2020: 344 posts.

• 01-Jan-2020
  Early dinner last night with Kelly. Then we explored San Diego seeing what the shinier people were up to! Happy New Year!
• 02-Jan-2020
  Presently.
• 03-Jan-2020
  Detail of panel from my latest submission to @burn_all_books art anthology zine “Sundays Quarterly”—I’m working on a way to make it easy for folx to get ahold of the comics I’ve done. Possibly Gumroad. Maybe web. In the meantime get down to the @burn_all_books shop behind @verbatim.books and buy SQ! Also playing with purely web-based formats but I like them less.
• 04-Jan-2020
  Happy Divorce Day to me and Leah. 15 years, 14 days. It is impossible to encapsulate all I learned from and with Leah. I would not take it back. I remain very lucky and am happy to call her a friend. A+
• 06-Jan-2020
  Emails from people who want SEO juice.

  Do you accept press releases? Will the article be accessible from the main page of the site? (How much does it cost?) Do you put links from the main page of the site? (How much does it cost?) Do you sell banners from your site? (How much does it cost?) What are the standard prices…

• 06-Jan-2020
  mom
• 09-Jan-2020
  “You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought.” Tuesday was terrific.
• 12-Jan-2020
  last.fm report for 2019.

  Interesting to see the raw data of my listening into graphic summations.

• 14-Jan-2020
  Reading @melstringer’s new travel zine North-Bound in San Diego’s most classic diner Rudford’s seems right. (And I got to stop into @burn_all_books and talk a lil #risograph tech with Nick on my lunch hour too)
• 15-Jan-2020
  Hello, World (2020)

  <goofy>Well garsh!</goofy> I am sitting at the Homebrew Computer Club meeting of San Diego and we are in the portion of the meeting where we presumably would actually blog. I generally loathe the meta-commentary blog (e.g. I am sorry for not blogging more, I am thinking of quitting blogging, does anyone even read this) but…

• 16-Jan-2020
  IndieWeb Events

  RSVP yes to Homebrew Website Club San Diego February 2020!

• 18-Jan-2020
  Snowed overnight. Dusting. On the Metro into DC for #UXCampDC
• 19-Jan-2020
  Yesterday I drew Gritty at #UXCampDC for… not really good reasons.
• 19-Jan-2020
  miaow
• 19-Jan-2020
  Family walk at Huntley Meadows Wetlands habitat
• 20-Jan-2020
  Virginia and DC have been wonderful to me but I gotta return to California and my succulent today.
• 20-Jan-2020
  See ya later NoVa.
• 21-Jan-2020
  Ok then #toonme #toonmechallenge #drawing
• 24-Jan-2020
  With Kelly at the special showing of Picard at the Comic-Con Museum! Hashtag #starfleetBlessed
• 25-Jan-2020
  Grace. From @spill_drink_and_draw Thursday. The 80s were not all garbage. #spillsantaana #drinkanddraw #inkanddrink
• 28-Jan-2020
  “BE KIND” – a message from the Pacific Beach York Street graffiti giraffe.
• 28-Jan-2020
  How have I never heard of Picrew before?

  It’s pretty nifty. To be able to make all kinds of different avatars. It might all not be in English, but it’s nifty. Picrew.com

• 01-Feb-2020
  New iPad hang ten. Drawn w/@procreate
• 02-Feb-2020
  zappa. #comic
• 03-Feb-2020
  I don’t really miss this haircut. My sister and mom look great! From, 20-ish year ago.
• 05-Feb-2020
  submitted a comic to a literary journal today. comics are malleable and I am a cartoonist. I think of the terrible gag strips I sent to The New Yorker in 1989 and the very nice, very deserved rejection they got. and I plot my next comic.
• 09-Feb-2020
  Rainy day simplify.
• 09-Feb-2020
  Yesterday I’m gonna party like it’s 1999.
• 09-Feb-2020
  Going through old photos to send for proper scanning. Found one of my tata “Artie” Silva. Not enough photos of him!
• 11-Feb-2020
  That long hair I had in the late 90s remains one of my finest accomplishments.
• 12-Feb-2020
  Peak Expatriate Kid. This is a not-happy smile. I want to tell my younger self: “the unease you’re feeling is your mind expanding to learn the world is unfair, but also magical. This wisdom will comfort you in the far future. Also, take better care of your teeth.”
• 15-Feb-2020
  The Great Leap, last night at Old Town/Cygnet Theatre Co., was great. I did in fact laugh and cry.
• 15-Feb-2020
  Love is a skill

  Stumbled on this quote which feels both right 100% but massively not believed in the world. “Love is a skill” Check this out: Alain De Botton — “Love isn’t just an emotion, it’s a skill.” from THE RAY D’ARCY SHOW Who is this Alain De Botton person? I think I dig. Oh, he’s got 0.8…

• 17-Feb-2020
  It’s New Bot Monday! Welcome to Twiki who hails from 1979 by way of the year 2491 on the tv show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He’s an “ambuquod” helper robot, carrying on his chest an artificial intelligence: Dr. Theopolis. Twiki is kinda funny, and was mostly voiced by Mel Blanc, famed Warner Bros cartoon actor.
• 18-Feb-2020
  Desk tuned up with new @yayitzel print via @burn_all_books #buyart #risograph #risoprint
• 19-Feb-2020
  Adam Bosworth’s Talk at 2005 MySQL Users Conference

  In 2007 I wrote on this here blog: I found his talk at the 2005 MySQL Users Conference inspirational. It’s one of a few talks I return to every so often because it’s so packed full of ideas. I have done some transcription on this file. It might be useful to you. First, here’s the…

• 19-Feb-2020
  Happy Birthday ArtLung Blog!

  Nineteen years ago I started this blog! “Happy Blog Day” says gRegor Love to me at the San Diego Homebrew Website Club event here at Subterranean Coffee. Simon Prickett is also here. It’s lovely to be able to sit and discuss the web. In an era of ubiquitous social media: Instagram Stories, the Facebook Feed,…

• 19-Feb-2020
  Made a little logo image for the San Diego Homebrew Website Club tonight. #indieweb #homebrewwebsiteclub
• 20-Feb-2020
  always be drawing 🖤🖊 @spill_drink_and_draw #spillsantaana #spill_drink_and_draw #drinkanddraw
• 21-Feb-2020
  Only trust people who carry multicolored pens. @spill_drink_and_draw
• 22-Feb-2020
  My first linocut. Class on WPA, Black history & printing at @linksoul in Oceanside. In theory, this will be a print of Shirley Chisholm. #linksoul #oceanside #shirleychisholm #linocut #blackhistorymonth
• 23-Feb-2020
  My first printed linocut: Shirley Chisholm: UNBOUGHT / UNBOSSED. #linksoul #oceanside #shirleychisholm #linocut #blackhistorymonth thanks @klart760 for the great instruction.
• 24-Feb-2020
  It’s New Bot Monday! Welcome Red Tornado! Emerged in 1968 though has earlier roots (1960) DC Comics backstories are notoriously complicated and this android is no different. He joins Data and my other bots discussing becoming more human!
• 27-Feb-2020
  “CUBE CAT at BEAR LODGE (aka Devil’s Tower)” – from last night at Long Beach Ink & Drink #drawing @ink_and_drink_lb #longbeach #cubecat #closeencounters
• 02-Mar-2020
  Skyways and transit

  In February I attended an interesting webinar put on by sdmts.com. It was part of Elevate SD 2020. Given Sorrento Valley’s peculiarly hilly topography, they mentioned using skyways as part of a plan to bring transit. That seemed a rather novel (and to my intuition, fragile) solution. As it happens there are a number of…

• 02-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Doublas M2 (ダブラスM2) — a terrifying mechanical robot beast from the Mazinger anime series—He’s from the 1970s—like me!
• 02-Mar-2020
  Obviously.
• 03-Mar-2020
  About Covid-19

