seconds.

 

66. July 16

Evil Dead Rise (2023) Rating: 10

Ramini and Campbell know just what the fans of the franchise want. And this time, they went into it with all the horror and little of the humor. The fans wanted a dark seat-squirmer, and they got one. Homage was paid to the original films in many ways. But all without it being larkish. I watched this movie on Max.

 

67. July 16

Nimona (2023) Rating: 7

I read the webcomic a long time ago. I had no idea a movie option was picked up. The story is a version of the webcomic, so if you enjoyed the movie, I think you would enjoy seeing the difference and choice made when they made the adaptation. The message of the film is very inclusive and more subtle than other animation films featuring inclusion as a theme. Disney made a mistake in dropping this film, and Netflix did more than a good deed in picking it up. Lots of fun.

 

More next week,

Mark

 

Weekly Dose of Mark

Saturday, July 8th 2023 • 07/08/23

Anique Zimmer was waiting when I showed up at Freelance Fandango on Monday. We were soon joined by Greg, Nori, Stowe, Allen, and Stan. Jennevieve loved the housewarming gift I gave her. Nori was going to get on a plane on July 4th to return home for his father’s memorial service. Nori hasn’t flown for years and didn’t know that you needed to download an app to select a seat. He almost ended up in a middle seat, both going and coming. Anique had to leave at noon, but she was replaced by Corey Macourek, who dropped off the Weird Elephant binder. I bought one of Corey’s “Spirited Away” prints. Allen took the binders as he is the next artist to sell prints at the Grand Cinema this weekend. His poster is “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

Last week my friend John spent a great deal of his time in Seattle tending to his mother. Her state of health fluctuated enough that the care center she lives in moved her from her apartment to another more intense care area of the facility. When John told me Monday afternoon that she died, the news was not completely unexpected. But I thought she’d stabilized after a rough week and was going to recover. John told me the heartwarming story of she spent her last day. Apparently, she was in good enough spirits that she and her boyfriend went on an outing. They paid their respects at her mother’s gravesite. The weather was fine and clear; it was a bright, warm day. As older people often do, she nodded off on the drive back. At least, that is what the boyfriend thought until they arrived back at the facility and he discovered she’d died. As far as a last day goes, that’s a pretty good one. I want to be of help to John. This next week is going to be busy for him and his family as they make arrangements.

Krista and I made three purchases at Costco this week that were not food. The first was a twin mattress. We have a spare bed in a small room we call the sewing room. We have an old twin bed I used to sleep in as a kid, which I took to college. I bought a new mattress for it back in the ’90s. Even seldom-used mattresses get threadbare. Krista and I have been meaning to replace it for a while now. And by a while, I might mean the last decade. The only problem was buying one while it was on sale, and a friend with a truck was available. The Knights of Pythias has a group chat, and I put a query out asking for an assist. Dale Chestnut, who I haven’t seen since before the pandemic, sent me his number. He and his wife were kind enough to help us out. While the three of us were at Costco, they picked up a cooked chicken and a bottle of olive oil. They turned down all of my efforts to reimburse them for their time or gas. They invited me out to their place to visit. I will have to take them up on that.

I’ve been using an oscillating fan set on a stool in the master bedroom. Krista would like to use that fan downstairs to keep her desk cool during the upcoming heat wave. The second purchase we made was a tall upright fan for the master bedroom. I had it assembled in less than five minutes. It has a temperature setting on it so that it will automatically turn on and off at a certain temperature.

The third purchase was a stand-up lamp. When we first moved it, we bought a small upright lamp barely over four feet. Its single bulb has dimly lit what we call the library for the last thirty years. We’ve been meaning to replace it with something taller that could provide more light. Krista thought the design of the new lamp would fit the room perfectly. The assembly was challenging as the designer provided micro screws as small as a black ant’s butt to hold everything together. I love how much light it brings into the room. Krista loves the way it looks.

The lamp was a spontaneous purchase. The mattress and fan were planned. We knew these items appeared seasonally at Costco and learned from previous years that unless you purchased them quickly, they would disappear until next year. We meant to buy the fan last year and missed out. We have been after the mattress for years. The lamp just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Uncle Bill and Dad are back from their fishing trip with Cousin Vic. They had a good time. I know they caught a lot of fish, some of which they tossed back and some which they brought home. They were fishing for trout in a lake. I tried to find out how much they caught, but the phone call went sideways. Apparently, Uncle Bill was expecting his new hearing aids to arrive at the house while they were away. The hearing aids were late arriving, so Uncle Bill decided to stay until they showed up. Then they asked me about getting some art framed. I need to call them back and let them know that all the Framers I knew have retired. I hope to hear about their fishing trip soon.

