My thumb

I didn't realize my thumb was at war with glass and today lost twice. While doing the dishes it cut gashed by a mug I broke the handle off of a week ago. Later on I got a mexican mineral water from the place across the street to go with my almost impossible to obtain taco. not being a screw-cap, I did my trick of lining the edge of the cap on something hard and popping it off, but the top of the bottle came with it. I tried a sip and felt little glass crystals snap between my teeth, spit and threw it out. Oh, and Before I threw it out I decided to see if it really was sharp or just some crazy glass mirage and cut my thumb, through my shirt, again. Its ugly and not looking forward to a day of labor and doctor's offices tomorrow.

My thumb lost today.

Progress, progressor

Substantial update to the website, after some very helpful feedback.

http://matthewgiuffre.com/

New and improved. Two out of three videos in the circuit bent section are up, a new bio section (secret), changed the statement to something sensible, more music info, more drawings all over. More changes en route once I figure it out.

In other news, we have a room mate now. The lovely Leela Pahl will be staying in The Sideways Howse until Christmas, then its come to CT, then farther south. The place is better with her, I always like a full house and this place isn't hard to fill. Besides, its forced us to consolidate out crap into one room and the places is starting to feel real, lived in and I don't want to leave. But I will. When I have to.

An author showed interest in my work for a children's book. We still need to schdule a meeting. Monday I'm going to be doing carpentry work. The first work in almost two months. Its wierd. i don't suggest being unemployed for that long to anyone. Its just strange. The free time's great if you can handle and manage it. I feel I did an ok job. Could have been better. There were some shameful days of inactivity, but I'm busylike now.

I've been pumping out between one and six pages a day for the new comic. I've yet to think of a title. A problem I usually have. It's coming along great. I had this problem where I think I tried to forget how to draw and I started looking like henry Darger or Marcel Dzama, but that's not who I am and I'm getting my abilities back. I'm pleased with the process. Some things still need consideration, like shading, but there's still time.

I've decided to not drink from the first of November until Thanksgiving. Not that I'm blacking out every night, its just a challenge I want to take. And I know thanksgiving's early this but whatever.

I have health insurance and am about to fight Lavos in Chrono Trigger before I go to bed. Good night, sirs.

Late noights, sir

More and more. Now website business is being replaced by comic business. I realized I was being a chump to hold out for nice paper, since sensibly if I do get a grant, I still can't afford to print color anyway, and it just makes my strokes look crummy (see previous post). So. I'm starting over for maybe the eighth time since I wrote this story on a cold February night in Meatland after Your Parents practice. Its a moral story, about two people trying to do the right thing and maybe over doing it. And there's a kidnapping, a planned and foiled drowning, and a few broken bones. I'm really jazzed on it though. As I've explained to a few of you friends and fam that in the past ten years of comic-making (Jesus) this is the first time I've written a script. And this is the first time its taken me more than a few hours at a time from start to finish. In this case its been eight months and one grant submission deadline missed. The next is January. Here's hoping.

This was a good weekend. Yesterday we went to a really good opening at Okay Mountain. Good fabric sculptures and video. Talked to some people and for the first time got excited for the art scene here. I shouldn't base things off first experiences, I guess, since that bit ass. We then saw the new movie abotu Joy Division, Control, which was pretty good. I felt it could've used a littl emore time to show Ian Curtis' descent. It sort of was like "I'm kind of sad, I guess. Oh, there's a rope." Then today we went to a video show but unfortunately had to leave before it started. We met some chick from Worcester who was completely rad and had some free beers and cupcakes. We had to leave early because we went to see the new Michael Cera movie Juno, which was excellent. A little long winded and I felt too smart and esoteric for its own good at times, but overall pretty perfect with several genuine moments.

So I'm excited for art here and I hope we stick around for a little while. I should just get some dumb job to tide me over. Why haven't I done that? I don't know. Tomorrow I'm going to apply at a few places and call or email people I'd like to have shows here. We know how to advertise and could probably get an ad or at least a write up in The Onion, which acts like a Phoenix here. I feel Fionn would do well here. And Jack. And Urban Monsters.

Todd Barry, Eugene Murman, and Brad Neely(possibly) are lined up for having a show here in the spring, and I just need to email pictures to Mark Mothersbaugh's assistant to get that rolling. Time's should be good.

Man Man saturday. Friends stopping by for Halloween with Quintron. And a few friends are coming down from California for Thanksgiving. We need to find a table. Smiles all around.

Ahh

Panel from new comic

So I just finished Sputnik Sweetheart and as Mike Tarkanian said, it was good. The surrealism was more muted, isolated events, not as blatant as in other books of Murakami's I've read. The ending left me extremely melancholic. The focus just seemed to be about friends and how there's certain people you can't imagine living without because they are in essence a part of you. When they leave or vanish a part of you goes with them.

Good news in relation to this is that Matt MacNeil will be stopping by for a few days either late this month or November. Another of Caitlin's friends is stopping by in November as well. We're turning into a fine little B n B over here.

I like my little house. I hope we can stay here a little bit longer. I don't think austin has sold us on a two year plan as we had originally envisioned, but I think we could easily kick it here until the end of Roller Derby Season: August. That means we will experience the divine horror and torture of a Texan summer.

But things are good. We have two shows lined up for 2008 and I'm feeling like calling some friends and having some shows for them, if anything, to put on a resume. The Rodney Stuart Gallery will be well stocked. I'm going to be working on an installation of a giant inflatable snake which I'll begin construction as soon as my new heat sealer gets here. It'll either fill up the gallery or go out the window and onto the roof. Out one window into another, etc etc. The heat and free time, people. The Heat and Free Time. That's the name of the bar I'm going to open. Or The Harsh Plan or The Regrettable Female, but that might be more of a name for a motorcycle.

