As with all Chinese buffets in the greater Muncie area, the redneck attendance was ample. I think the theory that buffets are magnets for rednecks has already been established in this space so there is no need for elaboration. Fortunately, no gas leaks were suffered in our dining area, but loud grunting and braying could be heard. Happy trails!

I don't know if she'll ever see this or not, but I have a message for a former workaday colleague and artist, Elissa Reese. Thanks, Elissa, for the duck puppet and the umbrella hat! Good luck back in Louisville!

Eric recently purchased a new pair of dentures for 75¢.

 February 11, 2004
Just recently my little comic book was reviewed by Larned Justin on his weblog, Homemade Komics (Last entry on page). I don't know if my minicomic is really worthy of review, but Larned offers some kind words and I thank him for shining the spotlight on my first effort. Besides reviewing small press comics, Larned is an accomplished cartoonist himself and offers several of his books for sell on his website. I recently purchased his latest comic, Chong vs. Kong, and I really enjoyed it. The comic features Chinese detective Charlie Chong (a parody of classic detective Charlie Chan) and his three children as they try to solve a mystery concerning a giant, criminal gorilla. It was a lot of fun and well worth a look!

Larned Justin's Chong vs. Kong

Thanks again, Larned!

February 3, 2004
After a week of sleeping twelve hours a day, I'm finally getting some drawings done. I'm trying to convince myself to assemble some strips and submit them to the syndicates soon. So far I'm falling for that idea. It has been over four years (I think) since I last submitted some strips and I think I'm ready to try again. My work has definitely gotten better since my last effort, but are my scribblings good enough to compete in the big leagues? I guess I'll be finding out in a few months.

January 27, 2004
Well, it took awhile, but some major snow blanketed the whereabouts I call home. We weren't bombarded by a blizzard or anything, but there was enough snow on the ground to make one's thoughts flash forward to spring. The snow isn't really that bad, but the sheets of ice that covered my car's windows took a lot of energy out of this fat man as I scraped and scraped away. The ice made me wish I was somewhere in New Mexico. Somewhere warm, dry, and rattlesnake free. 

January 21, 2004
"The trouble with unemployment is that the minute you wake up in the morning you're on the job" ~ Comedian Slappy White

Hi! I'm back after toiling in mediocrity the last handful of days. Nothing really major to talk about. The Chinese New Year starts Thursday. It is the year of the monkey. That means the chances for Bush getting reelected come November is pretty good.

A moment of silence.

Here's a short list of things that really annoy me at the moment:

* The stupid cats that keep getting under the house.

* The stupid owners of the stupid cats that keep getting under the house.

* Polls and the journalists that believe them (I'm speaking to you, Cokie Roberts!)

* Ryan Seacrest (By all rights, he should be hosting that movie trailer show on E!)

* Fashion TV (Does anybody really care!?!)

That's all I have for the moment, but tomorrow is another day!

January 15, 2004
Nothing to report. Please go about your business and I'll try to do the same.

January 14, 2004
Well, guess who got laid off yesterday? Yup, just like I predicted, I was told to go away for a couple weeks and come back once there was enough work to justify my existence. So that means more free time (Yay!) and less money (Boo!) for yours truly.

Every year when I get laid off I always try to convince myself that I now have time to work on my numerous projects and possibly hunt for a new job. It is amazing the number of times I have fallen for that line. Maybe this year will be different and things will be accomplished, but I'm not betting the farm on it. However, if anybody reading this needs a fat cartoonist to put on their payroll, please contact me
at ThoseFunkyIdiots@aol.com! I'll be anxiously waiting for your reply!

Hey, some good news for any TV fans with outstanding taste: The new season of Home Movies debuted this past Sunday on Adult Swim ! All hail McGuirk!

My dvd for Curb Your Enthusiasm arrived today and I have a warning for anyone who wants to purchase it. The packaging for the two discs was something I never have encountered before in my dvd collecting so approach the packaging with caution! I would go further into detail, but I don't think it would make too much sense. Just buy the dvd and find out what I mean! 

