Happy October-Scream-Fest-Halloween-Samhain Everybody

Its a skeleton Domo in a beer stein, the perfect October-Scream-Fest-Halloween-Samhain decoration.
That beer really has a head on it...

Siona and Andrew

My oldest daughter Siona called me at One in the Morning last night to tell me she and her boyfriend Andrew were getting married.
This is not a cruel as it might at first sound.
There is a long tradition of waking the parents up in the middle of the night to announce engagements in my family.
My parents woke up my mother's folks, my grandparents, to announce their intention of getting married.  My grandmother told them "Go to bed and get some sleep.  You will feel better in the morning."
So when Evelyn and I finally agreed that we were getting married, at one or two in the morning, we woke up my parents to share the good news.  And my mom told us to go to bed and we would feel better in the morning.
I was very sleepy when Siona called last night, but I knew what was expected of me.  And I think I delivered the customary response correctly: "Go to sleep and you will feel better in the morning."
Hopefully I delivered my line with the good natured humor my Grandmother and mother did.  Ah, Family tradition!

Fear not, Evelyn and I are quite please to welcome Andrew into the family, and we are very happy for Siona.
I decided to create an Engagement Announcement for my not-so-little girl.
I hope it captures the joy of the moment...
   -- Jay "Nervous-But-Happy-Dad" Larsen

Non Violent and Proud: Occupy Comics

An Original Comic by Jay Larsen

If Gandhi had had an iPhone the British would have left India two years sooner.
Little Brother is Watching You Big Brother.
Keep that in mind Majors and Police Chiefs,
As you decide how to react to concerned citizens freely assembling.
Occupy Love.  Occupy Truth.  Occupy the Streets.

Tear Down That Wall

The Fourth Wall, that is!
An Original Comic by Jay Larsen

It's the dawning of the age of Captain Obvious...
Everybody Sing!

Whippersnappers Invade Comic Mashup Theater

Keep your hands to yourself!

Or on second thought, maybe not.

This is the Invasion of the Whippersnappers

On Comic Mashup Theater:

OK, You can stop abusing yourself now,

and go read something worthy of your intellect.

No, wait...this is the Internet you are browsing.

Nuff Said!

Return of the Boomerang

An Original Comic by Jay Larsen:

 And now, the Exciting Prequel to the Comic you Just Read!!!

That's the problem with prequels: we already know how they are going to end.
I'm not sure why the creators of books, movies, comics, TV shows all think we need endless prequels.

By the way: Kylie is the Australian word for Boomerang.

I'm thinking, "Return of the Boomerang" would make a great comic book title.
Heck, The Boomerang would make a great comic book hero/villain...
"You can't get rid of me!  I'm...dum, dum, dum...The Boomerang!"
Catch you on the flip side, mates.

A Multi Dimensional Discussion of Laziness

The inhabitants of the Super Ordinary Living web comic have noticed the distinct lack of updates in the last few weeks.  Okay the last few months.
I could come up with lots of excuses, but the facts are that SOL is a hobby project that I started to learn more about making comics and to build up some skills.  And there have been lots of other things going on in my life lately.  So, to the dozen people who read Super Ordinary Living and to the inhabitants of that SOL Universe that I have created, I offer the following installment by way of apology.
There will be more SOL coming in the days and weeks ahead if all goes according to plan.

Meet Me In America: Part 2

The thrilling Comic Mashup Theater conclusion to Meet Me in America

Meet Me in America is a mashup of random photos and script from
Captain America #1 (1941 Marvel Comics) by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.
Presented with love and respect for the original and with no claim made to the original copyright holders.
I have always loved that over-the-top language of the old comics and couldn't resist having some fun with it.  Go check out the original.

Meet Me in America

Help I've Been Hypnotized by Comic Mashup Theater

Some people will believe anything.

There is a word for people like that:

Comic Mashup Theater Fans

(OK, that's four words...)

I don't know about you, but I still get those "Enlargement" ads in my in box all the time.

When I count to 3 you will awaken and believe that you have just read

the funniest blog post you have ever read.

1, 2, 3, awaken...

Hopping and Bopping to Comic Mashup Theater

Comic Mashup Theater Presents:

For the first time in our new location,

The beautiful Jay Bird Theater in Downtown Thunderburg,

A tale of reptilian gyrations...

Continued after Next Page

Mystery of the Sun Helmets Solved By Comic Mashup Theater

Science can create more mysteries than it solves sometimes.

Don't hide your light under a helmet.

Let it shine in this episode of Comic Mashup Theater.

 I'm the man, in the dark sedan...

 You forgot step one: polish helmets.

 Bring in the obligatory shapely woman and distress her...

 Reach the City?  Is that sheik-speak for 3rd Base?

 Helmets well polished AND goggles.

We are truly unstoppable now.

 Cop!  Shine him on!

 Only Superman can explain this mystery.

What say you man of steel?

You call that and explanation?

 ---

Steamcon 3 was last weekend

The Larsens attended Steamcon 3 at the Bellevue Hyatt last weekend.
And a good time was had by all.
The theme was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
These pictures are all from my iPhone.  Hopefully some of Evelyn's look better than these.

 So I put on my pseudo-military uniform for Saturday's festivities.

There were lots of people, most in appropriately modified Victorian dress.

 Fezzes are cool.

This is a wooden submarine constructed from a barrel.

This gentleman was perpetrating an unnecessary arms race.

But he had created a fabulous gizmo.  There were lots of gizmos.

I'm not sure what she was.  But there was black latex involved.

And it seemed to be attracting the attention of sailors. 

This gentleman had constructed elaborate harnesses.  Very cool.

 Sunday Chani sported her Submariner's uniform.  Quite dashing!

Lady Evelyn and I wore civilian dress for Sunday.

Suitable for a stroll in the Market or for the gambling houses.

 This lady made a virtue of her requirement for crutches by punking them out in brass.

This gentleman was very proud of his handmade utility vest with a large collection of real antique tools.

We took a family portrait from the control tower of a steam powered ship of the line.

Then we toured a submarine with a Captain named Nemo.

 Even the dogs at SteamCon wore goggles.

 It was only a matter of time until the giant squid attacked!

 Chani laid into the monster with her walking stick.

Evelyn was not worried in the least and kept her cool.

In fact, I think she enjoyed my perilous predicament a little too much.

 Chani redoubled her efforts, giving the tentacles a great whack.

 Evelyn taught the beast a lesson with her whip.

Chani pronounced the beast dead and we were able to continue on in relative safety.

 Evelyn and this lady shared the great fortune of constructing their garments from the same fabric.

 We went to several panel discussions, including the one above on Steampunk Comics with Cheyenne Wright and Phil Foglio (of Genius Girl Comics Fame).  We also went to panels that discussed Automatons, the Singing of Sea Shanties, and a Discussion of Hollow Earth Theories.

Intellectually stimulating and satisfactory.

We also purchased a few things at the market, but nothing as large as this man's wrench.

But soon the event wound down and there was nothing to do but ride off into the sunset, leaving our Steampunk friends behind.  And so we returned to our mundane life.  Hopefully we carried some of that adventuring spirit of do-it-yourself style that is Steampunk with us.