Sometimes I wake up and instead of remembering a dream, I’ve got a song stuck in my head. But! It’s not an established song, nooo. It’s a DREAM SONG. Dream songs are little snippets of melodies that my head manages to create while I’m sleeping and then it puts it on repeat and I wake up with a tiny melody stuck in my head. Sometimes they’ve got lyrics, which are always nonsensical, and rarely do I remember them. But today I woke up and decided I would remember my most current DREAM SONG by recording it in Garage Band. Would you like to listen to it?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Some disclaimers: I really suck at Garage Band. I also really suck and making music, even if it is in my dreams.

Onto other things. You guys may or may not know about all the crime that’s been going on, but I am beginning to become paranoid, considering most of it involved me in one way or another. I think, obviously, it’ll take time to get over such events.. but I’m glad I have good friends to do it with.

In other, less depressing news, last night Chance and I got squished in an elevator by a bunch of high schoolers in an elevator with one of those portable ipod speaker things. Then we went outside and hung out with Bill, Ben, and Desiree and then Chance turned into the WERE-ROCKER and we fell into hysterics.

Well, this summer is moving. At a slow or fast pace I am not sure, but it is indeed moving. The first session of SES is nearing it’s end and to me it feels as if it is sputtering to a halt. I’ve been having a decent amount of fun being an RA, the kids are smartasses but I think it’s to be expected. Sleeping in a dorm again is kind of upsetting, especially sharing it with two other guys who I’ve never seen before; I’m back in my freshmen year at MCAD. There have been plenty of awkward moments and conversations, no one is cleaning up after themselves, and all of us sneak out without saying bye to eachother. It’s nostalgic, but in a bad way. Is there a word for that?

My summer classes are going well I guess. Except I’ve been slacking on the assignments and not finishing them completely in time for class. It’s something that I’ve never really done before so I’m kind of hating myself for being so lazy. I have plenty of time inbetween to do the work, but for some reason I always end up scrambing to get it done the day before it’s due.

Here’s an illustration that I did during class when we were supposed to be doing our homework. It’s gouache, which I’ve never used before. I think it turned out pretty well. I like how it’s as opaque as acrylic but it glides on to the paper. It made me question why I’ve been using acrylic all these years…

This is what happens when SES happens to YOOOU.

shhhhhhh. you’ll wake the BABIIIEEEES!

Whisper Party from billbill and Vimeo.

Okay it occurs to me that I haven’t let your shamboteers know what’s up for a long time. Leaving you with the impression that I am having no fun here. So basically I’ll give you an update but not before starting with a complete non sequitur:

I can’t believe the Supreme Court did not side with the Alaskan Student who was suspended due to the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” poster at an OFF-CAMPUS event. (Wikipedia) Granted the poster was sophomoric, and I would understand if they held the banner at a school assembly. I guess the event was school-sponsored, but it was a public place. I love Justice Clarence Thomas’ argument for siding against free speech, “In light of the history of American public education, it cannot seriously be suggested that First Amendment ‘freedom of speech’ encompasses a student’s right to speak in public schools.” The sad thing is though this statement is unfortunately accurate, this wasn’t even at school! Some people are speculating any website accessible from school could be interpreted as ‘school-sanctioned’. Therefore if you put anything on a blog or social networking site that the school disagrees with you could be suspended. Man. I’m glad I’m high schoolers don’t have important opinions. Otherwise we could be seriously stunting the ability for high schoolers to critically think about this world. Although perhaps critically thinking is no longer the goal of No Child Left Behind Schools. It doesn’t help to critically analyze the questions on multiple choice tests. Justice Stevens had it right when he asked what the court would do if the banner was ‘Wine Sips 4 Jesus’. Honestly I think that banner is a million times more clever. Of course administrators wouldn’t touch that due to the Eucharist even though underage drinking is a serious problem.

Sorry that turned into a rant. This is why I think teenagers should only allowed to have opinions given to them. I plan on installing shock electrodes into my brood to prevent them from dissenting. THE CRUMLEYS ARE A PROUD PEOPLE! Life update after the jump!

(more…)

Hey I haven’t made a reasonable post in a while! I’m also not going to make one now, hooray!
Here is one of the other illustrations about caffeine. Did you know it stimulates the central nervous system and gives you more physical energy? Of course you did! I really didn’t read into the article at all to find any amazing facts about caffeine, so that is why I think this illustration is stupid.

‘Round the 505 as of late, watching episodes of the now classic television show, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which won a Peabody award for some reason.) has become a popular past time. I’m sure almost all of you have seen this show at some point or another, but now, it must be asked. . .

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ROBOT?!

Mine’s Crow:

Mostly ’cause he’s insane, and has tried repeatedly to destroy the Satellite of Love in an attempt to get right back to Earth. All while singing a jolly work song? Lovable!

So, to reiterate, whose your favorite robot? Or hosts? Or villains? Or episodes?

PS. Anyone who says Gypsy or Cambot is a tool, and will be forced to STFU or get “banned”.

Well hey there. I’m back, on a lovely rainy Portland afternoon, hanging out at Hilary and Scott’s house on Skyline, where I am currently house/dogsitting. It’s beautiful up here, particularly since they’ve remodeled, and now you can see the view from almost anywhere in the house. When it rains, I like to open the windows just a crack so I can hear it and smell the nice fresh west coast air. The dogs are downstairs drying off after a wet jaunt around the yard, but when I’m finished here we are all going to curl up on the couch.