  Instantaneous global communication without nuance is a perfect carrier for amplifying panic. As a web technology cheerleader for 2-1/2 decades I find myself filled with ennui about this. As a former health care professional I urge cautious research and consultation with your own physician and local public health authorities. That instantaneous global communication response added…

• 05-Mar-2020
  This is my pal @chrisgreazel — but a few years ago—Hamming it up at Magic Mountain!
• 05-Mar-2020
  Me in Riverside. Student (with kids) housing. Dad was going to school there. My earliest dreamy memories are there.
• 06-Mar-2020
  Me (really) and Carlos and Celsito. Halloween 75 or 76. Carlos & Celso (to me always Celsito) were constant companions before my family moved away from L.A. in 77-78. My childhood was in pieces all over but much of it was so so beautiful.
• 06-Mar-2020
  For my birthday month I’m asking lots of people who their favorite bot is. The answers are always fun!
• 07-Mar-2020
  Yes, I can rock Mickey Ears. Years ago.
• 07-Mar-2020
  Early 90s selfie. That awkward growing-out-your-hair phase. It worked out eventually. On Melrose Avenue.
• 09-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! From 1978’s Battlestar Galactica tv series it’s a Cylon Centurion! Never went to court Universal and Fox contested just how much of a Star Wars ripoff BSG was. Cylons like this one have been referenced across the culture; Wikipedia notes Futurama, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Robot Chicken… men my age loved these silver baddies!
• 13-Mar-2020
  Power outages remind me of my childhood
• 14-Mar-2020
  My whole wide entire family managed to throw me with a birthday party and my father traveled 2400 miles. All of it a giant surprise. I am so lucky.
• 16-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! We welcome Rosie (Rosey for a few seasons) the Robot Maid! She comes from 1962 in the prime-time animated sitcom The Jetsons. Jane Jetson hired her for all domestic tasks. Hanna-Barbera produced the Jetsons as a follow-on to their successful show The Flintstones. Rosie was voiced by Wilma Flintstone voice actor Jean Vander Pyl. The Jetsons is a mixed bag but it did predict video calls, domestic robots, and pushbutton food.
• 17-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Big Boss Robot (in black)! I was gifted purple in 2018 by @hellokellykuhl and recently black by my pal Eric L. @GiantRobot Magazine started making these in ~ 2010 based on their logo! The magazine has covered Asian and Asian-American culture since the 90s!
• 18-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Machine Man aka Aaron Stack aka Mister Machine aka X-51! Created by Jack Kirby for Marvel Comics in 1977 for Jack’s 2001: a space odyssey adaptation. His sentience is partially thanks to A Monolith! Birthday Week of Bots has been a great comfort in this time of isolation and uncertainty. Be safe out there.
• 19-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Gekkoku 2 (月光機 弐号 Gekkoki No. 2) – I got him at @billygalaxytoys in Portland last year. As I understand it he’s a mech from a series called “Tekkouki Mikazuki” in the year 2000.
• 20-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! “Gonk. Gonk. Gonk.” says the GNK power droid the first time we see it in Star Wars. Welcome to my toy robot collection Gonk! Lovably goofy. Perfect to close out Birthday Bot Week! Happy Birthday to me!
• 20-Mar-2020
  I switched from giant gorillas to robots in the intervening decades. But that’s me! Thanks everybody for your sweet birthday wishes 💛 I am so so lucky.
• 21-Mar-2020
  Covid-19 affects everything. @sandiegobloodbank was super professional this morning.
• 23-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Yes I got another Mechagodzilla (メカゴジラ, Mekagojira) who first appeared in 1974 and has had multiple incarnations. I’ve had that superdeformed (aka chibi) MG for a few years but I saw a deal and jumped on it.
• 25-Mar-2020
  Last week I went to an in-person comic book store. When the best expertise says it’s safe to go again, I will. Until then, gotta wait it out.
• 26-Mar-2020
  Age: 17.
• 27-Mar-2020
  Really weird but kind of cool to run across this doodle from work notes on a slow 12 hour night shift in 1993.
• 28-Mar-2020
  I added lights to a third shelf because my robot cup is very full.
• 28-Mar-2020
  KEN \ NOW CLOSED
• 28-Mar-2020
  For my birthday last week my sister masterminded me getting sung to and it melted my heart
• 30-Mar-2020
  New Bot Day! Several years collecting and only now do I welcome Bender! (fullname Bender Bending Rodríguez). Bender se hizo en Tijuana, México en 2996. Debuting in 1999, he’s from Futurama. My favorite quote of his: “I guess a robot would have to be crazy to want to be a folk singer.”
• 31-Mar-2020
  Don’t take masks from front line medical folks. Protect yourself. Protect others. Worth thinking about.
• 02-Apr-2020
  I ❤️Trash Robot!

  I do heart the Trash Robot in Baltimore Harbor. Here’s the story about it, from 2017: Googly-Eyed Trash Eaters May Clean a Harbor Near You: Baltimore’s success with Mr. Trash Wheel and Professor Trash Wheel may spread to other cities As you can tell, I do enjoy robots a-plenty. And I love recycling and cleaning…

• 02-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! It’s Robo Gari (ロボガリ)! Weird hard times require weird robots. Robo Gari is weird and comedic and from the Japanese comedy tv show Ganbare!! Robocon which ran from 1974 to 1977. It’s about goofball Robocon (the red guy with heart on his chest, not to scale) and friends at Gantz’ Robot Academy. I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be heartwarming and goofy and everybody learns lessons and it’s all weird. Stay weird and safe everybody!
• 03-Apr-2020
  Yahoo Groups – goodbye.

  For some reason I failed to post this in December. Grumble. Sorry. Dear Group Moderators and Members, Thank you for your commitment to Yahoo and for helping us define the power of digital communities. Eighteen years ago, we combined the functionality of a site called eGroups.com with a precursor community platform called Yahoo Clubs to…

• 03-Apr-2020
  Star Trek Conventions

  I think I went to a my first, very small, Star Trek Convention in San Diego in 1986 or 1987. My memory on this is squishy. I know I was at age where I could drive. I know it was on Mission Bay — I think it was at the Bahia Resort next to Mission…

• 03-Apr-2020
  Listen to Gritty.
• 05-Apr-2020
  Kicking it like 1978. #voltesV
• 06-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Alicia is a robot from a 1959 Twilight Zone episode entitled “The Lonely” written by Rod Serling. Alicia is given in pity to convicted murderer Corry, marooned on a remote asteroid. It’s an incredibly sad meditation on loneliness and isolation with a side of musing on whether a robot can serve the emotional needs of a person. Watch it and feel sad!
• 09-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome to defiant and brilliant Elthree (L3-37), comrade and confidant of Lando Calrissian; key to the success of the Kessel Run that made Han Solo notorious! She was introduced in 2018 in the under-appreciated Solo: A Star Wars Story. Be like L3–don’t take any crap!
• 09-Apr-2020
  Quarantine Crafting! A few years ago @clawdaughter gave me a box of papercraft robots that were sort of falling apart. Tonight I made an effort to put them back together! Cuties! #gluegun #papercraft #paperrobot
• 12-Apr-2020
  The Rosti Mepal melamine egg cup I gifted @hellokellykuhl is just beautiful.
• 12-Apr-2020
  AGGRO HAPPY EASTER. 1976 I think. I made that hat. I can’t explain the shirt.
• 13-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Number Six is a model of human-appearing Cylon from the Battlestar Galactica universe reboot. Subtly and brilliantly played by Tricia Helfer from 2004 to 2009. Lionized by the Cylon people for infiltrating Earth’s defenses, the “main” Six was a hero. There were several copies of Six throughout the series which if you’ve not seen are a worthy watch. Caprica Six is featured here with my chrome toaster as well as an original 1978 “toaster” model. #bsg #numbersix
• 15-Apr-2020
  Fake it till you make it.
• 16-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Voltes V! A new, taller vinyl edition! Voltes Five inspired my collection. The tv series ran 1977-1979. My family lived in the Philippines at that same time. Even under Marcos’ repressive regime, Japanese pop culture, especially robots, filtered to Metro Manila. The robots inspired me! I went to school at a massive Catholic school called La Salle Green Hills. Mostly Filipino but a few expat kids too. Many could draw so well. My classmates were my age: 7, 8, 9– but they could do shading and perspective! I learned a lot. 40 years later I’m still inspired by Voltes 5. Stay inspired. Stay safe! #voltesv
• 17-Apr-2020
  Not all the stuff on my shelves are robots! This terrific Creature from the Black Lagoon was a gift from my cousin @jonnysnow16 for my birthday before Covid changed everything.
• 20-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Teddy is a Super-Toy first seen in 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He originated in 1969 science fiction short story by Brian Aldiss, “Supertoys Last All Summer Long.” Teddy is doleful and wise and a companion to the films’ protagonist: artificial boy David. The movie is visually ambitious but ultimately more failed fairy tale than classic SF. Teddy is Jiminy Cricket to David’s Pinocchio.
• 23-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Bring in the FEMBOT! The ultimate weapon: the latest word in android replicant technology: brutal, lethal, efficient: no man can resist their charms. They are armed with machine guns and knockout gas and feminine wiles. They seduce the spy Austin Powers but are disabled by Powers’ seductive striptease mojo. Silly greatness from 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
• 25-Apr-2020
  Kelly and I in a GIF

