After almost 4 years I have officially moved out of my San Rafael studio and back into my home studio. Part of the reason I was in San Rafael to begin with was because the home studio had someone living in it.

Now, the home studio has been remodeled (slightly) and painted, etc. I will begin unpacking it today and hopefully I’ll be back in full production by tomorrow.

The only downside to being here again is missing all of the nice people I have made friends with in SR. I’ll miss my breaks (walks) for coffee and chatting with everyone. Naturally I’ll be able to go back and visit on occasion as I’m only a town away but with work schedules and all it would require extra time. I’ll try to show up once a month or so for lunch, etc.

In the mean time I have to get back to work.

The frenzy over Michael Jackson’s death is of no surprise. He was undeniably huge in his global popularity. I remember when the Jackson 5 first came on the scene in the very late 1960’s and how all of us kid’s in the neighborhood were excited (yeah, I’m that old).

I admit that the J5 were a small influence on my musical career but I actually lost interest in Michael Jackson’s music sometime after his solo album, Off the Wall (which is still an excellent record). I suppose I'm a pre-Thriller fan.
This all sort of reminds me of when Elvis died back in 1977 and the subsequent frenzy over his passing.

Now, I don’t want to blather on critically about the guy’s music and his bizarre lifestyle. I have respect for his passing.
That being said, I can’t help but feel a bit sad about Farrah Fawcett’s passing as well and even more so because her passing has become quite overshadowed after Jackson’s death.

It feels just like when Robert Mitchum passed away and then the very next day, Jimmy Stewart died and for a week that’s all you heard about was Stewart's death and Mitchum (one of my favorite actors) was almost totally forgotten.

Typical of mainstream media, the protests in Iran, the war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan and the state budget woes, etc. are all taking a back seat to the (self-proclaimed) King of Pops demise. In fact, I don't think that they're even in the same car at this point.
And so it goes.

I have a little ritual where every morning upon coming down stairs (unless I go surfing that day) I drink my coffee as I watch a little bit of the local morning news mainly to get the weather info before I start my day.
Naturally, I sit through about 10 minutes, or so of whatever stories they are covering while waiting for the weather. This means that I generally space out or think about my agenda for the day.
However, this morning a story caught my attention, or more to the point, the reaction of individuals in the story is what caught my attention.

The (quick) back story is this, last year two road cyclists where training in the hills of the Cupertino area and were tragically struck and killed by a Sheriff’s deputy who had fallen asleep at the wheel of his patrol car while driving.
This is obviously a terrible incident to be sure. Now, a year later family and friends of the fallen cyclists are outraged that the officer isn’t being “punished sufficiently enough” for the accident.
Now, myself having lost far too many family members since I was a young boy I can totally relate to the anguish and frustration of the family and friends of the cyclists, but I am sympathetic to both parties.

Upon seeing and hearing one of the family/friends of the fallen cyclists interviewed for the segment and how he angrily spat to the interviewer that, “the officer was basically on a paid vacation for the past year…” saddened me. The guy was so angry and the hate in his eyes was so deep that he was blinded to the whole picture. I couldn’t help but shake my head and think of the officer who will have to live with this tragedy for the rest of his life! We forget that it was an ACCIDENT. I’m pretty sure he didn’t set out that day on his shift hoping to kill some one with his patrol car. Perhaps there is more to this tragedy but that’s all the information that I got.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would be to have to shoulder this tragedy for the rest of my days AND to have a large group of people just hating me for it on top of it all. You try to go on and live a "normal" life after that. I don't really know if that would be possible.

No matter how much this guy is “punished” it will NEVER bring back the cyclists.
I can’t help but feel that the world is losing more and more compassion and sensitivity every day not to mention just plain old critical thinking.

There are more than two victims in this ordeal. I hope the family and friends of the cyclists realize this soon and just try to move on and let this tragedy try to heal with time.