Things around here have actually been pretty busy. I’m working at BenchCraft again, and after a sickening stint as Chief Folder Folder, I finally acquired a desk and am currently handling the design work for ImageMedia (a sub-company that does design for various clients). It is wildly exciting. Note to self: when searching for a career, work somewhere that has a GOOD sense of design (read: no gradients, no shadows on text, etc). After a semester of not really touching the computer in any of my illustrations, it’s good to be brushing up on that.

Other interesting things, in list form (since I am too lazy to write out paragraphs):

-bought tickets to go see Wilco in August with Benny. Hooray!

-Learned to make mojitos. Will be utilizing this skill ASAP when I return to Minneapolis.

-Am going to the movies with my dad today, who is the coolest guy ever.

-Currently obsessed with “That Time” by Regina Spektor, who is very pretty.

-Watched the first half of the first season of the Office and fell in love with Jim all over again. I challenge anyone to watch this show and not love that man. Just try.

-Hil and Scott have a world map on their shower curtain, so each day I look at where the Ben is and map out his next few destinations. I know, the height of cool.

That is all. I am homesick for you all at MCAD. I’m pretty sure it’s been too long.

Okay, so I was walking home from SES on tuesday night, after having played much foursquare and tiring myself out. It was about 11-11:30pm and as I was walkng across the street on stevens, where the horseshoe parking lot-thingy is at mcad, I saw a pretty cute couple coming towards me, just walking and laughing alittle. I looked both ways and there were no cars, so i crossed paths with the cute couple. But then, as i got up onto the curb of the opposite side of the street, i noticed a cute little lonely dog coming towards me too. He was really ugly actually, kind of sparsley furry with more on the top of his head than anywhere else. I thought he only had three legs at first, but i was wrong. He didnt have a collar on, so i kind of knelt down next to him and was like, where the hell did you come from dog and do you have rabies…? The cute little ugly dog walked right past me and proceeded to cross the street. I turned and looked and saw two cars coming, one from either way and went instantly into mommy mode… I walked a little off of the curb so that the cars would see me and slow, because i doubted that they would see the tiny little dog in the dark. At the exact same time that i began to step into the street, the girl from the cute couple turned around in the horseshoe as if she were looking for something and then started SCREAMING. O MY GOD BABY O MY GOOOOD. It became clear to me that the cute couple was walking the dog, but without a lease, like some dog-people do, only this time she had apparantly FORGOTTEN that she was walking his at some point, and wasnt paying attention. NOW she was paying attention. So, the cars were still coming, and in slow motion all I heard was SCREAMING, freaking out as if her baby were helpless in the middle of the street she was not doing anything to stop it, might I mention), the little dog happily prancing across the street, and then i put my hand up in a ‘stop’ kind of motion, and the two cars screeched to a halt, while the dog passed maybe a foot in front of them. The lady scooped up the ugly little dog and, crying, said THANK YOU OMY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH. and i said, almost whithout any feeling, NO PROBLEM.

What could i have been thinking to not only save this littel dog with the woman screaming all the while, and then not be able to squeeze out a tear for her, or a ARE YOU ALRIGHT, YOURE WELCOME I would have done it anyways… or something??? I proceeded to walk home and went to bed.
Scariest thing ever.

Those four things sum up my summer so far.

I’m working a lot at Java House, reading and buying assanine amounts of comic books (in addition to working on a new project of my own), Getting addicted to the game Crackdown, and living happily with my GF. Here’s a little bit about each:
COFFEE
So I have this manager named Travis. He’s very cool, but for a long time I thought he was gay because of many of his mannerisms. I’m not alone in this observation, Tim had a few classes with him and thought the same thing. However, it turns out that he has a wife. I thought this more or less closed the book on his sexuality. That is, until I worked with him yesterday. Our conversation went like this:

Travis: Sam, lemme tell you something that I have learned, so you don’t get disappointed when you get to be my age. [He’s only like, 24] Don’t fall in love with the bad boys, they’ll only break your heart.

Sam: But I’m just not interested in all of those “good” boys!!

Travis: [Deep Sigh] You and me both.

I thought it was quite a sweet moment.
COMICS

Oh so so so many comics. I have almost doubled my collection since summer began. I have also been spending more time in the library than a homeless person in january. Right now I am really into Transmetropolitan, I think the idea of making a nutty, Hunter S. Thompson-esque journalist the savior of a dystopic futureworld is humblingly brilliant. I am also loving Garth Ennis’s Punisher. The Punisher is one of my favorite super-heroes, but I still can’t figure out why. I am also reading AKIRA, in an attempt to start getting into manga (at least, Manga that isn’t insipidly stupid, and written for 7th graders.)

CRACKDOWN

In the past, I have always treated Video Games the same I treat heavy drinking. It is something that is only appropriate when done with friends. That is until Emma bought the X-Box three-six-oh and I got i addicted to Crack. Down, that is. I know it had changed the way my brain works when I put the controller down, started walking to work, and planning which rooftops I would jump to if the Volk drove up and started attacking. I decided that once I gained some height and distance, I would use my last rocket to detonate the gas tank of their van. I also decided it was time to take a break from the x-box.

SIN

Living with Emma is pretty great, especially since she works days and I work nights. A lot of days, the only time we get together is the four hours of sleep that we have in common. It’s kind of like that movie Ladyhawk, with Mathew Broderick. Where this dude turns into a wolf at night, and this chick turns into a Hawk in the daytime, so they are doomed to never get it on.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0089457/