  You can see Kelly and I in this. It’s kind of cool. For the San Diego Comic-Con Museum newsletter this past week.

• 27-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! This is Ash, the synthetic android science officer who conspires to save the xenomorph and expend the crew of the Nostromo. Ash is a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 android, played menacingly by Ian Holm in 1979’s Alien. #AlienDay
• 27-Apr-2020
  Last week I got delivery from Chicken Pie Shop and got a cinnamon roll. Due to its mass, It had a strong gravitational pull.
• 29-Apr-2020
  The new normal.
• 30-Apr-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome T-Nature! @cup_o_teag gave this special homemade robot to me at Christmas and wrote a biography: “a nature spirit…a guardian from some distant planet to protect your creativity and passion”—but there’s a warning “water of the sea might disrupt her circuitry!” I love her!
• 04-May-2020
  New Bot Day! May 4th is an odd Star Wars Holiday so… Welcome FX-7 Medical Assistant Droid. Hails from The Empire Strikes Back, 1980. It joins 2-1B, IG-88, BB-8, R2-D2, Gonk & L3-37, already in my collection. #MayThe4th #StarWars
• 07-May-2020
  New Bot Day! Conky 2000 was designed by Wayne White for Pee Wee’s Playhouse in 1986. Conky delivers the secret word and is made of 80s electronics! WW is an inspiration to me. Check out the documentary “Beauty is Embarassing” for more about WW. #peeweesplayhouse @waynewhiteart
• 08-May-2020
  Mom: 1970s, 1990s. Did not make it to the 2020s. She’d be 74 today. Made it to 64. Life is not fair. Happy Birthday Mom. I miss you.
• 10-May-2020
  Merrill Markoe on my tv during UnCabaret: wonderful.
• 11-May-2020
  New Bot Day! KITT: “Knight Industries Two Thousand” is a tricked out 1982 Pontiac Firebird. From tv show “Knight Rider (1982-1986)” & voiced by William Daniels. Talking cars were amazing! Fighting crime, getting in adventures! David Hasselhoff! #TalkingCar #PontiacFirebird
• 11-May-2020
  Gary Groth on the bizarre time for comics and books

  Quote of the week, er… last week: Question: Have you put contingencies in place — as far as publishing goes — as this crisis drags on? Absolutely. We’re assuming depressed sales. We know sales are going to go down. The problem is nobody knows how much. 10%? 20%? More? Nobody knows the answer to that…

• 11-May-2020
  Went to Target earlier. Picked up migraine med. Wore great new mask from @clawdaughter! #Snoopy #Covid #Mask
• 14-May-2020
  New Bot Day! I got the standing Astro Boy at the last Comic Con but never gave him a new bot day. The one with his internal robot parts exposed I acquired in 2014 but never realized he opened up! Astro Boy is awesome and was created by Osamu Tezuka in 1952!
• 15-May-2020
  Drawing feels good. A&W mug sketch bleeding through from behind.
• 15-May-2020
  RIP Jerry Stiller
• 15-May-2020
  Bereet & Starlord
• 16-May-2020
  Already having fun with the #LetsSketchTech conference today. Drawing and thinking about drawing with @corey_latislaw @letssketchtech #sketchnotes
• 16-May-2020
  Self-motivational success articulation visualization zine! Created during terrific presentation by @nicole_majeske #LetsSketchTech
• 16-May-2020
  A year of drawing and drinking with my friend

  Yesterday my phone spat out at me a screenful of “On This Day” photos. That’s the day I attended my first Long Beach Ink & Drink. I live in San Diego. Long Beach is 110 miles away. I have been attending San Diego’s Sketch Party since 2017. It’s close! And I have drawings which document my attendance…