Here's a little drawing I made about two weeks ago. It's (sort of) a tribute to my skateboarding past in Sacramento, California circa the mid-1970's. I even used the N-men logo on the skate deck. The bee was originally drawn by Walt Disney himself back in the 1930's for the Sacramento Bee newspaper. Disney was commissioned by the McClatchy family. The bee was/is named "Scoopy." There is also a television bee, "TeeVee" and a radio bee whose name escapes me at the moment. Basically they are ALL the same bee but representing the three different media holdings of the McClatchy empire. I think I'll call my bee "Bite Me."
Ah, I can hear the McClatchy corporate lawyers now....

I like to read and I like to write. I like to correspond too. Emails are good. I read ‘em and I write ‘em. It’s nice to keep in touch, let others know you care about them and that you are still out there plugging away.

That being said, Facebook, on the other hand is a total time vampire. Yep, I’m on there but I really limit my time with that thing. Why? Because I really couldn’t care less what party you’re going to, what you ate this morning for breakfast or that you have to go to the store for more toilet paper. So f&%king what!? I wouldn’t subject you to that so why should you subject the rest of us?
It’s difficult enough to try and communicate with these little electronic boxes using words and such and even more difficult to truly express what we really mean when doing this activity but GEEZ, are we circling the drain with this technology or what?

It has become such a pandemic that we now have had to have laws put in place because of our addiction (yeah, I said it) with these contraptions so we won’t drive our 2000+ pounds of motorized steel into other folks while we are talking/texting pointless information concerning pointless lifestyles.

And here I sit writing this using a computer and posting it to a blog that will never be read. Ah, the irony.

Here’s a question that I have been wondering about more and more lately.
Why are more and more white people (European-Americans, Anglos, gringos, gabachos, gueros… feel free to pick one and apply it) celebrating Cinco de Mayo?
I have in-laws in Michigan and North Carolina who were recently on Facebook announcing that they were in the midst of gearing up to get tore up for Cinco de Mayo. I read this and wondered aloud, “why?”
You see, none of my in-laws are Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano, Latino, and Hispanic (feel free to pick one and apply it). In fact, some of them have never been to Mexico. There are even a couple who are overtly anti-Mexican and feel that Latinos are “taking over the country.” Funny, I’m the ONLY Mexican-American (I like to refer to myself as Chicano) that they have ever come in contact with at any time. Maybe they are anti- me!? I digress.
By-the-way, In May 5, 1862 the Mexican army along with other Mexican troops defeated the French near the town of Puebla and defeated that stumpy punk-ass Napoleon III and sent what few French that were still standing packing. It is said that Napoleon claimed that once the French were successful in capturing Mexico that they would, in-turn help the Confederacy defeat the Union army in the then raging American civil war.
That didn’t quite pan out.
Also, Cinco de Mayo is NOT the Mexican Independence day. That would be September 16. It was also won 52 years earlier (1810) freeing Mexico from Spain.
Still the question remains. Hmmmm.... Well, my thought is this; Non-Latinos like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo because they are drunks.

I went surfing for the first time in 7 months on Thursday. Boy, I’m REALLY out of shape. It took what seemed like forever to get to the line up and when I did get to the line up I had to let a couple of sets blow by as to rest my arms (which felt like lead at this point).

My first ride of the day was smooth. It was a long right on a glassy but occasionally sectioning 3’. I was on my friend, Beth’s 10’, heavily glassed, triple redwood stringer Pearson Arrow. Good board especially though the flat spots. It is also deceptively faster than one would think. Well, faster than my Weber Performer, anyway.
The tide was still out and I rode this wave almost back to the beach, picking up section after section by cutting back left then, once going again bottom turning back into the reforming right and stepping a little forward for speed.
However, remembering how long it took me to get out this morning I wisely decided to kick out a little earlier that I normally would of so I would spare my arms the beating.

After that the next 2+ hours were pure paddling hell. The ocean was punishing me for being gone for so long.

I rode a few more waves but was having problems popping up smoothly. My arms were gone. They felt like they weighed 100 lbs. apiece. Once up the waves quality was changing with the incoming tide and the rides were getting shorter and shorter. Man, my arms were dead. The ocean was punishing me.

