Happy Birthday, Bertrand Russell

Another of those faces that graced my early apartment walls: the thoroughly readable and reasonable Mr. Russell, born today. Happy Birthday.

Portland Perpetual Print Post

I'll have an update about a new print in the next few days, but the print in conjunction with my recent show in Portland at Charles A. Hartman Fine Art is still available for order, so if you've been on the fence about picking on up, remove yourself from the fence and fall squarely on the side of purchasing, for the good of the nation.

Click here to order the print via paypal.

Deeper Between the Ferns

I posted one of Zach Galifianakis' ingenious Between Two Ferns back in December with a slew of other videos, but his most recent effort with Natalie Portman deserves its own post. The man is a genius of the uncomfortable. Chief question: who is to praise for the bit with the dog? Whiz the dog? The dog trainer? The editor? The unseen hand of a comedic God? Applause to whoever or whatever engineered it. "That's the thing?" and all ensuing lines should be bronzed.

The Portman bit might deserve its own post, but I can't resist throwing in the Kimmel one as well. More ferns. More bananas. More awkwardness.

The Great(est) Perhaps: Tonight

It's not every day that three of my favorite people in Chicago decide to get together and share their wares with the public. But tonight is one of those nights. My pal Joe Meno will be celebrating the release of his new novel The Great Perhaps, and will be supported by presentations from Jonathan Messinger (of Paper Egg and Feather Proof Books fame) and Jon Resh (a prolific designer and one of the first friends I made when moving to this city the better part of a decade ago).

It should be a great event, housed by the venerable institution that is Quimby's, so if you're in the area, stop by and get a triple helping of literary cake.

Booksluts Over Berlin

A few people contacted me about this, so I thought I'd post it here: Jessa Crispin, the head of the blog Bookslut, was just on the Chicago radio program 848 and gave me a nice shout out while discussing a variety of aspects of Chicago's literary world.

It's a great interview (conducted by my former downstairs neighbor Alison Cuddy) and a great (if brief) comparison of the creative worlds of Chicago and Berlin (the latter of which will be Crispin's new home).

Free Schweitzer Day

Thanks to everyone who came by Vault of Midnight this past Saturday. I had some great conversations with geneticists, electrical engineers, and Norm (one of the stalwart staff of VoM who was shockingly familiar with a band I had only recently discovered while used record browsing in Chicago's suburbs: Joy of Cooking).

And an extra massive thanks to Ron and his girlfriend Sara for bringing me a handmade bust of Albert Schweitzer (I had joked in a note that if Ron brought me such a bust I would draw a sketch form him, which I fully intended on drawing regardless). The bust came complete with accessories including a wreath of laurel, a turkey dinner, and a miniature copy of The Three Paradoxes. Pink sunglasses and a royal cloak were crafted as well (though not pictured here).

Thanks again, Ron and Sara. And thanks again to the staff and patrons of Vault of Midnight.

Free Comic Book Day

If you're anywhere near Ann Arbor on Free Comic Book Day (May 2nd), stop by Vault of Midnight and say hello. I'll be signing books, selling some odds and ends I'll be dragging out of the archives, and trying to remember where I got those great pancakes last time I was in town.

All and Sundry Catalog Preview

A peek at the aforeposted All and Sundry collection (which will debut this summer at San Diego Comic-Con) is available in the down-loadable PDF of Fantagraphics Fall 2009 catalog. I've been diligently scanning dozens of sketchbooks over the past few weeks and will post a couple previews of the book sometime over the interim months: until then, there's this.

Eva Speer and the Gorgeous Amorphous

While in Portland installing my show at Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, I was fortunate enough to see several of Eva Speer's amazing paintings and have wanted to recommend them here ever since. While the paintings and multimedia pieces are beautiful in small preview form, they're breathtaking when viewed in person. If you're in Portland, stop by the gallery and see if you can't pester Charles into showing you some of her work. It will be well worth the effort.

Cubism in Underwear, With Dog

Thanks to Emily for passing along this online collection of great Picasso photographs, taken by David Douglas Duncan.

The portrait of Picasso seated in the rocking chair was on the walls of my college dorm room and first apartment, and is still in a drawer somewhere in my studio. And Duncan's Picasso Paints a Portrait has long been one of my favorite books showing an artist's process. It was a great pleasure revisiting these and seeing photos from this session that I'd never seen before.

Irish Men Mangling Names

If you want to hear two hilarious, just-exited-the-pub-with-exuberance Irish blokes talk about the recent re-release of Mother, Come Home (as well as a great dissection of comics based on The Muppet Show and The Twilight Zone), then make your way over to The Comic Cast podcast. You can download the podcast or listen online.

Frankly, these two could talk about the ingredients of asphalt and make it an enjoyable show.

Run Screaming From This Man (Both of Him)

No overdubbed Kirk poots can compete with this wingnut (1:08 is where the atrocity comes to fruition). Courtesy the ingenious Robert Popper, by way of the purveyors of the amazing blog youruddyguys.

(And lest your life be empty of the essentials, Youruddyguys also brings us the greatest bread/jazzercise video ever made:)

Your Monday Kirk Fart

Have a wonderful start to your week by letting science fiction characters relieve their gassy poems in your head holes.

Remember: the colon is God's french horn.

Death Comes to The Future

I'm a bit embarrassed to have learned about these guys via (the informative but usually musically sedate) Fresh Air, but I'll take good music any way I can get it. Proto-punk act Death has got to be one of the best bands history forgot, as evidenced by their unearthed tracks compiled by the Drag City release "For the Whole World to See".

Give a listen to their song "You're a Prisoner" and tell me this 1971 band wasn't ahead of their time. (Hint: you're wrong.)



(And for more about the band and how their musical body was exhumed, get yourself to this New York Times article.)

Return of The Elephant Screening

If you're anywhere near Brown University this Saturday, stop in for a screening of director Max Grey's short film adaptation of Return of the Elephant as part of the Ivy Film Festival. The film is showing in the 10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. block of that day's scheduling. For more information about the films being shown and purchasing tickets, visit the festival's site.