• 17-May-2020
  I love going to sketch parties but I’m in no rush if it ain’t safe.
• 17-May-2020
  Back of my current notebook which has gotten plenty of use this past week. Finally. Featuring stickers by @sdpubliclibrary @thebettyz @steve_mannion_comics @nicholasdanger @shecantdraw @niceytime plus those are trolley tickets from 1981 @missewon gave me. I love an old artifact and I love making new artifacts.
• 18-May-2020
  New Bot Day! “The Robot” worked for Superman in his Fortress of Solitude in 2007’s Superman: Doomsday. Voiced by Tom Kenny (Spongebob!). In the animated film he nurses Kal-El to health after his fight with Doomsday. Not purely medical, but he vibes with my medical bots. Hi!
• 19-May-2020
  For about 6 months I’ve had a 4 panel Cube Cat comic about Cube waking up after a drunken night and drinking toxic coffee and it just doesn’t work. Much respect to those who make gag cartoons, it is NOT EASY. Oh, also all the panels were song lyrics, a weird constraint I imposed on myself that made it even harder to make the thing work considering not everyone knows as many lyrics as a music hound like me. #writingishard #butilikethisdrawing #cubecat
• 19-May-2020
  Cont’d: “LAY DOWN ALL THOUGHT / SURRENDER TO THE VOID”
• 21-May-2020
  New Bot Day! K-2SO: the brilliant and sardonic reprogrammed Imperial protocol droid. Kay was brilliantly prortrayed by Alan Tudyk in 2016’s Rogue One. He’s my absolute favorite droid from 21st Century Star Wars.
• 23-May-2020
  Free button!
• 23-May-2020
  Got past 3 gallons donating. Wish there was a Comic Con to donate at this year! It’ll have to be 2021! @sandiegobloodbank @comic_con
• 23-May-2020
  Me and some cool cats in my contribution to Sundays Quarterly zine. Published by @burn_all_books. Get one for yourself! If you become a BAB supporter you can get art monthly! #risograph #risoprinting #risocomic
• 25-May-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome to the Sojourner rover! Landed on Mars in 1997 as part of NASA’s Pathfinder mission and named for abolitionist and activist Sojourner Truth. Expected to operate 7 days, it operated 85. A proud addition to my collection!
• 26-May-2020
  Drawing! Today: untoyed robots. I’d like to have toys of these three. But they don’t really exist. Who are they? Chappie (2015) is a film about a police bot who gets a conscience, sort of. 7-Zark-7 was a character added to Gatchaman (1972) to adapt it into the tv show Battle of the Planets (1978). And Irona is from the 1950s sometime. She’s Richie Rich’s robot maid and bodyguard from the comics and tv. #chappie #battleoftheplanets #7zark7 #irona
• 27-May-2020
  Reading in London. 1999.
• 28-May-2020
  New Bot Day! Batman Robot (バットマン ロボット) in blue from the Funko Vinyl Invaders series. This 2012 machinder is flanked by Carrie Kelley’s Robin from Dark Knight Returns (1986). Behind: handdrawn Batman on a homemade kite I made, age 7. The first 45rpm single I had was the song “Look Out for the Batman” (age 3-5) which I played incessantly. Batman is a constant in my life.
• 30-May-2020
  Looking at old drawrings this morning. And space launches. And news of unrest. Life’s complicated. Be safe. Fight for justice.
• 01-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day. Sentinels are gigantic robots designed to hunt down and kill mutants. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1965 they are still part of the Marvel Universe. It’s been a crap weekend but Sentinels are a vivid and violent reminder that oppression must always be opposed. Support justice. Support those who fight for justice. Black lives matter. Stay safe.
• 04-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day. Dairugger XV (Kikō Kantai Dairagā Fifutīn) is from 1982 and you might recognize this as “Vehicle Voltron.” The Rugger Team is an exploration & defense team, they have 15 vehicles which form the Dairugger mech. In the series they eventually have to depose a despotic emperor, which sounds familiar right now.
• 04-Jun-2020
  “Force does not work the way its advocates seem to think it does. It does not, for example, reveal to the victim the strength of his adversary. On the contrary, it reveals the weakness, even the panic of his adversary, and this revelation invests the victim with patience. Furthermore, it is ultimately fatal to create too many victims. The victor can do nothing with these victims, for they do not belong to him, but—to the victims. They belong to the people he is fighting. The people know this, and as inexorably as the roll call—the honor roll—of victims expands, so does their will become inexorable: they resolve that these dead, their brethren, shall not have died in vain. When this point is reached, however long the battle may go on, the victor can never be the victor: on the contrary, all his energies, his entire life, are bound up in a terror he cannot articulate, a mystery he cannot read, a battle he cannot win—he has simply become the prisoner of the people he thought to cow, chain, or murder into submission.” ― James Baldwin
• 08-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day. Meet Josef, from the 2009 game Machinarium. He’s named after Josef Čapek, who created the word “robot.” Things are interesting but there’s reason for hope. Keep fighting for what’s right. Also I’m the guy on the right.
• 08-Jun-2020
  Grabbed this image from @johnkharrison of #BlackLivesMatter and #georgefloyd superimposed over the Robert E Lee statue that should get removed real soon now. I spent a fair amount of time in Virginia in my 20s and the Confederacy crap always felt backward and weird. Years later I learned about how it got put up years after the Civil War I thought how screwed up that was. Good riddance.
• 11-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! It’s a Mouser! M.O.U.S.E.R.S. are Mobile Offensive Underground Search Excavation and Retrieval Sentries created by evil scientist Dr. Baxter Stockman, who used them to rob banks and do all kinds of other mischief. Cute and lethal! First appeared in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 in 1984 and in many other TMNT media since then. Got it at Frank & Son’s Collectible Show yesterday. Keep fighting evil everybody!
• 12-Jun-2020
  Made broth. Keep doing the basics. Stay strong.
• 12-Jun-2020
  Wonderful piece by #AlofaGould arrived from @thehillstreetcountryclub and now it’s up in my home to remind me the butterflies will pass!
• 13-Jun-2020
  Peppers are good. Thinking hard on stuff.
• 15-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! B.E.N. (Bio Electronic Navigator) is from the non-hit Disney animated film Treasure Planet (2002). He’s “wacky.” Voiced by Martin Short, when we meet him he’s been stranded alone for years, with a key part of his brain having been removed. Eventually BEN gets that memory back and (spoiler alert) good prevails over bad and treasure is found! Happy endings in movies aren’t like real life. Real life happy endings require constant vigilance—life goes on. Be well and stay safe and keep the pressure on.
• 16-Jun-2020
  Went to Frank & Son last week. Was good.
• 18-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! Giant Robo (ジャイアントロボ, Jaianto Robo) had his heyday in 1967-1968 as a manga and live action tv show. In the US it was called Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. It ran alongside the tumultuous years of civil unrest and political change. It feels weird to keep to a twice a week schedule of posting toy robots when 2020 is full of social trauma. I press on because it feeds my soul. But besides the toys: Black Lives Matter. Defund The Police. If you react negatively to those phrases: learn what they mean to the people for whom they represent positive change, and a better USA. It’s about the continuous improvement the United States has promised consistently. Stay safe – Joe.
• 20-Jun-2020
  Took a short walk in Del Mar today. Saw signs in yards that said Black Lives Matter. It felt encouraging. Because: Black Lives Matter.
• 21-Jun-2020
  Dad and me in Riverside California. A while ago.
• 21-Jun-2020
  I thought this lost tractor left on a beach water fountain was weirdly evocative.
• 22-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Getter-3. From 1974-5’s Getter Robo (ゲッターロボ) manga and anime. Getter 3 forms from ships named Jaguar, Bear & Eagle assembling in that order. If it’s Eagle-Jaguar-Bear it’s Getter-1. If it’s Jaguar-Bear-Eagle it’s 2. This is unique across the classic Japanese bots as far as I know. The creativity and vivid designs of the Getter robots caught my eye when I was age 7 in the Philippines and still inspire me now.
• 25-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! Daikū Maryū is a giant dragon-shaped robot. aka Great Space Dragon aka Kargosaur. It defends Earth from invaders and also parts emerge and the head pops off to become the torso of Gaiking. Japanese super robots from anime in 1976-77 are super weird!
• 26-Jun-2020
  Hot Tubbing an Online Community by Caleb John Clark, 1999

  Some years ago I read Caleb John Clark’s essay (blog post, really) about online community and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s currently not easily searchable on the web. A shame. I am extracting it from the Internet Archive and placing the text here. “Hot Tubbing an Online Community” Caleb John Clark, January…

• 29-Jun-2020
  New Bot Day! Dermot Joshua Gramo aka D.J. Gramo is a quirky steampunk bot gramophone. He’s a vinyl collectible designed in 2008 in the Mechtorians series. I imagine him playing jazz or blues by Louis Armstrong or Robert Johnson at 78 revolutions per minute on vinyl! “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.”—Satchmo.
• 30-Jun-2020
  Yes, a calculator watch. Age 12-13.
• 30-Jun-2020
  Putting @proopdog on my tv via @nowherecomedy makes me so happy. Signs off with Melba Moore’s version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing!”—the kind of positivity that gives strength to carry on.
• 03-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Baymax in the beta green armor is a recent acquisition (joining full flying armor and plain healthcare companion Baymax). I think Baymax is what we would put money toward if we defunded police. If you haven’t seen 2014’s Big Hero 6? See it.
• 04-Jul-2020
  Seen at Mission Bay / Seen in Ocean Beach 🇺🇸 Defund Police/Black Lives Matter/Be Anti-Fascist/Be Anti-Racist/Form a more perfect Union
• 04-Jul-2020
  What to a Slave is “Independence Day?” Thank you Frederick Douglass for the words.
• 05-Jul-2020
  Long time no Dog Beach.
• 07-Jul-2020
  I thought I’d take a shot at explaining what ANTIFA is all about.
• 07-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Transformer Dreadwing G2 is a Transformer Decepticon robot from 1994 who also is a stealth fighter. One of my first acquisitions but only getting a day now. I like the colors and look!
• 07-Jul-2020
  I felt moved to add an image to the #JTLArtChallenge — art against the Duterte #JunkTerrorBill which can mark critics of the Philippine government as “terrorists.” I am not Filipino but have great love of both freedom and Filipino culture, especially #VoltesV who would definitely be against this bill!
• 09-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Transformer Smokescreen G2 is a Transformer Decepticon robot from 1994 who also is a fighter jet. He’s the partner to Dreadwing from earlier this week. Apparently this bot somehow hates both Autobots and Decepticons. Not a fan of such nihilism… Transformers are weird though.
• 10-Jul-2020
  25-ish year old photo of @chrisgreazel and me.
• 10-Jul-2020
  Enchiladas are family. Even if they’re only for me.
• 10-Jul-2020
  Long time no selfie.
• 12-Jul-2020
  Benefits of scrapbooks, benefits of paper. Business card from Hankee’s RPG & Comics on 7900 La Palma in #BuenaPark. 1994. Before I got my place in Koreatown and was still living with Chris & Sharon. Terrific comic book store.
• 12-Jul-2020
  1989. Sunday afternoon looking at scrapbooks.
• 13-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Cherno Alpha (Черный Альфа) comes from Pacific Rim (2013), a movie I love dearly. Robots in PR are called “jaegers.” Cherno Alpha is piloted by husband and wife Sasha & Aleksis Kaidonovsky to fight kaiju. And “SAY HER NAME” is about Breonna Taylor, who STILL needs justice. Proceeds from that went to @campaignzero via @girlsdrawingirls’ Etsy. Stay strong, it’s a hard year.
• 14-Jul-2020
  Me next to Covent Garden Market, 1999. I have led a privileged life!
• 16-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Robot Spongebob debuted in 2002! Created by hilariously evil Plankton, he is used to force the real Spongebob to make Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket. In a chaotic, dangerous world, it feels good to laugh at great animation! Stay safe everybody.
• 18-Jul-2020
  Today’s donation comes with a test for SARS-CoV-2 antibody test. @sandiegobloodbank professional as always. I’ll get results in a week or 10 days.
• 20-Jul-2020
  New Bot Day! Great Mazinger (グレートマジンガー) is from 1974. Created by Go Nagai, who is credited with inventing the super robot genre, among others. Great Mazinger is an improved Mazinger Z, built to oppose the Mycenae Empire in anime and manga. Fight for what’s right in every medium!
• 21-Jul-2020
  Follow up: Covid antibody test that came with my blood donation came up negative. A lot of frazzled edges on the people I love. And I’m no different. All you can do is all you can do. But hang in there, positive change is afoot if we work at it. <3
• 25-Jul-2020
  Redrawing a Ray Bradbury doodle from 2002 for #ComicConAtHome #ComicCon2020
• 27-Jul-2020
  Flash Game History