Finally I took a shitty, 3’ crap wave all the way to the beach. Once I was on the sand I hopped off the board and bent down to pick it up… that’s when I felt the sharpest, hottest pain snap into my lower back.
I almost screamed it hurt so badly. The ocean was punishing me.
I stood there motionless, hunched over like a Gargoyle on the Notre Dame watching the board surge up and back in the break.
It took me 40 minutes to get back to my truck (generally a 7 minute walk… tops), another 40 minutes to change out of my wetsuit. The ocean was punishing me.

Day 5 now and I’m still flat-on-my-back. I’m popping Vicodin with a whiskey chaser to sleep at night. The ocean is punishing me.

It’s not like I don’t have enough to do already but I was recently approached (by email) by Will Drinker who is a film maker living in Los Angeles. He is in the process of making a documentary film about his brother Dan and his everyday life living with Downs.

Will contacted me, as well as other cartoonists to contribute our talents to stories that Will has written about the daily routines and such from Dan’s life for a graphic novel to be completed sometime in the future.

Naturally, I feel honored to be involved in something such as this. Will has sent me three scripts and I am to choose one in which to illustrate. It was difficult to choose as I like all three but I have picked one. However, I have told Will that I just may end up doing the other two as well. Typical of me, I know.

Between another gig I’m working on I am watching clips from Will’s documentary on Youtube to get a better visual of Dan and Will and what goes on in Dan’s life.
You can check them out as well by going to, www.dandrinker.com

I realize that I haven’t been writing on the ‘ol blog much this year but I am one who believes that if you don’t really have anything to say then don’t bother talking, or in this case writing.
That being said, I’ll just keep the two or three people who may (or may not) read this up to speed with what I am up to.

The first issue of Tortilla, my self-published comic book has been out since November of 2008 but I haven’t put it in any stores yet. That will finally happen next week. However, you may obtain a signed copy by mailing $3 (well hidden cash of money order only please) to; Jaime Crespo, P.O. Box 112, San Anselmo, CA 94979 USA.

Also, Slices, the 40 page “best of” Slice O’ Life collection is also available for $4 (same situation and address as above).

I am currently working on my first graphic novel, Turk Street Serenade which is a factual recounting about my time living and working in a San Francisco Tenderloin Hotel as a janitor during the mid-1980’s when crack first came on the streets and Reagan was in the White House and everything was almost as fucked-up as it is now. Think, Charles Bukowski with pictures.

It will be 200+ pages and the first chapter will be featured in Tortilla #2 due out this spring. I plan on releasing it a chapter at a time in my comic Tortilla until it either gets picked up by a publisher or I just eventually waste more money and time and do it myself. It should be done well before I’ve published 15+ issues of Tortilla. Probably by Tortilla #5 if not earlier.

Also, I have to change my publishing name yet again. Thanks to my homie, Norman Zelaya for pointing out that La Calaca was already taken I now have to change it. So, with that I will NOW publish under the Aegis: Corn Tortilla Press! Be warned.

I attended the WonderCon this year on the Saturday schedule with my buddy, E. Francis Kohler and have to admit I was simultaneously overwhelmed and depressed. Overwhelmed by the multitude of people and nerds swarming all over the place and depressed by the current state of the comics industry. Publishing is feeling a down turn (mostly with my genre, the alternative, underground, non-super hero) and it feels like everything is geared towards movies and TV. I get the overall vibe that certain cartoonists and writers are vying for a movie/TV deal as opposed to putting out a great comic.
Okay, that sounds a bit naïve and I realize that the market and world is evolving and one must evolve with it but no matter how much you polish a turd, it’s still a turd. I see these cartoonists who have become extremely self-involved and have these egos that need constant stroking and just having a great comic (book, strip, novel whatever) isn’t enough. What would one expect from nerds?
Well, we are in a certain “modern day Roman empire” where our culture has become blind consumers, which is corporate and famed based. Why do you think shit programming such as, Dances with the Stars, QVC, American Idol and Maury are so popular?
Okay, time for me to quit ranting and climb down off the soapbox before I hurt myself.