Friday night Allen Gladfelter picked me up, and I kept him company as he sold “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” posters at the Grand Cinema. I enjoy Allen’s company. He’s been working on a graphic novel for a few years now. He decided to rewrite some of the pages. Thankfully, he’d planned his panels so that they could be shifted around. He did a little of that and only had to alter one or two spoken balloons. I’ll be keeping him company again tonight.

Alley News

Krista saw a couple down the alley working on a red sedan. She assumed that it was being stripped. I knew she didn’t want me to investigate or to get Don to investigate. She worried that it might turn nasty. Don did go and explore. He learned that our neighbor Dan gave the couple in the red car an old van. The old van was parked at the far end of the alley to block an unused driveway. It was to discourage the homeless from setting up came there. A large branch fell two winters ago and broke the back window. The van has sat there since before the pandemic. Don had the couple drive it up to his place, where they could work on it faster. He wanted them gone before dusk. They were successful in getting it running. Now the stray cats and raccoons will have to find somewhere else to nest.

We had to close all the windows once it got dark on the Fourth of July. There were so many fireworks and so little wind that a fog of sulfur-smelling fog settled in the city. It was pretty bad. We marveled at how our poorest neighbors were always the ones who bought the most expensive fireworks. “Will they will have enough money for rent next month?” Krista wondered. “Poor little Sally isn’t going to get her braces this year.”

I was craving ribs. The only store that had them at a decent price was Costco. So when we were there buying the lamp, we also purchased a package of ribs made of three racks. Krista cooked two of them, and we froze the third. We’ll be eating ribs for a few days. Krista also made some potato salad and did a quick steam on the snap peas from the garden. We’ve been eating peas with every meal. The cucumbers are coming in as well. On Wednesday, we took a break from the ribs and ate sweet chili braised salmon with a tangy cucumber salad. We also finished off the cake I bought to celebrate our 36th anniversary. I suggested to Krista that maybe we should go up to Canada next year for our anniversary.

The Wells family was over at Judy Martin’s house every day during the Fourth of July weekend. They’ve been enjoying the warm weather visiting under the carport with “Granny” and Pat and Cathy Smith. Cathy is a frequent visitor to Judy’s, at least once or twice a day, if not more, to check on her and help out. Pat has been mowing and watering her plants for years now. Even though Judy says, she doesn’t want any plants because she doesn’t have the strength to water them. The Smiths got around this argument by saying they needed a place to grow more vegetables and they’d take care of everything. Thus, Judy gets to enjoy looking at plants in the summer. I’ve not kept track of the vegetables they are growing.

Some of my dreams:

July 1

#IDreamt I was on a ski trip with my brothers when I got separated and then trapped within a zoo where all the animals had been released and were running amok. I couldn’t tell if the lion was affectionate or playing with me like a mouse.

July 2

#IDreamt we moved to a different house where the dishwasher was in the mud room. It would leak unless you closed the door tightly. I was sorting a bag of trash left behind. I could tell if it was wine or meth-making equipment.

July 3

#IDreamt the motel I was at had a gas station mini-mart as a lobby. I bought a sandwich, and the clerk gave me a penny. The man behind me held out his hand as a joke. I gave him the penny. “For luck,” I said.

July 4

#IDreamt we stayed at an AirB&B and woke to find a long-haired cat on me. As we left, I mentioned to the owner their cat had snuck in and slept on the bed. “We don’t have a cat.” They said.

Movies I watched this last week:

62. July 3

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) Rating: 5

This is a fish-out-of-water Rom-Com. One of the many Hugh Grant romance comedies where he’s partnered with a new leading lady to see if chemistry happens. I think all involved elevated the script. While the horses had names, there were no dogs with names in the movie. But that’s understandable, with Bart the Second being part of the cast.

