The Bitch is Back!

While living in the real world I occasionally neglect this sad little virtual world. Interrupting my pleasant dreams of sharing vegan milkshakes with Calvin Broadus, Jr. (you probably know him as "Snoop Dogg", but we've been dream-bros for almost a decade now, so he insists I call him by his given name), a nagging snuffling series of zeroes and ones overtakes my subconscious and hounds me relentlessly until I passively aggressively type a new entry into this here blog.

So, what's been keeping me so busy that I can't even be bothered to write or call? I'm glad you asked!

Here, I'll present it as a series of bullet points for maximum efficiency:

• We moved! Yes, after only two years in Brooklyn, we've returned to Manhattan. We could no longer resist the siren call of my in-laws' offer of the bottom floor of their brownstone on the Upper West Side. My wife and I now both share a studio that is NOT part of our living room/kitchen, which is a first. The UWS is quite a different scene than our previous apartments in the Lower East Side or Brooklyn. You can't find a (vegan) meal for under $10 and the mean age is 65, but there are lots of parks and museums for our little one. The apartment wasn't finished being renovated for the first six weeks after we moved in, but now we're almost done unpacking and getting back to a semblance of normal life. 
• I finished a new ten page comic for Nicole Georges (Invincible Summer). It's for an anthology she's putting out about bad roommates. I've been blessed with mostly amazing roommates, but there have been a few stinkers. This comic explores four of the worst offenders. 
• Chainsaw Comics accepted my five page comic for an anthology with the theme of "fear". I originally drew this one for the Dapper Chap anthology (with a "horror" theme), but the founder volunteered at a primate sanctuary in South America (can't fault him that!) and I don't think it will ever come out.
• My publishing company, Birdcage Bottom Books, was working on a project with a couple of fairly high-profile comic artists, but it seems to have fallen through. Now that my tears have dried, I'm thinking of putting together a split anthology. Half would be comics by vegan artists and half would be by carnivores or whatever the more accurate term for non-vegetarians might be (since true carnivores eat meat almost exclusively)...omnivores? I'm not sure if I want to impose a stricter theme beyond that of diet. I'm still in the brainstorming stage. Anyone out there interested in submitting or have any bright ideas?
• I'm writing the final chapter of my Losers Weepers comic. I took a break after issue #3 to work on some shorter comics and in anticipation of moving to our new apartment.

Here's the first page of the bad roommate comic to pique your interest...

Let Live Foundation animal rights conference 2010

Portland, OR is where it's at if you're a vegan and/or animal welfare activist. To prove this point, there's an ALL VEGAN mini-mall there (including Herbivore Clothing & Publishing, Sweet Pea Bakery, Food Fight Grocery and Scapegoat Tattoo)! What?!

Anyhow, it's also home to the Let Live Foundation's annual animal rights conference. Besides being chock full of fantastic guest speakers, this year there's an after-conference party/art-auction fundraiser/stuff your face with deliciousness event. I've contributed seven pieces of original art, all with starting bids of just $20. There are other talented (vegan) artists' works as well, like Kurt Halsey Frederiksen, Tom Neely (!!!), Nicole Georges and Aron Nels Steinke.

So, if you're in or near Portland, there's really no excuse not to support such a great event.

Thailand comic journal

Loyal turncoats,

Sorry I have had radio silence for a while. I'm nearing the end of penciling the new chapter of "Losers Weepers", and I'm also working on a new three page comic for the upcoming "Supertalk 2" anthology. Plus, I'm readying the files for the new "Snakepit" book. All three will be available on April 10th at MoCCA here in NYC (or you can order them from www.birdcagebottombooks.com).

In the meantime, here's a couple of diary comics I drew in cars and planes on our honeymoon trip to Thailand. I kept a non-comic journal as well, and I've scanned it all in to send to a friend who is visiting Thailand soon. If any of you share my enthusiasm for monkeys, veganism and elephants and are planning a trip to Thailand, holler at me and I'll send you the journal so you'll have some good info (including how to order vegan meals in Thai!).

Food, Inc.

I don't think I've ever mentioned a movie on this here blog, but I found "Food, Inc." (which I watched last night) worth mentioning. My obsession with all things animal-welfare and vegan related began with my reading of John Robbins' "Diet For A New America" back in 1992. Since then, I am constantly reading any book that promises to both greatly disturb me and simultaneously renew my awareness of why I maintain a vegan diet and lifestyle.

Every so often, a book (or film) comes out that makes the jump from being read (viewed) by only the AR/Vegan crowd to becoming a mainstream phenomenon. "Fast Food Nation", several books by Michael Pollan and Jonathan Safran Foer's latest work, "Eating Animals" immediately come to mind.

I think "Food, Inc." has the potential to cross over into mainstream. The cinematography is both beautiful and compelling, and the editing keeps things moving along nicely. Most importantly, the film focuses on the environmental, sociological and economic impact of our food choices rather than the impact it has on animals. It seems to me that a great many people are too uncomfortable to continue watching when confronted with the horrible realities of how livestock are raised and treated throughout their journey to our plates. This film shows the human cost of letting corporations oversee food production unchecked.

That's why I think "Food, Inc." has more of a chance of being seen by more people. The information within will surely outrage the average American, perhaps enough for them to consider changing the way they eat. I become more "realistic" the older I get, and so I don't expect the vast majority to ever embrace a vegan lifestyle. BUT, I do think that informed people make more informed choices, and so I whole-heartedly applaud this excellent film. Go see it, folks!

In related (sort of) news, a security camera caught a man abusing his tiny dog in an elevator. Watching the footage made me physically ill. The most heartbreaking moments are when the guy calls the poor dog over to be pet only to kick him across the room. At first I was livid thinking about what an a**hole this man is. Then I felt sorry for him, for surely something in his past caused him to treat his dog this way. I hope he finds some sort of release or therapy, but mostly I hope he is never again allowed to care for a living creature.