  Wow. This is cool. flashgamehistory.com. I remember Flash like crazy. Here’s some real old work in Flash I did.

• 31-Jul-2020
  Get My Comics on Gumroad
• 31-Jul-2020
  This am @CM_RDU had Keith Knight present. I’m San Diego, not Raleigh (conceived there tho). They asked us to share a selfie on social media. I also included a cartoon I did the last time I saw Keith inspire an audience at San Diego Comic Con 2016! #cmunderdog
• 31-Jul-2020
  Very inspiring talk by Keith Knight for @cm_rdu! Quickie doodle. Looking forward to his new Hulu show in September! #cmunderdog
• 01-Aug-2020
  HBO MAX still not on Roku. Bye bye HBO GO.

  Man, so frustrating. I really like Roku as a platform. I can of course use an HBO MAX app on an iOS device and stream to my Chromecast but what a pain. Dear Roku Customer, As you may know, HBO discontinued the HBO GO service on July 31, 2020. HBO GO had previously enabled cable…

• 03-Aug-2020
  Peanut Butter Cookie Grief

  A few weeks ago I made the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook peanut butter cookie recipe. Now, this is the same cookbook which was gifted to me when I moved out of my parents’ house. I gathered the ingredients, and started making the cookies. As I was stirring the mixture I suddenly found tears were…

• 03-Aug-2020
  Long time since I’ve referenced Thomas PM Barnett

  I remain a fan. Good thinker. On 28 July he posted a pithy piece: How badly US performs on COVID compared to rest of G20, here’s a quote: Now the underperformers ranked by severity (defined as the biggest gap in percentage shares): EU: 27% COVID – 4% world pop = 23 percentage pt. gap United…

• 04-Aug-2020
  Today’s Tips. “Don’t worry twice.”
• 04-Aug-2020
  Comic-Con@HOME

  From SDCC: We sincerely hope you enjoyed Comic-Con@Home this past weekend on the previously scheduled dates of Comic-Con 2020 (July 22-26). And for those of you who took part, thanks for making it such a great success: As of Sunday evening, YouTube, the platform which hosted the majority of our programs, had received over 2.5…

• 05-Aug-2020
  Depthcharge

  Depthcharge is the first game I would seek out at any arcade. Looking at it now, I can see how slow-moving it is. It’s rather uncomfortably slow in the same way Lunar Lander was. When I was between the ages of 8 and 10 I thought Depthcharge was amazing. I’m delighted to see that the…

• 06-Aug-2020
  I don’t know how it ends. #comic #cubecat
• 06-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Long time no bots. Welcome Silent Running (1972)’s Dewey (01), Huey (02), Louie (03). They are bots that help Freeman Lowell’s fraught effort to preserve Earth’s forests on a spaceship called the Valley Forge. Behind it is Kelvin @klart760/ @thehillstreetcountryclub’s lovely screen-printed #BLM canvas bag. Have hope—eyes on the prize!
• 08-Aug-2020
  Graph of the Day.

  From Professor Galloway‘s newsletter: No Mercy / No Malice.

• 08-Aug-2020
  On misgendering

  I was wearing my red sweater and was misgendered this morning (November 4, 2019) at the drive-through. Writing here in 2020, I can’t remember whether it was “ma’am” instead of “sir” or whether I merely overheard someone refer to me as “she” rather than “he.” But it’s immaterial. I am fascinated by the change in…

• 09-Aug-2020
  Open Graph Protocol Tools updated to version 1.91

  It’s been 10 years since I first wrote the Open Graph Protocol Tools WordPress plugin. It was first published to the WordPress Plugin repository on April 28, 2010. It’s a tool that embeds metadata into your WordPress blog so posts and pages that can be parsed by social media. It’s not a particular popular plugin,…

• 10-Aug-2020
  “The Problem”

  I used to be a party to walking through software engineering candidates through answering this question. I answered it myself, as part of my own hiring process, with several other programmers there. Part of the prompt from them was to “think of us as your team, feel free to ask questions or get clarifications.” That…

• 11-Aug-2020
  San Diego Weather

  I originally drafted this on June 10, 2019. My earliest memories of San Diego weather are this weather. Driving from Los Angeles in the back of my parents VW late at night. CBS Mystery Theater on the radio. I wake up on the couch at my grandparents THIS is that weather. Dew on the lawn…

• 11-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Dynomutt, Dog Wonder. The Dog Wonder can extend his neck and paws and often his heroics go awry. He worked with Blue Falcon to protect Big City in Hanna-Barbera’s The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (1976). I love dog-bots. And Joe Cool. And art. And social justice.
• 12-Aug-2020
  “Archival Magic” seminar.

  This morning I attended a presentation Dustin Renwick about “Archival Magic” via the FieldTrips effort by Creative Mornings. I like the idea of using archival public domain resources as part of creative endeavors. I appreciate that he’s turned a good deal of research into a handy list to find treasures of the past that can…

• 12-Aug-2020
  The Romantic Slug “On Vacation” ©1993 JOE CRAWFORD
• 13-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Schylling Tin Bot X-306 is a wind-up tin toy. I’ve had him since early 2014, if not earlier. He’s “a reproduction of similar styled Japanese Robots of the 1940s and 1950s.” He was a gift, but I don’t remember from who. Wow a lot has happened in 6 years. Welcome X-306!
• 14-Aug-2020
  Rebecca Sugar: Steven Universe

  I had to thank my friend Brianna for introducing me to Steven Universe several years ago. And here’s a great interview/conversation with Rebecca Sugar about the difficulty of producing shows which strive to tell stories we’ve not heard in new ways. Steven Universe is an amazing show that manages to produce a unique science-fictional fantasy…

• 15-Aug-2020
  Service change email of the day

  Another day, another change in service: Hi artlung, Thank you for being a LinkedIn and SlideShare member. We’re excited to announce that SlideShare is joining Scribd. Like SlideShare, Scribd offers an endless supply of content gems to feed your curiosity and advance your career. We look forward to SlideShare and Scribd coming together as the…

• 16-Aug-2020
  A simple repast can be luxurious.
• 16-Aug-2020
  Went to the park. Beautiful day in the second half of it. Kate Sessions.
• 16-Aug-2020
  Instalooter to WordPress

  I’ve been importing my Instagram posts for my @artlung account using IFTTT for 7 years with good results. But there was a set of several hundred posts from 2011 and 2012 that I never bothered with. To be honest looking back at the posts, and thinking of that time, those were the two years after…

• 17-Aug-2020
  T-Deb says “Hiya!” #cube-cat-extended-universe
• 18-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! C-3PO is well known to all as a translator and protocol droid since 1977’s Star Wars. I got this guy at Frank & Son’s up in L.A. a few months ago. Threepio is always a bit put upon and worried and seldom far away from his friend R2-D2. Here’s to being wrong that the odds are not against us! “Thank the maker!”
• 18-Aug-2020
  The other morning the sky was pretty.
• 19-Aug-2020
  No love for San Diego in AFAR’s favorite California independent bookstores.