63. July 4

Extraction (2020) Rating: 5

I watched this movie because I was curious about Extraction 2, and I like watching my movies in the sequence they were released. This is a highly challenging kill-count movie. It’s even a difficult explosion-count movie. The action scene goes at a breakneck pace through a warren of alleys, apartments, balconies, and slums. It kept me entertained as Fourth of July fireworks went off through the night and didn’t interfere at all with the view of the film.

64. July 8

They Made Me a Fugitive (2020) Rating: 5

Not to be confused with “They Made Me A Criminal.” What this movie could have used is a dog or at least a bird in a cage. Instead, we have a man held behind chicken wire. Most of the characters lacked dimension. The dialog must have been witty and snarky at the time because this film did okay at the time. My favorite part remains the wife asking for a favor in return for food and clothes.

More next week,

Mark

 

 

Weekly Dose of Mark

Sunday, May 28th 2023 • 05/28/23 – Memorial Day Weekend

 

I didn’t write a Weekly Dose last Friday because there was too much going on at the time. And, as often happens, so much kept happening that another week went by. I’m going to do my best to get you caught up.

 

The first change to my schedule occurred on Monday, May 15th. Normally I would host a freelancer gathering at the Red Elm Café. This small gathering is called Freelance Fandango, and it runs from 11am until 1pm. However, I had to miss it because the Tacoma Art Commission scheduled an online video conference for all selected artists to create artwork wraps for crosswalk utility boxes. We were going to be instructed on how to file contracts and the measurements of the artwork. Representatives from the print company and the city were both there. After their presentation, I had several questions. The questions I raised inspired the other artists to ask for clarification on small specifics. I’m very glad I took the time to attend and didn’t rely on the recording of the event. I went onto Freelance Fandango’s Facebook page and saw that there was a fun turnout of people without me. Everyone complained about the lack of Kit Kats. 

 

Another change to the schedule was Krista having to go into her office in Olympia on Wednesday. She does much better working at home. But, this was a council meeting, and it needed someone on-site to run events. 

 

Thursday, I was busy prepping my bins for Crypticon. Crypticon is the largest horror-themed convention in Washington State and is held at a hotel in SeaTac, very near Sea-Tac airport. It runs three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. John Draper helped me on Friday. I spent a little extra to be in the vendor hall rather than the artists’ alley. Not only did I have a backdrop, but the vendor to my right put up a plywood wall between us. With their permission took advantage and draped a spare red tablecloth over it and then hung my shirts on it rather than the poster backdrop. The folks on my other side were a tattooist. He had people booked on his table throughout the entire event. I was grateful for John being there. I would have taken him out to dinner as a thank you. But when I sent him out at lunchtime for some sandwiches, he bought himself a sandwich for dinner. That was a good idea as the Crypticon show starts late and ends late. The vendor’s hall didn’t close until 8 pm. I dropped John off at nine and ate a small dinner with Krista when we got home. I would have to ask John if he had a chance to talk with any of the writers who were selling books at the show.

 

Allen Gladfelter helped me on Saturday. Allen picked me up at eight, and we had breakfast at Little Jerry’s down the street. We didn’t have to rush and enjoyed a nicely paced breakfast. I’m not used to eating a big breakfast and was quite fortified. Allen was kind enough to use his car so that Krista could use our car to pick up plants and the like for her weekend activities. Allen has helped me at several conventions, and I can rely on him to pitch and sell items when I step away from the table. Allen is slowly getting items of his own to sell: books, prints, and stickers. So we added those to the display, and he made some sales.

 

I allow myself to get one autograph when I’m at Crypticon. There were a lot of celebrities to choose from. This year I chose Dee Wallace. Dee Wallace is an Actress I’ve been following since the ’80s. Most people will remember her as the mom in “E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial.” She was also the lead actress in “The Howling” and” Cujo.” She’s been active for decades in both film and television. Most of the films have been horror films, so it was very easy for me to keep track of her. I left Allen at the table to see if the line for her autographs was short enough for Allen to get a signature for me. But I got lucky, and she was finishing up with a fan as I went to the table and chose a headshot from “The Howling” for her to sign. As she signed it, she asked if I’d be willing to toss in another $20 for a selfie with her. I couldn’t refuse! I could not get over what a small petite woman she was. And as she signed the photo, I complemented how well her most recent headshot looked. She then said, “Oh, let me give that to you for free.” And she signed it as well. So I had to do something for her. I went back to my table and drew a picture of her in the movie “Cujo,” where she is trapped in the car with the dog on the hood, trying to get in. I then went back and gave it to her when her line had quieted down. She laughed when she saw it. She then flipped through the book to where I drew a review of “E.T.” I’d compared the movie to a boy and his dog film. She laughed again and gave me a motherly slap on the shoulder like I had just tried to pull a fast one. “My husband is going to love this.” She told me.