This morning as I was ingesting my first cup of coffee of the day as I was greeted by an email from my friend, poet/writer/dj Darren De Leon that our mutual friend, the fantastic Chicano poet, George Tirado was dead.
Man, I can’t say that I was surprised. George shot dope for a lot of years. He lived life about as hard as it gets and weighing in at around 400 pounds on top of all of the drinking, weed, speed and junk, well let’s just say that we were all collectively waiting for the other shoe to drop. Still, knowing all of this doesn’t make his passing any easier. To say George had his demons is an understatement. He indeed had his demons but writing the truth and pain he experienced in his 44 years on this planet wasn’t one of them. His memorial was today in the Tenderloin at the Ambassetor Hotel, which is located literally right on the next block from the hotel I used to live in 23 years ago, so I had no problems finding my way there.
Darren apologized for the short notice but I wrote back and told him no worries, I’ll be there.
I got to Eddy Street a little early just so I could walk around and look at what may or may not have changed since my days in the TL and to reflect a little about George and what he meant to me. I took a lap around the block past my old hotel, the streets still teeming with America’s thrown out and disenfranchised. A line from a Dave Alvin song came to mind, “Everything is different but nothing has changed.”
I thought about George and his poetry, what he and I used to talk about and the artwork I did for his chapbooks and what not. I can still hear him talking about Oscar ‘Zeta” Acosta, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, Aztlan, the Chicano movement, dope and music and all the other stuff Chicanos like us used to talk about.
When I got to the memorial at the hotel they ushered us into a small back room filled with about 30 folding chairs and a TV in one corner and an alter with a huge photo of George looking back. “Aw, yeah. There he is.” I said under my breath because that was how I always greeted Tirado when I saw him.
All sorts of people nervously milled about, eyeing the donuts, candy, chips, salsa and guacamole. There were people from the hotel that were friends with George, people from social services that worked with George and in the back were poets and artists who worked with George. On the phone they had his mother calling all the way from Houston, Texas as she listened in to the memorial.
People read poems they wrote about George or they read Georges poems or they just talked about him and said goodbye. On a TV a DVD played showing George at readings.
Afterwards I left with Darren and Josiah Luis Aldarete and we laughed about our favorite George stories as we walked around the Tenderloin.
No matter what is said or written it’s always the bottom line that is forever. George is gone now and I’ll never forget him.

Just got back from the 2008 APE (Alternative Press Expo) last night and I had a pretty good time, I might add.
I was an exhibitor at the first two APE’s in San Jose when Dan Vado of Slave Labor Graphics was still manning the helm and I hadn’t been back since as I was doing crazy stuff like finishing a college degree while working a whole bunch of jobs while simultaneously being a husband, dad, pet owner and home owner… you can see where I’m going with this.

Now I’m back drawin’ and creatin’ and had both Slices and the first issue of Tortilla with me at a table at APE.

Saw a few of the old cartoonists from the “old days” and we all stood there wondering where all of our time went. It was great to see Megan Kelso again at the Last Gasp mixer on Friday night and again at the show. We both reminisced and laughed a lot about being a part of the second, “Golden Age” of underground cartoonist in San Francisco (the first being the late 1960’s and early 1970’s) back in the very late 1980’s early 1990’s.

My homie, Keith Knight who was also part of that 80’s/90’s SF era cartoonist cadre was also there and is always a great guy by kicking me in the ass to sell myself more.
Lloyd Dangle was there and I have always enjoyed his work and Lloyd himself. I’ve watched his work grow and spread throughout the land as well.

Yakked it up with both Mario and Jaime Hernandez there. Great artists and guys. Saw Javier Hernandez (El Muerto) and he and I had a blast catching up as we met a million years ago at the first APE and would subsequently run into each other at other comix/zine fests throughout the land.

It was a great pleasure to see Dan Clowes again as well. Dan and I used to correspond way back when he was only a few issues into his comic book, Eightball when he still lived in Chicago. Now, Dan is chugging along well with many high-end projects under his belt as well as a couple of Hollywood movies to boot (Ghost World and Art School Confidential).

Met some new folks as well. Edgar, Enrique, Eric and a whole crew of extremely talented, up-and-coming artist at the table next to me. Great guys with excellent work.