  AFAR’s Our Favorite Independent Bookstores in California contains no love for San Diego despite us having some great bookstores. I would easily put Verbatim Books on this list and give Mysterious Galaxy strong consideration. But I’m nitpicking, it’s a fine list overall. The list brings to mind my favorite bookstores of the 1990s in Los Angeles: Midnight…

• 20-Aug-2020
  It’s so good to have friends. Thanks for asking questions @chrisgreazel. #cubecat #webcomic
• 21-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Gamerot (ガメロット) aka Gamelot, is a villainous robot from Ultraman Leo, a series from 1975. Gamerot, like a turtle, can pull his limbs into his body. He is a rebellious giant robot from the planet Sarlin. Be safe out there!
• 21-Aug-2020
  Dan, Carrie & Martha.
• 23-Aug-2020
  A bit of watermanning. Dog Beach.
• 23-Aug-2020
  Following beach with cocktails. Kelly suggested adding fried chicken to it but sticking with hot carrots and olives and celery. Next time I’ll season the rim.
• 25-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Postler (ポストーラー) is a beautiful die cast toy from Japan in 1981. He’s a functional robot – he is a functional Japan Post mailbox and he has functional skates. His torso is marked with slots for Tokyo on the right, and other prefectures on the left. He originates with related to Ganbare!!Robocon. I’ve given him some mail to carry. He reminds me that we keep the mail safe and secure! @japanposthd_official @uspostalservice #savethepostoffice
• 25-Aug-2020
  Behind the scenes at ArtLung Bot Manor.
• 26-Aug-2020
  Was that there before? #morningcomic
• 27-Aug-2020
  And where there was just one set of footprints that was just me, social distancing.
• 28-Aug-2020
  Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. If you think saying this is worse than black people being killed by police you are in a moral abyss. Iron Giant is an animated film but manages to be about moral rightness. We can overcome a violent nature. We can change violent systems. We can refuse to be a gun. New Bot Day is an #SDCC 2020 Cosmo Burger Edition Iron Giant @collectdst exclusive. Behind him are Riso prints from @burn_all_books. Take a knee. Black Lives Matter. Defund The Police. #riso #blacklivesmatter #irongiant
• 28-Aug-2020
  It was a bit overcast today.
• 29-Aug-2020
  Scene from a Saturday in.
• 29-Aug-2020
  This documentary about Rubén Salazar: Man in the Middle streaming free now is amazing. @univision34 — it’s amazing history about a man straddling cultures and I immediately identify with him.
• 30-Aug-2020
  Set permissions for all WordPress wp-config.php files to 600 on shared hosting

  A solid security recommendation from the company I host with that I have turned into a cron job:

• 31-Aug-2020
  New Bot Day! Roberto first appeared in 2001 on “Futurama” in the episode “Insane in the Mainframe.” Roberto is in the Asylum for Criminally Insane Robots because his comic impulses are to stab and rob banks.
• 31-Aug-2020
  The waves were just ok therefore shots of my feet. Too cold and underwhelming but I am the luckiest person in the world.
• 31-Aug-2020
  10 minutes to sunset (unfiltered)
• 02-Sep-2020
  “Everyone Needs An Answer” with Hippolyta & Surly. #webcomic #cubecatextendedunuverse
• 03-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Getter Dragon joins others in the Getter family. Truthfully, I’ve had Getter Dragon (ゲッタードラゴン) several years but never introduced it. The mid-1970s were wonderful for giant robots.
• 04-Sep-2020
  In February I got a snapshot of me printed into the top of a Guinness beer at @supply_and_demand_lbc / @ink_and_drink_lb oh boy I love goofy fun stuff like this at great events across Southern California. I miss it. #savelongbeachbusinesses
• 05-Sep-2020
  Remembering Comic Gallery

  THE COMIC GALLERY “Everything in Comics & Fantasy” New & Collector’s Comics — Fantasy & Role Playing Games Miniatures – Japanese Animation Sports and Non-Sports Cards 4224 Balboa Avenue, San Diego CA 92117 9460-G Mira Mesa Blvd. San Diego CA 92126 322-J W. El Norte Parkway, Escondido, CA 92016 I went to the Balboa Avenue…

• 06-Sep-2020
  On such a Winter’s Day with Kelly in 2017 at Griffith.
• 06-Sep-2020
  Gwen and the fiery sunset.
• 07-Sep-2020
  Image Maps like we did it in 1997!

  Behold! Image Maps that are server-side! Absolutely ridiculous and enabled by Apache. Check it out.