 

I have lots of friends who have tables at Crypticon. It’s hard for me to get time to visit them all. Elizabeth Guizzetti writes and illustrates books featuring vampires and aliens. Other artists I know who were in Artist Alley are Eli Wolff, Mark Brill, Chad Scheres, and Nick Gucker. I chose to be over in the vendor’s room this time and sat across from Jason Emmott and his wife at Evil Threads. I was worried that my friend Travis Bundy wasn’t going to be able to sit the entire convention because of back pain. But he has Kevin McCoy with him, and that lightened the load enough that he was able to manage all three days. I’d hoped to have my neighbor Pat Smith with me on Sunday, but he had other commitments. Thankfully I was able to manage by myself, and Crypticon is a very easy show to set and tear down as the car was parked very close by. The show was not as profitable as last year, but last year it was absolutely nuts! So, it’s tough to compare the two shows. I think I will still stay in the vendor’s hall because of the extra display options.

 

My Uncle Bill, an identical twin to my father, moved to Shoreline, WA, on May 25th. I’m going to give him a call in a few days. I think his daughters are moving him into his apartment right now. I know that they were invited to a wedding. I believe it’s Cody Wagner’s wedding, a relative on his late wife’s side of the family.

 

I was able to host Freelance Fandango this last Monday. There were seven of us in attendance: Britton Sukys, Corey Macourek, Stan Brown, Nori Kimura, Haley Waddington, Mark Brill and myself. Cory and Brill brought in movie poster art to show. Brittan brought comic and graphic novel art that he’s been working on. Brill brought in another art book. I asked everyone to submit suggestions for a new bingo game I’m creating. I made one for horror movie fans that is selling well, so I want to create one for Anime fans. By the end of the meeting, the whiteboard was filled with suggestions. These were erased, and then we all drew versions of the proposals. I brought a new KitKat flavor this week: Banana Caramel. It was voted one of the better flavors. I made sure to bring one home for Krista since she found the bag. I also have been giving a couple to the staff of the Red Elm Café as a thank you. They have been very generous in letting us use their meeting room for nothing more than the snacks and meals we buy.

 

Once a month, I host another event, a drawing session at the Grand Cinema. We call it The Grand Drawing Room. It runs for two hours from 6-8pm. Attendance for this event has been filling the room. This month we had a cosplayer named Miriam as our model. One of my tasks is to position the model into interesting poses for the artists. We also changed the room’s layout this time, with the tables close to the sofa on which the artist stood and sat. Before, we had things arranged with the tables in rows, and late arrivals were stuck in the back rows. This month many of the artists brought friends who were in the back reading books and watching the group quietly draw. One of the artists approached me after the show and asked if she could be the cosplay model for next month. I've already posted the event announcement with her photo. I set up a Facebook page so everyone had a location where they could show off their artwork. You can see photos and sketches of our sessions at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1042279923844176

 

Speaking of the Grand Cinemas, both Mark Brill and James Stowe did movie posters this week. Brill did a poster for “The Seven Samurai,” and Stowe did a poster for “Perfect Blue.” I gave the binders holding past posters to Brill before his on Thursday. I then retrieved them and took them to Stowe for his turn in the lobby on Friday. I sat with him and helped to keep track of sales. He sold more posters on Saturday. 

 

