New Computer

I gots me a new imac last night, and they now come with an app called "photobooth" that snaps your photo, with all sorts of wacky filters. Not an earth-shattering program, but good for some cheap laffs:

My old boss. "Christian, your sarcasm is a problem.":


"Yes sir. I'll try to be better sir":


Medical Miracle Christian. Or poligymist(sic?) Christian:

Game Fantasys! page 5: The amazing, stunning, climactic conclusion.

All that build up, character development, an evil villian, a great cover and...this is what the pay off is. oh well.

Game Fantasys! page 4

Now we discover the identity of author #2: Vortron Ter! Leith was much better at coming up with names than I was. But then he played more role-playing games than I did (0). We also uncover Leith's Beatle appreciation with the quote from the song "come together." He insisted on reading this page aloud during our presentation, because he had to sing it with just the right inflection to sound like John Lennon. Which he did. I had no idea what the hell he was doing at the time, but I'll always remember his voice as he sang it. But now that I've heard the song lots, I know he sang the "right now, over me" too fast.

You can also see from the illustration that we stepped up the pace.

He used the word "entrapment" even if it was used wrong. Very impressive. I had no idea what that meant. Come to think of it I still don't know what it means. It's legal and it's bad, I know that.

And by the time you get to the bottom of the page, boom, it's over. All that's left is the triumphant last page...

Game Fantasys! page 3: Planet Flark--------->

Now destory is really heating up! I did not do the illustration on this page, I think we traded off and he illustrated and I wrote. The proletariat grumbling about "what the boss offered us" is an interesting addition for such a youngster. must've gotten that from one of our parents. Or a Barney Miller episode.

This episode has strange parallels to two small parrotlets being stuffed in a cage. This must be how Constanze and Fritz view me. No wonder 'Stanze bites me so hard. Especially if I look like that to them.

Game Fantasys! page 2

My second favorite name I invented (after "Cyclo") was "Tyro," which I thought was endlessly cool. But wait! What about a last name? I know: Styro! AND it rhymes! Sweet! I wonder if I thought of these when I was in the supermarket...Or maybe I was inspired by my Tyco train set...

- I don't know what "Gamble World" is.
- This is an early manifestation of my curly cue fondness.
- Also perhaps the first of many times I've come up against drawing two hands shaking, which is actually quite difficult.
- Leith came up with the name "Flar-exeker" (who, by the way, was about 25 feet high).

Apple stock

Apple yesterday released a video ipod, which will change the very nature of how people think and act, and usher in the age of Aquarius. They also announced their earnings, which broke all previous records, and they TRIPLED their net profits. So what are the headlines?

"...Microsoft stock is down $2 over the past month, and tech stocks in general were down yesterday after concerns were raised about Intel and Apple sales."

The truth: Analysts wanted/expected net profits to QUADRUPLE from last year's record profits. Unfortunately Apple only "shipped 1.24-million Macs and 6.45-million iPods, which represents 48 percent and 220 percent growth over last year, respectively. For fiscal '05, the mothership gathered revenues of $13.93 billion and a net profit of $1.335 billion, reflecting annual growth of 68 percent and 384 percent, respectively, and representing the highest annual revenue and net profit in the Apple's history." Yup. Apple's in the toilet. Better sell your stock now.

Also, what's wrong with this sentence?: "Microsoft is expected to report better-than-expected sales tomorrow."

How can "better-than-expected" be expected? Wouldn't that just be "expected"? So of course if MS's sales aren't "better than expected," the stock will go down. I hate the stock market. This is human nature at its worst. I hate all people. Grumble. I need coffee.

Game Fantasys!: Page 1

BTW yes, I know "Fantasys" is spelled wrong.

I actually have no idea what "Game Fantasy" was. Apparently Leith played it, but not me...Maybe he was anticipating me joining the craze that was sweeping the nation. He was about to explain, but thankfully got this train back on track. Ah! But thanks to the internet, I shall now find out...excuse me....OK I'm back. Nothing I could see...Maybe he made that up....oh well. Can't expect every 25 year search to end with Doobie-like success...

I must apologize for the gratuitous image in the lower left corner. You know how young boys are. However I was proud of the logo I came up with for the squadron of space fighters. Although now it looks more like the paper boat that Curious George built. And what the Hell's up with the rainbow?

Game Fantasys!

Here's a grade school assignment from...4th or 5th grade. It's a book written by my friend Leith (NOT "Leaf" which is what my wax-filled ears thought they heard, but that's another story) and illustrated by me.

Here's the cover. Please note:
1. only the middle space ship with the orange exhaust is authentic. The rest of the sketches and witty commentary were added in later years.
2. space pilots still need tight-fitting leather helmets with goggles, just like WWII pilots.
3. The high tech green yarn binding is...high tech green yarn.
4. My young self saw the typographic possibilities of adding a cat head into the M. Brilliant!
5. Even at this young age, I was practicing making things shiny and bejeweled. (cockpit of spaceship under "embarrasing")

Halloween Bejeweled

The re-skinning of Bejeweled continues! First Mowrer did Autumn, Now here's the Halloween version I did. If you want to play, you will need a PC; doesn't work on macs unfortunately:
Halloween Bejeweled

Story Time II

This is a sample of my childhood comic creation, "Cyclo & Ace": two crazy, happy-go-lucky fighter pilots with a bad habit of being caught unawares when "the enemy" came a knockin'. Unfortunately, this one was ripped in half sometime in the last 20 years, and separated from its mate. But it looks more old this way, and you, dear reader, can imagine the astoundingly witty and deep ending I must've given it...haha

Story Time

This is from some time early in Grade school. 1977 maybe? Thankfully they make space ships better now than the flakey 2000 models.