I just printed out the application for the new Word of Mouth show. This time its in Miami. If you haven't, here's links:

http://wordofmouth.gallerydiet.com/womsubmissionFORM.pdf
http://wordofmouth.gallerydiet.com/womsubmissionINST.pdf

So enter, sell work, make us all proud.

I'd also like to say that over the last few weeks I've caught up on some cinema classics. The French Connection, Easy Rider, and Godfather Parts 1 and 2 were all awesome and I'd never seen them before. What's with James Caan pretending to be Italian? Did that make sense in the 70's? No? ok. It's Austin Film Festival and I only have two movies I want to see. Control which is about Joy Division and Juno which has Michael Cera. Brilliantism.

I guess I forgot

To tell everyone we live in Jurassic Park, or the Land Time Forgot. Some crazy palce because this lives in our window:



And this spins webs next to the car.



A real life skultula. There's also the cicada the size of Caitlin (her new name is Cicaty Roy) who decided to jump onto my chest when i tried to close the window. And the yellow, translucent salamanders that wiggle above our heads on the porch.

A wild, savage place be this.

Kyle and Brian were fun. We finally got to the party barn (a drive through liquor barn lined with 30 racks and fridges) and got an Oregonian beer called Session. And we had a Sesh on the front porch till 3 this morning. Woke up, got breakfast, got knocked out by the finicky sun who isn't strong enough to help me silkscreen, but is still hot as the devil. I'm playing bass instead.

For papa

That really good moon picture.

Must be the moon.

Have to say my favorite planet of the last few months has been Jupiter.

I'm tired and waiting for laundry to finish up at the apartment complex across the street. I thought it was nice to do it at night then forgot just how loud dryers are. Today I worked on a new site for NEPIN. The old one looks like it was hosted by geocities. Not saying I'm blowing minds, but its softer, gentler more approachable. Not times new roman or courier.

Tonight Caitlin and I got some horrendous Tex Mex then went back to the garage across from Stubb's to listen to Sonic Youth. It was ok. I've never really been into them which everyone finds surprising. I kind of want to be, but nothing I've heard other than Teenage Riot which Jack put on a mix for me in high school and Incinerate which Jess put on a mix for me in the spring. I got all their albums, too. Goo was ok, but not enough so that I remember it. Caitlin says she's going to go through it and make me a best of mix, as I've done for her with Tom Waits and Big Black.


Everyone gets bored sometimes

I got embroidery thread and plan on doing a little something on my backpack. When I bought it the girl at the counter was amazed I took them out of the bag. "That's like.. awesome of you. That's so good for the environment." I said something like "I hate bags" and smiled and left.

We have more visitors this week. A certain Kyle Geist + 1 other is going to be stopping by late tomorrow or early sunday. He was at the Grand Canyon today, driving around the states and figured he'd stop by. Been a good week for that. The friends seem to be coming in bursts, leaving us with months of loneliness or, Jesus, making new friends.

Plans for tomorrow: Get power strip so amps and korg can work, get photo emulsion for my bat face screen (see below), embroider, read shopgirl, apply for more jobs, if I hear back from Stan finalize the NEPIN site, maybe work on comic.

Busy times, ladies.


If anyone wants one of these, I'm printing them on wife beaters.

Yesterday

Was fun. I'm tired for no reason right now. Maybe simple lack of activity. Caitlin's out getting interview clothes. I'm thinking of something to do. But anyway. Yesterday Adam and Theresa showed up and we did a bunch fo stuff I'd been meaning to do. First thing was we found Barton Springs which is awesome. They took the river then enclosed and filtered out a section of it, so its it becomes a nice, clean, natural public pool. We swam for abotu an hour and talked to this little kid who was hogging the diving board and showing all the special dives he knew. He stunk at cannon balls. Fact. Adam pulled some wierd sideways flop out of nowhere.

After that we went to the Congress St bridge and we finally got to see the bats. At dusk everyday a swarm of bats fly out from under this bridge. Boats with people go by underneath and its all really nice. The bats get really close and after a while it really becomes this constant hypnotizing swirl underneath you. Of bats.

Then we went back the house and changed into human clothes and went out to this BBQ place that despite the ineptitude of our waitress who rather than say "sorry just a second I'm new here" would say "Oh, shit" and run away. At one point a manger came over and asked if she was doing alright. Regardless the grub was excellent and we got mounds of it. Thanks, mom.

After that we hit up 6th street and stopped at a few bars and played pool. Adam bought us drinks and we hung there till about one and went home. It was pretty great. It really made me look forward to having more people visit since Caitlin and I just don't really go out all that often. I'm realizing I'm one of the thriftiest people ever and typically prefer to stay in and work. But tomorrow I think we're going on a date somewhere.

In retrospect Caitlin pretty much got hosed. We went to a barbeque place so she had to have mashed potatoes then we went out drinking and she had to drive, since I don't have AAA or car insurance anymore. She's nice.

It Works!

YEAH! There was a problem with capitalization. Problem no more. This realization came around 4 this morning as I was trying to get to bed. So!

WWW.MATTHEWGIUFFRE.COM

Allright. Today we're going to get breakfast, get some fabric and sew up some curtains. Heading to SoCo. Doing Laundry for the very first time. Woof.

Sending of my health insurance app today. Life is like a wave.