There were several shows happening this weekend. I didn’t make it into the Punk Rock Flea Market. I was accepted off the waiting list for Tacoma’s Night Market, but by then, I’d already committed to doing the Tabletop Expo. But this week was up in the air as Krista and I weren’t sure if we’d be traveling or not. In the end, I did not table at the Table Top Expo, but Allen Gladfelter and Mark Brill did. Instead, Stowe and I carpooled up to Renton to be part of a panel. Polo, the organizer, asked me if I could line up some artists. Stowe and I stopped at The Cedar River Smokehouse for a BBQ lunch before we went to the expo. He had a chopped porked sandwich. I ordered the brisket sandwich. The owner came out and told us about some new sandwiches he was offering. Instead of a long bun, these would be on a round potato or onion bun, with coleslaw and pickles as part of the sandwich. I changed my order to it and was glad I did so; it was delicious. Stowe’s side selection was coleslaw, so he didn’t change his order. My side was macaroni and cheese. The extra carbs were delicious. Our panel was not as well attended as I had hoped. It was Stowe, Allen, and myself at the table with nobody in the audience. The show was very small and thinly attended. However, we turned on the microphones and made them loud enough that they could be heard over some of the expo hall and got into a discussion with each other. The debate lured our lone audience member into the room. He was joined by the organizer, and we had fun. Both Stowe and Allen are teachers and are looking forward to summer break so that they can hang out with the rest of their artist buddies. Stowe made sure to give me the Grand Cinema poster binders for safekeeping.

 

Alley News

 

My neighbor Pat Smith and I have gone on walks nearly every day, even on days when I’ve already gone on a walk with Krista. Pat taught me a couple of Pokemon Go this week. He called me up yesterday to see if I wanted to go for a walk. I turned him down as I was busy out in the yard with the weed whacker. The replacement for the battery I ordered still is being processed. I wonder if they discovered that all of their stock is filled with faulty batteries. In the meantime, I’m stuck using the weedwhacker. I tried the push mover, but the grass was too long for it to function easily. It’s been sitting idle for several years, and I’m sure the blades need sharpening. Krista bought plants. She’s also been planting seeds and cuttings that she nurtured over the winter. We should be getting some vegetables soon. Judy Martin is sitting outside on her carport now that the weather is warmer. The Smiths are over at her house a couple of times each day. We were yelling at each other not to give away any spoilers, as today was the last day of the Sumo Tournament. Krista and I have gotten our neighbors addicted to watching sumo.

 

I had some dreams:

May 14

#IDreamt time-traveling teenagers from the future infiltrated high schools in the past. Rather than murder, they assassinated would-be politicians’ characters with rumor, innuendo, and such.

May 15

#IDreamt I was a runaway youth who was also a material witness. I was bad at faces but good at remembering badge numbers. I ran from the police assigned to my transportation because they had black tape over their badge numbers.

May 16

#IDreamt that I could tell when one dream stopped and another began. My brain then had the option of rewinding the dream for two minutes to change the ending.

May 17

#IDreamt While doing an old friend a favor, I walked into a plot to blow up a wealthy oil magnate while he was getting drunk at a club. I think I was the only sober one there, but high school chemistry was a long time ago.

May 18

#IDreamt Barack Obama wanted to hire me to do a graphic novel. He’d hired another artist who did it, but his advisors didn’t like it. I looked at it and saw it was superior to what I could do and told him so. He still wanted to do it.

May 19

#IDreamt creating a space station with a functioning pool was less of a challenge than you would think. The surprise was in water in the pool becoming sentient a few decades later.

May 22

#IDreamt I was meeting my sister at Steam Engine Station’s Cafe, where she went to get a Latte. I found her flirting with a young Marlon Brando. I wondered if we were in the afterlife, and I was just slow in figuring it out.

May 23

I dreamt I was at a client’s convention, searching through two flash drives for images to insert into a PowerPoint presentation mere minutes before their time slot was scheduled.

May 24

#IDreamt David Hasselhoff was celebrating his birthday by giving away fried chicken at a seaside bar. He was also signing his autograph. He was behaving just like he did in “Piranha 3DD”.

May 25

#IDreamt after its debut at a county fair, the Rat-Bait Guitar was remarked as a dog’s chew toy (minus the rat poison). Sales soared after a TikTok video showed a dog being a music critic.

May 26

I dreamt I took a large cedar tree pole to a lumberyard and haggled with them over its value.

May 28

#IDreamt I was mistaken for a spy and found myself wearing an exosuit that could mimic my physical appearance and completely protect me. The drawback was I couldn’t take it off. And it could mess with my mind by feeding me false info.