Big Up’s to my buddy and stupendous cartoonist/artist Larry Rippee. I’m trying to get him to through his hat back into the ring. I know he has projects going but soon he’ll be back. Oh, and thanks for the ride too, Larry!

Well, I had fun and now I have the first cold/flu I’ve had in years (had too much fun, I suppose).
I’m going back to bed.

No sleep, no surfing but I do have a lot of work. I've never been too good at math but this equation isn't adding up.

Anyone out there wanna' buy a bike? It's on Craig's List as Marin 'Highway One.'

Sleep deprivation is a funny thing. It’s after 8 in the morning on a Saturday as I write this. Big deal, right? Well, I’ve been awake since 4:20 this morning after going to bed at 12:30.
In the past couple of years I have been having trouble sleeping. Sometimes I sleep off-and-on for 8 to 10 hours a night but in reality I’m awake for a couple of those hours, in during those rare nights.
The rest (most) of the time I’m averaging about 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night.
This really sucks.
I’m always tired yet I can’t seem to sleep.
You figure the average person sleeps about 56 hours a week. These days I’m lucky if I sleep 24 hours a week.
I take ‘power naps’ every-so-often at my studio, which average about 10 minutes. They actually work (for me anyway) and after one I’m ready to go for hours.
Coffee fuels the rest of my day. And don’t get started with the, “Well, maybe you should quit drinking coffee and then you’ll sleep.”
I already did that and it didn’t work… besides I tend to have coffee in the mornings and maybe a small one after lunch. After about 1 in the afternoon I rarely, if EVER have more coffee.
I drink more water than anything during the day (I average 1 to 2, 1.5 liter bottles daily).
Anyway, I’d rather sleep soundly for 8 hours straight a night like a regular person than take a power nap a couple of times a week.
I’ve always heard that the older you get the less sleep you need. However, that’s usually for people over 60 and I’m not even to 50 yet.
Ah, sleep… perchance to dream.

Was just up in Sacramento for a wonderful reunion with some childhood buddies from East Sacramento (and I mean the original East Sac). We all congregated at the Espanol restaurant (Folsom Blvd.), which is an Italian restaurant and I have never understood the name connection.
I was the first to arrive and was freaking out the whole way there as I was stuck in traffic on I80 from the bay area and thought I would be late. Well, I wasn’t and everyone else was a little late.

It was great to see the guys; Doug, Mark, Tony, Herb, Paul, Jeff and John. There were a few more missing but we had such a great time that we’re going to do it again next year and try to get EVERYONE to go. We’ll see.

After the food and a few drinks we went down the road a little ways to the local, East Sac watering hole, Club 2-Me (J street @ 48Th). What a blast! We grew up with the owners sons (Craig, Brian and Richard) and we were easily the oldest group in the joint that night and to my surprise, one of the bar tenders (Chris, aka Mickey) was another guy we grew up with in the neighborhood and he and I were totally stoked to see each other again. He wants to join in next year! Oh, yeah Mickey…you’re in, bro!
Oh, and the drinks were incredibly cheap (by bay area standards anyway) as I bought a round of 3 pints of Fat Tire Ale, two tequilas (NOT Cuervo!) and a grey hound and the bill came out to $16.50!!!!!! Whoa!
Man, I’m glad I don’t live around there anymore or I’d be in big trouble.

I had a great time and a lot of laughs. I’ve known all of these guys since we were all little kids and it is always great to remember where you came from. Sure, there were a few sad spots too as some guys folks have passed away as well as news of other kids we grew up with are no longer alive but all-in-all it was a wonderful time.

Wait ‘til next year! Whoooo!

I now have all of the programs and whatnot to maintain my website myself except… the actual ability. It’s a very slow learning process for me.

Also, I’m in a couple of group art shows at the moment. The first is going on right now in Point Reyes Station at Gallery Route One (google the gallery for more details). It’s the 10Th annual G.R.O. Box Show. I’m in there somewhere…probably way in the back next to the bathroom.

The other show will be at the MCCLA (Mission Cultural Center of Latino Arts) in San Francisco. It’s a Cartoon/comics deal and I have an original two-page comic in there, which is for sale by the way (hint-hint). This show starts on August the 15Th, I think. Once again, google the Mission Cultural Center for all of the details, as I am totally useless in this capacity.

