When Arlo Met Watusi

On a more positive note, I received two new comic books from Dale Martin last Thursday and that is certainly a good thing! I think I have previously mentioned somewhere about how much I love Dale's comics and, if I have not, let me state for the record that I love Dale Martin's comic books! Dale's work is always top notch fun and his latest material does not disappoint.

One of the comics Dale sent me was the newest issue of Watusi the Talking Dog, a collection of jam comics that occasionally features a panel or two of mine. Watusi recently encountered a familiar Funky Idiot in one of his strips and this historic meeting can finally be seen here!

September 11, 2005
Here's some random thoughts about the comic books I recently purchased.

Outsiders #28
On the cover, the Outsiders look extremely ticked off. You would think they would be happy I bought their comic, but not this bunch! Things don't improve much on the inside. Everybody is mopey, drunk, and blowing up buildings. Maybe things will get better next issue.

Y: The Last Man #37
We finally see a side of Yorick that we haven't seen before.

Villains United #5
This comic really appeals to my inner DC fanboy. Villains galore and then some. Gail Simone is doing a great job with The Secret Six and the Society. Nice to see the return of Lady Quark and the Pariah, too. Looking forward to the next issue!

Jughead #168

Jughead is a hair puller. Keep that in mind when you want to pick a fight with Forsythe Jones.

And, yes, I collect Jughead and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

September 7, 2005
Another three day weekend is over and done. I spent my time doing laundry, sleeping in, and attending family gatherings. Went to Aunt Carol's for a cook-out on Sunday and, on Saturday, I helped celebrate my niece Maddie's fifth birthday over at her grandparents. At that party, my other niece Keeley told me I was "slightly annoying". Slightly stung, I tried to impress her by taking her around her grandpa's pond in a paddleboat. I think it was a sign of things to come when I boarded the craft and it slightly submerged into the water. Then the paddling began and Uncle Tom's leg muscles quickly gave out. After going around in a circle for ten minutes, I threw in the towel and limped the vessel back to shore. Keke was disappointed and I'm sure her opinion of her uncle did not improve.

September 1, 2005

It's about four o'clock in the morning as I write this. Five years ago at this time I was at Ball Memorial Hospital, holding a little baby girl who was just born a few minutes after midnight. That baby was my niece Maddie and it's hard to believe that little baby is turning five today, but she is. Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Today is also my Uncle Jerry's birthday and, though I wasn't present a couple hours after his birth, I hope he has a great birthday as well! Happy Birthday, Uncle Jerry!
 
August 31, 2005

Sunday was Pontoon Day! The ever gracious Theresa Keihn, a professional plumbing monkey and a super friend, invited Eric and me to go pontooning on the reservoir and we gladly accepted! Last Sunday was the perfect day to go cruising on Prairie Creek. It was sunny yet the temperature wasn't oppressively hot. Though we had to share the water with a number of sailboats, speedboats, and other pontoons, they didn't prevent us from having a good time. It was just great to speed across the water, feeling the breeze, and catching up with some good friends.

 Thanks again, Theresa! 

August 27, 2005
4:42pm
I'm so ashamed. I went to the Civic for a call back for The Music Man earlier today, but I ended up sneaking out. It was the dancing that did it to me. I really can't dance and, for some reason, I forgot how much dancing there is in The Music Man. This realization came about as I stood among a group of potential River City citizens trying to learn the steps to the Shapoopi. Well, I pooped out quickly so I decided to cut my losses and took off. I tried to exit stealthily and I think I succeeded without being noticed. 

Of course, I feel like a major league loser as I type this. I could have at least tried to fumble my way through the dancing portion of the audition, but I balked. Actually, I bawk bawked. Oh, well. It wasn't the first time and it probably won't be the last.  

August 27, 2005

Arlo (Tom Cherry) works the camera

After a few months of inactivity, the cast and crew of Those Funky Idiots came together this past Sunday to film a very short episode entitled "The Neighbor". The cast included Tim Richardson (Vinnie Tuscany), Brad Quinton (The Neighbor), and myself as the affable Arlo Wazzo. Chuck Williams and Carol Richardson also made a cameo as The Moochers. Behind the camera, Tim also directed while Eric Whetsel was our lovable boom. As with most of our Idiots productions, principal photography took place at Thornburg International Studios (a.k.a. Grandma's garage).

Despite a late start due to a slight scare (Grandma was missing! What do we do?! Who should we call?! Oh, she's with Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry...Never mind), we quickly filmed the entire episode in record time. Of course, the script was only four pages long so there really wasn't a lot to film. However, we all felt slightly exhausted when we called it a wrap. 

Filming our little public access show is always a joy to me. I wish we could do an episode every week! Sadly that isn't possible, but a fat cartoonist can dream.