• 07-Sep-2020
  Expedited Shipping #webcomic #nailedit
• 08-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Preston is a robotic dog — “Cyberdog” — he appeared in the short “A Close Shave (1995).” Fred Ramsbottom built him to help in his wool factory and after the scientist dies Wendolene Ramsbottom inherits the factory and Preston. But Preston turns bad and shenanigans ensue, resolved by Wallace & Gromit of course!
• 10-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Diana A (ダイアナンA) was piloted by Sayaka Yumi, who also piloted Aphrodite A. Both are mecha of peace, but include oppai chest missiles . Diana A is named for the Roman goddess of the hunt. She’s from the Great Mazinger franchise in the mid 1970s. This Diana is a gashapon (ガシャポン), a toy that can be sold from a vending machine. She’s seen with other gashapons from my collection.
• 10-Sep-2020
  Last week I was thinking about how lucky I was to be a teenager in San Diego. I attended San Diego Comic Con in the Summer and didn’t realize what a luxury that was. I learned all I could about comics, comic art, newspaper strips, publishing, copyright, comics history, animation history. I submitted one comic to the New Yorker in 1988, got a rejection letter and thought that meant being a cartoonist was impossible. I’m amazed to see these 7 comics I’ve made since January printed out. No plan. I like making comics. That’s enough.
• 12-Sep-2020
  Underpass.
• 13-Sep-2020
  Antique shopping to me is casserole pans and MODOKs.
• 14-Sep-2020
  Best Practices. I signed up to fight disease long ago. We’re all signed up now. #covidcomic #respiratorytherapy #donoharm #masks #webcomic
• 15-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Getter Poseidon is from the Getter series of 1975-6. This is a sofubi (ソフビ) soft vinyl toys. It’s made by filling molds with melted vinyl. Based on my research this is an unlicensed bootleg toy. I paid a Japanese seller on March 22 on eBay. Yuichi, the seller, warned me by message “Due to the influence of COVID-19, the shipment of ‘International e-packet light’ SAL flights from Japan to overseas has been urgently canceled.” At the same time I had a purchase from Hong Kong that the seller cancelled even though I won it. Yuichi was very thorough in explaining the options for cancellation and refund. We messaged periodically throughout, and 94 days later the package arrived. Getter Poseidon means a lot to me. I realized 8 years ago that this bot is one that I’ve been drawing subconsciously since I was about 10 years old. Bot collecting has taught me a certain amount of patience. I thanked Yuichi profusely when it arrived in June. It’s a time of hardship for many, and patience and care means so much. Hang in there everybody.
• 17-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Lore is a sentient android robot from the tv show Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first season (1988). Lore was villainous, believing himself superior to organic creatures. Dr. Noonian Soong & Juliana Soong’s experiences with Lore caused them to build Data, a “younger brother” to Lore, without emotions. Lore made trouble throughout his existence and was deactivated in 2370.
• 18-Sep-2020
  Got a drive-in flu shot then stopped at the great Southern California Comics for a robot selfie. Take care!
• 20-Sep-2020
  Experimental Sunday doodling.
• 22-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! EVE stands for Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator and first appeared in 2008’s post-apocalyptic fable WALL·E. She is dutiful, graceful and heavily armed. Do not mess with EVE! She reminds me of the brilliant, tough & funny RBG, who died last week. EVE is pictured with artwork by Gillian Dreher & Rick Geary of Justice Ginsberg #rickgeary @theresgill
• 26-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! Chibi-style Cylon Centurion from Battlestar Galactica (1978)! In March I added a vintage 1978 figure. This rendition was too cute to pass up. He’s pictured with a snippet of my freewriting. I’m making comics at a more regular pace which only happens because I’m writing, drawing, improvising words and pictures regularly. A “practice.” I make things I discard. Throwing interesting ideas in the trash is hard for me. But that editing process is core to completing every comic. Which makes me think of BSG: it was derided as a Star Wars ripoff at the time. Galactica sure wasn’t as amazing as Star Wars but it inspired me at the time. In this tire-fire of a world, where so many are struggling, I’m lucky to have time for creative endeavors. We are in a time of incredible injustice and governmental malfeasance. Keep working for good. Onward, everybody.
• 26-Sep-2020
  OB. This evening.
• 28-Sep-2020
  Anita doesn’t like her picture taken. #webcomic #robomerman #california #anitagaribaldi #garibaldifish
• 29-Sep-2020
  New Bot Day! On this hot day, welcome a second, larger H.E.R.B.I.E.! (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) from the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon. Conceived as a replacement for the Human Torch and because cute robots are cute. Comics are indeed weird. Stay cool!
• 30-Sep-2020
  Liberty Station Squirrel. A few weeks ago.
• 05-Oct-2020
  stop and smell the roses 🛑🌹 #webcomic #nailedit
• 06-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day—a Pit Droid! A gaggle of these robots debuted in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace working on podracers. They’re sort of comedic and hapless but I like how economical and simple they are. A charming bot for times which are full of trouble.
• 07-Oct-2020
  I love it when Q, MODOK & I can watch a great Californian talk to an unctuous supervillain.
• 09-Oct-2020
  “It is impossible for me to harm or by omission of action, allow to be harmed, a human being.” – New Bot Day welcomes Bishop from 1986’s “Aliens.” In the film, he’s played by actor Lance Henriksen. He prefers the term “artifical person” to “synthetic,” which is derogatory in the year 2122. In a tight spot, trust Bishop to get it done, whatever it takes!
• 10-Oct-2020
  Egress creep
• 10-Oct-2020
  Luckiest man in the world
• 11-Oct-2020
  Posted because it’s flattering. Comics and toy robots coming this week!
• 12-Oct-2020
  Costume Ideas by Cube Cat #webcomic #cubecat #halloweencostumes #inktober
• 12-Oct-2020
  Email of the day: Announcing the Shut Down of Yahoo Groups

  Following up on websandiego’s shutdown: Dear Yahoo Group Moderators and Members, We launched Yahoo Groups 20 years ago to connect people around their shared interests. We helped our users navigate new towns, keep in touch with college friends, learn new skills, and most importantly, build connections they may have lost or never had in the…

• 13-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! Leopardon (レオパルドン) is a giant robot driven by 1978’s Japanese Spider-Man. Why?! Because comics are weird, and comics multiplied by seventies Japanese tv is even weirder. Do yourself a favor and look it up!
• 15-Oct-2020
  South Mission at the Jetty was so foggy the lifeguard tower warned a vessel that they were coming in on the wrong side of the jetty. Plenty of surfers out anyway.
• 15-Oct-2020
  Seagull tracks. When I got out of the water one of ‘em was climbing on my bag, curious! Little jerk thought the fog meant the rules didn’t apply anymore!
• 16-Oct-2020
  It was foggy this morning at Mission Bay, too. Lifeguards asked folks to stay out of the water until the fog cleared. The water was nice.
• 18-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a toy robot accessory made by Nintendo for the NES in 1985. It was used for only 2 games. It’s now considered a “marketing trojan horse” – making people think the NES was especially sophisticated. Also you can play him in Smash Brothers!
• 19-Oct-2020
  #inktober #webcomic
• 20-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome to a Manhunter. The Manhunters are robots created by the Guardians of the Universe millions of years ago. Intended to fight evil, these robot police went bad, in the spirit of All Cops Are Bastards. The Green Lanterns superseded them and in the comics are a more effective force for good. The Manhunters still vow revenge on the Guardians and Green Lanterns in DC Comics.
• 21-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! Welcome Dr. Kahl’s Robot. Cuphead (2017) is a game inspired by 1930s animation. Dr. Kahl is a mad scientist, of course. This giant robot is a major boss in the game. He shoots lasers and explosives in the hallmark rubber-hose animation style.
• 21-Oct-2020
  I voted.

  Got my notification from the San Diego Registrar of Voters. “Your ballot for the 2020 General Election was received and will be counted.” I hope it works out well.

• 21-Oct-2020
  No cyborgs are allowed in my robot collection but this RoboCop bubble bath was pretty sweet. Photo from @billygalaxytoys in Portland last year.
• 22-Oct-2020
  LANE 3–YMCA
• 26-Oct-2020
  Sunset @ pool
• 27-Oct-2020
  Two day lap trend
• 28-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! There’s a lot happening right now. An election. A pandemic. Call to fix policing after rampant terribleness. This Astro Boy is not my first but I like his attitude!
• 28-Oct-2020
  Triple-YMCA
• 29-Oct-2020
  New Yahoogroups Email Clarifying Last Yahoogroups Email

  Following up on the following up of websandiego’s shutdown: Dear Yahoo Group Moderators and Members, We recently announced that groups.yahoo.com (Yahoo Groups) and its list service will shut down on December 15, 2020. We would like to clarify that there will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services. For example, your Yahoo account…

• 29-Oct-2020
  New Bot Day! Arcee (“R-C”) debuted in Transformers: The Movie in 1986. She is the first of the feminine-appearing robots in the various Transformers iterations. Hallmark color pink hides fierce hand-to-hand combat skills and deep caring for fellow Autobots and human compatriots.
• 29-Oct-2020
  Four-peat pooling.
• 30-Oct-2020
  “LOCALS ONLY”
• 30-Oct-2020
  Trestles #webcomic #trestles #inktober2020 #inktober
• 31-Oct-2020
  My grandmother told me in 1987 that this jack-o’-lantern design looks like “he doesn’t have good sense”—which is of course the point. Happy Halloween!
• 02-Nov-2020
  We looked at ducks at Lake Murray. It was a lovely day. Prepare for a helluva week. Also: COUNT EVERY VOTE.
• 02-Nov-2020
  Lappy
• 03-Nov-2020
  PreLap
• 04-Nov-2020
  Oh yes they call it the streak
• 06-Nov-2020
  Dawn Patrol/Pool Edition. #COUNTTHEVOTES
• 06-Nov-2020
  My smile this morning as the results come in is as big and cheesy as Frank’s.
• 08-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! THE SUPER-ADAPTOID is a 1966 Lee-Colan-Kirby creation. The Adaptoid was made by AIM to mimic and defeat the Avengers. A powerful and destructive being, it was ultimately defeated by the forces of good.
• 09-Nov-2020
  Laptime
• 10-Nov-2020
  7’-0”/SanteeY
• 11-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! JOJO Neon Blue (BB-03NB) is an imposing robot gorilla who transformers down into a neon blue cube. Designed for TOPOP toys by @saibooku22, I picked up this fella at San Diego Comic Con in 2017. ROARRRR!
• 11-Nov-2020
  Laps, I must say. But then again, laps?
• 12-Nov-2020
  I’ve had this hacky sack since 1990. It’s a “sipa sipa” but whatever it’s awesome.
• 12-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! One of the first robot gifts I received. This is a green @hexbug Ant! A lovely design, well made, and it catches the light nicely.
• 15-Nov-2020
  All The Ticks & Ben! #allTheTicks
• 16-Nov-2020
  On Monday.
• 17-Nov-2020
  Goodbye, Flash

