Video: Oedipus, as performed by vegetables.

Warning for potato-on-tomato incestuous sex.

No, really. I love the universe.

It's not so much a call for justice, as a scream.

From a 1979 interview Roman Polanski gave to the UK publication The Tatler, two years after he raped a 13-year-old girl and had gone on the lam to evade justice.

"If I had killed somebody, it wouldn't have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But hell - f***ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f*** young girls. Juries want to f*** young girls. Everyone wants to f*** young girls!"

And the thing is, the thing is - he's right. Look at all the high-power types who have lined up to demand his release. (And how has Woody Allen never been charged with something? He had sex with his DAUGHTER.) Look at the French dignitaries saying that Polanski made a "teensy mistake." Look at us.

*****

One good thing coming out of this hubbub: it makes me want to write. People often ask artists where they get their inspiration; everyone has a different answer, but for me, I get my best stuff from a place of rage. Pure, unadultered fury, usually directed at the injustices of society - criminals who go free, victims who we fail to protect, discrimination that goes unrectified or even unacknowledged.

That's definitely where Mastema came from. As she says:

"Sooner or later, everyone gets exactly what they deserve. I make sure of that."

Pure, clean, uncorruptible retribution. Oh, yeah, I'm in a Mastema state of mind.

Video: Terminator/Back to the Future remix trailer

Delightful. Especially love Marty McFly's version of "IF WE STAY THE COURSE WE ARE DEAD." And the Terminator at the prom.

Humanity vs. Art: The Title Match

Crawling back into the blog after a month of changes - have a new job, a new place to live, the whole nine. I'm much closer to, well, everything now, and how I do hope that will kick things into high gear on the comic book front. I'm about 2 miles away from Dark Horse Comics HQ - at some point I'm going to saunter down and check it out. Life continues.

*****

A fellow online writer, Mary Borsellino of the Wolf House books, related an interesting story today in response to the Roman Polanski to-do. Big name Hollywood types are lining up to show their support of Polanski, who raped a 13-year-old girl back in 1977 then fled the country before he could be sentenced and has spent the subsequent 30+ years jetting around Europe and having awards thrown at him left and right. (For his films, not for raping the 13-year-old.)

Mary brought up a memory from college:

I got into a fight with one of my professors in a postgrad creative writing
class once, because he told his students that art had to come first, above all
other considerations in life. I suggested that I thought not being a shitty
human being was even more important than art. "Then you'll never be an artist,"
he snapped.

To which I would have responded, "And you, sir, will never be a human being. In which case all your great art is worthless."

Let's get this straight: Art does not come before Humanity. EVER.

A child rapist and fugitive who creates wonderful, powerful films is still, at the end of the day, a child rapist and fugitive. If sex offenders everywhere tried their hand at watercolors, should we give them a free pass? No.

Contrary to popular belief, talent does not give you the right to treat the rest of the world like shit. And powerful friends or wealth should not override society's responsibility to protect its women and girls.

Je suis jolie

I have no idea if that's the correct French or not. Apologies to Frenchpeople if I have just butchered your language, but I am jolie, dammit! (The emotion, not the goddess.)

FINALLY figured out how to start "A Teenager's Guide." It does involve a bit more carnage than I had originally intended, and might make the Estacada school system nervous, but eh. It works. I love those moments when I've been thinking and thinking and picking at something, and finally the gears catch, the clutch goes out, and I achieve flight all over again.

I'll be moving in to Portland at the end of the month, and intend to immerse myself in the blooming comic book scene there. My list of places to hang out include:

Cosmic Monkey, particularly their monthly "Drink and Draw" event (where I can hopefully meet artists while they are intoxicated and vulnerable to suggestion, mwahaha)
Floating World
Excalibur
Dark Horse (I hope to find an unpaid job there of some kind, even if it's mopping floors)

I haven't been working on my music as much as I wish I were, but I'll be house-sitting the next five days and will try to use the time towards that purpose.

Two comics

liI wrote and drew these as part of the weeklong graphic novel intensive workshop at PNCA. The comics were written, thumbnailed, penciled, inked, and Photoshopped in the span of three days. Crazy, ne? (Click for larger versions)


REVOLUTION
This was drawn in the middle of a sleep-deprived night. I do my best stuff when I'm pissed off, so I decided to just go with what pissed me off the most.






















































On a lighter note: The Existential Amoeba

Breaking the block.

Have been struggling with ye old writer's block for a little bit. So instead I did some research and while I always knew that we had a high proportion of Christian churches in my hometown -- and wanted to use that as Max's introduction to the town -- but I never realized exactly how many: 16. For a population of 2,659.

Kristen is back on Mastema. She sent me a character sketch of the lady herself. YAY.