Eagle Moving Co.

I proudly present my newest comic, based one of Aesop’s fables, “The Tortoise and the Birds.” See the back cover for most of the original text. A quick note on comics from now on: I’ve decided that anything I don’t intend to sell that’s under ten or so pages I’m going to post in its entirely here on the blog. I’ll still give sizeable previews of anything I make, and it’ll be all be organized in the “comics” tab above soon. Let’s just say I’m inspired by recent governmental declarations in favor of Net Neutrality. Click on any of the story pages for a close-up.

Santa Barbara Zoo

So I just got my photos back from CVS. $20 for two rolls of 400 color film with a CD made of each. I’m taking Graphic Design History right now, as well as photography, and we’ve touched upon the beginning of the technology in the first half of the 19th century. Who would have thought that soaking a piece of metal with certain chemicals would record an image? It’s cool to be in the dark room and actually understanding how the picture comes to be from what you see in the viewfinder to what you hold in your hand. Pretty cool. Here are some pictures of animals at the Santa Barbara zoo. At the bottom is my first print; Jeff eating corn at a BBQ at my house. The quality isn’t great do to my printer’s scanner, but it’s pretty close. All taken with my Dad’s Yashica FX-3. Check out my flickr for larger versions.

In-N-Out Jealousy

So, when I was in CA, it was necessary to go to In-N-Out. I’ve finally recharged my batteries, so I got some more picks off of my camera. Basically, we don’t have anything like this chain on the East Coast, and I’m really jealous. This is technically fast food, but “Fast Food Nation” had nothing bad to say about it. They pay better than minimum wage, and their food all comes from good places.

They cross the palm trees in front of their stores, which is tight.

They have excellent packaging as well. Simple, direct, modern.

Here’s the crux of the matter: the burger. Delish. It has a secret sauce that makes it unnecessary to use ketchup. However, I didn’t like the fries. I respect that they use a healthier recipe but it’s just a taste I don’t like. Favorite fries: Olly’s Trolly downtown.

Santa Baraba Farmer’s Market: Unicorn Horn $8 lb

So I figured that these several hours spent in the Phoenix airport would be best spent by blogging, which is why I’m just now getting around to blogging about the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market, which I went to on Saturday. Basically, I was floored to see things that I’ve only ever seen for sale in supermarkets. Pluots? They’ve got to be fake right?

First of all, this place is huge! According to my girlfriend, it has only gotten bigger, but it’s by far the biggest I’ve ever seen. As local foods become more popular, farmer’s markets are expanding everywhere, with interesting results. In areas like Santa Barbara, EVERYTHING can grow so almost everything is fair game. I bought some jalepenos and chilis for my pickles.

Things to Aspire Towards: Cactus Lawn

In a place where water is sometimes hard to come by, and almost anything can grow, some people have excellent cactus gardens. Soo much more economical and realistic than grass, and I think it’s much more appealing. I mean, cacti are awesome. Not only that, but the succulents here are more varied and interesting than I’ve ever seen on the East Coast, probably because it’s so close to actual desert.

Arlington West Hits Home

So, I went to help my girlfriend and her mom at Arlington West, a weekly memorial to the American military men and women who have fallen in Iraq. Every Sunday, members of Veterans for Peace line up 3000 crosses and use rubber bands to attach laminated nameplates to some of them. As there are now 3706 deaths, they only put up plates that have been visited. We got there late, and I was going down one of the last rows, and most of the soldiers were from Washington, Oregon, and CA; places where you’d expect visitors to come from. And then I saw this:

Right in front of me, was a guy from my home town. Not a nearby town, not another philly suburb, Media, “everybody’s hometown.” In case you can’t read it, his placard says: “Killed January 11, 2005 when his vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade in Ramadi, West of Baghdad.” He’s 24 though you can’t see it. The little flower sticker is from whoever came to visit and pay tribute to him. I went looking to see if his picture was up.

There he is, unless there’s another Michael J. Smith. I teared up. Here was this guy, not much older than myself, from my hometown, and I found him. What’re the odds?

That second sticker is mine, and so are the flowers. RIP Micheal J. Smith. It’s the Children’s Crusade all over again.