A couple weeks ago, Clio, Danny, Tanya and I went to the L.A. zoo. I haven't been there since I was really little, but it was pretty much what you would expect a zoo in the middle of L.A. to be like. It was somewhat depressing, but here are some photos anyway. My favorite shot has an animal count of zero:

I got new shoes, and I really dig 'em. It's been such a long sandals-only journey the last few years that I feel like I'm learning how to walk again.

Jeff Smith came by our studio the other day (to meet up with Kazu). It was pretty cool to meet him, even though it was just a handshake.

I spent Thanksgiving with my brother, parents and godmother and it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. It's been a long time since we all sat around and told stories and laughed so hard, as a group (especially at my dad's college-days shenanigans).

No Country for Old Men is one of my favorite movies. I've seen it twice, and it's drilled a path straight into my psyche. [spoiler in next sentence if you haven't seen it yet - skip to next paragraph if you care]: It has a very simple, beautifully-illustrated point, and I love that it doesn't end with a cherry on top. I am so pleased to be told what happens in a story, rather than knowing and simply waiting to find out how it happens.

The last two weeks have been devoid of sleep. It has been focused on a couple things. The first: finishing up the latest issue of Kotori which goes live on December 1st (chalk up another 80+ pages laid out). Some featured interviews we have this time around: Wu Tang Clan, Wyclef and Serj Tankian. Check it out!


The second: the all-new, sparkly-clean, super-slick Nucleus website. Check it out for all the goodness that it offers. We've worked so hard on this and it's an absolute joy to see it go live - I am very, very proud and there's only more chunks of awesome to come.

That said, I am about as exhausted as I've ever been, and tomorrow's flight to Japan couldn't have come at a better time. I need this break, and it's such an awesome group of people to travel with. I am looking forward to meeting up with Clio, Von and Aiko, seeing the Ghibli Museum, temples in Kyoto, the countryside in Shikoku, our apartment just outside the city, some Nucleus artists, and the madness that is Tokyo. I'll take tons of photos, and I'll see you in a couple weeks.

I just lost all my data for the last 4-5 years. All my drawings, all my photos, all my music recordings, all my documents. About 5 years ago the same thing happened, and I lost the previous 4-5 years of work. It's a pretty neat thing to have happen. Makes things fun, you know?

Happy (a couple weeks ago) birthday, mom. Thanks for teaching me how to make shish barak. I love you!

After the Lela Lee show we had at Nucleus last weekend, we went up to Big Bear for an early Thanksgiving dinner amongst friends. Mandy and Clio cooked up a storm, and a perfect Turkey. Dr. Mario was icing on the cake. I love the cabin! Here are my food magazine photos.

You should check out xkcd. It is a self-described "webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language." If you're a programmer/engineer, and/or a nerd, you will love it. I am and I do.

If you have a Wii, get Super Mario Galaxy. It has that magical fun feeling and makes you feel 12 and makes you want to dive in and explore those worlds. It's also full of cuteness and adventure, and some epic music. It has it all!

I can't wait for Japan, but there is so much to do. I have to finish laying out another issue of Kotori, migrate Nucleus to our new dedicated server (which rocks!), launch the new Nucleus web site, and subsequently put out inevitable mini-fires in the following days. I need to find my passport and pack and buy some shoes. I am so ready to take a million photos. The trip isn't fully planned out (which is nice), but I will visit Von in Shikoku, see the temples in Kyoto, explore the districts of Tokyo, visit the Ghibli Museum, and hang out with some Japanese Nucleus-affiliated artists. It's going to be a perfect 16-day break after all this work! :D

Tomorrow evening (7-11) is the Mari Inukai solo show at the gallery. I'll be working in and next door to Nuc. See you there!

Santa Barbara Trip
Last week Danny, Jamie and I took a day trip up to Santa Barbara. Obligatory actions involved: consuming Woodstocks and Blenders, taking ridiculous photos on the beach, meeting up with some co-workers, catching up with Karen, Michelle, Anne and garlic balls at Palazzio, and purchasing a:

Roland V Drum Set
Oh man. It is fun.

Dusty
We went up to the roof of the parking structure to take some Nucleus T-Shirt photos, and Dusty made my day:


The Darjeeling Limited
I thought it was good, but the more I thought about it later, the more I liked it. It made me want to hang out with my brother more.

Leopard
Who knew an operating system could be so exciting? I installed it, and it rocks on many levels (aside from broken mysql support). Time Machine is just so elegant in it's simplicity, and Quick Look is a blessing. Go Apple engineers!

Halloween Haunt
A pack of us went to Universal Studios' Halloween Haunt for, um, Halloween, and it was cool! The environment reminded me of the Biff-run Hill Valley in Back to the Future, with smoke/fog everywhere, lots of lawlessness and crazy creatures of the night on the prowl. It wasn't really scary, but it was exciting and full of energy. The haunted mazes were so well done and they even had smells (like cooked meat in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre "kitchen"). Jurassic Park was so impressive in the dark! I think Clio summed up the night best with her sketch.

Japan
Finally, I'm going. December 1st - 16th. Can't. Wait.