January 13, 2004
Okay, I missed updating yesterday so somebody wag a finger in my direction. The sad thing is I had Monday off so I could have updated, but it just didn't happen. I didn't plan to have yesterday off, but I got a call from work and I guess there wasn't any work for me to do so they told me to stay home. Something tells me I may be laid off today. January and February is pretty slow in my department and I usually get laid off during this time in years past so it won't come as a surprise if it happens again.

There is a new strip added today so I'm getting something accomplished. Please don't be too bored by its design. Today's strip isn't the strongest strip in terms of layout and composition, but I like the gag (To quote Homer Simpson," It's funny because it's true!"). Still it won't be included in the syndication package.

I returned Eric's orange-tinted sunglasses early Monday morning. I put them in his mailbox as two beagles barked at my car.

 January 11, 2003
Well, Sunday is drawing to a close as I type this up. Like Friday and Saturday, I've been moving pretty slow at the junction (Petticoat Junction!). I think I got out of bed a little before 4:00 pm so I pretty much slept away half the day. I need to start work on a comic strip for All Access that is due Monday morning so I'll be up all night to get that done (Nothing out of the norm with that).

I bought the newest Simpsons dvd today with some of my Christmas money. I also recently purchased the first season dvds for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and Curb Your Enthusiasm so I have a lot of dvds to watch over the next couple of months.

Speaking of dvds, John Dalton recently e-mailed me concerning the release of two direct-to-video movies he wrote for the Polonia brothers.  His Bigfoot epic, Among Us, is coming out April 27 and then his killer rabbit flick, Peter Rottentail, is debuting on June 29. Each dvd will also contain extra features and an audio commentary by John himself! According to John's information, at least Among Us will be available at Hollywood Video and Best Buy. This is all exciting news. It's always nice to see a public access colleague and friend follow his dream and do good! Congratulations, John, and I wish you a world of success!

Eric dropped by the house tonight to see if I had his sunglasses. He gave them to me when we were helping Nick move into his new house. I told Eric I didn't have them (I thought I gave them back to him at Christy's place), but, as Eric was leaving, it turned out I did. Ostrich egg was certainly on this fat man's face!

January 10, 2003
I took yesterday off and ended up wasting my day. I had plans to draw and finish a minicomic I started last week, but, in typical fashion, I pushed that aside to read some new comic books I bought at Bob's Comic Castle (Hi, Trent!) and wasted time on the web. I really need to organize my time better and fend off any signs of laziness if I ever want to get any of my projects done!

As for today, I overslept until 3:30 pm. I had to go to a family get-together at my Aunt Susan's at 4:30 pm so I quickly got ready while verbally kicking myself for sleeping in. I got to Aunt Susan's house about twenty till five so I wasn't too late. The get-together was for the Cherry side of my family to celebrate a late Christmas. The dinner was originally planned for the Saturday after Christmas, but got postponed due to illness.

Practically everybody in the family made it except for my cousin Zac (He was skateboarding in Indy). The food was great as usual (My aunts really know how to cook!) and it was nice to see everyone. My little nephew Nolan is getting so big and my two nieces, Keeley and Maddie, are as lively as ever. I think I spent most of my time watching those two make Play-Doh cookies and play school. I also found out the girls like eating shrimp which I found slightly surprising. They must get that from their Nana Susie.

Anyway, I had a fun time being with my family and now I should be working on that minicomic, but something tells me I'll be postponing that until tomorrow. I'm a lazy, lazy, lazy man!

January 9, 2004
Well, it is 2004 and it feels exactly like 2003. At least, that's how it's feeling from where I'm sitting. I know we're only nine days into the new year so 2004 really can't be blamed for not establishing its own identity as of yet, but if it truly wanted to be an ambitious year it would have its own personality by now!

So how did you spend your New Year's Eve? I spent mine watching Adult Swim and cutting comic strips out of 2 ply Bristol board. Ain't I Mr. Excitement?

This past Monday found me back at work after having a week and a half off. The first day back after a lengthy hiatus is always a joy, but this week hasn't been too bad as a whole. Nothing to cry about at least.

Just for the fun of it I'm determined to update the Blather daily for the next seven days. I'm challenging myself to be a real blogger! Will I succeed or will I crash and burn? Watch This Space!