10 years ago, Sacramento never dreamed of hosting a New Year's Eve party... This year there are not one but two big gatherings - one downtown with a ball drop, and one in Old Sac with fireworks. A huge turnout proves that Sacramento is definitely big enough to hold its own for these types of events!
Audrey asked me to draw a picture of her super-cute nephew Bentely as a Christmas present for him and his family. His mother Brooke and I are friends on MySpace, and I don't want her to see this until after Audrey's given it to her!
Here are the photos I used for reference:
Remember, if you'd like me to draw a caricature or portrait of you or someone you know, send an email to jesse@hardpressedink.com with three photos of the subject at different angles and a description of the style and format you'd prefer (size, color or black and white, cartoony or realistic, etc). I charge $50 to $100 a drawing and will mail you the finished original!
To see more of my art, click here.
posted Friday, December 19, 2008 by hardpressed jess
The Scratch Papers, Page 65: "Yoda Doodle Dandy"
1999. To see more of The Scratch Papers, click here.
posted Thursday, December 18, 2008 by hardpressed jess
"I Am an Amanuensis" 51: Justin Kerrigan
"Listen to this: The Emperor wants to control Outer Space. Yoda wants to explore inner space. That's the fundamental difference between the Good and the Bad sides of the Force."
Dialogue from the British film Human Traffic (1999), written and directed by Justin Kerrigan. If you've ever been to a rave, you will love this movie. In fact, it's just a really funny, entertaining movie, like Trainspotting only the characters are far more likable and avoid doing horrible things to each other.
Amanuensis -noun. A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.
Look on its tiny, useless, mutant eye, ye mighty, and weep
The following images are of an actual fish caught in the Arden area of Sacramento at Howe Park, which my family has been visiting for years. It's not quite Blinky, but it's close:
If you're into fishing for horrible mutant monsters, now you know where to go. If you like feeding the ducks at a public park on a sunny, Sacramento day, beware what lurks in the depths . . .
posted Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by hardpressed jess
Merry Christmas from Clave
Here's the Christmas card I got from my student, Clave:
I think that's the ugliest drawing of me I've ever seen, although it does capture our friendship nicely. You can't make it out at this size but my shirt says, "Artoonist." To see a larger version of the card, visit my MySpace profile.
posted Tuesday, December 16, 2008 by hardpressed jess
Related to Dynamite
John Gladding of MySacramento.me pointed out that my brother Matt bears a certain resemblance to Napoleon Dynamite. See for yourself:
John isn't the first to point this out, however, and even more disturbing is the fact that my older brother, David, looks like Kip Dynamite:
This is more than just a random coincidence. The director of Napoleon Dynamite, Jared Hess, is Mormon and my age, so we were raised in similarly nerdy circumstances.
Punk Rawk!
I'll have a more detailed review of the Casa de Chaos show up soon (along with my long overdue review of APE, hopefully), but for now here are a few photos I took with my camera phone. "Through music, we can live forever."
Joy of Matt Caricature
Below is a caricature of my brother Matt and his girlfriend Joy, which I drew at his request for her birthday. They both loved it. If you would like a caricature or portrait drawn of you or someone you know, please send me an email at jesse@hardpressedink.com with three photos of the subject at different angles and a description of the style and format you'd prefer (size, color or black and white, cartoony or realistic, etc). I charge $50 to $100 a drawing and will mail you the finished original!
In Matt's case I didn't charge him, but not because he's my brother: I got him to help me move. I think I got the better end of the deal. Look how tired he was at the end of the day!
With water levels in the lake at historic lows, a lot of what is usually under water is now high and dry. Take a photo tour of the peninsula at Folsom Lake with our roaming photog Silverado.
Looking for all the best lights in the area? LightsoftheValley.com has a comprehensive list of the best places to check out. You can post your own too - submit yours today!
Michael Zwahlen is a Sacramento based photographer who frequently posts wonderful photos on SkyscraperPage.com. He recently added this compilation that really shows what a beautiful city Sacramento is. * Sacramento in Photos
Save the Date: December's Second Saturday for Casa de Chaos
Clave and I will be featured in an art and punk show for December 13th, this month's Second Saturday, at Casa de Chaos. The show is being put on by Mickie Rat of The Secretions and will feature music from his side project Rat-O-Matic, along with the bands Warm Streams, Armed Forces Radio and Storytellers. The show starts at 8pm and is all ages; send me an email at jesse@hardpressedink.com for more details. The flier Clave and I created for the show is below.
I drew this comic during my sojourn in London a few years back, but I thought it would make a good Hodgepodge Smorgasbord given the other post from me today. After hearing a lecture and watching a Nova special on them, polarity reversals were an obsession of mine for a while. Briefly, a polarity reversal is an occasional switch in the Earth's magnetic field, where the positions of magnetic north and south are interchanged. The last reversal was 780 thousand years ago, so unfortunately we don't really know what effects a polarity reversal will have, but there could for a time be several more magnetic poles than our usual two, and the Earth's magnetic field will be severely weakened, which could lead to either the end of all life as we know it or a mild increase in cases of skin cancer and borealis across the globe. For a more detailed explanation, click here.
My girlfriend Audrey and I drove to San Diego for Thanksgiving, and on the way back we stopped at a Jack in the Box off of I-5 somewhere near the Grapevine, where the following was written on the wall of the men's bathroom:
Tell all you know ........
2011 AD is the end Flee Babylon and listen to the word of God, the Bible, May 21 2011 is the end. Tell all you know.
Sincerely,
Another Carpenter
Apparently some people were insufficiently embarrassed by the world not ending according to prediction on January 1, 2000 and have taken up the cause for May 21, 2011 instead. I recall reading from Grant Morrison's The Invisibles that the world is supposed to end in December 2012, according to the Mayan calendar and certain prophecies.
In other news, I picked up a stray kitty wandering around my apartment complex. She's very cute.
Inside Arco Arena
We get an insider-pass at Arco Arena and find some parts of the
place few ever even knew existed.
Second
Saturday & The Citizen
Midtown's "Mardi Gras 12 times a year" and Downtown's plush new
digs at the Citizen Hotel promise for a fun night on the town.
Twitterific
All you Twitter tweeps out there, we're on board this crazy
ride. Follow us until another social media app distracts us.
We Need a Few
Good Bloggers!
Interested in blogging for MySacramento? As long as it's
somewhat Sacramento related, we're looking for writers!
Dorm Survival at Sac State
Take a
few tips from some seasoned veterans - from rooms to food to
partying (and not getting caught), we'll give you the 411.
10 Things to Pack for
College
Packing for College? Jen Davies takes a look at 10... er... 11
things you can't forget when getting ready for that first year
of college.
Sacramento Forums
See what's up in Sacramento... feel free to join the discussion,
or just lurk until you find something worth saying.
Sacramento Bars & Restaurants
Been to a new restaurant or just looking to spread the word?
We're always looking for new places to eat.
Sac State Survival
The origins of this site started at Sac State (a long, long time
ago!). However some things stay the same. See what college life
is life at Sacramento State.
Sacramento Scene
Looking for fun things to do? So are we! We'll provide some fun
diversions her in and out of Sacramento.