 

I read a couple of books:

 

“Paperback From Hell: The Twisted Story of ’70s and ’80s Twisted Horror Fiction” by Grady Hendrix, Rating: 10

I was a voracious reader from an early age. As a teenager and college student, I consumed 3-5 books a week, often re-reading my favorites. And I was a horror fan. It never occurred to me that these decades would be the heyday for such books. As I flipped through the pages, I was amazed. I pointed to the covers and said, “I read this one, and this one, and this one, and this one. Oh, and this one too.” I’ve been showing this book to my friends, and they asked if I’ve read any of the ones featured. They chortle when I confess I’ve read most of them. They become intrigued. I don’t know why. A lot of those books were completely trashy! Most of them were! But I couldn’t get enough of their gory, nightmare-fueling contents. Now I’m using it as a reference to hunt down books at the used bookstore. These aren’t titles you will find in the audiobook section of the library. My niece, who bought me this book as a gift, was intrigued and might get herself a copy.

“Sacrament” by Clive Barker, Rating:7

There was less goo and grisel than I was expecting. And since I kept expecting it, I was kept on edge. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the book that I settled on the rhythm the author established for the story. That was a bit of relief. I hadn’t read a horror novel in a while. I first started to read Barker in the ’80s when horror was a bit extreme in themes, description, and insane writing decisions. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to wade up to my hips in gore and goop. That’s not to say that there is a lack of some disturbing images. I enjoyed hearing Mr. Barker’s storytelling voice again.

I’ve watched some movies

53. May 16

No Man of Her Own (1932) Rating: 7

It’s quite possible I watched this film when I was a kid, that is, if they allowed pre-code movies on television. The romance angle must have left me flat if I had watched it before. I was probably more interested in the card shark aspects. As an adult, I enjoyed it for many reasons. I got to think about how much better movies were pre-code when the innuendo allowed for more salaciousness. I enjoyed it as it was the only time the two leads worked together, even though they would marry years later. And I enjoyed it because of the character actors and the wonderful sets. These early films kindle my nostalgia. I watched it on a Netflix DVD.

54. May 18

Ted (2012) Rating: 7

There comes a time when you realize you’ve watched the same clips from a movie so many times that had you spent that same amount of time just watching the film, you would have seen the whole thing by now. So, before I started to get my Ted clips confused with Ted 2 clips, and before the rumored Ted 3 came out, I thought I should see the film. Why haven’t I seen this film? Perhaps it’s because I don’t smoke pot, drink beer, or make jokes about hookers. And having met Sam J. Jones, I can tell you my reaction to the experience was very much like that in the movie - minus the cocaine. I watched it on Amazon Prime.

55. May 24

The Deadly Mantix (1956) Rating: 6

Do you want to see a giant mantis? This is the film for you. It also comes with lots of stock footage of air force planes. There’s also a lot of footage of civilian airforce spotters. Perhaps a thank you for all their hard work in looking for airplanes that never appeared during WWII. The danger of the cold war was made abundantly clear with multiple references to the various lines of defense against “the threat” against “us.” I watched it on a DVD from my personal collection.

Not a movie, but an Anime series on Netflix I finished watching:

Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023) Rating: 6

I lived in Japan for a year back in 1979 before Anime and Manga started to influence American culture. But I got hooked on it while I was there, and I was particularly fascinated by their spooky tales, which differed in their approach to horror. This collection captures the weirdness of their horror.

Songs I woke up with in my head:

“Honky Tong Women” by the Rolling Stones

“Royals” by Pentatonix

 “Here Comes The Sun” by the Beatles

“The Distance” by Cake

“Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac

More next week,

Mark

Weekly Dose of Mark

 

Saturday, May 13th, 2023 • 05/13/23

 

There were two birthdays in the family his week. Happy Birthday to my nephew David, and Happy Birthday to my Aunt Christine. I trust you both got your birthday cards.

 

Last weekend Krista and I were busy doing some Spring Cleaning. It was the first time in years that both the garbage can and the recycling can were full. I even made a run to the recycling drop to unload glass and batteries for recycling. One of the reasons the recycling container filled up was because of the cardboard boxes. We had at least a dozen empty boxes of various sizes. Well, they weren’t technically empty; they were filled with other boxes nesting inside of other boxes. We finally came to our senses and realized we had an obvious knack for finding boxes that were “just the right size,” so why hoard them? Other items that made it into the recycling were the owner’s manuals for devices and appliances that we tossed out years ago. Speaking of ancient machines, I made a trip to Goodwill to drop off a bunch of appliances that got replaced or had a faulty fuse. The purge was a success. We are still convinced we have more stuff. But we actually tossed a lot of useless junk, stuff which neither one of us had any love or connection with, like the cardboard boxes.