  I have a long history with Flash, so seeing my Mac pop this up about this shutdown hurts a little. Thank you for using Adobe Flash Player. Adobe’s support for Flash Player will end on December 31st, 2020. Please see the Adobe Flash EOL General Information Page for more details. If you do not need…

• 17-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! Cy-Kill (1984) is from the world of GoBots. Despite a red-white-and-blue color scheme, he’s a villain driven by jealousy of Leader-1. Cy-Kill leads the Renegades against the Guardians. I feel melancholy thinking about the GoBots. They are the lesser American transforming robot franchise based on toys in every way I can think of.
• 17-Nov-2020
  No idea.
• 18-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! I got a second Daggit to join my Battlestar Galáctica family. Acquired at @replaytoysboutique —support local businesses in this hideous mismanaged pandemic! Have hope! Wear your mask, be safe!
• 18-Nov-2020
  Queued
• 19-Nov-2020
  Staffer who took my temperature greeted me with “happy Friday” but then corrected herself: “happy Friday Junior.” Happy Friday Junior!
• 20-Nov-2020
  Sounds of the Trolley and morning warming
• 20-Nov-2020
  Changing up my couch area to hang the poster of that exploitation movie me and my mom were in.
• 21-Nov-2020
  faces
• 22-Nov-2020
  Foggy passage
• 23-Nov-2020
  Afternoon swum
• 24-Nov-2020
  “Rec pool”
• 24-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! I love this guy but he’s regrettably anonymous. I picked him up in a booth at @designercon 2018. Paid cash, no receipt. Can’t remember the booth. “A&A CHINA” on the back of his helmet. I like him! He seems like a survivor.
• 25-Nov-2020
  0630 is not too early
• 26-Nov-2020
  On Thanksgiving during non-pandemic times I do a large relish tray of fresh veggies, pickled and spicy fun stuff for the Greater Crawford Family here in San Diego. This year for safety things are abbreviated. The solution: takeaway trays! Next year? Biggest tray ever. Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe!
• 28-Nov-2020
  New Bot Day! Bumblebee is an original Transformer (1984) and well-loved enough to be in every version of that franchise. His headlining movie is good! See it. This one transforms into a classic 60s Volkswagen Bug. I like how this one tickles my memories!
• 28-Nov-2020
  Relish relish assembly (from Wednesday).
• 30-Nov-2020
  Do You Want To Art Trade?! “Cube Cat’s Drink” is Riso printed by the amazing @burn_all_books at 8-1/2″x11″. Do you have a physical zine you’re proud of? Or an original drawing? Or a killer sticker? This is an experiment in art-trading. I love mail and I love physical art. I’ve got 23 ready to go. DM me and let’s do a deal!
• 30-Nov-2020
  Eastern sky
• 01-Dec-2020
  «o what a beautiful mornin»
• 01-Dec-2020
  New Bot Day! Robot 18 is what I call this muscular bot. Made by @childrensplace I don’t know how old he is or anything about him. He’s got a Children’s Place marking on one foot and “598177 1243” on the other. Once lost, now found. Welcome Eighteen!
• 02-Dec-2020
  Now we’re all trapped in a world we never made.
• 02-Dec-2020
  Evenin
• 03-Dec-2020
  6am sky
• 03-Dec-2020
  2020.
• 04-Dec-2020
  Comparatively late lane
• 04-Dec-2020
  This smell: of fresh vegetables being washed in a mist of water—it makes me feel the memory of visiting my grandfather Art Silva (we called him tata: a Yaqui word for “father”) at a Big Bear or Food Basket. He’s be there taking care of the produce department: crisp shirt and tie and an apron. My mother adored him, while smaller me saw how impressive he was, a professional in command of his domain and offering some perfect piece of fruit to try. Smell and memory is amazing.
• 05-Dec-2020
  Illustration by Lucille Corcos —in the 1941 book A Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan. I just watched Topsy-Turvy for the nth tine and it never fails to fascinate me. I suspect it has inaccuracies but it captures an aspect of the creative process I treasure.
• 05-Dec-2020
  New Bot Day! Evila is a “clever and dangerous sexy robot reporter” from the game Space Channel 5 (originally on Dreamcast, 1999). She joins other videogame bots in the family!
• 07-Dec-2020
  Overcast morn
• 08-Dec-2020
  Water balm
• 09-Dec-2020
  0815 slot
• 10-Dec-2020
  Did you know?
• 10-Dec-2020
  New Bot Day! Captain Rex (RX-24) is from a theme park! Built for Disneyland’s Star Tours (1987) attraction piloting a Starspeeder 3000, imperfectly. Paul Rubens provided the voice. After years of service he’s now known as R-3X and is a DJ in Oga’s Cantina at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (2019). Here’s to getting safely back to Disneyland in 2021!
• 11-Dec-2020
  Finishing up another streak of weekdays
• 12-Dec-2020
  Little tree.
• 13-Dec-2020
  A lot of folks went to La Jolla Shores to check out the King Tide at 715am.
• 13-Dec-2020
  California replaced “army men.” Solid improvement over a sharpshooter or a guy with a mortar. Found at Shores.
• 13-Dec-2020
  Six items found at La Jolla Shores during this morning’s King Tide.
• 14-Dec-2020
  It’s enough to keep going
• 15-Dec-2020
  Sun: rising
• 16-Dec-2020
  Dawn
• 17-Dec-2020
  Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve pools unavailable. Next Thursday swim will be in 2021.
• 18-Dec-2020
  every morning different
• 19-Dec-2020
  Last weekend we walked from La Jolla Shores to Scripps Pier during the King Tide.
• 21-Dec-2020
  The times when I am mentally exhausted are the best times to swim.
• 21-Dec-2020
  Foggy Star of India
• 22-Dec-2020
  I don’t think it’s always darkest before the dawn
• 22-Dec-2020
  Interrupted seagull. Fog breaking slow this morning.
• 23-Dec-2020
  Swimming was the Christmas gift.
• 24-Dec-2020
  I like how festive the Y was yesterday. Belated Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas Eve.
• 24-Dec-2020
  Christmas Crayon time.
• 25-Dec-2020
  New Bot Day! Merry Christmas 2020! Super Space Giant is a small tin replica of a Horikawa robot design from 1955 or so. He is Dwarfed by Futurama’s Robot Santa and flanked by a little green bot I got at Kobey’s Swap Meet. Merry Christmas & Stay Safe!
• 25-Dec-2020
  In the 1980s I loved to make Christmas/New Years/Holiday cards. I drew this Technocratic, nearly cyberpunk Santa with a Micron Pigma pen in size 005. That’s still an excellent pen. 32 years later I’ve refined and colored him digitally. I didn’t do paper greeting cards this year. Maybe next year. It’s been an impossibly hard year, and my drawings have comforted me. Be well, take care.
• 26-Dec-2020
  Low tide shell haul from Dog Beach
• 27-Dec-2020
  Walkies
• 27-Dec-2020
  Stormy day but the sun snuck out
• 27-Dec-2020
  Later, the sky was afire
• 28-Dec-2020
  NO SURFING SURFING NO BEACH BEACH GAMES GAMES
• 28-Dec-2020
  Windy, chilly, 54F. On it still.
• 29-Dec-2020
  52F but clear. Brisk. Perfect.
• 30-Dec-2020
  On the phone with @chrisgreazel takin’ notes
• 30-Dec-2020
  Pooling
• 31-Dec-2020
  Rotsy