I’ve been surfing again and even though I am absolutely and unequivocally out-of-shape and stiff I still feel as if it has been a homecoming of sorts. I’m feeling much better and becoming rejuvenated again.

Otherwise, I am penciling-in a comic book (Tortilla #1) and trying to produce more Slice O’ Life strips while rewriting the graphic novel in between it all.

Well, it looks like it’s going to be a bit longer before I can get to my site and make any changes, hopefully just another week.

Also, I’m going to be in the Gallery Route One Box Show in Pt. Reyes Station again but I think after 7 or 8 years of being a participant that this is going to be my last year. The box takes a lot of time and it’s now becoming time that I can’t really spare anymore. I understand that there is one heck of a waiting list of people who want to get in on the box show, so I’m certain that someone much more talented than myself will step in and really make G.R.O. some money.

Check back later for more…

Okay, kids. I have about another week before I begin to decimate…er…I mean, begin to act as the sole custodian of my web site. The web queen herself, Lisa Long is getting me the proper programs and a few pointers on which way to go and then it’s off to the races… I hope.

I’ll keep you all posted. In the mean time I am working simultaneously on the first issue of Tortilla and my box for the G.R.O. (Gallery Route One) box show in Pt. Reyes Station, California.

Also—I am setting up to print a few Slice O’ Life t-shirts which will be for sale through the afore mentioned web site as well as a couple of other designs. As I said before, check back for when all of this will happen this summer.

In the mean time, try to stay cool in this heat!

Forgot to mention in the last post that as of last night, July 1 my radio program, Fault Line Radio (www.kwmr.org) is now broadcasting at the new time slot of 9 pm to 12 am midnight. It’s still Tuesday nights only now I shut down the station. Not much else has changed except that my good buddy, Tony Palmer has moved to Wednesday nights and is now on at 10:30 pm t 1:30 am.

Since we moved the station from the Red Barn to the Creamery Building years ago Tony, Charlie ‘Chazmo’ Morgan along with yours truly have been the Tuesday night line-up and it feels that it’s been like that forever. Charlie has always referred to us as, “The power hitters of the line-up.” Yeah, both Charlie and I are life-long San Francisco Giants fans who both go back to the days of Willie Mays!

In all actuality it’s probably been about seven years but that still is a long time as we do this around 52 times a year, EVERY year and add a couple of years on to that as all three of us have been at the station from the beginning in different time slots. Radio Dogs we are!

As much as I love having three hours instead of the former one and a half I already miss seeing Tony for our program transition. Still, I see Tony socially and we have a band (of sorts) together that needs to get dusted off and begin to play music again. So it’s not a loss for anyone really… it’s just a little different.

I guess this long winded explanation is to say that, as corny as it may sound we are one huge family at KWMR and even though change is sometimes met with indifference it is also necessary and for the over-all good for our personal and collective journey in life.

Change is good.

Tune in tonight (if you live in West Marin, 90.5 fm Pt. Reyes Station or 89.7 fm Bolinas. Or, you can stream it on the web at www.kwmr.org) and every Wednesday night at 10:30pm for Sonic Sunspots and listen to Tony and you’ll know what I’m rambling about here!

Great Oogalee-Boogalee. I'm really bad at keeping these posts going. I just have a hard time wanting to write about every damn thing that goes on.

Okay, I have one thing. I have been corresponding (by email) with one of the big cartooning influences on yours truly. One Mr. Robert Armstrong. I have been a huge fan of this guy since I first saw his work in Arcade (R. Crumb's precursory to Weirdo) in the 70's when I was an impressionable high school kid. Armstrong was the creator of Mickey Rat comics, The Couch Potatoes and is one of the founding members (along with Robert Crumb and Alan Dodge) the musical group; the Cheap Suit Serenader's, painter and modifier of hand-painted Ukuleles and guitars, he is also the musician you hear playing the saw at the end of the film; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to name but a few of his accomplishments.

He has a web site and naturally I can't remember the web address but you can Google the guy.
Check out his work you won't be disappointed.