 

I thought it might be Stan Brown and me at Freelance Fandango this week. But in through the door walked Mark Brill and Corey Macourek. The four of us create movie posters for the Grand Cinema, so we spent half of the meeting talking about the art being created for this month. We spent the other half of the meeting showing and telling the books we brought in. Mark Brill brought in a book that showed off the first Star Wars comic, in full size, complete with the artist’s notes, whiteout, and other printing notes on the production boards. Four cartoonists geeking out over other cartoonists on a beloved subject matter filled the room with nerd-joy.

 

Uncle John and Aunt Caroline came to visit from Denver. They had a lot of checkboxes for this trip. Caroline wanted to 1. check out the “Ikat: A World of Compelling Cloth” exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum. 2. Visit with their Niece and Nephew in Tacoma. 3. Visit their Nephews in Bellingham. Krista and I went with them up to the Seattle Art Museum. Both of us were familiar with Ikat textiles from various shows on NHK. The amount of planning it takes to create a thread, bind it, die it, lay it on traditional looms, and then weave it so that the tie-died threads line up to create patterns is mind-boggling. It was an awe-inspiring show, and we learned a lot. I would have loved to take in the rest of the art museum as well, but we had to pace ourselves. We still had lunch, a walk through the Pike Place Market, shopping at a Chocolate shop, and Uwajimaya to get completed before driving back to Tacoma. The next day was absolutely gorgeous, so we went for a walkout at Rustin Point. There was a section of the walk that only opened in within the last couple of years. So it was a new experience for all of us. We then did a party split. Caroline went thrifting with Krista, and John and I went to the LeMay Car Museum. Yes. I was there last month with my brother Stan. But the LeMay collection is huge! And they are constantly rotating cars in the exhibit. I would guess that only half of the cars there were the ones I saw last month. John said he could have spent another couple of hours in the place. Our timing was good as Krista and Carolyn were wrapping up their tour of the thrift stores. Krista brought me back a painting for me to add art into and a long sleeve yellow shirt produced by Land’s End. I love long sleeve yellow shirts, and this one looked like it was never worn. Krista picked it up for $3. Carolyn showed me some kimono fabric she found while they were thrifting.

 

When John and I were at the car museum, he pointed out a car that was almost like the first one he owned. The one in the museum was a wagon, and he was a sedan; other than that, it was the same model and year. He told me that he bought it when he was in college for $200. He didn’t pay for it all at once but instead was making weekly payments. He thought he’d have all summer to pay it off. But, being a high school kid, we would often make his weekly payment a day or two late. Not surprisingly, the fellows he bought the car required that he pay the remaining sum. He managed to come up with the remaining $100. He told me it was the type of car where you checked the gas and refilled the oil. Meaning it drank more oil than gas. I asked him what became of the car. He answered, “Tessie.” Tessie was Krista’s mother, and I was more than a little familiar with her rough treatment of automobiles. Krista had several horror stories about her mother driving cars to her demise. Tessie never checked the oil, or did any maintenance, only added gas. When John went to college, he left her the keys saying she could drive their mother to get groceries. He was surprised to get a call from the police saying that they found it abandoned in the middle of a long stretch of empty highway. He could get it towed, or they would confiscate it. Since he was attending college in another state, there was nothing for him to do but give up the car.

 

John and Carolyn did not get the rental car for which they originally requested. Instead, they were given a Hyundai Genesis. My first impression was of a stylish sedan. While the internal acoustics allowed for all of us to carry on a conversation, it was difficult to get in and out of the car. I don’t think they will rent that model again.

 

Our final stop on Thursday was Sushi Tama. We placed a reservation earlier in the day as seating was limited. Carolyn, Krista, and I had a variety of sashimi and sushi. John had Salmon and tempera. Since the location was my idea, I wanted to pay the bill, but John beat me to it. He covered our lunch the day before when we were at Tom Douglas’s Seafood Rub Shack and Fish Fry. If I remember correctly, I had the squid, Krista and Caroline had the shrimp, John had Salmon, and there was an appetizer of Salmon spread and chips. Fine, I’ll just have to capture the bill next time when we are in Denver.

 

Carolyn just returned from a trip to Japan. She said she loved Japanese food and didn’t mind having it again on her return. Her trip to Japan was another pilgrimage to check out textiles. But she wasn’t completely happy with her trip. The lack of a detailed itinerary or group time had her visiting more temples and shrines than the textile crafts shops. Still, visiting Japan is a unique experience. I can hardly wait to travel there with Krista. It’s been over four decades since I was there, and I’m sure a lot has changed, even the temples and shrines. No, I’m serious. I’ve seen recent photos of the shrines I visited. Back in the day, the red paint had aged to an almost brown hue, and the pillars were covered with various inscribed paper seals that were pasted on randomly. Now all the seals are gone, and a fresh red coat of paint has the shrine almost glowing. I’m sure there’s been a lot of other renovations too. She told me a little about her trip to the restaurant. But she shared many more details with Krista when they were thrifting.

 

My one regret was that I meant for us to get a group photo with my selfie stick before they took off to visit with their nephew in Bellingham. Did I mention that he runs a comic books store there?

 

Alley News

 

The replacement for the starting battery of the lawnmower arrived this week. But, it turned out to be defective. It arrived with no charge and without the ability to charge. I took it to the battery store to double-check. The customer service I called was a place in India that apologized for the issue. The rep said we were forwarding the problem along and that I would get an email telling me what to do next. I’m frustrated. I feel I could have written my own email and not spent fifteen minutes on hold. So, I’m not confident that a replacement for this expensive battery is on the way. Meanwhile, the grass is longer than it was when Pat helped me cut it two weeks ago. I got out the weed whacker and mowed the garden and around the raised beds on the side of the house so Krista could get her boxes of plants from the garden store into the ground.

 

It was 40 degrees last week. Now it’s 80 degrees. I went from layers and long sleeves to a single short sleeve shirt. Krista says she needs to wear a hat. I think she burned the skin in the part of her hair.

 

We came back with John and Caroline from one of our outings to find a big truck unloading a large crate at my neighbor Dan’s house. I went over to investigate. Dan likes to go on motorcycle road trips with his sons when the weather is good. They suggested to him that he get a trailer for his motorcycle so that “he” would have more space to pack stuff. Dan thinks they want to take advantage of the space as well. The trailer was still tightly sealed in the large wooden crate. But he proudly showed me a picture of the trailer. Its paint matches his motorcycle, and it has wheel covers on it, just like his motorcycle. This weekend, he plans to attach the hitch and give it a test haul. He’s never driven a motorcycle with a trailer before and thinks he should get some practice before going on a trip.

 

Here are some of my dreams from the last week:

 

May 6

#IDreamt I was a very amiable police detective named Davis. I was good at my job, most of which was handling vice cases.

 

May 8

#IDreamt I did a thumbnail comp of a billboard design to help a friend overloaded with work. It was an incomplete concept meant for an early review by the client. I was shocked to see it installed the next day.

 

May 9

#IDreamt two kids made a presentation to their town in their father’s barn. They explained how cold fusion worked and could be made. It wouldn’t be cheap, but it could save the world.

 

May 10

#IDreamt of a post-apocalyptic world where the remaining .05% of the population was trying to rebuild, form townships, and stable societies. My assignment this month was to act as a courier between two settlements.

 

May 11

#IDreamt it was a post-apocalypse world. I met a nun with a guitar working as a troubadour while seeking others of her order.

 

May 12

#IDreamt I was a young slave in ancient times, getting ready to escape after months of careful planning. The best part of the dream was being young.

 

Songs I woke up with in my head:

“Wandering Star” by Lee Marvin

“Jamaica Way” by Duke Harris

“The Morning After” by Maureen McGovern

 

Books I listened to this week:

 

“Before Your Memory Fades” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

“Tales from the Café” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 

Movies I watched this week:

 

51. May 8

M3GAN (2022) Rating: 8

There’s a good theme here of apps and devices becoming nannies for kids when what they really need is a human connection. I can see M3gan becoming a franchise. An extra point for having robots as a main theme. An extra point for having a dog with a name. And another point for being deliciously creepy. I watched this on Peacock.

 

52. May 12

Honest Thief (202) Rating: 6

I like watching Liam Neeson movies. You don’t know if he’s going to go over the top, then quiet, cool, then quiet, or rage, then quiet. In this one, he does a little of all of them. I enjoyed the character he portrayed in this one. I give it an extra point for having a dog with a name

 

More next week,

Mark